Greenfield World Trade of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is recalling about 14,000 EZDRY food dehydrators.
The food dehydrator can overheat, posing fire and burn hazards.
The firm has received 13 reports of the dehydrator overheating and the plastic unit melting, including six reports of fire and one report resulting in property damage to the counter top. No injuries have been reported.
This recall involves white, EZDRY, six-tray food dehydrators, weighing about four pounds and measuring 12 inches tall by about 8 inches deep by 10 inches wide. EZDRY is printed on the front of the dehydrators. EZDRY and the model number EPD60W are printed on a white label on the bottom of the unit.
They were sold in a white box labeled “EZDRY by Excalibur” Home Dehydrator with a picture of the product. These products are marked “Date Code: 2116, 2416, or 3316” engraved at the bottom of the label located on the bottom of the unit.
The dehydrators, manufactured in China, were sold at Kohl’s stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com from June 2016, through February 2017, for between $40 and $50.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled food dehydrators and contact Greenfield for instructions on returning the recalled food dehydrators with a prepaid shipping label for a free replacement or full refund.
Consumers may contact Greenfield toll-free at 877-881-0065 from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, by email at productrecall@thelegacycompanies.com or online at www.greenfieldworld.com and click on the “Recall Safety Information” link at the top of the page for more information.
Newmar Corporation is recalling 26 model year 2017 King Aire motorhomes.
The seals on the headlight harness connectors may not be properly seated, allowing water to enter the connector. As a result, the glass dash display may switch to the turn signal camera mode causing the dash to show the turn signal side camera view over the speedometer and RPM displays.
If the driver cannot see the speedometer and RPM displays, there would be an increased risk of a crash.
Newmar will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and reseat the seals as needed, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin June 3, 2017.
Forest River is recalling 54 model year 2016-2017 XLR Toyhauler RVs.
The fasteners for the side patio deck bar lock may not be strong enough, allowing the patio door to unlatch and the deck to drop unexpectedly.
If the patio deck drops while the vehicle is in use, there would be an increased risk of a crash.
Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fasteners with stronger ones, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin May 31, 2017.
Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-642-0432. Forest River's number for this recall is 45-03242017-0360.
TP Food Processing of Westminster, Calif., is recalling Lemongrass Satay and Shrimp Satay.
The products may be contaminated with Clostridum botulinum.
Customers who purchased the recalled products should not eat them, but return them to the place of purchase.
Consumers with questions may call Philip Ma at 714-891-3838.
Beyond Meat of El Segundo, Calif., is recalling certain bags of Feisty Crumbles from three production.
The products may contain peanuts, an allergen not declared on the label.
The recalled products were shipped to multiple distributors and stores.
Jimmy’s Cookies of Clifton, N.J. is recalling one lot of The Bakery Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
The recalled product, packed 10 cookies to a 14-oz. container with an orange label, was sold in retail stores and distributed in bakeries nationwide. LOT #047 can be found printed in black ink on the top of the package.
Consumers with questions may contact the firm Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (EST) at (973) 779-8500.
Feng Mao Biotechnology Organic Food is recalling almond drinking powder sold in 600-g cans.
Customers who purchased the recalled product should return it to the store where they purchased it for a full refund.
Consumers with questions or concerns may call Walong Marketing at 887-675-8899, Richin Trading at 626-308-3212 or Tiffany Food at 718-326-2667.
Choice Farms recalling 7-Eleven brand Caesar Salad containers.
The product contains milk, egg, wheat and anchovies, allergens not declared on the label.
The recalled product was delivered to a distribution center for 7-Eleven in Denver, and sold only in 7-Eleven stores in Colorado.
Customers who purchased the recalled product should throw it away and contact Choice Farms for a refund at 800-605-0881.
Bosch Solar Energy Corporation of San Mateo, Calif., is recalling about 28,000 roof-mounted Bosch solar panels.
The solar panels can overheat, posing a risk of fire.
This recall involves Roof-Mounted Bosch Photovoltaic Solar Modules with model number c-Si M 60 NA30119. Bosch solar modules are photovoltaic solar panels used to generate electricity. Each module measures approximately 65 inches by 39 inches by 1.65 inches, and weighs just less than 42 pounds.
The solar cells are housed in a glass-foil laminate framed by an anodized aluminum profile. The output power of the panel is 245 watt peak.
The panels, manufactured in Korea, were sold at commercial installers nationwide from October 2011, through May 2013, for about $300 per panel.
Consumers should contact their installer to determine if their solar panels are the model being recalled. If it is, customers should contact Bosch to arrange for free replacement.
Consumers may contact Bosch toll-free at 855-866-8470 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (CT) Monday through Friday, by email boschsolar@us.bosch or online at http://www.bosch-solarenergy.de/en_us/bosch_se_serviceorganisation/home_7/homepage_2.html at the bottom of the page for more information and to register for free replacement.
Smucker Foods of Canada is recalling Robin Hood brand All Purpose Flour, Original.
The product may be contaminated with E. coli O121.
There has been one reported illness associated with the consumption of this product.
Customers who purchased the recalled product should not consumer it, but throw it away or return it to the store where purchased.
Consumers with questions may call Smucker Foods of Canada at 1-888-569-6728.
Customatic Beds of Natick, Mass., is recalling about 50,000 adjustable beds.
The bed’s side-mounted AC outlets can be incorrectly wired, posing an electric shock hazard to consumers.
This recall involves the bases of Customatic adjustable beds. These power foundations were offered in all bed sizes and were sold with handheld remote controls, allowing the head and/or the foot of the bed mattress to be moved up and down. These bases also have a side mounted AC outlet.
The model numbers can be found on the metal frame near the foot of the bed and are listed below.
The beds, manufactured in Taiwan, were sold at Sleepy’s and other mattress stores nationwide from June 2012, through January 2017, for about $1,500.
Consumers should immediately stop using the AC plug on the side of the bed and contact Customatic Beds to arrange for a free inspection and repair.
Consumers may contact contact Customatic Beds toll-free at 844-815-9023 from 9 a.m. through 9 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday or online at www.customaticbeds.com for more information.
Nassau Candy Distributors of Hicksville, N.Y., is recalling H.E.B brand Pomegranate Infused Cranberries Covered in Dark Chocolate.
The product may contain almonds, an allergen not declared on the label.
The company has received one allergy complaint to date.
The recalled product, packaged in 8-oz. zipper bags with UPC CODE 041220985883 and a Best By Date of 02/27/18 on the lower right back panel of the packaging, was distributed to H.E.B in San Antonio, Texas.
Consumers with questions may contact Nassau Candy Distributors at 516-433-7100 ext. 7297, Monday - Friday 9am - 4pm (EST).
Deere & Company of Moline, Ill., is recalling about 8,500 Gator Utility Vehicles.
The dust boot on the throttle cable can come loose, resulting in the vehicle not slowing down or stopping, posing a crash hazard.
The company has received two reports of the dust boot on the throttle cable coming loose. No reports of injuries.
This recall involves John Deere Gator Utility Vehicles with model number XUV590i or XUV590i S4 printed on the hood and the “John Deere” and “Gator” brand names printed on the cargo box.
The serial number, located on the frame on the rear of the machine above the hitch, begins with 1M0590 and fall within the ranges on the chart below.
The recalled utility vehicles come in several colors and have four-wheel suspension with side-by-side seating for two or four people depending on model.
The vehicles, manufactured in the U.S., were sold at John Deere dealers nationwide from January 2016, through March 2017, for between $10,000 and $12,900.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled utility vehicles and contact a John Deere dealer for a free repair. John Deere is contacting all registered owners of the recalled vehicles directly.
Consumers may contact Deere & Company at 800- 537-8233, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (ET), or online at www.deere.com and select Product Recall Information on the drop-down menu under Services & Support for more information.
Anaheim Manufacturing Co. and Moen Inc., of North Olmsted, Ohio, are recalling 148,700 garbage disposals sold in the U.S. and Canada.
A metal component inside the disposal can break off and come out of the disposal during use, posing an impact hazard.
The firms have received 22 reports of a metal component coming out of a disposal, including three reports of a broken component hitting consumers. No injuries have been reported.
This recall involves 3/4 and 1 horsepower disposals. The disposal housings were sold in silver, gray, black and blue and have the brand name printed on them. The brand name, model number and serial number are printed on a label on the bottom or side of the disposals.
The garbage disposals, manufactured in China, were sold at Best Buy, HD Supply, Menards, and plumbing supply stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com, Costco.com, HomeDepot.com, Walmart.com and other websites from December 2015, through March 2017, for between $80 and $370 for ¾ horsepower models and $100 and $450 for 1 horsepower models.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled garbage disposals and contact Anaheim Manufacturing to arrange for a free replacement disposal to be installed at no cost to the consumer.
Consumers may contact Anaheim Manufacturing at 800-628-0797 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.anaheimmfg.com and click on “Product Recalls” for more information.
Orthodox Baking Co. of Belleville, N.J., is recalling Oberlander Gluten Free Brand “Chocolate Kokosh Cake" chocolate filled cake.
The product contains almond paste, an allergen not declared on the label.
There has been one unconfirmed report of an allergic reaction.
because they contain undeclared almond paste. People who have allergies to almonds run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.
The recalled "Chocolate Kokosh Cake" were distributed nationwide in retail stores and supermarkets. No other products are impacted.
The recalled product, which comes in a 16-oz, clear plastic package with a wraparound label, is marked with a “last date sale” of April 30 printed on the back of the label and further identified with UPC #43711 18093 7.
It was distributed in retail stores and supermarkets nationwide.
Due to Passover Holiday, consumers with questions may contact the company only during on Thursday, April 13, 2017, from 1PM to 3PM (EDT) at 1- 347-450-7077.
Vanguard Furniture Company of Conover, N.C., is recalling about 170 Bow Front chests of drawers.
The chests are unstable if not anchored to the wall, posing a serious tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or injuries to children.
This recall involves Bow Front chests of drawers from the Vanguard Furniture Compendium Collection. The eight drawer beech-wood chests have primavera veneers and are finished in a variety of custom colors.
The chests weigh 250 pounds and measure 36 inches high by 20 inches deep by 75 inches wide. Tip restraint kits were included with each chest of drawers.
The chests, manufactured in Indonesia and the U.S., were sold at furniture stores nationwide from August 2015, to February 2017, for between $4,200 and $4,400.
Consumers should immediately stop using any recalled chests that are not properly anchored to the wall and place them into an area that children cannot access. Contact Vanguard Furniture for a free, in-home installation of a repair to prevent the risk of a tip-over. Vanguard Furniture is contacting all known purchasers directly.
Consumers may contact Vanguard Furniture at 800-968-1702 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, by email at customerservice@vanguardfurniture.com, or online at www.VanguardFurniture.com and click on “Contact” for more information.
Safavieh International of Port Washington, N.Y., is recalling about 500 lingerie chests.
The chests are unstable if not anchored to the wall, posing a serious tip-over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or injuries to children. Thus, they do not comply with the performance requirements of the U.S. voluntary industry standard (ASTM F2057-14).
This recall involves the Audrey lingerie chest in the white smoke color with item number AMH6584A. The item number is printed on a tag that is included in the product’s original box.
The recalled chests have one drawer and one door below the drawer, and measure about 18 inches wide by 15 inches deep by 30 inches high.
The chests, manufactured in China, were sold online at Amazon.com, Overstock.com and Wayfair.com from January 2012, through June 2016, for about $130.
Consumers should immediately stop using any recalled chest that is not properly anchored to the wall and place it in an area that children cannot access. Contact Safavieh for a refund. The firm is contacting all known purchasers directly.
Consumers may contact Safavieh toll-free at 866-422-9070 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or online at www.safavieh.com and click on “Safety Notice” on the bottom of the page for more information.
Olde York of Fort Wayne, Ind., is recalling one lot of Clancy’s Snack Combo (UPC 0 41498 12999 6).
The product, which comes in a 20-oz plastic package stickered with a sell by date of ‘SELL BY JUN 07 2017 2D9,” includes potato chips, tortilla chips and cheese curls.
It was distributed to Aldi stores in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Consumers with questions may contact the company 24/7 at (416) 627-7212.
Fred Meyer, Inc., of Portland, Ore., is recalling about 48,000 children’s zipper hooded sweatshirts and girls bomber jackets.
The zipper pull can detach from the sweatshirt, posing choking and laceration hazards to children.
This recall involves Kids Korner brand fleece hooded sweatshirts and girls bomber jackets with a front zipper, two front pockets, and knit ribbing around the wrists and waist.
The sweatshirts were sold in 18 different prints and solid colors in infant, toddler and children’s sizes 9 months to youth size 7. Kids Korner is printed on the label at the back of the neck.
A white label sewn into the lower left inside seam has the manufacture date of “11/16” and style numbers ending in 8701P, 8701YD, 8671P, 9019, or 9022P.
The garments, manufactured in China, were sold at Fred Meyer, Kroger, Smith’s and Fry’s Marketplace from February 2017, through March 2017, for between $7 and $10.
Consumers should immediately stop using the sweatshirt or jacket, and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Consumers may contact Fred Meyer at 800-576-4377 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or online at https://www.fredmeyer.com and click on “Recall Alerts” located at the bottom of the page for more information.
Rexon Industrial Corp., Ltd. of Taiwan is recalling about 400 Black+Decker portable table saws.
The table saw stand can collapse unexpectedly, posing laceration and impact injury hazards to the operator.
The recall involves model number JT2504BD Black+Decker brand 10-inch table saws. The table saws sit on a black metal foldable stand. Black+Decker and JT2504BD are printed on the front right side of the table saw.
The table saws, manufactured in China, were sold exclusively at Walmart stores nationwide and online at Walmart.com from February 2016, through August 2016, for about $190.
Consumers may contact Rexon toll-free at 866-934-6360 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday or www.rexon.net and clicking “Safety Notice” for more information.
humangear inc., of San Francisco, Calif., is recalling about 61,360 capCAP water bottle caps sold in the U.S. and Canada.
The capCAP can leak, dislodge or come off, posing a burn hazard to consumers when the bottles are used to hold hot liquids.
The company has received one report of liquid leaking. No injuries have been reported.
This recall involves humangear’s capCAP accessory bottle cap. The capCAPs were sold in green/gray, blue/gray, black/gray and black/black color combinations for standard wide-mouth stainless steel bottles and in black/gray for glass mason jars. humangear is stamped on the top of the capCAP.
Only caps with model numbers HG0501, HG0502, HG0505, HG0505-DSG and HG0515 printed above the UPC code on the package are included in the recall.
The recalled capCAP has a silicone seal, a rubber coating on the large cap, and a tab/slot feature on the strap This recall only includes the newer version of capCAPs sold between November 2016 and February 2017.
The bottle caps, manufactured in China, were sold at Dicks Sporting Goods, REI, SCHEELS and other sporting goods stores nationwide from November 2016, through February 2017, for between $7 and $8.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled capCAP and contact humangear to receive a full refund.
Consumers may contact humangear at 800-604-1926 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday, by email at capcap@humangear.com or online at www.humangear.com.


All 10 regional chairmen of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have asked former president John Mahama to embark on a ‘Thank you tour’ to appreciate party loyalists for their support during the December 2016 polls.
They believe the tour, although belated, will help in the party’s reconciliatory and healing process.
Following the NDC’s defeat in the December 2016, there appear to be pockets of disgruntled members divided over who was responsible for the party’s defeat.
The National leadership of the party tasked a special Committee led by Prof. Kwesi Botchwey to tour the country to listen to concerns of party members after it was evident the many of the party’s supporters were not happy with the results of the election.
The party has also undertaken 3 Unity Walks in Accra, Tamale and Cape Coast as part of the healing process.
The 10 regional chairmen of the party, under whose leadership the party suffered the electoral defeat believe the former President’s “thank you tour” will help in such efforts to ensure peace and unity within the party ahead of the 2020 polls.
After a meeting with the former President on Thursday, the chairmen urged John Mahama to consider calls for him to contest the party’s primaries and represent it as flagbearer in the 2020 general elections.


ITV has today announced that Shiver, ITV Studios’ factual division, is to produce Robert Peston’s new current affairs programme, Peston on Sunday.
Peston on Sunday is a brand new political interview programme on ITV, hosted by the ITV News Political Editor, providing viewers with an intelligent and lively approach to politics. On-air time and scheduling for the series will be confirmed in due course.
ITV Controller of Current Affairs Tom Giles is the Commissioning Editor for Peston on Sunday, which will be executive produced by Alexander Gardiner, and Mike Blair.
Gardiner and Blair’s credits include The ITV Leaders’ Debate, which aired on ITV on April 2nd in the 2015 General Election campaign.
Vicky Flind, former Editor of BBC One’s This Week, will be Series Editor for Peston on Sunday.
"We're delighted to have secured such a strong and talented group of people - Robert, Vicky and Alex, as well as the Shiver team - to help bring Sunday politics back to ITV. Shiver put in a strong bid against tough competition and we look forward to working with them to deliver a fresh, lively and intelligent new presence in the Sunday schedules."
"It was a major coup for ITV signing Robert Peston as their political editor. I'm delighted that we in Shiver will be bringing Sunday politics back to the channel with such a great presenter. It'll be a vibrant, fresh and thoroughly engaging watch."
“It is very rare to have the opportunity to create a new TV programme. I was lucky enough to have that opportunity 13 years ago with This Week -- which I'm delighted to say is still performing strongly . It will be very difficult leave Andrew and the This Week family . But I'm greatly looking forward to building a brand new programme with Robert Peston and ITV. It's a very exciting prospect."


La Roux have announced plans to play a one-off show in London.
The electro duo will play the Scala venue on September 10.
The pair have already confirmed gigs later this month at Southend Chinnerys (June 23) and Coventry Kasbah (June 24) and will be playing Glastonbury on the East Dance stage on Saturday (June 27) of the festival.
La Roux’s next single will be ‘Bulletproof’, out June 22, a week before the band’s self-titled debut record is released (June 29).
Tickets for the Scala show go on sale on June 5.


Modernization efforts in post-Mubarak Egypt were dealt yet another blow this week, with announcement that the first ever Arabic spelling contest will not take place.
Mustafa Al Bashir, a 35 year old computer engineer and one of the most vocal of the Tahrir Square demonstrators, sought to dispel rumors today in a news conference via Skype.
“Let us be honest? You are not here in Cairo. It is being said by some in your media that cancellation of the Arabic spelling bee is evidence that Muslim Brotherhood’s anti-modernization teaching is gaining control here. This is simply not true.
According to Al Bashir, the confusion lies in Arabic being a word specific language that doesn’t lend itself to individual letters.
“Yeah, our language? Collection of squiggly lines means a word, and that’s what it means. This whole dissecting words into a group of pronounceable letters just doesn’t work for Arabic.
Like for example? You infidels struggle to spell the name of our holy book; I’ve noticed. It’s Koran, it’s Quran, and it’s Creamed Corn, whatever. The truth is, we don’t know how to spell it either really.
So that’s why we cancelled the Arabic spelling bee, just trying to avoid embarrassment.


WHEELING — Some of the region’s best bluegrass, Americana and roots music artists perform in Wheeling as part Oglebay Institute’s popular Mountain Moon Coffeehouse. Crowd-pleasing performers, expert pickers, talented vocalists and captivating storytellers entertain crowds with foot-stomping tunes and expressive ballads. Shows take place in the historic 100-year-old Stifel Fine Arts Center.
Mountain Moon Coffeehouse continues Saturday, Dec. 1 with Crandall Creek a high-energy Bluegrass band from Moundsville.
The band was started by Moundsville native Jerry Andrews. Over time, the band has evolved and grown to include other incredible talent- Doug Baker and Jariel Henthorn also from Moundsville; Kathy Wigman Lesnock of West Finley, Pennsylvania; Dustin Terpenning and Bob Rush, both of Steubenville; Lilli Gadd of Wheeling and finally, hailing from Oklahoma, Marina Pendleton.
Crandall Creek started out as the opening act for several concerts at the Strand Theatre in Moundsville where they have shared the stage with some major players in the national Bluegrass scene.
These acts have included Donna Ulisse and the Poor Mountain Boys, Volume 5, Alicia Nugent and the up-and-coming Jakob’s Ferry Stragglers.
Since their strong start, they have played on other stages that have been graced by many big names before them. Crandall Creek has played at the Purple Fiddle in Thomas, West Virginia, Snowshoe Ski Resort in Snowshoe, West Virginia, Ohiopyle House Cafe in Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, and others.
Crandall Creek is currently working on their first CD.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Then, the music begins at 7 p.m. Guests can come early to explore the grand mansion and see why it’s a popular venue with performers and audiences alike. Light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages are included with the ticket price. Beer and wine are available for purchase.
Purchase in advance by calling 304-242-6855 or visiting www.oionline.com.
Other upcoming Mountain Moon performances include: Cabin Fever String Band on Jan. 5 and Marsh Wheeling String Band on Feb. 2.


New numbers show the state lost more than 2,000 farms over five years, the largest drop in more than two decades.
The latest census data for New York agriculture shows a 6 percent drop in the number of farms statewide. The U.S. Department of Agriculture just released its 2017 census released every five years.
Ontario County lost 20 farms — a drop from 853 in 2012, to 833 in 2017 — putting its loss of 2.3 percent slightly below the national average.
The losses run the gamut, including a 9-percent drop in both the smallest and largest farms in terms of value of sales. New York also saw a nearly 20-percent decline in the number of dairy farms in the state. These losses coincide with 9-percent increase in labor costs, while some other production costs, like feed, gasoline and chemicals, declined. The average net farm income of $42,875 per farm is slightly below the national average.
USDA surveys farmers every five years and then takes more than a year to compile the data. In Ontario County, the loss of 20 farms coincided with an increase in acres farmed. The county added 7,473 acres of farmland over the five years, from 192,616 acres to 200,089 acres.
There was a slight uptick in the smallest farms of less than 10 acres, which increased from 71 to 77. The biggest jump in large farms fit in the range of 500 acres to 999 acres. Those operations increased by 10, from 46 to 56 over the five year period. Countywide total crop sales dropped by nearly $14 million. Forty-five fewer farms operated with hired labor and the cost of hired farm labor increased from $24.5 million to $30.4 million — a jump of 24 percent.
Last week, New York Farm Bureau members spoke out at a press conference at a farm in Genesee County against the proposed “Farmworker Fair Labor Practices Act” (S. 2837/A. 2750). The legislation would guarantee farm laborers the same rights as workers in other industries including the right to collective bargaining and the ability to unionize, along with receiving overtime pay and at least one day off each week.
Farm Bureau opposes the legislation, saying the increased cost to farm owners would devastate the industry. FarmCredit East estimates such a change in the law would increase labor costs, on average, by 17-percent or nearly $300 million statewide.
“New York’s labor costs are already among the highest in the country, and this increase will it make more difficult to compete to sell food and farm products,” stated Fisher.
A round table discussion at Genesee Community College with several key lawmakers focused on the farm labor bill. Farm Bureau urges farm owners and farm workers to sign up to testify at Senate hearings on the bill taking place April 25 at SUNY Morrisville, April 26 on Long Island, and May 2 at SUNY Sullivan.


The Football Association has been asked to investigate the circumstances of Flavio Briatore’s takeover of Queens Park Rangers by Antonio Caliendo, the club’s former majority shareholder bought out by the Formula One tycoon.
Briatore bought the club together with Bernie Ecclestone, from a consortium, including Caliendo, in Aug 2007.
Caliendo, though, is believed to be unhappy with the deal struck on his behalf and has also instructed litigation specialists Charles Fussell & Co, and noted QC Steven Gee, to institute proceedings over the sale.
His solicitors sent a 12-page document to Mishcon de Reya, the club’s lawyers at the time of the takeover, detailing the Italian’s grievances. It is believed the matter is now in the hands of Mishcon’s professional indemnity insurers, who have three months to respond under the terms of the Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol.
It is believed Briatore plans to sell QPR should they fail to qualify for the Premier League, though that sale may be complicated by the legal action and any FA probe.


Virginia elections officials say they have already purged nearly 40,000 names from the voter rolls that are the subject of a lawsuit filed by Democrats seeking to keep those voters registered.
The Democratic Party of Virginia filed suit in federal court earlier this month over plans to purge as many 57,000 names ahead of November's gubernatorial election based on evidence the voters had registered in other states. Democrats say the list is riddled with errors.
In a court filing late Tuesday, the State Board of Elections said it has already purged 38,870 names, while keeping more than 11,000 on the rolls after county registrars conducted their own reviews.
Lawyers for the elections board say the fact that 11,000 were kept on the rolls shows that the reviews were conducted carefully.


- Does this mean it has NFC?
The first beta of iOS 12.3 has revealed something interesting about the Apple Card: the physical, titanium card will be activated through your iPhone in a similar way to AirPods, Beats headphones and the Apple HomePod.
You lay the card near your iPhone and you will see a window pop-up, showing that it has been recognised and can be activated. A tap on the "activate" button and your (literally) shiney new card will be unlocked to use in stores.
Apple's process was found by 9to5Mac while searching for changes in the latest beta version of iOS. What the site doesn't say though is how it works technically.
As far as we were aware, the physical Apple Card has just your name and the Apple logo engraved on it, with no CVV or number on the front or rear. There is also a chip for use in a store's chip and PIN reader. That's it.
There are no indications that it is contactless-enabled - although there are many suggestions to the contrary.
But if there is no NFC chip inside, how does your iPhone recognise it wirelessly?
We can't answer that right now, although we suspect that there might well be a previously unannounced contactless chip housed in the card that is only used for the one purpose: for communication on setup.
It makes sense; Apple would rather you used your iPhone to make contactless payments in stores than the card, while the card is purely provided to also make payments in retail outlets without Apple Pay support.
We'll find out more once the card itself is officially available.


WASHINGTON, May 17 (UPI) -- Two U.S. lawmakers announced legislation Thursday to punish Americans who renounce their citizenship to dodge taxes.
Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania unveiled the "Ex-Patriot Act" at a press conference Thursday, a response to Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, an American citizen born in Brazil who now resides in Singapore and who renounced his citizenship in September 2011 in a move that will save him an estimated $67 million to $100 million in U.S. taxes.
Schumer said Saverin's actions were "an outrage," adding Saverin "wants to de-friend the United States of America just to avoid paying taxes. We aren't going to let him get away with it." He said Saverin "turned his back on the country that welcomed him and kept him safe, educated him and helped him become a billionaire."
Casey called it "an insult to the American people" that "cries out for some basic justice."
The proposed bill, explained in a news release Thursday, requires a renounced citizens' U.S. assets to be taxed at 30 percent, double the usual rate, if he or she is determined to have a net worth of exceeding $2 million or an average tax liability of $148,000 over the last five years.
While the U.S. Constitution forbids Congress from passing laws to punish an individual, Schumer said his bill would apply to anyone in a situation similar to Saverin's, The Hill reported.


JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – TSX-and JSE-listed Rockwell Diamonds is moving to contract mining at its Klipdam mine, near Kimberley, in a bid to lower operating cost and improve the operation’s overall performance.
The company concluded a three-year contract mining agreement with CML Operations and said it had entered into a sale agreement to sell Klipdam’s earthmoving fleet at book value over two years.
Rockwell would also make minor adjustments to the processing plant, but said the overall monthly capacity of the mine would remain unchanged at 100 000 m, providing sufficient resource for the contract-mining term.
CEO James Campbell said the appointment of a contract miner represented a “step change” in Rockwell’s operating model and that it would adopt a similar approach at the Saxendrift Hill mine, which was currently under construction.
The company said that the changeover would entail retrenchments, but added that the contract miner would need local skills.
Rockwell said it decided to shift to contract mining at Klipdam, as high unit costs and poor earthmoving and plant availabilities continued to negatively impact on the mine’s financial performance.
Klipdam, which had a three-year mine life left, had recently produced sporadic monthly positive cash flows, but its cumulative loss-making performance continued to negatively impact on the group’s overall performance.
Meanwhile, Rockwell also announced the resignation of COO Michael Hunt, effective from October 28.
The company said it did not plan to replace Hunt in the short term and that the mine managers and senior project manager would report directly Campbell, with the balance of the COO’s role being allocated among Rockwell’s executive management team.


USA-SHOOTING/CALIFORNIA (UPDATE 4) UPDATE 4-Gunman shot dead by police after six die in California shooting spree (Adds gunman dead, six victims killed) By Dana Feldman SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 7 (Reuters) - A gunman killed at least six people in Santa Monica, California, on Friday before he was shot dead by police at a library of a community college, Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said.
Seabrooks said a second individual she described as a "person of interest" had been taken into custody in connection with the violence, which unfolded a few miles from where President Barack Obama was attending a political fundraiser.
Authorities also found two people dead at the scene of a nearby house fire, but police said it was not immediately clear whether the fire and the shooting incident were related.
Earlier, a spokeswoman for the California Highway Patrol had told Reuters that officers had received a report of a man armed with multiple weapons, including a shotgun, firing at passing cars and a bus at two locations near the college campus just west of Los Angeles.
Students at the campus library described a scene of pandemonium as the sounds of gunfire rang out, sending students scurrying for cover.
One student inside the library, Cyrus Jabari, 19, said he could see through a window a man dressed in black with a buzz-style haircut carrying what appeared to be an assault rifle.
"The only thing between me and him was a glass door," he told Reuters.
At a house fire a half mile away from the shooting, authorities found the bodies of two people, but it was not immediately clear if their deaths were related to the campus shooting.
Television footage broadcast by a local CNN affiliate from the scene of the fire appeared to show a car outside the home damaged by gunfire. Local television station KNBC, citing a fire department official, reported that a woman was found suffering a gunshot wound in a car outside the burned home.
One unidentified witness to the shooting told the CNN affiliate that he saw a man drive up in a car, walk into the middle of an intersection with a gun and open fire at passing vehicles and a building before "he jumped back in the car and took off." "It seemed like he was alone in his car," the witness said, saying that he took cover under the dashboard of his car, which was struck by gunfire. "I saw him jumping out of the car. He had a big, black gun in his hand and he just started blasting maybe 10 rounds from the left to the right," he said.
Obama was attending a fundraising event at the Santa Monica home of former News Corp President Peter Chernin at about the time of the shooting and had just finished his remarks. He made no mention of the incident.


Some company sources put the number of layoffs higher, between 14 and 20.
Uproxx Media Group, which publishes digital brands like entertainment news site HitFlix, men's lifestyle site BroBible, sports site Dime and Uproxx.com, laid off 10 employees between last week and this week as part of a corporate strategy shift, a company spokesman confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
One source called it a "huge round of layoffs" for the company, which was once known as the Woven Digital Group but rebranded last year to put more emphasis on the flagship Uproxx brand.
The spokesman said the company has seen "huge success" in creating linear and over-the-top programming. "To continue our advance in these high growth areas and maintain profitability, we're shifting resources from one side of our business to another," he said in a statement.
The company, which the spokesman said is profitable, is also shifting from a focus on display and programmatic advertising to one on video and branded content.
Over the last few years, the company has shifted to focus more on video production, following larger trends in the digital media industry.


(CNN) Representatives of the Taliban will take part in talks in Moscow next month on the future of Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday.
"The initial response is positive - they plan to take part in this meeting. I hope it will be productive," he told reporters in the southern Russian city of Sochi.
Moscow has taken an increasingly active role in efforts to persuade the Taliban to enter into a political settlement with the US-backed Afghan government, with which it has been in a lengthy conflict with.
Last week, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani offered a month long ceasefire with the Taliban, as officials in Kabul and Washington push for an end to the war which has stretched on since the US invasion in 2001.
"We remain ready to support, facilitate, and participate in direct negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban. There are no obstacles to talks. It is time for peace," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after Ghani's comments.
The Taliban has yet to respond to the ceasefire offer, nor is there any guarantee that such a ceasefire would stop attacks. On Tuesday, mortars were fired at the green zone area, located close to the Presidential Palace in Kabul as Ghani was holding a ceremony to mark the start of Eid.
Those attacks were linked to the Afghan wing of the so-called Islamic State, which has increased activity in the country in recent months and claimed credit for a string of deadly attacks.
An MD 530F military helicopter targets a house where suspected attackers are hiding in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018.
Russia shares no border with Afghanistan, but Moscow in recent months has stepped up contact with the Taliban, which is formally banned in Russia.
The Taliban grew out of the US and Saudi-backed mujahideen movement which fought a bloody guerrilla war against the Soviet Union after that country invaded and occupied Afghanistan in 1979.
"We never concealed that we maintain contacts with the Taliban -- it is part of Afghan society," Lavrov said. "We support these contacts, primarily in the interests of ensuring the safety of Russian citizens in Afghanistan, Russian institutions, but also to encourage the Taliban to abandon the armed struggle and enter into a nationwide dialogue with the government."
Zamir Kabulov, the Russian government's diplomatic point man on Afghanistan, said in an interview published Tuesday in the daily newspaper Izvestia that the Moscow meeting would take place on September 4.
Nathan Hodge reported from Moscow, Ehsan Popalzai reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. CNN's Zahra Ullah and James Griffiths contributed to this report from Hong Kong.


SHELTON — Teacher Amanda Wandishion lets her kids set the agenda.
The fourth-grade reading and literacy class at Elizabeth Shelton School is home base for Wandishion — recently named Shelton’s innovative educator of the month — and 48 fourth graders, 24 in the morning and another 24 in the afternoon.
Helping that bus stay on the road is Newsela, an online program that lets students pick from an array of stories taken directly from current events. Beside being interesting to read, the material is designed to match each student’s reading level and interests.
Newsela also incorporates reading-comprehension exercises similar to reading boxes that were a mainstay in classrooms from the ’60s through the ’90s.
What’s different is the sheer volume of web-based reading material and the precision with which the software — and Wandishion — can ensure that what the students read is both level-appropriate and challenging.
An educational grant provided the classroom with three microphones the students use to discuss their reading and persuade their classmates to read the same piece. And the students learn to hone their speaking abilities and build confidence.
On a day last week, Cole St. Pierre was among the first to step up to a mike, relating a story about how to become a movie stunt person. Next, Evan Stanchfield talked about the flocks of seagulls that plague outdoor sports stadiums in cities near oceans.
Jay Kneen talked about his surname, which he shares with a busy street near Route 8.
“Edward Kneen was one of the first mayors of Shelton,” he said.
Speaking in front of others imparts yet another critical lesson — fluency with language, Wandishion said.
The content within Newsela is closely linked to another component of Wandishion’s classroom: a study of the world. Wandishion’s students have spent this year writing letters to two groups of students from Canada: One in a fourth-grade classroom on an island near Newfoundland, the other in a class of fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders in rural Alberta.
Just as exchanging letters builds strong writing skills, so does “Feel Good Friday.” In the weekly exercise, students praise their classmates via a written note about some characteristic in which that other student excels.
The accent is on the positive: Beside honing writing abilities, the lesson teaches them the importance of empathy in society, Wandishion said.
The classroom is full of other innovations including a version of the “Mad Libs” game the students complete as part of a vocabulary lesson.
Currently, the class is prepping for an important milestone — its first student-parent-teacher conference, set for next month.
Here again, the kids are in charge. Each student plans what he or she wants to say about milestones achieved and skills requiring additional work. They also meet at least once for a dress rehearsal. A second conference is scheduled for May.
All of this aims to equip Shelton students for work — and life — in the interconnected world of the 21st century, Wandishion said.
Skills such as reading, writing and the social sciences, occasionally derided as inferior skills to the more important “hard skills” of science and mathematics, are front and center.


See which area bowlers, golfers, volleyball players and swimmers had the top individual performances Tuesday.
Next match: South Fork plays at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Jensen Beach.
Next match: Martin County plays Friday against Merritt Island and Spruce Creek.
Next match: Vero Beach hosts Holy Trinity at 6 p.m. Oct. 9 on senior night.
Next match: St. Edward's plays at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Master's Academy.
Sebastian River 197, Lincoln Park Academy 212, Fort Pierce Westwood inc.
Next match: Sebastian River meets Martin County at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Willoughby. Lincoln Park Academy meets Fort Pierce Central at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
Next match: Lincoln Park meets Martin County at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Stuart Bowl. Centennial plays South Fork at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Stuart Bowl.
Next week: Lincoln Park meets Martin County at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Stuart Bowl. Centennial plays South Fork at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Stuart Bowl.
Next match: Vero Beach meets Fort PIerce Westwood at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Saint Lucie Lanes; Port St. Lucie meets Martin County at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Stuart Bowl.


Javelle Allen played in five games this year and had 79 rushing yards and one touchdown.
Just this week, Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said he isn’t against collecting quarterbacks for the future. But his collection will have one fewer entering Tuesday’s meeting with Boston College in the AdvoCare V100 Bowl.
Rodriguez announced late Saturday that backup quarterback Javelle Allen has been dismissed from the team. According to Rodriguez, Allen violated team rules and is no longer on the team. He did not tell reporters in Louisiana what the violations were.
Rodriguez said third-string quarterback Jesse Scroggins, a junior college transfer who started his career at USC, and Nick Isham, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, will be the backups to starter B.J. Denker in the bowl game.
"It will be an either-or deal with those two," Rodriguez told the Arizona Daily Star.
Allen, a redshirt freshman, played in five games and rushed for 79 yards and one touchdown. He scored on a 61-yard touchdown run in the season opener against Northern Arizona.
Even without Allen, Arizona will have as many as seven quarterbacks to choose from next season to replace Denker, whose eligibility expires.
Rodriguez added that defensive lineman Justin Washington and offensive lineman Eric Bender-Ramsay also are no longer on the team.
"It was kind of a mutual thing," Rodriguez told the Star of Washington and Bender-Ramsay leaving the program. "It was time for them to move on and time for us to move on."
Washington, a breakout player under former coach Mike Stoops, played in all 12 games this season and had 13 tackles. Bender-Ramsay was used mostly on special teams. Neither was listed on Arizona’s postseason roster.


To watch the company that bears your name warp into a shadow of its' former haute couture glory would be, for many men, unbearable. For Christian Lacroix, however, it provided the impetus to launch into a career costuming ballets and operas across Europe, to act as an artistic advisor to the French mint and to jump into…furniture design. This may not seem like a natural extension for someone as visionary and exuberant as Lacroix, but to Maurizio Leo Placuzzi, president of mosaic manufacturer Sici, he was the obvious choice.
Drawing from Gallo-Roman ruins that were discovered underneath his great-grandparents' house, Byzantine Empress Theodora and the bold, lavish trappings he imagined she would surround herself with, Lacroix's furniture collaboration is a study in bright colors and sumptuous textures with a whimsical hints of lace, studs, braiding and embroidery. The pieces, ranging from capricious wing-back chairs and tables to poufs and fringed ottomans, seem to be meant to mismatch rather than match perfectly, evoking the sense that the pieces were collected over time rather than assembled all at once.
Not for the meek decorator, Lacroix for Sici captures perfectly his flamboyant design aesthetic in pieces that will be sure to add a theatrical pop to any room.


The all-boys Loyola High School in northwest Detroit, operated by the Jesuit order of Catholic priests, have made a video inviting Pope Francis to visit the Motor City in 2015. It's part of a campaign, endorsed by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, to invite the pope.
Detroit all-boys Loyola High was started in 1993 by the Jesuits, and Pope Francis is the first member of the Jesuit order of priests to become pope.
The Catholic school in northwest Detroit enrolls about 150 boys, many of whom are of other religious faiths.
The Loyola video is also part of the "Let's Bring Pope Francis to Detroit in 2015" page on Facebook.
Detroit's all-boy Loyola High School is sending out a YouTube video invitation to Pope Francis to stop in Detroit in 2015.
The students, many of whom are not Catholic, look into the camera and ask the leader of the worldwide Roman Catholic faith to visit their 150-student school in northwest Detroit.
"Everybody in our school goes to church every morning," said one student, "and (looks) up to you everyday."
Said another student: "You are exactly what we stand for – Men for Others," referring to a theme of service stressed at many schools run by the Jesuit order of priests.
Loyola, located in what was once St. Francis de Sales school, adds to the list of Detroit Catholic schools who've started a letter-writing and social media campaign to invite the pope to visit Detroit in 2015.
Loyola was started by the Jesuit order of priests in 1993. And students hope their Jesuit affiliation will strike a chord with Francis, who was ordained as a Jesuit priest.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has backed the papal pitch, and Detroit Catholic Archbishop Allen Vigneron has agreed to convey an invitation to Pope Francis through proper Vatican channels.
The campaign to bring the Pope to Detroit began at Cristo Rey High School, in southwest Detroit last May. Cristo Rey students recruited other students at Detroit's Gesu, Holy Redeemer and Holy Trinity Catholic elementary schools to also write letters to Pope Francis.
Loyola High president, the Rev. Mark Luedtke, said the pope has shown an affinity for reaching out to struggling communities, such as Detroit.
"Our school works with young men and families who need a little extra help, who might have struggled in their academic work or not been given the opportunity to succeed. We feel particularly suited to receive the pope," said Luedtke.
To learn more, visit the Facebook page entitled "Let's Bring Pope Francis to Detroit in 2015."


It seems ?T-Mobile USA isn’t backing away from Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA)?. I questioned company’s commitment to this technology, which gives them a unique leg-up over their rivals in terms of network coverage. In mid-September, a spokesman categorically told me that the company didn’t have any plans for UMA on Android (s goog).
It’s not very clear which Android devices will support the calling, apart from the new T-Mobile myTouch and Motorola DEFY (s mot). (I’m waiting to hear back from T-Mobile PR.) From what I understand, the Smart WiFi App from Kineto cannot be downloaded from the marketplace, mostly because it only works on specific versions of Android.
The Android app-based UMA offering is very different from the UMA offering on BlackBerry (s rimm) devices or the Nokia E73 (s nok). The BlackBerry devices have system-level integration, where the device automatically switches to and off the Wi-Fi network in the background. That seamless switching is one of the main reasons why T-Mobile sees 40 million calls over Wi-Fi every month.
The new app-based UMA has one advantage: It will go easy on the device battery. The chip-level integration often meant that the phones would ping-pong between Wi-Fi and regular cellular networks, causing the phone battery to drain faster than normal.
Wi-Fi Calling for Android is built upon the same technology as UMA, but is a different implementation from our past offerings. While T-Mobile’s current Wi-Fi Calling solution which operates on BlackBerry smartphones, for instance, seamlessly hands off calls from T-Mobile’s network to Wi-Fi networks, Wi-Fi Calling for Android does not.
A pre-installed application from T-Mobile will allow customers to make and receive voice calls and SMS over an accessible Wi-Fi connection. This provides customers with better in-door coverage and in some cases may provide the ability to make voice calls in locations where they weren’t able to do so previously.
For consumers, Wi-Fi Calling for Android increases coverage and uses voice minutes. [NOTE: calls originate on Wi-Fi, but are carried across T-Mobile’s network once beyond the initial Wi-Fi connection.] T-Mobile also has plans for business which can help defer wireless minutes and provide cost savings.
Wi-Fi Calling will be available on the new T-Mobile myTouch, Motorola DEFY and others Android phones in the coming weeks. We are planning to expand Wi-Fi Calling for Android to as broad a selection of Android devices in our line-up as possible. Éclair (2.0/2.1) and Froyo (2.2) are the Android OS versions that currently support it.
I’m waiting for wi-fi calling/video-callinng by default in Android Gingerbread.


LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Slovenia’s special prosecutor’s office indicted 15 people, including eight physicians, and a company over graft in hospitals on Monday in a case that threatens to further shake the troubled health sector in the tiny Alpine country.
An indictment was filed against 10 hospital employees for receiving gifts related to the purchase of medical equipment and medicine.
Two of the 10 were charged with money laundering and one with forging or destroying business documents to conceal evidence, the state news agency STA reported.
Three more people were accused of giving bribes and a further two others for money laundering, the STA said.
The prosecutors said their investigation since 2013 in five cities in Slovenia, including the capital Ljubljana, has revealed that suppliers of medical equipment had offered bribes to doctors and other hospital officials to favour them.
The prosecutor’s office said that these criminal acts had caused 1.18 million euros ($1.36 million) losses to public funds, STA reported.
The state of the national health system was a big campaign issue ahead of an election in June because of long waiting-lists for medical examinations and operations and a shortage of money and staff.


The survey, conducted in partnership with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, finds that tech and auto leaders and regulators believe a comprehensive, coherent regulatory regime is needed for consumers to feel secure buying and using driverless cars.
January 14, 2019 – The most critical driver for consumers’ adoption of autonomous vehicles, above technological advancement and adequate investment, is coherent national regulation amid consumer safety concerns. That’s according to a new survey of automotive and technology leaders and state and federal regulators by global law firm Perkins Coie LLP and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the world’s largest nonprofit organization devoted to advancing the unmanned systems and robotics community.
Those surveyed clearly see the potential to increase convenience and reduce traffic incidents that stem from further development of autonomous vehicle technology. And while survey respondents are focused firmly on consumers’ perceptions regarding safety, no clear majority of respondents agree on which regulatory authority should be responsible for overseeing liability issues amid the current patchwork of federal, state and local rules.
Liability concerns ranked first among the challenges that industry leaders and regulators believe could impede the driverless-car market, just slightly ahead of consumers’ safety perceptions. Respondents also see an urgent need for infrastructure, such as smart signs, traffic lights and merge lanes, to make roads shared by fully autonomous, semi-autonomous and traditional cars safe for everyone.
With the market for driverless cars projected to grow to as large as $7 trillion by 2050, respondents see multiple investment opportunities as equally attractive and urgent. Vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technology, 5G technology and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems were seen as the most enticing investments, followed closely by precision mapping and location technology.
“This survey shows a young industry with tremendous potential and understandable growing pains as technology shapes the future of transportation,” said Brian Wynne, President and CEO of AUVSI. “Lawmakers, consumers and regulators alike should embrace the advantages of the future AV era as we work to resolve early-cycle challenges in the years ahead.
A majority – 54 percent – of industry respondents said they would rather see regulation come from the federal level. This reflects the difficulty automakers anticipate in achieving widespread adoption of AVs without a broad and coherent regulatory framework.
All survey respondents – technology and automotive executives as well as regulators – saw the possibility of reducing vehicle accidents as the most important benefit of AVs. More survey respondents selected reduced traffic accidents as the greatest benefit to consumers than all other options combined.
Respondents believe the price of investment, behind safety concerns, is one of the top obstacles to the growth of the AV industry with those in technology fields considering investment costs the most worrisome obstacle.
To view the complete Perkins Coie and AUVSI 2018 Autonomous Vehicle Survey report, please visit: www.perkinscoie.com/AVSurvey2019.
With more than 1,000 lawyers in 19 offices across the United States and in Beijing, Shanghai and Taipei, Perkins Coie represents great companies across a wide range of industries and stages of growth. Using our deep knowledge of technology and transportation markets, we represent companies operating in the connected and autonomous vehicle space, including companies focused on non-traditional transportation solutions, electric vehicles, self-driving cars and the sharing economy. We also partner with and strategically advise industry players, including those in IoT automation, on a wide spectrum of legal issues. Our clients include established technology companies, original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, as well as emerging growth and startup companies in the autonomous vehicle industry.
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of unmanned systems and robotics, represents corporations and professionals from more than 60 countries involved in industry, government and academia. AUVSI members work in the defense, civil and commercial markets.


WAIMEA, Hawaiʻi - Gary Fujihara of Big Kahuna Meteorites represented the "Asteroid Belt" at the 2018 Waimea Solar System Walk.
Image of a Big Kahuna Meteorite, from video courtesy Maunakea Observatories.
(BIVN) – The Asteroid Belt was well represented at this year’s Waimea Solar System Walk, as participants got a hands-on experience with actual space rocks at the booth set up by meteorite hunter Gary Fujihara.
Under the banner of Big Kahuna Meteorites, Fujihara “provides the highest quality, authentic meteorites to collection and science communities for the lowest prices on earth,” his Facebook page states.
The Solar System Walk turns Waimea into a scale model of the solar system, inviting keiki to explore our neighboring planets through hands-on activities. The walk starts with the sun at the Keck Observatory headquarters (65-1120 Mamalahoa Hwy) and continues down the sidewalk to the Pluto and its icy friends at the CFHT headquarters (65-1238 Mamalahoa Hwy).
Each planet features an activity, where our solar system explorers will participate in a fun planetary activity and learn about a groundbreaking discovery from the Maunakea Observatories- the site where most of the world’s astronomy discoveries are made. Keiki get their Solar System Explorers Passport stamped at every booth. Those with a completed passport at the end of the walk redeemed their passports for a coupon for free admission to the Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo. A complimentary bbq lunch was available for all explorers at the end of the walk. This year’s walk drew a crowd of 500 keiki and adults.
Big Island Video News will have more from the Solar System Walk event.


Code Fellows CEO Dave Parker.
Veterans in Washington state now have a chance to attend a very different kind of bootcamp using the GI Bill.
The Veteran’s Administration and state government have approved the Seattle-based coding bootcamp, Code Fellows, to receive Chapter 31 and Chapter 33 funding for veterans. Code Fellows is the first coding school in Washington state to receive GI Bill approval.
GI Bill approval is a win for Code Fellows, which has been trying to recruit more veterans, women, and minorities into its program. Last summer, the school launched a $250,000 scholarship fund for students in those groups, which are traditionally underrepresented in tech.


RAHEEM STERLING has been in fine form for England tonight - scoring a hat-trick, but who did he tribute his second to on his shirt?
England are taking on Czech Republic tonight in the first game of their UEFA EURO qualifiers.
And they are making light work of the central European country, putting four goals past them thanks to the brilliance of Sterling.
The Manchester City winger opened the scoring after a low cross from Jadon Sancho before winning the penalty for Harry Kane to net.
And after half-time Sterling was still in electric form, turning superbly on the ball to bamboozle two Czech defenders before placing a shot past Jiri Pavlenka.
ENGLAND PLAYER RATINGS: What mark did star man Raheem Sterling get?
During his celebrations, he ran towards the gleeful Wembley crowd bearing a shirt showing a tribute to Damary Dawkins.
Sterling, a classy gentleman off the pitch, had met the youngster last summer when he was in hospital.
Dawkins was suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia and was in desperate need of a blood donor.
He tweeted last June: "Guys this is serious, we need to help this kid!
"At only 12 yrs old Damary Dawkins has been fighting Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (a cancer of the blood and bone marrow) since he was nine."
Tragically, Dawkins passed away last Sunday - and it has hit Sterling hard, who had struck up a close bond with him.
The 24-year-old went on to complete his hat-trick after a deflected shot from distance.


A potential new path to dioxin and furan contamination cleanup in the Saginaw Valley is under discussion.
The Dow Chemical Co. expects to receive a letter today from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 office and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality that would describe the potential end points of negotiations to create an Superfund Alternative Site.
The company and the agencies hope to come to an agreement on issues such as how much more data to collect and what remedies to use for contaminated riverbanks and other sites in the Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay.
"This is not a negotiation to establish a final remedy," said Dow spokesman John Musser. "It's an important step, but it's not the last step."
Negotiations are expected to get in-depth next month, with Dow needing to make a good faith effort by Feb. 15. After that, a 30-day extension could be granted. If terms are reached, implementation could take from one to several years, depending on what work is agreed upon.
"We'll likely see more removal actions," Musser said. "But, Dow would be hard pressed to see mass removal as a viable strategy."
Instead, options could include targeting areas for removal and focusing on stabilizing eroding riverbanks that could recontaminate the waterway, Musser said.
Some sites already have received bank stabilization techniques to test how effective they are at preventing erosion during the Tittabawassee River's winter and spring phases.
Another key point of the negotiation is expected to be how much information still needs to be collected.
Dow has tested for a list of compounds in the Tittabawassee River, with extensive data from thousands of samples. Musser said the company does not want to test for compounds in the Saginaw River that were not found in the Tittabawassee, because Dow should not be responsible for them.
"We're not going there," he said. "We just can't. We're not going to take on responsibility for the Saginaw River exclusively."
The company has agreed to look at the first six miles.
"We're not going to own the rest of the river, and we're not going to own the bay," Musser said.
Dow has proposed a natural resource damage claims trust be used to distribute money based on assessed damages on the Saginaw River and Bay.
The MDEQ and EPA have signaled the desire for more testing on the Saginaw River and Bay.
Musser said previous dealings with the MDEQ left Dow feeling it wasn't headed toward an end point.
"The negotiation that's coming up offers us some hope," he said.
The talks also will be different than previous discussions with the EPA under Region 5 Administrator Mary Gade, who left her job in the spring stating she had been stripped of her powers by EPA headquarters because of her work with the Dow contamination issue.
At the time, Musser said Dow had appealed to EPA headquarters to seek equal treatment, which it hadn't received from Region 5 when it tried to come to an agreement on cleanup efforts.


When the Prime Minister stood on the steps of Downing Street two years ago and made her inaugural speech, she committed to delivering a modern industrial strategy that would finally help solve the UK’s long-standing productivity puzzle. This week marks six months on from the launch of such a strategy and the publication of a 250-page document last December.
Productivity and its growth is important. At the national level it contributes to boosting living standards by improving profitability to pay for higher wages, higher consumption levels and, with it, improved economic and social indicators right across all UK regions.


Europe will celebrate on Thursday the 10th anniversary of the most extensive EU enlargement ever. Ten years ago, on 1 May 2004, ten countries joined the EU: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta.
Evangelos Venizelos, the foreign minister of Greece, which holds the Council of the EU's rotating presidency, said on Tuesday that the main obstacle to Macedonia’s EU membership was the country’s lack of respect for European values.
Amid EU concerns over the state of democracy in Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed for Turkey's EU membership bid on Monday in his first visit to Brussels in 5 years. Erdogan's trip comes after top EU officials expressed their worries on the independence of the Turkish judiciary system and the lack of media freedom.
Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström signed today (16 December) in Ankara a landmark agreement opening the way for lifting visa requirements for Turks travelling to the EU within three years. Malmström also signed with the Turkish Minister of Interior Muammer Güler a EU-Turkey readmission agreement.
EU ministers agreed on Tuesday to resume accession talks with Turkey on November 5th after a three year break. Originally scheduled in June, negotiations were put on hold after the EU accused Turkish police of using excessive force against anti-government protests earlier this year.
Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, yesterday (30 September) unveiled a long-awaited democratic reform plan to bouquets from the European Commission and brickbats from his parliamentary opposition.
MEPs on Wednesday lashed out at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdo?an over the violent response to the protests in Istanbul. The demonstration began as a peaceful sit-in against government plans to build a shopping centre in central Istanbul. But it has now evolved into wide anti-government protest that has polarised the country. The EU expressed concern about the use of police force after clashes with the protesters left 5,000 injured and 4 dead.
Crunch talks aimed at ending the ethnic partition of Serbia's former Kosovo province broke up without result early this morning (3 April), in a major setback for Serbia's hopes of starting EU membership negotiations this year.


No catch was bigger than the 15-yard gain he had on third and 12 with 2:11 remaining in the game.
It came after a penalty against tight end Jason Witten that erased a first down and had many wondering if the Cowboys were on the verge of repeating last year's results when they lost five games after taking leads into the fourth quarter.
The Giants were out of timeouts and Ogletree's final catch enabled the Cowboys to kneel on the ball the rest of the way and to begin a sweet celebration on the sideline.
"Our approach is to take it one play, one day at a time, and get better," Romo said. "Good or bad play, you've got to just keep doing it. Disregard it, go to the next play, keep going. Whether you are playing in a parking lot or Giants Stadium against the world champs, you've got to be able to execute the plays. I think our team has done a great job taking that approach day-in and day-out. It's been exciting to see."
It was exciting for the Cowboys to see the result in a game they have been pointing to since last season when the Giants beat them twice, including a 31-14 blowout loss in the final-game winner-take-all battle for the playoffs and NFC East title.
The Cowboys stayed at home for the playoffs while the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl for the second time in five years. The Cowboys had to watch as the Giants dropped the banner at MetLife Stadium before the game.
Add that the Giants had owned them of late, winning seven of the previous nine meetings, and the motivation for this season kickoff fueled the Cowboys through the off-season.
It's one reason Witten was on the field and active despite suffering a lacerated spleen in the preseason.
"We can't get ahead of ourselves, but at the same time, it's a big step, a big win for our team," Witten said.
The Cowboys became the first opponent to beat the defending Super Bowl champion at home in a season kickoff game.
To go with the passing game, running back DeMarco Murray rushed for 20 times for 131 yards, including 109 in the second half.
The revamped Cowboys' defense, namely free-agent cornerback Brandon Carr and rookie top pick Morris Claiborne, gave up a few plays, including a touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Martellus Bennett to narrow a 24-14 game to 24-17 with 2:36 remaining.
But the defense proved to be up to the task with three sacks -- two by DeMarcus Ware -- and a forced fumble.
"We sort of went back to the old game," said Ware, who notched his 100th career sack in the game. "We had to get pressure on the quarterback, and we did in key situations. The cornerbacks made Eli hold the ball longer than he wanted."
It was a satisfying victory, but it wasn't perfect by any means. The Cowboys had 13 penalties for 86 yards, including a host of pre-snap penalties that set the offense back.
They also lost center Phil Costa in the first quarter, forcing newly acquired Ryan Cook into action.
But the Cowboys overcame it all, thanks to Romo, who overcame an early interception by scrambling to make plays.


Two suspects named by UK authorities over the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter are not criminals, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday.
Putin said Russia had identified the pair -- named by the UK's Crown Prosecution Service as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov -- and found no evidence of criminal activities.
"We, of course, looked at what kind of people they are, and we know who they are, we found them," Putin told an audience at the Eastern Economic Forum in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok. "There is nothing unusual or criminal there, I assure you."
Putin appeared to suggest they should tell their story publicly. "Let them come out somewhere, to you in the media," he said, describing the men as "civilians."
Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found slumped on a park bench in the southern city of Salisbury on March 4.
According to British officials who have been combing CCTV footage in subsequent months, the two Russian nationals were captured arriving at London Gatwick Airport on March 2 before being spotted in Salisbury on March 3 and 4.
Just before midday on March 4, UK police say the suspects were spotted on CCTV in the vicinity of Skripal's home. They believe the men went on to spread the Novichok nerve agent on the Skripals' door handle, although this moment was not captured on CCTV.
Final images show the men leaving from London Heathrow Airport on what is believed to have been a commercial flight in the wake of the attack in the evening of March 4. British officials say they believe their names to be aliases.
The Skripals spent weeks in hospital. A police officer who found them was also hospitalized. All three have now been discharged.
Dawn Sturgess -- who along with her partner Charlie Rowley from Amesbury, near Salisbury was exposed to the military-grade nerve agent later -- died on July 8. Authorities have said they do not believe the couple were deliberately targeted but were exposed after touching a contaminated item left behind by the perpetrators of the attack on the Skripals.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has said the UK believes the two suspects are officers of the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU.
"The GRU is a highly disciplined organization with a well-established chain of command, so this was not a rogue operation, it was almost certainly also approved outside the GRU at a senior level of the Russian state," she said in a statement to the House of Commons last week.
The UK has said that it has sufficient evidence to charge the men but will not seek extradition of the suspects and instead will apply for a European arrest warrant.


“People put them up there so they could remember their trip and their time here and we thought the best way to honor that was to give it to a good cause. No better cause than to give it to the kids,” Matt Anthony said.
The Little League group came away with $1,300, while the Dolphins football team came away with $1,600. Kirwan and Marathon head football coach Lance Martin praised the Anthonys for their generosity.
Kirwan told KeysNet that the money his group collected will go toward “always expensive” new uniforms and equipment for the kids.
It’ll help our association a lot. Without people in the community like Matt and Carolyn, our organization couldn’t exist. It was really nice of them to do,” Kirwan said.
Martin said that community donations are always appreciated because the high school finances athletic programs largely through fundraisers and gate proceeds.
“It was a great gesture and it helps our program. All our costs are taken on by the Athletic Department,” he said.
The Anthonys pulled another $1,300 off the walls and used it to help their employees get through the time Sparky’s is closed. They hope to reopen the bar by Wednesday.
Key Colony Beach Marina owner Terry Fisher began the tradition of stapling dollars on the walls just after the Anthonys opened the bar in February 2006.
“He started it for good luck and then more people wanted to wish us good luck and from there it kept going and going,” Matt said.
The Anthonys have been aiming for a new look for some time, but never wanted to shut the business down. They decided to go for it when some structural repairs made it necessary to close for a time.
Improvements include a new bartop, new light fixtures and carpet, refinished tabletops and replacing and widening the walkway leading to the entrance.


Really the top of the mountain, from this parcel home site you can see both the Pinos Altos Mountain Range and Burros, Mogollons to the west. Incredible!! Privately maintained road insures your privacy and still close to town and shopping, medical, etc.


The money can be used for building improvements and staff training.
MADISON - Manitowoc Lutheran High School was awarded $20,000, St. Francis of Assisi $27,038 and Chilton School District $25,848 on Thursday through the Wisconsin Department of Justice School Safety Grant program.
Valders, Kiel, New Holstein and Hilbert school districts were also awarded safety grants in recent weeks.
The money can be used for building improvements and staff training. Staff may receive mental health training on trauma-informed care, trauma sensitive schools, adverse childhood experiences, Peaceful Warriors, PREPaRE, and threat assessment and active shooter response.
In this round of funding, nearly $4 million was awarded to 89 schools and school districts, with more grants to be awarded in the future.
The DOJ’s Office of School Safety administers the program as part of Wisconsin’s $100 million School Safety Grant Initiative. The initiative was established earlier this year by the legislature through 2017 Wisconsin Act 143.
For more about the grant program and a full list of recipients, visit: www.doj.state.wi.us/news-releases/ag-schimel-announces-nearly-4-million-school-safety-grant-funding-89-school-districts.


Dragon Ball Super: Broly has felt like the biggest film in the franchise thus far, and that's because Toei Animation has gone to great lengths to make it feel that way in both Japan and the United States.
The film is near its full premiere in Japan, and to celebrate, Fuji TV will be airing a one-hour special celebrating Dragon Ball Super: Broly on December 2.
As noted by @Herms98 on Twitter, Fuji Tv will air a special program celebrating Dragon Ball Super: Broly's release on Sunday, December 2 at 9:00AM in Japan. This is notable because this is the same time slot which Dragon Ball Super used to air in. As @Herms98 also notes, details of the new special are currently unannounced, bans should keep their anticipations leveled.
It's most likely not a new episode or anything like that, as One Piece and Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro are on break for the week, but it might contain some previously unseen elements of the new film. Whether it be new footage, or even behind-the-scenes information previously unknown, the new special could elaborate on some things. Or it could absolutely not and just recount previously known information. Still, fans will be keeping their eyes peeled on Japan as the release of the film gets closer.


New construction custom built Glenmoor Country Club home. Open and spacious floor plan with two story foyer that opens to an office/sitting room with coffered ceiling. Great room features a stunning custom cast stone and gas log fireplace; the large white custom kitchen is well appointed with beautiful marble countertops, a pot filler, Bosch and Thor stainless steel appliances. Solid warm hardwood flooring throughout. The first floor master has a generously sized walk-in closet and a custom marble bath. The 10 ft ceilings on the first floor and 9 ft on the second enhance the light and airy feel. Second floor has two oversized bedrooms each with walk-in closet that share a spacious Jack n' Jill bath and loft area. This home has oversized trim, 8 ft doors and special touches throughout. The three car garage is oversized and is heated. The basement has been roughed in and is ready to finish.


The FBI withheld its findings about Gen. David Petraeus' affair from the White House and congressional leaders because the agency considered them the result of a criminal investigation that never reached the threshold of an intelligence probe, law enforcement sources said today.
The sources said agents followed department guidelines that generally bar sharing information about developing criminal investigations. The FBI is also aware of its history under former director J. Edgar Hoover of playing politics and digging into the lives of public figures. As one official said, the rules are designed to protect people (both private and elected officials) when negative information about them arises in the course of a criminal investigation that is not a crime.
The FBI's focus was on whether laws were broken, in this case whether federal cyber-harassment statutes were violated. The sources emphasized that Petraeus himself was never the focus of the investigation, nor did it turn up evidence he broke any law.
The focus was on his biographer, Paula Broadwell, with whom he had the affair that led to his resignation as CIA director last week.
Officials said it took time to trace the harassing emails that she allegedly sent to another woman back to her.
Because Petraeus' name was involved, criminal investigators kept an open eye for potential national security violations. They had to investigate Broadwell's background but found no evidence she was a spy.
FBI agents were at the Broadwell home in North Carolina Monday night to carry out a consensual search that had been arranged with her lawyers, law enforcement sources said. The search was to locate additional classified material on computers or documents in the home, the sources said.
But House Majority Leader Eric Cantor knew of Petraeus' affair with Broadwell almost two weeks before the former CIA director resigned his post.
A senior Cantor aide told ABC News that the Republican congressman from Virginia learned about the FBI investigation that brought the affair to light in a phone conversation with an FBI agent Oct. 27.
Cantor then asked his chief-of-staff to pass the information along to the head of the FBI, Robert Mueller. Cantor spoke to no one else about the investigation, the aide said.
Hurricane Sandy delayed the message to Mueller until Oct. 31. Petraeus admitted the extramarital relationship and submitted his resignation nine days later.
Meanwhile, Fury is an inadequate description for the former-CIA director's wife, Holly Petraeus' reaction after she learned that her husband had an affair with Broadwell, a former spokesman for David Petraeus told ABC News.
"Well, as you can imagine, she's not exactly pleased right now," retired U.S. Army Col. Steve Boylan said. "In a conversation with David Petraeus this weekend, he said that, 'Furious would be an understatement.' And I think anyone that's been put in that situation would probably agree. He deeply hurt the family."
As for Petraeus, the retired Army general who resigned as CIA director last week after admitting the extramarital relationship, he, "first of all, deeply regrets and knows how much pain this has caused his family," Boylan added.
"He had a huge job and he felt he was doing great work and that is all gone now."
Petraeus knows "this was poor judgment on his part. It was a colossal mistake. ... He's acknowledged that," Boylan said.
One result is that Petraeus could possibly face military prosecution for adultery if officials turn up any evidence to counter his apparent claims that the affair began after he left the military.
But Boylan says the affair between Petraeus and his biographer, Paula Broadwell, both of whom are married, began several months after his retirement from the Army in August 2011 and ended four months ago.
"For him to allow the very first biography to be written about him, to be written by someone who had never written a book before, seemed very odd to me," former Petraeus aide Peter Mansoor told ABC News.
The timeline of the relationship, according to Petraeus, would mean that he was carrying on the affair for the majority of his tenure at the CIA, where he began as director Sept. 6, 2011. If he carried on the affair while serving in the Army, however, Petraeus could face charges, according to Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which reprimands conduct "of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces."
Whether the military would pursue such action, whatever evidence it accumulates, is unclear.
As the details of the investigation launched by the FBI unraveled this weekend, it became clear that the woman at the heart of the inquiry that led to Petraeus' downfall had been identified as Jill Kelley, a Florida woman who volunteers to help the military. She is a family friend of Petraeus, who Broadwell apparently felt threatened by.
Earlier this year, around the time that Petraeus and Broadwell were breaking off their affair, Kelley began receiving anonymous emails, which she found so threatening she went to authorities. The FBI traced the messages to Broadwell's computer, where they found other salacious and explicit emails between Broadwell and Petraeus that made it clear to officials that the two were carrying on an affair.
Investigators uncovered no compromising of classified information or criminal activity, sources familiar with the probe said, adding that all that was found was a lot of "human drama."
Broadwell, a married mother of two, had access to Petraeus while she was with him in Afghanistan as his official biographer. People close to the general had previously suspected Broadwell's feelings for him had crossed a professional line.
They found Broadwell, who spent a year embedded with Petraeus in Afghanistan, to be embarrassing and far too "gushy" about him. They said to one another they thought Broadwell "was in love with him," sources told ABC News.
Petraeus is said to have been the one to have broken off the extramarital affair.
His storied career, first as the public face of two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and later as director of the CIA, came crashing down Friday when he announced his resignation from the intelligence agency, citing the indiscretion.
"After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours," Petraeus said in a statement Friday.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was made aware of the Petraeus situation Tuesday evening around 5 p.m. by the FBI, according to a senior intelligence source.
After having several conversations with Petraeus that evening and the next day, Clapper advised Petraeus that the best thing to do would be for him to resign, the source said.
Clapper notified the White House the next afternoon that Petraeus was considering resigning, according to the source. Petraeus then went to the White House Thursday and told the president he thought he should resign, and Obama accepted his resignation the next day, the source said.
Despite the lengthy investigation into Broadwell by the FBI, the White House says it was not made aware of it until Wednesday, the day after the election, a revelation that surprised many.
"It just doesn't add up. That the FBI would be carrying on this type of investigation without, again, bringing it to the president or the highest levels of the White House," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said.
Petraeus and his wife, Holly, who have been married for 38 years, are said to be staying in their Arlington Home and are doing "OK."
"Knowing the family, I suspect it will be hard work, but given the effort, they will get through it," Boylan, the former Petraeus spokesman, said.
Numerous questions still remain about the investigation, and some on Capitol Hill are also frustrated because Petraeus was schedule to testify to the House and Senate intelligence committees about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in September.
The timing of Petraeus' resignation "was what it was," an official told ABC News, adding that the time had come to tie up any loose ends in the investigation and confront the general.


Women who wear the niqab in Denmark said on Wednesday that the ban against the Islamic veil was oppressive and would restrict their freedom, as they took part in demonstrations against the new law.
Hundreds of protesters, wearing various kinds of masks and face covers, gathered at the Superkilen park in Copenhagen's Nørrebro neighbourhood on August 1st to object to the controversial law known as the 'burqa ban'.
The ban, which came into force on Wednesday, imposes a fine of 1,000 kroner (134 euros) on individuals wearing garments including the burqa, which covers a person's entire face, or the niqab, which only shows the eyes, as well as other accessories that hide the face such as balaclavas and false beards.
Repeated violations will be fined up to 10,000 kroner.


The European Commission's investigation of organic agriculture provides an opportunity for long overdue critical scientific scrutiny, so that agricultural policies can be based on knowledge and not on ideology, writes Professor Anthony Trewavas of the Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Edinburgh in a May commentary.
This commentary was sent exclusively to EURACTIV by Professor Anthony Trewavas.
''EU officials say organic farming may be worth a closer look. I agree, but only if the scrutiny is performed by those who can provide a balanced assessment and not one borne by assertion. There seems at present to be a lack of factual scientific knowledge in this debate.
Research commissioned from the University of Reading by the Soil Association indicates that organic yields of major crops are nearly half those of conventional agriculture. Production costs are also higher. Organic food is on average much more expensive and thus does not represent a viable solution to world food problems. And it is the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that has assessed the need to increase world food production by 70% to prevent the worst of all human tortures: slow starvation.
Given the strict regulations adopted by organic organisations it is difficult to see this situation changing. Published findings by Professors Goulding, Giller and myself and in the Proceedings of the International Fertiliser Society indicate that organic agriculture cannot feed the projected world population of nine billion even if the entire 1.3 billion hectares of globally available arable land are used. More arable land could be obtained by cutting down rainforest but the effects on global warming would prohibit such an approach.
If the intention is to make climate change an agricultural priority then the Commission should be constructing policies to encourage farmers to use no-till agriculture. Greenhouse gas emissions on no-till farms are currently assessed at one third those of organic farms and their soil structure, wildlife diversity and water relations are equal to or better than those of organic farms.
An exacting study recently published by the University of Leeds indicates that farmland bird biodiversity is clearly higher on conventional farms; it also again confirmed low organic yields. Previous scientific studies indicate that no general conclusion of biodiversity improvements in favour of organic farms can be made. The primary claims of improved biodiversity hinge almost solely around the higher levels of weeds in the crop of organic farms, not the margins.
All methods of farming, including organic, employ pesticides that must be used with care from both the safety and environmental perspectives. All water has to be cleaned and purified before it can be drunk; there is no special category of expenditure that details only pesticides. Rigorous peer-reviewed scientific analysis of the nutritional qualities of food indicates that organic provides no benefit to conventionally produced produce. In fact the insistence that nitrate reductions in organic produce are beneficial to health has recently been overturned by evidence that nitrate protects against both food-borne pathogens and gastric malignancy.


Verizon Wireless & ATT Slash Prices & Start a Price War! | Charlotte Observer Verizon has said it will start charging $69.99 a month for an unlimited calling plan reduced from $99.99 a month.
Their unlimited family talk and text plan has been reduced from $229.99 to $149.99. Nationwide unlimited talk and text plans were reduced to $89.99 from $119.99.
When I went to the Verizon website, I saw even lower prices quoted, but there may be fine print in there somewhere.
AT&T matched these prices, and the bet is that all the cell phone companies will have to cut prices to avoid losing customers!
Sounds like a great time to stop in your cell phone store and negotiate a reduction!


AIEA, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Ken Kang burst into tears Monday as his name was called in a surprise assembly at Aiea High.
He'd just learned he'd received a Milken Educator Award — the Oscars of teaching — which includes a $25,000 cash prize with no strings attached.
A graduate of Aiea High, Kang is credited with starting the school's first STEM class in 2015. He teaches students to utilize tools like coding and programming as a way to drive innovation.
And Kang's come a long way.
He started out as an English language learner in the Hawaii public school system after moving from Korea with his family.
After graduating high school, Kang got an electrical engineering degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1997 and worked as an engineer for several years before getting his post-baccalaureate degree in secondary education and educational technology in 2005.
He was given the Milken award for his dedication to technological innovation in Aiea classrooms.
"Ken's diligent work in improving technology resources and training his fellow teachers has advanced Aiea High and all the schools in the Aiea complex and shaped students' passion for STEM learning," said Hawaii State Superintendent Christina Kishimoto in a news release.
"His devotion to his alma mater is tremendous and we congratulate and thank him for being such an inspiration for our students."
The Milken Educator Award is given to early and mid-career educators who go above and beyond to motivate and inspire students, colleagues and the surrounding community.
In addition to Ishimoto, Gov. David Ige, Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Jane Foley, and Aiea High School staff and students presented Kang with the award.
Kang was one of 44 educators to receive the award this year, and the only recipient from Hawaii.


Arthur Glas of Yonkers, NY, retired detective for the Pleasantville, NY Police Department and current Vice President of the Fraternal Order of Police, died Friday, August 27, 2010. He was 57 years old.
Born November 1, 1952 in Yonkers to the late Arthur B. and the surviving Joan Olmsted Glas, Arthur attended Yonkers schools and earned his Master's Degree from Mercy College. He went on to serve with the Westchester Cty. Corrections Dept. and Conrail Police Dept. before joining the Pleasantville P.D.
In addition to his mother and his former spouse, JoAnn, he is survived by his loving children, Ryan (NYPD) and Kristen. He is also the beloved brother of Robert (Laura), Donald, Janet (Greg) Yovane and Ellen (Brian) Drake. Many nieces and nephews also survive.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Arthur's honor may be made to American Diabetes Association-New York Office, 333 Seventh Avenue-17th Floor, New York, NY 10001.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, August 31, at St. John the Baptist Church, Yonkers, NY. Committal Services will be held at Woodlawn Crematory Chapel, Bronx, NY.
Visiting hours will be held today, Sunday, August 29, and Monday, August 30, from 2 to 4 & 7 to 9 p.m. at F. Ruggiero & Sons, Inc., 732 Yonkers Ave., Yonkers, NY 10704; 914-375-1400.


Sources said civic authorities will first serve notice to the owner of premises in which stagnant water is found, and if they failed to act, it will take stern action.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said it would take stern action against all establishments including state and central government offices if they fail to clear stagnant water, which acts as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, on their premises.
The decision was taken after a high-level meeting headed by Mayor Firhad Hakim on Tuesday to discuss measures to prevent dengue outbreaks. Sources said civic authorities will first serve notice to the owner of premises in which stagnant water is found, and if they failed to act, it will take stern action.
“With everyone’s support, it can be controlled,” said Hakim. The notice will be sent under Section 496A of the KMC Act, under which a fine is added to the establishment’s property tax. The owner, while paying the property tax, has to pay the fine as well. The amount can vary between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1 lakh.
Though the KMC has been taking a number of steps to tackle dengue outbreaks, including chemical spraying and spreading awareness among residents, the disease continues to be a matter of concern. One of the biggest challenges, officials said, is the congestion in the city, with the number of buildings and other structures increasing. This makes it difficult for the KMC to identify spots where water stagnates. This, as well as the tendency of people to dump waste indiscriminately, make it difficult for the KMC to trace and destroy all potential mosquito breeding sites.
Among those present at the KMC meeting were Deputy Mayor Atin Ghosh, municipal commissioner Khalil Ahmed, special municipal commissioner Tapas Chowdhury and representatives of departments such as health, solid waste management and others. Authorities also sought cooperation from the state irrigation department, public works department, Railways, Metro and others.
The civic authorities have so far identified 20 wards that are prone to vector-borne diseases, using past records. A meeting was also held with the councillors of these wards and the chairpersons of 16 boroughs to alert them so preventive measures such as anti-larvae drives are taken. Among the areas that have seen the most dengue cases are Golf Green, Jodhpur Park and Bijoygarh.