{"question_id": "20230106_0", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:11", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/01/05/damar-hamlin-health-updates-what-we-know-thursday/10991034002/", "title": "Damar Hamlin updates: Buffalo Bills player asked in writing if team ...", "text": "Editor's note: On Friday morning, the Buffalo Bills said Damar Hamlin was breathing on his own and speaking after doctors removed his breathing tube overn. Here's our latest coverage of Hamlin.\n\nOne of Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s first thoughts after he woke up in the intensive care unit on Wednesday night was to ask, in writing, who won Monday's Bills-Bengals game during which he went into cardiac arrest.\n\nUpon waking up after being sedated, Hamlin followed commands and even was able to communicate in writing. Hamlin remains in critical condition with a breathing tube, according to his doctors, who made their first public comments Thursday about his condition in a news conference held at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.\n\n“The answer is yes, Damar, you won the game of life,” Dr. Timothy Pritts said.\n\nHamlin’s first comments were to a nurse at his bedside, according to doctors, while his family, friends and members of the Bills organization have remained by his side since he was transported to the medical facility.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules\n\n\"He’s held many peoples' hands,\" Dr. William Knight IV said of Hamlin.\n\n\"He’s been very interactive with them,\" Pritts added.\n\nDoctors said Hamlin expressed surprise when he was informed he was previously sedated for two days, and for the massive support he has received.\n\n“It’s not only that the lights are on, it’s that he’s home,” Pritts said of Hamlin.\n\n“All of the cylinders are firing right in his brain.”\n\nHamlin is making substantial progress and his neurologic condition and function are intact, his doctors said.\n\n“It’s been a long and difficult road for the last three days. He’s been very sick, and made a very remarkable recovery and improvement.” Knight said.\n\n“He still has significant progress he needs to make, but this makes a good turning point in his ongoing care,” Pritts said.\n\nThe UC doctors credited members of the Bills medical staff for their immediate recognition of Hamlin’s condition, when he did not register a pulse, for responding appropriately with CPR and an automated external defibrillator (AED).\n\n“We cannot credit the Bills medical team enough,” Pritts said. “It's rare to have something this serious happen and to recognize it so quickly.”\n\nThe doctors said Hamlin has “many, many steps still ahead of him” on his road to recovery, including breathing on his own, before he can be ultimately discharged.\n\nThere’s no timetable for Hamlin’s recovery, as doctors continue to take things day by day.\n\n\"What we would like to see before we upgrade him to stable condition would be breathing tube out and continuing to improving from a neurological and respiratory standpoint,\" Pritts said.\n\nKnight and Pritts hope Hamlin can return to “who he was before this happened,” but also acknowledged “it’s entirely too early” to discuss whether Hamlin can play football again.\n\nNFL NEWSLETTER: Sign up now to get football news delivered to your inbox\n\nOPINION: ESPN's immediate coverage of Damar Hamlin situation done with right tone\n\nHere is the latest:\n\nNFL won't resume Bills-Bengals game\n\nThe Bills and Bengals will not resume or replay their game that was suspended Jan. 2 following Hamlin's collapse, the NFL announced Thursday.\n\nThe league made the announcement that the game has been canceled, so both teams will finish the 2022 regular season with one fewer game played than every other team in the league. A vote will be held Friday on a proposal regarding how to deal with playoff seeding recommended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and approved by the competition committee.\n\nNot having to carve out time to replay the Bills-Bengals game will allow the NFL to begin the playoffs next weekend as scheduled, a factor that played into the league's decision. It will also preserve the off week between the conference championship games on Jan. 29 and Super Bowl 57 on Feb. 12.\n\n“As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities,” Goodell said in a statement announcing the decision. “I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances.”\n\nJosh Allen says Hamlin's family helped team move forward\n\nHead coach Sean McDermott said in a Thursday news conference that the Bills have had extra counselors available for the team in the wake of Hamlin’s injury. Quarterback Josh Allen said Monday's events will be something that sticks with the team.\n\n“Some people are gonna be changed forever after being on the field and witnessing that and feeling those emotions,” Allen said. “But the updates we continue to get on Damar really lift our spirits. Leaning on each other, talking to each other. We’ve had some very open, honest and deep talks.”\n\nBoth McDermott and Allen, asked if the Bills will be ready to play this Sunday against the New England Patriots, said the team would. Allen said the team’s talk with Damar’s father, Mario Hamlin, this week gave them the motivation to push forward.\n\n\"Mario (Hamlin) talking to us as a team and the things that he told us. He really didn’t tell us, he demanded us. You can’t not honor his request to go out there and charge forward to the best of our abilities,\" Allen said. \"Obviously we will be playing with less heavy hearts now. (Thursday's) news, there was a lot of tears of joy, I’ll tell you that. To know that’s what he wants, that’s what his dad wants, I think guys are excited to get out there.\"\n\nFormer U.S. surgeon general:Want to honor Damar Hamlin? Learn CPR. It made all the difference for him.\n\nNFLPA offers ‘highly optimistic’ update\n\nDr. Thom Mayer, medical director of the NFL Players’ Association, said “all signs are highly optimistic” and that Hamlin woke up much sooner than expected.\n\nThe expectation is he will make a full neurological recovery, although there are still hurdles for him to clear before that happens, Mayer said.\n\nMayer said he reviewed videotape of the incident Monday and determined that three highly trained emergency medical professionals were standing within 30 yards of where Hamlin collapsed on the field and were instrumental in saving his life.\n\nMayer added that, combined with the world-class care he received, Hamlin’s own courage and fight made his recovery possible.\n\nOther highlights from the call included:\n\n-NFLPA president JC Tretter said it was an immediate and unanimous viewpoint of the union’s executive committee that the game would not be resumed Monday night. A dialogue with Bengals safety Michael Thomas, an executive committee member, as well as the union leaders in both locker rooms, was initiated promptly. It was clear neither team would be taking the field that night, Tretter said.\n\nAs for the “five minutes to warm up” before resuming play controversy, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said he had no discussions with league stakeholders about a timeframe to restart the game.\n\n-All NFLPA calls have emphasized mental health, Tretter said, and the union is ready to provide resources to members who request it.\n\n-If an eighth team is added to the postseason field, resulting in an addition to the designed workload for the season, the league would have to negotiate with the union, according to basic collective bargaining agreement rules, Smith said.\n\nDoctors commend Bills' medical staff responsiveness\n\nDr. Pritts commended the the Bills training staff for immediately recognizing this was not an ordinary injury and that it was something much more serious. Activating the emergency response team was also pivotal.\n\n\"Really, this went as well as something like this could go under very challenging circumstances, and they did a fantastic job, which is why we’re here today,\" Pritts said.\n\nThe immediate medical attention, and the standard in which it was deployed, \"has led us to be able to discuss these good outcomes today,\" Dr. Knight said.\n\nBengals’ Tee Higgins 'in a good place right now’\n\nCincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins said he’s “in a good place right now” after hearing from Damar Hamlin’s mother about his improvement on Thursday morning.\n\nHiggins was involved in the hit that came right before the Buffalo Bills receiver went into cardiac arrest on the field during the game Monday night. Doctors say Hamlin has made “remarkable improvement” in the last 24 hours.\n\n“It’s been hard, just because I had something to do with the play and whatnot,” Higgins said Thursday in his first comments since Hamlin went down and the game was suspended. “But everybody has been making me feel whole again. I talked to his mom and notice everything is OK. He’s doing good.”\n\nHiggins said Hamlin’s mother told him “she’s thinking of me and praying for me.”\n\n– Associated Press\n\nJoe Biden, public continue to offer support\n\nThree days after Hamlin collapsed and was resuscitated at Paycor Stadium, support continues to pour in around the world for the Bills’ second-year safety.\n\nPresident Joe Biden said he spoke to Hamlin's parents \"at length.\"\n\nBiden also shared a message for Hamlin on Twitter on Thursday in response to the health update the Bills provided earlier in the day.\n\n“Damar, like I told your mom and dad (Wednesday), Jill and I – along with all of America – are praying for you and your family,” the tweet said.\n\nBengals quarterback Joe Burrow said his team is behind the Bills \"100 percent in what they want to do going forward\" with their postponed game. Fans have donated millions of dollars to a GoFundMe site Hamlin created in 2020 to buy toys for children ahead of the holidays.\n\n\"It's been incredible. It's made a tough situation just a little bit easier,\" Hamlin's marketing rep, Jordon Rooney, said on behalf of the Hamlin family. \"They're so grateful. They are always giving to others, so for so many people to rally around them, they just keep saying how thankful they are.\"\n\nJets DB seeks Hamlin jersey to wear during Week 18 pregame\n\nNew York Jets star rookie defensive back Ahmad \"Sauce\" Gardner tweeted Wednesday that he's looking for a Hamlin jersey to wear before his team's Week 18 game Sunday against the Dolphins in Miami.\n\nFanatics CEO Michael Rubin tweeted the reply, \"We got you!\"\n\nGardner responded that he appreciated Rubin's offer and asked for him to send it to the Jets' facility.\n\nFanatics announced that proceeds from Hamlin's jersey sales will be donated to the foundation as well.\n\nPro Football Focus tweeted that Hamlin's jersey has been one of the highest-selling jerseys this week.\n\n– Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer\n\nZac Taylor shares what Sean McDermott said to him on sidelines\n\nESPN cameras captured Bengals coach Zac Taylor and Bills coach Sean McDermott talking on multiple occasions while Monday's game was temporarily suspended. Taylor didn’t disclose what was said in its entirety, but he did reveal that the focus wasn’t on football once Hamlin was rushed to the hospital.\n\n“When I got over there, the first thing (Sean McDermott) said is I need to be at the hospital with Damar. I shouldn’t be coaching this game. That to me provides all the clarity,” Taylor said. “In that moment he really showed who he was. All his focus was just on Damar, being there for him, being there for his family at the hospital. At that point everything trended where it needed to trend. The right decisions were made there.”\n\nWhen will Bills-Bengals game resume?\n\nOn Tuesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the Bills-Bengals game would not resume this week. On Wednesday, the league began discussions about when it would be played.\n\n\"Everything is being considered,\" NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said during a conference call.\n\nThe league has not made any changes to the Week 18 regular-season schedule. The Bengals will host the Ravens, while the Bills host the Patriots, both set for 1 p.m. ET Sunday.\n\nJeff Miller, NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, said a decision will be made \"in the coming days.\"\n\nJoe Burrow: 'We’re behind them 100 percent'\n\nThe Cincinnati Bengals quarterback said he's open to finishing the game against the Bills while the NFL sorts out scheduling, but he said he ultimately supports whatever the Bills think is best.\n\n“I think that would be tough, just scheduling-wise,” Burrow said. “I think whatever Buffalo would want to do, we would want to do. We’re behind them 100 percent in what they want to do going forward.\"\n\nBurrow and his Bengals teammates consoled Bills players during Hamlin’s medical emergency on the field, and Burrow and Bengals captains visited Bills players in their locker room before the game was ultimately postponed.\n\nBurrow made it clear that the Bengals \"didn’t want to go back out there\" before the game was called. He added: \"I wanted them to know we felt the same way they did.\"\n\nWhat happened to Damar Hamlin?\n\nHamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard gain during the Bills-Bengals Monday Night Football showdown. The play appeared to be routine. Hamlin stood up afterwards, but collapsed to the ground with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter.\n\nAn ambulance was brought onto the field. Hamlin was treated with CPR and an AED to restore his heartbeat on the field as players from both teams created a human shield around Hamlin as emergency responders worked to resuscitate him. Hamlin was then placed on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital.\n\nThe game was temporarily suspended then — one hour and five minutes after Hamlin collapsed — postponed.\n\nIt was later revealed that Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. But what is cardiac arrest, and how might it have happened to Hamlin?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/01/05/uc-medical-center-physicians-update-on-damar-hamlin/69781834007/", "title": "UC Medical Center physicians give update on Damar Hamlin's ...", "text": "Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is making a comeback, according to University of Cincinnati Medical Center physicians.\n\nCiting a number of medical improvements since Hamlin collapsed Monday night at Paycor Stadium, Dr. Timothy Pritts and Dr. William Knight described in a news conference Thursday how the hospital’s trauma team handled his medical emergency that was captured on national television.\n\n'It becomes personal for me':Jeff Ruby caters free dinner for Damar Hamlin's family\n\n'This isn't supporting Damar':Damar Hamlin's family 'frustrated' by Tee Higgins critics\n\nBut Hamlin still has a long way to go, the doctors said. It's not clear when he will no longer need a breathing tube, start walking, or be ready for rehabilitation.\n\n\"Every patient is different,\" Pritts said. \"When patients' families ask how long are they going to be on a ventilator, in the ICU, (we'll say), as long as it takes.\"\n\nDamar Hamlin awake, communicating with promising signs of recovery\n\nKnight called the last 24 hours a turning point in Hamlin’s recovery. He has started to move his hands and feet, and has been communicating with staff and those close to him via pen and paper on a clipboard. No cardiac dysfunction has been detected, and his neurological function is intact.\n\nPritts said it is fair to say that if not for the fast response from the Bills medical team, there may have been a different outcome for Hamlin.\n\nAccording to Knight, the best outcome would be “being the person he was before this all happened.”\n\nCardiac arrest isn’t uncommon for the trauma team to treat, but it came as a shock for an NFL player to have one right on the field at Paycor Stadium. According to Pritts, the staff was on alert after seeing it happen live.\n\nImmediate CPR was a critical step in recovery\n\nThe NFL has emergency protocols and teams of doctors in place for such medical emergencies. The doctors said Hamlin initially had a pulse and lost it as he was being attended to by medical personnel, who immediately began bystander CPR. An ambulance took him to the hospital, where medical personnel placed him in the ICU.\n\nPritts credits the Bills medical team for taking all the steps in the NFL's action plan, citing that immediate CPR as a critical step.\n\nHe said the outcome so far proves the value of the plans in place by the Bills and Bengals.\n\n\"There are injuries that happen in sports, but it’s rare to have something (that) incredibly serious (that quickly),\" Pritts said. \"We cannot credit their team enough.\"\n\nThe physicians noted he is still critically ill, and a timeline for recovery still isn’t close to being known, but the signs are promising.\n\nAccording to Pritts, using a pen and paper, the first thing Hamlin asked when he opened his eyes Wednesday night was, “Did we win?”\n\n\"We said, 'Yes, Damar. You won the game of life.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/13/us/university-of-virginia-shooting/index.html", "title": "Student suspect in custody after 3 football players shot dead and 2 ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nPolice have in custody a University of Virginia student and ex-UVA football player suspected of fatally shooting three current players and wounding two other people late Sunday at the school’s main campus in Charlottesville as a bus returned from a class field trip, school officials said.\n\nThe suspect, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., faces three charges of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, UVA Police Chief Timothy Longo Sr. told reporters Monday morning as an hourslong manhunt came to an end and authorities lifted a campus lockdown order.\n\nClasses canceled Tuesday as campus mourns the shooting victims\n\nJones was arrested without incident around 11 a.m. ET about 80 miles east of Charlottesville in Henrico County, the county police agency said in a statement. An officer spotted the vehicle Jones was driving in the eastern area of Henrico where he was “taken into custody without incident,” according to news release from the police division.\n\nPolice have not offered a motive for the attack.\n\nChristopher Jones Henrico County Sheriff's Office\n\nThose killed were Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry, university President Jim Ryan said. The two wounded students are being treated at UVA Medical Center, with one in critical condition and the other in good condition, he said, declining to name them.\n\nOne of the two injured students was identified as Michael Hollins, according to Andrew Martin, the head football coach at the University Lab School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hollins is a junior at UVA and is a running back for school’s football team, according to the team’s roster. CNN has reached out to Hollins’ family but has not received a response.\n\nHollins’ father, Michael Hollins Sr., told The Washington Post his son was shot in the back with the bullet lodged in his stomach. Hollins Sr. told the Post he’s expected to recover.\n\nLeft to right: Devin Chandler, D'Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr.\n\n“This is a sad, shocking and tragic day for our UVA community,” Ryan said. “Let me say how deeply sorry I am for the victims and for their family and friends.”\n\nCarla Williams, UVA athletics director, said in a statement that as a mother herself, she aches for the parents and family members of the victims.\n\n“We lost three talented and bright young men,” Williams said. “We will never see what their impact on the world would have been, but we will never forget their impact on us. I miss Lavel, D’Sean and Devin. I pray for peace, comfort and hope for their parents and loved ones.”\n\nTony Elliot, UVA head football coach, said in a statement that it’s hard for him to find the words to “express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling today.”\n\n“These were incredible young men with huge aspirations and extremely bright futures. Our hearts ache for their families, their classmates and their friends. These precious young men were called away too soon,” Elliot said. “We are all fortunate to have them be a part of our lives. They touched us, inspired us and worked incredibly hard as representatives of our program, university and community.”\n\nAt least 68 shootings have unfolded this year on US school grounds, including 15 on college campuses, CNN finds, with at least one person shot in each case, not including the shooter. The deadliest school shooting in modern US history remains the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, where a 23-year-old student killed 32 people before dying by suicide.\n\nThe shooting at the Charlottesville campus is also one of nearly 600 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which like CNN tallies cases in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.\n\nShooting prompted immediate lockdowns\n\nThe attack happened Sunday on a bus returning from a class trip to Washington, DC, where the class had seen a play, university officials said. It was not immediately clear if Jones was part of that class or attended the field trip.\n\nPolice responded to a report of shots fired around 10:30 p.m. in an area near a parking garage on Culbreth Road and surrounded by academic buildings, Ryan said. Two slain victims were inside the bus, with the third victim taken to a hospital, where he died, Longo said.\n\nPolice on Monday secure the crime scene of an overnight shooting at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Steve Helber/AP\n\nThe call prompted a shelter-in-place alert that was lifted about 12 hours later, Longo said. More than 500 people sheltered throughout campus buildings, including in libraries and classrooms, he said.\n\nMonday classes at the university were canceled. The school canceled classes Tuesday to “to give “students the opportunity to reflect, mourn and gather with each other,” according to a news release. A family and community assistance center has also been set up on campus to provide UVA community members with mental health services, according to UVA Emergency Management officials.\n\nClasses were also canceled Monday at Charlottesville City Schools, the K-12 district said in a letter to families. A UVA men’s basketball game scheduled for Monday evening has also been canceled, the university said.\n\nIn a statement, an attorney for Perry’s parents thanked the communities in both Charlottesville and South Florida – Perry was originally from Miami, the university said – for “the outpouring of support during this impossibly tragic time.\n\nHappy and Sean Perry would not speak publicly at this time about their son’s death, attorney Michael Haggard said, out of respect for the university community, which “has been terrorized by another mass shooting in the United States.”\n\nSuspect had been known to campus police\n\nJones had come to campus authorities’ attention in September, when authorities found out Jones “had made a comment about possessing a gun” to someone “unaffiliated with the university,” Longo said at Monday’s news conference. But that person never actually saw the gun in question, he said.\n\nChristopher Darnell Jones Jr. University of Virginia Police\n\n“Through the course of the threat assessment team’s investigation, we learned of a prior criminal incident involving a concealed weapon violation that occurred outside the city of Charlotteville in February of 2021,” Longo said, adding the suspect was required to report that incident to the university but never did. The school’s judicial council took over the case, and the results are pending.\n\nJones was also involved in a hazing investigation on campus that was closed because witnesses would not cooperate, Longo said.\n\nIt is “important to share that information with you,” he said, “to let you know that he had been called to our attention.”\n\nJones is listed on UVA’s athletics website as a football player in 2018 who as a freshman did not participate in any games. He attended Varina High School and Petersburg High School, where he played football as a linebacker and running back, according to his university athletics bio. While in high school, Jones was Key Club president and a member of the National Honor Society and the National Technical Honor Society, the bio says.\n\nA UVA spokesperson told CNN Jones had a pre-existing injury that prevented him from playing on the football team in 2018. Jones went through medical treatment and rehabilitation during his time with the team and was only a member of the team for one season, the spokesperson says.\n\nThe spokesperson would not give details on Jones’ injury.\n\nFederal prosecutors working with local authorities\n\nBefore the lockdown was lifted, UVA students early Monday were told to “take the shelter in place commands seriously as the situation remains active,” vice president and chief student affairs officer Robyn Hadley said in an email to UVA’s student body.\n\n“We have all received several shelter in place texts, and they are frightening,” Hadley said, adding several police jurisdictions were working to find the suspect. “I am on grounds like many of you; I am sheltering in place and in direct touch with University leadership and UPD … If you are not inside and safe, immediately seek safety.”\n\nTwo UVA students who told CNN they were at the scene of the shooting Sunday night and saw part of it unfold described hearing faint popping noises and watching people flee the bus.\n\nThe students – both of whom are 21 and did not want to be identified – said they were walking to the gym when they saw the charter bus, still in motion. It was just after 10 p.m. when they heard the popping noises, the students said, but they didn’t think anything of it. The bus was going over a speed bump, they said, but then they saw it stop and saw emergency lights turn on.\n\nThe bus doors opened, the students said, and they saw people running out. The students told CNN they saw one fall to the ground.\n\nThe students hid behind a brick wall in front of the nearby band building before calling 911 around 10:17 p.m., they said. The call wasn’t answered, the students said, but they hung up when they heard sirens in the distance and saw law enforcement arrive.\n\nState and federal prosecutors are helping local agencies in the investigation, according to a joint statement from the US attorney for the Western District of Virginia and commonwealth’s attorneys for Charlottesville and for Albemarle County. The officials pledged to support the investigation and “bring possible charges in the appropriate jurisdiction,” the statement said.\n\nVirginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday called the shooting a “horrific tragedy” and praised the work of law enforcement for taking the suspect into custody, according to a tweet. “While there are still many details to uncover, let us lift up the entire community in prayer.” The governor earlier had said Virginia State Police were “fully coordinating” with school and local police.\n\nVice President Kamala Harris spoke on the shooting shortly after swearing in a new ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago on Monday.\n\n“It’s tragic,” Harris said. “Of course, our prayers are with the families of the victims and it’s just yet a constant reminder that we have to do better in terms of gun safety laws in our country.”\n\nMeantime, another US campus – the University of Idaho – is reeling after police announced a homicide inquiry after officers Sunday discovered four people deceased in a home just outside Moscow campus grounds. The deceased were students, and the cause of their deaths is not yet known, the university confirmed, adding the threat has ended.\n\nSeparately, Charlottesville Police arrested a man in connection to “threatening social media posts” against UVA on Monday, but said they don’t believe the threats were tied to the earlier shooting.\n\n“We understand the fear this caused in our community and acted swiftly to resolve this investigation,” a Charlottesville police news release said.\n\nSunday’s shooting is the University of Virginia’s latest high-profile run-in with violence: White nationalists in August 2017 marched across campus carrying torches and chanting racist slogans. A day later, demonstrators protesting Charlottesville’s plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee clashed with counterprotesters, one of whom was killed when a man drove his car into a crowd; that driver is serving life in prison.\n\nA UVA lacrosse player five years earlier was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison for the 2010 killing of his ex-girlfriend, Yeardley Love, in her off-campus apartment.", "authors": ["Amir Vera Dakin Andone Michelle Watson Carolyn Sung", "Amir Vera", "Dakin Andone", "Michelle Watson", "Carolyn Sung"], "publish_date": "2022/11/13"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/16/politics/florida-hospital-ransomware/index.html", "title": "How quick thinking stopped a ransomware attack from crippling a ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nIt was approaching midnight on Sunday and the head of IT at a Florida hospital had a problem.\n\nThe emergency room of Jackson Hospital, a 100-bed facility on Florida’s panhandle, called to report that it couldn’t connect to the charting system that doctors use to look up patients’ medical histories. Jamie Hussey, Jackson Hospital’s IT director, soon realized that the charting software, which was maintained by an outside vendor, was infected with ransomware and that he didn’t have much time to keep the computer virus from spreading.\n\nThe hospital shut down its computer systems on his advice.\n\n“If we hadn’t stopped it, it probably would’ve spread out through the entire hospital,” Hussey said. Hospital staff ditched the electronic records and reverted to pen and paper to keep the hospital running and organized, he said, but patient care wasn’t disrupted.\n\nAs Hussey spoke to CNN Tuesday, the hospital’s IT systems were gradually coming online, and he was expecting phone calls from the FBI (which investigates hacking incidents) and Aon, a cybersecurity consultancy that Hussey said was supporting the recovery. He was trying to figure out if the hackers had stolen any hospital data, and if they might need to be paid off to get it back.\n\nJamie Hussey, IT director of Florida's Jackson Hospital at work Courtesy Jackson Hospital\n\nThe damage could’ve been far worse.\n\nJackson Hospital is just one of several dozen health care organizations across the US that have had to battle ransomware attacks since the coronavirus pandemic began. The disruptions have cost the sector millions of dollars and prompted urgent calls to hospitals from federal officials to be wary of cybercriminal groups.\n\nOne suspected ransomware attack in October 2020 forced the University of Vermont to delay chemotherapy appointments, while another in August 2021 prompted the emergency room at Memorial Health System in Ohio to divert patients to other facilities.\n\nIn the early minutes and hours of a ransomware attack, hospital cybersecurity teams are on the front lines of the response; help from federal agencies like the FBI might come later.\n\nYet hospitals don’t often publicly discuss how quick thinking and preemptive action can be the difference between containing a hack and having it spiral out of control. For Hussey, it has meant minimal sleep since Sunday, and the weight of a 600-person staff at Jackson depending on his IT team of about a dozen to get hospital computers up and running again.\n\n“The new guy I just hired is a cybersecurity graduate, so we broke him in really early,” he quipped.\n\nA gradual recovery\n\nThough Hussey’s team acted quickly, Jackson Hospital’s IT systems haven’t come away completely unscathed.\n\nThe emergency room’s charting system could be offline for the rest of the week, he said. (Doctors have been getting ER patient records from other parts of the hospital network).\n\nThe entire hospital had to temporarily switch to what medical professionals call “downtime procedures” — contingency plans after Hussey’s team shut computers down. For several hours, things like physician notes and prescriptions for patients were processed by hand.\n\nThe attackers also encrypted a computer server that Jackson Hospital uses to store non-critical organizational documents. Hussey was trying to figure out if there was anything in those files that contained data on Jackson patients and, if so, if the hospital should pay a ransom to get them back (he said he wasn’t aware of any ransom demand from the hackers).\n\nThe ransomware that Hussey’s team found on the charting system is known as Mespinoza and has racked up 190 victim organizations worldwide across various industries, including several in health care, according to a Department of Health and Human Services advisory on the group last week.\n\nThe hacking group is just one of several that haven’t refrained from hitting health care organizations during the pandemic. A study last year by the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency found that ransomware attacks can “lead to significant and sustained” strain on hospitals already reeling from a flood of coronavirus patients.\n\nAllan Liska, senior threat intelligence at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, said there were 134 publicly reported ransomware incidents involving health care organizations in 2021, up from his 2020 tally of 106 incidents.\n\nBut many ransomware attacks don’t make the news.\n\n“I’ve worked with a number of healthcare providers recently that have managed to stop a ransomware attack during the reconnaissance stage,” Liska told CNN. “Sharing this information helps other organizations better understand what they should be looking for and developing better strategies for stopping ransomware.”\n\n‘Lock it down and piss people off’\n\nThe recovery process at Jackson Hospital has been meticulous to ensure that malicious code isn’t lingering in some neglected part of the network.\n\nHussey’s team went down the list of computer systems across the hospital, starting with the most critical, and made sure they weren’t infected with ransomware. They physically disconnected the hospital’s electronic health records system from the rest of the computer network to check them for malicious code before reconnecting to the system.\n\nBy Wednesday, hospital computers were back online except for the charting systems used by the ER.\n\nHussey said the decision to shut computer networks down may not be popular with some hospital staff, “but it’s better to be down a day than be down a month.”\n\n“Lock it down and piss people off,” Hussey, who has worked at Jackson for over 25 years, said in a Southern drawl. “It’s what you have to do just to secure your network.”", "authors": ["Sean Lyngaas"], "publish_date": "2022/01/16"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/20/us/washington-dc-shooting-sunday/index.html", "title": "Gunfire near a concert in Washington, DC, kills a 15-year-old and ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nA shooting near an unpermitted concert Sunday evening left a 15-year-old boy dead and several others wounded, according to police in Washington, DC.\n\nSeveral hundred people had gathered to hear music played from a truck on a street sidewalk, DC Police Chief Robert Contee told reporters.\n\nBefore the deadly melee, he said, two other incidents had already caused panic and trampling at the concert.\n\nOfficers responded and contained the area, ultimately shutting down the concert, Contee said. He did not provide details of the incident but said “people started to scatter at that point.”\n\nSeveral people suffered leg or ankle injuries as the crowd dispersed, the police chief said. He said emergency personnel recovered an illegal firearm from one person as they tended to the injured.\n\nAfterward, gunfire broke out near 14th and U Streets Northwest, close to the concert site. The 15-year-old boy was killed, and three adults were wounded, including a police officer, Contee said.\n\nThe officer and two adults were hospitalized in stable condition, he noted.\n\nSeveral firearms were discovered from the scene, including a handgun on one of the adults who was shot, Contee said. But he said the weapon used to shoot the officer has not yet been found.\n\nNo police officer discharged their firearm, he added.\n\nMore mass shootings than days of the year\n\nThe US has suffered at least 277 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That’s an average of more than 1.5 mass shootings every day.\n\nThe GVA defines mass shootings as those that kill or wound at least four people.\n\nRecent mass shootings like the Buffalo supermarket attack and the Uvalde school massacre have renewed debates about gun control. In both of those massacres, the alleged gunman was 18 years old and used an AR-15-style rifle.\n\nA bipartisan group of senators has announced an agreement in principle for gun safety legislation which would address mental health resources and school safety.\n\nBut sticking points remain, including the issues of funding for state red flag laws and denying firearms to unmarried partners convicted of domestic violence.\n\nOfficials vow to crack down on unpermitted events\n\nBoth the DC mayor and police chief said permit requirements must be taken seriously.\n\n“We have a child who was killed today at an event that did not have any proper planning for the number of people who were here and with guns involved,” DC Mayor Muriel Bowser told reporters Sunday.\n\n“The chief and I will continue to make sure we have the resources we need on these corridors and all of our corridors, but we need some accountability here.”\n\nThe police chief said officials will “look at what legal action should be taken as a result of an unpermitted event in our city.”\n\n“When you have large gatherings in a dense area, all it takes is one person introducing a gun to the situation that makes it deadly,” Contee said. “In this case, unfortunately, a 15-year-old lost his life.”\n\nThe Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is assisting local police with the investigation, the agency’s Washington Field Division said.", "authors": ["Gregory Clary Sarah Fortinsky Susannah Cullinane Holly Yan", "Gregory Clary", "Sarah Fortinsky", "Susannah Cullinane", "Holly Yan"], "publish_date": "2022/06/20"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/19/weather/buffalo-new-york-great-lakes-snowstorm-saturday/index.html", "title": "Buffalo snow: Historic storm slams western New York with nearly 6 ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nA historic snowstorm is slamming western New York state Saturday with more than 6 feet of snow in some places, closing roads, triggering driving bans and canceling flights the weekend before the Thanksgiving holiday.\n\nAnother round of heavy lake-effect snowfall is expected to return to the Buffalo area Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service. With most of the heavy snow bands falling over Lake Ontario, north of metro Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.\n\n“Even though the band will be moving quickly, it is possible that additional amounts around a half foot or so could occur across the Buffalo metro area,” the National Weather Service said.\n\nOn Saturday afternoon, New York Governor Kathy Hochul touted the state’s storm preparedness and said crews have been working tirelessly to manage the situation.\n\n“This is the effort we’ve brought together: bringing resources, people, equipment from all over the state of New York. And because we were so preemptive in this strike, we were able to avert many tragedies,” Hochul said.\n\nShe thanked western New Yorkers for shutting down major highways, implementing travel bans and staying home before the snow started to fall which helped prevent accidents, protect human life and ensure roads are safe and clear for emergency services.\n\nHochul said she is doubling the number of New York National Guard members on the ground in Erie County to check on residents and help with snow removal.\n\nShe is also signing a request for federal reimbursement through a Federal Emergency Disaster Declaration.\n\nSo far, snowfall totals of more than 6 feet have been recorded in two locations, according to the National Weather Service. Orchard Park, where the NFL’s Buffalo Bills play, has picked up 77.0 inches in the last 48 hours, and Natural Bridge, just east of Watertown, has picked up 72.3 inches; historic numbers for the area.\n\nAs the snowfall intensified, two county residents died from cardiac complications related to shoveling and attempting to clear the ground, said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.\n\n“We send our deepest sympathies and remind all that this snow is very heavy and dangerous,” Poloncarz said. “Please continue to avoid shoveling this very heavy, wet snow, and use caution and avoid overexertion if you must shovel today.”\n\nWinter weather alerts are still in effect for over 8 million people across six Great Lakes states Saturday evening: Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.\n\nForecasters and officials have been sounding the alarm on the life-threatening nature of this snowstorm, which is historic even for the Buffalo region where heavy snow is the norm during winter months. And the forceful snowfall is expected to continue through the weekend with brief periods of relief.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback See snow building as New York faces historic snowstorm 01:48 - Source: CNN\n\nAreas northeast of Lake Ontario – from central Jefferson County to northern Lewis County – were inundated with heavy snow late Friday, when the snowfall rate was up to 3 inches per hour, according to the weather service in Buffalo. Places between Watertown and Harrisville were also seeing treacherous conditions.\n\nA travel ban is still in place for the entire city of Buffalo based on current and expected weather and road conditions, according to the Erie County website.\n\nDozens of flights arriving and departing from Buffalo Niagara International Airport were canceled as storm conditions worsened, according to the airport’s website.\n\nThis month is already Buffalo’s third-snowiest November at the airport thanks to the storm, according to the local weather service office.\n\nBuffalo Mayor Byron Brown told CNN on Saturday, while his city is used to heavy snow, this is “much more than we usually get.”\n\nHe said the city could return to “some sense of normalcy” by Monday or Tuesday, assuming the worst of the storm passes through by Sunday.\n\n“This has been a very unpredictable storm with the snow bands moving, back and forth, north to south,” Brown said. “The snow has come down very fast, very wet, very heavy.”\n\nA resident hits a rail off of a home-made snow kicker after a snowstorm near Hoyt Lake in Buffalo on Sunday. Libby March/AP Cars drive through blowing, drifting snow on McKinley Parkway in Hamburg in Erie County on Sunday. Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News/AP People snowshoe through snow covered streets on Sunday in Buffalo, New York. John Normile/Getty Images A snow plow works along a street during a break in the snowstorm hitting the Buffalo area in Orchard Park, New York, on Saturday, November 19. Carlos Osorio/Reuters Zach Brown shovels his walkway in the Elmwood neighborhood of Buffalo on Saturday. Libby March/The Buffalo News/AP Snow-covered trees line a street in Orchard Park during a break in the storm on Saturday. Carlos Osorio/Reuters Heather Ahmed shovels snow on Saturday. She is among many residents of the Buffalo, New York, area who have to dig out thanks to a historic storm. John Normile/Getty Images A van is seen buried under snow at night in Buffalo on Friday, November 18. Brandon Watson/The New York Times/Redux Jenny Vega, left, and Roberto Rentas shovel snow in front of their house in Buffalo on Friday. Brendan Bannon/The New York Times/Redux Residents push a stuck vehicle in Buffalo on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters Snow blankets homes on Friday. Libby March/AP Zaria Black clears snow from her car on Friday. Joshua Bessex/AP Emergency crews transport an ill patient amidst the snowstorm on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters A car sits in a snowdrift on Friday. Joshua Bessex/AP A man walks through the snow with a shovel on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters People help dig out a plow from heavy snow in Hamburg, New York, on Friday. John Normile/Getty Images A man uses a snowblower to dig out a vehicle on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters Residents walk in the snow on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters Buffalo's City Hall is shrouded during a snowstorm on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters Firefighters work the scene of a car accident on Thursday. Snyder Fire Department/Facebook A cloud of snow is seen crossing Lake Erie as extreme winter weather hits Buffalo on Friday. Lindsay DeDario/Reuters In pictures: Snowstorm hits western New York Prev Next\n\nCounty official: Do not ignore travel bans\n\nThe colossal storm has been pounding the region for days, prompting local and state officials to issue states of emergencies to bolster response. But with a storm of this size, it only takes one or two vehicles to slow down clearing operations, Poloncarz noted.\n\n“A reminder to all employers: if your business is located in a driving ban area or your employees are currently in a driving ban area, it is illegal to make them come into work,” Poloncarz said online.\n\nThe snowstorm, which came with a forecast for the Buffalo region not seen in more than 20 years, has been making travel miserable for many drivers, despite authorities’ emphasis on staying off the roads.\n\nGood Samaritans help dig out a plow Friday in Hamburg, New York. John Normile/Getty Images\n\n“I can say that our deputies have been just absolutely inundated with calls for service as it pertains to disabled motor vehicles and stranded motorists,” Erie County Undersheriff William J. Cooley said during a news conference Friday night. “We implore the residents to just, please, obey the travel ban, you become part of the problem very quickly when you’re out there on the streets.”\n\nMore than 300 citations were issued to drivers who violated the travel ban, Poloncarz said late Friday.\n\n“Please, do not be the reason that an ambulance cannot get to the hospital,” he said. “There are many vehicles that are not only getting stuck but are just being abandoned by the owners.”\n\nChristopher Middlebrooks and his son Mitchell Middlebrooks work to clear their driveway Friday in Buffalo. Libby March/AP\n\nSnow has been falling for an extended period of time at a rapid pace, making it difficult for crews to respond.\n\n“In some cases, we are going to far surpass 5 feet of snow and that’s in a 21-hour period of time,” said Bill Geary, the county’s public works commissioner. “It’s a remarkable amount of time.”", "authors": ["Aya Elamroussi Mallika Kallingal", "Aya Elamroussi", "Mallika Kallingal"], "publish_date": "2022/11/19"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/us/william-husel-fentanyl-deaths-trial/index.html", "title": "William Husel: Here's what we know about the Ohio doctor accused ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe trial of a Columbus, Ohio, doctor accused of overprescribing pain medication to multiple patients near death began Tuesday.\n\nDr. William Husel was initially indicted on 25 counts of murder in 2019. He is now facing 14 counts after Franklin County Judge Michael Holbrook granted the prosecution’s motion to dismiss 11 counts in January, according to CNN affiliate WBNS-TV.\n\nHusel has pleaded not guilty.\n\nJury selection for Husel’s trial began February 14 and ended Wednesday, according to CNN affiliate WSYX-TV. Seven women and five men were selected to sit on the jury. There are six alternates in the case, made up of five women and one man, the affiliate reported.\n\nThe opening day of the trial saw the prosecution call Columbus Police Detective William Gillette as a summary witness. Defense attorney Jose Baez cross-examined Gillette for two hours, peppering the detective repeatedly about his fractured memory of the case and suggesting the investigation intentionally targeted Husel.\n\nGillette appeared uncomfortable and frustrated at times during the cross-examination.\n\nThe trial was originally set for 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic and an election that changed the prosecution team pushed proceedings to this year, according to WSYX.\n\nHere’s a look at everything that has led to the trial:\n\n6-month investigation led to doctor’s firing\n\nThe Mount Carmel Health System initially said the hospital received a report related to Husel’s care on October 25, 2018. The hospital system removed Husel from patient care a month later, on November 21.\n\nIn that period, three people died “after receiving excessive and potentially fatal doses of medication” ordered by the doctor, the hospital said in a statement. In total, “at least” 34 patients were affected by Husel’s actions, said Ed Lamb, the Mount Carmel CEO and president at the time.\n\nOf the 34 patients affected, 28 received excessive and potentially fatal doses of medication, a hospital spokeswoman said at the time. Six others who died received excessive doses that went beyond providing comfort but that were not believed to be the cause of their deaths.\n\nHusel was fired December 5, 2018. Indictment documents would later allege the patient deaths took place between February 2015 and November 2018.\n\nThe same month he was fired, an investigation into Husel began when an attorney representing Mount Carmel reached out to the Franklin County prosecutor’s office.\n\nDuring their initial conversations, the attorney said a doctor – later identified as Husel – was “administering doses of fentanyl at a level that they internally believed were inappropriate and not for a legitimate medical purpose,” said Ron O’Brien, who was the Franklin County prosecutor at the time.\n\nFentanyl is an opioid used to treat patients with chronic severe pain or severe pain after surgery, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Fentanyl is considered a “Schedule II controlled substance” similar to morphine, “but about 100 times more potent,” the DEA says.\n\n“Following the discovery of the actions of Dr. Husel, we notified appropriate authorities, including law enforcement,” Lamb said.\n\nThe State Medical Board of Ohio voted in January 2019 to suspend Husel’s osteopathic medicine and surgery license, according to CNN affiliate WSYX-TV.\n\nHusel was indicted in June 2019. He posted the $1 million bail the same month, according to WSYX.\n\nThe investigation also found that the doses, which ranged from 500 to 2,000 micrograms, “were designed to hasten the death of the patients that were being treated,” O’Brien said. A potentially lethal dose of fentanyl is 2 miligrams (2,000 micrograms), according to the DEA.\n\nO’Brien lost his election in November 2020 to Gary Tyack, according to the Franklin County Board of Elections results.\n\nLamb resigned as president and CEO or Mount Carmel in July 2019, WSYX reported.\n\nVictim’s family upset about dropped charges\n\nProsecutors declined to say why they filed a motion to dismiss 11 of the 25 counts, according to CNN affiliate WBNS-TV.\n\nReporting by the station revealed the 11 cases dismissed from the trial were patients who received smaller doses of fentanyl – 1,000 micrograms or less. The 14 remaining cases involved patients who received 1,000 micrograms or more.\n\n“It doesn’t make sense. It’s not enough? It was enough to kill her but it’s not enough to prosecute him,” said Nicole Thomas, daughter of Jan Thomas, whose case was one of the 11 that were dropped.\n\nJan Thomas died in March 2015, WBNS reported. Her family was told three years later that her death may have been caused by too much fentanyl. Her medical records showed she received 800 micrograms of fentanyl, according to WBNS.\n\n“It is shocking that this is happening. I am completely shocked and disappointed in the whole judicial system,” said Sean Thomas, son of Jan Thomas.\n\n“Every time this is covered, she dies again,” Sean Thomas said. “Every time her name flashes in the story – it’s back in the news. There is movement in the case. She dies all over again. And now to hear that 11 of these cases were dismissed, she is dying all over again.”\n\nFamilies say relatives received excessive doses of fentanyl\n\nChris Allison told CNN her husband, Troy Allison, started having trouble breathing one night in the summer of 2018, something she said was a first.\n\nTroy, who suffered from diabetes, told his wife to call an ambulance. Paramedics checked his vitals, and Chris Allison said they told her husband his sugar was a little high and they’d take him to Mount Carmel as a precaution.\n\nAt the hospital, Troy suffered multiple heart attacks in the emergency room, according to medical records from the plaintiff’s attorneys. Troy was taken to the ICU where the night shift doctor, Husel, told Chris Allison her husband was brain dead and his organs were shutting down.\n\nHusel told Chris Allison he’d like to give her husband something that made him comfortable.\n\nA short time later, Troy was dead.\n\n“It just wasn’t adding up,” Chris Allison told CNN.\n\nMonths after his death, Chris said, she got a call from the hospital saying Troy had been given an overdose, receiving 1,000 micrograms of fentanyl from Husel.\n\n“They said they’re going to give him something to make him comfortable. Then fine, give him something. He didn’t say ‘I’m going to give him 1,000 micrograms of fentanyl and he’ll be dead before you enter the room.’ That would’ve been a different conversation,” Chris Allison said.\n\nMany of the families of patients who spoke with WBNS in 2019 shared similar stories. Their loved ones were on ventilators and in intensive care – and in some cases, the families were encouraged by hospital staff or Husel to change the status of their loved ones to “do not resuscitate.”\n\nLisa Hayes told WBNS in 2019 she found her brother, Ryan Hayes, unresponsive. Health records show he had suffered cardiac arrest and was taken to Mount Carmel West Hospital on April 2, 2017, where he was stabilized. But Ryan Hayes died a few days later, at the age of 39.\n\nRecords obtained by WBNS revealed Hayes received 2,000 micrograms of fentanyl along with 10 milligrams of the pain reliever Dilaudid and 2 milligrams of Versed, a drug used to cause drowsiness before surgery.\n\n“He got substantially more than what anyone should ever get,” defense attorney Terry Hummel told the affiliate at the time.\n\nSue Hodge was admitted to Mount Carmel in April 2018 because her family thought she had a heart attack, but it was later found that was not the case. Hours after being admitted, she was dead after receiving 800 micrograms of fentanyl under Husel’s care, her sons told WBNS.\n\nDoctor filed defamation suit against hospital system\n\nHusel filed a lawsuit against Mount Carmel in December 2019 stating he “has suffered perhaps the most egregious case of defamation in Ohio’s recent history.”\n\nIt claims Mount Carmel, Lamb and Trinity Health Corporation, the parent company of Mount Carmel, knowingly made false and defamatory statements to the media multiple times.\n\nThe lawsuit asked for “far greater than” $50,000 in presumed and actual damages, along with punitive damages and attorney’s fees for defamation and breach of contract.\n\nThe lawsuit states Husel followed hospital policy for administering medication and the deaths were all caused by “natural causes after the removal of full life support.”\n\n“The hospital knew full well that no policies were violated because the actual policies in effect explicitly permitted and encouraged the care Dr. Husel and the nurses provided to patients undergoing palliative withdrawal,” the lawsuit said.\n\nThe lawsuit says Mount Carmel and Trinity refused to provide Husel with a defense lawyer that he said they agreed to provide under his employment contract.\n\nThe “false accusations destroyed Dr. Husel’s life,” the lawsuit said.\n\nIn a statement to CNN, Mount Carmel Health System said the allegations by Husel were “unfounded.”\n\nBaez, Husel’s defense attorney, told CNN the defamation suit is on hold, pending the outcome of the criminal trial.\n\nNurses and pharmacist are also suing hospital system\n\nNine nurses and a pharmacist who worked with Husel also filed lawsuits against Mount Carmel.\n\nThe plaintiffs claim in their 145-page lawsuit that Mount Carmel, Lamb and Trinity Health Corporation fired those who worked with Husel for their alleged complicit behavior in following through with Husel’s prescriptions.\n\nThe suit alleges the hospital system changed its policies concerning medication dosage that risked patient care for the purpose of protecting its image.\n\nThrough these acts and the hospital’s media relations campaign managing the scandal, the hospital defamed their reputation and made it difficult for them to find new jobs, the former employees said in the lawsuit.\n\nPlaintiffs are asking for a minimum of $25,000 per person, but ideally want their “respective salaries at the time of termination,” according to the lawsuit. They are also asking for the cost of tuition for nursing school or advanced clinical degrees, as well as punitive damages and attorney’s fees.", "authors": ["Amir Vera"], "publish_date": "2022/02/22"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/26/weather/arctic-winter-storm-new-york-blizzard-monday/index.html", "title": "Winter storm death toll in Buffalo area rises to 27 but officials fear it ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nDozens of Americans have died have died as a winter storm brought frigid temperatures and paralyzing snowfall totals across the US, and officials in the Buffalo area believe the staggering toll will continue to grow there as teams carry on with search-and-rescue missions.\n\nThe nationwide death toll from storm, which brought more than 40 inches of snow to some areas, climbed to 49 on Monday, with 27 of those deaths in Erie County, New York.\n\nBuffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, “Unfortunately, they are still recovering bodies.”\n\nSome died of exposure, and some deaths were due to natural causes, he said of the people found dead recently.\n\nThe commissioner implored residents, “Stay home. Don’t go out.”\n\nHe said emergency responders will go, and have gone, to homes without heat and take people to warming shelters. Too many people, including residents just going out to see the massive snowfall, are going out in their vehicles and getting stuck and blocking recovery efforts, he said.\n\nErie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted that 14 people in the county had died of exposure, three people were found in their vehicles, four had no heat, three were from “shoveling/(snow) blowing cardiac events, and three people passed away after EMS services were delayed.\n\nHe told CNN that unfortunately it appears the numbers will go up.\n\n“I am aware of additional bodies that have been recovered and are being brought to our temporary morgue,” he told The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. “We’ve had so many bodies that various hospitals are full and we’re just having to go through and determine if the individuals have died from a blizzard-related death.”\n\n“It’s just been a horrible, horrible situation,” he added.\n\nThe deadly storm comes just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm.\n\nAnd snow was continuing to fall Monday. At a morning news conference, Poloncarz noted officials expect between 8 and 12 more inches of snow to fall between Monday morning and 1 p.m. Tuesday. “This is not helpful as we’re trying to recover and clear off streets and get into areas that still have not” been plowed, he said.\n\nWhile driving bans have been lifted in some communities, one such order remains in place in Buffalo, Poloncarz said, describing the city is “impassable in most areas,” with abandoned vehicles scattered everywhere.\n\nEven emergency and recovery vehicles sent out to help have gotten stuck in the snow as rescue crews and hundreds of snowplow drivers fanned out on Christmas. Eleven abandoned ambulances were dug out Sunday, officials said.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback See houses frozen over by massive winter storm 01:00 - Source: CNN\n\n“We had to send specialized rescue crews to go get the rescuers,” Poloncarz told “CNN This Morning” Monday, adding it was the worst storm he could remember. “It was just horrendous, and it was horrendous for 24 hours in a row.”\n\n“We’re used to snow here, we can handle snow,” he said. “But with the wind, the blinding views – it was complete whiteouts – and the extreme cold, it was some of the worst conditions that any of us have ever seen.”\n\nSnow covers downtown Buffalo, New York, on Monday, December 26, 2022, in this photo from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's Twitter page. Gov. Kathy Hochul/Twitter/AP\n\nThe storm has drawn widespread comparisons to Buffalo’s famous blizzard of 1977. Poloncarz said in Monday’s news conference the current storm’s “ferocity … was worse than the blizzard of ’77.” The death toll in that storm was 23 people, 22 of whom died in Erie County.\n\nAnd in a news conference Sunday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called this storm the “most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long storied history.” On Monday, she requested President Joe Biden issue federal emergency declarations for Erie and Genesee counties.\n\n“I spoke with @GovKathyHochul to get an update on the extreme winter weather hitting New York,” Biden tweeted. “We stand ready to make sure they have the resources they need to get through this. My heart is with those who lost loved ones this holiday weekend. You are in my and Jill’s prayers.”\n\nHundreds of National Guard troops have been deployed to help with rescue efforts in New York. State police had been involved in over 500 rescues by Sunday, including delivering a baby, Hochul said.\n\nWhile abandoned vehicles pepper the snow-covered roadways, conditions are also difficult inside homes.\n\nSome residents have remained in their homes for more than two days, some without power in the freezing cold, Hochul said Sunday – due not to a lack of resources, but the challenges utility companies face in terms of mobility and access. As of Sunday evening, however, 94.5% of Erie County residents and 87% of Buffalo residents have had their power restored, Hochul said.\n\nAs of Monday, fewer than 10,000 customers were without power, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said in an afternoon news conference, adding temperatures in his own home dropped to 40 degrees. “We certainly understand the challenges that so many families are going through and the frustration that people are facing.”\n\nWinter storm warnings remain in effect in New York for Jefferson and Lewis counties until 1 p.m. Tuesday. Forecasts show an additional 8 to 16 inches of snow could fall, according to the National Weather Service. Erie County could see another 4 to 8 inches and is under a winter weather advisory.\n\nSnow blankets buildings in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday, December 28. Joed Viera/AFP/Getty Images National Guard troops check on Buffalo residents on December 28. Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP A traveler searches for luggage December 28 at a Southwest Airlines baggage holding area in Denver International Airport. More than 90% of Wednesday's US flight cancellations were Southwest flights, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. Southwest canceled more than 2,500 flights. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images People help push a car out of snow in Buffalo on Tuesday, December 27. John Normile/Getty Images Niagara Falls in New York is partially frozen on December 27. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Travelers at Baltimore/Washington International Airport deal with the impact of canceled flights on December 27. Michael McCoy/Reuters A gas station canopy lays on its side after high winds and heavy snow in Lackawanna, New York, on December 27. The historic winter storm dumped up to 4 feet of snow on the area. John Normile/Getty Images Hundreds of unclaimed suitcases sit near the Southwest Airlines baggage claim area in Tennessee's Nashville International Airport after the airline canceled thousands of flights on December 27. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images A street is blanketed by snow in downtown Buffalo on Monday, December 26. Gov. Kathy Hochul/Twitter/AP A person clears a snow-covered driveway in Buffalo on December 26. Faith Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A man and a boy walk across the frozen Reflecting Pool towards the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on December 26. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Firefighters carry rescue equipment as they respond to a fire on a snow-covered street in Buffalo on Sunday, December 25. Jalen Wright/The New York Times/Redux Snow blankets a neighborhood in Cheektowaga, New York, on Christmas Day. Western New York is drowning in thick \"lake effect\" snow -- which forms when cold air moves over the warm waters of the Great Lakes -- just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm. John Waller via AP A man tries to dig out his car after he got stuck in a snowdrift about a block from home in Buffalo on Saturday, December 24. Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP Icicles created by a sprinkler hang from an orange tree in Clermont, Florida, on December 24. Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images A young holiday traveler passes the time at Detroit Wayne County Metro Airport on December 24. Matthew Hatcher/Getty Images Pedestrians deal with the cold in Chicago on December 24. Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times via AP Hoak's Restaurant in Hamburg, New York, is seen covered in ice from the spray of Lake Erie on December 24. Kevin Hoak via Reuters Nissan Stadium employees clear the field in Nashville before the an NFL football game on December 24. Mark Zaleski/AP Amanda Kelly cleans off snow and ice from her car in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, December 23. Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch/USA Today Network Cars drive in whiteout conditions in Orchard Park, New York, on December 23. Mark Mulville/The Buffalo News/AP Travelers sleep while lines of people pass through a security checkpoint at Denver International Airport. David Zalubowski/AP Snow-covered buildings are seen in Louisville, Kentucky. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images The waters of Lake Erie wash over the shoreline in Hamburg, New York, on December 23. John Normile/Getty Images Snow collects on a bison at the Longfield Farm in Goshen, Kentucky, on December 23. Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal/USA Today Network Volunteers welcome a homeless person to a shelter at Louisville's Broadbent Arena on December 23. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images Stones are removed from a road in Westport, Massachusetts, after a storm surge made landfall, flooding many coastal areas on December 23. Peter Pereira/The Standard-Times/AP The Louisville skyline is obscured by steam rising from the Ohio River on December 23. Matt Stone/The Louisville Courier/USA Today Network Antonio Smothers jump-starts his vehicle in Nashville on December 23. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Rows of headstones at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery are blanketed by drifting snow in Mandan on Thursday, December 22. Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune/AP Migrants warm themselves by a fire next to the US-Mexico border fence on December 22 in El Paso, Texas. John Moore/Getty Images Robert Arnold puts chains onto the tires of his semitrailer while he waits for the eastbound lane of I-70 to reopen in Silverthorne, Colorado, on December 22. Jason Connolly/AFP/Getty Images A musician departs following a show on Broadway in Nashville on December 22. Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images Brady Myers helps turn the Stewpot Community Services day shelter for the unhoused into an emergency overnight shelter in Jackson, Mississippi, on December 22. Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger/USA Today Network Vehicles travel along Interstate 44 on December 22, in St. Louis. Jeff Roberson/AP A person walks through the snow on December 22 in downtown Minneapolis. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP A clean car passes a snow-covered car in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP Travelers walk in front of flight information screens at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Ice collects on a window in Oklahoma City on December 22. Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman/USA Today Network Bus riders wait at a sheltered stop in Chicago on December 22. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP An accident involving a semi-tractor-trailer blocks the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 in West Des Moines on December 22. Bryon Houlgrave/The Des Moines Register/AP Kids shovel snow off a sidewalk and driveway in Minneapolis on December 22. Abbie Parr/AP Travelers arrive for their flights at O'Hare International Airport on December 22 in Chicago. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images Mist rises above ice flows on the Yellowstone River on December 22 in Paradise Valley, Montana. William Campbell/Getty Images Students walk to school buses after early dismissal at a middle school in Wheeling, Illinois, on December 22. Nam Y. Huh/AP Miguel Salazar clears sidewalks in Denver on December 22. Hyoung Chang/Denver Post/Getty Images Travelers arrive at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on December 21. Alex Kormann/Star Tribune/AP Salt is prepared to be loaded onto a truck at the Department of Public Works sanitation yard in Milwaukee on December 21. Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel/AP Propane heaters sit next to pens at the City of Mission Animal Shelter in Mission, Texas, on December 21. Joel Martinez/The Monitor/AP Crews de-ice a Southwest Airlines plane before takeoff in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 21. Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald/AP An Iowa Department of Transportation plow clears a road in Iowa City on December 21. Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press Citizen/AP Snow covers homes in Seattle on December 20. Daniel Kim/The Seattle Times/AP In pictures: Winter storm impacts the US Prev Next\n\nStorm leads to loss of life across multiple states\n\nOver the past week, the prolonged winter storm has enveloped a large swath of the country with dangerously low temperatures and wind chills, also bringing with it widespread power outages and thousands of canceled flights.\n\nAbout 25,700 customers were without power Monday evening in New York and Maine, according to PowerOutage.US. Since the start of the storm, the number of outages has at times exceeded a million customers.\n\nElectricity was not the sole utility impacted: Jackson, Mississippi, issued a boil water notice Sunday after its water system lost pressure due to line breaks “likely caused by the weather,” officials said on Facebook. The city – which just two months ago overcame a separate lengthy water crisis – distributed water to residents throughout Christmas Day.\n\nThe storm also snarled travel in the US during the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday and more than 3,100 canceled on Christmas.\n\nAbout 3,800 flights into or out of US airports have been canceled as of 7 p.m. ET Monday, according to tracking site FlightAware. The total includes more than 2,500 flights canceled by Southwest Airlines, according to FlightAware.\n\nSouthwest said in a statement: “With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable.\n\n“And our heartfelt apologies for this are just beginning.”\n\nAnother 7,000 US flights have been delayed, according to FlightAware.\n\nSeparately, the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, which closed Friday due to “hazardous weather conditions” and saw 43 inches of snow, is expected to remain closed until late Wednesday morning, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority said on Twitter. The closure means the Buffalo Sabres’ NHL game at Columbus will be postponed because the team cannot fly to Ohio, Sabres officials said.\n\nSnow blankets a neighborhood, December 25, 2022, in Buffalo, New York. Carolyn Thompson/AP\n\nSince the brutal weather’s arrival, multiple storm-related deaths have been reported across several states. In addition to the deaths in New York, the fatalities include:\n\n• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs reported two deaths related to the cold since Thursday, with one man found near a power transformer of a building possibly looking for warmth, and another in a camp in an alleyway.\n\n• Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Highway Patrol said Friday.\n\n• Kentucky: Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle crash in Montgomery County.\n\n• Missouri: One person died after a Caravan slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said.\n\n• Ohio: Nine people have died as a result of weather-related auto crashes, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.\n\n• Tennessee: The Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.\n\n• Wisconsin: The State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.\n\n• Vermont: One woman in Castleton died after a tree fell on her home, according to the police chief.\n\nWhat to expect as storm moves away\n\nA person clears snow-covered roads with a backhoe loader in Buffalo, New York, United States on December 26, 2022. Faith Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images\n\nThe powerful system continues to move away from the Northeast, yet many cities and towns remain covered with thick snow. Over separate 24-hour spans, Baraga, Michigan, received 42.8 inches of snow while Henderson Harbor, New York, got 40.8 inches.\n\nIn the meantime, lake-effect snows will continue to make for hazardous travel conditions for the next couple of days and conditions are expected to slowly improve over the week.\n\nLingering lake-effect snows blowing downwind from the Great Lakes will slowly become less intense, but the Arctic air enveloping much of the eastern half of the nation will be slow to moderate, according to the National Weather Service.\n\nThe low-pressure system is forecast to move farther away into Canada, while another system quickly across the northern US into Monday, bringing snow from the northern Plains through the Midwest.\n\nMuch of the rest of the eastern part of the country will still be in a deep freeze through Monday before a moderating trend sets in on Tuesday, forecasters said.\n\nCorrection: This story has been updated to correct where Gov. Kathy Hochul described the storm as the \"most devastating storm in Buffalo's long storied history.\" It was at a Sunday news conference.", "authors": ["Steve Almasy Nouran Salahieh Dakin Andone", "Steve Almasy", "Nouran Salahieh", "Dakin Andone"], "publish_date": "2022/12/26"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/05/politics/navy-seal-candidate-death/index.html", "title": "Kyle Mullen: Navy SEAL candidate dies following 'Hell Week ...", "text": "1. How relevant is this ad to you?\n\nVideo player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues", "authors": ["Oren Liebermann"], "publish_date": "2022/02/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/19/football/gianni-infantino-press-conference-qatar-2022-world-cup-spt-intl/index.html", "title": "Gianni Infantino: Explosive tirade from FIFA boss threatens to ...", "text": "Doha, Qatar CNN —\n\nThe World Cup finally gets underway on Sunday after 12 years of questions and criticisms of the tournament being held in Qatar. But though kickoff for the opening match is just hours away, soccer itself is still being overshadowed by off-the-field matters.\n\nFIFA President Gianni Infantino’s extraordinary tirade against Western critics of the controversial tournament in an explosive hour-long monologue is still making headlines around the world. Human rights groups described it as “crass” and an “insult” to migrant workers.\n\nInfantino, the boss of world soccer’s governing body, looked on glumly as he addressed hundreds of journalists in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, and started the news conference with a near hour-long speech, during which he accused Western critics of hypocrisy and racism.\n\n“We are taught many lessons from Europeans, from the Western world,” he said, referring to criticisms of Qatar’s human rights record.\n\n“What we Europeans have been doing for the last 3,000 years, we should be apologizing for the next 3,000 years before starting to give moral lessons.”\n\nThis tournament will be a historic event, the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, but is also mired in controversy, with much of the build-up focusing on human rights, from the death of migrant workers and the conditions many have endured in Qatar, to LGBTQ and women’s rights.\n\nThose involved in the tournament have faced much criticism. Last week British comedian Joe Lycett questioned David Beckham’s status as a gay icon were the former England captain and Manchester United star to continue in his role as a Qatar World Cup ambassador.\n\nHomosexuality in Qatar is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison. A report from Human Rights Watch, published last month, documented cases as recently as September of Qatari security forces arbitrarily arresting LGBT people and subjecting them to “ill-treatment in detention.”\n\nColombian singer Maluma, who features in the official World Cup anthem, walked out of an interview on Israeli television when he was questioned about the Gulf state’s human rights record.\n\nInfantino addressed questions around the last-minute ban on alcohol from being sold at stadiums. Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images\n\n‘Today I feel gay’\n\nWhile Qatar’s team will take on Ecuador in the first game at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, in his remarkable press conference Infantino barely spoke about soccer and focused his attention on what he called the “hypocrisy” of Western criticism.\n\nInfantino told journalists that he knew what it felt like to be discriminated against, saying he was bullied as a child for having red hair and freckles.\n\n“Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker,” he said, in front of a stunned audience.\n\n“I feel this, all this, because what I’ve been seeing and what I’ve been told, since I don’t read, otherwise I would be depressed I think.\n\n“What I’ve seen brings me back to my personal story. I am a son of migrant workers. My parents were working very very hard in difficult situations.”\n\nInfantino said progress had been made in Qatar on a range of issues, but insisted real change took time, adding that FIFA would not leave the country after the tournament finished. He suggested that he thought some Western journalists would forget about the issues.\n\n“We need to invest in education, to give them a better future, to give them hope. We should all educate ourselves,” he said.\n\n“Reform and change takes time. It took hundreds of years in our countries in Europe. It takes time everywhere, the only way to get results is by engaging […] not by shouting.”\n\nHuman rights groups have criticized the FIFA boss and his speech. Nicholas McGeehan, director of FairSquare, a non-profit human rights organization, said in a statement: “Infantino’s comments were as crass as they were clumsy and suggest that the FIFA president is getting his talking points direct from the Qatari authorities.\n\nSteve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s head of economic and social justice, said in a statement: “In brushing aside legitimate human rights criticisms, Gianni Infantino is dismissing the enormous price paid by migrant workers to make his flagship tournament possible – as well as FIFA’s responsibility for it.\n\nAlcohol ban\n\nInfantino also addressed questions around the last-minute decision to ban alcohol from being sold at the eight stadiums which will host the tournament’s 64 matches. In a FIFA statement issued on Friday, the governing body said alcohol would be sold at fan zones and licensed venues.\n\nThe Muslim country is considered to be very conservative and tightly regulates alcohol sales and usage.\n\nIn September, Qatar had said it would permit ticketed fans to buy alcoholic beer at World Cup stadiums three hours before kickoff and for one hour after the final whistle, but not during the match.\n\n“Let me first assure you that every decision that is taken in this World Cup is a joint decision between Qatar and FIFA,” he said. “Every decision is discussed, debated and taken jointly.”\n\n“There will be […] over 200 places where you can buy alcohol in Qatar and over 10 fan zones, where over 100,000 people can simultaneously drink alcohol.\n\n“I think personally, if for three hours a day you cannot drink a beer, you will survive.”\n\n“Especially because actually the same rules apply in France or in Spain or in Portugal or in Scotland, where no beer is allowed in stadiums now,” he added.\n\n“It seems to become a big thing because it’s a Muslim country, or I don’t know why.”\n\nInfantino finished the press conference by insisting that everyone would be safe in Qatar, amid concerns from the LGBTQ community.\n\nHomosexuality in Qatar is illegal and punishable by up to three years in prison, but the FIFA president promised that this was a tournament for everyone.\n\n“Let me mention as well, the LGBT situation. I have been speaking about this topic with the highest leadership of the country several times, not just once. They have confirmed, and I can confirm, that everyone is welcome,” Infantino said.\n\n“This is a clear FIFA requirement. Everyone has to be welcomed, everyone that comes to Qatar is welcome whatever religion, race, sexual orientation, belief she or he has. Everyone is welcome. This was our requirement and the Qatari state sticks to that requirement,” Infantino said.", "authors": ["Ben Church"], "publish_date": "2022/11/19"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_1", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:11", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-ii-funeral-hurricane-fiona-update-5-things-podcast/10424087002/", "title": "Queen Elizabeth II to be laid to rest, is TikTok the new Google?: 5 ...", "text": "On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Queen Elizabeth II to be laid to rest\n\nThe queen's funeral is today after more than a week of national and global mourning. Plus, Hurricane Fiona moves through the Caribbean, Ukraine says it found Russian torture devices, money and tech reporter Bailey Schulz looks at whether TikTok could be used as the new Google and there's a shakeup in the college football coaches' poll.\n\nPodcasts:True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here.\n\nHit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.\n\nTaylor Wilson:\n\nGood morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Monday, the 19th of September, 2022. Today, Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. Plus Hurricane Fiona is on the move and more.\n\nHere are some of the top headlines:\n\nA strong earthquake has rattled Taiwan. The 6.8 magnitude quake was the largest of dozens that rocked the island since Saturday night. One worker inside a cement factory was killed, while hundreds of tourists were stranded on a mountainside and other people were trapped in buildings. A train was also knocked off its tracks. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, an envoy of Pope Francis was shot at this weekend as he delivered humanitarian aid in the Pope's name in Ukraine. The Vatican news service reported he was uninjured and continuing his mission. And the Las Vegas Aces are WNBA's champions. They beat the Connecticut Sun yesterday 78-71 to win the series 3 games to 1. It's the Ace's first championship in franchise history.\n\n♦\n\nQueen Elizabeth II will be remembered at a funeral today in London's Westminster Abbey, and she'll later be laid to rest beneath St. George's Chapel. That's after long lines this past weekend and late last week as the British public paid their respects to the Monarch who served from 1952 until her death earlier this month. Joan Green waited 13 hours.\n\nJoan Green:\n\n70 years of her life and I think this is the least we can do. I'm trying to hold it together. It's the least we can do for her. It's the last thing we can do for her, to say thank you. Before we went in, everybody's chattering. And then all at once, it goes very quiet when you're standing on the stairs and you look around you and the architecture in that building is unbelievable. It went very, very quiet. People were very respectful and obviously alone with their own emotions and thoughts as I was. I don't regret any of it, even though we had to wait 13 hours today. It was worth it. So yes, I'm very pleased I came.\n\nTaylor Wilson:\n\nPresident Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrived in London this weekend ahead of the funeral. Biden yesterday praised the Queen's notion of service.\n\nJoe Biden:\n\nOur hearts go out to the royal family, King Charles and all the family. It's a loss that leaves a giant hole. I think what she gave is a sense of, maybe above all, the notion of service. We all owe something. There's something within our capacity to do that can make things... Now and not just the world better, but your neighborhood better, your household, better, your workplace better. And that's what she communicated to me anyway.\n\nTaylor Wilson:\n\nOn the eve of her funeral, much of Britain last night paused for a minute of silence. Some 2,000 people are expected to attend the funeral. And London's mayor's office said up to 2 million may line the city streets.\n\nSome normality returned to Britain this past weekend amid national mourning, including a number of premier league soccer matches, but the country will be virtually shut down today. More than 10,000 police officers are on patrol in London, including reinforcements brought in from across the nation. Westminster Abbey, where the funeral is held, is the same church where Elizabeth was crowned queen and has been the setting for every coronation since 1066. The funeral is set to begin at 11:00 AM local, 6:00 AM Eastern time. You can follow a long live on usatoday.com\n\n♦\n\nHurricane Fiona made landfall yesterday in Southwestern Puerto Rico. The category 1 storm hit the island just after 3:00 PM Eastern time with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles an hour according to the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters said Fiona could drop historical rainfall of up to 30 inches and widespread flooding. In one town, Utuado, the storm washed away a bridge that was just installed by the National Guard after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017. Almost the entire island of more than 3 million people is also without power. Fiona is now heading northwest toward the eastern part of the Dominican Republic. It was expected to graze that country's coast this morning before turning toward the east of Turks and Caicos tomorrow. After the Caribbean and the Bahamas, Fiona could next move toward Bermuda in the Atlantic. And forecasters said the hurricane could gain strength of up to 115 miles per hour early this week.\n\n♦\n\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says more than 10 torture chambers have been found in the country's Kharkiv region since a counterattack pushed Russian forces back last week. The region's prosecutor's office said it's launched an investigation after finding tools of torture and documents that showed Russia established a police force that operated a jail where the alleged abuse took place. Russian forces have been accused of war crimes and atrocities at several points since their February invasion, especially in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.\n\nMeanwhile, schools in Russia's Belgorod region have been closed this week as they shift to remote learning. Ukraine's counteroffensive has recently bled across the border into that part of Russia and Russian officials say homes and other businesses have been destroyed. The US sent long range artillery to Ukraine on the condition that it not be used to bomb Russian cities and towns. But Ukraine troops have pushed close enough to the border to reach those towns with their own equipment.\n\n♦\n\nIs TikTok becoming the new Google? Producer PJ Elliott spoke with Money and Tech reporter Bailey Schulz who says a growing number of young people are using the short form video app the way others use Google to find out where to eat and more.\n\nBailey Schulz:\n\nYeah, so basically we are seeing more young internet users are going to TikTok when they want to search the internet. If they want to know what sort of restaurant to go to nearby or if they want maybe ideas for certain outfits, instead of typing something into Google, a lot of these users are instead scrolling through TikTok or search on TikTok to find answers. There's actually a Google commissioned study that found users in the US who are between 18 and 24, nearly 40% of those users used TikTok or Instagram to search online. So Google clarified saying that people aren't using these apps instead of Google. A lot of experts told us that they're going in and searching for certain things on TikTok. Google still has its place in search, but we are seeing this growth in people going to these social media apps to search online.\n\nPJ Elliott:\n\nIs there a reason why the younger people prefer it over Google?\n\nBailey Schulz:\n\nI think there's a number of reasons why people are going to TikTok. We talked to some experts and they brought up that there's often less ads on TikTok, you get the answers very quickly when these are all very quick videos. So say you're looking for instructions on how to do something or the other, whether it's making a recipe in the kitchen or you want to figure out how to fix something in your car, you can quick search that on TikTok and you get a quick, really concise answer rather than scrolling through a giant blog post and scrolling past ads on a website.\n\nPJ Elliott:\n\nSo we know about the disinformation on social media all over the place. Should people trust TikTok for information?\n\nBailey Schulz:\n\nThat is a good question. I think like with all searches on the internet, people should be very cognizant about where this information is coming from, who the sources are, whether or not these sources can be trusted. I had one expert tell me that while there is an advantage to search on TikTok where you get answers from, dozens of users from all across the world, all corners of society and so that can give you more diverse responses, but at the same time that can really become a hotbed for misinformation or disinformation. So try and look for verified sources if you can. Maybe double check things that you do find on apps like TikTok. But yeah, I think the biggest thing is to just be aware of where this information is coming from because unlike with Google where you can easily check and see, \"Oh, this is coming from .edu website or .gov website,\" it's not quite so easy on site TikTok.\n\nTaylor Wilson:\n\nYou can find Bailey's full story in today's episode description.\n\nTaylor Wilson:\n\nGeorgia has topped the latest USA TODAY Sports' AFCA Coaches Poll. The defending national champion Bulldogs destroyed South Carolina on Saturday 48-7. They received 40 of 65 first place votes to overtake Alabama at the top of the rankings. Ohio State remained at number three, Michigan's up a spot to number four, and Clemson dropped to 1 to 5. Oklahoma, USC, Oklahoma State, Kentucky, and Arkansas round out the top 10. Meanwhile, Washington moved into the poll for the first time this season at No. 24. You can find full coverage of the college football season all fall from USA TODAY Sports.\n\nYou can find 5 Things every morning on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, your smart speaker, or wherever you get your audio. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show. And I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/09/19"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/europe/pope-benedict-xvi-death-intl/index.html", "title": "Former Pope Benedict XVI dies in Vatican monastery aged 95 | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nPope Francis led tributes to his predecessor on Saturday, after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died in a monastery in the Vatican at the age of 95.\n\n“We are moved as we recall him as such a noble person, so kind and we feel such gratitude in our hearts, gratitude to god for giving him to the church, and to the world,” Francis said in Saint Peter’s Basilica while leading traditional vespers ceremony ahead of New Year’s Day.\n\n“Gratitude to him for all the good he accomplished and above all for his witness of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his life. Only God knows the value of his sacrifices for the good of the church,” Francis added.\n\nBenedict, who was the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, passed away on Saturday, according to a statement from the Vatican.\n\n“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni said.\n\nFrancis went to see Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI soon after he passed away Saturday morning, according to Bruni.\n\nThe funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be held on Thursday in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City at 9:30 a.m. local time, Bruni said. The funeral will be led by Pope Francis.\n\nThe former pope’s body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican from Monday for the faithful to bid farewell, Vatican News reported. As per the wish of Pope Emeritus, his funeral will be “simple,” Bruni said.\n\nThe funeral of the former pope, pictured on December 25, 2007, will take place on January 5. Alessandra Tarantino/AP\n\nNews of Benedict’s death came days after Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for him, saying he was “very sick.”\n\nHis health had been in decline for some time.\n\nBenedict stunned the Catholic faithful and religious experts around the world on February 11, 2013, when he announced plans to step down from his position as Pope, citing his “advanced age.”\n\nIn his farewell address, the outgoing pope promised to stay “hidden” from the world, but he continued to speak out on religious matters in the years following his retirement, contributing to tensions within the Catholic Church.\n\nA powerful and polarizing voice\n\nBenedict was a powerful force in the Catholic Church for decades. Born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, he was the son of a policeman. He was ordained as a priest in 1951, made a cardinal in 1977, and later served as chief theological adviser to Pope John Paul II.\n\nOne of his most significant steps up came in 1981 when he took over as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Vatican office that oversees “the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world,” according to the Vatican.\n\nRatzinger became known as “Cardinal No” stemming from his efforts to crack down on the liberation theology movement, religious pluralism, challenges to traditional teachings on issues such as homosexuality, and calls to ordain women as priests.\n\nHe was elected pope in April 2005, following John Paul II’s death.\n\nHe was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis, who has made moves to soften the Vatican’s position on abortion and homosexuality, as well as doing more to deal with the sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the church in recent years and clouded Benedict’s legacy.\n\nThe former pope, pictured on September 9, 2007, was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis. Robert Jaeger/AP\n\nIn April 2019, Benedict discussed the sex abuse crisis in a public letter, claiming that it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalization of the church’s moral teachings.\n\nIn January 2020, Benedict was forced to distance himself from a book widely seen as undercutting Francis as he considered whether or not to allow married men to become priests in certain cases. The book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” argued in favor of the centuries-old tradition of priestly celibacy within the Catholic Church. Benedict was originally listed as co-author, but later clarified that he had only contributed one section of the text.\n\nA year later, Benedict came under fire over his time as archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, following the publication of a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there.\n\nThe report found that while in the post he had been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two that had occurred during his time in office – but failed to act. It also revealed Benedict had attended a meeting about an abuser identified as Priest X. Following the report’s publication, Benedict pushed back against accusations that he knew in 1980 that this priest was an abuser.\n\nIn a letter released by the Vatican amid the furor, Benedict wrote that he was “of good cheer” as he faced “the final judge of my life,” despite his shortcomings. He also issued a general apology to survivors of abuse.\n\n‘Giant of faith and reason’\n\nGlobal leaders paid homage to the former pope, following his death. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England, said he is “mourning” the former pope.\n\n“Pope Benedict was one of the greatest theologians of his age – committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence,” Welby said in a statement Saturday.\n\n“In all things, not least in his writing and his preaching, he looked to Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God. It was abundantly clear that Christ was the root of his thought and the basis of his prayer.\n\n“In 2013 Pope Benedict took the courageous and humble step to resign the papacy, the first Pope to do so since the fifteenth century. In making this choice freely he acknowledged the human frailty that affects us all,” he added.\n\nCardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, said he will remember the former pope with “love and gratitude.”\n\n“Saddened to learn of the demise of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola tweeted Saturday.\n\n“Europe mourns him. May he rest in peace.”\n\nThe leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, on Saturday told Pope Francis he had received news of Benedict’s passing with “sorrow,” according to the message shared on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate.\n\n“His Holiness’s many years of life marked a whole epoch in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, which he led in a difficult historical period, associated with many external and internal challenges,” Kirill said of Benedict.\n\nKirill added relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church had “developed significantly” during Benedict’s tenure, in an effort to “overcome the sometimes-painful legacy of the past.”\n\n“On behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church, I express my condolences to you and the flock of the Roman Catholic Church,” he continued.\n\nThe Dalai Lama on Sunday offered his condolences to the members of the Catholic Church after Benedict’s death.\n\n“I pray for our spiritual brother,” he wrote, “and offer my condolences to the members of the Catholic Church.”\n\n“At a time when we are seeing tension in several parts of the world, we can take a lesson from the life of Pope Benedict and do what we can to contribute to religious harmony and global peace.”\n\nUS President Joe Biden said the late pontiff “will be remembered as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by his principles and faith.”\n\nBiden, the second Catholic to serve as President of the United States, reflected on his meeting with Benedict at the Vatican in 2011, saying he remembered “his generosity and welcome as well as our meaningful conversation.”\n\n“As he remarked during his 2008 visit to the White House, ‘the need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity.’ May his focus on the ministry of charity continue to be an inspiration to us all,” Biden added.\n\nBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also paid tribute. “I am saddened to learn of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” Sunak tweeted Saturday.\n\n“He was a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was an historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country.\n\nGlobal leaders have paid homage to the former German-born pope, pictured on September 12, 2006. Jens Meyer/AP\n\nThe Archbishop of Canterbury hailed the former Pope, pictured on November 30, 2005, as \"one of the greatest theologians of his age.\" Plinio Lepri/AP\n\nItaly’s new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni voiced her admiration for the former pope. “Benedict XVI was a giant of faith and reason. He put his life at the service of the universal Church and spoke, and will continue to speak, to the hearts and minds of men with the spiritual, cultural and intellectual depth of his Magisterium,” she tweeted Saturday.\n\nRussian President Vladimir Putin, who is leading Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, called the former pope “a staunch defender of traditional Christian values.”", "authors": ["Jack Guy Valentina Di Donato Sugam Pokharel Sharon Braithwaite James Frater Allegra Goodwin", "Jack Guy", "Valentina Di Donato", "Sugam Pokharel", "Sharon Braithwaite", "James Frater", "Allegra Goodwin"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/01/africa/desmond-tutu-funeral-south-africa-intl/index.html", "title": "Desmond Tutu laid to rest at state funeral in South Africa | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nFamily, friends and dignitaries gathered for Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s official state funeral on New Year’s Day in Cape Town, capping a week of events honoring a man long considered to be the moral compass of South Africa.\n\nTutu died last Sunday at the age of 90, sparking a global outpouring of tributes to the anti-apartheid hero. He had been in poor health for several years.\n\nSouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who delivered the main eulogy during the service at St. George’s Cathedral on Saturday, hailed Tutu as “our national conscience.” Tutu’s widow Nomalizo Leah, known as “Mama Leah,” sat in a wheelchair in the front row of the congregation, draped in a purple scarf, the color of her husband’s clerical robes.\n\nFor decades, Tutu was one of the primary voices pushing the South African government to end apartheid, the country’s official policy of racial segregation and White minority rule. He won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, before apartheid ended in the early 1990s and the long-imprisoned Nelson Mandela became the nation’s first Black president.\n\nThe revered anti-apartheid fighter will be remembered as one of the most important voices of the 20th century. However, his funeral was subdued: Before he died, Tutu asked for a simple service and the cheapest available coffin, according to two of his foundations. Tutu’s funeral was limited to just 100 people, in line with current Covid-19 regulations.\n\nArchbishop Desmond Tutu pictured in Cape Town in April 2019. Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty Images\n\nIn his address at St. George’s Cathedral, a church famous for its role in the resistance against apartheid, Ramaphosa described Tutu as “a man with a faith as deep as it was abiding,” and “a crusader in the struggle for freedom, for justice, for equality and for peace, not just in South Africa, the country of his birth, but around the world as well.”\n\n“Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been our moral compass and national conscience,” Ramaphosa said. “He saw our country as a ‘rainbow nation’, emerging from the shadow of apartheid, united in its diversity, with freedom and equal rights for all.”\n\n“He embraced all who had ever felt the cold wind of exclusion and they in turn embraced him,” Ramaphosa added, praising Tutu’s advocacy for LGBTQ rights, campaigning against child marriage, and support for the Palestinian cause.\n\n“His was a life lived honestly and completely. He has left the world a better place. We remember him with a smile,” Ramaphosa said.\n\nTutu’s daughter Naomi also paid tribute to her father and thanked the public for their prayers. “Thank you, daddy, for the many ways you showed us love, for the many times you challenged us, for the many times you comforted us,” she said.\n\nReverend Michael Nuttall, the retired Bishop of Natal who was once Tutu’s deputy, delivered the main sermon, calling Tutu a “giant among us morally and spiritually.”\n\nHis voice breaking at times, Nuttal said being Tutu’s deputy between 1989 and 1996 “struck a chord perhaps in the hearts and minds of many people: a dynamic Black leader and his White deputy in the dying years of apartheid; and hey presto, the heavens did not collapse. We were a foretaste, if you like, of what could be in our wayward, divided nation.”\n\nIn a video message played at the ceremony, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said an Archbishop of Canterbury giving a tribute to Archbishop Tutu was “like a mouse giving a tribute to an elephant.”\n\nTutu’s body will be cremated in a private ceremony after Saturday’s requiem mass and will then be interred behind the pulpit at the cathedral.\n\nEvents were planned throughout the country to give South Africans the opportunity to collectively mourn ‘“the Arch,” as he was known, while still practicing social distancing.\n\nA week-long remembrance began Monday with the ringing of the bells at St. George’s Cathedral, which held a special place in the late archbishop’s heart, so much so that he requested his ashes be interred there in a special repository.\n\nOn Wednesday, several religious leaders gathered outside Tutu’s former home on Vilakazi Street – where his friend and ally Nelson Mandela also grew up – in Soweto, a township in Johannesburg, for a series of events. Another memorial service was held Wednesday in Cape Town, and Tutu’s wife, Nomalizo Leah Tutu, met with friends of the late archbishop on Thursday for an “intimate” gathering.\n\nSouth Africans also paid their respects before Tutu’s plain pine coffin on Thursday and Friday as it lay in state at the cathedral.\n\nTutu was born October 7, 1931, in Klerksdorp, a town in South Africa’s Transvaal province, the son of a teacher and a domestic worker. Tutu had plans to become a doctor, partly thanks to a boyhood bout of tuberculosis, which put him in the hospital for more than a year, and even qualified for medical school, he said.\n\nBut his parents couldn’t afford the fees, so he turned to teaching.\n\n“The government was giving scholarships for people who wanted to become teachers,” he told the Academy of Achievement. “I became a teacher and I haven’t regretted that.”\n\nHowever, he was horrified at the state of Black South African schools, and even more horrified when the Bantu Education Act was passed in 1953 that racially segregated the nation’s education system. He resigned in protest. Not long after, the Bishop of Johannesburg agreed to accept him for the priesthood – Tutu believed it was because he was a Black man with a university education, a rarity in the 1950s – and took up his new vocation.\n\nHe was ordained in 1960 and spent the ’60s and early ‘70s alternating between London and South Africa. He returned to his home country for good in 1975, when he was appointed dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg. As the government became increasingly oppressive – detaining Black people, establishing onerous laws – Tutu became increasingly outspoken.", "authors": ["Joshua Berlinger Tara John", "Joshua Berlinger", "Tara John"], "publish_date": "2022/01/01"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-funeral-live-updates/10419491002/", "title": "Queen funeral updates: Elizabeth laid to rest alongside Prince Philip", "text": "The U.K. and much of the world spent Monday mourning Queen Elizabeth II, who was celebrated at a funeral at Westminster Abbey and brought to her final place of rest, St. George's Chapel.\n\nWith the funeral concluded, and a private burial service held at 7:30 p.m. local time, a period of Royal Mourning is set to last for the next seven days, according to the wishes of the new king.\n\nWhile the mourning period continues for the royal family, the transition of power has already occurred. The queen's eldest son, Charles Philip Arthur George Windsor, 73, is now King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But the date for the formal coronation ceremony for the new king has not yet been announced.\n\nShortly after the queen was laid to rest, the royal family's official Twitter account shared a new photo of Queen Elizabeth II climbing a hill with a walking stick in one hand and a coat draped over the other. She looks off in the distance, wearing sunglasses and a head scarf, as lush greenery fills the landscape behind her.\n\nAlong with the photo, the account shared a quote from William Shakespeare's \"Hamlet\": \"May flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest.\"\n\nQueen laid to rest alongside husband, Prince Philip\n\nThe queen was laid to rest in an intimate ceremony away from cameras in Windsor, where she was reunited with her husband and her parents.\n\nCharles and senior royal family members gathered late Monday for the private interment ceremony at St. George’s Chapel, a gothic church on the grounds of Windsor Castle that has hosted royal weddings, christenings and burials since the 15th century.\n\nIn contrast to the pomp and pageantry of her grand state funeral, royal officials said the queen's internment was a “deeply personal family occasion.” They said the queen was interred together with Prince Philip’s remains at the King George VI memorial chapel, an annex within St. George’s.\n\nWhen Philip, the queen's husband of 73 years, died last year, his coffin had been placed in a different part of St. George’s Chapel, ready to be moved to the memorial chapel to join the queen when she died.\n\nElizabeth II’s parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, were also interred there along with the ashes of Princess Margaret, the late monarch’s younger sister who died in 2002.\n\nSt. George's is the resting place of 10 former British monarchs, including Henry VIII and the beheaded Charles I. It is also the home of the Order of the Garter, an ancient order of chivalry founded by King Edward III in 1348.\n\nWestminster Abbey: See Queen Elizabeth at the iconic church where she was married, crowned, laid to rest\n\nSpeaking ill of the dead?:We can't ignore Queen Elizabeth's complicated legacy\n\nWhen will King Charles' coronation take place?\n\nCharles will be crowned probably within the year; the ancient ritual of the coronation requires advance planning, although a lot of that has already been done. But there hasn't been a coronation since June 1953 when Elizabeth was crowned, following the death of her father King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II was 25 when she took the throne.\n\nMost people in the U.K. have never lived through such a momentous event. But there's little puzzlement in the royal palaces, in Parliament or the British government, and almost certainly none in Charles' mind.\n\nOpinion:King Charles III must do better than his mother on colonialism and reparations. Will he?\n\nWhat happens next has been carefully planned out for decades, based on combining ancient funeral and coronation traditions with practical measures to cope with such modern realities as instant communication, traffic control, social media and the vestiges of a pandemic.\n\nThe queen's funeral was expected to draw millions of viewers\n\nThe state funeral, expected to be the biggest gathering of world leaders in years, drew millions of people to the streets of London and likely billions more to their TVs and computer screens. The funeral and events surrounding it were designed to help unite the royal family and divided subjects while helping ensure the monarchy survives another century.\n\nLondon’s mayor’s office said up to two million people were expected to line the streets as members of the royal family and hundreds of foreign dignitaries and heads of state descended on Westminster Abbey. More than 10,000 police officers were on patrol in London with reinforcements supplied from all of Britain’s 43 police forces, authorities said.\n\nThe royal family:A look at the British royal family tree, spanning four generations\n\nRead more about what to expect from the reign of King Charles III: What kind of sovereign will he be? Not like his mother\n\nCelebrities pay their respects to the queen\n\nSome celebrities posted on social media to pay their respects to the late queen, while others attended Monday’s events to do the same.\n\nDavid Beckham, who waited in the queue like thousands of others to visit the queen’s coffin as it laid in state last week, posted a photo on Instagram.\n\n“Our Queen is home.. Today we said a final farewell to Her Majesty The Queen,” he wrote in the caption.\n\nSandra Oh attended the funeral at Westminster Abbey, posting several photos on Instagram, featuring the actress wearing mourning colors.\n\nAnd Elton John posted photos, too, remembering some moments he shared with the queen and noting she will be \"sorely missed.\"\n\n“My own memories of her are filled with joy and admiration,\" he wrote. The Queen honoured me with a CBE, a knighthood and the Companion of Honour. I was lucky enough to perform at three of her Jubilees. They were always joyous and humbling experiences. But it was the moments out of the public eye that I will most fondly remember her for.\"\n\nWhat is the committal service at Windsor Castle?\n\nThe queen headed to her final resting place in Windsor Castle where a committal service took place before she was lowered into the Royal Vault.\n\nThe committal service was conducted by the dean of Windsor, David Connor. Events include prayer and a choir performance at St George's chapel. Nearly 800 people were expected to attend, including royal family members, and the hymn, \"All My Hope on God is Founded,\" was performed.\n\nWhile the procession took place, the Imperial State Crown sat atop the queen’s coffin along with her scepter and orb.\n\nDuring the committal service, the crown, scepter and orb were removed from the top of the coffin. The items were placed on an altar at St. George’s Chapel, and marked the final separation of the late queen from her crown.\n\nThe “Wand of Office” was broken by the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Andrew Parker. The breaking of the wand is a tradition in a sovereign’s funeral, according to The Independent, and hasn’t been seen since King George VI died in 1952.\n\nThe new king stood by quietly during the moments of farewell and appeared somber and a bit teary-eyed before his mother’s coffin was lowered into the vault.\n\nPast tears:Did Queen Elizabeth cry at Prince Philip's funeral? How she manages to stay stoic\n\nBritish Prime Minister Liz Truss arrives at St George's chapel\n\nBritish Prime Minister Liz Truss and husband Hugh O'Leary attended the queen's state funeral. They were also among early arrivals to St George's chapel for the committal service.\n\nAt the state funeral, Truss read a prayer from Bible’s John 14: 1-9.\n\nPrincess Kate, daughter Princess Charlotte honor the queen with poignant accessories\n\nMother and daughter duo Princess Kate and Princess Charlotte, who attended the state funeral, both wore simple black dresses topped with black overcoats, paired with black tights and black shoes. But their jewelry choices paid tribute to a beloved matriarch.\n\nPrincess Charlotte wore a dainty brooch on her coat in the shape of a horseshoe, a tribute to the queen, her great-grandmother, who had a lifelong passion for horses. The queen often attended races and was also a successful owner and breeder.\n\nPrincess Kate, the wife of Prince William, wore two pieces of jewelry that once belonged to her grandmother-in-law. She wore Bahrain Pearl Drop Earrings and a four-strand pearl choker necklace, both from the queen's collection, People reported.\n\nFuneral attire:Princess Kate, daughter Charlotte honor Queen Elizabeth with sweet details\n\nRoyals escort the queen's casket to Wellington Arch, Windsor Castle\n\nFollowing the funeral, the coffin – accompanied by units of the armed forces in dress uniforms and members of her family – was carried through the capital’s streets.\n\nAt Wellington Arch near Hyde Park, it was placed in a hearse and driven to Windsor Castle – where Elizabeth spent much of her time – for another procession before a committal service in St George’s Chapel. She will be laid to rest with her late husband, Prince Philip, at a private family service.\n\nWhat is the hearse the queen is in?\n\nThe queen’s coffin was moved from the gun carriage to the royal hearse at Wellington Arch as it was taken to Windsor. The hearse drove 25 miles west of London to Windsor Castle and St George's Chapel, a mini-cathedral that seats 800 and is often used for royal weddings. It's where Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan were married in 2018.\n\nAt Windsor, the state hearse traveled in procession to St George’s Chapel via the Long Walk. Once inside, a committal service began at 4 p.m. local time, 11 a.m. EDT.\n\nThe glass-walled hearse allows the queen’s coffin to be viewed – and it is lit up when it is dark out.\n\nFuneral program: What happened at queen's funeral\n\nThe funeral concluded just after noon, local time. The pall bearers escorted the queen's coffin onto the gun carriage.\n\nThe queen will be buried in a special chapel beneath the floor of St George's with her parents, sister Princess Margaret, and husband, Philip.\n\nThe program also included:\n\nPatricia Scotland Commonwealth Secretary-General read a lesson from Corinthians 15 as a tribute to the queen’s life of dedication to service and the nation.\n\nA sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury\n\nChoirs sang the Anthem, taken from \"Songs of Farewell\" by Hubert Parry, a favorite of King Charles'.\n\nA short anthem, composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams for the queen’s coronation in 1953, presenting a reflective moment in the service.\n\nThe third hymn, \"Love Divine, All Loves Excelling\" is a Welsh tune, and was sung at the wedding of The Prince and Princess of Wales at Westminster Abbey in 2011. The arrangement is by James O’Donnell, a former organist at the Abbey.\n\nThe Archbishop gave the commendation over the queen’s coffin. The commendation will include the familiar line, \"Go Forth, O Christian Soul, From This World,\" which is often heard during funerals.\n\nThe choirs sang a new anthem, composed for the service by Sir James McMillan. The words are taken from Romans 8, which leads with the hopeful, confident line, \"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?\"\n\nThe dean pronounced the blessing from the altar, and the congregation will remain standing for the last post, which will be sounded by the state trumpeters of the household cavalry.\n\nThis was followed by two minutes’ silence, to be observed across the United Kingdom.\n\nThe trumpeters then sounded the reveille, before the national anthem was sung.\n\nThe sovereign’s piper played the traditional lament, ‘Sleep, dearie, sleep.’\n\nAt the conclusion of the lament, at noon local time (7 a.m. ET), the pall bearers entered and moved the queen’s coffin to the state gun carriage.\n\nCharles writes note to the queen tucked in funeral wreath atop coffin\n\nThe funeral wreath on the queen's coffin was anything but funereal – it was a massive assembling of color and symbolism topped with a note from Charles. \"In loving and devoted memory. Charles R,\" it read.\n\n\"Charles R\" is the monarch’s official signature, with R being Latin for \"Rex\" or king. (Elizabeth’s signature was Elizabeth R for \"Regina,\" Latin for queen.)\n\nThe sight of that note immediately evoked memories of the note that sat on Princess Diana’s coffin during her funeral procession to Westminster Abbey in 1997. It was from her sons and signed \"Mummy.\"\n\nAccording to Buckingham Palace’s notes on the funeral, the queen’s wreath included, at the king’s request, flowers and foliage cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and the king’s private home Highgrove House.\n\nThe foliage was chosen for its symbolism: Rosemary for remembrance. Myrtle for the ancient symbol of a happy marriage, and cut from a plant grown from a sprig of myrtle in the queen’s 1947 wedding bouquet. English oak symbolizes the strength of love.\n\nAlso included are scented pelargoniums, garden roses, autumnal hydrangea, sedum, dahlias, and scabious, in shades of gold, pink and deep burgundy, with touches of white to reflect the Royal Standard on which it sits.\n\nAnd at the request of the king, a longtime environmentalist, the wreath is made in a sustainable way, formed in a nest of English moss and oak branches and without the use of floral foam.\n\nWho attended the queen’s funeral?\n\nThe guest list for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II amounted to hundreds of people, a mix of members of the British royal family, foreign royals (many of them relatives of the queen), domestic and foreign government leaders, including President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, British religious and military leaders, members of the royal households, and scores of ordinary people, from the National Health Service, for instance, who were invited to mark their service to the nation.\n\nThe top British royals:\n\nKing Charles III\n\nCamilla, Queen Consort\n\nPrincess Anne Princess Royal, Vice Adm. Sir Tim Laurence\n\nPrince Andrew Duke of York\n\nPrince Edward Earl of Wessex, Sophie Countess of Wessex\n\nPrince William, Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales\n\nPrince George of Wales\n\nPrince Charlotte of Wales\n\nPrince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex\n\nEarl of Snowdon\n\nPeter Phillips\n\nAlso there are some two dozen other members of the queen’s family, including descendants of her mother’s Scottish family. All eight of her grandchildren are there and some of the older 12 great-grandchildren, including the new second and third in line in the succession, Prince George of Wales, 9, and Princess Charlotte of Wales, 7.\n\nMany of the foreign royals who attended also are related to the British royal family through descent from Queen Victoria, sometimes known as the \"grandmother\" of Europe in the 19th century. The monarchs of Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain are there. Also, Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, making their first overseas trip since assuming the throne of Japan in 2019.\n\nThe Bidens top the foreign leaders list, which also includes France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Ireland’s President Michael Higgins. Also there: Ursula von der Leyen, representing the European Union that Britain quit amid many recriminations in 2016. Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also are there, representing three of the major Commonwealth nations over which the queen also reigned.\n\nQueen Elizabeth II's funeral:See King Charles III, Prince Harry, all royals who attended\n\nIs Prince Harry at the funeral? Harry wore military medals, but not his uniform\n\nPrince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, were visiting the U.K. from their home in California to promote several causes they are involved with when the queen died.\n\nAt Monday's funeral, Harry wore his military medals but not his uniform. He wore the uniform during a vigil on Saturday with Queen Elizabeth's grandchildren.\n\nRoyal experts have explained that only working members of the royal family will wear the military uniform for the five events during the late monarch's period of mourning and state funeral.\n\nHarry walked in to Westminster Abbey alongside his brother, Prince William. But during the service, Harry and Meghan sat in the second row behind his father, while William, Princess Kate and their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte sat across the aisle in the first row.\n\nIs Sarah 'Fergie' Ferguson at the funeral?\n\nSarah Ferguson, affectionately known as Fergie, attended the state funeral for the queen Monday. The Duchess of York, 62, has remained close with the royals despite her divorce from Prince Andrew in 1996. The former pair share daughters Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 32, who were also in attendance.\n\nFollowing the queen's death, Ferguson wrote in a tribute on Twitter that \"she was was the most incredible mother-in-law and friend.\"\n\n\"I will always be grateful to her for the generosity she showed me in remaining close to me even after my divorce,\" the Duchess of York added. \"I will miss her more than words can express.\"\n\nState funeral at Westminster Abbey\n\nThe queen's casket entered Westminster Abbey around 11 a.m. local time Monday. The choir of St. George's Chapel sang The Sentences as the queen's coffin procession, including King Charles, Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince Harry, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince George, Prince Charlotte, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, followed the coffin into the abbey.\n\nDavid Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, opened the service before attendees joined together to sing The Hymn, \"The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended.\"\n\nDuring the funeral, speakers included Most Rev. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury; Rev. Mark Birch, Minor Canon and Precentor; Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth secretary-general; Shermara Fletcher, principal officer for Pentecostal and Charismatic Relations, Churches Together in England; and Rt. Rev. Dame Sarah Mullally. As the funeral concluded, the choir sang \"God Save the King.\"\n\nFuneral music: Hymns sung at queen's funeral\n\nThe music during the funeral will be sung by the choir of the Westminster Abbey and included The Sentences, written by William Croft, whose Sentences have been used since the mid 1500s, and at every State Funeral since the early 18th century.\n\nThe choir of St George's Chapel sang The Sentences during the procession as the casket entered. The choir of Westminster Abbey began the funeral service in song, later joining with the choir of the Chapel Royal for a rendition of \"Like as the Heart.\" The funeral's attendees sang \"The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended.\"\n\nThe choir also sang \"The Lord’s My Shepherd,\" which also was heard at the Wedding of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh in 1947. The choir sang \"God Save the King,\" featuring different lyrics from what many have known for decades as \"God Save the Queen,\" as the funeral concluded.\n\nDetails about Queen Elizabeth's coffin\n\nThe oak coffin was made more than 30 years ago, funeral directors previously confirmed to USA TODAY. Leverton & Sons, which has served as funeral directors to the royal household said it inherited the coffin made for the queen by another firm, Kenyons.\n\nAndrew Leverton, a funeral director at Leverton & Sons, previously told British outlet the Times \"It is made from English oak, which is very difficult to get hold of.\n\n“Oak coffins are now made from American oak. I don’t think we could use English oak for a coffin now. It would be too expensive,” he told the outlet.\n\nThe coffin is also lined with lead, Leverton & Sons said. The lead lining makes the coffin so heavy that eight military bearers carried it Monday.\n\nQueen Elizabeth II's casket:Queen to be buried in decades-old coffin lined with lead that takes 8 people to carry\n\nImperial State Crown: Details about crown atop casket\n\nThe majestic Imperial State Crown sits atop the queen’s flag-draped coffin as the queen was moved to Westminster Abbey, along with her scepter and orb.\n\nThe crown, the same one the young Queen Elizabeth II wore for her coronation in 1953, is adorned with stones including the 317-carat Cullinan II diamond, one of several stones cut from the more than 3,000-carat Cullinan Diamond, mined in South Africa in 1905, when the nation was a British colony. The main stone – the 530.2-carat Cullinan I diamond, also called the Star of Africa – rests at the top of the monarch’s scepter.\n\nAs the royal jewels are in the news, so are repeated calls to return the diamonds to their country of origin. The queen's death at 96 on Sept. 8 has also renewed the conversation of the royal family's ties to colonialism and the queen's lack of apology or atonement.\n\nCalls for reparation from former colonial powers are not new, but they have resurged in recent years. Barbados in November 2021 removed the queen as its head of state, becoming the region’s newest republic. Six other Caribbean countries have signaled their intent to follow suit.\n\nThe monarchy:Imperial State Crown and royal scepter glimmer, but some say on back of colonialism\n\nWhat is the gun carriage used to carry the queen?\n\nWhen the coffin emerged from Westminster Hall, the pallbearers placed it on the green gun carriage that was used for the funerals of the queen’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather, all kings.\n\nKing Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward flanked the procession, followed by several other members of the royal family including Prince William and Prince Harry.\n\nKing Charles, more royals arrive at funeral\n\nKing Charles was met with applause by crowds as his motorcade arrived at Westminster Hall for the queen's coffin procession to Westminster Abbey. Prince William and Prince Harry joined him.\n\nOne car contained Queen Consort Camilla and Catherine, Princess of Wales, with her children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Another featured Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.\n\nMore members of the royal family, including Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrived shortly after.\n\nThe funeral’s order of service showed that George and Charlotte will walk together behind their parents. They will be followed by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and other royal family members.\n\nThe royal children’s 4-year-old brother, Prince Louis, is not expected to be present at the funeral, which will be attended by some 2,000 people.\n\nPresident Joe Biden, Prime Minister Liz Truss, more world leaders arrive\n\nU.S. President Joe Biden, accompanied by first lady Jill Biden, is among the top world leaders who arrived at Westminster Abbey ahead of the funeral.\n\nBiden arrived at Westminster Abbey for the queen’s funeral in his armored limousine, The Beast. He was among the few international diplomats who, for security reasons, did not ride on a fleet of chartered luxury buses provided for other world leaders. Biden stepped out of the The Beast a few minutes after 10 a.m. local time. He did not say anything or address the press.\n\nMany other leaders arrived Monday morning via bus; the Bidens arrived separately. British Prime Minister Liz Truss and husband Hugh O'Leary, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Macron, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and wife Michelle Bolsonaro and Israeli President Isaac Herzog and wife Michal Herzog were also spotted arriving.\n\nThe president signed the official condolence book and attended a reception Sunday at Buckingham Palace hosted by King Charles III.\n\nBiden is among many world leaders who traveled to the United Kingdom to honor Queen Elizabeth’s long reign. During his visit, Biden told media the queen \"was the same in person as her image: decent, honorable and all about service.\"\n\n\"Our hearts go out to the royal family, King Charles and all of the family. It’s a loss that leaves a giant hole and sometimes you think you’ll never overcome it,\" the president said, adding that he told Charles the queen will be with him \"every step of the way, every moment.\"\n\nThe day before the funeral:Biden arrives in London for funeral; Queen's grandchildren stand vigil by coffin\n\nTom Parker Bowles, more royals' family members arrive\n\nLess than an hour and a half before the funeral is set to begin, notable arrivals connected to the royal family began to trickle in. Queen Consort Camilla's family was also photographed arriving at Westminster Abbey, including Laura Lopes, Camilla's 44-year-old daughter, and Tom Parker Bowles, her 47-year-old son. Princess Kate's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, were also photographed upon arrival.\n\nCamilla's new title, explained:What's the difference between queen and 'Queen Consort'?\n\nWhere will Queen Elizabeth II be buried?\n\nThe queen will be buried at St George Chapel at Windsor Castle, where many of her ancestors are buried, including her parents, King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother.\n\nFollowing the funeral at Westminster Abbey, the coffin procession will begin, joined by King Charles, other members of the royal family, past and present members of the queen's household, governors general and prime ministers of the realms.\n\nQueen Elizabeth II's funeral details:When is it? Will it be on TV? Your questions, answered\n\nKing Charles thanks the public for 'messages of condolence' ahead of queen's funeral\n\nAhead of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, King Charles III issued a statement Sunday evening thanking people in Britain and across the world for \"the many messages of condolence.\"\n\n\"Over the last ten days, my wife and I have been so deeply touched,\" the king said. \"In London, Edinburgh, Hillsborough and Cardiff we were moved beyond measure by everyone who took the trouble to come and pay their respects to the lifelong service of my dear mother.\"\n\n\"As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I wanted simply to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those countless people who have been such a support and comfort to my family and myself in this time of grief,\" Charles concluded his statement.\n\nAhead of the queen's funeral Monday, a new photograph was released Sunday.\n\nAccording to the royal family on Facebook, the photo was taken to mark the queen's Platinum Jubilee earlier this year. She was the first British monarch to reach this milestone.\n\n\"Tomorrow, millions will come together to commemorate her remarkable life,\" the post read.\n\nPrince Charles is now King Charles III. Here's what to know about UK's new monarch.\n\nHow old is Westminster Abbey, site of Queen Elizabeth funeral?\n\nWestminster Abbey, where Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral will be held Monday, has a centuries-long association with the royal family, hosting generations of coronations, royal weddings and funerals.\n\nThe church, which was consecrated in 1065 and “has been the setting for every coronation since 1066” and 16 royal weddings, a statement on the abbey’s website says.\n\n“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's connection with Westminster Abbey ran like a thread through her early life and her long reign,” the site says. “As an 11-year-old girl, she watched as her father was crowned here. As a young adult, she married here and was crowned here.”\n\nFourteen English monarchs were buried there between 1066 and 1760, including Queen Elizabeth I, the daughter of King Henry VIII, who was interred in the abbey in 1603. The Unknown Warrior, whose body was brought from France in 1920, is buried in the abbey’s nave. Author Charles Dickens is among those buried in Poets' Corner of the abbey.\n\nThe funeral of Princess Diana was held at the abbey in 1997 and the Queen Mother’s funeral took place there in 2002. More recently, Prince William and Duchess Kate, now the Prince and Princess of Wales, were married there in 2011.\n\nVisual guide to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey\n\nQueen's funeral more than ceremony, designed to show monarchy's stability\n\nThe queen, who died Sept. 8 in Scotland at age 96 after 70 years on the throne, was widely considered the glue holding the U.K. together. She was also the most canny of her Windsor ancestors about using ceremony and splendor to bond the monarchy and the people who pay for it.\n\nNot since 1965, for former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, has Britain mounted a state funeral, which is usually reserved for monarchs, with exceptions for distinguished figures such as Churchill, the queen's first prime minister of her reign.\n\nRoyal funerals are planned decades in advance by governments and the crown, and the plans are updated regularly. The monarch plays a crucial role in deciding details. The choice of flowers in the wreath on her coffin, the music and prayer selections, even the bespoke design of the Royal Hearse (lots of glass and inside light so the casket can be seen even at night), were all decisions made by the queen.\n\nSurvival of the monarchy:Why Queen Elizabeth II's funeral is more than just ceremony\n\nMourners line the streets during queen's funeral\n\nAt 6 a.m. local time, snipers were on rooftops, sniffer dogs were on the streets, drains were being searched and surveillance drones have been banned from all of central London. Around 20 miles of barriers have been erected to control crowds as the queen’s coffin travels the short distance from Westminster Hall, where it is lying-in-state, to Westminster Abbey, and then onward to Windsor Castle after the funeral for burial.\n\nA full five hours before the funeral gets underway, London’s transportation network was already busy on a public holiday, with the subway system seeing members of the public rushing to secure viewing spots in and around Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster. Many carried small fold-up chairs, and Londoners almost entirely wore black in the quiet of the city. Volunteers in purple vests every few yards provided help with directions and other needs.\n\nHyde Park, one of London's central parks, is a designated screening spot for Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral on Monday. The 11 a.m.-ceremony will be broadcast live on large screens for attendees to see for free at the park, and the Hyde Park site will show the procession through London following the funeral, the procession through Windsor and the Committal Service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.\n\nSigns and staff are present across the city to direct people to either the park or other \"viewing areas\" where they may catch a real glimpse of the state funeral route. The park and viewing areas include dedicated spots for anyone who has an accessibility need, including British Sign Language interpreters and a dedicated location for wheelchair users.\n\nPeople watched the funeral and procession from almost everywhere – lining the streets 10-deep to sitting on blankets in parks.\n\nLucy Hartnell, 26, from Hertfordshire, organized a picnic at Hyde Park of what she and friends assumed were “queen favorites” including strawberries, cucumber finger sandwiches, Prosecco, cupcakes and chips. They took the tube into London and were \"shocked\" how easy it was for them to get to Hyde Park to view the funeral.\n\nThey said they attended to not miss a big event and aren’t really pro-royal or anti-royal, which has been a large debate among young people.\n\n\"We’re not super against the royals or for them, we just wanted to be part of them moment,\" Hartnell said.\n\nThey said the transition to a king likely won’t affect them, but they said the area where they grew up is very pro-monarchy. \"Our grandparents care a lot. We don’t care that much either way. People our age are like 'we should get rid of the monarchy.' But no one cares enough to actually do anything about it … we just like having them,\" she said.\n\nContributing: Nicole Fallert, Kim Hjelmgaard, Jane Onyanga-Omara, Maria Puente, Laura Trujillo, Amy Haneline and Morgan Hines, USA TODAY; Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/09/19"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/world/pope-benedict-death-final-letter/index.html", "title": "Former Pope Benedict XVI asks for forgiveness, thanks God in final ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nFormer Pope Benedict XVI, who died Saturday in a monastery in the Vatican at the age of 95, asked for forgiveness for those he has “wronged” in the spiritual testament published following his death.\n\nBenedict, who was the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, passed away on Saturday, according to a statement from the Vatican.\n\nHe was elected pope in April 2005, following John Paul II’s death.\n\nDuring the testament, which consisted of a letter containing the pope’s final words, Benedict spoke of the “many reasons” he had to be thankful for his life.\n\nIn the letter dated August 29, 2006, the former pope thanked God for guiding him “well” throughout life. He also expressed gratitude to his parents who he said gave him “life in a difficult time.”\n\nHe went on to thank his sister for her “selfless” help and his brother for the “clarity of judgment” he shared with him.\n\nBenedict was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis, who has made moves to soften the Vatican’s position on abortion and homosexuality, as well as doing more to deal with the sexual abuse crisis which engulfed the church in recent years and clouded Benedict’s legacy.\n\nBenedict asked for forgiveness\n\nIn April 2019, Benedict discussed the sex abuse crisis in a public letter, claiming it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalization of the church’s moral teachings.\n\nIn January 2020, Benedict was forced to distance himself from a book widely seen as undercutting Francis as he considered whether to allow married men to become priests in certain cases. The book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” argued in favor of the centuries-old tradition of priestly celibacy within the Catholic Church. Benedict was originally listed as co-author, but later clarified he had only contributed one section of the text.\n\nA year later, Benedict came under fire over his time as archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, following the publication of a church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there.\n\nIn the 2006 letter, the former pope asked “sincerely” for “forgiveness” for those he “wronged in any way,” in his letter.\n\nIn the closing words, the former pontiff asked “humbly,” despite all his “sins and shortcomings,” he be welcomed by God into heaven.\n\nIn a separate letter published by the Vatican in February 2022, Benedict issued a general apology to survivors of abuse, writing: “Once again I can only express to all the victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness,” but he admitted to no personal or specific wrongdoing.\n\nThere is no suggestion his request for forgiveness in his final letter relates to the Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse accusations against priests.", "authors": ["Delia Gallagher Niamh Kennedy Emma Tucker", "Delia Gallagher", "Niamh Kennedy", "Emma Tucker"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/02/africa/desmond-tutu-aquamation-intl/index.html", "title": "Aquamation: The green alternative to cremation chosen by ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nFamily members gathered to say their goodbyes to anti-apartheid hero Desmond Tutu at a private service at St. George’s Cathedral on Sunday, where his ashes were interred in Cape Town and laid to rest.\n\nAt his request, the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s body underwent aquamation – considered to be a greener alternative to cremation – South Africa’s Anglican Church confirmed to CNN on Saturday.\n\nAquamation is a water-based process whose scientific name is “alkaline hydrolysis”, in which a “combination of gentle water flow, temperature, and alkalinity are used to accelerate the breakdown of organic materials” when a body is laid to rest in soil, according to Bio-Response Solutions, a US company which specializes in the process.\n\nThe company’s website says the process “uses 90% less energy than flame cremation and does not emit any harmful greenhouse gases.”\n\nAccording to the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), an international non-profit organization, alkaline hydrolysis is sometimes referred to as flameless cremation.\n\nThe body is placed in an alkaline hydrolysis machine, comprised of an airtight chamber filled with a solution made of water and alkaline chemicals. The chamber is then heated, liquifying the body and leaving only bone behind, according to CANA’s website.\n\nOnce the bones are dried they can be pulverized. “The process results in approximately 32% more cremated remains than flame-based cremation and may require a larger urn,” according to CANA.\n\nTutu's coffin is carried out of St. George's Cathedral in Cape Town at the end of his funeral service on Saturday. Nic Bothma/Pool/AP\n\nTutu was passionate about protecting the environment – he gave many speeches and wrote many articles about the need to act to tackle the climate crisis. In 2007, he wrote a piece titled “This Fatal Complacency” for the Guardian in which he addressed the worrying impact that climate change was having in the Global South and on poor communities, as much of North America and Europe was yet to face extreme weather conditions caused by the climate emergency at this time.\n\nAs well as requesting an eco-friendly alternative to cremation for his body, Tutu also took other steps to ensure his funeral would be as modest as his lifestyle was – his body laid in state in a simple pine coffin, which was the “cheapest available” at his request, his foundations said.", "authors": ["Ghazi Balkiz Jennifer Hauser", "Ghazi Balkiz", "Jennifer Hauser"], "publish_date": "2022/01/02"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/football/qatar-2022-world-cup-migrant-workers-human-rights-spt-intl/index.html", "title": "Migrant workers helped build Qatar's World Cup tournament, now ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nKamal was standing outside a shop with other migrant workers, having finished yet another grueling working day, when he and – he says – a few others were arrested this August. Without explanation, the 24-year-old says he was put into a vehicle and, for the next week, kept in a Qatari jail, the location and name of which he does not know.\n\n“When they arrested me, I couldn’t say anything, not a single word, as I was so scared,” he told CNN Sport, speaking at home in southern Nepal where he has been working on a farm since being deported three months ago.\n\nKamal – CNN has changed the names of the Nepali workers to protect them from retaliation – is one of many migrant workers wanting to tell the world of their experiences in Qatar, a country that will this month host one of sport’s greatest, most lucrative, spectacles – the World Cup, a tournament which usually unites the world as millions watch the spectacular goals and carefully-choreographed celebrations.\n\nIt will be a historic event, the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, but one also mired in controversy. Much of the build-up to this tournament has been on more sober matters, that of human rights, from the deaths of migrant workers and the conditions many have endured in Qatar, to LGBTQ and women’s rights.\n\nKamal says he has yet to be paid the 7,000 Qatari Riyal bonus (around $1,922) he says he is entitled to from his previous employers, nor 7,000 Riyal in insurance for injuring two fingers at work.\n\n“I wasn’t told why I was being arrested. People are just standing there … some are walking with their grocery [sic], some are just sitting there consuming tobacco products … they just arrest you,” he adds, before explaining he could not ask questions as he does not speak Arabic.\n\nA worker is seen inside the Lusail Stadium during a stadium tour on December 20, 2019, in Doha, Qatar. Francois Nel/Getty Images\n\nDescribing the conditions in the cell he shared with 24 other Nepali migrant workers, he says he was provided with a blanket and a pillow, but the mattress on the floor he had to sleep on was riddled with bed bugs.\n\n“Inside the jail, there were people from Sri Lanka, Kerala (India), Pakistan, Sudan, Nepal, African, Philippines. There were around 14-15 units. In one jail, there were around 250-300 people. Around 24-25 people per room,” he says.\n\n“When they take you to the jail, they don’t give you a room right away. They keep you in a veranda. After a day or two, once a room is empty, they keep people from one country in one room.”\n\nUsing a smuggled phone, he spoke to friends, one of whom, he says, brought his belongings – including his passport – to the jail, though he says he was sent home after the Nepali embassy had sent a paper copy of his passport to the jail. CNN has reached out to the embassy but has yet to receive a response.\n\n“When they put me on the flight, I started thinking: ‘Why are they sending workers back all of a sudden? It’s not one, two, 10 people … they are sending 150, 200, 300 workers on one flight,’” he says.\n\n“Some workers who were just roaming outside wearing (work) dress were sent back. They don’t even allow you to collect your clothes. They just send you back in the cloth you are wearing.”\n\nKamal believes he was arrested because he had a second job, which is illegal under Qatar’s 2004 Labour Law and allows authorities to cancel a worker’s work permit. He says he worked an extra two to four hours a day to supplement his income as he was not making enough money working six eight-hour days a week.\n\nQatar has a 90-day grace period in which a worker can remain in the country legally without another sponsor, but if they have not had their permit renewed or reactivated in that time they risk being arrested or deported for being undocumented.\n\nHe says he received paperwork upon his arrest, which Amnesty International says would likely have explained why he was being detained, but as it was in Arabic he did not know what it said and no translator was provided.\n\nLaborers rest in green space along the corniche in Doha, Qatar, on June 23. Christopher Pike/Bloomberg/Getty Images/FILE\n\nA Qatari government official told CNN in a statement: “Any claims that workers are being jailed or deported without explanation are untrue. Action is only taken in very specific cases, such as if an individual participates in violence.”\n\nThe official added that 97% of all eligible workers were covered by Qatar’s Wage Protection System, established in 2018, “which ensures wages are paid in full and on time.” Further work was being done to strengthen the system, the official said.\n\nSome workers never returned home\n\nWith the opening match just days away, on-the-pitch matters are a mere footnote because this tournament has come at a cost to workers who left their families in the belief that they would reap financial rewards in one of the world’s richest countries per capita. Some would never return home. None of the three Nepali workers CNN spoke to were richer for their experience. Indeed, they are in debt and full of melancholy.\n\nThe Guardian reported last year that 6,500 South Asian migrant workers have died in Qatar since the country was awarded the World Cup in 2010, most of whom were involved in low-wage, dangerous labor, often undertaken in extreme heat.\n\nThe report did not connect all 6,500 deaths with World Cup infrastructure projects and has not been independently verified by CNN.\n\nHassan Al Thawadi – the man in charge of leading Qatar’s preparations – told CNN’s Becky Anderson that the Guardian’s 6,500 figure was a “sensational headline” that was misleading and that the report lacked context.\n\nA government official told CNN there had been three work-related deaths on stadiums and 37 non-work-related deaths. In a statement, the official said the Guardian’s figures were “inaccurate” and “wildly misleading.”\n\n“The 6,500 figure takes the number of all foreign worker deaths in the country over a 10-year period and attributes it to the World Cup,” the official said. “This is not true and neglects all other causes of death including illness, old age and traffic accidents. It also fails to recognize that only 20% of foreign workers in Qatar are employed on construction sites.”\n\nIt has been widely reported that Qatar has spent $220 billion leading up to the tournament, which would make it the most expensive World Cup in history, though this likely includes infrastructure not directly associated with stadium construction. A spokesperson for the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) which, since its formation in 2011, has been responsible for overseeing the infrastructure projects and planning for the World Cup, told CNN that the tournament budget was $6.5 billion, without expanding on what that cost covered.\n\nEight new stadiums rose from the desert, and the Gulf state expanded its airport, constructed new hotels, rail and highways. All would have been constructed by migrant workers, who – according to Amnesty International – account for 90% of the workforce in a near-three million population.\n\nAn aerial view of Al Janoub stadium at sunrise on June 21 in Al Wakrah, Qatar. David Ramos/Getty Images\n\nSince 2010, migrant workers have faced delayed or unpaid wages, forced labor, long hours in hot weather, employer intimidation and an inability to leave their jobs because of the country’s sponsorship system, human rights organizations have found.\n\nHowever, the health, safety and dignity of “all workers employed on our projects has remained steadfast,” a statement from the SC read.\n\n“Our efforts have resulted in significant improvements in accommodation standards, health and safety regulations, grievance mechanisms, healthcare provision and reimbursements of illegal recruitment fees to workers.\n\n“While the journey is on-going, we are committed to delivering the legacy we promised. A legacy that improves lives and lays the foundation for fair, sustainable and lasting labour reforms.”\n\nLast year, in an interview with CNN Sport anchor Amanda Davies, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that while “more needs to be done,” progress had been made.\n\n“I’ve seen the great evolution that has happened in Qatar, which was recognized – I mean not by FIFA – but by labor unions around the world, by international organizations,” said Infantino.\n\n‘It was difficult to breathe’\n\nWe are, unusually, writing about a World Cup in November because the competition had to be moved from its usual June-July slot to Qatar’s winter as the heat is so extreme in the country’s summer months – temperatures can reach around 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) in June – that playing in such conditions could have posed a health risk to players.\n\nHari is 27 years old and, like many of his compatriots, left Nepal for Qatar as his family – he was one of five siblings with just his father at home – desperately needed money, primarily to eat. Since 2013, Nepal’s government-mandated minimum wage has been set at $74 a month, according to minimum-wage.org. He says that his monthly wage in Qatar was 700 Rial a month ($192).\n\nAfter moving to Qatar in 2014, he worked in four places during his four-year stay: at a supermarket, a hotel and airport, but the most difficult job, he says, was in construction when he had to carry tiles up buildings “six to seven stories above” in overbearing heat, plus lay pipelines in deep pits.\n\n“It was too hot,” he tells CNN. “The foreman was very demanding and used to complain a lot. The foreman used to threaten to reduce our salaries and overtime pay.\n\n“I had to carry tiles on my shoulder to the top. It was very difficult going up through the scaffolding. In the pipeline work, there were 5-7 meters deep pits, we had to lay the stones and concrete, it was difficult due to the heat. It was difficult to breathe. We had to come upstairs using a ladder to drink water.\n\n“It never happened to me, but I saw some workers fainting at work. I saw one Bengali, one Nepali … two to three people faint while working. They took the Bengali to medical services. I’m not sure what happened to him.”\n\nDuring his time in Qatar, government regulations generally prohibited workers from working outdoors between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. from June 15 to August 31. He said one company he worked for followed these rules.\n\nHe added: “At some places, they didn’t have water. Some places, they didn’t provide us water on time. At some places, we used to go to houses nearby asking for water.”\n\nIn this photo taken in May 2015 during a government organized media tour, workers use heavy machinery at the Al-Wakra Stadium being built for the 2022 World Cup. Maya Alleruzzo/AP/FILE\n\nWorking long hours in extreme heat has, some non-governmental organizations believe, caused a number of deaths and put lives at risk in Qatar.\n\nIn 2019, research published in the Cardiology Journal, exploring the relationship between the deaths of more than 1,300 Nepali workers between 2009 and 2017 and heat exposure, found a “strong correlation” between heat stress and young workers dying of cardiovascular problems in the summer months.\n\nThe government official told CNN that there had been a “consistent decline” in the mortality rate of migrant workers, including a decline in heat stress disorders, “thanks in large part to our comprehensive heat stress legislation.”\n\n“Qatar has always acknowledged that work remains to be done, notably to hold unscrupulous employers to account,” the government official added. “Systemic reform does not happen overnight and shifting the behavior of every company takes time as is the case with any country around the world.”\n\n‘Heat does not typically injure on its own’\n\nNatasha Iskander, Professor of Urban Planning and Public Service at New York University, tells CNN that heat can kill “in ways that are confusing and unclear.”\n\n“Fatal heat stroke can look like a heart attack or a seizure. Sometimes, heat kills through the body, amplifying manageable and often silent conditions, like diabetes and hypertension, and turning them into sudden killers,” she explains.\n\n“As a result, Qatar, in the death certificates that it has issued after migrant construction workers have collapsed, has been able to push back against the correlation between heat stress and deaths and claim instead that the deaths are due to natural causes, even though the more proximate cause is work in the heat.”\n\nDetermining the number of workers injured by heat is even harder, she says, because many injuries may not become apparent until years later, when migrants have returned home and young men “find that their kidneys no longer function, that they suffer from chronic kidney disease, or that their hearts have begun to fail, displaying levels of cardiac weakness that are debilitating.”\n\n“Heat does not typically injure on its own,” she adds. “Workers are exposed to heat and heat dangers through the labor relations on Qatari worksites. The long hours, physically intense work, the forced overtime, the abusive conditions, the bullying on site all shape how exposed workers are to heat. Additionally, conditions beyond the worksite also augmented heat’s power to harm – things like poor sleep, insufficient nutrition or a room that was not cool enough to allow the body to reset after a day in the heat. In Qatar, the employer housed workers in labor camps, and workers as a matter of policy were segregated to industrial areas, where living accommodations were terrible.”\n\nForeign laborers working on the construction site of the Al-Wakrah football stadium, one of Qatar's 2022 World Cup stadiums, walk back to their accomodation at the Ezdan 40 compound after finishing work on May 4, 2015, in Doha's Al-Wakrah southern suburbs. Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty Images/FILE\n\nAccording to Amnesty International, Qatari authorities have not investigated “thousands” of deaths of migrant workers over the past decade “despite evidence of links between premature deaths and unsafe working conditions.” That these deaths are not being recorded as work-related prevents families from receiving compensation, the advocacy group states.\n\nIn its statement, the SC said that its commitment to publicly disclose non-work-related deaths went beyond the requirements of the UK’s Health and Safety Executive Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences regulations (RIDDOR), which defines and provides classification for how to document work-related and non-work-related incidents.\n\nThe statement added: “The SC investigates all non-work-related deaths and work-related fatalities in line with our Incident Investigation Procedure to identify contributory factors and establish how they could have been prevented. This process involves evidence collection and analysis and witness interviews to establish the facts of the incident.”\n\nAmnesty International’s Ella Knight told CNN Sport that her organization would continue to push Qatar to “thoroughly investigate” deaths of migrant workers, including past deaths, to “ensure the families of the deceased have the opportunity to rebuild their lives.”\n\nBarun Ghimire is a human rights lawyer based in Kathmandu whose work focuses on the exploitation of Nepali migrants working abroad. He tells CNN that the families he advocates for have not received satisfactory information on their loved ones’ deaths. “Families send out healthy, young family member to work and they receive news that the family member died when they were sleeping,” he says. In a separate interview, he told CNN last year: “The Qatar World Cup is really the bloody cup – the blood of migrant workers.”\n\nLast year, Qatari legislation was strengthened regarding outdoor working conditions, expanding summertime working hours during which outdoor work is prohibited – replacing legislation introduced in 2007 – and additionally putting into law that “all work must stop if the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) raises beyond 32.1C (89.8F) in a particular workplace.” The regulations also mandate annual health checks for workers, as well as mandatory risk assessments.\n\n“We recognize that heat stress is a particular issue in the summer months in Qatar,” a Qatari government official said. “In May 2021, Qatar introduced a requirement for companies to conduct annual health checks for workers, as well as mandatory risk assessments to mitigate the dangers of heat stress. Companies are expected to adopt flexible, self-monitored working hours where possible, adjust shift rotations, enforce regular breaks, provide free cold drinking water and shaded workspaces, and adhere to all other guidelines with respect to heat stress outlined by the Ministry of Labour.\n\n“Every summer, Qatar’s labor inspectors carry out thousands of unannounced visits to work sites across the country to ensure that heat stress rules are being followed,” the official added. “Between June and September 2022, 382 work sites were ordered to close for violating the rules.”\n\nWorkers walk to the Lusail Stadium -- one of the 2022 Qatar World Cup stadiums -- in Lusail on December 20, 2019. Hassan Ammar/AP\n\nIskander said a heat point of 32.1C WBGT was “already dangerous.”\n\n“Working at the physical intensity that construction workers do in Qatar for any amount of time at that temperature is damaging to the body,” she explained.\n\n“The regulation relied on the assumption that workers would be able to self-pace and rest as needed whenever they experienced heat stress. Anyone who has ever spent any amount of time on a Qatari construction site knows that workers have no ability to self-pace.”\n\nKnight adds: “The fact investigations into migrant workers deaths are often not happening precludes the possibility of greater protections being implemented because if you don’t know what is really happening to these people how can you then implement and enforce effective measures to increase their protection?”\n\nFor the majority of his time in Qatar, Hari said he felt sad. He would watch planes take off during his six months tending the airport gardens and question why he was in the country. But he had paid 90,000 Nepali rupees ($685) to a Nepali recruitment company that facilitated his move. He was also told, he says, by the company he had joined that he would have had to pay 2,000 to 3,000 Riyal ($549-$823) to buy himself out of his contract.\n\nHis friends, he said, counseled him as he continued to work long, lonely days for, Hari says, not enough money to live and save for his family. Amnesty International says many migrants pay high fees to “unscrupulous recruitment agents in their home country” which make the workers scared to leave their jobs when they get to Qatar.\n\nNow, he is a father-of-two, and work is plowing fields in Nepal as a tractor driver, but Hari hopes one day to work abroad again, his heart set on Malaysia. “I don’t want my children to go through what I did. I want to build a house, buy some land. That’s what I am thinking. But let’s see what God has planned,” he says.\n\n‘Our dreams never came true’\n\nSunit has been back in Nepal since August after working just eight months in Qatar. He had expected to be there for two years, but the collapse of the construction company he worked for meant he and many others returned with money still owed to them, he says. He struggles to find work in Nepal, meaning feeding his two children and paying school fees is difficult.\n\nHe had dreamed of watching World Cup matches from the rooftop of the hotel he had helped build. One of the stadiums – the name of which he does not know – was a 10-minute walk from the hotel. “We used to talk about it,” he says of the World Cup. “But we had to return, and our dreams never came true. The stadium activities were visible from the hotel. We could see the stadium from the hotel rooftop.”\n\nIn helping construct the city center hotel, the name of which he doesn’t remember, he would carry bags of plaster mix and cement, weighing from 30 to 50 kilos, on his shoulders up to 10 to 12 floors, he says.\n\n“The lift was rarely functional. Some people couldn’t carry it and dropped it halfway. If you don’t finish your job, you were threatened saying the salary would be deducted for that day,” he says. “The foreman used to complain that we were taking water breaks as soon as we got to work. They used to threaten us saying: ‘We will not pay you for the day.’ We said: ‘Go ahead. We are humans, we need to drink water.’\n\n“It was very hot. It used to take 1.5 to two hours to get to the top. I used to get tired. I used to stop on the way. Then proceed again slowly. Yes, the supervisors used to yell at us. But what could we do?”\n\nHe says he had paid an agent in Nepal 240,000 Nepali rupees (around $1,840) before leaving for Qatar. He says he has filed a case with the police about the agent as he had been unable to fulfill his two-year contract, but there have been no developments. He says the owners of the company he worked for in Qatar were arrested because they did not pay laborers. The company did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment, neither did it respond to questions from the Business & Human Rights Centre, an advocacy group, about protests over unpaid wages.\n\nQatar has expanded its airport, constructed new hotels, and rail and highways over the last decade. Britta Pedersen/picture alliance/Getty Images\n\nFor a month, he says, he was in his accommodation with no work or money to buy food – he borrowed to eat – so he and his fellow workers called the police, who brought food with them.\n\n“The police came again after 10-15 days and said we have arrested the company people. (The police) distributed food again,” he says. “They told us the company has collapsed and the government will send all the workers back home.”\n\n“I’m extremely sad,” he adds. “I mean, it is what it is. Nothing would change by regretting it. I get mad (at the company) but what can I do? Even if I had tried to fight back, it would have been my loss.”\n\nThe SC said it has established what it claims is a “first-of-its-kind” Workers’ Welfare Forum, which it said allowed workers to elect a representative on their behalf and, when companies failed to comply with the WWF, it steps in, demands better and alerts the authorities.\n\nSince 2016, the SC said 69 contractors had been demobilized, 235 contractors placed on a watch list and a further seven blacklisted. “We understand there is always room for improvement,” the statement added.\n\n‘Expertise and heroism’\n\nQatar, a peninsula smaller than Connecticut and the smallest World Cup host in history, is set to host an estimated 1.5 million fans over the month-long tournament, which begins on November 20. There are already reports of accommodation concerns for such a vast number of visitors.\n\nThe spotlight is no doubt on this Gulf state, as has progressively been the case since it was controversially awarded the tournament over a decade ago – though Qatari officials have previously “strongly denied” to CNN the allegations of bribery which has surrounded its bid.\n\nSuch attention has brought about reforms, significantly dismantling the Kafala system which gives companies and private citizens control over migrant workers’ employment and immigration status.\n\nIn Qatar, migrant workers can now change jobs freely without permission from their employer. But Knight adds: “Another aspect of the Kafala system, the criminal charge of absconding still exists, and this, along with other tools that are still available to employers, means that, fundamentally, the power balance between workers and employers, the imbalance remains great.”\n\nKnight says unpaid wages is still an issue as the wage protection system “lacks enforcement mechanisms,” while she also says employers can cancel a worker’s ID at a “push of a button,” meaning they risk arrest and deportation. Additionally, labor committees intended to help workers are under-resourced and “lack the capacity to deal with the number of cases that are coming to them.”\n\nMigrant laborers work at a construction site at the Aspire Zone in Doha on March 26, 2016. Naseem Zeitoon/Reuters/FILE\n\nGhimire agrees that there have been a few positive changes to employment laws but adds that it is “more show and tell.”\n\n“Many workers who work in construction are untouched, so there’s still exploitation going on,” he tells CNN.\n\nQatar’s government official told CNN work remained to be done but that “systemic reform does not happen overnight, and shifting the behavior of every company takes time as is the case with any country around the world.\n\n“Over the last decade, Qatar has done more than any other country in the region to strengthen the rights of foreign workers, and we will continue to work in close consultation with international partners to strengthen reforms and enforcement.”\n\nHuman Rights Watch’s #PayUpFIFA campaign wants Qatar and FIFA to pay at least $440 million – an amount equal to the prize money being awarded at the World Cup – to the families of migrant workers who have been harmed or killed in preparation for the tournament.\n\nFamilies of workers who have died face uncertain futures, HRW says, especially children. Those who survived and returned home, cheated of wages or injured, remain trapped in debt, it says, “with dire consequences for their families.”\n\nGhimire says compensation is key, but so too is making the world aware of what has taken place to make this tournament happen.\n\n“People are concerned about clothing brands, and the meat they eat, but what about mega events? Isn’t it time we ask how this was possible?” he asks.\n\n“Everyone who will watch should know at what cost this was even possible and how workers were treated. Players should know, sponsors should know.\n\n“Would it be the same situation if it was European workers dying in Qatar? If it was Argentinean workers, would Argentina be concerned about playing?\n\n“Because it’s migrant workers from poor south Asian countries, they’re invisible people. Forced labor, death of workers, while making a World Cup is unacceptable. As a football fan, it makes me sad; as a lawyer, it makes me really disappointed.”\n\nEarlier this month, Qatar’s Labor Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri rejected the prospect of a remedy fund.\n\nA Qatar government official said the country’s Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund was “effective in providing compensation for workers and their families” with the fund reimbursing workers with more than $350 million so far this year.\n\nIn terms of the SC’s efforts to ensure repayment of recruitment fees, as of December 2021, workers have received $22.6 million, with an additional $5.7 million committed by contractors, according to FIFA.\n\nLast month, FIFA’s Deputy Secretary General Alasdair Bell said “compensation is certainly something that we’re interested in progressing.”\n\nA general view shows the exterior of the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha -- one of eight stadiums that will host World Cup matches KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/AFP via Getty Images\n\nIt has been widely reported that FIFA has urged nations participating in the World Cup to focus on football when the tournament kicks off.\n\nFIFA confirmed to CNN that a letter signed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and the governing body’s secretary general Fatma Samoura was sent out on November 3 to the 32 nations participating in the global showpiece but would not divulge the contents. However, a number of European federations have issued a joint statement saying they would campaign at the tournament on human rights and for a migrant workers center and a compensation fund for migrant workers.\n\nThe motto for Qatar’s bid team in 2010 was ‘Expect Amazing.’ In many ways, this year’s World Cup has replicated that maxim.\n\nAs NYU’s Iskander says: “One of the things that is not really covered in the coverage of the World Cup and the coverage of this enormous construction boom is the expertise and heroism of the workers who built it.\n\n“They built buildings that were unimaginable to everyone, including the engineers and designers, until they were built. They performed acts of bravery that are unsung. They operated at levels of technical complexity and sophistication that are unparalleled. And yet their contribution to building the World Cup is really rarely featured, downplayed.\n\n“They are represented, generally speaking, as exploited and oppressed. And it’s true that they have been exploited and oppressed, but they are also the master craftsmen that built this Cup, and they are enormously proud of what they have built.”\n\nHosting this tournament has undoubtedly put Qatar under the global spotlight. The question is whether the world can enjoy watching what the migrant workers built, knowing the true cost of this billion-dollar extravaganza.", "authors": ["Aimee Lewis Pramod Acharya Sugam Pokharel", "Aimee Lewis", "Pramod Acharya", "Sugam Pokharel"], "publish_date": "2022/11/17"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/world/stone-age-child-burial-scn/index.html", "title": "Stone Age child's grave site in Finland reveals surprises | CNN", "text": "Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more.\n\nCNN —\n\nThe burial site of a young child who lived 8,000 years ago has been discovered in Eastern Finland, providing a rare glimpse into how Stone Age humans treated their deceased.\n\nThe Majoonsuo grave first drew the attention of researchers in 1992 in the municipality of Outokumpu when bright red ocher, a clay rich in iron, was spotted on the surface of a new service trail in the forest. Red ocher has been associated with rock art as well as ornamentation and burials.\n\nThe Finnish Heritage Agency began excavating the spot in 2018 due to concerns over erosion and motor traffic.\n\nLittle was found in the grave, but the surrounding soil revealed its secrets in a recent microscopic analysis published in September in the journal PLOS One.\n\nBright red ocher marked the spot of the grave, uncovered on a service road in a forest in Eastern Finland. Kristiina Mannermaa\n\nFinland’s Stone Age societies buried their dead in pits in the ground. The soil is so acidic in Finland that little remains preserved after thousands of years, which means traces of archaeological evidence are extremely rare.\n\nThe teeth of a child were found in the grave, as well as fragments of bird feathers, plant fibers and canine hair strands after an analysis using a painstaking protocol to uncover the microscopic evidence.\n\nTogether, these clues paint a portrait of the deceased.\n\nResearchers determined that the teeth belonged to a child between 3 and 10 years old. Two quartz arrowheads and two other quartz objects, thought to be grave goods, were also recovered.\n\nAbout 24 tiny feather fragments were found, and seven of them were associated with waterfowl. They represent the oldest feather fragments ever found in Finland. It’s possible that the child was laid to rest on a bed of down feathers, or the child was wrapped in clothing made from waterfowl, like an ancient parka or anorak.\n\nA falcon’s feather was also found in the grave, thought to be part of an arrow likely once attached to an arrowhead, or used as decoration on the child’s clothing.\n\nFine hairs found at the child’s feet belonged to either a dog or a wolf. It’s possible that one was buried at the child’s feet, or the child was wearing shoes made from the fur of a dog or wolf.\n\nThis image shows a possible canine hair from the grave viewed beneath an electron microscope. Tuija Kirkinen\n\n“Dogs buried with the deceased have been found in, for example, Skateholm, a famous burial site in southern Sweden dating back some 7,000 years,” said study coauthor Kristiina Mannermaa, researcher and associate professor in the University of Helsinki’s department of cultures, in a statement.\n\n“The discovery in Majoonsuo is sensational, even though there is nothing but hairs left of the animal or animals — not even teeth. We don’t even know whether it’s a dog or a wolf. The method used, demonstrates that traces of fur and feathers can be found even in graves several thousands of years old, including in Finland.”\n\nLead study author Tuija Kirkinen, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of Helsinki’s department of cultures, carried out the analysis of the plant- and animal-based materials within the soil.\n\nThe team collected 60 bags of soil samples and carefully separated organic matter from the soil using water. Three laboratories were used to search the samples for microparticles, fatty acids and carry out an analysis of the soil. The soil, stained by the red ocher, had to be gently sieved and was closely studied using electron microscopes and high-resolution images.\n\nShe works on the Animals Make Identities project, led by Mannermaa. The research group studies “social links between humans and animals in hunter-gatherer burial sites” in Northeast Europe. These links can unlock more insights into the deceased, who lived between 7,500 and 9,000 years ago. Kirkinen’s work is focused on developing methods to search for the minute remnants that help share ancient stories.\n\nKirkinen also found plant fibers that likely came from willows or nettles, which may have been used to make fishing nets, cords used to attach clothing or string bundles. The protocol she developed to search for fibers and fragments in the soil takes time, but it produced results.\n\n“The work is really slow and it really made my heart jump when I found minuscule fragments of past garments and grave furnishings, especially in Finland, where all unburnt bones tend to decompose,” she said.\n\n“This all gives us a very valuable insight about burial habits in the Stone Age, indicating how people had prepared the child for the journey after death.”", "authors": ["Ashley Strickland"], "publish_date": "2022/11/02"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/28/europe/pope-benedict-sick-pope-francis-intl/index.html", "title": "Former Pope Benedict is 'very sick', Pope Francis says | CNN", "text": "Rome CNN —\n\nPope Francis has said that his predecessor Pope Benedict, the 95-year-old former pontiff who resigned from the post nine years ago, is “very sick” after a deterioration in his health on Wednesday.\n\n“I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who sustains the Church in his silence. He is very sick,” Francis said during his general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.\n\n“We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end.”\n\nA Vatican spokesman later confirmed that “in the last few hours there has been a deterioration due to the advancement of (Benedict’s) age.”\n\n“The situation at the moment remains under control and continually monitored by his doctors,” the spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said, adding that Francis visited his predecessor at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in Vatican City after his general audience.\n\nArchbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, DC, asked Catholics and “folks of good will to pray for Benedict XVI,” in a Twitter post Wednesday.\n\n“He served our Church in many roles - priest, scholar, diocesan bishop, curial official, & Pontiff. May Christ reward him for his loving service,” Gregory said of Benedict.\n\nIn 2013, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by making the almost unprecedented decision to resign from his position, citing “advanced age.”\n\nBenedict’s announcement marked the first time a pope had stepped down in nearly 600 years. The last pope to resign before his death was Gregory XII, who in 1415 quit to end a civil war within the Catholic Church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.\n\nIn 2020, the Vatican said Benedict had suffered from a “painful but not serious condition,” following reports in German media that he was ill.\n\nTwo years earlier, in a rare public letter published in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Benedict wrote that “in the slow waning of my physical forces, inwardly I am on a pilgrimage toward Home.”\n\nBenedict’s legacy has been clouded by recent scrutiny of his time as Archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, after a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there was published in January.\n\nThe report found that he had been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two during his time in Munich – but failed to act, and that he had attended a meeting about an abusive priest.\n\nBenedict later pushed back against those allegations, admitting he had attended the meeting but denying he intentionally concealed his presence.\n\nIn a statement shared with CNN, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) spoke of the “mixed feelings” the public may have of Benedict. “Sadly, many clergy abuse victims are not out of the woods in terms of healing from their wounds and getting the justice they deserve,” SNAP wrote.", "authors": ["Delia Gallagher Rob Picheta", "Delia Gallagher", "Rob Picheta"], "publish_date": "2022/12/28"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/europe/joseph-ratzinger-pope-benedict-xvi-obituary-intl/index.html", "title": "Joseph Ratzinger, former Pope Benedict XVI, shaped Catholic ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nPope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose death at 95 was announced Saturday, was a powerful intellectual force who shaped the Catholic Church’s theology for more than a quarter century before shocking the world by resigning in 2013.\n\nWhile not quite unprecedented, Benedict’s resignation was highly unusual. Popes typically hold office until death, and the last pope to step down was Gregory XII, who quit in 1415 to end a civil war within the church.\n\nBookended by globally popular and charismatic popes – St. John Paul II and Pope Francis – Benedict cut a different figure. Friends and biographers described him as quiet and scholarly, more at home among theological tomes than adoring crowds.\n\nIn typical fashion, Benedict announced his unexpected resignation in Latin. He was 85 at the time and cited his advanced age as ill-suited for the demands of running the Catholic Church.\n\nThe German-born Benedict saw himself, and the church, as a bulwark against secular trends in Western society, particularly what he called the “dictatorship of relativism.” He often insisted that Catholics maintain a fortress mentality, saying perhaps a smaller, “purer” church would best maintain Catholicism’s traditions and teachings.\n\nAs Pope, Benedict was a polarizing figure. He was hailed by conservatives who admired his erudite writings and careful theology. But critics, particularly in the postmodern West, called him “God’s Rottweiler” for his staunch insistence on fidelity to church’s doctrine and his willingness to silence dissent.\n\n“He policed the boundaries of the faith,” said David Gibson, author of “The Rule of Benedict,” a biography of the former pope. “He was brilliant and brutally effective.”\n\nBenedict also came under fire for his handling of the sexual abuse crisis that engulfed the Catholic church during his years as a senior cleric. A damning report published in January 2022 found that he knew about priests who abused children but failed to act when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.\n\nThe son of a policeman\n\nJoseph Ratzinger was born and raised in Bavaria, where he briefly served in the Hitler Youth, despite his objections, and the German military during World War II. His father, a policeman, loathed the Nazis, according to biographers.\n\nRatzinger, like his elder brother Georg, saw their future in the Catholic Church, entering a German seminary in 1945. Once ordained, Ratzinger rose quickly through the church, establishing himself as a leading theologian. Originally a liberal thinker, he turned conservative in 1968 in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, which upended a number of Catholic teachings.\n\nIn 1977, Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Later that year, former Pope Paul VI made the German scholar a cardinal, a sign of his growing reputation within the church.\n\nFrom 1981 to 2005, Ratzinger ran the Vatican’s influential Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the office responsible for stating and policing church doctrine. He was, in effect, Catholicism’s chief theologian during this time, said Gibson, Benedict’s biographer.\n\n“His twenty-four years at the CDF were far more influential than his tenure as pope,” Gibson said.\n\nHis influence was certainly felt in the United States. In 1984, Ratzinger told the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans, to investigate one of its monks, Matthew Fox, for heresy. The Vatican expelled Fox from the order in 1993.\n\nIn 1999, Ratzinger effectively silenced an American nun and priest engaged in LGBTQ ministry because they would not affirm the “Church’s teaching regarding the intrinsic evil of homosexual acts.” The nun and priest were “permanently prohibited from any pastoral work involving homosexual persons.”\n\nBut Ratzinger eventually tired of the job, reportedly asking Pope John Paul II to appoint him as a librarian at the Vatican’s library. John Paul refused.\n\n‘Please don’t do this to me’\n\nRatzinger was dean of the College of Cardinals in 2005 when he became the sixth German to be picked as pope, the first since the 11th century. At the time, the church was facing several pressing issues, including declining popularity in parts of the world and a growing crisis over its role in handling sexual abuse accusations against priests.\n\nAs the conclave to appoint Pope John Paul II’s successor went on, Ratzinger said he quickly realized that he would be elected as the new Pope – though he was reluctant to assume the mantel of St. Peter.\n\n“At a certain point, I prayed to God, ‘Please don’t do this to me,’” he told a German audience in 2005. “Evidently, this time he didn’t listen to me.”\n\nUpon his election, Ratzinger took the name Benedict XVI as a nod to church history, he said. He chose the name to honor Benedict XV, who pursued peace during World War I, and the original St. Benedict, a monk “whose life evokes the Christian roots of Europe,” Ratzinger said.\n\nAt 78, he was the oldest person to have been elected pope since Pope Clement XII in 1730. Given his age, Benedict XVI was widely seen as a caretaker pope, a bridge to the next generation after the long tenure of John Paul II, a globe-trotting pontiff whose early youth and vigor gave way to such frailty in later years that he required help walking and was often hard to hear during public addresses.\n\nIn his tone, demeanor and actions, Benedict was notably different from his predecessor. Where John Paul wowed crowds around the world with his mastery of numerous languages, Benedict’s influence was felt through his erudite writings and theological rigor.\n\n“In a world which he considered relativist and secular, his main thrust was to re-establish a sense of Catholic identity for Catholics themselves,” said Delia Gallagher, CNN’s Vatican correspondent.\n\nAs Pope, Benedict often championed a back-to-basics approach. Three of his encyclicals – letters from the Pope to Catholics around the world – were based on the theological virtues of faith, hope and love.\n\nBill Donohue, of the conservative US Catholic League, credited Benedict for working to reduce friction among adherents of various faiths, something that was a key part of John Paul’s mission as well.\n\nBut critics say Benedict didn’t always choose his words wisely. During a speech in Regensburg, Germany in 2006, he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor who criticized Islam, calling it violent, “evil and inhuman.”\n\nHis remarks were sharply criticized by heads of states in the Middle East and Muslim groups throughout the world. Effigies of Benedict were burnt in Basra, Iraq, and elsewhere in predominantly Muslim countries.\n\nBenedict later apologized, saying he was “deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address.”\n\nCriticism over sexual abuse crisis\n\nBenedict became pope at the height of the molestation scandal involving Catholic priests, as complaints of sexual abuse and related lawsuits tore at the church and threatened its moral standing around the world.\n\nIn 2002, he asked Pope John Paul II to route all accusations of sexual abuse to his office, where he instituted changes meant to deal swiftly with accused priests. From 2004-2014, the Vatican defrocked 848 priests who raped or molested children and sanctioned another 2,572 with lesser penalties, according to the church. During that time, his office had received 3,400 accusations, according to the church.\n\nThe flood of accusations worldwide has waned at times but has never stopped.\n\nIn 2008, Benedict acknowledged “the shame which we have all felt” over abuse reports and said those responsible for the “evils” should face justice. Two years later he said abusive priests “disfigured their ministry” and brought “profound shame and regret” on the church.\n\nThat same year, 2010, he issued new rules aimed at stopping abuse. These included allowing church prosecution of suspected abusers for 20 years after the incidents occurred, up from 10 years previously. The rules also made it a church crime to download child pornography and allowed the pope to remove a priest without a formal Vatican trial.\n\nIn some cases, Benedict acted swiftly, as when he removed Marcial Maciel, a powerful Mexican priest who founded the conservative Legion of Christ, after years of allegations that he had sexually abused children.\n\n“No one did more to successfully address the problem of priestly sexual abuse than Joseph Ratzinger,” Donohue said.\n\nBut others such as the late Barbara Blaine, the former president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the opposite was true.\n\n“I would hate for him to be remembered as someone who did the right thing because from our perspective, Pope Benedict’s record has been abysmal,” said Blaine, who died in 2017.\n\nIn 2010, The New York Times reported that church officials, including Ratzinger, had failed to act in the case of a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting up to 200 boys. The Times reported that church officials stopped proceedings against the priest after he wrote Ratzinger.\n\nAlso in 2010, the Times reported that the future pope – while serving as the archbishop in Munich – had been copied on a memo informing him that a priest accused of molesting children was being returned to pastoral work. At the time, a spokesman for the archdiocese said Ratzinger received hundreds of memos a year, and it was highly unlikely that he had read it.\n\nTwelve years later, a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy in the diocese found that Ratzinger had as archbishop been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two that had taken place while he was in office – but failed to act. In a letter published by the Vatican in February 2022, Benedict issued a general apology to survivors of abuse, writing: “Once again I can only express to all the victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness.”\n\nOver the years, victims’ groups pressed the International Criminal Court to prosecute Benedict in the sex abuse scandal.\n\nDavid Gibson, Benedict’s biographer, said that, like many in the Vatican, the former pope was initially slow to recognize the magnitude of the church’s abuse crisis.\n\n“Like so many in the church, he was part of the learning curve,” Gibson said.\n\nThe anti-Francis\n\nUltimately, however, Benedict showed little skill or interest in governing the vast and complex world of the Catholic Church, Gibson said.\n\nIn 2012, his butler was convicted of theft for leaking confidential papal documents to fight what he saw as deep corruption within the Holy See.\n\nA year later, Benedict announced his resignation.\n\nSince then, Benedict, who chose the name Pope Emeritus and continued to wear the traditional papal white, rarely left his monastery high on a hill in Vatican City, where he promised to live a “hidden life.”\n\nStill, conservative Catholics tried to draw Benedict out, or at least use him as counterweight to the more liberal papacy of Francis. Some Catholics looked to him as an anti-Pope, or at least an anti-Francis.\n\nThe contrast between the two men was dramatized in a 2019 Netflix film, “The Two Popes,” which earned Anthony Hopkins an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Benedict.\n\nThe Rev. Joseph Fessio, an American Jesuit who studied under Benedict and has published his works at Ignatius Press, said the former Pope likely knew that conservatives were trying to pit him against Francis.\n\n“In some ways, he has become the face of ‘the Resistance,’” Fessio said, “even though he hasn’t done anything to be a resistor.”\n\nBenedict preferred to be called something more modest.\n\nBefore he left Rome in 2013, a crowd of 10,000 people gathered to bid him an emotional farewell.\n\n“I am no longer the Pope but I am still in the church,” Benedict said. “I’m just a pilgrim who is starting the last part of his pilgrimage on this earth.”", "authors": ["Daniel Burke Hada Messia", "Daniel Burke", "Hada Messia"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_2", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:11", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/29/health/sesame-joins-major-food-allergens-list-fda-wellness/index.html", "title": "FDA: Sesame joins major food allergens list on January 1 | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nStarting January 1, sesame will join the list of major food allergens defined by law, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.\n\nThe change comes as a result of the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education and Research Act, or FASTER Act, which was signed into law in April 2021.\n\nThe FDA has been reviewing whether to put sesame seeds on the major food allergens list — which also includes milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans — for several years. Adding sesame to the major food allergens list means foods containing sesame will be subject to specific food allergen regulatory requirements, including those regarding labeling and manufacturing.\n\nSesame allergies affect people of all ages and can appear as coughing, itchy throat, vomiting, diarrhea, mouth rash, shortness of breath, wheezing and drops in blood pressure, Dr. Robert Eitches, an allergist, immunologist and attending physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, told CNN in 2020.\n\nThe FDA conducts inspections and sampling of food products to check that major food allergens are properly labeled on products and to determine whether food facilities are preventing allergen cross-contact, according to the agency’s website.\n\n“What it means is, for the 1.6 million Americans with life-threatening sesame allergy, that life gets better starting January 1, 2023,” said Jason Linde, senior vice president of government and community affairs at Food Allergy Research & Education, a large private funder of food allergy research. The organization helped work to pass the FASTER Act.\n\nSesame “is in dozens and dozens of ingredients,” Linde said, but it wasn’t always listed by name.\n\n“For years, (people) with a life-threatening sesame allergy would have to look at the back of the label, call the manufacturer and try to figure it out,” he said. “If it was included, it was just included as a natural spice or flavor.”\n\nThe new law going into effect on January 1 “is a huge victory for the food allergy community,” Linde said.\n\nThe road to inclusion\n\nBefore the FASTER Act, the FDA recommended food manufacturers voluntarily list sesame as an ingredient on food labels in November 2020. The guidance wasn’t a requirement and was intended to help people with sesame allergies identify foods that may contain the seed.\n\nUnder regulations before the 2020 recommendation, sesame had to be declared on a label if whole seeds were used as an ingredient. But labeling wasn’t required when sesame was used as a flavor or in a spice blend. It also wasn’t required for a product such as tahini, which is made from ground sesame paste. Some people aren’t aware that tahini is made from sesame seeds.\n\nWhile such guidance was appreciated, “voluntary guidance is just that — it’s voluntary,” Linde said. “Companies don’t have to follow it, and many did not.”\n\n“The way an allergen is identified by the FDA as one that must be labeled is due to the quantity of people who are allergic,” Lisa Gable, former chief executive officer of FARE, previously told CNN. “Take sesame, for example: What’s happened is you’ve had an increase in the number of people who are having anaphylaxis due to sesame. There are various opinions as to why that is, but one reason might be the fact that it is now more of an underlying ingredient within a lot of dietary trends.”\n\nAs plant-based and vegan foods have become more popular, the wide use of nuts and seeds has been an issue that has come up more often, Eitches said.\n\nSafety tips\n\n“We remind consumers that foods already in interstate commerce before 2023, including those on retail shelves, do not need to be removed from the marketplace or relabeled to declare sesame as an allergen,” the FDA said in a December 15 statement. “Depending on shelf life, some food products may not have allergen labeling for sesame on the effective date. Consumers should check with the manufacturer if they are not sure whether a food product contains sesame.”\n\nMany companies have already started the process of labeling their products, but it could take three to six months for foods currently on shelves to get sold or removed, Linde said. Some foods, such as soups, have even longer shelf lives.\n\nPeople with sesame allergies can stay safe by being “very careful” about eating certain foods, especially in restaurants, Eitches said.\n\nMiddle Eastern, vegan and Japanese restaurants are more likely to include different forms of sesame seeds in their dishes, he added.\n\nThose who suspect they are sensitive or allergic to sesame should see a specialist who can answer their questions and provide medications or devices for emergency situations, Eitches said.\n\nAdrenaline and epinephrine are more effective than diphenhydramine, he added. If an allergic reaction happens, be prepared with any medications or devices and seek medical help.", "authors": ["Kristen Rogers"], "publish_date": "2022/12/29"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/11/health/homemade-baby-food-toxic-metals-wellness/index.html", "title": "Homemade baby food contains as many toxic metals as store ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nMaking baby food at home with store-bought produce isn’t going to reduce the amount of toxic heavy metals in the food your baby eats, according to a new report released exclusively to CNN.\n\n“We found no evidence to suggest that homemade baby foods made from store-bought produce are better than store-bought baby foods when it comes to heavy metal contamination,” said the paper’s coauthor Jane Houlihan, research director for Healthy Babies, Bright Futures. An alliance of nonprofits, scientists and donors, HBBF, which produced the report, has a stated mission of reducing babies’ exposures to neurotoxic chemicals.\n\nREAD MORE: Manufacturers allowed baby food contaminated with heavy metals to remain on shelves, lawmakers say\n\nResearchers tested 288 foods bought at stores and farmers markets across the United States – including grains, fruits, vegetables, snacks, teething foods, and family items that babies eat, such as cereals and rice cakes – for lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium. Those heavy metals are among the World Health Organization’s top 10 chemicals of concern for infants and children.\n\n“Toxic metal exposure can be harmful to the developing brain. It’s been linked with problems with learning, cognition, and behavior,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.\n\nResearchers also pored over data from 7,000 additional food tests reported in published studies and by the US Food and Drug Administration.\n\nResults showed 94% of manufactured baby foods, family foods and homemade purees made from purchased raw foods contained detectable amounts of one or more heavy metals.\n\nLead was found in 90% of manufactured baby food bought by shoppers for the report and 80% of store-bought family food and homemade purees. There is no safe level of lead, according to the AAP.\n\nArsenic was found in 68% store-bought baby food and 72% of family food either purchased or prepared at home. Cadmium was found in 65% of purchased baby food and 60% of family foods, and mercury was in 7% of store-bought baby food and 10% of family foods. (The highest levels of mercury are found in seafood, which was not tested in this analysis.)\n\nREAD MORE: 95% of tested baby foods in the US contain toxic metals, report says\n\nThe new report is a follow-up to a November 2019 report in which Healthy Babies, Bright Futures tested 168 foods purchased from major baby food manufacturers. That analysis found 95% of store-bought baby food contained lead, 73% contained arsenic, 75% contained cadmium and 32% contained mercury. One-fourth of the foods tested that year contained all four heavy metals.\n\n“After that report we saw so many people saying you can get around this problem by making your own baby food at home, so we decided to check,” Houlihan said. “We suspected we’d find heavy metals in all kinds of food because they’re ubiquitous contaminants in the environment.\n\n“And that is exactly what we found – heavy metals were in foods from every section of the store,” Houlihan said. “What this says is that as the FDA is setting standards for heavy metals in baby food, they need to go beyond the baby food aisle.”\n\nWhat’s a parent or caregiver to do? Feed baby with as many different types of foods as possible, said pediatrician Dr. Mark Corkins, chair of the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was not involved in the study.\n\n“If you spread foods out, and offer a wide variety of options, you’ll have less toxicity,” Corkins said. “And nutritionally that’s always been the right thing to do to get the most micronutrients from the food you eat.”\n\nDoes buying organic help?\n\nThe report found buying organic didn’t lower heavy metal levels either, which was “not shocking or surprising,” said Corkins, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.\n\n“It’s the soil and water that’s contaminated with arsenic and other heavy metals, so it doesn’t matter if it’s organic or traditional farming methods,” Corkins said. That would apply to locally grown crops or even backyard gardens, if the soil had not been verified to be metal-free.\n\nHowever, buying organic can help avoid other toxins the new report did not consider, such as herbicides and pesticides, said Dr. Leonardo Trasande, director of environmental pediatrics at NYU Langone Health. He was not involved in the study.\n\n“There are other benefits to eating organic food, including a reduction in synthetic pesticides that are known to be as bad for babies, if not even more problematic,” Trasande said.\n\nREAD MORE: Doctors should test levels of PFAS in people at high risk, report says\n\n“We’ve seen multiple studies show significant effects of synthetic pesticides on cognitive function in children as a result of prenatal exposure. We’ve seen images of the brain where certain parts are smaller that are crucial for higher order functioning after exposure,” he added. “A simple step would simply be to say eat organic because regardless of anything we’re talking about in this report, it’s good for you.”\n\nExperts agree that battling toxins in baby foods is a job for government organizations who will need to work with growers, suppliers and manufacturers to institute regulations and safeguards. In the meantime, parents can make a difference.\n\n“Making even one simple choice every day to lower a child’s exposure will make a difference, whether that’s staying away from rice-based snacks and serving a diced apple instead or choosing not to serve carrots and sweet potatoes every day,” Houlihan said.\n\n“With heavy metals and other toxins the risks add up over a lifetime,” she added. “So even if some of these foods had been served to a child up to their second birthday, starting from there to lower exposure to toxins is going to add up. Every choice matters.”\n\nLeast contaminated foods\n\nTested foods with low metal content contain one-eighth as much heavy metal contamination as foods with the highest levels, Houlihan said. These are foods that can be “eaten freely,” the report suggested.\n\nFresh bananas, with heavy metal levels of 1.8 parts per billion, were the least contaminated of foods tested for the report. That’s an “82-fold difference in average level of total heavy metals” from the most contaminated food, rice cakes, which tested at 147 parts per billion, according to the investigation.\n\nREAD MORE: ‘Consider chemical hazards’ in the baby foods you sell, FDA warns manufacturers\n\nAfter bananas, the least contaminated foods were grits, manufactured baby food meats, butternut squash, lamb, apples, pork, eggs, oranges and watermelon, in that order. Other foods with lower levels of contamination included green beans, peas, cucumbers, and soft or pureed home-cooked meats, the report found.\n\nInfant formula made with lead-free tap water was recommended. Tap water that has been tested and is free of lead is always a good choice. Milk is also a good choice, but only for babies 12 months and older.\n\nSome healthy lower-metal foods, such as yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, beans, cheese, hard-boiled eggs and grapes that have been cut lengthwise, were good choices for snacks for babies, according to the report.\n\nFresh and frozen fruit – including those used in homemade purees – were options as well. But don’t use canned fruits if you can avoid it: “Tests find lead 30 times more often in canned fruit than in fresh and frozen fruit,” the report stated.\n\nParents and caregivers can also lower their baby’s exposure to heavy metals by making some smart substitutions, the report said.\n\nUsing a frozen banana for a teething baby instead of a rice-based teething biscuit or rice rusk could lower total intake of heavy metals by 95%, according to the report. Another suggested teething aid: peeled and chilled cucumber spears.\n\nAvoid or limit these foods\n\nThe most heavily contaminated foods eaten by babies were all rice-based: “Rice cakes, rice puffs, crisped rice cereals and brown rice with no cooking water removed are heavily contaminated with inorganic arsenic, which is the more toxic form of arsenic,” Houlihan said.\n\nArsenic is a natural element found in soil, water and air, and because rice is grown in water, it is especially good at absorbing inorganic arsenic. (“Inorganic” is a chemical term and has nothing to do with the method of farming.) Brown and wild rice are the worst offenders, as the bran contains the highest arsenic concentrations.\n\nREAD MORE: New FDA limits on arsenic levels in infant rice cereals don’t adequately protect children, critics say\n\nPrior research has shown that even low levels of inorganic arsenic exposure can impact a baby’s neurodevelopment. A meta-analysis of studies on the topic found a 50% increase in arsenic levels in urine would be associated with a 0.4-point decrease in the IQ of children between the ages of 5 and 15.\n\nTesting by HBBF found rice cakes were the most contaminated with inorganic arsenic, followed by crisped rice cereal, rice-based puffs and brown rice. The report recommended those foods be avoided entirely, unless the brown rice is cooked with extra water that is poured off before consumption (much like pasta). It’s best to do that with all rice, including white and wild rice, the report said, as it can reduce arsenic levels by up to 60%.\n\nRice-based teething biscuits or rusks and white rice came next on the most contaminated list, the report said. White rice is milled to remove the outer layers, but experts say arsenic levels remain high enough to be concerning, especially if rice is a daily staple.\n\n“Inorganic arsenic averaged 100 parts per billion in brown rice infant cereal and 74 parts per billion in white rice infant cereal in our tests,” Houlihan said. “Baby food companies have taken brown rice cereal off the market because of its high arsenic levels.”\n\nREAD MORE: Water- and stain-resistant products contain toxic plastics, study says. Here’s what to do\n\nParents and caregivers can help by staying away from high-arsenic varieties of white rice grown in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, or simply “US” and instead choosing lower-arsenic basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan, as well as sushi rice from the US, the report said.\n\nServe these foods rarely\n\nAfter rice-based foods, the analysis found the highest levels of heavy metals in raisins, non-rice teething crackers, granola bars with raisins and oat-ring cereals. But those were not the only foods of concern: Dried fruit, grape juice, arrowroot teething crackers and sunflower seed butter all contained high amounts of at least one toxic metal, according to the report.\n\n“Many foods have a kind of unique, heavy metal profile,” Houlihan explained. “For example, we saw very high levels of cadmium in things like spinach, leaf lettuce and peanut butter.”\n\nHowever, the human body doesn’t absorb cadmium as easily as other heavy metals, and for that reason “it doesn’t have as high a level of concern,” Houlihan added.\n\n“There’s also not as much evidence that cadmium is neurotoxic to babies, or at least the body of evidence isn’t there at the same levels as lead and arsenic,” she said. “Lead and arsenic damage isn’t reversible – these are permanent impacts on IQ, learning ability and behavior, so it’s a big deal.”\n\nRoot and tuber vegetables may have higher levels of heavy metals like lead and arsenic because they grow underground. In fact, the investigation found that nutritious baby favorites like carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and many types of potatoes did have concerning levels of heavy metals.\n\nREAD MORE: Dangerous chemicals found in food wrappers at major fast-food restaurants and grocery chains, report says\n\nEven the same food could have varying levels of toxic metals, according to the report. For example, a shopper in Raleigh, North Carolina, bought a sweet potato with 60.7 parts per billion of lead – 10 times more than the store-bought sweet potato puree she purchased. A Chicago shopper purchased a fresh carrot with eight times more arsenic than the premade carrot baby food she took home, the investigation found.\n\nYet shoppers in Tennessee and California found the opposite – their fresh produce had minimal levels of heavy metals compared with the manufactured baby food brands they bought.\n\n“As a parent, you don’t know what you’re picking up out of the produce bin,” Houlihan said. “Is it elevated because of the cultivar – the particular type of sweet potato or carrot? Or is it elevated because it’s grown in an area where the soil has naturally high levels of lead?\n\nAnswering these questions will be the responsibility of government regulators and industry, Houlihan said. The FDA has a Closer to Zero campaign, for example, which could take on the issue.\n\nCNN has reached out to the FDA for comment but hasn’t yet received a response.\n\n“And remember, if you’re protecting the basic ingredients that parents are using to make food at home, you’re not only protecting babies and toddlers, you’re protecting pregnant women as well. Babies in utero are particularly vulnerable to toxins while the brain is growing at such a rapid pace.”\n\nWith no way of knowing levels of toxic metals in the soil where produce is grown, parents and caregivers need to add one more step to their efforts to avoid these substances, Houlihan suggested. In addition to mixing up the variety of foods and not serving the same options each day, parents can “choose different brands or varieties of foods or shop in different stores from week to week to avoid choosing a high-metal source regularly.”", "authors": ["Sandee Lamotte"], "publish_date": "2022/08/11"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/11/03/fact-check-cockroaches-dont-cause-chocolate-allergies/8520695002/", "title": "Fact check: Chocolate allergies don't stem from cockroach pieces", "text": "The claim: Most chocolate allergies are caused by ground-up cockroach parts found in chocolate\n\nA persistent rumor has some believing that one ingredient found \"in every batch\" of chocolate, yet never listed on ingredient labels, is responsible for the majority of allergic reactions to the treat: cockroaches.\n\nSeveral Facebook and Instagram posts from October not only make this claim, but also say that the Food and Drug Administration allows manufacturers to sell chocolate full of insect pieces to consumers.\n\n“Most people with chocolate allergies are actually allergic to the ground-up cockroach parts found in every batch, not the chocolate itself,” one Oct. 18 Instagram post from the popular account @facts_and_history reads. “The average chocolate bar contains eight insect pieces; the FDA allows 60 insect pieces per 100 grams of chocolate.\"\n\nBut this is wrong on multiple fronts.\n\nAs the post states, the FDA considers some types of insects non-hazardous to human health at certain levels. But cockroaches aren't part of that group. There's no evidence they are commonly found in chocolate bars, either.\n\nResearchers have not found insects of any kind to be responsible for chocolate allergies.\n\nUSA TODAY reached out to several pages that shared the claim for comment.\n\nFDA regulations on insects in food, explained\n\nThe post claims \"ground-up cockroach parts\" are found \"in every batch\" of chocolate, and implies the FDA allows this. Experts say otherwise.\n\nFDA spokesperson Veronika Pfaeffle told USA TODAY the FDA has not found cockroach infestations to be common in cocoa beans.\n\n\"Through FDA's extensive sampling of cocoa beans for insect infestation, we have not found this product to be particularly attractive to cockroaches,\" Pfaeffle said. \"Cocoa beans do not represent a special problem in this regard other than that which would be associated with any food exposed to insanitary conditions.”\n\nThe post alludes to the FDA's \"action level\" for chocolate, which is an average of 60 insect fragments per 100 grams. If a six-bar sample of chocolate exceeds that average, the product is considered \"adulterated,\" or spoiled, and is subject to FDA regulatory action.\n\nWhat the post doesn't mention is that these insects cannot be cockroaches.\n\nOf its three categories of food-contaminating insects, the FDA only considers \"incidental pests\" non-hazardous to human health at certain levels. Cockroaches are not considered incidental pests, Pfaeffle said.\n\nAccording to the FDA, action levels like the one the post mentions were created because it's not realistic for raw food products to be entirely free of natural defects.\n\n\"The FDA set these action levels because it is economically impractical to grow, harvest or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally occurring, unavoidable defects,\" the FDA's Food Defect Levels Handbook reads. \"Products harmful to consumers are subject to regulatory action whether or not they exceed the action levels.\"\n\nFood manufacturing facilities are required to take measures to keep cockroaches and other pests away from food, Pfaeffle wrote. The FDA can seize products or enforce other regulatory actions if a food facility is infested with insects such as cockroaches, according to regulations.\n\nIn addition, none of the pages that posted the claim provided evidence for the statement that \"the average chocolate bar contains about eight insect pieces.\" Action levels also don't tell us the average number of insect pieces found in any given food, the FDA says.\n\nChocolate allergy not tied to cockroaches, doctors say\n\nThere's no evidence cockroaches are a common ingredient or a common allergen in chocolate.\n\nIn addition, even people who are allergic to cockroaches are unlikely to react to trace amounts in foods like chocolate, according to Dr. Courtney Blair, a board-certified allergist and immunologist who serves as president of the Greater Washington Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Society.\n\nHowever, many people who have allergic reactions to chocolate aren't reacting to the chocolate itself, but to additional ingredients or cross-contaminants, both Blair and Supinda Bunyavanich, associate director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, told USA TODAY.\n\n\"Most reported allergic reactions to chocolate are due to ingredients in chocolate products that are common allergens, such as milk, peanut and tree nuts,\" Bunyavanich wrote in an email to USA TODAY. \"Confirmed allergic reactions to chocolate/cocoa itself are rare.\"\n\nMilk, nuts and peanuts are part of the \"Big 8,\" a set of ingredients that are responsible for well over 90% of all serious, immediate allergic reactions to food, often called anaphylaxis, Blair said.\n\nThe FDA requires manufacturers to indicate if any major allergens are present in a product's label, even in trace amounts, its website says. This list currently includes wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish and shellfish.\n\nA source of chocolate allergies that may not be listed on labels, however, is a flavoring called Balsam of Peru, which can produce skin rashes in people who have allergies or sensitivities to it. Blair said she hasn't yet seen a patient who tested positive for a cocoa allergy, but she has seen about two dozen patients who had reactions to the flavoring.\n\nOur rating: False\n\nBased on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that most chocolate allergies are caused by ground-up cockroach parts found in chocolate. Several allergists told USA TODAY that most allergic reactions to chocolate products are caused by major allergens like milk, nuts and peanuts. The FDA has not found cockroaches to be common in cocoa beans, a spokesperson said.\n\nOur fact-check sources:\n\nThank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.\n\nOur fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/11/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/30/us/five-things-december-30-trnd/index.html", "title": "5 things to know for Dec. 30: Ukraine, Snowstorm, Sesame allergy ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nGet '5 Things' in your inbox If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to your new favorite morning fix. Sign up here for the ‘5 Things’ newsletter.\n\nHere’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.\n\n(You can get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)\n\n1. Ukraine\n\nUkraine said its forces shot down 16 Iranian-made drones launched by Russia overnight, a day after Russian missile strikes targeted Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure, knocking out power in several regions and sending crews racing to restore services as the New Year’s holiday approaches. The latest attacks hit several power facilities, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office. “We will not specify the locations of these objects, but because of these hits, we have limited power supply capacities in some regions,” he said. Engineers are working to restore power with capacity limitations remaining in Lviv, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa, he added. Authorities have warned for days that Russia will launch an all-out assault on the power grid to close out 2022, plummeting the country into darkness before the New Year and the Orthodox Christmas holiday a week later.\n\n2. Snowstorm\n\nAbdul Sharifu left his home in Buffalo, New York, in blizzard conditions to get milk and other supplies. He never made it back. Demetrius Robinson was found in a snowbank a day before his birthday. Melissa Morrison’s body was recovered in the snow near a Tim Horton’s Coffee House. They are among the at least 39 storm-related deaths in western New York, where crews and emergency personnel are working to clear snow and abandoned vehicles from the roads. Even amid such harrowing stories of loss and grief, there have also been stories of hope. One couple in Buffalo housed dozens in their church during the historic blizzard. “We just jumped into action and was able to deliver up to 154 people to the church, to not freeze to death,” Al Robinson told CNN. “I wish that I could say that for everyone.”\n\nVideo Ad Feedback 'It was God's will': Hear how a good Samaritan delivers essentials to Buffalo residents in need 04:41 - Source: CNN\n\n3. Sesame allergy\n\nStarting January 1, all foods in the US containing sesame will be subject to specific allergen regulatory requirements, including labeling. The FDA has been reviewing whether to put sesame seeds on the major food allergens list – which also includes milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans – for several years. Sesame allergies affect people of all ages and can appear as coughing, itchy throat, vomiting, diarrhea, mouth rash, shortness of breath, wheezing and drops in blood pressure. Sesame is in “dozens and dozens of ingredients,” but it wasn’t always listed by name, said Jason Linde, senior vice president of government and community affairs at Food Allergy Research & Education, a large private funder of food allergy research. “What it means is, for the 1.6 million Americans with life-threatening sesame allergy, that life gets better starting January 1, 2023,” Linde said.\n\n4. George Santos\n\nAs Rep.-elect George Santos continues to face scrutiny for false claims the New York Republican has made about his biography, another story is being questioned: that his mother was at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and that the incident played a role in her death. In particular, two tweets sent from his account last year are raising questions about the veracity of the story. In a July 2021 tweet, Santos said, “9/11 claimed my mothers life.” But months later, he reflected on the 5-year anniversary of his mother’s death in 2016. Santos’ campaign website says his mother survived the attacks and passed away a few years later from cancer. In a radio interview last year, Santos said his mother got “caught up in the ash cloud” on 9/11 and did not sign up for financial relief because she didn’t want to take money away from first responders. Santos has previously said his mother was a financial executive, but that description has since been removed from his website.\n\n5. Pelé\n\nSoccer fans worldwide are united in grief after the death of a sports legend who inspired generations. Pelé, the Brazilian soccer icon and the only man to win the World Cup three times, died Thursday at 82. In Brazil, where he played for soccer club Santos, mourners paid tribute to a global star who made the nation synonymous with soccer excellence. Pelé’s hypnotizing moves and creative style transfixed sports fans and revolutionized the game. “How to grieve the passing of a man who, through football, took the name of Brazil to the world?” Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said. Fellow Brazilian soccer star Neymar described Pelé’s moves as art, adding that while he’s gone, his magic will remain. Pelé died from organ failure caused by colon cancer.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Brazilian soccer legend Pelé dead at 82 04:20 - Source: CNN\n\nBREAKFAST BROWSE\n\nZach Bryan dropped a surprise album, ‘All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster’\n\nWe bet all the disgruntled Taylor Swift fans will love this one.\n\nResearchers discovered 146 new animal, plant and fungi species\n\nLizards, ants, sharks, spiders, oh my!\n\nNick Cannon is closing out 2022 with a 12th child\n\nHe just welcomed this year’s baby No. 5 – a daughter with Alyssa Scott.\n\nConsumers kept the economy hot in 2022\n\nBut with high inflation and economic uncertainty, they’re now losing steam.\n\nThat ‘free’ Starbucks latte is about to cost more\n\nRewards program changes will mean spending more to earn popular freebies.\n\nThis Sunday at 9 pm ET is the premiere of the CNN Film “DIONNE WARWICK: Don’t Make Me Over.” The documentary tells the story of the six-time Grammy winner’s legendary career spotlighting her blockbuster hits and advocacy for racial equality, women’s rights and LGBTQ rights.\n\nHAPPENING LATER\n\nHouse panel to release Trump’s taxes\n\nFormer President Donald Trump’s tax returns from 2015 to 2020 are set to be released this morning, a source familiar confirmed to CNN. The returns will be placed into the congressional record during a House pro forma session around 9 a.m. ET. The highly anticipated release comes days after the panel said the IRS failed to properly audit Trump’s taxes while he was in office.\n\nIN MEMORIAM\n\nBritish fashion designer and style icon Vivienne Westwood has died at the age of 81. She passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, at her home in London on Thursday, according to a statement from her eponymous company.\n\nQUIZ TIME\n\nThousands of users were unable to access which social media platform this week?\n\nA. Facebook\n\nB. Instagram\n\nC. Twitter\n\nD. Truth Social\n\nTake CNN’s weekly news quiz see if you’re correct!\n\nTODAY’S NUMBER\n\n$1.7 trillion\n\nThat’s the amount of money in a federal spending bill signed by President Joe Biden. It includes a number of administration priorities and officially avoids a government shutdown.\n\nTODAY’S QUOTE\n\n“Now our clients are able to go with their visible articles of faith through the whole recruit training boot camp process just like anybody else. And they are not going to be told that they can’t be there and they don’t belong.”\n\n– Amrith Kaur Aakre of the Sikh Coalition after a court ruled Sikh Marine recruits can keep their turbans and beards throughout training.\n\nTODAY’S WEATHER\n\nCheck your local forecast here>>>\n\nAND FINALLY\n\n🇧🇷 Pele's Top 5 Goals | FIFA World Cup\n\nSoccer legend\n\nPelé spent decades mesmerizing fans and stunning opponents. Here are a few notable moments from past World Cups. (Click to view)", "authors": ["Faith Karimi"], "publish_date": "2022/12/30"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/05/28/fact-check-mountain-dew-free-bvo-but-isnt-flame-retardant/5235571002/", "title": "Fact check: Mountain Dew free of BVO, but it isn't a flame retardant", "text": "The claim: Mountain Dew for years included a dangerous chemical that's also used as flame retardant. That ingredient has recently been removed.\n\nFor years, claims have circulated on the internet that the lemon-lime soda Mountain Dew contains a dangerous additive called brominated vegetable oil that's also used as flame retardant.\n\nOne particular Facebook post from April 2017 by user Betsy Ball Clark has racked up more than 1.1 million shares over the past three years. The post continued to be widely read and circulated in May of this year.\n\n\"BVO is a toxic chemical that is banned in many countries because it competes with iodine for receptor sites in the body, which can lead to hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease and cancer,\" Clark's post states.\n\nA main ingredient of BVO, bromine, is a \"poisonous, corrosive chemical\" that has been linked to major organ damage, birth defects and other medical issues, the post says.\n\nClark's post quotes an online article — whose link in the Facebook post no longer works — that says there is \"flame retardant\" in Mountain Dew.\n\nBVO is a patented flame retardant for plastic and has been banned as a food additive in Europe and Japan. Soda binges have led to medical issues for some patients, the quote claims.\n\nClark updated her post this month, saying she had emailed PepsiCo Inc., which makes Mountain Dew, and received confirmation that the company has removed BVO as an ingredient for Mountain Dew.\n\nClark did not return a request for comment.\n\nWhat is brominated vegetable oil?\n\nBrominated vegetable oil has been used as a food additive since the 1930s to keep ingredients from separating in sodas and other beverages.\n\nRobert McGorrin, professor of food science and technology at Oregon State University, said BVO works as an emulsifier, particularly in beverages that use citrus oils, to keep the citrus oils from floating to the top of the drink.\n\n\"Instead of them kind of coalescing and ringing at the top — forming a film at the top of the soda — they're uniformly dispersed throughout,\" he said.\n\nBut the additive is banned in some countries due to concerns about possible health risks when it's ingested in large amounts.\n\nThe product originally carried the \"generally recognized as safe\" designation from the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S., but that designation was removed in the 1970s. The FDA's position since 1977 is that BVO can be used safely \"on an interim basis,\" provided it is used in amounts of under 15 parts per million.\n\nMcGorrin said most beverages that contain BVO use it in much smaller amounts, such as 8 parts per million.\n\nIn 2014, Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo announced that they would remove brominated vegetable oil from their soft drinks. The announcement came as public pressure to remove the additive mounted, partially due to a Change.org campaign begun in 2012 by Mississippi teenager Sarah Kavanagh. Her campaign started when she began asking PepsiCo to remove BVO from its Gatorade products.\n\nDespite the 2014 announcement by both companies, reports from as recently as last year showed the ingredient remained in Mountain Dew.\n\nBut that ingredient has recently been removed. Nutrition facts posted on PepsiCo's product information website no longer include brominated vegetable oil as an ingredient. PepsiCo did not respond to a request for comment on when and why it removed the ingredient from the soft drink.\n\nIs brominated vegetable oil really a flame retardant?\n\nFor years, BVO has drawn a comparison to brominated flame retardants, leading to claims like the one mentioned in the post that there is \"flame retardant\" in Mountain Dew.\n\nBut the reality is more nuanced, said Christopher Reddy, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who has studied brominated flame retardants and other brominated compounds.\n\nBVO could be used — and has been patented as — a flame retardant, he said. But the fact that it's patented doesn't mean it's in common use, or related to the vast majority of other brominated flame retardants.\n\nThe common brominated flame retardants in use are different from the food additive, he said.\n\n\"To lump all brominated flame retardants as one single entity about how it may interact with humans and the environment is not accurate,\" he said.\n\nMcGorrin said the common brominated flame retardants in use have different chemical makeups than BVO. Equating the two would be like comparing Splenda, a sweetener, with bleach, since both contain the element chlorine.\n\n\"People (are) just hearing the word 'brominated' and thinking all the negative connotations the word bromine brings with it,\" he said.\n\nResponding to articles comparing BVO to flame retardants, the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum — an industry group that represents companies that produce brominated flame retardants — issued a statement that said its member companies \"have never marketed BVO as a flame retardant.\"\n\n\"Apart from the fact that both contain bromine, there is no direct connection between brominated vegetable oil and brominated flame retardants,\" the statement said.\n\nIs brominated vegetable oil safe?\n\nBrominated vegetable oil has been controversial for years, and questions have continued about the general safety of the additive.\n\nAmerican Beverage Association spokesperson Danielle Smotkin said in a statement that BVO is \"safe, permitted by the FDA, and when used is listed as an ingredient.\"\n\nBut some scientists have recommended more study of the ingredient over the past decade. An article from Environmental Health News that was published in Scientific American in 2011 said there have been some some cases of patients who needed medical attention for bromine-related symptoms such as memory loss and nerve disorders after drinking large amounts of soda — more than 2 liters a day — that contained BVO.\n\nWalter Vetter, a food chemist at Germany's University of Hohenheim who has studied brominated vegetable oil, told Environmental Health News that \"the scientific data is scarce\" surrounding BVO, and it merits further study.\n\nCharles Vorhees, a toxicologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center who studied BVO's effects more than 30 years ago, also told Environmental Health News that evaluations of chemicals has improved over the years, and he believes BVO should be reexamined.\n\nThe New York Times also reported in 2012 that some limited studies of BVO in humans and animals found bromine building up in tissues.\n\nReddy told USA TODAY that he believes there's still gray area in scientists' understanding of BVO.\n\n\"We know we drink it,\" he said. \"But I don't think it's fully understood about where it goes once it passes your teeth, how long it stays in your body and whether it breaks down in your body — whether it creates significant harm to the body or even chronic harm.\"\n\nHe said the stories mentioned in articles like the Scientific American are often from acute use, significant amounts drunk at once. But drinking smaller amounts over time could be different.\n\n\"I haven't seen the data that really works on those types of differences,\" he said.\n\nKatherine Zeratsky, a registered dietitian nutritionist at Mayo Clinic who has written about the use of brominated vegetable oil in beverages, agreed that she doesn't believe there's as much research on the buildup over time.\n\nShe said she believes it's unlikely that drinking soda in moderation, such as a can a day, would pose harmful effects. The worries come when a person drinks larger amounts.\n\n\"There's a concern that — with this additive, in particular, and many others — your body has to process it somehow,\" she said.\n\nZeratsky said she advises that people avoid drinking large amounts of beverages that contain BVO.\n\nOur ruling: Partly false\n\nThe Facebook post's claim that brominated vegetable oil is no longer in Mountain Dew is true. The use of brominated vegetable oil has declined over the years as major companies have removed the additive from their drinks in favor of other emulsifiers.\n\nBut experts agree that a sweeping comparison of the additive to flame retardant lacks nuance. It has been patented as one but is not the same as the brominated flame retardants in popular use.\n\nExperts also say it has also not been conclusively proven that drinking the amount of brominated vegetable oil found in soft drinks will lead to all of the negative health effects mentioned in the post. However, scientists agree more information is likely needed to broaden understanding of the ingredient's ability to build up in the human body over time, and that some people drinking large amounts of soda at once have experienced adverse effects.\n\nThat caution is reflected by the FDA's categorization of BVO as allowed in certain amounts on an \"interim\" basis, as well as the banning of the ingredient in some countries overseas.\n\nFor those reasons, we rate this post as PARTLY FALSE.\n\nOur fact-check sources:\n\nIan Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.\n\nThank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.\n\nOur fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/05/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/05/21/fact-check-spring-valley-vitamins-made-china-more-info-needed/5236155002/", "title": "Fact check: Spring Valley vitamins made in China? More info needed", "text": "The claim: Spring Valley vitamins from Walmart are made in China while Sundown vitamins are made in the United States\n\nA post on Facebook claims Spring Valley vitamins, an exclusive Walmart brand, are made in China and suggests the vitamins are not safe for consumption.\n\n“If you buy SpringValley vitamins from Wal-Mart stop!” the April 27 Facebook post reads. “SpringValley is made in China Sundown vitamins are made in the USA…”\n\nSimilar claims appeared in 2018 after a user posted a video on YouTube at a grocery store claiming that Spring Valley vitamins are from China. The video shows the label of a Spring Valley vitamin bottle that reads “Product of China.”\n\nSpring Valley is a well-known vitamin brand across the United States sold online and in person at Walmart locations, as well as Amazon. The brand has attracted controversy in recent years about its product labeling.\n\nMore:Walmart sales increase 10% as online buying grew 74% during coronavirus pandemic\n\nFDA says products are safe and regulated\n\nEven if the products were to come from China, the Food and Drug Administration has assured that imported goods are not unsafe due to the coronavirus.\n\n“Currently, there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with imported goods, including food and drugs for humans and pets,” the site reads. “There have not been any cases of COVID-19 in the United States associated with imported goods.”\n\nNathan Arnold, a spokesperson for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said vitamins are regulated and treated as “dietary supplements” and noted that all dietary supplements must comply with rules to ensure safety, quality and accurate labeling.\n\nWalmart did not respond to USA TODAY for a request for comment.\n\nMore:Walmart upgrades apps due to coronavirus to combine groceries with electronics, toys and more\n\nAvailable information varies\n\nProduct information on the Dietary Supplement Label Database of the National Institutes of Health shows that the manufacturer of Spring Valley vitamins is not listed on the labels.\n\nConsumerLab.com states dietary supplements sold in the United States are not required to indicate the country of origin of ingredients.\n\n“What the FDA does require is that labels provide a phone number or address to contact the manufacturer or distributor, but this is not necessarily where the product is made,” the site reads. “If a product is manufactured outside the U.S., the name of that country must be indicated on the label.”\n\nUsers in the comments of the post noted the claim was not true and posted photos of their Spring Valley vitamins where it is stated “product of Denmark” while other users noted that no country of origin was listed on their bottle.\n\nA post by Reference.com says Walmart products that do not list country of origin are manufactured in the United States.\n\n“Its line of vitamins is neither manufactured nor bottled in China or Taiwan; however, some Spring Valley vitamin products do contain raw materials sourced from that region,” the site reads.\n\nPhotos of several Spring Valley products on Amazon.com show labels that indicate \"product of China\" or \"Product of China and USA\" but it is unclear how current those images are.\n\nOur rating: More information needed\n\nThere is not evidence to state Spring Valley vitamins originate in China. No manufacturer or country of origin can be located on the Dietary Supplement Label Database. The distributor of the products, Walmart, has not commented on the statement. Without that information, we are unable to say whether the claim is true, false or somewhere in between.\n\nOur fact-check sources:\n\nThank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.\n\nOur fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/05/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/01/03/gmo-genetically-modified-organism-facts-cheerios/4302121/", "title": "What you need to know about GMOs", "text": "Jolie Lee\n\nUSA TODAY Network\n\nGeneral Mills announced its iconic cereal brand Cheerios will no longer contain ingredients with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). What exactly are GMOs, and where else are they found? USA TODAY Network examines these and a few other questions you may have.\n\nMORE:Cheerios drops genetically modified ingredients\n\nWhat are GMOs?\n\nGMOs are plants or animals whose cells have been inserted with a gene from an unrelated species in order to take on specific characteristics. For example, plants might be genetically engineered to develop a resistance against insects or to increase nutrients. GMOs have been part of our food for the past 20 years. No genetically engineered animals have been approved for sale for human consumption in the United States.\n\nWhy are some people concerned about GMOs?\n\nCritics say there are potential health effects (see next question) and environmental concerns surrounding GMOs. One of the supposed benefits of GMOs is that they should result in less herbicide spraying, since some plants have been modified to be herbicide resistant. However, over-reliance on these crops has led to the emergence of \"super weeds\" that are also more resistant to herbicides, requiring increased spraying, according to a University of Washington study.\n\nAre genetically modified foods safe to eat?\n\nGMO critics say genetically engineering a food could affect its nutritional value or create allergens or toxins in the food, although these claims are disputed by federal regulators, including the Food and Drug Administration.\n\nThree agencies -- the FDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency -- regulate GMOs for safety. According to the FDA, genetically modified foods are regulated the same as any other foods.\n\nWhich foods contain GMOs?\n\nMore than 40 types of plants have been genetically modified worldwide. A much smaller number are commercially grown. The most common genetically modified plants are corn, canola, soybean and cotton. Others include papayas, chrysanthemums, poplars, spruce, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. GMOs have also been used in tobacco, rice, cranberries, raspberries and walnuts, but these are not grown in the United States for human consumption.\n\nHow can I tell if my food contains GMOs?\n\nCurrently, food manufacturers are not required to label whether their products contain GMOs. The FDA only requires that labels are \"truthful and not misleading.\" FDA is considering two citizen petitions it has received asking the agency to require GMO labeling.\n\nGMOs, however, are prohibited in organic products. \"This means an organic farmer can't plant GMO seeds, an organic cow can't eat GMO alfalfa or corn, and an organic soup producer can't use any GMO ingredients,\" according to the USDA. Additionally, organizations, like the Non-GMO Project, list products verified to be GMO-free. You can also download the Non-GMO Shopping Guide app.\n\nSome companies are moving away from GMOs. Fast-food chain Chipotle has committed to removing GMO ingredients from its menu. Also, Whole Foods Market said by 2018 it will label all GMO products at its U.S. and Canadian stores.\n\nFollow @JolieLeeDC on Twitter.\n\nElizabeth Weise contributed to this story.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2014/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/23/artificial-food-dye-alternatives/1979881/", "title": "Worried about artificial dyes at Easter? Make your own", "text": "Cathy Payne, USA TODAY\n\nAt Easter gatherings, tables are laden with a kaleidoscope of candies, cookies, festive punches and, of course, colored eggs.\n\nBut some researchers don't have a rosy view of beverages and foods that are artificially colored.\n\nMichael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says artificial dyes are often used to mask the absence of real food. \"They are used instead of real ingredients because they are cheaper, brighter and more stable,\" he says.\n\nThe dyes have been linked to allergic reactions and hyperactivity in children, Jacobson says. Some have been linked to carcinogens, he adds.\n\nHeather Dessinger, who writes the blog The Mommypotamus, says she used natural ingredients for Easter egg dyes last year and will this year too.\n\n\"Like most parents, I'm concerned about the potential link between food dyes and behavior disorders, allergies and even maybe cancer,\" says Dessinger, who lives outside Nashville.\n\nShe says her two kids also had fun taking things from the yard and kitchen and transforming them into a celebration. \"They really enjoyed the experience of feeling like little chemists in the kitchen,\" she adds.\n\nThe color additives in foods certified by the Food and Drug Administration are FD&C Blue 1, FD&C Blue 2, FD&C Green 3, Orange B, Citrus Red 2, FD&C Red 3, FD&C Red 40, FD&C Yellow 5 and FD&C Yellow 6. The dyes, which used to be derived from coal tar, are now made from petroleum.\n\nCiting the CSPI's concerns, two North Carolina women petitioned Kraft to remove Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 from the U.S. version of its popular Macaroni & Cheese. Vani Hari and Lisa Leake created a petition March 5 on the social action website Change.org, asking the company to offer the version sold in the U.K., which uses natural colors. By Friday, the petition had more than 266,000 signatures.\n\nThe FDA conducted extensive safety reviews of the yellow dyes, spokeswoman Patricia El-Hinnawy said in an e-mail.\n\nThe agency \"requires labeling of FD&C Yellow No. 5 under the list of ingredients, as it may cause allergy-like symptoms in a small subset of the population. FD&C No. 6 must also be labeled in most foods, with a few exceptions including butter, cheese, and ice cream.\n\n\"The law requires that most foods containing a certified color additive declare the color additive as an ingredient by name on the product label, providing consumers the necessary information to avoid food products with these color additives if they need or choose to do so,\" she added.\n\nJoseph Borzelleca, a member of the Society of Toxicology, says artificial food colors pose no safety risks when used at levels approved by the FDA.\n\nBorzelleca, a professor emeritus of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, says he has heard of hyperactivity concerns about food colors. But \"I have not seen any carefully controlled study confirming that food colors cause adverse effects.\"\n\nRecent research suggests that a food dye can be absorbed in a way that poses more risks than previously thought.\n\nIngested dyes are usually degraded by the gastrointestinal system, but this study, in the February issue of the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, found that FD&C Blue 1 has the potential to enter the bloodstream from the saliva through the tongue.\n\nThe study, conducted by researchers at Slovak University of Technology in Slovakia, says the blue dye may inhibit cellular respiration, a process in which cells release energy from the chemical bonds of food molecules. The finding raises concerns because children repeatedly lick lollipops with that dye.\n\nThe FDA monitors reports of problems linked to color additives. You can call your local FDA consumer complaint coordinator.\n\nHow to make natural dyes for Easter eggs\n\nTo cook up fun for Easter, hop into the kitchen and use items from the fridge and pantry to create natural dye baths to color hard-boiled eggs.\n\nAmong the possibilities: annatto seeds, blueberries, coffee, grape juice, green tea powder, paprika and turmeric. For all colors below, soak hard-boiled eggs in the dye bath overnight in the refrigerator.\n\n(For hard-boiled eggs, bring eggs and water to a full boil. Turn off the heat. Cover the pan and let the eggs soak for 14-17 minutes. Cool the eggs with cold water.)\n\n• Orange — Add 2 tablespoons of annatto seeds to a cup of boiling water with a teaspoon of vinegar. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the seeds.\n\n• Faint pink — Add a can of sliced beets to 2 cups of boiling water with a teaspoon of vinegar. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the beets.\n\n• Blue — Add a cup of blueberries to 2 cups of boiling water with a teaspoon of vinegar. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Strain the blueberries.\n\n• Brown — Add a teaspoon of vinegar to a cup of hot coffee. The stronger the coffee, the darker the dye.\n\n• Purple -- Add a teaspoon of vinegar to a cup of boiling grape juice.\n\n• Light green — Add 2 tablespoons of green tea powder to a cup of boiling water with a teaspoon of vinegar. Let simmer for 10 minutes.\n\n• Light orange — Add a tablespoon of paprika powder to a cup of boiling water with a teaspoon of vinegar.\n\n• Bright yellow — Add a tablespoon of turmeric powder to a cup of boiling water with a teaspoon of vinegar.\n\nTip: To speed the drying of eggs, wave a hair blow dryer over them.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2013/03/23"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/reviewed/2022/05/11/baby-formula-shortage-tips/9734580002/", "title": "Baby formula shortage continues: 8 tips to safely feed an infant", "text": "— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.\n\nAs if having a newborn during a pandemic isn’t hard enough, ongoing formula shortages have thrust new parents into a state of panic.\n\nGet deals and shopping advice delivered straight to your phone. Sign up for text message alerts from the experts at Reviewed.\n\nWhy is there a baby formula shortage?\n\nIn February Abbott Nutrition recalled their Similac, Alimentum and EleCare formulas after four infants fell ill and two infants died, leading to concerns about bacterial contamination in the Michigan facility. Abbott supplies 46.2% of the U.S. supply of baby formula, and about one-quarter was historically produced at the Michigan plant.\n\nAfter a review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Abbott voluntarily shut down the plant. This week it announced plans to restart production on June 4 and will prioritize EleCare formula, which is hypoallergenic and critical for infants and children who have severe food allergies or gastrointestinal disorders.\n\n►Baby formula shortage worsens: President Biden promises to fix baby formula shortage with new plan\n\nNot surprisingly, bare shelves at stores across the U.S. are causing parents of infants to worry. If you find yourself looking at low levels of baby formula at home, we are here to help. We spoke with experts to help get you through this crisis to find the best possible means to keep your baby healthy and fed.\n\n1. Shop beyond the grocery store\n\nA bare grocery store shelf may cause a sense of panic, but know that your local grocery isn’t the only place to buy or find infant formula. You may be surprised to find a better supply at convenience store chains, local pharmacies and baby specialty stores in your area.\n\nManufacturer websites often have information on where to find stock, so you can usually even check before you make the drive.\n\nIf all else fails, you can also order infant formula directly from the manufacturer. Most manufacturers seem to have full stock and can even offer discounts on subscription orders, to ensure you never run out.\n\n2. Ask your pediatrician for assistance\n\nAccording to Adam Barsella, a pediatrician at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois, your own pediatrician will likely have a host of solutions for you, should you be unable to find your preferred brand of baby formula.\n\n“Your pediatrician should be able to triage and troubleshoot for you,” he says.\n\nIf your baby requires a specialized formula, your pediatrician can call in for medical requests to get them exactly what they need.\n\nBarsella also says that most pediatricians' offices can help in the event of an emergency.\n\n“Most have a [variety of samples] and a stock of products for children of complex needs. They don’t have enough supply to feed all of their patients, but, if you are waiting on a formula order, your pediatrician can help you make it through,” says Barsella.\n\n3. Try a new baby formula brand\n\nAs new moms know, there is a lot of brand loyalty when it comes to baby formula. Changing baby formulas can be scary and can cause varying issues if it's done too rapidly, but know that trying a new formula can be done safely. According to Barsella, you may actually find a brand you like even better than the one you previously pledged loyalty to.\n\nIt's important to consult your pediatrician about how to make the transition easier on your baby's delicate digestive system, but that doesn't mean that transitioning to another brand isn't an option to explore. Talk with your baby's pediatrician about options and alternatives, which they can guide you through.\n\n\"Most people think they have to stick with the formula they are currently using, but every brand likely has a version you can use, and it's very easy to switch [with guidance]. Even if your baby has a sensitivity there is plenty of room to move up or down on the spectrum of formula,\" says Barsella.\n\nThe FDA has released a list of approved and readily available baby formulas to help you find the perfect fit for your baby. Here are some places that have a large stock of formula brands available online:\n\n4. Start your baby on solid foods\n\nYou should continue feeding with formula until your baby turns 1 year old, but if your child is over six months you can start to supplement nutrition with some solids.\n\nThe CDC recommends that you introduce one solid at a time to monitor for food intolerance and allergies. A good place to start is with fortified cereal, mashed bananas or avocado, or even well-cooked and puréed meat, poultry and beans.\n\n5. Give breastmilk a try\n\nWhile we are aware that many families use formula because they either need to supplement, can't breastfeed or prefer not to, your own breast milk isn't the only option for your baby. There are breast milk banks that can provide safe, pasteurized breast milk for your baby.\n\nInformal breast milk sharing—even between friends and community members—is not recommended for health and safety reasons​​, so it's best to consult a regulated breast milk bank.\n\nTo find a milk bank, you can contact your nearest Human Milk Banking Association of America location. If they don’t have a milk bank near you they can help you find a licensed location to access breast milk that has been thoroughly vetted for safety.\n\n6. Never make your own baby formula\n\nThere has been an uptick in online searches for how to make baby formula, but all experts agree, this is one thing you should never feed your baby.\n\nThe American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food and Drug Administration both caution parents against making their own baby formula. Infants have very specific nutritional needs, which require a very specific balance of hydration and nutritional density.\n\nCommercially manufactured infant formulas are carefully regulated to ensure that they deliver a specific balance of vitamins, minerals, protein, fats and carbohydrates, mimicking what is found in breast milk.\n\nThe FDA regulates commercial formulas for safety, both in the ingredients used and in the manufacturing process. There's no way to guarantee the purity and safety of store-bought ingredients and the multi-step process that is often taken to make homemade formula opens the final product up to bacterial contamination.\n\n\"Unless you're a chemist, this isn't something you should do at home,\" says Barsella. \"I understand it's stressful out there, but it's very difficult to balance out all of the calories and nutrients that a child under 1-year-old will need without causing problems.\"\n\n►Related: What are safe substitutes for baby formula? Amid worsening shortage, avoid homemade recipes\n\n7. Do not dilute baby formula\n\nIf you're running low on supply, you may be tempted to dilute the formula you have on hand. Barsella cautions caregivers to never dilute breast milk.\n\nExtra water can be dangerous to babies. Diluting formula or breastmilk can interfere with an infant's ability to absorb nutrients. This can cause seizures, brain damage and—in extreme cases—death.\n\n\"This is one of the reasons parents shouldn’t make their own formula, but it extends to diluting what they have,\" says Barsella, adding that an imbalance of water and nutrients can cause serious neurological issues down the road.\n\n\"A more diluted formula might seem like a good idea as a short-term solution, but it can result in lifelong neurological issues for the baby. It's better to find another resource for feeding your baby the nutrients they require,\" says Barsella.\n\n8. Skip the baby formula substitutes\n\nWhile it may be tempting to try goat milk or other milk alternatives in place of baby formula, know that—unless your child is old enough to drink cow's milk and you are looking for an alternative—it's not considered safe to swap cow or goat milk for formula.\n\nThe concentration of proteins in each can cause severe dehydration in babies and can result in hospitalization.\n\nThere’s a lot more where this came from. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get all our reviews, expert advice, deals and more.\n\nThe product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews and more.\n\nPrices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/05/11"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/06/12/labels-being-sought-for-genetically-modified-food/2417459/", "title": "Labels sought for genetically modified food", "text": "Dan D’Ambrosio\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nMore states taking on the issue\n\nVermont%2C Connecticut%2C Washington have advanced legislation\n\nAgriculture increasingly turning to genetically altered crops\n\nFrom Maine to Washington, a growing number of states are taking on the issue of genetically engineered foods, fanning the flames of a decades-old debate about whether the products are dangerous to human health.\n\nThis month, Connecticut became the first state to pass a law requiring the labeling of food made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In May, the Vermont House passed a similar bill, which will now be taken up by the Senate. Right to Know GMO , a self-described grass-roots coalition with members in 37 states, counts 26 states that have introduced labeling bills.\n\nIn Washington state, a referendum on GMO labeling is scheduled for November. Last November, a referendum in California failed 53-47 after the biotech industry spent nearly $45 million on opposition ads.\n\nAt the federal level, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., introduced a bill in April – separate from the farm bill – that would direct the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to \"clearly label\" genetically engineered foods. Boxer notes she has 11 co-sponsors of the bill, which she first introduced in 2000. Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., introduced the House version.\n\nBoxer also attached two amendments to the farm bill, one saying that the United States should join the 64 other nations, including those in the European Union, that have labeling requirements for genetically engineered foods. The other amendment requires a report in six months from several federal agency heads reviewing the labeling methods used internationally, and the \"probable impacts\" of having differing labeling requirements passed by states rather than a federal standard.\n\n\"As more and more states take action, I believe lawmakers in Washington will realize that Congress and the FDA must ensure that all Americans know what's in the food they're eating,\" Boxer said in an e-mail.\n\n\"The companies have such complete control over who can do independent research into the nature of these things and their impact that we really don't know very much,\" said Andrea Stander, executive director of Rural Vermont, a non-profit farm advocacy group. \"We don't know nearly as much as we should.\"\n\nThe FDA ruled in 1992 that genetically engineered foods are not \"materially different\" from their traditional counterparts and therefore do not have to be labeled, a ruling opponents of GMOs won't accept.\n\nMonsanto, based in St. Louis, Mo., is a leading supplier of seeds for genetically engineered crops to farmers in the United States and around the world, and a frequent target of protests against GMOs. The company has clearly stated why it is opposed to labeling, saying mandatory labeling \"could imply that food products containing these ingredients are somehow inferior to their conventional or organic counterparts.\"\n\nAbout 90% of the corn, cotton, soybeans and sugar beets grown in the United States are genetically engineered, according to BIO, the trade group representing Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, DuPont and other giant firms that dominate the industry.\n\nThe modifications to the DNA of seeds, which started in the mid-1990s, fall into two categories: seeds that have built-in genetic resistance to insects, forgoing the need for insecticides, and seeds that tolerate herbicides, making it possible to spray crops, such as soy beans, that are prone to weeds.\n\nGenetic engineering is the fastest growing technology in the history of agriculture, with upward of 17 million farmers around the world using genetically altered seeds, BIO spokeswoman Karen Batra said.\n\nThe problem with requiring labels on genetically engineered foods, Batra said, is that they would imply those foods are unsafe.\n\n\"In the United States, food packaging labels are reserved to convey food safety information about allergens that might be in a food or to convey nutritional composition,\" she said. \"If the federal government were to mandate by law that a particular food product needed to be labeled that would infer it would be for a safety reason.\"\n\nD'Ambrosio also reports for The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2013/06/12"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_3", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:11", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/31/asia/seoul-itaewon-halloween-mourning-memorial-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "Seoul Halloween crush: South Korean authorities say they had no ...", "text": "Seoul, South Korea CNN —\n\nSouth Korean authorities said Monday they had no guidelines to handle the huge crowds that gathered for Halloween festivities in Seoul, as families in the country and around the world mourn the 156 victims of Saturday night’s crowd crush.\n\nThe crush took place in the narrow neon-lit alleyways of the popular nightlife district Itaewon, where witnesses described being unable to move or breathe as thousands of revelers stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a street no more than 4 meters (13 feet) wide.\n\nFrantic families spent much of Sunday gathering at information centers where authorities compiled details of the dead and wounded, and contacting morgues and hospitals in a desperate attempt to locate missing relatives.\n\nWith all of the victims now identified, the panic has transformed to national grief as the country grapples with one of its worst-ever disasters – while parents overseas make arrangements for their deceased children in a foreign land.\n\nA woman pays tribute at a memorial altar on October 31 in Seoul, South Korea. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images\n\nOfficial memorial altars were set up in central Seoul Monday, with photos showing crowds visiting to pay their respects. Many were in tears and holding white flowers; others knelt and bowed deeply to the altar.\n\nSouth Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, his wife, Kim Keon-hee, and top officials including the prime minister and Seoul mayor joined the mourners.\n\nMany shops and businesses were closed to observe a week-long national period of mourning. Parts of central Seoul were nearly deserted – a highly unusual sight in the usually bustling capital that’s home to about 10 million people.\n\nPeople also paid respects at a makeshift memorial in Itaewon, outside a subway station near the alley where the crush occurred. The station entrance is adorned with rows of flowers, and offerings such as handwritten notes, bottles of the Korean liquor soju and paper cups filled with drinks.\n\nAmong the mourners was a civic group of the bereaved families of the Sewol Ferry disaster, which killed 304 people – mostly teens on a school trip – when the vessel sank in 2014.\n\n“As one who had suffered the same pain, my heart is torn and I’m rendered speechless,” one of the group’s members told reporters at the memorial, saying the families were saddened to see “a major disaster like this repeated.”\n\nQuestions about police numbers\n\nJust down the street, the entrance to the alley had been cordoned off, with security personnel standing guard as forensic teams clad in white protective suits scoured the area, still littered with trash and debris.\n\nAmid the grief, questions have emerged about the government’s handling of the incident and an apparent lack of crowd control before the tragedy.\n\nOne survivor, 22-year-old French exchange student Anne-Lou Chevalier, told CNN she passed out in the crowd after being “crushed” by fellow revelers. “At some point I had no air, and we were so crushed to other people that I couldn’t breathe at all. So, I just passed out,” Chevalier said.\n\nSeveral eyewitnesses and survivors said they had seen few or no police officers in the area before the situation deteriorated.\n\nEarlier on Sunday, the minister of the interior and safety said only a “normal” level of security personnel had been deployed to Itaewon because the crowd there did not seem unusually large – whereas a “considerable number” of police had been sent to another part of Seoul in response to expected protests.\n\nMourners pay tribute for victims of the deadly Halloween crowd surge in Seoul on October 31, 2022. Rebecca Wright/CNN\n\nBut – facing a backlash from Korean politicians and on social media – authorities seemed to change tack on Monday, saying they had deployed about 137 personnel to Itaewon that night, compared to about 30 to 70 personnel in previous years before the pandemic.\n\n“For this time’s Halloween festival, because it was expected that many people would gather in Itaewon, I understand that it was prepared by putting in more police force than other years,” said Oh Seung-jin, director of the violent crime investigation division at the National Police Agency.\n\nHowever, he admitted, “currently there is no separate preparation manual for such a situation where there is no organizer and a gathering of a crowd is expected.” Moreover, the police had been deployed not for crowd control – but for crime prevention and to prevent “various illegal activities.”\n\nKim Seong-ho, director of the disaster and safety management division at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, echoed these comments, saying they did not have “guidelines or a manual” for such an “unprecedented situation.”\n\nVictims emerge\n\nThe victims were mostly young people who had gone to Itaewon Saturday night, eager for South Korea’s first Halloween celebrations in years without Covid restrictions.\n\nThe death toll rose to 156 on Tuesday following the death of a critically injured woman in her 20s, Seoul police said. In total, 101 women and 55 men were killed.\n\nTwelve of the victims were teenagers and more than 100 were in their 20s, according to authorities.\n\nAmong their number were 26 foreign nationals from countries including the United States, China, Iran, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan, Australia, Norway, France, Russia, Austria, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.\n\nA further 149 people were injured, 33 seriously, including 15 foreign nationals.\n\nSix students who attended schools in Seoul – one middle schooler and five high schoolers – were among the dead, as well as three teachers, said the Korean Ministry of Education.\n\nThree South Korean military personnel were also among those killed, said a Korean Defense Ministry official.\n\nShin Ae-jin was a 24-year-old graduate killed in the crowd surge on Saturday, her father told CNN.\n\nShe had started working at McKinsey & Company in September. Ahead of this new phase of her life the family took a trip to Europe in July, he said.\n\n“I traveled much with her from when she was young. We took many family trips together. We are a very happy family,” her father, Shin Jung-seob, a retired venture capitalist, told CNN.\n\n“It’s sad that I won’t see her again but I feel I had a fulfilled life with her … She lived in happiness,” he said while receiving mourners at the Samsung Seoul Hospital’s funeral home in the capital.\n\n“My daughter was always bright, had many dreams, and didn’t shy away from challenges. She lived as a high achiever.”\n\nThe father said that he plans to bury his daughter next to a tree, a practice called Sumokjang where the ashes of the deceased are put in a degradable container and buried, often in a cemetery plot. The family can then visit the tree and commemorate their loved one.\n\nWhen asked why he’s choosing this type of burial, Shin said: “We wanted to remember her. A tree has life, so it grows on.”\n\nSteven Blesi, 20, a college student from Marietta, Georgia. Courtesy family of Steven Blesi\n\nTwo American college students were identified – Steven Blesi from Georgia, and Anne Gieske from Kentucky – both in their junior year.\n\nBlesi’s father, Steve Blesi, said his son had “always been an adventurer.” He was an Eagle Scout, liked basketball and wanted to learn multiple languages, he said.\n\n“Maybe in a half hour before this tragedy event took place, I texted him in WhatsApp … ‘I know you’re out and about. Stay safe. I love you.’ And I never got a response back,” Steve said. “He had an incredibly bright future that is now gone.”\n\nDan Gieske, Anne’s father, said in a statement Sunday evening that the family was “completely devastated and heartbroken,” calling Anne “a bright light loved by all.”\n\nAnne had been a nursing student studying abroad in Seoul this semester, said the president of the University of Kentucky.\n\nAnne Gieske, a student at the University of Kentucky who died in the crowd crush in Seoul. Courtesy Beechwood Schools\n\nThe father of Mei Tomikawa, a 26-year-old Japanese exchange student who was killed in the crush, told Japanese public broadcaster NHK he was “prepared for the worst” when he couldn’t reach her.\n\nShe was studying Korean before starting school in Seoul, he said, speaking before traveling from Japan to South Korea on Monday.\n\n“I tried calling her to warn her to be careful, but she never answered her phone,” he said, according to NHK. “She was a great daughter … I want to see my daughter as soon as possible.”\n\nGrace Rached, an Australian woman killed in the crowd crush in Seoul, South Korea. Australia DFAT\n\nThe family of an Australian victim, Grace Rached, also released a statement on Monday describing her as “a talented film producer who was passionate about making a difference.”\n\n“We are missing our gorgeous angel Grace who lit up a room with her infectious smile. Grace always made others feel important and her kindness left an impression on everyone she ever met. Grace always cared about others and she was loved by all,” the family wrote.\n\nAuthorities are now working with foreign embassies and families overseas, offering support with funeral arrangements. As the week goes on, more names and faces of those who died are likely to emerge, as the nation searches for answers as to how such a disaster – in an area known to be crowded on Halloween, with festivities weeks in the planning – could have unfolded.", "authors": ["Jessie Yeung Sophie Jeong Gawon Bae Jake Kwon Mayumi Maruyama", "Jessie Yeung", "Sophie Jeong", "Gawon Bae", "Jake Kwon", "Mayumi Maruyama"], "publish_date": "2022/10/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/30/football/what-made-pele-great-spt-intl/index.html", "title": "Pelé: What made Brazilian legend so great | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nBorn into poverty – he used to kick a grapefruit around Brazil’s Minas Gerais state – Pelé finished his career as arguably soccer’s greatest ever player.\n\nHe was that rarity; like Muhammad Ali, Pelé was a sports star, who transcended his sport.\n\nThe Brazilian brought joy and creativity to a sport often stuck in rigidity and personified o jogo bonito – “the beautiful game.”\n\n“Pele changed everything,” wrote current Brazil international Neymar Jr. after Pelé’s death was announced.\n\n“He turned football into art, into entertainment. He gave a voice to the poor, to Black people and especially. He gave visibility to Brazil.”\n\nFrom dazzling as a 17-year-old in 1958 on his way to his first World Cup success to claiming the Golden Ball award as player of the 1970 World Cup as he won a third global title, “O Rei” (“The King”) achieved almost everything possible in the famous yellow and blue of Brazil.\n\nAnd there were goals – lots of them.\n\nPelé scored 757 goals in 812 official matches for club and country. However, there is disagreement over just how many goals he scored in his career. According to Reuters, Brazil’s football association and Santos say Pelé scored 1,283 goals in 1,367 matches, though FIFA puts the number at 1,281 goals in 1,366 games.\n\nBut it wasn’t just the phenomenal number of goals he scored. As Neymar suggests, Pelé was also an artist on the pitch.\n\n“Even if he did not use a brush, or a pen, but simply had a ball at his feet,” says CNN Sport’s Don Riddell.\n\n\"Before Pelé, '10' was just a number,\" wrote Brazil international Neymar Jr. in an Instagram post. \"He is gone, but his magic will remain.\" Domicio Pinheiro/Agência Estado/AP\n\nA master at work\n\nThe world first got a glimpse of Pelé at the 1958 World Cup.\n\n“When we arrived in Sweden, no one knew what Brazil was. They know about Argentina … Uruguay. It was a surprise for us,” Pelé told CNN in 2016.\n\nAt the age of 17 years and seven months, Pelé became the youngest person to play in a World Cup, a record the Brazilian held until Northern Ireland’s Norman Whiteside took that landmark in 1982.\n\nAlmost 15 years after leaving the world agog at the 1958 World Cup, Pelé hung up his boots for the Seleção, bequeathing his nation the legacy as the most successful in World Cup history and the most feared team in international football.\n\nPelé hugs his teammate Vava after scoring the goal to take the score to 2-1 in the 1958 World Cup final. IBL/Shutterstock\n\nPelé’s crowning moment for Brazil came at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, a tournament further romanticized by being the first World Cup broadcast in color.\n\nThroughout that tournament, Pelé blazed a trail of technicolor splendor, a blur of yellow and gold, beguiling and bewitching opposition teams.\n\nHis four goals earned him player of the tournament, capped by an assist to Carlos Alberto’s breathtaking goal in the final against Italy.\n\n“We won the World Cup, and I think in my life in sport (that was the pinnacle), no doubt,” Pelé told CNN.\n\nItalian defender Tarcisio Burgnich summed up Pelé’s superhuman genuis fittingly: “I told myself before the game, he’s made of skin and bones just like everyone else. But I was wrong.”\n\nPelé in action against Italy in the 1970 World Cup final. Jerry Cooke/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images\n\nEven moments when Pelé didn’t score helped cement his legend status – notably England goalkeeper Gordon Banks’ incredible block from the Brazilian’s powerful header in a group game, which is widely considered to be the greatest save of all time.\n\n“The save was one of the best I have ever seen – in real life and in all the thousands of games I have watched since,” wrote Pelé in a 2019 Facebook post in tribute to Banks following the goalkeeper’s death.\n\n“When you are a footballer, you know straight away how well you have hit the ball. I hit that header exactly as I had hoped. Exactly where I wanted it to go. And I was ready to celebrate.\n\n“But then this man, Banks, appeared in my sight, like a kind of blue phantom.”\n\nDespite playing all but three years of his club career with Brazilian side Santos, Pelé’s dynamism, majesty with the ball and lethality in front of goal ensured he became one of football’s first Black global stars.\n\nPelé admitted to CNN in 2015 that he had plenty of interest from Europe to make the move across the Atlantic, but chose not to out of loyalty and “love” for Santos; yet another reason why he is so beloved in his native country.\n\n“In the past, it was a profession filled with love, now it’s just a profession,” Pelé said.\n\n“There isn’t that love of playing for my club, playing for my country. Clearly, a footballer needs to make a living from the game. It’s different from my time.”\n\nCoping with pressure\n\nSuch was his impact as a soccer player, Pelé also became the symbol of a new country, according to a recent Neflix documentary.\n\n“To cope with that, I think he creates this Pelé character, someone who almost kind of forgoes his own identity to become Brazil essentially,” Ben Nicholas, co-director of the documentary about the Brazilian’s life, told CNN.\n\nAs well as shouldering the burden of a country’s aspirations on the world stage, the ascension of the Brazilian military in 1964 that showed interest in football as a tactical and political strategy – in particular, targeting the 1970 World Cup as a “government issue” – presented a problem for the apolitical Pelé, according to the Netflix documentary.\n\n“There’s a really telling line at the end of the film,” the other director of the documentary, David Tryhorn, said, “where you’re expecting Pelé to give us perhaps a ‘Pelé-ism,’ where he would talk about joy and happiness, but he actually talks about ‘relief.’”\n\nPelé poses with the World Cup trophy on March 9, 2014, in Paris. Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images\n\nThe footballing GOAT debate is one which will rage on until the end of time – is it Pelé? Or is it Diego Maradona? Or Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?\n\nBut, Brazil’s pure love and adoration for Pelé cannot be matched and is one which extends further than just an excellent footballer, but to a totem pole for a nation.", "authors": ["Ben Morse"], "publish_date": "2022/12/30"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2023/01/03/brazil-prepares-to-bury-pel-in-city-he-made-soccer-mecca/51129339/", "title": "Pelé buried at cemetery in Brazilian city he made famous", "text": "AP\n\nSANTOS, Brazil (AP) — Brazil said a final farewell to Pelé on Tuesday, burying the legend who unified the bitterly divided country.\n\nNewly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva paid his respects at Vila Belmiro, the stadium where Pelé played for most of his career.\n\nPelé died last week at age 82 and was laid to rest in Santos, the city where he became famous after moving there at age 15 to play for Santos FC. The funeral Mass was held at the team's Vila Belmiro stadium before his black casket was driven through the streets of the of Santos in a firetruck.\n\nIt was taken into the cemetery as bands played the team's official song and a Roman Catholic hymn. Before the golden-wrapped casket arrived, attendees sang samba songs that Pelé liked.\n\nSome Brazilian soccer legends weren't there.\n\n“Where’s Ronaldo Nazario? Where’s Kaká, where’s Neymar?\" asked Claudionor Alves, 67, who works at a bakery next to the stadium. \"Do they think they will be remembered like Pelé will? These guys didn’t want to stop their vacations, that’s the problem.”\n\nGeovana Sarmento, 17, waited in a three-hour line to view Pelé's body as it lay in repose. She came with her father, who was wearing a Brazil shirt with Pelé’s name.\n\n“I am not a Santos fan, neither is my father. But this guy invented Brazil’s national team. He made Santos stronger, he made it big, how could you not respect him? He is one of the greatest people ever, we needed to honor him,” she said.\n\nCaio Zalke, 35, an engineer, wore a Brazil shirt as he waited in the line.\n\n“Pelé is the most important Brazilian of all time. He made the sport important for Brazil and he made Brazil important for the world,” Zalke said.\n\nPelé in the 1960s and 1970s was perhaps the world’s most famous athlete. He met presidents and queens, and a civil war in Nigeria was put on hold so people could watch him play. Many Brazilians credit Pelé with putting the country on the world stage for the first time.\n\nRows of shirts with Pelé’s No. 10 were placed behind one of the stadium's goals, waving in the city’s summer winds. A section of the stands filled up with bouquets of flowers placed by mourners and sent by clubs and star players — Neymar and Ronaldo among them — from around the world as loudspeakers played the song “Eu sou Pelé” (“I am Pelé”) recorded by him.\n\nThe crowd was mostly local, although some came from far away, and many mourners were too young ever to have seen Pelé play. The mood was light, as people filtered out of the stadium to local bars, wearing Santos FC and Brazil shirts.\n\nClaudio Carrança, 32, a salesman, said: “I never saw him play, but loving Pelé is a tradition that goes from father to son in Santos. I learned his history, saw his goals, and I see how Santos FC is important because he is important. I know some Santos fans have children supporting other teams. But that’s just because they never saw Pelé in action. If they had, they would feel this gratitude I feel now.”\n\nAmong those at the stadium was Pelé’s best friend Manoel Maria, also a former Santos player.\n\n“If I had all the wealth in the world I would never be able to repay what this man did for me and my family,” Maria said. “He was as great a man as he was as a player — the best of all time. His legacy will outlive us all. And that can be seen in this long line with people of all ages here.”\n\nFIFA President Gianni Infantino told journalists that every country should name a stadium after Pelé.\n\n“I am here with a lot of emotion, sadness, but also with a smile because he gave us so many smiles,” Infantino said. “As FIFA, we will pay a tribute to the ‘King’ and we ask the whole world to observe a minute of silence.”\n\nAnother fan and friend in line was Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes.\n\n“It is a very sad moment, but we are now seeing the real meaning of this legendary player to our country,” Mendes told journalists. “My office has shirts signed by Pelé, a picture of him as a goalkeeper, also signed by him. DVDs, photos, a big collection of him.”\n\nPelé had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical center where he had been hospitalized said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer.\n\nPelé led Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and remains one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals. Neymar tied Pelé’s record during this year’s World Cup in Qatar.\n\n___\n\nAP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/sport/argentina-football-team-arrival-intl-hnk-spt/index.html", "title": "Qatar 2022 World Cup winner Argentina returns home to a jubilant ...", "text": "Buenos Aires, Argentina CNN —\n\nArgentina’s World Cup-winning squad arrived home to a jubilant Buenos Aires on Tuesday as millions of people lined the streets and celebrated their champions’ return.\n\nOn arriving in the country on Tuesday morning, team Captain Lionel Messi stepped off the plane first, holding the gold trophy aloft, followed by his triumphant team onto a red carpet at the airport.\n\nAs the team bus departed the airport, it was immediately swarmed by cheering supporters dressed in the national colors of blue and white. Videos show the bus inching forward slowly behind a police escort, surrounded by tens of thousands of people waving the Argentine flag and setting off firecrackers in the night.\n\nThe air was filled with cheers as the crowd sang and danced; the players, standing on the open top deck, waved to their adoring supporters.\n\nThe Argentina football team on a bus in Buenos Aires on December 20, surrounded by cheering fans. Mariana Nedelcu/Reuters\n\nHundreds of thousands of fans are expected to take to the streets and celebrate. Agustin Marcarian/Reuters\n\nSome 4 million people came out to see the victory parade in the capital, state media agency Télam reported, citing police. Tuesday had been declared a national holiday following the team’s thrilling penalty shootout victory over France in Qatar on Sunday.\n\nThe bus carrying the entire team was meant to make its way to the Obelisk, a historic monument in the center of Buenos Aires, but was not able to progress due to the swarming crowds, Claudio ‘Chiqui’ Tapia, the president of the Argentine Football Association said Tuesday.\n\nAerial view of fans of Argentina gathering at the Obelisk as they wait for the team's victory parade. Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images\n\nArgentina players celebrate on the bus with the World Cup trophy during Tuesday's parade. Martin Villar/Reuters\n\n“They won’t let us go to greet all the people who were at the Obelisk, the same security agencies that escorted us, won’t allow us to move forward,” Tapia said, “A thousand apologies on behalf of all the champion players.”\n\nA helicopter including Messi, teammate Rodrigo De Paul and Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni flew over the crowds, police said Tuesday, soaring over the parade before being flown back to the the football association’s training site in Ezeiza, on the city’s outskirts.\n\nThe team will spend the night at the Argentine Football Association’s training facility, according to Télam.\n\nArgentina fans celebrate the national team's arrival in Buenos Aires. Cristina Sille/Reuters\n\nCrowds of supporters had camped out at the training site on Monday ahead of the team’s arrival, with photos showing fans spilling out of cars parked on its grounds. Some laid on blankets on the grass while others lounged on picnic chairs around coolers.\n\nThe team’s highly-anticipated return continues several days of nonstop celebration across the country and among fans overseas, following Argentina’s explosive win against France.\n\nLionel Messi leads the Argentina team as they step off the plane in Buenos Aires on December 20. Agustin Marcarian/Reuters\n\nArgentina players wave from the top of a bus after their arrival in Buenos Aires. Agustin Marcarian/Reuters\n\nSuperstars Messi and Kylian Mbappé faced off on the pitch, in what has widely been called the greatest World Cup final of all time.\n\nMbappé was defending France’s 2018 win at the tournament in Russia, while 35-year-old Messi was playing in what may be his final World Cup match, looking to claim the trophy which had eluded him for so long.\n\nArgentina took an early lead in the first half – but France roared back in the second half, reaching a 2-2 tie that forced the match into extra time.\n\nFans gather outside the Argentine Football Association's training ground ahead of the team's arrival. Mariana Nedelcu/Reuters\n\nArgentina fans wave flags outside the national men's team training ground ahead of their arrival in Buenos Aires. Rodrigo Valle/Getty Images\n\nMessi scored his second goal of the match to restore his team’s lead – but Mbappé scored a second penalty to grab his hat-trick and take the final to a penalty shootout, which ended with triumph for Argentina after France missed two shots.\n\nHundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Buenos Aires after the World Cup triumph, flooding the central 9 de Julio Avenue. Social media videos showed jubilant fans climbing on top of street poles to wave the Argentine flag; others on the ground danced, sang and chanted in celebration.\n\nFans climbed up high to try and get a view of the Argentina bus. Cristina Sille/Reuters\n\nThe triumph in Doha was Argentina’s third World Cup win and its first since 1986, when the legendary Diego Maradona led the team to victory in Mexico.\n\nSunday’s win also marked a change in fortunes for Argentina after three recent defeats in major finals – the 2014 World Cup, and the Copa America in 2015 and 2016.\n\nFans gather in Buenos Aires on December 19. Mariana Nedelcu/Reuters\n\nThose losses prompted Messi at one point to announce his retirement from international football – though the almost-unanimous national outcry convinced him to reverse track, before wining the Copa América in 2021.\n\nNow, with the World Cup also under his belt, Messi has cemented his status as one of the all-time soccer greats alongside Maradona and Brazil’s Pelé.\n\nPeople of all ages were able to celebrate as Tuesday was made a national holiday. Mariana Nedelcu/Reuters\n\n“I cannot believe that we have suffered so much in a perfect game. Unbelievable, but this team responds to everything,” said Scaloni after the match Sunday, according to Reuters.\n\n“I am proud of the work they did,” he added, fighting back tears as he was embraced by his players. “I want to tell people to enjoy, it’s a historic moment for our country.”", "authors": ["Abel Alvarado Jessie Yeung Stefano Pozzebon", "Abel Alvarado", "Jessie Yeung", "Stefano Pozzebon"], "publish_date": "2022/12/20"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2023/01/02/pel-funeral-fans-line-up-to-mourn-brazilian-soccer-great/51126473/", "title": "Brazilians mourn Pelé at the stadium where he got his start", "text": "AP\n\nSANTOS, Brazil (AP) — Thousands of mourners, including high school students and supreme court justices, began filing past the body of Pelé on Monday on the century-old field where he made his hometown team one of Brazil's best.\n\nThe soccer great died on Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was the only player ever to win three World Cups, and he was 82.\n\nPelé's coffin, draped in the flags of Brazil and the Santos FC football club, was placed on the midfield area of Vila Belmiro, the stadium outside Sao Paulo that was his home for most of his career. A Catholic Mass will be celebrated there Tuesday morning before his burial at a nearby cemetery. Brazil's newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will come to Vila Belmiro shortly before Pelé's coffin is removed from the stadium.\n\nThe storied 16,000-seat stadium was surrounded by mourners, and covered with Pelé-themed decorations. Fans coming out of the stadium said they’d waited three hours in line, standing under a blazing sun.\n\nForty-five years after Pelé played his last game, he's still a central part of Brazil's national story.\n\nGeovana Sarmento, 17, came with her father, who was wearing a Brazil shirt with Pelé’s name.\n\n“I am not a Santos fan, neither is my father. But this guy invented Brazil’s national team. He made Santos stronger, he made it big, how could you not respect him? He is one of the greatest people ever, we needed to honor him,” she said.\n\nIn the 1960s and 70s, Pelé was perhaps the world's most famous athlete. He met presidents and queens, and in Nigeria a civil war was put on hold to watch him play. Many Brazilians credit him with putting the country on the world stage.\n\nCaio Zalke, 35, an engineer, also wore a Brazil shirt as he waited in line. “Pelé is the most important Brazilian of all time. He made soccer important for Brazil and he made Brazil important for the world,” he said.\n\nRows of shirts with Pelé’s number 10 were placed behind one of the goals, waving in the city’s summer winds. A section of the stands was filling up with bouquets of flowers placed by mourners and sent by clubs and star players — Neymar and Ronaldo among them — from around the world as loudspeakers played a song named “Eu sou Pelé” (“I am Pelé”) that was recorded by the Brazilian himself.\n\nClaudio Carrança, 32, a salesman, said: “I never saw him play, but loving Pelé is a tradition that goes from father to son in Santos. I learned his history, saw his goals, and I see how Santos FC is important because he is important. I know some Santos fans have children supporting other teams. But that’s just because they never saw Pelé in action. If they had, they would feel this gratitude I feel now.”\n\nSantos FC said that more than 1,100 journalists from 23 countries were at the funeral. Dignitaries and friends of Pelé in attendance spoke at the funeral.\n\nAmong them was Pelé’s best friend Manoel Maria, who is also a former Santos player. “If I had all the wealth in the world I would never be able to repay what this man did for me and my family. He was as great a man as he was as a player; the best of all time. His legacy will outlive us all. And that can be seen in this long line with people of all ages here.”\n\nFIFA President Gianni Infantino told journalists that every country should name a stadium after Pelé.\n\n“I am here with a lot of emotion, sadness, but also with a smile because he gave us so many smiles,” Infantino said. “As FIFA, we will pay a tribute to the ‘King’ and we ask the whole world to observe a minute of silence.\"\n\nAnother fan and friend in line was Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes.\n\n“It is a very sad moment, but we are now seeing the real meaning of this legendary player to our country,” Mendes told journalists. “My office has shirts signed by Pelé, a picture of him as a goalkeeper, also signed by him. DVDs, photos, a big collection of him.”\n\nMendes also said Pelé was a humble man despite his global fame, and that he deserves every tribute.\n\nThe casket will be ushered through the streets of Santos before his burial Tuesday.\n\nPelé had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. The medical center where he had been hospitalized said he died of multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer.\n\nThe soccer star led Brazil to World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and remains one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals. Neymar tied Pelé's record during this year’s World Cup in Qatar.\n\n___\n\nAP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/02"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/29/asia/south-korea-halloween-cardiac-arrest-intl/index.html", "title": "Seoul Halloween crush: South Korean authorities investigate after ...", "text": "Seoul, South Korea CNN —\n\nSouth Korea is searching for answers after Halloween celebrations in the capital Seoul turned into one of the country’s worst disasters, with authorities declaring a national mourning period as they investigate how a chaotic crush left at least 151 people dead.\n\nTens of thousands of costumed partygoers – mostly teenagers and young adults – had poured into the popular nightlife neighborhood Itaewon to enjoy South Korea’s first Halloween celebration since it lifted Covid restrictions such as crowd limits and face mask rules.\n\nBut the festivities descended into chaos, with photos and videos on social media showing huge crowds crammed into a narrow alley. Eyewitnesses described partygoers being packed so tightly together it was difficult to move around or even breathe.\n\nBefore the crush, crowd numbers built in Seoul's popular nightclub district Itaewon, October 29, 2022. Courtesy Suah Cho\n\nSuah Cho, 23, described walking through an alley when “suddenly, some people started pushing each other, and people were screaming.” The screaming went on for 15 minutes, she said, adding: “It was just panic.”\n\n“Some people were going forward and some people were going backward, and then just they were pushing each other,” she added. She was able to escape into a building along the alley, where she watched the disaster unfold. She said some people had told her that “people were climbing the building to survive.”\n\nAuthorities are still investigating what caused the incident, but Choi Seong-bum, chief of the Yongsan-gu Fire Department, said it was a “presumed stampede” and that many people fell, injuring at least 82.\n\nThe dead included at least 19 foreign nationals, including people from Iran, Norway, China and Uzbekistan, he said. One Thai national is among the dead, the Thai Foreign Ministry said.\n\nCrowds are seen in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul on October 30, 2022. Jung Yeon-je/AFP/Getty Images\n\nThe chaos of Saturday turned into shock and grief across the country on Sunday. Many victims’ families have gathered at a nearby center in Itaewon, where officials are compiling the names of the dead and missing as they race to identify bodies.\n\nSo far, more than 90% of those killed have been identified, said Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min in a briefing on Sunday. He added that about 10 people can’t be identified because some are under the age of 17 – too young to carry a national ID card – and others are foreigners.\n\nBut many remain missing, with families left anxiously calling hospitals and visiting morgues. By 2 p.m. local time on Sunday, Seoul authorities had received more than 3,580 missing persons reports, said the city government.\n\nRelatives of missing people weep at a community service center on October 30, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images\n\nOne mother, Ahn Yeon-seon, told South Korean news agency Yonhap her 19-year-old daughter had gone out to celebrate with her boyfriend for one of their last dates before he left for mandatory military service.\n\nSeveral hours after the couple left, her daughter’s boyfriend called crying, saying she had been “under a pile of people for over an hour and that he’d tried to pull her out but couldn’t,” Ahn said, according to Yonhap.\n\nSince then, Ahn has been searching hospitals for her daughter, waiting for confirmation of what happened to her. “I’ll just keep searching,” she told Yonhap.\n\nAnd, though the government has launched an investigation and promised new measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again, questions are emerging about how such a disaster could have occurred at all.\n\nCho, the 23-year-old who escaped the crush, said she saw no police or officials trying to control the crowd before the crush began. Even after they arrived later in the night, the sense of confusion and panic continued.\n\n“The police officer was screaming, but we couldn’t really tell that was a real police officer because so many people were wearing costumes,” she said. “People were literally saying, ‘Are you a real police officer?’”\n\nInvestigation and recovery\n\nAuthorities received the first emergency calls of people being “buried” in crowds at 10:24 p.m. in Seoul (9:24 a.m. ET). As the news broke, Yonhap reported that some people had suffered from “cardiac arrest,” with others reporting “difficulty breathing.”\n\nHowever, officials said there were no gas leaks or fires on site.\n\nLee Sang-min, Seoul’s interior and safety minister, said on Sunday that “a considerable number of police and security forces” had been deployed to another part of Seoul on Saturday to deal with protests there.\n\nMeanwhile in Itaewon, the crowd had not been unusually large, he said, so only a “normal” level of security forces had been deployed there.\n\nBut as the disaster unfolded, it prompted a massive response. More than 1,700 emergency response forces were dispatched on Saturday night, including 517 firefighters, 1,100 police officials, and about 70 government workers.\n\nSocial media videos showed police had taped off an area where people were performing compressions on other partygoers lying on the ground as they waited for medical help. Others showed people dressed in Halloween costumes lying on the street and on stretchers as first responders rendered aid and ambulances lined up to take away the injured.\n\nSouth Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol convened an emergency meeting in the early hours of Sunday, and later visited the scene to receive briefings from emergency officials.\n\nAddressing the nation, he called a national period of mourning “until the handling of the accident is concluded.” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo later said the period of mourning would end at midnight of November 5.\n\n“A tragedy that should not have happened occurred in the middle of Seoul last night on Halloween,” Yoon said. “I pray for those who died in an unexpected accident and hope that the injured will recover quickly.”\n\nHe also said the disaster would be investigated, with measures put into place to ensure similar incidents never happen again.\n\n“We will have relevant ministries such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety conduct emergency inspections not only for Halloween events but also for local festivals and thoroughly manage them so they are conducted in an orderly and safe manner,” Yoon said, adding that a “multi-purpose emergency system” would support both the injured and the families of the dead.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback This narrow street was the scene of deadly incident in Seoul 02:16 - Source: CNN\n\nAlso on Sunday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the government would provide a fund for families of the deceased and injured. It will operate “a funeral support team and respond fully to the treatment of the injured,” and provide psychological treatment for those affected, he said.\n\nThe government will also “actively consult with diplomatic offices to ensure there is no shortage of support,” Han said.\n\n“Our country has a history of overcoming disasters with all citizens united in one mind,” he said, adding: “I earnestly ask all the people to join so that we can overcome sorrow and rise again.”\n\nThe government has declared the district of Yongsan-gu, where Itaewon is located, a special disaster area.\n\nThe Seoul Metropolitan Government said it would set up a joint memorial altar at Seoul Plaza Monday morning, with another joint memorial altar in Itaewon.\n\nForeign nationals among the dead\n\nPeople fly into Seoul from all over Asia to celebrate Halloween in Itaewon, and this year’s event was seen as a welcome return of festivities after the pandemic. Hotels and ticketed events in the neighborhood had been booked solid ahead and large crowds were expected.\n\nOne eyewitness, Sung Sehyun, said the space was like a “jammed subway,” and that he had to push his way through the throng earlier in the night to get clear of the busy streets.\n\n“I was lucky to get through (but an) hour later, I heard people got killed. Because people got stamped on … and people got jammed together,” he said\n\nJuliette Kayyem, a disaster management expert and national security analyst for CNN, said the city’s density – and how common crowds are in Seoul – may have played a role in the tragedy.\n\nRescue teams work at the scene where dozens of people were injured during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 29, 2022. Kim Hong-ji/Reuters\n\n“People in Seoul are used to being in packed spaces, it’s possible they might not have been fully alarmed by the packed streets,” she said. “Panic is always a factor, and there is a danger of being too used to being in crowded spaces.”\n\nIt’s hard to pinpoint what might have triggered the crush – but authorities “would have anticipated high numbers … before Saturday night,” she added. “There is a responsibility on the part of the authorities to be monitoring crowd volume in real time, so they can sense the need to get people out.”\n\nAround the world, leaders sent their condolences to South Korea and those affected by the disaster.\n\n“Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in Seoul,” US President Joe Biden wrote in a statement. “We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a quick recovery to all those who were injured.”\n\nEmergency services treat injured people on October 30, 2022, in Seoul, South Korea. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images\n\nThe United States government is ready to provide South Korea with “any support it needs,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan wrote on Twitter Saturday. One US citizen was injured in the crush, authorities said.\n\nBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time.” In tweet written in French and Korean, President Emmanuel Macron said “France is by your side.”\n\nItaewon, once shunned by locals as a seedy, red light district, has transformed into one of Seoul’s top party venues. Known for its nightlife and trendy restaurants, the neighborhood comes to life at night.\n\nIt is also home to Seoul’s thriving Muslim and gay communities, and is located near a US army base.", "authors": ["Gawon Bae Paula Hancocks Sophie Jeong Jessie Yeung Will Ripley", "Gawon Bae", "Paula Hancocks", "Sophie Jeong", "Jessie Yeung", "Will Ripley"], "publish_date": "2022/10/29"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/20/football/gallery/world-cup-2022/index.html", "title": "The best photos of the 2022 World Cup | CNN", "text": "Lionel Messi holds up the World Cup trophy after Argentina defeated France in the tournament final on Sunday, December 18.\n\nProduced by CNN Digital's Photo Team\n\nWhat a match.\n\nAfter a dramatic penalty shootout, Argentina defeated France on Sunday to win its first World Cup since 1986.\n\nIt was a final for the ages, with momentum swinging both ways throughout a pulsating 120 minutes that ended 3-3. Gonzalo Montiel scored the penalty that clinched the title.\n\nIt is the crowning achievement for Argentina legend Lionel Messi, who said this would be the last World Cup game of his remarkable career. Messi, who is widely considered to be one of the sport's all-time greatest players, scored two goals in the final and was awarded the Golden Ball.\n\nFrance star Kylian Mbappé had a hat trick for France, pulling his team back from a 2-0 halftime deficit and a 3-2 deficit in extra time.\n\nThe final was held at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. This was the first time in history that a World Cup was held in the Middle East, and it was the first time it had taken place in an Islamic country.\n\nThis year's tournament was also mired in controversy, with much of the buildup focusing on human rights, from the death of migrant workers and the conditions many have endured in Qatar, to LGBTQ and women's rights in the country.\n\nThe World Cup has always been held in either May, June or July, but this one was moved to November and December because of the hot climate in Qatar.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/11/20"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/americas/canada-truckers-protest-tuesday/index.html", "title": "Ottawa police chief is stepping down, city officials say amid ongoing ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nAmid ongoing protests against Canada’s Covid-19 regulations, officials in Canada’s capital and the police chief have reached a separation agreement, according to the chairperson of the police services board.\n\n“Peter Sloly and the Ottawa Police Services Board reached a mutually agreeable separation and as such Chief Peter Sloly is no longer employed with the Ottawa Police Service,” board chair Diane Deans said during a meeting Tuesday afternoon.\n\nWhile Deans thanked Sloly for his service, she opened the meeting by saying that police were so far unable to achieve peace in the city.\n\n“The OPS (Ottawa Police Service) has been unable to adequately enforce our laws and our residents continue to be terrorized. It isn’t good enough,” Deans said, adding, “I have watched in disbelief as this carnival of chaos has been allowed to continue.”\n\nDeputy Chief Steve Bell is now the interim chief. Deans said the board would implement a new command structure and would shortly appoint a new chief.\n\nSloly released a statement on social media, saying he was stepping down and had done everything he could to keep Ottawa safe. The department has added resources, enforcement tools and has a new Integrated Command Center, he said.\n\n“I am confidant the Ottawa Police Service is now better positioned to end this occupation,” he said.\n\nSloly had said enforcement has been complex and delicate, pointing out that families are embedded within the protesters. The chief had said repeatedly he did not have enough resources to deal with such a large protest.\n\nResidents have told CNN they were dismayed by the chief’s lack of enforcement on their city streets.\n\nThe news comes a day after Canada invoked the country’s Emergencies Act for the first time in an attempt to sever financial support for protesters’ costly blockades at US border crossings.\n\nFinancial institutions will now have the power to freeze personal or corporate accounts they believe are being used to fund the illegal protests, Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland said Monday.\n\n“This is about following the money. This is about stopping the financing of these illegal blockades,” Freeland said.\n\nThe government will use the law to target those funding protesters who have blocked border crossings – resulting in economic losses of as much as $500 million a day, she said.\n\nProtesters and police face each other as police move in to clear downtown Ottawa of protesters on Saturday, February 19. Cole Burston/The Canadian Press/AP A truck is towed away in front of Ottawa's Parliament Hill on February 19. Patrick Doyle/Reuters Police clear downtown Ottawa on February 19. Alex Kent/Getty Images A protester's eyes are washed out after being affected by a chemical irritant fired by police on February 19. Alex Kent/Getty Images People show their support for a trucker as he leaves downtown Ottawa on February 19. Patrick Doyle/Reuters A police officer watches as a truck leaves Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, February 18. Andrej Ivanov/AFP/Getty Images Police officers form a line as they push back protesters on February 18. Cole Burston/The Canadian Press/AP Mounted police move in to disperse protesters on February 18. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP A man prepares a truck for towing in Ottawa on February 18. Blair Gable/Reuters A man is detained by police as protesters and supporters gather in downtown Ottawa on Thursday, February 17. Cole Burston/The Canadian Press/AP From left, protest leaders Eddie Stewart Cornell, Vincent Gircys and Daniel Bulford attend a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, February 16. Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images A police officer holds up a flyer that was being distributed to protesters in Ottawa on February 16. Police said they may arrest anyone blocking streets or assisting someone who is doing so. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/AP Trucks and protesters block downtown streets near Canada's Parliament on Tuesday, February 15. Scott Olson/Getty Images A truck convoy departs Coutts, Alberta, after blocking the highway at the US border crossing on Tuesday, February 15. Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press/AP Truck drivers block traffic outside Canada's Parliament on Monday, February 14. Ted Shaffrey/AP Police gather to clear protesters who blocked the entrance to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday, February 13. The Ambassador Bridge, North America's busiest land border crossing, reopened Sunday. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images A demonstrator stands atop a truck holding a Canadian flag during a protest outside the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa on February 12. Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images A demonstrator lets off a firework during a protest outside Parliament in Ottawa on February 12. Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images Truck drivers and others protest Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in Ottawa on February 12. Ted Shaffrey/AP Protesters heading out of and into Niagara Square in Buffalo, New York, honk their horns as they head toward the Peace Bridge on February 12. One holds a bobblehead doll of former President Donald Trump out his window while stopped in traffic. Tina MacIntyre-Yee/AP A demonstrator shouts during a protest outside Parliament on February 11. Canada's Ontario province declared a state of emergency over the trucker-led protests paralyzing the capital and blocking trade with the United States. Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images A protester wears Canadian flags on her head during a protest outside Parliament on February 11. Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images The Ambassador Bridge closing slowed supplies to US automakers. It also caused major traffic jams, such as this one, which diverted vehicles to the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan, on February 9. Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press/AP Supporters wave flags as a convoy of trucks moves through Toronto on February 5. Cole Burston/Getty Images A protester walks to a demonstration in Vancouver, British Columbia, on February 5. Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Counterprotesters gather at Terminal Avenue to block a convoy of protesters in Vancouver on February 5. Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Supporters of the protesters pass by a honking truck near Queen's Park in Toronto on February 5. Cole Burston/Getty Images A protester holds up a wanted poster of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as protesters gather around Queen's Park in Toronto on February 5. Steve Russell/Toronto Star/Getty Images Trucks parked in downtown Ottawa continue to protest Covid-19 mandates on February 4. Dave Chan/AFP/Getty Images A protester requests that police let trucks come close to Queen's Park during a protest at the park to support the truckers and denounce the government's vaccination policy. Arindam Shivaani/NurPhoto/Getty Images Trucks from the so-called Freedom Convoy block downtown streets during a demonstration in Ottawa on February 3. David Kawai/Bloomberg/Getty Images A protester stands with a Canadian flag in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Amru Salahuddien/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Lines of trucks block the US-Canada border during a demonstration in Coutts, Alberta, on February 2. Gavin John/Bloomberg/Getty Images Truck drivers and supporters protest in Ottawa on January 31. Amru Salahuddien/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A child in Ottawa holds a sign comparing Covid-19 regulations to Nazi Germany on January 30. Alex Kent/Getty Images Supporters arrive at Parliament Hill to protest on January 29. Hundreds of truckers drove their giant rigs into the Canadian capital. Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images Protesters party as a firework explodes in front of Parliament Hill during a rally in Ottawa on January 29. Alex Kent/Getty Images A supporter of the Freedom Convoy protests Covid-19 mandates in Ottawa on January 29. Lars Hagberg/AFP/Getty Images A man holds a firework during a protest in Ottawa on January 29. Alex Kent/Getty Images Supporters of the truckers gather near a highway overpass outside of Toronto on January 27. Cole Burston/AFP/Getty Images Scenes from the Canadian trucker protests Prev Next\n\nOn Monday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police seized long guns, body armor and high-capacity magazines tied to a group within the protest in Coutts, Alberta, it said.\n\nAnd now the US is closely coordinating with Canada to share information on people who might try to participate in blockades, Canadian Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino told CNN.\n\n“The United States is monitoring carefully the blockades in Canada and what we agreed is that we could continue to share information and to advance the very close collaboration that exists between our CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) and the (US) Customs and Border Patrol, so that we can identify any potential individuals who may trying to cross the border to advance illegal blockades in Canada,” Mendicino said.\n\nThe public safety minister has been in regular contact with US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas he said.\n\n“Given the current moment that we’re in … we’re obviously going to do what we can to bring about the end of these illegal blockades,” Mendicino said.\n\nAn unprecedented move\n\nPrime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he was invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time since it became law in 1988 to blunt the impact of the trucker-inspired protests.\n\nThe rallies began when a group of truckers moved into Canada’s capital on January 29, clogging streets surrounding the Parliament building and elsewhere in downtown Ottawa to protest a new mandate requiring them to be fully vaccinated when crossing the Canadian-US border or face a two-week quarantine.\n\nThey have been joined in Ottawa and at border stops and cities across the nation by others who want an end to other Covid-19 mitigation measures, like mask mandates, lockdowns and restrictions on gatherings.\n\nBut the protesters are a vocal minority. About four in every five Canadians are fully vaccinated and nearly 90% of Canada’s truckers are fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border, the government said.\n\n“These illegal barricades are doing great damage to Canada’s economy and to our reputation as a reliable trading partner,” Freeland said.\n\nThe blockade at the Ambassador Bridge, which was cleared Sunday, impacted about $390 million worth of commerce a day, the minister said. The combined impact of blockades at border crossings, including those in Alberta and Manitoba, has been $500 million each day, Freeland said.\n\n“These costs are real. They threaten businesses, big and small,” Freeland said. “The Canadian economy needs (truckers) to be doing legitimate work, not to be illegally making us all poorer.”\n\nIn addition to allowing financial institutions to freeze accounts suspected of funding illegal protests, Canada is also requiring crowdfunding sites and payment service providers used by protesters to register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and report any large suspicious donations – including digital payments and with cryptocurrencies. Some sites have raised millions of dollars.\n\nWhile the Emergencies Act allows for the use of the military, the government will not take that step, Trudeau said Monday.\n\nThe measure can also temporarily suspend citizens’ rights to free movement or assembly, but Trudeau said the government is not overriding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms – a part of the Canadian Constitution that lays out “rights and freedoms that Canadians believe are necessary in a free and democratic society,” according to a Canadian government website.\n\n“We are not preventing people from exercising their right to protest legally,” Trudeau said. The law will be limited geographically, in scope and in time, he noted.\n\nAmbassador Bridge owner issues ‘call to action’\n\nThe reopening of the Ambassador Bridge was “a win for Michigan’s working families who are just trying to do their jobs and for businesses who can get back to shipping their products and produce,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Monday.\n\nThe bridge is the busiest land border crossing in North America, linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. It carries nearly 30% of annual trade between Michigan and Canada, Whitmer said.\n\nThat blockade, which caused supply chain issues for automakers on both sides of the border, ended when Canadian authorities cleared pedestrians and vehicles that had been blocking access to the bridge over the weekend.\n\nWhitmer thanked US and Canadian border officials and business leaders for their work in resolving the ordeal and said it was important to “ensure that this does not happen again.”\n\nThe company that owns the bridge echoed that sentiment and issued a “call to action” to prevent future closures.\n\n“We must join together to come up with an actionable plan that will protect and secure all border crossings in the Canada/U.S. corridor and ensure that this kind of disruption to critical infrastructure will never happen again,” said Matt Moroun, the chairman of Detroit International Bridge Company.\n\n“They are critical pipelines that supply the goods we need to keep our factories going, our neighbors working and our economies thriving.”\n\nIn Manitoba, the RCMP said Tuesday that protesters are expected to be gone by Wednesday, the result of a resolution reached with the demonstrators.\n\nChief Superintendent Rob Hill said officials were confident protesters would depart and that full access to the Emerson border crossing will be restored.\n\nBut the standoff at the Coutts border crossing in Alberta took a turn Monday.\n\nEleven people were arrested, and authorities seized 13 long guns, handguns, multiple sets of body armor, a machete and a large quantity of ammunition and high-capacity magazines connected to a small, organized group within a larger protest at the crossing, Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.\n\n“The group was said to have a willingness to use force against the police if any attempts were made to disrupt the blockade,” the statement said. “This resulted in an immediate and complex investigation to determine the extent of the threat and criminal organization.”\n\nOntario to loosen pandemic restrictions\n\nWhile protests continue in parts of Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he plans to lift the province’s vaccine passport requirements March 1 if hospitalization rates continue to improve.\n\nCapacity limits will also be eliminated in all indoor public settings starting March 1, though masking requirements in Ontario will remain in effect “just a little bit longer,” Ford said Monday.\n\nBut the loosening of pandemic restrictions has nothing to do with the protests, the premier said.\n\n“Let me be very clear: We’re moving in this direction because it’s safe to do so,” Ford said Monday. “Today’s announcement is not because of what’s happening in Ottawa or Windsor, but despite it.”\n\nHe also vowed “serious consequences” for those who cause disruptions while demonstrating in Ontario.\n\n“To those who are still there, to those of you who are there with the sole objective of causing disruption and chaos, there’ll be serious consequences for this lawless activity,” Ford said.\n\n“We will continue to raise the consequences against those who are holding millions of jobs and people hostage.”", "authors": ["Kelly Mccleary Holly Yan", "Kelly Mccleary", "Holly Yan"], "publish_date": "2022/02/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/08/05/the-latest-maracana-stadium-has-quite-a-history/88313916/", "title": "The Latest: De Lima lights the Olympic cauldron", "text": "AP\n\nRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The Latest on the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games opening ceremony (all times local):\n\n11:54 p.m.\n\nBrazilian marathoner Vanderlei De Lima has lit the cauldron at the Rio Games.\n\nDe Lima was one of the suspected candidates after Pele revealed earlier Friday that health problems would keep him from attending the opening ceremony at Maracana Stadium.\n\nSo 12 years later than he likely would have, De Lima got his golden moment.\n\nDe Lima was leading the 2004 race at the Athens Games when a protester attacked and disrupted his run. De Lima wound up finishing third, but has been lauded for how he's handled the incident.\n\nGustavo Kuerten carried the torch into the stadium, then handed it to Brazilian basketball legend Hortencia Marcari. She brought it to the stage, then De Lima brought it up the stairs and held it aloft for 60,000 to cheer.\n\nWith that, the cauldron — one unlike any other in Olympic history — was lighted.\n\nBrazilian officials wanted this cauldron smaller than most, a reminder to reduce global warming caused by fossil fuels and greenhouse gases. The flame is housed in a giant sculpture, with spirals to represent the sun.\n\n___\n\n11:40 p.m.\n\nThe first recipient of the Olympic Laurel asked the athletes of the Rio Games to follow him and help support the youth of the world.\n\nKip Keino, a two-time Olympic champion who went on to open an orphanage in his native Kenya, gave a heartfelt speech at the opening ceremony of the Rio Games on Friday night.\n\nHe thanked his supporters, then told the athletes inside Maracana Stadium that he had a humble request.\n\nKeino said, \"Join me and support all the youth of this world to get the basics of humanity: food, shelter and education. Education not only empowers our youth to be better citizens and leaders of the future, but it will also help them make a positive change and a mighty difference.\"\n\nChange for good was a major theme of the opening.\n\nWith green Olympic rings and white kites, organizers of the Rio Games tried to stress two very important messages at the opening ceremony: Take better care of the planet, and each other.\n\nOnce the Brazilian delegation entered Maracana Stadium to end the parade of nations at the opening, rings carrying seeds and soil were moved into the Olympic five-ring shape — and displayed in green in a reference to transplanting depleted forests, not the traditional colors of the games.\n\nNot long afterward, the \"dove of peace\" was flown, only in this case instead of a bird it was 200 white kites. The kites were taken to Kenya and given to children who had never played with ones before. They wrote messages of peace on them, and then the kites were taken back to Rio to be flown by children in Brazil.\n\n___\n\n11:35 p.m.\n\nBrazilian sailing Olympian Robert Scheidt has taken the athletes' oath, on behalf of all competitors at the Rio Games.\n\nThe oath reads: \"In the name of all the competitors I promise that we shall take part in these Olympic Games, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, committing ourselves to a sport without doping and without drugs, in the true spirit of sportsmanship, for the glory of sport and the honor of our teams.\"\n\nAlso, Martinho Nobre took a similar oath on behalf of all judges who will oversee competition in Rio over the next two-plus weeks, and Adriana Santos recited an oath for all the coaches involved in these games.\n\nThe oath has been taken by an athlete before every Olympics since 1920. Past oath-takers include the American grandfather-grandson duo of speedskater Jack Shea (1932, in his native Lake Placid) and skeleton competitor Jimmy Shea (2002, before the Salt Lake Games). The Sheas are part of the first family with three generations of Olympians, and both Jack Shea and Jimmy Shea won gold medals after taking the oath.\n\n___\n\n11:30 p.m.\n\nBrazil's Interim President has been booed as he spoke to help open the Rio Games.\n\nMichel Temer spoke for only a few seconds, and as he sat back down he was roundly booed by many of the 60,000 or so fans inside Maracana Stadium for the opening ceremony on Friday night.\n\nA short blast of fireworks followed Temer's remarks, in part to drown out the booing.\n\nTemer took over following the suspension in May of President Dilma Rousseff on impeachment charges. Rousseff was not at the opening ceremony.\n\n___\n\n11:20 p.m.\n\nIn the U.S., NBC is facing social media criticism for its decision to delay the broadcast of the Olympic opening ceremony so it can be shown in prime time in all time zones.\n\nFrequent commercial breaks including eight within the first 65 minutes of the ceremony also proved frustrating for time-shifting viewers accustomed to fast-forwarding through ads.\n\nNBC began its telecasting of the festivities an hour after they begin in Rio on Friday night. On the U.S. West Coast, the telecast of the opening ceremony wasn't set to start for another hour.\n\nNBC also didn't start streaming the event through its app or Olympics website until the television coverage began, and streamers had to authenticate their account with a cable or satellite service.\n\nThe network usually plays a cat-and-mouse game to prevent other websites from streaming the event. It remains to be seen how successful it will be.\n\n___\n\n11:15 p.m.\n\nThe President of the International Olympic Committee says these Rio Games will promote peace.\n\nThomas Bach spoke not long after the parade of athletes into Maracana Stadium was completed on Friday night. Bach says all Brazilians \"can be very proud tonight,\" then went on to talk about the importance of these Olympics.\n\nBach said, \"We are living in a world of crises, mistrust and uncertainty. Here is our Olympic answer: The 10,000 best athletes in the world, competing with each other, at the same time living peacefully together in one Olympic Village, sharing their meals and their emotions.\"\n\nBach added that in this Olympic world, \"we are all equal\" — words that were met with applause.\n\nHe went on to ask the athletes to \"respect yourself, respect each other, respect the Olympic Values which make the Olympic Games unique for you and for the entire world.\"\n\nBach concluded his remarks by presenting the Olympic Laurel to Kipchoge Keino, a two-time gold medalist from Kenya who went on to open an orphanage in his homeland.\n\nBach's speech was preceded by one from Rio Organizing Committee President Carlos Nuzman, who said \"a new world is born today.\"\n\n___\n\n10:51 p.m.\n\nThey saved the best ovation for last.\n\nWith fans chanting in unison, Brazil has entered the opening ceremony for the Rio Games and was welcomed with long and loud cheers from the 60,000 or so inside Maracana Stadium. The host nation always enters last, and the Brazilians were immediately preceded by another crowd favorite — the 10-person Refugee Team, which is competing under the Olympic flag.\n\nModern pentathlete Yane Marques carried the Brazilian flag in to lead her country's designation.\n\n___\n\n10:45 p.m.\n\nYears from now, organizers of the Rio Games hope there's 11,000 new trees in Brazil — one for each athlete at the Rio Games.\n\nEach Olympian who entered the opening ceremony at Maracana Stadium on Friday night was given a seed and a cartridge of soil, which was to be placed in mirror towers all over the stage floor. Those cartridges will be taken to Deodoro and form what will be called the Athletes' Forest.\n\nThere's 207 species of trees being planted, one for each delegation at the games. It's all part of a massive sustainability and environmental awareness effort at these Olympics.\n\n____\n\n10:35 p.m.\n\nFor many nations, the Olympics are a regular occurrence.\n\nFor Kosovo and South Sudan, this is a first.\n\nThey marched into the opening ceremony of an Olympics for the first time Friday night, making their debut at the Rio Games. Kosovo was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 2014; South Sudan was recognized last year.\n\nKosovo's flag was carried by judo athlete Majlinda Kelmendi, who competed for Albania at the London Games four years ago. Kelmendi won a world title while competing in Rio in 2013.\n\nAfter entering the stadium, Kelmendi said \"it is a historical moment for my country and for me. It is very motivating for me.\"\n\nKosovo sent eight athletes to Rio. South Sudan, which had marathoner Guor Marial carry its flag, has a three-athlete team. Marial competed in London as an independent athlete.\n\n___\n\n10:30 p.m.\n\nA smaller Russian team has arrived at the opening ceremony.\n\nA state-sponsored doping program led to the exclusion of many would-be Olympians in Rio and threatens the medals that Russia won in recent past Olympics.\n\nThe World Anti-Doping Agency recommended Russia's exclusion from the Olympics, but the International Olympic Committee didn't go along. The IOC asked individual sports federations to review doping histories of Russian athletes, and less than 24 hours before the opening ceremony, the IOC was finalizing the list of eligible Russian athletes.\n\n___\n\n10:20 p.m.\n\nTony Parker is making no effort to hide how much he's enjoying this opening ceremony.\n\nThe San Antonio Spurs star — and French point guard at the Rio Games — says the Olympics are \"one of the greatest and biggest sports events in the world.\"\n\nOn the floor of Maracana Stadium after the French walked into the opening Friday night, Parker said it was \"just an unbelievable feeling to be able to be here to represent my country.\"\n\nParker is one of 46 active NBA players in these games.\n\n___\n\n10:15 p.m.\n\nWhich countries are getting the warmest reception during the parade of nations?\n\nLatin countries, Italy, France, Japan and the United States got the biggest cheer from the crowd at Maracana Stadium at the opening ceremony of the Rio Games.\n\nColombia is a neighboring country with plenty of supporters in Rio. Italy and Japan are two of the biggest communities that immigrated to Brazil. The American team also has a lot of support. Spain, Mexico and South Africa also got a big cheer from the crowd.\n\nArgentina, Brazil's eternal rivals in soccer, got a mixed reaction.\n\nOf course, the loudest cheer will be saved for last — when Brazil enters.\n\n___\n\n10:05 p.m.\n\nJamaica is at the opening ceremony. Usain Bolt is not.\n\nThe two-time defending champion in the Olympic 100- and 200-meter races, as expected, skipped the opening ceremony for the Rio Games on Friday night. Bolt announced his decision earlier in the day.\n\nFriday was the fourth anniversary of Bolt winning the gold in the 100 at the London Games.\n\n___\n\n9:51 p.m.\n\nArcher Zahra Nemati had a big smile and a wave for the crowd as she carried Iran's flag into the opening ceremony in her wheelchair.\n\nNemati is competing at the Olympics and Paralympics, where she's a defending gold medalist.\n\nShe was a black belt in taekwondo before a car accident paralyzed her as a teenager. She picked up archery a few years later because she wanted to compete in a sport.\n\nEarlier Friday, she competed in archery's qualifying round at the Sambadrome. She shot 72 arrows and accumulated a score of 609 — good enough for 49th position.\n\nShe's competing to \"make my family and the people around me happy, and let them know I'm OK and I'm strong.\"\n\n___\n\n9:45 p.m.\n\nAndy Murray has Olympic gold, two Wimbledon titles, a U.S. Open crown and is currently the No. 2 player in the world.\n\nBut even for someone with his resume, Friday night stood out.\n\nMurray was the flagbearer for Britain at the opening ceremony for the Rio Games, and says it will go down as \"the proudest moment of my professional career.\"\n\nMurray will play both singles and doubles in Rio, the latter alongside his brother Jamie.\n\nMurray says he's been blown away by the flagbearer title, noting that \"it doesn't get much bigger than a chance to lead out your country.\"\n\nThe British team got a big ovation from the crowd in Rio, as did the French team when it entered moments earlier. French President Francois Hollande was in the crowd, cheering for his nation's athletes as they walked past.\n\n___\n\n9:35 p.m.\n\nAfter 18 gold medals and 22 medals overall in his storied Olympic career, Michael Phelps has finally entered an opening ceremony.\n\nThe flagbearer for the U.S. has led the contingent of red, white and blue-clad American athletes into Maracana Stadium, after being picked for that distinction earlier this week.\n\nMore than 500 Americans are on the Olympic team, though as was the case with Phelps in past years, not all of them marched in the opening. Phelps' competition schedule kept him from attending the first four openings of his Olympic career, and many athletes from around the world — if they're competing on Saturday — tend to pass on the ceremony.\n\nThe U.S. women's soccer team wasn't at the stadium because of their schedule and how far they are from the opening, but planned on having their own private ceremony of sorts. Players were set to wear their ceremony uniforms and essentially pretend marching, as if they were in Rio.\n\nAthletes spend hours on their feet at the opening and often get to their beds well past midnight, not exactly the best situation for athletes looking to perform their best a day later.\n\nPhelps said in the days leading up to the opening that he wants to \"take it all in, represent America in the best possible way and make my family proud. This time around, it's about so much more than medals.\"\n\n___\n\n9:20 p.m.\n\nGiven the water woes leading up to the Rio Games, sailing has had more than its share of problems going into these Olympics.\n\nBut at the opening ceremony, some of the sport's best will be on display — no woes to be found.\n\nThere's 13 flagbearers at the opening ceremony from sailing, which is more than the sport had at the Beijing Games and the London Games combined.\n\nThey are Sofia Bekatorou of Greece, Nicole Van der Velden of Aruba, Pavlos Kontides of Cyprus, Karl Martin Rammo of Estonia, Tuuli Petaja-Siren of Finland, Peter Burling and Blair Tuke of New Zealand, Vasilij Zbogar of Slovenia, Gintare Scheidt of Lithuania (the wife of popular Brazilian sailing star Robert Scheidt), Joao Rodrigues of Portugal, Rodney Govinden of Seychelles, Dolores Moreira of Uruguay and Cy Thompson of the U.S. Virgin Islands.\n\n___\n\n9:10 p.m.\n\nPresident Barack Obama says the Olympic Games build a sense of \"common humanity\" as countries pursue the ideal of sending their best to compete \"in a spirit of goodwill.\"\n\nObama spoke to NBC ahead of the opening of the Rio Games.\n\nThe president says people know that the Olympic Games are not going to end war, eliminate poverty or stop the tragedies that occur daily around the world. Yet, he says, the Games contribute to a \"sense of empathy.\"\n\nObama says coverage of the events also tells stories of individual athletes working hard to achieve a high level of competition. He says telling such stories \"transports you into another place.\"\n\n___\n\n9 p.m.\n\nGermany was one of the first teams to enter the opening ceremony, much to the delight of one fan in particular.\n\nInternational Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach — a 1976 gold medalist in fencing for his native country — stood and waved with both hands as the Germans walked into Maracana Stadium.\n\nSmiling broadly throughout, Bach remained standing until the entire contingent was inside the stadium.\n\nThese are the first summer games Bach has presided over. He became IOC president in 2013.\n\n___\n\n8:50 p.m.\n\nThe parade of nations has started, and as always Greece is leading off. Two-time Olympic sailing medalist Sofia Bekatorou is the flagbearer.\n\nThough most nations at an Olympic Games enter the opening ceremony in alphabetical order, there are exceptions. Greece goes first given its role as the birthplace of the Olympics. The host nation enters last, meaning Brazil will be waiting until the end of the parade to make its grand entrance. (In 2004, when Athens hosted the Olympics, the Greek athlete delegation entered last as well).\n\nAnother quirk for the opening is that the local language is used to alphabetize, meaning Portuguese this year.\n\nSo the United States of America — 198th in English alphabetical order out of the 207 participating teams — will enter 69th, since in Brazil the country's name translates to Estados Unidos da America.\n\nIf form from past games holds true, the parade of athletes should take slightly less than two hours.\n\n___\n\n8:45 p.m.\n\nBrazil's long, proud musical history is on full display in this high-energy start to the opening ceremony for the Rio Games.\n\nFrom funk to samba to hip-hop, it's all being featured as the opening builds toward the entrance of athletes from around the world. Among the featured artists: Ludmilla, Cristian Do Passinho, Lelezinha, Elza Soares, Marcelo D2 and Karol Conka.\n\nVideo screens around Maracana Stadium are showing some of the lyrics, mostly in Portuguese, as fireworks go off and dancers clad in huge multi-colored wigs and red, yellow, white and orange outfits perform on the stadium floor.\n\n___\n\n8:35 p.m.\n\nIt's been a source of long debate in Brazil about who invented the airplane.\n\nMost people say the Wright Brothers.\n\nIn Brazil, they say Alberto Santos Dumont is the inventor — and that the Wright Brothers actually invented a \"jumping machine.\" To pay homage to Dumont, a small plane appeared in the stadium during the portion of the opening ceremony that showed where Brazil began modernizing.\n\nThe plane's appearance only lasted for a few seconds.\n\nThe next big part of the show got much bigger cheers — that being Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen from one end of the stadium floor to another in a shimmering gown.\n\nAs she walked, \"The Girl From Ipanema\" blared through the stadium.\n\n___\n\n8:25 p.m.\n\nPresident Barack Obama says he's ready to cheer on the U.S. Olympians.\n\nIn a tweet on Friday night, not long after the opening ceremony started in Rio de Janeiro, the nation's first fan wrote \"Our team's unity and diversity makes us so proud — and reminds the world why America sets the gold standard.\"\n\n___\n\n8:20 p.m.\n\nAll Olympic opening ceremonies tend to pay homage to the host country's past, and this one is no different.\n\nAn image of a Pau-Brasil tree — the wood that gave its name to the country — digitally appeared on the floor of Maracana Stadium a few minutes into the start of Friday night's opening ceremony for the Rio Games, as if in the Amazon rainforest.\n\nIt's the country's national tree, has been on the list of threatened Brazilian plants and it's illegal to cut the few trees that remain.\n\nBrazil was thick forest when first inhabited more than 500 years ago, and organizers thought that was the logical place to begin the ceremony.\n\nEven some of the most subtle things at the opening have a meaning. The curved shape of the stages used in the ceremony are a nod to Oscar Niemeyer, a key figure in Brazilian architecture.\n\n___\n\n8:10 p.m.\n\nThe unofficial anthem of Rio de Janeiro is being featured prominently as the opening ceremony gets underway.\n\nThe song \"Aquele Abraco\" — which translates to \"That Hug\" — by Grammy winner Gilberto Gil played a role in both the closing ceremony of the London Games four years ago and in Brazil's bid for these Rio Games.\n\nThe song was the soundtrack for the opening video, which started precisely at 8 p.m. in Rio.\n\nGil is credited for helping revolutionize Brazilian music in the 1960s. He wrote Aquele Abraco not as a celebration piece, but as his farewell to Rio. He was jailed in 1968 after angering Brazil's military dictatorship and lived in exile in London from 1969 through 1972.\n\nThe first line of the song : \"Rio de Janeiro is still beautiful.\"\n\nFrom there, fireworks blasted from the top of the stadium and the Brazilian national anthem quickly followed. Among the most generally cited lyrics to the song are these: \"Giant by thine own nature, thou art beautiful, thou art strong.\"\n\nThe official Brazilian flag has been hoisted by Rio de Janeiro's Environmental Police Command. Protecting and sustaining Brazil's environment will be a theme of the opening, and will continue throughout the games.\n\n___\n\n8 p.m.\n\nThe opening ceremony did not mean a warm reception for everyone.\n\nAs Brazilian government officials took their seats, a smattering of boos could be heard in Maracana Stadium. It could be expected, given the political times in Brazil right now.\n\nMany residents are upset over how much money was spent on these games, saying it could have been better-directed toward Brazilian needs. Interim President Michel Temer took over following the suspension in May of President Dilma Rousseff on impeachment charges.\n\nAnd the booing didn't last long — when the show started, the crowd roared in delight.\n\n___\n\n7:35 p.m.\n\nLong lines are still outside Maracana Stadium, waiting to get through the copious team of security and into their seats for the opening ceremony.\n\nBut inside, the pre-show is underway.\n\nBrazilian entertainer and television personality Regina Case is on the stadium floor, teaching fans in the stadium certain roles they will play in the show. Case says that 60,000 fans will be in the stadium, but she reminded the crowd that 3 billion will be watching on television worldwide.\n\nCase told the crowd, \"Here in Brazil, we like to party ... and we believe the people are made to shine.\" And she reminded the crowd that they are \"the stars of this show\" as the lights of the stadium dimmed and the only illumination was coming from the lights of thousands of fans' cell phones.\n\nOutside, military vehicles, police and 35 checkpoints filled the streets near the stadium. Their presence created long lines and traffic jams.\n\nNeither Brazil's Defense Ministry nor Rio de Janeiro police will say how many security personnel are on the ground to secure the Olympic opening ceremony. As many as 85,000 will be on site until the end of the games. That's twice as many as London four years ago. More would have been on the ground if Rio wasn't forced to cut about $550 million from the Olympic budget amid a recession.\n\n___\n\n6:55 p.m.\n\nMost of the nations marching in Friday's opening ceremony for the Rio Games will not have a head of state in Maracana Stadium to help cheer their arrival.\n\nOfficials had predicted as many as 100 heads of state would attend the first Olympics in South America. But that fell way flat, with about 25 expected to attend Friday night — in large part because of very uncertain political times in Brazil.\n\nFor now, the country essentially has two presidents. Interim President Michel Temer took over following the suspension in May of President Dilma Rousseff on impeachment charges.\n\nAmong those who are coming: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.\n\n___\n\n6:30 p.m.\n\nFans are filing into Maracana Stadium, as the opening ceremony for the Rio Games gets set to begin later Friday night.\n\nOnce considered the biggest stadium in the world with a capacity of nearly 200,000, Maracana Stadium now holds around 80,000 people.\n\nOpened in 1950 for the World Cup, in which Uruguay beat the hosts 2-1 in the final, the stadium has been renovated many times over the years. Pele scored the 1,000th goal of his career there in 1969, and the field has been the site for countless major soccer matches at many levels.\n\nFrank Sinatra, Tina Turner and Paul McCartney all played there in the 1980s to massive crowds of about 180,000. KISS, Sting, Madonna, Pearl Jam, the Rolling Stones and Prince are among the many other performers to grace Maracana's stage.\n\nThe stadium was the site of the 2014 World Cup final. Germany topped Argentina 1-0 for the title.\n\nThe closing ceremony is at the stadium as well, as are the opening and closing events of the Paralympics.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/08/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/europe/brittney-griner-trial/index.html", "title": "Brittney Griner: WNBA star sentenced to 9 years in Russian jail for ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nAmerican women’s basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted of deliberately smuggling drugs into Russia and sentenced to nine years of jail time Thursday in a case that has raised concerns she is being used as a political pawn in Russia’s war against Ukraine.\n\nJudge Anna Sotnikova of the Khimki city court delivered the sentence and fined Griner 1 million rubles, or about $16,400. She said the court took into account Griner’s partial admission of guilt, remorse for the deed, state of health and charitable activities. Prosecutors had asked that she be sentenced to 9.5 years in jail.\n\nPrior to the verdict, Griner apologized to the court and asked for leniency in an emotional speech.\n\n“I never meant to hurt anybody, I never meant to put in jeopardy the Russian population, I never meant to break any laws here,” Griner said. “I made an honest mistake and I hope that in your ruling that it doesn’t end my life here. I know everybody keeps talking about political pawn and politics, but I hope that, that is far from this courtroom.\n\n“I want to say again that I had no intent on breaking any Russian laws. I had no intent. I did not conspire or plan to commit this crime,” she added.\n\nAfter the sentence, Griner told a CNN producer as she left court, “I love my family.”\n\nThe verdict comes about six months after the 31-year-old was arrested at a Moscow airport and accused by Russian prosecutors of trying to smuggle less than 1 gram of cannabis oil in her luggage. The two-time US Olympic basketball gold medalist pleaded guilty to drug charges last month and said she accidentally packed the drugs while in a hurry.\n\nGriner’s lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, said in a written statement they will appeal the decision and criticized the court for ignoring their evidence. They have 10 days to appeal.\n\n“We are very disappointed by the verdict. As legal professionals, we believe that the court should be fair to everyone regardless of nationality. The court completely ignored all the evidence of the defense, and most importantly, the guilty plea,” they said in the statement. “This contradicts the existing legal practice. Taking into account the amount of the substance (not to mention the defects of the expertise) and the plea, the verdict is absolutely unreasonable. We will certainly file an appeal.”\n\nSpeaking outside court, Boykov said that the average time in jail for this type of crime is five years, adding that almost a third of those convicted get parole.\n\nGriner “is not doing fine today,” said Blagovolina, a partner at Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners law firm. The defense team is hopeful that Griner will be able to talk to her family next week. Blagovolina added that Griner will return to the detention center where she is being held.\n\nSentence comes amid tense US-Russia relations\n\nBrittney Griner plays during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images Griner was born in Houston on October 18, 1990. She is the youngest child of Raymond and Sandra Griner. Brittney Griner/Facebook A young Griner, then in seventh grade, drives a four-wheeler. Brittney Griner/Facebook Griner would attend Nimitz High School, where she broke nearly all the school's basketball records. Brittney Griner/Facebook Griner signs autographs while playing for Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Darren Carroll/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images Griner huddles with Baylor teammates during a Final Four game in 2010. Eric Gay/AP Griner goes up for the opening tip at the 2010 Final Four. Eric Gay/AP Griner celebrates after Baylor won the NCAA title in 2012. She was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player as Baylor went 40-0 on the season. Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos/Getty Images Griner pumps her fist as President Barack Obama talks about her basketball skills in 2012. The Baylor team was visiting the White House. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Griner plays against Iowa State in 2012. Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images Griner huddles with teammates before a game in 2012. Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images Griner's image is seen on a building in downtown Phoenix after the Phoenix Mercury chose her with the No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA draft. Christian Petersen/Getty Images Griner talks with the media after being drafted in 2013. Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images Griner takes a photo during the 2013 WNBA All-Star Game. Chris Marion/NBAE/Getty Images Griner blocks a Skylar Diggins shot during a WNBA game in 2014. Shane Bevel/NBAE/Getty Images Griner talks with a fan at Chase Field in Phoenix in 2014. Griner was throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images Griner holds the WNBA championship trophy after Phoenix defeated Chicago in 2014. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images Griner huddles with a group of kids during a WNBA Fit All-Star Clinic in 2015. Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty Images Griner gets fired up before a playoff game in 2015. Barry Gossage/NBAE/Getty Images Griner high-fives Obama as the Mercury visited the White House in 2015. Olivier Douliery/Getty Images Griner plays against Spain at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Christian Petersen/Getty Images Griner poses for a selfie with fans in 2016. Christian Petersen/Getty Images Griner plays a WNBA game in 2018. Christian Petersen/Getty Images Griner reacts after hitting a 3-pointer in 2020. Julio Aguilar/Getty Images Griner takes a selfie with her teammates after they won Olympic gold in 2021. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images Griner kisses her wife, Cherelle, after a playoff win in 2021. Ethan Miller/Getty Images A girl walks past a Griner mural in Phoenix in April. Griner was arrested in Russia in February. Rebecca Noble/The New York Times/Redux Griner arrives to a hearing at the Khimki Court outside Moscow in June. Her case raised concerns she was being used as a political pawn in Russia's war against Ukraine. The US State Department classified her as wrongfully detained. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images Griner sits inside a defendants' cage in August before she was sentenced to nine years of jail time. Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/Reuters Griner's wife, Cherelle, sits with President Joe Biden as they talk with Griner on the phone after her release. This photo was tweeted on the president's account, saying about Griner: \"She is safe. She is on a plane. She is on her way home.\" On the right are Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. White House Griner arrives in San Antonio after being released from Russian custody in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. She shared this photo on her Instagram a few days later. \"It feels so good to be home!\" she wrote. \"The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.\" Miguel Negron/US Army South Griner hugs her wife, Cherelle, after landing in San Antonio. Miguel Negron/US Army South In pictures: WNBA star Brittney Griner Prev Next\n\nThe harsh sentence comes amid the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the country’s saber-rattling with the US and Europe. The US State Department maintains Griner is wrongfully detained, and US officials have offered a potential prisoner swap with Russia in an attempt to bring her home safely.\n\nCharge d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Russia, Elizabeth Rood, said the sentence was a “miscarriage of justice,” and US President Joe Biden said the lengthy sentence was “unacceptable.”\n\n“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney. It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates,” Biden said in a statement.\n\nSecretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the Russian legal system more broadly, saying the sentence “puts a spotlight on our significant concerns with Russia’s legal system and the Russian government’s use of wrongful detentions to advance its own agenda, using individuals as political pawns.”\n\nHe said the US is working to bring home Griner and Paul Whelan, an American citizen who has been held by Russia for alleged espionage since 2018. “This is an absolute priority of mine and the Department’s,” Blinken said.\n\nIt’s now “up to the Russian side” on whether Griner’s conviction opens new doors for negotiations of a prisoner swap, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.\n\n“We’re still open to having our proposal seriously and positively considered, and if on the Russian side that means they feel like they’re more empowered to do that, then so be it,” Kirby told reporters in Thursday’s White House briefing.\n\nKirby reiterated the US position remains that it wants Russia to “take the deal on the table because it’s a good one, it’s a fair one, and it’ll help bring Paul and Brittney home.”\n\nCNN National Security Analyst Steve Hall said the harsh sentence was not a surprise and argued that Russia’s court proceedings are not legitimate.\n\n“This is all performance in Russia. There was never any doubt as to what was going to happen,” he said. “What Vladimir Putin is trying to do is basically drive up the bargaining price of Ms. Griner.”\n\nVideo Ad Feedback WNBA star's lawyers: cannabis was prescribed 02:21 - Source: CNN\n\nLast week, CNN reported that the Biden administration proposed a prisoner swap with Russia, offering to release a convicted Russian arms trafficker, Viktor Bout, in exchange for Griner and Whelan. Russian officials countered the US offer, multiple sources familiar with the discussions have said, but US officials did not accept the request as a legitimate counteroffer.\n\nThe Kremlin warned Tuesday that US “megaphone diplomacy” will not help negotiations for a prisoner exchange involving Griner. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow believes these talks should be “discrete.”\n\nGriner’s WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, played the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night. Before the game, the teams held a 42-second moment of silence as players linked arms. Near the end of the tribute, spectators started chanting, “Bring her home! Bring her home!” Griner, a six-time WNBA all-star, wears No. 42 for the Mercury.\n\nThe Mercury lost 77-64. Point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, wearing a “We Are BG” T-shirt, said after the game the verdict was devastating.\n\n“Nobody wanted to even play today,” she told reporters. “How are you supposed to approach the game, approach the court and with a clear mind, and our whole group is crying before the game? Because you try to honor her and you try to come out and still play hard for her.”\n\nEarlier, the Mercury released a statement calling the verdict “a sobering milestone in the 168-day nightmare” of her detention.\n\n“We are inspired every day by BG’s strength and we are steadfastly committed to keeping her top-of-mind publicly until she is safely back on American soil. We will not allow her to be forgotten. We are BG,” the statement reads.\n\nHead coach Vanessa Nygaard told CNN the guilty verdict and Griner’s sentence is “unacceptable.”\n\n“It’s just heartbreaking,” the coach said. “To hear her words and her apologies. Just trying to send love, prayers and strength to her.”\n\nIn a joint statement, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver criticized the verdict and sentence as “unjustified and unfortunate, but not unexpected.”\n\n“The WNBA and NBA’s commitment to her safe return has not wavered and it is our hope that we are near the end of this process of finally bringing BG home to the United States,” they said.\n\nDefense asked for leniency in closing arguments\n\nThe court hearing Thursday began shortly after Griner arrived in handcuffs, escorted by Russian officers into the defendant’s cage. Once uncuffed, she spoke with her legal team and then held up a photo of the UMMC Ekaterinburg basketball team, the Russian squad she played for during the WNBA offseason.\n\nIn closing arguments, Blagovolina argued that Griner never used marijuana in Russia and that she never had the intention of doing so. She had no need to bring the vape cartridges to Russia, the lawyer added. All this confirms the complete absence of intent in her actions, Blagovolina argued.\n\nEven if Griner ever used medical marijuana, it was only at home back in Arizona, rare and only with a doctor’s prescription, she added. She couldn’t have known how strict the laws were in Russia, Blagovolina said.\n\nBoykov also argued Griner had no opportunity to properly examine the court documents. He said that the Russian constitution guarantees everyone the right to use their native language and the free choice of the language of communication.\n\nBoykov cited an instance when a language interpreter provided to Griner flipped through a lengthy document offered by an investigator for translation and then told Griner, “Basically, it means that you are guilty.”\n\nThroughout the trial, Griner’s attorneys have laid out arguments undermining the prosecution’s case and claiming her detention was not handled correctly after she was stopped February 17 by personnel at the Sheremetyevo International Airport.\n\nHer detention, search and arrest were “improper,” Boykov said last week, noting more details would be revealed during closing arguments.\n\nAfter she was stopped in the airport, Griner was made to sign documents that she did not fully understand, she testified. At first, she said, she was using Google translate on her phone but was later moved to another room where her phone was taken and she was made to sign more documents.\n\nNo lawyer was present, Griner testified, and her rights were not explained to her. Those rights would include access to an attorney once she was detained and the right to know what she was suspected of. Under Russian law, she should have been informed of her rights within three hours of her arrest.\n\nOn Tuesday, at the seventh hearing in her case, a defense expert testified that the examination of the substance contained in Griner’s vape cartridges did not comply with Russian law. Blagovolina also told CNN her team’s experts identified “a few defects” in the machines used to measure the substance.\n\nAt trial, Griner testified she has a doctor’s prescription for medical cannabis and had no intention of bringing the drug into Russia. Following her detention in February, she was tested for drugs and was clean, her lawyers previously said.\n\n“We continue to insist that, by indiscretion, in a hurry, she packed her suitcase and did not pay attention to the fact that substances allowed for use in the United States ended up in this suitcase and arrived in the Russian Federation,” Boykov, of Moscow Legal Center, has said.", "authors": ["Anna Chernova Zahra Ullah Masha Angelova Chris Liakos Eric Levenson", "Anna Chernova", "Zahra Ullah", "Masha Angelova", "Chris Liakos", "Eric Levenson"], "publish_date": "2022/08/04"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_4", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:11", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/11/09/tropical-storm-nicole-life-updates-palm-beach-county-and-evacuations/8308971001/", "title": "Hurricane Nicole updates for Palm Beach County, evacuations, path", "text": "We are providing this story for free. Please consider signing up for a digital subscription using this link and support local news.\n\nPalm Beach County has ordered evacuations of zones A and B, which encompass beachside and mobile homes, ahead of Hurricane Nicole. Nicole strengthened from a tropical storm into a hurricane Wednesday evening and is expected to make landfall on Florida's east coast late Wednesday into early Thursday.\n\nDon't panic, be prepared:What supplies do you need for a storm? Here's a list\n\nHurricane prep myths:Taping windows before a storm?Don't fall for these hurricane myths\n\nTuesday's updates: Sustained winds increase to 70 mph as Tropical Storm Nicole moves west\n\n11 p.m. Hurricane Nicole update\n\nHurricane Nicole is moving away from Grand Bahama Island and heading toward Florida's east coast, according to the National Hurricane Center's 11 p.m. advisory.\n\nForecasters anticipate strong winds, a dangerous storm surge and heavy rains as it nears the Treasure Coast.\n\nNicole is about 50 miles northeast of West Palm Beach and traveling west-northwest at 13 mph. Its maximum sustained winds remain at 75 mph. The hurricane is expected to make landfall early Thursday.\n\nAs of 11 p.m., the National Weather Service canceled the hurricane watches it had issued for inland Palm Beach County and Broward County.\n\nAll other previously set watches and warnings remain in effect.\n\nFPL update: More lose power ahead of Hurricane Nicole\n\nAs of 11 p.m. Wednesday, 2,840 Florida Power and Light customers were without power in Palm Beach County, up from about 850 customers at 8 p.m.\n\nPower has been restored to nearly 25,000 customers, according to FPL's Power Tracker website.\n\nIn Martin County, 1,190 remained without power, along with 1,610 in Broward County.\n\n10 p.m. Hurricane Nicole update: Storm turns to west-northwest\n\nHurricane Nicole is approaching Florida's east coast with strong winds, a dangerous storm surge and heavy rains, according to the National Hurricane Center's 10 p.m. advisory.\n\nNicole is about 75 miles east of West Palm Beach and moving west-northwest — a change in direction from earlier updates — at 13 mph, with maximum sustained winds of up to 75 mph.\n\nLandfall was expected early Thursday, and the change in direction was one sign that it might happen north of the Jupiter Inlet.\n\nResidents from Hallandale Beach to Boca Raton are no longer under Hurricane Watch as of the 10 p.m. update. All previously set watches and warnings remain in effect.\n\nAfter landfall, Nicole's center is then expected to move across central and northern Florida into southern Georgia Thursday and Thursday night, and into the Carolinas Friday.\n\nA few tornadoes are possible overnight into early Thursday as Nicole moves across Florida, forecasters said.\n\nBrightline to resume Thursday\n\nBrightline and Brightline+ will resume regular operations on Thursday, including #BuzzerBeater trains. The first departure will be the 7:48 AM southbound from West Palm Beach.\n\nBrightline modified its schedule Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Nicole, making its final southbound departure from West Palm Beach for the day at 2:48 p.m. and the final northbound departure from Miami at 4:48 p.m.\n\nMore closures in Lake Worth Beach as Nicole looms\n\nSeveral Lake Worth Beach city buildings will remain closed and several activities will be canceled Thursday in anticipation of Hurricane Nicole's arrival.\n\nCity Hall, the ocean complex and the William Lockhart Pier, the library and the golf course are among that sites that will remain closed, along with the lobby of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office's District 14 station.\n\nRecreation sports practices and Senior Club are also canceled.\n\nPower restored to thousands in Palm Beach County; hundreds still waiting\n\nAs of 8 p.m. Wednesday, 850 Florida Power and Light customers were still without power in Palm Beach County, according to FPL's Power Tracker website. Power has been restored to nearly 21,000 customers.\n\nIn Martin County, 160 remained without power into the evening, along with 630 in Broward County.\n\nSolid Waste Authority to reopen trash collection sites Thursday; some pickup to resume\n\nThe Solid Waste Authority will reopen its facilities at 10 a.m. Thursday, allowing trash collection to resume in parts of Palm Beach County.\n\nThe authority suspended its operation Wednesday as the county awaited the landfall of Hurricane Nicole. There will be no makeup day for those households and businesses whose normal pickup day was Wednesday.\n\nCollection service will resume Thursday for all residents of the county's unincorporated areas except for those zones served by Waste Management, the county said. Residents should place all garbage, recyclables, yard waste and bulk waste at the curb by 6 a.m.\n\nWaste Management announced that all collection services in Palm Beach County have been suspended Thursday in light of the storm. Customers should expect service to resume on their next scheduled service day, the company said.\n\nThe City of West Palm Beach Sanitation Division has also suspended waste collection Thursday. Collection services will resume on customers' next regularly scheduled pickup day,\n\n7 p.m. Hurricane Nicole update\n\nGrand Bahama Island continued to bear the brunt of Nicole's hurricane-strength winds and storm surge Wednesday evening.\n\nAccording to the National Hurricane Center's 7 p.m. advisory, Hurricane Nicole is about 100 miles east of West Palm Beach and moving west at 13 mph, with maximum sustained winds of up to 75 mph.\n\nHurricane and tropical storm conditions are expected to continue across the northwestern Bahamas through the night.\n\nThe combination of storm surge and the tide will cause rising waters moving inland from the shoreline to flood normally dry areas along the coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The water could reach heights of 3 to 5 feet from North Palm Beach to Tequesta and 2 to 4 feet south of North Palm if the peak surge occurs at high tide.\n\nThere were no changes to the warnings and watches in effect as of 7 p.m.\n\nNicole strengthens, becomes a hurricane ahead of Florida landfall\n\nThe once-tropical storm Nicole strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday evening while making landfall at Grand Bahama Island, according to a 6 p.m. advisory by the National Hurricane Center.\n\nIt has sustained winds of 75 mph and at that time was 105 miles to the east of West Palm Beach. It was moving west at 12 mph.\n\nPolice close bridge to Delray barrier islands\n\nDelray Beach police were diverting traffic away from bridges connecting to the barrier island Wednesday afternoon.\n\nOnly residents from the island are allowed over the bridge, as mandatory evacuations have been ordered for those in beachside homes.\n\nDelray Beach's city manager has issued a state of emergency.\n\n4 p.m. Tropical Storm Nicole update\n\nTropical Storm Nicole battered the Grand Bahama Island Wednesday afternoon, bringing dangerous storm surges and strong winds with it.\n\nAccording to the National Hurricane Center's 4 p.m. advisory, Tropical Storm Nicole is about 135 miles east of West Palm Beach and moving west at 13 mph, with maximum sustained winds of up to 70 mph.\n\nNicole is expected to strengthen into the evening and become a hurricane before it reaches the east coast of Florida late Wednesday. The storm is then projected to weaken while moving across Florida and the southeastern United States from Thursday through Friday, and will likely become a post-tropical cyclone by Friday afternoon.\n\nThere were no changes to the warnings and watches in effect as of 4 p.m.\n\nPalm Beach County mobile home residents prepare for Tropical Storm Nicole\n\nLuis Aguilar took refuge inside the screened-in porch attached to his mobile home in Palm Beach Colony near West Palm Beach.\n\nAround the neighborhood, about one-third of the homes were boarded up for Nicole on Wednesday morning. Palm Beach Colony, along with most mobile-home parks in Palm Beach County and low-lying areas, was under a mandatory evacuation order.\n\nHe had boarded up just three of his home's several windows. He was looking around at a large leather loveseat, dining room table and dozens of outdoor decorations he had yet to bring inside the house.\n\nAguilar was the last one home. His wife and three younger children had already evacuated to his son's house in Loxahatchee. His plan was to join them with the family's three dogs when he was done preparing the house for Nicole.\n\n\"I woke up this morning, and we already had a cracked window in my daughter's room,\" he said, pointing to a small square window that was boarded up above an air-conditioning unit. \"My son called yesterday and said it'd be good if we came there today. As soon as I finish, I'll be with them.\"\n\nAguilar, whose home is one row in from a canal, said he and his family typically leave when storms threaten Palm Beach County. Luckily, they don't plan to travel too far for Nicole.\n\n\"When I get there, we'll wait,\" he said, looking at all that was left to do around his home. \"And pray.\"\n\nFor the full story, go here.\n\n— Katherine Kokal\n\nTransportation services grind to a halt across Palm Beach County\n\nAll flights in and out of the Palm Beach International Airport were canceled after 9 a.m. Wednesday. Individual airlines will work with passengers to rebook, the airport said.\n\nTriRail announced that P630 northbound from Miami Airport and P637 southbound from Mangonia Park will be the last trains to operate Wednesday. Routes will also be suspended Thursday to give time to inspect for safety.\n\nPalm Tran, the local bus service, suspended its fixed-route services at noon. Brightline modified its schedule as well, making its final southbound departure from West Palm Beach for the day at 2:48 p.m. The final northbound departure from Miami will be at 4:48 p.m.\n\nThe Florida Department of Transportation press office said it was still monitoring the storm and that for now, tolls on Florida';turnpike are not suspended.\n\nFor the full story, go here.\n\n— Stephany Matat\n\nPalm Beach expects most residents to shelter in place during Nicole, despite evacuation order\n\nAn evacuation order took effect Wednesday morning in Palm Beach and other parts of Palm Beach County ahead of the expected arrival of Tropical Storm Nicole tonight, but the town expects most residents will shelter in place.\n\nEvacuations were issued Tuesday afternoon by Palm Beach County officials and cover zones A and B, which includes mobile homes, barrier islands and low-lying areas. Palm Beach is in zone B.\n\nTown Manager Kirk Blouin said Wednesday that town police will not go door-to-door to convince people to leave their homes ahead of the storm, and any decision to do so should be made individually.\n\n\"It's important that people realize you should not be panicking, you should be executing your hurricane plan,\" said Palm Beach County Mayor Robert Weinroth Tuesday.\n\nPalm Beach County residents with questions about Tropical Storm Nicole can call the county's hotline at 561-712-6400. For information on evacuation zones, go to https://www.pbcgov.org/hurricane/.\n\nFor the full story, go here.\n\n— Jodie Wagner\n\nExpect power outages across South Florida, FPL says\n\nResidents should expect power outages as Tropical Storm Nicole approaches Florida's peninsula, said Florida Power & Light CEO Eric Silagy Wednesday.\n\nEven 200 miles away from West Palm Beach, Nicole has the potential of causing damage, and turning the lights off.\n\nMore than 4,000 FPL customers in South Florida — 1,977 in Palm Beach County, 415 in Broward County and 1,687 in Miami-Dade County — were without power as of 1 p.m. Wednesday. Another 1,800 customers in Lee County and 700 in Brevard County did not have power.\n\nFor the full story, go here.\n\n— Hannah Morse\n\nMunicipalities across Palm Beach County announce closures ahead of Nicole's landfall\n\nIn northern Palm Beach County, Juno Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens and Tequesta each closed their municipal halls Wednesday in anticipation of effects from Tropical Storm Nicole.\n\nPalm Beach Gardens announced that City Hall will remain closed through Thursday, as will the Burns Road Community Center, the Tennis & Pickleball Center, Sandhill Crane Golf Club and city parks.\n\nThe Aquatics Center is scheduled to reopen from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday. The Tennis & Pickleball Center will reopen Friday, if the weather permits.\n\nIn Jupiter, the town hall, community center and three parks — Jupiter Community Park, Cinquez Park and Abacoa Community Park — will be closed Wednesday and Thursday, and nonessential services are suspended for both days. Additionally, all athletic fields and facilities located within Jupiter will be closed.\n\nPalm Beach County officials have opened shelters at Jupiter’s Independence Middle School, at Greenway and Jeaga drives in Jupiter's Abacoa community, has been opened as a shelter. Palm Beach Gardens High School, at Holly Drive and Military Trail, also has opened as a shelter.\n\nIn Juno Beach, the town center closed at noon Wednesday and will remain closed until further notice. Tequesta’s village hall and recreation center closed at 8 a.m. Wednesday as a state of emergency was declared.\n\nThe City of Lake Worth Beach closed the William Lockhart Pier, City Library, golf course, city call, 1900 2nd Ave. offices, leisure services office, parking division and the PBSO District 14 headquarters. The Lake Worth Beach complex, including all shops and restaurants are also closed.\n\n— Julius Whigham II\n\n1 p.m. Tropical Storm Nicole update\n\nTropical Storm Nicole made landfall on Great Abaco Island at 11:55 a.m. with sustained winds of 70 mph.\n\nAs of 1 p.m., the system is 175 miles east of West Palm Beach and moving west at 12 mph.\n\nThe storm's track shifted slightly north taking areas from Boynton Beach to Boca Raton out of the for forecast cone. But tropical storm-force winds extend 460 miles from the center, mostly on the northern side of the center.\n\nNicole is forecast to become a hurricane in the next 12 hours before making landfall on Florida's east coast late Wednesday into early Thursday.\n\nThe Juno Beach Pier is closed and was under guard Wednesday afternoon. Town police kept people away from watching the day's unusually strong surf from the 990-foot fishing pier near U.S. 1 and Marcinski Road.\n\nA few people walked the beach instead, taking in the grey, windy scene before Nicole made landfall.\n\nOfficials eyeing Lake Okeechobee as Nicole looms\n\nWith Lake Okeechobee in the potential path of Tropical Storm Nicole, federal officials are checking the untested dike that surrounds it to make sure it can withstand heavy winds and rain.\n\nBut, officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers insisted, the Herbert Hoover Dike “is safer today than it has ever been going into a storm.”\n\nIn the last 15 years, roughly $1.5 billion has been spent shoring up the 143-mile levee and building water control structures. The improvements are nearly 97% complete, officials said.\n\nThe lake is now about three feet higher than it was when Hurricane Ian crossed the state in late September, devastating the Gulf Coast and bringing heavy rains to inland counties.\n\nWith the lake level at 16 feet, some “high volume releases” may be needed in the wake of Tropical Storm Nicole, officials said.\n\nThe release of freshwater from the lake has been blamed for polluting nearby saltwater estuaries and spurring blooms of toxic blue-green algae.\n\nThe dike was built to protect residents of The Glades after at least 2,500 people drowned when the lake overflowed its banks in a 1928 hurricane that made landfall in West Palm Beach.\n\nStorm surge hitting north county\n\nFEMA aid will be available\n\nFederal emergency aid will be available to 45 counties, including those in South Florida, that could be impacted by Hurricane Nicole, the Biden Administration announced Wednesday.\n\nThe emergency declaration allows FEMA to mobilize and provide assistance to areas hit by the storm. It also means federal money will be available if recovery efforts are needed.\n\nThe designation covers a wide swath of the eastern and central parts of the state from Miami to Orlando to Jacksonville.\n\nCounties in southeast Florida that were named in the declaration include Palm Beach, Broward, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties. The designation also covers the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.About 52,000 in mobile homes and 67,000 residents on barrier islands weree ordered to evacuate beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday.\n\nFree rides to shelters available in Palm Beach County\n\nPalm Beach County is providing free transportation to take homeless people to shelters before Hurricane Nicole strikes today.\n\nRides will be offered at noon at the following locations:\n\nBryant Park off Lake Avenue in Lake Worth Beach\n\nPhil Foster Park on Blue Heron Boulevard in Riviera Beach\n\nCurrie Park on Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach\n\nDelray Beach Public Library on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach\n\nNo rides will be offered later this afternoon as tropical force winds are expected to make travel unsafe. Those with questions or concerns can call the county’s Emergency Information Center at 561-712-6400.\n\nFor information on what to bring to hurricane evacuation shelters, visit https://bit.ly/3tgsklH.\n\nFlooding ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach\n\n10 a.m. Tropical Storm Nicole update\n\nTropical Storm Nicole maintained 70 mph sustained winds as of the 10 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center as it moved west at 12 mph.\n\nThe storm, which is expected to become a hurricane today, was 210 miles west of West Palm Beach.\n\nPalm Beach County is already feeling wind gusts to 39 mph at Palm Beach International Airport ahead of Nicole. The storm has a massive spread of tropical storm-force winds to 460 miles from its center.\n\nPalm Beach County began mandatory evacuations of zones A and B, which includes mobile homes, low-lying areas and barrier islands at 7 a.m.\n\nNational Hurricane Center forecasters warned that Nicole's storm surge is causing \"a life-threatening situation\" in areas that have a storm surge warning. That includes North Palm Beach, Jupiter and Juno Beach.\n\nIt's unclear how many people are evacuating. A handful of Palm Beach residents said they planned to stay put despite being in the zone B evacuation area.\n\n\"I don't want to say I have no concerns, but I'm probably not evacuating\" said Sammy Vassallo, who was walking on Worth Avenue Wednesday morning. \"People who ignore the ocean are consumed by it. I have respect for the water.\"\n\nPalm Beach County residents get ready for Tropical Storm Nicole\n\nLines were longer than usual at 9 a.m. Wednesday at Aldi on Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach, according to store employees. The store just implemented self-checkout stations, which in some cases have led to confusion from customers and longer lines on a normal day.\n\nThe store, which opened at 8:30 a.m., was fully stocked on bottled water and meat. Some shoppers stocked their carts with produce and perishable items while others grabbed bottled water and canned items.\n\nOne couple weighed whether they could use canned sauerkraut in anything tasty if they lost power due to Tropical Storm Nicole. They decided against it.\n\nOne woman, who didn’t want her name published because she was popping out to the store during her working hours, said she was stocking up on extra bottled water ahead of Nicole. She lives near the store, but not in an evacuation zone, so she said she was planning to stay put through the storm.\n\n“I work Saturday through Wednesday, so I will be staying home anyway,” she said of her job in healthcare.\n\nShe added that she was not terribly worried about Nicole and didn’t plan to put sandbags at her doors or board windows.\n\n“I buy bottled water anyway, so I just got some more today for the storm,” she said.\n\n— Katherine Kokal\n\n7 a.m. Tropical Storm Nicole update, life threatening storm surge\n\nTropical Storm Nicole is closing in on Florida at just 240 miles east of West Palm Beach. At 7 a.m., Nicole had 70 mph sustained winds - just 5 mph shy of making it hurricane strength - and was moving west-southwest at a speedy 13 mph.\n\nNicole has a huge field of damaging winds stretching 460 miles from its center, especially to its north and meteorologists are cautioning not to focus on the cone.\n\nThe National Hurricane Center is warning of \"life threatening storm surge\" in areas under a storm surge warning. That includes North Palm Beach, Juno Beach and Jupiter where high waves will be riding on a storm surge that could reach 3 to 5 feet.\n\nPalm Beach County evacuates based on storm surge and has issued mandatory evacuations of zones A and B, which includes barrier islands, mobile homes and low-lying areas.\n\nThe last hurricane to hit the Florida Peninsula in November was the so-called Yankee Hurricane of 1935 that hit near Miami on Nov. 4. The storm was nicknamed Yankee because of it's unusual path from the northeast.\n\n\"Many peculiarities attended this storm aside from its most unusual path,\" a November 1935 Monthly Weather Review says, noting that very little rain fell with the storm. \"Winds of gale force extended northward to West Palm Beach.\"\n\nPalm Beach International Airport anticipates 9 a.m. closing\n\nPalm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach anticipates commercial airline operations will stop at about 9 a.m. Wednesday.\n\nOfficials advise checking with your airline for specific details before coming to the airport. The terminal will be closed to the public following the last departure.\n\nPBI is not a shelter and people should not plan on staying there through the storm. For information on Palm Beach County shelters go to https://www.pbcgov.org/hurricane/.\n\nTropical Storm Nicole nearing hurricane strength as it approaches Bahamas\n\nPalm Beach County is being buffeted by gusty winds that reach a sprawling 460 miles from Tropical Storm Nicole's center as it musters hurricane strength east of the northwestern Bahamas on a path to Florida.\n\nAt 4 a.m. Wednesday, Nicole was a 70 mph tropical storm approaching Great Abaco Island in the northwestern Bahamas.\n\nThe storm, which is expected to reach Florida's east coast as a Category 1 hurricane between Boca Raton and Sebastian was abut 270 miles east of West Palm Beach. It was moving west-southwest at a swift 13 mph.\n\nA hurricane warning is in effect for Boca Raton to the Flagler/Volusia County line. A storm surge warning is in effect for North Palm Beach to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. A Storm surge watch is in effect for south of North Palm Beach to Hallandale Beach Florida.\n\nPalm Beach County mandatory evacuations begin at 7 a.m. Wednesday for zones A and B, which includes mobile homes, barrier islands and low-lying areas.\n\nShelters also open at 7 a.m. and include Palm Beach Gardens High School, Independence Middle School, Palm Beach Central High School, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary, Park Vista High School, Lake Shore Middle School and Pahokee Middle School. A pet-friendly will open at West Boynton Recreation Center.\n\nNicole will face challenges to reaching Cat 1 status (74 mph winds) including a cold upper-level atmosphere, wind shear and dry air.\n\n“To be clear, there is zero chance that Nicole could blow up into a Hurricane Ian or Dorian,” said Fox Weather hurricane expert Bryan Norcross, who is based in Miami. “I don’t see any likelihood of it being more than a Category 1.”\n\nNonetheless, the official National Hurricane Center forecast has it reaching maximum sustained winds of 75 mph before near the Bahamas and maintaining that strength with 90 mph gusts when it makes landfall in Florida.\n\nSustained tropical storm-force winds could reach Palm Beach County this afternoon. Forecast storm surge heights have not changed from yesterday with 2 to 4 feet expected in Central and South Palm Beach County and 3 to 5 feet from North Palm Beach to Georgia.\n\nKimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/11/09"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2022/06/02/graceland-elvis-presley-history-trivia/9810757002/", "title": "Graceland: The history of Elvis' home in Memphis. Here are 40 facts", "text": "Graceland opened to the public on June 7, 1982.\n\nThat was 40 years ago.\n\nForty!\n\nSeems like a significant number.\n\nWhen Elvis died on Aug. 16, 1977, he was only 42.\n\nHe had lived at Graceland for 20 years. So, the house, in a way, has been home to Elvis' legacy for twice as long as it was home to Elvis.\n\nHow to tell the story of Graceland? Here's one way: 40 facts to mark that 40th anniversary.\n\nActually, you'll find many more than 40 facts below. But the list is numbered 1 through 40, for the sake of symmetry and convenience. (In any case, math never was my strong suit; neither, according to his 6th-grade report card, was it Elvis'.)\n\nMEMPHIS TOURISM:Graceland made Memphis a tourism destination. Here's how it continues to impact the city\n\nGRACELAND HISTORY:Graceland felt like 'a twilight zone' when it opened in 1982. Now it's more like a home | Beifuss\n\n40 facts about Graceland\n\n1. The Graceland name predates the mansion. Owner Stephen C. Toof, a Memphis commercial printer, named his \"Graceland Farms\" property for his daughter, Grace, who inherited the land when her father died in 1894.\n\n2. Grace's niece, Ruth Moore, referred to in newspaper reports as a \"socialite\" and \"musical prodigy,\" and her husband, Thomas Moore, a doctor, built the Colonial Revival (sometimes called \"Classical Revival\") mansion in 1939. Before Elvis expanded it, the house contained 10,266 square feet.\n\n3. Elvis purchased Graceland — the house, the barn and the 13.8 acres of land — on March 19, 1957, for $102,500. The home's Whitehaven location was relatively isolated and rural, unlike Elvis' previous address at 1034 Audubon Drive in East Memphis. Elvis immediately began adding to the mansion, expanding the house to 17,552 square feet and 23 rooms. The mansion would be his Memphis home for 20 years.\n\n4. Lisa Marie Presley is the sole owner of the Graceland mansion and its original grounds. Under the terms of Elvis' will, she inherited the property in 1993, when she turned 25. (Meanwhile, Elvis Presley Enterprises, a corporate entity of the Elvis Presley Trust, manages Graceland's operations as well as most other business dealings related to Elvis, his legacy and his likeness.)\n\n5. Graceland was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Nov. 7, 1991. It was the first rock-and-roll-related site to be so honored.\n\n6. Graceland was declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006. Again, it was the first rock-and-roll-related site to be so honored.\n\nELVIS TRIVIA:Think you know everything about the King? Try to answer these questions\n\nGRACELAND:Tips to help you take care of business when visiting Elvis' home\n\n7. The Historic Landmark documentation provides a detailed, even literary description of Graceland: \"The house was constructed at the top of a hill, almost at the center of the property in a grove of oaks, with rolling pastures in front and behind it, and a western exposure towards the Mississippi River. A curving driveway, bordered by a six-inch concrete curb lined with small electric lights along the outside edge, approaches from the state highway at the foot of the hill and forms a large loop that passes in front of the house and returns back down the hill.\"\n\n8. The document continues: \"The house is a two-story, five bay residence in the Classical Revival style with a side-facing gabled roof covered in asphalt shingles, a central two-story projecting pedimented portico, and one-story wings on its north and south sides. The front and side facades of the central block are veneered with Tishomingo limestone from Mississippi...\"\n\n9. The familiar pink Alabama fieldstone wall that fronts the property was erected in 1957, to protect Presley's privacy and discourage trespassing fans. (It has not been entirely successful; see fact No. 15.) Since Elvis' death, the wall has served as a graffiti magnet and message board, with fans scrawling sometimes very personal sentiments or adding artwork tributes to the King to almost every available space on the rough but conveniently pale stone.\n\n10. Built and erected by the Tennessee Fabricating Co. and Memphis' Dillard Door Co. at a total cost of about $2,700, the famous custom-built gates of Graceland — a \"special double drive way gate,\" to quote the work order — were installed on April 22, 1957. With their stylized representations of a guitar-strumming Elvis set against a pattern of musical staffs and notes, the gates suggest the entryway to a musical heaven. The gates were restored in 1990 by the National Ornamental Metal Museum.\n\n11. In a testimony to Elvis' influence, the City Council on June 29, 1971, unanimously approved a proposal to change the name of the five-mile stretch of South Bellevue between South Parkway and the Mississippi state line to \"Elvis Presley Boulevard\"; the street address of Graceland thus became 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard. The first sign was put in place during a January 1972 ceremony that was attended by Mayor Wyeth Chandler and Elvis' father, Vernon Presley.\n\n12. A highlight of any Graceland tour, the ornamental stained-glass peacocks that flank the open doorway between the living room and the music room were added by the Laukhuff Stained Glass Company of Memphis in 1974.\n\n13. Also in 1974, Elvis remodeled two basement hang-out rooms. Painted and decorated in yellow and black, the \"TV Room\" is notable for the three television sets built into the south wall, so Elvis could watch all three commercial networks at once (presumably, he wasn't much of a PBS fan), and for the spooky white monkey statuette on its center table. (The figure inspired \"Porcelain Monkey,\" an Elvis lament by singer Warren Zevon: \"Hip-shakin', shoutin' in gold lamé/ That's how he earned his regal sobriquet/ Then he threw it all away/ For a porcelain monkey.\") Even more challenging to the eyeballs is the \"Pool Room,\" its claustrophobic interior dominated by a central pool table and its walls and low ceiling covered in close to 400 yards of vividly multi-colored pleated fabric.\n\n14. On Nov. 24, 1976, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis' contemporary and onetime rock-and-roll rival, was arrested at about 3 a.m. outside Graceland, after he drove up to the gates in his Lincoln Continental Mark IV and demanded to see Elvis, while \"screaming and yelling and waving a Derringer in the air\" (according to the testimony of a guard at the gates, as quoted in The Commercial Appeal). Police confirmed that the Killer's \"two-shot .38 caliber Derringer\" was loaded (as, apparently, was Lewis).\n\n15. A less troublesome trespasser was Bruce Springsteen, who, on April 29, 1976, after making his Memphis concert debut at the old Ellis Auditorium, took a taxi to Graceland, accompanied by E Street Band guitar player \"Miami\" Steve Van Zandt. According to an oft-repeated story, when the Boss saw a light on inside the mansion, he had an urge to meet the King. As Springsteen told a concert crowd in 1985, when introducing a cover of Elvis' \"Follow That Dream\": \"I said, 'Steve, man, I gotta go check it out.' And I jumped up over the wall and I started runnin' up the driveway, which when I look back on it now was kind of a stupid thing to do because I hate it when people do it at my house... Guards came out of the woods and they asked me what I wanted. And I said, 'Is Elvis home?' Then they said, 'No, no, Elvis isn't home, he's in Lake Tahoe'. [Which was true.] So, I started to tell 'em that I was a guitar player and that I had my own band, and that we played in town that night, and that I made some records. And I even told 'em I had my picture on the cover of Time and Newsweek. I had to pull out all the stops to try to make an impression, you know. I don't think he believed me, though, 'cause he just kinda stood there noddin' and then he took me by the arm and put me back out on the street with Steve.\"\n\n16. In addition to rock-and-rollers, Graceland attracted many animals. Pets owned by Elvis included Scatter, a chimpanzee, and Bambi, a squirrel monkey. Some exotic animal gifts were donated to the Memphis Zoo, including two wallabies, sent by Australian fans.\n\n17. The animals with the longest history at Graceland were horses. Elvis' reputed favorite was Rising Sun, a golden palomino. Mare Ingram was a mare, named after Memphis Mayor William B. Ingram. Some other horses owned by Elvis and housed in Graceland's air-conditioned barn included Flaming Star, Thundercloud, Star Trek and a Tennessee Walking Horse named Ebony's Double, which was the last horse Elvis bought.\n\nBAZ LUHRMANN'S'ELVIS' :'Elvis' movie shakes up Cannes. Here's what critics and the Presleys are saying.\n\nGRACELAND EXHIBITS:Elvis is 'Dressed to Rock': New exhibit of King's stage costumes opens at Graceland\n\n18. After rigging the Jungle Room into a home studio, Elvis made his final recordings inside Graceland, in February and October 1976. Featuring members of his touring band, including such legends as guitarist James Burton and drummer Ronnie Tutt, the sessions provided the foundation for the singer's last two studio albums, \"From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee\" and \"Moody Blue\" (which was released less than a month before the singer's death), and yielded the last three Top 40 pop chart singles of his lifetime: \"Hurt,\" \"Moody Blue\" and \"Way Down.\"\n\n19. Built in 1975, the two-story racquetball building behind the mansion contained an upright piano. Elvis sat at that piano not long before he died on Aug. 16, 1977, performing \"Unchained Melody\" and \"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.\" Later, upstairs at Graceland, Elvis' girlfriend, Ginger Alden, discovered Presley on his bathroom floor. He was taken to Baptist Hospital on Union Avenue and pronounced dead.\n\n20. Elvis' funeral was held on Aug. 18, 1977, at Graceland. The eulogy was delivered by Jackie Kahane, a standup comic who opened many Presley concerts in the 1970s. At Vernon Presley's request, a public viewing of the body was held in the foyer of the mansion the day before, attracting 10,000 to 25,000 mourners. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of other fans congregated during the week along Elvis Presley Boulevard.\n\n21. Originally interred about four miles north of Graceland inside the Forest Hill Cemetery Midtown mausoleum on Elvis Presley Boulevard, the bodies of Elvis and his mother, Gladys Presley, were moved to the Meditation Garden at Graceland on Oct. 2, 1977. The move came after the Aug. 29 arrest of three men in a plot to steal Elvis' body from Forest Hill and hold it for ransom. With its circular pool, fountains, stained-glass panels and Ancient World-looking columns, the Meditation Garden had been constructed in 1964 and '65.\n\n22. Five people are buried in the Meditation Garden. Using the spellings that appear on the grave markers, these people include Elvis Aaron Presley (\"Aron\" is the way the name appears on Elvis' birth certificate, marriage certificate and driver's licenses); Elvis' father, Vernon Elvis Presley; his mother, Gladys Love Smith Presley; his grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley; and the grandson he never met, Benjamin Storm Presley Keough, the son of Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. The Garden also contains a marker for Elvis' stillborn twin, Jessie Garon Presley, who was buried in an unmarked grave in Tupelo. (\"Jessie\" is spelled \"Jesse\" in most other sources.)\n\n23. The gravesite is the focus of the annual Candlelight Vigil that draws thousands of fans to Graceland every year, to promenade to the Meditation Garden on the anniversary of Elvis' death. The vigil originally was a fan-generated event, but it soon was embraced by Elvis Presley Enterprises and made the centerpiece of Graceland's annual \"Elvis Week\" August activities. The first vigil was held in 1978, when fans from the Austin, Texas-based Elvis Country Fan Club traveled to Graceland to pay their respects to the King by lighting candles outside the gates.\n\n24. Family members continued to live at Graceland after Elvis' death, including Vernon Presley, who died in 1979, and Minnie Mae Presley, who died in 1980. But the hardiest post-Elvis Graceland resident was Delta Mae Presley Biggs, known to family and fans alike as \"Aunt Delta.\" The sister of Vernon Presley, Aunt Delta moved to Graceland in 1966, after the death of her husband, and continued to live in the mansion even after it was opened to the public, until her death on July 29, 1993, at 74. During this time, the Graceland kitchen and bedroom frequented by Delta remained off-limits to tourists; they were added to the tour after her death.\n\n25. Graceland was opened to the public on June 7, 1982. Admission was $5. Attendance through the end of that year exceeded 330,000 — well above projections. Now, the cheapest available Graceland ticket that includes the mansion tour is $77 (or $44 for a kid, 5-10); yearly attendance is about 500,000.\n\n26. On Feb. 22, 1984, Elvis’ two private jets — the Lisa Marie and the Hound Dog II — arrived in Memphis and were transported down Elvis Presley Boulevard to their present location, across the street from the mansion. The Lisa Marie is a Convair 880 with a cruising speed of about 615 mph that seats about 28 people; Elvis bought it from Delta Airlines in 1975 for $250,000 and fitted it with a private bedroom with a queen-size bed; four televisions; and a 52-speaker stereo system. The Hound Dog II, which can host only about 10 passengers, is a Lockheed JetStar.\n\n27. In 1994, the live tour guides that had been a fixture at Graceland were replaced by \"audio guides\" — audiotapes with headphones that visitors wear as they tour the mansion. The audio guides are available in nine languages: English, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and French.\n\n28. On May 30, 2016, Graceland welcomed its 20 millionth visitor since its conversion to a tourist attraction. Accompanied by husband Robert Greenoak, Tiffany Greenoak, 31, of London, England, was designated lucky No. 20,000,000. “We played Elvis music at our wedding, so for us as a couple, this trip to Memphis has tremendous meaning,\" said Mrs. Greenoak. The couple was given a private tour and received a congratulatory phone call from Priscilla Presley, who was married to Elvis from 1967 to 1973. (Priscilla's wedding took place not at Graceland but at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas.)\n\nELVIS IN THE MOVIES:Elvis is still a movie star. Here's a guide to his screen 'appearances'\n\nELVIS FANS:'Elvis has the perfect face': This Tennessee artist has created 20,000 images of the King\n\n29. On June 30, 2006, President George W. Bush became the first sitting U.S. President to visit Graceland when he, first lady Laura Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took a private tour of the mansion, led by Priscilla Presley and Lisa Marie. The reason: Koizumi — who shares Elvis' Jan. 8 birthday — is a Presley superfan. According to press reports, he said visiting Graceland was like a \"dream,\" and serenaded the Bushes and Presleys during the tour with song snippets, crooning, \"Hold me close, hold me tight,\" and \"Love me tender.\"\n\n30. As chronicled on the \"Celebrity Visitors to Graceland\" snapshot gallery on the Elvis website, other notables who have visited Graceland in recent years include — to name just a few — Dua Lipa, Vanilla Ice, Tom Brokaw, Gilbert Gottfried, Dolph Lundgren, Chris Tucker, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Bill Nye (the Science Guy), demonic Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, the Foo Fighters and the pre-divorce duo of Russell Brand and Katy Perry. (Not pictured: Prince William and Prince Harry, who visited Graceland in 2014.)\n\n31. Paul McCartney visited Graceland on May 26, 2013, and tweeted a picture of himself leaving a guitar pick on Elvis' grave. He reportedly told onlookers the gesture was \"so Elvis can play in heaven.\"\n\n32. The 450-room Guest House at Graceland opened on Oct. 27, 2016, north of the mansion on Elvis Presley Boulevard. The hotel space includes a 464-seat theater and four bars and restaurants. It effectively replaced the 128-room Heartbreak Hotel, a remodeled 1986 Wilson World lodge that Graceland remodeled and reopened in 1999.\n\n33. A casualty of Graceland expansion was the so-called Graceland Crossing shopping plaza, an L-shaped strip mall of independent Elvis souvenir shops located across the street and to the north of the mansion. A popular Elvis Week hangout for fans, who gathered in a tent in the plaza parking lot to listen to performances by tribute artists (this reporter once ran into Jackson Browne there), the space was bought by Graceland and closed in 2017.\n\n34. Located in a secluded space between the Guest House and the mansion, the Graceland Chapel in the Woods lived up to its \"Love Me Tender\" mission on Aug. 13, 2018, when Memphis-based Elvis fans Julie Guardado and Marc Caudel — who had met during Elvis Week 2015 — became the first couple to be married in the then-new chapel.\n\n35. Also among the structures now on the grounds of Graceland is the Elvis Presley archive: a climate-controlled cinderblock building that houses much of the estate's estimated 1.5 million documents, photographs, wardrobe items, musical instruments and other Elvis-connected objects.\n\n36. The ambitious centerpiece of an attempt to expand the Elvis experience beyond the mansion, Elvis Presley’s Memphis opened on March 2, 2017. Located on the Graceland campus across the street from the house, the $45 million, 40-acre complex includes restaurants, shops, exhibit space and The Soundstage at Graceland, which has become one of the city's busiest venues, hosting concerts by such artists as Tanya Tucker, X, the Monkees (with Michael Nesmith, just two months before his death) and the other Elvis, Costello.\n\n37. Graceland is closed to visitors only on Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, on March 20, 2020, Graceland closed — like many public places in Shelby County — due to Health Department mandates related to the coronavirus pandemic. It reopened May 21, with a number of whimsical Elvis-themed cautions in place. \"Don't Forget to Social Distance\" counseled the campus' illustrated signs, which represented the recommended six-feet-of-separation as a measurement equal to \"6 teddy bears,\" \"3 hound dogs,\" \"2 guitars\" or \"1 Elvis.\"\n\n38. Excluding the Guest House, Graceland has 231 employees — 160 of whom work fulltime.\n\n39. In 2018, the Hallmark Channel holiday movie \"Christmas at Graceland,\" starring American Idol contestant turned country music hit-maker Kellie Pickler, became the first fiction film to be shot on the grounds of the Elvis Presley estate. A ratings smash for the channel, it inspired two HCU (Hallmark Cinematic Universe) follow-ups, \"Wedding at Graceland\" and \"Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays.\"\n\n40. From its 1982 public opening through May 2022, Graceland has attracted just under 23 million visitors, according to figures supplied by Graceland. With some 600,000 \"guests\" per year, the Elvis estate is the second most-visited \"house museum\" in the United States, according to Forbes. The first is the White House.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/06/02"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2021/07/26/sandy-hook-memorial-rabid-bats-tour-de-turtles-news-around-states/117661940/", "title": "50 States", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nDothan: Police searching the home of a man suspected of attacking a woman in her home found more than 400 pairs of women’s panties, authorities said. Investigators also found dozens of photos of John Thomas Uda’s co-workers taken without their permission from the neck down, leading to 50 counts of voyeurism, Dothan police told news outlets. Uda, 27, also is charged with attempted rape, three counts of burglary, aggravated criminal surveillance and two counts of illegal possession of a credit card. Police are trying to figure out how many of those 400 paris of women’s underwear, which had been worn, might have been stolen. Investigators said worn panties can also be bought on the internet. Uda was accused in 2019 of stealing women’s underwear from laundromats, authorities said. Jail records did not indicate if Uda had an attorney.\n\nAlaska\n\nNome: A miner who said he was harassed by a bear for seven straight nights in the tundra near Nome was rescued when a passing Coast Guard helicopter spotted an SOS, the internationally recognized sign for help, on top of his cabin. The man, who was not identified by the Coast Guard in a statement, was taken to waiting rescue personnel in Nome. The helicopter crew was flying from Kotzebue to Kodiak on July 16 when it saw the SOS on top of the building. The crew circled back over the mining camp and saw a man waving his arms, another recognized sign of distress, the Coast Guard statement said. The man requested medical assistance after the helicopter landed, saying he had been attacked by a bear a few days earlier. The man appeared to have a leg injury and bruising on his torso, the Coast Guard said. The man said the bear had returned to his camp and harassed him every night for the previous week, according to the statement. Friends the same day the man was found had reported him overdue when he hadn’t returned to Nome. The Coast Guard statement didn’t specify what type of bear was involved.\n\nArizona\n\nPage:Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir on the Colorado River, is about to hit the lowest water level since it was filled in 1963, the Bureau of Reclamation said. As of Friday afternoon, agency data showed the elevation at 3,555.35 feet above sea level. Despite the recent rain, officials anticipated the levels to decline to 3,555.1 feet by last weekend. The last time the reservoir dropped that low was in 2005, during the early days of a prolonged drought that continues to linger to this day. Once it falls below that level, it will mark a new low in the reservoir’s history. “The fact that we’ve reached this new record underscores the difficult situation that we’re in,” said Wayne Pullan, regional director for the Upper Colorado Basin at the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages Glen Canyon Dam, during a press call to discuss the milestone. Because of the low water levels, the bureau plans to release water from three upper basin reservoirs downstream into Lake Powell ahead of schedule. The emergency measure is intended to help ensure the water level remains high enough to keep the hydropower turbines spinning and generating electricity.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: Arkansas’ coronavirus cases rose by nearly 2,000 on Friday as the state’s COVID-19 surge prompted the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to scale back its hospital visitor policy. The Department of Health said the state’s virus cases rose by 1,987 to 372,313 total since the pandemic began. The state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations rose by 22 to 871, with 328 in intensive care and 159 on ventilators. UAMS announced that beginning Monday it will change its visitation policy to limit patients to one visitor per day. Previously, patients could have multiple visitors a day as long as only one visitor was in the patient’s room at a time. UAMS said it will continue to allow additional visitors for end-of-life situations. UAMS will continue to require visitors to pass a daily health screening and wear a photo ID badge and a face mask. Hospital visitors will also be required to stay in the patient’s room at all times.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSan Diego: An unvaccinated snow leopard at the San Diego Zoo has contracted COVID-19. Caretakers noticed that Ramil, a 9-year-old male snow leopard, had a cough and runny nose on Thursday. Later, two separate tests of his stool confirmed the presence of the coronavirus, the zoo said in a statement Friday. Ramil is not showing additional symptoms, the zoo said, but because he shares an enclosure with a female snow leopard and two Amur leopards, the staff assumes they have been exposed. As a result, the animals were quarantined and their exhibit was closed. It’s unknown how Ramil got infected. In January, a troop of eight gorillas at the zoo’s sister facility, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, contracted COVID-19 from a keeper who had the virus but showed no symptoms. The gorilla troop, which has since recovered, became the first known example of the virus infecting apes. The case prompted the zoo to request an experimental COVID-19 vaccine for animals for emergency use. The vaccine from Zoetis, animal health company that was once part of Pfizer, was administered to species most at risk of contracting COVID-19, including several primates and big cats.\n\nColorado\n\nWindsor:The city closed Windsor Lake on Friday afternoon and shifted planned activities this week because of the detection of blue-green algae in the water. The lake, swim beach and dog park are closed to the public until further notice while the city works with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to monitor bacteria levels. Permitted boats are allowed on the lake “to assist in agitating the water,” but tubing, water skiing and other water activities are not allowed. The algae was detected in a precautionary water test July 19. On July 20, the town put out an algae advisory and put signs around the lake, but staff had not yet identified any toxins. Blue-green algae are known to spread rapidly and can be a result of hot weather, stagnant water and stormwater runoff. CDPHE said that the algae, while common in Colorado, can sometimes produce toxins that can harm people and be fatal to dogs and other animals.\n\nConnecticut\n\nNewtown: After nearly eight years of discussion and planning, a memorial to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is nearing construction with the goal of offering a peaceful place for reflection. A groundbreaking ceremony is planned next month at the site down the street where the shooting occurred that killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown on Dec. 14, 2012. Construction will be finished before the 10th anniversary next year, officials said. The State Bond Commission approved $2.5 million for the project on Friday, which the town will use to defray much of the $3.7 million local voters approved in April for the total cost of the memorial. The key area of the memorial will be a water feature with a sycamore tree in the middle and the victims’ names engraved on the top of the surrounding supporting wall. The water flow has been designed so floatable candles, flowers and other objects will move toward the tree and circle around it. Pathways will take visitors through a variety of plantings, including flower gardens.\n\nDelaware\n\nDagsboro: A historic chapel that predates the Revolutionary War has reopened to the public following a 16-month closure because of the pandemic. Prince George’s Chapel in Dagsboro welcomed the public for monthly tours Sunday, the Delaware State News reported. “It wasn’t worth even trying to open it up with all the restrictions and everything. So we’ve had it shut down,” Brian Baull, president of the nonprofit organization that serves as caretaker for the chapel, told the newspaper. Tours, which will take place the fourth Sunday of each month, are free. Construction on the chapel began in 1755 and was completed two years later. It was deeded to the state of Delaware in 1967, restored and reopened as a museum. In 1971, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Its most prominent feature is a vaulted ceiling made of heart-of-pine planks, the newspaper reported.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington:Mayor Muriel Bowser has activated the District's Heat Emergency Plan for the first half of this week, WUSA-TV reported. The plan goes into effect when the forecast of the temperature or heat index in the District is 95 degrees or higher. That causes the city to open cooling centers for residents seeking relief from the heat. A list of District cooling centers can be found here. In addition, the city recommends that residents stay indoors, find places in the shade or with air conditioning to seek relief from the heat; check on neighbors – children, the elderly and those with access and functional needs are the most vulnerable in the community; dink plenty of water and wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing; do not leave children or pets in vehicles; pet owners should keep pets indoors, walk pets early in the morning and give pets plenty of water.\n\nFlorida\n\nMarathon: A juvenile green sea turtle rehabilitated at the Keys-based Turtle Hospital has been fitted with a satellite-tracking transmitter and released from a Keys beach to join the 14th Tour de Turtles, a marathon-like race that follows long-distance migration of sea turtles over three months. The educational outreach program organized by the Sea Turtle Conservancy raises awareness about sea turtles and threats to their survival. “The Tour de Turtles is an online educational program where, starting August 1, we’re tracking 19 turtles from Florida, Panama, Costa Rica and Nevis,” said Dan Evans, a senior research biologist with the Sea Turtle Conservancy. “It’s the idea that we’re tracking which turtle swims the furthest distance over three months.” Dubbed “Lucky Pulse” by her rescuers for a pulse-like marking on her head, the Keys turtle was released Friday to raise awareness about her own affliction. She was found off the Keys on March 17, entangled in fishing trap line and covered with fibropapilloma, debilitating tumors that develop from a herpes-like virus that affects sea turtles around the world. After the tumors’ removal, Lucky Pulse’s recovery included blood transfusions, breathing treatments, a broad spectrum of antibiotics, fluids, vitamins and a diet of seafood and greens.\n\nGeorgia\n\nColumbus: Residents at a mobile home park said they have had almost no water service for the past three weeks. So little water comes out of the pipes that it is almost impossible to flush toilets, wash dishes or take a bath at the Sea Breeze Mobile Home Park in Columbus, WRBL-TV reported. The water also isn’t safe to drink. “I had to spend three days in the hotel, me and my 8-year-old and my wife. That was money coming out of our pocket,” resident Jeffery Williams said. Water has been restored to some areas of the mobile home park and a citation has been issued to owner Fountain Bleau Capital LLC, said Columbus Inspection and Code Enforcement Director Ryan Pruett. The Massachusetts owner of the park said the maintenance staff was infected with COVID-19 and that delayed fixing the water problems.\n\nHawaii\n\nHilo: A lawsuit challenging using police forces from other islands to respond to protests over a giant telescope planned for Hawaii’s tallest mountain is headed to the state Supreme Court. Police officers from Oahu and Maui flew to the Big Island in 2019 to help control protesters who blocked the mountain’s access road. Opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope said it will desecrate land held sacred by Native Hawaiians. Big Island resident E. Kalani Flores’ lawsuit against police chiefs of the Hawaii County, Maui County and Honolulu forces argued his rights to observe Native Hawaiian cultural practices on Mauna Kea were violated by the police presence. The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case next month, Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported. The lawsuit said police violated a state statute that a police chief can operate on a neighboring island if doing so is required in the pursuit of an investigation that started in that chief’s jurisdiction. The lawsuit was initially dismissed because of a technicality and later went before the state Intermediate Court of Appeals, which ruled in favor of the police chiefs.\n\nIdaho\n\nKetchum: A multiyear project to improve forest health in and around one of the nation’s top ski destinations has begun in central Idaho. The 10-year Bald Mountain Stewardship Project is intended in part to reduce the chances of a wildfire at Sun Valley Resort’s Bald Mountain ski area that operates on U.S. Forest Service land. The Idaho Mountain Express reported that work has started on the Forest Service’s plan to reduce fuel, restore forest health and enhance recreation opportunities. The ski area is a huge economic driver. But pine beetles, dwarf mistletoe and white pine blister rust are killing trees on the ski-run-carved mountain that forms a scenic and much-photographed backdrop for the resort towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley. Experts said the aging forest long protected from wildfires is at risk, leading to the project that also will clear debris within the ski area. The 9-square-mile project includes Sun Valley Resort’s nearly 5-square-mile ski area, of which about 4 square miles is skiable terrain. Officials said wildfires in 2007 and 2013 surrounded 9,150-foot Bald Mountain with burned forest, creating an island of green trees and increasing bark beetle attacks.\n\nIllinois\n\nRockton:Officials have found elevated levels of harmful metals in groundwater monitoring wells at a Rockton Superfund toxic waste site. But the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency noted that the substances were not found in the municipal water system for the Village of Rockton. Its water was tested June 21. Testing of private wells near the site will begin soon. The metals discovered include antimony, cadmium, chromium and nickel. Some metals are essential nutrients, but others can cause health problems. The results came from wells that check groundwater on the site of the former Beloit Corp. toxic waste investigations at the former manufacturer of paper-making products have been underway since 1992. Elevated metal levels were found in 16 of 20 monitoring wells. All are contained on the Superfund site. The samples were collected following the June 14 explosion and devastating fire at Chemtool Inc., located on the Superfund site. Metals were not previously a concern on the Beloit Corp. property. State officials are investigating their source. Officials said that until testing is completed, those with private wells living in the Blackhawk neighborhood adjacent to Chemtool should use bottled water for drinking and cooking.\n\nIndiana\n\nBurns Harbor: Indiana’s Lake Michigan port has seen a big increase in shipments this year as the global economy rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic. In June, the port handled a 52% spike in cargo. So far this year, the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor has had more than a 36% increase in maritime tonnage compared with the same period last year, said Vanta E. Coda II, chief executive of the Indianapolis-based Ports of Indiana port authority. “Steel is up more than 100% and limestone has climbed nearly 90%, too. We look forward to additional growth in the second half of the year,” Coda said. Through the end of June, international cargos shipped through the St. Lawrence Seaway to Great Lakes ports are up by 8.37% to 12.9 million tons, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported. Great Lakes shipping officials attributed the boost to increased domestic construction, manufacturing activity and global export demand. Shipments of cement are up 36%, gypsum 79% and general cargo 61%. Iron ore volumes are up 14%, partly because of exports to Asia and Europe. Coke, another steelmaking input, is up 125%, partly because of exports to France, the Netherlands and other European countries.\n\nIowa\n\nCedar Rapids: Forty Iowans, including some from the Cedar Rapids area, had to undergo treatment for rabies after they were potentially in contact with a rabid bat at the zoo in Omaha, Nebraska. More than 180 individuals were advised to receive the rabies post-exposure prophylaxis, which contains the rabies vaccine, after a wild bat was found near a person attending one of the Henry Doorly Zoo’s multiple overnight campouts at the aquarium earlier this month. A total of 186 overnight campers, including youth and adult groups, were contacted by the Nebraska public health department, the Omaha World-Herald reported. Among those were dozens of Iowans, mostly adolescents and their parents, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Linn County Public Health said anyone locally who has been impacted has been contacted and the appropriate follow-up has been conducted. Public health officials in Nebraska recommended all campers who stayed at the zoo overnight June 29, June 30, July 2 and July 3 receive prophylaxis. The recommendation came after a camper staying in the aquarium the night of July 3 woke up to a wild bat near her head. A team found seven bats in the building, one of which tested positive for rabies, a news release from the zoo stated.\n\nKansas\n\nTopeka:Union members at the Frito-Lay plant in Topeka have approved a new contract and will return to work Monday, ending a nearly three-week strike at the plant, union officials said. Members of Local 218 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers union approved the contract Friday. It gives all union members a 4% pay raise over two years and guarantees workers at least one day off each week, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported. More than 500 of the 850 employees represented by the union went on strike on July 5, complaining of a toxic work environment, forced overtime and a lack of pay raises. Workers said the shifts were caused by a severe staffing shortage at the plant. Carolyn Fisher, spokeswoman for PepsiCo., Frito-Lay’s parent company, said the contract allows the company to rebid its entire facility, or parts of it, once during the two-year contract. Labor-management committees will be formed to make recommendations on staffing and overtime and shape the rebid process.\n\nKentucky\n\nFrankfort: Two members of Kentucky State University’s governing board resigned days before the abrupt departure of the campus president, adding to the upheaval in the highest ranks of the school as it faces an independent investigation into its finances. Soon after M. Christopher Brown II’s resignation as school president last week, Gov. Andy Beshear called for an independent accounting of KSU’s finances and signed an order empowering the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education to provide guidance and oversight during the review. The development came as Kentucky’s sole public historically Black university contended with concerns about its financial health and lawsuits alleging misconduct by campus officials. In the days before Brown’s departure, Candace McGraw submitted her resignation from the school’s Board of Regents. In her resignation letter, McGraw said she was “not fully aware of the time needed to engage fully in order to ensure the ongoing success of the university.” McGraw, a recent board appointee, is CEO of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Paul Harnice also resigned from the school’s board before Brown left, The State Journal reported. Harnice’s resignation letter did not provide an apparent reason for his resignation, The State Journal reported.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: With more than 1,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19 across Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards encouraged everyone, whether vaccinated or not, to wear masks indoors if they can’t stay distanced from others. But the Democratic governor stopped short of issuing a statewide face covering mandate or new restrictions on activities and businesses amid the state’s fourth spike of COVID-19, driven by the highly contagious delta variant. Louisiana – which has among the nation’s lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates – is seeing thousands of new confirmed cases of the coronavirus illness each day, and its hospitalizations have surged in recent weeks. Edwards said Louisiana has the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases per capita in the nation and has been labeled a “state of concern” by the White House. Edwards placed the blame squarely on people refusing to get immunized against the coronavirus in a state where only about 48% of those eligible for the vaccines have gotten at least one shot.\n\nMaine\n\nPortland: Maine is home to the last wild Atlantic salmon populations in the U.S., but a new push to protect the fish at the state level is unlikely to land them on the endangered list. Atlantic salmon once teemed in U.S. rivers, but now return from the sea to only a handful of rivers in eastern and central Maine. The fish are protected at the federal level under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, but a coalition of environmental groups and scientists said the fish could be afforded more protections if they were added to Maine’s own list of endangered and threatened species. State law allows Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher to make that recommendation, but his office told the Associated Press he does not intend to do it. The department has done extensive work to conserve and restore the fish, and Keliher “does not believe a listing at the state level would afford additional conservation benefits or protections,” said Jeff Nichols, a department spokesperson. The environmentalists who want to see the fish on the state list said they’re going to keep pushing for it and other protections. Adding the fish to the state endangered list would mean conservation of salmon would be treated as a bigger concern in state permitting processes, said John Burrows, executive director for U.S. operations for the Atlantic Salmon Federation.\n\nMaryland\n\nOakland: A state police helicopter hoisted an injured swimmer to safety in western Maryland. The helicopter was dispatched shortly after 5 p.m. Friday to rescue a swimmer who sustained a head injury after slipping on a rock at Swallow Falls along the Youghiogheny River in Garrett County, state police said in a news release Saturday. The helicopter was requested partly because of the steep terrain and nature of the victim’s injuries, police said. The helicopter hovered 275 feet above the river as a trooper with medical equipment was lowered to the scene to prepare the patient for an aerial extraction, the news release said. Once the patient was secured inside the AW-139 helicopter, the crew provided medical care during the trip to a hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia. The patient wasn’t identified, and the person’s condition wasn’t immediately known.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: A rare first-place medal from the first modern Olympic Games has sold for more than $180,000. Boston-based RR Auction said Friday that the winning bidder for the silver medal from the 1896 games in Athens, Greece, was a collector based on the East Coast. The company estimated before the auction that the first place medal could fetch about $75,000. At the inaugural Olympiad, first-place winners were awarded silver medals and second-place finishers earned bronze, the auction house said. There was no award for placing third. Unlike today’s games where thousands of athletes compete, just 250 were featured at the first modern games, the company said. Other notable items sold include a gold medal bestowed on the Argentine men’s soccer team during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics that went for more than $97,000. A gold medal for the U.S. men’s basketball team during the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics also sold for more than $83,000 and a gold medal awarded to Swedish wrestler Ivar Johansson during the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics sold for more than $45,000.\n\nMichigan\n\nCorunna: Elected officials in Shiawassee County who gave themselves bonuses of $65,000 with federal COVID-19 relief aid said they will return the money following days of criticism. County commissioners acted after the county prosecutor said the payments were illegal, The Argus-Press reported. The Michigan Constitution bars additional compensation for elected officials “after services had already been rendered,” prosecutor Scott Koerner said Friday. The commissioners, all Republicans, voted on July 15 to award themselves $65,000 as part of a plan to give $557,000 to 250 county employees as “hazard pay” for dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. The smallest amounts for recipients were $1,000 to $2,000. But County Board Chairman Jeremy Root got $25,000. Two more commissioners received $10,000 each, and four others received $5,000 each. The commissioners awarded money to other elected officials, including the prosecutor, the sheriff and the county clerk, all Republicans. They, too, said they would give it back. Two Michigan congressmen, a Democrat and a Republican, said federal virus aid wasn’t intended to reward elected officials.\n\nMinnesota\n\nBlaine: A crane fell over at a construction site in the Minneapolis suburb of Lexington on Friday, causing a power outage for nearly 900 customers in the area as temperatures climbed into the mid-90s. There were no injuries reported. A dispatch supervisor with the Centennial Lakes Police Department said the call came in shortly before 12:30 p.m. The crane fell into power lines and onto the partially constructed building. Dispatch supervisor Donnelle Lawrence said the building was evacuated. The collapse also caused a small grass fire, which was quickly extinguished, Lawrence said. Xcel Energy reported reported nearly 900 customers in the areas of Blaine, Circle Pines and Lexington were without power after the collapse according to its online outage map. Temperatures were in the mid-90s on Friday afternoon and the area was under a heat advisory, as forecasters said the combination of heat and humidity made the temperature feel like it was 100 degrees.\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: Even as COVID-19 cases have increased rapidly in Mississippi in recent days, some school districts are saying masks will be optional for students, teachers and staff. Among the districts taking that approach is the state’s largest one, DeSoto County School District. “Right now, there are no state mandates or local mandates requiring masks,” Superintendent Cory Uselton told WMC-TV. “Last year, we were under a mask mandate because of the governor’s executive order. There’s no executive order in place right now, so that will be a parental decision.” As part of its guidance for K-12 school settings, the State Department of Health recommends masks for anyone not fully vaccinated. It also recommends people 12 and older get vaccinated. Instead of encouraging either of those things, the DeSoto District will give families information from the health department, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Pediatrics, Uselton said.\n\nMissouri\n\nO’Fallon: St. Louis city and county officials said they will require masks in some public places starting Monday, citing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases spurred by the delta variant. Masks will be mandatory in indoor public places and on public transportation for everyone age 5 or older, even for those who are vaccinated, officials said in a news release Friday. Masking outdoors “will be strongly encouraged,” especially in group settings. The decision comes as both of Missouri’s urban areas are seeing a big uptick in cases in hospitalizations that began in rural areas of the state, especially in southwestern Missouri. The Kansas City Star reported Friday that medical leaders in that region appear to be on the verge of calling for a new mask mandate there, as well.\n\nMontana\n\nHelena: Five firefighters were injured when a thunderstorm and swirling winds in central Montana blew a lightning-caused wildfire back on them, federal officials said. All five remained in medical facilities and were still being evaluated and treated Saturday, a day after they were injured, Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Mark Jacobsen said. He declined to release the extent of the firefighters’ injuries or specify where they were being treated. They had joined other crews working on the 1,300-acre fire burning in rough, steep terrain about 36 miles northwest of the town of Jordan. They were building a defensive fire line Thursday when the weather shifted, Jacobsen said. “Numerous wind shifts and rapid rates of spread resulted in erratic fire behavior as thunderstorms and associated cells were passing over the area when the incident occurred,” he said. Other firefighters in the area were able to call for help and the injured firefighters – three U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service crew members from North Dakota and two USDA Forest Service firefighters from New Mexico – were evacuated, Jacobsen said. Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Friday that crews from Utah and California were coming to Montana on Saturday to help fight fires. Utah will send two task forces with a total of seven engines and 25 personnel, and California is sending a strike team with five engines and 20 personnel, Gianforte said. The teams will be in Montana for two weeks, and Montana will pay their costs, the governor said.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: Nearly 50 Nebraska school boards have objected to proposed state health education standards that include lessons for young children on gender identity and gender expression. State Sen. Joni Albrecht said 47 school boards across the state have either adopted resolutions or sent letters opposing the first draft of the standards that the Nebraska Department of Education is considering. Albrecht was part of a group of 30 state senators who signed a statement urging school districts to object to the standards. The standards would be optional if they’re approved, according to the Omaha World-Herald. Under the proposed standards, kindergartners would learn about different kinds of family structures, including same-gender families. First-graders would be taught about gender identity and gender stereotypes. Sixth-graders would learn about a range of identities related to sexual orientation, including heterosexual, bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, two-spirit, asexual and pansexual. They would be taught the differences between cisgender, transgender, gender nonbinary, gender expansive and gender identity. The proposal has faced strong opposition from Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts, who has no direct influence over the state board, and large crowds have attended state education board meetings. State Education Commissioner Matt Blomstedt told school districts in a letter earlier this month that there would be changes in the second draft of the standards. He said that next draft will remove many of the explicit examples and make clear that discussions of sensitive health-related topics should be “thoughtfully conducted with parental input at a local level.”\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: Coronavirus numbers remained high in Nevada as the state reported more than 1,000 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, at least 20 deaths and hospitalizations climbing past the 1,000 plateau for the first time in more than five months, state health officials said. The 1,003 new cases reported by the state Department of Health and Human Services nearly matched the 1,004 new cases reported on Tuesday. It was the highest since 1,070 cases were recorded Jan. 30, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The updated figures pushed totals to 349,043 COVID-19 cases and 5,817 deaths statewide since the pandemic began in March 2020.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nConcord: New Hampshire residents can’t be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to access public facilities, benefits or services under a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu. Supporters said the bill signed this week establishes “medical freedom” by specifying that all residents have the “natural, essential and inherent right to bodily integrity, free from any threat or compulsion by government to accept an immunization.” It does not, however, supersede the state law regarding vaccinations as a prerequisite for admission to school. That law lists seven required vaccinations but does not include the COVID-19 vaccine. The new law also does not apply to county nursing homes, the state psychiatric hospital or other medical facilities operated by the state or other governmental bodies. And it allows mandatory immunizations in prisons and jails when there is a significant health threat.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nSecaucus: New Jersey on Friday took the first step to rid the lower Hackensack River of heavily contaminated sediment dating from the state’s industrial past. State Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette announced the commitment of Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration to seek placement of the 23-mile stretch of river on the federal government’s list of Superfund toxic sites. Approval would mean access to federal funding and would enable the Environmental Protection Agency to seek the parties responsible for polluting the waters to help fund the remediation, once identified. “Designating the lower Hackensack River as a federal Superfund site will provide the tools we need to remove decades of contamination that have polluted river sediments and restore the natural resources that have been impaired for far too long,” LaTourette said. A previous EPA study found elevated levels of cancer-causing dioxin, cadmium, lead, mercury and PCBs in sediment sampled from the river’s mouth at Newark Bay to the Oradell Reservoir. Achieving Superfund status could take years to complete. “I realize that this is one step in the process and that cleanup will take time,” said Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Sheehan. He said he has been working to get the designation since 2015.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nSanta Fe: New Mexico schools plan to spend the bulk of the federal coronavirus relief money they have received on technology and building upgrades rather than student learning loss. A report this week before the New Mexico Legislature’s budget committee showed school districts and charters plan to spend 38% of the $490 million they received thus far on technology and HVAC systems. T he Santa Fe New Mexican reported that schools plan to spend 9% of the funds on learning loss programs and 8% on interventions for at-risk students. The budget committee’s program evaluation manager Micaela Fischer told lawmakers those numbers were surprising because students likely missed out on learning because of the shift to remote classrooms during the pandemic. Los Alamos Public Schools is an exception to the trend and plans to spend all of the money it received from a December coronavirus relief package to address learning loss with summer and after-school programs.\n\nNew York\n\nYonkers: Police and bystanders lifted a car to free a trapped baby after a suspected drunken driver struck the girl and her mother and then plowed through a storefront with the pair on the hood. The crash and rescue were recorded on video released by Yonkers Police. It showed a Hyundai Elantra striking a curb and parked car Friday before driving into a woman as she crossed the street with a child in her arms. With the woman and child on the hood of the car, it accelerates through the storefront of a barber shop. Police body camera footage from inside the building showed Yonkers Officers Rocco Fusco and Paul Samoyedny, who had been having breakfast nearby, frantically working with bystanders to lift the heavily damaged car and pull the crying 8-month-old girl from beneath it. “Luckily, two veteran officers of Yonkers’ finest just happened to be getting breakfast next door and quickly took action along with members of the community to rescue a child trapped under the vehicle and render aid to her mother,” Police Commissioner John Mueller said in a news release. “The actions taken are nothing short of heroic.” The baby sustained a skull fracture and burns to her back and foot. Her 36-year-old mother broke a leg, the news release said. The 43-year-old male driver and a female passenger were not injured. The driver, from Yonkers, was charged with driving while intoxicated, vehicular assault and aggravated unlicensed operation.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nOcracoke: Transportation officials said successful drone flights this week to Ocracoke have them hopeful that it might soon get easier to deliver vital supplies to the remote Outer Banks island amid bad weather. The Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation and U.S.-based drone logistics company Volansi completed two successful trial flights of a delivery drone from a ferry dock in Hatteras to Ocracoke Island, the department said in a news release. “This is a tremendous first step in better connecting Ocracoke Island to potentially life-saving supplies and equipment,” Secretary of Transportation Eric Boyette said in a statement. “Today, Ocracoke Island is accessible only by plane or by boat. What we’re working on here is an entirely new, third method of serving the needs of Ocracoke’s people.” The tests involved an 8-mile round-trip flight averaging 18 minutes in flight time. The first delivered a small survival kit, space blankets and a chocolate muffin to Ocracoke, and the second delivered bottles of water, according to the news release. The next test, at a time to be determined, will involve a longer flight, the department said.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: The federal government has denied a request by North Dakota leaders to allow ranchers struggling with drought to hay idled grassland while it’s still of good quality. The Bismarck Tribune reported the state Agriculture Department is looking into the reasons why the request was denied. The federal government is allowing limited emergency grazing of Conservation Reserve Program land, which typically is idled under a government program that pays farmers to protect erodible land and create wildlife habitat. North Dakota ranchers all summer have been seeking federal government permission to also hay that land. The CRP typically doesn’t open until after nesting season ends, to protect wildlife populations. The season in North Dakota ends Aug. 1. Ranchers said that after that day, grass might not be of good enough quality to make it worthwhile to hay. State officials and members of North Dakota’s congressional delegation this summer have pushed the U.S. Department of Agriculture for earlier CRP haying. State Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring earlier this week made another plea. His department has received hundreds of calls from ranchers in recent weeks about the issue.\n\nOhio\n\nCincinnati:The Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame is officially scheduled to open next summer. Plans for the interactive park and star-studded path were unveiled Saturday during an induction ceremony. The crowd was lively while the P. Ann Everson-Price & The All-Star Band played tributes to the walk's first inductees as well as other famous Black musicians and funk artists. The first four inductees to receive stars on the Walk of Fame will be Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Bootsy Collins, King Records icon Otis Williams, and Grammy Winners The Isley Brothers and the late Gospel great Dr. Charles Fold. The Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame is intended to stand toe-to-toe with The National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tennessee; Atlanta’s Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame; and Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, each inductee will have their name placed on a star on the walkway. The funding for the park and walkway will come from the $159 million stimulus fund that was awarded to the county. The Hamilton County Commission unanimously voted in favor of the park while deciding on how to spend the county's stimulus money. The park was awarded $9 million. Procter and Gamble has also partnered with the project and will pay for the new inductee stars for the next several years.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City:The owner of a dilapidated Oklahoma Panhandle wind farm has presented plans to clean up the most dangerous of the wind turbine towers. The plans are to address dangerously broken-down towers and turbines of the 60-tower KODE Novus I and II wind farm near Guymon, The Oklahoman reported. Owner Olympia Renewable Platform LLC has hired a contractor to remove broken blades from seven towers and topple a couple of others topped with burned-out generator nacelles. The company assured the repair work could begin next month and take 20 to 30 days to complete, depending on wind conditions. Dozens of wind turbines in the complex have been locked down and aren’t part of the cleanup plan. Oklahoma Corporation Commission officials have determined that the dilapidated wind towers are dangerous to the public, which had easy access to the scene until Olympia erected temporary fencing around it. The complex was developed and owned by a subsidiary of a South Korean company until it went bankrupt.\n\nOregon\n\nPortland: Low oxygen levels measured off the coast of Oregon and Washington are raising concerns of large “dead zones” that could decimate crabs and bottom-dwelling fish within them. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this week that researchers have detected unseasonably low oxygen levels in a large area off the Pacific coast, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. Year after year of low oxygen levels beginning in the early 2000s led researchers to determine Oregon now has a “hypoxia season” – just as it has a fire season – and this year’s hypoxia season has arrived far earlier than usual. The start of the hypoxia season is marked by the upwelling of cold bottom water. Winds initiated that upwelling this year around March. Chan said that’s the earliest Oregon ocean-watchers have seen in 35 years. That could have major implications for coastal economies, particularly related to the Dungeness crab. Dead zones happen as winds pick up, driving cold water from the bottom of the ocean toward the surface, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That contributes to blooms of phytoplankton, which once they die, sink to the ocean floor. Bacteria consume oxygen while decomposing the plankton.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: President Joe Biden will head to the Allentown area Wednesday as he fights for passage in the Senate of a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure measure that a bipartisan group of senators brokered with him. The White House is billing Biden’s visit to Macungie as a stop to “emphasize the importance of American manufacturing, buying products made in America, and supporting good-paying jobs for American workers.” It gave no other details of the visit – Biden’s second to Pennsylvania so far this month after he went to Philadelphia last week to speak on voting rights. In the Senate, Republicans rejected an effort this week to begin debate on the infrastructure deal. Supporters said they need more time before another vote, possibly next week. Macungie is near the home of Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, who voted against opening debate. In a statement after the vote, Toomey echoed other Republicans in pointing out that crucial details about the deal are not completed. Should an agreement be reached on those, Toomey said he will consider the measure “based on its substance.” Pennsylvania’s other U.S. senator, Democrat Bob Casey, voted with other Democrats to start debate.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: Environmental officials in Rhode Island have extended their ban on shellfish harvesting in certain areas of the state. The state Department of Environmental Management said a ban that was set to expire Sunday will be extended until further notice. The announcement covers what it refers to as the “Lower Providence River Conditional Area E” and “Upper Bay Conditional Area A.” The closures were enacted after recent heavy rainfall and are being extended because test samples showed continued high bacteria levels in the water. At least one other shellfish area in Greenwich Bay reopened to harvesting Sunday, and two others in Mt. Hope Bay and the Kickemuit River are open, the agency said.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nNichols: A utility is building walls around an electric substation to prevent it from being overrun by floodwaters in the first-of-its-kind project in South Carolina. Duke Energy is spending $1.6 million on the Nichols project to protect a substation that has flooded twice in the past five years, utility spokesperson Ryan Mosier told the Morning News of Florence. The substation was flooded in 2016 in Hurricane Matthew and 2018 in Hurricane Florence. In 2018, the substation, which takes high voltage power from plants and converts it to lower voltage electricity for homes, was out for five weeks, Mosier said. The substation is surrounded by reinforced fiberglass walls. Crews put up aluminum gates when flooding is threatened, which keep water out but allow crews access inside. The walls are 6-to-8 feet tall with access gates. The gates are installed when the company forecasts potential flooding. Crews can also quickly access the substation for maintenance. Duke Energy has already installed the walls at facilities in Lumberton and Wallace in North Carolina and plans four more projects, Mosier said, Other nearby substations to Nichols are on higher ground and didn’t need the walls, said Davy Gregg, a Duke Energy supervisor for the Marion County area.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls:A replica of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier came to Sioux Falls over the weekend as part of a honorary tour to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the monument. The half-scale replica was at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance and crowds came to view it and learn more about its history. The original Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is in Arlington Cemetery in Virginia, across the Delaware River from the nation’s capital.. The replica is part of a traveling exhibition called A Call to Honor: Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. The Americanism Committee of the Exchange Club in Rome, Georgia, is responsible for the exhibition and brings the replica to all parts of the United States.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville:The bust of Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest that had been prominently displayed inside the state Capitol for decades – over objections from Black lawmakers and activists – was removed from its pedestal Friday. The image of Forrest has sparked protests since its installation in 1978 as defenders sought to tout his legacy while critics objected to honoring a historical figure who supported the South’s secession. Over the years, some suggested adding historical context next to the bust. Yet many others, including Republican Gov. Bill Lee, successfully argued for moving it to the Tennessee State Museum, just north of the Capitol. Forrest was a Confederate cavalry general who amassed a fortune before the Civil War as a Memphis slave trader and plantation owner. Later, he was a leader of the Klan as it terrorized Black people. The busts of Union Navy Adm. David Farragut and U.S. Navy Adm. Albert Gleaves also were moved to the museum on Friday, part of an agreement used to win over the votes needed on key panels that military leaders shouldn’t be displayed in the Capitol.\n\nTexas\n\nDallas: The Dallas area was the country’s top market for commercial property investments in the first half of 2021. Dallas retained the top real estate spot it gained last year during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by Real Capital Analytics. Through the first six months of this year, Dallas saw almost $13.4 billion in commercial property deals – 43% more than in the same period a year ago. Last year, more than $19.7 billion in commercial real estate deals were recorded in the local market. Sales of dozens of local apartment communities and warehouses, plus the $700 million purchase of Uptown Dallas’ Crescent complex, all contributed to the huge volume of property investments in the area this year. The Crescent was ranked as the second-largest commercial property deal in the country in the first six months of 2021.\n\nUtah\n\nSalt Lake City:People in Utah gathered to celebrate the state’s history and recognize early Mormon pioneers who trekked west in search of religious freedom. Pioneer Day is a beloved only-in-Utah holiday every July 24 that features parades, rodeos, fireworks and more. The festivities were canceled last year because of the pandemic. Hundreds of people on Friday camped and staked out spots along the parade route in downtown Salt Lake City. Pioneer Day marks the date in 1847 when Brigham Young and other Mormon pioneers, many pulling handcarts, ended their treacherous journey across the country from Illinois to the Salt Lake Valley. Many businesses and government offices close for the state holiday.\n\nVermont\n\nMontpelier: Signs will be posted near eight Vermont ponds where the use of baitfish is prohibited to protect native brook trout, the Fish and Wildlife Department said. 1/ 2 “Wild native brook trout thrive in ponds where there are simple fish communities with no or few other fish species,” department fisheries biologist Jud Kratzer said in a statement earlier this week. “Adding new fish species, even minnows, disrupts a long-established food chain. Trout populations suffer as a result.” Brook trout are native to the eastern United States but no longer exist in much of their original range, the department said. Signs will be posted at public access points near Beaver Pond in Holland; Blake Pond in Sutton; Cow Mountain Pond in Granby; Jobs Pond in Westmore; Lewis Pond in Lewis; North Pond in Chittenden; Unknown Pond in Avery’s Gore; and Noyes Pond in Groton.\n\nVirginia\n\nCulpeper: Virginia’s government watchdog said the commonwealth’s land conservation easement program that offers participants tax breaks needs improvement. Auditors with the Office of the State Inspector General found items such as trash, old tires, inoperable vehicles and a manure storage area containing dead cattle parts on properties with easements it inspected, the Culpeper Star-Exponent reported. “Virginia provides tax credits up to $75 million per year for conservation easements and land donations,” Inspector General Michael Westfall said in a statement. “In effect, Virginia is paying for natural resource preservation through these tax credits.” There’s a $1 million tax credit value threshold for a Department of Conservation and Recreation quality review of an easement. Among the watchdog’s recommendations was lowering that threshold. But Dan Holmes, director of state policy for the Piedmont Environmental Council, told the newspaper the tax credit was a valuable tool and questioned the audit’s conclusions and methodology.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: Mayor Jenny Durkan and other city officials plan to add a response unit for 911 calls that don’t require typical, armed police officers. Officials said they are still working out details, and it won’t launch until at least next year, The Seattle Times reported. Durkan said the idea is to provide 911 dispatchers with a new option for certain calls, such as wellness checks, that are associated with neither criminal nor medical emergencies. The mayor said it could be similar to the city’s Health One program, which sends firefighters and social workers to nonemergency medical calls. It will likely be staffed by civilian city employees, possibly partnered with certain officers, she said. The responders will know deescalation techniques and how to guide people to social services, she said, adding that it might be called “Triage One.” Durkan said she intends to include funding for the new option in her 2022 budget proposal, which is due in September. She hasn’t said what it might cost but said it would start as a pilot program, with limited capacity.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: The state treasurer’s office raised nearly $140,000 for law enforcement agencies through its unclaimed property firearms auction. This year’s event had record inventory – more than 500 firearms lots – because the pandemic prevented the treasurer’s office from holding an auction last year, Treasurer Riley Moore’s office said in a news release. The treasurer’s office raised $139,790 during the auction. Under state law, state and local law enforcement agencies can turn over unclaimed, seized or outdated firearms in their possession to the treasurer’s office for auction, and the proceeds can be returned to the law enforcement agency. This year’s auction attracted more than 60 federally licensed firearms dealers. Bidders must be a valid, licensed federal firearms dealer. The event isn’t open to the general public.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: The University of Wisconsin System plans to offer nearly $500,000 in scholarships this fall to students who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. System President Tommy Thompson said all vaccinated students at regional four- and two-year campuses that get at least 70% of their students vaccinated by Oct. 15 will be eligible for a drawing for a $7,000 scholarship. Seventy students will win, with more winners coming from campuses with larger enrollments. UW-Madison students won’t be eligible, Thompson said, because Chancellor Rebecca Blank is working on her own vaccination incentive programs. Asked for details on Blank’s plans, UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas said the flagship university is “on a path” to reach 80% vaccination among students and is “considering incentives” but had nothing to announce. Thompson has called for campuses to offer at least three-quarters of their courses in-person this fall. He said he set the vaccination threshold at 70% for the scholarship drawing because that’s generally considered the minimum for herd immunity.\n\nWyoming\n\nCasper: Officials expect moderate to extreme drought to persist and spread throughout Wyoming. The multiyear drought is the state’s worst since 2013. Last year was Wyoming’s fifth-driest and 16th-warmest since 1895, the Casper Star-Tribune reported. Even parts of the state with average or above-average precipitation got it earlier in the year than usual, leaving those areas just as susceptible to drought now, Wyoming Game and Fish Department terrestrial habitat supervisor Ian Tator told the state Game and Fish Commission last week. “On a statewide basis, there’s nowhere that’s doing fantastic,” Tator said. Fishing spots also face strain as water levels fall and temperatures rise, state fisheries management coordinator Dave Zafft told the commission.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/07/26"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_5", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:11", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/29/health/ba-2-dominant-us/index.html", "title": "BA.2: What we know about the dominant cause of Covid-19 in the US", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2 is now the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States, causing more than half of all Covid-19 infections last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.\n\nThe new numbers come from the CDC’s genomic surveillance. Based on its models, the agency says that BA.2 caused between 51% and 59% of all new Covid-19 infections in the US the week ending March 26, up from an estimated 39% of all new infections the week before.\n\nThe hardest-hit region was the Northeast, where BA.2 caused more than 70% of all cases. The South and Mountain West saw the fewest cases. BA.2 caused slightly more than one-third of infections in those regions last week.\n\n‘We are not immune to what happens in Europe’\n\nThough BA.2 is still just taking the stage in the US, it has had prominent runs in many other parts of the world, including Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, and is winding down its European tour.\n\nAccording to the World Health Organization, BA.2 is also the main cause of Covid-19 globally, out-muscling two other Omicron lineages, BA.1 and BA 1.1, to become the dominant strain. Since its takeover, international case counts – which had been declining since the first week of January – have been rising again.\n\nIn the UK, which has a more highly vaccinated population than the US, a combination of lifted restrictions, waning immunity and an even more contagious version of the virus have created a new BA.2 wave. Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been trending upward since the end of February, and now, the weekly average of new cases stands about where it was at the end of January.\n\nBA.2 infections have not reached the peaks seen with BA.1, however. Case counts appear to be leveling off in the UK, though hospitalizations and deaths are still rising.\n\nThroughout the pandemic, the US has followed the UK by about three weeks, so when cases began rising there, health officials here took notice.\n\nIn America, BA.2 has been gaining steam since the end of January, and case numbers have plateaued. That flattening conceals regional differences, however. In 13 states, weekly average numbers of new cases are rising, and they have stopped falling in 14 others, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.\n\nIt’s still not clear what this subvariant will do in the US. Even experts don’t exactly know what to expect.\n\n“We’re not immune from what happens in Europe,” said former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, who is now president and CEO of the nonprofit Resolve to Save Lives.\n\n“In Europe, you see BA.2 becoming predominant and driving a resurgence, and the likelihood that will not happen in the US is pretty low, really,” Frieden said. “I do think part of the reason that we’re plateauing is that we’re about to start going up again.”\n\nFrieden doesn’t think it’s a coincidence that the US Food and Drug Administration authorized additional booster shots for Americans who are 50 and older on Tuesday, the same day the CDC estimated that BA.2 was dominant.\n\nBut it’s anyone’s guess how high cases will go, whether lots of people will need hospital care, and whether the nation will continue to see breathtaking numbers of deaths.\n\nFacing ‘a familiar uncertainty’\n\nMost predictions about BA.2 in the US haven’t been dire.\n\nThe University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Covid-19 projections, updated last week, predict that BA.2 will not drive another surge in the US.\n\nBut they say we may see something like what happened in South Africa, where BA.2 quietly replaced its cousin BA.1 as the main cause of Covid-19 infections – without a rise in cases or deaths. Instead, it drew out Omicron’s descent, causing a long tail.\n\nMichael Osterholm, who directs the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, called the coronavirus waiting game we play every few months “a familiar uncertainty.” He dedicated his latest podcast to “all of us who remain confused about what the immediate or intermediate future looks like with Covid.”\n\nHow strong is our immunologic wall?\n\nThere are a host of reasons why it’s hard to know what BA.2 may do. The CDC estimates that 37 million Americans – about 1 in 11 – got Covid-19 over the winter, during the first Omicron wave. Many more have immunity from vaccination and boosters. So, based on random blood samples, the CDC says that 95% of Americans may now have some degree of immunity from Covid-19.\n\nDr. Jorge Salinas, an infectious disease expert at Stanford University, calls this an immunologic wall.\n\n“That gives us some protection against future surges,” he said. “However, that wall deteriorates with time. The longer it goes after a wave or after vaccination, the bigger the decay of the wall.”\n\nStudies have determined determined that BA.2 evades our vaccinations about as well as original Omicron did, so boosters are needed to restore protections against these variants. But less than half the US population 12 and older has had a recommended third dose.\n\nOf greatest concern are adults over 65, because they are mostly likely to become severely ill with Covid-19. One out of three people over 65 in the US hasn’t had a critical third vaccine dose.\n\n“The real problem is that so much of our population is undervaccinated seniors,” Frieden said. “That’s our Achilles heel.”\n\nQuestions about reinfection\n\nThe other variable is found in the virus itself.\n\nOmicron threw our immune defenses for a loop. It was so different from the coronavirus strains that came before that many people who’d gotten sick with Delta or other early strains found themselves infected again.\n\nBA.2 has about 40 amino acid changes from Omicron’s BA.1, making it about as different from its cousin as Alpha, Beta and Delta were from each other. Some have wondered whether BA.2 could reinfect people who’d had BA.1.\n\nA large study from Denmark suggests that these kinds of reinfections are possible but rare.\n\nThe research on more than 1.8 million infections found only 1,739 cases in which people tested positive for Covid-19 twice within a two-month window. Of those, 47 were BA.1 infections that were followed by BA.2.\n\nWhen researchers looked more closely, they found that these types of reinfections tended to happen to young and unvaccinated people, mostly children. And their symptoms tended to be mild.\n\nThe study was posted as a preprint, meaning that it has not yet been scrutinized by outside experts and published in a medical journal.\n\nStudies point to high viral loads\n\nBA.2 is exceedingly contagious. Some epidemiologists have said its basic reproduction number may be as high as 12, meaning each sick person infects an average of 12 others. That would put it on par with measles, which also spreads through the air. The basic reproduction number for BA.1 is estimated to be about 8.\n\nIn a preprint study from Sweden, researchers measured viral levels in swabs from the back of the nasal cavity. They found nearly twice as much viral RNA in samples from BA.2 patients than in those who tested positive for BA.1, “pointing to a substantial difference in viral load.”\n\nViral loads were about the same for Delta and BA.1 infections, they said, “whereas the increase in viral load in BA.2 cases was surprising.”\n\nAnother preprint study from Qatar picked up this difference, too.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nLaith Abu-Raddad, a professor of population sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, has been studying the effectiveness of vaccines and boosters against BA.1 and BA.2. A major difference between the two infections is a person’s viral load, he said.\n\n“It’s definitely way higher” with BA.2 over BA.1, he said. His study found it to be “almost 10-fold higher.”\n\nInstead of going deeply into the lungs, the way Delta did, the Omicron strains seem much more focused on the upper respiratory tract, where the nose meets the back of the throat, Abu-Raddad said.\n\nHe thinks that because the infection concentrates there, that also helps it spread efficiently when people talk, cough or sneeze.\n\nA bright spot?\n\nPerhaps one bright spot in the BA.2 picture may be severity.\n\nAlthough studies in animals have suggested that BA.2 infection wasn’t entirely mild, data on human infections from the UK, Denmark and South Africa shows that BA.2 isn’t more likely to result in hospitalization when compared with BA.1.\n\nThis week, the UK Health Security Agency updated its data on vaccine effectiveness against BA.2. Up to 14 weeks, boosters were still 90% effective at preventing severe disease in people over the age of 65, pointing to an important way to make sure BA.2 doesn’t lay us low.", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/03/29"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/28/health/covid-variants-dominant-bq/index.html", "title": "'Scrabble variants' now cause the majority of new Covid-19 ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe Omicron BA.5 subvariant is no longer the dominant cause of Covid-19 infections in the United States, according to estimates released Friday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nInstead, a host of new sublineages – offshoots of BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 – are now responsible for the majority of new infections in this country. Dr. Peter Hotez, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital, calls these many new lineages “Scrabble variants” because they contain letters like X and Q that get high scores in the game.\n\nThe new variants descend from slightly different branches of the Omicron family tree, but they have evolved to share some of the same changes in their genomes that help them slip past our immunity against the virus.\n\nThe gaggle of new variants have been gaining ground against BA.5, which has dominated Covid-19 infections in the United States since July. BA.5 now accounts for 49.6% of new infections in this country.\n\nTwo variants, BQ.1 and BQ.1.1, have been growing especially fast. At the beginning of October, each one accounted for about 1% of new infections in the United States, but they have been roughly doubling in prevalence each week. Together, they now account for more than 1 in 4 new Covid-19 infections nationwide, according to CDC data.\n\nBQ.1 is causing about 14% of new infections; BQ.1.1. is causing 13% of new infections. BA.4.6 is causing another 10%. BF.7 accounts for 7.5% of newly diagnosed Covid-19. A slew of other new variants accounts for smaller pieces of the Covid-19 pie.\n\nThese variants are not evenly distributed across the US. BQ.1.1 is now causing about 1 in 5 new Covid-19 infections in the Northeast, where cases and hospitalizations are rising. But that strain is causing just 3% of new Covid-19 infections in the Pacific Northwest.\n\nThese variants are slightly different from each other, but they all carry some of the same key mutations that help them skirt immunity from vaccines and past infections. This makes them more likely to lead to breakthrough infections and reinfections.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nIn a statement released Friday, the World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution said the most mutated families of the rising subvariants – XBB and BQ.1 – aren’t different enough from Omicron to be considered separate variants of concern.\n\nXBB was detected in the United States in September, but it is not causing a significant number of cases in this country. It is particularly widespread in Singapore, where it is now the dominant circulating strain.\n\n“The two sublineages remain part of Omicron, which continues to be a variant of concern,” the group said in a statement.", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/10/28"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/05/health/covid-reinfection-risk/index.html", "title": "Covid-19 reinfections may increase the likelihood of new health ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nRepeatedly catching Covid-19 appears to increase the chances that a person will face new and sometimes lasting health problems after their infection, according to the first study on the health risks of reinfection.\n\nThe study, which is based on the health records of more than 5.6 million people treated in the VA Health System, found that, compared with those with just one Covid-19 infection, those with two or more documented infections had more than twice the risk of dying and three times the risk of being hospitalized within six months of their last infection. They also had higher risks for lung and heart problems, fatigue, digestive and kidney disorders, diabetes and neurologic problems.\n\nThe findings come as a fresh wave of coronavirus variants, notably Omicron’s BA.5, have become dominant in the United States and Europe, causing cases and hospitalizations to rise once again. BA.5 caused about 54% of cases nationwide last week, doubling its share of Covid-19 transmission over the past two weeks, according to data posted Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nBA.5 carries key mutations that help it escape antibodies generated by both vaccines and prior infection, leaving many people vulnerable to reinfection.\n\nDr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis, led the research, which was posted as a preprint ahead of peer review. He said he decided to do it after watching reinfections become more and more common among his own patients.\n\n“If you asked me about reinfection maybe a year and a half ago, I would tell you that maybe I have a patient here or there, but it’s really, really rare,” Al-Aly said. That’s not true anymore, though.\n\n“So we asked a simple question that if you got Covid before and now you’re on your second infection, does this really add risk? And the simple answer is that it does.”\n\nTallying the risks of reinfections\n\nAl-Aly and his team compared the health records of more than 250,000 people who had tested positive for Covid-19 one time with records from 38,000 others who had two or more Covid-19 infections documented in their medical records. More than 5.3 million people with no record of a Covid-19 infection were used as the control group.\n\nAmong those with reinfections, 36,000 people had two Covid-19 infections, roughly 2,200 had caught Covid-19 three times, and 246 had been infected four times.\n\nCommon new diagnoses after reinfections included chest pain, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, inflammation of the heart muscle or the sac around the heart, heart failure and blood clots. Common lung issues included shortness of breath, low blood oxygen, lung disease, and accumulation of fluid around the lungs, Al-Aly said.\n\nThe study found that the risk of a new health problem was highest around the time of a Covid-19 reinfection, but it also persisted for at least six months. The increased risk was present whether or not someone had been vaccinated, and it was graded – meaning it increased with each subsequent infection.\n\nAl-Aly said that’s not what people really think will happen when they get Covid a second or third time.\n\n“There is this idea that if you had Covid before, your immune system is trained to recognize it and is more equipped to fight it, and if you’re getting it again, maybe it doesn’t affect you that much, but that’s not really true,” he said.\n\nAl-Aly said that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who have had Covid and done just fine; there are lots of them. Rather, what his study shows is that each infection brings new risk, and that risk adds up over time, he said.\n\nEven if a person has half the risk of developing lasting health problems during a second infection than they did during their first infection, he said, they still wind up with 50% more risk of problems than someone who didn’t get Covid-19 a second time.\n\nThe study has some important caveats. Al-Aly says it was more common to see reinfections among people who had existing risks because of their age or underlying health. That shows that reinfection may not be random, and it could be that the health risks linked to reinfections aren’t, either.\n\n“It is possible that sicker individuals or people with immune dysfunction are at higher risk of reinfection and adverse health outcomes after reinfection,” Al-Aly said.\n\nHe wasn’t interested in trying to isolate the pure effects of reinfection but wanted to understand how repeated infections are affecting the people who get them.\n\n“The most relevant question to people’s lives is, if you get reinfected, does it add to your risk of acute complications and long Covid, and the answer is a clear yes and yes,” he said.\n\nThe study is observational, which means it can’t determine cause and effect.\n\nAl-Aly says the researchers saw these increased risks even after they weighted the data to account for the effects of age, sex, medication use and the person’s underlying health before they got Covid-19.\n\nCovid-19 continues to surprise\n\nExperts who were not involved in the research say it is compelling.\n\n“There is this idea that I think a lot of people have that ‘if I survived my first infection, that I’m really going to be just fine the second time. There really shouldn’t be any problem,’ ” said Dr. Daniel Griffin, an instructor in clinical medicine at Columbia University.\n\n“The popular wisdom, right, is that reinfections are mild, nothing to worry about, nothing to see here,” Griffin said of the study on the podcast “This Week in Virology.” But that’s not really being borne out, he said.\n\nThis is not how it’s supposed to work. Even when viruses shape-shift – as influenza does – our immune system generally retains its memory of how to recognize and fight off some part of them. They may still make us ill, but the idea is that our prior immunity is there to mount some of kind of defense and keep us from serious harm.\n\nWith coronaviruses, and especially SARS-CoV-2 coronaviruses, the hits just keep on coming.\n\n“A year later, you can get reinfected with the same coronavirus the second time. It is not clear that that second infection can be more mild, because coronaviruses intrinsically have the ability to interfere with long-lasting lifetime immunity,” Griffin told CNN.\n\nGriffin says he’s seen Covid-19 reinfections go both ways. Sometimes, the second or third is milder for his patients, but sometimes it’s not.\n\nHow does that compare with other respiratory infections?\n\nEarly in the pandemic, people would get Covid, and three months would go by when they were pretty well protected, he said. But now, those reinfections are happening more frequently, no doubt because of the rapid changes to the virus. He says he’s seen some people infected four times in the past two years.\n\n“We don’t really see much of that with the flu,” Griffin said.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nAs for what people should be doing now with regard to this risk, Dr. Michael Osterholm, who directs the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, says Americans are really done with the pandemic. That doesn’t mean that the pandemic is done with us, though.\n\nOsterholm said he has three close friends who recently went to a restaurant for the first time since the pandemic started. All of them tested positive within 72 hours of that restaurant visit.\n\nIf you’re at higher risk of serious illness or you just want to avoid getting sick, it’s a good time to be wearing an N95 mask in public places, he says.\n\n“People don’t want to hear it, but that’s the reality. We’re seeing this resurgence, and we’re seeing increasing numbers of vaccine failures. Clearly, that’s a major concern,” he said.", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/07/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/22/health/omicron-covid-variant-wellness/index.html", "title": "Could the new BA.2 variant cause another surge? A medical expert ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nA subvariant of Omicron, BA.2, is leading to a new wave of Covid-19 infections across Europe. Cases in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries are going up, driven by this very contagious coronavirus strain.\n\nThe proportion of Covid-19 cases due to BA.2 is rising in the United States, too. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now estimates that 35% of new coronavirus cases are due to this subvariant. At the same time, restrictions are being lifted, and not a single US state requires mask mandates anymore (though masks are still required in some settings, including airports, public transportation, hospitals, nursing homes, and some schools and workplaces).\n\nHow worried should people be about the BA.2 variant? Will vaccines protect against it? What if someone contracted a previous variant – could they become reinfected? Is BA.2 milder than previous versions, and if so, should people try to get it? Could BA.2 cause another surge in the US, and is it time for restrictions to be put back into place?\n\nTo help us with these questions, I spoke with CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is also author of “Lifelines: A Doctor’s Journey in the Fight for Public Health.”\n\nCNN: What do we know about BA.2, and how worried should we be about it?\n\nDr. Leana Wen: With any new variant or subvariant, we need to ask three questions: Is it more contagious? Does it cause more severe disease? And does it evade the protection of our vaccines?\n\nBA.2 is related to BA.1, which is the original Omicron subvariant that led to the huge surge in cases over the winter here in the United States and across Europe. BA.1 swept through communities because of how contagious it is. BA.2 appears to be even more contagious than BA.1. The UK Health Security Agency estimates that BA.2 is growing 80% faster than BA.1. Here in the US as well, BA.2 appears to be on its way to overtaking BA.1 to become the dominant variant.\n\nThe good news is that BA.2 does not seem to cause more severe illness than BA.1. Researchers from the UK and Denmark have found BA.2 causes a level of hospitalization that’s comparable to that of BA.1, which is less likely to result in severe illness than the previously dominant Delta variant.\n\nIn addition, the vaccines we have are still effective. While vaccination may not protect as well against infection with BA.1 and BA.2, the effectiveness in that regard is partially restored with a booster dose, and the vaccines continue to provide very good protection against severe illness due to both Omicron subvariants.\n\nWhat all of this says to me is that public health experts should follow the rise of BA.2 in the US closely, but that most people should not be worried. It’s likely that the US will see an increase in Covid-19 cases in the coming weeks, as this is the pattern we’ve seen before – that we lag behind the UK and Europe by a few weeks, so the increase they are seeing could be mirrored here. However, most people who are vaccinated, and in particular if they are boosted, are unlikely to become severely ill due to BA.2. Our government officials should prepare for what could be coming and increase the availability of tests and treatments, and continue to urge people to get vaccines and boosters. But I don’t think this is something that the general public should be overly concerned about at this time.\n\nCNN: Does that mean people can proceed with spring break and other travel plans, or do they need to postpone them?\n\nWen: I don’t think travel plans need to be put on hold. To be sure, there is uncertainty, as some places might have low rates of Covid-19 now but may have increased rates when you travel. However, that may be the case for the foreseeable future. Very few activities that we do have no risk. Traveling certainly entails risk, but you can reduce that risk by making sure you are vaccinated and boosted. Wearing a mask in crowded indoor settings further reduces risk. In the United States, follow the CDC guidance and make sure to wear a mask in areas that have high Covid-19 community levels. If you are planning international travel, know the rules, including whether you have to have proof of vaccination or a recent negative test.\n\nBefore social get-togethers, immunocompromised people may want to request that others get tested for Covid-19, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen suggests. Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty Images\n\nCNN: Are there certain people who should be concerned about BA.2?\n\nWen: Individuals who are very vulnerable to severe illness from Covid-19 despite vaccination should be concerned about the coronavirus in general, as they are about other infectious pathogens. For most people, Covid-19 infection will result in mild illness, but in some people –those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised or with multiple underlying medical conditions – the infection still could result in hospitalization. BA.2 may not cause more severe disease than BA.1, but because of how contagious it is, people who are particularly vulnerable will want to keep taking additional precautions. That includes wearing a high-quality mask (N95, KN95 or KF94) in all indoor public settings, avoiding large crowds and traveling for essential reasons only. Before getting together with other people, they may wish to request that the others are tested for Covid-19.\n\nCNN: If someone previously had Omicron, are they protected against BA.2?\n\nWen: The World Health Organization has said that infection with BA.1 continues to provide protection against BA.2. Reinfection with BA.2 after having BA.1 is rare.\n\nMost people don’t find out what variant they had, though this could be estimated based on when they got infected. If someone found out that they had Covid-19 during the initial Omicron surge, it’s likely they had BA.1. In that case, especially if they are vaccinated too, they are very unlikely to contract BA.2.\n\nHowever, if someone was previously infected during another wave, for example, while Delta was predominant, they could still contract BA.1 or BA.2. This is another reason why vaccination is so crucial, because the combination of vaccination and prior infection provides more consistent and more durable protection than prior infection alone.\n\nCNN: Omicron is a milder variant than previous variants. In that case, should people try to contract BA.2 just to get it over with?\n\nWen: In general, it is not a good strategy to try to contract an illness. Omicron is less likely to result in severe disease compared with Delta, but it still causes severe illness in some people. In addition, even mild illness may be very unpleasant and result in feeling unwell, missing work and being unable to care for family members for days. You could also infect other people, and there is the possibility of long-haul symptoms as well. A better strategy is to make sure to get the vaccine and booster so that if you were to encounter BA.2 (or another variant of Covid-19), you are as well protected as possible.\n\nCNN: Could BA.2 cause another surge in the US, and if so, should restrictions come back now?\n\nWen: BA.2 could certainly lead to another uptick in Covid-19 infections in the US. There are already some signs that the sharp decline in new cases is leveling out, and if the US follows Europe, as it has before, a rise in cases could be weeks away.\n\nThat said, I don’t think it means we need to reinstate restrictions. The goal of vaccination is to decouple infections from hospitalizations and severe illness. If there is a surge in infections but hospitalizations don’t rise to the point that our health care system becomes overwhelmed, then I think government-imposed mandates are not warranted. Here, the new CDC guidelines are very helpful, as they take into account severe illness – severe enough to cause hospitalizations – as the metric for masking, not just any infection.\n\nOf course, just because the government isn’t requiring masks doesn’t mean that individuals shouldn’t mask or take other precautions. At this point in the pandemic, people should make decisions based on their own medical circumstances and tolerance of risk.", "authors": ["Deblina Chakraborty"], "publish_date": "2022/03/22"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/17/health/ba-2-covid-severity/index.html", "title": "Coronavirus: As BA.2 subvariant of Omicron rises, lab studies point ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe BA.2 virus – a subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant – isn’t just spreading faster than its distant cousin, it may also cause more severe disease and appears capable of thwarting some of the key weapons we have against Covid-19, new research suggests.\n\nNew lab experiments from Japan show that BA.2 may have features that make it as capable of causing serious illness as older variants of Covid-19, including Delta.\n\nAnd like Omicron, it appears to largely escape the immunity created by vaccines. A booster shot restores protection, making illness after infection about 74% less likely.\n\nBA.2 is also resistant to some treatments, including sotrovimab, the monoclonal antibody that’s currently being used against Omicron.\n\nThe findings were posted Wednesday as a preprint study on the bioRxiv server, before peer review. Normally, before a study is published in medical journal, it is scrutinized by independent experts. Preprints allow research to be shared more quickly, but they are posted before that additional layer of review.\n\n“It might be, from a human’s perspective, a worse virus than BA.1 and might be able to transmit better and cause worse disease,” says Dr. Daniel Rhoads, section head of microbiology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Rhoads reviewed the study but was not involved in the research.\n\nThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is keeping close watch on BA.2, said its director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.\n\n“There is no evidence that the BA.2 lineage is more severe than the BA.1 lineage. CDC continues to monitor variants that are circulating both domestically and internationally,” she said Friday. “We will continue to monitor emerging data on disease severity in humans and findings from papers like this conducted in laboratory settings.”\n\nBA.2 is highly mutated compared with the original Covid-causing virus that emerged in Wuhan, China. It also has dozens of gene changes that are different from the original Omicron strain, making it as distinct from the most recent pandemic virus as the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants were from each other.\n\nKei Sato, a researcher at the University of Tokyo who conducted the study, argues that these findings prove that BA.2 should not be considered a type of Omicron and that it needs to be more closely monitored.\n\n“As you may know, BA.2 is called ‘stealth Omicron,’ ” Sato told CNN. That’s because it doesn’t show up on PCR tests as an S-gene target failure, the way Omicron does. Labs therefore have to take an extra step and sequence the virus to find this variant.\n\n“Establishing a method to detect BA.2 specifically would be the first thing” many countries need to do, he says.\n\n“It looks like we might be looking at a new Greek letter here,” agreed Deborah Fuller, a virologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, who reviewed the study but was not part of the research.\n\nMixed real-world data on subvariant’s severity\n\nBA.2 has been estimated to be about 30% more contagious than Omicron, according to the World Health Organization. It has been detected in 74 countries and 47 US states.\n\nThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 4% of Americans with Covid-19 now have infections caused by BA.2, but many other parts of the world have more experience with this variant. It has become dominant in at least 10 other countries: Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Denmark, Guam, India, Montenegro, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines, according to World Health Organization’s weekly epidemiological report.\n\nHowever, there’s mixed evidence on the severity of BA.2 in the real world. Hospitalizations continue to decline in countries where BA.2 has gained a foothold, like South Africa and the UK. But in Denmark, where BA.2 has become the leading cause of infections, hospitalizations and deaths are rising, according to WHO.\n\nResistant to monoclonal antibody treatments\n\nThe new study found that BA.2 can copy itself in cells more quickly than BA.1, the original version of Omicron. It’s also more adept at causing cells to stick together. This allows the virus to create larger clumps of cells, called syncytia, than BA.1. That’s concerning because these clumps then become factories for churning out more copies of the virus. Delta was also good at creating syncytia, which is thought to be one reason it was so destructive to the lungs.\n\nWhen the researchers infected hamsters with BA.2 and BA.1, the animals infected with BA.2 got sicker and had worse lung function. In tissues samples, the lungs of BA.2-infected hamsters had more damage than those infected by BA.1.\n\nSimilar to the original Omicron, BA.2 was capable of breaking through antibodies in the blood of people who’d been vaccinated against Covid-19. It was also resistant to the antibodies of people who’d been infected with Covid-19 early in the pandemic, including Alpha and Delta. And BA.2 was almost completely resistant to some monoclonal antibody treatments.\n\nBut there was a bright spot: Antibodies in the blood of people who’d recently had Omicron also seemed to have some protection against BA.2, especially if they’d also been vaccinated.\n\nAnd that raises an important point, Fuller says. Even though BA.2 seems more contagious and pathogenic than Omicron, it may not wind up causing a more devastating wave of Covid-19 infections.\n\n“One of the caveats that we have to think about as we get new variants that might seem more dangerous is the fact that there’s two sides to the story,” Fuller says.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nThe virus matters, she says, but as its would-be hosts, so do we.\n\n“Our immune system is evolving as well. And so that’s pushing back on things,” she said.\n\nRight now, she says, we’re in a race against the virus, and the key question is, who’s in the lead?\n\n“What we will ultimately want is to have the host be ahead of the virus. In other words, our immunity, be a step ahead of the next variant that comes out, and I don’t know that we’re quite there yet,” she said.\n\nFor that reason, Fuller says, she feels like it’s not quite time for communities to lift mask mandates.\n\n“Before this thing came out, we were about 10 feet away from the finish line,” she said. “Taking off the masks now is not a good idea. It’s just going to extend it. Let’s get to the finish line.”", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/02/17"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/14/health/omicron-ba-5-variant-immunity-severity/index.html", "title": "Why the Omicron offshoot BA.5 is a big deal | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nOnce again, Covid-19 seems to be everywhere. If you feel caught off-guard, you aren’t alone.\n\nAfter the Omicron tidal wave washed over the United States in January and the smaller rise in cases in the spring caused by the BA.2 subvariant, it might have seemed like the coronavirus could be ignored for a while. After all, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in December that nearly all Americans had been vaccinated or have antibodies from a past infection. Surely all that immunity bought some breathing room.\n\nBut suddenly, many people who had recovered from Covid-19 as recently as March or April found themselves exhausted, coughing and staring at two red lines on a rapid test. How could this be happening again – and so soon?\n\nThe culprit this time is yet another Omicron offshoot, BA.5. It has three key mutations in its spike protein that make it both better at infecting our cells and more adept at slipping past our immune defenses.\n\nIn just over two months, BA.5 outcompeted its predecessors to become the dominant cause of Covid-19 in the United States. Last week, this subvariant caused almost 2 out of every 3 new Covid-19 infections in this country, according to the latest data from the CDC.\n\nLab studies of antibodies from the blood of people who’ve been vaccinated or recovered from recent Covid-19 infections have looked at how well they stand up to BA.5, and this subvariant can outmaneuver them. So people who’ve had Covid as recently as winter or even spring may again be vulnerable to the virus.\n\n“We do not know about the clinical severity of BA.4 and BA.5 in comparison to our other Omicron subvariants,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing Tuesday. “But we do know it to be more transmissible and more immune-evading. People with prior infection, even with BA.1 and BA.2, are likely still at risk for BA.4 or BA.5.”\n\nA ‘full-on’ wave\n\nThe result is that we’re getting sick in droves. As Americans have switched to more rapid at-home tests, official case counts – currently hovering around 110,000 new infections a day – reflect just a fraction of the true disease burden.\n\n“We estimate that for every reported case there are 7 unreported,” Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, wrote in an email.\n\nOther experts think the wave could be as much as 10 times higher than what’s being reported now.\n\n“We’re looking at probably close to a million new cases a day,” Dr. Peter Hotez said on CNN. “This is a full-on BA.5 wave that we’re experiencing this summer. It’s actually looking worse in the Southern states, just like 2020, just like 2021,” said Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.\n\nThat puts us in the range of cases reported during the first Omicron wave, in January. Remember when it seemed like everyone everywhere got sick at the same time? That’s the situation in the United States again.\n\nIt may not seem like a very big deal, because vaccines and better treatments have dramatically cut the risk of death from Covid-19. Still, about 300 to 350 people are dying on average each day from Covid-19, enough to fill a large passenger jet.\n\n“That is unacceptable. It’s too high,” Dr. Ashish Jha, coordinator for the White House Covid-19 Response Team, said at Tuesday’s briefing.\n\nDaily hospitalizations are also climbing in the United States. The fraction of patients needing intensive care is up by about 23% over the past two weeks. And other countries are experiencing BA.5 waves, too.\n\n“I am concerned that cases of Covid-19 continue to rise, putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers. I am also concerned about the increasing trend of deaths,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, at a news briefing Tuesday after the agency’s decision to maintain its emergency declaration for Covid-19.\n\nThe pandemic, he said, is “nowhere near over.”\n\nWhat’s at stake with continued spread\n\nThere are also more insidious health risks to consider. A recent preprint study that compared the health of people who’d been infected one or more times with Covid-19 found that the risk of new and sometimes lasting health problems rose with each subsequent infection, suggesting that reinfections are not necessarily benign.\n\nAlthough vaccination reduces the risk of getting long Covid, a certain percentage of people have lasting symptoms after a breakthrough infection.\n\nThat’s another reason why high numbers of Covid-19 cases are a big deal: Because the virus is still spreading wildly, it has every opportunity to mutate to make even fitter and more infectious versions of itself. It’s doing this faster than we can change our vaccines, leaving us stuck in the Covid-rinse-repeat period of the pandemic.\n\nOn Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pleaded with Americans to use all available tools to stop the spread of the virus, including masking, ventilation and social distancing.\n\n“We need to keep the levels of virus to the lowest possible level, and that is our best defense. If a virus is not very robustly replicating and spreading, it gives it less of a chance of a mutation, which gives it less of a chance of the evolving of another variant,” Fauci said in a news briefing.\n\nIn fact, this is already happening.\n\nMeet BA.2.75\n\nEven as the US comes to terms with BA.5, variant hunters around the world are closely watching another Omicron descendant, BA.2.75. It’s been detected in about 10 countries, including the United States, and seems to be growing quickly in India.\n\nBA.2.75 has nine changes in its spike region that distinguish it from BA.2 and about 11 changes compared with BA.5, according to Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London.\n\nSeveral of the mutations in BA.2.75 are in a region of the spike protein known to be an important place for antibodies to bind to stop the virus, said Ulrich Elling, a scientist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences who monitors coronavirus variants for that country.\n\nThere’s little information to go on: It’s still not known, for example, how BA.2.75 may compete against BA.5 or whether it causes more severe illness. But experts say it has all the hallmarks of a variant that could go global.\n\n“It spread to many different countries already, so we know that it has some sort of staying power,” said Shishi Luo, associate director of bioinformatics and infectious disease for Helix Labs, which decodes virus samples for the CDC and other clients.\n\nBecause of that, and because of changes in the region of the virus that our antibodies look for to shut it down, “we sort of know ahead of time that this one will cause some trouble,” Luo said.\n\nBased on what we know now, she expects that this subvariant could drive a fall Covid-19 wave in the United States.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nIn the meantime, Jha said, people should get boosters that are available to them to keep their immunity as strong as possible. US health officials emphasized that people who are boosted now will still be able to get an updated shot this fall that includes the BA.4 and BA.5 strains.\n\nJha specifically urged Americans who are 50 and older, “if you’ve not gotten a vaccine shot this year, go get one now. It could save your life,” he said.", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/07/14"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/23/health/covid-ba2-omicron-studies-explainer/index.html", "title": "New studies bring BA.2 variant into sharper focus | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nOn the heels of concerning new lab and animal experiments suggesting that BA.2 may be capable of causing more severe disease than the original Omicron strain, two new studies are helping to show how well human immunity is defending against this strain in the real world.\n\nBA.2 is about 30% more transmissible than the original Omicron variant, BA.1, according to early studies from the UK and Denmark, and it is now causing about 1 in 5 Covid-19 cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.\n\nEven as Covid-19 cases have been dropping around the world, the relative proportion of cases caused by BA.2 has been increasing. It is outcompeting the original Omicron strain in at least 43 countries, prompting fears of another devastating pandemic wave.\n\n“As of now, I don’t think that we need to sound a global alarm. But I do think that we need to pay attention to BA.2 because it does appear to have a growth advantage over BA.1,” says Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.\n\nLike the BA.1 strain, BA.2 also has features that help it escape some immunity from vaccines and from most monoclonal antibody treatments, though recent boosters improve personal protection and antiviral pills are still expected to work against this subvariant.\n\nNow new studies are providing some reassurance that while BA.2 may overtake its genetically distant cousin, it won’t likely lead to greater numbers of hospitalizations and deaths.\n\n“The situation that we’re seeing on the ground, and I get this from talking to a number of my colleagues who actually do the genomic surveillance, is BA.2 is kind of creeping up in terms of numbers, but it’s not the meteoric rise that we saw with BA.1,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.\n\nThat’s because in many countries like the US, UK, and Denmark, BA.2 has hit speed bumps left in its wake by BA.1, which was already very contagious.\n\n“It’s so soon after that initial BA.1 peak that you have a lot of people who were either vaccinated or boosted … [or] got Omicron, and so right now all of those people will have relatively high titers of antibodies, neutralizing antibodies that will protect against infection,” Rasmussen says.\n\nThe new studies are preprints, which means they were posted to an online library of medical research before being reviewed by outside experts and published in medical journals.\n\nNo increase in hospitalizations\n\nThe first new study comes from South Africa, where BA.2 grew rapidly, rising from 27% to 86% of new Covid-19 infections over the course of a single week in February. Researchers looked at cases tied to more than 95,000 positive Covid-19 tests. Among these, roughly equal proportions of people were hospitalized for their infections – roughly 3.6% of people who had presumed BA.2 infections compared to 3.4% of those with signs infections caused by BA.1.\n\nAfter researchers accounted for things that might influence a person’s risk of severe disease, such as older age, they found no difference in the risk for hospitalization between people infected by BA.1 and those infected by BA.2. Roughly one-quarter of people hospitalized with both BA.1 and BA.2 infections were fully vaccinated.\n\nThose findings echo hospitalization studies from Denmark, where BA.2 is also the predominant cause of Covid-19 infections.\n\nThe lead researcher on the South African study, Dr. Nicole Wolter, says that while it’s difficult to say how the South African experience with this variant may translate to other countries, what they’re seeing from BA.2 after their fourth wave isn’t a second peak, but a longer tail.\n\n“We have seen an extended wave which has currently plateaued at a higher level than we have seen in previous inter-wave periods,” Wolter wrote in an email to CNN. “This may however also be influenced by schools opening following the December holiday period and a general relaxing of restrictions,” wrote Wolter, who is a principal medical scientist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg.\n\nThough cases have stayed at a high level, and most are now caused by BA.2, hospitalizations have continued to decline.\n\nWhat about reinfection risk?\n\nThe second new study, from Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut – the country’s equivalent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – looked at the risk of reinfection with BA.2 after recovery from a Covid-19 infection caused by other recent variants, including Delta and BA.1.\n\nThe study found that people who’ve recently had a Covid-19 infection caused by Omicron or Delta can be reinfected by the emerging BA.2 subvariant, but such cases appear to be uncommon, afflict mostly those who are unvaccinated and result in mostly mild infections.\n\nBA.2 is currently the dominant cause of Covid-19 in Denmark. It overtook BA.1 during the second week of January there.\n\nTo look at reinfection risk, researchers combed through more than 140,000 viral genomes that were sequenced from infections during the period when Omicron became dominant (late November to mid-February 2022) to find people who had a new positive test 20 to 60 days after a previous one.\n\nThey found a total of 263 reinfections, with 190 of those caused by the BA.2 variant. In 140 cases, the person was reinfected by BA.2 after an infection caused by the Delta variant. There were 47 cases where people were first infected by BA.1 (the original Omicron variant) followed by the BA.2 subvariant.\n\nResearchers then did a more in-depth analysis of those 47 reinfections where BA.2 followed BA.1. Most of the individuals who were reinfected were young – 30 were under age 20. None of the reinfected individuals was over age 40 and nearly all – 42 of the 47 individuals – were unvaccinated.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nFor the most part, reinfections were mild; 28 people had no symptoms or mild symptoms. Five people experienced symptoms that were characterized as moderate, akin to flu-like symptoms. There were no hospitalizations or deaths reported among reinfected individuals.\n\nThe study shows that “reinfection can happen with people who recently recovered from BA;1, but it’s pretty rare. And in all those cases, it wasn’t severe,” says Rasmussen, who reviewed the study but was not involved in the research.\n\nWhat that means she says is that while BA.2 reinfection is a risk, it is a small risk relative to the entire population, and “that recent immune boost caused by either boosters, or recent Omicron infection is largely going to protect most of the population against it,” she said.", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/02/23"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/27/health/omicron-sublineage-ba2/index.html", "title": "BA.2, the newly detected version of Omicron, is not a cause for alarm ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nA new spinoff of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is getting attention from scientists as it becomes the dominant cause of Covid-19 infections in some parts of the world.\n\nExperts say there’s no reason to panic over the lineage, called BA.2, which was first identified in early December and has since spread to 49 countries including the United States.\n\n“Among all the lineages of Omicron, this is the one showing a higher increase of cases. But we have to be careful in interpreting that, because higher increases from a very low number are easier to observe,” said Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo, assistant professor of medicine for infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.\n\nLike the more familiar version of Omicron, BA.2 has a large number of changes – about 20 –concentrated in the spike protein, the part of the virus that’s targeted by vaccines.\n\nUnlike Omicron, however, it doesn’t cause a certain signature on lab tests called an s-gene target failure, meaning it can look like other SARS-CoV-2 variants on a first screen. That has some calling it “the stealth variant.”\n\nBut Lorenzo-Redondo says that nickname has caused people to think that it can’t be detected in lab tests, which isn’t the case.\n\n“There has been confusing messaging about this subject. Both FDA-approved lab-based and at-home tests should detect this lineage, as well as the other Omicron (sublineage), BA.1,” he said.\n\nThere’s no indication that BA.2 causes more severe disease or spreads more easily than the original strain of Omicron. A report released Thursday by the UK’s Health Security Agency offers additional reassurance, suggesting that current vaccines protect about as well against BA.2 as they do against the original Omicron variant, with better protection against symptoms — an average of about 70% – two weeks after a booster.\n\nThe version of the virus that researchers have named Omicron includes multiple viral families. The BA.1 family is the one causing nearly all Omicron infections in the U.S. Now, a second family, the BA.2 clade, is starting to gain ground in other countries, notably India and Denmark.\n\nIn Denmark, BA.2 now accounts for about half of all new Covid-19 cases, according to a recent statement from Denmark’s Statens Serum Institute.\n\nOn Thursday, Dr. Sujeet Kumar Singh, director of India’s National Centre for Disease Control, said that BA.2 had become the dominant strain there.\n\nBA.2 has also been picked up in South Africa and the United Kingdom, where it has been designated a variant under investigation by the UK’s Health Security Agency. A variant under investigation is one that’s spreading in the country and being monitored because it may spread more easily from person to person or have features that make it more resistant to treatments or vaccines.\n\nIn the US, roughly 100 cases caused by BA.2 have been reported from at least 20 states, according to the sequence-sharing website GISAID.org.\n\nBA.2 currently accounts for less than 1% of US Covid-19 cases, according to Outbreak.info, a Scripps Research data project.\n\nAt Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, researchers are sequencing the viral genomes of every positive Covid-19 case they find. Out of more than 4,000 genomes sequenced since the first of the year, they’ve found only three cases of the BA.2 sublineage, said Dr. Wesley Long, medical director of microbiology.\n\nWill it take off here the way it has in India and Denmark? “I think it’s still too early to tell,” Long says.\n\nViruses change, or mutate, all the time. Most of these changes aren’t harmful. But occasionally, a virus will change in a way that helps it become more competitive. It might transmit from host to host more quickly, for example, or bind to cells more easily.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nLong says it’s hard to know why BA.2 is gaining ground in certain countries. It could be that it has some kind of advantage over the original Omicron variant, or perhaps both BA.1 and BA.2 were introduced around the same time, so they were able to spread at about the same rate.\n\nBut he says scientists will be watching those countries closely to see how the situation plays out over the next few weeks.\n\nScientists say the new Omicron spinoff is not surprising and, in fact, was anticipated, given that about half of the world’s population still hasn’t been vaccinated against the coronavirus.\n\n“I’d be very surprised, with the current state of the global population in terms of immune status, if we didn’t see more variants emerge,” says Angela Rasmussen, a virologist with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan.", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/01/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2022/07/08/covid-omicron-variant-ba-5-symptoms-and-more-updates-pandemic/7818775001/", "title": "COVID: Omicron variant, BA.5 symptoms and more updates on the ...", "text": "CDC data shows the omicron subvariant BA.5 has become the dominant strain in the country\n\nA new study shows COVID was the third leading cause of death in the US from March 2020 to Oct. 2021\n\nBarring the emergence of a new variant, experts say the worst of COVID-19 may finally be behind us\n\nCoronavirus cases are rising in the U.S. – again.\n\nEighteen states reported more cases in the week of June 30-July 7 than in the week before, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.\n\nThat led to a rise in hospitalizations: Hospitals in 40 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier. Thirty-eight states had more patients in intensive care beds, and 17 states reported more deaths than a week earlier.\n\nAlthough the increase in cases doesn’t approach the meteoric levels of previous waves, health experts said what's recorded is likely an undercount because of underreported test results.\n\nHere’s everything to know about the coronavirus and the state of the pandemic.\n\nHow many Americans are vaccinated against COVID-19?\n\nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported about 66% of eligible people in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and about 47% have gotten at least one booster.\n\nIn June, federal authorities authorized a COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 6 months. The CDC has yet to report vaccination rates for that population, but polling data from April found only 18% of parents said they would vaccinate their younger children right away, 27% said they definitely wouldn’t, and 38% said they’d wait and see.\n\nLooking at vaccination rates among the next age group, 5 to 11 years, health experts worry vaccine uptake among children may be slow. As of June 29, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported 29% of 5- to 11-year-olds received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.\n\nExperts advised parents to jump on lifesaving vaccines sooner rather than later. A modeling study published in JAMA Network Open this week found vaccines may have prevented about 235,000 COVID-19-related deaths among people over 18 from Dec. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021.\n\n\"If you want your child fully protected in the fall ... I wouldn’t wait,\" said Richard Besser, a pediatrician and president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.\n\nOmicron BA.4 and BA.5 variant: What to know\n\nCDC data shows the omicron subvariant BA.5 has become the dominant strain in the country, making up more than 54% of sequenced COVID-19 cases.\n\nThe next most-dominant subvariant is BA.2.12.1, which makes up about 27% of sequenced cases, followed by BA.4 at about 17%.\n\nAlthough it has been a slow rise since the winter wave, health experts said the proportion of subvariants among new cases increases every week.\n\n“These subvariants have been with us for the past two months already,” said David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “It’s a relatively slow increase that we’ve seen relative to the original omicron wave, which happened over the course of the month.”\n\nHealth experts said symptoms of BA.4 and BA.5 align closely with symptoms from other variants, including cough, fatigue, headache and muscle pains. A loss of taste and smell is becoming less common.\n\nIllness seems to be less severe, and hospitalizations and deaths remained somewhat steady since the omicron wave. Experts said that may be a result of Americans’ hybrid immunity from vaccination and previous infection.\n\nHow deadly is COVID-19?\n\nDowdy said transmission may be higher than at any other point in the pandemic – except during the winter’s omicron wave – but rates of hospitalizations and deaths have remained comparable with last summer.\n\nResearchers at the National Cancer Institute found COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. from March 2020 to October 2021, according to an analysis of national death certificate data published this week in JAMA Internal Medicine, accounting for about 350,000 deaths.\n\nAt the height of this 20-month period in January 2021, the U.S. reported more than 4,000 deaths a day. The country now reports 200 to 400 deaths a day, according to Johns Hopkins and CDC data.\n\nWhat will the pandemic look like this fall?\n\nSome experts expect another increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the fall, but Dowdy said case rates could look similar to what they are now.\n\n“It seems like right now we’re at a high hum,” he said. “In the past, what has caused waves to subside has been our immunity to the virus, so I think it’s possible that our immunity will have a downward effect,” or keep cases down.\n\nAubree Gordon, associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, says the worst of COVID-19 may finally be behind us, barring the emergence of any new variants.\n\nExperts say there have been no signs of a new variant. A study published in Nature this week found wastewater-based surveillance can detect emerging variants of concern up to two weeks earlier than clinical sequencing.\n\n“Hopefully we will see that severity (of disease) continue to decrease and the rate of infections and number of cases will come down as well,” Gordon said. “We’re at the point in the U.S. where it is quite likely that the worst is over.”\n\nFollow Adrianna Rodriguez on Twitter: @AdriannaUSAT.\n\nHealth and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/07/08"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/health/ba-5-hidden-covid-case-increase/index.html", "title": "Undercounted Covid-19 cases leave US with a blind spot as BA.5 ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nOfficial Covid-19 case metrics severely undercount the true number of infections, leaving the United States with a critical blind spot as the most transmissible coronavirus variant yet takes hold.\n\nThe Omicron offshoot BA.5 became the dominant variant in the US last week, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the subvariant carries key mutations that help it escape antibodies generated by vaccines and prior infection, aiding its rapid spread.\n\nWith that will come “escalating numbers of cases and more hospitalizations,” Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, said on CNNi Monday. “One good thing is it doesn’t appear to be accompanied by the ICU admissions and the deaths as previous variants, but this is definitely concerning.”\n\nBut to look at official case counts, it’s hard to tell.\n\nThe share of cases that are officially reported is at an “all-time low,” said Dr. Michael Mina, an epidemiologist and chief science officer at telehealth company eMed. “There’s no doubt about that.”\n\nCovid-19 cases have been undercounted to some degree throughout the pandemic for reasons including a lack of available tests at some points and asymptomatic cases that may have been missed. But as people increasingly rely on rapid at-home tests – and as attitudes toward the pandemic shift overall – the US hasn’t landed on a reliable way to track transmission levels.\n\nAn estimate from the Institute for Health Metrics, a research center at the University of Washington, suggests that actual infection numbers in the first week of July have been about seven times higher than reported cases – which have averaged about 107,000 each day over the past two weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.\n\nBefore the CDC lifted the requirement for international travelers to test before coming into the country last month, Mina said, it was an “amazing opportunity” to monitor the state of Covid-19 across the US among a group of mostly asymptomatic people. About 5% of travelers were testing positive throughout the month of May, which he says probably translates to at least 1 million new infections every day in the broader US population – 10 times higher than the official count.\n\nNow that BA.5 is here, “we know that there is going to be a wave in the fall – there’s almost no doubt about that – if not before. So you just have to be really cognitive that that is what might happen,” Mina said.\n\nBut with so many variables at play, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to compare the current state of things to other points in the pandemic.\n\n“We really don’t have a good sense of what the baseline is,” said Dr. Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “To say ‘here’s where we are, at this time in 2022, compared to 2021’ – that’s not a fair comparison.”\n\nTo assess your individual risk of Covid-19 as a new variant takes hold, a personal accounting of cases among friends and family may be a better gauge than official data, experts say.\n\n“People are asking one another, they’re sharing stories, and that’s probably not a bad source of evidence,” said Baruch Fischhoff, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and founding chair of the US Food and Drug Association’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee.\n\nOur social networks have probably stayed more consistent than national surveillance systems, he said, and “if more people that you hear about in your circle are getting the disease now than were getting it in the past, and the size of your circle is about the same, then presumably there’s much more disease now than there was before.”\n\nSevere outcomes don’t tell the whole story\n\nAt White House Covid-19 Response Team briefings – the most recent of which was held more than two weeks ago – CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has presented case trends without referencing these important caveats to the data.\n\nMonths ago, the CDC shifted away from Covid-19 transmission levels that categorized risk based on case counts and test positivity rates to focus on Covid-19 Community Levels that rely more heavily on metrics related to hospitalizations.\n\nDuring this winter’s Omicron surge, hospitalizations and deaths didn’t follow the same steep trend line as cases – an important shift from earlier waves of the pandemic.\n\nBut the fact that severe outcomes are still happening at all is enough reason to keep paying attention to cases, experts say.\n\n“If we ever got to a state where people were getting infected but it wasn’t causing any severe illness anymore – maybe it’s a new variant that is much less severe, or it wasn’t causing long Covid – if there were no really significant adverse health outcomes, then we would no longer care as much about cases,” said Jason Salemi, an epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of South Florida.\n\n“But let me be clear, we’re not there yet.”\n\nThere’s no evidence that BA.5 causes more severe disease, but studies have shown BA.5 can evade antibodies from vaccination or previous infection – even from another Omicron subvariant. Vaccines are still expected to provide protection against severe disease, and for fall, vaccine makers are developing updated booster shots that incorporate Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 strains.\n\nThere are treatments available, such the antiviral pill Paxlovid, that sharply reduce risk of death or severe disease. And high-quality masks, ventilation, physical distancing and quarantine and isolation can still help reduce spread from any variant, including BA.5.\n\nBut currently, more than 5,000 people are being admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 each day, CDC data shows, and more than 300 are dying each day, according to JHU data.\n\nFocusing on these “lagging indicators” costs “meaningful time in which to start to curb people’s behavior and prevent a lot of morbidity and mortality,” Salemi said.\n\nIf 1 in 5 Covid-19 infections results in long Covid and true infections are seven times higher than reported, the number of people with long Covid could be growing by 100,000 each day.\n\nWorking around blind spots\n\nFor now, the US is in a “sustained management phase,” with continued efforts to keep things under control compared with “what was much more of a reactive, emergent – and emerging – approach of the past,” Plescia said.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nBut the federal government recently reallocated resources away from testing because Congress did not approve additional Covid funds, a move that Mina says will leave the US “pretty blind as we move into the fall.”\n\nSome surveillance programs are ongoing, such as wastewater monitoring that tracks the amount of virus present in sewage. But he says they’re “minimal,” and “generally, they’re not really not giving us a good picture of what’s really happening across the United States.”\n\n“We kind of just floated through this major outbreak,” Mina said, referring to previously dominant Omicron subvariants. “But we should not let our guard down, I would say, because with BA.5, I expect it will be a very different story.”", "authors": ["Deidre Mcphillips"], "publish_date": "2022/07/11"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_6", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:11", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/01/03/california-storm-updates-deaths-power-outages-landslides-forecast/10981906002/", "title": "Floods could hit San Francisco Bay Area; rain storm targets California", "text": "SAN FRANCISCO – A \"brutal\" storm system building over the Pacific Ocean is poised to slam across Northern California on Wednesday, battering a region already struggling from a weekend of record rains and flooding.\n\nThe storm could drop as much as 8 inches of rain in some areas, falling on already overflowing rivers and saturated ground, according to the National Weather Service in San Francisco, which provided an image of what's approaching.\n\n\"The impacts will include widespread flooding, roads washing out, hillside collapsing, trees down (potentially full groves), widespread power outages, immediate disruption to commerce, and the worst of all, likely loss of human life,\" the weather service warned in a statement. \"This is truly a brutal system that we are looking at and needs to be taken seriously.\"\n\nLATEST UPDATES WEDNESDAY:Bomb cyclone to pummel California coast Wednesday; Bay Area braces for flooding\n\nA weather phenomenon known as an “atmospheric river” that swept across much of the state over the weekend dumped more than 5 inches of rain on San Francisco and nearly 10 inches elsewhere in the state.\n\nOn Wednesday the state will face another atmospheric river – or, the term more common years ago, a Pineapple Express. These are storms with heavy rainfall that occur when a line of warm, moist air flows from near the Hawaiian Islands across the Pacific Ocean to the West Coast.\n\nWhen it reaches the cooler air over the western landmass, the water vapor falls as heavy rain. Atmospheric rivers are long, flowing regions of the atmosphere that carry water vapor across a swath of sky 250 to 375 miles wide. They can be more than 1,000 miles long – and can carry more water than the Mississippi River.\n\nWHAT IS AN 'ATMOSPHERIC RIVER'? These rivers of water vapor can extend thousands of miles\n\n►High winds warnings will be in effect for the San Francisco Bay Area and California's central coast from 4.a.m. Wednesday until 10 a.m. Thursday.\n\n►Heavy snow was forecast to return to the Sierra Nevada on Wednesday.\n\n►Winter Storm Warnings and Winter Weather Advisories were in effect for much of Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and for portions of northern Michigan and the higher elevations of Arizona and New Mexico.\n\n►Ice Storm Warnings were in effect for portions of central and eastern Nebraska through northwestern Iowa and southern Minnesota.\n\n►High Wind Warnings were in effect for portions of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas.\n\n8 MORE INCHES OF RAIN? Storm-battered California faces another round of severe weather; tornadoes possible in South\n\nMore storms could follow next week\n\nThe storm could impact a broad swath of coastal California, reaching as far south as Los Angeles and well past San Francisco to the north, Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles said in a news conference Tuesday.\n\nThe worst will be felt in the northern part of the state. Because the ground is already saturated due to the New Year’s Eve storm, Wednesday’s tempest could result in localized mudslides from Monterey Bay up the coast, he said. There’s a high risk of flash floods, urban flooding, shallow landslides and mudslides, he said, though major river flooding is unlikely.\n\n“The big wild card is what happens next week,” Swain said, warning that one and possibly two more atmospheric river events target the coast in the coming days. “Then all bets are off and the potential for much more significant flooding could very realistically emerge.”\n\nLeaders urge residents to prepare\n\nSan Francisco has distributed more than 8,000 sandbags since Saturday – and was running out. \"Please save sandbags for people who need them,\" San Francisco Public Works tweeted. \"Those whose properties are prone to flooding.\"\n\nIn San Mateo County, authorities said they were replenishing depleted sandbag supplies and provided updated lists of locations where they could be acquired.\n\nSen. Dianne Feinstein urged residents to monitor updates on the storm and follow the directives of local officials.\n\n\"Dangerous weather including strong rain, snow and wind is expected to hit California this week,\" she tweeted. \"It’s imperative that everyone is ready.\"\n\nIn San Jose, the city manager signed a proclamation of local emergency and evacuation order Tuesday night amid a flood watch. The city's emergency management and police plan to deploy loudspeaker announcements to evacuate unhoused residents from waterways, according to a statement.\n\nSacramento County braces for another hit\n\nIn California's Sacramento County, crews rushed to repair a 200-foot section of a levee system along the Cosumnes River that protects more than 53 square miles of vineyards and cattle ranches. Flooding caused by rainfall and the swelling Mokelumne and Cosumnes rivers may rapidly inundate some areas, the National Weather Service warned.\n\nSaturday’s storm prompted county officials to order the evacuation of the Point Pleasant Community – including 1,075 inmates and staff at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center. Inmates were taken to nearby jails with no timetable for their return, according to County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Amar Gandhi.\n\nCALIFORNIA DISASTER:Experts warn the state of a disaster 'larger than any in world history.' It's not an earthquake.\n\nCould 'megafloods' be looming for California?\n\nThe wave of storms comes months after the release of a study warning that a \"megafloods\" crisis could be looming for California. The state faces an increasing risk of floods that could submerge cities and displace millions of people across the state, according to a study released in August. Swain, the UCLA climate scientist, was a co-author of the study. It warned that a monthlong storm could bring feet of rain to hundreds of miles of California.\n\nSimilarly, unrelenting storms have happened in the past before the region became home to tens of millions of people. Now, each degree of global warming dramatically increases the odds and size of the next megaflood, the study said.\n\n'ABSOLUTE MIRACLE':4 people survive after Tesla plunges over cliff along Pacific Coast Highway\n\nTornadoes in Arkansas damage buildings, trap people in homes\n\nAt least three tornadoes were reported Monday in the South-Central U.S. The National Weather Service said it had reports of a damaging twister in Montrose, Arkansas, that trapped people in their homes. Another near Jessieville, Arkansas, damaged at least 14 homes and multiple commercial and government buildings, including a local high school, AccuWeather reported.\n\nThe storm hit with little warning, Jessieville School District Superintendent Melissa Speers told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. It was the first day of school after the holiday break.\n\n\"Out of the blue, high winds, awnings began to blow away, the flagpole blows over,\" she said. \"Students and staff began moving to the safe room. We didn't have any prior warning.\"\n\nSoutheast struggles with flooding, more rain on the way\n\nFlash flooding was prompting water rescues and school closures in parts of Kentucky, and severe thunderstorm warnings were posted for much of the state. In Muhlenberg County, near the Tennessee border, the Greenville Fire Department said it had responded to numerous stranded motorists and provided water rescues from residences. Numerous roadways were flooded, and first responders and road crews were blocking flooded roadways. The school district was one of several across Kentucky that canceled classes.\n\nForecasters issued severe thunderstorm warnings across much of Mississippi. In Alabama, forecasters warned of severe storms and possible tornadoes Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather service said moisture from the Western Gulf of Mexico surging northward over the Lower Mississippi Valley and much of the Southeast was fueling the foul weather.\n\nSnowy winter so far in Midwest\n\nAcross much of the Midwest, heavy snow, significant freezing rain and some sleet were expected Tuesday and Wednesday. Intense snow rates of 1-3 inches per hour, in some instances accompanied by thunder, were forecast for parts of Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota.\n\nGusty, 30 mph winds will produce areas of blowing and drifting snow throughout the day Tuesday. The precipitation will result in snow-covered roads, reduced visibility and \"difficult-to-impossible travel,\" the National Weather Service warned.\n\nThe young season's snowfall totals are already well above average across much of the nation's Plains and Upper Midwest. Minneapolis has received 32.6 inches of snow since Nov. 1, compared to the average of 18 inches, AccuWeather reports. Rapid City and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Fargo, North Dakota, have also seen snow amounts 150%-160% of normal since Nov. 1.\n\nContributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY; The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/16/weather/storm-merbok-alaska-friday/index.html", "title": "Alaska's western coast is expecting high winds and flooding in ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe remnants of Typhoon Merbok are putting residents of western Alaska on high alert as a coastal storm is expected to bring flooding and strong winds this weekend.\n\nWind gusts as high as 65 mph are expected for Kotzebue Sound and Chukchi Coast, according to the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. Winds are scheduled to peak early on Saturday morning.\n\nForecasters call it “the strongest storm in over a decade.”\n\nOfficials in the Nome area, with about 10,000 residents, have urged people to prepare.\n\n“Port users should secure boats and vessels in the harbor and on Belmont Point. Please check your lines and gear periodically to avoid losses,” the town of Nome said on its Facebook page.\n\nThe town said its recreation center will serve as the emergency shelter.\n\n“The many local, state, federal, tribal, and non-government agencies and emergency response organizations are aware of this storm’s potential and are preparing their response capabilities,” the Alaska Division of Homeland Security said. “The State Emergency Operation Center staff will continue to monitor the situation and communicate with communities in the path of the storm.”\n\nThe Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities asked people to report road conditions to its Nome maintenance station.\n\nThe system was moving over the Bering Sea, which spans the northern Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Russia.\n\n“This is a dangerous storm that is expected to produce widespread coastal flooding south of the Bering Strait with water levels approaching levels not seen in nearly 50 years,” the weather service warned Thursday.\n\nAlong Alaska’s shore, the main threats are a double-whammy of coastal flooding and winds up to 60 mph with higher gusts that could displace loose objects, damage buildings and bring down powerlines.\n\nWeather officials in Alaska also urged residents to prepare for the storm as it could threaten to overwhelm critical infrastructure and wash away roads. The storm’s impacts are expected Friday through Sunday morning, with water levels rising the highest Saturday.\n\nCoastal flood watches have also been issued for all coastlines along the west coast of Alaska between just north of the Arctic Circle down through the Kuskokwim Delta coast.\n\nCNN Weather\n\nThe last time Alaska saw a storm this strong was in 2011, when it left behind a wide swath of destruction. Like Merbok, the 2011 system was an extratropical storm. An extratropical storm or cyclone has cold air at its core – unlike a tropical storm or cyclone which has a warm core. Both can cause significant damage from strong winds, heavy rain and storm surge.\n\n“When a big storm comes in, we always say, ‘Does it compare to the 2011 storm?’” Jonathan Chriest, a meteorologist with the weather service in Fairbanks, told CNN. “This is the first storm since 2011 that we have high confidence … will compare impact-wise.”\n\nOn Friday, the remnants of Merbok are forecast to move into the Bering Sea and “bomb out” in a process also known as bombogenesis, referring to a pressure drop of 24 millibars in 24 hours or less. That means the storm is rapidly strengthening and has the potential to cause significant damage.\n\n“Winds will peak early Saturday morning near Shishmaref, and during the day Saturday near Kotzebue and the Chukchi Coast,” the weather service said. “Coastal flooding will occur, in addition to significant beach erosion.”\n\nWhile most areas will see around 1 inch of rain with this storm, some could pick up as much as 3 inches through the weekend.\n\nEven if Anchorage – more than 500 miles from Nome – picks up 1 to 2 inches from this storm, it will push this year into the top five wettest years on record.", "authors": ["Chuck Johnston Aya Elamroussi", "Chuck Johnston", "Aya Elamroussi"], "publish_date": "2022/09/16"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/18/weather/tropical-storm-fiona-sunday/index.html", "title": "Hurricane Fiona causing 'catastrophic' flooding in Puerto Rico as the ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: Get the latest top news and live updates Monday on Hurricane Fiona.\n\nIn the storm’s path? Bookmark CNN’s lite site for fast connectivity.\n\nCNN —\n\nHurricane Fiona made landfall along the extreme southwestern coast of Puerto Rico, near Punta Tocon, at 3:20 p.m. ET Sunday with winds of 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.\n\nThe hurricane is already causing catastrophic flooding as it moves just west of Puerto Rico and heads for the Dominican Republic, the center said in a 5 p.m. update.\n\nGET LIVE UPDATES\n\nThe hurricane center is forecasting 12-18 inches of rainfall with a local maximum of 30 inches, particularly across eastern and southern Puerto Rico. Nearby in the norther and eastern parts of the Dominican Republic, 4-8 inches of rainfall is expected, with a local maximum of 12 inches possible along the northeast coast.\n\n“These rains will produce life-threatening and catastrophic flash and urban flooding across Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic, along with mudslides and landslides in areas of higher terrain,” the hurricane center said.\n\nA flash flood emergency was issued for Sector San Felipe and Mosquito in Salinas County Sunday night as heavy rainfall pounded the region, where 10-15 inches of rain have already fallen, and another 2-4 inches are possible, according to the National Weather Service.\n\nThe heavy rainfall in Salinas County has already led to multiple swift water rescues, and the Weather Service is urging people to “move to higher ground now. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”\n\nAll of Puerto Rico lost power earlier Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us, as the Category 1 storm approached the islands.\n\nMany rivers on the eastern side of the territory are in moderate to major flood stage. One river in the southeast has risen over 12 feet in less than seven hours and is now over 25 feet, breaking the previous record of 24.79 feet set in 2017 during Hurricane Maria.\n\nHurricane Fiona is the third of the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season and forecast to become a major hurricane – a storm of Category 3 or higher – in about 48 hours, east of the Bahamas.\n\nTropical storm conditions are expected to reach portions of the Dominican Republic within the next few hours and then in the Turks and Caicos Islands and portions of the southeastern Bahamas by early Tuesday.\n\nThe government of the Bahamas issued a tropical storm warning for the Turks and Caicos and for the Southeastern Bahamas, including the Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, the Inaguas, Mayaguana and the Ragged Islands.\n\nThe storm’s impacts have already been felt: At least one death has been reported in Basse-Terre in the French territory of Guadeloupe, according to the vice president of the territory’s environmental agency, who said the capital had been devastated by flooding.\n\nPuerto Rico without power as hurricane lashes the islands\n\nPuerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi confirmed the territory-wide outage in a tweet, noting the entire electric system was out of service and officials have activated the proper protocols to work to restore power.\n\nThe Authority of Electric Energy and LUMA Energy, which operates Puerto Rico’s power grid, continue to work on the islandwide power outage affecting nearly 1.5 million customers, according to Pierluisi.\n\nThe blackout – which followed hours of progressively worsening power outages – comes five years after Puerto Rico’s power grid was devastated by Hurricane Maria in September 2017, leaving many residents without electricity for months.\n\nBut officials have stressed it won’t be like last time: Not long before the lights went out, Abner Gomez, head of public safety and crisis management at LUMA Energy, said utility authorities plan to repair and restore electricity with the help of local government agencies. “This is not Maria, this hurricane will not be Maria,” Gomez said.\n\nPresident Joe Biden on Sunday morning approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, freeing up federal resources, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for emergency response and disaster relief efforts.\n\nThere are more than 300 FEMA responders on the ground working “hand and glove” with the Commonwealth and their emergency management structure, Anne Bink, FEMA’s Assistant Administrator for Response and Recovery, told CNN Sunday.\n\n“Our heart goes out to the residents that are again going through another catastrophic event five years later,” Bink said, noting Fiona has hit close to Hurricane Maria’s five-year anniversary.\n\nBink said FEMA’s response is dual focused, including emergency generation and power missions for critical facilities and ensuring command and control structure is in place for things like search and rescue, emergency power generations and long-term needs once the island moves into recovery.\n\nEvacuees are seen in a classroom of a public school being used as a shelter as Hurricane Fiona and its heavy rains approach in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, on Sunday. Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters\n\nFiona’s winds are expected to increase along the immediate coastline, while conditions are forecast to deteriorate throughout Sunday afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service’s office in San Juan.\n\nAlready, authorities have responded to one landslide: Emergency officials responded Saturday evening to a landslide around 8 p.m. ET at an apartment complex in Guaynabo, according to fire and public safety officials. There were no initial reports of injuries.\n\nFiona's current forecast storm track across the Atlantic. CNN Weather\n\nAround 120 shelters with 25,000 cots have been opened for those in need, the governor said. Classes Monday have been canceled and government workers – save emergency workers – should stay home, too.\n\nForecast rainfall accumulations due to Tropical Storm Fiona. CNN Weather\n\nA hurricane warning – indicating hurricane conditions are expected – was issued for Puerto Rico, including the islands of Vieques and Culebra, and later expanded to include the eastern Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo to Cabo Frances Viejo. The Dominican Republic’s northern coast, from Cabo Frances Viejo west to Puerto Plata, were under a hurricane watch Sunday morning, meaning hurricane conditions are possible in the next 48 hours.", "authors": ["Dakin Andone Haley Brink Melissa Alonso", "Dakin Andone", "Haley Brink", "Melissa Alonso"], "publish_date": "2022/09/18"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/11/26/rain-and-snow-forecast-today-and-wednesday/4310901002/", "title": "California weather: Bomb cyclone slams into North State with 80 ...", "text": "The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning Tuesday morning and predicted rain and snow off and on for the day, and snow began accumulating in Mount Shasta and other mountain locations by early afternoon.\n\nBy evening, much of the North State was blanketed by snow.\n\nThe worst of the snowfall was expected to happen between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. Tuesday, \"with near impossible travel,\" the weather service said. The forecast called for accumulations of 2 to 7 inches of snow.\n\nResidents reported power outages across Northern California.\n\nA map of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. at one time showed in Shasta County and parts of northern Tehama County alone, more than 4,700 customers were without power, the number dropping to about 3,200 by Wednesday morning. Affected areas included Anderson, Cottonwood, Centerville, French Gulch, Igo, Lakehead, Mountain Gate, Round Mountain, Shasta and Shasta Lake.\n\nLive updates:What we know Wednesday about the snowstorm\n\nRedding Electric Utility crews, too, were called to reported outages in neighborhoods along Parkview Avenue and just west of Highway 273.\n\nIn Weed, the forecast called for up to 10 inches of snow and winds gusting up to 80 mph overnight, the weather service said.\n\nTravel along the roadways had already become hazardous early Tuesday afternoon, with numerous spinouts and crashes reported as ice and snow fell on most of the mountain highways around Redding.\n\nThere is also a chance of small hail producing thunderstorms Tuesday and Wednesday.\n\n\"Valley rainfall may cause minor flooding due to clogged drains, given it has been several months since the last widespread rain, the weather service said.\n\nRELATED:Historic 'bomb cyclone' crashes into coast, sending rain and snow shock waves inland\n\nResidents reported snow flurries as low as Shasta Lake near the valley floor early Tuesday afternoon.\n\nAfter Thanksgiving Day, widespread hard freeze is possible Friday morning. Another significant winter storm will affect the Sierra Saturday night and Sunday with snow levels around 5,000 feet, the weather service said.\n\n\"Redding area will be ... back and forth snow/rain/snow over the next 24 hours,\" the National Weather Service office in Sacramento said.\n\n\"Thunderstorms Wednesday may bring accumulating small hail and brief (heavy) rain which may result in clogged drains and urban flooding issues,\" the weather service said.\n\nMore wet weather, including snow, also is forecast for the weekend, the weather service said.\n\nRELATED:I-5 now closed in both directions north of Redding\n\nThe California Department of Transportation cameras set up along highways in the North State also shows snow in Shingletown and Dunsmuir and some areas in northern Shasta County along Interstate 5.\n\nSnow on the highways has already begun to cause traffic issues, according to the California Highway Patrol. Emergency dispatchers said they received reports of cars spinning out on Highway 44 in the Shingletown area.\n\nThe CHP's traffic incident page online said two cars went off Highway 44 and landed in a ditch near Shasta Forest Drive.\n\nSeveral other weather-related incidents were reported off Interstate 5, Highway 299 near Burney, Highway 89 east of McCloud and on Highway 44.\n\nDamon Arthur is the Record Searchlight’s resources and environment reporter. He is among the first on the scene at breaking news incidents, reporting real time on Twitter at @damonarthur_RS. Damon is part of a dedicated team of journalists who investigate wrongdoing and find the unheard voices to tell the stories of the North State. He welcomes story tips at 530-225-8226 and damon.arthur@redding.com. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/11/26"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2021/10/27/alec-baldwin-shooting-noreaster-pfizer-vaccine-5-things-know-wednesday/8552278002/", "title": "Alec Baldwin shooting, nor'easter, Pfizer vaccine: 5 things to know ...", "text": "Editors\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nAuthorities to give update on 'Rust' shooting incident\n\nThe district attorney and sheriff in Sante Fe, New Mexico, will hold a news conference Wednesday to discuss the investigation into the fatal shooting on the set of the movie \"Rust.\" On Thursday, a prop gun fired during rehearsal by Alec Baldwin, star and producer of the period Western, killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injured director Joel Souza, 48. No criminal charges have been filed and production remains on hold. Not long into filming, \"Rust\" was facing crew complaints about working conditions, and one camera crew eventually walked out. Also, assistant director Dave Halls, who had declared the gun safe before Baldwin took possession, had faced safety complaints in previous productions, the Associated Press reported.\n\nNor'easter batters East Coast as wild weather hits large swaths of the US\n\nWild weather is expected to continue to affect several large swaths of the U.S. Wednesday as the bomb cyclone that slammed the West Coast over the weekend heads east. The heaviest rainfall, totals of 4-8 inches, was forecast for parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut into Wednesday, AccuWeather reported. Gusty winds as a nor'easter will be confined to Long Island, New York, Massachusetts' Cape Cod and north to coastal New Hampshire. The storm is forecast to complete a loop near the Northeast coast into Wednesday night, which will prolong adverse conditions, Accuweather reported. Farther south, storms will move through the eastern parts of Oklahoma and Texas Wednesday morning, Accuweather said. Severe weather risks will persist and continue to shift eastward across part of South Central states and along the Gulf Coast. The severe system that rolled across California has weakened, but it was strong enough to cause widespread flooding, mudslides and rock slides that closed roads throughout the state.\n\nCOVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11 is closer to approval\n\nA COVID-19 shot for children aged 5 to 11 is one step closer to approval after a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel unanimously voted Tuesday to authorize use of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for the age group. The resounding support is a major step forward for making school-age children eligible for inoculation — likely by next week — but there are still three crucial hurdles to clear: The FDA will have to sign off, an independent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory panel will review the data, and then the CDC director would have to give her clearance. Pfizer-BioNTech reported 10 micrograms of their vaccine, a third of the dose administered to adults, is 90.7% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, a growing concern for children. More than 40% of American children in the 5-to-11 age group have already been infected with COVID-19, according to one study. Hundreds of children ages 5 to 11 have been hospitalized for COVID-19, and 94 have died this year. It was the eighth-leading cause of death in that age group.\n\nKids flooded hospitals with COVID and other bugs in the fall. What will winter bring?\n\nWhat will winter bring? COVID-19 fallout for Native Hawaiian children: Obesity, depression, anxiety\n\nRecommendation to charge Brazil's Bolsonaro over COVID deaths\n\nA Brazilian Senate committee recommended Tuesday that President Jair Bolsonaro face a series of criminal indictments for actions and omissions related to the world's second highest COVID-19 death toll. The 7-to-4 vote was the culmination of a six-month committee investigation of the government's handling of the pandemic. It formally approved a report calling for prosecutors to try Bolsonaro on charges ranging from charlatanism and inciting crime to misuse of public funds and crimes against humanity, and in doing so hold him responsible for many of Brazil’s more than 600,000 COVID-19 deaths. The president has denied wrongdoing, and the decision on whether to file most of the charges will be up to Prosecutor-General Augusto Aras, a Bolsonaro appointee who is widely viewed as protecting him. Sen. Omar Aziz, the chairman of the inquiry, said he would deliver the recommendation to the prosecutor-general Wednesday morning.\n\nAstros look to even World Series in Game 2 against the Braves\n\nThe Houston Astros will look to tie the World Series with the Atlanta Braves when they play Game 2 Wednesday night in Houston (8:09 p.m. ET, FOX). The Braves grabbed Game 1, behind an early offensive surge, including a home run from Jorge Soler to lead off the game and another blast by Adam Duvall in the third inning. Atlanta led 5-0 after three innings and never looked back. However, the vibes weren't all positive for the Braves as they lost Game 1 starter Charlie Morton to a broken leg after getting struck by a line drive early in Tuesday's game. The pitching matchup for Wednesday will see the Braves sending ace Max Fried (2-1, 3.89 ERA in the playoffs) to the mound and Jose Urquidy, who struggled in his lone postseason pitching appearance last week in the ALCS, gets the start for the Astros.\n\nContributing: The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/10/27"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/16/weather/winter-storm-ice-snow-sunday/index.html", "title": "Winter storm: 'Significant icing' and treacherous travel conditions ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nA brutal winter storm walloping much of the Southeast has brought a trio of rare sights: freezing rain, snow and ice. And the Northeast is up next.\n\nSnow has fallen as far south as Florida, with the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama, tweeting a Pensacola, Florida, resident’s video of flurries at his home and traces reported in nearby Walnut Hill.\n\nWinter weather alerts stretch nearly 1,000 miles from Georgia to Maine on Sunday, covering as many as 80 million people, CNN meteorologists said.\n\nMeanwhile, nearly three million people in the Northeast are under high wind warnings, including in New York City and Boston. Winds gusting between 40 and 50 mph are possible – which could lead to power outages – while some parts of Maine could see gusts up to 65 mph.\n\nPhiladelphia was added to the winter weather advisory Sunday evening and snow began just after 6 p.m., CNN’s Gene Norman said. He added the city would likely see a few hours of snow before it mixed with rain overnight. Light snow began falling in New York City around 7 p.m. and flurries are also possible in Boston, he said.\n\nAs the major winter storm tracks from the Southeast up the East Coast today, keep track of snow & ice totals plus wind reports using our Local Storm Reports page! Visit the page via the link here: https://t.co/MpUoy7ZqFP pic.twitter.com/wIapcPJDEn — NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) January 16, 2022\n\nThe storm is disrupting transportation, with warnings to stay off roads and at least 2,987 flights canceled on Sunday, according to FlightAware.\n\nThe National Weather Service (NWS) in Greenville, South Carolina, warned Sunday night “mixed precipitation and black ice” overnight in parts of upstate South Carolina, northeast Georgia and western North Carolina and its Piedmont region would make driving dangerous.\n\n“Wet roads will refreeze, becoming icy and slippery,” it said. “Widespread black ice should be expected Monday morning, and may be a concern into the middle of the week. DOT asks persons to stay off roads unless absolutely necessary.”\n\nThe South Carolina National Guard has been activated to assist with the storm and keep roads clear.\n\n“At the direction of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, the South Carolina National Guard has activated approximately 120 service members to be available to support our state partners in response to the winter weather impacting areas of the state,” said US Army Maj. Gen. Van McCarty, the adjutant general of South Carolina, in a Sunday news release.\n\nTweets by the South Carolina National Guard showed guardsmen assisting stranded motorists on roadways.\n\nMore than 130,000 people were without power as of 12 a.m. ET, according to PowerOutage.US. The top areas by outage included:\n\nSouth Carolina 34,779\n\nNorth Carolina 33,729\n\nVirginia 33,037\n\nGeorgia 26,115\n\nMaryland 22,357\n\nOn Sunday, a snow plow driver tried to clear Main Street in Greenville, South Carolina. Sean Rayford/Getty Images\n\n“North Carolina is now feeling the effects of a winter storm that will continue to move through the state today,” Gov. Roy Cooper said Sunday.\n\n“As much as eight to 12 inches of snow has fallen in some counties, and significant icing is causing trouble in the central part of the state,” Cooper said. “Conditions vary across North Carolina and are dangerous in many areas.”\n\nAt least 25 North Carolina counties have declared a state of emergency, and Cooper said some counties are prepared to open shelters to house those who do not have power or heat.\n\nRoad conditions are “treacherous” across North Carolina, state transportation secretary Eric Boyette said.\n\nAuthorities responded to more than 400 crashes Sunday, North Carolina State Highway Patrol spokesperson First Sgt. Christopher Knox told CNN on Sunday night.\n\n“We have responded to 444 collisions and 989 calls for service from midnight today until late this afternoon in affected areas of the state,” Knox said.\n\nHe said two people, both age 41 and from Myrtle Beach, SC, were killed Sunday morning on I-95 in Nash County after their vehicle traveled off the road and struck several trees in the median.\n\n“Exceeding a safe speed for the conditions is the proximate cause of the collision,” Knox said. “Weather at the time was a mixture of wintry precipitation.”\n\nThe NWS warned that ice accumulations will become very dangerous along and east of I-85 including Spartanburg, South Carolina, all the way up to Salisbury, North Carolina. This includes the entire metro Charlotte area.\n\nCharlotte could get up to a foot of snow in the foothills and up to a half-inch of ice, forecasters said. Raleigh is expected to get up to 2 inches of snow and possibly a quarter-inch of ice.\n\nBookmark this site to check if snow is forecast for your region\n\nThe Virginia State Police say they have responded to at least 142 traffic crashes and 162 disabled vehicles since midnight due to the ongoing winter storm.\n\n“Pls stay off the roads. Since midnight (1/16) thru 12:45 PM (1/16), #VSP responded to 142 traffic crashes & 162 disabled vehicles. Few injuries. No deaths reported,” it tweeted Sunday afternoon.\n\nAll lanes on I-81 in Roanoke County are back open this evening after being closed due to multiple tractor-trailer crashes, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).\n\n“WEATHER TRAFFIC ALERT: All lanes are open at #I81 MM 134 in @RoanokeCounty. Detour has been removed at exit 132. Conditions remain hazardous. Avoid travel. Other crashes along I-81 still blocking lanes,” VDOT’s Salem District said in a tweet.\n\nTravel is being discouraged tonight on I-81 as crews continue to battle the snow and ice.\n\n“Western Virginia has terrain with steep grades increasing the hazardous nature of travel, especially trucks, during a heavy snow/ice event. Trucks should avoid traveling on #I81 and #I77 in Virginia Sunday into Monday. ALL drivers avoid nonessential travel. Please!,” VDOT’s Salem District tweeted.\n\n“We can’t stress this enough. Please avoid travel if at all possible during winter storms, especially when ice is present…,” VDOT said in an earlier tweet.\n\nThe Virginia National Guard said in a news release it had approximately 75 personnel staged for possible winter storm response operations at various locations across the state.\n\nFreezing roads in northern Georgia have led to perilous conditions, the National Weather Service in Atlanta said.\n\n“We are getting reports of numerous accidents across north GA from the ATL metro east,” the agency said in a Twitter post. Please, please, take it easy out there. Roads are beginning to freeze up as very cold air continues to filter in.”\n\nGeorgia Gov. Brian Kemp asked residents to stay off the roads.\n\n“Potential for black ice tonight with the temperatures dropping down into the 20s, so please stay off the roads tonight and tomorrow, if at all possible. It’s going to be very treacherous in a lot of parts of our state,” the governor said on Twitter. “Also, the potential for downed power lines is very high right now. So, the less traffic we have on the roads the easier it is for our partners to clear the roads and restore power.”\n\nThe Tennessee Department of Transportation is asking residents to stay home while it clears roads, saying Sunday afternoon that a portion of a major interstate was closed due to an overturned semi in Humphreys County.\n\n“I-40 East closed due to an overturned semi in Humphreys Co. at the 136 mm. Wrecker is on scene to move the truck. The road is clear of snow but conditions are wet and could be slick. Take it slow out there,” spokesperson Rebekah Hammonds said in a tweet.\n\nSnowfall rates could top one inch per hour from northeast Georgia into the western Carolinas and far eastern Tennessee, the Storm Prediction Center said. Heavy snow is also possible in western Virginia.\n\nThe Mid-Atlantic and Northeast are under the gun\n\nForecasters say the storm will move up the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions on Sunday and Monday.\n\nKey Messages for the winter storm moving through the Mid-South have been updated. Stay up-to-date with the latest forecast as conditions can change rapidly! pic.twitter.com/6AQdjJFG2n — NWS Weather Prediction Center (@NWSWPC) January 15, 2022\n\n“The highest snowfall totals are expected along the spine of the Appalachians as well as across the lower Great Lakes,” the National Weather Service said Sunday.\n\nSnow covered Memphis, Tennessee, on Sunday morning. Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appea/USA Today Network\n\nFrom the Mid-Atlantic through New England, “precipitation is forecast to begin as snow before changing over to ice/sleet and eventually rain with the approach of the storm center,” the NWS said.\n\nSome snow will fall in major metro areas, but a change to rain will hold down the accumulations. Washington could get 2-4 inches, while Philadelphia could get 1-2 inches. New York and Boston are expected to get about an inch each.\n\nBut heavier snow is expected elsewhere.\n\n“As is common with this storm track, the Shenandoah Valley back toward the Alleghenies will be the likely winners in terms of highest snowfall totals,” NWS Baltimore said Saturday.\n\n“7 to 10 inches is possible, but over a foot is not out of the question where heavier bands form.”\n\nSnowfall intensity in the region may be heavy enough to evade significant icing, but NWS Baltimore warned untreated surfaces could still lead to dangerous travel conditions where ice accumulates.\n\nThe majority of accumulating snowfall will occur Sunday afternoon through Monday morning.\n\nInterior cities such as Charleston, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Syracuse and Burlington, Vermont, will see the heaviest snow.\n\nCoastal flooding also expected\n\nAlongside the snowfall potential, strong winds from the east associated with the storm system could cause major coastal flooding of up to 3 feet above ground in some areas along the Northeast coast during high tide.\n\nParts of New York City, Long Island and some areas of Connecticut are under coastal flood warnings, forecasters said.\n\nThere will be a strong coastal storm approaching Sunday night and moving through early Monday with increasing concerns about coastal flooding and high winds. Coastal flood watches are in effect for much of our coastlines for high tides on Monday. #NYCwx #NYwx #NJwx #CTwx pic.twitter.com/c7pb2MhIae — NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) January 15, 2022\n\nThe timing of winds shifting from the east to the south will largely determine the severity of flooding, with moderate flooding potential if winds shift prior to high tide.\n\n“Widespread moderate to locally major flooding of vulnerable areas is possible near the waterfront and shoreline, including roads, parking lots, parks, lawns, and homes and businesses with basements near the waterfront,” the NWS in New York said Saturday.\n\nInundation could cause road closures and structural damage along the Atlantic coastline.", "authors": ["Alanne Orjoux Holly Yan", "Alanne Orjoux", "Holly Yan"], "publish_date": "2022/01/16"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/28/weather/noreaster-bomb-cyclone-storm-friday/index.html", "title": "Nor'easter bomb cyclone: For 75 million from the Southeast to New ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: Caught in the path of the storm? Use CNN’s lite site for low bandwidth.\n\nCNN —\n\nA weekend nor’easter that’s forming off the coast of the Carolinas Friday night will likely quickly strengthen as it begins making its way up the East Coast overnight into Saturday.\n\nThe storm is threatening the region with heavy snow and vicious winds, a dangerous combination that could knock out power for many Americans, flood coastal areas and create dangerous travel conditions.\n\nBlizzard warnings Friday were expanded to cover 10 million people across 10 states in coastal counties from New England to Virginia. The zone includes Portland, Maine; Boston and Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the eastern half of New York’s Long Island; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and Ocean City, Maryland.\n\nWhiteout conditions will make travel difficult to impossible, the National Weather Service predicts. In a blizzard, snow is joined by winds gusting over 35 mph for more than three hours, creating visibility of less than a quarter mile.\n\n“The heaviest snowfall is likely to fall across a swath extending from the Eastern Shore of Maryland up through most of Maine where 6-12 inches are likely. Parts of coastal New England, where blizzard conditions are forecast, may see between 1-2 feet of snow with locally higher amounts possible, specifically over coastal Massachusetts,” the Weather Prediction Center said early Friday.\n\n“Powerful winter storm to produce significant impacts across parts of New England and coastal Mid-Atlantic/Northeast on Saturday,” it said.\n\nBands of heavier snow will set up, too, hitting isolated areas again and again – piling up to 30 inches in some spots. If a band reaches Boston, the city could near the its one-day snowfall record of 23.6 inches, set on February 17, 2003.\n\nSign up for weather email alerts\n\nThe storm forecast also includes:\n\n• Eastern Massachusetts, including Boston, could see between 18 to 24 inches of snow combined with wind gusts up to 70 mph, forecast models show. Two to 4 inches per hour could fall in the city, with conditions due to peak Saturday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Similar snow total and wind predictions are in place for Rhode Island.\n\n• New York City could get 8 to 12 inches of snow with 45 mph gusts, while 14 inches could pile up elsewhere in New York state and in Connecticut, with wind gusts as strong as 55 mph, the CNN meteorologists and the weather service predict. Effects will peak in the nation’s most populous city Saturday from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m.\n\n• The Philadelphia area in eastern Pennsylvania is expected to get 4 to 11 inches of snow, with a winter storm warning in place from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Saturday. Up to an inch of snow an hour is possible, along with gusts of 35 mph. Similar conditions are expected in the Dover, Delaware, area.\n\n• In Washington, DC, snowfall could be 1 to 3 inches, with higher amounts in some parts and conditions due to peak Friday between 4 and 9 p.m.\n\n• Richmond, Virginia, could get 1 to 3 inches of snow, and the whole state is under a state of emergency. Raleigh, North Carolina, may see 1 to 2 inches of snowfall. Winter weather advisories run from Friday evening to midmorning Saturday in those places.\n\nWinter weather alerts also are in place Friday as far south as Kentucky. And already, more than 2,000 US flights are canceled Saturday, according to FlightAware.\n\nThe American model (move bar to the left) shows less snow due to the storm tracking farther from shore, while the European model (move bar to the right) indicates more snow across the region due to a storm track just offshore.\n\nSnow, wind and coastal flooding to slam Northeast\n\nThe storm is expected to unleash a double whammy of heavy snowfall and strong winds throughout parts of the Northeast, but the exact impact across the region remains in question.\n\n“This storm is likely to strengthen at a rate, and to an intensity, equivalent to only the most powerful hurricanes, so the high-end potential of this storm cannot be overstated,” CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said. “But with nor’easters, like in real estate, it will all come down to location, location, location.”\n\nExtremely cold temperatures are possible, the Weather Prediction Center warned, as is coastal flooding. And the stronger the storm, the greater the coastal surge along the coast will be.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback How strong a blizzard's impact may be 01:20 - Source: CNN\n\n“Coastal flooding is a concern thanks to astronomically high tides on Saturday,” the weather service office in Boston said. “The combination of strong northeast winds and high seas will bring storm surges that, if coinciding with high tide, would lead to minor or moderate coastal flooding.”\n\nThe difference in storm timing – even as few as six hours – would make a massive difference in impact on coastal flooding and erosion concerns.\n\nThe storm is expected to strengthen through a process called bombogenesis. Also referred to as a bomb cyclone, it happens when a storm drops a certain amount of atmospheric pressure over 24 hours.\n\n‘Historic’ storm for eastern New England\n\nThe National Weather Service said Friday evening there is “high confidence” this will be a “historic major winter storm for eastern New England,” with widespread snowfall of one to two feet. Areas including eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island may see up to three feet of snow with blizzard conditions, with the added possibility of thunder amid the snowfall.\n\nSnowfall rates in those areas could reach two to four inches an hour, the service added. The snow, in addition to powerful winds, will mean “bitterly cold wind chills” Saturday, it said.\n\nBoston is declaring a “snow emergency” on Friday at 9 p.m., Mayor Michelle Wu announced.\n\n“We are expecting as much as 18 to 24 inches of snow and 40- to 50-mph winds. This is likely to be an intense, dangerous storm, with heavy snow, high winds and whiteout conditions.”\n\nPeak snowfall is expected on Saturday morning, stopping sometime Sunday, said Wu. The potential for strong winds to line up with high tide means there’s also a risk of flooding, she added.\n\nThe city’s public works department has more than 38,000 tons of salt ready to treat roads and the ability to put more than 800 pieces of snow management equipment on the road with the help of contractors, said Chief of Streets, Transportation and Sanitation Jascha Franklin-Hodge.\n\nThis storm “has the potential to be one for the record books,” and residents shouldn’t expect everything to go back to normal once the snow stops falling, Franklin-Hodge emphasized.\n\nRhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said his state is well-equipped to handle the 12 to 18 inches of snow forecast. It has 75,000 pounds of salt to preemptively treat roads tonight, and a blizzard warning is in effect as of Friday morning, he said said Friday at a news conference.\n\nRhode Island also has 150 plows of its own, plus 350 plows contracted through vendors, Transportation Department Director Peter Alviti Jr. said, who added conditions Saturday are going to get “very intense, very quickly.”\n\nState-run Covid-19 vaccination and testing sites will close Saturday, McKee added.\n\nConnecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said the state is ready for this weekend’s “wicked snowstorm,” adding the state will deploy over 600 snow plows to help clear the snow.\n\n“I’d like to think that we’re as ready as we can be,” he said Friday afternoon at a news conference.\n\nNew Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency starting at 5 p.m. Friday. All state offices closed at 3 p.m.\n\n“Our advice to everyone is to be prepared to hunker down once you get home this afternoon and stay home,” Murphy said. “Stay home tonight, and stay home tomorrow.\n\n“Whatever you may need to get through a snow day, get it on your way home today so you do not have to venue out,” he said, and also asked residents to report power outages and downed power lines.\n\nNew York declares state of emergency\n\nNew York City could get between eight and 12 inches of snow, with wind gusts over 50 mph, according to CNN meteorologists. But the weather service early Friday said there is a 10% chance the bomb cyclone may dump more than 17 inches of snow there, and also gives a 10% chance of four inches of snow.\n\nConfidence is increasing for a strong storm system to impact the area Friday night through Saturday. The Winter Storm Watch has been expanded farther west, and snowfall totals have been increased slightly. Latest briefing at https://t.co/vQq8WzGwqw pic.twitter.com/h39PTPNk9a — NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) January 27, 2022\n\nNew York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency beginning at 8 p.m. Friday night for Long Island, New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley, urging residents to “avoid unnecessary travel.” The governor said parts of the state could see anywhere “from six inches to two feet” of snow.\n\n“This is likely to be one of the most significant storms we have seen over the last several years,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said.\n\nAs local leaders urged residents to avoid travel, Bellone said they expect “blind out conditions” on the roads, which could also make it difficult for plow operators.\n\nThe Metropolitan Transportation Authority – which serves million of people across New York City, Long Island, southeastern New York state and Connecticut – made various adjustments ahead of the storm, including suspending all Long Island Rail Road service Saturday morning and suspending branch line service on all Metro-North train lines.\n\nAmtrak canceled some Saturday services, including all of its high-speed Acela service between Washington, DC and Boston and regional service between Boston and New York, the company said.\n\nThe New York City Emergency Management Department issued a hazardous travel advisory for Friday evening through Saturday. Snow is expected to start around that time with more than an inch per hour, acting commissioner Christina Farrell said, and sustained winds will be around 25 to 35 miles per hour, with wind gusts reaching 50 mph.\n\nAll vaccine appointments scheduled for Saturday have been rescheduled for Sunday, the city’s mayor said.", "authors": ["Aya Elamroussi"], "publish_date": "2022/01/28"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/weather/hurricane-ian-1000-year-rainfall-climate/index.html", "title": "Hurricane Ian's rainfall was a 1-in-1000 year event for the hardest-hit ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nHurricane Ian slammed into the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday with record-breaking storm surge and devastating winds. But as it tracked inland, extreme rainfall became the most destructive aspect of the storm for central Florida.\n\nRadar estimates suggest well over 12 inches of rain fell in just 12 to 24 hours in a wide swath from Port Charlotte to Orlando. In some of the hardest-hit locations, Hurricane Ian produced 1-in-1,000-year rainfall, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.\n\nLive updates: Rescuers pull victims from roofs\n\nA 1,000-year rainfall event is one that is so intense it’s only seen on average once every 1,000 years – under normal circumstances. But extreme rainfall is becoming more common as the climate crisis pushes temperatures higher. Warmer air can hold more moisture, which loads the dice in favor of historic rainfall.\n\nCNN Weather\n\nLocations in Florida that experienced a 1,000-year rainfall event from Ian:\n\nPlacida – just north of where the hurricane’s eye made landfall – received more than 15 inches of rain over the course of 12 hours on Wednesday. This exceeds the city’s 1-in-1,000-year rain event of 14.0 inches.\n\nLake Wales, which is east of Tampa in central Florida, reported nearly 17 inches of rain within 24 hours, exceeding its 1,000-year rain event of 16.8 inches.\n\nSeveral other locations likely experienced 1,000-year flood events based on radar estimates, including Winter Park (12 inches in 12 hours); North Port (14 inches in 12 hours); and Myakka City (14 inches in 12 hours).\n\n10% wetter\n\nHurricane Ian’s rainfall was at least 10% wetter because of climate change, according to a rapid analysis released Thursday by scientists at Stony Brook University and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.\n\nThe analysis used the same methodology as a recent peer-reviewed study that looked at the influence of climate change on the 2020 hurricane season.\n\nMichael Wehner, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley who ran the analysis, noted that the physical relationship between air temperature and water vapor would suggest that Hurricane Ian’s rainfall should have only been around 5% higher due to climate warming.\n\n“This means that the storms are more efficient at precipitating the available moisture,” Wehner said in a statement. He also cautioned that their result is a “conservative estimate.”\n\n“Climate change didn’t cause the storm but it did cause it to be wetter,” Wehner said.\n\nStronger storms\n\nScientists are very confident that climate change is increasing rainfall rates – how hard the rain is falling – and the amount of rain a storm can produce.\n\nIt’s also making storms stronger and pushing them to intensify faster. Hurricane Ian strengthened rapidly Wednesday morning as it approached Florida. The storm’s maximum wind speed increased by 35 mph in less than three hours, going from a Category 3 to a strong Category 4 in the process.\n\nDespite being squarely in hurricane territory, major hurricanes – Category 3 or stronger – are uncommon for this part of Florida. When Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday with maximum winds of 150 mph, it tied 2004’s Hurricane Charley as the strongest storm to make landfall on the west coast of the Florida Peninsula.\n\nThis rapid intensification – a hurricane’s winds strengthening rapidly over a short amount of time – is something scientists say is historically rare but is becoming more likely as ocean temperatures increase, giving hurricanes more fuel to strengthen.\n\n“Climate change is increasing both the maximum intensity that these storms can achieve, and the rate of intensification that can bring them to this maximum,” Jim Kossin, a senior scientist at the Climate Service, previously told CNN. Kossin noted that Hurricane Ian, which rapidly intensified before hitting Cuba and before landfall in Florida, was a good example “of very rapid intensification, and there have been many others recently.”\n\nA broken section of road and destroyed houses are seen in Matlacha, Florida, on Saturday, October 1. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden talk to people impacted by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida, during a tour of the area on Wednesday, October 5. Evan Vucci/AP Greg Guidi, left, and Thomas Bostic unload supplies from a boat on Pine Island, Florida, on Tuesday, October 4. With the roads onto the island made impassable, people were getting supplies to the island by boat. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Members of a search-and-rescue team comb through the wreckage on Fort Myers Beach on Tuesday. Win McNamee/Getty Images Stephanie Fopiano, right, gets a hug from Kenya Taylor, both from North Port, as she gets emotional about her situation at the Venice High School hurricane shelter in Venice, Florida, on Monday, October 3. Mike Lang/USA Today Network Workers and residents clear debris from a destroyed bar in Fort Myers on Saturday, October 1. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images Beachgoers look at a large shrimping boat that was swept ashore in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday. Jonathan Drake/Reuters Local muralist Candy Miller, left, embraces Ana Kapel, the manager of the Pier Peddler, a gift shop that sold women's fashions, as she becomes emotional at the site where the store once stood on Fort Myers Beach on Friday. Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP Waters from a rain-swollen pond cover grass and a foot path around Quarterman Park in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday. Meg Kinnard/AP Members of the US Army National Guard help people evacuate from flood waters in North Port, Florida, on Friday, September 30. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters Water streams past buildings on the oceanfront on Sanibel Island, Florida, on Friday. Steve Helber/AP University of Central Florida students use an inflatable mattress as they evacuate an apartment complex in Orlando, Florida, on Friday, September 30. Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentintel/AP A firefighter examines a fallen tree in Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday. Alex Brandon/AP A man tows a canoe through a flooded street of his neighborhood in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on Friday. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images People wait in line to enter a Home Depot store in Cape Coral, Florida, on Friday. Many in Florida were still without power. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images The wreckage of a car teeters on a buckled roadway on Friday in Matlacha, Florida. Win McNamee/Getty Images Members of the Texas A&M Task Force 1 Search and Rescue team look for anyone needing help on Friday in Fort Myers, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images A man takes photos Thursday, September 29, of boats that were damaged by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images Bob Levitt returns to his condemned home to retrieve his cat, which he found hiding in a bedroom Thursday in Palm Beach County, Florida. A tornado spawned by the hurricane left residents homeless. Thomas Cordy/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network This aerial photo shows damaged homes and debris in Fort Myers Beach on Thursday. Wilfredo Lee/AP Jake Moses and Heather Jones explore a section of destroyed businesses in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on Thursday. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/Zuma Workers in Naples, Florida, clean up debris on Thursday. Giorgio Viera/AFP/Getty Images A section of the Sanibel Causeway is seen on Thursday after it collapsed due to the effects of the storm. Steve Helber/AP Stedi Scuderi looks over her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images A resident of Orange County, Florida, and a couple of dogs are rescued from floodwaters on Thursday. From Orange County Government A boat lies partially submerged in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Thursday. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images Tom Park begins cleaning up in Punta Gorda on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images Residents of Port Charlotte, Florida, line up for free food that was being distributed from a taco truck on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images A causeway to Florida's Sanibel Island is seen on Thursday. The causeway is the only way to get to or from Sanibel and Captiva Islands to Florida's mainland. Wilfredo Lee/AP People clear a large tree off their home in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Homes are flooded in Port Charlotte on Thursday. Win McNamee/Getty Images Jonathan Strong dives into floodwaters while he and his girlfriend, Kylie Dodd, knock on doors to help people in a flooded mobile home community in Iona, Florida, on Thursday. \"I can't just sit around while my house is intact and let other people suffer,\" he said. \"It's what we do: community helping community.\" Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP Brenda Brennan sits next to a boat that pushed up against her apartment building in Fort Myers on Thursday. She said the boat floated in around 7 p.m. Wednesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images People walk along the beach looking at property damaged in Bonita Springs, Florida, on Thursday. Sean Rayford/Getty Images An Orlando resident is rescued from floodwaters on Thursday. John Raoux/AP Vehicles make their way through flooded streets in Fort Myers on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Stefanie Karas stands in her flooded apartment in Fort Myers on Thursday. She is an artist and was salvaging what she could from her home. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Heavily damaged homes are seen on Sanibel Island on Thursday. Wilfredo Lee/AP A spiral staircase lies next to a damaged pickup truck in Sanibel, Florida, on Thursday. Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Presss A flooded street is seen in downtown Fort Myers after Ian made landfall on Wednesday, September 28. Marco Bello/Reuters A woman surveys damage through a door during a power outage in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Marco Bello/Reuters A satellite image shows the hurricane making landfall on the southwest coast of Florida on Wednesday. NOAA/NASA The streets of Naples, Florida, are flooded on Wednesday. City officials asked residents to shelter in place until further notice. Naples Police A woman is helped out of a muddy area Wednesday in Tampa, Florida, where water was receding due to a negative storm surge. Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Strong winds hit Punta Gorda on Wednesday. Ricardo Arduengo/AFP/Getty Images A woman holds an umbrella inverted by the wind in Tampa on Wednesday. Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Sailboats anchored in Roberts Bay are blown around in Venice, Florida, on Wednesday. Pedro Portal/El Nuevo Herald/TNS/Abaca/Reuters Melvin Phillips stands in the flooded basement of his mobile home in Stuart, Florida, on Wednesday. Crystal Vander Weit/TCPalm/USA Today Network A man walks where water was receding from Tampa Bay on Wednesday. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images Damage is seen at the Kings Point condos in Delray Beach, Florida, on Wednesday. Officials believe it was caused by a tornado fueled by Hurricane Ian. Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network A TV crew broadcasts from the beach in Fort Myers on Wednesday. Marco Bello/Reuters Utility trucks are staged in a rural lot Wednesday in The Villages, a Florida retirement community. Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/AP Highways in Tampa are empty Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Ian making landfall. Several coastal counties in western Florida were under mandatory evacuations. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters An airplane is overturned in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Wednesday. Wilfredo Lee/AP Zuram Rodriguez surveys the damage around her home in Davie, Florida, early on Wednesday. Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP People play dominoes by flashlight during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, on Wednesday. Crews in Cuba have been working to restore power for millions after the storm battered the western region with high winds and dangerous storm surge, causing an islandwide blackout. Ramon Espinosa/AP People walk through a flooded street in Batabano, Cuba, on Tuesday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images Southwest Airlines passengers check in near a sign that shows canceled flights at the Tampa International Airport on Tuesday. Chris O'Meara/AP Maria Llonch retrieves belongings from her home in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, on Tuesday. Ramon Espinosa/AP Traffic builds along Interstate 4 in Tampa on Tuesday. Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel via AP A man carries his children through rain and debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday. Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters People drive through debris in Pinar del Rio on Tuesday. Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters Frederic and Mary Herodet board up their Gulf Bistro restaurant in St. Pete Beach, Florida, on Tuesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images NASA's Artemis I rocket rolls back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday. The launch of the rocket was postponed due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Ian. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Ian is seen from the International Space Station on Monday, September 26. NASA via AP Waves kick up along the shore of Batabano as Hurricane Ian reaches Cuba on Monday. Ramon Espinosa/AP A Cuban family transports personal belongings to a safe place in the Fanguito neighborhood of Havana on Monday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images A family carries a dog to a safe place in Batabano on Monday. Adalberto Roque/AFP/Getty Images People wait in lines to fuel their vehicles at a Costco store in Orlando on Monday. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Ryan Copenhaver, manager of Siesta T's in Sarasota, Florida, installs hurricane panels over the store's windows on Monday. Mike Lang/USA Today Network A man helps pull small boats out of Cuba's Havana Bay on Monday. Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Imagaes Shelves are empty in a supermarket's water aisle in Kissimmee on Monday. Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, Florida, references a map Monday that indicates where storm surges would impact the county. During a news conference, she urged anyone living in those areas to evacuate. Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire Sarah Peterson fills sandbags in Fort Myers Beach on September 24. Andrew West/USA Today Network In pictures: Hurricane Ian slams the Southeast Prev Next\n\nHigher storm surge\n\nStorm surge is generated mainly by the hurricane’s strong winds, which blow from the ocean toward land and push huge amounts of water beyond the coast.\n\nAnd although hurricanes are rated based on their wind speeds, storm surge is their most deadly aspect. Around 90% of hurricane-related deaths are water-related, according to the National Hurricane Center, and around 50% are caused by storm surges.\n\nIn the region south of Hurricane Ian’s eye – including the Ft. Myers and Naples areas – storm surge swelled to record levels. In Naples, water levels climbed 2 feet above record level early Wednesday afternoon before the gauge stopped working.\n\nCollier County Commissioner Rick Locastro told CNN that his county, which includes Marco Island and Naples, was hit hard by storm surge, calling Hurricane Ian “a totally different hurricane.”\n\n“We survived Irma and other hurricanes, which were more about the wind and yes, always water. But storm surge is something that we have not seen here to this intensity ever,” Locastro said. “We experienced every inch of that storm surge, in some areas well over 12 feet.”\n\nA sea level rise of only a couple of inches can make a dramatic difference in how far inland a hurricane’s surge can travel. Since 1880 – before the industrial revolution and widespread burning of fossil fuels – global sea level has risen on average 8 to 9 inches. Two-thirds of that increase has occurred in just the last two and a half decades, driven mainly by the rapid melting of the world’s ice sheets and glaciers.", "authors": ["Angela Fritz"], "publish_date": "2022/09/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/12/20/pre-christmas-blizzard-bomb-cyclone/10930055002/", "title": "Pre-Christmas blizzard could become a bomb cyclone in northern US", "text": "With winter a day away, a strengthening pre-Christmas blizzard that experts say could become a bomb cyclone is set to bring heavy snow, strong wind gusts and plummeting temperatures to the Central and Northern Plains, Upper Midwest and Great Lakes this week.\n\nThe winter storm system brewing along an incoming Arctic front could create treacherous holiday travel conditions as federal forecasters expect the blizzard to slam much of the Midwest and Great Lakes late Wednesday through Christmas Eve.\n\nWinter storm warnings, wind chill warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect across parts of the Midwest and Pacific Northwest – where up to 24 inches of additional snow was anticipated in Washington on Tuesday.\n\nMeanwhile, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for over 40 million people in the North Central U.S., including Chicago, where forecasters expected high winds and low temperatures to be more of a concern than snow.\n\nWINTER STORM READY:Best ways to prepare yourself and your home for a blizzard\n\nWHAT DEFINES A BLIZZARD? Heavy snow and high winds expected to sweep across country\n\nBy Friday, heavy rain drenching a melting snowpack may trigger flooding concerns across the Northeast, according to the weather service.\n\nHere's what to know about the blizzard expected to impact the U.S. ahead of Christmas:\n\nWhen is the snowstorm expected to hit this week?\n\nNational Weather Service forecasters expect the storm system to develop Wednesday night and gather strength before heading over the Great Lakes by early Friday. Blizzard conditions were likely to unfold across the Midwest on Thursday in places like Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan and Illinois, according to AccuWeather.\n\nThe Windy City can expect to live up to its nickname Thursday and Friday, when the strongest gusts along with falling snow will help temperatures drop to minus 20 F and minus 25 F, according to NWS Chicago.\n\n16 BILLION-DOLLAR DISASTERS:How the US was impacted by weather in 2022\n\nChicago's deteriorating conditions may also cause low to zero visibility during the peak storm period from Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Brett Borchardt told USA TODAY.\n\nAlso on Thursday, sleet and freezing rain were expected to fall over the Ohio Valley into parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland and the Virginias, according to AccuWeather.\n\nHow frigid could the temperatures get in the US?\n\nThe short answer: extremely cold in some spots. Over 26 million people were under a National Weather Service-issued wind chill watch in parts of the North Central and South Central U.S. on Tuesday. Federal forecasters predicted bitter cold and dangerous wind chills over the northern Plains that would surge south over the central U.S. by Thursday.\n\nMeteorologists in the Twin Cities forecasted wind chills as cold as minus 40 F Thursday through Friday. Even locations as far south as Orlando, Florida, could potentially see below-freezing conditions this week, according to AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva.\n\nWHAT IS WIND CHILL? Understanding the wind chill index and how it's calculated\n\nTemperatures could drop up to 30 degrees below normal for the center of the country from the Gulf Coast up to the Northeast, DaSilva said.\n\n“Records will be challenged in some areas, but you’re not going to be seeing records fall in every state,” he said, calling the plummeting temperatures “very impressive” for this time of year.\n\n'BIG MESS' AHEAD:Major winter storm to bring snow, arctic temps and travel headaches\n\nWhen will this blizzard become a bomb cyclone?\n\nIt’s likely to happen Thursday into Friday, according to DaSilva, who defined a bomb cyclone as the dropping of a storm’s atmospheric pressure by 24 millibars in 24 hours.\n\n“It's a measure of rapid strengthening of a storm, and it does look like the storm will achieve that ‘bomb-cyclone’ status because it's going to strengthen pretty rapidly,\" DaSilva said.\n\nWHAT IS A BOMB CYCLONE: A winter hurricane, explained\n\nWhat are the blizzard's expected impacts?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/20"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/25/weather/tropical-storm-ian-florida-hurricane-sunday/index.html", "title": "Florida officials urge residents to prepare for Tropical Storm Ian ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nFloridians are bracing for Tropical Storm Ian, which is expected to rapidly intensify and become a hurricane on Monday before hitting western Cuba, bringing with it the threats of strong winds and storm surge as high as 9 to 14 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center.\n\nIan’s exact path beyond Tuesday remains unclear: The storm, which developed Friday in the central Caribbean Sea, is expected to reach the US later this week, but with models showing a wide spread of possible scenarios, it’s too early to know where the storm will hit, when – and how strong it will be.\n\nThe storm began strengthening Sunday night, with sustained winds of winds of 60 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. “Additional strengthening is forecast tonight, followed by more rapid strengthening on Monday and Tuesday,” the center said.\n\nThe first US tropical storm watches associated with Ian were issued Sunday and are in effect for the lower Florida Keys from Seven Mile Bridge to Key West and including the Dry Tortugas, the hurricane center said.\n\nThe storm is forecast to become a hurricane on Monday and then a major hurricane on Tuesday, meaning Category 3 or higher, the center said.\n\nMeteorologists predict the storm will peak at Category 4 strength over the eastern Gulf of Mexico in three days, but Ian is then expected to weaken before reaching Florida.\n\nStill, Florida officials are urging residents to be prepared for the worst, and the hurricane center warned Sunday morning of a “risk of dangerous storm surge, hurricane-force winds, and heavy rainfall along the west coast of Florida and the Florida Panhandle” by the middle of the week, regardless of the storm’s exact track and strength.\n\n“We’re going to keep monitoring the track of this storm, but it’s really important to stress the degree of uncertainty that still exists,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news conference Sunday, warning residents that even if the storm weakens before landfall, it would “still have significant impacts.”\n\nCNN Weather\n\nFloridians can expect “heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge and even isolated tornadoes,” the governor said. But the director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management was particularly focused on the storm surge threat, cautioning that whatever surge develops while Ian is a major hurricane could persist as it nears land, even if the storm weakens.\n\n“We could see a situation where we have Cat 4 storm surge and potentially a Cat 1 or 2 hurricane landfall,” Director Kevin Guthrie said.\n\nAnne Bink, associate administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Office of Response and Recovery, kept the message simple: “Prepare now.”\n\nFlorida residents should know their evacuation routes and have preparedness kits that can last them at least three days, Bink told CNN. “Things like food, water, battery chargers for your phone. Even things like your insurance documents – take pictures of them so you have them with you,” Bink said.\n\n“We expect rapid intensification with this storm,” Bink said. “My message is: Please take this seriously, and please listen to your local officials.”\n\nIn the meantime, Ian is expected to be a major hurricane by the time it passes near or over western Cuba, the hurricane center said Sunday morning, and forecasters are becoming more confident residents there will face life-threatening storm surge and hurricane force winds.\n\nAs of Sunday night, Ian was about 160 miles south of Grand Cayman and about 430 miles southeast of western Cuba.\n\nA hurricane warning is in effect for Grand Cayman and several Cuban provinces, including Isla de Juventud, Pinar del Rio and Artemisa, while a tropical storm warning has been issued for the provinces of La Habana, Mayabeque and Matanzas.\n\nThe Cayman Islands government has issued tropical storm watches for Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, according to the hurricane center.\n\nTropical storm conditions are possible across Cuba on Monday afternoon, and hurricane conditions will likely follow late Monday into Tuesday, the hurricane center said. Ian is forecast to bring 6 to 10 inches of rain with isolated totals up to 16 inches possible in western Cuba. That could contribute to flash flooding or even mudslides in areas of high terrain. And storm surge is forecast along the coast of western Cuba from Monday night into Tuesday.\n\nAccording to the hurricane center, Ian will keep its major hurricane status as it moves north through the Gulf of Mexico.\n\nFlorida readies for potential hurricane, flooding and winds\n\nAuthorities in Florida are distributing sandbags and asking Floridians to prepare their property to reduce the risk of storm damage and to stock up on supplies like radios, water, canned food and medication. Residents should also pack up important documents and know their evacuation routes.\n\n“This is the calm before the storm,” Naples Mayor Teresa Heitmann told CNN on Saturday. “We experience this kind of adrenaline before a storm and the path could change at any time, but we want our citizens to be ready.”\n\nDeSantis echoed that Sunday, telling reporters at his news conference, “It’s better to be prepared and not have to use those preparations.”\n\nTo that end, DeSantis on Saturday expanded an emergency order to include every county in the state, saying conditions are “projected to constitute a major disaster.” President Joe Biden declared an emergency for Florida and ordered federal assistance to supplement response efforts. On Sunday, DeSantis announced 2,500 National Guardsmen had been activated ahead of the storm.\n\nSt. Petersburg, southwest of Tampa, is in a vulnerable position as a “peninsula within a peninsula within a peninsula,” Mayor Kenneth Welch told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield on Sunday.\n\nDespite the storm’s unpredictable course, Welch said he’s encouraging residents to prepare emergency provisions for at least a week.\n\n“As we’re watching the storm, certainly praying it continues to move west, we at the same time are asking folks to prepare, make sure they have a plan, know their evacuation zone, take care of those things like food and water for seven days,” Welch said.\n\nAny evacuation orders will be given at least 72 hours in advance, the mayor said.\n\nIn Daytona Beach, Bethune-Cookman University issued a mandatory evacuation order and canceled classes Monday with plans to resume online Tuesday. Concerns over Ian’s arrival have also delayed the Artemis I rocket’s third launch attempt planned for Tuesday. And in Cape Coral, Mayor John Gunter said the city’s emergency operation center was operating at an “enhanced level.”\n\n“Right now, of course, we are like many other cities,” Gunter said. “We’re preparing for the worst. Hoping for the best.”\n\nA Publix store was nearly sold out of water on Saturday in Orlando, Florida, as residents ready themselves ahead of Tropical Storm Ian, which is expected to make landfall in the state as a hurricane. Cristobal Reyes/Orlando Sentinel/TNS/Getty Images\n\nStorm surge – when the force of a hurricane or storm pushes ocean water onshore – can be one of the greatest threats to life and property from a hurricane. This is the primary reason Miami-Dade County residents are asked to evacuate before a hurricane, according to county officials.\n\n“We’re outside of the cone of uncertainty. We can’t relax,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told CNN on Saturday. “We know there’s always a possibility it will shift. The storm has continued to move westward. This is the time everyone should make sure they have a plan.”\n\nLevine Cava urged residents to ensure they have enough food and water and check their storm surge planning zone.\n\n“We’re very hopeful that even with a major rain event, we’ll be able to manage it,” she said. “We’re on standby. We have extra pumps, and we’ve worked with the South Florida Water Management District to lower canal levels.”\n\nMiami-Dade County is preparing its “extensive shelter system,” including for those fleeing the Florida Keys if evacuations are ordered there.\n\nHeitmann is already seeing lines at the gas stations in Naples as residents brace for the potential hurricane, she said.\n\n“They’re taking it serious, and I encourage those that are not to always take a storm serious, because you can never estimate where that storm might turn. And we need to be prepared and if it’s not coming directly for us, it might have strong winds,” Heitmann said.\n\nIn Sarasota, authorities are checking on generators, planning with local police, trying to estimate how much flooding is possible and warning residents to be prepared, Mayor Erik Arroyo told CNN.\n\n“Don’t underestimate the dangers that come with gusts, with storm surges, with flooding, especially us being a coastal city. So we’re telling them to go now, be prepared early,” Arroyo said.\n\nIn neighboring Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp ordered the State Operations Center to prepare for any potential impact from the storm.\n\n“Though models suggest it will weaken before making landfall on Thursday, and its ultimate route is still undetermined, Ian could result in severe weather damage for large parts of Georgia,” a Sunday news release from the governor’s office said.\n\n“I urge my fellow Georgians to monitor this storm as it evolves and calmly take the necessary precautions to keep their families and neighbors safe, if the storm continues to intensify,” Kemp said.", "authors": ["Haley Brink Dakin Andone Nouran Salahieh", "Haley Brink", "Dakin Andone", "Nouran Salahieh"], "publish_date": "2022/09/25"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_7", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:11", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/tech/meta-facebook-layoffs/index.html", "title": "Facebook parent company Meta will lay off 11000 employees", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nFacebook parent company Meta on Wednesday said it is laying off 11,000 employees, marking the most significant job cuts in the tech giant’s history.\n\nThe job cuts come as Meta confronts a range of challenges to its core business and makes an uncertain and costly bet on pivoting to the metaverse. It also comes amid a spate of layoffs at other tech firms in recent months as the high-flying sector reacts to high inflation, rising interest rates and fears of a looming recession.\n\n“Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post to employees. “I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go.”\n\nThe job cuts will impact many corners of the company, but Meta’s recruiting team will be hit particularly hard as “we’re planning to hire fewer people next year,” Zuckerberg said in the post. He added that a hiring freeze would be extended until the first quarter, with few exceptions.\n\nIn September, Meta had a headcount of more than 87,000, per a September SEC filing.\n\nMeta’s core ad sales business has been hit by privacy changes implemented by Apple, advertisers tightening budgets and heightened competition from newer rivals like TikTok. Meanwhile, Meta has been spending billions to build a future version of the internet, dubbed the metaverse, that likely remains years away from widespread acceptance.\n\nLast month, the company posted its second quarterly revenue decline and said that its profit was cut in half from the prior year. Once valued at more than $1 trillion last year, Meta’s market value has since plunged to around $250 billion.\n\n“I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here,” Zuckerberg wrote in his post Wednesday. “I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted.”\n\nShares of Meta rose 5% in trading Wednesday following the announcement.\n\nMeta is not alone in feeling the pain of a market downturn. The tech sector has been facing a dizzying reality check as inflation, rising interest rates and more macroeconomic headwinds have led to a stunning shift in spending for an industry that only grew more dominant as consumers shifted more of their lives online during the pandemic.\n\n“At the start of Covid, the world rapidly moved online and the surge of e-commerce led to outsized revenue growth,” Zuckerberg wrote Wednesday. “Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended. I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments. Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected.”\n\n“I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that,” he added.\n\nMeta’s headcount in September was nearly twice the 48,268 staffers it had at the start of the pandemic in March of 2020.\n\nA handful of tech companies have announced hiring freezes or job cuts in recent months, often after having seen rapid growth during the pandemic. Last week, rideshare company Lyft said it was axing 13% of employees, and payment-processing firm Stripe said it was cutting 14% of its staff. The same day, e-commerce giant Amazon said it was implementing a pause on corporate hiring.\n\nAlso last week, Facebook-rival Twitter announced mass layoffs impacting roles across the company as its new owner, Elon Musk, took the helm.\n\nIn addition to the layoffs, Zuckerberg said the company expects to “roll out more cost-cutting changes” in the coming months. Meta, which like other tech giants is known for its vast, perk-filled offices, is rethinking its real estate needs, he said, and “transitioning to desk sharing for people who already spend most of their time outside the office.”\n\n“Overall,” he said, “this will add up to a meaningful cultural shift in how we operate.”", "authors": ["Catherine Thorbecke"], "publish_date": "2022/11/09"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/07/26/shopify-ecommerce-layoffs-workforce/10154058002/", "title": "Shopify latest tech company to announce layoffs, cutting 1,000 jobs", "text": "Anne D'Innocenzio\n\nAssociated Press\n\nNEW YORK – Shopify is cutting 10% of its staff, or about 1,000 employees, as the e-commerce company reckons with an unexpected sales downturn after a pandemic-fueled explosion.\n\nThere has been a wave of layoffs or cutbacks in the tech sector with Wall Street distancing itself from some of the fast-growth companies that flourished over the past two years.\n\nShares of Shopify Inc., based in Ottawa, Ontario, tumbled 15%.\n\nIn a memo sent to employees Tuesday, Tobias “Tobi” Lütke, the company’s founder and CEO, said job cuts will be made across recruiting, support and sales departments. The company said it’s also eliminating over-specialized and duplicate roles, as well some groups that were “convenient to have but too far removed from building products.”\n\nApple:Tech giant reportedly slowing hiring and spending amid broader tech layoffs\n\nWhy is crypto crashing?:NFT marketplace OpenSea announces significant layoffs.\n\nThe company had anticipated that the pandemic would accelerate the entrenchment of e-commerce sales by five or even 10 years, Lütke wrote, and the company expanded to match those expectations. But he said it’s now clear that bet didn’t pay off. Spending, he said, appears closer to patterns seen before the arrival of COVID-19.\n\n“As a consequence, we have to say goodbye to some of you today and I’m deeply sorry for that,” Lütke wrote.\n\nShopify was founded in 2006 as web designer for retailers, but has expanded into a suite of services including payments, marketing, and shipping.\n\nSales leapt 86% between 2019 and 2020, and another 57% jump, to $4.61 billion, last year.\n\nBy May, however, Shopify warned of slower revenue growth as the pandemic boom faded.\n\nEmployees who are let go will get 16 weeks of severance pay, plus an additional week for every year of tenure, the company said.\n\nThe layoffs were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.\n\nShopify reports second quarter earnings results Wednesday.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/07/26"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/08/tech/mark-zuckerberg-layoffs-meta/index.html", "title": "Wall Street Journal: Mark Zuckerberg tells employees layoffs coming ...", "text": "CNN Business —\n\nMeta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told company executives that major layoffs at the tech giant will begin on Wednesday morning, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday afternoon.\n\nMeta declined to comment to CNN on the report, which said Zuckerberg told the executives at Facebook (FB)’s parent company that he is accountable for the job cuts, after his over-optimism about growth had led to excessive hiring.\n\nCiting unnamed sources familiar with the matter, the Journal reported that the upcoming job cuts will likely impact many thousands of employees and mark the first broad headcount reductions in the company’s history.\n\nMeta had more than 87,000 employees as of September, per a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, representing a year-over-year increase of 28%, as it staffed-up during the pandemic while business boomed.\n\nMore recently the company’s core business has been hit hard by fast-growing competition from rivals such as TikTok, as well as recent changes from Apple (AAPL) related to ad-targeting. Fears of a looming recession have also led to advertisers tightening their belts. Once boasting a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion last year, Meta is now valued at about $250 billion.\n\nMeanwhile, the company has also been spending billions on a future version of the internet dubbed the metaverse, which likely remains years away. Late last month, Meta posted its second quarterly revenue decline since going public and reported that its profit was less than half the amount it made during the same period in the prior year.\n\nAmid a broader market downturn that has particularly pummeled the tech sector, shares for Meta have fallen more than 70% in 2022 alone.\n\nThe reports of significant layoffs at Meta come as other tech companies have announced major job cuts. Last week, rideshare company Lyft said it was axing 13% of employees, and payment-processing firm Stripe said it was cutting 14% of its staff. The same day, e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) said it was implementing a pause on corporate hiring.\n\nAlso last week, Twitter announced sweeping job cuts across the company after Elon Musk took the helm following his acquisition of the company for $44 billion, which required taking on significant debt.", "authors": ["Catherine Thorbecke"], "publish_date": "2022/11/08"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/11/07/facebook-meta-layoff-thousands-employees-reports/8292640001/", "title": "Meta layoffs: Tech company plans to let go thousands of employees", "text": "Facebook parent Meta plans to begin large-scale layoffs this week in what could be the company’s most significant head-count reductions in its history, according to reports.\n\nThe job cuts are expected to affect thousands of workers, and the announcement could come as early as Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Meta had more than 87,000 employees as of the end of September, according to a securities filing.\n\nMeta declined to comment Monday about the reported layoffs.\n\nThe news of the wide-scale job cuts came after CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he expected Meta to enter 2023 with roughly the same headcount during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Oct. 26.\n\n“In 2023, we're going to focus our investments on a small number of high priority growth areas,” Zuckerberg said. “In aggregate, we expect to end 2023 as either roughly the same size, or even a slightly smaller organization than we are today.”\n\nMeta Platforms Inc. reported its revenue declined for a second consecutive quarter last month, raising questions about the company’s plan to spend billions building the metaverse, an immersive future online world.\n\nMeta has been struggling financially for months as the company competes with newer social media platforms like TikTok for digital advertisement and increases its spending.\n\nZuckerberg warned employees in July about “one of the worst downturns that we've seen in recent history” and announced a hiring freeze in September, according to reports.\n\nMeta layoffs:Facebook parent company to lay off more than 11,000 employees\n\n'This is a dicey moment':Amazon, Apple, other tech giants lose billions in value as market wobbles\n\nWave of layoffs at tech companies\n\nWith the reportedly planned layoffs, Meta joins a number of tech companies that have recently announced job cuts or hiring freezes after rapid growth during the pandemic, as employers fear the U.S. could enter a recession.\n\nFacebook rival Twitter last Friday began mass layoffs a week after Elon Musk’s takeover that affected half of the company’s workforce of more than 7,500 full-time employees. The company reportedly began reaching out to dozens of employees to ask them to return, according to Bloomberg.\n\n'A massive drop in revenue':Musk blames activists for Twitter's woes amid mass layoffs\n\nE-commerce giant Amazon announced last week that it’s pausing incremental corporate hiring because the economy is “in an uncertain place.”\n\nLyft, meanwhile, said it will lay off 13% of its employees, or about 700 workers. Payment processing platform Stripe said it’s reducing its headcount by about 14%.\n\n“We were much too optimistic about the internet economy’s near-term growth in 2022 and 2023 and underestimated both the likelihood and impact of a broader slowdown,” Stripe CEO Patrick Collison said in a note to employees.\n\nWhat is Meta?\n\nZuckerberg announced last year that Facebook (the company, not the social media platform) was changing its name to Meta to reflect the company's focus on the metaverse, which will take years to develop.\n\nMeta owns Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. Reality Labs makes the company's augmented and virtual reality products.\n\nMetaverse explained:What exactly is it? And when will it get here?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/11/07"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/07/tech/meta-layoffs/index.html", "title": "Meta said to be planning significant layoffs, the Wall Street Journal ...", "text": "CNN Business —\n\nFacebook-parent Meta is planning the first significant layoffs in its history as the company grapples with a shrinking business and fears of a looming recession, according to the Wall Street Journal.\n\nThe job cuts are expected to impact thousands of workers and could begin as early as this week, the Journal reported over the weekend, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Meta has a headcount of more than 87,000, according to a September SEC filing.\n\nMeta declined to comment on the report.\n\nOn a conference call last month to discuss its earnings results for the third quarter, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that he expects the company to end 2023 “as either roughly the same size, or even a slightly smaller organization than we are today.”\n\nThe possible cuts come as tightened advertiser budgets and Apple’s iOS privacy changes have weighed on Meta’s core business. The company last month posted its second quarterly revenue decline and reported that its profit was cut in half from the prior year. The drop in profitability is largely driven by the billions Meta is spending to build a future version of the internet called the metaverse that likely remains years away.\n\nOnce boasting a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion last year, Meta is now valued at about $250 billion. (After reports of the job cuts, Meta’s stock opened more than 5% higher on Monday morning.)\n\nMeta is far from the only tech company said to be rethinking staffing. In a stunning shift for an industry sometimes thought of as untouchable, a number of tech companies have announced hiring freezes or job cuts in recent months, often after having seen rapid growth during the pandemic.\n\nLast week, rideshare company Lyft said it was axing 13% of employees, and payment-processing firm Stripe said it was cutting 14% of its staff. The same day, e-commerce giant Amazon said it was implementing a pause on corporate hiring.\n\nFacebook-rival Twitter made sweeping cuts across the company on Friday under its new owner, Elon Musk. The cuts impacted its ethical AI, marketing and communication, search and public policy team, among other departments.\n\nIn the days since, however, Twitter (TWTR) has reportedly asked dozens of laid off employees to return, according to Bloomberg.", "authors": ["Catherine Thorbecke"], "publish_date": "2022/11/07"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/13/tech/google-slowing-hiring/index.html", "title": "Google becomes the latest tech giant to slow hiring | CNN Business", "text": "1. How relevant is this ad to you?\n\nVideo player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues", "authors": ["Catherine Thorbecke"], "publish_date": "2022/07/13"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/07/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html", "title": "What the wave of tech layoffs tell us about the economy | CNN ...", "text": "A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.\n\nNew York CNN Business —\n\nFriday’s jobs report came in strong: the US economy added 261,000 new jobs in October, blowing away analyst expectations of 200,000, even as unemployment ticked up to 3.7%.\n\nBut don’t let the jobs boom lull you into a false sense of employment security. Job cuts and pauses on hiring are beginning to flow across the tech sector, which boasts some of the most valuable companies in the world. That’s bad news for the economy as a whole.\n\nWhat’s happening: Tech companies are announcing an alarming number of layoffs and hiring freezes.\n\n▸ Amazon (AMZN) announced on Thursday that it is pressing pause on corporate hiring. “We anticipate keeping this pause in place for the next few months, and will continue to monitor what we’re seeing in the economy and the business to adjust as we think makes sense,” wrote Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon (AMZN) in a note to employees.\n\nLate last month, Amazon forecast its revenue for the holiday quarter would be lighter than analysts had expected, causing its stock to fall sharply. Shares of Amazon are down more than 47% this year.\n\n▸ Apple (AAPL) has reportedly instituted a hiring freeze of its own in all areas except research and development. In a statement, Apple (AAPL) said that it will continue to hire and is confident in its future, “but given the current economic environment we’re taking a very deliberate approach in some parts of the business.”\n\nLike other tech companies, Apple is worried about slower growth during the holiday season, higher interest rates and waning consumer spending. Covid lockdowns in China are also hurting production of the iPhone 14. Apple stock is down about 25% so far this year.\n\n▸ Meta is planning to begin large-scale layoffs this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The parent company of Facebook (FB), Instagram and WhatsApp could cut thousands of jobs from its workforce of 87,000, and an announcement could come as soon as Wednesday, according to the report.\n\n▸ Lyft (LYFT) said last Thursday that it will lay off 13% of its employees, or nearly 700 people, as it rethinks staffing amid rising inflation and fears of a looming recession. “We know today will be hard,” Lyft (LYFT) founders Logan Green and John Zimmer wrote in an employee memo obtained by CNN. “We’re facing a probable recession sometime in the next year and rideshare insurance costs are going up.”\n\nIn a filing announcing the layoffs, Lyft said it would likely incur $27 to $32 million in restructuring charges. “We are not immune to the realities of inflation and a slowing economy,” Lyft’s founders wrote in the memo to staffers. Shares of the car-share company are down nearly 70% so far this year.\n\n▸ Online payments giant Stripe will lay off about 14% of its staff, CEO Patrick Collison wrote in a memo to staff Thursday. “We were much too optimistic about the internet economy’s near-term growth in 2022 and 2023 and underestimated both the likelihood and impact of a broader slowdown,” Collison wrote in the note. Just last year, Stripe became the most valuable US startup, with a valuation of $95 billion.\n\nChime, a private fintech firm, also announced it will lay off 12% of its 1,300-person workforce.\n\n▸ Twitter on Friday announced extreme layoffs, noting that offices would be locked and badge access suspended as new CEO Elon Musk cuts about half of its 7,500-person workforce.\n\nThe bottom line: Headline jobs numbers and third-quarter corporate earnings still reflect a strong economy overall. But other companies won’t be immune to the softening demand from consumers and businesses that tech companies have noted.\n\nAdvertiser flight hits Twitter\n\nMore bad news for Twitter (TWTR): Elon Musk said on Friday that the company has seen a “massive drop in revenue,” as a growing number of advertisers pause their spending on the platform following his controversial $44 billion acquisition of the company.\n\nHe attributed the decline to “activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists.”\n\nGeneral Mills (GIS) and Volkswagen Group, which owns Audi, Porsche and Bentley, have confirmed to CNN that they’ve paused their paid activities on the platform in the wake of Musk’s takeover. Mondelez International (MDLZ) and Pfizer (PFE) have also reportedly joined that list.\n\nOn Friday, a group of watchdog organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, Free Press and GLAAD, increased their pressure on brands to rethink advertising on Twitter. The groups pointed to Friday’s mass layoffs of Twitter staff as a key factor, citing fears that Musk’s cuts will make it difficult to enforce Twitter’s election integrity policies along with other anti-hate speech policy.\n\nThe takeaway: This is a key moment for Musk, who spent much of his week in New York trying to keep advertisers on board with Twitter. It doesn’t help that the uncertainty around the platform comes at a bad time for ad revenue-dependent tech companies. Google and Meta both cited lower ad payouts as a massive challenge in their most recent earnings reports.\n\nMore potential supply chain woes\n\nThe threat of a US rail strike that could disrupt supply chains is still very real.\n\nTwo rail unions reached tentative deals with the railroads in September, ahead of a strike deadline, only to have their membership vote against ratifying them. Now, US Labor Secretary Marty Walsh says that without a deal he expects Congress will step in and impose contracts on the unhappy rank-and-file union members.\n\n“My goal is to get those two unions back at the table with companies and get this thing done,” Walsh told CNN Friday. He said a negotiated agreement would be “the best thing we can do is avoid any type of rail strike or slowdown.”\n\nIf any rail unions were to go on strike, all the rail unions — which together represent about 110,000 members — would honor their picket lines and refuse to work.\n\nThat would spell bad news for supply chains. About 30% of US freight moves by rail. Prices of goods from gasoline to food and cars could soar if trains halt. In addition, factories could be forced to shut temporarily due to parts shortages. Goods that consumers want to buy during the holiday season could be missing from store shelves.\n\nWalsh was involved in a 20-hour bargaining session that reached tentative labor deals just hours before a Sept. 16 strike deadline. He said barring new negotiated agreements, Congress would have to impose a contract on the unions, as a way to keep union members on the job.\n\nIf “for some reason [one of the unions] doesn’t get to an agreement with the companies then … Congress will have to take action to avert a strike in our country,” he said.", "authors": ["Nicole Goodkind"], "publish_date": "2022/11/07"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/14/tech/amazon-layoffs-report/index.html", "title": "Amazon layoffs: Company plans to lay off thousands of employees ...", "text": "CNN Business —\n\nAmazon is planning to lay off some 10,000 employees in corporate and technology jobs, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing anonymous sources with knowledge of the matter.\n\nThe job cuts could start as early as this week, and will likely include staff working on Amazon (AMZN) devices (such as its voice-assistant Alexa), as well as people in its retail and human resources divisions, according to the report. “The total number of layoffs remains fluid,” the report stated.\n\nAmazon did not immediately respond to CNN Business’ request for comment Monday. CNN has not been able to independently confirm the report. The Wall Street Journal also reported Monday that Amazon is set to lay off thousands of workers, citing a person familiar with the matter.\n\nThe news would make Amazon the latest in a spate of tech companies that have announced significant layoffs in recent weeks, amid broader economic uncertainty and a sharp slowdown in the demand many tech giants saw during the pandemic that led them to quickly add staff. Last week, Facebook-parent Meta announced it is laying off 11,000 employees.\n\nEarlier this month, Amazon said it was freezing corporate hiring “for the next few months,” citing economic uncertainty and “how many people we have hired” in recent years. Amazon rapidly grew its headcount as the pandemic shifted consumer habits and spending towards e-commerce. In its most-recent earnings report, however, Amazon forecast its revenue for the holiday quarter would be lighter than analysts had expected.\n\nShares in Amazon have fallen more than 40% in 2022 so far amid a broader market decline.\n\nNews of potential layoffs comes at a crucial time for the retail industry, ahead of the holiday shopping season. Despite recession fears and inflationary pressures, the National Retail Federation is predicting a 6% to 8% sales increase from last year during the holiday shopping months.\n\nLast month, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos tweeted about the possibility of a looming recession, writing, “the probabilities in this economy tell you to batten down the hatches.” In an interview with CNN’s Chloe Melas on Saturday, Bezos said that advice was meant for business owners and consumers alike. “Take some risk off the table,” he said. “Just a little bit of risk reduction could make the difference.”", "authors": ["Catherine Thorbecke"], "publish_date": "2022/11/14"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/22/tech/hp-layoffs/index.html", "title": "HP says it will lay off thousands of workers over the next couple ...", "text": "1. How relevant is this ad to you?\n\nVideo player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues", "authors": ["Catherine Thorbecke"], "publish_date": "2022/11/22"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/31/tech/snapchat-layoffs/index.html", "title": "Snapchat to lay off more than 1,200 staffers, or 20% of global ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nSnap Inc., the parent company of the popular app Snapchat, announced plans to lay off some 20% of its more than 6,400 global employees.\n\nThe news will impact the jobs of more than 1,200 staffers at the tech giant, and comes as broader economic conditions have deteriorated in recent months amid rising inflation and the Federal Reserve’s interest rates hikes. The recent market downturn has especially pummeled the tech sector, where news of hiring freezes, layoffs, and other cost-cutting measures have dominated headlines for months.\n\nSnap CEO Evan Spiegel announced the news in a statement Wednesday, which was shared with CNN Business, saying the company is restructuring to focus on “three strategic priorities: community growth, revenue growth, and augmented reality.”\n\n“As a result, we are sunsetting several projects, reducing the size of our team by approximately 20 percent, and announcing the promotion of Jerry Hunter to Chief Operating Officer,” Spiegel’s statement added.\n\nThe chief executive continued: “Changes of this magnitude are always difficult, and we are focused on supporting our departing team members through this transition. We are deeply grateful for their many contributions to Snap.”\n\nSnap reported it had 6,446 full-time employees as of the second quarter of 2022, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.\n\nSnap stock has plummeted by more than 75% since the start of the year. Shares of Snap took a major tumble last month, after the company reported dismal sales growth and warned investors that the economy had worsened at a faster pace than expected.\n\nIn a separate memo to staffers from Spiegel, shared publicly online, the chief executive said leaders will notify those impacted as soon as possible.\n\n“In the United States, we will provide at least four months of compensation replacement, as well as financial assistance to enroll in COBRA, so that team members will have until the end of the year to find new opportunities while still receiving compensation and health benefits from Snap,” he wrote.\n\nHe added that the “extent of this reduction” should “substantially reduce the risk of ever having to do this again.”", "authors": ["Catherine Thorbecke"], "publish_date": "2022/08/31"}]}
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{"question_id": "20230106_9", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:11", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/03/21/sears-says-substantial-doubt-can-stay-business/99479726/", "title": "Sears and Kmart might not have enough money to stock their shelves", "text": "Charisse Jones\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nSears, an iconic department store chain whose name is as steeped in Americana as apple pie and Levi's jeans warned that it might be going the way of the blue light special, uncertain that it can survive more than another year in the midst of the upheaval that has disrupted the retail industry.\n\nBut despite the death watch that has taken root around a brand that was once a lifeline for the American shopper, Sears Holdings which also operates Kmart stores, still has cash to invest, assets to sell, and a plan to move forward that some experts say signals that its demise is not imminent.\n\nInvestors were shocked on Tuesday when the company that operates Sears said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had \"substantial doubt\" about its ability to stay in business unless it can borrow more and tap cash from assets. Its stock plunged 12.3% to $7.98 by the time markets closed on Wednesday.\n\n\"Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company's ability to continue as a going concern,\" Sears Holdings said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.\n\nBut analysts say that Sears may have more time to stage a turnaround than other companies who made a similar declaration in the past.\n\nA three-year-old rule change requires businesses to be more transparent about potential risks they face within a year of their reported financial statements. Sears, which has closed stores and borrowed millions from its own CEO, acknowledged in the federal filing the headwinds it faces as shoppers bypass traditional retailers for online sellers. Yet, in that same filing, independent auditor, Deloitte, gave an opinion that expressed confidence in Sears' viability.\n\n“Those are the people who are really intimate with Sears and its finances, and if they’re not saying there is a problem, I’m going to buy it,’’ says Robert Rostan, CFO for Training The Street, a firm that provides financial training to banks and financial institutions. “Yes, they are one inch closer to bankruptcy, but I don’t think (Sears' situation has) changed materially.’’\n\nSears has been roiled by many of the same challenges that are confronting the broader retail industry, with traditional stores struggling to compete with online sellers. But Sears has also suffered in the wake of its management's decisions, including the sale of its more than $30 billion credit portfolio to Citibank in 2003, and a merger with Kmart, another struggling chain, a year later.\n\nThat tie-up was shepherded by Eddie Lampert, the hedge fund manager who is Sears' Holdings CEO. He has been accused of having conflicting interests with those of other Sears investors, as he cordons off assets that could cushion his personal financial losses if the company ultimately goes bankrupt.\n\nSears has also failed to keep up with changing shopper tastes and habits, losing customers to specialized stores and rivals such as Walmart even before the competition from e-commerce sites took hold. The company hasn't turned a profit since 2010 and in 2016 racked up more than $2.2 billion in losses.\n\nSears is taking steps to steer itself back to profitability. In January, it said it planned to close 150 stores. And a month later, the retailer initiated a restructuring program aimed at cutting $1 billion in costs annually and reducing debt by $1.5 billion helped by proceeds from the sale of one of its most valuable brands, Craftsman tools to Stanley Black & Decker.\n\n\"It is very important to reiterate that Sears Holdings remains focused on executing our transformation plan and will continue to take actions to help ensure our competitiveness and ability to continue to meet our financial obligations,'' the company said in a blog post Wednesday. It did not return requests from USA TODAY seeking further comment.\n\nStill, Sears said in its Tuesday filing that it can't be sure it will be able to raise the cash to keep going. If it continues to experience operating losses and is unable to generate additional cash, it may not be able to access additional funds under its credit agreement or be able to afford to pay for inventory to stock its stores or pay for other services it needs to operate.\n\nREAD MORE:\n\nWhat happens when Sears' Kmart, Macy's close a store?\n\nIs your local Sears or Kmart among 150 stores to be axed? See the list\n\nAdvice for Sears and Kmart from Middle America\n\nWhich mall stores are in danger of closing?\n\n\"We acknowledge that we continue to face a challenging competitive environment,\" Sears said in the filing, noting that after its 2016 loss, it had to finance its cash needs for operating expenses from \"investing and financing activities.\"\n\nSears, which at the end of its fiscal year had about 140,000 employees, said that it expects to continue to try to generate cash from real estate sales and borrowing. The company said it is also exploring ways to \"unlock value\" through its Home Services and Sears Auto Center, Kenmore appliances and DieHard batteries and parts business by partnering with other companies, or other means. It says it hopes those actions are enough to ward off the \"substantial doubt\" that it warned about in the filing.\n\nDan Nicolich, an analyst at Reorg Covenants, a service that follows the leveraged finance market, said that though Sears \"is issuing a warning, it has outlined steps it is taking to stay solvent which may mitigate concerns and help appease auditors.”\n\nBut others believe Sears' demise is only a year or two away.\n\n\"The business has enough cash on hand and debt financing to see it through this year,'' says Neil Saunders, managing director of retail analysis firm Global Data. But with Sears' liabilities currently exceeding its assets by nearly $4 billion. \"it will have trouble beyond that, and it will likely collapse in 18 months to a year. Time and money are both running out for the once iconic brand.''\n\nSears, steeped in nostalgia, would be missed by many shoppers.\n\nFounded in 1886, Sears was built around its famous catalog that was so complete that entire houses could be ordered -- delivered in pieces to be built on a site. For decades, Sears reigned supreme in middle America by offering the widest range of products -- from jewelry to electric saws, dresses to tires.\n\n.\n\n\"I've been coming to Sears as long as I've known,'' says Ron Marcinko, a furniture builder in Antioch, Tenn. who has been shopping at Sears for nearly half a century. He believes other stores' tools can't compare to the quality of Sears' Craftsman brand. \"Now Sears is slowly shutting down and I have to buy off-brand tools. It's a shame to see the good stores close.\"\n\nJohn Krug, 85, of Springettsbury Township, Pa. worked for Sears for 42 years. He retired in 1989.\n\nIt was a store where the customer was always right, says the retired executive. And Krug recalls how shoppers would come to the Sears store that once sat in the former York County Shopping Center to buy hot dogs and paper cups of root beer at the lunch counter. \"At lunchtime, the line was 10 miles long,\" Krug said.\n\nVic Tuseck, a 64-year-old plumber in Los Angeles who was visiting a Sears in the suburb of Torrance, reminisced about how the department store chain had been a presence since he was a child. \"I'd hate to see it disappear,'' he said. \"I'm from Ohio. They were always there. They had the best prices on TVs.''\n\nBut other shoppers voiced the indifference that has made Sears more of an afterthought than a destination for many consumers.\n\n\"I hardly ever come to Sears because I shop more online or at Walmart where I can buy my groceries at the same time,\" said Jan Minter, who was checking out mattresses at Sears in her hometown of Goodlettsville, Tenn, near Nashville. \"I always try to find the cheapest price.\"\n\nContributing: Lizzy Alfs of The Tennessean; Gary Haber with the York Daily Record,Jefferson Graham with USA TODAY in Los Angeles,\n\nA look back at Sears:\n\nWhy we loved Sears: The Sears catalog\n\nREAD MORE:\n\nWhich mall stores are in danger of closing?\n\nHere is why these 3 storied retailers are in mourning right now\n\nWhat happens when Sears' Kmart, Macy's close a store?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/03/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/reviewedcom/2017/03/23/with-sears-on-the-brink-what-are-shoppers-to-do/99512480/", "title": "With Sears on the brink, what are shoppers to do?", "text": "Keith Barry\n\nReviewed.com\n\nAfter the parent company of Sears and Kmart department stores said Tuesday that there was “substantial doubt” whether it could stay in business, people might be wondering whether it’s safe to shop at the struggling retailer—and what will happen to Sears warranties and gift cards.\n\nIn January, Sears Holdings announced plans to close 150 stores. But what can shoppers expect if the retailer succumbs to its financial woes?\n\n“The answer, of course, is that it depends—and there’s no easy answer,” said Tara Twomey, an attorney with the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC).\n\nCurrently, Sears Holdings is still in the midst of a restructuring plan designed to rescue the 131-year-old retailer, and retail analysts say it's possible the company may still survive.\n\nIf that plan fails, however, there is a chance that Sears will cease to exist — at least not as customers know it today.\n\n(A Sears spokesperson declined to comment for this article beyond a prepared statement from company CFO Jason Hollar. It said, in part, that the company is “a viable business that can meet its financial and other obligations for the foreseeable future.”)\n\nHow the company chooses to wind down operations, and whether it is able to spin off its best-known brands, would largely determine how customers could redeem gift cards, make warranty claims, and get parts and service for items they’ve purchased.\n\nOne scenario, which Twomey called “unlikely,” is a bankruptcy in which all Sears’ assets are liquidated. In that case, retailer and extended warranties would not be honored, and gift cards would be worthless.\n\n“If they completely shut down, just closed their doors, you wouldn’t be able to take advantage of that warranty,” she said. Prospects would be better for customers if the company reorganized under bankruptcy protection: “It’s possible that these warranties could survive,” she said. And even without coverage from Sears, some products may have manufacturer warranties that remain valid.\n\nA more likely case is that Sears Holdings will continue attempts to spin off its remaining brands, like Kenmore appliances and DieHard automotive supplies.\n\nEarlier this month, Sears already completed a $900 million sale of its Craftsman brand of tools to Stanley Black & Decker. Although that sale is now a cause of some concern, the new owners announced plans to continue honoring warranties—including a well-known lifetime warranty on Craftsman hand tools.\n\nAccording to Twomey, such a warranty transfer is not uncommon when a famous brand is sold. “Maybe they have no legal obligation to honor that warranty, but as a means of keeping customers they agree to honor those warranties.”\n\nKatherine Hutt, a spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau, said that customers would likely be taken care of in some way if Sears did fold. The company has been a BBB member since 1926, and currently has an A+ rating.\n\n“A company like Sears that has been known for its customer service and its warranties and long-term guarantees on things like Craftsman tools — they’re not likely to leave customers in the lurch,” she said. “If you have a warranty or a guarantee, you’re probably going to be OK.”\n\nThere is precedent for what happens to customers after major retailers fold. When Circuit City shut its doors in 2009, a third-party insurer administered some extended warranties. Stores occasionally give customers a chance to redeem gift cards before they become worthless.\n\nAdditionally, consumers who already own a Kenmore dishwasher or Craftsman lawnmower can rest easy, as replacement parts will still be available. That’s because products with Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard badges are all manufactured by third parties who would not be affected if Sears shut down.\n\nFor example, today’s Kenmore washing machines are made by Whirlpool Corporation and LG Electronics, while Craftsman-branded garage door openers are made by Chamberlain, who also makes LiftMaster. Shared parts and common designs mean it will be possible to service Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard products even if those brands no longer exist.\n\nIn the end, the decision of whether to shop at Sears is up to the consumer. According to Hutt, customers should ask questions and read the fine print before they buy.\n\n“You need to understand your own personal risk factor,” said Hutt. “You have to balance the discounts that will come if they are liquidating inventory with not having customer support in the future.”", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/03/23"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/03/22/sears-holdings-stanley-black-decker-craftsman/99484390/", "title": "Sears' $900M sale of Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker 'voidable'?", "text": "Nathan Bomey\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nSears Holdings warned that the recently announced sale of its Craftsman tool brand could fall apart if the ailing department-store chain goes broke by the time the deal is ready to close.\n\nThe company said in a public filing Tuesday that the sale of Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker could be \"voidable, in whole or in part\" if a court determines that Sears was insolvent at the time of the deal close or became insolvent because of it, among other conditions.\n\nSears said in the same filing that there's \"substantial doubt\" about its ability to stay afloat. Sears, in a blog post Wednesday on its site, said that it was required to make the disclosure on its site because of \"historical performance,\" but that it is not in imminent danger of going out of business as it executes its turnaround strategy.\n\nThe Craftsman sale, a deal valued at about $900 million, was announced in January and completed March 9.\n\nOther recent transactions, including Sears' 2014 spin-off of retail chain Lands' End, could also be unraveled if the company is deemed to have been insolvent at the time, Sears warned.\n\nThe warnings stem from laws that require bankruptcy judges to examine recent transactions in which debtors shed assets to determine whether those deals unfairly extracted value that otherwise would have gone to senior creditors.\n\nSears and Kmart owner says 'substantial doubt' it can stay in business\n\nIf the deals were deemed to violate \"fraudulent conveyance and transfer laws and legal capital requirements,\" the buyers of Sears assets could be required \"to turn over value to other entities involved in the transaction and contemplated transactions for the benefit of unpaid creditors,\" Sears said in the filing.\n\nA Stanley Black & Decker spokesperson did not respond to a request seeking comment Wednesday morning. But the company was aware of the possibility that its acquisition of the Craftsman brand could be accused of being a fraudulent conveyance.\n\n\"That would only be an issue for us if it were determined at some point that when they entered into the agreement that they were, in fact, illiquid or insolvent, and we don't believe that's the case based on everything that we know at this point in time,\" Stanley Black & Decker CEO James Loree told investors in a call in January. \"So this has been a challenging transaction from the standpoint of risk management. We've had excellent, excellent legal support and we think we're in a very good place.\"\n\nAnother possible risk to Stanley Black & Decker is that it could be stuck with Craftsman warranty expenses or claims if Sears dissolves.\n\n\"We're not contractually obligated in that regard\" but \"we might take the position that for good commercial sense, we would cover those,\" Loree said, estimating the potential expense at up to $10 million per year.\n\nFollow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/03/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/01/05/bed-bath-beyond-bankruptcy/10997255002/", "title": "Bed Bath & Beyond warns of possible bankruptcy as sales continue ...", "text": "Anne D’Innocenzio\n\nAssociated Press\n\nNEW YORK – Struggling Bed Bath & Beyond warned on Thursday that the home goods retailer may need to file for bankruptcy as sales continue to drop and it struggles to attract shoppers.\n\nThe Union, New Jersey-based company said that it’s looking at several options including selling assets or restructuring its business in bankruptcy court, but it acknowledged that even those efforts may not be successful.\n\nShares lost a quarter of their value on the news to trade at $1.82, their lowest level since November 1992.\n\n“There is substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the retailer said in a statement.\n\nThe company’s assessment came as its dismal performance continued through the holiday season.\n\nBed Bath & Beyond expects to report net sales of $1.26 billion for the third quarter ended Nov. 26. That would be a 32% drop from a year earlier. It also anticipates a net loss of roughly $385.8 million for the third quarter, wider than its loss of $276.4 million in the year-earlier period.\n\nThe company’s recently-appointed CEO and president, Sue Gove, blamed the poor performance on inventory constraints and reduced credit limits that resulted in shortages of merchandise on the shelves.\n\nBed Bath & Beyond store closures, layoffs\n\nIn August, Bed Bath & Beyond announced it would shutter stores and lay off workers in a bid to turn around its beleaguered business. It closed about 150 stores and slashed its workforce by 20%. It estimated those cuts would save $250 million in the company’s current fiscal year. It also said in August that it had lined up more than $500 million of new financing.\n\nTech layoffs:Salesforce to cut 10% of workforce\n\nMired in a prolonged sales slump, the company also announced back in August that it would revert to its original strategy of focusing on national brands, instead of pushing its own store labels.\n\nThat reversed a strategy embraced by its former CEO Mark Tritton, who was ousted last June after less than three years at the helm. It said it would get rid of one-third of its store brands, which had started to be rolled out in the last year or so. Besides Bed Bath & Beyond, the company also runs the buybuy Baby and Harmon chains.\n\nNeil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, wrote in a report Thursday that Bed Bath & Beyond is “too far gone to be saved in its present form.” He noted that the company could restructure under Chapter 11, but it would still need to come up with a credible plan to reinvent the business, and that is going to be challenging, particularly in a weakening economic environment.\n\n“A catalogue of missteps has run the company into the ground and has made it increasingly irrelevant,” he wrote. “Only very radical action will allow it to survive and even if it does, it will be a shadow of its former self.”\n\nThe company is set to release final third-quarter results on Tuesday.\n\nOpinion:Layoffs remind me how painful it is to lose work. I've been on both sides of pink slips.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/06/23/macomb-mall-sears-roseville/423092001/", "title": "Sears at Macomb Mall is closing; At Home to replace part of store", "text": "The Sears at Macomb Mall in Roseville is on the latest list of store closures from the distressed retailer that is quickly shrinking in size.\n\nThe company announced Friday that it is closing another 20 stores — 18 Sears stores and two Kmarts — as it continues to aim to cut $1 billion in expenses this year, mostly through downsizing. All 20 locations were unprofitable, according to corporate filings.\n\nThe move adds to the wave of closures that will add up to more than 270 for the year, leaving suburban Chicago-based Sears Holdings with just over 1,100 remaining Sears and Kmart locations.\n\nMore on Freep.com:\n\nSmaller Sears stores re-opening in rural communities\n\nNorthland Mall's possible future: Pricey condos\n\nWith Kmart struggling, closed stores see new life\n\nThe Roseville Sears is attached to Macomb Mall. A portion of the Sears has already closed and is being converted to a new At Home home decor store.\n\nWhat remains of the Sears store will begin a liquidation sale June 30 and close for business in mid-September, a spokesman said. The Sears auto center will stay open and convert to a DieHard Auto Center.\n\nMacomb Mall is owned by Bloomfield Hills-based Lormax Stern. However, the Sears is owned by a Sears-affiliated entity called Seritage Growth Properties.\n\nMatt Drozd, Lormax Stern's director of property management, said he doesn't consider Sears' departure to be a setback for Macomb Mall because At Home stores are popular and should draw more shoppers. Additionally, the remaining Sears space may be filled by another retailer with a bright future.\n\n“From our standpoint, it’s a very positive thing,\" Drozd said. \"Sears' closing brings a great opportunity for the mall and the surrounding area as a whole.\"\n\nSears and Kmart have buckled under pressure from other big-box competitors, including Wal-Mart, Lowe's and Home Depot, and have seen significant year-over-year drops in sales. Online shopping has also hurt the corporation's revenues.\n\nSears Holdings acknowledged in March there was \"substantial doubt\" the corporation could survive on its own, though the company said its cost-cutting maneuvers and other strategies would improve its chances of carrying on. CEO Eddie Lampert has since blasted critics and said Sears is \"fighting like hell.\"\n\nSears Holdings has kept itself afloat through complex financial maneuvers and raised cash earlier this year by selling its Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker.\n\n\"We understand that members may be disappointed when we close a store, but our Shop Your Way membership platform, websites and mobile apps allow us to maintain these valued relationships long after a store closes its doors,\" the company said in a statement.\n\nBusiness Insider reported that the list of stores set to close also includes three in Ohio, three in New York, two in Texas and two in Maryland.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/06/23"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/11/03/another-60-plus-sears-kmart-stores-set-close-january-2018/828585001/", "title": "Sears, Kmart to close another 60-plus stores in January 2018", "text": "The cost-cutting strategy continues at Sears with another 63 stores targeted for closure early next year.\n\nEmblematic of the struggle facing U.S. department stores, Sears Holdings has already closed more than 350 Sears and Kmart stores this year. An additional 45 Kmart stores and 18 Sears stores will be closing in late January 2018, the company said Thursday.\n\n“Sears Holdings continues its strategic assessment of the productivity of our Kmart and Sears store base and will continue to right size our store footprint in number and size,\" the company said in a statement. \"In the process, as previously announced we will continue to close some unprofitable stores as we transform our business model so that our physical store footprint and our digital capabilities match the needs and preferences of our members.\"\n\nMore:Is Sears circling the drain? Not yet, Wall Street says\n\nThe 63 stores will remain open during the holiday season and employees at the closing stores will get severance pay and an opportunity to apply for other jobs within the retail chains. \"Liquidation sales will begin as early as November 9 at these closing stores,\" the company said.\n\nThe retail industry s reeling as a growing number of shoppers do their buying online and e-commerce giant Amazon becomes the go-to for many consumers. But the decline of Sears has been particularly stark.\n\nThe iconic store chain, whose goods once filled American households from the garage to the living room, has struggled to remain relevant as shoppers increasingly bypass it to head to big box giants like Walmart, or specialty retailers like Best Buy and Home Depot instead.\n\nIn March, Sears said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had \"substantial doubt\" about its ability to stay in business unless it could borrow more and generate additional cash from its assets. However, the notification was required because of a rule change that mandated businesses be more transparent about potential risks they face within a year of their reported financial statements. Independent auditor Deloitte said at the time that it believed Sears Holdings was still viable.\n\nThe company has initiated a turnaround plan this year that aims to slash $1 billion in costs annually, and cut the company's debt by $1.5 billion. Shedding low-performing stores has been key to the restructuring, but Sears also sold Craftsman, one of its most valuable brands, to Stanley Black & Decker for roughly $900 million.\n\nIn another move that could boost the company's balance sheet, Sears announced in July an agreement to sell its Kenmore appliance brand on Amazon. And the company has been increasing the perks available to its most frequent shoppers.\n\nJust this week, Sears and Kmart launched a nearly month-long sale for members of its \"Shop Your Way'' loyalty program to woo customers during the all-important holiday period. Sears shoppers will get discounts ranging from 10% to 50%, and Kmart shoppers will see sales of 10% to 40% on all items through Nov. 25.\n\nSome of the changes, while not increasing profits, do appear to be stemming the financial bleeding. While the company reported a net loss of $251 million for its second quarter that ended July 29, that was down from a loss of $395 million during the same period last year, and also beat S&P analysts projection of $266 million.\n\nStill, there are continuing signs that Sears is no longer the dominant player it once was. Last month, it announced that for the first time in more than 100 years, it would no longer sell Whirlpool appliances because the two companies could not reach an agreement on price.\n\nHere's a list of the stores set to close in January 2018:\n\n\n\nAlabama\n\nKmart, 7200 Us Highway 431, Albertville\n\nSears, 1701 Mcfarland Blvd E, Tuscaloosa*\n\nArizona\n\nKmart, 1214 E Florence Blvd, Casa Grande\n\nSears, Fiesta Mall, Mesa*\n\nArkansas\n\nSears, 5111 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith*\n\nSears, 4201 N Shiloh Drive, Fayetteville*\n\nColorado\n\nSears, Greeley Mall, Greeley*\n\nFlorida\n\nKmart, 26996 Us Hwy 19 N, Clearwater\n\nKmart, 6050 Highway 90, Milton\n\nKmart, 901 Us 27 North, Sebring\n\n\n\nGeorgia\n\nKmart, 156 Tom Hill Senior Blvd, Macon\n\nKmart, 144 Virginia Ave South, Tifton\n\nKmart, 1203 Cleveland Rd., Dalton\n\nSears, 8020 Mall Pkwy, Lithonia*\n\nSears, 1709 Baytree Road, Valdosta*\n\nIdaho\n\nKmart, 3101 East 17Th St. Ammon\n\n\n\nIllinois\n\nKmart, 1006 N Keller Drive, Effingham\n\nKentucky\n\nKmart, 2606 Zion Road, Henderson\n\nKmart, 230 L Roger Wells Blvd., Glasgow\n\nKmart, 501 Marsailles Road, Versailles\n\nKmart, 1300 Us Hwy 127 S., Frankfort\n\nMaryland\n\nSears, 7885 Eastern Blvd., Baltimore*\n\nMassachusetts\n\nSears, Berkshire Mall, Lanesboro (Pittsfield)*\n\nMichigan\n\nKmart, 41601 Garfield Road, Clinton Twp\n\nKmart, 200 Capital Ave SW, Battle Creek\n\nKmart, 2125 S Mission St., Mt Pleasant\n\nMinnesota\n\nKmart, 1547 Highway 59 South, Thief River Falls\n\nMissouri\n\nKmart, 2233 N Westwood Blvd., Poplar Bluff\n\nKmart, 16200 East Us Hwy 24, Independence\n\nKmart, 1400 S Limit Avenue, Sedalia\n\nKmart, 3901 Lemay Ferry Road, St. Louis\n\n\n\nNew Jersey\n\nSears, 1200 Us Rt 22, Phillipsburg*\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nKmart, 1130 Henderson Drive, Jacksonville\n\nOhio\n\nKmart, 14901 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland\n\nKmart, 2830 Navarre Road, Oregon\n\nKmart, 4475 Mahoning Ave, Austintown\n\nKmart, 1249 North High Street, Hillsboro\n\nKmart, 1292 Indiana Avenue, St. Marys\n\nPennsylvania\n\nKmart, 3382 Birney Plaza, Moosic\n\nKmart, 2830 Gracy Center Way, Moon Township / Coraopolis\n\nKmart, 3319 North Susquehanna Trail, Shamokin Dam\n\nKmart, 22631 Route 68, Clarion\n\nSears, 2999 E College Avenue, State College\n\nSears, 300 Lycoming Mall Circle, Pennsdale/Muncy*\n\nSears, 2334 Oakland Ave, Indiana*\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nKmart, 1815 6 Ave SE, Aberdeen\n\nTennessee\n\nKmart, 530 Donelson Pike, Nashville\n\nKmart, 560 South Jefferson Avenue, Cookeville\n\nKmart, 1806 N Jackson Street, Tullahoma\n\nTexas\n\nKmart, 4520 W 7 St., Texarkana\n\nSears, 4000 Sunset Mall, San Angelo\n\nSears, 4600 S Medford Dr., Lufkin*\n\nUtah\n\nSears, 754 S State Street, Salt Lake City*\n\nVirginia\n\nKmart, 4715 Nine Mile Road, Richmond\n\nKmart, 300 Towne Centre Drive, Abingdon\n\nKmart, 3311 Riverside Drive, Danville\n\nKmart, 2315 Wards Road, Lynchburg\n\nSears, 114 Southpark Circle, Colonial Heights*\n\nWisconsin\n\nKmart, 111 Division St North, Stevens Point\n\nWest Virginia\n\nKmart, 800 Grand Central Avenue, Vienna\n\nKmart, 1287 Winchester Avenue, Martinsburg\n\nKmart, 301 Beckley Plaza, Beckley\n\nWyoming\n\nSears, 1400 Del Range Blvd., Cheyenne\n\n*The Sears Auto Center at these stores will close in early December 2017 and the store itself will close in late January 2018.\n\nFollow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/11/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/14/homes/mortgage-rates-july-14/index.html", "title": "Mortgage rates rise to 5.5% as volatility continues | CNN Business", "text": "CNN —\n\nMortgage rates are on the rise again after a dramatic drop last week.\n\nThe 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.51% in the week ending July 14, up from 5.3% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. That is significantly higher than this time last year when it was 2.88%.\n\nRates rose sharply at the start of the year, hitting a high of 5.81% in mid-June. But since then, economic concerns have pushed them lower, with rates last week notching the biggest one-week dip since 2008.\n\nMortgage rates continue to be volatile as the US economy slows and the Federal Reserve raises interest rates in order to cool inflation, said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.\n\n“With rates the highest in over a decade, home prices at escalated levels, and inflation continuing to impact consumers, affordability remains the main obstacle to homeownership for many Americans,” said Khater.\n\nGrowing pressure on the Fed\n\nThe rate for a 30-year fixed rate loan ticked higher as financial markets grappled with the latest inflation reading, which pointed to a sharp acceleration in consumer prices in June, said George Ratiu, Realtor.com’s manager of economic research.\n\nIn order to tame inflation, the Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates. At its last meeting, it hiked rates by 75 basis points. Last month’s inflation report indicates a similar or even larger increase is on the table at the central bank’s next meeting later this month.\n\n“With inflation approaching a double-digit pace, there’s growing pressure on the Federal Reserve to take a more aggressive stance in its monetary tightening,” he said.\n\nA 75 basis-point hike is largely expected at its meeting in two weeks, but he said it’s becoming clear that markets expect a move closer to 100 basis points.\n\nRatiu said the real concern is that, at the current pace, rising prices will push consumers up against a financial wall, leading to a sharp pullback in spending – including on homes.\n\n“The Fed has been walking a tightrope of gradually increasing borrowing costs while trying to avoid a knee-jerk reaction from consumers and businesses,” Ratiu said. “However, with inflation soaring, the runway for a soft landing is shrinking considerably, as are the chances of avoiding a recession.”\n\nThe Federal Reserve does not set the interest rates borrowers pay on mortgages directly, but its actions influence them. Mortgage rates tend to track 10-year US Treasury bonds. As investors see or anticipate rate hikes, they often sell government bonds, which sends yields higher and with it, mortgage rates.\n\nRatiu added that the 10-year Treasury slid on the inflation news, while the 2-year Treasury bounced higher, pushing the yield curve deeper into negative territory and heightening concerns of an impending recession. This is notable since yield curve inversions have preceded most economic recessions in the past 50 years.\n\nWhat does this all mean for home buyers?\n\nGenerally, the summer real estate market is absorbing the impact of rising consumer prices and higher interest rates, Ratiu said. But buyers are being forced to make different calculations on what and where they can buy.\n\n“With the monthly mortgage payment of a median-priced home running around $2,000 compared with $1,300 last year, many home buyers are finding that their budgets are no longer sufficient to purchase a home and are hitting ‘pause’ on their search,” Ratiu said.\n\nSimultaneously, many homeowners are rushing to capitalize on record-high prices, putting their homes on the market and boosting the inventory that’s available to buy.\n\n“The combination of dwindling demand and growing supply is reshaping a housing market at the peak of the sales season,” he said.\n\nThis is relaxing competition in the market, giving buyers more time and in some cases even pushing prices lower. The share of properties-for-sale with price cuts reached 15% in June 2022, more than doubling last June’s 7%, according to Realtor.com\n\n“We can expect the pace of sales to continue to slow as we move into the second half of the year and markets regain a much needed sense of balance.”", "authors": ["Anna Bahney"], "publish_date": "2022/07/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/03/22/sears-falters-shadow-over-american-malls-grows-darker/99511876/", "title": "As Sears falters, shadow darkens over American malls", "text": "Aamer Madhani\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nCALUMET CITY, Ill.—To say that that the River Oaks Center, a sprawling mall in this blue-collar suburb of Chicago, has seen better days is an understatement.\n\nWhen it opened 50 years ago, it was one of the first big malls in the Chicago area. And as recently as a few years ago, it boasted four major department stores—Carson Pirie Scott, J.C. Penney, Macy’s and a Sears.\n\nBut in 2013, Carson's and Sears shut their doors at the mall near the Illinois-Indiana border. And the two remaining anchors—Macy’s and J.C. Penney—are facing strong headwinds. Both retailers have announced plans to close dozens of stores around the country in 2017.\n\nWith Sears warning investors Tuesday of \"substantial doubt\" about its ability to stay in business, the once vibrant River Oaks provides a dour portrait of the tough road ahead for malls across the country in an increasingly disjointed retail landscape. As department stores lose out to online retailers, more malls may have to cope with trying to survive without a coveted anchor -- creating not only a visual reminder of failure, but the loss of a draw to bring shoppers to smaller stores as well.\n\n“We recognize that these are perilous times for malls and shopping centers,” said Pete Saunders, Calumet City’s economic development coordinator, who added that sales tax revenue has plateaued in the community in the aftermath of Carson and Sears closures even as the regional economy has improved. “The most successful malls these days are in the highest income areas, and we’re firmly a working closing community and that has definitely had an impact on us for sure.”\n\nBattered by growing preference for e-commerce as well as competition from discount retailers like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, there has long been uncertainty about the health of malls. Now, that a once American-stalwart like Sears nears a financial precipice, the storm clouds are only darkening.\n\nShopping centers like the Macon Mall in Georgia, constructed in 1975 in the midst of the golden age of mall building, are bracing for the impending closure of its J.C. Penney—one of 138 the company plans to shutter. Last year, the mayor of Akron, Ohio, asked residents to stay away from the abandoned Rolling Acres Mall—another shopping center built in 1975 with Sears as its anchor and that once was a regional destination—or face potential prosecution for trespassing.\n\nAnalysts, such as the commercial real estate firm CoStar, have projected that nearly 25% of American malls are in danger of losing their anchors. Following a missed $144 million loan payment by the second-biggest U.S. mall owner last year, anxiety about the health of U.S. shopping malls has only grown.\n\nEven before Sears' dire announcement that there is \"substantial doubt\" about its financial viability, the company, based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., had announced plans to shutter about 150 of its Sears and Kmart stores. Macy’s had announced plans to close about 15% of its stores in 2017.\n\nThe ubiquitous mall retailer Aeropostale filed for bankruptcy in May. And others, like American Eagle, Chicos, and The Children's Place are managing multi-year plans to shrink their bricks-and-mortar footprint.\n\nRiver Oaks, which was recently sold to the Great Neck, N.Y.-based Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management Group by Washington Prime, hasn’t been able to find tenants to take over either of the cavernous spaces vacated by Sears and Carson in the years since they left.\n\nJoel Gorjian, who oversees acquisitions for Namdar, said that he's hopeful the company will soon be able to find tenants to fill the voids left by the departure of the department stores. While the big retailers are fading, he said there are plenty of businesses that mall owners should look to attract to fill the vacancies that would attract the sort of foot traffic that the smaller retailers need to thrive.\n\n\"You have to look to alternative uses or entertainment centers,\" Gorjian said. \"You can do a trampoline park, some malls have done skating rings, you can put in a call center, cloud storage (companies) needs space.\"\n\nTom McGee, the president and CEO of the trade group International Council for Shopping Centers, suggests that concerns about the demise of the American mall are overblown. Nationally, he said occupancy rates stand at 93.6%, and the industry is seeing more restaurants, movie theaters, health clubs and grocery stores serve as anchors.\n\n\"The industry has done a very effective job in managing in this evolving landscape,\" McGee said.\n\nAt Gorjian's company's newly acquired River Oaks mall, the former outer entry of Carson’s entrance remains boarded up, and all signs of Sears presence in the mall are long gone. The indoor entryway to the old Sears is now blocked by a temporary wall with seven small signs advertising other retailers.\n\nAbout half the stalls at the food court are vacant. When USA TODAY visited around lunchtime Wednesday, few were dining at the mall Chinese, cheesesteaks, and Chicago-style hot dog stalls.\n\n“There are just not a lot of choices, and it feels like it has gotten worse as the big stores have gone,” said Mindy Cross, 73, a mall-walker who has come to the River Oaks on a near-daily basis for years to meet fellow seniors for a stroll, lunch and increasingly less frequent shopping.\n\nREAD MORE:\n\nWhat happens when Sears' Kmart, Macy's close a store?\n\nIs your local Sears or Kmart among 150 stores to be axed? See the list\n\nAdvice for Sears and Kmart from Middle America\n\nWhich mall stores are in danger of closing?\n\nJames Davis, 70, another mall-walker who has been coming to River Oaks for more than 20 years, said he used to regularly go to the Sears to browse and would regularly find himself opening his wallet. His Chicago home is kitted out with Kenmore appliances that he found during his strolls at the River Oaks Center.\n\nThese days, he said, most of his spending at the mall is limited to buying an after-walk bottle of juice or lunch as he chats with his friends.\n\n“There’s not much here that I’m interested in these days,” Davis said of the shopping options.\n\nDamien Berlanger, who manages the Embroidery Spot kiosk, said that the impact of Sears closure has been especially felt by the small retailers.\n\n“The foot traffic is just not what it used to be,” said Berlanger, 30, who has worked for several retailers at River Oaks over the years. “Since Sears closed, you see a lot of the smaller retailers come and go.”\n\nSai Kambham, who manages a toy kiosk next to Berlanger, said it was difficult to see how doing business at the mall over the long-term could be sustainable. Kambham said that a friend for whom he manages the kiosk pays $1,200 per month in rent for a small space. Business, he said, has not been good.\n\nHe said he wondered if there was enough wealth in this town of about 37,000, which has a median household income of less than $40,000, for the mall to thrive.\n\n“There’s just not a lot of people with money around here,” Kambham. “We had a couple of weeks recently when people were getting their tax returns when business was better. Other than that it has been very slow.”\n\nBob Patel, who owns a small beauty care kiosk in the mall, said that he’s seen business decline by perhaps as much as 15% in the last year. His lease expires in about a year, and he says he’ll try to negotiate for better rent. If he doesn’t get it, Patel said he’ll consider moving his business elsewhere.\n\n“It’s a struggle, but we have a small business and our expenses are manageable,” he said. “We can survive. I don’t know how the bigger businesses do it.”\n\nFollow USA TODAY Chicago correspondent Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/03/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/05/12/american-brands-that-might-not-survive-the-coronavirus/111680774/", "title": "Brands on the brink: These American brands might not survive ...", "text": "Grant Suneson\n\n24/7 Wall Street\n\nCorrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story misstated which ticket brokering organizations could make a request for a government bailout.\n\nBusinesses of all sizes in America are facing an unprecedented crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report found that 43% of small businesses believe they will not survive six months in these economic conditions. Large businesses are a mixed bag. Some are flush with cash and able to weather a long-term financial downturn, while other major American brands are saddled with massive debt loads and, without a significant change in conditions, may be forced to close their doors forever.\n\n24/7 Wall St. reviewed corporate filings and industry publications to determine the American brands that might not survive the coronavirus crisis.\n\nWhile every part of the American economy has been impacted by the pandemic, some industries have suffered far greater damage. Brick-and-mortar retailers, theaters, and companies that rely on live events have seen their revenues decimated in the wake of COVID-19.\n\nYour money is important: Money advice delivered right to your inbox. Sign up here.\n\nCompanies are turning to a range of different strategies to survive the pandemic. Many retailers are offering curbside pickup, while other shuttered businesses are selling discounted gift cards for a quick infusion of cash. Unfortunately, one of the most common strategies is to furlough or lay off workers to save on labor costs. Workers all across the country have been affected – the U.S. unemployment rate is up to 14.7%. At least 8.5% of workers filed for unemployment since mid-March in every state.\n\n'You're losing money everywhere':Iowa farmers try to hang on through pandemic crisis\n\nCan these 13 retailers survive COVID-19?:Permanent store closings, bankruptcies coming\n\n1. Neiman Marcus\n\n• Industry: Luxury goods\n\nLuxury department store chain Neiman Marcus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on May 7 in an attempt to restructure debt and survive the harsh economic conditions created by the coronavirus pandemic. The company had been saddled with $4 billion in debt since its 2013 sale to a private equity firm.\n\nIssues had been compounded by the recent precipitous drop in sales of luxury goods, which were likely some of the first purchases to be postponed during the pandemic. At the time of filing, all of the retailer's locations had been closed and most of its 14,000 employees had been furloughed.\n\n2. StubHub\n\n• Industry: Live events ticketing\n\nWith virtually all live events canceled for the foreseeable future, ticket exchange and sale company StubHub is facing an unprecedented situation. StubHub updated its refund policy as more than 20,000 events were nixed. Company President Sukhinder Singh Cassidy told Axios that the company was unable to \"take the risk of giving refunds to buyers before recouping the same refund from the seller.\" This elicited lawsuits from fans who say they never got refunds despite the NBA, NHL, and MLB postponing their seasons and despite the company's own refund policy.\n\nStubHub furloughed most of its staff – around 300 people. The crisis also came at a time that StubHub's $4 billion buyout from Viagogo was halted by U.K. courts in February.\n\nThe National Association of Ticket Brokers say they may have to seek a government bailout to keep the industry afloat. The National Association of Ticket Brokers represents dozens of U.S. ticketing companies, although StubHub is not a member of the organization and has not requested any government assistance.\n\n3. J.C. Penney\n\n• Industry: Retail\n\nJ.C. Penney's multi-billion dollar debt load, combined with the chain closing most of its stores nationwide because of COVID-19, has cast the company's future into doubt. J.C. Penney is reportedly mulling a bankruptcy filing and recently said it did not make a $12 million interest payment due in April.\n\n4. AMC Theatres\n\n• Industry: Theaters\n\nAMC Theaters was reportedly considering entering bankruptcy in April, but then was looking at raising half a billion dollars through a private placement debt offering. This may have staved off the bankruptcy option at least for the time being.\n\nAlthough some states are now allowing movie theaters to reopen at reduced capacity, AMC said it is not anticipating a reopening until late June at the earliest. The company closed all theaters in mid-March and furloughed or laid off over 26,000 employees. With no ticket sales, AMC Theaters told its landlords it would stop paying rent in April.\n\n5. Sears\n\n• Industry: Department store\n\nOnce an American icon, Sears has struggled for years. In the years since 2010, its last profitable year, the retailer reported losses of $12 billion. After filing for bankruptcy in 2018, Sears continued to shrink operations after restructuring its debt, closing another 100-plus stores since, and staying with just under 200 stores, a fraction of the over 3,000 locations it operated at the beginning of the 21st century.\n\nThe coronavirus may be a death sentence for Sears, as all locations have remained closed as of early May. While all large brick-and-mortar retailers are facing challenges with the pandemic and the rise of e-commerce, Sears' shaky financial footing makes it uniquely vulnerable.\n\n6. WeWork\n\n• Industry: Real estate\n\nThe new social distancing requirements, which might remain in place for some time, could spell the end for co-working spaces – particularly WeWork. The company's occupancy dropped by nearly two-thirds in April. WeWork stopped paying its rent that month and is reportedly renegotiating its leases.\n\nThe company came into 2020 already in disarray. In September 2019, co-founder and former CEO Adam Neumann stepped down after reports of his chaotic management style surfaced and a planned IPO was scrapped. Neumann sued WeWork's new owner, SoftBank, after it announced it would no longer purchase stock from Neumann and others.\n\n7. J. Crew\n\n• Industry: Clothing\n\nWeeks after closing its doors on March 16, J. Crew filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company also said it reached an agreement with its lenders to convert more than $1.6 billion of the company's debt into equity. J. Crew also secured a $400 million loan, though it may be increasingly difficult for the company to pay it back as its credit rating has been downgraded twice by credit rating agency Moody's during the pandemic. The company was planning an IPO for its Madewell brand in early 2020 to help ease the debt burden, but those plans are on hold indefinitely.\n\nYour coronavirus questions, answered:Do I have to give back a deceased person's stimulus?\n\n8. Frontier Communications\n\n• Industry: Communication services\n\nTelecommunications company Frontier Communications entered the pandemic in a dire situation, with a debt burden of more than $17 billion. The telecom provider also carries a credit rating of SD (selective default), meaning credit rating agency Standard & Poor's believes Frontier selectively defaulted on a financial obligation.\n\nIn an attempt to lessen its debt, Frontier declared bankruptcy in April and sold its operations and assets in four northwest U.S. states. Frontier's stock has been in decline for years, and was worth less than 8 cents per share as of May 8.\n\n9. Bed Bath & Beyond\n\n• Industry: Retail\n\nThough some of Bed Bath & Beyond's products, like soaps and toiletries, may have been in high demand since the pandemic hit the U.S., many other of the company's products have likely not sold that well. The company struggled ahead of the pandemic as well. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, which ended February 29, 2020, sales dropped more than 6%.\n\nAs of May 8, stores remained closed, and most Bed Bath & Beyond workers have been furloughed since early April. Bed Bath & Beyond stock, which ended 2019 worth more than $17 per share, fell to under $4 per share in April and was worth less than $6 per share as of early May.\n\n10. Hertz\n\n• Industry: Car Rental\n\nWith nonessential travel all but canceled, car rental company Hertz is struggling with a lack of income. The company was reportedly considering bankruptcy to restructure an estimated $17 billion in debt, according to the Wall Street Journal.\n\nHertz reached an agreement with its lenders that would give it until May 22 to \"develop a financing strategy and structure that better reflects the economic impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic,\" the company said in a filing. Hertz announced a plan cut nearly 10,000 jobs in April, but the company still failed to make some lease payments that month.\n\n11. Steak 'n Shake\n\n• Industry: Restaurant\n\nJust before the coronavirus shut down much of the U.S. economy, Steak 'n Shake was already closing restaurants. Facing declining sales, the burger chain temporarily closed over 100 locations in February to convert them into counter-service only restaurants to save on labor costs associated with having a waitstaff. The company reported an operating loss of $18.6 million in 2019.\n\nSteak 'n Shake is seen as a bankruptcy risk because of its restaurant closures and the resulting lost cash flow, as well as the struggles associated with operating during the COVID-19 crisis and the coming maturity of a $181.5 million loan in 2021.\n\n12. Nordstrom\n\n• Industry: Clothing\n\nLike many other retailers, department store chain Nordstrom has been in trouble since governments nationwide ordered the closure of nonessential businesses. The company shut down all of its physical stores and furloughed the majority of its workforce.\n\nOn April 8, Nordstrom issued a note to investors about the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic had on its operations. In the note, the company said, \"The longer our stores remain closed to the public, the greater impact it will have on our results of operations and financial condition, and if our physical locations remain closed to customers for an extended period of time our financial situation could become distressed.\" On May 6, the company announced it would be closing 16 locations permanently in nine states and Puerto Rico.\n\n13. GNC Holdings\n\n• Industry: Health and fitness products\n\nEven though food products have been in high demand during the pandemic, nutrition-related products seller GNC has not been able to capitalize – in part because it relies heavily on in-person sales instead of online sales. GNC furloughed \"a significant portion\" of its 12,400 employees, and the company's credit rating was also recently downgraded by rating agency Fitch.\n\nGNC's stock, which was over $2 per share in mid-February, has fallen to below 60 cents as of early May, with the NYSE threatening to delist GNC as the stock has traded at under $1 per share for more than a month. GNC could also face a class action lawsuit after a law firm announced it was investigating the company's board for \"fraud and breach of fiduciary duty,\" claiming board members would reap the benefits of any bankruptcy that results at the expense of shareholders.\n\n14. Ruby Tuesday\n\n• Industry: Restaurant\n\nCasual dining restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday had been struggling financially long before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the nation's restaurants to temporarily close. The company's nationwide presence has been declining for years – from 945 U.S. locations in 2007 to less than 500 today. As the nationwide lockdown continues, already a number of closed Ruby Tuesday locations have announced that they will not be reopening.\n\n15. Gold's Gym\n\n• Industry: Fitness\n\nBans on crowds of more than 10 people across the nation spelled disaster for large gym chains like Gold's Gym. The gym company filed for bankruptcy in early May. CEO Adam Zeitsiff pledged that Gold's Gym would reopen but it already had to permanently close 30 company-owned locations amid the pandemic.\n\nSome Gold's Gym locations have begun reopening, with enhanced safety measures in place. Still, it remains to be seen how willing consumers will be to share a confined space after turning to at-home alternatives like Peloton, which has skyrocketed in popularity since social distancing measures have been implemented.\n\n16. Chesapeake\n\n• Industry: Energy\n\nThe global oil industry has been devastated by a historic plummet in oil prices stemming from a lack of demand during the global shutdown and a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. In April, the price of West Texas Intermediate oil futures set for May fell below zero for the first time. A number of smaller oil operations are at risk of going under, and even larger energy companies are at risk.\n\nReuters reported on April 30 that Chesapeake Energy, a shale gas drilling company that was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the fracking boom in the United States, is preparing to file for bankruptcy.\n\n17. Norwegian Cruise Line\n\n• Industry: Cruise\n\nNorwegian Cruise Line, headquartered in Miami, said in a May 5 filing there was \"substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue\" as a result of COVID-19. The cruise industry has taken a beating since the Grand Princess cruise ship became one of the earliest major outbreaks among Americans in late February.\n\nBefore that incident, Norwegian Cruise Line stock traded at more than $50 per share. As of May 8, the stock was trading below $13 per share. All U.S. cruises were hit with a no-sail order, and Norwegian suspended all voyages through the end of June.\n\n18. Dave & Buster's\n\n• Industry: Restaurant\n\nUnlike many other businesses that offer food, Dave & Buster's relies on customers coming inside and paying for arcade games. Games and other amusements account for almost 60% of the restaurant and entertainment company's revenue. Even when locations begin to reopen, customers may be hesitant to come back and use games that others have touched.\n\nDave & Buster's in April furloughed over 15,000 employees and did not pay rent. As of May 8, the company's stock price was less than a quarter of its share price of $46 in mid-February. To help bolster its financials, the company announced an agreement to sell $100 million in stock to Jefferies LLC.\n\n19. Party City\n\n• Industry: Retail\n\nWith in-person events canceled nationwide, Party City's potential earnings have virtually evaporated. Since the pandemic hit, the company's stock price has hovered between 50 and 60 cents per share, down from nearly $3 per share in late February. The party-supplies manufacturer and retailer furloughed 90% of in-store workers and 70% of manufacturing and corporate employees. As of early May, all retail locations remained closed, and there is no word as to when they would reopen, though some locations are offering curbside pickup.\n\n20. Modell's Sporting Goods\n\n• Industry: Sporting goods\n\nWhile many of the companies listed here are hoping to survive the coronavirus crisis, Modell's Sporting Goods is already gone for good. After more than a century in business, the sporting goods retailer announced in March it filed for bankruptcy and would close all stores. Ironically, the pandemic may actually keep Modell's open longer, as the company said it halted its liquidation amid the closure of nonessential businesses. It is now seeking to postpone its bankruptcy through the end of May.\n\nIt could be difficult for Modell's to sell merchandise if pro and amateur leagues are still not operating. Complicating matters, Modell's only operates in the Northeast, where communities have been especially hard-hit by coronavirus.\n\n21. Best Buy\n\n• Industry: Consumer electronics and appliances\n\nConsumer electronics retail giant Best Buy is one of many brick-and-mortar chains that could potentially face bankruptcy during the COVID-19 crisis. Though the company reported a surge in sales of home appliances like freezers at the beginning of the outbreak, Best Buy reported a 5% decline year-over-year in sales for the nine-week period ending April 4, 2020. On April 19, Best Buy furloughed some 51,000 employees, implemented substantial executive pay cuts, and did away with several benefits for employees.\n\nIn mid-March, Best Buy suspended appliance installation service and reduced its physical location sales services to curbside pickup only. The company has yet to reinstate normal in-store shopping.\n\n22. Revlon\n\n• Industry: Cosmetics\n\nNew York-based cosmetics company Revlon has reportedly been able to close a $1.8 billion refinancing package that would restructure most of its debt, according to The Business of Fashion. Revlon has been struggling with declining revenue during the coronavirus pandemic and in addition to refinancing, the company arranged a $65 million revolving credit facility in order to improve liquidity. Revlon also announced cost cutting measures, the majority of which will come in the form of layoffs. The company is one of many in an industry that has faced reduced demand even before COVID-19 has kept most Americans confined to their homes.\n\n23. Gogo\n\n• Industry: Communication services\n\nGogo is an in-flight broadband connectivity provider based in Chicago. As nonessential travel has been effectively halted during the COVID-19 pandemic and airlines have grounded many of their planes, the company's revenue has also taken a hit. As a result, in late April, the company announced plans to furlough 60% of its workforce – a total of about 600 employees. Executive pay at the company was also slashed. CEO Oakleigh Thorne said in a statement that these cuts were necessary to ensure the long-term health of the business.\n\n24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/05/12"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/13/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html", "title": "Premarket stocks: Companies are hoovering up cheap cash while ...", "text": "A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.\n\nLondon CNN Business —\n\nFor companies that want to take advantage of historically-low borrowing costs, the clock is ticking.\n\nWhat’s happening: In the early days of the year, corporations have been racing to issue debt. Their aim is to tap the market before the Federal Reserve starts hiking interest rates, which have been near zero since the start of the pandemic.\n\nIn the US market, companies raised almost $96 billion through Wednesday, according to data from Refinitiv. That’s the strongest start to the year on records dating back to 2003.\n\n“The funding that we’ve seen in just the first [weeks] of the year has been big, and it not only reflects issuers trying to get ahead of their competition, but also that rates could be 1 [percentage point] higher or more by the end of the year,” Bank of America credit strategist Barnaby Martin told me. “This is a very different dynamic than the past few years.”\n\nThe Federal Reserve has indicated it could raise interest rates three times in 2022, though many on Wall Street now expect four hikes or more to rein in price increases (more on that below). Some policymakers have indicated they’re not opposed.\n\n“I currently have three increases in for this year, and I’d be very open to starting in March,” Patrick Harker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, told the Financial Times in an interview published Thursday. “I’d be open to more if that’s required.”\n\nNotable issuers in January include car companies like General Motors (GM) and Ford (F), Caterpillar (CAT), Deere (DE), insurer MetLife and Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), per Refinitiv.\n\nThe rush has been evident in the United States and in Europe, Martin said. It’s built on a realization that even if borrowing costs remain low by historical standards, access to capital is only going to get more expensive.\n\n“If rates really are on the rise from here, then we’ve seen the best of financing for companies,” Martin said.\n\nBlue-chip companies with strong credit ratings have been leading the charge, according to Martin. But some issuers with lower ratings have also managed to get in on the action, even though such deals typically take longer to stand up. Cruise line Royal Caribbean (RCL) closed a $1 billion offering last week.\n\nAMC Entertainment (AMC) CEO Adam Aron took the unusual step of airing his interest in heading to debt markets on Twitter recently. He said his “new year’s resolution for AMC” was to refinance some of the struggling movie theater chain’s debt to reduce interest expenses and strengthen its balance sheet.\n\nLooking ahead: Corporate borrowing is expected to taper off later this year after a brisk start. Paul Watters, head of credit research for S&P Global Ratings in Europe, told me that non-financial corporate issuance is expected to drop by about 7% globally in 2022.\n\nOne factor is that refinancing will be less attractive once rates begin to rise, Watters said. Companies also already have plenty of cash on hands thanks to the friendly environment for borrowing over the past two years. Additionally, China is trying to reduce corporate reliance on debt financing to limit risks to its economy.\n\nTaken together, that could lead to a weaker 12 months. But for now, the rush is on. Companies will definitely be encouraged by their bankers to “consider front-loading issuance activity” with an eye toward rising rates, Watters said.\n\nInflation rises at the fastest clip in nearly four decades\n\nUS consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in 39 years in December, supercharging expectations that the Fed may need to respond more aggressively to rein in inflation.\n\nThe latest: The US Consumer Price Index rose 7% over the past year, its steepest climb since June 1982, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.\n\nStripping out food and energy costs, which tend to be more volatile, inflation jumped 5.5% over the past year, the highest rise since 1991. That’s a sharp uptick compared to the previous month’s reading of 4.9%.\n\nThe data is feeding predictions on Wall Street that the Fed could hike interest rates more than three times in 2022. That’s driving up yields on US government bonds.\n\nMark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, told clients that the bank expects the yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasuries to climb to 2% “over the coming months, as investors digest the Fed’s more hawkish stance along with further elevated inflation readings.”\n\nThe yield on 10-year notes was at nearly 1.75% early Thursday, up from closer to 1.5% at the start of the year.\n\nBut Haefele doesn’t think that the rise in yields, which historically has encouraged investors to pull money from the stock market, will “imperil the equity rally,” noting that “year-over- year inflation is still likely to peak in the first quarter and recede over the year.”\n\nHere comes the first big IPO of the year\n\nPrivate equity firm TPG is about to make its Wall Street debut, the first major initial public offering of the year.\n\nDetails, details: The company priced its shares at $29.50 each, raising $1 billion. They’re expected to start trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker “TPG.”\n\nInvestor demand for TPG’s stock could send a signal to other companies that are debating whether to move ahead with public offerings at a delicate moment.\n\nOn Wednesday, HR software company Justworks delayed its IPO. It attributed the decision to market conditions.\n\nThe global IPO market had a record-breaking 2021. But companies are nervous about going public as investors reassess their commitment to risky bets due to expectations interest rates will soon be on the rise.\n\nIn a report published late last year, EY said that while strong IPO momentum is still expected in 2022, companies should “remain flexible with a plan B in place to meet financing needs in case the IPO timetable is delayed.”\n\n“It will be imperative for IPO-bound companies to adopt a resilient and flexible strategy that is able to adapt to shifting market conditions,” said Paul Go, EY’s global IPO leader.\n\nUp next\n\nDelta Air Lines (DAL) reports results before US markets open.\n\nAlso today: Initial US jobless claims for last week and a report on US producer prices for December arrive at 8:30 a.m. ET.\n\nComing tomorrow: Earnings from BlackRock (BLK), Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC).", "authors": ["Julia Horowitz"], "publish_date": "2022/01/13"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_10", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/05/live-updates-house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy/10992444002/", "title": "Recap: House adjourns as speaker vote stretches past 11th ballot ...", "text": "WASHINGTON –The House of Representatives made dubious history Thursday, failing on the 11th ballot to elect a speaker as an acrimonious stalemate that has paralyzed the chamber dragged on. That's the most ballots cast in this normally pro forma election since before the Civil War.\n\nThe House adjourned Thursday night until noon Friday, hoping to buy more time for negotiations as GOP lawmakers expressed muted optimism that a deal was getting closer with a rebellious Republican faction to install GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy in return for significant concessions.\n\n\"It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,\" a relaxed McCarthy told reporters after the adjournment. \"If we finish well, we'll be very successful.\"\n\nMcCarthy has now failed in 11 ballots since Tuesday, as a solid core of some 20 Republicans say they will continue to oppose him because he is too much a part of the establishment. A 12th ballot could take place as early as noon Friday.\n\n\"We’re at a Reagan moment — “trust but verify,\" tweeted Pennsylvania Republican Scott Perry, one of the 20. \"The devil is in the details, and we’ll take our time to ensure it’s right, not easy. One way or another, the status quo must go.\"\n\nIn the meantime, the House remains without a speaker, leaving members-elect unable to do much beyond voting on McCarthy's fate and answering phones from constituents they can't help yet. They can't form committees, conduct hearings or demand federal agencies answer their requests for assistance.\n\nGOP opponents have sunk his attempts to get enough votes to win the job. The efforts to forge a compromise could weaken the job — if he gets it — and show that governing the Republican-led House is going to be challenging this year, with infighting consuming what's been a simple one-ballot vote for the past hundred years.\n\nDay 3 takeaways:Speaker stalemate drags on as 'never Kevin' Republicans say they can't trust Kevin McCarthy\n\nMcCarthy has failed to meet the threshold needed to become speaker for a series of ballots since Tuesday.\n\nSmart analysis delivered to your inbox:Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nHere are the latest developments:\n\nBack again: The House convened after a night and morning of talks among McCarthy, his allies and his enemies, including the prospect of concessions from McCarthy that would give Republican rebels more power in the new Congress.\n\nA McCarthy comeback? McCarthy has been nominated a total of 10 times (three each on Tuesday and Wednesday and four times on Thursday - so far). The Republican was the frontrunner for the speakership, but a bloc of Republicans have refused to back the California representative.\n\nWhat will happen on day three? Members will continue to vote. The vote will last until a speaker is selected. The House remains paralyzed with members-elect not sworn in, lacking security clearances and the lower chamber remains unable to conduct any legislative business.\n\nDay one:House adjourns without a new speaker as McCarthy loses three rounds of voting\n\nDay two:'Groundhog Day': House adjourns without a speaker as McCarthy loses round six\n\nHouse divided over speaker's job votes to adjourn - barely\n\nFor the second night in a row, an angry and closely divided House voted to adjourn by only a very few votes, as Republicans sought more time to reach a deal on the speaker's job.\n\nAs lawmakers shouted at each other, Republicans won a mostly party-line vote over Democrats by a margin of 219-213.\n\nOn Wednesday night, Democratic objections to adjournment forced a vote that passed by only 216-214.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nYet again, votes for speaker split among several nominees\n\nGOP Leader Kevin McCarthy has once again failed to obtain the number of votes needed to win the speakership in the fifth ballot of the day and eleventh ballot since Tuesday.\n\nMcCarthy again received 200 votes (same as the last ballot), falling 18 votes behind the number needed for the speakership. Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds received 12 votes, one fewer than the last ballot; Oklahoma GOP Rep. Kevin Hern again received seven votes and former president Donald Trump received one vote from Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. One member voted present.\n\nAll 212 Democrats backed Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries once again but that's enough for him to win.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nMcCarthy loses fifth ballot of day\n\nGOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appears to have failed once again to obtain the number of votes needed to win the speakership in the fifth ballot of the day. This is the 11th ballot held since Tuesday and the fifth on Thursday alone.\n\nAmid reports that negotiations on a resolution are heating up, it's unclear whether the House will proceed to a 12th ballot or adjourn until Friday.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nEleventh ballot for speaker gets underway\n\nThe House headed into an 11th ballot for speaker – the fifth ballot today – with no end in sight.\n\nArkansas Republican Rep. French Hill nominated McCarthy again for the 11th ballot and also expressed gratitude towards the Clerk of the House, Cheryl Johnson for facilitating the votes, getting a standing ovation from all members on the floor.\n\nOn the Democratic side, Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse, unsurprisingly, nominated Jeffries again. Neguse praised Jeffries as “the man who has been the lead vote getter ten times and counting to be the speaker of the House.”\n\nFlorida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, formally nominated former President Donald Trump for the first time after voting for him earlier today on the seventh ballot, saying Trump could “make the House of Representatives great again.”\n\nAnd Virginia GOP Rep. Bob Good nominated Oklahoma GOP Rep. Kevin Hern again as a candidate “against the status quo.”\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nSame as before: Historic tenth vote changes little for McCarthy\n\nThe historic tenth ballot for House speaker – the first such vote since just before the Civil War – produced results similar to the first nine.\n\nMcCarthy carried 200 votes, 18 short of the majority he needs to win the speaker's race.\n\nByron Donalds received 13 votes and Kevin Hern took seven, a decrease for Donalds and an increase for Hern over previous ballots. Republican Victoria Spartz again voted \"present.\"\n\nAs with the previous nine ballots, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries took all 212 votes from his party.\n\nAs members voted, leaders met in private to negotiate some way out of this.\n\nHowever it works, there will have to be an 11th vote, at least.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose again, this time in the double digits\n\nIn the House’s tenth ballot for speaker, McCarthy has appeared to lose again, for the tenth time.\n\nDespite multiple concessions today made to his opponents, there has still been next to no movement in the vote counts. The Republican holdouts remain adamant in their opposition to the California Republican.\n\nToday marks the most times the House has voted on a speaker this week at four ballots. Next up, possibly an eleventh ballot or a motion to adjourn.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nWho is the House GOP leader?:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nWho is Kevin Hern?\n\nThe latest Kevin McCarthy dissident to be nominated for House speaker is a former Oklahoma businessman who was first elected in 2018 and has built a reputation as a reliable Republican conservative.\n\nRep. Kevin Hern, who was put into nomination by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., owned some two dozen McDonald's franchises before entering politics. He won a 2018 special election to replace Rep. Jim Bridenstine, who had resigned to become NASA administrator.\n\nThe new chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Hern said this week that \"strong conservative leadership has never been more important than today.\"\n\n– David Jackson\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nWhen did the House take multiple ballots to elect a speaker?\n\nBoebert nominates Hern as House votes a 10th time\n\nColorado Rep. Lauren Boebert again nominated Rep. Kevin Hern for speaker, his third nomination of the day.\n\nThe House has voted four times Thursday, as the GOP continues to negotiate behind the scenes as to who will hold the speaker’s gavel in the Republican-held House.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nMcCarthy standoff:A visual guide to a House speaker deadlock not seen for a century\n\nLuna nominates Donalds in 10th round of voting\n\nRep.-elect Anna Paulina Luna of Florida nominated Rep. Byron Donalds in the 10th round of voting, telling Democrats they will never hold the gavel in a House with a Republican majority.\n\nIn short remarks, she also said 10 votes for speaker did not indicate dysfunction.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWho is Byron Donalds?:Meet Republicans' alternative to Kevin McCarthy in House speaker vote\n\nAguilar nominates Jeffries for the tenth ballot\n\nAguilar returned to the podium to nominate Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries for the tenth ballot for speaker but not before commending Rep.-elect Juan Ciscomani’s nomination speech and earning a standing ovation from all members on the House floor.\n\n“It is our hope that this chamber gets down to the business so he (Ciscomani) and all the new members in this chamber can be sworn in to do the work of the people,” said Aguilar to applause from Democrats and Republicans alike.\n\n“That’s why House Democrats stand united again on this ballot to make sure that Hakeem Jeffries is the lead vote getter in this chamber,” Aguilar said.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nWho is Jeffries?:What to know about the Brooklyn Rep. set to replace Pelosi\n\nCiscomani nominates McCarthy in 10th nomination\n\nRep.-elect Juan Ciscomani of Arizona nominated Rep. Kevin McCarthy in his 10th attempt to win the speakership.\n\nThe nomination launched the fourth vote Thursday after no candidate in either party received enough votes to become House speaker.\n\nThe 10th ballot marked the most rounds needed to elect a speaker since just before the Civil War.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nThe ninth vote: McCarthy loses a vote, now at 200\n\nThe third vote Thursday – ninth overall – saw a very slight loss for Kevin McCarthy, who fell from 201 votes to 200 because of an absent member.\n\nMcCarthy's Republican opponents again split up their votes: 17 for Byron Donalds and three for Kevin Hern. Republican Victoria Spartz once again voted \"present.\"\n\nNo votes for Donald Trump this time around.\n\nDemocratic leader Hakeem Jeffries again claimed 212 votes from his party.\n\nOn to a 10th ballot, the most since just before the civil war.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWho is the House GOP leader?:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nHouse breaks 100-year-old record in ninth vote\n\nRep. Kevin McCarthy appeared to lose a ninth time in his bid for speaker, with the House breaking a 100-year-old record set in 1923 when it took nine rounds of voting to pick a winner.\n\nMcCarthy’s run for speaker appears to have been blocked nine times by 20 conservative members who say he’s not conservative enough and they don’t trust him.\n\nThe House GOP leader and his 200 allies continued to talk with his detractors throughout the rounds of voting today.\n\nMcCarthy’s run marks the third time since 1856 that a speaker wasn’t elected on the first ballot.\n\nIt took late Reps. Frederick Gillett, R-Mass., nine rounds to win in 1923 and Nathaniel Banks 133 rounds to win in 1856.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat can the House do without a speaker?:Occupy offices, field calls, talk. Not much else.\n\nBoebert makes a surprise fourth nomination: Kevin Hern\n\nGOP Rep. Lauren Boebert made a surprise fourth nomination right after the clerk prepared to start roll call on the ninth ballot, nominating Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern.\n\n“We have been accused of not having a plan while we have presented many many plans and even presenting two plans simultaneously right now,” said Boebert. “I’m voting for Kevin Hern, the gentleman from Oklahoma.”\n\nOn the eighth ballot for speaker, Boebert, along with Oklahoma Rep.-elect Josh Brechen voted for Hern.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nRepublican House control:Despite a poor midterm, the GOP cobbled enough wins to flip the House. How did they do it?\n\nMcCarthy dissidents nominate Donalds again\n\nRep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., became the latest GOP member to nominate Florida Rep. Byron Donalds for the speaker’s gavel. The Florida lawmaker emerged as an alternative speaker candidate during Wednesday’s votes.\n\nRosendale told his colleagues that it was a “privilege” to serve with them despite their differences in opinions, before touting the debate the chamber has had over electing a speaker as healthy.\n\n“We have had more discussion and debate over the last three days than I have participated in on this floor for the last two years. And it’s healthy,” Rosendale said. “It absolutely promotes the collegiality that everyone is trying to obtain.”\n\n-- Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nJeffries nominated again for the ninth time\n\nRep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif, nominated Jeffries for the ninth time on behalf of House Democrats.\n\n“Democrats stand united and ready to get to work on behalf of the American people under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries,” said Lieu. \"Vote after vote, nomination after nomination, Democrats are united.\"\n\nHouse Democrats have unanimously backed Jeffries for the speakership for the past eight ballots with Jeffries earning 212 votes in all of them.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nNehls gives McCarthy ninth nomination\n\nRep. Troy Nehls nominated Rep. Kevin McCarthy for a ninth time in the GOP leader’s bid to be speaker.\n\nMcCarthy has been blocked eight times by 20 conservative members who make up about 10% of the caucus.\n\nIf McCarthy loses on the ninth ballot, he will tie a 100-year-old record currently owned by late Rep. Frederick Gillett, R-Mass., who won his speaker bid in 1923 after nine rounds of voting.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nStuck in a moment: McCarthy does not pick up votes on the 8th ballot\n\nThe eighth ballot went no better for McCarthy, as the official House tally shows him still stuck on 201 votes.\n\nToday's votes are taking on a pro forma quality, taking up time as Republicans negotiate in private.\n\nThis round did see a few changes among McCarthy's opponents.\n\nWhile 17 dissidents again voted for Bryon Donalds,: Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma received two votes, and Donald Trump got one. Republican Victoria Spartz again voted \"present.\"\n\nPer usual, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries took all 212 votes from his party.\n\nOn to a 9th ballot, the first such vote in a century.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nMore:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nMcCarthy close to breaking record\n\nRep. Kevin McCarthy is close to tying a 100-year record he doesn’t want to own.\n\nAfter eight consecutive losses in his bid for House speaker, McCarthy could match the nine voting rounds it took Frederick Gillett, R-Mass., to win the position in 1923.\n\nAnything beyond and he’d eclipse that historic record.\n\nThe most votes it took to elect a speaker was in 1856 when Republican Rep. Nathaniel Banks won after 133 rounds of voting.\n\nMcCarthy’s bid marks the third time in history a speaker wasn’t elected on the first ballot.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nExplained:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? Here's how the process works.\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose speakership again, for the eighth time\n\nFor the eighth time, McCarthy appears to have lost his bid for the speakership.\n\nAfter the seventh ballot, the House immediately moved to an eighth ballot, but there has been very little movement so far among McCarthy’s detractors.\n\nIt is unclear if the House will move to a ninth vote or adjourn.\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nBoebert votes for another Kevin as House speaker\n\nNo not that Kevin.\n\nRepublican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who staunchly opposes Kevin McCarthy as speaker, voted instead for Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, who wasn’t officially nominated for the speaker bid.\n\nIt was the first vote for Hern and the first time in two days Boebert switched her vote from Rep. Byron Donalds.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nBiggs, former speaker candidate, nominates Donalds\n\nRep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a McCarthy opponent who was a candidate for speaker at the start of the week, gave the latest nominating speech for Byron Donalds – but spent most of it attacking President Joe Biden and the Democrats.\n\nBiggs criticized Democrats for mocking the Republicans' failures to elect a speaker, though some GOP members have also showed disdain for how things are going.\n\nThe Arizona Republican said he and allies want a change.\n\n\"We're on a sub-optimal path,' Biggs said. \"It has to change.\"\n\n– David Jackson\n\nDemocrats nominate Jeffries for the eighth ballot\n\nDemocrats changed things around for the eighth ballot with Democratic minority whip Rep. Katherine Clark nominating Jeffries to the speakership for the eighth time. California Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar had handled the previous seven nominating speeches.\n\nClark opened her nominating speech by saying “212” seven times, referring to Jeffries’ vote count in the past seven ballots where he earned unanimous support from House Democrats.\n\n“Two hundred twelve House Democrats stand united behind our leader because Hakeem Jeffries stands united for the American people,” said Clark, pointing out how the House has yet to conduct business without a speaker. “The historic dysfunction we are seeing, this intra-party fight the American people have been drawn into is imperiling our national security.”\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nGallagher: Biggest roadblock for McCarthy ‘basic trust’\n\nGOP Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin told reporters outside the House floor Thursday that McCarthy has made a “persuasive case” with the concessions he has agreed upon.\n\n“The biggest roadblock, I don't know I mean (it) seems to be just basic trust,” he said.\n\n“This is sort of weird,” he continued. “We started off with two people (running for speaker), now we have like 13.”\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nBallot 8 begins: McCarthy is nominated again\n\nThe House quickly moved to an eighth speaker vote, though there is no end in sight.\n\nRep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., nominated McCarthy by calling for party unity, and noted that Congress cannot do basic functions as long as this deadlock remains, such as declare war in case of attack. Mast, a veteran, choked up when discussing the sacrifices that so many Americans have made over the years.\n\nMcCarthy \"will give us an opportunity to right the course,\" Mast told fellow Republicans, but there's still no evidence he has the votes to prevail.\n\n– David Jackson\n\n'More difficult to trust’: GOP members lack faith in McCarthy\n\nAs the House wrapped up its seventh failed ballot to elect a speaker, Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, a key voice against electing House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy as speaker, went to Twitter to reaffirm his unyielding position.\n\n“A deal is NOT done,” Perry wrote. “When confidences are betrayed and leaks are directed, it’s even more difficult to trust. Totally unsat. I will not yield to the status quo.”\n\nPerry also reiterated his lack of trust in McCarthy, referring to the leaked list of concessions from McCarthy to the House Freedom Caucus.\n\n- Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nOfficial tally: McCarthy stuck on 201 votes – and Trump gets one vote\n\nThe first speaker vote of Thursday yielded the same basic result as the first six ballots over the past two days: Kevin McCarthy doesn't have the numbers to become speaker.\n\nThe Republican leader again recorded 201 votes, according to the official House tally. This despite overnight negotiations in which McCarthy forces talked about various concessions to his opponents.\n\nAnti-McCarthy Republicans voted for someone else. One, Matt Gaetz, cast his ballot for Donald Trump, even though the ex-president has repeatedly said he is not interested in the job and has in fact endorsed McCarthy.\n\nNineteen other Republicans again voted for Byron Donalds. Another Republican, Victoria Spartz, again voted \"present.\"\n\nAs with the six previous votes, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries led the field with 212 votes, but he and his party lack the majority needed to make him speaker.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWho is McCarthy?:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nTrump gets his first vote for speaker\n\nFlorida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who promoted Donald Trump for speaker of the House last year, followed through Thursday and cast a vote for the ex-president.\n\nTechnically, the speaker of the House does not have to be a member of Congress, but Trump has repeatedly said he is not interested in the job; instead, he has endorsed McCarthy and urged Gaetz and others to drop their opposition to the Republican leader.\n\nIt is Trump's first vote in the seven ballots the House has cast in a futile effort to elect a speaker.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nMcCarthy poised to lose seventh House speaker vote\n\nDay three, ballot seven and still no speaker.\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appeared to lose his seventh bid as he failed to reach the threshold required to win the speaker’s gavel.\n\nThe House adjourned Wednesday night until noon Thursday, buying McCarthy more time to secure the 218 votes he needs to be elected speaker. However, the effort has fallen short.\n\n-- Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\n\"He ain't no prop:\" McCarthy opponents again nominate Byron Donalds\n\nOnce again, opponents of McCarthy are again nominating Byron Donalds.\n\nRep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., said with Donalds the House has the chance to elect the first Black speaker in history, and he attacked Democrats who said that the Florida Republican is only a \"prop\" for the anti-McCarthy forces.\n\n\"He ain't no prop,\" Bishop said.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nByron Donalds for speaker?:Republicans nominate McCarthy alternative in House speaker vote\n\nBiden following with 'attention'\n\nPresident Joe Biden was asked at the end of his border security event if he's still monitoring the speaker's race. \"I'm following it with great...how can I say it?\" he said, looking to the vice president for help.\n\n\"Attention,\" Vice President Harris said with a chuckle.\n\nA smiling Biden repeated her. \"Attention,\" he said.\n\n-- Francesca Chambers\n\n'Stay where you are':President Biden unveils new steps to curb surge of migrants, plans trip to El Paso border\n\nAguilar nominates Jeffries again\n\nHouse Democratic Chair Pete Aguilar nominated House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries for a seventh time on Thursday afternoon.\n\n“There is no victory in a journey without doing the business of the people,” Aguilar said.\n\nHis comments came on the third day of voting without a speaker chosen by a clear majority.\n\nJeffries has repeatedly had 212 votes – the full support of his caucus – while the GOP has failed to unite around one leader.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nWho is Hakeem Jeffries?:What to know about the Brooklyn Rep. set to replace Pelosi\n\nMcCarthy nominated again, this time by John James\n\nMichigan freshman congressman John James nominated McCarthy to start the day.\n\nAfter a standing ovation and repeated applause, James said McCarthy would change the direction of the nation and argued that the GOP needs to resolve the impasse over the speaker's job.\n\nPeople \"want Republicans to lead,\" James said.\n\nThis will be McCarthy's seventh time on the speaker ballot.\n\n- David Jackson\n\nWho is Rep. Byron Donalds?\n\nRepresentative Byron Donalds serves District 19 in Southwest Florida.\n\nBorn in Brooklyn, New York, he moved to the Sunshine State for college, originally attending Florida A&M before transferring to Florida State University where he graduated with a degree in finance. Post-grad Donalds worked at TIB Bank, CMG Life Services and Moran Wealth in Naples.\n\n-- Anna Kaufman\n\nLearn more about him:Byron Donalds for speaker? Republicans nominate McCarthy alternative in House speaker vote\n\nFanone singles out House GOP lawmakers on eve of Jan. 6\n\nFormer D.C. police officer Michael Fanone, who was defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, took aim at House Republicans at the forefront of McCarthy’s battle for the speakership as the House enters another day without a speaker.\n\n“This week, people who encouraged or even attended the insurrection are taking places as leaders in the new House majority,” said Fanone, speaking at a press conference organized by progressive groups Courage for America and Common Defense.\n\nFanone singled out Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin.\n\n“To the new speaker of the House, whoever the hell that ends up being, and other GOP House leaders, here’s my message to you,” said Fanone. “We the people are calling on you to condemn political violence.”\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nJan. 6 Capitol attack 2 years later:Trump still plagued by multiple investigations\n\nDems won’t bail out GOP\n\nHouse Democratic Whip Katherine Clark confirmed Thursday morning that her “united” party will continue to vote for speaker with the full 212 membership, offering no relief to GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy who would have an easier time winning a majority of votes without some Democrats in the room.\n\n“We are here. We are in full attendance, and we are going to remain so,” she said.\n\nWhen asked if Democrats would stay through the weekend if the House remains in session until there’s a speaker, Clark said, “Yes, and this is not a hard sell.”\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nMcCarthy offers new concessions\n\nRep. Kevin McCarthy is offering a slate of new concessions, trying to woo the Republican rebellion against him and effectively giving up the power of the speakership while hanging onto the title.\n\nHe has now allowed for a single member to force a vote to remove him as speaker, given the far-right flank authority to pick a third of the members on the powerful House Rules Committee, and opening spending bills to amendments and debates.\n\nThe concessions give more power to the 10% of the caucus that has already wielded outsized power in the narrow, four-person majority.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nPerry, a McCarthy holdout, facing backlash at home\n\nRep. Scott Perry, one of the 20 holdouts against Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker, is being called out by progressives in his Pennsylvania district at home.\n\nA rally planned Friday in remembrance of Jan. 6 will include a call to Perry to leave the House Freedom Caucus, which he chairs, according to organizers.\n\nMembers of Hershey Indivisible, a grassroots progressive organization, will meet on the Pennsylvania Capitol steps at noon Friday “to say MAGA Extremism is Fascism, Not Freedom,” the group said in a statement. “Let’s make sure Rep. Scott Perry doesn’t get away with his gross Freedom Caucus politics.”\n\nPerry was a key figure in former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election, according to the former House committee that investigated Jan. 6.\n\nThe Pennsylvania Republican refused subpoenas and interview requests from the committee and has denied that he ever sought a pardon.\n\nPerry is now a ringleader in the effort against McCarthy and said on the House floor Wednesday the speaker fight is “hard” and “painful,” but necessary to fix a broken Washington.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nMcCarthy’s outlook for Thursday\n\nAfter two days of stinging defeats in six losses, Rep. Kevin McCarthy returned to the Capitol Thursday morning confident his bid for speaker is moving in the right direction.\n\n“I think we’re making progress,” he said to reporters. “We’re all working together to find a solution.”\n\nMcCarthy can only afford to lose four votes, and there are at least five or more in his caucus who are still a hard NO on him. His allies see any movement toward him or the ability to prevent further losses as a win.\n\nBut does he have the votes yet to be speaker? “We’ll see,” McCarthy told reporters.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nMcCarthy’s shifting support\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s first real win this week was an adjournment vote and it came in prime time with benefits and consequences.\n\nOne of his allies, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, said on CNN last night members should start discussing alternatives to McCarthy. He said the McCarthy holdouts are “dug in” and many of his 200 supporters could tolerate only “three or four” more votes.\n\nMeanwhile, on FOX News, McCarthy was getting support from host Sean Hannity. “If you only have 30, to be clear, you will not withdraw,” Hannity said while interviewing McCarthy opponent Rep. Lauren Boebert, but you’re telling Kevin McCarthy and the 203 people who support him to withdraw.”\n\nMcCarthy also received support from Elon Musk, who said the GOP leader should be speaker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and others.\n\n“Speaker fight is 10% vs. 90% of members. It’s simple math,” Huckabee said in a tweet. “Meanwhile the country goes to hell & Dems & Devil laugh.”\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nA House without rules\n\nWelcome to Day 3 in a House without rules, where for the first time in the modern era everything is in question – including the temperature in the chamber.\n\nThat’s not just the temperature of lawmakers disagreeing with each other, but also the actual temperature inside the room. The speaker of the House usually controls or dictates the thermostat, but without a speaker there have been some complaints this week that it’s too hot or too cold inside the chamber. Some gripes may be tongue in cheek and have offered some rare levity as the GOP, with a new and slim majority, struggles to organize its caucus.\n\nOther changes in a House without rules this week have related to lobbyists on the floor. Some of them are former members or family of members, but normally paid lobbyists aren’t allowed on the House floor.\n\nAlso, without rules, there’s confusion, which was on display Wednesday night as both parties shouted at the clerk and each other as they decided to adjourn – first by voice vote, then a recorded vote.\n\nThe House without rules also has no members. All 434 are members-elect because they can’t be sworn in without a speaker.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nDemocrats to hold press conference Thursday morning\n\nThe minority party in the House hasn’t been demure in pointing to its good week and hasn’t missed an opportunity to talk about the GOP majority struggling to lead without leadership.\n\nDemocrats will hold another press conference at 10 a.m. Thursday and will have a closed-door meeting at 11 a.m., as the House returns for a third day without a speaker.\n\nLook for Democrats to have their full caucus together Thursday morning. They lost an adjournment vote Wednesday night because two of their members, Reps. Tony Cardenas of California and Adriano Espaillat of New York, were absent for it.\n\nThe GOP won the adjournment vote 216 to 214, though four Republicans voted with Democrats against adjourning.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nWhat to expect today\n\nBased on members comments alone, Rep. Kevin McCarthy still doesn’t have the votes to be speaker.\n\nBut there could be a seventh vote when the House gavels in at noon Wednesday. Or there could be another adjournment. Neither procedure came easily yesterday.\n\nMcCarthy can only afford to lose four Republican votes in House GOP’s slim majority, and there are still at least five who say they are voting against him: Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Bob Good of Virginia.\n\nThe reasons for their holdouts range from not trusting McCarthy, believing he’s too aligned with the Republican establishment they see as “the swamp” to complaining about spending bills he’s let move through the House.\n\nBased on other reports in Politico Playbook and Punchbowl News, there are maybe a dozen firm NOs against McCarthy, but his camp remains optimistic. They believe if they can win some of the 20 detractors to their side, it will pressure the other holdouts.\n\nHowever, some members like Gaetz told reporters Wednesday he will be a NO for weeks or months.\n\nThough some of the hardliners say it will be worth monthslong negotiations to not have McCarthy as speaker, other members with military backgrounds continue to sound alarms this morning that not having a sworn-in House is putting national security risk. Without being sworn in, there are no committees to oversee the Department of Defense and other agencies, they may not have valid security clearances and can’t be briefed on threatening national security risks.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWho is Kevin McCarthy?\n\nIn 1987, a 22-year-old college student named Kevin McCarthy was rejected from a congressional internship. More than 30 years later, that onetime intern hopeful could become the next speaker of the House.\n\nFormer California Republican Rep. Bill Thomas’ chief of staff, Cathy Abernathy, is the one who turned down the then-student from Bakersfield in the 80s. Never, she told USA TODAY, did she guess the arc McCarthy's career would take.\n\n“It’s absurd to ask a person ‘Did you see this coming?’” Abernathy laughed. “Of course not.”\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nWhy do they keep voting for speaker of the House?\n\nPrior the start of a new Congress, both parties hold a private meeting where they elect the party leadership for the next Congress. This takes place before Jan. 3, the official start of the new term when all House members vote for the speaker.\n\nA candidate only needs a majority of votes from their respective party to win the nomination in the private meeting for leadership.\n\nEven if a colleague votes against a candidate in the private caucus meeting, the party typically sticks together to back their nominee on the House floor in January, according to Matt Glassman, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Government Affairs Institute.\n\nHowever, when the whole House votes, just a few votes in opposition to a candidate from their own party could cost them the speakership.\n\n-- Rachel Looker\n\nLearn more here:What happens after McCarthy loses speaker vote multiple times? Here's how the process works.\n\nWhat happened Wednesday?\n\nA chaotic and historic two days in the House were punctuated Wednesday night by a raucous vote to adjourn during a tumultuous session marked by shouting and confusion.\n\nAnd still no speaker.\n\nRepublicans came to the floor at 8 p.m. ET and motioned to adjourn again until noon Thursday to give GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy more time to secure the 218 votes he needs to win the gavel. Democrats, in no hurry to resolve the GOP stalemate, tried to block the effort but failed.\n\nA voice vote was too close in a House currently without rules, and Democrats shouted for the clerk to hold a recorded vote. Members filed up to the rostrum to cast their votes, as others stood behind them and anxiously looked up at the House scoreboard.\n\n-- USA TODAY staff\n\nWhat happened Tuesday\n\nThe House of Representatives adjourned Tuesday without a new speaker after GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy lost three straight ballots in the face of hardline opposition, the first time in a century the usually pro-forma process has taken more than one vote.\n\nThe last time the vote for a new speaker went past the first ballot was 100 years ago, in 1923. The loss underscores how Republican infighting between moderates and hardliners will complicate the GOP's majority in the House of Representatives.\n\nRead the day one recap here:House adjourns without a new speaker as McCarthy loses three rounds of voting\n\n-- USA TODAY staff", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/04/live-updates-kevin-mccarthy-speaker-of-the-house-vote/10985244002/", "title": "Recap: House adjourns as McCarthy regroups after losing speaker ...", "text": "WASHINGTON - A chaotic and historic two days in the House was punctuated Wednesday night by a raucous vote to adjourn during a tumultuous session marked by shouting and confusion.\n\nAnd still no speaker.\n\nRepublicans came to the floor at 8 p.m. ET and motioned to adjourn again until noon tomorrow to give GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy more time to secure the 218 votes he needs to win the gavel. Democrats, in no hurry to resolve the GOP stalemate, tried to block the effort but failed.\n\nA voice vote was too close in a House currently without rules, and Democrats shouted for the clerk to hold a recorded vote. Members filed up to the rostrum to cast their votes, as others stood behind them and anxiously looked up at the House scoreboard.\n\nThe GOP, which ultimately has a four-vote majority in the House, won the debate 216-214, with at least two Republicans siding with Democrats.\n\nAfter six votes in two days, Wednesday night ended without a speaker in the House. A seventh vote likely blocking McCarthy, who is more than a dozen votes shy fo what he needs, would have ensued if the House had not adjourned. It's been 100 years since a speaker's election took more than one ballot.\n\nThe House reconvenes at noon Thursday, when McCarthy will resume his prolonged fight for speaker.\n\nThe situation, which has dragged on since Tuesday, has left Congress paralyzed, since no member of the House of Representatives can be sworn in and no rules can be adopted until a speaker is chosen.\n\nThe House remained stuck after McCarthy was nominated, several times, for the top job in that chamber. He appears to have failed again to have secured that job - for now.\n\nOn Tuesday, McCarthy was denied the 218 votes he needed by a cadre of Republican hardliners in three separate ballots. It was the first time in a century that a speaker was not elected on the first round.\n\nA group of up to 20 conservatives is determined to oppose McCarthy, and the end game remains unclear..\n\nStay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nHere are the latest developments:\n\nMcCarthy nominated, again, and loses, again. The action began around noon, with McCarthy nominated for a fourth, fifth and sixth time in two days. He lost all three ballots.\n\nThe action began around noon, with McCarthy nominated for a fourth, fifth and sixth time in two days. He lost all three ballots. Biden calls the situation embarrassing. The fighting is \"not a good look,\" he told reporters at the White House. Ultimately, though, the GOP drama isn't his problem, he said.\n\nThe fighting is \"not a good look,\" he told reporters at the White House. Ultimately, though, the GOP drama isn't his problem, he said. The plan. The plan is for members to vote again – and again – if necessary. But if there's no resolution, the voting could last for days, weeks or even months.\n\nDay One: House adjourns without a new speaker as McCarthy loses three rounds of voting: live updates\n\nWhat now?:What happens after McCarthy loses speaker vote three times? Here's how the process works.\n\nHouse to vote on adjourning for the night without electing a speaker\n\nThe House will vote late Wednesday on adjourning for the night without electing a speaker of the House, prolonging the political paralysis that has gripped the chamber.\n\nGOP leader Kevin McCarthy has been unable to sway enough conservatives to win the speaker's job.\n\nAfter McCarthy failed on a sixth ballot in the mid-afternoon, the House GOP approved an adjournment until 8 p.m.\n\nA House floor update notes that the House will vote again to adjourn when it reconvenes.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nPACs come together to back McCarthy as speaker\n\nIn the hour before the House reconvenes, two political action committees have come together to support McCarthy in his continued bid for speaker.\n\nThe Congressional Leadership Fund, an independent super PAC linked to McCarthy, and Club for Growth, a conservative group, agreed that the congressional leadership fund will not spend in open-seat primaries in safe Republican districts or provide resources to other PACs to do so.\n\nThis agreement could appease McCarthy opponents in safe districts who didn’t want money spent against them in primaries\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nHow long was the longest speaker vote in the past? Months\n\nNot since 1923 has a speaker’s election gone to multiple ballots.\n\nThe longest and most grueling fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged out for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nTrump power? Ex-president hasn't moved the needle on McCarthy – and many Republicans noticed\n\nSo far, not a single Republican opponent of Kevin McCarthy has changed his or her vote after former President Donald Trump urged them to back McCarthy and move on.\n\n\"Currently on full display: how DEEPLY weakened Trump is,\" tweeted Alyssa Farah Griffin, an aide in the Trump White House. \"Even his staunchest allies aren’t afraid to defy him & his endorsement did nothing to get McCarthy more votes.\"\n\nMany Republicans pointed out the comments of Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who said her \"favorite president\" asked her and other members of the anti-McCarthy faction to \"knock this off,\" but he should instead call McCarthy and tell him \"'you do not have the votes, and it's time to withdraw.'\"\n\nAfter that comment, Republican strategist Scott Jennings said: \"Not only are they disregarding Trump but they are now ORDERING HIM AROUND. Unbelievable!\"\n\nTrump has faced rising criticism since the November elections; many Republicans blamed the ex-president for the party's disappointing showing, not to mention the many investigations swirling around him.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nPreviously:Republican support for Trump's 2024 bid falls amid political, legal setbacks\n\nGOP: Lack of speaker means lack of security clearances\n\nA group of GOP members-elect said without a speaker, they lack access to secure facilities where they receive daily briefs related to the nation's security.\n\nFollowing McCarthy's sixth failed attempt at speaker, Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher said during a press conference that he was supposed to meet with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to talk about matters in the Indo-Pacific, but was informed by House security that he does not have a clearance.\n\n“My point is we have work to do that we can’t do right now,” Gallagher, who is a member of the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, said.\n\nMichigan Rep. John James said the needs and security of all Americans needs to be prioritized.\n\n“Right now, we’re hamstrung from doing that because we are bogged down in things that have taken our focus off the nation,” he said.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nMcCarthy standoff:A visual guide to a House speaker deadlock not seen for a century\n\nHouse adjourns until 8 p.m.\n\nFollowing three votes Wednesday afternoon that failed to produce a speaker, GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma motioned to adjourn – but even that didn’t come without some pushback.\n\nAll Republicans voted yes in a voice vote. All Democrats voted no.\n\nFormer House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called for a roll call vote, but leadership didn’t agree.\n\nThe clerk called the adjournment until 8 p.m., when the House will reconvene.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nTakeaways:McCarthy keeps losing, Biden mocks House GOP: Day 2 of the new Congress\n\nA sixth ballot repeat: McCarthy stuck on 201 votes\n\nThree votes on Wednesday, three identical results – and McCarthy is no closer to being speaker of the House.\n\nMcCarthy again claimed only 201 votes on the sixth ballot, just as he did on the two previous rounds Wednesday, according to the House clerk. McCarthy also fell short in three votes on Tuesday; he needs 218 to prevail, and it's unclear how he can get there.\n\nA group of 20 conservatives again voted for Byron Donalds on the sixth ballot, as they did on ballots four and five.\n\nA former McCarthy supporter, Victoria Spartz, voted \"present.\"\n\nDemocratic leader Hakeem Jeffries remained the top vote getter, with the support of 212 Democratic colleagues.\n\nThe House then adjourned until 8 p.m.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nDay two of Congress:As Santos fiddles with his phone, investigators circle, speaker votes are cast\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose sixth House speaker vote\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy lost a sixth vote in his bid for speaker, putting an exclamation point on two long days that have not gone in his favor.\n\nRep. Kat Cammack of Florida described his sixth nomination as “Groundhog Day” and urged fellow Republicans to unite and get things done for the American people.\n\nBut an opposition group within his own party, largely led by conservative Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, didn’t budge.\n\nWithout a speaker, the House remains paralyzed, without the ability to swear-in members, seat committees or move legislation.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nElsewhere in government:Biden plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time in his presidency\n\nPerry, while nominating Donalds, credits Pelosi\n\nWhile nominating Republican Rep. Byron Donalds a third time today for speaker, Rep. Scott Perry said it’s actually a Democrat who has done the most to build the current GOP majority: former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.\n\nDonalds knows “Washington is broken” and will work to fix it, he said.\n\nPerry is one of the ringleaders of a group of 20 conservative members opposing House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy.\n\n“We are making history in this process and showing the American people this process works,” Perry said. “Is it going to be hard? Is it going to be painful? Yes. That’s probably why it hasn’t happened in 100 years.”\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat's happening in the House?:What happens after McCarthy loses speaker vote again? Here's how the process works.\n\nJeffries nominated for the sixth time\n\nWith little movement so far on who will become speaker, Aguilar nominated Jeffries again for the sixth time.\n\n“Democrats are united behind a speaker who will build safer communities,” said Aguilar, referring to Democratic priorities on gun control legislation. “A leader who has a track record in actually getting things done.”\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nPreviously:Hakeem Jeffries elected House Democratic leader, making history as first Black lawmaker to lead a major party in Congress\n\nTaylor Greene: House speaker vote 'embarrassing'\n\nAs the House moved to a sixth ballot to determine who will win the speaker’s gavel, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called her party’s inability to pick a speaker “embarrassing.”\n\n“I hope it’s over soon because, to be honest with you, I find it embarrassing,” Greene told reporters on her way back to the House floor.\n\nGreene also gave credit to Democrats for being able to work together, saying that she thinks the GOP “should find ways to work together.”\n\n- Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nCammack says it’s “Groundhog Day” as she nominates McCarthy\n\nGOP Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida called it “Groundhog Day” as she nominated House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy for speaker – his sixth nomination in two days.\n\nShe said the American people don’t care about who’s going to be speaker; they care about getting results to problems, such as the ongoing opioid crisis and “open border.”\n\n“They didn’t send us to be perpetual critics,” Cammack said. “They sent us to get things done.”\n\nIt’s time to unite and do the people’s business, she said.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nQuest for the gavel:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nNo change for McCarthy on the fifth ballot\n\nThe fifth ballot went the same as the fourth, according to the official House tally: McCarthy again won 201 votes, well short of the 218 he needs to become speaker.\n\nAgain, 20 Republicans voted for a non-McCarthy alternative, Byron Donalds.\n\nAgain, former McCarthy supporter Victoria Spartz voted \"present.\"\n\nAnd, again, Hakeem Jeffries racked up 212 votes from fellow Democrats.\n\nOn toward a sixth ballot.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nCould Jeffries win the speakership?\n\nJeffries has consistently received 212 votes in each of the ballots—gaining the support of every Democrat in the House and surpassing the number of ballots for McCarthy. But it is highly unlikely that Jeffries would win the speakership.\n\nIt would require a member, or multiple members, of the Republican party to reach across the aisle and cast a ballot in support of the opposite party.\n\nThe last time a lawmaker voted for the opposite political party was in 2001. Democratic Rep. Jim Traficant from Ohio voted for the Republican speaker nominee. The Democratic party stripped him of all committee assignments in response.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nWho is Hakeem Jeffries?:What to know about the Brooklyn Rep. nominated for Congress\n\nDonalds: ‘I never came here to try to be speaker’\n\nFlorida Rep. Byron Donalds, who received 20 votes in the last ballot, said he expects the speaker to be elected today, but added that serving in the top leadership position was never his intention. He said he anticipates meeting with McCarthy later today.\n\n“I didn’t come to DC being interested in becoming speaker of the House,” he said, adding, however, that he understands the responsibility of making sure the Republican conference can govern. “I’m going to help do that in any way I can,” he said.\n\n“The time of leadership by acclamation, those days are over,” he said.\n\n-- Rachel Looker\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose fifth vote\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appears to have lost his bid for speaker a fifth consecutive time, continuing a string of stinging defeats and a tumultuous day in the lower chamber.\n\nMcCarthy lost three times Tuesday and twice so far Wednesday. There could be more votes this afternoon, as no member in either party has motioned to adjourn.\n\nBefore the fifth vote, multiple McCarthy allies worked to end the impasse with his 20 detractors, but the count proved out of their favor.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nWho is McCarthy?:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nWho voted present today on the fourth ballot?\n\nOn the fourth ballot for speaker, Indiana Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz opted to vote “present” after backing McCarthy in the previous three ballots, in another blow to McCarthy’s chances of securing the speakership.\n\n“We have a constitutional duty to elect the speaker of the House, but we have to deliberate further as a Republican conference until we have enough votes and stop wasting everyone’s time.” Spartz said. “None of the Republican candidates have this number yet. That’s why I voted present after all votes were cast.”\n\nNo member from McCarthy’s opposition has yet to flip and vote for McCarthy as speaker.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nA new Congress with new priorities:What to know on investigations, the fate of Biden's agenda and more\n\nTrump has been calling GOP lawmakers to urge support for McCarthy, Boebert says\n\nGOP Rep. Lauren Boebert in her nominating remarks shook off Trump’s endorsement of McCarthy.\n\n“Let’s stop with the campaign smears and tactics to get people to turn against us,” said Boebert. “Even having my favorite president call us and tell us we need to knock this off, I think it actually needs to be reversed.”\n\n“The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy, ‘Sir you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw.’” said Boebert to cheers from McCarthy’s opposition.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nThrowback:Lawmakers sound off on recorded call of Kevin McCarthy saying Trump should resign over Jan. 6\n\nBoebert nominates Donalds\n\nRep. Lauren Boebert nominated Rep. Byron Donalds for House speaker, his second nomination of the day.\n\nAlong with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ nomination, it marks the first day two Black men have been nominated speaker.\n\nBoebert said Donalds will uphold conservative principles and build consensus. He received 20 votes during his first nomination.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nPreviously:'High school drama'? MAGA lawmakers Greene and Boebert spar over Kevin McCarthy's speaker bid\n\nAguilar nominates Jeffries for the fifth time\n\nAfter the fourth ballot was officially tallied, the House went straight to a fifth ballot with Aguilar nominating Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on the Democratic side again.\n\n“Madam Clerk, the lead vote getter in the last four tallies, Democrats are united behind a speaker who will work to codify the right to seek an abortion into law,” said Aguilar, referencing a key Democratic priority to enshrine abortion rights into federal law.\n\nIn all of the last four ballots, Jeffries earned the complete support of his Democratic colleagues at 212 votes.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nWho is Hakeem Jeffries in Congress?:What to know about the Brooklyn Rep. set to replace Pelosi\n\nDavidson gives McCarthy fifth nomination\n\nRep. Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican who took former Speaker John Boehner’s seat, nominated Rep. Kevin McCarthy Wednesday immediately following the House GOP leader’s fourth loss for speaker.\n\nDavidson pointed out that there may be some members who don’t trust McCarthy, but said there are about 200 members who don’t trust the leader’s 20 detractors.\n\nAfter rattling off a list of concessions he said McCarthy has made to those voting against him, Davidson said, “Kevin McCarthy engaged in that negotiation. He led the Congress to adopt substantive reforms that will make our majority more effective.”\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nRound four: Another loss for McCarthy\n\nThe fourth ballot, the first of Wednesday, went a little worse for McCarthy.\n\nThe struggling speaker candidate officially wound up with only 201 votes, fewer than the numbers he took on the three ballots on Tuesday, according to the House clerk. One of his previous supporters, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, voted \"present\" on Wednesday.\n\nMcCarthy needs 218 votes to win the speaker's job, and he is moving a little farther away.\n\nThis despite a morning endorsement from Donald Trump and heavy lobbying from allies who say all this is making the Republicans look bad.\n\nDespite the pressure, McCarthy opponents who supported Jim Jordan for speaker on Monday backed a new challenger on Tuesday, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida. He received 20 votes, the same number Jordan got on Tuesday's third ballot.\n\nThe stalemate again allowed Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries to become the top vote getter with 212 Democrats, but without the majority needed to prevail.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWhat's happening in the House:Who are the Republicans balking at Kevin McCarthy as a House speaker?\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose fourth ballot\n\nThe outlook for Kevin McCarthy grew dimmer Wednesday afternoon when the House GOP leader appeared to have lost his bid for speaker a fourth consecutive time.\n\nIt was a crucial vote for McCarthy, who after losing three times yesterday worked to find a path forward today. He and his allies have tried to both sway his opponents and also persuade some of them to vote “present,” making it easier for him to win with a lower voting majority.\n\nOn Wednesday, it was evident McCarthy did little to advance when he did not pick up any votes.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nGallagher nominates McCarthy for speaker\n\nRep. Mike Gallagher. a Wisconsin Republican, nominated House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy for speaker – his fourth nomination in two days.\n\n“I wish we had a bigger majority,” Gallagher said, “but the American people gave us an opportunity.”\n\nMcCarthy is not asking for a vote to keep business as usual, Gallagher said. The leader wants to do the people’s business, he said.\n\nGaetz challenges McCarthy over office space\n\nIt's really gotten personal between aspiring House Speaker McCarthy and conservative critic Matt Gaetz.\n\nGaetz has asked the Architect of the Capitol to investigate McCarthy for moving stuff into the Speaker of the House's suite of offices, even though he failed to actually win the job during three ballots on Tuesday.\n\n\"How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?\" the Florida Republican said in a letter to the architect's office.\n\nAnother McCarthy opponent, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, re-tweeted Gaetz's complaint and amplified the itinerant metaphor: \"McCarthy is squatting in the Speaker’s office.\"\n\nFor his part, McCarthy and his allies have criticized Gaetz for saying he would rather see Democrat Hakeem Jeffries win the speaker's job than McCarthy.\n\nStay tuned for more news about McCarthy's political future – and his office.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nMike Pence chimes in, urges House GOP to elect McCarthy as speaker\n\nFormer Vice President Mike Pence offered his perspective on McCarthy’s battle, urging House Republicans “to support my friend, Kevin McCarthy as the next speaker of the House.”\n\n“@GOPLeader’s (McCarthy's) leadership & vision led to the new Republican majority & I know Speaker McCarthy will lead the House to begin a great American comeback!” Pence tweeted.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nAguilar: ‘Crisis of the Congress’\n\nRep. Pete Aguilar of California, the House Democratic Caucus chair, reiterated support for Jeffries Wednesday morning and said he will be nominating Jeffries during the speaker votes this afternoon. All 212 Democrats voted for Jeffries Tuesday during the three ballots.\n\n“This is a crisis of the congress,” Aguilar said of yesterday’s proceedings.\n\nHe added that Democrats have not had any outreach with their colleagues on the other side of the aisle.\n\nCalifornia Rep. Ted Lieu said the speakership position has already weakened from the inability of the Republican caucus to unite and select a speaker, noting that Democrats are also at a standstill and can’t appoint members to committees.\n\n“They’ve already weakened that position,” Lieu said of the speakership, referencing McCarthy’s concessions including the motion to vacate.\n\n- Rachel Looker and Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\n'The rest of the world is looking': Biden calls GOP House speaker fight ‘embarrassing’\n\nPresident Joe Biden called Republicans’ fight over electing a new House speaker “embarrassing,” “not a good look” and “not my problem” as he sought to contrast the chaos in House with a focus on governing.\n\n“I hope they get their act together,” Biden told reporters Wednesday, adding that “the rest of the world is looking” and he is focused on “getting things done.”\n\nBiden, speaking from the South Lawn of the White House, was en route to Kentucky. There he will appear with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and other officeholders of both parties to promote bipartanship by showcasing a major bridge project funded by federal infrastructure dollars.\n\n-- Joey Garrison\n\nGaetz: Trump won't change my mind about opposing McCarthy\n\nMatt Gaetz, an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, is saying Trump's endorsement of McCarthy won't shake his opposition to the latter's candidacy for House speaker.\n\n\"Sad!\" Gaetz said in a Wednesday statement to Fox News Digital. \"This changes neither my view of McCarthy nor Trump nor my vote.\"\n\nIn a Truth Social post hours earlier, Trump hit the all-caps button to say to Republican dissidents: \"VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY.\"\n\nGaetz is especially close to Trump; he once endorsed Trump himself for the speaker's job. If Trump can't change his mind, it's hard to see many of the 20 or so opponents of McCarthy changing theirs.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWhat about George Santos?\n\nAs if the GOP didn't have enough distractions.\n\nRep.-elect George Santos, of New York, has been embroiled in controversy after reports found he made up multiple parts of his biography during the 2022 midterm campaign.\n\nThe 34-year-old Republican, who is under investigation by New York prosecutors, admitted he lied about his educational achievements, his ancestry and his employment. He was in the chamber Tuesday for the speaker vote and is expected to be there Wednesday.\n\nOn the first three ballots, Santos voted for McCarthy. Like all other members of the House, he can take part in the vote for speaker though he won't be sworn in until after one is chosen.\n\nTrump calls for members to vote for McCarthy\n\nIn a new Truth Social post Wednesday morning, Former President Donald Trump called on Republican House members to support Kevin McCarthy.\n\n“Vote for Kevin, close the deal, take the victory,” Trump said in all caps.\n\nHe urged Republicans: “Do not turn a great triumph into a giant & embarrassing defeat.”\n\nTrump said it’s time to celebrate, seemingly referring to the GOP’s four-vote majority in the House.\n\n“Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a great job – just watch!” he said in closing.\n\nMcCarthy’s most fervent opponents are some of Trump’s biggest supporters. It remains to be seen if they will be swayed by his endorsement Wednesday morning.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat to expect today\n\nThe House formally gavels in at noon, but both Republicans and Democrats will be meeting throughout the morning.\n\nOn the Republican side, Rep. Kevin McCarthy and his allies are working on two fronts: they are trying to negotiate with his detractors to sway their votes to his side and they’re also trying to get some members to vote “present” rather than for a named candidate. Voting present would ultimately help McCarthy boost his numbers and lower the threshold for which he needs to become speaker.\n\nOn the Democratic side, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and Vice Chair Ted Lieu will hold a press conference at 10:45 a.m. after their closed caucus meeting that starts at 9 a.m. Look for Democrats to take questions on whether they will help Republicans by having some members absent from the chamber today, lowering the overall voting majority and number McCarthy would need to clinch the speakership.\n\nLast night, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his caucus is focused on having a working partnership with Republicans to pass bipartisan legislation, but they’re not responsible for helping the GOP get organized.\n\nOnce the House gavels in at noon, members-elect could choose to vote again for speaker or adjourn again to allow for more negotiations.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat changed overnight?\n\nRep. Kevin McCarthy is shifting his strategy to become speaker of the House – or at least he’s shifting the way he’s talking about it.\n\nWhen a confident, almost defiant, McCarthy spoke during and after a Republican conference meeting Tuesday morning, he had said he wasn’t making any more concessions to appease the most conservative flank of his party and that he had “earned” the speakership.\n\nBy Tuesday night at the Capitol, after he had lost three votes to become speaker, he said he wanted all views to be represented on House committees and that negotiations were ongoing between his more than 200 supporters and 20 detractors.\n\nMcCarthy also said he had a new path to the speakership. Rather than focusing on the 218 votes needed to win the speakership outright, he mentioned 11 votes last night he needs to flip. A lot of that strategy involves getting some of his 20 dissenters to vote “present” rather than for a named candidate, which would allow him to win the speakership with a lower majority of votes.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat could happen next?\n\nMembers will continue to vote — again and again potentially when they come back at noon. The vote could last for days, weeks or months until a speaker candidate receives enough votes. This leaves the House paralyzed since no member can be sworn in, no rules can be adopted and no legislative business can be conducted until a speaker is chosen\n\nMcCarthy could drop out of the race for speaker, leaving an opening for another Republican to win the speakership. As of Tuesday afternoon, no McCarthy challengers have come close to gaining enough votes to win the speakership. During the three ballots, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin and New York Rep. Byron Donalds received votes.\n\nAs a last resort, lawmakers could adopt a resolution that would elect a speaker by a plurality or by rank-choice voting instead of a simple majority.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nMore:McCarthy denied, Santos in House: 5 takeaways from the tumultuous first day of a new Congress\n\nMore:What can Congress do about Rep.-elect George Santos, who lied ahead of winning his election?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/04"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_11", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/12/31/pope-emeritus-benedicts-funeral-challenge/10961114002/", "title": "Vatican faces an unprecedented challenge: How to hold a funeral ...", "text": "For the first time in 600 years, the Vatican is holding a historic event: the funeral of a former pope.\n\nPope Francis will preside over the funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died Saturday at age 95, on Thursday, according to the Vatican – an unprecedented occasion for a current pope to celebrate the funeral of a former pope.\n\nBenedict’s body went on public display in St. Peter’s Basilica on Monday, and mourners can pay respects through Wednesday, the Vatican said. Pictures released by the Vatican show Benedict wearing red robes and a Catholic bishop's mitre.\n\nBenedict took the unusual step in 2013 to retire after almost eight years, citing his physical and mental health. Typically, popes serve until death, and Benedict was the first pope since the 1400s to leave office.\n\nIn a \"spiritual testament\" written in 2006 to be released upon his death, Benedict asked for forgiveness of anyone he had ever wronged and thanked God for guiding his steps. The Vatican released the testament on Saturday.\n\n\"Finally, I humbly ask: pray for me, so that the Lord may admit me to the eternal dwellings, despite all my sins and shortcomings,\" Benedict wrote. \"For all those entrusted to me, my heartfelt prayer goes out day after day.\"\n\nThe Roman Catholic Church has about 1.3 billion members worldwide. The funeral for Pope John Paul II in 2005 drew an estimated 4 million people to Rome and Vatican City in what experts say may have been the largest-ever gathering of Christians.\n\nThe Vatican said Benedict's funeral will take place with \"simplicity,\" as he requested. But the format remains uncertain.\n\n\"There is no script for this, and people in the Vatican are on the edge because they want to send a signal of respect to him and his followers and at the same time not disrespect the reigning pontiff,\" said Massimo Faggioli, a professor of historical theology at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. \"Such funeral has no precedent in Italy.\"\n\nHow would Benedict's funeral be conducted?\n\nTypically, funerals for a pope are an elaborate affair, befitting his station as God's representative on Earth and the head of the nation-state Vatican City.\n\nJohn Paul II's 2005 death launched an elaborate series of ceremonies and viewings, including two celebrations of Mass, before he was buried. Benedict – at the time still known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – presided over the final Mass of Requiem, which experts say was probably the most-watched funeral in history.\n\nPapal funerals typically draw heads of state from around the world, and President Joe Biden, who is Catholic, had met with Benedict. But was unclear whether the funeral of a former pope would draw as many high-profile attendees.\n\nThe Vatican confirmed Monday that in keeping with Benedict’s wishes, his tomb will be in the crypt of the grotto under the basilica that was last used by St. John Paul II before the saint’s body was moved upstairs into the main basilica ahead of his beatification in 2011.\n\nWhat does a pope's funeral normally look like?\n\nAfter the pope's death, a formal set of practices codified by the 1996 document \"Universi Dominici Gregis\" – Of the Lord's Whole Flock – prompts formal notifications, the sealing of his rooms and papers, and the destruction of the papal signet ring. Benedict's ring was marked with a chiseled cross upon his retirement.\n\nPapal funerals typically draw millions of mourners to Rome, and the funeral of John Paul was also televised live.\n\nChurch doctrine calls for the pope to be buried between the fourth and sixth day after his death, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Popes are not autopsied. Funeral rites are celebrated for nine days after his death.\n\nAfter a sitting pope dies, the church's cardinals gather in a conclave to select a successor, burning special paper to emit white smoke. That won't happen in this case because there's already a sitting pope, Francis.\n\nWhat is a pope emeritus?\n\nWhile unusual, a papal retirement is not unprecedented.\n\nCatholic church law requires a papal resignation be \"freely and properly manifested\" – as was the case when Benedict unexpectedly announced his resignation at the Vatican in February 2013.\n\nImmediately upon retirement, Benedict left the Vatican for several months while cardinals selected and installed Francis. Benedict then returned to the Vatican, no longer a pope or cardinal. Instead, he asked to be known as Father Benedict, and he lived a quiet life ever since. He had been living at a monastery on the Vatican grounds since stepping down nine years ago.\n\nFrancis had visited him regularly since his retirement, but Benedict played no formal role within the church, although he continued to wear the papal white.\n\nCould Pope Francis also step down?\n\nFrancis, upon taking office in 2013, pre-wrote a resignation letter in case he was ever incapacitated. Francis had lauded Benedict's decision to step down because of advanced age.\n\nFrancis, who turned 86 in December, had surgery in 2021 to repair a bowel narrowing and has been hobbled by knee pain that for months saw him use a wheelchair. Lately, he has used a cane to get around in public.\n\nIn an interview with the Spanish newspaper ABC in December, Francis noted: \"One governs with the head, not the knee.\"\n\nDig deeper", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/europe/pope-benedict-xvi-death-intl/index.html", "title": "Former Pope Benedict XVI dies in Vatican monastery aged 95 | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nPope Francis led tributes to his predecessor on Saturday, after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died in a monastery in the Vatican at the age of 95.\n\n“We are moved as we recall him as such a noble person, so kind and we feel such gratitude in our hearts, gratitude to god for giving him to the church, and to the world,” Francis said in Saint Peter’s Basilica while leading traditional vespers ceremony ahead of New Year’s Day.\n\n“Gratitude to him for all the good he accomplished and above all for his witness of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his life. Only God knows the value of his sacrifices for the good of the church,” Francis added.\n\nBenedict, who was the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, passed away on Saturday, according to a statement from the Vatican.\n\n“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni said.\n\nFrancis went to see Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI soon after he passed away Saturday morning, according to Bruni.\n\nThe funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be held on Thursday in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City at 9:30 a.m. local time, Bruni said. The funeral will be led by Pope Francis.\n\nThe former pope’s body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican from Monday for the faithful to bid farewell, Vatican News reported. As per the wish of Pope Emeritus, his funeral will be “simple,” Bruni said.\n\nThe funeral of the former pope, pictured on December 25, 2007, will take place on January 5. Alessandra Tarantino/AP\n\nNews of Benedict’s death came days after Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for him, saying he was “very sick.”\n\nHis health had been in decline for some time.\n\nBenedict stunned the Catholic faithful and religious experts around the world on February 11, 2013, when he announced plans to step down from his position as Pope, citing his “advanced age.”\n\nIn his farewell address, the outgoing pope promised to stay “hidden” from the world, but he continued to speak out on religious matters in the years following his retirement, contributing to tensions within the Catholic Church.\n\nA powerful and polarizing voice\n\nBenedict was a powerful force in the Catholic Church for decades. Born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, he was the son of a policeman. He was ordained as a priest in 1951, made a cardinal in 1977, and later served as chief theological adviser to Pope John Paul II.\n\nOne of his most significant steps up came in 1981 when he took over as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Vatican office that oversees “the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world,” according to the Vatican.\n\nRatzinger became known as “Cardinal No” stemming from his efforts to crack down on the liberation theology movement, religious pluralism, challenges to traditional teachings on issues such as homosexuality, and calls to ordain women as priests.\n\nHe was elected pope in April 2005, following John Paul II’s death.\n\nHe was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis, who has made moves to soften the Vatican’s position on abortion and homosexuality, as well as doing more to deal with the sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the church in recent years and clouded Benedict’s legacy.\n\nThe former pope, pictured on September 9, 2007, was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis. Robert Jaeger/AP\n\nIn April 2019, Benedict discussed the sex abuse crisis in a public letter, claiming that it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalization of the church’s moral teachings.\n\nIn January 2020, Benedict was forced to distance himself from a book widely seen as undercutting Francis as he considered whether or not to allow married men to become priests in certain cases. The book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” argued in favor of the centuries-old tradition of priestly celibacy within the Catholic Church. Benedict was originally listed as co-author, but later clarified that he had only contributed one section of the text.\n\nA year later, Benedict came under fire over his time as archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, following the publication of a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there.\n\nThe report found that while in the post he had been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two that had occurred during his time in office – but failed to act. It also revealed Benedict had attended a meeting about an abuser identified as Priest X. Following the report’s publication, Benedict pushed back against accusations that he knew in 1980 that this priest was an abuser.\n\nIn a letter released by the Vatican amid the furor, Benedict wrote that he was “of good cheer” as he faced “the final judge of my life,” despite his shortcomings. He also issued a general apology to survivors of abuse.\n\n‘Giant of faith and reason’\n\nGlobal leaders paid homage to the former pope, following his death. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England, said he is “mourning” the former pope.\n\n“Pope Benedict was one of the greatest theologians of his age – committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence,” Welby said in a statement Saturday.\n\n“In all things, not least in his writing and his preaching, he looked to Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God. It was abundantly clear that Christ was the root of his thought and the basis of his prayer.\n\n“In 2013 Pope Benedict took the courageous and humble step to resign the papacy, the first Pope to do so since the fifteenth century. In making this choice freely he acknowledged the human frailty that affects us all,” he added.\n\nCardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, said he will remember the former pope with “love and gratitude.”\n\n“Saddened to learn of the demise of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola tweeted Saturday.\n\n“Europe mourns him. May he rest in peace.”\n\nThe leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, on Saturday told Pope Francis he had received news of Benedict’s passing with “sorrow,” according to the message shared on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate.\n\n“His Holiness’s many years of life marked a whole epoch in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, which he led in a difficult historical period, associated with many external and internal challenges,” Kirill said of Benedict.\n\nKirill added relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church had “developed significantly” during Benedict’s tenure, in an effort to “overcome the sometimes-painful legacy of the past.”\n\n“On behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church, I express my condolences to you and the flock of the Roman Catholic Church,” he continued.\n\nThe Dalai Lama on Sunday offered his condolences to the members of the Catholic Church after Benedict’s death.\n\n“I pray for our spiritual brother,” he wrote, “and offer my condolences to the members of the Catholic Church.”\n\n“At a time when we are seeing tension in several parts of the world, we can take a lesson from the life of Pope Benedict and do what we can to contribute to religious harmony and global peace.”\n\nUS President Joe Biden said the late pontiff “will be remembered as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by his principles and faith.”\n\nBiden, the second Catholic to serve as President of the United States, reflected on his meeting with Benedict at the Vatican in 2011, saying he remembered “his generosity and welcome as well as our meaningful conversation.”\n\n“As he remarked during his 2008 visit to the White House, ‘the need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity.’ May his focus on the ministry of charity continue to be an inspiration to us all,” Biden added.\n\nBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also paid tribute. “I am saddened to learn of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” Sunak tweeted Saturday.\n\n“He was a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was an historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country.\n\nGlobal leaders have paid homage to the former German-born pope, pictured on September 12, 2006. Jens Meyer/AP\n\nThe Archbishop of Canterbury hailed the former Pope, pictured on November 30, 2005, as \"one of the greatest theologians of his age.\" Plinio Lepri/AP\n\nItaly’s new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni voiced her admiration for the former pope. “Benedict XVI was a giant of faith and reason. He put his life at the service of the universal Church and spoke, and will continue to speak, to the hearts and minds of men with the spiritual, cultural and intellectual depth of his Magisterium,” she tweeted Saturday.\n\nRussian President Vladimir Putin, who is leading Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, called the former pope “a staunch defender of traditional Christian values.”", "authors": ["Jack Guy Valentina Di Donato Sugam Pokharel Sharon Braithwaite James Frater Allegra Goodwin", "Jack Guy", "Valentina Di Donato", "Sugam Pokharel", "Sharon Braithwaite", "James Frater", "Allegra Goodwin"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/12/31/pope-benedict-xvi-resignation-catholic-church/10960183002/", "title": "Former Pope Benedict XVI, first to resign papacy in roughly 600 ...", "text": "Pope Benedict XVI, the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign as the head of the Catholic Church, died Saturday.\n\nBenedict, who was previously known as Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, was 95. His death follows reports this week that his health had been failing.\n\nA statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni on Saturday morning said: “With pain I inform that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesia Monastery in the Vatican.”\n\nThe Vatican also announced that Pope Francis will celebrate the funeral Mass for Benedict Thursday in St. Peter's Square and Benedict’s remains will be on public display in St. Peter’s Basilica starting Monday for the faithful to pay respects. Benedict’s request was that his funeral would be celebrated solemnly but with “simplicity,” Bruni said.\n\nBenedict received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick Wednesday after his daily Mass, Bruni said.\n\nRemembering those we lost: Celebrity Deaths 2022\n\nHow long was Pope Benedict a pope?\n\nThe church elected Benedict to the papacy in 2005, and Benedict served until 2013. He succeeded Pope John Paul II and was the 265th person to take on the role.\n\nHe became a priest in 1951 in Germany, and he held several prominent leadership roles in the church, including the dean of the College of Cardinals, a governing body within the Catholic Church that, among other things, is responsible for electing the pope.\n\nWhy did Pope Benedict resign?\n\nAt the time, he said he was relinquishing the role due to his ailing health.\n\n\"Both strength of mind and body are necessary, strengths which in the last few months have deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me,\" he said.\n\nBenedict was 85 at the time.\n\nBenedict stayed living at the Vatican. He continued to wear a white cassock, though he stopped wearing the iconic red shoes. He instead adopted a pair of brown shoes he received on a trip to Mexico in 2012. He also gave up the papal ring.\n\nWhat was pope Benedict known for?\n\nBenedict was a theologian and was generally known for his traditional interpretation of what Catholicism should be. He allowed greater use of a traditional form of mass conducted in Latin, a move praised by conservatives and criticized by others as regressive.\n\nHe also introduced a new form of English mass in 2011 that again delighted traditionalists, but critics called it dull because it hewed more closely to the Latin original.\n\nFor example, when priests said \"The Lord be with you,\" parishioners had responded, \"And also with you.\" In the new version, they were expected instead to say in response, \"And with your spirit,\" which threw off many current and former Catholics. (It even inspired comedic skewering.)\n\nIn 2012, Benedict became the first pope to use Twitter. Within hours of the account's announcement, 200,000 people had followed the account. It had nearly 3 million followers just weeks later.\n\nHow will Benedict be remembered as pope?\n\nBenedict's decision to step down was shocking to many Catholics and observers of the church. Traditionally, the pope serves in the role until his death, and few have voluntarily given up the role.\n\nBeyond his decision to resign, Benedict was widely criticized for the church's handling of clergy sex abuse cases in Germany when he was the archbishop of Munich. He had asked for forgiveness for \"grievous faults\" in connection to the cases, but didn't admit to having done anything wrong. He was also criticized for not taking more aggressive action as pope to punish cardinals and bishops who oversaw sexual abuses in the church.\n\nBenedict was known for speaking against gay marriage, saying it was a threat to humanity's future.\n\nBenedict also faced criticism for joining the Hitler Youth at 14 in 1941, though the church and others noted he was legally required to do so. He was later drafted into the German army at 16, but he deserted in 1945 to rejoin the seminary, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.\n\nContact Chris Quintana at (202) 308-9021 or cquintana@usatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter at @CQuintanadc", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/28/europe/pope-benedict-sick-pope-francis-intl/index.html", "title": "Former Pope Benedict is 'very sick', Pope Francis says | CNN", "text": "Rome CNN —\n\nPope Francis has said that his predecessor Pope Benedict, the 95-year-old former pontiff who resigned from the post nine years ago, is “very sick” after a deterioration in his health on Wednesday.\n\n“I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who sustains the Church in his silence. He is very sick,” Francis said during his general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.\n\n“We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end.”\n\nA Vatican spokesman later confirmed that “in the last few hours there has been a deterioration due to the advancement of (Benedict’s) age.”\n\n“The situation at the moment remains under control and continually monitored by his doctors,” the spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said, adding that Francis visited his predecessor at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in Vatican City after his general audience.\n\nArchbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, DC, asked Catholics and “folks of good will to pray for Benedict XVI,” in a Twitter post Wednesday.\n\n“He served our Church in many roles - priest, scholar, diocesan bishop, curial official, & Pontiff. May Christ reward him for his loving service,” Gregory said of Benedict.\n\nIn 2013, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by making the almost unprecedented decision to resign from his position, citing “advanced age.”\n\nBenedict’s announcement marked the first time a pope had stepped down in nearly 600 years. The last pope to resign before his death was Gregory XII, who in 1415 quit to end a civil war within the Catholic Church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.\n\nIn 2020, the Vatican said Benedict had suffered from a “painful but not serious condition,” following reports in German media that he was ill.\n\nTwo years earlier, in a rare public letter published in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Benedict wrote that “in the slow waning of my physical forces, inwardly I am on a pilgrimage toward Home.”\n\nBenedict’s legacy has been clouded by recent scrutiny of his time as Archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, after a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there was published in January.\n\nThe report found that he had been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two during his time in Munich – but failed to act, and that he had attended a meeting about an abusive priest.\n\nBenedict later pushed back against those allegations, admitting he had attended the meeting but denying he intentionally concealed his presence.\n\nIn a statement shared with CNN, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) spoke of the “mixed feelings” the public may have of Benedict. “Sadly, many clergy abuse victims are not out of the woods in terms of healing from their wounds and getting the justice they deserve,” SNAP wrote.", "authors": ["Delia Gallagher Rob Picheta", "Delia Gallagher", "Rob Picheta"], "publish_date": "2022/12/28"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/29/europe/pope-benedict-update-vatican-intl/index.html", "title": "Pope Benedict: Former pontiff's condition 'serious but stable ...", "text": "Rome CNN —\n\nPope Emeritus Benedict XVI is “lucid and vigilant” but his condition remains serious, the Vatican said Thursday in an update on the former pontiff’s health.\n\n“He is absolutely lucid and vigilant and today while his condition remains serious, the situation at the moment is stable,” Vatican press office director Matteo Bruni said in a statement.\n\n“Pope Francis renews his invitation to pray for him and accompany him in these difficult hours.”\n\nPope Francis announced Wednesday that his 95-year-old predecessor was “very sick” after a deterioration in his health.\n\n“I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who sustains the Church in his silence. He is very sick,” Francis said during his general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday. “We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end.”\n\nA Vatican spokesman confirmed later Wednesday that Benedict’s health had worsened “in the last few hours” and that Francis visited Benedict at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery in Vatican City.\n\nIn 2013, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by making the almost unprecedented decision to resign from his position, citing his “advanced age.”\n\nBenedict’s announcement marked the first time a pope had stepped down in nearly 600 years. The last pope to resign before his death was Gregory XII, who in 1415 quit to end a civil war within the Catholic Church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.\n\nBenedict’s health has been in decline for some time. In 2020, the Vatican said Benedict had suffered from a “painful but not serious condition,” following reports in German media that he was ill.\n\nTwo years earlier, in a rare public letter published in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Benedict wrote that “in the slow waning of my physical forces, inwardly I am on a pilgrimage toward Home.”\n\nBenedict has been a powerful force in the Catholic Church for decades.\n\nBorn Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, he was ordained as a priest in 1951, made a cardinal in 1977, and later served as chief theological adviser to Pope John Paul II. He was elected as the 265th pope in April 2005, following John Paul II’s death.\n\nBenedict became pontiff at the height of the global sexual abuse scandal involving Catholic priests, as complaints of sexual abuse and related lawsuits tore at the church and threatened its moral standing around the world.\n\nHis legacy has been clouded by recent scrutiny of his time as Archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, after a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there was published in January.\n\nThe report found that he had been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two during his time in Munich – but failed to act, and that he had attended a meeting about an abusive priest.\n\nBenedict later pushed back against those allegations, admitting he had attended the meeting but denying he intentionally concealed his presence.\n\nIn a statement on Wednesday, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said many people would have “mixed feelings” about the life of Benedict. “Sadly, many clergy abuse victims are not out of the woods in terms of healing from their wounds and getting the justice they deserve,” SNAP wrote.", "authors": ["Delia Gallagher"], "publish_date": "2022/12/29"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/europe/joseph-ratzinger-pope-benedict-xvi-obituary-intl/index.html", "title": "Joseph Ratzinger, former Pope Benedict XVI, shaped Catholic ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nPope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose death at 95 was announced Saturday, was a powerful intellectual force who shaped the Catholic Church’s theology for more than a quarter century before shocking the world by resigning in 2013.\n\nWhile not quite unprecedented, Benedict’s resignation was highly unusual. Popes typically hold office until death, and the last pope to step down was Gregory XII, who quit in 1415 to end a civil war within the church.\n\nBookended by globally popular and charismatic popes – St. John Paul II and Pope Francis – Benedict cut a different figure. Friends and biographers described him as quiet and scholarly, more at home among theological tomes than adoring crowds.\n\nIn typical fashion, Benedict announced his unexpected resignation in Latin. He was 85 at the time and cited his advanced age as ill-suited for the demands of running the Catholic Church.\n\nThe German-born Benedict saw himself, and the church, as a bulwark against secular trends in Western society, particularly what he called the “dictatorship of relativism.” He often insisted that Catholics maintain a fortress mentality, saying perhaps a smaller, “purer” church would best maintain Catholicism’s traditions and teachings.\n\nAs Pope, Benedict was a polarizing figure. He was hailed by conservatives who admired his erudite writings and careful theology. But critics, particularly in the postmodern West, called him “God’s Rottweiler” for his staunch insistence on fidelity to church’s doctrine and his willingness to silence dissent.\n\n“He policed the boundaries of the faith,” said David Gibson, author of “The Rule of Benedict,” a biography of the former pope. “He was brilliant and brutally effective.”\n\nBenedict also came under fire for his handling of the sexual abuse crisis that engulfed the Catholic church during his years as a senior cleric. A damning report published in January 2022 found that he knew about priests who abused children but failed to act when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.\n\nThe son of a policeman\n\nJoseph Ratzinger was born and raised in Bavaria, where he briefly served in the Hitler Youth, despite his objections, and the German military during World War II. His father, a policeman, loathed the Nazis, according to biographers.\n\nRatzinger, like his elder brother Georg, saw their future in the Catholic Church, entering a German seminary in 1945. Once ordained, Ratzinger rose quickly through the church, establishing himself as a leading theologian. Originally a liberal thinker, he turned conservative in 1968 in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, which upended a number of Catholic teachings.\n\nIn 1977, Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Later that year, former Pope Paul VI made the German scholar a cardinal, a sign of his growing reputation within the church.\n\nFrom 1981 to 2005, Ratzinger ran the Vatican’s influential Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the office responsible for stating and policing church doctrine. He was, in effect, Catholicism’s chief theologian during this time, said Gibson, Benedict’s biographer.\n\n“His twenty-four years at the CDF were far more influential than his tenure as pope,” Gibson said.\n\nHis influence was certainly felt in the United States. In 1984, Ratzinger told the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans, to investigate one of its monks, Matthew Fox, for heresy. The Vatican expelled Fox from the order in 1993.\n\nIn 1999, Ratzinger effectively silenced an American nun and priest engaged in LGBTQ ministry because they would not affirm the “Church’s teaching regarding the intrinsic evil of homosexual acts.” The nun and priest were “permanently prohibited from any pastoral work involving homosexual persons.”\n\nBut Ratzinger eventually tired of the job, reportedly asking Pope John Paul II to appoint him as a librarian at the Vatican’s library. John Paul refused.\n\n‘Please don’t do this to me’\n\nRatzinger was dean of the College of Cardinals in 2005 when he became the sixth German to be picked as pope, the first since the 11th century. At the time, the church was facing several pressing issues, including declining popularity in parts of the world and a growing crisis over its role in handling sexual abuse accusations against priests.\n\nAs the conclave to appoint Pope John Paul II’s successor went on, Ratzinger said he quickly realized that he would be elected as the new Pope – though he was reluctant to assume the mantel of St. Peter.\n\n“At a certain point, I prayed to God, ‘Please don’t do this to me,’” he told a German audience in 2005. “Evidently, this time he didn’t listen to me.”\n\nUpon his election, Ratzinger took the name Benedict XVI as a nod to church history, he said. He chose the name to honor Benedict XV, who pursued peace during World War I, and the original St. Benedict, a monk “whose life evokes the Christian roots of Europe,” Ratzinger said.\n\nAt 78, he was the oldest person to have been elected pope since Pope Clement XII in 1730. Given his age, Benedict XVI was widely seen as a caretaker pope, a bridge to the next generation after the long tenure of John Paul II, a globe-trotting pontiff whose early youth and vigor gave way to such frailty in later years that he required help walking and was often hard to hear during public addresses.\n\nIn his tone, demeanor and actions, Benedict was notably different from his predecessor. Where John Paul wowed crowds around the world with his mastery of numerous languages, Benedict’s influence was felt through his erudite writings and theological rigor.\n\n“In a world which he considered relativist and secular, his main thrust was to re-establish a sense of Catholic identity for Catholics themselves,” said Delia Gallagher, CNN’s Vatican correspondent.\n\nAs Pope, Benedict often championed a back-to-basics approach. Three of his encyclicals – letters from the Pope to Catholics around the world – were based on the theological virtues of faith, hope and love.\n\nBill Donohue, of the conservative US Catholic League, credited Benedict for working to reduce friction among adherents of various faiths, something that was a key part of John Paul’s mission as well.\n\nBut critics say Benedict didn’t always choose his words wisely. During a speech in Regensburg, Germany in 2006, he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor who criticized Islam, calling it violent, “evil and inhuman.”\n\nHis remarks were sharply criticized by heads of states in the Middle East and Muslim groups throughout the world. Effigies of Benedict were burnt in Basra, Iraq, and elsewhere in predominantly Muslim countries.\n\nBenedict later apologized, saying he was “deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address.”\n\nCriticism over sexual abuse crisis\n\nBenedict became pope at the height of the molestation scandal involving Catholic priests, as complaints of sexual abuse and related lawsuits tore at the church and threatened its moral standing around the world.\n\nIn 2002, he asked Pope John Paul II to route all accusations of sexual abuse to his office, where he instituted changes meant to deal swiftly with accused priests. From 2004-2014, the Vatican defrocked 848 priests who raped or molested children and sanctioned another 2,572 with lesser penalties, according to the church. During that time, his office had received 3,400 accusations, according to the church.\n\nThe flood of accusations worldwide has waned at times but has never stopped.\n\nIn 2008, Benedict acknowledged “the shame which we have all felt” over abuse reports and said those responsible for the “evils” should face justice. Two years later he said abusive priests “disfigured their ministry” and brought “profound shame and regret” on the church.\n\nThat same year, 2010, he issued new rules aimed at stopping abuse. These included allowing church prosecution of suspected abusers for 20 years after the incidents occurred, up from 10 years previously. The rules also made it a church crime to download child pornography and allowed the pope to remove a priest without a formal Vatican trial.\n\nIn some cases, Benedict acted swiftly, as when he removed Marcial Maciel, a powerful Mexican priest who founded the conservative Legion of Christ, after years of allegations that he had sexually abused children.\n\n“No one did more to successfully address the problem of priestly sexual abuse than Joseph Ratzinger,” Donohue said.\n\nBut others such as the late Barbara Blaine, the former president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the opposite was true.\n\n“I would hate for him to be remembered as someone who did the right thing because from our perspective, Pope Benedict’s record has been abysmal,” said Blaine, who died in 2017.\n\nIn 2010, The New York Times reported that church officials, including Ratzinger, had failed to act in the case of a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting up to 200 boys. The Times reported that church officials stopped proceedings against the priest after he wrote Ratzinger.\n\nAlso in 2010, the Times reported that the future pope – while serving as the archbishop in Munich – had been copied on a memo informing him that a priest accused of molesting children was being returned to pastoral work. At the time, a spokesman for the archdiocese said Ratzinger received hundreds of memos a year, and it was highly unlikely that he had read it.\n\nTwelve years later, a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy in the diocese found that Ratzinger had as archbishop been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two that had taken place while he was in office – but failed to act. In a letter published by the Vatican in February 2022, Benedict issued a general apology to survivors of abuse, writing: “Once again I can only express to all the victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness.”\n\nOver the years, victims’ groups pressed the International Criminal Court to prosecute Benedict in the sex abuse scandal.\n\nDavid Gibson, Benedict’s biographer, said that, like many in the Vatican, the former pope was initially slow to recognize the magnitude of the church’s abuse crisis.\n\n“Like so many in the church, he was part of the learning curve,” Gibson said.\n\nThe anti-Francis\n\nUltimately, however, Benedict showed little skill or interest in governing the vast and complex world of the Catholic Church, Gibson said.\n\nIn 2012, his butler was convicted of theft for leaking confidential papal documents to fight what he saw as deep corruption within the Holy See.\n\nA year later, Benedict announced his resignation.\n\nSince then, Benedict, who chose the name Pope Emeritus and continued to wear the traditional papal white, rarely left his monastery high on a hill in Vatican City, where he promised to live a “hidden life.”\n\nStill, conservative Catholics tried to draw Benedict out, or at least use him as counterweight to the more liberal papacy of Francis. Some Catholics looked to him as an anti-Pope, or at least an anti-Francis.\n\nThe contrast between the two men was dramatized in a 2019 Netflix film, “The Two Popes,” which earned Anthony Hopkins an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Benedict.\n\nThe Rev. Joseph Fessio, an American Jesuit who studied under Benedict and has published his works at Ignatius Press, said the former Pope likely knew that conservatives were trying to pit him against Francis.\n\n“In some ways, he has become the face of ‘the Resistance,’” Fessio said, “even though he hasn’t done anything to be a resistor.”\n\nBenedict preferred to be called something more modest.\n\nBefore he left Rome in 2013, a crowd of 10,000 people gathered to bid him an emotional farewell.\n\n“I am no longer the Pope but I am still in the church,” Benedict said. “I’m just a pilgrim who is starting the last part of his pilgrimage on this earth.”", "authors": ["Daniel Burke Hada Messia", "Daniel Burke", "Hada Messia"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/01/02/thousands-mourn-pope-emeritus-benedict-lies-in-state/10979642002/", "title": "65K mourn Benedict XVI as pope emeritus lies in state at Vatican ...", "text": "An estimated 65,000 people have visited Vatican City to pay their respects to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose body is lying in state in St. Peter’s Basilica.\n\nBenedict’s body was dressed with a bishop's mitre and a red cloak, arranged on red pillows atop a bier draped in gold fabri. For two more days, he'll lie in state for the faithful to pay their respects to first pope in nearly 600 years to resign as the head of the Catholic Church.\n\nBenedict died Saturday. He was 95, and his death came just days after Pope Francis asked for prayers following reports that his predecessor's health was failing.\n\nVatican officials had estimated at least 25,000 people would offer their respects on Monday, the first day of the viewing. But by day's end, the Vatican said that some 65,000 had passed by the bier.\n\nHere is what to expect this week:\n\n'THE POPE IS GONE':Catholics gather at Vatican City to mourn Benedict's death\n\nHow long will Benedict lie in state?\n\nJust after 9 a.m. local time Monday, the basilica doors swung open so the public could pay respects to the late pontiff, his body dressed with a miter, the peaked headgear of a bishop, and a red cloak.\n\nPeople strode briskly up the center aisle to pass by the bier with its cloth draping after waiting in a line that by midmorning snaked around St. Peter’s Square.\n\nAn organ and choir’s rendition of “Kyrie Eleison” (“Lord, have mercy” in ancient Greek) in the background, ushers moved well-wishers along the basilica’s center aisle toward the body.\n\nViewing was also set Tuesday and Wednesday.\n\nPLAN TO TRAVEL TO ROME? What to know about traveling for Benedict XVI's funeral\n\nWho has attended the viewing?\n\nNotables who have attended the viewing included Cardinal Walter Kasper, like Benedict, a German theologian. Kasper served as head of the Vatican’s Christian unity office during Benedict’s papacy.\n\nBenedict left an “important mark” on theology and spirituality but also on the history of the papacy with his courage to step aside, Kasper told The Associated Press. Benedict cited age and declining health when he stepped down in 2013.\n\nItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the far-right leader who has professed admiration for the conservative leanings of Benedict, visited the basilica to pay his respects. Italian President Sergio Mattarella also attended.\n\nWhen is Benedict's funeral?\n\nBenedict's funeral will be led by Pope Francis – an unprecedented occasion for a current pope to celebrate the funeral Mass of a former pope – and will take place at St. Peter’s Square on Thursday.\n\nThe funeral will be marked by simplicity in keeping with Benedict's wishes, the Vatican said.\n\nVATICAN FACES AN UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGE:How to hold a funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict\n\nWhere will Benedict be buried?\n\nBenedict’s tomb will be in the crypt of the grotto under St. Peter's Basilica that was last used by St. John Paul II in keeping with Benedict's wishes, the Vatican said.\n\nThe saint’s body was moved upstairs into the main basilica before his 2011 beatification, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.\n\nTHOSE WE LOST IN 2022:USA TODAY's annual look at the memorable figures we lost in 2022\n\nHow long did Benedict serve?\n\nJoseph Ratzinger was born in Germany in 1927 and became pope in 2005.\n\nTypically, popes serve until death. Benedict is the first pope since the 1400s to leave office alive when he stepped down in 2013.\n\nUpon retirement, Benedict left the Vatican for several months while cardinals selected and installed Francis. Benedict then returned to the Vatican, no longer a pope or cardinal. Instead, he asked to be known as Father Benedict and lived out his life at the monastery on the Vatican grounds.\n\nDig deeper\n\nPope Emeritus Benedict 's health worsens\n\nPope Francis has written a resignation letter in case his own health declines\n\nPope Francis expanded the number of cardinals who would choose his successor\n\nContributing: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY; The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/02"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/world/pope-benedict-death-final-letter/index.html", "title": "Former Pope Benedict XVI asks for forgiveness, thanks God in final ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nFormer Pope Benedict XVI, who died Saturday in a monastery in the Vatican at the age of 95, asked for forgiveness for those he has “wronged” in the spiritual testament published following his death.\n\nBenedict, who was the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, passed away on Saturday, according to a statement from the Vatican.\n\nHe was elected pope in April 2005, following John Paul II’s death.\n\nDuring the testament, which consisted of a letter containing the pope’s final words, Benedict spoke of the “many reasons” he had to be thankful for his life.\n\nIn the letter dated August 29, 2006, the former pope thanked God for guiding him “well” throughout life. He also expressed gratitude to his parents who he said gave him “life in a difficult time.”\n\nHe went on to thank his sister for her “selfless” help and his brother for the “clarity of judgment” he shared with him.\n\nBenedict was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis, who has made moves to soften the Vatican’s position on abortion and homosexuality, as well as doing more to deal with the sexual abuse crisis which engulfed the church in recent years and clouded Benedict’s legacy.\n\nBenedict asked for forgiveness\n\nIn April 2019, Benedict discussed the sex abuse crisis in a public letter, claiming it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalization of the church’s moral teachings.\n\nIn January 2020, Benedict was forced to distance himself from a book widely seen as undercutting Francis as he considered whether to allow married men to become priests in certain cases. The book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” argued in favor of the centuries-old tradition of priestly celibacy within the Catholic Church. Benedict was originally listed as co-author, but later clarified he had only contributed one section of the text.\n\nA year later, Benedict came under fire over his time as archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, following the publication of a church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there.\n\nIn the 2006 letter, the former pope asked “sincerely” for “forgiveness” for those he “wronged in any way,” in his letter.\n\nIn the closing words, the former pontiff asked “humbly,” despite all his “sins and shortcomings,” he be welcomed by God into heaven.\n\nIn a separate letter published by the Vatican in February 2022, Benedict issued a general apology to survivors of abuse, writing: “Once again I can only express to all the victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness,” but he admitted to no personal or specific wrongdoing.\n\nThere is no suggestion his request for forgiveness in his final letter relates to the Catholic Church’s handling of sexual abuse accusations against priests.", "authors": ["Delia Gallagher Niamh Kennedy Emma Tucker", "Delia Gallagher", "Niamh Kennedy", "Emma Tucker"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/29/football/brazil-pele-soccer-died-intl-latam-spt/index.html", "title": "Pelé, the Brazilian soccer legend, dies at 82 | CNN", "text": "Sao Paulo, Brazil CNN —\n\nPelé, the Brazilian soccer legend who won three World Cups and became the sport’s first global icon, has died at the age of 82.\n\n“Everything that we are, is thanks to you,” his daughter Kely Nascimento wrote in a post on Instagram, under an image of family members holding Pele’s hands. “We love you infinitely. Rest in peace.”\n\nPelé was admitted to a hospital in São Paulo in late November for a respiratory infection and for complications related to colon cancer. Last week, the hospital said his health had worsened as his cancer progressed. He died on Thursday from multiple organ failure due to the progression of colon cancer, according to a statement from Albert Einstein Hospital.\n\nFor more than 60 years, the name Pelé has been synonymous with soccer. He played in four World Cups and is the only player in history to win three, but his legacy stretched far beyond his trophy haul and remarkable goal-scoring record.\n\n“I was born to play football, just like Beethoven was born to write music and Michelangelo was born to paint,” Pelé famously said.\n\nTributes have been pouring in for the soccer legend. Pelé’s first club, Santos FC, responded to the news on Twitter with the words “eternal” shared next to an image of a crown.\n\nBrazilian footballer Neymar said Pelé “changed everything.” In a post on Instagram, he wrote: “He turned football into art, into entertainment. He gave a voice to the poor, to black people and especially: He gave visibility to Brazil. Football and Brazil have raised their status thanks to the King!” he added.\n\nPelé is carried off the field by fans after Brazil defeated Italy in the final of the 1970 World Cup. Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940. His parents named him after inventor Thomas Edison. He got the nickname Pelé when he was a young boy and had trouble pronouncing the name of his favorite player, a goalkeeper named Bilé who played with his father at a local club. AFP/Getty Images Pelé was just 16 years old when he made his debut for Brazil's national team. It was less than a year after he started playing professionally with Brazilian club Santos in 1956. Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images Pelé admires the Jules Rimet Trophy, the prize for winning the World Cup, circa 1958. Popperfoto/Getty Images Pelé scores Brazil's third goal during the 1958 World Cup final against Sweden. Brazil won 5-2 to claim its first-ever World Cup. \"When we won the World Cup, everybody knew about Brazil,\" he told CNN's Don Riddell many years later. \"I think this was the most important thing I gave to my country because we were well known after that World Cup.\" AP Pelé cries on Brazilian teammate Gilmar after winning the World Cup in 1958. In addition to scoring twice in the final, Pelé scored a hat trick in the semifinal win against France. He also scored the team's lone goal in the quarterfinal win over Wales. Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images Pelé wears a sash after Santos became São Paulo state champions in 1961. Pelé played for the club from 1956-1974, scoring 618 goals and winning six Brazilian league titles. In 1962 and 1963, Santos won the Copa Libertadores, which is South America's premier club competition. Popperfoto/Getty Images Pelé sits behind the wheel of his car in 1961. He grew up poor in Bauru, Brazil, and honed his craft playing barefoot with improvised balls made of coconuts or balls of socks. Popperfoto/Getty Images Pelé returned to the World Cup with Brazil in 1962 and starred in the team's opening win over Mexico. But he was injured in the second match against Czechoslovakia and would miss the rest of the tournament. Brazil still defended its crown. AP Pelé sits on a ball during a break in training in 1963. The Brazilian national team was in London to play a match against England. John Pratt/Hulton Archive/Keystone/Getty Images Pelé is seen with his parents, Dondinho and Celeste, in 1965. Dondinho was a soccer player himself and taught his son how to play. AP Photo Pelé performs an overhead kick during a match in 1965. Dutch soccer star Johan Cruyff once said Pelé \"was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic.\" AP A soapy Pelé shakes hands with US Sen. Robert F. Kennedy after a match in Rio de Janeiro in 1965. Allsport/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Pelé and his first wife, Rosemeri, meet Pope Paul VI while visiting the Vatican in 1966. The newlywed couple had been honeymooning in Germany, Austria and Italy. AP Pelé signs autographs for children in 1966. He played in the 1966 World Cup with Brazil but the team didn't advance out of the group stage that year. Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Pelé and his wife, Rosemeri, take their young daughter, Kely, out for a walk in 1967. It was their first child together. They would have three children in all before divorcing in 1978. AP Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, award a trophy to Pelé after watching a match in Rio de Janeiro in 1968. AP Photo Pelé celebrates with fans after scoring his 1,000th career goal in 1969. AP Pelé relaxes by a hotel swimming pool while in Mexico for the 1970 World Cup. Popperfoto/Getty Images Pelé celebrates after scoring the first goal for Brazil in the 1970 World Cup final against Italy. The Brazilians won 4-1. \"Before the match, I told myself that Pelé was just flesh and bones like the rest of us,\" Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich said after the match. \"Later, I realized I'd been wrong.\" Colorsport/Shutterstock Pelé celebrates with Jairzinho after winning the World Cup final in 1970. The Brazilians won all six matches at the tournament, and that team is considered by many to be one of the best of all time. Colorsport/Shutterstock Pelé raises the Jules Rimet Trophy after winning the 1970 World Cup. Brazil was able to permanently keep that trophy for winning its third title, and a new World Cup trophy was introduced in 1974. Horstmüller/ullstein bild/Getty Images Pelé signs a soccer ball for US President Richard Nixon while visiting the White House with his wife, Rosemeri, in 1973. Pelé met several US presidents during his life. His celebrity status brought this famous quip from Ronald Reagan in 1986: \"My name is Ronald Reagan, I'm the President of the United States of America. But you don't need to introduce yourself, because everyone knows who Pelé is.\" Everett/Shutterstock Late-night television host Johnny Carson gets some pointers from Pelé in 1973. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Pelé waves to the crowd before making his debut with the New York Cosmos in 1975. He signed a $1.4 million a year contract with the Cosmos and made a big splash in the emerging league. Peter Robinson/EMPICS/Getty Images American football star Joe Namath, left, exchanges balls with Pelé during a promotional event in New York in 1975. Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images Cheerleaders wait to welcome Pelé onto the field during a Cosmos match in 1977. Peter Robinson/EMPICS/Getty Images Pelé holds Brazilian and American flags after his final match in 1977. It was an exhibition at Giants Stadium between the Cosmos and his longtime Brazilian club, Santos. He played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for Santos. Peter Robinson/EMPICS/Getty Images Pelé attends a party with actors Michael Caine, left, and Sylvester Stallone. The three starred together in the 1981 film \"Escape to Victory.\" Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Pelé poses for a photo in Rio de Janeiro in 1991. Paulo Fridman/Corbis/Getty Images Pelé embraces two Brazilian stars -- Ronaldo, left, and Roberto Carlos -- after they finished first and second, respectively, for the 1997 FIFA World Player of the Year Award. Matthew Ashton/EMPICS/Getty Images Pelé poses for a portrait in 2006. In his later years, Pelé was an outspoken political voice who championed the poor in Brazil. He served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for many years, promoting peace and support for vulnerable children. Tom Jenkins/Getty Images Pelé and English soccer star David Beckham attend a gala benefit celebrating soccer in the United States in 2008. Shawn Ehlers/WireImage/Getty Images Pelé poses with children in Natori, Japan, in 2011, following an earthquake and tsunami in the region. He was there to help promote the 2014 World Cup, which took place in Brazil. Kyodo News Stills via Getty Images Pelé and Argentine soccer great Diego Maradona pose for a photo together in 2016. The two shared FIFA's Player of the Century award in 2000. After Maradona's death in 2020, Pelé paid tribute to his \"dear friend\" on Instagram: \"One day, I hope, we will play soccer together in the sky.\" Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images Pelé attends a charity match in Manchester, England, in 2016. Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage/Getty Images Pelé's life in pictures Prev Next\n\nPortuguese star forward Cristiano Ronaldo sent his condolences to Brazil in a post on Instagram, saying “a mere “goodbye” to the eternal King Pelé will never be enough to express the pain that currently engulfs the entire football world.”\n\nKylian Mbappé of Paris Saint-Germain said of Pelé’s death: “The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten.”\n\nFormer English soccer player Geoff Hurst wrote on Twitter of his memories of Pelé, calling the late star “without doubt the best footballer I ever played against (with Bobby Moore being the best footballer I ever played alongside). For me Pele remains the greatest of all time and I was proud to be on the the pitch with him. RIP Pele and thank you.”\n\nBrazil’s incoming President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took to Twitter to pay his respects to Pelé, saying “few Brazilians took the name of our country as far as he did.”\n\n“As different from Portuguese as the language was, foreigners from the four corners of the planet soon found a way to pronounce the magic word: ‘Pelé,’” Lula added.\n\nA public wake will be held for Pelé on Monday at the Urbano Caldeira stadium, popularly known as Vila Belmiro and home to Santos football club, in Brazil’s São Paulo state, according to a Thursday statement from Santos FC.\n\nAt dawn Monday, Pele’s body will be moved from the Albert Einstein Hospital to the stadium. The soccer legend’s coffin will be placed in the center of the pitch.\n\nThe wake at Vila Belmiro will continue until Tuesday 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), after which a funeral procession will carry Pelé’s coffin through the streets of the city of Santos, including the street where Pelé’s 100-year-old mother, Celeste Arantes, lives.\n\nThe cortege will continue to Pelé’s final resting place, the Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica cemetery in Santos, where a private funeral, reserved for family members, will be held.\n\nDazzling ability\n\nPelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento in Três Corações – an inland city roughly 155 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro – in 1940, before his family moved to the city of Bauru in São Paulo.\n\nThe genesis of the nickname Pelé are unclear, even to the footballer. He once wrote in the British newspaper The Guardian that it likely started with school classmates teasing him for mangling the nickname of another player, Bilé. Whatever the origin, the moniker stuck.\n\nExactly how many goals Pelé scored during his career is unclear, and his Guinness World Records tally has come under scrutiny with many scored in unofficial matches. Domicio Pinheiro/Agência Estado/AP\n\nAs a child, his first taste of soccer involved playing barefoot with socks and rags rolled up into a ball – a humble beginning that would grow into a long and fruitful career.\n\nBut when he first took up the game, his ambitions were modest.\n\n“My dad was a good football player, he scored a lot of goals,” Pelé told CNN in 2015. “His name was Dondinho; I wanted to be like him.\n\n“He was famous in Brazil, in Minas Gerais. He was my role model. I always wanted to be like him, but what happened, to this day, only God can explain.”\n\nAs a teenager, Pelé left home and began training with Santos, scoring his first goal for the club side before his 16th birthday. He would go on to score 619 times over 638 appearances for the club, but it is his feats in the iconic yellow jersey of Brazil for which he is best remembered.\n\nThe world first got a glimpse of Pelé’s dazzling ability in 1958, when he made his World Cup debut aged 17. He scored Brazil’s only goal in the country’s quarterfinal victory against Wales, then netted a hat-trick in the semifinal against France and two in the final against host Sweden.\n\nBrazil players hold a banner showing support for former Brazil player Pele after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between Brazil and South Korea on December 5. Michael Steele/Getty Images Europe/Getty Images\n\n“When Pelé scored the fifth goal in that final, I have to be honest and say I felt like applauding,” said Sweden’s Sigvard Parling.\n\nFor Pelé, the standout memory from the tournament was putting his country on the sporting map.\n\n“When we won the World Cup, everybody knew about Brazil,” he told CNN’s Don Riddell in 2016. “I think this was the most important thing I gave to my country because we were well known after that World Cup.”\n\nAnother World Cup victory came in 1962, although an injury sidelined Pelé for the tournament’s later stages. Further injuries hampered his next campaign in 1966 as Brazil exited the competition after the group stage, but redemption came in 1970.\n\n“Pelé was saying that we were going to win, and if Pelé was saying that, then we were going to win the World Cup,” Brazil’s co-captain Carlos Alberto said about the tournament.\n\nThat team – featuring the likes of Jairzinho, Gerson, Tostão, Rivellino, and, of course, Pelé – is regarded as one of the greatest ever assembled.\n\nIn the final – a 4-1 victory against Italy – Brazil scored arguably the most famous World Cup goal of all time, a sweeping, length-of-the-pitch move involving nine of the team’s 10 outfield players.\n\nIt ended with Pelé teeing up Alberto, who drilled the ball into the bottom corner of the net. Brazil’s mantra of jogo bonito (the beautiful game) has never been better encapsulated.\n\nPelé, who had considered retiring before the 1970 World Cup, scored a goal of his own in the final and a total of four over the course of the tournament.\n\n“Before the match, I told myself that Pelé was just flesh and bones like the rest of us,” Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich said after his side’s defeat in the final. “Later, I realized I’d been wrong.”\n\nThe tournament capped Pelé’s World Cup career but not his time in the spotlight. In 1975, he signed a $1.67-million-a-year contract in the United States with the New York Cosmos.\n\nOne of the greatest players\n\nWith his larger-than-life personality and extraordinary dribbling skills – a trademark of his game – Pele’s helped the Cosmos win the North American Soccer League championship in 1977 before officially retiring from football.\n\nThe league, which attracted further big names like Giorgio Chinaglia and Franz Beckenbauer, wouldn’t last, ultimately folding in 1984. But around the world, Pelé’s influence endured.\n\nHe remained in the public eye through endorsement deals and as an outspoken political voice who championed the poor in Brazil. He served as a Goodwill UNICEF ambassador for many years, promoting peace and support for vulnerable children.\n\nHealth problems persisted for much of Pelé’s later life. He got around with the support of a walker – an item he was filmed shoving around with disdain in a documentary released last year – and in September 2021, he underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his right colon.\n\nParis Saint-Germain and France national football team forward Kylian Mbappe (R) and Brazilian football legend Pele take part in a meeting at the Hotel Lutetia in Paris on April 2, 2019. Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images\n\nPelé’s cancer treatment continued over the past year. He was hospitalized in Sao Paulo in November as the 2022 World Cup was being played in Qatar, prompting an outpouring of support from the global soccer community and beyond.\n\nDebate will inevitably rage about whether Pelé is the greatest player of all time – whether it is possible to compare Pelé’s achievements to those of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, who have rewritten soccer’s record books over the past 15 years, or to Diego Maradona, the late Argentinian star who captivated the footballing world in the 1980s and 90s.\n\nIn 2000, FIFA jointly named Maradona and Pelé as Player of the Century, but to some, the outright winner of the award should have been obvious.\n\n“This debate about the player of the century is absurd,” said Zico, who represented Brazil in the decade after Pelé’s retirement. “There’s only one possible answer: Pelé. He’s the greatest player of all time, and by some distance, I might add.”\n\nBefore Christmas, Pele's daughter posted a moving photo with father in hospital. Kely Nascimento/Instagram\n\nExactly how many goals Pelé scored during his career is unclear, and his Guinness World Records tally has come under scrutiny with many scored in unofficial matches.\n\nIn March 2021, he congratulated Portugal’s Ronaldo for passing his “record of goals in official matches” – 767.\n\nThere is little doubt, however, that Pelé was, and always will be, football’s first global superstar.\n\n“If I pass away one day, I am happy because I tried to do my best,” he told The Talks online magazine. “My sport allowed me to do so much because it’s the biggest sport in the world.”", "authors": ["Camilo Rocha George Ramsay Tara John Flora Charner Rodrigo Pedroso", "Camilo Rocha", "George Ramsay", "Tara John", "Flora Charner", "Rodrigo Pedroso"], "publish_date": "2022/12/29"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/politics/joe-biden-pope-benedict-reaction/index.html", "title": "Joe Biden reacts to death of Pope Benedict XVI | CNN Politics", "text": "CNN —\n\nPresident Joe Biden mourned the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, saying in a statement Saturday that the late pontiff “will be remembered as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by his principles and faith.”\n\nBenedict died Saturday at the age of 95 in a Vatican monastery, according to a statement from the Vatican. He was the first pope in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, doing so in 2013.\n\nBiden, the second Catholic to serve as president of the United States, reflected on his meeting with Benedict at the Vatican in 2011, recalling the late pontiff’s “generosity and welcome as well as our meaningful conversation.”\n\n“As he remarked during his 2008 visit to the White House, ‘the need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity.’ May his focus on the ministry of charity continue to be an inspiration to us all,” Biden said Saturday.\n\nBenedict’s funeral will be held on Thursday in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City at 9:30 a.m. local time, the Vatican statement said. The funeral will be led by Pope Francis.\n\nBenedict was a polarizing figure, hailed by conservatives who admired his erudite writings and careful theology. But he faced criticism, particularly in the postmodern West, for his staunch insistence on fidelity to church doctrine and his willingness to silence dissent. He also came under fire for his handling of the sexual abuse crisis that engulfed the Catholic Church during his years as a senior cleric.\n\nBenedict met with three sitting US presidents – in addition to future President Biden – during his time as leader of the Catholic Church.\n\n“It was like going back to theology class,” Biden told America, a Jesuit publication, in 2015 of his meeting with Benedict. “And by the way, he wasn’t judgmental. He was open. I came away enlivened from the discussion.”\n\nPope Benedict XVI appears at the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after he was elected to be the new pope on April 19, 2005. Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images Benedict was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in Marktl am Inn, Germany, in 1927. He's seen here on the left along with other members of his family in 1938: his brother, Georg; his mother, Maria; his sister, Maria; and his father, Joseph. German Catholic News Agency/Getty Images This photo of Benedict was taken in 1943, when he was drafted by the German army. He later deserted and was taken prisoner by the US Army. AFP/Getty Images Benedict, center, prays during an open-air Mass near Ruhpolding, Germany, in 1952. He was ordained as a priest in 1951. AFP/Getty Images Benedict poses for a photo in 1959, when he was a professor of dogmatic theology at the University of Freising in 1955. He taught at various colleges until 1969. AFP/Getty Images Benedict, left, was one of five new cardinals created by Pope Paul VI in June 1977. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Benedict is greeted by people in Munich, Germany, in July 1977. He was the archbishop of Munich and Freising. dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images Benedict prays next to Mother Teresa in September 1978. AFP/Getty Images Pope John Paul II, a few days after becoming pope, greets Benedict at the Vatican in October 1978. AP Pope John Paul II signs the new Roman Catholic Code of Canon Law in 1983. Benedict, second from right, served as the Pope's chief theological adviser. Bettmann/Getty Images Benedict at Vatican City in March 1977. Gianni Giansanti/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images Benedict greets a mountain rifleman in Munich in 1997. Before that, he had celebrated the 20th anniversary of his episcopal consecration. Frank Mächler/picture alliance/Getty Images Benedict passes a cross to Pope John Paul II during a Passion of Christ celebration at the Vatican in the 2000s. Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images Benedict, second from left, is among several cardinals greeting Pope John Paul II in 2003. Eric Vandeville/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images Benedict waves from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after he was elected to be the new pope on April 19, 2005. Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images Benedict casts incense over the coffin of Pope John Paul II after his death. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Benedict looks at a child during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square in November 2005. Plinio Lepri/AP Benedict wears a fur-trimmed Santa-like hat as he waves to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square in December 2005 The red hat with white fur is known in Italian as the \"camauro.\" It was popular among pontiffs in the 17th century. Alessandra Tarantino/AP People gather in front of the Roman Colosseum during Benedict's first Way of the Cross devotions in April 2006. Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis/Getty Images Pope Benedict greets young people in front of a huge Jesus Christ portrait in Krakow, Poland, in May 2006. Benedict paid an emotional visit to the birthplace of his predecessor and told Poles he was praying that their favorite son would move swiftly toward sainthood. Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters Benedict visits what used to be the Nazi Auschwitz death camp during his trip to Poland in May 2006. Diether Endlicher/AP The Pope waves to people from his \"popemobile\" as he arrives for a Mass in Regensburg, Germany, in September 2006. He was on a six-day visit to his native country. Jens Meyer/AP Benedict visits Istanbul's Sultan Ahmet Mosque, aka the Blue Mosque, in November 2006. Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/AP Benedict lies before the altar during a Good Friday ceremony at the Vatican in April 2007. Danilo Schiavella/AP A gust of wind blows the Pope's coat over his head while visiting Vienna, Austria, in September 2007. Robert Jaeger/AP Benedict waves as he is driven through the crowd in St. Peter's Square in September 2007. Pier Paolo Cito/AP Benedict is greeted by cardinals as he arrives to attend a concert at the Vatican in October 2007. Stefano Spaziani/dpa/picture alliance/AP Benedict arrives to celebrate Mass at New York's Yankee Stadium in April 2008. During his trip to the United States, he also visited the White House and spoke to the United Nations General Assembly. Julie Jacobson/AP Benedict visits Sydney in July 2008. Mark Baker/AP Arms stretch out to Benedict as he leaves Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral in September 2008. Philippe Wojazer/Reuters The Pope arrives to celebrate Mass in Yaounde, Cameroon, in March 2009. Andrew Medichini/AP Benedict places a note in the Western Wall while visiting Jerusalem's Old City in May 2009. David Silverman/Pool/Reuters The Pope leads a mass in Manger Square, next to the Church of the Nativity, as a Palestinian flag is waved the West Bank town of Bethlehem in May 2009. Tara Todras-Whitehill/AP Benedict prays in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during his trip to Jerusalem's Old City in 2009. Yannis Behrakis/AP Benedict welcomes US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama to the Vatican in July 2009. Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP The Pope waves to faithful from a window of his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, on the outskirts of Rome, during his weekly general audience in August 2009. His right arm was in a cast after he fell and broke his right wrist while vacationing a month earlier. Pier Paolo Cito/AP Benedict blesses pilgrims as he arrives in St. Peter's Square for a World Youth Day event in March 2010. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images Benedict prays inside St. Paul's Grotto in Rabat, Malta, in April 2010. L'Osservatore Romano/Reuters Benedict waves to the crowd gathered below St. Peter's Square during a weekly Angelus blessing in May 2010. L'Osservatore Romano/Reuters Benedict walks with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II while visiting the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Scotland, in September 2010. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Benedict travels by train to Assisi, Italy, in October 2011. L'Osservatore Romano/Getty Images Benedict prepares to kiss a baby as he arrives for a Mass in Cotonou, Benin, in November 2011. Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters Benedict releases a dove from the window of his apartment in St. Peter's Square at the end of a Sunday Angelus prayer in January 2012. Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images Benedict meets with former Cuban President Fidel Castro during a visit to Cuba in March 2012. L'Osservatore Romano/Reuters Benedict walks at the end of a Holy Thursday Mass in April 2012. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images Benedict, holding a candle, enters a hushed and darkened St. Peter's Basilica to begin the Vatican's Easter vigil service in April 2012. Pier Paolo Cito/AP Benedict delivers his blessing as he is driven through the crowd in St. Peter's Square in October 2012. Andrew Medichini/AP Pope Benedict clicks on a tablet to send his first Twitter message in December 2012. His account, which went live in seven languages, had thousands of followers within minutes. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images Benedict waves at the Vatican in December 2012. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images Benedict rides the \"popemobile\" to St. Peter's Square in February 2013. Earlier that month, he announced that he would be retiring. The 85-year-old cited his \"advanced age\" as the reason. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images People crowd the gallery on top of St. Peter's Basilica as a helicopter carries Benedict out of Vatican City in February 2013. He was heading to Castel Gandolfo, where he would stay until the next pope was chosen. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Benedict exchanges Christmas greetings with his successor, Pope Francis, at the Vatican in December 2013. Maurix/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images Benedict, seated second from left, has a glass of beer on his 90th birthday in 2017. L'Osservatore Romano/Pool/AP Benedict is pushed in a wheelchair in Regensburg, Germany, in 2020. He was in Germany visiting his sick brother. Daniel Karmann/dpa/AP Pope Francis visits with Benedict at the Vatican in August 2022. Vatican Media/Abaca Press/Sipa/AP Benedict receives the winners of the Ratzinger Prize in December 2022. The award is given to scholars that have stood out for their scientific research in the field of theology. Fondazione Ratzinger/via Reuters In pictures: The life of Pope Benedict XVI Prev Next\n\nBenedict met with his first sitting president in 2007 when George W. Bush traveled to the Vatican. Benedict made his only papal visit to the United States the following year. Bush took the rare step of meeting the pope when his plane arrived at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, DC, and he later welcomed Benedict to the White House with an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn where thousands gathered and sang “Happy Birthday” to the pope, who turned 81 that day.\n\nLater that year, Bush visited Benedict at the Vatican, where the two men strolled through the Vatican Gardens and met privately for roughly 30 minutes.\n\nIn 2009, President Barack Obama met with Benedict for 30 minutes at the Vatican. Officials at the time said their meeting included discussions on addressing poverty and the Middle East, as well as issues such as abortion and stem cell research.\n\nAbortion also appeared to be a topic of discussion during Biden’s meeting with Benedict. In his 2015 interview with America, Biden said the two men spoke about Catholic doctrine and the then-vice president’s view that he should not impose his own beliefs on other people, including on issues such as abortion.\n\nBenedict talked about Biden’s abortion stance after he became president in 2021.\n\n“It’s true, he’s Catholic and observant. And personally, he is against abortion,” Benedict said in an interview with The Tablet, a Catholic publication. “But as president, he tends to present himself in continuity with the line of the Democratic Party … and on gender policy, we still don’t really understand what his position is.”\n\nBiden also spoke of Benedict at a White House event this summer, calling him a “great theologian, a very conservative theologian.” The president shared that Benedict had asked him for advice when they met.\n\n“‘Well, one piece of advice,’ I said, ‘I’d go easy on the nuns. They’re more popular than you are,’” Biden recounted to laughter.", "authors": ["Arlette Saenz"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_12", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/politics/spending-bill-congress-omnibus/index.html", "title": "Here's what's in the $1.7 trillion federal omnibus spending law | CNN ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: This story originally ran December 20. It has been updated to reflect the current status of the legislation.\n\nCNN —\n\nPresident Joe Biden signed into law a $1.7 trillion yearlong federal government spending package on Thursday, after the House and Senate passed it last week.\n\nThe legislation includes $772.5 billion for nondefense discretionary programs and $858 billion in defense funding. That represents an increase in spending in both areas for fiscal year 2023.\n\nThe sweeping package includes roughly $45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and NATO allies, an overhaul of the electoral vote-counting law, protections for pregnant workers, an enhancement to retirement savings rules and a TikTok ban on federal devices.\n\nIt also provides a boost in spending for disaster aid, college access, child care, mental health and food assistance, more support for the military and veterans and additional funds for the US Capitol Police. And the legislation contains several major Medicaid provisions, particularly one that could disenroll up to 19 million people from the nation’s health insurance program for low-income Americans.\n\nHowever, the law, which runs more than 4,000 pages, left out several measures that some lawmakers had fought to include. An expansion of the child tax credit, as well as multiple other corporate and individual tax breaks, did not make it into the final bill. Neither did legislation to allow cannabis companies to bank their cash reserves – known as the Safe Banking Act – or a bill to help Afghan evacuees in the US gain lawful permanent residency. And the spending package did not include a White House request for roughly $10 billion in additional funding for Covid-19 response.\n\nThe spending law, which will keep the government operating through September, the end of the fiscal year, is the product of lengthy negotiations between top congressional Democrats and Republicans.\n\nCongress originally passed a continuing resolution on September 30 to temporarily fund the government in fiscal year 2023, which began October 1.\n\nHere’s what’s in the law:\n\nMore aid for Ukraine: The spending law provides roughly $45 billion to help support Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russia’s attack.\n\nAbout $9 billion of the funding will go to Ukraine’s military to pay for a variety of things including training, weapons, logistics support and salaries. Nearly $12 billion will be used to replenish US stocks of equipment sent to Ukraine through presidential drawdown authority.\n\nAlso, the law provides $13 billion for economic support to the Ukrainian government. Other funds address humanitarian and infrastructure needs, as well as support European Command operations.\n\nEmergency disaster assistance: The law provides more than $38 billion in emergency funding to help Americans in the west and southeast affected by recent natural disasters, including tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding and wildfires. It will aid farmers, provide economic development assistance for communities, repair and reconstruct federal facilities and direct money to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund, among other initiatives.\n\nOverhaul of the electoral vote-counting law: A provision in the legislation aims at making it harder to overturn a certified presidential election, the first legislative response to the US Capitol insurrection and then-President Donald Trump’s campaign to stay in power despite his loss in 2020.\n\nThe changes overhaul the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which Trump tried to use to overturn the 2020 election.\n\nThe legislation clarifies the vice president’s role while overseeing the certification of the electoral result to be completely ceremonial. It also creates a set of stipulations designed to make it harder for there to be any confusion over the accurate slate of electors from each state.\n\nFunding for January 6 attack prosecutions: The law provides $2.6 billion for US Attorneys, which includes funding efforts “to further support prosecutions related to the January 6 attack on the Capitol and domestic terrorism cases,” according to a fact sheet from the House Appropriations Committee.\n\nThe package also gives $11.3 billion to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including for efforts to investigate extremist violence and domestic terrorism.\n\nThe funding measures are part of nearly $39 billion for the Justice Department.\n\nRetirement savings enhancements: The law contains new retirement rules that could make it easier for Americans to accumulate retirement savings – and less costly to withdraw them. Among other things, the provisions will allow penalty-free withdrawals for some emergency expenses, let employers offer matching retirement contributions for a worker’s student loan payments and increase how much older workers may save in employer retirement plans.\n\nTikTok ban from federal devices: The legislation bans TikTok, the Chinese-owned short-form video app, from federal government devices.\n\nSome lawmakers have raised bipartisan concerns that China’s national security laws could force TikTok – or its parent, ByteDance – to hand over the personal data of its US users. Recently, a wave of states led by Republican governors have introduced state-level restrictions on the use of TikTok on government-owned devices.\n\nProtections for pregnant workers: The law provides pregnant workers with workplace accommodations – such as additional bathroom breaks, stools or relief from heavy lifting duties – needed for healthy pregnancies. It will prevent them from being forced to take leave or losing their jobs, as well as bar employers from denying employment opportunities to women based on their need for reasonable accommodations due to childbirth or related medical conditions. Also, another provision in the package guarantees workplace accommodations – particularly time to pump – for more nursing workers.\n\nChanges to Medicaid and other health care programs: The law phases out the requirement that prevented states from disenrolling Medicaid recipients as long as the national public health emergency was in effect in exchange for an enhanced federal match. This continuous coverage measure was enacted as part of a Covid-19 relief package passed in March 2020 and has led to a record 90 million Medicaid enrollees, many of whom may no longer meet the income requirements to qualify.\n\nUnder the law, states will be able to start evaluating Medicaid enrollees’ eligibility and terminating their coverage as of April 1. The redetermination process will take place over at least 12 months. Also, the enhanced federal Medicaid funding will phase down through December 31, 2023, though the states will have to meet certain conditions during that period.\n\nUp to 19 million people could lose their Medicaid benefits, according to estimates, though many would be eligible for other coverage.\n\nAlso, under a provision in the law, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, will offer 12 months of continuous coverage for children. This will allow the 40 million children on Medicaid and CHIP to have uninterrupted access to health care throughout the year.\n\nIn addition, the law makes permanent the option for states to offer 12 months of postpartum coverage for low-income mothers through Medicaid, rather than just 60 days. More than two dozen states, plus the District of Columbia, have implemented the measure, which was available on a temporary basis through the American Rescue Plan, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another seven states are planning to implement the option.\n\nPlus, the package provides more money for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. The funds are intended to speed the development of new therapies, diagnostics and preventive measures, beef up public health activities and strengthen the nation’s biosecurity by accelerating development of medical countermeasures for pandemic threats and fortifying stockpiles and supply chains for drugs, masks and other supplies.\n\nIncreased support for the military and veterans: The package funds a 4.6% pay raise for troops and a 22.4% increase in support for Veteran Administration medical care, which provides health services for 7.3 million veterans.\n\nIt includes nearly $53 billion to address higher inflation and $2.7 billion – a 25% increase – to support critical services and housing assistance for veterans and their families.\n\nThe law also allocates $5 billion for the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund, which provides additional funding to implement the landmark PACT Act that expands eligibility for health care services and benefits to veterans with conditions related to toxic exposure during their service.\n\nBeefing up nutrition assistance: The legislation establishes a permanent nationwide Summer EBT program, starting in the summer of 2024, according to Share Our Strength, an anti-hunger advocacy group. It will provide families whose children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals with a $40 grocery benefit per child per month, indexed to inflation.\n\nIt also changes the rules governing summer meals programs in rural areas. Children will be able to take home or receive delivery of up to 10 days’ worth of meals, rather than have to consume the food at a specific site and time.\n\nThe law also helps families who have had their food stamp benefits stolen since October 1 through what’s known as “SNAP skimming.” It provides them with retroactive federal reimbursement of the funds, which criminals steal by attaching devices to point-of-sale machines or PIN pads to get card numbers and other information from electronic benefits transfer cards.\n\nHigher maximum Pell grant awards: The law increases the maximum Pell grant award by $500 to $7,395 for the coming school year. This marks the largest boost since the 2009-2010 school year. About 7 million students, many from lower-income families, receive Pell grants every year to help them afford college.\n\nHelp to pay utility bills: The package provides $5 billion for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Combined with the $1 billion contained in the earlier continuing resolution, this is the largest regular appropriation for the program, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association. Home heating and cooling costs – and the applications for federal aid in paying the bills – have soared this year.\n\nAdditional funding for the US Capitol Police: The law provides an additional $132 million for the Capitol Police for a total of nearly $735 million. It will allow the department to hire up to 137 sworn officers and 123 support and civilian personnel, bringing the force to a projected level of 2,126 sworn officers and 567 civilians.\n\nIt also gives $2 million to provide off-campus security for lawmakers in response to evolving and growing threats.\n\nMore money for child care: The legislation provides $8 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, a 30% increase in funding. The grant gives financial assistance to low-income families to afford child care.\n\nAlso, Head Start will receive nearly $12 billion, an 8.6% boost. The program helps young children from low-income families prepare for school.\n\nMore resources for children’s mental health and for substance abuse: The law provides more funds to increase access to mental health services for children and schools. It also will invest more money to address the opioid epidemic and substance use disorder.\n\nInvestments in homelessness prevention and affordable housing: The legislation provides $3.6 billion for homeless assistance grants, a 13% increase. It will serve more than 1 million people experiencing homelessness.\n\nThe package also funnels nearly $6.4 billion to the Community Development Block Grant formula program and related local economic and community development projects that benefit low- and moderate income areas and people, an increase of almost $1.6 billion.\n\nPlus, it provides $1.5 billion for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which will lead to the construction of nearly 10,000 new rental and homebuyer units and maintain the record investment from the last fiscal year.\n\nMore support for the environment: The package provides an additional $576 million for the Environmental Protection Agency, bringing its funding up to $10.1 billion. It increases support for enforcement and compliance, as well as clean air, water and toxic chemical programs, after years of flat funding.\n\nIt also boosts funding for the National Park Service by 6.4%, restoring 500 of the 3,000 staff positions lost over the past decade. This is intended to help the agency handle substantial increases in visitation.\n\nPlus, the legislation provides an additional 14% in funding for wildland firefighting.\n\nWhat’s not in the law\n\nEnhanced child tax credit: A coalition of Democratic lawmakers and consumer advocates pushed hard to extend at least one provision of the enhanced child tax credit, which was in effect last year thanks to the Democrats’ $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Their priority was to make the credit more refundable so more of the lowest-income families can qualify. Nearly 19 million kids won’t receive the full $2,000 benefit this year because their parents earn too little, according to a Tax Policy Center estimate.\n\nNew cannabis banking rules: Lawmakers considered including a provision in the spending bill that would make it easier for licensed cannabis businesses to accept credit cards – but it was left out of the legislation. Known as the Safe Banking Act, which previously passed the House, the provision would prohibit federal regulators from taking punitive measures against banks for providing services to legitimate cannabis businesses.\n\nEven though 47 states have legalized some form of marijuana, cannabis remains illegal on the federal level. That means financial institutions providing banking services to cannabis businesses are subject to criminal prosecution – leaving many legal growers and sellers locked out of the banking system.\n\nCovid-19 response: Lawmakers did not include a White House request for an additional $10 billion in funding for Covid-19, which would have been aimed at continued access to and development of vaccines and therapeutics, among other things. Earlier in the year, the Biden administration unsuccessfully pushed for $22.5 billion in extra funds.\n\nFBI headquarters: There was also no final resolution on where the new FBI headquarters will be located, a major point of contention as lawmakers from Maryland – namely House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer – pushed to bring the law enforcement agency into their state. In a deal worked through by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the General Services Administration would be required to conduct “separate and detailed consultations” with Maryland and Virginia representatives about potential sites in each of the states, according to a Senate Democratic aide.\n\nAfghan Adjustment Act: Also not included in the spending bill was the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would have helped Afghan allies who run the risk of deportation from the US. It would have given those evacuees a pathway to lawful permanent residency before their temporary status, known as humanitarian parole, expires in 2023. Many congressional Republicans raised concerns about vetting and other issues, but the legislation’s supporters, including former US military leaders, argued those worries have been addressed.\n\nLegislation to extend and expand Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans who worked with the US during the war there and want to come to America is included in the spending bill.", "authors": ["Tami Luhby Katie Lobosco", "Tami Luhby", "Katie Lobosco"], "publish_date": "2022/12/20"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/05/15/pell-grant-nasa-moonshot-outraged-education-advocates/3671037002/", "title": "Pell Grant, NASA: Plan would use Pell Grant money to fund moonshot", "text": "The Trump administration wants money meant for low-income college students shifted to help cover the bill for a NASA moonshot by 2024.\n\nHold up, said outraged education advocates, who fear moving funds from Pell Grants to space exploration could ratchet up college costs and send a message that the president doesn't value helping poor students pay for school.\n\n“Most of your readers would wonder: Do I want to make college more expensive to fund space travel to the moon and to Mars?” said Jon Fansmith, director of government and public affairs with the American Council on Education, a university association group.\n\nThe administration proposed a budget amendment this week that would transfer nearly $4 billion from a surplus in the Pell Grant program, which is meant to help low-income students pay for college.\n\nMore:Betsy DeVos calls for more charter schools even as they spark investigations across the country\n\nThe transfer wouldn’t affect students currently benefiting from Pell Grants, and the administration expects the program to have “sufficient discretionary funds until 2023,” according to language in the budget amendment.\n\nThe Pell Grant program is running a surplus of nearly $9 billion, according to The Associated Press. The transfer would need to be approved by Congress.\n\nAs part of the administration budget amendment, NASA would get $1.6 billion in addition to the $21 billion the administration proposed in its 2020 budget request for the year beginning in October. President Donald Trump said in a tweet the goal was to get America back to \"Space in a BIG WAY!\"\n\nPell Grants are awarded to undergraduates who wouldn’t be able to afford college otherwise. Unlike loans, the federal government doesn’t require the grants be paid back. The amount given varies on the level of a student’s need and the cost of the college or university, but the maximum for the upcoming school year is $6,195.\n\nAbout one in three undergraduate students receive a Pell Grant, but the percentage of students benefiting from the award has fallen in recent years, according to data analyzed by the College Board. The maximum amount a student is eligible to receive has increased in recent years.\n\nMany on Twitter expressed outrage over the idea of encroaching on the Pell Grant program and shared stories of how the money made it possible for them to obtain their education.\n\nMore:'The office was dark': Government shutdown delays financial aid for some college students\n\nDemocratic lawmakers criticized the plan, which casts doubt on the likelihood of the proposed amendment's adoption. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., head of the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees education, called the bill \"dead on arrival.\"\n\n\"President Trump and his team should stop wasting their time on theatrics,\" she said in a statement. \"Instead, I will continue to do my job governing and funding critical programs that help people in every stage of their life.\"\n\nSen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said many students forgo essentials to pay for college already.\n\nRep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., said on Twitter that he was for funding NASA but not at the expense of Pell Grants.\n\nThe plan is shortsighted, Fansmith said. About a decade ago during the recession, the number of students who took advantage of Pell Grants shot up as people returned to college rather than looking for work in a bad economy. That led to a strain on the program, which then affected the number of people who could take advantage of it.\n\nThe economy is doing well, Fansmith said, but drawing from the program could weaken its ability to handle an economic downturn.\n\nOther advocates questioned diverting money intended for student aid to completely unrelated projects. Tamara Hiler, deputy director of education at the left-leaning think tank Third Way, said the administration could find other places in the budget to fund NASA.\n\nMore:Bad news for low-income college students in Trump 2017 budget\n\nShe said increasing tuition costs and inflation will probably drain the surplus.\n\n\"It's just more important that we keep that reserve intact as much as possible, given that we know more people are going to be going into higher education because we know that's what the job market is demanding,\" Hiler said.\n\nA statement from the Ed Trust, a nonprofit advocacy group focused on low-income students and students of color, urged Congress to not only reject the president's proposal but also double the Pell Grant award and restore a measure that would automatically increase the award to match inflation.\n\nOthers are less sure the plan would spell disaster for low-income students. It would be hard to know whether the move would affect the funding of Pell Grants, said Jason Delisle, a fellow who studies higher education financing at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.\n\n“If the maximum grant is going up and the surplus is going down, maybe they aren’t really related,\" Delisle said. “Whatever bad thing people said is supposed to happen, where is it?\"\n\nContributing: Ledyard King\n\nEducation coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation does not provide editorial input.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/05/15"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/15/politics/biden-build-back-better-manchin/index.html", "title": "What's in the Democrats' package on climate, health care and taxes ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe Democrats’ budget reconciliation package, which contains several landmark climate and health care provisions, was signed into law by President Joe Biden Tuesday.\n\nThe House passed the legislation, titled the Inflation Reduction Act, Friday after being approved by the Senate on August 7 on a party-line vote.\n\nStill, the effort remains a mere shadow of the sweeping $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that the majority party initially floated last year.\n\nAfter torpedoing the inclusion of any climate or tax provisions in mid-July, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat, reversed course. The measures join a handful of important but narrow provisions to lower prescription drug prices and to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years.\n\nGone are the creation of a universal pre-K program, an extension of the enhanced child tax credit, an expansion of Medicare benefits, the establishment of a federally funded paid family and sick leave program and many other provisions aimed at broadening the nation’s social safety net.\n\nThe deal is far smaller than the slimmed-down $1.75 trillion version the House passed in October. But Manchin, whose vote is crucial to pushing any legislation through the Senate via the reconciliation process, shot down the House bill in December. Only a simple majority of senators was needed to pass the bill via reconciliation.\n\nSince then, Democratic leaders had been negotiating with Manchin to see what he’d be willing to support. The senator had repeatedly voiced concerns about the legislation’s potential impact on inflation, which has skyrocketed over the past year. Economists, however, disagree about the actual extent of the legislation’s effect on inflation.\n\nThe latest version of the package, which Biden signed into law Tuesday, is projected to reduce the deficit by more than $300 billion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.\n\nHere’s what’s in the legislation:\n\nMedicare drug price negotiation: The legislation will empower Medicare to negotiate prices of certain costly medications administered in doctors’ offices or purchased at the pharmacy. The Health and Human Services secretary will negotiate the prices of 10 drugs in 2026, and another 15 drugs in 2027 and again in 2028. The number is set to rise to 20 drugs a year for 2029 and beyond.\n\nThis controversial provision is far more limited than the one House Democratic leaders have backed in the past. But it will open the door to fulfilling a longstanding party goal of allowing Medicare to use its heft to lower drug costs.\n\nInflation cap: The legislation will also impose penalties on drug companies if they increase their prices faster than inflation, starting in 2023. However, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that the provision could only apply to Medicare, not the private insurance market as well, as the Democrats had wanted.\n\nLimit on Medicare out-of-pocket drug costs: The law will redesign Medicare’s Part D drug plans so that seniors and people with disabilities won’t pay more than $2,000 a year for medications bought at the pharmacy, starting in 2025. Insurers and drugmakers will have to pick up more of the tab.\n\nFree vaccines for seniors: Medicare enrollees will be able to get all vaccines at no cost. Right now, only certain vaccines, such as those for Covid-19, the flu and pneumonia, are free.\n\nAltogether, the drug price provisions are expected to reduce the federal deficit by $288 billion over a decade, according to the CBO.\n\nCheaper insulin: Medicare beneficiaries will pay no more than $35 a month for insulin, starting next year.\n\nDemocrats had hoped to extend that provision to those covered by private insurance, but the parliamentarian decided that including the commercial market was not compliant with reconciliation rules. Democrats kept the broader provision in the package, but Republicans raised a point of order to force a vote that stripped the private insurance market from the measure.\n\nAffordable Care Act subsidies: The legislation will also extend the enhanced federal premium subsidies for Obamacare coverage through 2025, a year later than lawmakers recently discussed. That way they won’t expire just after the 2024 presidential election.\n\nThe subsidies were expanded through this year as part of Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, which was enacted in March 2021. They have made health care coverage on the Obamacare exchanges more affordable, leading to a record enrollment of 14.5 million people this year.\n\nEnrollees pay no more than 8.5% of their income toward coverage, down from nearly 10%. And lower-income policyholders receive subsidies that eliminate their premiums completely.\n\nAlso, those earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level have become eligible for help for the first time. Those with incomes between 400% and 600% of the poverty level would face a doubling of premiums without the federal subsidies, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers the federal Obamacare marketplace.\n\nOverall, the expanded assistance reduced premiums by 50%, or $67 per consumer per month, the agency said.\n\nIf the enhanced federal assistance were allowed to expire at the end of the year, nearly all of the 13 million subsidized enrollees would see their premiums rise for 2023, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. More than 3 million people could become uninsured, an Urban Institute analysis found.\n\nDemocrats were hoping to avoid the negative publicity of such premium increases. If Congress didn’t act, consumers would learn in the fall just how much more they could have to pay. Open enrollment begins on November 1, a week ahead of Election Day.\n\nInstead, CMS is projecting that even more people will flock to the Affordable Care Act exchanges now that the President has signed the bill.\n\n“We’re really going to be able to build on our record enrollment and see an increase this year, this upcoming enrollment,” CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure told CNN. “The only reason why we’re having that conversation is because the subsidies have been extended.”\n\nExtending the enhanced subsidies will cost $64 billion, according to the CBO.\n\nClimate provisions: The deal is the biggest climate investment in US history. It will slash US greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office said.\n\nThe new agreement spans everything from electric vehicle tax credits to clean energy manufacturing to investments in environmental justice communities.\n\nExtending tax credits for electric vehicles made it in, after previous opposition from Manchin. The tax credits will continue at their current levels, up to $4,000 for a used electric vehicle and $7,500 for a new one. However, the income threshold for eligibility is lowered – a key demand of Manchin’s.\n\nThe law also contains 10-year consumer tax credits to bring down the cost of heat pumps, rooftop solar, electric HVAC and water heaters. It includes $60 billion of funding for environmental justice communities and for the reduction of legacy pollution.\n\nAnd it puts $60 billion towards domestic clean energy manufacturing and $30 billion for a production credit tax credit for wind, solar and battery storage.\n\nThe legislation provides $4 billion in additional drought funding – a key negotiation point for Sinema amid the multi-year drought in the Southwest.\n\nThe tax credits will be technology neutral – meaning they won’t favor renewables over fossil fuels outfitted with carbon-reducing measures. However, they are designed to reward those who reduce their emissions the most, according to Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon.\n\nThe deal also includes major provisions like a methane program that will levy a fee on oil and gas producers that emit methane above a certain threshold. It also includes $27 billion for a so-called clean energy accelerator – essentially a green bank that will leverage public and private funding to expand more green projects.\n\nTax provisions: To boost revenue, the law imposes a 15% minimum tax on the income large corporations report to shareholders, known as book income, as opposed to the Internal Revenue Service. The measure, which will raise $258 billion over a decade, according to updated figures provided by Schumer, will apply to companies with profits over $1 billion.\n\nConcerned about how this provision would affect businesses, particularly manufacturers, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a moderate Democrat, won changes to the package that will allow companies to write off investments faster, which will reduce their tax burden.\n\nSinema also nixed her party’s effort to tighten the carried interest loophole, which allows investment managers to treat much of their compensation as capital gains and pay a 20% long-term capital gains tax rate instead of income tax rates of up to 37%. The provision would have lengthened the amount of time investment managers’ profit interest must be held from three years to five years to take advantage of the lower tax rate. Addressing this loophole, which would have raised $14 billion over a decade, had been a longtime goal of congressional Democrats.\n\nIn its place, a 1% excise tax on companies’ stock buybacks was added, raising another $74 billion, according to Schumer’s office.\n\nThe package also calls for providing more funding to the IRS for tax enforcement, which is expected to raise $124 billion.\n\nDemocrats say families making less than $400,000 per year will not be affected, in line with a pledge by Biden. However, Republican lawmakers are seizing on a Joint Committee on Taxation report that shows that the measures will indirectly hit lower-income and middle-class Americans. Economists expect that employers will pass along a portion of the corporate tax to workers in the form of lower wages.\n\nAlso, there will be no new taxes on small businesses.\n\nManchin also threw cold water on one of Schumer’s priorities – addressing the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, that was part of the GOP tax cut package in 2017 and affects many states in the Northeast and on the West Coast.\n\nThe deal also leaves out tax surcharges on wealthy individuals, which was part of the House bill last year.\n\nHere’s what was left out\n\nUniversal pre-K and lower child care costs: The earlier version of the House bill would have provided free pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds, expanding access to 6 million children a year. It would have also limited child care costs for families with children younger than age 6 to no more than 7% of income for those earning up to 250% of the state median income, expanding access to about 20 million children. Funding for these programs would have lasted for six years, costing an estimated $381.5 billion, according to the CBO.\n\nPaid family and sick leave: Biden also called for a federally funded paid family and sick leave program for the millions of Americans who don’t already receive the benefit from their employer. The previous House bill included four weeks of paid family and sick leave, which would have cost $205.5 billion, according to the CBO.\n\nEnhanced child tax credit: The beefed-up child tax credit – which provided $300 a month for each child under age 6 and $250 a month for each one ages 6 through 17 – would have been extended through 2022 for more than 35 million families under the House bill.\n\nThe previous enhancement, which was part of the coronavirus relief package, was only in place for 2021.\n\nHeads of households earning up to $112,500 a year and joint filers making up to $150,000 annually would have qualified for the full enhanced credit. But, unlike in 2021, only these families would have received the funds in monthly installments this year. Eligible parents with higher incomes would have had to claim the credit on their tax return next year.\n\nThe credit would have been made permanently refundable so the lowest income families would continue to qualify.\n\nThis credit, along with the earned income tax credit, would have cost about $203 billion, according to the CBO.\n\nEarned income tax credit: The expanded earned income tax credit, which was also part of the coronavirus relief package, would have been extended through 2022 as well, helping 17 million low-wage childless workers.\n\nThe previous House bill would have nearly tripled the maximum credit childless workers can receive, extended eligibility to more people, reduced the minimum age and eliminated the upper age limit. This credit, along with the enhanced child tax credit, would have cost about $203 billion, according to the CBO.\n\nHome health care: Biden’s original plan called for permanently improving Medicaid coverage for home care services for seniors and people with disabilities, with the goal of reducing the more than 800,000 people on state Medicaid waiting lists.\n\nThe plan also aimed to improve the quality of caregiving jobs. The measure would have cost nearly $158 billion, according to the CBO.\n\nAffordable housing: The legislation would have funneled $25 billion into the construction, rehabilitation or purchase of affordable homes for low-income people and for the creation and preservation of affordable rental housing. It would have provided $65 billion to address the capital needs backlog of public housing and would have bolstered rental assistance for hundreds of thousands of families.\n\nThe measure would have also invested in down payment assistance and in community-led redevelopment projects in under-resourced neighborhoods. And it would have provided $24 billion to fund housing vouchers and supportive services.\n\nThe effort would have cost about $148.1 billion, according to the CBO.\n\nLowering the cost of college: The earlier House bill would have increased the maximum Pell grant by $550 for more than 5 million students enrolled in public and private nonprofit colleges and expanded access to undocumented students brought to the US as children, a group also known as Dreamers.\n\nIt would have invested in historically Black colleges and universities and other institutions that serve underrepresented communities. And it would have increased funding for workforce development.\n\nThese provisions would have cost a total of $39.8 billion, according to the CBO’s estimate.\n\nBiden initially also called for making tuition free for two years at community colleges, but that provision was dropped from the House bill.\n\nChildren’s nutrition: The previous House bill would have expanded free school meals to nearly 9 million children during the school year and provided the parents of 29 million kids a monthly $65 per child benefit to purchase food during the summer.\n\nCongress recently passed a measure extending pandemic school meal waivers.\n\nMedicaid coverage gap: Democrats had called for providing Affordable Care Act premium subsidies for low-income Americans in the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid, which would have enabled them to buy Obamacare policies with no monthly premiums, through 2025.\n\nDoing so would have cost about $57 billion, the CBO estimated.\n\nAnd the bill would have required state Medicaid programs to provide 12 months of eligibility to women after they give birth. States currently must provide at least 60 days of coverage.\n\nMedicare hearing benefits: Hearing services would have been covered under Medicare, starting in 2023, under the earlier bill that passed the House.\n\nOnly 30% of seniors over age 70 who could benefit from hearing aids have ever used them, the White House said.\n\nThis measure would have cost $36.7 billion, according to the CBO.\n\nBiden had initially also called for expanding Medicare to include vision and dental coverage.\n\nExtending Medicare solvency: Senate Democrats said in early July that they had finalized a deal to extend the solvency of Medicare by a few years by closing a tax loophole. The proposal would have ensured that owners of certain “pass-through” businesses, who include business income on their personal tax returns, would pay the 3.8% net investment income tax. It would have applied to individuals who earn more than $400,000 annually and to joint filers who earn more than $500,000.\n\nBut that agreement was then also scuttled by Manchin.\n\nMedicare’s hospital insurance trust fund will only be able to pay scheduled benefits until 2028, according to the most recent analysis by the program’s trustees.\n\nThis story and headline have been updated with additional developments.", "authors": ["Tami Luhby Katie Lobosco", "Tami Luhby", "Katie Lobosco"], "publish_date": "2022/07/15"}, {"url": "http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2018/10/17/free-college-money-unclaimed-fafsa/38172299/", "title": "$2.6B in Free College Money Went Unclaimed by 2018 Grads ...", "text": "Anna Helhoski\n\nNerdWallet.com\n\nHigh school graduates who didn’t complete a federal financial aid application missed their opportunity for part of $2.6 billion in free money for college, according to NerdWallet’s annual analysis of federal financial aid data.\n\nThe money went unclaimed by 661,000 members of the Class of 2018 who were eligible for a federal Pell Grant but didn’t complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The application is key to getting money for college including work-study, federal loans and aid from states and schools.\n\nThe average Pell Grant was $3,908 for the 2018-19 school year, NerdWallet found. The maximum allowable award for the year was $6,095.\n\nWho gets a Pell Grant\n\nPell Grants are awarded to students from lower-income families. The amount awarded is based on the cost of attendance at a student’s school and information provided through the FAFSA, including a family’s financial need. Students can receive a Pell Grant for up to 12 semesters, or about six years, but they must submit an application each year to qualify.\n\nThe total Pell Grant money awarded to college students for 2018-19 was $27.5 billion, which was distributed to more than 7 million students.\n\nAmong 2018 graduates, more than half were eligible for a Pell Grant, according to federal financial aid data from the Florida College Access Network.\n\nMore:3 ways to protect your kids' college savings if the market falls\n\nMore:Need money for college? There's now a FAFSA app for that\n\nMore:Majority of parents saving for kid’s college have socked away less than $10,000\n\nStates where students compete for the funds\n\nTennessee and Louisiana tied for the lowest percentage (17 percent) of high school graduates who didn’t complete their FAFSA, according to NerdWallet’s analysis. Both states are taking steps to make sure even more students complete their FAFSA.\n\nIn Tennessee, the state higher education commission hosts “FAFSA Frenzy” events annually to improve the rate of completed applications, which are required for the state’s free community college program called Tennessee Promise.\n\nLouisiana’s state office of student financial assistance hosts FAFSA completion and correction events, along with a competition among schools to encourage finishing the applications. The state also requires high school seniors to complete a financial aid application or sign a waiver to receive their diploma.\n\nStates where students miss out\n\nBut states’ completion efforts are often no match for other deeply rooted factors.\n\nMore than half of high school graduates in Utah (55 percent) and Alaska (52 percent) didn’t complete the application for 2018-19. Both states carry out completion awareness campaigns, but the unique makeup of their populations stymie broader efforts, officials say.\n\nMany graduates in Utah are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and serve two-year religious missions before applying for college or financial aid. About two-thirds of students in Utah are Mormon and about half go on missions, says David Buhler, commissioner of the Utah System of Higher Education.\n\nThe commission hosts over 100 FAFSA completion open houses statewide and promotes applying for financial aid before heading off to missions — to make the renewal process easier when they return — but it’s not having the impact officials had hoped.\n\n“Their focus is on getting ready for a mission — young men in particular — and college is ‘something I’ll deal with later,’” Buhler says. “It’s against human nature expect a late teen to do something like this before they have to. But we do encourage it.”\n\nIn Alaska, Rebekah Matrosova, director of outreach and early awareness for the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education, says the data may be underreported due to the number of small, rural schools throughout the state.\n\nHowever, Matrosova also says College Goal Alaska, the state’s FAFSA completion awareness initiative, tries to reach as many of those communities as possible.\n\n“A lot of it comes down to awareness not being there, or the misconception that the FAFSA is only for certain people from certain backgrounds when it is something that everyone can benefit from,” Matrosova says.\n\nWhy students don’t apply\n\nAmong all high school graduates, 37 percent didn’t complete the FAFSA, according to NerdWallet’s analysis. Why?\n\nThe biggest misconception is families think they won’t get any financial aid, says student loan expert Kevin Fudge. In reality, all families qualify for federal student loans and most will qualify for some other kind of aid.\n\nParents also could be reluctant to share their financial information for privacy concerns, says Fudge, the director of consumer advocacy and ombudsman for American Student Assistance, a national nonprofit dedicated to helping students achieve education and career goals.\n\nOther students may start the FAFSA, but don’t finish it or make a mistake that eliminates them from receiving aid. For example, in Alabama, students submitted 33,266 applications, but 30,379 were approved.\n\nHow to make sure you don’t miss out\n\nTo complete the FAFSA, go to the federal student aid website at Studentaid.ed.gov. In addition, this year the Federal Student Aid Office launched a new mobile app, myStudentAid, to encourage higher rates of completion. However, only new college students can use it for the 2019-20 school year.\n\nMore from NerdWallet:\n\nAnna Helhoski is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: anna@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @AnnaHelhoski.\n\nThe article $2.6B in Free College Money Went Unclaimed by 2018 Grads originally appeared on NerdWallet.\n\nNerdWallet is a USA TODAY content partner offering personal finance news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/10/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2022/08/24/bidens-student-debt-forgiveness-what-to-know/7876380001/", "title": "Do I qualify for student loan forgiveness? What to know about ...", "text": "President Joe Biden confirmed Aug. 24 what many have anticipated for months – a plan to forgive or reduce student loan debt for millions of debt-saddled borrowers.\n\nIf you earn less than $125,000 annually, he said, you're eligible to receive cancellation of up to $10,000 in federal student loans. If you received a Pell Grant, you can get up to $20,000 forgiven.\n\nIf you're not eligible for any student debt forgiveness, your pause on repayments continues to be paused until year end. The Department of Education is also working on a proposal introducing a new repayment plan to ease the burden on borrowers.\n\nSince the start of the pandemic in 2020, borrowers haven't had to pay a cent on their federal student loans. During this time, the pressure grew for the president to cancel the debt. It was one of the platforms Biden ran on for president in 2020.\n\nThough the plan was welcomed by many, it still garnered criticism. Many had sought higher forgiveness amounts – $50,000 or even all amounts, no matter how large. The total outstanding balance for federally owned (including defaulted) student loans in December 2021 was $1.38 trillion, the New York Federal Reserve said in April.\n\nBIDEN PLAN RECAP:$20K in student debt to be forgiven, extend payment pause\n\nSTUDENT LOANS:Why are some people angry about Biden loan program?\n\nHow do I apply?\n\nThe application will be available mid-October, officials said. Borrowers who provide an email address at studentaid.gov are to receive an email notification when the application is available. Applications can take four to six weeks to process. The pause on federal student loan repayments terminates Dec. 31.\n\nBorrowers will have more than a year to apply once the application form is available.\n\nNearly 8 million borrowers may be automatically eligible to receive relief because relevant income data is already available to the Department of Education.\n\nWhat’s Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan?\n\nIndividuals with an annual income of less than $125,000 (or under $250,000 for married couples or heads of households) are entitled to have up to $10,000 in federal student loans canceled. No private loans will be forgiven.\n\nThose who received a Pell Grant in college will be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation.\n\nFor those who still have student debt, the repayment pause since March 2020 will be extended to the end of the year. Borrowers will resume payments in January.\n\nBIDEN COLLEGE CAREER:Biden mentions own education in loan relief speech\n\nLIFE OFF PAUSE:How the student loan payment pause changed people’s lives\n\nWhat is a Pell Grant?\n\nFederal funding that’s usually awarded only to students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor's, graduate or professional degree. Sometimes, a student enrolled in a post-baccalaureate teacher certification program might receive a Pell Grant.\n\nUnlike a loan, a Pell Grant does not have to be repaid, except under certain circumstances. Those include a change in enrollment status or if you received outside scholarships or grants that reduced your need for federal student aid.\n\nPELL GRANTS:Who qualifies? What to know from Biden student loan plan\n\nAre current students eligible for loan forgiveness?\n\nLoans awarded to current students and graduates with undergraduate, graduate and Parent PLUS loans are eligible, so long as the loans were disbursed on or before June 30, 2022. Consolidated loans must contain only underlying loans disbursed on or before June 30, 2022 to qualify.\n\nWhat's the cost of student loan forgiveness?\n\nA one-time maximum debt forgiveness of $10,000 per borrower will cost the U.S. government around $300 billion for borrowers with incomes less than $125,000, according to analysis published on Tuesday by Junlei Chen and Kent Smetters at the Penn Wharton Budget Model, based at the University of Pennsylvania. This cost increases to $330 billion if the program continues over the standard 10-year budget window.\n\nBefore the announcement, the Government Accountability Office estimated that alone, the payment pause since the start of the pandemic cost the government $102 billion. That amount included suspending all payments due, interest accrual and involuntary collections for loans in default from March 13, 2020, to Aug. 31, 2022.\n\nWho benefits most from the student debt forgiveness plan?\n\nMostly higher-income households. Between 69% and 73% of the debt forgiven accrues to households in the top 60% of the income distribution, Chen and Smetters said.\n\nA New York Federal Reserve study in April, though, said that the income cap to the forgiveness \"substantially reduces the cost of student loan forgiveness and increases the share of benefit going to borrowers who are more likely to struggle repaying their debts.\"\n\nFor example, an income cap of $75,000 for a $10,000 cancellation raises the share of forgiven loan dollars going to borrowers in low-income neighborhoods to 35% from 25% and the share going to lower credit score borrowers to 42% from 37%, it said.\n\nIncome caps also increase the share of loans forgiven that were delinquent before the pandemic to 60% from 34%.\n\nLIFE'S NOT FAIR:Is student loan forgiveness fair to those without college degrees? Americans remain divided over costs\n\nAVOIDING STUDENT DEBT:Middle class, minus debt: Apprenticeships, certificates offer low-cost option to college\n\nHow many Americans have student loans outstanding?\n\nAbout 45 million Americans hold federal student loan debt, according to federal data. The loan forgiveness plan should provide relief to about 43 million borrowers and cancel the full remaining balance for nearly 45% of those borrowers.\n\nThe total outstanding balance for federally owned (including defaulted) student loans in December 2021 was $1.38 trillion, the New York Federal Reserve said in April.\n\nMost (67%) student loan borrowers are under 40 years old, but 57% of all balances are owed by those under 40. That means those with larger balances are more likely to be older or to have taken out loans for graduate school, it said.\n\nThe White House estimates that its initiative will cancel the full remaining balance for roughly 20 million borrowers.\n\nWhat’s the average outstanding student loan debt amount?\n\nThe average federal student loan debt balance is $37,667 while the total average balance (including private loan debt) may be as high as $40,274, according to Education Data Initiative, which collects data and statistics about the U.S. education system.\n\nDISSECTING STUDENT LOANS:Free college or federal student loans? These alternatives could help solve student debt crisis\n\nPOLITICAL FORGIVENESS:'Forgiving' student loans isn't motivated by kindness. It's all about cold, hard politics.\n\nIs student loan forgiveness taxable?\n\nThe debt relief isn’t counted as taxable income for federal income tax purposes, the White House says.\n\nWould canceling student loan debt increase inflation?\n\nSome prominent economists, including former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and Jason Furman, who was chairman of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, have been vocal critics, saying student debt forgiveness would stoke 40-year high inflation and may be unfair.\n\n“Student loan relief is not free,” Furman tweeted on Aug. 19. “Part of it would be paid for by the 87% of Americans who do not benefit but lose out from inflation. Part of it would be paid for by future spending cuts & tax increases—with uncertainty about who will bear those costs.”\n\nThe Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Biden’s plan “would more than undo the deflationary pressures from the Inflation Reduction Act and add 0.15 percentage points of additional inflation in the near-term,” noted Sarah Foster, Bankrate analyst.\n\nThe Federal Reserve has been on an aggressive rate-raising cycle to cool demand, but giving people spending money could stymie that effort.\n\nAnd those economists aren't the only ones worried. Hit already by hefty inflation, 59% of Americans are concerned student loan forgiveness will make inflation worse, according to a CNBC survey, conducted online by Momentive among a national sample of 5,142 adults from Aug. 4 to 15.\n\nEVERYDAY GETS EXPENSIVE:These everyday items saw the biggest price increases from inflation in July, CPI report shows\n\nJOB WORRIES:With 80% of workers afraid of losing jobs during a recession, business owners trim costs\n\nWhat is discretionary income?\n\nThe money you have left after paying taxes and necessary cost-of-living expenses. It's different from disposable income, which is simply the amount of money you have left after paying taxes.\n\nKnowing what discretionary income is is important because many federal student loan repayment plans are income-driven and have payments that are based on your discretionary income.\n\nDISCRETIONARY INCOME:What is it? Why it matters in student loan repayment.\n\nIf you qualify for student debt forgiveness, what should you do with any extra money?\n\n“Student loan forgiveness will likely decrease your monthly payment or get rid of it entirely,” said Dan Casey of Bridgeriver Advisors in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.\n\nTake that freed up money to pay off high-interest debt like credit cards, build up your emergency fund, or invest it in your retirement. Even though today looks brighter, the economy is still on shaky footing.\n\nSHAKY GROUND:Are we in a recession? America's economy stinks no matter what you call it.\n\nINFLATION HELP?:President Biden signs Inflation Reduction Act into law to address climate and health care\n\nDoes Congress need to approve Biden's loan forgiveness plan?\n\nThe White House says it is using the authority Congress granted the Department of Education to forgive the outstanding federal student loans.\n\nShould I stop paying my student loans now?\n\nThe Biden administration has extended the Student Loan Payment Pause through Dec. 31, which allows borrowers to suspend their loan payments with a 0% interest rate. The White House has warned that this will be the final extension.\n\n\"It’s time for the payments to resume,\" Biden said Wednesday.\n\nBorrowers who qualify for the payment pause and loan forgiveness should stop paying off loans if they owe less than the $10,000 cap (or $20,000 cap, for Pell Grant recipients) to take full advantage of the loan forgiveness program.\n\nOthers who earn more than $125,000 (or $250,000, for married couples) or have more than $10,000 in loans (or $20,000, for Pell Grant recipients) should be ready to start making loan payments again.\n\n\"We recommend to continue making payments for now if you can afford to because these payments go 100% toward principal until January,\" said Isabel Barrow, director of financial planning at Edelman Financial Engines. \"While it’s impossible to know what will happen in the future, such as another forgiveness program, we would not recommend delaying or stopping loan payments in anticipation of future changes.\"\n\nThere is also subset of borrowers who did not have their loans paused. These borrowers should continue to make loan payments \"to keep the loan in good standing,\" according to Ameriprise financial private wealth advisor Rebecca Hall.\n\nLoans not eligible for the COVID-19 payment pause include:\n\nNondefaulted Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans not held by the Department of Education\n\nDefaulted and Nondefaulted federal Perkins loans not held by the Department of Education\n\nNondefaulted Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) loans\n\nPrivate student loans\n\nWhich student loans do not qualify for forgiveness?\n\nThe Department of Education says the \"vast majority\" of borrowers with loans held by the department are eligible for forgiveness, including those in the following programs:\n\nWilliam D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program\n\nFederal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program (if held by the Department of Education or commercial guaranty agencies or lenders)\n\nFederal Perkins Loan Program (if held by the Department of Education)\n\nTeacher Education Assistance for College Education and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program Grants do not qualify for forgiveness unless they have been converted to direct unsubsidized loans.\n\nThe Biden administration is working to determine whether borrowers with other Federal student loan programs will be eligible to receive loan discharges, according to an emailed statement from a Department of Education spokesperson.\n\n\"Over the next couple of months, the Department of Education will work with private lenders to ensure commercially-held federal student loan borrowers can also benefit from relief,\" the email reads. \"In the meantime, borrowers with privately-held FFEL, Perkins, and HEAL loans consolidating into the Direct Loan program will be eligible for relief.\"\n\nCAN'T AFFORD IT:Is college worth it? Americans say they value higher education, but it's too expensive for many\n\nI paid off student loans recently. Am I eligible for a refund?\n\nThe federal government first announced the student loan payment pause on March 13, 2020. The U.S. Department of Education says borrowers who made payments during the pause – including auto-debit payments – can request a refund with their loan servicer.\n\nBorrowers can look up their loan servicer on the agency’s website.\n\nIf you don’t qualify, should you start repaying in January?\n\n“If you haven’t made a student loan payment since the pause began, it’s important to understand how much you’ll owe each month,” Daniel Milan, advisor at Cornerstone Financial Services, said.\n\nThen, review the interest rates on your loans and start paying off the highest interest ones first, enrolling in autopay so you don’t miss any payments while you get back into the habit of paying regularly and consider refinancing if it lowers your payments.\n\n“Moving multiple loans into one loan can also help you keep better track of how much you actually owe,” he said.\n\nSTOKING INFLATION?:How soaring inflation is complicating Biden's decision whether to forgive student loan debt\n\nWhat’s ahead for future borrowers?\n\nTo “substantially” reduce future monthly payments for lower- and middle-income borrowers and protect more income from loan payments, the Department of Education is proposing a new income-driven repayment plan.\n\nHere are some things being proposed:\n\nCutting the amount borrowers have to repay each month and curbing interest so a balance won't grow so long as borrowers make their required monthly payments.​​​\n\n\n\nLoan balance forgiveness after 10 years, instead of 20, under many income-driven repayment plans for borrowers with original loan balances of $12,000 or less. This will allow nearly all community college borrowers to be debt-free within 10 years, the White House said.\n\n\n\nStarting next summer, the Department of Education can automatically pull borrower’s income information each year, avoiding the hassle of needing to recertify their income annually and make it easier for borrowers to stay enrolled.\n\n\n\nPublic servants will also have an easier time claiming credits for time of service to go toward debt relief under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The Department of Education has already made some temporary changes toward that end. To apply for forgiveness or payments to count toward forgiveness under the temporary changes, visit the PSLF Help Tool.\n\nA full list of proposed regulations will be published in the coming days on the Federal Register, and the public is invited to comment on the draft rule for 30 days.\n\nTRUE COST OF COLLEGE:It's not just tuition and fees: College students are facing increasingly high rent prices, too\n\nLIFE OFF PAUSE:How the student loan payment pause changed people’s lives\n\nWould Parents PLUS loans be forgiven?\n\nParent PLUS loans are federal student loans issued directly to parents with dependents in school, meant to supplement school, state and other federal financial aid offered for a dependent undergraduate student enrolled at least half-time.\n\nParent PLUS loans held by the Department of Education are included in the cancellation policy, along with federal graduate and undergraduate loans.\n\nWhat’s being done to keep the cost of college from spiraling?\n\nThe Department of Education will publish an annual watch list of programs with the worst debt levels in the country, so students registering for the next academic year can steer clear of programs with poor outcomes. It will also request plans from colleges with the most concerning debt outcomes on how they intend to lower debt levels.\n\nMedora Lee is a money, markets and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/08/24"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/22/politics/student-loan-white-house/index.html", "title": "Student loan debt: White House leaning toward canceling $10,000 ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nWhite House officials have been weighing – and leaning toward – the cancellation of up to $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower tied to an income threshold, with an official announcement set for Wednesday, CNN has learned.\n\nAccording to multiple sources familiar with the discussions, the plan is designed to offer the forgiveness to individuals who earn less than $125,000 per year. It is not clear that a final decision on the details of the announcement has been made, and there could always be 11th-hour changes.\n\nA source familiar with the plans confirmed to CNN that the announcement will be made on Wednesday.\n\nIn addition to that baseline of student loan debt forgiveness for individuals who fall under a certain income level, administration officials have also recently discussed the possibility of additional forgiveness for specific subsets of the population, according to sources familiar with internal discussions in the administration.\n\nWhite House officials have also been leaning toward a final short-term extension of the freeze on federal loan repayments that has been in place since 2020. The freeze is scheduled to expire on August 31, and the administration has for months signaled it is preparing for the pandemic-era action to end.\n\nPayments have not been required on most federal student loans since March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US, greatly affecting the economy. Biden has extended the pause four times, most recently in April, arguing that it was necessary to allow federal student loan borrowers to get back on their feet.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Have student debt? Hear some expert tips on how to manage it 03:00 - Source: CNN Business\n\nA final short-term extension, should Biden select that path, would likely push the restart of payments until after the election. Detailing its expiration in concrete terms, however, would also provide Biden with something to point to that would ostensibly counter at least some of the increased economic demand created by any corresponding debt forgiveness.\n\nIn recent days, White House officials have been in communication with lawmakers to discuss their thinking on student loan debt forgiveness, ahead of the current pause on payments expiring. And Biden on Tuesday spoke on the phone with three Democratic lawmakers who have been pushing him to cancel as much as $50,000 in debt per borrower – including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, sources told CNN – to discuss the outstanding details in advance of his expected announcement.\n\nThe President also spoke with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, with the New York Democrat using the conversation to make a final push to cancel as much student loan debt as possible, according to a Democrat familiar with the call. Schumer has pressed for two years for large scale loan forgiveness and has spoken repeatedly with White House officials in an effort to advance the idea in an administration that has been split about its merits, both politically and economically.\n\nThe White House has suggested in the past that Biden was considering canceling $10,000 per borrower but excluding those who earn more than $125,000 a year.\n\nAdministration officials in recent days have also discussed the possibility of offering additional forgiveness to certain people.\n\nOne of the ideas discussed, per sources familiar with deliberations within the administration, has been supplemental debt forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients. However, the fact that the idea has been discussed does not mean that the White House will ultimately decide to go this route, and it is not clear that a final decision on the details of the administration’s forthcoming announcement has been made.\n\nAdditional debt forgiveness on top of the $10,000 amount could potentially be significant, depending on the maximum size of the supplemental cancellation. Pell Grants are offered to students that demonstrate “exceptional financial need,” according to the Department of Education. Extending extra forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients would mark an attempt to identify a subset of the population who might most benefit from student loan debt cancellation.\n\n“The President will have more to say on this before August 31. As a reminder, no one with a federally held loan has had to pay a single dime in student loans since President Biden took office, and this Administration has already cancelled about $32 billion in debt for more than 1.6 million Americans – more than any Administration in history,” a White House official said when asked for comment.\n\nSetting an income cap, which has been the subject of intense debate both inside and outside the administration, was also crafted as a buffer against criticism that the forgiveness would benefit those with the means to manage their debt payments.\n\nEducation Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday that Americans can expect a decision from the administration on student loans in the “next week or so.” With less than two weeks to go, Americans have been left guessing for weeks whether Biden will extend the current moratorium or, perhaps, forgive some of their debt.\n\n“We’ve been talking daily about this, and I can tell you the American people will hear within the next week or so from the President and the Department of Education on what we’re going to be doing around that,” Cardona told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.”\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Why the US has a student loan debt crisis 02:22 - Source: CNN\n\nHe did not elaborate on the details, saying he would not get ahead of the announcement.\n\nSome Democratic lawmakers and advocates have been urging Biden to broadly cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower, but the President has consistently pushed back on canceling that much.\n\nBiden has canceled more student loan debt than any other president, with his administration authorizing the cancellation of nearly $32 billion in loans largely for borrowers who were defrauded by their for-profit colleges and for permanently disabled borrowers.\n\nMarc Goldwein, the senior vice president and senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget – a nonpartisan group that tracks federal spending – argued against the plan in an interview with CNN’s Poppy Harlow on “Newsroom” Tuesday morning.\n\nHe believes that canceling $10,000 of debt for each borrower will likely increase inflation, undermine the stated goal of Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act and will not significantly decrease the racial wealth gap.\n\n“The Inflation Reduction Act saves maybe $300 billion dollars in the first 10 years. If we cancel $10,000 of debt and just extend the pause a few months, we’re going to be at about that much in terms of new cost,” he said. “All the deficit reduction will be wiped out. At the same time, we’re probably going to do more to increase inflation from debt cancellation than any inflation reduction from the Inflation Reduction Act.”\n\nThis story has been updated with additional reporting.", "authors": ["Mj Lee Phil Mattingly", "Mj Lee", "Phil Mattingly"], "publish_date": "2022/08/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/11/21/ken-burns-college-behind-bars-explores-inmates-access-pell-grants/4202246002/", "title": "'College Behind Bars' explores restoring Pell Grants to inmates", "text": "PHILADELPHIA – Stacks of books are organized meticulously by genre amid the chaos of a maximum security prison. A makeshift desk made from cardboard is placed over a sink in a cramped cell. A chalkboard is filled with Chinese symbols in a room filled with eager students in green jumpsuits. Late night studying.\n\nThis isn’t the picture most Americans have of prison.\n\nMore often than not, violence, isolation and anger are what come to mind. But these scenes from a PBS documentary airing this month show viewers a different kind of prison life – the rigorous pursuit of higher education.\n\n“College Behind Bars\" follows students in the Bard Prison Initiative, a privately funded college program that began in 2001 in New York state prisons. For now, the roughly 300 students taking classes free of charge at the elite college are the exception. Most incarcerated individuals cannot afford a college education – and all are banned from applying for federal grants.\n\nIt wasn’t always this way. For decades, college prison programs flourished across the country. After the passage of the 1994 Crime Bill, Pell Grants were banned for those who are incarcerated.\n\nFor the first time in more than two decades, a push to lift this ban is sparking bipartisan support. Last month, Congress introduced bills that would reinstate Pell Grant eligibility for those incarcerated as part of wider college affordability legislation.\n\nFor formerly incarcerated individuals, educational experts and advocates, it’s about time. They argue that post-secondary education behind bars will lower the likelihood that an individual returns to prison and that it will benefit society as whole.\n\n“Ninety-five percent of people who are in prison will get out,” Ken Burns, executive producer of the PBS film, told USA TODAY. “Do you want them as responsible, taxpaying citizens or people who have used their time in prison to hone their criminal skills?”\n\n'College Behind Bars'\n\nIncarcerated at 17, Jule Hall spent more than 20 years in prison and is one of the main figures in the PBS documentary, which airs Monday and Tuesday.\n\nThe film trails Hall, a 2011 Bard Prison Initiative graduate who earned a bachelor's degree in German studies, as he navigates the parole process, is released from prison and enters the workforce.\n\nHall works at the Ford Foundation analyzing the impact of social justice grants – an experience he describes as \"another Bard\" because of the experts and cutting-edge ideas.\n\n\"What BPI has achieved is exceptional, but I think it's only a small part of what can be done if we get serious about this,\" Hall said. \"I want people to walk away from this film understanding that there are many more people who want to be involved in programs like this that are incarcerated, but they don't have the access or the possibility of doing so.\"\n\nAccess to education is at the heart of filmmaker Lynn Novick and producer Sarah Botstein's vision. When the two screened one of their films at a BPI class at Eastern Correctional Facility in New York, the engaging conversation they had with the inmates encouraged them to expose the program to more people.\n\n\"After that one experience in the classroom, we walked out and just felt like, 'Oh my gosh, this is something everybody needs to know is happening,' \" Novick said.\n\nBPI students are felons serving long sentences for serious crimes. Botstein said the filmmakers challenge viewers to rethink their views of felons by not immediately revealing the BPI students' crimes, unlike most other films and books on the subject of college in prison.\n\nIn the program, the inmates memorize the opening section of \"Moby Dick,\" participate in classroom discussion on the ethics of stem cells and vigorously weigh the benefits of NATO as part of a viral debate team. To earn their bachelor's degree, students must write a lengthy research paper that is comparable to graduate-level coursework.\n\nThis high standard of education – BPI is taught at the same level as Bard College, the liberal arts school in New York – is crucial to Hall's hope of Pell Grant expansion.\n\n\"We need to be careful to make sure that the level of quality that we received with our education is kept intact,\" Hall said. \"When you provide education that's high quality, it's not just a benefit for the individual, but it's a benefit for society.\"\n\nShawnta Montgomery, another BPI alum, works as a peer recovery coach at the Fortune Society, a New York City nonprofit group focused on integrating formerly incarcerated individuals back into society. She said the film is meant to challenge the public's perception of who deserves access to education.\n\n\"Should people in prison get this education?\" Montgomery said. \"Look what it does for people, look at the doors that are open, look at recidivism rates – you see the transformation.\"\n\nNumbers show benefits of college in prison\n\nEducation experts argue the benefit of expanding college prison programs is both personal and fiscal. Incarcerated individuals see their lives turned around by education, and the economy receives a boost from more productive citizens and reduced recidivism rates.\n\nLifting the ban on Pell Grants for those in prison may save more than $365 million, according to a study this year by the Vera Institute of Justice and the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality.\n\nThe study projected large benefits to reinstating Pell Grant access to incarcerated individuals, finding that inmates leaving prison will get jobs, contribute to the economy and will be less likely to go back to prison.\n\nNationally, about 68% of inmates released from state prisons were rearrested within three years of release, according to a Justice Department study. In New York, where BPI operates, 42.6% of state prisoners released in 2012 returned to prison in the following three years, the state reported.\n\nFor BPI's more than 550 graduates, the recidivism rate is 2.5%, the institute said. It's not just BPI: A RAND study in 2013 found that inmates who took part in educational programs were 43% less likely to return to prison compared with those who did not participate.\n\n“It's not that often that you see such a clear narrative of this policy change,\" said Casey Goldvale, who co-wrote the study. “It will impact thousands of people's lives, millions over time, and it also makes fiscal sense. It's the best of all worlds.”\n\nWhen the Pell Grant program started, it didn't matter whether an individual was in prison – everybody had access until the 1994 Crime Bill, said Cara Brumfield, who co-wrote the study. When that access was revoked, nobody in prison could afford the college prison programs, and they dried up.\n\nLawmakers argued at the time that Pell Grants, a form of federal student aid for high-need college students, should not be spent on convicts.\n\nUnlike other forms of student aid, Pell Grants are not loans and do not need to be repaid. For the 2019-20 award year, the maximum Pell Grant amount is $6,195.\n\n\"This isn't about giving people in prison something new,\" Brumfield said. \"This is about restoring access to something that already existed and that was successful when the Pell program first started. This is about undoing a mistake.”\n\nBefore the ban on Pell Grants in 1994, there were more than 300 college programs in prisons, said Tiffany Jones, director of higher education policy at the Education Trust. In 2005, more than a decade after the ban, there were just 12.\n\nJones hopes change will come as policymakers realize tough-on-crime policies that exclude incarcerated individuals from opportunities don't work.\n\n“We are here because of the compelling stories of those that have been impacted and the fact that their stories of transformations and impacts aren't exceptions, they are the norm,” Jones said. “There is this opportunity to convert compassion and concern into action. This is one of the very few issues where Republicans and Democrats are agreeing that action is necessary.”\n\nGoldvale said the study found many at the local and state level are intrigued by the expansion of Pell Grants to prisons.\n\nAsnuntuck Community College in northern Connecticut, for example, is feeling the effects of expanding Pell Grants to prisoners. The school admitted 320 incarcerated students in its fall 2016 class after receiving funding from President Barack Obama's Second Chance Pell program, said Jennifer Anilowski, the college's interim director of admissions.\n\nMany students earn certificates in manufacturing that are in high demand in the state, leading graduates to find work and immediately contribute to the economy. The funding continues under the Trump administration – and Asnuntuck officials said they are happy to continue as long as the federal government allows them to.\n\n'You don't know what you did for me':Released from prison by Obama, now on the dean's list\n\n'It empowered me to realize I wasn't a stupid kid'\n\nAaron Kinzel, a University of Michigan-Dearborn criminology lecturer, knows firsthand the significance of college education in prison.\n\nAs a child, Kinzel said, he was violent and constantly exposed to illegal activities. Nearly killed by his stepfather, he turned to crime, and by 18, he was in prison after shooting at a police officer during a traffic stop.\n\nWhile incarcerated, Kinzel cobbled together college courses as part of a Maine state program. One psychology class changed his outlook on life.\n\n\"That was the first time in my life that I really was empowered and felt kind of proud of myself,\" Kinzel said. “For the longest time, I really didn't understand the value of education. It empowered me to realize I wasn't a stupid kid.\"\n\nKinzel brings his students to prisons to humanize the criminal justice system. When it comes to education behind bars, Kinzel said the debate boils down to a simple question.\n\n\"If I have someone coming home on parole, who do you want living next to you?\" Kinzel said. \"Do you want the guy that got education inside and is likely to get a job? Or do you want the guy that comes home with no job?\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/11/21"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/22/perspectives/government-full-year-spending-plan/index.html", "title": "Opinion: The government can't run on short-term spending bills ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: Mark Wolfe is an energy economist and serves as the executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA), representing the state directors of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. He specializes in energy and housing affordability and related finance issues. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.\n\nPresident Biden has been in office for more than a year, and Congress still cannot agree on a full-year funding plan. Lawmakers have instead approved a series of short-term funding bills to keep the government operating, the most recent of which was passed late last week. It will keep the government running through March 11, 2022.\n\nShort-term spending bills are passed when Congress cannot agree on a full-year plan. While they can include additional expenditures to address immediate congressional concerns, they typically keep spending at the previous year’s level and do not include additional funding for programs to address changing needs. In other words, there are usually no funding adjustments to help children, for instance, who have suffered during the pandemic and have increased needs for mental health services. The same goes for school districts that are educating disadvantaged children who have fallen behind on their education, and for families who are struggling to pay their home energy bills.\n\nThe House and Senate full-year spending bills, meanwhile, would significantly increase funding for a broad range of essential services that meet the needs of struggling families, workers, people with disabilities, the elderly, immigrants and students attending college. For example, both the House and Senate spending bills would provide a $400 increase in the maximum Pell Grant, an essential program that helps low- and moderate-income students pay for college. They would also provide substantial increases in funding for school districts serving impoverished families.\n\nThese proposed increases in funding are long overdue. A recent study by the Coalition on Human Needs found that of 192 federal programs that help low-income families, 126 of them had less funding in 2021 than they received in 2010. The numbers are grim: Job training funding for adults has been cut by 18%, children’s mental health cut by 15.7% and maternal and child health cut by 11.9%.\n\nThe House and Senate funding bills would also reverse years of spending cuts to key federal agencies that provide essential services to the country as a whole. Since 2010, federal funding for the IRS has been reduced by 20%, Environmental Protection Agency by 27% and Social Security Administration by 13%. As a result, the operations of these agencies have been reduced and service delivery has suffered. For example, IRS audits have dropped by 58% and agency staff were only able to answer about one-third of taxpayer calls in 2019. This is not a way to run the country.\n\nThe biggest stumbling block to enacting a full-year spending bill is that the Senate Republicans are insisting on a higher level of spending for defense programs and a lower level of spending for domestic programs, compared to what the House has proposed. If the price for Republican support to pass the funding bills is an increase in defense, it should not come at the expense of programs that strengthen low-income families.\n\nCongress already failed to pass the extension of the enhanced child tax credit, which significantly strengthened low-income families by providing them with higher payments that were paid on a monthly basis to help cover everyday expenses. Lawmakers must not fail these families a second time.\n\nDisadvantaged and vulnerable families have struggled through the pandemic to send their children to school, heat their homes and access essential services. Congress should pass a full-year spending bill to strengthen the programs that provide essential support. It’s the right and fair thing to do.", "authors": ["Opinion Mark Wolfe For Cnn Business Perspectives"], "publish_date": "2022/02/22"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/25/politics/joe-biden-student-loans/index.html", "title": "How an indecisive Joe Biden finally made his mind up on student ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nIt was early May and Rep. Pramila Jayapal was feeling optimistic.\n\nThe chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus felt almost certain that a major announcement from the White House was imminent.\n\n“Something is coming, and something is coming soon,” the Washington Democrat mused to CNN at the time. “I feel pretty good that something is going to come within weeks.”\n\nJayapal was referring to a long-awaited student loan debt cancellation decision from President Joe Biden – and she wasn’t alone. The President had said the previous week that he was “taking a hard look” at debt forgiveness, teasing an answer was coming in several weeks.\n\nWith graduation season just around the corner, the moment felt especially ripe: Some in Washington speculated about the fourth weekend of the month, when Biden was slated to give two back-to-back commencement speeches at the US Naval Academy and the University of Delaware. White House officials briefly considered unveiling their plan then.\n\nBut graduation season came and went with no announcement.\n\nIn fact, he would wait until the next school year had already started in some parts of the country to announce from the White House his decision to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans.\n\nEven for a famously indecisive President, the question of whether to use executive powers to forgive student loan debt appeared particularly long and drawn-out. Interviews with nearly a dozen people familiar with internal deliberations revealed a myriad of factors fueled the delay, none more than Biden’s concerns over inflation and his insistence that the forgiveness plan would not be seen as a handout to the wealthy.\n\n‘Tortured’\n\nAsked to describe the process, one Democrat who spoke to the White House repeatedly about the issue responded with a one-word text message: “Tortured.”\n\nComplicating matters as Biden settled into his first term in office was a myriad of national crises and international events that took up his energy and time – from the escalating war in Ukraine to the rising gas and consumer goods prices fueling economic pessimism.\n\nAt various points of the year, administration officials simply felt that “it was so much easier to just continue to delay,” one Washington Democrat said. They added bluntly: “There was sh-t going on.”\n\nBut outside distractions accounted for only part of the delay.\n\nBiden agonized over legal concerns, moral hang-ups and persistent questions about the plan’s fairness and its potential to exacerbate inflation – the biggest political liability for his party heading into the fall.\n\nAs he mulled over each of these concerns with advisers and lawmakers, the President made clear that he was looking to feel convinced that – on both the policy and political front – there was undeniable merit to taking action, sources said.\n\nThe decision he ultimately unveiled this week – canceling up to $10,000 in debt for people earning less than $125,000 and up to $20,000 for those who also received Pell grants – was both more than some Democrats expected and less than many had called for.\n\nBiden also announced a final extension of a moratorium on student loan repayments, providing more certainty to borrowers wondering whether those payments would resume next week.\n\nInside the White House, there was broad recognition the decision wasn’t likely to completely satisfy the spectrum of Democrats who have been loudly lobbying for debt relief. Some Democrats facing tough reelection battles this November distanced themselves from the move.\n\n“This was never going to be a total win for us,” one Democrat involved in the discussions said. “Drawing out the process the way Biden has gives an opening for anyone to come in and fill.”\n\nBut after months of internal deliberations and delayed decisions, Biden and his top aides recognized they could no longer put off one of the persistent unresolved matters looming over his presidency.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Biden forgave $10K in student debt. People flooded TikTok with their reactions 02:08 - Source: CNN\n\n‘Bury it’\n\nFrom the opening weeks of the administration, it was clear there was no easy path on the issue for Biden. White House officials settled on a tried-and-true Washington strategy: Bump the issue from the President’s already-full plate in the opening months of the administration. They requested an extensive legal review by the Justice and Education Departments – and said little more beyond that.\n\nOne administration official, who was supportive of the idea of canceling debt, said it was viewed by some as a review that may never actually end.\n\n“Bury it,” the official said of how skeptical officials viewed the White House approach to the issue. “They were wrong in the end. But there were definitely moments when it felt that way.”\n\nThose who had spoken to Biden about the issue had their own reasons for skepticism. Unlike many in his party, Biden simply hadn’t embraced the idea that the White House had the authority.\n\nEven if it did, two people familiar with the matter said, Biden regularly raised concerns of fairness in discussions about the issue, wary it would benefit primarily borrowers with the means to pay their debt – or those who predominantly attended top academic institutions. And what about those who chose not to go to college at all?\n\nIn April, Biden announced another extension of the pandemic-era freeze on federal student loan repayments – something officials had signaled was unlikely after the prior extension. Even then, officials had no clear read on where Biden would land.\n\nBy then, the administration’s reviews had been conducted – and completed, officials said. Biden’s policy and legal teams, while far from unanimous on the merits of the idea, were prepared with potential options.\n\nPolitical peril\n\nThree weeks after Biden’s decision to extend the repayment freeze, the politics of the contentious policy and legal debate over forgiving student loans was laid bare in the Oval Office.\n\nBiden’s advisers have taken a position of dismissing public polling, but inside the West Wing there is a constant stream of internal numbers that factor into strategy and decision making. Some outside polling punctures the Oval Office as well, none more so than a poll of young voters conducted by one of Biden’s 2020 campaign hands.\n\nThe survey, conducted by Harvard’s Institute of Politics, showed just 41% of young Americans approved of Biden’s job performance. It marked an 18-point drop from the year prior. Biden delved into the details of the poll himself – with the very people who put it together – in a White House meeting with Harvard students and their faculty adviser.\n\nA few weeks later, John Della Volpe, the director of polling at Harvard’s IOP who became a trusted voice inside Biden’s inner circle, would advocate for student loan action with an unambiguous message.\n\n“Beyond the essential economic bottom line, this action will begin to materially rebuild the fractured relationship between the leader of the Democrats and a voting bloc that was integral to his party’s most recent successes,” Della Volpe wrote in a New York Times essay.\n\nThe politics laid out in the Harvard poll and others during the spring was not a singular driving force for the decision, officials say, but they acknowledge it resonated among some of Biden’s senior advisers, including White House chief of staff Ron Klain.\n\nIt resonated with Biden as well. A decision to move forward wasn’t just about the policy itself; it was also about delivering on a campaign promise and delivering action – two issues highlighted as critical in the Harvard polling.\n\nBut turning Biden’s openness to move forward into final policy was hardly a straight line.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback 'Give me an f-ing break': Commentators debate Biden's student debt forgiveness plan 01:53 - Source: CNN\n\nDemocratic push\n\nIntensive lobbying from fellow Democrats, including in the hours before he made a final announcement, contributed to Biden taking his time to land on a final decision – even as that delay left millions of borrowers in a state of anxious uncertainty.\n\nWhen members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus visited Biden at the White House in late March, the President pondered aloud about one of his biggest fixations – ensuring that wealthy families wouldn’t benefit from loan cancelation. Some lawmakers in the room pointed out that setting an income cap likely wouldn’t make a major difference, since high earners were far less likely to take out loans to attend school to begin with.\n\nHe and top White House officials were also on the receiving end of pitches from top senators, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who had faced off against Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary and had famously made student loan debt cancelation a major pillar of her campaign.\n\nThe Massachusetts Democrat – who liked to drop a statistic about debt held by graduates from the University of Delaware – had begun lobbying Biden and his top aides on the issue as soon as the general election kicked into gear. The senator had dozens of phone calls with senior White House staff on the scope of potential debt forgiveness, as well as several direct conversations with Biden himself, according to sources familiar with those conversations.\n\nSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was also among the handful of top Democrats who lobbied Biden for much of his term to cancel student debt.\n\nThe push even continued after the deadly massacre at a Buffalo supermarket, when Biden traveled to the city in May to meet the families of victims of the mass shooting. On Air Force One and on the way back to Washington on May 17, Schumer made the argument to Biden directly that canceling student loan debt was the “right thing to do economically and morally,” the source said.\n\nWarren, too, recently seized on rare face time with the President onboard Air Force One. Traveling with him to Somerset, Massachusetts, in July ahead of Biden’s major speech on climate change, the senator again pressed him on the urgency of the issue.\n\nIn recent months, Warren had begun pushing the White House to consider additional student loan cancelation on top of the baseline forgiveness that the administration was leaning toward for people making less than $125,000 per year, with the hope of raising the total amount of forgiveness that the lowest income Americans would be eligible for.\n\nVice President Kamala Harris routinely made the case for widespread student debt cancelation, a source familiar with discussions, told CNN, including directly to the President himself.\n\n“It wasn’t a secret that she was an advocate for debt cancellation,” the source said.\n\nIn the final announcement the White House released, forgiveness for Pell grant recipients mirrored a part of then-Sen. Harris’ 2019 student debt forgiveness plan — which included $20,000 in relief for Pell grant recipients who started small businesses in disadvantaged communities.\n\nJayapal, who said she had been in touch with White House officials in the days leading up to Biden’s announcement, said she sensed that that final number – $20,000 in maximum loan forgiveness for Pell grant recipients – was “in flux, until the very end.”\n\n“I think it’s been a journey for the President, let’s put it that way,” said Jayapal, who called Biden’s announcement this week a “huge victory.”\n\n“There are some things that are easier and some things that are harder, and I get the sense that maybe this was something that was a little bit harder. But I think he settled somewhere that he felt comfortable with.”", "authors": ["Mj Lee Kevin Liptak Phil Mattingly", "Mj Lee", "Kevin Liptak", "Phil Mattingly"], "publish_date": "2022/08/25"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/07/perspectives/build-back-better-universal-preschool-child-care/index.html", "title": "Opinion: Build Back Better isn't a path to socialism. It's an investment ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: Jim Himes represents Connecticut’s 4th District in the United States House of Representatives where he is serving his seventh term. He serves as the chair of the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth and the National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.\n\nFor far too many American children, the race is over before it really begins. Arbitrary factors like zip code, race and gender are determining whether those children prosper or are consigned to poverty. About half of children born into poverty in the US will spend at least half their childhoods poor. And they are much more likely to experience poverty in early adulthood as well. That’s not how we understand the American Dream, and it’s an eminently solvable problem.\n\nThere is ample evidence that high-quality education at an early age helps break the cycle of poverty and meaningfully expands social and economic mobility. That’s one of the reasons why House Democrats included billions in federal funding for universal preschool in the Build Back Better Act.\n\nUnfortunately, the historic legislative package is stalled since Senator Joe Manchin said he wouldn’t vote for it. But if we’re ever to address the embarrassing lack of investment in our nation’s children, Congress must convince Manchin to support the bill.\n\nThe fact is that the child care and development elements of the Build Back Better Act actually represent the economic foresight and fiscal responsibility that will help expand our economy, lift children out of poverty, and address economic disparity nationwide. Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman has conclusively shown that early comprehensive child care improves health and social outcomes, on top of strengthening the economy. Early childhood education helps children secure their own economic futures and delivers significant economic benefits to their families as well.\n\nPrograms like universal preschool make it possible for more parents to join the workforce and contribute to local economies. Research from the National Women’s Law Center demonstrates that this could be a gamechanger for lower-income women with less than a college degree, especially for Black and Latina women, who often start from a more precarious economic position.\n\nBeyond the moral imperatives for supporting America’s children, there’s also a significant return on investment. While vulnerable families are the main beneficiaries in the short term, every dollar invested in early childhood programs can yield anywhere from $4 to $9 in return to the US economy, according to Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child. These returns benefit local communities because of reduced crime and increased tax revenues that come with more children participating in early childhood programs and getting jobs when they become adults.\n\nMany congressional Republicans have been relentless in their efforts to paint Build Back Better as a “pathway to socialism.” Still, there are some Republican-led states in the South that are joining states like California and New York to expand early childhood education. Alabama increased its preschool funding by $6 million and Florida followed suit with an additional $10 million in its fiscal year 2020-2021 budget.\n\nThose who seek only to visit a defeat on President Joe Biden or who fail to see the ethical and economic value in the Build Back Better Act are standing in the way of a valuable opportunity to uplift our country’s most vulnerable populations, strengthen our economy and invest in America’s future workforce. Congress can’t give up on getting the bill passed, as there is still hope. Shortly after vowing to vote against it, Manchin and President Biden had a cordial phone call where the two discussed reengaging this year.\n\nThe American economic exceptionalism we enjoy today is the reward of generations of wise investment in people through things like public education and Pell grants that help low-income students get a college education. At this moment of truly global competition, it is our turn to show such foresight.", "authors": ["Opinion Jim Himes For Cnn Business Perspectives"], "publish_date": "2022/01/07"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_13", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bills/2023/01/04/damar-hamlin-update-buffalo-bills-health-status/10985510002/", "title": "Damar Hamlin update: Bills player in ICU with 'signs of improvement'", "text": "Editor's note: On Thursday, the Bills said Damar Hamlin has shown \"remarkable improvement.\" For the latest on Hamlin, visit our live updates here.\n\nBuffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin remains hospitalized in Cincinnati, after suffering cardiac arrest during a game against the Bengals on Monday night.\n\nThe Bills’ second-year safety remains in critical condition, as the team and NFL continue to provide updates as they become available.\n\nThe NFL community and fans continue to pour out their support for Hamlin as well since his horrific collapse during the game.\n\n\"I know he’s still here and I know he’s fighting,\" Hamlin's uncle, Dorrian Glenn, told ESPN on Tuesday night.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules\n\n\"And I know we appreciate all the prayers and support we’ve been getting from people all over not just the country, but the world. … It really means a difference for my family to see that and it’ll make a difference for Damar to see that as well.\"\n\nHamlin was hit in the chest during a routine play with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. He stood up after the hit, but quickly fell backward onto the field, causing a stoppage in play. He was taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center near the Bengals' stadium.\n\nNFL newsletter:Sign up now to get football news delivered to your inbox\n\nHere’s the latest information as it becomes available on Hamlin as of Wednesday:\n\nChristian Eriksen response helped Damar Hamlin\n\nDr. Jim Ellis, the NFL's medical emergency preparedness consultant, said Wednesday that the cardiac arrest of Denmark's Christian Eriksen in July 2021 during the UEFA European Championships played a minor role in the response plan that ultimately resuscitated Hamlin.\n\nWhile in England examining Wembley Stadium's preparedness, Ellis consulted with the doctors who were part of treating Eriksen.\n\nThe response's success compelled Ellis to make a minor change to the NFL's plan: a designated leader in the event of a cardiac emergency.\n\nContributing: Chris Bumbaca\n\nJoe Burrow says he wanted Bills players 'to know we felt the same way they did'\n\nCincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said Wednesday he would welcome the chance to finish their game against the Buffalo Bills, but knows the challenges that could be presented as the NFL weighs the options.\n\n“I think that would be tough, just scheduling wise,” Burrow said. “I think whatever Buffalo would want to do, we would want to do. We’re behind them 100 percent in what they want to do going forward.”\n\nBurrow and his Bengals teammates consoled Bills players during Damar Hamlin’s health scare on the field, while Burrow and Bengals captains visited Bills players in their locker room before the game was ultimately called.\n\n“We didn’t want to go back out there,” Burrow said. “… I wanted them to know we felt the same way they did.”\n\nAs the Bengals prepare for their next game Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, Burrow mentioned the difficulty in switching mindsets toward anything but Hamlin.\n\n“As unfortunate as it is, we got a game to play on Sunday. So, as unusual as this week has been, it’s business as usual from a football standpoint unfortunately,” Burrow said. “I don’t really know what to say about it: It’s such a scary, emotional time and guys still have a game to play on Sunday.”\n\nGiants' HC Brian Daboll, GM Joe Schoen pay tribute to Hamlin with caps\n\nNew York Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen honored Damar Hamlin with custom caps during Wednesday's practice. Their team-issued Giants hats had a No. 3, Hamlin's number, on the side.\n\nDaboll and Schoen both came to the Giants last year from the Buffalo Bills. Daboll was the offensive coordinator while Schoen served as assistant general manager.\n\n\"A lot of us have been around Damar, we offer our prayers to him, to his family, to the people in that organization,\" Daboll said in his Wednesday press conference. \"They've been through a lot and this is tragic. It's tragic to see. I feel for Damar most importantly, his family, but all the players and coaches that are around him every day. He's a tremendous young man. And just pray for recovery. That was tough.\"\n\nContributing: Victoria Hernandez\n\nColts' Rodney Thomas visits high school teammate in hospital: 'He's a fighter'\n\nHamlin and Thomas were teammates at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and quickly became best friends. Thomas said they talked every day, even before the Bills' Monday Night Football matchup against Cincinnati.\n\nThomas watched the game from home in Indiana, like so many others, and made the decision to drive more than 100 miles from Indianapolis to Cincinnati to see Hamlin following his injury.\n\n\"I knew where I was going, so I just got on the road and I just went. Laser-focused,\" Thomas said Wednesday during a press conference.\n\nThomas said he visited Hamlin in the hospital, held his hand and talked to him again, though Hamlin remains sedated and on a ventilator.\n\n\"I know he could hear me. Even if he couldn't hear me, it didn't matter. I said what I had to say,\" Thomas said. \"I could go home and know he's gonna be straight, I got him, we all got him, everybody's behind him. You see what's going on, everybody's behind him.\"\n\nThomas described Hamlin as \"the most genuine person you could come across,\" adding that his \"character, his work ethic, his hard work, his giving\" made Hamlin a hometown hero before he was a household name.\n\n\"And when he walks out of there and he sees the support he has, it's going to be a real special day,\" Thomas said. \"He's a fighter. No other thought in my mind of him walking out under his own power.\"\n\nContributing: Cydney Henderson\n\nPresident Joe Biden speaks to Hamlin's parents\n\nPresident Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday that he spoke to the mother and father of injured Bills safety Damar Hamlin “at length” but did not elaborate on the conversation.\n\nBiden visited the Greater Cincinnati region on Wednesday for the Brent Spence Bridge project. Biden was asked if he thought football was getting too dangerous after what happened to Hamlin.\n\n\"No,\" Biden replied, per Bloomberg News. \"Look, the idea that you're going to have—you've got guys that are 6'8, 340 pounds ... if you hit somebody—and that's not what happened here, but I just think it's—I don't know how you avoid it.”\n\nContributing: Joseph Garrison\n\nNFL discussing Bills-Bengals game\n\nThe NFL, in a conference call Wednesday, said it has begun discussions regarding the continuation of the Bills-Bengals game that was ended abruptly after Damar Hamlin’s incident.\n\n“Obviously we are going to have to make a decision on that in the coming days, and we will,” NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy Jeff Miller said.\n\nThere also have not been any discussions yet on postponing the Bills’ next game, which is against the New England Patriots.\n\nThe same was said about the idea of pushing the NFL season back a week to ensure all games are played or to go with an imbalanced schedule if the Bills-Bengals game isn’t played.\n\n“Everything is being considered,” NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said.\n\nVincent said all conversations he has had with the Bills organization have been focused on Hamlin and other members of the franchise dealing with the situation.\n\nThe league has not made any changes to the Week 18 regular-season schedule. The Bengals will host the Ravens, while the Bills host the Patriots, both set for 1 p.m. Sunday.\n\nPacers guard T.J. McConnell wears Hamlin jersey to game\n\nWidespread support for Damar Hamlin continued from the sports world on Wednesday as Pittsburgh native T.J. McConnell, a guard for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, arrived to his game wearing a Hamlin Bills jersey.\n\n“I just wanted to show support for a fellow Pittsburgh native and athlete, and let him and his family know that all of us here are thinking of him and praying for him,” McConnell said via the Pacers.\n\nZac Taylor praises medical professionals, shows support for Hamlin\n\nIn his first public comments since the Bills vs. Bengals Monday night game was suspended, Taylor praised all the medical professionals involved in tending to Hamlin and extended his well wishes to the Bills safety.\n\n“Our thoughts and prayers are with Damar Hamlin, his family, loved ones, his teammates, coaches and the entire Bills organization,” Taylor said. “We are certainly pulling for Damar and hoping for the most positive outlook. And looking forward to him seeing all the support that he’s getting from his team, community, people around the league and his family. That will be a great day when he’s able to see that.”\n\nTaylor continued to offer praise to the first responders.\n\n\"I thought they were on it, they were composed,\" Taylor said of the medical professionals. \"From me personally, seeing the composure from everybody down there had, obviously not knowing how the situation was gonna unfold, I was led to believe it was gonna be positive because of how they handled it.\"\n\nESPN cameras captured Taylor and Bills coach Sean McDermott talking on multiple occasions while the game was temporarily suspended. Taylor didn’t disclose what was said in its entirety but did reveal that the focus wasn’t on football once Hamlin was rushed to the hospital.\n\n“When got over there, the first thing (Sean McDermott) said is I need to be at the hospital with Damar. I shouldn’t be coaching this game. That to me provides all the clarity,” Taylor said. “In that moment he really showed who he was. All his focus was just on Damar, being there for him, being there for his family at the hospital. At that point everything trended where it needed to trend. The right decisions were made there.”\n\nHamlin shows signs of improvement\n\nDamar Hamlin remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted Tuesday and overnight. He is expected to remain under intensive care, the Bills said on Twitter around 1:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.\n\nIn two announcements on Tuesday, the Bills said Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest and his heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transported to a medical facility. He spent Monday night in intensive care, and remained in critical condition.\n\n\"We are grateful and thankful for the outpouring of support we have received thus far,\" the Bills said.\n\nHamlin's recovery moving in 'positive direction'\n\nDamar Hamlin's family is cautiously optimistic as he begins his second full day in intensive care at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.\n\nHamlin's marketing rep, Jordon Rooney, told ESPN that although Hamlin was still sedated and in critical condition Wednesday morning, doctors got promising readings overnight and progress appears to be made.\n\n\"We all remain optimistic,\" Rooney told The Associated Press, noting that Hamlin's recovery was progressing in \"a positive direction.\" The family has requested that no further details on Hamlin's condition were to be released to the public.\n\nFormer teammate buys dinner for Hamlin family, hospital personnel\n\nMinnesota Vikings defensive lineman Harrison Phillips, who played four seasons with the Bills, on Wednesday bought dinner for Damar Hamlin’s family, the Buffalo Bills training staff who are with him, and the doctors and nurses working on the ICU floor at University of Cincinnati Medical Center.\n\nPhillips is also collecting donations through his foundation, Harrison’s Playmakers, to hold a future event in Hamlin’s honor.\n\nDamar Hamlin’s toy drive donations top $6 million\n\nAs of Tuesday night, more than $6 million have been donated to a GoFundMe page Hamlin started to raise money for a toy drive in his hometown near Pittsburgh.\n\nDonations began to flood in following his injury during the \"Monday Night Football\" game.\n\n\"A lot of people don’t get to see how loved they are while they're alive, so for him to have a situation where he could have been taken away and he has a chance to come back and see all that love that he got, it’s truly an amazing thing,\" Hamlin's uncle told NFL Network of the outpouring of donations.\n\n\"I can’t wait to see all the love and support people have for him.\"\n\nDamar Hamlin’s uncle expresses concern\n\nHamlin remains sedated and on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, his uncle said in another interview with NFL Network. Hamlin was also resuscitated at least one time.\n\n\"It was pretty scary to see that,\" Glenn told ESPN reporter Coley Harvey outside the medical center. \"It was really scary.\"\n\nGlenn said he was watching the game with family members in Pittsburgh. Once the game was suspended, he said family members filled two cars to drive to Cincinnati, about 300 miles away.\n\n\"I’ve never seen a game get stopped like that. I’ve never seen a collection of grown men cry like that unless it was a funeral,\" Hamlin’s uncle told ESPN.\n\n\"So, it was impactful to see that. My heart will go out no matter who it was, but for it to be my nephew, it was chilling.\"\n\nBills fans gather outside Buffalo’s stadium\n\nBuffalo Bills fans gathered outside Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, on Tuesday afternoon for a prayer vigil for Hamlin.\n\nJill Kelly, wife of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, attended and was seen hugging Bills fans.\n\nCincinnati Reds, Miami Dolphins among teams paying tribute to Damar Hamlin\n\nThe Cincinnati Reds, whose stadium Great American Ballpark is less than a mile from the Bengals’ Paycor Stadium where the incident occurred, provided a scoreboard tribute for Hamlin on Tuesday.\n\nDrivers passing by the Reds’ home stadium saw \"Prayers for Damar Hamlin\" with a photo of Hamlin with a background in Bills’ blue.\n\nThe Miami Dolphins, one of Buffalo’s heated AFC East rivals, also honored Hamlin by lighting up Hard Rock Stadium in red and blue Bills colors.\n\n\"The entire @MiamiDolphins family is with you @HamlinIsland and @BuffaloBills #billsmafia,\" Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel posted on Twitter.\n\nWhat is cardiac arrest?\n\nThe NFL confirmed to USA TODAY an AED (automated external defibrillator) was used on the field before Hamlin's heartbeat was restored.\n\nHe was then transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment as he was sedated and clinging to life.\n\nBut what is cardiac arrest, and how might it have happened to Hamlin?\n\nNFL shows solidarity with Damar Hamlin tribute\n\nThe NFL and all 32 teams changed their Twitter profile pictures, removing their respective team logos and replacing it with a dedication to Hamlin.\n\nThe words \"Pray for Damar\" resting on top of the number three, which is Hamlin’s jersey number, in Buffalo Bills colors made the rounds on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon.\n\nDamar Hamlin’s family issues statement\n\nOn Tuesday, Hamlin's family released a statement, saying \"your generosity and compassion mean the world to us.\"\n\n\"We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words, and donations from fans around the country,\" the statement said. \"We also want to acknowledge the dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who have provided exceptional care to Damar. We feel so blessed to be part of the Buffalo Bills organization and to have their support.\"\n\nPat Narduzzi: Damar Hamlin 'a hero to thousands of Pittsburgh kids'\n\nUniversity of Pittsburgh football head coach Pat Narduzzi, whom Hamlin played for from 2016-2020, showed his support for his former player in a statement released Tuesday.\n\n\"Damar Hamlin is far more than just a football player. He’s a loving son, brother and friend. Damar is a hero to thousands of Pittsburgh kids,\" Narduzzi tweeted.\n\n\"Damar, we love you. We are praying for you. Pittsburgh’s always had your back. And now it’s obvious the entire country has your back, too.\"\n\nNFL, ESPN conflict on fluid game situation\n\nDuring the game broadcast, ESPN announcer Joe Buck relayed that both teams would have five minutes to warm up and resume play. This happened before both teams left the field into their locker rooms, and the game was ultimately stopped.\n\nNFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said Bills and Bengals players were \"traumatized\" by what they witnessed on the field, and both teams were in alignment about not finishing Monday’s game.\n\n\"I’m not sure where that came from. Five minutes, warm-up, that never, never crossed my mind, personally,\" Vincent said in a conference call after the game Monday. \"And I was the one – I'm saying 'I' not to be selfish, but the one that was communicating with the commissioner. It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That's ridiculous. That's insensitive, and that’s not a place that we should ever be in.\"\n\nIn a statement Tuesday, ESPN said: \"There was constant communication in real time between ESPN and league and game officials. As a result of that, we reported what we were told in the moment and immediately updated fans as new information was learned. This was an unprecedented, rapidly-evolving circumstance. All night long, we refrained from speculation.\"\n\nJoe Buck told the New York Post that the information came from ESPN's rules expert John Parry, who was in communication with the league (and was actually the one who relayed the news that the game had been temporarily suspended).\n\nContributing: Casey Moore, Steve Gardner", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/04"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/01/03/what-is-cardiac-arrest-commotio-cordis-damar-hamlin/10982121002/", "title": "What is cardiac arrest? Questions after Damar Hamlin's ...", "text": "Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remained in critical condition at a hospital Tuesday afternoon after he collapsed following a seemingly routine tackle in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals during Monday Night Football.\n\nThe 24-year-old defensive back's medical episode occurred with just minutes remaining in the first quarter when he tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard gain at Paycor Stadium. What happened next was anything but routine.\n\nPlayers gathered around Hamlin. An ambulance was brought onto the field. Officials suspended the game.\n\nThe Bills announced early Tuesday that Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest. The NFL confirmed to USA TODAY an AED (automated external defibrillator) was used on the field before Hamlin's heartbeat was restored. He was then transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment as he was sedated and clinging to life.\n\nBut what is cardiac arrest, and how might it have happened to Hamlin?\n\nDamar Hamlin coverage:Everything we know about Hamlin's collapse, cardiac arrest in Bills vs. Bengals game\n\nOpinion:ESPN's immediate coverage of Damar Hamlin situation done with right tone\n\nWhat is cardiac arrest? What is commotio cordis?\n\nSudden cardiac arrest happens when the heart abruptly loses its normal rhythm and stops pumping blood, according to the Sports Institute, part of the University of Washington School of Medicine system. If immediate emergency actions are not taken, death or serious disability can occur.\n\nIt is usually caused by abnormalities of the heart, which are often inherited but can remain undiagnosed and go undetected.\n\nIt is also possible for a hard blow to the chest to trigger cardiac arrest. Called \"commotio cordis,\" it is an arrhythmic event caused by a sudden blunt impact to the chest and is seen mostly in athletes playing sports with projectiles, including baseballs, hockey pucks and lacrosse balls, according to the University of Connecticut's Korey Stringer Institute.\n\n\"Football, however, has shoulder pads that cover the chest wall,\" Dr. David H. Sohn, who specializes in Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at The University of Toledo Medical Center told USA TODAY. \"Commotio cordis is most common in the young athlete whose musculature is not as developed as that in an adult.\n\n\"That said, it does happen in professional adult athletes as well. For example, in 1998, St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Pronger was hit by a hockey puck and collapsed from commotio cordis,\" Sohn said.\n\nCardiac arrest can stem from a variety of other things too, Dr. Alex Jahangir, executive medical director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center for Trauma, Burn, and Emergency Surgery in Nashville, told USA TODAY on Tuesday.\n\n\"In some people's case, a blood vessel gets clogged in the heart because they don't have enough oxygen. Some people get electrocuted. Some are shot in the heart,\" said Jahangir, who has treated professional athletes over his nearly two-decade career.\n\n\"The way the heart beats regularly, there is an igniter that sends an electric signal to the heart,\" he said. \"If all the sudden for whatever reason (like) in this case, you take a sudden hit and that igniter doesn't ignite or the heart's regular rhythm gets interrupted – each heart cell fibrillates in an uncoordinated fashion.\"\n\nThat's when a person no longer has a normal heartbeat.\n\n\"The good thing is, the moment you use a defibrillator – like turning a TV off and on, the blood starts flowing and everything comes back to normal,\" Jahangir said. \"It's sounds like that's what they did in this case (for Hamlin).\"\n\nOpinion:Tragic moment with Bills safety Damar Hamlin reminds us NFL players are human\n\nCommotio cordis is different from a cardiac contusion (contusio cordis), an event in which blunt chest trauma causes structural cardiac damage, such as observed in motor vehicle accidents, according to the American Heart Association.\n\nHow rare is cardiac arrest among athletes?\n\nAbout 1 or 2 in every 100,000 athletes experience sudden cardiac arrest each year, according to the Sports Institute. Men are at a greater risk than women, and Black athletes are at a greater risk than white athletes.\n\nThe risk is higher in football and basketball.\n\nEstimates vary, but according to The Mayo Clinic, some reports suggest that about 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 80,000 young athletes die of sudden cardiac arrest every year.\n\nWhat are long-term effects of cardiac arrest?\n\nMost people who suffer cardiac arrest do not survive, according to the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, but those who live are at risk of neurological consequences and changes to physical and psychological wellness.\n\nThe most common neurological consequence of cardiac arrest is hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, which can result in neuronal damage and death, according to NYU. The injury – a leading cause of significant disability or death after resuscitation – is named for the factor that triggers it (lack of oxygen, or hypoxia) and its effect on the cells. It occurs when the heart is restarted and is a result of the interaction of oxygen, which has been returned to the brain, with highly reactive metabolites produced in the brain during cardiac arrest.\n\nIn addition to brain injury, among those who live, there is risk of consciousness disorder, neurocognitive deficits, and changes in quality of life.\n\nHamlin's toy drive gets boost:GoFundMe children's toy drive created by Damar Hamlin gets huge boost after injury\n\nCan sudden cardiac arrest be prevented?\n\nTo reduce your risk of sudden cardiac arrest, the Mayo Clinic recommends getting regular checkups, being screened for heart disease and living a heart-healthy life.\n\nIf you survive sudden cardiac arrest, your doctor will try to learn what caused it to help prevent future episodes. Tests your doctor may recommend include:\n\nElectrocardiogram (ECG): During an ECG, sensors (electrodes) that can detect the electrical activity of your heart are attached to your chest and sometimes to your limbs. An ECG can reveal disturbances in heart rhythm or detect abnormal electrical patterns, such as a prolonged QT interval, that increase your risk of sudden death.\n\nBlood tests: A sample of your blood might be tested to check the levels of potassium, magnesium, hormones and other chemicals that can affect your heart's ability to function. Other blood tests can detect recent heart injury and heart attacks.\n\nImaging tests are also used in treatment. These might include:\n\nChest X-ray. This allows your doctor to check the size and shape of your heart and its blood vessels. It might also show whether you have heart failure.\n\nEchocardiogram. This test uses sound waves to produce an image of your heart. It can help identify whether an area of your heart has been damaged by a heart attack and isn't pumping hard enough.\n\nWhat is a cardiac contusion?\n\nA cardiac contusion (contusio cordis) is a bruise to the heart which, in isolation, doesn't necessarily result in cardiac arrest, said Jahangir, who is also a professor of orthopedic surgery at VUMC.\n\nIn addition to car crashes, falls often cause the injury.\n\n\"But a cardiac contusion may or may not lead to cardiac arrest,\" Jahangir said. \"Just like if I hit you in the thigh and you get a bruise, you quad muscle may be sore but hopefully eventually the muscle comes back to function normally.\"\n\nIn extreme cases, he said, some people including athletes, suffer an especially hard hit and sustain significant scar tissue which can lead to them not having the strength they used to have.\n\nTreatment of cardiac contusions (bruising) depends on the complications that may happen after the blunt cardiac injury. Recovery depends on the severity of a person's injury, but most people make a full recovery.\n\n\"Long-term effects of cardiac contusion are hard to define,\" Jahangir said. \"You don't know the long-term impact to the muscle. If the heart muscle doesn't die or have some type of long term impact, hopefully you'll be fine.\"\n\nBut if a portion of the heart muscle dies, he said, a person may have long-term consequences.\n\n\"It could be anything from you can't run as far, you're always short of breath and need to be on medicine, or you need to have a pacemaker.\"\n\nContributing: Jarrett Bell\n\nNatalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bills/2023/01/02/damar-hamlin-bills-collapses-during-mnf-game-vs-bengals/10981277002/", "title": "Damar Hamlin updates: What we know about Bills' safety's condition", "text": "Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition after being resuscitated twice following a cardiac arrest during Monday night's matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.\n\nHamlin collapsed with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter of the game, which was temporarily suspended then subsequently postponed. His heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for further testing and treatment, the Bills announced early Tuesday.\n\nHamlin's uncle Dorrian Glenn shared a health update on Tuesday evening, marking the first time a family member has spoken about Hamlin's condition to the media. Glenn said Hamlin is currently sedated on a ventilator to \"try to get his lungs back to full strength.\" Glenn told reporters there's concern of lung damage, but he's hopeful his nephew's condition will improve.\n\n\"They sedated him just to give a better chance for him to just continue to heal better,\" Glenn told CNN. \"We are just taking it day by day. It seems like he’s trending upwards in a positive way.\"\n\nGlenn added that both of Hamlin's parents are by his side.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules\n\nA second-year player out of Pittsburgh, Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard gain. It was a non-descript play. Hamlin stood up but collapsed to the ground.\n\nAn ambulance was brought onto the field. Hamlin was treated with CPR and an AED and placed on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital.\n\nOn Tuesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the game would not be continued this week.\n\n\"Everyone in our community is praying for Damar Hamlin,\" the NFL Players' Association said in a statement Monday. \"We have been in touch with Bills and Bengals players, and with the NFL. The only thing that matters at this moment is Damar’s health and well being.\"\n\nTRAGIC MOMENT:Damar Hamlin reminds us NFL players are human\n\nEXPLAINER: What is cardiac arrest? What is commotio cordis?\n\nOPINION:After Hamlin's cardiac arrest, NFL had no choice but to suspend game\n\nOPINION:Bengals and their fans show 'Football is Family' after Hamlin's collapse\n\n—\n\nHamlin's uncle says his nephew was resuscitated twice after collapse\n\nDorrian Glenn, the uncle of Hamlin, is shedding light on the critical moments after Hamlin collapsed following what appeared to be a routine tackle.\n\nWhile speaking to reporters outside of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Glenn told ESPN and CNN that emergency personnel resuscitated Hamlin twice — once on the field at Paycor Stadium and again at the hospital.\n\nHe said Hamlin is currently on a ventilator and laying on his stomach in what is known as a prone position to alleviate pressure on his lungs.\n\nGlenn was watching the \"Monday Night Football\" matchup from their hometown of Pittsburgh when Hamlin went down. He said the family drove down to Cincinnati immediately.\n\n\"I'm not a crier, but like I never cried so hard in my life,\" Glenn recalled to CNN. \"Just to know like my nephew basically died on the field and they brought him back to life, that’s just heartbreaking. To see all of those grown men crying and all the emotion, it was just a gut punch.\"\n\nESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky leads live prayer; Bengals kicker speaks at vigil\n\nDan Orlovsky, who played 12 seasons as quarterback in the NFL, said he was compelled to pray for Hamlin in the middle of ESPN's \"NFL Live\" broadcast Tuesday.\n\n\"I've heard the Buffalo Bills organization say, 'We believe in prayer.' And maybe this isn't the right thing to do, but it's just on my heart to pray for Damar Hamlin. I'm going to do it out loud,\" Orlovsky said as co-host Marcus Spears encourage him to do so.\n\nOrlovsky bowed his head and closed his eyes, alongside co-hosts Laura Rutledge and Spears, before leading a minute-long prayer on Hamlin's recovery and well-being.\n\nA prayer vigil in honor of Hamlin was held for the public in Cincinnati.\n\nBengals kicker Evan McPherson spoke in a recorded message at the beginning of the vigil, encouraging fans to pray for Hamlin.\n\n\"I just want to take a second and realize that Damar is more than a football player,\" McPherson said. \"He's a son, a teammate, a friend and last but not least, he's a brother in Christ. He really needs our prayers right now.\"\n\nHamlin's college coach: 'The entire country has your back'\n\nUniversity of Pittsburgh football head coach Pat Narduzzi, who Hamlin played for from 2016-2020, described Hamlin as \"a hero to thousands of Pittsburgh kids.\"\n\n“Damar, we love you. We are praying for you. Pittsburgh’s always had your back. And now it’s obvious the entire country has your back, too,\" Narduzzi tweeted on Tuesday.\n\nAll 32 NFL teams update profile picture to 'Pray for Damar' logo\n\nEvery team in the NFL joined together in solidarity on Twitter for Hamlin, changing their respective profile pictures to a royal blue image that says, \"Pray for Damar.\" The logo also features No. 3, Hamlin's jersey number for the Bills.\n\nThe NFL and NFL Players' Association (NFLPA) also changed their profile pictures, writing, \"For Damar\" and \"We're with you Damar,\" respectively.\n\nDamar Hamlin's family speaks out\n\nOn Tuesday, Hamlin's family released a statement, saying \"your generosity and compassion mean the world to us.\" The family said they would pass along updates on his status as they have them.\n\n\"We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words, and donations from fans around the country,\" the statement said. \"We also want to acknowledge the dedicated first responders and healthcare professionals at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center who have provided exceptional care to Damar. We feel so blessed to be part of the Buffalo Bills organization and to have their support.\"\n\nNFL says resuming game was never an option\n\nNFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said Bills and Bengals players were \"traumatized\" by what they witnessed on the field, and both teams were in alignment about not finishing Monday’s game.\n\n\"There was no time period for the players to get warmed up,\" Vincent said. \"Frankly, the only thing that we asked was that (referee Shawn Smith) communicate with both head coaches to make sure they had the proper time inside the locker room to discuss what they felt like was best.\n\n\"So, I’m not sure where (the thought that the game would quickly resume without a break) came from. Five minutes, warm-up, that never, never crossed my mind, personally. And I was the one — I'm saying 'I' not to be selfish, but the one that was communicating with the commissioner. It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That's ridiculous. That's insensitive, and that’s not a place that we should ever be in.\"\n\nJosh Allen, teammates emotional on sidelines\n\nThe faces of players from both teams told the story. Bills quarterback Josh Allen was visibly shaken, and players from both teams surrounded the ambulance.\n\nSome players were on their knees, while others openly wept.\n\nAfter Bills head coach Sean McDermott met with his Bengals counterpart Zac Taylor, both teams left the field and referee Shawn Smith announced the game had been temporarily suspended.\n\n\"Neither coach, frankly, was talking about resuming play and the players weren’t. ... It was really about Damar,” Vincent, who played in the NFL from 1992-2006, said on the conference call. \"I’ve never seen anything like it since I’ve been playing. So immediately my player hat came on. How do you resume play after you seen such a traumatic event occur in front of you in real time. And that’s the way we were thinking about it. The commissioner and I and others.”\n\nLeague offers additional support\n\nWhat transpired was traumatic for every player in the NFL. The league office recognized that.\n\nIn a memo addressed to the leadership of all clubs, Goodell recapped that night’s main events and offered additional mental health support from the league.\n\nEach team’s director of player engagement and team clinician heard from NFL vice president of wellness and clinical services Nyaka NiiLampti about existing resources in place as well as additional on-site options if requested.\n\nGame will not resume this week\n\nCameras showed the two coaches meeting once again in the stadium's tunnel (and passed a cell phone between each other) and players began coming out of the Bills' locker room. Bengals captains Joe Burrow, DJ Reader, Ted Karras and Joe Mixon went toward the locker room as well. Before the official announcement from the league, the Bills' equipment staff began packing up the sideline. Finally, at 10 p.m. ET — one hour and five minutes after Hamlin collapsed — the game was called.\n\nThere was no information on whether the game would be continued. Asked by reporters how the game could be rescheduled, NFL VP of communications, public affairs and policy Jeff Miller declined to provide a contingency plan and desired to keep the emphasis on Hamlin's condition.\n\n\"Not in consideration right now,\" Miller said. \"Our concern is with the player and his well-being. At the appropriate time I’m sure we’ll have a conversation around the next steps regarding the game.\"\n\nOn Tuesday afternoon, Goodell announced that the game would not be resumed this week. The NFL has made no decision regarding a potential resumption at a later date.\n\nDid NFL give teams 5 minutes to warm up after Damar Hamlin incident?\n\nAt one point, the broadcast reported that teams had five minutes to warm up prior to the restart of the game. On the conference call later that night, Vincent said he did not know where that figure came from since the game was not going to continue.\n\n\"I’m not sure where that came from,\" Vincent said. \"Frankly, there was no time period for the players to get warmed up. Frankly, the only thing that we asked was that (referee) Shawn (Smith) communicate with both head coaches to make sure they had the proper time inside the locker room to discuss what they felt like was best. So I’m not sure where that came from. Five-minute warmup never crossed my mind, personally.\n\n\"It never crossed our mind to talk about warming up to resume play. That’s ridiculous. That’s insensitive. And that’s not a place that we should ever be in.\"\n\nIn a statement Tuesday, ESPN said: \"There was constant communication in real time between ESPN and league and game officials. As a result of that, we reported what we were told in the moment and immediately updated fans as new information was learned. This was an unprecedented, rapidly-evolving circumstance. All night long, we refrained from speculation.\"\n\nJoe Buck told the New York Post the information came from ESPN's rules expert John Parry, who was in communication with the league (and was actually the one who relayed the news that the game had been temporarily suspended).\n\nScore and playoff implications\n\nThe Bengals led 7-3 in the first quarter of the game between two teams vying for the top playoff seed in the AFC.\n\nCincinnati entered at 11-4 and leading the AFC North by one game over Baltimore, while AFC East champion Buffalo was 12-3.\n\nA local standout\n\nHamlin, 24, was a local standout who attended the University of Pittsburgh from 2016-2020. He led the Panthers in tackled and passes defended during his final season and was named All-ACC second team. The Bills selected him in the sixth round of the 2021 draft, and he appeared in appeared in 14 games his rookie season.\n\nHamlin took on a much larger role during the 2022 season and has started all but the first two of Buffalo’s games this season.\n\nWhat is NFL's emergency action plan?\n\nEach week, the league runs through its emergency action plan with all 32 clubs, Vincent said. Every stadium rehearses a medical situation such as this one annually. The plan is also brought up at the pregame meeting between coaches.\n\nPart of the plan involves having a Level 1 trauma center — designed to address the most serious medical emergencies — active in each home market. The plan also calls for an ambulance in each stadium, as well as an airway management physician on-site.\n\nWhat is next?\n\nSeveral Bills players remained in Cincinnati to be close to Hamlin. The rest of the team returned to the team's headquarters in Orchard Park, New York, early Tuesday morning.\n\nSome members of the Bengals, including head coach Zac Taylor, stopped by the hospital to continue offering support.\n\n\"We also want to thank Coach Taylor and the Bengals for everything they've done,\" Hamlin's family said in their statement.\n\nFollow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/02"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/01/04/damar-hamlin-injury-what-is-nfl-emergency-action-plan-buffalo-bills/10988852002/", "title": "Damar Hamlin injury: What is the NFL's emergency action plan?", "text": "Time stood still for NFL fans when medics performed CPR on Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday night.\n\nHamlin, who collapsed to the ground during the the Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game at Paycor Stadium, had his heartbeat restored on the field, and an automated external defibrillator, or AED, was required. The 24-year-old was transported by ambulance to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.\n\nOn Tuesday, the Bills confirmed Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest and said he remains sedated at the hospital, where he is in critical condition.\n\nThe coordinated medical response was part of the NFL's emergency action plan, which each team is required to have. Here's what to know about the protocol.\n\nNFL:Inside the decision to postpone the Bengals-Bills game\n\nFollow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules\n\nLATEST UPDATES:Bills' Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition after cardiac arrest\n\nWhat is the NFL's emergency action plan?\n\nEach club is required to create an emergency action plan, which is enacted if a player undergoes severe trauma. The plan is reviewed by the NFL and NFL Players Association, and must be approved by a third-party expert before the start of the season, according to the league. Each team is also required to practice its emergency action plan prior to the season.\n\nAs part of the plan, teams must identify a nearby level one trauma center, which, for the Bengals, is the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Clubs are also required to have an ambulance and airway management physician onsite during game days.\n\nThe emergency action plan is discussed one hour before kickoff\n\nOfficiating crews, club medical staff and game day medical personnel meet one hour before every NFL game to run through logistics and emergency action plan procedures. According to the NFL Player Health and Safety website, medical personnel, like airway management physicians and neurotrauma consultants, are introduced to one another during this time. Officials also verify that ambulances, defibrillators and other equipment are onsite.\n\nThe meeting prepares medical staff for a coordinated response, should one be necessary.\n\nWhat is a level one trauma center?\n\nAccording to the American Trauma Society, a trauma center's level refers to its available resources and number of patients admitted annually. A level one center must meet several requirements, including offering care at all stages of an injury, from prevention to rehabilitation.\n\nHow often is the emergency action plan reviewed?\n\nThe NFL runs through its emergency action plan with all 32 clubs weekly, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said. The response for medical situations, like Hamlin's collapse, are rehearsed at NFL stadiums annually.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/04"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/01/03/tuesdays-news-house-speaker-vote-damar-hamlin-california-storm-george-santos-congress/10983097002/", "title": "Tuesday's news: House speaker vote, Damar Hamlin, California ...", "text": "Republican infighting is complicating the selection of a new House speaker. Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is in critical condition after collapsing during a game. And forecasters warn of \"truly a brutal storm\" heading for California.\n\n👋 Hey pals! Laura Davis here. I'm back after a break for the holidays! Hope y'all had a nice time. It's the first Short List of 2023, so let's get to Tuesday's news!\n\nBut first, start the new year off with a meteor shower! 💫 The Quadrantids meteor shower will peak Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Here's how to watch.\n\nThe Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here.\n\nHouse speaker vote highlights internal GOP divisions\n\nUnable to elect Republican leader Kevin McCarthy as the new House speaker Tuesday, the Republicans adjourned for the day in disarray as the party tries to regroup from his historic defeat with no clear way after a long, messy start for the new Congress. Needing 218 votes in the full House, McCarthy got just 203 in both rounds – less even than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries in the GOP-controlled chamber. McCarthy had pledged a “battle on the floor” for as long as it took to overcome right-flank fellow Republicans who were refusing to give him their votes. But it was not at all clear how the embattled GOP leader could rebound after becoming the first House speaker nominee in 100 years to fail to win the gavel from his fellow party members on the initial vote. Follow our coverage for live updates.\n\nWho is leading Congress in 2023? Notable lawmakers to watch.\n\nNFL player Damar Hamlin in critical condition after cardiac arrest on field\n\nBuffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is in critical condition at a hospital after collapsing on the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. After making a tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, Hamlin stood up but collapsed to the ground. The Bills announced early Tuesday that he suffered a cardiac arrest. His heartbeat was restored on the field before he was transferred to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The Bills also said that Hamlin was sedated and added Tuesday afternoon that he spent the night in the intensive care unit. Monday's game was postponed by the NFL. Follow our coverage.\n\nWhat everyone's talking about\n\nThe Short List is free, but several stories we link to are subscriber-only. Consider supporting our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today.\n\nForecasters: California storm could bring flooding, landslides, deaths\n\nA \"brutal\" storm system building over the Pacific Ocean is poised to slam across Northern California on Wednesday, battering a region already struggling from a weekend of record rains and flooding. The storm could drop as much as 8 inches of rain in some areas, falling on already overflowing rivers and saturated ground, according to the National Weather Service. \"This is truly a brutal system that we are looking at and needs to be taken seriously,\" the weather service said, forecasting widespread flooding and power outages, hillside collapse and likely loss of life. 👉 Follow our coverage.\n\n🌤 What's the weather up to at your house? Check your local forecast.\n\nRep. Santos admitted he lied. What can Congress do about it?\n\nGeorge Santos will be sworn in as a freshman congressman from New York on Tuesday, but there are questions about how long and whether he should remain in office. The newly elected Republican admitted last week to lying to voters about his resume and said he still intends to take office. But Santos is facing growing condemnation – and investigations – after a series of stories first reported by The New York Times shows he lied about his education, heritage, previous employment and more. Questions have also been raised after reviews of his campaign finances.\n\nSantos has admitted to lying about his ancestry, previously claiming to be \"a proud Jewish American\" whose family “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium and again fled persecution during WWII.” He now says he is Catholic. “I always joke, I’m Catholic, but I’m also Jew-ish – as in ‘ish,’” he said.\n\npreviously claiming to be \"a proud Jewish American\" whose family “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium and again fled persecution during WWII.” He now says he is Catholic. “I always joke, I’m Catholic, but I’m also Jew-ish – as in ‘ish,’” he said. The congressman-elect also made dramatic claims that implied his mother died as a result of 9/11, that he was robbed of rent money in 2016 and that he lost four employees to the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.\n\n👉 Can George Santos be impeached? Here's what we know.\n\n'My sins here are embellishing my resume': Santos admits to lying about college, career.\n\nReal quick\n\nWhere is the safest place in the world to live?\n\nChoosing a place to live is a carefully crafted decision, and prospective residents often take education, affordability and weather into consideration. Safety is also one of the most important factors. So if we're looking for safety, where are we packing up and moving to? Iceland ranks No. 1 on the 2022 Global Peace Index, a position it has held for over a decade. The index scores countries based on the level of societal safety and security, ongoing domestic and international conflict, and degree of militarization. That sense of safety is having a positive effect: Iceland is also the third happiest country in the world, ranking just behind Finland and Denmark on the 2022 World Happiness Report. Iceland not quite your vibe? More peaceful places in the U.S. and around the world.\n\nA break from the news\n\nLaura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Send her an email at laura@usatoday.com or follow along with her adventures – and misadventures – on Twitter. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/01/03/football-ceased-to-matter-monday-night-after-damar-hamlin-collapsed-and-thats-a-good-thing/69774540007/", "title": "Football ceased to matter Monday night after Damar Hamlin collapsed", "text": "It’s always been easy to allow pessimism to narrow our vision so much that we only see the worst in others, but maybe never more so than today. Social media has given us more ways than ever to show our backsides to the world.\n\nBut the good in us is there to see, too, if we pause, put our phones down and look. That was apparent Monday night when Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after a hit in the first quarter against the Bengals.\n\nPaycor Stadium in Cincinnati went silent. So did living rooms and dens across the country. As we watched players from both teams cry and pray, the importance of the game became unimportant. We didn’t care about playoff seedings, division titles, fantasy league championships or betting parlays.\n\nRead more: Cardinals show support for hospitalized Bills safety Hamlin\n\nMost of us still don’t. Hamlin, whose heartbeat was restored on the field, is in critical condition in a Cincinnati hospital. That’s what matters to us.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules\n\nNo, I didn’t commission a poll to come to reach that conclusion. But from watching the scene in Cincinnati and reading social media posts, it was clear that hardly anyone was interested in playing or watching football when a 24-year-old man was fighting for his life.\n\nThe best in us came out. Bills and Bengals fans hugged and prayed together in the stadium, then filed out quietly and peacefully. An online fundraiser started by Hamlin to buy toys for kids in his hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, was flooded with donations. Hamlin’s goal was to raise $2,500. By noon Tuesday, there was $4.3 million in the account.\n\n“We are deeply moved by the prayers, the kind words and donations from fans around the country,” Hamlin’s family wrote in a statement released Tuesday morning.\n\nMore:Hamlin charity draws overwhelming support\n\nA considerable amount of those donations likely came from people who, like me, knew little to nothing about Hamlin before Monday night. But we know people like him, and if you’ve lived long enough, you know the devastation that comes with the sudden illness or death of someone so young.\n\nA writing instructor in college often lectured about getting to that kind of shared experience in our work. What we think is most personal, he said, is actually most common.\n\nSadly, those shared experiences can result from tragedy. Watching players gather around Hamlin around the field, then seeing the ambulance leave the stadium Monday night, I thought of friends and family who died too soon: Ed and Valerie and Lloyd and Steve and Judy and Jon and Steve and Preston and Doyle and Brian and Pedro. And the awful phone calls delivering that news.\n\nNo one is immune from that experience. Live long enough and you know what it’s like to cry like the players and coaches we saw on our screens Monday night.\n\nMaybe your mind went there, too, to the losses you’ve suffered. Maybe that’s why so many of us stopped caring about football for a little while Monday night, implored the NFL to do likewise and suspend play and donated more than $4 million to Hamlin’s foundation.\n\nThat didn't restore my faith in humanity. But it did reassure it.\n\n(Reach Kent Somers at Kent.Somers@gannett.com. Follow him on twitter @kentsomers. )", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/football/nfl/bills/2023/01/05/damark-hamlin-asks-doctors-if-the-buffalo-bills-won-after-awaking-from-injury/69781696007/", "title": "Damar Hamlin's question to doctors when he awoke after injury: 'Did ...", "text": "ORCHARD PARK - When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin woke up Wednesday night for the first time since going into cardiac arrest 48 hours earlier, the first thing he wanted to know is who won the game.\n\nTalk about a warrior, right?\n\nThat golden nugget of information was shared Thursday afternoon via zoom call with reporters by two of the doctors who were part of the team at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center that treated Hamlin upon his arrival Monday night after he’d gone into cardiac arrest during the first quarter of the Bills-Bengals game.\n\nSign up for the Bills Blast newsletterDelivered straight to your inbox, additional Bills analysis, insight, stats, quotes and team history from Sal Maiorana\n\n“Last night, he was able to emerge and follow commands, and even asked who had won the game,” said Dr. Timothy Pritts, professor in the Department of Surgery at the UCMC’s College of Medicine, and Division Chief of General Surgery and Vice Chair for Clinical Operations at UC Health.\n\n“And to paraphrase one of our partners, when he asked, (in writing because he can’t speak with the breathing tube still inserted) ‘Did we win?’ the answer is, ‘Yes, Damar you won; you’ve won the game of life.’ And that’s probably the most important thing out of this.”\n\nPritts was joined by Dr. William Knight IV, professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Emergency Medicine MLP Program, and both made it clear that before they ever saw Hamlin, his life was saved by the medical personnel on the field at Paycor Stadium.\n\n“As everybody knows, Mr. Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field and it was promptly recognized by the Buffalo Bills medical staff, and that allowed for a very immediate resuscitation on the field,” Knight said.\n\n“I think it just speaks really to the immediate recognition that there was something significantly and seriously wrong by the Bills medical staff. Tim and I speak together, we cannot credit their team enough. Unfortunately, there are injuries occasionally that happen on sports fields, be it football or others, but it is incredibly rare to have something be this serious.\n\n“What they did was immediately marshal the emergency action plan, meaning the emergency medicine services. That prompted the airway physician, the emergency physician that was out on the field to be at his bedside in less than a minute. He had a prompt recognition of loss of pulse which gave him immediate bystander CPR, which as many of you know rarely if ever happens.”\n\nPritts then added, “Really, this went as well as something like this could go under very challenging circumstances, and they did a fantastic job which is why we’re here today.”\n\nAnd, when asked if this could have been a vastly worse outcome if there had been even a tiny lapse in the start of treatment, Pritts said, “I think that’s fair to say.”\n\nIt was revealed Thursday that the member of the Bills’ training staff who performed the CPR that saved Hamlin’s life was assistant trainer Denny Kellington. That was the first step that needed to be taken, and once Kellington was able to get Hamlin’s heart pumping again, the rest of the treatment plan flowed to near perfection.\n\nSince being admitted Monday night, Hamlin was making small but incremental improvement, most notably on Tuesday night when his dependence on oxygen dropped from 100% to 50%. That was a very good sign.\n\nAnd then overnight Wednesday to Thursday, he came out of induced sedation and the medical team determined that he appeared to have no neurological difficulties, which was also a tremendous piece of news.\n\nMore:Report: Bills-Bengals game canceled as NFL decides not to reschedule game\n\nA Bills year like no other:Unprecedented challenges met with remarkable resilience\n\nSumming up the previous 24 hours, Pritts said, “We would like to share that there has been substantial improvement in his condition. We had significant concern about him after the injury and after the event that happened on the field, but he is making substantial progress. As of this morning he is beginning to awaken and it appears that his neurological condition and function is intact. We are very proud to report that, very happy for him and for his family and for the Buffalo Bills organization that he is making improvement.”\n\nBoth doctors made it clear that Hamlin still has a long road ahead of him, though they weren’t willing to make predictions on where his condition might go from here.\n\n“There are many, many steps still ahead of him,” Knight said. “From our standpoint, we would like to see him continue to improve, to be completely breathing on his own. And then to be ready to be discharged from the hospital. So those are the immediate next steps as we go from here.\n\n“His family has been with him at his bedside, as have members of the Buffalo Bills organization, really since this all began, and we really want to get him home to them so those will be the immediate next steps and then we’ll talk about potential plans for the future.”\n\nSal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/01/06/damar-hamlin-health-updates-what-we-know-friday/10997169002/", "title": "Damar Hamlin breathing on his own: Buffalo Bills player is talking ...", "text": "USA TODAY Sports\n\nDamar Hamlin is speaking and had his breathing tube removed Friday, the Buffalo Bills announced. He has also been able to communicate with teammates via FaceTime, the team said.\n\n\"He continues to progress remarkably in his recovery,\" the Bills said in a statement. \"His neurologic function remains intact and he has been able to talk to his family and care team.\"\n\nBills head coach Sean McDermott said Hamlin flexed while on screen in front of the whole team.\n\nThe latest development came on the heels of Hamlin making significant progress the previous day, when he was able to communicate with doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.\n\nThe 24-year-old second-year NFL player woke up after being sedated, and his first thoughts after waking up were about Monday night's Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals game that was suspended and later canceled by the NFL.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules\n\nDOCTOR UPDATES:Here's what Damar Hamlin's doctors said about the Bills player's health and recovery\n\nHamlin’s first comments were to a nurse at his bedside, according to doctors, while his family, friends and members of the Bills organization have remained by his side since he was transported to the medical facility.\n\nMeanwhile in Buffalo, McDermott and quarterback Josh Allen spoke to media members for the first time since Monday night's collapse.\n\n\"You lose sleep, you hurt for your brother,\" Allen said. \"The scene just replays over and over in your head. It's hard to describe how I felt, and how my teammates felt in that moment. It's something we'll never forget.\"\n\nBills put Damar Hamlin on IR\n\nThe Bills placed Hamlin on injured reserve, the team announced Friday. In a corresponding move, the club activated cornerback Christian Benford from injured reserve.\n\nRoger Goodell says Damar Hamlin’s improving condition is lifting spirits\n\nNFL commissioner Roger Goodell made his first public comments on Damar Hamlin during a conference call Friday to discuss the changes the league has made regarding the canceled Bills-Bengals game and playoff implications.\n\n\"Extraordinary situations bring out extraordinary people, and we continue to see that,” Goodell said.\n\nGoodell later said of Hamlin: \"His improving condition lifted the spirits of the entire league.\"\n\nHow NFL will honor Damar Hamlin in Week 18\n\nNFL teams will have a variety of ways to show support for Hamlin this weekend. The league has encouraged clubs to read a public address announcement to demonstrate a pregame moment of support.\n\nAll clubs may outline the \"3\" in each 30-yard line number on the field in either Bills Red or Bills Blue. During warmups, players will have the option to wear black Nike T-shirts that display \"Love for Damar 3.\" The shirt will be in royal blue for the Bills players.\n\nThe Bills will also wear a No. 3 patch on the left side of their jerseys. Bills personnel will be provided with hats embroidered with a \"3\" on them.\n\nSean McDermott: Damar Hamlin 'an infectious young man'\n\nWhen Hamlin came up on the screen, his teammates stood up right away, clapped and yelled some things to him.\n\n\"It was a pretty cool exchange for a few seconds right there,\" McDermott said. \"He was larger than life\" on the big screen, the coach added.\n\nIt was hard to hear in the room, McDermott said, and the call was not long. But to see and hear him made everybody in the room light up.\n\n\"He's just an infectious young man with an infectious personality,\" McDermott said.\n\nDamar Hamlin speaking after breathing tube removed\n\nHamlin’s breathing tube was removed overnight, the Bills said. He spent the morning contacting teammates via FaceTime. He also addressed the entire team during a meeting, the Bills said.\n\nWhat did Hamlin say? \"Love you boys.\"\n\n“He continues to progress remarkably in his recovery,” the team said.\n\nHamlin has been able to talk with his family and care team. His neurological function is intact.\n\nDr. Timothy Pritts said Thursday that Hamlin had reached a “turning point” in his recovery. He was able to communicate via writing and had movement in his extremities, doctors said.\n\nWho gave Damar Hamlin CPR? Bills trainer Denny Kellington praised\n\nThe doctors caring for Hamlin have consistently commended the work of the first responders present at Monday's game. This week, a specific member of the Bills training staff has received kudos for his quick recognition of Hamlin's situation.\n\nBills assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington has been with the team since 2017 and had spent the previous 11 seasons at Syracuse University, serving as head athletic trainer for the football team from 2011-17. On Monday, he was one of the first individuals to reach Hamlin on the field and almost immediately began giving him CPR.\n\nThanks to CPR and a defibrillator, Kellington and the other responders were able to restore Hamlin's heartbeat on the field. During a news conference Thursday, McDermott said the training staff holds routine exercises to train for emergencies.\n\nDuring a Wednesday night Zoom call from Hamlin’s father, Mario, to the entire team, he implored them to get back to work and, essentially, do Damar proud.\n\n“Damar’s father spoke to the team and really his message was the team needs to get back to focusing on the goals that they had set for themselves,” McDermott said Thursday. “Damar would have wanted it that way, and I’m paraphrasing. So that includes our game against New England this week. And I think that has helped. And then getting the news today was big, a huge help to getting us back to focusing on the game this weekend.”\n\n— Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle\n\nWhat Troy Aikman said about Damar Hamlin\n\nTroy Aikman was in the ESPN broadcast booth during the Bills-Bengals game when Hamlin collapsed.\n\n“This was unlike anything that anyone of my generation [of NFL players] or generations after me may have experienced or witnessed,” Aikman told Sportsradio 96.7 FM/1310 The Ticket on Thursday.\n\n“That’s just not something you anticipate. You anticipate broken bones and blown-out knees and things of that nature, but you don’t anticipate, you know, life-changing events or life-threatening events even. So, I don’t know, I think that these moments tend to bring people together,” Aikman said.\n\nThe NFL's cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game is an extremely rare move for the league. Yes, the NFL has canceled games in the past. Labor strikes led the NFL to play only nine games in 1982, writes Joe Horrigan in \"NFL Century: The One-Hundred-Year Rise of America's Greatest Sports League.\"\n\nAnother strike five years later resulted in the third week of the season being canceled, he writes. Replacement players joined players who crossed picket lines for games in weeks four, five and six. Players returned in time for week seven of the 1987 season.\n\nBut the NFL has never had a game start, then be postponed and never resumed, according to CBS Sports research. And you have to go back nearly a century – to 1935 – to find a time when some teams ended up playing more games than others, and that was because of weather-related cancellations.\n\nHere's what to know about the history of canceled games in the NFL.\n\nA lot, and it was good news. His doctors said he has \"made a very remarkable recovery and improvement.\" The doctors also said he woke up and asked in writing who won the Bills game Monday night. Here's everything that happened Thursday with Hamlin.\n\nWhether they knew Hamlin personally or not, NFL players across the league must grapple with trauma while preparing to play Week 18.\n\n\"I think for this whole week – and probably for many weeks to come – it’s going to be in the back of everyone’s minds, especially the guys that are playing, but I don’t think this alters the way you play,\" Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews said Wednesday. \"I think you go out there, be yourself and everything else will take care of itself.\"\n\nRavens cornerback Marlon Humphrey ignores his phone during team meetings but admitted he immediately acknowledged the ESPN notifications that came across his phone. Head coach John Harbaugh opened Tuesday's team meeting with a discussion about how much courage it takes to play in the NFL.\n\n\"It kind of helped ease a lot of our minds,\" Humphrey said. \"Even though a lot of us didn’t know Damar, but he’s a brother in this league.\"\n\nVeteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell said he has spoken to other guys around the league to \"just make sure everybody is good.\"\n\n\"This is one of those things that you know can happen, but you never really expect it to happen,\" Campbell said. \"Something so severe like that, where a man is fighting for his life.\"\n\nRead more reaction from around the league here.\n\nWhat doctors said about Damar Hamlin's health and recovery\n\nDoctors who treated the Buffalo Bills safety at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center addressed on Thursday the question of commotio cordis, the emergency response on the field on Monday night and topics on his health.\n\nTee Higgins pleased to hear about Damar Hamlin's progress\n\nFor the first time since Monday night, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver addressed the media about his mental state following the tackle with Hamlin.\n\nAfter Higgins caught a pass from Joe Burrow, Hamlin tackled him to the ground. It was a normal football play, but as Hamlin stood up, he immediately collapsed on the field.\n\nWant to honor Damar Hamlin? Learn CPR.\n\nDamar Hamlin's story thankfully seems to be heading toward a positive ending: His doctors report that he is neurologically intact and on his way to recovery. Hamlin miraculously went from lying on the field to asking who won the game because he received prompt and high-quality CPR, Dr. Jerome Adams writes.\n\nBill Belichick reminded of injury from 1997\n\nOn Thursday, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick began his media availability by discussing Damar Hamlin and the ensuing fallout for NFL players and coaches. One of the more notable tidbits was Belichick seeing what happened with Hamlin on Monday and recounting another scary injury situation from his coaching past.\n\nWhat happened to Damar Hamlin?\n\nDamar Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard gain during the Bills-Bengals Monday Night Football showdown. The play appeared to be routine. Hamlin stood up afterwards, but collapsed to the ground with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter.\n\nAn ambulance was brought onto the field. Hamlin was treated with CPR and an AED to restore his heartbeat on the field as players from both teams created a human shield around Hamlin as emergency responders worked to resuscitate him. Hamlin was then placed on a stretcher before being transported to the hospital.\n\nThe game was temporarily suspended then — one hour and five minutes after Hamlin collapsed — postponed.\n\nIt was later revealed that Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest. But what is cardiac arrest, and how might it have happened to Hamlin?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/01/03/espn-carefully-navigated-coverage-of-hamlin-collapse/51131625/", "title": "ESPN carefully navigated coverage of Hamlin collapse", "text": "AP\n\nGuiding viewers through the coverage after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during the first quarter of Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals wasn't something covered in a how-to.\n\nESPN's Scott Van Pelt said he knew, though, what he had to do while on the air amid a traumatic situation — be calm, reasonable, and share what's known with the audience.\n\n\"We tried our best to be human in the moment,” Van Pelt said Tuesday. “We would have tried to do a great job with a great game, and it would have been a hell of a lot of fun, and then this wasn’t. That was the gravity of it. And the seriousness of it was unusual.”\n\nESPN initially showed a couple of replays of Hamlin collapsing to the turf before going to a commercial. It wasn't shown again on the network throughout its coverage. Joe Buck was the first to alert viewers that medical personnel was administering CPR.\n\nESPN also kept its distance with its cameras while both teams huddled around Hamlin. ESPN did have the Skycam, but decided not to position it above the scene.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules\n\nThe restraint shown by ESPN demonstrated how networks' coverage of severe injuries during sporting events has evolved. Many still remember the constant replays of Washington quarterback Joe Theismann suffering a compound fracture to his right leg while being sacked by New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor on “Monday Night Football” in 1985.\n\nSince that moment, networks have been more judicious when showing traumatic events, whether it is players suffering gruesome injuries or accidents during motorsports events until a driver shows he is alert.\n\nWhile some wondered why ESPN didn't have a doctor come on for analysis, Van Pelt said not enough information was known about what happened to Hamlin.\n\n\"I don’t see any benefit in guessing what this might be. I don’t know how we’re advancing anything,” he said.\n\nSt. Louis Blues and TNT analyst Darren Pang knows what Van Pelt means. Pang was between the benches in 2020 when St. Louis defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac episode and collapsed on the bench during the first period of a game against the Anaheim Ducks.\n\nPang said the Blues production crew had a seminar to address things that might happen during the season. One of the scenarios was going over what happened when Dallas forward Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench during a game in 2014 due to an irregular heartbeat.\n\n“I saw for sure more than I said, and that was because of the training they told us. I’m not a doctor, so I didn’t want to get anything wrong,” Pang said. “I saw the faces of the players, and that was enough for me to know how dire the situation was.”\n\nBuck said multiple times that the Bills game would resume after a five-minute warmup period. There was footage showing Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow doing some light throwing and Lisa Salters reporting from the sidelines that Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs tried to give a speech firing up his team.\n\nTroy Vincent, the league’s executive vice president of football operations, said resuming play wasn't considered. ESPN said in a statement there was constant communication between the network, league, and game officials. As standard league protocol, networks have a direct line to the NFL throughout a game.\n\n“As a result of that, we reported what we were told in the moment and immediately updated fans as new information was learned. This was an unprecedented, rapidly-evolving circumstance. All night long, we refrained from speculation,” ESPN said in the statement.\n\nThe best perspective of the night came from ESPN analyst Ryan Clark, who was hospitalized for an extended period in 2007 after suffering a splenic infarction.\n\n“I dealt with this before and I watched my teammates for days come to my hospital bed and just cry. I had them call me and tell me that they didn’t think I was gonna make it, and now this team has to deal with that, and they have no answers,” Clark said while on with Van Pelt. “We should remember that these men are putting their lives on the line to live their dream. And tonight Damar Hamlin’s dream became a nightmare for not only himself, but his family and his team.”", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/01/06/damar-hamlin-collapse-looms-large-over-nfl-players-week-18/10996663002/", "title": "How will NFL players suit up after Damar Hamlin collapse? 'Life is ...", "text": "The Buffalo Bills took a pair of cornerbacks consecutively in the sixth round of last year's draft. With the 212th overall pick, they selected Damar Hamlin. At No. 213, the pick was Rachad Wildgoose.\n\nWildgoose is now with the Washington Commanders but considers his draft partner his \"brother.\" Every time he thinks of Hamlin, Wildgoose becomes emotional. He doesn't want to talk about what happened, that one of the closest friends he's made in the NFL suffered cardiac arrest Monday – and has since made a \"remarkable recovery\" while still in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.\n\n\"Life is bigger than this game,\" Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said. \"This is one of these humbling moments for all of us that stands out.\"\n\nRegardless of how Wildgoose feels, he will nonetheless suit up Sunday in the Commanders' season finale against the Dallas Cowboys. But whether they knew Hamlin personally or not, NFL players across the league must grapple with trauma while preparing to play Week 18.\n\n\"I think for this whole week – and probably for many weeks to come – it’s going to be in the back of everyone’s minds, especially the guys that are playing, but I don’t think this alters the way you play,\" Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews said Wednesday. \"I think you go out there, be yourself and everything else will take care of itself.\"\n\nFollow every game: Latest NFL Scores and Schedules\n\nHAMLIN UPDATES: Bills player shows significant improvement, asks about MNF game\n\nMNF CANCELED:NFL won't resume Bills-Bengals Week 17 game postponed after Damar Hamlin's collapse\n\n'He's a brother in this league'\n\nAndrews was at home watching the game when Hamlin collapsed after making a routine tackle early in the first quarter.\n\n\"It was a crazy thing to see,\" Andrews said. \"It’s definitely very humbling.\"\n\nRavens cornerback Marlon Humphrey ignores his phone during team meetings but admitted he immediately acknowledged the ESPN notifications that came across his phone. Head coach John Harbaugh opened Tuesday's team meeting with a discussion about how much courage it takes to play in the NFL.\n\n\"It kind of helped ease a lot of our minds,\" Humphrey said. \"Even though a lot of us didn’t know Damar, but he’s a brother in this league.\"\n\nVeteran defensive tackle Calais Campbell said he has spoken to other guys around the league to \"just make sure everybody is good.\"\n\n\"This is one of those things that you know can happen, but you never really expect it to happen,\" Campbell said. \"Something so severe like that, where a man is fighting for his life.\"\n\nRavens fullback Pat Ricard was at home playing video games with his wife Monday when a friend they were playing with informed them an ambulance was on the field.\n\n\"It’s tragic. It could happen to anybody,\" Ricard said. \"For it to happen, I think it’s one of those things where it just puts a lot of perspective into a lot of people – the players, the fans, teams.\"\n\nThe seeming routineness of the play and tackle is the scary part, Humphrey said.\n\n\"It was just an ordinary play it seemed like,\" Humphrey said. \"So, it doesn’t really change my approach of how I go about the game, but it just makes you really just think about what you’re doing.\"\n\nHitting close to home\n\nIt was not intentional, but Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton wore a sweatshirt with the words \"Take Care: Your Mental Health Matters.\"\n\n\"Maybe it was a subliminal thing that I did this morning, but it is important to take care of your mental health, especially at times like this and all the time,\" Hamilton said.\n\nThe team made sure counseling resources available were made known to the players and Harbaugh and Humphrey commended the work of Dr. Tricia Bent-Goodley, the Ravens' clinician.\n\nThis incident hit closer to home for Ravens players compared to other real-life circumstances that can impact the workplace. But the airing of feelings isn't uncommon in the Ravens' facility, safety Chuck Clark said.\n\nThat type of vulnerability can be rare in a NFL locker room.\n\n\"In this game, we’re always taught to be tough and don’t show emotions, but whenever anything happens, we open up the space, ‘Just get it off. Just get your feelings out,’\" Clark said.\n\nThe Bengals were firsthand witnesses to the near-tragedy with Hamlin. NFL Players' Association president JC Tretter said Thursday the union held individual calls for the Bills and Bengals to check in, as well as league-wide call Wednesday night.\n\nPlayers know they can use the union to discuss their feelings, Tretter said, but the NFLPA can also put them in touch with experts to help them during difficult timer.\n\n\"We haven't got a ton of comments about not feeling like they're able to play,\" Tretter said.\n\nHamilton said the label of \"the manliest thing you can do is be a football player\" can dissuade players from sharing their feelings with teammates.\n\n\"People in the building are doing a great job of lending us our resources and stuff like that,\" Hamilton said. \"Not only in football, in this case scenario, I think in just the world in general, in society, I think everybody can probably touch on mental health a little more.\"\n\nBut when it comes to playing Sunday, Andrews doesn't want to speak for anyone else when he says that what happened to Hamlin won't impact his fervor for the game.\n\n\"My love for the game doesn’t alter or change just because obviously something bad happened,\" Andrews said. \"Again, things happen. You can’t control everything, but I don’t think it changes the way I feel about football.\"\n\nFollow Chris Bumbaca on Twitter @BOOMbaca.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_14", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/01/02/rolling-stone-200-greatest-singers-list-snubs-celine-dion-jennifer-hudson-justin-bieber-pink/10979617002/", "title": "Rolling Stone 200 greatest singers list snubs Celine Dion, more", "text": "Rolling Stone has ruffled feathers with its updated 200 Greatest Singers of All Time list.\n\nThe publication started the New Year with an update to its rankings, which began in 2008, honoring the best vocalists in pop music.\n\nThis time around, the list excludes powerhouses like Celine Dion, Pink, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Hudson, Janet Jackson, Tony Bennett, Madonna, Nat King Cole, Dionne Warwick and more.\n\n\"This new list was compiled our staff and key contributors, and it encompasses 100 years of pop music as an ongoing global conversation,\" Rolling Stone writes, adding criteria was based on \"originality, influence, the depth of an artist’s catalog, and the breadth of their musical legacy.\"\n\nMany music fans argued on Twitter about the snubbed artists and the ranking order.\n\nThese are the 10 best songs of 2022, ranked:Beyoncé's 'Break My Soul.' Taylor Swift's 'Anti-Hero.'\n\nRanking the 10 best albums of 2022, including Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny\n\n\"They got THE @MichaelJackson way down at EIGHTY-SIX?! and no @CelineDion at ALL?!\" actress Yvette Nicole Brown tweeted. \"Shoot, the way MJ sang #WithAChildsHeart when he was a CHILD makes him top three at the least and if Celine Dion isn’t in the Top Ten at the LEAST what are we really doing?! Damn @RollingStone.\"\n\nOne Twitter user wrote: \"What do you mean celine dion is not on the rolling stone list???\"\n\n\"I’m sorry, but Jennifer Hudson is a better singer than 95% of the people on that #RollingStone list,\" another person said. \"Her impact is immense. The EGOT winner’s contributions to film, theatre, music and television are undeniable.\"\n\nIn addition to Hudson, fellow EGOT recipients John Legend and Rita Moreno did not make the cut.\n\nJennifer Hudson earns EGOT at Tony Awards:Stars who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony\n\nJazmine Sullivan, Christina Aguilera, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson made the list, but they didn't break the Top 100.\n\n\"Rolling Stone Magazine proved to be not credible. 1. Placing Christina Aguilera this low. 2. Placing Taylor Swift higher than Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jazmine Sullivan & Alicia Keys. 3. Not having Celine Dion on the last who is part of the vocal trinity,\" a Twitter user critiqued.\n\nAnother similarly tweeted, \"Rolling Stone but Taylor Swift in the top 200 vocalists but didn’t even mention Celine Dion or Janet Jackson. And they put Rihanna ABOVE Kelly Clarkson ?????\"\n\nWe rank Whitney Houston's 10 best songs, with the inside story from her mentor Clive Davis\n\nAmong other snubs were lead vocalists whose singing bandmates were excluded. Stevie Nicks made it without Fleetwood Mac, Jungkook was plucked from BTS, Beyoncé sans other members of Destiny's Child, Diana Ross without the Supremes, Ozzy Osbourne ranked without Black Sabbath and Mick Jagger was included without the Rolling Stones.\n\nSoul and R&B dominated the Top 10 of Rolling Stone's list, with Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Sam Cooke taking the top spots.\n\nRelated:Christine McVie wrote many of Fleetwood Mac's greatest songs. These 5 were her best.\n\nThe Top 20 are listed below, with the full list of 200 available on Rolling Stone's website.\n\n20. Marvin Gaye\n\n19. Frank Sinatra\n\n18. Celia Cruz\n\n17. Elvis Presley\n\n16. Prince\n\n15. Bob Dylan\n\n14. Freddie Mercury\n\n13. Patsy Cline\n\n12. John Lennon\n\n11. Little Richard\n\n10. Al Green\n\n9. Otis Redding\n\n8. Beyoncé\n\n7. Stevie Wonder\n\n6. Ray Charles\n\n5. Mariah Carey\n\n4. Billie Holiday\n\n3. Sam Cooke\n\n2. Whitney Houston\n\n1. Aretha Franklin\n\n2023 Grammy nominations full list:Beyoncé leads, ties Jay-Z for most nods ever", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/02"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_15", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/01/05/americas-oldest-person-bessie-hendricks-dies-115/10994158002/", "title": "America's oldest person, Bessie Hendricks, dies at 115 in Iowa", "text": "DES MOINES, Iowa – Bessie Hendricks of Iowa lived through the roaring '20s, the Great Depression, two World Wars, the dawn of the internet age and a global pandemic.\n\nAt age 115, she was believed to be the oldest person in the U.S. when she died Tuesday at a senior living facility in Lake City.\n\nHendricks, who was born Nov. 7, 1907, taught at a one-room schoolhouse in her home state. She raised five children, two of whom she outlived.\n\nBack when she turned 112, Hendricks told the Fort Dodge Messenger the secret to her longevity: Work hard, stay away from doctors, and make sure to enjoy sweets, like a piece of pie or slice of birthday cake.\n\nApril:Japan's Kane Tanaka, the world’s oldest person, dies at 119\n\n'It's worth living longer':105-year-old Louisiana woman sets world record in 100-meter dash\n\nHendricks' death leaves Edie Ceccarelli of California as the oldest living American, according to the Gerontology Research Group in Los Angeles. She is set to turn 115 on Feb. 5.\n\nCentenarians, supercentenarians in the US\n\nCentenarians are people who live past 100 years old, according to the Exceptional Longevity Laboratory at Iowa State University. According to 2010 census data, 53,364 centenarians were living in the United States, or about 0.017% of the country's population.\n\nWant to live past 100? Centenarians share their secrets\n\nFactors influencing longevity include genetics; environmental support, including family support and health care; a lower-stress lifestyle; and the ability to get outside and connect with nature, says Peter Martin, a professor at Iowa State whose research specializes in life span development and longevity..\n\nHendricks was a supercentenarian, a person who lives past 110. As of the 2010 census, there were 330 supercentenarians across the country, which is just 0.6% of the centenarian population.\n\nWhile living past 110 is rare, Martin said, it's a true testament to one's endurance and outlook on life.\n\n\"After 115 it gets very difficult,\" he said. \"Every year is really a gift that you get that you could not have expected to get.\"\n\nWhat's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day\n\nHendricks' funeral will be Saturday at the Lampe and Powers Funeral Home in Lake City. Funeral director Dana Morris said the service will include a tribute to Hendricks' life, including readings of memoirs written by her deceased daughter.\n\nFollow Francesca Block on Twitter at @francescablock3.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/12/us/oldest-living-person-115th-birthday-trnd/index.html", "title": "Bessie Hendricks, oldest living person in US, turns 115 | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nBring out the candles – 115 of them.\n\nBessie Hendricks, the oldest living person in the United States, has celebrated yet another turn around the sun. The Iowa supercentenarian turned 115 on November 7, according to CNN affiliate KCCI.\n\nHendricks was born in 1907. Her lifetime has seen 21 presidents, two world wars, and the sinking of the Titanic.\n\nIn addition to being the oldest living person in the United States, she is also the fourth-oldest living person in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group, which records and certifies supercentenarians (people who have lived to be older than 110).\n\nHendricks celebrated her 115th birthday alongside her three children at Shady Oaks Care Center, according to KCCI.\n\n“I don’t know how you put it into words,” said her daughter, Joan Schaffer, according to KCCI. Schaffer turned 90 the day before her mother’s 115th birthday. “It’s marvelous that we still have her.”\n\nHendricks’ children described her as a hard-working, caring mother. Hendricks’ own mother died when she was just 13 years old, according to KCCI.\n\nCurrently, the title for oldest living person belongs to Lucile Randon, a 118-year old French nun, says the Gerontology Research Group. The oldest person ever recorded was another Frenchwoman, Jeanne Louise Calment, who lived to be over 122 years old, according to the Guinness World Records. Calment died in 1997.", "authors": ["Zoe Sottile"], "publish_date": "2022/11/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/01/05/man-accused-chewing-off-mans-ear-portland-oregon/10994361002/", "title": "Man accused of chewing off 78-year-old man's ear said he thought ...", "text": "Lisa Baumann\n\nAssociated Press\n\nPORTLAND – A man accused of chewing off the ear of a 78-year-old man on a light rail train platform near Portland, Oregon, told detectives he thought the victim was a robot trying to kill him, police said.\n\nKoryn Daniel Kraemer was charged with second-degree assault in Multnomah County District Court on Wednesday, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said. Kraemer, 25, entered a not-guilty plea to the charge.\n\nAround 2 a.m. Tuesday, police and deputies responded to a light rail platform in Gresham after a caller said they could see a lot of blood and an attacker on top of a victim, according to an affidavit of probable cause.\n\nOfficers used force to remove Kraemer from the victim and the victim was taken to a hospital, the affidavit said. The victim's right ear was bitten off in the attack and part of his skull was visible, the affidavit said. He was sedated but in stable condition, according to the document.\n\nUtah shooting:Eight family members, including five children, found fatally shot in Utah home; motive unclear\n\nInvestigators said the suspect initially gave his name as El Baker, and he was booked into jail under that name. Multnomah County jail staff later identified the man as Kraemer, who had recently moved to Portland from Georgia, the affidavit said.\n\nAmerica's oldest known person has died:The oldest person in the US, Bessie Hendricks, dies at 115 in Iowa nursing home\n\nKraemer told a detective he consumed alcohol, marijuana and fentanyl pills before the attack, according to the affidavit, and said he could tell by how the victim smelled that he was a robot. He also told police he spit the flesh onto the ground.\n\nKraemer was being held in custody without bail on Thursday.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/01/05/speaker-house-votes-mccarthy-damar-hamlin-injury-idaho-murders-russia-cease-fire-thursdays-news/10985460002/", "title": "The Short List: Speaker of the House votes, Damar Hamlin injury ...", "text": "The vote for a speaker of the House dragged into day three. New details were released about the murders of four University of Idaho students. And doctors gave a positive update on Bills' safety Damar Hamlin.\n\n👋 Hey! Laura Davis here. It's Thursday, which means it's time for – you guessed it – Thursday's news!\n\nBut first: New year, new you? If you're starting the new year with some wellness resolutions, the first thing you can do is ditch the multivitamins.\n\nThe Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here.\n\nDay 3: Still no House speaker\n\nIf at first you don't succeed, try, try again. And again. And again. And a few more times for good measure, if you're Kevin McCarthy. The House of Representatives made history Thursday, moving to a tenth ballot after more stalemated efforts to elect a speaker of the House – the most ballots in this normally pro forma election since just before the Civil War. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed a ninth ballot since Tuesday, as a solid core of some 20 Republicans say they will continue to oppose him because he is too much a part of the establishment. GOP opponents have sunk his past nine attempts to get enough votes to win the job. The efforts to forge a compromise could weaken the job – if he gets it – and show that governing the Republican-led House is going to be challenging this year, with infighting consuming what's been a simple one-ballot vote for the past hundred years. 👉 Follow our coverage for the latest developments.\n\nBills safety Damar Hamlin awake and communicating\n\nDamar Hamlin wanted to know who won the game. After the Bills safety woke up in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Wednesday night, one of the first things he did was to ask, in writing, if his team won Monday's Bills-Bengals game during which he was injured. \"The answer is yes, Damar, you won the game of life,\" Dr. Timothy Pritts said. Doctors provided details of the NFL player's closely followed condition at a Thursday press conference, saying Hamlin woke up, followed commands and could communicate in writing. Hamlin remains intubated in critical condition after going into cardiac arrest during Monday's game. Here's the latest on Hamlin's condition.\n\nWhat everyone's talking about\n\nThe Short List is free, but several stories we link to are subscriber-only. Consider supporting our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today.\n\nBiden unveils new steps to curb surge of migrants\n\nIn his boldest move yet to confront arrivals of migrants that have spiraled since he took office two years ago, President Joe Biden said Thursday the U.S. would immediately begin turning away people from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua who cross the border illegally from Mexico. Facing criticism that he's not done enough to stop illegal border crossings, Biden outlined what he called \"orderly, safe and humane\" ways to strengthen border control while expanding legal pathways to the United States. \"Do not, do not just show up at the border,\" Biden said, even as he acknowledged the hardships that lead many families to make the dangerous journey north. \"Stay where you are and apply legally from there.\" Keep reading.\n\nA Christmas cease-fire?\n\nIt was not immediately clear whether hostilities would actually be halted, but Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his armed forces to hold a 36-hour cease-fire in Ukraine this weekend to mark the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday on Saturday. Ukrainian officials have previously dismissed Russian peace moves as ploys to regroup and prepare for more attacks. When asked about the cease-fire, Biden said he was \"reluctant to respond to anything Putin says. ... I think he’s trying to find some oxygen.\" Here's the latest.\n\nReal quick\n\n'Conveyer belt' of storms: Heavy rains, high winds, power outages and evacuations rolled across California on Thursday as a second massive storm in a week overwhelmed parts of the state and was blamed for at least two deaths. Live updates.\n\n🌤 What's the weather up to at your house? Check your local forecast.\n\nPolice: Idaho murder suspect's DNA found at crime scene\n\nThe DNA of the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students was found on a knife sheath recovered at the crime scene, court documents unsealed Thursday revealed. Police said they zeroed in on suspect Bryan Kohberger, 28, through a combination of DNA evidence, trash collected from his parents' home, surveillance video, cellphone records and license plate readers that tracked his car on a cross-country drive. His phone had been tracked to nearby the students' house at least 12 times in the six months before the attack, authorities noted. Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in eastern Pennsylvania last week and was extradited to Idaho. He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary in the Nov. 13 attack. More from the arrest documents.\n\n​​​​A mystery, then a break in the case:Timeline of the investigation.\n\nA break from the news\n\nLaura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Send her an email at laura@usatoday.com or follow along with her adventures – and misadventures – on Twitter. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/01/06/house-speaker-mccarthy-hamlin-inflation-california/11000558002/", "title": "Kevin McCarthy, California rain, Damar Hamlin, Jan. 6, inflation ...", "text": "The House returns Friday to try again to end the stalemate over choosing a new speaker after days of voting with no conclusion. Also in the news: Today marks the second anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the NFL will not resume or replay the Monday's Bills-Bengals game that was stalled after Damar Hamlin's collapse.\n\n🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Staying home with a sick person? Here's what to do.\n\nHappy Friday. Here's the news.\n\nSpeaker vote stretches past 11th ballot\n\nGOP lawmakers expressed muted optimism that a deal was getting closer with a rebellious Republican faction to install House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy as speaker in return for significant concessions. McCarthy has now failed in 11 ballots since Tuesday, as a solid core of some 20 Republicans say they will continue to oppose him because he is too much a part of the establishment.\n\nOne thing to know: The House remains paralyzed with members-elect not sworn in, lacking security clearances and the lower chamber remains unable to conduct any legislative business.\n\nSome of the roughly 20 Republicans declining to vote for McCarthy as the next House speaker are depicting their work as a historic effort to re-tip the balance of power in Washington.\n\ndeclining to vote for McCarthy as the next House speaker are depicting their work as a historic effort to re-tip the balance of power in Washington. What can the House members-elect do? They can use the time to negotiate on House rules so that lawmakers can adopt them after picking a speaker. Officials and their staffs can still field calls from their constituents in this time.\n\nThey can use the time to negotiate on House rules so that lawmakers can adopt them after picking a speaker. Officials and their staffs can still field calls from their constituents in this time. Who is Byron Donalds? In a fourth-round vote Wednesday, the 20 representatives standing in the way of a McCarthy speakership shifted their votes to Donalds, a second-term congressman from Florida who is considered an ascendent figure in the GOP.\n\nIn a fourth-round vote Wednesday, the 20 representatives standing in the way of a McCarthy speakership shifted their votes to Donalds, a second-term congressman from Florida who is considered an ascendent figure in the GOP. The once-in-a-century political confusion didn’t stop social media users, reporters and lawmakers from joking about the contentious climate on Capitol Hill.\n\n'Conveyer belt' of storms keep hitting California\n\nThe San Francisco Bay Area gets a short rest before another storm – part of a series that could last into next week – hits on Friday. Heavy rains, high winds, power outages and evacuations rolled across California this week as a massive storm overwhelmed parts of the state and was blamed for at least two deaths. San Francisco recorded the wettest ten-day period since 1871, with 10.33 inches of rain falling between Dec. 26 and Jan. 4, the National Weather Service said. The deluge on drought-parched ground in some parts of California led to fears of mudslides; winds that could down weakened trees; and runoff that could overwhelm urban areas with flooding. Read more\n\nMost glaciers on track to melt away by 2100, but some can still be saved.\n\nMore news to know now\n\n🌤 What's the weather this weekend? Check your local forecast here.\n\nJan. 6 Capitol attack 2 years later\n\nTwo years after the deadly Capitol assault on Jan. 6, 2021, the special House committee examining the attack delivered a dramatic coda to its 18-month investigation when it accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the deadly insurrection and asked the Justice Department to prosecute him on the incendiary charge, along with three other allegations of criminal wrongdoing. Trump’s potential legal exposure has only grown more perilous and his future political viability has been thrust into the unknown. Read more\n\nEconomy added 223,000 jobs in December\n\nHiring slowed modestly in December as employers added 223,000 jobs to close out an otherwise booming year, possibly foreshadowing the deeper pullback and recession that many economists expect in 2023. The unemployment rate fell from 3.7% to 3.5%, the Labor Department said in its latest jobs report released Friday. Most economists expect the U.S. to slip into a mild recession this year as the Fed’s rate increases take a growing toll on spending and growth. Such forecasts have further weakened consumer and business confidence. Yet despite the hurdles, the labor market has been remarkably resilient, repeatedly defying forecasts for a more dramatic slowdown. Read more\n\nJust for subscribers:\n\nThese articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Already a subscriber and want premium content texted to you every day? We can do that! Sign up for our subscriber-only texting campaign.\n\nNFL won't resume Bills-Bengals Week 17 game\n\nThe Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals will not resume or replay their game that was suspended Jan. 2 following the collapse of Bills safety Damar Hamlin, the NFL announced. Both teams will finish the 2022 regular season with one fewer game played than every other team in the league. Not having to carve out time to replay the Bills-Bengals game will allow the NFL to begin the playoffs next weekend as scheduled, a factor that played into the league's decision. The Monday night matchup between the Bills and Bengals was one of the biggest games of the season because of the huge playoff implications. Read more\n\nDamar Hamlin asked in writing if team won the game, doctors said.\n\n📷 Photo of the day: All the movies you'll want to watch in 2023 📷\n\nHarrison Ford reimagines the adventures of \"Indiana Jones\" for a final time. An epic tale of a lost dog in \"Dog Gone.\" \"Magic Mike's Last Dance\" takes Mike Lane to the London theater scene. From \"Ant-Man 3\" to \"Scream VI,\" here are most-anticipated cinematic releases in 2023.\n\nOne more thing\n\nNicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_16", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2023/01/04/twitter-sued-overdue-rent-san-francisco-office-space/10988314002/", "title": "Twitter sued for overdue rent at San Francisco office", "text": "Elon Musk's Twitter Inc. is being sued for failing to pay $136,250 in rent at one of its office spaces in San Francisco.\n\nAccording to a complaint filed by landlord Columbia Reit, Twitter is late on rent at 650 California Street on the edge of Chinatown where the social media platform is the tenant for the 30th floor of the building.\n\nThe lawsuit, filed Dec. 29 in state court in San Francisco, claims Columbia Reit sent a notice of nonpayment on Dec. 16 and gave the company five days to pay.\n\nMusk, who has slashed expenses at Twitter while his personal wealth shrinks, did not immediately respond to an email from USA TODAY. Twitter no longer has a press department.\n\nThe company's headquarters are located at another San Francisco address, 1355 Market St., where Twitter has also reportedly fallen behind on rent, according to The New York Times.\n\n'An intentional act':Man suspected of intentionally driving Tesla off cliff on Pacific Coast Highway\n\nTikTok tried to solve the Idaho murders. Instead, it fueled an online witch hunt.\n\nHow has Twitter purchase affected Musk's finances?\n\nThe Tesla and SpaceX CEO bought Twitter for $44 billion in October and the company was expected to be on the hook for about $1 billion a year in interest payments from the deal.\n\nMost of Musk’s wealth is tied to Tesla shares, which have lost more than half of their value since he took ownership of Twitter. He has sold nearly$23 billion worth of the electric vehicle company's stock to fund the purchase since April, when he started building a position in Twitter.\n\nHe also lost the top spot for the world’s wealthiest person, according to Forbes.\n\nWhy is Musk cutting costs at Twitter?\n\nMusk defended his extreme cost cutting measures last month in a late night Twitter Spaces call.\n\n“This company is like, basically, you’re in a plane that is headed towards the ground at high speed with the engines on fire and the controls don’t work,” Musk said in late December.\n\nNear billion dollar jackpot at stake:Mega Millions lottery jackpot climbs to nearly $1 billion; no winner in Tuesday drawing\n\nWhat is Musk doing to slash expenses? Moves include auctioning off office equipment\n\nIn addition to not paying rent and laying off workers, Musk's Twitter is also auctioning off high-end office furniture, kitchen equipment and other relics from the past, when Twitter had more than 7,500 full-time workers around the world.\n\nSome three-quarters of Twitter's employee base are expected to have left the company, either because they were laid off, fired or quit.\n\nAmong the items Twitter is auctioning off are a pizza oven, 40-quart commercial kitchen floor mixer (retails for around $18,000; bidding starts at $25), high-end designer furniture such as Eames chairs from Herman Miller and Knoll Diamond chairs that retail in the thousands.\n\nEven a Twitter bird statue (bidding starts at $25) and a neon Twitter bird light display (bidding starts at $50) are up for grabs in this fire sale-style auction reminiscent of the dot-com bust of the early 2000s, when failed tech startups were selling off decadent office wares.\n\nContributing: Associated Press\n\nNatalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/04"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/tech/twitter-layoffs/index.html", "title": "Twitter layoffs: Elon Musk's Twitter cuts jobs across the company ...", "text": "CNN Business —\n\nTwitter on Friday laid off thousands of employees in departments across the company, in a severe round of cost cutting that could potentially upend how one of the world’s most influential platforms operates one week after it was acquired by billionaire Elon Musk.\n\nNumerous Twitter employees began posting on the platform Thursday night and Friday morning that they had already been locked out of their company email accounts ahead of the planned layoff notification. Some also shared blue hearts and salute emojis indicating they were out at the company.\n\nBy Friday morning, Twitter employees from departments including ethical AI, marketing and communication, search, public policy, wellness and other teams had tweeted about having been let go. Members of the curation team, which help elevate reliable information on the platform, including about elections, were also laid off, according to employee posts.\n\n“Just got remotely logged out of my work laptop and removed from Slack,” one Twitter employee said on the platform. “So sad it had to end this way.”\n\nAnother employee said that she and other members of Twitter’s human rights team had been laid off. The employee added that she is proud of the team’s work “to protect those at-risk in global conflicts & crises including Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, and to defend the needs of those particularly at risk of human rights abuse by virtue of their social media presence, such as journalists & human rights defenders.”\n\nSimon Balmain, a former Twitter senior community manager who was laid off Friday, said in an interview with CNN that he lost access to Slack, email and other internal systems around 8 hours before receiving an email Friday morning officially notifying him that he’d been fired. He added that the lay off email “still didn’t provide any details really” about why he’d been let go.\n\n“The waves of annoyance and frustration and all that stuff are absolutely mitigated by the extreme solidarity we’ve seen from people that are in the company, people that are in the same position, people that left the company in years gone by,” Balmain said. “It’s like a giant support network, which has been absolutely amazing.”\n\nOne Twitter employee who was laid off told CNN Friday that some workers are relieved to have been let go. “For me, being safe would’ve been punishment,” the employee said.\n\nWhile Twitter employees were posting about being laid off, Musk on Friday appeared for a friendly interview at an investor conference and spoke about making cheaper electric vehicles and his ambitions to go to Mars. During the interview, Musk said of Twitter, “I tried to get out of the deal,” but then added, “I think there is a tremendous amount of potential … and I think it could be one of the most valuable companies in the world.”\n\nThe interviewer said that Musk had laid off “half of Twitter” and Musk nodded, although he did not comment on the remark.\n\n(In a series of tweets Friday evening, Yoel Roth, head of Twitter’s trust and safety team, confirmed overall headcount was cut by roughly 50%. The layoffs eliminated 15% of the company’s trust and safety team, leading to reductions in customer service but little change to content moderation, according to Roth. )\n\nIn his interview, Musk appeared to frame the sweeping layoffs as necessary for a company that, like other social media firms, was experiencing “revenue challenges” prior to his acquisition as advertisers rethink spending amid recession fears.\n\nMusk also said “a number of major advertisers have stopped spending on Twitter” in the days since the acquisition was completed.\n\nElon Musk spoke at an investment conference Friday morning as employees at Twitter, which he now owns, were receiving notifications that they had been laid off from the company. Baron Capital\n\nTwitter had about 7,500 workers prior to Musk’s takeover, meaning roughly 3,700 employees were laid off. The cuts come as Musk attempts to improve the company’s bottom line after taking out significant debt financing to fund his $44 billion acquisition.\n\nThe email sent Thursday evening notified employees that they would receive a notice by 12 p.m. ET Friday that informs them of their employment status.\n\n“If your employment is not impacted, you will receive a notification via your Twitter email,” a copy of the email obtained by CNN said. “If your employment is impacted, you will receive a notification with next steps via your personal email.”\n\nThe email added that “to help ensure the safety” of employees and Twitter’s systems, the company’s offices “will be temporarily closed and all badge access will be suspended.”\n\nThe email concluded acknowledging that it will be “an incredibly challenging experience to go through” for the workforce.\n\nSeveral Twitter employees on Thursday night filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Twitter is in violation of the federal and California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) after laying off some employees already. The complaint was later amended to acknowledge that while several of the plaintiffs did ultimately receive sufficient notice of their termination under the WARN Act, Twitter still allegedly failed to give sufficient notice in the case of some employees.\n\nThe WARN Act requires that an employer with more than 100 employees must provide 60 days’ advanced written notice prior to a mass layoff “affecting 50 or more employees at a single site of employment.”\n\n“Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has made clear that he believes complying with federal labor laws is ‘trivial,’” Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement to CNN. “We have filed this federal complaint to ensure that Twitter be held accountable to our laws and to prevent Twitter employees from unknowingly signing away their rights.”\n\nWARN notices were filed by Twitter on Friday for nearly 1,000 impacted employees at the company’s various California offices.\n\nSeparately, other labor lawyers told CNN Friday they had begun receiving inquiries from Twitter employees questioning whether their terminations may have been unlawfully discriminatory or retaliatory.\n\n“Former Twitter employees have reached out to us regarding their layoffs and their circumstances, and so we’re looking at all the issues — beyond appropriate notice — and to make sure the employee wasn’t laid off due to their membership in a protected category,” said Chauniqua Young, a partner at the law firm Outten & Golden.\n\nBeyond the potential for lawsuits arising from the layoffs, other legal experts say Musk’s handling of the cuts may well create further problems for him down the road — whether in terms of attracting future talent or by keeping remaining workers satisfied.\n\n“Once you treat people like this, they remember that,” said Terri Gerstein, a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program and Economic Policy Institute. “Of the people remaining, it is a certainty that none of them feel secure in their job, and I would be shocked if the remaining people were not updating their resumes right now or talking with each other about starting a union.”\n\nMusk started his tenure at Twitter by firing CEO Parag Agrawal and two other executives, according to two people familiar with the decision.\n\nAnd in less than a week since Musk acquired the company, its C-suite appears to have almost entirely cleared out, through a mix of firings and resignations. Musk has also dissolved Twitter’s former board of directors.\n\nMany staffers on Friday summed up their feelings with a hashtag, #LoveWhereYouWorked, a past-tense play on one previously often used by Twitter employees.\n\n- Brian Fung and Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report", "authors": ["Donie O'Sullivan Clare Duffy", "Donie O'Sullivan", "Clare Duffy"], "publish_date": "2022/11/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/04/11/hertz-stolen-cars-false-arrests/9515487002/", "title": "Hertz false arrests over stolen cars: CEO 'to do right' by customers", "text": "Hertz Global Holding's new CEO Stephen Scherr said last week that customers have been harmed by the rental car company's policies, which have led to false arrests.\n\nScherr told multiple news outlets, including CNBC's Squawk Box, that the company \"will do right where our customers have been negatively affected,\" and that \"we have changed our policies to avoid the possibility of this happening.\"\n\nMore than 230 plaintiffs are suing the company for false arrest and, in some cases, prosecution. The lawyers for this group say they know more cases are out there, with warrants for the arrest of people who rented from Hertz years ago continuing to surface today.\n\nScherr's comments came amid mounting pressure from Congress, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urging the White House Competition Council to examine rental car companies, including Hertz; and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., demanding answers from Hertz.\n\n► Hertz:Senators call for investigation after hundreds of rental car customers claim false arrest\n\n► Investigation:If you’ve rented a car from Hertz, there could be a warrant out for your arrest\n\nIn a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on April 6, Blumenthal urged FTC Chair Lina Khan, \"to open an investigation into Hertz’s inaccurate and potentially unfair practice of reporting its vehicles as stolen and take appropriate enforcement action to ensure Hertz’s consumers are not falsely arrested or otherwise harmed.\"\n\nHe cited reporting by USA TODAY and other media outlets in his letter about Hertz, which is based in Estero, Florida, and operates the Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty car-rental brands.\n\nWhat did Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr say?\n\nScherr, who took over as CEO on Feb. 28, laid out the problems causing the wrongful arrests to CNBC: When a car was mistakenly reported stolen, that report was not rescinded even though it should have been. When a customer later rented a vehicle, they were pulled over and arrested for driving a stolen car in some cases.\n\n\"It’s not acceptable to Hertz to have any customer — a single customer — sort of caught up in some of what’s happened,\" Scherr said. But he added, \"to put context to it, if you look at the several 100 people impacted... we engage in 15 million transactions a year, this is 1/100 of a percent of those transactions.\"\n\nHertz customers have said they were arrested and jailed because the company accused them of stealing cars that they had paid to rent and, in some cases, had returned long before their arrest.\n\nMore than 230 of them are suing the company for a total of more than $530 million in damages. The case is being heard in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.\n\nHertz emerged from bankruptcy last summer and in February hired Scherr, a former chief financial officer at Goldman Sachs, to guide the company into new partnerships, like adding 100,000 Teslas to its fleet.\n\n\"We appreciate Stephen Scherr’s pledge to resolve the lawsuit and Hertz’s firm commitment to settling these cases,\" said Francis Malofiy, a Philadelphia attorney representing the plaintiffs. \"However, it’s one thing to tell Wall Street that Hertz wants to put this behind them. It’s another to pay the damages in the hundreds of millions for the harm they caused.\"\n\nHe said it remains to be seen if Scherr's words \"were simply lip service\" or if the company will make good on his promise.\n\nA Hertz spokesperson denied USA TODAY's request to interview Scherr and responded to questions about his public comments with a written statement that is almost identical to one the company has issued numerous times in the past.\n\n“Hertz cares deeply about our customers, and we successfully provide rental vehicles for tens of millions of travelers each year. Where our customers have been negatively affected, we are committed to doing what is right by our customers. At the same time, we will protect and defend against false claims intended to cause our company harm.\n\n\"The vast majority of the current legal claims involve renters who were many weeks or even months overdue returning vehicles and who stopped communicating with us well beyond the scheduled due date. These situations where overdue rentals are reported to authorities are very rare and happen only after exhaustive attempts to reach the customer.”\n\nWhen asked what policies would be changing specifically to address the problem of false arrests, Hertz sent a statement saying, \"We continuously enhance our systems, processes and training to ensure they meet our high standards of service.’\n\nCustomer experiences differ from situation described by CEO\n\nWhile some of the claimants in the case against Hertz were in fact pulled over in cars that had mistakenly been reported stolen, as Scherr described, many other people claim they were falsely accused of stealing cars for which they'd extended rental agreements and paid additional money to keep longer.\n\nIf Hertz believed someone was late in returning a car or hadn't paid the correct amount, they should have initiated a payment dispute and gone to arbitration, according to the contract they make customers sign, the claimants' lawyers argue.\n\nInstead, a theft report is filed that the customer is completely unaware of, sometimes finding out there is a warrant for their arrest months or years after they thought they successfully returned and paid for their rental car, Malofiy said.\n\n\"They're converting a payment dispute to a criminal matter,\" he said.\n\nHertz did not respond to questions about those payment dispute circumstances which make up about 85% of the current claimants, according to Malofiy. The missing inventory circumstances described by Scherr only make up 15% of the claims.\n\nAnd new cases are coming in daily, Malofiy said. Numerous people have contacted USA TODAY after reading about the lawsuit saying they too were wrongfully arrested.\n\nRescinding of police reports disputed\n\nThe lawyers for the claimants also question Scherr's statement about attempting to rescind mistaken police reports because the company has said on numerous occasions that it cannot or will not ever rescind a theft report once it's filed.\n\n\"Stephen Scherr's recent claims that the company withdraws incorrect police reports are not true for the vast majority of Hertz false arrest and police report victims that we represent,\" said Malofiy.\n\nIn December Hertz wrote emails to two customers complaining about false arrests in which a customer service representative stated the company was \"not empowered\" to take back a police report.\n\nReJeana Meado rented a car from the Hertz-owned Thrifty brand for a wedding in Houston from May 13 to May 16, 2021.\n\nShe dropped the car off in the early morning hours of the 16th as instructed by security personnel at the airport. But weeks later she got a letter threatening her with arrest, accusing her of not returning the car.\n\nWhat transpired over the next six months was described by Meado in her court filings as a \"fiasco.\" Dozens of calls and emails to and from Hertz with conflicting information.\n\nShe was told the car had been located, then that it had never been recovered. She was told she needed to fill out a police report, then told to fill out internal theft reporting forms with Hertz. Her credit card was charged more than $5,000 for a full month of rental even though she only had the car for three days. Then she was threatened that she still owed more than $5,000 that she'd already paid. She was told there was no record of the dispute, that everything was resolved and that no theft report had been filed. Then in December, she was told she was in fact reported to the police for theft.\n\n“We are not empowered to withdraw the theft report; therefore, you must address this matter through the legal system. This is our final determination on this matter, and it will not be reconsidered,\" Lori Barnard with Hertz Executive Customer Service wrote to Meado in an email on Dec. 6.\n\nManuel Garcia got a very similar email from Hertz in December.\n\nHe'd entered into a long-term rental with Hertz in January 2021. These agreements are more like leases than rentals. The customer's credit card is charged at the end of every month that they keep the car.\n\nAccording to his court complaint, Garcia realized that his credit card was never charged at the end of October and called the Doral, Florida location he rented from. An employee who knows him as a repeat customer told him he just needed to come renew the long-term rental within the next couple of weeks.\n\nBefore he could do so, Garcia's car was towed while he was out to dinner. The driver said the car was reported stolen by Hertz. After numerous phone calls and emails to Hertz he got the same answer from Lori Barnard with Hertz customer service.\n\n\"(W)e are not empowered to dismiss the police report that was filed with the\n\nauthorities. Therefore, you must address this matter through the court\n\nsystem,\" Barnard wrote to him on Dec. 1.\n\nA Hertz spokesperson told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2020 that the company has no “mechanism” to withdraw reports and does not do so because “In the rare instances this happens, if you report a crime, and you later say it didn’t happen, then law enforcement tends not to believe you if you retract it or say you were mistaken,” the spokesperson said. “Hertz’s continued good relationship with law enforcement is important.”\n\nBoth Meado and Garcia are fearful there could be warrants out for their arrest, which for Garcia could impact his immigration status.\n\nMalofiy said if Hertz is serious about doing right by the customers wrongfully accused of theft, the company needs to immediately withdraw all pending police reports because new victims are finding out about warrants every day.\n\n\"Outstanding police reports, subsequent arrests, and prosecutions continue to follow victims for months or, in a number of instances, years after they've proven that they were lawfully renting Hertz customers,\" Maolfiy said. \"If Mr. Scherr is serious about changing course, he should immediately take steps to retract all the faulty theft reports and right the wrongs Hertz has inflicted on hundreds of our clients and tens of thousands of other victims of its theft reporting practices.\"\n\nThe Associated Press contributed to this report.\n\nFollow Katie Wedell on Twitter: @KatieWedell and Facebook: facebook.com/ByKatieWedell", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/04/11"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/consumers/2015/09/30/toby-keiths-love-bar-and-grill-closings-lawsuits-and-liens-raise-questions-across-country/71916554/", "title": "Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill closings, lawsuits and liens ...", "text": "Robert Anglen\n\nThe Republic | azcentral.com\n\nBoomtown Entertainment has opened 20 Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill restaurants since 2009\n\n17 have failed in the past 18 months, and projects in 19 other cities were never completed\n\nIt is facing at least $28.6 million in lawsuits, judgments and liens in 24 cities\n\nCompany officials say the closures are part of a strategic plan to make room for future growth\n\nToby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill has generated a country song’s worth of grief in cities nationwide — along with nearly $30 million in lawsuits, liens, judgments and accusations of unscrupulous business practices against a Phoenix-based restaurant chain.\n\nBoomtown Entertainment is accused in lawsuits of taking millions of dollars from mall owners and developers to build new locations and then walking away with the money, often leaving projects unfinished.\n\nBoomtown closed most of its restaurants this year amid allegations that it stiffed landlords, contractors and suppliers, as well as racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in liens for failing to pay sales taxes.\n\nAn Arizona Republic investigation found Boomtown recently accelerated its restaurant closures, shutting down 10 since May with little or no warning to employees and customers. All told, Boomtown has closed 17 of its 20 Toby Keith restaurants in the past 18 months, including three in metro Phoenix and one in Tucson.\n\nBoomtown officials followed many closures of Toby Keith restaurants with promises to open new ones in different cities. Since 2012, the company has announced plans to build 19 Toby Keith restaurants that it left unfinished or never started.\n\nThe Republic also found:\n\nBoomtown, its affiliates and executives have been sued in 24 cities and are facing at least $28.6 million in lawsuits, judgments and liens.\n\nNo Toby Keith restaurant has been open longer than seven years, and some closed within months of opening.\n\nThe median time restaurants have stayed in business is two years. That includes the three still operating, in Rosemont, Ill., Foxborough, Mass., and Auburn Hills, Mich.\n\nBoomtown's first Toby Keith restaurant, named after the country singer's 2003 chart topper \"I Love This Bar,\" opened in Mesa six years ago. The concept was part dance hall, part nightclub and part Southern-dining experience. You want fried pickles with your American Soldier Burger? You got it. Beer was served in Mason jars and entertainment was provided by the Whisky Girls.\n\nToby Keith's was built big; the sprawling dining space included a stage for concerts. And if live music wasn't available, customers always could join in a line dance. The restaurant's centerpiece was an 85-foot-long guitar-shaped bar in star-spangled colors.\n\nKeith's name was on the building, but he didn't have an ownership stake in the restaurant. He collected revenue on the naming rights and would make an occasional appearance. Boomtown wasn't the only company operating Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill, but it quickly became the biggest.\n\nBoomtown had caught country lightning in a bottle. It opened three more Toby Keith restaurants in 2010. By 2012 it had 10. Then the bottle cracked.\n\nIn 2012, a Dallas mall owner sued the company for not paying rent. A judge ordered Boomtown to pay $1.4 million in 2013, and company officials closed the restaurant a few months later.\n\nThat first closure in 2014 was followed by more lawsuits. A pattern quickly emerged: construction delays, tenant disputes, missed rental payments, delinquent taxes and evictions, which led to more closures and unfinished projects. But even as Boomtown closed restaurants, it continued to open new ones through April 2015.\n\nBoomtown officials said in interviews that each restaurant was unique and that legal issues at one location were unrelated to the others.\n\nThey described the shutdowns as part of an aggressive new business plan and said in August that the closure of four restaurants soon would be offset by the openings of new ones in Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and elsewhere.\n\nBut The Republic found the company already had halted construction and walked away from its lease in Cleveland, delayed construction in Pittsburgh and canceled plans to build in Greenville, S.C.\n\nBoomtown's website this week continued to display restaurant locations in 19 cities, but 16 of those are closed.\n\nBoomtown: Closures are strategic and brand is strong\n\nBoomtown CEO Frank Capri is a Valley real-estate investor turned restaurant entrepreneur. Gregory McClure, the company's executive vice president, is a Phoenix lawyer who has also served as the company's general counsel.\n\nBoomtown, a limited liability corporation registered in Delaware, operates out of an address on East Bell Road in Phoenix.\n\nCapri and McClure, who are named in several lawsuits, declined to comment. They referred questions to a former company spokesman and to an outside lawyer.\n\nBoomtown's former vice president of operations, John Thomas, said in August that the company \"has a strong brand\" and rejected any notion of financial trouble. He described closures as strategic moves to position the company for future growth.\n\n\"Over the last year or so, we've decided to look at our business and make tough decisions and closed certain locations that were not making it,\" Thomas said. \"Businesses evolve. Things change.\"\n\nThomas would not address accusations raised in the lawsuits or explain why Boomtown had failed to pay sales taxes at some of its popular locations, including the chain's flagship near Chicago.\n\nBoomtown's outside lawyer, Jess Lorona, also wouldn't discuss specific allegations.\n\n“If stores were closed or stores were not opened, such decisions were financially based,” Lorona said in an e-mail statement. “Many stores lost money from opening and would ultimately be closed. Others that were open for a period of time would start to lose money and would ultimately need to be closed.”\n\nDevelopers' lawsuits in Michigan, Oregon and California\n\nProperty owners and developers accused Boomtown officials of using money designated for construction of Toby Keith restaurants at one location as a cash machine to pay for improvements at others.\n\nThese so-called tenant-improvement payments typically are used to pay subcontractors and are meant to ensure work at a specific location is completed on time. The money is paid by property owners and serves as an incentive for tenants to sign long-term leases.\n\nCases filed in Lansing, Mich., Springfield, Ore., and Newark, Calif., by the same property owner accused Boomtown of entering into contracts and accepting incentives and payments for tenant improvements, then diverting the funds without paying contractors and leaving projects unfinished.\n\n“Boomtown has concocted a scheme (whereby) it agrees with landlords to apply (tenant improvement) payments to specific locations but then uses the TI payments to cover costs at other Boomtown locations or for other reasons,” Lansing Mall owner Rouse Properties of New York City said in a federal lawsuit filed in June.\n\nThe lawsuit alleges Boomtown officials submitted bogus certificates of completion to get $2.1 million in tenant-improvement money. Rouse said none of the subcontractors Boomtown identified in sworn statements worked on the project. It also said Boomtown’s failure to pay subcontractors resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in mechanic's liens being filed against the mall.\n\nRouse contracted with Boomtown to open five Toby Keith restaurants in malls nationwide, but said all were behind schedule. “Indeed, two of the five leases have been terminated based on (Boomtown’s) utter failure to pursue any construction on the property,” the lawsuit said.\n\nUnder terms of the Lansing contract, Rouse was required to pay Boomtown for tenant improvements during each phase of construction.\n\nRouse said in its lawsuit that it paid Boomtown $364,700 at the lease signing in January 2014 and another $1.1 million in September 2014 based on Boomtown's sworn statement and a certification that 25 percent of the work had been completed. In October 2014, Boomtown certified that 50 percent of the work was completed and requested another $729,480 payment.\n\n“A representative of Boomtown assured (Rouse) that construction was on schedule or, at worst, a week behind,” Rouse said in its lawsuit.\n\nThe developer said it didn’t learn until December that subcontractors weren’t being paid and began paying them directly. The list of unpaid workers included plumbers, electricians, landscapers, framers and drywall hangers and concrete, insulation and heating and air-conditioning installers.\n\nA federal judge in July awarded Rouse a $2.1 million judgment.\n\nAnother Rouse-owned mall in Springfield, Ore., also won a $304,368 default judgment against Boomtown in July. Gateway Mall said it paid Boomtown for tenant improvements on a project that was never started, court records show.\n\nLorona, Boomtown's lawyer, would not address specifics of any case but said the company was prepared to battle in court.\n\n“All claims will be defended, especially those that are false and not true,” he said.\n\nIn the California case, Boomtown officials denied any wrongdoing and defended their handling of tenant-improvement funds.\n\nNewPark Mall in Newark, Calif., accused Boomtown of depositing money for multiple development projects into the same account, making it hard to distinguish money designated for one Toby Keith restaurant from another.\n\nNewPark said Boomtown took nearly $800,000 in tenant improvements and \"failed to complete even the minor tasks that they promised to complete.\"\n\nIn court documents, McClure, Boomtown's executive vice president and general counsel, denied diverting money to other projects. He blamed the mall for exacerbating delays.\n\nMcClure said after construction began officials discovered “ventilation ducts, utilities and other amenities” were not located in the right places, requiring revisions to the plans. He said the company stopped construction after the mall denied access to parts of the building.\n\nMcClure said Boomtown “did not want to invest further resources in the construction and opening of the restaurant until the dispute … is resolved.”\n\nBoomtown loses cases in Georgia, Idaho and Virginia without a fight\n\nBoomtown has lost more than half of the $28.6 million in claims without a fight.\n\nIt has been hit with a series of default judgments in state and federal court. A judge in the Michigan case noted Boomtown “failed to plead or otherwise defend” itself in the case as required under court rules.\n\nCases in Savannah, Ga., Meridian, Idaho, and Newport News, Va., ended in similar fashion, with courts awarding $14.4 million total in default judgments against Boomtown.\n\nDefault judgments typically occur when a party to a lawsuit fails to respond.\n\nLorona said in August that he was unaware of any default judgments and would have to look into the cases. He said the lawsuits don't reflect a pattern.\n\n“I don’t believe that Boomtown or Toby Keith’s (restaurants), based on what I know, is experiencing financial (problems),” he said. “I guess on its face, it looks like that.”\n\nIn Georgia, Boomtown announced in 2013 that it would open a 15,000-square-foot Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill at the Savannah Mall.\n\nThe restaurant was supposed to take up six storefronts on the second floor between a Bass Pro Shop and Target. But court and business records show that by 2014 the project was mired in delays.\n\nAccording to media reports, Boomtown was accused of failing to pay subcontractors who had walked off the site in protest. Court records show the mall won a $7.9 million default judgment against Boomtown in July.\n\nIn Idaho, a court awarded a $5.9 million default judgment to a mall near Boise that evicted Boomtown in October 2014.\n\nA mall in Newport News, Va., was awarded a $586,072 default judgment in July after it evicted Boomtown for failure to pay rent. The restaurant had been open for about three years.\n\nLorona said problems at some Toby Keith restaurants involve disputes with landlords over rent. He said closures occurred only after Boomtown attempted unsuccessfully to renegotiate lease terms.\n\nWhile it could appear to outsiders that Boomtown owners “maybe bit off more than they could chew,” the company is involved in a “typical business situation,” Lorona said.\n\nIn Mesa, Boomtown's original Toby Keith’s forced to close\n\nThe closure of Boomtown's original Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill at Mesa Riverview last October shocked patrons and employees.\n\nPeople said it was still drawing crowds five years after its 2009 grand opening when the dance floor was packed, crowds lined up at the bar and diners were prepared to wait for Southern-fried specialties.\n\nRiverview was Boomtown's prototype for the Toby Keith's venues that would follow. It anchored a mall, was located close to downtown, offered free parking and billed itself as an entertainment destination.\n\nBoomtown officials called Riverview’s closure a strategic move in order to make Toby Keith’s “a premier dining and entertainment venue.” They credited Mesa and the development “for believing in us when we first introduced this concept.”\n\nWhat Boomtown officials didn’t say is that Riverview’s owners already had filed a lawsuit against them for failure to pay rent and had sought a restraining order barring them from the property.\n\nCourt records show that in June 2014 Kimco Riverview sued Boomtown’s development company for $219,327. The lawsuit claimed Boomtown wouldn't make good on what was owed even after the lease was amended five times.\n\nRiverview said it had paid Boomtown $3 million to build the restaurant and told the court it had reason to believe Boomtown's CEO Capri was going to strip the building. Riverview alleged that Capri was planning to move the restaurant’s assets to avoid having them seized as the result of judgments against him in other cases.\n\nBoomtown spokesman Thomas said the decision to leave Mesa was based on new plans to scale back the size of Toby Keith restaurants while still offering customers all the amenities they wanted.\n\n“We've looked inward, to look at our concept and evolve it to where we can continue to grow,” Thomas said. \"I don't think you ever open a restaurant, run it for two years and say let's ditch it.\"\n\nRestaurants in Phoenix, Orlando, Houston and Oxnard, Calif., close in less than a year\n\nThomas talked about the company’s future from the VIP room of the chain’s newest showpiece bar and grill, on High Street in northeast Phoenix.\n\nIt was an hour after opening, just past 5 p.m. on a Tuesday in early August. Cool air circulated through a cavernous dining room, with neon lights bouncing off industrial fixtures. The atmosphere was roadhouse chic and devoid of a single customer.\n\nSitting behind darkened windows looking out at the guitar bar, Thomas appeared unconcerned by the empty stools and unused chairs, all branded with the “TK” logo. He talked expansion.\n\n“We're going to be opening certain locations that will better our company profile,\" he said. “What worked three years ago and works four years from now are going to be completely different things.”\n\nA little more than four weeks later and without notice, High Street closed. Employees came to work to find the doors locked and a notice from the landlord taped to the door.\n\nIt had been open for five months.\n\nBut it’s not the first Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill to close within months of opening.\n\nVenues in Orlando, Houston and Oxnard, Calif., all were open less than a year. The restaurants closed amid lawsuits and accusations that Boomtown broke leases, failed to make rental payments and in some cases still owe contractors for work. Boomtown has been sued for at least $3.6 million total in those cases.\n\nBoomtown officials said in October 2014 that the High Street location, meant to replace Riverview, would be open to take its place within a month. One month became six, and High Street finally opened in April.\n\nNeither Thomas nor any other Boomtown official would comment on High Street’s shutdown.\n\nToby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill in Peoria suffered a similar end in June. Two years after opening at Park West mall in 2013, employees and customers were surprised to find the doors locked and an eviction notice posted outside.\n\nPark West sued Boomtown in July for $206,274 in back rent, interest and late charges.\n\nCountryinAZ.com, a blog tracking the country-music scene in Arizona, said the closure came without notice or explanation.\n\n“This closure has left many patrons upset and puzzled,” website owner Liz Kellogg wrote. “The Peoria location had been home to countless happy hours, live country music, country concert after parties, and country dancing.”\n\nInside Boomtown and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill\n\nIt’s unclear how much Keith knows about the financial and legal issues facing his eponymous chain.\n\nNeither the country singer nor his California-based publicist returned calls and e-mails seeking comment.\n\nBoomtown officials would not discuss the terms of Keith's licensing arrangement. The star was ranked 32nd on Forbes magazine's annual list of the world’s highest-paid celebrities this year. In 2013,Forbes estimated the singer earned $12 million annually from his restaurant deals, taking a flat fee or a percentage of revenue depending on the location.\n\nKeith licenses his name to other businesses operating Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill, including one at Harrah's Las Vegas. The Hal Smith Restaurant Group owns three in Oklahoma. No problems have been reported at those locations.\n\nBoomtown CEO Capri has been named in a string of lawsuits, liens and judgments since signing his licensing deal with Keith.\n\nCapri, who has brokered deals for some of the Valley’s most expensive homes, is a principal of Capri Homes LLC, Capri Concepts LLC and Capri Properties LLC.\n\nHe has lost more than a dozen lawsuits since 2008 and faces more than $3 million in judgments unrelated to the restaurants, court and business records show. Creditors, homeowners' associations, homebuilders and contractors have filed claims against Capri ranging from $1,328 to $1.1 million.\n\nIt wasn’t until 2012, when the Dallas mall named Capri in its $1.4 million lawsuit, that legal issues involving the restaurants spilled into his personal life. The Dallas lawsuit also named two Boomtown subsidiaries called Capri Restaurant Group Enterprises.\n\nCRGEs are the entities Boomtown uses for developing and operating Toby Keith restaurants. Arizona corporation records show company officials filed paperwork to establish a CRGE in all 39 cities where they announced their plans to open a restaurant, whether or not it was built.\n\nCorporation records also show Capri’s ambitious plans for expanding Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill throughout the U.S. and Canada.\n\nBeginning in 2009, around the time the Mesa Riverview restaurant was opening its doors, Boomtown officials incorporated the first of 25 additional CRGEs, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Philadelphia and Calgary, Alberta.\n\nThey never have been used.\n\nLawsuits say company failed to pay sales and other taxes\n\nBoomtown also has a record of not paying sales, liquor and property taxes, which led the taps to run dry at one restaurant.\n\nMore than 60 percent of Toby Keith's business is derived from alcohol sales, company officials said in a recent court filing. So when the Mason jars can’t be filled, the restaurant is going to be in trouble.\n\nToby Keith’s restaurant in St. Louis Park, Minn., ran out of beer in May after state officials accused owners of failing to pay state liquor taxes and prohibited them from buying more, state records and local media reports show. The restaurant closed in July.\n\nBoomtown has been accused of failing to pay taxes in Michigan, New York and Ohio, leading to other liens and lawsuits.\n\nIts flagship restaurant near Chicago was nearly forced out of business in August over $700,000 in delinquent sales and property taxes. A lawsuit filed by the city of Rosemont to oust Toby Keith’s from the city-owned mall also accused Boomtown of failing to pay rent. Boomtown avoided eviction by paying its bills.\n\nBoomtown suppliers also are racking up judgments.\n\nU.S. Foods, one of the biggest food distributors in the country, filed a $579,000 lawsuit against the company in August for breaking its contract to buy some goods and failing to pay for others.\n\nU.S. Foods, which named 16 CRGEs in its suit, asked the Maricopa County Superior Court in September for a default judgment.\n\nAnother lawsuit involved \"Red-Solo-Cup lights,\" which resemble the cups ubiquitous for parties and kegs and immortalized in a 2011 Toby Keith song. In 2014, Rico Industries, an Illinois company that sells sporting memorabilia and novelties, won an $11,516 default judgment after it accused Boomtown of not paying for lights it ordered.\n\nSpokesman Thomas said that explaining how the company became embroiled in such a legal morass was “way above my pay grade.” He said it was more important to look to the future.\n\nWithin nine months, fans could expect new Toby Keith’s to open, Thomas said, ticking off names of cities on his fingers – including venues that already have failed.\n\nWhat The Republic found:\n\nBoomtown Entertainment has opened 20 Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill restaurants since 2009.\n\n17 have failed in the past 18 months.\n\nThe pace of closures is accelerating: three in 2014; 14 in 2015; 10 since May.\n\nPhoenix-based Boomtown is facing at least $28.6 million in lawsuits, judgments and liens.\n\nLawsuits, liens or judgments have been filed in 24 cities. Those include allegations of contract breaches, unpaid rent, stiffing contractors or unpaid taxes.\n\nThe 20 stores stayed in business from five months to 6.7 years, with a median of two years.The company walked away without finishing some projects and never started others.\n\nBoomtown has filed LLCs for other 25 locations that it has not acted upon\n\nToby Keith timeline\n\nThe 17 closed restaurants and their dates of opening/closing:\n\nTucson (2013/Aug. 2014)\n\nMesa (2009/Oct. 2014)\n\nOxnard, Calif. (2014/Nov. 2014)\n\nDallas (2012/2014)\n\nFolsom, Calif. (2011/Jan. 2015)\n\nHouston (2014/Jan. 2015)\n\nNewport News, Va. (2012/Jan. 2015)\n\nWoodbridge, Va. (2013/May 2015)\n\nSyracuse, N.Y. (2013/May 2015)\n\nPeoria, Ariz. (2013/June 2015)\n\nOrange Beach, Ala. (2013/June 2015)\n\nSt. Louis Park, Minn. (2009/July 2015)\n\nCincinnati (2012/July 2015)\n\nOrlando, Fla. (2015/July 2015)\n\nPhoenix (2015/Sept. 2015)\n\nDenver (2010/Sept. 2015)\n\nRancho Cucamonga, Calif. (2012/Sept. 2015)\n\nThe remaining restaurants and year of opening:", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/09/30"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/01/donald-trump-lawsuits-legal-battles/84995854/", "title": "Exclusive: Trump's 3,500 lawsuits unprecedented for a presidential ...", "text": "Nick Penzenstadler, and Susan Page\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nDonald Trump is a fighter, famous for legal skirmishes over everything from his golf courses to his tax bills to Trump University. But until now, it hasn’t been clear precisely how litigious he is and what that might portend for a Trump presidency.\n\nAn exclusive USA TODAY analysis of legal filings across the United States finds that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and his businesses have been involved in at least 3,500 legal actions in federal and state courts during the past three decades. They range from skirmishes with casino patrons to million-dollar real estate suits to personal defamation lawsuits.\n\nThe sheer volume of lawsuits is unprecedented for a presidential nominee. No candidate of a major party has had anything approaching the number of Trump’s courtroom entanglements.\n\nJust since he announced his candidacy a year ago, at least 70 new cases have been filed, about evenly divided between lawsuits filed by him and his companies and those filed against them. And the records review found at least 50 civil lawsuits remain open even as he moves toward claiming the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in seven weeks. On Tuesday, court documents were released in one of the most dramatic current cases, filed in California by former students accusing Trump University of fraudulent and misleading behavior.\n\nThe legal actions provide clues to the leadership style the billionaire businessman would bring to bear as commander in chief. He sometimes responds to even small disputes with overwhelming legal force. He doesn’t hesitate to deploy his wealth and legal firepower against adversaries with limited resources, such as homeowners. He sometimes refuses to pay real estate brokers, lawyers and other vendors.\n\nAs he campaigns, Trump often touts his skills as a negotiator. The analysis shows that lawsuits are one of his primary negotiating tools. He turns to litigation to distance himself from failing projects that relied on the Trump brand to secure investments. As USA TODAY previously reported, he also uses the legal system to haggle over his property tax bills. His companies have been involved in more than 100 tax disputes, and the New York State Department of Finance has obtained liens on Trump properties for unpaid tax bills at least three dozen times.\n\nExclusive: More than 100 lawsuits, disputes, tied to Trump and his companies\n\nAnd despite his boasts on the campaign trail that he “never” settles lawsuits, for fear of encouraging more, he and his businesses have settled with plaintiffs in at least 100 cases reviewed by USA TODAY. Most involve people who say they were physically injured at Trump properties, with settlements that range as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars.\n\nAlan Garten, general counsel for the Trump Organization, said in an interview that the number and tenor of the court cases is the “cost of doing business” and on par with other companies of a similar size. \"I think we have far less litigation of companies of our size,\" he said.\n\nHowever, even by those measures, the number of cases in which Trump is involved is extraordinary. For comparison, USA TODAY analyzed the legal involvement for five top real-estate business executives: Edward DeBartolo, shopping-center developer and former San Francisco 49ers owner; Donald Bren, Irvine Company chairman and owner; Stephen Ross, Time Warner Center developer; Sam Zell, Chicago real-estate magnate; and Larry Silverstein, a New York developer famous for his involvement in the World Trade Center properties.\n\nTo maintain an apples-to-apples comparison, only actions that used the developers' names were included. The analysis found Trump has been involved in more legal skirmishes than all five of the others — combined.\n\nThe USA TODAY analysis included an examination of legal actions for and against Trump and the more than 500 businesses he lists on the personal financial disclosure he filed with the Federal Election Commission. USA TODAY also reviewed five depositions in which Trump sat for 22 hours of sworn testimony. This report is based on those legal filings as well as interviews with dozens of his legal adversaries.\n\nA handful of the ongoing cases involve local or state government entities, with the possibility of personal legal disputes between the president of the United States and other branches of government if Trump is elected. For instance, the Trump team has filed a lawsuit seeking a state ethics investigation of the New York attorney general. The suit was filed in response to an ongoing fraud investigation into Trump University by the attorney general, an elected state official.\n\nTrump, New York attorney general spar again over Trump U.\n\nAnd at a campaign rally in San Diego last Friday, Trump railed against a federal judge overseeing an ongoing lawsuit against Trump University. Trump said Judge Gonzalo Curiel \"happens to be, we believe Mexican,\" and called him a \"hater of Donald Trump\" who \"railroaded\" him. Born in Indiana, Curiel was appointed to the federal bench by President Obama. The judge on Tuesday unsealed hundreds of pages of documents in the case.\n\nThe trial is set for November — just after Election Day.\n\nTrump’s history of legal actions provides clues about his style as a leader and manager. While he is quick to take credit for anything associated with his name, he is just as quick to distance himself from failures and to place responsibility on others. In one lawsuit — filed against him by condo owners who wanted their money back for a Fort Lauderdale condo that was never built — he testified in a sworn deposition: “Well, the word ‘developing,’ it doesn't mean that we're the developers.”\n\nAt times, he and his companies refuse to pay even relatively small bills. An engineering firm and a law firm are among several who filed suits against Trump companies saying they weren't paid for their work. In a 2011 deposition tied to a dispute over his deal with Van Heusen menswear, he said he abruptly decided not to sign a check to a firm that helped broker the deal, after 11 consecutive quarterly payments, because \"I don't feel that these people did very much, if anything, with respect to this deal.”\n\nThe number of lawsuits raises questions about potential conflicts and complications if Trump does win the White House. Dozens of cases remain unresolved, about half in which he is the plaintiff. It raises the possibility of individuals being sued by the president of the United States, or suing him, in non-governmental disputes.\n\nUnder the law, Trump wouldn’t get special advantages as the plaintiff — or protections as a defendant. Under long-standing conflict-of-interest rules, as a plaintiff he couldn’t improperly benefit from governmental knowledge. He also wouldn’t get immunity from civil litigation that stemmed from events prior to taking office.\n\nHow USA TODAY NETWORK gathered Trump court files\n\nTogether, the lawsuits help address this question: How would Trump’s record in business translate into leading the most powerful government on the globe — a task that involves managing a $4 trillion annual budget, overseeing 1.8 million civilian federal employees and commanding the most powerful armed forces in the world?\n\nWhile leaders who had business careers sometimes have been elected to the White House — oilmen George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, for instance, and mining engineer Herbert Hoover — the jobs have some fundamental differences, political scientists and presidential historians say. A president can't rule by fiat, as some CEOs do. And getting things done in government often involves building coalitions among legislators and foreign leaders who have their own priorities and agendas.\n\n“He’s operating as his own boss and a CEO-on-steroids mentality, where you snap a finger and things get done,” said presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, who has written biographies of Franklin Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt and edited Ronald Reagan’s diaries. “But a lot of good governance is on learning how to build proper coalitions and how to have patience with the glacial pace of government, and you’re forced to abide by laws at all times. \"\n\nBrinkley sees \"a lot of warning signs about having someone of Trump’s temperament and professional disposition being the commander-in-chief.”\n\nTo be sure, likely Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has had her own legal challenges, including an ongoing FBI investigation and civil lawsuits into her exclusive use of an email server while secretary of State. When husband Bill Clinton was president, she was involved in investigations by special counsels looking into the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas and other controversies. None resulted in legal charges against her.\n\nDuring her time as first lady, U.S. senator from New York and secretary of State, Clinton has been named in more than 900 lawsuits, mostly as a defendant, a review of state and federal court records finds. More than a third of the lawsuits were filed by federal prisoners, political activists or other citizens seeking redress from the government by suing a list of high-ranking officials.\n\nThe USA TODAY analysis identified at least 3,500 legal actions involving Trump. Reporters reviewed thousands of pages of records collected electronically and in person from courts in 33 states over three months, read more than 20 hours of depositions and interviewed dozens of litigants.\n\nAmong those cases with a clear resolution, Trump's side was the apparent victor in 451 and the loser in 38. In about 500 cases, judges dismissed plaintiffs' claims against Trump. In hundreds more, cases ended with the available public record unclear about the resolution.\n\nClose to half the court cases — about 1,600 — involved lawsuits against gamblers who had credit at Trump-connected casinos and failed to pay their debts. About 100 additional disputes centered on other issues at the casinos. Trump and his enterprises have been named in almost 700 personal-injury claims and about 165 court disputes with government agencies.\n\nDozens dealt with the bankruptcy proceedings of Trump's companies, and dozens more involved plaintiffs' lawsuits against Trump businesses that judges terminated because the Trump companies targeted had gone bankrupt.\n\nThey include Trump's ongoing suit against the town of Palm Beach over airplane noise near his Mar-a-Lago Club and an earlier lawsuit against the town over an 80-foot flag pole. Trump's team argued in court that a smaller flag would understate his patriotism, but he eventually settled with town officials, agreeing among other concessions to lower the pole by 10 feet.\n\nThere also are disputes with local governments from New York to Florida to Nevada over the size of his property-tax bills.\n\nThe terms of most of the 100 settlements that Trump and his businesses reached with plaintiffs have not been disclosed. In about 60 additional cases, those sued by the Trump side have settled with him.\n\nA few have become fodder on the campaign trail, including two breach-of-contract lawsuits he filed against restaurateurs in connection with Trump's development of the Old Post Office on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. The businesses said they backed out of deals with Trump because of his derogatory comments about Mexicans. Both lawsuits are pending.\n\nThe luxury Trump hotel will have a prime view of the Inaugural Parade next January.\n\nReview of thousands of legal actions show that Trump is fiercely protective of his brand, quick to distance himself from deals that struggle, willing to deploy outsized resources against adversaries and sometimes prone to micro-management, even in disputes that involve relatively small amounts of money. Those approaches, however appropriate in a business setting, may not translate to a political one, especially at the level of the White House.\n\nAmong the details:\n\n• Trump distances himself from deals that sour.\n\nWhen projects struggle, Trump doesn’t hesitate to cut ties, even those that relied on his name to secure investments. That was the case in condo projects that were never completed in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, Panama and Baja, Mexico.\n\nCondo buyers who sued to get their deposits back often said they believed Trump was a full partner in the buildings. Trump was shielded by disclaimers in sales agreements explaining his branding-only role, though plaintiffs and their lawyers argued in court that fine print didn’t sync with marketing materials that made it appear these were Trump properties.\n\nIn depositions and court filings in the condo cases and similar branding deals, Trump's team appears to try to have it both ways in depicting his involvement. On one hand, Trump contends deep influence over even the smallest details to ensure Trump-branded products and developments are up to his standard, and he places high importance on the influence of his marketing muscle in such deals — usually as the lead name, face and voice behind a project.\n\nOn the other hand, his team argues in court that he's not liable for the deals that fail because he's simply lent his name.\n\nTrump himself walked lawyers through the difference between a brander and a developer in a 2013 deposition in one of the Fort Lauderdale condo cases.\n\n“Well, the word ‘developing,’ it doesn't mean that we're the developers,” Trump said, arguing he’s not accountable when a project he lends just his name to goes under. “We worked on the documents, we worked on the room sizes and the things, but we didn't give out the contracts, we didn't get the financing, we weren't the developer, but we did work with the developer.”\n\nIn lawsuits over his Trump University, he testified that he had never met instructors who were described in the university’s promotional materials as being “handpicked” by him. “It depends on the definition of what that means, handpicked,” Trump said during an exchange with a lawyer in a sworn deposition last December.\n\nWhen attorneys representing plaintiffs pointed out some instructors had criminal pasts and had been accused of berating seniors who signed up for the program, Trump replied: “In every business, people slip through the cracks.”\n\nFlorida attorney Sherri Simpson, who defends homeowners in foreclosure actions, said she signed up for Trump University classes because she hoped to capitalize on low prices during the housing downturn. She wanted to turn to a trusted real-estate name to learn how.\n\n“I’m aggravated that I lost all that money,” she said in an interview. “He promised to hire the best, to handpick the instructors, make sure everyone affiliated with the program was the best. But he didn’t do that.”\n\n• Trump is willing to spend large sums on small claims.\n\nNo detail is too small for a Trump suit, and he often brings to bear overwhelming legal resources that enable him to outlast his adversaries.\n\nIn February, he filed five lawsuits against eight neighbors of his Doral golf club in Miami for $15,000 in damages to reimburse him for \"vandalizing\" or \"destroying\" expensive areca palms and other plants his groundskeepers installed between their homes and the course. Trump's staff says the foliage was planted to block golfers' views of the houses; the homeowners say the trees blocked their views of the course. All five cases are pending.\n\n“No other developer put so many resources in trying to fight claims brought by the plaintiffs,” said Jared Beck, a Miami attorney who has represented dozens of clients in lawsuits against developers in South Florida. He said none has fought with the tenacity of Trump, citing a “mismatch of resources” that often works in Trump’s favor.\n\nBeck is now appealing to the Florida Supreme Court a case that dates to 2008 in which he represented a group of people who invested in condos in a failed development in Fort Lauderdale to which Trump licensed his name. “He is willing to go to the mat and has practically unlimited resources.”\n\n• Trump fiercely protects the monetary value of “Trump” as a brand name.\n\nTrump publicly has placed the value of his licensed real estate and other branding deals at $3.3 billion, though Forbes and other analysts question whether the figure is inflated. His moniker drives the value of his licensing deals, which now make up an important arm of his business model.\n\nIn one case, a South Florida developer hired experts who testified that having Trump's name attached to their proposed condominium development boosted the condos' value by at least $200 per square foot. The swanky seaside complex was only partially built, prompting some condo buyers to file a lawsuit against Trump and the developers seeking to recover their deposits. The developers had paid to license Trump’s brand, allowing them to use Trump’s name, his image and his reputation to help them sell units.\n\nTrump has attempted to pull out or distance himself from similar licensing deals, real estate and otherwise, if he feels the situation is hurting his brand. He also goes to court to collect royalties and other fees he says he's owed on those same kinds of deals.\n\n“Anything I put my name to is very important,” Trump said in a 2010 deposition tied to a failed real-estate development in Tampa licensed to carry Trump’s “mark,\" as he calls it. \"If I allow my name to be used, whether it’s a partnership or whether it is a licensing deal, they are all very important to me.”\n\nTrump sued for $4.5 million over unpaid royalties after a company that had been paying him to call its liquor Trump Vodka fell on hard times during the economic downturn, hurting sales of pricier spirits. The company stopped making its licensing payments, and Trump terminated the deal and sued to recoup what he was owed. He won a judgment for the amount, though it's unclear whether he ever collected from the troubled company.\n\nAnd he has been aggressive in suing unrelated companies that were using his name without permission. He won rulings over attempts to market Trump’s Best Coffee, a series of websites with names like trumpabudhabi.com and trumpbeijing.com, and a marketing agency calling itself Trump Your Competition.\n\nTrump’s general counsel, Garten, defended the number of lawsuits. “Our philosophy is that we are a company of principle,” he said. “When we believe we are in the right, we are going to pursue the matter to the end. If that requires that we go to trial and present evidence to a jury, we are prepared to do so. We are not going to cave to pressure.”\n\nBut experts in the presidency and business say Trump’s record, including in courtroom disputes, raise questions about whether he has exhibited the leadership qualities that have distinguished the nation’s most successful presidents.\n\n“Somebody like Lyndon Johnson was a guy who woke up in the morning studying the decisions and the hopes and the strengths and the weaknesses of all the people he had to influence,” said Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time. “For that, you need two traits I think Trump lacks: Number one, an attention to detail, and number two, you have to subordinate your own ego. I’ve seen nothing from Trump that suggests he has that capacity, and government is the art of compromise.”\n\nTrump’s lack of government experience was a political advantage during the GOP primaries, reinforcing his status as an outsider vowing to shake up a dysfunctional Washington. But it threatens to be a liability in the general election. In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released last week, six in 10 voters said they had reservations about or were uncomfortable with Trump’s lack of experience in government or the military.\n\nEven so, some of those who have sued Trump, been sued by him or otherwise been caught up in his legal wake, say they still may vote for him in November.\n\nPhilip Monnin represented his daughter, Miss Pennsylvania contestant Sheena Monnin, in a defamation suit Trump filed after she posted on Facebook that she thought the 2012 Miss USA Pageant was “rigged.” An arbitration ruling upheld by a federal judge ordered her to pay $5 million in damages, although she and Trump eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed lesser amount. Monnin, who lives in Michigan, said the suit demonstrated Trump’s bullying tactics and attempts to intimidate legal opponents.\n\nBut he doesn’t rule out voting for Trump for president. “Both sides have failed to bring satisfactory candidates,” he said in an interview. “I don’t think any of us in the family has decided what to do, and we have a lot of time to consider how to cast our votes.”\n\nContributing: David McKay Wilson, Karen Yi, John Kelly and Kevin McCoy\n\nExclusive: Trump's 3,500 lawsuits unprecedented for a presidential nominee\n\nUSA TODAY exclusive: Hundreds allege Donald Trump doesn't pay his bills\n\nTrump, companies accused of mistreating women in at least 20 lawsuits\n\nExclusive: More than 100 lawsuits, disputes over taxes tied to Trump and his companies\n\nDive into Donald Trump's thousands of lawsuits\n\nTrump casino empire dogged by bad bets in Atlantic City\n\nAs campaign rolls on, so do Trump's lawsuits in Florida\n\nHow USA TODAY NETWORK is tracking Trump court files\n\nTrump and the Law", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/06/01"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/05/business/hertz-lawsuit-settlement/index.html", "title": "Hertz settles lawsuits over hundreds of alleged false arrests | CNN ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nHertz will pay $168 million to settle 364 claims related to the company falsely reporting rental cars as stolen. These cases sometimes resulted in people being arrested and even imprisoned.\n\nOne lawsuit involving dozens of such cases alleged systemic flaws in Hertz’s reporting of thefts, including not recording rental extensions, falsely claiming customers hadn’t paid, failing to track its own vehicle inventory and failing to correct false reports to police.\n\nSome of those involved in lawsuits against Hertz reported being held at gunpoint by police and spending days in jail before the false reports were worked out. In one case, a person claimed it took two years for the case against them to be resolved.\n\nHertz said in its announcement that a “meaningful portion” of the settlement payout will be reimbursed from its insurers, and that Hertz “does not expect the resolution of these claims to have a material impact on its capital allocation.”\n\nWhile the company has policies in place to ensure “proper treatment” of its customers as well as protect the company, “it has taken significant steps to modernize and update those policies,” Hertz spokesperson Jonathan Stern said in an email. The company would not detail any specific policy changes, however.\n\nThe settlement will resolve 95% of pending claims against Hertz regarding these sorts of false arrest claims, the company said.\n\n“While we will not always be perfect, the professionals at Hertz will continue to work every day to provide best-in-class service to the tens of millions of people we serve each year,” Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr said in Monday’s statement.\n\nScherr had said in an April interview with CNBC that the cases involved “1/100 of one percent” of Hertz customer transactions.", "authors": ["Peter Valdes-Dapena"], "publish_date": "2022/12/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/03/business/amazon-abortion-costs/index.html", "title": "These companies will help staff in red states bypass abortion bans ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nMillions of women in more than 25 states face an abortion ban if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized the procedure nationwide. For many of those women, employers’ benefit packages may be the only way they can soon afford a legal abortion.\n\nAmazon became the latest corporation to cover employees’ travel costs to seek abortion care. The company told staff it would pay up to $4,000 in travel expenses annually for medical treatments including abortions, according to a message seen by Reuters. An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the nature of the Reuters report to CNN Business.\n\nThe company’s announcement echoes similar moves by Citigroup, Yelp, Uber and Lyft to help employees bypass Republican-led efforts in several states to effectively ban abortion. And it comes just hours after a bombshell report by Politico indicated the Supreme Court is prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade.\n\nCNN has not independently confirmed the Politico report, and a Supreme Court spokesperson declined to comment.\n\nIf Roe is overturned, legislatures in 26 states have pending laws indicating that they intend to ban abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. That could leave many women in need of abortion services hundreds or thousands of miles away from access to the procedure — unaffordable for many.\n\nCorporate America is increasingly being drawn from the political sidelines on the abortion issue in response to pressure from investors, customers and employees. Companies are also struggling to attract and retain talent and worry about the impact these states’ anti-abortion laws could have on their workers.\n\nExecutives are also learning how difficult it can be to craft a political message without angering one side or the other. Disney, notably, is grappling with the political fallout of coming out against Florida’s so-called Don’t Say Gay law. CEO Bob Chapek initially failed to condemn the legislation before backtracking and apologizing to staff and fans who were outraged by the legislation. After Disney publicly opposed the law and vowed to help repeal it, lawmakers in the state passed legislation to dissolve the company’s longstanding status as a self-governing special district.\n\nLast year, as several states pushed legislation that would make it harder for some citizens to vote, hundreds of leading executives from companies including Amazon, Google, BlackRock and Starbucks signed a statement opposing the bills.\n\nHere are some of the most prominent companies offering expanded assistance to staff in states curtailing abortion care.\n\nAmazon\n\nThe nation’s second-largest private employer said it would cover up to $4,000 per year in travel expenses for staff members seeking non-life-threatening medical care, including abortions, if care isn’t available within 100 miles of where they live.\n\nTesla\n\nThe electric vehicle maker said in its 2021 impact report that it will help provide travel and lodging “for those who may need to seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state” as part of its expanded Safety Net program and health insurance offering. Tesla’s headquarters moved to Texas in 2021, a state that has banned abortions after six weeks.\n\nCitigroup\n\nCitigroup in March became one of the largest US companies to commit to covering employees’ travel costs if they need to leave their state to seek an abortion.\n\n“In response to changes in reproductive healthcare laws in certain states in the US, beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources,” Citi said in a letter to shareholders as part of its annual proxy statement.\n\nBumble\n\nThe dating app company, which is based in Austin, Texas, in September created a fund “supporting the reproductive rights of women and people across the gender spectrum who seek abortions in Texas.”\n\n“Bumble is women-founded and women-led, and from day one we’ve stood up for the most vulnerable. We’ll keep fighting against regressive laws like #SB8,” the company said on Twitter the week the legislation, which amounts to a near total ban on abortions in the state, went into effect last fall.\n\nRelief funds will go to organizations that support women’s reproductive rights, including Fund Texas Choice, according to Bumble.\n\nLevi Strauss\n\nThe clothing company called protecting access to reproductive care a critical business issue.\n\n“Efforts to further restrict or criminalize that access would have far-reaching consequences for the American workforce,” the company told CNN Business in a statement. “Given what is at stake, business leaders need to make their voices heard and act to protect the health and well-being of our employees. That means protecting reproductive rights.”\n\nUnder Levi’s benefits plan, employees can be reimbursed for travel expenses for services not available in their home state, including abortion. Part-time staff and others who aren’t included in the company’s benefits plan are also eligible for reimbursement, it said.\n\nLyft & Uber\n\nThe ride-sharing rivals each announced in September that they would create legal defense funds to protect any drivers who might be sued under the Texas law for driving a person who receives an abortion.\n\nThe law’s wording leaves open the possibility that a driver could be sued, possibly even if they didn’t know an abortion was happening, according to Elizabeth Sepper, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin.\n\nLyft also said it would donate $1 million to Planned Parenthood “to ensure that transportation is never a barrier to healthcare access.”\n\nMatch Group\n\nThe Dallas-based company that owns Match.com and several dating apps including Tinder, OkCupid and Hinge, also announced in September a fund to ensure its employees and their dependents would be able to seek reproductive care outside of Texas.\n\n“The company generally does not take political stands unless it is relevant to our business,” said CEO Shar Dubey in a memo at the time. “But in this instance, I personally, as a woman in Texas, could not keep silent.”\n\nSalesforce\n\nSalesforce announced in September that it would assist its employees and their families if they want to leave Texas after the state passed the nation’s most restrictive abortion law.\n\nThe cloud computing company told its 56,000 employees that they “stand with all of our women at Salesforce and everywhere.”\n\nSalesforce CEO Marc Benioff tweeted at the time: “Ohana if you want to move we’ll help you exit TX. Your choice.” (“Ohana” is the Hawaiian word for “family.”)\n\nYelp\n\nA representative for the San Francisco-based company said its employee health insurance already covers abortion care, but starting in May, Yelp will cover travel expenses for any US employees and their dependents who need to travel out of state to access abortion care.\n\nThe benefit extends to staff and dependents affected by any current or future restrictions on reproductive rights.\n\nAs a remote-first company with a distributed workforce, “it’s a priority for us to offer our employees consistent healthcare coverage, regardless of where they live,” a representative said.\n\nStarbucks\n\nStarbucks’ healthcare plan is offering reimbursement for travel for abortion or gender-affirming procedures when those are not available within 100 miles of an employee’s home. Dependents who use Starbucks’ medical plan are also eligible for these benefits.\n\n“Regardless of what the Supreme Court ends up deciding, we will always ensure our partners have access to quality healthcare,” wrote Sara Kelly, acting EVP of Partner Resources at the company, in a May 16 letter.\n\nKelly added that the company’s benefits team is working on details of the new benefit, including timing.\n\n— CNN Business’ Catherine Thorbecke, Ramishah Maruf, Charles Riley and David Goldman contributed reporting.", "authors": ["Allison Morrow"], "publish_date": "2022/05/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/tech/elon-musk-twitter-verification-plans/index.html", "title": "Elon Musk wants Twitter users to pay to be verified. It could create a ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nIn 2009, after Twitter was sued by then-St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa for being impersonated on the platform, the young company introduced a new feature: a blue and white check mark.\n\nThe check indicated that Twitter had verified the accounts of artists, athletes, government officials and agencies and other public figures. The option, which kicked off with plans to verify the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was presented as protection for individuals at risk of having their accounts fraudulently imitated and as a benefit to all users — a means of letting people know they could trust information being shared by prominent figures.\n\nIt soon became one of the platform’s signature features, copied by rivals like Facebook, and created a new kind of cultural cachet for those who received it. Now Twitter’s new owner, Elon Musk, is looking to overhaul the way verification works, with the potential not only to change who gets a coveted blue check mark, but also to create new headaches for users in spotting fake and fraudulent activity on the platform.\n\nMusk confirmed this week he’s working to launch an updated version of the company’s Twitter Blue subscription service in which any user can pay $8 per month to get or remain verified. The world’s richest man has also used populist language, framing the move as a way to break “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark.”\n\nIf users buy in, the plan could be a new revenue driver for Twitter, something Musk needs following his $44 billion acquisition of the company, which was partly funded with debt. He has also suggested that verifying more actual, human users could help address the prevalence of fake and spam accounts that he purported to be concerned about during his months-long effort to get out of the acquisition deal.\n\nThe logic appears to go something like this: By requiring users to pay for verification, using a bank account or credit card, it would create a higher barrier to entry for inauthentic accounts. Musk said in a tweet Wednesday that if accounts verified under his new system engage in “spam/scam/impersonation, they’ll be suspended, but Twitter will keep their money!” And he said he would create a separate tag that would show up under the name of public figures, similar to how Twitter already identifies government officials and representatives of state media organizations.\n\nBut the move could disincentivize certain prominent accounts from being verified, making it harder for users to determine which are authentic. And it’s not clear that it will prevent inauthentic and bot activity either.\n\n“In fact, this is making Twitter a pay-for-play system, and we know that propagandists, people working to spread disinformation and other forms of manipulation via Twitter, are very much willing and able to finance their operations,” said Samuel Woolley, assistant professor at the University of Texas’ School of Information and author of the book “Bots.”\n\n“Most of the propagandists that social media companies are most worried about, like the Russian government, the Chinese government, extremist groups, have a lot of resources,” he said.\n\nCurrently, Woolley said, to get past the Twitter verification requirement that users link a cell phone number to their account, bad actors will “buy thousands of smartphones and put them on racks … and that’s a much more costly endeavor than paying an $8 verification fee.” In theory, a person could also pay to verify an account and then allow a computer to run it, thus effectively creating an automated (or “bot”) verified account.\n\nThere may be other complicating factors. Users might have concerns about handing over their bank or credit card information to a company that allegedly has major security vulnerabilities, according to a company whistleblower complaint from just months ago. In many parts of the world, people don’t readily have access to banking services. And many regular Twitter users who aren’t worried about being impersonated and don’t care about Twitter “clout” may also simply not care to shell out for a blue check.\n\nIt’s also not clear what would stop someone from creating and paying to verify an account fraudulently impersonating someone else, thus undermining the original purpose of the feature. It’s not hard to imagine someone paying to verify themselves as a customer support agent for a particular company and then using the credibility that comes from having a blue check mark to scam unsuspecting customers.\n\nTwitter did not immediately respond to questions about the plan, including how it would prevent such imitation.\n\nMusk has said his goal in buying Twitter is to bolster “free speech,” but some worry that the new subscription option could create a two-tiered speech system, based on who can and can’t afford to pay. With the new plan, for example, subscribers would get priority in replies, mentions and search, as well as the ability to post longer video and audio content while getting half as many ads as free users, according to Musk.\n\n“You’re really saying that the free speech of people who pay is more important than the free speech of people who can’t,” said Jessica González, co-CEO of media accountability Free Press, who was part of a group of civil society leaders who met with Musk earlier this week to discuss content moderation and a recent surge of hateful rhetoric on the platform. “I actually told him … that I think that $8 a month is highly problematic.”\n\nThe proposed subscription update has been panned by several high-profile Twitter users, including author Stephen King and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. “Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually a $8/mo subscription plan,” Ocasio Cortez said in a tweet Wednesday.\n\nMusk on Wednesday hit back at critics of the plan, saying in a tweet: “To all the complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8.”\n\n–CNN’s Jennifer Korn contributed to this report.", "authors": ["Clare Duffy"], "publish_date": "2022/11/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/27/us/anti-asian-hate-crimes-san-francisco-lawsuit/index.html", "title": "Anti-Asian hate crimes increased 567% in San Francisco as lawsuit ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nAnti-Asian hate crimes in San Francisco spiked 567% in 2021, San Francisco officials said this week.\n\n“That is significant, that is concerning, and that is alarming,” Police Chief Bill Scott announced Tuesday during a press conference addressing the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community ahead of the lunar new year next week.\n\nThe SFPD reports eight cases of Asian hate crimes in 2019, nine in 2020, and 60 in 2021.\n\nChief Scott said more than 30 of the incidents in 2021 were committed by the same person who deliberately targeted Asians. He was arrested in August for burglaries, acts of vandalism, and also faces hate crime enhancements. The chief also highlighted other arrests including the person accused of stabbing two Asians at a bus stop on Market Street. “That case got a lot of publicity, it was a bad look for our city,” he lamented.\n\n“I’m heartbroken, I’m frustrated, I’m embarrassed, I’m angry about the violence that continues to impact many of the people who are part of our Asian community but especially our seniors,” said Mayor London Breed.\n\nShe pointed to the diversity of the city and though various communities were hit with hate crimes, she acknowledged none more than the AAPI community, especially the elderly.\n\n“It would have broken my heart to have my grandmother be attacked in the way,” Breed said during the press conference.\n\nEarlier Tuesday, the Alliance for Asian American Justice announced the filing of a federal hate-crimes lawsuit against the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and the City and County of San Francisco, seeking to institute procedures that protect the AAPI community and ensure equal protection for justice.\n\nThe announcement was made at a press conference in San Francisco’s Chinatown district, claiming that “the justice system has often failed to treat victims with the dignity, respect and equal treatment that they deserve,” according to a statement from the Alliance.\n\nThe filing of the lawsuit follows an announcement Monday of the creation of a steering committee convened by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office Victim Services Division (VSD) “to address the gaps in services for AAPI elderly victims – to examine the challenges with case coordination, underreporting, and to develop a standard set of best practices for providing services in a trauma-informed and culturally-appropriate manner to AAPI elderly victims.”\n\nThe plaintiff, Mr. Anh Le, 69, a Vietnamese-American, is a survivor of an assault which occurred in November 2019 in San Francisco’s Chinatown.\n\nHe says that “justice has not been served” by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office though his attacker was charged with terroristic threats and elder abuse. Le says a man threatened to kill him and attacked him with a glass bottle while the man’s son attacked Le with a baseball bat.\n\n“I pleaded with them to stop but they relished in their ability to inflict pain and fear on a defenseless senior citizen,” Le said, emotionally recounting his trauma.\n\nLe said San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s office allowed the defendant to plea to a misdemeanor and one year probation, without consulting the victim.\n\nCNN has requested comment from DA Boudin’s office and the lawyer of the man Le accused of assaulting him.\n\nLe said he felt “cast aside, ignored, and re-victimized by the institutions that were supposed to protect him.\n\n“I am speaking out about my experiences today at great expense to myself because I hope that the leaders of our communities will see and feel the pain and suffering of Asian-Americans across the state of California and nationally throughout our country.”\n\nA nationwide problem\n\nThe recent data from San Francisco and the lawsuit comes just weeks after the death of Michelle Go in New York City.\n\nThe death of Go, who was pushed to her death in front of a Times Square subway train, jolted Asian Americans across the United States, even though the incident isn’t being investigated as a hate crime. It prompted a kind of collective grief in a community affected by an increase in anti-Asian violence in recent years, advocates say.\n\nSince the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of people in the US have been victims of anti-Asian incidents, from verbal abuse to physical attacks.\n\nIn New York, hate crimes involving Asian Americans increased from 28 in 2020 to at least 129 incidents in 2021, said James Essig, NYPD chief of detectives, in a news conference last month.\n\nWhen Go died, advocates and the Asian American community in New York were still mourning the death of Yao Pan Ma, a 62-year-old Asian man who police said was bashed in the head in an unprovoked attack in East Harlem.\n\nHe died from his injuries eight months after the attack, which happened a little over a month after eight people, including six Asian women, were killed in shootings at Atlanta-area spas.\n\nOn Sunday, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are coming together in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Philadelphia for a national commemoration of the one year anniversary of the killing of Vicha Ratanapakdee and honoring other victims of anti-Asian hate and bias.\n\nRatanapakdee, an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand, had recently received the coronavirus vaccine and was walking in the Anza Vista neighborhood the morning of January 28 when a man ran across the street and violently shoved him to the ground in what San Francisco District Attorney Boudin called “a horrific, senseless attack.”\n\nRatanapakdee never regained consciousness after the deadly assault.", "authors": ["Stella Chan Augie Martin", "Stella Chan", "Augie Martin"], "publish_date": "2022/01/27"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/15/success/hybrid-work-employees/index.html", "title": "Employers who want workers in the office more often may be in for a ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nMany employers have made it clear that they want their workers to return to the office – at least part of the time.\n\nBut some employees, who have spent the last two years working almost entirely remotely, are wondering why they need to return to in-person work at all. Gas prices are high. Covid infections are on the rise (again). They’ve been productive at home and when they do go into the office, few of their coworkers are there.\n\n“Employees really want flexibility and choice over where, when and how to work. They don’t want to be told: ‘You need to be here on these days.’ They want to be able to choose,” said Ryan Luby, associate partner at McKinsey & Company.\n\nEarlier this year, a survey from Pew found that among workers who have an office outside of their home, 61% said they are choosing not to go in to their workplace.\n\nWhether it’s a hybrid model or requiring employees to come in five days a week, employers need to show the value of asking workers to commute into the office again if workers have been successfully working from home for two years.\n\n“If the only thing that is different about their day is that they are going to be home less…and they get to the office and there isn’t anyone else there or aren’t people for them to collaborate with, then there is going to be some scratching of their heads of what’s the point of doing this,” said Vanessa Matsis-McCready, associate general counsel and director of human resources at Engage PEO.\n\nMatsis-McCready added that offering back-up child or elder care to employees can help with the transition. Also, smaller perks like paying for podcast subscriptions to make the commute more enjoyable, free meals in the office, in-person learning sessions and social gatherings can also help entice workers to come back.\n\nAre companies cracking down?\n\nIn one of the more extreme cases, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly sent an email to employees saying they need to be in the office for at least 40 hours a week or leave the company.\n\nStill, many companies aren’t enforcing mandates just yet. But they are encouraging workers to come in, according to Brian Kropp, distinguished vice president in the Gartner HR practice, who added that companies tend to rely on badge swipes if they want to make sure employees are following protocol.\n\n“The way that almost every company is tracking is: Did you swipe your badge when you came in through the doors or not?”\n\nBut for the most part, he said it’s too soon for companies to start cracking down on employees who aren’t putting in the required face time.\n\n“At this point, they aren’t actively firing people who aren’t coming in often enough. “It’s much more of ‘let’s go talk to them and figure out what the problem is.’”\n\nBut that might not last too long.\n\n“The idea that if someone really just doesn’t want to be in the office, I think a year ago a company might try working with them, but now it’s a little bit more of ‘Okay is that what we want for our business?’ And maybe if it’s not, maybe they’re not a match any more and that’s okay,” said Matsis-McCready.\n\nFinding the right balance\n\nSome companies are looking to meet employees half way.\n\nFertility benefits management company Progyny first reopened its Manhattan office in September with a plan that workers assigned to its headquarters would come into the office five days a week. The company gave workers three months’ notice and, anticipating resistance, used the first two weeks as a test.\n\nAfter returning to the office full-time, workers met with their managers, and executives held check-in meetings to gauge how people were adjusting. One of the workers’ main concerns was child care due to uncertainty around closures.\n\n“Clearly no one liked the five days and that is what we anticipated,” said Cassandra Pratt, senior vice president, people at Progyny. “We did get the feedback that confirmed our thought process that hybrid was better.”\n\nTwo weeks later, the company shifted its policy, requiring employees to come into the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays instead.\n\nStill, some employees questioned why they were coming back at all when they’ve been working well remotely for the last two years, according to Pratt.\n\n“That’s where we went back to the fact that our culture really is an in-office culture and we think those informal conversations and the face-to-face interactions are important to who we are,” Pratt said.”And we’ve seen a significant increase in collaboration. It’s also de-escalated some concerns and tensions and some group dynamics by being in person.”\n\nThe company expanded the types of roles that can work fully remote – but there are some limitations. Executives have to be able to come into the office three days a week and directors and vice presidents who manage teams in New York can’t work remotely full time. That requirement meant letting go of a few managers.\n\n“We had a [few] people whose jobs really needed to be in-office given the level and scope of their role and they had relocated and we couldn’t make their role remote,” said Pratt.\n\nShowpad, which offers software that aims to help companies boost sales, surveyed its workers ahead of reopening its offices last summer. The results showed that the majority of employees didn’t want to be in the office for more than one or two days a week. And 13% of workers wanted to work from home full-time.\n\nWhile workers were clear about their preference, some of the company’s leadership initially worried the lack of in-person time could hurt its culture, said chief people officer Kelli Koschmann.\n\n“Obviously, there was a tension between preference and business need and impact,” said Koschmann.\n\nNow, the decision about how often workers come in is decided on a team level.\n\n“[There] was a lot of conversation at the leadership level around what does good look like in terms of achieving the business impact that we want to have and how does being in the office play into that.”\n\nHow much does it matter if butts are in office seats?\n\nBefore setting up a firm in-office policy, digital workforce company Thoughtful Automation is assessing whether there’s a correlation between its employees’ performance and how many days they’re in the office.\n\nThe company, which launched in early 2020, started out fully remote. But as it grew, it opened up an office in Chicago and eventually gave workers the option to relocate – offering to pay their moving costs.\n\nNow, the majority of the company is located in Chicago, and even though some employees had agreed to move, CEO Alex Zekoff said they still weren’t coming into the office as much as he wanted.\n\n“In one of our all-hands meetings we had to be very explicit….and we put a policy in place.” Currently, coming in three days a week on average meets expectations, two or less is considered below expectations and four or five days a week exceeds expectations.\n\nZekoff noted the policy is still an experiment.\n\n“We don’t actually know if someone comes in two days, are they less productive?” he said.\n\nWhile there is no set in-person mandate right now, Zekoff said there have been some early signals of non-compliance.\n\n“We are starting to have to deal with that,” he said. “It’s been a little bit more of a direct conversation of trying to understand what the issue is.”\n\nZekoff said they’ve also seen some indications that coming into the office more frequently does improve collaboration and performance.\n\n“[One] team was sort of not coming in as much as another team and we noticed a team dynamic difference…the other team felt like they weren’t holding up their end of the bargain.”\n\nBut if the experiment shows that the increased office time doesn’t improve performance, Zekoff said he’s open to new polices.\n\n“Policy should be an ever-evolving thing.”", "authors": ["Kathryn Vasel"], "publish_date": "2022/07/15"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_17", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/01/02/gangsta-boo-three-6-mafia-rapper-dead/10979295002/", "title": "Gangsta Boo dead: Three 6 Mafia rapper dies at 43", "text": "Gangsta Boo, the pioneering female rapper who got her start as a teenager in Three 6 Mafia, has died at age 43.\n\nThe hip-hop star (real name Lola Mitchell) died Sunday in Memphis, Tennessee, reps for the rapper at Echoing Soundz confirmed in a press release.\n\n\"The Mitchell family would like to thank everyone for their condolences regarding the untimely death of Lola ‘Gangsta Boo’ Mitchell. The family is asking for your continued prayers and privacy as we process the loss of our loved one,” said her mother Veronica Mitchell and family.\n\nThe press release adds: \"Due to the ongoing investigation, specifics regarding the cause of death have not been released.\"\n\nJeremiah Green dead at 45: Modest Mouse drummer dies after cancer diagnosis announced days ago\n\nRemembering those we lost: Celebrity Deaths 2023\n\nDJ Paul, one of the founding members of Three 6 Mafia, took to social media to pay tribute to Mitchell Sunday, with a wordless post of Mitchell at turntable mixer. Ludacris, Big Boi, 2 Chainz and Lil Jon, among others, shared condolences in the comments.\n\nThe rise of Mitchell – also known as \"the Queen of Memphis\" or \"Lady Boo\" – as an ambassador of Memphis hip-hop started with her work on Three 6 Mafia's first full-length studio album, \"Mystic Stylez,\" in 1995. She recorded several albums with Three 6 Mafia before parting ways with the group after the 2001 release of her second solo album, \"Both Worlds *69.\" Her many collaborations include featured appearances with OutKast, Foxy Brown, Yo Gotti and Run the Jewels.\n\nAnd while her success is associated with Three 6 Mafia, her solo work held its own. In 1998, she released \"Enquiring Minds,\" which included the hit, \"Where Dem Dollars At?!\"\n\nAll three of her solo albums ranked on R&B charts. A steady stream of mixtapes and collaborations kept her name in play over the span of her nearly three decade-long career.\n\nA week prior to her death, Mitchell filmed an unreleased video to \"Imma Mack\" for producer Drumma Boy's latest album \"Welcome to my City Vol. 4,\" according to the press release regarding her death.\n\nIn a statement the producer and fellow Memphis native said, \"Gangsta Boo was like a sister to me and told the world about me the way my blood brother did. We both are Leos and share the same energy towards unity and seeing people happy!\"\n\n\"This is just such a devastating loss cuz she always wanted to see others win! RIP to the Queen Of Memphis, forever my sister,\" Drumma Boy (real name Christopher James Gholson) added.\n\nAs one of the first major female rappers representing the South, she shone a spotlight on those who came behind her, including GloRilla (aka Gloria Woods), the latest Memphis rapper to nab the national spotlight with hits like \"F.N.F.\"\n\nLast fall, Mitchell appeared on the podcast \"Drink Champs,\" and spoke of the rising stars of GloRilla and Memphis rapper Gloss Up.\n\n\"It just made me feel good, 'cause they went whack and they represented Memphis right,\" Mitchell said.\n\nOn Sunday evening, Woods shared screenshots of what she said were conversations between her and Mitchell.\n\n\"She always supported me & the girls way back before we blew up,\" Woods said.\n\nRapper Al Kapone (aka Alphonzo Bailey), Mitchell's friend and collaborator, described her death as a deep loss for Memphis. Mitchell, he told the Commercial Appeal, let him know early on what his own style and influence meant to her.\n\n\"Boo is one of the first to represent female rappers in a major way and still is respected by the new female rappers today,\" he said. \"Gangsta Boo is one of the reasons Memphis rap is global today.\"\n\nBefore Mitchell's death, Billboard asked her to describe her legacy or impact on female rap and hip-hop and general.\n\n\"I have to admit, respectfully and humbly, that I am the blueprint. I hear my cadence in a lot of men and female rappers. ... I wear that badge proudly,\" she told the outlet. \"It just feels great to stand in yourself and look in the mirror and be like, 'Wow, you did that.' \"\n\nContributing: Kim Willis, Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY\n\nAnita Pointer dies at 74: Grammy-winning singer performed as part of The Pointer Sisters", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/02"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_18", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/10/politics/us-to-end-pre-departure-testing-requirement/index.html", "title": "US will end Covid-19 testing requirement for air travelers entering ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe Biden administration is expected to announce Friday that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will lift its requirement for travelers to test negative for Covid-19 before entering the US, according to a senior administration official and a US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention official.\n\nThe move, which CNN was first to report, will go into effect for US-bound air travelers at midnight on Sunday, the officials said.\n\nThe CDC is lifting the restriction that the travel industry had lobbied against for months after determining it was no longer necessary “based on the science and data,” the senior administration official said. The CDC has the ability to reassess the order at any time and potentially reinstate it, especially if a new variant develops and poses concern. The measure has been in place since January 2021.\n\nThat official said the Biden administration plans to work with airlines to ensure a smooth transition with the change, but it will likely be a welcome move for most in the industry.\n\nIn a statement to CNN, the CDC said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has now shifted to a new phase, due to the widespread uptake of highly effective Covid-19 vaccines, the availability of effective therapeutics, and the accrual of high rates of vaccine- and infection-induced immunity at the population level in the United States. Each of these measures has contributed to lower risk of severe disease and death across the United States.”\n\nTravel industry officials have been increasingly critical of the requirement in recent weeks and directly urged the Biden administration to end the measure, arguing it was having a chilling effect on an already fragile economy, according to Airlines for America chief Nick Calio, whose group met recently with White House officials.\n\nThe travel industry, and some scientific experts, said the policy had been out of date for months.\n\nLawmakers, including Democrats, had also advocated for lifting the requirement in recent weeks.\n\nNevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said, “I’m glad CDC suspended the burdensome coronavirus testing requirement for international travelers, and I’ll continue to do all I can to support the strong recovery of our hospitality industry.”\n\nWhite House officials met last month with travel industry officials, who pressed the Biden administration to end its requirements that vaccinated international travelers take a coronavirus test before flying to the United States.\n\nAirlines for America said its members – including American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines – had believed lifting the requirements would lead more foreigners to visit the US.\n\nThe trade association told CNN that in mid-May, domestic travel came within 7 percentage points of pre-pandemic levels, but international travel lagged at 14% below normal.\n\nUS Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow praised the decision.\n\n“Prior to the pandemic, travel was one of our nation’s largest industry exports. The lifting of this requirement will enable the industry to lead the way toward a broader US economic and jobs recovery,” Dow said in a statement.\n\nThe industry has criticized the policy as out of date for months, and some medical experts have also questioned its utility.\n\nTesting international arrivals doesn’t make much sense to Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.\n\n“I’ve been bemused about that for a long time because we’ve got plenty of Covid here! It’s not as though we’re trying to keep Covid out,” Schaffner told CNN in March. “It’s here already.”\n\nThis story has been updated with additional reporting.", "authors": ["Kaitlan Collins"], "publish_date": "2022/06/10"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2022/09/26/canada-covid-19-entry-requirements/8075775001/", "title": "Canada ends COVID-19 entry requirements starting Oct. 1", "text": "Travelers heading to Canada will have an easier time entering the country as it drops its COVID entry requirements starting Saturday.\n\nTravelers will no longer have to show proof of vaccination, take a test before or on arrival or follow quarantine rules, the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a news release Monday. Canada will also no longer require the use of ArriveCAN, which travelers can use to submit information like vaccination proof and travel details, among other changes.\n\nThe topic of loosening COVID measures came up in Wednesday's caucus meeting at Parliament Hill. Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault told the press officials were \"going to make sure that as we open up the economy, we do so in a systematic and respectful way.\"\n\n'Was it worth the risk? I don't think so':What it's like taking a cruise with fewer COVID-19 rules\n\n'They should've helped me':Booking through platforms like Expedia leaves some travelers stranded\n\nEarlier this year, Canada loosened its entry requirements so fully vaccinated travelers don't have to show a negative pre-departure COVID test but did still have to use ArriveCAN system (or risk a $5,000 fine).\n\nThose who weren't considered fully vaccinated could only enter Canada for certain types of visits and had to show a negative test before and after arrival plus do a 14-day quarantine.\n\nThe country first closed its borders in March 2020.\n\nWhat are the new rules for entering Canada?\n\n► In addition to dropping vaccine, testing and quarantine rules, travelers will no longer need to monitor for or report COVID symptoms after arriving.\n\n► Transport Canada is also removing additional rules, and travelers will not face health checks for travel by air or rail, and masks will not be required on planes or trains, though they are still encouraged to wear \"high quality and well-fitted masks\" throughout their trip, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.\n\n► Pre-embarkation testing, vaccine, and ArriveCAN requirements for cruise passengers will also be lifted, though some guidelines will remain in place, which the agency said would line up with the U.S.\n\nThe agency said the changes were \"facilitated by a number of factors, including modelling that indicates that Canada has largely passed the peak of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 fuelled wave, Canada’s high vaccination rates, lower hospitalization and death rates, as well as the availability and use of vaccine boosters (including new bivalent formulation), rapid tests, and treatments for COVID-19.\"\n\nFollowing the change, the U.S. Travel Association's Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy, Tori Emerson Barnes, called on the U.S. to stop requiring that international visitors show proof of vaccination.\n\n“Ottawa is taking the right step by lifting its vaccine and testing requirement to enter Canada, which will give its economy a substantial boost,\" she said in a statement. \"Washington should follow suit by immediately suspending proof of vaccination for qualified visitors from Canada and other nations, given the wide access to effective Covid boosters and therapies.\"\n\nShe continued, \"Canada is the No. 1 source of international travelers to the United States, and we should take every action to accelerate recovery from this vital market.”\n\nAmerican passports are strong,but not the strongest. What to know about traveling with one\n\nCDC warns people before traveling to Canada\n\nThe Center for Disease Control and Prevention currently says Canada has a \"high\" COVID-19 level and warns people to be up to date with their vaccines before entering the country.\n\nCanada saw 18,718 new COVID cases over the past week, and 223 new deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/09/26"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2022/03/17/canada-travel-covid-test-requirement/7067757001/", "title": "Canada travel: COVID test requirement to drop for vaccinated visitors", "text": "Vaccinated tourists will no longer need a pre-departure COVID test to enter Canada starting April 1.\n\nTravelers do not need a booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated.\n\nMasks are still required on planes and trains.\n\nTraveling to Canada soon? There's a good chance you won't need to worry about a pre-departure coronavirus test.\n\nCanada's Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos announced Thursday that the country would no longer require fully vaccinated travelers to show a negative pre-departure coronavirus test to enter the country starting April 1 at 12:01 AM EDT. Tourists will not need a booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated.\n\nThe announcement comes as Canada's COVID-19 case counts begin to settle after the latest COVID-19 surge driven by the highly-contagious omicron variant. The country recorded more than 35,000 cases in the past week, a fraction of the record high weekly count of 268,181 recorded in January, according to Johns Hopkins data.\n\n\"We are in a much better position today than in 2020,\" Duclos said. \"High vaccination rates and strong adherence to public health measures have pushed us through the peak of the omicron wave.\"\n\n'IT'S TIME TO ADJUST OUR APPROACH':Canada eases entry requirements as COVID cases drop\n\nThe country originally closed its borders to nonessential travel after the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.\n\nAfter more than a year of only allowing essential travel across its borders, travel restrictions began to ease in August when Canada's borders opened to vaccinated travelers who could show proof of a negative molecular coronavirus test, such as a PCR test. In February, the country began accepting negative rapid antigen tests for entry.\n\nCan unvaccinated people travel to Canada?\n\nPeople who have received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or a single dose of Johnson and Johnson's vaccine at least 14 days before arriving in Canada are considered fully vaccinated. ​​​​​\n\nWhen asked why boosters were not required for entry, Duclos said Canadian officials will continue to review travel measures. Restrictions will continue to adjust as the epidemiological situation evolves.\n\nTravelers who are not fully vaccinated are only allowed entry under certain circumstances and will need to test for coronavirus before and after arrival and quarantine for 14 days.\n\nVaccinated travelers only need to take a post-arrival test if they are selected through Canada's random testing surveillance program. They will not need to quarantine while awaiting test results.\n\nAll travelers will still need to use the ArriveCAN app or website to enter, and masks are still required on planes and trains among people age 6 and older.\n\nEconomic impact\n\nRandy Boissonnault, Canada's minister of tourism and associate minister of finance, said the new travel measures will make it easier for people to visit Canada \"in the spring and beyond.\"\n\n\"And they will come,\" Boissonnault said. \"With our high vaccination rates and our focus on health and safety, Canada has a huge advantage in attracting visitors because they know it's safe to travel to Canada.\"\n\nAir Canada released a statement Thursday welcoming the new travel measures.\n\n\"The removal of pre-departure testing requirements will continue to accelerate and stimulate the recovery of Canada's travel and tourism industry, which we are committed to help rebuild through the restoration of our global network,\" David Rheault, Air Canada's vice president of government and community relations, said in the statement.\n\nCDC warns US travelers to ‘avoid’ Canada\n\nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Canada has \"very high\" levels of COVID-19, and advises U.S. travelers to avoid the country.\n\n\"If you must travel to Canada, make sure you are vaccinated and up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines before travel,\" the CDC’s website reads. \"Even if you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines, you may still be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19.\"\n\nFollow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/03/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2022/06/10/travel-covid-test-requirement-us/6657199001/", "title": "US travel restrictions lift: International flyers can skip COVID test", "text": "International travel just got a whole lot easier.\n\nThe Biden administration announced Friday that the United States will no longer require a pre-departure COVID-19 test to enter the country, effective Sunday.\n\nThe requirement lifted at 12:01 a.m. ET, according to a senior administration official. The rule change comes more than a year after the country started requiring a negative test for entry and more than two years since the pandemic began.\n\nUnder previous entry requirements, air passengershad to take a negative viral coronavirus test no more than one day before boarding their flight into the U.S. The rule applied to all travelers, regardless of vaccination status or citizenship, but granted exemptions to travelers 2 and older who had recently recovered from the virus.\n\nIs travel insurance worth it?:What to know before you book your next trip\n\nMask rules in the US:Where are masks still required now that the mask mandate has been lifted?\n\nThe decision came, according to the official, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined based on science that the requirement is no longer necessary. The decision will be reassessed in 90 days, and the health agency plans to evaluate it on an ongoing basis.\n\nIf it becomes necessary to reinstate the pre-departure test requirement (in case of new, concerning variants, for example), the official continued, the CDC will plan to do so.\n\nA number of other countries, including the United Kingdom, had already dropped pre-departure testing requirements for fully vaccinated visitors.\n\nRequirements for travelers entering the U.S. by land or ferry remain unchanged: non-U.S. citizens, nationals and permanent residents can only enter if they are fully vaccinated. There is no testing requirement for land ports or ferry terminals.\n\nNews of restriction drop well received by travel sectors\n\nAcross the travel industry, news of the pre-departure testing requirement for international, U.S.-bound travelers dropping was well received.\n\nU.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow said in a statement that Friday's news \"marks another huge step forward for the recovery of inbound air travel and the return of international travel to the United States.\"\n\n\"The Biden administration is to be commended for this action, which will welcome back visitors from around the world and accelerate the recovery of the U.S. travel industry,\" Dow continued.\n\nAnd Airlines for America President and CEO Nicholas Calio said in a statement that the organization is pleased with the decision.\n\nI got COVID while traveling:Here's what I wish I knew (and what I needed) to go back home\n\n\"The airline industry appreciates the Administration's decision to lift the pre-departure testing requirement in accordance with the current epidemiological environment,\" Calio said. \"Lifting this policy will help encourage and restore air travel to the United States, benefiting communities across the country that rely heavily on travel and tourism to support their local economies. We are eager to welcome the millions of travelers who are ready to come to the U.S. for vacation, business and reunions with loved ones.\"\n\nMembers of the cruise industry also welcomed the news.\n\nGus Antorcha, the president of Holland America Line, said in a statement that the move is a \"step forward in the return to all global travel, including cruising.\"\n\nJohn Padgett, president of Princess Cruises, said the same.\n\n“This is a tremendous development that allows our guests to travel more easily and without stress throughout Europe as well as experience our Alaskan cruises that conclude in a Canadian port,” said Padgett.\n\n'Do travel restrictions work?'\n\nThe World Health Organization in January urged countries not to rely on proof of vaccination as a prerequisite to visiting a country.\n\nUnder U.S. entry requirements, unvaccinated citizens and permanent residents will be able to enter with a negative test but most foreign nationals will still need proof of full vaccination to enter.\n\nThe mandates contradict findings that show travel restrictions slow the spread of the virus but do little to prevent it.\n\n\"We know that travel restrictions can’t stop the spread of these pathogens, especially when you have a novel pathogen that mainly spreads when people are asymptomatic or mild,\" Maria van Kerkhove, the WHO's COVID-19 technical lead, told USA TODAY in February. \"You may slow spread, but it won't stop the spread.\"\n\nStewart Simonson, assistant director-general at the WHO's New York office, added at the time that while travel restrictions may work \"as a domestic political matter,\" their efficiency as a public health measure is less certain.\n\n\"Do (travel restrictions) show the public that something's being done? If that's your perspective, then they work,\" Simonson said. \"Do they work from a public health perspective? Are they reducing the rate of spread or the spread itself? That's another important way of looking at it, and there's a lot of uncertainty.\"\n\nFollow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/06/10"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2022/03/15/south-korea-travel-restrictions-quarantine-requirement/7051376001/", "title": "South Korea to allow fully vaccinated travelers to visit without a ...", "text": "More than two years after the onset of the pandemic, South Korea is getting ready to make travel easier for international tourists.\n\nStarting April 1, travelers who have been fully vaccinated overseas and registered their vaccination history with South Korea's Q-Code website will be able to enter the country without a seven-day quarantine period.\n\nTravelers who have completed a two-dose vaccine series at least 14 days before their trip will be considered fully vaccinated. A one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also be accepted. If more than 180 days have passed since a traveler completed their initial vaccination series, they will need a booster shot to be considered fully vaccinated.\n\nOverseas travelers will receive a QR code through the Q-Code system, which can be scanned at immigration, according to the Korea Tourism Organization's website. The Q-Code system will ask for information such as a passport number, departure country, airline, phone number and vaccine records.\n\nCDC TRAVEL WARNING:CDC warns travelers to avoid New Zealand, Thailand and Hong Kong due to 'very high' COVID levels\n\nLEVEL 4 TRAVEL WARNING:The CDC warns US travelers to avoid more than 135 destinations. Do people care?\n\nTravelers arriving by plane will need to show proof of a negative PCR coronavirus test taken no more than 48 hours before departure. Children under the age of 6 do not need a coronavirus test to enter.\n\nThe U.S. Embassy and Consulate in the Republic of Korea says passengers may also face \"temperature screening, health questionnaires, quarantines, and/or COVID-tests, depending on points of departure, visa status, and nationality\" upon arrival.\n\nUnvaccinated travelers and as well as all travelers from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Myanmar – regardless of vaccination status – are still required to quarantine.\n\nDelta Air Lines offers flights between the U.S. and Seoul and airline President Glen Hauenstein cited the country's new travel measures as another positive sign of the travel rebound during an investor conference in New York on Tuesday.\n\nThe easing of restrictions comes as South Korea faces its largest COVID-19 surge yet. The country reported a record-high 383,651 cases on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. There were 293 deaths reported Monday, also a record high.\n\nThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says South Korea has \"very high\" COVID levels, and says U.S. travelers should avoid the country.\n\n\"If you must travel to South Korea, make sure you are vaccinated and up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines before travel,\" the CDC says on its website.\n\nContributing: Dawn Gilbertson, USA TODAY. Follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/03/15"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/30/health/covid-variants-concern-new-year/index.html", "title": "Coronavirus: 2022 ends with looming risk of a new variant, public ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nAs the world enters a new year, many public health and infectious disease experts predict that monitoring for new coronavirus variants will be an increasingly important part of Covid-19 mitigation efforts – and some are turning their attention to a surge in cases in China.\n\nSubvariants of the Omicron coronavirus variant continue to circulate globally, and “we’re seeing Omicron do what viruses do, which is it picks up mutations along the way that helps it evade a little bit of immunity that’s induced by previous infection or vaccination,” said Andrew Pekosz, a microbiologist and immunologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.\n\n“We haven’t seen any major jumps in terms of Omicron evolution in some time,” he said. But “it’s getting to that stage where it’s something that we have to continue to monitor.”\n\nIn the United States, the Omicron subvariants XBB.1.5, BQ.1.1, BQ.1, BA.5 and XBB are causing almost all Covid-19 infections, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nFor this week, the CDC estimates that XBB.1.5 now causes 40.5% of cases in the US, followed by BQ.1.1 at 26.9%; BQ.1 at 18.3%; BA.5 at 3.7%; and XBB at 3.6%.\n\n“SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is constantly changing and accumulating mutations in its genetic code over time. New variants of SARS-CoV-2 are expected to continue to emerge,” CDC researchers write in their data tracker. “Some variants will emerge and disappear, while others will emerge and continue to spread and may replace previous variants.”\n\nOmicron’s offshoots appear to dominate globally as well, but as the coronavirus continues to spread – especially in China after Beijing’s rapid easing of restrictions – there is now concern about where Covid-19 trends could be heading in 2023 and the risk of new variants emerging.\n\n“It is a worry,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. “And that, of course, has led to the CDC’s very recent announcement that they are going to oblige people who come to this country from China to be tested and test negative before they can come into the country.”\n\nUS health officials announced Wednesday that, starting January 5, travelers from China will be required to show a negative Covid-19 test result before flying to the country. Passengers traveling to the US from China will need to get tested no more than two days before flying and present proof of the negative test to their airline before boarding.\n\nOfficials also announced that the CDC is expanding the traveler-based Genomic Surveillance Program to airports in Seattle and Los Angeles, bringing the total number of airports participating to seven with about 500 weekly flights from at least 30 countries covered, including about 290 weekly flights from China and surrounding areas.\n\nThe Chinese government has not been sharing a lot of information about the genetic composition of the viruses that it’s seeing there, Schaffner said.\n\n“Because the Chinese government was not doing that, that was the main reason CDC put this new travel requirement in place. It’s certainly not to prevent simple transmission of Covid from China here. We’ve got plenty of Covid. That would be like telling people not to pour a bucket of water into a swimming pool,” he said. “This travel testing requirement is a way to buy us some time and help create somewhat of a buffer between ourselves and China, should a new variant suddenly appear in that country.”\n\nHe added that the US will need “as much time as possible” to update vaccines and antivirals to respond to a potential emerging variant of concern.\n\n‘It really is a bit of a black hole’\n\nThe US testing requirements for travelers will “buy some time,” but they won’t prevent new Covid-19 cases from coming to the United States or new variants from emerging, said Dr. Carlos Del Rio, the executive associate dean for the Emory School of Medicine and Grady Health System in Atlanta.\n\n“I don’t think we’re going to see much benefit, honestly,” he said of the travel requirements. “The most important thing we need right now is, we need the Chinese to have more transparency and tell us exactly what’s going on, and that is pretty much a diplomatic decision. This is about diplomacy.”\n\nIn terms of the genetic data on coronaviruses in China that is accessible to the public, “It really is a bit of a black hole,” Pekosz said. Almost 250 million people in China may have caught Covid-19 in the first 20 days of December, according to an internal estimate from the nation’s top health officials, Bloomberg News and the Financial Times reported last week.\n\n“To me, what’s really a concern is the ongoing infections and whether they’re producing more variants in China that might be of particular concern for us, and testing people before they get on a plane won’t answer that question,” Pekosz said.\n\n“What we really need is to do a much better job of sequencing the viruses from individuals who are traveling from China so that we can aid in terms of understanding what kinds of variants are circulating there,” he said, adding that throughout the pandemic, Chinese officials have not been very transparent about their data on variants.\n\nMore spread, more variants\n\nConstant spread of a virus is what can lead to the emergence of variants. The more a virus spreads, the more it mutates.\n\n“For a variant to emerge – and this is true not only for Covid, but for influenza and for a lot of other viruses – the most critical thing is, the more cases that you have, the more likely that the virus will start to accumulate mutations that might have the ability to evade immunity more effectively or to transmit more effectively,” Pekosz said.\n\n“So when you have a situation like what’s starting to turn out in China, where you’re going to have millions upon millions of infections, every one of those infections is just one additional opportunity for the virus to pick up a random mutation that might make it better at infecting people,” he said. “Combine that with the fact that the Chinese population has been using less-than-optimal vaccines and has apparently not been as good about putting boosters into their population as other countries have, that means that there’s probably a lower amount of immunity in the population.”\n\nHealth authorities in China have “noticeably increased” the number of coronavirus genome sequences and other related data they are submitting to the global database GISAID, an initiative that maintains databases for scientists around the world to share data on flu viruses and coronaviruses.\n\nBut many experts argue that it’s not enough.\n\nGISAID said in an email to CNN on Wednesday that China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and several regional centers in the country, “have noticeably increased the number of submissions of genome sequence and associated metadata from samples taken in recent days.”\n\nThe number of genome sequences from China grew to just shy of 1,000, as of Friday, according to GISAID.\n\nGISAID also confirmed that the sequences from China “all closely resemble known globally circulating variants seen in different parts of the world between July and December 2022,” compared with the 14.4 million genomes in its database.\n\n“These latest data provide a snapshot of the evolution of the Omicron variants and shows that these most recently shared sequences from China are closely related to variants that have been circulating for some time,” according to GISAID.\n\nWhat the future may hold\n\nCovid-19 is in a relatively “stable” state right now in the United States, but the nation still sees about 350 deaths related to the disease each day, said Dr. Jessica Justman, an associate professor of medicine in epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and senior technical director of the global health program ICAP.\n\nWhile Covid-19 levels remain far below those of prior surges, trends are on the rise in parts of the US, new hospital admissions have jumped nearly 50% over the past month, and there is growing concern that case numbers could soar after the winter holidays.\n\nTo reduce the risk of increased Covid-19 spread, Justman said, it will be important for people in the new year to continue to stay up-to-date with their Covid-19 vaccinations.\n\nOnly 14.6% of the US population ages 5 and older has gotten their updated booster shot, according to CDC data.\n\n“So where are we going? That does take me to China,” Justman said.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\n“I’m concerned that China right now is one giant incubator of SARS-CoV-2. There is the potential to have so many infections and with that, new variants,” she said.\n\n“I think we’re going to be looking at new variants of concern” in 2023, Justman said. “The question is: Will we go back to a point where we have a variant of concern that causes such severe illness that we don’t get the benefit of our protection from prior infections and from prior vaccinations? … I’m going to be optimistic and say I don’t think we’re going to go back to that point.”", "authors": ["Jacqueline Howard"], "publish_date": "2022/12/30"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2021/12/23/puerto-rico-travel-entry-testing-requirement/9007119002/", "title": "Puerto Rico travel: Domestic flights to require testing before arrival", "text": "Puerto Rico resident Sarah Molinari was looking forward to spending time in New York this week to catch up with family and celebrate the holidays. What she didn't see coming were the hours spent scrolling through COVID-19 testing center websites to make sure she could fly home Tuesday.\n\nWhile traveling to the U.S. territory used to be a breeze for Molinari and other vaccinated travelers, that changes Monday when Puerto Rico starts requiring all travelers to test negative for COVID-19 before arriving.\n\nThe new rule comes as the U.S. finds itself in the midst of yet another coronavirus test shortage, with consumers facing limited sales at retailers and long lines at testing centers.\n\n“I was getting really frustrated, thinking about how do I plan and make sure I get this test in time?” Molinari said. \"I have no problem with the policy itself. It's more of the inadequacy of testing on a national scale right now that's making these policies really complicated.\"\n\nTesting requirements are nothing new in the age of COVID-19, but travelers are finding it more difficult – and more expensive – to visit certain domestic destinations amid the latest testing shortage.\n\nNew COVID testing requirements to enter Puerto Rico begin Monday\n\nGov. Pedro Pierluisi announced the rule change Monday, one week before the new rules were set to go into effect.\n\nStarting this Monday, all passengers arriving on domestic flights must show a negative coronavirus test taken no more than 48 hours before arrival, regardless of vaccination status. (Currently, only unvaccinated domestic travelers are required to show proof of a negative test.)\n\nDiscover Puerto Rico, the territory's destination marketing organization, told USA TODAY that PCR and rapid tests are accepted, but at-home tests cannot be used.\n\n\"The government of Puerto Rico, along with Discover Puerto Rico, are committed to protecting and prioritizing the health and safety of all on the Island; residents and visitors alike,\" reads a statement from Discover Puerto Rico. \"The changes to local guidelines made by Governor Pierluisi and the Health Department this week reflect the recent and rapidly changing landscape of COVID-19, which required immediate action.\"\n\nOfficials \"highly suggest\" travelers test before departure, but passengers who arrive without a negative coronavirus test will have 48 hours to take a test upon arrival. Tests are available at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, and Discover Puerto Rico noted that travelers can also schedule a test at a local pharmacy. Those who don't get tested in time face a $300 fine.\n\nTravelers who test on the island do not need to quarantine while they wait for results, according to Discover Puerto Rico, but unvaccinated travelers will need to quarantine seven days after arrival, even with a negative test.\n\nNERVOUS ABOUT TRAVEL (AGAIN?)What to know about airline, hotel and cruise cancellation policies as omicron surges\n\nDifficulties getting tested\n\nWhile post-arrival testing is an option, Molinari said the Caribbean island has its own testing supply issues. Discover Puerto Rico’s website says travelers can get a test on-site at the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport after arrival, but travelers should be prepared to pay $110 for the service.\n\n“I can't do that,” said Molinari, who was surprised to learn the test’s price tag.\n\nBut finding a test stateside is also a challenge.\n\n\"Friends that were going to the public testing sites around New York were telling me about hourslong waits,\" she said. \"Some of them show up at one site, wait for hours and then they would run out of tests. So my thought was ... I really just might not get a test when I need it.\"\n\nEventually, after about four hours trying to track down a test her insurance would cover, Molinari found a clinic that could offer her an antigen test at no cost.\n\n“I have access to the technology and the information, and I have the time to navigate this process, whereas, for many others, that's not the situation that they're in,” Molinari said. “So if this was hard for me, my question is, how is someone else supposed to do this?”\n\nOther travelers have taken to social media with their concerns over finding a test in time.\n\nIS IT SAFE TO TRAVEL RIGHT NOW? What health experts are doing for the holidays this year\n\nHawaii, US Virgin Islands: Other testing requirements for domestic flights\n\nWhite House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated Thursday that the federal government does not plan to require testing for domestic air travel at this time.\n\n\"We still require masks on airplanes, of course. We've also increased the fee on, if people do not wear masks on airplanes,\" she said. \"Rules, as you know, for international travel are different ... to help keep COVID cases out of this country and delay any new possible variant from coming into the country.\"\n\nAll U.S. flights – domestic and international – require masks through at least March 18. International flights into the U.S. also require a negative pre-departure viral coronavirus test taken no more than one day before travel.\n\nEven so, some domestic destinations have taken it into their own hands to add more stringent entry requirements.\n\n► Hawaii: Unvaccinated U.S. travelers flying into Hawaii can take a test to avoid a 10-day quarantine. The state accepts Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests, or NAATs, from a trusted travel partner taken no more than 72 hours before departure.\n\n► U.S. Virgin Islands: Domestic travelers 5 and older flying into the U.S. Virgin Islands must submit a negative antigen or NAAT test within five days of travel, including those who have been fully vaccinated outside the Virgin Islands.\n\n►Northern Mariana Islands:As of Monday, all fully vaccinated travelers must be tested for the coronavirus upon arrival. Travelers must quarantine while they wait for their results. Unvaccinated travelers must quarantine at a designated government facility for seven days and will be tested after the quarantine period ends. If their test is positive, they will be isolated for another 10 days at the facility.\n\n► American Samoa: The U.S. territory currently limits entry to essential purposes.\n\nFollow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/12/23"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2022/03/15/travel-new-zealand-opens-us-tourists/7055767001/", "title": "Travel to New Zealand: Country to reopen to US travelers this May", "text": "New Zealand is set to reopen to vaccinated U.S. travelers earlier than expected.\n\nFully vaccinated U.S. travelers will be able to visit as soon as May, officials said Tuesday.\n\nNew Zealand originally said it would reopen to U.S. tourists in July. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said moving up the reopening date is meant to help accelerate the country's economic recovery.\n\n“Closing our border was one of the first actions we took to stop COVID-19 two years ago. It did the job we needed. But now that we’re highly vaccinated and predicted to be off our Omicron peak, it’s now safe to open up,” Ardern said in a statement.\n\nStarting May 1 at 11:59 p.m., fully vaccinated travelers from the U.S. and other non-visa countries can enter New Zealand without a quarantine period.\n\nAccording to the New Zealand Government's website, travelers need \"a full COVID-19 vaccine course,\" such as one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, to be considered fully vaccinated. A full list of the approved vaccinations can be found online.\n\nVisitors will need to show proof of a negative pre-departure coronavirus test to enter and will be provided two free at-home rapid antigen tests upon arrival. The first test should be taken on the day of arrival and the second should be taken on day five or six.\n\nSOUTH KOREA TO EASE TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS:South Korea to allow fully vaccinated travelers to visit without a quarantine period\n\nHAVEN'T BOOKED AIRLINE TICKETS YET?:Don't dawdle. Bookings are bonkers, pushing prices up\n\nIf a tourist tests positive and confirms the results with a PCR test, they must self-isolate.\n\nThe change was announced as the country faces a surge of COVID-19 cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says New Zealand has “very high” COVID-19 levels and warns U.S. travelers to avoid the country.\n\n“If you must travel to New Zealand, make sure you are vaccinated and up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines before travel,\" the agency says on its website.\n\nFollow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/03/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2022/01/28/travel-restrictions-puerto-rico-covid/9257694002/", "title": "Puerto Rico travel restrictions: New entry requirements begin Feb. 2", "text": "Domestic travel to Puerto Rico is about to get easier, so long as you're fully vaccinated.\n\nNew entry requirements are set to take effect Wednesday and will scrap testing requirements for fully vaccinated domestic travelers. On-island restrictions also will ease, and capacity restrictions are set to lighten up across a variety of businesses.\n\nGov. Pedro Pierluisi announced the changes Friday, citing a drop in COVID-19 cases. Puerto Rico reported 1,727 new cases on Thursday, a fraction of the more than 14,000 daily cases it reported in early January, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.\n\nCDC TRAVEL WARNING:The CDC warns US travelers to avoid more than 100 countries. Do people care?\n\nDo I need to be fully vaccinated or test to enter Puerto Rico?\n\nStarting Wednesday, travelers who can present proof of vaccination will no longer need to show a negative coronavirus test.\n\nUnvaccinated travelers will still need to take a test no more than 48 hours before departure to avoid a seven-day quarantine. If they are unable to get tested before arrival, they can take a test within the first 48 hours on the island.\n\nIf a post-arrival test result comes back positive, they must quarantine for 10 days. Unvaccinated travelers who do not test before or after arrival will be subject to fines and must quarantine for seven days.\n\nThe island’s three open airports still require visitors to fill out a Travel Declaration Form before entry, and travel restrictions for international travelers visiting Puerto Rico will not change. International visitors must be fully vaccinated and show a negative antigen or PCR test taken within one day of departure.\n\nVOTE NOW:What are the best spots in the Caribbean?\n\nChanges on the island: Longer operating hours, larger events\n\nPuerto Rico is also lifting restrictions that require businesses to close between midnight and 5 a.m. and blocks the sale of alcohol at those times.\n\nRestaurants and other businesses that primarily serve food will be able to operate at 75% capacity indoors, up from 50%, and will be able to operate at full capacity outdoors. Bars and other venues that primarily serve alcohol will still need to operate at 50% capacity.\n\nCustomers visiting businesses that serve food or drinks will still be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative antigen or PCR test performed by an authorized health provider within the past 48 hours to enter. Masks are still required indoors, regardless of vaccination status.\n\nPeople attending large-scale events will still be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test as well, but venues will be able to operate with more people. Large-scale events can exceed 250 attendees but will need to cap occupancies at 50%.\n\nCOVID-19 IN THE CARIBBEAN:CDC says to 'avoid travel' to these 5 islands\n\nFollow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/01/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2022/03/14/uk-drop-covid-travel-restrictions/7039048001/", "title": "Travel to UK: Country to drop COVID travel restrictions March 18", "text": "The United Kingdom is set to drop all remaining COVID-19 travel measures later this week, allowing all travelers – regardless of vaccination status – to enter without a passenger locator form or negative coronavirus test.\n\nThe new travel measures will go into effect 4 a.m. on Friday, according to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.\n\n“These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter,” Shapps said in a Monday tweet.\n\nNearly 86% of the U.K.'s population 12 and older has had two doses of a vaccine as of Sunday, according to government data.\n\nAdult travelers from the U.S. who are not fully vaccinated must show a negative coronavirus test taken no more than two days before travel and purchase a PCR test to be taken within the first two days after arrival. All passengers, regardless of vaccination status, must fill out a passenger locator form no more than three days before their arrival.\n\nUS FEDERAL MASK MANDATE:Masks still required on planes, trains and buses for at least one more month as TSA extends mask mandate\n\nCDC TRAVEL WARNING:CDC warns travelers to avoid New Zealand, Thailand and Hong Kong due to 'very high' COVID levels\n\nThe country's travel restrictions are set to ease even as coronavirus case counts are rising.\n\nMore than 444,000 people in the U.K. tested positive over the last seven days, up 48% from the week prior, according to government data. Deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test were up 2% in that same timeframe, while the number of patients admitted to a hospital jumped 17%.\n\nHeathrow Airport, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic to drop face mask requirements\n\nAlso Monday, London's Heathrow Airport announced that it would drop its face mask requirement in terminals, office buildings and rail stations on Wednesday.\n\n\"We’re pleased that we’re now able to move away from a mandatory requirement as society learns to live with COVID longer term,\" Heathrow Chief Operating Officer Emma Gilthorpe said in a Monday statement. \"While we still recommend wearing them, we can be confident the investments we’ve made in COVID-secure measures – some of which aren’t always visible – combined with the fantastic protection provided by the vaccine will continue to keep people safe while travelling.\"\n\nBritish Airways and Virgin Atlantic both signaled that they would begin to drop face-covering requirements in response.\n\nVirgin Atlantic Chief Customer and Operating Officer Corneel Koster said the airline would drop its masking requirement \"gradually,\" starting Wednesday with Caribbean services from Heathrow and Manchester airports. The company plans to continue to adhere to regulatory requirements in destination countries, and masks will still be required on \"many\" routes.\n\nKoster added that travelers will need to mask up on flights to or from the U.S. through at least April 18 to comply with the Transportation Security Administration's mask mandate.\n\n\"As we learn to live with Covid and with the legal requirement to wear a face mask now removed in England, we believe our customers should have the personal choice whether to wear a mask onboard, on routes where international regulations around mask-wearing do not apply,\" Koster said in a statement. \"We encourage everyone to be respectful of fellow passengers’ mask preferences.\"\n\nJason Mahoney, British Airways' Chief Operating Officer, said the airline will only require masks on international flights if the destination requires it starting Wednesday.\n\n\"For destinations where the wearing of a face covering is not mandated, our customers are able to make a personal choice, and we kindly request everyone respects each other’s preferences,\" Mahoney said in a statement.\n\nFollow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/03/14"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_19", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/01/02/donovan-mitchell-scores-71-points-cavaliers-overtime-win-over-bulls/10981663002/", "title": "Donovan Mitchell scores 71 points in Cavaliers OT win over Bulls", "text": "Associated Press\n\nCLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored an NBA season-high and franchise-record 71 points -- equaling the eighth-most in a game in history -- as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from 21 down to beat the Chicago Bulls 145-134 in overtime on Monday night.\n\nIt was the highest-scoring game since Lakers legend Kobe Bryant had 81 points against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006. Wilt Chamberlain owns the NBA record with 100 for Philadelphia against New York on March 2, 1962, at Hershey, Pennsylvania.\n\nMitchell scored 13 points in the extra session after forcing OT by grabbing his own intentionally missed free throw and making a circus-shot with 3.0 seconds left, tying the game at 130-all and breaking the Cavaliers record with 58 points.\n\n“I’ve never been witness to a performance like that live.” said Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “We were treated tonight to one of the greatest performances in the history of the NBA.”\n\nIn OT, Mitchell become the 12th player to score 70. The former Utah Jazz standout also had a career-high tying 11 assists and eight rebounds in 50 minutes, also setting career highs with 20 free throws made and 25 free throws attempted.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nMitchell went 22 of 34 from the field and made 7 of 15 3-pointers in carrying the Cavaliers, who were without All-Star guard Darius Garland (right thumb sprain) and forward Evan Mobley (right ankle soreness) for the second straight game.\n\n“Every single play that he made was a play that was necessary,” Bickerstaff said.\n\nSPORTS NEWSLETTER:Get the latest news and analysis in your inbox\n\nDeMar DeRozan scored 44 points, Zach LeVine had 26 points and Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, which did not trail in regulation.\n\nMitchell put Cleveland ahead for the first time -- the only lead change of the game – by burying a 3-pointer to open OT. The previous Cavaliers record of 57 points was shared by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.\n\nThe Central Division foes met for the second time in three days. Cleveland was the 103-102 winner at United Center on Dec. 31.\n\nSPIDA TIME\n\nMitchell entered the new year in an offensive funk, averaging 17.5 points over the previous four games while shooting 32.9% on 73 field goal attempts. He now ranks ninth in the NBA with a 28.0 scoring average. “A lot of teams are sending a lot more bodies at him, and that’s on us to help him,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s on his teammates to recognize they have to make teams pay and make plays.”\n\nTIP-INS\n\nBulls: G Javonte Green (right knee soreness) was unavailable after appearing in the previous three games. Green has missed nine total games with the injury and will undergo a thorough examination Tuesday in Chicago. “He was making some headway, then it flared up again,” coach Billy Donovan said. … G Lonzo Ball (left knee surgery), who last played on Jan. 14, is lightly jogging and doing limited on-court work.\n\nCavaliers: Cleveland posted winning records in each of the first three months of the season for the first time since 2016-2017. The latter wrapped up a run of 16 straight winning months with All-Stars LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. … G Ricky Rubio (left knee rehabilitation), F Dean Wade (left shoulder sprain) and G Dylan Windler (right ankle sprain) remain out. Rubio could return to action within two weeks.\n\nUP NEXT\n\nBulls: Visit Philadelphia on Wednesday night.\n\nCavaliers: Host Phoenix on Wednesday night.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/02"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/01/03/mitchells-masterpiece-cavs-star-scores-71-points-in-win/51129741/", "title": "Mitchell's masterpiece: Cavs star scores 71 points in win", "text": "AP\n\nA towel strewn over his shoulders, still in his uniform after the game, Donovan Mitchell wearily took a seat and looked at the boxscore that had been placed in front of him.\n\nSomeone standing nearby asked if he needed anything, and Mitchell politely declined.\n\n“I’m good,” Mitchell said. “I’m as good as can be.”\n\nAs good as he’s ever been in an NBA game, for sure. Better, even. Better than most anyone in any game ever, actually.\n\nIn a season where big numbers have become the norm, Mitchell put up the biggest numbers of all Monday night — matching the second highest-scoring game the NBA has seen in nearly 45 years. He finished with 71 points, tying for eighth-most in league history, to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Chicago Bulls 145-134 in overtime.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nThe only other players to score at least 71 in a game: Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, David Thompson, David Robinson and Elgin Baylor.\n\n“This is nuts, to be honest,” said Mitchell, who had 55 of his points after halftime. “I’m extremely blessed and humbled that I’m in that company, in that group. I’ve always believed I can be one of the best players in this league, but I’ve got to keep working. This is a big milestone, but at the end of the day, those guys have all won at the highest level. That’s my ultimate goal.”\n\nThe most recent game of more than 71 points was Bryant’s 81-point masterpiece for the Los Angeles Lakers against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006. Before that, it was 73 points by David Thompson for Denver against Detroit on April 9, 1978.\n\n“To be there in the record books with them is truly incredible,” Mitchell said.\n\nHis was the 12th game of 50 or more points in the NBA so far this season; later Monday, Golden State’s Klay Thompson scored 54 in the Warriors’ double-overtime win over Atlanta — becoming the 13th 50-point game of the season.\n\nVideo game numbers are coming nightly now. Before Dec. 23, there had only been four days in NBA history where five players scored at least 40 points on the same day.\n\nConsider: that's four days in 76 years.\n\nIt's happened three times in less than two weeks since.\n\nOn Dec. 23, five players — Dallas' Luka Doncic, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, New York’s RJ Barrett and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton — did it. A week later, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James, Chicago’s Zach LaVine, New Orleans’ CJ McCollum and Golden State’s Jordan Poole combined to do it again.\n\nAnd then Monday, led by Mitchell and Thompson, it happened yet again — with James, Embiid and Chicago's DeMar DeRozan also scoring at least 40.\n\n“I'll say again: Humbled to be in that company, humbled to be in this position,\" Mitchell said.\n\nThere have been 87 games of at least 40 or more points already this season, by a combined 33 players. Doncic has eight such games of 40 or more, Embiid and Antetokounmpo each have seven, Boston’s Jayson Tatum has six. There were 119 games of 40 or more in the entirety of the 2021-22 regular season; this season isn't even half over yet and players are already closing in on that total.\n\nDoncic’s 60-point game, which he had on Dec. 27, was the NBA’s season high. It didn’t even last a week, not with Mitchell’s gem on Monday.\n\nMitchell missed his first shot. And his second. And his third. It took him nearly the entire first quarter to get a field goal attempt to finally fall.\n\n“Just keep plugging away,” Mitchell said.\n\nThat’s an understatement.\n\nHe had five points in the first quarter, 11 more in the second quarter. Cleveland was getting run out of its building, having trailed by as many as 21 and going into halftime down 65-47.\n\nAnd then, Mitchell was unstoppable — 24 points in the third, 18 more in the fourth, capped by him intentionally missing a free throw with 4.4 seconds left with the Cavs down by two, getting the rebound and scoring to tie the game and force overtime.\n\nThen came the finish with a flourish: He didn’t miss a shot in the extra session, 4 for 4 from the field, 3 for 3 on 3-pointers, 2 for 2 from the foul line. He outscored the Bulls 13-4 by himself.\n\nLeBron James and Kyrie Irving had the Cavaliers’ single-game record of 57 points — which, coincidentally, was Mitchell's career-high before Monday, done while he played for the Utah Jazz in a playoff game at the NBA restart bubble in Florida in 2020. His regular-season career best, before Monday, was 46.\n\nThe Cavs' record belongs to Mitchell now, and probably will for a long time.\n\n“In my 15 years, that’s the best performance I’ve ever seen, ever been a part of,” Cavaliers forward Kevin Love said. “I’ve seen some special ones.”\n\n___\n\nAP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/01/02/mitchell-scores-71-points-cavs-beat-bulls-145-134-in-ot/51128981/", "title": "Mitchell scores 71 points, Cavs beat Bulls 145-134 in OT", "text": "AP\n\nCLEVELAND (AP) — Already an All-Star, Donovan Mitchell added his name to one of the NBA’s most rarefied lists Monday night.\n\nMitchell set a Cleveland record with 71 points, most by any player in 17 years, and the Cavaliers rallied from 21 down to beat the Chicago Bulls 145-134 in overtime.\n\nMitchell’s total matched the eighth-highest in league history and marked the most points by an NBA player since Lakers great Kobe Bryant scored 81 against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006. Wilt Chamberlain owns the NBA record with 100 for Philadelphia against New York on March 2, 1962, at Hershey, Pennsylvania.\n\n“To be there in the record book with guys like Wilt is truly humbling,” said Mitchell, acquired from Utah in the offseason. “I always believed I could be one of the best players in the league. I’m speechless and blessed to be in the company of that greatness.”\n\nAs the final seconds of OT ticked off the clock, Mitchell waved his arm for the Cleveland crowd, which has embraced him in his short time with the Cavs, to make more noise and then soaked in their applause.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nSeconds later, Mitchell was doused with water by his teammates and forward Cedi Osman grabbed a microphone on the floor to lead an “M-V-P, M-V-P,” chant.\n\nMitchell scored 13 points in the extra session after forcing OT by grabbing his own intentionally missed free throw and making a circus shot with three seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 130 and breaking the Cleveland record with 58 points.\n\nIn OT, Mitchell became the seventh player in the 70-point club. Chamberlain did it six times, while Bryant, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor, David Robinson and Devin Booker reached the figure once apiece.\n\n“We were treated tonight to one of the greatest performances in the history of the game,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Every single play that he made was a play that was necessary.\n\n“Donovan has never put himself above the team, so how can you not root for a guy like that? I told everyone else to get out of the way.”\n\nMitchell also had a career high-tying 11 assists and eight rebounds in 50 minutes. He set career bests with 20 free throws made and 25 attempted. He scored five points in the first quarter, 11 in the second, 24 in the third and 18 in the fourth.\n\n“I think I had a game like that once playing NBA2K, but I don’t think I shot that efficiently,” Mitchell joked of his video-game skills. “But that was in a loss, so this feels that much better.”\n\nMitchell went 22 of 34 from the field and made 7 of 15 3-pointers in carrying the Cavaliers, who were without All-Star guard Darius Garland (right thumb sprain) and forward Evan Mobley (right ankle soreness) for the second straight game.\n\nDeMar DeRozan scored 44 points, Zach LeVine had 26 points and Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, which did not trail in regulation.\n\nDuring his postgame news conference, Mitchell was almost in disbelief when it was mentioned he joined the list of NBA legends to surpass 70 points.\n\n“It’s humbling,” he said. “I’m speechless. For me, not only did I do that, but I did it an effort when we came back and won and it’s how we won. It’s nuts.\"\n\nTIP-INS\n\nBulls: G Javonte Green (right knee soreness) was unavailable after appearing in the previous three games. Green has missed nine total games with the injury and will undergo a thorough examination Tuesday in Chicago. “He was making some headway, then it flared up again,” coach Billy Donovan said. … G Lonzo Ball (left knee surgery), who last played on Jan. 14, is lightly jogging and doing limited on-court work.\n\nCavaliers: Cleveland posted winning records in each of the first three months of the season for the first time since 2016-2017. The latter wrapped up a run of 16 straight winning months with All-Stars LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. … G Ricky Rubio (left knee rehabilitation), F Dean Wade (left shoulder sprain) and G Dylan Windler (right ankle sprain) remain out. Rubio could return to action within two weeks.\n\nUP NEXT\n\nBulls: Visit Philadelphia on Wednesday night.\n\nCavaliers: Host Phoenix on Wednesday night.\n\n___\n\nMore AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/02"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/cavaliers/2023/01/03/donovan-mitchells-71-point-game-the-most-since-kobe-bryant-in-2006-nba-wilt-chamberlain-100-cavs/10982519002/", "title": "Donovan Mitchell's 71-point game the most since Kobe Bryant in 2006", "text": "CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell just kept scoring.\n\nAnd scoring. And scoring.\n\nIn went another 3-pointer, then another, and another. By audio, it was the swish of the net, followed by the roar of the crowd, and it was a tune that played on repeat nearly the entire night.\n\nCleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has seen some incredible individual performances during his 15-year NBA career. He's watched Kyrie Irving turn in a couple of 50-point games. He's been a witness to many of LeBron James' best career nights.\n\nBut he's never seen anything like what Mitchell did Monday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. In fact, very few in NBA history ever have.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nSeventy-one points. Fifty-five points after halftime. A wild play to send the game into overtime. And a final five minutes in which Mitchell simply couldn't miss and outscored the Chicago Bulls by himself, leading the Cavs to a 145-134 comeback win.\n\nHISTORIC NIGHT:Mavericks star Luka Doncic grabs historic triple-double\n\nNOT SATISFIED:As he turns 38, LeBron is clear: He still wants title shots\n\nNEWSLETTER:Sign up to have the latest sports news and stories sent to your inbox\n\nIn doing so, Mitchell became just the seventh player in NBA history to reach the 70-point plateau in a single game. No Cavs player had ever reached 60. And no active player has a higher single-game point total.\n\n\"In my 15 years, that’s the best performance I’ve ever seen,\" Love said after the game. \"And I’ve been a part of — I’ve seen some special ones. I was talking about Kyrie here against Portland when he had 55. LeBron in Game 1 of the 2018 Finals. Fifty-seven for Kyrie in San Antonio. But this one takes the cake. … I was saying, our group text from 2016, I was like, 'What was Donovan’s asking price?' That was something special tonight. He’s one of what, seven players that have scored over 70? That’s elite company, I can only imagine those names.\"\n\nInto the record books\n\nThose names: Wilt Chamberlain (six times, including a 100-point game in 1962), Kobe Bryant (81 in 2006), David Thompson (73 in 1978), Elgin Baylor (71, 1960), David Robinson (71, 1994), Devin Booker (70, 2017). A 70-point game had only occurred three times in the last 45 years. And in that time, only Bryant's legendary 81-point night topped Mitchell's.\n\n\"It's humbling. I’m speechless, to be honest with you,\" Mitchell said. \"Not only did I do that but I did it in an effort where we came back and won and it’s how we won. This is nuts. I’m extremely blessed and humbled that I’m in that company, in that group. I’ve always believed I can be one of the best players in this league but I have to keep working.\n\n\"This is a big milestone, but at the end of the day we have to continue. Those other guys (in the 70-point club) have all won at the highest level and that’s my ultimate goal. But to be there in the record books with them is truly incredible.”\n\nIt's something Mitchell had only done as a virtual version of himself in video games.\n\n\"2K for sure,\" Mitchell said, referencing the popular video game franchise. \"Definitely, when I first got into the league, I played (2K) as the Jazz and I was just shooting it every time. I don't think I did it this efficiently in 2K. But no, I never have. The closest I think I've got was the bubble maybe, when I had 57. But that was in a loss. So this one feels a lot better.\"\n\nPraise from LeBron\n\nMitchell also had 11 assists and eight rebounds, which Love pointed out after the game (in addition to jokingly noting that Mitchell did turn it over four times). To make Mitchell's night even more rare, he scored or assisted on 99 of the Cavs' 145 points. The only name that can top that in a single game in NBA history: Chamberlain, with 104 in 100-point game.\n\n\"Get out of the way,\" Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said when asked how he coaches a 71-point game. \"Again, you try to see what they're doing, and you try to figure out how you can continue to create opportunities for the hot hand. He didn't need a lot of help from me tonight.\"\n\nMitchell actually started the game ice cold. For most of the night, the Cavs faced a double-digit deficit and at one point trailed by 21 points. As Mitchell began heating up and pouring in points, the Cavs slowly chipped away at the Bulls' lead. Mitchell reached such a scorching hot level that the Cavs began to play a game within a game: keep Mitchell on the floor but find ways to give him breathers as much as possible. Mitchell played every minute of the second half and overtime.\n\n\"I mean, he said he was good,\" Bickerstaff said. \"Again, we built a relationship based on trust and I told him, 'Just keep talking to me.' We tried to use our timeouts as wisely as we could to get him as many blows as we could.'\"\n\nMitchell was treated to deafening M-V-P chants multiple times from the home crowd. After the game, Mitchell was being interviewed over the PA system. Cedi Osman took the mic and started his own M-V-P chant, egging the crowd on yet again.\n\n\"There's not enough words, I've never been witness to a performance like that live,\" Bickerstaff said. \"I think we've seen some even on TV before, but we were treated tonight to one of the greatest performances in the history of the NBA. … There's obviously been some great players in this league, but I mean, I don't know, again, I don't know how many guys are capable of doing what he did tonight.\"\n\nLuka Doncic-like play sends game to OT\n\nAnd yet, despite Mitchell nearly scoring at will, the Cavs still trailed in the final moments of the fourth quarter. With 4.7 seconds left, Mitchell was sent to the free throw line with the Cavs down 130-127. He made the first free throw and needed to miss the second, hoping the Cavs could get a rebound. It's something they had practiced before. Mitchell had Robin Lopez put into the game so that he and Jarrett Allen could be in the paint and possibly tip the ball back.\n\nMitchell threw up a high-arching attempt that bounced off the rim and to the right side. Instead of the several seven-footers in the lane, it was Mitchell who fought his way to the ball and as he fell to the floor got the put-back layup to fall, tying it 130-130. Mitchell said that in all the times he had practiced that in his career, with previous teams, it had worked before, but never in which he was the one who got the rebound.\n\nIt was a play similar to the one that Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic recently pulled off, also in a situation that led to overtime. But while Doncic threw more of a line drive, Mitchell preferred the higher arching option. It worked to perfection for the Cavs.\n\n\"Yeah, because for me it's just so unpredictable,\" Mitchell said. \"Like you don't know, it can hit and go right, it can hit and go left. At least when they loft it, like for me, I put it up there and it hits the rim and goes up, so now I can put myself in the play. And then just go jump and try and make a play. Tap it out, grab it, and in this case make the layup.\"\n\nMitchell went on to outscore the Bulls in overtime 13-4 by himself. But after a wild play like the free throw rebound to send it overtime, he wasn't leaving with a loss.\n\n\"Once I made that, I sat in the huddle and J.B. and I started laughing and I was like, 'Might as well win the game at this point Mitchell said. \"Third and fourth quarter for me is what my job is. It’s going out there and finding a way to win. The free throw was kind of like, that’s why I couldn’t stop smiling after that. It was one of those things. I’m glad we fought and got the win.”\n\nRyan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2023/01/05/donovan-mitchell-giannis-antetokounmpo-nba-high-scoring-games/10990981002/", "title": "Donovan Mitchell leads NBA season of stunning individual ...", "text": "Seventy-one points – 71! – from Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell.\n\nIt was a record-setting franchise performance that not even LeBron James or Kyrie Irving have broached.\n\nMitchell’s 71 points were the most scored in an NBA game since Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant had 81 against Toronto in 2006. Phoenix’s Devin Booker posted 70 against Boston in 2017.\n\nMitchell’s performance marks the 12th time a player has scored at least 70 in a game, and he became just the seventh player in NBA history to reach that figure.\n\nIt was just one of several spectacular individual offensive performances this season.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nOn the same day Mitchell scored 71, Golden State’s Klay Thompson had 54 points, Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan 44, the Los Angeles Lakers’ James 43 and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid 42. It was the fourth time this season five players scored at least 40 points on the same day, and before Dec. 23, it had happened just four times in 76 NBA seasons, according to The Associated Press.\n\nThis season, players have scored at least 40 points 88 times, which is 11th-most in league history, and it’s not even the halfway point of the season. If the pace continues, this season will pass the 1961-62 season for most 40-point games. That’s the season Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 in a game and he had 63 of those 142 40-point games, according to stathead.com.\n\nMORE: Kevin Love calls Donovan Mitchell's 71-point game 'best performance I've ever seen'\n\nSTAY UP-TO-DATE: Subscribe to our Sports newsletter now!\n\nOn Tuesday, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 55 points. It was the 14th 50-point game this season – on pace for the most 50-point games in a season since the early 1960s when Chamberlain dropped 50 on opponents on the regular.\n\nWhy the big-scoring games? Gifted offensive players, and in general, rules that favor offense.\n\nLet’s take a look at the top eye-popping offensive performances of 2022-23 so far:\n\nCleveland's Donovan Mitchell\n\n71 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds\n\nNothing in the first quarter indicated Mitchell was headed for an historic game. He had five points in the first quarter, 16 at halftime and the Cavs trailed the Bulls 60-39 late in the second quarter. But Mitchell scored 24 points in the third, 18 in the fourth and 13 in overtime – 55 points in the final 29 minutes, of which Mitchell played every second. Mitchell was 22-for-34 from the field, 7-for-15 on 3s and 20-for-25 from the free throw line.\n\nDallas' Luka Doncic\n\n60 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists\n\nThe Mavs' star has a league-leading eight 40-point games and none more impressive than his 60-point triple-double in an overtime victory against New York. The 60 points and 21 rebounds were career highs, and it was the first 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double in NBA history. Is this the year Doncic wins the MVP award?\n\nPhiladelphia's Joel Embiid\n\n59 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, seven blocks\n\nEmbiid has posted monster numbers all season and is No. 2 behind Doncic and Antetokounmpo with seven 40-point games. The Sixers needed every bit of this performance in a 105-98 victory against Utah. He was 19-for-28 from the field and 20-for-24 from the foul line in the first of two 50-point efforts this season.\n\nPhoenix's Devin Booker\n\n58 points, six rebounds, five assists\n\nNot many players in the league can score like Booker when he has it going offensively. One of five players with at least five 40-point games this season, Booker was efficient in the second of his 50-point performances, making 21 of 35 shots from the field, going 6-for-12 on 3-pointers and 10-for-15 from the foul line.\n\nLos Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis\n\n55 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks\n\nDavis didn’t live at the line to get his double-nickel though he made all nine of his free throw attempts. Davis destroyed Washington with his low-post game, making 20 of 27 shots inside the 3-point line, including 32 points in the paint.\n\nMilwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo\n\n55 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals\n\nIf Antetokounmpo is going to make 15 of his 16 free throws, as he did in this victory against Washington, he’s going to put up a big number. He dropped 55 without a made three, going 20-for-33 inside the arc, including 38 points in the paint. Dominant. He joined Doncic as the only players in the league with eight games of at least 40 points.\n\nGolden State's Klay Thompson\n\n54 points, eight rebounds, three assists\n\nThompson needed two overtimes to reach 54 points but no matter, 54 in 46 minutes is still special. Thompson launched 39 shots, made 21 and hit 10-of-21 3-pointers. It remains a treat to watch Thompson sink shots.\n\nToronto's Pascal Siakam\n\n52 points, nine rebounds, seven assists\n\nThe Raptors have their issues but at 26.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, Siakam is having another All-Star-caliber season.\n\nCleveland's Darius Garland\n\n51 points, six assists, two steals\n\nMitchell isn’t Cleveland’s only prolific scorer. Garland has three 40-point games, including 51 in a loss to Minnesota.\n\nGolden State's Steph Curry\n\n50 points, nine rebounds, six assists\n\nCurry doesn’t need an inordinate number of made 3s to get 50. He can score from anywhere – 20 points inside the arc, 21 points on 3s and nine from the free throw line. That’s to go along with two other 40-point games this season.\n\nMemphis' Ja Morant\n\n49 points, eight assists, two blocks\n\nMorant scored 49 points on just 26 shots. Efficiency is a common thread among these fantastic performances. Morant was 17-for-26 from the field, 5-for-6 on 3s and 10-for-13 from the line. Eight assists underscore how difficult he is to defend.\n\nBoston's Jayson Tatum\n\n49 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals\n\nIt doesn’t matter if Tatum wins MVP this season. He is one of the league’s best players and he has displayed that this season. Just 24, Tatum averages 30.9 points this season with six games of 40 or more points.\n\nLos Angeles Lakers' LeBron James\n\n47 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists\n\nC’mon now. On his 38th birthday, no less. James looks like he can play well into his 40s and still score 40.\n\nBrooklyn's Kevin Durant\n\n45 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks\n\nOne of the game’s greatest bucket-getters, Durant has scored 30 or more points in 17 games and is shooting a career-high 56.4% from the field. He should move into the top-10 all-time in scoring by season’s end and be a top-five all-time scorer by the end of his career.\n\nDenver's Nikola Jokic\n\n40 points, 27 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals\n\nWith the first 35-25-10 triple-double since Chamberlain in 1968, according to the basketball-reference.com, it’s no surprise Jokic is making a strong push for this third consecutive MVP.\n\nFollow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2022/10/22/mitchell-scores-32-points-cavaliers-roll-past-bulls-128-96/50863741/", "title": "Mitchell scores 32 points, Cavaliers roll past Bulls 128-96", "text": "AP\n\nCHICAGO (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points, and the Cleveland Cavaliers pounded Chicago 128-96 Saturday night in the Bulls’ home opener.\n\nMitchell just missed a triple-double with nine rebounds and eight assists, after scoring 31 in his Cleveland debut. The three-time All-Star whose arrival from Utah in a blockbuster trade sent expectations soaring also made four 3-pointers.\n\nEvan Mobley scored 16. Kevin Love and Cedi Osman added 15 points apiece. Love also made five of his team’s 16 3-pointers and grabbed 12 rebounds, helping the Cavaliers roll to an easy win after a season-opening loss at Toronto, even though All-Star guard Darius Garland missed the game because of an eye injury.\n\nZach LaVine led Chicago with 23 points after missing the first two games with the team trying to manage his left knee after he had surgery in May.\n\nNikola Vucevic scored 16. DeMar DeRozan had a rough night after averaging 34.5 points in the first two games. He scored 13 before picking up two technical fouls and getting ejected with 4:30 left in the game. The Bulls fell to 1-2 with their second straight loss.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nCleveland led 80-61 early in the third before the Bulls reeled off 10 consecutive points. Vucevic hit back-to-back 3-pointers and DeRozan made two foul shots to make it a nine-point game.\n\nBut a wide open 3 by Love in transition and floater by Mitchell bumped the lead to 89-75 with 2:28 left in the quarter.\n\nTIP-INS\n\nCavaliers: Garland will probably miss Cleveland's home opener against Washington on Sunday, though coach J.B. Bickerstaff said “miracles do happen.” Garland suffered a laceration inside his eyelid in the first quarter of Cleveland’s season-opening loss to Toronto when Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr. inadvertently poked him in the eye going for a steal.\n\nBulls: Coach Billy Donovan said LaVine missing the first two games was not part of the original plan, while insisting the two-time All-Star's left knee remains structurally sound following surgery in May. Donovan said he experienced discomfort during a stretch of tough practices following the preseason finale against Milwaukee on Oct. 11. And though LaVine is not on a minutes restriction, the Bulls will monitor his workload particularly during busy stretches. “We knew we were going to have to manage that going into the season,” Donovan said. “We just didn't know when or what that would that would look like.”\n\nUP NEXT\n\nCavaliers: Host Washington on Sunday.\n\nBulls: Host Boston on Monday.\n\n___\n\nMore AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/10/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2018/02/13/nba-utah-jazz-donovan-mitchell-rookie-year/332869002/", "title": "NBA rookies: Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell taking league by storm", "text": "USA TODAY Sports spotlights one rookie each week as part of our weekly Rookie Power Rankings.\n\nOrlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon may have inadvertently aided Donovan Mitchell's rise to stardom.\n\nWhen Gordon pulled out of Saturday’s All-Star dunk contest due to a hip injury, it created a spot for Mitchell, who has quickly shown himself as one of the most acrobatic and electric dunkers in the league.\n\nAlley-oops, surging fastbreaks, tip-dunks, it doesn’t matter. Mitchell throws them all down. He’ll compete Saturday night in the dunk contest against Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Dallas rookie Dennis Smith Jr., and new Cleveland Cavalier Larry Nance Jr.\n\nMore:Donovan Mitchell rallies Jazz past Spurs late for 10th straight win\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nMore: Gregg Popovich discusses Black History Month, says U.S. is 'racist country'\n\nMore:NBA power rankings: New-look Cavs on the rise; Jazz keep winning\n\nThe Jazz rookie was initially slated to participate in Saturday night’s skills competition before he got the call and pulled out of the multi-skill challenge. He’ll still compete for the U.S. team in the Rising Stars challenge on Friday night.\n\n“I’ve been Googling or YouTubing the old dunk contests to figure out dunks that kind of got overlooked that are still pretty tough, and guys are a little bit taller than me have done, so if I do it, it might look a little bit better,” he told reporters.\n\nVeterans are catching on and want no part of Mitchell’s aerial display. On Friday night vs. Charlotte, which turned into Utah’s eighth consecutive win, Mitchell trailed on a fastbreak, charged down the lane and chucked the ball through the hoop as Nicolas Batum sidestepped the incoming train. On Monday night, he rallied the Jazz past San Antonio for their NBA-best 10th consecutive win, scoring 25 including eight of Utah's final nine points.\n\nNot only is Mitchell thriving, but also during their streak, the Jazz have beaten six playoff teams and the top two teams in each conference, Toronto and Golden State.\n\nHovering around .500, they’ve slowly given themselves a chance at the playoffs while reinforcing Mitchell’s Rookie of the Year candidacy. NBA All-Stars are taking notice.\n\nUSA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick, Jeff Zillgitt, Michael Singer and AJ Neuharth-Keusch vote in our weekly rookie rankings.\n\n1. Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers: 16.4 ppg, 7.3 apg, 7.7 rpg\n\nSimmons just keep plugging away. With him on the court, the 76ers have an offensive rating of 106.2 points per 100 possessions, while with him off they’re at 103.2. Defensively, with him on, they allow 101.7 points per 100 possessions, and with him off they’re at 105.6.\n\n2. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz: 19.5 ppg, 3.4 apg, 3.5 rpg\n\nMitchell scored 40 on 14 for 19 shooting from the field in a recent win over Phoenix. It’s the second time this season he’s scored at least 40. The only other active players to reach that mark as rookies are LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and Carmelo Anthony.\n\n3. Lauri Markkanen, Chicago Bulls: 15.3 ppg, 1.3 apg, 7.7 rpg\n\nMarkkanen is tied with Devin Booker and C.J. Miles for 28th in the NBA with 112 three-pointers made this year. He, along with Simmons, Tatum and Mitchell, will take part in the Rising Stars challenge on Friday night of All-Star weekend.\n\n4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics: 13.6 ppg, 1.4 apg, 5.1 rpg\n\nSince dislocating the pinkie on his shooting hand on Dec. 20, he hasn’t shot better than 34% from the three-point line in either January or February after leading the league in three-point percentage throughout much of the first half.\n\n5. De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings: 11.3 ppg, 4.3 apg, 2.6 rpg\n\nIt's officially the Fox show in Sacramento after the Kings traded veteran George Hill during last week's trade deadline. Fox said recently that coach Dave Joerger has entrusted him with more of the playcalling and oftentimes won't dictate a play, content to let the rookie play through. He's averaged over 14 points in January and February since moving into a more prominent role.\n\nFollow USA TODAY Sports' Michael Singer on Twitter.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/02/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/pro/cavs/2022/10/24/cleveland-cavaliers-donovan-mitchell-goat-hero-overtime-washington-wizards-jarrett-allen-bickerstaff/69579146007/", "title": "Cavs star Donovan Mitchell goes from goat to overtime hero", "text": "CLEVELAND — Donovan Mitchell’s personal tale of atonement concluded with chants of “MVP” filling Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.\n\nHe knew how fortunate he was to receive such adoration when he stepped to the free throw line to wrap up the Cavaliers’ 117-107 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards Sunday night.\n\nIn the final 54 seconds of regulation, the heralded regular-season home debut of the three-time All-Star guard acquired in a blockbuster trade became, in his words, “an absolute disaster.”\n\nThe Cavs blew a seven-point lead and Mitchell’s fingerprints were all over it. He missed a floater, committed two turnovers and failed to connect on a potential game-winning step-back 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left.\n\nBut encouraged by Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff and appreciative of the coach’s trust in him, Mitchell bounced back quickly. In the five-minute overtime, he led the Cavs with seven points, including an and-one that gave them the lead for good with 1:43 remaining.\n\nCavs' Mitchell prioritizes leadership:'Willingness to lead': Cleveland Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell knows importance of his voice\n\nCavs' Mitchell raves over talent:'Championship is the goal': Cavaliers' Donovan Mitchell watches budding stars, dreams big\n\n“Going into the summer, there are a lot of things I pride myself on and being a closer, being a guy that you trust with the ball is one of ‘em and I wasn’t that tonight in the fourth,” Mitchell said. “I ultimately ended up getting there…. But sometimes you won’t be able to get to an overtime, you aren’t given a second chance, so you’ve got to be there when your time is called and I wasn’t.\n\n“It doesn’t matter if we had a game yesterday. It doesn’t matter if you’re [on] the back–to-back, I’ve got to be able to do it.”\n\nAfterward during an on-court interview, Mitchell told the fans, “I apologize. I put us in overtime.”\n\nAs he entered the interview room, he was saying the same thing in the hallway. Before a question was asked, he said, “I’ll start off, I apologize making you all stay like 35, 45 minutes longer. That was insane, but we got the win.”\n\nFans forgave him with their chant. His team did the same by awarding him the coveted Junkyard Dawg chain, an idea conceived by Bickerstaff last season to recognize the scrappiest and most impactful player after victories.\n\n“That’s just how he is,” All-Star center Jarrett Allen said of Mitchell’s apology. “He wants to do everything right to the best of his ability. Even when he is doing stuff right, he still feels like he is doing stuff wrong. Shows humility. He wants everyone, not to accept them, but to make sure he is doing the right thing.”\n\nMitchell was touched to have received the massive chain with a “C” pendant, wearing it during his interview. Backup center Robin Lopez earned it in Saturday night’s victory at Chicago.\n\n“It meant a lot. The guys in the locker room, when I saw Rolo get it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is pretty dope,’” Mitchell said. “For me just to feel a part of the group. They’ve accepted me since Day One. Just to go out there and continuously just find my way, whether it’s offensively, defensively, then to get this, it’s awesome.”\n\nMitchell said his teammates “continuously uplifted me” during his rough fourth quarter.\n\nAllen said that wasn’t difficult. He said their faith in Mitchell comes from him being “a good dude.”\n\n“That’s what it boils down to,” Allen said. “He is easy to talk to, he doesn’t boast about his accomplishments, he is one of the hardest workers every single game in the gym. It’s easy to root for a guy like that and easy to follow somebody’s lead like that.”\n\nNo timetable for Cavs' Garland:Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland misses second consecutive game with eye injury\n\nCavs' Mobley makes strides:Cleveland Cavaliers' Evan Mobley opens season with 'more of an edge' after award snub\n\nMitchell spent the previous five seasons with the Utah Jazz and went to the playoffs every year, but said he had similar bad nights there. On Sunday, he scored four points in the fourth quarter, making 2-of-9 shots and missing both his 3-point attempts.\n\n“I’ve had worse fourth quarters and I’ve shot the ball more than 29 times before, too,” he said. “You continuously just find a way. You just trust the work, getting to your spots. I would say maybe early in my career that missed 3, I’ve missed a 3 in the playoffs from that same spot. I’ve been picked before and given up the lead. Even last year we blew some leads in the fourth quarter and I didn’t play well.\n\n“For me, it’s staying focused on the next play and doing it on both ends of the floor and just continue to fight and battle. That’s what I did and that’s what we did as a group. My teammates were right in my ear, just like, ‘Keep going. Keep going. Don’t stop.'\"\n\nMitchell could have taken a 2-pointer to try to win the game in regulation. But he chose the step-back 3, saying, “That’s my favorite move. Whether it’s a 2 or a 3, that’s the one I probably work at the most.\n\n“I thought it was going in. I’m glad I missed it long than short. If I had missed it short, I would have been pretty pissed because that means I’m tired and I didn’t get my legs into it. I thought it was good. It didn’t go in, but I’m going to take it again if I’m open and continue to trust it.”\n\nIt was a historic night for Mitchell. He finished with 37 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals, offset by six turnovers. He became the third player in NBA history to score 30+ points in his first three games with a new team. He joined Wilt Chamberlain, who had eight in a row in 1960 with Philadelphia, and Glenn Robinson, who did the same in three games in his 2002-03 debut with Atlanta.\n\nMitchell has scored 100 points for the Cavs (2-1), breaking Austin Carr’s record of 90 in the first three games in 1974-75. Of debuting Cavs, Mitchell also stands first, surpassing 72 points by Shawn Kemp in 1997-98.\n\nCavs face more pressure in 2022-23:Can 2022-23 Cleveland Cavaliers handle being the hunted after Donovan Mitchell's arrival?\n\nFive Cavs to watch this season:Erasing a 'bad taste': Five Cleveland Cavaliers who will most impact the 2022-23 season\n\n“Thirty-seven, that’s tough to come by on any night,\" Allen said. \"Especially the home opener, with the lights on, he showed out.\"\n\nBickerstaff was most impressed with Mitchell’s “determination to help the team win.”\n\n“The leadership, the want-to carry his teammates with him, the way he embraces his teammates. It's a needed 37, right? They're not empty 30s that you're seeing from him. We need every one of them,\" Bickerstaff said as All-Star point guard Darius Garland missed his second consecutive game with an eye injury.\n\nMitchell enjoyed the experience, saying it felt like a playoff game. The only time he’d heard Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse that loud was when he attended a game in the 2016 Finals.\n\n“When we came out. … that was nuts. Then we had the intro, that was crazy,” he said. “There were segments throughout the game where I caught myself smiling a few times. I’m trying to lock in, but I’m just looking around like, ‘Holy s---.’ The crowd’s electric. It's incredible to be part of that.\"\n\nEven the crucial turnovers didn’t diminish Mitchell’s performance in Bickerstaff’s eyes because he saw the lessons Mitchell taught with how he recovered.\n\n“He's just got belief. He's got confidence in himself,” Bickerstaff said. “We believe in him, he knows that. His teammates believe in him, he knows that. He's done it before. He's the type of guy that doesn't want to let his teammates down. He took it on himself to make something happen.”\n\nBickerstaff said that confidence trickles down to the other Cavs.\n\n“It gives them belief, too. It makes them feel like they can overcome the odds because they know that he's there to help carry and take them through adversity,” Bickerstaff said. “They're willing to do more. They've always been a group that's stuck together and fought their way through things and that just adds to it.”\n\nMitchell’s resilience will be tested, not just how he recovers after playing 79 minutes in a back-to-back as the Cavs host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.\n\n“By Wednesday I’ll be fine. We won the game, we did the things necessary, but I’ll be better,” Mitchell vowed.\n\n“I’ll be good by Monday Night Football.”\n\nMarla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.\n\nMagic at Cavaliers\n\nTime: 7 p.m. Wednesday\n\nTV: Bally Sports Ohio", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/10/24"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2022/12/29/haliburton-hield-combine-for-11-3s-pacers-top-cavs-135-126/51116177/", "title": "Haliburton, Hield combine for 11 3s, Pacers top Cavs 135-126", "text": "AP\n\nINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton scored 29 points, Buddy Hield made a 3-pointer three seconds into the game and added 25, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 135-126 on Thursday night.\n\nHaliburton was 6 for 8 from 3-point range and Hield, who leads the NBA in 3-pointers, was 5 for 6. The Pacers finished 19 of 31 from beyond the arc.\n\n“You can't ask for much better shooting than that,” said Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith, who had 22 points. “They shoot the ball like that, it's going to be tough to beat us any night.”\n\nIndiana trailed by seven early in the fourth quarter before rallying. Hield fed Nesmith for a go-ahead dunk to give the Pacers a 120-119 lead with 4:26 remaining.\n\n“This is the most fun I’ve had playing basketball in a very long time,” said Nesmith, a third-year pro acquired from Boston in the offseason.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nHaliburton converted a three-point play on the next possession and the Pacers never surrendered the lead.\n\n“This game was about our defense, or the lack of it,” said Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff, whose team ranks No. 1 in fewest points allowed at 105.5 per game. “We decided we wanted to play Indiana Pacers basketball and that's their strength. We didn't play Cleveland Cavaliers basketball and play to our strength.”\n\nBennedict Mathurin scored 23 points and Myles Turner 14 as Indiana snapped a five-game losing streak against the Cavaliers, who have lost three in a row.\n\n“Any time the ball is going into the basket like that, you feel good,” said Pacers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce, who took over after Rick Carlisle was ejected. \"But (the Cavaliers) are capable of doing that. And that's scary for us.\n\n“When the ball goes into the basket, it makes you want to play that way. We have to play that way. And Ty is our leader. He's going to set the tone and the pace for us.\"\n\nAll-Star guard Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points to lead a balanced Cleveland offense with seven double-digit scorers. Mitchell sank five of the Cavaliers' 12 3-pointers.\n\n“We kept giving up 3s,” Bickerstaff said. “The 3-ball is the way back into the game. It’s personnel-driven, understanding the person you’re guarding, being on high alert that that’s what they are looking for. I just didn’t think we had the focus on the defensive end of the floor because we were scoring points. We have to be able to do both.\"\n\nCleveland's Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen each had 19 and All-Star guard Darius Garland finished with 18 points and eight assists.\n\nThe 3-point barrage began just three seconds in as the opening tip was batted directly to Hield, who turned and swished a shot that was the fastest 3-pointer recorded since play-by-play began in 1996-97. In the first half, the Pacers hit 9 of 15 from beyond the arc and the Cavaliers 7 of 13. The Cavaliers led 68-64 at halftime.\n\nTIP-INS\n\nCavaliers: Dropped to 6-10 on the road. ... Forward Cedi Osman (back) was a last-minute inactive and center Robin Lopez (illness) missed his second consecutive game.\n\nPacers: Carlisle was assessed two technicals and ejected with 1:29 remaining in the third quarter after arguing that an off-balance Mitchell threw the ball off the backboard to himself. ... Mathurin leads the league in bench scoring at 17.6 points per game.\n\nUP NEXT\n\nCavaliers: Visit Chicago Bulls on Saturday.\n\nPacers: Host L.A. Clippers on Saturday.\n\n___\n\nMore AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2018/01/02/nba-power-rankings-isaiah-thomas-return-james-harden-injury/994185001/", "title": "Week 11 NBA power rankings: How will Isaiah Thomas' return shake ...", "text": "The Cleveland Cavaliers are 24-12, 1 ½ games behind the second-place Toronto Raptors, and will be adding an All-Star point guard — who finished fifth in last year's MVP race — into the lineup for the first time this season on Tuesday.\n\nAnd with that, the top of the Eastern Conference gets all the more interesting.\n\nWhile Isaiah Thomas' presence won't catapult the Cavs past the conference-leading Boston Celtics right away, what with seven months of rust for Thomas to shake off, it makes them that much more dangerous on the offensive end of the floor, where they already rank third in the league with 111.2 points scored per 100 possessions.\n\nWith 2017 in the books, here's how we view the league's current power structure. Voters, listed at the bottom of this page, include NBA reporters from across the USA TODAY Network.\n\n1. Golden State Warriors (29-8) | Last week: 1\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nWith his 10 three-pointers made Saturday night in his return from an 11-game absence, Stephen Curry — who finished with 38 points in just 26 minutes — reached nine career games of double-digit threes. The next closest players are J.R. Smith and Klay Thompson, both with three such games.\n\n2. Boston Celtics (30-10) | Last week: 5\n\nAl Horford may not be filling up the scoring column on a nightly basis, but the savvy veteran is one of just four players averaging at least 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists while shooting 50% or higher from the field.\n\n3. Houston Rockets (26-9) | Last week: 2\n\nThe good news for Houston? They won on Sunday, snapping a five-game skid. The bad? MVP frontrunner James Harden exited the game with a left hamstring injury and will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks, which could significantly widen the two-game gap between Houston and Golden State for the top two spots in the West.\n\n4. Toronto Raptors (25-10) | Last week: 4\n\nIs it time to put DeMar DeRozan, who dropped a franchise-high 52 points in Monday's overtime win against Milwaukee, in the MVP conversation? The ninth-year guard has improved significantly as a shooter (from career averages of 0.4 three-pointers made per game at a 28.8% clip to 1.1 makes at 34.9%) and ranks second in the NBA in total points scored off drives with 345.\n\n5. Cleveland Cavaliers (24-12) | Last week: 3\n\nIsaiah Thomas, who will be on a minutes restriction and won't play back-to-backs for now, says he has \"no feel for the game\" but that it's only a matter of time before he gets his \"powers\" back.\n\n\"Even when we're out there scrimmaging, I can move around and do what I want, but I just don't have my powers yet,\" he said Monday. \"With the games coming, it's going to give me an opportunity to get my rhythm back, get my feel back. It might take some time, but at the same time, the progress that I've made is all good, positive progress, and I'm excited about the opportunity to be able to get out there and compete.\"\n\n6. San Antonio Spurs (25-12) | Last week: 6\n\nJust as the Spurs were becoming fully healthy, Rudy Gay was shut down for at least two weeks with a right heel injury. The veteran forward is one of just four players averaging at least 11 points and five rebounds in less than 23 minutes per game this season.\n\n7. Minnesota Timberwolves (24-14) | Last week: 7\n\nJimmy Butler is averaging 28.8 points (on 53.7% shooting), 5.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds over Minnesota's past eight games — seven of which were wins.\n\n8. Washington Wizards (21-16) | Last week: 9\n\nThe Wizards, who have won four of their past five games, have shot 42.8% from beyond the arc during that span — good for first in the NBA.\n\n9. Detroit Pistons (20-15) | Last week: 11\n\nNo Reggie Jackson, no problem? Veteran journeyman Ish Smith, who has proven capable of filling a team's starting point guard void when called upon, is averaging 18 points, 4.5 assists and five rebounds in two starts since Jackson went down with an ankle injury. Detroit has seen other players step up due to injuries as well, as Luke Kennard (20 points) and Reggie Bullock (22 points) both put together career-high scoring nights in the Pistons' most recent win — a 93-79 rout of San Antonio.\n\n10. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-17) | Last week: 8\n\nRussell Westbrook has shot 55.3% from the field in Oklahoma City's past eight games. In the 29 games prior, he shot 38.8%.\n\n\"Russ is just playing, not trying to defer to anybody, to any one of us, just playing his game and letting us play off of him,\" Carmelo Anthony said. \"I think he's much more effective by doing that rather than deferring to myself or Paul (George).\"\n\n11. Milwaukee Bucks (19-16) | Last week: 13\n\nIf the Bucks want to be recognized with the best of the East, they have to beat them. Aside from a season-opening win over Boston, Milwaukee is 2-5 against the five teams ahead of them in the standings.\n\n12. Portland Trail Blazers (19-17) | Last week: 16\n\nWhile the Blazers boast the fourth-best defense in the NBA, they're 27th on the offensive end of the floor, scoring just 102.4 points per 100 possessions — a five-plus point drop off from last season.\n\n13. Denver Nuggets (19-17) | Last week: 10\n\nAs far as most-improved second-year players go, Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram may garner more national attention, but Denver's Jamal Murray, who averaged a team-high 19.1 points in December, is right there with them.\n\n14. Miami Heat (19-17) | Last week: 14\n\nOnly two players in the NBA averaged 17-plus points while shooting at least 54% from the field, 46% from three and 88% from the line in December. Stephen Curry, who played in just four games due to injury, was one. Josh Richardson, who played in all 15 of Miami's games, was the other.\n\n15. New Orleans Pelicans (18-18) | Last week: 15\n\nAnthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins are on pace to become the first duo in NBA history to both average at least 25 points and 10 rebounds for an entire season, per Elias Sports Bureau, and yet the Pelicans are still mired in mediocrity, unable to get more than three games over .500 at any point so far this season.\n\n16. Indiana Pacers (19-18) | Last week: 12\n\nVeteran Al Jefferson called out his team for their lack of effort following their fourth consecutive loss Sunday — a 17-point rout against Minnesota.\n\n\"We can't blame the coaches, can't blame the fans, can't blame nobody,\" he said. \"We the ones out there. Just no effort, at all. That's something you just cannot have. You got to have effort out there. You miss every shot you shoot? That happens. But you got to play hard.\"\n\n17. Philadelphia 76ers (17-19) | Last week: 18\n\nX-rays revealed that Joel Embiid avoided suffering a significant hand injury in Sunday's win over Phoenix, but you can't help but wonder if this will keep the oft-injured big man, who has already missed nine games this season, on the shelf for more than just one game.\n\n18. New York Knicks (18-18) | Last week: 17\n\nThe Knicks entered 2017 with a 16-17 record but won just 15 of their next 49 games and missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. They head into 2018 in a similar spot, at 18-18, but coach Jeff Hornacek isn't anticipating such a drastic drop off this time around.\n\n\"Usually when you have an older team of veteran guys and the losses start piling up, guys have a tendency to go, 'OK, this season (is over),' \" Hornacek said. \"These guys are going to fight until the end of the season no matter what our record is.\"\n\n19. Los Angeles Clippers (16-19) | Last week: 20\n\nThe Clippers, who have won three consecutive games and five of their last six, are now just 1 ½ games out of eighth place in the West.\n\n20. Utah Jazz (16-21) | Last week: 19\n\nDonovan Mitchell, leading all rookies in scoring at 18.2 points per game, received a resounding endorsement from LeBron James after his 29-point performance in Saturday's win over Cleveland.\n\n\"He's a player,\" James said. \"Kid got a lot of game. They've been riding that wave all season since they realized what they actually got. He's not afraid of the moment. He just goes out and plays ball.\"\n\n21. Chicago Bulls (13-24) | Last week: 24\n\nOnly one player in the NBA is shooting at least 46% from beyond the arc and averaging 2.5 or more three-pointers made per game. That player is Nikola Mirotic.\n\n22. Brooklyn Nets (14-23) | Last week: 22\n\nAn odd stat for an odd team: Half of the Nets' wins this season have come against teams in the Southeast Division (they're 7-3 against Atlanta, Miami, Orlando and Washington).\n\n23. Dallas Mavericks (13-25) | Last week: 28\n\nThe Mavs, whose four consecutive wins have all come against teams current playoff teams, struck gold on draft night with Dennis Smith Jr., and coach Rick Carlisle knows it.\n\n\"We drafted him because we think he can be a great player, one of the best players ever to play in a Mavericks uniform,\" Carlisle said of the rookie, who on Friday became the third-youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.\n\n24. Phoenix Suns (14-24) | Last week: 23\n\nT.J. Warren, who has helped lead the Suns to five wins in their past eight games, is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 19 points while shooting below 20% from beyond the arc.\n\n25. Charlotte Hornets (13-23) | Last week: 21\n\nThe Hornets, who finished last season ranked 14th in the NBA with an offensive rating of 106.4, are 25th this season, scoring just 102.9 points per 100 possessions.\n\n26. Memphis Grizzlies (12-25) | Last week: 29\n\nCould Mike Conley's return be right around the corner? The star point guard, who has been sidelined since early November with soreness in his left Achilles, still doesn't have an official timetable for return, but he's made great strides in his recovery.\n\n27. Sacramento Kings (12-24) | Last week: 26\n\nThe last time a player, 40 years or older and not named Vince Carter, scored 24 or more points in a game? Michael Jordan in 2003. Carter has two such games in the past nine months — March (24 points on 8-of-8 shooting) and last Wednesday (24 points on 10-of-12 shooting).\n\n28. Orlando Magic (12-26) | Last week: 27\n\nThe skill sets of Nikola Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo couldn't be more different, but the latter has played well since taking over the starting center duties, averaging 9.5 points, 13 rebounds and 3.3 blocks in four games.\n\n29. Atlanta Hawks (10-26) | Last week: 30\n\nThe Hawks have won three of their past four games, including routs of Washington and Portland, yet still have the worst record in the NBA and are on pace for the third-worst season in franchise history.\n\n30. Los Angeles Lakers (11-25) | Last week: 25\n\nThe Lakers have lost their last seven games, and just like that, have the second-worst record in the NBA and are on track to hand over their first-round pick to Boston (must fall between Nos. 2 and 5).\n\nThis week’s voters: USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick, Jeff Zillgitt, Michael Singer and AJ Neuharth-Keusch; Detroit Free Press' Vince Ellis; The Record's Steve Popper; The Indianapolis Star's Clifton Brown; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Matt Velazquez", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/01/02"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_20", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/crime/959096/andrew-tate-profile", "title": "Andrew Tate: the 'king of toxic masculinity' accused of human ...", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Kate Samuelson"], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959153/quiz-of-the-week-31-december-6-january", "title": "Quiz of The Week: 31 December – 6 January | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_21", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959153/quiz-of-the-week-31-december-6-january", "title": "Quiz of The Week: 31 December – 6 January | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959137/ten-things-you-need-to-know-today-5-january-2022", "title": "Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 5 January 2023 | The Week UK", "text": "Francis to preside over funeral\n\nThe Vatican said that close to 200,000 people paid their respects to former Pope Benedict XVI during his lying in state over the last three days. “By comparison with the enormous throng of people – most of them Poles – who came to see Pope John Paul II lying in St Peter’s Basilica”, the thousands queuing are “fewer but even more diverse”, said the Catholic Herald. Pope Francis will preside over the funeral today, the first time a sitting Pope has led his predecessor’s funeral in over 220 years.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_22", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/europe/pope-benedict-xvi-death-intl/index.html", "title": "Former Pope Benedict XVI dies in Vatican monastery aged 95 | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nPope Francis led tributes to his predecessor on Saturday, after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died in a monastery in the Vatican at the age of 95.\n\n“We are moved as we recall him as such a noble person, so kind and we feel such gratitude in our hearts, gratitude to god for giving him to the church, and to the world,” Francis said in Saint Peter’s Basilica while leading traditional vespers ceremony ahead of New Year’s Day.\n\n“Gratitude to him for all the good he accomplished and above all for his witness of faith and prayer, especially in these last years of his life. Only God knows the value of his sacrifices for the good of the church,” Francis added.\n\nBenedict, who was the first pontiff in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, passed away on Saturday, according to a statement from the Vatican.\n\n“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican,” the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni said.\n\nFrancis went to see Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI soon after he passed away Saturday morning, according to Bruni.\n\nThe funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will be held on Thursday in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican City at 9:30 a.m. local time, Bruni said. The funeral will be led by Pope Francis.\n\nThe former pope’s body will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican from Monday for the faithful to bid farewell, Vatican News reported. As per the wish of Pope Emeritus, his funeral will be “simple,” Bruni said.\n\nThe funeral of the former pope, pictured on December 25, 2007, will take place on January 5. Alessandra Tarantino/AP\n\nNews of Benedict’s death came days after Pope Francis asked the faithful to pray for him, saying he was “very sick.”\n\nHis health had been in decline for some time.\n\nBenedict stunned the Catholic faithful and religious experts around the world on February 11, 2013, when he announced plans to step down from his position as Pope, citing his “advanced age.”\n\nIn his farewell address, the outgoing pope promised to stay “hidden” from the world, but he continued to speak out on religious matters in the years following his retirement, contributing to tensions within the Catholic Church.\n\nA powerful and polarizing voice\n\nBenedict was a powerful force in the Catholic Church for decades. Born Joseph Ratzinger in Germany in 1927, he was the son of a policeman. He was ordained as a priest in 1951, made a cardinal in 1977, and later served as chief theological adviser to Pope John Paul II.\n\nOne of his most significant steps up came in 1981 when he took over as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Vatican office that oversees “the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world,” according to the Vatican.\n\nRatzinger became known as “Cardinal No” stemming from his efforts to crack down on the liberation theology movement, religious pluralism, challenges to traditional teachings on issues such as homosexuality, and calls to ordain women as priests.\n\nHe was elected pope in April 2005, following John Paul II’s death.\n\nHe was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis, who has made moves to soften the Vatican’s position on abortion and homosexuality, as well as doing more to deal with the sexual abuse crisis that has engulfed the church in recent years and clouded Benedict’s legacy.\n\nThe former pope, pictured on September 9, 2007, was known to be more conservative than his successor, Pope Francis. Robert Jaeger/AP\n\nIn April 2019, Benedict discussed the sex abuse crisis in a public letter, claiming that it was caused in part by the sexual revolution of the 1960s and the liberalization of the church’s moral teachings.\n\nIn January 2020, Benedict was forced to distance himself from a book widely seen as undercutting Francis as he considered whether or not to allow married men to become priests in certain cases. The book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” argued in favor of the centuries-old tradition of priestly celibacy within the Catholic Church. Benedict was originally listed as co-author, but later clarified that he had only contributed one section of the text.\n\nA year later, Benedict came under fire over his time as archbishop of Munich and Freising, between 1977 and 1982, following the publication of a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy there.\n\nThe report found that while in the post he had been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two that had occurred during his time in office – but failed to act. It also revealed Benedict had attended a meeting about an abuser identified as Priest X. Following the report’s publication, Benedict pushed back against accusations that he knew in 1980 that this priest was an abuser.\n\nIn a letter released by the Vatican amid the furor, Benedict wrote that he was “of good cheer” as he faced “the final judge of my life,” despite his shortcomings. He also issued a general apology to survivors of abuse.\n\n‘Giant of faith and reason’\n\nGlobal leaders paid homage to the former pope, following his death. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England, said he is “mourning” the former pope.\n\n“Pope Benedict was one of the greatest theologians of his age – committed to the faith of the Church and stalwart in its defence,” Welby said in a statement Saturday.\n\n“In all things, not least in his writing and his preaching, he looked to Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God. It was abundantly clear that Christ was the root of his thought and the basis of his prayer.\n\n“In 2013 Pope Benedict took the courageous and humble step to resign the papacy, the first Pope to do so since the fifteenth century. In making this choice freely he acknowledged the human frailty that affects us all,” he added.\n\nCardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, said he will remember the former pope with “love and gratitude.”\n\n“Saddened to learn of the demise of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola tweeted Saturday.\n\n“Europe mourns him. May he rest in peace.”\n\nThe leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, on Saturday told Pope Francis he had received news of Benedict’s passing with “sorrow,” according to the message shared on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate.\n\n“His Holiness’s many years of life marked a whole epoch in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, which he led in a difficult historical period, associated with many external and internal challenges,” Kirill said of Benedict.\n\nKirill added relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church had “developed significantly” during Benedict’s tenure, in an effort to “overcome the sometimes-painful legacy of the past.”\n\n“On behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church, I express my condolences to you and the flock of the Roman Catholic Church,” he continued.\n\nThe Dalai Lama on Sunday offered his condolences to the members of the Catholic Church after Benedict’s death.\n\n“I pray for our spiritual brother,” he wrote, “and offer my condolences to the members of the Catholic Church.”\n\n“At a time when we are seeing tension in several parts of the world, we can take a lesson from the life of Pope Benedict and do what we can to contribute to religious harmony and global peace.”\n\nUS President Joe Biden said the late pontiff “will be remembered as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by his principles and faith.”\n\nBiden, the second Catholic to serve as President of the United States, reflected on his meeting with Benedict at the Vatican in 2011, saying he remembered “his generosity and welcome as well as our meaningful conversation.”\n\n“As he remarked during his 2008 visit to the White House, ‘the need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity.’ May his focus on the ministry of charity continue to be an inspiration to us all,” Biden added.\n\nBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also paid tribute. “I am saddened to learn of the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” Sunak tweeted Saturday.\n\n“He was a great theologian whose UK visit in 2010 was an historic moment for both Catholics and non-Catholics throughout our country.\n\nGlobal leaders have paid homage to the former German-born pope, pictured on September 12, 2006. Jens Meyer/AP\n\nThe Archbishop of Canterbury hailed the former Pope, pictured on November 30, 2005, as \"one of the greatest theologians of his age.\" Plinio Lepri/AP\n\nItaly’s new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni voiced her admiration for the former pope. “Benedict XVI was a giant of faith and reason. He put his life at the service of the universal Church and spoke, and will continue to speak, to the hearts and minds of men with the spiritual, cultural and intellectual depth of his Magisterium,” she tweeted Saturday.\n\nRussian President Vladimir Putin, who is leading Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, called the former pope “a staunch defender of traditional Christian values.”", "authors": ["Jack Guy Valentina Di Donato Sugam Pokharel Sharon Braithwaite James Frater Allegra Goodwin", "Jack Guy", "Valentina Di Donato", "Sugam Pokharel", "Sharon Braithwaite", "James Frater", "Allegra Goodwin"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/01/05/pope-benedict-funeral-vatican-city/10991531002/", "title": "'Our final goodbye': Thousands mourn Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI ...", "text": "Eric J. Lyman\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nVATICAN CITY – The Catholic Church conducted a unique ceremony Thursday that blended centuries-old funeral rites with newly created adaptations as it bid farewell to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died Saturday at age 95.\n\n“We now offer our final goodbye to Pope Emeritus Benedict and we commend him to God, our merciful and loving father,” declared Pope Francis, Benedict’s successor, who oversaw the hour-long event.\n\n“God’s faithful people, gathered here now, accompany and entrust to him the life of the one who was their pastor.”\n\nAfterward, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re passed around the former pope’s coffin with incense, a traditional and symbolic funeral rite.\n\nPreviously:Former Pope Benedict XVI, first to resign papacy in roughly 600 years, dies following illness\n\n'The pope is gone':Catholics gather at Vatican City to mourn Pope Benedict's death\n\nUnprecedented funeral for the 'pope emeritus'\n\nThe funeral was marked by novel changes, largely because he resigned unexpectedly in 2013, the first pope to do so in six centuries.\n\nAn institution built on precedent, the Vatican has no blueprint for the funeral of a pope emeritus. Even Pope Gregory XII, who in 1415 was the last pope to step down, offered no help, because after leaving the papacy he reverted to being a cardinal.\n\nOn Thursday, every public reference to Benedict was as “pope emeritus” (rather than “pope” as in previous papal funerals), and some prayers were broadened to reflect that Benedict was not the sitting pope when he died. The most obvious change was that Francis became the first sitting pope to preside over the funeral of his predecessor.\n\nVatican faces an unprecedented challenge:How to hold a funeral for Pope Emeritus Benedict\n\nHow Benedict's death may affect the church\n\nAccording to key Vatican watchers, Benedict’s death removed his long shadow of influence both for the church’s progressive wing, led by Francis, as well as for the more canonic and conservative wing Benedict represented.\n\n“Benedict’s death makes way for new conservative leaders to emerge within the church,” said author and Vatican analyst Marco Ansaldo.\n\nAnsaldo mentioned Archbishop Carlo Viganò, the Vatican’s former nuncio (ambassador) to the U.S.; Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke of Wisconsin; Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, as church figures who make take on a more high-visibility role in Benedict’s absence. All have been critics of Francis’ papacy.\n\n“Pope Francis will also be freer now,” Ansaldo said. “Freer in the short term to stake stances that may have seemed an affront to Benedict previously, and freer in the medium term to potentially resign himself if the physical demands of the job become too much. There was little chance he would have resigned while Benedict was still alive.”\n\nAnsaldo and other analysts have said one of Benedict’s lasting legacies may be that he set the table for other popes to retire rather than to serve until their deaths.\n\n'A servant of God'\n\nAmong the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square Thursday, few addressed the internal machinations of the Vatican. Instead, people said they came to honor the man who led the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics from 2005 to 2013.\n\n“He was a servant of God, which is all any of us can aspire to be,” said Mark Timothy Anderson, a Philadelphia native and school administrator in Rome on vacation with his family.\n\nAnother American, seminarian Reginald Fromme, of Rhode Island, said he was honored to be on hand for what he called a historic occasion.\n\n“When I am an old priest I will be proud to be able to say I attended the funeral of Pope Benedict, who was one of the great popes,” he said.\n\nAbout 60,000 people stood and sat during the well-choreographed event in St. Peter’s Square, amid cold weather and beneath cloudy skies. That number was far less than the estimated 500,000 who packed into the square for the funeral of Pope John Paul II, who was pontiff for 27 years until 2005.\n\nBiden not among politicians, leaders in attendance\n\nAmong those on hand Thursday were newly installed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium, and former Spanish Queen Sofía.\n\nThe Vatican asked the U.S. be represented by Joe Donnelly, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.\n\nPresident Joe Biden, a devout Catholic whose views on abortion rights and gay marriage run contrary to those of the Vatican, paid his respects at the Vatican’s embassy in Washington. Biden spent about five minutes writing a note in a condolence book.\n\nBiden called Benedict a brilliant scholar and \"truly Holy Man\" who he learned much from when they discussed Catholic theology during a Vatican visit.\n\n\"May his soul,\" Biden wrote, \"rest eternally with the Lord.”\n\nContributing: Maureen Groppe.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959153/quiz-of-the-week-31-december-6-january", "title": "Quiz of The Week: 31 December – 6 January | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/12/31/pope-benedict-xvi-resignation-catholic-church/10960183002/", "title": "Pope Benedict XVI, whose resignation shocked Catholics, dies at 95", "text": "Pope Benedict XVI, the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign as the head of the Catholic Church, died Saturday.\n\nBenedict, who was previously known as Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, was 95. His death follows reports this week that his health had been failing.\n\nA statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni on Saturday morning said: “With pain I inform that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesia Monastery in the Vatican.”\n\nThe Vatican also announced that Pope Francis will celebrate the funeral Mass for Benedict Thursday in St. Peter's Square and Benedict’s remains will be on public display in St. Peter’s Basilica starting Monday for the faithful to pay respects. Benedict’s request was that his funeral would be celebrated solemnly but with “simplicity,” Bruni said.\n\nBenedict received the sacrament of the anointing of the sick Wednesday after his daily Mass, Bruni said.\n\nRemembering those we lost: Celebrity Deaths 2022\n\nHow long was Pope Benedict a pope?\n\nThe church elected Benedict to the papacy in 2005, and Benedict served until 2013. He succeeded Pope John Paul II and was the 265th person to take on the role.\n\nHe became a priest in 1951 in Germany, and he held several prominent leadership roles in the church, including the dean of the College of Cardinals, a governing body within the Catholic Church that, among other things, is responsible for electing the pope.\n\nWhy did Pope Benedict resign?\n\nAt the time, he said he was relinquishing the role due to his ailing health.\n\n\"Both strength of mind and body are necessary, strengths which in the last few months have deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me,\" he said.\n\nBenedict was 85 at the time.\n\nBenedict stayed living at the Vatican. He continued to wear a white cassock, though he stopped wearing the iconic red shoes. He instead adopted a pair of brown shoes he received on a trip to Mexico in 2012. He also gave up the papal ring.\n\nWhat was pope Benedict known for?\n\nBenedict was a theologian and was generally known for his traditional interpretation of what Catholicism should be. He allowed greater use of a traditional form of mass conducted in Latin, a move praised by conservatives and criticized by others as regressive.\n\nHe also introduced a new form of English mass in 2011 that again delighted traditionalists, but critics called it dull because it hewed more closely to the Latin original.\n\nFor example, when priests said \"The Lord be with you,\" parishioners had responded, \"And also with you.\" In the new version, they were expected instead to say in response, \"And with your spirit,\" which threw off many current and former Catholics. (It even inspired comedic skewering.)\n\nIn 2012, Benedict became the first pope to use Twitter. Within hours of the account's announcement, 200,000 people had followed the account. It had nearly 3 million followers just weeks later.\n\nHow will Benedict be remembered as pope?\n\nBenedict's decision to step down was shocking to many Catholics and observers of the church. Traditionally, the pope serves in the role until his death, and few have voluntarily given up the role.\n\nBeyond his decision to resign, Benedict was widely criticized for the church's handling of clergy sex abuse cases in Germany when he was the archbishop of Munich. He had asked for forgiveness for \"grievous faults\" in connection to the cases, but didn't admit to having done anything wrong. He was also criticized for not taking more aggressive action as pope to punish cardinals and bishops who oversaw sexual abuses in the church.\n\nBenedict was known for speaking against gay marriage, saying it was a threat to humanity's future.\n\nBenedict also faced criticism for joining the Hitler Youth at 14 in 1941, though the church and others noted he was legally required to do so. He was later drafted into the German army at 16, but he deserted in 1945 to rejoin the seminary, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.\n\nContact Chris Quintana at (202) 308-9021 or cquintana@usatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter at @CQuintanadc", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/europe/joseph-ratzinger-pope-benedict-xvi-obituary-intl/index.html", "title": "Joseph Ratzinger, former Pope Benedict XVI, shaped Catholic ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nPope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose death at 95 was announced Saturday, was a powerful intellectual force who shaped the Catholic Church’s theology for more than a quarter century before shocking the world by resigning in 2013.\n\nWhile not quite unprecedented, Benedict’s resignation was highly unusual. Popes typically hold office until death, and the last pope to step down was Gregory XII, who quit in 1415 to end a civil war within the church.\n\nBookended by globally popular and charismatic popes – St. John Paul II and Pope Francis – Benedict cut a different figure. Friends and biographers described him as quiet and scholarly, more at home among theological tomes than adoring crowds.\n\nIn typical fashion, Benedict announced his unexpected resignation in Latin. He was 85 at the time and cited his advanced age as ill-suited for the demands of running the Catholic Church.\n\nThe German-born Benedict saw himself, and the church, as a bulwark against secular trends in Western society, particularly what he called the “dictatorship of relativism.” He often insisted that Catholics maintain a fortress mentality, saying perhaps a smaller, “purer” church would best maintain Catholicism’s traditions and teachings.\n\nAs Pope, Benedict was a polarizing figure. He was hailed by conservatives who admired his erudite writings and careful theology. But critics, particularly in the postmodern West, called him “God’s Rottweiler” for his staunch insistence on fidelity to church’s doctrine and his willingness to silence dissent.\n\n“He policed the boundaries of the faith,” said David Gibson, author of “The Rule of Benedict,” a biography of the former pope. “He was brilliant and brutally effective.”\n\nBenedict also came under fire for his handling of the sexual abuse crisis that engulfed the Catholic church during his years as a senior cleric. A damning report published in January 2022 found that he knew about priests who abused children but failed to act when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982.\n\nThe son of a policeman\n\nJoseph Ratzinger was born and raised in Bavaria, where he briefly served in the Hitler Youth, despite his objections, and the German military during World War II. His father, a policeman, loathed the Nazis, according to biographers.\n\nRatzinger, like his elder brother Georg, saw their future in the Catholic Church, entering a German seminary in 1945. Once ordained, Ratzinger rose quickly through the church, establishing himself as a leading theologian. Originally a liberal thinker, he turned conservative in 1968 in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, which upended a number of Catholic teachings.\n\nIn 1977, Ratzinger was appointed Archbishop of Munich and Freising. Later that year, former Pope Paul VI made the German scholar a cardinal, a sign of his growing reputation within the church.\n\nFrom 1981 to 2005, Ratzinger ran the Vatican’s influential Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the office responsible for stating and policing church doctrine. He was, in effect, Catholicism’s chief theologian during this time, said Gibson, Benedict’s biographer.\n\n“His twenty-four years at the CDF were far more influential than his tenure as pope,” Gibson said.\n\nHis influence was certainly felt in the United States. In 1984, Ratzinger told the Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominicans, to investigate one of its monks, Matthew Fox, for heresy. The Vatican expelled Fox from the order in 1993.\n\nIn 1999, Ratzinger effectively silenced an American nun and priest engaged in LGBTQ ministry because they would not affirm the “Church’s teaching regarding the intrinsic evil of homosexual acts.” The nun and priest were “permanently prohibited from any pastoral work involving homosexual persons.”\n\nBut Ratzinger eventually tired of the job, reportedly asking Pope John Paul II to appoint him as a librarian at the Vatican’s library. John Paul refused.\n\n‘Please don’t do this to me’\n\nRatzinger was dean of the College of Cardinals in 2005 when he became the sixth German to be picked as pope, the first since the 11th century. At the time, the church was facing several pressing issues, including declining popularity in parts of the world and a growing crisis over its role in handling sexual abuse accusations against priests.\n\nAs the conclave to appoint Pope John Paul II’s successor went on, Ratzinger said he quickly realized that he would be elected as the new Pope – though he was reluctant to assume the mantel of St. Peter.\n\n“At a certain point, I prayed to God, ‘Please don’t do this to me,’” he told a German audience in 2005. “Evidently, this time he didn’t listen to me.”\n\nUpon his election, Ratzinger took the name Benedict XVI as a nod to church history, he said. He chose the name to honor Benedict XV, who pursued peace during World War I, and the original St. Benedict, a monk “whose life evokes the Christian roots of Europe,” Ratzinger said.\n\nAt 78, he was the oldest person to have been elected pope since Pope Clement XII in 1730. Given his age, Benedict XVI was widely seen as a caretaker pope, a bridge to the next generation after the long tenure of John Paul II, a globe-trotting pontiff whose early youth and vigor gave way to such frailty in later years that he required help walking and was often hard to hear during public addresses.\n\nIn his tone, demeanor and actions, Benedict was notably different from his predecessor. Where John Paul wowed crowds around the world with his mastery of numerous languages, Benedict’s influence was felt through his erudite writings and theological rigor.\n\n“In a world which he considered relativist and secular, his main thrust was to re-establish a sense of Catholic identity for Catholics themselves,” said Delia Gallagher, CNN’s Vatican correspondent.\n\nAs Pope, Benedict often championed a back-to-basics approach. Three of his encyclicals – letters from the Pope to Catholics around the world – were based on the theological virtues of faith, hope and love.\n\nBill Donohue, of the conservative US Catholic League, credited Benedict for working to reduce friction among adherents of various faiths, something that was a key part of John Paul’s mission as well.\n\nBut critics say Benedict didn’t always choose his words wisely. During a speech in Regensburg, Germany in 2006, he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor who criticized Islam, calling it violent, “evil and inhuman.”\n\nHis remarks were sharply criticized by heads of states in the Middle East and Muslim groups throughout the world. Effigies of Benedict were burnt in Basra, Iraq, and elsewhere in predominantly Muslim countries.\n\nBenedict later apologized, saying he was “deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address.”\n\nCriticism over sexual abuse crisis\n\nBenedict became pope at the height of the molestation scandal involving Catholic priests, as complaints of sexual abuse and related lawsuits tore at the church and threatened its moral standing around the world.\n\nIn 2002, he asked Pope John Paul II to route all accusations of sexual abuse to his office, where he instituted changes meant to deal swiftly with accused priests. From 2004-2014, the Vatican defrocked 848 priests who raped or molested children and sanctioned another 2,572 with lesser penalties, according to the church. During that time, his office had received 3,400 accusations, according to the church.\n\nThe flood of accusations worldwide has waned at times but has never stopped.\n\nIn 2008, Benedict acknowledged “the shame which we have all felt” over abuse reports and said those responsible for the “evils” should face justice. Two years later he said abusive priests “disfigured their ministry” and brought “profound shame and regret” on the church.\n\nThat same year, 2010, he issued new rules aimed at stopping abuse. These included allowing church prosecution of suspected abusers for 20 years after the incidents occurred, up from 10 years previously. The rules also made it a church crime to download child pornography and allowed the pope to remove a priest without a formal Vatican trial.\n\nIn some cases, Benedict acted swiftly, as when he removed Marcial Maciel, a powerful Mexican priest who founded the conservative Legion of Christ, after years of allegations that he had sexually abused children.\n\n“No one did more to successfully address the problem of priestly sexual abuse than Joseph Ratzinger,” Donohue said.\n\nBut others such as the late Barbara Blaine, the former president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the opposite was true.\n\n“I would hate for him to be remembered as someone who did the right thing because from our perspective, Pope Benedict’s record has been abysmal,” said Blaine, who died in 2017.\n\nIn 2010, The New York Times reported that church officials, including Ratzinger, had failed to act in the case of a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting up to 200 boys. The Times reported that church officials stopped proceedings against the priest after he wrote Ratzinger.\n\nAlso in 2010, the Times reported that the future pope – while serving as the archbishop in Munich – had been copied on a memo informing him that a priest accused of molesting children was being returned to pastoral work. At the time, a spokesman for the archdiocese said Ratzinger received hundreds of memos a year, and it was highly unlikely that he had read it.\n\nTwelve years later, a Church-commissioned report into abuse by Catholic clergy in the diocese found that Ratzinger had as archbishop been informed of four cases of sexual abuse involving minors – including two that had taken place while he was in office – but failed to act. In a letter published by the Vatican in February 2022, Benedict issued a general apology to survivors of abuse, writing: “Once again I can only express to all the victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness.”\n\nOver the years, victims’ groups pressed the International Criminal Court to prosecute Benedict in the sex abuse scandal.\n\nDavid Gibson, Benedict’s biographer, said that, like many in the Vatican, the former pope was initially slow to recognize the magnitude of the church’s abuse crisis.\n\n“Like so many in the church, he was part of the learning curve,” Gibson said.\n\nThe anti-Francis\n\nUltimately, however, Benedict showed little skill or interest in governing the vast and complex world of the Catholic Church, Gibson said.\n\nIn 2012, his butler was convicted of theft for leaking confidential papal documents to fight what he saw as deep corruption within the Holy See.\n\nA year later, Benedict announced his resignation.\n\nSince then, Benedict, who chose the name Pope Emeritus and continued to wear the traditional papal white, rarely left his monastery high on a hill in Vatican City, where he promised to live a “hidden life.”\n\nStill, conservative Catholics tried to draw Benedict out, or at least use him as counterweight to the more liberal papacy of Francis. Some Catholics looked to him as an anti-Pope, or at least an anti-Francis.\n\nThe contrast between the two men was dramatized in a 2019 Netflix film, “The Two Popes,” which earned Anthony Hopkins an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Benedict.\n\nThe Rev. Joseph Fessio, an American Jesuit who studied under Benedict and has published his works at Ignatius Press, said the former Pope likely knew that conservatives were trying to pit him against Francis.\n\n“In some ways, he has become the face of ‘the Resistance,’” Fessio said, “even though he hasn’t done anything to be a resistor.”\n\nBenedict preferred to be called something more modest.\n\nBefore he left Rome in 2013, a crowd of 10,000 people gathered to bid him an emotional farewell.\n\n“I am no longer the Pope but I am still in the church,” Benedict said. “I’m just a pilgrim who is starting the last part of his pilgrimage on this earth.”", "authors": ["Daniel Burke Hada Messia", "Daniel Burke", "Hada Messia"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/politics/joe-biden-pope-benedict-reaction/index.html", "title": "Joe Biden reacts to death of Pope Benedict XVI | CNN Politics", "text": "CNN —\n\nPresident Joe Biden mourned the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, saying in a statement Saturday that the late pontiff “will be remembered as a renowned theologian, with a lifetime of devotion to the Church, guided by his principles and faith.”\n\nBenedict died Saturday at the age of 95 in a Vatican monastery, according to a statement from the Vatican. He was the first pope in almost 600 years to resign his position, rather than hold office for life, doing so in 2013.\n\nBiden, the second Catholic to serve as president of the United States, reflected on his meeting with Benedict at the Vatican in 2011, recalling the late pontiff’s “generosity and welcome as well as our meaningful conversation.”\n\n“As he remarked during his 2008 visit to the White House, ‘the need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity.’ May his focus on the ministry of charity continue to be an inspiration to us all,” Biden said Saturday.\n\nBenedict’s funeral will be held on Thursday in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City at 9:30 a.m. local time, the Vatican statement said. The funeral will be led by Pope Francis.\n\nBenedict was a polarizing figure, hailed by conservatives who admired his erudite writings and careful theology. But he faced criticism, particularly in the postmodern West, for his staunch insistence on fidelity to church doctrine and his willingness to silence dissent. He also came under fire for his handling of the sexual abuse crisis that engulfed the Catholic Church during his years as a senior cleric.\n\nBenedict met with three sitting US presidents – in addition to future President Biden – during his time as leader of the Catholic Church.\n\n“It was like going back to theology class,” Biden told America, a Jesuit publication, in 2015 of his meeting with Benedict. “And by the way, he wasn’t judgmental. He was open. I came away enlivened from the discussion.”\n\nPope Benedict XVI appears at the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after he was elected to be the new pope on April 19, 2005. Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images Benedict was born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger in Marktl am Inn, Germany, in 1927. He's seen here on the left along with other members of his family in 1938: his brother, Georg; his mother, Maria; his sister, Maria; and his father, Joseph. German Catholic News Agency/Getty Images This photo of Benedict was taken in 1943, when he was drafted by the German army. He later deserted and was taken prisoner by the US Army. AFP/Getty Images Benedict, center, prays during an open-air Mass near Ruhpolding, Germany, in 1952. He was ordained as a priest in 1951. AFP/Getty Images Benedict poses for a photo in 1959, when he was a professor of dogmatic theology at the University of Freising in 1955. He taught at various colleges until 1969. AFP/Getty Images Benedict, left, was one of five new cardinals created by Pope Paul VI in June 1977. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Benedict is greeted by people in Munich, Germany, in July 1977. He was the archbishop of Munich and Freising. dpa/picture alliance/Getty Images Benedict prays next to Mother Teresa in September 1978. AFP/Getty Images Pope John Paul II, a few days after becoming pope, greets Benedict at the Vatican in October 1978. AP Pope John Paul II signs the new Roman Catholic Code of Canon Law in 1983. Benedict, second from right, served as the Pope's chief theological adviser. Bettmann/Getty Images Benedict at Vatican City in March 1977. Gianni Giansanti/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images Benedict greets a mountain rifleman in Munich in 1997. Before that, he had celebrated the 20th anniversary of his episcopal consecration. Frank Mächler/picture alliance/Getty Images Benedict passes a cross to Pope John Paul II during a Passion of Christ celebration at the Vatican in the 2000s. Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images Benedict, second from left, is among several cardinals greeting Pope John Paul II in 2003. Eric Vandeville/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images Benedict waves from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica after he was elected to be the new pope on April 19, 2005. Patrick Hertzog/AFP/Getty Images Benedict casts incense over the coffin of Pope John Paul II after his death. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Benedict looks at a child during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square in November 2005. Plinio Lepri/AP Benedict wears a fur-trimmed Santa-like hat as he waves to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square in December 2005 The red hat with white fur is known in Italian as the \"camauro.\" It was popular among pontiffs in the 17th century. Alessandra Tarantino/AP People gather in front of the Roman Colosseum during Benedict's first Way of the Cross devotions in April 2006. Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis/Getty Images Pope Benedict greets young people in front of a huge Jesus Christ portrait in Krakow, Poland, in May 2006. Benedict paid an emotional visit to the birthplace of his predecessor and told Poles he was praying that their favorite son would move swiftly toward sainthood. Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters Benedict visits what used to be the Nazi Auschwitz death camp during his trip to Poland in May 2006. Diether Endlicher/AP The Pope waves to people from his \"popemobile\" as he arrives for a Mass in Regensburg, Germany, in September 2006. He was on a six-day visit to his native country. Jens Meyer/AP Benedict visits Istanbul's Sultan Ahmet Mosque, aka the Blue Mosque, in November 2006. Salih Zeki Fazlioglu/AP Benedict lies before the altar during a Good Friday ceremony at the Vatican in April 2007. Danilo Schiavella/AP A gust of wind blows the Pope's coat over his head while visiting Vienna, Austria, in September 2007. Robert Jaeger/AP Benedict waves as he is driven through the crowd in St. Peter's Square in September 2007. Pier Paolo Cito/AP Benedict is greeted by cardinals as he arrives to attend a concert at the Vatican in October 2007. Stefano Spaziani/dpa/picture alliance/AP Benedict arrives to celebrate Mass at New York's Yankee Stadium in April 2008. During his trip to the United States, he also visited the White House and spoke to the United Nations General Assembly. Julie Jacobson/AP Benedict visits Sydney in July 2008. Mark Baker/AP Arms stretch out to Benedict as he leaves Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral in September 2008. Philippe Wojazer/Reuters The Pope arrives to celebrate Mass in Yaounde, Cameroon, in March 2009. Andrew Medichini/AP Benedict places a note in the Western Wall while visiting Jerusalem's Old City in May 2009. David Silverman/Pool/Reuters The Pope leads a mass in Manger Square, next to the Church of the Nativity, as a Palestinian flag is waved the West Bank town of Bethlehem in May 2009. Tara Todras-Whitehill/AP Benedict prays in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during his trip to Jerusalem's Old City in 2009. Yannis Behrakis/AP Benedict welcomes US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama to the Vatican in July 2009. Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP The Pope waves to faithful from a window of his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, on the outskirts of Rome, during his weekly general audience in August 2009. His right arm was in a cast after he fell and broke his right wrist while vacationing a month earlier. Pier Paolo Cito/AP Benedict blesses pilgrims as he arrives in St. Peter's Square for a World Youth Day event in March 2010. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images Benedict prays inside St. Paul's Grotto in Rabat, Malta, in April 2010. L'Osservatore Romano/Reuters Benedict waves to the crowd gathered below St. Peter's Square during a weekly Angelus blessing in May 2010. L'Osservatore Romano/Reuters Benedict walks with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II while visiting the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Scotland, in September 2010. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Benedict travels by train to Assisi, Italy, in October 2011. L'Osservatore Romano/Getty Images Benedict prepares to kiss a baby as he arrives for a Mass in Cotonou, Benin, in November 2011. Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters Benedict releases a dove from the window of his apartment in St. Peter's Square at the end of a Sunday Angelus prayer in January 2012. Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images Benedict meets with former Cuban President Fidel Castro during a visit to Cuba in March 2012. L'Osservatore Romano/Reuters Benedict walks at the end of a Holy Thursday Mass in April 2012. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images Benedict, holding a candle, enters a hushed and darkened St. Peter's Basilica to begin the Vatican's Easter vigil service in April 2012. Pier Paolo Cito/AP Benedict delivers his blessing as he is driven through the crowd in St. Peter's Square in October 2012. Andrew Medichini/AP Pope Benedict clicks on a tablet to send his first Twitter message in December 2012. His account, which went live in seven languages, had thousands of followers within minutes. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images Benedict waves at the Vatican in December 2012. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images Benedict rides the \"popemobile\" to St. Peter's Square in February 2013. Earlier that month, he announced that he would be retiring. The 85-year-old cited his \"advanced age\" as the reason. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images People crowd the gallery on top of St. Peter's Basilica as a helicopter carries Benedict out of Vatican City in February 2013. He was heading to Castel Gandolfo, where he would stay until the next pope was chosen. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Benedict exchanges Christmas greetings with his successor, Pope Francis, at the Vatican in December 2013. Maurix/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images Benedict, seated second from left, has a glass of beer on his 90th birthday in 2017. L'Osservatore Romano/Pool/AP Benedict is pushed in a wheelchair in Regensburg, Germany, in 2020. He was in Germany visiting his sick brother. Daniel Karmann/dpa/AP Pope Francis visits with Benedict at the Vatican in August 2022. Vatican Media/Abaca Press/Sipa/AP Benedict receives the winners of the Ratzinger Prize in December 2022. The award is given to scholars that have stood out for their scientific research in the field of theology. Fondazione Ratzinger/via Reuters In pictures: The life of Pope Benedict XVI Prev Next\n\nBenedict met with his first sitting president in 2007 when George W. Bush traveled to the Vatican. Benedict made his only papal visit to the United States the following year. Bush took the rare step of meeting the pope when his plane arrived at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, DC, and he later welcomed Benedict to the White House with an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn where thousands gathered and sang “Happy Birthday” to the pope, who turned 81 that day.\n\nLater that year, Bush visited Benedict at the Vatican, where the two men strolled through the Vatican Gardens and met privately for roughly 30 minutes.\n\nIn 2009, President Barack Obama met with Benedict for 30 minutes at the Vatican. Officials at the time said their meeting included discussions on addressing poverty and the Middle East, as well as issues such as abortion and stem cell research.\n\nAbortion also appeared to be a topic of discussion during Biden’s meeting with Benedict. In his 2015 interview with America, Biden said the two men spoke about Catholic doctrine and the then-vice president’s view that he should not impose his own beliefs on other people, including on issues such as abortion.\n\nBenedict talked about Biden’s abortion stance after he became president in 2021.\n\n“It’s true, he’s Catholic and observant. And personally, he is against abortion,” Benedict said in an interview with The Tablet, a Catholic publication. “But as president, he tends to present himself in continuity with the line of the Democratic Party … and on gender policy, we still don’t really understand what his position is.”\n\nBiden also spoke of Benedict at a White House event this summer, calling him a “great theologian, a very conservative theologian.” The president shared that Benedict had asked him for advice when they met.\n\n“‘Well, one piece of advice,’ I said, ‘I’d go easy on the nuns. They’re more popular than you are,’” Biden recounted to laughter.", "authors": ["Arlette Saenz"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/europe/gallery/life-in-photos-pope-benedict-xvi/index.html", "title": "Photos: Pope Benedict XVI's life | CNN", "text": "1. How relevant is this ad to you?\n\nVideo player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/09/entertainment/gallery/people-we-lost-2022/index.html", "title": "Photos: People we've lost in 2022 | CNN", "text": "1. How relevant is this ad to you?\n\nVideo player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/01/09"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/31/opinions/pope-benedict-more-than-gods-rottweiler-parini/index.html", "title": "Opinion: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was more than 'God's ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: Jay Parini, a poet and novelist, teaches at Middlebury College. Among his recent books is “The Way of Jesus: Living a Spiritual and Ethical Life.” The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion articles on CNN.\n\nCNN —\n\nThe news that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has died will have shocked no one. He was, after all, 95, and had been in declining health for at least a decade: his fragility was, in 2013, cited as the ostensible reason for his resignation, which came as a shock at the time. It had been, after all, 600 years since a pontiff had done such a thing. His successor, Pope Francis, alerted the world to Benedict’s turn for the worse Wednesday, and a kind of death watch ensued.\n\nJay Parini\n\nSome questions many may now be asking: Who was this former pontiff? How did his papacy affect the Christian – especially the Roman Catholic – world? What will be his legacy?\n\nHe was, to say the least, a man of deep learning and steadfast purpose. “Benedict XVI was a great pope,” Francis said in 2014. “Great for the power and penetration of his intellect, great for his considerable contribution to theology, great for his love for the Church and for human beings, great for his virtues and his religiosity,” he added.\n\nIndeed, his intellect shines through in much of his writing, which includes “Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration,” a readable and engaging biography of the Christ. His deeply sympathetic study of Mary is full of worthy insights into the Marian tradition.\n\nIn all his writing, Benedict argued for keeping “feeling” and “reason” in balance. “For the Church,” he once said, “man is neither mere reason nor mere feeling, he is the unity of these two dimensions.”\n\nThis delicate balance preoccupied him in his larger theological project, which began in the mid-1960s with a meditation on the meaning of Vatican II (the effort to “update” the church for 20th century life) and continued until 2020, when he co-authored with his close friend Cardinal Robert Sarah “From the Depths of our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy, and the Crisis of the Catholic Church.”\n\n“From the Depths of our Hearts” is a book that breaks no new ground but seeks to reaffirm – and vigorously defend – old verities in a time of obvious stress for the church, when survey after survey showed that Catholics were, in fact, losing faith in the authority of the church, often by the age of ten. “The priesthood is going through a dark time,” he said in this book. And he certainly nailed that one.\n\nThis “dark time” goes back many years and seemed to overwhelm him as pontiff, a role he occupied from 2005 until his resignation in 2013. As might be expected, the church struggled to come to terms with the meaning of this resignation. He was prompted, perhaps, by physical weakness. That made life difficult, as he was facing a host of problems that required more energy than he could muster. Then came a provocative investigation by the former Dominican friar Mark Dowd for the BBC in 2013, which probed the enormity and variety of the Vatican’s many problems. The revelation of deep Vatican secrets by Benedict’s once-faithful butler was one major source of agitation.\n\nThe mess was terrifying to behold. The horrific problem of child sexual abuse by clergy was at best a problem he dealt with awkwardly, never with any obvious sense of direction. There were rumors of gay cliques in the church, and widespread homosexuality in seminaries, all of which Benedict abhorred. And then there was the Vatican Bank, also rife with scandal.\n\nWhether Pope Benedict had no idea what was happening, or no idea how to control what was happening, it’s clear he lacked the obvious political skills that were soon evident in his successor, Pope Francis. For his part, Pope Benedict made some feeble attempts to confront the multiple problems of the church. In 2010, he said that “the greatest persecution of the church does not come from the enemies outside, but is born from sin inside the church.” He pointed to “a profound need to relearn penance, to accept purification, to learn on the one hand forgiveness but also the necessity of justice.”\n\nHis life story was surely compelling. Born Joseph Ratzinger in 1927, in rural Germany, he was the youngest of three children. His father was a policeman, his mother a cook in various hotels. Young Ratzinger was apparently a shy and scholarly boy who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. His father hated the Nazis, but neither father nor son could avoid history. He was drafted into the Hitler Youth program – this was compulsory, not a personal choice – and he served in the Nazi army when seminarians were pulled into the ranks in 1943. In the waning days of the war, Ratzinger became an army deserter, and he was for several harrowing months a prisoner of the Allied invasion.\n\nAfter his ordination to the priesthood in 1951, he rose through the ranks, largely in the role of theologian, teaching at various universities. It must have come as a relief for him to return to the life of the mind!\n\nHis deeply orthodox views played well with his fellow priests, who admired his commitment to Catholic dogma, and he eventually became dean of the College of Cardinals in 2002. His views on almost every aspect of Christian doctrine found a precise formulation in his dozens of books, which addressed topics as diverse as birth control, homosexuality and the dialogue between faiths. What he most disliked was what he called the “dictatorship of relativism.” He argued for the cultivation of a ” friendship with Christ … that opens us up to all that is good and gives us a criterion by which to distinguish the true from the false, and deceit from truth.”\n\nYet his views, often marked by inflexibility, earned him the nickname “God’s Rottweiler,” and sometimes he outraged the wider public, as when in 2006 – his first year in the papacy – he attacked Islam, going after Muhammad in a way that created an uproar. “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman,” he infamously said. The tenor of his remarks was so egregious that The New York Times, in an editorial, urged him to make amends: “He needs to offer a deep and persuasive apology, demonstrating that words can also heal.” Benedict responded by saying he “deeply regretted” that his words “sounded offensive to the sensibility of Muslim believers,” but the apology was hardly sufficient.\n\nBenedict represented theological positions on a range of matters from contraception to homosexuality that went well beyond what most Catholics today find palatable. But his reactionary views live on, informing attitudes on the US Supreme Court, which boasts a surprising number of Catholics who eagerly embrace a view of the world influenced by Benedict’s vision.\n\nGet our free weekly newsletter Sign up for CNN Opinion’s newsletter. Join us on Twitter and Facebook\n\nYet Benedict will, I hope, be remembered as more than “God’s Rottweiler.” He was a man of honest intellect who, though rigid in so many ways, embraced the faith of his childhood with a singular passion and dug into the layers of theology with energy and persistence. He believed in what he considered the incontrovertible truth of the gospels, and his resolute stance had a noble aspect.", "authors": ["Jay Parini"], "publish_date": "2022/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/08/us/2022-in-review-fast-facts/index.html", "title": "2022 In Review Fast Facts | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nHere is a look back at the events of 2022.\n\nNotable US Events\n\nJanuary 3 - The US Food and Drug Administration expands the emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine boosters to children ages 12 to 15. On January 5, the CDC updates its recommendations for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine booster.\n\nJanuary 3 - Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO and founder of failed blood testing startup Theranos, is found guilty on four charges of defrauding investors.\n\nJanuary 7 - A 57-year-old Maryland man receives a genetically modified pig heart in a first-of-its-kind transplant surgery.\n\nJanuary 13 - The Supreme Court blocks President Joe Biden’s vaccine and testing requirement aimed at large businesses, but allows a vaccine mandate for certain health care workers to go into effect nationwide.\n\nJanuary 24 - The James Webb Space Telescope, which launched on Christmas Day, reaches its destination, nearly a million miles away from Earth. On July 12 the first images are shared.\n\nJanuary 27 - Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announces he plans to retire at the end of the court term. Biden commits to nominating the first Black female Supreme Court justice.\n\nJanuary 31 - Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine receives full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for use in people ages 18 and older.\n\nJanuary 31 - NASA reveals it intends to keep operating the International Space Station until the end of 2030, after which the ISS will be crashed into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean known as Point Nemo.\n\nFebruary 2 - The Pentagon announces that Biden has formally approved the deployment of 3,000 troops to Poland, Germany and Romania. The deployments are a show of support to NATO allies feeling threatened by Russia’s military moves near Ukraine and the threat of an invasion.\n\nFebruary 2 - ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi is killed during a US counterterrorism mission in northwest Syria.\n\nFebruary 18 - Kim Potter, the former Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in April 2021, is sentenced to two years in prison.\n\nFebruary 21 - A social media platform backed by former President Donald Trump goes live. The service, a Twitter-like application known as Truth Social, is owned by Trump Media and Technology Group.\n\nFebruary 22 - US Soccer and the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) announce they have reached an agreement to end a dispute over equal pay.\n\nFebruary 25 - Biden selects Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court, setting in motion a historic confirmation process for the first Black woman to sit on the highest court in the nation. On April 7, the Senate votes 53-47 to confirm Jackson.\n\nMarch 1 - Biden delivers his first State of the Union address.\n\nMarch 8 - Biden announces his administration is banning Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports to the US in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.\n\nMarch 8 - Florida’s Senate passes a bill that would ban certain instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. On March 28, Governor Ron DeSantis signs the bill, dubbed by opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.\n\nMarch 10 - After a nearly 100-day lockout, Major League Baseball and the players’ union reach a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, ending the first league work stoppage since the players went on strike during the 1994 season.\n\nMarch 21 - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces he has determined that the military of Myanmar committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the country’s minority Rohingya population in 2016 and 2017.\n\nMarch 29 - The FDA authorizes a second booster of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for adults 50 and older. That same day, the CDC also endorses a second booster for the same age group.\n\nMarch 30 - After a record-breaking 355 days spent in space, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returns to earth, along with cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov.\n\nApril 5 - Biden nominates Adm. Linda Fagan to serve as the next commandant of the US Coast Guard. On May 11 the Senate votes to confirm Fagan, making her the first woman to lead a US armed service and the Coast Guard.\n\nApril 12 - The Bureau of Labor statistics shows the Consumer Price Index rose 8.5% for the year ended in March, hitting a high not seen since December 1981.\n\nApril 18 - A federal judge in Florida strikes down the Biden administration’s mask mandate for airplanes and other public transport methods.\n\nApril 25 - Twitter agrees to sell itself to Elon Musk in a deal valued at around $44 billion. Less than a month later, Musk announces via Twitter that the deal is temporarily on hold. On July 8, Musk moves to terminate the deal because he believes the company is “in material breach of multiple provisions” of the original agreement. On July 12, Twitter files a lawsuit against Musk in an effort to force him to follow through with the deal.\n\nMay 2 - Politico publishes a draft of a majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito that would strike down Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade on June 24, holding that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion.\n\nMay 12 - Biden marks the milestone of 1 million US coronavirus deaths.\n\nMay 14 - Ten people are killed and three are injured in a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. The suspect, Payton S. Gendron, an 18-year-old White man – traveled hours to target the Tops Friendly Markets store in a predominantly Black neighborhood.\n\nMay 17 - The FDA grants emergency use authorization for a booster dose of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, at least five months after completion of the primary vaccine series.\n\nMay 24 - Nineteen children and two teachers are killed when an 18-year-old opens fire in a classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. This is the second-deadliest school shooting since 2012, when 26 children and adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.\n\nJune 9 - The House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol holds its first prime-time hearing, presenting details of its findings and new footage of how the violence unfolded.\n\nJune 15 - The Federal Reserve raises interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point to tackle inflation that is plaguing the economy. This is the largest rate hike since 1994.\n\nJune 17 - The US FDA expands the emergency use authorizations for the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines to include children as young as 6 months. The CDC signs off on vaccinations for the same age group the following day.\n\nJune 25 - Biden signs into law the first major federal gun safety legislation passed in decades.\n\nJune 27 - The Supreme Court rules that a Washington state school district violated the First Amendment rights of a high school football coach when he lost his job after praying at the 50-yard line after games. The opinion was 6-3 along conservative-liberal ideological lines.\n\nJune 27 - Four people are dead and at least 50 injured after an Amtrak train derails in Missouri after colliding with a dump truck at a public crossing.\n\nJune 29 - Musician R. Kelly is sentenced to 30 years in prison following his conviction last year on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges stemming from his efforts over years to use his fame to ensnare victims he sexually abused.\n\nJune 30 - Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in as an associate justice to the United States Supreme Court, becoming the first Black woman to take a seat on the high court.\n\nJuly 1 - Two-time US Olympic basketball gold medalist Brittney Griner’s trial begins. She has been detained in Russia since her arrest on February 17 at a Moscow airport on drug smuggling charges. On July 7, Griner pleads guilty to drug charges. On August 4, Griner is found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison. On December 8, President Biden announces that Griner has been released from Russian detention and is on her way home.\n\nJuly 4 - A gunman kills seven people and injures dozens more at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois. The suspected shooter, identified as Robert E. Crimo III, is apprehended late in the day after a manhunt. On July 5, Crimo is charged with seven counts of first-degree murder.\n\nJuly 22 - A federal jury finds former Trump adviser Steve Bannon guilty of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack. He is sentenced to four months in prison on October 21.\n\nJuly 28 - JetBlue Airways announces it will purchase Spirit Airlines, a combination that would create America’s fifth-largest airline. The announcement comes a day after Spirit pulled the plug on a deal to merge with Frontier.\n\nJuly 28 - Widespread flooding following heavy rains leaves at least 43 dead in eastern Kentucky.\n\nAugust 1 - Biden announces the United States killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike on July 31.\n\nAugust 2 - The Senate votes to pass long-sought bipartisan legislation to expand health care benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during their military service, sending the bill to Biden to sign into law. The final vote was 86-11. Biden signs the bill into law on August 10.\n\nAugust 8 - The FBI executes a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of an investigation into the handling of presidential documents, including classified documents, that may have been brought there. On August 26, The Justice Department releases the redacted affidavit used to obtain the search warrant. The filing shows, among other things, that the documents that may have been illegally mishandled at Mar-a-Lago contained some of America’s most sensitive secrets.\n\nAugust 12 - Author Salman Rushdie is attacked and stabbed multiple times on stage before a lecture he was scheduled to give at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. The suspect, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, is arrested.\n\nAugust 29 - Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announces the main water treatment facility in Jackson is beginning to fail, meaning it can’t produce enough water to fight fires, reliably flush toilets and meet other critical needs.\n\nAugust 31 - The FDA authorizes updated Covid-19 vaccine booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer. This is the first time updated Covid-19 vaccines have received emergency use authorization in the US. Both are bivalent vaccines that combine the companies’ original vaccine with one that targets the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sublineages.\n\nAugust 31 - Democrat Mary Peltola wins the special election to fill Alaska’s House seat for the remainder of 2022, halting former Gov. Sarah Palin’s bid at a political comeback. With her victory, the former state lawmaker flips the seat held for nearly half a century by the late GOP Rep. Don Young, and is set to become the first Alaska Native in Congress.\n\nSeptember 18 - Hurricane Fiona makes landfall on the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico with severe winds of up to 85 miles per hour, causing flooding and an island-wide power outage. At least three people are killed. Fiona makes landfall in the Dominican Republic the following day killing at least two people. Fiona morphs into a post-tropical cyclone and makes landfall in Canada’s Nova Scotia on September 24. At least one person dies.\n\nSeptember 28 - Hurricane Ian makes landfall along the southwestern coast of Florida near Cayo Costa as a powerful Category 4 storm. At least 126 people are killed in storm-related incidents in central Florida. On September 30, Hurricane Ian makes landfall near Georgetown, South Carolina, as a Category 1 storm, before being downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone. Five people are killed in storm-related incidents in North Carolina, officials say.\n\nOctober 6 - Biden announces he is pardoning all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession.\n\nOctober 12 - A Connecticut jury decides far-right talk show host Alex Jones should pay eight families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims and one first responder $965 million in compensatory damages, capping a wrenching weeks-long trial that put on display the serious harm inflicted by the conspiracy theorist’s lies.\n\nOctober 13 - Nikolas Cruz avoids the death penalty after a jury recommends he be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the February 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.\n\nOctober 13 - The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack votes to subpoena Trump for documents and testimony during a high-profile public hearing.\n\nOctober 24 - Ethan Crumbley, the teen accused of killing four students and wounding seven others at Oxford High School in Michigan in 2021, pleads guilty to all 24 charges against him.\n\nOctober 28 - Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is hospitalized after he is attacked with a hammer by an intruder at the couple’s San Francisco home. The suspect, David DePape, faces multiple felony charges, including attempted homicide and assault with a deadly weapon.\n\nNovember 12 - CNN projects Democrats will keep their narrow Senate majority for the next two years, after victories in close contests in Nevada and Arizona. On November 16, CNN projects Republicans will win control of the House.\n\nNovember 15 - Former President Trump announces that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.\n\nNovember 16 - Artemis I takes flight after months of anticipation. Atop the rocket is the Orion spacecraft that will break away from the rocket after reaching space. After orbiting the moon, Orion will make its return trip, completing its journey in about 25 and a half days.\n\nNovember 17 - Pelosi announces she will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership, but will continue to be a member of the House. She is the first and only woman to serve as speaker.\n\nNovember 17 - The Biden administration determines that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should be granted immunity in a case brought against him by the fiancée of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whom the administration has said was murdered at the prince’s direction.\n\nNovember 19 - A gunman opens fire inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing at least five people and injuring at least 25 others. Police identify the alleged gunman as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich.\n\nNovember 22 - A gunman shoots and kills six people and injures four others inside a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia. The gunman is identified as 31-year-old Andre Bing, a store manager, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.\n\nNovember 27 - The world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, in Hawaii, erupts for the first time in nearly 40 years.\n\nDecember 11 - The DOJ announces former Libyan intelligence officer and alleged Pan Am Flight 103 bomb maker, Abu Agela Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi, is in US custody.\n\nDecember 19 - The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection votes during its final public meeting to refer Trump to the Department of Justice on at least four criminal charges. Four days later the panel releases its final report recommending Trump be barred from holding office again.\n\nNotable International Events\n\nJanuary 5 - Dozens are killed and hundreds injured after protests erupt in Almaty, Kazakhstan, triggered by a fuel price increase. On January 7, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev orders security forces to “kill without warning” to crush the violent protests.\n\nJanuary 13 - Buckingham Palace announces that Prince Andrew is stripped of his military titles and charities, a day after a New York judge ruled a sexual abuse civil lawsuit against Queen Elizabeth II’s son could proceed.\n\nJanuary 15 - An underwater volcano in the South Pacific violently erupts, causing tsunamis to hit Hawaii, Japan, and Tonga’s largest island, Tongatapu – sending waves flooding into the capital.\n\nJanuary 20 - An inquest finds Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI knew about priests who abused children but failed to act when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982, rejecting Benedict’s long-standing denials in a damning judgment.\n\nJanuary 20 - Zara Rutherford, 19, who has dual British-Belgian nationality, becomes the youngest woman to fly around the world solo.\n\nFebruary 5 - Queen Elizabeth II announces at her Platinum Jubilee that the Duchess of Cornwall will be known as Queen Camilla when Prince Charles becomes King.\n\nFebruary 7 - Canadian protesters against Covid-19 mandates impede access to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, Ontario – the busiest international crossing in North America. Ontario’s premier declares a state of emergency on February 11. On February 13, the bridge fully reopens.\n\nFebruary 15 - Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre reach an out-of-court settlement in her sexual abuse lawsuit against him.\n\nFebruary 24 - Russia launches an invasion of Ukraine, sending troops into the ex-Soviet nation from three fronts and firing missiles on several locations near the capital, Kyiv, in a broad attack that has drawn deep condemnation from world leaders.\n\nMarch 16 - A 7.4-magnitude earthquake hits off the coast of Japan’s eastern Fukushima prefecture, killing at least four people and injuring over 100 others, and cutting power to millions of homes.\n\nMarch 21 - A China Eastern Airlines jetliner carrying 132 people crashes in the mountains in southern China’s Guangxi region, according to China’s Civil Aviation Administration. The Boeing 737 was enroute from the southwestern city of Kunming to Guangzhou when it lost contact over the city of Wuzhou.\n\nMarch 22 - Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is sentenced to nine years in a maximum-security jail, according to Russian state-owned news agency Tass. Navalny is convicted on fraud charges by Moscow’s Lefortovo court over allegations that he stole from his Anti-Corruption Foundation.\n\nMarch 24 - North Korea fires what is believed to be its first intercontinental ballistic missile in more than four years as Western leaders gather in Brussels for a security summit.\n\nApril 3 - CNN journalists in Ukraine see at least a dozen dead in body bags piled in a mass grave in the town of Bucha, northwest of the capital. Residents say around 150 people are buried there, while the mayor said in public remarks a day earlier there could be up to 300 victims buried there.\n\nApril 10 - Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is ousted as the country’s leader following a vote of no confidence over allegations of economic mismanagement and mishandling of the country’s foreign policy. On April 11, Pakistan’s lawmakers vote in opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister.\n\nMay 6 - At least 35 people are dead and at least 89 are injured after an explosion at the Hotel Saratoga in Havana, the Cuban health ministry says.\n\nMay 15 - At a joint press conference, leaders of Finland and Sweden announce their countries’ intentions to join NATO. On May 18, Finland and Sweden both hand in their official letters of application to join NATO. On June 28, NATO formalizes its invitation to Finland and Sweden to join its alliance after Turkey drops its objections the day prior. NATO members sign the protocols of accession on July 5.\n\nMay 21 - Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese is elected prime minister of Australia, ending nine years of conservative rule.\n\nJune 27 - Russia defaults on its foreign debt for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution more than a century ago.\n\nJuly 7 - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces that he is stepping down as prime minister after nearly 60 members of his government resign. Johnson says he will continue as caretaker leader while the Conservative Party launches the process of choosing a successor.\n\nJuly 8 - Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dies after being shot during a campaign speech in Nara.\n\nJuly 23 - The World Health Organization declares the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.\n\nJuly 26 - Russia announces it is planning to pull out of the International Space Station after 2024, ending its decades-long partnership with NASA at the orbiting outpost.\n\nAugust 19 - Gunmen storm the Hayat Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia. At least 21 people are killed and more than 100 others are injured during the attack. The Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its affiliated online sites, saying its fighters managed to take over the hotel after blasting their way into the building.\n\nSeptember 3 - Ten people are dead and 18 are injured at multiples scenes in an Indigenous community and the surrounding area in Saskatchewan following a mass stabbing. One of the suspects, Damien Sanderson, is found dead on September 5. His brother, Myles, is arrested on September 8 but dies after experiencing “medical distress.”\n\nSeptember 5 - Liz Truss is named the UK’s new prime minister — after winning the Conservative Party’s leadership contest with 57% of the votes, against opponent Rishi Sunak’s 43%.\n\nSeptember 8 - Buckingham Palace announces that Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch, has died at the age of 96. Her oldest son, Charles, becomes King Charles III.\n\nSeptember - Protests erupt across Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in a hospital three days after being apprehended in Tehran by the morality police for allegedly not abiding by the state’s hijab rules.\n\nOctober 1 - At least 125 people are dead after violence erupts during an Indonesian league soccer match, according to Indonesia’s National Police Chief in what is one of the world’s deadliest stadium disasters of all time. Supporters of Arema FC and rival Persebaya Surabaya, two of Indonesia’s biggest soccer teams, clashed in the stands after home team Arema FC was defeated 3-2 at a match in the city of Malang in East Java, police said.\n\nOctober 4 - North Korea fires a ballistic missile without warning over Japan for the first time in five years. The missile traveled over northern Japan early in the morning, and is believed to have landed in the Pacific Ocean.\n\nOctober 20 - Truss announces her intention to resign just six weeks into her term after a growing number of her own Conservative Party’s lawmakers say they can no longer support her. She will remain prime minister until her successor is chosen.\n\nOctober 25 - Rishi Sunak becomes the UK’s new prime minister, replacing Truss, the country’s shortest-serving leader of all-time. He is the third person to lead the country in seven weeks, and the fifth since 2016.\n\nOctober 29 - At least 154 people are killed and over 100 more injured in a crowd surge at packed Halloween festivities in the South Korean capital of Seoul.\n\nOctober 30 - Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is elected the next president of Brazil, defeating his rightwing rival, incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, by a razor-thin margin.\n\nNovember 13 - Israeli President Isaac Herzog asks Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government, allowing the former prime minister to secure the country’s top job for a record sixth time and extend his record as the nation’s longest-serving leader.\n\nNovember 21 - A 5.6-magnitude earthquake hits the Cianjur region of Indonesia, killing at least 334 people and injuring more than 1,000.\n\nNovember 30 - ISIS releases an audio message confirming the death of Abu al-Hasan al-Hashmi al-Qurayshi and announcing its new leader is Abu al-Husain al-Husaini al-Quraishi.\n\nDecember 7 - Dina Boluarte becomes Peru’s first female president after a majority of 101 members in the 130-person legislative body vote to impeach former leader Pedro Castillo.\n\nAwards and Winners\n\nJanuary 9 - The 79th Annual Golden Globes are announced in an untelevised presentation.\n\nJanuary 10 - The Georgia Bulldogs defeat the Alabama Crimson Tide 33-18 in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. This is Georgia’s first national title in football since the 1980 season.\n\nJanuary 17-30 - The 110th Australian Open takes place. Rafael Nadal defeates Daniil Medvedev in the men’s final, clinching a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title. Ashleigh Barty becomes the first home Australian Open champion since 1978 after beating Danielle Collins in the women’s final.\n\nFebruary 4-20 - The 2022 Winter Olympics take place in Beijing.\n\nFebruary 5 - The NHL All-Star Game takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Metropolitan Division defeats the Central Division 5-3. Claude Giroux is named MVP.\n\nFebruary 6 - The 2022 Pro Bowl is played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The AFC defeats the NFC 41-35, in its fifth consecutive Pro Bowl win in the traditional AFC vs. NFC format.\n\nFebruary 13 - Super Bowl LVI takes place at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20. It is just the second time in Super Bowl history a team played on its home field. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the first team to do so, last year at Raymond James Stadium.\n\nFebruary 20 - Austin Cindric wins the 64th Annual Daytona 500.\n\nFebruary 18-20 - The 71st NBA All-Star Game takes place at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. Team LeBron defeats Team Durant, 163-160.\n\nFebruary 26 - The 53rd NAACP Image Awards ceremony is held.\n\nFebruary 27 - The 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are held.\n\nMarch 4-13 - The 2022 Paralympics take place in Beijing.\n\nMarch 15 - Brent Sass wins his first Iditarod.\n\nMarch 27 - The 94th Annual Academy Awards ceremony takes place, with Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall as hosts. The Oscars have been hostless for the past three years.\n\nApril 3 - The 64th Annual Grammy Awards, postponed for the second year in a row due to a Covid-19 surge, takes place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.\n\nApril 3 - The South Carolina Gamecocks win their second NCAA Women’s Basketball championship in five years after defeating the Connecticut Huskies 64-49 at Target Center in Minneapolis.\n\nApril 4 - The Kansas Jayhawks complete the largest comeback in title game history to overtake the North Carolina Tar Heels 72-69 for the national championship at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. It is the program’s 4th NCAA Men’s Basketball title and first since 2008.\n\nApril 7-10 - The 86th Masters golf tournament takes place. Scottie Scheffler wins, claiming his first major title.\n\nApril 18 - The 126th Boston Marathon takes place. The winners are Evans Chebet of Kenya in the men’s division and Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya in the women’s division.\n\nMay 7 - Rich Strike wins the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby. The horse entered the race at 80-1 odds - the biggest long-shot in the 20-horse field.\n\nMay 9 - The Pulitzer Prizes are announced.\n\nMay 16-June 5 - The French Open takes place at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. Rafael Nadal defeats Casper Ruud 6-3 6-3 6-0 in the final, capturing his record-extending 14th title at the French Open.\n\nMay 17-28 - The 75th Cannes International Film Festival takes place.\n\nMay 21 - Early Voting, ridden by jockey José Ortiz, wins the 147th running of the Preakness Stakes.\n\nMay 22 - Justin Thomas wins the 104th PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is the second major of his career.\n\nMay 29 - Marcus Ericsson wins the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500. It is his first win at the track.\n\nJune 11 - Mo Donegal, trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., wins the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes.\n\nJune 12 - The 75th Annual Tony Awards take place.\n\nJune 16 - NBA Finals - The Golden State Warriors defeat the Boston Celtics, 103-90, in Game 6 to win the series 4-2.\n\nJune 18-22 - The 146th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show takes place at the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York. A bloodhound named Trumpet wins Best in Show.\n\nJune 19 - English golfer Matt Fitzpatrick wins the 122nd US Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. Fitzpatrick clinches his first career major by edging past world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris by a single shot.\n\nJune 24 - The 49th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony takes place.\n\nJune 26 - The Colorado Avalanche defeat the Tampa Bay lightning in Game 6 to win their first Stanley Cup since 2001.\n\nJune 27-July 10 - Wimbledon takes place in London. Novak Djokovic defeats Nick Kyrgios 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-6 (7-3) in the men’s final, to win his fourth straight Wimbledon singles title and his 21st Grand Slam title overall. Elena Rybakina defeats Ons Jabeur 3-6 6-2 6-2 in the women’s final, to win her first Wimbledon title.\n\nJuly 1-24 - The 109th Tour de France takes place. Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard wins his first Tour de France title.\n\nJuly 14-17 - Cameron Smith wins the 150th Open Championship on the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland, for his first major golf title.\n\nJuly 19 - The 92nd MLB All-Star Game takes place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The American League defeats the National League 3-2. This is the American League’s ninth straight win.\n\nAugust 29-September 11 - The US Open Tennis Tournament takes place. Iga Swiatek defeats Ons Jabeur and 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz defeats Casper Ruud, becoming the youngest world No. 1 in the history of the ATP rankings.\n\nSeptember 12 - The 74th annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony takes place with Kenan Thompson as host.\n\nSeptember 18 - WNBA Finals - The Las Vegas Aces capture their first title in franchise history, defeating the Connecticut Sun 78-71 in Game 4.\n\nOctober 3-10 - The Nobel Prizes are announced. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to jailed Belarusian advocate Ales Bialiatski and human rights groups from Russia and Ukraine – Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties.\n\nNovember 5 - The Houston Astros win the World Series, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 in Game 6.\n\nNovember 6 - The New York Marathon takes place. Evans Chebet, the Kenyan winner of the Boston Marathon in April, wins the men’s division, and Sharon Lokedi of Kenya in the women’s division. Lokedi is the eighth athlete in history to win in New York on her marathon debut.\n\nNovember 20-December 18 - The men’s World Cup takes place in Qatar. Argentina defeats France in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 draw to win its third World Cup.\n\nDecember 10 - University of Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams is named the Heisman Trophy winner.", "authors": ["Cnn Editorial Research"], "publish_date": "2022/11/08"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_23", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:12", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959153/quiz-of-the-week-31-december-6-january", "title": "Quiz of The Week: 31 December – 6 January | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/health/updated-boosters-fall/index.html", "title": "Updated Covid-19 boosters are expected in September. Will it be ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThis fall, Americans could get boosted with a mRNA Covid-19 vaccine unlike any that’s come before.\n\nBoth Pfizer and Moderna are working on bivalent boosters: vaccines made up of both the old formula and a new one that targets the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the coronavirus.\n\nIf the shots meet US Food and Drug Administration standards, they will probably be available as early as September, the FDA says.\n\nBut cases are high now. There are about 124,000 new cases reported each day – far from the levels reported during the Omicron surge, but nearing peak case rates from the Delta wave – and cases are more undercounted than ever.\n\nSome experts wonder whether the Omicron-specific boosters will come in time to make a difference and if they will actually offer more protection than the current shots.\n\nA prediction game\n\nThe current shots are based on the original strain of the virus and offered nearly full protection, even from infection, early on. With new variants in circulation, the vaccines still are good at keeping people out of the hospital, but most scientists think people need a vaccine that offers more protection.\n\nDr. Michael Chang, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, thinks vaccines with an Omicron component will be helpful – within limits.\n\n“I just wish that the timing had been sooner so that we could actually be dealing with the kind of BA.5 surge that we have right now,” he said.\n\nWith the highly contagious BA.5 subvariant now dominant, the goal of minimizing the number of infections is “kind of lost,” but the new vaccines should help keep hospitalizations and deaths down, Chang said.\n\n“I do think, anytime you can introduce additional strains or variants into a vaccine, the human body’s immune response tends to be a little bit broader and more durable and potentially longer-lasting,” he said.\n\nBut it’s impossible to know at this point what variant will be dominant a couple months from now, how different it will be from the currently circulating variants or even how many cases there will be, because it’s hard to predict how humans will behave when cases rise – and cases will most likely rise. Much like with the flu, scientists think the coronavirus transmits more efficiently in colder weather. It also spreads more easily as people spend more time indoors.\n\nDr. Edward Michelson, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, is seeing many patients again, even those who had Omicron earlier in the year.\n\n“Omicron is not protecting people even a few months after they got sick with it. These subvariants are getting them again, much to my surprise,” Michelson said. “The good news is, most of the patients don’t need hospitalization.”\n\nStill, 375 people are dying of Covid-related causes on average every day in the US, according to the CDC.\n\n‘A new vaccine could really pay dividends’\n\nThe Covid-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, a group of scientists across the country who create projections for the coming year, predicts an upswing in hospitalizations through early fall. But the model suggests that a booster campaign will make a dent in these numbers, according to Justin Lessler, a University of North Carolina epidemiologist who works with the group.\n\nWhile scientists are still trying to determine exactly how well the new vaccines will protect people, Lessler said, the model assumes that the reformulated vaccine would have about 80% efficacy against infection with the currently circulating strains. But that depends on how many people actually get an updated booster.\n\n“Absent any real new variants, that kind of efficacy would be enough to really tamp down the current circulation if we have a broad uptake of the vaccines,” Lessler said. “A new vaccine could really pay dividends, particularly if we can get it to a broad swath of the population.”\n\nIdeally, public health campaigns could be built to encourage people to get a flu vaccine and a Covid-19 vaccine at the same time, he said.\n\nLessler presented an earlier version of the model to the FDA’s independent vaccine advisers, who voted in June to recommend that the vaccine makers include BA.4 and BA.5 in the fall booster. They said that including an Omicron element would offer more protection.\n\n“While it’s impossible for anyone to predict which variants will be circulating at the time, the goal as I see it is to add the subvariants that are most likely to give us that broad spectrum of antibodies that will hopefully prevent serious disease, which is really what we’re trying to do,” said Dr. Archana Chatterjee, dean of the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and a member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.\n\nEurope’s approach\n\nSome countries may go with vaccines based on the BA.1 Omicron subvariant this fall. It’s not fully understood to what extent the sublineages of Omicron influence vaccine effectiveness, but some scientists who advise the World Health Organization argued that BA.1-based shots would be “more distinct” than other subvariants.\n\nModerna said it’s developing a booster for the European Union, the UK and Australia that uses the original strain and BA.1. The subvariant is largely extinct, but the company said its studies have shown that this booster candidate still drew “significantly higher neutralizing antibody responses” against BA.4 and BA.5 compared with the currently authorized booster.\n\nPfizer has said it too will make a vaccine that fits Europe’s needs, as well as the needs in the US.\n\n“Our program continues to focus on all variants of concern and we remain committed to the public health needs as defined by regulators, Europe and elsewhere,” a spokesperson for Pfizer told CNN in an email.\n\nPfizer submitted its bivalent BA.1-specific vaccine to the European Medicines Agency in mid-July and told CNN it will be ready to distribute this fall, pending authorization.\n\nIn the United States, a vaccine updated for BA.4/5 got the go-ahead for fall.\n\nDr. Larry Corey, a vaccine development expert and professor of medicine and infectious disease division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said the data makes a strong case for the addition. Research on infections shows that the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants seem to induce stronger immune response than BA.1 and BA.2.\n\n“We don’t have the data yet. Certainly, we will know by the end of August,” Corey said.\n\nAs with so much during the pandemic, scientists are making educated guesses and figuring things out as they go.\n\n“We’ll start sleeping better in a month, see whether it does well in animals, and we’ll feel we made the right decision when we boost a bunch of people with the BA.4/BA.5 variants,” Corey said.\n\nA virus that breaks all the rules\n\nEven as the virus changes, there is only so much vaccine makers can do, says University of Michigan epidemiologist Arnold Monto, who has served as acting chair of the FDA’s vaccine advisory panel.\n\n“Basically, we can only use those viruses that we know about,” Monto said.\n\nOmicron was a big change from previous variants, he said, and most evolutionary virologists don’t think there will be such a big leap again. Rather, the changes will probably be along the Omicron lines.\n\nBut then again, “this has been a tricky virus. It has broken all the rules.”\n\nRegardless, Monto is confident that adding the BA.4/BA.5 element to the new vaccines will help.\n\n“While we know that the latest viruses that we are encountering that will go into the vaccine probably are not going to the be the viruses in the coming fall and winter, the answer is not to chase them but to try and catch up and broaden them,” he said.\n\nIn other words, vaccine makers will want to have a wide a distribution of immunity in the population. That’s why they’ll continue to include the original strain as well as Omicron.\n\nIt seems possible that we’ll be facing different variants in the fall, but Dr. Eric Rubin, an adjunct professor of immunology and infectious disease at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said there is a “very reasonable argument” that having some diversity in the immune response is still a good thing.\n\n“For me, the most important thing we can measure right now is the breadth of immunity and not try to guess which strain is going to be there. That’s probably more important than trying to guess what comes up in the fall,” said Rubin, who is also on the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee but was not a part of the Omicron booster discussion.\n\nEvolution is trying to find its own path, however, and the virus will do whatever works for it as opposed to us. Down the line, he hopes we’ll have even better vaccines that will prevent not just severe disease but infections as well.\n\n“I don’t think a perpetual game of catchup is going to work forever. We need to think about new approaches,” Rubin said.\n\nBut he emphasized that more people should get vaccinated and boosted in order to keep cases, hospitalizations and deaths down.\n\nSome people should still get boosted now\n\nThe FDA is still encouraging adults 50 and older and those with compromised immune systems to get a second booster now, with the current formula. That would leave enough of an interval for them to get an updated booster in the fall.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nThe Biden administration has ended its conversations with the FDA about allowing adults under 50 to get a second booster with the current formula this summer.\n\nOnce boosters are updated for the fall, the FDA said, people who get boosted now “may consider getting one.” Scientists say it will be important to get this updated version.\n\n“The current vaccines do a pretty great job at keeping people out of hospitals,” Rubin said. “I don’t really want to dismiss what we’ve got there. Of course, we always want better.”", "authors": ["Jen Christensen"], "publish_date": "2022/08/04"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/17/health/ba-2-covid-severity/index.html", "title": "Coronavirus: As BA.2 subvariant of Omicron rises, lab studies point ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe BA.2 virus – a subvariant of the Omicron coronavirus variant – isn’t just spreading faster than its distant cousin, it may also cause more severe disease and appears capable of thwarting some of the key weapons we have against Covid-19, new research suggests.\n\nNew lab experiments from Japan show that BA.2 may have features that make it as capable of causing serious illness as older variants of Covid-19, including Delta.\n\nAnd like Omicron, it appears to largely escape the immunity created by vaccines. A booster shot restores protection, making illness after infection about 74% less likely.\n\nBA.2 is also resistant to some treatments, including sotrovimab, the monoclonal antibody that’s currently being used against Omicron.\n\nThe findings were posted Wednesday as a preprint study on the bioRxiv server, before peer review. Normally, before a study is published in medical journal, it is scrutinized by independent experts. Preprints allow research to be shared more quickly, but they are posted before that additional layer of review.\n\n“It might be, from a human’s perspective, a worse virus than BA.1 and might be able to transmit better and cause worse disease,” says Dr. Daniel Rhoads, section head of microbiology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Rhoads reviewed the study but was not involved in the research.\n\nThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is keeping close watch on BA.2, said its director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.\n\n“There is no evidence that the BA.2 lineage is more severe than the BA.1 lineage. CDC continues to monitor variants that are circulating both domestically and internationally,” she said Friday. “We will continue to monitor emerging data on disease severity in humans and findings from papers like this conducted in laboratory settings.”\n\nBA.2 is highly mutated compared with the original Covid-causing virus that emerged in Wuhan, China. It also has dozens of gene changes that are different from the original Omicron strain, making it as distinct from the most recent pandemic virus as the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants were from each other.\n\nKei Sato, a researcher at the University of Tokyo who conducted the study, argues that these findings prove that BA.2 should not be considered a type of Omicron and that it needs to be more closely monitored.\n\n“As you may know, BA.2 is called ‘stealth Omicron,’ ” Sato told CNN. That’s because it doesn’t show up on PCR tests as an S-gene target failure, the way Omicron does. Labs therefore have to take an extra step and sequence the virus to find this variant.\n\n“Establishing a method to detect BA.2 specifically would be the first thing” many countries need to do, he says.\n\n“It looks like we might be looking at a new Greek letter here,” agreed Deborah Fuller, a virologist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, who reviewed the study but was not part of the research.\n\nMixed real-world data on subvariant’s severity\n\nBA.2 has been estimated to be about 30% more contagious than Omicron, according to the World Health Organization. It has been detected in 74 countries and 47 US states.\n\nThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 4% of Americans with Covid-19 now have infections caused by BA.2, but many other parts of the world have more experience with this variant. It has become dominant in at least 10 other countries: Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Denmark, Guam, India, Montenegro, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines, according to World Health Organization’s weekly epidemiological report.\n\nHowever, there’s mixed evidence on the severity of BA.2 in the real world. Hospitalizations continue to decline in countries where BA.2 has gained a foothold, like South Africa and the UK. But in Denmark, where BA.2 has become the leading cause of infections, hospitalizations and deaths are rising, according to WHO.\n\nResistant to monoclonal antibody treatments\n\nThe new study found that BA.2 can copy itself in cells more quickly than BA.1, the original version of Omicron. It’s also more adept at causing cells to stick together. This allows the virus to create larger clumps of cells, called syncytia, than BA.1. That’s concerning because these clumps then become factories for churning out more copies of the virus. Delta was also good at creating syncytia, which is thought to be one reason it was so destructive to the lungs.\n\nWhen the researchers infected hamsters with BA.2 and BA.1, the animals infected with BA.2 got sicker and had worse lung function. In tissues samples, the lungs of BA.2-infected hamsters had more damage than those infected by BA.1.\n\nSimilar to the original Omicron, BA.2 was capable of breaking through antibodies in the blood of people who’d been vaccinated against Covid-19. It was also resistant to the antibodies of people who’d been infected with Covid-19 early in the pandemic, including Alpha and Delta. And BA.2 was almost completely resistant to some monoclonal antibody treatments.\n\nBut there was a bright spot: Antibodies in the blood of people who’d recently had Omicron also seemed to have some protection against BA.2, especially if they’d also been vaccinated.\n\nAnd that raises an important point, Fuller says. Even though BA.2 seems more contagious and pathogenic than Omicron, it may not wind up causing a more devastating wave of Covid-19 infections.\n\n“One of the caveats that we have to think about as we get new variants that might seem more dangerous is the fact that there’s two sides to the story,” Fuller says.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nThe virus matters, she says, but as its would-be hosts, so do we.\n\n“Our immune system is evolving as well. And so that’s pushing back on things,” she said.\n\nRight now, she says, we’re in a race against the virus, and the key question is, who’s in the lead?\n\n“What we will ultimately want is to have the host be ahead of the virus. In other words, our immunity, be a step ahead of the next variant that comes out, and I don’t know that we’re quite there yet,” she said.\n\nFor that reason, Fuller says, she feels like it’s not quite time for communities to lift mask mandates.\n\n“Before this thing came out, we were about 10 feet away from the finish line,” she said. “Taking off the masks now is not a good idea. It’s just going to extend it. Let’s get to the finish line.”", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/02/17"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/14/health/omicron-ba-5-variant-immunity-severity/index.html", "title": "Why the Omicron offshoot BA.5 is a big deal | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nOnce again, Covid-19 seems to be everywhere. If you feel caught off-guard, you aren’t alone.\n\nAfter the Omicron tidal wave washed over the United States in January and the smaller rise in cases in the spring caused by the BA.2 subvariant, it might have seemed like the coronavirus could be ignored for a while. After all, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in December that nearly all Americans had been vaccinated or have antibodies from a past infection. Surely all that immunity bought some breathing room.\n\nBut suddenly, many people who had recovered from Covid-19 as recently as March or April found themselves exhausted, coughing and staring at two red lines on a rapid test. How could this be happening again – and so soon?\n\nThe culprit this time is yet another Omicron offshoot, BA.5. It has three key mutations in its spike protein that make it both better at infecting our cells and more adept at slipping past our immune defenses.\n\nIn just over two months, BA.5 outcompeted its predecessors to become the dominant cause of Covid-19 in the United States. Last week, this subvariant caused almost 2 out of every 3 new Covid-19 infections in this country, according to the latest data from the CDC.\n\nLab studies of antibodies from the blood of people who’ve been vaccinated or recovered from recent Covid-19 infections have looked at how well they stand up to BA.5, and this subvariant can outmaneuver them. So people who’ve had Covid as recently as winter or even spring may again be vulnerable to the virus.\n\n“We do not know about the clinical severity of BA.4 and BA.5 in comparison to our other Omicron subvariants,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing Tuesday. “But we do know it to be more transmissible and more immune-evading. People with prior infection, even with BA.1 and BA.2, are likely still at risk for BA.4 or BA.5.”\n\nA ‘full-on’ wave\n\nThe result is that we’re getting sick in droves. As Americans have switched to more rapid at-home tests, official case counts – currently hovering around 110,000 new infections a day – reflect just a fraction of the true disease burden.\n\n“We estimate that for every reported case there are 7 unreported,” Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, wrote in an email.\n\nOther experts think the wave could be as much as 10 times higher than what’s being reported now.\n\n“We’re looking at probably close to a million new cases a day,” Dr. Peter Hotez said on CNN. “This is a full-on BA.5 wave that we’re experiencing this summer. It’s actually looking worse in the Southern states, just like 2020, just like 2021,” said Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.\n\nThat puts us in the range of cases reported during the first Omicron wave, in January. Remember when it seemed like everyone everywhere got sick at the same time? That’s the situation in the United States again.\n\nIt may not seem like a very big deal, because vaccines and better treatments have dramatically cut the risk of death from Covid-19. Still, about 300 to 350 people are dying on average each day from Covid-19, enough to fill a large passenger jet.\n\n“That is unacceptable. It’s too high,” Dr. Ashish Jha, coordinator for the White House Covid-19 Response Team, said at Tuesday’s briefing.\n\nDaily hospitalizations are also climbing in the United States. The fraction of patients needing intensive care is up by about 23% over the past two weeks. And other countries are experiencing BA.5 waves, too.\n\n“I am concerned that cases of Covid-19 continue to rise, putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers. I am also concerned about the increasing trend of deaths,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, at a news briefing Tuesday after the agency’s decision to maintain its emergency declaration for Covid-19.\n\nThe pandemic, he said, is “nowhere near over.”\n\nWhat’s at stake with continued spread\n\nThere are also more insidious health risks to consider. A recent preprint study that compared the health of people who’d been infected one or more times with Covid-19 found that the risk of new and sometimes lasting health problems rose with each subsequent infection, suggesting that reinfections are not necessarily benign.\n\nAlthough vaccination reduces the risk of getting long Covid, a certain percentage of people have lasting symptoms after a breakthrough infection.\n\nThat’s another reason why high numbers of Covid-19 cases are a big deal: Because the virus is still spreading wildly, it has every opportunity to mutate to make even fitter and more infectious versions of itself. It’s doing this faster than we can change our vaccines, leaving us stuck in the Covid-rinse-repeat period of the pandemic.\n\nOn Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pleaded with Americans to use all available tools to stop the spread of the virus, including masking, ventilation and social distancing.\n\n“We need to keep the levels of virus to the lowest possible level, and that is our best defense. If a virus is not very robustly replicating and spreading, it gives it less of a chance of a mutation, which gives it less of a chance of the evolving of another variant,” Fauci said in a news briefing.\n\nIn fact, this is already happening.\n\nMeet BA.2.75\n\nEven as the US comes to terms with BA.5, variant hunters around the world are closely watching another Omicron descendant, BA.2.75. It’s been detected in about 10 countries, including the United States, and seems to be growing quickly in India.\n\nBA.2.75 has nine changes in its spike region that distinguish it from BA.2 and about 11 changes compared with BA.5, according to Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London.\n\nSeveral of the mutations in BA.2.75 are in a region of the spike protein known to be an important place for antibodies to bind to stop the virus, said Ulrich Elling, a scientist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences who monitors coronavirus variants for that country.\n\nThere’s little information to go on: It’s still not known, for example, how BA.2.75 may compete against BA.5 or whether it causes more severe illness. But experts say it has all the hallmarks of a variant that could go global.\n\n“It spread to many different countries already, so we know that it has some sort of staying power,” said Shishi Luo, associate director of bioinformatics and infectious disease for Helix Labs, which decodes virus samples for the CDC and other clients.\n\nBecause of that, and because of changes in the region of the virus that our antibodies look for to shut it down, “we sort of know ahead of time that this one will cause some trouble,” Luo said.\n\nBased on what we know now, she expects that this subvariant could drive a fall Covid-19 wave in the United States.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nIn the meantime, Jha said, people should get boosters that are available to them to keep their immunity as strong as possible. US health officials emphasized that people who are boosted now will still be able to get an updated shot this fall that includes the BA.4 and BA.5 strains.\n\nJha specifically urged Americans who are 50 and older, “if you’ve not gotten a vaccine shot this year, go get one now. It could save your life,” he said.", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/07/14"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/05/health/flu-vaccine-good-match/index.html", "title": "Flu vaccine appears to be a very good match to circulating strains ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThis year’s flu shot appears to be “a very good match” to the circulating strains, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a news briefing Monday. However, she noted that flu vaccinations are lagging behind the pace of previous years.\n\nThrough the end of October, CDC data shows that vaccinations for pregnant women, a group that is more vulnerable to severe illness from influenza, are down about 12% from the same point in 2021.\n\nVaccination rates for seniors, the age group most likely to be hospitalized with influenza, were down about 3 percentage points from October 2021.\n\nFlu vaccinations for children are down about 5% compared with where they were before the Covid-19 pandemic, Walensky said.\n\nIn a typical year, about 60% of American adults get vaccinated against influenza.\n\nFlu hits the US hard\n\nFlu season has gotten off to an early and severe start in the US, with hospitalization rates hitting levels that typically aren’t seen until December or January.\n\n“We, of course, look in real time as to how well we think the influenza match is to what is circulating right now. The good news is that looks like it is a very good match,” Walensky said of the early start to the respiratory virus season.\n\nShe noted that the CDC would have more definitive data later in the season but that the data is encouraging.\n\nWalensky said that even when the vaccine doesn’t closely match the circulating flu strains, “We see a 35% decrease in rates of hospitalization … which really just emphasizes, when we do have a good match, how much more effective it will be.”\n\nCDC data shows that nearly 20,000 people in the United States were admitted to the hospital for flu during the week of Thanksgiving, almost double the number of admissions from the week before.\n\nCovid-19 hospitalizations have ticked up as well, rising 27% in the week after Thanksgiving. But Covid-19 is no longer the only virus straining hospitals.\n\nJust 5% of the US population lives in an area considered to have a high Covid-19 community level.\n\nWalensky said Monday that the CDC was “actively looking into” expanding its community levels beyond Covid-19 to include the effects of other viruses, such as the flu.\n\n“In the meantime, what I do want to say is, one need not take wait for CDC action in order to put a mask,” she said.\n\nPeople who are sick should stay home and away from others, use good hygiene like covering coughs and washing hands frequently, use a high-quality mask and improve the ventilation in indoor spaces, Walensky said.\n\nTreatment is available\n\nIf you do get sick, it’s important to get tested, even if you’ve been vaccinated, said Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, board chair of the American Medical Association and an internal medicine physician in Atlanta.\n\nIf you have Covid-19 or the flu, there are antiviral medications for both. But flu antivirals don’t work against Covid-19, and vice versa.\n\n“It is going to be a confusing respiratory infections season. Figuring out what’s making people sick is going to be a conundrum,” Fryhofer said.\n\nIn response to a question about shortages of key medications during this rough virus season, Walensky said that “CDC is aware of the reports of some of the shortages for both antivirals as well as antibiotics across the country. I know FDA is working…with manufacturers to try and explore what can be done to address this.”\n\nShe also urged doctors not to prescribe antibiotics for illnesses caused by viruses.\n\nDr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, said he and his colleagues have been astonished by the steep increase in flu cases this season. They have also wondered what could be causing it.\n\nHe says it’s likely that after two years without much flu activity in the US, we lost some of our immunity against that virus just as the country has returned to more normal travel and activity patterns.\n\n“Some of it has got to do with our behaviors in the past, having avoided flu and now opening up our lives to activities such as travel, religious services, getting together with families, going out to entertainment venues and doing all those things that take us into groups,” he said.\n\nThe flu vaccines are good at preventing severe outcomes, he said, but they don’t do much to stop the virus’ spread.\n\n“It keeps you out of the emergency room, the hospital, the intensive care unit and the cemetery. It’s not very good at interrupting transmission, and it is not very good at preventing milder infection,” he said.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nSchaffner says it’s likely that flu hospitalizations are going up because the virus is hitting the elderly, who, on the whole, tend to get less protection from vaccinations.\n\n“The vaccine works least well among the population we most want to protect, namely older people, and that’s because they have immune systems that are much less robust than the immune systems of younger people.”\n\nSchaffner noted that there are high-dose vaccines for seniors, which are preferred for this age group to help increase their protection.", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/12/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/11/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html", "title": "Omicron variant will 'find just about everybody,' Fauci says, but ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nAs the Omicron variant spreads like wildfire across the United States, it’s likely just about everybody will be exposed to the strain, but vaccinated people will still fare better, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert said Tuesday.\n\n“Omicron, with its extraordinary, unprecedented degree of efficiency of transmissibility, will ultimately find just about everybody,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told J. Stephen Morrison, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Those who have been vaccinated … and boosted would get exposed. Some, maybe a lot of them, will get infected but will very likely, with some exceptions, do reasonably well in the sense of not having hospitalization and death.”\n\nIn contrast, those who are not vaccinated are “going to get the brunt of the severe aspect of this,” he added.\n\nAcross the United States, at least one in five eligible Americans – roughly 65 million people– are not vaccinated against Covid-19. More than 62% of the country has been fully vaccinated, but only 23% are fully vaccinated and boosted, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nFauci’s comments came in response to a question about whether the pandemic has entered a new phase. That will come when there’s enough protection in the community and drugs to easily treat severe Covid-19, he said, adding, “We may be on the threshold of that right now.”\n\nAlso Tuesday, US Food and Drug Administration acting commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said that while most people could catch the virus, the focus now should be on making sure hospitals and essential services function.\n\nWoodcock was responding to a question from Sen. Mike Braun about whether it’s time for the United States to change its Covid-19 strategy. Her statement was not a new assessment of Covid-19, but rather an attempt to make clear the need to prioritize essential services as the Omicron variant surges.\n\n“I think it’s hard to process what’s actually happening right now, which is: Most people are going to get Covid,” Woodcock said Tuesday at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing. “And what we need to do is make sure the hospitals can still function, transportation, you know, other essential services are not disrupted while this happens.”\n\nOn Tuesday, the number of US patients hospitalized with Covid-19 hit a record high, adding strain to health care networks and pushing states toward emergency staffing and other measures as they struggle to cope.\n\nMore than 145,900 people were in US hospitals with Covid-19 as of Tuesday – a number that surpasses the previous peak from mid-January 2021 (142,246), and is almost twice what it was two weeks ago, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.\n\nThe hospitalization record comes amid a surge in cases fueled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.\n\nThe United States averaged more than 754,200 new Covid-19 cases daily over the past week, according to Johns Hopkins University data. That’s about three times last winter’s peak average (251,987 on January 11, 2021), and 4.5 times the peak from the Delta-driven surge (166,347 on September 1), according to JHU.\n\nThe country has averaged 1,646 Covid-19 deaths a day over the past week – 33% higher than a week ago, according to JHU. The peak average was 3,402 daily on January 13, 2021, JHU data shows.\n\nThe Omicron variant caused 98.3% of new coronavirus cases in the United States last week, according to estimates posted Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nA technician administers a Covid-19 test Monday at a drive-thru location at Churchill Downs, Kentucky. Jon Cherry/Getty Images\n\nLeaders activate new measures to combat surging numbers\n\nHospitals are increasingly juggling staffing issues – not just because of the increased demand, but also because their employees, who are at a high risk of infection, have to isolate and recover after testing positive.\n\nIn Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam declared a limited state of emergency Monday after the number of intensive care unit hospitalizations more than doubled since December 1. The order allows hospitals to expand bed capacity and gives more flexibility in staffing, he said, adding that it also expands the use of telehealth as well as expanding which medical professionals can give vaccines.\n\nIn Texas, at least 2,700 medical staffers are being hired, trained and deployed to assist with the surge, joining more than 1,300 personnel already sent across the state, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement to CNN.\n\nKentucky has mobilized the National Guard to provide support, with 445 members sent to 30 health care facilities, the state announced.\n\n“Omicron continues to burn through the commonwealth, growing at levels we have never seen before. Omicron is significantly more contagious than even the Delta variant,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, noting the earlier variant that spurred a surge of cases in the summer and fall.\n\n“If it spreads at the rate we are seeing, it is certainly going to fill up our hospitals,” he said, and Kentucky is “down to 134 adult ICU beds available.”\n\nAnd New Jersey reinstated a public health emergency, Gov. Phil Murphy announced, saying the state needed to “commit every resource available to beating back the wave” caused by Omicron. In the past two weeks alone, the state saw more than 10,000 people requiring hospitalization due to Covid-19, the governor said in a video announcement.\n\nMitigation measures such as mandatory masking are also being revived in some areas.\n\nDelaware Gov. John Carney signed a universal indoor mask mandate Monday because of hospitalization increases, with some hospitals “over 100% inpatient bed capacity amid crippling staffing shortages,” he said. Churches and places of worship are exempt, while businesses should provide masks to customers and have signage about indoor mask requirements.\n\n“It’s time for everyone to pitch in and do what works. Wear your mask indoors. Avoid gatherings or expect to get and spread Covid. Get your vaccine and, if eligible, get boosted. That’s how we’ll get through this surge without endangering more lives,” Carney said.\n\nShare of hospitalizations from breakthrough infections is growing, but risks for unvaccinated are higher\n\nThe HHS data on Covid-19 hospitalizations includes both those patients who are hospitalized because of Covid-19 complications and those who may have been admitted for something else but test positive for Covid-19. This has been true throughout the pandemic, though the share of patients who fall into each category may have changed over time.\n\nFully vaccinated people are accounting for a growing share of people hospitalized with Covid-19 – but hospitalizations among people who received a booster shot are still rare, and the gap in risk by vaccination status has been wide.\n\nBetween April and July 2021, before the emergence of the Omicron variant, more than 90% of Covid-19 hospitalizations were among people who were either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, according to a study published by the CDC.\n\nBut a sampling of data collected by CNN suggests that figure has dropped to somewhere between 60% and 75% in recent days and months:\n\n• In Pennsylvania, about 75% of Covid-19 hospitalizations between September and early December 2021 were among people who were not fully vaccinated, according to data from the state health department.\n\n• In New York, about 61% of Covid-19 hospitalizations during the week ending January 2, 2022 were among people who were not fully vaccinated, according to data from the state health department.\n\n• Beaumont Health, the largest health care system in Michigan, reported on Thursday that 62% of Covid-19 patients in its eight hospitals were unvaccinated.\n\nIn some hospitals, up to 40% of patients with Covid-19 “are coming in not because they’re sick with Covid, but because they’re coming in with something else and have had Covid or the Omicron variant detected,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told Fox News on Sunday.\n\nBut Covid-19 cases in hospitals strain resources, regardless of whether a patient was hospitalized because of Covid-19, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said.\n\n“If they get (incidentally) diagnosed with Covid in the hospital, they still need to go into infection protocol – personal protective equipment, all of that still needs to be utilized. So it’s a huge drain on the system overall,” Gupta said Tuesday.\n\nWhile fully vaccinated people are accounting for a larger share of Covid-19 hospitalizations, multiple accounts suggest that those who are fully vaccinated and boosted account for a small share.\n\nIn the University of Maryland Medical System, less than 5% of hospitalized patients were fully vaccinated and boosted, President and CEO Dr. Mohan Suntha said Thursday. Beaumont Health reported Thursday that only 8% of Covid-19 patients were fully vaccinated and boosted.\n\nThe CDC did not respond to CNN’s multiple requests for data on the share of Covid-19 hospitalizations by vaccination status.\n\nThe agency publishes data on its website regarding the relative risk by vaccination status. Cumulatively, the risk of hospitalization has been eight times higher for unvaccinated people than for fully vaccinated people. But in the last week of November, CDC data showed that hospitalization rates were about 17 times higher for unvaccinated people than for fully vaccinated people.\n\nSchools and industries face Omicron issues\n\nThe debate over safety in schools from Covid-19 continues to play out as only about one in six children ages 5 to 11 is fully vaccinated, according to data from the CDC.\n\nAs Los Angeles prepared to return to school on Tuesday, approximately 62,000 students and staff had tested positive for Covid-19 and will have to stay home, data from the Los Angeles Unified School District showed Monday, equating to a 14.99% positivity rate. The positivity rate of Los Angeles County at large, by comparison, has spiked to 22%.\n\nIn Chicago, educators returned to school Tuesday and students are expected to resume in-person learning Wednesday following a nearly weeklong dispute. The Chicago Teachers Union had voted to teach remotely last week, and the school district responded by canceling classes for four days.\n\nThe agreement, announced late Monday, included metrics for when a classroom would need to go remote due to Covid-19 levels.\n\nIn areas where schools have returned to in-person learning after the holiday break, the time needed for those with Covid-19 to recover has impacted some essential services.\n\nOther sectors also are struggling due to high infection rates.\n\nSome municipalities have seen nearly a quarter of their trash collection workforce call in sick in recent weeks due to Covid-19, leading to delays, according to the Solid Waste Association of North America.\n\n“This coincided, unfortunately, with increased trash and recycling volumes associated with the holidays. However, we hope that as volumes decline and sanitation workers return to work, these delays will prove temporary,” executive director and CEO David Biderman said in a statement Monday.\n\nIn travel, US airlines canceled thousands of additional flights over the weekend due to Covid-19 callouts and winter storms, and cruise line Royal Caribbean International announced it has canceled voyages on four ships because of “ongoing Covid-related circumstances around the world.” Last week, Norwegian Cruise Line canceled the voyages of eight ships.\n\nPublic transit systems in major metropolitan areas such as New York City and Washington, DC, have had to scale back service with employees ill from Covid-19. In Detroit, 20-25% of SMART bus service is canceled or delayed, the agency said in a statement Saturday.", "authors": ["Travis Caldwell Jason Hanna Deidre Mcphillips Christina Maxouris", "Travis Caldwell", "Jason Hanna", "Deidre Mcphillips", "Christina Maxouris"], "publish_date": "2022/01/11"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/china/953540/what-is-rare-monkey-virus-vet-china-dead", "title": "What is the rare Monkey B virus that killed vet in China? | The Week ...", "text": "A man has died after contracting a rare infectious disease known as the Monkey B virus that is carried by primates, Chinese officials have revealed.\n\nThe victim, a 53-year-old veterinarian, is the first reported human case of the virus in China and worked at a Beijing research institute specialising in primate breeding, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC). Two of his close contacts, a male doctor and a female nurse, were isolated following his death but tested negative for the virus.\n\nWhat is Monkey B virus?\n\nThe virus “is prevalent among macaque monkeys, but extremely rare - and often deadly - when it spreads to humans”, The Washington Post reports. Also known as “herpes B virus”, it “tends to attack the central nervous system and cause inflammation to the brain, leading to a loss of consciousness”, the paper adds, and has around an “​​80% fatality rate” if untreated.\n\nIndia Today reports that the virus is “found in saliva, faeces, urine, brain or spinal cord tissue of macaques”, and can “survive for hours on surfaces, particularly when moist”.\n\n“While the risk of common people getting infected by the virus is low, it is high among laboratory workers, veterinarians, and others who may be exposed to monkeys or their specimens,” according to the news site.\n\nDespite that risk, however, the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) says that Monkey B infections in humans have been “rare” since the virus was first identified, in 1932. Only 50 cases have been recorded in humans, of whom 21 died.\n\nMost of the infected people were diagnosed with the virus after being “bitten or scratched by a monkey, or when tissue or fluids from a monkey got on their broken skin, such as by needle stick or cut”, says the public health agency. In one case, in 1997, “a researcher died from B virus infection after bodily fluid from an infected monkey splashed into her eye”.\n\nThe vet who died in China is believed to have been infected while dissecting two dead monkeys.\n\nThe symptoms\n\nThe CDC lists the earliest symptoms of the Monkey B virus as:\n\nfever and chills\n\nmuscle ache\n\nfatigue\n\nheadache\n\nPatients may later develop other symptoms including:\n\nShortness of breath\n\nNausea and vomiting\n\nAbdominal pain\n\nHiccups\n\nThe agency say that as the disease progresses, it can cause pain, numbness, itching near the wound site; problems with muscle coordination; brain damage and severe damage to the nervous system; and in the most serious cases, death.\n\nChinese case\n\nThe unnamed vet “experienced nausea and vomiting followed by fever with neurological symptoms” a month after dissecting the monkeys in March, the CCDC reports.\n\nFollowing his death, on 27 May, his blood and saliva samples were sent to the Beijing-based health centre, “where researchers found evidence” of the virus, says The Washington Post.\n\nLike coronavirus, the Monkey B virus is “the consequence of species jumps”, Nikolaus Osterrieder, dean of the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences in Hong Kong, told the paper.\n\n“But the important difference is that in the case from herpes B, it’s a dead end. It’s not jumping from one human to another human,” he continued. “SARS-CoV-2, on the other hand, acquired the ability to spread to a new host.”\n\nThe CCDC reports that the Chinese vet sought treatment “in several hospitals” prior to his death from the virus. But the state-owned Global Times says that his “close contacts are safe from it for now”.", "authors": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2021/07/19"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/10/europe/polio-vaccine-children-london-intl/index.html", "title": "Nearly 1 million children in London offered polio boosters after virus ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nChildren living in London will be offered an extra dose of the polio vaccine following the discovery of poliovirus in sewage in the British capital, health authorities announced Wednesday.\n\nThe UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said a targeted inactivated polio vaccine booster dose should be offered to all children between the ages of 1 and 9 in all London boroughs.\n\n“This will ensure a high level of protection from paralysis and help reduce further spread of the virus,” the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in a statement announcing the move.\n\nAround 1 million children of that age live in the London region, according to the most recent data from the UK Office for National Statistics.\n\nThe UKHSA said a total of 116 virus isolates were identified in 19 sewage samples collected in London between February and July.\n\nWhile most of the samples contained vaccine-like virus, some showed “sufficient mutations to be classified as vaccine derived poliovirus.” The UKHSA said this was more concerning as such virus behaves more similarly to “wild polio and may, on rare occasions, lead to cases of paralysis in unvaccinated individuals.”\n\nThe authorities stressed the vaccination drive is a precautionary measure.\n\n“No cases of polio have been reported and for the majority of the population, who are fully vaccinated, the risk is low. But we know the areas in London where the poliovirus is being transmitted have some of the lowest vaccination rates,” Dr. Vanessa Saliba, a consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA said.\n\nVaccines are key as there’s no cure for polio\n\nPolio is caused by an enterovirus called the poliovirus. It was one of the world’s most feared diseases until Dr. Jonas Salk invented the polio vaccine and tested its safety in 1954.\n\nBy 1988, reported cases of polio worldwide reached a peak of 350,000, according to the World Health Organization.\n\nAbout 1 in 4 infected people have flu-like symptoms including sore throat, fever, tiredness, nausea, headache and stomach pain. As many as 1 in 200 will develop more serious symptoms that include tingling and numbness in the legs, an infection of the brain or spinal cord and paralysis, according to the US Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nThere is no cure for polio. Treatment to address symptoms may include medication to relax muscles and heat and physical therapy to stimulate muscles. However, any paralysis caused by polio is permanent.\n\nThe last case of polio in the UK was in 1984, according to the UKHSA statement.\n\n“Decades ago before we introduced the polio vaccination programme around 8,000 people would develop paralysis every year,” Saliba added.\n\nThere are three strains of the virus, two of which have been eliminated in the world, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, a WHO program. One type of wild polio virus still circulates in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Transmission can also occur when not enough children are vaccinated in an area.\n\nLast month, a person from Rockland County, New York, was been diagnosed with polio, the first case identified in the United States in nearly a decade. The unvaccinated young adult began experiencing weakness and paralysis, county Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert said at the time.\n\nThis story has been updated with additional information.", "authors": ["Ivana Kottasová"], "publish_date": "2022/08/10"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/13/world/coronavirus-newsletter-intl-07-13-22/index.html", "title": "BA.5: The 'worst variant' is here | CNN", "text": "This is the weekly edition of CNN’s coronavirus newsletter. Look out for your roundup every Wednesday. If you haven’t subscribed yet, sign up here.\n\nCNN —\n\nIn the meantime, vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax have already been testing updated versions of their vaccines, including some bivalent vaccines that target Omicron variants.\n\nRepeated Covid-19 waves have left millions of people dead, with only vaccines helping to blunt the toll. Now the virus is spreading again — evolving, escaping immunity and driving an uptick in cases and hospitalizations. The latest version of its shape-shifting, BA.5, is a clear sign that the pandemic is far from over.\n\nThe newest offshoot of Omicron, along with a closely related variant, BA.4, are fueling a global surge in cases — 30% over the past fortnight, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).\n\nIn Europe, the Omicron subvariants are powering a spike in cases of about 25%, though Dr. Michael Ryan, the executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, has said that number may actually be higher, given the “almost collapse in testing.” BA.5 is on the march in China, ratcheting anxieties that major cities there may soon re-enforce strict lockdown measures that were only recently lifted. And the same variant has become the dominant strain in the United States, where it accounted for 65% of new infections last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Dr. Fauci explains why new BA.5 subvariant is concerning 04:58 - Source: CNN\n\n“We have been watching this virus evolve rapidly. We’ve been planning and preparing for this moment. And the message that I want to get across to the American people is this: BA.5 is something we’re closely monitoring, and most importantly, we know how to manage it,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s Covid-19 response coordinator, in a news briefing on Tuesday.\n\nOn the same day, WHO’s Emergency Committee said Covid-19 remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern — its highest level of alert, first declared on January 20, 2020 — amid rising cases, ongoing viral mutation and increasing pressure on already overstretched health systems. In a statement, the committee, which is made up of independent experts, highlighted challenges to the ongoing global Covid-19 response, including a drop-off in testing and spotty genome sequencing, raising the question of just how accurately any nation might reasonably be able to monitor BA.5.\n\nOfficial data dramatically undercount the true number of infections in the US, epidemiologists say, leaving the nation with a critical blind spot as the most transmissible coronavirus variant yet takes hold. Some experts think there could be as many as 1 million new infections every day in the broader US population — 10 times higher than the official count.\n\nAs for how to manage the new wave, Jha urged Americans aged 50 and older to get second booster shots. Adults who are up to date with vaccinations are less likely to be hospitalized than those who are unvaccinated. But only about one in four adults in the US over 50 have gotten their recommended second boosters, data collected by the CDC show.\n\nUS health officials are urgently working on a plan to allow second Covid-19 boosters for all adults, a senior White House official confirmed to CNN on Monday, amid fears that younger adults’ immunity may be waning as Covid-19 cases rise with the dominance of BA.5.\n\nWhat makes BA.5 different? Eric Topol, a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, has called BA.5 “the worst version of the virus we’ve seen.” He explained in a recent newsletter: “It takes immune escape, already extensive, to the next level, and, as a function of that, enhanced transmissibility,” well beyond earlier versions of Omicron.\n\nIn other words, BA.5 can easily evade immunity from previous infections and vaccines, increasing the risk of reinfection. Though the variant does not appear to lead to more severe illness, in an interview with CNN on Monday, Topol said that given the extent of BA.5’s immune evasion, he expects to see an escalation in hospitalizations, as we’ve seen in Europe and elsewhere that the variant has taken root. “One good thing is it doesn’t appear to be accompanied by the ICU admissions and the deaths as previous variants, but this is definitely concerning,” he added.\n\nPublic health experts in the US may take some solace from the trajectory of the variant in Europe. WHO’s Ryan said last week that while many European countries are experiencing a jump in hospitalizations, “what we’re not seeing is an increase in intensive care unit admissions, so the vaccines are very much still working and it is those gaps in immunity that are causing the problem.”\n\nBut still, steep reductions in Covid-19 surveillance worldwide are hindering epidemiologists’ efforts as they race to trace the virus’ evolution.\n\n“Sub-variants of Omicron, like BA.4 and BA.5, continue to drive waves of cases, hospitalization and death around the world,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a media briefing on Tuesday. “Surveillance has reduced significantly – including testing and sequencing – making it increasingly difficult to assess the impact of variants on transmission, disease characteristics, and the effectiveness of counter-measures.”\n\n“New waves of the virus demonstrate again that the Covid-19 [pandemic] is nowhere near over,” he added.\n\nYOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.\n\nQ: Will we ever know how the pandemic began?\n\nA: A team of international scientists tasked with understanding the origins of the coronavirus pandemic released its first report on Thursday, saying that all hypotheses remain on the table, including a possible laboratory incident.\n\n“I don’t think that most people should have to change their daily activities, but I do think people need to be aware of their risk of contracting Covid-19 if they don’t take additional precautions,” Wen said. The question to ask yourself, she added, is this: How much do I want to continue to avoid infection?\n\nFor individuals who want to reduce their risk, Wen advises that they stay up to date with their boosters (in the US, everyone age 5 and older can receive a first booster, and those 50 and older can receive a second booster for a total of four shots). She also recommends wearing a high-quality N95 mask or equivalent in indoor, crowded settings, and staying outside for large gatherings as much as possible — something easier to do in the summertime.\n\n“For those who find masks uncomfortable, I’d encourage mask-wearing in the highest-risk settings — for example, mask while in a crowded security line at the airport and during boarding and deplaning,” she said.\n\nSend your questions here. Are you a health care worker fighting Covid-19? Message us on WhatsApp about the challenges you’re facing: +1 347-322-0415.\n\nREADS OF THE WEEK\n\nEarlier this year, an 11-year-old snow leopard at Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Illinois died after contracting the virus. The leopard, Rilu, also developed pneumonia before death, zoo officials said.\n\nBeijing last week announced a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for residents wanting to enter public venues, becoming the first city in mainland China to do so as it attempts to contain the spread of BA.5, Nectar Gan writes. Those who are “not suitable” for vaccination will be exempt from the requirement, a city official said, without clarifying how they can provide the proof needed for exemption.\n\nThe vaccine mandate comes as Beijing reported three cases of the highly contagious Omicron subvariant. Several Chinese cities have imposed new curbs after detecting BA.5. Shanghai, which only recently emerged from a two-month lockdown, identified its first case on Friday and will perform two rounds of Covid tests this week. An outbreak of BA.5 has already shut down the northwestern city of Xi’an, home to 13 million people, where entertainment, sports and religious venues have been closed, and restaurants limited to takeaway and delivery services.\n\nCasinos in the gambling hub of Macao were ordered to shut for the first time since February 2020 because of a Covid outbreak, sending shares of their operating companies plunging, and fears of new lockdowns in Shanghai undermined the broader China market. Chinese stocks remained under pressure after Monday’s sell-off fueled by the threat of new Covid restrictions, especially the tech sector, Laura He reports.\n\nPeople stand in line at a coronavirus testing site in Beijing on July 4. Andy Wong/AP\n\nDrug-resistant infections and deaths have risen among hospital patients\n\nThe US had made significant progress in fighting drug-resistant infections in recent years. But those gains were largely erased during the Covid-19 pandemic, with hospital-acquired infections and resulting deaths rising 15% in 2020, according to new data, Deidre McPhillips reports.\n\nA special report released Tuesday by the CDC found that more than 29,400 people died from antimicrobial-resistant infections in the first year of the pandemic — nearly 40% of those deaths were among people who got the infection while in the hospital. The full number is probably even higher, given that data for half of the 18 pathogens identified as threats are unavailable or delayed.\n\nWHO has called antimicrobial resistance a “silent pandemic,” and drug-resistant infections were linked to nearly 5 million deaths globally in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic probably contributed to the increased risk in the US, particularly because many people delayed care or left infections untreated — either because of closed clinics or fear of exposing themselves to Covid-19 — which can increase the risk of developing drug resistance.\n\nPulse oximeters don’t work as well for people of color\n\nOften when Dr. Thomas Valley sees a new patient in the intensive care unit at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, he clamps a pulse oximeter on their finger — one of the many devices he uses to gauge their health and what course of care they require, whether they are a child having seizures, a teenage car accident victim or an older person with Covid-19.\n\nBut recently, Valley, an assistant professor in the University of Michigan’s Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, realized that the small device may yield less accurate oxygen readings in patients with dark skin. If the device isn’t calibrated correctly, the darker pigmentation can affect how the light is absorbed by the sensor, leading to flawed oxygen readings and patients being discharged when they shouldn’t.\n\nThe findings of Valley and his colleagues add to a growing body of research – dating back to the 1980s – that suggests flawed pulse oximeter readings among Black and brown patients can be a real and life-threatening issue in medical care. But the public has only recently been made more aware of this health disparity, and US health officials have announced plans to investigate the accuracy of pulse oximeters, Jacqueline Howard reports.\n\nTOP TIP\n\nThe man began taking more than 20 over-the-counter supplements every day, including 50,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D three times a day, after a visit with a private nutritionist. That’s a dose “375 times the recommended amount” in the UK, said the report’s coauthor and endocrinologist at William Harvey Hospital, Dr. Alamin Alkundi. Within a month, the man began suffering from nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and repeated bouts of vomiting, along with cramping in the legs and ringing in the ears.\n\nEdith Bracho-Sanchez, director of pediatric telemedicine and assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, didn’t think she’d be an anxious mom. But that changed when she had her son. “I stress over every decision I make for William. I make long pro and con lists, I discuss everything with my partner, sleep on things and ultimately, I pray,” she wrote in a recent column for CNN.\n\nKnowing how difficult it is to make decisions — big and small — she said she understood why some parents might struggle with the choice to vaccinate their children against Covid-19. This is why she says she did it, and her advice to anxious new moms like her:\n\nFirst, Covid-19 is an unpredictable illness. While most children have minor symptoms and recover well, many have landed in hospitals and emergency rooms, and to date, more than 400 children under the age of 5 have died from the illness in the US alone, according to the CDC. We also don’t yet fully understand the long-term effects of the disease.\n\nSecond, I know the vaccine is in the body for a short period of time and with a specific mission. It instructs the body to make protective antibodies against Covid-19, and the body’s own cellular mechanisms quickly break it down soon after. Because of this, there really is no plausible way it will interfere with my little William’s development, something about which I am constantly thinking.\n\nLISTEN TO OUR PODCAST\n\nIs it possible we’ve been going about conversation the wrong way our entire lives? Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks to conversation expert and journalist Celeste Headlee about the power of listening and then heads to the hospital where some of the most difficult conversations happen every day. Listen here.", "authors": ["Eliza Mackintosh"], "publish_date": "2022/07/13"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/22/health/vaccine-timeline-under-5-wellness/index.html", "title": "When will the US have a Covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nIt’s been more than a year since adults first got Covid-19 vaccines, but about 18 million children under 5 in the US are still waiting – and will probably have to wait until the summer, despite some predictions that shots would be available in the first part of 2022.\n\n\n\nWhile Moderna has shared some data on two doses of Covid-19 vaccine for younger children, Pfizer and BioNTech’s data on three doses for younger children is not yet available.\n\nThe US Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to consider emergency use authorization for both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for young children at the same time, rather than considering them separately, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Biden, said Thursday.\n\n“Two products that are similar but not identical, particularly with regard to the dose, and what the FDA wants to do is to get it so that we don’t confuse people to say ‘this is the dose. This is the dose regimen for children within that age group of 6 months to 5 years,’ ” Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s Kasie Hunt.\n\nThe Pfizer vaccine was made to protect against the original strain of the coronavirus, and the initial series of two 3-milligram doses tested in kids under 5 wasn’t powerful enough to keep them safe from the more infectious Omicron variant.\n\n“It didn’t meet the criteria for efficacy,” Fauci said. “There was never a safety issue, but it didn’t meet the criteria, which then had them go back and do a study with a third dose as a part of the primary regimen.”\n\nPfizer CEO Albert Bourla said the goal is to have its Covid-19 vaccine available for kids 4 and younger by summer.\n\n“I hope, we will aim to make it in June,” Bourla said on the “In the Bubble with Andy Slavitt” podcast, posted Monday. He said the FDA has been extremely collaborative and flexible during this testing and authorization process.\n\nIn a statement, the FDA said it couldn’t comment on any particular company’s Covid-19 vaccine EUA request but noted “that at this time, we do not have a complete EUA request in house to consider for children under 5 years of age.”\n\n“We continue to engage with companies to discuss their data, but we cannot adjudicate a decision on any vaccine without a complete EUA request, in order to allow us to do our thorough review. Any timeline on these actions is driven by when the data are provided to FDA and fully support a regulatory action,” FDA spokesperson Abby Capobianco said.\n\nPfizer studying third doses\n\nWhen Pfizer and BioNTech were testing their vaccine for younger children with two doses, the FDA asked the companies to submit a request for emergency use authorization of that regimen; they said would continue to test a third dose as the two-dose regimen moved through the regulatory process.\n\nIn mid-February, the plan changed again. Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the agency needed to see data on the third vaccine dose in these younger children in order to move forward with emergency use authorization.\n\nScientists working on clinical trials for the youngest children have the benefit of observing what happens with other age groups. After seeing breakthrough infections in 2021, especially with the rise of the highly contagious Omicron variant, researchers learned quickly that adults and adolescents needed additional doses of Covid-19 vaccine.\n\n“When we started comparing not only against Delta, that was the previous one, but against Omicron, we realized the same thing as we realized in adults,” Bourla said. “In adults, two doses, they provide very little protection against Delta. The third dose makes very strong. So we realized that this is the case also for pediatric, so we extended the trials to go to the third dose.\n\n“We will provide you pretty soon data on the third dose, which we think will provide dramatically higher results,” Bourla told Slavitt.\n\n‘Safety is of paramount importance’\n\nModerna has said its vaccine for younger children had a favorable safety profile, and for the Pfizer vaccine, Bourla said “so far, that the safety looks very, very good.”\n\n“My expectation is that we will have zero issues with safety. We’re waiting to see the efficacy, and my expectation is that it will be very good,” Bourla said.\n\n“Safety is of paramount importance,” Bourla said, which is why the company went with a lower dose of vaccine for young children than what’s used in adults.\n\nThe biggest questions that remain for the Pfizer vaccines are exactly how protective the vaccines are, what the right vaccine schedule and dose is. The trials should answer these questions.\n\nIf the vaccine is authorized, little kids could get it on a different schedule than adults and adolescents. Rather than waiting four or five months before a third dose like older ages, the youngest age group could get a third shot as quickly as two months after the second.\n\nChildren are less likely than adults to be hospitalized or to die from Covid-19, but at least 463 children 4 and younger have died from the disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\n“We need [the vaccines],” said Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center and professor of pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and a member of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. “This virus is going to be with us until I’m dead. I can promise you that.\n\n“We still vaccinate children against polio in this country, and we haven’t had polio in this country for almost 50 years. Why? Because it still exists in this world. This virus is going to exist in the world and continue to do harm.”\n\nOffit said the world is going to need a population that’s highly immune to the coronavirus for a “very long time.”\n\n“Every year, 3½ to 4 million children are born in this country who are unprotected. They are going to need to be protected for some time,” he said. “And the sooner the better, the sooner you can do it safely.”\n\nModerna moves ahead with two doses\n\nModerna has also been working on a vaccine for younger children. Dr. Paul Burton, the company’s chief medical officer, said at the end of March that a vaccine for this age group is a “huge priority.” The company plans to submit its application to the FDA and other regulators around the world “just as soon as we can.”\n\nModerna said its Covid-19 vaccine performs as well in children as it does in adults.\n\nTwo 25-microgram doses provided a similar immune response for children 6 months through 5 years as two 100-microgram doses for adults 18 to 25, the company said, indicating that the benefit conferred to young adults is also conferred to young children.\n\nThe data showed it was safe and had “a robust neutralizing antibody response.” The two doses are given to children 28 days apart.\n\nModerna said it was preparing to evaluate the potential of a booster shot for all children 6 months and older that would target the original strain of the virus as well as the Omicron variant.\n\nBurton told Yahoo Finance last month that he wanted to be “realistic for the parents waiting.”\n\n“We’re still talking a couple of months to the availability of the vaccine. This is not a couple of weeks,” he said.\n\nSteps parents can take now\n\nWhile parents are waiting to vaccinate their little ones, there is something they can do to protect the children.\n\nAll adults who interact with the children should be vaccinated, the experts say, and ideally boosted. Adults are also advised to use masks around unvaccinated children, even as many mandates have fallen away.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nDr. Doran Fink, who oversees the FDA’s clinical and toxicological review of investigational and US-licensed vaccines, told the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday that he understood parents’ concerns. He also promised that the FDA would work “diligently” to verify any data submitted.\n\n“We know that many parents and caregivers and health care providers are anxious to have Covid vaccines available for this age group,” Fink said. “I do want to reassure the committee and the public that we understand this concern, and we want to have available safe and effective vaccines for all age groups who will benefit from them.”", "authors": ["Jen Christensen"], "publish_date": "2022/04/22"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_24", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/asia-pacific/959110/japans-million-yen-idea-to-tackle-demographic-decline", "title": "Japan's million-yen idea to tackle demographic decline | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/04"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959153/quiz-of-the-week-31-december-6-january", "title": "Quiz of The Week: 31 December – 6 January | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/07/11/the-50-most-densely-populated-cities-in-the-world/39664259/", "title": "The most densely populated cities the world: Mumbai, India tops list", "text": "Elzy Kolb\n\n24/7 Wall Street\n\nAmericans living in big cities like New York or Los Angeles are familiar with the stress of overcrowded streets and sidewalks and the lack of parking. It’s nearly impossible to find a spot to spread your beach blanket at Coney Island in the summer, and the long wait to cross the George Washington bridge connecting Manhattan with the borough of Fort Lee in New Jersey should be a crime.\n\nBut take a look at the crowds from another perspective: In the United States, we don’t actually know anything about real overcrowding – not a single American city ranks among the top 50 most densely populated urban areas in the world. At the other end of the spectrum, these are the least densely populated places in the world.\n\nA variety of factors help explain the high density of these cities, where it seems impossible to walk without bumping into pedestrians every second: more births than deaths, people moving to cities for jobs or forced off rural land by natural disasters, skyrocketing land prices, to name a few.\n\nPopulation density is determined by the number of residents who live within a given land area – usually a mile or kilometer. According to the United Nations, as of 2016, about 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. This is expected to grow to 60% by 2030, with one in three people living in cosmopolises with at least 500,000 residents – maybe in some of the world’s 33 megacities.\n\nIn time for the World Population Day, marked every year on July 11 to raise awareness about urgent population issues, 24/7 Tempo identified the most densely populated cities in the world, using data from CityMayors Statistics, a global source for urban statistics.\n\nAmerican health:Average life expectancy in the US has been declining for 3 consecutive years\n\n50. Tokyo/Yokohama, Japan\n\n• Population density: 12,296 per square mile\n\n• Population: 33,200,000\n\n• Square miles: 2,700 miles\n\nTokyo is the capital of Japan, and people flock to the city since it is the country's political and business center. In addition to the many workers who call the region home, there is a thriving student population, thanks to more than a dozen internationally ranked universities. Young people move to Tokyo to further their education, and stay for the available internships and jobs. Despite the crowds, the quality of life earns high marks for safety, public transportation, leisure activities and culture.\n\n49. Porto Alegre, Brazil\n\n• Population density: 12,439 per square mile\n\n• Population: 2,800,000\n\n• Square miles: 225 miles\n\nPorto Alegre, the capital of the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, is one of four Brazilian cities among the 50 most densely populated metro areas. It is one of the nation's top regions for commerce and industry, as well as education and finance. As the name suggests, it has a busy port, plus jobs in tech, agriculture, manufacturing and more.\n\n48. Barcelona, Spain\n\n• Population density: 12,579 per square mile\n\n• Population: 3,900,000\n\n• Square miles: 310 miles\n\nBarcelona isn't too far behind Madrid when it comes to Spanish cities with the greatest population density. The capital of Catalonia is a beloved destination for tourists, with an estimated 30 million-plus visitors taking to Barcelona's beaches, streets and cultural sites in 2017. Though the out-of-towners pump billions of euros into the local economy, some residents, including elected officials, are declaring a strong preference for refugees over tourists, noting that migrants become part of the community, while short-term visitors destabilize it.\n\n47. Moscow, Russia\n\n• Population density: 12,649 per square mile\n\n• Population: 10,500,000\n\n• Square miles: 830 miles\n\nThe largest country on Earth by area, Russia's overall population density is a mere 23 people per square mile when you take all of that vast space into consideration. But the headcount density is radically different in the crush of the capital city, where more than 12,000 people share each square mile. Moscow is the northern-most megacity on the planet, and also the coldest. It has one of Europe's largest economies, and low living costs compared to other major cities.\n\n46. Buenos Aires, Argentina\n\n• Population density: 12,801 per square mile\n\n• Population: 11,200,000\n\n• Square miles: 875 miles\n\nArgentina's capital city is among the world's busiest ports; its varied economy includes government, commerce, industry, technology and culture. Agriculture, including grain exports, is among the leading businesses, with the Buenos Aires province being one of the top 10 wheat producers on Earth; the world's largest livestock market is located in the capital city.\n\n45. Sapporo, Japan\n\n• Population density: 12,981 per square mile\n\n• Population: 2,075,000\n\n• Square miles: 160 miles\n\nEven though there's not much elbow room around Sapporo, the megapolis shows high potential for renewable energy development. One of three Japanese areas among the 50 most densely populated places on Earth, Sapporo is the capital of the Hokkaido prefecture. It has a thriving international port, well-regarded universities and research institutes, IT industry, and a cool factor due to its recognition as the first Asian city chosen as a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of media and arts.\n\n44. Tel Aviv, Israel\n\n• Population density: 13,150 per square mile\n\n• Population: 2,300,000\n\n• Square miles: 175 miles\n\nThe second largest city in Israel, Tel Aviv is the country's top destination for new immigrants from the United States, Africa, Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere. While some gravitate to the city for religious reasons or for asylum, others are attracted by the booming economy and business opportunities. Tel Aviv leads the world in the number of per capita startups, and has the highest gross domestic product investment in research and development.\n\n43. London, UK\n\n• Population density: 13,210 per square mile\n\n• Population: 8,278,000\n\n• Square miles: 627 miles\n\nMore than 300 languages are spoken by students in London, the capital city of England, where foreign-born migrants make up a sizable chunk of the population. However, the U.K. also has a high rate of internal migration, with London a revolving door of people arriving to take advantage of business opportunities, jobs, high salaries and the seductive lure of the big city. Others leave the metropolis to raise families or in search of a lower cost of living.\n\n42. Madrid, Spain\n\n• Population density: 13,430 per square mile\n\n• Population: 4,900,000\n\n• Square miles: 365 miles\n\nThe largest city in Spain as well as its capital, Madrid is among the most densely populated metropolitan areas in Europe. Besides being known for its sports teams, cultural institutions, history and architecture, the city is among Europe's biggest financial centers, a hub of international business and commerce, as well as Spain's main manufacturing center. Most of the nation's wealthiest neighborhoods are located in the capital city.\n\n41. Ankara, Turkey\n\n• Population density: 13,772 per square mile\n\n• Population: 3,100,000\n\n• Square miles: 225 miles\n\nMore than half of Turkey's borders are coastal, but the landlocked Ankara is its capital. It ranks second to Istanbul in size and industrial importance. Government is the biggest business, followed by manufacturing of everything from food products to construction materials and tractors. Ankara recently opened the largest hospital in Europe, with more than 3,600 beds, 12,000 employees, and eight divisions specializing in various types of medicine.\n\nAiming for new audience:Facebook is trying to woo YouTube stars with new ways to make money\n\n40. Athens, Greece\n\n• Population density: 13,953 per square mile\n\n• Population: 3,685,000\n\n• Square miles: 264 miles\n\nWith a written history going back more than three millennia, Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world. The Greek capital continues to be the heart of the country's political, cultural, financial and economic life. The ancient city was recently rated highly on a list of cheap European vacations, cited for its antiquities, museums and charming neighborhoods for dining and shopping.\n\n39. Guadalajara, Mexico\n\n• Population density: 15,210 per square mile\n\n• Population: 3,500,000\n\n• Square miles: 230 miles\n\nOne of three Mexican cities among the top 50 most densely populated areas in the world, Guadalajara is the capital and the largest urban area in the state of Jalisco. It has gained a reputation as the Silicon Valley of Mexico, with a sizable talent pool of coders, engineers and programmers, along with startups and venture capital. Besides that, Guadalajara is known for its tequila and mariachi bands.\n\n38. Osaka/Kobe/Kyoto, Japan\n\n• Population density: 16,592 per square mile\n\n• Population: 16,425,000\n\n• Square miles: 990 miles\n\nOsaka, Kobe and Kyoto comprise the most densely populated region in Japan; each is the capital of its prefecture, and the combined area is known as the Kansai region. The major industries include manufacturing, distribution, finance and high tech. Attractions such as temples, castles, shopping, and dining abound in the region.\n\n37. Bangkok, Thailand\n\n• Population density: 16,668 per square mile\n\n• Population: 6,500,000\n\n• Square miles: 390 miles\n\nThailand's capital as well as its most densely populated city, Bangkok is the country's center of government, finance and industry. While the majority of the residents are of Thai ethnicity, the city has a variety of districts with Chinese, Indian, Japanese and Arab populations. While numerous sites give Bangkok high marks for quality of life, citing affordable cost of living, vibrant culture, good education and job opportunities. On the down side, its air pollution is among the worst on Earth.\n\n36. Monterrey, Mexico\n\n• Population density: 17,303 per square mile\n\n• Population: 3,200,000\n\n• Square miles: 185 miles\n\nMonterrey is the capital of the Mexican state of Nuevo León, which has the nation's strongest economy. Construction and manufacturing surged in the state in 2018, and foreign direct investment (FDI) increased 127% over the previous year. The local unemployment rate hovers around 3.5%. But Monterrey isn't all work and no play – the city currently features a lively nightlife, plus outdoor activities and cultural institutions, and the World Cup is on the schedule for 2024.\n\n35. Khartoum, Sudan\n\n• Population density: 17,770 per square mile\n\n• Population: 4,000,000\n\n• Square miles: 225 miles\n\nKhartoum is the capital of Sudan. Political unrest is rampant in this northeastern African nation. Last spring, the military ousted autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir, and since then, Khartoum has been the site of often-violent demonstrations, with at least 11 people killed during June 30 protests this summer. American travelers are urged to stay away from the area because of terrorism and civil unrest.\n\n34. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil\n\n• Population density: 17,704 per square mile\n\n• Population: 10,800,000\n\n• Square miles: 610 miles\n\nThough capital cities are often a country's most densely populated area, that's not the case in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro regularly attracts attention for special events such as the recent Copa America tournament and the annual carnival celebration, believed to be the biggest in the world. Though tourism plays an important role in the city's economy, oil, agriculture, banking, fishing and finance are all major industries as well.\n\n33. Dalian, China\n\n• Population density: 18,310 per square mile\n\n• Population: 2,750,000\n\n• Square miles: 150 miles\n\nAll eyes were on Dalian at the start of July, as the northeastern China city hosted the 2019 World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions, or Summer Davos Forum. This is the seventh time the forum has been held in Dalian since 2007. The forum, which typically draws about 2,000 participants from around the world, has elevated the city's profile internationally, and spurred infrastructure development, including new roads and building reconstruction. Dalian aims to increase its importance as an international trading center.\n\n32. Istanbul, Turkey\n\n• Population density: 19,991 per square mile\n\n• Population: 9,000,000\n\n• Square miles: 450 miles\n\nNot only is Istanbul the most densely populated city in Turkey, it is also the largest transcontinental city in the world, with its well-packed footprint landing in both Europe and Asia. The city, which is known for having some of the worst traffic in the world, is looking to the sky: It's currently building the world's largest airport. In recent years, Istanbul has become a destination for hundreds of thousands of Syrians, with Turkey ranking as the country taking in the most refugees worldwide.\n\n31. Recife, Brazil\n\n• Population density: 20,837 per square mile\n\n• Population: 3,025,000\n\n• Square miles: 145 miles\n\nWith two ports, a thriving IT industry, agriculture and manufacturing, Recife is the major business and economic powerhouse of northeastern Brazil. The capital of the state of Pernambuco, the city is the second largest medical center in the country. With hundreds of hospitals and clinics, thousands of beds, and the latest medical technology, it serves patients across a large area. Unfortunately, Recife also has a high crime rate, including homicides, earning it a place on the list of most dangerous cities in the world as well.\n\nHeavyweight fight:Amazon, Microsoft wage war over $10 billion opportunity with the Pentagon\n\n30. Lahore, Pakistan\n\n• Population density: 21,236 per square mile\n\n• Population: 5,100,000\n\n• Square miles: 240 miles\n\nThe capital of the Punjab province, the second largest province by area, Lahore is Pakistan's second most populous city, with less than half the population density of the nation's capital city, Karachi. Punjabi, Urdu and English are the most commonly spoken languages in Lahore. The metropolis is the nation's engineering hub, producing cars, heavy machinery, steel, chemicals and more. Industry, traffic, crop burning and solid waste disposal all contribute to making this regional capital one of the world's most polluted cities.\n\n29. Singapore\n\n• Population density: 21,628 per square mile\n\n• Population: 4,000,000\n\n• Square miles: 185 miles\n\nOften referred to as an economic tiger, Singapore, an island city-state, boasts a high gross domestic product per capita, low unemployment, and thriving electronics and pharmaceutical industries. The city often has superlatives linked with its name: It's among the most expensive city in the world (it's a three-way tie with Paris and Hong Kong), the world's most competitive economy, and – perhaps surprisingly, in such a high-rise environment – the city with the most trees, to name just a few of its attributes.\n\n28. Santiago, Chile\n\n• Population density: 21,683 per square mile\n\n• Population: 5,425,000\n\n• Square miles: 250 miles\n\nOn a clear day, you have a good view of the Andes Mountains from Santiago, Chile's capital city. The fourth most densely populated city in South America is also home to the continent's tallest building, the Gran Torre Santiago, standing almost 1,000 feet high. The city has the country's greatest concentration of industry, which includes clothing, shoe and textile manufacturing; banking and a stock exchange; and mining and metallurgy.\n\n27. Mexico City, Mexico\n\n• Population density: 21,750 per square mile\n\n• Population: 17,400,000\n\n• Square miles: 800 miles\n\nMexico City, situated more 7,300 feet above sea level, is North America's highest capital city, as well as its most densely populated metropolitan area. It is also the world's largest Spanish-speaking city, and one of the largest financial centers on the continent. Mexico City has a large immigrant and expatriate population from the around the globe, including the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and elsewhere. Warm weather, good food and a lower cost of living are among the attractions.\n\n26. St Petersburg, Russia\n\n• Population density: 22,069 per square mile\n\n• Population: 5,300,000\n\n• Square miles: 240 miles\n\nLocated just below the Arctic Circle in the far northwest, St. Petersburg served as the capital of the Russian Empire for more than two centuries, until Moscow took over the honors in 1918. St. Petersburg remains a huge and important city 100 years post the Bolshevik revolution, and its historical district was named a UNESCO world heritage site in 1990. In addition to its major Baltic Sea port, the city is known as a Russian cultural center teeming with theaters, concert halls, palaces and museums, and architectural wonders. The Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines is a unique venue, featuring vending machines and games that were the Soviet equivalent of Pac-Man, with an ideological component.\n\n25. São Paulo, Brazil\n\n• Population density: 23,294 per square mile\n\n• Population: 17,700,000\n\n• Square miles: 760 miles\n\nSão Paulo is Brazil's most densely populated area, one of the most crowded metro areas in the Southern Hemisphere, and the world's largest Portuguese-speaking city. The capital of the state of the same name, São Paulo is the financial capital of Brazil. It is also a major export center, dealing in products such as soybean, coffee, raw sugar and corn.\n\n24. Hyderabad, India\n\n• Population density: 23,545 per square mile\n\n• Population: 5,300,000\n\n• Square miles: 225 miles\n\nIn a 2018 report, Hyderabad was credited with having the highest gross domestic product growth among 20 cities in emerging Asia-Pacific nations. The city, which is the capital of the state of Telangana, was rated second among nine Indian cities for employment growth rate over two years. For the fourth straight year, Hyderabad was named India's top city for standard of living.\n\n23. Shenyang, China\n\n• Population density: 24,013 per square mile\n\n• Population: 4,200,000\n\n• Square miles: 175 miles\n\nThis northeastern Chinese industrial city is located a little more than 300 miles from the North Korea border. The capital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang's main products include cars and auto parts, construction materials, chemicals, steel and agricultural products. Unlike Northeast China's other provincial capital cities, Shenyang's population has grown in recent years, with the increase attributed to job seekers, increased college enrollment and more families having second children.\n\n22. Baghdad, Iraq\n\n• Population density: 23,901 per square mile\n\n• Population: 5,500,000\n\n• Square miles: 230 miles\n\nFollowing the defeat of the Islamic State last year, Baghdad residents reported that life was starting to feel somewhat safe and normal. People who had fled during more than a decade of war and upheaval began returning to their hometown, the capital of Iraq. The economy in Iraq had been picking up in recent months.\n\n21. Cairo, Egypt\n\n• Population density: 24,400 per square mile\n\n• Population: 12,200,000\n\n• Square miles: 500 miles\n\nCairo is among the most densely populated cities in Africa, with its ongoing growth attributed to the disparity between the annual birth rate (30 births per 1,000 people) and death rate (7 deaths per 1,000 people). Egypt's capital city has such a perennial housing shortage that for decades residents have occupied every viable bit of space, including among the above-ground tombs in the el-Arafa necropolis, also known as the City of the Dead.\n\nA car for Nazis and hippies alike:Say goodbye to the Volkswagen Beetle\n\n20. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam\n\n• Population density: 24,500 per square mile\n\n• Population: 4,900,000\n\n• Square miles: 200 miles\n\nHo Chi Minh City's population is more than double the population of Hanoi, Vietnam's capital and the next largest city. Migrants are attracted to the city for job opportunities in manufacturing, business and tourism, and by the per capita gross domestic product, which is twice as high as the national average in 2016. The country is investing in infrastructure improvements, such as Ho Chi Minh's metro rapid transit network, to help Vietnam preserve its status as one of the world's fastest growing tourist destinations.\n\n19. Bangalore, India\n\n• Population density: 26,191 per square mile\n\n• Population: 5,400,000\n\n• Square miles: 206 miles\n\nBangalore is one of the world's least expensive cities. Nevertheless, it's standard of living was rated among the best in India in a recent report, which may explain why much of the population growth in Bangalore is due to migration from other Indian states. The capital of the state of Karnataka, Bangalore is home to many tech companies, earning it the nickname of the Silicon Valley of India.\n\n18. Tianjin, China\n\n• Population density: 27,158 per square mile\n\n• Population: 4,750,000\n\n• Square miles: 175 miles\n\nChina's largest coastal city, Tianjin has the biggest port in the northern part of the country. Besides being a major transport and shipping hub, the city is also a manufacturing center, producing cars, textiles, metalwork and chemicals. Tianjin is China's fourth most densely populated city, with growth expected to continue over the next decade.\n\n17. Jakarta, Indonesia\n\n• Population density: 27,138 per square mile\n\n• Population: 14,250,000\n\n• Square miles: 525 miles\n\nEmployment opportunities and a high standard of living are among the factors causing people from across Indonesia to migrate to the capital city of Jakarta. About half of the population is thought to have actually been born in the city. The growth, which is predicted to continue, has brought problems, including the worst air pollution in Southeast Asia. Auto emissions and coal-fired power plants are among the main sources of the hazardous air quality.\n\n16. Tehran, Iran\n\n• Population density: 27,372 per square mile\n\n• Population: 7,250,000\n\n• Square miles: 265 miles\n\nMigrants are behind the population growth in Tehran. Most of the newcomers to the capital of Iran come from other cities within the country. However, reverse migration could be on the upswing, with residents becoming concerned about environmental problems and fewer economic opportunities. Though Tehran is an old and interesting city, Iran ranks high on the list of countries the U.S. government doesn't want you to visit, citing a high risk of kidnapping, arrest and detention.\n\n15. Manila, Philippines\n\n• Population density: 27,307 per square mile\n\n• Population: 14,750,000\n\n• Square miles: 540 miles\n\nBased on employment growth and gross domestic production per capita growth between 2014 and 2016, Manila has a solid place on the list of top-performing metro areas, according to a study published in 2018. The densely populated city had employment growth of 5.7%, and GDP per capita of 5.5%, landing it among the 10 top performers on Earth. While the solid financial outlook may contribute to growth, Manila could become a destination for dedicated shoppers: The Philippine capital is the site of the biggest Ikea store in the world, which is set to open in 2020.\n\n14. Kinshasa, DRC\n\n• Population density: 27,612 per square mile\n\n• Population: 5,000,000\n\n• Square miles: 181 miles\n\nMigration from rural areas, high fertility rates, and widening of the city's boundaries have contributed to the burgeoning population in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With a life expectancy of just over 50 years, millions of people facing food insecurity, and 85% of the population believing their government is corrupt, the DRC is considered one of the world's most miserable places to life.\n\n13. New Delhi, India\n\n• Population density: 28,600 per square mile\n\n• Population: 14,300,000\n\n• Square miles: 500 miles\n\nThere's always a trade-off: New Delhi is one of the least expensive cities in the world, but it also has some of the worst air quality. Improved infrastructure, education and standard of living have attracted people from all over the country to India's capital. Technology, banking, transportation and government are the biggest employers in this densely populated metro area.\n\n12. Beijing, China\n\n• Population density: 29,827 per square mile\n\n• Population: 8,614,000\n\n• Square miles: 289 miles\n\nPopulation growth in the Beijing megalopolis comes from a variety of sources, including migrants moving to the nation's capital in search of opportunity, and the easing of restrictions limiting families to only one child. One of the oldest capital cities in the world, Beijing's urban problems include air pollution, dealing with domestic waste, and traffic congestion.\n\n11. Lima, Peru\n\n• Population density: 30,419 per square mile\n\n• Population: 7,000,000\n\n• Square miles: 230 miles\n\nThe densely populated Lima is the financial and industrial hub and capital city of Peru. Fishing and mining (gold, copper, zinc and lead) are among the region's main businesses. Manufacturing and tourism are other revenue generators. Lima will be in the spotlight this summer as it hosts the 2019 Pan American Games.\n\nLooking for a home? The housing market is about to shift in a bad way for buyers\n\n10. Shanghai, China\n\n• Population density: 34,718 per square mile\n\n• Population: 10,000,000\n\n• Square miles: 288 miles\n\nFor more than two decades, Shanghai has been among the fastest growing urban areas in the world. Migration is behind much of the population expansion, with people from other regions of China flocking to the area. Shanghai is the world's busiest container port; major industries include financial services, tech, wholesale and retail, real estate, transportation, construction, and manufacturing.\n\n9. Bogota, Colombia\n\n• Population density: 35,000 per square mile\n\n• Population: 7,000,000\n\n• Square miles: 200 miles\n\nLocated at more than 8,000 feet above sea level, Bogota is among the highest capital cities on Earth. The country's center of government and industry, Bogota is aiming to become one of the greenest cities on the continent. A member of the World Green Building Council for the past decade, Bogota has tightened its building codes, made a priority of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving sustainability.\n\n8. Chennai, India\n\n• Population density: 37,223 per square mile\n\n• Population: 5,950,000\n\n• Square miles: 160 miles\n\nThe capital of Tamil Nadu state, Chennai is a governmental, industrial and cultural center in southern India. Much of the growth in the megalopolis is from migrants moving from rural areas in the state in search of jobs, though Chennai is also a destination for people from throughout the nation. In recent weeks the region has faced a water shortage, as four of the largest reservoirs are virtually dry from lack of rain.\n\n7. Taipei, Taiwan\n\n• Population density: 39,263 per square mile\n\n• Population: 5,700,000\n\n• Square miles: 145 miles\n\nThough there's no doubt that Taipei is among the most densely populated places on Earth, there's some concern that the headcount may actually begin to drop. A low birth rate and aging population are fueling fears of a future dwindling workforce and decline in productivity that could slow technical innovation and take a toll on the economy.\n\nTaiwan is the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage, and in June, Taipei was the scene of Asia's largest gay pride parade.\n\n6. Seoul/Incheon, South Korea\n\n• Population density: 43,208 per square mile\n\n• Population: 17,500,000\n\n• Square miles: 405 miles\n\nLow birth rates have caused Seoul's population growth to level off somewhat. But there's not likely to be much room to roam in South Korea's capital for the foreseeable future. The city's population density is about twice that of New York City and four times higher than that of Los Angeles. The region has the distinction of having one of the best-run airports in the world, Incheon International.\n\n5. Shenzhen, China\n\n• Population density: 44,464 per square mile\n\n• Population: 8,000,000\n\n• Square miles: 180 miles\n\nThere are a lot of \"mosts\" associated with Shenzhen. Though not a capital city, it is the most densely populated region in China. It is also the location of four of the world's tallest buildings. As of 2017, Shenzhen ranked 6th among cities with the most electric cars on the road. And as of 2017, Shenzhen-based Huawei was 49th on the list of the most valuable brands in the world.\n\n4. Lagos, Nigeria\n\n• Population density: 47,027 per square mile\n\n• Population: 13,400,000\n\n• Square miles: 285 miles\n\nThe one-time capital of Nigeria, Lagos is the most densely populated region in Africa. Among the reasons for the overcrowding is the influx of job seekers from rural areas, and refugees from countries like Togo and Cameroon fleeing to the mega-city. The cost of living in Lagos is among the lowest in the world, but the country as a whole has some of the poorest health statistics, including a life expectancy of just over 53 years of age and an infant mortality rate of almost 67 per 1,000 live births.\n\n3. Karachi, Pakistan\n\n• Population density: 49,000 per square mile\n\n• Population: 9,800,000\n\n• Square miles: 200 miles\n\nThe former capital of Pakistan, Karachi is the most crowded city in the Muslim world. Migrants and refugees from Bangladesh, Burma, Uganda, Iran and Afghanistan have moved into the area. Migrant workers from other regions of Pakistan add to the density. Though Karachi ranks among the least expensive cities for expatriates, it's also rated one of the least livable, with a drop in standard of living likely, according to a 2018 study.\n\n2. Kolkata, India\n\n• Population density: 61,945 per square mile\n\n• Population: 12,700,000\n\n• Square miles: 205 miles\n\nThere's a lot going on in the planet's second most crowded megalopolis. In addition to being a financial and manufacturing center, Kolkata has a major port and thriving tech sector. Nevertheless, problems with severe air pollution, poverty and infrastructure need to be addressed in the capital city of West Bengal state.\n\nCathedral controversy:Catholic school fires teacher for same-sex marriage, reaches settlement\n\n1. Mumbai, India\n\n• Population density: 76,790 per square mile\n\n• Population: 14,350,000\n\n• Square miles: 187 miles\n\nTens of thousands of people find themselves packed into each square mile of the most crowded urban area on Earth. Regardless of the overall dearth of space, the good life is alive and well in Mumbai, which has one of the greatest populations of mega-millionaires. From traffic congestion to huge landfills to breathtaking architecture, Bollywood movies and urban parkland, Mumbai is a city of contrasts and surprises.\n\n24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/07/11"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/19/okinawa-protest-marines/86110434/", "title": "Tens of thousands protest on Okinawa to close key U.S. bases in ...", "text": "Kirk Spitzer\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nTOKYO — Tens of thousands of protesters Sunday on Okinawa called for the closure of all U.S. military bases on the strategically important island, following last month's rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman in which a U.S. base worker is the suspect.\n\nIt was one of the largest anti-U.S. base protests in Japan in decades and comes amid delicate negotiations over relocating a key American air base on Okinawa and China's increasingly assertive behavior in the Asia-Pacific region.\n\nA crowd estimated by Japan’s Kyodo News service at 65,000 rallied in sweltering conditions at an outdoor sports stadium, holding signs reading, “Marines, Withdraw” and “Our anger has reached the limit.”\n\nThousands more protested outside Japan’s parliament building in Tokyo, and protests were planned in more than 40 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, according to local news reports.\n\nOkinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga, a staunch opponent of the U.S. military presence on Okinawa, expressed outrage over the woman's death. He pledged to work toward removal of U.S. forces and revision of an agreement that, under certain circumstances, limits Japanese jurisdiction over U.S. troops and base workers.\n\n\"I hereby express my unflagging resolve to push for drastic review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement and withdrawal of Marines (from Okinawa),\" Onaga told protesters. Like many of the demonstrators Sunday, Onaga was dressed largely in black.\n\nMore than 25,000 U.S. troops — mostly Marines — are based in Okinawa, a linchpin of the U.S. “re-balance” to the Asia-Pacific region. That’s the largest concentration of U.S. forces in Japan, and residents have long complained of noise, crime and congestion associated with the heavy U.S. presence.\n\nPolice last month charged Kenneth Franklin Gadson, 32, a former Marine, with stabbing and strangling the 20-year-old office worker.\n\nPolice said Gadson, who also goes by his wife’s family name of Shinzato, led them to the body in a wooded area. Gadson’s attorney said he confessed to the killing. Police said he told investigators that he picked the victim at random.\n\nAt the time of his arrest, Gadson was working as a civilian contractor at Kadena Air Base, a sprawling U.S facility in Okinawa. The incident followed the March arrest of a U.S. sailor in March on charges of raping a Japanese woman in a hotel in Naha, Okinawa’s capital.\n\nThe incidents seem certain to complicate efforts to relocate a Marine air base at Futenma, Okinawa, to a less densely populated part of the island. Onaga and a majority of Okinawa residents want the base moved off the island.\n\nIn an interview Saturday with Japan’s Jiji Press, the senior U.S. military commander on Okinawa said he feels “great pain and anger” over the woman's death.\n\n\"The message is this: Do not allow this incident to divide and drive a wedge between American and Okinawan communities here,\" Marine Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson said.\n\nAfter Gadson’s arrest last month, Nicholson announced a 30-day period of “unity and mourning” for all U.S. service personnel based on Okinawa. That included a tightened curfew and a ban on alcohol consumption off base.\n\nThe Navy imposed a Japan-wide ban on alcohol consumption in early June after a sailor based on Okinawa was arrested on drunk driving charges. The sailor reportedly had a blood alcohol level six times Japan’s legal limit at the time of her arrest. The sailor was arrested after crashing into two cars while driving the wrong way on a major highway.\n\nIn an unrelated action, the Navy this weekend gathered two powerful aircraft carrier battle groups in the Philippine Sea, east of Okinawa. It was the largest assemblage of U.S. warships in the region in recent years and follows two incidents this month in which Chinese warships sailed into or near Japanese territorial waters, prompting objections from Japan.\n\nThe plan to relocate the U.S. bases developed after three U.S. servicemen were convicted in 1995 of kidnapping and raping a 12-year-old Okinawa girl on her way home from school. The incident sparked massive protests and led to negotiations to reduce the U.S. military presence on Okinawa.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/06/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2022/10/01/stop-doing-this-on-hawaii-vacation/8084032001/", "title": "Listen up, tourists: Hawaii locals share what they wish visitors would ...", "text": "In pre-pandemic days, over 10 million people would arrive annually to enjoy the Hawaiian Islands. That's quite a bit of people, considering that the state's population is about 1.4 million. The impact of the high number of tourists hasn't gone unnoticed.\n\n\"Over a century, Hawaii has welcomed many visitors by embracing them with warmth and aloha,\" Diana Su, the senior marketing manager of Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa who was raised in Honolulu, said. \"However, over decades, the amount of visitors have increased and started depleting the state of its natural resources, damaging the delicate environment, and affecting traditional practices and rituals.\"\n\nAbout two-thirds of Hawaii residents think their \"island is being run for tourists at the expense of local people,\" a number that has held steady for about five years, according to a 2022 state-sponsored survey asking residents about their sentiment toward tourism. They point out overcrowding, damage to the environment, higher costs and more traffic.\n\nBOOK A SPOT:To manage over tourism, are reservation systems the future of traveling to Hawaii?\n\nJUST DON'T:Stop throwing coins into hot steam vents, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park asks of 'disrespectful' people\n\nAt the same time, tourism is a pillar of Hawaii's economy – in fact, it represents a quarter of it, thanks to the jobs it creates in the hospitality industry and visitor spending.\n\nIt can be a tricky balancing act for people who want to visit Hawaii while minimizing any negative impact on the islands because for so long, people have treated it as their paradisiacal playground. The best people to turn to for advice on this are undeniably the ones who live in Hawaii: locals.\n\nRead below to read Hawaii locals wish tourists would stop doing while visiting the islands:\n\n1. Don't be clueless\n\nSu urges people to know their stuff before departing on their trip, so take some time and learn more about Hawaii.\n\n\"Avoid coming to Hawaii without doing some research first,\" she said. It's important to know how to \"avoid disrespecting sacred sites and respect boundaries and kapu (off-limit) areas.\"\n\nTake the time to learn about the companies you're hiring for excursions or tours to make sure they support the community and environment. Making educated choices on where to spend your money and what is considered respectful or disrespectful will make your trip to Hawaii that much better.\n\nDON'T BE THAT TOURIST:Here's how to respectfully visit Hawaii, have an authentic trip\n\n2. Don't take anything, ever\n\nMany visitors to Hawaii take sand, coral or lava rocks from its national parks as memorabilia of their trip to Hawaii. According to Jin Prugsawan Harlow, chief of interpretation, education and volunteers as well as public information officer for Haleakala National Park, taking items from national parks is not only illegal, it's also culturally inappropriate.\n\nHawaiians view Haleakala as their ancestor, Harlow said, so taking something from the park is considered highly disrespectful.\n\n\"People come to Hawaii and (other national parks) because they're wild, scenic and beautiful,\" Harlow said. \"And people can play a great role in making sure it stays that way.\"\n\nTHINK TWICE:Stop throwing coins into hot steam vents, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park asks of 'disrespectful' people\n\n3. Don't go during peak hours\n\nTraffic in Hawaii is a sore spot, with Honolulu often ranking as one of the most congested cities in the country. With so many tourists out and about on the islands, Harlow suggests to try going to popular attractions during off-hours.\n\n\"At Haleakala, things can get crowded around the summit around sunset but from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the park is really empty,\" she said. \"Going to the Kipahulu District, arriving earlier in the day helps you beat crowded parking lots.\"\n\n4. Don't disturb wildlife\n\nHawaii is blessed with many beautiful creatures, some of which are impossible to spot anywhere else in the world, like the Hawaiian monk seal. While spotting these creatures out in the wild is always a treat, keep your distance and make sure to never disturb them or their natural habitat (as in, don't touch reefs or flip over rocks).\n\nIn certain cases, it's illegal to get too close to animals like turtles and nursing seals. Seriously, it's not worth it.\n\nSHARK ATTACK:Tourist taken to hospital after 'serious bite' from shark on Maui's north shore\n\n5. Don't be reckless outdoors\n\nHawaii has otherworldly valleys, peaks, shorelines and waterfalls to explore, and as stunning as the experience may be, it can also be dangerous if you're not careful. A lack of preparation, bad weather conditions and going to unsafe areas that are trending online can often put people at risk.\n\nFor example, on Kauai, the Kauai Fire Department locked the gate accessing Queen's Bath, a large tidal pool that can be hazardous, especially when the surf is rough. Still, people sneak in and often end up needing to be rescued. Do your research about hikes or beaches and heed to warning signs – they're there for a reason.\n\n\"One of our most important values, for example, is to respect the land and ocean that provides for us, and we ask that visitors share in this ethos to keep our home beautiful,\" Wendy Tuivaioge, Director of Hawaiian Programs at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, said. \"Be mindful of your surroundings, do not venture out alone, and stay on well-marked trails.\"\n\nDO THIS, NOT THAT: You won't regret these 8 activities when you visit the islands, according to Hawaii locals\n\n6. Don't use harmful sunscreen\n\nHawaii's ecosystems are unique and fragile, including its coral reefs, and some sunscreens may play a role in harming the islands' marine life.\n\nIn 2018, Hawaii Gov. David Ige passed a law that went into effect in 2021 – making Hawaii the first state – that banned sunscreens containing chemicals believed to damage coral and marine life, oxybenzone and octinoxate.\n\nWhen slathering up with SPF, do your part to protect the ocean by picking reef-safe brands. Some brands that are reef-safe include Raw Elements or Kokua Sun Care, which is made right in the islands.\n\n7. Don't geotag\n\nIt may be tempting to do it for the 'gram and share your vacation pictures online, but that post may have consequences long after you hit upload.\n\nThe rise in social media geotagging and sharing of once hidden spots has caused many across the country to blow up and become overcrowded and overrun, much to the dismay of locals who have been enjoying these more secret places for a long time. If you find yourself at this crossroads, consider the impact of your post.\n\nCROWDED SPOTS:Was your favorite hidden vacation spot overexposed? Blame social media and pent-up demand\n\n8. Don't forget you're visiting someone's home\n\nAt the end of the day, many locals have one reminder: \"It's important for travelers to understand they are visiting someone's home and draw on the sensibilities that come with that,\" Ha'aheo Zablan, general manager of Kaimana Beach Hotel who is also Native Hawaiian, said. \"We have amazing visitor-centric opportunities to take in all Hawaii has to offer without venturing into local neighborhoods or exploring too far from resort zones.\" For example, people who seek out hikes with trailheads in quiet neighborhoods have been called out for disturbing residents with noise or crowded parking.\n\nPrejean echoes the sentiment: \"While Hawaii is a welcoming destination, we do ask that tourists be aware of their surroundings, reduce your 'footprint' by leaving the places you visit better than you found it, and to treat the local neighborhoods and people with respect and kindness.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/10/01"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/19/health/fourth-covid-19-vaccine-dose-us/index.html", "title": "Potential for fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose is being 'very carefully ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nAs the world approaches the second anniversary of the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization, on March 11, more nations are rolling out – or are discussing the possibility of – fourth doses of coronavirus vaccine for their most vulnerable. In the United States, leading public health officials say they are “very carefully” monitoring if or when fourth doses might be needed.\n\nIsrael was the first nation to roll out fourth doses, announcing in December that adults 60 and older, medical workers and people with suppressed immune systems were eligible to receive the extra shot if at least four months have passed since their third dose.\n\nMore recently, the Public Health Agency of Sweden announced last week that second booster doses are recommended for everyone 80 and older in the country. The United Kingdom’s Department of Health and Social Care announced Monday that an extra booster dose of coronavirus vaccine will be offered in the spring to adults 75 and older, residents in care homes for older adults and immunosuppressed people 12 and older.\n\nIn the United States, health officials emphasized late last year that fourth doses were not yet needed and said it was too premature to be discussing a potential fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine for most people.\n\nNow, the US Food and Drug Administration “is indeed continually looking at the emerging data on the pandemic and variants in the United States and overseas in order to evaluate the potential utility and composition of booster doses,” FDA spokesperson Alison Hunt wrote in an email to CNN on Friday.\n\nShe confirmed that although Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has noted that there is still much uncertainty as to how the pandemic may further evolve, he also has said it is possible that a fourth dose might be recommended as we move into fall.\n\nA fall timeline coincides with the administration of flu shots, which could be convenient for people and makes sense scientifically because respiratory viruses – like the coronavirus and influenza – tend to peak in the winter months that follow.\n\n“As more data become available about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, including the use of a booster dose, we will continue to evaluate the rapidly changing science and keep the public informed,” Hunt wrote. “Any determination that additional booster doses are needed will be based on data available to the agency.”\n\nIf or when the FDA authorizes a fourth dose for the public, the next step would be for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review the data before making a recommendation for use, as the agency has done for other coronavirus vaccine recommendations.\n\n‘Vaccination and boosting will be critical’\n\nThe United States has seen significant improvements recently in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. As of Friday, cases were down 44% from the prior week, hospitalizations dropped 26%, and deaths were 13% lower, according to Johns Hopkins University data.\n\n“Vaccination and boosting will be critical in maintaining that downward trajectory, particularly when you’re talking about the red curve of severe disease leading to hospitalization,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a White House Covid-19 Task Force briefing Wednesday.\n\nThe “potential future requirement” for an additional boost or a fourth shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines or a third dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine “is being very carefully monitored in real time,” Fauci said. “And recommendations, if needed, will be updated according to the data as it evolves.”\n\nThe CDC has no recommendation of fourth doses of coronavirus vaccine for the general public, but the agency updated its guidelines in October to note that certain people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may receive a fourth dose of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.\n\n“For the immunocompetent people, a single booster shot continues to provide high levels of protection against severe disease caused by Omicron,” Fauci said Wednesday. “This should not be confused with the fact that for many immunocompromised people, already a second booster shot – namely a fourth dose of an mRNA – is recommended because of what we know about their poor response to the initial regimen.”\n\nMeanwhile, vaccine makers continue to study fourth doses in broader populations.\n\n‘We recognize the need to be prepared’\n\nPfizer announced in January that it has been studying the safety and efficacy of a fourth dose as part of its ongoing study of an Omicron-specific coronavirus vaccine among healthy adults ages 18 to 55.\n\nFor that study, participants have been separated into three cohorts. One includes 600 people who got three doses of the current Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine before enrolling in the study. As part of the research, they will receive either a fourth dose of the current vaccine or a dose of the Omicron-based vaccine.\n\n“While current research and real-world data show that boosters continue to provide a high level of protection against severe disease and hospitalization with Omicron, we recognize the need to be prepared in the event this protection wanes over time and to potentially help address Omicron and new variants in the future,” Kathrin Jansen, senior vice president and head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, said in the company’s announcement of the study.\n\nA study published by the CDC last week showed that protection against Covid-19 hospitalization and emergency department or urgent care visits is much higher after a third vaccine dose than a second dose but that protection wanes with time.\n\nWith the Omicron variant dominant in the United States, vaccine effectiveness was 87% against Covid-19 emergency department or urgent care visits and 91% against hospitalizations in the two months after a third dose. Effectiveness fell to 66% and 78%, respectively, by the fourth month, the data showed.\n\n“Nonetheless, the level of 78 is still a good protective area,” Fauci said Wednesday.\n\nDr. Christopher Murray, director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told CNN on Friday that he thinks having a fourth dose “makes very little sense” right now – but possibly makes more sense this upcoming fall or winter.\n\n“Because Omicron is going away,” he said, “third dose immunity wanes, and so fourth dose will probably wane as well. So we would want to time a fourth-dose push for when either there’s a new variant or for next winter. So I think right now, unless you’re immunocompromised or you’re older, unless you have some personal risk, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”\n\nThe research showing some waning immunity after a third dose has led to more discussion around if or when fourth doses could be needed.\n\n“Just like with everything else, the health departments look at this data that’s coming out and wait for guidance from the CDC and from the drug manufacturers. The drug manufacturers have been monitoring vaccine effectiveness,” Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, told CNN on Friday.\n\nThe timing for fourth doses not only depends on waning immunity “but also depends on whether we see any more variants emerge and what we discover in terms of additional vaccine effectiveness for any emerging new infections,” Freeman said.\n\nIf fourth doses are needed, “health departments would go into the mode of preparing to administer the fourth dose in the way they have done previous doses,” Freeman said. However, of greater concern among local public health officers is the slow – and declining – pace of people completing their third doses, she said.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nAbout 65% of the US population is fully vaccinated with at least their initial series, and about 28% of the population has received a booster dose, according to the CDC, as of Friday. But the pace of booster doses being administered has dropped to one of the slowest rates yet.\n\n“As time goes on, if there is the necessity of a fourth dose, we’re already behind with people getting the third dose,” Freeman said. “So all of a sudden, we could have a fairly large segment of the population that is not up to date on vaccines because they’re behind by two doses, potentially, and more people could get sick.”", "authors": ["Jacqueline Howard"], "publish_date": "2022/02/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/07/16/fact-check-military-limitations-stopped-japanese-invasion-not-guns/7954564002/", "title": "Fact Check: Armed citizens are not what stopped Japan from ...", "text": "The claim: The Japanese didn't invade the US mainland after Pearl Harbor because they feared armed Americans\n\nOn Dec. 7, 1941, Japan staged an attack on Pearl Harbor, severely damaging the U.S. Pacific Fleet.\n\nPushing back against U.S. attempts to limit Japan's aggressive expansion, Japan launched a surprise attack on the nation's westernmost outpost. Though the air attack inflicted heavy losses, the Japanese military did not advance to the U.S. mainland.\n\nA lengthy Facebook post claims fear over private gun ownership in the states is what stopped that invasion.\n\n\"After the Japanese decimated our fleet in Pearl Harbor Dec 7, 1941, they could have sent their troop ships and carriers directly to California to finish what they started,\" says a June 28, 2020, Facebook post that has found renewed life online a year later. \"After the war, the remaining Japanese generals and admirals were asked that question. Their answer....they know that almost every home had guns and the Americans knew how to use them.\"\n\nThe post drew more than 650 likes and was shared more than 1,900 times since it was posted.\n\nBut it's wrong. According to historians, armed citizens were not among the key reasons Japan opted not to invade the continental U.S.\n\nUSA TODAY reached out to the user for comment.\n\nFact check:Decades-old essay about Declaration of Independence signatories is partly false\n\nJapan lacked firepower and manpower\n\nJapan hoped that its attack on Pearl Harbor could delay American intervention and give it time to solidify its Asian empire, according to PBS. Japan hoped a decisive victory could force the U.S to negotiate a peace that left Japan's government in power.\n\nIt had nothing to do with America's level of private gun ownership, said Sheldon Garon, a professor at Princeton University that specializes in Japanese history.\n\n\"It's preposterous (to say) that the main reason Japan didn't invade the U.S. was because of armed citizens,\" Garon said. \"The main reason was because Japan was badly overextended in early 1942 as it was.\"\n\nJapan at that point occupied the central and south Pacific, as well as Southeast Asia and parts of China, he said.\n\n\"They lacked the firepower and manpower to invade the United States, or even Australia or nearby Siberia,\" said Garon.\n\nHe said there were contingency plans to occupy Hawaii, but few naval commanders expected that to happen.\n\n\"That would have only been in the event of the Japanese navy successfully taking Midway Island in mid-1942, which they definitely did not,\" said Garon.\n\nHe said the closest they got to the U.S. was in occupying some of the Aleutian Islands off Alaska.\n\n\"But that was largely a diversion and possibly to discourage eventual air raids from Alaska, and not intended as a launching point for a ground invasion of Alaska, much less California,\" said Garon.\n\nFact Check:Homeowner painted house as the U.S. flag to protest historic commission rules\n\nOur rating: False\n\nThe claim that the Japanese didn't invade the mainland U.S. after Pearl Harbor because they feared armed Americans is FALSE, based on our research. The main reason was because Japan was overextended and did not have the firepower or manpower needed to invade the U.S., historians say.\n\nOur fact-checking sources:", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/07/16"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/20/health/variants-covid-winter-surge/index.html", "title": "Quick and stealthy new Covid-19 variants are poised to drive a ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nA flurry of new Covid-19 variants appears to be gaining traction globally, raising fears of a winter surge.\n\nIn the United States, these are BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BF.7, BA.4.6, BA.2.75 and BA.2.75.2. In other countries, the recombinant variant XBB has been rising quickly and appears to be fueling a new wave of cases in Singapore. Cases are also rising in Europe and the UK, where these variants have taken hold.\n\nDr. Peter Hotez, who co-directs the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital, says he thinks of them collectively as the Scrabble variants because they use letters that get high scores in the board game like Q, X and B.\n\nAs the US moves into the fall, Covid-19 cases are dropping. Normally, that would be a reason for hope that the nation could escape the surges of the past two pandemic winters. But virus experts fear that the downward trend may soon reverse itself, thanks to this gaggle of new variants.\n\nLumped together, the variants accounted for almost 1 in 3 new Covid-19 infections nationwide last week, according to the latest estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nThe updated bivalent booster vaccines and antiviral drugs like Paxlovid are expected to continue to be protective against severe outcomes from Covid-19 infections caused by the new variants.\n\nBut the new variants are particularly devastating for millions of Americans who have weakened immune systems. New research suggests that changes in these variants make them impervious to the last lab-created antibodies available to help treat and prevent severe cases of Covid-19, and the US government has run out of money to incentivize the creation of new ones.\n\nA crowded field of rising variants\n\nIt’s not clear whether this gang of new variants will continue to run around together, each sharing a piece of the Covid-19 infection pie, or whether one will rise to outcompete the others, as has happened in previous surges.\n\nThough they each descend from slightly different branches of the Omicron family tree, these new offshoots have evolved to share many of the same mutations, a phenomenon known as convergent evolution.\n\nSome experts think this convergence means we’ve entered a new phase of the evolution of the virus, one that will see circulation of several variants at the same time.\n\n“What is likely to happen is that we have several co-circulating, semi-dominate lineages going into the winter season,” said Nathan Grubaugh, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health.\n\n“That’s because with convergent evolution, perhaps several different lineages can independently obtain similar transmissibility levels versus a single new variant taking over.\n\n“This is what predominantly happens for most pathogens, such as the flu and RSV,” Grubaugh wrote in an email. “Now that the virus has adapted pretty well to human transmission, most of what is circulating has high fitness.”\n\nMaria Van Kerkhove, the Covid-19 response technical lead for the World Health Organization, said Wednesday that the large mix of new variants was becoming more difficult for WHO to assess because countries were dialing back on their surveillance.\n\n“So we need to be prepared for this. Countries need to be in a position to conduct surveillance, to deal with increases in cases and perhaps deal with increases and hospitalizations. We don’t see a change in severity yet. And our vaccines remain effective, but we have to remain vigilant,” she said.\n\nInaction gives the virus an edge\n\nFor now, the Omicron subvariant BA.5 still holds the top spot in the US. According to CDC estimates, it caused about 68% of new infections in the US last week, but it is quickly being outcompeted by several new sublineages – notably BQ.1 and BQ.1.1.\n\nThe BQs each caused just 6% of new infections in the US last week, but in recent weeks, the share of new Covid-19 infections caused by these viruses has doubled every six to seven days – a rapid rate of growth against BA.5, which is already a highly fit virus, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.\n\nAnd these are just two of the new crop of Omicron descendants making a move.\n\n“The projections vary a little, but generally, most people feel somewhere in the middle of November that they’ll wind up being a substantial proportion and have bumped BA.5 off as the dominant variant,” Fauci told CNN.\n\nThese variants are different from BA.4 and BA.5, but they’re descended from those viruses, the result of genetic drift. So they share many parts of their genomes with that virus.\n\nTheir changes aren’t on the scale of what happened when the original Omicron arrived on the scene in November 2021. That strain of the virus, which is now long gone, came out of genetic left field, leaving researchers and public health officials scrambling to catch up.\n\nFauci says that this time, we are as ready as we could be for the latest batch of variants.\n\n“It isn’t that different from BA.5 that it would completely escape the protection that you would get from vaccine” – if people would just get the shot, Fauci said.\n\nThe bivalent booster vaccine, authorized in September, protects against the original strain of the coronavirus as well as the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.\n\n“We have a BA.5 bivalent updated vaccine as a booster that we’re pushing people to do. It’s matched against the still-dominant variant, which is BA.5, and almost certainly will have a reasonably good degree of cross-protection against the BQ.1.1 and the others, and yet the uptake of these vaccines, as we are already in the middle of October, is disappointing,” he said.\n\nAccording to the latest data from the CDC, 14.8 million people have gotten an updated bivalent booster six weeks into the campaign promoting it. That’s less than 10% of the population that’s eligible to get one.\n\nThe poor uptake of the new boosters, combined with the immune evasiveness of the new variants and the waning of population immunity, is almost surely a recipe for rising cases and hospitalizations in the weeks ahead.\n\n“It’s probably going to be significantly bigger than the BA.5 wave, at least that’s what I expect,” said Mark Zeller, a project scientist who monitors variants at the Scripps Research Institute. But Zeller says he doesn’t expect this winter’s surge to reach heights of January’s Omicron wave.\n\nHotez says people shouldn’t panic about this news but should pay attention.\n\n“We’re underperforming as a nation with people getting their bivalent boosters,” Hotez said.\n\nThe genetic changes these variants share appear to help them escape the immunity created by vaccines and past infections – a recipe for reinfections and breakthrough infections, particularly for people who haven’t had an updated booster.\n\nCritical therapies could soon stop working\n\nCrucially, some of the variants also appear to be impervious to the last lab-created antibodies available to ward off severe Covid-19 infections: an antibody treatment called bebtelovimab, which is made by Eli Lilly, and the combination of two long-acting antibodies in Evusheld, a shot made by AstraZeneca that helps keep people who are immunocompromised from getting sick in the first place.\n\nIf these antibodies stop working against the virus, the United States will still have Covid-19 antiviral drugs like Paxlovid, molnupiravir and remedsivir to help those at risk of severe complications.\n\nBut antibody therapies are particularly important for people with immune function that has been blunted by drugs, disease or age. These are the same people whose bodies don’t respond robustly to vaccines.\n\nThe antibodies are also needed to help people who can’t take antiviral therapies because of possible reactions with other medications.\n\nWhite House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha says the federal government has been spurring the development of new monoclonal antibodies during the pandemic by promising to purchase new therapies after they’re made.\n\nThe government can’t do that anymore, he said, because Congress has declined to pass additional funding for the Covid-19 response.\n\nAs a result, development of new antibodies – and other new therapeutics – is lagging.\n\n“So even if we got money today, it would take us many months to bring a monoclonal into the marketplace, and we don’t have the money today anyway,” Jha told CNN.\n\nJha said that means the nation is facing fall and winter with a smaller arsenal against the virus, just when it needs to expand its options.\n\n“There is not a monoclonal sitting ready to go tomorrow that we could just buy off the shelf,” he said.\n\nAntibodies are a losing proposition for companies because it takes millions of dollars of investment to make them and because the virus is evolving so fast, they might be effective for only a few months.\n\n“That is a terrible business model,” Jha said.\n\nThe administration has been thinking about ways to commercialize some parts of the Covid-19 response – to get out of the business of buying vaccines and therapies – ultimately passing the costs on to consumers and insurers. But Jha says the process has to be guided by “the needs on the ground and the realities of the virus.”\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nHe says current realities require that the government continue to incentivize the production of new therapies, and he expects that the Biden administration will again try to ask Congress to pass more funding to do that.\n\n“And the truth is that if we want monoclonals to protect high-risk people – which we do – then at this point, given the speed of viral evolution, the US government has to be a major player in that role,” Jha said. “The market cannot take care of it by itself.”", "authors": ["Brenda Goodman"], "publish_date": "2022/10/20"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/21/china/beijing-winter-olympics-covid-quarantine-explained-mic-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "How will China's Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics 'bubble' work? | CNN", "text": "Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here.\n\nCNN —\n\nThe Winter Games is just two weeks away and outside Beijing’s Olympic venues, the banners and decorations are up. But so too are long rows of metal fences and guard posts, dividing the Chinese capital and barring anyone without an official Covid-safe pass.\n\nHaving been largely sealed off from the world for two years, Beijing is bracing itself for the arrival of thousands of foreign Olympians, officials, journalists and support staff – including from countries where the highly transmissible Omicron variant is raging.\n\nWhether Chinese authorities can keep the Games Covid-safe and prevent any flare-ups from spilling into Beijing is the ultimate test of China’s zero-Covid strategy. The stringent prevention and control measures are held up by the ruling Communist Party as proof of the self-proclaimed superiority of its authoritarian political system. The strategy has kept infections and deaths low – but it has also inflicted painful lockdowns on millions of people and isolated China from the world.\n\nAnd now, Beijing is applying those same measures to the Olympics. To limit the spread of infection, it is sealing the entire Games inside what authorities have called a “closed loop system” – a bubble completely cut off from the rest of the city.\n\nThe quarantine is arguably the most ambitious of its kind ever undertaken. The NBA attempted something similar, when it created a quarantine zone inside Disney World in Orlando, Florida, designed to keep players and staff safe for the final stages of the 2019-20 season. But what Beijing is about to attempt is on a whole other level.\n\nSecurity personnel stand behind a fence at the Olympic Park in Beijing, two weeks before the start of the 2022 Winter Olympic. Noel Celis/AFP/ Getty Images\n\nWhereas the NBA “bubble” housed about 350 players from 22 teams, the Beijing bubble is welcoming an estimated 11,000 people from around the world – and they will be shuttling through three competition zones up to 111 miles (180 kilometers) apart.\n\nSecuring the bubble will require massive manpower, meticulous planning, pervasive surveillance and rigorous government enforcement – and the arrival of Omicron has only made it all the more challenging.\n\nAlready, coronavirus has been detected in recent Olympic arrivals in Beijing, both at the airport and inside the closed loop.\n\nThe International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement Wednesday that so far, 1.53% tests conducted upon arrival are positive, while 0.02% of regular screening tests taken inside the closed loop are positive. It did not specify the number of total tests in both scenarios.\n\n“All cases so far are within 5 days of arrival and are therefore assessed as being imported (contracted prior to arrival in Beijing). No infection has occurred within the Closed Loop,” the statement said.\n\nAs of Friday, more than 2,000 participants have arrived in Beijing, including athletes, officials, members of the IOC and media, according to the official app for the Beijing Winter Games. Thousands of Chinese volunteers and staff have already spent days, if not weeks, inside the closed loop.\n\nHere’s a breakdown of how the bubble is supposed to work.\n\nThe separation\n\nParticipants will be confined to the “closed loop” from the moment they touch down until they fly out. Throughout their stay, they will compete, work, eat and sleep without making any contact with the wider Chinese population.\n\nThe “closed loop” consists of a series of stadiums, conference centers and more than 70 hotels, with those in downtown Beijing fenced off and closely guarded by police; it even has its own transportation system, with 4,000 vehicles dedicated to moving participants from place to place.\n\nInstead of one giant Olympic bubble, the system is formed by a network of interconnected mini-bubbles. They are concentrated in three zones: downtown Beijing, where the ice competitions and opening and closing ceremonies will be held; the suburban Yanqing district, a site for alpine skiing and sliding; and Zhangjiakou, a city in neighboring Hebei province that will host Nordic skiing and the bulk of freestyle skiing and snowboard events.\n\nThe National Aquatics Center, known as the Ice Cube, will host curling at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Leo Ramirez/AFP/Getty Images\n\nThe three zones are linked by high-speed train and highways. To maintain the separation, even the train cars are divided, and the closed-loop buses are given specially marked lanes. Drivers not part of the Olympics who cross into these lanes will be fined.\n\nIn a sign of the lengths Chinese authorities are going to avoid the bubble being breached, residents have been warned not to rush to offer help if an Olympic vehicle is involved in a crash.\n\n“In case of traffic accidents with special vehicles for the Winter Olympics, please pay attention to maintaining a safe distance,” Beijing’s traffic authorities said in a statement on social media earlier this month. “Do not make contact with vehicles or personnel in them and wait for professionals to arrive at the scene.”\n\nAthletes, staff and volunteers inside the closed loop will also be separated from spectators, who have their own transport and entrance to the events. The Beijing organizers announced this week that tickets for the Games will not be sold to the general public in response to the pandemic, but instead distributed by authorities.\n\nHopping into the bubble\n\nGiven China’s determination to keep out any Covid cases, getting to the bubble is already a challenge.\n\nAnyone entering the bubble must be fully vaccinated, or face an additional 21-day quarantine upon arrival in Beijing before being allowed into the bubble.\n\nThe journey starts 14 days prior to departure. Participants are required to limit interactions with others to avoid catching Covid. They must also use an app to upload their body temperature and answer questions about their health status every day.\n\nCybersecurity researchers have warned the app contains security flaws that leave users exposed to data breaches. Chinese authorities have dismissed the concerns, but the United States and other countries are advising athletes to bring disposable burner phones to the Games.\n\nBefore departure, those traveling to the Games must take two Covid tests. With few international flights allowed to land in Beijing, most participants have to take special charter flights. Upon arrival, they will be greeted by workers in hazmat suits and undergo another test, before being transported to their hotel in designated buses escorted by police.\n\nWhat is it like inside?\n\nOnce inside the bubble, participants will be subject to a series of rigorous prevention and control measures. They will be tested for Covid every day and must wear face masks at all times.\n\nThe stakes for catching Covid are extremely high. Participants who test positive will be immediately removed from the closed loop. Those who are symptomatic will be sent to a designated hospital for treatment, while asymptomatic cases will be taken to an isolation facility. They won’t be allowed to return to the bubble until all symptoms disappear and they test negative twice in a row.\n\nThe PCR tests for the Beijing Winter Games are also more stringent than those used by some others sports events, such as the NBA and NHL, meaning they can return positive at a lower viral load. On Sunday, the organizers raised the viral load for testing positive, making the tests slightly more lenient.\n\nA positive test can also affect the person’s teammates and colleagues. Anyone who has had a mask-less exposure for longer than 15 minutes to an infected person is considered a close contact, and will be subject to twice daily testing.\n\nChinese authorities did not reveal exactly how many workers will be inside the “closed loop system.” Already in the bubble are thousands of Chinese volunteers and staff, including organizers, health care workers, drivers, cleaners and chefs. The first batch of volunteers – 16 students from a university in Beijing – entered the “closed loop” on January 3 to work at the Beijing Capital International Airport, before the first Olympic flight arrived.\n\nThe Chinese staff and volunteers are required to stay throughout the event – meaning they will miss the Lunar New Year holiday. It’s the biggest festival in China and the most important time for families to get together – likened by some to Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Years combined. To exit the bubble, they must also undergo 21 days of strict quarantine at a designated facility.\n\nChinese organizers have touted the innovative technologies adopted inside the bubble to keep it Covid safe.\n\nAt the stadium for ice hockey, staff will wear all-day armpit thermometers, which will sound the alarm should someone’s temperature exceed 37.3 degrees. Inside a “smart canteen” at the main media center, robots make Chinese and Western dishes and cocktails behind glass screens, while meals are delivered from the ceiling by automated robot arms.\n\nWill it work?\n\nThe IOC has suggested the early detection of Covid-19 cases among arrivals is a sign the “closed loop system” is working.\n\n“All data to date provides confidence that daily PCR testing combined with the isolation and close contact policies in place means that the Closed Loop is very safe and there are no infectious participants within it,” it said in the statement.\n\nYanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, said it was unsurprising – and even inevitable – to see cases inside the Olympic bubble.\n\n“Given the high transmissibility of the new variant, I’m sure there will be some infections at the Games,” Huang said. “The question is whether those flare-ups will develop into outbreaks in the bubble – or even worse, spill outside the bubble and cause outbreaks in the city and beyond.”\n\nHuang added he was “cautiously optimistic” that China’s zero-Covid strategy could succeed, citing the “unprecedentedly stringent measures.”\n\nEarlier this month, the Omicron variant was detected in the community in Beijing, prompting authorities to swiftly lock down an office building and a residential compound. Several Delta cases have also since been reported.\n\nAuthorities warned of the “double pressure of domestic and imported cases,” yet still struck a confident tone.\n\n“The overall situation remains under control,” Huang Chun, an official with the Beijing Organizing Committee, said at a news conference last week. He added there were no plans to seal off the city or change the coronavirus containment rules for the Winter Olympics.", "authors": ["Nectar Gan Steve George", "Nectar Gan", "Steve George"], "publish_date": "2022/01/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/06/24/most-important-event-the-year-you-were-born/37164307/", "title": "From WWI to Trump's election: The most important event from the ...", "text": "Angelo Young and John Harrington\n\n24/7 Wall Street\n\nOver the past 100 years we’ve witnessed some of the most profound changes in human history.\n\nBetween wars, technological developments, progress in civil rights and breakthroughs in science and medicine, the old order that held back hundreds of millions of people has been swept away.\n\nCenturies-old empires crumbled as new ideologies – from communism to fascism – for better or worse found roots in many places of the world. Progressive human rights ideas also emerged and changed the world as women, blacks, and the LGBT community demanded, and often won, equal rights. Technology evolved, modifying and innovating our lives in ways never dreamed of.\n\nThe world certainly has progressed, but wars have raged on, and climate change has picked up speed, endangering the ecosystems of our planet.\n\nTo put this in perspective, 24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of the most important event in each of the past 100 years. We drew on research material and news reports to determine what event had the biggest impact in a particular year.\n\n1919: National booze ban\n\n• Date: Oct. 28\n\n• Location: Washington D.C.\n\nCongress passes the 18th Amendment that bans the production, transport or sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States. The legislation opens the way for Prohibition, which lasts from 1920 to 1933. The public flouts the law, which succeeds in enriching gangsters and contributing to the rise of organized crime.\n\n1920: Women's suffrage\n\n• Date: Aug. 26\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nThough the United States was founded under democratic principles, only a minority of its population (starting with white landowning males over the age of 21) could actually vote. But after the 19th Amendment of the Constitution is passed, women finally gain a voice and the right to cast their ballots.\n\nSports gambling:Why sports betting hasn't gone nationwide yet after Supreme Court ruling\n\n1921: Chinese Communists rise\n\n• Date: July 1\n\n• Location: Beijing\n\nIn a prequel to the rise of Mao Zedong and Red China, the Chinese Communist Party is founded, and three weeks later it convenes its first National Congress that is attended by Mao. It would take another 28 years before the Republic of China becomes the People's Republic of China.\n\n1922: British Empire shrinks\n\n• Date: Feb. 28\n\n• Location: London\n\nThe British Empire was at its peak toward the end of World War I, commanding a global population estimated to be as many as 570 million people, or about a fourth of the world's population at the time. The empire's size began to shrink in 1920, when Britain declared limited independence for Egypt, which leads to full independence two years later.\n\n1923: Great Kanto earthquake\n\n• Date: Sept. 1\n\n• Location: Tokyo, Yokohama, Japan\n\nThe Great Kanto earthquake, also known as the Tokyo-Yokohama earthquake, strikes the Japanese mainland at noon on Sept. 1, 1923, with a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter scale. The death toll is estimated at 140,000 people. The force of the temblor destroys hundreds of thousands of homes that either collapse or are engulfed in fire. The quake sets off a tsunami that reaches a height of almost 40 feet at Atami in the Sagami Gulf, killing 60 people there. The most significant outcome of the catastrophe is the rebuilt Tokyo that would become a modern metropolis.\n\n1924: From Lenin to Stalin\n\n• Date: Jan. 21\n\n• Location: Moscow\n\nFollowing the death of Vladimir Lenin on Jan. 21, the new leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, immediately begins a purge of political rivals. Some are simply moved to different positions, while others, like Leon Trotsky, the presumed successor to Lenin, are exiled. Stalin's paranoia grows as he takes control of the nation, and with it the level of violence and killing of anyone perceived to be a threat to his power and control.\n\n1925: Scopes monkey trial\n\n• Date: July 10\n\n• Location: Dayton, Tennessee\n\nAfter teaching the theory of evolution in a Tennessee high school, the state prosecutes science teacher John Thomas Scopes because state law prohibits such teaching as it runs counter to Biblical beliefs. The trial pits well-known Christian fundamentalist William Jennings Bryan against renowned attorney Clarence Darrow. The jury rules against Scopes, forcing him to pay a fine of $100 (about $1,460 in 2017 dollars). It would take another 43 years before the U.S. Supreme Court rules that laws punishing people for teaching evolution violate the First Amendment.\n\n1926: U.S. starts numbered highway system\n\n• Date: Nov. 11\n\n• Location: U.S.\n\nIn a precursor to the modern interstate highway system, the federal government introduces a national highway numbering system in an effort to standardize roadways, especially local roads and trails with names unfamiliar to outsiders. The U.S. Numbered Highway System makes it easier for the growing number of car owners to figure out how to get from one city or town to the next and opens the way for the great American road-trip tradition.\n\n1927: Lindbergh nonstop to Paris\n\n• Date: May 21\n\n• Location: New York to Paris\n\nWhen the monoplane The Spirit of St. Louis touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris on the evening of May 21, Charles Lindbergh becomes the person to fly over the Atlantic Ocean nonstop. Lindbergh would become one of the heroes of the age. His feat fires the imagination of aspiring aviators about the commercial possibilities of flight. Lindbergh would stay in the news, but for regrettable reasons. A strong advocate for American isolationism in the 1930s, he is criticized for his admiration of Nazi Germany's aircraft industry. Also, his son would be killed during a bungled kidnapping attempt in 1932.\n\n1928: Earhart crosses Atlantic\n\n• Date: June 17-18\n\n• Location: Wales\n\nAmelia Earhart becomes the first woman to pilot a plane across the Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Wales, making her an American national heroine and feminist icon who would go on to set numerous aviation records. She would later set another record as the first person – man or woman – to fly solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland. Earhart and her co-pilot Fred Noonan would vanish over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 during Earhart's attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Recent evidence has emerged indicating Earhart may have sent distress signals after surviving a crash, possibly on the remote Gardner Island in the western Pacific Ocean.\n\n1929: Wall Street crashes\n\n• Date: Oct. 24-29\n\n• Location: New York City\n\nThe \"Roaring Twenties\" come to a halt on Black Tuesday in October 1929, when stocks take a nosedive, contributing to the Great Depression. Reasons for the worst economic downturn in American history include over-lending by weakly regulated banks, excessive stock price valuation, too many stocks purchased on margin, unrestrained exuberance that sends millions of people to convert their savings into stocks, tightening of the credit by the Federal Reserve and an agricultural drought.\n\n1930: Ho Chi Minh rises in Vietnam\n\n• Date: Feb. 2\n\n• Location: Hanoi\n\nIn an event that would have repercussions for U.S. foreign policy decades later, Vietnamese independence fighter Ho Chi Minh founds the Communist Party of Vietnam as part of his effort to oust French colonial occupiers. \"Uncle Ho,\" as he was known to his many supporters, was inspired by the Russian Bolsheviks, who oppose the Tsarist autocracy, seeing parallels between that struggle and the fight against the foreign occupiers of his country.\n\n1931: Empire State Building completed\n\n• Date: May 1\n\n• Location: New York City\n\nPresident Herbert Hoover inaugurates the completion of the Empire State Building on May Day. It becomes the tallest building of the iconic Manhattan skyline until the construction of the World Trade Center Towers are completed in 1973. Incredibly, the 86-story office building took only 13 months to build, with construction starting in March of the previous year.\n\n1932: Hitler becomes German\n\n• Date: Feb. 25\n\n• Location: Germany\n\nSeven years after Adolf Hitler renounces his Austrian citizenship, a fellow member of the Nazi Party gets him a low-level government job, which comes with automatic citizenship. This opens the way for him to run for office. Already a well-known party activist, it takes Hitler only two years from receiving his citizenship status to becoming the leader of Germany.\n\n1933: FDR elected\n\n• Date: March 12\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nWith the Great Depression sending millions of Americans to soup kitchens and chasing whatever work they can find, newly elected President Franklin Delano Roosevelt begins his weekly \"Fireside Chats\" as Americans are eager for guidance and solace during those dark times. FDR's first radio talk explains to Americans in plain language why he ordered that banks would close temporarily at different time in different parts of the country. The purpose, he explains, is to curb panic rushes of withdrawals, which has been hurting efforts to stabilize the banking system.\n\n1934: Hitler consolidates power\n\n• Date: June 30\n\n• Location: Berlin\n\nGermans, who had been suffering from a disastrous economic depression in 1929-30, begin to embrace the ideas of the Nationalist Socialist Workers Party – the Nazi Party. It becomes the largest party after the 1932 elections. In 1933, Adolf Hitler is appointed chancellor of Germany. After President Paul von Hindenburg dies in 1934, Hitler then purges members of his own party – the bloody Night of the Long Knives – with the help of Nazi storm troopers and becomes the unquestioned leader of Germany.\n\n1935: FDR launches New Deal\n\n• Date: Aug. 14\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nPresident Roosevelt, grappling with the Great Depression, signs into law his signature Social Security Act, a law that creates the country's first retirement security system. Earlier that year, as part of his \"New Deal\" policy, the president established the Works Progress Administration, a massive economic stimulus program, putting millions of Americans to work building the country's public infrastructure.\n\n1936: Owens flouts Nazis\n\n• Date: Aug. 3\n\n• Location: Berlin\n\nAs the concept of racial purity and superiority dominates Germany in the 1930s, African-American sprinter Jesse Owens of Oakville, Alabama, shows them who is the master racer. During the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, and under the gaze of Adolf Hitler, Owens wins four Olympic gold medals for the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, the long jump, and the 100-meter relay.\n\nFrom Alaska to Florida:States with the biggest and smallest governments\n\n1937: UAW changes car industry\n\n• Date: Feb. 11\n\n• Location: Flint, Michigan\n\nNearly two years after the establishment of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), the union scores a major victory in Flint, Michigan. Workers at the General Motors Fisher Body Plant Number One lay down their tools and occupy the factory, demanding union representation, a fair minimum wage, safer working conditions, and not to outsource labor to non-union plants. Despite efforts by GM and local police to extricate them from the plant, including shutting off the heat, cutting off food supply, and attacks that leave 16 workers and 11 police officers injured, the strike lasts 44 days. The strike leads to an agreement between GM and the UAW, which includes a 5% pay raise and permission to talk in the lunchroom.\n\n1938: Anti-Semitism surges\n\n• Date: Nov. 9\n\n• Location: Germany, Austria, Sudetenland\n\nGrowing anti-Semitic scapegoating amid Germany's crippling economic conditions culminates in the Kristallnacht, or \"Night of Broken Glass,\" a pogrom sparked by a speech from German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Storm troopers and other Nazi groups are ordered to attack and destroy Jewish businesses, homes and houses of worship. In one night of attacks in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking area of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, dozens of Jews are killed and tens of thousands are rounded up and sent to concentration camps.\n\n1939: World War II starts\n\n• Date: Sept. 1\n\n• Location: Westerplatte, Poland\n\nUnder the cover of predawn darkness, a German battleship floats quietly into the center of Danzig Harbor and opens fire on a Polish stronghold in Westerplatte, the first shots of World War II. In the following weeks, Nazi forces, including 2,000 tanks and 1,000 aircraft, would shatter Polish defenses and surround Warsaw, which surrenders 26 days after the Danzig Harbor attack.\n\n1940: McDonald's founded\n\n• Date: May 15\n\n• Location: San Bernardino, California\n\nBrothers Richard and Maurice McDonald open McDonald's Barbecue Restaurant, offering BBQ ribs, pork sandwiches and 23 other menu items. Eight years later, they would restructure their popular local business to focus on hamburgers, milkshakes and fountain sodas, emphasizing speed, a simple menu and low prices. In the 1950s, businessman Ray Kroc would buy out the brothers and grow McDonald's into what it is today – the world's largest restaurant chain.\n\n1941: Attack on Pearl Harbor\n\n• Date: Dec. 7\n\n• Location: Oahu, Hawaii\n\nKnowing the U.S. is gearing up to engage them in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II, Japan deploys a massive air attack on U.S. Navy ships parked at Pearl Harbor. The surprise assault by 353 Japanese aircraft leads to the deaths of 2,403 people, including 1,177 sailors aboard the ill-fated USS Arizona, one of 19 vessels that were damaged or destroyed in the attack. Nearly 330 aircraft were also damaged or destroyed. The United States declares war on Japan the next day and three days later against Germany and Italy.\n\n1942: GIs arrive in Europe\n\n• Date: Jan. 26\n\n• Location: Northern Ireland\n\nThe first U.S. troops destined to fight in Europe in the world's greatest war arrive in Northern Ireland. It is the beginning of a military buildup that would culminate in the invasion of France more than two years later. Before then, the United States was providing only material support to its ally across the Atlantic, while building up what President Roosevelt called the \"Arsenal of Democracy\" in anticipation for the inevitable entry of the United States into the war in Europe.\n\n1943: Invention of LSD\n\n• Date: April 19\n\n• Location: Basel, Switzerland\n\nSwiss chemist Albert Hoffman had been studying the potential medicinal value of lysergic compounds when he accidentally exposed himself to LSD-25, which he had created years earlier in his lab. This was the first LSD trip, a quarter-century before the counterculture endorses the hallucinogenic compound. Hoffman describes the \"not unpleasant\" experience as \"uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors.\" Hoffman takes a second dose and writes a paper about his discovery. The U.S. Army tests the drug on soldiers numerous times from 1955 to 1967, briefly toying with the idea of using LSD as a weapon to disorient enemy soldiers during combat.\n\n1944: D-Day\n\n• Date: June 6\n\n• Location: Normandy France\n\nThe plan for the biggest one-day military campaign in history, the invasion of Normandy by Allied forces to push the Nazis out of France, is hatched in extreme secrecy a year earlier. The plan is conceived during the Quebec Conference by Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. The invasion starts at 6:30 a.m. on five beaches, and over the next 24 hours about 4,900 Allied soldiers are killed, many of them the instant the doors of their Higgins transport boats opened directly into German machine gun fire.\n\n1945: World War II ends\n\n• Date: Sept. 2\n\n• Location: Multiple\n\nThe surrender of Japan marks the end of World War II amid one of the most tumultuous years of the 20th century. Earlier in the year, leaders of three nations – Benito Mussolini, Franklin Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler – die and Nazi Germany surrenders. Though the surrender of Japan was inevitable, the prospect of a horrific Allied assault on the Japanese mainland convinces the United States to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bomb attacks, along with the entry of the Soviet Union in the war against Japan, compel the Japanese to surrender.\n\n1946: Baby boom starts\n\n• Date: Jan. 1\n\n• Location: U.S.\n\nMore American babies are born – 3.4 million – in 1946 than in any year in U.S. history up to then. The number of births grows to 4 million per year from 1954 to 1964, the last year of the baby boomer generation, the biggest generation at that point in history.\n\nIt's raining rats:Live rat falls from Buffalo Wild Wings ceiling as customer watches\n\n1947: India gains independence\n\n• Date: Aug. 15\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C\n\nThe sun sets on the British Empire in India in 1947, as the Asian nation becomes the world's largest democracy. Independence is the culmination of decades of work by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Indian nationalists committed to throwing off the yoke of British colonialism. The transition to independence comes at a price. The subcontinent is partitioned into two nations, Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. Violence erupts between Hindus and Muslims as Hindus migrate to India and Muslims shift to Pakistan. It is estimated that 1 million people die during the migration.\n\n1948: Birth of Israel\n\n• Date: May 15\n\n• Location: Middle East\n\nAfter Israel declares its independence following a UN resolution, neighboring Arab states with troops from Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Transjordan (now Jordan), Lebanon and Saudi Arabia attack the former British-controlled Palestinian mandate. The Arab-Israeli War ended with an armistice that leaves Israel with some territories as Egypt and Jordan retains control over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, respectively.\n\n1949: NATO founded\n\n• Date: April 4\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nTwo years into the Cold War, the Soviet Union detonates its first nuclear bomb and quickly exerts its influence over Eastern Europe. It attempts to do the same in Western Europe, which is still recovering from the massive destruction of World War II. To respond to the Soviet threat, U.S. and Western European allies form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Fundamentally, NATO simply states that an attack on any NATO member would be considered an attack on all NATO members. Cold War tensions ratchet up later that year when the communists take over China, the world's most populous nation.\n\n1950: Korean War starts\n\n• Date: June 25\n\n• Location: Korea\n\nThe North Korean People's Army crosses the 38th parallel into South Korea, eliciting almost an immediate response from President Harry Truman, and starting the Korean War – a proxy battle between the United States and the People's Republic of China. Three years later, a ceasefire would halt the war. The uneasy relations between North Korea and South Korea last to this day.\n\n1951: Rosenbergs sentenced\n\n• Date: March 29\n\n• Location: New York City\n\nHusband and wife Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of espionage for their part in passing along atomic secrets to the Soviet Union during and after World War II. They are executed two years later. Not everyone is convinced of their involvement in the scheme. Supporters claim they are scapegoats swept up in the Cold War hysteria of the time. Documents revealed decades later would show the detailed extent of Julius Rosenberg's involvement in the spy ring, though Ethel's participation in the scheme remains inconclusive.\n\n1952: First hydrogen bomb test\n\n• Date: Nov. 1\n\n• Location: Marshall Islands\n\nThe United States successfully detonates its first hydrogen bomb, a second generation thermonuclear device, in the Marshall Islands as part of Operation Ivy, one of a series of nuclear bomb tests. From 1946 to 1958, the United States used the remote Pacific Marshall Islands as its nuclear weapons testing site, detonating a total of 67 nuclear tests.\n\n1953: The dawn of DNA\n\n• Date: Feb. 28\n\n• Location: Cambridge, England, U.K.\n\nCambridge University scientists James Watson and Francis Crick announce they have discovered the fundamental behavior and double-helix structure of DNA. Though scientists had been aware of DNA since the 1860s and its role in genetic inheritance since 1943, Watson and Crick were the first to explain how DNA works to replicate itself and pass on genes from one generation to the next.\n\n1954: Brown vs. Board of Education\n\n• Date: May 17\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nIn a landmark case involving Linda Brown of Topeka, Kansas, who had to cross a railroad track to reach an all-black elementary school even though an all-white school was closer, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the segregated school system was unconstitutional on the basis of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The clause would be used again by the courts to reverse state-level racial segregation practices and ordinances.\n\n1955: Parks starts a movement\n\n• Date: Dec. 1\n\n• Location: Montgomery, Alabama\n\nRosa Parks makes history by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery bus. The arrest of Parks for insisting to remain seated leads to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the ascent of a young pastor named Martin Luther King, Jr., as a local activist leader to advance the civil rights cause. A successful federal lawsuit by the NAACP against the city leads to the desegregation of the Montgomery bus system on Dec. 21 of the following year.\n\n1956: Hungary suppressed\n\n• Date: Nov. 4\n\n• Location: Budapest\n\nNine years after the start of the Cold War, Hungarians took to the streets, demanding democratic reforms. Three days later, Soviet Red Army troops invade Hungary, killing thousands. Nine days after the incursion, Budapest is occupied by the Soviet troops in one of the largest and most aggressive actions taken by the Soviet Union since the end of World War II.\n\n1957: The Little Rock Nine\n\n• Date: Sept 24\n\n• Location: Little Rock, Arkansas\n\nPresident Dwight D. Eisenhower orders federal troops to protect nine African American high school students as they start classes at the all-white Little Rock Central High School. This would become one of the first high-profile actions by the federal government against state-level racial segregation.\n\n1958: U.S. launches first satellite\n\n• Date: Jan. 31\n\n• Location: Cape Canaveral, Florida\n\nThe United States successfully launches Explorer 1, three months after the Soviet Union sent its first satellite, Sputnik, into orbit. The two superpowers would go on to send more satellites into space, creating a Cold War space race to build ever more sophisticated orbital communications devices.\n\n1959: Castro takes over Cuba\n\n• Date: Jan. 1\n\n• Location: Havana\n\nU.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista flees Havana as Fidel Castro's forces advance on the Cuban capital. Days later, rebels led by Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos enter the city, followed two days later by Castro's forces, who quickly consolidate power in Cuba, establishing a communist government in the Caribbean's largest country.\n\nTraveling nightmare:Air Canada traveler claims she woke up on 'freezing cold,' 'pitch black' and empty plane\n\n1960: Lunch Counter Sit-in\n\n• Date: Feb. 1\n\n• Location: Greensboro, North Carolina\n\nWhen four African-American college students – Ezell A. Blair, Franklin E. McCain, Joseph A. McNeil and David L. Richmond – sit down at a Woolworth's lunch counter and ask for service, they are denied. The young men refuse to leave, leading to a larger six-month protest that results in the desegregation of the lunch counter by that summer.\n\n1961: Berlin Wall built\n\n• Date: Aug. 13\n\n• Location: Berlin, East and West Germany\n\nBy the late summer of 1961, the loss of skilled workers such as teachers, engineers, and doctors to the West reaches crisis levels in East Germany. On Aug. 12, 2,400 East Germans cross into West Berlin, the most in a single day. The next day, with the approval of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, East Germany builds a wall that would extend 27 miles through Berlin, dividing families and friends for the next 28 years. The wall would serve as an enduring symbol of the Cold War, used by presidents John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan to inspire a divided city.\n\n1962: Cuban missile crisis\n\n• Date: Oct.16-28\n\n• Location: Multiple\n\nWhen the United States learns that the Soviet Union is building nuclear missile installations 90 miles south of Miami in communist Cuba, the Kennedy administration starts a naval blockade around the island, which is at times tested, and Kennedy demands the removal of the missiles.The standoff is widely considered to be the closest the two nuclear superpowers come to direct military confrontation. Cooler heads prevail. The Soviet Union offers to remove the missiles in exchange for a guarantee that the United States will not invade Cuba. In secret, the administration also agrees to withdraw U.S. missiles from Turkey.\n\n1963: JFK assassinated\n\n• Date: Nov. 22\n\n• Location: Dallas\n\nAs John F. Kennedy prepares for his re-election bid, the 34th president of the United States embarks on a multi-state tour in September 1963. He is murdered by a sharpshooter's bullet fired by Lee Harvey Oswald at about 12:30 p.m. as his motorcade passed through Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Oswald himself is murdered two days later by nightclub owner Jack Ruby.\n\n1964: LBJ's \"War on Poverty\"\n\n• Date: Jan. 8\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nBogged down by the Vietnam War, President Lyndon B. Johnson struggles constantly to pivot away from the war to focus on his stated goals of reducing poverty, ending segregation, and establishing the social programs many Americans rely on to this day, including the immensely popular Medicare program. During his \"War on Poverty\" State of the Union Address of Jan. 8, 1964, LBJ outlines the need for the country to reduce poverty, end racial discrimination, attend to the health needs of the elderly, and other progressive goals. LBJ later ushers in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Social Security Amendments of 1965.\n\n1965: Civil rights turns violent\n\n• Date: March 7\n\n• Location: Selma, Alabama\n\nThe fatal shooting of protester Jimmy Lee Jackson by an Alabama state trooper sparks a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Hundreds of civil rights activists march in what becomes known as \"Bloody Sunday.\" Police would confront the marchers, led by John Lewis (who is a House Democrat from Georgia) and others. As the activists cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, police attack the protesters with tear gas and billy clubs, hospitalizing 50.\n\n1966: Mao purges rivals\n\n• Date: Aug. 13\n\n• Location: Beijing\n\nAt the end of a week-long session of the Communist Party Central Committee of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Mao Zedong condemns the political elites, calling on China's youth to rebel against the entrenched political hierarchy. It is the beginning of the decade-long Cultural Revolution that fundamentally transforms Chinese society. Intellectuals, members of the former Nationalist government, and people with ties to Western powers are persecuted, sent to re-education labor camps, or killed by the factions of Red Guards formed in the wake of Mao's call to action.\n\n1967: Six-Day War\n\n• Date: June 5\n\n• Location: Middle East\n\nAmid escalating tensions with its neighbors, Israel launches a preemptive strike that destroys most of Egypt's air force. Syria, Jordan, and Iraq also attack Israel. As the war continues, Israel takes the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, captures East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan, and in heavy fighting seizes the Golan Heights from Syria. A ceasefire went into effect on June 10.\n\n1968: Dream denied\n\n• Date: April 4\n\n• Location: Memphis, Tennessee\n\nMartin Luther King Jr. is fatally shot by James Earl Ray as the civil rights icon stands on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, a tragedy that sparks race riots nationwide. King's influence in words and actions touch and move not only the nation, but the world, and resonate to this day. Two months later, on June 4, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy and brother of John F. Kennedy, is fatally shot by Sirhan Sirhan, an Arab Christian from Jerusalem, who believes Kennedy is \"instrumental\" in oppressing Palestinians.\n\n1969: Landing on the moon\n\n• Date: July 20\n\n• Location: Merritt Island, Florida\n\nPresident Kennedy's goal of a manned lunar landing before 1970 is realized six years after his assassination. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blast off from the Kennedy Space Center at 9:32 a.m. aboard the Saturn V rocket. After three days of travel, Armstrong and Aldrin land the Eagle module on the lunar surface as Collins remains in lunar orbit to pilot the module. Upon their return to Earth, the three astronauts are put in 21-day quarantine to ensure they do not bring back any lunar contagions.\n\n1970: Vietnam War turns to Cambodia\n\n• Date: April 29\n\n• Location: Eastern Cambodia\n\nAlthough the United States should be scaling back U.S. troop presence in Vietnam, President Richard Nixon approves an operation with the South Vietnamese to invade Cambodia to oust Northern Vietnamese forces there. The Cambodian incursion inflames anti-war protests in the United States as it is perceived to be an escalation of U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia.\n\n1971: Pentagon Papers\n\n• Date: Feb. 8\n\n• Location: Laos\n\nThe Pentagon Papers, a study by the U.S. Department of Defense about the country's involvement in the Vietnam War, are released and published first in The New York Times, then other newspapers. The documents expose several missteps and how several administrations have misled the American public regarding the war in Vietnam. They also reveal an expanded campaign in Cambodia and Laos, especially clandestine bombing in Laos, which today is considered the heaviest bombardment in history.\n\n1972: Nixon goes to China\n\n• Date: Feb. 21\n\n• Location: Beijing\n\nNixon, a virulent anti-communist earlier in his political career, surprises the American public by traveling to Beijing for a week of talks in a historic first step toward normalizing relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. Until this trip, the United States and communist China were de facto enemies, fighting proxy wars in the Korean Peninsula in the 1950s and South Vietnam at the time of Nixon's visit.\n\n1973: Roe vs. Wade\n\n• Date: Jan. 22\n\n• Location: Washington D.C.\n\nIn a landmark 7-2 decision that will be known as Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court rules that under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, states cannot completely bar a woman's decision to terminate her pregnancy. However, the court adds that as the pregnancy develops, the state can balance a woman's right to privacy with its interest in preserving the \"potentiality of human life.\" As a result, states can ban abortion in the third trimester except in cases where a pregnancy affects a woman's health.\n\n1974: Nixon resigns\n\n• Date: Aug. 8\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nPresident Richard Nixon announces his resignation amid impeachment proceedings stemming from the Watergate scandal and his administration's attempt resist a congressional investigation. The scandal exposes abuses of power by the White House after five burglars were busted breaking in to the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. Nixon becomes the only president in U.S. history to resign.\n\n1975: Saigon falls\n\n• Date: April 30\n\n• Location: South Vietnam\n\nTwo years after the last American troops leave Vietnam, communist troops from North Vietnam capture Saigon, ending nearly two decades of relentless war in the rice paddies and jungles of that Southeast Asian nation. The final tally of war dead for the United States is 58,220.\n\n1976: The Concorde changes air travel\n\n• Date: Jan. 21\n\n• Location: London and Paris\n\nTwo supersonic Concorde jets take off simultaneously – one from London to Bahrain, operated by British Airways, and the other from Paris to Rio de Janeiro via Dakar in Senegal, operated by Air France – marking the first time paying passengers enjoy commercial travel at faster than the speed of sound. Though travel by one of the 16 Concordes ever put into service could slash travel time from New York to London in half, the high cost of maintenance, soaring ticket prices, as well as a fatal accident in 2000, sealed the fate of the narrow, slope-nosed aircraft.\n\n1977: Rise of the personal computer\n\n• Date: January\n\n• Location: Chicago\n\nPersonal home computers began to emerge in the 1970s, but many of the earliest versions resembled calculators that would plug into televisions sets. By 1977, however, the desktop home computer begins to resemble their more modern versions – with an accompanying attached or separate computer screen and a magnetic tape or floppy disk storage device. The Commodore PET is unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago that year, while the first Apple II and Radio Shack's TRS-80 go on sale.\n\nPolice:Postal worker gunned down while delivering mail in Louisiana\n\n1978: Cult's mass suicide\n\n• Date: Nov. 18\n\n• Location: Jonestown, Guyana\n\nMore than 900 people die in one of worst recorded acts of cult-related mass murder-suicide after most of the victims and perpetrators drink a powdered drink mix dosed with cyanide. Most of the victims are Americans, devotees of Peoples Temple cult leader Jim Jones, a former Methodist-trained preacher who built a following and led the flock to Guyana. Among the dead are 276 children who drink the poison. A small number of cult defectors are killed by Peoples Temple gunmen who also slay California congressman Leo Ryan, who had gone to Guyana to investigate Jonestown.\n\n1979: Islamic Republic born in Iran\n\n• Date: Feb. 11\n\n• Location: Tehran\n\nWorsening economic conditions, increasing discontent with the government, and wide support for religious leader in exile Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini end the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. The shah and his family flee Iran in January 1979. On Feb 11, the monarchy is dissolved, and on April 1, Khomeini declares Iran an Islamic republic. With support among the nation's clergy and their many followers, he begins rebuilding Iranian society based on conservative Shiite religious principles.\n\n1980: Reagan elected\n\n• Date: Nov. 4\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nWith the United States in an economic malaise and the Iranian hostage crisis hobbling the presidency of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan is elected the 40th president in a landslide. Reagan, who would serve two terms, was the oldest man elected president at the time. Reagan's election changes the trajectory of American politics, ushering in an era of conservative leadership. During his tenure, he takes a more aggressive approach to the Soviet Union and increases defense spending. Reagan convinces Congress to cut taxes, a move that many economists credit with triggering an economic boom in the 1980s.\n\n1981: AIDS impacts America\n\n• Date: June 5\n\n• Location: Los Angeles\n\nThe U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes a report about five gay men who had been diagnosed by local physicians with a rare form of pneumonia – the first reported U.S. cases of what would later become known as HIV/AIDS. The autoimmune disease spread so fast that by the end of the 1982, 500 Americans had died from what now the CDC called acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS. The death toll would rise to 5,000 by 1985.\n\n1982: Mexico triggers regional debt crisis\n\n• Date: Aug. 12\n\n• Location: Mexico City\n\nGlobal economic stagnation in the 1970s and early 1980s, and excessive borrowing among Latin America's biggest economies, boils over when Mexico's Finance Minister Jesús Silva-Herzog tells the U.S. Federal Reserve his country can no longer service its debt to $80 billion. After the announcement, lenders realize virtually every country in Latin America, led by Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, are not able to pay back loans. The crisis would lead to years of eroding wages, weak-to-negative economic growth, sky-high unemployment, severe austerity measures, and political instability – known as the \"lost decade\" in Latin America.\n\n1983: The internet is born\n\n• Date: Jan. 1\n\n• Location: Multiple\n\nThe internet as we know it today – a seemingly endless collection of websites hosted on servers scattered across the globe – is still more than a decade away. But at the beginning of 1983, the the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) – a small network for academics and researchers – transitions to the standard TCP/IP protocol of the World Wide Web. The protocol would become the internet's cornerstone and technical foundation as it allows expanded available address space and decentralizes the network, thus also expanding accessibility.\n\n1984: Chemicals kill thousands in India\n\n• Date: Dec. 2\n\n• Location: Bhopal, India\n\nThe chemical disaster in Bhopal is still considered history's worst industrial disaster. About 30 tons of methyl isocyanate, an industrial gas used to make pesticide, are released at a Union Carbide Corp. plant. About 600,000 poor residents of nearby shanty towns are exposed to a highly toxic compound that kills about 15,000 people and countless farm animals, according to Indian government estimates. The calamity leads to a generation of birth defects. To this day, locals claim the now-abandoned site is riddled with toxic materials left behind by Union Carbide, which was acquired by Dow Chemical in 2001.\n\n1985: Reagan, Gorbachev meet\n\n• Date: Nov. 19\n\n• Location: Geneva\n\nDespite his often bellicose criticisms of the Soviet Union, Reagan agrees to meet with his counterpart, Mikhail Gorbachev, in Geneva in the first meeting between leaders of the two Cold War foes in nearly a decade. Though the meeting yields little of substance, it starts a closer relationship between the two men who both seem committed to scaling back the nuclear arms race between the two nuclear superpowers.\n\n1986: Shuttle tragedy\n\n• Date: Jan. 28\n\n• Location: Off the coast of Florida\n\nThe 25th mission of the U.S. space shuttle program ends with the tragic loss of seven astronauts as space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Among those killed are Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the first teacher in space. The failure is later identified as a problem with the so-called O-rings used to form a seal in the seams of the shuttle's external fuel tanks.\n\n1987: Stock market tanks\n\n• Date: Oct. 19\n\n• Location: Worldwide\n\nOct. 19, 1987, is called Black Monday because on that day the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges 508 points, or more than 22%. The drop is worse than the crash in 1929. It is also worse than the market plunge after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 2008 financial crisis. Among the reasons cited for the drop are rising tensions in the Persian Gulf, concern over higher interest rates and the belief that the bull market is ending. Computerized trading, relatively new at the time, accelerates trade orders, which speeds up the market drop. As a result of the collapse, exchanges put in place so-called circuit breakers intended to halt trading when stocks fall too fast. This measure is designed to provide investors a cooling off period and avoid a panic.\n\nThe 50 hottest cities in America:Phoenix tops the list\n\n1988: When the U.S. armed Iran\n\n• Date: March 16\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nLt. Col. Oliver North and Vice Adm. John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States for their involvement in the so-called Iran-Contra affair. The scandal involved members of the Reagan administration who illegally sold arms to Iran to help facilitate the release of American hostages, and then transfer the proceeds of the sale to fund the Nicaraguan contras, a loose affiliation of right-wing militias. North is convicted, but his conviction is vacated and reversed, while Poindexter's convictions are also reversed on appeal.\n\n1989: The Berlin Wall falls\n\n• Date: Nov. 9\n\n• Location: Berlin, East and West Germany\n\nCracks in the monolithic Soviet bloc are starting to appear in the 1980s, and the very symbol of communist repression comes crashing down in November, when the Berlin Wall is breached, ending a 28-year division of the city. During the day on Nov. 9, a spokesman for East Berlin's Communist Party says starting at midnight that day, citizens of East Germany are free to cross the country's borders. Almost immediately Berliners start slamming the wall with axes and sledgehammers. By nightfall, the celebration turns into what one observer calls \"the greatest street party in the history of the world\" and the city is reunited. East and West Germany would reunite one year later.\n\n1990: Democracy in Poland\n\n• Date: Jan. 28\n\n• Location: Poland\n\nWith the hold of the Soviet Union and communism on East Europe loosening, Poland's ruling communist party votes to dissolve and become more moderate. In the following elections, Lech Wałęsa, leader of the Solidarity Movement and the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, wins the election and becomes president.\n\n1991: America goes to war in Middle East\n\n• Date: Jan. 17\n\n• Location: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait\n\nAfter Saddam Hussein's Iraq invades and occupies Kuwait on Aug. 2, 1990, the United States sends forces to defend neighboring Saudi Arabia from being overrun and to protect its vital oil assets in Operation Desert Shield. With Saudi Arabia secured, U.S. implements Operation Desert Storm to push Iraqi forces back across the border with Kuwait in a military operation that lasts until a ceasefire takes effect in April.\n\n1992: Cold War ends\n\n• Date: Feb. 1\n\n• Location: Camp David Maryland\n\nJust weeks after the dissolution of the Soviet Union on Dec. 26, 1991, President George H.W. Bush and his Russian counterpart, Boris Yeltsin, meet at Camp David to formally declare the end of the Cold War that began shortly after the end of World War II. The meeting comes days after both countries announce they would stop aiming nuclear missiles at each other. Russia declares its 11 former communist satellite republics – from Armenia to Uzbekistan – independent.\n\n1993: The EU becomes reality\n\n• Date: Nov. 1\n\n• Location: Brussels\n\nThe Treaty of the European Union, also known as the Maastricht Treaty, goes into effect in November, after a rough series of political wrangling that, among other concessions, allows the U.K. and Denmark to opt out of the common euro currency. The treaty opens the way to removing border controls among member states and invites new members to join the union.\n\n1994: Amazon.com is born\n\n• Date: July 5\n\n• Location: Seattle\n\nWith an initial aim of becoming an online bookstore, Jeff Bezos and a handful of angel investors launch Amazon.com, just as e-commerce is about to take off . Twenty-four years later, after expanding from books to the so-called \"Everything Store\" and growing a business selling cloud services to companies like Netflix and Instagram, Bezos has become the world's richest man. Amazon.com, meanwhile is racing with Apple to become the world's first trillion-dollar American company.\n\n1995: Domestic terror strikes Oklahoma\n\n• Date: April 19\n\n• Location: Oklahoma City\n\nIn the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in U.S. history, anti-government radicals Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. They time the truck-bomb attack for a weekday morning in order to maximize casualties. For the murder of at least 168 people, including 19 children who were in a child care center in the building, and the injury of hundreds of others, an unremorseful McVeigh is executed by lethal injection on June 11, 2001. Nichols is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.\n\n1996: The dawn of cloning\n\n• Date: July 5\n\n• Location: Midlothian, Scotland, U.K.\n\nDolly the Sheep enters the annals of bioengineering when scientists at Scotland's Roslin Institute become the first to not only successfully clone a mammal, but also the first to do so using an adult cell rather than an embryonic one. After 277 so-called cell fusions that created 29 embryos, the teams managed to turn an udder cell into a nearly complete biological carbon copy of the sheep from which it came.\n\n1997: Machine tops chess champ\n\n• Date: May 11\n\n• Location: New York City\n\nArtificial intelligence and machine learning have been serious areas of study (and hype) for over 60 years. In 1997, one of the most significant victories for silicon logic came when IBM's Deep Blue became the first machine to beat a world chess champion. The the refrigerator-sized computer beat Garry Kasparov twice and tied him three times in a six-game match.\n\n1998: The age of Google begins\n\n• Date: Sept. 4\n\n• Location: Menlo Park, California\n\nWith seed money from Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, among others, Stanford University Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin launch the search engine Google. The digital advertising behemoth Google Inc., now Alphabet Inc., is an $854 billion company with several subsidiaries, including YouTube, autonomous-car development company Waymo and X, the company's research and development division.\n\n1999: NATO's first independent strike\n\n• Date: March 24\n\n• Location: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia\n\nIn order to get Yugoslav forces out of Kosovo during the Kosovo War, NATO forces initiate their first-ever military campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Montenegro and Serbia) without U.N. Security Council authorization as Russia and China oppose the attack. The NATO airstrikes are aimed at stopping an onslaught against ethnic Albanians by the government of Slobodan Milošević. The NATO attacks last nearly three months, culminating in the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo.\n\nWant to make money? Buy whisky\n\n2000: International Space Station opens\n\n• Date: Nov. 2\n\n• Location: Low Earth orbit\n\nCommanders Bill Shepherd from the United States and Yuri Gidzenko of Russia, along with Russian flight engineer Sergei Krikalev become the first temporary residents of the International Space Station two years after the first component of the research center was put into low-Earth orbit about 250 miles above sea level. Since that first crew, there have been 229 other visitors to the ISS,some of them multiple times, led by 146 from the United States and 47 from Russia.\n\n2001: 9/11\n\n• Date: Sept. 11\n\n• Location: Multiple\n\nIn the worst attack on U.S. soil since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, 19 hijackers inspired by Islamist extremism kill nearly 3,000 people after crashing two passenger-laden commercial aircraft into the World Trade Center towers in lower Manhattan and one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. A fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, crashes in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew attempt to regain control of the plane headed toward Washington, D.C.\n\n2002: Homeland Security\n\n• Date: Nov. 25\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nFollowing the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress and President George W. Bush enact the Homeland Security Act, the biggest government reorganization of national security efforts since the Department of Defense was created in 1947. The sweeping legislation creates the massive Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for everything from protecting infrastructure from cyberattacks to managing the new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.\n\n2003: U.S. crushes Iraq\n\n• Date: March 19\n\n• Location: Iraq\n\nWith the help of British and other allied forces, the United States begins its invasion of Iraq with a rapid bombing \"Shock and Awe\" campaign with the intention of destroying Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction; the weapons are never found. Coalition forces manage to quickly topple the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein, but have to fight insurgent forces for years afterward.\n\n2004: Facebook founded\n\n• Date: Feb. 4\n\n• Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts\n\nMark Zuckerberg, a 23-year-old Harvard University student, creates \"The facebook,\" a local social networking site named after the orientation materials that profiles students and faculty and given to incoming college freshmen. Fourteen years later, Facebook has become a $510 billion digital advertising behemoth so integral to many people's lives that it has been criticized for helping foreign powers and propagandists influence the U.S. political system.\n\n2005: Katrina overwhelms New Orleans\n\n• Date: Aug. 29\n\n• Location: U.S. Gulf Coast\n\nAfter spending four days in the Gulf of Mexico bulking up to a Category 5 hurricane, Katrina slams into New Orleans, inundating the city and creating a humanitarian crisis that lasts for weeks. The catastrophe underscores the precarious situation not only in the Big Easy but also the surrounding area of the Gulf Coast. At least 1,833 people in the storm's path are killed, and the storm inflicts $161 billion in damages to the region, the costliest storm in U.S. history.\n\n2006: Hussein executed\n\n• Date: Dec. 30\n\n• Location: Baghdad\n\nThree years after U.S. soldiers pulled him from a hole in the ground where he had been hiding, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is hanged after he was convicted for crimes against humanity, specifically for ordering the massacre of 148 Shiites in 1982 following a failed assassination attempt against him.\n\n2007: The iPhone\n\n• Date: Jan. 9\n\n• Location: San Francisco\n\nApple CEO Steve Jobs, who died in October 2011, first shows the world one of the most popular branded consumer electronic devices in history, the iPhone. Since the first-generation phone that Jobs introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show that year, there have been 18 versions of the mobile device, and more than 1.2 billion units have been sold globally through 2017. Only Samsung's Galaxy smartphone comes close to that volume.\n\n2008: Dow plunges\n\n• Date: Sept. 29\n\n• Location: New York City\n\nThe Dow Jones Industrial Average records the largest-ever intraday drop, 777.68 points, after Congress rejects a massive $700 billion bailout of U.S. banks. The bill would pass days later. The market reacts also to months of global market turmoil amid the 2008 global financial crisis spurred by the U.S. subprime mortgage market crash. The Dow fell by more than half during the 2007-09 Great Recession, tumbling from 14,164 on Oct. 9, 2007, to 6,594 on March 5, 2009.\n\n2009: America's first African-American president\n\n• Date: Jan. 20\n\n• Location: Washington, D.C.\n\nAfter winning in a landslide against Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, amassing in 365 electoral votes and 53% of the popular vote, Barack Obama is sworn in as the first African-American president of the United States. Obama inherits the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, but with his party holding majorities in both houses of Congress at the time, the president is able to pass a stimulus package and his signature Affordable Care Act in March 2010.\n\nCalifornia home to 17 of them:America’s 25 least affordable housing markets\n\n2010: Catastrophic oil spill\n\n• Date: April 20\n\n• Location: Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana\n\nEleven workers die and 17 are injured after an explosion and fire erupts on the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig 40 miles from the Louisiana coast. The explosion causes the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history, spewing 3 million barrels of crude over the three months it takes to stop the leak. British oil company BP says costs climbed to $65 billion in claims for the accident, including a $1.7 billion charge it took as recently as the fourth quarter of 2017.\n\n2011: Bin Laden killed\n\n• Date: May 2\n\n• Location: Abbottabad, Pakistan\n\nIn an intense 40-minute nighttime firefight, 25 U.S. Navy SEALs hunt down and kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Within hours, bin Laden's body is identified using DNA and then buried in the Arabian Sea.\n\n2012: The \"God Particle\" is (probably) discovered\n\n• Date: July 4\n\n• Location: Near Geneva\n\nNearly 600 feet below the France-Switzerland border at CERN's Large Hadron Collider Facility, an international team of scientists discovers a new particle widely believed to be the elusive Higgs boson, known as the \"God Particle,\" which is thought to be a fundamental component of the universe. Higgs boson has been an important element of particle physics theory for decades, but until 2012 there had been no physical evidence to support its existence.\n\n2013: Snowden reveals secrets\n\n• Date: June 6\n\n• Location: Hong Kong\n\nAfter surreptitiously leaving his job at U.S. National Security Agency contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, computer security consultant Edward Snowden meets secretly in Hong Kong with journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras. He reveals the first of a series of secrets about numerous U.S. and European government surveillance operations. Hailed as a courageous whistleblower and privacy champion by some, and a traitor that compromised counterterrorism efforts by others, the American now resides in exile in Moscow.\n\n2014: Russian bear bites Ukraine\n\n• Date: March 16\n\n• Location: Crimea\n\nExploiting political unrest in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin orchestrates the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The action incites peals of condemnation from world leaders and a raft of economic sanctions against Moscow. This strategically important and predominantly Russian-speaking region on the Black Sea has been coveted by the Russians as part of their strategic efforts to check NATO expansion along Russia's western border.\n\n2015: NASA flies by Pluto\n\n• Date: July 14\n\n• Location: 3 billion miles from Earth\n\nNASA spacecraft New Horizons becomes the first human-made object to fly past and observe the dwarf planet Pluto. New Horizons sends back stunning photographs of this enigmatic and distant member of the solar system, including images of a mountain range and massive icebergs floating in frozen nitrogen. New Horizons is now en route to the Kuiper Belt, a massive asteroid belt at the far reaches of the solar system.\n\n2016: Trump elected\n\n• Date: Nov. 8\n\n• Location: U.S.\n\nRunning on a populist agenda, Donald Trump is elected the 45th president of the United States and the fifth president in U.S. history (the second since the 2000) to win despite losing the popular vote. The real estate developer and television personality ran on a platform of putting \"America First\" in global trade and foreign policy negotiations and cracking down on undocumented immigrants.\n\n2017: Hurricane triple-whammy\n\n• Date: August-September\n\n• Location: Multiple\n\nWithin just four weeks, three massive hurricanes – Harvey, Irma and Maria – strike Texas, Florida and the Caribbean, killing 228 people, inflicting a combined $265 billion in damages and displacing millions of homeowners. Hurricane Maria inflicts immense damage to the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which was already struggling from economic insolvency.\n\nDetailed findings & methodology\n\nThere is little doubt that in the last 100 years, mankind has progressed dramatically. People live longer, eat better, have greater access to improved medical care and are freer to express their opinions and associate with whomever they want.\n\nThat optimism can be seen in population growth. Despite the two most devastating wars in human history, the world population has nearly tripled, from 1.9 billion to 7.5 billion, since 1917.\n\nOne hundred years is an eye blink in history, yet 100 years ago, women did not have the right to vote in the United States. African-Americans were prevented from voting in the American South. Labor unions were in their infancy and were weak, and laws reforming child labor had yet to be passed by Congress. All that changed because of women’s suffrage, the inexorable march of civil rights and the strengthening labor unions.\n\nOne hundred years ago, a person anywhere in the world was more likely than not to be illiterate. And there was a good chance he or she was the subject of colonial rulers in South America, Africa and Asia. Two world wars would spell the end of imperial houses in Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia, and weaken the grip of another, Great Britain. Independence movements sprouted in Europe, Africa and Asia, yearning for freedom and expressing national pride.\n\nNationalism had its dark side, though, with fascist governments ruling Italy and Germany. It would take a world war to remove their scourge. Another form of totalitarianism, communism, would dominate the USSR and Eastern Europe for several generations, as well as China and other countries in Asia, before the West would triumph over the Soviet Union and its allies in the Cold War.\n\nSpeaking of the Cold War, that conflict launched the space race and accelerated technological progress, hastening the use of personal computers and cell phones. These inventions have fundamentally changed our lives – from the way we communicate to the way we shop and socialize – and made billions of dollars for the companies that make them and their founders. These products and innovations are a major part of the culture today.\n\nTo determine the most important event the year you were born, 24/7 Wall St. drew on research materials and media sources to compile its list. Deciding the most important event in a given year by its nature is a subjective exercise. In reaching our decisions, we chose the event that had the most far-reaching impact and was not necessarily the most famous event in a given year.\n\n24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/06/24"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_25", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959153/quiz-of-the-week-31-december-6-january", "title": "Quiz of The Week: 31 December – 6 January | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_26", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/11/politics/kevin-mccarthy-speakership-race-house-freedom-caucus/index.html", "title": "McCarthy faces rocky road to speakership as hardliners ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nMembers of the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus are withholding their support for House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s speakership bid and have begun to lay out their list of demands, putting the California Republican’s path to securing 218 votes in peril if the party ultimately takes the House with a slim majority.\n\nMcCarthy and his team are confident he will ultimately get the votes to be speaker. But the conservative hardliners are emboldened by the likelihood of a narrow House GOP majority and are threatening to withhold their support – something that could imperil his bid or force him to make deals to weaken the speakership, something he has long resisted.\n\nRep. Chip Roy of Texas told reporters that “no one currently has 218” votes for speaker, which is the magic number McCarthy would need to secure the speaker’s gavel on the House floor in January, and said he wants McCarthy to list in greater detail his plans for a wide array of investigations into the Biden administration. And Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona complained that McCarthy seemed to backpedal on whether he’d be willing to launch impeachment proceedings into President Joe Biden or members of his Cabinet.\n\n“I’ve heard from multiple of my constituents who question the wisdom of proceeding forward with that leadership,” Biggs said, adding that there needs to be a “frank conversation” about who they elect for the top job.\n\nMembers of the group are also pushing to make it easier for lawmakers to call for floor votes on ousting a sitting speaker. That is something that McCarthy is adamantly against and was wielded over former Speaker John Boehner before he eventually resigned.\n\nRep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado said it was a “red line” for her, but not everyone in the Freedom Caucus is united on whether to make that a hard line.\n\nThe Freedom Caucus, a group that includes dozens of hardline members, have been meeting in Washington, DC, this week for their new member orientation, where they have begun to plot out their strategy for the speaker’s race. With a slimmer-than-expected majority, they see an opportunity, and are planning to use their leverage to get more power in a GOP-led House.\n\nBut the group’s push to extract concessions from McCarthy has exacerbated tensions inside the party. Said one senior GOP lawmaker: “They are a bunch of selfish, prima dona a**holes who want attention for themselves. They are trading effectiveness for the warm embrace of their social media followers.”\n\nMcCarthy, who has been working the phones locking down support from across the conference and received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement on Monday, still remains a frontrunner for the job, and no serious challenger has emerged. And two would-be challengers, Reps. Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise, have lined up behind his speakership bid.\n\nMcCarthy also has time to win over critics. The GOP’s internal leadership elections, where he only needs a simple majority to win his party’s nomination for speaker, are next week, but the floor vote where McCarthy needs a majority of the entire House is not until January.\n\nHis ability to round up 218 votes for speaker will ultimately depend on two things: the size of his majority and whether he’s willing to cut deals with the conservatives that he assiduously courted after they denied him the speakership in 2015. So far, however, McCarthy has not made any promises or given in their demands, with sources saying he has just been in listening mode with potential holdouts.\n\nCNN has yet to project which party will have control of the House of Representatives, though as of Friday morning, CNN has projected that Republicans have 211 seats to Democrats’ 198.\n\nRep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina said McCarthy personally called and asked for his support for speaker, but Norman wouldn’t commit. He told McCarthy there’s a group of them that wants to meet in person, which he said McCarthy was amenable to.\n\nNorman said the group hopes to formalize a lengthier list of all the rules changes they are seeking. They are also pushing to delay next week’s internal leadership elections, though there is no indication McCarthy plans to do so.\n\n“I’m not supporting anybody until I know what the blueprint is,” Norman said.\n\nWhen asked whether McCarthy should get credit for delivering the majority, Norman responded: “The taxpayers that voted the representatives in deserve the credit.”\n\nRep. Bob Good, a member of the Freedom Caucus, told reporters that McCarthy “has not done anything to earn my vote” for speaker.\n\nThe Virginia Republican also predicted that “there will be a challenge to (McCarthy) as a speaker candidate,” a possibility that CNN first reported was under consideration by the group.\n\nSuch a challenge would be more of a protest candidate than a serious one. The group just wants to show McCarthy during next week’s internal GOP leadership elections that he doesn’t have the floor votes for speaker, in hopes of forcing him to the negotiating table.\n\nBut there is at least one member who has said there is nothing McCarthy could do to earn his vote. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida said on his podcast that not only was McCarthy not his first choice to lead, he was not “even in my top 100”.\n\n“With a slim majority, we shouldn’t be starting the C team,” Gaetz said. “We need to put our star players in a position to shine brightest so that we can attract more people to our policies and ideas.”", "authors": ["Melanie Zanona Manu Raju", "Melanie Zanona", "Manu Raju"], "publish_date": "2022/11/11"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/04/live-updates-kevin-mccarthy-speaker-of-the-house-vote/10985244002/", "title": "Recap: House adjourns as McCarthy regroups after losing speaker ...", "text": "WASHINGTON - A chaotic and historic two days in the House was punctuated Wednesday night by a raucous vote to adjourn during a tumultuous session marked by shouting and confusion.\n\nAnd still no speaker.\n\nRepublicans came to the floor at 8 p.m. ET and motioned to adjourn again until noon tomorrow to give GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy more time to secure the 218 votes he needs to win the gavel. Democrats, in no hurry to resolve the GOP stalemate, tried to block the effort but failed.\n\nA voice vote was too close in a House currently without rules, and Democrats shouted for the clerk to hold a recorded vote. Members filed up to the rostrum to cast their votes, as others stood behind them and anxiously looked up at the House scoreboard.\n\nThe GOP, which ultimately has a four-vote majority in the House, won the debate 216-214, with at least two Republicans siding with Democrats.\n\nAfter six votes in two days, Wednesday night ended without a speaker in the House. A seventh vote likely blocking McCarthy, who is more than a dozen votes shy fo what he needs, would have ensued if the House had not adjourned. It's been 100 years since a speaker's election took more than one ballot.\n\nThe House reconvenes at noon Thursday, when McCarthy will resume his prolonged fight for speaker.\n\nThe situation, which has dragged on since Tuesday, has left Congress paralyzed, since no member of the House of Representatives can be sworn in and no rules can be adopted until a speaker is chosen.\n\nThe House remained stuck after McCarthy was nominated, several times, for the top job in that chamber. He appears to have failed again to have secured that job - for now.\n\nOn Tuesday, McCarthy was denied the 218 votes he needed by a cadre of Republican hardliners in three separate ballots. It was the first time in a century that a speaker was not elected on the first round.\n\nA group of up to 20 conservatives is determined to oppose McCarthy, and the end game remains unclear..\n\nStay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nHere are the latest developments:\n\nMcCarthy nominated, again, and loses, again. The action began around noon, with McCarthy nominated for a fourth, fifth and sixth time in two days. He lost all three ballots.\n\nThe action began around noon, with McCarthy nominated for a fourth, fifth and sixth time in two days. He lost all three ballots. Biden calls the situation embarrassing. The fighting is \"not a good look,\" he told reporters at the White House. Ultimately, though, the GOP drama isn't his problem, he said.\n\nThe fighting is \"not a good look,\" he told reporters at the White House. Ultimately, though, the GOP drama isn't his problem, he said. The plan. The plan is for members to vote again – and again – if necessary. But if there's no resolution, the voting could last for days, weeks or even months.\n\nDay One: House adjourns without a new speaker as McCarthy loses three rounds of voting: live updates\n\nWhat now?:What happens after McCarthy loses speaker vote three times? Here's how the process works.\n\nHouse to vote on adjourning for the night without electing a speaker\n\nThe House will vote late Wednesday on adjourning for the night without electing a speaker of the House, prolonging the political paralysis that has gripped the chamber.\n\nGOP leader Kevin McCarthy has been unable to sway enough conservatives to win the speaker's job.\n\nAfter McCarthy failed on a sixth ballot in the mid-afternoon, the House GOP approved an adjournment until 8 p.m.\n\nA House floor update notes that the House will vote again to adjourn when it reconvenes.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nPACs come together to back McCarthy as speaker\n\nIn the hour before the House reconvenes, two political action committees have come together to support McCarthy in his continued bid for speaker.\n\nThe Congressional Leadership Fund, an independent super PAC linked to McCarthy, and Club for Growth, a conservative group, agreed that the congressional leadership fund will not spend in open-seat primaries in safe Republican districts or provide resources to other PACs to do so.\n\nThis agreement could appease McCarthy opponents in safe districts who didn’t want money spent against them in primaries\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nHow long was the longest speaker vote in the past? Months\n\nNot since 1923 has a speaker’s election gone to multiple ballots.\n\nThe longest and most grueling fight for the gavel started in late 1855 and dragged out for two months, with 133 ballots, during debates over slavery in the run-up to the Civil War.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nTrump power? Ex-president hasn't moved the needle on McCarthy – and many Republicans noticed\n\nSo far, not a single Republican opponent of Kevin McCarthy has changed his or her vote after former President Donald Trump urged them to back McCarthy and move on.\n\n\"Currently on full display: how DEEPLY weakened Trump is,\" tweeted Alyssa Farah Griffin, an aide in the Trump White House. \"Even his staunchest allies aren’t afraid to defy him & his endorsement did nothing to get McCarthy more votes.\"\n\nMany Republicans pointed out the comments of Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who said her \"favorite president\" asked her and other members of the anti-McCarthy faction to \"knock this off,\" but he should instead call McCarthy and tell him \"'you do not have the votes, and it's time to withdraw.'\"\n\nAfter that comment, Republican strategist Scott Jennings said: \"Not only are they disregarding Trump but they are now ORDERING HIM AROUND. Unbelievable!\"\n\nTrump has faced rising criticism since the November elections; many Republicans blamed the ex-president for the party's disappointing showing, not to mention the many investigations swirling around him.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nPreviously:Republican support for Trump's 2024 bid falls amid political, legal setbacks\n\nGOP: Lack of speaker means lack of security clearances\n\nA group of GOP members-elect said without a speaker, they lack access to secure facilities where they receive daily briefs related to the nation's security.\n\nFollowing McCarthy's sixth failed attempt at speaker, Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher said during a press conference that he was supposed to meet with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to talk about matters in the Indo-Pacific, but was informed by House security that he does not have a clearance.\n\n“My point is we have work to do that we can’t do right now,” Gallagher, who is a member of the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, said.\n\nMichigan Rep. John James said the needs and security of all Americans needs to be prioritized.\n\n“Right now, we’re hamstrung from doing that because we are bogged down in things that have taken our focus off the nation,” he said.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nMcCarthy standoff:A visual guide to a House speaker deadlock not seen for a century\n\nHouse adjourns until 8 p.m.\n\nFollowing three votes Wednesday afternoon that failed to produce a speaker, GOP Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma motioned to adjourn – but even that didn’t come without some pushback.\n\nAll Republicans voted yes in a voice vote. All Democrats voted no.\n\nFormer House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called for a roll call vote, but leadership didn’t agree.\n\nThe clerk called the adjournment until 8 p.m., when the House will reconvene.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nTakeaways:McCarthy keeps losing, Biden mocks House GOP: Day 2 of the new Congress\n\nA sixth ballot repeat: McCarthy stuck on 201 votes\n\nThree votes on Wednesday, three identical results – and McCarthy is no closer to being speaker of the House.\n\nMcCarthy again claimed only 201 votes on the sixth ballot, just as he did on the two previous rounds Wednesday, according to the House clerk. McCarthy also fell short in three votes on Tuesday; he needs 218 to prevail, and it's unclear how he can get there.\n\nA group of 20 conservatives again voted for Byron Donalds on the sixth ballot, as they did on ballots four and five.\n\nA former McCarthy supporter, Victoria Spartz, voted \"present.\"\n\nDemocratic leader Hakeem Jeffries remained the top vote getter, with the support of 212 Democratic colleagues.\n\nThe House then adjourned until 8 p.m.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nDay two of Congress:As Santos fiddles with his phone, investigators circle, speaker votes are cast\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose sixth House speaker vote\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy lost a sixth vote in his bid for speaker, putting an exclamation point on two long days that have not gone in his favor.\n\nRep. Kat Cammack of Florida described his sixth nomination as “Groundhog Day” and urged fellow Republicans to unite and get things done for the American people.\n\nBut an opposition group within his own party, largely led by conservative Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, didn’t budge.\n\nWithout a speaker, the House remains paralyzed, without the ability to swear-in members, seat committees or move legislation.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nElsewhere in government:Biden plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border for the first time in his presidency\n\nPerry, while nominating Donalds, credits Pelosi\n\nWhile nominating Republican Rep. Byron Donalds a third time today for speaker, Rep. Scott Perry said it’s actually a Democrat who has done the most to build the current GOP majority: former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.\n\nDonalds knows “Washington is broken” and will work to fix it, he said.\n\nPerry is one of the ringleaders of a group of 20 conservative members opposing House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy.\n\n“We are making history in this process and showing the American people this process works,” Perry said. “Is it going to be hard? Is it going to be painful? Yes. That’s probably why it hasn’t happened in 100 years.”\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat's happening in the House?:What happens after McCarthy loses speaker vote again? Here's how the process works.\n\nJeffries nominated for the sixth time\n\nWith little movement so far on who will become speaker, Aguilar nominated Jeffries again for the sixth time.\n\n“Democrats are united behind a speaker who will build safer communities,” said Aguilar, referring to Democratic priorities on gun control legislation. “A leader who has a track record in actually getting things done.”\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nPreviously:Hakeem Jeffries elected House Democratic leader, making history as first Black lawmaker to lead a major party in Congress\n\nTaylor Greene: House speaker vote 'embarrassing'\n\nAs the House moved to a sixth ballot to determine who will win the speaker’s gavel, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called her party’s inability to pick a speaker “embarrassing.”\n\n“I hope it’s over soon because, to be honest with you, I find it embarrassing,” Greene told reporters on her way back to the House floor.\n\nGreene also gave credit to Democrats for being able to work together, saying that she thinks the GOP “should find ways to work together.”\n\n- Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nCammack says it’s “Groundhog Day” as she nominates McCarthy\n\nGOP Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida called it “Groundhog Day” as she nominated House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy for speaker – his sixth nomination in two days.\n\nShe said the American people don’t care about who’s going to be speaker; they care about getting results to problems, such as the ongoing opioid crisis and “open border.”\n\n“They didn’t send us to be perpetual critics,” Cammack said. “They sent us to get things done.”\n\nIt’s time to unite and do the people’s business, she said.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nQuest for the gavel:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nNo change for McCarthy on the fifth ballot\n\nThe fifth ballot went the same as the fourth, according to the official House tally: McCarthy again won 201 votes, well short of the 218 he needs to become speaker.\n\nAgain, 20 Republicans voted for a non-McCarthy alternative, Byron Donalds.\n\nAgain, former McCarthy supporter Victoria Spartz voted \"present.\"\n\nAnd, again, Hakeem Jeffries racked up 212 votes from fellow Democrats.\n\nOn toward a sixth ballot.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nCould Jeffries win the speakership?\n\nJeffries has consistently received 212 votes in each of the ballots—gaining the support of every Democrat in the House and surpassing the number of ballots for McCarthy. But it is highly unlikely that Jeffries would win the speakership.\n\nIt would require a member, or multiple members, of the Republican party to reach across the aisle and cast a ballot in support of the opposite party.\n\nThe last time a lawmaker voted for the opposite political party was in 2001. Democratic Rep. Jim Traficant from Ohio voted for the Republican speaker nominee. The Democratic party stripped him of all committee assignments in response.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nWho is Hakeem Jeffries?:What to know about the Brooklyn Rep. nominated for Congress\n\nDonalds: ‘I never came here to try to be speaker’\n\nFlorida Rep. Byron Donalds, who received 20 votes in the last ballot, said he expects the speaker to be elected today, but added that serving in the top leadership position was never his intention. He said he anticipates meeting with McCarthy later today.\n\n“I didn’t come to DC being interested in becoming speaker of the House,” he said, adding, however, that he understands the responsibility of making sure the Republican conference can govern. “I’m going to help do that in any way I can,” he said.\n\n“The time of leadership by acclamation, those days are over,” he said.\n\n-- Rachel Looker\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose fifth vote\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appears to have lost his bid for speaker a fifth consecutive time, continuing a string of stinging defeats and a tumultuous day in the lower chamber.\n\nMcCarthy lost three times Tuesday and twice so far Wednesday. There could be more votes this afternoon, as no member in either party has motioned to adjourn.\n\nBefore the fifth vote, multiple McCarthy allies worked to end the impasse with his 20 detractors, but the count proved out of their favor.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nWho is McCarthy?:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nWho voted present today on the fourth ballot?\n\nOn the fourth ballot for speaker, Indiana Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz opted to vote “present” after backing McCarthy in the previous three ballots, in another blow to McCarthy’s chances of securing the speakership.\n\n“We have a constitutional duty to elect the speaker of the House, but we have to deliberate further as a Republican conference until we have enough votes and stop wasting everyone’s time.” Spartz said. “None of the Republican candidates have this number yet. That’s why I voted present after all votes were cast.”\n\nNo member from McCarthy’s opposition has yet to flip and vote for McCarthy as speaker.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nA new Congress with new priorities:What to know on investigations, the fate of Biden's agenda and more\n\nTrump has been calling GOP lawmakers to urge support for McCarthy, Boebert says\n\nGOP Rep. Lauren Boebert in her nominating remarks shook off Trump’s endorsement of McCarthy.\n\n“Let’s stop with the campaign smears and tactics to get people to turn against us,” said Boebert. “Even having my favorite president call us and tell us we need to knock this off, I think it actually needs to be reversed.”\n\n“The president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy, ‘Sir you do not have the votes and it’s time to withdraw.’” said Boebert to cheers from McCarthy’s opposition.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nThrowback:Lawmakers sound off on recorded call of Kevin McCarthy saying Trump should resign over Jan. 6\n\nBoebert nominates Donalds\n\nRep. Lauren Boebert nominated Rep. Byron Donalds for House speaker, his second nomination of the day.\n\nAlong with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ nomination, it marks the first day two Black men have been nominated speaker.\n\nBoebert said Donalds will uphold conservative principles and build consensus. He received 20 votes during his first nomination.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nPreviously:'High school drama'? MAGA lawmakers Greene and Boebert spar over Kevin McCarthy's speaker bid\n\nAguilar nominates Jeffries for the fifth time\n\nAfter the fourth ballot was officially tallied, the House went straight to a fifth ballot with Aguilar nominating Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on the Democratic side again.\n\n“Madam Clerk, the lead vote getter in the last four tallies, Democrats are united behind a speaker who will work to codify the right to seek an abortion into law,” said Aguilar, referencing a key Democratic priority to enshrine abortion rights into federal law.\n\nIn all of the last four ballots, Jeffries earned the complete support of his Democratic colleagues at 212 votes.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nWho is Hakeem Jeffries in Congress?:What to know about the Brooklyn Rep. set to replace Pelosi\n\nDavidson gives McCarthy fifth nomination\n\nRep. Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican who took former Speaker John Boehner’s seat, nominated Rep. Kevin McCarthy Wednesday immediately following the House GOP leader’s fourth loss for speaker.\n\nDavidson pointed out that there may be some members who don’t trust McCarthy, but said there are about 200 members who don’t trust the leader’s 20 detractors.\n\nAfter rattling off a list of concessions he said McCarthy has made to those voting against him, Davidson said, “Kevin McCarthy engaged in that negotiation. He led the Congress to adopt substantive reforms that will make our majority more effective.”\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nRound four: Another loss for McCarthy\n\nThe fourth ballot, the first of Wednesday, went a little worse for McCarthy.\n\nThe struggling speaker candidate officially wound up with only 201 votes, fewer than the numbers he took on the three ballots on Tuesday, according to the House clerk. One of his previous supporters, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, voted \"present\" on Wednesday.\n\nMcCarthy needs 218 votes to win the speaker's job, and he is moving a little farther away.\n\nThis despite a morning endorsement from Donald Trump and heavy lobbying from allies who say all this is making the Republicans look bad.\n\nDespite the pressure, McCarthy opponents who supported Jim Jordan for speaker on Monday backed a new challenger on Tuesday, Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida. He received 20 votes, the same number Jordan got on Tuesday's third ballot.\n\nThe stalemate again allowed Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries to become the top vote getter with 212 Democrats, but without the majority needed to prevail.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWhat's happening in the House:Who are the Republicans balking at Kevin McCarthy as a House speaker?\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose fourth ballot\n\nThe outlook for Kevin McCarthy grew dimmer Wednesday afternoon when the House GOP leader appeared to have lost his bid for speaker a fourth consecutive time.\n\nIt was a crucial vote for McCarthy, who after losing three times yesterday worked to find a path forward today. He and his allies have tried to both sway his opponents and also persuade some of them to vote “present,” making it easier for him to win with a lower voting majority.\n\nOn Wednesday, it was evident McCarthy did little to advance when he did not pick up any votes.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nGallagher nominates McCarthy for speaker\n\nRep. Mike Gallagher. a Wisconsin Republican, nominated House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy for speaker – his fourth nomination in two days.\n\n“I wish we had a bigger majority,” Gallagher said, “but the American people gave us an opportunity.”\n\nMcCarthy is not asking for a vote to keep business as usual, Gallagher said. The leader wants to do the people’s business, he said.\n\nGaetz challenges McCarthy over office space\n\nIt's really gotten personal between aspiring House Speaker McCarthy and conservative critic Matt Gaetz.\n\nGaetz has asked the Architect of the Capitol to investigate McCarthy for moving stuff into the Speaker of the House's suite of offices, even though he failed to actually win the job during three ballots on Tuesday.\n\n\"How long will he remain there before he is considered a squatter?\" the Florida Republican said in a letter to the architect's office.\n\nAnother McCarthy opponent, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, re-tweeted Gaetz's complaint and amplified the itinerant metaphor: \"McCarthy is squatting in the Speaker’s office.\"\n\nFor his part, McCarthy and his allies have criticized Gaetz for saying he would rather see Democrat Hakeem Jeffries win the speaker's job than McCarthy.\n\nStay tuned for more news about McCarthy's political future – and his office.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nMike Pence chimes in, urges House GOP to elect McCarthy as speaker\n\nFormer Vice President Mike Pence offered his perspective on McCarthy’s battle, urging House Republicans “to support my friend, Kevin McCarthy as the next speaker of the House.”\n\n“@GOPLeader’s (McCarthy's) leadership & vision led to the new Republican majority & I know Speaker McCarthy will lead the House to begin a great American comeback!” Pence tweeted.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nAguilar: ‘Crisis of the Congress’\n\nRep. Pete Aguilar of California, the House Democratic Caucus chair, reiterated support for Jeffries Wednesday morning and said he will be nominating Jeffries during the speaker votes this afternoon. All 212 Democrats voted for Jeffries Tuesday during the three ballots.\n\n“This is a crisis of the congress,” Aguilar said of yesterday’s proceedings.\n\nHe added that Democrats have not had any outreach with their colleagues on the other side of the aisle.\n\nCalifornia Rep. Ted Lieu said the speakership position has already weakened from the inability of the Republican caucus to unite and select a speaker, noting that Democrats are also at a standstill and can’t appoint members to committees.\n\n“They’ve already weakened that position,” Lieu said of the speakership, referencing McCarthy’s concessions including the motion to vacate.\n\n- Rachel Looker and Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\n'The rest of the world is looking': Biden calls GOP House speaker fight ‘embarrassing’\n\nPresident Joe Biden called Republicans’ fight over electing a new House speaker “embarrassing,” “not a good look” and “not my problem” as he sought to contrast the chaos in House with a focus on governing.\n\n“I hope they get their act together,” Biden told reporters Wednesday, adding that “the rest of the world is looking” and he is focused on “getting things done.”\n\nBiden, speaking from the South Lawn of the White House, was en route to Kentucky. There he will appear with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and other officeholders of both parties to promote bipartanship by showcasing a major bridge project funded by federal infrastructure dollars.\n\n-- Joey Garrison\n\nGaetz: Trump won't change my mind about opposing McCarthy\n\nMatt Gaetz, an outspoken supporter of Donald Trump, is saying Trump's endorsement of McCarthy won't shake his opposition to the latter's candidacy for House speaker.\n\n\"Sad!\" Gaetz said in a Wednesday statement to Fox News Digital. \"This changes neither my view of McCarthy nor Trump nor my vote.\"\n\nIn a Truth Social post hours earlier, Trump hit the all-caps button to say to Republican dissidents: \"VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY.\"\n\nGaetz is especially close to Trump; he once endorsed Trump himself for the speaker's job. If Trump can't change his mind, it's hard to see many of the 20 or so opponents of McCarthy changing theirs.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWhat about George Santos?\n\nAs if the GOP didn't have enough distractions.\n\nRep.-elect George Santos, of New York, has been embroiled in controversy after reports found he made up multiple parts of his biography during the 2022 midterm campaign.\n\nThe 34-year-old Republican, who is under investigation by New York prosecutors, admitted he lied about his educational achievements, his ancestry and his employment. He was in the chamber Tuesday for the speaker vote and is expected to be there Wednesday.\n\nOn the first three ballots, Santos voted for McCarthy. Like all other members of the House, he can take part in the vote for speaker though he won't be sworn in until after one is chosen.\n\nTrump calls for members to vote for McCarthy\n\nIn a new Truth Social post Wednesday morning, Former President Donald Trump called on Republican House members to support Kevin McCarthy.\n\n“Vote for Kevin, close the deal, take the victory,” Trump said in all caps.\n\nHe urged Republicans: “Do not turn a great triumph into a giant & embarrassing defeat.”\n\nTrump said it’s time to celebrate, seemingly referring to the GOP’s four-vote majority in the House.\n\n“Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a great job – just watch!” he said in closing.\n\nMcCarthy’s most fervent opponents are some of Trump’s biggest supporters. It remains to be seen if they will be swayed by his endorsement Wednesday morning.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat to expect today\n\nThe House formally gavels in at noon, but both Republicans and Democrats will be meeting throughout the morning.\n\nOn the Republican side, Rep. Kevin McCarthy and his allies are working on two fronts: they are trying to negotiate with his detractors to sway their votes to his side and they’re also trying to get some members to vote “present” rather than for a named candidate. Voting present would ultimately help McCarthy boost his numbers and lower the threshold for which he needs to become speaker.\n\nOn the Democratic side, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and Vice Chair Ted Lieu will hold a press conference at 10:45 a.m. after their closed caucus meeting that starts at 9 a.m. Look for Democrats to take questions on whether they will help Republicans by having some members absent from the chamber today, lowering the overall voting majority and number McCarthy would need to clinch the speakership.\n\nLast night, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his caucus is focused on having a working partnership with Republicans to pass bipartisan legislation, but they’re not responsible for helping the GOP get organized.\n\nOnce the House gavels in at noon, members-elect could choose to vote again for speaker or adjourn again to allow for more negotiations.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat changed overnight?\n\nRep. Kevin McCarthy is shifting his strategy to become speaker of the House – or at least he’s shifting the way he’s talking about it.\n\nWhen a confident, almost defiant, McCarthy spoke during and after a Republican conference meeting Tuesday morning, he had said he wasn’t making any more concessions to appease the most conservative flank of his party and that he had “earned” the speakership.\n\nBy Tuesday night at the Capitol, after he had lost three votes to become speaker, he said he wanted all views to be represented on House committees and that negotiations were ongoing between his more than 200 supporters and 20 detractors.\n\nMcCarthy also said he had a new path to the speakership. Rather than focusing on the 218 votes needed to win the speakership outright, he mentioned 11 votes last night he needs to flip. A lot of that strategy involves getting some of his 20 dissenters to vote “present” rather than for a named candidate, which would allow him to win the speakership with a lower majority of votes.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat could happen next?\n\nMembers will continue to vote — again and again potentially when they come back at noon. The vote could last for days, weeks or months until a speaker candidate receives enough votes. This leaves the House paralyzed since no member can be sworn in, no rules can be adopted and no legislative business can be conducted until a speaker is chosen\n\nMcCarthy could drop out of the race for speaker, leaving an opening for another Republican to win the speakership. As of Tuesday afternoon, no McCarthy challengers have come close to gaining enough votes to win the speakership. During the three ballots, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin and New York Rep. Byron Donalds received votes.\n\nAs a last resort, lawmakers could adopt a resolution that would elect a speaker by a plurality or by rank-choice voting instead of a simple majority.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nMore:McCarthy denied, Santos in House: 5 takeaways from the tumultuous first day of a new Congress\n\nMore:What can Congress do about Rep.-elect George Santos, who lied ahead of winning his election?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/04"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/03/new-congress-house-senate-live-updates/10944392002/", "title": "Recap: House adjourns without new speaker; McCarthy loses votes", "text": "WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives adjourned Tuesday without a new speaker after GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy lost three straight ballots in the face of hardline opposition, the first time in a century the usually pro-forma process has taken more than one vote.\n\nThe last time the vote for a new speaker went past the first ballot was 100 years ago, in 1923. The loss underscores how Republican infighting between moderates and hardliners will complicate the GOP's majority in the House of Representatives.\n\nThe House will reconvene on Wednesday, when voting is expected to go to a fourth round.\n\nMcCarthy secured only 203 votes in the first round, far less than the majority of 218 he needed to secure the speaker's post; 19 other Republicans voted for other candidates; McCarthy even trailed Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who had the support of all 212 Democrats.\n\nThe last time the vote for a new speaker went past the first ballot was 100 years ago, in 1923. The loss underscores how Republican infighting between moderates and hardliners will complicate the GOP's majority in the House of Representatives.\n\nNor is that the only source of conflict in the new Congress, with GOP Rep.-elect George Santos of New York under investigation on multiple fronts after admitting to lies about everything from his education to his ancestry to his professional background.\n\nStay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nLatest developments:\n\nHardline Republicans blocked House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy from ascending to the speakership, the first time in a century that the election of a speaker went to a second ballot.\n\nblocked House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy from ascending to the speakership, the first time in a century that the election of a speaker went to a second ballot. McCarthy secured only 203 votes on the first ballot, fewer than the majority of 218 he needed to secure the speaker's post. Nineteen Republicans voted for other candidates. Even Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (212) got more votes than McCarthy.\n\nfewer than the majority of 218 he needed to secure the speaker's post. Nineteen Republicans voted for other candidates. Even Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (212) got more votes than McCarthy. There’s no guarantee a second ballot will result in a new leader. Far-right Republicans have dug in their heels against McCarthy, whom they view as too moderate and willing to work with Democrats.\n\nOn tap for week one:The new Congress will pick a speaker, potentially launch investigations and more\n\nWhat happens next?\n\nThe third time was not a charm for McCarthy. The California representative did not pass the threshold of votes needed to serve as the next speaker in a third ballot for the gavel.\n\nHere’s what could happen next:\n\nMembers will continue to vote— again and again. The House has adjourned for now, but will be back tomorrow. The vote could last for days, weeks or months until a speaker candidate receives enough votes. This leaves the House paralyzed with no member sworn in, no rules adopted and no legislative business conducted.\n\nMcCarthy could drop out of the race for speaker, leaving an opening for another Republican to win the speakership. As of Tuesday afternoon, no McCarthy challengers have come close to gaining enough votes to win the speakership. During the three ballots, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin and New York Rep. Byron Donalds received votes.\n\nAs a last resort, lawmakers could adopt a resolution that would elect a speaker by a plurality or by rank-choice voting instead of a simple majority.\n\n-- Rachel Looker\n\nPicking a new House speaker:What happens after McCarthy loses speaker vote? Here's how the process works.\n\nJeffries: House ‘failed to organize’\n\nHouse Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York skewered the majority party hours after the third failed vote for speaker.\n\n“Today for the first time in 100 years the House of Representatives failed to organize on opening day,” he said during a press conference at the Capitol.\n\nIt ushered a “sad day” for the institution, democracy and American people, he said.\n\nJeffries drew contrasts with Republicans who couldn’t galvanize enough votes for their House leader Kevin McCarthy to elect him speaker.\n\n“Democrats are unified, ready, willing and able to get to work for the American people,” he said. “We are ready to work with Republicans, but we don’t have a willing partner.”\n\n— Candy Woodall\n\n‘A bad start’: GOP fails to unite during House speaker vote\n\nNebraska Republican Don Bacon rebuked the House Republican members who opposed California Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, opting to vote for alternative GOP lawmakers, including Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.\n\n“It’s not a good start and these guys should be embarrassed by the start they gave us,” Bacon told reporters after the House adjourned for the day. “This is a self-inflicted wound by these 19 that put themselves over the whole GOP and whole conference. It’s a bad start.”\n\nBacon said he still sees a path forward for McCarthy to win the speaker’s gavel despite the struggle Tuesday, noting that it may require some “wheeling and dealing” among Congress.\n\n- Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nMcCarthy's failure by the numbers, part 3\n\nMcCarthy fared no better on a third ballot, and actually lost support, according to the formal House tally.\n\nMcCarthy fell to 202 votes after Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida defected and voted for Jim Jordan; that put McCarthy further away from the 218 votes he needs to win the speakership.\n\nA total of 20 Republicans voted for Jordan, though he has said he is not interested in the job.\n\nAs in the previous two ballots, McCarthy trailed Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who had the support of 212 Democrats.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nDems point to history, unity in votes for Jeffries\n\nIn the three rounds of speaker votes for House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, several Democratic members cited the historic moment and the minority party’s strong showing of unity.\n\nAll 212 Democratic members voted for Jeffries each round, as he secured the most votes in the chamber. However, he will not be speaker because his party is in the minority by four votes.\n\nBut in each symbolic vote, many Democrats – especially lawmakers of color – pointed to how the first Black House Democratic leader had the most votes in the chamber and broke barriers to rise to his position. They also remembered the Black political and cultural leaders who paved the road before him, such as late Rep. John Lewis of Georgia and Martin Luther King Jr.\n\nIn his vote for Jeffries in the third round, former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he was voting for Jeffries from “a united party for a united America.”\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nRoy nominates Jordan for the third ballot\n\nTexas Rep. Chip Roy nominated Ohio's Rep. Jim Jordan again for what is now the House’s third ballot for speaker of the House.\n\n“The fact is this place has to change.” said Chip Roy, calling for either changes in House rules or leadership. “I want the tools or I want the leadership to stop the swamp from running over the average American every single day.”\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nAguilar nominates Jeffries again\n\nRep. Pete Aguilar nominated House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries for a third time, as the Republican majority struggled to elect a speaker.\n\nAguilar and other Democrats have noted today that their party is unified behind their candidate, even chanting Jeffries' name after the most recent nomination.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nScalise nominates McCarthy\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy was nominated by his top deputy Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., after losing on two previous ballots.\n\nScalise’s nomination kicks off a third round of voting as 19 Republicans have voted against their party’s House leader.\n\n“We all came here to get things done,” Scalise said, emphasizing to rounds of applause that Republicans need to take action on the southern border, inflation and the ongoing opioid crisis. “Let’s rise to this challenge…and let’s start by electing Kevin McCarthy as speaker.”\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nWhat happens now?:Now that McCarthy has lost two votes for speaker, here's how the House could proceed\n\nMcCarthy's failure by the numbers, part two\n\nIt's official for a second time: McCarthy didn't make it to the House speakership on a second ballot that produced similar numbers as the first but also generated a conservative Republican alternative.\n\nThe 19 Republicans who voted against McCarthy on the first ballot, and backed a variety of other candidates, all supported Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on the second round of voting – never mind that Jordan had given the nominating speech for McCarthy.\n\nJordan has said he is not interested in being speaker, but allies are trying to change his mind – though no one knows if he could command the necessary Republican majority.\n\nMcCarthy again claimed only 203 votes in the second ballot, below the majority of 218 he needed to secure the speaker's post, according to the final tally of the House clerk. He was unable to increase his total on the second ballot.\n\nAnd, once again, McCarthy trailed Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who had the support of 212 Democrats.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWho is Hakeem Jeffries?\n\nNancy Pelosi, the longtime California representative who has served as speaker of the House since 2019, stepped d last year, clearing the way for a new figure to take the lead.\n\nRep. Hakeem Jeffries, a lawmaker from New York who has served in the chamber since 2013, was elected to lead House Democrats.\n\nIn inheriting the seat of Democratic leadership, Jeffries makes history, becoming the first ever person of color to do so.\n\n-- Anna Kaufman\n\nWho is Hakeem Jeffries?:What to know about the Brooklyn Rep. poised to replace Pelosi\n\nWho is Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio?\n\nOhio Rep. Jim Jordan appears to have unified McCarthy’s opposition with all 19 Republicans voting for him – despite Jordan himself nominating and voting for McCarthy to become speaker.\n\nJordan, who has served in the House since 2007, was once political rivals with McCarthy, having run against him for House minority leader when Democrats took the House in 2018. Jordan has now positioned himself as one of McCarthy's closest allies, having nominated him on the second ballot for speaker.\n\nAs it stands, Jordan is set to chair the House Judiciary Committee, one of the chamber’s most powerful investigative committees. But with the speaker’s vote up in the air, it’s unclear what will happen.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose round two\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appeared to lose the second round of voting again by 19 votes from within his Republican Party.\n\nAll of the members who voted for five candidates against McCarthy on the first ballot this time coalesced around Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.\n\nJordan nominated McCarthy for speaker on the second ballot and voted for him.\n\nThe official vote was still being tallied as of 3:20 p.m.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nWho are the Republicans who voted against McCarthy in round one?\n\nOn the first ballot for speaker, 19 Republicans voted against McCarthy: 10 voted for Biggs, 6 for Jordan, 1 for Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, 1 for former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin, and 1 for New York Rep. Byron Donalds.\n\nThe 19 Republicans are:\n\nRep. Andy Biggs of Arizona\n\nRep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina\n\nRep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado\n\nRep.-elect Josh Breechen of Oklahoma\n\nRep. Michael Cloud of Texas\n\nRep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia\n\nRep.-elect Eli Crane of Arizona\n\nRep. Matt Gaetz of Florida\n\nRep. Bob Good of Virginia\n\nRep. Paul Gosar of Arizona\n\nRep. Andy Harris of Maryland\n\nRep.-elect Anna Paulina Luna of Florida\n\nRep. Mary Miller of Illinois\n\nRep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina\n\nRep.-elect Andy Ogles of Tennessee\n\nRep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania\n\nRep. Matt Rosendale of Montana,\n\nRep. Chip Roy of Texas\n\nRep.-elect Keith Self of Texas\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nGaetz nominates Jordan\n\nShortly after Rep. Jim Jordan nominated fellow Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy for speaker, Rep. Matt Gaetz nominated Jordan.\n\nGaetz, R-Florida, voted for Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs on the first ballot.\n\nJordan has said he doesn’t want to be speaker and minutes ago said McCarthy was the best person for the job.\n\n“Sometimes we have to do jobs we don’t really want to do,” Gaetz said. “Jim Jordan is the right person for speaker of the House because he is not beholden to the lobbyists and special interests.”\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nMcCarthy nominated for speaker, again\n\nOnce political rivals, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, nominated McCarthy to the speakership as the House heads to a second ballot to vote for the next speaker.\n\nJordan urged House Republicans to unite behind McCarthy, saying that the differences within the conference “pale in comparison to the differences between us and the left, which now unfortunately controls the other party.”\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nMcCarthy's failure by the numbers\n\nIt's official: McCarthy did not make it to the speakership on the first ballot.\n\nMcCarthy secured only 203 votes, less than the majority of 218 he needed to secure the speaker's post, according to the House clerk; 19 other Republicans voted for other candidates.\n\nMcCarthy even trailed Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who had the support of 212 Democrats.\n\nA second ballot is coming up.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nExplainer:What happens after McCarthy lost the first vote for speaker? Here's how the process works.\n\nHakeem Jeffries got the most votes but it’s not enough: Here’s why\n\nJeffries ended up getting the most votes on the first ballot for speaker at 212 votes, earning the support of all of his Democratic colleagues in stark contrast to McCarthy, who had 19 Republicans vote against him – McCarthy earned 203 votes.\n\nBut to become speaker, a nominee has to earn a majority of the total votes cast. With 434 members voting, that means any nominee will have to reach 218 votes to wield the speaker’s gavel.\n\nThe House could opt to vote in a speaker by plurality, but it is extremely unlikely as it could pose the risk of Jeffries becoming speaker with a Republican majority.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nMcCarthy falls short on first ballot\n\nKevin McCarthy appeared fell short of the majority he needed to become speaker of the House on the first ballot.\n\nThe new Republican-led House will need to hold one more ballot – at least.\n\nThe speaker vote could now drag out for hours or days.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nMcCarthy's opposition nominates Biggs for speaker\n\nRep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., nominated fellow Arizonan Rep. Andy Biggs for speaker of the House in McCarthy’s first official challenge for the speakership.\n\n“America knows that Washington is broken,” said Gosar to applause from only McCarthy’s opposition.\n\nBiggs is not expected to be a leading contender for the speakership, but rather, a placeholder from McCarthy’s opposition.\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nAguilar nominates Jeffries for speaker to raucous applause\n\nRep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., nominated House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker of the House to raucous applause from Democrats.\n\n“Today Madam Clerk, House Democrats are united,” Aguilar said, in a show of contrast to McCarthy’s challenges in his bid for speaker. “We are unified behind a speaker who is an unapologetic advocate for protecting and expanding our freedoms.”\n\n“Let’s go Hakeem!” one Democrat cheered.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nEarlier:Hakeem Jeffries elected House Democratic leader, making history as first Black lawmaker to lead a major party in Congress\n\nStefanik nominates McCarthy as speaker\n\nRep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., nominated House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy as speaker shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, marking the beginning of a long vote among the 434 House members at the Capitol today.\n\nShe worked to make the case McCarthy is an experienced leader, a true conservative and that “nobody has worked harder” to put Republicans in the majority.\n\nStefanik said McCarthy has done well to build consensus – even as he has struggled the last two months to galvanize unequivocal support in his bid to be speaker.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nHouse session starts as speaker vote nears\n\nThe afternoon began with the traditional fixtures of a new session of Congress: about three dozen children and babies watching history unfold as family members prepare to be sworn in, cheers and jubilation as one party retires from the House majority and another takes over, and curious onlookers in the gallery waiting to see what happens next.\n\nRep. Greg Pence, a Catholic Republican from Indiana and brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, held his grandson during the opening prayer, making the sign of the cross on his forehead. Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida sat with other “never Kevin” voters who oppose GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., received thunderous applause as she gaveled out for the last time.\n\nThe otherwise peaceful and ceremonial beginning is expected to take a sharp turn when a contentious speaker vote begins, launching a historic decision in Congress that could take several ballots, hours and days to determine the next House speaker.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nPreviously:Who are the Republicans balking at Kevin McCarthy as a House speaker?\n\nRepublicans officially take House majority\n\nThe House has now gaveled in and Republicans have officially taken up the majority.\n\nFirst orders of business: Taking roll of the new members and then voting on a new speaker – and it's uncertain who it will be.\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nMcCarthy: 'I'm not going anywhere;' willing to hang in for multiple ballots\n\nOne thing McCarthy did not do during his brief remarks to reporters Tuesday: He did not withdraw from the speaker's race.\n\n\"I'm not going anywhere,\" said McCarthy, who did pull out from a speaker's race in 2015 when it appeared he lacked the votes to prevail.\n\nThis time around, McCarthy said he is prepared to go through several ballots if necessary, saying opponents should not be rewarded for making unreasonable demands.\n\nSome opponents are working \"for themselves,\" and not for \"the country,\" he added.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nHouse speaker vote to begin soon\n\nVoting is slated to begin shortly after noon as House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy tries to outlast his detractors in his bid for speaker, a position he has wanted for years.\n\nIt’s a role he didn’t have enough votes to win a half hour before the new Congress was scheduled to be gaveled in by the House clerk.\n\nMcCarthy said he will not bow out, signaling there could be multiple ballot votes for the first time in 100 years and it could take many hours — or even days — before a new speaker is elected.\n\n— Candy Woodall\n\nRepublican lawmaker announces vote against McCarthy\n\nNorth Carolina Rep. Dan Bishop publicly shared in a statement that he “will not be supporting the status quo,” in another setback to McCarthy’s chances at securing the speakership.\n\n“Kevin McCarthy is not the right candidate to be Speaker,” Bishop said in a statement on Twitter. “He has perpetuated the Washington status quo that makes this body one of the most unsuccessful and unpopular institutions in the country.”\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nBeyond the speaker vote:What can Congress do about Rep.-elect George Santos, who lied ahead of winning his election?\n\nMcCarthy: Gaetz, other critics are willing to let Hakeem Jeffries become speaker\n\nSaying his opponents have no plan of their own, McCarthy said some Republican critics are even willing to let House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries become speaker of a House with a GOP majority.\n\nMcCarthy singled out one of his most vocal critics, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.\n\n\"Matt Gaetz said, 'I don't care if we go to plurality and we elect Hakeem Jeffries,'\" McCarthy said.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nPreviously:Hakeem Jeffries elected House Democratic leader, making history as first Black lawmaker to lead a major party in Congress\n\nGOP power struggle before vote\n\nThe power struggle within the fractured House Republican caucus reached a pinnacle an hour before a contentious vote for speaker.\n\nAllies of Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California raised their voices in the basement halls of the Capitol, calling out his detractors as selfish politicians who are acting in their own interest and not that of the country.\n\nMore than a dozen conservative members who oppose McCarthy left a Tuesday morning meeting saying nothing has changed, despite the House GOP leader’s multiple attempts in two months to cajole his right flank into supporting him.\n\n— Candy Woodall\n\nRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘I am furious’\n\nRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., one of the House GOP conference’s most conservative members and a McCarthy supporter, told reporters Tuesday she is “furious” about Republican opposition to McCarthy’s bid for speaker.\n\nGreene said on Monday night that three members of the House Freedom Caucus were “demanding positions for themselves, demanding gavel positions, demanding subcommittees, demanding for people to be taken off committees and people to be put on committees.”\n\nThe Georgia Republican has positioned herself as a McCarthy ally and has been attempting to serve as a bridge between the conference’s most conservative and more moderate lawmakers.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nExplained:What happens if McCarthy can't get votes needed for speaker? Here's how the election works\n\nGaetz: McCarthy is the \"biggest alligator\" in \"the swamp\"\n\nAs the vote approaches, it doesn't sound like Kevin McCarthy's opponents are backing down – and they still have the votes to block his election as Speaker.\n\nRep, Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and other opponents told a brief news conference that McCarthy is refusing to pursue fundamental change, and Gaetz sought to illustrate his point with an aquatic metaphor.\n\n\"If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise,\" Gaetz said. \"I am a Florida man, and I know of what I speak.\"\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWhat can Congress do about Rep.-elect George Santos?\n\nGeorge Santos will likely be sworn in as a freshman congressman from New York on Tuesday, but there are questions about how long and whether he should remain in office.\n\nThe newly elected Republican admitted last week to lying to voters about his resume, including his personal and professional experiences, and said he still intends to take office in the new 118th Congress.\n\nNick LaLota, a fellow newly elected House Republican from New York, said in a statement last week, \"a full investigation by the House Ethics Committee and, if necessary, law enforcement, is required. New Yorkers deserve the truth, and House Republicans deserve an opportunity to govern without this distraction.\"\n\nRead the rest here:What can Congress do about Rep.-elect George Santos, who lied ahead of winning his election?\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nHouse member: 'Nothing's changed'\n\nRep. Bob Good of Virginia left a Republican caucus meeting and told reporters, \"Nothing's changed.\" Good is one of a group of \"Never Kevin\" Republicans who have vowed not to vote for Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California as speaker.\n\nThe opposition from that group has complicated what is normally a smooth and quick process. Good's pronouncement came less than 90 minutes before the official start of the new Congress.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nMcCarthy opponents not blinking as Speaker vote nears\n\nRep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., tweeted a statement saying McCarthy has worked too often against conservative goals, from a balanced budget to a stringent border plan (items that McCarthy supporters say are impossible because of Democratic numbers in Congress).\n\n“Kevin McCarthy had an opportunity to be Speaker of the House,\" Perry said. \"He rejected it.”\n\nOver the weekend, Perry promoted a letter of criticism of McCarthy signed by nine House Republicans – more than enough to deprive him of the majority the would-be speaker needs to prevail and possibly leading to a days-long struggle for GOP leadership.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nMeanwhile: Mitch McConnell becomes longest-serving Senate leader in history\n\nWhile McCarthy struggles to become House Speaker, Senate counterpart Mitch McConnell enjoys smooth sailing into history this week – he becomes the longest serving party leader in Senate history.\n\nMcConnell surpasses Sen. Mike Mansfield, D-Montana, who served as Democratic leader from 1961 to 1977.\n\nOne downside for McConnell: He is still minority leader because the Republicans failed to win a Senate majority in last year's elections.\n\nFormer President Donald Trump and other conservatives – including outspoken opponents of McCarthy – had wanted to depose McConnell, but he easily beat back a challenge from Florida senator Rick Scott.\n\nAlso: McConnell has an interesting way to mark his record-setting week: He will spend time Wednesday with President Joe Biden, who is traveling to Kentucky for an infrastructure event.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWho controls what in the 118th Congress?\n\nRepublicans secured control of the House following the 2022 midterms by winning 222 seats. Democrats won 212 seats. There is one vacancy due to the recent death of Virginia Democrat Donald McEachin.\n\nIn the Senate, Democrats have a narrower lead with 48 Democrats, 49 Republicans and three independents – two of whom/align themselves with Democrats, giving the party 50 Senate votes.\n\nArizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who announced last month she will be leaving the Democratic party and registering as an independent, said she will not caucus with Republicans but has not indicated if she will join her independent colleagues.\n\nDemocrats will still be able to break 50-50 ties with Vice President Kamala Harris, who can cast deciding votes in her role as Senate president.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nA new committee focused on China\n\nAmong priorities in the new Congress: China.\n\nEarlier in December, McCarthy announced that Republicans will be establishing a new select committee on China with Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, a former Marine and intelligence officer, at the helm as chairman.\n\n“The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest geopolitical threat of our lifetime.” McCarthy said in a statement.\n\nGrowing competition with China has drawn bipartisan interest from Democrats and Republicans, and Gallagher has a history of working with Democrats on policy aimed at increasing competitiveness with China.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nWhat’s happening with committees?\n\nBack in control of House committees, Republicans have already announced several matters they plan to investigate, including Hunter Biden and COVID-19 spending. House speaker hopeful Rep. Kevin McCarthy has also vowed to use the position to keep certain Democrats off of committees.\n\nSenate Democrats gained more power in committees with Sen. Raphael Warnock’s win in Georgia last December. They have a chance to keep this edge despite Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's split from the party shortly after, as the Arizona Senator said at that time she plans to caucus with Democrats and maintain her committee positions.\n\n- Savannah Kuchar", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/mccarthy-house-speaker-fight-gop/index.html", "title": "GOP tension builds over House speaker race as McCarthy and ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy and his critics are gearing up for a potential floor fight over the speakership in January, raising the possibility of a messy intraparty showdown that could bring uncertainty and chaos just as Republicans prepare to enter their new majority.\n\nMcCarthy still insists he will have the 218 votes needed to secure the speakership. Conservative hardliners seeking to plot McCarthy’s ouster say otherwise.\n\nAnd what will happen if he can’t get 218 votes? No one knows.\n\n“You can’t beat somebody with nobody, and there’s nobody else running,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, a South Dakota Republican who supports McCarthy for speaker. “Even if there was another announced candidate, that person would not be better positioned to get 218 than Kevin.”\n\nMcCarthy’s foes say another candidate will emerge and that talks have already begun to recruit a replacement. Some of Kevin McCarthy’s detractors have asked whether Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Tom Emmer of Minnesota would be willing to jump into the race, according to GOP sources familiar with the informal conversations. But all three men have made clear they’re backing McCarthy for speaker and wouldn’t challenge him for the job.\n\nIt’s still not known what would happen on Jan. 3 if McCarthy cannot get 218 votes to be elected speaker. But there’s an expectation that any number of Republicans could throw their hat into the ring if McCarthy stumbles or drops out.\n\n“There’s quality candidates who represent the conservative center of the Republican conference who are privately acknowledging that once it becomes clear it’s not going to Kevin McCarthy, they are interested in becoming speaker,” said Rep. Bob Good, a Virginia Republican who’s one of the handful of conservative hardliners publicly saying they are “hard no” votes against McCarthy. “And there are members who would excite the base, who would excite Republicans across the country, unite Republicans across the country as candidates, but they’re not going to raise their hand publicly until it’s clear to them that it’s not Kevin McCarthy.”\n\nIf McCarthy loses more than four GOP votes on January 3, he is expected to fall under the 218 votes he would need to claim the speakership. Then the House would keep voting until someone wins a majority of support from the members in attendance who are choosing a specific candidate and not voting “present.” If that happens, McCarthy insists he still won’t drop out.\n\n“Oh yeah, I’ll take the speaker’s fight to the floor,” McCarthy told CNN.\n\nMcCarthy also said he was willing to go through as many rounds of voting on the floor as it takes, predicting: “I’ll get there.”\n\nMeanwhile, the California Republican’s fiercest detractors are also digging in.\n\nMembers of the hardline House Freedom Caucus met with the chamber’s parliamentarian on Wednesday in order to get a briefing on the floor rules and procedures that dictate the process for the speakership vote. And some of McCarthy’s foes are reiterating their pledge to oppose him on the floor and calling on the GOP leader to drop out of the race now so they can start the search for a serious alternative.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Analysis: One of Trump's biggest defenders thinks he has a chance to lead the RNC 04:02 - Source: CNN\n\n“He can avoid it now,” said Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, a former co-chair of the Freedom Caucus who lost to McCarthy for his conference’s nomination to be speaker, of a potential floor fight. “He doesn’t have the votes. We can move to different candidates. I’m willing to entertain anyone else.”\n\nThe commitment from both camps to take the speakership battle to January is shaping up to be a political game of chicken, with both sides signaling they’re willing to call the other’s bluff. But most Republicans are hoping it won’t come to that, worrying it would set the wrong tone as they enter into power and prepare for a tough two years of governing while working to protect their narrow majority.\n\n“I don’t want to see that happen. I can’t guarantee that not happening right now,” Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump ally who is backing McCarthy, said of a speaker showdown on the floor. “But the goal is to stop that from happening, to get everybody on the same page, and create unity so that we’re ready from day one.”\n\nAdded Tennessee Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, another McCarthy backer: “My hope is that we have unity and get this done on the first ballot, but we’ll see. … I’m hoping and praying for unity.”\n\nSome Republicans think the hardliners are bluffing.\n\n“Maybe they’re just trying to promote themselves a little bit?” said Rep. Greg Pence of Indiana, adding that conservative members’ views behind closed doors are more collegial than they may be publicly.\n\nAsked if he could instead vote for McCarthy’s No. 2, Scalise, for speaker, Pence said: “I’m voting for Kevin McCarthy. He’s gonna win.”\n\nTension builds in GOP Conference\n\nThe last time a vote for speaker had to go to multiple ballots was in 1923. And the longest time in history it took to elect a speaker lasted two months, with a total of 133 ballots.\n\nIn recent weeks, part of McCarthy’s pitch to his critics has been that if they don’t unify, then Democrats could theoretically band together and peel off a few Republicans to elect the next speaker on the floor.\n\n“Having a challenge on the floor is never going to be positive and really turn the floor over the Democrats,” McCarthy told reporters this week.\n\nBiggs, however, brushed off that possibility. And most Republicans don’t see it as a serious threat, though they privately acknowledge the speaker’s race could go to multiple ballots.\n\n“I don’t buy it,” Biggs said. “Name the Democrat that a Republican would vote for.”\n\nSome moderates and mainstream Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with their colleagues’ threats to cause chaos on the floor. And some of them have a warning of their own: if the vote goes to a second ballot or more, they plan to just keep voting for McCarthy – potentially foiling the anti-McCarthy group’s plans to force him out of contention in the hopes of getting lawmakers to rally around an alternative.\n\n“Many of us are perturbed. We took a vote and McCarthy got 85%,” said Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, who represents a district that Joe Biden carried in 2020, referring to the internal GOP election when Republicans backed McCarthy to be their nominee. “The right thing to do is coalesce around someone who has broad support. To do otherwise weakens the conference and hurts the team.”\n\nA group of mainstream House Republicans, known as the Republican Governance Group, sent a letter to their GOP colleagues on Friday urging them to unite behind McCarthy for speaker and warning that a floor fight over choosing their next leader could undermine the GOP as they enter the majority.\n\n“Such quarrels will only delay our ability to establish a working majority in the People’s House, which is critically important to successfully countering a Democrat-controlled Senate and Executive Branch,” the lawmakers wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN. “But make no mistake, we will not allow this conference to be dragged down a path to a paralyzed House that weakens our hard-fought majority.”\n\nThe letter, which is signed by 21 Republicans, also notes that while Republicans won the House, voters handed them power “skeptically” – a nod to the fact they only will have a razor-thin majority next year.\n\nRep. Dave Joyce of Ohio, who chairs the Republican Governance Group, said in a statement to CNN: “This Conference cannot handcuff itself to a burning building before we gavel in the 118th Congress. We are the dealmakers without whom this legislative body cannot govern, and we intend to provide the American people with a working majority.”\n\nSo far, at least five House Republicans have vowed to oppose McCarthy for speaker – a problem for him since he likely can only afford to lose four GOP lawmakers – though some of them have expressed openness to negotiating.\n\nMcCarthy’s foes say he has a much bigger problem.\n\n“Well, I think it’s a much larger number than people realize,” Good said of the McCarthy “no” votes. “My hope would be that more of them will start to come out publicly. So it just becomes increasingly clear that he doesn’t have the votes and we need to consider other candidates.”\n\nTheir efforts to recruit a viable alternative have been unsuccessful thus far. Scalise, McCarthy’s top deputy, has repeatedly said on the record he is supporting McCarthy and is looking forward to serving as majority leader next year.\n\nJordan, a McCarthy ally and co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, told CNN he is not interested in the speaker’s gavel and just wants to be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and wouldn’t entertain questions about a hypothetical scenario in which McCarthy can’t get the necessary support to secure the speaker’s gavel. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has openly campaigned for Jordan to become speaker, told CNN he has asked Jordan to run “daily for two years.”\n\nAnd Emmer, who will serve as majority whip next year, said in a statement that “There is no one more deserving to lead House Republicans than Kevin McCarthy and he has my full support. Kevin has earned that right by raising hundreds of millions of dollars and helping Republicans win seats in back-to-back cycles.”\n\nTo win over holdouts, McCarthy has brokered negotiations on potential rules changes designed to empower rank-and-file members, such as enabling members to offer more amendments and giving them more notice before fast-tracked bills come to the floor.\n\nAnd McCarthy has also made public professions about what he would do as speaker, from dangling a potential impeachment inquiry over Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to threatening to investigate the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021 — both top priorities on the right.\n\n“We’ve got a long way to go,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, the current Freedom Caucus chief. But he added: “I think there is a burgeoning realization and acknowledgment that this place is broken. That’s a start.”\n\nThis story has been updated with additional details.", "authors": ["Melanie Zanona Manu Raju", "Melanie Zanona", "Manu Raju"], "publish_date": "2022/12/02"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/18/politics/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-mike-gallagher-cnntv/index.html", "title": "Kevin McCarthy speakership: Gallagher signals confidence in ...", "text": "Washington CNN —\n\nA Republican lawmaker on Sunday signaled confidence in House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy’s ability to capture the speakership and move forward even as a number of conservative hard-liners are threatening to upend his bid.\n\nRep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that Republicans “will get there, and I’m not budging off my support of Speaker McCarthy.”\n\n“We can’t spend all of January … mired in this internal battle. We need to populate various committees. There’s all sorts of work that needs to be done,” he said.\n\nMcCarthy is in a fight for the speakership, with five hard-line Republicans opposing his bid. With the House GOP holding 222 seats in the next Congress, the California Republican can only afford to lose the support of four members to secure the 218 votes he’d need to be elected speaker.\n\nMcCarthy has negotiated behind closed doors over chamber rules that his detractors are seeking to weaken the speakership, including allowing an individual member to call for a vote to oust the speaker. That’s something the McCarthy has resisted so far.\n\nMcCarthy said Friday that the five conservative holdouts – Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Bob Good of Virginia and Matt Rosendale of Montana – have not budged in their opposition to him and offered dire warnings that House Republicans’ hard-fought narrow majority could be derailed if they don’t bend.\n\nGallagher noted Sunday that House Republicans will “only have control of one chamber of government, but there’s a lot of things we can do.”\n\n“It might take multiple votes series, but I believe we are going to get there. And the fact that Speaker McCarthy wants to do things like create a select committee on China, wants to make it bipartisan, I think is a testament to his prioritization in leading this next Congress,” he said.\n\nGallagher, whom McCarthy has appointed to chair the new select committee on China, also discussed Sunday his efforts in Congress on TikTok, saying he believes the video app should be banned in the United States.\n\nA new bill introduced in Congress by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Gallagher, would “block and prohibit all transactions” in the United States by social media companies with at least 1 million monthly users that are based in, or under the “substantial influence” of, countries that are considered foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.\n\n“TikTok is owned by ByteDance, and ByteDance is effectively controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,” he said. “So the question we have to ask is whether we want to give the CCP the ability to track our location, track what websites we visit, even when we’re not using the TikTok app itself. And increasingly, since a large percentage of young Americans use TikTok to get their news, whether we want them to have the ability to selectively edit that news.”\n\nCritics have said ByteDance could be compelled by Chinese authorities to hand over data pertaining to US citizens or to act as a channel for malign influence operations.\n\nBut, Gallagher stressed, he doesn’t want to link the Chinese Communist Party with the Chinese people.\n\n“I view the Chinese Communist Party as an enemy of the United States. But it’s important that we don’t conflate the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people,” he said. “I think that’s absolutely critical to our long-term competition with China, and I view the CCP in some ways as an enemy of its own people.”", "authors": ["Daniella Diaz Paul Leblanc", "Daniella Diaz", "Paul Leblanc"], "publish_date": "2022/12/18"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/politics/mccarthy-speaker-house-republicans-218/index.html", "title": "House Republicans brace for doomsday scenario if McCarthy falls ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nAs a right-wing faction threatens to tank his speakership ambitions, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy delivered a promise: “I’ll never leave,” making clear he has no plans to drop out of the race even if the fight goes to many ballots on the floor.\n\n“I’ll get 218,” McCarthy told CNN, referring to the votes he’d need to become House speaker.\n\nBut Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a conservative hardliner who is challenging McCarthy to be the most powerful member of Congress, doubled down on his commitment to stop the California Republican’s ascension.\n\n“I’m not bluffing,” Biggs told CNN on Thursday when asked if he would drop out.\n\nWith the increasing likelihood that the speaker’s race could go to multiple ballots – something that hasn’t happened since 1923 – McCarthy’s allies and foes alike are starting to quietly game out the next steps if he can’t get the necessary 218 votes on the first round and they move into uncharted territory.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Bash asks Pelosi if McCarthy has what it takes to be House Speaker. See her response 02:37 - Source: CNN\n\nMcCarthy’s supporters are vowing to keep voting for him on multiple ballots, and GOP sources said there are early discussions about a floor strategy for that potential scenario, including whether to recess the House or let the votes keep rolling – no matter how long it takes.\n\nTo prevent that from happening, McCarthy and his team have been engaged in serious talks with a group of conservatives, including over potentially giving them influential committee assignments and more power to drive the legislative process. GOP sources said those negotiations are still early in the process and could ultimately end up giving the group some aspect of what the hardliners desperately want: additional power to seek a sitting speaker’s ouster with a vote on the floor.\n\nAsked if he would drop out of the race if he doesn’t get 218 votes on the first ballot, Biggs refused to say.\n\n“I’m not going to talk about hypotheticals,” said Biggs, who lost his conference’s nomination to become speaker last month after securing 31 votes.\n\nBut in the case of a doomsday scenario – where neither McCarthy nor Biggs can get 218 votes on January 3 and neither drops out – some pro-McCarthy Republicans are signaling support for a different approach. Some said they would be willing to work with Democrats to find a moderate Republican who can get the 218 votes to clinch the gavel – a long-shot idea that underscores the uncertainty looming over the speaker’s race.\n\n“Our initial plan is vote for Kevin and let him fight this out repeatedly. … But if they think they’re going to use this to infinity to drive him out, well, we’re not going to bend to their will,” said Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican.\n\nBacon added if GOP hardliners don’t bend, then he would be willing to work with Democrats to find another more moderate Republican to secure the 218 votes to become speaker.\n\n“If a small group refuses to play ball and be part of the team, then we’ll work across the aisle to find an agreeable Republican,” Bacon said. “But I hope we don’t get there.”\n\nMcCarthy’s detractors don’t buy it.\n\n“There are very significant rules, changes being discussed that would open the House up, that would be transformative, that would give us the ability to actually legislate and represent our constituents,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida who said he’s a “hard no” on McCarthy. “And whoever is speaker is going to have to agree to those rules, I think. And I don’t think that person will be Kevin McCarthy because Kevin McCarthy won’t have 218 votes.”\n\nGaetz added: “I think the person who is ultimately going to be the speaker isn’t even the candidate yet.”\n\nIndeed, the small group of Republicans known as the “Never Kevin” movement – confident that Biggs could not win a majority of the House – has been trying to recruit a viable alternative, and claim “several” Republicans have privately told them they would be interested in running if McCarthy drops out. Their goal with voting for Biggs is to show that McCarthy is weak on the first ballot, which they hope would inspire other candidates to jump in.\n\n“How many members vote for someone else will show the strength (of the anti-McCarthy group),” Rep. Bob Good, a Virginia Republican who is a “hard no” on McCarthy, told CNN. “I think the second ballot is going to have more candidates. … There are already Republicans letting us know they’d like to be considered.”\n\nEven House Republicans who are supporting McCarthy predicted that a number of lawmakers would run if McCarthy withdrew his name, with some saying that House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, McCarthy’s top deputy, would emerge as the front runner in that case.\n\n“If at some point, if Kevin did take his name out, then you would have good people (running). Scalise would probably be the guy,” one GOP lawmaker said.\n\nScalise has repeatedly vowed to support McCarthy and refused to speculate on whether he would jump into the race if the GOP leader can’t get the votes.\n\n“No, I’m not going to get into speculation,” Scalise told CNN. “Obviously, our focus is on getting it resolved by January 3. And there’s a lot of conversations that everybody has been having, Kevin, surely, with the members who have expressed concerns.”\n\nRep. Jim Jordan, the conservative set to become the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, went even further, ruling out jumping into the race even though Gaetz and other hardliners have urged him to seek the speakership.\n\n“No,” Jordan said when asked if he’d run if McCarthy couldn’t get the votes. “I want to chair the Judiciary Committee.”\n\nMcCarthy’s weighs more concessions\n\nWith 222 GOP seats next year, McCarthy can only afford to lose four Republican votes and still win the speakership. But he and his team are still hopeful he can win on the first round as he has been working both publicly and privately to win over holdouts. So far, at least five Republicans have promised to oppose him on the floor – but in a positive sign for McCarthy, one of them has shown he’s gettable.\n\n“I will vote for Andy for speaker, subject to what we’re discussing,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican after leaving a meeting in McCarthy’s office on Wednesday. He later added: “All this is positive. We’re having good change, regardless of what happens. And you’ll see more of it.”\n\nIn addition to those five, a new group of seven Republican hardliners on Thursday laid out a list of conditions to earn their vote, although they did not specifically threaten to vote against McCarthy if their demands aren’t met.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback GOP lawmaker explains why he won't vote for McCarthy to become House Speaker 03:08 - Source: CNN\n\nTheir list of demands – which shows the work McCarthy needs to do to get to 218 – includes a promise that leaders won’t play in primaries, restoring the motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, placing more conservatives on key committees, giving members at least 72 hours to read bill text before a vote, and committing to using the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip to demand more spending cuts, according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN.\n\nMcCarthy has already begun brokering some rules changes to empower rank-and-file members, created a new select committee on China, vowed to boot some Democratic lawmakers from their committees, and sketched out in greater detail his investigative plans – including a potential impeachment inquiry into Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.\n\nBut McCarthy still has additional levers he could pull. Conservative hardliners are pushing for more representation on the powerful House Rules Committee, a leadership-aligned panel that decides how and when bills come to the floor. In one private meeting with a member of the House Freedom Caucus, McCarthy was urged to take a harder public stance on the coming policy issues for next year, according to a person familiar with the matter.\n\nAnd the anti-McCarthy group is also still pressing for a process that would allow any single member to hold a floor vote on ousting the sitting speaker, which was wielded over former Speaker John Boehner before he was forced out of the job by the far right in 2015.\n\nMcCarthy has been adamantly opposed to restoring the “motion to vacate the chair,” and a majority of the House GOP voted against the idea during a during a closed-door meeting last month. When asked by CNN on Thursday if he would visit the issue, McCarthy laughed and refused to answer.\n\nBut McCarthy’s detractors said it’s an issue very much still on the table and think he may end up needing to embrace it if he still doesn’t have the speaker votes by January 3. GOP sources told CNN there’s potential room to negotiate to give members more power to call for a vote to oust the speaker – perhaps by allowing the vote to occur if a certain number of members call for one, rather than allowing a single lawmaker to call for a vote as the hardliners want.\n\n“A competent secure leader is not threatened by (the motion to vacate),” Good said. “And so, yeah, that I think that’s central to many members.”\n\nYet others said what Good and his allies are seeking is a recipe for chaos — and are calling on their colleagues to fall in line.\n\n“I think that’s one of the reasons that we didn’t see a red wave … the idea that people are sick and tired of the noise, and they’re sick and tired of the fighting,” Rep. David Joyce, an Ohio Republican, said of the impact of a January 3 floor fight. “And I know I get that wherever I go in my district is, ‘why can’t you guys just get things done?’”\n\nAs McCarthy scrambles to lock down speaker’s votes, he also delayed the GOP’s internal elections for committee chairmanships. There was some speculation that one of the members competing for a gavel, Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida, may retire early if he doesn’t win, which would make McCarthy’s math problem even tougher. But Buchanan vehemently disputed the notion.\n\n“It’s ridiculous, laughable,” he told reporters. “I’m doing everything I can to help get Kevin to 218.”\n\nMcCarthy could also try to convince Democrats or his GOP detractors to vote present or not show up to the floor proceedings, which would lower the threshold he needs to become speaker. But McCarthy promised his GOP colleagues he would not court Democratic votes.\n\nCould Democrats join Republicans and select a speaker?\n\nIn recent weeks, part of McCarthy’s pitch to his critics has been warning that if they don’t unify, then Democrats could theoretically band together and peel off a few Republicans to elect the next speaker.\n\nSome Democrats have said they would entertain the idea, including Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat from Texas who told CNN some of his GOP colleagues have approached him “informally” about it.\n\nJoyce also said some members have reached out to him about potentially running, but he dismissed it. “At the end of the day, Kevin’s going to be the new speaker.”\n\nNew York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the next House Democratic leader, said, “there are no behind-the-scenes conversations” that he has had with Republicans to put up an alternative candidate. But he refused to rule out a scenario where his caucus would help elect the next speaker if McCarthy couldn’t get the votes.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Hear if Hakeem Jeffries would be willing to help Kevin McCarthy 02:25 - Source: CNN\n\n“Democrats are in the process of organizing the Democratic Conference,” Jeffries told CNN on Thursday. “Republicans are in the process of organizing the Republican Conference. Let’s see what happens on January 3.”\n\nSome of the potential consensus picks that have been floated included retiring Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan and John Katko of New York, who both voted to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the Capitol insurrection; Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus; and Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, a veteran lawmaker and incoming head of the House Rules Committee.\n\nBut that would require agreement from every single Democrat and the help of five Republicans – no easy feat. Upton said he has no plans to be in Washington that day, telling CNN: “I’ll be skiing.”\n\nAnd progressives like Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York said they would never vote for a GOP speaker candidate, no matter how moderate.\n\n“No,” Bowman said, indicating he’d be voting for Jeffries on every ballot on January 3. “It’s going to be Hakeem.”\n\nBut Republican Rep. Bruce Westerman said this has happened before – nearly a decade ago in his state where minority Democrats in the Arkansas legislature joined forces with a handful of Republicans to elect a GOP speaker of their choice. Westerman privately made this case to his colleagues at a closed-door meeting this week.\n\n“I’m concerned about January 3 getting here and us not being able to form a Congress and organize committees and getting delayed in pushing the policy objectives that we want to push,” Westerman said.\n\nWesterman added that the discussion over changing House rules is good for the party. But he added: “I’m not really excited about any type of destructive movement.”", "authors": ["Manu Raju Melanie Zanona", "Manu Raju", "Melanie Zanona"], "publish_date": "2022/12/09"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/politics/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-republicans/index.html", "title": "Kevin McCarthy: GOP hardliners ratchet up demands amid calls for ...", "text": "Washington CNN —\n\nThe GOP fight for House speaker intensified on Monday with a group of incoming chairmen demanding that their party fall in line behind House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy – and his conservative critics pushing back.\n\nMcCarthy, who lacks the 218 votes to become speaker on January 3 amid opposition from at least five House Republicans, has moved for the past several weeks to try to win them over with deal-cutting and potential rules changes to empower rank-and-file members.\n\nBut they have yet to commit to backing him, prompting a growing public pressure campaign from GOP leaders, his staunchest allies and former President Donald Trump to unite ahead of the crucial vote. If McCarthy loses more than four GOP votes, he would be denied the 218 votes he needs to win the speakership, meaning the race could go to multiple ballots for the first time since 1923. It’s unclear what would happen if the fight persists.\n\nThe uncertainty has prompted a growing push by McCarthy allies to warn that a messy fight would undermine the majority they spent four years to win back.\n\n“Let us not squander this majority before we even take back the gavels,” the incoming chairs wrote in a letter on Monday. “Time is of the essence, and the American people want us to get to work now. Majorities are earned, never given – and the American people will remember how we choose to begin ours.”\n\nBut some were not moved – including Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Trump ally who has vowed to deny McCarthy the 218 votes to win the speakership.\n\n“I will be for Trump for President, but I will not follow him in supporting Kevin McCarthy for Speaker,” Gaetz said in an interview with conservative activist Charlie Kirk.\n\nRep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican of Colorado, has not yet said if she will vote for McCarthy. But she has demanded that the House rules be changed so that one individual member can call for a vote to push for the ouster of a sitting speaker – known on Capitol Hill as a “motion to vacate.” She suggested that issue is a red line for her.\n\n“You cannot demand more responsibility without accountability. From the beginning I have said my hardline is vacate the chair. We have to have an accountability mechanism on the speaker of the House,” Boebert said on the same program. “This is third in command for the presidency of the United States of America and we are going to strip away the one check and balance members of Congress have on the Speaker of the House?”\n\nMcCarthy has signaled a willingness to negotiate on that issue, but neither he nor many of his allies are willing to go as far as hardliners like Boebert want, warning it would lead to chaos in the chamber.\n\nIf Boebert comes out opposed to McCarthy, she would join the five other GOP dissidents – Gaetz, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Bob Good of Virginia and Matt Rosendale of Montana.\n\nThe five GOP members have warned they may vote as a bloc on January 3, meaning they’ll all vote the same way. Biggs, who secured 31 votes when he lost the GOP nomination for speaker against McCarthy last month, has told CNN he’s “not bluffing” and plans to run for speaker when the full House votes next month. That would give the opposition a candidate to support in protest of McCarthy.\n\nBiggs has refused to say whether he would continue to stay in the race if it went to multiple ballots.", "authors": ["Manu Raju Lauren Fox", "Manu Raju", "Lauren Fox"], "publish_date": "2022/12/19"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/14/politics/house-leadership-elections/index.html", "title": "What to know about upcoming House leadership elections | CNN ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nA new Congress won’t be sworn in until January and control of the House has not yet been determined, but Republicans appear on track to recapture the chamber and the race to determine who will serve as the next speaker is underway.\n\nHouse GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has officially declared his bid for the speakership, but is already facing headwinds from members of the hardline, pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus who are threatening to withhold their support as they hope to extract concessions.\n\nOn the Democratic side, Nancy Pelosi, the current House speaker, has not yet made clear what her next move will be. Speculation has intensified in Washington over her political future and whether she will run again for the top leadership spot for House Democrats or if she will instead decide to step aside as a new generation of potential leaders waits in the wings.\n\nTiming for internal GOP leadership elections – and the speaker vote\n\nThe vote to elect the next speaker will take place in January at the start of the new Congress, but House Republicans will hold their internal leadership elections to pick a Speaker nominee this week.\n\nRepublicans are scheduled to hold a candidate forum on Monday evening, followed by leadership elections on Tuesday, November 15, according to a copy of the schedule shared with CNN.\n\nThe elections are conducted behind closed doors and are done via secret ballot. In the GOP’s internal leadership elections, McCarthy only needs a simple majority to win his party’s nomination for speaker. That is expected to happen, but McCarthy could still fall short of 218 votes – the magic number needed to win the speaker’s gavel in January.\n\nDuring that speaker vote, McCarthy will have a higher hurdle to clear. The full House holds a vote on the floor for Speaker and to win, a candidate needs to win a majority of all members, which amounts to 218 votes if no member skips the vote or votes “present.”\n\nWhen will Democrats hold their election?\n\nHouse Democrats will hold their internal leadership elections later – the week after Thanksgiving.\n\nHouse Democratic leadership elections have been announced for Wednesday, November 30. Voting will take place behind closed doors via secret ballot using an app.\n\nTo be elected to any position in Democratic leadership, a candidate needs to win a majority among those present and voting. If more than two candidates run and no one wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes after the first round of voting will be eliminated and voting will proceed to a second round. That process continues until one candidate wins a majority.\n\nWhoever is elected for the top leadership spot in the House Democratic caucus would serve as their party’s Speaker nominee. But if Republicans have a majority, that nominee would be expected to fall short in the vote by the full House in the Speaker’s election in January and would be poised to become House Minority Leader instead.\n\nThe first election on November 30 will be for the next House Democratic Caucus Chair and whoever is elected to that role will administer the rest of the leadership elections.\n\nWho to watch in GOP leadership elections\n\nMcCarthy has been working the phones locking down support from across the conference and has received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. But even if he becomes his party’s speaker nominee, as is expected, he could still face a rocky road to securing the gavel.\n\nMembers of the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus are threatening to withhold support for McCarthy’s speakership bid and have begun to lay out their list of demands, putting the California Republican’s path to securing 218 votes in peril if the party ultimately takes the House with a slim majority. Members of the caucus are emboldened by the likelihood of a narrow House GOP majority – which would make the margins for McCarthy’s vote math tight.\n\nMcCarthy and his team are confident he will ultimately get the votes to be speaker. And two would-be challengers, Reps. Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise, the current House GOP whip, have lined up behind his speakership bid.\n\nBut if enough members of the Freedom Caucus withhold their support, it could imperil his speaker bid or force him to make deals to weaken the speakership, something he has long resisted.\n\nCNN reported Sunday that Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a former chairman of the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus, is considering mounting a long-shot challenge to McCarthy, according to GOP sources familiar with the matter. McCarthy’s team has been prepared for this possibility.\n\nIf a challenger does emerge, it would be more of a protest candidate than a serious one. But the House Freedom Caucus is hoping to show McCarthy during the internal GOP leadership elections that he doesn’t have the floor votes for speaker, in hopes of forcing him to the negotiating table.\n\nRepublican races besides leader of the party\n\nAside from the speaker’s race, Republicans’ underwhelming performance in the midterms has scrambled other leadership races.\n\nThe race for House GOP whip – a position that will only open up if Republicans win the majority – was already competitive, though Rep. Tom Emmer, who chairs the House GOP’s campaign arm, was seen as having the edge since he was likely to be rewarded if they had a strong night.\n\nNow, Republicans say it could be tougher for Emmer to pull out a win.\n\nEmmer told reporters Tuesday he still plans to run and that he doesn’t know if a smaller majority impacts his bid. But his pitch to members is similar to McCarthy’s, saying: “we delivered.”\n\nMeanwhile, Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, a Trump ally and the head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, also officially declared his candidacy for the whip’s position. And Rep. Drew Ferguson of Georgia, the current deputy whip, is also vying for the post, arguing that his experience on the whip’s team will be even more valuable in a slimmer majority, where the chief vote counting job will be crucial for governing.\n\nWho to watch: Nancy Pelosi\n\nWhat happens in Democratic leadership elections revolves around the key question of what Pelosi decides to do.\n\nPelosi was asked by CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on Sunday whether she would make a decision on running for leadership before the party’s leadership elections.\n\n“Of course. Well, you know that I’m not asking anybody – people are campaigning, and that’s a beautiful thing,” the California Democrat told Bash. “And I’m not asking anyone for anything. My members are asking me to consider doing that. But, again, let’s just get through the election.”\n\nIf Pelosi decides to run again for the top leadership spot for House Democrats, it will make clear that she is not yet ready to relinquish her role atop the House Democratic caucus. Pelosi, a towering figure in Democratic politics, commands widespread support among her members and is viewed as an effective leader within her party.\n\nBut if she runs again for leadership, such a move would also likely surprise, and even frustrate, many in Washington, including members of her own party, who have been anticipating that she might step aside for a new generation of leadership to take the reins.\n\nIf Pelosi does not run for the top leadership post, it would set the stage for a major shakeup in House Democratic leadership and mark the end of an era for Washington. The move would kick off a fight for her successor that could expose divisions within the party as other prominent members of the party look to move up the leadership ladder.\n\nPelosi’s future freezes much of the Democratic races\n\nUntil Pelosi makes her announcement, much of the rest of the field is expected to remain essentially frozen in place.\n\nCurrently, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer serves as the No. 2 House Democrat, in the role of House majority leader, and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn serves in the role of House majority whip. Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark serves in the role of assistant Speaker and New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries serves as House Democratic caucus chair.\n\nAs potential candidates for the higher rungs of House Democratic leadership wait to see what Pelosi does before publicly making moves, some Democrats vying for other positions in their party’s leadership have already announced their candidacy.\n\nDemocratic Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, who currently serves as the co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, has announced his run for caucus chair to replace Jeffries who is term limited.\n\nThe race to lead the party’s campaign arm, DCCC chair, is starting to take shape up after the current chair Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York lost his reelection.\n\nDemocratic Rep. Tony Cardenas of California announced his race for the spot on Friday but others are being floated as well including Reps. Ami Bera and Sara Jacobs of California.", "authors": ["Clare Foran Melanie Zanona Annie Grayer", "Clare Foran", "Melanie Zanona", "Annie Grayer"], "publish_date": "2022/11/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/05/live-updates-house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy/10992444002/", "title": "Recap: Kevin McCarthy's bid to be House speaker hits third day", "text": "WASHINGTON –The House of Representatives made dubious history Thursday, failing on the 11th ballot to elect a speaker as an acrimonious stalemate that has paralyzed the chamber dragged on. That's the most ballots cast in this normally pro forma election since before the Civil War.\n\nThe House adjourned Thursday night until noon Friday, hoping to buy more time for negotiations as GOP lawmakers expressed muted optimism that a deal was getting closer with a rebellious Republican faction to install GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy in return for significant concessions.\n\n\"It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,\" a relaxed McCarthy told reporters after the adjournment. \"If we finish well, we'll be very successful.\"\n\nMcCarthy has now failed in 11 ballots since Tuesday, as a solid core of some 20 Republicans say they will continue to oppose him because he is too much a part of the establishment. A 12th ballot could take place as early as noon Friday.\n\n\"We’re at a Reagan moment — “trust but verify,\" tweeted Pennsylvania Republican Scott Perry, one of the 20. \"The devil is in the details, and we’ll take our time to ensure it’s right, not easy. One way or another, the status quo must go.\"\n\nIn the meantime, the House remains without a speaker, leaving members-elect unable to do much beyond voting on McCarthy's fate and answering phones from constituents they can't help yet. They can't form committees, conduct hearings or demand federal agencies answer their requests for assistance.\n\nGOP opponents have sunk his attempts to get enough votes to win the job. The efforts to forge a compromise could weaken the job — if he gets it — and show that governing the Republican-led House is going to be challenging this year, with infighting consuming what's been a simple one-ballot vote for the past hundred years.\n\nDay 3 takeaways:Speaker stalemate drags on as 'never Kevin' Republicans say they can't trust Kevin McCarthy\n\nMcCarthy has failed to meet the threshold needed to become speaker for a series of ballots since Tuesday.\n\nSmart analysis delivered to your inbox:Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nHere are the latest developments:\n\nBack again: The House convened after a night and morning of talks among McCarthy, his allies and his enemies, including the prospect of concessions from McCarthy that would give Republican rebels more power in the new Congress.\n\nA McCarthy comeback? McCarthy has been nominated a total of 10 times (three each on Tuesday and Wednesday and four times on Thursday - so far). The Republican was the frontrunner for the speakership, but a bloc of Republicans have refused to back the California representative.\n\nWhat will happen on day three? Members will continue to vote. The vote will last until a speaker is selected. The House remains paralyzed with members-elect not sworn in, lacking security clearances and the lower chamber remains unable to conduct any legislative business.\n\nDay one:House adjourns without a new speaker as McCarthy loses three rounds of voting\n\nDay two:'Groundhog Day': House adjourns without a speaker as McCarthy loses round six\n\nHouse divided over speaker's job votes to adjourn - barely\n\nFor the second night in a row, an angry and closely divided House voted to adjourn by only a very few votes, as Republicans sought more time to reach a deal on the speaker's job.\n\nAs lawmakers shouted at each other, Republicans won a mostly party-line vote over Democrats by a margin of 219-213.\n\nOn Wednesday night, Democratic objections to adjournment forced a vote that passed by only 216-214.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nYet again, votes for speaker split among several nominees\n\nGOP Leader Kevin McCarthy has once again failed to obtain the number of votes needed to win the speakership in the fifth ballot of the day and eleventh ballot since Tuesday.\n\nMcCarthy again received 200 votes (same as the last ballot), falling 18 votes behind the number needed for the speakership. Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds received 12 votes, one fewer than the last ballot; Oklahoma GOP Rep. Kevin Hern again received seven votes and former president Donald Trump received one vote from Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. One member voted present.\n\nAll 212 Democrats backed Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries once again but that's enough for him to win.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nMcCarthy loses fifth ballot of day\n\nGOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appears to have failed once again to obtain the number of votes needed to win the speakership in the fifth ballot of the day. This is the 11th ballot held since Tuesday and the fifth on Thursday alone.\n\nAmid reports that negotiations on a resolution are heating up, it's unclear whether the House will proceed to a 12th ballot or adjourn until Friday.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nEleventh ballot for speaker gets underway\n\nThe House headed into an 11th ballot for speaker – the fifth ballot today – with no end in sight.\n\nArkansas Republican Rep. French Hill nominated McCarthy again for the 11th ballot and also expressed gratitude towards the Clerk of the House, Cheryl Johnson for facilitating the votes, getting a standing ovation from all members on the floor.\n\nOn the Democratic side, Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse, unsurprisingly, nominated Jeffries again. Neguse praised Jeffries as “the man who has been the lead vote getter ten times and counting to be the speaker of the House.”\n\nFlorida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, formally nominated former President Donald Trump for the first time after voting for him earlier today on the seventh ballot, saying Trump could “make the House of Representatives great again.”\n\nAnd Virginia GOP Rep. Bob Good nominated Oklahoma GOP Rep. Kevin Hern again as a candidate “against the status quo.”\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nSame as before: Historic tenth vote changes little for McCarthy\n\nThe historic tenth ballot for House speaker – the first such vote since just before the Civil War – produced results similar to the first nine.\n\nMcCarthy carried 200 votes, 18 short of the majority he needs to win the speaker's race.\n\nByron Donalds received 13 votes and Kevin Hern took seven, a decrease for Donalds and an increase for Hern over previous ballots. Republican Victoria Spartz again voted \"present.\"\n\nAs with the previous nine ballots, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries took all 212 votes from his party.\n\nAs members voted, leaders met in private to negotiate some way out of this.\n\nHowever it works, there will have to be an 11th vote, at least.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose again, this time in the double digits\n\nIn the House’s tenth ballot for speaker, McCarthy has appeared to lose again, for the tenth time.\n\nDespite multiple concessions today made to his opponents, there has still been next to no movement in the vote counts. The Republican holdouts remain adamant in their opposition to the California Republican.\n\nToday marks the most times the House has voted on a speaker this week at four ballots. Next up, possibly an eleventh ballot or a motion to adjourn.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nWho is the House GOP leader?:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nWho is Kevin Hern?\n\nThe latest Kevin McCarthy dissident to be nominated for House speaker is a former Oklahoma businessman who was first elected in 2018 and has built a reputation as a reliable Republican conservative.\n\nRep. Kevin Hern, who was put into nomination by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., owned some two dozen McDonald's franchises before entering politics. He won a 2018 special election to replace Rep. Jim Bridenstine, who had resigned to become NASA administrator.\n\nThe new chairman of the Republican Study Committee, Hern said this week that \"strong conservative leadership has never been more important than today.\"\n\n– David Jackson\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nWhen did the House take multiple ballots to elect a speaker?\n\nBoebert nominates Hern as House votes a 10th time\n\nColorado Rep. Lauren Boebert again nominated Rep. Kevin Hern for speaker, his third nomination of the day.\n\nThe House has voted four times Thursday, as the GOP continues to negotiate behind the scenes as to who will hold the speaker’s gavel in the Republican-held House.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nMcCarthy standoff:A visual guide to a House speaker deadlock not seen for a century\n\nLuna nominates Donalds in 10th round of voting\n\nRep.-elect Anna Paulina Luna of Florida nominated Rep. Byron Donalds in the 10th round of voting, telling Democrats they will never hold the gavel in a House with a Republican majority.\n\nIn short remarks, she also said 10 votes for speaker did not indicate dysfunction.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWho is Byron Donalds?:Meet Republicans' alternative to Kevin McCarthy in House speaker vote\n\nAguilar nominates Jeffries for the tenth ballot\n\nAguilar returned to the podium to nominate Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries for the tenth ballot for speaker but not before commending Rep.-elect Juan Ciscomani’s nomination speech and earning a standing ovation from all members on the House floor.\n\n“It is our hope that this chamber gets down to the business so he (Ciscomani) and all the new members in this chamber can be sworn in to do the work of the people,” said Aguilar to applause from Democrats and Republicans alike.\n\n“That’s why House Democrats stand united again on this ballot to make sure that Hakeem Jeffries is the lead vote getter in this chamber,” Aguilar said.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nWho is Jeffries?:What to know about the Brooklyn Rep. set to replace Pelosi\n\nCiscomani nominates McCarthy in 10th nomination\n\nRep.-elect Juan Ciscomani of Arizona nominated Rep. Kevin McCarthy in his 10th attempt to win the speakership.\n\nThe nomination launched the fourth vote Thursday after no candidate in either party received enough votes to become House speaker.\n\nThe 10th ballot marked the most rounds needed to elect a speaker since just before the Civil War.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nThe ninth vote: McCarthy loses a vote, now at 200\n\nThe third vote Thursday – ninth overall – saw a very slight loss for Kevin McCarthy, who fell from 201 votes to 200 because of an absent member.\n\nMcCarthy's Republican opponents again split up their votes: 17 for Byron Donalds and three for Kevin Hern. Republican Victoria Spartz once again voted \"present.\"\n\nNo votes for Donald Trump this time around.\n\nDemocratic leader Hakeem Jeffries again claimed 212 votes from his party.\n\nOn to a 10th ballot, the most since just before the civil war.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWho is the House GOP leader?:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nHouse breaks 100-year-old record in ninth vote\n\nRep. Kevin McCarthy appeared to lose a ninth time in his bid for speaker, with the House breaking a 100-year-old record set in 1923 when it took nine rounds of voting to pick a winner.\n\nMcCarthy’s run for speaker appears to have been blocked nine times by 20 conservative members who say he’s not conservative enough and they don’t trust him.\n\nThe House GOP leader and his 200 allies continued to talk with his detractors throughout the rounds of voting today.\n\nMcCarthy’s run marks the third time since 1856 that a speaker wasn’t elected on the first ballot.\n\nIt took late Reps. Frederick Gillett, R-Mass., nine rounds to win in 1923 and Nathaniel Banks 133 rounds to win in 1856.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWhat can the House do without a speaker?:Occupy offices, field calls, talk. Not much else.\n\nBoebert makes a surprise fourth nomination: Kevin Hern\n\nGOP Rep. Lauren Boebert made a surprise fourth nomination right after the clerk prepared to start roll call on the ninth ballot, nominating Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern.\n\n“We have been accused of not having a plan while we have presented many many plans and even presenting two plans simultaneously right now,” said Boebert. “I’m voting for Kevin Hern, the gentleman from Oklahoma.”\n\nOn the eighth ballot for speaker, Boebert, along with Oklahoma Rep.-elect Josh Brechen voted for Hern.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nRepublican House control:Despite a poor midterm, the GOP cobbled enough wins to flip the House. How did they do it?\n\nMcCarthy dissidents nominate Donalds again\n\nRep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., became the latest GOP member to nominate Florida Rep. Byron Donalds for the speaker’s gavel. The Florida lawmaker emerged as an alternative speaker candidate during Wednesday’s votes.\n\nRosendale told his colleagues that it was a “privilege” to serve with them despite their differences in opinions, before touting the debate the chamber has had over electing a speaker as healthy.\n\n“We have had more discussion and debate over the last three days than I have participated in on this floor for the last two years. And it’s healthy,” Rosendale said. “It absolutely promotes the collegiality that everyone is trying to obtain.”\n\n-- Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nJeffries nominated again for the ninth time\n\nRep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif, nominated Jeffries for the ninth time on behalf of House Democrats.\n\n“Democrats stand united and ready to get to work on behalf of the American people under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries,” said Lieu. \"Vote after vote, nomination after nomination, Democrats are united.\"\n\nHouse Democrats have unanimously backed Jeffries for the speakership for the past eight ballots with Jeffries earning 212 votes in all of them.\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nNehls gives McCarthy ninth nomination\n\nRep. Troy Nehls nominated Rep. Kevin McCarthy for a ninth time in the GOP leader’s bid to be speaker.\n\nMcCarthy has been blocked eight times by 20 conservative members who make up about 10% of the caucus.\n\nIf McCarthy loses on the ninth ballot, he will tie a 100-year-old record currently owned by late Rep. Frederick Gillett, R-Mass., who won his speaker bid in 1923 after nine rounds of voting.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nStuck in a moment: McCarthy does not pick up votes on the 8th ballot\n\nThe eighth ballot went no better for McCarthy, as the official House tally shows him still stuck on 201 votes.\n\nToday's votes are taking on a pro forma quality, taking up time as Republicans negotiate in private.\n\nThis round did see a few changes among McCarthy's opponents.\n\nWhile 17 dissidents again voted for Bryon Donalds,: Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma received two votes, and Donald Trump got one. Republican Victoria Spartz again voted \"present.\"\n\nPer usual, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries took all 212 votes from his party.\n\nOn to a 9th ballot, the first such vote in a century.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nMore:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nMcCarthy close to breaking record\n\nRep. Kevin McCarthy is close to tying a 100-year record he doesn’t want to own.\n\nAfter eight consecutive losses in his bid for House speaker, McCarthy could match the nine voting rounds it took Frederick Gillett, R-Mass., to win the position in 1923.\n\nAnything beyond and he’d eclipse that historic record.\n\nThe most votes it took to elect a speaker was in 1856 when Republican Rep. Nathaniel Banks won after 133 rounds of voting.\n\nMcCarthy’s bid marks the third time in history a speaker wasn’t elected on the first ballot.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nExplained:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? Here's how the process works.\n\nMcCarthy appears to lose speakership again, for the eighth time\n\nFor the eighth time, McCarthy appears to have lost his bid for the speakership.\n\nAfter the seventh ballot, the House immediately moved to an eighth ballot, but there has been very little movement so far among McCarthy’s detractors.\n\nIt is unclear if the House will move to a ninth vote or adjourn.\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nBoebert votes for another Kevin as House speaker\n\nNo not that Kevin.\n\nRepublican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who staunchly opposes Kevin McCarthy as speaker, voted instead for Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, who wasn’t officially nominated for the speaker bid.\n\nIt was the first vote for Hern and the first time in two days Boebert switched her vote from Rep. Byron Donalds.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nBiggs, former speaker candidate, nominates Donalds\n\nRep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a McCarthy opponent who was a candidate for speaker at the start of the week, gave the latest nominating speech for Byron Donalds – but spent most of it attacking President Joe Biden and the Democrats.\n\nBiggs criticized Democrats for mocking the Republicans' failures to elect a speaker, though some GOP members have also showed disdain for how things are going.\n\nThe Arizona Republican said he and allies want a change.\n\n\"We're on a sub-optimal path,' Biggs said. \"It has to change.\"\n\n– David Jackson\n\nDemocrats nominate Jeffries for the eighth ballot\n\nDemocrats changed things around for the eighth ballot with Democratic minority whip Rep. Katherine Clark nominating Jeffries to the speakership for the eighth time. California Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar had handled the previous seven nominating speeches.\n\nClark opened her nominating speech by saying “212” seven times, referring to Jeffries’ vote count in the past seven ballots where he earned unanimous support from House Democrats.\n\n“Two hundred twelve House Democrats stand united behind our leader because Hakeem Jeffries stands united for the American people,” said Clark, pointing out how the House has yet to conduct business without a speaker. “The historic dysfunction we are seeing, this intra-party fight the American people have been drawn into is imperiling our national security.”\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nGallagher: Biggest roadblock for McCarthy ‘basic trust’\n\nGOP Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin told reporters outside the House floor Thursday that McCarthy has made a “persuasive case” with the concessions he has agreed upon.\n\n“The biggest roadblock, I don't know I mean (it) seems to be just basic trust,” he said.\n\n“This is sort of weird,” he continued. “We started off with two people (running for speaker), now we have like 13.”\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nBallot 8 begins: McCarthy is nominated again\n\nThe House quickly moved to an eighth speaker vote, though there is no end in sight.\n\nRep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., nominated McCarthy by calling for party unity, and noted that Congress cannot do basic functions as long as this deadlock remains, such as declare war in case of attack. Mast, a veteran, choked up when discussing the sacrifices that so many Americans have made over the years.\n\nMcCarthy \"will give us an opportunity to right the course,\" Mast told fellow Republicans, but there's still no evidence he has the votes to prevail.\n\n– David Jackson\n\n'More difficult to trust’: GOP members lack faith in McCarthy\n\nAs the House wrapped up its seventh failed ballot to elect a speaker, Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, a key voice against electing House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy as speaker, went to Twitter to reaffirm his unyielding position.\n\n“A deal is NOT done,” Perry wrote. “When confidences are betrayed and leaks are directed, it’s even more difficult to trust. Totally unsat. I will not yield to the status quo.”\n\nPerry also reiterated his lack of trust in McCarthy, referring to the leaked list of concessions from McCarthy to the House Freedom Caucus.\n\n- Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nOfficial tally: McCarthy stuck on 201 votes – and Trump gets one vote\n\nThe first speaker vote of Thursday yielded the same basic result as the first six ballots over the past two days: Kevin McCarthy doesn't have the numbers to become speaker.\n\nThe Republican leader again recorded 201 votes, according to the official House tally. This despite overnight negotiations in which McCarthy forces talked about various concessions to his opponents.\n\nAnti-McCarthy Republicans voted for someone else. One, Matt Gaetz, cast his ballot for Donald Trump, even though the ex-president has repeatedly said he is not interested in the job and has in fact endorsed McCarthy.\n\nNineteen other Republicans again voted for Byron Donalds. Another Republican, Victoria Spartz, again voted \"present.\"\n\nAs with the six previous votes, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries led the field with 212 votes, but he and his party lack the majority needed to make him speaker.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWho is McCarthy?:Kevin McCarthy was once rejected for a House internship. Now he could become the next speaker\n\nTrump gets his first vote for speaker\n\nFlorida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who promoted Donald Trump for speaker of the House last year, followed through Thursday and cast a vote for the ex-president.\n\nTechnically, the speaker of the House does not have to be a member of Congress, but Trump has repeatedly said he is not interested in the job; instead, he has endorsed McCarthy and urged Gaetz and others to drop their opposition to the Republican leader.\n\nIt is Trump's first vote in the seven ballots the House has cast in a futile effort to elect a speaker.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nMcCarthy poised to lose seventh House speaker vote\n\nDay three, ballot seven and still no speaker.\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy appeared to lose his seventh bid as he failed to reach the threshold required to win the speaker’s gavel.\n\nThe House adjourned Wednesday night until noon Thursday, buying McCarthy more time to secure the 218 votes he needs to be elected speaker. However, the effort has fallen short.\n\n-- Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\n\"He ain't no prop:\" McCarthy opponents again nominate Byron Donalds\n\nOnce again, opponents of McCarthy are again nominating Byron Donalds.\n\nRep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., said with Donalds the House has the chance to elect the first Black speaker in history, and he attacked Democrats who said that the Florida Republican is only a \"prop\" for the anti-McCarthy forces.\n\n\"He ain't no prop,\" Bishop said.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nByron Donalds for speaker?:Republicans nominate McCarthy alternative in House speaker vote\n\nBiden following with 'attention'\n\nPresident Joe Biden was asked at the end of his border security event if he's still monitoring the speaker's race. \"I'm following it with great...how can I say it?\" he said, looking to the vice president for help.\n\n\"Attention,\" Vice President Harris said with a chuckle.\n\nA smiling Biden repeated her. \"Attention,\" he said.\n\n-- Francesca Chambers\n\n'Stay where you are':President Biden unveils new steps to curb surge of migrants, plans trip to El Paso border\n\nAguilar nominates Jeffries again\n\nHouse Democratic Chair Pete Aguilar nominated House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries for a seventh time on Thursday afternoon.\n\n“There is no victory in a journey without doing the business of the people,” Aguilar said.\n\nHis comments came on the third day of voting without a speaker chosen by a clear majority.\n\nJeffries has repeatedly had 212 votes – the full support of his caucus – while the GOP has failed to unite around one leader.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nWho is Hakeem Jeffries?:What to know about the Brooklyn Rep. set to replace Pelosi\n\nMcCarthy nominated again, this time by John James\n\nMichigan freshman congressman John James nominated McCarthy to start the day.\n\nAfter a standing ovation and repeated applause, James said McCarthy would change the direction of the nation and argued that the GOP needs to resolve the impasse over the speaker's job.\n\nPeople \"want Republicans to lead,\" James said.\n\nThis will be McCarthy's seventh time on the speaker ballot.\n\n- David Jackson\n\nWho is Rep. Byron Donalds?\n\nRepresentative Byron Donalds serves District 19 in Southwest Florida.\n\nBorn in Brooklyn, New York, he moved to the Sunshine State for college, originally attending Florida A&M before transferring to Florida State University where he graduated with a degree in finance. Post-grad Donalds worked at TIB Bank, CMG Life Services and Moran Wealth in Naples.\n\n-- Anna Kaufman\n\nLearn more about him:Byron Donalds for speaker? Republicans nominate McCarthy alternative in House speaker vote\n\nFanone singles out House GOP lawmakers on eve of Jan. 6\n\nFormer D.C. police officer Michael Fanone, who was defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, took aim at House Republicans at the forefront of McCarthy’s battle for the speakership as the House enters another day without a speaker.\n\n“This week, people who encouraged or even attended the insurrection are taking places as leaders in the new House majority,” said Fanone, speaking at a press conference organized by progressive groups Courage for America and Common Defense.\n\nFanone singled out Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin.\n\n“To the new speaker of the House, whoever the hell that ends up being, and other GOP House leaders, here’s my message to you,” said Fanone. “We the people are calling on you to condemn political violence.”\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nJan. 6 Capitol attack 2 years later:Trump still plagued by multiple investigations\n\nDems won’t bail out GOP\n\nHouse Democratic Whip Katherine Clark confirmed Thursday morning that her “united” party will continue to vote for speaker with the full 212 membership, offering no relief to GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy who would have an easier time winning a majority of votes without some Democrats in the room.\n\n“We are here. We are in full attendance, and we are going to remain so,” she said.\n\nWhen asked if Democrats would stay through the weekend if the House remains in session until there’s a speaker, Clark said, “Yes, and this is not a hard sell.”\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nMcCarthy offers new concessions\n\nRep. Kevin McCarthy is offering a slate of new concessions, trying to woo the Republican rebellion against him and effectively giving up the power of the speakership while hanging onto the title.\n\nHe has now allowed for a single member to force a vote to remove him as speaker, given the far-right flank authority to pick a third of the members on the powerful House Rules Committee, and opening spending bills to amendments and debates.\n\nThe concessions give more power to the 10% of the caucus that has already wielded outsized power in the narrow, four-person majority.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nPerry, a McCarthy holdout, facing backlash at home\n\nRep. Scott Perry, one of the 20 holdouts against Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker, is being called out by progressives in his Pennsylvania district at home.\n\nA rally planned Friday in remembrance of Jan. 6 will include a call to Perry to leave the House Freedom Caucus, which he chairs, according to organizers.\n\nMembers of Hershey Indivisible, a grassroots progressive organization, will meet on the Pennsylvania Capitol steps at noon Friday “to say MAGA Extremism is Fascism, Not Freedom,” the group said in a statement. “Let’s make sure Rep. Scott Perry doesn’t get away with his gross Freedom Caucus politics.”\n\nPerry was a key figure in former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election, according to the former House committee that investigated Jan. 6.\n\nThe Pennsylvania Republican refused subpoenas and interview requests from the committee and has denied that he ever sought a pardon.\n\nPerry is now a ringleader in the effort against McCarthy and said on the House floor Wednesday the speaker fight is “hard” and “painful,” but necessary to fix a broken Washington.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nHow the process works:What happens after McCarthy loses multiple speaker votes? We explain\n\nMcCarthy’s outlook for Thursday\n\nAfter two days of stinging defeats in six losses, Rep. Kevin McCarthy returned to the Capitol Thursday morning confident his bid for speaker is moving in the right direction.\n\n“I think we’re making progress,” he said to reporters. “We’re all working together to find a solution.”\n\nMcCarthy can only afford to lose four votes, and there are at least five or more in his caucus who are still a hard NO on him. His allies see any movement toward him or the ability to prevent further losses as a win.\n\nBut does he have the votes yet to be speaker? “We’ll see,” McCarthy told reporters.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nMcCarthy’s shifting support\n\nHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s first real win this week was an adjournment vote and it came in prime time with benefits and consequences.\n\nOne of his allies, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, said on CNN last night members should start discussing alternatives to McCarthy. He said the McCarthy holdouts are “dug in” and many of his 200 supporters could tolerate only “three or four” more votes.\n\nMeanwhile, on FOX News, McCarthy was getting support from host Sean Hannity. “If you only have 30, to be clear, you will not withdraw,” Hannity said while interviewing McCarthy opponent Rep. Lauren Boebert, but you’re telling Kevin McCarthy and the 203 people who support him to withdraw.”\n\nMcCarthy also received support from Elon Musk, who said the GOP leader should be speaker, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and others.\n\n“Speaker fight is 10% vs. 90% of members. It’s simple math,” Huckabee said in a tweet. “Meanwhile the country goes to hell & Dems & Devil laugh.”\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nA House without rules\n\nWelcome to Day 3 in a House without rules, where for the first time in the modern era everything is in question – including the temperature in the chamber.\n\nThat’s not just the temperature of lawmakers disagreeing with each other, but also the actual temperature inside the room. The speaker of the House usually controls or dictates the thermostat, but without a speaker there have been some complaints this week that it’s too hot or too cold inside the chamber. Some gripes may be tongue in cheek and have offered some rare levity as the GOP, with a new and slim majority, struggles to organize its caucus.\n\nOther changes in a House without rules this week have related to lobbyists on the floor. Some of them are former members or family of members, but normally paid lobbyists aren’t allowed on the House floor.\n\nAlso, without rules, there’s confusion, which was on display Wednesday night as both parties shouted at the clerk and each other as they decided to adjourn – first by voice vote, then a recorded vote.\n\nThe House without rules also has no members. All 434 are members-elect because they can’t be sworn in without a speaker.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nDemocrats to hold press conference Thursday morning\n\nThe minority party in the House hasn’t been demure in pointing to its good week and hasn’t missed an opportunity to talk about the GOP majority struggling to lead without leadership.\n\nDemocrats will hold another press conference at 10 a.m. Thursday and will have a closed-door meeting at 11 a.m., as the House returns for a third day without a speaker.\n\nLook for Democrats to have their full caucus together Thursday morning. They lost an adjournment vote Wednesday night because two of their members, Reps. Tony Cardenas of California and Adriano Espaillat of New York, were absent for it.\n\nThe GOP won the adjournment vote 216 to 214, though four Republicans voted with Democrats against adjourning.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nWhat to expect today\n\nBased on members comments alone, Rep. Kevin McCarthy still doesn’t have the votes to be speaker.\n\nBut there could be a seventh vote when the House gavels in at noon Wednesday. Or there could be another adjournment. Neither procedure came easily yesterday.\n\nMcCarthy can only afford to lose four Republican votes in House GOP’s slim majority, and there are still at least five who say they are voting against him: Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Bob Good of Virginia.\n\nThe reasons for their holdouts range from not trusting McCarthy, believing he’s too aligned with the Republican establishment they see as “the swamp” to complaining about spending bills he’s let move through the House.\n\nBased on other reports in Politico Playbook and Punchbowl News, there are maybe a dozen firm NOs against McCarthy, but his camp remains optimistic. They believe if they can win some of the 20 detractors to their side, it will pressure the other holdouts.\n\nHowever, some members like Gaetz told reporters Wednesday he will be a NO for weeks or months.\n\nThough some of the hardliners say it will be worth monthslong negotiations to not have McCarthy as speaker, other members with military backgrounds continue to sound alarms this morning that not having a sworn-in House is putting national security risk. Without being sworn in, there are no committees to oversee the Department of Defense and other agencies, they may not have valid security clearances and can’t be briefed on threatening national security risks.\n\n--Candy Woodall\n\nWho is Kevin McCarthy?\n\nIn 1987, a 22-year-old college student named Kevin McCarthy was rejected from a congressional internship. More than 30 years later, that onetime intern hopeful could become the next speaker of the House.\n\nFormer California Republican Rep. Bill Thomas’ chief of staff, Cathy Abernathy, is the one who turned down the then-student from Bakersfield in the 80s. Never, she told USA TODAY, did she guess the arc McCarthy's career would take.\n\n“It’s absurd to ask a person ‘Did you see this coming?’” Abernathy laughed. “Of course not.”\n\n-- Ken Tran\n\nWhy do they keep voting for speaker of the House?\n\nPrior the start of a new Congress, both parties hold a private meeting where they elect the party leadership for the next Congress. This takes place before Jan. 3, the official start of the new term when all House members vote for the speaker.\n\nA candidate only needs a majority of votes from their respective party to win the nomination in the private meeting for leadership.\n\nEven if a colleague votes against a candidate in the private caucus meeting, the party typically sticks together to back their nominee on the House floor in January, according to Matt Glassman, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Government Affairs Institute.\n\nHowever, when the whole House votes, just a few votes in opposition to a candidate from their own party could cost them the speakership.\n\n-- Rachel Looker\n\nLearn more here:What happens after McCarthy loses speaker vote multiple times? Here's how the process works.\n\nWhat happened Wednesday?\n\nA chaotic and historic two days in the House were punctuated Wednesday night by a raucous vote to adjourn during a tumultuous session marked by shouting and confusion.\n\nAnd still no speaker.\n\nRepublicans came to the floor at 8 p.m. ET and motioned to adjourn again until noon Thursday to give GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy more time to secure the 218 votes he needs to win the gavel. Democrats, in no hurry to resolve the GOP stalemate, tried to block the effort but failed.\n\nA voice vote was too close in a House currently without rules, and Democrats shouted for the clerk to hold a recorded vote. Members filed up to the rostrum to cast their votes, as others stood behind them and anxiously looked up at the House scoreboard.\n\n-- USA TODAY staff\n\nWhat happened Tuesday\n\nThe House of Representatives adjourned Tuesday without a new speaker after GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy lost three straight ballots in the face of hardline opposition, the first time in a century the usually pro-forma process has taken more than one vote.\n\nThe last time the vote for a new speaker went past the first ballot was 100 years ago, in 1923. The loss underscores how Republican infighting between moderates and hardliners will complicate the GOP's majority in the House of Representatives.\n\nRead the day one recap here:House adjourns without a new speaker as McCarthy loses three rounds of voting\n\n-- USA TODAY staff", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/politics/kevin-mccarthy-debt-limit/index.html", "title": "Kevin McCarthy faces debt-limit dilemma as House GOP ratchets up ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nHouse Republicans are plotting tactics for their new majority and weighing how to use their leverage to enact a laundry list of demands, with many zeroing in on an issue with enormous economic implications: Raising the nation’s borrowing limit.\n\nIt’s an issue confronting House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is rounding up the votes to win the House speaker race and facing pressure from some of his colleagues to more forcefully detail how he plans to handle the sensitive topic before they decide whether to support him on January 3 for the most powerful position in Congress.\n\nIn interviews with CNN, more than two dozen House GOP lawmakers laid out their demands to avoid the nation’s first-ever debt default, ranging from new immigration policies to imposing deep domestic spending cuts. And several Republicans flatly said they would oppose raising the borrowing limit even if all their demands were met, making McCarthy’s narrow path even narrower.\n\n“I’m a no, no matter what,” Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, said of raising the debt ceiling.\n\nDespite Congress suspending the nation’s borrowing limit three times when Donald Trump was president, even under all-GOP control of Washington, lawmakers say it is highly uncertain how the matter will be dealt with in a divided Congress next year – reminiscent of the furious battles between House Republicans and Barack Obama’s White House that put the country on the brink of economic disaster.\n\nFor McCarthy, the debt ceiling debate will represent one of his most difficult balancing acts if he’s elected speaker: He would need to work with Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden to cut a deal and avoid economic catastrophe without angering his emboldened right flank for caving into the left. And unlike other bills in the GOP House that will die in the Democratic-led Senate, a debt ceiling increase is one of the few must-pass items awaiting the new Congress – something many Republicans see as critical leverage.\n\nSome Republicans say it is incumbent upon McCarthy to spell out his strategy on the issue before they decide if they will support him in the speakership race – when the California Republican can only afford to lose four GOP votes. In one private meeting with a member of the House Freedom Caucus, McCarthy was urged to take a harder public stance on the coming policy issues for next year, according to a person familiar with the matter.\n\n“Several (House Freedom Caucus) members have made spending a main issue,” one GOP lawmaker who has been critical of McCarthy told CNN.\n\nRep. Scott Perry, the leader of the hardline Freedom Caucus, confirmed it’s an issue that has been broached with McCarthy as he has been wooing members ahead of next month’s vote.\n\n“Debt ceiling has been a conversation that has been perennial in every single conversation or meeting around here since I’ve been here,” the Pennsylvania Republican said in an interview.\n\nBut some moderate Republicans – whom McCarthy needs to protect in order to keep their fragile majority in 2024 – have expressed uneasiness over using the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip, risking both a catastrophic default and the political blame, especially if Republicans push for cuts to popular entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. Republicans remember 2011 all too well when a proposal from then-Rep. Paul Ryan to overhaul Medicare became fodder for attacks that depicted him rolling an elderly lady in a wheelchair off a cliff.\n\n“We shouldn’t put the United States in a position to default on our debt, clearly,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, a South Dakota Republican. “But I also think every member of Congress needs to acknowledge that the $32 trillion debt is not in our national interest.”\n\nRep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee said the debt ceiling increase is part of a discussion “we should have had a long time ago – to talk about some structural solutions.”\n\nBut he added: “I think the vast majority of responsible legislators realize this is money already spent and that we can never put the United States in a default position.”\n\nOther Republicans, however, argue that the fears of going off the fiscal cliff are overblown.\n\n“I don’t fear not raising the debt ceiling, because if we didn’t raise the debt ceiling, all that would mean we’d have to cut discretionary spending so we stop spending more than we’re taking in,” said Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, an anti-McCarthy Republican. “That’s a panic here in Washington because we’re so beholden to spending.”\n\nIndiana Rep. Greg Pence added of raising the debt limit: “It’s a no.”\n\nMcCarthy told CNN in an interview before the midterm elections that he wouldn’t raise the borrowing limit without getting some sort of spending cuts in return, though he was light on specifics.\n\n“If you’re going to give a person a higher limit, wouldn’t you first say you should change your behavior, so you just don’t keep raising and all the time?” McCarthy asked. “You shouldn’t just say, ‘Oh, I’m gonna let you keep spending money.’ No household should do that.”\n\nFears over a stalemate\n\nDemocrats had hoped to raise the debt ceiling in the current lame-duck session of Congress, but they’re running out of time and there’s little political will to do so since the borrowing limit won’t need to be raised until next year some time. The Treasury Department declined to comment when asked when the debt ceiling would need to be raised again, though Goldman Sachs indicated in an analysis that “funds could run dry as soon as July and as late as October.”\n\nBefore that point, the divided Congress will need to act, even as the White House has made clear its opposition to attaching strings to the debt ceiling hike – namely if it involves cuts to Medicare or Social Security.\n\n“Telling the middle class out of the gate, before the new Congress has even begun, that working to override their will and hollow-out the benefits they have earned throughout their lives is a stone-cold nonstarter,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates.\n\nStill, conservatives, eager to use their newly found leverage, have already begun to outline what concessions they want from Democrats.\n\nRep. Jeff Duncan, a South Carolina Republican, wants to see cuts to both discretionary and mandatory spending, including entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. But he said no one currently drawing benefits should be impacted, and that the structural reforms should be designed to make the programs more solvent for future generations.\n\n“There are benefits – Social Security, Medicare, veterans’ benefits – that people paid into it or were promised,” Duncan said. “But there are other welfare programs in the Farm Bill, the nutrition title. All of that needs to be addressed. Because truly they’re the drivers of some of the spending.”\n\nEven though debts spiked under Trump and Republicans raised few objections to rising deficits, Republicans say Biden’s push for more spending on his domestic priorities has forced them to toughen their demands ahead of the next debt limit increase.\n\n“Border Security and getting rid of all the Covid spending that we don’t need,” said Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, when asked about his demands for raising the debt ceiling.\n\nOthers were just as emphatic.\n\n“Hell no,” Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said when asked if he’d support a clean debt ceiling hike without slashing discretionary programs at federal agencies and mandatory spending, which includes entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security.\n\n“There’s a lot of fat and garbage that’s way off the mission that we can cut,” Roy said.\n\nGood, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, wants Republicans to use their leverage in the debt ceiling fight to push for other policy changes. The Freedom Caucus, a band of roughly 40 Trump-aligned Republicans, is known for using hardball tactics on the House floor to pull legislation to the right – and McCarthy needs the support from nearly all of those members to win the speakership.\n\n“There’s other things that we as Republicans should be fighting for as part of that, things like ending the vaccine mandate, securing the border, restoring Trump’s energy policies,” Good said.\n\nBut some Republicans have signaled there may be no scenario in which they’re willing to raise the nation’s borrowing limit.\n\n“I’m not sure I’ve seen anything that’s going to be able to convince me to raise the debt ceiling,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, a former Freedom Caucus chief who is also opposing McCarthy for speaker. “This place does nothing but create mounting structural deficits that are huge, which in turn grows the national debt, and we don’t have a plan to bring it down. Why would we lift it again?”\n\nThat’s a proposition that has Democrats worried.\n\n“McCarthy has said he may well use the debt limit as a leverage. That’s very high stakes to use debt limit, which would plunge us and the world economy into a tailspin,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat and the outgoing House majority leader.\n\nHow McCarthy plans to approach the various looming fiscal showdowns next year has begun to factor into the speaker race. Last month, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina pledged to oppose McCarthy on the floor, citing McCarthy’s refusal to support a seven-year balanced budget.\n\nNorman was among a cross section of Republicans who recently met with McCarthy in his office to discuss a package of rules changes.\n\nRep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, the head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said the group also talked about upcoming budget battles, “how to deal with the relationship with the Senate,” and “how to push bills out of the House of Representatives with the most conservative votes that we can possibly get.”\n\nWhile the prospect of a high-stakes fiscal showdown has put members in both parties on edge, some Republicans believe cooler heads will prevail.\n\n“Just the maximum,” said Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, when asked what he wanted for a debt ceiling hike. “And I have faith in Kevin McCarthy that he will achieve it.”", "authors": ["Manu Raju Melanie Zanona", "Manu Raju", "Melanie Zanona"], "publish_date": "2022/12/06"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_27", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959153/quiz-of-the-week-31-december-6-january", "title": "Quiz of The Week: 31 December – 6 January | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_28", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959153/quiz-of-the-week-31-december-6-january", "title": "Quiz of The Week: 31 December – 6 January | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/14/business/jeff-bezos-charity/index.html", "title": "Jeff Bezos for the first time says he will give most of his money to ...", "text": "Washington CNN Business —\n\nAmazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to give away the majority of his $124 billion net worth during his lifetime, telling CNN in an exclusive interview he will devote the bulk of his wealth to fighting climate change and supporting people who can unify humanity in the face of deep social and political divisions.\n\nThough Bezos’ vow was light on specifics, this marks the first time he has announced that he plans to give away most of his money. Critics have chided Bezos for not signing the Giving Pledge, a promise by hundreds of the world’s richest people to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Exclusive: Jeff Bezos offers his advice on taking risks right now 01:50 - Source: CNN\n\nIn a sit-down interview with CNN’s Chloe Melas on Saturday at his Washington, DC, home, Bezos, speaking alongside his partner, the journalist-turned-philanthropist Lauren Sánchez, said the couple is “building the capacity to be able to give away this money.”\n\nAsked directly by CNN whether he intends to donate the majority of his wealth within his lifetime, Bezos said: “Yeah, I do.”\n\nBezos said he and Sánchez agreed to their first interview together since they began dating in 2019 to help shine a spotlight on the Bezos Courage and Civility Award, granted this year to musician Dolly Parton.\n\nThe 20-minute exchange with Bezos and Sánchez covered a broad range of topics, from Bezos’s views on political dialogue and a possible economic recession to Sánchez’s plan to visit outer space with an all-female crew and her reflections on a flourishing business partnership with Bezos.\n\nDolly Parton\n\nThat working relationship was on display Saturday as Bezos and Sánchez announced a $100 million grant to Parton as part of her Courage and Civility Award. It is the third such award, following similar grants to chef Jose Andrés, who has spent some of the money making meals for Ukrainians — and the climate advocate and CNN contributor Van Jones.\n\n“When you think of Dolly,” said Sánchez in the interview, “Look, everyone smiles, right? She is just beaming with light. And all she wants to do is bring light into other people’s worlds. And so we couldn’t have thought of someone better than to give this award to Dolly, and we know she’s going to do amazing things with it.”\n\nThe throughline connecting the Courage and Civility Award grantees, Bezos said, was their capacity to bring many people together to solve large challenges.\n\n“I just feel honored to be able to be a part of what they’re doing for this world,” Bezos told CNN.\n\nUnity, Bezos said, is a trait that will be necessary to confront climate change and one that he repeatedly invoked as he blasted politicians and social media for amplifying division.\n\nHow to give it away\n\nBut the couple’s biggest challenge may be figuring out how to distribute Bezos’ vast fortune. Bezos declined to identify a specific percentage or to provide concrete details on where it would likely be spent.\n\nDespite being the fourth-wealthiest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos has refrained from setting a target amount to give away in his lifetime.\n\nBezos has committed $10 billion over 10 years, or about 8% of his current net worth, to the Bezos Earth Fund, which Sánchez co-chairs. Among its priorities are reducing the carbon footprint of construction-grade cement and steel; pushing financial regulators to consider climate-related risks; advancing data and mapping technologies to monitor carbon emissions; and building natural, plant-based carbon sinks on a large scale.\n\nThough Bezos is now Amazon’s (AMZN) executive chair and not its CEO — he stepped down from that role in 2021 — he is still involved in the greening of the company. Amazon is one of more than 300 companies that have pledged to reduce their carbon footprint by 2040 according to the principles of the Paris Climate Agreement, Bezos said, though Amazon’s (AMZN) footprint grew by 18% in 2021, reflecting a pandemic-driven e-commerce boom. Amazon’s (AMZN) reckoning with its own effect on the climate mirrors its outsized impact on everything from debates about unionization to antitrust policy, where the company has attracted an enormous level of scrutiny from regulators, lawmakers, and civil society groups.\n\nBezos compared his philanthropic strategy to his years-long effort constructing a titanic engine of e-commerce and cloud computing that has made him one of the most powerful people in the world.\n\n“The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way,” he said, implying that even as he gives away his billions, he is still looking to maximize his return. “It’s not easy. Building Amazon was not easy. It took a lot of hard work, a bunch of very smart teammates, hard-working teammates, and I’m finding — and I think Lauren is finding the same thing — that charity, philanthropy, is very similar.”\n\n“There are a bunch of ways that I think you could do ineffective things, too,” he added. “So you have to think about it carefully and you have to have brilliant people on the team.”\n\nBezos’ methodical approach to giving stands in sharp contrast to that of his ex-wife, the philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, who recently gave away nearly $4 billion to 465 organizations in the span of less than a year.\n\nThe economic downturn\n\nWhile Bezos and Sánchez plot out their plans for Bezos’ immense wealth, many people of more modest means are bracing for what economists fear may be an extended economic downturn.\n\nLast month, Bezos tweeted a warning to his followers on Twitter, recommending that they “batten down the hatches.”\n\nThe advice was meant for business owners and consumers alike, Bezos said in the interview, suggesting that individuals should consider putting off buying big ticket items they’ve been eyeing — or that companies should slow their acquisitions and capital expenditures.\n\n“Take some risk off the table,” Bezos said. “Keep some dry powder on hand…. Just a little bit of risk reduction could make the difference for that small business, if we do get into even more serious economic problems. You’ve got to play the probabilities a little bit.”\n\nMany may be feeling the pinch now, he added, but argued that as an optimist he believes the American Dream “is and will be even more attainable in the future” — projecting that within Bezos’ lifetime, space travel could become broadly accessible to the public.\n\nBezos and Sánchez’s partnership\n\nSánchez said the couple make “really great teammates,” though she laughed, “We can be kind of boring,” Sánchez said. Bezos smiled and replied, “Never boring.”\n\nSánchez, the founder of Black Ops Aviation, the first female-owned and operated aerial film and production company is a trained helicopter pilot. She said in the interview that they’ve both taken turns in the driver’s seat.\n\nBezos has credited his own journey to space for helping to inspire his push to fight climate change. Now, it is Sánchez’s turn.\n\nSánchez told CNN she anticipates venturing into orbit herself sometime in 2023. And while she did not directly address who will be joining her — quickly ruling out Bezos as a crewmate — she said simply: “It’ll be a great group of females.”\n\nWashington’s NFL team\n\nBezos may be adding NFL owner to his resume. CNN recently reported that Bezos and Jay-Z are in talks on a potential joint bid on the Washington Commanders.\n\nIt is not clear if the two have yet spoken with Dan Snyder and his wife, Tanya, the current owners of the NFL team, about the possibility.\n\nBut during the interview on Saturday, Melas asked Bezos if the speculation was true.\n\n“Yes, I’ve heard that buzz,” Bezos said with a smile.\n\nSánchez chimed in with a laugh, “I do like football. I’m just going to throw that out there for everyone.”\n\nBezos added, “I grew up in Houston, Texas, and I played football growing up as a kid … and it is my favorite sport … so we’ll just have to wait and see.”\n\n– CNN’s Chloe Melas contributed to this report", "authors": ["Brian Fung"], "publish_date": "2022/11/14"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/politics/nancy-pelosi-house-speaker-democrats-future/index.html", "title": "Nancy Pelosi announces she won't run for leadership post, marking ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Thursday that she will relinquish her leadership post after leading House Democrats for two decades, building a legacy as one of the most powerful and polarizing figures in American politics.\n\nPelosi, the first and only woman to serve as speaker, said that she would continue to serve in the House, giving the next generation the opportunity to lead the House Democrats, who will be in the minority next year despite a better-than-expected midterm election performance.\n\n“I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” said Pelosi in the House chamber. “For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect, and I’m grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility.”\n\nPelosi, 82, rose to the top of the House Democratic caucus in 2002, after leading many in her party against a resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq. She then guided Democrats as they rode the waves of popular opinion, seeing their power swell to a 257-seat majority after the 2008 elections, ultimately crash to a 188-seat minority, and then rise once again.\n\nHer political career was marked by an extraordinary ability to understand and overcome those political shifts, keeping conflicting factions of her party united in passing major legislation. She earned the Speaker’s gavel twice – after the 2006 and 2018 elections – and lost it after the 2010 elections.\n\nOf late, she has conducted a string of accomplishments with one of the slimmest party splits in history, passing a $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package last year and a $750 billion health care, energy and climate bill in August.\n\nHer legislative victories in the Biden era cemented her reputation as one of the most successful party leaders in Congress. During the Obama administration, Pelosi was instrumental to the passage of the massive economic stimulus bill and the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which provides over 35 million Americans health care coverage.\n\nOver the past 20 years, the California liberal has been relentlessly attacked by Republicans, who portray her as the personification of a party for the coastal elite. “We have fired Nancy Pelosi,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Fox News on Wednesday, after Republicans won back the chamber.\n\nIn recent years, the anger directed toward her has turned menacing. During the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, pro-Trump rioters searched for her — and last month, a male assailant attacked Paul Pelosi, the speaker’s husband, with a hammer at the couple’s home in San Francisco, while she was in Washington.\n\nPelosi told CNN’s Anderson Cooper this month that her decision to retire would be influenced by the politically motivated attack. Paul Pelosi was released from the hospital two weeks ago after surgery to repair a skull fracture and injuries to his arm and hands.\n\nAfter thanking her colleagues for their well-wishes for Paul, the House chamber broke out into a standing ovation.\n\nDemocrats now look to finally choose Pelosi’s successor\n\nPelosi’s long reign became a source of tension within her own party. She won the gavel after the 2018 elections by promising her own party that she would leave her leadership post by 2022.\n\nMassachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, who previously tried to oust Pelosi, told CNN it’s time for a new chapter.\n\n“She’s a historic speaker who’s accomplished an incredible amount, but I also think there are a lot of Democrats ready for a new chapter,” said Moulton.\n\nBut some Democrats praised Pelosi and said they wished she would remain leader. Asked about her decision, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer clutched his chest and said he had pleaded with her to stay.\n\n“I told her when she called me and told me this and all that, I said ‘please change your mind. We need you here,’” Schumer said.\n\nHouse Democrats appear likely to choose New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, 52, to succeed Pelosi as leader, though Democrats won’t vote until November 30.\n\nAfter her speech, Pelosi wouldn’t tell reporters who’d she support. But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn announced they would also step down from their leadership posts, and endorsed Jeffries to succeed Pelosi. Hoyer said Jeffries “will make history for the institution of the House and for our country.” Clyburn added that he hoped Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark and California Rep. Pete Aguilar would join Jeffries in House Democratic leadership.\n\nBefore Pelosi’s announcement, Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told CNN that she expects her caucus to throw their support behind Jeffries, and help him become the first Black House Democratic leader.\n\n“If she steps aside, I’m very clear that Hakeem Jeffries is the person that I will be voting for and leading the Congressional Black Caucus to vote for,” said Beatty.”I don’t always speak for everybody, but I’m very comfortable saying I believe that every member of the Congressional Black Caucus would vote for Hakeem Jeffries.”\n\nRetiring North Carolina Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a former CBC chairman, told CNN that Jeffries “is prepared for the moment” if Pelosi steps aside. Butterfield said he thought Jeffries would run.\n\nThe longtime Democratic leader told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” on Sunday that members of her caucus had asked her to “consider” running in the party’s leadership elections at the end of the month, adding: “But, again, let’s just get through the election.”\n\nAny decision to run again, Pelosi said, “is about family, and also my colleagues and what we want to do is go forward in a very unified way, as we go forward to prepare for the Congress at hand.”\n\n“Nonetheless, a great deal is at stake because we’ll be in a presidential election. So my decision will again be rooted in the wishes of my family and the wishes of my caucus,” she continued. “But none of it will be very much considered until we see what the outcome of all of this is. And there are all kinds of ways to exert influence.”\n\nPelosi is a towering figure in American politics with a history-making legacy of shattering glass ceilings as the first and so far only woman to be speaker of the US House of Representatives.\n\nPelosi was first elected to the House in 1987, when she won a special election to fill a seat representing California’s 5th Congressional District.\n\nWhen she was first elected speaker, Pelosi reflected on the significance of the event and what it meant for women in the United States.\n\n“This is an historic moment,” she said in a speech after accepting the speaker’s gavel. “It’s an historic moment for the Congress. It’s an historic moment for the women of America.”\n\nThis story has been updated with additional developments Thursday.", "authors": ["Alex Rogers Annie Grayer Manu Raju", "Alex Rogers", "Annie Grayer", "Manu Raju"], "publish_date": "2022/11/17"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/05/energy/opec-production-cuts/index.html", "title": "OPEC announces big cut in oil production despite US pressure ...", "text": "London CNN Business —\n\nOPEC+ said Wednesday that it will slash oil production by 2 million barrels per day, the biggest cut since the start of the pandemic, in a move that threatens to push gasoline prices higher just weeks before US midterm elections.\n\nThe group of major oil producers, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, announced the production cut following its first meeting in person since March 2020. The reduction is equivalent to about 2% of global oil demand.\n\nThe price of Brent crude oil rose 1.5% to more than $93 a barrel on the news, adding to gains this week ahead of the gathering of oil ministers. US oil was up 1.7% at $88.\n\nThe Biden administration criticized the OPEC+ decision in a statement on Wednesday, calling it “shortsighted” and saying that it will hurt low and middle-income countries already struggling with elevated energy prices the most.\n\nThe production cuts will start in November, and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies will meet again in December.\n\nIn a statement, the group said the decision to cut production was made “in light of the uncertainty that surrounds the global economic and oil market outlooks.”\n\nGlobal oil prices, which soared in the first half of the year, have since dropped sharply on fears that a global recession will depress demand. Brent crude is down 20% since the end of June. The global benchmark hit a peak of $139 a barrel in March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.\n\nOPEC and its allies, which control more than 40% of global oil production, are hoping to preempt a drop in demand for their barrels from a sharp economic slowdown in China, the United States and Europe.\n\nWestern sanctions on Russian oil are also muddying the waters. Russia’s production has held up better than predicted, with supply being diverted to China and India. But the United States and Europe are now working on ways to implement a G7 agreement to cap the price of Russian crude exports to third countries.\n\nThe oil cartel came under intense pressure from the White House ahead of its meeting in Vienna as President Biden tried to secure lower energy prices for US consumers. Senior Biden administration officials were lobbying their counterparts in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to vote against cutting oil production, according to officials.\n\n‘Total disaster’? Maybe not\n\nThe prospect of a production cut was framed as a “total disaster” in draft talking points circulated by the White House to the Treasury Department on Monday, which CNN obtained. “It’s important everyone is aware of just how high the stakes are,” one US official said.\n\nWith just a month to go before the critical midterm elections, US gasoline prices have begun to creep up again, posing a political risk the White House is desperately trying to avoid.\n\nRising oil prices could mean inflation remains higher for longer, and add to pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates even more aggressively.\n\nBut the impact of Wednesday’s cut, while a bullish signal for oil prices, may be limited as many smaller OPEC producers were struggling to meet previous production targets.\n\n“An announced cut of any volume is unlikely to be fully implemented by all countries, as the group already lags 3 million barrels per day behind its stated production ceiling,” Rystad Energy analyst Jorge Leon said in a note.\n\nRystad Energy estimates that the global oil market will be oversupplied between now and the end of the year, dampening the effect of production cuts on prices.\n\n— Alex Marquardt, Natasha Bertrand, Phil Mattingly, Mark Thompson and Betsy Klein contributed to this report.", "authors": ["Hanna Ziady"], "publish_date": "2022/10/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/02/business/companies-pulling-back-russia-ukraine-war-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "Companies pulling back from Russia over the war in Ukraine | CNN ...", "text": "CNN Business —\n\nDozens of the world’s biggest companies have abandoned or scaled back their operations in Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.\n\nThe exodus affects every corner of the economy, from its vast energy riches through autos, finance, retail, entertainment and fast food, starving Russia of new investment and removing products and services that had become popular in the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union.\n\nHere’s a look at the major corporate departures.\n\nAutos\n\nFord (F) announced it was suspending its operations in Russia. The American automaker has a 50% stake in Ford (F) Sollers, a joint venture that employs at least 4,000 workers and is shared with Russian company Sollers.\n\nA Ford dealership and service center. Artyom Geodakyan/TASS/Getty Images\n\nThe company has plants in St. Petersburg, Elabuga and Naberezhnye Chelny but said it had “significantly wound down” its Russian operations in recent years. The automaker said it was “deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine,” and noted it has “a strong contingent of Ukrainian nationals working at Ford around the world.”\n\nGeneral Motors (GM) said it was halting all exports to Russia “until further notice.”\n\nGM doesn’t have a significant presence there: It sells only about 3,000 vehicles a year through 16 dealerships, according to a spokesperson. That’s out of the more than 6 million vehicles the Detroit-based automaker sells annually.\n\nToyota announced it would stop making cars in Russia or importing them to the country “until further notice, due to supply chain disruptions.”\n\nVolkswagen (VLKAF) is stopping production of vehicles in Russia and has suspended exports to the Russian market. The decision applies to the Russian production sites in Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod.\n\nNissan (NSANF) has suspended the export of vehicles to Russia, adding that it “anticipates that production will stop soon at our plant in St. Petersburg.”\n\nAviation\n\nBoeing (BA) said it would suspend support for Russian airlines.\n\nA company spokesperson confirmed the aircraft maker was pausing “parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines,” and had also “suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv.”\n\nAirbus (EADSF) followed Boeing with a similar move. In a statement, the company said it has “suspended support services to Russian airlines, as well as the supply of spare parts to the country.”\n\nBig Tech\n\nAirbnb cofounder and CEO Brian Chesky said in a tweet that his company was suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus.\n\nAmazon (AMZN)’s cloud division, Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, said March 8 it would halt new sign-ups for the service in Russia and Belarus. The company has already had a “long-standing policy of not doing business with the Russian government” and does not have data centers, infrastructure or offices in Russia, the company said in a blog post.\n\n“AWS has clear terms of service where if a customer is using AWS services to threaten, incite, promote, or actively encourage violence, terrorism, or other serious harm, they will not be permitted to use our services,” Amazon said. “Any customer we know of who is participating in this type of behavior will have their access to AWS suspended.”\n\nApple (AAPL) has stopped selling its products in Russia.\n\nThe tech giant said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about the Russian invasion. In response, the company has also moved to limit access to digital services, such as Apple Pay, inside Russia, and restricted the availability of Russian state media applications outside the country.\n\nA re:Store shop in central Moscow. re:Store is one of the largest Apple resellers in Russia. Vladimir Gerdo/TASS/Getty Images\n\nFacebook (FB)-parent Meta said it would block access to Russian news outlets Sputnik and RT, the Russia-backed television network infamous for promoting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agenda, across the European Union.\n\nThe move comes after the company received “requests from a number of governments and the EU to take further steps in relation to Russian state controlled media,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s VP of global affairs, wrote in a tweet.\n\nMeta has also said it has applied algorithmic restrictions on Russian state media that should prevent those posts from surfacing as prominently in users’ feeds.\n\nHitachi (HTHIY) said March 10 that it is pausing exports to Russia and suspending all manufacturing in the country, “with the exception of products, services and support for electrical power equipment that are indispensable to the daily lives of people,” it said.\n\nThe Japanese conglomerate added that Russia accounts for just a small fraction — roughly 0.5% — of its revenue.\n\nIBM (IBM) CEO Arvind Krishna said the company has suspended all business in Russia.\n\n“In Ukraine, we have been in constant touch with our local teams and continue to provide assistance that includes relocation and financial support,” Krishna said. “The safety and security of IBMers and their families in all areas impacted by this crisis remains our top priority.”\n\nIntel (INTC) said April 5 that it has suspended business operations in Russia. Earlier this year, the company said it stopped all shipments to Russia and Belarus.\n\nMicrosoft (MSFT) said it was suspending all new sales of its products and services in Russia. President and vice-chair Brad Smith also said the company is stopping “many aspects” of its business in Russia in compliance with government sanctions. Microsoft (MSFT) also said it will continue aiding in Ukrainian cybersecurity.\n\nNetflix (NFLX) said it will be suspending its streaming service in Russia.\n\n“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” a Netflix spokesperson told CNN.\n\nNo other details were provided.\n\nPreviously, the company said it was refusing to air Russian state TV channels — something that the platform would have been required to do starting this week under Russian law.\n\n“Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” the company told CNN Business.\n\nNintendo (NTDOF) has stopped taking online orders in Russia.\n\nIn a statement on its Russian website, the Switch console maker said that it had “suspended the processing of payments in rubles,” and temporarily set its digital store on “maintenance mode.”\n\nRoku (ROKU), which sells hardware allowing users to stream content through the internet, has banned RT worldwide.\n\nSony (SNE) has halted all software and hardware shipments, and temporarily suspended orders on its online PlayStation store in Russia.\n\nThe entertainment giant has also paused plans to launch Gran Turismo 7, a driving simulator game, in the country. Sony “joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine,” it said in a statement.\n\nSpotify (SPOT) said it has closed its office in Russia “indefinitely” and restricted shows “owned and operated by Russian state-affiliated media.” The streaming service removed all content from RT and Sputnik in Europe and other regions, a company spokesman said.\n\n“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the unprovoked attack on Ukraine,” the spokesman added. “Our first priority over the past week has been the safety of our employees and to ensure that Spotify continues to serve as an important source of global and regional news at a time when access to information is more important than ever.”\n\nTwitter (TWTR) has similarly announced plans to “reduce the visibility and amplification” of Russian state media content.\n\nYouTube, which is owned by Google (GOOGL), said it blocked Russian state media within Ukraine, including RT. The video platform also said it would be “significantly limiting recommendations to these channels.” Google (GOOGL) and YouTube have also said they will no longer allow Russian state media outlets to run ads or monetize their content.\n\nConsulting\n\nAccenture is discontinuing its business in Russia as it “stands with the people of Ukraine,” it said.\n\nThe firm announced the move in a statement on March 3, where it thanked its “nearly 2,300 colleagues in Russia for their dedication and service to Accenture over the years.”\n\n“We will be providing support to our Russian colleagues,” the company added.\n\nIn a similar move, Deloitte announced on March 7 that it would stop operating in Russia and Belarus.\n\n“While we know this is the right decision, it will have an impact on Deloitte’s [approximately] 3,000 professionals located in Russia and Belarus. Like others, we know our colleagues in Russia and Belarus have no voice in the actions of their government,” the firm said.\n\n“We will support all impacted colleagues during this transition and do all we can to assist them during this extremely difficult time.”\n\nEY, otherwise known as Ernst & Young, also said it would remove its Russian practice from its official global network, but allow it to “continue working with clients as an independent group of audit and consulting companies.”\n\n“EY in Russia is a team of 4,700 professionals working in 9 cities of the country. The company has been operating in the Russian market for more than 30 years,” it said on March 7.\n\n“In light of the escalating war, the EY global organization will no longer serve any Russian government clients, state-owned enterprises or sanctioned entities and individuals anywhere in the world.”\n\nConsulting and accounting firm KPMG International said that its “Russia and Belarus firms will leave the KPMG network.”\n\n“KPMG has over 4,500 people in Russia and Belarus, and ending our working relationship with them, many of whom have been a part of KPMG for many decades, is incredibly difficult,” the company said. “This decision is not about them – it is a consequence of the actions of the Russian Government. We are a purpose-led and values-driven organization that believes in doing the right thing.”\n\nPricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is also planning to break away from its Russian business.\n\n“As a result of the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine we have decided that, under the circumstances, PwC should not have a member firm in Russia and consequently PwC Russia will leave the network,” the “Big Four” consultancy said in a statement.\n\n“Our main focus at PwC continues to be doing all we can to help our Ukrainian colleagues and support the humanitarian efforts,” it added.\n\n“We are also committed to working with our colleagues at PwC Russia to undertake an orderly transition for the business, and with a focus on the wellbeing of our 3,700 colleagues in PwC Russia.”\n\nEnergy and metals\n\nBP said it was planning to exit its 19.75% stake in Russia’s biggest oil company, Rosneft, and suspending their joint ventures — which amount to one of the biggest foreign investments in Russia.\n\nEquinor will also begin to exit its joint ventures in Russia, the Norwegian oil and gas company announced.\n\n“We are all deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine, which represents a terrible setback for the world,” said CEO Anders Opedal.\n\nThe company said it had $1.2 billion in long-term investments in Russia at the end of 2021. It has operated in Russia for more than 30 years and has a cooperation agreement with Rosneft.\n\nExxon pledged to leave its last remaining oil-and-gas project in Russia and not to invest in new developments in the country.\n\nThe Sakhalin-1 venture is “one of the largest single international direct investments in Russia,” according to the project’s website. An Exxon subsidiary has a 30% share, while Rosneft also owns a stake.\n\nBy quitting this project, Exxon would end more than a quarter-century of continuing business presence in Russia.\n\nRio Tinto (RIO) was the first major mining company to announce it was cutting all ties with Russian businesses.\n\n“Rio Tinto is in the process of terminating all commercial relationships it has with any Russian business,” a Rio spokesman told Reuters.\n\nThe miner owns an 80% stake in Queensland Alumina Ltd in a joint venture with Russia’s Rusal International, the world’s second-largest aluminum producer. The company did not comment on how its decision to cut ties with Russian businesses would affect Queensland Alumina dealings with Rusal.\n\nShell is getting out of Russia and ditching its joint ventures with Gazprom, including its involvement with the moribund Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.\n\nThe UK-based oil company said on February 28 it would dump its stake in a liquified natural gas facility, its stake in a project to develop fields in western Siberia and its interest in an exploration project in the Gydan peninsula in northwestern Siberia.\n\n“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression which threatens European security,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement.\n\nShell has also decided to stop buying Russian oil and gas and will close its service station network.\n\nA Shell gas station seen in Moscow in 2020. Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg/Getty Images\n\nTotalEnergies (TOT) also condemned Russia’s actions and said it would no longer provide capital for new projects in the country.\n\nThe French oil giant has done business in Russia for 25 years, and recently helped launch a major liquefied natural gas project on the Siberian coast.\n\nFinance\n\nNorway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund will divest shares in 47 Russian companies as well as Russian government bonds, the Norwegian prime minister said.\n\nMastercard (MA) said it was suspending its network services in Russia. Cards supported by Russian banks will not work in the company’s network, and any cards issued outside of Russia will not work within the country.\n\nThe credit giant, which has operated in Russia for more than 25 years, had previously announced that it had “blocked multiple financial institutions” from its network as a result of anti-Russian sanctions, and would “continue to work with regulators in the days ahead.”\n\nVisa (V) said it is suspending all of its operations in Russia. It will end all Visa (V) transactions within its borders, and Visa (V) cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside of the country. In addition, all Visa (V) cards worldwide “will no longer work within the Russian Federation,” Visa (V) said.\n\nAmerican Express (AXP) said in a statement that globally issued American Express (AXP) cards will no longer work in Russia, and cards issued in Russia won’t work outside the country. The company also said it is ending its business operations in Belarus.\n\nMoody’s said it is suspending commercial operations in Russia. Its investors service will “maintain analytical coverage for existing ratings from outside Russia.”\n\nGoldman Sachs (GS) became the first major Wall Street bank to announce plans to exit Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. “Goldman Sachs (GS) is winding down its business in Russia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements,” a Goldman Sachs (GS) spokesperson told CNN.\n\nJPMorgan Chase (JPM), America’s largest bank, said it is “actively unwinding” its Russian business and not pursuing any new businesses in the country. JPMorgan cited “compliance with directives by governments around the world” for its decision.\n\nWestern Union (WU) said in a statement that it is suspending operations in Russia and Belarus. “We have thoroughly evaluated internal and external considerations, including the consequences for our valued teammates, partners, and customers,” the company said. “Ultimately, in light of the ongoing tragic impact of Russia’s prolonged assault on Ukraine, we have arrived at the decision to suspend our operations in Russia and Belarus.”\n\nCitigroup (C) expanded its exit from Russia, saying it’s going to stop soliciting new clients. In pulling out of the country, Citi said it will “include other lines of business and continue to reduce our remaining operations and exposure,” according to a company blog post from Executive Vice President of Global Public Affairs Edward Skyler. Citi noted that pulling its operations “will take time to execute” and that it is assisting multinational corporations.\n\nPayPal (PYPL) CEO Dan Schulman said the company is suspending services in Russia.\n\n“The PayPal community will remain steadfast in our humanitarian efforts to care for those in Ukraine who are experiencing devastating violence and tragic loss,” Schulman said.\n\nFood and beverage\n\nAB InBev, the maker of Budweiser and other beer brands, said it has “requested the controlling shareholder” of its Russia operations to suspend the license for the production and sale of Bud in the country. The company said it’s also “forfeiting all financial benefit” from its joint venture operations. Employees will still be paid.\n\nBurger King said it is pulling corporate support from its businesses in Russia. Restaurant Brands International, which owns the burger chain, said it “has suspended all of its corporate support for the Russian market, including operations, marketing and supply chain.” That doesn’t necessarily mean that Burger King restaurants will be closed in Russia, however, as the company said the chain’s roughly 800 locations there are “fully franchised and managed by a local master franchisee.” This means that the company cannot simply pull the plug on those restaurants as other brands such as McDonald’s have done.\n\nCoca-Cola (COKE) said that it is “suspending its business in Russia.” The company stated that “our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine,” adding that it will monitor the situation as things change.\n\nHeineken will stop producing and selling beer in Russia. The brewer announced on March 9 that it would “take immediate steps to ring-fence” its Russian business, “to stop the flow of monies, royalties and dividends” out of the country. The beverage giant, which sells into more than 190 countries, had already announced a suspension on new investments and exports to Russia. “We are assessing the strategic options for the future of our Russian operations,” it said in a statement. “We see a clear distinction between the actions of the government and our employees in Russia.”\n\nMcDonald’s is temporarily closing its Russian restaurants. Eighty-four percent of McDonald’ locations in Russia are operated by the company, according to the document. Russia’s restaurants, along with another 108 in Ukraine, all operated by McDonald’s, accounted for 9% of the company’s revenue in 2021.\n\nNestle (NSRGF) is suspending all capital investment in Russia and halting advertising in the country.\n\n“We are working hard to help keep food available to the people, be it on store shelves or through donations of essential foods and beverages like baby food, cereals, soup and noodles to those in need across the region,” the company said in a statement.\n\nPepsiCo said it is suspending the sale of Pepsi-Cola and global beverage brands in Russia, but will continue to sell some of its essential products.\n\nPepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said that Pepsi is suspending capital investments, ads and promotional activity in Russia. But PepsiCo will continue to sell some of its products, including baby formula, baby food, milk and other dairy options.\n\n“We have a responsibility to continue to offer our other products in Russia, including daily essentials,” Laguarta said. “By continuing to operate, we will also continue to support the livelihoods of our 20,000 Russian associates and the 40,000 Russian agricultural workers in our supply chain as they face significant challenges and uncertainty ahead,” he added.\n\nStarbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said that “we have decided to suspend all business activity in Russia,” in a message to employees. He added that “our licensed partner has agreed to immediately pause store operations and will provide support to the nearly 2,000 [employees] in Russia who depend on Starbucks for their livelihood.” Johnson added that Starbucks is halting shipment of all Starbucks products to Russia.\n\nYum Brands (YUM), which has 1,000 KFC and Pizza Hut franchises in Russia, said it would suspend all investment and restaurant development in the country. The company said it would “assess additional options” and redirect all profits from operations in Russia to humanitarian efforts.\n\nHospitality\n\nHyatt (H) is halting development in Russia and new investments there following the invasion of Ukraine. Hyatt (H) said it continues to “evaluate hotel operations” in Russia while complying with sanctions and US government directives.\n\nHilton (HLT) has shut down its corporate office in Moscow and is suspending all new development activity in Russia, the hotel company announced Wednesday. The moves will not end the Hilton (HLT) brand in Russia, where there are 26 Hilton (HLT) hotels. The company does not own any hotels in Russia. The 26 Hilton (HLT) hotels in Russia are managed or franchised and represent a small percentage of the company’s worldwide footprint of more than 6,800 properties, a spokesperson said.\n\nMarriott (MAR) has closed its corporate office in Moscow, and paused the opening of upcoming hotels and all future hotel development and investment in Russia.\n\n“Our hotels in Russia are owned by third parties and we continue to evaluate the ability for these hotels to remain open,” it added.\n\nIndustrials\n\n3 said it has halted operations in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.\n\nDow (DOW) has suspended all purchases of feedstocks and energy from Russia, and says it “significantly reduced its operations and product offerings” in the country. Dow (DOW) has also stopped all investments in the region, and is only supplying limited essential goods in Russia, including food packaging, hygiene, cleaning and sanitation products and household goods.\n\nGeneral Electric (GE) suspended most of its operations in Russia, with the exception of “providing essential medical equipment and supporting existing power services.”\n\nJohn Deere (DE), the world’s largest agriculture equipment maker, has halted shipments of its products to Russia. A Deere spokesperson said the only equipment produced in Russia is at a small factory in Orenburg, Russia that makes seeding and tillage equipment.\n\nCaterpillar said on March 9 that it is suspending operations in its Russian manufacturing facilities.\n\n“Operations in Russia have become increasingly challenging, including supply chain disruptions and sanctions,” the manufacturing giant said in a statement.\n\nMedia & entertainment\n\nDirecTV is cutting ties with RT.\n\nA spokesperson for the US satellite carrier told CNN Business that it had already been reviewing whether to renew the outlet’s carriage agreement, which was due to expire later this year. Russia’s war on Ukraine sped up its decision, according to the representative.\n\nDisney (DIS) is also suspending the release of its theatrical films in Russia, citing “the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”\n\nThe entertainment giant had multiple films set for release in Russia in the coming months. That includes Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” on May 5 and Pixar’s “Lightyear” on June 16.\n\nA shopper opening an umbrella featuring Disney Princesses at the Central Children's Store in Moscow's Lubyanka Square in 2017. Valery Sharifulin/TASS/Getty Images\n\n“We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation,” a Disney spokesperson said.\n\nWarnerMedia said on February 28 that it would pause the release of “The Batman” in Russia.\n\nThe film is one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, and is being released in most countries by Warner Bros. which, like CNN, is a unit of WarnerMedia.\n\nA company spokesperson said that the decision was made “in light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine,” and that the company hoped “for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy.”\n\nWarnerMedia is also pausing all new business in Russia, ceasing broadcast of its channels, halting all new content licensing with Russian entities, and pausing planned theatrical and games releases.\n\nRetail\n\nCrocs said March 9 that it will “pause its direct-to-consumer business, inclusive of e-commerce and retail operations, in Russia.” It will also pause “the importation of goods into the country.”\n\nEstée Lauder Companies said March 7 that it will “suspend all commercial activity in Russia, including closing every store we own and operate, as well as our brand sites and shipments to any of our retailers in Russia.” The company had already suspended business investments and initiatives in Russia, it said in a statement.\n\nFast Retailing announced March 10 that it was suspending Uniqlo’s business activities in Russia.\n\nThe turnaround came just days after Tadashi Yanai, CEO of the Japanese group, vowed to keep operating there, calling clothing a basic human necessity.\n\nNow, “it has become clear to us that we can no longer proceed,” Fast Retailing said in a statement, citing “a number of difficulties.”\n\nThe company “is strongly against any acts of hostility,” it added. “We condemn all forms of aggression that violate human rights and threaten the peaceful existence of individuals.”\n\nH&M (HMRZF) will pause all sales in Russia.\n\nIn a statement, the company said that it was “deeply concerned about the tragic developments in Ukraine, and stands with all the people who are suffering.”\n\nThe clothing giant’s stores in Ukraine are already closed due to safety concerns.\n\nH&M Group, which operates a number of brands, had 168 stores in Russia as of last November, according to its website.\n\nIkea, the world’s largest furniture company, is closing its 17 stores in Russia. The company said the conflict is having a “huge human impact” and is “resulting in serious disruptions to supply chain and trading conditions.” In addition to pausing its retail and manufacturing operations in Russia, it will suspend all trade with the country and its ally, Belarus.\n\nIkea said 15,000 workers would be directly affected by the shutdown in the region. The company will continue to pay them, at least for the time being.\n\nImperial Brands (IMBBY), one of the world’s largest tobacco players, will sell off its Russian business.\n\nThe company behind Winston and Gauloises cigarettes says its operations in Russia comprise 1,000 employees in sales and marketing, as well as a factory in the city of Volgograd.\n\nImperial will “continue to pay their salaries until any transfer is concluded,” it said in a statement.\n\nInditex, the parent company of Zara, said it is pausing operations in Russia and closing 502 stores in the country. In a statement, the company said Russia accounts for about 8.5% of its earnings before interest and tax.\n\nMothercare is suspending business in Russia and stopping shipments there.\n\n“Our local partner has confirmed that it will be immediately pausing operations in some 120 stores and online,” it said on March 9.\n\nRussia accounts for around 20% to 25% of sales for the retailer, which specializes in goods for parents and babies.\n\nMondelez (MDLZ) said it would scale back all non-essential activities in Russia “while helping maintain continuity of the food supply.” The company said it would focus on “basic offerings,” and discontinue all new capital investments and suspend a advertising spending in the country.\n\nGerman sports company Puma said it is suspending operations of all of its stores in Russia. The company said it operates more than 100 stores in the country.\n\nLuxury fashion house Prada is suspending its retail operations in Russia.\n\nProcter & Gamble (PG) CEO Jon Moeller said in a letter to employees on March 7 that the company has “discontinued all new capital investments in Russia” and is “suspending all media, advertising, and promotional activity.”\n\n“We are significantly reducing our product portfolio to focus on basic health, hygiene and personal care items needed by the many Russian families who depend on them in their daily lives,” Moeller said. “As we proceed with the reduced scale of our Russian operations, we will continue to adjust as necessary.”\n\nUnilever (UL) said it will “continue to supply our everyday essential food and hygiene products made in Russia to people in the country,” adding “we will keep this under close review.” But the company noted it is has suspended imports of its products to Russia and is stopping all investment in the country, in addition to stopping exports from there. It said it won’t profit from its presence in Russia.\n\nShipping goods\n\nUPS and FedEx have suspended operations in Russia and Belarus. FedEx said it suspended operations to “support the people of Ukraine.” DHL said it has suspended inbound shipments to Russia and Belarus.\n\nMaersk and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company are both halting cargo bookings with Russia.\n\n“As the stability and safety of our operations is already being directly and indirectly impacted by sanctions, new Maersk bookings to and from Russia will be temporarily suspended, with exception of foodstuffs, medical and humanitarian supplies,” the Denmark-based company said in a statement.\n\n“We are deeply concerned by how the crisis keeps escalating in Ukraine,” the company added.\n\nMSC, a Swiss-owned container shipping line, said its suspension would cover “all access areas, including Baltics, Black Sea and Far East Russia.”\n\nTransportation\n\nFrench train maker Alstom said that it will “suspend all deliveries towards Russia” in a statement on March 9.\n\nThe group is also suspending all future business investments in Russia, it added.\n\nAlstom owns a 20% stake — as a capital investment — in Transmashholding (TMH), the Russian locomotives and rail equipment provider.\n\n“There was no material business nor operational link between Alstom and TMH,” the company said. “The book value will be re-assessed as part of the fiscal year 2021/22 closing accounts.”\n\n— Rishi Iyengar, Michelle Toh, Diksha Madhok, Chris Isidore, Vanessa Yurkevich, Paul P. Murphy, Mark Thompson, Vasco Cotovio, Peter Valdes-Dapena, Frank Pallotta, Brian Fung, Oliver Darcy, Jordan Valinsky, Aliza Kassim, Chris Liakos, Pamela Boykoff, Robert North, Anna Stewart and Blake Essig contributed to this report.", "authors": ["Cnn Business Staff"], "publish_date": "2022/03/02"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/24/us/atlanta-public-safety-training-center-plans-community/index.html", "title": "Atlanta wants to build a massive police training facility in a forest ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nWhen Ram moved to the Boulder Walk neighborhood just southeast of Atlanta five years ago, it felt like finding a hidden gem: It was a diverse, affordable and family-friendly community just steps away from the local high school, bordering a forest but still a short drive from the big city; perfect for her family of five.\n\nBut she hasn’t been able to get used to hearing the daily sprays of gunfire.\n\n“When I first moved here, it increased my anxiety,” Ram, who did not want her full name used due to privacy concerns, said. “It messed up my nerves.”\n\nThe sound comes from a nearby Atlanta police firing range. It’s unnerving, residents from several nearby neighborhoods told CNN. Worse, they worry it’s just a glimpse into what could come when local officials begin building a massive police and fire training center in their backyards. “I absolutely want the police to be well-trained,” said Joe Santifer, who lives in another neighborhood, roughly a mile away from where the facility is slated to be built. “But if they’re not being good neighbors now, what will give us the confidence that they’ll be good neighbors in the future?”\n\nJoe Santifer poses for a portrait at Glen Emerald Rock Garden in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 22, 2022. Austin Steele/CNN\n\nThe expected $90 million, 85-acre center, announced and approved by the city of Atlanta last year, will include a shooting range, mock city and burn building, among other facilities. The Atlanta Police Foundation says the center is needed to help boost morale and recruitment efforts, and previous facilities law enforcement has used are substandard, while fire officials now train in “borrowed facilities.” The police foundation, a nonprofit established in 2003, helps fund local policing initiatives through public - private partnerships. Among those sitting on its board of trustees are leaders of UPS, Wells Fargo, The Home Depot, Equifax and Delta Air Lines.\n\nBut the plan has been met with fierce resistance from a community still reeling from monthslong demonstrations protesting police brutality and racial injustice. Some locals say the city’s announcement blindsided neighbors and the development process since has largely been a secretive one with limited input from the most affected communities.\n\nFor others, the facility poses environmental concerns at a time when the deadly impacts of climate change have become hard to ignore: The training center would carve out a chunk of forested land Atlanta leaders previously seemed to agree to preserve, though the city says officials are committed to replacing trees destroyed in construction.\n\nActivists determined to stop the project have camped out in the forest’s trees and, despite a permit which could soon signal the start of construction, say they have no plans to leave.\n\nA promise unkept\n\nAtlanta and then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms were in the national spotlight in 2020 as protests erupted across the country over police killings of Black people, including Rayshard Brooks, a Black man fatally shot in the back by Atlanta police.\n\nThe city’s police chief resigned and Bottoms denounced the “chaos” she said was unfolding on the city’s streets, adding she was trying to strike a “tough balance” between criticizing police officers and supporting the ones who protected the city.\n\nIn the spring of 2021, following mounting pressure over a demoralized police force, Bottoms announced plans to build a new police training academy in an unincorporated part of neighboring DeKalb County on a controversial parcel of land owned and used as a prison farm by the city for much of the 1900s, sprawling across more than 300 acres. Prisoners there were subject to harsh punishments and bleak conditions, including poor sanitation and nutrition and overcrowding, according to the Atlanta Community Press Collective, a local group of researchers and writers.\n\n“We knew that (the training facility) was a direct response to the uprisings that took place in 2020,” said Kwame Olufemi, of Community Movement Builders, a Black member-based grassroots organization opposing the project.\n\nThe site of the proposed project, the Old Atlanta Prison Farm – where graffitied ruins now sit entwined with weeds and vines surrounded by forested land – is a “cultural landscape of memory,” say local advocates, who have long called for it to be turned into a park and memorial.\n\nIt’s also less than half a mile away from a tributary of the South River, which is one of America’s most endangered, according to nonprofit conservation group American Rivers. That’s a result of decades of neglect and pollution the area, which is overwhelmingly Black, has endured, local advocates say.\n\nIn 2017, a report authored by Atlanta’s city planning department which envisioned the prison farm as a key part of a larger effort to protect green spaces around the river was adopted into the city charter. It felt like a “unanimous promise” from city leaders to protect the land, said Joe Peery, with local volunteer group Save The Old Atlanta Prison Farm.\n\nBut in September 2021, after hearing roughly 17 hours of public comment – the majority of which was against the training center – the Atlanta City Council approved a ground lease agreement with the Atlanta Police Foundation, allowing for 85 acres of the prison farm site to be turned into the training facility while the other 265 is slated to be preserved as greenspace. (For comparison, the NYPD’s training academy is a roughly 32-acre campus; the LAPD training campus is about 20 acres.) Andre Dickens, Atlanta’s current mayor, was among the council members who voted for the lease.\n\n“Everybody was floored,” said Jacqueline Echols, board president for the South River Watershed Alliance, an organization working to protect the river. “Just in 2017 they’d said this would be a park and a community investment.”\n\nJacqueline Echols stands for a portrait outside of Intrenchment Creek Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 3, 2022. Austin Steele/CNN\n\nThough the land is in unincorporated DeKalb County, it’s long been owned by the city, and residents in the surrounding area don’t have a say in city elections or vote for the leaders who made this decision. “It was kind of foisted upon us,” Santifer, who lives in Glen Emerald Park, said. “That’s part of the issue: the lack of transparency, the lack of engagement with this community because frankly, they know the community doesn’t want it.”\n\nThe police foundation has said the city went through an “exhaustive review of its properties” before selecting the site, adding it is the only one owned by Atlanta big enough to accommodate the two departments’ needs. And even if another privately-controlled site was identified, the foundation has said, preparing it for development would take “decades and present taxpayers with an unwarranted financial burden.”\n\nCity spokesperson Bryan Thomas told CNN the prison farm site was “a pragmatic choice, given its adjacency, its ownership by the City and its former and continued use” by Atlanta’s police and fire rescue departments.\n\nOther sites were explored over several years, Thomas said, adding the city engaged with a group of designers, architects and engineers about what a “first-rate training center” would require. The group eventually focused on the prison farm site since it has previously hosted training facilities, like the firing range, Thomas added.\n\nCNN also reached out to the police foundation for comment.\n\nAfter the September 2021 vote, Bottoms said she was aware of widespread opposition to the facility, but the city did not have any other site options to choose from, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The center was a move to support the city’s fire and police officers “while also focusing on sensible reform,” Bottoms, who did not run for reelection, said in a September 2021 news release.\n\nThe White House had no comment from Bottoms, who serves as senior adviser to the President for public engagement.\n\nActivists living in trees to stop ‘Cop City’\n\nPerhaps the loudest voices of opposition come from activists and organizers who have dubbed the plan “Cop City” and called on Mayor Dickens to cancel the lease.\n\n“Tree sitters” and other members of the “Defend the Atlanta Forest” movement built shelters in trees to prevent the facility’s construction and have also called attention to the forest’s history, saying a police center will continue a legacy of oppression on the land. Before it was a prison farm, White settlers established slave-based plantations in the area after forcing off the Muscogee Creek tribe, according to anthropologist Mark Auslander. Forest defenders refer to it today by its Muscogee name, Weelaunee Forest, as a nod to its original inhabitants.\n\nMembers of the movement have been accused by local officials and some neighbors of using violent tactics in related opposition efforts, including allegedly setting a tow truck on fire. In May, eight protesters were arrested after a Molotov cocktail was allegedly thrown at police as authorities tried to remove them from the area, according to CNN affiliate WSB. But it did not deter their efforts. The Defend the Atlanta Forest Twitter account posted a letter in August it said was from a tree sitter. “I’ll be here keeping up the struggle,” the letter said. “My question to the (Atlanta Police Foundation) is: When will you give up?”\n\nA person walks near the entrance to Intrenchment Creek Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 3, 2022. Austin Steele/CNN\n\nThe Community Movement Builders group, which also opposes the plan, would have liked to see the financial resources instead be put toward mental health, food and housing programs for south Atlanta communities, according to Olufemi.\n\nTaxpayers will fund about $30 million of the facility’s cost in total, with the rest coming from private philanthropic and corporate donations, the city has said. Among those backing the center is the Atlanta Committee for Progress, a partnership between the mayor and the city’s top business, civic and academic leaders. Its former chairman, Alex Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Cox Enterprises, led the initial private funding campaign for the center at then-Mayor Bottoms’ request. (Cox owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the city’s major daily newspaper.)\n\nCox Enterprises spokeswoman Sonji Jacobs told CNN in a statement, “The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has always operated with complete editorial independence, and the newspaper, in its coverage of the police training facility, has repeatedly disclosed that it is owned by Cox Enterprises.”\n\nAtlanta Police Foundation President and CEO Dave Wilkinson wrote in a 2021 Atlanta Journal-Constitution op-ed a surge in violent crime across Atlanta since the summer of 2020 called for “more effective law enforcement,” but the city had struggled to build morale and retain employees in recent years.\n\nResidents who are in support of the facility told CNN they wanted police to be able to train properly and hoped the development would make their communities safer and help spur economic development.\n\nSpence Gould, a marine and resident of the Boulder Walk community for roughly a decade, said he sees the need for a training center. “I want my police force very well-trained, I want them to have all the resources that they need,” Gould told CNN. “But I also see the (Defend the Atlanta Forest) concerns because we are really wrecking the planet.”\n\nOnce the foundation has a land disturbance permit (which is still under review, according to DeKalb County) and construction begins, a fence will be put up around the site and anyone on the property “will be arrested,” Wilkinson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in March.\n\nConstruction is expected to begin in the late fall and the first phase of the facility is expected to open before the end of 2023, the city spokesperson said.\n\nAmid climate crisis, advocates urge city not to cut trees\n\nTrees are seen with hearts placed on them near the planned police development in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 22, 2022. Austin Steele/CNN\n\nBefore the mayor’s sudden announcement, the prison farm site had been a key centerpiece in another vision: the South River Forest.\n\nThe forest is a 3,500-acre network of connected green spaces across parts of Atlanta and DeKalb County, which advocates say is desperately needed. Despite being known as the “city in a forest,” Atlanta has massive disparities in green space, with fewer and smaller parks in predominantly Black areas like this one. And with a population size expected to sharply increase in the coming decades, the benefits the forest can provide – floodplain restoration, habitat expansion and tree canopy protection, among others – will be critical, the Nature Conservancy has said.\n\nIn August 2021, more than a dozen environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club’s Georgia Chapter, wrote an open letter to city leaders urging them not to lease the prison farm site to the police foundation, arguing ragmenting the South River Forest will leave surrounding communities vulnerable to adverse impacts, like stormwater flooding – a problem already worsening because of climate change.\n\n“The forest serves as the city’s lungs,” said Nina Dutton, chair of the Sierra Club Metro Atlanta Group. “Forests capture carbon, they clean the air … they mitigate flooding and prevent erosion and they help keep the city cool. Breaking up this area of forest would reduce the amount of forest that’s available to help us in those ways.”\n\nThe forest vision could also spur economic development in long neglected areas and reconcile decades of environmental injustice with investment, said urban planner Ryan Gravel. “If you live in a community in the South River Forest, you’re more likely to live within walking distance of a landfill or a prison than anywhere else in metro Atlanta, by far,” he said. “You’re talking about an area that has historically been treated as a dumping ground.”\n\nDiscarded bags of trash are seen along a hole in a fence that leads into a proposed police development in Atlanta on August 15, 2022. Austin Steele/CNN\n\nThomas, the city’s spokesperson, said training facilities will make up less than half the site, while the rest will be green space open to the public and include walking trails and picnic areas.\n\nMuch of the land to be developed has previously been cleared of trees and the parts including forest cover are “overwhelmingly dominated by invasive species,” devoid of thick forest, Thomas added. The Atlanta Police Foundation has committed to replace any hardwood tree destroyed in construction with 10 new ones and replace any invasive species with hardwood trees, the spokesperson added.\n\nBut advocates with Save the Old Atlanta Prison Farm argue most of the land has been reforested and reducing the forest in any way would also reduce the economic opportunities for the surrounding communities. “The noise and smoke coming from the Police Training Facility would further erode that impact,” the group has said.\n\nAlthough the training center will put a dent in advocates’ plans, many are still determined to see the South River Forest come to life. An ongoing initiative by the Nature Conservancy and the Atlanta Regional Commission is collecting community input about the forest’s future and is slated to wrap up in the coming weeks.\n\n“This could be the first step in starting to reverse some of the discrimination that this part of the city has seen over the last decades,” Santifer, who is among the project managers of that initiative, said.\n\n‘Violations of our environment and our neighborhoods’\n\nDeKalb County leaders could soon take a vote on a resolution introduced by county commissioner Ted Terry calling for an environmental assessment of the site and a noise study for the proposed center – and asks developers to reconsider the location if their plan cannot satisfy environmental standards. (Atlanta Police Foundation officials have said the center will “be built with 21st century EPA standards and controls.”)\n\nTerry recently said on Twitter county leaders have received more public comment from residents on this issue than any other during his tenure. “All opposed,” he wrote.\n\nDickens, Atlanta’s mayor, told the New Yorker recently an advisory committee created in the aftermath of the lease approval offered a way for public input on the project. But critics of the group note its members were appointed by local officials and don’t have the power to hold the police foundation and developers accountable to the community’s concerns.\n\nOne member was voted out after publishing an opinion piece criticizing the police foundation and project developers for misleading the community and avoiding their environmental due diligence – including by never investigating the possibility of unmarked graves on the prison farm land.\n\nA \"Defend the Atlanta Forest\" sign is seen in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 22, 2022. Austin Steele/CNN\n\nThe committee isn’t meant to serve as a watchdog, but rather to make recommendations on changes or adjustments to the development which would benefit surrounding communities, said committee chair Alison Clark. And so far, the foundation has adopted all the group’s recommendations, she added, including relocating the center’s firing range further away from residential areas.\n\nClark, who has lived in the Boulder Walk neighborhood for roughly eight years, told CNN she is in favor of the training facility. She agrees the area has long been used as a “dumping ground” for unpopular developments like landfills, and hopes the center can help economically lift the area, bring in new vendors and also boost police presence. “At the end of the day, I think that’s a win-win for the community,” she said.\n\nBut ahead of the DeKalb County commissioners’ vote, county leaders heard from residents who said the project remained highly unpopular among the surrounding communities and urged for the approval of Terry’s resolution.\n\n“Residents in the area, who are predominantly Black and brown, often low-income, have been left out of the decision-making process and their voices have been ignored,” DeKalb County resident Brad Beadles said during an August meeting, according to a summary posted on the county’s website. “No one should have to be subjected to such clear harmful violations of our environment and our neighborhoods.”\n\nTerry told CNN he is taking more feedback from community members on the resolution and expects a vote on it from the commission next month.", "authors": ["Christina Maxouris"], "publish_date": "2022/09/24"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/business-food/starbucks-cup-sustainability/index.html", "title": "Starbucks is planning to phase out its iconic cups | CNN Business", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nStarbucks has a love-hate relationship with its cups.\n\nThe company’s white — or sometimes holiday-themed — logo-emblazoned paper cups for hot drinks, and clear plastic cups for cold drinks are instantly recognizable symbols of the brand. But that’s not entirely a good thing.\n\n“Our cup is ubiquitous, and we love that,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer. “But it is also this ubiquitous symbol of a throwaway society.”\n\nThat’s because the cups are disposable. When they are thrown away, the cups end up in landfills or as litter in streets and waterways. Some might be recycled, but recycling is an imperfect option — recyclable items still end up in landfills.\n\nThe best solution? “Eliminating the disposable cup,” Kobori said. He called that option “the holy grail.”\n\nThe traditional Starbucks disposable cup. Joe Raedle/Getty Images\n\nBy 2025, the company wants every customer to be able to either use their own mug easily or borrow a ceramic or reusable to-go mug from their local Starbucks. That could mean rolling out more borrow-a-mug programs that require a deposit.\n\nStarbucks is also planning, by the end of next year, to let customers use their own personal mugs at every Starbucks in the United States and Canada, even if they order ahead or use the drive-thru.\n\nThe goals don’t mean Starbucks will get rid of the paper and plastic cups. But they do want to make that option less attractive. That won’t be easy to do, as most Starbucks customers are used to that simple, single-use option. But the company has a plan.\n\nTesting out Borrow-A-Cup programs\n\nExamples of Starbucks' reusable cups. Courtesy Starbucks Coffee Company\n\nTo phase out disposables, Starbucks is considering a widespread borrow-a-cup program, in which customers pay a deposit for a durable cup that they take with them and drop back off after use.\n\nAmelia Landers, a vice president of product experience whose team is responsible for sustainable packaging at Starbucks, expects that this model will resonate more with customers compared to other sustainability efforts.\n\n“I think that will take the lead,” she said. “We are testing a number of different [borrow-a-cup] programs around the globe,” including “20 different iterations and in eight different markets.”\n\nIn Seattle, Starbucks tested a beta version of such a program last year.\n\n“We developed a new cup that had a very low environmental footprint, was lightweight polypropylene, ultimately recyclable and could replace 100 single-use disposable cups,” Landers explained.\n\nFor that test, customers paid a $1 deposit, and had to return the cup to a smart bin located in the store to get their dollar back. Customers also earned rewards for using the cup.\n\nKim Davis, who manages a store where the program was tested, said that customers were curious about the bin, and once baristas explained it to them, many were on board with the concept.\n\n“The excitement and engagement was really high among my customers and my [employees],” she said. For baristas, the process was straightforward enough — they just used the reusable cup instead of a regular one to prepare drinks. A third-party company collected the dirty cups for cleaning, so baristas didn’t have to worry about that part of the process.\n\nStarbucks (SBUX) is running similar pilot programs in Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom.\n\nThe model is the most promising because it’s the easiest to integrate into customers’ daily lives.\n\nYou don’t have to remember to bring your own reusable mug or, if you do, get stuck with a dirty cup for the rest of the day. And you don’t need to sit and sip your coffee at a Starbucks, something most people don’t have time for on a weekday morning.\n\nBut that model is still just being tested, so the company wants to encourage the use of reusable mugs in other ways.\n\nBringing back the personal cup\n\nStarbucks wants all customers to be able to use reusable mugs and glasses at its stores. Courtesy Starbucks Coffee Company\n\nEarly in the pandemic, when people feared that the coronavirus could spread easily on surfaces, Starbucks barred customers from bringing their own mugs. It has since brought back the option and is now trying out ways to make it more attractive.\n\n“We’re testing an incentive on the personal cup to go up from where it is today — from 10 cents to 50 cents,” Landers said. “We are also going to be testing a disposable cup fee.” She added that the chain is also experimenting with discounted prices for people who use a Starbucks-provided ceramic mug in stores.\n\nThat’s simple enough. But it gets a lot more complicated when customers bring their own cups to the drive-thru or when they order ahead through the Starbucks app.\n\nYears ago, ordering ahead or using a drive-thru might have been a rare enough occasion. But since the pandemic, more customers have been coming through the drive-thru or ordering ahead.\n\nDuring a February analyst call, Starbucks CFO Rachel Ruggeri said that Starbucks’ drive-thru windows and its mobile orders together account for about 70% of sales at US stores operated by the company.\n\nSo to achieve its zero-disposable-cups goal, Starbucks needs to figure out how to get reusables through a drive-thru, and make them available to customers who order ahead.\n\nTo that end, Starbucks has been testing different options at its innovation center.\n\n“We’ve got mock stores set up,” said Landers. “We have different versions of the drive-thru layout.”\n\nCustomers can simply give their cups to baristas at the drive-thru window. But Starbucks is exploring ways to make the process smoother.\n\nOne option is to allow customers to drop off their cups at an earlier point in the drive-thru lane so that the drink is ready in a personal cup once they swing around to the window, Landers said. Another is for baristas to pre-make drinks when customers place their orders, and pour them into personal tumblers at the window or when they arrive at a store to pick up their order. Starbucks is also testing out cup-washing stations in stores.\n\nThe team is trying “different things, over and over again,” to figure out what might work, she said. “We’re right now in the middle of all of that work.”\n\nIt’s crucial for Starbucks’ mobile order and drive-thru experiences to be seamless. After just a few sluggish pickups, customers may take their business elsewhere.\n\nBut Starbucks also has to be careful not to put too much additional burden on employees, who already have to prepare complicated, customized orders at high speeds.\n\nThat’s especially important now. Workers across the country are considering unionization, going against the wishes of the company’s leadership.\n\nA Starbucks, in Buffalo, New York, was the first to vote to unionize in December. Employees at a handful of other stores have since made similar efforts and several Starbucks around the country are preparing for their own votes.\n\nIf the company’s initiative leads to the end of paper and plastic cups at Starbucks, it will be quite an achievement.\n\n“We know that even the most ardent of sustainability champion customers, they really don’t change their behavior all that easily,” Landers said. “Even though they really, really want to.”", "authors": ["Danielle Wiener-Bronner"], "publish_date": "2022/03/15"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/tech/twitter-layoffs/index.html", "title": "Twitter layoffs: Elon Musk's Twitter cuts jobs across the company ...", "text": "CNN Business —\n\nTwitter on Friday laid off thousands of employees in departments across the company, in a severe round of cost cutting that could potentially upend how one of the world’s most influential platforms operates one week after it was acquired by billionaire Elon Musk.\n\nNumerous Twitter employees began posting on the platform Thursday night and Friday morning that they had already been locked out of their company email accounts ahead of the planned layoff notification. Some also shared blue hearts and salute emojis indicating they were out at the company.\n\nBy Friday morning, Twitter employees from departments including ethical AI, marketing and communication, search, public policy, wellness and other teams had tweeted about having been let go. Members of the curation team, which help elevate reliable information on the platform, including about elections, were also laid off, according to employee posts.\n\n“Just got remotely logged out of my work laptop and removed from Slack,” one Twitter employee said on the platform. “So sad it had to end this way.”\n\nAnother employee said that she and other members of Twitter’s human rights team had been laid off. The employee added that she is proud of the team’s work “to protect those at-risk in global conflicts & crises including Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Ukraine, and to defend the needs of those particularly at risk of human rights abuse by virtue of their social media presence, such as journalists & human rights defenders.”\n\nSimon Balmain, a former Twitter senior community manager who was laid off Friday, said in an interview with CNN that he lost access to Slack, email and other internal systems around 8 hours before receiving an email Friday morning officially notifying him that he’d been fired. He added that the lay off email “still didn’t provide any details really” about why he’d been let go.\n\n“The waves of annoyance and frustration and all that stuff are absolutely mitigated by the extreme solidarity we’ve seen from people that are in the company, people that are in the same position, people that left the company in years gone by,” Balmain said. “It’s like a giant support network, which has been absolutely amazing.”\n\nOne Twitter employee who was laid off told CNN Friday that some workers are relieved to have been let go. “For me, being safe would’ve been punishment,” the employee said.\n\nWhile Twitter employees were posting about being laid off, Musk on Friday appeared for a friendly interview at an investor conference and spoke about making cheaper electric vehicles and his ambitions to go to Mars. During the interview, Musk said of Twitter, “I tried to get out of the deal,” but then added, “I think there is a tremendous amount of potential … and I think it could be one of the most valuable companies in the world.”\n\nThe interviewer said that Musk had laid off “half of Twitter” and Musk nodded, although he did not comment on the remark.\n\n(In a series of tweets Friday evening, Yoel Roth, head of Twitter’s trust and safety team, confirmed overall headcount was cut by roughly 50%. The layoffs eliminated 15% of the company’s trust and safety team, leading to reductions in customer service but little change to content moderation, according to Roth. )\n\nIn his interview, Musk appeared to frame the sweeping layoffs as necessary for a company that, like other social media firms, was experiencing “revenue challenges” prior to his acquisition as advertisers rethink spending amid recession fears.\n\nMusk also said “a number of major advertisers have stopped spending on Twitter” in the days since the acquisition was completed.\n\nElon Musk spoke at an investment conference Friday morning as employees at Twitter, which he now owns, were receiving notifications that they had been laid off from the company. Baron Capital\n\nTwitter had about 7,500 workers prior to Musk’s takeover, meaning roughly 3,700 employees were laid off. The cuts come as Musk attempts to improve the company’s bottom line after taking out significant debt financing to fund his $44 billion acquisition.\n\nThe email sent Thursday evening notified employees that they would receive a notice by 12 p.m. ET Friday that informs them of their employment status.\n\n“If your employment is not impacted, you will receive a notification via your Twitter email,” a copy of the email obtained by CNN said. “If your employment is impacted, you will receive a notification with next steps via your personal email.”\n\nThe email added that “to help ensure the safety” of employees and Twitter’s systems, the company’s offices “will be temporarily closed and all badge access will be suspended.”\n\nThe email concluded acknowledging that it will be “an incredibly challenging experience to go through” for the workforce.\n\nSeveral Twitter employees on Thursday night filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Twitter is in violation of the federal and California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) after laying off some employees already. The complaint was later amended to acknowledge that while several of the plaintiffs did ultimately receive sufficient notice of their termination under the WARN Act, Twitter still allegedly failed to give sufficient notice in the case of some employees.\n\nThe WARN Act requires that an employer with more than 100 employees must provide 60 days’ advanced written notice prior to a mass layoff “affecting 50 or more employees at a single site of employment.”\n\n“Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has made clear that he believes complying with federal labor laws is ‘trivial,’” Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, who filed the lawsuit, said in a statement to CNN. “We have filed this federal complaint to ensure that Twitter be held accountable to our laws and to prevent Twitter employees from unknowingly signing away their rights.”\n\nWARN notices were filed by Twitter on Friday for nearly 1,000 impacted employees at the company’s various California offices.\n\nSeparately, other labor lawyers told CNN Friday they had begun receiving inquiries from Twitter employees questioning whether their terminations may have been unlawfully discriminatory or retaliatory.\n\n“Former Twitter employees have reached out to us regarding their layoffs and their circumstances, and so we’re looking at all the issues — beyond appropriate notice — and to make sure the employee wasn’t laid off due to their membership in a protected category,” said Chauniqua Young, a partner at the law firm Outten & Golden.\n\nBeyond the potential for lawsuits arising from the layoffs, other legal experts say Musk’s handling of the cuts may well create further problems for him down the road — whether in terms of attracting future talent or by keeping remaining workers satisfied.\n\n“Once you treat people like this, they remember that,” said Terri Gerstein, a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Labor and Worklife Program and Economic Policy Institute. “Of the people remaining, it is a certainty that none of them feel secure in their job, and I would be shocked if the remaining people were not updating their resumes right now or talking with each other about starting a union.”\n\nMusk started his tenure at Twitter by firing CEO Parag Agrawal and two other executives, according to two people familiar with the decision.\n\nAnd in less than a week since Musk acquired the company, its C-suite appears to have almost entirely cleared out, through a mix of firings and resignations. Musk has also dissolved Twitter’s former board of directors.\n\nMany staffers on Friday summed up their feelings with a hashtag, #LoveWhereYouWorked, a past-tense play on one previously often used by Twitter employees.\n\n- Brian Fung and Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report", "authors": ["Donie O'Sullivan Clare Duffy", "Donie O'Sullivan", "Clare Duffy"], "publish_date": "2022/11/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/politics/jim-inhofe-retiring/index.html", "title": "Jim Inhofe: Oklahoma GOP senator announces resignation and ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nOklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, a leading conservative Republican and veteran of the Senate, announced on Friday that he will resign in January 2023, sparking a special election this November.\n\n“It is bittersweet, but with a clear heart, that Kay and I announce that at the end of the year, I will retire from the United States Senate,” said Inhofe in a statement, referring to his wife.\n\nInhofe, 87, is a defense hawk who serves as the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. He is also a former chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where he drew the ire of environmentalists over his denunciations of climate change as a “hoax.”\n\nInhofe won reelection as recently as 2020, and had already planned to make his current term his last. His resignation will likely spark a furious GOP battle for a seat to represent one of the nation’s most conservative states.\n\nIn an interview with The Oklahoman, Inhofe endorsed his top aide, Luke Holland, for the November election to replace him.\n\nA number of Oklahoma Republicans are viewed as potential contenders for the seat, including Holland, Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, former state House speaker T.W. Shannon, Oklahoma attorney general candidate Gentner Drummond and Reps. Markwayne Mullin and Kevin Hern.\n\n“Senator Inhofe’s early retirement has sent shockwaves through every political circle today,” said Oklahoma GOP strategist John Fritz. “This is going to be a bloodbath of stellar conservatives fighting it out in the primary. The one thing we know for certain is that Hell will freeze over before Democrats win this U.S. Senate seat.”\n\nIn his statement, Inhofe noted his 55-year political career – from the state legislature to Tulsa mayor to the US House and Senate – began after he realized he had to visit 27 government offices to obtain a dock permit.\n\n“If we wanted the government to work for the people, not against the people, it was up to us to make a change,” said Inhofe.\n\nSenate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell praised Inhofe after the announcement.\n\n“I know the Inhofes will be glad to have more time with their consummate family man,” said McConnell. “And while the Senate will miss one of its foremost experts on defense policy, I am glad our friend will continue to serve with us through the end of this Congress.”\n\nThe New York Times first reported that Inhofe planned to resign.\n\nThis story and headline have been updated with additional developments Friday.", "authors": ["Alex Rogers Manu Raju", "Alex Rogers", "Manu Raju"], "publish_date": "2022/02/24"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/21/health/biden-lower-nicotine-transformative/index.html", "title": "Biden administration moves to restrict nicotine levels in tobacco ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe Biden administration signaled Tuesday that it will develop a proposed rule to establish a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes and other tobacco products that will essentially lower the amount of nicotine in products available in the US. It is a step that no other administration has taken before and is one public health experts say would be transformative if enacted.\n\n“This is the first time there’s ever been a serious discussion with a commitment from the highest levels of government to tackle tobacco in a way that is transformative,” said Matthew Myers, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “It will transform public health in the United States and literally do more to reduce cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease than any other set of actions the government could take.”\n\nThe new initiative was released as a part of what is called the administration’s “unified agenda.” Released twice a year, this is a set of planned federal regulatory actions.\n\nThe rule says that the effort to lower nicotine in tobacco products would reduce people’s addiction to smoking and give people a better shot at quitting. Reducing the amount of nicotine in these products would also likely prevent people from starting smoking.\n\n“Addiction to nicotine in combusted products is the main driver of sustained use of these products. In fact, more than half of adult cigarette smokers make a serious quit attempt each year (quitting for at least a day), but most do not succeed due to the addictive nature of cigarettes. Such a product standard, if proposed and then finalized after a thorough process, would make those products minimally- or non-addictive,” the US Food and Drug Administration said in a statement Tuesday.\n\n“Nicotine is powerfully addictive,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said in the statement. “Lowering nicotine levels to minimally addictive or non-addictive levels would decrease the likelihood that future generations of young people become addicted to cigarettes and help more currently addicted smokers to quit.”\n\nNicotine is the chemical in tobacco products that is highly addictive. The chemical can change the way the brain works, making people crave more of it, according to the FDA.\n\nStudies show that when the nicotine content of cigarettes is reduced, people don’t seem to smoke more to compensate for the missing nicotine. The lower nicotine level cigarettes also seem to be effective in alleviating withdrawal, studies show.\n\n“If you don’t have high enough levels of nicotine, it seems that you don’t trigger as strong as an addiction,” Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, the deputy chief science officer of the American Heart Association, said. “I’ve had patients in the past who had been addicted to both nicotine and heroin at different times in their lives and one of them said it was much tougher to quit nicotine.”\n\nSurveys show that two-thirds of young smokers say they want to quit. Lowering nicotine levels could make a big difference.\n\n“If we could keep them from being addicted in the first place, that would be good and this has the potential to really produce a dramatic change in tobacco use,” Robertson said.\n\nAbout 480,000 people in the US die from smoking-related disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the leading cause of preventable death in the US.\n\nThe number of smokers has declined significantly in the past 15 years, but as of 2020, still about 12.5% of US adults, or 30.8 million people smoked cigarettes. More than 16 million live with a smoking-related disease according to the CDC.\n\n“This is an important step forward for public health,” said Erika Sward, the assistant vice president of national advocacy for the American Lung Association.\n\nThe FDA estimates reducing nicotine levels could prevent more than 33 million from becoming regular smokers and about 5 million additional smokers would quit within a year of lowering nicotine levels and 134 million years of life would be gained.\n\nEven with low nicotine products, not all smoking-related disease would disappear. The low nicotine cigarettes still contain the harmful products that can cause disease.\n\n“Much of the harm comes from inhaling the combusted smoke. Combusted smoke is still there in low nicotine cigarettes,” Robertson said. “Because they are low on nicotine, does not mean they are low in anything else.”\n\nSo, there would still need to be a public health effort to get people to quit, Robertson said. Lowering the nicotine content could certainly help with that.\n\nThe regulations won’t happen overnight, experts say, and there’s no guaranteed that it would be enacted.\n\nGet CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.\n\nNext, the FDA will have to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking by May 2023 and there would be time for public comment. That process could take at least a year. Then, it is “very likely,” experts say, that the tobacco companies would then sue to keep the rule from going into place.\n\nMyers and other tobacco experts said they hope the FDA and the Biden administration will move quickly on this initiative.\n\n“We have seen how slow things move in many areas with tobacco and many impediments to action can arise,” said Myers. “We just have to make a commitment to make sure it gets done.”", "authors": ["Jen Christensen"], "publish_date": "2022/06/21"}]}
{"question_id": "20230106_29", "search_time": "2023/01/07/05:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/959153/quiz-of-the-week-31-december-6-january", "title": "Quiz of The Week: 31 December – 6 January | The Week UK", "text": "We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your registration as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWould you like to receive The WeekDay newsletter ?\n\nThe WeekDay newsletter provides you with a daily digest of news and analysis.\n\nWe will use the details you have shared to manage your newsletter subscription. You agree to the processing, storage, sharing and use of this information for the purpose of managing your subscription as described in our Privacy Policy.\n\nWe will use the information you have shared for carefully considered and specific purposes, where we believe we have a legitimate case to do so, for example to send you communications about similar products and services we offer. You can find out more about our legitimate interest activity in our Privacy Policy.\n\nIf you wish to object to the use of your data in this way, please tick here.\n\n'We' includes The Week and other Future Publishing Limited brands as detailed here.", "authors": ["Julia O Driscoll"], "publish_date": "2023/01/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/politics/wind-energy-milestone-us-climate/index.html", "title": "US wind energy sets record for power generation | CNN Politics", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe United States set a major renewable energy milestone last Tuesday: wind power was the second-highest source of electricity for the first time since the Energy Information Administration began gathering the data.\n\nAs E&E reporter Ben Storrow noted and the EIA confirmed, wind turbines last Tuesday generated over 2,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity, edging out electricity generated by nuclear and coal (but still trailing behind natural gas).\n\nLast year, wind was the fourth-largest electricity source behind natural gas, coal, and nuclear, generating close to 380 terawatt-hours for the entire year, according to the EIA. For context, a terawatt is a thousand times bigger than a gigawatt.\n\nConfirmed: That was the first *day* that wind was the 2nd-largest source of U.S. electricity generation, according to our data (going back to July 1, 2018). — EIA (@EIAgov) April 5, 2022\n\nMajor milestone aside, wind energy in the US is still lagging behind one European country that recently broke a record of its own: Germany.\n\nAlthough the US has more wind capacity by sheer numbers – it’s a larger country with a larger population – Germany is outpacing the US in terms of how much electricity it gets from wind. In February alone, windmills in Germany generated a record 20.6 terawatt-hours of wind energy, Rystad Energy reported Tuesday, which made up 45% of its total energy in February.\n\nIn 2020 – the most recent year the EIA has robust statistics for – Germany got 24% of its electricity from wind, compared to 8% in the US.\n\n“Europe and Germany in particular, have developed significant wind power over the past decade,” said Fabian Rønningen, a power markets analyst at independent energy firm Rystad.\n\nAnd the larger picture shows the US trails Europe in its renewables capacity.\n\nIn 2020, the EU and UK combined had the capacity to produce around 49% of their electricity from renewables, almost twice that of the US’ 25%, according to the International Renewables Energy Agency.\n\nWith more than 100 planned offshore- and onshore-wind projects in the pipeline, President Joe Biden’s administration is trying to make up the lost ground in the wind-power game. The administration set a goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy alone.\n\nThe EIA projects the US will bring another 7.6 gigawatts of utility-scale wind online this year, alongside 21.5 gigawatts of utility-scale solar power. Just last month, for example, the Traverse wind farm in Oklahoma brought close to a gigawatt of new energy online.\n\nThe US milestone comes as the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that wind and solar have declined significantly in cost and are now economically viable alternatives to fossil fuels. Scientists warned the world must rapidly transition to renewables and away from fossil fuels to avert the worst impacts of global warming.\n\n“We cannot run our fossil fuel-based infrastructures anymore the way we did,” said Jan Christoph Minx, a climate researcher and a lead author on the report, at a news conference. “The big message coming from here is we need to end the age of fossil fuel. And we don’t only need to end it, but we need to end it very quickly.”", "authors": ["Ella Nilsen"], "publish_date": "2022/04/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/19/energy/energy-prices-uk-europe-explainer/index.html", "title": "Why UK energy prices are rising much faster than in Europe | CNN ...", "text": "London CNN Business —\n\nMillions of people in the United Kingdom are steeling themselves for colossal rises to their energy bills over the next few months, a coda to a year already marked by record price increases.\n\nThe crisis is not unique to the country. Prices have shot up across Europe since last fall, driven by a spike in demand as countries lifted pandemic lockdowns. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, and the subsequent drop in Moscow’s oil and natural gas exports to Europe, have pushed prices even higher.\n\nBut UK energy prices are now higher than in comparable economies like France and Italy, analysts told CNN Business. And Brits have suffered much bigger price increases than in most European countries, including Germany, where decades of energy policy has been turned on its head by the Ukraine war.\n\nThe Office for National Statistics said this week that UK natural gas prices rose nearly 96% in the year to July, while electricity prices are up 54%.\n\nAnnual consumer price inflation for gas and electricity in the United Kingdom is forecast to soar to an average of around 80% this year, compared to an average of 40% across the 19 countries that use the euro, analysis from Deutsche Bank shows.\n\nThe worst is yet to come. Average annual energy bills could exceed £4,000 ($4,820) from January, and £5,000 ($6,000) later in the spring, up from about £2,000 ($2,400) currently. Millions could be forced into poverty as a consequence. Leaders of the UK National Health Service warned Friday of a “humanitarian crisis.” Many people could fall sick this winter as they “face the awful choice between skipping meals to heat their homes and having to live in in cold, damp and very unpleasant conditions,” they said.\n\nOverall UK inflation exceeded 10% in July, compared with 8.9% in the eurozone. Unlike other problems in the UK economy, Brexit doesn’t appear to be a major factor. So why are British energy bills rising so much faster than across much of Europe?\n\nA broken market\n\nAs wholesale costs ballooned last year, 31 smaller UK energy companies — who traditionally offered competitive prices — went bust, forcing millions of customers onto the books of bigger suppliers, and to pay higher bills.\n\nThe way the British government designed the energy market made this more likely, Henning Gloystein, director of energy, climate and resources at Eurasia Group, told CNN Business. Smaller companies were acting like brokers rather than providers of an essential utility.\n\n“Many UK retail energy providers weren’t real energy producers. Instead, they bought electricity and gas in the wholesale market and then sold it on to retail customers like households,” Gloystein said.\n\nThat meant that as soon as wholesale costs increased far above what suppliers could legally charge, they went bankrupt.\n\nEurope operates in a different way. Most countries have tighter regulations on suppliers, Gloystein said, including rules designed to shield them from sudden price spikes.\n\nThe prices UK households pay are subject to a cap, but it is adjusted every six months — a period about to be cut to three — meaning bills rise more quickly in line with wholesale costs.\n\n“There’s a transitional arrangement between now and when we move to that full quarterly model that’s pushing up prices a little bit more,” Sanjay Raja, Deutsche Bank’s chief UK economist, told CNN Business. “Suppliers are able to pass on the increases in wholesale gas prices a lot more quickly than they were in the past,” he added.\n\nLack of storage\n\nThe United Kingdom has faced a “perfect storm” of events which have bumped up energy bills, according to Raja.\n\nMost homes are supplied with natural gas, he said, whereas electricity, nuclear energy and renewable sources make up a bigger share of the energy mix across the European Union.\n\nThe country also relies on gas to generate 40% of its electricity, compared to less than one fifth for the bloc as a whole, according to Deutsche Bank.\n\n“It’s a double whammy effect and the UK’s overdependence on gas is a big reason why gas prices I think in the UK are a little bit more elevated than elsewhere,” he said.\n\nHigh voltage power lines and cooling towers at the Dampierre-en-Burly nuclear power plant, operated by Electricite de France SA (EDF), in Dampierre-en-Burly, France, on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. EDF's falling nuclear production, combined with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is exacerbating Europe's energy crisis as France is traditionally a net exporter of electricity. Anita Pouchard Serra/Bloomberg/Getty Images\n\nWhile the United Kingdom produces about half of its gas, North Sea output last year fell to its lowest level on record due to maintenance work, according to the government’s business department.\n\nA lack of storage has exacerbated the situation. Centrica (CPYYF), a UK energy company, closed the largest gas storage facility in the country in 2017, though it is in discussions with the government to reopen the site this winter. Europe has more storage capacity, and has been rapidly filling it ahead of winter — and a feared total cut off of Russian gas.\n\nUK natural gas contracts for next year’s first quarter are nearly 7% more expensive than European benchmark contract prices, according to analysis by Auxilione. That’s because Europe has now built a buffer for the winter months.\n\nThe lack of storage forces the the United Kingdom to rely on “real-time flows” of gas from the North Sea, Norway, Belgium, as well as liquefied natural gas imports, Tony Jordan, director at Auxilione, told CNN Business.\n\n“We’re much more reliant on the here and now when it gets to winter,” he said.\n\nEurope’s gas is still eye-wateringly expensive. It was trading at €242 ($244) per megawatt hour on Friday, an all-time high, according to Auxilione. That’s much higher than the spot price for UK gas, which is trading at an equivalent of €160 ($161) per megawatt hour, but the differential is driven mostly by greater demand in Europe as it fills up its tanks for winter.\n\nGermany declared a gas crisis in June after Russia cut flows through the vital Nord Stream 1 pipeline by two-thirds, bringing the country one step closer to rationing gas to industry.\n\nMinimal government support\n\nFaced with soaring bills, governments across Europe have stepped in to help ease the financial pressure on households.\n\nBut the “elephant in the room,” said Raja, is that none of the support offered by the UK government so far has directly subsidized consumer energy prices. Earlier this year, the government announced a £150 rebate on a local tax for millions of households to help ease the pain.\n\nMore help is coming soon, but it won’t be anywhere near enough, according to anti-poverty campaigners.\n\nAn electricity transmission tower near residential houses in Upminster, UK, on Monday, July 4, 2022. Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images\n\nIn May, the government announced a £15 billion ($18 billion) package of support, including a £400 ($482) credit to 29 million households from October, which will be spread over six months.\n\nBy comparison, France has capped electricity price increases to 4% until the end of the year.\n\nOther countries “have had more direct intervention when it comes to energy prices, so comparatively UK gas and electricity prices are running a little bit higher,” Raja added.\n\nOn Thursday, Germany announced plans to slash a sales tax on gas to 7% from 19% until March 2024, which is designed to more than offset new levies introduced to pay for gas storage. The government has asked companies to pass the reduction onto their customers, according to a report by German broadcaster ZDF.\n\nLiz Truss, the favorite to succeed Boris Johnson as the UK’s next prime minister next month, has not said how she would provide further help to households beyond cutting taxes.\n\nThe opposition Labour Party is calling for a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies to be extended to help fund a freeze on energy bills this winter.\n\n— Mark Thompson contributed reporting.", "authors": ["Anna Cooban"], "publish_date": "2022/08/19"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/16/world/coal-use-record-high-climate-intl/index.html", "title": "The world is burning more coal than ever before, new report shows", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe global energy crisis caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine has pushed global demand for coal – the most polluting of all fossil fuels – to a record high in 2022, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.\n\nDemand for coal is set to grow 1.2% and top 8 billion metric tons for the first time ever this year, the IEA said in the latest edition of its annual coal report. This record comes only a year after countries agreed to phase down their use of coal at the United Nations’ climate conference in Glasgow.\n\nThe growth is mostly down to a rapid rise in the prices of natural gas and other fuels, which has forced some countries and regions to turn to coal as a cheaper alternative.\n\nCoal is the world’s largest source of energy for electricity generation and the production of steel and cement. But it is also the biggest single contributor to the climate crisis, accounting for around 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use.\n\n“Europe – and the European Union in particular – has been one of the regions hardest hit by the energy crisis, given its reliance on Russian pipeline supplies of natural gas,” the report said, adding that technical problems in French nuclear power plants made the problem even worse.\n\nTo keep the lights on, Europe turned back to coal – even switching some of its recently closed coal power plants back on.\n\nPieter de Pous, who leads the Fossil Fuel Transition Program at E3G, a climate think tank, told CNN the growth in coal use was a U-turn, coming “at the end of a decade that saw coal use cut in half.”\n\nThe IEA said that while the increase in coal consumption was relatively modest in most European countries, Germany saw a reversal of a “significant scale.”\n\nThat has put the EU, which has positioned itself as a global climate leader, into an uncomfortable position, with some criticizing European countries like Germany for only pursuing the green agenda when it suits them. Germany and the EU have pushed back on that idea, stressing the U-turn was only temporary and that the bloc has significantly ramped up its investment into renewable energy.\n\nThe IEA expects the EU’s coal use to drop 29% by 2025 compared to 2022, de Pous said. “This will be the result of action taken in as many as 19 EU countries to accelerate renewables,” he added.\n\nChina, which accounts for more than half of global coal consumption, also ramped up its use of coal earlier this year, when the worst heatwave and drought in six decades hit its hydroelectricity production.\n\nIn August alone, coal power generation in China increased by around 15% compared to the same period last year, the IEA said, to a level of generation that was higher than the total annual coal power generation of any other country, except India and the United States.\n\nRichard Black, a senior associate at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a climate advisory group, said that despite the increase in China’s use of coal, the long term direction for coal in China and India – another major coal user – was clear.\n\n“Renewables are going to be providing an increasing share of the generation and the role of coal is going to transition from being a baseload fuel to being a backup,” he said.\n\n“The science suggests that a country such as China ought to have eliminated unabated coal use by 2040 and ideally earlier than that,” he said. “That’s absolutely feasible. As with Europe, if there is a short term increase in coal use, that’s not necessarily a disaster. The key thing is going to be to build out transmission capacity, build out energy storage, keep on making energy use more efficient, and to provide alternatives for the workers in the places where coal mining is a big employer so that there’s a socially just transition.”\n\n‘Peak in fossil fuel use’\n\nThe IEA forecasts that global coal consumption will remain flat at the current level to 2025 as falls in some countries are offset by continued strong demand in emerging Asian economies. Although there are global moves to help big coal producing countries transition off the fossil fuel. This week, Vietnam agreed to a $15.5 billion climate-financing deal with leaders from G7 industrialized nations to move away from coal, which followed a recent $20 billion funding deal for Indonesia to increase clean energy and phase out coal.\n\n“The world is close to a peak in fossil fuel use, with coal set to be the first to decline, but we are not there yet,” said Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA’s director of energy markets and security, said in a press release.\n\nEarlier this year, the IEA said CO2 emissions from coal power generation were forecast to grow by more than 200 million tons, or 2%, this year. It said that investment into new fossil fuels infrastructure must stop immediately if the world wants any chance of achieving net zero by 2050.\n\nThe latest climate science shows that achieving net zero by the mid-century is necessary to keep temperatures from rising well above 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared with pre-industrial times. Beyond that threshold, the world will face climate crisis impacts that could take millennia to correct, or could be irreversible altogether.", "authors": ["Ivana Kottasová"], "publish_date": "2022/12/16"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/06/energy/record-gas-prices-causes/index.html", "title": "Why US gas prices are at a record and why they'll stay high for a ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nRussia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major reason that US drivers are paying record prices for gasoline. But it’s not the only reason.\n\nNumerous factors are combining to push gas prices up to a record. Gas hit $4.25 for a gallon of regular gas, according to AAA’s survey Wednesday.\n\nGas prices were already expected to breach the $4 a gallon mark for the first time since 2008, with or without shots fired or economic sanctions imposed in Eastern Europe.\n\n“I think we reach $5 somewhere between this weekend and Juneteenth/Father’s Day weekend,” he said.\n\nIt was back in March that prices first broke the record of $4.11 a gallon, which had stood since 2008. That now seems like the good old days: The national average has been rising steadily for the past month, setting 27 records in the last 28 days.\n\nMore than one out of every five gas stations nationwide is now charging more than $5 a gallon for regular, and just more than half are charging $4.75.\n\nThere are 10 states, plus Washington, DC, where the average price is already at $5 or more: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Several more are within a penny of $5, so those states’ prices are likely only a day or two at most from crossing the mark.\n\nBut prices aren’t likely to fall much whenever they do start to retreat. And Kloza expects they could once again set a record after schools let out and drivers start hitting the road for vacations next month.\n\n“Anything goes from June 20 to Labor Day,” Kloza said.\n\nHere’s what’s behind the record price surge:\n\nRussia’s invasion of Ukraine\n\nRussia is one of the largest oil exporters on the planet. In December it sent nearly 8 million barrels of oil and other petroleum products to global markets, 5 million of them as crude oil.\n\nVery little of that went to the United States. Europe got 60% of the oil and 20% went to China in 2021. But oil is priced on global commodity markets, so the loss of Russian oil affects oil prices around the globe, no matter where it is used.\n\nThe concerns about disrupting global markets led western nations to initially exempt Russian oil and natural gas from the sanctions they put in place to protest the invasion.\n\nOn Tuesday the United States announced a formal ban on all Russian energy imports. The UK government said it, too, will phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 and explore ways of ending natural gas imports.\n\nChina lockdowns ending\n\nOne factor keeping oil prices somewhat in check has been the surge of Covid cases, and strict lockdown rules in much of the country. That was a major drag on demand for oil.\n\nBut as the Covid surge has started to retreat, the lockdowns are being lifted in major cities such as Shanghai. And more demand without increased supply can only drive up prices.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback This is what determines the price of gas 01:57 - Source: CNN\n\nLess oil and gasoline from other sources\n\nWhen pandemic-related stay-at-home orders around the world crushed demand for oil in the spring of 2020, oil plunged, briefly trading at negative prices. OPEC and its allies, including Russia, agreed to slash production as a way to support prices. Even when demand returned sooner than expected, they kept production targets low.\n\nUS oil companies don’t follow those types of nationally mandated production targets. But they have been reluctant or unable to resume producing oil at pre-pandemic levels amid concerns about the prospect of tougher environmental rules that could cut future demand. Many of those tougher rules have been scaled back or failed to become law.\n\n“The Biden administration is suddenly interested in more drilling, not less,” said Robert McNally, president of consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group. “People are more worried about high oil prices than anything else.”\n\nIt takes time to scale up production, particularly when oil companies are facing the same supply chain and hiring challenges as thousands of other US businesses.\n\n“They can’t find people, and can’t find equipment,” McNally added. “It’s not like they’re available at a premium price. They’re just not available.”\n\nOil stocks have generally lagged the broader market over the last two years, at least until the recent run-up in prices. Oil company executives wanted to redirect cash to buying back stock and other ways to help their share price rather than increase production.\n\n“Oil and gas companies do not want to drill more,” said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James. “They are under pressure from the financial community to pay more dividends, to do more share buybacks instead of the proverbial ‘drill baby drill,’ which is the way they would have done things 10 years ago. Corporate strategy has fundamentally changed.”\n\nOne of the starkest examples: ExxonMobil (XOM) last month announced first quarter profits of $8.8 billion, more than triple the level of a year ago when excluding special items. It also announced a $30 billion share repurchase plan, far more than the $21 billion to $24 billion it expects to spend on all capital investment, including searching for new oil.\n\nNot only is oil production lagging behind pre-pandemic levels, there’s also less US refining capacity. Today, about 1 million fewer barrels of oil a day are available to be broken into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum-based products.\n\nState and federal environmental rules are prompting some refineries to switch from oil to lower carbon renewable fuels. And some companies are closing older refineries rather than invest the money it would cost to retool to keep them operating, especially with massive new refineries set to open overseas in Asia, the Middle East and Africa in 2023.\n\nAnd major US refineries have yet to return to full operation after two were damaged by hurricanes last year and another by an explosion.\n\n“Economics mandate you make more jet and diesel fuel to the detriment of gasoline,” said Kloza.\n\nAnd with prices in Europe even higher than in the United States, both Canadian and US oil producers have increased exports of oil and gasoline to the continent. That has also limited the US supply.\n\nStrong demand for gasoline\n\nRecord job gains in 2021, and the strongest economic growth since 1984, have combined to fuel the rebound in driving, as did pent-up demand for travel after the first year of the pandemic.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback How to save money on gas by being more fuel efficient 01:40 - Source: CNN\n\nThe US economy had record job growth in 2021, and while those gains have slowed, they remain historically strong. Demand is getting another boost as the many employees who have been working from home for much of the last two years return to the office.\n\nThe start of the summer travel season on Memorial Day weekend is likely to spark the typical annual increases in demand for gas and jet fuel. US airlines all report very strong bookings for summer travel, even with airfares climbing above pre-pandemic levels.\n\nThe end of the Omicron surge and the removal of many Covid restrictions is encouraging people to get out of the house for more shopping, entertainment and travel well. US trips in passenger vehicles have increased 25% since the beginning of this year, according to the mobility research firm Inrix.\n\n“Come hell or high gas prices, people are going to take vacations,” said Kloza.\n\nThere may not be quite as much commuting as before the pandemic. Many who plan to return to the office will be there only three or four days a week, rather than five. The total number of jobs is still slightly below 2019 levels.\n\n“Even before Ukraine, I was expecting to break the record,” Kloza said. “Now it’s a question of how much we break the record by.”", "authors": ["Chris Isidore"], "publish_date": "2022/06/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/05/business/eu-russia-coal-explainer/index.html", "title": "Coal sanctions: Europe is finally coming after Russia's energy | CNN ...", "text": "London CNN Business —\n\nEuropean leaders are planning to phase out Russian coal imports in response to harrowing scenes in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv.\n\nOn Tuesday, the European Commission proposed a ban on €4 billion ($4.3 billion) worth of Russian coal imports per year as part of a fifth package of sanctions designed to further diminish Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest. Other proposals target Russian technology and manufacturing imports, worth another €10 billion ($10.9 billion).\n\nEurope has imposed punishing sanctions on Russia’s economy since Putin’s tanks rolled into Ukraine in late February, but stopped short of targeting Russia’s energy sector — until now. Images of unarmed civilians, bound and shot, lying along Bucha’s roads — which were until recently under Russian occupation — have convinced leaders to change tack.\n\nRussia’s oil and gas could be next. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen told EU lawmakers on Wednesday that the fifth round of sanctions “will not be [the] last”.\n\n“Yes, we’ve now banned coal, but now we have to look into oil,” she said.\n\nCharles Michel, who chairs meetings of EU leaders, said in a tweet that “measures on oil, and even gas will also be needed sooner or later.”\n\nMore details of the new package, including the timeline for the ban on coal, could come on Wednesday when EU ambassadors meet for talks. The measures still need the approval of all 27 member states.\n\nSanctioning coal will bite some European countries, but it’s among the easiest energy sources to wean off — much of the world is already doing just that. The trickier question is: What happens next?\n\nHow much Russian coal goes to Europe?\n\nRussia was the world’s third-largest exporter of coal in 2020, behind Australia and Indonesia, according to the International Energy Agency, with Europe by far its biggest customer.\n\nThe continent received 57 million tons of Russian hard coal that year, compared to 31 million tons for China, IEA data shows. This amounted to more than half of Europe’s coal that year, according to Eurostat.\n\nBut the EU was already turning away from the world’s dirtiest fossil fuel.\n\nThe amount of electricity generated by coal has decreased steadily across the block in recent years, falling 29% between 2017 and 2019, according to analysis by energy think tank Ember.\n\nAnd despite a brief uptick last year as gas prices hit record highs, the IEA anticipates that European demand for coal will resume its steady decline. Total imports were expected to drop 6% by 2024 even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.\n\nOther countries could step in to buy Russian coal. The IEA expects India’s coal imports to rise 4% in 2024, and more than 6% in Southeast Asia. Russia has already benefited from a jump in exports to China following Xi Jinping’s block on Australian imports, the agency said in a December report.\n\nWhat will a EU ban mean for coal prices?\n\nStill, a supply crunch — even one that’s phased in — could cause a headache for countries that still use coal for much of their electricity generation, including Poland and Germany.\n\nA drop in supply coupled with rebounding demand in China helped push global coal prices up to all-time highs in October 2021 — before falling back down, per IEA analysis.\n\nBut elevated prices could prove stickier under an EU ban on Russian imports. Rotterdam coal futures, the benchmark for European coal prices, closed at $257 a ton on Monday, but was last seen trading at $295, data from the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services showed.\n\nMatthew Jones, lead analyst for EU power and carbon at ICIS, told CNN Business that the coal ban will “make an already tight European supply situation even tighter and will lead to a scramble to find alternative coal sources.”\n\n“Front month Rotterdam coal futures traded on the ICE exchange were up almost 15%, and front year by 13%, since yesterday’s close in response to the news,” Jones added.\n\nEven so, Henning Gloystein, director of energy, climate and resources at Eurasia Group, thinks EU states can withstand the shock. The think tank also said on Tuesday that any EU purchase of Australian coal would cushion the blow.\n\n“Sanctioning coal will also make life much more difficult for European utilities, which consume a lot of Russian coal, but energy companies can cope with this” Gloystein told CNN Business.\n\nWhat’s left to sanction?\n\nRussia’s oil and gas supplies are notably absent from the latest round of sanctions. The bloc imported 26% of its crude and 46% of its gas from Russia in 2020, according to Eurostat.\n\nBut blocking oil imports is on the table: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement Tuesday that the bloc was “working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports.”\n\nAlready, the United States has tapped its strategic oil reserves, releasing 180 million barrels into the global market, to help bring down gasoline prices and counter the reduction in Russian oil supplies. The IEA also agreed to release additional oil from its member countries at an emergency meeting last week.\n\nNatural gas is still the most unlikely target of sanctions, partly because of differences between member states that are heavily reliant on Russian energy and those wanting to move faster to strike at the heart of the Russian economy.\n\nEU leaders have pledged to reduce consumption of Russian gas by 66% before the end of this year, and to break the bloc’s dependence on Russian energy by 2027.\n\nOne country has gone further. Lithuania’s Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said in a tweet Sunday that “from now and so on, Lithuania won’t be consuming a cubic cm of toxic Russian gas.” Getting import-reliant countries like Germany and Hungary on board will prove more challenging.\n\nBut, according to Gloystein, the bloc’s reluctance to sanction oil and gas is about more than avoiding self-harm.\n\n“The EU is keen to be able to keep escalating its response according to developments in Ukraine,” he said. “If Brussels now enforces maximum sanctions, how does it react to a further escalation by Moscow?”\n\nGloystein also said that targeting Russian oil and gas risks backfiring.\n\n“There are serious and credible concerns that such actions would trigger a significant escalation by Russia as Putin may feel forced to act drastically and swiftly in the knowledge that his war chest might soon run dry.”\n\n— Mark Thompson contributed to this report.", "authors": ["Anna Cooban"], "publish_date": "2022/04/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/26/china/china-sichuan-power-crunch-climate-change-mic-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "China's worst heat wave on record is crippling power supplies. How ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here.\n\nHong Kong CNN —\n\nFor weeks now, a power crunch caused by a record heat wave and accompanying drought has wreaked havoc across Sichuan, a province home to 80 million people in southwestern China.\n\nIt’s dimmed skyscrapers, shut factories, darkened subways, and plunged homes and offices into rolling blackouts, forcing air conditioning to be unplugged – and killed thousands of poultry and fish at farms hit by electricity cuts.\n\nThe impact has been felt far and wide, from the neighboring mega city of Chongqing and the eastern provinces along the Yangtze River to the financial hub of Shanghai – where the iconic skyline went dark this week to save energy.\n\nIn a country that prides itself on economic growth and stability, the acute power shortage has come as a shock to residents who in recent decades have grown used to improved living conditions and infrastructure.\n\nTo many, extended power cuts revive memories of the distant past – a bygone era before China’s economic rise ushered in its glitzy metropolises and lifted millions out of poverty.\n\nAnd now, climate change is threatening to disrupt that sense of security and economic growth.\n\nA villager walks in a cracked paddy field amid a severe drought in Neijiang, Sichuan province. Huang Zhenghua/VCG/Getty Images\n\nThe ongoing heat wave is the worst China has seen since records began more than 60 years ago. It has stretched over 70 days, sweeping through large swathes of the country and smashing temperature records at hundreds of weather stations.\n\nThe sheer size of China’s economy and population means any major disruption to its power supply can cause massive loss and suffering.\n\n“These so-called extreme weather events will have more impact on our lives and electricity supply,” said Li Shuo, climate adviser with Greenpeace in Beijing. “And perhaps we all need to reconsider whether these extreme events will become the new normal.”\n\nExperts say the Sichuan power crunch is an example that China’s energy system is far less robust than it needs to be to face the growing challenges from climate change.\n\nSome believe the industry is heading in the right direction toward reform, while others worry it will turn to building more coal-fired power plants to secure energy supply – and risk undermining China’s pledges to reach peak carbon by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.\n\nHow did the power crunch happen?\n\nLocated along the upper reaches of the Yangtze, China’s longest and largest river, Sichuan is famous for its rich water resources and relies mostly on hydropower.\n\nAmid scorching temperatures and a prolonged drought, reservoirs across Sichuan are drying up – crippling the hydropower stations that account for nearly 80% of the province’s power generation capacity.\n\nThis month, Sichuan has seen its hydroelectricity capacity plunge by 50%, according to the state grid. Meanwhile, the unrelenting heat wave has pushed power demand to unprecedented highs, as residents and businesses blast their air conditioning to stay cool.\n\nAn ariel view of the Baihetan hydropower station that straddles the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan in southwest China. Cao Mengyao/Xinhua/Getty Images/FILE\n\n“China’s electricity demand has been incredibly flat in the past, because so much of it has come from the industry, not from households or services. Now with air conditioning becoming more common, the demand is becoming higher,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in Helsinki, Finland (CREA).\n\n“At the same time, rains are becoming more errant. Heavy rains and periods of drought make hydropower much less reliable as a source of available capacity during those peaks.”\n\nTo make matters worse, Sichuan is traditionally a huge exporter of power during the rainy season, sending about a third of its hydropower generation to provinces in eastern China, according to David Fishman, an analyst on Chinese energy at consultancy The Lantau Group.\n\nDespite its crippled power generation capacity, Sichuan must still honor its export contracts with other provinces, which Fishman said could “be really hard to get out of.”\n\n“But even if they could, the generating facilities in Sichuan were built to export power to the east coast,” he said. “They don’t really have great connectivity to the rest of the Sichuan grid. They were never intended to serve Sichuan power consumption needs.”\n\n‘Quenching a thirst with poison’\n\nTo ease the energy crunch, Sichuan is firing up its coal power plants, raising concerns among environmentalists about the potential increase in greenhouse gas emissions.\n\nSichuan Guang’an Power Generation, the region’s biggest coal-fired power plant, has been operating at full capacity for 21 consecutive days. Its electricity generation for August is expected to jump 313% from a year earlier, the company said.\n\nThe province is also mining more coal. Sichuan Coal Industry Group, its largest coal miner, has more than doubled its thermal coal production since mid-August. And last week, Sichuan opened its first national coal reserve.\n\nNationwide, the daily consumption of coal at power plants was up 15% in the first two weeks of August compared with the same period last year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.\n\nLast week, Chinese vice-premier Han Zheng said the government would step up support for coal plants to ensure stable power supply.\n\nWhile the jump in coal consumption is likely a temporary fix, Li, the Greenpeace adviser, feared the hydropower crisis could be used by coal interest groups to lobby for more coal plants.\n\n“There is a possibility that power shortages caused by future extreme weather events might become a new motivation for China to approve more (coal-fired power) projects,” he said.\n\nLast year, after a coal shortage caused a series of power outages across China, the government began to signal a renewed focus on “energy security.” By the last quarter of the year, new-approved coal capacity surged back, especially in state-owned enterprises, Greenpeace said in a report published last month.\n\nIn the first quarter of this year, provincial governments approved plans to add a total of 8.63 gigawatts of new coal power plants, nearly half the amount seen in all of 2021, according to the report.\n\n“Energy security has become a sort of code word for coal, rather than for reliable supply of energy,” the report said.\n\nYu Aiqun, China researcher at Global Energy Monitor, likened turning to coal – the largest cause of global warming – for energy security to “quenching a thirst with poison.”\n\n“China has an obsession with coal power – there is a very strong sense of dependence. Whenever an energy problem occurs, it always tries to seek answer from coal power …This is running in the opposite direction from its climate goals,” she said.\n\n‘Big challenge’\n\nChina’s response to its energy crisis will have an impact on the rest of the world. The country of 1.4 billion people is the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide, accounting for 27% of global emissions.\n\nBut some analysts say boosting coal capacity is only part of China’s answer to the much-needed energy reform.\n\nFollowing the power shortages last year, the Chinese government has taken important measures to increase the flexibility of pricing and the profitability of clean energy, said Myllyvirta with CREA.\n\n“The big challenge in China’s system is the grid is being operated in a very rigid way,” he said. “Different provinces aren’t sharing their capacity and using their capacity in an optimal way to to balance the loads within the region.”\n\nTherefore, the need to build more thermal power plants can be significantly reduced if China’s electricity grid can be managed more efficiently and flexibly, Myllyvirta said.\n\nApart form new coal power, China is also stepping up construction of renewable energy – its installed solar and wind energy capacity now accounts for 35-40% of the global total.\n\nFishman, the energy consultant, said the new coal power plants are not necessarily going to be used; instead, they were built as backup for the fast expanding renewable energy sector – in case it runs into problems, like the ongoing drought in Sichuan.\n\n“Capacity doesn’t equal generation. The capacity being there creates a lot of optionality and flexibility for all these other (renewable energy sources) they’re building.” he said. “For now, I see the coal capacity additions, as for the most part, targeted at being able to support wind and solar.”\n\nFishman said China’s power system planners are aware of the challenges they face, and that the industry overall is moving “in the right direction.”\n\nThe record heat wave and the power crunch in Sichuan highlight the need to reform the grid system, he said. “Because without them, this would be an event that could happen every five or 10 years, and it would be crippling every five or 10 years – or maybe even more frequently,” he said.", "authors": ["Nectar Gan"], "publish_date": "2022/08/26"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/26/energy/europe-natural-gas-prices-plunge/index.html", "title": "Europe now has so much natural gas that prices just dipped below ...", "text": "London CNN Business —\n\nEurope has more natural gas than it knows what to do with. So much, in fact, that spot prices briefly went negative earlier this week.\n\nFor months, officials have warned of an energy crisis this winter as Russia — once the region’s biggest supplier of natural gas — slashed supplies in retaliation for sanctions Europe imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.\n\nNow, EU gas storage facilities are close to full, tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) are lining up at ports, unable to unload their cargoes, and prices are tumbling.\n\nThe price of benchmark European natural gas futures has dropped 20% since last Thursday, and by more than 70% since hitting a record high in late August. On Monday, Dutch gas spot prices for delivery within an hour — which reflect real time European market conditions — dipped below €0, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange.\n\nPrices turned negative because of an “oversupplied grid,” Tomas Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS), told CNN Business.\n\nIt is a hugely surprising turn of events for Europe, where households and businesses have been clobbered by eye-watering rises in the price of one of its most important energy sources over the past year.\n\nWarm weather to the rescue\n\nMassimo Di Odoardo, vice president of gas and LNG research at Wood Mackenzie, says unseasonably mild weather is largely responsible for the dramatic change in fortune.\n\n“In countries like Italy, Spain, France, we’re seeing temperatures and [gas] consumption closer to August and early September [levels],” he told CNN Business. “Even in countries in the Nordics, the UK and Germany, consumption is way below the average for this time of the year,” he added.\n\nThe European Union has also built substantial buffers against any further supply cuts by filling gas storage facilities close to capacity. Stores are now almost 94% full, according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe. That’s well above the 80% target the bloc set countries to reach by November.\n\n“That’s an extremely high level,” Di Odoardo said, noting that the maximum storage level averaged 87% of capacity over the past five years.\n\nEurope’s efforts to secure as much fuel ahead of winter as possible has caused a backlog of LNG tankers at European ports, made worse by a shortage of LNG import terminals.\n\nThe bloc has ramped up imports of LNG from the United States and Qatar as natural gas imports from Russia plummeted.\n\nFelix Booth, head of LNG at data firm Vortexa, told CNN Business that as many as 35 vessels are either floating near, or sailing very slowly towards, ports in northwestern Europe and the Iberian peninsula because of a lack of storage options.\n\nThose ships will “likely take another month to find home for the cargoes,” he said.\n\nTogether, they’re carrying about $2 billion worth of LNG, according to Kpler, citing energy market data provider Argus Media.\n\nHigher prices next year\n\nDespite the recent slump, at around €100 ($100) per megawatt hour European natural gas futures are still 126% above where they were last October, when economies started to reopen from their pandemic lockdowns and demand spiked.\n\nPrices could rise sharply again in December and January as the weather turns colder, providing an incentive for some of those tankers to wait offshore a while longer before coming into port to unload, said Booth.\n\nAnd despite the fact that Russia’s share of Europe’s total gas imports has fallen from 40% to just 9%, the region could be in a difficult spot next summer as it tries to replenish its stores ahead of the following winter.\n\nPrices are expected to hit €150 ($150) per megawatt hour by the end of 2023, said Bill Weatherburn, a commodities economist at Capital Economics.\n\n“Filling storage ahead of next winter will require the EU to import even more LNG because there is a need to replace lost Russian gas imports for an entire year,” he told CNN Business.", "authors": ["Anna Cooban"], "publish_date": "2022/10/26"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/06/politics/solar-energy-china-investigation-climate/index.html", "title": "Solar energy projects are grinding to a halt in the US amid ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe solar energy industry has been thrown into a panic and projects are grinding to a halt after the Biden administration launched an investigation that some solar CEOs worry could tank the industry.\n\nThe Commerce Department launched the probe in March into whether four countries in Southeast Asia that supply about 80% of US solar panels and parts – Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam – are using components from China that should be subject to US tariffs.\n\nThe fallout within the industry has been significant.\n\nA survey in late April by the Solar Energy Industries Association, a non-profit trade association, found 318 solar projects in the US had already been delayed or canceled, and several CEOs told CNN they expect more to follow. Industry leaders fear the probe could also have a devastating impact on the solar workforce.\n\nThe Commerce Department has defended it as a transparent and necessary process, but several solar industry experts and executives told CNN it has also essentially frozen most solar imports into the US because of the threat of steep, retroactive tariffs.\n\n“With this administration and this much support, we’re in a position where we’re going to be laying off people in the renewables industry,” George Hershman, CEO of utility solar contractor SOLV Energy, told CNN. “While you say all those things we agree with, we’re getting crushed because we literally can’t buy a module today. It’s so frustrating.”\n\nThe investigation was launched after one small US-based company, Auxin Solar, filed a complaint in February. Auxin CEO Mamun Rashid told CNN that the complaint “was existential” for his company.\n\n“When prices of finished panels from Southeast Asia come in below our bill of materials cost, American manufacturers cannot compete,” Rashid said, adding that “if foreign producers are circumventing U.S. law and causing harm to U.S. producers like Auxin Solar, it needs to be addressed.”\n\nRashid told CNN it’s “lamentable” that frustration is aimed at his company, rather than the “foreign suppliers” that he says are circumventing US law. Rashid also noted that Auxin is “here and can quickly scale up to meet needs of utilities within 2 to 3 quarters if we have the purchase order today.”\n\nSolar industry leaders have been communicating with the Commerce Department and have also communicated their concerns about the probe to Biden’s top climate officials – including McCarthy and US Climate Envoy John Kerry – a person familiar with the conversations said.\n\n“The administration has been in touch with and is engaging with all kinds of solar stakeholders including the trade associations but also labor, communities, and NGOs,” a White House official told CNN.\n\n‘The worst moment’\n\nThe Commerce probe comes on the heels of last year’s ban on solar panels and parts that were suspected of having links to forced labor in China’s Xinjiang Province.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security directed US Customs and Border Protection to issue a Withhold Release Order, which banned imports made by Chinese company Hoshine Silicon Industry Co., after the government alleged the company uses forced Uyghur labor.\n\n“Obviously, the industry absolutely needed to address any concerns about forced labor, but the implementation of that [order] was far from smooth,” Solar Energy Industries Association President Abigail Ross Hopper told CNN.\n\nAt ports around the country, CBP agents seized and detained any solar products they suspected had links to Hoshine, unless companies could prove they did not.\n\nUS Customs and Border Protection statistics provided to CNN note the agency detained 734 shipments valued at $246 million, which the agency said is just 1.86% of the total value of all solar imports into the United States. But Hershman said the order ultimately led to a chilling effect across the industry, where companies withheld shipments for fear of being caught in an overly broad net at US ports.\n\n“If you have materials detained, you don’t want to ship more,” Hershman said.\n\nElectricians with IBEW Local 3 install solar panels on top of the Terminal B garage at LaGuardia Airport in November 2021. Mary Altaffer/AP\n\nSolar CEOs and industry analysts told CNN that while the CBP order was eventually resolved with a good outcome for the industry, the impact of the Commerce investigation is like whiplash.\n\n“Solar is a big mess right now,” said Marcelo Ortega, an analyst for Rystad. “This seems to be the worst moment for this to happen.”\n\nThis year was supposed to be a banner year for US solar growth. Independent energy research firm Rystad estimated the US would add another 27 gigawatts of solar energy this year.\n\nNow – between the Commerce Department probe, the border seizures, the high cost of solar components and no new legislation in Congress to grease the wheels for more renewable energy – Rystad estimates the US might only add around 10 gigawatts in 2022.\n\nOrtega said the backslide threatens Biden’s own climate goal to slash planet-warming emissions in half by 2030. The US would have to install around 50 gigawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity each year from 2022 to 2030 to keep Biden’s goal on-track, according to Ortega’s analysis.\n\nRoss Hopper told CNN that the industry is looking for certainty from the markets and from governments, but that it’s getting none of that right now.\n\n“There’s certainly been this steady cadence of challenges that keep getting thrown our way right at these moments of opportunity,” Ross Hopper told CNN.\n\nCommerce defends the probe\n\nAt a recent hearing on Capitol Hill, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told lawmakers that strict trade laws required her department to initiate and complete an investigation. The department is expected to issue a preliminary finding on the investigation by late August, but a final determination could take as long as January 2023, a Commerce Department official told CNN.\n\n“My hands are very tied here,” Raimondo said at the hearing. “I’m required by statute to investigate a claim that companies operating in other countries are trying to circumvent the duties, and I’m required by statute to have a fulsome investigation.”\n\nThe 6 megawatt Stanton Solar Farm outside of Orlando, Florida. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/Getty Images\n\nThe Commerce official stressed to CNN that circumvention laws are “completely removed from political considerations.”\n\n“We’re committed to holding foreign producers accountable to playing by the rules,” the official told CNN.\n\nNevertheless, Raimondo has been questioned and criticized by politicians in both parties. A bipartisan group of 19 senators wrote to Biden this week asking for an expedited preliminary decision on the investigation.\n\nAnd at a recent hearing, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat, pressed Raimondo on her “very serious concerns” about the investigation.\n\n“This will jeopardize tens of thousands of good-paying American solar jobs,” Rosen said. “If we lose these jobs, they won’t come back.”\n\nDemocratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California and Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb of Indiana also recently wrote to Raimondo expressing concern that the investigation could impact solar growth and jobs in their states.\n\nAlthough solar CEOs and industry analysts welcome the idea of a domestic solar supply chain, those who spoke with CNN said the Commerce Department investigation won’t be the catalyst – the industry needs Congress to incentivize it.\n\n“If what we’re talking about is incentivizing domestic manufacturing, this is not the way to do it,” said Ben Catt, CEO of utility-scale solar company Pine Gate Renewables. “This is going to have not just a months but years-long impact to the solar industry. We and the administration need to be looking at how we will double and triple the renewables deployment in this country. And what we’re doing is moving in the opposite direction.”", "authors": ["Ella Nilsen"], "publish_date": "2022/05/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/energy/energy-crisis-uk-cost-pandemic/index.html", "title": "UK energy crisis is 'bigger than the pandemic' | CNN Business", "text": "London CNN Business —\n\nThe United Kingdom will have to find an answer to soaring energy bills soon or risk a humanitarian crisis. But freezing gas and electricity prices over the next two winters could cost the government over £100 billion ($118 billion), more than it spent paying millions of people’s salaries during the pandemic.\n\nEarlier this year, the UK government tried to protect households against 90% of the expected increases in energy bills through tax cuts, energy bill rebates and direct payments. But natural gas and power prices have shot up since then, as have forecasts of future increases.\n\nResearchers at the Institute for Government said Tuesday that the government would need to spend an extra £23 billion ($27 billion) to protect households against about 90% of the expected rises in energy bills until April 2023. Offsetting the same proportion for the year to April 2024 would cost another £90 billion.\n\nThat forecast chimes with the cost of a proposal by Scottish Power, one of the UK’s biggest energy companies. It has called on the UK government to protect millions of households by freezing their bills for two years, according to report by the Financial Times.\n\nThe average annual bill currently stands at £1,971 ($2,318) — up 54% so far this year — but is forecast to shoot past £3,500 ($4,117) when the upper price limit is fixed Friday for the last three months of this year. Analysts at Auxilione, a research firm, say the average household could be paying as much as £6,433 ($7,579) a year for natural gas and electricity come next spring if the government doesn’t intervene.\n\nScottish Power says the UK government should cap energy bills at £2,000 ($2,356) and give money to suppliers to meet the much higher costs of gas and electricity on wholesale markets.\n\nThe £100-billion cost of the subsidy would come from increased government borrowing, funded by general taxation over the next decade or more, the Financial Times said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.\n\n“It is going to be truly, truly horrific for a large number of people,” Keith Anderson, CEO of Scottish Power told STV, a Scottish TV station, on Monday, referring to the price increases.\n\n“This is bigger than the pandemic. It’s a big national crisis,” he added.\n\nThe company did not immediately respond to CNN Business’ request for comment.\n\nThe UK government’s pandemic furlough scheme, which ran for 18 months, cost almost £70 billion ($82 billion). In March 2020, when the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses, the government agreed to subsidize workers’ salaries to prevent mass layoffs.\n\nSo far this year, the government has offered about £33 billion ($39 billion) in support to households to help with energy costs, through a mix of tax cuts, energy bill rebates and direct payments, the Institute for Government said in its report published Tuesday. The UK government says it is doing more.\n\n“We know the pressures people are facing with rising costs, which is why we have continually taken action to help households by phasing in £37 billion worth of support,” a spokesperson for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said.\n\n“We are giving a £400 discount on energy bills this winter and eight million of the most vulnerable households will see £1,200 extra support. While no Government can control global gas prices, over 22 million households are protected by the price cap, which continues to insulate households from even higher prices,” the spokesperson added.\n\nBut alarm is spreading within the UK energy industry. On Tuesday, Philippe Commaret, an executive at France’s EDF, a major player in the UK market, told the BBC that, without more support, about half of UK households could fall into fuel poverty from the start of next year, meaning that they would have to spend more than 10% of their disposable income on energy.\n\nLeaders of the UK National Health Service warned last week of a “humanitarian crisis.” Many people could fall sick this winter as they “face the awful choice between skipping meals to heat their homes and having to live in in cold, damp and very unpleasant conditions,” they said.\n\nWholesale natural gas prices started increasing last year as countries reopened from their pandemic lockdowns, causing a global spike in demand.\n\nRussia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, and the resulting energy crunch, has only pushed prices further up. Western countries have banned Russian coal and oil imports, and Europe is desperately trying to wean itself off Russian natural gas.\n\nJune was the first month on record that the United Kingdom did not import any fuel from Russia, traditionally one of its major suppliers, according to data released Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics.\n\nEye-watering prices have caused 29 smaller energy suppliers in the UK to go bust since last summer. Those that have survived have passed on much of the cost onto their customers.\n\n— Benjamin Brown contributed reporting.", "authors": ["Anna Cooban"], "publish_date": "2022/08/24"}]}