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Allison Stowe is in her first year at Eldora-New Providence Elementary School. She currently teaches three sections of fifth grade science as well as one of literacy.
While Allison Stowe grew up and graduated from Williamsburg, her parents are from Eldora. All of her aunts, uncles and family are still in Hardin County, so when she saw an opening at Eldora-New Providence Elementary, it seemed like the perfect fit.
“I first got a job in Ar-We-Va and I was there for a year, but that was three hours away from my parents and from here, so I just needed to move closer,” said Stowe. “For the past few years I have been in Hampton. That was awesome, but I found that they had an opening in Eldora and I was just like ‘I can move even closer to my family.’”
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http://www.timescitizen.com/news/teacher-spotlight-fifth-grade-the-perfect-fit-for-stowe/article_23f44616-3909-11ed-aeed-1f8da7d0a94a.html
| 2022-09-23T18:19:46Z
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(The Hill) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is facing mounting scrutiny in his home state over his controversial decision last week to fly dozens of mostly Venezuelan migrants to the elite resort island of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.
While the move was lauded by conservatives as a powerful protest of the Biden administration’s approach to border security, it has sparked a wave of criticism from Democrats and members of Florida’s vast Hispanic community, a politically influential force in the Sunshine State.
“With this move, this stunt, obviously he made his base very happy,” said Adelys Ferro, the executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus. “But there are many people more toward the middle and people who are independents that are very disgusted and that reject all of this.”
“We are Venezuelan Americans and we vote, and we’re going to vote in November,” she added. “And we’re never going to vote for somebody who does this.”
The migrant flight from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard — and DeSantis’s promise of more to come — have already prompted a slew of legal activity. A Texas sheriff said on Monday that his office would investigate the legality of the flight, while a Florida state lawmaker is preparing to file a lawsuit seeking to block DeSantis from transporting more migrants from the southern border.
But whether the migrant flights — dubbed a political stunt by critics — will weigh on DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential contender who is facing reelection this year, remains an open question.
On one hand, the move risks running afoul of Latino voters, especially in South Florida, a vote-rich part of the state with a massive community of exiles who fled oppressive governments in Latin America. The GOP has strengthened its position among Latinos in recent years, though strategists on both sides of the aisle say those gains aren’t set in stone.
“I think we need to be cautious about taking Hispanics for granted in the same way that Democrats took them for granted,” one Republican strategist who has worked on campaigns in Florida said. “We’re talking about voters who like Republican policies, but maybe don’t consider themselves Republicans. They’re still open to hearing the other side.”
Still, the migrant flight also carries the potential to further endear DeSantis to conservatives ahead of a prospective bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
“This is a story that has put him at the forefront of the national conversation for the last couple of weeks,” said Fernand Amandi, a Miami-based Democratic pollster who helped former President Obama win the state in 2008 and 2012. “So from his perspective, as long as he doesn’t get charged, I think he sees it as a good thing.”
And as far as his reelection bid goes, DeSantis appears well positioned to defeat his Democratic rival Charlie Crist, a former congressman and Republican Florida governor. Not only does polling in that race regularly show DeSantis in the lead, but he also has a steep financial edge. DeSantis has raised more than $130 million for his reelection effort so far.
Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist who ran Obama’s campaign operation in the Sunshine State, also noted that the migrant flight isn’t the only controversial move that has paid off politically for DeSantis. The Florida governor rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic by taking a laissez-faire approach to the outbreak despite warnings from public health officials.
“He made a gamble on COVID and it paid off,” Schale said. “In the eyes of the public, it was a successful win. The lesson here was: He can lean into these divisive issues and he doesn’t pay a penalty for it.”
Schale said that DeSantis and his campaign have already bet that the support of the GOP’s conservative base will be enough for him to clinch a second term in November and that there’s little actual political risk in potentially turning off persuadable voters.
“Guys on my side don’t always give him the credit he deserves,” Schale said. “They don’t think they need to win persuadable voters to win reelection. They made the calculus that they’re safe being in this space.”
Ana Navarro, a longtime GOP strategist who is a co-host of ABC’s “The View,” agreed with Schale’s assessment that DeSantis is worried only about appealing to the most conservative voters — and that includes Republican voters who fled repressive foreign governments themselves.
“Seems like his game plan is to raise his national profile and bring out as much of his base as possible and not really worry about appealing to those in the middle,” said Navarro, who is based in Miami. “Without a doubt, most of his base likes what he’s doing, sadly, including other Floridians who came to this country fleeing repression, but seem to have forgotten. I really don’t get it.”
One poll from Morning Consult released on Wednesday found that while voters are split on the propriety of sending migrants to more liberal parts of the country, the tactic is still popular among Republicans. Sixty-six percent of GOP voters said that it is appropriate, while only 19 percent said it is improper.
That’s not to say that there couldn’t be consequences for DeSantis. In addition to the criminal investigation being carried out by Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar in Texas, some of the migrants who were flown from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard last week filed a class action lawsuit in Massachusetts on Tuesday, arguing that DeSantis and other state officials engaged in a “fraudulent and discriminatory scheme.”
The migrants are seeking unspecified damages in that case.
DeSantis isn’t the only Republican governor who’s shipped migrants away from the U.S. southern border and into more-Democratic leaning parts of the country. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who’s also up for reelection, has been doing so for months, as has Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R).
But what made DeSantis’s effort even more controversial was the fact that none of the 48 migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard had ever set foot in Florida. What’s more, the migrants were reportedly misled about their destination.
DeSantis has defended the move, arguing that illegal immigration isn’t just an issue for border states to deal with. Officials in his administration have also argued that the migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard were “homeless, hungry, sleeping outside in parking lots” prior to making the trip, seeking to put a humanitarian spin on the endeavor.
Still, DeSantis’s critics say there’s no moral ambiguity when it comes to what the governor did. Ferro, the Venezuelan American Caucus executive director, accused DeSantis of playing politics with a humanitarian crisis, saying that “people — even many Republicans — are mortified and disgusted.”
Amandi, the Democratic pollster, also said that Republicans he has spoken to in the state aren’t pleased.
“In their heart of hearts, they know this will have repercussions,” he said.
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| 2022-09-23T18:19:49Z
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ACKLEY - Kevin Groninga, 66, of Hampton and formerly of Ackley, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, at Good Shepherd Health Center in Mason City. A private family burial will take place in West Friesland Cemetery in rural Ackley. A celebration of life will take place at a later date. Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sietsema Funeral Home in Ackley.
Kevin Lawrence Groninga was born on Nov. 4, 1955 in Cedar Falls to Mervin and Florence (Newhall) Groninga. He attended Ackley-Geneva schools.
Kevin is survived by his siblings: Cynthia Kohlmeier of Hornbeak, Tenn.; Carmen Courtney of Rockhill, S.C. and Brian Groninga of Geneva; and his nephews: Kyle Courtney and Brian Courtney.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
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http://www.timescitizen.com/obituaries/groninga-kevin-nov-4-1955-sept-20-2022/article_76306198-39d7-11ed-b036-27893e7503a2.html
| 2022-09-23T18:19:52Z
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WESTMINSTER, Colo. (KDVR) — The masks wrestlers wear during lucha libre matches can be a real showstopper.
They dazzle and mesmerize. The masks are covered with sparkly sequins and are adored by millions of Mexican wrestling fans around the world and in Colorado. They are worn by Mexican lucha libre superheroes.
Now, there’s a move to bring more of that type of colorful, freestyle wrestling to Denver.
FOX31 attended a packed match that took place in Westminster. In the crowd was 10-year-old Jay Noah Lopez. The child wore his mask the whole time, supporting his favorite wrestler, the Red Viper.
“Who do you think is going to come out today, dad? I hope he (Red Viper) comes out first,“ Jay said.
This kid is beyond excited to be at the match. It was like little Jay was meeting a god.
“Aye, yi yi. Wow, mom,” Jay said.
In lucha libre wrestling, ‘the mask is everything’
Lucha libre, which is a form of freestyle wrestling, has been a deep part of Latino culture for decades. And those masks wrestlers wear are sacred.
“You will not catch a mascarada (masked wrestler) without a mask because the mask is everything,” professional wrestling manager Hugo Savinovich said.
The masks create an aura of mystery. They can also make the wrestlers seem like warriors and bigger than life.
“The mask is everything. It’s what drives lucha to another level,” Savinovich said.
Savinovich wrestled for 20 years. He’s now trying to make the sport a mainstay in Colorado.
“What I’m trying to do make Denver the place where this lucha culture becomes not just a small success but big success,” Savinovich said.
Lucha libre attracts entire families, including grandmothers and grandfathers. Little Jay loves the thought of more lucha libre coming to Colorado.
“I think it’s great, yeah. It’s perfect,” Jay said.
With kids like Jay, the tradition is sure to stay for at least another generation.
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| 2022-09-23T18:19:55Z
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With over 100 runners in both races and 10 teams that are NICL squads, South Hardin had an opportunity to get a small taste of what the conference meet will be like in three weeks. And it’s going to be a grind.
Thursday at Town and Country Golf Course in Grundy Center, both Tiger squads finished in the bottom half of the large fields. The girls race was won by No. 7 Denver (2A) with all five runners in the top 20. Eighth rated Hudson (1A) were second and No. 12 in 2A Sumner-Fredericksburg rounded out the top three. The Tiger girls were 10th overall with four of their five scorers in the top 50.
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http://www.timescitizen.com/sports/early-nicl-preview-at-grundy-center/article_e5f52c30-3b43-11ed-9a0d-1b713a3f82d6.html
| 2022-09-23T18:19:58Z
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Brynn Smith finished the night with a game-high 17 kills, but also led the 14th-ranked in Class 1A Cougars with seven digs to lead them to a 3-0 home non-conference win over South Tama Thursday night.
AGWSR Cougar head volleyball coach Jill Smith doesn’t know if a change in the rotation is the match that lights a fire, but she said it was at least a spark. That led to a sweep of South Tama (25-16, 25-11, 25-13) in Ackley Thursday night.
“This is the first night that we’ve run this particular line-up,” Smith said. “Tuesday (a sweep loss to Gladbrook-Reinbeck) was brutal. Our team chemistry was not good so we had to work through some stuff yesterday. I wasn’t really sure what to anticipate today but I’m just really proud of the girls how they came out and really pulled together.”
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http://www.timescitizen.com/sports/new-line-up-leads-to-agwsr-win/article_9e73d3ca-3b3e-11ed-ad65-4f304aaa5c2f.html
| 2022-09-23T18:20:04Z
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NBC 6 has partnered with the Nell Shehee Foundation on ‘Operation Kindness’ to highlight acts of kindness in our community.
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Felecia Williams is the successful owner of My Spa My Way in Shreveport. From clothing and accessories to a full range of spa and salon services, her business is helping people look and feel beautiful.
However, her story hasn’t always been so pretty.
“I think a lot of people think that success has to do with a dollar value, and it’s not,” Williams shared. “I’m successful because I’m still here and what I’ve come through, the many times I’ve thought about taking my own life, going through things. I’m still here. That’s what I consider more successful than anything.”
She openly shares her struggle with depression to let other people, especially women, know that they are not alone.
“Happiness sometimes comes from giving to other people,” said Williams.
She gives to others through her non-profit, Gertrude’s Gifts, named after her grandmother, who taught her about faith and self-acceptance.
“It was a combination of her doing a lot of praying, her making me understand that there was nothing wrong with her grandbaby,” Williams explained.
Gertrude’s Gifts is hosting an upcoming fundraiser highlighting other successful women from Shreveport who are making a huge impact across the country. Before the event, they’ll host workshops for 300 high school girls from Caddo Parish.
“They’ve been able to go out and do these huge things, and they come back and sow into our community, and our girls need that,” said Williams. “They need to know that there’s nothing they can’t do as long as they keep dreaming.”
The Girls United to Succeed event, hosted by Gertrude’s Gifts, takes place at Sam’s Town on Friday, October 7th from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. It includes food, fashion and music. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 each.
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| 2022-09-23T18:20:07Z
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Iowa Falls-Alden teammates Ella Sharar and Jazz Dagel set up a net block versus an Algona offensive attack during Thursday's NCC match. The Cadets lost the match in three sets.
Only five points from extending Thursday's North Central Conference match with Algona, the Iowa Falls-Alden girls appeared to be on the verge of taking a big step forward in their maturation process.
Carrying a 20-14 lead and owning the momentum in the set, familiar error started to reveal themselves once again. Serving into the net. Poor serve receive and passing. Errant kills shots.
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http://www.timescitizen.com/sports/third-set-slips-away-cadets-fall-in-sweep/article_dc83578c-3b41-11ed-aa70-07f2c69bf8f4.html
| 2022-09-23T18:20:10Z
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(Loving Living Local)- Local Army recruiters share personal stories and explore benefits of joining the US Army.
Eight uniformed soldiers with the US Army Recruiting Battalion sat down with host, Susan Kirton to recount their own personal experiences with the US Army, explore benefits of service, and identify misconceptions and barriers. Staff Sergeant Scott discusses qualifications, testing, and the step-by-step process of joining. Sergeant First Class Chatham shares about options and benefits such as training, locations, incentives, bonuses, and money for college. Staff Sergeant Denton admits that basic training is not like the movies and provides a clearer picture of what basic training and on-the-job training are really like. First Sergeant Denman explores common obstacles and myths about service. Staff Sergeant Wilson provides details about Army Reserve options. Staff Sergeant Cabrera details her own experience with joining the army as well as the culture and diversity she has found. First Lieutenant Sun and Second Lieutenant Tims elaborate on officer routes soldiers can take such as OCS versus ROTC.
The army offers numerous benefits. Army service allows Soldiers to retire after only 20 years of service and to receive benefits from the Army’s retirement income fund after only two years. The VA loan is a guaranteed, lifetime benefit for Soldiers which boasts no down payments, competitively low-interest rates, and no need for Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI).
Soldiers receive 30 days of paid annual vacation. The Army supports parents and offers generous leave, including 12 weeks for both parents (a non-gender benefit) and an additional 6 weeks of convalescent leave for mothers. Other benefits include enlistment bonuses up to $50k, complete healthcare coverage for full-time Soldiers, access to the Buddy Enlistment Program, over 1,500 advanced training certificates, and tuition assistance with the opportunity to earn full college tuition.
In an uncertain world, service means stability and security for the future. The Army offers enlistment contracts ranging from two to six years, so you can decide what best fits your life plans. There are 84 different occupations with a two-year option for those who aren’t comfortable making a longer commitment.
The Army is offering a duty station of choice. For some, staying close to home is important, and now we have opportunities that offer location predictability. For Soldiers who decide to pursue a career outside the Army after their term of service, the Army offers career counseling, special programs, and guidance. The Partnership for Youth Success program even offers five guaranteed job interviews with program partners across the nation.
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| 2022-09-23T18:20:13Z
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Secretary of State has declared a ballot measure to allow for recreational marijuana use in the state to be “insufficient.”
The decision from Secretary of State John Thurston came in response to a request from the Arkansas Supreme Court, which had asked his office for a declaration as it hears a lawsuit brought by recreational marijuana supporters after the ballot question was denied by the state Board of Electors.
The Board of Electors is a function of the Secretary of State’s office.
This is likely not the final step in the ongoing attempt to put the issue of recreational marijuana on the November ballot.
“We believe it’s just a formality and the court will still meet and deliberate,” Secretary of State spokesperson Kevin Niehaus said.
On Aug. 4, Responsible Growth Arkansas brought a suit to the Arkansas Supreme Court after the Board of Electors denied the recreational marijuana ballot question at its Aug. 3 meeting.
The board cited no reference to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in the proposed ballot question as the reason for rejecting the proposal.
On Aug. 10, the court instructed the Secretary of State to place the recreational marijuana measure on the ballot in order to meet printing deadlines. It remains to be determined if votes for or against recreational marijuana on the November ballot will be counted.
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/arkansas-secretary-of-state-calls-marijuana-ballot-measure-insufficient/
| 2022-09-23T18:20:19Z
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CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – The Caddo Parish Grand Jury returned four indictments involving murder and rape cases in its session ending on Thursday.
A “true bill” is returned if a majority of the jurors agree the supporting facts of a case support probable cause. All of the men indicted in the September session are from Shreveport.
The Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office stated Thursday that true bills were given in these four cases:
- Kenmiccael Dano Ray is indicted for the murder of 13-year-old Landry Faith Anglin in May 2022. Landry was struck by a stray bullet inside her South Highland home and died soon after. Police say the bullet was fired from one of multiple vehicles in a rolling shootout along Erie St.
- The grand jury indicted Andrew Adaway in the beating death of Bobbie Young. Adaway was sharing a cell with the 73-year-old when police say there was an altercation. Young suffered injuries to his head and later died at the hospital.
- Christopher Thomas faces charges for two counts of aggravated rape and molestation of a juvenile.
- Tremayne Haas is charged with first-degree rape.
Due to the nature of the crimes, both indictments were filed under seal with no further details available.
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| 2022-09-23T18:20:32Z
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — The Shreveport Police Department announced that two officers are on leave following an officer-involved shooting in late August.
SPD said in a release Friday that the two officers involved in the August 25 shooting were placed on leave after an investigation of the events in the 600 block of Kings Highway in Shreveport just before 8:30 p.m. when the officers answered a call for a disorderly person.
Bradley Schneider, 58, was arrested after he was armed with a machete and was attempting to die by suicide via cop. When officers arrived, they were unsuccessful in attempts to de-escalate the situation.
Officers Samantha Gwin and Amanda Gill discharged their weapons, striking Schneider multiple times in the leg. The officers provided aid to Schneider, and he was taken to the hospital with what police say were non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say Gwin and Gill are currently on administrative leave until the investigation is complete, as is the protocol for officers involved in a shooting.
The investigation is ongoing.
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https://www.ktalnews.com/news/crime/spd-2-shreveport-cops-placed-on-leave-after-officer-involved-shooting-near-byrd-h-s/
| 2022-09-23T18:20:38Z
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NACO, Ariz. (NewsNation) — Amid the rise of fentanyl being trafficked across the U.S.-Mexico border and into communities across America, two congressmen have introduced a bill to make the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death a felony murder offense.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Rep. Tony Gonzales introduced the Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act, Rubio was joined by 13 Republican co-sponsors on the Senate side.
“Sign for America to come together and keep our kids safe, and part of that is making sure fentanyl isn’t on our streets,” Gonzales told NewsNation. “The other part of that is to make sure that anyone that does put fentanyl on our streets has the book thrown at them, that they’re held to the highest levels of legal cause for that.”
The Nogales, Arizona port of entry has seized a large majority of the fentanyl coming across the southern border — 5.1 million pills and more than 42.2 pounds of fentanyl powder have been seized since Aug. 1.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a warning for “rainbow” fentanyl,” pills that look like candy but have a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. The agency also claims the drug is present in 18 states — meaning hundreds of thousands of pills are getting past CBP officers, Border Patrol agents, and other law enforcement agencies.
“Fentanyl is killing Americans at a record high,” Rubio said in a statement. “This deadly drug is widespread throughout our country and has left no community untouched. This bill would make drug dealers pay the price for selling deadly fentanyl.”
Fentanyl overdoses resulted in about 71,000 deaths in the United States in 2021, up from about 58,000 the year before, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The synthetic opioid is a major driver of the rising rate of drug overdose deaths in the U.S., which reached record highs in 2021.
Rubio said in his announcement that fentanyl use is the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. The Associated Press has debunked similar claims that fentanyl is the leading cause of death among U.S. adults. Both heart disease and cancer kill more people, according to the CDC.
Several Republican lawmakers have reiterated the claim in recent months, as they have proposed legislation to address the drug’s impact, such as Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) while pitching legislation in June to classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.
On Wednesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order that designated cartels as terrorist organizations. He directed Texas DPS to dismantle any gang activity and any cartel-related activity.
This comes as Abbott says that Texas DPS has seized enough fentanyl to kill everybody in the entire United States. He says that has been happening since Operation Lonestar began last year.
The Hill contributed to this report.
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| 2022-09-23T18:20:44Z
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(NEXSTAR) – The Great Resignation is still on.
Workers of all ages, but especially millennials and Generation Z, are calling it quits and moving on to jobs with higher pay, more flexibility, or better growth opportunities.
WalletHub analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find which states were seeing the most people pack up their desks and move on. Coming in first place is Georgia, where nearly 5% of workers resigned from their jobs last month, according to the data.
Georgia is followed by several other Southern states, as well as a few out West, to round out the top 10.
The states with the highest resignation rates in the country are:
Most of those states with high resignation rates have unemployment lower than the national average, which is at 3.7%, suggesting folks who quit might not have a hard time finding new work quickly.
But not every state is seeing as much turnover. Coastal states seem to dominate the list of places with low resignation rates.
The states with the lowest resignation rates in the country are:
Curious how many people are quitting near you? Hover over your state in the map below for local numbers.
Gallup research last year found 48% of the American workforce was actively looking to change jobs.
For many employees, the problem wasn’t always salary, according to Jon Clifton, global managing partner at Gallup. (Though salary is a growing concern for employees amid inflation-driven high prices.) In a conversation with Axios, Clifton said Gallup data showed the real problem was employee disengagement.
The three most common reasons Gallup found employees to be disengaged at work were:
- Not seeing opportunities for development
- Not feeling connected to the company’s purpose
- Not having strong relationships at work
A lack of employee engagement has gotten a new nickname in recent weeks: “quiet quitting.” The phrase refers to when people feel so burned out at their job, they decide to do as little work as possible, but just enough to not get fired.
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| 2022-09-23T18:20:50Z
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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — Walmart is planning to hire 40,000 U.S. associates this holiday season, the company announced on its official corporate blog Wednesday.
The company said it would start by offering additional hours to current associates who want them, then it will offer the opportunity for those who want to earn extra money working temporarily.
Those opportunities will include:
- Seasonal store associates to assist customers who are shopping in-store or using Walmart’s pickup and delivery services.
- Full-time, permanent truck drivers.
- Customer care associates in its call centers.
According to the post, Walmart’s average U.S. wage is more than $17 per hour and three-quarters of its salaried managers began as hourly associates. It outlines a number of other benefits, including medical coverage, free counseling sessions, paid time off, sick leave and a 401(k) match for full-time employees.
Those who are interested can apply for open positions online.
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| 2022-09-23T18:20:56Z
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(NEXSTAR) — Soon, if you want to fly in the U.S. or visit certain federal buildings, you’ll be required to have a small feature on your driver’s license or identification card — a star. And though the federal deadline to have that star on your ID is months away, many officials recommend starting the process sooner rather than later.
That star, which can have five different appearances, signifies that your driver’s license or state-issued identification card, is a REAL ID.
Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a special commission recommended that the federal government enact certain minimum security standards for driver’s licenses and identification cards. In 2005, Congress passed the REAL ID Act to do just that.
As part of the REAL ID Act, federal agencies, like TSA, are prohibited from accepting state-issued IDs that don’t meet the federal minimum standards, according to the Department of Homeland Security. This means that if you don’t have a REAL ID by the current federal deadline of May 3, 2023, you won’t be able to fly domestically, visit certain federal facilities, or enter a nuclear power plant.
While you still have over 200 days to get a REAL ID, here are a few things you should know.
What documents do you need to get a REAL ID?
When the REAL ID Act first passed, states required different types of documents to obtain a driver’s license, with some wanting more than others.
Thankfully, all states now require, at minimum, that applicants provide the same information: proof of legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, legal residency, and two forms of your address.
Acceptable documents for these cards include a valid passport, birth certificate, consular report of birth abroad, valid permanent resident card, U.S. certificate of naturalization, unexpired employment authorization document or foreign passport with a valid U.S. visa. Federal officials recommend checking your state’s requirements before you go to the DMV as other documents may be accepted.
You’ll need to present these documents in person to get a REAL ID but, depending on your state, you may be able to start some of the process online.
A handful of states — Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont — issue REAL IDs and state-issued enhanced driver’s licenses. Washington issues only enhanced driver’s licenses. These, according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, include a chip intended to make it easier to enter the U.S. from Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean by land or sea.
State-enhanced driver’s licenses are marked with a flag rather than a star and will be accepted at airport security checkpoints when the federal REAL ID enforcement date arrives.
Can you fly without a REAL ID?
You can, until the federal deadline of May 3, 2023.
At that point, TSA says every traveler flying within the U.S. will need to present a REAL ID-compliant identification card or state-issued enhanced driver’s license.
If you don’t have a REAL ID, you can use other acceptable forms like a valid passport or U.S. military ID. TSA lists other forms of ID that can also be used to board a plane.
When do I need to apply for a REAL ID to meet the deadline?
While you still have roughly eight months before you’ll need a REAL ID to fly or visit federal facilities, officials throughout the country recommend you get it sooner rather than later.
If your license is set to expire in the next few months, however, most state-level officials say you can wait until closer to that date. Otherwise, starting the process sooner will help you avoid a rush of REAL ID applicants some officials believe they’ll see next spring.
How soon you need to apply for a REAL ID to meet the deadline depends on the state you live in.
In some states, like Missouri, Oregon, and Florida, identification cards usually arrive in your mailbox within seven to 10 days after you’ve applied. In others, including New York, California, and Indiana, it can take up to two weeks. For states like Utah and Texas, it can take up to six weeks. In Hawaii, it may take two months.
Ultimately, you’ll want to check with your local DMV to determine roughly how long it will take for your REAL ID to be available.
There is a chance you already have a REAL ID-compliant identification card. While the exact appearance varies by state, if your driver’s license has either a gold or black star in the upper right corner, you are already the proud owner of a REAL ID. Or, if you live in a state that uses an enhanced driver’s license, you meet the REAL ID requirements.
If you have additional questions about REAL IDs, you can visit TSA’s website, DHS’s website, or contact your local DMV.
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| 2022-09-23T18:21:02Z
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MACON, Ga. (AP) — When Tracie Revis climbs the Great Temple Mound, rising nine stories above the Ocmulgee River in the center of present-day Georgia, she walks in the steps of her Muscogean ancestors who were forcibly removed to Oklahoma 200 years ago.
“This is lush, gorgeous land. The rivers are gorgeous here,” Revis said recently as she gazed over the forest canopy to a distant green horizon, broken only by Macon’s skyline, just across the water. “We believe that those ancestors are still here, their songs are still here, their words are still here, their tears are still here. And so we speak to them. You know, we still honor those that have passed on.”
If approved by Congress after a three-year federal review wraps up this fall, the mounds in Macon would serve as the gateway to a new Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve, protecting 54 river-miles of floodplain where nearly 900 more sites of cultural or historic significance have been identified.
Efforts to expand an existing historical park at the mounds site are in keeping with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s “Tribal Homelands Initiative,” which supports fundraising to buy land and requires federal managers to seek out indigenous knowledge about resources.
“This kind of land acquisition represents the best of what our conservation efforts should look like: collaborative, inclusive, locally led, and in support of the priorities of our country’s tribal nations,” Haaland said at last weekend’s 30th Annual Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration.
In an era when some culture warriors see government as the enemy, years of coalition-building have eliminated any significant opposition to federal management in the reliably Republican center of a long-red state. Hunting will still be allowed, even encouraged to keep feral hogs from destroying the ecosystem. Georgia’s congressional delegation is on board, and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation has been welcomed as an essential partner.
“Our voice, our say has been all over this whole process for a while now,” said Revis, a Muscogee and Yuchi lawyer who moved to Georgia this year to join Seth Clark, mayor pro-tem of Macon, in advocating to give the National Park Service primary authority over the heart of her people’s ancestral land, which once stretched across Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Alabama.
Unifying a patchwork of state and federally managed lands could help draw a million more visitors each year, spending a collective $187 million while hiking, canoeing, hunting, fishing and learning about Native American history, and generating $30 million in taxes while sustaining 3,000 more jobs, an economic impact study found.
“It’s a game changer for this region,” Clark said. “Reimagining our economic vitality through a sense of ecotourism is something that I just think is huge for this community.”
Gliding over the surface of the Ocmulgee, kayakers can see nothing but woodlands and wildlife, interrupted very occasionally by a bridge. Few know that 14 more ceremonial mounds, unexplored and vulnerable, rise from the swamps nearby.
Plans call for leaving the wilderness as untouched as possible while also building trails and access ramps. No land would be taken through eminent domain. Instead, park service oversight would facilitate raising money to expand the boundaries and increase public hunting areas by purchasing private wetlands from willing sellers.
The tribal government in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, also bought 130 acres (52.6 hectares) of bottomland to be surrounded by the park. Principal Chief David Hill said there are no plans to develop it — they want it preserved so that their 97,000 citizens always have a place of their own in the cradle of their culture.
“Our history is here. Our ancestors are here. Our stories started here. And we are committed to ensuring that this cherished site is protected,” Hill said.
Muscogean people say that history is fraught with trauma, but also pride at how they’re thriving now after surviving the Road to Misery, their phrase for the Trail of Tears. The forced march ordered by Congress removed 80,000 Native Americans from the eastern United States. Many died of illness, starvation or abuse as the federal government broke its promises to care for them in exchange for their lands.
White settlers had made their lives unbearable through relentless campaigns of “expulsion or extermination” in the 1820s and 1830s. And as soon as the Muscogee, Seminole, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and other natives were gone from the Deep South, they were replaced by hundreds of thousands of slaves, sold down rivers by their northern owners to clear the land for cotton.
Settlers kept the place names, not knowing what they meant in Native languages.
Desecrations swiftly followed at the Ocmulgee Mounds, the spiritual, legislative and economic heart of the Creek Confederacy. Old growth trees were cleared for a slave labor camp. A massive funeral mound was blasted open for a railroad to ship cotton. Civil War battlements later carved up its fields.
About 700 acres (283 hectares) surrounding seven mounds were declared a national monument in 1936. But that did not stop archeologists from removing 2.5 million artifacts reflecting 17,000 years of continuous human habitation. Most remain unexamined in Smithsonian, park service and university archives.
For decades, the park was promoted with postcards featuring an exposed skeleton. It turned out to be the skull of one person and the bones of another, said Raelynn Butler, the tribal nation’s manager of historic and cultural preservation. “They didn’t treat us like people,” she said.
The facts about genocide and survival began to resurface in the 1970s when Revis’ aunt Addie and other tribal elders traveled back to Georgia to lead cultural discussions. “That was really where the first idea of the celebration came from — that we have got to change the narrative,” Revis said.
Twenty years of painstaking collaboration enabled the tribal nation to reunite and rebury the remains of 114 people at the mounds in 2017. And this February, an adjoining 1,000 acres (404 hectares) of sacred land were protected, purchased by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund at no cost to the taxpayers, Haaland said. Expanding this to a park and preserve could protect another 85,000 acres (34,400 hectares) downriver.
“We get questioned all the time, ‘this is such a beautiful place, why’d you all leave?’ We weren’t asked to – we were forced to,” Hill said. “And that’s what we want to prevent in the future — the things we do now, it’s for our future generations. I don’t want them to go through that. So Oklahoma is home, but this is still our original home.”
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Michael Warren is a member of the AP’s Race and Ethnicity Team.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Department of Health has begun preparations for the winter flu season.
The department announced Friday that flu vaccination clinics will open statewide on Sept. 26. Each county health unit will host a vaccine clinic after that date, typically a day-long event to vaccinate as many people as possible.
Clinic dates for counties and schools are posted on the ADH website.
The flu vaccines are free, but the department asks participants to bring their insurance cards. If a person’s insurance does not cover vaccination, or if they do not have insurance, they will be vaccinated at no cost.
“The flu should not be taken lightly,” Dr. Joel Tumlison, ADH Medical Director for Immunizations, said. “We are encouraging everyone to get a flu vaccine to protect themselves and their families because it is hard to predict in advance how severe the flu season is going to be. With COVID-19 still circulating in our communities, it is especially important to keep yourself healthy and out of the hospital.”
The ADH assures that the flu vaccine is safe and does not cause the flu, and very few medical reasons to skip the vaccine exist.
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| 2022-09-23T18:21:14Z
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Two days after Rebecca Gillespie was injured after being hit by a falling cell phone, she returned to the hospital.
Gillespie and her family had just stepped in line for their first ride at the Oklahoma State Fair on Tuesday when a cell phone came flying out of the sky, hitting her on the head.
Video of the incident along with photos from bystanders caught the incident and the aftermath.
“[The phone] gashes her head open, shatters. Glass went everywhere,” said her mom, Heidi Gillespie, motioning to her head.
Rebecca Gillespie was rushed to the hospital with a deep wound and later diagnosed with a severe concussion.
Doctors told her mother that the impact was like a small missile or flying object hitting at a high rate of speed.
“They did tell her she was really lucky because it could have killed her,” Heidi Gillespie added.
The 18-year-old was sent home late Tuesday with instructions to rest and a list of symptoms to watch for in case of a problem.
On Wednesday, she was rushed back to the hospital after her boyfriend found her unconscious.
“She [was] kind of slumped over and wasn’t responding,” her mother said. “Does she have a brain bleed or is something going on or is she having a stroke? [There are] all the scenarios going through your head of what could be wrong.”
In an interview Thursday with KFOR, her mom said doctors have now diagnosed her with a traumatic brain injury.
“She did not remember what day it was [and] she’s kind of lost [her senses] but they say that’s pretty normal,” she said, describing her daughter’s condition in the hospital.
State fair officials said they work hard to provide a safe environment and whoever dropped the phone clearly didn’t follow posted rules.
“Things happen, but we’re prepared for the contingencies [and] there’s a whole list of rules and regulations based on the mechanics of the given ride,” said state fair spokesperson Scott Munz.
“The ride operator would have seen it and told [the owner] to leave it behind,” he continued.
Munz said the fair does not have any legal standing to charge the person who may be responsible for dropping the phone.
“It’s probably in the back of [Rebecca Gillespie’s] mind that this is the worst thing that’s happened at the fair because it happened to her,” Munz added, noting that the fair has around 900,000 visitors each year.
Rebecca Gillespie’s mother said while they’re concerned about a number of issues moving forward, including accountability and who could bear responsibility for impending medical bills, at the moment, they are primarily concerned about her recovery.
“We’re kind of in a waiting game,” she said. “It’s definitely going to be hard for her for a little while.”
Munz told KFOR there was a fair investigator on the case and that the family may be contacted by the ride operator if they bear any responsibility.
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| 2022-09-23T18:21:20Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Wednesday that the U.S. Embassy in Cuba will begin processing full immigrant visas in early 2023, making it easier for Cubans to reunite with family members in the United States.
The embassy in Havana had last processed full immigrant visas in 2017. The U.S. government will also stop requiring Cubans seeking visas in family preference categories to travel to Georgetown, Guyana, for their interviews.
Additional government personnel will staff the embassy to handle the visa requests. The added personnel are part of the commitment stemming from the resumption of the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program last month. The 2007 program enables U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to apply for their family members in Cuba to come to the U.S. sooner than conventionally allowed.
Under accords with Cuba, the U.S. has committed to ensuring the legal migration of at least 20,000 Cubans annually, not including immediate relatives of U.S. citizens.
Attempted border crossings by Cubans has increased sharply over the past year, according to data issued Monday by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. U.S. officials stopped Cubans who were trying to enter the U.S. 19,057 times in August, a more than four-fold increase from August 2021.
Border crossings have been fueled partly by repeat crossers because there are no legal consequences for getting expelled under a pandemic-era rule known as Title 42. That rule denies a right to seek asylum.
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| 2022-09-23T18:21:20Z
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(The Hill) — Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer warned current justices in his first televised interview since leaving the court this summer that writing opinions “too rigidly” can “bite you in the back.”
“You start writing too rigidly and you will see, the world will come around and bite you in the back,” warned Breyer in an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace released on Friday.
“Life is complex, life changes. And we want to maintain insofar as we can — everybody does — certain key moral political values: democracy, human rights, equality, rule of law, etc. To try to do that in an ever-changing world.”
The former Clinton-appointed justice described his final term on the bench as “very frustrating” due to being in the minority on multiple groundbreaking cases, including Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Breyer addressed Dobbs on “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” saying that he did “everything I could to persuade people.”
“Was I happy about it? Not for an instant,” he said of the case’s outcome.
“But there we are and now we go on. We try to work together.”
However, the 28-year Supreme Court veteran condemned the leak of the Dobbs decision that occurred in early May, almost two months before the final decision was published.
“It was very damaging because that kind of thing just doesn’t happen. It just doesn’t happen,” he said of the leak.
The majority of the nine Supreme Court justices publicly condemned the leak and Chief Justice John Roberts launched an investigation into the incident shortly after it shocked the court.
Wallace also asked Breyer about the controversy surrounding Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, who is married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Texts sent by Ginni Thomas to former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows revealed that she was supportive of efforts to overturn the 2020 election after Trump suffered his loss to President Joe Biden.
“I’m not going to criticize Ginni Thomas, whom I like. I’m not going to criticize Clarence, whom I like,” Breyer said, neglecting to provide an opinion.
The new Supreme Court term, with Breyer replacement and Biden appointee Ketanji Brown Jackson becoming the first Black woman to serve on the court, will begin in two weeks and will take up cases dealing with highly contested issues including immigration, religious liberty, voting rights and affirmative action.
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| 2022-09-23T18:21:32Z
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HOUSTON (KIAH) – A chief constable in Texas is out of a job after he was arrested during a prostitution sting, according to authorities.
Brian Harris, who was the chief deputy for the Precinct 5 Constable’s Office in Harris County, was one of 14 people arrested by deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in an undercover sting operation at a hotel on Wednesday night.
Harris was charged with solicitation of prostitution, a felony in Texas. He was released from the Montgomery County Jail on Thursday night, wearing a towel over his head as he was getting into a car.
After news of the arrest got out on Thursday, Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heap said Harris had been relieved of duty. Harris was Heap’s second-in-command at the constable’s office.
Harris had previously worked as a Houston police homicide detective before joining the constable’s office.
Harris’ arrest and termination also come just weeks after a deputy in Georgia was arrested during a similar sting in Florida.
Jason DiPrima, 49, was busted in early September after police in Polk County said he attempted to offer an undercover officer $180 in exchange for sex, Nexstar’s WFLA reported. He also brought a pack of White Claw Hard Seltzers to the meet-up location.
DiPrima ultimately resigned days later, the station confirmed.
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| 2022-09-23T18:21:38Z
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HUNTINGTON, Vt. (WFFF) – A 25-year-old Vermont man faces multiple charges in connection to a shooting that left a hunter in critical condition.
Alex Gaudette, of Bolton, allegedly shot 35-year-old James Cameron, of Fairfax, as Cameron was walking to a tree stand on private land in Huntington on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 10. Neither man was wearing blaze orange, a color strongly encouraged for hunters in Vermont, according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
Investigators with the Vermont Warden Service say Gaudette claimed to have mistaken Cameron for a bear.
A third hunter called 911. Cameron was transported to the University of Vermont Medical Center, authorities said.
Gaudette faces charges of aggravated assault, negligent use of a gun and reckless endangerment. The aggravated assault charge carries penalties of up to 15 years of jail time and a fine of up to $10,000. Gaudette could also lose his hunting license for five years.
“These incidents are highly preventable and highlight the importance of positively identifying your target while hunting,” said Game Warden Detective Sergeant Robert Currier in a statement shared by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
Nicole Meier, an education specialist with the department’s Hunter Education Program coordinator, has previously said that blaze orange makes a person seven times more visible than those not wearing the color.
“It’s always worth screwing up your hunt and leaving the woods safely than just sitting out and possibly waiting for some kind of an accident to occur,” Meier said.
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| 2022-09-23T18:21:44Z
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ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. (KTVI) – Two 1994 unsolved cases in Missouri and Illinois have baffled investigators for decades.
Three investigative agencies in two states came together to solve a 28-year-old mystery.
In January 1994, Steven Asplund was reported missing in Illinois. He was last seen driving a Ford Mustang in Moline, Illinois. Three months later, a barge worker spotted a body in the Mississippi River near the Jefferson Barracks Bridge in St. Louis County, Missouri.
Both cases remained unsolved mysteries until this month when Moline Police Detective Mike Griffin reached out to St. Louis County Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Lindsay Trammell on a hunch after failing to receive any community leads.
“We’d exhausted all efforts with trying to identify him,” Trammell said.
After pouring through the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) database, Griffin noticed a possible match with his unsolved case and one more than 200 miles away in St. Louis County.
“Our unidentified person’s case was very well documented,” Trammell said. “He was buried at a local cemetery called Friedens, so we actually had the plot number or location in the cemetery documented in our records.”
Said Griffin: “It is possible for a body to get downstream that far. It is possible, whether they get caught up in a passing barge, a passing boat, to get towed down there. … It was well within the realm of possibility, and that’s when we began looking farther south.”
DNA testing confirmed St. Louis County’s John Doe was actually Steven Asplund from Moline, Illinois.
“The evidence suggests he went into that water under his own power. Whether he was under the influence or whether he intended to do it, those are the two unknowns,” Griffin said. “But we do know from the evidence that was uncovered in St. Louis that there’s no trauma to the body. He didn’t go in by another’s force.”
Asplund’s family released a statement saying, in part, “The news, while bittersweet, will allow us some closure. We’ll still think of Steve every day, and miss him just the same, but these answers will provide comfort to us and his friends.”
Moline Police Chief Darren Gault praised his detective’s dogged pursuit in solving not one, but two, mysteries.
“Law enforcement is here to serve the community. We have access to a lot of resources and to try to give families closure, whether it is a violent crime or missing person,” he said. “It’s so important for us to try to help them out and give them answers.”
Cold case investigators believe this case could be groundbreaking in not only broadening out a search area, but also showing how different jurisdictions can work together.
Griffin said there are more than 14,000 unidentified remains nationwide that could be connected to missing person cold cases.
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| 2022-09-23T18:21:50Z
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DAYTON, OH (KTVI) – Taco Bell will be testing a new menu item in Ohio next month: a meatless “steak” quesadilla.
The fast-food chain announced this week that the new item — the “Beyond Carne Asada Steak” quesadilla — will be available for a limited time at select Dayton-area locations beginning Oct. 13.
As the name implies, the item is made with a plant-based steak alternative developed in partnership with Beyond Meat, and comprised of ingredients including “vital wheat gluten and faba bean protein.” Taco Bell is also touting that the “category-disrupting protein” is made without GMOs or added hormones.
Both companies also claim the meatless “steak” tastes like the real thing.
“Designed to specifically complement the bold, savory flavors that Taco Bell is known for, Beyond Carne Asada Steak delivers the flavorful, delicious taste and texture of marinated, grilled steak with the added benefits of plant-based meat,” said Dariush Ajami, Beyond Meat’s Chief Innovation Officer, in a statement included in Taco Bell’s press release.
The meatless Beyond Carne Asada Steak will be priced the same as a traditional steak quesadilla. Customers at participating Dayton locations can also choose to swap out real steak for Beyond Carne Asada Steak in other Taco Bell items (burritos, breakfast quesadillas, etc.) at no additional charge.
The vegetarian-friendly protein option is expected to be available at select Dayton-area locations while supplies last. Taco Bell did not say when, or if, the item will appear on menus outside of Ohio.
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| 2022-09-23T18:21:56Z
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(KTLA) — After several recent fentanyl-related overdoses, including the death of a 15-year-old girl, the Los Angeles Unified School District is providing all of its schools with a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses.
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced Thursday that naloxone, also known as Narcan, will be made available at all schools from kindergarten through 12th grade in the coming weeks, the LAUSD said in a press release. The county public health department will provide the medication for free.
“We have an urgent crisis on our hands,” Carvalho said in the release. “Research shows that the availability of naloxone along with overdose education is effective at decreasing overdoses and death — and will save lives.”
Authorities said at least seven teens, including 15-year-old Melanie Ramos, who died at Bernstein High in Hollywood, have overdosed in the past month from pills believed to contain fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine.
The most recent overdose happened Saturday morning when a 15-year-old boy at STEM Academy of Hollywood located on the Bernstein campus was found unconscious by his mother in their Hollywood home.
He is expected to survive.
Earlier that day, paramedics responded to separate calls reporting possible overdoses of two teens in the area of Lexington Park, less than a half-mile from Bernstein High and a cluster of other schools. The teens are believed to have been students at the schools.
In addition to making the antidote available, the nation’s second-largest school district will begin an educational campaign that includes parent outreach and “peer-to-peer” counseling to warn students about the dangers of fentanyl.
“We will do everything in our power to ensure that not another student in our community is a victim to the growing opioid epidemic,” Carvalho said. “Keeping students safe and healthy remains our highest priority.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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| 2022-09-23T18:22:02Z
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(KTLA) – An unruly passenger was arrested after he punched a flight attendant in the back of the head on a Los Angeles-bound flight from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on Wednesday afternoon.
Video captured by passenger Barrie Livingstone shows the attacker rush at the flight attendant and strike him from behind.
Livingstone said the agitated passenger attacked the attendant after being told he could not use the lavatory up front because he wasn’t a first-class passenger on the American Airlines flight.
“Once he started screaming at him, the flight attendant just turned around and I think he was going to go and do something,” Livingstone said. “But as he turned around and walked away, the guy jumped out of his seat, bolted down the (aisle), and punched him in the back. It was totally unprovoked.”
Four other passengers then got up and helped restrain the attacker using zip ties on both his hands and feet.
Livingstone added that the restrained attacker continued to “lash out” every 10 minutes or so,
“screaming and shouting about being the messiah and feeling misunderstood.”
Once the plane was safely on the ground, LAX police and FBI agents took the passenger into custody.
“Acts of violence against our team members are not tolerated by American Airlines,” the airline said in a statement. “The individual involved in this incident will never be allowed to travel with us in the future, and we will work closely with law enforcement in their investigation.
“We thank our crew for their quick action and professionalism to ensure the safety of their fellow team members and customers on board.”
Livingstone, too, credits the passengers and crew who intervened with preventing the incident from becoming “much worse.”
A spokesperson for the FBI said the passenger, whose name was not released, was taken into custody on suspicion of interference with a flight crew.
Los Angeles has seen several incidents involving unruly passengers over the past several years. In February, a flight from LAX to Washington was diverted to Kansas City after a passenger tried to open a door. Another flight from Washington, D.C. to LAX was diverted to Oklahoma City in December after a passenger tried to fight an attendant and a Federal Air Marshal.
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| 2022-09-23T18:22:16Z
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SHREVEPORT, La (KMSS/KTAL) – After cutting a halftime deficit from 17 to five, Captain Shreve’s comeback attempt fell short in the 2022 edition of the Backyard Brawl, with Byrd coming out on top 25-20.
The Yellow Jackets improve to 4-0 and 1-0 in district play. Captain Shreve falls to 3-1 and 0-1 in district play.
Next week Byrd will travel to Benton, Captain Shreve will face Parkway on the road.
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| 2022-09-23T18:22:22Z
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SHREVEPORT, La (KMSS/KTAL) – Huntington earned their first win in the new-look District 1-4A with an emotional 28-20 win over defending league champion Northwood. The Falcons took a 7-6 lead into the final minutes of the first half, before a text-book two minute drive capped off by a Quintavion White touchdown gave the Falcons a 14-6 lead heading into the break.
The first drive of the second half found Huntington gaining some offensive momentum. With three first downs, the Raiders found themselves inside the Northwood 15 yard line. But the Northwood defense stood tall, stopping Huntington on fourth and short and giving the Falcons the ball back.
The most critical play in the second half came late in the third quarter, when Mason Welch connected with Mar’jayvious Moss on a 48 yard touchdown strike. Instead, a holding penalty took the points off the board, and instead of holding a 20-6 lead, Northwood’s drive ended with no points and that same 14-6 score.
In the first half, Ta’derius Collins was a game wrecker. Collins lived in the backfield, notching two and a half sacks and three tackles for loss. To negate the Falcons pass rush, Huntington’s second half offense utilized more screens and quick passes. The Raiders scored the go-ahead touchdown on a screen that John Solomon took 84 yards to the house.
The Raiders improve to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in district play. Northwood falls to 2-2 and 0-1 in league play. The Falcons will travel to Bossier next week, Huntington will host Minden.
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| 2022-09-23T18:22:28Z
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SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Happy Friday! You’ll notice it’s feeling nicer this morning as a dry cold front that moved through yesterday has dropped our humidity. A slight chance of rain showers and isolated storms will return this weekend, with great weather is expected for much of next week.
Slight heat relief today: Considering we have been in the mid to upper 90s all week, today should feel a little better. The lower humidity will make for a pleasant morning, but by the afternoon it will be toasty with highs in the low 90s. Wind will be light and out of the east at 5 to 10 miles per hour.
The dry air dipping in behind yesterday’s cold front will keep our skies mostly sunny today and clear overnight. If you are headed to the football fields this evening expect temperatures to be in the 80s through late tonight, and eventually dropping into the 70s after 9 p.m.
Incoming front to bring a slight chance of rain this weekend: Saturday will begin with temperatures in the low 70s and the heat and humidity will build ahead of a cold front that will move in late in the day. Highs will reach the mid to upper 90s with the front triggering a few isolated showers and thunderstorms across Arkansas late in the day. The rain will be very spotty in nature so I expect most areas will enjoy dry weather Saturday evening.
The cold front will move south across the ArkLaTex Saturday night into Sunday morning. A few pockets of showers or storms may be ongoing at sunrise Sunday, but we should gradually dry out and see some sun mixed in with the clouds on Sunday. Sunday afternoon highs will remain hot, winding up in the mid-90s.
Pleasant weather returns all of next week: The pleasant and dry air behind the weekend cold front will be slow to move in. We should experience significant humidity relief Monday with highs in the upper 80s and low 90s.
A reinforcing shot of dry and pleasant air will follow a midweek cold front. This front will not bring any rain, but it will send in another temperature drop that will keep our highs comfortably in the mid-80s Tuesday through Thursday. Overnight lows will be much cooler as well, dipping into the 50s and 60s throughout the week.
Tropical Storm or Hurricane possible in the Gulf next week: For the past few days we have been updating you on a tropical wave that is currently moving west across the Caribbean which is now Tropical Depression #9, This storm will turn north and move into the Gulf of Mexico early next week. The forecast models are beginning to show this storm making a northeast turn and impacting Florida at some point next week. This midweek cold front that will bring pleasant weather to our lives will likely steer this storm away from the Louisiana and Texas coastlines. There remains some uncertainty given the impacts are still 5 to 6 days away, so check back for updates!
Get exclusive severe weather details on storms as they approach your area by downloading the Arklatex Weather Authority app, now available in the App Store and Google Play
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| 2022-09-23T18:22:34Z
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HOUSTON (KIAH) – A chief constable in Texas is out of a job after he was arrested during a prostitution sting, according to authorities.
Brian Harris, who was the chief deputy for the Precinct 5 Constable’s Office in Harris County, was one of 14 people arrested by deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in an undercover sting operation at a hotel on Wednesday night.
Harris was charged with solicitation of prostitution, a felony in Texas. He was released from the Montgomery County Jail on Thursday night, wearing a towel over his head as he was getting into a car.
After news of the arrest got out on Thursday, Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heap said Harris had been relieved of duty. Harris was Heap’s second-in-command at the constable’s office.
Harris had previously worked as a Houston police homicide detective before joining the constable’s office.
Harris’ arrest and termination also come just weeks after a deputy in Georgia was arrested during a similar sting in Florida.
Jason DiPrima, 49, was busted in early September after police in Polk County said he attempted to offer an undercover officer $180 in exchange for sex, Nexstar’s WFLA reported. He also brought a pack of White Claw Hard Seltzers to the meet-up location.
DiPrima ultimately resigned days later, the station confirmed.
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LONDON (AP) — Roger Federer leaned back on a couch, the picture of relaxation in a navy blue pullover, black jogger pants and white sneakers. He had just showered and changed after a practice session Wednesday at the arena that will be used for the final match of his career, grinning as he talked about getting into the flow with a racket in hand.
“It was funny, hitting on the court — nice lighting, nice everything — how your level starts going up, you know?” he said in an interview with The Associated Press, following a farewell news conference. “Whereas if you play at home, in like just a normal tennis hall, things are fast, the lights aren’t great, advertising is all around you, you can never find this kind of rhythm.”
So is it time to cancel his retirement?
“No,” he said with a laugh. “No. No. No.”
Federer is known for his elegant style of play, for his longevity, for his 20 Grand Slam titles — and for occasional tears in his most emotional post-match moments, whether after victory or defeat.
There was none of that sort of sadness Wednesday, just some chuckles at his own jokes, as Federer discussed his retirement from professional tennis at age 41 after a series of knee operations. He will close his playing days with a doubles match at the Laver Cup on Friday — perhaps alongside longtime rival Rafael Nadal.
Federer said he is at peace with the decision to walk away, which comes a few weeks after Serena Williams played what is expected to be her last match at the U.S. Open, and he wants this farewell to be a celebration.
“I really don’t want it to be a funeral,” Federer said. “I want it to be really happy and powerful and party mode.”
Wearing a blue blazer with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a white polo shirt, Federer took questions from various media outlets during the news conference ahead of the team competition founded by his management company.
“I’m nervous going in, because I haven’t played in so long,” he said. “I hope I can be somewhat competitive.”
Federer, who announced last week via social media that he would be retiring after the Laver Cup, said it took him a bit to get used to the idea of stepping away from competition.
But it was something he understood he needed to do after running into setbacks in July during his rehabilitation from what was his third surgery on his right knee in about 1 1/2 years.
“You try to go to the next level in training, and I could feel it was getting difficult. … Then, I guess, I was also getting more tired, because you have to put more effort into it to be able to sort of believe that it was going to turn around. You start getting too pessimistic. Then I also got a scan back, which wasn’t what I wanted it to be,” Federer explained.
“At some point, you sit down and go, ‘OK, we are at an intersection here, at a crossroad, and you have to take a turn. Which way is it?’ I was not willing to go into the direction of: ‘Let’s risk it all.’ I’m not ready for that. I always said that was never my goal.”
And the hardest part came when he knew he needed to stop.
“You’re sad,” Federer said, “in the very moment when you realize, ‘OK, this is the end.’”
The last procedure on his knee came shortly after a quarterfinal loss to Hubert Hurkacz at Wimbledon in July 2021, which will go into the books as the last singles match of a superlative career that began in the 1990s and included 103 tournament titles, a Davis Cup championship for Switzerland, Olympic medals and hundreds of weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings.
In his online farewell message last week, Federer referred to retirement as a “bittersweet decision.”
He was asked Wednesday at the news conference what aspect was most bitter and what was most sweet.
“The bitterness: You always want to play forever,” he said. “I love being out on court. I love playing against the guys. I love traveling. … It was all perfect. I love my career from every angle.”
And then he added: “The sweet part was that I know everybody has to do it at one point; everybody has to leave the game. It’s been a great, great journey. For that, I’m really grateful.”
He will play doubles for Team Europe against Team World on Day 1 of the event, and then give way to 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini for singles over the weekend. That plan was run by the ATP and both team captains, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, Federer said.
“I grew up watching him, rooting for him, trying to learn from him,” Berrettini said. “His charisma, his class will be missed — everything he brought to tennis on the court and off.”
Those sentiments were echoed by other Laver Cup players, such as 2021 French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas (“My biggest memory of him is watching him lift trophies at almost every Grand Slam he played when I was a kid”) or U.S. Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe (“I don’t think we’ll see another guy like Roger — the way he played, and the grace he did it with, and who he is as an individual”).
As for Federer’s doubles partner for the last hurrah? Federer would not say definitively — he said that’s up to Borg — but the not-so-hidden secret is that it is expected to be Nadal, who holds the men’s record of 22 major championships.
While other contemporaries of Federer and stars of the sport are on Team Europe, such as 21-time Slam champ Novak Djokovic and three-time major winner Andy Murray, the Federer vs. Nadal matchup will go down in history as among the greatest rivalries in tennis or any other sport.
They played each other 40 times in all (Nadal won 26), with 14 Grand Slam matchups (Nadal won 10). Nadal came out on top in their classic 2008 Wimbledon final, considered by some the greatest match in history; Federer won their last showdown, in the 2019 semifinals at the All England Club.
“It could be quite, I don’t know, a unique situation, if it were to happen,” Federer said about the doubles pairing.
As for his future?
The father of two sets of twins — girls who are 13; boys who are 8 — wouldn’t say exactly what he has planned, other than a vacation, but he did say he would remain connected to tennis in some capacity.
Recalling the way Borg stayed away from the sport for years after retiring, Federer sought to reassure his own fans by saying: “I won’t be a ghost.”
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More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-23T18:23:14Z
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by: Tammy Jones Posted: Sep 23, 2022 / 01:37 PM EDT Updated: Sep 23, 2022 / 01:37 PM EDT SHARE “The following is sponsored content from The Beacon Drive In” It is Furry Friend Friday and we are joined by Paula Church from Greenville Animal Care with Malcolm Merriweather looking for a forever home. GreenvillePets.org
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| 2022-09-23T18:23:18Z
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by: Tammy Jones Posted: Sep 23, 2022 / 01:46 PM EDT Updated: Sep 23, 2022 / 01:46 PM EDT SHARE It took a collective effort for an area team to pull off a pretty big upset last Friday in the High School Red Zone as 7 News Sports Director Pete Yanity tells us in this week’s High School Standout.
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| 2022-09-23T18:23:24Z
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BENGALURU, India (AP) — Eight-year-old Jerifa Islam only remembers the river being angry, its waters gnawing away her family’s farmland and waves lashing their home during rainy season flooding. Then one day in July of 2019, the mighty Brahmaputra River swallowed everything.
Her home in the Darrang district of India’s Assam state was washed away. But the calamity started Jerifa and her brother, Raju 12, on a path that eventually led them to schools nearly 2,000 miles (3,218 kilometers) away in Bengaluru, where people speak the Kannada language that is so different from the children’s native Bangla.
Those early days were difficult. Classes at the free state-run schools were taught in Kannada, and Raju couldn’t understand a word of the instruction.
But he persisted, reasoning that just being in class was better than the months in Assam when submerged roads kept him away from school for months. “Initially I didn’t understand what was happening, then with the teacher explaining things to me slowly, I started learning,” he said.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is part of an ongoing series exploring the lives of people around the world who have been forced to move because of rising seas, drought, searing temperatures and other things caused or exacerbated by climate change.
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The children were born in a low-lying village, flanked by the Himalayas and the river. Like many parts of northeastern India, it was no stranger to heavy rains and naturally occurring floods.
But their father, Jaidul Islam, 32, and mother Pinjira Khatun, 28, knew something had changed. The rains had become more erratic, flash floods more frequent and unpredictable. They were among the estimated 2.6 million people in the Assam state affected by floods the year they decided to move to Bengaluru, a city of over 8 million known as India’s Silicon Valley.
No one in their family had ever moved so far from home, but any lingering doubts were outweighed by dreams of a better life and a good education for their children. The couple spoke a little Hindi — India’s most widely used language — and hoped that would be enough to get by in the city, where they knew nearby villagers had found work.
The two packed what little they could salvage into a large suitcase they hoped to someday fill with new belongings. “We left home with nothing. Some clothes for the kids, a mosquito net, and two towels. That was it,” said Islam.
The suitcase is now filling up with school exercise books — and the parents, neither with any formal education, said their lives center on ensuring their kids have more opportunities. “My children will not face the same problems that I did,” the father said.
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The family fled the low-lying Darrang district, which receives heavy rainfall and natural flooding. But rising temperatures with climate change have made monsoons erratic, with the bulk of the season’s rainfall falling in days, followed by dry spells. The district is among the most vulnerable to climate change in India, according to a New-Delhi based thinktank.
Floods and droughts often occur simultaneously, said Anjal Prakash, a research director at India’s Bharti Institute of Public Policy. The natural water systems in the Himalayan region that people had relied on for millennia are now “broken,” he said.
In the past decade, Prakash said, the number of climate migrants in India has been growing. And over the next 30 years, 143 million people worldwide will likely be uprooted by rising seas, drought and unbearable heat, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported this year.
India estimates it has around 139 million migrants, but unclear is how many had to move because of climate change. By 2050, cities like Bengaluru are predicted to become the preferred destination for the nearly 40 million people in South Asia forced by climate change to leave their homes, according to a 2021 World Bank report.
“Especially if you’ve aspirations for your second generation, you have to move,” said Prakash.
In the suburban area where Jerifa and her family now live, most people are from Assam state, many forced to migrate because of climate change and dreaming of a better future: There is Shah Jahan, 19, a security guard who wants to be a YouTube influencer. There is Rasana Begum, a 47-year-old cleaner who hopes her two daughters will become nurses. Their homes, too, were washed away in floods.
Pinjira and Jaidul have both found work with a contractor who provides housekeeping staff to the offices of U.S. and Indian tech companies. Jaidul earns $240 a month, and his wife about $200 — compared to the $60 he’d made from agriculture. Raju’s new private school fees cost a third of their income, and the family saves nothing. But, for the first time in years, in their new home — a 10 feet by 12 feet (3 meters by 3.6 meters) room with a tin roof and sporadic electricity — they feel optimistic about the future.
“I like that I can work here. Back home, there was no work for women. … I am happy,” said Pinjira.
For now, Raju dreams of doing well at his new school. He has benefitted from a year-long program run by Samridhi Trust, a non-profit that helps migrant children get back to the education system by teaching them basic Kannada, English, Hindi and math. Teachers test students every two months to help them transition into state-run free schools that instruct in Kannada — or in some cases, like Raju’s, English.
“My favorite subject is math,” said the 12-year-old, adding that his favorite time of day was the bus ride to school. “I love looking out of the window and seeing the city and all the big buildings.”
His sister, who wants to be a lawyer someday, has picked up Kannada faster than he has and chats happily with new classmates at her nearby government school, switching easily between her native and adopted tongues.
Their parents work alternate shifts to ensure somebody is home in case of emergencies. “They are young and can get into trouble, or get hurt,” said Khatun. “And we don’t know anybody here.”
Their anxiety isn’t unique. Many parents worry about safety when they send their children to schools in unfamiliar neighborhoods, said Puja, who uses only one name and coordinates Samridhi Trust’s after-school program.
Children of migrants often tend to drop out, finding classes too hard. But Raju considers his school’s “discipline” refreshing after chaotic life in a poor neighborhood.
His mother misses her family and speaks with them over the phone. “Maybe I’ll go back during their holidays,” she said.
Her husband does not want to return to Assam — where floods killed nine people in their district this year — until the children are in a higher grade. “Maybe in 2024 or 2025,” he said.
Every afternoon, the father waits patiently, scanning the street for Raju’s yellow bus. When home, the boy regales him with stories about his new school. He says he now knows how to say “water” in Kannada, but that none of his new classmates know what a “real flood” looks like.
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Follow Aniruddha Ghosal in Twitter: @aniruddhg1
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Master Sgt. Timothy Cotterall, a 137th Special Operations Wing Security Forces Defender, travelled from his duty station at Will Rogers ANG Base, Okla., to teach a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training course to 30 Arizona Air National Guardsmen at the Morris Air National Guard Base, Tucson, Ariz., September 22-23. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Angela Walz)
This work, 162nd Wing hosts mental health first aid training course for Tucson Air Guardsmen [Image 3 of 3], by Maj. Angela Walz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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LOS ANGELES (AP)So much for Mookie Betts having the night off. The Los Angeles Dodgers needed his bat in the ninth inning and their All-Star came up big off the bench.
Max Muncy hit a tying infield single and Betts singled home the winning run with two outs, helping the Dodgers edge the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Thursday for their major league-leading 45th comeback victory.
”I think that may be one of my first pinch hits, so that part was pretty cool,” Betts said. ”I was hoping not to hit, but you get to a point where the situation calls and you turn your brain on and you’re ready to go.”
The Dodgers didn’t take the lead until Arizona starter Zac Gallen left after eight innings. He struck out a career-high 13.
Gallen retired the first 11 batters he faced, striking out five in a row. He struck out the side in the eighth. The right-hander allowed one run and two hits in a career-best eight innings.
”He was just in complete control, domination,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. ”He’s fun to watch. I’m glad we don’t see him again this year.”
Craig Kimbrel (6-6) got the win despite again struggling in the ninth.
”The stuff is startling to slide a little bit, the fastball velocity,” Roberts said. ”I’ve just got to continue to look at this. We’ve got to have our best guys at the back end.”
Christian Walker slammed a 435-foot shot into the left-center field pavilion – his 36th homer overall and sixth against the Dodgers this season – for a 2-1 lead against Kimbrel.
Cody Bellinger doubled off the right-field wall leading off the bottom of the ninth against Reyes Moronta (1-1).
”He was ahead of Bellinger 0-2 and then it ended up being a 3-2 pitch kind of down in the bottom of the zone, right in his honey hole,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. ”We just couldn’t make some pitches in a key situation to Bellinger. It’s tough to navigate through that, especially the guys who were coming up behind him.”
After Trea Turner grounded out to third, Freddie Freeman was intentionally walked. Will Smith loaded the bases on an infield single that diving shortstop Geraldo Perdomo kept from reaching the outfield.
”Belli did a great job getting on second base leading off, then we got a little momentum,” Smith said.
Joe Mantiply came in to face Muncy, who hit a slow roller to third that scored Bellinger for a 2-all tie.
Dodgers starter Julio Urias gave up one run and three hits in 5 1/3 innings. The left-hander struck out five and walked one.
Gallen gave up a pair of two-out hits – a triple by Smith and an RBI double by Muncy – that allowed the Dodgers to tie it 1-all in the fourth.
”He was making pitches and keeping us off balance and kind of stalled us for a little bit,” Smith said.
The D-backs led 1-0 on Stone Garrett’s sacrifice fly in the third. Sergio Alcantara singled and Daulton Varsho followed by grounding into a fielder’s choice. Second baseman Gavin Lux’s throwing error allowed Alcantara to take third, and Varsho moved up to second. Three batters later, Alcantara scored.
In the ninth, the Dodgers challenged Kimbrel hitting pinch-hitter Jake McCarthy with a pitch leading off. After a review, crew chief James Hoye announced the call stood.
McCarthy thought he’d stolen second to put the go-ahead run in scoring position, but another replay review overturned the safe call. Walker then came to the plate and put the D-backs ahead on a 2-2 pitch from Kimbrel.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Dodgers: All-Star RHP Tony Gonsolin (forearm) threw to hitters in an up-and-down bullpen using his entire pitch mix. ”The stuff looked good,” Roberts said. ”My eyes were telling me it was a really good effort.” The 16-game winner will throw another bullpen in a couple of days. … RHP Blake Treinen (shoulder) won’t throw again until Saturday and see how he responds. ”He’s frustrated. He’s not bouncing back,” Roberts said. … RHP Brusdar Graterol (elbow) was activated off the IL. … LHP David Price (wrist) threw a simulated inning to hitters. ”He looked good. He was letting it go,” Roberts said.
STREAKS BUSTED
Turner went 0 for 4, including two strikeouts, to snap his 18-game hitting streak.
Turner also had another streak end. He had reached base safely in each of his last 47 games against the D-backs, the longest current streak for any active batter against any team.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: Hadn’t announced a starter for Friday’s opener of a three-game series against San Francisco.
Dodgers: LHP Andrew Heaney (3-2, 2.66 ERA) starts against Albert Pujols and the Cardinals in the series opener Friday.
—
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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| 2022-09-23T18:25:14Z
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SYDNEY (AP) — Brittney Griner’s absence is weighing on the minds of her USA Basketball teammates, who are trying to fill the void created by her absence as they prepare for the FIBA World Cup.
The Americans are expected to win without the 6-foot-8 Griner, but replacing her spirit and impact on and off the court is a challenging task.
Griner starred for the U.S. in the past two Olympics, but she is not with the team in Australia. The 31-year-old center is 9,000 miles away in a Russian jail after being sentenced last month to nine years in prison for drug possession.
“I think we’re missing the fun-loving person that she was,” U.S. star Breanna Stewart said. “Someone who could bring a group together and was able to hold a conversation with anybody and that shows how grounded she is. The way she cared about people is something you don’t see all the time, especially in superstars. We miss her and we hope she’ll be home soon.”
U.S. players are keeping Griner in their thoughts by having no one wear her No. 15. For years, the Americans wore jersey numbers 4-15. In the World Cup, they will use 4-14 and No. 16 — which Brionna Jones will wear.
“The best way to honor her was to not give her number out,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley told The Associated Press. “I put it to our staff and they liked the idea. Our numbering system is very sacred to us and we’ve only used four to 15 in the history of our organization. Now we’re giving out 16 because we don’t want to give away Brittney’s 15 since she would have been here. It’s a small way to pay homage to her and that we’re thinking of her.”
Tooley said he sent an email to Griner through her lawyers a short while ago to let her know what USA Basketball was doing. He has known Griner since 2013 when she first came to a U.S. training camp and feels she would have been great with this young team that the Americans have.
“She enjoys every moment and makes everyone around her better,” Tooley said. “From the time she came into the program in 2013, she was just such a great presence on and off the court. … She’s just a good person.”
Griner was one of the team’s leading scorers at the Tokyo Olympics, and her 6-foot-8 presence looms large over the U.S. players even without her in Sydney.
“It’s on their minds every day. It’s heavy,” USA coach Cheryl Reeve said. “It’s really, really heavy, especially as we participate in this USA Basketball competition. She’s such a big part of many of our lives. And so it’s challenging.”
Stewart echoed Reeve’s thoughts, saying it will be difficult when the Americans play Belgium to open the tournament.
“I think what’s going be the hardest part about it is … that first game, “Stewart said. ”When we’re getting ready to go, when we’re getting our names called out for introductions, and she’s not there.”
It’s not just the Americans who are missing Griner in Australia. Kia Nurse, Griner’s teammate with the Phoenix Mercury and a member of Team Canada for the World Cup, was brought to tears when discussing Griner in a media availability this week.
“BG is the best of the best when it comes to human beings,” she said of the eight-time All-Star. “It was a lot this season to not have her on the court, To not have her spirit, her energy around … and the fact that she’s not home yet is disheartening.”
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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MILWAUKEE (AP) — The New York Mets set a major league record with 106 hit batters this season when Mark Canha was plunked twice and Luis Guillorme once in Wednesday’s 6-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
New York has been hit one more time than the 2021 Cincinnati Reds.
“It’s like a broken record at this point,” Canha said. “We just kind of roll our eyes when it happens now and move on. There’s nothing you can do except capitalize on it, make it hurt, and it’s all you can do. Yeah, sure, we’re frustrated. It’s like not a great thing to happen to your team.”
Mets manager Buck Showalter has repeatedly complained about the amount of times his players have been hit. He signaled for the ball after Guillorme was struck on the left foot by Jake Cousins’ slider in the ninth.
Asked what he planned to do with the ball, Showalter quipped, “it would be obscene to tell you” before adding: “I gave it to the hitting coaches. They can do with it what they want to.”
The Mets were banged up in other ways Wednesday, too. Mets center fielder Brandon Nimmo hurt his left quadriceps while stealing second base and left after the first inning. Left fielder Jeff McNeil banged up his right wrist against the chain-link fence in a failed attempt to catch Brosseau’s drive.
Canha was hit near the hip in the third and the ribs in the fifth. He has been hit a big league-high 24 times this year and tied Seattle’s Ty France for last year’s high with 27.
“I’m closer to the plate and I don’t move,” Canha said. “We have a lot of good hitters, dangerous hitters, and you have to pitch good hitters in, and we tend to get hit a lot.”
A record 2,112 baters were hit last year, topping the 1,984 in 2019. Batters were hit 1,875 times entering Wednesday with two weeks remaining.
“Teams are having to try and figure out ways to get us out, and I guess that’s part of the way, trying to pitching inside,” Nimmo said, “and so you’re going to get hit when that happens.”
Cincinnati pitchers have set a record with 99 hit batters this year, one more than last year’s Chicago Cubs.
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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| 2022-09-23T18:25:32Z
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A Yakama woman found stabbed to death in a wooded area on the University of Washington campus in June was buried near relatives on the Yakama Reservation on Thursday.
Burial for Mavis "Boots" Kindness Nelson, 56, of Seattle took place at Black Wolf Cemetery outside Goldendale, where her mother, former tribal general council Mavis George “Tamaslut” Kindness, and other relatives are buried.
Attendees were asked to wear red, a color adopted by advocates to raise awareness for the the centuries-long international crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Months after Nelson’s murder family members say they are still awaiting answers from authorities.
A mother of three, Nelson was discovered on the afternoon of June 20 in a greenbelt belonging to the university near the Burke-Gilman Trail. She had been reported missing earlier.
Ernestine Morning Owl of Pendleton, Ore. said she had not known her younger sister was missing.
"When I got the call from her oldest son, he said, 'Auntie, they found mom. She was missing and they found her body,'" Morning Owl said. "I didn't even know she was missing; from what I understand, for a month and a half or so.
"The last time I talked to her was the third week of April because we were getting ready for our mother's ceremony, a memorial for her," she added. “After that I did text her ... and asked if our sister (Kelly Kindness)... she is kind of in a bad way. The only communication I had for (Kindness) was through her."
Morning Owl doesn't know where their sister is, she said. "She is in the Seattle area, but I wouldn't begin to know what part of Seattle. I know she hangs out in the bad part."
Nelson is among dozens of Yakama women and men who have gone missing, have been murdered or have died mysteriously within and beyond the 1.3-million-acre Yakama Reservation in Yakima and Klickitat counties over decades. Most cases are unsolved.
That includes the shooting death in Seattle of another Yakama woman. Sandra Lee Smiscon, 45, died of gunshot wounds in 2003 when a man apparently angered by firecrackers being discharged fired a gun and walked away. She lived in and traveled between Seattle and Wapato.
No arrests have been made the murders of Smiscon or Nelson, according to relatives. Those with any information about either case should call the Seattle Police Department homicide tip line at 206-233-5000.
Morning Owl spoke of her sister Wednesday as she traveled to the funeral home in Wapato to meet with relatives and prepare for her sister's dressing and services Thursday morning. She said Nelson had a unique laugh, a hard worker and was a kind and generous person.
"She would take anybody in; she was really nice, she was really sweet," Morning Owl said of Nelson, who lived alone in a studio apartment several blocks from where she was found.
Nelson helped care for their mother when she could and gave relatives a place to stay when they were in Seattle, Morning Owl said. She also provided a place for Roxanne White, a well-known advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women, people and families, years ago when White needed it, Morning Owl said.
White “knew my sister because my sister gave her a place to stay. ... she didn't have anywhere to go," Morning Owl said. "... She was that kind of person. She cared."
When she was contacted after Nelson was found murdered, Morning Owl was on vacation with her family.
"I had to pull myself together. When I got home, my husband helped me get on the horn with the detectives, the coroner," She said she had not received any updates since from authorities.
"Her older son said they found her car in the Auburn area," Morning Owl added. "I don't know what they did with the car. I know they towed it in. (But) I haven't been told a single thing, anything."
She is disappointed authorities still haven't contacted her, she said.
"I am getting hearsay from other people, but why can't I get it from the detective? I know they (have) an investigation to do; things can't be put out there," Morning Owl said. "At least tell me something. ... Let the family know, even though it's an unhappy situation."
Those who follow Yakama tradition say when a loved one has died their full name shouldn’t be spoken, displayed or have their photographs shared for at least a year after death, or until a memorial takes place. Morning Owl doesn't mind speaking of her sister and sharing photos "because I want this to be known, all the missing people," she said.
"Maybe it's an open door to have this recognized a lot more with all the missing women (and) not only the women but the children and men also. It's really gone unresolved," she said.
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| 2022-09-23T18:25:47Z
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The plan for the Toppenish Mural Society is clear: Restore the murals and revive the annual Mural-In-A-Day event, which involves several artists gathering to paint a mural in a single day.
For decades the Lower Valley city of Toppenish thrived on its downtown western theme and the many murals telling of the area’s early settlement and culture. Tourists abound, and at one time could view the murals from a horse-drawn wagon.
Over time, energy behind the mural society waned, the murals became warn by the weather and the annual Mural-In-A-Day ended.
Now new life is being breathed back into the mural society with a plan to restore and seal all the murals in town and to revive the annual Mural-In-A-Day event.
On Thursday, that plan received a $50,000 boost from T-Mobile as part of its effort to support local projects in rural areas.
More than 45 well-wishers gathered at the Old Timers Plaza in downtown Toppenish on Thursday to witness T-Mobile pass the check to the Mural Society and hear about the restoration project’s progress.
The gathering lured Toppenish Mayor Elpidia Saavedra and state Reps. Bruce Chandler, R—Granger, and Chris Corry, R—Yakima.
“This is a substantial donation to be working with,” said Mural Society Treasurer Teri Martin.
So far, four murals have been restored or touched up, with a fifth mural on tap for restoration work, Martin said.
The cost of just touching up those murals is $20,000. That doesn’t include the protective sealant that will be applied to preserve them, she said.
Just blocks away from the downtown gathering is where Don Brown and his wife, Janice, were painting a second mural on Blue Sky Market at 116 Chehalis Ave.
The mural is a depiction of the store in 1943 with an emphasis on its meat counter, which was added about that time.
This will be the 80th mural painted in the city dubbed “Where the West Still Lives.”
On Thursday, Janice worked from a mobile scaffold, brushing in meat prices while Don worked from the ground, painting shelved items.
Don said he’s happy to see the renewed interest in the murals and efforts to bring back the Mural-In-A-Day event, which he’s participated in over the years.
“I probably helped out on at least 15 of these and I think I’ve done about five murals myself in town,” he said.
But most of all, he’s glad the restoration project is underway.
“It’s awesome – murals don’t hold up forever,” he said. “You can get about eight years out of one, maybe 10, then you’ve got to start touching them up.”
Don said many accomplished artists worked on the murals throughout the years.
“It would be nice to keep their work preserved so people could see it,” he said.
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| 2022-09-23T18:25:53Z
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Reach Phil Ferolito at pferolito@yakimaherald.com.
Yakamas commemorate mountain's return
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| 2022-09-23T18:25:59Z
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals fired longtime executive Dayton Moore on Wednesday, ending the roller-coaster tenure of an influential general manager and president who took the club from perennial 100-game loser to two World Series and the 2015 championship before its quick return to mediocrity.
Royals owner John Sherman, who retained Moore after acquiring the club from David Glass in 2019, announced the move during a news conference at which Moore spoke briefly before quietly slipping out of the room.
“I think the objective is clear: It’s to compete again for championships, and we have to make sure we’re progressing toward that goal,” said Sherman, whose club was 30 games below .500 heading into its game against Minnesota.
“In 2022 we regressed,” Sherman said, “and that happens. It happens to great teams. But as I started talking to Dayton and others, I felt like we needed more change than was talked about, and that was a big reason to make this one.”
Sherman tried a mild shakeup to the front office last offseason, elevating Moore from general manager to president of baseball operations while giving J.J. Picollo the GM title. But the awkward splitting of jobs never worked out, and Sherman decided to move forward with Picollo handling all aspects of baseball operations.
Picollo was the first person Moore hired when he took over the Royals in 2006.
“I’ve known J.J. since he was 21 years old,” Moore said during his brief remarks. “He’s an incredible leader, and as I’ve mentioned before, he’s more than prepared to lead the baseball operations department in a very innovative and productive way. I’m proud that he’s continued to get this opportunity.”
Sherman said he expects other changes to be discussed down the stretch and into the offseason, including whether to keep manager Mike Matheny and his coaching staff. But it will be up to Picollo to make those decisions.
“J.J. has been great to work with,” Matheny said. “Had him on the road, had a lot of meetings here recently as the season has been winding down. He has a great perspective on the system and what needs to be done.”
Moore was hired in 2006 and tasked with rebuilding an organization that had not reached the playoffs in more than two decades. He quickly followed the blueprint that he learned from longtime Braves executive John Schuerholz, investing in Latin America and the minor league system before spending on proven major league talent.
It took most of another decade for the plan to work, but the Royals began to see progress with a winning record in 2013, when a wave of young players began to reach the majors. And the breakthrough came the following year, when a team built around Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas won the first of two consecutive AL pennants.
The Royals lost their first trip to the World Series to the San Francisco Giants in a dramatic seven-game series, but they finished the job the following year, beating the New York Mets in five for their first championship since 1985.
“He’s a great guy, a great person,” said Royals catcher Salvador Perez, one of the stars of those championship years. “It’s hard, you know? I never thought that he was going to leave this organization.”
For most of the people in the organization, Moore is the only boss they’ve ever known.
“Everybody looks at us like baseball players,” Royals second baseman Nicky Lopez said, “but there’s a life out of baseball and he cared about it. He cares about us as people, which is something very special.”
The end of Moore’s tenure may have seemed abrupt Wednesday, but it was years in the making.
He knew it would be impossible for the small-market organization to keep Hosmer and other stars as they hit free agency after their championship years, so after a middling 2016, the club began a nearly top-to-bottom rebuild.
It was slowed by poor drafts, lousy player development and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on baseball, and the Royals had consecutive 100-loss seasons. And when the club finally made strides last season, and some of its young talent graduated to the big leagues, it failed to capitalize on it. The Royals started slowly this season and never recovered.
“There is a gap right now between where we are and where we expected,” said Sherman, who owned a piece of the first-place Guardians before acquiring the Royals. “I felt like in 2021 we did make progress, and in 2022, that’s not how I feel.”
The organization Picollo is tasked with taking to the next level is better off than what Moore inherited 16 years ago: Infielder Bobby Witt Jr. is among the leading contenders for AL Rookie of the Year, and rookies such as Vinnie Pasquantino and MJ Melendez give Kansas City a young core reminiscent of the group Hosmer and Moustakas one led.
Yet there are plenty of organization problems that Picollo must address.
The Royals for years have struggled to develop pitching — their staff currently has the fourth-worst ERA in baseball and the worst WHIP by a wide margin, which led to the firing of pitching coordinator Jason Simontacchi earlier this season.
They have struggled to identify impact talent in the draft, consistently whiffing on first-round picks. That includes four chosen over a two-year span during their World Series years that failed to make a meaningful big league impact.
And they have struggled to keep up with the changing times, preferring old-school, anecdotal scouting methods to new-school analytics and data-driven decision-making that has leveled the playing field with big-market ballclubs.
“Dayton always talks about what a championship team looks like. That’s a great conversation,” Sherman said, “but I’d like to know what a wild-card team looks like first. Because Kansas City fans know, if you can get a wild-card slot and get into the dance, anything can happen.”
___
More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-23T18:26:00Z
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranians experienced a near-total internet blackout on Wednesday amid days of mass protests against the government over the death of a woman held by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating its strictly-enforced dress code.
An Iranian official had earlier hinted that such measures might be taken out of security concerns. The loss of connectivity will make it more difficult for people to organize protests and share information about the government’s rolling crackdown on dissent.
Iran has seen nationwide protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained for allegedly wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf too loosely. Demonstrators have clashed with police and called for the downfall of the Islamic Republic itself, even as Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday.
The protests continued for a fifth day on Wednesday, including in the capital, Tehran. Police there fired tear gas at protesters who chanted “death to the dictator,” and “I will kill the one who killed my sister,” according to the semiofficial Fars news agency.
London-based rights group Amnesty International said security forces have used batons, birdshot, tear gas, and water cannons to disperse protesters. It reported eight deaths linked to the unrest, including four people killed by security forces. It said hundreds more have been wounded.
Iranian officials have reported three deaths, blaming them on unnamed armed groups.
Witnesses in Iran, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said late Wednesday they could no longer access the internet using mobile devices.
“We’re seeing internet service, including mobile data, being blocked in Iran in the past couple of hours,” Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, Inc., a network intelligence company, said late Wednesday.
“This is likely an action by the government given the current situation in the country,” he said. “I can confirm a near total collapse of internet connectivity for mobile providers in Iran.”
NetBlocks, a London-based group that monitors internet access, had earlier reported widespread disruptions to both Instagram and WhatsApp.
Facebook parent company Meta, which owns both platforms, said it was aware that Iranians were being denied access to internet services. “We hope their right to be online will be reinstated quickly,” it said in a statement.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran’s Telecommunications Minister Isa Zarepour was quoted by state media as saying that certain restrictions might be imposed “due to security issues,” without elaborating.
Iran already blocks Facebook, Telegram, Twitter and YouTube, even though top Iranian officials use public accounts on such platforms. Many Iranians get around the bans using virtual private networks, known as VPNs, and proxies.
In a separate development, several official websites, including those for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the presidency and the Central Bank, were taken down at least briefly as hackers claimed to have launched a cyberattack on state agencies.
Hackers linked to the shadowy Anonymous movement said they targeted other Iranian state agencies, including state TV.
Central Bank spokesman Mostafa Qamarivafa denied that the bank itself was hacked, saying only that the website was “inaccessible” because of an attack on a server that hosts it, in remarks carried by the official IRNA news agency. The website was later restored.
Iran has been the target of several cyberattacks in recent years, many by hackers expressing criticism of its theocracy. Last year, a cyberattack crippled gas stations across the country, creating long lines of angry motorists unable to get subsidized fuel for days. Messages accompanying the attack appeared to refer to the supreme leader.
Amini’s death has sparked protests across the country. The police say she died of a heart attack and was not mistreated, but her family has cast doubt on that account, saying she had no previous heart issues and that they were prevented from seeing her body.
In a phone interview with BBC Persian on Wednesday her father, Amjad Amini, accused authorities of lying about her death. Each time he was asked how he thinks she died, the line was mysteriously cut.
The U.N. human rights office says the morality police have stepped up operations in recent months and resorted to more violent methods, including slapping women, beating them with batons and shoving them into police vehicles.
President Joe Biden, who also spoke at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, voiced support for the protesters, saying “we stand with the brave citizens and the brave women of Iran, who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights.”
The U.K. also released a statement Wednesday calling for an investigation into Amini’s death and for Iran to “respect the right to peaceful assembly.”
Raisi has called for an investigation into Amini’s death. Iranian officials have blamed the protests on unnamed foreign countries that they say are trying to foment unrest.
Iran has grappled with waves of protests in recent years, mainly over a long-running economic crisis exacerbated by Western sanctions linked to its nuclear program.
The Biden administration and European allies have been working to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, in which Iran curbed its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, but the talks have been deadlocked for months.
In his speech at the U.N., Raisi said Iran is committed to reviving the nuclear agreement but questioned whether it could trust America’s commitment to any accord.
Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. It began ramping up its nuclear activities after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 agreement, and experts say it now likely has enough highly-enriched uranium to make a bomb if it chooses to do so.
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https://www.wwlp.com/technology/ap-technology/ap-iran-targeted-by-apparent-cyberattack-amid-protests/
| 2022-09-23T18:26:36Z
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On Sunday night, the 49ers are headed to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Broncos in primetime. DraftKings Sportsbook currently has the 49ers as 1.5 point favorites as they prepare to face a familiar foe with longtime Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson now leading the charge in Broncos Country.
In this preview, I will give an in-depth look at both squads and finish with a final score prediction. I will lead off with what I believe the X-Factor is in this matchup, which is the disparity in experience of the coaching staff in their current roles between these two teams.
Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett was hired this past offseason after serving as the offensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers from 2019-2021. Hackett had never been a head coach before taking the job in Denver and hadn't handled play-calling duties since the 2018 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hackett's offense having considerable success moving the ball in his first two games in Denver, has been overshadowed by a couple of head-scratching decisions about game management, a fundamental part of being the head ball coach.
Most notably was the fiasco at the end of the Broncos' week one meeting with the Seahawks, when Hackett burned 40 seconds of the game clock before opting to take a timeout and attempt what would have been the longest field goal in NFL history had it been converted.
Hackett did this on 4th & 5 with the context of:
A. Denver has a quarterback who just got $145 million in guaranteed money mainly because of his ability to make plays in the clutch and deliver in situations just like these.
B. Attempting a 64-yard field goal when there has never been a field goal converted beyond 56 yards at Lumen Field.
The decision itself was questionable, but burning all that time off the clock before taking the timeout was even more puzzling. The offense on the field looked puzzled, and even if there was no intention of running a play, it didn't appear that there was any plan to attempt to draw the defense offside either.
In Week 2, Hackett ended up burning all of his second-half timeouts with 7:38 remaining in the fourth quarter despite it being only a four-point game then. Whether or not these clock management issues are just part of some early growing pains or if this is an issue that will persist for Hackett as he finds his footing as a first-time head coach.
Even the most seasoned NFL head coaches are prone to making mistakes. However, Kyle Shanahan is in his sixth season as a head coach and has 89 games worth of experience to rely on compared to just two for Hackett. The disparity in first-hand experience in that role could end up playing a huge role in how this game unfolds come Sunday.
But it's not just Hackett who is dealing with all the challenges that come with occupying a prominent role on an NFL coaching staff for the first time. Both the offensive and defensive coordinators for Denver are in these roles for the first time in their careers this season, meaning that they only have the two games played so far this season under their belts in terms of experience in their current positions.
That means that Shanahan, widely revered as one of the brightest offensive minds in the league, will be facing off with a defensive coordinator in Ejiro Evero, who will be calling just his third game ever as a defensive coordinator at this level. That kind of edge is invaluable as Shanahan finds his groove with Jimmy Garoppolo under center once again.
While Evero is new to this role, his defense has gotten off to a solid to begin his tenure in Denver. Here is how the Broncos rank on the defensive side of the ball this season.
Passing defense - 5th
Rushing defense - 5th
Total defense - 3rd
Points allowed - 3rd (tied with SF)
The Broncos' defense has a couple of familiar faces on it, with former 49ers DJ Jones and K'Waun Williams both in starting roles. Jones and Williams are particularly effective in run defense, and their familiarity with this 49ers offense and Shanahan's scheme should make for a very interesting matchup.
San Francisco has run the ball more times than any other team in the NFL thus far, and this game could very well come down to who is able to win the war of attrition between the 49ers' top five rushing attack and the Broncos' top five rushing defense.
On the flip side, the 49ers' defense will have their hands full with a quarterback who has a 16-4 record against San Francisco in his career. While Hackett has had some issues with decision-making at critical junctures, his offense has still managed to be extremely effective, moving the football in between the '20s averaging 6.1 yards per play. Here is where the Bronco's offense currently ranks:
Passing offense - 8
Rushing offense - 9
Total offense - 7
The problem is that when they get into the red zone, the entire operation falls apart without explanation. The Broncos have been in the red zone six times this season and haven't scored a touchdown on any of those six drives. Their 0-6 mark in the red zone is tied with Seattle for dead last in the entire NFL.
Wilson is a quarterback who has made his mark in the NFL by making something out of nothing, but this season that magic, when the pocket breaks down simply, has not been there.
In the first two games of the season, Wilson is 6/20 for 30 yards on snaps where he is being pressured. For those counting at home, that is a 30% completion percentage and an average of 1.5 yards per attempt.
Now consider the fact that the 49ers defense is currently off to a torrid start getting after opposing quarterbacks, registering a 47% pressure rate through two games. It is a recipe for disaster for a Broncos offense that is surrendering pressure at a more modest 32% rate.
Yesterday I wrote about the 49ers number one ranked defense, and as good as they have been, they do not have to be perfect to pull out a win against Denver. As long as they are able to make life difficult for Wilson and shrink the field inside their own 20-yard line, they have a great shot of returning west of the Rockies with a win.
Final Score Prediction
49ers 27 - Broncos 23
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| 2022-09-23T18:27:39Z
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A Prince William County judge admonished former Registrar Michele White for not yet hiring an attorney to face felony charges of corruption.
White appeared in Prince William County Circuit Court Friday for a hearing on the status of her legal counsel.
White was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month on three charges: corrupt conduct as an election official and willful neglect of duty as an election official between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020 and making a false statement by an election official between Nov. 3 and Nov. 10, 2020.
White is free on a personal recognizance bond, meaning she was released from custody with a promise to appear at all court proceedings.
No details have been released about the allegations. The grand jury indictments only listed the crimes with which White is charged and do not provide additional information on the case.
White, Senior Assistant Attorney General Josh Lief and Assistant Attorney General James Herring declined comment on the case after the hearing.
Judge Carroll Weimer Jr. asked White if she had hired an attorney yet, and White said she needed more time. She requested a December or January timeframe.
Weimer replied, “We’re not going to do that.”
“I need to set this case,” he said. “Another couple weeks maybe, but I’m not waiting months.”
Weimer initially said White would have two weeks to hire an attorney, but scheduling put her next court date at 9 a.m. Oct. 21.
Weimer provided White a form to sign indicating she has a right to a public defender if she cannot afford an attorney. He said if she continues to appear without a lawyer, it could be considered a waiver of her right to counsel.
“We’ll work with you a little bit, but this case needs to get on the docket and set for trial,” he said.
The county Registrar’s Office has said White’s conduct did not impact the outcome of any election, but has not commented on any specific allegations.
White held the post from February 2015 until her resignation in April 2021. Current Registrar Eric Olsen assumed the role Nov. 8.
White faces between three and 21 years cumulatively on the charges plus up to a $7,500 fine.
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https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/ex-registrar-appears-in-prince-william-county-court-on-corruption-charges/article_f6228362-3b68-11ed-ba67-bfac50f3450c.html
| 2022-09-23T18:27:45Z
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Ashburn is finally on the map.
So is Herndon - and Dulles International Airport.
Metro’s iconic map has officially been updated to add the six new Silver Line stations. Beginning Friday, the new maps are being rolled out in stations, trains and transit centers. In addition to Ashburn, Herndon and the airport, the other new stations are Reston Town Center, Innovation Center and Loudoun Gateway. Also on the new map, Potomac Yard Station in Alexandria is shown as a future station.
Metro has more than 5,000 maps in stations and trains alone, according to a news release, and it will take more than a month to replace every map in the system. Digital maps and Metro’s website will be updated when the Silver Line extension opens.
New station names, approved by Metro’s board are also on the new map: Downtown Largo (formerly Largo Town Center), Hyattsville Crossing (formerly Prince George’s Plaza), North Bethesda (formerly White Flint), West Falls Church-VT (removing UVA from the secondary name) and Tysons (formerly Tysons Corner).
The map’s original design was created more than 40 years ago by graphic designer Lance Wyman and was revised by Wyman for the opening of the first phase of the Silver Line and for the completion of the extension. New maps of various sizes, fare tables and customer brochures are all being updated and printed.
Metro is in the final stages of preparation for the opening of the Silver Line extension, which will link the rail system to Washington Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County for the first time.
Simulated service will begin in early October. This week Metro’s board gave General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke the authority to accept the project upon completion of certain conditions that must be met by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and safety certification that includes concurrence from the Federal Transit Administration and the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission. Metro management, working with local bus operators that will provide local connections and other partners, will then set a date to begin service.
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https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/metro-revises-system-map-to-reflect-silver-line-extension/article_a7ae2648-3b61-11ed-965a-176d19c2f9b9.html
| 2022-09-23T18:27:51Z
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The San Francisco 49ers defense pitched a shutout against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, holding the Seahawks’ offense to just eight plays in 49ers territory. Now comes a Denver Broncos offense that features the 49ers boogeyman in former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson and company will be the 49ers defenses' biggest test so far in 2022.
Here are the five players to watch as the defense looks for a repeat Week 2 performance:
DT Javon Kinlaw
With a backfield that features Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon, there will be stress on the interior of the 49ers' defensive line. Kinlaw has impressed early in the season against both the run and the pass with his three pressures through two games. Denver's two-headed backfield has combined for 223 yards on 44 carries, an average of 5.06 yards per. Williams has especially been good up the middle, with 60 of his 118 rushing yards on runs between the guards.
LB Dre Greenlaw
Greenlaw played like a man who just got paid last week against the Seahawks. The veteran linebacker led the 49ers' defense with eight tackles, with one being for a loss. It was a vast improvement over what we saw from Greenlaw in Week 1, where he was called for two bad 15-yard penalties. Greenlaw will play an important role in the second level of the 49ers' defense in trying to stop not only the Denver running backs but also containing Russell Wilson.
CB Mooney Ward
Ward intercepted his first pass as a 49er against Seattle while allowing just six yards after the catch on five receptions allowed. Ward was targeted most against Tyler Lockett but didn't allow the Seahawks receiver much room to operate after his four receptions. Ward and the secondary will face their toughest test of the season so far against Wilson and Courtland Sutton, who was targeted 11 times for seven receptions and 122 yards against Houston last week. The 49ers might catch a break with Jerry Jeudy not at practice both Wednesday and Thursday with a rib injury.
DL Charles Omenihu
Only Nick Bosa was better than Charles Omenihu at rushing the passer against Seattle last week. Ohemihu was credited with three pressures, two quarterback hits, and a hurry on 28 snaps in the win. Russell Wilson always proves to be a tough test for the 49ers' pass rush, even with the subpar offensive lines he dealt with in Seattle. Likewise, the 49ers' defensive line is in for a tough test against a Broncos line that features veterans Cameron Fleming and Garett Bolles at the tackles.
DT Kevin Givens
With DJ Jones signing with the Broncos this past off-season, Givens was tasked with stepping in for Jones as the third defensive tackle, and he's done well early in the season. Three of his four tackles on Sunday against Settle were for loss on just six run defense snaps. Just like with Kinlaw, Givens' roles in run situations could be huge when it comes to trying to stop Williams and Gordon.
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https://www.ninersnation.com/2022/9/23/23368109/49ers-denver-defense-players-javon-kinlaw
| 2022-09-23T18:27:53Z
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49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined KNBR Friday morning as he does before every game. It sounds like George Kittle will make his season debut; as Shanahan said, “I’d be surprised if he doesn’t play.”
Denver has struggled to stop tight ends this year as they’ve allowed the third-most yardage per game and ranked 22nd in DVOA. It doesn’t help that they’re down star safety Justin Simmons. They haven’t sniffed a tight end close to the caliber of Kittle. Sunday night should be Kittle's coming-out party, especially if Deebo Samuel has a bigger role in the backfield without Ty Davis-Price and Elijah Mitchell.
On a Thursday appeared on KNBR, general manager John Lynch echoed Shanahan’s words and added why Kittle’s presence alone would impact the team:
“George, he’s had two good practices, so that’s a great thing. He kind of lifts us. He lifts everybody around here because he’s a character. But it’s real; it’s genuine. And he just lifts everybody’s spirits with the way he plays. You can tell he loves it out here, and you need guys like that, that lfit you, bring up the energy. I think that’s been true this week.”
San Francisco lost its starting quarterback, running back, and rookie third-round running back to a high-ankle sprain. So Kittle’s addition to the lineup, from an energy and talent perspective, couldn’t come at a more perfect time.
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https://www.ninersnation.com/2022/9/23/23368653/49ers-kyle-shanahan-injury-kittle
| 2022-09-23T18:27:59Z
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It’s not just the office that values the vehicles (Arlington commissioner of revenue) or the office that sends out the tax notices (Arlington treasurer) that have been feeling the heat from the public over higher car-tax bills.
County Board members have been getting their share of comments, too. “We have definitely heard some concerns,” County Board Chairman Katie Cristol acknowledged, as elected officials and their staff have been fielding complaints about sometimes significant increases in personal property taxes on vehicles, which come due Oct. 5.
That big bump up in vehicle values traces its roots to the pandemic and supply-chain issues that followed. New-car prices spiked as a result of inventory problems, and used-car prices tagged along.
Anticipating that a major spike in values was on the horizon – “that has come to fruition,” Cristol said ruefully on Sept. 20 – County Board members during their springtime budget deliberations decided to tax vehicles at 88 percent of assessed value, down from full valuation most years. County Board members also eliminated the $33-per-vehicle administrative charge, which disproportionately hit taxpayers with older, less pricey vehicles.
But for owners of pricier chariots, which receive less benefit from a state rebate on the car tax, increases have in some cases been substantial. And during a presentation by Treasurer Carla de la Pava, Cristol thanked the treasurer’s office for explaining the situation to taxpayers who make contact about the matter.
“You’ve been terrific partners, helping to explain the decisions,” Cristol said.
Arlington’s tax coffers are expected to receive about $132 million in car-tax payments this year. Those who feel their assessment was too high can file an appeal with the commissioner of revenue.
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.]
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https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/arlington-board-members-getting-some-grief-over-car-tax-bills/article_918c5028-3b67-11ed-babd-4b16e97dfa4c.html
| 2022-09-23T18:28:04Z
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Arlington Economic Development has earned a Gold Award for its “ReLaunch” program from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the largest association for professional economic developers in the world.
ReLaunch was honored in the category of Resiliency, Recovery and Mitigation during the organization’s 2022 annual conference, held Sept. 18-21.
ReLaunch is a small-business-assistance program that gives owners access to business consulting or marketing services and helps them develop technology solutions to adapt to changing business landscapes due to the pandemic.
Since launching in 2021, ReLaunch has assisted more than 150 small businesses in Arlington negatively impacted by the long-term economic effects of the pandemic and resulting government-mandated economic shutdowns. “We are honored and humbled to have received this recognition,” said Tara Palacios, the director of BizLaunch, which serves as the county government’s small-business-assistance program. “ReLaunch helps give business owners the knowledge and resources they need to succeed in today’s environment. We’re thrilled to continue serving Arlington’s businesses with this great program.”
For information on the initiative, see the Website at www.arlingtoneconomicdevelopment.com.
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.]
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https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/arlington-honored-for-covid-response-economic-development-efforts/article_69ff67e8-3b67-11ed-968c-0f9b2eab62ad.html
| 2022-09-23T18:28:10Z
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The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is seeing a slightly lower percentage of vehicles in its parking garages compared to passengers in its terminals than it had during pre-pandemic times.
The current vehicle-per-enplanement ratio is running 23 percent at Washington Dulles International Airport, down from 26 percent pre-pandemic. At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, it is running at 8 percent, down from 9 percent pre-pandemic.
The reasons for the decline are multiple, said Chryssa Westerlund, the airports authority’s executive vice president and chief revenue officer. An increase in other options – including ride-share vehicles – is lessening the need for some to park at the airports, while the larger percentage of leisure travelers vs. business travelers often means more than one person is using and parking a single vehicle during their time away.
Reagan National is seeing strong parking revenue, Westerlund told airports authority board members during the organization’s monthly meeting Sept. 21, with a blockbuster Labor Day weekend. She encouraged those planning to park during peak times to use the authority’s reservations system to ensure there is a parking space available when they need it.
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.]
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https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/more-passengers-but-not-as-many-cars-at-local-airports/article_a90d65de-3b67-11ed-9a5b-bb117643c7ca.html
| 2022-09-23T18:28:16Z
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While Virginia this year is moving into the world of same-day voter registration (up to and including Election Day), Arlington election officials say it might be better for all concerned if those who want to cast ballots get the registration process completed sooner rather than later.
“Our preference is that individuals register by that Oct. 17 deadline – that’s the safest way,” county Registrar Gretchen Reinemeyer said at the Sept. 15 Electoral Board meeting, which focused on procedural efforts to make the Nov. 8 election run smoothly.
Wait, wait . . . if there’s now “same-day registration” in Virginia, what’s that Oct. 17 deadline all about? Like so much of life, it’s complicated.
New voters who complete their registration before that date will be registered in advance of the election (assuming all other requirements are met). But then the pollbooks close until after the election takes place.
Those who register between Oct. 18 and Nov. 8 will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, and then right after the election, the pollbooks will be reopened, those applicants retroactively will be registered to vote and (once again assuming all other requirements are met) the Electoral Board will accept their provisional ballots as valid and they will count in the final tally, which is due to be certified no later than Nov. 15.
Prospective voters can register at the election office or at early-voting sites prior to the election. Those who wish to register and cast ballots on Nov. 8 will have to do so at their designated voting precincts.
Complicated? Never fear; help is on the way.
“We’re working to build some tools” to make the new process, which was handed down from the state level, less onerous,” Reinemeyer said. Those enhancements include adding a “procedural specialist” at every Arlington precinct who will be drilled on the intricacies of the law and able to help voters.
“We’re working to get this implemented successfully,” Reinemeyer said. “A lot of people seem confused.”
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.]
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https://www.insidenova.com/news/arlington/same-day-registration-for-voters-not-quite-as-simple-as-name-implies/article_d5e6d216-3b67-11ed-a3ba-f352c0783227.html
| 2022-09-23T18:28:22Z
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The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 13 honored companies, nonprofit groups and individuals for their service to veterans at the Distinguished Service Awards.
This year’s recipients in Veteran-Owned Businesses of the Year categories were:
• Emerging Business (in existence up to four years): Conforma. Other nominees in this category were Phalanx, The Critical Mass LLC, Virginia Technical Academy, Xenith Solutions and ZeroMils.
Conforma CEO Eduardo Ortiz accepted the award and accidentally knocked over some of the glass trophies on the table.
“I am a Marine,” Ortiz said as the audience began razzing him. “Thank you for the opportunity to wake you all up.”
• Maturing Business (in existence for five to 10 years): PingWind Inc. Other nominees included Commander’s Concepts Commissioning LLC, Encompass Supply, IronArch Technology and Qmulos.
• Established Business (in existence more than 10 years): Prescient Edge Corp. Other nominees included CATHEXIS, David T. Scott & Associates LLC, Government Tactical Solutions, HigherEchelon Inc. and Intelligent Waves.
There were two winners of the Veteran Employee of the Year Award: John Quackenbush of JHNA and Tyler Sweatt of SecondFront. Other nominees included Steven Slay of PingWind Inc., Stacey Tyson of B3 Solutions LLC and Ed Weinberg of Optum Serve.
The Veteran Service Organization of the Year Award went to Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund. Other nominees included Boulder Crest Foundation, National Veteran Small Business Coalition, George Washington Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA), Northern Virginia Veterans Association (NOVA Veterans) and Veterans Moving Forward Inc.
• Lifetime Achievement Award: W. Glenn Yarborough Jr., president and CEO of WGY & Associates LLC.
The event, held at Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, featured a keynote address by Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs Craig Crenshaw, who emphasized the state’s mantra that “Virginia Values Veterans.”
Ongoing efforts to aid veterans include tax relief, a digital hub to help them understand available benefits and resources, and a study to streamline veterans’ ability to start their own companies, Crenshaw said.
“Small business makes the economy turn,” he said. “What you do is important.”
Virginia is home to about 720,000 residents with military experience, 155,000 of whom currently are on active duty. From the Pentagon and Quantico to the Norfolk naval base, “the readiness of our military resides in our commonwealth,” Crenshaw said.
A retired U.S. Marine Corps major general, Crenshaw noted that a placard just across the border in North Carolina identifies that state as the “Most Friendly Place for Veterans.”
“It doesn’t take much for a Virginian to flip that sign,” he said.
[https://sungazette.news provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.]
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| 2022-09-23T18:28:28Z
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Chevrolet won’t follow sibling General Motors brands Buick and Cadillac in offering buyouts to dealerships that don’t want to sell electric vehicles, a GM executive said in a recent interview with The Verge.
In fact, the dealerships that take buyouts for their Buick and Cadillac franchises could end up selling Chevys exclusively, GM global vice president Scott Bell said in the interview.
“The minute they pull back and say, ‘You know what, I’m not ready to go all-in for those brands,’ they’re now 100% a Chevy dealer, which is a good thing for Chevrolet,” Bell said.
Because while Buick and Cadillac are slated to go all-electric by the end of the decade, and GM has said it “aspires” to eliminate tailpipes from its light-duty vehicles by 2035, the automaker hasn’t set a firm date for Chevy to stop selling internal-combustion vehicles.
Buick’s boss recently said the brand would offer buyouts to all of the brand’s roughly 2,000 franchised dealers if they didn’t want to go all-in on EVs. This follows a similar offer of buyouts from Cadillac.
Selling EVs often comes with mandates for additional investments in charging equipment. Cadillac has required a big investment from dealers, including 80-amp chargers, estimated to cost up to $200,000 per dealership.
While increased investment could be a turn-off, it’s worth noting that many GMC dealers made some investments to sell the Hummer EV. And dealers representing 95% of Chevy’s sales are already selling the Bolt EV, Bell told The Verge.
In addition to dealership costs, increased EV sales also beg the question of whether automakers should switch from the franchise model to the direct-sales model demonstrated by Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid. Ford has tried to bridge the gap by retaining franchised dealers for its Model E division, but with new contracts that will require non-negotiable pricing for EVs.
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- Lightyear 0 is the most aerodynamic production car in the world, wind-tunnel testing verifies
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| 2022-09-23T18:30:04Z
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With COVID-19 transmission falling, Los Angeles County today lifted its requirement that face masks be worn on buses, trains and other mass transit vehicles, as well as at airports and other transportation hubs.
Los Angeles County had been the only jurisdiction in the state still requiring the mass-transit masks. Face coverings are now only “strongly recommended” on transit vehicles, including ride-hail vehicles, and at transit hubs.
County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said masks will remain only “strongly recommended” aboard mass transit as long as the county stays in the federal government’s “low” COVID activity level and the weekly infection rate remains below 100 new cases per 100,000 residents.
If the rate rises above 100 new infections per 100,000 residents, the masks will again be mandated on transit vehicles. The county’s rate as of Thursday was 98 cases per 100,000 residents.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority touted the lifting of the requirement Friday morning on Twitter and thanked riders for adhering to the previous rule.
“We’d like to thank our riders for wearing masks up to now and complying with our local health officials — who are doing their best to keep everyone health and COVID-free,” according to Metro.
The change to the transit masking rule coincided with Friday’s overall easing of mask rules in the state and county. The easing means that masks are no longer required in correctional facilities, homeless shelters or cooling centers.
Los Angeles County also lowered its general indoor masking guidance from “strongly recommended” to “individual preference.”
Masks, however, continue to be required in health care, long-term care and adult/senior care facilities. Individual businesses and venues can also require masks indoors if they choose to do so. People considered at higher risk of infection or severe illness should also consider wearing a mask in crowded indoor public places, officials said.
People who begin exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to the virus are also required to wear a mask for 10 days, under county guidelines. People who were positive for the virus but are eligible to leave isolation after six days following a negative test must also wear a mask if they are returning to work or school.
The county has been experiencing downward trends in COVID infections and hospitalizations for weeks.
On Thursday, the number of COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals fell to 551, down from 573 on Wednesday, according to state figures. Of those patients, 77 were being treated in intensive care units, down from 83 on Wednesday.
County officials have said about 43% of patients with COVID were actually hospitalized due to virus-related illness, while the rest were admitted for other reasons, with some only learning they were infected when they were tested upon admission.
The county Department of Public Health reported another 1,666 COVID infections on Thursday, lifting the cumulative total from throughout the pandemic to 3,444,630. The case numbers officially reported by the county are also believed to be low due to the popularity of at-home tests, the results of which are generally not relayed to the county.
Another 12 COVID-related deaths were also reported Wednesday, giving the county an overall death toll of 33,519.
The average daily rate of people testing positive for the virus was 4.7% as of Thursday.
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| 2022-09-23T18:31:04Z
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UCLA at Colorado
When: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
TV/radio: Pac-12 Networks/AM 570
Line: UCLA by 21½
Notable injury designations: UCLA: DL Martin Andrus (unspecified). Colorado: RB Alex Fontenot (chest).
What’s at stake? A loss to free-falling Colorado, on the heels of barely scraping out a win over South Alabama, would raise major alarms for UCLA. The schedule makers did the Bruins a favor by scheduling the Buffaloes as the first Pac-12 opponent to ease into conference play. After this week, UCLA has to deal with a resurgent Washington team – which just upset No. 11 Michigan State – on a short week, followed by defending Pac-12 champion Utah. Taking care of business against Colorado is imperative.
Who’s better? For the fourth consecutive game, UCLA is favored to win by double digits. The Bruins will face Pac-12 talent for the first time. But the margin of defeat for Colorado in each of its three games – 25, 31 and 42 points to TCU, Air Force and Minnesota, respectively – indicates the Buffaloes have not been competitive this season. Neither does a quick glance at the stat sheet. Colorado doesn’t know who its No. 1 quarterback is and will be without its second-leading rusher. UCLA comes in with the clear edge.
Matchup to watch: UCLA defense vs. Colorado’s quarterbacks. The Buffaloes might mix-and-match three quarterbacks throughout the game to try to find a clear No. 1, which means the Bruins’ defense will have to be alert and ready for each of them. Brendon Lewis and JT Shrout have different strengths, according to Chip Kelly, and freshman Owen McCown has played only one drive so far. That may prove an interesting wrinkle for a UCLA defense looking to rebound from patches of rough spots during the South Alabama game.
UCLA wins if … : If the Bruins take advantage of Colorado’s pattern of slow starts and put the game out of reach early. … If the Bruins can match the desperation that the Buffaloes are expected to come out with. … If one of Colorado’s three quarterbacks, most likely McCown, doesn’t suddenly find a spark that UCLA isn’t prepared for.
Prediction: UCLA 45, Colorado 10. UCLA’s nail-biting win over South Alabama does raise some concerns heading into Pac-12 play. And the Buffaloes should be impassioned after being called out publicly by their athletic director. But the Bruins simply cannot falter against a program that is in Colorado’s position and expect to compete in the conference.
Join the Conversation
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| 2022-09-23T18:31:17Z
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Agitation against Ayu becoming destructive to PDP ― Atiku’s associates
•Calls for deep reflection, citing 2015 election, Lagos experience
Associates of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, under the aegis of Atiku People United (APU), have strongly condemned the way agitation for the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Dr Iyorcha Ayu, and rezoning of the PDP’s is being pursued by some chieftains led by Rivers State governor, Mr Nyesom Wike.
APU expressed this concern in a communiqué signed by Chief Dapo Sarumi, founding National Vice Chairman of PDP, South West; Hon. Rahman Owokoniran, PDP South West Secretary, Pastor Kayode Jacobs, and others, copies of which were made available to newsmen in Lagos on Friday.
It stated that the negative signals being sent and perception created by the actions of the governor and his group have now become” personal and very destructive.”
The group, an independent campaign movement for Atiku’s presidential aspiration, while noting that the way and manner the agitation was being pursued was disturbing, said mouthing statements and insinuations that could demarket and destroy the main opposition PDP and or its candidate should be a no-go area and should be viewed with every seriousness as, according to it, “you can’t damage a foundation and still go ahead to build on it.”
Besides, APU further described the “current do or die agitation” in the party as unfortunately, which it said came about due to the inability of the party leadership to reflect on the benefit of hindsight, observing sadly that leaders who had done great for PDP unconsciously were ready to kill it and their own ambition exactly as it happened way back in 2015.
This was just as it further observed sadly that almost all those at the centre of the bitter bickering were election ticket holders or “godfathers” to party ticket holders, recalling that it was the same failure of deep reflection that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State had used to keep PDP out of power for 23 years.
APU said the occurrences should be very instructive, urging all PDP leaders in the combat zone “to take it to heart, not forgetting that the same destructive tendencies were used to push PDP out of power using ‘New PDP,’ an action that was later regretted to be a dinner with the devil,” adding: “Why must history repeat itself?”
The group, while noting that the aggrieved party leaders led by Governor Wike may be right, quickly observed that the timing was completely wrong and politically unwise, declaring that except they had decided to concede 2023 to APC, “Ayu’s removal or resignation may shock the system, create fresh troubles that may be more destructive and take controls out of our hands.”
“As a matter of fact, when has the office of National chairman become so important in government and governance to any region to make us ready to throw away the Presidency?
“We have no doubts these must be why our presidential candidate, a master of the game himself, has chosen the stand he has taken and not because of lack of respect for Governor Wike and his team,” the group posited.
It, therefore, urged the aggrieved leaders to be willing to make sacrifices by sheathing their swords until after the election when the party leader must have emerged and power of persuasion becomes stronger and assuring, even as the group noted that Atiku right now “is only a candidate and not yet party leader officially.”
“We sympathize and agree totally with our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, that we cannot resort to impunity in removing the national chairman and that this can only be achieved through personal conviction, which in our opinion is achievable through political persuasions instead of equipping the opposition with campaign materials.
“We call on all concerned to remember that the PDP had apologized to Nigerians that it would never engage in impunity anymore and that the rule of law will always prevail. We believe this is the stand and statement of our candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
“And this is what Nigerians need in any leader that must take the country out of the woods where we have found ourselves. A leader who listens, negotiates, openly bares his mind and does not just pander to opinions because they are loud but looks at the long-term implication with deep insights and contributions by experts.
“We call to memory the bitter struggle of the then ‘NEW PDP’ and the eventual regret by all. We, therefore, passionately plead for caution and rethink as this self-celebrated crack is heartbreaking, morale killing and hope to dim to many members and other Nigerians who look up to PDP for National Rescue from the hegemony of this notorious All Pretenders Congress (APC) who have through their government made life unbearable for everyone and taken Nigeria to the lowest on every facet of life and living.
“And for thought by all, the Senate President and other top influential positions that can be negotiated to the South are government positions that are equally good for the zone. as National Chairman which does not negate the fact that the National Chairman must be zoned to the President’s alternative zone.
“We urge the ‘Star Boy’ of the Southwest, our own amiable Governor and star performer and reformer, Governor Oluwaseyi Makinde, the only first-term governor in their team, to please plead with his colleagues to sheath their swords in the interest of peace and progress. We say this because we cannot afford to send wrong signals to our people and get them confused when the election comes. He has done a lot and still has a lot to do for us not just in Oyo State but the entire Southwest and the nation at large.
“It is in an effort to sustain the zonal arrangement that the party recently amended the constitution that the first chairman must come from the same zone as the chairman, otherwise, the exit of Ayu would have been seamless. This is not the making of Atiku, it was the collective decision of the national convention.
“While we agree completely that equity demands sharing between North and South, we must remember that the election is just a few months away and any dislocation or distortions from the party’s command headquarters will spell doom for the entire party and Nigerians may be left hopeless. God forbids!
“As stated earlier, changes can always be made soon after the presidential election to achieve the balance being sought.
“There is no superior argument yet on why Ayu must go now and not after the general election.
“All hands must be on deck to work for the party and chase out the common enemies of our Nation. Please let us consider Nigeria first, let us seek and pursue peace, not just on our terms but in the larger interest of our country. PDP cannot afford to fail Nigerians again and no sacrifice can be too great to rescue our beloved country.”
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
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On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers will face off against the Denver Broncos in Empower Field at Mile High for their first prime time game of the season. DraftKings Sportsbook currently has the Niners as 1.5-point favorites.
To help give us an inside look, we reached out to Mile High Report to provide some new takes on our old friend Russell Wilson. Big thanks to Ian St. Clair for taking the time to answer my questions!
1. The Broncos had an incredibly busy offseason, which resulted in a different starting quarterback and head coach. After two weeks of seeing the rebuilt Denver team in action, what’s the initial grade for their big acquisition and new hire? More specifically, how do you feel about 65-yard field goals?
It was a busy but exciting offseason. After a six-year run that this franchise hadn’t seen since the doldrums of the 1960s and early ‘70s, Broncos fans needed this offseason. Now they want to see it come together. After two weeks, let’s give it an incomplete. There is still so much football left to be played for Russell Wilson and Nathaniel Hackett. The clock and game management is a resounding F, but then you look at how unlucky Denver has been in the red zone and goal-to-go, 0-for-6 and 0-for-5 in each crucial situation. If the Broncos go 50% in the red zone in both games, they get blowout wins, and the clock and game management issues that have been the talk of the NFL world aren’t as big of a deal. This goes without saying, but Hackett needs to take any thought of ever kicking a 60-plus yard field goal, write it down on a piece of paper, and burn it. Then he needs to go to a therapist or hypnotist and have the thought erased from his mind.
2. From both a fantasy football perspective, but also a better-for-the-offense perspective, why is Javonte Williams not getting the ball 20 times a game when he’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry to start the season?
That’s the million-dollar question at this point. Williams is a special player, and he has the ability/potential to be one of the best running backs in the NFL. I don’t know if it’s Hackett and his offensive staff overthinking it or having this thought that “We need to split carries,” but “Pookie” is the driver of this offense. Make him the bell cow back. If he needs a breather, let Melvin Gordon come and hopefully not fumble. But Hackett needs to ride Williams. Since he’s with Wilson, the second-year running back looks and runs like Marshawn Lynch. Give him the rock. Let the offense run through him and set Wilson up for play-action. And speaking of the red zone and goal-to-go situations, give the rock to Williams and let him earn his way onto “Angry Runs.”
3. The Broncos' former head coach Vic Fangio, who Niners fans know well from his time with the team in the early 2010s (and who has recently been spending time at San Francisco practices), makes the phrase “defensive-minded” seem quaint. He’s a guru on that side of the ball, and his teams always looked extremely proficient in that area. How have things looked under new DC Ejiro Evero? Based on the last six quarters, he may have picked up right where Vic left off.
There was concern over how the Broncos' defense would look and play without Fangio. The issues with his tenure in Denver had nothing to do with the defensive side of the ball. In fact, that was the only good thing about his three years here. Despite the putrid quarterbacks and offense, Fangio’s defenses consistently were in the top 10, if not higher. So you see why there was a little concern over a first-year defensive coordinator in Evero.
The first half in Seattle was ugly, but, as you mentioned, the last six quarters have been phenomenal. And this is just the start. The Broncos haven’t had starting middle linebacker, Josey Jewell, the first two weeks, and Pat Surtain II didn’t play most of Sunday’s game against the Texans. Of course, Justin Simmons is out the next few games as well. If Wilson and Denver can start finishing drives, this team is set up to be incredibly competitive and difficult to beat. There is definite excitement over Evero and his defense.
4. Who on the Broncos should Niner fans keep an eye out for in this game? Is there any under-the-radar player who’s already been a pleasant surprise or big contributor? (We are aware of D.J. Jones’ greatness.)
Let’s start on the offensive side of the ball. KJ Hamler is the speed and vertical threat in this offense. As of writing this, it’s still unclear if the receiver will play on Sunday night. Hamler did not play against the Texans. But I’ve been beating the drum that Hamler can be the Tyler Lockett in this Denver offense, and I will continue to bang that drum until it gets life. We could see it this Sunday. In fact, I’d like to see Hackett call up a deep pass to Hamler on the first play from scrimmage.
On the defensive side of the ball, now that Simmons is out, Caden Sterns is the next man up. The second-year safety had a strong rookie season, and he’s built on that throughout training camp and the preseason. And Sterns did so again on Sunday against Houston. He will play a big role in limiting the big play potential of this Kyle Shanahan offense. The other player for 49ers fans to keep an eye out for is rookie cornerback Damarri Mathis. When Surtain left Sunday’s game, Mathis stepped up and played a really good game. Obviously the San Francisco offense is a different beast, but Mathis didn’t give anything to Brandin Cooks. If it’s up to Surtain, it sounds like he’ll play on Sunday night. Either way, Mathis is a player to look out for on Sunday.
5. DraftKings Sportsbook has the Niners at 1.5-point favorites with an O/U of 43.5 ... What’s your prediction for Sunday night’s game?
This is going to come across as a Broncos homer, and I totally get that. But at some point, the misfortune in the red zone and goal-to-go situations have to flip. With so much focus on that issue here in Denver, and the fact that this is Sunday Night Football, Denver gets those issues corrected. And 49ers fans know all too well the success Wilson has against this franchise. The Broncos finish drives, DJ Jones helps make SanFran one-dimensional and the Broncos get the 31-17 win.
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| 2022-09-23T18:31:40Z
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s central bank on Tuesday raised its key interest rate by a full percentage point to combat the highest inflation in more than 30 years, the first of a series of large hikes expected from central banks worldwide this week.
Riksbanken said inflation has risen rapidly — to 9% in August, the highest level since 1991 — “undermining households’ purchasing power and making it more difficult for both companies and households to plan their finances.”
The bank raised its policy rate to 1.75% and said it will keep tightening over the next six months as it tries to bring inflation back to its target of 2%. In making the big hike, it pointed to other central banks rapidly raising rates as consumer prices soar.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected Wednesday to carry out a large increase of three-quarters of a point for the third consecutive time, followed Thursday by the Bank of England, whose half-point hike last month was its biggest in 27 years and is forecast to make another.
“During the pandemic, global imbalances arose between supply and demand,” Sweden’s central bank said. “Russia’s war in Ukraine has pushed up prices even further on several important commodities and created serious disruptions on the energy markets in Europe, which has caused electricity and gas prices to rise to very high levels.”
It added that “the good economic activity in Sweden has also contributed.”
Sweden is part of the European Union but does not use the euro currency, so it is not part of European Central Bank.
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| 2022-09-23T18:31:46Z
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TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Police in the country of Georgia said 12 people who were held hostage in a bank by a gunman for hours Tuesday have been freed and hostage-taker has been arrested.
Georgian media reported that the gunman at the bank in the city of Kutaisi had demanded $2 million, a helicopter to leave the country and a Russian flag. The gunman reportedly announced his demands in a video posted on one of the hostages’ Facebook page.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Ketevan Kovziashvili later said the hostages were freed and the gunman detained, but there were no further details.
Kutaisi is a city of 147,000, located 180 kilometers (110 miles) northeast of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.
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| 2022-09-23T18:32:08Z
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Turkey’s leader, overseeing a nation encircled by regional disputes, used his speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to shine a spotlight on Turkish maneuvering in conflicts that span from Syria to Ukraine.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech comes as Turkey is beset by staggeringly high inflation — officially at 80%, but more than double that, analysts say.
Erdogan blamed inflation on globally high food and energy prices rather than his government’s economic policies. His speech, however, focused more on laying out his view of Turkey’s role in the world. He said Turkey is “trying to be part of the solution” in conflicts around the world.
Touching on multiple hot -button issues, he spoke about the need for stability in Iraq, fair elections in Libya, food security in the Horn of Africa, the need for Palestinian statehood, the rights of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and Uighur Muslims in China, and standing up to anti-Muslim sentiment globally.
His remarks also highlighted Turkey’s role in these many conflicts, either directly or indirectly. This includes direct attacks in eastern Syria against U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters, high-level diplomacy in Ukraine, a troop presence in Libya backing the Tripoli-based government, long-simmering tensions with Cyprus and Greece, and staunch support for Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia.
“All these disasters affecting millions of people show the United Nations will have to be much more effective, much more influential,” he said.
Erdogan has emerged as a key player in the Ukraine conflict. Turkey is a NATO member and has supplied Ukraine with lethal drones targeting Russian troops, but Erdogan has also met multiple times with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey was a broker alongside the United Nations in securing the safe passage of Ukrainian grains exports through the Black Sea.
Turkey, he noted, has also hosted 4 million Syrian refugees in that country’s long-running war. At one point during his speech, Erdogan held up a photo of dead Syrian refugee children to emphasize the need for continued support.
He said the United Nations needs to be more inclusive — and the Security Council should be more democratic and functional.
“The world is greater than five,” he said, referring to the Security Council’s five permanent members.
Erdogan, 68, has led the country for almost 20 years, first as prime minister and then as president. Support for him and his party, however, has declined due to the cost-of-living crisis. He survived an alleged coup in 2016, unleashing in its wake a widespread crackdown against government critics, journalists, politicians and activists.
___
Aya Batrawy, a Dubai-based correspondent for The Associated Press, is on assignment at the U.N. General Assembly. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ayaelb.
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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A bargain hunter who went to an estate sale in Maine to find a KitchenAid mixer, a bookshelf or vintage clothing walked away with a 700-year-old treasure.
Instead of a kitchen appliance, Will Sideri stumbled upon a framed document hanging on a wall. It had elaborate script in Latin, along with musical notes and gold flourishes. A sticker said 1285 AD. Based on what he’d seen in a manuscripts class at Colby College, the document looked downright medieval.
And it was a bargain at $75.
Academics confirmed the parchment was from The Beauvais Missal, used in the Beauvais Cathedral in France, and dated to the late 13th century. It was used about 700 years ago in Roman Catholic worship, they said.
An expert on manuscripts said the document, first reported by the Maine Monitor, could be worth as much as $10,000.
After spying the unusual manuscript, Sideri contacted his former Colby College professor, who was familiar with it because there’s another page in the college collection. The professor reached out to another academic who’d researched the document. They quickly confirmed the authenticity.
The parchment was part of a prayer book and priests’ liturgy, said Lisa Fagin Davis, executive director of the Medieval Academy of America and a professor of manuscript studies at Simmons University in Boston.
The full missal was once owned by William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper publisher, before being sold in the 1940s and, much to the consternation of today’s academics, was divvied up into individual pages, she said.
The practice was common in the early 20th century. “Thousands of unique manuscripts were destroyed and scattered this way,” Davis said.
Davis has painstakingly researched The Beauvais Missal, and has tracked down more than 100 individual pages across the country. All told, the missal numbered 309 pages in its original form.
The page purchased by Sideri is of particular interest to scholars.
It’s a treasure both because of its age and condition, which is far better than the other page in the Colby collection, said Megan Cook, Sideri’s former professor, who teaches medieval literature at Colby.
The parchment is worth upward of $10,000, according to Davis. But Sideri said he has no intention of selling it.
He said he likes the history and beauty of the parchment — and the story of how he stumbled upon it.
“This is something at the end of the day that I know is cool,” he said. “I didn’t buy this expecting to sell it.”
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Follow David Sharp on Twitter: @David_Sharp_AP
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BEVERLY, Mass. (AP) — After evading the authorities, a wayward seal that made its home in a Massachusetts pond surrendered at a police station on Friday morning.
The gray seal first appeared earlier this month in Shoe Pond in the city of Beverly, northeast of Boston. The animal is believed to have traveled to the pond from the sea via a river and drainage pipes.
The seal quickly became a local attraction and even named “Shoebert” after its chosen pond.
Firefighters and wildlife experts used boats and giant nets in an effort to capture the wily animal Thursday, but gave up after several fruitless hours. Early Friday morning, however, Shoebert left the pond, crossed a parking lot and appeared outside the side door of the local police station looking, according to a police statement, “for some help.”
The seal was quickly corralled by a team of wildlife experts, firefighters and the police department’s “entire midnight shift,” according to a Facebook post from the Beverly Police Department.
“Shoebert appeared to be in good health and was a little sassy in the early morning hours,” the department reported.
The seal was transported to Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, where marine biologists will care for it before deciding whether to release it back into the wild.
“You will be deeply missed by your friends here,” the police department wrote on Facebook. “Over the past week you brought a lot of joy and happiness to our city. Feel free to come back and visit anytime!”
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| 2022-09-23T18:33:36Z
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James Cameron Once Threw Out an Entire Avatar 2 Script
When Avatar: The Way of Water arrives in theaters this year, it will have been more than a decade since the original Avatar premiered in 2009. However, if there’s one filmmaker who’s earned the right to be patient, it’s James Cameron. With two of the highest-grossing films of all time on his resume, there’s a definitely method to Cameron’s madness. But when the time came to write Avatar 2, Cameron’s method involved disposing of an entire script after working on it for a whole year.
Cameron offered some fresh insight into his writing process in a new interview with The Times UK. In the case of the Avatar saga, he wanted to make sure that the first sequel met a his own set of criteria. And when his earlier draft fell short of those expectations, he decided to start from scratch rather than simply tweaking what didn’t work.
“Well, all films work on different levels,” said Cameron. “The first is surface, which is character, problem and resolution. The second is thematic. What is the movie trying to say? But Avatar also works on a third level, the subconscious. I wrote an entire script for the sequel, read it and realized that it did not get to level three. Boom. Start over. That took a year.”
RELATED: Avatar Re-Release Features a New Look at The Way of Water
Additionally, Cameron found himself revisiting the first film before starting on what eventually became The Way of Water. In his mind, he and his collaborators needed to zero in on what made the original installment a hit with fans if they had any hope of matching its critical and box office success.
“When I sat down with my writers to start Avatar 2, I said we cannot do the next one until we understand why the first one did so well,” added Cameron. “We must crack the code of what the hell happened.”
Needless to say, Cameron did eventually crack that code, as Avatar: The Way of Water will arrive in theaters on December 16.
Do you think Avatar: The Way of the Water will be the biggest film of 2022? Leave your predictions in the comments below!
Recommended Reading: James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction
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| 2022-09-23T18:34:29Z
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LONDON (AP) — The cannons have sounded, the bells have rung and the mourners have paid their respects.
Now King Charles III faces the task of preserving a 1,000-year-old monarchy that his mother nurtured for seven decades but that faces an uncertain future. The challenge is immense.
Personal affection for the queen meant that the monarchy’s role in British society was rarely debated in recent years. But now that she’s gone, the royal family faces questions about whether it is still relevant in a modern, multicultural nation that looks very different than it did when Elizabeth ascended the throne in 1952.
Amid a global re-examination of the history of colonialism and slavery that has seen protesters tear down or deface statues in British cities and universities like Oxford and Cambridge change their course offerings, an institution that was once the symbol of the British Empire is likely to face renewed scrutiny.
Charles will try to “maintain continuity” while also signaling that the royals are prepared to change, said Anna Whitelock, a professor of history of modern monarchy at City University London. But he faces a raft of questions.
“What place does a monarchy have in a multi-faith, multi-ethnic society?” Whitelock asked. “And is it the right rallying point for the nation? And should it be the monarch representing the U.K. abroad? What does it say about us? Is it a bastion of tradition that people should applaud? Or is it actually a check on progress that actually doesn’t represent the inclusive, diverse society that people would hope that Britain would now become?”
And there is another, more personal, question lurking in the background: Is a 73-year-old white man the best person to confront those issues?
Charles waited longer than any other heir to take the throne and in many ways embodies the modernization of the monarchy. He was the first monarch not educated at home, the first to earn a university degree and the first to grow up in the ever-intensifying glare of the media as deference to royalty faded.
He has been lauded as an early advocate of the environmental movement and won praise for working to improve the lives of young people in underprivileged communities.
But he also has a reputation, perhaps undeserved, as a somewhat stuffy older man who is more at home on the polo field or one of his country estates than the soccer-mad cities of modern Britain.
Charles also alienated many people with his messy divorce from the much-loved Princess Diana, and by straining the rules that bar royals from intervening in public affairs, wading into debates on issues such as environmental protection and architectural preservation.
As the U.K. mourned his mother, it quickly became clear that Charles was ready to be a more personal monarch. He has made a point of wading into the crowds of well wishers, stopping to shake hands and exchange a few words, more like a U.S. presidential candidate appealing for votes than a king who inherited the crown from a line of ancestors stretching back to 1066.
One woman even kissed him — a level of familiarity no one would have dared with Elizabeth.
At Monday’s state funeral for the late queen, Bertram Leon embodied the challenges facing Charles.
A proud Briton whose roots stretch back to the Windrush generation of immigrants who came to the U.K. from the Caribbean after World War II, Leon was at Westminster Abbey to represent the St. Lucian community in honoring the queen. Now he expects Charles to take the monarchy in a new direction.
“The king is actually going to change, perhaps modernize the monarchy in the image that he thinks in the current day,” Leon said, his British Empire Medal pinned to his chest. “We can’t live back in the 1920s, ’30s or ‘50s, when Elizabeth took over. We are now in the 21st century, and I think things are going to be regarded and looked at a bit different.”
In addition to being king of the United Kingdom, Charles is head of state for 14 “realms” that retained the monarch as their sovereign after gaining independence from the former British Empire. It is in these far-flung nations, which stretch from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean that Charles may face his first challenges.
The pressures were clear earlier this year when Prince William and his wife, Kate, faced calls for a royal apology and reparations for slavery during a trip to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas to celebrate the queen’s 70 years on the throne.
During that visit, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the royals that his country was “moving on,” a few months after Barbados severed its ties with the monarchy.
The royals have also faced criticism from within after Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, gave up royal duties and moved to California. In a widely publicized interview with U.S. television host Oprah Winfrey earlier this year, the couple alleged that palace had been insensitive toward Meghan, who is bi-racial, and that a member of the royal family had asked about the color of their first child’s skin before he was born.
Charles sought to address the tensions at home and abroad in his first address as king.
“Wherever you may live in the United Kingdom, or in the realms and territories across the world, and whatever may be your background or beliefs, I shall endeavor to serve you with loyalty, respect and love, as I have throughout my life,” he said.
Charles also confronted concerns about how he would conduct himself as king.
The laws and traditions that govern Britain’s constitutional monarchy dictate that the sovereign must stay out of partisan politics, but Charles has spent much of his adult life speaking out on issues that are important to him, particularly the environment.
His words have caused friction with politicians and business leaders who accused the then-Prince of Wales of meddling in issues on which he should have remained silent.
The question is whether Charles will follow his mother’s example and muffle his personal opinions now that he is king, or use his new platform to reach a broader audience.
“My life will, of course, change as I take up my new responsibilities,” Charles said. “It will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the charities and issues for which I care so deeply. But I know this important work will go on in the trusted hands of others.”
The king has been clear that he intends to slim down the monarchy, limiting the number of working royals and reducing the expense of supporting them.
But for 10 days, Britain spared no expense as it honored Elizabeth, who became a comforting symbol of stability over the tumultuous years of her long reign.
All the spectacle that has become synonymous with the royals was on display as uniformed members of the royal family walked solemnly behind a gun carriage carrying the queen’s coffin away from Buckingham Palace, cannons and church bells sounded in lament and world leaders filled Westminster Abbey for her funeral.
But it was pageantry with a purpose, celebrating the queen’s life while also reminding the public of the monarchy’s role in public life and linking the people to the royal family in their time of shared grief.
“People often criticize the British monarchy or even laugh at it as pomp and circumstance and emptiness,” said historian Robert Lacey, author of “Majesty: Elizabeth II and the House of Windsor.”
“Well, an occasion like this shows it’s not emptiness, that the pomp and circumstance stands for something.”
___
Follow all AP stories on the death of Queen Elizabeth II at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii
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| 2022-09-23T18:35:24Z
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STATESBORO, Ga. (AP) — A biracial man who says he was fending off a racist attack on a Georgia highway when he fired a gun into a moving pickup truck and killed a teenage passenger was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison.
A judge imposed the maximum prison sentence for Marc Wilson, 23, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last month by a Bulloch County jury in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Haley Hutcheson. Prosecutors had unsuccessfully sought a conviction on felony murder charges.
Wilson’s attorneys insisted during his August trial that he was justified to shoot in self-defense when the pickup truck’s driver tried to run Wilson’s car off the road during the summer of 2020. Prosecutors argued Wilson had no legal grounds for firing a handgun in traffic and could have escaped if he was being harassed by another driver.
Superior Court Judge Ronnie Thompson rejected requests for leniency by Wilson’s attorneys, who noted that he had no prior criminal record. The judge said Wilson will receive credit for the 20 months he already served in jail awaiting trial, news outlets reported.
Defense attorneys acknowledged that Wilson fired the shot that killed Hutcheson, of Reidsville, on a bypass circling the southeast Georgia city of Statesboro the night of June 24, 2020. One of the bullets he fired pierced the truck’s rear window and struck Hutcheson in the head. She died after her friends rushed her to a hospital.
Wilson turned himself in and surrendered his gun to police three days after the shooting.
Prosecutors had charged Wilson with felony murder, arguing he caused Hutcheson’s death while committing another felony — aggravated assault — by firing his gun at the truck. The jury acquitted Wilson of both those charges and found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Had Wilson been convicted of felony murder, he would have faced an automatic sentence of life in prison.
Wilson — the son of a Black father and white mother — and his white girlfriend had just picked up food from a Taco Bell about 12:30 a.m. when the pickup truck pulled alongside Wilson’s much smaller Ford Focus. Wilson told police the pickup truck tried to run his car off the road as white teenagers inside yelled racist slurs.
The driver of the pickup and two passengers who took the witness stand denied threatening or otherwise provoking Wilson. They also acknowledged that they had been drinking that night, but denied being drunk.
Emma Rigdon, Wilson’s girlfriend at the time, testified that she didn’t hear any racial slurs before the shooting. She recalled, however, being frightened when the pickup truck “started swerving into our lane” and forced Wilson’s car onto the shoulder of the highway.
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| 2022-09-23T18:36:01Z
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AMARILLO, Texas (AP) — A gunman shot three people, including two first responders, at the Tri-State Fair & Rodeo in Texas before he was shot and wounded by sheriff’s deputies, authorities said.
Just before 11 p.m. Monday, a man opened fire on Potter County deputies working off-duty at the fair in Amarillo, Potter County Sheriff Brian Thomas said.
Thomas said the “male suspect opened fire on the deputies, striking a deputy and an off-duty firefighter, also working at the fair, and a bystander.” Deputies returned fire, wounding the suspect.
The deputy, firefighter and bystander were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said. The gunman was taken to the hospital with injuries that were described as life-threatening.
Thomas did not identify any of the victims or the suspect. He did not offer a motive for the shooting, which is being investigated by the Texas Rangers.
Amarillo is about 365 miles (587 kilometers) northwest of Dallas.
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| 2022-09-23T18:36:08Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — New York City will lift its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private-sector employers on Nov. 1, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday in another sign of the city’s gradual return to pre-pandemic norms.
The city began requiring almost all private businesses to ban unvaccinated employees from the workplace in December 2021, just as the Omicron wave began claiming hundreds of lives in the city. It remains the largest place in the U.S. to have made vaccines mandatory as a workplace safety measure.
Some workers who refused the shots were fired. The mandate also grabbed attention for its potential impact on professional sports, though just before the Yankees and Mets began their seasons, Adams gave a special exemption to athletes and entertainers. Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving had famously been barred from playing in home games because of the city’s vaccine rules.
Adams, a Democrat, announced the relaxation of the rules at a City Hall news conference where he got his own updated COVID-19 booster shot. Employers will be free to continue requiring workers to get vaccinated as a condition of employment.
“This puts the choice in the hands of New York businesses,” Adams said.
Proof of vaccination will for the time being still be required for municipal workers, including police officers, firefighters and teachers, the mayor said. The city is still in the process of firing hundreds of workers who refused the shots.
“We’re in a steady phase of pivot and shift. We do things, we roll things out slowly. Right now, that is not on the radar for us,” he said.
Most Broadway theaters stopped requiring proof of vaccination over the summer, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this month that masks were no longer required on public transportation, including subway trains and stations.
Asked about the differing rules for public and private employees, city Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said, “We’re looking at all of our policies and thinking about a glide path towards normal.”
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| 2022-09-23T18:36:37Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — The Nielsen company’s list of the 20 most popular prime-time programs for the week of Sept. 12-18, their networks and viewerships:
1. NFL Football: Chicago at Green Bay, NBC, 19.55 million.
2. “NFL Pregame” (Sunday), NBC, 14.55 million.
3. “NFL Postgame” (Sunday), Fox, 10.77 million.
4. NFL Football: Denver at Seattle, ABC, 10.3 million.
5. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 10.2 million.
6. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 8.36 million.
7. NFL Football: Denver at Seattle, ESPN, 8 million.
8. “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 7.03 million.
9. “America’s Got Talent” (Wednesday), NBC, 6.82 million.
10. “NFL Pregame” (Monday), ABC, 6.31 million.
11. “Emmy Awards,” NBC, 5.92 million.
12. “Big Brother” (Sunday), CBS, 4.47 million.
13. “Password” (Wednesday), NBC, 4.43 million.
14. “NFL Pregame (Monday), ESPN, 4.33 million.
15. “Password” (Tuesday), NBC, 3.88 million.
16. “FBI,” CBS, 3.86 million.
17. “Big Brother” (Wednesday), CBS, 3.85 million.
18. “Celebrity Family Feud,” ABC, 3.83 million.
19. “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 3.55 million.
20. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 3.51 million.
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| 2022-09-23T18:38:03Z
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — British Prime Minister Liz Truss, a politician often compared to “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, is presenting herself to the world as a steely leader for tough times.
The new prime minister has come to the United Nations to argue that in an increasingly unstable world, like-minded allies need to band together against “those who seek to weaponize the global economy.”
In her speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Truss will call on bodies like the Group of Seven industrialized nations to act as an economic equivalent of NATO, helping one another endure the economic shocks unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This is a decisive moment in British history, in the history of this organization, and in the history of freedom,” Truss will say, according to excerpts released in advance by her office.
“The story of 2022 could have been that of an authoritarian state rolling its tanks over the border of a peaceful neighbor and subjugating its people. Instead, it is the story of freedom fighting back. … But this must not be a one-off.”
Two years after Britain dismayed many of its allies by leaving the European Union, Truss wants to reassure the world that her country will be “a reliable, trustworthy and dynamic partner” to fellow democracies – most urgently, to Ukraine. She’ll pledge Britain’s “total” commitment to Ukraine’s fight against invasion, including a further 2.3 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) in U.K. military aid.
Truss plans to overhaul Britain’s security and foreign policy blueprint, which was updated just last year, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended global security. She also has pledged to increase defense spending to 3% of gross domestic product, from its current level of just over 2%.
Truss also said en route to New York that Russia will only be freed from international sanctions if it pays “recompense” over its invasion. She did not elaborate, but American officials are looking at whether assets seized from wealthy Russians could be used to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction.
It all adds up to a bold start for a leader in office for just two weeks. Truss won a Conservative Party leadership contest early this month and was appointed prime minister by Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 6, just two days before the monarch died. The first days of Truss’s term have been shrouded by a period of national mourning, so the trip to the U.N. represents the debut of both her international aims and her domestic agenda.
Truss is a stolid orator, so her speech is unlikely to contain the fireworks of her voluble predecessor Boris Johnson, who left his UNGA audience bemused in 2019 with a speech about technology that mentioned “terrifying limbless chickens” and “pink-eyed Terminators from the future.”
She is aiming to catch the mood of a pivotal global moment, as Thatcher did in 1989, when she hailed the thawing of the Cold War but issued a prescient warning about climate change. Thatcher said humans were not “the lords of all we survey,” but “the Lord’s creatures, the trustees of this planet, charged today with preserving life itself.”
Or like Prime Minister Gordon Brown in 2009 warning it would be “a failure of global responsibility” if the world’s poorest countries did not share in the global recovery from the Great Recession – an entreaty that went largely unheeded.
Before Truss gives her speech, she’ll hold her first meeting as prime minister with President Joe Biden. The two leaders have different economic views, with Truss advocating a brand of low-tax free-market policies derided by Democrats like Biden as “trickle-down economics.”
The two countries’ common approach to Ukraine has gone some way to healing a trans-Atlantic rift caused by Brexit. Truss’s hawkish statements about “China’s increasing assertiveness” and calls for Western allies to cut their reliance on Russian oil and gas also vibe with the views of the American leader.
But Brexit, and its impact Northern Ireland’s peace process, has driven a wedge into what both sides sentimentally call the U.K.-EU “Special Relationship.”
Britain’s departure from the EU has brought new customs checks and paperwork for Northern Ireland trade, part of the U.K. that shares a border with EU member Ireland. The issue has spiraled into a political crisis for the power-sharing government in Belfast, for which the U.K. and the EU blame each other.
Britain has introduced legislation to rip up part of its Brexit treaty with the EU — a move that angered the bloc and alarmed Washington. The proudly Irish- American Biden has warned that no side should do anything to undermine the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the cornerstone of Northern Ireland’s peace process.
Concern about Northern Ireland in the U.S. administration and Congress is one reason talks on a U.K.-U.S. free trade deal – long held up by British Conservative politicians as one of the prizes of Brexit – have stalled. Truss acknowledged Monday that there is no prospect of such a deal “in the short to medium term.”
Truss told reporters aboard her plane that “my preference is for a negotiated settlement. … But what I will not allow is for this situation to drift.”
Truss has avoided stirring up the issue during meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and others in New York. But Biden security adviser Jake Sullivan said it was on the agenda for the meeting of the two leaders on Wednesday.
Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to Washington, said Truss and Biden “see things in Ukraine the same way.”
“But that can only be part of the conversation when they meet in New York,” Darroch told British broadcaster LBC. “And the Northern Ireland Protocol will be part of it as well. And I suspect (it will be) quite difficult.”
___
London-based AP correspondent Jill Lawless is on assignment traveling with the British prime minister to cover the U.N. General Assembly. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/JillLawless
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| 2022-09-23T18:38:54Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iowa man who was part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol believed a conspiracy theory that law enforcement officers would be arresting “all the corrupt politicians,” starting that day with then-Vice President Mike Pence, a defense attorney told jurors Tuesday.
Doug Jensen wore a shirt bearing the letter “Q” to express his adherence to the QAnon conspiracy theory when he joined the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. A viral video recorded by a reporter’s cellphone showed Jensen running after a Capitol Police officer who was retreating from a crowd of rioters up a flight of stairs.
A federal prosecutor showed jurors the video at the start of Jensen’s trial. They also saw a photograph of Jensen with his arms extended as he confronted a line of police officers near the Senate chambers, one of the most memorable images from the riot.
“This is not a whodunit case,” defense attorney Christopher Davis said during the trial’s opening statements. “Literally, the whole case is on video.”
But he stressed that none of the video shows Jensen engaging in any violence or property damage.
“You will not see this man lay a hand on anyone,” Davis said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Allen told jurors they will hear testimony by Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman. Jensen was at the front of a group of rioters who followed Goodman as the officer ran up the stairs.
Goodman “approached them with his hand on his gun because he had no way of knowing what they were capable of doing,” Allen said. “And he knew that he was desperately outnumbered and alone.”
Davis said Jensen, a construction worker, was motivated by his “100%” belief in QAnon, a conspiracy theory that spread beyond the dark fringes of the internet to penetrate mainstream Republican politics.
QAnon has centered on the baseless notion that former President Donald Trump was secretly fighting a Satan-worshipping cabal of “deep state” enemies, prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites during his time in the White House. Another core tenet of QAnon is the apocalyptic prophesy that “The Storm” was coming and would usher in mass arrests and executions of Trump’s foes.
Before the riot, Trump and his allies spread the false narrative that Pence somehow could have overturned the results of the 2020 election. Davis told jurors they will hear Jensen implore police officers to “do their job” and arrest Pence, who was presiding over the Senate on Jan. 6.
“He believed they were obligated to do it,” Davis said. “He believed that martial law was going to be instituted.”
After scaling the outer walls of the Capitol, Jensen climbed through a broken window to enter the building. He was one of the first 10 rioters to enter the building, according to prosecutors.
Allen said Jensen learned from a friend’s text message that Pence was about to certify the election results.
“That’s all about to change,” Jensen replied.
Jensen is charged with seven counts, including charges that he obstructed the joint session of Congress to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory, that he interfered with police and that he engaged in disorderly conduct inside the Capitol while carrying a knife in his pocket.
Allen said Jensen “got what he came for” in Washington on Jan. 6.
“The proceedings in Congress stopped,” she said. “That’s why he was there.”
Jenson drove back home to Des Moines, Iowa, a day after the riot. The following day, he walked six miles to a police station and showed up unannounced, saying he was probably a wanted man. But there weren’t any warrants for his arrest when two FBI agents questioned him at the station.
Jensen told the agents he considered himself a “digital soldier” who was “religiously” following QAnon. He said he worked his way to the front of the crowd because he “wanted Q to get the attention.”
“I basically intended on being the poster boy, and it really worked out,” he said, according to a transcript of the interview on Jan. 8, 2021.
Jensen told the FBI agents his belief in QAnon cost him friends and family members who think he is “insane.” One of the agents asked him if he had any regrets about his actions on Jan. 6.
“I don’t know. It depends on if the outcome I wanted happens, then it would have been worth it. But if nothing happens except for negativity from this, and I’m a rioter, then, yeah, I completely regret it,” he said.
Jensen asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly to suppress statements he made to the FBI and the evidence seized from his cellphone. The judge denied his request earlier this month.
The first government witness for Jensen’s trial is scheduled to testify Wednesday. Kelly said the trial could conclude later this week.
More than 870 people have been charged with federal crimes for their conduct on Jan. 6. Approximately 400 of them have pleaded guilty. Juries have convicted eight Capitol riot defendants after trials. None of the defendants who had jury trials was acquitted of any charges.
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| 2022-09-23T18:40:14Z
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A top executive at plant-based food company Beyond Meat has been charged with felony battery after a fight outside a college football game in which he was accused of biting a man’s nose.
Doug Ramsey was also charged with making a terroristic threat after the attack Saturday in a parking garage outside a University of Arkansas football game in Fayetteville.
Beyond Meat said Tuesday it has suspended Ramsey indefinitely.
According to a police report, Ramsey was angered when another driver inched in front of him in a traffic lane and made contact with the front passenger wheel on Ramsey’s Ford Bronco SUV.
The police report alleges that Ramsey got out of his vehicle and punched through the back windshield of the other driver’s car. The driver told police he got out of his car and Ramsey pulled him close and began punching him. Ramsey also bit the tip of the other driver’s nose, ripping the flesh, according to the police report.
The driver and witnesses told police that Ramsey threatened to kill the other man. Occupants of both vehicles got out and separated the two men.
Washington County court records show Ramsey was released Sunday on a $11,085 bond. A court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 19. Court officials were unable to provide the name of an attorney for Ramsey on Tuesday.
Ramsey, 53, spent more than 30 years at Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods before joining Beyond Meat as chief operating officer late last year. He held top leadership positions at Tyson, including president of its poultry division and president of its global McDonald’s business.
At Beyond Meat, he has guided partnerships with fast food companies including McDonald’s, Panda Express and KFC.
Beyond Meat said Jonathan Nelson, its senior vice president for manufacturing operations, will oversee the company’s operations on an interim basis.
Beyond Meat shares hit a 52-week low of $15.97 Tuesday before closing at $16.03. The company’s shares have tumbled more than 75% since the start of this year.
The El Segundo, California-based company has struggled as customers dealing with soaring grocery bills have bypassed its higher-priced products. McDonald’s also recently ended a U.S. trial of its McPlant meatless burger — developed with Beyond Meat — without confirming future plans for the product.
Beyond Meat laid off 4% of its workforce in August.
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AP Writer Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, contributed.
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| 2022-09-23T18:40:57Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — Prime Minister Liz Truss has kicked off her first visit to the United States as Britain’s leader with an admission that a U.K-U.S. free trade deal is not going to happen for years.
Truss said a trans-Atlantic deal is not one of her priorities — a sharp contrast with the stance of her immediate predecessors as Conservative prime minister, Boris Johnson and Theresa May. Both dangled the promise of a deal with the world’s biggest economy as one of the main prizes of Britain’s exit from the European Union.
“There (aren’t) currently any negotiations taking place with the U.S., and I don’t have an expectation that those are going to start in the short to medium term,” Truss told reporters aboard her plane to New York, where she landed Tuesday to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
Truss said she was more focused on obtaining accession to the Trans-Pacific trade partnership and striking trade deals with India and the Gulf Cooperation Council of states including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“Those are our trade priorities,” she said.
Truss’s downbeat assessment about trans-Atlantic trade came ahead of her first one-on-one meeting with President Joe Biden since she took office two weeks ago. The two leaders are due to meet Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.N. gathering in New York. Both were among scores of world leaders who attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London on Monday.
Truss said her priorities for the meeting with Biden were “making sure that we are able to collectively deal (with) Russian aggression,” and ensuring “we are not strategically dependent on authoritarian regimes.”
“I want to work with our allies like the United States, like France, the EU, the Baltic States, Poland to take on the challenge we face from Russian aggression,” she said. “That should be our priority.”
That puts the U.K. broadly in line with Biden’s tough stance toward Russia and China, but the trade impasse leaves the often-touted “special relationship” between Britain and the U.S. on the back burner.
Supporters of Brexit say one of the chief benefits of leaving the bloc, and its vast free market of almost half a billion people, is the chance for the United Kingdom to make new trade deals around the world.
U.K.-U.S. trade talks were launched with fanfare soon after Britain left the EU in 2020, but negotiations faltered amid rising concern in the U.S. administration about the impact of Brexit, especially on Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a border with an EU member, and Brexit has brought new customs checks and paperwork for Northern Ireland trade, an issue that has spiraled into a political crisis for the power-sharing government in Belfast.
In response, Britain has announced plans to suspend the checks and rip up part of its Brexit treaty with the EU — a move that angered the bloc and alarmed Washington. Biden has warned that no side should do anything to undermine the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the cornerstone of Northern Ireland’s peace process.
Truss says she wants to reach agreement with the EU, but will push ahead with rewriting the treaty if that fails. She has said the situation can’t be allowed to “drift.”
With hopes of a U.K.-U.S. agreement fading, Britain has resorted to signing trade deals with individual American states. So far it has inked agreements with Indiana and North Carolina.
Truss campaigned for Conservative leader on a promise to shake up Britain’s economy by cutting taxes, slashing regulation and attracting more investment to the U.K. But the start of her term has been dominated by the death and commemorations of Queen Elizabeth II, which put Truss’s political plans on hold during a 10-day period of national mourning.
The war in Ukraine will be topmost in Truss’s message when she makes her debut speech to the United Nations as British leader on Wednesday, urging more support for Kyiv and calling on nations to stop buying Russian oil and gas.
After the United States, the United Kingdom has been one of the biggest contributors of military and civilian aid to Ukraine. Truss wants to reassure allies that she’ll maintain the staunch support shown by Johnson. She will promise that in 2023 Britain will “match or exceed” the 2.3 billion pounds ($2.7 billion) in military aid given to Ukraine this year.
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| 2022-09-23T18:41:12Z
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The creator of a true-crime podcast that helped free a Maryland man imprisoned for two decades said Tuesday that she feels a mix of emotions over how long it took authorities to act on evidence that’s long been available.
The judge’s order to release Adnan Syed and vacate his murder conviction Monday came after the local prosecutor started a unit to review sentencing and a new Maryland law relating to juvenile sentencing provided a mechanism for reexamining the case, all after the “Serial” podcast in 2014 turned the details of the case into an obsession for countless amateur sleuths.
Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby immediately applauded the judge’s decision as a victory for justice, but Syed’s win came as a bittersweet reminder to those who had been aware of the gaps in the case for years. In a new episode of “Serial” released Tuesday, host Sarah Koenig noted that most or all of the evidence cited in prosecutors’ motion to overturn the conviction was available since 1999.
“Yesterday, there was a lot of talk about fairness, but most of what the state put in that motion to vacate, all the actual evidence, was either known or knowable to cops and prosecutors back in 1999,” Koenig said. “So even on a day when the government publicly recognizes its own mistakes, it’s hard to feel cheered about a triumph of fairness. Because we’ve built a system that takes more than 20 years to self-correct. And that’s just this one case.”
Koenig argued that the case against Syed involved “just about every chronic problem” in the system, including unreliable witness testimony and evidence that was never shared with Syed’s defense team.
On Monday, Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn in Baltimore ordered Syed’s release after overturning his conviction for the 1999 murder of high school student Hae Min Lee, Syed’s ex-girlfriend. Syed, 41, has always maintained his innocence but in 2019 the state’s highest court had rejected his appeal for a new trial.
At the behest of prosecutors who said they had recently uncovered new evidence, Phinn ruled that the state violated its legal obligation to share evidence that could have bolstered Syed’s defense. The judge said the state must decide whether to seek a new trial date or dismiss the case within 30 days.
Mosby, who entered office in 2015, filed a motion last week to vacate Syed’s conviction, a filing that Koenig described as a “firework” coming from the same office that asked a jury to convict Syed years ago.
In the “Serial” episode posted Tuesday, Koenig broke down prosecutors’ motion and described how some evidence they cited was featured in the podcast, while other evidence – including the evidence of other possible suspects – became public more recently.
Key to Monday’s outcome was evidence uncovered by a unit that Mosby’s office launched to reexamine cases in which juvenile defendants were given life sentences. That worked in tandem with a 2021 Maryland law that enables someone convicted as a juvenile to seek a reduced sentence after serving at least 20 years. Syed was 17 when Lee was killed.
Prosecutor Becky Feldman led the unit and found notes written by one of her predecessors describing two phone calls in which people gave them information before Syed’s trial about someone with a motive to harm Lee. That information wasn’t given to the defense at the time, according prosecutors, an omission that Phinn said violated Syed’s rights.
Koenig noted that she knew who these two new potential suspects were – and so did detectives who investigated Syed two decades ago – but declined to name them because they haven’t been charged.
“One of (the suspects) was investigated at the time, submitted to a couple of polygraphs. The other was investigated also, but not with much vigor, as far as I can tell,” she said.
Other supporting evidence on the unreliability of a key witness and questions about cellphone data was previously featured on “Serial,” Koenig said.
“If you’ve listened to our show you probably remember all of this,” Koenig said.
Koenig said the show delved into questions about cellphone data that prosecutors used to bolster the witness’s testimony. But she acknowledged that expert analysis used by prosecutors to arrive at their current motion wasn’t fully explored on the show.
“We didn’t get to the bottom of this incoming call problem back when we were reporting this story,” she said.
In the years since “Serial” chronicled Syed’s case and transformed the true-crime genre, a number of breakthroughs have come in other cases examined by like-minded podcasters.
In Sydney, Australia, last month, a 74-year-old man was convicted of killing his wife in 1982, charges brought after police launched a renewed investigation based on a circumstantial case made against him in the popular podcast “The Teacher’s Pet.”
A lengthy murder trial is also underway in Salinas, California, against a man for the death of Kirstin Smart, a freshman who vanished from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo in 1996. The sheriff has said the “Your Own Backyard” podcast helped produce new information and prompted witnesses to speak with detectives.
And the podcast “In the Dark” obtained a recorded recantation from a jailhouse informant that, together with an analysis of racial bias by a Mississippi prosecutor in jury selection, preceded the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2019 decision to overturn the murder conviction and death sentence of Curtis Flowers. Flowers, a Black man, had been convicted in the shooting death of four people in a furniture store in 1996. Mississippi prosecutors later dropped charges against him.
___
Associated Press Writer Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.
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| 2022-09-23T18:42:32Z
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CAYEY, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Fiona blasted the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday as a Category 3 storm after devastating Puerto Rico, where most people remained without electricity or running water and rescuers used heavy equipment to lift survivors to safety.
The storm’s eye passed close to Grand Turk, the small British territory’s capital island, on Tuesday morning after the government imposed a curfew and urged people to flee flood-prone areas. Storm surge could raise water levels there by as much as 5 to 8 feet above normal, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
While the storm was still lashing the archipelago late Tuesday, officials reported only a handful of downed trees and electric posts and no deaths. However, they noted that telecommunications on Grand Turk were severely affected.
“Fiona definitely has battled us over the last few hours, and we’re not out of the thick of it yet,” said Akierra Missick, minister of physical planning and infrastructure development.
Late Tuesday night, the storm was centered about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of North Caicos Island, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 30 miles (45 kilometers) from the center.
Premier Washington Misick had urged people to evacuate. “Storms are unpredictable,” he said in a statement from London, where he had attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Fiona had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (205 kph) and was moving north-northwest at 8 mph (13 kph), according to the Hurricane Center, which said the storm was likely to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane as it approaches Bermuda on Friday.
Rain was still lashing parts of Puerto Rico Tuesday, where the sounds of people scraping, sweeping and spraying their homes and streets echoed across rural areas as historic floodwaters began to recede.
In the central mountain town of Cayey, where the Plato River burst its banks and the brown torrent of water consumed cars and homes, overturned dressers, beds and large refrigerators lay strewn in people’s yards Tuesday.
“Puerto Rico is not prepared for this, or for anything,” said Mariangy Hernández, a 48-year-old housewife, who said she doubted the government would help her community of some 300 in the long term, despite ongoing efforts to clear the streets and restore power. “This is only for a couple of days and later they forget about us.”
She and her husband were stuck in line waiting for the National Guard to clear a landslide in their hilly neighborhood.
“Is it open? Is it open?” one driver asked, worried that the road might have been completely closed.
Other drivers asked the National Guard if they could swing by their homes to help cut trees or clear clumps of mud and debris.
The cleanup efforts occurred on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Maria, which hit as a Category 4 storm in 2017 and knocked out power for a year in parts of Cayey.
Jeannette Soto, a 34-year-old manicurist, worried it would take a long time for crews to restore power because a landslide swept away the neighborhood’s main light post.
“It’s the first time this happens,” she said of the landslides. “We didn’t think the magnitude of the rain was going to be so great.”
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi requested a major disaster declaration on Tuesday and said it would be at least a week before authorities have an estimate of the damage that Fiona caused.
He said the damage caused by the rain was “catastrophic,” especially in the island’s central, south and southeast regions.
“The impact caused by the hurricane has been devastating for many people,” he said.
The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency traveled to Puerto Rico on Tuesday as the agency announced it was sending hundreds of additional personnel to boost local response efforts.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency on the island and deployed a couple of teams to the U.S. territory.
The broad storm kept dropping copious rain over the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where a 58-year-old man died after police said he was swept away by a river in the central mountain town of Comerio.
Another death was linked to a power blackout — a 70-year-old man was burned to death after he tried to fill his generator with gasoline while it was running, officials said.
Parts of the island had received more than 25 inches (64 centimeters) of rain and more was falling Tuesday.
National Guard Brig. Gen. Narciso Cruz described the flooding as historic.
“There were communities that flooded in the storm that didn’t flood under Maria,” he said, referring to the 2017 hurricane that caused nearly 3,000 deaths. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Cruz said 670 people have been rescued in Puerto Rico, including 19 people at a retirement home in Cayey that was in danger of collapsing.
“The rivers broke their banks and blanketed communities,” he said.
Some people were rescued via kayaks and boats while others nestled into the massive shovel of a digger and were lifted to higher ground.
He lamented that some people initially refused to leave their homes, adding that he understood why.
“It’s human nature,” he said. “But when they saw their lives were in danger, they agreed to leave.”
The blow from Fiona was made more devastating because Puerto Rico has yet to recover from Hurricane Maria, which destroyed the power grid in 2017. Five years later, more than 3,000 homes on the island are still covered by blue tarps.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday he would push for the federal government to cover 100% of disaster response costs — instead of the usual 75% — as part of an emergency disaster declaration.
“We need to make sure this time, Puerto Rico has absolutely everything it needs, as soon as possible, for as long as they need it,” he said.
Authorities said Tuesday that at least 1,220 people and more than 70 pets remained in shelters across the island.
Fiona triggered a blackout when it hit Puerto Rico’s southwest corner on Sunday, the anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, which slammed into the island in 1989 as a Category 3 storm.
By Tuesday morning, authorities said they had restored power to nearly 300,000 of the island’s 1.47 million customers. Puerto Rico’s governor warned it could take days before everyone has electricity.
Water service was cut to more than 760,000 customers — two thirds of the total on the island — because of turbid water at filtration plants or lack of power, officials said.
Fiona was forecast to weaken before running into easternmost Canada over the weekend. It was not expected to threaten the U.S. mainland.
In the Dominican Republic, authorities reported two deaths: a 68-year-old man hit by a falling tree and an 18-year-old girl who was struck by a falling electrical post while riding a motorcycle. The storm forced more than 1,550 people to seek safety in government shelters and left more than 406,500 homes without power.
The hurricane left several highways blocked, and a tourist pier in the town of Miches was badly damaged by high waves. At least four international airports were closed, officials said.
The Dominican president, Luis Abinader, said authorities would need several days to assess the storm’s effects.
Fiona previously battered the eastern Caribbean, killing one man in the French territory of Guadeloupe when floodwaters washed his home away, officials said.
___
Associated Press reporters Martín Adames in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Maricarmen Rivera Sánchez in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed.
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| 2022-09-23T18:42:39Z
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BOSTON (AP) — The player the NHL knew as “Big Zee” is calling it a career.
Zdeno Chara signed a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins and announced his retirement Tuesday after 24 seasons in the NHL and captaining Boston to the Stanley Cup in 2011.
The 6-foot-9 defenseman from Slovakia hangs up his skates at age 45, surrendering the title of the NHL’s oldest active player.
He returned to TD Garden to end his professional playing career two years after leaving the Bruins following 14 seasons with the team.
The proclamation printed on his ceremonial final contract spoke to this longevity in the sport.
“You guys want to know what it says?” he asked the assembled crowd after signing. “Zdeno must agree to keep himself in the good shape and physical condition at all times post-retirement.”
Chara called returning to the city of his biggest NHL triumphs to mark the end of his time on the ice “surreal.”
But he said he’s at peace with a decision made mostly to devote more time and energy to the family that has supported him throughout his career.
“I have no regrets. I would not change a thing,” Chara said. “We are in a business where we are ultimately judged by winning and we experienced our highs and lows with that. But I walk away knowing I gave it everything I had all the time.”
Chara won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman in 2009 and also spent time with the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals. Known more for his ability to keep the puck out of the net than putting it in, Chara still scored 237 goals and added 523 assists for 760 points in 1,880 regular-season and playoff games.
His 1,680 regular-season games played is a record for a defenseman. Chara also leaves ranked sixth in Bruins history in games played (1,023), and third in points by a defenseman (481), behind Hall of Famers Ray Bourque (1,506) and Bobby Orr (888).
Chara is a candidate for the Hockey Hall of Fame based not only on his consistency but also his stature in the game from Slovakia to North America. He captured two World Championship silver medal-winning teams for his native country, in 2000 and 2010.
The affinity Chara’s past Boston teammates and coaches have for him was evident Tuesday with several of them, including Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Tuukka Rask, Brandon Carlo, Jake DeBrusk, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie Coyle, Charlie McAvoy and others on hand for his news conference.
Chara was the second European captain to win the Cup, following Swede Nicklas Lidstrom with Detroit. He was one of the faces of a winning era for the Bruins, which also included trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and 2019, the latter he finished while playing with a broken jaw.
Drafted by the Islanders in the third round in 1996, Chara played his first four seasons on Long Island before getting traded to the Senators. Boston signed him in 2006, and that remains one of the most impactful free-agency signings in the 17 years of the NHL’s salary cap era.
Chara made five of his seven All-Star Game appearances while with the Bruins and was one of the city’s most popular athletes during that time. He left in 2020 when the team would not guarantee him a full-time job for the entire season and signed a one-year deal with Washington before finishing his playing career with the Islanders.
But he said building a championship culture in Boston, which until 2011 hadn’t won a Stanley Cup Final since the 1971-72 season in Orr’s heyday, was one of the things he treasures most.
“Because without that you cannot win. You need to have a culture. You need to have players that want to follow,” Chara said. “And it wasn’t just me. It was a team effort. I would have never done it without Patrice. I would have never done it without Brad coming in and following Patrice’s lead. We had guys stepping in that were willing to come from different teams and adjust to that culture. We pushed each other. … We set goals and slowly but surely we were climbing and making the steps.
“It was hard at the beginning. It was not probably easy and not everybody wanted to kind of change. But it was necessary.”
___
AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed.
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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| 2022-09-23T18:45:11Z
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — An executive of a vegan food products company has been charged with felony battery and making a terroristic threat after a fracas outside a football game in which he’s accused of biting a man’s nose, officials said.
Beyond Meat Chief Operations Officer Doug Ramsey has been accused of a road rage attack outside Saturday’s game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Missouri State Bears in Fayetteville, Arkansas, according to Fayetteville television station KNWA.
A police report says the 53-year-old Fayetteville man attacked another man who tried to inch in front of him in a parking garage traffic lane and made contact with a wheel on Ramsey’s sport utility vehicle. A police officer responding to the reported disturbance arrived to find “two males with bloody faces,” the report states.
After speaking with Ramsey, the other man and a witness, the officer determined that Ramsey had gotten out of his SUV and “punched through the back windshield” of the other car. The driver of the other vehicle said he emerged from his car and Ramsey “pulled him in close and started punching his body” and also “bit the owner’s nose, ripping the flesh on the tip of the nose,” the officer reported.
That man and the witness also reported hearing Ramsey “threaten to kill” the man.
Beyond Meat has not responded to messages from the station and The Associated Press seeking comment.
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| 2022-09-23T18:52:09Z
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Federal officials have rejected a request by a regional airline facing a pilot shortage to hire co-pilots with half the usual minimum amount of flying experience, saying it would reduce safety.
Republic Airways asked for permission to hire pilots with at least 750 hours of flying time if they complete the airline’s training program. However, the Federal Aviation Administration said that it was in the public interest to maintain current standards, which generally require 1,500 flight hours for a co-pilot.
Smaller carriers called regional airlines were once allowed to hire co-pilots, who are called first officers, with as few as 250 hours of flying experience. But the minimum was increased after a 2009 Colgan Air plane flying for Continental Airlines crashed near Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one on the ground.
While the minimum is 1,500 hours, pilots with military experience or a degree from an approved university program can qualify with less experience. Republic argued that its program, run by a wholly owned subsidiary, would be comparable to military flight training.
“After full consideration of Republic’s petition for exemption and the public comments, the FAA has determined that the relief requested is not in the public interest and would adversely affect safety,” the FAA said. The FAA also said that Republic’s curriculum and training is not comparable to that of the military.
Republic CEO Bryan Bedford said he was disappointed but not surprised by the FAA’s decision. He said the agency didn’t give the airline’s request the review that it deserved.
“Despite the rhetoric to the contrary, our proposal would enhance safety by providing students a highly structured, mission-specific training approach,” Bedford said in a statement. He said Republic’s approach would increase the number of pilots and help counter shrinking air service in small and mid-sized communities.
Republic and other regional carriers argue that the FAA must consider new standards for licensing pilots — beyond counting up their flying hours — because of the difficulty and expense of accumulating 1,500 hours in the air. Republic estimated the cost of flight training and tuition leading to a degree at a public university at about $171,000, compared with $75,000 at its academy.
However, the FAA said it is “overly simplistic” to think that granting Republic’s request would address “a perceived pilot shortage.”
The nation’s largest pilots’ union disputes the notion that there is a shortage, saying there are enough qualified pilots if airlines did a better job of retaining pilots, and if regional airlines boost pay and ease grueling work schedules. The union praised the FAA’s rejection of the Republic request.
“This decision is a huge win for aviation safety and for the flying public,” said Joe DePete, president of the Air Line Pilots Association. He vowed that the union would oppose “any other efforts that seek to evade, undermine, weaken, or repeal first officer qualification, experience, and training requirements.”
The FAA received nearly 100 comments on Republic’s request, divided between supporting it and opposing it.
Republic uses smaller planes to operate mostly shorter routes for big airlines under the Delta Connection, American Eagle and United Express brands. The airline is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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| 2022-09-23T18:52:40Z
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — JBS has agreed to pay $20 million to settle a lawsuit with consumers that accused the giant meat producer of conspiring with other meat companies to inflate the price of pork.
The latest meat-industry settlement will likely reinforce concerns that the White House, members of Congress and trade groups have raised about how the lack of competition in the industry affects prices.
A federal judge in Minnesota approved the settlement of the price-fixing lawsuit last week. But the judge also ruled that nearly $7 million of the settlement will go to the plaintiffs’ lawyers for their work in the case.
The pork lawsuit is one of several price-fixing lawsuits making their way through the courts. Meat producers have also been accused of inflating beef and chicken prices, and several multimillion-dollar settlements have been announced in those cases.
Previously, JBS agreed to pay restaurants and caterers $12.75 million as part of a different settlement in this pork lawsuit, and Smithfield Foods agreed to pay two different groups of pork purchasers $83 million and $42 million in two different settlements in the case.
Despite the settlements, meat companies have defended their pricing practices.
Officials at the Brazilian company’s U.S. headquarters in Greeley, Colorado, didn’t immediately respond to questions about the latest settlement on Monday, but JBS didn’t admit any wrongdoing as part of the deal.
The lead attorneys for the plaintiffs said it’s not clear how much individual consumers who bought pork between 2009 and last year might receive, partly because money from additional settlements may be added to the fund before any payments are sent out. More details about the settlement are available online.
The pork lawsuit remains pending against other major producers including Hormel, Tyson Foods and the Agri Stats database company they allegedly used to share confidential information about price, capacity and demand. JBS agreed to cooperate with the case against those other companies as part of the settlement.
The lawsuit accuses the major meat processors, who together control more than 70% of pork production nationwide, of working cooperatively to limit the supply of hogs and inflate prices.
The White House, several agricultural trade groups and a number of prominent members of Congress have all questioned the industry’s pricing practices although the meat producers argue that supply and demand factors, not anticompetitive behavior, drive prices.
The Justice Department has been looking into allegations of price fixing in the industry at least since 2020, but it hasn’t provided updates on its investigation.
The Biden administration has announced several efforts to increase competition in the meat industry to help reduce prices including a $1 billion program to help establish and expand independent slaughterhouses. And the White House has tweaked administrative rules to make it easier for farmers and ranchers to report concerns or sue over anticompetitive behavior.
The judge who approved the settlement last Wednesday said awarding the lawyers involved 33% of the proceeds, as he did here, was in line with other similar class action lawsuits.
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| 2022-09-23T18:53:08Z
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The federal government announced Thursday it is giving several million dollars to a Wyoming telecommunications provider so it can add fiber lines capable of delivering super-fast broadband.
Cody-based Tri County Telephone Association Inc. is set to receive $9.6 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "ReConnect" program, according to data from USDA. This is part of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announcing the department is awarding $502 million in loans and grants for fast internet access to "rural residents and businesses in 20 states."
“High-speed internet will improve the rural economy. It will help rural businesses grow and get access to new markets," Vilsack said in a USDA news release. Other nearby states with locations getting such funding include Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota.
Based on information from USDA, it appears the sole recipient of this round of government financial infusions is Tri County Telephone Association Inc. A USDA representative, who the Wyoming Tribune Eagle was directed to by a USDA staffer, did not reply to an inquiry about whether there are any other recipients in the state.
The $9.6 million "will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network" to connect 204 people, 15 businesses and 19 farms to high-speed internet service in Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park, Sheridan and Washakie counties, USDA reported. The privately held recipient is Tri County Telephone Association. It goes by the name TCT and currently has almost 13,000 customers in northern Wyoming and southern Montana, its CEO, Richard Wardell, wrote in an email to the WTE.
Over a period of as long as five years, TCT will lay the fiber lines necessary for the broadband service, Wardell said by phone. In addition to the USDA funds, he said, the company itself is slated to pay almost $3 million for the necessary upgrades.
The locations are "all rural area of farms and ranches and along county roads, often, or state" roads, the executive said. "Most of those areas today, TCT serves with copper." Copper broadband service is much slower than other ways of delivering data.
Once deployed, the TCT internet service will be up to 10 Gbps fast for both downloads and uploads of content and data from online, "to truly future-proof these areas for generations to come," Wardell said. "It's all building blocks" by adding services and equipment, "it's one bite at a time," the CEO said.
"It is kind of a jigsaw puzzle of us adding components" to the company's network.
Jonathan Make is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s assistant managing editor and editor of the Wyoming Business Report. He can be reached at jmake@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3129. Follow him on Twitter @makejdm.
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“War Cry” by Jeremy Salazar, left, and “The Highlander” by Monte Michael Moore hang on display inside the Cheyenne Regional Airport terminal on Thursday, July 7, 2022. Alyte Katilius/Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Construction crews work on a runway in May at Cheyenne Regional Airport. Michael Smith/For the Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Michael Smith
The Cheyenne Regional Airport on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Alyte Katilius/Wyoming Tribune Eagle
“War Cry” by Jeremy Salazar, left, and “The Highlander” by Monte Michael Moore hang on display inside the Cheyenne Regional Airport terminal on Thursday, July 7, 2022. Alyte Katilius/Wyoming Tribune Eagle
CHEYENNE – Cheyenne Regional Airport’s main runway is set to close next spring in the final phase of the airport’s runway reconstruction project.
Tim Bradshaw, the airport’s director of aviation, said in a Thursday interview that the project calls for 160 days of work. He said it would likely begin around April 1, in an effort to avoid snow and “to be sensitive to our spring break travel.” For Laramie County School District 1, spring break is the school week that ends on April 1.
“We’re going to try to coordinate the schedule to where it has the least impact” on travel, Bradshaw said. The actual start date will depend on “a lot of factors.”
The airport’s shorter runway will remain open during this time, the director said. When asked whether this would affect airline service during construction, Bradshaw said that’s still being determined.
“We’re working with United and with SkyWest, who is our regional carrier, to try to see if they can still operate on the shorter runway, or if we need to change aircraft types,” the director said. “We’re working through those details right now so we can continue airline service, so we don’t disrupt that.”
The airport’s functional runway space is also currently reduced, as crews complete work on the intersection of the two runways. The shorter, secondary runway, also called a “crosswind runway,” is totally closed, and the primary runway has been reduced to about 6,000 feet.
According to AirNav.com, the airport’s longer runway is 9,270 feet long, and the shorter runway is 6,690 feet long.
Bradshaw said that phase of the project is expected to conclude in about 30 days, when both runways would completely reopen until the next construction season.
After the conclusion of this multi-year, $62 million infrastructure project, the Cheyenne airport’s runways should not need another total reconstruction until about 2072, Bradshaw said.
Wendy Volk, president of the Cheyenne Regional Air Focus Team, said in a Thursday interview that the completion of the runway project will make for “a brighter future” for the airport.
“I think the good news is, once we get this runway project completed, it will actually improve our opportunities to get more airlines to look at Cheyenne, because despite the challenges of this runway project, we still are getting great traction in terms of people in our area – not only locally, but in the region – flying in and out of Cheyenne because of ease and convenience,” Volk said. She added that the project was “long overdue.”
Commercial flights have been running at the airport since Nov. 1. SkyWest, a regional carrier for United Airlines, currently has two commercial flights to and from the Denver International Airport each day.
This came after periodic pauses in commercial service because of the COVID-19 pandemic and construction delays on previous phases of the runway project.
Since then, Bradshaw, who began the position on Dec. 1, said commercial flights have “done fairly well.” Because the airport is currently operating on a shorter runway, planes that fly in and out of it have “a few less passengers,” he said. But flights are running at about 65% of this reduced capacity, Bradshaw said.
“The airline industry itself is actually struggling with high fuel prices, labor shortages, pilot shortages. But travel demand is really up high,” Bradshaw said.
“Our parking lot is maxed out,” the director said. In fact, on Thursday, that was the case during a visit from a Wyoming Tribune Eagle editor. As Bradshaw noted, “people are still flying.”
Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack.
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NBC senior congressional reporter Scott Wong and Politico national political reporter Holly Otterbein join Here & Now hosts Peter O’Dowd and Don Gonyea to discuss the week in politics, including the “Commitment to America” agenda that House Republican leaders unveiled Friday, and the latest on the races for Senate and Governor in Pennsylvania.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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It’s banned book week — and we’re taking a moment to hear our listeners’ comments regarding their experiences with books that are challenged in schools and public libraries.
Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd checks in with Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at PEN America. He is also the lead author of the article “Banned in the USA: The Growing Movement to Censor Books in Schools.”
Want to read some banned books? Find recommendations here.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — How high are the barriers to entry at the U.N. General Assembly? Less than 4 feet (1.2 meters), technically.
While the barricades encircling the perimeter of the United Nations headquarters in New York are scarcely hip-level, the sea of gray grilles makes it clear that — with scores of world leaders and other high-profile figures slated to descend — security is intended to be more than just theater.
Patrick Freaney, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s New York field office, called the U.N. General Assembly both “one of the highest-profile events in the world” and “the largest protective event for the Secret Service on an annual basis.”
U.N. staff and visitors must clear multiple checkpoints. Accredited media, for instance, flash badges at an NYPD and U.N. police checkpoints before going through an airport-style security screening that prologues the long (but scenic) trek to the international press corral in the U.N. Secretariat Building.
There are myriad types of U.N. badges, each adorned with a colored symbol. Woe betide the grounds passholder who shows up at the “wrong” entrance; you may be made to walk several blocks, though several on Monday attempted to argue with U.N. police.
Security is a joint effort mounted by U.N., federal, state and local law enforcement. NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey told news outlets that preparation for this year’s General Assembly began shortly after last year’s hybrid meeting, which saw far fewer world leaders attend. The 2020 meeting, at the height of the early pandemic, was entirely virtual.
While there were no specific threats to the General Assembly or the city, Corey said, one can’t too careful: “There’s always a certain amount of disharmony in the world.”
___
Follow Mallika Sen at https://twitter.com/mallikavsen. For more coverage of the U.N. General Assembly, visit https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly.
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Russia’s defense minister announced this week that 300,000 men will be drafted in the next phase of its invasion of Ukraine. Russian authorities are also planning to hold referendums on separation in Russian-controlled portions of Ukraine in a potential effort to dissuade counteroffensives by Ukrainian troops.
Protests continue in Iran over the killing of a woman who was in custody for breaking laws pertaining to wearing the hijab in public. Authorities have cracked down, leading to the deaths of at least 9 people involved in the demonstrations.
A bus carrying people in China’s Guizhou province to a quarantine facility crashed this week killing at least 27 people. The tragedy inspired the country’s citizens to vent their frustrations on social media over what they believe are draconian disease-prevention policies.
We cover the most important stories from around the globe on the international portion of the News Roundup.
Copyright 2022 WAMU 88.5
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Q&A with Alonzo Bodden, comedian panelist from "Wait Wait! Don't Tell Me"
Q&A with Alonzo Bodden
KLCC: We look forward to welcoming you back to Oregon! Having toured all around the U.S., what differences have you noticed in the Pacific Northwest humor versus the rest of the country?
Alonzo Bodden: Well there’s definitely more rain involved. Other places, yeah I’m looking at you Austin, claim to be weird The Pacific Northwest is weird. I love it.
KLCC: You have a skill for taking current events and molding them into something that makes people laugh. When the news is sometimes anything but funny, what's your technique for finding humor in those tough spots?
Alonzo Bodden: I don’t know if there’s a technique, I just call it the gift. I point out what makes me laugh. I was raised a news junky with a sense of humor. The sense of humor comes from my mom. She’s the funniest person I ever knew. Besides, if we start taking Marjorie Taylor Green seriously we’ve already lost.
KLCC: What role do you think comedians have as society grapples with difficult current events or adapts as culture changes?
Alonzo Bodden: We comics are the last truth tellers. We don’t trust either side and have no skin in the game. I haven’t received one lobbyist check yet. Comics have always spoken truth to power and the laughs make it palatable. I always say the Jester was the only one who could make fun of the king. Of course if it wasn’t funny the king had his head chopped off. That’ll keep you on your game.
KLCC: What is your favorite part of touring with the other Wait Wait! panelists? How is touring as part of the program different than touring or doing shows on your own?
Alonzo Bodden: We panelists all get along. It's nice to work without the time constraints of radio. Also not being led by questions means we can talk about anything, whether it be news or personal. When we say the show is uncensored, people think we’re talking about language. For me the freedom is in topics. Yeah, there may be some adult language but you can’t talk about our insane news cycle and not cuss now and then. NPR nerds can handle it.
KLCC: Who in your life inspired you as a comedian? Who made you laugh as a child?
Alonzo Bodden: Without a doubt, my mom. Funniest person I ever knew. The comics I learned from were the stars from then 80s and 90s. George Wallace, George Carlin, Damon Wayans, Dom Irrera. The list goes on and on. Today Chappelle sets the bar. It’s a high bar.
Thank you, Alonzo! We look forward to seeing you, Cristela, Maeve, and Helen on stage with the Wait Wait! Stand-Up Tour on November 10th at the Hult Center in Eugene.
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It’s been a while since we’ve had a film production and subsequent press tour as juicy and awkward as what’s gone down with Don’t Worry Darling. How did a stylish little thriller starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, and Chris Pine become…this? Starting with Shia LaBeouf being replaced by Styles early in production, followed by rumors of an on-set relationship between Styles and director Olivia Wilde, through Wilde being served with custody papers regarding her ongoing separation from Jason Sudeikis while on stage at CinemaCon, to further rumors of on-set tension between Wilde and Pugh. Leaked texts! “Miss Flo”! Conspicuous silence on Instagram! All of which culminated in a Venice world premiere featuring some of the most scrutinized body language of all time, and all of us sharing a mind-boggling collective moment wondering if a global pop superstar really did discreetly hock a loogie onto the lap of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. (He didn’t.)
The Don’t Worry Darling drama is by no means unprecedented. The scandal-plagued film production is a phenomenon as old as the film industry itself, and one that comes with its own set of expectations. Depending on who’s talking, messy press tours like this have been said to be harbingers of catastrophic failure at the box office and “no such thing as bad press” free publicity. A quick tour through some of Hollywood’s most notoriously fascinating productions tells us that both—or neither!—can be true.
Perhaps the most notorious scandal-plagued movie set in history was 1963’s Cleopatra, which nearly ruined 20th Century Fox with its runaway budget, and melted down the rumor mill with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s on-set affair, which ended both of their marriages. As Vanity Fair put it in a 1998 retrospective, “Never before had celebrity scandal pushed so far into global consciousness, with Taylor-Burton preempting John Glenn’s orbiting of the Earth on tabloid front pages, denunciations being sounded on the Senate floor, and even the Vatican newspaper publishing an ‘open letter’ that excoriated Taylor for ‘erotic vagrancy.’” Just sit with that for a moment.
But as much as Cleopatra became shorthand for a runaway production whose toxic press coverage presaged a box-office bomb, the truth is that—while it still ended up losing money due to its astronomical-for-the-time $44 million budget—Cleopatra actually performed at the box office. It was the number one earner for 1963, and a year after it was released, it entered the top 10 grossers of all time. The public fascination (and papal finger wag) had paid off.
Take, also, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, whose movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith coincided with Pitt’s divorce from Jennifer Aniston. Pitt and Jolie stepped out as a couple only after the film premiered in June 2005. If you thought the public scrutiny ahead of the release would poison the box office, think again: Mr. & Mrs. Smith topped the box office in its debut week and ultimately hauled in $487 million worldwide, putting it in the top 10 in the domestic box office for the year. It was, at the time, both Pitt and Jolie’s best box-office showing to date, and remains Pitt’s number-two film of all time, after World War Z.
Part of the reason why many were worried that rumors might sink Mr. & Mrs. Smith is that romance rumors were said to be the culprit behind the failure of another thriller a few years before. In Proof of Life, Meg Ryan seeks out kidnap-and-ransom expert Russell Crowe for help after her husband has been taken hostage in South America. During the film’s production, Ryan and Crowe began an affair as Ryan’s decade-long marriage to Dennis Quaid ended. There was much hand-wringing in the media at the time, though it was more for what this affair might mean for Ryan’s image as “America's sweetheart” after a string of successful rom-coms. In Entertainment Weekly, Gillian Flynn openly wondered whether a tryst with the “Richard Burtonish” Crowe would be good or bad for Proof of Life’s box office, and quoted no less a pop-culture luminary than Dr. Drew, who said he “had no interest in this film until I heard about all of this,” and predicted that audiences “will want to see if they can pick up on her falling in love with him on screen.”
Indeed, Kenneth Turan’s review in the Los Angeles Times outright said that watching for signs of real-life romance in Ryan and Crowe’s performances was far more compelling than the film itself. So, what was it, then? Did the scandal lead to Proof of Life’s middling box-office performance (it debuted in third place, behind the fourth weekend of Ron Howard’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the opening weekend of the Chris O’Donnell mountain-climbing flick Vertical Limit), or was the scandal the only reason anyone went to see it at all?
Oftentimes, perception is a more enduring metric than the numbers themselves. Tom Cruise’s 2005 press tour for Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds remains infamous not just for his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show where he jumped on the couch, but also for his newly unrestrained eagerness to discuss and promote Scientology, epitomized by a Today show interview where he accused Matt Lauer of being “glib” on the subject of psychiatric medication.
Cruise’s antics were the subject of much consternation in the mid-aughts. Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone blamed bad press for Mission: Impossible III disappointing at the box office—and had a hand in ending a production deal Cruise had with Paramount. More crucially, Spielberg himself appeared annoyed with Cruise for jeopardizing the War of the Worlds rollout. And yet that movie did incredibly well in the summer of 2005, topping $600 million worldwide and finishing in fourth place for all of 2005, behind a Star Wars movie, a Harry Potter movie, and the first Chronicles of Narnia. Sure, there have been bigger successes, but it’s safe to say Cruise’s press tour did more harm to the springs on the Oprah show’s couch than it did to War of the Worlds’ profits.
Which brings us back to Don’t Worry Darling and whether the rubbernecking about on-set friction and imagined movie-premiere spittle will torpedo its chances. History says it probably won’t. Mr. & Mrs. Smith, War of the Worlds, and Cleopatra all played out just as they would have without any whiff of controversy. As for Proof of Life, it was never going to compete with The Grinch over the kid-friendly winter holidays. The Don’t Worry Darling stories have been so scattershot and omnidirectional (as opposed to one direction?) that the overall narrative can’t be summed up simply. One thing is for sure: The movie is on America’s radar—for better, most likely, not worse.
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
Ezra Miller’s “Messiah” Delusions: Inside The Flash Star’s Dark Spiral
How King Charles and Prince William Plan to Protect the Monarchy Against an Uncertain Future
How Donald Trump Follows in the Footsteps of a Notorious Con Artist
The Biggest Films to Come Out of the Toronto International Film Festival
At Home With LeBron James and His Family
Is TikTok Turning Fashion Week Into Pure Chaos?
Lindsey Graham, World-Renowned Hypocrite, Says He Looks Forward to Passing Nationwide Abortion Ban
Lily Tomlin Says Jane Fonda Is “Indomitable” Following Cancer Diagnosis
Cover Story: Olivia Wilde on Don’t Worry Darling, “Baseless Rumors”—And Everything Else
From the Archive: The Dynastic Struggle That Rocked Queen Elizabeth’s Marriage
Listen to VF’s Still Watching Podcast for Ongoing Analysis of House of the Dragon
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There are A282 Dartford Crossing closures in place this weekend to allow for emergency repairs to be carried out. National Highways has advised drivers of the short-notice closure and given details of a diversion.
The northbound tunnels will be closed overnight from 8.30pm on Saturday, September 24, until 6am on Sunday, September 25, to carry out routine safety checks. National Highways said it will install a contraflow across the QEII bridge to keep traffic moving in both directions.
In a statement, it added: "We may need to hold traffic for short periods while the contraflow is being installed and removed which may cause slight delays."
READ MORE:Dad ‘devastated and angry’ over council’s decision on housing Ukrainian refugees
It also gave diversion information for those on the roads: "If you’re joining the A282 northbound from junctions 1a or 1b, a clearly signed diversion will be in place via the A282 southbound to M25 junction 2. From here, you’ll be able to join the northbound carriageway and cross over the QEII bridge into Essex."
The A282 Dartford Crossing is currently the only way to cross the Thames east of London by road, linking Essex and Kent via the 2.87km-long QEII bridge (southbound) and two 1.4km-long tunnels (northbound). The A282 also connects directly at both ends with the M25 London Orbital Motorway.
Sign up to get the latest stories from Kent direct into your inbox here
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- Kent facing twin threat of 'rising flu cases and reemergence of COVID this winter'
- Dame Kelly Holmes waited over eleven hours in Queen queue with 90-year-old ex serviceman
- Bagshot Park: The £30m Grade II mansion home to Prince Edward and Sophie Countess of Wessex
- Gravesend man who tormented victims for months jailed for repeated racial harassment
- Dover: White Cliffs Fish Bar and Pizza Kebab given food hygiene rating of 1 after 'mould found'
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Believe it or not, Julio Torres and Ana Fabrega—who cocreated and star in HBO’s cult hit comedy Los Espookys with SNL alum Fred Armisen—did not intend for there to be a three-year gap between seasons one and two of their show. In fact, it was meant to be pretty immediate. “The gap between the first season and the beginning of the second season felt really fast,” says Torres over Zoom, before Fabrega chimes in: “The show came out in the summer of 2019, and by the fall we were writing.”
Unfortunately, the world had other, COVID-19–related plans. Fabrega and Torres play the hapless but well-meaning Tati and spoiled Andrés on the series, which follows four friends who turn their love of all things spooky into a business venture, fabricating horror-film-like situations to help the constituents of their Latin American town. They recall that uncertain time when their show remained in limbo, with production shutting down in Santiago, Chile, between filming episodes four and five. “I was personally in denial about the whole thing,” Torres says. “I was very frustrated. It wasn’t until I was back that I realized, Oh no, when they say global pandemic, they mean global pandemic.”
But good things are worth the wait. Los Espookys’ second season takes even bigger swings than the show’s debut outing, effortlessly mining humor in situations from presidential elections to office birthday culture and men who wear one dangly earring—in both Spanish and English. “We're a very fun-first kind of show,” says Torres. Fabrega and Torres chatted with Vanity Fair about their unorthodox methods for making HBO’s most unconventional comedy.
Vanity Fair: How far along were you in the process of filming season two when you had to shut down?
Ana Fabrega: When cases started popping up in the U.S., we were in Santiago, [Chile]. It took a little bit longer for cases to get down there. For a little while I was like, “Oh, we have a pretty good buffer of time.” As cases started popping up in the city and we had some sort of close calls on set, we shut down.There was a feeling of, “Oh, we'll be back in a few weeks.” Obviously that's not what happened. So then it was just kind of waiting and seeing when are we going to be able to go back to Chile to finish? HBO tried to assure us, “Don't worry. We'll finish.” But after a year of, like, we can't go yet because they had different COVID protocols there than here, so we couldn't shoot, then it was like, “Man, okay, who knows how long it'll be?” It wound up being two years. Then we were able to just go back and finish essentially where we left off.
Julio Torres: Patient zero of our close call on set was [actor and comedian] Sam Taggart, who arrived and then got notice from another gig that he had done that he may have been exposed with COVID. At the time obviously COVID was this strange and scary thing, and then he was taken to a hospital, and it turned out he didn't have it. But that was scary enough that we were like, “Okay. What's best is to shut down and move on.”
How closely do you both work together and with your third cocreator, Fred Armisen, when coming up with the Los Espookys plot and scripts?
Fabrega: When we start writing, we'll spend a few weeks just throwing out a bunch of ideas of stuff that we think is funny without worrying about tying everything together yet. Once we have a big board to pull ideas from, then we'll start to piece things together and try to connect the dots. I do think that this season was a lot more character-driven rather than plot. That just came from knowing the characters better. Now, we can really write for them with more nuance than we could in the first season.
You’re able to blend absurd comic sequences with biting social commentary. How do you strike that balance?
Torres: It's not really planned. We write the whole season, which is, I think, pretty unusual for a TV show. We don't really have a staffed writers' room. We'll conceive the season and then we will bring in some help to help structure it and have sound arcs and all those things. We're a very fun-first kind of show. Frankly, we reverse engineer a lot of it. I know that I was like, oh, I want Andres to play with the evil stepmom trope. And then it's like, “Okay, well, what would allow for that to fit in organically?” I think that because Ana and I are very opinionated people, commentary just naturally arises. But it's never like, “Oh, we want to tackle this thing.”
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The A2 Jubiliee Way is closed tonight (Friday) after as lorry fire blocked the road in both directions. The lorry, which was carrying timber, got into trouble after 6pm.
The road was closed at 6.33pm, according to Inrix traffic monitoring system. The closure is in place from the A258 for St Margaret's At Cliffe / Deal Roundabout to the A20 for Eastern Docks roundabout.
Traffic is coping well. Kent Fire and Rescue, Kent Police and Port Of Dover Police are all in attendance.
READ MORE: Man tried to disguise £20,000 cash as baguettes while travelling through Eurotunnel
National Highways said: "The A2 is closed in both directions near the port of Dover between the A258 Duke of York Roundabout and the A20 Eastern Docks Roundabout due to a lorry transporting timber which has caught fire.
"Kent Fire & Rescue are on scene along with Kent Police and Port of Dover Police. Diversion routes are available."
See below for updates in our live blog and full diversion routes
READ NEXT:
Road remains closed - Inrix
A2 Jubilee Way in both directions closed due to lorry fire from A258 (St Margaret's At Cliffe / Deal Rondabout ) to A20 (Eastern Docks roundabout). Traffic is coping well.
Westbound diversion
Westbound/northbound (away from the Port) follow the route marked with a solid square symbol on road signs:
- Traffic will exit the Eastern Docks onto the A20 Town Wall Street westbound
- Travel to the York Street junction and turn right into York Street (A256)
- Travel north to the Priory Street Roundabout and take the second exit on to Priory Road (A256).
- Stay on the A256 until the mini-roundabout with Whitfield Hill
- Take the second exit to remain on the A256 Whitfield Hill
- Continue on this road to join the A2 at the Whitfield Roundabout
Eastbound diversion
National Highways has put diversions in place:
Eastbound/southbound (towards the Port) follow the route marked with a solid circle symbol on road signs:
- Diverted traffic will be diverted at the Duke of York Roundabout onto the A258 towards Dover and Castle Hill Road.
- Prior to the junction with A256 Woolcomber Street/Maison Dieu Road it will turn south into St James Street.
- From St James Street it will then turn left on to A256 Woolcomber Street and travel towards the junction with the A20
What's happened?
- The A2 is closed in both directions near the port of Dover
- Closure between the A258 Duke of York Roundabout and the A20 Eastern Docks Roundabout
- Closure is due to a lorry transporting timber which has caught fire
- Kent Fire & Rescue are on scene along with Kent Police and Port of Dover Police
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| 2022-09-23T18:55:56Z
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Jake Tapper hopes to dispel some doubts about his place of work. “I just want to reassure anybody out there that CNN’s commitment to standing up for democracy remains as strong as ever,” he told me over the phone this week, with Congress preparing for another public hearing on its investigation into the January 6 Capitol attack. “Jeff Zucker was a powerful voice in favor of it, and Chris Licht is too.”
Licht’s commitment to Tapper was evident Thursday, as the network announced that the Sunday morning and weekday afternoon host would shift to 9 p.m. through the 2022 midterms. The prime-time programming move, on the heels of a weekday morning shake-up, comes as Licht, who took over as CNN’s chief executive in May, puts his stamp on the network. It also comes amid concerns that CNN, under a new regime, is abandoning its unflinching coverage of assaults on the democratic process to appear more Republican-friendly. Brian Stelter’s firing was the first shot, which coincided with canceling Reliable Sources. Then veteran White House correspondent John Harwood announced he was leaving the network too, just hours after telling viewers that President Joe Biden was correct in calling out the threat of the MAGA right. “I really hope that we don’t both-sides democracy,” one staffer told Vanity Fair amid the fallout.
The new CEO has indicated a desire to phase out the combative editorial approach CNN took during the Trump era in favor of a nonpartisan bent (or at least the perception of such). Licht has reportedly met with House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, one of the 147 GOP lawmakers who voted to overturn the 2020 election results, and has reportedly advised staff against using ”the big lie,” a term he considers too close to the Democratic Party’s talking points. (Licht does support using the phrase “Trump’s election lie.”) Media reporters have explored the possible influence of John Malone, a conservative billionaire who is a major stakeholder in the new CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, which completed a merger in April.
For the last year-plus, the network has pursued an aggressive approach to covering the end of the Trump administration and the January 6 riot, churning out dozens of exclusives and breaking the news on the infamous Mark Meadows texts, the Justice Department’s probe into Trumpworld’s fake-elector scheme, and numerous leaks related to the January 6 select committee’s work. It has aired every hearing held by the committee investigating the Capitol attack—the same hearings Republicans have cast off as partisan witch hunts. According to Tapper and CNN executive vice president of programming Michael Bass, the change in ownership, and leadership, will not impact the outlet’s dedication to January 6 coverage. “Our plan continues to be the same,” Bass said in reference to the network’s coverage of the committee, adding that CNN “will be all in on hearing days.” Bass, while acknowledging that changes are happening at CNN, noted that Licht has directed the network’s commitment to January 6 coverage “every step of the way.”
“When the very foundations of our country are under attack, what story could be more important than that?” he said. “So that would certainly qualify as a major story that Chris is very heavily involved in.”
CNN has joined every major news network—save for Fox News—in carrying the prime-time hearings live. Licht directed Tapper and Anderson Cooper to air two-hour recaps of the daytime hearings in prime time, per Tapper. The outlet intends on fully airing the January 6 committee hearing scheduled to take place mid-next week. Tapper also noted that his latest documentary—an hour-long special detailing the January 6 committee’s findings and Republican efforts to subvert future elections, which CNN aired on Sunday, September 18—“was Chris Licht’s idea.” The Sunday special was a follow-up to Trumping Democracy: An American Coup, a project that CNN’s documentary team had produced when Zucker was still running the show. Licht greenlighted a request from Tapper to air updated reruns of it over the summer.
[Break]
Like many other outlets, CNN experienced a post-Trump ratings plummet, but current audiences have shown a keen interest in the outlet’s laser-like focus on January 6. In July, 6 out of the top 20 longest-read articles on CNN’s site were related to its coverage of the committee. CNN Digital’s hearing live streams were all among the most popular events for the site, only trailing the 2022 State of the Union address and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The sixth hearing, which featured former Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s explosive testimony, was its third-most-viewed live event of the year.
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| 2022-09-23T18:55:59Z
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On the afternoon of Thursday, April 21, Jim Rutenberg’s voice beamed across Fresh Air with Terry Gross, a holy grail of media promotion, where he was appearing to discuss The Murdochs: Empire of Influence. The ambitious documentary series, based on Rutenberg and Jonathan Mahler’s 2019 New York Times Magazine opus about the Murdoch family, had just debuted on CNN+, a brand-new streaming service created by the original 24-hour cable news network. But there was a problem, and it was an awkward one—that same day, CNN’s new bosses at Warner Bros. Discovery announced that CNN+ would shut down on April 30, less than a month after its much-ballyhooed debut, which made Rutenberg’s Fresh Air segment a bit of a moot point.
After CNN+’s spectacular implosion, Empire of Influence and the rest of the platform’s programming was put on hold while the brass figured out what to do with it. Rutenberg and Mahler, who worked closely on the series as consulting producers, sat tight waiting to hear about next steps. But as Warner Bros. Discovery began retooling CNN for the post–Jeff Zucker era, under the direction of new CEO Chris Licht, ominous speculation began to swirl.
The narrative that quickly took hold in the media suggested the company wanted to move CNN closer to the center—away from the righteous diatribes that had come to define it during the Trump years, and back to more of a dispassionate, just-the-facts-ma’am presentation of the day’s news. On-air personalities seen as emblematic of the former approach were suddenly said to be on the chopping block. (Two such figures, Brian Stelter and John Harwood, would exit in the months to come.) And the specter of Warner Bros. Discovery shareholder John Malone loomed large. It was Malone, a libertarian cable pioneer and mentor to WBD chief David Zaslav, who had thoroughly unsettled CNN’s journalistic corps with a now infamous appearance on CNBC, speaking somewhat derisively of CNN while lauding his preferred network, Fox News—which, of course, is controlled by Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch. Would there be a home in this recalibrated, supposedly Malone-infused CNN for a heat-seeking Murdoch documentary, one that portrays Fox News critically and was based on a magazine feature that didn’t go over so well in Murdoch world? The conspiratorial whispers grew loud enough that Rutenberg and Mahler—who by early summer still hadn’t received word about a new air date—got a tip from a plugged-in journalist abroad who’d heard that WBD was going to make the series disappear.
In the end, the rumor-mongering turned out to be just that. After its ill-timed and little-seen streaming blip, Empire of Influence will finally get a proper liftoff this Sunday, when it premieres at 9 p.m. on CNN with the first and second episodes. It arrives at a moment of tumult for the Murdochs—albeit moderate tumult—between Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News; Lachlan’s adjacent legal tiff with the news website Crikey in the Murdochs’ native Australia; and Rupert’s still-fresh divorce from Jerry Hall. That all seems like child’s play compared to the utterly biblical scandals this family has weathered over the years. “The thing about the Murdochs,” Rutenberg said when I caught up with him and Mahler ahead of the premiere, “is that things are always a little hot for them.”
Over the course of seven episodes clocking in at one hour a piece (counting the commercials), Empire of Influence is a history course in Murdoch controversies. There was the kidnapping and murder of Muriel McKay, mistaken for Rupert’s second wife, Anna Murdoch, in 1969; the 1986 Wapping print-worker strike at Murdoch’s London newspaper operation; the sexual harassment investigations that brought a screeching halt to the careers of longtime Fox News chief Roger Ailes and network phenomenon Bill O’Reilly; and most epically, the great phone-hacking upheaval that reshaped Murdoch’s global media apparatus more than a decade ago.
For those of us who devoured the phone-hacking saga in real time like a serialized newspaper thriller, episode five is a juicy stroll down memory lane: Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, the notorious “for Neville” email that landed James Murdoch in hot water (but which he maintains he wasn’t made aware of at the time), the ignominious end of News of the World, and last but not least, the shaving-cream pie toss heard ’round the world. Repentant former News of the World editor Greg Miskiw (who died last year) appears on camera lamenting his role as one of the first journalists at the tabloid to traffic in the dark arts of illegally accessing people’s voicemails via private detectives. And new reporting in the episode from Rutenberg and Mahler explores the extent to which Elisabeth Murdoch—then recently back in the family business through the sale of her production company, Shine—apparently petitioned her father to fire James, whose wife, Kathryn Murdoch, called upon their mother to intervene. “She’s fuming,” Rutenberg says of Elisabeth into the camera, “because in her mind, everything she built is now on the line.” (Elisabeth has denied that she encouraged James’s firing.) As Mahler describes phone hacking for viewers, “It is like a stick of dynamite that has exploded inside the family.”
Crises aside, this is a series about empire building, narrated by a who’s who of Murdoch kremlinologists and media stars. (In addition to Rutenberg and Mahler, you’ll hear from Roger Stone, Maggie Haberman, Maury Povich, Alisyn Camerota, Gretchen Carlson, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Alex Wagner, Sarah Ellison, David Folkenflik, Matthew Belloni, Brian Stelter, Abby Phillip, Kim Masters, Emily Bell, Alan Rusbridger, Vanity Fair editor in chief Radhika Jones, and many others.) Empire of Influence charts Rupert Murdoch’s rise from his origins as the proprietor of a single Australian tabloid, to his legacy as the most consequential, power-wielding global media mogul the world has ever seen, and perhaps ever will. It’s also the real-life documentary version of Succession, replete with sibling rivalry, parental backstabbing, a menacing new-classical soundtrack, and yachts galore, starting with a cinematic opening scene depicting the life-threatening fall that Murdoch took while relieving himself during a cruise through the Caribbean one night in January 2018.
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| 2022-09-23T18:56:05Z
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Princess Kate and her husband Prince William met with volunteers and staff who helped prepare for Queen Elizabeth's funeral, sharing that they can still feel the late monarch's presence all around them.
During the meeting at Windsor Castle on Thursday with volunteers and operational staff, the Prince and Princess of Wales revealed the odd natural phenomenon that keeps occurring since Queen Elizabeth's passing earlier this month. “In Scotland, how many rainbows turned up?” William asked his wife during the gathering at Windsor Guildhall. “You hardly ever see rainbows up there, but there were five.” Kate replied that the spectacular sight made her feel like, “Her Majesty was looking down on us.”
And it's true that lately there has been an unusual preponderance of rainbows taking place in significant locations across the country. Following the queen's death on September 8, there were multiple rainbows spotted around the United Kingdom, including a particularly remarkable double rainbow that broke through the clouds over mourners gathered outside Buckingham Palace. The next day, the royal family also spotted five rainbows arching over Balmoral Castle, the Scottish estate where the monarch passed away at age 96. And yet another rainbow appeared one day before her funeral, showing up over London's Westminister Hall where the queen was lying in state.
William and Kate have been open with the public about the grief they're experiencing following Queen Elizabeth's death. Last week, the royal couple spent forty minutes walking around Windsor Castle meeting with various mourners and well-wishers gathered there. One of those they met with, school teacher Elaine Gee, told People that William spoke to her about his children, “George, Charlotte and Louis, saying that they were trying to keep some sense of continuity for them at school and keep things as normal as possible.” She added, “Catherine thanked me, and she said that all the nation were feeling it. They were both very kind and gentle and genuine. It was very special—definitely a moment I will always treasure.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales also shared an emotional message following the monarch's death. “On Thursday, the world lost an extraordinary leader, whose commitment to the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth was absolute,” Prince William wrote in a statement posted to the couple's official social media accounts. “I, however, have lost a grandmother. And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of the queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade.”My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives.”
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
Ezra Miller’s “Messiah” Delusions: Inside The Flash Star’s Dark Spiral
How King Charles and Prince William Plan to Protect the Monarchy Against an Uncertain Future
How Donald Trump Follows in the Footsteps of a Notorious Con Artist
The Biggest Films to Come Out of the Toronto International Film Festival
At Home With LeBron James and His Family
Is TikTok Turning Fashion Week Into Pure Chaos?
Lindsey Graham, World-Renowned Hypocrite, Says He Looks Forward to Passing Nationwide Abortion Ban
Lily Tomlin Says Jane Fonda Is “Indomitable” Following Cancer Diagnosis
Cover Story: Olivia Wilde on Don’t Worry Darling, “Baseless Rumors”—And Everything Else
From the Archive: The Dynastic Struggle That Rocked Queen Elizabeth’s Marriage
Listen to VF’s Still Watching Podcast for Ongoing Analysis of House of the Dragon
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| 2022-09-23T18:56:17Z
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The women in novelist Ling Ma’s universe are always finding themselves either on the run (escaping pandemic-savaged New York, chasing down former lovers, fleeing into otherworldly portals) or paralyzed in some liminal state (foreign airports, a bad drug trip) that they’re desperate to awaken from. In her new collection, Bliss Montage, each story unspools like a dream sequence privately remembered, and dream logic rules supreme. Stories nest within stories in a vividly realized world, with minimal rationale: Of course a useless rich husband speaks in dollar signs; why wouldn’t a yeti hit on you at a bar? Across the book’s eight stories, dreaming itself also serves narrative purpose. Her characters find themselves in each others’ REM cycles, or use sleep (or cryogenic freezing) to absolve themselves of near-term consequences—when confronted for his betrayal, an ex-boyfriend says, “I thought I was dreaming.” It’s no surprise, then, that when I meet Ma for lunch in Lower Manhattan, she tells how the premise of many of these stories began as dreams themselves.
“If I remember a dream, I do feel like there’s some kind of anxiety embedded in it—some premise that touches a nerve,” says Ma, austere in a short bob cut and plain black tee, while we watch trains hurtle by on the Manhattan Bridge from our vantage outside Golden Diner. The 39-year-old author is in town for Bliss Montage’s publication week, and she describes the surreality of a reading she gave the previous night, that writerly fantasy-nightmare-combo of having all eyes on her.
“I felt like I was going to be cannibalized,” she laughs, evoking the casual violence dotting much of the language of her short stories themselves—“Bougainvillea the color of bruises”; a mother having children “one gang-bangingly after the other”—abrupt slips of the tongue revealing all is never as it appears. Ma herself is full of these casually intriguing admissions (briefly, we discuss the potential cultiness of her “low, ground floor levels” of involvement in Transcendental Meditation), and it’s understandable how reader response would be so, well, consuming given the eventful few years since Ma published her Kirkus Prize-winning debut novel, Severance, about an apocalyptic pandemic that ravages the world—in 2018.
I ask Ma what’s surprised her most about Severance’s ascendence as arguably the most prescient pre-COVID novel we had about America’s capacity for handling a real-life viral pandemic (plus an accompanying reckoning with capitalism). She admits that her original fear was that the novel, written between 2012 and 2016, was actually going to end up looking outdated, especially once the Trump era got going. “He ushered in this new sense of absurdity,” she says. “If you were going to put in a novel, in 2012, a lieutenant governor saying, ‘We need to sacrifice our grandparents for like, the sake of the economy,’ that reads as really on the nose.” Long before quarantiners started wandering the streets Severance’s Candace Chen does in an abandoned New York, before real-life corporations started fixating on in-office appearances amidst widespread illness, reality had already jumped the shark. (For those curious about whether Ma has since enjoyed the other major pandemic-themed work of fiction, Station Eleven, she’s seen the first episode of the show and plans to keep watching.)
For Ma, writing Severance was intended as a way to distill her own coming-of-age anxieties as an English major matriculating at the University of Chicago days after 9/11 (“During freshman orientation, one of the events was in the Hancock Tower, at the very top; there was all this talk like, ‘Should we be up here? Is it a target?’”), then as an observer of the 2003 SARS pandemic, then as a cog in the publishing supply chain and then a laid-off Playboy fact-checker (Ma treated that severance pay as a kind of writing fellowship, thus began Severance). “If I open it up to a paragraph, I can immediately tap into that sense of doom that was very much a part of my life in my 20s,” Ma explains of the novel. “And that sense of apathy and detachment as well.”
Self-imposed déjà vu is, of course, a time-old technique, though the loops of Ma’s own life have been making themselves more apparent lately. “I do have a lot of returning in my past,” she says of her position teaching creative writing on the same University of Chicago campus now, of even writing much of Bliss Montage back in the same pre-grad-school apartment where she’d started Severance a decade ago. Ma’s process involves two shifts: Drafts are first handwritten, then transcribed with revisions into a laptop while, in the case of Bliss Montage, lying down—since Ma was pregnant at the time (another auspicious return: Her ob-gyn was located in the same building as the old Playboy office, which at least solved the long-running puzzle from Ma’s fact-checking days of seeing lingerie models and pregnant women overlap in the elevator bank). These days, she’s living in the same neighborhood where she’d began as a writer in her late 20s, “so I can keep circulating,” as she puts it.
These are the starter ingredients for Ma’s particularly grounded brand of surrealism: a dearly familiar home base (not to mention escape from distractions—“I can write in Chicago. I can’t in New York!”), a keen cinephilic habit (“It helps you zoom in on the most efficient images”), plus the works of Kafka, Marilynne Robinson, and more. “I like to emulate Sherwood Anderson, this sort of Midwestern, naturalistic, plain-spoken style that I think is very elegant,” Ma says. “But then, you know, just add zombies or like, yeti sex.” Though Bliss Montage has the latter and more, including the existence and detailed cultural customs of a made-up nation called Garboza, she’s less interested in fantastical flexing for fantastical flexing’s sake. “Someone told me that my writing is realism, but it just masquerades as something else,” she says. “I think emotional realism is what I’m going for.” Hence the dream-like qualities of these stories, where even the weirdest plot trappings are only secondary to the emotions at stake.
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| 2022-09-23T18:56:23Z
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Who hasn’t forgotten about a house? Who hasn’t had the producers filming their life scout a location within their own real estate portfolio and then thought, Oh, right. Yes. That old thing. Sure. We’ll go there.
Come to think of it, who hasn’t patted down their breast pockets and muttered to themselves, “It’s around here somewhere, my three-bedroom, two-bath, 2,400-square-foot paradise. I put it right here this morning”? Who hasn’t briefly wondered if sundowning was coming for them early while trying to remember where they last saw their hacienda-style nine-bedroom with the little studio ADU and pool house out back?
When you remember this is a typical experience that we’ve all had, you realize the revelation that Kris Jenner “kind of forgot” her condo in Beverly Hills existed—as revealed in the second-season premiere of Hulu’s The Kardashians—isn’t so crazy. It’s the one, for those following along at home, that she uses as a “gift-wrapping station” for Christmas.
Khloé Kardashian, who recently moved into a $17 million custom-built home in Hidden Hills, which is also next door to her mother’s new primary residence, was the one who got to point out the absurdity of Jenner’s negligence. “I can’t wait to be wealthy enough I forget I have properties somewhere,” Kardashian said. Putting on a British accent for added posh effect, she said, “Oh, I have a condo in Beverly Hills! I forgot about that!”
Yes, sometimes you wish you were wealthy enough to forget some real estate in your portfolio, and sometimes you wish you were wealthy enough to have a gift-wrapping condo, and sometimes you wish you were wealthy enough to have one (1) bit of real estate at all. These are all part of the American dream, and you know how easy it is to forget a dream.
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
Ezra Miller’s “Messiah” Delusions: Inside The Flash Star’s Dark Spiral
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Listen to VF’s Still Watching Podcast for Ongoing Analysis of House of the Dragon
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https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/09/who-hasnt-like-kris-jenner-forgotten-they-own-a-condo-in-beverly-hills
| 2022-09-23T18:56:29Z
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Five months after her mother Naomi Judd's death, Wynonna Judd says she's finally ready to start talking about the loss she and the rest of their family have been through and how music is helping her get through it all.
Judd sat down for her first interview since her mother's suicide in April, speaking with CBS Sunday Morning about her grief and decision to go back on tour despite it. The country singer shared that the day before she and Naomi — who were best known as The Judds, one of the most successful country duos in history — were going to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, “I got the call, and I went over, and I saw her and that was that. I said goodbye to her in the hospital, and I closed her eyes, and I kissed her forehead and that was that. And the next thing I know, I'm sitting here on the front porch...and I'm just trying to figure out what's next.” She added, “I did not know that she was at the place she was at when she ended it because she had had episodes before and she got better. And that's what I live in, is like, ‘Was there anything I should have looked for or should I have known?’ I didn't. That's why it's such a shock.” And despite her passing, Judd says she still “feel[s] her nudging me. And sometimes, I laugh. And sometimes, I say, 'I really miss you. Why aren't you here so we can argue?'”
The singer also spoke to People this week about her decision to go forward with the final tour they had planned together as The Judds. “This is my opportunity to step into a situation that I don't know that I am ready to do what I'm about to do, but I think it's going to heal me,” she explained to the outlet. “I'm teaching what I want to learn, which is how to have peace and joy in a really negative [space]. I want people to know that they're loved. I want people to know that there is hope.”
Judd also shared how she's been coping with the loss over the last several months, saying, “I'll tell you what I know about death. In death, there is life. I feel both at the same time simultaneously. I feel joy and sorrow. I'm walking in paradox. I'm literally a walking contradiction. I feel joy. I feel pain. I feel light. I feel dark.” She concluded, “How am I coping? It depends on the [situation]. I'm on the phone talking and all of a sudden I'll just begin to weep. Then 10 minutes later, I'm making a dinner and I'm talking to my husband about our date night. Then my granddaughter comes and I cry some more. I cry a lot. That's okay…It doesn't mean it's a sign of weakness.”
More Great Stories From Vanity Fair
Ezra Miller’s “Messiah” Delusions: Inside The Flash Star’s Dark Spiral
How King Charles and Prince William Plan to Protect the Monarchy Against an Uncertain Future
How Donald Trump Follows in the Footsteps of a Notorious Con Artist
The Biggest Films to Come Out of the Toronto International Film Festival
At Home With LeBron James and His Family
Is TikTok Turning Fashion Week Into Pure Chaos?
Lindsey Graham, World-Renowned Hypocrite, Says He Looks Forward to Passing Nationwide Abortion Ban
Lily Tomlin Says Jane Fonda Is “Indomitable” Following Cancer Diagnosis
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From the Archive: The Dynastic Struggle That Rocked Queen Elizabeth’s Marriage
Listen to VF’s Still Watching Podcast for Ongoing Analysis of House of the Dragon
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| 2022-09-23T18:56:35Z
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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The judge overseeing the penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz refused to step down Monday, rejecting a motion by his attorneys who accused her of being biased against their client and prejudicing the jurors who will decide if he should die for murdering 17 people four years ago.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer denied the motion, saying only it was legally insufficient. Scherer last week chewed out lead defense attorney Melisa McNeill and her team outside the jury’s presence, accusing them of being “unprofessional” when they unexpectedly rested their case after only about 25 of the 80 witnesses they had told her and prosecutors they intended to testify had been called.
The defense said in court documents filed last week that those comments and ones the judge later made to the jury were “the zenith of the cumulative disdain” they allege Scherer has shown throughout the case toward Cruz and themselves. The defense had no obligation to call all its proposed witnesses or notify the judge or prosecution when they planned to rest, legal observers have said.
Prosecutors argued in court documents that Scherer’s comments didn’t rise to the level of demonstrating bias against Cruz. They cited a 1994 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says a judge’s “expressions of impatience, dissatisfaction, annoyance and even anger” against the defense are not grounds for stepping down.
If Scherer had stepped down, a mistrial would have been declared. The new judge would have required months of preparation before a new trial could be held.
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty last October to murdering 14 students and three staff members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. His trial, which began with jury selection in April and testimony in July, is only to determine if he is sentenced to death or life without parole. For him to receive a death sentence, the jury must be unanimous.
Two attorneys who have monitored the trial said the defense team had no expectation that Scherer would step down — they just want her performance to be part of their appeal if Cruz receives a death sentence. To do that, they had to object now.
There was “absolutely no chance” Scherer would quit the case, said Bob Jarvis, a professor at Nova Southeastern University’s law school.
“If she did, she would be admitting that she’s done a terrible job,” Jarvis said. Scherer, a former prosecutor, had never overseen a first-degree murder trial before being assigned the Cruz case.
David S. Weinstein, a Miami defense attorney and former prosecutor, said the defense is also hoping the motion “tempers the way (Scherer) speaks to both sides in open court.”
Starting with pretrial hearings that began more than three years ago, Scherer and McNeill have frequently sniped at each other over the judge’s denials of defense motions and objections.
That sniping turned to shouting on Wednesday when, at the beginning of the court day, McNeill suddenly announced the defense was resting. The prosecution, having expected the defense case to last much longer, wasn’t prepared to begin its rebuttal case.
That necessitated a two-week hiatus in the trial, causing Scherer to berate McNeill and her team.
“This is the most uncalled for, unprofessional way to try a case,” Scherer said. “I have never experienced a level of unprofessionalism in my career. It is unbelievable.”
When McNeill accused Scherer of insulting her in front of her client, Scherer shot back, “You have been insulting me the entire trial,” followed by a list of grievances.
The jury was then brought into the courtroom and told of the defense decision.
“If I would have known earlier this was going to be happening, I would not have dragged you in here,” Scherer told the jurors. She then backtracked, telling jurors they should blame her for any delays.
Too late, the defense said in its motion — Scherer had already told the panel any frustrations they felt should be directed at them.
Scherer’s courtroom statements revealed her “animosity toward (McNeill) is long held and has infected this entire trial,” the defense argued unsuccessfully.
Before resting, McNeill and her team called teachers, counselors, doctors, family friends and experts in an attempt to demonstrate how his late birth mother’s alcohol abuse during pregnancy put Cruz onto a lifelong path of erratic, bizarre and often violent behavior that culminated in the shootings. They also tried to show that his adoptive mother, Lynda Cruz, became overwhelmed after her husband died when Cruz was 5.
The defense is trying to overcome the prosecution’s case, which focused on Cruz’s massacre as he stalked a three-story classroom building for seven minutes with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle. Lead prosecutor Mike Satz played security videos of the shooting and showed the rifle Cruz used. Teachers and students testified about watching others die.
Satz showed graphic autopsy and crime scene photos and took jurors to the fenced-off building, which remains blood-stained and bullet-pocked. Parents and spouses gave tearful and angry statements about their loss.
The trial is now scheduled to resume Sept. 27 and conclude the week of Oct. 10.
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| 2022-09-23T18:56:46Z
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man who broke windows and security cameras at a Planned Parenthood clinic in southwestern Oregon because he opposed abortion has pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
Devin Kruse, 27, of Grants Pass, Oregon, pleaded guilty Monday, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
Kruse admitted he broke five security cameras, a window and a sign at the Grants Pass clinic on Nov. 23, according to his plea agreement. He also said he returned several days later and threw a concrete block through a window, tore down an intercom system and broke lightbulbs, documents said.
He told officers who arrested him that all Planned Parenthood facilities needed to be shut down, according to the agreement.
“The First Amendment does not allow individuals to violate the civil rights of others. In this case, Mr. Kruse’s destructive and intimidating acts prevented women from accessing vital reproductive and pregnancy health services,” Natalie Wight, Oregon’s U.S. attorney, said in a statement.
At a sentencing set for early next year, prosecutors will recommend that he face two years of probation, one for each count. He has also agreed to pay restitution to Planned Parenthood in an amount to be determined.
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| 2022-09-23T18:57:00Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — Acres of water lilies will bloom on Wall Street this fall, at least digitally.
A massive, immersive exhibition celebrating French artist Claude Monet will make its U.S. debut in downtown New York starting in November, promising a multisensory experience that puts visitors as close to inside his iconic flower paintings as possible.
“Monet’s Garden: The Immersive Experience” will splash the Impressionist pioneer’s paintings across walls and floors of a spacious, one-time bank building and boost the effect by adding scents, music and narration in multiple language.
“To be able to address more than just two senses I think will immerse people a bit more,” said Dr. Nepomuk Schessl, producer of the exhibition. “We certainly hope it’s going to be the next big thing.”
Visitors will be greeted by aromas of lavender and water lilies wafting in the air and learn much about Monet, who during his long life evolved from a gifted but slightly conventional landscape painter churning out realistic images to a painter whose feathery brushstrokes captured shifting light, atmosphere and movement.
“He was living right at the moment when photography was invented. So the whole world of art changed,” said Schessl of Monet, who lived from 1840-1926. “Painting was not needed for documentary reasons anymore.”
The exhibit will offer many of Monet’s works, which vary from the rocky coastline of Normandy to haystacks and poplars, to the Japanese bridge and water lily-filled pond at his home in Giverny.
The exhibit begins Nov. 1 at the Seamen’s Bank Building at 30 Wall Street and runs until Jan. 8. Tickets are on sale now, and Schessl hopes it will tour the U.S. in 2023.
The concept for “Monet’s Garden” was developed by the Swiss creative lab Immersive Art AG in cooperation with Alegria Konzert GmbH. It has been shown in European cities such as Berlin, Zurich and Vienna and will have upcoming engagements in Hamburg and London.
In some ways, Schessl thinks a massive, 360-degree presentation of Monet’s works fits with the artist’s own intentions. After all, some of his paintings were intentionally massive.
“He wanted the spectator to completely immerse himself or herself into the painting,” he said. “Maybe it’s a little bit presumptuous, but I think that if he had our opportunity, he might have done it.”
“Monet’s Garden” comes a year after dueling traveling immersive exhibits of Van Gogh arrived in New York and also married his work with technology. Gustav Klimt’s paintings have also been made immersive.
Schessl said technology — especially stronger processing power and high tech LCD laser projectors — make these immersive exhibits possible. He admits to checking out rival shows to ensure his team stays cutting edge, but he adheres to one rule.
“The content needs to be the star. The technology is our means to achieve something, but it never should only be the technology,” he said.
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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https://www.wwlp.com/news/entertainment/ap-entertainment/ap-immersive-claude-monet-exhibit-planned-for-nyc-this-fall/
| 2022-09-23T18:58:05Z
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