In my freshman humanities class, I make students ponder the pros and cons of knowledge. We talk about Plato’s parable, in which people imprisoned in a cave mistake shadows projected on a wall for reality. I ask, Assuming we’re in the cave, how many of you want to escape? Most students dutifully raise their hands, because of course truth is good and ignorance is bad.
Then I ask, What if the cave is comfy and the outside world nasty? I bring up The Matrix, in which humans live in a computer simulation, called the Matrix, constructed by evil machines. A band of rebels who have escaped this digital cave is trying to liberate other humans.
Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss.
Agent Smith: Then we have a deal?
Cypher: I don't want to remember nothing. Nothing. You understand? And I want to be rich. You know, someone important, like an actor.
Agent Smith: Whatever you want.
Cypher prefers happy delusion to painful truth. When I ask my students if they would choose as Cypher did (minus the betraying-your-buddies part), many raise their hands, smirking at their own cynicism. They probably don’t take the question seriously, and maybe readers of this blog don’t either. But many people face an agonizing, real-life version of Cypher’s choice.
But advanced directives pose problems too. What if someone who has chosen truth and death seems to enjoy life with dementia? “Should his directive be respected,” MacFarquhar asks,“ending his life?
What would I do if faced with Cypher’s choice? Pleasant delusion is tempting. After all, many non-demented people engage in denial, repression and self-deception. That is, they exclude certain things from their minds. Lately I’ve been trying to avoid political news, because it makes me feel crappy and there’s little I can do about it.
Moreover, those who insist they would always choose reality over illusion assume reality is knowable. But what if it isn’t? What if ultimate realty is unknowable, as certain philosophers and mystics suggest? What if life is but a dream, and everything is an illusion? What if, when break your shackles and escape the cave, you just end up in another cave? In that case, wouldn’t you be a fool for choosing a miserable illusion over a pleasant one?
I can’t bear the thought of loved ones suffering. If choosing for them, I’d probably go with pleasant delusion. But in spite of my recent aversion to political news, I care about truth, even if I’m not sure what it is. So I like to think I’d choose reality for myself even if it’s painful, and even if I’m not sure it’s real.
And remember, Cypher never gets his simulated paradise. Reality gets him—and probably all of us--in the end.
For more philosophical conundrums, see my free online book Mind-Body Problems: Science, Subjectivity & Who We Really Are.


Buys out joint venture partner.
TransACT has bought out utility ActewAGL's 50 percent stake in Canberra ISP Grapevine for an undisclosed sum.
The ISP, which was originally called NetConnect, was founded in 2002. It was re-branded Grapevine in 2005 when TransACT stepped in as a joint venture partner.
TransACT is now the sole owner of the company.
Ivan Slavich, TransACT's chief assured Grapevine customers it was "business-as-usual".
"This change will not affect the excellent service that Grapevine customers currently experience or the current bundle agreement that they may have in place with ActewAGL and TransACT," he said.
But he foreshadowed the launch of new services and products "in the second half of 2010" that would provide customers "with even greater value for money."
Slavich told iTnews that customers would have the option to stay on existing plans.
"We're not going to force them to migrate to anything," he said.
He said it made sense for TransACT to have a vertically integrated offering to support its continued push into greenfields estates in Canberra and surrounding areas.
He also touted the importance of having a wholly-owned ISP arm with a view to offering services on the National Broadband Network (NBN).
"We want to compete with the likes of Internode, iiNet and Telstra [on a national basis when the NBN is rolled out]," Slavich said.
"We want to provide broadband customers of Australia with a choice of a [new] supplier with competitive prices."


Francisco Cervelli and Pablo Reyes each homered and drove in two runs, and the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates pulled away for a 5-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night at Wrigley Field.
Jose Osuna added a pair of hits and an RBI for the Pirates. Pittsburgh (79-76) has won seven of its past nine games and eight of its past 11 as it looks to finish the season above .500 for the first time since 2015.
Chicago starter Cole Hamels led his team at the plate with a solo homer. The Cubs (91-65) entered the day with a magic number of five to clinch the National League Central title over the second-place Milwaukee Brewers, and it stayed at five after the Brewers topped the Cardinals 6-4 later on Monday night to pull to within 1 1/2 games of the Cubs.
Pirates starter Jameson Taillon (14-9) limited the Cubs to one run on five hits in seven innings. He walked three and struck out five. It marked his 21st consecutive start in which he allowed three runs or fewer — the second-longest streak in the majors this season behind New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom’s 28-game run.
Hamels (9-11 overall, 4-2 with the Cubs) drew the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) in six innings. He walked two and fanned seven.
The Pirates opened the scoring in the first when Cervelli belted a two-out, two-run homer down the left field line. The blast marked Cervelli’s 12th home run of the season, adding to his career high.
Hamels helped his cause with a leadoff homer to center in the third. He tracked a pitch over the heart of the plate and belted it several rows deep into the bleachers for his second career homer and his first since July 21, 2012.
Pittsburgh made it 3-1 in the sixth. Cervelli reached on an infield single and advanced to second on an errant throw by third baseman Kris Bryant. Two batters later, Osuna doubled to drive in Cervelli.
Kevin Newman drew a leadoff walk in the seventh and came around to score on Reyes’ single to increase the Pirates’ lead to 4-1.
Reyes capped the scoring in the ninth with his second homer since his Sept. 2 debut.
The season series between the division rivals is tied at eight wins apiece with three meetings remaining.


MOSCOW, Oct. 29—Four days before the start of the second round of United States‐Soviet negotiations on limiting strate gic weapons, diplomats here are puzzled over the harsh words passing between the two countries.
It is now a week since Presi dent Nixon and Foreign Minis ter Andrei A. Gro myko held a meet ing that American officials hoped would lead to a exchange of polemics. But it seems to many diplomats here that whatever the two leaders might have intended, the Rus sians are not quite ready to stop their verbal punching.
Georgi A. Zhukhov, a long time Pravda commentator, to day took almost half a page of invective to compare the Nixon Administration with the days when John Foster Dulles was Secretary of State and U‐2 high‐altitude reconnaisance air craft, not Beechcrafts, flew over Soviet territory. Mr. Zhukov was elaborating on the official state ment Monday in which the So viet Union said that the incur sion into Soviet Armenia by a twin‐engine Beechcraft plane carrying two American generals had been a hostile act, and then went on to assail United States policy around the world.
The United States has heard such arguments before, and by now bitter Soviet statements cause hardly a twinge of anxi ety among senior diplomats here and in Washington. And as today's State Department reply indicated, the United States can respond in kind, with just the correct sound of outrage. But the question that puz zles diplomats here is whether the harsh words of the Zhuk hovs and others mean any thing so far as the real issues before the two countries are concerned, or are simply So viet efforts to retaliate for what Soviet officials regard as Mr. Nixon's anti‐Soviet cam paign of September and most of this month.
The problem is more than a theoretical one. The United Nations is currently arguing over the Middle East crisis in public and in private. The complex talks between the Soviet Union and the United States on limitation of strate gic arms resume on Monday in Helsinki. The Big Four are talking about a new status for Berlin. If there is a desire by the big powers for agree ment in any or all of these fields, there could be a marked improvement in the interna tional climate.
If the angry polemics are just for outward effect, then that is one thing, but if they are meant as signals of deep differences, a period of pro longed tension could be ahead.
The straying Beechcraft, which has become the source of much of the friction in the last few days, is not in itself an important incident. The Russians probably have held on to the American generals longer than they normally night have because of the un paralleled material the incident provided for Soviet polemicists.
The United States warned that it would not tolerate Soviet naval base in Cuba. What should the Soviet Union say about the fact that Amer planes fly up and down its borders from bases in Turkey and elsewhere, the Russians here ask.
The generals were In a small, unarmed plane, they acknowl edge, but if the plane that strayed had been a nuclear bomber, who could say what the repercussions of an accident would have been?
When American diplomats read the Soviet note Monday they were struck by the empha sis laid on the dangers posed to Soviet security from forward American bases.
Moscow first raised this pos sibility at the first round of the talks in Helsinki last year, but remained ambiguous on the subject at the second round in Vienna last spring and summer. The Americans probably will not know until next week or the week after that whether the Russians will make an issue out of it—a matter that would ren der the prospects for an early agreement even more remote than they are now.
A hopeful sign, in the view of some diplomats, is that Mr. Zhukhov and other Soviet com mentators have not said any thing about the Helsinki talks. The United States has been under attack in every respect except that one.
Nowhere has the anger been more public than over the Mid dle East. The Soviet attacks on United States policy there prob ably reflect in part Moscow's irritation with Washington's support of the Israelis but also the fact that Moscow seems more interested at the moment in preserving the Soviet influ ence in Egypt and in bolstering the post‐Nasser leadership than in offering any alternatives or in backing any from other quarters.


SEOUL, South Korea — The North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has found a novel way of raising badly needed cash, according to the South Korean authorities: unleashing young hackers on South Korea’s immensely popular online gaming sites to find ways to rack up points convertible to cash.
Despite its decrepit economy, North Korea is believed to train an army of computer programmers and hackers. The police in Seoul said Thursday that four South Koreans and a Korean-Chinese had been arrested on charges of drawing on that army to organize a hacking squad of 30 young video gaming experts.
Working from Northern China, the police said, the squad created software that breached the servers for such popular South Korean online gaming sites as “Lineage” and “Dungeon and Fighter.” The breach allowed round-the-clock play by “factories” of dozens of unmanned computers.
Their accumulated gaming points were exchanged for cash at Web sites where human players are focused on acquiring enhancements for their online personas, or avatars. The gaming software was also sold, the police said; such factories, while illegal, are common in South Korea and China.
In a little less than two years, the police said, the organizers made $6 million. They gave 55 percent of it to the hackers, who forwarded some of it to agents in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. “They regularly contacted North Korean agents for close consultations,” Chung Kil-hwan, a senior officer at the police agency’s International Crime Investigation Unit, said during a news briefing.
Mr. Chung said the hackers, all graduates of North Korea’s elite science universities, were dispatched from two places: the state-run Korea Computer Center in Pyongyang and the Korea Neungnado General Trading Company. The company, he said, reports to a shadowy Communist Party agency called Office 39, which gathers foreign hard currency for Mr. Kim through drug trafficking, counterfeiting, arms sales and other illicit activities.
South Korean and American officials say they believe the slush fund is worth billions, and that Mr. Kim uses it to help finance his nuclear weapons programs and to smuggle Rolex watches and other luxury goods, which he doles out to buy the allegiance of the party and the military elite. Meanwhile, the bulk of his people suffer privation and myriad hardships.
A series of United Nations sanctions imposed after North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests in recent years aim to squeeze the cash flow by curtailing trade with the North Korean companies suspected of illicit activities. They also ban exports of luxury goods to North Korea.
The North Korean computer experts were each required to send at least $500 a month back to the Pyongyang government, the police said. It remained unclear how much of the rest of their profits they pocketed for themselves, given different layers of party and military officials involved in a typical illicit operation.
What appeared clear from the case, the police said, was that North Korean agencies, increasingly hamstrung by international sanctions, were exploring any new means to raise cash for Mr. Kim and prove their loyalty. The two Koreas, which have remained technically at war for almost 60 years, operate in an environment of mutual suspicion. The tensions extend to the virtual world: Seoul accused North Korea of spreading malicious software that paralyzed the Web sites of South Korean government agencies and financial institutions in July 2009 and again in March. In May, the South blamed North Korea for an attack that brought down a South Korean bank’s network.
North Korea denied responsibility and accused Seoul of inventing a conspiracy.


Uruguay and the United States expressed concern Tuesday that recent weapons purchases could lead to an arms race in South America. In a joint appearance, Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also pledged co-operation on trade, scientific research and other fields.
United States Senator Richard Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a bill Tuesday to extend US trade benefits to Uruguay. The move he says would increase pressure on Brazil to deepen commercial ties.
Rich Americans who have evaded taxes by hiding their foreign holdings have about a week to decide whether to turn in to an Internal Revenue Service amnesty program or gamble that they will not be caught.
US President Barack Obama has warned bankers against complacency, saying that some in the industry are ignoring the lessons of the financial crisis. We will not go back to the days of reckless behaviour and unchecked excess at the heart of this crisis, he said.
Despite vowing a new beginning in the US-Cuba relations, President Barack Obama has decided to extend the 47-year-long US trade embargo on Cuba for another year.
Beijing announced it would launch anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations into some United States imported vehicles and chicken products from the United States, the Ministry of Commerce said Monday, escalating a trade disputes which was triggered when the US decided to raise tariffs on Chinese-made tires.
The US has revoked the visa of Honduras' interim president to pressure the Central American country to reinstate Manuel Zelaya, the country's ousted leader, the interim government says.
United States has a “truly exceptional” relation with Uruguay and expects whoever wins the coming election, to keep that “very solid” link said Everett Eissenstat, US Assistant Trade Representative for the Americas during a meeting with a delegation of visiting Uruguayan journalists.
Mexico is the Latinamerican country which most resources invests in influencing US policies, while the Venezuelan government deploys the most public relations activities to promote a positive image, according to data from the US Justice Department.


Unfortunately, when things get tough, it’s not socially acceptable to throw sand at our opponent.
About me: I’m impatient, antsy and funny. In this business, I’ve learned it takes all types of agents and clients to make the world turn. As real estate agents, when you’re in the trenches, playing nice in the sandbox with your clients and colleagues can seem like climbing a mountain without a harness.
Don’t rely on the other agent in the transaction to do your work. I once had an agent who emailed me after closing to ask if I could send them a copy of my file so they could get paid. Seriously? Earn your half of the commission split, and don’t make the other party involved in the sale chase you for paperwork like you just robbed a bank.
Occasional public opinion aside, we do a lot of work to get a transaction off the ground and to the closing table. It’s easy to become resentful or disgruntled. Do your part in the transaction, and do your own work.
Ignoring phone calls and emails is not a good way to conduct your business. Not delivering news, an item of a critical nature, is unprofessional and can be disastrous. Whether it’s a listing or a property in escrow, I try diligently to communicate with all parties involved in my transactions at least once a week. I don’t succeed all the time, but I try my best to make sure that everyone knows I am still alive, breathing and know they exist.
An embarrassing moment in my career was when I screamed at the co-op agent with whom I was working on a transaction. To make matters even worse, this agent worked in my office. I let my frustration during a heated conversation take over, and I temporarily lost all the sanity and professionalism I had.
I should have been the bigger person and maintained control over the situation. My behavior compromised the rest of the transaction. If you feel frustration boiling over, talk to your broker or a colleague. Write a nasty email, but send it to yourself only. Do everything you can to keep yourself from crossing over to the dark side. Maintain your composure at all costs.
What does it mean to me? Treat others how you want to be treated; be kind. Yes, some people are nasty no matter what you do. Most are not. At the end of the day, we are all humans — not robots. Something I often forget. We are people with feelings, bad days and outside circumstances that sometimes overlap into our work lives. Try and put yourself in the other person’s shoes before snapping to judgment. Kindness goes a long way.
Fellow agents will fondly remember with whom they had an excellent experience. I know I do.
Leigh Brown's reader mail: Do I change brokerages?


Whenever Major League Baseball opens a season in Japan, count on the Oakland Athletics to show up. The regular season will start at the Tokyo Dome for the fifth time on Wednesday, and this is the third time in a row that the A’s will be there.
They are never the main draw, but they love it.
The A’s are there, essentially, because the Seattle Mariners and Ichiro Suzuki need an opponent. The Mariners abruptly ended Suzuki’s season last May after 15 lackluster games, but he will be active on Wednesday and Thursday in games that will start at 5:35 a.m. Eastern, and hoping to add to his career hits total of 4,367 in the majors and Japan.
Oakland, meanwhile, is hoping to stage a revival of 2012, when its visit here began an improbable run to a division title — and a three-year playoff streak. The A’s faced Seattle to begin that season and opened with the Boston Red Sox in Tokyo in 2008.
The A’s talk a lot about intangibles, which might seem odd for the team most responsible for the analytics wave that has washed across the game this century. But they improved to 97 wins last season, from 75 in 2017, so hear them out. The path to their improbable wild-card berth, closer Blake Treinen said, started with a selfless attitude.
Heart, yes — but Oakland’s formula also includes home runs, stingy relief pitching and, especially, stellar defense from Matt Chapman and Matt Olson, cornerstones on the corners. Olson won a Gold Glove at first base and Chapman won it at third base, while adding a Platinum Glove for best overall fielder in the American League.
Last season was Chapman’s first full year in the majors — except for a one-game injury rehabilitation assignment — as it was for Olson, who was the only A.L. player to appear in all 162 games.
Olson’s agility and long levers — he is 6 feet 5 inches — were a big help for Chapman and shortstop Marcus Semien. A reliable first baseman is perhaps more important for the A’s than for any other team because their ballpark has the most foul territory in the majors, and a throw that skips past Olson would typically result in two extra bases.
Only the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers hit more homers last season than the A’s, who bring back their top four home-run hitters: Khris Davis (the major-league leader with 48), Olson (29), Piscotty (27) and Chapman (24). But they added only Marco Estrada to a thin starting rotation, and Melvin would prefer not to use an opener, as he did in last fall’s wild-card loss to the Yankees.
That makes it essential for the A’s to prevent runs with standout defense, and Chapman sets the standard.
Chapman attended El Toro High School in Lake Forest, Calif., with Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies, the perennial N.L. Gold Glove third baseman who is two years older. Both players were shortstops then, but Chapman said he closely followed top third basemen like Adrian Beltre, Evan Longoria and David Wright. To Melvin, Chapman already belongs in their class.
Suzuki’s return to the Mariners’ active roster will command the most attention in the opening series, of course; he is 45 years old and a baseball treasure on two continents. But the most captivating, in-his-prime talent is probably Chapman, and the platinum glove so indispensable to his team.


Los Angeles, CA (January 9, 2014) - Today, Pope Francis speaks passionatley of the responsibility for all people to care for the needs of the poor; to live lives that serve as a witness to our faith; and to go out and share the Good News as part of the mission of the Catholic Church.
January 14, 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of Msgr. Anthony Brouwers, former director of the Propagation of the Faith in Los Angeles and the founder of Lay Mission-Helpers and Mission Doctors Associations. Members of these groups, who have served in 36 countries around the world, will mark this day with prayers of gratitude for his vision and his call to service. Some will visit the site of his grave at Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles.
These two groups were the first in the United States to recruit, train, send and support lay Catholics, single people, married couples and families, to serve for three years in response to requests from Missionary Bishops. Msgr. Brouwers formed these groups after his visit to Africa in 1954 following the Marian Congress in Nigeria. Traveling, he met with Bishops, Priests and Religious who told him over and over "We need help!" He met priests doing construction, sisters, without the training, pulling teeth, and one Bishop who was also delivering mail. They told him there was a need for teachers, nurses, physicians - people of faith who would come to share their gifts and live their faith.
Elise Frederick, Executive Director noted "The requests continue, Bishops asking for teachers, nurses, doctors and others who are committed to serving and living their faith. It is our privilege and I believe responsibility to ensure that Msgr. Brouwers' legacy of making it possible for Catholic lay persons to serve in mission, continues and grows stronger over the next 50 years."
Janice England, Program Director invites those interested to contact the office and learn more about how they can become involved.
In honor of this anniversary the e-book that details Msgr. Brouwers' life and legacy : For We Are God's Helpers is being offered on Amazon for only 99 cents from January 14th - February 14th.
Lay Mission-Helpers and Mission Doctors Associations, founded in 1955 and 1959, assists Catholic lay people, teachers, nurses, doctors and their families in their desire to serve in mission. Since that time these dedicated lay missionaries have worked Africa, the Pacific, Papua New Guinea, Asia and Latin America.
On the web at www.LayMissionHelpers or www.MissionDoctors.org.


Every Christian has her or his own perspective on Biblical interpretation, and it is not the purpose of this article to get into the differences about which is better. However, there are certain fundamental principles that are increasingly overlooked, and this has eternal implications for each of us. It seems as though there has developed an a la carte attitude toward Biblical admonitions, as though if one is simply a ï¿½goodï¿½ person, salvation will be achieved.
For Protestants, most agree that one must ï¿½acceptï¿½ Christ in order to be saved. However, preachers today donï¿½t remind their church members that Christ is not only the Son of God, but also the Word of God. That means when one ï¿½acceptsï¿½ Christ, one also accepts the Word of God (Biblical teaching of right and wrong). Preachers then donï¿½t emphasize the acceptance must be 100%. One cannot ï¿½acceptï¿½ Christ, for example, and be a fornicator (whom The Holy Bible says will go to Hell). Oneï¿½s ï¿½acceptanceï¿½ must include Christ as Lord of oneï¿½s sexual life as well as other private and business activities. This lesson is brought home in Matthew 25:44 when Jesus is speaking to those who believe they accepted Him as ï¿½Lord,ï¿½ but who didnï¿½t minister to those in need.
Regarding those few who read my earlier NewsWithViews column and decided to help with a medical need, I want to express my sincere appreciation. Specifically, my mother broke her femur in five places. Because of the stress in caring for her, I was hospitalized for two days, during which time my mother fell at night trying to go to the bathroom and suffered a compression fracture of the back. She is now having expensive 24-hour-a-day care.
If it werenï¿½t for my motherï¿½s research and diligence all the readers of NewsWithViews could have been under the horrors of socialized medicine and paid thousands of dollars more in taxes for the past 25 years. If you think this is hard to believe, just look at the article reproduced here which I wrote in 1979 based on my motherï¿½s information.
The newspaper referred to me as a ï¿½leading opponentï¿½ of the New Generation Act, the federal HEW model for child health for the nation. (Mrs. Andrew Young, working with President Carter, requested copies for each state.) All families would report to a ï¿½health care home,ï¿½ not your local doctorï¿½s office. We all have my mother to thank for preventing this expensive socialist nightmare from being imposed on us.
Peggy Cuddy has been one of the premier researchers on the New Age movement. Her research has impacted the lives of thousands of Christians and Americans, warning them of the multifaceted dangers of the occult. You can see her fascinating lifetime project chronicling the intricate web of the Aquarian Conspiracy.
Peggy has influenced the work of Charlotte Iserbyt, Berit Kjos, Sarah Leslie and a host of other conservative writers and researchers. She has given us her eagle eye for editing, has been generous with her time and research archives, and has served as a walking encyclopedia on the history of the governmentï¿½s intrusion on the family. It is not an exaggeration to say that this lady has saved all of us from many socialist nightmares.


Jeschke is a business executive, technologist and confessed data fanatic. Serving as SVP, and Head of Analytic Business Solutions at TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, heleads TD's Enterprise Fraud Platform initiative to detect and prevent fraud. Jeschkedrives innovation by focusing on what the data tells us, then applying appropriate technology using agile techniques.


In 2009, Tim Wayne Medvetz started The Heroes Project, a foundation dedicated to raising funds to help wounded warriors climb the world’s highest peaks and find a renewed purpose in their lives. The foundation is predicated on the idea that we can make a difference and change the lives of our wounded veterans, soldiers, and their families – one soldier, one veteran, one family at a time.
Climbs for Heroes – Under the leadership of Tim Medvetz, the Heroes Project supports climbing programs for wounded soldiers and veterans. After a serious accident left Tim injured and in long term physical therapy, he vowed he would climb to the summit of Mt. Everest, which he ultimately did in 2007. The comeback Tim experienced in conquering that challenge transformed his life. It also inspired him to share the challenge and triumph with those who need it the most – wounded warriors – which he has done in a volunteer capacity. On August 16, 2010, Tim reached the peak of Elbrus in Europe with a wounded veteran. Tim is now planning climbs to the seven summits of the world, each with soldiers and veterans, as part of The Heroes Project. Video footage of the climbs will be used as part of advocacy and empowerment programs.
Hope for Heroes – The Heroes Project aims to encourage and expand community service programs that support our nation’s heroes. The Heroes Project promotes and augments the good work of organizations working with this community across the country.
Voices for Heroes – Finally, The Heroes Project plans to conduct media campaigns to highlight success stories in veterans care as well as conduct education activities to decision makers and the general public about the needs and successes in caring for veterans and military families.
Actor Dean Winters — who you may know from those “Mayhem” commercials, Rescue Me, Oz and 30 Rock — just launched a Wish via Causes on Facebook to support the organization. The funds raised will go toward The Heroes Project’s upcoming Indonesia climb with US Army Retired Sgt. Noah Galloway who lost his left arm above the elbow and left leg above the knee in an IED attack in Yusafiah, Iraq. You can check out the Wish page and Dean’s video below!


Beautiful Champion Estates! Linn Mar School district. Walking distance to Hunters Ridge Golf Course. Just minutes away from swimming pool, YMCA, shopping, restaurants, and medical facilities. Lovely views!
Beautiful Champion Estates. Linn Mar School district. Walking distance to Hunters Ridge Golf Course. Just minutes away from swimming pool, YMCA, shopping, restaurants, and medical facilities. Lovely views!


Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner has pleaded for negotiations over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, saying that Britain was happy to talk to "mass murderers" but not her democratically elected government.
Mrs Kirchner used her annual state of the nation speech to Congress to declare that she would not give up her diplomatic fight for the Malvinas, the name for the islands in Spanish, and ruled out another military invasion.
Dedicating a slice of the three-hour address on government policy to the Falklands, Mrs Kirchner said Argentina “wants sovereignty, but wants it peacefully”.
She accused Britain of having negotiated with “genocidists” – an apparent reference to the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina during the 1982 invasion of the Falklands. An estimated 30,000 Left-wing civilian activists lost their lives at the hands of the junta.
“How can it possible that [Britain] sat down with genocidists but won’t negotiate with officials voted by popular will at the ballot box?” Mrs Kirchner asked to rousing applause.
Nearly 2,800 Falkland islanders are expected to vote overwhelmingly in favour of maintaining their status as a British Overseas Territory in a referendum next Sunday.
Héctor Timerman, the Argentine foreign minister, has called the vote “illegal”. The Kirchner administration claims the islanders are “implanted” and ousted an Argentine population in 1833.
Britain argues that the Falklanders have the right to self-determination under the United Nations Charter.


The moment gave Bradford chills as his son, Keller, a ULM pitcher, caught the pitch.
Keller knew his father was going to be in attendance for the non-conference contest, but he had no idea his father was going to throw out the first pitch.
"That was awesome. This was a little more special with Mississippi State playing ULM, big ballpark," said Bradford, who previously threw a ceremonial first pitch to his son during a Coastal Plains League game. "This was special."
The elder Bradford will forever be linked to Michael Lewis' book, 'Moneyball,' for his unique delivery. Bradford said he made the transition while a sophomore in high school. He was only throwing in the low 70s and wasn't recording outs at an impressive rate. Almost out of necessity, he made the change and never looked back.
"If you have an open mind and want to do it, it's a lot easier than not wanting to do it," Bradford said. "A lot of guys want to worry about throwing hard and throw over the top. If you worry about velocity too much then you're not a good candidate to drop down.
"If you just want outs and to see those hitters keep trotting back to the dugout then drop down."
It also didn't hurt Bradford that by the time he graduated and headed to Hinds Community College his velocity had risen into the mid-to-upper 80s.
So, what advice does Bradford, now a volunteer at Central Hinds Academy, have for a young high school pitcher who may be struggling to find his way on the mound?
"My advice would be do it as soon as you can when you decide you can't get it done over the top," he said. "Drop down, sell out and don't look back. Don't worry about velocity. Of course you want to throw as hard as you can effectively, but think about throwing strikes more than anything else."
During his 12-year career - all 515 2/3 innings spent as a reliever - Bradford recorded a 36-28 record with a 3.26 ERA.
Keller Bradford, also a submarine reliever who previously pitched at Hinds, is 1-2 with a 2.78 ERA and a 26-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.


Build your dream home in White Creek Acres. This wooded/cleared 4.86 acre lot nestled within White Creek Acre's cul-de-sac has so much potential! Build your dream home amongst these beautiful neighboring homes!!


Wildlife expert Ron Wooten said he started researching the animals after a group of them attacked his dog back in 2013.
"I finally found some and took pictures and then looked back at them and thought, 'these are not coyotes.' There's a definite difference in the way they sound and how they interact." he said.
Wooten found a carcass of one of the canines that was killed by a car and sent it off to Princeton University. The animal's DNA showed it was 40 percent red wolf.
"Overall, it's incredibly rare to rediscover animals in a region where they were thought to be extinct and it's even more exciting to show that a piece of an endangered genome has been preserved in the wild," said Elizabeth Heppenheimer, a Princeton University biologist involved in the research on the pack found on Galveston Island.
The work of the Princeton team was published in the scientific journal Genes.
File photo of red wolf pups at Wolf Haven International in Tenino, Wash. in 2016. Researchers say a pack of wild canines found frolicking near the beaches of the Texas Gulf Coast carries a substantial amount of red wolf genes, a surprising discovery because the animal was declared extinct in the wild nearly 40 years ago.
Ron Sutherland, a North Carolina-based conservation scientist with the Wildlands Network, said it's exciting to have found "this unique and fascinating medium-sized wolf."
The survival of the red wolf genes "without much help from us for the last 40 years is wonderful news," said Sutherland, who was not involved in the Princeton study.
The red wolf, which tops out at about 80 pounds (49 kilograms), was once common across a vast region extending from Texas to the south, into the Southeast and up into the Northeast. It was federally classified as endangered in 1967 and declared extinct in the wild in 1980. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1970s captured a remnant population in Texas and Louisiana that eventually led to a successful captive breeding program.
Those canines in 1986 became part of the experimental wild population in North Carolina. That group has been declining since peaking at an estimated 120 to 130 wolves in 2006. A federal report in April said only about 40 remained.
"Knowing that there's genetic material that will help this species propagate and make it to the next level hopefully escape extinction -- that's a pretty special thing." said Wooden.
Associated Press reporter Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.


In a unique community collaboration, members of the Rancho Cielo Youth Corps stepped in to help an elderly Salinas woman by repairing her damaged fence last week.
Elizabeth Venturini, who is in her late 90s, has lived in Salinas since 1958 and is the “matriarch of our community over here in Maple Park,” said neighbor Butch Francis.
“I take care of her when I can, and the fence had been knocked over and kids were coming in,” Francis said.
Venturini’s south Salinas home lines up next to a city park, and in the last heavy rainstorm, the fence partially collapsed into her backyard, leaving the property vulnerable and Venturini worried. It was estimated to cost between $500 and $1,700 to repair the fence, her daughter Elena Dorabji said.
Yet through the coordination of several people, a crew from Rancho Cielo Youth Campus, a nonprofit that provides services to underserved and at-risk youth, went to the home on March 21 and completed the repairs over several hours.
Samuel Arevalo, 25, of Salinas was part of the crew that repaired the fence.
We “straightened and leveled it and got it ready for her to last for another 10 years at least,” he said proudly.
Arevalo said it felt good to work on the project.
“It’s awesome, the feeling to help people that can’t really help themselves … It gives us the experience to work with people and a little bit more experience socializing with people in the county and the city and helping out people. It also gives us projects that we can work on and have our instructor teach us construction and things to help others and ourselves,” he said.
Arevalo has been in the Rancho Cielo Youth Corps since November after being referred by his probation officer. He said he’s interested in pursuing construction as a career now, and with two months left in the program, he’s building his resume and filling out applications.
“This is a cool program. These guys helps us a lot to make a life for ourselves, and I’m thankful that I’m here and I’m able to help others,” Arevalo said.
“It’s a perfect kind of project because it allows them to see that their work can benefit individuals in the community that really need their help and they can see that their efforts can lead to positive outcomes in the community as opposed to getting in trouble,” said Rancho Cielo Interim Deputy Director Matt Huerta.
Venturini’s daughter Dorabji said that about 25 years ago, her mother complained that people were using a tall utility box to climb up into her mother’s property, and in response, the city built an extra-tall fence to separate her mother’s property from the park.
When the fence recently fell, the family contacted the city thinking that the city would repair it, but the city declined having any record of building the fence or responsibility to repair it, Dorabji said.
As the family was trying to figure out how to address the issue, neighbor Butch Francis called Salinas City Councilman Steve McShane to find assistance for what he initially thought was an issue of vandalism to the fence.
Concerned about a potential safety issue, McShane then contacted the Salinas Police Department to see what could be done about the situation.
“Butch is a good neighbor, called me and I referred it to PD, and police determined it wasn’t vandalism but the fence blew down,” McShane said.
“It’s really weird, like almost everyone springs into action, because this little old lady, who is quite feisty, is in a tight spot,” Dorabji said.
Salinas Police Commander Sheldon Bryan called Venturini to find out what was going on, said Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin. Upon realizing that the problem was going to be left to the older woman, Bryan and McMillin, who both dabble in woodwork and furniture building, decided to just go out and repair it themselves.
“It’s an easy fix and (Bryan) said ‘if we can’t figure this out, let’s go fix it,’” McMillin explained.
After some thought, however, it was decided that it would be a better idea to give the Rancho Cielo program participants a chance to get further work experience while doing a good deed, and McMillin, who sits on the Rancho Cielo Youth Campus board, helped coordinate for them to take the project.
While Dorabji was frustrated by the city’s initial response, she said she’s very happy that Rancho Cielo could step in and help.
“Whoever is in charge of making it happen, I’m very grateful to them … It’s nice my mom’s problem got solved, but it’s not only about my mom, it’s about city services to the community,” she said.
Salinas Public Works Director Gary Petersen said he was unfamiliar with the particular case but noted that extensive research into the history of the property would be needed to understand all the facts of the case, and fence line ownership is a complicated issue.
“It’s just such a great example of community pulling together for somebody in need,” McShane agreed.
Petersen added that the City of Salinas does contract with Rancho Cielo for repairs to sidewalks, curbs and gutters to regularly help give job experience to Rancho Cielo program participants.
Francis said Venturini is an “incredible” lady and praised the help and coordination by both police and Rancho Cielo.
Visit ranchocieloyc.org for more information about the Rancho Cielo Youth Center.


Former Thiess John Holland executive Stephen Sasse has given evidence that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was directly involved in discussions about $300,000 in payments to the Australian Workers Union when he was national secretary in late 2004 and that a series of invoices for large payments appear to be bogus.
When shown a series of invoices including one for research into back strain injury and another for $110,000, Mr Sasse, who has until now declined to comment on the issue publicly, told the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption on Monday they appeared to be bogus.
Senior counsel assisting the commission Jeremy Stoljar asked Mr Sasse about a series of large payments made to the Australian Workers Union including one for research on back strain.
"Does it look like a bogus invoice to you?," Mr Stoljar asked.
"I fear so," Mr Sasse replied.
Mr Sasse said his early discussions about a payment of $300,000 to the union as part of a deal over the $2.5 billion EastLink Melbourne road project were with Mr Shorten in late 2004.
Mr Sasse said he made an in-principle agreement to deal with Mr Shorten's union only because of difficulties in dealing with the CFMEU, which was not as flexible. The negotiations with the AWU were in Melbourne and ran for about six weeks.
In his sworn statement, Mr Sasse said he was not aware of the total payments made by the joint venture to the AWU until the royal commission made them public.
"It appears that the total payments approximate the $300k initially discussed between Shorten and me, and that the relevant documentation was deliberately falsified," he said.
In June, Fairfax Media revealed payments by Thiess John Holland to the AWU after a ground-breaking workplace agreement that cut standard industry conditions established by the rival CFMEU and delivered savings of as much as $100 million to the builder.
Mr Sasse during questioning at the commission.
Mr Sasse said he had discussed a payment of around $100,000 a year for the three-year term of the project, which included a salary of $75,000, superannuation and a car.
When asked if the early discussion was with Mr Shorten, Mr Sasse said "yes".
He said, "initial discussions were between the two of us" around September to October in 2004.
Mr Sasse said Mr Shorten had suggested that an organiser be appointed full time to the project and funded by Thiess.
"I was deliberately non-committal about that proposal. It was not something I particularly liked the look of," Mr Sasse said.
Later in the hearing, Mr Sasse said he could not clearly recall whether he and Mr Shorten had discussed the "precise number, but we talked about the company funding the costs of an AWU employee to be deployed full-time on the project and I, either in my own mind or on the basis of a discussion, concluded that was going to be $100,000 a year".
"I couldn't say with any great level of confidence that Mr Shorten said 'it will cost you $100,000 a year', but it was crystal clear that the request was to pay the costs of an organiser, which, in a practical commercial sense, is largely the same thing," he said.
By the end of 2004 the "entire logic" for funding the organiser position had "fallen away completely".
Asked about a series of invoices paid including one for $33,000 on advertising in the Australian Worker Magazine, Mr Sasse said it was not "typical or usual".
Mr Stoljar asked: "Would you have any concerns about this invoice?"
Mr Sasse replied: "Yes I would ... The need for it in the first place and the value associated with it."
Mr Shorten has denied any involvement in, or knowledge of, the issuing of bogus invoices and said in July that he left details of the project to his successor, embattled Victorian MP Cesar Melhem.
Documents tendered to the royal commission show that Mr Melhem dealt directly with former Thiess John Holland HR manager Julian Rzesniowiecki over many of the invoices stemming from the EastLink deal, and a Fairfax Media analysis found that almost half the payments made by Thiess John Holland to the AWU appear to involve suspect invoices for services never provided.
Mr Sasse is among eight executives from Thiess John Holland called to give evidence to the royal commission over the controversial deal with Mr Shorten.
Other notable witnesses include Ted Lockyer, whose company, Unibuilt, bankrolled Mr Shorten's entry into Parliament through an in-kind donation of a campaign manager, Lance Wilson.
Also called for the first time to the inquiry is former Australian Workers Union national secretary and Shorten protege Paul Howes.
The commission has also recalled Mr Melhem, whose political career has already been damaged by commission revelations about deals he did as union leader that appear to have left his own members out of pocket.
The commission has devoted an entire day to his evidence.
The first two days of the AWU hearings that started on Monday will be on Thiess John Holland.
Mr Shorten was questioned in the royal commission in July about the payments, with Mr Stoljar asked the Opposition Leader: "Do you say that you had discussions with Mr Sasse or, indeed, anyone else during those negotiations about a proposal pursuant to which an amount of $100,000 a year plus GST would be paid at any stage?"
Mr Shorten told the commission he did not "particularly remember" such discussions, later refining his evidence to acknowledge he may have raised the idea of the AWU providing training "and the like".
At one point, royal commissioner Dyson Heydon was moved to criticise Mr Shorten for his "non-responsive" answers over the EastLink line of questioning.
During Monday's hearing, Mr Shorten's legal representative, Neil Clelland QC, who also represented former prime minister Julia Gillard at the royal commission hearings last year, challenged the commission on procedural fairness.
"We wish to place on record our objection to the process which has been undertaken, in particular the questioning of Mr Shorten in the way it was conducted when the commission was in possession of an interview with Mr Sasse ...," Mr Clelland said.
"In our submission that process had the potential to unfairly damage Mr Shorten's reputation. He is clearly entitled to be fairly treated."
Mr Clelland said Mr Stoljar had said some of the claims made in relation to procedural unfairness were defamatory.
Mr Clelland asked, as a matter of fairness, that he be provided with all records of meetings or interviews with Mr Sasse and royal commission staff.
Mr Stoljar said Mr Shorten "had no less than six counsel, three senior counsel, two present in the witness room, and we would respectfully submit that he was amply protected and persons were able to make whatever submissions they wished about the questions that were put".
"The questions that were put were in any event denied. He said he didn't remember anything about that matter and he has been invited subsequently as one has seen from this correspondence, if he wishes he can put on further evidence to amplify or clarify the evidence he gave. That invitation has been issued," Mr Stoljar said.
Mr Heydon said it was "technically correct to say Mr Shorten did not accept what was put to him and later rejected Mr Clelland's application for the correspondence requested.


SYDNEY (AP) England captain Sam Burgess has been handed the same role at his South Sydney team in the National Rugby League.
Souths coach Wayne Bennett, who also coaches the England national squad, made the announcement Thursday ahead of his team's Friday match against Canterbury.
Burgess takes over for Greg Inglis, who retired unexpectedly earlier this week due to serious shoulder injuries.


It is 2020. The American Health Care Act has become law, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has eliminated contraception from its list of essential preventive services that must be covered by insurance without cost sharing.
Let’s imagine a woman named Margaret. She is 25 years old and has Type 1 diabetes requiring insulin. She has high-deductible health insurance through her job with a construction company. For the past 2 years, high out-of-pocket medical and prescription costs have led Margaret to avoid doctor’s visits, and her sugar levels are too high.
Margaret and her fiance want to delay having children for a few years until they become more financially stable. Additionally, Margaret’s doctor recommended that she delay pregnancy until her sugar levels are better controlled, to improve outcomes for both Margaret and a baby. However, because insurance companies are no longer required to fully cover contraception, her insurance charges a $100 copayment for an intrauterine device (IUD), the most effective reversible birth control method and a particularly safe option for most women with chronic medical conditions.
Unable to afford the copay, Margaret and her fiance use condoms. But — as happens to 20 percent of women using condoms for birth control over the course of a year — Margaret unexpectedly becomes pregnant. She delays initiating prenatal care due to the cost. Because of this delay and her high blood sugar levels, her pregnancy is complicated. She delivers her baby pre-term and he requires a neonatal ICU stay, which presents further emotional and financial challenges to her family.
Repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s no-cost coverage of contraception will make stories like Margaret’s all too common and will have harmful consequences for both babies and women — especially the growing number of women who already live with chronic disease.
A sexually active woman of reproductive age has an 85 percent chance of getting pregnant in a year without birth control. Since contraception was included in the HHS’s list of essential preventive services for women in 2012, most private insurers now must provide comprehensive contraceptive coverage without charging patients copays or deductibles. HHS estimates that since passage of the ACA, 55.6 million women now have access to contraception without copays. Although early research has not yet shown dramatic changes in contraceptive use post-ACA, in previous studies, eliminating contraceptive copays has increased women’s use of the most effective methods, and reduced rates of unintended pregnancies and abortions.
The stakes are too high to move forward on repeal without knowing what comes next.
Unintended pregnancies are associated with risks to woman and babies, including higher likelihood of delayed prenatal care and premature delivery. However, reduced access to contraception is particularly devastating for women managing chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and obesity. These conditions make pregnancy riskier and have contributed to the rise in maternal deaths in the United States seen in the last two decades. Some of the risks can be reduced by careful planning of pregnancy, including preventing conception until a woman is ready. Thus, enhanced access to birth control, along with maternity care and other women’s health services under the ACA, has potential to help reverse that disturbing trend.
The current House Republican health care proposal would jeopardize women’s access to essential preventive health services, including family planning, through reducing Medicaid coverage and benefits and by blocking federal reimbursements to Planned Parenthood. Further, the current requirement for no-cost coverage of contraception could be removed at HHS’s discretion. These changes would be catastrophic for millions of women, and especially those who battle medical conditions already.
As primary care physicians at Massachusetts’ largest birthing center, we see cases like Margaret’s every day. The researchers, doctors, and public health experts who drafted the ACA’s women’s health provisions understood that contraception is essential to the long-term health of women and families. However, amid political and religious outrage over required coverage of contraception, lawmakers and activists often overlook the fact that planning pregnancy can save lives.
As Congress considers repeal of the ACA, patients and doctors must advocate for no-cost contraceptive coverage. Massachusetts has an opportunity to lead other states, with the Legislature’s proposal of An Act Advancing Contraceptive Coverage and Economic Security in our State (ACCESS), which would mandate contraceptive coverage without copays for Massachusetts women with any health insurance. No-cost coverage works, and should be a component of any nation’s commitment to its citizens’ health.
Lydia Pace is Faculty Director of the Women’s Health Policy and Advocacy Program, Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Eve Rittenberg is Primary Care Medical Director, Gretchen S. and Edward A. Fish Center for Women’s Health, BWH. The opinions expressed here are solely their own and do not reflect the views and opinions of Brigham and Women’s Hospital.


SARAH E. MENDELSON is Director of the Human Rights Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 2010 to 2014, she served as Deputy Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Follow her on Twitter @SarahMendelson.
No Illusions: The Voices of Russia’s Future Leaders. BY ELLEN MICKIEWICZ. Oxford University Press, 2014, 264 pp. $29.95.
Twenty years ago, while working for the National Democratic Institute in Russia, I found myself observing a focus group in the town of Khimki, not far from Moscow. In a drab apartment, my colleagues and I strained to understand what local residents thought about candidates running in a by-election for the Russian parliament. It was a disorienting time, that early post-Soviet period, before the wars in Chechnya, the collapse of the ruble, and President Vladimir Putin’s rise to power. But for some, it held a tantalizing hope: that Russia would ultimately transition to democracy. I, too, felt optimistic watching the men and women in that first group discussion. They seemed eager to debate the candidates’ relative merits and clearly relished their newfound political voice.
In the decade and a half afterward, I observed dozens of Russian focus groups, in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and a handful of other cities and towns. Each time, eight to ten randomly selected participants discussed critical players and moments in their country’s development. My colleagues and I then drew on their responses to conduct a series of nationally representative public opinion surveys. The results dimmed my initial optimism. For example, most respondents thought that Stalin had done more good than harm and were oblivious to the true scale of the purges that had occurred in the 1930s. Most expressed concern about the economic costs and the military casualties of the second war in Chechnya but were untroubled by the human rights abuses that took place. On the whole, the respondents felt ambivalent about democracy as an alternative to autocracy and often questioned whether Western-style liberalism was the best political system for Russia.


Swoon Over A Bunch Of Jeeps With Us Live Right Now!
Filed to: Jalopnik Live!Filed to: Jalopnik Live!
Our guy David Tracy is out touring a big Jeep show just outside of Atlanta, and you can tag along with him on Facebook Live if you’d like—complete with all of the Jeeps, and none of the unbearable southern heat that he’s sweating through in order to bring them to you all. If that’s not a good deal, what is?
Keep the weather hot and the Jeep collections hotter, Atlanta.
Ride Around The Red Bull GRC Dallas Course With Us Right Now!


Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, held talks with the Crown Prince of Bahrain.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, welcomed the Crown Prince of Bahrain as the two countries seek to strengthen ties.
Sheikh Mohammed welcomed Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain at Qasr Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
They spoke about the latest regional and international developments and crises, and explored ways of fostering co-operation in all areas between the countries.
The meeting was attended by a delegation which included Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of Federal National Council.


Mexican Singer Paulina Rubio 'We Love You, Donald Trump' ... Flip-Flopping At Women's Empowerment Concert?
Paulina Rubio threw many fans for a loop at a concert for women when she blurted out "We love you, Donald Trump" -- but it appears to have been purely for literary effect.
The Mexican pop star was performing Saturday in L.A. during the 'K-Love Live: Las Que Mandan' concert when, at one point, she coupled her shout-outs to women with a seemingly random plug for the President ... which got a lot of boos from the crowd.
The lines about Trump didn't have much context, but in an interview after the show ... Paulina seemed to imply her "love" for Trump was nothing but sarcasm and an attempt at irony. When the host asks her if she had a message for 45, Paulina says (in Spanish) that Hispanics have been here long before DT became the Prez, and that her mom had told her she wasn't going anywhere in the Trump times. Translation ... she's not team MAGA.
Besides, Paulina's been quoted many times bashing President Trump, calling him a "pendejo" among other insults. So, it's unlikely she'd do a hard flip-flop in such a public way ... or so it seems, anyway.
We've reached out to her camp for further elaboration, but they had no comment.


The Knight Foundation is going to make sure the people charged with investing its vast endowment aren’t entirely homogeneous. It’s not just a push for diversity’s sake–it’s also a push for better returns.
In order to create the cash flow necessary to continue issuing grants year after year, most foundations reinvest the majority of their endowment in the open market. Historically, however, major funders haven’t thought a lot about how to use that process itself to do more good.
Earlier this year, the Ford Foundation rethought wasted financial impact by committing a large portion of its endowment toward mission-related investments, creating more capital for change. Now the Knight Foundation, which works to build engaged and informed communities, is trying to address a more creeping societal issue: discrimination against who exactly is enabled to make these investments.
According to a Knight Foundation report, women and minority-owned money management firms are getting shut out of the asset management industry–not just by philanthropies, but by public funds, high-net-worth individual and family offices, and especially corporate interests. The group hopes the change that practice across the entire investment landscape by calling more attention to it.
“It grew out of our own experience,” says Knight president Alberto Ibarguen in an email. “We realized that we–like other institutional investors–had a blind spot when it came to diverse-owned firms. We commissioned this report to bring transparency to the sector.” Based on performance metrics, “[the data] confirms there’s no legitimate reason to not invest in diverse-owned firms in the 21st century,” he adds.
Knight spotted the problem within its own investment portfolio in 2010 and has since shifted tactics to bring far more diverse firms into their fold. The report, Diversifying Investments, highlights how the group isn’t alone: There is serious systemic discrimination at play across the financial markets.
In addition to being unethical, such behavior could potentially cost investors money, too. “It’s no secret that investment management has been a white-man’s club, and the homogeneity at the top levels can be self-reinforcing,” says Ibarguen. “People often choose folks like themselves without even thinking about it.” That gross bias is both immoral and complete nonsense, never mind it might lead to picking a less qualified candidate for a job.
About $71.4 trillion in assets under management exist within the U.S. market, generating $100 billion in returns annually. To figure out who was managing what, Knight commissioned an analysis of activity for the four main types of funds: hedge, mutual, private equity, and real estate.
That pot is about $67 trillion. In general women or minority-owned groups represent between 3% and 5% of the total players within those industries (The number is slightly lower for women in private equity, and both groups in real estate). All told, female minorities combine to manage just 1% of all funding.
Knight itself used to represent this problem: In 2010, diverse groups were appointed to manage just $7 million of its more than $2 billion endowment. Since recognizing the issue, the foundation has upped that share to $472 million or 23% of its total wealth.
That helps, but to make larger change more than just foundations will have to change behavior. On the mutual fund side, most endowment-backed organizations actually give a proportionately higher share to women or minority-owned money managers. It’s the same with public funds and high-net-worth individuals or family offices. While everyone could do better, the true giant tripping up change appears to be corporate clients” who have proportionately fewer investments in diverse-owned funds,” notes the report.
In fact, performance statistics show that investors who don’t seek equality among money handlers might be missing some good returns. In some asset classes, a proportionately higher number of women and minority-led groups appear to be looking the market differently, outperforming their peers.


The panel has already prepared guidelines for physical, technological and IT security of thermal power stations.
With increasing threat of terrorist activities paralysing key thermal power infrastructures, the Union power ministry has graded such installations as sensitive or hypersensitive, and asked state governments, officials of state-owned and private the electricity generation stations to ensure physical, technological and cyber security of their units.
The Ministry of Power has formed a panel for development of National Infrastructure Protection Plan in thermal power sector. The committee will be headed by a member of the Central Electricity Authority and members drawn from CISF, IB, NIC and power utilities.
In Orissa, the 460 megawatt thermal power station of NTPC at Talcher and 3000 megawatt Super Thermal Power Station in Kaniha have been labelled hypersensitive by the ministry, while the upcoming 1800 megawatt thermal power station by Jindal India Thermal Power Ltd at Derang of Angul district was termed sensitive.
Similarly, the upcoming 350 megawatt thermal Power Station of KVK Neelachal at Cuttack has been marked as hypersensitive, while Jindal India Thermal Power and Monnet ISPAT Thermal Power Station at Angul was labelled sensitive.
Sources in the NTPC said the guidelines suggested creation of a nodal agency at central level to carry out classification of the projects based on threat perception and intelligence inputs. The nodal agency would prepare standard security manual with graded security guidelines, coordinate security response requirements with the power stations and law enforcement agencies, prepare roadmap and contingency response plans, develop guidelines for security audits and establish procedures for dealing with bomb threats.
They also said the guidelines contain physical security measures to be provided at the thermal power stations, such as boundary walls, biometric/iris-based access control systems, CCTV surveillance as well as operational measures to be taken by the stations like evacuation plan, record keeping, engagement of security agencies, segregation of security sensitive areas. The panel has also suggested cyber security measures.


Israeli archaeologists said today they had discovered a 12,000-year-old neolithic settlement west of Jerusalem which they believe is the largest of the period ever discovered in the Holy Land.
The settlement, in Motza 5km west of Jerusalem, was home to 2,000 people and dates to 9,500 BC, Hammadid Khalife, head of the archeological team, told AFP.
"We discovered a real treasure on the site consisting of 58 flint blades, found together, which at the time served as a kind of currency," Khalife said.
"The origin of the stone and the way the blades were made show they come from northern Syria," he added.
"It is the first time that such a treasure ... from this neolithic period, has been discovered in the Holy Land," said Khalife, who specified the site belonged to an era known as pre-pottery neolithic.
A similar discovery was made in Syria by a French team three years ago at a site called Jerat al-Ahmar.
The dig, which started three months ago, was organised by the Israeli antiquities department.


When you think of the name Ben Hogan and even when you take a look at the recent club introductions from the new Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company, your natural inclination is toward precision and classic blade-like design. It's what you think of when you think of Hogan blade irons, Hogan's 1-iron shot at Merion in the 1950 U.S. Open, and well, maybe a new collection of Ben Hogan hybrids.
Hybrids? Really, says Terry Koehler, the president and CEO of the equipment company that bears the nine-time major champion’s name. The company's new VKTR hybrids are designed to explicitly reflect that idea of precision—specifically when it comes to distance control.
The VKTR hybrids reflect that idea of precision in two ways: Loft and shot shape. Like both the Ben Hogan irons and wedges, the VKTR hybrids will be offered in individual one-degree loft increments, spanning a range from 17 to 27 degrees. It’s an effort to better fit the hybrids into a player’s current set of irons. The Ben Hogan hybrids also feature shaft lengths similar to the irons they would replace in an effort to produce more consistent distance gaps.
The key to hybrid lofts is more spin, not less, Koehler said.
“The majority of golfers find hybrids lacking as efficient long-range approach clubs because of the low spin rates generally found in today’s alternatives,” he said noting that the VKTR’s design emphasizes steeper landing angles so shots can hold the green.
Even more compelling than the loft fitting aspect is the idea that different players need different ballflight corrections as they move into lower-lofted clubs like hybrids. Toward that end, the VKTR hybrids will offer a unique four-way adjustability through four weight-ports in the sole and perimeter of the hybrid. The weight screws include three 2-gram screws and one 18-gram screw (for a total of 24 grams of moveable weight) that can be positioned in a port in the heel or the toe to counteract excessive draw or fade spin. The heavier weight also can be positioned in the rear center or the middle of the sole, to bolster off-center hit stability or to reduce spin.
Generally compact in size, the hybrids also get progressively smaller as the loft increases. The 17-degree head is still just 110 cubic centimeters, while the 27-degree is only 96 cc.
“From a pure physics standpoint, the farther you move the scoring pattern from the center line of the shaft, the harder it is to consistently square the clubface than when it’s closer,” Koehler said.
The shape of the VKTR hybrids also includes a less-rounded shape of the leading edge to provide more hitting area for impacts low on the face, and a more iron-like higher toe appearance to improve alignment at address and smooth the visual transition between the irons and hybrids.
The V-shaped sole is designed to make the club move more cleanly through the turf, while a slightly more forward center of gravity as the lofts increase aims to control spin for better distance. Adding extra horsepower is a thin, high-strength alloy face insert made of MS-300 steel.
While Ben Hogan himself never played a hybrid, Koehler said there’s evidence that as far back as the 1960s, Hogan was designing prototype clubs that looked like what can only be described as modern-day hybrids.
“Our goal was to make a set of hybrids that combine the feel and shotmaking capabilities of an iron with the performance and playability of a utility club,” he said.
The VKTR hybrids ($250) will be offered with the UST/Mamiya IROD shaft, and they will begin shipping in April.


Paula G. DiMatteo, 95, of Peachtree City passed away peacefully on March 10, 2019.
Paula was the youngest of two children, born to Clarence and Pauline Gardiner on December 18, 1923 in Bridgeton, N.J. Paula married John DiMatteo on March 21, 1941. The couple settled in East Point, in 1957 and moved to Peachtree City in 1987.
Paula was preceded in death by her husband, John; brother, James Gardiner; granddaughters, Gina Ford and Dr. Tracy Maloney.
She is survived by her daughter, Joanne DiMatteo; son, Paul (Sharon) DiMatteo; grandchildren, Karen (Greg) Cash, Melanie (Allen) Phillips, Todd Maloney, Kathy Briscoe (Kenneth Jameson), Pam (Mike) Peaden, Joey (Brooke) Hall; numerous great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
A funeral service was held Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 2 p.m. at Mowell Funeral Home, Peachtree City, followed by burial at Westminster Memorial Gardens.


Attention has been focused on V15 after a bipartisan US Senate subcommittee criticized the State Department for giving a $350,000 grant to OneVoice, which became V15.
The heads of the parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition will meet on Sunday to discuss how to advance a bill that would hobble political organizations like V15 that campaigned against Netanyahu in the last election.
Proposed by Likud MK Yoav Kisch, the bill would prevent organizations involved in elections from raising more than NIS 1,000 a month. Netanyahu has announced his support for the bill.
V15, which has since renamed itself Darkenu, caused headaches for Netanyahu ahead of the March 2015 election by hosting rallies against him and spending huge sums on billboards and canvasing voters. Such activity was legal, because they did not tell voters to support a specific party or candidate.
Kisch said the Senate report proved how important it is to fix the loophole that V15 exploited in the last election. He said that besides V15, he wanted to prevent a recurrence of the 1999 election in which fictitious organizations were used to finance the campaign of then-prime ministerial candidate Ehud Barak.
The bill’s advancement has been prevented in recent months by Bayit Yehudi, which is concerned that it will prevent right-wing organizations from impacting elections.
Construction Minister Uri Ariel of Bayit Yehudi asked Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit Thursday to investigate Darkenu.


Netflix Is A Joke Radio is a new channel coming exclusively to SiriusXM that will feature clips from Netflix’s own stand-up specials from comedians like Adam Sandler, Aziz Ansari, Bill Burr, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Ellen DeGeneres, Gabriel Iglesias, Jerry Seinfeld, John Mulaney, Ken Jeong, Ricky Gervais, Sarah Silverman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Trevor Noah, Wanda Sykes and many more.
In addition to featuring clips from the various stand-up specials Netflix has in their original library, the channel will also introduce a new daily show with celebrity guest and comedians discussing the day’s hot topics and various pop culture happenings.
You’ll be able to find Netflix Is a Joke Radio on Channel 93 on SiriusXM staring April 15, 2019.


The findings were discussed by Dr. Robert Cykiert, an ophthalmologist at New York University Medical Center,on The Early Show Wednesday. To watch the interview, click here.
Overall, the study showed that 34 percent of the 164 corneal infection cases reported required corneal transplantation.
Keep the contact lens case clean and replace every 3 to 6 months.


There are less than 100 days until the Summer Olympics begin in Brazil and the golf industry could not be more excited about the game’s return after a 112-year hiatus.
Similar to last year, I sat down with golf industry leaders to ask them a few questions on the state of their industry. The timing of looking at the state of the golf industry seemed especially relevant considering that manufacturer adidas recently decided that it would be selling off parts of its golf business.
BEVACQUA: When you look at the big picture, the state of golf is overwhelmingly positive. In fact, demand is quite healthy and on a growth trajectory. Rounds played were up in 2015 for the first time since 2012 – an increase of approximately two percent . A total of 2.2 million people took up the game last year, approaching the record of 2.4 million, set at the peak of Tiger Woods’ popularity.
Spectator numbers and television viewership were also up. Participation in PGA Junior League Golf – a team format for boys and girls 13 and under – has increased 233 percent since 2013. Get Golf Ready, which is designed to introduce new players to the game, set records with more than 107,000 graduates and a three-year retention rate of 73 percent.
Golf does have its share of challenges, but based on the strength of our player development programs, which are led by PGA Professionals, I’m confident we’ll continue to attract and retain new players.
DAVIS: Spend one day at a U.S. Open, a U.S. Women’s Open or any of our 13 USGA championships, and you will clearly feel the same energy we do for the game’s future.
The game is strong because there are so many passionate people that are invested in it. Golfers continue to not only play, but help us welcome new players to the game every day. Leaders are rising to create programs that invite more diverse audiences. We are creating more championships in other countries that inspire new audiences to pick up the game. Golf course owners are working smarter to manage resources like water and labor more efficiently. We are innovating at a rapid pace, and using technology and data as never before to make smart decisions.
We learned important lessons in the past 10 years, the most vital of which is that fans of the game haven’t lost their passion for our sport.
FINCHEM: From a PGA TOUR perspective, we have a great mix of established stars and exciting up-and-coming players who connect with our fans. For the 2014-15 FedExCup season, television ratings for our tournaments were up 22% with more than 105 million people in the U.S. tuning to our broadcasts. Our various digital platforms had 457 million visits and an average of more than 8 million monthly unique users. On social media, the PGA TOUR and our players have more than 40 million followers.
The impact of the game is felt in the lives of millions of people. Golf, as a whole, generates more than $3.9 billion in charitable giving annually. We are proud that the PGA TOUR and its tournaments were able to give back more than $160 million in 2015, a single-year record that brought the all-time total to $2.3 billion since the first tournament donation was made in 1938.
Youth playing the game has increased by 20% from 2.5 million in 2010 to 3 million in 2015. An estimated 6.3 millennials play and they are playing often, an average of nearly 15 rounds per year. Many of these are drawn by the exceptional exciting young talent on the PGA TOUR and LPGA, which, of course, bodes well for the future.
Additionally, people are also experiencing golf outside of traditional golf courses with more than 18 million participants, 7 million of which are non-golfers, taking part at driving ranges, Topgolf facilities and simulators.
MONA: Golf is in a unique position as it appeals to a wide range of ages and audiences. The game is stable and healthy. Although participation in the game does not match its all-time high from 2005 (pre-recession), many industry segments are experiencing much success. Adult and junior growth-of-the-game programs are more unified and have seen significant growth in the past few years. For example, The First Tee has more than 180 chapters and 900 golf locations and is also available in 8,000 elementary schools and 700 youth centers.
Today, golf is enjoyed by 24 million Americans who play 465 million rounds annually at the nation’s 15,200 facilities. It continues to be the game of a lifetime.
WHAN: I know that many people in our industry focus only on rounds played or the specific number of golfers each year, but one thing is clear to me – more people are watching, caring, and engaged in the sport than ever before. In the U.S., and around the world, we've seen consistent increases in TV viewership, hours of coverage, and fans at tournaments. Around the globe, I've witnessed (first-hand) how the sport has received heightened interest from countries, media and fans driven by golf's return to the Olympics.
I think looking only at rounds played, or people playing, dramatically underestimates the impact and engagement of our sport. If you just looked at participation every year, you'd say football is in trouble, but the NFL's business (and fan engagement in college and pro football) is as strong as ever. I haven't played football in 35 years, and my wife has never played it, but we travel to games, watch it every weekend, and are engaged with our teams.
What do you think will be the impact of golf’s return to the Olympics this August?
BEVACQUA: The Olympics are a golden opportunity to introduce golf to people from around the world. While we may see an initial spike in interest from the games in Rio de Janeiro, the full impact might not be seen globally until the next generation enters the game, after being inspired to play golf from watching the top men and women players compete on the Olympic stage. Recognizing the significance of the potential Olympic effect on the game, we were happy to move the PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club to July, in order to accommodate. It will be fun to watch the greatest players in the world compete for pride of their country, similar to what we see with the Ryder Cup. It should be an absolutely exciting event, one that is more than a century in the making.
DAVIS: Studies show us that recreational and beginner programs flourish in developing countries when they are played on the Olympic stage. Olympic athletes inspire all of us, and players that take home gold for their country become legends. Nothing is more powerful to a young kid than cheering on an athlete from home.
I also believe we will be inspired by the number of countries represented, and the diversity that exists in golf today. Think about how the game has grown in the last 112 years, and where it’s played now. Creating events like the Latin America Amateur Championship, The Curtis and Walker Cups and World Team Championships has shown us the potential we have in introducing the game to places that haven’t yet embraced our sport. It will be exciting to see which countries are represented this year, and which ones will enter in the years to come.
FINCHEM: I am fully expecting golf’s return to the Olympics to have an impact on growing the game, which is a major reason that we worked to get the sport back in the Games. Golf’s inclusion will assist its continued growth around the world and will help bring the game to places it has never been. The impact will be particularly significant in countries that are in the developmental stages of golf. Now that golf is an Olympic sport, it is receiving greater funding from National Olympic Committees and governments. We have seen that in countries like China, India, and Brazil and Eastern Europe. Such growth will lead to further investment and sponsorship of golf programs and organizations.
Golf’s inherent values align perfectly with the ideals of the Olympic movement, including honesty, integrity and sportsmanship, so in that regard it is a perfect fit.
MONA: The U.S. golf industry is closely aligned to monitor the impact of golf in the Olympics. We are positioned to translate television viewers of the Olympics with first-time exposure or lapsed interest in the game and introduce them to golf through friendly growth-of-the-game programs that are welcoming to players of all abilities.
We believe the Olympics is going to inspire young people who are already playing the game to replicate what they see these athletes do on TV and compete at a higher level. One day, they may also be standing on an Olympic podium.
WHAN: When I think about the Olympics, I think about opportunity. The platform that the Olympic Games provide in terms of exposure for our sport and our players is enormous. Most Olympic sports will tell you they live off their every four year dose of awareness; whether it’s kayaking, table tennis, diving, etc. You get to see the sport for one week in the summer and then you have to wait four years to see it again.
If you like women’s golf and you stumble into it as a casual fan (which happens a lot for various sports during the Olympics), we’re unlike most Olympic sports. Chances are good we’re actually on TV the next week and the following week for 34 weeks over the next year. Through the Olympics, we have a chance to capture the casual fans and bring them back to our weekly coverage. I think it’s a huge opportunity for us to introduce ourselves to a broader audience and give them somewhere to go with that new enthusiasm.
The LPGA’s mission is to empower and inspire women through the game of golf. There is no better way to do that than through the most exciting sporting event in the world. We will have little girls from every corner of the globe seeing golf and our players for the very first time (and potentially allowing them to dream about pursuing our great game). Golf is truly a borderless sport and that’s why it lends itself to the Olympics so well.
The ninth annual National Golf Day is May 18 in Washington, D.C. What are golf’s benefits to society that some Congressional leaders might not be aware of?
BEVACQUA: In addition to the big names in the industry, golf is comprised of more than 15,200 small businesses nationwide. While the PGA of America celebrates our Centennial, it’s exciting for the industry to explain to our nation’s leadership that golf has grown to a nearly $70 billion annual economic engine. In addition, the game enables nearly $4 billion in charitable donations each year – more than all other sports. That’s a tangible impact that is often steered by the work of our 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals.
DAVIS: Golf facilities provide economic, social, environmental and recreational support to communities – and are both publicly accessible and affordable. The game is innovating in ways we could not foresee, by more effectively managing natural resources, and building programs that are welcoming to juniors, minorities, women and disabled persons.
Golf is on the cutting edge of technology and research, and has helped other community recreational sports, like football, soccer and others, in sustainable recreational turf best practices. We are developing solutions and tools that will help all courses remain viable within their communities, and we are working with municipal and county governments to provide data that shows their positive impact. It is a great time to be at the center of the game, as it evolves.
FINCHEM: For the PGA TOUR, our primary focus at National Golf Day is to share the story of The First Tee. We are hosting The First Tee Congressional Breakfast with 2016 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III and Vice Captain Steve Stricker. This provides us a great opportunity to share the positive impact the program is having on the lives of our youth.
New young people are not only being introduced to the game, but are learning the valuable life lessons that are inherent to the sport. Each participant is exposed to the nine core values that prepare them for success in high school, college and beyond. Additionally, they learn about the nine healthy habits that promote healthy, active lifestyles.
Last year, The First Tee reached more than 4.7 million young people, the most since its inception in 1997. The First Tee programs are delivered on golf courses, in elementary school P.E. classes and as part of after-school programs in partnership with other youth organizations. Of The First Tee programs delivered on golf courses, 48% of participants are ethnically diverse and 38% are female.
Additionally, all of the major golf organizations that are based in the U.S., are working together to promote each other’s grow-the-game initiatives like Drive, Chip and Putt; Get Golf Ready; LPGA-USGA Girls Golf; PGA Junior League Golf; and The First Tee.
MONA: With 2016 being an election year, it’s even more important for political leaders to understand the impact our industry has on local communities and millions of Americans. Since our first event in 2008, National Golf Day has educated our nation's lawmakers about the countless benefits of the game and we look forward to continuing this agenda on May 18.
Last year, our National Golf Day social media campaign exceeded 37 million impressions. While you may not be able to attend our D.C. event, you can let your voice be heard through your social channels. Why is golf more than a game to you? To join the conversation, visit the WE ARE GOLF social media hub. When posting, use #NGD16 and @wearegolf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to show your support for the golf industry.
WHAN: There are over two million jobs impacted by the game and its diverse benefits to our economy and society. It’s the people working on the courses who are the backbone of our sport. We live in a fast-paced, high energy, high stress world. A casual round of golf or a family visit to a professional event can do the mind and soul a little bit of good. Moreover, those visits are likely driving increased dollars into local charities!


Goodbye, 1986 election. Hello, 1988 presidential race. As the last cheer fades from this year's campaign, political attention immediately swings toward 1988 and the two frontrunners for the White House - Vice-President George Bush and US Sen. Gary Hart.
The 1988 race, jampacked with potential candidates, has created great anticipation in both parties. It should be a watershed election, according to analysts like Republican John Sears III, who says it will set the political stage for the rest of the 20th century.
Republicans, coming off eight strong years under President Reagan, hope their new leader will move the GOP into the status of the majority party.
Early polls put Republican Bush and Democrat Hart so far out front that their races for nomination look easy. But don't believe it. Each man has a difficult obstacle course to run before this contest is over. And each has handicaps that will help his opponents.
George Bush .... 54 percent.
Robert Dole .... 24 percent.
Gary Hart .... 54 percent.
Mario Cuomo .... 29 percent.
Yet analysts say these figures are misleading. Neither Bush nor Hart can rest easy. One survey, released Tuesday, shows why.
The poll, by Bannon Research of Boston, found Hart much weaker in the vital early-primary state of New Hampshire than he is nationwide.
Pitted against a field of six opponents, including Governor Cuomo, Hart gets 47 percent of the vote in New Hampshire. But when another name is added to the field, Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, Hart's support plunges to only 33 percent. Governor Dukakis gets 27 percent, and Cuomo, 19 percent.
Mel Nasielski of Allan-Kerrigan, Inc., in Philadelphia, which also worked on the survey, says it shows Hart's support is soft, much as Walter Mondale's was in 1984. Hart will probably need a strong organization and lots of money to weather the campaign in 1988. Yet at the moment, Hart is struggling with more than $2 million in debts left over from his 1984 campaign.
If Hart should fade, analysts see two potential scenarios. First, a new leader could emerge, possibly Cuomo, possibly Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware (who seems interested), or someone else. Or, regional candidates could emerge - Dukakis in New England, former Virginia Gov. Charles Robb in the South, Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt in the West. The result: no clear winner, and a brokered convention.
Yet Bush's problems are different. Political analyst Horace Busby says that while Hart appears to be fading, that's not true of Bush. Up till now, says Mr. Busby, ``Bush's toughest race is between George Bush and George Bush.'' The harder Bush ran, the worse he did, Busby notes. Now Bush has pulled back, is concentrating on his job in the White House, and his strength has solidified somewhat. His vice-presidential role will keep Bush in the limelight (unlike Hart, who retires from the Senate in January).
Bush's first objective will be to avoid mistakes. A serious gaffe could give a challenger, like Senator Dole, an opening. Dole has been slowly climbing in the polls as his reputation as an effective leader in the Senate has grown. A Bush mistake could also benefit former Sen. Howard Baker Jr., another middle-of-the-roader, who has a rich campaign war chest. He is expected to announce his candidacy before the end of the year. Baker will concentrate his campaign effort in Iowa and New Hampshire.
The other threat to Bush is ideological. The Rev. Pat Robertson, who seems likely to run, could hurt Bush with evangelical Christians. Sen. Paul Laxalt of Nevada could chop away Bush's strength with party regulars. Sen. William L. Armstrong of Colorado could be a threat with conservatives.
Bush's principal problem is the same as that of other vice-presidents and former vice-presidents who have sought the White House. He's seen as an effective lieutenant to the commander in chief. But that position leaves him little room to prove his political mettle. He can't advocate policies that disagree with his boss. At the same time, he can't hog the limelight.
Even so, Bush has won Mr. Reagan's confidence. Although the President's imprimatur won't be officially on Bush (Reagan is expected to adopt a hands-off stance), the Vice-President will be directly linked to the success of the Reagan White House. That could be enough.
Unless one of those can break from the pack, however, Bush could remain out front. That's what many experts expect.


COLUMBUS, Ohio – Washington has rewarded coach Mike Hopkins for getting the Huskies back to the NCAA Tournament by giving him a contract extension through the 2025 season.
The ninth-seeded Huskies open the NCAAs on Friday against No. 8 seed Utah State. It’s Washington’s first appearance in the tournament since 2011.
Hopkins is 47-21 in his two seasons at Washington and has turned around a program that won nine games the year before he arrived. He’s twice been named the Pac-12 coach of the year and the Huskies ran away with the Pac-12 regular-season title this year.
Terms of the contract were not announced.
Published: March 21, 2019, 10:43 a.m.


Business owners in the 1300 block of Foothill Boulevard said they are feeling frustrated and vulnerable after being burglarized three times in as many weeks.
The most recent burglary occurred at 1:30 a.m. Monday, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Brian Tibbett. Suspects smashed the front glass door and glass display cases at All About Watches and stole several watches and pieces of jewelry.
The watch shop had been burglarized less than three weeks earlier when suspects broke in through the back door in the early-morning hours of June 16, smashed the display cases and stole at least four watches worth several hundred dollars each, according to sheriff's officials. An adjacent business, Lovely Nails, was broken into the same night, and a television set was stolen.
And on June 30 shortly before midnight, Lovely Nails and Cowgirl Princess were broken into. This time the nail salon was ransacked, and about 500 bottles of nail polish, a nail dryer, toilet paper and Styrofoam cups were stolen, according to manager Kim Tran.
Cowgirl Princess, a women's clothing boutique, was left largely undisturbed. However, the burglars did steal two pairs of boots and two pairs of shoes that were near the back entrance, said owner Kristina Zitkovich.
"They have come to the block three times in 2 1/2 weeks," Zitkovich said. "It is scary."
The business owners are doing their best to recover from the burglaries and warn others to remain on high alert. The morning after Lovely Nails was ransacked, the nail technicians were left without nail polish to use on their customers, Tran said. Zitkovich sent out a message via her customer e-mail list asking people for donations.
"The next day she e-mailed [her contact list], and some customers came to give me five, six, 10 [bottles of nail polish]," Tran said.
Tran said she worked at Lovely Nails for nearly 17 years without incident, even when she forgot to lock the door a couple of times. Since the break-ins, she makes sure there are always at least two employees on site during the evening.
Kari Avanezov, owner of All About Watches, said he continues to inventory his merchandise to determine what is missing. Insurance will cover a portion of his losses, he said, and the glass door and display cases will be replaced.
"I want the police to get them, that is what I want," Avanezov said.
Detectives continue to investigate, Tibbett said, and area businesses are being encouraged to take extra precautions.
"The immediate area has been combed for clues, and business owners have been spoken to," Tibbett said.


A lawsuit filed in a Northern California federal court last week accuses Starbucks of deliberately underfilling its latte cups by 25 percent in order to save money, The Seattle Times reported.
The suit said Starbucks routinely leaves about 1/4 inch of milk foam at the top of the 16-ounce "grande" lattes, leaving space once the foam settles. It's Starbucks' own "standardized recipe," according to the lawsuit.
"Today's" Rossen Reports bought the same grande latte at six different Starbucks locations, then measured them in laboratory-grade beakers after allowing the foam to settle.
All of the cups missed the 16-ounce mark, with only two cups coming close.
Starbucks told NBC News the lawsuit and Rossen Reports' experiment are "unscientific" and "without merit."