{"question_id": "20230217_0", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/14/nikki-haley-2024-presidential-bid-announcement-video/11253771002/", "title": "Nikki Haley announces 2024 presidential bid in first major GOP ...", "text": "Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley launched the presidential bid she has teased for weeks, tweeting out a video Tuesday saying that, yes, she is indeed running for president.\n\n\"I'm Nikki Haley and I'm running for president,\" she said in the video her campaign put out a day before her scheduled announcement speech in Charleston, South Carolina.\n\nHaley, the former U.N. ambassador, uses the video to sketch out her biography and attack President Joe Biden and the Democrats - but she says nothing about former President Donald Trump, at least not explicitly.\n\nAt the end of the video, Haley sends a potential message to the volatile Trump by asserting she will fight back against \"bullies;\" she also references the fact she may be the only woman in the Republican presidential field.\n\n“You should know this about me, I don’t put up with bullies,\" Haley said. \"And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”\n\nStay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nHaley, other 2024 Republican candidates to challenge Trump\n\nIn the weeks since Haley's plans became public, Trump and his allies have stressed that she once said she would not seek the presidency if Trump did.\n\nHaley's declaration makes her the first major Republican candidate to challenge Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination. She is also the first member of his cabinet to seek the presidency, having served as his U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.\n\nOther prominent Republicans are also considering presidential runs, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a rival of Haley's during the Trump presidency.\n\nHaley's video and the Charleston speech also come as fellow South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott mulls a possible presidential announcement.\n\nHaley has repeatedly bragged that she has \"never lost a race.\"\n\nWho is Nikki Haley? Former S.C GOP governor announces run for president in 2024\n\nThe Haley biography\n\nThe daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley was originally born Nimrata Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina.\n\nHaley's time as governor and the bill to remove Confederate flag\n\nHaley became South Carolina's first female and Asian American governor when she was elected in 2010; she won reelection in 2014. Before that, she spent six years in the South Carolina Legislature.\n\nOne of her most notable acts as governor came in 2015 when Haley signed a bill ordering the removal of the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds following the killing of nine Black worshipers at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston by a white supremacist.\n\nThe Confederate flag has long been considered a sign of slavery.\n\n\"It's time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds,\" Haley said during a June 22 news conference.\n\nAnother act that Haley made with long-term implications: She appointed Tim Scott to replace retiring Sen. Jim DeMint in 2012.\n\nOther candidates:Current and former governors offer glimpse into what could be contentious 2024 presidential election\n\nHaley on the national stage\n\nIn 2016, she gave the Republican response to former President Barack Obama's State of the Union. One topic she made sure to discuss: immigration.\n\n“We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal immigration,\" said Haley. \"And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries.\"\n\nThat same year, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people. Fellow S.C. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote a description of Haley for the magazine.\n\nIn 2017, Haley served as Trump's U.N. ambassador; in 2018 she unexpectedly stepped down amid disputes with other administration members.\n\nDuring her tenure, Haley announced sanctions against Russia – a move that rankled White House aides. National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow suggested Haley had \"momentary confusion\" over the Trump administration's actions.\n\n\"With all due respect, I don't get confused,\" Haley replied.\n\nIn June 2018 Haley announced the U.S. was pulling out of the United Nations Human Rights Council. \"I want to make it crystal clear that this step is not a retreat from our human rights commitments,\" Haley said.\n\nWhy is Haley running for president?\n\nShe previously said she wouldn't run for president if Trump decided to run. In 2020, Haley told USA TODAY it was too early to make a decision on running for the White House.\n\nIn gearing up for her presidential run, the 51-year-old Haley has stressed her relative youth in contrast to the 80-year-old Biden and the 76-year-old Trump and called for a \"new generation\" of political leadership.\n\nIn posting her announcement video, Haley tweeted: \"Get excited! Time for a new generation. Let’s do this!\"\n\nWhat does Haley stand for?\n\nHaley is an anti-abortion Republican and a supporter of Israel. She supports cracking down on illegal immigration. Haley did not support legislation in South Carolina that would have required transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond to their gender assigned at birth.\n\nWhile Haley has supported Trump in the past, she has also criticized Trump, including after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Haley once said she would not support Trump's ban on Muslim immigration. Yet she supported Trump when he blocked people from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. “It’s not a Muslim ban,” Haley said at the time.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/14/nikki-haley-2024-what-to-know/11247634002/", "title": "Nikki Haley 2024: What to know about former S.C. governor", "text": "Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley launched the presidential bid she has been teasing for weeks, tweeting out a video Tuesday saying that, yes, she is indeed seeking the White House.\n\n\"I'm Nikki Haley and I'm running for president,\" the former South Carolina governor said in the video her campaign put out a day before her scheduled announcement speech in Charleston, S.C.\n\nHaley, the former governor of South Carolina and U.N. ambassador, sketches out her biography and attacks President Joe Biden and the Democrats - but says nothing about Donald Trump, at least not directly.\n\nAt the end of the video, Haley sends a potential message to the volatile Trump by asserting she will fight back against \"bullies;\" she also references the fact she may be the only woman in the Republican presidential field.\n\n“You should know this about me, I don’t put up with bullies,\" Haley said. \"And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”\n\nMore:Nikki Haley announces 2024 presidential bid in first major GOP challenge to Donald Trump\n\nIn the weeks since Haley's plans became public, Trump and his allies have stressed that she once said she would not seek the presidency if Trump did.\n\nHaley's declaration makes her the first major Republican to challenge former President Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, as well as the first member of his cabinet — Haley was previously Trump's U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.\n\nThe Charleston event also comes as fellow South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott mulls a possible presidential announcement.\n\nHaley though, has repeatedly bragged that she has \"never lost a race.\"\n\n2024 race:Nikki Haley to launch 2024 presidential bid in Charleston on Feb. 15, taking on Trump\n\nThe daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley was originally born Nimrata Randhawa in Bamberg, South Carolina.\n\nHere's what to know about Haley:\n\nStay in the conversation on politics:Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nWhat did Haley do as governor of South Carolina?\n\nHaley became South Carolina's first female and Asian American governor when she was elected in 2010; she won reelection in 2014. Before that she spent six years in the South Carolina legislature.\n\nOne of her most notable acts as governor came in 2015 when Haley signed a bill ordering the removal of the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds following the killing of nine Black worshipers at the Emanuel AME Church by a white supremacist.\n\nThe Confederate flag has long been considered a sign of slavery.\n\n\"It's time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds,\" Haley said during a June 22 news conference.\n\nAnother act that Haley made with long term implications: She appointed Tim Scott to replace retiring Senator Jim DeMint in 2012.\n\nThe race to 2024:Current and former governors offer glimpse into what could be contentious presidential election\n\nIn 2016, she gave the Republican response to former President Barack Obama's State of the Union. One topic she made sure to discuss: immigration.\n\n“We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal immigration,\" said Haley. \"And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries.\"\n\nThat same year, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people. Fellow S.C. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote a description on Haley for the magazine.\n\nWhat did she accomplish as UN ambassador?\n\nIn 2017, Haley served as Trump's U.N. ambassador. In 2018 she unexpectedly stepped down.\n\nDuring her tenure, Haley announced sanctions against Russia—a move that rankled White House aides. National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow suggested Haley had \"momentary confusion\" over the Trump administration's actions.\n\n\"With all due respect, I don't get confused,\" Haley replied.\n\nIn June 2018 Haley announced the U.S. was pulling out of the UN Human Rights Council. \"I want to make it crystal clear that this step is not a retreat from our human rights commitments,\" Haley said.\n\nWhat does Nikki Haley stand for?\n\nHaley is a pro-life Republican and a supporter of Israel. She supports cracking down on illegal immigration. Haley did not support legislation in South Carolina that would have required transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond to their gender assigned at birth.\n\nWhile Haley has supported Trump in the past, she has also criticized Trump, including after the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Haley once said she would not support Trump's ban on Muslim immigration. Yet she supported Trump when he blocked people from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. “It’s not a Muslim ban,” Haley said at the time.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/11/16/ivanka-trump-politics-2024/10712446002/", "title": "Ivanka Trump bows out of politics after her father launches 2024 bid", "text": "Ivanka Trump announced that she does “not plan to be involved in politics” after former President Donald Trump, her father, announced his campaign for the 2024 presidential election this week.\n\n“I love my father very much,” she shared on Instagram Tuesday night after her father made his announcement. “This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family.\n\n“I do not plan to be involved in politics. While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena.”\n\nIvanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, served as senior advisers to her father.\n\nTrump testified to the House Jan. 6 committee earlier this year. During one of the committee's hearings, lawmakers played a clip from her testimony in which she said she \"accepted\" the Justice Department's findings that there was no fraud in the 2020 presidential election.\n\nIvanka Trump did not attend her father’s campaign announcement this week.\n\nPolitics:Yes, a second Trump administration would be limited to one term – per the US Constitution\n\nDoes the GOP have to nominate Trump? Will Biden be picked in 2024? Here's what to know\n\nThe former president announced his bid for the White House late Tuesday and filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, saying he would run for president in 2024 and setting up a fundraising account.\n\nDonald Trump could be facing challenges from several fellow Republicans as he seeks the GOP’s nomination, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence. President JBiden has said he intends to seek reelection, though he has noted he will not make his final decision until early next year.\n\nContributing: Ken Tran, USA TODAY", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/11/16"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/08/17/liz-cheney-president-2024/10345686002/", "title": "Liz Cheney for president 2024? Live updates after Wyoming primary ...", "text": "Rep. Liz Cheney said Wednesday she would decide on 2024 election plans over 'coming months.'\n\nHarriet Hageman, with Trump's backing, soundly defeated Cheney on Tuesday in Wyoming's GOP primary.\n\nRep. Liz Cheney, former President Donald Trump's most prominent Republican critic, said she's intent on keeping him out of the Oval Office and may consider a presidential run herself.\n\nJust hours after her stinging defeat in her GOP primary in Wyoming, she said a 2024 campaign \"is something I’m thinking about and I’ll make a decision in the coming months.\" Cheney broke the news on NBC's \"Today.\" She did not mention party affiliation, and there has been speculation she could mount a campaign as an independent.\n\nAnalysts reacted with significant skepticism to the news, saying Cheney is unlikely to beat Trump or even be a viable independent candidate.\n\nIn the meantime, the three-term House lawmaker and vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee has her eyes on the 45th president: \"I believe that Donald Trump continues to pose a very grave threat – a risk to our republic – and I think defeating him is going to require a broad and united front of Republicans, Democrats and independents and that's what I intend to be a part of,\" Cheney said on \"Today.\"\n\nTrump, who backed Cheney's opponent Harriet Hageman, has teased a reelection campaign but has not officially announced he's running in 2024. He faces legal inquiries on many fronts, including an investigation related to classified documents removed last week from his Florida estate.\n\nKey takeaways:\n\nCheney has reorganized her campaign account, filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to create a leadership PAC called \"The Great Task.\"\n\nWith Cheney's loss, Trump's work to defeat the 10 House Republicans who voted for his impeachment in January 2021 was rewarded. Here's how those 10 have fared so far.\n\nIn Alaska's primary, incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski advanced to the general election, along with challenger Kelly Tshibaka. In the House race, Sarah Palin moved to the November election, along with challengers Nick Begich III and Mary Peltola.\n\nFormer Vice President Mike Pence, another possible 2024 contender, suggested while in New Hampshire on Wednesday that he would consider testifying in front of the Jan. 6 committee, which is investigating Trump's involvement in the Capitol riot.\n\nCheney's timeline:How Liz Cheney went from Trump backer and GOP leader, to his fiercest critic and GOP outcast\n\nWyoming, Alaska primaries:Takeaways: Cheney loses to Hageman in Wyoming; Alaska's Murkowski and Palin advance to general\n\nWho is Rep. Liz Cheney?\n\nHere are some facts about Republican Rep. Liz Cheney:\n\nShe's the oldest child of former Vice President Dick Cheney and second lady Lynne Cheney.\n\nShe met husband Philip Perry at Colorado College. They have five children.\n\nShe used to work in the State Department and has a law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.\n\nShe voted with Donald Trump 93% of the time while he was president, according to FiveThirtyEight.\n\nShe voted to impeach Trump in 2021 after the attack on the U.S. Capitol.\n\n– Katherine Swartz\n\nWho is Rep. Liz Cheney?:What are her political positions? Is she running for president? What we know.\n\nWould Cheney be a viable independent candidate?\n\nCheney has narrated the Jan. 6 hearings as its vice chair and narrated her failed House primary reelection campaign as a fight to save American democracy.\n\nShe said Tuesday night and Wednesday morning the fight is just beginning, and she is considering a presidential run to continue that work. Some voters and political analysts are wondering if Cheney would run as an independent, but the analysts agree it’s a rocky path and more arduous than even a doomed Republican primary bid would be.\n\n“At the end of the day she’d probably get a very small slice of the vote, and I think she’d probably hurt the Democrats more than the Republicans given her current standing,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of the Crystal Ball, a political analysis newsletter at the University of Virginia.\n\nRepublican strategist Susan Del Percio said she doesn’t see a path for Cheney “or many others” as an independent in 2024.\n\nCheney wouldn’t have enough support among Republicans or Democrats to win nationwide, Del Percio said: “Democrats appreciate her standing up and respect that she did the right thing, but they’re not going to buy into her conservatism.”\n\nBerwood Yost, director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said Cheney is unlikely to attract Democratic votes in his battleground state but could help the party.\n\n“Liz Cheney voted 95% of the time with Republicans. A lot of Democrats respect what she’s done recently, but I don’t think they’d pick her in a head-to-head matchup with her, Biden and Trump,” he said.\n\nBut she could help Democrats win by pulling votes away from Trump, as Green Party candidate Jill Stein pulled votes away from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. Trump defeated Clinton that year by about 40,000 votes in Pennsylvania, the state that helped him clinch the White House. Stein received about 50,000 votes in that Pennsylvania presidential election.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nGet political news in your inbox: Sign up here to receive OnPolitics\n\nCheney would face tough path in presidential GOP primary\n\nEven before she lost her Republican House primary Tuesday in Wyoming, political analysts forecasted the tough path Rep. Liz Cheney would face if she seeks the country’s highest office.\n\nFor months, the congresswoman has indicated she’s thinking about it. On Wednesday, she made that more of a reality by reorganizing her campaign finance account as a leadership PAC geared at preventing former President Donald Trump from reentering the Oval Office.\n\nOpinion:What to do now with 'hot mess' that is the GOP?\n\nBut if she intends to keep him out by running against him in a Republican presidential primary – for which neither Cheney nor Trump have announced a bid – she faces an almost-certain loss, multiple analysts told USA TODAY.\n\n“She could never, ever, ever, ever win a Republican primary,” said former Rep. Joe Walsh, who served in the House as a Republican from Illinois before Trumpism prompted him to leave the party. The base has become “radicalized” and “there’s no room for Liz Cheney in the party.”\n\nRick Wilson, co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, said he doesn’t see the traditional conservative Cheney changing the party enough to be able to win it. “I don’t believe the Republican Party can be revived as long as Trump has an iron grip on it.”\n\nCheney has “ticked off” the core base of the party too much to win a primary, according to Republican strategist Susan Del Percio. “She is following a playbook that is true and good for the public commission and horrible politically.”\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nCheney avoids talking party affiliation\n\nAsked if she would rule out running as a third party candidate in 2024, Cheney told Politico, \"I really am not at all focused on that kind of specifics.\"\n\nCheney said her attention is on finishing her term in Congress, informing people across the country what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, and \"making sure people understand how dangerous it is to vote for, to support election deniers.\"\n\n\"Then I'll go look towards sort of what comes next after that,\" she said.\n\n– Dylan Wells\n\nPence says he'd 'consider' testifying before the Jan. 6 committee if asked\n\nAs Cheney repositioned herself for a potential national campaign after her loss in Wyoming, rifts within the GOP over former President Donald Trump were on display when former Vice President Mike Pence made an appearance in New Hampshire on Wednesday.\n\nPence, who is himself a potential 2024 presidential contender, said he would consider testifying before the Jan. 6 committee if asked. While Pence added many caveats and emphasized he had some constitutional concerns about appearing before the congressional committee, his remark was the latest example of Pence distancing himself from Trump.\n\n\"If there was an invitation to participate, I would consider it,\" Pence said in remarks at a New Hampshire event that were broadcast on NBC. Pence was speaking at the \"Politics & Eggs\" breakfast, an event that describes itself as a \"must-stop\" on the presidential campaign trail. New Hampshire plays a crucial role in the selection of presidential nominees since it holds its primary election early, right after the Iowa caucus that kicks off the nominating process.\n\n– Caren Bohan, Ella Lee\n\nPence testimony?:Former VP Mike Pence says he would 'consider' testifying before Jan. 6 committee if asked\n\nMurkowski leads Alaska Senate challengers\n\nAlaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski will get to seek another term, after advancing to the November general election on Tuesday.\n\nMurkowski’s challenger, Kelly Tshibaka, also advanced to November, where they both will be on a ranked-choice ballot in the fall after making it through the state's new nonpartisan primary system.\n\nMurkowski's wide base of Republicans, Democrats and independents could help her hold onto the seat for a fourth term.\n\nThe senator is the only member of her chamber who voted to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial who is facing voters this year. Others have retired or are up for reelection in 2024 or later.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nPalin, Begich, Peltola advance in Alaska race for U.S. House seat\n\nBusinessman Nick Begich III, former Gov. Sarah Palin and tribal activist Mary Peltola will advance to the November general election for Alaska’s sole congressional district.\n\nThe three candidates are also competing in a special election to fill the seat until the end of the term of the late Rep. Don Young, who died earlier this year. Results from that vote will not be made available for days, as mail-in ballots are counted.\n\nBegich and Palin are Republicans; Peltola is a Democrat. The state’s nonpartisan primary system allows the top four vote recipients to move forward to the general election, regardless of their political party.\n\n– Dylan Wells\n\nCheney reorganizes her campaign account\n\nIn another sign she may be running for president, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., filed a form Wednesday morning with the Federal Election Commission to revamp her campaign account.\n\nThe account, which had about $7 million in it at the end of July, is now a leadership PAC called “The Great Task.”\n\nThe Great Task was the name of the final ad in Cheney’s failed reelection campaign and a phrase from former President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which she referenced in her concession speech Tuesday night.\n\nThe change follows Cheney’s promise to do “whatever it takes” to fight against any reelection run from former President Donald Trump, who has his own leadership PAC called “Save America.” Trump used money in that fund to back Harriet Hageman, who defeated Cheney in the Wyoming primary.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nCheney to launch new organization\n\nRep. Liz Cheney will start an organization in the next few weeks to mobilize a unified effort opposing any election bid from former President Donald Trump and educating the American people about the ongoing threat to democracy, her spokesman Jeremy Adler confirmed to USA TODAY on Wednesday morning.\n\nThe new organization was first reported by Politico Playbook.\n\nCheney’s new group doesn’t have a name yet and is being formed as she considers a 2024 presidential run.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nCheney after defeat: 'Now the real work begins'\n\nOn Tuesday night, after conceding defeat to Hageman, Cheney told a crowd of supporters: “This primary election is over but now the real work begins.”\n\nCheney again denounced Trump for \"lies\" about the 2020 election, and indicated she would work against other Republican \"election deniers\" who are seeking offices across the country in this year's election.\n\nAt the time, Cheney did not allude to a presidential campaign of her own in 2024, nor did she discuss in detail her ongoing work on the Jan. 6 congressional committee investigation.\n\n– David Jackson", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/08/17"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/trump-announcement-2024/index.html", "title": "Trump is on the defense as he prepares for expected 2024 ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nShould Donald Trump announce his third presidential bid on Tuesday, as is widely expected, he will begin the next phase of his political career under siege.\n\nSeven years ago, the New York businessman entered the political fray on defense, working vigorously to cast himself as a serious contender for the Republican presidential nomination to the incredulity of veteran political operatives and his primary opponents. This time, Trump takes the plunge as the party’s indisputable frontrunner, but once again, he finds himself in a defensive crouch.\n\nOn the brink of a campaign launch that elicits both enthusiasm and dread from different corners of his own party, Trump’s quest to return to the Oval Office could face untold obstacles in the months to come, even with his loyal base firmly intact. He has spent the days since the midterm elections fending off criticism from fellow Republicans over his ill-fated involvement in key contests, furiously lashing out at two GOP heavyweights who could complicate his path to the White House if they mount their own presidential campaigns, and fretting that he or associates could soon be indicted by federal investigators in two separate Justice Department probes.\n\nAides say Trump is hoping his early entry into the 2024 presidential primary will reframe the conversation away from Republican failures and inject a fresh dose of enthusiasm into a demoralized party amid GOP failures to capture Senate control and win a sizable House majority. Though the former president has been touting his 200-plus victories on Election Night, many of the Trump-endorsed Republicans who prevailed last Tuesday ran uncontested or were widely expected to win their contests, while several Senate candidates he endorsed in highly prized races failed to dethrone their Democratic opponents or flip open seats into the GOP’s column.\n\nMehmet Oz, Adam Laxalt and Blake Masters, three Republican Senate candidates who earned Trump’s support in their primaries, respectively lost to Democratic opponents in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona. Meanwhile, Herschel Walker, a longtime Trump friend challenging Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, is headed to a December runoff after both failed to reach 50% support in Georgia.\n\nOn Saturday, CNN projected that Democrats will retain control of the Senate in the 118th Congress, an outcome that has fractured Republicans and left the party on tenterhooks as Trump readies his “big announcement.”\n\nNext targets\n\nTrump, who in the immediate aftermath of the midterms conceded that his party had suffered a “somewhat disappointing” outcome, has already moved on, settings his sights on winning a second term in Washington and attacking two GOP governors who could challenge his status as the party’s anchor in the months to come, Ron DeSantis of Florida and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.\n\n“I Endorsed him, did a very big Trump Rally for him telephonically, got MAGA to Vote for him – or he couldn’t have come close to winning,” Trump said of Youngkin in a Truth Social post last week.\n\nThree sources familiar with the matter said the former president believed Youngkin was supportive of comments his lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, made during a Fox Business appearance last week. She told the network she would not support Trump if he runs for president a third time.\n\nResponding to repeated questions about Trump’s impending 2024 announcement, Earle-Sears said, “A true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage, and the voters have given us that very clear message.”\n\nSears later declined to tell The Washington Post whether Youngkin knew prior to the interview that she planned to split from Trump, a detail that caught the former president’s attention, according to one of his aides.\n\n“If Glenn Youngkin decides to run for president, that’s his choice. But Team Trump will certainly mount a massive effort to win the Virginia delegates going to Milwaukee that is going to embarrass Youngkin,” said John Fredericks, a Virginia-based conservative radio host who chaired Trump’s campaigns in the state in 2016 and 2020.\n\nThe former president’s criticism of Youngkin, whose 2021 gubernatorial bid he endorsed against former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe, came on the heels of a spate of insults Trump launched against DeSantis, the popular Florida governor who has refused to rule out a 2024 campaign against the former president and increasingly appears to be laying the groundwork for one. In the span of one week, Trump went from introducing a disparaging new nickname for the Florida governor (“DeSanctimonious”) to heeding requests from Republicans to pare back his criticism of DeSantis in the home stretch before Election Day, to blasting out a scathing statement on the heels of DeSantis’ reelection, calling him “an average Republican governor.”\n\nDeSantis allies said they do not expect the Florida governor to engage at all with Trump’s bashing for as long as he can avoid it. In two press conferences related to Hurricane Nicole that DeSantis held after winning reelection by a 19-point margin, he did not mention the overall midterm results or take any questions. Notably, he has also avoided taking a victory lap on Fox News, which would undoubtedly inquire about Trump and 2024, after appearing frequently on the network while campaigning for reelection.\n\n“Trump rants for a couple of months. DeSantis throws some red meat during [Florida’s next legislative session] and then we have a primary around May,” said one DeSantis ally, describing his current posture\n\nAsked how long the governor can go without acknowledging Trump’s attacks, a second DeSantis ally responded simply, “A long time.”\n\nTrump’s bitter criticism of Youngkin and DeSantis, two rising Republican celebrities, was a stark reminder of the scathing brand of politics he brings to the campaign trail, without regard for how it might impact his own party. His first use of “DeSanctimonious” came just days before the Florida governor appeared on the ballot in his bid for reelection. And much to the chagrin of top Republicans, including some of Trump’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, his Tuesday announcement comes as the party looks to prevent Senate Democrats from securing a 51-seat majority through the Georgia runoff.\n\n“I know there’s a lot of criticism and people saying, ‘Just focus on Georgia,’ but he figures there’s no point in waiting. If Herschel loses, he’ll be blamed for distracting from the runoff but if he wins, he doesn’t believe he will get any credit for energizing the base,” said a current Trump adviser.\n\nSome of Trump’s closest allies said Republicans should brace for a significant escalation in his attacks on rumored GOP challengers once he is a declared presidential contender, meaning he could ramp up his criticism of DeSantis, Youngkin or others while the party is fighting for Walker’s survival in Georgia.\n\n“Nobody should be surprised. This is how Trump does primaries,” said Michael Caputo, a former Trump administration official who remains close to the former president. “The question you have to ask is whether this format can work for him again.”\n\nOf course, Trump has not been in a hotly contested primary since 2016, when he unleashed broadsides against more than a dozen-plus opponents with fury and vitriol that shocked some Republican observers but delighted a segment of the Republican primary electorate that would later evolve into his loyal base. Few Trump allies expect him to behave any differently in the months to come. Even if he remains the only declared candidate until others enter the fray next year, he will continue his preemptive blitz against perceived challengers.\n\n“Donald Trump will make sure every Republican candidate is well-vetted,” said a senior Trump aide.\n\n“No one’s going to get a free pass. It’s going to be brutal,” added the Trump adviser.\n\nOther obstacles\n\nThe likelihood that Trump will face primary challengers may be the least of his concerns at this juncture.\n\nWhile the former president maintains significant support from grassroots Republicans, some of the party’s largest donors have been meeting with other potential presidential hopefuls and signaling they may be interested in bankrolling alternative candidates. It’s a concern Trump allies are confronting head on as they privately explore ways to make the monstrous pile of cash he has raised since leaving office available to him as a presidential candidate. Billionaire Ken Griffin, who gave nearly $60 million to federal Republican candidates and campaigns in the 2022 cycle, told Politico in an interview last week that he would support DeSantis if the Florida governor tosses his hat into the ring for the 2024 GOP nod. Two other Republican donors who gave to Trump in 2016 and 2020 and requested anonymity for fear of retribution told CNN that they, too, were waiting to see what DeSantis decides to do, while one of them said they would also be willing to support former Vice President Mike Pence should he challenge his former boss.\n\n“One of our biggest challenges will be the fundraising component but I do think [Trump] has proved that he doesn’t need deep-pocketed donors, per se,” said a person close to Trump, noting the enduring strength of his small-dollar operation.\n\nTrump will also have to convince Republicans that he would be an asset at the top of the ballot in 2024 as opposed to an albatross for vulnerable candidates in tight races. That task comes amid a fraught intraparty debate over the GOP’s bruising midterm outcome, with some Republicans claiming Trump’s involvement – including an eleventh-hour 2024 campaign tease at a rally on the eve of Election Day – did more to hurt the party than help. Others have blamed party leaders for failing to articulate clear policy priorities, pointed to the party’s money gap against Democrats in key races, or lamented the bickering that unfolded all cycle between two of the party’s biggest campaign committees led by Florida Sen. Rick Scott and allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.\n\nSome Trump allies said the donor challenges, midterm outcome and questions about his stature has left a dearth of seasoned campaign operatives willing to join his next campaign. Though the president has told allies he wants to keep his operation lean, much like his 2016 presidential campaign, some have privately questioned whether it’s out of preference or due to recruitment troubles. CNN has previously reported that Trump’s likely campaign is expected to be helmed by three current advisers – Susie Wiles, Chris LaCivita and Brian Jack – with assistance from a group of additional aides and advisers with whom the former president is already familiar. Overall, his 2024 apparatus is expected to dwarf in comparison to his reelection campaign two years ago, multiple sources said.\n\nEither way, as Trump works to find his footing on the verge of a presidential campaign that could coast to the party’s nominating convention or encounter any number of unforeseen troubles, allies who have stuck by his side said they are ready for battle one last time.\n\n“Our team is accustomed to fighting tooth and nail. Team Trump is going to fight for the nomination,” said Fredericks.", "authors": ["Gaborr Steve Contorno", "Steve Contorno"], "publish_date": "2022/11/15"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/trump-2024-presidential-bid/index.html", "title": "Donald Trump announces a White House bid for 2024 | CNN Politics", "text": "CNN —\n\nFormer President Donald Trump, aiming to become only the second commander-in-chief ever elected to two nonconsecutive terms, announced Tuesday night that he will seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.\n\n“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump told a crowd gathered at Mar-a-Lago, his waterfront estate in Florida, where his campaign will be headquartered.\n\nSurrounded by allies, advisers, and conservative influencers, Trump delivered a relatively subdued speech, rife with spurious and exaggerated claims about his four years in office. Despite a historically divisive presidency and his own role in inciting an attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, Trump aimed to evoke nostalgia for his time in office, frequently contrasting his first-term accomplishments with the Biden administration’s policies and the current economic climate. Many of those perceived accomplishments – from strict immigration actions to corporate tax cuts and religious freedom initiatives – remain deeply polarizing to this day.\n\nAs Trump spoke to a roomful of Republicans who expect him to face primary challengers in the coming months, he also claimed the party cannot afford to nominate “a politician or conventional candidate” if it wants to win back the White House.\n\n“This will not be my campaign, this will be our campaign all together,” Trump said.\n\nTrump’s long-awaited campaign comes as he tries to reclaim the spotlight following the GOP’s underwhelming midterm elections performance – including the losses of several Trump-endorsed election deniers – and the subsequent blame game that has unfolded since Election Day. Republicans failed to gain a Senate majority, came up short in their efforts to fill several statewide seats, and have yet to secure a House majority, with only 215 races called in their favor so far out of the 218 needed, developments that have forced Trump and other party leaders into a defensive posture as they face reproval from within their ranks.\n\nTrump’s paperwork establishing his candidacy landed with the Federal Election Committee shortly before he delivered his announcement at Mar-a-Lago.\n\nTo the delight of aides and allies who have long advised him to mount a forward-looking campaign, he spent only a fraction of his remarks repeating his lies about the 2020 election. Though he advocated for the use of paper ballots and likened America’s election system to that of “third world countries,” Trump also tried at times to broaden his grievances – lamenting the “massive corruption” and “entrenched interests” that in his view have consumed Washington. Many of Trump’s top advisers have expressed concern that his fixation on promoting conspiracies about the last presidential election would make it harder for him to win a national election in 2024.\n\nThroughout the hour-long speech, Trump made clear that he wants his campaign to be seen by Republicans as a sacrificial undertaking.\n\n“Anyone who truly seeks to take on this rigged and corrupt system will be faced with a storm of fire that only a few could understand,” he said at one point, describing the legal and emotional toll his presidency and post-presidential period has taken on his family members.\n\nOn the heels of last week’s midterm elections, Trump has been blamed for elevating flawed candidates who spent too much time parroting his claims about election fraud, alienating key voters and ultimately leading to their defeats. He attempted to counter that criticism on Tuesday, noting that Republicans appear poised to retake the House majority and touting at least one Trump-endorsed candidate, Kevin Kiley of California. At one point, Trump appeared to blame his party’s midterm performance on voters not yet realizing “the total effect of the suffering” after two years of Democratic control in Washington.\n\n“I have no doubt that by 2024, it will sadly be much worse and they will see clearly what has happened and is happening to our country – and the voting will be much different,” he claimed.\n\nBeating others to the punch\n\nTrump is betting that his first-out-of-the gate strategy will fend off potential primary rivals and give him an early advantage with deep-pocketed donors, aides say. He is widely expected to be challenged by both conservative and moderate Republicans, though the calculus of some presidential hopefuls could change now that he is running. Others – like his former Vice President, Mike Pence – may proceed anyway.\n\nTrump’s third presidential bid also coincides with a period of heightened legal peril as Justice Department officials investigating him and his associates revisit the prospect of indictments in their Trump-related probes. The former president is currently being investigated for his activities before and during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol and his retention of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left office. While Trump is counting on an easy path to the GOP nomination with his sustained support among the party’s base, his announcement is likely to dash the hopes of party leaders who have longed for fresh talent. In particular, top Republicans have been paying close attention to the next moves of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who won his reelection contest with a 19-point margin of victory and considerable support from minority and independent voters. Some Republican leaders may try to scuttle Trump’s campaign by elevating or encouraging alternative candidates, including DeSantis, who has been quietly laying the groundwork for a possible White House bid of his own.\n\nOf course, any countereffort to inhibit Trump’s path to the nomination is likely to prove difficult. Despite his myriad legal entanglements and the stain of January 6, the twice-impeached 45th president remains immensely popular among most Republican voters and boasts a deep connection with his core backers that could prove difficult for other GOP hopefuls to replicate or weaken. Even leading conservatives who disliked Trump’s pugnacious politics and heterodox policies stuck with him as president because he helped solidify the rightward shift of the US Supreme Court with his nominations – one of the most far-reaching aspects of his legacy, which resulted in the conservative court majority’s deeply polarizing June decision to end federal abortion rights. In fact, while Trump ended his first term with the lowest approval rating of any president, Republicans viewed him favorably, according to a May NBC News poll. That alone could give Trump a significant edge over primary opponents whom voters are still familiarizing themselves with.\n\nAmong those potential competitors is Pence, who would likely benefit from high name recognition due to his role as vice president. Pence, who has been preparing for a possible White House run in 2024, is sure to face an uphill battle courting Trump’s most loyal supporters, many of whom soured on the former vice president after he declined to overstep his congressional authority and block certification of now-President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Trump could also find himself pitted against DeSantis, who has risen to hero status among cultural conservatives and who is widely considered a more polished version of Trump. Even some of the former president’s advisers have voiced similar observations to CNN, noting that DeSantis also made inroads with major Republican donors during his quest for reelection and built a mountain of goodwill with GOP leaders by campaigning for federal and statewide Republican candidates in the middle of his own race.\n\nBeyond his potential rivals, Trump has another roadblock in his path as the House select committee continues to investigate his role in January 6, 2021, and Justice Department officials weigh whether to issue criminal charges. The committee, which subpoenaed him for testimony and documents in October and which Trump is now battling in court, held public hearings throughout the summer and early fall featuring depositions from those in Trump’s inner circle at the White House – including members of his family – that detailed his public and private efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results through a sustained pressure campaign on numerous local, state and federal officials, and on his own vice president.\n\nBut Trump’s desire to announce his campaign early can be especially traced to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, which advisers say further emboldened his decision to mount what he believes will be a triumphant political comeback. The day after the search, the former president fielded calls from allies advising him to accelerate his 2024 timeline. That night, he huddled with House lawmakers in the Republican Study Committee and told them he’d “made up his mind” about launching a bid, though some of those same House Republicans later convinced him to wait until after the midterm elections to announce his next move.\n\nFew of those lawmakers were present for Trump’s speech on Tuesday, choosing to remain in Washington as House Republicans conducted their leadership elections and the party continues to grapple with its failures in highly prized midterm races. Rather, the room was filled with prominent election deniers like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, several of Trump’s attorneys, and past and present aides. Before he entered the room on Tuesday alongside former first lady Melania Trump, several members of the ex-president’s family were also seen filtering into the ballroom, including Eric and Lara Trump, his son Barron, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is engaged to Donald Trump Jr. His eldest son was notably missing, along with daughter Ivanka, , who has since said she will no longer be involved in the political arena. A source close to Donald Trump Jr. said he was stuck on a hunting trip in the mountain west and unable to catch a flight back to Florida in time for his father’s announcement. Other guests included longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone; outgoing North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn; former congressman and the current CEO of Trump’s Truth Social app Devin Nunes; and his chief political adviser Susie Wiles.\n\nPreparing for 2024\n\nFrom the moment Trump left Washington, defeated and disgraced, in January 2021, he began plotting a return to power – devoting the bulk of his time to building a political operation intended for this moment. With assistance from numerous former aides and advisers, he continued the aggressive fundraising tactics that had become a marker of his 2020 campaign, amassing a colossal war chest ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, and worked diligently to elect steadfast allies in both Congress and state legislatures across the country.\n\nWhile maintaining a home base in Florida, he also regularly jet-setted across the country for campaign rallies that afforded him crucial face time with his base and with candidates he bet would become valuable allies in the US Senate and House.\n\nThrough it all, Trump continued to falsely insist that the 2020 election was stolen from him, indulging in far-flung conspiracy theories about voter fraud and pressuring Republican leaders across the party’s election apparatus to endorse changes that would curtail voting rights.\n\nTrump’s aides were pleased earlier this fall when his public appearances and rally speeches gradually became more focused on rising crime, immigration and economic woes – key themes throughout the midterm cycle and issues they hope will enable him to draw a compelling contrast with Biden as he begins this next chapter. Allies of the former president have long said that he views the 2024 contest as an opportunity to regain what he believes is his: another four years in the Oval Office.\n\nBut there is no guarantee that Trump will glide easily to a nonconsecutive second term. In fact, it could be quite difficult.\n\nNot only does history offer just one example of such a feat (defeated in 1888 after his first term, President Grover Cleveland was elected again in 1892), no previously impeached president has ever run again for office. Trump was first impeached in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice, and then again in 2021 for inciting the riot at the US Capitol. Though he was acquitted by the Senate both times, 10 House Republicans broke with their party the second time around to join Democrats in a vote to impeach him. Seven Republican senators voted to convict him at his Senate trial.\n\nTrump has also been the subject of a bevy of lawsuits and investigations, including a New York state investigation and a separate Manhattan district attorney criminal probe into his company’s finances, a Georgia county probe into his efforts to overturn Biden’s election win in the state, and separate Justice Department probes into his campaign’s scheme to put forth fake electors in battleground states and his decision to bring classified materials with him to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving office.\n\nTrump’s actions since he left Washington have, for the most part, signaled his interest in an eventual return. While most former presidents go quietly into retirement – resurfacing to assist their parties during midterm cycles or for the opening of their presidential libraries – Trump bucked tradition to instead plot the comeback he now hopes to make. Despite its distance from Washington, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club has transformed into a new hub for Republicans and a home base for his political machine. Assisted by a small group of paid staffers, he has hosted numerous candidate and committee fundraisers and seen a rotating cast of party leaders and congressional hopefuls filter through its gilded hallways in the hopes of nabbing his endorsement or reingratiating themselves with his base. Trump’s schedule has enabled him to build close relationships with party leaders and fringe figures – from House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of California to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia – whose support in a contested primary could ultimately help him clear the field. Many of the aides who have been with him since he left the White House are expected to continue on as campaign hands, as the former president and his de facto chief of staff, longtime Florida GOP strategist Wiles, aim to maintain a lean operation much like the early days of his 2016 presidential campaign. Among those who are likely to be involved are Wiles, Taylor Budowich, Chris LaCivita, Steven Cheung, Justin Caporale and Brian Jack. Brad Parscale, who managed part of Trump’s failed 2020 campaign will not be part of his 2024 operation, nor will Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was deeply involved in his quest for reelection.\n\nTime in office\n\nAs president, Trump faced criticism over several of his actions, especially his management of the worst public health crisis in nearly a century – the Covid-19 pandemic – though his administration helped facilitate the development of vaccines to treat the novel coronavirus in record time. He also was blasted by critics over his handling of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017; the White nationalist rally, also in 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, where Heather Heyer was killed while walking with a group of counterprotesters; and Black Lives Matter protests.\n\nWhile in office, Trump signed sweeping tax cuts into law, enacted controversial hard-line immigration policies, including a policy that separated migrant children from their families and one known as “Remain in Mexico,” which the US Supreme Court ruled in June could be ended by his successor, and appointed hundreds of federal judges with deep conservative credentials. He also successfully nominated three Supreme Court justices, whose decisions this year as part of the court’s majority have shifted American society and laws rightward on issues such as abortion, guns, religious freedom and climate change.\n\nThe former real estate businessman and reality TV star was first elected to office in 2016, beating out a wide field of more than a dozen GOP candidates in an ugly primary, and then prevailing over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a contentious general election, despite sexual misconduct allegations that would have typically been campaign-ending.\n\nAs president, Trump was an impulsive leader, who dispensed with long-standing norms, often announcing policy and Cabinet personnel changes on Twitter. (He was ultimately banned from the platform following the US Capitol riot and was later barred from Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube as well.)\n\nHe pushed an “America First” foreign policy approach, pulling the US out of international agreements such as the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal, a pair of controversial moves that were decried by many of America’s top European allies.\n\nCORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said who was likely to be involved in the Trump campaign. Brad Parscale will not be involved in the 2024 operation. It has also been updated to correctly characterize former President Donald Trump’s position on paper ballots, fix the spelling of Justin Caporale and reflect additional developments.", "authors": ["Gaborr Kristen Holmes Veronica Stracqualursi", "Kristen Holmes", "Veronica Stracqualursi"], "publish_date": "2022/11/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/02/01/nikki-haley-announce-presidential-run-mid-february/11122023002/", "title": "Nikki Haley to announce presidential run on Feb. 15, taking on Trump", "text": "WASHINGTON – Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will formally launch her 2024 presidential run on Feb. 15, becoming the first Republican to jump into the field to challenge Donald Trump, according to multiple sources familiar with her plans.\n\nHaley has teased her presidential run for weeks, including a tweeted video this week in which she said: \"It's time for a new generation to lead.\"\n\nAides are putting together a Feb. 15 announcement event in Charleston, South Carolina, according to three sources familiar with her plans who spoke to USA TODAY on condition of anonymity.\n\nTeasing her announcement on Twitter, Haley said: \"My family and I have a big announcement to share with you on February 15th! And yes, it’s definitely going to be a Great Day in South Carolina!\"\n\nWho is Nikki Haley?\n\nThe daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley has described herself as the embodiment of the American Dream: college graduate, businesswoman and political leader who won long-shot races to the South Carolina Legislature and the governor's mansion.\n\nIf Haley prevails in the primaries, she would be the Republican Party's first female and first South Asian presidential nominee. She would also be the first woman of color to win the presidential nomination for a major party.\n\nLive politics updates:Nikki Haley to take on Trump in 2024; FBI searches Biden beach house\n\nIn recent months, Haley has cast herself as a new kind of Republican who can take new approaches to the nation's challenges and to President Joe Biden and the Democrats.\n\n\"I think it's time that we bring in a new generation that can bring in more people to our party,\" Haley told Fox News in a recent interview.\n\nWhat is her political background?\n\nIn one of her most publicized moments as governor, Haley signed a 2015 bill that removed the Confederate battle flag from the top of state Capitol following the murders of nine people at a historic Black church in Charleston.\n\nDuring Haley's second term in the statehouse, the newly elected President Trump picked her as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.\n\nSince leaving her U.N. post, Haley has written books, given speeches, and created a political action committee known as \"Stand for America.\"\n\nWhat has Haley said about Donald Trump?\n\nSince Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential race, Haley has sent mixed signals about her presidential ambitions. In April 2021, she told reporters that “I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it.\"\n\nIn recent months, even after Trump announced his 2024 bid in mid-November, Haley has sounded out potential donors and staff members for a White House campaign of her own.\n\nHaley criticized Trump's leadership right after the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, but has softened her tone in the two years since.\n\n\"If I run, I'm running against Joe Biden,\" Haley told Fox. \"That's what I'm focused on.\"\n\nWhat has Trump said about Haley?\n\nWhile campaigning Saturday in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Trump told reporters that Haley had called him about her prospective campaign. Trump said he had no problem with the idea, but noted that Haley once said she would not run if he did.\n\nOn his Truth Social account Wednesday, Trump posted video of Haley's past claim she would not run against him and headlined it with a barbed comment: \"Nikki has to follow her heart, not her honor. She should definitely run!\"\n\nTrump allies are already sharpening their knives. Steve Cortes, a commentator who has been a television surrogate for Trump, tweeted that the \"political weather vane\" is not to be trusted: \"Haley gushes over Trump, then betrays him, then gushes again, and then … betrays again. She’s the worst kind of political snake.\"\n\nHaley hints: 'May the best woman win': Former S.C. Governor Nikki Haley hints at 2024 presidential bid:\n\nWill DeSantis and Pence also enter the GOP field?\n\nHaley is the first Republican to step up and challenge Trump but probably will not be the last. Other Republicans considering a 2024 presidential bid include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence.\n\nTrump remains a formidable candidate, analysts said, despite his loss to Biden in the 2020 presidential race and losses by several pro-Trump candidates in the 2022 congressional races.\n\nStay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nTrump also faces a slew of legal troubles, including investigations into the handling of classified documents and his conduct before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.\n\nStill, the former president has money, name identification, and a strong base of supporters, analysts said, while Haley is untested on the national campaign stage.\n\nHaley as vice president?\n\nSarah Longwell, a political analyst who has conducted focus groups on Republican candidates, said Haley's chances are \"not great,\" but she is an intriguing candidate and could also be a potential running mate.\n\n\"Old school GOP will like her, and donors,\" said Longwell, founder of an organization called the Republican Accountability Project. \"But she might actually be running for VP.\"\n\n.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/01"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/02/14/iowa-republican-presidential-caucus-visits-2024-haley-trump/11255385002/", "title": "As GOP starting gate for 2024 presidential race, Iowa sees surge of ...", "text": "Brianne Pfannenstiel\n\nDes Moines Register\n\nFormer Vice President Mike Pence is returning to Iowa this week, kicking off a surge of presidential caucus activity after a quiet start to the year.\n\nIowa Republicans are set to hold their traditional first-in-the-nation caucuses in early 2024, which act as the starting line for the rest of the presidential primary cycle. A bevy of candidates are expected to compete, and they've been making inroads with the state's Republican elected officials and activists for months, if not years, as they weigh their plans.\n\nNow, with former President Donald Trump formally in the race and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley officially launching her campaign Tuesday, activity in the Hawkeye State is starting to ramp up.\n\nHere's a look at who's in Iowa this month.\n\nDemocrats demote Iowa:Democrats approve 2024 primary calendar that demotes Iowa, boosts South Carolina\n\nMore:Try the Des Moines Register Candidate Tracker\n\nKari Lake talks \"election integrity\" in Bettendorf, Ankeny\n\nArizona Republican Kari Lake, who is challenging her gubernatorial election loss in the courts, was in Bettendorf and Ankeny last week calling on Iowa caucusgoers to make \"election integrity\" a key issue in the 2024 presidential race.\n\nLake, who grew up in Iowa, ostensibly was in the state visiting family and decided to hold the two political rallies while she was here. She told the Des Moines Register she's not in the state to campaign for office herself — she remains a big supporter of Trump — but saw an opportunity to elevate an issue she cares about.\n\nIowans can expect to see more of her this year, she said.\n\nMore:Judge tosses Kari Lake's election-challenge in Arizona governor's race\n\nMike Pence to hold parents rights' rally in Cedar Rapids\n\nFormer Vice President Mike Pence will be in Cedar Rapids Wednesday to rally conservatives around a \"parents' rights\" agenda targeting transgender-affirming public school policies, like one that drew controversy in the nearby Linn-Mar Community School District last year.\n\nParents are suing that district over policies that support students who identify as transgender without notifying their parents.\n\nPence's organization Advancing American Freedom will spend $1 million on promotional strategies such as digital ads, rallies, canvassing and possibly radio and television spots, the Associated Press reports, marking an increased outreach to the state.\n\nMore:Exclusive: Mike Pence predicts 'better choices,' not Trump, as the GOP's 2024 nominee\n\nNikki Haley to make first swing as declared candidate\n\nAccording to a source familiar with her planning, Haley will make a formal presidential announcement Wednesday in Charleston, South Carolina, before making a stop in New Hampshire and arriving in Iowa for events beginning Feb. 20 — Presidents Day.\n\nShe has two public events on the calendar: a town hall at Royal Flooring in Urbandale and another at Legacy Manufacturing in Marion.\n\nThe trip will make her the first declared 2024 presidential candidate to appear in Iowa. Trump, who announced his campaign shortly after the midterms, has yet to travel to the state.\n\nMore:Nikki Haley will travel to Iowa after declaring she's running for president\n\nTim Scott launches \"Faith in America\" tour\n\nSouth Carolina Sen. Tim Scott will travel to Iowa Feb. 22, his visit set to bump up against Haley's, a fellow South Carolinian. Scott is speaking at the Polk County Republican Party's annual Lincoln Dinner in West Des Moines. According to a release, he'll deliver remarks on the importance of faith in America.\n\nScott is making his first public appearance in Iowa since he attended a fundraiser for the Republican Party of Iowa just before the midterms. He has yet to say whether he will run for president, though Republicans say he has begun reaching out to potential staffers on the ground in Iowa.\n\nVivek Ramaswamy will talk 'woke' corporate ideology\n\nMore:Butler County native, 'Woke, Inc.' author Vivek Ramaswamy mulls 2024 presidential run\n\nBusinessman Vivek Ramaswamy drew conservative fanfare after publishing the book \"Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam,\" which criticizes political correctness and identity politics in corporate America. He has previously traveled to Iowa to meet with Republican leaders and activists as he explores running for president.\n\nHe's set to return to Iowa next week, holding at least two public events Feb. 23 — one with the Scott County Republican Women in Bettendorf and another with the Polk County Republican Party in Urbandale.\n\nMore:'Woke, Inc.' author Vivek Ramaswamy mulls 2024 presidential run\n\nBrianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/14/unidentified-objects-briefing-national-security-live-updates/11251368002/", "title": "Feinstein won't run; Haley announcement: recap", "text": "Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the longest serving woman senator, has announced she won't seek reelection in 2024, opening up a competitive and expensive seat in deep blue California.\n\nThe former San Francisco mayor who turns 90 in June has served since 1992. Her decision not to seek reelection Tuesday comes amid questions from colleagues about her ability to serve and as a younger generation – including Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff — have already announced their candidacies for the seat.\n\n“Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives. Each of us was sent here to solve problems. That’s what I’ve done for the last 30 years, and that’s what I plan to do for the next two years,\" she said in her announcement. \"My thanks to the people of California for allowing me to serve them.”\n\nSenators are slated to receive a classified briefing Tuesday on the three unidentified flying objects shot down by the U.S. military in recent days.\n\nAlso, Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley launched the presidential bid she has teased for weeks, tweeting out a video Tuesday saying that, yes, she is indeed running for president.\n\nHere's what else is happening in politics:\n\nPresident Joe Biden renewed his call to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines after a shooting Monday on the campus of at Michigan State University killed three and injured five others.\n\nand high-capacity magazines after a shooting Monday on the campus of at Michigan State University killed three and injured five others. Flying objects could be research, commercial activity: The U.S. intelligence community is considering as a “leading explanation” that three unidentified flying objects shot down from North American airspace were balloons used by research or commercial entities, White House spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.\n\nThe U.S. intelligence community is considering as a “leading explanation” that three unidentified flying objects shot down from North American airspace were balloons used by research or commercial entities, White House spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday. Mike Pence to challenge subpoena: The former vice president is planning to challenge a subpoena from a Justice Department special counsel investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.\n\nThe former vice president is planning to challenge a subpoena from a Justice Department special counsel investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Parkland shooting: Tuesday marks five years since a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people. On the eve of the anniversary, a gunman opened fire at Michigan State University, killing three people and wounding five more, before fatally shooting himself.\n\nSmart analysis delivered to your inbox: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nWhat we know:Questions mount after flying objects shot down\n\nSen. Casey undergoes prostate cancer surgery\n\nSen. Bob CaseyD-Penn., underwent successful prostate cancer surgery Tuesday afternoon, a little over a month since he first revealed the diagnosis.\n\n“His doctor reports that, as expected, the procedure went well and he confirmed that the senator should not require further treatment,” Mairéad Lynn, Casey’s spokesperson said in a statement.\n\nCasey, serving his third term, is up for re-election in 2024.\n\n– Ledyard King\n\nFeinstein will not run again in 2024\n\nDemocrat Dianne Feinstein, California’s longest serving senator, is forgoing reelection.\n\n“I announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024, but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein said in a statement Tuesday.\n\nThe decision shakes up the 2024 Senate map as multiple Democrats — including Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff — have either announced or are reportedly considering their bids to succeed the longtime senator, who had been dogged by questions about her ability to serve.\n\n– Phillip M. Bailey\n\nBiden renews calls to ban assault weapons after Michigan State shooting\n\nPresident Joe Biden renewed his call to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines after a shooting Monday on the campus of at Michigan State University killed three and injured five others.\n\n“I’m going to say something that’s always controversial,” Biden said Tuesday in remarks addressing the National Association of Counties in Washington. \"There is no rationale for assault weapons and magazines that hold 50, 70 bullets.”\n\nBiden’s push to reenact a ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004, is unlikely to pass a Republican-led House and even faces an uphill climb in the Democratic-controlled Senate.\n\n- Joey Garrison\n\nMore:'Americans deserve to be safe': House passes gun ban that has little chance in Senate\n\nCourt to reconsider case on Conn. school policy allowing trans athletes to participate in sports\n\nA federal appeals court agreed to reconsider a lawsuit that challenged a Connecticut policy that allowed transgender student athletes to compete in high school sports on late Monday.\n\nIn December, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that backed the policy, but the case, Soule v. Connecticut Association of Schools, will now be presented before the full court.\n\n“We’re pleased the 2nd Circuit has decided to rehear this important case, and we urge the court to protect women’s athletic opportunities,” said Christiana Kiefer, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group representing the plaintiffs and who are also at the forefront of nationwide efforts to ban transgender athletes from high school sports, in a statement.\n\nJohn Holt, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, who have implemented the policy, declined to comment\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nTrump ordered to pay $110K for contempt in fraud probe: NY appellate court\n\nA New York appellate court on Tuesday upheld a contempt order against former President Donald Trump for failing to provide documents as part of a fraud investigation into the family’s business dealings.\n\nThe contempt order, handed down in April, directs Trump to pay a fine of $110,000 to the state’s attorney general’s office. New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that the court’s ruling affirmed that Trump is “not above the law.”\n\n“For years, he tried to stall and thwart our lawful investigation into his financial dealings, but today’s decision sends a clear message that there are consequences for abusing the legal system,” James said. “We will not be bullied or dissuaded from pursuing justice.”\n\nThe New York civil fraud probe revolves around whether the Trump Organization deliberately misstated the valuations of its real estate holdings in official documents for unlawful gain. A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.\n\n- Ella Lee\n\nTrump penalty:Donald Trump ordered to pay $110,000 for contempt in New York AG civil fraud investigation\n\nBiden: MSU shooting one more argument for 'commonsense' gun legislation\n\nPresident Joe Biden expressed grief over the shooting at Michigan State University Monday evening, saying the tragedy was further motivation for Congress to pass limits on guns.\n\nIn a statement the White House released Tuesday, Biden called for measures requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, closing background check loopholes, requiring safe storage of guns, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers \"who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets.\"\n\nThe statement also acknowledged that Tuesday marks the five-year anniversary of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida which killed seventeen people and injured seventeen others. “As I said in my State of the Union address last week, Congress must do something and enact commonsense gun law reforms” it reads.\n\nThere have been over sixty mass shootings in 2023, totaling out to more than one mass shooting per day.-\n\n- Anna Kaufman\n\nBiden milestone: 100 federal judges confirmed by Senate\n\nPresident Joe Biden hit a milestone Tuesday that could have implications for the remainder of his term: The Senate confirmed his 100th federal judge.\n\nBiden's predecessor, Donald Trump, received praise from the right for quickly moving nominees – reshaping some federal courts in a more conservative direction. But Biden narrowly surpassed Trump's total by the end of his second year, 96 confirmations compared to Trump's 83.\n\nThe Senate voted 54-45 Tuesday to confirm Gina Méndez-Miró to be a district court judge in Puerto Rico.\n\n\"President Biden has one of the most important judicial legacies of any modern president,” said Christopher Kang, chief counsel at the progressive group Demand Justice. “He has begun to restore balance to the courts with 100 judges already confirmed, and while doing so he has written a whole new playbook for what types of lawyers Democrats consider when selecting federal judges.”\n\n– John Fritze\n\n'Sleazy but not criminal':Some George Santos fabrications likely protected by the First Amendment\n\nTrump-allied super PAC: Nikki Haley ‘just another career politician’\n\nA spokesperson for Make America Great Again Inc., a super PAC aligned with former President Donald Trump, called 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley “just another career politician” in a statement following Haley’s candidacy announcement.\n\n“She started out as a Never Trumper before resigning to serve in the Trump admin. She then resigned early to go rake in money on corporate boards. Now, she’s telling us she represents a 'new generation,'” Taylor Budowich, head of MAGA Inc., said in a statement. “Sure just looks like more of the same, a career politician whose only fulfilled commitment is to herself.\"\n\nMAGA Inc. was created in September and started 2023 with more than $54 million to spend, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Super PACs can raise unlimited money and spend it freely but are barred from coordinating directly with campaigns.\n\nHaley is the only big name Republican to announce a bid to run against the former president in 2024 so far.\n\n– Ella Lee, Associated Press\n\nWho is Nikki Haley?:Former S.C. GOP governor announces run for president in 2024\n\nNikole Hannah-Jones: 1619 Project a ‘political prop’ in Nikki Haley presidential candidacy announcement\n\nNikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project, criticized 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley for using the project as a “political prop” in the video Haley shared Tuesday to announce her candidacy.\n\n“Uses #1619Project as political prop in a video that opens with growing up where railroad tracks (not white people) divided the town by race. Talking about being the child of immigrants without acknowledging that the rights she had in SC were won by Black resistance,” Hannah-Jones wrote in a tweet. “Just peak.”\n\nThe 1619 Project, produced by The New York Times, examines America’s history through the lens of slavery beginning in 1619, which is when the African slave trade began.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nHaley running for president:Nikki Haley announces 2024 presidential bid in first major GOP challenge to Donald Trump\n\nWhite House: Unidentified flying objects could turn out to be harmless research, commercial balloons\n\nThe U.S. intelligence community is considering as a “leading explanation” that three unidentified flying objects shot down from North American airspace were balloons used by research or commercial entities, White House spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.\n\n“Given what we've been able to ascertain thus far, the intelligence community is considering as a leading explanation that these could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose,” Kirby said.\n\nKirby said the U.S. hasn’t seen any indication that points directly to the objects being part of China’s spy balloon program, even though they were shot down about a week after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon in the Atlantic Ocean. He said the Pentagon has ruled out the possibility that the objects were from the U.S. government.\n\nComplicating the search for more details, the U.S. has not yet retrieved debris from the objects shot down over Alaska, the Yukon Territory and Lake Huron because each is in remote areas with difficult conditions and two are in bodies of water.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nHow many spy balloons have been spotted?:Questions mount after flying objects shot down\n\nGeorge Santos doubles down: ‘I’m not leaving’\n\nEmbattled freshman Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., made clear on Tuesday he won’t heed calls to resign from his House seat amid a flurry of scandals.\n\n“Let me be very clear, I’m not leaving, I’m not hiding and I am NOT backing down,” he said in a tweet Tuesday. “I will continue to work for #NY03 and no amount of Twitter trolling will stop me.”\n\nCalls for Santos to step down have come from all sides, from Democrats to his GOP colleagues to his own constituents.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nSantos cosponsoring bills. Which ones?:Gun rights, TikTok ban and China: George Santos is cosponsoring these bills in Congress\n\nMichigan lawmakers mourn, call for action after Michigan State University shooting\n\nMichigan lawmakers took to social media Tuesday to mourn and make calls for action after a mass shooting at Michigan State University that left three students dead and five critically injured.\n\n“It’s hard to describe the agony we’re feeling in East Lansing tonight,” said Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who represents the congressional district that contains the university.\n\nDemocratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib called for the implementation of universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapon ban in the state and nationwide, while Republican Rep. Lisa McClain offered prayers for the MSU community that experienced “an act of senseless and horrific violence.”\n\nAnd Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow thanked first responders who “rushed to the scene” and “put their own lives on the line to keep people safe.”\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nShooting at Michigan State:Three dead, five wounded in shooting at Michigan State University, suspect found dead\n\nFormer VP Mike Pence expected to challenge DOJ special counsel subpoena\n\nFormer Vice President Mike Pence is planning to challenge a subpoena from a Justice Department special counsel investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.\n\nPence's legal team is expected to argue that the former vice president's dual role as president of the Senate and member of the legislative branch at the time would protect him from the special counsel summons.\n\nThe Pence subpoena marks the most aggressive known step taken by special counsel Jack Smith since his appointment in November to oversee both the election interference inquiry and a separate examination of former President Trump's handling of classified documents.\n\n- David Jackson, Kevin Johnson\n\nRead the full story:Former Vice President Mike Pence expected to challenge DOJ special counsel subpoena\n\nAdam Frisch, Colorado Dem who almost unseated Rep. Lauren Boebert, to run again\n\nColorado Democrat Adam Frisch, who was just a few hundred votes short of ousting Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert in the 2022 midterm elections, will run again in 2024, he announced Tuesday.\n\n“We lost by a mere 546 votes in '22 — the closest race in the country — and know we can make that up in '24,” Frisch said in a tweet.\n\nBoebert was heavily favored to win reelection in her Republican-leaning district in 2022, but what was once believed to be a long shot bid for Frisch became among the most closely watched races in the nation.\n\n-Ella Lee\n\nCould Adam Frisch have defeated Boebert?:Lauren Boebert won. But did Democrats miss a chance to flip her Colorado district?\n\nDNC: Nikki Haley embraced ‘most extreme elements’ of Trump agenda\n\nFormer U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley embraced the “most extreme elements of the MAGA agenda” while serving in former President Donald Trump’s administration, the Democratic National Committee alleged in a statement responding to her presidential candidacy announcement.\n\n“(Haley) couldn’t even identify a single policy difference between herself and Trump,” the committee said.\n\nHaley, who also served as governor of South Carolina, announced her intention to run for president in 2024 on Twitter Tuesday and will make her formal announcement speech Wednesday in Charleston, S.C.\n\n-Ella Lee\n\nWho is Nikki Haley?:Former S.C. GOP governor announces run for president in 2024\n\nBiden names Fed’s Lael Brainard as top economic adviser\n\nLael Brainard, vice chair of the Federal Reserve, has been tapped to serve as President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser.\n\nBrainard’s appointment comes as the Biden administration prepares for a potentially fraught battle with House Republicans over the nation’s debt ceiling and amid ongoing efforts to curb inflation. She will replace Brian Deese, who is expected to step down next month.\n\nAn announcement promoting Brainard to director of the National Economic Council cameTuesday.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nWho is Nikki Haley? Former S.C. governor announces run for president\n\nJust in case anyone had any doubt, Nikki Haley tweeted out a video Tuesday saying that, yes, she is indeed running for president.\n\nHaley, the former governor of South Carolina and U.N. ambassador, sketches out her biography and attacks President Joe Biden and the Democrats - but says nothing about Donald Trump.\n\nAt the end of the video, Haley does say that she doesn’t like bullies and won’t be afraid to fight back - perhaps a warning to the volatile Trump.\n\nIn sending a potential message to Trump, Haley also referenced that she may be the only woman in the Republican field: “You should know this about me, I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”\n\nHaley makes her formal announcement speech Wednesday in Charleston, S.C.\n\n– David Jackson, Mabinty Quarshie\n\n'It's always on my mind': Five years after Parkland massacre\n\nDavid Hogg fine-tunes his kick-flip between classes at Harvard and his work building consensus around gun violence prevention. Cameron Kasky immerses himself in comedy and writing in Los Angeles, frustrated with a broken American political system. Sari Kaufman flies to protests of the gun industry across the country while managing her political science coursework at Yale.\n\nNearly five years since a gunman killed 17 of their classmates and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day, three survivors at the forefront of the March For Our Lives movement in 2018 spoke with USA TODAY about their lives now – and what they want Americans to know as the nation reflects on the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.\n\n\"I'm still feeling the impacts of the shooting every day,\" Kaufman said.\n\n– Grace Hauck\n\nWhite House rules out aliens, still can't say who's behind unidentified objects\n\nThe White House said Monday there are “no indications of aliens or extraterrestrial activity” from a series of unidentified objects the U.S. shot down from North American airspace.\n\n\"I don't think the American people need to worry about aliens with respect to these crafts. Period,\" White House spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing.\n\nKirby said the U.S. hasn’t determined the origins of the objects that were shot down over Alaska, Canada and Lake Huron one week after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon in the Atlantic Ocean. The Pentagon has also not identified the purpose of the objects, which Kirby said appeared to be moving by prevailing winds, not self-propulsion, about 40,000 feet high or lower.\n\nComplicating the search for more details, the U.S. has not made it to the debris sites of the objects, which fell in remote areas and, in two cases, frozen waters. Kirby said the U.S. has spotted “no active tracks” of additional high-altitude objects Monday.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nMore:White House rules out aliens, but still can't say who is behind unidentified flying objects\n\nPortions of Trump grand jury report to be released Thursday\n\nA Georgia judge Monday ordered a partial public release of a grand jury's investigative report on former President Donald Trump's attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.\n\nFulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said three portions of the panel's report will be released Thursday, including a section expressing concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath.\n\nMcBurney also said the grand jury's conclusions would be made public, in a ruling that represented a partial concession to District Attorney Fani Willis who argued last month that full disclosure of the panel's findings would damage an ongoing investigation.\n\n“In this case, the state understands... the world’s interest, but we have to be mindful of protecting future defendants' rights,\" Willis told McBurney during a January hearing in Atlanta.\n\n– Kevin Johnson\n\nTrump Georgia investigation:Judge orders partial release of Trump grand jury report Thursday", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/15/politics/jill-biden-2024-campaign/index.html", "title": "Jill Biden makes a tidal shift from her thoughts on another run at the ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nFirst lady Jill Biden, despite being so worn out from a recent circuit of White House events that she lost her voice, is now seriously looking ahead to her husband running for reelection in 2024. That’s a tidal shift from her position just three months ago.\n\nSeven people familiar with Biden’s thinking told CNN that her private conversations about another run now match her publicly enthusiastic persona, as well as the sentiments of President Joe Biden.\n\nThe first lady was still mostly skeptical as of early fall – “not a proponent,” as one person familiar with her thinking told CNN. But in the month since the November midterm elections, in which Democrats defied the fate of most parties of first-term presidents, friends noted a change.\n\nJill Biden is now “all in” on the idea, according to a person who works with the East Wing.\n\nEven though the last several weeks of high-profile events have left her “exhausted,” said another person, “she has begun to say the quiet part out loud.”\n\nAt a town hall the other day, for example, Biden empathized with parents and grandparents about holiday stress, lamenting the demands on her own time.\n\n“This time of year is busy, to say the least,” she said. “I know that you probably have holiday shopping to do, cards to address or cookies to bake. … It’s not easy, is it? Sometimes all these feel like a full-time job, on top of volunteering or organizing or your real full-time job.”\n\nAs soon as her remarks were over, she tagged out and let other speakers finish the event while she hustled to the next task.\n\nThe Biden family conversations about 2024 were supposed to be on track for Christmas, however, CNN has learned from three of the people familiar that the clan is not expected to be in the same place all at the same time this year, making convening for a debate or a consensus more complicated.\n\n“She’ll be at the White House for Christmas. They will be joined by members of their families,” said Vanessa Valdivia, Jill Biden’s press secretary, who declined further comment on family discussions.\n\nThe West Wing has long been in “he’s running” mode, with a political operation for 2024 already in the works. It’s an apparatus that has had to get started out of necessity before an official announcement. “As the president has said, he intends to run for reelection and that is something both Dr. Biden and the family fully support,” a senior adviser to Jill Biden told CNN.\n\nRecent polling, however, suggests a large swath of the Democratic Party may not be eager to see the president run again. A new CNN poll shows 59% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say they’d like to see someone other than Joe Biden at the top of the ticket in 2024 – similar to the percentage of Republicans and Republican-leaners (62%) who say they’d prefer to see their party nominate someone other than former President Donald Trump. At the same time, though, when pressed, a majority of Democratic-aligned voters with opposition to Biden as their party’s nominee say they would vote for him in a general election if he won their party’s primary.\n\nThe first lady, and she alone, has the full weight of kibosh; she can still stop what seems inevitable in a political calculus if she has concerns about her husband’s age or how another run would affect his legacy or their family. She has been a “no” vote on his higher office aspirations before – most notably in 2004, and again in 2015.\n\nAnother presidential campaign would mean more for her, too. Joe Biden’s reelection plan, if he runs, will depend heavily on his wife’s involvement. Her likability in purple and red states, as well as her own energy and endurance, are crucial to his game plan, said two people with insight into the 2024 campaign strategy. It was Jill Biden, not the president, who barnstormed more than a dozen states in the midterms, chalking up at least 39 appearances at fundraisers and speaking engagements to support candidates up and down the ballot. Asked if the first lady is prepared to hit the trail even harder for a 2024 bid, the senior Biden adviser told CNN, “She is ready and fully supportive.”\n\nBut heading into her holiday break, Biden is coming off a physically and emotionally taxing period, said those who know her. Though still leaning into the presumption a second term is in the cards, the last two weeks have nonetheless run her ragged with the obligatory duties that the often-introverted first lady finds most draining, sources close to her said.\n\nIn addition to the recent wedding of her granddaughter, and the administration’s first State Dinner, hundreds of invited guests have been streaming through the White House over the last several days for dozens of holiday parties. On Wednesday, Biden and the president hosted yet another large-scale social event, a formal dinner in the East Room of the White House, for African nation leaders and their spouses in Washington this week for a summit. Jill Biden was also charged with planning and hosting events for the spouses on Wednesday and Thursday, when a luncheon at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture will occupy a chunk of her day.\n\n“She still has laryngitis, and is hoarse,” said a source familiar with the first lady’s rigorous schedule, alluding to Biden’s noticeably altered voice at speaking engagements this week. “She had three back-to-back parties on Saturday alone.”\n\n“It has been a busy month,” said Elizabeth Alexander, her communications director, when asked by CNN about Biden losing her voice.\n\nThat voice is the most influential to her husband’s decision making and thus will have to be the loudest when the time does come for him to announce his plans for 2024.\n\nPresident Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive with Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff for a bill signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House. Patrick Semansky/AP\n\nFirst lady veto power\n\nJoe Biden is buzzing from Democrats’ midterm performance – they retained the Senate and held off Republicans from a red wave in the House – some improving economic data, successful Asia summits and the release of Brittney Griner. He is telling people he has what it takes more than ever to go up against Trump – or whoever the ultimate GOP nominee may be.\n\nThough more squarely in the “we’re doing it” corner than she was even three months ago, Jill Biden still considers whether her husband, now 80, is up for a bruising battle, according to those familiar with her thinking.\n\n“[Jill Biden] is the one more aware of how the last few years have affected Joe [Biden,]” noted a person with ties to the Biden family. “We – collectively, as a country – all know the age issue, sure. But she’s the one who is consistently able to analyze it.”\n\nThe senior Biden official said the first lady has “zero concerns” about the president’s schedule and stamina.\n\nJill Biden is also the tender of Joe Biden’s legacy. Like so many first ladies before her, she can look down the road to what’s coming, how ready her husband is for it and what the best-case scenario may be. For the last two years, whenever the topic of a second term arose, she spoke of it as an inevitability, said those who have spent time working with her. She would default to saying things like “after the reelect” or “in the second term.”\n\nBut a deeper analysis of what that would mean for Joe Biden’s legacy has only come more recently for the first lady, said others who have had more insight into conversations.\n\nLast month, Biden’s big birthday made him the first octogenarian president of the United States. Jill Biden, 71, doesn’t want that to be the marker that leads every article and analysis about her husband after he has departed the Oval Office, friends and associates said.\n\nShe wants his political successes – current and future – to supersede the image of a frail and aged commander in chief.\n\nBut she’s still uncertain how to shift that narrative in practice. “She is not convinced whether four more years will help or hurt,” said one of the people who know her, discussing the potency of the age issue.\n\nJoe Biden’s timeline for an announcement on his future might not wait for the first lady to reconcile the problem.\n\n“The president will make that decision. I expect it shortly after the holiday,” said Ron Klain, Biden’s chief of staff, at a Wall Street Journal summit earlier this month. “I expect his decision will be to do it.”\n\nThe president has teased an announcement for months now, publicly saying he intends to run for reelection, often adding in the next breath he will discuss it with his wife and family first.\n\nKeeping it in the family\n\nJill Biden is keenly aware of the influence she has had on her husband’s political trajectory. And this decision, while perhaps easier for Joe Biden to make as an incumbent, is no less hinged upon the blessing of the first lady. Jill Biden, as “Nana” to her grandchildren and matriarchal keeper of normalcy and tradition, has her eye on what a second term could mean for them, said the people who know her.\n\n“She has always had one foot in Delaware, and she’s the one who thinks about every possible scenario that could play out for her family,” said someone who has known her for several years. As she crosses from “highly possible” into “certainty” territory for 2024, Biden is considering how the campaign could impact her son, Hunter Biden, who has long been a target of the president’s political opponents, and could face more investigations into his business dealings with a GOP-led House. She wants to mitigate as much as possible the strain a campaign could have on her children, and, by extension, her grandchildren, several of whom are either on the cusp of entering adulthood or already there. (With the exception of Hunter Biden’s son, Beau, who is 2.)\n\n“This is, ultimately, a family decision,” Joe Biden said at a news conference last month. “I think everybody wants me to run, but we’re going to have discussions about it.”\n\nAsked by members of the media a couple of weeks later over Thanksgiving – a holiday he spent with Jill Biden, Hunter Biden and his wife and son, and Ashley Biden, in Nantucket, Massachusetts – how those family discussions about 2024 were coming along, the president said they weren’t. “We’re not having any. We’re celebrating,” he responded.\n\nWith the clock on the 2024 announcement ticking, Jill Biden has one more shot at away-from-Washington alone-time with her husband, when she could wrap her head around what “all in” actually entails.\n\nThe couple heads to the warmer climes of St. Croix between Christmas and New Year’s; laying in the sun with a book is a favored activity for the first lady.\n\n“Well, I – my guess is – I hope Jill and I get a little time to actually sneak away for a week,” the president said at his November post-election news conference at the White House, where Jill Biden sat in the front row. “And my guess is it would be early next year we make that judgment.”", "authors": ["Kate Bennett"], "publish_date": "2022/12/15"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_1", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/25/media/nfl-games-viewership-ratings/index.html", "title": "NFL games viewership ratings: 43 million viewers make Bills-Chiefs ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nNone of the headwinds facing legacy broadcast television are strong enough to stop the NFL right now.\n\nThis past weekend’s four divisional games averaged 37 million viewers at any given time. That’s 20 percent higher than the audience size for the equivalent games last year.\n\nThe totals now count some streaming and out-of-home viewing, but that alone can’t account for the huge year-over-year growth. All of the dour predictions about the future performance of the NFL are being challenged by this winter’s action.\n\nCompetitive and high-scoring games always help. So do compelling storylines. But even beyond that, football is in a league of its own in the US.\n\nThe most-watched of the four games was Sunday night’s Bills-Chiefs nailbiter on CBS. It averaged 43 million viewers for the four quarters and overtime and peaked with nearly 52 million viewers.\n\nOverall, the game was the most-watched event on American TV since last year’s Super Bowl.\n\nThe divisional playoffs began with Bengals-Titans on CBS, averaging 31 million viewers. The 49ers-Packers game on Fox later in the day averaged 37 million. Since Saturdays are usually sleepy on broadcast TV, Fox said it counted as “TV’s most-watched Saturday show in 28 years, dating back to the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.”\n\nOn Sunday afternoon, the Rams-Buccaneers game on NBC averaged 38 million viewers.\n\nThen came the Bills and Chiefs in prime time. CBS said it was the “most-watched divisional playoff game in five years.”\n\nThe network also highlighted its streaming service Paramount+ and said both of the CBS games set streaming records.\n\nThe Bengals and Chiefs will play on CBS Sunday at 3:05pm Eastern. The 49ers and Rams will play on Fox Sunday at 6:40pm Eastern. The winners will meet at the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 13, live on NBC and Peacock.", "authors": ["Brian Stelter"], "publish_date": "2022/01/25"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/11/media/super-bowl-commercials-nbc/index.html", "title": "Super Bowl commercials cost $7 million. It's still a good deal | CNN ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nSuper Bowl commercials are more expensive than ever. But for advertisers, they’re a better deal than ever.\n\nNBC — which is broadcasting this year’s game — announced last week that it is sold out of Super Bowl ads, with multiple 30 second spots having sold for a record $7 million each.\n\nWhy would advertisers spend $7 million on one ad? Because it’s the Super Bowl — a broadcast that is still watched by roughly 100 million viewers, even as ratings for some other big sporting events are falling.\n\nNothing in the media world comes close to getting companies the exposure that the Super Bowl can. That’s increasingly important as the media landscape grows more fragmented, according to Patrick Crakes, a former Fox Sports executive turned media consultant.\n\n“The fractionalization of attention because of streaming and social media makes the Super Bowl more important than ever,” Crakes told CNN Business. “If you’re in business with the NFL and you’re advertising during the Super Bowl, you’re a real player.”\n\nCrakes added that there’s also examples of the big game “helping build brands.”\n\n“Think about a company like GoDaddy. GoDaddy invested in the Super Bowl for years, did a lot of crazy things to get attention inside it, and it helped their business,” he said. “I think it’s a great investment, even at this price tag.”\n\n“You’re getting close to $500 million”\n\nThe Super Bowl — and the ads that come with it — is also a great investment for networks.\n\nWe don’t know yet what NBC will make in terms of ad revenue for this year’s broadcast. However, it’ll likely be a sizable chunk of change, according to Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.\n\n“You’re likely looking at about 70 ads, so you’re getting pretty close to $500 million in ad revenue from the game for NBC,” Calkins told CNN Business. “And that, by the way, is just during the game. That doesn’t count before the game, after the game and all of the other opportunities there are to run additional advertising.”\n\nFor example, last year’s Super Bowl notched $434.5 million of in-game ad revenue, according to research firm Kantar. That’s more than the World Series and NBA finals and second only to the Olympic Games, which take place over a span of weeks.\n\nKantar noted that this year’s game — which pits the Cincinnati Bengals against the Los Angeles Rams — is projected to surpass last year’s numbers. (NBC shares the Super Bowl rights with the NFL’s other TV partners every couple of years.)\n\n“$500 million is a lot of money for anyone, but in the world of media, Super Bowl spots are in a whole other level,” Calkins said. “That is why the NFL is such a valuable sports franchise, because there’s this ability to charge advertisers this much to be on these events.”\n\n“A lot of people watching the Super Bowl don’t really care about the game”\n\nTV is going through a rapid transformation because of the streaming revolution, but the NFL continues to be one of the ratings bedrocks for traditional networks.\n\nThe league’s viewership for the 2021 regular season was up roughly 10% overall from last year, bringing in an average of 17.1 million viewers per game.\n\nThat is the highest regular season average since 2015, according to the league, and comes at a time when ratings for other big live events — such as awards shows — are experiencing record lows.\n\nCalkins explained that for networks like NBC there’s “two big benefits” to being in business with the NFL and broadcasting the Super Bowl. The first is the surplus of ad revenue and the other is “NBC will use this opportunity to support the rest of their lineup” via promos before, during and after the game.\n\n“For NBC, the Super Bowl is an event that they can use to jump start the rest of their lineup as they go into the spring and the rest of the year,” he said.\n\nCalkins added that “a number of years ago, people said, ‘the Super Bowl is going to fade away. It’s getting unsustainable.’ It’s completely the reverse.”\n\n“The Super Bowl is more and more important because it’s a shared experience,” Calkins said. “And what’s interesting is a lot of people watching the Super Bowl don’t even really care about the game. They’re watching the ads.”", "authors": ["Frank Pallotta"], "publish_date": "2022/02/11"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/01/25/nfl-playoff-games-tv-ratings-skyrocketing/9214210002/", "title": "Thrilling NFL playoff games send TV ratings skyrocketing", "text": "The television ratings are in for this past weekend's NFL playoff games -- and they're almost as spectacular as the games themselves.\n\nAccording to Fox Sports, Saturday's prime-time thriller between the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers drew an average of 36.9 million viewers. That makes it the most-watched television show on a Saturday night since the 1994 Winter Olympics, which featured the drama surrounding American figure skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.\n\nThe NFC divisional playoff game saw an increase of 10.6 million over last year's Saturday night game (Ravens-Bills) and was also Fox's most-watched Saturday telecast of any kind.\n\nIf that wasn't enough, Sunday's instant classic between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills pulled in even more eyeballs.\n\nAccording to CBS Sports, an average of 42.7 million people tuned in to see the shootout between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen. As an unbelievable finish sent the game into overtime, viewership peaked at 51.7 million.\n\nIt's also the most-watched television program since ... last year's Super Bowl (also on CBS).\n\nFun fact: In the fourth quarter with the game on the line, the network says 90% of all televisions in use in Kansas City were tuned to the game.\n\nWhich makes one wonder: What were the other 10% watching?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/01/25"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/media/super-bowl-ratings-viewership/index.html", "title": "Super Bowl ratings rebound in a big way for the NFL and NBC ...", "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": ["Frank Pallotta"], "publish_date": "2022/02/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/media/2022/02/13/joe-biden-lester-holt-super-bowl-interview/6755760001/", "title": "Joe Biden's Super Bowl pregame interview with Lester Holt went by ...", "text": "That’s it?\n\nNBC scored the first sit-down TV interview of 2022 with President Joe Biden, courtesy of the network broadcasting the Super Bowl between the Cincinnati Bengals and LA Rams on Sunday. Lester Holt, the anchor of the “NBC Nightly News,” conducted the roughly 20-minute interview.\n\nOn Sunday we saw about three minutes of it, sandwiched into five hours of pregame show.\n\nSo where was the rest of the interview?\n\nAlready seen, on the nightly news and the “Today” show earlier last week. Patience is not a virtue when it comes to TV. This was more of a quick hit with the president, an in-and-out between fare like NBC’s Tony Dungy and Drew Brees reminiscing about their Super Bowl experience and a performance by the Chainsmokers — along with a lot of promotion of NBC shows, by way of “interviews” with their stars.\n\nSome of those were as long as Holt’s interview with Biden, seemed like.\n\nSuper Bowl pregame info:How to watch NBC's Lester Holt's Super Bowl pregame interview with President Joe Biden\n\nNo one expects a 20-minute interview during Super Bowl pregame\n\nLook, no one expects football fans to sit through a 20-minute interview with the president. That’s not why you tune in. (I didn’t tune in for a Chainsmokers performance, either, but I digress.) But Holt’s interview was awfully brief.\n\nOf course the desire to gin up interest in the interview-averse Biden is understandable. And there weren’t many surprises. But whatever news the interview did make — Biden is doing a “deep dive” on four candidates for the upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, for instance — was already out there, courtesy of the lengthy excerpts we saw earlier last week.\n\nThe biggest story — Biden’s phone call with Vladimir Putin on Saturday, in which he warned the Russian leader against invading Ukraine — couldn’t be part of the pregame interview, though that’s through no fault of NBC or Holt. Holt’s interview took place on Thursday.\n\nSo maybe bring back at least some kind of live-interview element? George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s Super Bowl interviews were live. That retains some element of freshness.\n\nThe audience watching the Super Bowl pregame show is of course different, and certainly more eclectic, than the audience that watches nightly broadcast news reports or morning shows, though there’s doubtless crossover. If you have an exclusive you want to get it out in front of as many viewers as you can, as soon as you can.\n\nBut it also takes away from the feeling of exclusivity of the moment. It feels less special.\n\nFor instance, when Holt asked a pointed question about inflation and Biden began his answer with, “Well, you’re being a wise guy with me a little bit,” that was dramatic, the kind of thing that could break through in a Super Bowl pregame interview.\n\nExcept that we didn’t see it Sunday — NBC had already aired it on the nightly news.\n\nThis tactic isn’t peculiar to NBC. Networks often parcel out bits and pieces of big interviews and stories over their various platforms.\n\nAnd it’s not just news. The demand for instant gratification has seeped into everything. We just can't wait.\n\nFor instance, remember when people looked forward to Super Bowl commercials? Some people watch the game for the commercials, for which advertisers pay top dollar and whose production values typically reflect that.\n\nThere are still Super Bowl commercials, they’re still exorbitantly priced (some 30-second commercials reportedly cost as much as $7 million) and they’re also no longer all that surprising, because so many of them appear online in the days leading up to the game.\n\nThere goes the element of surprise. I was really looking forward to the trailer for “Nope,” Jordan Peele’s upcoming movie about which next to nothing is known. That was definitely something to look forward to.\n\nUntil I watched it on YouTube Sunday morning.\n\nHolt did a good job questioning Biden, framing questions in a football context\n\nAs for the interview, Holt did a good job in all the various chunks of interview. In the portion airing Sunday he framed questions about COVID-19 in a football context. (Many fans at SoFi Stadium for the game on Sunday won’t be wearing masks, Holt said — what would Biden say to people ignoring local mandates?)\n\nHe also got an intriguing quote out of Biden, when asking about the league’s lack of diversity among its coaching and management ranks, the subject of a lawsuit by former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores.\n\n“It just seems to me that it’s a standard that they’d want to live up to,” Biden said of the need for more diversity. “It’s not a requirement of law. It’s a requirement I think of just some generic decency.”\n\nThat’s good stuff. We could have used more of it on Sunday.\n\nReach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.\n\nSubscribe to azcentral.com today. What are you waiting for?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/02/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/media/2023/02/13/super-bowl-2023-tv-ratings-analyst-greg-olsen/69898805007/", "title": "How many people watched Super Bowl? A lot. And Greg Olsen ...", "text": "The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles put on a great show in Glendale at Super Bowl 57 Sunday.\n\nA ton of people watched it — an average of 113 million viewers, according to Nielsen. The number includes viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes and on digital platforms (Fox and NFL properties).\n\nThe greatest number of people tuned in, not surprisingly, during Rihanna's halftime show — an average of 118.7 million viewers. Sunday's game was the most-streamed in history, Fox said, with an average of 7 million streams.\n\nAnd 182.6 million people watched all or part of the game. These are preliminary numbers; final figures will be available Tuesday. But there's no way around it: the Super Bowl was a massive hit.\n\nAnd if social media and punditry reaction counts (it does), many liked what they saw.\n\nThis is no surprise. The Super Bowl is typically the highest-rated TV broadcast in any given year; historically, nine of the 10 most-watched broadcasts were Super Bowls (the 1983 finale of “M.A.S.H.” comes in ninth place). In 2022, an average of 99.18 million viewers watched the Los Angeles Rams defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl 56.\n\nIt’s not just the Super Bowl. People are nuts for football. In 2022, 82 of the 100 highest-rated shows on TV were football games.\n\nIn addition to the boffo ratings, Twitter reactions to Fox’s broadcast were overwhelmingly positive — particularly the work of analyst Greg Olsen. His work improved throughout the season, but the Super Bowl is a massive stage. And he pulled it off without a hitch.\n\nGreg Olsen knows Tom Brady is coming: Why he's surprisingly chill about it\n\nOlsen's gusty reaction to the game's most controversial call\n\nParticularly impressive was his call on the game’s most controversial play, when officials called holding on Eagles defensive back James Bradberry. People went nuts over the call, which may have contributed to the Chiefs' win, even though after the game Bradberry admitted the infraction.\n\nNo matter whether you liked the call, you had to like Olsen’s strong reaction and his unwavering opinion, particularly with late-game pressure in the biggest TV event of the year, and disagreement from Mike Pereira, the former vice president of officiating for the NFL who works as a rules analyst for Fox.\n\n“I think on this stage,” Olsen said, “I think you let them play. … I don’t know, I think you let them play, finish this thing out. I don’t love that call, Mike.”\n\nField called into question:Concerns rise about Super Bowl 57 turf\n\nOlsen yelling at Jerick McKinnon in the finals minutes of the game\n\nThen, with less than two minutes left in the game, the Chiefs' Jerick McKinnon easily could have run for a touchdown. But one school of thought is scoring that quickly would have given the Eagles the ball back with too much time to score.\n\n“He’s got to get down!” Olsen yelled as McKinnon ran. “He’s got to get down!”\n\nAnd so he did.\n\nHow many people watched Super Bowl 57?\n\nAt 113 million viewers, the game wasn't the most-watched TV show ever, as a Fox executive mused it might be.\n\nBut it ain't bad.\n\nWhatever the case, 113 million is a huge number of people who watched the game, a thriller in which the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 with a field goal in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter. And Greg Olsen's broadcast made the game even better.\n\nReturning home for Super Bowl:Sam Ponder came back for the game and these old school Phoenix restaurants\n\nSuper Bowl 57 is proof Fox should keep Tom Brady on the bench\n\nRemarkably, it was the first Super Bowl for Olsen and play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt.\n\nThere’s a chance it could be their last.\n\nOvershadowing the buildup to the game was Tom Brady’s retirement. Fox has signed Brady to a reported 10-year, $375 million contract to work as an analyst. You don’t pay someone record money to be on the B-team.\n\nOlsen has been a good sport about the whole thing, saying he knew what he was signing up for.\n\nStill.\n\nBrady said he will wait until the 2024 season to start calling games. If Olsen’s work for Super Bowl 57 is any indication, he should wait a little longer.\n\nJohn Madden showed him the ropes:This Arizona man makes the Super Bowl more than a 'show'\n\nReach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk.\n\nSubscribe to azcentral.com today. What are you waiting for?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2019/02/04/super-bowl-viewership-lowest-decade-patriots-rams/2772511002/", "title": "Super Bowl: Viewership was the lowest in a decade", "text": "The lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history was also the least-watched NFL title game in a decade.\n\nSuper Bowl LIII averaged 100.7 million viewers with streaming factored in, CBS Sports announced Monday evening. The New England Patriots' 13-3 victory against the Los Angeles Rams was viewed by about 3 percent fewer people than last year's Super Bowl (103 million) and was well off the most-watched Super Bowl (114 million) set in February 2015 (Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks).\n\nSuper Bowl XLIII – which featured the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Arizona Cardinals in February 2009 – was the last NFL title game to not reach an average of 100 million viewers.\n\nARMOUR COLUMN:MVP Julian Edelman shouldn’t even have been playing\n\nNUMBERS:53 things we learned from Patriots' win over Rams\n\nCBS managed to clear the 100 million threshold, thanks to record streaming viewership.\n\nThe game had an average streaming audience of 2.6 million viewers, a 31 percent improvement from last year's game broadcast on NBC.\n\nViewers used 7.5 million unique devices (a gain of more than 20 percent from Super Bowl LII) and watched more than 560 million total minutes of live game coverage (a rise of more than 19 percent), according to CBS Sports.\n\nIf you love talking football, we have the perfect spot for you. Join our new Facebook Group, The Ruling Off the Field, to engage in friendly debate and conversation with fellow football fans and our NFL insiders.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/02/04"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2022/01/19/nfls-wild-card-round-tv-ratings-increase-21-over-last-year/49673611/", "title": "NFL's wild-card round TV ratings increase 21% over last year", "text": "AP\n\nTV ratings for the NFL's wild-card round increased 21% over last year despite most of the games not being in doubt going into the fourth quarter.\n\nThe six games averaged 30.5 million viewers, making it the second-highest average for the postseason's opening weekend over the past six seasons.\n\nCBS and Nickelodeon's broadcast of San Francisco's 23-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys led the weekend, averaging 41.5 million viewers. The audience peaked at 50.2 million for the conclusion. It is the most-viewed game this season, surpassing the 40.8 million for the Thanksgiving Day game between the Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders.\n\nIt is also the second-most watched wild-card game over the past eight seasons, with Detroit-Dallas in January 2015 (42.3 million) being the only game to outdraw it.\n\nThe Nickelodeon-only audience was 1.33 million, which was down 35% from last year's 2.06 million. More viewers were likely to stick with the traditional CBS broadcast because of the game going down to the final play.\n\nThe first Monday night wild-card game averaged 23.2 million on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, making it the most watched Monday night NFL game since ESPN became the main broadcaster in 2006. The audience for the Los Angeles Rams 34-11 win over Arizona peaked at 27.9 million during the second quarter.\n\nNBC's Sunday night telecast of Kansas City's 42-21 win over Pittsburgh averaged 30.5 million, making it television’s most-watched prime-time show since last February's Super Bowl. Saturday night's game on CBS — Buffalo's 47-17 rout of New England — averaged 26.4 million.\n\nNBC’s broadcast of Cincinnati’s first playoff win in 31 years, was the most-watched Saturday afternoon wild-card game since 1999. The Bengals 23-16 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders averaged 29.0 million.\n\nThe NFL, Nielsen and Abode Analytics also said there were over 34 billion total minutes — an average of 1.4 million per minute — streamed across all platforms, an increase of 35% over last year 72% compared to two years ago.\n\nRegular-season games averaged 17.1 million viewers across television and digital platforms — a 10% increase over 2020 and is the league’s highest average since 2015.\n\n___\n\nMore AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://apnews.com/hub/pro-32 and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/01/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/02/06/super-bowl-li-falcons-patriots-tv-rating-fox/97546162/", "title": "Super Bowl LI viewership ranks among top five", "text": "A.J. Perez\n\nUSA TODAY Sports\n\nThe New England Patriots' historic comeback victory over the Atlanta Falcons — with a major assist from Lady Gaga at halftime — delivered Fox one of the top-five most-watched Super Bowls with an average viewership of 111.3 million.\n\nThe Fox broadcast had a 45.3 household rating and 70% of U.S. households were turned to the telecast, according to Nielsen. Numbers put out by Fox — which include Fox Sports Deportes and streaming — showed 113.7 million average viewers and a total audience of 172 million.\n\nSuper Bowl LI was the fifth most-watched program in TV history and trailed only Super Bowl XLVIII (112.2 million) as the most-watched event in Fox history, according to the network.\n\nSUPER BOWL COVERAGE\n\nFalcons know the truth: No way to get over Super Bowl LI collapse\n\nTom Brady suspects Super Bowl jersey was stolen after game\n\nBill Belichick didn't flinch in Super Bowl comeback, and Patriots followed his lead\n\n'24' opens low in wake of thrilling Super Bowl\n\nThe ratings peaked at a 52.1/74 share between 10-10:30 p.m. ET as the game went into overtime for the first time in Super Bowl history. Tom Brady and the Patriots secured a 34-28 victory on the first drive.\n\nLady Gaga's halftime performance was second to only Katy Perry’s two years ago in terms of viewership, as an estimated 117.5 million people watched Lady Gaga perform. It was it the fourth consecutive year the halftime viewership outpaced the average viewership for the game, according to Variety.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/02/06"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/media/2022/02/10/2022-winter-olympics-ratings-down-super-bowl-nbc/6737746001/", "title": "2022 Winter Olympics ratings down with Super Bowl on deck for NBC", "text": "When NBC Sports' turn in the rotation to televise a Super Bowl coincided with also broadcasting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the month of February was thought to be an all-out ratings wipeout, leaving others networks in the dust.\n\nSo far, that has yet to materialize with the Beijing Games being tuned out in record numbers and Sunday's Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals hoping to bring in 100 million viewers to help pick up the slack.\n\nExecutives from NBCUniversal spoke on a conference call Thursday to discuss their plans and while ratings have been down more than 40% for the Olympics, optimism remains.\n\nLast Thursday's broadcast was seen by eight million viewers, the lowest primetime Olympics audience in history.\n\nViewership did pick up slightly during the weekend telecasts. NBC led in overall viewers as five of the most 10 popular programs last week were Winter Olympics telecasts and has led in viewership on every night of the Games.\n\nWHAT WE KNOW:The Olympic team figure skating medal ceremony mystery\n\nSUPER BLESSING:New home for LA mom marks 200th time former NFL star helps single parent\n\nNEWSLETTERS!: 4th and Monday | Chasing gold\n\nNBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua admits that there have been struggles trying to pull both events off.\n\n\"Thinking about all the preparation that has gone into these games, to have had two Olympics in six months with the necessary COVID protocols, everything to bring these games to life during a global pandemic; it has been a difficult environment to pull these games off,\" Bevacqua said. \"There is no way around that.\"\n\nBevacqua said the ratings are what the network has been expecting, under the circumstances of the time zone difference and other factors, and noted that Peacock streaming numbers have been strong.\n\nNBC's Sunday, which they are billing as \"Super Gold Sunday,\" will begin with Olympic coverage in the morning and then go straight into the Super Bowl LVI Pregame Show with host Mike Tirico starting at 1 p.m. ET. After the Lombardi Trophy is handed out in Los Angeles, then it's back to live Olympics coverage on NBC.\n\nNBC's plan was for Tirico to be in Beijing and continue hosting duties, then fly to Los Angeles for the network's Super Bowl coverage before returning to China for the duration of the Olympics.\n\nInstead, Tirico flew back to the United States and hosted Wednesday's primetime coverage (and will do so Thursday) from NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut before heading out west. He won't return to Beijing after Super Bowl 56 but will instead go back to Connecticut.\n\n\"Without question, the Super Bowl is the biggest event in America and without question, the Olympics are the biggest sporting event in the world,\" Tirico said. \"The chance to do both once in a career is beyond belief and beyond dreams.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/02/10"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_2", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/14/unidentified-objects-shot-down-classified-china/11251562002/", "title": "After more mystery objects shot down, classified China briefing called", "text": "WASHINGTON – Three unidentified flying objects shot down from North American airspace could turn out to be balloons used for research or commercial purposes that posed no direct threat to the U.S., a White House spokesman said Tuesday.\n\n“Given what we've been able to ascertain thus far, the intelligence community is considering as a leading explanation that these could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose,” said spokesman John Kirby.\n\nNo one has come forward to claim responsibility. And there are still a number of unanswered questions.\n\nBut Kirby said the U.S. hasn’t seen any indication that points directly to the objects being part of China’s spy balloon program, even though they were shot down about a week after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the Atlantic coast. He said the Pentagon has ruled out the possibility that the objects were from the U.S. government.\n\nComplicating the search for more details, the U.S. has not yet retrieved debris from the objects shot down over Alaska, Canada's Yukon territory and in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron because each is in remote areas with difficult conditions and two are in bodies of water.\n\n\"We’ll get them eventually but it’s going to take some time,\" Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Tuesday in Brussels.\n\nSome remnants of the Chinese spy balloon have been retrieved from about 50 feet of ocean off the coast of South Carolina. The object shot down Sunday over Lake Huron is in hundreds of feet of water, he said.\n\nOne missile fired at that object missed its mark and landed harmlessly, according to Milley.\n\nSenators briefed on the incidents Tuesday said the threat level from the unidentified objects is low.\n\nBut Republicans say the American people need to hear that from President Joe Biden.\n\n\"I mean, my phone is ringing off the wall, and we've got a president of the United States that's not saying anything,\" Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said after the briefing. \"Get out there and tell the people we're in good shape, we know what's going on, and let's go on with life.\"\n\nSenate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Biden administration is being \"very careful and very thoughtful.\" Some of the information can't be made public because it is classified or \"on the edge of classified, and it's difficult,\" he said.\n\nMultiple senators and Kirby confirmed Tuesday that officials haven't been able to retrieve data from the last three objects that were shot down.\n\nIdaho Sen. James Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said at least one of the three objects had a payload.\n\nMore:How many spy balloons have been spotted? Questions mount after flying objects shot down\n\nWhat senators are saying about the spy balloons\n\nRepublican Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley said they didn't learn much in the briefing.\n\n\"I get the feeling they don't really know what in the world is going on,\" Hawley said.\n\nBiden should be addressing the nation and \"laying out what they know,\" said Hawley, who expressed frustration that nobody from White House administration was in the briefing.\n\nSchumer said some of his Republican colleagues are being \"premature\" and \"very political\" in their views.\n\nOther Republicans, such as Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, had a measured tone Tuesday.\n\nMurkowski said she was \"angry\" last week about an incursion in American airspace, especially because her home state is the first line of defense to foreign adversaries China and Russia.\n\nOn Tuesday morning, she said she still has questions, but some may not be answered until data is retrieved.\n\n\"It's pretty tough conditions up north right now, and they're looking for a needle in a haystack – but it's probably worse. It's about 50 below up there right now,\" she said of the temperature in Alaska and over the border in the Canadian Yukon.\n\nWhen asked if he approved of the Biden administration's decisions, Tillis said, \"I think so\" and expressed confidence that data retrieval from the spy balloon shot down over South Carolina would produce \"very valuable information.\"\n\n\"I think they've done a good job of getting our situational awareness to where it is today and we had no situational awareness a month ago,\" he said after the briefing.\n\nCongress has called for swift action from Biden, including fellow Democrats saying they want transparency and consequences for spying. Biden, meanwhile, is threading a delicate balance of trying to show strong leadership and strong diplomacy with a foreign adversary.\n\nKirby said Monday the administration is being \"as transparent as we can be.\" He said Biden has directed his team to properly consult and brief members of Congress and state leaders. \"We're also doing what we can in the public sphere.\"\n\nHow many spy balloons have been spotted and shot down?\n\nAt least one spy balloon and three unidentified flying objects have been detected and shot down:\n\nA suspected Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon was shot down six miles off the South Carolina coast on Feb. 4.\n\nA flying object was shot down Friday near Deadhorse, Alaska.\n\nAnother flying object was shot down Saturday in Canada's Yukon.\n\nA fourth flying object was shot down Sunday about 15 nautical miles off shore in Lake Huron, likely landing in Canadian waters.\n\nWhy weren't the spy balloons spotted sooner?\n\nSenators – and House members – have questioned why suspected Chinese spy balloons were in U.S. airspace during the Trump administration but weren't spotted until the Biden administration was in office.\n\nU.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, did not identify at least four Chinese balloons that entered U.S. airspace through Florida, Hawaii and Texas.\n\nVanHerck, the NORAD commander, said not detecting those threats is \"a domain awareness gap that we have to figure out.\"\n\nSome Republican senators said Tuesday morning that gap is unacceptable.\n\n\"This has been going on for years,\" said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. \"We don't really know what they are. We don't even know if we'd caught all of them.\"\n\nSenators will get another classified briefing Wednesday afternoon on overall threats from China.\n\nContributing: Maureen Groppe and Joey Garrison\n\nCandy Woodall is a Congress reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at cwoodall@usatoday.com or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/fact-check-trump-announcement-speech-2024/index.html", "title": "Fact check: 20 false and misleading claims Trump made in his ...", "text": "Washington CNN —\n\nFormer President Donald Trump began his 2024 presidential campaign just as he ended his presidency in 2021: with a whole lot of inaccuracy.\n\nLike many of Trump’s speeches as president, his announcement speech at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday was filled with false claims about a variety of topics – from his record in office to his Democratic opponents to the economy, the environment and foreign policy.\n\nHere is a fact check of 20 false or misleading things he said. This is not a comprehensive list.\n\nAfghanistan withdrawal\n\nTrump claimed Tuesday evening that the US left $85 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan upon its military withdrawal in 2021.\n\n“Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country, where we lost lives, left Americans behind and surrendered $85 billion worth of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world,” Trump said.\n\nFacts First: Trump’s figure is false. While a significant quantity of military equipment that had been provided by the US to Afghan government forces was indeed abandoned to the Taliban upon the US withdrawal, the Defense Department has estimated that this equipment had been worth about $7.1 billion — a chunk of about $18.6 billion worth of equipment provided to Afghan forces between 2005 and 2021. And some of the equipment left behind was rendered inoperable before US forces withdrew.\n\nThere is not any basis for Trump’s claim that $85 billion worth of equipment was left behind. As other fact-checkers have previously explained, that was a rounded-up figure (it’s closer to $83 billion) for the total amount of money Congress has appropriated during the war to a fund supporting the Afghan security forces. Only part of this funding was for equipment.\n\nStrategic Petroleum Reserve\n\nTrump claimed his administration “filled up” the Strategic Petroleum Reserve but it has now been “virtually drained” by the Biden administration.\n\nFacts First: Both parts of Trump’s claim are false. He didn’t fill up the reserve, and the reserve is not “virtually drained.”\n\nThough Trump has repeatedly boasted of supposedly having filled up the reserve, it actually contained fewer barrels of crude when he left office in early 2021 than when he took office in 2017. That’s not all because of him – the law requires some mandatory sales from the reserve for budget reasons, and Democrats in Congress blocked the funding needed to execute Trump’s 2020 directive to buy tens of millions more barrels and fill the reserve to its maximum capacity – but nonetheless, it didn’t get filled.\n\nAs CNN’s Matt Egan and Phil Mattingly reported in mid-October, the US reserve remains the largest in the world even though it was at a 38-year low after President Joe Biden released a major chunk of it to help keep oil prices down in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (and, coincidentally or not, prior to the midterm elections). The reserve had more than 396 million barrels of crude oil as of the week ending November 4.\n\nTariffs on China\n\nTrump also boasted about his tariffs on China, claiming that “no president had ever sought or received $1 for our country from China until I came along.”\n\nFacts First: As we have written repeatedly, it’s not true that no president before Trump had generated any revenue through tariffs on goods from China. In reality, the US has had tariffs on China for more than two centuries, and FactCheck.org reported in 2019 that the US generated an “average of $12.3 billion in custom duties a year from 2007 to 2016, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission DataWeb.”\n\nAlso, American importers, not Chinese exporters, make the actual tariff payments – and study after study during Trump’s presidency found that Americans were bearing the cost of the tariffs.\n\nSea level rise\n\nTrump claimed that unnamed people aren’t talking about the threat of nuclear weapons because they are obsessed with environmental issues, which he said, “they say may affect us in 300 years.” He added, “They say the ocean will rise 1/8 of an inch over the next 200 to 300 years. But don’t worry about nuclear weapons that can take out entire countries with one shot.”\n\nFacts First: Trump’s claims are false – even if you ignore the absurd contention that people aren’t paying attention to nuclear threats because they’re focused on the environment. Sea levels are expected to rise much faster than Trump said. The US government’s National Ocean Service said on its website that “sea level along the U.S. coastline is projected to rise, on average, 10 - 12 inches (0.25 - 0.30 meters) in the next 30 years (2020 - 2050), which will be as much as the rise measured over the last 100 years (1920 - 2020).”\n\nAnd though Trump didn’t use the words “climate change” in this claim, he strongly suggested that people say climate change may only affect us in 300 years. That is grossly inaccurate; it is affecting the US today. The Department of Defense said in a 2021 report: “Increasing temperatures; changing precipitation patterns; and more frequent, intense, and unpredictable extreme weather conditions caused by climate change are exacerbating existing risks and creating new security challenges for U.S. interests.”\n\nDrug use and punishment in China\n\nTrump claimed that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had told him that China has no “drug problem” at all because of its harsh treatment of drug traffickers. Trump then repeated the claim himself, saying, “if you get caught dealing drugs in China you have an immediate and quick trial, and by the end of the day, you are executed. That’s a terrible thing, but they have no drug problem.”\n\nFacts First: Trump’s claim is not true, just as it was when he made similar claims as president. Joe Amon, director of global health at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health, said that “yes, China has a drug problem” and that “China, like the US, has a large number of people who use (a wide range of) drugs.” The Chinese government has itself reported that “there were 1.49 million registered drug users nationwide” as of the end of 2021; in the past, officials in China have acknowledged that the number of registered drug users are a significant undercount of actual drug use there.\n\nAnd while Trump solely credits harsh punishments for what he claims is China’s success in handling drugs, the Chinese government also touts its rehabilitation, education and anti-poverty efforts.\n\nPresidential records\n\nComplaining about how he is under criminal investigation for taking presidential documents to his Florida home and resort, Trump repeated a debunked claim about former President Barack Obama’s handling of presidential documents.\n\n“Obama took a lot of things with him,” Trump said.\n\nFacts First: This is false – as the National Archives and Records Administration pointed out in August when Trump previously made this claim. Though Trump claimed that Obama had taken millions of records to Chicago, NARA explained in a public statement that it had itself taken these records to a NARA-managed facility in the Chicago area – which is near where Obama’s presidential library will be located. It said that, as per federal law, “former President Obama has no control over where and how NARA stores the Presidential records of his Administration.”\n\nNARA has also debunked Trump’s recent claims about various other presidents having supposedly taken documents to their own home states; in those cases, too, it was NARA that moved the documents, not the former presidents. It is standard for NARA to set up temporary facilities near where former presidents’ permanent libraries will eventually be located.\n\nGas prices\n\nAs he has on other occasions during Biden’s tenure, Trump used misleading figures when discussing the price of gas. He said: “We were $1.87 a gallon for gasoline, and now it’s sitting five, six, seven and even eight dollars, and it’s gonna go really bad.”\n\nFacts First: This is so misleading that we’re classifying it as inaccurate. While the price of a gallon of regular gas did briefly fall to $1.87 (and lower) during the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the national average for regular gas on Trump’s last day in office, January 20, 2021, was much higher than that – $2.393 per gallon, according to data provided to CNN by the American Automobile Association. And while there are some remote gas stations where prices are always much higher than the national average, the national average Tuesday is $3.759, per AAA data, not $5, $6, $7 or $8. California, the state with the highest prices as usual, has an average of $5.423.\n\nDeportations under Obama\n\nTrump claimed Tuesday evening that his administration, unlike Obama’s administration, had convinced countries like Guatemala and Honduras to take back their gang members that had come to America.\n\n“The worst gangs are MS-13. And under the Barack Hussein Obama administration, they were unable to take them out. Because their countries where they came from wouldn’t take them,” Trump said from Mar-a-Lago.\n\nFacts First: It’s not true that, as a rule, Guatemala and Honduras wouldn’t take back their citizens during Obama’s administration, though there were some individual exceptions.\n\nIn 2016, just prior to Trump’s presidency, neither Guatemala nor Honduras was on the list of countries that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) considered “recalcitrant,” or uncooperative, in accepting the return of their nationals.\n\nFor the 2016 fiscal year, Obama’s last full fiscal year in office, ICE reported Guatemala and Honduras ranked second and third, behind only Mexico, in terms of the country of citizenship of people being removed from the US. You can read a longer fact check, from 2019, here.\n\nMissile landing in Poland\n\nTrump claimed Tuesday that a missile that was “sent in probably by Russia” landed 50 miles into Poland. “People are going absolutely wild and crazy and they’re not happy,” Trump said from Mar-a-Lago.\n\nFacts First: This claim is false. While Poland said a Russian-made missile did land in their territory Tuesday, killing two Polish citizens, the explosion happened about four miles west from the Ukrainian border.\n\nAdditionally, it remains unclear where the missile was fired from, and why it fell in Poland.\n\nFinishing the border wall\n\nTrump made a false claim about one of his signature policies, a wall at the border with Mexico.\n\n“We built the wall, and now we will add to it. Now, we built the wall – we completed the wall – and then we said let’s do more, and we did a lot more. And we did a lot more. And as we were doing it, we had an election that came up. And when they came in, they had three more weeks to complete the additions to the wall, which would’ve been great, and they said no, no, we’re not going to do that,” he said.\n\nFacts First: It’s not even close to true that Trump “completed” the border wall.\n\nAccording to an official “Border Wall Status” report written by US Customs and Border Protection two days after Trump left office, about 458 miles of wall had been completed under Trump – but about 280 more miles that had been identified for wall construction had not completed. The report, provided to CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez, said that, of those 280, about 74 miles of barriers were “in the pre-construction phase and have not yet been awarded, in locations where no barriers currently exist,” and that 206 miles were “currently under contract, in place of dilapidated and outdated designs and in locations where no barriers previously existed.”\n\nDemocratic leaders and the National Guard\n\nTrump claimed that Democratic governors and mayors refused to ask for “help” even during “a total breakdown of law and order,” and “don’t want to ever ask to do anything,” so “we sent in the National Guard in Minneapolis and in other places.”\n\nFacts First: This is a false claim Trump liked to make during his presidency. It’s not true that Trump sent in the National Guard to Minneapolis and that Democratic leaders there refused to ask; it was actually Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, not Trump, was the one who deployed the Minnesota National Guard amid unrest in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Walz, who served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, first activated the Guard more than seven hours before Trump publicly threatened to deploy the Guard himself.\n\nWhen Trump made this false claim in 2020, Walz’s office told CNN that the governor activated the Guard in response to requests from officials in Minneapolis and St. Paul – cities also run by Democrats.\n\nBiden’s acuity\n\nMocking Biden’s mental acuity, Trump said, “There are a lot of bad things, like going to Idaho and saying ‘Welcome to the state of Florida, I really love it.’”\n\nFacts First: This never happened. Biden, like Trump, has made occasional gaffes in referring to places, but this one is fiction. At a rally earlier this month, Trump claimed that Biden had gone to Iowa and wrongly claimed to be in Idaho; that false claim was published by a satirical website in 2020.\n\nIllegal immigration\n\nLamenting illegal immigration, Trump said, “I believe it’s 10 million people coming in, not three or four million people. They’re pouring into our country.”\n\nFacts First: False. “There is no empirical basis at all for the idea that 10 million undocumented people have entered under President Biden,” Emily Ryo, a professor of law and sociology at the University of Southern California’s law school, who studies immigration, said in a Monday email when CNN asked her about Trump making this claim earlier in November. Julia Gelatt, an expert at the Migration Policy Institute think tank, concurred: “Based on the data available, it is not possible that 10 million unauthorized immigrants have come across the border to the U.S. under President Biden. In fact, the reality is a fraction of that.”\n\nMark Morgan, who served as acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection under Trump (and head of the Border Patrol under Obama), told The Arizona Republic in an early-November article that the “worst case scenario” for the number of illegal border crossings under Biden through October “could be 6.2 million.” Trump’s estimate was not close even to that estimate.\n\nAnd there are a bunch of important nuances here. Customs and Border Protection has recorded more than 4.3 million total nationwide border “encounters” under Biden, but that number includes people who presented themselves to the authorities to begin the process of seeking humanitarian protection. And while Trump used the word “people,” Ryo emphasized that the number of “encounters” is not the same as the number of separate individuals who have crossed the border. Because many people encountered at the border are rapidly expelled under the Title 42 policy – including more than half of those encountered in the 2021 fiscal year – lots of the same people quickly come back to the border and try again. In the 2021 fiscal year, the recidivism rate was 27%, according to official data.\n\nInflation in turkey prices\n\nTrump claimed, “Good luck getting a turkey for Thanksgiving. Number one, you won’t get it and if you do, you’re gonna pay three to four times more than you paid last year.”\n\nFacts First: This isn’t even close to true. Turkey prices have increased since last Thanksgiving season, but they haven’t come close to tripling or quadrupling. The weighted average advertised supermarket price of a whole frozen hen is 97 cents per pound as of the most recent US Department of Agriculture report – up about 10% from the same time last year. The price of a whole frozen tom was up by about 7%.\n\nAnd though Trump made these comments while criticizing the Biden administration over inflation, it’s worth noting that the turkey market in particular has been significantly impacted by avian flu.\n\nTrump and wars\n\nTrump said that his critics claimed during the 2016 presidential campaign that there would be a war within weeks if Trump was elected – “and yet I’ve gone decades, decades without a war. The first president to do it for that long a period.”\n\nFacts First: This is nonsense. Trump was president for four years, so he could not possibly have gone “decades, decades” without a war. Also, Trump presided over the US involvement in wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, though he obviously didn’t start any of these wars and withdrew some troops from all three countries. And he was commander-in-chief for dozens of US airstrikes, including drone strikes, in Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Pakistan, plus a drone strike in Iraq that killed Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, that prompted Iranian retaliation against US service members.\n\nTrump and ISIS\n\nTrump gave himself credit for the liberation of ISIS’s “caliphate” in Syria, saying “the vicious ISIS caliphate, which no president was able to conquer, was decimated by me and our great warriors in less than three weeks.”\n\nFacts First: This is a major exaggeration. The ISIS “caliphate” was declared fully liberated more than two years into Trump’s presidency, in 2019, not “less than three weeks” into his presidency in 2017; it’s not entirely clear what Trump meant by “decimated,” but the fight continued long after Trump’s first weeks in office. And Trump gave himself far too much credit for the defeat of the caliphate, as he has in the past. There was major progress against the caliphate under Obama in 2015 and 2016 – and Kurdish forces did much of the ground fighting.\n\nIHS Markit, an information company that studied the changing the size of the caliphate, reported two days before Trump’s 2017 inauguration that the caliphate shrunk by 23% in 2016 after shrinking by 14% in 2015. “The Islamic State suffered unprecedented territorial losses in 2016, including key areas vital for the group’s governance project,” an analyst there said in a statement at the time.\n\nTerrorism under Trump\n\nTrump claimed: “We had practically, just about, not that I can think of, no Islamic attacks, terrorist attacks, during the Trump administration.”\n\nFacts First: Trump did qualify the claim by saying “practically, just about, not that I can think of,” but it’s not true that there were no terrorist attacks carried out by Islamic extremists during his presidency. Trump’s own Justice Department alleged that a terror attack in New York City in 2017, which killed eight people and injured others, was an act of Islamic extremism carried out in support of ISIS. In fact, Trump repeatedly lamented this attack during his presidency. And Trump’s Justice Department alleged that a 2019 attack by an extremist member of Saudi Arabia’s military, which killed three US servicemembers and injured others at a military base in Florida, “was motivated by jihadist ideology” and was carried out by a longtime “associate” of al Qaeda.\n\nThe military’s use of old bombers\n\nBoasting of how he supposedly rebuilt the military, Trump said, “When I got there, we had jet fighters that were 48 years old. We had bombers that were 60 years old, we had bombers where their grandfathers flew them when they were new. And now the grandchild is flying the bomber – but not anymore.”\n\nFacts First: It’s not true that Trump ended the use of 60-year-old bombers. The military continues to use B-52 bombers that old; they are now being outfitted with new Rolls-Royce engines to prolong their life even further. (And the B-52 isn’t the only decades-old plane still in use.)\n\nTrump’s popularity along the border\n\nAfter boasting of how he is viewed by Latinos, Trump claimed that “along the border in Texas, won every single community – I won – every single community.” He said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told him that he had “won every single area along the border, the longest since Reconstruction.”\n\nFacts First: We don’t know what Abbott told Trump, but it’s not true that Trump won every single area along the border with Mexico. Trump lost border states in both of his previous races – California and New Mexico in both 2016 and 2020, Arizona in 2020 – and also lost numerous border communities in Texas and elsewhere both times, as you can see in these New York Times maps here and here.\n\nTrump did make major gains with some Texas border counties between 2016 and 2020, becoming the first Republican in decades to win some of them, but his claim was about how he supposedly won them all. That’s inaccurate.\n\nInflation\n\nTrump claimed about inflation: “As we speak, inflation is the highest in over 50 years.”\n\nFacts First: This is not true; Trump exaggerated a statistic that would have worked in his favor even if he had recited it accurately. October’s year-over-year inflation rate of 7.7% is the highest since 1982, if you don’t count previous months this year when it was higher. So, ignoring those other Biden-era months, it is the highest in 40 years, not the highest in “over 50 years.”\n\nWe might let this go if Trump did not have a years-long pattern of exaggerating numbers to suit his purposes.", "authors": ["Daniel Dale Paul Leblanc", "Daniel Dale", "Paul Leblanc"], "publish_date": "2022/11/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2014/01/25/the-disposession-of-latoya-ammons/4892553/", "title": "The exorcisms of Latoya Ammons", "text": "This article was originally published on Jan. 25, 2014.\n\nA woman and three children who claimed to be possessed by demons. A 9-year-old boy walking backward up a wall in the presence of a family case manager and hospital nurse.\n\nGary police Capt. Charles Austin said it was the strangest story he had ever heard.\n\nAustin, a 36-year veteran of the Gary Police Department, said he initially thought Indianapolis resident Latoya Ammons and her family concocted an elaborate tale as a way to make money. But after several visits to their home and interviews with witnesses, Austin said simply, \"I am a believer.\"\n\nNot everyone involved with the family was inclined to believe its incredible story. And many readers will find Ammons' supernatural claims impossible to accept.\n\nBut, whatever the cause of the creepy occurrences that befell the family — whether they were seized by a systematic delusion or demonic possession — it led to one of the most unusual cases ever handled by the Department of Child Services. Many of the events are detailed in nearly 800 pages of official records obtained by The Indianapolis Star and recounted in more than a dozen interviews with police, DCS personnel, psychologists, family members and a Catholic priest.\n\nAmmons, who swears by her story, has been unusually open. While she spoke on condition her children not be interviewed or named, she signed releases letting The Star review medical, psychological and official records that are not open to the public — and not always flattering.\n\nFurthermore, the family's story is made only more bizarre because it involves a DCS intervention, a string of psychological evaluations, a police investigation and, ultimately, a series of exorcisms.\n\nIt's a tale, they say, that started with flies.\n\n'This is not normal'\n\nIn November 2011, Ammons' family moved into a rental house on Carolina Street in Gary, a quiet lane lined with small one-story homes. Big black flies suddenly swarmed their screened-in porch in December, despite the winter chill.\n\n\"This is not normal,\" Ammons' mother, Rosa Campbell, remembers thinking. \"We killed them and killed them and killed them, but they kept coming back.\"\n\nThere were other strange happenings, too.\n\nAfter midnight, Campbell and Ammons both said, they occasionally heard the steady clump of footsteps climbing the basement stairs and the creak of the door opening between the basement and kitchen. No one was there.\n\nEven after they locked the door, the noise continued.\n\nCampbell said she awoke one night and saw a shadowy figure of a man pacing her living room. She leaped out of bed to investigate, and found large, wet bootprints.\n\nOn March 10, 2012, Campbell said, the family's unease turned to fear.\n\n12-year-old levitates\n\nIt was about 2 a.m. Normally, Campbell, Ammons and her children would have been asleep, but they were mourning the death of a loved one with a group of friends.\n\nAmmons, who was in Campbell's bedroom, startled everyone by screaming, \"Mama! Mama!\"\n\nCampbell said she ran into her bedroom, where her then-12-year-old granddaughter and a friend were staying.\n\nAmmons and Campbell said the 12-year-old was levitating above the bed, unconscious.\n\nAccording to their account of events, Ammons and several others surrounded the girl, praying. Campbell said she remembers being terrified.\n\n\"I thought, 'What's going on?' \" Campbell said. \" 'Why is this happening?' \"\n\nEventually, Campbell said, her granddaughter descended onto the bed. The girl woke up with no memory of what happened, Campbell said.\n\nCampbell and Ammons said the people who were visiting that night refused to return.\n\nPossessed by demons\n\nCampbell says she remembers telling her daughter, \"We need help. We need to talk to someone who knows how to deal with it.\"\n\nCampbell and Ammons said they didn't know exactly what \"it\" was, but they believed it was something supernatural.\n\nThey called local churches, but most refused to listen.\n\nEventually, after listening to Campbell and Ammons talk about the house and visiting it, officials at one church told them the Carolina Street house had spirits in it. They recommended the family clean the home with bleach and ammonia, then use oil to draw crosses on every door and window.\n\nAt the church's suggestion, Ammons said she poured olive oil on her three children's hands and feet, then smeared oil in the shape of crosses on their foreheads.\n\nCampbell and Ammons also told The Star they reached out to two clairvoyants, who said the family's home was besieged by more than 200 demons. Their explanation made sense to Campbell and Ammons, they say, because it meshed with their Christian faith.\n\nThe best thing you can do is move, Ammons remembers the clairvoyants telling her. But moving wasn't an option for the cash-strapped family.\n\nInstead, Ammons said she took a clairvoyant's advice and made an altar in the basement.\n\nAmmons covered an end table with a white sheet, then placed a white candle and statue of Mary, Joseph and Jesus on it. She opened a Bible to Psalm 91.\n\nShe said she and another person donned white T-shirts and wound white scarves around their heads.\n\nAlso on a clairvoyant's advice, they burned sage and sulfur throughout the house, starting upstairs and working their way down. The smoke was so thick they could hardly breathe.\n\nAmmons drew a cross with the smoke.\n\nThe person she was with read Psalm 91 aloud as they moved through the house:\n\n\"You will not fear the terror of night,\n\nnor the arrow that flies by day,\n\nnor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,\n\nnor the plague that destroys at midday.\"\n\nAmmons said nothing odd happened for three days. Then, things got worse.\n\nThe family said demons possessed Ammons and her children, then ages 7, 9 and 12. The kids' eyes bulged, evil smiles crossed their faces, and their voices deepened every time it happened, Campbell and Ammons said.\n\nCampbell said the demons didn't affect her because she was born with protection from evil. She said she, and others like her, have a guardian who protects them.\n\nAmmons said she felt weak, lightheaded and warm when she was possessed. Her body shook, and she said she felt out-of-control.\n\n\"You can tell it's different, something supernatural.\"\n\nThe youngest boy, then 7, sat in a closet talking to a boy that no one else could see. The other boy was describing what it felt like to be killed.\n\nCampbell said the 7-year-old once flew out of the bathroom as if he'd been thrown, and a headboard once smacked into Ammons' daughter, causing a wound that needed stitches.\n\nThe 12-year-old would later tell mental health professionals that she sometimes felt as if she were being choked and held down so she couldn't speak or move. She said she heard a voice say she'd never see her family again and wouldn't live another 20 minutes.\n\nSome nights were so bad the family slept at a hotel.\n\nFinally, in desperation, they went to their family physician, Dr. Geoffrey Onyeukwu, on April 19, 2012. Ammons said she told him what they were going through, hoping he might understand.\n\nOnyeukwu told The Star it was \"bizarre.\"\n\n\"Twenty years, and I've never heard anything like that in my life,\" he said. \"I was scared myself when I walked into the room.\"\n\nHe said he would not speak in more detail unless Ammons had \"psychiatric clearance\" for the waiver of confidentiality she had signed.\n\nIn his medical notes about the visit, Onyeukwu wrote \"delusions of ghost in home\" and \"hallucinations.\" He also wrote \"history of ghost at home\" and \"delusional.\"\n\nWhat Ammons and Campbell say happened next also was detailed in a DCS report of a family case manager's interviews with medical staff.\n\nChaos erupted.\n\n'He walked up the wall, flipped over her and stood there'\n\nCampbell said Ammons' sons cursed Onyeukwu in demonic voices, raging at him. Medical staff said the youngest boy was \"lifted and thrown into the wall with nobody touching him,\" according to a DCS report.\n\nThe boys abruptly passed out and wouldn't come to, Campbell added. She cradled one boy in her arms; Ammons held the other.\n\nSomeone from the doctor's office called 911. Onyeukwu said seven or eight police officers and multiple ambulances showed up.\n\n\"Everybody was ... they couldn't figure out exactly what was happening,\" he recalled.\n\nPolice and emergency personnel took the boys to Methodist Hospital's campus in Gary.\n\nAmmons said hospital personnel laughed at her desire to anoint her sons in olive oil.\n\n\"I couldn't talk to them,\" she said, \"so I talked to God.\"\n\nThe boys woke up in the hospital. The older boy, then 9, acted rationally, but the youngest screamed and thrashed, Campbell said.\n\nShe said it took five men to hold him down.\n\nMeanwhile, someone called DCS and asked the agency to investigate Ammons for possible child abuse or neglect. The caller, who is not named in the DCS report, speculated that Ammons might have a mental illness. The person believed the children were performing for Ammons, and she was encouraging their behavior.\n\nDCS family case manager Valerie Washington was asked to handle the initial investigation. She gave the following account to police and in her intake officer's report:\n\nHospital personnel examined Ammons and her children and found them to be healthy and free of marks or bruises. A hospital psychiatrist evaluated Ammons and determined she was of \"sound mind.\"\n\nWashington interviewed the family in the hospital.\n\nWhile she spoke with Ammons, the 7-year-old boy started growling with his teeth showing. His eyes rolled back in his head.\n\nThe boy locked his hands around his older brother's throat and refused to let go until adults pried his hands open.\n\nLater that evening, Washington and registered nurse Willie Lee Walker brought the two boys into a small exam room for an interview. Campbell joined them.\n\nThe 7-year-old stared into his brother's eyes and began to growl again.\n\n\"It's time to die,\" the boy said in a deep, unnatural voice. \"I will kill you.\"\n\nWhile the youngest boy spoke, the older brother started head-butting Campbell in the stomach.\n\nCampbell grabbed her grandson's hands and started praying.\n\nWhat happened next would rattle the witnesses, and to some it would offer not only evidence but proof of paranormal activity.\n\nAccording to Washington's original DCS report — an account corroborated by Walker, the nurse — the 9-year-old had a \"weird grin\" and walked backward up a wall to the ceiling. He then flipped over Campbell, landing on his feet. He never let go of his grandmother's hand.\n\n\"He walked up the wall, flipped over her and stood there,\" Walker told The Star. \"There's no way he could've done that.\"\n\nLater, police asked Washington whether the boy had run up the wall, as though performing an acrobatic trick.\n\nNo, Washington told them. She said the boy \"glided backward on the floor, wall and ceiling,\" according to a police report.\n\nWashington did not respond to The Star's requests for comment.\n\nBut she told police she was scared when it happened and ran out of the room. As for Walker, Washington said, \"he ran out of the room with me.\"\n\n\"We didn't know what was going on,\" Walker told The Star. \"That was crazy. I was like, 'Everybody gotta go.' \"\n\nAccording to Washington's report, they told a doctor what happened. The doctor, who did not believe them, asked the boy to walk up the wall again.\n\nWalker said he told the doctor he doubted the boy could repeat the feat. \"This kid was not himself when he did that,\" Walker said.\n\nThe boy said he didn't remember what happened and couldn't do it, according to Washington's report.\n\nWalker, who said he previously believed in demons and spirits, thought the boy's behavior had \"some demonic spirit to it\" but also was the result of a mental illness.\n\nA police report quoted Washington saying she believed there could be an \"evil influence\" affecting the family.\n\nSeparated\n\nAmmons said she spent the night at the hospital with her 7-year-old son while Campbell took Ammons' daughter and older son to a relative's home in Gary.\n\nThe next day was Ammons' youngest son's eighth birthday. Ammons said DCS officials asked Campbell to bring the older children back to the hospital, presumably to talk more about what happened.\n\nThe family celebrated the boy's birthday by singing and eating a miniature cake. Then, Ammons said Washington told them the children wouldn't be going home.\n\nDCS took the emergency step of taking custody of the children without a court order.\n\n\"All of the children were expericing (sic) spiritual and emotional distress,\" Washington wrote in the DCS form.\n\nAmmons told The Star she and her children cried because they didn't want to be separated.\n\n\"We'd already been through so much and fought so hard for our lives,\" she recalled. \"It was obvious we were a team, and we were beating it — whatever we were fighting. We made it through together as a team, and they separated us.\"\n\n'It must be scared of me'\n\nThe Rev. Michael Maginot was leading Bible study in his living room the morning of April 20, 2012, when he received a call from a hospital chaplain.\n\nMaginot had been the priest at St. Stephen, Martyr Parish, in Merrillville for more than 10 years but had never received a request like this one — the chaplain asked him to perform an exorcism on Ammons' 9-year-old son.\n\nMaginot agreed to interview the family after Sunday Mass a few days later.\n\nThe first step, Maginot said, was ruling out natural causes for what Ammons and her family said they were experiencing.\n\nHe visited Ammons and Campbell in the Carolina Street home April 22, 2012. For two hours, Ammons and Campbell detailed the phenomena for him. Then, Campbell interrupted the interview to point out a flickering bathroom light.\n\nThe flickering stopped each time Maginot walked over to investigate — which he attributed to a demonic presence.\n\n\"It must be scared of me,\" he later told The Star he had thought.\n\nThe interview was interrupted again when Campbell pointed out Venetian blinds in the kitchen swinging even though there was no air current. Maginot said he also saw wet footprints throughout the living room.\n\nAmmons complained about having a headache. Maginot said she convulsed when he placed a crucifix against her head.\n\nAfter a four-hour interview, Maginot said he was convinced the family was being tormented by demons. He said he also believed there were ghosts in the house.\n\nMaginot blessed the house before he left — praying, reading from the Bible and sprinkling holy water in each room.\n\nHe told Ammons and Campbell to leave because it wasn't safe. They temporarily moved in with a relative.\n\nGary police captain starts to believe\n\nBut less than a week later, the two women were back on Carolina Street to let Washington, the DCS family case manager, check the condition of the home. Washington asked a Lake County police officer to come with her.\n\nTwo other officers, one each from Gary and Hammond police departments, asked to join them out of \"professional curiosity.\"\n\nAmmons refused to go inside, but Campbell agreed to accompany the group. Ammons' kids still were in DCS custody.\n\nThe main floor had three bedrooms, a living room, one bathroom, hardwood floors and a small, open-style kitchen. A door in the kitchen led to a basement with concrete floors.\n\nDirectly under the stairs was a dirt floor. The concrete around it was jagged, as though it had been broken.\n\nThe makeshift altar Ammons had created was still in place, along with rings of salt she had poured against the basement walls to \"dissuade the demons,\" according to a Hammond Police Department report.\n\nCampbell told officers that demons seemed to emanate from beneath the stairs.\n\nAustin, the Gary police captain, was one of those officers. He later told The Star he believed in ghosts and the supernatural but said he didn't believe in demons.\n\nAustin said he changed his mind after visiting the Carolina Street house.\n\nDuring the interview with Campbell, one of the officer's audio recorders malfunctioned, according to Austin and Hammond police records. The power light flashed to indicate the batteries were dying, even though the officer had placed fresh batteries in the recorder earlier that day.\n\nAnother officer recorded audio and, when he played it back later, heard an unknown voice whisper \"hey,\" according to Lake County police records.\n\nThat officer also took photos of the house. In one photo of the basement stairs, there was a cloudy white image in the upper right-hand corner. When an officer enlarged the photo, that cloud appeared to resemble a face, Lake County police records state. The enlargement also revealed a second, green image that police say looked like a female.\n\nAustin said photos he snapped with his iPhone also seemed to have strange silhouettes in them. The radio in his police-issued Ford malfunctioned on the way home.\n\nLater, Austin said the garage at his Gary home refused to open, even though the power was on everywhere else.\n\nAustin said the driver's seat in his personal 2005 Infiniti also started moving backward and forward on its own.\n\nHe said he had the car checked at a dealership, and the mechanic told him the motor on the driver's seat was broken, which the mechanic said could have caused a distraction leading to an accident.\n\nAustin said he found himself starting to believe Ammons' claims of paranormal activity. But the mental health professionals evaluating Ammons and her children remained skeptical.\n\nDCS outlines case plan\n\nIn April 2012, DCS petitioned Lake Juvenile Court for temporary wardship of the three children. The request was granted.\n\nDCS found that Ammons neglected her children's education by not having them in school regularly. The agency made the same finding in 2009, its records show.\n\nAmmons told Washington there were times she could not send the kids to school because \"the spirits would make them sick, or they would be up all night without sleep.\"\n\nDCS temporarily placed her daughter and older son at St. Joseph's Carmelite Home in East Chicago. Ammons' youngest son was sent to Christian Haven in Wheatfield for a psychiatric evaluation.\n\nClinical psychologist Stacy Wright, who evaluated Ammons' youngest son, said the boy tended to act possessed when he was challenged, redirected or asked questions he didn't want to answer. In her evaluation, Wright wrote that he seemed coherent and logical except when he talked about demons.\n\nIt was then that the 8-year-old's stories became \"bizarre, fragmented and illogical,\" Wright said. His stories changed each time he told them.\n\nHe also changed the subject, quizzing Wright on math problems and asking her about outer space.\n\n\"Can you die if you go to space?\" he asked. \"How do you get to space? Do you have to wear a helmet and suit?\"\n\nWright believed the 8-year-old did not suffer from a true psychotic disorder.\n\n\"This appears to be an unfortunate and sad case of a child who has been induced into a delusional system perpetuated by his mother and potentially reinforced\" by other relatives, she wrote in her psychological evaluation.\n\nClinical psychologist Joel Schwartz, who evaluated Ammons' daughter and older son, came to a similar conclusion.\n\n\"There also appears to be a need to assess the extent to which (Ammons' daughter) may have been unduly influenced by her mother's concerns that the family was exposed to paranormal experiences,\" Schwartz wrote.\n\nAmmons' daughter told Schwartz that she saw shadowy figures in the Carolina Street home. She also said she twice went into trances. Ammons' older son told Schwartz that \"doors would slam and stuff started moving around.\"\n\nAmmons also was examined several times by psychologists, who said she was \"guarded,\" but did not seem to be \"experiencing symptoms of psychosis or thought disorder.\" One psychologist recommended Ammons be assessed to \"determine whether her religiosity may be masking underlying delusional ideations or perceptual disturbances.\"\n\nAmmons — and all three kids — continued to insist they were possessed by demons.\n\nDCS set goals for the family. One of them stipulated that the children \"not discuss demons and being possessed and ... take responsibility for their actions.\" They also needed to participate in therapy to address past behavior.\n\nWhile DCS officials credited Ammons for sharing a \"close bond\" with her children, the agency also said she needed to use \"alternate forms of discipline not directly related to religion and demon possession,\" according to DCS' case plan. Appropriate discipline included encouragement, rules and withholding privileges. She could work on those goals during supervised visits with the children.\n\nAmmons also had to find a job and appropriate housing \"due to the paranormal activity\" at the house on Carolina Street.\n\nWhile Ammons worked on meeting those objectives, police and DCS officials continued to investigate strange happenings in the house.\n\nA demonic presence\n\nThe group was a bit larger this time.\n\nCampbell, Ammons, Austin and the two other police officers from the initial visit went back to the Carolina Street home on the afternoon of May 10, 2012. The police officers visited after work hours.\n\nThey were joined by Maginot, two Lake County officers with a police dog and DCS family case manager Samantha Ilic.\n\nIlic, who was there in an official capacity, told The Star she volunteered to go in Washington's place because Washington didn't want to go back to the house.\n\nA county officer took his police dog around the home, but the dog didn't show interest in any particular area, according to Lake County police records. Everyone else headed into the basement.\n\nIlic touched some strange liquid she saw dripping in the basement, and said it felt slippery yet sticky between her fingers.\n\nMaginot told police he wanted to check the dirt under the stairs for a pentagram or personal objects that might have been cursed. He said a pentagram might indicate a demonic presence and possible portal to hell, according to a Lake County police report.\n\nOr if someone had died in the house and was buried under the stairs, it could explain paranormal activity, Maginot added.\n\nOne of the police officers dug a 4-foot by 3-foot hole beneath the stairs, unearthing a pink press-on fingernail, a white pair of panties, a political shirt pin, a lid for a small cooking pan, socks with the bottoms cut off below the ankles, candy wrappers and a heavy metal object that looked like a weight for a drapery cord, police records state.\n\nFinding nothing else, the officer replaced the dirt and raked over it.\n\nMaginot blessed some salt, which he said is a barrier to evil, and spread it under the stairs and throughout the basement.\n\nIlic said she was later standing in the living room with the rest of the group when her left pinky finger started to tingle and whiten. She complained it felt broken.\n\nLess than 10 minutes later, Ilic said she felt as if she was having a panic attack. She couldn't breathe, so she walked outside to wait for the group.\n\nWhen the priest started questioning Ammons inside the house, she complained of a headache and shoulder pain, according to police records. She joined Ilic outside.\n\nAustin said he left the house at nightfall. Austin — who has been shot at and has investigated murders, rapes and armed robberies during his more than three decades on the force — said he wasn't staying in the house past dark.\n\nThe other officers continued to walk through the home. On the main floor, they noticed an oil-like substance dripping from venetian blinds in a bedroom but couldn't figure out where it was coming from, police records state.\n\nTo make sure Campbell or Ammons hadn't poured oil on the blinds, two of the officers used paper towels to clean it off. The officers sealed the room for 25 minutes and stood nearby so no one could walk in.\n\nWhen they went back in, the oil had reappeared, according to police records.\n\nMaginot told police the liquid was a manifestation of a paranormal or demonic presence.\n\nHe wrote a report detailing his findings and asked Bishop Dale Melczek's permission to perform an exorcism on Ammons.\n\nAn exorcism\n\nMaginot said Melczek had never authorized an exorcism in 21 years as bishop of the Diocese of Gary.\n\nDebbie Bosak, director of communications for the diocese, said she cannot comment on whether Melczek has ever approved an exorcism for confidentiality reasons. In general, she said, such an action would require a bishop's approval.\n\nMelczek initially denied Maginot's request to do a church-sanctioned exorcism, Maginot said. The bishop told Maginot to contact other priests who have performed exorcisms.\n\nMaginot said he needed other priests to give him the ritual for a minor exorcism, which does not require church approval. The priests he consulted told him to look it up on the Internet.\n\nHe said he did an \"intense blessing\" on the Carolina Street home to expel bad spirits.\n\nThat same day, Maginot performed a minor exorcism on Ammons. The ritual consisted of prayers, statements and appeals to cast out demons.\n\nTwo police officers and Ilic, the DCS family case manager, attended the ritual.\n\nIlic said she left believing that something was going on, although she wouldn't go as far as saying it was demonic. She said she got chills during the nearly two-hour rite.\n\n\"We felt like someone was in the room with you, someone breathing down your neck.\"\n\nIlic said she had a string of medical problems after visiting the home. A week after she visited the house for the last time, Ilic said she got third-degree burns from a motorcycle. Within 30 days, she also broke three ribs Jet Skiing, broke a hand when she hit a table, then broke an ankle running in flip-flops.\n\n\"I had friends who wouldn't talk to me because they believed that something had attached itself to me,\" Ilic said. Her joking response: \"I'm already evil. They try to find something that's not evil and corrupt it. They wouldn't waste their time on me.\"\n\nI cast you out, unclean spirit\n\nAfter the minor ritual, Maginot told Ammons to look up the names of demons that were tormenting her. Each demon has a name and personality, Maginot said.\n\nA name has power, the priest added, and he planned to use those names to fight the demons during the exorcisms.\n\nAmmons said she and a friend looked up the demons' names online by searching for demons that represented the problems the family had been having. The computer kept shutting down. She said she felt sick, lightheaded.\n\nBut she said they found names that fit.\n\nOne such name was Beelzebub, lord of the flies, Ammons said. She said they also found names of demons that torture and hurt kids, which she felt explained what happened in the Carolina Street house.\n\nAmmons said other high-ranking demons also were assigned to her, including lieutenants and sergeants.\n\nAfter the minor rite, Maginot said Bishop Melczek gave him permission to exorcise Ammons. The ritual is the same as the minor exorcism but more powerful because it has the backing of the Catholic Church, Maginot said.\n\nMaginot ultimately performed three major exorcisms on Ammons – two in English, and the last one in Latin – in June 2012 at his Merrillville church.\n\nDuring each, Maginot said, he praised God and condemned the devil.\n\nHe pressed a crucifix against Ammons' head as he spoke.\n\nI cast you out, unclean spirit,\n\nalong with every Satanic power of the enemy,\n\nevery spectre from hell,\n\nand all your fell companions;\n\nin the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nMaginot said his voice continued to get louder and more forceful until the demon weakened. He said he could tell how strong the demon was by how much Ammons convulsed.\n\nTwo police officers, who had kept in touch with Maginot since the home investigation, stood nearby in case Ammons needed to be restrained.\n\nAmmons said she prayed with Maginot until it became too painful.\n\nShe said she felt as if something inside her was trying to hold on and inflict pain at the same time. She said it was different from a natural pain but felt as intense as giving birth.\n\n\"I was hurting all over from the inside out,\" she remembered. \"I'm trying to do my best and be strong.\"\n\nEventually, Maginot said, Ammons fell asleep. She said that was the demon's way of lessening the ritual's effect.\n\nNo more nightmares\n\nIn between the second and third exorcisms, Maginot said he went on a retreat. A woman who assisted Maginot with some of the exorcisms helped set up a backup plan in case Ammons had problems while Maginot was gone.\n\nThe woman wrote a long demon name — Maginot said he can't remember which one it was — on a piece of paper and tucked it in an envelope, then she surrounded it with blessed salt.\n\nIf Ammons had problems, the woman would burn the envelope, Maginot said.\n\nBy this time, Ammons and her mother had moved to Indianapolis, but they drove back for the exorcisms and court hearings, as her children were still in DCS' care.\n\nMaginot said he blessed the family's new home to prevent more problems.\n\nBut Ammons called while Maginot was on his retreat, complaining of bad dreams, so the woman burned the envelope. She saved the ashes to burn later in a church bonfire.\n\nAfter that, Ammons said, her nightmares ended.\n\nReunited: 'I hadn't been that happy in God knows how long'\n\nIn the final exorcism at the end of June 2012, Maginot said he prayed and berated the demons in Latin, rather than English.\n\nPolice officers did not attend, so Maginot said his brother stood guard. Maginot said Ammons convulsed while he condemned the demons but did not convulse during prayer.\n\nWhen she fell asleep, he said words of thanksgiving.\n\nIt would be the last time Ammons saw Maginot. She and her mother drove back to Indianapolis, where they say they now live without fear.\n\nAmmons' old home on Carolina Street became an object of local curiosity — so much so that the owner and landlord, Charles Reed, called the Gary Police Department to ask officers to stop driving by the house because it was scaring his new tenant.\n\nHe said there were no problems in the home before or after Ammons and her family lived there.\n\n\"I thought I heard it all,\" said Reed, who's been a landlord for 33 years. \"This was a new one to me. My belief system has a hard time jumping over that bridge.\"\n\nWhen told of the Catholic Church's involvement in the situation, however, Reed said that made him \"less skeptical.\"\n\nAmmons regained custody of her three children in November 2012, about six months after they'd been removed. DCS continued to check in on the children and make sure they were going to school until the case was closed last February.\n\nAmmons called her children's return the happiest day of her life.\n\nShe said they screamed and jumped up and down when she picked them up from the DCS office in Gary.\n\n\"It was just awesome,\" Ammons said. \"I hadn't been that happy in God knows how long.\"\n\nThe children said they felt safe after they left the house on Carolina Street, the family said. The three left their demonic voices and complaints behind them.\n\n\"No demonic presences or spirits in the home,\" DCS family case manager Christina Olejnik wrote in team meeting notes dated Jan. 10, 2013. She did not return calls from The Star seeking comment.\n\n\"The family is no longer fixated solely on religion to explain or cope with the children's behavior issues,\" Olejnik and her supervisor wrote in a request for dismissal of wardship dated Jan. 24, 2013.\n\nFor her part, Ammons said it was not the psychologists who resolved her problems but God.\n\n\"When you hear something like this,\" she said, \"don't assume it's not real because I've lived it. I know it's real.\"\n\nCall Star reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at 317-444-6135. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyMarisaK.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2014/01/25"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/01/politics/florida-red-flag-law/index.html", "title": "Florida's red flag law, championed by Republicans, is taking guns ...", "text": "Tampa, Florida CNN —\n\nTwice a week from her courtroom, Florida 13th Circuit Court Judge Denise Pomponio decides who in Hillsborough County can no longer be trusted with a gun.\n\nIn just the last two months, she has taken away the firearm privileges of dozens of people, including a dad accused of threatening to “shoot everyone” at his son’s school, a woman who police say attempted suicide and then accidentally shot her boyfriend during a struggle for her revolver, a husband who allegedly fired multiple rounds in the street to “blow off steam” after losing a family member, a bullied 13-year-old witnesses overheard saying, “If all of 8th grade is missing tomorrow you will know why,” and a mother arrested for brandishing a handgun at another mom after a school bus incident between their daughters.\n\nThis is Florida’s “red flag” law in action. Passed in the wake of the horrific 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland high school, the state law provides police a path to ask a judge to temporarily bar dangerous individuals from possessing or purchasing a firearm. Since its creation, Florida judges have acted more than 8,000 times to keep guns out of the hands of people authorities deemed a risk to themselves or others, according to data maintained by the Office of the State Courts Administrator.\n\nOn Tuesday, Pomponio added another one to the list: A man accused of pointing two guns at his stepfather.\n\n“He was enjoying the whole thing,” the stepfather told the courtroom. His stepson’s wife even filmed the encounter, he said. “He said he wanted to eff me up.” One of the guns was later found in the bed of the stepson’s 11-year-old brother, a sheriff’s deputy told the courtroom.\n\nIn the aftermath of recent massacres in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, those looking to change the country’s gun laws see in Florida a blueprint to move forward – not only because leaders moved to restrict firearms, but because it emerged out of a Republican stronghold unofficially known as the “Gunshine State.”\n\n“The Florida law is a good law, and it’s a signal of what’s possible,” Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, one of the most vocal advocates in Congress for gun control, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”\n\nIn Florida, a red flag policy, also known as risk protection orders, was one piece of a sprawling gun reform package that then-Gov. Rick Scott signed into law just three weeks after a teenage gunman killed 17 people inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It included $400 million in new spending for priorities like school security and mental health resources, and allowed trained school staff to carry firearms for the first time. Republican lawmakers also agreed to raise the age to own a gun to 21 and implemented a three-day waiting period to purchase most rifles.\n\n“I knew the time for thoughts and prayers, although necessary, was not enough,” said Bill Galvano, a Republican and the former state senator who sponsored the legislation.\n\nGalvano told CNN he began drafting the bill at his kitchen table after a tour of the carnage in Parkland. He incorporated ideas he had picked up from interviewing teachers and staff at the school. He was intent on including some gun safety reforms and focused on what he thought could pass. He was still learning how red flag laws worked when it was added to the draft.\n\nLooking at the data on the people who had guns taken away in Florida, Galvano says, “You have to believe that makes a difference.”\n\nResearch suggests red flags have made a difference where they’ve been implemented. One analysis of Connecticut’s red flag law, in place since 1999, found that for every 10 to 20 guns removed by a risk protection order led to one averted suicide. Another study found intimate partner homicides dropped in states where authorities can prohibit people convicted of “nonspecific violent misdemeanors” from possessing firearms.\n\nThe National Rifle Association and its Florida lobbyist, Marion Hammer, fiercely opposed the 2018 gun safety legislation. The organization’s influential scorecards loomed over the head of most Republican lawmakers. Hammer, a towering figure in Florida politics for decades, called GOP supporters “turncoat Republicans” and the organization urged its members to pressure lawmakers into abandoning the legislation. Galvano acknowledged that some of his colleagues were concerned the NRA would mount primary challenges against them in the coming elections.\n\nFormer state Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas, recounted the headwinds they faced with Republicans in power and the NRA throwing arounds its weight.\n\n“Yet, we rolled the NRA,” Moskowitz said, adding: “Not one Republican who voted for that bill in Florida has paid a political price for protecting kids and doing the right thing.”\n\nThe NRA responded by docking the scorecards of anyone who voted for the bill, and it knocked Scott from an A+ to a C. The organization also filed a lawsuit against the state over the new legislation. The case remains in court under appeal.\n\nHammer did not respond to an email for comment.\n\nStill, the law has survived as the legislature has grown more conservative and through the first term of Gov. Ron DeSantis. As a candidate in 2018, DeSantis said he opposed the gun restrictions in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act, telling one Florida newspaper he would have vetoed it.\n\nDeSantis has not publicly commented on the shooting in Uvalde and his office did not respond when asked if the governor supports Florida’s red flag law. He recently promised Florida would join other states that no longer require training or a permit to carry a firearm in public, like Texas.\n\nRepublicans lukewarm\n\nSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell previously told CNN he has encouraged Texas Sen. John Cornyn to work with Murphy on a middle-ground solution in response to the massacre inside the Uvalde elementary school.\n\nHowever, support for adopting risk protection orders like Florida’s appeared tepid as senators headed into the Memorial Day recess.\n\nEven Scott, who once called Florida’s response to the Parkland massacre “an example to the entire country that government can and must move fast,” now seems uncertain about a national risk protection policy. Scott, elected in 2018 to the US Senate, told The Washington Post: “It ought to be done at the state level.”\n\nMeanwhile, opponents of red flag laws have grown increasingly vocal as gun reform advocates hone in on the proposal.\n\n“What you’re essentially trying to do with the red flag law is enforce the law before the law has been broken. And it’s a really difficult thing to do, it’s difficult to assess whether somebody is a threat,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas. “Now if they are such a threat that they’re threatening somebody with a weapon already, well, then they’ve already broken the law. So why do you need this other law?”\n\nIn an interview with CNN, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd defended Florida’s red flag law against Crenshaw’s characterization. Polk is a conservative county between Tampa and Orlando that former President Donald Trump won in 2020 by 14 points, and it is also the county that has issued more risk protection orders than any other in the state.\n\n“Let me tell Rep. Crenshaw, if that were so, then Florida, which is dominated by conservatives, the Republicans wouldn’t have passed (risk protection orders),” Judd said.\n\nJudd – who simultaneously describes himself as a law-and-order sheriff and a “Second Amendment guy” – defined a risk protection order as a “cooling off period” for people who have displayed dangerous behaviors. Some are experiencing a mental health episode or expressed a desire to hurt themselves. Others have made threats that may not rise to an arrest, or they are charged with a crime that won’t result in a loss of gun charges. The risk protection orders, he said, allows law enforcement to focus on prevention instead of reacting to an active shooter when “it’s too late.”\n\nIn a Polk courtroom last week, a young woman described her boyfriend putting a loaded gun to his head in front of her and his mother. In another case, a prosecutor told the judge that a woman named Carol “threatened to burn down her house and shoot any responders that would get there.” In both instances, the judge took away their ability to have a firearm.\n\nDavid Carmichael, an attorney who represents local police departments in Polk County in these cases, says in his experience, about half of the people facing risk protection orders willingly give up their right to a weapon without having to go through a hearing.\n\n“They don’t have an objection,” he said. “They say, ‘I’m in a bad place. I fully understand it’s a good idea.’ I expected more people to aggressively defend themselves.”\n\nRisk protection orders\n\nIn Florida, orders last for one year, and can be extended for another 12 months. At the time of the shooting in Uvalde, there were 2,845 people under risk protection orders in Florida, according to the state Department of Law Enforcement.\n\nJudges may require someone to undergo a mental health or substance abuse treatment before the order is lifted. However, unless convicted of a felony, most people are likely to get their firearms returned after a year.\n\nTampa city attorney Michael Schmid described an individual under the influence of a drug who was acting strange in public and making people uncomfortable. Police confronted him and found guns in every part of his car. They later searched his home and found an arsenal of 100 guns “if not more,” Schmid said, with some hidden in stuffed animals and a cat scratch post. A sign in the house said, “If they ever come in my house, I’m not going easy.”\n\n“I hope he accomplished something during the cooling off period and having him evaluated helped,” Schmid said. “But at the end of the day, he will get his guns back.”\n\nAs it is, some activists don’t see red flag laws as going far enough to curb gun violence. Many Democrats unsuccessfully pushed for the 2018 legislation to include a ban on the AR-15, the weapon used in the vast majority of mass shootings, and other semiautomatic long guns.\n\nIn a news conference with Florida Democrats in response to the Uvalde tragedy, state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando noted some states allow loved ones and family members to petition the courts for a risk protection order. Those are the people “who know the person best,” he said. Florida limits petitions to law enforcement.\n\n“That’s why it’s important in Florida that we expand on the good move we made in enacting the red flag law in the first place, to make sure we can continue to prevent these instances of gun violence,” Smith said.\n\nMoskowitz, now running to represent Parkland in the US House of Representatives, said moving the ball 20 yards is still a victory. “And you come back and you move the ball another 20 yards.”\n\nGalvano said Florida was able to act because the legislation “had aspects that both parties wanted and liked and aspects that both parties did not support.”\n\n“Look at the politics and understand we are a conservative state,” Galvano said. “We’re red by all accounts. And we were still able to make some reforms that were not traditional.”\n\n‘It doesn’t have to be highly effective to have an effect’\n\nTony Montalto’s daughter Gina was killed inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. Within days of the massacre, he and other Parkland parents became a unified force in pressuring Florida lawmakers to take meaningful action.\n\nMontalto, as president of Stand with Parkland, has spent the last four years urging more states to follow Florida’s lead in hopes no parents would have to experience his pain. There are 19 states plus the District of Columbia with red flag laws, and 14 were passed after Parkland.\n\nIt’s a legacy that makes Montalto proud, but makes it all the more difficult to watch a similar tragedy unfold in Texas.\n\n“They would’ve been a lot safer had they taken advantage of simple things, such as red flags that we passed in Florida. This is simple stuff that keeps the majority of people safe,” Montalto said. “We heard extremists say this was a gun grab and all these bad things would happen. But the sky has not fallen. People still own guns. People still hunt. People still protect themselves. And yet, thousands of people in Florida have had their guns taken away to protect the majority of people.”\n\n“We had President Trump support red flag laws. We’ve seen President Biden support red flag laws. How come Congress has not acted?”\n\nShannon Frattaroli, a professor in the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, is reviewing risk protection cases in six states, including Florida. Her research has found hundreds of examples of police using red flag laws to remove weapons from people who have threatened mass violence.\n\n“If even 1% of the orders that are issued in response to a threat of mass violence makes a difference, that’s pretty powerful,” Frattaroli said. “It doesn’t have to be highly effective to have an effect.”", "authors": ["Steve Contorno Leyla Santiago Denise Royal", "Steve Contorno", "Leyla Santiago", "Denise Royal"], "publish_date": "2022/06/01"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/01/politics/senate-race-rankings-may-elections/index.html", "title": "The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2022 | CNN Politics", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe month of May brought the first Senate primaries of the year. Ohio voted first, followed by a near weekly stream of contests that are shaping the midterm campaign for control of the chamber. At the close of the month, the general election matchups in almost half of this year’s most competitive races are nearly set, with the exception of Pennsylvania, where the Republican primary has gone to a recount.\n\nRepublicans only need a net gain of one seat this fall to win the Senate, and much of the intrigue about primaries has so far been on the GOP side. Former President Donald Trump endorsed in all four Senate contests that were on the ballot in May that are expected to be competitive in the fall – Ohio, where his chosen candidate won on May 3; North Carolina, where his chosen candidate won on May 17; Georgia, where his chosen candidate won on May 24, and in Pennsylvania, where his chosen candidate leads by roughly 900 votes. Those primaries cemented his hold on the party because of the way so many GOP candidates, even those without his endorsement, tried to appeal to him – in some cases, twisting themselves into almost unrecognizable versions of their former selves.\n\nTrump’s support played differently in each state. In Ohio, it helped “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance win the primary, likely blunting the biggest attack attack on him – the candidate’s past criticism of Trump.\n\nThe former President’s backing of Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania did not have as clear of an immediate impact, especially considering voters might have already associated the two celebrity Republicans together. Near the end of the race, the millions of dollars spent attacking Oz and former hedge fund executive David McCormick seemed to open a lane for conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, but she’s in a distant third place behind Oz and McCormick.\n\nTrump weighed in on the North Carolina primary nearly a year ago, but his backing of US Rep. Ted Budd didn’t clear the GOP field immediately. In Georgia, however, his commitment to Herschel Walker likely kept other top-name Republicans out of the race, leaving the former NFL star gliding to the GOP nomination.\n\nDemocrats argue that messy and expensive GOP primaries will leave Republican nominees bruised heading into the general election. (Democrats also had a crowded primary in Pennsylvania, but it didn’t attract anywhere near the level of spending or vitriol as the GOP contest.)\n\nAfter watching Republican candidates run to the right to try to win their party nods, Democrats are hoping to make general election matchups a contrast in candidates. But that gets harder to do if the national environment continues to work against the party. President Joe Biden’s approval rating was at 41%, with 59% disapproving, according to a CNN poll, conducted by SSRS from April 28-May 1. Democrats know Republicans will tie them to him, which is one reason why a number of them broke with the White House on lifting Title 42, a Trump-era public health authority that allows border authorities to turn migrants back to Mexico or their home countries.\n\nSenate contests are increasingly becoming nationalized affairs, so while candidate quality does matter (see No. 10 on this list), Democrats face a tough challenge in holding their razor-thin Senate majority, regardless of which Republicans they’re facing.\n\nCNN’s ranking of the Senate seats most likely to flip saw a few changes in May, all in Republicans’ favor. But the states that held May primaries remain in the same positions for now, with uncertainty still reigning in Pennsylvania. The ranking, which will be updated in June, is based on CNN’s reporting and fundraising and advertising data, as well as historical data about how states and candidates have performed.\n\n1. Pennsylvania\n\nIncumbent: Republican Pat Toomey (retiring)\n\nSarah Silbiger/Pool/Getty Images\n\nPennsylvania – a state Biden won in 2020 – has long been the seat most likely to flip, but the May 17 GOP primary hasn’t yet given us an answer to what the general election matchup to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey will look like in November. Celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz, who has Trump’s backing, and former hedge fund executive David McCormick finished in a near tie – with a margin close enough to trigger the state’s automatic recount process.\n\nCounties need to finish recounting – which they must do using a different device than the one used in the initial tabulation – by noon on June 7 and submit their results by noon on June 8. CNN has not made a projection in the race.\n\nThe winner will face Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who easily won the Democratic nomination on May 17.\n\nOz has declared himself the “presumptive” nominee, following the lead of Trump, who urged him to declare victory while counting was still underway. While Oz had tried to capitalize on the former President’s support after receiving his endorsement in early April, McCormick and his allies argued that McCormick is the real conservative. “I like Trump … but not his Senate pick,” voters said in one McCormick ad ahead of the primary.\n\nPolitical commentator Kathy Barnette emerged as a late electoral threat to both men, with the political arm of the Club for Growth announcing a nearly $2 million investment to boost her candidacy, as well as the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List and CatholicVote backing her. That late surge wasn’t enough, though. Barnette trailing Oz and McCormick.\n\nThe lingering question in the Keystone State is whether Trump’s backing of Oz will have made a difference if he holds on to his narrow lead after the recount – and what that means for the general election. Oz’s negatives were notably high compared with his opponents in a Fox poll ahead of the primary. Forty-six percent had an unfavorable view of Oz, while 27% and 12% had unfavorable views of McCormick and Barnette, respectively.\n\nFetterman already debuted a general election message in one of his ads ahead of the primary, in which he vowed to “take on Washington,” coming across as a progressive trying to run as a populist outsider. His primary opponents had trained their attacks on him in debates, especially over a 2013 incident in which he brought along his shotgun to confront someone who later turned out to be an unarmed Black jogger. And the primary had been rocked in the final days by news that Fetterman had suffered a stroke, leaving him in the hospital on election night.\n\nThe former Braddock mayor finished with about 59% of the vote to 26% for US Rep. Conor Lamb, who’s also from western Pennsylvania, but ran as more of a moderate and highlighted his success defeating “Trump Republicans” in his Pittsburgh-area House seat.\n\n2. Georgia\n\nIncumbent: Democrat Raphael Warnock\n\nMegan Varner/Getty Images\n\nDespite enduring attacks from GOP opponents, former NFL player Herschel Walker, who has the backing of both Trump and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, easily won the GOP nomination to take on Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.\n\nHaving won a special election runoff in January 2021, Warnock is now seeking a full six-year term. He raised an astounding $13.6 million in the first three months of the year, which follows impressive earlier quarterly hauls, and is running direct-to-camera ads on issues with bipartisan appeal such as jobs, infrastructure and health care. Meanwhile, Democrats hope that Warnock and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will generate the base turnout they desperately need in a midterm year.\n\nBut Warnock is in serious jeopardy, even against a wildcard candidate like Walker, who faces a myriad of questions about his business background and allegations of threats he made against women. Much of the GOP establishment viewed Walker as a liability at the beginning of the cycle but have, publicly at least, come around, while his team has worked to keep him relatively on script. Democrats’ road to Senate control ran through Georgia last cycle, but it’s still challenging political terrain for them, especially in a midterm year with an unpopular Democratic President.\n\nOne unknown wrinkle, however, is how the loss of Trump’s endorsed candidates for other statewide offices in the Peach State’s GOP primaries could shape turnout in the fall. Georgia proved that Republican voters, even committed Trump supporters, won’t necessarily follow his lead at the ballot box. They chose to stick with GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, for example, despite the former President railing against him for refusing to help him overturn the 2020 election. But some GOP strategists are still afraid of a repeat of the January 2021 Senate runoffs, when Trump’s outspoken criticism of the election system may have kept some of his voters home, allowing Democrats to pick up both of the state’s Senate seats.\n\n3. Nevada\n\nIncumbent: Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto\n\nCNN\n\nThe Silver State moved up two slots in May’s ranking. Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto faces a tough race in a transient state that Biden won by 2 points in 2020. The President’s approval rating has sunk since then, and Nevada has some of the highest gas prices in the nation, which could play into the GOP messaging that’s trying to pin steep daily living costs on the party in power. Even if Cortez Masto manages to differentiate herself from generic Democrats, that effort could be overtaken by a bad national environment, especially if Republicans are able to make more inroads with Latino voters. It doesn’t help that the state Democratic Party is fractured.\n\nCortez Masto, the former chair of Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, outraised likely GOP nominee Adam Laxalt in the first quarter of the year – $4.4 million to $1.6 million. But money isn’t expected to be an issue for Laxalt, a former state attorney general – he succeeded Cortez Masto in that role – and grandson of a former senator and governor, who will benefit from GOP outside spending. Democrats argue that Laxalt, who co-chaired Trump’s 2020 campaign in the state, has gone too far down the election conspiracy road and that his anti-abortion positions will alienate voters. But that may not matter as much if voters decide it’s time for a change in Washington.\n\nLaxalt first faces a primary on June 14. Club for Growth Action, which is backing him, is on the air attacking Army veteran Sam Brown, who’s proven to be a competitive fundraiser. Laxalt is touting Trump’s backing in his own recent spot.\n\n4. Arizona\n\nIncumbent: Democrat Mark Kelly\n\nCourtney Pedroza/Getty Images\n\nHolding steady in fourth position is Arizona, where Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is running for a full six-year term after winning a special election in 2020. He’s one of the best-positioned Democratic incumbents when it comes to his personal story and campaign coffers. But the former astronaut has a voting record now and is running in a purple border state that only narrowly backed Biden. Kelly is trying to stake out differences from the White House – such as his opposition to lifting Title 42. But regardless of any real separation between him and Biden, messaging those nuances is an arguably tougher job than it is for Republicans to blanketly tie him to an unpopular President.\n\nLuckily for Kelly, the messy Republican primary field won’t be sorted until August. So while he’s facing attacks from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he doesn’t yet have a well-defined opponent. Trump has teased that an endorsement is coming. It’s unlikely to be for state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who’s been a target of the former President’s wrath for not doing more to investigate the 2020 election. Venture capitalist Blake Masters is backed by Peter Thiel, who was also behind Trump’s chosen candidate in Ohio. But Masters also has the endorsement of the Club for Growth, which may not sit well with Trump given his differences with the group over the Ohio Senate primary.\n\n5. Wisconsin\n\nIncumbent: Republican Ron Johnson\n\nLeigh VogelPool/Getty Images\n\nGOP Sen. Ron Johnson finally stepped up his fundraising – he brought in about $6 million in the first three months of the year after announcing in January that he was breaking his pledge to only serve two terms. He’s been running positive spots, featuring families who say their terminally ill loved ones benefited from Johnson’s support for so-called Right to Try legislation.\n\nThat’s not why Wisconsin slides down two spots on this list. The senator remains unpopular – 36% of registered voters viewed Johnson favorably while 46% viewed him unfavorably, according to a Marquette University Law School poll released Wednesday. (In February, the same poll found him underwater by a slightly worse 12 points.) Half of voters in the April Marquette survey said the phrase “cares about people like me” did not describe Johnson. That explains why Democrats continue to believe this seat is a better pickup opportunity with Johnson running than had it been an open seat.\n\nBut Biden is also unpopular in Wisconsin. After winning the state with about 49% in 2020, his approval rating has hovered at about 43%, with some 53% disapproving, since last fall. The winner of the Democratic primary in August will likely be tied to Biden, especially with inflation emerging as a top concern, according to the Marquette poll, and worries over the coronavirus (about which Johnson has said plenty of controversial things) reaching a new low.\n\nThe Democratic field is still uncertain. Support for Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who has been seen as the front-runner, declined slightly among likely primary voters in the Marquette poll, while support for Milwaukee Bucks basketball team executive Alex Lasry ticked up. State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson remained in the single digits. Nearly half of those likely primary voters, however, said they hadn’t picked a candidate. Lasry and Godlewski are pouring their own resources into the race to go up on TV. Barnes, who raised $1.7 million in the first quarter of the year, went up with his first TV ad in mid-May. But none of the candidates has emerged as a fundraising powerhouse the way other Democrats challenging unpopular Republicans (think Sens. Ted Cruz or Lindsey Graham) have in cycles past.\n\n6. New Hampshire\n\nIncumbent: Democrat Maggie Hassan\n\nErin Scott/Getty Images\n\nNew Hampshire remains at No. 6 as the Republican field – upended late last year by Gov. Chris Sununu’s decision not to seek the nomination – develops. Republicans looking to challenge Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan include state Senate President Chuck Morse, former Londonderry town manager Kevin Smith and retired Army Brig. Gen. Don Bolduc, who unsuccessfully sought the nomination for the state’s other Senate seat in 2020. And other Republicans have been throwing their hats in the ring ahead of New Hampshire’s late primary in September.\n\nHassan, a former two-term governor, is seeking a second Senate term in a state that, on paper, should be more favorable to Democrats than any other state on this list. Biden carried New Hampshire by 7 points in 2020. An unfavorable national environment, however, could hurt her reelection chances, even without an opponent of Sununu’s caliber. Hassan has come out against the Biden administration’s plan to lift Title 42, making her own trip to the border last month that angered several Latino leaders back home.\n\n7. North Carolina\n\nIncumbent: Republican Richard Burr (retiring)\n\nDemetrius Freeman/Pool/Getty Images\n\nOne of Trump’s earliest Senate primary endorsements – for US Rep. Ted Budd last June – resulted in victory here on May 17, with Budd easily dispatching former Gov. Pat McCrory and former US Rep. Mark Walker for the GOP nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Richard Burr.\n\nThe Trump endorsement didn’t clear the field for Budd, but heavy spending from the conservative Club for Growth Action helped boost him. One spot ahead of the primary featured Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson praising Budd and knocking McCrory. “Pat’s a nice guy, but he’s no conservative,” Robinson says, admitting that he’d voted for McCrory in the past “but not this time.” McCrory and his allies touted his record on immigration and argued that Budd is “weak” on a host of issues.\n\nOn the Democratic side, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, who won 81% of the vote in the primary, had essentially already cleared the primary field and pivoted to the general election. “Looking at Washington, I think both parties are doing the job wrong,” she said in an ad ahead of the primary. Beasley had outraised all the Republicans in the first quarter of this year, but money won’t be enough in a state Trump won twice, especially in a midterm year, when Democratic turnout has often waned. Senate Leadership Fund, the GOP super PAC aligned with McConnell, made ad reservations in the state ahead of the primary to help the GOP nominee. The Democratic equivalent, Senate Majority PAC, announced an ad buy defending Beasley after the primary, despite leaving North Carolina off its list of initial reservations earlier this spring.\n\n8. Florida\n\nIncumbent: Republican Marco Rubio\n\nDREW ANGERER/AFP/POOL/Getty Images\n\nDemocratic Rep. Val Demings, a former Orlando police chief with a compelling story, continues to outraise Republican incumbent Marco Rubio, bringing in more than $10 million during the first three months of the year to Rubio’s $5.8 million. Her campaign recently announced a Hispanic outreach effort and a $3 million investment in a state bilingual coordinated campaign.\n\nBut while money is important in this expensive state, it won’t be enough to flip the seat. And none of the major outside groups have made ad reservations here, signaling that they view the race as less competitive. Demings already started at a disadvantage in a state where Trump expanded on his victory margin in 2020 from four years earlier, but her job would be even harder if the national mood continues to sour on Democrats this fall. She and Rubio have traded barbs on gas prices and immigration. Rubio’s campaign has tried to tie Demings to Biden’s decision to rescind Title 42. Demings’ team recently said she does not support lifting the measure “until there is a plan to put more boots on the ground and support our law enforcement officers at the border.”\n\n9. Ohio\n\nIncumbent: Republican Rob Portman (retiring)\n\nTING SHEN/AFP/POOL/Getty Images\n\nThe first major test of Trump’s endorsement in a Senate primary this year was a success for the former President. “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance, who received Trump’s backing in mid-April, won the nomination on May 3 with about 32% of the vote, finishing ahead of former state treasurer Josh Mandel (24%) and state Sen. Matt Dolan (23%).\n\nVance’s public criticism of Trump from 2016 had been a treasure trove for his primary opponents and their ad-makers. The former President, though, was willing to look past that. And it paid off for Vance, who saw his support double in a Fox poll ahead of the primary. It was a topsy-turvy race, but it’s likely that Vance landed on top at just the right moment for it to matter.\n\nStill, missing out on Trump’s endorsement didn’t stop the jockeying among some other candidates (and their allies) to tie themselves most closely to him. Club for Growth Action, for example, which had backed Mandel and is in an open spat with Trump, ran more clips of Vance’s past criticism of Trump. Another Club ad featured people, some of whom said “they love Trump,” questioning the former President’s judgment on endorsements past and present.\n\nOnly Dolan ran truly outside the Trump election conspiracy lane in the GOP primary. Interestingly, his stock had risen in polling right before the election, presaging his third-place finish ahead of candidates who had tried to tie themselves more closely to Trump, including former state party chair Jane Timken, who had the backing of retiring Sen. Rob Portman, and businessman Mike Gibbons.\n\nDemocratic Rep. Tim Ryan easily won his party’s nomination but starts at a disadvantage in this reddening state.\n\n10. Missouri\n\nIncumbent: Republican Roy Blunt (retiring)\n\nSaul Loeb/Pool/Getty Images\n\nIt’s still all about Eric Greitens in Missouri – does the former governor, who resigned in disgrace in 2018, stay in the Republican race? Does he score Trump’s endorsement? And does he win the GOP nod in August? Those are the series of questions that will determine whether Missouri – a red state that shouldn’t otherwise be competitive – remains on this list.\n\nConcerns about Greitens deepened in March after court documents revealed that his former wife had alleged he was physically abusive toward her and his children, which he denies. Greitens is no stranger to controversy, having resigned as governor amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Many of his primary opponents have called on him to drop out. Anxious Republicans would like to see their primary field thin, fearing that such a crowded pool of candidates could end up splitting the anti-Greitens vote and handing him a victory.\n\nSome Democrats smell opportunity. Trudy Busch Valentine, a nurse and Anheuser-Busch beer heiress, jumped into the race this spring. She hasn’t said how much she’ll invest in her campaign, but should this race become competitive, Democrats may benefit from having a candidate with her own money to spend. But Valentine first has a primary to win – while one Democrat dropped out of the race and endorsed her, the top fundraiser, Marine veteran Lucas Kunce, doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere.\n\nThis story has been updated with additional details in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.", "authors": ["Simone Pathe"], "publish_date": "2022/05/01"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/us/idaho-student-killings-timeline/index.html", "title": "A timeline of the killings of four University of Idaho students", "text": "CNN —\n\nA suspect was taken into custody in connection with the investigation into the killing of four University of Idaho students in November in an off-campus home in Moscow, two federal law enforcement sources confirmed to CNN on Friday.\n\nDuring a news conference on Friday, Moscow Police Chief James Fry confirmed the arrest of 28-year-old Bryan Kohberger in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, on a warrant for the murders of the four students.\n\nHe said the suspect resides in Pullman, Washington, and is a graduate student.\n\nThe name of the suspect was confirmed to CNN earlier on Friday by a federal law enforcement source as well as a court source in Pennsylvania, where records show Kohberger was arrested and arraigned Friday morning. The arraignment was in Monroe County, in the Pocono Mountains, a state official said.\n\nPolice have been tight-lipped over the course of nearly seven weeks since the killings, which prompted investigations by the FBI, state police and Moscow police.\n\nFry acknowledged frustrations from the victims’ family members and Idaho residents who were anxious for more updates during the course of the investigation.\n\n“This was a complex and extensive case. We developed a clear picture over time …and be assured that the work was not, the work is not done,” Fry said.\n\nAuthorities have provided some information on the killings during the course of the investigation, and a preliminary timeline reveals how those killed spent some of their final hours, as well as the investigative response.\n\nSaturday, November 12\n\nKaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were students at the University of Idaho who lived at a nearby off-campus residence in Moscow, a college town of about 25,000 people.\n\nThey had two other roommates in the three-floor, six-bedroom apartment.\n\nGoncalves posted a series of photos on her Instagram at some point with the caption, “one lucky girl to be surrounded by these ppl everyday.” One of the photos shows Mogen sitting on Goncalves’ shoulders, with Chapin and Kernodle standing next to them.\n\nClockwise from bottom left: Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle From Kaylee Goncalves/Instagram\n\nThat night, Chapin and Kernodle went to a party on campus, and Mogen and Goncalves went to a downtown bar, police said.\n\nSunday, November 13\n\nMogen and Goncalves ordered at a late-night food truck at about 1:41 a.m., the food truck’s live Twitch stream shows.\n\nThey ordered $10 worth of carbonara from the Grub Truckers and waited for about 10 minutes for their food. As they waited, they could be seen chatting with each other and with other people standing by the truck.\n\nThe two students did not seem to be in distress or in danger in any way, said Joseph Woodall, 26, who manages the truck.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Video shows two University of Idaho victims at food truck on night of killings 01:00 - Source: CNN\n\nChapin and Kernodle are believed to have returned home around 1:45 a.m., and Goncalves and Mogen used a private party for a ride home at about 1:56 a.m., according to police.\n\nOne of the surviving roommates, identified in court paperwork as “D.M.,” told investigators she “heard crying” in the house the morning of the murders and heard a voice say “it’s ok, I’m going to help you.”\n\nShe then saw a “figure clad in black clothing and a mask that covered the person’s mouth and nose walking towards her,” the affidavit said.\n\n“D.M. described the figure as 5’10” or taller, male, not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows. The male walked past D.M. as she stood in a ‘frozen shock phase,’” court documents reveal.\n\n“The male walked towards the back sliding glass door. D.M. locked herself in her room after seeing the male,” the document says, adding the roommate did not recognize the male.\n\nStatements by “the surviving witness and other evidence leads investigators to believe the homicides occurred between 4:00 a.m. and 4:25 a.m.,” according to court documents.\n\nThe two roommates at the home who were not injured woke up later in the morning and summoned friends to the home because they believed one of the victims had passed out and was not waking up. A call to 911 was made just before noon about an unconscious person at the residence, police said.\n\nArriving officers found the door to the residence open and discovered the bodies of four fatally stabbed students.\n\n“It was a pretty traumatic scene to find four dead college students in a residence,” Latah County Coroner Cathy Mabbutt later told CNN affiliate KXLY.\n\nThere was no sign of forced entry or damage, police said.\n\nOfficers investigate a homicide at an apartment complex south of the University of Idaho campus on November 13. Zach Wilkinson/The Moscow-Pullman Daily News/AP\n\nPhone records indicate Kohberger’s phone was near the quadruple murder scene between 9:12 a.m. and 9:21 a.m. – hours after Kohberger allegedly killed the university students, court documents say.\n\nMoscow Police issued a statement saying four people were found dead in a home off campus. University of Idaho President Scott Green announced the four victims were students and canceled classes Monday.\n\nMonday, November 14\n\nMoscow Police issued a statement identifying the four homicide victims as Chapin, Goncalves, Kernodle and Mogen.\n\nPolice said details were limited and no one was in custody. They added Moscow police did “not believe there is an ongoing community risk based on information gathered during the preliminary investigation.”\n\nMoscow Mayor Art Bettge released a statement calling the deaths “senseless acts of violence.” Bettge said only limited information could be shared without “jeopardizing the integrity of the investigation.”\n\nGreen issued a statement offering condolences to the victims’ families and the community.\n\n“Moscow police do not believe there is an ongoing community risk based on information gathered during the preliminary investigation, however, we ask our employees to be empathetic, flexible and to work with our students who desire to return home to spend time with their families,” he said.\n\nTuesday, November 15\n\nMoscow Police issued a statement saying an “edged weapon such as a knife” was used in the killings. No suspects were in custody and no murder weapon had been found, police said.\n\n“Also, based on information from the preliminary investigation, investigators believe this was an isolated, targeted attack and there is no imminent threat to the community at large,” police said.\n\nLater in the day, police released another statement, attempting to calm fears of a killer on the loose.\n\n“We hear you, and we understand your fears,” police said. “We determined early in the investigation that we do not believe there is an ongoing threat for community members. Evidence indicates that this was a targeted attack.”\n\nWednesday, November 16\n\nMoscow Police Department Chief James Fry speaks November 16 during a news conference in Moscow, Idaho. City of Moscow\n\nPolice Chief Fry held a news conference – the department’s first in the case – and reiterated there was no suspect. He also backtracked on the assurances of no one at risk.\n\n“We cannot say there’s no threat to the community,” Fry said. “And as we have stated, please stay vigilant, report any suspicious activity and be aware of your surroundings at all times.”\n\nTwo other roommates were home at the time of the attack and were not injured, Fry said.\n\n“There was other people home at that time, but we’re not just focusing just on them, we’re focusing on everybody that may be coming and going from that residence,” he said.\n\nFriday, November 18\n\nFive days after the murders, Kohberger received a new license plate for his white Hyundai Elantra, court documents citing licensing documents Washington State licensing records reveal.\n\nThe Washington State Department of licensing provided CNN a redacted copy of a vehicle record which included a license plate number matching what is described as the new license plate in the court documents.\n\nDetectives by then had conducted 38 interviews with people “who may have information” about the killings and had taken the contents of three dumpsters near the house in case they held evidence, they said.\n\nInvestigators also asked local businesses if there had been any recent purchases of a “fixed-blade knife,” according to the police update.\n\nInvestigators released a map depicting the movements of four University of Idaho students the night they were murdered. Moscow Police Department\n\nHoping for tips from the community, investigators released a map and timeline of the victims’ movements. The map shows the four students spent most of the night separated in pairs.\n\nThe victims were “likely asleep” before they were attacked, police said.\n\n“Most definitely someone somewhere has a tidbit of information that will help break this case open and we believe the public around here will have that information for us,” Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell said.\n\nThe victims were found on the second and third floors of their home, Snell told CNN.\n\nMabbutt, the coroner, told CNN she saw “lots of blood on the wall” when she arrived at the scene. She confirmed there were multiple stab wounds on each body – likely from the same weapon – but would not disclose how many wounds nor where most were located.\n\nSaturday, November 19\n\nAuthorities spent about two hours at the crime scene as a part of the investigation.\n\n“We’re trying to expedite everything that might possibly lead to a suspect,” said Latah County prosecutor Bill Thompson, who was there.\n\n“I wish we had more answers, and they’re still asking questions,” Thompson said.\n\nSunday, November 20\n\nOne week after the bodies of the four students were discovered, authorities still had no suspect or weapon, Moscow Police Capt. Roger Lanier said.\n\nPolice had fielded 646 tips and conducted more than 90 interviews, Police Chief Fry said at a news conference.\n\nFry declined to identify who placed the 911 call from the home where the students were slain, saying only the call came from the phone of one of the surviving roommates. He wouldn’t confirm which one placed the call.\n\nThere were other “friends that had arrived at the location,” Fry said, adding the person who called 911 is not a suspect.\n\nTuesday, November 22\n\nMoscow Police said they have looked extensively into information suggesting Goncalves had a stalker, but they have not been able to verify or identify one.\n\nFriday, November 29\n\nA Washington State University officer located a 2015 white Hyundai Elantra registered to Kohberger in an apartment complex parking lot, and officials were able to zero in on Kohberger because his driver’s license information and photograph were consistent with the roommate’s description.\n\nWednesday, November 30\n\nMoscow Police release a list of people who they believe are not involved in the crime, including the two surviving roommates, a man in the Grub Truck surveillance video, the private party driver who took Goncalves and Mogen home, the man Goncalves and Mogen called numerous times the night they were killed and any person at the home when 911 was called.\n\nA series of comments from law enforcement officials added further confusion to the investigation.\n\nThompson, the Latah County prosecutor, said at least one of the victims was “undoubtedly targeted” in the attack.\n\nSoon after, Moscow Police said they spoke with Thompson and affirmed his comments were a miscommunication. “Detectives do not currently know if the residence or any occupants were specifically targeted but continue to investigate,” police said, appearing to backtrack on earlier statements.\n\nPolice then had to further clarify they believe the attack was indeed “targeted,” but investigators have not concluded if the target was the residence or its occupants.\n\nMonday, December 5\n\nRegarding Goncalves’ possibly having a stalker, police said investigators identified an incident in October in which two men were seen at a business and one man appeared to follow Goncalves inside and as she exited to her car. The man did not make contact with her.\n\nInvestigators contacted both men and learned they were trying to meet women at this business. Detectives said they believe this was an isolated incident and not a pattern of stalking and said there was no evidence to suggest the men were involved in the killings.\n\nWednesday, December 7\n\nPolice said this white Hyundai Elantra was spotted near the crime scene early morning of November 13. Moscow Police/Stock Photo\n\nInvestigators said they are interested in speaking with the occupant or occupants of a white 2011-2013 Hyundai Elantra spotted near the crime scene around the time of the killings.\n\n“Investigators believe the occupant(s) of this vehicle may have critical information to share regarding this case,” the police statement said, noting it had an unknown license plate.\n\nMoscow police began returning some of the personal belongings of the four victims to the their families, officials said.\n\n“It’s time for us to give those things back that really mean something to those families and hopefully to help with some of their healing,” Police Chief Fry said in a brief video statement.\n\n“I’m a dad, I understand the meaning behind some of those things,” Fry said. The items being removed are “no longer needed for the investigation,” the police department said.\n\nFriday, December 9\n\nMoscow police said they have received an overwhelming number of tips related to their search for a white sedan seen near the crime scene around the time of the killings.\n\nInvestigators were working through more than 6,000 tips they have received over the course of the investigation, Idaho State Police spokesperson Aaron Snell told CNN.\n\nDue to the number of tips received, calls were being directed to an FBI call center to help sort leads received, police said.\n\nMonday, December 12\n\n“We are still 100% committed to solving this crime,” Moscow Police Capt. Lanier said in a video update on the investigation.\n\n“We’re not releasing specific details because we do not want to compromise this investigation. It’s what we must do. We owe that to the families, and we owe that to the victims. We want more than just an arrest, we want a conviction,” Lanier said.\n\nLanier’s remarks came as hundreds of University of Idaho students were taking final exams the week before the fall semester ends.\n\n“Our analysts have spent hours sorting through and trying to come up with the most relevant tips first for the investigators to follow up on. They have reinterviewed some of the folks we’ve interviewed earlier in this investigation to clarify information,” Lanier said.\n\nEveryone in Moscow should be aware of their surroundings, avoid walking in dark places and walk in groups when possible, Lanier said.\n\n“This is not an indication of a specific elevated risk, but something that we should be vigilant with just in our daily lives,” he added.\n\nThursday, December 15\n\nKristi Goncalves, the mother of 21-year-old victim Kaylee Goncalves, expressed frustration over police communications on the status of the investigation into the killings in an interview aired on NBC’s “Today” show.\n\n“It’s sleepless nights. It’s feeling sick to your stomach. It’s just being left in the dark,” Goncalves said in the interview.\n\nGoncalves also recounted the day she learned something had happened to her daughter.\n\n“We’re running around for hours just not knowing what was going on, what happened,” she said. “… We found out by people calling us. And the sheriff showed up about three hours later.”\n\nGoncalves described learning about the police interest in a white Hyundai sedan seen in the area around the time of the murders not from investigators, but from reading about it in a news release sent to her by someone else.\n\n“My first thought just started being like, how long have they had this information? Where do they get this information? Was it on a camera?” Goncalves said.\n\nTuesday, December 27\n\nTrash recovered from the Kohberger family residence by Pennsylvania law enforcement and sent to the Idaho State Lab for DNA testing was used to help investigators narrow down Bryan Kohberger as the suspect in the Idaho murders, according to court documents released on January 5.\n\nThe next day “the Idaho State Lab reported that a DNA profile obtained from the trash” matched a tan leather knife sheath found “laying on the bed” of one of the victims, according to the documents.\n\n“On December 28, 2022, the Idaho State Lab reported that a DNA profile obtained from the trash and the DNA profile obtained from the sheath, identified a male as not being excluded as the biological father of Suspect Profile,” the document says.\n\n“At least 99.9998% of the male population would be expected to be excluded from the possibility of being the suspect’s biological father.”\n\nThursday, December 29\n\nPolice said they have received about 20,000 tips through more than 9,025 emails, 4,575 phone calls, and 6,050 digital media submissions, while having conducted over 300 interviews in the case of the four students slain in an off-campus home.\n\nThe home where the killings took place will be cleaned up but remain an active crime scene under police control, authorities said Thursday.\n\nMoscow police said they have worked with a property management services company to remove “potential biohazards and other harmful substances used to collect evidence,” the update said. The home will be turned over to the property management company.\n\nFriday, December 30\n\nA suspect was taken into custody in connection with the investigation into the murders of the four students, two federal law enforcement sources confirmed to CNN on Friday.\n\nThe arrest in the fatal stabbing case was made by Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI in northeastern Pennsylvania, the law enforcement sources told CNN.\n\nLater that afternoon, Moscow Police Chief Fry in a news conference confirmed the arrest in Pennsylvania on a warrant for the murders of the four students. Kohberger resides in Pullman, Washington, and is a graduate student, Fry said.\n\nA criminal complaint was filed on Thursday charging Kohberger with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary, Latah County Prosecutor Thompson said during the news conference.\n\nKohberger’s DNA has also been matched to genetic material recovered at the off-campus house where the students were stabbed to death, sources told CNN.\n\nThompson told members of the public that investigators are not done building their case against the suspect and that officials still need help gathering more information.\n\nFry said police will aim to prove as much information they can about the extradition to Idaho and the criminal process, but due to Idaho state law they are limited in the information they can share until the suspect has his initial appearance in an Idaho court.\n\nTuesday, January 3\n\nIn an extradition hearing in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Kohberger agreed to be extradited to Idaho. The judge ordered that he must be handed over to the custody of Latah County District Attorney’s Office in Idaho within 10 days.\n\nThursday, January 5\n\nKohberger made his initial appearance in court at the Latah County Courthouse in Moscow, Idaho on January 5.\n\nKohberger smiled at his public defender when he walked into the courtroom and did not appear to made eye contact with anyone else throughout the entire proceeding, including family members of victims who were crying in the first row.\n\nBryan Kohberger, right, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, is escorted into a courtroom for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Thursday, January 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Ted S. Warren/Pool/AP\n\nSteve Goncalves, whose daughter Kaylee Goncalves was one of the murdered victims, was with his wife and other relatives in the front row, a CNN team in the courtroom reported, adding family members were seen staring at Kohberger throughout the hearing.\n\nA no contact order for the murdered victims’ family members and the surviving roommates for two years was requested by the prosecutor and upheld by the judge.\n\nAfter Kohberger’s court appointed attorney Anne Chere Taylor requested a review of bail and prosecutor Bill Thompson argued no bail should be upheld, the magistrate judge presiding over the case upheld no bail for the alleged murderer.\n\nA status hearing ahead of Kohberger’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 12 at 10 a.m.", "authors": ["Alaa Elassar Eric Levenson Emma Tucker", "Alaa Elassar", "Eric Levenson", "Emma Tucker"], "publish_date": "2022/11/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2019/10/28/superstorm-art-key-west-fantasy-fest-pine-cone-plan-news-around-states/40450385/", "title": "Superstorm art, Key West Fantasy Fest: News from around our 50 ...", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nBirmingham: Work is beginning on a business park that promoters say could mean about 1,200 jobs east of downtown. Officials held a groundbreaking Thursday for Grand River Technology Park, which will be located off Interstate 20 beside Barber Motorsports Park near Leeds. The project is planned as a regional site for research, development and light manufacturing. It’s also being billed for tourism, as the race track is nearby, and the Southern Museum of Flight plans to relocate there. Al.com reports the park is being funded in part by a $6 million grant from an Alabama Labor Department program to use abandoned mine sites. The park will reclaim about 105 acres of undeveloped land surrounding several old coal mining areas in eastern Jefferson County.\n\nAlaska\n\nAnchorage: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has extended its deadline to review numerous comments submitted for a draft environmental review of the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. Assistant Secretary of the Army R.D. James extended Thursday’s deadline to Feb. 28 to consider comments, including those from the Environmental Protection Agency, and to draft a preliminary final environmental impact statement. In a letter to the EPA, James says the Corps, the EPA and others will meet soon to resolve outstanding issues related to the proposed gold and copper mine. The new deadline reflects EPA’s 30-day request to review the draft statements and to consult with the Corps as they develop final versions.\n\nArizona\n\nScottsdale: A woman who teaches third graders from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is the first Native American to be named the Arizona Education Foundation’s teacher of the year. Lynette Stant teaches at Salt River Elementary, a Bureau of Indian Education school located in the community near Scottsdale. Stant’s recognition as Arizona’s top teacher was announced Thursday. A member of the Navajo Nation, she’s the first Native American to receive the recognition in the award’s 37-year history. The teacher says she attended a small reservation school in New Mexico during her primary years. Stant has been teaching at the Salt River school for 16 years. It has 19 teachers and about 330 students.\n\nArkansas\n\nYellville: Officials say a hunter died after he was attacked by a deer that he’d shot and believed to be dead. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens says 66-year-old Thomas Alexander shot a buck with a muzzleloader while hunting Tuesday near Yellville, an area in the Ozark Mountains about 105 miles north of Little Rock. Stephens tells Springfield, Missouri, television station KY3 the buck attacked Alexander when the hunter approached the animal to see if it was dead. He says Alexander, who suffered multiple puncture wounds, later died at a hospital. Stephens says it’s not clear how long Alexander waited before checking on the deer, but that the agency recommends waiting at least 30 minutes before approaching.\n\nCalifornia\n\nWestminster: The remains of 81 South Vietnamese soldiers shot down over Vietnam in 1965 have been interred at Southern California’s Westminster Memorial Park. Richard Spencer, secretary of the U.S. Navy, joined local officials for a procession and ceremony Saturday just outside Little Saigon in Orange County. The airborne soldiers of the Army of the Republic of South Vietnam were shot down in a remote area along with four American service members. The remains, which were commingled, were recovered in 1974 and eventually shipped to the U.S. The Americans were identified thanks to DNA technology. Efforts to return the other remains to Vietnam failed, so officials decided to give the unknown South Vietnamese soldiers a final resting place in the U.S. Orange County is home to the largest concentration of Vietnamese people outside Vietnam.\n\nColorado\n\nDenver: A doctor fired by a Christian hospital company after trying to help a terminally ill man obtain drugs to hasten his death has a new job with a community health center. The Denver Post reports Dr. Barbara Morris, a geriatrician, has accepted a job with Stride Community Health Center in Lakewood. Stride officials say she will start in February. Morris was fired from St. Anthony Hospital in August after she and a patient filed a legal case challenging Centura Health’s policy against physician aid-in-dying. Centura was formed by Catholic and Seventh-day Adventist health care ministries. Colorado voters legalized physician aid-in-dying in 2016. The law forbids limiting a physican’s medical judgment on the issue, but the hospitals argue Colorado law can’t interfere with a religious organization carrying out its mission.\n\nConnecticut\n\nHartford: The city is considering turning five residential streets into what it’s calling “bicycle boulevards.” The Hartford Courant reports the city will hold public meetings Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss repurposing the roads for use mostly by bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Vehicle traffic would not be blocked on the streets but would be discouraged through signage. Similar streets have been set up in more than 10 states across the country and are sometimes referred to as “neighborways” or “neighborhood greenways.” The “bike boulevards” would be paid for with a $100,000, private Made to Move grant, an initiative between Degree Deodorant and Blue Zones LLC, founded by author Dan Buettner.\n\nDelaware\n\nWilmington: The City Council violated state law when it barred a man from speaking at one of its public meetings last month, the Delaware Department of Justice announced Friday in an opinion. Dion Wilson was banned from speaking at the Sept. 19 meeting after being accused by City Council President Hanifa Shabazz of disrupting two meetings by yelling after she prevented him from speaking during the public comment portion, noting the use of profanity. Shabazz said she will ensure that City Council meetings comply with all regulations. The Justice Department’s decision did not touch on Wilson’s Oct. 2 arrest, in which he was charged with harassment and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: President Donald Trump’s company is exploring the sale of its Pennsylvania Avenue hotel, which has been at the center of three years of ethics complaints and lawsuits accusing him of trying to profit off the presidency. The Trump Organization said in a statement Friday that it will consider offers to buy it out of a 60-year lease of the building partly because “people are objecting to us making so much money on the hotel.” The Trump International Hotel has been a magnet for lobbyists and diplomats looking to curry favor with the Trump administration. In Trump’s latest financial disclosure, the opulent hotel built from the Old Post Office building just steps from the White House generated nearly $41 million, up less than half a million from last year.\n\nFlorida\n\nKey West: The often-decadent Fantasy Fest wrapped up over the weekend, bringing flair to this island town. At Wednesday evening’s family friendly Pet Masquerade, entrants included costumed dogs, cats and a tortoise carrying a plush rabbit themed “The Tortoise and the Hare,” drawing inspiration from the fable of the same name. The overall winner was Diana Benton of Titusville, Florida, who dressed her two cats as country artists Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, subscribing to the festival’s musical theme of “In Tune But ... Off Key.” Other highlights included Friday afternoon’s masquerade march and a parade with floats and flamboyantly costumed marching groups. Saturday night’s parade was expected to draw some 60,000 revelers. The 10-day festival ended Sunday after a children’s carnival and an afternoon dance party.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: Overall grades for the state’s schools fell in the 2018-2019 school year, with two state leaders repeating their call to overhaul grading methods. The typical school statewide scored 75.9 points on a 100-point scale, down from 76.6 points last year. Performance rose in high schools but fell slightly in elementary schools and more broadly in middle schools. Georgia’s system seeks to grade schools on student content mastery, academic progress and readiness, whether underperforming groups are closing gaps, and whether high school students graduate on time. State officials say scores fell because of lower scores on progress and closing gaps. State Superintendent Richard Woods and Gov. Brian Kemp say they want changes, with Woods calling for less reliance on standardized test scores.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: A judge says a 93-year-old Native Hawaiian heiress doesn’t need a guardian to take care of her but is ordering a hearing to determine whether she needs a conservator to manage her $215 million trust. Abigail Kawananakoa’s wealth has been tied up in a legal battle since her 2017 stroke. She’s considered a princess because she’s a descendant of the family that ruled Hawaii before the kingdom’s 1893 overthrow. Board members of her foundation and ex-employees say her wife is manipulating her. Lawyers for the couple dispute that. Native Hawaiians have been watching the case because they’re concerned about the fate of the foundation she set up to benefit Hawaiians. The couple’s lawyers said Friday that Kawananakoa should be able to do what she wants with her money.\n\nIdaho\n\nChallis: Officials say they plan to use a helicopter to capture 365 wild horses in central Idaho in early November to reduce the number of horses to about 185. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management in a news release Friday says the roundup in the Challis Herd Management Area near the town of Challis will begin on or about Nov. 5 and take up to nine days. The agency says balancing herd size with what the 260-square-mile management area can support will help protect habitat for wildlife species such as sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, mule deer and elk. The agency says mares released back into the management area will be treated with fertility control. About 240 horses not released back into the wild will be transported to the Bruneau Wild Horse Off-Range Corral facility southeast of Boise for adoption.\n\nIllinois\n\nSpringfield: The Illinois State Museum has returned 42 culturally significant items to representatives of two Aboriginal communities in Australia. A University of Chicago anthropologist who worked in Australia to record indigenous languages collected the items between 1929 and 1931. They were transferred to the museum in 1942. The State Journal-Register reports that an Australian delegation received the artifacts Wednesday during a ceremony at the Illinois State Museum’s Research and Collections Center in Springfield. Brooke Morgan, the museum’s curator of anthropology, said the items returned include secret, sacred, secular and ceremonial objects. They will be returned to Aranda and Bardi Jawi communities in Australia. Morgan said the items will be used in Australia to “revitalize cultural practices” to teach young generations how to make these traditional artifacts.\n\nIndiana\n\nElkhart: A northern Indiana airport’s parking ramp for aircraft will undergo a half-million-dollar repaving job after two jets sank into the asphalt over the summer. City attorney Lawrence Meteiver says the ramp was installed at the Elkhart Municipal Airport last year by the city at a cost of about $50,000. Indiana Flight Center President Brett Zierle says a 30,000-pound Bombardier Challenger and a 15,500-pound Cessna Citation XLS sank into the asphalt ramp in June on days when the temperature reached only into the 70s. He says the asphalt is soft and not capable of supporting the weight of those aircraft. The Elkhart Truth reports that Meteiver says an asphalt mix recommended by the Federal Aviation Administration will be installed after this winter at a cost of about $565,000.\n\nIowa\n\nKnoxville: A woman has died after an explosion at a gender reveal party created debris that hit her. The Marion County Sheriff’s office says the explosion happened at a home in central Iowa about 4 p.m. Saturday during a party to announce the gender of a baby a couple is expecting. Deputies arrived at the home in Knoxville, about 40 miles southeast of Des Moines, to find a 56-year-old woman dead. Investigators determined an explosion during the gender reveal announcement caused the woman’s death. No other details about the explosion were available.\n\nKansas\n\nTopeka: State legislators went too far by criminalizing violent language not backed up by an intent to act, the state’s highest court ruled Friday in striking down part of a law that it says violates free speech rights. The Kansas Supreme Court kept in place portions of the 2010 law banning “true threats” but struck down the provision making it a felony for someone to be “reckless” in using threatening language that makes others afraid, even if the person making the comments doesn’t intend violence. The justices said that part of the law is so broad that it might apply to the speech of political protesters, violating the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court said the state still can prosecute people who intentionally threaten of violence.\n\nKentucky\n\nBurgin: The Federal Aviation Administration says a mysterious object that seemingly dropped from the sky and damaged a man’s mobile home didn’t come from an airplane. Tommy Woosley says a heavy, nearly footlong canister-type object hit his home in Burgin, about 75 miles southeast of Louisville, two weeks ago. But the FAA and Norfolk Southern Railway say their transportation units have nothing to do with the object that lodged into the siding of his home. The National Guard and nearby Fort Campbell military base have also denied responsibility. Authorities initially believed the canister may have fallen from a plane, but an FAA spokeswoman says their investigation ruled it out. She says the agency is turning the object over to the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation.\n\nLouisiana\n\nNew Orleans: Former Mayor Mitch Landrieu is tackling the race issue, starting with a report called “Divided by Design.” The report released Friday is based on surveys and interviews with people in in 28 communities in 13 Southern states. It touts efforts to bridge racial gaps. But it also says segregation and inequality remain major barriers to advancement for many. And it notes widespread, conflicting views on racism among African Americans, Latinos and whites. When Landrieu was mayor, he removed four Jim Crow-era monuments from the New Orleans landscape, including statues of three Confederate icons. This report is the first project of the E Pluribus Unum Fund, which Landrieu launched after leaving office in May 2018. It calls for cultivating courageous leaders who can build common ground.\n\nMaine\n\nWest Gardiner: Democratic Gov. Janet Mills says a new, fast-charging station for electric cars and incentives for more of them will help break fossil fuel companies’ “stranglehold” over Mainers’ wallets. Mills on Friday unveiled the new charging station at the Maine Turnpike plaza in West Gardiner, saying it was funded through federal Volkswagen settlement money awarded to the state’s Department of Transportation. Mills also says 23 municipalities will receive incentives to install 47 new charging stations across the state for public use. It’s part of a larger effort to boost the charging infrastructure for electric cars. Mills says charging stations make electric cars a reality for more people, help people save money on fuel and protect the environment. She calls it a “hat-trick for Maine.”\n\nMaryland\n\nBerlin: A 14-year-old girl has adopted all 75 ponies from the Maryland herd of Assateague Island ponies. Zoe Newman this month became the first person ever to foster every horse in the herd. The adoptions, which have cost Zoe and her mother more than $3,000 so far, are symbolic and provide the Assateague Island National Seashore with education and herd management funds. Zoe and her mother, Sam Newman, often get up at 4 a.m. to make the three-hour drive from their Lexington Park home to get to the park by sunrise. They’ve visited about 30 times over the past few years. Zoe first adopted an Assateague pony when she was 10 years old and used her savings on a chestnut pinto named Annie Laurie.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: A new study is recommending state officials address gambling addiction in Asian American communities. Researchers with the University of Massachusetts-Boston presented to the state’s Gaming Commission last week the results of a state-funded study in Boston’s Chinatown. The study found Chinatown residents who frequently visited casinos in the region did so to relieve stress from their low-wage jobs or in the hopes of escaping poverty. Researchers also found study participants were drawn to casinos because of gambling coupons, meal deals, bus rides and other casino promotions targeting Asian communities. The researchers recommend the state develop “culturally tailored” public health campaigns and gambling counseling services. They also recommend launching a broader study encompassing Vietnamese, Cambodian and Chinese communities in Quincy, Lowell, Malden and Worcester.\n\nMichigan\n\nLansing: A study has found few of the state’s residents are taking advantage of a legal option that allows people to erase their criminal convictions, even though an expungement can open doors to housing, student loans and employment. A University of Michigan law school study estimates just 6.5% of people who meet the requirements end up having their convictions set aside within five years of becoming eligible. Attorneys and law students volunteered their time last week at a free clinic in Lansing to educate more than 100 people on how to clear their records. The University of Detroit Mercy School of Law is using a $20,000 grant from the Michigan State Bar Foundation to host a series of free clinics around the state.\n\nMinnesota\n\nDuluth: A homeless man who pleaded guilty to starting a fire that destroyed a 117-year-old synagogue has been sentenced to three months in jail and 192 hours of community service. KTTC-TV reports 36-year-old Matthew Amiot was sentenced Friday. He pleaded guilty last month to negligent fire charges. Amiot received credit for the 36 days he has already served in jail. The fire destroyed the Adas Israel Synagogue in Duluth on Sept. 9. Authorities say Amiot used a lighter to ignite combustible materials outside the main building, near a separate religious structure called a sukkah. Amiot told police he tried to spit on the fire to put it out and walked away when that didn’t work. Police don’t believe the fire was a hate crime.\n\nMississippi\n\nTaylor: The site of an elementary school that served black children during segregation is set to become a park. The Oxford Eagle reports the plans for the park at the site of Weems Elementary were approved last week by the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors. The supervisors approved demolition of the school in May 2018 after a fire damaged most of the structure. A $1-per-year lease was approved with the newly formed nonprofit group Taylor Park Recreation, which will raise money for park construction. Throughout the 1960s, Weems taught black students between first and eighth grades. The state’s public schools were officially integrated in 1970, leading many such schools to shutter.\n\nMissouri\n\nSparta: The mayor of this tiny town says its hand-activated tornado warning siren needs to be retired. Mayor Jenni Davis is the only person in the town of 1,900 residents authorized to activate the tornado siren. The problem with the odd and antiquated system became evident early Monday when a twister was approaching town. Davis wanted to get downtown to flip the switch activating the siren, but a tree blocked her path. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Some towns are turning away from tornado warning sirens because cellphone apps and other technology that alert to approaching storms are increasingly common. But some experts say outdoor sirens still serve a purpose. Davis would like to replace the old siren, but the cost of up to $50,000 is more than the city can afford. A congressman’s office is seeking grant money to help.\n\nMontana\n\nWest Glacier: Crews have completed the two-year, nearly $9 million effort of reconstructing the historic Sperry Chalet in Glacier National Park after it was gutted by a wildfire. Project Manager Travis Neil of Dick Anderson Construction tells the Hungry Horse News that the crews will return next year to finish some minor tasks to help the National Park Service to get the chalet opened for next summer. The 105-year-old wood and stone dormitory located in a remote area of the park burned when embers from a wildfire rained down on it Aug. 31, 2017. All that remained was the building’s stone shell. Kevin Warrington of Belton Chalets, which operates the chalet, said Sperry Chalet will take reservations on Jan. 13, 2020, for the summer season.\n\nNebraska\n\nLincoln: A career military man and former superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy was chosen Friday as the top candidate to become the next president of the University of Nebraska system. The university Board of Regents voted unanimously to nominate Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. as their priority candidate. Carter is a retired Navy vice admiral and served as superintendent of his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy, from 2014 until this year. “Ted’s character and integrity are second to none,” said University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen, of Columbus, who led the search. “He has a proven focus on the success and well-being of students, faculty and staff. He has a deep appreciation for the role and mission of higher education. And is a public servant in every sense of the word.”\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: Police say a woman who was angered when she was kicked out of an area casino intentionally drove her motorhome into the building, injuring a custodian. North Las Vegas Police spokesman Eric Leavitt says the 50-year-old woman was ejected from the Cannery casino Friday morning and drove her Winnebago into the building. Leavitt says the woman hit a 66-year-old custodial worker outside the building. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the worker was critically injured but is expected to survive. Leavitt told KVVU-TV the woman kept hitting the gas, and her vehicle was stuck in the building’s entrance. Employees had to remove the woman to get her to stop. Leavitt says police who were already at the casino arrested the woman. Her identity was not immediately released.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nHampstead: Parents and other visitors to schools in the town are no longer allowed to bring guns onto school property. The Eagle Tribune reports the School Board unanimously approved a policy prohibiting anyone other than law enforcement and school resource officers from bringing guns on campus during school hours and during school-sponsored activities. The district already had rules against students and staff carrying firearms. School board member Karen Yasenka said the policy protects students and staff without infringing on anyone’s rights. The Legislature passed a bill this year that would have banned most guns from school grounds statewide, but Republican Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed it.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nWest Long Branch: The personal stories of people who survived Superstorm Sandy are an integral part of a new art exhibit remembering the deadly storm and the devastation it caused seven years ago. The Monmouth University exhibit also includes an obelisk made from slices from trees that fell during the storm, with each inch representing 2,703 lost housing units. There are hanging posters resembling beach towels that present Sandy-related data in easy-to-grasp visual terms. A “climate shelter,” for which all the trappings of a home that would normally be on the inside are on the outside, symbolizes the huge mounds of sodden possessions that became garbage.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nAlong the Burnt Mesa Trail: Conservationists and forestry experts are scouring the American Southwest, hoping to gather as many ponderosa pine cones as possible to give nature a hand in restoring fire-scarred landscapes. The goal: 1 million seeds. It might sound lofty, but those helping with the project are looking to take advantage of a rare bumper crop this fall that has resulted from back-to-back summer and winter seasons of much-needed rain and snow. It takes time to find the patches of trees that will yield the most seeds. One spot is a mesa in northern New Mexico that overlooks vast expanses of rugged terrain that has seen its share of fire over the last two decades. With drought and the severity of wildfires on the rise, scientists say seed collection and reforestation are becoming more important across the West.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York: New Yorkers are flocking to greet a new arrival to the city – Wegmans grocery store. The popular regional chain officially opened its first New York City outpost Sunday, a 74,000-square-foot store at the Brooklyn Navy Yard with more than 500 employees. Despite the rain, crowds turned out Sunday to take a look at a selection the company says includes almost 50,000 items. Aside from groceries, the store offers a range of food options, including sushi, pizza and buffet bars, and has a bar serving alcohol in the cafe. The new Brooklyn outpost is the 101st store for Wegmans, which was founded over a century ago in Rochester, New York, and is still family-owned.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nRodanthe: Researchers say they’re seeing a growing number of great white sharks off the coast of the state’s Outer Banks. The Raleigh News & Observer reports that four sharks with tracking devices have “pinged” in recent days. The sharks are being tracked by researchers with the organization Ocearch, which said on Twitter that a shark named Ironbound was among the sharks that were traveling near the Outer Banks community of Corolla and moving down the coast toward Rodanthe. Ironbound is a 12-foot, 4-inch male great white who weighs about 1,000 pounds. The organization is tracking three other male great white sharks between 10 and 12 feet in length. Great white sharks are known to swim off the southeastern United States coast in the winter.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: Democrats in the state Senate have joined the call for a senator to resign his leadership position in the wake of his Facebook posts targeting a Muslim U.S. congresswoman from Minnesota. The Bismarck Tribune reports Democratic senators wrote a letter Thursday to Sen. Oley Larsen, a Minot Republican, asking that he relinquish his position as president pro tempore. Their letter came a day after Larsen sent an email to his fellow senators, asking to “gauge each of your stance” on his leadership role. Last week Larsen posted a long-debunked photo that purports to show Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., holding a weapon at an al-Qaida training camp. The image actually shows a female Somali army recruit at a Mogadishu military training campus in 1978, four years before Omar was born in 1982.\n\nOhio\n\nColumbus: Thousands of acres in eastern Ohio that the state says it’s buying to promote recreation and conservation may be drilled for oil and natural gas. The Columbus Dispatch reports a draft purchase agreement obtained by the newspaper shows American Electric Power will retain subsurface rights to more than 31,000 acres it’s selling to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for $47 million. The document states AEP will have the continuing right to drill. AEP spokesman Scott Blake says no active fracking is underway on the land. He says the power company will work with the state to coordinate that activity if the situation changes. Natural Resources Department spokeswoman Sarah Wickham says the state is “reasonably certain” the property includes active wells.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: A second police officer has testified that an unarmed man wasn’t a threat when a fellow officer fatally shot him after the victim called 911 threatening suicide. Keith Sweeney is charged with murder in the 2017 killing of 29-year-old Dustin Pigeon, who was apparently trying to set himself on fire with lighter fluid when police arrived. The Oklahoman reports that Officer Troy Nitzky testified Friday that he didn’t see Pigeon as a threat. Sgt. Erik Howell testified Thursday that Pigeon didn’t have a gun or a knife and that he didn’t “observe any threatening acts.” Defense attorney Gary James has said that Sweeney didn’t know Pigeon was unarmed because the other officers didn’t notify him by radio and that Sweeney made the proper decision “based on the information he was given.”\n\nOregon\n\nPortland: The state’s LGBTQ community has updated rights to equal treatment under an executive order signed by Gov. Kate Brown. America’s first openly bisexual governor said a 1987 executive order needed to be updated to reflect current law and understandings about sexual orientation and gender identity. The executive order, signed Friday, prohibits state agencies from discriminating based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It directs state agencies to treat everyone consistent with their gender identity and to modify forms to add a third option – “nonbinary/other” – in addition to “male” and “female.” A state agency must also adopt statewide policies to expand access to appropriate restrooms and to accommodate state employees and the public who are transgender, nonbinary or gender nonconforming.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: An internal review of the state’s parole system spurred by five parolees getting charged in quick succession with homicide is, in theory, acknowledging a long-standing complaint of parole agents. It asks lawmakers to update a 2012 law and add a trigger for an automatic six-month to one-year jail sentence for a parolee who continually ignores parole conditions, such as going to treatment or counseling. The 2012 law already has five such triggers, including threatening behavior or possession of a weapon. Law enforcement groups largely welcomed the acknowledgement from the state Department of Corrections. The county district attorneys association calls it a “significant recognition.” Parole agents, however, were skeptical it’ll change a system they say has stripped them of discretion to pull a potentially dangerous parolee off the street.\n\nRhode Island\n\nExeter: A memorial was dedicated over the weekend for 97 firefighters who have died in the line of duty in the state since the 1800s. North Kingstown Fire Chief Scott Kettelle says firefighters raised more than $300,000 for the memorial dedicated Saturday at the state Fire Training Academy. Construction has taken about a year. The Providence Journal reports firefighters who have died since recordkeeping began in the 1800s are being commemorated for their sacrifice. Kettelle says he and other organizers hope the event can become an annual tradition. The fire department plans to continue adding more names with fundraising through the sale of engraved paving bricks. The memorial is open to the public.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: The state is again requiring all sex offenders to stay inside with their outside lights off and not give out trick-or-treat candy on Halloween. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services spokesman Pete O’Boyle said the requirement to stay inside runs from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. statewide Oct. 31. O’Boyle says some counties will require all sex offenders to go to a central location to be supervised for several hours on Halloween. O’Boyle said in a statement that agents will be checking on offenders in all 46 South Carolina counties. Last year, agents checked more than 350 homes and made more than 150 phone calls.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nPierre: The state Transportation Commission has passed rules for truck platooning. The practice links two or more trucks in a convoy, using connected technology and automated driving support systems. Drivers are still behind the wheel of the trucks, but when synced, the vehicles behind the leader adapt to changes in movement with little or no action from the drivers. KELO-TV reports truck companies need special permits from the Department of Public Safety to platoon. The commission is allowing the practice only on South Dakota’s interstates, except in certain weather conditions and during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The Legislature’s Rules Review Committee will consider the rules Nov. 4. Twenty-nine states now allow truck platooning, including all of South Dakota’s neighbors.\n\nTennessee\n\nErwin: The town is preparing to auction off a herd of brightly painted elephant statues that recall a dark day in local history. The Johnson City Press reports the auction is part of a community initiative called the Erwin Elephant Revival. It honors a circus elephant named Mary who was hanged from a derrick in Erwin’s railyard in 1916 after she killed her trainer. The Elephant Revival lets residents reflect on the past while raising money for the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald. The statues are getting added attention this year after local high school students won a National Public Radio competition for their podcast on the initiative. The silent auction takes place Monday through Friday at Erwin Town Hall. More information is available online.\n\nTexas\n\nCollege Station: A charity that trains service dogs for disabled veterans has commissioned a statue of the late George H.W. Bush’s service dog for the 41st president’s library. America’s VetDogs has commissioned sculptor Susan Bahary to create the bronze statue of Sully for placement in the east wing of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University. VetDogs President John Miller says the statue will depict Sully sitting with his leash in his mouth, the “retrieve” task VetDogs trains its dogs to perform. It will show Sully wearing his America’s VetDogs vest with the Great Seal of the United States on its back. The yellow Labrador golden retriever assisted the former president for the last six months of his life before Bush’s death last November at age 94.\n\nUtah\n\nSalt Lake City: A rule that would have allowed ATVs on certain roads in the five national parks in the state has been rescinded by the National Park Service. The agency said in a news release Friday that it changed its mind after further consultation with Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt, whose agency includes the National Park Service. The agency didn’t provide reasons for the reversal. The rule would have gone into effect Nov. 1 to conform to a state law that allows any “street-legal” vehicle on state and county roads. Instead, a long-standing ban on ATVs in parks will remain. Ashley Korenblat, an advocate for preserving public lands and CEO of Western Spirit Cycling in Moab, Utah, applauded a move she said will ensure ATVs aren’t crammed into already congested national parks.\n\nVermont\n\nNorwich: The town lost almost $250,000 in an email scam. A report released by Norwich details how town Finance Director Donna Flies ignored instructions to stop unauthorized payments from municipal accounts. Town Treasurer Cheryl Lindberg says she confronted Flies, telling her that payments from Norwich accounts require select board approval. Authorities say Flies assumed emails requesting large sums of money were from her boss, Town Manager Herb Durfee. Flies told investigators the only thing she did wrong was to make “stupid mistakes.” Valley News reports the report blames both Flies for failing to detect the scam and town officials for failing to confront her. No one’s been charged with a crime. Officials say $79,765 was returned by Comerica Bank.\n\nVirginia\n\nLynchburg: A poet and civil rights activist from the city will be honored in the U.S. Postal Service’s 2020 Forever stamp series. Anne Spencer, who died in 1975, is included in the recently unveiled “Voices of the Harlem Renaissance” series. In a news release, the USPS says the set of 20 stamps pays homage to “one of the great artistic and literary movements in American history.” The News & Advance reports that Spencer enrolled at what’s now the Virginia University of Lynchburg at 11 years old when she was barely literate and graduated six years later as valedictorian. She went on to become a poet, librarian, and contemporary of African-American artists and political leaders. Spencer also helped found the Lynchburg chapter of the NAACP in 1918.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: Sound Transit board members have abandoned ideas for a $450 million tunnel into the city’s historic central Ballard, a $200 million bored tunnel through West Seattle’s Pigeon Point neighborhood, and a fully elevated trackway in Sodo that would have blocked light-rail travel during construction. The Seattle Times reports cheaper options that serve the same number of passengers and will still cost hundreds of millions of dollars will now gain momentum during environmental studies. Politicians on the 18-member board have entertained dozens of alignment concepts since 2016, when voters passed the $54 billion ST3 tax measure to expand regional rail and bus services. The agency promised West Seattle stations in 2030 and stations from south downtown to Seattle Center and Ballard by 2035.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: Inmates in state prisons now have access to specially designed tablet computers. The Register-Herald reports the tablets are provided at no cost to taxpayers by Global Tel Link through its inmate banking services contract with the prison system. The tablets give the prisoners access to email, video visitation, electronic books, music, games and movies. They lack a normal internet browser but do allow access to select websites, including educational and career sites. All apps and websites are approved by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The devices will soon help inmates submit requests, file grievances and order from the facility commissary. West Virginia’s tablet program began as a pilot at the Saint Mary’s Correctional Center last year. Then-Superintendent Patrick Mirandy said he saw the tablets improve facility safety.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross is retiring. The 71-year-old Cross said Friday that he plans to retire once a new president is selected. Cross has served as UW’s president since February 2014. He previously served three years as chancellor of UW Colleges and UW-Extension and has spent more than four decades in higher education, previously working in Minnesota and Michigan. He served three years in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Cross says serving as UW president has been the most rewarding work of his life. UW Board of Regents President Andrew Petersen says in a statement that Cross has been tireless in leading the system with vision and integrity. He says Cross stabilized the system at a time of legislative skepticism and financial challenges.\n\nWyoming\n\nJackson: The Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation reports 28 moose were killed on roads in Teton County from May 2018 through April 2019. It’s the highest moose toll since 33 were killed from May 2010 through April 2011. Eight were killed along Moose-Wilson Road. The foundation’s executive director, Jon Mobeck, told the Jackson Hole News & Guide on Friday that the overall wildlife toll of 267 animals reported hit was the fifth-highest since the foundation started keeping tabs in 1990. Elk collisions totaled 34 in the most recent report, down from the 40s in the previous two years. The foundation’s report does not include animals found dead and reported hit in Grand Teton National Park, where elk and moose collisions increased from 2017 to 2018.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/10/28"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/14/economy/railroad-strike-economic-impact/index.html", "title": "How the freight rail workers strike could affect you and the US ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nThe US economy can keep running without freight trains — but not for long.\n\nThat is why the risk of the first national railroad strike in 30 years is so worrying to economists and businesses. A brief work stoppage — some previous rail strikes have lasted only hours — likely won’t cause much economic disruption.\n\nBut a prolonged walkout of a week or more will cripple the nation’s still struggling supply chain, cause widespread shutdowns and shortages, and likely further drive up prices even as inflation remains near a 40-year high.\n\n“At a week, you see real damage in the US economy,” said economist Patrick Anderson of Anderson Economic Group, which conducts impact estimates on work stoppages.\n\nIf it lasts a week, a strike will mean reduced gas production, spoiled crops, a choked off supply of new cars and empty shelves at stores over the holidays. Your commute may be snarled. And for factory workers, there could be temporary layoffs in the near future.\n\nAmerica’s railroads remain crucial for keeping the US economy running smoothly. They carry nearly 30% of the nation’s freight, measured by the distance traveled and the weight of the cargo, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. And there really isn’t an alternative if the trains stop running.\n\n“Idling all 7,000 long distance daily freight trains in the US would require more than 460,000 additional long-haul trucks every day, which is not possible based on equipment availability and an existing shortage of 80,000 drivers,” said Chris Spear, CEO of the American Trucking Associations in a letter to members of Congress asking that they act to prevent a strike. “As such, any rail service disruption will create havoc in the supply chain and fuel inflationary pressures across the board.”\n\nAnderson said it is impossible to come up with a dollar estimate for the impact on the economy at this point, but he said the costs will grow geometrically the longer the strike lasts, starting out at tens of millions of dollars and growing rapidly each day.\n\n“It might only be millions, but that’s a lot if it’s your job that’s one that is being lost,” he said. “If we reach a week-long strike, we’re in uncharted territory,” he said.\n\nGasoline\n\nThe price of gas has been falling steadily for three months. But a rail strike could send prices shooting higher again due to limited supplies.\n\nRefineries get most of their crude oil via pipelines and ship out most of the products they produce, such as gas, diesel and jet fuel, via pipelines as well. But railroad tank cars are a key part of the process to make the gas that ends up in your tank.\n\nJust about all ethanol that goes into gasoline moves by rail. Without ethanol, gasoline wouldn’t be compliant with some environmental regulations. But even if those regulations could be waived, the lack of ethanol could increase the cost of a gallon of gas by about 16 cents due to the loss of tax breaks, according to Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for OPIS.\n\nAlthough pipelines carry most crude oil to refineries, about 300,000 barrels move by rail each day, a volume that could supply about two mid-size refineries, according to data from the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the refineries’ trade group. Numerous chemicals used in the refining process also arrive via rail, and some lower-grade products and waste materials need to be shipped out by rail.\n\n“If rail cars aren’t coming in regularly to pick up facility products, including the sulfur that refiners remove from crude oil, production will have to curtail,” the refineries’ trade group said.\n\nFood\n\nThe strike would be hitting at a particularly bad time for the nation’s agricultural industry. Bureau of Transportation Statistics data show that trains account for 27% of the distance grains travel when measured by weight.\n\n“A rail stoppage on September 16 would hit right as the fall harvest accelerates in many parts of the United States,” said Mike Seyfert, CEO of the National Grain and Feed Association. “The economic damages across the food and agricultural supply chain would be swift and severe.”\n\nThe railroads started refusing to take new shipments of grain as of Wednesday in preparation for the possible strike. If the work stoppage happens, grain operators will load what they can onto rail containers sitting in their yards. But they won’t be able to move them out or accept additional grain from farmers, who will then have limited options to sell their crops.\n\nIn recent months there have been improvements to farmers’ supply chain issues suffered during the pandemic.\n\n“The gains we’ve made in the last seven to eight months will be reversed largely if this strike happens,” said Terri Moore, spokesperson for the American Farm Bureau Federation.\n\nIn addition, farmers preparing to plant for the fall season could see shortages of the fertilizer they need, since the railroads have already stopped accepting shipments because they are classified as hazardous materials in many cases. That could hurt future supplies of crops.\n\n“There definitely would be at least some price increase for consumers,” said Max Fisher, chief economist at the National Grain and Feed Association. “If our processing plants are not running, the food manufacturers that buy these ingredients won’t have access to them for an extended period of time. Depending on how long it would go on, we worry about scarcity — being able to actually get the food.”\n\nBeyond domestic food prices, the strike could affect global food markets, since the US is a major grain exporter. With the war in Ukraine cutting off much the grain from that country, a disruption in US supply will only make a bad situation worse.\n\nCars and trucks\n\nCar and truck production has already been hampered by a shortage of numerous essential parts, most notably computer chips. That has created a dearth of vehicles available for sale on dealer lots, which in turn has resulted in record high car prices.\n\nBut that’s nothing compared to what would happen with a prolonged rail strike. About 75% of cars built in US factories or imported here move by rail. There are nowhere near enough trucks to carry that many vehicles.\n\nIn addition, many of those parts move between suppliers and car assembly plants by rail. Production will quickly halt if those rail links are severed.\n\nEventually production would resume, but it would take some time to make up for lost output. Which means more upward pressure on car prices.\n\nConsumer goods\n\nThe snarl of container ships coming into West Coast ports is finally easing after years of backlogs and delays. And although things have gotten better, they are by no means “normal” yet.\n\nAs of Tuesday the Port of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest, said it had 27,000 shipping containers waiting to be loaded onto trains. That’s roughly three times as many as under normal conditions. Two thirds of the current inventory of containers have been there nine or more days, when none should have been there that long.\n\n“Efficient rail operations are critical to the Port of Los Angeles,” said Gene Seroka, the port’s executive director. “With two-thirds of our cargo leaving California by rail, the supply chain and the US economy need all of us working at maximum effort.”\n\nThe peak season for imported goods heading to retailers ahead of the holiday shopping period is now. The National Retail Federation said last week it is concerned about shortages later this year if there is a rail strike.\n\n“We are in the middle of the peak import season,” said the trade group. “Any rail network disruptions this month could have long-lasting negative effects on this important selling season. Product delays and shortages are correlated with inflation.”\n\nManufacturing\n\nMost factories aim to have parts and raw materials delivered just before they are used in assembly lines — a process known as “just-in-time” deliveries. And many factories depend on rail to get those parts and supplies, as well as to ship them out.\n\n“For years now, America’s manufacturing workers have endured the effects of rapidly rising material costs and severe supply chain disruptions,” said a statement from the National Association of Manufacturers. A rail strike would “devastate the movement of manufactured products that families depend on.”\n\nThe rail strike could result in temporary plant closures, as happened across the global auto industry due to the shortage of parts and computer chips brought on by the pandemic.\n\nCommuting\n\nAlthough only the nation’s freight rail lines face a pending strike, many of the nation’s commuter trains travel on tracks maintained and operated by the freight railroads. As a result, many passenger railroads expect to shut down operations once the freight strike starts.\n\nAmtrak already has cut service on many of its long distance trains. The company owns roughly 700 miles of track, mostly between Boston and Washington, DC, but about 97% of its 22,000 mile system runs on freight lines.\n\nMany commuter railroads also are preparing to shut much of their operations for the same reason.\n\nThat could mean more commuters driving to work, and more traffic and congestion even for those who don’t normally take a train.", "authors": ["Chris Isidore Vanessa Yurkevich", "Chris Isidore", "Vanessa Yurkevich"], "publish_date": "2022/09/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2017/05/27/man-who-reinvented-meth/330877001/", "title": "The Man Who Reinvented Meth", "text": "Thomas Gounley\n\nNews-Leader\n\nJohn Cornille had been with the Drug Enforcement Administration for seven years. Yet he couldn't wrap his head around what his informant was describing.\n\nIt was November 1992, and the man was talking about a visit to a home in Reeds Spring, Missouri. He said he'd been forced at gunpoint to use methamphetamine manufactured there. But something was off. The informant didn't mention beakers, flasks, Bunsen burners — none of the complex glassware Cornille was taught were part of meth labs.\n\nInstead, the informant reported an unusual scene: Black trash bags stuffed with empty boxes of cold medicine. A mason jar full of kerosene, with something resembling a hockey puck settled at the bottom. Starter fluid. And a cookie sheet in the oven, with a yellowish cake on it.\n\nCornille, like other DEA agents, had made meth himself, under controlled circumstances, as part of his official duties. It was standard practice; the agency knew it meant he'd have more credibility when he asked a court for a search warrant or filled out a probable cause statement recommending criminal charges. It was important that prosecutors see him and other agents as experts on the manufacturing of illegal drugs.\n\nAs Cornille sat down to request a warrant for the Reeds Spring home, he couldn't be that authoritative. He needed another source, someone who could credibly link common household items with the production of meth, a highly-addictive substance known for its energy boost. He called a chemist working for the DEA in Chicago.\n\n“I still remember what he said, because I wrote it down word for word,\" Cornille recalled in a recent interview. \"He said, ‘There’s a basis for such a formula in literature, but it’s not been seen in the United States.\"\n\nIt's been nearly 25 years since the investigation, but that's not the only comment that remains lodged in Cornille's memory.\n\nAt some point, as the informant was describing the unusual lab in Reeds Spring, Cornille asked him if the meth was any good. If the answer was no, he figured, the situation might not be that big a deal. Low-quality stuff was unlikely to spread.\n\nThe informant, however, had five words for him:\n\n\"Best dope I ever had.\"\n\nThree months later, in Springfield, Cornille sat across from a recently-arrested 49-year-old man.\n\nWith a voice recorder rolling, Cornille introduced himself for the record, then moved on to his guest.\n\n“With me today is Mr. Bob Paillet,” Cornille said, according to a transcript. “Mr. Paillet has agreed to talk to me and explain to me different methods of manufacturing methamphetamine. One using the sodium metal and anhydrous ammonia and then a couple others.”\n\nCornille told Paillet — pronounced “Pie-ay” — that he wanted \"just to sit down and talk to you about those different methods.\"\n\n\"How you discovered them, and so forth,” Cornille said.\n\nPaillet began by saying he'd always been interested in chemistry and physics and that he'd \"just played around with my chemistry set.\" Then he got detailed. He talked about molecules, replacement reactions and acetic acid, about catalysts, synthesis and hydroxyl groups. Scientific terms flowed with minimal prompting.\n\nAbout halfway through the conversation, Paillet made a remark that fell somewhere between a suggestion and a prediction.\n\n“You’re gonna have to send all your agents back to school and learn chemistry … There’s people out there that are going to great lengths to avoid getting caught,” he said.\n\nCornille responded. “Well, see I went to school to learn how to manufacture methamphetamine and to …”\n\nPaillet cut him off.\n\n“All the old ways,” he said.\n\nCornille joined the DEA in 1985 after serving on the local police force in Washington D.C. He spent the remainder of the decade in the nation's capital, fighting the crack epidemic. In 1990, he was transferred to southwest Missouri. At that point, Cornille recalls now, meth ranked about third on the agency's local priority list. Cocaine and marijuana were much more prevalent.\n\nIn the mid-to-late 1990s, however, the number of meth labs seized by the authorities drastically increased, first in Missouri, and gradually in other communities around the country. Before the decade was out, as the public and the media sought answers as to how the drug shifted from a problem to a crisis — how it grew powerful enough to ravage entire communities — law enforcement would point to Paillet by name.\n\n\"He brought it to life for this area,\" Springfield police Cpl. Dan Schrader told the News-Leader in 1998.\n\nPaillet essentially converted the process of producing meth from a complex formula — one that required the so-called \"cook\" to have a chemistry background — to a simple recipe that could be followed by the masses. DEA and court records indicate Paillet taught his method to others, who in turn taught it within their own respective circles. The man behind the unusual meth lab in Reeds Spring learned the method from one of Paillet's friends, Cornille said.\n\nPaillet wasn't a drug lord; he didn't control a network of associates. In fact, he did the opposite, spawning a generation of cooks by unintentionally democratizing an illegal industry. One textbook released in 2014 called Paillet \"arguably the Johnny Appleseed for the spread of local meth production throughout the Midwest.\" Journalist Frank Owen, in his own book released in 2007, wrote that Paillet “effectively decentralized the local meth trade … broadening the appeal of the drug.\"\n\nIn other words, Bob Paillet reinvented meth.\n\nHow did he do it? The story he told law enforcement revolves around the Springfield campus of Missouri State University, which at the time was known as Southwest Missouri State.\n\n“Bob claims he went to SMS’ library, and in a research manual he found this method of converting pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine using sodium metal as one of the catalysts,\" Cornille said. \"He claimed that at the top of the page was a swastika.”\n\nThus the moniker: The new process was the \"Nazi method.\" The new stuff, \"Nazi dope.\"\n\n“I really believe that his method, here in Springfield, was the bounce to get meth spread throughout the rest of Missouri and the United States,\" said Nick Console, who ran the DEA's Springfield office from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s.\n\nDespite Paillet's pioneering role in an American drug epidemic, relatively little has been known about him. In the later years of his life, he appears to have avoided public scrutiny, as well as further trouble with the law. He died in Texas, age 72, on Jan. 1, 2016.\n\nPaillet's death and the passage of time have obscured some details. Other key elements — like his recipe's alleged connection to the Third Reich — have taken on the characteristics of urban legend.\n\nCourt documents obtained by the News-Leader shed light on his arrest and the early spread of the Nazi method. Interviews with family members and a key associate, none of whom have previously spoken publicly, paint a picture of a man with an obsession who left public officials scrambling to respond for years.\n\nThe probable cause statement used to charge Paillet, written by Cornille, traces his arrival on law enforcement's radar to Jan. 24, 1993 — just over a week before he was arrested.\n\nThat day, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested two Springfield residents, Christopher Fricks and Kimberly Lee Duncan, for possession of a controlled substance and possession of a short-barreled shotgun.\n\nIt's not clear from court documents how or why Paillet's name came up as the two were taken into custody. What is clear is that they told deputies of two places where Paillet stored materials he used to make meth.\n\nThe first was a room in a house Fricks was renting in Joplin. Authorities searched it on Jan. 28. The second was a property near the small town of Morrisville, where Paillet previously lived. One of his ex-wives allowed law enforcement on the property on Feb. 1. Both tips were substantiated.\n\nThen, on Feb. 2, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper and Polk County deputies headed to Paillet's apartment on West 3rd Street in Battlefield. Paillet wasn't home, but his current wife was, and she began speaking to the men. She mentioned her husband would sometimes disappear for up to three weeks at a time, telling her he was working in Kansas City.\n\nMidway through the conversation, Paillet drove up in a tan 1983 Chevy Cavalier. He walked inside, and set an unzipped black duffel bag on the floor. The grip of a pistol stuck out from the top, and the trooper quickly moved to secure the gun. It was loaded: Nineteen rounds, one in the chamber. Paillet said he'd traded for it.\n\nThe trooper and the deputies asked Paillet to talk outside. He said sure.\n\nThey walked out and the officers read Paillet his Miranda rights. According to court documents, Paillet “stated he was glad to see them and glad that it was over.”\n\nThen he began to talk.\n\nStanding outside his Battlefield, Missouri, home with a state trooper and several sheriff's deputies, Bob Paillet gave the men consent to search his vehicle.\n\nHe knew why they were there. Before they could open the door of his Chevy Cavalier, he told them what they'd find: methamphetamine, inside a small white pill bottle in the trunk. Once the drugs were retrieved, Paillet led the officers back inside and pointed out the two sawed-off shotguns under a bed.\n\nThe same day — Feb. 2, 1993 — the trooper and the Polk County deputies drove Paillet to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's regional headquarters on Kearney Street. There they were joined by John Cornille, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent based in Springfield.\n\nAuthorities found a note in Paillet's pocket, with a chemical formula written out. They also found two receipts, from trips to Walmart.\n\nShortly before dusk, after speaking with investigators, Paillet led the men to Room 431 of the American Inn Hotel in northeast Springfield, where he showed them the meth-making materials he had stashed there. Then they all drove across town to a storage facility in Battlefield, where he kept a second stash.\n\nThe News-Leader reported the bust two days later, with the headline \"Police nail 'Nazi Dope' laboratory in Battlefield.\" The authorities said chemical disposal workers wearing special suits and protective gloves spent about three hours clearing the storage unit. They estimated disposing of the chemicals would cost the federal government $35,000.\n\nThe story noted that, nationwide, the number of meth lab busts had declined in recent years. But it also quoted the head of a local drug task force, with a premonition that would turn out to be spot on.\n\n“This Nazi dope is definitely new to this area, and it could be the first in the U.S.,” said Steve Whitney, also the sheriff in nearby Christian County. “I still think we may see this more and more.”\n\nAlthough credited with pioneering the so-called \"Nazi method\" of producing meth — and opening the door to an era of amateur meth labs across the Midwest — Paillet himself has remained something of a mystery.\n\nNews stories and a handful of books published in the decades since his 1993 arrest have presented scant detail: He moved from California to Missouri in the 1980s and, upon finding meth was more expensive than he was used to out west, set out to make it himself. He researched chemistry at the library at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield. He was arrested. He moved to Texas.\n\nThat narrative covers just a portion of his life.\n\nBorn on March 4, 1943, Robert Paillet was 72 when he died Jan. 1, 2016.\n\nHe left behind two daughters. In an email to the News-Leader, the oldest offered a theme for his biography:\n\n\"My father is a classic case of what PTSD does to a brilliant mind.\"\n\nSpeed. Crank. Dope. Ice. Zip. The poor man's cocaine.\n\nWhatever you call it, meth is a stimulant that affects the central nervous system.\n\nIt's odorless, typically white and can be found in powder and crystal forms. In the United States, it has for decades been a schedule II substance, which means it has some very limited accepted medical uses — for conditions like attention deficit disorder and obesity, under the trade name Desoxyn — but also a high potential for abuse, as well as psychological or physical dependence.\n\nOne of the things that sets meth apart from other illegal substances is its means of production.\n\n\"Unlike other major drugs of abuse, methamphetamine is a synthetic drug, and as such, is manufactured in a laboratory,\" the DEA wrote in a 2016 report. \"Methamphetamine does not rely on a plant as its main source and is not affected by drought, flooding, growth cycles, or other natural elements that affect production. Instead, methamphetamine production relies on the ability of traffickers to obtain precursors and other essential chemicals.\"\n\nMeth is most commonly smoked, snorted or injected. Its use causes an increase in energy and alertness and a decrease in appetite. Meth also produces an intense euphoric rush, and can make users hypersexual. Cornille said the high from crack cocaine lasts for a matter for minutes. With meth, the high lasts for hours.\n\nMeth can cause increased heart rate and blood pressure, tremors and convulsions and — particularly with repeated use — depression and motor and cognitive failure. Users also tend to not sleep for extended periods, which leads to additional detrimental effects.\n\nBob Paillet's death certificate lists his birthplace as San Diego. His oldest daughter, now 48, said her father was actually born on Canada's Vancouver Island, although his parents had previously lived in California.\n\nLisa Paillet — who spoke to the News-Leader on the condition that her real first name not be used — said Bob's father, Francis \"Fred\" Paillet, was a Vermont native and worked as a carpenter and master gardener. His mother, Quebec native Louise Marie Paillet, was a maid and cook.\n\nThe family moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, when Bob was in junior high, then to the small town of Exeter, Missouri, about 60 miles southwest of Springfield, several years later. After graduating from Exeter High School in 1961, Bob enlisted in the Navy and was sent to California's Bay Area. He was taking forestry classes at the University of California-Berkeley when, in 1964, he was deployed to Vietnam on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger.\n\nLisa said her father returned to the United States with \"debilitating migraines and a jaundiced view of the world,\" after a commanding officer \"rode one of his crew members so hard\" that he committed suicide. She believes Bob had post-traumatic stress disorder, although he was never formally diagnosed. For the most part, Lisa said, her father avoided talking about his time at war.\n\nUpon his return home in 1965, Bob Paillet married Lisa’s mother, whom he met in Berkeley prior to his deployment. They briefly lived in Oakland before embarking on a year-long trip around the United States, ultimately ending in Kansas City. Over the next five years, Bob and his wife bounced back and forth between there and the Bay Area. Bob never returned to college.\n\nLisa was born in California in 1968. She said her father had an assortment of jobs over the years. Sometimes he flipped houses, or built new ones. He liked to purchase and restore antique cars, a lifelong passion of his, for resale. He wasn't always self-employed, however. When Lisa was born, he worked as a lineman for the phone company.\n\nAround 1970, the family of three was living in Kansas City, where Bob worked for a fiberglass company. One day, he saw a friend and co-worker get electrocuted. It's a moment that \"damaged\" her father, Lisa said.\n\nThe family moved back to California, where Bob reconnected with a friend who was using meth. At some point, Lisa said, the friend got hold of a bad batch and became sick.\n\n\"So my father went to the Berkeley public library and the university library and started researching chemistry books,\" Lisa said.\n\nWhy chemistry books? Bob \"wanted him to have clean drugs.\"\n\n\"That’s my father’s logic,\" she said. \"Not get him off the drugs — but make them better.”\n\nWithin a few years, Lisa said, Bob became \"really flaky and moody.\" Around 1973, at Bob's request, Lisa's mother gave her husband a year to travel and find himself. He took two. When Bob came back, the couple divorced.\n\n\"After that, I saw him off and on for camping trips, hiking, or things like roller skating,\" Lisa said. \"It was a good compromise. I got to see him when he was in the mood to play. If he was not, he was not around. This basic relationship carried us through life.\"\n\nThe extent to which Bob used or produced meth in the ensuing years is unclear. Sometime during the two-year break, Lisa said, Bob met the woman who would become his second wife. His youngest daughter, Gena Paillet, was born in the Springfield area in 1978.\n\n\"I can remember I grew up terrified of him, because he would be one happy person one minute and literally in a second go to this terrifying person,\" Gena said.\n\nBy the time he was arrested with methamphetamine in the trunk of his car in 1993, Bob Paillet was on his third marriage.\n\nHe had fathered two children, born 10 years apart, in different states, to different women. The lives of his daughters, to this day, have had relatively little overlap.\n\nBoth women, however, have memories of living with their father on a plot of rural land along Highway JJ, not far from Morrisville, Missouri. The town of about 400 is 25 miles north of Springfield.\n\nThe remote venue in the anonymous rolling hills of the Ozarks appears to have been one place where Paillet refined the work that would later turn the meth trade on its head.\n\nGena Paillet, Bob's youngest daughter, lived there in the mid-1980s. She and her father had recently moved back to Missouri from California. Her mother, Bob's second wife, stayed behind in the Golden State for a year to work. Gena and her father lived in a modified school bus while Bob began building a house.\n\nIt was a simple setting. The bathroom for a time was an outhouse. But the property gave Gena, who says she grew up fearing her father, what she calls \"some of the best memories of my life.\" There were dense woods to explore, and the property abutted the Little Sac River.\n\n“We’d go swimming in that all the time and catch crawdads, things like that,\" Gena said. \"I’ve thought about going back to that property.\"\n\nWithin a couple years, however, Bob and his second wife separated. Gena said her father was unfaithful and verbally abusive. She and her mother went to live in Morrisville.\n\nNot long after, in 1987, Bob's oldest daughter, a product of his first marriage, arrived at the property.\n\nLisa Paillet — the first name is a pseudonym — grew up in California, where she was born in 1968. She saw her father only occasionally, but at times felt his presence even when he wasn't around. In high school, Lisa said, adults would sometimes show up and \"imply that they knew my father and were supposed to watch out for me.”\n\nLisa came to live with her father as she prepared to attend Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield. He was footing the bill.\n\nThree decades later, Lisa remembers the property as a place where her father experimented. Bob never said exactly what he was doing, and Lisa sensed it might be best if she didn't exactly know. She recalls helping her father hook together motors and going on shopping trips to Walmart to buy cold medicine.\n\n\"He would buy tons of that stuff, and he said it was easy for him to break down to get the chemicals he wanted,\" Lisa said.\n\nBob coached Lisa not to give her name to people. If somebody came looking for her father, she was supposed to deny that she knew him. Instead of guard dogs, the property near Morrisville had guard geese. The animals tend to raise a racket when they're disturbed.\n\n\"If you heard the geese and it was dark outside, you hit the lights and you hit the floor,” Lisa said.\n\nThere is some overlap in Lisa and Gena's memories. Both recall a room on the property where they weren't supposed to go. Gena distinctly remembers hiding behind a tree one day, on a weekend visit sometime after her parents separated, and watching her father go inside.\n\n\"I just remember seeing this one huge table ... with beakers and pots and things smoking and, you know, tubes going from one to the other,\" she said. \"I didn’t know what it was, but I knew he was up to something. And by his behavior becoming much more erratic, we knew something was wrong. We just didn’t know what.”\n\nBy the 1980s, the U.S. meth trade — both manufacturing and distribution — was largely run by outlaw motorcycle gangs. In some places, it was the Hell's Angels. In Texas, it was the Bandidos.\n\nNick Console, a Louisiana native now living in Ash Grove, joined the DEA in 1983, and was soon working out of the agency's Houston office.\n\nIn an interview, Console said that meth labs back then were primarily located in out-of-the-way, rural areas, so the rotten egg smell produced during a cook wouldn't give the operation away. They were full of glassware, not unlike a scene from the hit TV series \"Breaking Bad.\" The labs churned out batches of the drug measured in pounds.\n\nBusts by the authorities would sometimes lead to shoot-outs. At times, cleaning up a lab consisted of dumping the chemicals in the nearest ditch, Console said. The Environmental Protection Agency had yet to sound the alarm. Nobody thought to wear a respirator.\n\n“These labs, they were out in west Texas, they might be out in the boonies in an old mobile home, but everything in that mobile home was a lab,\" Console said.\n\nMeth was big business for the bikers, and it required a specialized workforce, he said. The gangs employed their own chemists, who generally used what is known as the P2P method, in reference to its incorporation of phenylacetone, a chemical often used for industrial cleaning or photo processing purposes.\n\nBack then, Console said, “you had to be a chemist to make meth.”\n\nThe meth trade's biker era bled into southwest Missouri. In 1987, Glennon Paul Sweet, a local member of the Hell's Angels-affiliated Galloping Goose motorcycle club, gunned down Highway Patrol Trooper Russell Harper during a routine traffic stop just outside Springfield. It was later determined Sweet, who was ultimately put to death, was transporting meth.\n\nThe wooded hollows of southern Missouri once attracted moonshiners. By the late 1980s, the region's rural nature and sparse law enforcement presence were seen as ideal for making meth. DEA officials reported that manufacturers were buying or leasing farmhouses and converting them into P2P labs. Still, they were few and far between; Cornille said agents typically came across a couple of labs per year.\n\nAfter being transferred from Houston, Console worked for the DEA overseas in Turkey, then in San Francisco. In the fall of 1994, about a year and a half after Paillet's arrest, he arrived in Springfield as the DEA's new resident agent in charge.\n\n“When I got here, it was the beginning of the spike in meth labs,\" he said.\n\nLisa Paillet doesn't believe her father was ever in a motorcycle gang. But Bob definitely associated with some shady types.\n\n\"I know that when I was in circles of people that I would consider very bad people, he was known in California,” she said.\n\nLisa also said her father \"would have hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash sometimes, and then he would have nothing.\"\n\nEither way, Paillet had no prior criminal record when, in January 1993, he became a person of interest to law enforcement agencies in southwest Missouri. The authorities had encountered a new type of meth lab — using what became known as the \"Nazi method\" — in the town of Reeds Spring just a couple months earlier.\n\nIn DEA records reviewed by the News-Leader, Paillet said he was the one who discovered the new process, but never specifically stated when that happened. Evidence suggests, however, that it was years before his arrest.\n\nThe Reeds Spring lab wasn't the first of its kind. A Nazi method-style lab was found in 1988 in a trailer park in Vacaville, California, according to a 1990 article in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. Authorities later came to believe Paillet was behind the lab — a conclusion that appears supported by his numerous connections to the state.\n\nThe Nazi method starts with the compound pseudoephedrine, which, chemically speaking, is one oxygen atom removed from methamphetamine. Pseudoephedrine is the active ingredient in cold medicines sold under brand names such as Sudafed.\n\nHere’s how a former DEA chemist described the ensuing process:\n\nTo make meth, the manufacturer pulverizes the pseudoephedrine pills in a coffee grinder, creating a fine powder that is placed in a coffee filter. Methyl alcohol, in the form of something like windshield washer fluid, is poured over it, and then evaporated out.\n\nThe cook then adds ether, anhydrous ammonia - a compound commonly used by farmers as fertilizer – and sodium metal or lithium metal, which can be stripped from commercial batteries. That produces a liquid called meth oil.\n\nMore ether is added, and the solution is put through another coffee filter. A bubbler is then used to convert rock salt and other material to hydrogen chloride gas, which converts the meth oil into a white powder. Meth.\n\nThe Nazi method is also sometimes referred to as the Birch method because it builds upon the Birch reduction, a reaction first reported in 1944 by the Australian chemist Arthur Birch.\n\nThe significance of the Nazi method was how simple it was. When DEA agent John Cornille gave talks to community members, he'd compare it to baking a cake.\n\n“Bob made meth a recipe anyone could follow,” he said.\n\nThe Nazi method produced small amounts of the drug, not the big batches typically cooked up in rural \"superlabs.\" But unlike previous manufacturing methods, Nazi dope didn't require an open heat source. It involved fewer steps, and took less time.\n\n\"From start to finish, you could probably do it in an hour,\" Cornille said.\n\nAdditionally, the chemicals involved were legal, and often easy to obtain. It takes hundreds of pseudoephedrine pills to make a half ounce of meth. But purchasing cold medicine in vast quantities didn't raise eyebrows in the early 1990s.\n\n\"At that time, if someone came in and bought 10 boxes of pseudoephedrine, Walgreens was happy,\" Cornille said.\n\nBob Paillet ordered a pecan waffle with extra butter and a glass of milk, then settled into the booth at a north Springfield Waffle House. He was wearing a wire.\n\nAfter being arrested on Feb. 2, 1993, the Springfield-area resident told the authorities that he'd taught his new recipe for methamphetamine — the so-called \"Nazi method\" — to a friend. Now, less than 24 hours later, Paillet, 49, was killing time reading the newspaper, waiting for that man to arrive. Drug Enforcement Administration agent John Cornille and a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper were listening from a van parked nearby.\n\n\"Hey, late as usual,\" Paillet said as Mike Poplawski, 34, arrived.\n\nA transcript of the conversation that took place over breakfast — obtained from the DEA under the Freedom of Information Act — is heavily redacted, with Poplawski's comments completely blacked out.\n\nBy the time they parted ways, however, Poplawski had given Paillet 279 milligrams of meth, according to court documents. The wire caught everything.\n\nThe next day, Cornille and the trooper showed up at Poplawski's home on South Newton Street.\n\nPoplawski was cooperative. He invited the officers in, and, when told there was an ongoing investigation that involved him, admitted that he cooked meth, according to court documents. He showed the trooper a baggie of the drug inside his wallet, and then took them to another apartment where he stored lab equipment and precursor chemicals.\n\nLater, at the DEA office, Poplawski confirmed he'd been taught by Paillet how to make meth using the Nazi method.\n\nIn a recent interview, Poplawski, now 59, said he first met Paillet in 1979.\n\nRollerskating was the thing to do back then, and \"we were both hotdoggers,\" Poplawski said, using a term for those fond of showing off. The pair — 35 and 21 years old — met at a north Springfield rink. Poplawski said they were among the first in the city to purchase jogger skates, basically tennis shoes with big, brightly-colored wheels.\n\nPoplawski said he believes Paillet might've smoked a little pot back then, and he drank, but he didn't do anything harder. Then Paillet left for California. When he returned, he was into meth. And Poplawski was, too.\n\nHe attempted to describe his relationship with Paillet back then.\n\n\"Friend?\" he said. \"No. Associate. Close associate.\"\n\nIt's unclear from court records when Paillet taught Poplawski the Nazi method. Poplawski declined to clarify the timeline.\n\nPoplawski did state that, sometime in 1992, there'd been what might be called a misunderstanding between the pair. Paillet asked Poplawski to stop giving meth to a mutual friend of theirs. Poplawski complied. The friend complained to Paillet, who by that point had forgotten his earlier directive and became angry at Poplawski. The two stopped talking.\n\nThen six or eight months later, there was a phone call. And a request to meet at the Waffle House along North Kansas Expressway. From Poplawski's perspective, it seemed an effort to repair the rift.\n\nSitting in the living room of his east Springfield home, Poplawski briefly looked over the redacted transcript of the conversation that day. Some of it was small talk, he said. Mostly, Paillet was \"crying about hurting, wanting some speed.\"\n\nIt's been nearly a quarter century since the conversation, and Poplawski doesn't have a single positive thing to say about Paillet.\n\nThe man was chauvinistic, he said. A shorter guy with \"a big man's want for power,\" someone who walked around \"like a bantam rooster.\" A guy who \"hit on every woman that he come across, no matter what.\" And a man whose defining obsession — all speeders have one, Poplawski said — was \"his process,\" the way he made his dope.\n\n\"He experimented on people,\" Poplawski said. \"He’d change the formula a little bit and then give it to junkies he knew’d take it and ask no questions, and then watch their reactions. This is the guy that DEA worked with.\"\n\nAs Poplawski looked at the transcript, he wouldn't even agree with Paillet's remark that he showed up to the Waffle House late.\n\n“I’m more on time than anybody I know,” he said.\n\nThe authorities didn't stop with Poplawski.\n\nShortly after 9 p.m. on July 26, 1993, Cornille and three other law enforcement officers parked their vehicles in rural Webster County, with a barn in sight. They were investigating the latest appearance of Nazi dope. Cornille remembers hearing coyotes howl.\n\n\"Having moved from D.C. to here, it was a bit of a change for me,\" he said.\n\nEarlier in the day, an informant told a Springfield police detective that a man named Frank Wright was planning to cook meth at the barn, which was owned by an associate, Gary Davis. The men would start once the sun went down, the informant said, to take advantage of lower humidity levels. The informant indicated Wright drove a green Dodge van. It was parked by the barn.\n\nInvestigators would later learn that, earlier that afternoon, Davis heard that a friend with a similar vehicle was stopped by the DEA. Davis became nervous and told Wright to \"burn the barn\" if agents showed up.\n\nAround 10 p.m., the van started up. It drove off the property, headed west. Cornille and the others followed and initiated a traffic stop.\n\nWright agreed to a search. The van was clean. But the officers found a cigarette pack with a small amount of meth on Wright himself. They read him his rights.\n\nWright admitted to the authorities that he was planning to cook meth, and said he was placing supplies inside the barn. It was to have been something of a trade, court documents indicate. Davis, in exchange for providing the setting for the cook, was to receive two \"eight balls\" — the term for an eighth of an ounce — and be allowed to assist in production, so as to learn the new method himself.\n\nWright was arrested. The barn, by all accounts, escaped unharmed.\n\nDavis contacted the DEA a week later. He admitted to knowing about plans for the cook and said he'd participated in an earlier one.\n\nWright, in turn, contacted the DEA in mid-August. He said he'd been introduced to meth about 18 months prior when he was at Poplawski's home. Paillet showed up to deliver the drug. Wright said he started doing work on Paillet's vehicle, and his involvement gradually grew, until he was loading and unloading chemicals and driving Paillet around while he distributed meth.\n\nWright told the DEA that Poplawski taught him to make meth. He described it as a somewhat formal process that entailed assisting with three cooks. (Poplawski, in a recent interview, denied ever teaching anyone the Nazi method).\n\nThe hardest ingredient to obtain was sodium metal, Wright told the DEA, so he figured out a way to manufacture it himself, using lye, an electric stove, jumper cables and a 12-volt car battery.\n\nHow did Wright come up with the workaround? Perhaps his time with Paillet influenced him.\n\n\"In late June, 1993, or early July, 1993, Wright did research into the manufacture of sodium metal at Southwest Missouri State University,\" court documents say.\n\nPaillet, Poplawski, Wright and Davis were indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 8. 1993, along with two others, Kenneth and Sybil Allen. Court documents say Poplawski sold meth to, and purchased meth from, the couple. The charge against Sybil Allen was later dropped.\n\nNone of them were rich, at least as far as the court knew. Financial affidavits indicate that Poplawski was the only one employed in a traditional sense, bringing home $280 a week. Paillet and the others were listed as self-employed or unemployed, with minimal assets.\n\nThree of the men had a record. Poplawski had been convicted in 1978 of felony robbery in Phelps County. Two others had stealing and drug offenses.\n\nThe men all initially pleaded not guilty and bonded out of jail. Dates were set for jury trials. Behind the scenes, however, negotiations were being made for plea agreements.\n\nBetween mid-December and early January 1994, all five pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute meth. In exchange, additional charges against some of them, for physically manufacturing or possessing the drug, were dropped.\n\nWith Paillet and his co-conspirators rounded up, the authorities could have been excused for thinking they'd nipped the nascent meth-making boom in the bud. But they were soon disappointed. The recipe for Nazi dope was no longer a secret.\n\nThe inaugural class of those involved with \"Nazi dope\" was sentenced in Springfield in the spring of 1994.\n\nThere was Bob Paillet, who told authorities he was the pioneer behind the new meth labs popping up in southwest Missouri; Mike Poplawski, to whom Paillet taught his new method; Frank Wright, who said he learned it from Poplawski; Gary Davis, who arranged to learn it from Wright; and Kenneth Allen, who bought meth from, and sold meth to, Poplawski.\n\nAllen, who tested positive for using drugs while on bond, was sentenced to three years probation.\n\nDavis also used meth while on bond and traveled without permission out of the state. He was sentenced to five years in prison.\n\nPoplawski was sentenced to nearly six years in prison.\n\nIf the sentencing guidelines at the time were followed, Wright would've faced something similar — between six to seven years behind bars. Prosecutors, however, told the judge he provided \"substantial assistance\" in the prosecution of Poplawski. So he was sentenced to about three years in prison, followed by a similar amount of probation.\n\nThen there was Paillet, who received the best deal of them all.\n\nUsing the sentencing guidelines, prosecutors calculated Paillet's \"total offense level\" to be 31. That would correspond with nine to 11 years behind bars. The prosecutors, however, wrote that \"defendant agreed to fully cooperate with the government.\" He was credited with assisting in obtaining the guilty pleas of the others: Poplawski, Allen, Wright and Davis.\n\nAdditionally, the prosecutors wrote that Paillet \"provided significant information concerning the origin of this particular method of making methamphetamine.\"\n\n\"Defendant fully admitted that he first devised this method of making methamphetamine, and it was through him that the method was related to other 'cooks' in the southwest Missouri area,\" they wrote.\n\nPaillet was sentenced to five years of probation. He also attended a drug treatment program. While there, he received a letter from his oldest daughter, living in California.\n\n\"Surprise, Surprise,\" she wrote. \"If I would have known you could do things like that I would have asked for help with my chemistry homework.\"\n\nNearly a quarter century later, Poplawski doesn't understand how Paillet didn't spend a day in prison.\n\n“This was the man that experimented on people, and the DEA worked with him,\" Poplawski said. \"I’m a little burnt about that, still. It still rises my anger a bunch. Not that I was interested in working with them myself, don’t get me wrong, and not that I wasn’t involved, don’t get me wrong there. But I was not the man on top. I was not the man to hit for the heavy sentence.”\n\nPoplawski was implicated when Paillet wore a wire to their meeting at a north Springfield Waffle House. Poplawski told the News-Leader the pair never spoke after that day, except for one comment when they found themselves in the same courtroom.\n\n\"No hard feelings,\" Paillet told the man who had once been his friend. Poplawski, flabbergasted, didn't respond.\n\n\"If I could’ve shot lightning out of my eyes, he’d have been a pile of flesh, a pile of ash, in a heartbeat,\" Poplawski said. \"He just cost me five years. He cost me five years.”\n\nThere's something about calling a drug recipe the \"Nazi method\" that attracts attention.\n\nA few days after Paillet was arrested in February 1993, the News-Leader wrote about the bust. A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration was quoted saying that \"people give their drugs all kind of names.\"\n\n\"Just because it was made by German soldiers during World War II and now is called 'Nazi drugs' has no meaning to us,\" the spokeswoman said. \"It's a nothingness. It only means that the producers don't have to use the usual ingredients, that they can make it without the regular methods. It's dangerous, no matter what you call it or how you make it.\"\n\nThere's a problem with the spokeswoman's response — one that's been replicated in many subsequent discussions of the Nazi method. It implied there's a direct link between Paillet's recipe and the Third Reich. But is there? After reviewing the available evidence, the News-Leader found the connection, while compelling, is tenuous.\n\nResearchers have delved into German use of meth during World War II. Temmler, a Berlin-based pharmaceutical company, introduced meth in pill form under the brand name Pervitin in 1938, according to a 2005 report in the news magazine Der Spiegel. By 1940, millions of pills were being shipped to the front lines, resulting \"in a Blitzkrieg fueled by speed.\"\n\nGermany wasn't alone in exploiting new substances with minimal consideration for side effects. The United States and British supplied service members with tablets of Benzedrine, an amphetamine, during the same period. Both were viewed as particularly valuable for pilots, who needed to remain alert on long bombing raids.\n\nThe large-scale manufacture of Pervitin pills in German factories, however, stands in stark contrast to Paillet's method, which resulted in small amounts of a powdered version of the drug. Which raises the question: If the method wasn't the same, how did meth produced in southwest Missouri end up referencing a fascist state?\n\nIn an interview, DEA agent John Cornille said that Paillet told him he learned the Nazi method by researching in the library at what was then Southwest Missouri State University. Cornille said Paillet indicated he came across a book or a document with a swastika on it.\n\nThose two particular claims aren't found in the hundreds of pages of federal court and DEA records reviewed for this story. The DEA records, which were heavily redacted, do include one conversation in which Cornille asked Paillet if he looked \"this stuff up in a book or something.\" The response, however, contradicts the notion that there was one all-important document.\n\n\"OK, I have a lot of books,\" Paillet said. \"I have gone through the library, many libraries and read lots of books, hundreds of 'em. Ah, involving many phrases of chemistry.\"\n\nCornille asked what books \"originally kinda gave you this idea that maybe this thing could work.\"\n\n\"I can’t say that it was any one in particular,\" Paillet responded.\n\nCornille told the News-Leader he believes most of the backstory Paillet gave regarding his discovery. However, he said the DEA tried to determine the exact book that contributed to Paillet's breakthrough, but came up empty-handed.\n\n“I believe he found it in a book at SMS,\" Cornille said. \"But the swastika thing — they looked far and wide.”\n\nThe man who did the searching says it's a little more complicated than that.\n\nTerry Dal Cason retired from a 40-year-career as a forensic chemist with the DEA in 2011. He told the News-Leader that, back in the mid-1990s, his colleagues in the world of meth lab analysis didn't talk vaguely about a cook in southwest Missouri coming across a book or document with a swastika on it, as Cornille does now.\n\nInstead, Dal Cason said, they specifically mentioned a \"Nazi patent.\" Some of his colleagues stated as fact that the cook came across a patent that contained the exact recipe for Nazi dope. But Dal Cason wanted proof.\n\n\"People kept talking about this patent, and I was trying to get a copy of it,\" he said.\n\nDal Cason ended up with two theories. In 1997, he laid them out in an article for a little-known DEA publication called Microgram.\n\nTheory one:\n\nDal Cason wrote that \"one of the earliest groups\" to make Nazi dope compiled packets of documents that included instructions for the method, and hid them away from their lab sites. If the lab was busted, the hidden packets insured they'd still have a written copy of the recipe somewhere, Dal Cason wrote.\n\nWhat does that have to do with the name? \"The top page of the synthesis 'packets' was a photocopy of a drawing from the cover of a video cassette case of the Third Reich propaganda film, 'Triumph des Willens,'\" Dal Cason wrote.\n\n\"Triumph of the Will,\" the English translation of the title, was commissioned by Hitler. The drawing Dal Cason referred to shows an eagle clutching a wreath containing a swastika.\n\nDal Cason wrote in 1997 that \"it is relatively easy to postulate how the seizure of these packets could present an opportunity to misinterpret a relationship between the most recognizable of NAZI symbols and the Li (or Na)/NH3 reduction procedure contained in the packets.\"\n\n\"From this point it is easy to imagine a 'word of mouth' genesis of the 'Nazi patent' myth,\" he wrote.\n\nThe documents and court records reviewed by the News-Leader do note materials seized in connection with the investigation of Paillet and his associates, but don't mention the German propaganda film. Dal Cason told the News-Leader he didn't recall the specific individuals who apparently hid the packets. The footnotes of his Microgram article reference cases filed in federal court in 1996, years after Paillet was arrested and the Nazi dope moniker was first used.\n\nTheory two:\n\nDal Cason also asked a colleague in the United Kingdom to search German patents. Those published from 1932 to 1945 were topped with the \"Imperial Eagle,\" a coat of arms depicting an eagle perched on wreath containing a swastika (similar, but not identical, to imagery on Triumph Des Willens).\n\nLeslie King, head of the Forensic Science Service's Drugs Intelligence Laboratory, wrote Dal Cason in October 1996, and said he failed to find a patent for the technique Paillet used.\n\nThere were, however, patents that were somewhat related. Dal Cason said the packets mentioned in his first theory contained not just a recipe for the Nazi method, but also instructions for another process using methcathinone.\n\nDal Cason said King found a German patent from 1936 which provided techniques for synthesizing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine using methcathinone.\n\n\"The chemical names 'Ephedrinen' and 'Pseudoephedrine' are easily recognized among the German wording of the patent,\" Dal Cason wrote. \"Misinterpretation of the patent's content, combined with a clandestine laboratory having chemicals appropriate for the Li(Na)/NH3 method, might easily lead to the assumption that this process was described in the patent.\"\n\nTo be clear, however, the patent wasn't describing the method Paillet used. And to Dal Cason's knowledge, no one ever found a copy of the German patent in connection with a lab bust — it's something for which Dal Cason had to search.\n\nThe audience for Microgram, where Dal Cason's article appeared, was largely limited to law enforcement. An editor's note attached to the piece read: \"If anyone has hard evidence that a 'NAZI' patent does exist, please contact the Microgram editor.\" Dal Cason never heard from anyone.\n\nPoplawski, for his part, offered a third theory.\n\nIn an interview, he said Paillet \"wasn't smart enough to invent\" the method, and that he must have gotten the recipe from someone else. Poplawski also said he never heard Paillet or any of his associates use the phrases 'Nazi method\" or \"Nazi dope.\"\n\n“The first time we heard it the DEA threw it out there, and we had no idea what they were talking about,” he said.\n\nWhy does all this matter? Words stir emotion. Dan Viets — a defense attorney based in Columbia, Missouri — told the News-Leader that, by the late 1990s, prosecutors were brandishing the Nazi method moniker \"as a weapon\" in front of juries, taking advantage of the average person's extreme dislike of Nazis.\n\nViets considers the term \"obviously prejudicial,\" particularly given the the lack of an established connection between Paillet's method and actual Nazis.\n\n\"The cops liked to say that as many times as they could in a courtroom,\" he said.\n\nThe sentencing of Paillet and his associates didn't stop use of the Nazi method.\n\nInstead, the opposite occurred. The small-scale labs began to proliferate.\n\nAt first, most state and local officials, such as the average rural county sheriff's office, didn't have the training to safely deal with meth labs. Instead, they'd call the DEA. As the 1990s progressed, Cornille says he began feeling like a firefighter, rushing from small blaze to small blaze without time to investigate their causes. Instead of fires, of course, it was meth labs — although the explosions the labs sometimes prompted could end up blurring the distinction.\n\nThe Missouri State Highway Patrol, contacted by the News-Leader this fall, could only find records regarding the number of meth lab incidents in the state annually dating back to 1996. That year, according to the patrol, there were 121 labs found.\n\nThat figure increased to 319 in 1997. Then 480 in 1998. Then 615 in 1999.\n\n\"Once everything got rolling, it spread like wildfire,\" said Nick Console, who led the DEA's Springfield office for about a decade starting in 1994.\n\n(A meth lab doesn't have to be operational when it is discovered to be counted in state or federal tallies of \"meth lab incidents.\" Those tallies generally also count situations when authorities seize materials used to make meth, or find sites where lab waste material has been discarded.)\n\nCornille said he recalls Paillet telling him that he taught five people his method for Nazi dope.\n\n“My initial thought was if we could get those five, we could make an impact,\" Cornille said. \"But it didn’t work. Maybe we didn’t get one or we didn’t get to them fast enough.”\n\nConsole said he spent the mid-to-late 1990s trying to warn DEA leadership in Washington D.C. that what was happening in southwest Missouri was a serious situation, one that could get worse if unchecked. He says the leaders didn't feel a sense of urgency.\n\n\"We’re trying to tell them — it’s not heroin, it’s not cocaine,\" Console said. \"It’s not a major organization, like a biker gang, that’s producing large amounts of methamphetamine. It’s Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith down here, and the Johnsons over here, making a half ounce. In their eyes, that wasn’t a problem. That was a local problem. It wasn’t a national problem.\"\n\nThe spread of the Nazi method meant that a drug once manufactured in large quantities by \"superlabs\" situated away from populated areas was now being produced on a small scale within towns and cities.\n\nConsole said he can tell stories all day about unusual busts.\n\nThere was the time agents executed a search warrant and noticed bullet holes in the ceiling of a bedroom. When they asked the home's resident why, the man said he knew the agents were monitoring him from his attic, so he shot at them while he laid in bed. The agents hadn't been to the house previously.\n\n“Think about being up without sleep for seven days,\" Console says. \"Think about it. Where would your mind be, where would your body be? So they’d become very paranoid.”\n\nThere was the man in Joplin whose lab exploded, the force of it enough to embed sodium metal in his skin. Sodium metal reacts when it comes in contact with water. When someone went to clean the man's body with a saline solution at the hospital, the sodium metal exploded — the \"pops\" sounding like a miniature fireworks display.\n\nThen there were the deformed chickens. Agents responded to a farm in Christian County where large tanks of anhydrous ammonia were buried in the barn. The stuff wasn't being used as fertilizer.\n\n\"He had chickens with double beaks, he had chickens that were a foot growing out of another foot,\" Console said. \"All the chemicals they were using — they were making meth there for a long time — were being dumped all over the area where the chickens were being raised.\n\nIn 1998, the man credited with pioneering the so-called \"Nazi method\" of methamphetamine production was contacted by a News-Leader reporter.\n\nBob Paillet had moved to Texas from southwest Missouri several years prior, not long after being sentenced for conspiring to manufacture and distribute the drug. He was still on probation.\n\nIt appears to be Paillet's only published interview. He expressed regret to reporter Laura Bauer.\n\n\"I never thought it would spread like this,\" he said. \" ... I don't travel in those circles anymore.\"\n\nIn the years after his arrest, Paillet also wrote several letters to — and once spoke on the phone with — John Cornille, the Drug Enforcement Administration agent who investigated him.\n\n\"I can remember him expressing remorse that he had started 'this mess,' as he referred to it,\" Cornille said.\n\nBy the turn of the new millennium, Nazi dope was no longer a Missouri-specific phenomenon.\n\nIn north Texas, the commander of an 11-county narcotics task force told a magazine in 2001 that the unit came across its first Nazi lab three years prior. By the following summer, the task force was busting one every week.\n\n\"It has exploded on the scene so quick, it's so easy to do, and there are so many people involved in manufacturing it, that it has completely overtaxed our capabilities,\" the commander said.\n\nIn Illinois, a state police representative said in November 2000 that meth labs were \"getting to the epidemic stage.\" He cited the fact that the state was on track to have 400 lab busts by the end of the year. Within four years, Illinois would be logging more than 1,500 labs annually.\n\nIn California, the Modesto Bee reported in 2000 that officials in the Central Valley had encountered eight labs using the Nazi method, and that \"five of them were traced to a man from Missouri who had moved into a trailer park near Fresno and was teaching this method.\"\n\nOfficials in numerous other communities around the country reported a version of the same thing.\n\nNick Console, the former head of Springfield's DEA office, said top agency officials did little to respond to the growth in small-scale labs in the 1990s. By the early 2000s, he said, that began to change, as politicians representing affected communities began putting pressure on the agency.\n\n“It took ‘em a good eight to 10 years,\" Console said. \"And the damage was already done, it’d already spread.”\n\nThe Nazi method didn't just spread cook to cook. Its rise coincided with the early days of the modern internet and anonymous forums like The Hive, where users traded information about illegal substances.\n\n\"There were a number of really good dope sites,\" said Terry Dal Cason, a retired DEA forensic chemist who investigated the origins of the Nazi method moniker.\n\nSince 2002, the DEA has published an annual report called the \"National Drug Threat Assessment,\" which details the prevalence of illegal drugs in the United States.\n\nEach year, the agency asks various state and local law enforcement agencies what they consider the \"greatest drug threat\" in their community. In 2003, 33.1 percent of agencies selected cocaine. Methamphetamine was second, with 31 percent.\n\nThe report stated that meth was widely available in the western and central United States and gradually becoming more available in the eastern United States. It concluded, however, that “despite the rising threat, methamphetamine is not likely to surpass the overall threat posed to the United States by powder cocaine and crack in the near term.”\n\nTwo years later, it did.\n\nThe 2005 report read: \"According to state and local law enforcement agencies, the threat associated with methamphetamine trafficking and abuse has increased sharply since 2002 and now exceeds that of any other drug.\"\n\nTo be clear, the Nazi method wasn't the only way meth consumed in America was produced. In its annual reports, the DEA largely focused on other sources.\n\nFirst, there was the foreign supply; meth was smuggled into the United States from Mexico and, to a much lesser extent, southeast Asia.\n\nThen there were the domestic \"superlabs\" — those capable of producing 10 pounds of meth in a single day. In 2001, federal authorities seized 303 of them, two-thirds of which were located in California. The California labs alone likely produced more meth than all other domestic laboratories combined, the DEA wrote.\n\nThere was regional variation, however. In 2002, the agency wrote that \"local independents account for as much as 80 percent of retail methamphetamine distribution in some areas of the country,” specifically the central United States. The Nazi method was a key process used, but there were also other recipes, like the \"Red-P\" method named for the required red phosphorous.\n\nThe DEA struggled to accurately detail the problem. In 2004, the agency wrote that meth use and distribution in the Midwest was \"very high\" in rural and suburban areas, but \"less so in metropolitan areas, where most drug consequence data are collected.\"\n\n\"Therefore, available drug consequence data for methamphetamine use in the Central States likely under-represents the problem, perhaps significantly,\" the agency wrote.\n\nSmall labs accounted for much of the drug's impact on communities, which was felt in burn units and mental health clinics, courtrooms and cemeteries. While the Nazi method simplified meth production, it didn't make it foolproof. The more labs, and the more cooks, the more opportunities for something to go wrong, and the greater the cost of cleanup.\n\nIn 2003, there were 361 reported fires and explosions at meth lab sites, and 255 law enforcement officers were injured responding, according to the DEA. The agency spent $16.3 million on laboratory cleanup that fiscal year, eight times more than it spent less than a decade earlier.\n\nThat same year, the DEA reported that 893 children were present when meth labs were seized. About two-thirds tested positive for toxic levels of chemicals in their bodies. The agency said \"child neglect and abuse are common within families whose parents or caregivers produce or use methamphetamine.\"\n\n“The devastation and the damage to kids … I understand why Bob had regret,\" Cornille said.\n\nNationwide, meth lab busts peaked in 2004, when there were nearly 24,000 seizures.\n\nAlmost 3,000 of them were in Missouri. Two years earlier, the number of meth lab busts in the state passed those in California — the birthplace of the methamphetamine industry — for the first time. Since then, Missouri has led the nation most years, never dropping below third in annual busts. In some parts of the country, the area code for southwest Missouri, 417, is said to be slang for meth, or a particular type.\n\nCornille and Console both acknowledge that if Paillet hadn't introduced the Nazi method, someone else might have done so a short time later. Just like any legal industry, there is a steady pace of innovation in the world of illegal drugs, typically in response to some government crackdown.\n\nTo combat meth in the early 2000s, laws were implemented requiring medications containing pseudoephedrine to be sold from behind the counter. In 2007, fewer than 7,000 meth labs were seized across the country.\n\nBut makers and users adjusted, developing what became known as \"one-pot\" or \"shake-and-bake\" meth production, in which just a couple of pseudoephedrine pills are mixed in a 2-liter soda bottle for smaller batches. The new method led to another spike — 15,000 national meth lab busts in 2010.\n\nConsole said he views these newer methods as just continued innovation. The Nazi method was the truly critical shift, he said — the one that turned meth consumers into producers.\n\nAfter they were sentenced for conspiring to manufacture and distribute meth, those indicted alongside Paillet struggled to stay on the right side of the law.\n\nKenneth Allen, who was given three years probation, ended up behind bars after he repeatedly tested positive for meth; he was also arrested for driving with a revoked license and failing to support his dependents.\n\nMichael Poplawski, sentenced to nearly six years in prison, later completed community service for patronizing a prostitute in the early 2000s, according to online court records. He pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, with intent to distribute, in 2012.\n\nGary Davis, sentenced to five years in prison, briefly escaped in August 1994 from the Kansas facility where he was incarcerated. His sentence was later reduced for aiding in the prosecution of two others, but he ultimately ended up back behind bars. Davis is currently serving time in a federal penitentiary in Texas for, among other things, stealing explosive materials and conspiring to use them to rob a bank, according to a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.\n\nCourt records indicate that Paillet never violated parole. There is no evidence he got in trouble with the law during the rest of his life.\n\nPaillet found work after he moved to Texas in the mid-1990s. His youngest daughter said he was a CNC programmer, developing the programs that run automated machining equipment. His oldest daughter, however, said Paillet did sales and technical installations for a company.\n\nBy the end of the decade, health problems prompted him to go on disability, and he talked about having dystonia, a neurological disorder characterized by uncontrollable and sometimes painful muscle spasms.\n\nCourt records indicate Paillet divorced his third wife in 2008. He spent the final years of his life living with another woman in a trailer park in Sherman, a city of about 40,000 an hour north of Dallas.\n\nIn 2014, Stephanie Denton, 37, moved into the unit next to Paillet. Within a few months, she and Paillet — now in his early 70s — were drinking coffee together every morning.\n\nDenton was having issues in her relationship, and her son was having legal troubles; Paillet encouraged her to be more positive, she said. From what Denton could tell, her neighbor didn't really have close friends.\n\nPaillet didn't talk about his past very much, Denton said. She knew he was a Vietnam vet — Paillet talked about the war being pointless — and that he'd been involved with drugs to a degree. She said he claimed he'd sold drugs to raise money for a school for disabled kids.\n\nPaillet was more inclined to talk about the government, with a bent more paranoid than partisan. Denton said he repeated a well-known conspiracy theory that claims the Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to imprison citizens in camps after the imposition of martial law. Paillet's minimal online presence included posts about a group advocating for the secession of the state of Texas.\n\nPaillet also had an extensive rock collection and talked and posted online about searching for gold on a claim in Colorado. He appears to have become obsessed with the process, not unlike his days of manufacturing meth.\n\n“He first really started talking about gold mining after he was arrested,\" his oldest daughter Lisa Paillet said. \"One of the things that he was really very interested in doing was separating gold from rock, so not mining in the river, but using chemistry to remove gold from rock without requiring massive amounts of water.\"\n\nLisa said her father's health issues worsened during the final years of his life, and that he appeared to be struggling with dementia at times. In what would end up being her last conversation with her father, he talked about his will.\n\nBob Paillet didn't leave a suicide note.\n\nEarly in the afternoon of Jan. 1, 2016, the 72-year-old drove his red Dodge truck from the mobile home park where he lived in Sherman, Texas, to a nearby hospital. It was a little over a mile. Then, he took a gun — \"he had a lot of guns,\" said his daughter Gena — walked to the front of the vehicle, and shot himself in the head. He died minutes later in the emergency room.\n\nPaillet's family held a memorial service after his death. To the outside world, however, the only acknowledgement of his passing can be found on the website of a Denison, Texas, funeral home. It's not really an obituary, just a name and a pair of dates.\n\nThere's a guest book option on the site. One person — Paillet's second wife, Gena's mother — has left a message: \"We had a lot of happy years together. You will be missed. Your pain is over, ours now begins.\"\n\nOtherwise, there was nothing in the public record acknowledging that the man credited with reinventing methamphetamine production in the U.S. was dead. All in all, it probably turned out about how Paillet would have wanted it.\n\nIn 1998, he spoke briefly with a News-Leader reporter, the only time he was ever quoted in the media. At the time, meth lab busts were drastically increasing across the central United States. Authorities were blaming the phenomenon on the ease of the \"Nazi method,\" and said Paillet pioneered it while living in the Springfield area.\n\nIn that interview, Paillet expressed regret, as well as a wish regarding his future.\n\n\"I hope my name is forgotten or it's put in the back of people's minds,\" he said.\n\nPerhaps Paillet found some measure of peace. In an interview, Gena said that, while growing up, she was not allowed to talk or ask about the concept of a God around her father. In his later years, however, Bob Paillet softened on that view.\n\nIn 2008, he wrote on online message boards that \"I was an atheist, then agnostic, and now I believe that there is a God.\" He also said that he believed in evolution, and expressed a degree of incredulity that there are individuals who do not.\n\n\"He was still a scientific man, but he found his version of God,” Gena said.\n\nGena, 38, came of age in a world that her father helped create.\n\nGrowing up in Morrisville, she \"never really fit in,\" she said, and started drinking at an early age. When Gena and her mother moved to Springfield, she \"immediately just fell in with the wrong crowd.\" She graduated from Springfield's Parkview High School in 1996.\n\n\"A lot of people believe that addiction is genetic,\" Gena said. \"I am my father's daughter, not just in that way, but every way that there is.\"\n\nGena said she used meth for the first time at age 15. Two years later, she met Steven Joseph Brown, the man who would become her husband.\n\n\"He used needles, and he shot me up for the first time with heroin, and it was pretty much over from there,\" she said. \"It was always either that or meth. There was like a two-year period where I probably never slept. It’s been a struggle for me ever since.\"\n\nBrown — who died in February 2016 — was 16 years older than Gena. Prior to meeting her, he gave Gena's father precursor chemicals in exchange for meth, she said. At one point, he was even arrested by John Cornille, the Drug Enforcement Administration agent who investigated Bob.\n\n“My husband kind of ended up learning my dad’s recipe,\" Gena said. \"Not anywhere near as good as my dad.”\n\nGena, who said she grew up fearing her father, first got in trouble for drugs when she was 17. She thought her father was going to kill her. Instead, she said, he \"became my best friend ever, because we understood each other.\"\n\n\"My mom — I love my mom — she’s never done a drug in her life,\" Gena said. \"She’s had maybe one speeding ticket, and I think she even got that dismissed. Really this connection grew between him and me that was just amazing. I could really do no wrong in his eyes.”\n\nGena said that between her late teens and late 2015, she was only \"clean\" for extended periods twice, when she became pregnant. \"But I always went pretty much right back.\"\n\nIn late December 2015, Gena said, she overdosed on heroin. Gena's mother, who she lived with at the time, kicked her out of her house. Gena called her father, who paid for a motel room for a week, and indicated she should come live with him in Texas.\n\n\"He said, 'I want you to go to your parole officer and start getting everything transferred down here and I want you to come back here,' and he said, 'I will get you through this,'\" Gena said.\n\nTwo days later, she got the call that her father was dead.\n\nGena said she traveled to Texas to attend her father's memorial service, but got in a dispute with the woman Bob was living with at the time of his death, and ended up leaving beforehand (Lisa Paillet described her half-sister as \"high as a kite\" at the time). Gena expressed regret that she didn't receive something her father wanted her to have — \"this metal container thing that his very first successful batch of stuff was made in.”\n\nIn August, Gena said she put herself through treatment after returning from Bob's memorial service. She said she had been clean since Jan. 25.\n\n\"It really hurts me that my dad never got to see me get my life together,\" she said.\n\nBy November, however, Gena was back in a three-week rehab program. She attributed the relapse to her depression, and said she \"wasn’t managing it with medication like I should have been.\" In early May, she said she had stayed clean since completing the program.\n\n\"It’s still hard a lot of days,\" Gena said. \"And it’s hard to stay away from the people that kind of want to push it on you.”\n\nLisa Paillet, who asked that her first name be changed for this story, graduated in 1991 from then-Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in theater — which she said her father \"paid for, I’m pretty sure, with drug money.\"\n\nShe returned to California, where she grew up, and gradually drifted away from theater-related work. When her father, then on probation in Texas, found a job that made machining equipment, he paid for her to go to school to get a machinist's certification. She was hired by a company she described as being in the military aerospace research sector, which paid for her to get a bachelor's degree in engineering.\n\n“That’s when our conversations about science really took off, and we would talk for long periods of time,” she said of her father.\n\nRegarding her sister, she said Gena's \"world is very, very different from mine.”\n\n“He and Gena had a very, very different relationship than he and I had ... I think he treated her far more like a child than he ever treated me,\" Lisa said. \"And because he didn’t really raise me, he didn’t have rules for me … I think even though I went down his road a little bit when I was very young, I think my upbringing with my mother definitely was not the same.”\n\nLisa said her father's decision to take his own life wasn't entirely unexpected. Suicide was something he mentioned casually over the years, she said.\n\n\"He knew he was going to commit suicide if he ever got too sick, and I knew it a long time ago,\" Lisa said.\n\nBob Paillet's parents died in the 1980s. They are buried in a cemetery in Exeter, Missouri, where they lived and where Bob spent his high school years.\n\nLisa said her father, who became obsessed with gold mining in the later years of his life, requested his ashes be scattered at his gold claim. However, she's has been unable to find it. When Lisa called Colorado, she was told he didn't have a claim in the state.\n\nThough Paillet appears to have avoided run-ins with the law late in life, the process he pioneered continued to occupy authorities.\n\nSome states responded to the rise in small-scale meth labs by requiring prescriptions for purchase of products containing pseudoephedrine.\n\nMissouri didn't, but over time dozens of communities within the state instituted their own prescription laws. City leaders in Springfield debated doing the same in 2013, but the effort wasn't without controversy.\n\nThat fall, Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky — a former prosecutor who supported the measure — asked Springfield's police chief to provide monthly reports detailing meth lab activity in the city. She pitched it as a way for council to stay informed on the issue. Councilman Doug Burlison, a libertarian who opposed the prescription requirement, described it as \"an attempt to educate us to have different opinions.\"\n\nThen a funny thing happened. The police chief's monthly reports consistently described fewer and fewer meth labs being found in the city. In July 2014, the prescription bill was tabled indefinitely.\n\nThe situation wasn't unique to Springfield. The number of small meth labs seized in the United States has declined in recent years, from about 15,000 in 2010 to about 4,500 in 2016.\n\nIt's not that the drug has lost its presence in the United States. Last year, when state and local law enforcement agencies were asked to name the greatest drug threat in their area, heroin received the most votes. The agencies that selected it, however, were strongly concentrated in the Great Lakes and northeast regions of the United States. In the western part of the country, more agencies chose meth.\n\nMost of that meth is produced in Mexico and smuggled across the border.\n\nIn a 2016 report, the DEA attributed the decline in domestic labs to the wide availability of high-purity, high-potency meth from Mexico, as well as the passage of the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, a federal law enacted in 2006 which placed restrictions on the meth precursors ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine.\n\nNick Console, who spent about a decade as the top DEA official in Springfield, said Paillet's Nazi method may have prompted the cartels to become more involved with production of meth.\n\n\"Why? Because you had a huge addiction problem here in the United States to methamphetamine,\" he said. \"Supply and demand.”\n\nConsole retired to a farm in Ash Grove. John Cornille, the DEA agent most involved with investigating Paillet, still works for the agency.\n\nMike Poplawski — who was taught the Nazi method by Paillet himself — has served his prison sentence. He understands how the statute of limitations works, double jeopardy and all that.\n\nAsk him about the early days of Nazi dope, however, and he chooses his words carefully. He's convinced that saying certain things could get the DEA interested in him again. He says he's been at the same job for 15 years, together with his wife for 25 years.\n\n\"I’ve got grandkids that love me, step-kids that love me, extended family that love me,\" he said. \"You look from the other side — the law enforcement side — I’m a bad man.”\n\nIn an interview in his Springfield home, Poplawski, 59, said the people he considers meth's Nazi dope generation are \"all in jail or dead,\" and that those currently involved with the drug aren't self-starters. He voiced frustration at seeing \"bangers shooting each other, shooting up neighborhoods, doing dope and falling asleep in their cars with the kids in the cars and s---- like that.\"\n\n\"I want to go around with a .22 starter pistol and start capping people,\" he said. \"I can still find the houses. They’re not the same houses. But a speeder can always recognize another speeder.\"\n\nAsked about his own actions, Poplawski said \"if I knew then what I knew now, I would’ve done things different.\"\n\n\"I like to think that I had the ability to make a change,\" he said.\n\nAt the same time, he said, \"there's always going to be an addiction.\"\n\n\"The hole’s always there,\" Poplawski said. \"And once it got filled by meth, we had the meth crisis ... Now you’ve got [a] prescription drug crisis and you’ve got [a] heroin crisis hard. Meth’s bad. I don’t think heroin’s an improvement.\"\n\nReached at a federal prison in Texas, Gary Davis — the only other individual indicted alongside Paillet still living — declined to be interviewed without compensation. In a brief email, he did include one comment.\n\n\"Meth is a scourge on society,\" Davis wrote. \"I wish I would have never messed with it.\"\n\nPaillet expressed similar sentiments years before his death.\n\n\"I wish I never started it,\" he told a News-Leader reporter in 1998. \"I would never do it again.\"\n\n\"I caused a lot of trouble with a lot of people.\"\n\nHow we reported this story\n\nReporter Thomas Gounley began working on this story in the wake of Bob Paillet’s death in January 2016.\n\nThe events leading to the arrest of Paillet and his co-conspirators are detailed in federal court records. Additional information regarding Paillet was obtained from the Drug Enforcement Administration through a Freedom of Information Act request.\n\nInterviews with Paillet’s family members and one-time associates, along with current and retired law enforcement personnel, were conducted between August 2016 and May 2017. One of Paillet’s daughters, citing concerns regarding how this story could affect future job prospects, agreed to be interviewed on the condition that her first name be replaced with a pseudonym. Editors agreed to that request.\n\nThe photos of Bob Paillet in this story were provided by his daughters. Booking photos of those indicted alongside Paillet were obtained from the Greene County Archives and Records Center. Center staff said they did not have a booking photo of Paillet himself.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/05/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/07/23/detroit-riots-blind-pig/487920001/", "title": "Detroit 67: Police raid ignites 5 days of rioting", "text": "Bill McGraw\n\nDetroit Free Press special writer\n\nEditor's note:This is the second installment in a three-part series exploring the 1967 riot. Here we look at the five days of violence that tore apart the city beginning 50 years ago today, on July 23, 1967. Last Sunday, we explored the tensions leading to the riot. Next Sunday, we'll examine the aftermath of the riot and its long-term effects on Detroit. You can read our complete coverage online at freep.com/detroit67.\n\nThe red emergency phone rang in Detroit Police Commissioner Ray Girardin’s Lafayette Park bedroom at 5:20 a.m. on that Sunday 50 years ago today.\n\nHe awoke to a shock. It was Police Superintendent Eugene Reuter.\n\n“I think we’ve got trouble on 12th Street,” Reuter said. He told Girardin that a police raid on a an after-hours drinking spot had turned violent. He was calling officers back to duty.\n\nGirardin telephoned his boss, Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, considered the most progressive mayor in big-city America, an Irish-Catholic New Deal Democrat who had made improving race relations a key part of his agenda.\n\nTheir nightmare scenario was unfolding on 12th Street: People were breaking windows, and the crowd was growing. Things seemed to be surging out of control, deteriorating by the minute. Cavanagh and his top aides gathered with Girardin and police officials at 1300 Beaubien, Detroit Police headquarters.\n\nComplete coverage:1967 riot: Rebellion and unrest\n\nAlso read:\n\nDetroit '67: 'The shotguns were loaded,' rookie cop recalls\n\nTheir first task was to get more officers on the streets, on a day that is normally low-crime and the lightest deployment of the week. Girardin was also worried that the 12th Street ruckus might be a diversion for a planned attack on the east side — the big Detroit Edison power plant and city water works on the river, the Belle Isle police dispatch center and many Chrysler facilities.\n\n“Our strategy was to use the forces we had to contain the situation in a small area until outside assistance arrived,” Girardin said afterward, referring to the Michigan State Police and the National Guard.\n\nAmong the looters was then-18-year-old LeeRoy Johnson, who recently recalled the atmosphere: “We saw people running in and out of stores. They were wild on 12th Street.\n\n“People were coming out of businesses, the pawn shops, everything, with all kind of items, they had just go in there and take it, the police standing there don’t even try to stop ’em,” Johnson said in an interview with the Detroit Historical Museum Oral History Project. “So we started looting. We continued to loot up and down 12th all the way to Davison.”\n\nThe blind pig\n\nThe disturbance began with a police raid on a blind pig — an illegal bar — at 9125 12th St., at the corner of Clairmount, on Detroit’s near west side. It was an entirely routine procedure carried out by a vice-squad cleanup crew, whose duty was to bust illegal drinking, gambling or prostitution operations. Police had conducted several other raids that week with no incidents, and they'd busted 9125 12th St. before without a problem.\n\nAt the club, a plainclothes officer bought a beer, and uniformed cops broke in through a locked door. To their surprise, they saw 85 customers and staff, about six times more than they expected. Loading them into paddy wagons and and transporting them to the 10th (Livernois) Precinct took more than an hour. But even at 4:30 on a Sunday morning, people gathered on busy, rowdy 12th Street, which in the blocks south of Clairmount was a well-known sin strip where gambling, prostitution and illegal clubs flourished.\n\nBystanders joked at first with the bar patrons in custody, but the banter turned angry, and the crowd got rowdy. Crowd members targeted the mostly white cops, who were despised in the black community after decades of abuse.\n\nOne agitator on 12th Street, later identified as Michael Lewis, an autoworker, stood out with his green outfit and puffy sleeves, not an unusual ensemble in Detroit in 1967. Cops called him Greensleeves.\n\n“Why do they come down there and do this in our neighborhood?” Lewis shouted to the crowd.\n\nAnother rabble-rouser, by his own account, was Bill Scott III, the son of William Scott II, principal owner of the blind pig. The elder Scott and his daughter, Wilma Scott, a waitress, were arrested the night of the raid. In 1970, Bill Scott — then a University of Michigan student — self-published a memoir of his activities in July 1967. He hated the Detroit police and stood outside the blind pig that night, watching and taunting.\n\n“Are we going to let these peckerwood (expletive) — come down here any time they want and mess us around?” he shouted.\n\n“Hell, no!” people yelled back.\n\nScott claims he threw the first bottle. It shattered on the sidewalk. A line of police moved toward the crowd, then backed away. As the cars drove off, bottles, bricks and sticks flew through the air, smashing the windows of departing police cars.\n\n“For the first time in our lives, we felt free,” Scott wrote. “Most important, we were right in what we did to the law.”\n\nThe rebellion was under way.\n\nWindows started breaking on 12th Street. Scott said he threw a litter basket through the window of Hardy’s Drug Store, a black-owned establishment.\n\n\"Why would Negroes want to tear up their own business places?” the owner later asked a Michigan Chronicle reporter, a question that would be repeated often in the coming days and is even heard today.\n\nAs dawn approached on a hot and sticky night, burglar alarms began clanging, adding to the bedlam of sirens, shouting and shattering glass. People were running in every direction.\n\nA festival atmosphere\n\nGirardin ordered cops to seal off Belle Isle, where the 1943 race riot had begun. That two-day riot, which included hand-to-hand combat between blacks and whites, left 34 people dead.\n\nBut Girardin and Cavanagh took a controversial approach in those early hours in 1967.\n\nEven as more police personnel reported for duty — 1,122 officers were on the job by midmorning — police did little to stop the pandemonium on 12th Street. They were following what they believed were directions from superiors, and ultimately, Cavanagh, to use restraint. Badly outnumbered, officers conducted a sweep of the street, but the maneuver did nothing to control the crowd. Then they tried to isolate the area by erecting a perimeter. That also failed to work, and by 1 p.m., the crowd had swelled to about 10,000. Many were looting as police stood by.\n\nFelton Rogers Jr., a 26-year-old rookie cop, was among those sent to 12th Street on a bus. He said officers were issued riot gear and loaded shotguns, but told not to shoot the looters.\n\n\"As we approached, we could hear the burglar alarms going off constantly,\" Rogers recalled. \"We pulled up and it was a scene that you just couldn’t imagine. Windows were shattered and glass was out in the street. Merchandise from people looting was everywhere. There were tons of people just milling around.’’\n\nA festival-like feeling took hold along 12th Street. People carried stolen goods through the broken doors and shattered display windows of the street’s many stores.\n\nIn the first several hours after daylight, police did not shoot anyone, made few arrests and did not use tear gas. Meanwhile, the crowds grew, rowdiness continued and looting spread, the stolen goods ranging in size from from shoes to sofas. Lots of liquor was taken.\n\nBarbara Perryman, a college student in 1967, drove with her boyfriend to 12th Street from her Detroit home to see what was happening.\n\n“Just standing around watching people,” she told an interviewer. “They're breaking windows out and all — and I couldn't get over this — and then milling around.\n\n“So I turned around and looked in the grocery store. I said, ‘God, look at all those cookies on that shelf. Sure would like to take some cookies back to school.’ Next thing I know, some guy I did not know came up to me. ‘Here are your cookies!’ \"\n\nConrad Mallett Jr., the future chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court whose father, Conrad Mallett Sr., was a top Cavanagh aide, was a 13-year-old Free Press paperboy on 12th Street that Sunday morning, pulling a wagon and walking Hamlet, his Airedale terrier.\n\n“I saw a guy come out of a clothing store with 10 hats on his head, literally in a stack,” Mallett said.\n\nMany establishment black leaders fanned out through the neighborhood, pleading for calm. U.S. Rep. John Conyers, the Detroit Democrat who was then 38 and in his second term in Congress, climbed onto a car on 12th Street before noon Sunday with a bullhorn, asking the crowd to “stay cool.” Crowd members shouted him down, and someone threw a rock, which hit a cop. Conyers and his driver, civil right activist Arthur Johnson, were forced to flee.\n\n“You try to talk to those people and they’ll knock you into the middle of next year,” Conyers said later.\n\nThe first fire broke out in a 12th Street shoe store at 8:24 a.m., and fire crews battled it with no harassment.\n\nBy early afternoon, blazes raged out of control up and down 12th Street, spreading to Grand River Avenue, and it felt like someone was squeezing a bellows on the city — temperatures were in the high 80s, and 15-m.p.h. winds whipped the flames and spread the embers. The city smelled like smoke for miles, even in areas where no fires raged. Charred paper scattered in the wind and fell on distant neighborhoods.\n\n“I could hear the people screaming. Sirens filled the air,” John Lee Hooker, the late legendary blues singer who lived in Detroit, sang in “The Motor City Is Burning,” his post-riot song.\n\nAt some fire scenes, residents helped firefighters stretch hoses. At other places, members of the crowd pelted fire personnel with rocks and bottles and stole hoses off the trucks. At one point, the fire department radio dispatcher relayed a command from the chief to all crews operating without police protection:\n\n“Orders are to withdraw. Do not try to put out the fires. I repeat…”\n\n“A spirit of carefree nihilism was taking hold,” said the post-riot report from the government’s bipartisan Kerner Commission, which conducted an extensive investigation into Detroit’s tumult. “It appeared to one observer that the young people were dancing amid the flames.”\n\nLooting spread to nearby Linwood and Dexter avenues, crowded with stores like 12th Street.\n\nA media blackout and rumors\n\nBy early afternoon, with mayhem under way for about eight hours, Detroiters still had no official word that an extremely serious civil emergency was unfolding. Cavanagh and other leaders made no announcements, and they asked radio and television executives to sit on the story, arguing a media blackout would help them gain an upper hand.\n\nUntil late afternoon, when CKLW-TV in Windsor broke the embargo, rumors raced among Detroit’s 1.5 million residents as thick columns of black smoke rose over the west side. Many of the 34,623 fans at Tiger Stadium for the Tigers-Yankees doubleheader could see the smoke in the distance above left field.\n\nBroadcaster Ray Lane told historian Tim Kiska that Tigers General Manager Jim Campbell phoned with one instruction: “You are not, I repeat not, under any circumstances, to refer to the smoke over the left-field fence.\" Late in the second game, an announcement inside the stadium told fans to avoid certain streets, but did not provide an explanation.\n\nBy late afternoon, news of the riot was all over TV and radio. Most notably, WJLB-AM, one of Detroit’s black-oriented radio stations, on which Martha Jean (the Queen) Steinberg, ministers and officials spent hours pleading for calm.\n\nIn the vacuum of official information, people in well-off neighborhoods — from Detroit’s Boston-Edison district to the Grosse Pointes, which share a long border with the city — passed along stories that rampaging African Americans were heading to burn down their homes. Blacks in the riot area heard that a young man had been bayoneted and left on the street to bleed to death, which was never confirmed.\n\nThe disturbance generated fear all over: Normal life across Detroit came to a halt. Residents in besieged areas turned off their lights and got onto the floors of their homes, to stay below windows and out of reach of errant bullets. Black and white homeowners across the city and nearby suburbs moved their cars up their driveways and got their guns. Police in Dearborn and Grosse Pointe Park stood guard at their city’s borders with Detroit.\n\nDonald Lobsinger, a well-known anti-communist zealot who led a pugnacious group called Breakthrough, gathered gun-wielding acolytes at his home near Chandler Park, fearing Detroit’s many leftists would use the chaos as a cover to attack him. None of his adversaries appeared.\n\nAt the Fox Theatre on Sunday afternoon, Martha and the Vandellas was the headline act of a “Swinging Time Review” hosted by CKLW-TV’s Robin Seymour. Theater officials interrupted the Vandellas’ set and halted the show once they learned how dangerous Detroit’s streets had become. Martha Reeves explained the situation to fans, and they left the theater calmly.\n\nPolitical tests\n\nThe growing unrest tested Cavanagh, an ambitious Democrat, and Republican Gov. George Romney like nothing had before.\n\nRomney — who was planning to run for the Republican Party nomination for president in 1968 — and the mayor dithered in calling in the National Guard and Michigan State Police, partly because they feared being damaged politically if the public perceived they had lost control of Detroit.\n\nBut as the day wore on, it became increasingly apparent that Detroit was out of control, and the disturbance was growing by the hour. At 2:05 p.m., Girardin finally requested help from Michigan State Police. At 4:10 p.m., Romney called in the National Guard after he had received Cavanagh’s official request.\n\nThe disorder was rapidly spreading far beyond the near west side. By 4:30 p.m., firefighters had abandoned a 100-block area along 12th Street, waiting for state police or national guard protection. On Linwood Avenue on Sunday afternoon, the 68-year-old owner of a shoe repair store, Krikor Messerlian, who was barely 5 feet tall, grabbed a saber and attempted to defend a neighboring dry cleaners from a group of looting youths. After he cut one of the looters, another member of the gang beat Messerlian with a 30-inch piece of wood. Messerlian died four days later.\n\nLate Sunday afternoon, Cavanagh and other officials met at the 10th Precinct with black community leaders and neighborhood activists. Asked why it took so long to call in the guard and state cops, Cavanagh said: “Because they’re all white. We’re leery about that.”\n\nThe mayor added: “We don’t want another Newark here,” referring to the recently concluded disturbance in the New Jersey city in which 26 people died.\n\nAt the meeting, some Detroit residents and black officials complained about the restraint shown by police in the early hours, arguing a stronger reaction could have ended it. Cavanagh defended the city, saying there simply were not enough officers available to make a difference.\n\nCavanagh declared a 9 p.m.-5:30 a.m. curfew, and ordered the closing of bars and gas stations. The tunnel and bridge to Canada were shut down.\n\nTrying to get a handle on the size of the problem, Romney flew over Detroit between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. and gazed down into the hazy, wet heat in horror.\n\n“It looked like the city had been bombed on the west side,” he said. “Entire blocks in flames.”\n\nAt 9:07 p.m., the first sniper fire was reported. Then people started dying.\n\n‘A riot of police against blacks’\n\nThe first reported death came just seconds after midnight Monday, heralding a day of escalating violence and confusion. Hamid Audish Yacoub, cruising around the neighborhood of Fourth and Temple in a 1965 burgundy Mustang, spotted Walter Grzanka, 45, coming through the broken window of Yacoub’s looted market. Yacoub fired a shot through the open car window and hit Graznka, who died 25 minutes later. In his pockets, Graznka had seven cigars, four packs of pipe tobacco and nine packets of shoelaces.\n\nSheren George, a 23-year-old mother of two and pregnant with her third child, was riding in the center of the front seat of a car with her husband and two brothers when a bullet ripped into her chest. The shot, from an unknown gunman, came from outside the car, at Woodward and Melbourne, about 11:30 p.m. Sunday. She was rushed to a hospital, where she died a couple of hours later. George was white; she and family members had just dropped off two black friends at Woodward and Grand Boulevard and were returning home.\n\n“Since there was this trouble, we thought Woodward would be safest,” said her brother, Paul Dimitrie.\n\nAt 3:30 a.m. Monday, John Ashby, a 24-year-old Detroit firefighter, was severely burned by a high-voltage wire. He died Aug. 3.\n\nBefore dawn on Monday, 800 state police officers and 1,200 Guardsmen had arrived in the city. Several thousand more members of the National Guard were on their way. The looting had now spread to 7 Mile and Livernois on the north and to Kercheval and Van Dyke on the east.\n\nNine people died of gunshots during daylight Monday, and many were wounded as bullets flew wildly in many neighborhoods.\n\nAt 4:30 p.m., at Baldwin and Harper, a red and white Oldsmobile 98 roared into an alley. Out jumped a 24-year-old white man, Richard Paul Shugar, armed with a shotgun. While Shugar owned no store, he accused a black man, Nathaniel Edmonds, 23, of looting and fired a shot, killing Edmonds. Shugar was later charged with murder.\n\nDetroit police, exhausted after working dangerous, 12-hour shifts and frustrated after being ordered to hold back Sunday, went on the offensive Monday. Officers shot 19 looting suspects, killing seven black men, and making more than 2,000 arrests that day alone.\n\nIn Detroit, as in some 150 other cities that experienced violence in 1967, “what had begun, to some degree, as a riots against police, became, in some degree, ‘a riot of police against blacks,’” wrote University of Michigan history professor Sidney Fine.\n\nWith the National Guard and police having little effect on the trouble, Republican Gov. Romney reached out to Vice President Hubert Humphrey in Washington at about 2:15 a.m. Monday to discuss using federal troops. Aides to Romney and Democratic President Lyndon Johnson — hamstrung by the political ambitions of their bosses — worked on the details of a deployment for several hours. Late Monday, Johnson ordered 4,700 crack paratroopers into Detroit as guardsmen and police battled snipers across the city.\n\nIt is so extraordinary to send in the U.S. Army for a local law-enforcement matter that the president went on national TV at midnight Monday to explain.\n\n“The fact of the matter is law and order have broken down in Detroit, Michigan,” Johnson said.\n\n“The city is an asylum,” wrote Jimmy Breslin, the famous New York Daily News columnist, who had traveled to Detroit to cover the story.\n\nNear the epicenter, on Taylor near 12th, Katie Thomas lived in fear.\n\n“It was like the whole world was on fire,” she said. “Twelfth Street was burning. Guns were going off and electricity was popping. I couldn’t sleep. I just laid there and cried.”\n\nFederal troops arrive\n\nFederal troops began taking back the streets of the lower east side in large numbers about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, some 10 hours after they arrived at Selfridge Air Base and 46 hours since the unrest had begun. Upon their arrival, their commanders, Lt. General John Throckmortin and Col. A.R. Bolling, observed “a city saturated with fear,” according to the Kerner Commission report.\n\n“The National Guardsmen were afraid, the residents were afraid, and the police were afraid. Numerous persons, the majority of them Negroes, were being injured by gunshots of undetermined origin. The general and his staff felt that the major task of the troops was to reduce fear and restore an air of normalcy,” the report said.\n\nShirley Davis, who was 19 in 1967, felt that horror when she saw tanks roll into her street as her southwest Detroit neighborhood became a battlefield.\n\n“Tanks! I had never seen a tank before in my life. I thought they came to shoot us, or to blow our houses up,” she told a Detroit Historical Museum interviewer. “I mean actual tanks. Big giant guns. And you’re sitting there and your heart is beating and you don’t know if you’re gonna live or die.”\n\nAbout 40% of the paratroopers were Vietnam veterans and nearly 25% were African Americans. The troops’ diversity, skill, no-nonsense demeanor, knack for public relations and strict discipline separated them from the trigger-happy weekend warriors in the old, ill-fitting National Guard uniforms. The Army quickly subdued Kercheval, Van Dyke, Vernor, Charlevoix, East Grand Boulevard, Mack and other east-side streets. But not every neighborhood east of Woodward was calm.\n\nDuring the night hours early Tuesday and Wednesday, snipers seemed ubiquitous on both the east and west sides. At Lawton and Carter, a vicious battle between snipers and law enforcement unfolded around the darkened home of Lloyd Stone, a 49-year-old autoworker, who crawled across his living room floor as gunfire banged up and down his street.\n\n“Get in the house! Get back!” shouted a police officer over a loudspeaker, warning residents to seek cover.\n\n“They’re crazy,” Stone told a reporter. “That’s the only word for it. I haven’t seen anything like this since the Army.”\n\nWhile hidden assassins were one of the lethal dangers during the week, analysis during and after the riot concluded many of the gunshots that police and the National Guard took for sniper fire were rounds fired by their colleagues blocks away. Detroit police and guard troops often fired first and asked questions later; the Kerner Commission report cited buildings placed under siege by authorities “on the sketchiest reports of sniping.”\n\nJulius Dorsey was a 55-year-old security guard at a fruit market near his home by the Belle Isle Bridge. Two men and a woman approached him after midnight on Monday and ordered him to let them loot the market. Dorsey refused, and a standoff ensued.\n\nDorsey fired his gun three times into the air, scattering the looters, and they broke into a nearby store. Neighbors, thinking the looters were armed, called police. When police and Guardsmen arrived, they chased the looters northward, firing their guns. The looters escaped, but the bullets hit Dorsey, and he died.\n\nOn Tuesday night came a horrific example of misguided shooting during the assault on a building at 12th and Euclid. National Guard troops were on alert because they believed their 2½ ton tank had come under sniper fire. One Guardsman saw the flash of what he thought was a weapon in a second-floor apartment window, so he responded with the tank’s .50-caliber machine gun. Bullets slammed into the chest of 4-year-old Tonia Blanding, killing her and nearly severing the arm of her aunt. The flash the guardsman saw in the darkened apartment likely was Tonia’s uncle striking a match to light a cigarette.\n\n“They shot all through the building,” a young, unidentified black man told WXYZ-TV the next day. “They even ran through the building and shot up through the floors. After they took us out and put us on the street, they talked about how they should kill all of us.”\n\nOn Wednesday, in an attempt to flush out suspected snipers, Detroit police and National Guard members fired more than 80 rounds into the Harlan House Motel, on the John Lodge Service Drive near West Grand Boulevard. One guest, Helen Hall, a 50-year-old businesswoman from Connecticut, stood at a fourth-floor window, telling her companions to come look at the tanks. A slug hit her in the heart and killed her instantly.\n\nThe Algiers Motel\n\nAlso Wednesday, sniper fire was reported around the Algiers Motel, a ramshackle establishment at Woodward and Virginia Park with a reputation for drugs and prostitution. Detroit cops, state police, National Guard soldiers and a security guard stormed the motel.\n\nNo weapon was ever found, nor evidence that any snipers had been hiding in the motel — though one of the guests might have fired a starter’s pistol during horseplay. By the time law enforcement personnel departed, three young black men — Carl Cooper, 17; Fred Temple, 18, and Auburey Pollard, 19 — were dead. Several of their friends, plus two white women from Ohio, had been assaulted during a chaotic and brutal lobby interrogation.\n\nThe killings became the most infamous episode of the week, a symbol of the uprising’s ruthlessness, especially after it was determined that two of the victims had been shotgunned at close range.\n\nJohn Hersey, an internationally famous author in that era, described the killings in his 1968 book, “The Algiers Motel Incident.” Kathryn Bigelow, the Oscar Award-winning director, uses the Algiers as the focus of her film, “Detroit,” scheduled to have its world premiere at the Fox Theatre on Tuesday and open nationally Aug. 4. Danielle McGuire, a critically acclaimed author and former Wayne State University history professor, is writing a book on what happened at the Algiers.\n\nThe police “really freaked out,” in the motel, McGuire said: “By the end of the chaos…all evidence pointed to an execution, rather than some kind of shootout between snipers and the police.”\n\nA regional trauma\n\nThe violence subsided gradually. Sniping continued to bedevil police and National Guard troops on the west side, especially in the 12th Street area, but the 505 riot-related incidents from 6 p.m. to midnight Wednesday were about half the number of Monday night, 984. The east side, patrolled by paratroopers, was relatively quiet.\n\n“I think we have the city under control,” Throckmorton, the paratrooper commander, said Wednesday.\n\nOne outbreak of gunshots from snipers that took place about 4 p.m. Wednesday around 12th and Clairmount momentarily trapped an unlikely sightseer — Orville Hubbard, the longtime mayor of Dearborn, who was known for his strident segregationist views. Hubbard, in a two-car convoy, was making a tour of the riot areas, accompanied by a Dearborn police inspector with a Thompson submachine gun and a reporter from the Dearborn Press, among others.\n\nAs the shooting continued, the Hubbard party sped away. Looking at a young black man walking down a street, minding his own business, Hubbard was quoted as saying, “Look at that guy over there. I think he’d shoot you for two cents. You can tell they just hate whites.”\n\nEarlier, at a news conference, Hubbard had pledged that Dearborn police would “shoot on sight” any rioters who happened to cross the city’s long border with Detroit.\n\n“When you have mad dogs running loose, you’ve got to bring them under control with brute force,” he said.\n\nIn Detroit, police shot a white looter Wednesday who was stealing from an auto parts store north of Hamtramck. On the west side, Albert Robinson, a 38-year-old factory worker, died when police and guardsmen said snipers were shooting from Robinson’s apartment building. Authorities claimed Robinson was a sniper, but witnesses disagreed. No weapons were found in the building. Rumors spread that a Guardsman had bayoneted Robinson as he lay wounded on the ground, but an autopsy showed no such wounds.\n\nBy Thursday, much of the city was calm for the first time in five days. Many Detroiters and suburbanites were exhausted, sad, scared, confused and angry. And they also were curious about what had happened. Such large crowds and cars jammed 12th Street and other battered neighborhoods Thursday that Romney felt forced to reinstate the 9 p.m.- 5:30 a.m. curfew to control traffic and allow cleanup crews access.\n\nThe sights of soldiers, tanks, streets glittering with glass and smoking piles of rubble where busy businesses once stood were so much more harsh in person than on TV, and the images left many people feeling disoriented and ill.\n\nThe stats startled the world: 43 dead (33 African Americans and 10 whites); 1,189 injured; 7,231 arrests, of which 14% were white; 2,509 stores looted or burned; and 3,034 calls for fire department service. Of all structure fires, perhaps as many as 27% took place in black-owned businesses, according to historian Sidney Fine.\n\n“The catastrophe which has struck Detroit is a disaster by any reasonable definition of that term,” Romney said.\n\nOn Thursday, Cavanagh assembled at city hall 500 Detroiters, from Henry Ford II, UAW President Walter Reuther, department store chief J.L. Hudson Jr. to numerous community and neighborhood leaders. The mayor would appoint Hudson, then 35, to lead a city rebuilding committee, which would become New Detroit Inc.\n\n“We had to have something like this to wake us up to the fact that we have a revolution going on,” said Anthony Locricchio, an antipoverty activist. “We knew this would be bad, but we didn’t know it would be this bad.”\n\nReuther, one of the era’s most liberal and influential labor leaders, had counseled presidents Johnson and John F. Kennedy and directed UAW funds to help finance the civil rights movement in the South. He delivered a passionate speech at the city hall meeting, summoning the hope that many Detroiters were searching for.\n\n“What are we trying to do with this thing we call the American Dream?” Reuther asked the crowd. “We are trying to build a society in which we can harmonize the diversity — the many splendored diversity — of the human family, of all kinds of people, and to weld them into a sense of unity and solidarity.\n\n“This has never been done before. There are no blueprints that we can lift out of the history books, because no other people have ever had the challenge, or the opportunity. There is little we can do about yesterday. But there is much that we can about tomorrow.”", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/07/23"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_3", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:13", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/21/weather/christmas-arctic-winter-storm-wednesday-wxn/index.html", "title": "Nearly every state to be impacted by a 'once in a generation' winter ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nA major winter storm and cold blast will impact nearly every state and bring what the National Weather Service is calling a “once in a generation type event” that will cripple travel on some of the busiest travel days of the year.\n\nThe strengthening storm will bring more than a foot of snow and possible blizzard conditions to the Midwest, as the weather service warns of “life-threatening” wind chills for millions.\n\nMore than 90 million people are under winter weather alerts and more than 87 million are under wind chill alerts. The alerts stretch across 37 states, dipping as far south as the Texas/Mexico border.\n\nThe number of people under winter alerts and wind chill alerts has grown to over 100 million people, or roughly a third of the US population, according to the National Weather Service.\n\nThe cold will stick around for Christmas weekend, making this the coldest Christmas in roughly 40 years for portions of the Plains and Midwest.\n\nLIVE UPDATES ON THE WINTER STORM FOR THURSDAY\n\nStorm timeline:\n\nWednesday: The storm will strengthen over the Northern Plains through the day as heavy snow falls across much of the Rockies, the Northern Plains and into the Midwest. Slick roads will lead to travel headaches and airport delays through places like Minneapolis, Omaha and Rapid City.\n\nThis system will bring 5 to 9 inches of light fluffy snow across the region, with “the highest amounts just north and west of the Twin Cities,” said the weather service office in Twin Cities. While snow will steadily fall across the region, the high winds won’t kick in until Thursday.\n\nDenver will go from a high of 47 on Wednesday to a low of minus 14 on Thursday morning. That would be the city’s coldest day in 32 years, according to the weather service.\n\nTemperatures in the Denver metro area will drop drastically once the front passes in the next couple of hours.\n\nBy sunrise, the temperature is expected to be around 10 degrees below zero and gusty north winds will create a wind chill of around minus 25. The high-temperature tomorrow will likely not make it above zero degrees.\n\nA wind chill warning is in effect as well as a winter weather advisory. Several inches of snow will also make for difficult travel late this afternoon through early Thursday.\n\nThursday: Thursday will be the most difficult day for travel. The storm will be hitting the Midwest extremely hard with heavy snow and strong winds. Western Minnesota will face not only blizzard conditions, but potentially deadly wind chills Thursday and Friday.\n\n“Whiteout conditions are expected during that time with travel becoming very difficult or impossible,” said the weather service. “This event could be life-threatening if you are stranded with wind chills in the 30 below to 45 below zero range.”\n\nChicago could also face blizzard conditions with winds gusting as high as 50 mph, with 2 to 4 inches of snow forecast.\n\n“Overall, concern continues to increase in the quick development of dangerous conditions Thursday afternoon with potentially significant impacts to the evening peak travel window,” warned the weather service office in Chicago.\n\nSnowfall early Wednesday in Glasgow, Montana. Angel Enriquez\n\nAdditionally, strong winds may knock out power lines in the Midwest, especially in areas where heavy snow fell last week and is already weighing down tree branches. This will leave millions finding a way to stay warm as temperatures plummet to well below freezing.\n\nSnow could fall as far south as Jackson, Mississippi, Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee and even Birmingham, Alabama, on Thursday. Little to no accumulation is expected for most of the southern cities, however, Nashville could pick up about an inch of snow.\n\nIn anticipation of what will be a week of travel nightmares, United, American, Delta, Southwest and Jet Blue have issued travel waivers for dozens of airports across the country from the South to the Northeast, because in addition to snow covering roadways, low visibility could make air travel dangerous.\n\nAt least 1,000 flights had been canceled across the US, according to the flight tracking site Flightaware on Wednesday evening.\n\nChicago’s O’Hare International Airport leads the way, followed by Denver International and Chicago’s Midway International.\n\nCancellations at those airports could have a wider impact because they are busy hubs where travelers often change planes in order to reach other destinations. Thursday is expected to be the busiest pre-Christmas day for travel.\n\nFriday: The storm is expected to become a “bomb cyclone” Thursday evening into Friday. A bomb cyclone is when a storm rapidly intensifies – and drops 24 millibars (a term used to measure atmospheric pressure) in 24 hours.\n\nThe storm is expected to reach the pressure equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane as it reaches the Great Lakes, with the weather service describing the strength of the low a “once-in-a-generation” event.\n\n“This is a case in which snow totals may not tell the whole story. Even small snow amounts, when combined with very strong wind gusts and plummeting temperatures, can cause poor visibility and slick spots on roads. The sudden arrival of these conditions can increase the danger,” the weather service explained.\n\nThe storm will be over the Great Lakes on Friday and continuing to produce heavy snow across much of the Midwest. Portions of Michigan could pick up more than a foot of snow by Friday, making travel impossible at times.\n\nBlizzard warnings are in effect for parts of the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan – where travel conditions will become difficult to impossible as the storm peaks Thursday into Friday. Major cities like Chicago, Kansas City, St Louis, Twin Cities and Detroit are under winter storm warnings for heavy snow and near blizzard conditions.\n\nHeavy rain will also blanket much of the I-95 corridor, adding to the travel troubles and lengthy airport delays.\n\nEven in places where the snow has ended, strong winds will continue to blow 30 to 40 mph across much of the Midwest and into the Northeast.\n\nFriday night into Saturday morning, New England will get a quick shot of snow and windy conditions.\n\nTravelers check in at Minneapolis' St. Paul Airport, Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Abbie Parr/AP\n\nLife-threatening cold\n\nPlaces that will escape the snow, won’t escape the cold. Areas from eastern Montana through the Dakotas will experience the coldest air beginning Thursday morning. Temperatures will be running 40 degrees below normal for these places. The combination of cold temperatures and windy conditions will send wind chills as low as 50 degrees below zero.\n\nRapid City will feel like 45 degrees below zero on Thursday morning. By Friday morning, Chicago’s wind chill will bottom out at 30 degrees below zero.\n\n“The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 5 minutes,” warned the weather service office in Bismarck.\n\nEven the South will be dangerously cold. Nashville and Atlanta’s wind chill will drop to minus 11 on Saturday morning and Birmingham will feel like minus 5.\n\nGeorgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday declared a state of emergency due to the upcoming “historic low temperatures” across the state, with near zero or negative digit wind chills by midday on Friday.\n\nGreg Behrens, of Des Moines, Iowa, tries to stay warm as he makes his way on a snow-covered sidewalk, Wednesday, December 21, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall/AP\n\nThe declaration will help “ensure that essential supplies, especially propane can be delivered for both commercial and residential needs,” the governor told reporters.\n\n“Communities across the state are about to see temperatures that they haven’t experienced in a decade or more,” Kemp said.\n\nThe state will be pretreating roads and bridges in anticipation of the inclement weather and officials urged residents to avoid travel if possible.\n\nKentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also declared a state of emergency, with wind gusts expected to reach 40 to 50 mph on Friday and minus 10 to minus 26 degrees wind chills expected on Saturday. Beshear asked residents to stay off roads and to have a backup heat source.\n\nJackson and Birmingham will both spend more than 80 hours below freezing between Friday and Monday. Houston could sit below freezing for 46 hours between Thursday and Saturday.\n\nThe cold temperatures will stay through Christmas weekend, before finally moderating next week.", "authors": ["Aya Elamroussi Jennifer Gray", "Aya Elamroussi", "Jennifer Gray"], "publish_date": "2022/12/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/25/ian-could-become-major-hurricane-targets-florida-what-we-know/8113790001/", "title": "Ian could become 'major' hurricane, targets Florida. What we know", "text": "Tropical Storm Ian strengthened into a hurricane Monday while racing across the Caribbean toward Cuba and threatening a big hit to Florida's west coast later in the week.\n\nAt 5 a.m. EDT on Monday, Ian was moving northwest at 13 mph, about 90 miles southwest of Grand Cayman, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.\n\nIan was forecast to intensify rapidly and become a major hurricane as soon as late Monday.\n\nAs Ian approaches Florida, Accuweather said the storm could reach Category 4 status, which means sustained winds between 130 mph and 156 mph.\n\n\"In just a few days, Ian is likely to be a dangerous, major hurricane,\" AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said.\n\nFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents to load up on food, water, medicine, batteries and fuel. He said it was too soon to determine when or even if Ian will make landfall, but that evacuations may be ordered in coming days.\n\n\"Expect heavy rains, strong winds, flash flooding, storm surge and even isolated tornadoes. Make preparations now,\" he said Sunday. \"Anticipate power outages. That is something that is likely to happen with a hurricane of this magnitude.\"\n\nThe National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for the lower Florida Keys Sunday.\n\n\"Significant\" wind and storm surge damage was expected across a wide swath of the Atlantic Basin, and the Cuban government upgraded the hurricane watch to warning.\n\nSuch storms can cause \"catastrophic\" damage, with power outages that can last weeks or possibly months, according to the National Weather Service description. Areas can be uninhabitable for weeks or months, the weather service says.\n\n“Even if you’re not necessarily right in the eye of the path of the storm, there’s going to be pretty broad impacts throughout the state,\" DeSantis said.\n\nIAN COULD BE MAJOR HURRICANE SOON:Statewide emergency in Florida declared\n\nStorm could drive heavy rains all week\n\nHeavy rainfall may affect north Florida, the Florida panhandle and the southeast United States through Saturday, the weather service update said. Flooding and rising area streams and rivers across the region \"can't be ruled out\" later this week, especially in central Florida due to already saturated conditions, the updated warned.\n\nStill no water or electricity:Voices from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona\n\nEast coast of Florida not in the clear\n\nThough the track had shifted westward, parts of the state's east coast remained solidly within the edges of Ian's forecast cone Sunday. Melbourne resident Pat Alderman wasn't taking any changes, buying ten 50-pound bags of sand, along with 50 empty sandbags, at Lowe's in West Melbourne to fortify her back patio door against floodwaters. She has a backyard pond, and her soils are saturated with recent rainfall.\n\nAlderman, shopping at Lowe's on Sunday, said she had a generator and roll-down shutters – no need to board her windows.\n\n\"This is from decades of living in Florida,\" she said. 'If you've lived here for a while, you need to have all these things. Transplants don't understand.\"\n\nIn Tampa, stocking up on water and sandbags\n\nJohn Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at hurricane center, said Floridians should begin preparations, including gathering supplies for potential power outages, he said.\n\n\"For those in Florida, it’s still time to prepare,\" he said. \"I’m not telling you to put up your shutters yet or do anything like that, but it’s still time to get your supplies.\"\n\nTampa Mayor Jane Castor said city sandbag sites were open. She urged residents to shop for several days of necessities now and to check family disaster kits and plans.\n\n\"Are you #TampaReady?\" she tweeted. \"It’s never too early to prepare.\"\n\nResidents agreed. Shoppers at a Walmart Supercenter Tampa were stocking up on supplies – and wiped out almost 1,000 cases of bottled water in a few hours Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported.\n\nNASA postpones launch, considers stashing rocket\n\nNASA said Sunday that it was monitoring Tropical Storm Ian, but had not determined whether it would roll back the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to the protection of the assembly building. The agency said it would \"prioritize the agency’s people and hardware.\" NASA managers, who canceled a launch set for Tuesday due to the storm, planned to meet Sunday night to evaluate whether to keep the vehicle at the launch pad to preserve an opportunity for a launch attempt on Oct. 2.\n\nThe latest information provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Space Force, and the National Hurricane Center indicated a \"slower moving and potentially more westerly track of the storm than yesterday’s predictions showed, providing more time for the agency’s decision making process,\" NASA said in a statement.\n\nBethune-Cookman University orders evacuation\n\nBethune-Cookman University canceled classes Monday and said they would reconvene remotely on Tuesday.\n\n\"As a precaution, and in the interest of safety for members of our campus community, the university has issued a mandatory campus evacuation,\" the school said in a statement on its website. The school, a private, historically black university in Daytona Beach, has about 2,750 undergraduate students.\n\nThe school told its students that their smartphones are “computers” and that they should continue to use their cellphones to keep up with their studies in the event they do not have access to a tablet, laptop or desktop technology.\n\nFlorida's west coast could take rare hurricane hit\n\nAccuWeather meteorologists are warning that the storm could slam the west coast of Florida – an often-missed target. The U.S. database shows that about 160 hurricanes, excluding tropical storms, have affected Florida. Only 17 have made landfall on the west coast north of the Florida Keys.\n\nMost storms typically travel northeast or northwest, not up the coast, AccuWeather senior weather editor Jesse Ferrell said. There is no record of a hurricane ever having tracked entirely up the west coast of Florida since records began in 1944. But Ian appears likely to take a \"very unusual track,\" he said.\n\nFlorida has had recent storms that were hurricanes, but were downgraded to tropical storms before landfall, Ferrell said. Elsa in 2021 made landfall west of Tampa, and Eta in 2020 made landfall north of Tampa in Cedar Key. Neither had the firepower close to a Category 3 storm, however.\n\nDeSantis declares statewide state of emergency\n\nFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a pre-landfall state of emergency for all 67 counties late Saturday. The declaration came a day after DeSantis' 24-county declaration.Florida National Guard members will be activated and on standby.\n\n\"Floridians should remain vigilant and ensure their households are prepared for a potential impact,\" DeSantis said.\n\nIan will then either move inland somewhere over the southeast U.S., or could track near or along parts of the Eastern Seaboard late this week, The Weather Channel said, adding that it's too soon to tell where Ian will end up, but there could be wind, flooding rain and other impacts extending into other parts of the East late next week.\n\nBiden authorizes FEMA to help\n\nPresident Joe Biden also declared an emergency for the state, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance to protect lives and property.\n\nBiden postponed a scheduled Sept. 27 trip to Florida due to the storm.\n\nCaymans, Cuba to see Ian's fury first\n\nBut Ian will do damage even before reaching Cuba. Hurricane conditions are expected to reach Grand Cayman by early Monday, with tropical storm conditions expected by Sunday night, the weather service said.\n\nSignificant wind and storm surges in western Cuba are expected as the storm strengthens Sunday night, according to the National Hurricane Center.\n\nHurricane conditions are possible within the hurricane watch area in Cuba by Monday night or early Tuesday, with tropical storm conditions possible by late Monday. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the tropical storm watch area in Cuba Monday night and Tuesday.\n\nContributing: Rick Neale, Florida Today; The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/09/25"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/30/us/jackson-water-system-failing-tuesday/index.html", "title": "Jackson, Mississippi, water: The water crisis has gotten so bad, the ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nRecent torrential rain coupled with years of water system issues have resulted in a crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, where the city doesn’t have enough water to fight fires, flush toilets or even hand out to residents in need.\n\nJackson’s main water treatment facility began failing Monday, according to Gov. Tate Reeves. The National Guard was called up to help distribute bottled water as crews work to get the water treatment plant back online, state officials said.\n\nBut the distribution itself proved unsustainable. Residents of all ages were seen waiting in lines more than a mile long at Hawkins Field Airport for at least two hours Tuesday for just one case of bottled water. The event was supposed to span three hours, but barely ran two as people were eventually turned away when the 700 cases of water ran out.\n\n“I keep saying we’re going to be the next Michigan,” said Jeraldine Watts, 86, who was able to get water at a grocery store Monday night. “And it looks like that’s exactly what we’re headed for.”\n\nWatts was referring to the water crisis in the city of Flint, which has battled water issues since a 2014 water crisis in which lead-contaminated water fed to residents’ faucets.\n\nPeople line up for water in Jackson, Mississippi, on August 30, 2022. CNN\n\nJackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told CNN’s Pamela Brown the city is working on more water distribution events. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency will provide nearly 30 water trucks to help supplement the city events, the mayor said.\n\n“I have been assured by MEMA that they will supplement those locations with about 28 tanker trucks distributed at various points across the city,” Lumumba told CNN.\n\nExplanations for Jackson’s failing system are complicated: Damage this summer to pumps at the main water treatment facility made failure increasingly likely as the summer progressed, the governor said; and flooding of the Pearl River after heavy rains last week affected treatment processes and therefore the amount of running water the system can provide, Lumumba said.\n\nThis week’s troubles come as the water system has been plagued with problems for years and with the city already under a boil water notice since late July for what the state called a water-quality issue.\n\nThe state is “surging our resources to the city’s water treatment facility and beginning emergency maintenance, repairs and improvements,” Gov. Reeves said. “We will do everything in our power to restore water pressure and get water flowing back to the people of Jackson.”\n\nWater for those in the state’s most populous city would have to be provided “for an unknown period of time,” Reeves said.\n\nThe water shortage is expected to last “the next couple of days,” according to the mayor’s office.\n\nLumumba also announced Monday the city’s public works director – a role that oversees the water treatment facilities – has been reassigned. Marlin King will instead serve as deputy director and Jordan Hillman, the city’s planning and development director, will be the interim public works director, according to Melissa Payne, the mayor’s spokesperson.\n\nKing did not respond to CNN requests for comment. Payne said King’s reassignment “is part of restructuring” and is not a result of the current water crisis.\n\nResidents say faucet water is discolored\n\nState Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr. said he didn’t have running water Monday, but on Tuesday, discolored water came out of his faucet that he used to flush the toilet. He and his family used bottled water Tuesday morning to brush their teeth, Crudup told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota.\n\nCrudup said that although the city has experienced water issues in the past, rain played a part in the current water emergency.\n\n“It’s been building up for years, but we have had an unprecedented amount of rain in the last two to three weeks, and it just kind of created this havoc, what we are dealing with right now,” he said.\n\nJackson resident Daryl Page told CNN he’s been searching for clean, bottled water since the city’s been under a boil water notice “for a whole month.” He was driving to a distribution site, but as he arrived, he noticed there was nothing there.\n\nFirefighters and recruits for the Jackson Fire Department carry cases of bottled water to residents vehicles, August 18, 2022, as part of the city's response to longstanding water system problems. Rogelio V. Solis/AP\n\n“Everyone is turning around because there is nothing here,” Page said, adding that his next plan of action was to drive to another site in hopes that he could find cases of water there.\n\nBecause of Monday’s failure, officials announced all Jackson public schools will shift to virtual learning Tuesday.\n\nHospitals are also feeling the strain. Jackson’s University of Mississippi Medical Center released a statement Tuesday saying the Jackson Medical Mall air conditioning is not functioning properly “because the water pressure feeding its chillers is too low.” Portable restrooms are being used in locations experiencing low water pressure, the statement said.\n\nThe university medical center statement also said a fire watch was declared for its Jackson-based facilities, “because fire suppression systems are fed by the city water system. Low pressure in the systems may cause them to be less effective.”\n\nPresident Joe Biden has been briefed on the water crisis in Jackson and the White House has been “in regular contact with state and local officials, including Mayor Lumumba, and made clear that the Federal Government stands ready to offer assistance,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday afternoon.\n\n“(The Federal Emergency Management Agency) is working closely with the state officials to identify needs, and the EPA is coordinating with industry partners to expedite delivery of critical treatment equipment for emergency repairs at the City of Jackson water treatment facilities,” she said.\n\nIn an emailed statement Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency said “ensuring all people have access to healthy and safe water is a top priority.”\n\n“We are in communication with officials in Mississippi and stand ready to provide support should the State request federal assistance,” the EPA statement read. “In the interim, we are available to provide technical support and information to Mississippi officials as they navigate their plan to address the immediate concerns at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant.”\n\nLater Tuesday, the governor said FEMA has received the state’s declaration asking the federal government to declare the water shortage a federal emergency.\n\nWater system issues go back decades, mayor says\n\nThe problem this week stems from one of two water treatment facilities in the city: the O.B. Curtis plant, which is run by the city of Jackson, according to the governor.\n\nThe main pumps at O.B. Curtis were severely damaged recently, and the facility began operating on smaller backup pumps about a month ago, around the time the latest boil water notice began in July, the governor said, without elaborating about the damage.\n\nThe governor said he was told Friday that “it was a near-certainty that Jackson would fail to produce running water sometime in the next several weeks or months if something did not materially improve,” the governor said.\n\nThe O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant in Jackson, Mississippi, seen on March 24, 2022. Mark Felix/AFP/Getty Images\n\nBut Lumumba said during a Monday news conference that it was only a matter time before the water system failed because Jackson’s water system has been faced serious issues for years.\n\n“I have said on multiple occasions that it’s not a matter of ‘if’ our system would fail, but a matter of ‘when’ our system would fail,” the mayor said, adding that the city has been “going at it alone for the better part of two years” when it comes to the water crisis.\n\nIn early 2020, the water system failed an Environmental Protection Agency inspection. The agency wrote the drinking water had the potential to be host to harmful bacteria or parasites, based on observations of the water’s turbidity, or cloudiness, as well as “disinfection treatment concerns, and/or the condition of the distribution system.”\n\nIn March 2020, the EPA issued an order requiring the city to develop a plan to replace and repair monitoring and treatment equipment, to “address dosing processes for disinfection and pH control” and to take more coliform bacteria samples, among other things.\n\nThe city also has endured weather-related shutdowns.\n\nIn February 2021, a winter storm shut down Jackson’s entire water system, leaving tens of thousands of residents without water for a month amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Residents have been under some sort of boil water notice or advisory several times since that storm, including the state-ordered notice posted in July.\n\n“We were here two Februarys ago when we had system failures, and the world was watching us and the world is watching us again,” Lumumba said during Monday’s news conference.\n\nThe mayor also pointed to recent flooding from the Pearl River as an event that triggered the latest water pressure issues.\n\nBecause O.B. Curtis received additional water from the reservoir during the flooding from last week to this week, the facility had to change the way it treats the water, which has led to the reduction of water being put out into the system and reduced tank levels. This is affecting the water pressure at residents’ homes, he said.\n\n“As one crisis may be diverted, another one rears its head,” Lumumba said Monday during a news conference after addressing the flooding in the city.\n\nO.B. Curtis is meant to provide about 50 million gallons for the city daily. The other plant, which usually provides about 20 million gallons daily, has been approved to ramp up its output amid the shortage, authorities said.\n\nIn July 2021, the EPA and the city entered into an agreement to address “long-term challenges and make needed improvements to the drinking water system.” The EPA recently announced $74.9 million in federal water and sewer infrastructure funds for Mississippi, mentioning Jackson without naming specific projects.\n\nHowever, Lumumba has said it would take $2 billion to fully repair and replace the dated system, which city, state and federal officials say also has too much lead in its water in some places.\n\nLumumba declared a water system emergency Monday. The proclamation noted not only the flooding but also numerous previous “unsuccessful attempts to rectify water system issues.”\n\nVideo Ad Feedback CNN meteorologist explains cause of water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi 02:27 - Source: CNN\n\nAs for restoring water pressure and flow and performing emergency maintenance and repairs, the state would split the cost with the city, Reeves said Tuesday.\n\n“We will cash flow the operation, and the city will be responsible for half the cost of the emergency improvements that we make,” the governor said in a statement released on Twitter.\n\nAt a Tuesday news conference at the plant, Reeves said he is “encouraged” and at the same time “discouraged” by some of the news coming out of the facility.\n\n“We do have a plan in place to potentially bring in an additional rented pump that will allow us to put at least 4 million gallons of water additionally, hopefully, which will be installed by tomorrow morning. That is progress and will help,” he said.\n\nReeves added there is no time frame as of now for safe drinking water, but that over the next 24 to 36 hours residents will see significant truckloads of clean water start to be delivered to Jackson.\n\nOver the next few days, more than 108 semi-trucks of water are coming into Jackson and seven mega distribution sites will have 36 truckloads of water a day for the public to be able to retrieve, according to Lt. Col. Stephen McCraney, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency director.\n\nSystemic issues also contributed to water crisis\n\nLumumba previously told CNN a lack of political will and years of neglect on a national level has prevented Jackson from getting the help it needs to fix its water and sewer crisis. Besides the infrastructure issues, the plant has also been faced with staffing issues, according to the mayor and governor.\n\n“A far too small number of heroic frontline workers were trying their hardest to hold the system together, but that it was a near impossibility,” the governor said Monday.\n\nJackson’s ongoing water system problems already had some residents reporting low to no water pressure and raw sewage flowing in city streets and neighborhoods before this month.\n\nNow, some residents are taking to Twitter – where #jxnwatercrisis and #jacksonwatercrisis were trending – to post pictures of buckets and even tubs full of brown water coming out of their drains.\n\nSome on social media also pointed to systemic and environmental racism as among the causes of the city’s ongoing water issues and lack of resources, given that 82.5% of Jackson’s population identifies as Black or African American, according to census data, while the state’s legislature is majority White.\n\nNAACP president Derrick Johnson called out the Mississippi governor on Twitter Tuesday.\n\n”.@tatereeves, what are you waiting for!? We demand on behalf of the Jackson communities that you request federal aid from @FEMA and other agencies to ensure people have access to a basic human right: WATER,” Johnson’s tweet read. “Make the damn call. This is personal.”\n\nJackson has undergone drastic changes in the past half century. Its economic decline has occurred rapidly over the past two decades, fueled by population decline and demographic shifts.\n\nThe city’s population shrank from almost 200,000 in 1990 to about 160,000 in 2020. Its decline in population in these three decades was driven almost entirely by White flight. The city was 56% Black in 1990. By 2020, 82% of the city’s residents were Black.", "authors": ["Amir Vera Jason Hanna Nouran Salahieh", "Amir Vera", "Jason Hanna", "Nouran Salahieh"], "publish_date": "2022/08/30"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/25/weather/christmas-arctic-winter-storm-power-outages-sunday/index.html", "title": "Prolonged winter storm causes at least 37 deaths and leaves ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe prolonged winter storm that brought heavy snow, high winds and brutal cold to most of the US this past week has killed at least 37 people and had hundreds of thousands without power on Christmas morning.\n\nPerhaps the worst impact was around Buffalo, New York, where 43 inches of snow fell as of Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The snowfall and blizzard conditions made roads impassable, froze power substations and left more than a dozen people dead, Erie County officials said.\n\nThe conditions eased slightly on Sunday, allowing emergency responders to get out and see the extent of the problem.\n\n“I don’t want to say that this is going to be it because that would be a fallacy for me to say that, because we know that there are people who have been stuck in cars for more than two days,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said Sunday. “There are people in homes who are below freezing temperatures.”\n\nNew York Gov. Kathy Hochul called it the “most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long storied history” due to its power and its extended length.\n\n“It’s a crisis of epic proportion,” Hochul told CNN’s Paula Reid on Sunday.\n\nOver the past week, this winter storm brought dangerously cold temperatures, blizzard conditions and coastal flooding to almost the entirety of the US, wrecking Christmas plans along the way.\n\nMore than 55 million people were under wind chill alerts Sunday morning, and freeze warnings are in effect across the South.\n\nThe blizzard conditions persisted Sunday across the Great Lakes, while frigid cold temperatures gripped the eastern two-thirds of the country.\n\nSome major cities in the Southeast, Midwest and East Coast recorded their coldest Christmas in decades. In Florida, it will be the coldest December 25 since 1983 for Miami, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach.\n\nNew York City also saw record cold temperatures on Christmas Eve at several locations, including its JFK and LaGuardia airports. The high at Central Park was 15 degrees, marking it the second-coldest December 24 in at least 150 years, according to the National Weather Service.\n\nTemperatures are forecast to rebound later in the week with a much-welcomed warming trend with above-normal temperatures.\n\nAbout 250,000 homes and businesses in the US had no electricity service as of about 11 a.m. ET Sunday, with nearly half of those affected in Maine and New York, according to PowerOutage.us. Since the start of the storm the number of outages has at times exceeded a million customers.\n\nPower grid struggling with cold\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\nA power grid operator for at least 13 states in the country’s eastern half asked customers to conserve power and set thermostats lower than usual from early Saturday to 10 a.m. on Sunday because usage was straining capacity.\n\nThe operator, PJM Interconnection, serves about 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The operator warned rolling blackouts could happen if the strain becomes too much.\n\nIn New York, utility companies Con Edison and Natural Grid US also urged customers to conserve energy, citing extreme weather conditions and increased energy demand on interstate pipelines carrying natural gas into the city.\n\nMeanwhile, a shortage of electricity in Texas prompted the US Department of Energy to declare an emergency Friday, allowing the state’s energy provider to exceed environmental emissions standards until energy usage drops.\n\nIn Jackson, Mississippi, frigid temperatures are hampering efforts to repair a large water main break late Saturday, which has caused a loss in water pressure for residents, city officials said.\n\n“We are grateful to the crews who are braving these frigid temperatures on this Christmas Eve night, while working to restore pressure to residents. Their sacrifice does not go unnoticed and is appreciated not only by this administration, but also by every resident who is affected,” the release stated.\n\nThe brutal weather conditions have also snarled travel during the busy holiday weekend, with more than 5,000 flights canceled Friday, more than 3,400 flights canceled Saturday, and more than 2,800 canceled for Christmas Day.\n\nDangerous weather conditions claim lives\n\nSnow covers a vehicle on December 24, 2022, in Hamburg, New York. John Normile/Getty Images\n\nOut of the 17 weather-related fatalities recorded across New York, 16 were in Erie County, officials said, and one was a fatal carbon monoxide poisoning reported in Niagara County, according to the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office.\n\nBlistering blizzard conditions swept the region, and Poloncarz, the county executive, said about 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles Friday night into Saturday morning, despite a county driving ban put in place during the storm.\n\nNational Guard troops had been called in to help “rescue people that are stuck in vehicles,” he said.\n\nOf the deaths reported early Sunday – with individuals ranging in age from 26 to 93 years of age – “some were found in cars and some were found actually on the street in snow banks,” Poloncarz said.\n\nTwo died in separate incidents Friday night when emergency medical personnel could not get to their homes in time for medical emergencies, Poloncarz said Saturday morning. Details about a third death, confirmed by a county spokesperson Saturday afternoon, weren’t immediately available.\n\n“The loss of two lives in Buffalo – storm related – because people were not able to get to medical attention, is again a crisis situation that unfolds before your eyes and you realize that lifesaving ambulances and emergency medical personnel cannot get to people during a blizzard situation,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Saturday.\n\nHochul said she will ask the federal government “for a declaration of emergency that’ll allow us to seek reimbursements for the extraordinary expenses of all the overtime and the fact that we brought in mutual aid from other parts of the state.”\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Powerful winter storm leaves first responders in need of rescue, official says 01:49 - Source: CNN\n\nOther storm-related deaths have been reported in the country. They include:\n\n• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 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 Kansas 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 semi tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.\n\n• Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.\n\n• Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.\n\nWhat to expect as the storm slowly weakens and hazardous conditions continue\n\nStrong winds behind the arctic cold front that pushed through this week will lead to lake-effect snow and blizzard conditions at times across portions of the Great Lakes on Sunday.\n\nBlizzard warnings, winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories blanket much of the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes region and Ohio Valley.\n\nAn additional 8 to 16 inches of lake-effect snow is possible.\n\nThe storm system is forecast to gradually weaken as it lifts into southeastern Canada, moving slowly during the next couple of days and pulling arctic air from Canada down into much of the eastern side of the country.\n\nThe Arctic blast will slowly moderate into Monday.\n\nThe cold temperatures combined with dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers who become stranded, people who work outside, livestock and pets, according to the National Weather Service.\n\n“In some areas, being outdoors could lead to frostbite in minutes,” the Weather Service warned.\n\nAs the frigid air continues to blast the warm waters of the Great Lakes, lake-effect snows and blizzard conditions are expected to continue, but slowly become less intense.\n\nStill, strong gusty winds initially up to 60 mph accompanying the snow downwind from the Great Lakes will continue to make for extremely dangerous conditions on the road.\n\nBy Christmas night into Monday, another low pressure system coming from the Pacific will deliver the next surge of moisture toward the Pacific Northwest and then into northern California, according to the Weather Service.", "authors": ["Nouran Salahieh"], "publish_date": "2022/12/25"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/12/18/argentina-wins-world-cup-holiday-snowstorm-el-paso-migrants-p-22-mountain-lion-weekends-biggest-news/10920011002/", "title": "Argentina wins World Cup, holiday snowstorm, El Paso migrants, P ...", "text": "Editors\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nLionel Messi, Argentina win unbelievable World Cup final vs. France\n\nArgentina won the 2022 World Cup on Sunday, defeating France on penalty kicks after finishing tied 3-3 in one of the wildest games in the history of the tournament. It’s Argentina’s third World Cup title and first since 1986, depriving France of back-to-back championships. Lionel Messi, Argentina’s superstar who had won just about everything except for the World Cup in his career, scored two goals in the game and the win solidified his claim as soccer’s greatest of all time. France came back from a 2-0 deficit with 10 minutes left in regulation, then trailed 3-2 in extra time before Kylian Mbappe scored his third goal of the game to force the match into penalties. Mbappe finished as the World Cup’s top scorer with eight goals in seven games, while Messi was named the top player in the tournament.\n\nWhite Christmas? Major snowstorm may hit swath of US before holiday\n\nA major snowstorm may be brewing over the central and eastern U.S. in the days before Christmas with the potential to complicate holiday travel. The likelihood of a \"potential blockbuster system\" evolving before Christmas is increasing, AccuWeather forecasters said, although high-confidence forecasts for Christmas Day are still several days away. The storm is also expected to coincide with an outbreak of Arctic air forecast to drop temperatures to \"bone-chilling levels,\" according to AccuWeather. The National Weather Service forecast below-average temperatures in the days before Christmas throughout most of the country, including the East Coast, South and Midwest, as the Arctic airmass heads toward the Midwest and Ohio.\n\nEl Paso mayor declares state of emergency as migrant crisis grows\n\nEl Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency Saturday in response to the worsening immigration crisis, which has left scores of migrants sleeping on the streets in recent days. Though Leeser has long resisted issuing a state of emergency declaration, he said Saturday the move would allow the city to tap into much-needed additional resources, which will become necessary with the Dec. 21 end to Title 42 expulsions, the Trump-era policy that permits Customs and Border Protection to expel migrants without the usual legal review. The policy, which was enacted during the pandemic, allowed migrants to be sent back to Mexico or their home countries to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in holding facilities.\n\nReal quick\n\nLos Angeles' celebrity mountain lion P-22 euthanized due to severe injuries, illness\n\nCalifornia's celebrity mountain lion P-22 was euthanized on Saturday, ending the feline's decades-long reign over Los Angeles, after he was found with severe health problems, officials said. P-22, thought to be about 12 years old, was the face of an international effort to save California's threatened puma population and helped draw support for the world's biggest wildlife bridge, a $90 million project expected to be finished in 2025. The beloved cat made a home in Griffith Park near the famed Hollywood Sign. After a comprehensive medical evaluation, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife found that the mountain lion \"had several severe injuries and chronic health problems.\" He was \"compassionately euthanized,\" officials said.\n\nVikings pull off biggest comeback in NFL history with victory over Colts\n\nThe Minnesota Vikings' Greg Joseph kicked a 40-yard field goal with two seconds left in overtime and the Vikings engineered the biggest comeback in NFL history to beat the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 on Saturday. The Vikings also clinched the NFC North after coming back from a 33-0 halftime deficit. The previous largest comeback belongs to the Buffalo Bills, who overcame a 32-point deficit against the Houston Oilers in the AFC Wild Card round in January 1993.\n\nContributing: Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/18"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/29/hurricane-ian-live-updates-damage-forecast-florida/10457271002/", "title": "Hurricane Ian regained strength; death toll mounts: Recap", "text": "Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Thursday, Sept. 29. For our latest coverage of Hurricane Ian, see updates from Friday, Sept. 30.\n\nClick here for a lite version of this page with a quicker load time.\n\nIan became a hurricane again Thursday evening after hammering Florida with heavy rains and powerful winds, leaving a rising death toll and thousands of residents desperately seeking rescue from the effects of one of the most devastating storms in U.S. history.\n\nThe large system, which had been downgraded to a tropical storm on its way out of Florida and into the Atlantic ocean, is expected to head toward the Carolinas and Georgia. Ian's sustained winds increased to 85 mph late Thursday and it could bring \"life-threatening flooding, storm surge and strong winds'' to those states, the National Hurricane Center said.\n\nFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the storm caused a \"500-year flooding event\" and said Coast Guard helicopters were plucking trapped residents from the roofs of homes. Communities across the state were or will be swamped by the overwhelming waters, he said.\n\n\"The impacts of this storm are historic and the damage that has been done is historic,\" DeSantis said. \"We've never seen a flood event like this, we've never seen a storm surge of this magnitude.\"\n\nAt least 14 people were reported dead in counties across the state, a number that's expected to rise substantially. Sheriffs in southwest Florida said 911 centers were inundated by thousands of stranded callers, some with life-threatening emergencies. More than 1.9 million Florida homes and businesses were without power Thursday evening.\n\nHurricane Ian-related losses thus far range between $25 and $40 billion, the Fitch Ratings credit agency reported Thursday in an initial analysis of the damage.\n\nEven after Ian had weakened to a tropical storm and headed out to the Atlantic early Thursday, its outer bands were still buffeting the state. The storm flooded entire communities, leaving residents stranded in their homes after making landfall Wednesday with 150-mph maximum sustained winds – just 7 mph shy of a Category 5 hurricane, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale.\n\nMajor to record flooding will continue across central Florida and considerable flooding is expected in portions of the Carolinas and southern Virginia through Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.\n\nThe storm previously tore into Cuba, killing two people and bringing down the entire country's electrical grid.\n\nLatest developments:\n\n►President Joe Biden declared an emergency in South Carolina and ordered federal assistance for the state, according to a White House statement. Ian is located about 185 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina, and is moving north-northeast at 10 mph, the hurricane center said late Thursday.\n\n►The U.S. Coast Guard was searching for a group of more than 20 Cuban migrants after their boat sank in stormy weather near the Florida Keys. A U.S. Border Patrol agent tweeted that nine have been rescued and that the search for the rest continues.\n\n►Ian’s strength at landfall tied it for the fifth-strongest hurricane when measured by wind speed to strike the U.S. It's tied with five other hurricanes that reached 150 mph — two in Florida, two in Louisiana and one in Texas.\n\n►Waffle House, known for always being open, said 35 outlets were shut down due to the storm as of Thursday morning.\n\n►Residents described the terror after a tornado tore through a condominium complex near Delray Beach on the Atlantic side of South Florida, ripping off roofs and turning over vehicles. \"I felt things blow past my head and face,\" resident Jim Travis said. \"When I opened the door, my apartment was destroyed.\" Read more.\n\nQuick links:\n\nGET TEXT UPDATES : Sign up here for text updates on Hurricane Ian.\n\n: Sign up here for text updates on Hurricane Ian. HURRICANE IAN TRACKER: Where is Ian headed? See the map.\n\nReenergized Ian expected to make landfall in South Carolina\n\nLike a villain in a horror movie, Ian is coming back to wreak havoc just when it seemed to go away.\n\nOnce a Category 4 hurricane, Ian was a tropical storm as it moved Thursday off the coast of Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean, where the warm water reenergized it. In the afternoon, Ian once again became a hurricane — meaning it packs winds of at least 74 mph — and is expected to make landfall once again, this time Friday in South Carolina.\n\nHurricane and storm surge warnings have been issued for the South Carolina coast because of Ian's predicted approach, the National Hurricane Center said.\n\nForecast call for a storm surge of several feet and flooding in low areas along the coast, like Charleston, where Mayor John Tecklenburg warned residents: “Take this storm seriously. Tomorrow, stay home and stay out of harm’s way.”\n\nCollapsed causeway, shark swimming on a street part of Ian's legacy\n\nParts of Florida's Gulf Coast were devastated as Ian swept through the state, damaging buildings and homes and flooding communities.\n\nSanibel Island in Lee County, near where the hurricane made landfall, was among the hardest hit. Parts of the Sanibel Causeway collapsed, disconnecting the barrier island of 6,300 residents from the mainland.\n\n“Sanibel is destruction ... it got hit with really biblical storm surge,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said.\n\nSanibel Island officials said two people died as a result of the hurricane. At a Thursday night news conference, the officials said members of at least 200 households remained on the island during the storm. At least 40 uninjured people were evacuated and another 12 injured ones were taken to hospitals.\n\nIn Fort Myers, the water on the streets of one neighborhood was so deep a shark was seen swimming through it. In Cape Coral just to the south, photos showed a sailboat washed up in the middle of a road near homes.\n\nWater coursed through the streets of Naples, creating giant waves that made roads impassable and flooded the city’s fire department. A video posted by Naples Fire Rescue showed crews working to salvage equipment and firetrucks in more than 3 feet of water.\n\nAbout 70 miles north along the coast, intense storm surge flooded a hospital's lower level emergency room in Port Charlotte, while fierce winds ripped away part of the roof from its intensive care unit, according to a doctor who works there.\n\nWater gushed down from above onto the ICU, forcing staff to evacuate the hospital’s sickest patients – some of whom were on ventilators – to other floors, said Dr. Birgit Bodine of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital.\n\nAt least 14 deaths confirmed in Florida, toll expected to grow\n\nThe destruction and upheaval left behind by Ian has made it difficult to get an accurate assessment of the loss of life, but there are already reports of 14 deaths, and more are expected.\n\nTwo of them were reported by officials in Sanibel Island, where residents of at least 200 households declined to evacuate and rode out the storm.\n\nCharlotte County Commissioner Chris Constance told CNN Thursday afternoon there have been six confirmed fatalities in the county, which is just north of Fort Myers.\n\nAlso speaking to CNN, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said at least five deaths have been confirmed in his county, which includes Cayo Costa — the island near Cape Coral where the storm made landfall Wednesday.\n\nAnd a 72-year-old man in Deltona, about 30 miles northeast of Orlando, died after falling into a canal while using a hose to drain his pool in the heavy rain, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.\n\nConstance said four shelters in his county had to be evacuated because of structural damage, and many roads were impassable because of downed power lines or flooding.\n\n“It is the biggest catastrophe I have ever seen in my lifetime,” said Constance, speaking from Broward County in South Florida, where he traveled ahead of the storm. “This is unprecedented and I was in Punta Gorda through Hurricane Charley (in 2004). While that was devastating, this is so much bigger, is affecting so many more people.''\n\nBiden: Ian could be 'deadliest hurricane in Florida's history'\n\nPresident Joe Biden said Thursday that Ian could be the “deadliest hurricane in Florida's history,” vowing the federal government will provide assistance “however long it takes” to ensure a full recovery.\n\n“The numbers are still unclear, but we're hearing early reports of what may be substantial loss of life,” Biden said after he was briefed on FEMA’s disaster response at the agency’s headquarters in Washington.\n\nAt least 13 people were reported dead in counties across the state, though Florida officials have not provided an official death total from the storm. It wasn’t clear on what Biden based his estimate on the loss of life. The 1928 Okeechobee hurricane killed up to 2,500 in Florida. Hurricane Andrew in 1992 killed 43 people.\n\n“We know many families are hurting today, and our entire country hurts with them.'' Biden said. \"My message to the people of Florida and to the country is that at times like these America comes together.”\n\nThe president said he offered Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “the fullest federal support” in a phone conversation Thursday morning and told Florida mayors to “call me directly” if they need help.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nHurricane Ian losses: $25-$40 billion\n\nHurricane Ian-related losses, mostly in Florida, range between $25 and $40 billion, the Fitch Ratings credit agency reported Thursday in an initial analysis of the damage.\n\nFitch said the losses could climb higher “depending on the effect of the storm in the Carolinas.” The storm made landfall Wednesday on the Gulf Coast and traveled across central Florida before exiting on Thursday as a tropical storm. It has since turned into a Category 1 storm and headed toward South Carolina.\n\nIn comparison to other storms, Fitch said Hurricane Katrina’s losses were $65 billion in 2005 and Hurricane Ida’s losses were $36 billion last year.\n\n- Sergio Bustos\n\nIan the 'ultimate villain' at Disney World; parks to start reopening Friday\n\nWhile Disney World was closed to guests Thursday as Ian swept across central Florida, some who were already staying at the park's resorts weathered the storm with limited staff and upset children.\n\nJan Tuckwood, who splits time between Lake Worth, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina, said Disney's Swan Reserve hotel felt like the Twilight Zone to her and her family.\n\n\"Disney World is as you would imagine it to be if an incredible amount of children have been pent up for two days and basically had their hopes dashed by the ultimate villain, Hurricane Ian,\" she said.\n\nDuring the storm, water started leaking into their hotel room on the 14th floor and they were relocated to another room, she said.\n\nDisney officials said the parks were being assessed for damage Thursday and operations would resume in a phased approach Friday.\n\n– Suzy Fleming Leonard, Florida Today\n\nErosion-control rocks tossed by high surf\n\nIn Flagler Beach, county emergency officials reported damage to the end of the pier as a result of the high and pounding surf, the National Weather Service in Jacksonville said, adding that public reports indicated the surf was tossing erosion-control rocks over the beachside highway State Road A1A.\n\nAt Pellicer Creek near Marineland, the tide gauge reached a height of 4 feet over the high-water mark, which represents major flooding of the Intracoastal Waterway, as a result of storm surge. A Weatherstem camera showed flooding of the University of Florida's Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience.\n\n-- Dinah Pulver\n\nIan as viewed through a peephole in North Port\n\nElizabeth Hayes watched the entirety of Hurricane Ian pass over her home in North Port, 50 miles northwest of Fort Myers, through a peephole in her shutters. The longtime resident says she was not prepared for the devastating flooding – and she knows more floodwater is on its way.\n\nHeyes said only the roof of her shed in the yard is above water. North Port residents are using small boats, kayaks and paddle boards to inspect homes that flooded along the Myakkahatchee Creek on Thursday morning.\n\n“We’ve seen it flood, we’ve boated in and out before, but this is devastating,” Hayes said.\n\nAirports closed, flights canceled\n\nMost Florida airports remained closed Thursday and numerous flights were canceled. Airports that are open are dealing with delays as well as cancellations.\n\nNearly 2,000 U.S. flights were canceled Thursday, and the highest numbers were across Florida, according to Flight Aware, which tracks flight status in real time. Travel through parts of Georgia and the Carolinas was also impacted as the storm moved north. Tampa International Airport officials tweeted that damage assessments were underway.\n\n\"We are closely coordinating our reopening with the FAA, TSA, airlines, and other partners based on roadway safety, facility readiness, and required staffing,\" the post said. \"We hope to have an update on reopening plans later today.\"\n\n– Eve Chen, USA TODAY\n\nSection of Sanibel Causeway crashes into sea\n\nA section of the Sanibel Causeway collapsed into San Carlos Bay, cutting off access to the barrier island where 6,300 people normally live. A mandatory evacuation order had been issued for the island ahead of the storm but authorities said about 200 households stayed behind.\n\nDeSantis said Thursday morning that more than 100 engineers in pairs of two will work to assess the bridges along the west coast of Florida.\n\nBiden issues disaster declaration\n\nPresident Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration to make federal funding available to affected residents in the Florida counties of Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas, and Sarasota. DeSantis said he would ask that the declaration be expanded as more counties report crippling damage from Ian.\n\nAssistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help residents and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Federal funding also is available for debris removal.\n\nBiden said his administration was \"continuing to take swift action to help the families of Florida. ... I want the people of Florida to know that we will be here at every step of the way.\"\n\nSt. Petersburg dodged worst of Ian\n\nAfter thousands of people evacuated earlier this week, preparing for life-threatening storm surge, residents in St. Petersburg awoke Thursday to minimal damage.\n\nPolice directed traffic at intersections with broken traffic lights. Some trees had fallen, blocking roadways and taking down power lines. In Coquina Key, an island community south of downtown, a Norfolk Island pine had snapped in half, its branches scattered in a yard. Nearby, Dale Fredrick used a chainsaw to cut branches of another downed tree blocking a roadway.\n\n“It won’t take long,” Fredrick, 58, said. “Just little by little.”\n\nHurricane Ian tracker\n\nUSA TODAY's Hurricane Ian tracker will remain updated and offer the latest look at where the storm is headed.\n\nLee County sheriff fears 'hundreds' could be dead but DeSantis says nothing confirmed\n\nThe hurricane’s center made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane Wednesday afternoon near Cayo Costa, a barrier island just west of heavily populated Fort Myers in Lee County.\n\n\"While I don't have confirmed numbers, I definitely know the fatalities are in the hundreds,\" Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said on ABC-TV's \"Good Morning America.\" \"There are thousands of people that are waiting to be rescued.\"\n\nPressed on the numbers, Marceno said, \"So far confirmed in the hundreds. Meaning that we are responding to events, drownings. Again, unsure of the exact details because we are just starting to scratch the surface on this assessment.\"\n\nGov. Ron DeSantis attempted to downplay the sheriff's assessment, telling \"Good Morning America'' those numbers weren't verified.\n\nWHAT IS STORM SURGE?Explaining a hurricane's deadliest and most destructive threat\n\n“None of that is confirmed,” DeSantis said at a morning briefing at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. “What that is, there were 911 calls from people in their homes saying, ‘Hey, the water is rising. I’m going to go up in the attic, but I’m really worried.’”\n\n“Of course, those folks now are going to be checked on,” DeSantis said. “I think you’ll have more clarity about that in the next day or so, as (rescuers) are able to go to those locations and determine whether people need services.”\n\nMore than 1.9M Floridians without power\n\nMore than 1.9 million homes and businesses across Florida were without power Thursday evening, according to PowerOutage.us. Most of the homes and businesses in 12 counties were without power, although authorities said they were making progress in restoring electricity.\n\nDeSantis said the power grids in Lee and Charlotte counties will likely have to be rebuilt.\n\n\"Lee and Charlotte are basically off the grid at this point,\" DeSantis said. \"That's going to be more than just connecting a power line back to a pole.\"\n\nHospital roof partially torn off, fire station flooded: Damage in Florida\n\nParts of Florida's Gulf Coast saw major damage as Hurricane Ian swept through the state, damaging buildings and homes and flooding communities.\n\nWater coursed through the streets of Naples, creating giant waves that made roads impassable and flooded the city’s fire department. A video posted by Naples Fire-Rescue showed crews working to salvage equipment and firetrucks in more than 3 feet of water. In Cape Coral, about 30 miles up the coast, photos showed a sailboat washed up in the middle of a road near homes.\n\nNearby Fort Myers saw intense storm surge flooding coastal communities and the area around WINK News, a local CBS affiliate. Videos showed water reaching car windshields in the studio's parking lot and some of the storm surge leaking into the building.\n\nFarther north along the coast, intense storm surge flooded a hospital's lower level emergency room in Port Charlotte, while fierce winds ripped away part of the roof from its intensive care unit, according to a doctor who works there.\n\nWater gushed down from above onto the ICU, forcing staff to evacuate the hospital’s sickest patients – some of whom were on ventilators – to other floors, said Dr. Birgit Bodine of HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital. Staff members used towels and plastic bins to try to mop up the sodden mess.\n\nOfficials warned flash floods were possible across the state, which could lead to pollution and radioactive waste overflow.\n\nSAFFIR-SIMPSON WIND SPEED SCALE:Breaking down wind speed scale for hurricanes.\n\nHOW DOES HURRICANE IAN COMPARE:Category 5 hurricanes are rare. Is Ian's punch the worst U.S. has seen?\n\nContributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY; Kate Cimini, USA Today Network-Florida; Jesse Mendoza and Kathryn Varn, Sarasota Herald-Tribune; Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/09/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/01/06/winter-storm-warning-east-coast-bomb-cyclone/9114320002/", "title": "Winter storm warning has East Coast bracing for potential bomb ...", "text": "A swath of the East Coast was bracing Thursday for the second major winter storm in five days while blinding snow, high winds and below-zero temperatures rolled across much of the nation's northern tier.\n\nAccuWeather senior meteorologist Joe Lundberg said a storm targeting much of the East should develop into the first bomb cyclone of 2022. A bomb cyclone is defined as a storm whose central pressure plummets 24 millibars in 24 hours. The storm could whip up strong winds, pull in more moisture and drive higher snow totals as it heads toward New England, Lundberg said.\n\nIn the East, New York state was already being blasted Thursday by lake-effect snow. Buffalo had already picked up over 14 inches of snow by early afternoon, the National Weather Service said.\n\n\"Heavy snow at the Buffalo airport this morning has already established a record for the date,\" the National Weather Service tweeted Thursday.\n\nIn the South, Nashville was also seeing snow Thursday: \"Snow has spread across much of Middle Tennessee including Nashville Metro, and travel is deteriorating quickly,\" the National Weather Service in Nashville tweeted. \"1-2 inches per hour could fall at times.\"\n\nThursday was the snowiest day in Nashville since Jan. 22, 2016, when 8 inches of snow fell in one day, according to AccuWeather. As of noon Thursday, the airport was up to 4 inches since midnight, AccuWeather said.\n\nAuthorities in Tennessee urged people to travel only when necessary. Metro Nashville Police reported accidents and other driving woes that snarled and slowed several roads. Police reported dozens of wrecks on the roads by early afternoon.\n\nAlong the Kentucky border, authorities in Montgomery County, Tennessee, were dealing with dozens of crashes as well, including a wreck that killed one person involving a commercial vehicle on Interstate 24.\n\nSchools around the region canceled classes, including a closure through Friday for Nashville’s public school students. Parts of Maryland and Virginia were awaiting the storm, which was due to roll in Thursday afternoon and evening.\n\nIn and around Washington, D.C., where more than a foot of snow fell in some places Monday, up to 3 inches more snow was forecast Thursday night into Friday.\n\nWHAT IS A BOMB CYCLONE?:The weather phenomenon is basically a winter hurricane\n\nVirginia officials sought to reassure the public Thursday as they reacted to harsh criticism of their response to a snowstorm earlier this week that left hundreds of motorists stranded on Interstate 95 in frigid temperatures.\n\nCrews in Virginia worked through Tuesday to free up a roughly 50-mile traffic jam on I-95 that trapped scores of drivers in their cars for more than 24 hours. More than 100,000 Virginia homes and businesses remained without power Thursday from Monday's storm.\n\n\"These back-to-back storms will generate landmark winter weather that requires extra flexibility, particularly as many continue to deal with power outages,\" said Gov. Ralph Northam, who declared a state of emergency and has formally asked the Virginia National Guard for assistance ahead of the latest storm.\n\nNortham also pushed back against the criticism, questioning why drivers were out in force on the highways Monday when they had been warned to stay home.\n\nVirginia lawmakers, local officials, at least two members of Congress and the AAA auto club called for action. Stafford County Board of Supervisors Chair Crystal Vanuch, a Republican and lifelong county native, said Thursday that the gridlock was “probably the biggest disaster we’ve ever seen.”\n\nAccording to Vanuch, the county’s emergency operations command received roughly 1,800 calls for service over a 24-hour period — more than five times the normal amount — and local emergency workers told her they weren’t getting the help they needed from state officials.\n\nNortham, a Democrat who leaves office later this month, said in an uncharacteristically combative interview that he was “getting sick and tired of people talking about what went wrong.”\n\nHe told radio station WRVA that no one was injured and that people should be thanking first responders and emergency workers.\n\n'AN OUTRAGE': Why drivers were left stranded overnight, some for 24 hours, on I-95 in Virginia\n\nUp to a foot of snow could sweep across parts of Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, if the storm strengthens fast enough, AccuWeather said. Boston was expecting up to 8 inches.\n\n\"This will be a disruptive storm, and since cold air will be preceding the storm, snow will accumulate on roads as soon as it starts,” AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.\n\nICE CAUSES DEADLY TRAFFIC ISSUES: Virginia's Gov. Northam declares state of emergency\n\nLake-effect snow bands were already slamming Buffalo and surrounding areas of western New York on Thursday, producing snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. Gusty winds up to 25 mph were also creating limited visibility and dangerous travel conditions along stretches of Interstate 90.\n\nThe news wasn't all bad, however: The storm presented a boon to the ski industry in West Virginia, where up to 8 inches of snow was forecast. Three of the state’s four major downhill ski resorts had suspended on-slope operations earlier this week because of warmer conditions. Now the activity was picking back up.\n\n“West Virginia can’t wait to welcome travelers to our snow-capped mountains this winter,” said Chelsea Ruby, secretary of the state’s Department of Tourism.\n\nElsewhere, in the Upper Midwest, parts of Michigan were buried under a foot of snow, with more expected into Friday. Minnesota and Wisconsin were expecting less snow, but wind chills of minus 25 to minus 35 will continue into Friday morning across much of the state, the weather service said.\n\nDangerously cold temperatures enveloping North Dakota have pushed wind chill readings down to minus 59 degrees in Bowbells, the county seat of Burke County in northwestern North Dakota.\n\nAnd a powerful storm was pounding parts of Colorado on Thursday with what could reach 16 inches of snow, the National Weather Service said. In some areas, winds were gusting to 55 mph.\n\nContributing: The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/01/06"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/12/24/winter-storm-updates-deaths-crashes-power-outages/10950466002/", "title": "Winter storm updates: Deaths reported; widespread power outages", "text": "A powerful winter storm kept pummeling the United States on Christmas Eve with dangerously cold temperatures and heavy snow – leaving in its wake fatal car crashes, thousands of canceled flights and millions at risk for future power outages.\n\nThe massive footprint of the winter weather and its timing during a busy holiday travel week makes the arctic blast particularly dangerous. The National Weather Service on Friday said its warnings and advisories covered about 200 million people – \"one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” forecasters said.\n\nNationwide, officials have attributed at least 18 deaths to the storm.\n\nIn Ohio, about 50 vehicles were involved in a pileup that killed at least 4. An 82-year-old woman was found dead outside of her assisted care facility in Michigan on Friday amid dangerously cold temperatures. And in the Buffalo, New York, area – which received stunning records of rain and snowfall on Friday – two people died in their homes after emergency responders couldn't reach them amid the city's historic blizzard conditions.\n\nCOLD WEATHER AND GLOBAL WARMING: Freezing temps don't disprove climate change\n\nTRAVEL:More than 5,000 US flights canceled amid winter storm. What to know about waivers.\n\nThe winter weather's dangers are often localized and not limited to snowfall. In New York, blizzard conditions created whiteouts and stranded motorists on the state's western side while flooding prompted water rescues on the eastern side.\n\nMeanwhile, bone-numbing wind chills extended throughout the country. Every state in the contiguous U.S. will experience minimum wind chills below freezing on Christmas or before, the weather service says.\n\nOnly a few regions in the U.S. are expected to escape bitter cold over Christmas — parts of California, Oregon, Arizona and Florida are among the few spots in the nation that won't experience wind chills below freezing, the weather service predicts.\n\nPHOTOS:Intense winter storm blows across the US with blizzards and bitter cold\n\nOther impacts from the storm kept accumulating Saturday. Power outage reports swelled up to some 1.7 million Saturday morning before falling significantly in the afternoon – and thousands of flights were canceled amid a busy holiday travel season.\n\n\"Severe weather across the country led to more than 20% of flights being canceled (Friday). Impacts continue today but FAA expects that the most extreme disruptions are behind us as airline and airport operations gradually recover,\" U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg wrote on Twitter Saturday.\n\nButtigieg also noted that \"many Amtrak services have been canceled or delayed as well.\" He cautioned those traveling by car this weekend to observe local warnings and weather hazards.\n\nWhen will the winter storm be over?\n\nNot before Christmas.\n\nFederal forecasters expect a huge mass of cold air to continue affecting the nation into next week. Those temperatures are a concern from the Dakotas to Florida even on Monday and Tuesday.\n\n\"Wind chills will still bottom out in the 20s and low 30s Monday and Tuesday morning for most locations in the South outside of south Florida,\" a Friday forecast says.\n\nBut low temperatures are forecasters' primary concern for most of the country by Monday. Flooding, rain and other hazards are only expected to affect more localized regions.\n\nNY governor says storm is 'one of the worst in history'; record Buffalo snow\n\nNew York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the snowstorm hitting western parts of the state, particularly the Buffalo area, as \"one of the worst in history\" at a press briefing Saturday morning.\n\nHochul, who issued a statewide State of Emergency that went into effect early Friday, also pointed to the storm's impact on transportation hazards and emergency response. Every fire truck in Buffalo, she said, was stranded and stuck in snow as of Saturday morning.\n\n\"No matter how many emergency vehicles we have, they cannot get through the conditions as we speak,\" Hochul said.\n\nAccording to the weather service, Buffalo reported a daily snowfall of 22.3 inches Friday – almost doubling the old record of 12.6 inches set in 1976. The city also reported 1.98 inches of rain on Friday, surpassing the 1876 record of 1.73 inches.\n\nWatch:'Zero-Mile' visibility as Buffalo Airfield closes on night before Christmas Eve\n\n\"In Buffalo, this storm will likely at least jump near the top of the list of worst blizzards in the city’s history, if not even becoming the worst,\" meteorologist Jake Sojda said in an AccuWeather article. \"Four to 6 feet of snow will fall by Sunday and coupled with wind gusts approaching hurricane force (74 mph or greater) to create enormous drifts and impossible travel.\"\n\nIn addition to Hochul's declaration, Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown issued a State of Emergency beginning Friday morning.\n\n\"I’ve never seen the likes of this kind of storm,” Colleen Darby, 59, a lifelong resident of the area, told The Associated Press. \"I can’t even get out of my house right now. The snow is up to my chest.\"\n\nHochul said on Saturday that she will also ask the federal government for an emergency declaration, which would allow New York to seek reimbursements for the \"extraordinary expenses\" undertaken with overtime, mutual aid brought in from around the state and the deployment of crews responding to the unprecedented storm.\n\nThousands of flight delays, cancellations on Christmas Eve\n\nTravelers heading to airports on Christmas Eve are facing thousands of flight delays and cancellations.\n\nFlightAware, an online tracker, reported Saturday as of 4:00 p.m. ET, more than 6,100 delays and over 2,600 cancellations for flights within, into or out of the U.S.\n\nFlightAware's \"Misery Map\" showed more than 900 delays and over 250 cancellations seen between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. ET Saturday – with Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Denver International Airport experiencing the highest number of flight delays and cancellations as of Saturday afternoon.\n\nFriday saw even more flights impacted – with FlightAware reporting a total more than 11,500 U.S. flight delays and over 5,900 U.S. flight cancellations.\n\nPower outages hit more than 1 million homes, business early Saturday\n\nOn Saturday, power outages impacted more than a million electric customers across the country, according to the website PowerOutage.us, which tracks utility reports.\n\nReports swelled to about 1.7 million before falling significantly Saturday afternoon. North Carolina and Maine reported the highest number of power outages Saturday afternoon.\n\nIn Tennessee and North Carolina, utility companies initiated controlled, temporary outages in efforts to save energy. Customers of Memphis, Light, Gas and Water and Duke Energy, for example, were impacted by these rolling blackouts Saturday morning.\n\nBoth companies confirmed that they were ending the temporary outages by mid-day Saturday. But similar action could still be taken in the future.\n\n\"The weather is still frigid and power demand may fluctuate. We are asking customers to be prepared in the event (the Tennessee Valley Authority) implements rolling blackouts. We could be required to do so at any time without notice. We are currently restoring power to all customers who are interrupted,\" Memphis, Light, Gas and Water CEO Doug McGowen said in a statement issued at 11 a.m. CT.\n\nPennsylvania-based PJM Interconnection said that, due to the severe weather, power plants were having difficulty operating – asking residents in 13 states to refrain from unnecessary use of electricity. The major electricity grid operator also warned the 65 million people it serves across the eastern U.S. that future rolling blackouts might be required.\n\nBe prepared::How to arm your home against power outages this winter\n\nAuthorities urge people to stay home in many areas\n\nLocal and state authorities in states including Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky have urged residents to limit travel.\n\nMichigan State Police on Friday warned travelers to stay off the roads.\n\n“Most roads are icy and impacted by blowing snow, which is causing low visibility,” police posted on Facebook. “If travel is not necessary, please stay home.”\n\nSome forecasters have said the storm's danger doesn't primarily come from the amount of snowfall — it's a combination of snow, wind, ice and frigid temperatures that were particularly concerning in some areas.\n\n\"Don't focus too much on the snow totals ... Significant blowing and drifting will be occurring. Avoid travel!\" the weather service in Buffalo said Friday afternoon.\n\nBomb cyclones are powerful winter storms. Here's a visual breakdown of how they're created.\n\nThe weather service office reported recieving numerous reports Friday night of people being stranded along roadways.\n\nWhat is the polar vortex?\n\nAccording to the weather service, the polar vortex is a giant, circular area of rotating cold air and low pressure that surrounds both of Earth's poles. In the U.S., focus remains on the North Pole's polar vortex – because it impacts weather in the Northern Hemisphere.\n\nPeople may only talk about the polar vortex when it sends frigid temperatures south of the Arctic – but it always exists, the weather service notes, its strength changing between seasons.\n\nWhat is the polar vortex? In-depth look at how it can affect winter weather in the US.\n\nWhen the polar vortex is stable and strong, it typically stays near the North Pole. But when it weakens or splits, frigid air can escape, funneling freezing temperatures farther south to the U.S., Europe and Asia.\n\nWhat is wind chill?\n\nMeteorologists define wind chill as how cold it feels while outdoors, and it’s based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by the wind-and-cold combination, according to the National Weather Service. Increased wind draws heat from the body, which then lowers the temperature of the skin and internal body.\n\n“Frostbite may develop on exposed skin in as few as 10-20 mins, and hypothermia can quickly develop if you're not dressed for the cold,” weather service experts in Chicago warned Thursday.\n\nContributing: The Associated Press. Doyle Rice, USA TODAY. Samuel Hardiman, Memphis Commercial Appeal. Bryce Airgood and Mark Johnson, Lansing State Journal.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/24"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/27/weather/arctic-winter-storm-new-york-blizzard-tuesday/index.html", "title": "Snow-inundated Buffalo faces more challenges in the aftermath of ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nDays into the deadly winter storm that bedeviled much of the country, the challenges are far from over for residents and authorities in Buffalo, New York.\n\nThe death toll continues to climb as authorities check on homes and cars for anyone who was stranded in the storm. At least 31 people died in New York’s Erie County as the storm buried Buffalo in up to 50.3 inches of snow. At least 25 others across 11 US states have been reported dead in the storm.\n\n“We’re, unfortunately, finding bodies on the street and in snow banks,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday evening.\n\n>> GET LIVE UPDATES\n\nMore than 7,000 utility workers were working around the clock to restore power in the area, navigating through broken trees and poles, according to Twitter posts from Poloncarz and National Grid US.\n\nLocal health officials were urgently responding to medical requests, including arranging transportation for people who need dialysis treatments – many of which were disrupted or delayed because of the storm. “Dialysis isn’t an optional or elective treatment. It has to be done regularly – several times a week – or that person dies,” the Erie County health department said.\n\nBuffalo police, meanwhile, arrested at least eight people by Tuesday afternoon in connection with business break-ins during the storm.\n\nAnd efforts of firefighters and other emergency vehicles working in the area were hampered by the hundreds of vehicles abandoned in the snow across Buffalo after fierce blizzard conditions made for blinding drives over the Christmas weekend, officials said.\n\nA driving ban remained in effect in Buffalo amid a two-day effort to clear at least one lane on every street to accommodate emergency responders, Poloncarz said at a news conference.\n\n“There’s a lot of roads that are completely blocked right now, that have no access whatsoever. And people are trying to drive on these roads or trying to get into these neighborhoods, and they can’t,” Poloncarz said.\n\n“Please, please,” he said. “I’m begging: Stay home. If it’s an emergency situation, call 911.”\n\nA weary Buffalo on Tuesday after days of winter weather that left parts of the city impassable. Joed Viera/AFP/Getty Images\n\nDriving ban in effect; flood mitigation\n\nBuffalo could see up to another half an inch of snow into Tuesday night and a daytime high of 30 degrees falling to 27 at night in New York’s second-most populous city.\n\nBut temperatures are expected to rise throughout the rest of the week, and local officials are worried that may cause flooding.\n\nThe flood risk is small, according to the National Weather Service, which said that snow melting alone “rarely causes flooding.” And even though there’s light rain forecast for the region, “it should take around an inch of rain from this system before flooding becomes a concern,” the weather service said.\n\nStill, the leader of Erie County’s Department of Homeland Security & Emergency Services said crews were working to prevent any possibility of floods.\n\nAs temperatures warm, authorities wanted “to make sure that we are cleared from curb to curb and as in many areas as possible so that when it melts it can run off and it can find its appropriate drainage,” commissioner Daniel Neaverth said.\n\nOther steps toward recovery include:\n\n• President Joe Biden on Monday approved an emergency declaration for New York, freeing up federal resources to help disaster relief efforts in Erie and Genesee counties.\n\n• One hundred military police from the New York National Guard are heading to Erie County, along with state police from other parts of New York, Poloncarz said. New Jersey state police will fill in for New York officers diverted to Buffalo, he said.\n\n• Buffalo Niagara International Airport is expected to stay closed until late Wednesday morning, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority said, after snow equipment was brought in from Pittsburgh to help it reopen.\n\n• More supermarkets in western New York were expected to reopen after road conditions had paralyzed earlier efforts to distribute stockpiled ready-to-eat meals to food banks, officials said.\n\n• Major highways – including the New York State Thruway, Interstates 20 and 990, and Routes 400 and 219 – have reopened, the state Transportation Department’s Rochester office announced.\n\nIt was a signal, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a tweet, “that we are finally turning the corner on this once-in-a-generation storm.”\n\n‘Gut-wrenching’ effort to check on residents plods on\n\nThe storm in Buffalo has been deemed more ferocious than the blizzard of 1977, which left 23 people there dead. The weekend weather “was just horrendous,” Poloncarz said earlier. “And it was horrendous for 24 hours in a row.”\n\nIndeed, blizzard conditions were recorded for 37.5 hours, CNN meteorologist Tom Sater said, noting, “That just doesn’t happen.”\n\nEven emergency and recovery vehicles were at times stuck in snow. “We had rescuers rescuing the rescuers,” Buffalo Deputy Mayor Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney told “CNN This Morning” on Tuesday, adding those problems have been resolved.\n\nHundreds of vehicles were abandoned in the snow in Buffalo, New York State Police Acting Superintendent Steven Nigrelli said, adding authorities were going door-to-door, car-to-car, checking for people.\n\nA utility worker straps a rope to a truck in an attempt to tow another in Buffalo, New York, on Monday. Joed Viera/AFP/Getty Images\n\nOne reported death in Erie County was attributed to an EMS delay, while others involved people who were outside, in cars, had no heating or suffered cardiac arrest.\n\nThe death toll is expected to rise, officials have said. Once roads are cleared, law enforcement planned to prioritize welfare checks, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said Monday.\n\n“I have a bad feeling about that. I think the death toll is going to go up. When you have 420 EMS calls that are unanswered, it’s just gut-wrenching,” the sheriff said as his team planned to help get “people to doctors, nurses, to hospitals and … dialysis.”\n\nBy Tuesday evening, there were “just under 2,000” residents without power across Buffalo, Mayor Byron W. Brown said on Twitter, adding officials were still working to restore power to everyone.\n\nGetting the lights back on has been no easy task as utility crews have faced dangerous weather conditions, Hochul said.\n\nPeople and vehicles move about Monday on Main Street in Buffalo. Craig Ruttle/AP\n\nMore than 50 have died nationwide in storm\n\nAt least 56 storm-related deaths have been reported across several states:\n\n• New York: In addition to the 31 deaths in Erie County, one fatal carbon monoxide poisoning has been reported in Niagara County.\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 seeking 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, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle crash in Montgomery County.\n\n• Missouri: One person died after a van slid off an icy road and into a frozen creek, Kansas City police said\n\n• New Hampshire: A hiker was found dead in Franconia on Christmas morning, Lt. James Kneeland, a spokesperson for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 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• South Carolina: Two men – including a 91-year-old who went outside on Christmas Day to fix a broken water pipe – died due to the storm in Anderson County, the coroner’s office there said. The other victim died on Christmas Eve after his home lost power.\n\n• Tennessee: The Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.\n\n• Vermont: One woman in Castleton died after a tree fell on her home, according to the police chief.\n\n• Wisconsin: The State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.\n\nPeople traverse Main Street in Buffalo, on Monday after a massive snowstorm blanketed the city. Craig Ruttle/AP\n\n100 inches of snow sets Buffalo record\n\nAcross the country, cities and towns remain covered with thick snow: Baraga, Michigan, got 42.8 inches of snow while Henderson Harbor, New York, got 40.8 inches.\n\nBuffalo has had the snowiest start ever to a winter season, with 92.7 inches of measurable snowfall from October through Christmas Day, according to the National Weather Service. The latest storm came just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm.\n\nAnd thanks to another 7.3 inches of snow that fell Monday, the city has already reached 100 inches for the season – faster than any previous year going back to the 1880s, when record keeping began. Half this season’s record-pace snowfall has occurred since Friday.\n\nCorrection: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong time frame for snowfall accumulation in Baraga, Michigan, and Henderson Harbor, New York. Baraga got 42.8 inches of snow and Henderson Harbor got 40.8 inches over three days.", "authors": ["Dakin Andone Christina Maxouris Artemis Moshtaghian Nouran Salahieh", "Dakin Andone", "Christina Maxouris", "Artemis Moshtaghian", "Nouran Salahieh"], "publish_date": "2022/12/27"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/24/weather/christmas-arctic-winter-storm-power-outages-saturday/index.html", "title": "A powerful winter storm claims at least 22 lives across the US as ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nMore than 315,000 homes and businesses nationwide were without power Christmas Eve, thanks to an Arctic blast and winter storm that tore down power lines with destructive winds and heavy snow and dipped temperatures dangerously low – conditions killing at least 22 people.\n\nAs bone-chilling air continues to grip the US this holiday weekend, the storm still is pummeling parts of the Upper Midwest and interior Northeast with heavy snow and blizzard conditions.\n\nRelated: Follow live updates\n\nIn New York’s Buffalo area particularly, heavy snow (more than 2 feet in places) and strong winds (sometimes higher than 60 mph) at times made visibility close to zero Friday into Saturday. More than a foot more could fall Saturday, with winds gusting up to 65 mph and making temperatures feel well below zero.\n\nIn Erie County, which includes Buffalo, blizzard conditions are expected to continue through at least Sunday morning, County Executive Mark Poloncarz told reporters Saturday. The winter storm could continue for at least the next 36 hours, with the blizzard warning in effect until 7 a.m. Christmas morning, Poloncarz said.\n\n“This is still a life-threatening situation,” he said. “This is nothing to be trifled with.”\n\nThe county’s Deputy Commissioner of Disaster Preparedness and Homeland Security, Gregory Butcher, said the storm will be significant “for days to come.”\n\nAbout 500 motorists found themselves stranded in their vehicles in Erie County Friday night into Saturday morning, and a “couple hundred” may still be trapped early Saturday afternoon, Poloncarz told CNN. That’s despite a county driving ban put in place during the storm.\n\nLia Belles’ 85-year-old grandmother and her father were among the stranded.\n\nThey have been stuck on New York State Route 198 in Buffalo – less than a mile from her home – since Friday afternoon. Contact with them is limited due to their phone battery, and they have been turning the heat on and off to save gas.\n\n“There is nothing more I want other than their safety right now,” Belles told CNN Saturday, adding that her dad could walk home but he would never leave his mother alone.\n\n“I’ve tried to walk out to them with a sled but conditions by myself were just impossible,” she said.\n\nBelles said by Saturday afternoon they got help getting the car unstuck but there was no path for them to leave.\n\n“It’s very nerve racking and difficult,” she said. “They’re definitely exhausted, but we’re seeing a little hope right now.”\n\nIn hardest-hit areas, many emergency crews that tried to reach the stranded became stuck themselves, Poloncarz said.\n\n“Don’t leave your home,” Poloncarz said on CNN Saturday to anyone thinking about traveling to or within the area. “It’s much safer to be inside, even if you lost your power with it only being 45 degrees inside, than going out and dealing with minus 20 wind chills and blinding conditions.”\n\nNational Guard troops were arriving Saturday to “rescue people that are stuck in vehicles,” and to give rides to medical workers so they could relieve colleagues who’d been working at hospitals for more than a day, Poloncarz said.\n\nBuffalo Diocese Bishop Michael W. Fisher on Saturday urged churches to livestream Christmas Mass because of the severe weather.\n\n“Although it is Christmas, in these dangerous conditions, no one should put themselves or others at risk,” he said via Twitter.\n\nEven where it wasn’t snowing and howling, temperatures and wind chills have been dangerously low across much of the country.\n\nFrom the Plains and the Midwest to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic and even in parts of the Southeast, wind chills after the sun rose Saturday morning were below zero, according to the National Weather Service.\n\nThat included:\n\n• Atlanta: 9 degrees; with minus 8 wind chill\n\n• Memphis: 10 degrees; with minus 4 wind chill\n\n• New York City: 8 degrees; with minus 8 wind chill\n\n• St. Louis: 9 degrees; with minus 12 wind chill\n\n• Washington, DC: 12 degrees; with minus 3 wind chill\n\nAt least 22 people have died since Wednesday across seven states, a result of dangerous and life-threatening conditions this week over a large swath of the country:\n\n• Colorado: Police in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 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 transient camp in an alleyway.\n\n• Kansas: Three people have died in weather-related traffic accidents, the Kansas Highway Patrol said Friday.\n\n• Kentucky: Three people have died in the state, officials have said, including one involving a vehicle accident 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• New York: Erie County has had three storm-related deaths, county officials said Saturday. Two died in separate incidents Friday night when emergency medical personnel could not get to their homes in time for medical emergencies, Poloncarz said Saturday morning. Details about the third death, confirmed by a county spokesperson Saturday afternoon, weren’t immediately available.\n\n• Ohio: Eight people have died as a result of weather-related auto accidents, including four in a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 75, when a semi tractor-trailer crossed the median and collided with an SUV and a pickup, authorities said.\n\n• Tennessee: The Tennessee Department of Health on Friday confirmed one storm-related fatality.\n\n• Wisconsin: Wisconsin State Patrol on Thursday reported one fatal crash due to winter weather.\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\nNational Guard troops helping rescue stranded in Buffalo area\n\nAs of 9:45 p.m ET Saturday, 315,782 homes and businesses in the US had no electricity service, according to PowerOutage.us, leaving many people without proper heating or hot water as extremely low temperatures persist Saturday.\n\nA power grid operator for at least 13 states in the country’s eastern half asked customers to conserve power from early Saturday to 10 a.m. on Sunday because usage was straining capacity – and warned rolling blackouts could happen if the strain becomes too much.\n\nThe operator, PJM Interconnection, serves about 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.\n\nPJM advised people to set thermostats lower than usual and postpone using major electric appliances such as stoves and dishwashers.\n\nIn a video on Twitter, a company official said the risk of rotating customer outages is “very real.”\n\nIn Tennessee, utilities intermittently interrupted power to customers for a few hours Saturday morning at the behest of the Tennesee Valley Authority – the state’s federally owned electricity provider – because the frigid weather was straining capacity.\n\nThe Nashville Electric Service told customers Saturday morning to expect “rotating, intermittent power outages” in about 10-minute increments every 90 minutes to two hours.\n\nThe TVA announced shortly before 11 a.m. CT that the interruptions were no longer needed.\n\nIn a statement the TVA said it will conduct “a thorough review of our processes, procedures and preparations once we get beyond this unprecedented event.”\n\nDuring the rolling blackouts, Nashville’s mayor asked the NFL’s Tennessee Titans to postpone their scheduled noon CT Saturday home game against the Houston Texans. The NFL delayed the start for an hour, and said it explored “every possibility to minimize non-essential power around the stadium.”\n\nSnow-covered buildings are seen in Louisville, Kentucky, under freezing temperatures on December 23. Leandro Lozada/AFP/Getty Images\n\nMore than 5,000 flights were canceled Friday with thousands more delayed, and more than 3,300 flights have been canceled Saturday, and more than 800 are already canceled for Christmas Day.\n\nThe NFL’s Buffalo Bills defeated the Chicago Bears in Chicago Saturday, but lost out to the weather. Due to Buffalo’s airport being closed due to deep snow and strong winds, the team was forced to stay in Chicago an extra night. They are expected to fly to Rochester, New York, on Sunday, and travel back to Buffalo from there.\n\nWhat else to expect Christmas Eve\n\n• Cold for many: Wind chills will be dangerously cold across much of the central and eastern US this weekend. “The life-threatening cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills will create a potentially life-threatening hazard for travelers that become stranded,” the National Weather Service said early Saturday.\n\n• Record temps in the South: Atlanta and Tallahassee, Florida, were forecast to have their coldest high temperature ever recorded on December 24, according to the weather service.\n\n• Brutal cold elsewhere: Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were expected to see their coldest day Christmas Eve ever on Saturday. Washington, DC, could see its second-coldest on Christmas Eve, the first being in 1989. New York is set to experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1906. Chicago is expecting temperatures to rebound above zero but will still experience its coldest Christmas Eve since 1983.", "authors": ["Aya Elamroussi Jason Hanna Ray Sanchez", "Aya Elamroussi", "Jason Hanna", "Ray Sanchez"], "publish_date": "2022/12/24"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_4", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": []}
{"question_id": "20230217_5", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/27/business/egg-prices/index.html", "title": "Why egg prices are still going up | CNN Business", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nSeveral grocery items have gotten more expensive this year. But nothing comes close to the rise in egg prices.\n\nIn the year through November, not adjusted for seasonal swings, egg prices jumped 49%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.\n\nSince early this year, a deadly avian flu has been reducing poultry flocks — specifically turkeys and egg-laying hens. That’s one reason for the unrelenting increase in prices. But the situation has been exacerbated by elevated feed and energy costs for producers, in addition to high demand in the supermarket.\n\nExperts think that the peak has passed, but until these conditions improve, expect to pay more for eggs in the grocery store.\n\nWholesale prices hit a record\n\nAvian flu has been a problem in the US for several months now, but in recent weeks wholesale prices have been hitting records.\n\nAs of last week, “prices have been escalating for nine consecutive weeks… setting new record highs on a daily basis since the week of Thanksgiving,” said Karyn Rispoli, editor of the Egg Price Current for Urner Barry, which offers food market data.\n\nOn Friday, Midwest large eggs, the benchmark for eggs sold in their shells, hit $5.46 per dozen, Rispoli said, citing Urner Barry’s data. This time last year, Urner Berry’s data shows, that price was around $1.70.\n\nEggs have gotten much more expensive this year. Brandon Bell/Getty Images\n\nOne reason for the increase? Not enough supply.\n\n“There’s simply not been enough production to support the incredibly strong retail demand we’ve seen this year,” Rispoli said. Supply has been constrained by the deadly bird flu.\n\nThe current outbreak of Highly-Pathogenic Avian Influenza started in the US around February, and has persisted throughout the year. The last major bird flu outbreak in the United States was in 2015. But that one was contained by June of that year, noted Brian Earnest, lead economist for animal protein in CoBank.\n\n“This year, we’ve continued to see flock depopulations throughout the entire year, and there’s an expectation that we’ll continue to see it into 2023,” he said, noting that he expects “we’re going to see a tight supply situation and elevated pricing environment moving forward.”\n\nAbout 60 million birds are gone because of the disease so far, according to the USDA. Of those, about 43 million are egg-laying hens, according to USDA data provided by the American Egg Board, a farmer-funded group which markets eggs.\n\nStill, farmers have been able to moderate the losses. “Our producers learned a lot of hard lessons from 2015,” said Emily Metz, CEO of the American Egg Board. Some farmers have been able to repopulate their flocks, decreasing the net impact on flock sizes and egg supplies. As of early December, there were about 308 million hens laying eggs for consumption, down from about 328 million in December 2021, according to the USDA.\n\nThe supply squeeze isn’t the only thing contributing to higher egg prices, said Metz. Higher fuel, feed and other producer cost are also driving up wholesale prices, she said. And then there’s that high demand for eggs, which spikes this time of year.\n\nEgg demand remains high\n\nPeople buy more eggs around the holidays, when they’re baking and cooking more, and eating breakfast at home more often.\n\nWholesale prices tend to go up in the winter because of those habits, noted Earnest. That has “brought about a very strong market condition.”\n\nYear-round demand for eggs has also also been strong.\n\nEven while prices have soared, sales of eggs have only ticked down about 2% by unit in retail in the year through December 4th, according to data from IRI, a market research firm.\n\nShoppers have been accepting high prices at the grocery store as they pull back on restaurant visits. And even though eggs have gotten more expensive, they still cost less than other proteins.\n\nA deadly avian flu has led to the death of millions of poultry this year. Mario Tama/Getty Images\n\nAs that peak holiday demand passes, wholesale prices are expected to fall.\n\n“Based on current trade values and market conditions, it appears that the market may have finally reached its peak,” said Rispoli. Friday’s wholesale prices were the same as Thursday’s, the first time pricing held steady since October, she said.\n\n“Several suppliers have reported to us… that they are seeing their orders slow,” in the week leading up to Christmas, she added. By then, “most grocers have pulled in whatever inventory they’ll need for the holidays.”\n\nIt might take another three to six months for prices to moderate in retail, said KK Davey, president of thought leadership at IRI and NPD, and even longer for prices to come down to what they were last year.\n\n“It may take some more time,” he said.", "authors": ["Danielle Wiener-Bronner"], "publish_date": "2022/12/27"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/13/business/grocery-prices-august/index.html", "title": "Food prices are still soaring. Here's what's getting more expensive ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nInflation may be slowing, but food prices are still through the roof.\n\nFood costs spiked 11.4% over the past year, the largest annual increase since May 1979, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.\n\nAmericans browsing the supermarket aisle will notice most food items are far more expensive than they were a year ago. Egg prices soared 39.8%, while flour got 23.3% more expensive. Milk rose 17% and the price of bread jumped 16.2%.\n\nMeat and poultry also grew costlier. Chicken prices jumped 16.6%, while meats rose 6.7% and pork increased 6.8%. Fruits and vegetables together are up 9.4%.\n\nOverall, grocery prices jumped 13.5% and restaurant menu prices increased 8%.\n\nEgg prices have soared over the past year. Brandon Bell/Getty Images\n\nWhy there’s no relief at the grocery store\n\nThe Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates in an effort to tame inflation, but the central bank says that food prices are largely out of its control.\n\nThat’s because food prices are affected by global events, such as the war in Ukraine, which affects the costs of wheat and other commodities. Prices also reflect the impact of natural disasters like crop-killing droughts and diseases such as avian flu, which has constrained the supply of eggs and turkeys.\n\nPlus, it takes time for changes, such as decreases in ingredient prices, to funnel down to consumers. That means that relief from the surge grocery prices could lag declines in other areas.\n\nAnd demand for food isn’t flexible — consumers may be able to skimp on other items, such as clothing or gasoline, but they have to eat. Even so, shoppers are increasingly making changes to their diets and shopping habits to cope with rising costs.\n\nPeople are pulling back on certain items. Sales of frozen dinners and entrees have fallen about 11% by volume in August compared to the year prior, according to a report this week from IRI, a market research company. Cookie volumes and volumes of refrigerated juices fell nearly 9% and about 8%, respectively, in that period. Lower-income households in particular are skipping items like juice, snacks and candy.\n\nRecently, Applebee’s and IHOP have reported an uptick in higher-income customers, who may be trading down from more expensive restaurants. And Tyson (TSN) has noticed higher demand for chicken as shoppers buy fewer pricey steaks.\n\nWhat got more expensive\n\nThe seasonally adjusted prices of most grocery items ticked up from July to August, but there were some standouts.\n\nMargarine spiked the most, up 7.3%. Eggs were 2.9% more expensive and sugar was 2.4% higher, while flour and bread edged up 2.2%. Canned fruit prices rose 3.4% while fresh vegetables got 1.2% pricier.\n\nHot dog prices jumped 4.9%, while ham was up 1.3% and turkey rose 2.2%.\n\nSome meat prices fell, however. Bacon was .5% less expensive, while the price of pork roasts, steaks and ribs fell 1.9%.\n\nAnd some fruit prices moderated as well, with apples getting 2.3% cheaper and citrus fruits falling 1.6%.", "authors": ["Danielle Wiener-Bronner"], "publish_date": "2022/09/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/06/15/fact-check-egg-prices-rising-nationwide/7566102001/", "title": "Fact check: Egg prices are rising nationwide", "text": "The claim: USDA is predicting egg prices will be $12 a dozen by fall 2022\n\nA highly contagious bird flu outbreak is reducing the U.S. chicken flock and driving up egg prices nationwide, according to the Department of Agriculture.\n\nBut not to the extent some social media users have suggested.\n\nA June 7 Facebook post claims the \"USDA is predicting egg prices will be $12 a dozen by Fall 2022.\"\n\nThe post accrued more than 100 shares in a week. Many other versions of this post have appeared on Facebook and Twitter.\n\nBut this is nowhere close to true. The USDA has not predicted that a dozen eggs will cost $12 by fall.\n\nUSA TODAY reached out to several users who shared the post for comment.\n\nFollow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks\n\nUSDA did not predict $12 egg prices\n\nThe USDA has not predicted egg prices will be $12 a dozen by fall 2022, Jennifer Smits, director of communications for the USDA's Economic Research Service, told USA TODAY.\n\nThe research service – the division of USDA that predicts and follows agriculture and food trends – does not even forecast specific retail egg prices, Smits said. The agency does forecast wholesale egg prices, which are projected to be $1.70 per dozen in the fourth quarter of 2022.\n\nAs of June 10 , the average price of a dozen Grade A large eggs in the U.S. was $2.86, according to Federal Reserve economic data.\n\nEgg prices have risen this year because of an inconsistent supply of eggs. For example, the overall inventory of shell eggs decreased by 4% and the national inventory of large eggs was down 7%, according to a June 10 USDA Egg Market Overview.\n\nPrices are rising on more than just eggs. Food prices in the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation, increased 1% from March 2022 to April 2022, and food prices in April were 9.4% higher than they were a year earlier, according to the USDA.\n\nFact check:Screenshot of purported homophobic dog story is fabricated\n\nOur rating: False\n\nBased on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that the USDA is predicting that a dozen eggs will cost $12 by fall 2022. The USDA did not predict eggs would rise to that price by fall. Currently, the department is forecasting a dozen wholesale eggs will cost $1.70 by the fourth quarter of 2022. The agency does not specifically forecast retail prices.\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": "2022/06/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/food/2022/09/13/grocery-prices-inflation/69491845007/", "title": "Eggs, cereal, milk prices soar: How much costs have gone up in past ...", "text": "If a bowl of cereal topped with fruit is part of your morning routine, expect to pay more for it. All the ingredients -- cereal, fruit, and milk -- are on the rise.\n\nConsumers are paying 11% morefor overall food items than they did a year ago, according to the monthly Consumer Price Index report, released Tuesday morning.\n\nThe rise in the cost of food at home, or groceries, is still in the double-digit range, rising 13.5% from a year ago. It's the largest 12-month increase since March 1979. The cost of cereal and other cereal products is up more than 17% from this time last year. Love eggs? The price for eggs is up nearly 40% from last August, mostly due to an avian flu outbreak.\n\nMore:Michigan apples: The harvest is expected to be a sweet bushel buster\n\nMore:JoJo's Shake Bar, with over-the-top milkshakes, to open Detroit location Sept. 24\n\nWhile overall inflation moderated in August as expected, the report said, there was no relief in food prices, according to Tuesday's Consumer Price Index report from the labor department.\n\nOverall inflation is still hot as prices increased 8.3% from a year ago. The increase is smaller than July's 8.5% and June's 9.1% increase.\n\nBut there was no relief for the cost of groceries and dining out, the report showed.\n\nAll six grocery categories tracked showed increases from July and year-over-year increases, ranging from 9.4% for fruits and vegetables to 16.2% for dairy and related products.\n\nAnd there is no relief in dining out as those prices are up 8% from a year ago.\n\nA sample of some price increases from August 2021 to August 2022\n\nDairy and related products: +16.2%\n\n+16.2% Cereals and bakery: +16.4%%.\n\n+16.4%%. Eggs: +39.8%.\n\n+39.8%. Flour: +23.3%.\n\n+23.3%. Butter and margarine: Up 29.3%.\n\nAnd it's likely to get worse before it gets better, the report said. Americans can expect to continue paying more for almost all food items, according to the USDA's Food Prices Outlook for 2022, whether you cook meals at home, dine out or buy food elsewhere. Food at home prices, the cost of groceries, will increase 10%-11% in 2022, the agency predicted. The cost of dining out is expected to increase 6.5%-7.5%.\n\nThe CPI reflects changes in prices for certain goods and services by consumers. Spending patterns cover urban consumers, urban wage earners, and clerical workers in urban or metropolitan areas.\n\nContact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.\n\nSupport local journalism and become a digital subscriber to the Free Press.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/09/13"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/10/business/grocery-prices/index.html", "title": "Food prices are skyrocketing, and it's not just because of inflation ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nInflation may be slowing overall, but food prices are still sky-high.\n\nOver the last 12 months, grocery prices soared 13.1% — the largest annual increase since the year ending in March 1979, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.\n\nThe prices of nearly every grocery item have ballooned over the past year.\n\nThe cost of eggs has soared 38%, and prices for other goods have also jumped: Flour is up 22.7%, chicken 17.6%, milk 15.6%, ground beef 9.7% and bacon 9.2%. Fruits and vegetables got 9.3% more expensive.\n\nGrocery items are still going up. Brandon Bell/Getty Images\n\nA number of factors have contributed to the rise in food costs: A deadly avian flu has meant fewer eggs in the United States, a severe drought in Brazil slashed coffee crops and the war in Ukraine led to a spike in wheat prices in the spring.\n\nWhile commodity prices are falling, it will take time before those lower costs pass through to consumers. Plus, plenty of other costs for producers — such as fuel, labor and packaging — have also been high.\n\nAnd as supply has been disrupted, demand has grown.\n\nDemand for groceries grows\n\nUnlike discretionary items, consumers can’t simply stop buying food when prices rise. They may, however, opt for less expensive options. Producers, grocers and restaurant operators have noted that consumers are indeed trading down — swapping out higher-priced items for more affordable ones.\n\nEarlier this week, Tyson (TSN) said demand for steak is falling while interest in chicken is rising. Wendy’s (WEN) traffic has been hit because some customers are deciding to pack lunches or eat breakfast at home, CEO Todd Penegor said during a post-earnings analyst call Wednesday.\n\nPenegor added that about 82% of meals were eaten at home pre-pandemic, but that figure jumped three percentage points since then and has stayed there.\n\n“The consumer has been a little more strapped, so there’s a few more meals prepared at home,” Penegor said. “Inflation has been high, so net disposable income has been a little bit pinched.”\n\nRestaurants have also been raising prices, but at a slower clip: In the 12-month period through July, menu prices rose 7.6%, less than overall inflation.\n\nPlus, food prices are largely unaffected by current government efforts to curtail spiraling costs.\n\nFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged as much during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in June, saying that raising interest rates to fight inflation wouldn’t lower food prices.\n\nThe Fed believes that “food and energy are influenced by global commodity prices in a way that tells them, ‘Hey, these items aren’t really directly under your control,’” noted Michael Gapen, head of US economics at Bank of America Global Research.\n\nEssentially, the thinking is this: Because the US can’t control international factors such as the war in Ukraine and higher shipping costs, it can’t fully control domestic food prices.\n\nWhat’s more, the US government doesn’t have a stockpile of food as it does of oil, noted Rob Fox, director of the knowledge exchange division at CoBank, which provides financial services to agribusinesses.\n\n“There’s no ability for the government to release extra stalks of wheat and corn and cheese and so on,” Fox said.\n\nWhat got more expensive in June\n\nThe result has been steadily higher prices in the grocery aisle, with some items seeing larger month over month spikes than others.\n\nIn July, adjusted for seasonal swings, egg prices popped 4.3% compared to June. Coffee and peanut butter each got 3.5% more expensive. Flour rose 3.2% and bread prices went up 2.8%. Cheese jumped 2%, while chicken got 1.4% pricier.\n\nThere was some relief, however. Citrus fell 3.2%, and whole milk dropped 1.4%. Uncooked beef roasts fell 1.3%, and uncooked steaks fell 1.1%. Ham got 1% cheaper.\n\nThe biggest decline was in hot dog prices, which dropped 6.1%.", "authors": ["Danielle Wiener-Bronner"], "publish_date": "2022/08/10"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2023/01/18/egg-prices-avian-flu-inflation/11067700002/", "title": "'Egg-scuse me, this carton is how much?' Here's why egg prices are ...", "text": "Shoppers across the nation have been scrambling for months to keep up with soaring egg prices.\n\nPrices continue to skyrocket – up 60% in December from a year earlier. Last year, the average price for a dozen large Grade A eggs in the U.S. was $1.93 in January. By December, when egg demand peaked, the price surged to $4.25.\n\nThe high prices prompted a \"He went to Kroger\" meme, with an egg in place of an engagement ring in the \"He went to Jared\" jewelry advertisement.\n\nHere's when we can expect egg prices to drop and what we can do in the meantime.\n\nWhere are all the eggs?:Try these eggless recipes amidst shortage, rising prices\n\nWill egg prices go down?:Inside perfect storm behind skyrocketing costs\n\nHow much do eggs cost?\n\nThe price of eggs jumped 11% in December from the month before, according to Consumer Price Index data. The average price for a dozen large Grade A eggs in December hit $4.25, up from $1.79 the year before, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.\n\nWhy are eggs so expensive?\n\nThree reasons: an increase in holiday demand, higher production costs for farmers, and an outbreak of bird flu, a highly contagious virus that can be fatal to poultry such as chickens and turkeys.\n\nAs of December, more than 43 million egg-laying hens were lost since the outbreak began in February 2022, according to the to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.\n\nThe virus has led to the deaths of more than 57 million birds in hundreds of commercial and backyard flocks across 47 states since February, surpassing the 50 million birds lost in the 2015 avian influenza outbreak, according to the USDA.\n\n\"We have seen infections get into a flock, where they look perfectly fine one day, and then the next day they're all dead,\" said Gregory Martin, a poultry educator at Penn State Extension. \"That's how quick this thing moves. And so the losses are very, very severe.\"\n\nMartin said bird flu is not a foodborne illness, so poultry and eggs found in grocery stores are safe to eat.\n\nAvian influenza:Iowa egg facility reports bird flu outbreak that will require killing 1.1 million hens\n\nWhy are eggs in short supply?\n\nStates like Colorado and California have reported empty egg shelves at grocery stores. Meanwhile, consumers in states like Massachusetts and Arizona have resorted to raising their own chickens.\n\n\"We are seeing some very, very temporary, isolated and hyperlocal shortages,\" said Emily Metz, CEO of the trade group American Egg Board. \"We have not seen widespread shortages. We have not seen panic buying or anything like that.\"\n\nWill egg prices go down?\n\nWhen egg prices will drop is hard to predict and depends on both supply and demand, said Maro Ibarburu, associate scientist at the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University.\n\n\"In the absence of new cases (of avian influenza), the production of eggs will gradually increase over the next several months, and that should help with the market,\" Ibarburu said. \"But the demand is also an important factor.\"\n\nFor now, you can save money by clipping coupons and comparing deals online to shop for the lowest price, according to personal finance service The Ascent.\n\nCan I freeze eggs in the shell?\n\nEggs should not be frozen in their shells, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.\n\nTo freeze eggs, beat yolks and whites together. You also can freeze egg whites and yolks separately, though whites freeze better than yolks, the USDA says.\n\n\"To freeze yolks, mix four yolks with a pinch of salt and one and half teaspoons of sugar or corn syrup,\" the USDA says.\n\nMake sure to use your frozen eggs within a year.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/18"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/12/19/holiday-christmas-dinner-cost-more-inflation/10911001002/", "title": "Eggs are up 50% from last year. How much is inflation hitting your ...", "text": "Loading up on eggnog, cookies and other holiday favorites is going to cost more this year.\n\nWhile inflation is starting to slow, food prices are still far above where they were for the 2021 holiday season. Grocery prices in November were up 12% year-over-year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.\n\n\"There's just been that upwelling of prices across the board,\" said Michael Swanson, lead economist for Wells Fargo. \"So it's going to be more expensive, but there are some bright spots that are developing for some of the more festive foods.\"\n\nHow much has the price of food increased in 2022?\n\nCommon ingredients and holiday favorites are costing more this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here's how much prices for some holiday staples have gone up from November 2021 to November 2022:\n\nFlour: 25%\n\nBread: 16%\n\nCookies: 19%\n\nCrackers: 20%\n\nPies, tarts and turnovers: 19%\n\nHam: 8%\n\nUncooked poultry, including turkey: 18%\n\nEggs: 49%\n\nMilk: 15%\n\nPotatoes: 16%\n\nSugar and sweets: 13%\n\nButter: 27%\n\nFamilies can expect to spend about 16% more to feed their families during the holidays compared with last year, according to a report from the market research firm Datasembly.\n\nThe findings were based on the prices for 13 popular holiday grocery items – including eggnog, green beans and a bone-in spiral-cut ham – at Albertsons, Kroger, Target and Walmart. This year's increase is double the price difference Datasembly calculated in 2021.\n\nHow can I save money on holiday shopping?\n\nInflation is still hitting U.S. consumers' wallets, but Wells Fargo's Swanson noted that there is some good news from the Bureau of Labor Statistic's latest consumer price index report.\n\n“There are some of those holiday favorites that are actually starting to show some pretty decent declines,” he said.\n\nFresh fish and seafood, beef, pork ribs and pork roasts are just some examples of grocery store items that saw price drops between October and November.\n\nHow to save money on holiday dinners:'You don't need to make a butter board'\n\nAldi 101: How to save on groceries, get $2.95 wine, knock-off Chick-fil-A and find rare deals without coupons\n\nFor shoppers looking to cut costs this holiday season, Swanson suggests taking the time to shop around for the best deals.\n\n“Give yourself time to shop two or three stores to see which ones really are offering you the best bargain, because one thing is very, very certain: It’s not uniform. It's not like there's a uniform price for anything out there in the market. If you shop around, you'd be surprised how wide the spread could be at certain items,” he said.\n\nOther tips reported by USA TODAY include:\n\nShopping store brands and discount grocers.\n\nBuying in bulk at Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale.\n\nUsing cash-back apps and rewards programs like Ibotta and Fetch Rewards.\n\nDig Deeper\n\nYou can follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter @bailey_schulz and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter here for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2023/02/14/cpi-january-inflation-data-today-live-updates/11247836002/", "title": "CPI January 2023 is 6.4%, core inflation rose", "text": "Inflation eased for the seventh straight month in January, helped by lower costs for used vehicles and offering some relief to consumers struggling with high prices over the past year.\n\nConsumer price index data released on Tuesday showed that prices for a range of goods and services rose by 6.4% over the past 12 months, down slightly from an annual rate of 6.5% in December and a 40-year high of 9.1% in June.\n\nOn a month-by-month basis, however, prices increased by 0.5% in January compared with a slower gain of 0.1% in December. The acceleration was driven by shelter costs.\n\nAmericans have been struggling with soaring prices since last year, resulting in a decline in the real value of their income despite historic wage increases. High inflation has also amplified the risk of a recession.\n\nThe inflation data follows last month’s surprisingly strong labor report, which showed that employers added 517,000 jobs, well above expectations and raising concerns that the economy remains too hot and could keep prices at elevated levels for too long.\n\nThe latest index news \"underscores the challenges faced by the Fed,\" said John Leer, chief economist at Morning Consult. \"Inflation may have peaked, but it’s not showing signs of rapidly returning\" to the Fed's 2% inflation target.\n\nTo get there, the Fed will likely have to continue hiking rates higher and longer than many anticipated.\n\nInflated cost of housing:What that means for rent, mortgages\n\nCould inflation fall even faster? The Fed may not need to continue rate hikes, easing recession risk\n\nCore consumer price index\n\nCore consumer price index, a measure of inflation that strips away volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.4% for the second month in a row. That put the annual core index inflation rate at 5.6%.\n\nGregory Daco, chief economist at EY, said the rise in core consumer price index last month isn't \"cause for concern\" since the big jump in shelter prices could mean there will be smaller increases in coming months.\n\nDaco predicts annual inflation will fall to 2.3% by the end of the year. Core inflation, he predicts, will fall to 2.8% by then.\n\nHousing costs drove inflation higher\n\nRising shelter costs were the biggest contributor to rising inflation last month and year, accounting for half of the 0.5% monthly increase in prices and 60% of the 6.4% annual inflation rate, the Labor Department said. Shelter costs rose by 0.7% last month and are up 7.9% from a year ago.\n\n“Home prices rose much faster than incomes over the past three years,” said Bright MLS Chief Economist Lisa Sturtevant. “The Fed’s rate increases, which have led to higher mortgage rates, have made the cost of buying a home even more costly.”\n\nWhat’s different about the index in January?\n\nNew changes went into effect last month to adjust for shifting consumer spending patterns. By design, the index takes into account price increases for more than 200 categories as well as the portion of the typical Americans’ budget they take up.\n\nThis is done so that the overall index reflects the proportional price changes consumers experience. Without taking consumers’ budgets into account the 70% increase in the price for a carton of eggs from a year ago could disproportionately skew the overarching inflation data.\n\n'Egg-scuse me, this carton is how much?':Here's why egg prices are soaring across the US\n\nFed's next move:Powell says strong jobs report shows that more Fed rate hikes could be needed to lower inflation\n\nAhead of January’s index release the Bureau of Labor Statistics, published new weights for certain categories, a process it undergoes every two years. Moving forward, it will update the weights every year.\n\nWith the new changes, housing accounts for 44.4% of the index, up from 42.4%. That reflects an increase in weight for shelter to 34.4% from 33.3% and rent, also known as owners’ equivalent rent, which rose to 25.4% from 24.3%.\n\n“At the moment, OER is still running hot so a higher weight will likely keep some upward pressure on core CPI in the near term,” said Deutsche Bank economist Jim Reid.\n\nMeanwhile, food weight fell to 13.5% from 13.9%.\n\nAdditionally, prior to Tuesday's release, the BLS published new annual calculations to correct price changes that correspond to seasonal demand. The changes resulted in revisions to previously reported index data.\n\nFor instance, the initial index report for December found that consumer prices declined by 0.1% from November. However, revised data released last week found that prices actually rose by 0.1% in December. It also found that prices rose by 0.2% in November versus the previously reported 0.1% increase.\n\nThe new weighting system combined with the new seasonal calculations played a role in the minimal deacceleration for prices over the past 12 months from December to January, said Raymond James' chief economist Eugenio Aleman.\n\nS&P 500\n\nStock indiceended mostly lower on Tuesday following the report's release. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 eased while the Nasdaq Composite rose slightly. The S&P 500, the broadcast gauge of stocks, finished down 1.2 points or 0.03%.\n\n10-year Treasury\n\nYields for 10-year Treasury notes climbed after the report was released. They're trading above 3.7%, near the highs for the month.\n\nWhat January’s inflation data means for the Fed\n\nAlthough the Federal Reserve doesn’t reconvene for another month, Tuesday’s index report combined with the latest jobs report will likely lead the Fed to raise interest rates by 25 basis points for the second time this year.\n\nThe report likely won’t give the Fed enough confidence that inflation will continue to ease on its own for it to stop raising interest rates, said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank.\n\n\"Recent data have sent conflicting signals,\" he said, noting that the latest jobs report casts the economy in a positive light as opposed to recent layoffs announcements and consumer spending and industrial production data. \"The Fed will look at the balance of the signal from these data in deciding how much more to raise interest rates this year.\"\n\nPresident Biden reacts\n\nPresident Joe Biden celebrated the inflation data saying it's \"good news for families and businesses across the country.\" He acknowledged that there's \"more work to do\" to get prices down and that there \"could be setbacks along the way.\"\n\nWhen is the next inflation report?\n\nThe Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index comes out on Feb. 24. The next consumer price index report is due on March 14.\n\nMedora Lee contributed to this report.\n\nElisabeth Buchwald is a personal finance and markets correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on Twitter @BuchElisabeth and sign up for our Daily Money newsletter here", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2022/04/05/food-prices-inflation-grocery-stores/9477026002/", "title": "Get ready to spend more at the grocery store. Food prices expected ...", "text": "If you think paying $10 for a pound of bacon or $6 for a pound of butter is bad, it's about to get more expensive.\n\nPretty soon, you'll be paying even more for just about everything when it comes to eating in or dining out, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.\n\n\"All food prices are now predicted to increase,\" the USDA's Food Prices Outlook for 2022 March report said.\n\nThe increases are the highest in decades as grocery prices got more expensive and rose nearly 9% for the year.\n\nThe USDA's Economic Research Service updated its March report predicting a 4.5%-5% rise in food prices this year. Eating out will see the highest increase, 5.5%-6.5%, the report said.\n\nRising cost of eggs: Bird flu outbreak and inflation cause rising egg prices ahead of Easter and Passover\n\nFood safety: How long is food safe to eat after the best if used by date? Longer than you think.\n\nGrocery prices impacted by inflation\n\nGrocery prices are expected to rise between 3% and 4% in the coming months. And that's on top of all the other increases consumers faced over the past several months.\n\nNo food category, the USDA said, decreased in price in 2021. And now the USDA revised its forecast upward for all food categories, including meats, poultry, eggs, dairy products, fats and oils, and more. The only category that the USDA revised downward was fresh vegetables.\n\nBeef and veal had the largest increase and fresh vegetables the smallest. Prices for wholesale beef are predicted to increase between 4% and 7%.\n\nContributing to the higher retail poultry and egg prices, the report said, is avian influenza. Prices for poultry are predicted to increase by 6% to 7% and 2.5%-3.5% for eggs.\n\n\"An ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza could contribute to poultry and egg price increases through reduced supply or decrease prices through lowered international demand for U.S. poultry products or eggs,\" according to the report.\n\nCoin shortage 2022:Why is there a coin shortage? Quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies are in short supply again\n\nInflation impacts:Three painful ways in which inflation is ravaging seniors' retirement income\n\nStrong demand for dairy products is driving up retail prices. The USDA's outlook in 2022 for dairy predicts a 4% to 5% increase.\n\nAlso putting pressure on food prices is Russia's invasion of Ukraine and increases in interest rates by the Federal Reserve.\n\n\"The impacts of the conflict in Ukraine and the recent increases in interest rates by the Federal Reserve are expected to put upward and downward pressures on food prices, respectively. The situations will be closely monitored to assess the net impacts of these concurrent events on food prices as they unfold,\" the report said.\n\nInflation came in at 7.9% for the last 12 months — the highest year-over-year increase since April 1981, according to February's U.S. Consumer Price Index, released in March.\n\nFollow Susan Selasky on Twitter: @SusanMariecooks.\n\nHigh egg prices affecting you? Share your thoughts with USA TODAY\n\nAre you changing your Easter or Passover plans because of rising prices? Share your thoughts with USA TODAY for possible inclusion in future coverage. If you don't see the form below, click here.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/04/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2023/01/20/fact-check-false-claim-egg-prices-have-risen-700-inflation-consumer-price-index-bird-flu-food-costs/11076635002/", "title": "Fact check: False claim that egg prices have risen 700%", "text": "The claim: Food prices have gone up 7% and egg prices have gone up 700%\n\nA Jan. 12 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) features two pictures of a man and a woman with overlaid text showing a supposed conversation.\n\n\"The gov says food inflation is 7%,\" read the first panel.\n\nThe next says, \"Ask them how that’s possible when eggs have gone up 700% & every single thing I buy has gone up OVER 7%.\"\n\nThe post garnered more than 500 likes in a week. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Facebook.\n\nFollow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks\n\nOur rating: False\n\nThe post exaggerates the rate at which egg prices have risen. In the last year, food prices have risen more than 10%, while egg prices have risen nearly 60%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The post also omits critical other reasons why egg prices have risen.\n\nPost exaggerates egg price increases\n\nThough egg prices have steadily risen in the last year, it hasn't been at the rate the post claims.\n\nThe Bureau of Labor Statistics reported egg prices rose 137% in the last year, from $1.79 per dozen in December 2021 to $4.25 in December 2022.\n\nThis rapid price change isn't only a result of inflation, though. There has also been an increase in holiday demand, higher production costs for farmers and an outbreak of bird flu, according to the Department of Agriculture.\n\n\"U.S. egg inventories were 29% lower in the final week of December 2022 than at the beginning of the year,\" the department said in a recent statement. \"By the end of December, more than 43 million egg-laying hens were lost to the disease itself or to depopulation since the outbreak began in February 2022.\"\n\nWholesale prices are expected to decrease going forward, however, as the holiday season passes and the population of egg-laying hens recovers, according to the Department of Agriculture.\n\nFact check: Inflation at grocery stores hits generational high, but post overstates increase\n\nFood prices overall increased by 10.4% from December 2021 to December 2022, according to the price index. That's slightly above the 7% figure cited in the social media post.\n\nOverall inflation was 6.5% in that span.\n\nUSA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment.\n\nThis claim has been debunked by PolitiFact as well.\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": "2023/01/20"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_6", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/02/15/ohio-train-derailment-pollution-health-concerns/11265411002/", "title": "Ohio train derailment: FEMA headed to East Palestine; clinic to open", "text": "Weeks after a train carrying hazardous materials derailed near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, FEMA said it will deploy federal resources to the area in the wake of evacuations and amid lingering health concerns.\n\nOhio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday the Federal Emergency Management Agency will send a team to East Palestine. A few days earlier he said the agency deemed the state ineligible for the aid because it is \"most typically involved with disasters where there is tremendous home or property damage.\"\n\nFEMA will send a senior response official and an incident management team to East Palestine.\n\nFollowing the derailment, officials decided to do a controlled release of the vinyl chloride, allowing it to burn to prevent an explosion. The burn caused toxic fumes to be released into the area, which alarmed residents about possible long-term effects after the explosion.\n\nStill, authorities say testing of air and water has not detected anything of concern.\n\nMeanwhile, experts say rainbow-colored slicks seen on video in creeks near the site appear to be vinyl chloride. Authorities have confirmed about 3,500 small fish were killed in nearby creeks shortly after the incident, and a new federal lawsuit claims fish and wild animals are dying as far as 20 miles away from the site of the derailment. At least five lawsuits have been filed against the railroad.\n\nTRAINS ARE BECOMING LESS SAFE:Why the Ohio derailment disaster could happen more often\n\nWHAT IS VINYL CHLORIDE?:Toxic gases connected to Ohio train derailment cause concern\n\nState announces East Palestine medical clinic\n\nAs residents complain of rashes, headaches, and nausea, DeWine announced plans to open a medical clinic in the village next week to evaluate those who are worried. The clinic will include a team of experts in chemical exposures, despite repeated assurances that air and water testing have shown no signs of dangerous levels of contaminants.\n\nDavid Betras, a former Democratic Party chairman in Mahoning County told residents to keep a record of anything unusual that happened to their health after the derailment and controlled release of chemicals. He said signs and symptoms of illness may take years to show up and encouraged residents to keep a detailed diary.\n\n\"We don't know what all of the long-term effects are but we're going to find out,\" Betras said.\n\nEPA will 'hold Norfolk Southern responsible' after train derailment\n\nA caravan of national and local politicians and environmental officials converged this week in East Palestine attempting to restore the community's trust following the train derailment.\n\nU.S. Senators J.D. Vance and Sherrod Brown, Rep. Bill Johnson, and Michael Regan, the administrator of the EPA, visited the area.\n\nRegan said the EPA is \"absolutely gonna hold Norfolk Southern responsible,\" the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Regan urged anyone experiencing symptoms to see a doctor and alert their local or state health departments.\n\nThe agency is helping the state test the water and air, collect soil samples, and screen homes. Also, the U.S. Department of Transportation is on-site investigating the derailment.\n\n\"This is going to be a long-term commitment,\" Brown said during his visit, echoing Regan's comments. Brown said he wants to know more, including why the train was not classified as \"hazardous,\" and possible changes going forward.\n\n\"I'll be satisfied when the people in East Palestine are satisfied,\" Brown said.\n\n'HOLD NORFOLK SOUTHERN RESPONSIBLE':EPA Chief vows to hold train company 'responsible' after the massive derailment in Ohio\n\nOHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT FACT CHECK:What's true and what's false?\n\nBiden administration defends response\n\nThe White House on Friday defended its response to the derailment, saying it \"mobilized a robust, multi-agency effort to support the people of East Palestine, Ohio,\" including the EPA, National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies that arrived on-site within hours of the derailment.\n\n“When these incidents happen, you need to let the emergency response take place,'' White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday. “We did take action and folks were on the ground.''\n\nThe White House said Thursday that teams from the federal health and emergency response and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will go to East Palestine.\n\nThe White House said that FEMA is embedded in the Incident Command Center in East Palestine and in constant contact with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Additionally, as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine continues to ask for public health support, the White House said it's deploying teams from Health and Human Services and the CDC in response to conduct public health assessments.\n\nNEW LAWSUIT IN OHIO TRAIN DERAILMENT:Norfolk Southern released 1.1M pounds of vinyl chloride after derailment, lawsuit alleges\n\nResidents voice their concerns: 'It's going to happen again'\n\nEast Palestine residents have expressed their frustration over the way the train derailment has been handled. At a town hall Wednesday night, residents became angrier when Mayor Trent Conaway told them they wouldn't get an opportunity to question Norfolk Southern officials to learn more about the derailment after the rail company backed out.\n\nResidents voiced frustrations at a series of meetings this week over what they have said is incomplete and vague information about long-term effects of the incident.\n\n\"I have three grandbabies,\" said resident Kathy Dyke at a public meeting Wednesday. \"Are they going to grow up here in five years and have cancer?\"\n\nJames Wolfe, an East Palestine native who lives in neighboring Columbiana, Ohio, said he hopes the rail industry and local, state, and federal government learn from the derailment.\n\n\"It's going to happen again,\" Wolfe said. \"They're not going to do anything to stop it.\"\n\n'WE ARE HERE AND WILL STAY HERE':Norfolk Southern's CEO letter and plea to residents affected by Ohio train derailment\n\nWhat may have caused the derailment?\n\nOn Feb. 3, an eastbound Norfolk Southern Railway freight train, which contained hazardous materials, derailed on main track 1 in East Palestine, Ohio, about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and 21 miles south of Youngstown, Ohio.\n\nInvestigators examined the rail car that initiated the derailment and have surveillance video from a home showing “what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” the NTSB said Tuesday. Its preliminary report is expected in two weeks.\n\nThe train was carrying a variety of products from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, according to rail operator Norfolk Southern and the National Transportation Safety Board.\n\nWhat are the ongoing concerns?\n\nVinyl chloride is associated with an increased risk of certain cancers, and officials at the time warned burning it would release two concerning gases — hydrogen chloride and phosgene, the latter of which was used as a weapon in World War I.\n\nOhio Health Department Director Bruce Vanderhoff cautioned at a news conference Tuesday that residents who were worried about lingering odors or headaches since the derailment should know that those can be triggered by contaminant levels in the air that are well below what’s unsafe.\n\nThe derailment also highlighted questions about railroad safety, though federal data show accidents involving hazardous materials at this scale are very rare. Trains were rolling past East Palestine again soon after the evacuation order was lifted.\n\nContributing: Tami Abdollah, USA TODAY; Kelly Byers, Emily Mills, Eric Marotta and Craig Webb, Akron Beacon-Journal; Max Filby, Columbus Dispatch; Chrissy Suttles, Beaver County Times; Benjamin Duer, Canton Repository; The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/15"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_7", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2021/11/29/giant-christmas-tree-jersey-shore-boardwalk-salmon-farm-news-from-around-states/8788371002/", "title": "50 States", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nTuscaloosa: The city’s outdoor ice skating venue is open at a new location and with a new name. The event, formerly known as Holidays on the River, has moved to Government Plaza for this holiday season, The Tuscaloosa News reported. It’s now known as Holidays on the Plaza. Ice skating is scheduled to continue through Jan. 17. Along with outdoor ice skating, Holidays on the Plaza features the Tinsel Trail benefiting Tuscaloosa’s One Place, private parties, and other holiday festivities, organizers said. The decision to move the holiday ice skating from the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater was because of ongoing construction on Jack Warner Parkway, city officials said. “With increased visibility and proximity to local businesses and restaurants, we hope to make this event more convenient to the community,” said Stacy Vaughn, director of public services. Holidays on the River began nine years ago on the Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum property, the Tuscaloosa News reported. It grew in popularity, and moved in 2015 to the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater. Admission to Holidays on the Plaza is free. However, guests must purchase skate passes to access the ice rink.\n\nAlaska\n\nBethel: A federal grant will allow an extensive trail system to connect all four communities on Nelson Island, just off Alaska’s western coast. The $12\n\nmillion grant will pay to take the trail the last link, from Toksook Bay, which received the federal money, to the community of Mertarvik, the new site for the village of Newtok. The village is moving because of erosion. However, Newtok has not yet agreed to accept the trail. Newtok Tribal Administrator Phillip Carl told KYUK the village council has not met in months because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the council is scheduled to meet in December, and will vote on the trail project. Even if they decide not to accept the project, Toksook Bay still intends to build most of the trail to Mertarvik. However, they would stop just short of the village, at the border between the two village corporations. Work on the trail to Mertarvik still needs to be designed and go through environmental reviews. If approved, construction is expected to start in 2023 and take about two years to complete. The island’s trail system will span 50 miles, connecting the four communities: Toksook Bay, Tununak, Nightmute and Mertarvik. The trail connecting Toksook Bay to Nightmute is expected to be completed next summer.\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: Two hikers were rescued Saturday in separate operations at Echo Canyon and South Mountain. According to the Phoenix Fire Department, the rescues involved a 59-year-old man who experienced chest pains while hiking Echo Canyon and a 14-year-old boy who tripped and suffered a lower-extremity injury while hiking Holbert Trailhead at South Mountain. Firefighters arrived at Holbert Trailhead just before 11 a.m. Saturday and hiked approximately 1\n\nmile to the location where a 14-year-old boy tripped and fell while hiking. After locating him, emergency personnel conducted basic life-support measures and splinted the patient’s leg. He was extricated by helicopter from the scene. The Phoenix Fire Department said the patient was then taken to a local pediatric emergency room for further evaluation. The other hiker was assisted by Technical Rescue Teams in Echo Canyon. After a quick assessment, rescue teams decided to use the “Big Wheel” to help the hiker off of the mountain after he stated he didn’t feel comfortable walking down on his own, according to the Phoenix Fire Department. Once at the trailhead, a second assessment of the hiker was performed and rescue crews determined the patient needed transport to a local hospital. Phoenix Fire Department said no emergency personnel was injured in either incident.\n\nArkansas\n\nHelena-West Helena: The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded a $20\n\nmillion grant to finish the final section of a bike and pedestrian trail in southeastern Arkansas. The Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism was awarded the money to construct the final 13.4-mile section of the Delta Heritage Trail. Once complete, the 87-mile trail stretching from Lexa to Arkansas City will be one of the longest dedicated pedestrian and bicycle trails in Arkansas. The federal grant is being matched by $20\n\nmillion from the Walton Family Foundation. State parks officials said the project is expected to be finished by 2025.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSacramento: A federal appeals court temporarily blocked an order that all California prison workers must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or have a religious or medical exemption. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request for a stay of September’s lower court order pending an appeal. It also sped up the hearing process by setting a Dec. 13 deadline for opening briefs. The vaccination mandate was supposed to have taken effect by Jan. 12 but the appellate court stay blocks enforcement until sometime in March, when the appeal hearing will be scheduled. The judge who issued the vaccination mandate followed the recommendation of a court-appointed receiver who was chosen to manage the state prison health care system after a federal judge in 2005 found that California failed to provide adequate medical care to prisoners. In addition to requiring COVID-19 shots for prison workers, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar required vaccinations or exemptions for inmates who want in-person visits or who work outside prisons, including inmate firefighters.\n\nColorado\n\nFort Collins: The remains of the final victim of the Black Hollow Flood have been discovered four months after she and her three family members were swept away in the flood. About 4 p.m. Nov. 20, a local resident reported finding what she thought to be human remains while hiking east of Rustic Road – a little more than 4 miles east of Black Hollow Road – according to a news release from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies with the sheriff’s office and investigators with Larimer County Coroner’s Office recovered those remains, and the coroner’s office identified them as belonging to 57-year-old Diana Brown of San Antonio. Brown was swept away by the flood waters July 20 along with her family members Richard Brown of Bellevue, Nebraska; Patricia Brown of Madison, Wisconsin; and David Brown of San Antonio. Their bodies were recovered in a section of the river between Arrowhead Lodge and the Indian Meadows area of the Poudre Canyon several days after the flood. Richard Brown owned a mobile home on Black Hollow Road, according to Larimer County property records, but his home residence was in Bellevue. All four victims were in the same house in the small Black Hollow area 45\n\nmiles west of Fort Collins when the Black Hollow Creek initiated a flash flood down the mountainside filled with large boulders and trees burned in the Cameron Peak Fire.\n\nConnecticut\n\nTorrington: The Torrington Public Schools district is turning to a limousine service company to help transport students to school because of a bus driver shortage that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The district plans to use some of its $5.9\n\nmillion in federal coronavirus relief funds to pay Carriage & Limousine Services of Oxford to help cover its 53 bus routes. The private company has said it can provide 30 passenger buses and 10 passenger vans to cover morning bus runs on an emergency basis and afternoon runs more regularly, the Waterbury Republican-American reported. The company charges $125 an hour for passenger buses and $87.50 an hour for passenger vans. All-Star Transportation, the city’s main bus provider, has had difficulty finding enough drivers, which has caused morning delays and prevented most after-school programs, the superintendent of schools, Susan Lubomski, recently told the Board of Education.\n\nDelaware\n\nDover: Delaware’s K-12 public schools are continuing to report fewer than 300 COVID-19 cases that are deemed as being in-person and contagious. The Delaware State News reported last week the numbers remained below 300 for the fifth consecutive week. The data was released Wednesday by the Delaware Division of Public Health. The agency said there were 298 cases for students, just 0.21% of the estimated 141,040 public school students. The week’s numbers were slightly up from 0.17% – or 243 cases – from the previous week. Delaware has recorded a total of 3,397 in-person contagious cases among students this school year. That figure amounts to 2.4% of all public school students. Another 665 cases have been reported among staff. The data is for all of Delaware’s public schools. That includes 19 districts and 23 charter schools that are part of the public school system.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: The Knights of Columbus handed out new winter coats for those in need at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in southeast D.C. on Friday, WUSA-TV reported. Many low-income families have scarce resources to cover even the most basic essentials, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The Knights of Columbus launched the Coats for Kids program to ensure that every child in North America would have access to a warm winter coat. Since the program started in D.C. in 2009, councils have purchased and distributed more than 500,000 new winter coats to children throughout North America. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, who is the first Black U.S. prelate to earn the coveted red cap, said this is the season for giving if you can. “It’s a great gesture of concern for kids and young people who need a little help at this time of year,” Gregory said. Metro Police officers were also picking up coats. Each district gets three boxes. Officer Karen Voglezon said giving them out is a way to connect with the community they serve. “We never know what anybody’s situation is, so to get a warm coat for the winter is very good,” Officer Voglezon said.\n\nFlorida\n\nMiami: Federal authorities have taken into custody a 26-year-old man who apparently stowed away in the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines fight that arrived at Miami International Airport from Guatemala on Saturday morning. The man was in the wheel well area when the flight arrived from Guatemala City at 10:06 a.m., officials said. News outlets reported that Flight 1182 was met by law enforcement because of a security issue. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers took the man into custody, the agency said in a news release. Medics took the man to a hospital for a medical assessment. “Persons are taking extreme risks when they try to conceal themselves in confined spaces such as an aircraft,” the agency said. The news release didn’t say whether the man will face any charges, or what will happen to him when he’s released from the hospital.\n\nGeorgia\n\nLawrenceville: All active school district employees in Gwinnett County eligible for benefits are in line to get $1,000 in bonuses next month, as well as a paid Juneteenth holiday next year. Superintendent Calvin Watts recommended the bonuses to the county’s Board of Education, which approved them unanimously, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The bonus will be paid in a lump sum in the December monthly paycheck for about 21,500 employees, including teachers, administrators and support personnel, according to a news release from Gwinnett County Public Schools. The one-time bonuses’ $21.5\n\nmillion cost will not tie up future budgets or decrease the year-end fund balance, the news release said. Atlanta Public Schools is also considering $1,000 stipends next month for all its 6,000 workers, including part-time employees.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: A food distributor in Hawaii has filed a federal lawsuit against a dairy company because milk from the mainland is allegedly being sold under a name that advertises local ties. The lawsuit filed by Hawaii Foodservice Alliance claims Meadow Gold Dairies is selling milk from California alongside advertising that reads, “Hawaii’s Dairy” and “Made with Aloha,” the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. The lawsuit said the company has no cows in Hawaii and their “Lani Moo” mascot is misleading. Meadow Gold has long sold milk produced in Hawaii. The company was sold in April 2020 to Bahman Sadeghi, a Big Island dairy farmer, who allegedly began using milk from outside the state. “We have never claimed that all our milk is local, but we do consider ourselves Hawaii’s Dairy because we are committed to Hawaii and its community and will continue to be while we work toward building a more sustainable operation,” Meadow Gold said in a statement. In a similar but unrelated case, a federal judge recently tossed out a lawsuit against California-based King’s Hawaiian, which produces sweet rolls. Hawaii Public Radio reported King’s Hawaiian was sued because their label features the words “Established 1950” and “Hilo, Hawaii” in reference to the company’s founding. U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton said the packaging clearly states the rolls are made in California and a geographic reference such as Hilo would not deceive a consumer into believing the product was made there.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise The city is looking to expand its geothermal heating system by 40% as part of a goal to become carbon-neutral by 2050. The city pumps 250 gallons of geothermal water to 96 buildings through 21 miles of pipes. The water has a temperature of 177 degrees Fahrenheit. City officials said that the geothermal heat supplies about 2% of the city’s energy resources. “Geothermal really provides that clean energy alternative,” said Climate Action Manager Steve Hubble, the Idaho Statesman reported. The heated water comes from a river of geothermally heated water flowing under the nearby foothills. Experts said the water is heated by the Idaho Batholith, a massive igneous intrusion of granite producing heat through decay of isotopes like uranium, thorium, and potassium. Boise Geothermal Program Manager Jon Gunnerson said a large fault line runs through the Boise foothills and helps bring the water near the surface. The hot water is pumped from city-owned wells in the foothills to buildings, and then returned to the aquifer. City officials said they want to expand the use of the geothermal water by 5 million gallons (18.9 million liters) a year until reaching 355\n\nmillion gallons. Gunnerson said anyone interested in switching to geothermal should contact his office. The city says the rate is competitive with natural gas prices.\n\nIllinois\n\nSpringfield: The Capitol dome in Springfield will be without holiday lights for the third straight year. The same structural issue that kept workers from hanging about 1,300 lights from the state Capitol dome in 2019 and again last year has not been resolved, Secretary of State spokesman Henry Haupt told The Springfield State-Journal Register. Haupt said an engineering firm conducted an inspection of the dome in 2019 and recommended an observation deck above the dome be fortified before the lights are put up. “It’s the engineering firm just feels the Christmas lights shouldn’t be tethered to it until it’s fortified,” he said, adding that there is nothing wrong with the observation deck necessarily. He said the next step is for the secretary of state’s office – which is the custodian of the building – to work with the Capitol Development Boar to come up with the funding for the project. That means the lights, which were first hung on the dome in 1924 and became an annual tradition in the 1960s, will remain dark for at least one more holiday season.\n\nIndiana\n\nWinamac: Staff at a primate sanctuary in northern Indiana will be feeding the center’s menagerie with freshly picked fruit in the coming years because of a newly planted orchard. A team of volunteers helped plant 60 fruit trees last month on the property of the Peaceable Primate Sanctuary, which is home to baboons and macaque monkeys retired from research facilities and pharmaceutical companies. The new orchard at the primate center is outfitted with an irrigation system and within a few years it will supply the sanctuary with fresh apples, persimmons and other fruits, WSBT-TV reported. The orchard was planted after donations and a partnership with an organization called The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation. The next project at the sanctuary, located in Winamac, about 40 miles southwest of South Bend, is to build space for 10 additional primates that will be retiring there, said Scott Kubisch, the center’s director and founder.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines Iowa motorists will soon have the option of keeping their driver’s license on their phones. State officials have begun a pilot project to make digital driver’s licenses, or “mobile IDs,” available for download via smartphone apps sometime in 2022, the Cedar Rapids Gazette reported Friday. Iowa is one of several states that have considered, tested or begun issuing digital versions of driver’s licenses. Iowa plans to test devices equipped with digital versions through December, with about 100 state Department of Transportation employees expected to enlist by spring as a test group to make sure the app works. Melissa Gillett, director of the department’s motor vehicle division, said the mobile ID will be optional, but motorists will still be expected to carry hard-copy licenses. Iowa DOT officials are working with technology vendors to address security and privacy concerns inherit with any electronic-based app. They also are working with law enforcement agencies, and want to make sure the digital ID can be accepted by retailers and other places that require people to show identification or proof of age or address.\n\nKansas\n\nWichita: Kansas utility regulators have issued an order requiring Evergy to explain and justify a plan to spend $10.4 billion on its electrical system and report quality of service measures on a quarterly basis amid concerns that the plan is designed largely to benefit a hedge fund investor. The Wichita Eagle reported members of the Kansas Corporation Commission sent a strong signal Tuesday that they won’t tolerate efforts to increase shareholder profits at the expense of unreasonably high rates for Evergy’s 1\n\nmillion Kansas customers. In a written statement, Evergy said it was reviewing the commission’s order before identifying “if there are appropriate next steps.” At issue is a plan undertaken by Evergy after Elliott Management Corp. bought into Evergy last year with a stated goal of raising the company’s profitability and stock prices.\n\nKentucky\n\nFrankfort: Kentucky officials spent nearly $1 million to replace office furniture for hundreds of legislative staffers who work out of the state Capitol and Capitol Annex in Frankfort. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Mike Wynn, spokesperson for the General Assembly’s Legislative Research Commission, said the purchase was necessary. “In short, we’ve reached a tipping point,” Wynn said. “Our furniture is more than a decade old, and many items have suffered significant wear over the years. It’s now cheaper to replace those items than repair them.” Fifty executive desks were bought for nearly $1,350 each. Meanwhile, more than 290 bookcases were bought for $815 each and 276 guest chairs were $339 each. No new furniture was purchased for lawmakers and their staffers.\n\nLouisiana\n\nNew Orleans: A New Orleans museum plans to launch an elaborate nighttime sound-and-light show next year to showcase individual stories of bravery and sacrifice during World War II. The National WII Museum plans to premier its Expressions of America show on Veterans Day in 2022. It will use music, art installations and projections of what the museum calls “living murals” on the various facades of the expansive museum in downtown New Orleans. The plan is to draw from the museum’s archives to tell personal stories of soldiers, nurses and chaplains who served, their loved ones and others who played a role on the home front, including factory workers, artists and entertainers. The show also will feature actor and veterans advocate Gary Sinise. Expressions of America is being produced at an estimated cost of about $5\n\nmillion, according to museum spokesman Keith Darcey. It will be sponsored by the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation, a charitable organization founded in the name of the late comedian who famously entertained troops overseas, and his wife.\n\nMaine\n\nBucksport: A proposed salmon farm located at the site of the former Verso paper mill in Bucksport has not started construction despite receiving the necessary permits two years ago. A spokesperson for the company, Whole Oceans – which proposed the land-based aquaculture facility located on 100 acres along the Penobscot River – could not provide an update on when construction would start, the Bangor Daily News reported. The project received permits from the Bucksport Planning Board and approval from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in 2019. In 2020, the company bought a second plot of land at the old mill site that it said meant it needed to review its plans. Bucksport Code Enforcement Officer Luke Chiavelli told the newspaper he had not received any applications related to construction on the second plot. The current approvals are valid for five years. The company is in compliance with permits and has paid its taxes, Susan Lessard, the Bucksport town manager, told the newspaper. She said the company told her they were in the process of hiring a CEO and there have been multiple previous changes in the company’s leadership in the past three years, the newspaper reported.\n\nMaryland\n\nEaston: Officials on Maryland’s Eastern Shore have voted to award a contract to remove a Confederate monument from a courthouse lawn and relocate it. The Talbot County Council voted unanimously to award a contract for the removal of the “Talbot Boys” statue and its relocation to a Virginia battlefield, news outlets reported. The council also passed an amendment that would allow submissions of alternative local sites for the monument until Dec. 6. The statue dedicated in 1916 commemorates more than 80 soldiers who fought for the Confederacy. It’s thought to be the last Confederate monument still standing on public property in Maryland besides cemeteries and battlefields. The contract was awarded to Washington, D.C.-based contractor Stratified for $67,000, an amount contingent on the project being funded by the Mid-Shore Community Foundation. No county funds are required for the bid.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: A man has pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to transport drugs and cash using secret compartments inside tractor trailers. Jamil Roman, 44, of Chicopee was indicted in 2016. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court in Springfield to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. He is scheduled to be sentenced in March. In 2014, Roman, who owned an auto body shop, and a co-defendant, Javier Gonzalez, conspired to distribute cocaine in western Massachusetts, prosecutors said. Roman admitted to meeting with Gonzalez and conspiring to collect a debt owed for the cocaine, which was part of a larger load obtained from a Mexican supply source. Law enforcement officers seized about $1.17\n\nmillion in cash from a hidden compartment inside a tractor trailer being driven by Gonzalez to Texas as payment for the drugs, prosecutors said. Gonzalez was sentenced in October to 21/2 years in prison and fined $20,000.\n\nMichigan\n\nEast Lansing: In the wake of the death of a Michigan State University student two weekends ago, the school and the Pi Alpha Phi national organization have suspended the school’s chapter of the fraternity. The student, identified as Phat Nguyen, died early Nov. 20 at a residence off campus. An autopsy was conducted but the Office of the Medical Examiner at Sparrow Hospital said the cause of death would not be determined until toxicology results are completed in six to eight weeks. Authorities have said alcohol consumption might have been a factor and shortly after the incident, the East Lansing Police Department said its officers had responded to the scene where four people were “passed out,” including one who was not breathing. According to the Lansing State Journal, Nguyen’s death came a day after the fraternity posted on its Facebook page that he was one of four students who had just joined the chapter.\n\nMinnesota\n\nMinneapolis: President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit the Twin Cities suburb of Rosemount on Tuesday to tout his $1 trillion infrastructure plan. The president has been making multiple stops across the country to highlight the infrastructure package. The White House has projected the package will deliver $4.5\n\nbillion to Minnesota for highways, $800\n\nmillion for public transportation and about $300\n\nmillion for bridge work over a five-year span, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The state also is in line for $680\n\nmillion for water projects, at least $100\n\nmillion for broadband expansion and about $297\n\nmillion for airport infrastructure. Biden won Minnesota by about 7 percentage points in the 2020 presidential election.\n\nMississippi\n\nOcean Springs: Mississippi is unveiling a new app that’s designed to store someone’s driver license on their phone. The app is being billed as a safe and effective way to make sure your ID is always on you, WLOX-TV reported. However, state officials said people will still need a physical driver license to show if requested when they are stopped by law enforcement. Another exception listed on the program’s website is boarding an airplane. Still, there’s a “growing list” of businesses and state agencies that accept the Mississippi Mobile ID, state officials said. “Vendors can accept the Mobile ID with confidence, as information on the digital ID can be verified against what is on file with the Department of Public Safety and will always be accurate and up-to-date,” the program’s website stated. Residents’ information is secure and can only be accessed with their fingerprint or face ID, officials with the Department of Public Safety said. Mississippi Mobile ID is voluntary, and residents may continue relying on their physical ID. More information about the program is available at www.driverservicebureau.dps.ms.gov/mobile-id/\n\nMissouri\n\nKansas City: The city’s embattled police chief’s last day on the job will be in April, a draft agreement obtained by The Kansas City Star showed. The letter was written after Chief Rick Smith met last week with Mayor Quinton Lucas and Board of Police Commissioners president, Mark Tolbert. The meeting came just four days after a Jackson County found Det. Eric DeValkenaere guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2019 shooting death of Cameron Lamb. Capt. Leslie Foreman, a spokeswoman for the department said in a statement Smith would retire sometime in 2022. She said Smith made a commitment to stay in the position no more than five years when he was hired in August 2017. But the new letter, which is addressed to Smith from Tolbert, provided more details. It said Smith will announce his retirement to the public on March 1, that his last day will be April 22 and that he will be compensated at his current salary through Aug. 31. Smith earns about $191,000 per year as chief. There have been repeated calls for Smith to resign, including during last year’s racial justice protests. Smith’s departure is expected to come up when the police board meets Monday in a closed session.\n\nMontana\n\nBillings: The value of livestock killed by predators such as grizzly bears and wolves is expected to exceed the budget for compensating ranchers for such losses this year, the Montana Livestock Loss Board said. George Edwards, the board’s executive director, said 331 head of livestock have been killed this year by wolves, grizzlies and mountain lions. With more than $262,000 in payouts having been made through Nov. 23, Edwards told The Billings Gazette he doesn’t think the state’s $300,000 annual budget will be enough to cover all the losses. Claims for animals killed by grizzly bears have been increasing in recent years. Six years ago, reported grizzly bear kills of cattle was 50 head, with another 16 probable kills. So far this year, there have been 80 confirmed kills and another 35 that are probable. Wolves also kill sheep, and mountain lions kill sheep and goats. The Montana Legislature started the Livestock Loss Program in 2007 to compensate ranchers for animals lost to grizzly bears and wolves. Mountain lions were added to the predators list and the legislature increased the compensation program’s annual budget from $200,000 to $300,000 in 2019.\n\nNebraska\n\nLincoln: Students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln could be required to log into an online class or watch a recorded lecture from home when bad weather strikes. The Lincoln Journal Star reported a new policy gives UNL the option to require students to follow “instructional continuity plans.” The new policy goes into effect Jan. 3, the start of winter interim classes at UNL. The change comes after heavy snow earlier this year forced UNL to call off classes during an already compressed spring semester schedule. Faculty leaders and others asked for the option, and a plan was developed by the Faculty Senate, Association of Students of the University of Nebraska, and campus administrators. Instructors can choose how they want classes to continue in the event of inclement weather, while adhering to the same schedule and ensuring to make the option available for all students.\n\nNevada\n\nCarson City: Residents of a rural, Republican-leaning town that the Nevada Legislature split into two Assembly districts filed a lawsuit last week challenging the state’s district maps. John Koenig and Gregory Hafen II, a Republican who represents Pahrump in the Statehouse, argued that the maps passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Steve Sisolak are drawn in a way that denies voters their right to elect representatives of their choice. The maps split rural Nye County into three state Assembly districts and Pahrump – its largest city – into two. The lawsuit filed in Carson City court said that combining Nye County voters into a district with more urban communities in the Las Vegas area dilutes their voting power and makes it unlikely that they’ll be able to choose a representative committed to their interests. A representative from a distant county, they said in the lawsuit, “will have little understanding of Pahrump’s and Nye County’s unique and local problems and issues and as such will be unable to adequately represent the needs and interests of Pahrump’s and Nye County’s rural voters.”\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nKittery: The final submarine in the Navy’s Los Angeles class arrived at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard last week for scheduled system upgrades and maintenance work. With more than 140 crew members aboard, the USS Cheyenne docked at the shipyard. Its home base is in Groton, Connecticut, from where it traveled. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard announced the Cheyenne is the third naval ship to be named after the Wyoming city, as well as the first of its class to partake in the Navy’s service-life extension program. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard spokesperson Gary Hildreth said the maintenance of the submarine is expected to last 30 months at a cost of approximately $315\n\nmillion. At 360 feet long and with a dead weight of 927 tons, the USS Cheyenne is capable of supporting military missions that include “anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance,” according to the shipyard’s statement. The Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company was awarded the contract to build the submarine in the fall of 1989, leading to its construction beginning July 6, 1992. The USS Cheyenne was commissioned Sept. 13, 1996.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nWildwood: One of the Jersey Shore’s most popular boardwalks is undergoing repairs designed to better prepare it for next year’s summer crowds. Wildwood has begun repairing several blocks of its wooden walkway, as famous for the motorized tram cars that carry people up and down it as for the gigantic expanses of sand that stretch to the ocean. The first $4\n\nmillion of what could be a $30\n\nmillion to $40\n\nmillion project is being done solely with state funds included in this year’s budget. The walkway is particularly popular with tourists from Philadelphia and its suburbs. Engineers examined the concrete substructure of the walkway and determined that not all of it was in bad shape. An examination of the boardwalk’s underbelly by local and state officials in 2019 found some spots where concrete crumbled to the touch. But the overall assessment of the substructure cleared the way for less expensive plans to repair the sections most in need of work, Mayor Pete Byron said. Work started last week on a three-block section. Eventually, 20 of the boardwalk’s 26 blocks will be refurbished, a process that could take five years, with work done in the offseason to avoid interfering with tourist season.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nAlbuquerque: Several members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are urging the U.S. Forest Service to again allow a decades-old foot race that goes through a wilderness area and up into mountains overlooking Albuquerque. A letter by Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan and Rep. Melanie Stansbury asked the agency to reverse its 2020 decision that the La Luz Trail Race wouldn’t be permitted under the Cibola National Forest’s draft land and resource management plan. The lawmakers wrote that the 9-mile event held annually for more than 55 years “is a point of pride for New Mexicans and an important source of recreation and tourism.” The race, which attracted hundreds of runners, started in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains on the outskirts of Albuquerque and finished at Sandia Crest after an elevation gain of more than 4,000 feet. In a 2020 announcement, Sandia District Ranger Crystal Powell said officials had determined that the race should not have been permitted in the wilderness area because it was a commercial event.\n\nNew York\n\nPoughkeepsie: A second gun buyback event through the state Attorney General’s Office in less than six months is scheduled in the city for Dec. 4. Letitia James’ office is holding the event, in association with the city police department, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Beulah Baptist Church at 92 Catharine St. The amount residents can receive depends on the gun they bring, with the range beginning at $25 for a nonworking or antique gun, followed by $75 for a rifle or shotgun, $150 for a handgun and $250 for an assault rifle. Participants will receive a prepaid gift card at the church. Participants can trade in as many guns as they wish. Weapons must be unloaded and transported inside a plastic bag, paper bag or box. Licensed gun dealers and active or retired law enforcement officers are not allowed to participate in the program. Identification is not required to take part, and no questions will be asked. The Poughkeepsie City School District was forced to close its high school for several days after a shooting on Forbus Street roughly a half-hour after dismissal Nov. 15. City police said 40 to 50 people were in the area of the shooting. No injuries were reported. A 13-year-old found by police that day is in a juvenile facility, charged with criminal possession of a weapon.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nConcord: A fire has destroyed 60 guitars and up to 100 paintings at the North Carolina home of Jim Avett. He is the father of Scott and Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers band. The Charlotte Observer reported the fire occurred Friday in the city of Concord. “The fire started from a golf cart,” Jim Avett posted on Facebook. “Half the house is totally beyond repair.” Officials said that arriving firefighters saw “heavy fire from the garage” and entered the house to keep the flames from spreading. No one was injured, although Jim Avett said a cat was missing. The Avett Brothers, a three-time Grammy Award nominee, are based in North Carolina and have a national following. Jim Avett said on Facebook the blaze is “not a knockout punch.” “We have the strength, attitude, faith and abilities to move forward,” he wrote. “And we will!”\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: An agency key to implementing new in-state investment components of North Dakota’s $8.3 billion oil tax savings has a new leader. The State Investment Board recently named Retirement and Investment Office interim Executive Director Jan Murtha to take over the role on a permanent basis, the Bismarck Tribune reported. The office oversees about $20\n\nbillion of assets. Murtha, who is an attorney, has led the agency in the interim role since June, when Dave Hunter resigned for a job in Alabama. Murtha was hired in 2020 and previously was the office’s deputy executive director and chief retirement officer. The agency is key to effecting new in-state investment mandates of the Legacy Fund approved by the Legislature, which include making investments in companies in the state. During the Legislature’s special session earlier this month, state lawmakers approved an additional six full-time employees and $1.8\n\nmillion for salaries and expenses. Murtha has said those resources will help the office meet the new investment requirements.\n\nOhio\n\nLima: The city is about to swear in Democrat Sharetta Smith as its first female and first Black mayor. Smith will take her oath of office Monday at the city’s Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center. She defeated Republican Elizabeth Hardesty on Nov. 2 after the two topped a four-way primary in May.Smith succeeds retiring eight-term Mayor David Berger, who has led the city since 1989. She most recently served as his chief of staff. An attorney, Smith previously served as an assistant public defender and criminal court magistrate.\n\nOklahoma\n\nEnid: The dedication for the world’s tallest fresh-cut Christmas tree, a 140-foot Douglas fir, took place Friday night during the opening ceremony for “The One,” a 42-day Christmas event at 150 W Park Ave. In recent days, a special crew from California used boom lift aerial equipment to decorate the tree with more than 20,000 LED lights. Crew members also braved the Oklahoma winds to add about 10,000 ornaments for a show-stopping effect. And an Enid florist shop owner and local volunteers decorated numerous smaller trees that formed a brightly colored ring around the tree. Kyle Williams, chief executive officer of Hammer Williams Co,. said he and his wife Carol came up with the idea for “The One” extravaganza with their four grown children. They envisioned a series of concerts, plays and other activities to take place around a huge tree in downtown Enid. About two years ago, the Williams family did some research to determine where the tallest fresh-cut Christmas trees were featured in previous years. Williams said he found that the giant trees were often the highlight of elaborate holiday scenes created at outlet malls and casinos across the country. And then there was the large fresh-cut Christmas tree famously featured each year at New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza.\n\nOregon\n\nPortland: Oregonians will soon have more options for camping – especially those looking for a quick trip – as the state parks department works to complete details on a capital improvement plan. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported staff in the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department recently outlined some of the plans at a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. Park Services Manager Matt Rippee said expanded campgrounds are in the works for several state parks in the Willamette Valley, including Silver Falls and Champoeg. “It also gives folks an opportunity, if a big storm comes through in the middle of the night, or a baby is crying, they can hop in the car and head home, and it’s not a four hour drive,” he said. The expansion is part of an approved $50 million, by state lawmakers, to fund a series of projects over the next five years. In addition, as part of the package the iconic Smith Rock State Park is set to receive $4 million to $6 million for upgrades throughout the park – including added parking, extended hiking trails and a visitor center.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped its percentage of vaccinated adults in Pennsylvania by nearly 5 percentage points in what apparently was a data correction to weed out duplicates. The agency adjusted the percentage to 68.9%, after a day earlier putting the percentage at 73.7% of Pennsylvanians 18 and older. The downward revision amounted to a reduction of about 1.2\n\nmillion doses. Pennsylvania’s Department of Health said it sends its data to the CDC, and began in July to refine its data to remove duplicate information and correct data on first, second and booster doses. The data correction came as infections, hospitalizations and intensive-care unit cases are rising in Pennsylvania and many other states. The department said there are 3,349 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, up about 21% in November. That includes 763 in the ICU, up about 17% in November. More than 33,000 people in Pennsylvania have died from COVID-19, according to Department of Health data.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: Gov. Dan McKee said the annual holiday celebration and tree lighting at the State House will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursday on the south lawn. The tree will be lit at 6:15 p.m. Two Christmas trees will be on display at the State House. A 12-foot Douglas fir from Henry’s Christmas Tree Farm in Scituate will be outside the State House and an 18-foot artificial tree will be inside the State House. The Douglas fir was purchased with donations from several local businesses and the artificial tree was purchased with funds from the 2017 National Governors Association conference, McKee said. Keeping a real tree alive inside the State House has proved challenging. In 2005, the tree turned brown and shed all its needles. In 2017 the tree died 10 days before Christmas. The governor’s office purchased an artificial tree in 2019. After the tree is lit, McKee and first lady Susan McKee will read “The Night Before Christmas.” The celebration features performances by Billy Gilman, the Cumberland Clef Singers, the Paul Cuffee Lower School Chorus and the Rhode Island Army National Guard’s “Governor’s Own” 88th Army Band. Unwrapped toys will be collected to benefit local children in need. Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus are also scheduled to appear to take socially-distanced photos with children.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nCharleston: More loggerhead turtle nests were counted on South Carolina beaches this year than in 2020, according to state Department of Natural Resources data. The Post and Courier of Charleston reported officials counted more than 5,600 sea turtle nests this year, with data still being compiled. The final 2020 count was 5,560. That remains below the state’s two biggest years, with 6,446 in 2016 and 8,774 in 2019. The state’s first nest was reported on May 5 on Seabrook Island. The town of Kiawah Island said its last nest was counted Oct. 10. In July, volunteers found a rare two-headed sea turtle hatchling while conducting an inventory at Edisto Beach. As far as the park specialists know, this was a first for the beach. The turtle was released into the Atlantic Ocean. Loggerheads are the Palmetto State’s primary nesting sea turtles. But the department this year reported a Kemp’s ridley nest and five green sea turtle nests. Last year, 16% of nests were washed away, including some by Hurricane Isaias, said state DNR state sea turtle coordinator Michelle Pate. This year, 3.4% of eggs were lost. Pate said a larger share of lost eggs were eaten by predators this year, including coyotes, foxes and raccoons.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nDeadwood: The addition of sports betting helped drive a 20% revenue increase for Deadwood casinos in October, according to new state data. The Rapid City Journal reported that a report from the South Dakota Commission on Gaming showed the casinos generated 20.54% more revenue last month than in October 2020. Gamblers shelled out more than $116\n\nmillion for slots, $8.3\n\nmillion for table game bets and $815,036 in sports bets. Sports betting became legal in South Dakota in July. Betting began in early September after the gaming commission approved a list of sporting events that gamblers can wager on, including the Olympics, professional and college sports. Five Deadwood casinos offered sports betting in October, paying out just over $98,000. Most bets were placed on professional and college football. Overall, gamblers spent almost $1.3\n\nbillion in Deadwood casinos through the first 10 months of the year. That’s up nearly 40% from 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced casinos to close temporarily. Slot machines paid out more than $10.8\n\nmillion in winnings and table games yielded almost $1.5\n\nmillion in winnings, mostly from blackjack and house-banked poker, according to the report.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: A woman attacked two flight attendants on a Spirit Airlines flight to Nashville on Saturday night, was restrained by a fellow passenger, and then yelled at police officers to “shoot me” when they arrested her. Airport police arrested a 42-year old female for public intoxication after the flight crew contacted officers on the ground at Nashville International Airport about 7 p.m., an arrest affidavit said. The flight took off from Fort Lauderdale at about 6 p.m., according to Spirit Airlines spokesperson Nicole Aguiar and FlightAware, a flight tracking website. When the plane arrived, members of the crew told officers that she attacked two flight attendants, punching one and pulling the other’s hair. Aguiar did not comment on details in the affidavit but said law enforcement officers removed “a passenger for unruly behavior.” When the passenger deplaned, another passenger was restraining her feet with zip ties, the affidavit said. She smelled of alcohol, spoke in a slurred manner, and her eyes were bloodshot. She told officers she drank “a lot,” the affidavit said. After police arrested her, she yelled at the officers on several occasions, using expletives and saying “I didn’t do anything wrong” and “shoot me,” according to the affidavit. The passenger also resisted getting into the police cruiser, including by stiffening her legs to prevent officers from closing the door. Davidson County Sheriff’s Office jail logs showed she was admitted into jail on at 8:40 p.m. Saturday, but she was released 6 a.m., Sunday.\n\nTexas\n\nKilleen: An invasive underwater weed is spreading in a central Texas lake popular with anglers, tangling boat propellers and threatening fish. The weed is hydrilla, an aquatic plant initially imported and sold as an aquarium plant in the 1950s that has become one of the world’s most invasive plants. Fishing guide Bob Maindelle said its presence is at a record level in Stillhouse Hollow Lake, about 13 miles southeast of Killeen. “So much hydrilla has now grown in Stillhouse that entire coves are now completely inaccessible to boating anglers because the matted vegetation entangles the propellers of both outboard engines and electric trolling motors, thus prohibiting access,” Maindelle wrote recently in the Killeen Daily Herald. The plants are spread by uncleaned boats and form thick mats on water surfaces, changing their pH levels, stripping them of oxygen, restricting native plant growth, blocking nutrients for aquatic animals, and hindering irrigation, recreation and water flow, according to the Texas Invasive Species Institute. It also can damage water quality and foster the growth of toxic blue-green algae. Such algae were linked to the recent sudden deaths of multiple dogs at nearby Belton Lake.\n\nUtah\n\nPanguitch: A minor earthquake struck parts of southern Utah on Friday morning. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 3.0 and was centered about 7 miles west of Panguitch, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It happened at about 6:40 a.m. Quakes of that magnitude are among the smallest generally felt by people.\n\nVermont\n\nStrafford: A final total of the cost of cleaning up the long-abandoned Elizabeth copper mine in Strafford came in more than four times the original estimate, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. The Valley News reported that when the Superfund project to clean up the mine began in 2002, its estimated cost, in today’s dollars, was $25\n\nmillion. When the the cleanup was completed earlier this year the final price tag, released last week, came in at $103\n\nmillion. Ed Hathaway, the EPA’s Elizabeth Mine project manager, said “cost increases are very common” in the Superfund program. “We’re not building a house. We essentially are unwrapping the site as we clean it up. … As we excavate and as we do work, we uncover more of the challenges,” Hathaway said. In 2001 the EPA designated the abandoned 250-acre copper mine a Superfund site. Acid- and metal-contaminated water from the site contaminated nearby streams. Copper ore was first discovered in the area in the 1790s. Mining operations waxed and waned over the decades with economic conditions. The mine closed in 1958, leaving behind 7,800 feet of tunnels; abandoned buildings; equipment; huge piles of rock, known as tailings; and other mining debris. After the mine closed, contaminated water leached from waste rock and tailings into nearby streams, endangering animals and homes nearby.\n\nVirginia\n\nRoanoke: Police are seeing an increase in thefts of catalytic converters from automobiles across the nation and in parts of Virginia. Roanoke County police officer Greg Benton told The Roanoke Times that he didn’t think catalytic converter thefts have “ever been this prolific.” Catalytic converters filter pollutants from car exhaust. They’re made with valuable precious metals and sit on the underside of a vehicle. They can be removed in a matter of minutes with a machine-powered saw. In July, insurance provider State Farm said it had seen a three-fold jump in the number of catalytic converter claims filed over the past year. The National Insurance Crime Bureau also said that the average monthly thefts across the nation had soared to 1,203 in 2020. There were 282 a month in 2019. In Roanoke City, 182 converters were reported stolen by the end of October. In all of 2020, there were about 16 thefts. In Roanoke County, Benton said thieves had made off with about 30 converters at once. Car owners can take precautions by parking in well-lit, visible areas. Illegally removing a catalytic converter can be done quickly – but not quietly. The sawing tends to make a racket.\n\nWashington\n\nBellingham: Residents throughout the state were preparing for possible flooding as “atmospheric rivers” again threatened parts of the Northwest, which saw heavy damage from extreme weather earlier this month. People in the small communities of Sumas and Everson in northwest Washington were asked to voluntarily evacuate Saturday night, The Bellingham Herald reported. Both towns near the Canadian border saw extreme flooding from the previous storm. Flood watches were issued for much of western and north-central Washington and the National Weather Service warned that flooding was possible through Sunday. Heavy rain and rising rivers were also expected in the Cascade mountains in the center of the state and the Olympic mountains near the coast. Meteorologists predicted the rain would taper off Sunday and that Monday should be relatively dry.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: FirstEnergy Corp. has applied to build five solar energy projects throughout its West Virginia service territory. The Akron, Ohio-based utility company estimated the projects, if approved by West Virginia regulators, would generate 50 megawatts of power, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported. The plans comply with a 2020 bill passed by the state legislature that permits electric utilities to own and operate up to 200 megawatts of renewable generation facilities. They would not displace the company’s current coal-fired generation capacity, the newspaper reported. The application was submitted through FirstEnergy’s two subsidiaries, Mon Power and Potomac Edison. Construction could begin as early as 2022, with all projects expected to be completed by 2025. The sites include a 26-acre reclaimed ash disposal site in Berkeley County, a 51-acre site adjacent to a Mon Power substation in Hancock County, a 95-acre site in Monongalia County and a 44-acre reclaimed strip mine property in Tucker County. A fifth location is under review.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: A community group is urging city officials to back off on plans to shut down a homeless encampment in a city park. City officials have posted notices that camping won’t be allowed in Reindahl Park on Madison’s east side after Dec. 6 and all tents, structures and belongings must be removed from the park by Dec. 9. The encampment has seen more than 70 people at times and has been declared unsanitary, unhealthy and unsafe after a number of attacks and overdoses, a stabbing and a shooting. The city wants to move people living in the park into shelters and a hotel. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that volunteer group Community Action Against Reindahl Eviction issued a statement Wednesday asking the city to halt the eviction. One of the group’s members, Pearl Foster, said the shelters and the hotel don’t have enough space for all the Reindahl campers and it shouldn’t be a problem to keep the park open because it’s not used for winter sports. Linette Rhodes, the city’s community development grants supervisor, said the city doesn’t want anyone sleeping outside during the winter and she’s confidant that all campers will have a place to go as the city shuts down the park.\n\nWyoming\n\nCheyenne: When the Republican-dominated legislature met last month to fight federal COVID-19 vaccination rules, it drew a crowd. That first day, people opposed to the federal rules crammed into the House and Senate galleries, filled two overflow rooms and gathered on the steps of the Capitol. State residents who traveled to Cheyenne fear taking a relatively new vaccine and don’t want to lose their jobs for refusing the shots, said Kristy Tyrney, the head of Wyoming Health Freedom, a grassroots group that rejects vaccine requirements. The scene in Wyoming played out across more than a dozen red-state legislatures in recent weeks as Republican lawmakers and governors pledged to fight President Joe Biden’s new immunization rules. Since September, at least 14 GOP-controlled legislatures have debated bills that would undermine vaccine mandates and passed at least 13 new laws, by Stateline’s count.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/11/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/07/20/noblesville-goes-old-school-make-itself-new-again/800761002/", "title": "Here's how Noblesville looks at the old to make itself new again", "text": "Of Hamilton County’s three largest cities, Noblesville might be considered the middle child — brimming with potential but sometimes overlooked.\n\nThe suburb, after all, has a historic town square, and a river runs through it — combined features Carmel and Fishers can’t claim.\n\nSo rather than re-inventing itself, as many suburbs have done with “vibrant and walkable” downtown areas built from scratch by big developers, city officials are aiming to enhance its natural gifts.\n\nTravel nightmare:Underground sinkhole jams Downtown Indianapolis traffic\n\nStaying relevant:Briggs: Indianapolis couldn't ban scooters while chasing Amazon, but they might still fail\n\nCity officials want to spruce up and remodel the square and make the White River easier to access, providing a one-two punch in which residents and visitors could comfortably busy themselves for a whole day.\n\n\"As the county seat, we have the courthouse and the square and a river in the center of downtown, and those are some major assets,\" Mayor John Ditslear said. \"We can modernize them but without losing the historical significance. I can see people coming down here to shop and eat during the day and staying at night for a concert.\"\n\nIncrease downtown density\n\nTo add muscle to the vision, Ditslear announced this week that at least one and possibly two high-end apartments with first-floor retail space would be built downtown or near downtown. The city is still entertaining proposals from developers but will likely reach an agreement by the end of the year.\n\nThat part of the overall plan is consistent with what other cities — including Carmel and Fishers — are doing as they chase the prized demographic perfecta of young professionals and well-off retirees to increase their downtown populations and spur economic activity.\n\n\"We've wanted to increase density downtown for a long time,\" Ditslear said, \"but things never really came together as they are starting to now.\"\n\nThe improvements on the square are in the final planning stages. They include wider sidewalks, mini-parks with benches, public art and entertainment in alleyways. Light fixtures and benches would be re-designed, decorative pavement would be laid down and gateway arches put up.\n\nThe changes would preserve the historical aesthetic of the square, which is lined with several local restaurants, coffee shops, clothing stores, galleries and antique sellers. A survey by the consultant, Context, Inc., which did the downtown study, found the square has 16 restaurants, eight clothing stores and seven antique shops, with most of the rest of the businesses being legal services and insurance companies.\n\nParking a problem\n\nResearchers said 68 percent of people who live, work or visit Noblesville like its historic charm more than any other element. But the study also found that their biggest complaint was a lack of parking and that they wanted to see a wider variety of businesses.\n\nMany visitors downtown are most frustrated by a two-hour parking limit on the square, said Peggy Kumler, who has owned A Corner Cottage on the square for 20 years.\n\n\"When they get ticketed, some customers get so mad they say they are never coming back,\" Kumler said. \"I've felt so bad for them that I've paid their tickets about 10 to 12 times over the years. When they get out of their cars they don't realize there's a time limit because they are so excited about shopping.\"\n\nMark Littler, who owns Noble Coffee and Tea Company with his wife, Robyn, said the city has to strike a delicate balance with parking restrictions.\n\nGrowing population: Hamilton County is growing — and fast\n\n\"For a business like mine, I don't want people taking up a space all day,\" he said. \"My business depends on quick turnover. But if you have law practice on the square and are taking a deposition, you'll probably need more than two hours.\"\n\nWidening the sidewalk would give cafes like Littler's more room for outdoor seating and pedestrians more space to window shop. But it would also mean changing the parking from vertical to parallel and that would eliminate about 20 spaces.\n\nDeputy Mayor Steve Cooke said parking garages would be included in the new mixed-use developments, which should alleviate parking on the square.\n\n\"We also have several surface lots nearby in which you can park all day,\" Cooke said. 'We need to do a better job of letting the public know those lots are there.\"\n\nWhite River development\n\nIt won't be the first time the city has upgraded the square. In the last 10 years it has spent nearly a million dollars on a program to fix up business fronts. Kumpler said she took advantage of the facade program about eight years ago, putting new windows and an awning on her shop with $14,000 from the city and $14,000 of her own.\n\nThe city is already well on its way to making the White River convenient to use. Last year, a half-mile trail along the east side of the river opened and another mile will be built soon. The Riverwalk trail will run from Division Street at Forest Park to Southside Park. Construction could begin this year.\n\nNoblesville has also punched up development west of the river to expand the boundaries of what is commonly known as downtown. Blue Sky Technology opened a large headquarters building — into which the popular restaurant Bru Burger moved — on the river, and the city built the $6 million Federal Hills Commons, a versatile park that has a band shell and ice skating rink.\n\nThe land around the river was also designated as a redevelopment district, which gives the city unlimited liquor permits to sell at a fixed price of $1,000, as a way to entice more business.\n\nTo better link the two sides of downtown, a pedestrian walkway with a look-out is being designed for the Logan Street Bridge over the White River. The walkway will be 28 feet wide and 150 feet long, county highway Director Brad Davis said. It could accommodate musicians, artists or other entertainers.\n\n\"To connect these two parts of downtown we need to make it more walkable,\" Ditslear said.\n\nZip lines and flotillas\n\nThe burgeoning riverfront development will be a starting point for further improvements being led by the city of Indianapolis and Hamilton County Tourism, Inc. The White River Master Plan will examine how to better use 58 miles of the river.\n\n\"The river is a great asset in Noblesville, but a lot of people don't even realize that it's there,\" said Brenda Myers, president of the tourism office.\n\nMyers said there is a lot of potential for \"activation,\" along the river. The county has nine parks near the water, most with at least some access. \"There is a canoe rental and boat slips and other activity on the river, but we can do more,\" Myers said, listing as possibilities flotillas, fishing piers and ziplines. Planners visited several other cities, such as Columbus, Ohio, to see what they had done with their rivers and are holding a series of public hearings to receive input.\n\nCoffee shop owner Littler said the city will thrive as long as it sticks to its roots. He said he urges city leaders all the time to improve what the city has and resist the temptation to simply imitate Carmel and Fishers.\n\n\"Noblesville offers something different,\" Littler said. \"There is a historic feel to it. It is not an urban center. It still feels like a small town, which is why people come here.\"\n\nCall IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418. Follow on Twitter and Facebook.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/07/20"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/events/2016/11/22/5-uniquely-arizona-holiday-traditions-and-events/93818178/", "title": "5 uniquely Arizona holiday traditions and events", "text": "Carrie Watters\n\nThe Republic | azcentral.com\n\nYou have to acclimate to many things when you move to Arizona, but perhaps none more than Christmas.\n\n\"Yeah mom, they string lights on palm trees.\"\n\n\"No, I have no idea how they get those lights on cactuses.\"\n\n\"Ice skating? That's possible?!\"\n\nSure enough, over time, these uniquely Arizona traditions pull you into the holiday spirit as much as any first dusting of snow or single-digit wind chill.\n\nAnd, hanging Christmas tree lights in balmy Arizona is so much easier. Which leads to the first of Arizona's iconic Christmas traditions — lights. Way more people seem to hang lights in Arizona and I have to believe this is because we don't get frostbitten while doing it and we're overcompensating for a lack of snow.\n\nThere are many places and events to see holiday lights in the Valley, but here are seven favorites.\n\nArizona holiday lights\n\nGlendale Glitters has been lighting up downtown Glendale since 1994. And watching the expression on children's faces when they hit the switch on some 1.5 million lights never gets old. The Countdown to Glendale Glitters Show at the amphitheater in Murphy Park, near 58th and Glendale avenues, begins 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, and the lights go on at 6 p.m.\n\nThe lights shine 5-11 nightly through Jan. 7.\n\nFour themed weekends, 6-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 25-Dec. 17, include all that you'd expect, such as gift, craft and food vendors, choirs and dancing, kids rides, horse-drawn carriage rides and visits with Santa.\n\nDetails: www.glendaleaz.com/glitters\n\nAhwatukee Foothills Festival of Lights features 1 million white lights on trees and cactuses on a 1-mile stretch of Chandler Boulevard from 24th Street to Desert Hills Parkway, with the mountains as a backdrop.\n\nThe 21st annual Festival of Lights Kick-Off Party is 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 26, at Desert Foothills Park, 1010 Marketplace SW, in Ahwatukee Foothills, with festivities such as street fair vendors, kids rides, Santa, live music and performances, and a lighted motorcycle parade.\n\nThe lights continue nightly through New Year's Day.\n\nDetails: www.folaz.org\n\nThe APS Electric Light Parade will celebrate 30 years when it rolls, marches and dances its way through Phoenix 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. Last year, 80 groups participated with one common holiday theme — lights!\n\nThe parade begins at Central and Montebello avenues and ends at Seventh Street and Indian School Road.\n\nDetails: www.phoenix.gov/parks/special-events/electric-light-parade\n\nZoolights at the Phoenix Zoo celebrate 25 years this season and is a holiday tradition for many families. Big Blue, a massive tree covered in blue lights, is a fan favorite. But among the 4 million lights and 700 displays, there's always something new at the zoo, 455 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix.\n\nZoolights is open 5:30-10:30 nightly from Wednesday, Nov. 23, to Sunday, Jan. 8, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. General admission is $12.95 on non-peak nights and $19.95 on peak nights.\n\nDetails: phoenixzoo.org\n\nLas Noches de Las Luminarias includes more than 8,000 hand-lit luminaria bags, inspired by the Mexican holiday tradition, lining the trails at Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Parkway, Phoenix. Each evening features musical performers throughout the garden.\n\nThe experience begins Friday, Nov. 25, and is open 21 evenings through Saturday, Dec. 31. General admission is $30 for adults and $12.50 for ages 3-12.\n\nDetails: www.dbg.org\n\nThe Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade is the only time motorized boats are allowed on Tempe Town Lake. The tradition began in 1999 and sees nearly 50 boats decorated for the holidays cruise along the banks of Tempe Beach Park, 80 W. Rio Salado Parkway. Festivities run 4:30- 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, and include live music, food, photos with Santa and fireworks. More than 1,000 luminaria illuminate the park's paths and sidewalks. The parade begins at 7 p.m., fireworks at 8:45 p.m.\n\nDetails: www.downtowntempe.com\n\nHoliday Lights at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park offer young and old alike a chance to board the Paradise & Pacific train and ride through the park as they are greeted by storybook characters and pass by 20 light displays. Festivities open Friday, Dec. 9, with live music, a tree-lighting ceremony and a visit from Santa, who is at the park nightly through Dec. 23. Holiday lights runs 6:30-9 p.m. through Sunday, Jan. 1, excluding Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31. Train rides are $4 and carousel rides are $2. Ages 2 and younger ride free with a paying adult.\n\nDetails: www.therailroadpark.com\n\nTumbleweed Tree\n\nOne of the Valley's more unique holiday traditions is also one of its oldest. Chandler residents have been building tumbleweed trees for the past 60 years. This year's tree, with star, tops 35 feet.\n\nBetween 600 to 800 tumbleweeds are attached to a wire frame, sprayed with flame retardant and white paint, then dusted with glitter. About 1,200 lights and the star complete the Southwestern tree in the downtown Dr. A.J. Chandler Park, 3 S. Arizona Ave.\n\nA lighting ceremony will be held 4:30-9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3. Festivities include dance and music performances, visits with Santa and a parade at 7 p.m. The lighting ceremony is at 8 p.m.\n\n\n\nDetails: chandleraz.gov/tumbleweedtree\n\nThings To Do app: Get the best in events, dining and travel right on your device\n\nIce skating in the desert\n\nSeveral years ago, I was intrigued when I heard an outdoor ice skating rink was being installed for the holidays at the Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale. Then I was told how it worked: Plexiglas sprayed with a \"glide-enhancing liquid.\" Westgate has moved beyond that, recently installing a real ice rink for the holidays, and plenty of plumbing beneath to keep it frozen.\n\nCity Skate in downtown Phoenix has set the bar with a real ice rink reminiscent of New York City's Rockefeller Center, minus the need for winter coats and scarves.\n\nHere are some places to skate this holiday season:\n\nCitySkate's grand opening with the mayor's tree lighting (center of the rink) is Saturday, Nov. 26. Festivities begin at 3 p.m. with the characters from the Disney movie \"Frozen,\" followed by a visit from Santa, performers and the tree-lighting ceremony at 6 p.m.\n\nGeneral admission to skate is $15 and includes skate rental. To reduce wait times, skate times are broken into the following sessions: 5-7:30 p.m. and 8-11 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 5-7:30 p.m. and 8-11 p.m. Fridays and 3-5 p.m., 5:30-7:30 p.m. and 8-11 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.\n\nThe rink, which has special hours Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, will remain open through Sunday, Jan. 8, at 1 E. Washington St., Phoenix.\n\nDetails: www.phxicerink.com\n\nDesert Ice Skating Rink at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess is a big draw, with real ice and nightly snowfall, but the resort has a lot to offer during the holidays, with seemingly every corner decked out with decorations. The resort at 7575 E. Princess Drive, Scottsdale, features Lagoon Lights with more than 3 million lights, rides on the Princess Express Train, a massive four-story musical Christmas tree and more. Prices on attractions vary, but skating is $20, plus $5 skate rental and $35 parking.\n\nDetails: www.scottsdaleprincess.com\n\nWinter Wonderland Ice Rink is part of the Merry Main Street festivities in downtown Mesa, which kick off 5-10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, with music, food and festivities. The rink is at 20 E. Main St. and will remain open through Sunday, Jan. 1. Hours are 5-10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, with some adjustments Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Admission is $10 for one hour and includes skate rental.\n\nDetails: http://merrymainst.com\n\nWestgate Entertainment District opened its first real ice rink Tuesday. The rink will be open 5-11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5 p.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 18. Hours shift to 3 p.m.-midnight Dec. 19-Jan. 8. Admission is $13 and includes skates. Admission is $10 for ages 4-6, and those under 4 are free with adult admission. Other festivities include visits with Santa, nightly \"snowfall\" and free horse-drawn carriage rides Fridays and Saturdays through Christmas Eve.\n\nDetails: www.westgateaz.com\n\nTrucked-in snow\n\nMany parts of the country must figure out what to do with all of their snow, but in Arizona, we truck it in or make it. Arizona festivals often boast just how much snow they will have for the kids to romp in.\n\nHere are a few examples.\n\nEl Mirage's annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony is 5-9 p.m. Friday, December 9, in Gentry Park, 14010 N. El Mirage Road, and will include \"6 tons of snow.\"\n\nDetails: www.cityofelmirage.org\n\nPeoria's annual Old Town Holiday festival is 5 to 10 p.m., Friday, Dec. 2, in Old Town Peoria, located at Peoria and Grand avenues, and will feature \"20 tons of snow.\"\n\nDetails: www.peoriaaz.gov/specialevents\n\nAt the Carefree Christmas Festival, kids can \"sled down a snow slide and play in the snow.\" The festival will have \"40 tons of real snow\" and snow sculptures. The festival is 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec.9-10, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, at Carefree Desert Gardens and Sanderson Lincoln Pavilion, 100 Easy St.\n\nDetails: http://carefreechristmasfestival.com/\n\nMesa Arizona Temple\n\nOnly five Mormon temples worldwide offer large holiday light displays, and Mesa is among them, according to Stephen Harms, public affairs director for the Christmas lights and Easter pageant at the Mesa Temple.\n\nThe Mesa Temple Christmas Lights begins 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 25, at 525 E. Main St. The lights will shine 5-10 nightly through Saturday, Dec. 31.\n\nBeginning Thursday, Dec. 1, high school and local choirs will perform 7-7:30 nightly through Christmas Day.\n\nHow many lights the temple uses is anybody's guess, but Harms says it would be easier to talk about it in miles than feet. A committee works year round on designs, and volunteers (about 1,500 in all) begin work in October.\n\nYou'll find a three-quarter life-size nativity scene imported from Italy, and a star above it with 10,000 lights. A collection of nativity sets are on display in the Visitors Center.\n\nWhat you won't find are Santa Claus or reindeer. \"This is entirely centered around the birth of Christ,\" Harms said, and from his perspective, it's one of the most peaceful places in the Valley to find the Christmas spirit.\n\nDetails: www.mesachristmaslights.com\n\nRepublic reporters Sonja Haller and Kellie Hwang contributed to this article.\n\nMORE AZCENTRAL ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/11/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2018/10/22/americas-50-best-cities-to-live/38207259/", "title": "What are the best cities to live in? These 50 top the list in the US", "text": "Samuel Stebbins, Grant Suneson and Michael B. Sauter\n\n24/7 Wall Street\n\nCorrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story misstated the geographical location of Waynesboro, Virginia.\n\nThere are nearly 20,000 villages, towns, and cities, across the nearly 3.8 million square miles that comprise the United States. More than 1-in-10 Americans move each year, and suffice it to say, when it comes to choosing a place to settle down, they have options.\n\nFor many, deciding on a place to call home is influenced by subjective or personal variables like climate, proximity to friends and family, or a job opportunity. For those with greater flexibility, however, there are dozens of objective factors to consider, as overall quality of life can vary considerably from town to town and city to city.\n\nIn an ideal community, the streets are safe and those who want a job have little difficulty finding one. An ideal city is also an affordable one, a place where residents can keep more of their disposable income. A range of transportation options and easy access to entertainment and cultural attractions can also improve quality of life.\n\n24/7 Wall Street created a weighted index of over two-dozen measures to identify the best American cities to live in. The communities on this list span the country from coast to coast but are disproportionately concentrated in the Midwest.\n\nMore:Housing market slows as prices and rates rise, helping buyers in Denver, other cities\n\nMore:Best cities for jobs: Pittsburgh is No. 1, followed by St. Louis and Indianapolis, Glassdoor says\n\nThough every city on this list is relatively small -- home to fewer than 25,000 people -- many are located within a major metropolitan area and are well within commuting distance of a large city.\n\nWhile there is no such thing as a perfect city, the advantages of living in the cities on this list largely outweigh any drawbacks. Not all cities are created equal -- and these are the best American cities to live in.\n\nFor comparison purposes, boroughs, census designated places, cities, towns, and villages were all considered. To avoid geographic clustering, only the top ranking community in a given county was included on this list. We only reviewed communities with at least 8,000 residents.\n\n50. Williston, North Dakota\n\n• Population: 23,902\n\n• 5-year population change: +65.5 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $223,800 (top 20 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $90,875\n\nWilliston, North Dakota, is a modern day boom town, one of many cities in the state rapidly transformed by oil extraction. People are flooding into Willison and other nearby towns at a high rate. Over the past five years, Williston's population exploded by 65.5 percent.\n\nDue in part to the oil boom, the city's five-year average unemployment rate of just 2.2 percent is well below the average U.S. unemployment rate of 7.4 percent over the same time. Many of the jobs in the area are also high paying as Williston's median household income of $90,875 is well above the $55,322 national median household income.\n\n49. Grove City, Pennsylvania\n\n• Population: 8,170\n\n• 5-year population change: -1.7 percent (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $119,400\n\n• Median household income: $44,310\n\nLike many communities on this list, Grove City's high quality of life is supported by a strong job market. Over the last five years, the city's average unemployment stood at just 2.3 percent, less than a third of the comparable national unemployment rate. Among the area's largest employers are a General Electric engine plant and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.\n\nGrove City residents also have a wide range of entertainment options and cultural amenities. The population-adjusted concentration of venues like restaurants, movie theatres, libraries, and golf courses is far greater in Grove City than is typical nationwide.\n\n48. Snyder, Texas\n\n• Population: 11,541\n\n• 5-year population change: +4.4 percent\n\n• Median home value: $87,500 (bottom 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $50,325\n\nSnyder, Texas, was originally known as \"Hide Town\" for its early buffalo-hide dwellings, and \"Robber's Roost\" for the criminals that would often pass through it in the late 19th century. After the discovery of oil in the surrounding Scurry County in 1948, the town's population peaked to roughly 16,000 before dropping to its current level.\n\nThough Snyder residents do not have especially high incomes -- the typical household earns $50,325 a year -- the area's poverty rate of 9.3 percent is lower than both national and state rates. The relative lack of financial hardship is due in large part to a low cost of living. Goods and services are 11 percent less expensive on Snyder than they are nationwide, on average.\n\nMore:Job growth in the U.S.: Cities adding the most jobs in every state\n\n47. Storm Lake, Iowa\n\n• Population: 10,768\n\n• 5-year population change: +3.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $111,700 (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $43,226\n\nStorm Lake, Iowa, is one of the least expensive places to live in the country. Most American homeowners spend more than $12,000 annually on housing. In Storm Lake, most pay less than $8,000 on housing each year.\n\nStorm Lake the city occupies the northern shore of Storm Lake. Proximity to the lake provides residents with beach access for swimming, boating, fishing, and other outdoor activities. The city also has a number of other outdoor amenities, including hiking and cross country ski trails, as well as campgrounds.\n\n46. Bridgeport, West Virginia\n\n• Population: 8,364\n\n• 5-year population change: +3.9 percent\n\n• Median home value: $199,000\n\n• Median household income: $80,462\n\nBridgeport is the only West Virginia city to rank among the best places to live. In Bridgeport, 45.3 percent of adults have graduated from college, nearly the highest share of cities in the state. The high college attainment rate has likely contributed to the town's relatively high median household income of $80,462 a year. Not only is Bridgeport wealthy, but it is also inexpensive. Goods and services are 15 percent less expensive than average in the city.\n\nWhen it comes to culture and entertainment, Bridgeport residents have options. The city is home to a far higher concentration of restaurants, bars, recreation centers, golf courses, and movie theatres than is typical nationwide.\n\n45. Hays, Kansas\n\n• Population: 21,073\n\n• 5-year population change: +3.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $161,800\n\n• Median household income: $45,795\n\nA healthy job market is extremely important for people considering moving to an area, both because it means they are more like to be able to earn an income, and because low unemployment is usually a sign of regional prosperity, which translates into a better tax base for the local government to draw on to improve services and infrastructure, as well as schools.\n\nHays has an annual unemployment rate of just 3.6 percent, compared to the national annual unemployment rate of 4.4 percent. Also, sometimes an unemployment rate can fail to represent the true employment situation, as people who give up looking for work entirely are not counted in the unemployment rate. In Hays, over 73.6 percent of the working age population are employed, compared to just 58.8 percent of all working age Americans.\n\n44. Albert Lea, Minnesota\n\n• Population: 17,775\n\n• 5-year population change: -1.5 percent (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $95,200 (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $42,128\n\nAlbert Lea is a small Minnesota city with 17,800 residents located about 100 miles south of downtown Minneapolis. A number of Minnesota cities rank among the best cities to live, and of these, Albert Lea is by far the most affordable. Nationwide, the typical home is worth 3.3 times the national median household income. In Albert Lea, the typical home has a value of $95,200, just 2.3 times the city's median household income of $41,128. Overall, goods and services are 19 percent less expensive in Albert Lea than they are nationwide on average.\n\nAlbert Lea is also safe, with one of the lowest annual violent crime rates in the country of just 85 incidents per 100,000 people, compared to a national violent crime rate of 383 per 100,000.\n\nMore:Manufacturing is making a comeback in these 28 U.S. cities\n\n43. Andover, Kansas\n\n• Population: 12,477\n\n• 5-year population change: +9.8 percent\n\n• Median home value: $176,200\n\n• Median household income: $85,230 (top 20 percent)\n\nAndover is one of the wealthiest cities in Kansas. The typical Andover household earns $85,230 a year, nearly $30,000 higher than the U.S. median income. A dollar also goes a long way in Andover, as goods and services in the city are about 11 percent less expensive than they are on average nationwide.\n\nThis suburb of Wichita was decimated by a powerful F5 tornado in 1991, but its residents rebuilt the town, and Andover continues to thrive. Over the past five years, Andover's population has grown nearly 10 percent, more than double the national population growth of 3.9 percent.\n\n42. Hutchinson, Minnesota\n\n• Population: 13,891\n\n• 5-year population change: -2.1 percent (bottom 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $138,600\n\n• Median household income: $52,864\n\nHutchinson is a relatively safe city. It's violent crime rate of 159 incidents per 100,000 residents is less than half the U.S. violent crime rate. Like many other communities in Minnesota, Hutchinson borders several lakes, which provide residents and visitors alike with opportunities for outdoor activities like swimming. The parks department also notes that there are many nearby hiking trails.\n\nUnlike most cities on this list, Hutchinson is not attracting new residents at a fast enough rate to grow. The town's population fell by 2.1 percent in the past five years, even as the U.S. population climbed 3.9 percent over the same period.\n\n41. Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin\n\n• Population: 9,007\n\n• 5-year population change: -1.7 percent (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $136,500\n\n• Median household income: $48,377\n\nSturgeon Bay is is located on the Door Peninsula, on the shores of Lake Michigan. In addition to offering residents many beautiful views of the lake, Sturgeon Bay is a great city for people interested in dining and drinking out. Relative to the population, there are roughly five times as many bars and three times as many restaurants and places to eat as is typical nationwide. Sturgeon bay also has several interesting attractions, including the Door County Maritime Museum and the Cana Island Lighthouse.\n\n40. Paradise Valley, Arizona\n\n• Population: 13,833\n\n• 5-year population change: +5.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $1,332,600 (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $173,487 (top 10 percent)\n\nMost houses in Paradise Valley, Arizona, are worth over $1.3 million, more than seven times the U.S. median home value. Paradise Valley residents are able to afford such expensive houses because of their relatively high incomes. The typical household in the city earns $173,487 a year, one of the highest median household incomes in the country.\n\nParadise Valley lives up to its name as a popular destination to relax. The town is home to several resorts and a number of high end golf courses. Located just north of Phoenix and Scottsdale, it is also known for its high-end dining and nightlife.\n\n39. North Liberty, Iowa\n\n• Population: 16,984\n\n• 5-year population change: +35.2 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $188,400\n\n• Median household income: $77,752\n\nHaving a job can be important to maintaining a good quality of life. Those with jobs are far less likely to live in poverty and struggle financially and otherwise. In North Liberty, virtually anyone who wants to work does so. Over the five years through 2016, the city's unemployment rate has averaged less than 1 percent, compared to a national average of 7.4 percent. The city's labor force participation rate of 85.3 percent is well above the comparable 63.5 percent national rate.\n\nAs a sign of the desirability of the city, North Liberty's population has grown by 35.2 percent in the last five years alone, many times greater than the national growth rate of 3.9 percent.\n\nMore:CEO compensation and worker pay: 50 companies that owe their employees a raise\n\n38. Brandon, South Dakota\n\n• Population: 9,674\n\n• 5-year population change: +13.7 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $183,000\n\n• Median household income: $75,424\n\nPopulation growth tends to indicate that an area is flourishing economically. Often, such economic strength comes with job growth. In Brandon, South Dakota, the population grew by 13.7 percent over the last five years, 3.5 times the national population growth over the same period.\n\nStill, the city, located just a few miles northeast of Sioux Falls, remains relatively small, with a population of less than 10,000. As is often the case with smaller towns and cities on this list, crime is uncommon in Brandon. There were just 258 property crimes reported in the city in 2017 per 100,000 residents, less than one-ninth the national property crime rate of 2,362 per 100,000.\n\n37. Snoqualmie, Washington\n\n• Population: 12,510\n\n• 5-year population change: +28.3 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $471,800 (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $131,453 (top 10 percent)\n\nSnoqualmie, Washington, is one of the safest places in the country. There were just 15 violent crimes for every 100,000 city residents in 2017, one of the lowest violent crime rates in the country. The town's property crime rate of 1,077 incidents per 100,000 residents is also less than half the national rate.\n\nAreas with higher median household incomes tend to have less crime than lower income areas. The median annual household income in Snoqualmie, which is within commuting distance of Seattle, is $131,453 a year, one of the higher incomes among American cities. In addition to the culture and entertainment Seattle has to offer, Snoqualmie has a higher than typical concentration of restaurants, bars, museums, and movie theatres.\n\n36. Buda, Texas\n\n• Population: 11,936\n\n• 5-year population change: +72.0 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $201,500\n\n• Median household income: $72,020\n\nBuda, Texas' five year annual average unemployment rate of 4.4 percent is below the national figure of 7.4 percent. The unemployment rate only includes those who are looking for work, and the job market in Buda is even more favorable than the unemployment rate suggests. Places with healthy job markets tend to have higher labor force participation, a sign fewer people have given up looking for work. In Buda, 71.7 percent of the working-age population is employed, much higher than the national employment rate of 58.4 percent of the population.\n\nPoverty can have wide-reaching negative effects not just on the individuals that earn low incomes, but also on entire areas. Buda has one of the lowest poverty rates in the country. Just 4.0 percent of the city's population lives in poverty, compared to 15.1 percent of the U.S. population.\n\nMore:10 years later, these 28 U.S. cities never recovered from the Great Recession\n\n35. Los Alamos, New Mexico\n\n• Population: 11,733\n\n• 5-year population change: -2.9 percent (bottom 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $277,700\n\n• Median household income: $101,535 (top 20 percent)\n\nThe only city in New Mexico to rank among the best places to live, Los Alamos is flush with history, cultural amenities, and parks. These include a science museum, a theatre, nearly 100 public art installations, a network of over 90 miles of hiking trails, and the Manhattan Project National Historical Park -- a monument to the city's critical role in World War II and development of the atomic bomb. Los Alamos also has one of the best public high schools in New Mexico, according to U.S. News & World Report.\n\nMany living in the area work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a facility run by the U.S. Department of Energy with a $2.6 billion budget primarily allocated to weapons development.\n\n34. Highland Park, Texas\n\n• Population: 8,986\n\n• 5-year population change: +4.8 percent\n\n• Median home value: $1,253,600 (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $189,485 (top 10 percent)\n\nHighland Park, Texas, is one of the wealthiest communities in the United States. The typical household earns nearly $190,000 a year, well more than triple the national median household income of $55,322 a year. Just north of downtown Dallas, Highland Park residents have easy access to employment and entertainment in a major city.\n\nThe town and surrounding area boast multiple shopping complexes, including Highland Park Village -- the first planned outdoor shopping center in the United States -- the Frontiers of Flight Museum, Lakeside Park and its 14 acres of trails, the Museum of Biblical Art, and the Dallas Children's Theater.\n\n33. Wyoming, Ohio\n\n• Population: 8,484\n\n• 5-year population change: +1.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $305,900\n\n• Median household income: $120,676 (top 10 percent)\n\nThe Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming, Ohio, ranks among the best cities to live in due in part to its affordability. Goods and services are 15 percent less expensive in Wyoming than they are nationwide on average. Not only does a dollar go a long way in the city, but many residents are also relatively wealthy. The typical household in the city earns nearly $120,700 a year, more than double the median household income nationwide of $55,322.\n\nWyoming is also safe. The city recorded just 35 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2017, a small fraction of the 383 per 100,000 national violent crime rate.\n\n32. East Grand Rapids, Michigan\n\n• Population: 11,297\n\n• 5-year population change: +5.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $303,400\n\n• Median household income: $118,393 (top 10 percent)\n\nEast Grand Rapids is the wealthiest city in Michigan and one of the wealthiest cities in the United States. The typical area household earns over $118,000 a year compared to the $55,322 the typical household earns nationwide. City residents also benefit from a low cost of living as goods and services are 7 percent less expensive in East Grand Rapids than they are on average nationwide.\n\nIn addition to entertainment and cultural attractions in nearby Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids has 10 parks, including a lake with a boat launch, miles of trails, playgrounds, and a baseball field.\n\n31. Thief River Falls, Minnesota\n\n• Population: 8,726\n\n• 5-year population change: +1.9 percent\n\n• Median home value: $111,200 (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $42,734\n\nNamed centuries ago for an outcast from the Sioux Native American tribe who lived as an outlaw in the region, Thief River Falls is one of six Minnesota cities to rank among the best places to live. Like other high ranking cities in the state, the city is affordable. Median monthly housing costs total just $613, and only $580 for renters. For comparison, monthly housing costs nationwide are $1,012, and $949 for renters.\n\nContrary to what its name may suggest, Thief River Falls is a safe city. The city's violent crime rate of 125 incidents per 100,000 people is less than a third the comparable national violent crime rate of 383 per 100,000.\n\nMore:Wealth in America: Where are the richest and poorest states based on household income?\n\n30. Elk River, Minnesota\n\n• Population: 23,743\n\n• 5-year population change: +4.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $214,900\n\n• Median household income: $83,585 (top 20 percent)\n\nThe poverty rate in Elk River, Minnesota, is 7.0 percent, less than half of the nationwide poverty rate of 15.1 percent. Elk River residents tend to earn high incomes, as most households in the area earn over $83,500 a year. Areas where residents earn higher incomes tend to report lower crime rates and Elk River is no exception. The city's violent crime rate of 98 incidents for every 100,000 people, is well below the nationwide violent crime rate of 383 per 100,000.\n\n29. Spencer, Iowa\n\n• Population: 11,172\n\n• 5-year population change: -0.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $119,700\n\n• Median household income: $45,559\n\nResidents of Spencer, Iowa, benefit from some unique conditions that can greatly improve overall quality of life.\n\nFirst, housing costs in Spencer, Iowa are well below the average costs across the country. The typical resident pays less than $700 a month on housing -- compared to the median monthly housing cost of over $1,000 nationwide. Additionally, while long commutes and traffic congestion are a considerable source of stress in some parts of the country, they are not as much of a factor in Spencer. The average commute time in the northern Iowa city is less than 15 minutes, well below the 26 minute national average.\n\n28. Falls Church, Virginia\n\n• Population: 13,597\n\n• 5-year population change: +14.8 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $724,000 (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $115,244 (top 10 percent)\n\nLocated just outside Washington D.C. and Arlington, Virginia, Falls Church is an ideal place for many government workers and contractors to commute from. A fairly large share of city residents, 19.8 percent, commute to work via public transportation, as the town has a stop on the Washington metro area's train service. In addition to cultural and entertainment attractions in D.C., Falls Church residents have some 500 restaurants for every 100,000 in their own city, more than double the national concentration.\n\nMany of the people living in the city are affluent. The typical Falls Church household earns $115,244 a year, more than double the median household income nationwide. The city's poverty rate of 2.7 percent is less than one-fifth of the nationwide poverty rate.\n\n27. Jamestown, North Dakota\n\n• Population: 15,441\n\n• 5-year population change: +1.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $120,100\n\n• Median household income: $49,086\n\nThe typical household in Jamestown, North Dakota, earns $49,086 a year, slightly less than the median income nationwide of $55,322 a year. Still, because costs are relatively low in Jamestown, a dollar goes further in the city. Median monthly housing costs in the city are just $646, well below the corresponding national median of $1,012. Also, the job market in the city has been relatively strong in recent years. The city's five-year average unemployment rate stands at 2.4 percent, less one-third of the comparable rate nationwide of 7.4 percent.\n\nJamestown is one of three North Dakota cities along the I 94 corridor to rank among the best places to live.\n\n26. Pierre, South Dakota\n\n• Population: 13,959\n\n• 5-year population change: +2.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $164,900\n\n• Median household income: $54,868\n\nMost American homeowners spend more than $12,000 per year on housing. In Pierre, South Dakota, most spend less than $8,500 annually. Lower housing costs allow residents to use their money on food, clothes, or add it to their savings. Overall, the cost of living is lower in Pierre, as goods and services are 85 percent less expensive than they are on average nationwide.\n\nPierre, South Dakota's capital, is home to many outdoor amenities largely thanks to its proximity to the Missouri River. Both Farm Island and LaFramboise Island, located in the river next to the city, offer residents the opportunity to take part in outdoor activities like swimming and hiking.\n\nMore:What is the worst city to live in your state? Find out.\n\n25. Batesville, Arkansas\n\n• Population: 10,579\n\n• 5-year population change: +4.5 percent\n\n• Median home value: $120,400\n\n• Median household income: $42,143\n\nBatesville, Arkansas, ranks among the best U.S. cities to live in largely due to its affordability and community attractions and amenities. Most homeowners in Batesville pay less than $1,000 a year in property taxes, less than half the amount the typical American homeowner pays. The Overall annual housing costs typically come to about $7,500 a year, roughly $4,600 less than the median costs nationwide. On the whole, good and services are 16 percent less expensive on average in Batesville than they are typically nationwide.\n\nWith roots as far back as 1804, Batesville is the second oldest city in Arkansas. The city, which avoided destruction in the Civil War, has a number of historic buildings and sites. The are attractions in the area for nearly every taste and preference, including antique stores, art galleries, an annual film festival, and the Batesville Motor Speedway.\n\n24. McPherson, Kansas\n\n• Population: 13,212\n\n• 5-year population change: 0.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $135,800\n\n• Median household income: $54,057\n\nThe median household income in McPherson, Kansas of $54,057 a year is just below the national median of $55,322. However, a dollar goes a long way in McPherson as goods and services are 14 percent less expensive than they are on average nationwide. Indeed, extreme financial hardship is relatively rare in the city. Just 7.3 percent of residents live in poverty compared to 15.1 percent of Americans.\n\nMcPherson residents also have many options when it comes to entertainment and recreation. The city has a far greater than typical concentration of restaurants, fitness centers, museums, golf courses, and movie theatres.\n\n23. Pella, Iowa\n\n• Population: 10,280\n\n• 5-year population change: -0.6 percent (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $175,300\n\n• Median household income: $60,568\n\nPella, Iowa, is characterized by high incomes and low living expenses. The typical city household earns over $60,000 a year, compared to the national median household income of $55,322 a year. Meanwhile, typical monthly housing costs in the city total just $884, compared to over $1,000 on average nationwide.\n\nQuality of life in Pella also benefits from its high walkability. Over 13 percent of commuters in the city walk to work, more than four times the 2.8 percent share nationwide. Similarly, while long commutes and traffic congestion are a considerable source of stress in some parts of the country, they are not as stressful a factor in Pella. The average commute time in the city is just under 11 minutes, less than half the 26 minute national average.\n\n22. Johnston, Iowa\n\n• Population: 19,491\n\n• 5-year population change: +18.5 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $237,600\n\n• Median household income: $95,565 (top 20 percent)\n\nThe small Des Moines suburb of Johnston is one of several cities in Iowa to rank among the best places to live. With access to jobs in and around the state capital, Johnston's five-year average unemployment rate of 3.8 percent is well below the comparable national rate of 7.4 percent. Many jobs in the area are high paying as the typical Johnston household earns $95,565 a year, well above the national median income of $55,322. A dollar also goes a long way in the city as goods and services are 19 percent less expensive in Johnston on average than they are nationwide.\n\nLike many cities on this list, Johnston is growing rapidly. In the last five years, the city's population grew 18.5 percent. For reference, the U.S. population grew by 3.9 percent over the same period.\n\n21. Franklin Park, Pennsylvania\n\n• Population: 14,228\n\n• 5-year population change: +7.9 percent\n\n• Median home value: $312,200\n\n• Median household income: $121,661 (top 10 percent)\n\nFranklin Park, Pennsylvania, is a borough just outside of Pittsburgh. The area has a relatively high share of residents with high educational attainment. A whopping 70 percent of town adults hold at least a bachelor's degree, one of the higher college attainment rates among U.S. cities. Those college degrees are more qualified for specialized jobs that tend to have higher salaries. In Franklin Park, the median household income of $121,661 a year is one of the highest in the country.\n\nLike many affluent, well educated areas, Franklin Park is relatively safe. The community's violent crime rate of 14 incidents per 100,000 people is one of the lowest in the country. Nationwide, there were 383 violent crimes for every 100,000 people in 2017.\n\nMore:From Alabama to Wyoming: Here is the best and worst thing about every state\n\n20. Bath, Maine\n\n• Population: 8,334\n\n• 5-year population change: -3.6 percent (bottom 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $164,600\n\n• Median household income: $42,275\n\nBath is the only city in Maine and the broader New England region to rank among the best places to live. Bolstered largely by Bath Iron Works, a shipbuilding plant operated by defense giant General Dynamics, the city's job market is relatively strong. Annual unemployment in the city, located near the mouth of the Kennebec River, stands at 3.2 percent, well below the 4.4 percent national rate. Many residents also benefit from the city's walkability as more than one in 10 commuters in Bath walk to work, more than triple the comparable national share. The city is also relatively safe, and also has a high concentration of restaurants, fitness centers, museums, and libraries.\n\nDespite its advantages, Bath is one of only a handful of cities on this list to be shrinking in size. Over the last five years, Bath's population declined by 3.6 percent, even as the total U.S. population grew 3.9 percent.\n\n19. Palos Verdes Estates, California\n\n• Population: 13,582\n\n• 5-year population change: +1.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $1,609,500 (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $200,766 (top 10 percent)\n\nLocated along the Pacific Coast less than 30 miles from L.A., Palos Verdes Estates is the only California city to rank among the best places to live. One of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country, the typical household earns over $200,000 a year, more than triple the national median household income of $55,322. Crime is virtually unheard of in Palos Verdes Estates as its violent crime rate of 22 incidents per 100,000 people is a small fraction of the national violent crime rate of 383 per 100,000.\n\nThat the city ranks among the best to live in may not come as a surprise to those familiar with it, as it is a master-planned city, designed by the Olmsted Brothers, sons of Frederick Law Olmsted -- architect of New York City's Central Park and the Stanford University campus.\n\n18. Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin\n\n• Population: 14,088\n\n• 5-year population change: +0.4 percent\n\n• Median home value: $350,700 (top 20 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $105,156 (top 10 percent)\n\nWhitefish Bay, a Milwaukee suburb along the shore of Lake Michigan, is one of two Wisconsin cities to rank among the 50 best places to live. The high quality of life in Whitefish Bay is partially the result of a strong job market. The area's average unemployment rate over the last five years stands at just 3.2 percent -- less than half the comparable nationwide rate of of 7.4 percent.\n\nWhitefish Bay is also one of the safest communities in the country with a violent crime rate of just 36 incidents per 100,000 people. For reference, there were 383 violent crimes per 100,000 people nationwide in 2017.\n\n17. Trophy Club, Texas\n\n• Population: 10,987\n\n• 5-year population change: +35.0 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $328,800 (top 20 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $133,457 (top 10 percent)\n\nIncorporated in 1985, Trophy Club, Texas is one of the newer towns on this list. The first master planned community in Texas, the town was built around a country club, which was originally planned to house the trophies legendary professional golfer Ben Hogan won during his golfing career.\n\nTrophy Club is one of the safest cities in the United States. The town's violent crime rate of 15 incidents per 100,000 people is a fraction of the 383 per 100,000 national violent crime rate. Serious financial hardship is also uncommon in Trophy Club. Just 2.2 percent of town residents live below the poverty line, well below the 15.1 percent U.S. poverty rate.\n\n16. Dickinson, North Dakota\n\n• Population: 21,985\n\n• 5-year population change: +25.3 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $224,800\n\n• Median household income: $74,838\n\nLike several other North Dakota cities on this list, Dickinson has been transformed by the recent oil boom. The city has experienced one of the larger population increases in recent years among American cities, as those seeking to work in oil fields flocked to Dickinson and other areas like it. In the last half decade, Dickinson's population spiked by 25.3 percent. For reference, the U.S. population grew by just 3.9 percent over the same period.\n\nThe cost of living in Dickinson is about 12 percent lower than average nationwide, and residents tend to be relatively affluent. The city's median household income of $74,838 is nearly $20,000 higher than that of the typical American household.\n\nMore:Wealth in America: Where are cities with households averaging $70K-plus in earnings?\n\n15. Powell, Ohio\n\n• Population: 12,436\n\n• 5-year population change: +11.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $348,000 (top 20 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $132,917 (top 10 percent)\n\nLike many cities on this list, Powell, Ohio is located only a short distance from a major city. Located just north of Columbus, Powell residents are within commuting distance of the state capital. Jobs tend to be concentrated in major cities, and many in Powell likely commute to jobs in Columbus as an average of just 3.1 percent of Powell's labor force have been out of work in the last five years.\n\nLikely thanks in part to the area's healthy economy, the city's residents also tend to have high incomes. More than half of Powell households earn more than $130,000 a year, and the city's poverty rate of just 0.3 percent is also nearly the lowest of any city in the country.\n\n14. Waynesboro, Virginia\n\n• Population: 21,366\n\n• 5-year population change: +1.7 percent\n\n• Median home value: $158,800\n\n• Median household income: $45,097\n\nWaynesboro, an independent city in Virginia, is notable for its affordability, safety, and scenic beauty. Goods and services in the city are about 7 percent less expensive than they are nationwide on average. Additionally, the violent crime rate of 182 incidents per 100,000 people is less than half the U.S. violent crime rate of 383 per 100,000.\n\nLocated in the Shenandoah Valley, Waynesboro residents have easy access to the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and a section of the Appalachian Trail. The South River cuts through the city, providing a water trail for residents to fish and enjoy by boat. Waynesboro also has a higher than typical concentration of restaurants, movie theatres, and museums.\n\n13. Sartell, Minnesota\n\n• Population: 16,442\n\n• 5-year population change: +8.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $180,300\n\n• Median household income: $71,959\n\nSartell, Minnesota, ranks as one of the best cities to live in largely because its residents tend to be relatively financially secure. Just 4.0 percent of residents live below the poverty line, less than a third of the U.S. poverty rate. The typical household in Sartell earns over $16,000 more than the typical American household.\n\nThe city, which straddles the Mississippi River, has a wide array of recreational options for residents. Sartell boasts has 28 parks and 48 miles of trails. These amenities, as well as those in the nearby city of St. Cloud, make Sartell a desirable place to live. In the past seven years, the city's population has increased by more than 20 percent, nearly quadruple the 5.7 percent national population growth.\n\n12. Tega Cay, South Carolina\n\n• Population: 9,026\n\n• 5-year population change: +23.3 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $301,200\n\n• Median household income: $120,346 (top 10 percent)\n\nTega Cay ranks as one of the best cities to live in part because of its relatively high income, and in part due to the many associated benefits that come with affluence. The city's median household income of over $120,000 is more than double the U.S. median. In a city where a high percentage of affluent households, there are also very few low-income residents. Just 0.9 percent of residents live in poverty.\n\nTega Cay lies near the border of the Carolinas and Lake Wiley. The water access gives residents a chance to swim, boat, and fish. As a tourist destination, the city has a high number of bars and restaurants per resident. Though it is a small town, Tega Cay is growing quickly. It was home to fewer than 5,000 people in 2009. As of 2016, more than 9,000 people lived there.\n\n11. Carroll, Iowa\n\n• Population: 9,990\n\n• 5-year population change: -0.9 percent (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $137,600\n\n• Median household income: $45,170\n\nOne of the safest cities in the country, Carroll's violent crime rate of 20 incidents per 100,000 people is a fraction of the national violent crime rate of 383 per 100,000. Low crime rates tend to occur in areas where few residents struggle to find work, and joblessness is also not a problem for most of the Carroll labor force. Over the last five years, average unemployment in the city stood at 1.6 percent, well below the comparable 7.4 percent national rate.\n\nCarroll residents have access to a dozen parks, several miles of trails, two golf courses, a brewing company, a winery and vineyard, and college and high school baseball games at the Merchants Park stadium.\n\nMore:Wealth in America: Where are cities with households averaging less than $45K in earnings?\n\n10. New Ulm, Minnesota\n\n• Population: 13,279\n\n• 5-year population change: -1.6 percent (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $133,100\n\n• Median household income: $52,244\n\nResidents of New Ulm, Minnesota, are more likely to work and earn high incomes, on average, than those in most other Americans. The town's poverty rate of 8.5 percent is well below the national poverty rate of 15.1 percent. Also, the town's five-year average unemployment rate of 2.6 percent is 4.8 percentage points below the comparable nationwide rate.\n\nThese numbers are better than the comparable national figures despite the fact that New Ulm residents tend to not be especially affluent. The town's median household income of $52,244 a year is several thousand dollars lower than the U.S. median household income. Unlike almost all other places on this list, New Ulm's population shrank over the past five years. During a time when the U.S. population grew 3.9 percent, New Ulm's population dropped 1.6 percent.\n\n9. Chatham, Illinois\n\n• Population: 12,569\n\n• 5-year population change: +11.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $178,900\n\n• Median household income: $80,808\n\nChatham, Illinois, a small village just outside of the state capital of Springfield, is one of the best places to live in the country. A relatively safe place, Chatham's violent crime rate of 103 incidents per 100,000 people is less than a third of the U.S. rate of 383 violent crimes per 100,000 people. Chatham's job market is also relatively strong. Just 4.1 percent of the area workforce has been unemployed on average over the last five years, compared to the 7.4 percent national five-year unemployment rate.\n\nChatham and the surrounding area has a number of amenities and attractions for residents to enjoy. Historic sites include the Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln Home National Historic Site, and the Old State Capitol. Activity venues in the area include the Interurban Bike Trail, Lake Springfield, and the Henson Robinson Zoo. The region also hosts the Illinois State Fair.\n\n8. New Albany, Ohio\n\n• Population: 9,384\n\n• 5-year population change: +25.3 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $492,400 (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $191,375 (top 10 percent)\n\nNew Albany, Ohio, is one of the most affluent cities in the country. The median household income of $191,375 is one of the five highest of U.S. cities. More affluent areas tend to have a number of advantages to livability over low-income cities, including lower crime rates. There were just 36.9 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents in New Albany, less than a 10th of the nationwide crime rate.\n\nNew Albany has many amenities for residents, including over 600 acres of parks and sports fields. It also appears to have high quality schools. There are a number of factors that can draw people to certain towns, including jobs, schools, and amenities. New Albany excels in many of these aspects, and its population growth rate reflects that. The town's population grew by more than 25 percent over the past five years, compared to the national growth rate of just 3.9 percent.\n\n7. Le Mars, Iowa\n\n• Population: 9,826\n\n• 5-year population change: +1.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $139,400\n\n• Median household income: $56,851\n\nLe Mars, Iowa, is among the most affordable cities in the United States. Goods and services in the city cost about 15 percent less on average than they do nationwide. Housing is particularly inexpensive, with the typical household spending $8,124 a year, about $4,000 less than the average annual housing cost nationwide.\n\nThe city also has its share of attractions. Home to a Blue Bunny ice cream manufacturing plant, Le Mars churns out more ice cream from a single company than any other city, earning itself the nickname \"The Ice Cream Capital of the World.\" The city and surrounding area also boast a history museum, an art museum, a golf course, a campground, and of course, an ice cream museum.\n\nMore:What's the most expensive city in your state? A look at cost of living in the US\n\n6. Ladue, Missouri\n\n• Population: 8,579\n\n• 5-year population change: +1.1 percent\n\n• Median home value: $771,500 (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $186,371 (top 10 percent)\n\nThe wealthiest city in Missouri, Ladue's median household income of $186,371 a year is more than triple the national median income of $55,322. Not only is Ladue a wealthy city, but also inexpensive. Goods and services are 11 percent cheaper on average in Ladue than they are typically nationwide.\n\nWith easy access to jobs in nearby St. Louis, Ladue residents who want a job generally have no trouble finding one. Over the last five years, unemployment stood at just 2.0 percent in the city, a fraction of the comparable national rate of 7.4 percent. In addition to cultural attractions and entertainment venues in St. Louis, Ladue residents enjoy a greater than typical concentration of restaurants, fitness and recreation centers, golf courses, and museums within their own city limits.\n\n5. Winnetka, Illinois\n\n• Population: 12,437\n\n• 5-year population change: +2.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $989,600 (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $207,857 (top 10 percent)\n\nWinnetka is a small village that sits on the shores of Lake Michigan about 15 miles north of downtown Chicago. By far the wealthiest city in the state, the typical Winnetka household earns $207,857 a year. Winnetka residents working in Chicago have options when it comes to transit, as over one-quarter of commuters use public transportation -- an alternative most Americans do not have.\n\nIn the village, downtown shops were described by the Chicago Tribune in 2012 as reminiscent of the Hamptons on Long Island in New York, without the celebrities. Winnetka boasts four beaches, a boat launch, several parks, a tennis club, golf course, ice rink, and forest preserve areas, all open to the public.\n\n4. Dumas, Texas\n\n• Population: 14,963\n\n• 5-year population change: +4.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $106,800 (bottom 20 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $50,773\n\nLocated about 50 miles north of Amarillo in northern Texas, Dumas ranks among the best cities to live in largely due to its affordability. Goods and services in the city are about 12 percent less expensive than they are nationwide on average. Housing is particularly cheap. The typical area homeowner spends just $704 a month on housing compared to an average monthly cost of over $1,000 nationwide.\n\nThe city also has fewer crimes, a lower jobless rate, and a greater concentration of restaurants, bars, movie theaters, and museums than the United States as a whole.\n\n3. Perryton, Texas\n\n• Population: 9,343\n\n• 5-year population change: +3.9 percent\n\n• Median home value: $88,400 (bottom 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $46,535\n\nPerryton, Texas, is one of the least expensive cities in the United States. The typical area homeowner spends just $627 per month on housing, while the typical American homeowner spends over $1,000. Overall, goods and services are 13 percent less expensive in Perryton than average nationwide.\n\nThe north Texas city is an oil town, benefiting economically from nearby oil drilling in the mid-20th century. In the last five years, unemployment in Perrytown has been lower than the national average.\n\nMore:Want to be in the top 1 percent? Here's what you have to earn in your state\n\n2. Mandan, North Dakota\n\n• Population: 20,613\n\n• 5-year population change: +14.2 percent (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median home value: $175,400\n\n• Median household income: $60,034\n\nOf the four cities in North Dakota to make this list, Mandan ranks the highest. Mandan residents benefit from a low cost of living -- 13 percent lower than average nationwide -- a five-year average unemployment rate of 2.0 percent, and a violent crime rate that is less than half the national rate. Mandan residents also have access to jobs, entertainment, and cultural attractions in Bismarck, the state capital located on the opposite side the Missouri River.\n\nRecently, business leaders, elected officials, and ordinary citizens established a committee to form a comprehensive plan to improve Mandan over the coming decade. The committee's accomplishments include broadened business support and incentives, the creation of annual festivals and events, public education improvements, and increased communication regarding local elections.\n\n1. West University Place, Texas\n\n• Population: 15,318\n\n• 5-year population change: +4.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $917,800 (top 10 percent)\n\n• Median household income: $220,868 (top 10 percent)\n\nA wealthy suburb of Houston, West University Place ranks as the best city to live in both Texas and the United States. A wealthy city, the median household income in West University Place of nearly $221,000 a year is nearly four times the income the typical American household earns. A dollar also goes far in the city as goods and services are about 5 percent less expensive than they are nationwide on average. In addition to entertainment and culture in nearby Houston, West University has a far greater concentration of restaurants, bars, fitness centers, museums and theatre companies than is typical nationwide.\n\nWest University is also a safe city with a strong job market. The city's violent crime rate of 64 incidents for every 100,000 people is among the lowest in the nation, as is the city's five-year average unemployment rate of 2.7 percent.\n\nDetailed findings\n\nFor those familiar with some of the cities on this list, their ranking among the best places to live in the country may not come as a surprise. Generally, the places on this list have low violent and property crime rates. Even if not always affluent, they are usually affordable. They are also often steeped in history, culture, and opportunities for entertainment.\n\nResidents of the cities on this list also often take an active interest in the quality of their community. In Mandan, North Dakota, for example, business leaders, elected officials, and ordinary citizens formed a committee to enact a comprehensive plan to improve the city over the coming decade. The committee’s accomplishments include broadened business support and incentives, the creation of annual festivals and events, public education improvements, and increased communication regarding local elections.\n\nMore:Looking to find a job? These US cities are having an employment slump\n\nOther cities on this list, like Trophy Club, Texas and Palos Verdes Estates, California are master-planned communities, purposefully designed and built to be ideal places to live.\n\nA disproportionate share of cities on this list -- 31 out of 50 -- are located in the Midwest. Meanwhile, just three communities in the Northeast rank among the best cities to live. This is largely attributable to cost of living.\n\nOnly about 10 percent of towns and cities in the Midwest have a higher cost of living than the nationwide average. Conversely, in 78 percent of cities and towns in the Northeast, goods and services are more expensive on average than they are nationwide.\n\nMany of the best cities to live in are suburbs of much larger cities. Jobs tend to be concentrated in major cities, which partially explains the low unemployment rates in many communities on this list. Several cities on this list are within commuting distance of major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Washington D.C.\n\nMethodology\n\nTo identify the best cities to live in, 24/7 Wall Street created a weighted index of 25 measures that fall into one of four categories: affordability, economy, quality of life, and community.\n\nIn the affordability category, the ratio of the median home value to the median income was given full weight. Cities where the median home value is closer to the median household income were rewarded. Cost of living, as determined by the average cost of goods and services in an area relative to the nation as a whole, was given a full weight. Property taxes are largely levied at the local level, and cities where residents pay more property taxes as a percent of their home value were penalized. Property taxes were given a one-quarter weighting.\n\nIn the economy category, we gave median household income full weighting. The unemployment rate was also given a full weight. We used five-year average unemployment due to lack of comparable annual data at local levels. Two-year employment growth and share of the total working age population with a job were each given a half weight, favoring areas with more and growing jobs opportunities.\n\nMore:Here are the top 40 places where young people are moving\n\nIn the quality of life category, the poverty rate was given a full weight, penalizing cities where serious financial hardship is more common. The share of the population that struggles to put food on the table either due to low income or distance from a grocery store, known as the food insecurity rate, was given full weight. A city’s mortality rate, calculated as the number of people who died while in hospital care per hospital by city, was also given full weight. In cases where city level data was not available, mortality rates were imputed from county level data.\n\nThe drug overdose mortality rate was given a one-quarter weighting, as was the hospital readmission rate, or the share of those released from the hospital who were readmitted within 30 days. Distance from the center of the city to the nearest hospital was given full weight.\n\nMeasures used in the community category include the average travel time to work, which was given full weight. The violent crime rate -- the total number of rapes, robberies, murders, and aggravated assaults adjusted per 100,000 people -- was given full weight. So too was the property crime rate, which is the total number of burglaries, larcenies, motor vehicle thefts, and incidents of arson per 100,000 people.\n\nThe share of commuters either walking, cycling, or taking public transit to work was given half weight. The total number of colleges in the area and the number of restaurants, bars, museums, theatre companies, movie theatres, libraries, and parks per capita were each given a one-quarter weighting.\n\nThe number of hospitalizations that would have been prevented by regularly scheduled doctor visits for every 1,000 Medicare enrollees -- known as the preventable hospitalization rate -- was given half weighting.\n\nMore:Which state tops list for having the best and worst economies?\n\nTo avoid geographic clustering, we only took the top-ranking city in a given county. Our list includes cities, towns, villages, boroughs, and Census designated places. We did not include places with fewer than 8,000 residents in our analysis.\n\nMedian household income, median home value, average travel time to work, poverty rate, population, employment-to-population ratio, median property taxes paid, and average unemployment rate are all five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and are for 2016. Overall cost of living is for 2014 and comes from data analysis and aggregation company ATTOM Data Solutions.\n\nThe population-adjusted number of entertainment and cultural venues like restaurants and museums comes from the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns data set, and is for 2016. The number of colleges comes from the Department of Education College Navigator and is as of the 2017-2018 school year.\n\nViolent and property crime rates are from the FBI’s 2017 Uniform Crime Report. Drug overdose mortality rates are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are for the years 2014-2016. Mortality rates and hospital readmission rates are from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and are as of June 2015. Preventable hospitalizations are from the latest release from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program.\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": "2018/10/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/08/21/titletown-district-acre-plaza/32052591/", "title": "10-acre plaza heart of Titletown District", "text": "Richard Ryman\n\nUSA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin\n\nASHWAUBENON – A 10-acre public plaza will be the heart of the Green Bay Packers’ new Titletown District, an effort by the team to add to the quality of life in Brown County.\n\nThe Packers announced plans for the 34-acre development this morning at Lambeau Field, introducing its three anchors, Lodge Kohler, Hinterland brewery and Bellin Health. Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said one of the team’s goals is to help stem the loss of young professionals from the area.\n\n“What you’re seeing there (in Titletown District) is what Millennials especially are looking for,” said Peter Zaehringer, vice president of economic development for the Greater Green Bay Chamber. “It’s a place that is walkable. It’s a place where you can live, where you can shop, where you can hang out with your family, your animal, your kids. That’s what we’re looking for when it comes to talent retention and attraction to the Green Bay area.”\n\nThe Titletown District will include 10 acres of plaza, including an ice skating pond in winter, an event area and a football field-sized green space. The Lombardi Avenue side of the Titletown District will include 200,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment businesses in multiple buildings. Brookwood Drive will include 30 to 50 two-story townhouses fronting their neighbors and with patios facing the 10-acre park, which runs through the middle of the development.\n\nThe public space will include, nearest South Ridge Road on the east, a grassy area designed for events and festivals. In the center of the park will be an area that in winter will be a full-sized skating rink landscaped to look like a pond. It will include sculpted rocks, reminiscent of Wisconsin Dells formations, that people can skate between and around. At the western end of the development will be a football field-sized grass space with football markings, though it will be a park and not an athletic field.\n\nWork could start this year with anticipated openings by the anchors before the start of the 2017 football season.\n\nPackers President and CEO Mark Murphy said the Titletown District will have its own identity, distinct from the Packers and Lambeau Field. That’s one reason they decided not to build on Lambeau property.\n\n“We also didn’t want to impact tailgaiting at Lambeau. We know that is important to our fans,” he said.\n\nLambeau Field and Brown County have seen growth from destination travelers and Murphy said the Titletown District would add to that. He said the team experienced record numbers of visitors in June and July.\n\nThat benefits the entire region, said Ashwaubenon village president Mike Aubinger.\n\n“The Green Bay Packers have formed a community. That community spills over to include all of our visitors,” Aubinger said.\n\nThe Packers goal is to have the plaza in use much of the year and will be forming focus groups for public input on the kinds of events and activities people would like to see.\n\nThe Packers own more than 65 acres east, west and south of Lambeau Field, including the proposed development area along Lombardi Avenue between South Ridge Road and Marlee Lane. All of their land is in the village of Ashwaubenon.\n\nInitial development along South Ridge Road will cost $120 million to $130 million. That includes the $28.6 million the Packers paid for the land in the development area, plus demolition costs for buildings there and infrastructure improvements. Total team investment will be about $65 million, said Ed Policy, vice president and general counsel.\n\nThe Packers hand-picked the three tenants. Each is a premium Wisconsin name, Policy said.\n\n“It was important to us that they commit to use Titletown as a major growth platform,” he said.\n\nThe four-star Lodge Kohler will have 150 rooms on five floors, an indoor/outdoor pool and gardens, a spa and a fitness center. It will have limited event and meeting space, instead using Lambeau Field for those services.\n\n“This is the first (hotel) we’ve built from scratch outside of Kohler,” said Herbert Kohler Jr., chairman of Kohler Co. “It’s going to be a product we think we might be able to take elsewhere. It’s an excellent place to start.”\n\nThe Packers see use of Lambeau Field, already a year-round attraction for business meetings, parties and weddings, as a source of revenue growth. The team is adding two high-end board rooms with a view of the 50-foot Lombardi Trophy replica to enhance its meeting offerings.\n\nBoth the Packers and Kohler look to grow their executive retreat business.\n\n“Our thought is Lambeau Field has the most unique and inspiring meeting space in the nation,” Policy said.\n\nHinterland Brewery plans a 20,000- to 25,000-square-foot brewery, tap room and restaurant, compared to the 9,000 square feet in its downtown Green Bay building. It will move all its operations to the Titletown District, but owner Bill Tressler said Copper Rock Coffee of Appleton will buy Hinterland’s downtown building.\n\nThe brewery produced about 5,500 barrels of beer last year, but Hinterland will increase capacity to 20,000 at the new location. It will offer brewery tours and have two dining rooms, one with the tap room and a more intimate one on the second floor, and start lunch service. It will offer craft beer and merchandise sales, as well.\n\n“I think the partners are great partners for sure,” Tressler said. “Each one will bring something different to the experience over there and I think there is some overlap in target customers.”\n\nBellin Health’s sports medicine clinic will be more convenient for Dr. Patrick McKenzie, the Packers’ medical director, and the players he treats, but it also will be available to the public.\n\n“One goal is to have a facility that’s more convenient for him and the players,” said George Kerwin, president and CEO of Bellin Health. “We also want to offer the community a broader array of services offered to athletes.”\n\nThe approximately 30,000-square-foot clinic will offer diagnostics, labs and MRI services as well as medical care and physical therapy.\n\n— Contact rryman@greenbaypressgazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichRymanPG and on Facebook at Richard Ryman-Press-Gazette. Or call him at 920-431-8342.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/08/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2019/12/13/duck-seeking-duck-forest-ornaments-alice-coopers-christmas-pudding-news-around-states/40811161/", "title": "Duck seeking duck, forest ornaments: News from around our 50 states", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nMontgomery: The state’s infant mortality rate has reached a record low, but racial disparities have persisted, state health officials say. The Alabama Department of Public Health announced the 2018 infant mortality rate was the lowest in Alabama history with 7.0 deaths per 1,000 live births. It is an improvement over the 2017 rate of 7.4 and the 2016 rate of 9.1. However, Alabama’s mortality rate remains higher than the provisional U.S. rate of 5.7. A total of 405 infants born in 2018 in Alabama died before reaching their first birthday. There also remains a racial disparity in infant mortality rates, with the rate for black infants in Alabama at 11.0 in 2018, more than twice the infant mortality rate for white infants at 5.1.\n\nAlaska\n\nAnchorage: Gov. Mike Dunleavy proposed a state budget Wednesday that would rely heavily on savings, after a push for deep cuts during his first year in office resulted in fierce public backlash that fueled a recall effort. The new proposal leaves room for discussion on what services the state should provide and how it should pay for them, says Brett Huber, a top adviser to the Republican governor. Dunleavy wants lawmakers to look at formula programs seen as cost drivers, which could include Medicaid and education. Brian Fechter, with the Office of Management and Budget, says the governor’s office currently isn’t planning to introduce legislation proposing specific changes but expects to engage with the Legislature on the issue. Dunleavy told reporters he is not proposing cuts to K-12 education but plans to roll out initiatives aimed at improving student outcomes.\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: Alice Cooper will join the three surviving bandmates with whom he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 at his 18th annual Christmas Pudding concert at the Celebrity Theatre. The Saturday show also features Johnny Depp, Rob Halford, Debbie Sledge of Sister Sledge, Joe Bonamassa and another celebrated Cooper bandmate, lead guitarist Nita Strauss, to name a few. All proceeds benefit the free music, dance, arts and vocational programs for youth ages 12-20 at Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Center in Phoenix. Before the inaugural Pudding in 2001, Cooper said that “this show is going to be like if you went to a party and everybody got up and did a few songs. And everybody is going to get pudding.” The pudding is provided by acclaimed local chef Mark Tarbell.\n\nArkansas\n\nHighfill: The airport serving northwest Arkansas and surrounding areas will be renamed the Northwest Arkansas National Airport, airport authority board members decided Wednesday. Previously known as Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, it will retain its XNA airport code, officials said. “The name is a perception thing. It is how people view us,” said Andrew Branch, chief business development officer at XNA. “When we talk to airlines, when we talk to UPS, FedEx in the future, how will we be perceived when they first see our name? Will they think we’re a smaller airport when we say we’re regional?” According to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, passenger boardings are up by nearly 17% so far this year at the airport in Highfill. The airport plans to update its signs and website with the new name, but officials said the cost will be minimal.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSacramento: There’s new hope for an endangered frog that has vanished from half of its habitat. The state Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday approved protections for five of six populations of the foothill yellow-legged frog. The Center for Biological Diversity had sought protection for the stream-dwelling amphibians under California’s Endangered Species Act. The commission voted to list the frogs as endangered in the Southern Sierra, central and southern coasts. Populations in the Northern Sierra and the Feather River will be listed as threatened. The commission determined frogs on the state’s northern coast “do not currently warrant protection,” the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement. The tiny, pebbly-skinned frogs were once found from Los Angeles County to the Oregon border, but their populations have shrunk thanks to threats from human encroachment, dams, climate change, pollution, and activities ranging from logging and mining to marijuana growing.\n\nColorado\n\nDenver: A civilian oversight group says the Denver Sheriff Department hasn’t maintained a required list of deputies found to have credibility issues. It doesn’t know why, but the department now is reviewing thousands of internal affairs cases to create the list, The Denver Post reports. Civilian oversight officials expect to find 40 to 70 deputies with histories of lying, bias or even criminal convictions. The list is important because prosecutors in criminal cases are required to give defense attorneys any evidence that could help the accused. And a judge could rule that testimony provided by a deputy on the list is inadmissible. It’s unclear why the department never created a list, said Denver Department of Public Safety Director Troy Riggs. Denver police began creating a list in 2008.\n\nConnecticut\n\nKillingly: The heated debate over whether to bring back the town high school’s Native American-themed mascot left the school without an official athletic nickname days before the football team plays in a state championship game Saturday. The nine-member Killingly Board of Education on Wednesday night voted to rescind Killingly High School’s new Red Hawks mascot but stopped short of reinstating the former Redmen name, the Norwich Bulletin reports. The vote came at the end of more than two hours of sometimes contentious public comments. The issue returned after several Republican candidates ran on a platform of restoring the Redmen name. The previous school board had effectively voted to drop it last June. In October, the same board approved the new name after it was overwhelmingly approved by students.\n\nDelaware\n\nWilmington: A bitter, drawn-out labor dispute between the city and its fire union has resurfaced over the city’s proposal for a new shift schedule that would require firefighters to work 13 additional days a year. Mayor Mike Purzycki’s administration says the change would eliminate the need for rolling bypass, the controversial practice of shutting down an engine to save on overtime cost. The International Association of Firefighters Local 1590, which represents Wilmington firefighters, objects to the change, contending the city will cut the days off that firefighters need to recuperate from long shifts and traumatic emergency scenes. “There are days we see our friends get hurt, or we do CPR on somebody who’s been married for 60 years, or we’ve pulled kids out of burning buildings that died in our arms,” said Local 1590 President Joe Leonetti. “That’s something we live with every day.”\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: D.C. Council member Robert White is spearheading an effort demanding Mayor Muriel Bowser quicken the pace of testing and fixing lead in playground rubber, WUSA-TV reports. The little rubber pieces children play on and with may actually be poisonous. First exposed by parent-commissioned tests in May, elevated levels of lead were found inside the recycled tire pieces making up play mats. Children exposed to lead face developmental and hormonal problems. For White, the danger is personal. “My daughter attends a school where they found elevated levels of lead in the playground she uses,” White said. He led several council members in writing a letter to Bowser demanding she speed up the testing and find a solution.\n\nFlorida\n\nTallahassee: The state has been accepted to the Electronic Registration Information Center, a multistate network created by the PEW Charitable Trusts to improve the accuracy of voter registration systems. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office announced the news this week, as part of the state’s ongoing efforts to root out election security and fraud problems prior to the upcoming 2020 elections. In August, the state had asked to join the multistate network, which uses “a sophisticated and secure data-matching tool” to compare official data on eligible voters to keep voter rolls up to date. Databases include voter and motor vehicle registrations, U.S. Postal Service addresses and Social Security death records.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: The U.S. Department of Agriculture is putting up nearly $1.5 million to help control the state’s wild hog population. Georgia Public Broadcasting reports the funding is part of a program called the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program. A state resource conservationist with the department says money will go to controlling the population and educating people about the impact the animals have on natural resources and wildlife. Wild hogs are an aggressive invasive species that threatens everything from farms to endangered sea turtles in Georgia. Some of the funding will also go to restoration efforts. The Georgia Association of Conservation Districts says feral swine caused an estimated $150 million in damages to crops and natural resources in the state last year.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: A pilot project to test the use of artificial turf on road median strips on Oahu has had mixed results, officials say. The artificial turf has worked well in some of Oahu’s nine city council districts, while others have experienced problems, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. Honolulu launched the $1 million pilot project to install artificial turf in nine medians, roundabouts and other traffic spaces in February 2016, officials say. Some of the 3-year-old turf has been damaged, while the turf on one median has become encircled with weeds due to errors made during installation. But the artificial grass on another median looks so realistic that a resident used a riding mower to cut it, an official says. Honolulu Councilwoman Kymberly Pine hopes the project will lead to reduced water use and landscaping maintenance but says the cost benefits have yet to be determined.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: The Ada County Sheriff’s Office is asking a judge to hold the Idaho Department of Correction in contempt for failing to quickly remove state inmates from the county jail. Sheriff Steve Bartlett says county taxpayers are paying for inmates who have been sentenced to prison but continue to be held at the jail facility, which is designed to hold low-level offenders or people waiting for trial or sentencing. He wants the judge to enforce a decades-old court order that requires IDOC to remove inmates from the Ada County Jail within seven days of learning the inmates have been sentenced to state custody. “The Ada County Jail has 1,116 beds – and we’ve been right up to the edge of our capacity for several years now. Jails should be at 85% capacity or less to ensure staff can manage the population at peak efficiency and safety,” Bartlett says.\n\nIllinois\n\nChicago: Two Chicago Park District workers escaped without serious injury after the salt truck they were navigating along an icy lakefront bike path slid into Lake Michigan. The pickup truck hit a slick spot and slipped backward into the water on Chicago’s Near North Side about 7:20 a.m. Wednesday, said Dep. District Chief Jason Lach of the Chicago Fire Department Marine Dive Operations. It slid halfway into the water before getting caught on a breakwall. The two occupants were able to escape the sinking vehicle and crawl to safety, and both are in good condition. Light snow blanketed the Chicago area early Wednesday, with temperatures at about 17 degrees, the National Weather Service said. The snow and cold left a heavy ice buildup along the bike path. “They were out there salting the area, and the truck slid in,” Park District spokeswoman Michelle Lemons told the Chicago Tribune.\n\nIndiana\n\nWest Lafayette: Purdue is looking for pets to volunteer as participants in a national study looking at the general health and wellness of dogs. The Dog Aging Project is a collaboration by more than 40 scientists and researchers across the U.S. and will be looking at dogs of all breeds, mixes and ages. Purdue’s Audrey Ruple, an assistant professor of One Health Epidemiology in the College of Health and Human Sciences and one of the researchers leading the study, is hoping to recruit dogs from across Indiana. A veterinary epidemiologist specializing in dogs as a model of human health, Ruple says the goal of the study is to examine factors that maximize the health and longevity of dogs, which can be linked to the health and longevity of humans. The Dog Aging Project will follow participating dogs to watch how different environmental and biological factors can affect longevity for the next 10 years, though the schedule could extend beyond that time.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: As of Thursday, felons who discharge their sentence from a prison in the state or complete their parole will be given a nearly completed application to restore their voting rights. Each felon in Iowa must apply individually to the governor’s office to have their voting rights restored – one of the most restrictive processes in the country. But that process is becoming simpler. Iowa Department of Corrections Director Beth Skinner said her department was rolling out a system to auto-complete 12 of the 14 questions on the voting rights restoration application. An officer will then work with the inmate to complete the last two questions as part of their discharge from the correctional system, Skinner said. “It’s going to be all auto-populated for them so they don’t have to go back and look for old offenses and dates,” she said.\n\nKansas\n\nTopeka: The State Board of Education has voted to encourage school districts to pass strict vaping bans. The policy approved unanimously this week calls for prohibiting students and staff from using, possessing or promoting any tobacco products, including vape pens, while they’re on school property, in school vehicles or at activities, The Kansas City Star reports. The board also wants districts to bar parents, volunteers, contractors and vendors from using any tobacco products and e-cigarettes “in any district facility, in school vehicles, at school-sponsored activities, programs or events, and on school owned property at all times.” Kathy Busch, the board’s chairwoman, called the policy recommendation “quite inclusive and definitive.” Many school districts have sued leading e-cigarette maker Juul, including those in Shawnee Mission, Blue Valley and Olathe.\n\nKentucky\n\nFrankfort: The state’s’s embattled education commissioner resigned Thursday, handing new Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear what he wanted in reshaping the management in the education system to reflect his opposition to charter schools. The state’s newly reorganized state school board accepted Wayne Lewis’ immediate resignation at a special meeting. Beshear set Lewis’ removal in motion Tuesday when he disbanded the Kentucky Board of Education and then recreated it with 11 new members on his first day in office, fulfilling a campaign pledge. During his run for governor, Beshear said he hoped the reorganization would lead to Lewis’ removal. The new board’s chairman, David Karem, called it an “amicable resolution” to Lewis’ status and said his departure was consistent with the goals of the the state’s 30-year-old education reform law.\n\nLouisiana\n\nNew Orleans: A state law that automatically transfers 15-year-old suspects to adult court if they are indicted by a grand jury for certain violent crimes was upheld Wednesday by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The 4-3 ruling came in the case of a suspect who had just turned 15 when he was accused of raping a child. A lower court ruled that transferring him from juvenile to a regular criminal court following his indictment – without a hearing on whether he should be transferred – was an unconstitutional violation of due process. The lower court cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding that juveniles should be treated differently from adults in sentencing, according to the ruling. The lower court said a transfer to regular criminal court for adults imposes “a significant deprivation of liberty” and warrants protection under the Constitution’s due process clause and that the transfer shouldn’t take place until a court has determined the suspect wouldn’t benefit from juvenile court programs. The high court disagreed.\n\nMaine\n\nBlue Hill: There’s no Tinder for waterfowl, but that didn’t stop a bird owner from trying to find a match for a mourning duckling. One of Chris Morris’ ducks, Yellow Duck, lost its mate to a hungry bobcat a couple of weeks ago at Morris’ yard in Blue Hill. Morris, a 31-year-old special education teacher, drew up a singles ad for Yellow Duck and placed it on a community bulletin board at a local grocery store. The ad declares: “Duck seeking duck. Lonesome runner duck seeks companion. Partner recently deceased.” It also includes an email address dedicated to the dating search and states, “serious replies only.” The Bangor Daily News reports farm owner Sadie Greene might have just the duck to mend Yellow Duck’s broken heart. Greene and Morris are arranging a meeting for the ducks Sunday. Yellow Duck’s favorite food is slugs, and they might be on the menu for the big date, Morris said.\n\nMaryland\n\nBaltimore: The state would invest millions of dollars to fight violent crime and would strengthen penalties for repeat gun-violence offenders and witness intimidation, under a package of initiatives announced Wednesday by Gov. Larry Hogan. Hogan’s proposed state budget would pay for 25 new prosecutors and support staff for the attorney general to prosecute violent crimes. He also announced an additional $21 million for the city of Baltimore and the state’s attorney’s office. He made the announcement in Baltimore, where there have been more than 300 homicides each year for five years straight. The Republican governor is proposing a new strategy to reduce youth violence in the city. He also said he plans to push for legislation to publish sentencing records of judges in violent crime cases to hold them more accountable for their sentencing decisions.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: Local lawmakers imposed new limits on police in immigration matters Wednesday in response to revelations the department has been closely coordinating with federal authorities for years despite a sanctuary city policy. The City Council approved changes to the city’s 5-year-old Trust Act, which limits the role city officials play in enforcing the nation’s immigration laws. Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh said the changes, which his office developed along with City Councilor Josh Zakim, are meant to reassure residents that Boston police remain focused on public safety, not civil immigration enforcement. Marcos Charles, who heads U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Boston office, says laws like Boston’s Trust Act make communities less safe. But the American Civil Liberties Union says city leaders should have gone further in their new restrictions.\n\nMichigan\n\nEscanaba: A 59-year-old man who told his lawyer he wanted to rob an Upper Peninsula business so he could return to prison could be locked up for the rest of his life. Mark Wilson, of Portage, was sentenced Monday to at least 25 years in prison, a sentence that was enhanced because of past convictions. It means he won’t be eligible for parole until he’s in his 80s. “Somewhere along the road, your honor, I just seemed to have lost the ability to function normally with society,” Wilson told a Delta County judge. “I would like to say to the people that I apologize in the most sincere manner for my behavior” last July. The Daily Press reports that Wilson gave a note to a Hardee’s employee in Escanaba, indicating that he was robbing the restaurant. Police say he then stayed in the restroom until officers arrived.\n\nMinnesota\n\nDuluth: The city is the latest to consider banning conversion therapy aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation. A proposal to ban the practice was introduced at a City Council meeting this week, with member Gary Anderson citing a lack of action by the Legislature, where a proposed statewide conversion therapy ban failed earlier this year. Minneapolis recently became the first Minnesota city to ban conversion therapy. Opponents to similar bans argue such ordinances violate freedom of religion or speech. Duluth’s ban would apply to minors and be enforced through fines. Jamie Conniff, a family medicine physician in Duluth who is gay, says he often works with young LGBT patients, many of whom he says “struggle against the message something’s wrong with them.” The Duluth council could vote on the ban next week.\n\nMississippi\n\nGulfport: A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a military family who says they were sickened by toxic mold at Keesler Air Force Base. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr.’s ruling dismissed one of 14 lawsuits filed against Hunt Southern Group and Hunt MH Property Management, the owner and property manager of housing at the base in Biloxi, The Sun Herald reports. The family failed to established through expert medical witnesses that their illnesses were specifically caused by the housing’s mold, he noted, adding that experts only said that mold could generally cause the family’s illnesses. The family has complained of chest pain, rhinitis, fatigue, headaches, rashes, dermatitis, vomiting and more. Court-ordered medical examinations concluded mold exposure wasn’t behind the family’s sickness.\n\nMissouri\n\nPatton: A southeast Missouri school district was flooded with complaints over the latest school-sponsored raccoon hunt, a tradition that dates back 37 years. The Banner Press reports more than 2,200 people across the country signed an online petition to end last weekend’s hunt, for which 94 raccoons were brought in. FFA adviser Sarah Burgfeld says she and other officials in the Meadow Heights district received so many phone calls and emails that she filed a harassment complaint with the Bollinger County Sheriff’s Department, citing name-calling and vulgarity. She says the event generally raises $500 to $600, although that’s not the focus. She says hunting provides “multi-generational, traditional bonding.” Jack Coomer, president of Castor River Coon Hunters, says the raccoons either went home with the hunters or were given to a man who utilizes them for food and their pelts.\n\nMontana\n\nHamilton: An animal shelter is caring for 39 huskies found on a property in western Montana. Bitter Root Humane Association operations manager Cyra Saltzman says the dogs, including two litters of puppies, were rounded up the Monday before Thanksgiving on land northeast of Hamilton. Saltzman tells the Ravalli Republic some of the dogs are more socialized, while others were wild. The shelter first learned of the huskies when a spay and neuter group called to report someone had dropped off a dog that needed its leg amputated because it appeared to have been shot. A second report came from a landowner reporting three dogs running free. Eventually Saltzman and others found a property where a large number of huskies were running free. Saltzman said she could not talk about the dogs’ former owner. The youngest puppies are in foster care and not yet available for adoption, Saltzman says.\n\nNebraska\n\nShelton: A fire Wednesday morning destroyed a historic church near this central Nebraska city. The fire at the Zion Lutheran Church was reported just after 7 a.m., and firefighters who arrived minutes later found the structure was engulfed in flames. Shelton Fire Chief Jason Wiehn said the church was destroyed. Fighting the fire was complicated by a lack of water, which forced trucks to return to Shelton and Ravenna to fill up with more water, he said. The church, which was built in the early 1900s, was about 10 miles northwest of Shelton. Church member Rick Pope told KSNB-TV the fire was visible miles away at his home. “I live about 5 miles away and could see a glow,” he said. “My son called me about that same time, and we came up and watched it burn down.” The cause of the fire hasn’t been determined.\n\nNevada\n\nReno: The city is either buying or saying goodbye to the Space Whale, which has been a centerpiece of downtown’s City Plaza since 2017. Principal artist Matt Schultz says he has offered the city the two life-sized, stained glass whale sculptures at the price of $500,000. It’s uncertain if the city is going to bite. “The city doesn’t have an appetite to lease it anymore,” says Alexis Hill, the city’s arts, culture and special events manager. “It was always a temporary piece. It would be really sad to see it go, but the (Reno Arts and Culture Commission) is really excited to have a new piece if we don’t proceed with the Space Whale’s purchase.” The city, which has leased and purchased several other Burning Man sculptural installations, leased the whale for a total of $64,000, paid for through the city’s room tax. That contract ended in August. But “everyone wants the Space Whale to stay,” Schultz says.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nCharlestown: The Episcopal Church of New Hampshire is launching a new training program to make becoming a priest easier. The diocese will offer a certificate program that requires students to attend nine in-person weekend trainings, according to church officials. In addition to the training sessions, students will complete an online curriculum, provided by the Iona center. Traditionally, becoming a priest requires three years of training at seminary school, New Hampshire Public Radio reports. “This really makes it easier for people to answer that call, whether that call to ministry comes in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s – we even have people doing this post-retirement,” says Tina Pickering, who works in ministry development for the church.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nTrenton: The process of placing marijuana legalization on the 2020 ballot is officially underway. The Assembly Oversight Committee on Thursday held a public hearing on the constitutional amendment that, if placed on the ballot and passed, would make New Jersey the 12th state to legalize weed for recreational purposes. “We have people whose lives are being ruined because the law prohibits the use of marijuana,” said Assemblyman Joe Danielsen, D-Middlesex, who chairs the committee. “We’re not doing this responsibly.” Both houses are scheduled to vote on the ballot bill Monday. If three-fifths of all members approve the legal weed ballot measure, it will be placed on the November 2020 ballot. Otherwise, both houses would have to approve the ballot bill again.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nSanta Fe: Records show state agricultural officials are approving fewer licenses for the use of cyanide bombs – a device deployed by ranchers to kill coyotes. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports records show state-issued licenses for cyanide bombs has declined from 86 in 2015 and 2016 to 54 in 2019. That’s a 37% reduction. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week reauthorized the use of devices known as cyanide bombs targeting coyotes. Ranchers say they still need the devices, also known as M-44s, to kill hungry coyotes, which can cost the industry thousands of dollars a year in livestock losses. Environmentalists say the devices are a horrible way to kill coyotes and point to collateral damage inflicted on dogs and other animals. They say M-44s also present a risk for humans – even killing a Utah man last year.\n\nNew York\n\nAlbany: The state is prohibiting the aerial spraying of an agricultural pesticide that can harm the nervous systems of infants and young children. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he’s directing the state Department of Environmental Conservation to ban nearly all uses of the pesticide by December 2020. But New York will allow the spraying of the pesticide on apple tree trunks until July 2021. Environmental group Friends of the Earth says the pesticide also poses the risk of acute poisoning and neurological damage in farm workers. Lawmakers approved a bill this spring to prohibit the pesticide. Environmental groups have since pushed Cuomo to act to ban the pesticide, chlorpyrifos, used on golf courses and crops including corn, soybeans and broccoli. Apple farmers have argued that chlorpyrifos is the only pesticide available for use against pests such as the rosy apple aphid.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nRaleigh: The state has made little progress providing every child “an opportunity to receive a sound basic education” since the state Supreme Court declared the constitutional mandate in 1997, according to a report released this week addressing public education shortfalls and student achievement. The findings from California-based WestEd stem from a trial judge’s order last year seeking an outside group to recommend a pathway to comply fully with the so-called Leandro decision – named after one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging funding for poor school systems. Some proposals in the report suggest it could cost several billion dollars over eight years to comply. It’s difficult for a judge to force the General Assembly to spend the money, however, because legislators appropriate state funds.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nFargo: A group of women who farm or work in agriculture recently attended a unique, one-day class at North Dakota State University to learn about the ins and outs of farm commodities, Minnesota Public Radio News reports. As more women around the country get involved in the day-to-day business of managing farms, they’ll need these skills to help decide when to sell crops for the optimum return. In the university’s commodity trading lab, the class learns about the futures market, where traders buy and sell contracts to deliver corn or soybeans in the future. The actual grain never changes hands. But the prices set on the futures market directly affect the cash price, what farmers get when they haul grain to the elevator.\n\nOhio\n\nToledo: Two birding groups filed a federal lawsuit trying to block a planned wind farm in Lake Erie, saying the project poses a danger to birds that fly through the area. The groups said the proposed six-turbine wind farm for just off the shore of Cleveland “would pose substantial collision risks to the enormous numbers of birds that use the area throughout the year, including large concentrations of migrating songbirds.” The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have failed to evaluate the environmental impacts of the project and alternatives as required by the National Environmental Policy Act and the federal Clean Water Act, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday. The Energy Department and the Army Corps declined to comment. If approved, the wind farm would be the first offshore wind farm in the Great Lakes, The Blade reports.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: Scissortail Park, the city’s new downtown green space and gathering place, is planning its inaugural holiday celebration, the Sugar Plum Promenade, from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The sprawling new park is getting in on the festive fun with a holiday train, free photos with Santa, hot chocolate, s’mores, children’s crafts, strolling performers, costumed characters and more. Admission is free, although some activities have small fees. For more information, go to scissortailpark.org.\n\nOregon\n\nSalem: Some 200 hand-blown glass ornaments have been hidden in the Willamette National Forest to kick off the Willamette Valley Visitors Association’s second annual ornament hunt, which officially began Nov. 29 and will last until Jan. 1. Becca Barnhart, the marketing and public relations manager for the visitors association, says 40 of the 200 ornaments had been found and claimed as of Tuesday. Ornaments were hidden along approximately 1,700 miles of trails. People who find an ornament can also register to win one of three grand prizes: dinner, an activity or an overnight stay in the Willamette Valley. Those who find one are encouraged to use the hashtags #FindYourOrnament” #FindYourTrail and #IwonderWV on social media. More information is available online.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nBloomsburg: A farm that supplies vaccine manufacturers is donating nearly 100,000 surplus eggs to a central Pennsylvania food bank that’s scrambling to get them to needy families. The Bloomsburg Press Enterprise reports the eggs are too small or too large for the drug-making process, so they are going to help families in Columbia and Montour counties. A charity picked up about 8,000 dozen eggs this week, driving them away in a box truck. Only about 100 were broken in the one-hour journey. Volunteers had stockpiled hundreds of egg cartons to prepare for the donation. The eggs don’t need to be refrigerated and can last about two weeks. The food bank expects to distribute them to food pantries, fire halls and churches, expecting that holiday baking will provide a demand for the eggs. It’s the third year the farm has made the donation – two years ago it amounted to 320,000 eggs.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: The state Board of Elections is advancing a proposal that would allow candidates to use campaign funds to pay for child care expenses, as federal candidates now can. The board voted to put the proposal out for public comment. Lawyer Raymond Marcaccio told the board on Monday that this plan would only cover child care costs that are incurred because a parent is running for office, The Providence Journal reports. Marcaccio said the proposed language is similar to that used by the Federal Election Commission. The Rhode Island Senate approved similar legislation in June, but the bill did not make it through the House. “It’s obvious that this is necessary,” said Stephen Erickson, the board commissioner. “Child-care expenditures can be an impediment to somebody holding office or running for office, and so this seem eminently reasonable.”\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: One of the state’s most liberal lawmakers and one of its most conservative are joining together to revive the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 1970s proposal banning any discrimination based on sex is being revived in several state capitols across the U.S. It is just one state away from the 38 needed before it can become the 28th amendment to the Constitution. But there is another hurdle: a ratification deadline. Congress extended an initial 1979 deadline to 1982. Supporters acknowledge they will likely need the current Congress to grant another extension. Barring that, they will have to go to court. Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, introduced a resolution in January to ratify the amendment in South Carolina. She was joined Wednesday by state Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, who served as former Gov. Mark Sanford’s chief of staff.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nPierre: A new “Hemp. We’re On It.” website is taking aim at Gov. Kristi Noem’s opposition to legalizing industrial hemp. The Libertarian Party of South Dakota created the website onhemp.org and “Hemp. We’re On It.” logo, both of which mirror Noem’s recent anti-meth campaign “Meth. We’re On It” and website onmeth.com that went viral in November. “Misinformation” about industrial hemp is “everyone’s problem,” and it remains illegal in South Dakota due to Noem’s “misguided stances,” the Libertarian Party says on its website. “But we can approach this problem from different angles, so one person doesn’t prevent our counties, towns and neighborhoods from benefiting from this versatile crop.” South Dakota is one of three states that haven’t legalized industrial hemp.\n\nTennessee\n\nKnoxville: Knox County has voted against creating new rules for Bible Release Time and similar programs, despite concerns about what happens when some students are pulled from their classrooms for religious studies. With a 5-4 vote Wednesday night, the Knox County Board of Education decided not to create more standards for these programs, news outlets report. Tennessee law already lets parents pull their children from school for religious studies. A pilot program was allowed in Knox County on the condition that it was conducted off school property and not funded by taxpayer money. Board members were voting on additional protocols that would formalize the program. Proposals included setting specific dates and times when students could be taken out to minimize classroom disruptions, and requiring the religious institutions to have liability insurance and perform background checks on people interacting with children.\n\nTexas\n\nAustin: The percentage of the state’s youngest children without health insurance has increased since 2016, according to a report released Wednesday. In 2018, 8.3% of Texas children under age 6 – a total of 198,014 – were uninsured. The rate has grown by 1 percentage point, or about 23,000 children, since 2016, according to a report by Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. The data mirrors growth seen in the uninsured rates among all Texans. Texas has the second-highest rate of uninsured young children, behind Alaska. Nationally, more than 1 million children under the age of 6, or 4.3%, lack health insurance. About 19% of the country’s uninsured young children are in Texas, even though the state’s share of the nation’s population of young children is about half that percentage.\n\nUtah\n\nSt. George: The population of Washington County has risen more than 30% since 2010 – adding 42,435 people – making it the county with the most rapid rate of growth in the state, according to a new report from the University of Utah. The university’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute based its analysis on census data, tracking Utah’s population growth since 2010. Other parts of the state, like Utah County, saw higher numbers of population growth, but not as high of a rate increase. All counties in the state are projected to grow over the next 50 years. The institute has predicted Washington County would grow to more than 500,000 residents by 2065, a 229% increase over the next 50 years. The county is projected to become the fourth-most-populous county in the state, beating out Weber County, according to the report.\n\nVermont\n\nMontpelier: City officials say they hope the ice rink on the Statehouse lawn will be open for the holidays. The Times Argus reports that preparations for installing the rink have been underway this week. A newly designed rink opened last year after complaints about the wooden railing around a previous rink. Assistant City Manager Cameron Niedermayer said she expected the preparations to be completed by the end of the week. She said the rink will then be filled with water. When it opens to the public depends on when the water freezes. The rink will be open seven days a week and have motion-activated lighting to allow for night skating. The new rink was funded last year by a $15,000 state recreation grant, $25,000 from the Montpelier Recreation Department and a pledge from the National Life Group.\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: Gov. Ralph Northam is pushing for tuition-free community college for low- and middle-income students who pursue degrees in high-demand fields. Northam announced Thursday that his budget proposal for the upcoming legislative session includes $145 million for the initiative. Northam calls the program his “G3” initiative, which stands for “Get Skilled. Get a Job. Give Back.” He campaigned heavily on the idea when he ran for governor in 2017. The plan targets industries that include health care and information technology. Passing a two-year state spending plan will be a top priority for the General Assembly during the 2020 session. During last month’s legislative elections, voters gave Democrats full control of the General Assembly for the first time in a generation. The governor is expected to share full details of his budget plan next week.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: The City Council has unanimously approved a $34 million contribution to a new Ocean Pavilion at the Seattle Aquarium, which could cost up to $120 million total. KOMO reports the new pavilion would include a giant, glass-bottomed shark tank at the entrance to greet visitors and and people who pass by. The aquarium describes the new 48,000-square-foot exhibit like a giant martini glass with up to five different species of sharks from the Coral Triangle, an area in the Pacific Ocean near Indonesia with endangered sea life. The 325,000-gallon tank and exhibit to be known as the Coral Canyon will be filled with big sharks, big sting rays and other sea life – all to draw attention to endangered sea life.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nGlen Jean: Visitor center hours have changed for the season at New River Gorge National River, the National Park Service says. Sandstone Visitor Center was closed Monday and will remain closed through the spring. Canyon Rim Visitor Center in Lansing will remain open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. but will be closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day. All other park facilities are open through the winter, including campgrounds, parking lots, boat launches, roads and most trails, the park said in a news release. The park is normally open 24 hours a day, but some areas may be closed temporarily due to hazardous conditions such as snow or ice. Long-term and most temporary closures are posted on the park’s webpage under “Alerts,” or on social media platforms.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMilwaukee: Tiny bubbles will get the beer festival treatment at All Fizzed Up, the state’s first hard seltzer event, March 28 at Turner Hall Ballroom. At least 25 hard seltzer companies will be represented, and hard seltzer enthusiasts will be able to sample more than 100 flavor varieties. In addition to sipping, All Fizzed Up will have food available for purchase. A DJ will spin music while you sip. Handcrafted cocktails, assorted wines, beers and ciders also will be available. VIP tickets are $65.50 and include admission one hour earlier, along with 15 3-ounce sample tickets. General admission tickets cost $45.50 with 7:30 p.m. admission. General admission tickets include 10 3-ounce sample tickets. Attendees also receive a commemorative pint glass and keepsake photo.\n\nWyoming\n\nDaniel: Two sheriff’s deputies channeled their inner cowboy and lassoed a deer flailing in a frigid pond after it fell through thin ice, authorities said Wednesday. Sublette County sheriff’s Deputies Justin Hays and Joshua Peterson responded to a report Tuesday afternoon that a deer had fallen into a pond near the small ranching town of Daniel in southwestern Wyoming. Because the ice was too thin to walk on, they lassoed the deer and pulled it to shore. They left the deer on a nearby driveway where it could warm up, and it was gone a few hours later, sheriff’s officials said. Peterson stood at one end of the pond with a lasso and drove the deer toward Hays at the other end, Sgt. Travis Bingham said. Peterson’s body camera captured video of Hays as he swung the lasso around his head before looping it easily around the deer.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/12/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2021/07/08/state-cheese-awol-animals-editor-jailed-news-around-states/117415210/", "title": "State cheese, AWOL animals: News from around our 50 states", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nMontgomery: Legislative leaders are continuing to discuss prison construction and renovation alternatives, including whether pandemic relief funds can be used to offset costs or renovating and building prisons. Key lawmakers say they expect to continue discussions this month in advance of a possible special session later in the year. “I think the House and Senate are pretty close to an agreement,” said Rep. Steve Clouse, who chairs the House General Fund budget committee. “The vast majority of legislators want to move forward with a bond proposal and for us to own the prisons.” Clouse and Sen. Greg Albritton, chairman of the Senate General Fund budget committee, said a topic under discussion is whether federal funds from the American Rescue Plan may be used to offset some of the costs or do renovations. States can use that money for a wide range of uses to contend with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Albritton said the state is trying to get clarity on “what can we do with the recovery money.” Lawmakers are looking for more options after Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to rent prisons, which would be run by the state but built and owned by private companies, fell apart because of financing concerns. However, federal officials have been clear that new facilities will not solve the state’s prison woes.\n\nAlaska\n\nAnchorage: A wildfire burned close to a vacation destination Tuesday, but fire officials believed Chena Hot Springs Resort would be spared. “They’re pretty confident that they’re going to be able to defend the resort, based on the measures that we’ve set up and the personnel we have on scene,” said Tim Mowry, a spokesperson for the Alaska Division of Forestry. Firefighters were working to protect the resort, homes and recreational cabins in the area of interior Alaska about 60 miles northeast of Fairbanks. Flames were about 100 yards from the resort, where crews were spraying water on buildings, the agency said in a statement. Firefighters also conducted a back burn near a trail that leads to two yurts for viewing the northern lights in hopes it would help stop the fire from advancing toward the main buildings. Hoses and sprinklers also were set up at nearby homes and cabins. No structures in the Chena Hot Springs area had burned, fire officials said. Light showers that fell overnight weren’t enough to put out the fire, but the increased humidity was helping to slow its growth. The Fairbanks North Star Borough on Monday issued a voluntary evacuation order. Alaska State Troopers conducted a survey of homeowners and cabin users and found that about 30 people decided not to leave, along with resort owner Bernie Karl.\n\nArizona\n\nTucson: Officials in the city plan to ignore Arizona’s new “Second Amendment sanctuary” law that bars state and local governments from enforcing certain federal gun regulations, possibly setting up a court fight as a growing number of cities and counties in the United States declare themselves similar firearm havens. The move by Democratic Mayor Regina Romero and the City Council again puts Tucson and the Republican-led state at odds over how to regulate gun sales and use. The southern Arizona city has long tried to enforce gun laws stricter than the state’s, including mandating background checks for guns purchased on city property and destroying seized firearms. Over the years, those measures have been challenged after the Republican-controlled Legislature enacted laws barring the actions. The new action came after GOP Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill in April declaring that Arizona is a so-called Second Amendment sanctuary. It was partly a response to the election of President Joe Biden, who has vowed to enact tighter firearms regulations. In a growing movement, at least 1,200 local governments have declared themselves sanctuaries insulated from state and federal gun laws since 2018, when high-profile mass shootings prompted calls for stronger regulations. Many are symbolic, but some carry legal force.\n\nArkansas\n\nBeebe: The Rev. Al Sharpton and attorneys for George Floyd’s family on Tuesday mourned a white Arkansas teenager fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy, as they urged support across racial lines for efforts to reform police practices. Sharpton eulogized 17-year-old Hunter Brittain, who was shot and killed by a white Lonoke County sheriff’s deputy, Sgt. Michael Davis, during a traffic stop June 23 near Cabot, about 30 miles northeast of Little Rock. The killing in the predominantly white community has drawn the attention of national civil rights activists such as Sharpton, who said concerns about police tactics aren’t just limited to the Black community. “The issue of policing is not about Black and white,” Sharpton told a packed auditorium at Beebe High School, where Brittain was a rising senior. “It’s about right and wrong.” Many attending the memorial wore jeans and shirts that read “Justice for Hunter.” Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley last week fired Davis for not turning on his body camera until after he had shot Brittain. Staley said the only footage police have is from the aftermath. Arkansas State Police are investigating Brittain’s death. Authorities have released few details about the shooting. Brittain’s family has said the teenager was unarmed and was holding a jug of antifreeze when he was shot.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSacramento: State lawmakers will wait until next year to continue considering a bill that would give opioid users a place to inject drugs in supervised settings, the bill’s author said Tuesday. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said he was told the Assembly Health Committee will delay a hearing on his bill until January. The measure would allow Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles County to start programs giving people a place to inject drugs while trained staff are available to help if they suffer accidental overdoses. “Safe consumption sites are a proven strategy to save lives and help people into recovery,” Wiener said. Currently the sites are illegal in the United States but legal in Canada. Wiener’s bill barely cleared the Senate in April. The Senate Republican Caucus said in a statement at the time that the bill would “establish taxpayer-staffed and funded drug dens.” The proposal is opposed by some law enforcement groups, but Wiener said in a statement that it “is very much alive, albeit delayed.” Wiener noted he was disappointed in another delay at a time when he said San Francisco and other cities are experiencing record overdose deaths. His bill would require workers at the centers to try to get users into drug treatment programs or refer them to medical or mental health care or social services programs.\n\nColorado\n\nDenver: The Denver Zoo will begin vaccinating some of its animals against COVID-19 as early as next week. Zoologists say they have been working with the veterinary vaccine company Zoetis to receive doses for the animals, and primates and carnivores will be first on the list. The veterinary vaccine, which is formulated primarily for mammals, is being developed separate from the ones for human use. Transmission is rare between humans and other species, but there have been several documented cases of COVID-19 in large cats, monkeys and certain rodent populations. “We know some of those animals – like gorillas and tigers, mink, otters – can all be infected. But for a lot of these others, we don’t know what the susceptibility is,” Dr. Scott Larsen, the zoo’s vice president of animal health, told KMGH-TV. “For animals, we want to be able to protect them similar to (how) we’re trying to protect people.” Veterinary scientists do not think common house pets like cats or dogs are in significant danger of catching COVID-19. “There are 85 million dogs in the United States and 90 million cats,” said Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, a veterinarian at VCA Alameda East Veterinary in Denver. “If we were going to see problems … I think we would be seeing it.”\n\nConnecticut\n\nGuilford: The state’s newest climate change legislation should put it in a good position to receive millions of dollars in anticipated federal funds to help foot the bill for expensive resiliency projects needed across Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont and other state officials said Tuesday. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes said the $30 million in bonding included in the new state budget to help municipalities identify and plan for such projects, including green infrastructure, will also give Connecticut a leg up on other states. “We’ll be shovel-ready. We’ll be at the front of the line,” Dykes said during a bill-signing event at a beach in Guilford. “It’s going to take a lot of dollars to help protect our communities from the impacts of climate change. And the best way to do that, dollars we really want to put to work, are federal dollars.” Curt Johnson, president of the environmental group Save the Sound, predicted Connecticut will receive $3 or $4 in federal funds for every $1 the state spends on these resiliency efforts. The new law gives all cities and towns, not just certain ones, the ability to establish stormwater authorities. Additionally, the law expands the duties of the 10-year-old Connecticut Green Bank, a first-in-the-nation entity.\n\nDelaware\n\nDover: Two deadly species of hemlock have been found in Delaware, and the state’s Department of Agriculture is warning people to avoid plants that look like wild carrots to prevent the possibility of being poisoned. Environmental scientists confirmed that poison hemlock and spotted water hemlock were located in Sussex County wetlands, according to a news release from the agency. Both plants have small white flowers and bloom between June and August. Poison hemlock also grows in meadows, pastures and ditches. The invasive plant can reach between 6 and 8 feet tall and has a hairless stem with purple blotches. The department said this type of hemlock releases an odor but shouldn’t be crushed to smell because toxic oils can be emitted. Spotted water hemlock is a native plant and can grow up to 6 feet tall. Its stems vary in color from solid green or purple to green with purple spots or stripes, and it has fern-like leaves. People who think they found either plant can email pictures to DDA.Marketing@delaware.gov for identification. The Agriculture Department said residents shouldn’t try to eradicate the hemlocks themselves and should instead find a licensed aquatic pest control company to treat them. It also advised against mowing the plants, which can release toxic particles into the air.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: Parking in the nation’s capital is often a nightmare for residents and especially for their guests, but D.C. has launched an easier visitor parking pass program, WUSA-TV reports. When the visitor parking pass was launched in 2013, it was met with widespread opposition. With the new program, people can register for the annual pass allowing their guests to park for two hours in a residential permit parking zone in all eight wards. “The intent of the system is to make getting a visitor parking permit easier and also to reduce parking congestion in residential areas,” said Everett Lott, acting director for the District Department of Transportation. The new online parking portal now allows people to print out their own parking permits for visitors and can be accessed through the portal provided by D.C. online or through an app on Apple or Android phones. “This particular system, the automated system, is connected to the resident and to the license plate,” Lott said. “So it makes it a lot more user-friendly but also helps to eliminate any of the abuse that was possible in the past.” Parking permits, which must be displayed prominently on the windshield of vehicles, can be printed at home, at D.C. Public Library branches, or at kiosks at DDOT Headquarters, the DDOT Permit Office and Metropolitan Police Department precincts.\n\nFlorida\n\nTampa: A couple is suing a Catholic school and demanding the return of a large donation, saying it isn’t adhering to Catholic values because of the way it’s handling issues like race and accepting the LGBTQ community. Anthony and Barbara Scarpo filed their lawsuit against the Academy of the Holy Names last month after one of their daughters graduated and a second transferred to another school, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The lawsuit comes four years after the couple pledged $1.35 million to the school, which named its theater for the family. The couple claims the school has “lost its way” by distancing itself from mainstream Catholicism and embracing a “woke culture” in which priority is given to “gender identity, human sexuality and pregnancy termination among other hot button issues.” The suit also takes issue with a blackboard in a common area that explains how to be an ally to the LGBTQ community, as well as how the school takes on the issue of race, saying white students are made to feel guilty. The Scarpos had paid $240,000 toward the pledge as of 2018, the lawsuit said. The school didn’t discuss details of the suit, but spokeswoman Emily Wise told the Times in an email that the school’s curriculum is based on Catholic values.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: A federal judge on Wednesday declined to block some challenged sections of Georgia’s new election law ahead of two runoff elections next week, but he didn’t rule out the possibility for future elections. Election integrity activists had asked U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee to prohibit the state from enforcing sections of the new law that have to do with observation of elections, as well as a new deadline for requesting absentee ballots. Their request arose from one of eight federal lawsuits challenging the new law. The Republican-backed overhaul of election rules enacted this year has been blasted by Democrats and others who say it creates unnecessary obstacles to voting, particularly for people of color. Most of the lawsuits, including one filed last month by the U.S. Department of Justice, challenge the parts of law that critics say threaten voting rights. The targeted request that led to Wednesday’s ruling, though, focused on provisions mostly related to monitoring or photographing parts of the election process. The activists, led by the Coalition for Good Governance, said those sections criminalize normal election observation activities and could intimidate voters, election observers and members of the news media. A tighter absentee ballot request deadline makes it virtually impossible to get one for a runoff, they argue.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: Lawmakers on Tuesday overrode Gov. David Ige’s veto of a bill that overhauls how the state funds the Hawaii Tourism Authority and allocates tourism tax revenue to the counties. The bill would stop funding the tourism agency with money raised by the transient accommodations tax on hotel stays and other short-term rentals. Instead, lawmakers intend to pay for the agency with money from the general fund, though for the current fiscal year they appropriated federal coronavirus relief funds. Further, instead of providing the state’s four major counties with a share of transient accommodations tax revenue, the legislation gives the counties the authority to levy their own surcharge to the tax. Currently, the state charges one uniform hotel tax rate across the islands. Sen. Bennette Misalucha, vice chair of the Senate’s Energy, Economic Development, and Tourism Committee, said special funds shouldn’t be protected for the benefit of one industry. She said the Legislature brought special funds like hotel tax revenue into the general fund to stop this practice. The Hawaii Tourism Authority will now be required to get support from lawmakers for its budget just like other state agencies, she said, which will require the agency to be more forthcoming with its strategic plans and force more communication between the agency and lawmakers.\n\nIdaho\n\nCoeur d’Alene: High housing prices in northern Idaho are making it difficult to attract police officers, law enforcement officials say. Coeur d’Alene Police Capt. Dave Hagar told the Coeur d’Alene Press that low crime rates and an outdoor lifestyle are big draws but that skyrocketing housing prices are turning people away. “Five years ago, the cost of living in Coeur d’Alene was much more reasonable,” Hagar said. “Now it’s gone above that.” The Coeur d’Alene Association of Realtors said the median residential home sale price was $476,000 in March. That’s a 47% increase from a year ago. Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said his agency has recruited new hires only to have them decline the job after discovering they couldn’t afford housing. “It’s a significant barrier,” he said. “The housing situation is severe.” The agency is looking to hire deputies, dispatchers, control room operators, clerks and jail staff. “We’re going to have to attract local candidates,” Norris said. “We can’t do that when some of our pay is $14 or $15 an hour.” Kootenai County Commissioner Bill Brooks said other county agencies are also having a hard time finding and retaining workers. Wages once considered normal are now not enough.\n\nIllinois\n\nChicago: The city’s schools will encourage student COVID-19 vaccinations ahead of the start of the school year with school-based vaccination sites and events, officials announced Wednesday. Officials with the nation’s third-largest school district plan to offer full in-person instruction in the fall and want to vaccinate as many students as possible before classes begin next month. District officials said they are “not in a position” to mandate COVID-19 shots but will ask families to submit COVID-19 vaccine documents, as is the practice with other immunizations. Starting next week, the district will offer vaccines at three school sites for students and their families. The sites will be able to administer 600 doses weekly. The district is also working with hospitals for events in areas with low inoculation rates and offering the shots at back-to-school events. “Schools are trusted pillars of our communities, and as a district we are uniquely suited to help expand vaccination opportunities, which helps create the safest possible learning environments at our schools,” said Jose M. Torres, interim schools CEO. More than 50,000 children under the age of 18 have already been vaccinated in Chicago, according to the city’s Department of Public Health. Roughly 350,000 students attend Chicago Public Schools.\n\nIndiana\n\nIndianapolis: As federal officials debate pouring billions of dollars into broadband access, data suggests many of Indiana’s schoolchildren and adults who preferred to work from home spent the pandemic with subpar access to high-speed internet, particularly in the state’s least-wealthy counties. In about half of Indiana’s counties – 47 of 92 – measured by a Federal Communications Commission study, broadband access is available to at least 79% of residents. Yet in about half of the state measured by Microsoft – 47 of 92 counties – no more than 22% of households actually have high-speed access, a USA TODAY analysis shows. President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of Senate moderates have reached a deal on a far-reaching infrastructure plan that would direct $65 billion to increase broadband connectivity from coast to coast. Despite the agreement, it’s unclear whether it would address the solutions some lawmakers want to see such as continued broadband subsidies for low-income families, greater competition among wireless providers, and continued buildout of high-speed networks in poorer, rural areas. In Indiana, 12.4% of residents don’t have adequate broadband infrastructure, and 48.4% live in areas with only one internet provider, according to the White House.\n\nIowa\n\nIowa City: A teenager injured in an accident on an amusement ride that killed his younger brother remained on life support Wednesday as he turned 16, his family pastor said. David Jaramillo has been in a medically induced coma at Blank Children’s Hospital since Saturday’s accident on the Raging River at Adventureland Park in Altoona, pastor Christian Shields said. David has some brain function and has woken up a couple times at the Des Moines hospital, opening his eyes and asking what happened, he said. He remains hooked up to breathing machines, but doctors are hoping to wean him off life support, Shields said. The pastor at Christian Life Church in Cedar Rapids said it’s a miracle that David is alive after being pinned underneath a boat in water for several minutes. The church, which planned a prayer vigil for the family Wednesday night, is sponsoring a GoFundMe page that has raised $30,000. Friends have brought balloons to the hospital for David’s birthday, but “there won’t be a lot of celebrating,” Shields said. The Jaramillo family, of Marion, Iowa, went to Adventureland on Saturday to celebrate David’s upcoming birthday. The junior at Linn-Mar High School had been excited about getting his driver’s license as a step toward freedom and adulthood, Shields said.\n\nKansas\n\nTopeka: Gov. Laura Kelly has expanded the paid leave that state employees can take from their jobs when they become parents or act as caregivers. Kelly issued an executive order Tuesday that provides an extra two weeks of paid leave for state workers who are a child’s primary caregiver and an extra week for secondary caregivers. The order also makes foster parents eligible for the same paid leave. Primary caregivers will now receive up to eight weeks of paid leave, rather than six. Secondary caregivers will receive four weeks instead of three. The order directed the state Department of Administration to put the new policies into effect immediately. Kelly said the state is demonstrating a commitment to recruiting and keeping talented workers and creating a “supportive environment for our families.” “Supporting working parents in our workforce is not only the right thing to do,” Kelly said in a statement. “It’s good for our economy.” The order also says new state employees become eligible for paid leave after 180 days.\n\nKentucky\n\nLouisville: After years of planning and public input, the construction phase of the Sherman Minton Bridge rehabilitation project will soon be underway. The Sherman Minton Renewal project team said Tuesday that it will begin working on ramp improvements next week. The improvements “are being made to prepare for the first phase of the rehabilitation, which will include the first half of eastbound construction on the lower deck and painting of the bridge trusses,” according to a news release. According to the team, ramp shoulders at the Interstates 65 and 265 interchange, as well as the Interstates 64 and 265 interchange, will be modified to accommodate additional traffic. The modification process will take one to two weeks, the team said, and “will require nighttime lane closures and/or ramp closures to construct.” After the ramp improvements are completed, traffic will be reduced to two lanes in each direction as the team works on painting and deck replacement preparations. When lanes are restricted, I-65 and I-265 will serve as a detour route, the team said. The Sherman Minton, which spans the Ohio River to connect the Bluegrass and Hoosier states, is 59 years old. The proposal to rehabilitate the double-decker bridge was announced in 2018. The price tag for the project is roughly $137 million.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: Authorities say they’ve been searching for a 12-foot python that escaped from its enclosure inside the state’s largest shopping mall. Cara, a yellow and white Burmese python, slithered out of its enclosure at the Blue Zoo in the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, news outlets report. She was still on the loose early Wednesday morning, WBRZ-TV reports, after a search overnight, when such snakes are most active. “While we’ve created a very secure home for Cara, our Burmese Python, she has slithered out of her exhibit,” the Blue Zoo said in a statement. “Cara is a non-poisonous, friendly snake that enjoys her time interacting with guests during our Snake Education Shows.” Pythons slowly squeeze their prey to death before swallowing them. Cara was described as “very sweet” by her handlers, who released a photo of the animal. The Blue Zoo – which bills itself as “more than an aquarium, more than a zoo” – was closed Tuesday while search efforts continued, but the Mall of Louisiana remained open.\n\nMaine\n\nBangor: Enrollment in public schools across the state dropped by 4.4%, nearly 8,000 students, between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, according to Maine Department of Education data. Most of those students transitioned to home schooling, which saw an increase of 5,000 students, according to department data. School systems expect many students to return for the 2021-22 school year, Bangor Daily News reports. According to an Education Week report, Maine had the fourth-highest decrease in the nation behind Vermont’s 5.3% decrease, Mississippi’s 5% drop and New Hampshire’s 4.7% decline. Steve Bailey, executive director at Maine School Management Association, said the change reflects concerns from parents about safety during the pandemic and child care challenges. The most significant decrease was in prekindergarten and kindergarten students, for whom the population decreased by 16%, compared to a 3% decrease in all other students.\n\nMaryland\n\nCollege Park: Teenagers will be entered to win $50,000 college scholarships if they get vaccinated against COVID-19 in the state’s latest incentive program offered to encourage as many people as possible to get the shots. Gov. Larry Hogan announced the new lottery program Wednesday at the University of Maryland, College Park. Twenty Marylanders between the ages of 12 and 17 will win scholarships worth $50,000 each between now and Labor Day. The program will give away a total of $1 million in scholarships or the equivalent of full tuition and fees at one of Maryland’s public universities. Winners who choose to attend college out of state can transfer the scholarship to the school of their choice, Hogan said. The program will begin Monday and continue through Labor Day. Teens who have been vaccinated in Maryland are eligible and will be automatically entered, the governor said. Winners will be chosen using the same process as “VaxCash,” a lottery for adults that recently ended. That program awarded a total of $2 million in prizes to Marylanders 18 and older who had received a COVID-19 vaccine at any time. The scholarship prizes will be deposited into college savings accounts with Maryland 529.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nTopsfield: A more than 200-year-old agricultural fair canceled last year because of the pandemic is scheduled to return this fall, organizers announced Wednesday. The 11-day Topsfield Fair, first held in 1818, will start Oct. 1, the Essex Agricultural Society said in a statement. “Having to cancel last year’s Topsfield Fair due to the COVID-19 pandemic was devastating,” General Manager James O’Brien said. “We are thrilled to announce that the fair will return this year with no restrictions, and we look forward to seeing everyone on the fairgrounds in October.” The fair was previously canceled for three years during World War II and in 1918 because of an influenza pandemic. Based on attendance in 1946 after the three-year shutdown, O’Brien said he expects high attendance this fall. In anticipation, fair personnel have installed extra sinks and hand-sanitizing stations around the fairgrounds north of Boston, he said. One of the fair’s most popular events is the giant pumpkin contest, but it also includes livestock exhibits, a midway, vendors, food stalls and live music. It typically draws up to 500,000 visitors per year. A schedule for concerts, which are free with fair admission, will be announced soon.\n\nMichigan\n\nRoseville: CARE of Southeastern Michigan is hosting a free, two-week day camp for kids whose family members struggle with addiction. Open for children in preschool through eighth grade, Camp CARE will address communicating effectively, managing emotions, dealing with change, choosing friends wisely, resisting peer pressure and more. The skills are taught through hands-on activities like arts, crafts and games, said CARE director of substance use prevention Kaitlin Maloziec. The Roseville fire and police departments will also visit the camp for a teaching segment in the city about 15 miles northeast of Detroit. “It’s just a spot where kids can be kids, make friendships and see that they’re not alone,” Maloziec said. The camp will be held at Fountain Elementary in Roseville from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 19-23 and July 26-30. Zoom sessions for parents and caregivers will teach adults some of the same skills as the youth, along with parenting tips and advice on how to talk about addiction and address kids’ questions. The camp, which Maloziec said has been around for more than two decades, is hosting up to 60 students this year. Most activities will be held outdoors, with mask-wearing required and lunch provided. Registration is available online and closes at 11:45 p.m. Friday.\n\nMinnesota\n\nMinneapolis: With COVID-19 limits fading away, tourists are returning to Minnesota resorts, many of them from neighboring states. But a lot of employees are not coming back. The worker shortage has been building for more than a year, said Ben Wogsland, a spokesman for Hospitality Minnesota, the trade association for the state’s hotels, restaurants, resorts and campgrounds. The industry is down about 50,000 workers from its normal summer level of 280,000 to 290,000 workers. Many of them found other jobs during the first COVID-19 shutdown, and others left when a second hospitality shutdown was ordered, the Star Tribune reports. “After last year, we were hopeful that things would get back to normal,” said Sue Dutcher, manager of the St. Croix River Resort in Hinckley. Instead, “we’re being run ragged.” In Detroit Lakes, Joanne Anderson faces a similar challenge at the Forest Hills Resort. Anderson manages Izzo’s, the resort’s bar and restaurant, and is running it with eight workers instead of the usual 20. Some operators have been fortunate enough to escape the labor shortage. The Trail Center Lodge on the Gunflint Trail is “100% staffed,” according to owner Sarah Hamilton. That’s partly due to a new program that brings young adults from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to work at businesses on the North Shore.\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: Farmers in the state are losing the catfish wars against their foreign competitors with the very weapon they saw as their salvation. The domestic catfish industry, along with lawmakers including the late U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, lobbied to move oversight of catfish processing from the Food and Drug Administration to the U.S. Department of Agriculture five years ago with the expectation the USDA’s stricter eye would limit the foreign imports that had decimated domestic production throughout the Mississippi Delta. Instead, imports of siluriformes – the larger category of catfish and catfish-like fish sometimes referred to by their family name, “pangasius” – have only increased since the switch to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service in 2016. Meanwhile, domestic prices and production, mainly in Mississippi and other Southern states, have continued to decline. Almost 65,000 additional tons of catfish were imported in 2019 compared to 2015 before the Food Safety and Inspection Service took over, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce lists recent processing volumes at 5 million pounds per month less than in 2015 during FDA oversight.\n\nMissouri\n\nJefferson City: Seventeen more people in southwest Missouri died from COVID-19 in a two-week period ending Sunday as the coronavirus continues to surge in the region, officials said. The deaths were recorded in the two-week reporting period from June 21 to July 4 and were disclosed Tuesday by the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, the Kansas City Star reports. The dead ranged in age from their 40s to 90s, and none of those who died was fully vaccinated, health officials said. Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday told reporters that his administration has done “everything possible” to fend off outbreaks. Missouri has reported nearly 530,000 cases of the virus and 9,375 deaths since the pandemic began. The state has administered more than 5 million doses, with 44.9% of the population getting at least one. Parson said he’s focused on encouraging people to get inoculated and making the shots available to them. He said he’s still wary of incentivizing vaccinations with prizes. “Right now, the vaccine’s out there,” Parson said. “I mean, people walk past it every day, whether they’re in a pharmacy, whether they’re in a Walmart, whether they’re in a health center.” Parson also on Wednesday signed a bill into law to limit lawsuits against companies for wrongdoing related to the pandemic.\n\nMontana\n\nHelena: Wildlife officials were searching by ground and from the air Wednesday for a grizzly bear that killed a woman who was camping. A helicopter was flying over the area around the small town of Ovando, in western Montana, in pursuit of the bear, which will be killed if found, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Greg Lemon said. Large traps made out of culverts were set around the area in hopes of capturing the bruin. Ovando, about 60 miles northwest of Helena, is a community of fewer than 100 people at the edge of the sprawling Bob Marshall wilderness. Long-distance bicyclists such as the victim often spend the night in the town. Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles said the bear wandered into the victim’s camping area a couple of times before Tuesday’s fatal mauling. Someone at the scene used bear spray, and other campers called 911, Roselles said. Roselles closed down any camping in Ovando as the search for the bear continued, following creeks leading away from the town. Further circumstances surrounding the attack were under investigation. Officials said their priority was to find and kill the bear to prevent another dangerous encounter.\n\nNebraska\n\nNiobrara: A tomahawk once owned by Chief Standing Bear, a pioneering Native American civil rights leader, is returning to his Nebraska tribe after decades in a museum at Harvard. The university’s Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology said it’s been working with members of the Ponca Tribe in Nebraska and Oklahoma to repatriate the artifact. Larry Wright Jr., chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, said Tuesday that the return of the historic weapon is a powerful symbol of homecoming for the tribe, which was among many forcibly relocated from their homelands to other territories by the federal government in the 1800s. Standing Bear was arrested 1878 for leaving the tribe’s reservation in order to fulfill a promise he made to bury his eldest son back in their tribe’s homeland in the Niobrara River Valley. In his landmark federal trial, he successfully argued for the recognition of Native Americans as persons entitled to rights and protection under law. “That hand is not the color of yours. But if you pierce it, I shall feel pain,” Standing Bear famously said in court. “The blood that will flow from mine will be the same color as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both.” Wright said the tribe is preparing its own museum, located near Standing Bear’s grave, to properly display the tomahawk and other artifacts.\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: A 110-acre property at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip has been purchased to be the site for a terminal station for a planned new high-speed passenger rail line between Las Vegas and Southern California. Brightline Holdings announced the purchase Tuesday without announcing the price, but local news outlets report that Clark County records indicate the purchase by the holding company for Brightline West closed Thursday for $140 million. The site is on the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard across from Premium Outlets South mall and near McCarran International Airport. Company officials have said Brightline West trains would carry up to 500 passengers at speeds up to 200 mph on the planned route between Las Vegas and Victorville, California. The project has been delayed over the years, most recently because of the pandemic.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nConcord: Plans to close the state’s youth detention center are quickly taking shape, with a consultant due to submit a preliminary report in the next two weeks. The two-year state budget Gov. Chris Sununu signed June 25 includes a mandate to close the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester by March 2023. But the state Department of Health and Human Services didn’t wait for lawmakers and the governor to act; it signed a $55,000 contract with Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services of Washington, D.C., on June 8. The contract, paid for with federal pandemic aid, requires the consultants to deliver a draft closure plan by mid-July and a final report by August. According to details submitted to the governor’s Executive Council last week, the department didn’t have time to solicit bids given the time-sensitive work but consulted with stakeholders before hiring the firm. Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette told the council she met with advocates for juvenile justice, including the Disability Rights Center and the Office of the Child Advocate. “We have this opportunity to build the right-sized program on a clinical model instead of a detention model. So I brought the advocates together to say, ‘What is your ideal model?’ ” she said. “They said they weren’t qualified and that I should hire a consultant. So that is what I did.”\n\nNew Jersey\n\nBridgewater: The pandemic that closed restaurant dining rooms last year also put a stop to food tours. But with eateries up and running again, food tours are starting back up, too, inviting food lovers to explore a town by enjoying its restaurants’ signature dishes and learning about local history. “For the first time in 15 months, we are opening public tours again, and it is really exciting,” said Alessia Aron, owner of Beyond the Plate Tours, which presents excursions in Jersey City, Red Bank and Somerville. Local restaurants “have been through hell and back, and we are just trying to support them as much as possible.” Her company, previously Jersey Girls Food Tours, is one of seven that comprise the NJ Food Tour Trail. “We thought that coming together and creating the New Jersey Food Tour Trail would help us come out of the pandemic better,” said Audrey Wiggins, owner of On the Town Food Tours, another participant. “July 1 is our official opening date for all tour companies; some have started a little earlier than that, but everyone is now officially open.” Other NJ Food Tour Trail companies include Asbury Park Food Tours, Cape May Food Tours, Sister Cities Food and Shop Tours, Savor and Stroll Culinary Tours and Have You Met Newark Tours.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nSanta Fe: A new podcast called Parks urges visitors to America’s national parks to educate themselves about and acknowledge the Indigenous tribes whose ties to these sacred spaces span millennia. The aim of the documentary podcast is to explore the history of tribes on these lands, the ways in which the lands were dispossessed, issues the Indigenous communities face today, and how they’ve kept their culture and traditions alive, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. “There’s so much that was written, but when it was written, it was from the point of view of Eastern colonizers,” said Mary Mathis, 25, a former photo editor at National Public Radio and Outside magazine who serves as the host of Parks, co-created with fellow Santa Fe-based multimedia journalist Cody Nelson. “It wasn’t every story, it was just one story – the quote-unquote ‘winner’s’ story. We see that a lot in our education system, and I think that was where the idea (for Parks) kind of came from.” The first episode follows a format the Parks team plans to replicate throughout the project, one in which Indigenous guests are closely involved in each step of the editing process so as to maintain complete ownership of their stories.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York: A consortium of businesses and nonprofits will run Central Park’s Wollman ice rink, one of four recreational concessions that were operated by Donald Trump’s company until the city canceled its contracts with the former president, the city Department of Parks and Recreation announced Tuesday. A joint venture called Wollman Park Partners LLC is expected to be awarded a five-year contract to run the rink after submitting the winning bid for the project, city officials said. The joint venture, which includes Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Related Companies, Equinox, caterer Great Performances and local groups such as Ice Hockey in Harlem, will reinvest all profits into upgrading the rink, city officials said. “It’s the Summer of New York City, but we’re already preparing for an iconic winter, too,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a news release. “I’m thrilled that NYC Parks has found a quality operator for Wollman Rink that is committed to reinvesting in the community and creating a welcoming space for all New Yorkers.” The Democrat announced in January that the city would terminate business contracts with the Trump Organization over Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The cancellations affected a golf course in the Bronx and a carousel and two ice skating rinks in Central Park.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nRaleigh: A Superior Court judge put a small-town newspaper editor behind bars last month after one of his reporters used an audio recorder for note-taking purposes at a murder trial – a punishment the paper and media rights groups consider excessive. Judge Stephan Futrell sentenced Gavin Stone, the news editor of the Richmond County Daily Journal, to five days in jail before having the editor hauled off to jail. Stone was released the next day but still faces the possibility of more time in lockup. Brian Bloom, the paper’s publisher, acknowledged that his reporter shouldn’t have had the recorder in court because it was not allowed but criticized the judge’s move to imprison an editor for a minor infraction committed by a colleague. “The penalty does not fit the crime,” he said. “Let’s put this in perspective: You stop a murder trial not once, but twice, because a guy had a tape recorder sitting next to him on a bench at a courtroom. Let’s put our priorities in place here.” Futrell did not respond to a request for comment. Superior Court rules allow electronic media and still photography coverage of public judicial proceedings but grant judges the authority to prohibit the technology.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nMandan: The Mandan City Commission has agreed to equip the community’s police force with body cameras. The commission approved the cameras unanimously Tuesday with no discussion. The police department received a quote from Digital-Ally, which already has cameras inside the police vehicles. A memo from police to commissioners said that using the same company for the cameras will allow for better integration of the equipment, the Bismarck Tribune reports. The package of 28 body cameras, upgraded in-car cameras, accessories, set-up, training and cloud storage would cost about $165,000 for a five-year subscription. The police department also received approval to request funding from the U.S. Department of Justice to offset the cost of the cameras. It is asking for nearly $37,000 over five years, according to the memo. The Lincoln Police Department began using body cameras in early 2020. The Bismarck Police Department and the Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department do not use the technology.\n\nOhio\n\nCincinnati: The top prosecutor in one of the state’s most populous counties has decided his office will no longer offer plea bargains in any cases involving gun violence or possession of illegal firearms. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters announced his decision Tuesday, saying it would take effect immediately. “It’s time for this nonsense to end,” Deters said. The directive comes in the wake of a violent holiday weekend in Cincinnati. Among the incidents was a Fourth of July shooting at a downtown park where authorities say a 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy opened fire on each other, leaving both of them dead and three innocent bystanders wounded. Hundreds of teens were gathered at Smale Park when the shooting occurred shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday, authorities say. At the time, police officers were working to clear out the riverfront park before its closing time. “People must be held accountable for their choices. As a community, we must stand together and say, ‘Enough is enough,’ ” Deters said. “No amount of money can fix the problems we are facing. Parents must parent their children. Communities must speak up.”\n\nOklahoma\n\nEdmond: U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe’s office announced Wednesday that he requested $4 million in federal funds to help combat illegal marijuana growing operations in the state. Inhofe’s chief of staff, Luke Holland, announced the request during an Oklahoma Sheriffs Association meeting, saying Inhofe requested a direct appropriation through the U.S. Justice Department to allow the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs to establish a unit to combat “transnational and national drug organizations.” The unit would work with sheriffs to combat illegal drug operations. Medical marijuana is a booming business in Oklahoma, where voters in 2018 approved one of the nation’s most liberal medical programs. As a result, out-of-state weed entrepreneurs have flocked to the state to get involved. But sheriffs and other law enforcement groups, which opposed the state question in 2018, have said illegal marijuana grow operations are setting up in rural parts of Oklahoma and funneling cannabis into the illegal drug trade in Oklahoma and other states.\n\nOregon\n\nEugene: The University of Oregon said Tuesday that it will start the second phase of building the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact after receiving another $500million donation for the project. Construction on the first phase of the new campus started in 2016 – after the first half-billion-dollar gift from the Nike co-founder and his wife – with a large science building including a pedestrian bridge over the street. A second building for “bioengineering and applied science research building to support expanded research programs and facilities” will be built next, according to a university news release. The building is planned to cover 175,000 square feet, with multiple stories, and be located north of the first building. The focus of the new campus is to translate scientific discoveries into advances in health care and other fields. The latest money will also pay for 14 to 16 additional faculty members and their teams. The new campus currently employs 13 tenure-related faculty members and their research teams, for a total of about 90 employees. “The aim of the new campus is to compress the timeline between discovery and “societal impact,” said Robert Guldberg, vice president and executive director of the new science operation.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will rise another 5% in January, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission decided Tuesday. The agency board voted to impose the higher rates as of Jan. 2. The most common E-ZPass fare for a passenger vehicle will rise by a dime, from $1.60 to $1.70. Those being charged through a scan of their license plate will see the most common fare go from $3.90 to $4.10. The most common truck fare will go from $13 to $13.70 for E-ZPass and from $26.60 to $28 for toll-by-plate. Officials say 2022 will be the first time in six years that fares will have jumped by less than 6%. The turnpike has pumped more than $7 billion in funding from tolls to the state Transportation Department since 2007.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: Almost $54 million worth of fraudulent unemployment claims have been filed during the coronavirus pandemic, state officials say. The latest total is about $9 million more than in May, with even more victims coming forward in the past month, according to WJAR-TV. State Department of Labor and Training Director Matt Weldon said that doesn’t necessarily mean the claims were filed during that time span, just that they are coming to light now. The agency has managed to get back about $3.75 million so far with the help of federal agencies, but Weldon said he believes that will grow significantly in the coming months. The agency is also enforcing rules that require people to look for work while collecting benefits, he said. With 64,000 Rhode Islanders receiving unemployment benefits, that will be a slow process, with the agency only able to get through a few hundred claims per week to start, he said. “As you can imagine, trying to audit claims and go through information is difficult when there are more than a workable number, so we are going to begin with hundreds and see how that goes, and then that can grow in the future,” he said.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: The governor wants a new abortion law to take effect, arguing Wednesday that a judge’s decision to put the whole measure – and not just the parts being challenged in court – on hold during a lawsuit “oversteps the bounds of federal judicial power.” Gov. Henry McMaster’s brief with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asks appellate judges to lift a lower court’s injunction on the South Carolina Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act. The Republican signed the measure into law earlier this year that requires doctors to perform ultrasounds to check for a heartbeat in the fetus, which can typically be detected about six weeks after conception. If cardiac activity is detected, the abortion can only be performed if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest or if the mother’s life is in danger. Planned Parenthood attorneys sued immediately, and the entire law has been blocked from going into effect during the litigation. In his brief, attorneys for McMaster argued that decision represents “overreaching federal power to interfere with state law.” McMaster, along with other defendants including state Attorney General Alan Wilson, also argue that the groups that sued don’t have proper standing to challenge the law.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nMadison: An increasing number of primarily social media complaints from residents in Madison and Lake County have brought to light a little-known county ordinance banning people from occupying their campers or recreational vehicles outside the confines of a campground. Lake County Planning and Zoning Officer Mandi Anderson said the ordinance has gone undetected for many years until a recent barrage of postings that have led to heated debate among residents. Some who are opposed to the rule say that it infringes on property rights and that there should be nothing wrong with letting visitors use a camper for a short time. “I didn’t realize it was this out of hand,” Anderson said. One theory for the ordinance, Anderson said, is that people who construct large lakeside homes on small lots do not want to be inundated with noise from adjoining property when three campers pull in for the weekend and 50 people take up temporary residence, The Madison Daily Leader reports. Anderson said citations are only issued if the matter is not addressed after the property owner has been notified about the ordinance and has been given an opportunity to comply. She emphasized she does not drive around looking for violators but only responds to complaints.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: City officials are inviting the public to celebrate and remember civil rights icon John Lewis in a dedication ceremony next week. Earlier this year, Nashville’s Metro Council renamed a large portion of Fifth Avenue North to Rep. John Lewis Way. Councilwoman Zulfat Suara submitted the request last year, focusing on Lewis’ work to desegregate Nashville’s lunch counters before becoming a long-serving congressman in Georgia. The city will host a dedication July 16-17. The event was originally scheduled for February but was delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak. As a college student at American Baptist College and then Fisk University, Lewis helped desegregate public spaces in Nashville and pushed for racial justice across the South. Lewis was a Freedom Rider, spoke at the March on Washington, and was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. Lewis died July 17, 2020. He was 80.\n\nTexas\n\nSan Antonio: A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Air Force is mostly responsible for a former serviceman killing more than two dozen people at a church in 2017 because it failed to submit his criminal history into a database, which should have prevented him from purchasing firearms. U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in San Antonio wrote in a ruling signed Wednesday that the Air Force was “60% responsible” for the massacre at First Baptist Church in the small town of Sutherland Springs, where Devin Kelley opened fire during a Sunday service. Authorities put the official death toll at 26 because one of the 25 people killed was pregnant. The attack remains the worst mass shooting in Texas history. “The trial conclusively established that no other individual – not even Kelley’s own parents or partners – knew as much as the United States about the violence that Devin Kelley had threatened to commit and was capable of committing,” Rodriguez wrote. Kelley had served nearly five years in the Air Force before being discharged in 2014 for bad conduct, after he was convicted of assaulting a former wife and stepson, cracking the child’s skull. The Air Force has publicly acknowledged that the felony conviction for domestic violence, had it been put into the FBI database, could have prevented Kelley from buying guns from licensed firearms dealers and from possessing body armor.\n\nUtah\n\nSalt Lake City: Hospital leaders renewed their pleas for people to get vaccinated Wednesday as the state experiences another surge in new coronavirus cases from the faster-spreading delta variant. That strain has begun to surge in Utah over the past month and now represents about 80% of cases in the state, said Dr. Michelle Hofmann, deputy director of the state health department. Utah has averaged about 386 confirmed cases per day over the past week, nearly double the case rate the state was experiencing at its lowest point in early June. The surge is largely occurring in unvaccinated people who are being infected and hospitalized at six times the rate of vaccinated people, Hoffman said. “The frustrating part about all of this is that, unlike last year, we have all the tools to stop this pandemic in its tracks,” Hoffman told reporters during a virtual briefing. “The COVID-19 vaccines work.” Utah now ranks fourth in the nation for new cases per capita, and the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 31% over the past two weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Utah met health officials’ goal of vaccinating 70% of adults and 25% of children ages 12 to 15 with at least one dose by the Fourth of July, but hospital leaders say more people need to be vaccinated to avoid hospitals from being overrun again.\n\nVermont\n\nKillington: The FIS Ski World Cup will be returning to the Killington Ski Resort this November. Over the years the event has drawn tens of thousands of people to the town on Thanksgiving weekend. It was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort & Pico Mountain, said in a news release that in addition to skiing, there will be a full weekend of activities, including live music. Joshua Eckler, owner of Trailside Inn, told the Rutland Herald he thinks this will be a big year for the World Cup, given the past 14 months of travel restrictions. “We try to encourage a lot of guests to come for it even if they’re not ski racing fans because it’s more of an experience,” Eckler said. “You don’t have to be a die-hard racing fan to enjoy the event, just because of the music and the atmosphere and the excitement – everybody is screaming for everybody.”\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: Workers removed a statue of Harry F. Byrd Sr., a former governor, U.S. senator and staunch segregationist, from the state’s Capitol Square on Wednesday morning. A crane hoisted the larger-than-life statue off its pedestal, and workers then strapped it to a truck to be hauled into storage until lawmakers determine its final disposition. Byrd, a Democrat, ran the state’s most powerful political machine for decades until his death in 1966 and was considered the architect of the state’s racist “massive resistance” policy to public school integration. Lawmakers voted to remove the statue earlier this year, a decision that came amid a years­long movement in history-rich Virginia to rethink who is honored in the state’s public spaces. The statue erected in 1976 was located a stone’s throw from the Capitol. A nearby plaque said the statue was dedicated in appreciation of Byrd’s “devotion throughout a long public career to governmental restraint and programs in the best interest of all the people of Virginia.” Byrd’s son, the late Harry Byrd Jr., a Democrat-turned-independent who began his career as a segregationist, succeeded his father in the Senate, serving until 1983.\n\nWashington\n\nRichland: A new state report finds that more than 57% of Hanford Nuclear Reservation workers reported exposure to hazardous material on the former nuclear weapons production site in south-central Washington state. The Hanford Healthy Energy Workers Board recently released its final report and recommendations on the unmet health care needs of Hanford workers. The report’s central recommendation calls for creation of a new, independent Hanford Healthy Energy Workers Center. It would provide a centralized clearinghouse for dissemination of accepted scientific literature. Important functions would also include evaluation and communication of newly available studies about Hanford-specific hazards. For incurable diseases such as chronic beryllium disease, information sharing could be key to finding cures. Additionally, the center would promote research to increase the body of knowledge for the Hanford workforce. Hanford for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons, and thousands of workers are now tasked with cleaning up the nation’s largest volume of radioactive wastes. “The working families that make up the Hanford community represent a very unique population, with occupational risks not easily quantified or identified,” said Nickolas A. Bumpaous, Hanford Healthy Energy Workers Board co-chair.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: Traffic on the West Virginia Turnpike around the Fourth of July weekend was the heaviest since 2010. The turnpike saw 668,000 vehicles pass through its toll booths between Thursday and Monday, the state Department of Transportation said in a news release Tuesday. That’s 28% higher than for the five-day period a year ago, when travel was affected by the coronavirus pandemic. “It was a huge Fourth of July period,” said West Virginia Parkways Authority executive director Jeff Miller. “People are just ready to get out and travel.” Miller said many travelers started trips the weekend before the Fourth of July and returned home the weekend after. Between June 27 and Monday, more than 1.12 million vehicles went through the turnpike’s toll booths, the statement said.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: In a cheese-obsessed state that proudly touts itself as America’s Dairyland, the dairy cow is the official domestic animal, milk is the official state beverage, and cheese is the official dairy product. But even though Wisconsin produces more cheese than any other state at 3.4 billion pounds each year, there is no official state cheese. A bipartisan bill heard by a state Assembly committee on Wednesday would change that. The measure makes colby, which was created in Wisconsin more than 100 years ago, the official cheese. Colby may be as “gouda” choice as any, but the choice threatens to turn fans of cheddar, swiss, provolone and other varieties red, or perhaps blue, in the face with rage. Colby also holds a special place in Wisconsin cheese history. It was created in the central Wisconsin city of Colby in 1885 by Joseph Steinwand, who named it after the township where his father built northern Clark County’s first cheese factory, according to a state historical marker in the city, located about 40 miles west of Wausau. Colby isn’t the most-produced cheese in Wisconsin. Mozzarella is tops, followed by cheddar and some Italian varieties, according to the USDA. Still, more than 45 million pounds of colby are produced at Wisconsin’s 150 cheese plants each year.\n\nWyoming\n\nCheyenne: The state’s first female federal district judge plans to semi-retire in 2022, opening the way for Democratic President Joe Biden to nominate a judge in the deeply Republican state. Going on senior status will give U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal in Cheyenne more control over the number and type of cases she oversees. She plans to spend more of her free time with her husband, former Gov. Dave Freudenthal, and grandchildren, Freudenthal told the Casper Star-Tribune. She hasn’t decided yet how she will use her time as judge but might stop taking new criminal cases to provide freedom from speedy trial requirements, she said. Freudenthal had no experience with criminal cases before becoming a federal district judge in 2010. She has found those cases the most rewarding because they can be life-changing for convicts, Freudenthal said. “Yes, their lives going forward will still be very challenging, but they have the opportunity to rebuild that life, take advantage of resources, hopefully live a life of sobriety,” she said. Freudenthal, 67, holds undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Wyoming. She was an attorney in the offices of Govs. Ed Herschler and Mike Sullivan from 1980 to 1989.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/07/08"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/01/04/best-cities-live-every-state-us-quality-life/38833209/", "title": "Best cities to live in every state in the US for quality of life", "text": "Samuel Stebbins and Grant Suneson\n\n24/7 Wall Street\n\nCorrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story misstated the geographical location of Waynesboro, Virginia.\n\nThere are nearly 20,000 villages, towns and cities across the 50 states, and not all of them are equally conducive to the well-being of those who live there.\n\nWhile quality of life is subject to a range of factors – close relationships and personal health being among the most important – the local community and environment can also have a meaningful impact.\n\nWhen it comes to choosing a place to call home, everyone has their own priorities and subjective tastes. Still, there are specific attributes some communities share that are almost universally desirable: safe streets, a strong economy, affordability and a range of entertainment options, to name a few.\n\n24/7 Wall St. created a weighted index of over two dozen measures to identify the best city to live in each state. We considered all boroughs, census designated places, cities, towns and villages with at least 8,000 residents.\n\nStart the day smarter:Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox\n\nMore:25 industries experiencing the fastest growth in the US economy\n\nMore:25 cities that lost the most jobs in 2018\n\nMore:These are the most expensive zip codes in the US this year\n\nThese cities tend to have much in common beyond the index components upon which they were ranked. For one, these communities are often within commuting distance of a major metropolitan area. This is no coincidence, as close proximity to a major city provides residents with access to more job opportunities, which in turn can help lower unemployment and improve financial security.\n\nThe best cities to live in include ones just outside of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh and Washington.\n\n1. Valley, Alabama\n\n• Population: 9,439\n\n• 5 yr. population change: -0.8 percent\n\n• Median home value: $82,900\n\n• Median household income: $39,387\n\nThe majority of the cities on this list are relatively wealthy. Valley, Alabama, is an exception. The typical household in Valley earns just $39,387 a year, about $5,000 less than the typical Alabama household. Still, serious financial hardship is less common in Valley than in Alabama as a whole as 15.7 percent of area residents live below the poverty line, well below the 18.4 percent state poverty rate. Valley residents also benefit from a low cost of living as goods and services are about 6 percent less expensive in the city than they are nationwide on average.\n\nValley is a pilot city for the Alabama Communities of Excellence program, a non-profit that partners with governments, businesses, and universities to prepare participating communities for a more vibrant future.\n\n2. Ketchikan, Alaska\n\n• Population: 8,189\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +2.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $232,500\n\n• Median household income: $53,937\n\nHealth outcomes are an important factor in the overall quality of life in a given area. In Ketchikan, Alaska, the mortality rate of people admitted to the hospital is 12.2 per 100,000 hospital admissions within 30 days. That figure is the lowest of any major metropolitan area in the state. Ketchikan is the only metro area in Alaska with a mortality rate lower than the U.S. mortality rate of 12.9 per 100,000.\n\nThanks to its scenery along the southeastern coast of Alaska and proximity to the continental United States, Ketchikan is a popular tourist destination, especially on cruises. Though much of Alaska is isolated and rural, Ketchikan offers residents and visitors access to many more entertainment options than most parts of the state – which can be important during the long, dark winters. Ketchikan has more bars, restaurants, and movie theaters than almost anywhere else in the state.\n\n3. Paradise Valley, Arizona\n\n• Population: 13,833\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +5.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $1,332,600\n\n• Median household income: $173,487\n\nMost houses in Paradise Valley, Arizona, are worth over $1.3 million, more than seven times the U.S. median home value. Paradise Valley residents are able to afford such expensive houses because of their relatively high incomes. The typical household in the city earns $173,487 a year, one of the highest median household incomes in the country.\n\nParadise Valley lives up to its name as a popular destination to relax. The town is home to several resorts and a number of golf courses. Located just north of Phoenix and Scottsdale, it is also known for its high-end dining and nightlife.\n\n4. Batesville, Arkansas\n\n• Population: 10,579\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +4.5 percent\n\n• Median home value: $120,400\n\n• Median household income: $42,143\n\nBatesville, Arkansas, ranks among the best U.S. cities to live largely due to its affordability and community attractions and amenities. Most homeowners in Batesville pay less than $1,000 a year in property taxes, less than half the amount the typical American homeowner pays. Overall annual housing costs typically come to about $7,500 a year, roughly $4,600 less than the median costs nationwide. Goods and services are 16 percent less expensive on average in Batesville than they are nationwide.\n\nWith roots as far back as 1804, Batesville is the second oldest city in Arkansas. The city, which avoided destruction in the Civil War, has a number of historic buildings and sites. There are attractions in the area for nearly every taste and preference, including antique stores, art galleries, an annual film festival, and the Batesville Motor Speedway.\n\n5. Palos Verdes Estates, California\n\n• Population: 13,582\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +1.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $1,609,500\n\n• Median household income: $200,766\n\nLocated along the Pacific Coast less than 30 miles from Los Angeles, Palos Verdes Estates is the best place in California to live. One of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country, the typical household earns over $200,000 a year, more than triple the national median household income of $55,322. Crime is virtually unheard of in Palos Verdes Estates as its violent crime rate of 22 incidents per 100,000 people is a small fraction of the national rate of 383 per 100,000.\n\nThe high ranking may not come as a surprise to those familiar with it, as it is a master-planned city, designed by the Olmsted Brothers, sons of Frederick Law Olmsted – architect of New York City's Central Park and the Stanford University campus.\n\n6. Frederick, Colorado\n\n• Population: 10,791\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +32.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $261,500\n\n• Median household income: $90,321\n\nFrederick, a small town about a half hour north of Denver, ranks as Colorado's best city to live in. The town boasts a number of amenities that make it an attractive place to live, including a museum, a golf course, over 20 community parks, 25 skiing areas in driving distance, and over 300 sunny days a year.\n\nLike many communities on this list, Frederick is relatively affluent and fast growing. The typical area household earns $90,321 a year, about $27,800 more than the median income across Colorado as a whole. Additionally, in the last five years, the number of people living in Frederick climbed 32.2 percent. For reference, the U.S. population grew by just 3.9 percent over the same period.\n\n7. Darien, Connecticut\n\n• Population: 21,519\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +4.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $1,248,200\n\n• Median household income: $208,125\n\nDarien, Connecticut is home to one of the wealthiest and best educated populations in the country. Well over half of all households in Darien earn at least $200,000 a year and about four out of five adults in Darien have a bachelor's degree or higher. Nationwide, fewer than one in three adults have a bachelor's degree. A high median income is bolstered not only by high educational attainment, but also by a strong job market. Just 3.6 percent of workers in Darien were unemployed in 2017, below the 4.7 percent state and 4.4 percent national 2017 unemployment rates.\n\nDarien is also one of the safest communities in the country. There were just 14 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents in 2017, a fraction of the 383 violent crimes per 100,000 people nationwide.\n\n8. Middletown, Delaware\n\n• Population: 20,045\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +13.8 percent\n\n• Median home value: $274,400\n\n• Median household income: $87,250\n\nMiddletown ranks as the best community in Delaware to live in. The town boasts several public parks with a range of amenities, including tennis and basketball courts, soccer and baseball fields, pavilions, a track, and a pool. A relatively affluent area, Middletown has a median income of $87,250, about $26,200 more than the median income in Delaware as a whole. Home values are also about 18 percent higher than the average across the state and over half of all homes in Middletown are worth over a quarter-million dollars.\n\nLike many of the cities and towns on this list, Middletown is growing rapidly. In the last five years, Middletown's population climbed 13.8 percent.\n\n9. Pinecrest, Florida\n\n• Population: 19,272\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +5.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $840,900\n\n• Median household income: $130,900\n\nPinecrest is by far the wealthiest place in Florida, and one of the wealthiest in the entire country. With a median household income of $130,900, most Pinecrest households earn more than double what the typical Florida household earns, which is $48,900. Partially because of the area's relatively high income, the typical home in Pinecrest costs more than $840,000 – more than four times the median Florida home.\n\nA Miami suburb just off Biscayne Bay, Pinecrest is also one of the best educated areas of the state. Among adults 25 and older, 61.7 percent have at least a bachelor's degree. Statewide, just 27.9 percent of adults finished college.\n\n10. Milton, Georgia\n\n• Population: 36,755\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +19.1 percent\n\n• Median home value: $475,300\n\n• Median household income: $109,784\n\nA planned community incorporated in 2006, Milton is one of the most rapidly growing cities in Georgia. Now home to nearly 37,000 people, Milton's population more than doubled since 2009 and is projected to reach 43,000 by 2030. In commuting distance of Atlanta, many Milton residents likely commute to high paying jobs in the state's largest city. The typical household in Milton earns $109,784 a year, more than double the median income of $51,037 across the state as a whole. Similarly, Milton's poverty rate of 5.5 percent is less than a third of the 17.8 percent statewide poverty rate.\n\nMilton is also a safe city. There were just 23 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents in 2017, a fraction of the 383 per 100,000 national rate.\n\n11. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii\n\n• Population: 349,597\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +4.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $601,500\n\n• Median household income: $63,361\n\nEducation can be an important factor in the health and well being of a population. In addition to being more financial stable, college graduates tend to live longer and healthier lives than those who did not obtain at least a bachelor's degree. A high level of education helps make Urban Honolulu the best city to live in Hawaii. Among Honolulu adults, 36 percent have at least a bachelor's degree, the highest rate in Hawaii.\n\nLong commutes by car can have a negative effect on physical and mental health. Honolulu residents utilize alternative methods of getting to and from work. Roughly one in every eight residents takes public transportation to work, while many others walk or ride their bicycles. Altogether, 22.9 percent of commuters do not drive themselves to their jobs, over five times more than the next closest city in Hawaii.\n\n12. Hailey, Idaho\n\n• Population: 8,058\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +2.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $266,500\n\n• Median household income: $56,522\n\nHailey is situated in Idaho's Wood River Valley in the Rocky Mountains. The city is surrounded by public land and forests where residents and visitors can hike, bike, ski, fish, and horseback ride, and is a short drive from Ketchum and Sun Valley, two resort towns.\n\nQuality of life for residents is boosted by lower than average crime, poverty, and unemployment rates. While the median household income of $56,522 in Hailey is only about $1,000 higher than the national median income, a dollar goes further in Hailey than in much of the rest of the country. Goods and services are about 4 percent less expensive than they are nationwide on average.\n\n13. Winnetka, Illinois\n\n• Population: 12,437\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +2.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $989,600\n\n• Median household income: $207,857\n\nWinnetka is a small village that sits on the shores of Lake Michigan about 15 miles north of downtown Chicago. One of the wealthiest cities in the state, the typical Winnetka household earns $207,857 a year. Winnetka residents working in Chicago have options when it comes to transit, as over one quarter of commuters use public transportation – an alternative most Americans do not have.\n\nIn the village, downtown shops were described by the Chicago Tribune in 2012 as reminiscent of the Hamptons on Long Island in New York, without the celebrities. Winnetka boasts four beaches, a boat launch, several parks, a tennis club, a golf course, an ice rink, and forest preserve areas, all open to the public.\n\n14. Jasper, Indiana\n\n• Population: 15,790\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +6.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $148,200\n\n• Median household income: $55,209\n\nJasper is one of the most affordable places to live in Indiana. The cost of living in the city is just 83.6 percent of what the typical American pays. The median household income in Jasper of $55,209 is higher than Indiana's median of $50,433. The combination of relatively high income and low costs, as compared to the rest of the state, makes Jasper residents more able to afford homes compared to those in most other areas of Indiana. The median home price in Jasper is $148,200, compared to Indiana's median home price of $126,500.\n\nJasper residents are much less likely to struggle with money than the average Indiana resident. Statewide, 15 percent of Indiana residents live in poverty. In Jasper, the poverty rate is less than half that, at 7.1 percent.\n\n15. Le Mars, Iowa\n\n• Population: 9,826\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +1.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $139,400\n\n• Median household income: $56,851\n\nLe Mars, Iowa, is among the most affordable cities in the United States. Goods and services in the city cost about 15 percent less on average than they do nationwide. Housing is particularly inexpensive, with the typical household spending $8,124 a year, about $4,000 less than the average annual housing cost nationwide.\n\nThe city also has its share of attractions. Home to a Blue Bunny ice cream manufacturing plant, Le Mars churns out more ice cream from a single company than any other city, earning the nickname \"The Ice Cream Capital of the World.\" The city and surrounding area also boast a history museum, an art museum, a golf course, a campground, and of course, an ice cream museum.\n\n16. McPherson, Kansas\n\n• Population: 13,212\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +0.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $135,800\n\n• Median household income: $54,057\n\nThe median household income in McPherson, Kansas of $54,057 a year is just below the national median of $55,322. However, a dollar goes a long way in McPherson as goods and services are 14 percent less expensive than they are on average nationwide. Indeed, extreme financial hardship is relatively rare in the city. Just 7.3 percent of residents live in poverty compared to 13.3 percent of the Kansas population.\n\nMcPherson residents also have many options when it comes to entertainment and recreation. The city has a far greater than typical concentration of restaurants, fitness centers, museums, golf courses, and movie theatres.\n\n17. Edgewood, Kentucky\n\n• Population: 8,703\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +0.5 percent\n\n• Median home value: $204,300\n\n• Median household income: $89,073\n\nThe best city to live in in Kentucky, Edgewood is both wealthy and affordable. The typical household in Edgewood earns $89,073, nearly double the $44,811 median income across the state as a whole. Additionally, goods and services are about 11 percent less expensive in Edgewood than they are nationwide on average.\n\nOverall quality of life in Edgewood is boosted by two large public parks and an easily accessible hospital and medical care center within city limits. Located about seven miles south of Cincinnati across the Ohio River, Edgewood – like many cities on this list – is in commuting distance of a major metropolitan area.\n\n18. Youngsville, Louisiana\n\n• Population: 10,878\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +41.5 percent\n\n• Median home value: $222,300\n\n• Median household income: $94,564\n\nYoungsville is a relatively prosperous city in one of the poorest states in the country. The typical Youngsville household earns about $95,000 a year and just 5.5 percent of the population live in poverty. Meanwhile, the typical Louisiana household earns less than $46,000 a year and nearly one in five state residents live in poverty. A dollar also goes farther than typical in Youngsville, as goods and services are about 7 percent less expensive than they are on average nationwide.\n\nYoungsville residents have benefitted from a 70 acre, multimillion dollar sports complex since its completion in 2014 and a recreation center that opened in 2016. The facility boasts 10 tennis courts, six soccer fields, five baseball fields, batting cages, a fishing pond, a one-mile walking path, and a playground.\n\n19. Bath, Maine\n\n• Population: 8,334\n\n• 5 yr. population change: -3.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $164,600\n\n• Median household income: $42,275\n\nBath is the best place to live in Maine. Bolstered largely by Bath Iron Works, a shipbuilding plant operated by defense giant General Dynamics, the city's job market is relatively strong. Annual unemployment in the city, located near the mouth of the Kennebec River, stands at 3.2 percent, well below the 4.4 percent national rate. Many residents also benefit from the city's walkability as more than one in 10 commuters in Bath walk to work, more than triple the comparable national share. The city is also relatively safe, and also has a high concentration of restaurants, fitness centers, museums, and libraries.\n\nDespite its advantages, Bath is one of only a handful of cities on this list to be shrinking in size. Over the last five years, Bath's population declined by 3.6 percent, even as the total U.S. population grew 3.9 percent.\n\n20. Bowie, Maryland\n\n• Population: 57,633\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +5.7 percent\n\n• Median home value: $303,900\n\n• Median household income: $106,098\n\nJust a short commute from Washington, D.C., Bowie, Maryland, provides easy access to high-paying jobs in and around the nation's capital. Most households in Bowie earn more than $106,000 per year – over $30,000 higher than Maryland's state median household income. Just a small share of Bowie residents live in poverty. Its poverty rate is just 3.3 percent, just one-third of the state's poverty rate.\n\nIn order to qualify for these high-level jobs, many of Bowie's residents are well-educated. Nearly half of all adults living in Bowie hold at least a college degree, as compared to 38.4 percent of Maryland residents overall.\n\n21. Winchester, Massachusetts\n\n• Population: 22,491\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +6.1 percent\n\n• Median home value: $796,500\n\n• Median household income: $149,321\n\nWinchester is the best-educated place in Massachusetts and one of the most highly-educated in the entire country. Nearly three-quarters of adults in the area have at least a bachelor's degree. This college degree attainment rate is well above that of Massachusetts, which sits at 41.2 percent.\n\nThis high level of education, coupled with the fact that Winchester is just outside of Boston, can make it easier for residents to find jobs. Winchester has the lowest unemployment rate, at 2.7 percent, of anywhere in the state. Massachusetts' unemployment rate is a full percentage point higher. This high level of employment likely helps drive down the poverty rate in Winchester. Just 2.4 percent of Winchester residents live below the poverty line, the lowest share in Massachusetts.\n\n22. East Grand Rapids, Michigan\n\n• Population: 11,297\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +5.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $303,400\n\n• Median household income: $118,393\n\nEast Grand Rapids is one of the wealthiest cities in both Michigan and the United States. The typical area household earns over $118,000 a year, compared to the $55,322 the typical household earns nationwide. City residents also benefit from a low cost of living as goods and services are 7 percent less expensive in East Grand Rapids than they are on average nationwide.\n\nIn addition to entertainment and cultural attractions in nearby Grand Rapids, East Grand Rapids has 10 parks, including a lake with a boat launch, miles of trails, playgrounds, and a baseball field.\n\n23. New Ulm, Minnesota\n\n• Population: 13,279\n\n• 5 yr. population change: -1.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $133,100\n\n• Median household income: $52,244\n\nResidents of New Ulm, Minnesota, are more likely to work and be financially secure, on average, than most other Americans. The town's poverty rate of 8.5 percent is well below the national poverty rate of 15.1 percent. Also, the town's five-year average unemployment rate of 2.6 percent is 4.8 percentage points below the comparable nationwide rate.\n\nThese numbers are better than the comparable national figures despite the fact that New Ulm residents tend to not be especially wealthy. The town's median household income of $52,244 a year is several thousand dollars lower than the U.S. median household income. Unlike almost all other places on this list, New Ulm's population shrank over the past five years. During a time when the U.S. population grew 3.9 percent, New Ulm's population dropped 1.6 percent.\n\n24. Madison, Mississippi\n\n• Population: 25,473\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +7.1 percent\n\n• Median home value: $243,500\n\n• Median household income: $100,978\n\nMadison, a city located along a reservoir less than 20 miles north of the state capital, ranks as Mississippi's best city to live in. Madison is a relatively wealthy community, with a median income of $100,978 – more than double the $40,528 median income statewide. The average cost of living in Madison is also about 8 percent lower than it is nationwide.\n\nMadison residents have access to several public parks with amenities that include an archery range, baseball and soccer fields, walking trails, batting cages, and an outdoor learning center.\n\n25. Ladue, Missouri\n\n• Population: 8,579\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +1.1 percent\n\n• Median home value: $771,500\n\n• Median household income: $186,371\n\nOne of the wealthiest cities in Missouri, Ladue's median household income of $186,371 a year is more than triple the national median income of $55,322. Not only is Ladue a wealthy city, but it is also inexpensive. Goods and services are 11 percent cheaper on average in Ladue than they are typically nationwide.\n\nWith easy access to jobs in nearby St. Louis, Ladue residents who want a job generally have no trouble finding one. Over the last five years, unemployment stood at just 2.0 percent in the city, a fraction of the national rate of 7.4 percent. In addition to cultural attractions and entertainment venues in St. Louis, Ladue residents enjoy a greater than typical concentration of restaurants, fitness and recreation centers, golf courses, and museums within their own city limits.\n\n26. Miles City, Montana\n\n• Population: 8,667\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +3.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $130,100\n\n• Median household income: $47,383\n\nMiles City is the least expensive place to live in Montana. The city has the lowest property taxes at just $1,480 per year, as well as the least expensive median monthly housing cost at $655. Though Miles City's $47,383 median household income is one of the lower such figures in Montana, a relatively small share of residents are impoverished. The area's poverty rate of 13.5 percent is one of the lowest in the state, and well below Montana's statewide poverty rate of 14.9 percent.\n\nMiles City ranks as Montana's best city to live in part because it is the safest place in the state. Its violent crime rate of 104 reported incidents per 100,000 residents is less than half the rate of the next safest place in the state. Miles City also has Montana's lowest property crime rate.\n\n27. Norfolk, Nebraska\n\n• Population: 24,398\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +1.9 percent\n\n• Median home value: $123,200\n\n• Median household income: $45,401\n\nNorfolk is a small city of just under 25,000 in northeastern Nebraska. A relatively safe city, Norfolk's violent crime rate of 148 incidents per 100,000 residents is less than half the national rate of 383 per 100,000. Though the typical household in Norfolk earns just $45,401 a year, about $10,000 less than the typical American household, a dollar goes a long way in Norfolk. Goods and services in and around the area are about 14.5 percent less expensive than they are nationwide on average.\n\n28. Elko, Nevada\n\n• Population: 20,078\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +11.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $215,100\n\n• Median household income: $76,826\n\nElko has by far the highest median household income of anywhere in Nevada. No other area in the state came within $20,000 of Elko's median household income of $76,826. Although Elko residents tend to earn a relatively high amount, it is the least expensive place to live in Nevada. The cost of living in Elko is just 83.9 percent of what it costs in the typical American city.\n\nElko is the fastest-growing place in Nevada by a wide margin. In the past seven years, its population increased 18.7 percent to just over 20,000 people. During that same timeframe, no other place in the state had a population increase of more than 10 percent.\n\n29. Hanover, New Hampshire\n\n• Population: 8,482\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +0.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $469,300\n\n• Median household income: $96,406\n\nHanover has numerous advantages over other places in New Hampshire cities. Its median household income of $96,406 is more than $26,000 higher than the next closest city and well ahead of the statewide median, which is $68,485. Hanover is also the best educated place in the state, as 83.1 percent of adults hold at least a bachelor's degree. No other city in New Hampshire comes close to that share. For comparison, the state's bachelor's degree attainment rate is 35.5 percent.\n\nWith a population of 8,482, Hanover is a smaller city. As such, many residents are able to walk to and from work. Walking not only provides numerous health benefits, but also helps decrease road traffic and reduce pollution. Some 40 percent of Hanover residents commute by walking – by far the highest rate in New Hampshire and the second highest rate of any U.S. city.\n\n30. Haddonfield, New Jersey\n\n• Population: 11,444\n\n• 5 yr. population change: -1.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $487,700\n\n• Median household income: $135,700\n\nHaddonfield is one of the most economically prosperous places in New Jersey and the United States as a whole. The typical Haddonfield home earns $135,700, nearly $62,000 more than the typical New Jersey household. Haddonfield lies just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, providing its residents access to the jobs that city offers.\n\nCompared to the rest of the state, Haddonfield residents are not likely to struggle with poverty. The area has a poverty rate of just 2.9 percent, well below New Jersey's poverty rate of 10.9 percent. Though Haddonfield's cost of living is 11 percent more than that of the average American city, it is still one of the lowest in New Jersey.\n\n31. Los Alamos, New Mexico\n\n• Population: 11,733\n\n• 5 yr. population change: -2.9 percent\n\n• Median home value: $277,700\n\n• Median household income: $101,535\n\nLos Alamos, New Mexico is flush with history, cultural amenities, and parks. These include a science museum, a theatre, nearly 100 public art installations, a network of over 90 miles of hiking trails, and the Manhattan Project National Historical Park – a monument to the city's critical role in World War II and development of the atomic bomb. Los Alamos also has one of the best public high schools in New Mexico, according to U.S. News & World Report.\n\nMany living in the area work at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, a facility run by the U.S. Department of Energy with a $2.6 billion budget primarily allocated to weapons development.\n\n32. Croton-on-Hudson, New York\n\n• Population: 8,209\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +2.8 percent\n\n• Median home value: $519,400\n\n• Median household income: $117,656\n\nCroton-on-Hudson is a small village on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, less than 40 miles north of Manhattan. The village is on a train line that goes directly into the city, and largely as a result, more than one in every four workers in Croton-on-Hudson commute using public transit. The village's proximity to New York City contributes to high property values as most homes in the community are worth over half a million dollars.\n\nCroton-on-Hudson is one of the safest communities in New York. There were just 48 violent crimes for every 100,000 village residents in 2017, about an eighth of the national violent crime rate of 383 per 100,000.\n\n33. Morrisville, North Carolina\n\n• Population: 22,600\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +30.5 percent\n\n• Median home value: $291,400\n\n• Median household income: $92,769\n\nMorrisville is situated in the middle of North Carolina's \"Research Triangle.\" The cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill are each home to a major scientific research university – North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, respectively – and several major research-intensive industries have developed in the area.\n\nMorrisville offers close access to each of the three universities, as well as the companies that are located nearby. Morrisville is one of the fastest-growing communities in the entire country. In the past five years, its population grew more than 30 percent, from just over 13,000 to 22,600.\n\n34. Mandan, North Dakota\n\n• Population: 20,613\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +14.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $175,400\n\n• Median household income: $60,034\n\nResidents of Mandan, North Dakota benefit from a low cost of living – 13 percent lower than average nationwide – a five-year average unemployment rate of 2.0 percent, and a violent crime rate that is less than half the national rate. Mandan residents also have access to jobs, entertainment, and cultural attractions in Bismarck, the state capital located on the opposite side the Missouri River.\n\nRecently, business leaders, elected officials, and ordinary citizens established a committee to form a comprehensive plan to improve Mandan over the coming decade. The committee's accomplishments include broadened business support and incentives, the creation of annual festivals and events, public education improvements, and increased communication regarding local elections.\n\n35. New Albany, Ohio\n\n• Population: 9,384\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +25.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $492,400\n\n• Median household income: $191,375\n\nNew Albany, Ohio, is one of the most affluent cities in the country. The median household income of $191,375 is one of the five highest of U.S. cities. Wealthier areas tend to have a number of livability advantages over low-income cities, including lower crime rates. There were just 36.9 violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents in New Albany, less than a tenth of the nationwide crime rate. New Albany also has many amenities for residents, including over 600 acres of parks and sports fields.\n\nThere are a number of factors that can draw people to certain towns, including jobs, schools, and amenities. New Albany excels in many of these aspects, and its population growth rate reflects that. The town's population grew by more than 25 percent over the past five years, compared to the national growth rate of just 3.9 percent.\n\n36. Newcastle, Oklahoma\n\n• Population: 9,030\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +21.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $180,300\n\n• Median household income: $78,144\n\nNewcastle is a small city of less than 10,000 just outside Oklahoma City. One of the fastest growing cities in the state, Newcastle's population spiked by 21 percent in the last five years. As in other cities on this list, Newcastle residents are actively engaged in bettering their community. The city's resident-driven Bridge to 2020 initiative launched in 2007 to develop a long-term strategic plan for the community. In addition to nearby amenities in Oklahoma City, Newcastle boasts seven golf courses, six movie theatres, access to four hospitals, and two shopping malls.\n\nA relatively affluent city, Newcastle's median income of $78,144 is about $30,000 higher than it is statewide and goods and services are about 17 percent less expensive than they are nationwide.\n\n37. Sherwood, Oregon\n\n• Population: 18,965\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +7.5 percent\n\n• Median home value: $313,000\n\n• Median household income: $86,111\n\nSherwood is a small city about 15 miles southwest of Portland. In addition to amenities, attractions, and employment opportunities in the nearby city, Sherwood itself boasts over a dozen parks and a community recreation center and pool.\n\nQuality of life in Sherwood is also bolstered by a low violent crime rate and relative financial stability. There were just 82 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents in Sherwood in 2017, less than a quarter the national violent crime rate. Additionally, Sherwood's 4.7 percent poverty rate is less than a third of both the state and national poverty rates of 15.7 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively.\n\n38. Franklin Park, Pennsylvania\n\n• Population: 14,228\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +7.9 percent\n\n• Median home value: $312,200\n\n• Median household income: $121,661\n\nFranklin Park, Pennsylvania, is a borough just outside of Pittsburgh. The area has a relatively high share of residents with high educational attainment. A whopping 70 percent of adults hold at least a bachelor's degree, one of the higher college attainment rates among U.S. cities. Those with college degrees are more qualified for specialized jobs that tend to have higher salaries. In Franklin Park, the median household income of $121,661 a year is one of the highest in the country.\n\nLike many affluent, well-educated areas, Franklin Park is relatively safe. The violent crime rate of 14 incidents per 100,000 people is one of the lowest in the country. Nationwide, there were 383 violent crimes for every 100,000 people in 2017.\n\n39. Newport, Rhode Island\n\n• Population: 24,570\n\n• 5 yr. population change: -0.1 percent\n\n• Median home value: $382,200\n\n• Median household income: $59,794\n\nNewport, Rhode Island is by far the best educated city in the state. More than half – 50.9 percent – of adult residents completed at least their bachelor's degree. No other major Rhode Island community exceeded the state's college graduation rate of 32.5 percent. This high educational attainment qualifies many of the city's residents for highly skilled jobs and likely helps drive down the unemployment rate. Newport's unemployment rate is just 3.8 percent, the lowest of anywhere in the country.\n\nThough Newport's median household income is close to that of Rhode Island as a whole, homes in the area tend to be much more valuable than those in the rest of the state. Newport's median home value is $382,200, well above Rhode Island's $238,200 median home value.\n\n40. Tega Cay, South Carolina\n\n• Population: 9,026\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +23.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $301,200\n\n• Median household income: $120,346\n\nTega Cay ranks as one of the best cities to live in part because of its relatively high income and the many associated benefits that come with affluence. The city's median household income of over $120,000 is more than double the U.S. median. In a city with a high percentage of affluent households, there are also very few residents struggling with serious financial hardship. Just 0.9 percent of residents live in poverty.\n\nTega Cay lies near the border of the Carolinas and Lake Wiley. The water access gives residents a chance to swim, boat, and fish. As a tourist destination, the city has a high number of bars and restaurants per resident. Tega Cay is growing quickly. It was home to fewer than 5,000 people in 2009. As of 2016, more than 9,000 people lived there.\n\n41. Pierre, South Dakota\n\n• Population: 13,959\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +2.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $164,900\n\n• Median household income: $54,868\n\nMost American homeowners spend more than $12,000 per year on housing. In Pierre, South Dakota, most spend less than $8,500 annually. Overall, the cost of living is lower in Pierre, as goods and services are 15 percent less expensive than they are on average nationwide.\n\nPierre, South Dakota's capital, is home to many outdoor amenities largely thanks to its proximity to the Missouri River. Nearby Farm Island and LaFramboise Island offer residents the opportunity to take part in outdoor activities like swimming and hiking.\n\n42. Atoka, Tennessee\n\n• Population: 8,917\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +11.9 percent\n\n• Median home value: $172,400\n\n• Median household income: $87,047\n\nMany cities and towns on this list are in close proximity to a major metropolitan area. About 25 miles northeast of Memphis, Atoka is one of them. In addition to attractions and amenities in Memphis, Atoka itself has several parks featuring playgrounds, sports fields, picnic areas, and a fishing pond.\n\nA safe community, Atoka's violent crime rate of 152 incidents per 100,000 people is less than half the national violent crime rate. Safe streets and proximity to a major city make Atoka an attractive place for new residents and families, and in the last five years, the city's population expanded by 11.9 percent, triple the comparable 3.9 percent national growth rate.\n\n43. West University Place, Texas\n\n• Population: 15,318\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +4.0 percent\n\n• Median home value: $917,800\n\n• Median household income: $220,868\n\nA wealthy suburb of Houston, West University Place ranks as the best city to live in Texas. A wealthy city, the median household income of nearly $221,000 a year is nearly four times the income the typical American household earns. A dollar also goes far in the city as goods and services are about 5 percent less expensive than they are nationwide on average. In addition to entertainment and culture in nearby Houston, West University has a far greater concentration of restaurants, bars, fitness centers, museums and theatre companies than is typical nationwide.\n\nWest University is also a safe city with a strong job market. The city's violent crime rate of 64 incidents for every 100,000 people is among the lowest in the nation, as is the five-year average unemployment rate of 2.7 percent.\n\n44. Woods Cross, Utah\n\n• Population: 10,930\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +15.5 percent\n\n• Median home value: $226,200\n\n• Median household income: $78,750\n\nJust north of Salt Lake City, Woods Cross provides easy access to Utah's largest city, as well as the Great Salt Lake to the west and Grandview Peak to the east. The proximity to Salt Lake City affords Woods Cross residents a short commute to the city, which may help bolster the city's labor force participation rate. More than three quarters of Woods Cross adults, 77.4 percent, participate in the labor force, the most of any Utah community.\n\nThis high labor force participation likely helps drive up the median household income. The typical Woods Cross household earns $78,750 each year, well ahead of Utah's $62,518 median household income.\n\n45. South Burlington, Vermont\n\n• Population: 18,704\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +6.2 percent\n\n• Median home value: $271,900\n\n• Median household income: $66,728\n\nSitting along Lake Champlain, South Burlington is adjacent to Burlington, the largest city in Vermont. With access to a number of nearby colleges, including Champlain College and the University of Vermont, South Burlington's population is well educated. Over half of all the city's adult residents have a bachelor's degree or higher, well above the 30.3 percent national bachelor's degree attainment rate. There are a range of employment opportunities in the area, including the University of Vermont Medical Center. Just 2.0 percent of workers in South Burlington were unemployed in 2017, below both the 3.0 percent state and 4.4 percent national unemployment rates.\n\nA strong job market bolsters the financial security of area residents. Just 6.2 percent of South Burlington's population live in poverty, less than half the 15.1 percent national poverty rate.\n\n46. Waynesboro, Virginia\n\n• Population: 21,366\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +1.7 percent\n\n• Median home value: $158,800\n\n• Median household income: $45,097\n\nWaynesboro, an independent city in Virginia, is notable for its affordability, safety, and scenic beauty. Goods and services in the city are about 7 percent less expensive than they are nationwide on average. Additionally, the violent crime rate of 182 incidents per 100,000 people is less than half the U.S. violent crime rate of 383 per 100,000.\n\nLocated in the Shenandoah Valley, Waynesboro offers easy access to the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail. The South River cuts through the city, providing a water trail for residents to fish and enjoy by boat. Waynesboro also has a higher than typical concentration of restaurants, movie theatres, and museums.\n\n47. Snoqualmie, Washington\n\n• Population: 12,510\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +28.3 percent\n\n• Median home value: $471,800\n\n• Median household income: $131,453\n\nSnoqualmie, Washington, is one of the safest places in the country, with just 15 violent crimes for every 100,000 city residents in 2017. The town's property crime rate of 1,077 incidents per 100,000 residents is also less than half the national rate.\n\nAreas with higher median household incomes tend to have less crime than lower income areas. The median annual household income in Snoqualmie, which is within commuting distance of Seattle, is $131,453 a year, one of the higher incomes among American cities. In addition to the culture and entertainment Seattle has to offer, Snoqualmie has a higher than typical concentration of restaurants, bars, museums, and movie theatres.\n\n48. Bridgeport, West Virginia\n\n• Population: 8,364\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +3.9 percent\n\n• Median home value: $199,000\n\n• Median household income: $80,462\n\nIn Bridgeport, 45.3 percent of adults have graduated from college, nearly the highest share of cities in the state. The high college attainment rate has likely contributed to the town's relatively high median household income of $80,462 a year. Not only is Bridgeport wealthy, but it is also inexpensive. Goods and services are 15 percent less expensive than average in the city.\n\nWhen it comes to culture and entertainment, Bridgeport residents have options. The city is home to a far higher concentration of restaurants, bars, recreation centers, golf courses, and movie theatres than is typical nationwide.\n\n49. Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin\n\n• Population: 14,088\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +0.4 percent\n\n• Median home value: $350,700\n\n• Median household income: $105,156\n\nWhitefish Bay, a Milwaukee suburb along the shore of Lake Michigan, ranks as the best place to live in Wisconsin. The high quality of life in Whitefish Bay is partially the result of a strong job market. The area's average unemployment rate over the last five years stands at just 3.2 percent – less than half the comparable nationwide rate of of 7.4 percent.\n\nWhitefish Bay is also one of the safest communities in the country, with a violent crime rate of just 36 incidents per 100,000 people. For reference, there were 383 violent crimes per 100,000 people nationwide in 2017.\n\n50. Jackson, Wyoming\n\n• Population: 10,279\n\n• 5 yr. population change: +7.6 percent\n\n• Median home value: $573,400\n\n• Median household income: $70,517\n\nThe resort town of Jackson ranks as the best place to live in Wyoming. Jackson boasts a high concentration of restaurants, bars, museums, and movie theatres, as well as access to Jackson Hole, one of the most famous ski resorts in the United States.\n\nIncomes are relatively high in Jackson. The typical area household earns $70,517 a year, about $11,000 more than the typical Wyoming household. Higher incomes are not enough to offset the area's high cost of living, however, as goods and services are about 35 percent more expensive in Jackson than they are on average nationwide. Housing is particularly expensive as most area homes are worth over half a million dollars.\n\nMethodology\n\nTo identify the best cities to live in every state, 24/7 Wall St. created a weighted index of 26 measures that fall into one of four categories: affordability, economy, quality of life, and community.\n\nIn the affordability category, the ratio of the median home value to the median income was given full weight. Cities where the median home value is closer to the median household income were rewarded. Cost of living, as determined by the average cost of goods and services in an area relative to the nation as a whole, was given a full weight. Property taxes are largely levied at the local level, and cities where residents pay more property taxes as a percentage of their home value were penalized. Property taxes were given a one-quarter weighting.\n\nIn the economy category, we gave median household income full weighting. The unemployment rate was also given a full weight. We used five-year average unemployment due to lack of comparable annual data at local levels. Two-year employment growth and share of the total working age population with a job were each given a half weight, favoring areas with more and growing jobs opportunities.\n\nIn the quality of life category, the poverty rate was given a full weight, penalizing cities where serious financial hardship is more common. The share of the population that struggles to put food on the table either due to low income or distance from a grocery store, known as the food insecurity rate, was given full weight. A city’s mortality rate, calculated as the number of people who died while in hospital care per hospital by city, was also given full weight. In cases where city-level data was not available, mortality rates were imputed from county-level data.\n\nThe drug overdose mortality rate was given a one-quarter weighting, as was the hospital readmission rate, or the share of those released from the hospital who were readmitted within 30 days. Distance from the center of the city to the nearest hospital was given full weight.\n\nMeasures used in the community category include the average travel time to work, which was given full weight. The violent crime rate – the total number of rapes, robberies, murders, and aggravated assaults per 100,000 people – was given full weight. So too was the property crime rate, which is the total number of burglaries, larcenies, motor vehicle thefts, and incidents of arson per 100,000 people.\n\nThe share of commuters either walking, cycling, or taking public transit to work was given half weight. The total number of colleges in the area and the number of restaurants, bars, museums, theatre companies, movie theatres, libraries, and parks per capita were each given a one-quarter weighting.\n\nThe number of hospitalizations that would have been prevented by regularly scheduled doctor visits for every 1,000 Medicare enrollees – known as the preventable hospitalization rate – was given half weighting.\n\nMedian household income, median home value, average travel time to work, poverty rate, population, employment-to-population ratio, median property taxes paid, and average unemployment rate are all five-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and are for 2016. Overall cost of living is for 2014 and comes from data analysis and aggregation company ATTOM Data Solutions.\n\nThe population-adjusted number of entertainment and cultural venues like restaurants and museums comes from the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns data set, and is for 2016. The number of colleges comes from the Department of Education College Navigator and is as of the 2017-2018 school year.\n\nViolent and property crime rates are from the FBI’s 2017 Uniform Crime Report. Drug overdose mortality rates are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are for the years 2014-2016. Mortality rates and hospital readmission rates are from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and are as of June 2015. Preventable hospitalizations are from the latest release from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program.\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": "2019/01/04"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2022/07/21/hoover-dam-fire-hitchhiking-chicken-thirty-meter-telescope-news-around-states/50509891/", "title": "50 States", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nBirmingham: A female lion was fatally injured while being introduced to a newly acquired male companion at the Birmingham Zoo. Akili, who was born in 2005 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and had been at the Birmingham Zoo since 2007, couldn’t be saved after being injured by a lion named Josh, who had been at the zoo since April. The slow process of introducing the lions to each other had begun previously, the zoo said in a statement, and Akili was badly injured within minutes of a meeting on Monday. The introduction was done on a day the zoo was closed so no visitors were present, said Jennifer Ogilvie, a spokeswoman. Josh was brought to the zoo as replacement for another male lion that died in 2021, the statement said. Dozens of people expressed sorrow over Akili’s death in response to an announcement by the zoo on social media.\n\nAlaska\n\nJuneau: The wreckage of an airplane reported overdue last week has been located, and the pilot, the only person onboard, found dead, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety. The department in a statement identified the pilot as 38-year-old Andy Andersen of Sutton. An Alaska Army National Guard helicopter and crew on Thursday afternoon located the wreckage and Andersen at the top of Thompson Pass about 1,000 feet off the Richardson Highway, the statement said. Alaska State Troopers identified the pilot and his body was recovered. The body will be taken to the state medical examiner’s office, the statement said. The National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating.\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: Heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest, have hit a half-year record as more homeless people live unprotected outdoors in the arid desert city while summer temperatures soar well into triple digits. The most recent data from the Maricopa County Department of Health showed 17 heat-associated fatalities were registered this year through the first week of July, with another 126 under investigation. About two-thirds of the deaths involved people who were outdoors. That number is far greater those recorded during the same period in past years. There were 11 such fatalities in the first six months of 2021 with 107 more under investigation; four during that period in 2020 with another 48 under investigation; and three in 2019 with 27 more under investigation. The health department reported 339 heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County for all of 2021.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: Gubernatorial hopeful Chris Jones called for increasing Arkansas teacher salaries, following a push by fellow Democrats to put teacher pay raises on the agenda for a legislative session next month. Jones endorsed a proposal that Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson made earlier this year to increase minimum teacher salaries in the state to $46,000 a year. Hutchinson, however, has said he won’t put the proposal on the agenda for next month’s session because of a lack of support in the majority-GOP Legislature. Jones is running against Republican nominee and former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, who is heavily favored in the November election in the solidly red state. Hutchinson is barred by term limits from seeking reelection. Sanders’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Lawmakers are meeting next month for a special session focused on tax cuts after the state ended the fiscal year with a $1.6 billion budget surplus. Republican legislative leaders have said the special session isn’t the right time to take up the issue because the Legislature hasn’t completed its annual review of education funding required by law. That review is used to recommend increases in school funding and includes a look at teacher salaries.\n\nCalifornia\n\nLos Angeles: Two motorists had to be rescued from a swamped car when a water main break flooded a Hollywood street early Wednesday. Los Angeles firefighters extended a ladder out to two women who climbed onto the top of a swamped car. The incident occurred before dawn near the U.S. 101 freeway, east of the Hollywood Bowl.\n\nColorado\n\nFort Collins: WildEarth Guardians and 13 other conservation and wildlife organizations are calling for a minimum of 150 packs or 750 wolves to be established for four consecutive years in Colorado before state officials consider delisting the animals from protected status. The wolf population threshold was part of a plan the group will present to the Colorado Wildlife Commission before Thursday’s commission meeting in Edwards. The commission is in charge of developing a plan for wolf reintroduction and recovery by next year. A news release by the groups Monday said 750 wolves is “not a cap, but a minimum requirement for future state delisting from ‘threatened” to “nongame status.” That number is five times higher than a recommendation by a group selected to help the state establish a reintroduction and recovery plan.\n\nConnecticut\n\nNorwich: The suspension of a state dental clinic’s free services means local families will need to travel an hour or more to get dental care for severely disabled family members. In March, the Department of Developmental Services dental clinic in Norwich stopped seeing patients. Months later, parents, SEIU 1199 union staff and others are concerned about how long it will take to reopen. DDS spokesman Kevin Bronson said in an email the department wants better staffing for the center and there isn’t a set time for reopening. With the Norwich clinic closed, Michelle Drake was told to take her son to a facility in Bridgeport, more than an hour away. The Norwich clinic suspension contributes to a lack of care for severely disabled people in eastern Connecticut, outside of the school systems, said Drake, who works for The Arc Eastern Connecticut.\n\nDelaware\n\nWilmington:The State Fair returns Thursday, and there are some posh new attractions this year, including a butter sculpture, along with a stacked and diverse concert lineup on the M&T Bank Grandstand. Genres include rock, rap, county, contemporary Christian and Latin music. This summer marks the first time in the fair’s 102-year history that it will feature a Latin artist (Fank Reyes) as a headliner. Nelly will be the first rapper at the State Fair since Flo Rida in 2009. Fairgoers can witness live butter sculpting daily in the Exhibit Hall from noon to 8 p.m. For more information on the fair, visit delawarestatefair.com or call (302) 398-3269.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington:Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s delegate to the U.S. House, said she plans to introduce a bill to provide additional funding for FEMA’s food and shelter program designated for humanitarian assistance to migrants, including those bused to the District by Texas and Arizona, WUSA-TV reported. The busing of migrants to D.C. will also be a point of discussion at a Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments virtual meeting Friday.\n\nFlorida\n\nSt. Petersburg: Fewer manatee deaths have been recorded this year in Florida compared to the record-setting numbers in 2021, but wildlife officials cautioned chronic starvation remains a dire and ongoing threat to the marine mammals. Between Jan. 1 and July 15, about 631 manatee deaths have been confirmed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That compares with 864 during the same period last year, when a record number of manatees died mainly from a lack of seagrass food, which was decimated by water pollution. The five-year average of manatee deaths in that time frame is 481. Despite some glimmers of hope, wildlife officials said during a news conference Wednesday that manatees continue to face dwindling food options and many survivors have been severely weakened by malnutrition, which leaves them more vulnerable once cold weather sets in. How manatees fare this summer when more food is available will determine how they survive in the winter, said Martine de Wit, a veterinarian overseeing necropsies and coordinating rescues of ill manatees for the state wildlife commission. There are about 7,500 manatees in the wild in Florida, according to wildlife commission figures. They have long struggled to coexist with humans. Seagrass-killing pollution and boat strikes are now the main threats facing the creatures.\n\nGeorgia\n\nMarietta: The rollout of a new logo for an Atlanta-area elementary school has been paused after parents noted similarities to a Nazi symbol, though a school district said the design was based on a U.S. Army colonel’s eagle wings. The Cobb County School District said it has halted distribution of the new logo for East Side Elementary School in Marietta after it drew condemnation on social media. The logo depicts an eagle, the school’s mascot, over the school’s initials ES. The Nazi eagle, which was developed in the 1920s and later became a symbol for white supremacists, depicts an eagle holding a swastika in its talons. Georgia’s second-largest school district announced plans to delay the new logo while “immediately reviewing needed changes.”\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: The National Science Foundation said it plans to conduct a study to evaluate the environmental effects of building one of the world’s largest optical telescopes on a site selected in Hawaii. The agency published a notice in the Federal Register of its intentions to prepare an environmental impact statement for the $2.65 billion Thirty Meter Telescope. The telescope’s supporters have pursued plans to build it on their preferred site on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii’s tallest mountain and one of the world’s best locations for viewing the night sky, for more than a decade. But there is strong opposition from Native Hawaiians who consider the mountain’s summit sacred. The National Science Foundation plans to host four meetings on the Big Island of Hawaii in August. It said it won’t decide on whether to fund the telescope until after it considers public input, the environmental review, the project’s technical readiness and other factors. Protesters blocked construction crews in 2015 and 2019, saying building a new telescope there would further defile a site that they said has been harmed by a dozen other observatories. The TMT International Observatory, the international consortium of scientists behind the project, has selected the Spanish island of La Palma off Africa’s western coast as an alternate if it cannot build in Hawaii.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: The Idaho Endowment Fund that distributes money to public schools and other entities lost $400 million in the fiscal year that wrapped up at the end of June, state officials said. Investments Manager Chris Anton told the Idaho Land Board the fund lost about 13% of its value, dropping from $3.1 billion to $2.7 billion during what has been a tough stretch for investors. However, the fund is up 5.9% over the last three years and 8.3% over the last 10 years. Anton said his primary concern going forward was federal monetary policy aimed at controlling inflation without causing a severe recession. Anton noted that in fiscal year 2021, the endowment fund grew by nearly 30%, gaining about $750 million. The fund is spread out into various equity markets, as well as fixed income and real estate. Real estate is the only investment in the portfolio that went up in the last fiscal year, climbing nearly 28%. But only about 8% of the fund is invested in real estate.\n\nIllinois\n\nSpringfield: City treasurer Misty Buscher said she will run for mayor next year, making her the first person to step in opposition to incumbent Jim Langfelder for his fight for a third term. Buscher, 51, has served as city treasurer since 2015 after more than 20 years in the city’s banking industry. Although city elections are nonpartisan, Buscher ran for city treasurer with the endorsement of the Sangamon County Democratic Party, which proved to be problematic the next year, when she identified as Republican and endorsed Donald Trump in his first run for the presidency. That earned her criticism from her opponent in 2019 for the treasurer’s chair, Jennifer Notariano, who had been active in local Democratic politics. Buscher, however, won in a landslide, getting nearly three-quarters of the vote for re-election. If elected, she would be the second woman to serve as mayor, after Karen Hasara served two terms from 1995 to 2003. She is the fifth woman to serve in elected city office and the second to serve as treasurer, with Judy Madonia serving in the role from 1987 to 2003. The other two women to serve in city office are Cecelia Tumulty, who was city clerk from 2003 to 2015 and her predecessor Norma Graves, who served from 1987 to 2003.\n\nIndiana\n\nIndianapolis: An Indiana law aimed at prohibiting abortions based on gender, race or disability is going into effect after a federal judge lifted an order first issued six years ago blocking its enforcement. U.S. District Judge Tonya Walton Pratt granted an order Monday removing her injunction that was sought by the Indiana attorney general’s office after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last month to allow states to make laws regarding abortion. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana had successfully sued to block the law after it was adopted by Indiana’s Republican-dominated Legislature in 2016, but it conceded defeat in light of the Supreme Court ruling.\n\nIowa\n\nJanesville: Fairbank Mayor Gregory “Mike” Harter, 71, died when a vehicle he was in driven by a 14-year-old driver’s education student collided with another vehicle, authorities said. Harter died at the scene of the crash Monday morning on U.S. 218 near Janesville, city officials said. Police said the vehicle being driven by a 14-year-old from Waterloo went onto the shoulder. The driver overcorrected, crossed the highway and median and collided with an oncoming car, police said. The driver and another 14-year-old in the car, and the driver of the second vehicle, were injured, police said. Harter was mayor of Fairbank since 2018 after serving for two years on the City Council, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported. He was a former educator who retired nearly a decade ago as a school superintendent.\n\nKansas\n\nTopeka:A couple that moved to Mississippi a month ago finally got their possessions back, 28 days after movers left Topeka with them. Jean St. Felix, the owner of Miami-based JM Moving Co., returned those possessions early Tuesday night at a storage facility in Ocean Springs, Miss., where Craig and Linda Wright now live, Linda Wright said. Almost everything the couple owned was packed into a 26-foot U-Haul trailer driven by St. Felix, which left June 21 from their North Topeka storage unit, ostensibly en route to Ocean Springs. The Wrights said they paid St. Felix $3,500 up front before he left Topeka with their possessions in a U-Haul that surfaced empty days later. After that, Linda Wright said she touched base with St. Felix every third day to get a progress report.\n\nKentucky\n\nFrankfort: Gov. Andy Beshear and mental health advocates in Kentucky expressed hope Monday the launch of the 988 mental health crisis hotline will help remove the stigma of reaching out for assistance. The hotline went live nationally on Saturday, offering quick help for suicidal thoughts and other mental health emergencies. People taking the calls are trained counselors. Beshear noted suicide is the second-leading cause of death among youth and young adults in Kentucky. Counselors can link Kentucky callers to other mental health and substance abuse services, providing a “strong safety net” in communities, said Audra Hall, coordinator of emergency services for Pennyroyal Center in Hopkinsville.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: Amid worsening problems at a south Louisiana juvenile detention facility – including a weekend escape that allegedly ended with a violent carjacking – Gov. John Bel Edwards said some of the youths will be temporarily moved to the state penitentiary at Angola. Edwards said about half of the 50 or so juveniles at Bridge City Center for Youth will be housed in coming weeks at a “secure, independent housing unit” at the penitentiary at Angola which once served as a reception center. The governor said the youths “will not, under any circumstances, have contact with adult inmates.” Simultaneously, construction crews will begin renovating a section of the Jetson Center for Youth in Baker. Once that work is complete, the juveniles relocated to Angola will be transferred there, he added.\n\nMaine\n\nPortland: The deaths of dozens of seals off the coast of Maine has been deemed an “unusual mortality event,” sparking a federal investigation into strandings that appear linked to avian influenza. The seal strandings began in June and 159 have been reported through Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. Most of the seals were found dead. The NOAA gave the strandings, which have affected harbor and gray seals, the “unusual” designation Friday. That authorizes a federal investigation to try to determine the cause and minimize deaths. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed samples from four stranded seals tested positive for avian flu, which has been found in more than 40 states since it was detected in the winter of 2021. The risk to the public from the occurrence of avian flu in seals is low, but beachgoers should take precautions anyway, NOAA representatives said.\n\nMaryland\n\nPrincess Anne: More than 1,000 locations across Somerset County in the lower Eastern Shore are scheduled to be connected to broadband internet because of federal and state funding. On July 8, Gov. Larry Hogan announced $100 million in internet infrastructure grants to jurisdictions across the state with money received through the federal American Rescue Plan Act.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: Two police unions want to roll back limits on when they can use tear gas, pepper spray and other less-than-lethal crowd control methods, which the City Council implemented last year. The unions are asking a judge to rule on whether the City Council ordinance is valid and enforceable, and also on the validity of an independent board to investigate allegations of police misconduct created in January. The Boston Police Superior Officers Federation and the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society filed the suit Monday in Suffolk County Superior Court. The ordinance came about after Boston police were criticized for some of their crowd control measures during a June 2020 protest, amid nationwide demonstrations sparked by the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The unions said the use-of-force rules are based on politics and put public safety at risk.\n\nMichigan\n\nLansing: An effort by Republicans in the Legislature to weaken minimum wage and sick-leave laws was declared unconstitutional Tuesday. A judge on the Court of Claims threw out changes made late in 2018 as Republican Gov. Rick Snyder was near the end of his term and Democrats were preparing to take over top statewide posts. Advocates had turned in enough signatures to raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2022 and eliminate a lower tipped wage in the restaurant industry. The minimum wage now is $9.87 an hour; less for tipped workers. There was also a successful petition drive to expand sick leave opportunities. The Legislature adopted both in 2018 – a possible step – instead of letting voters have their say. But lawmakers then returned a few months later and watered them down by a simple majority vote. Appeals are likely. Wendy Block of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce said businesses could suffer with the sudden changes.\n\nMinnesota\n\nMinneapolis: State government employees who are unvaccinated for COVID-19 are no longer required to take weekly tests for the virus in order to stay in the workplace. The requirement that went into effect in September meant thousands of employees took tests each week. Those that didn’t comply were subjected to suspensions or other discipline. A state official said the requirement was rescinded because of the evolving nature of the virus. Patrick Hogan, a spokesman for the Department of Minnesota Management and Budget, said agencies can still adopt their own procedures. And, a small number of state workers in health care settings are still bound by federal vaccination rules that took hold in January. Without publicity, Gov. Tim Walz’s administration rescinded the policy in late May, Minnesota Public Radio News reported.\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: A county-owned Mississippi hospital system that wants to put itself up for sale said one of its main financial challenges is the decision by the state’s elected officials not to extend Medicaid to provide insurance coverage for the working poor. Singing River Health System is owned by coastal Jackson County. The system operates hospitals in Pascagoula, Gulfport and Ocean Springs. It also has about three dozen clinics and more than 3,500 employees. Trustees of the system announced June 1 that they had voted to put it up for sale or to seek a merger with another health system.\n\nMissouri\n\nSpringfield:Missouri State University completed the purchase of its newest residence hall, built through a partnership with a private developer. Matt Morris, vice president for administrative services, confirmed the purchase price of $24 million. The seven-story, 402-bed hall on the west side of campus at 811 S. Holland Ave. sits on less than an acre. It is expected to open in August with every bed taken. It includes a four-story parking garage with 285 spaces. The residence hall rooms are on the upper floors. There is dining and retail space in the building. An executive committee of the MSU Board of Governors was expected to vote Wednesday to name the building Heitz House.\n\nMontana\n\nBillings: The Montana Republican Party platform opposes nearly all abortions after a vote of those attending the party’s platform convention over the weekend. Party members on Saturday approved a platform that opposes all elective abortions. They rejected a proposal to allow exceptions for rape or incest, Montana Public Radio reported. “What makes this language even harder for me is in the case of rape and incest, because I do not believe that the baby should be responsible for the sins of another person,” Rep. Jedediah Hinkle of Belgrade said during the meeting in Billings. The platform does allow abortion care in cases of miscarriage or threats to the life of the mother, Republican lawmakers told the Montana State News Bureau, although the allowable circumstances are not completely known. Party spokesperson Alden Tonkay did not return an email seeking comment on Tuesday. No one answered the phone at the Montana Republican Party headquarters in Helena. In Montana, access to abortion care is protected by the privacy right guaranteed in the state Constitution, according to a 1999 Montana Supreme Court ruling. Republican lawmakers passed several bills regulating abortions during the 2021 legislative session. Three of the new laws are temporarily blocked by an injunction that the state has asked the Montana Supreme Court to vacate.\n\nNebraska\n\nLincoln: The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department reported 656 COVID-19 cases last week, about a 2% decline from the 671 cases from the previous week, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. But as of Monday, there were 57 COVID-19 patients in Lincoln hospitals, the highest number since Feb. 20, although that number dropped to 44 as of Tuesday.\n\nNevada\n\nBoulder City: A transformer exploded Tuesday at Hoover Dam, one of the nation’s largest hydroelectric facilities, producing a thick cloud of black smoke and flames that were quickly extinguished. No one was injured in the explosion near the base of the dam, an engineering marvel on the Colorado River that straddles the border of Arizona and Nevada. Electricity produced at Hoover Dam continued flowing to the 8 million people in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California who rely on it, the Western Area Power Administration said. The cause of the fire was under investigation and officials were working to determine the extent of damage to the transformer, one of 15 at the complex that control the voltages for power sent to customers. “There is no risk to the power grid,” said Jacklynn Gould, a regional director for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nPortsmouth: Construction of the city’s new skateboard park off Route 33 could begin as soon as next spring. Mayor Deaglan McEachern said the project, which will also include a multipurpose playing field, a bicycle pump track and parking, is something “we’d like to see started as soon as possible.” His comments came Tuesday after the City Council voted last week to approve a bond issue of $1.8 million for the new park, which will be located at what is known as the city’s stump dump. McEachern said the project will likely be built in phases, with the skatepark being completed first, followed by the multipurpose field.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nRed Bank: An air conditioning failure at Riverview Medical Center’s emergency room prompted a partial evacuation Wednesday morning, even as the Jersey Shore faces a stretch of miserably hot and humid weather. Several units “went offline,” according to a statement from Tony Perry, a spokesman for Hackensack Meridian Health, which operates Riverview. Emergency workers from the New Jersey EMS Task Force, Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management and EMS coordinators and Neptune Township Office of Emergency Management responded to the hospital, setting up six air conditioning units, according to a Facebook post from the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office. Medical ambulance buses from Middlesex and Monmouth counties also responded.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nCarlsbad: A transmission line will send wind power generated in southern New Mexico 550 miles west into Arizona, where it could serve urban markets there and in California. The SunZia Transmission project was acquired by Pattern Energy and will combine with the company’s existing plans to develop wind power in the region. The line starting near the border of Lincoln and Torrance counties will have a capacity of 3,000 megawatts – enough to meet energy needs of 2.5 million Americans, per a report from Pattern. Together, the wind and transmission projects marked an $8 billion investment by the company, and construction was planned to begin in 2023.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York City: Former Mayor Bill de Blasio said he is ending his campaign for a U.S. House seat in New York, dropping out after two months by saying it’s clear “people are looking for another option.” The Democrat was running in a crowded primary for a deep-blue congressional district that includes his Brooklyn home and parts of southern Manhattan. He considered running for governor of New York but opted not to challenge incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul. He also had a short-lived run for president in 2019, which lasted two months longer than this year’s congressional campaign. Recent polling had placed de Blasio near the bottom of the field of 13 Democrats seeking to represent New York’s 10th Congressional District. Jerry Nadler represents New York’s 10th district now but will no longer live in it after redistricting.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nRaleigh: A former interim head of North Carolina’s community college system will return to the position while its governing board seeks a permanent replacement for President Thomas Stith III, who abruptly resigned this week. The State Board of Community Colleges voted Wednesday to appoint Bill Carver as interim president, a position he held in late 2020 while the board decided to choose Stith to succeed Peter Hans. The board announced Tuesday it accepted Stith’s resignation, effective Friday, after barely 18 months on the job. His departure came days after the board met privately in part to consider Stith’s performance. Board members also have been concerned about high personnel turnover at the system office in Raleigh.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: The operators of an ethanol plant in North Dakota said the state’s first carbon capture and storage project is up and running. Carbon emissions from Red Trail Energy’s plant near Richardton are injected thousands of feet into the earth as a way to fight climate change, as less carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere. Red Trail CEO Gerald Bachmeier said after six years of research, development and investment, the company is celebrating the achievement which “establishes a trail for other industries in the state to follow.” North Dakota’s Industrial Commission approved the project last fall, the Bismarck Tribune reported. Gov. Doug Burgum, who leads the commission, has a goal of making North Dakota carbon-neutral by 2030, which involves striking a balance between the carbon dioxide released from within the state and the amount of emissions contained or offset in some way.\n\nOhio\n\nColumbus: The City Council approved a new jobs growth incentive agreement Monday night estimated to deliver $1.53 million over five years to Aware, a Columbus-based software firm that designs systems for employers to monitor and analyze their workers’ electronic communications and interactions. The seven-member Council approved the Aware tax-sharing agreement unanimously. It gives the software firm 25% of the municipal income tax collected on new employees, and 30% if those employee live within the city, for the next five years. The city stands to make more than $4 million over five years for its cut of the new employee taxes, according to a city Development Department analysis.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: A federal audit report sharply criticized Oklahoma officials for a lack of transparency, oversight and accountability in the use of coronavirus relief funds that were intended for education. The state, which received nearly $40 million in pandemic assistance for the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief, or GEER, Fund, has returned more than $919,000 that was unspent from the program. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General report dated Monday recommended the state return nearly $653,000 more that was spent on noneducation-related items such as televisions and Xbox gaming systems by families that received grants. The document also called for the state to audit another $5.4 million for possible refund of misspent funds, and develop better management and internal controls of the spending. A spokesperson for Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, Kate Vesper said the report is being reviewed.\n\nOregon\n\nSalem: Oregonians will decide in November whether people wanting to purchase a gun will first have to qualify for a permit, after one of the strictest gun-control measures in the nation landed on the ballot. Secretary of State Shemia Fagan’s elections division determined Monday the gun-safety campaign delivered enough verified signatures of registered voters to put Initiative 17 on the ballot for the Nov. 8 election. Election officials said 131,671 signatures were validated, more than the minimum 112,080 that were needed. The measure would ban large-capacity magazines of more than 10 rounds – except for current owners, law enforcement and the military – and require a permit to purchase any gun. To qualify for a permit, an applicant would need to complete an approved firearm safety course, pay a fee, provide personal information, submit to fingerprinting and photographing and pass a criminal background check. The state police would create a firearms database. Applicants would apply for the permit from the local police chief, county sheriff or their designees.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nStroudsburg: Pocono Raceway and the NASCAR Foundation kicked off race week with a surprise visit from Tricky the fox at the Pocono Family YMCA on Monday morning. Pocono Raceway President Ben May and Tricky handed out Speediatrics Fun Day Festival Kits to the children in attendance. The kits were packed with gear for the children to complete the weeklong program, which is geared toward inspiring children to lead a healthy lifestyle through the lens of NASCAR. Supplies included an activity book with colored pencils, a water bottle, a pedometer watch, sunglasses and more. The program will culminate in the inaugural Speediatrics Fun Day Festival at Pocono Raceway on Friday.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: Anthony Silva, Gov. Dan McKee’s former chief of staff, did not break the law by involving himself in efforts to secure approval to develop wetlands in which he had a financial interest but he did show “poor judgment,” state Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a report released Wednesday. Although Silva’s dealings with state Department of Environmental Management and Cumberland town officials were not criminal, his conduct undermined confidence in state government, the 22-page report concluded. Silva resigned in August when the issue became what McKee called a “distraction,” and the Democratic governor requested the investigation. Silva maintained he did nothing wrong.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: A House committee reviewing South Carolina’s abortion law suggested the state ban almost all abortions other than when the life of the mother is at risk. The state has a ban at roughly six weeks that includes exceptions for rape and incest. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, conservatives in the General Assembly started to look at whether they could join the growing number of states banning the procedure. The 12-member special panel voted 9-3 with all eight Republicans joining one of the House’s most conservative Democrats in approving the new bill.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls: Patients enrolled in South Dakota’s medical marijuana program will have their first opportunity to buy cannabis from a state-licensed facility next week. It has been a year and a-half since state voters overwhelmingly approved medical marijuana. The co-owner of one dispensary, United Rd. in Hartford, said the business has secured the first initial inventory available to state-run stores and the showroom is ready for customers. The building was created with security in mind, said co-owner B.J. Olson. “We started with a vault and then built the building around the vault. We have 8-inch poured concrete walls, reinforced with rebar,” Olson said. Medical marijuana so far has only been available on tribal land in South Dakota, but next Wednesday, Unity Rd. will be the first state-licensed dispensary to offer cannabis.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: The Tennessee Human Rights Board of Commissioners has named Muriel Malone Nolen executive director to oversee the agency. Nolen was named executive director effective Monday after working with the agency since 2021, according to a news release. She previously worked as an assistant district attorney general in Shelby County for 18 years. Nolen replaces Beverly Watts, who stepped down in February after news outlets reported that a state investigation found she created a toxic work environment.\n\nTexas\n\nGeorgetown: The city has attracted a new solar roof business with the help of a $3.24 million incentive package that includes property tax abatements and job credits. GAF Energy, a Standard Industries company, has begun building a 450,000-square-foot facility on the southeast corner of Interstate 35 and Southeast Inner Loop, according to a city news release. Construction is expected to be finished in June 2023. The company plans to hire 265 employees in high-tech jobs over the next 10 years, the city said. It said the total capital investment for the project is estimated to be more than $100 million in that time. The net 10-year economic impact to Georgetown is estimated to be $3.75 million, city officials said.\n\nUtah\n\nSt. George:Police bomb squad members gave the “all clear” after checking on a bomb threat made at Utah Tech University late Tuesday. Campus police evacuated buildings in the vicinity of the Smith’s Computer Center on the university’s main St. George campus after dispatchers received a call reporting the threat at about 3 p.m. The buildings were swept by the bomb squad four times and then given the all-clear, according to Jordan Sharp, UT Vice President of Marketing and Communication. The search took roughly an hour to complete.\n\nVermont\n\nHinesburg: A Vermont family’s chicken is back home after hitching a ride in the undercarriage of their pickup truck and ending up 13 miles away in the state’s largest city late last month – a journey that included speeds of 65 mph on an interstate. Someone having coffee on Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace, an outdoor pedestrian mall, spotted the chicken and knew the bird was in a predicament, WCAX-TV reported. Witness Lo Fasano called rehabilitators, Shelburne Farms and the police. “They said they don’t do chickens,” Fasano said. So Fasano took the chicken home, gave her food and a place to nest, and turned to social media. A Facebook post led to finding the chicken’s owners in Hinesburg who were worried about the lost hen. The chicken is now home. Because of her adventurous spirit, the family changed her name from Bug to Amelia after Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly alone across the Atlantic Ocean.\n\nVirginia\n\nTappahannock: A fire that spread quickly through the downtown area damaged or destroyed part of a historic district, impacted businesses and displaced at least one family, officials said. The fire swept through downtown buildings in Tappahannock on Friday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. Several firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion in the fire that began before noon in the back of a furniture store on Prince Street, a block south of the Downing Bridge that spans the Rappahannock River. Officials also said other nearby buildings in the town’s historic area, including several vacant homes, were damaged or destroyed, affecting an art gallery, real estate office, beauty parlor and café, as well as apartments above the businesses. Tappahannock Essex Fire Chief Paul Richardson estimated damage at close to $2 million, although more time will be needed to fully assess the situation. It’s not known how the fire started. To fight the fire, firefighters at one point had to draw water from the nearby Rappahannock River when the town’s water supply wasn’t enough, Richardson said.\n\nWashington\n\nOlympia: The state Department of Ecology has canceled the drought declaration for central and eastern Washington because of unanticipated cool, wet weather in May and June. Water supply conditions have been much better than expected, and as a result, no part of the state is experiencing drought conditions, Ecology officials said Tuesday in a statement. Washington had the second-wettest May-through-June since 1895, officials said. That has preserved snowpack which will support late-summer water supply needs, according to Jeff Marti, the department’s statewide drought coordinator. This year’s conditions are in stark contrast with the spring of 2021, which was the second-driest on record. An unprecedented deadly late-June heat wave in the Pacific Northwest then broke temperature records across the state.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: Interstate 64 in West Virginia reopened Wednesday, a day after a tractor-trailer carrying a hazardous material overturned. The truck rolled over early Tuesday on westbound I-64 in Charleston. No injuries were reported. About 600 gallons of an acetone-based material spilled, destroying the highway’s pavement, the state Department of Transportation said in a news release. A contractor repaved the site. Westbound lanes of I-64 at the split with I-77 were shut down for more than 24 hours before being reopened late Wednesday morning.\n\nWisconsin\n\nKeshena: The Menominee Indian Tribe said it is relaunching its effort, in partnership with Hard Rock International, to open a casino and entertainment complex in Kenosha. The tribe will be the owner of the casino complex and Hard Rock will be the developer and manager. Hard Rock International had planned to partner with the Menominee tribe to develop an $800 million hotel and casino at the former site of Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha. The plan, approved by the City of Kenosha and Kenosha County, was rejected by then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2015. Menominee Chairman Ronald Corn, Sr. said the revived effort is aimed at providing necessary resources for the ongoing and growing needs of the tribe, which is ranked as one of the largest and poorest in Wisconsin.\n\nWyoming\n\nCheyenne: The Wyoming Supreme Court reversed the prison sentence of a Jackson woman now serving 20 years for aggravated vehicular homicide, concluding the judge in her case considered two constitutionally prohibited factors when he punished her last year, the Casper Star Tribune reported.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/07/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2020/04/26/businesses-reopen-parked-planes-coughing-criminals-hasbro-masks-news-around-states/111626130/", "title": "50 States", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nMontgomery:Now that flooding from the Alabama River is easing, Riverfront Park is on the verge of a soggy comeback Friday. The park has been off limits for a couple of months because of flooding and damage from a swollen Alabama River. When Riverfront Park reopens, it will join dozens of Montgomery’s other parks as an outdoor area for people enjoy while observing coronavirus safety restrictions. Several weeks of flooding had left the park's walkway, Riverwalk Amphitheater and a large chunk of the open grass area covered in sand, dirt and muck. One place that will remain high and dry is Riverfront Park’s splash pad. It's closed until further notice because of coronavirus restrictions. Montgomery remains under Gov. Kay Ivey's statewide stay-at-home order. One exception is that people are allowed to participate in an outdoor activity as long as there are fewer than 10 people and everyone can maintain a constant 6-foot distance from each other.\n\nAlaska\n\nJuneau: Businesses in parts of Alaska cautiously began reopening Friday as part of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s plan to restart segments of the economy affected by coronavirus concerns. Signs of the times were everywhere: barbers wore face masks, and notices warned of limits on customer numbers. In Juneau, whose downtown core typically hums this time of year, many storefronts remained dark. The city earlier Friday urged businesses to wait to commit to reopening until the Assembly on Monday considers whether to “moderate” Dunleavy’s reopening approach. In Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz outlined plans for reopening Monday largely consistent with Dunleavy’s approach. Alaska is among the first states in the West to begin reopening, allowing restaurants to resume dine-in service and retail shops, personal care services and other businesses that were classified as nonessential to operate, all with limitations. Dunleavy, a Republican, has said health considerations must come first and that officials feel good about Alaska’s numbers, health care capacity, equipment and ability to track cases. The state has reported fewer than 350 cases of COVID-19, which includes 208 recovered cases, and nine deaths.\n\nArizona\n\nMarana: Hundreds of airliners idled by the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the travel industry and other circumstances crowd a southern Arizona airfield where workers are trying to make room for even more aircraft that might not take to the skies again soon. Pinal Airpark just off Interstate 10 between Casa Grande and Tucson as of last week was providing storage space for approximately 270 aircraft, and manager Jim Petty said most of them were there because of the pandemic. About 250 miles away in northwestern Arizona, officials at Kingman Municipal Airport hope to also attract some of the plane-storage business as airlines ground more aircraft and move others to longer-term storage locations. The region’s warm, dry climate is considered ideal for mothballing aircraft, the Arizona Daily Star reported. Airpark can probably accommodate an additional 100 planes, depending on how large they are, said Jim Petty, Pinal County’s airport economic development director. Workers recently have been clearing new areas to accommodate even more arrivals. The influx of aircraft began in March as travel restrictions and plummeting demand prompted carriers to slash service on many international routes.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: No traditional in-person high school graduations can be held in Arkansas until at least July 1 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but schools that want to hold a ceremony earlier can explore virtual options, state officials said Saturday. “In some communities, they want to go ahead and do something in the normal time and in that case, we are going to allow them to create non-traditional, either by remote means, by digital means, by video,” state Education Secretary Johnny Key said. “There are a number of techniques that schools have already started exploring.” Key said that as they approach July 1, they will consult with health officials to see if the date needs to be modified. Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he has received many calls asking about high school graduations. “I’m very sympathetic because I have a granddaughter who is a senior in high school this year but it’s really a risk whenever you bring thousands of parents and students together in one assembly,” Hutchinson said.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSan Francisco: Two women have been charged with stealing items from a Walgreens in San Francisco and escaping by coughing at employees and claiming to have the coronavirus. Carmelita Barela, 36, and Rosetta Shabazz, 32, were charged with robbery affecting interstate commerce, federal prosecutors announced Friday. The San Francisco women were arrested Thursday. It wasn’t immediately clear whether they had attorneys who could speak on their behalf. A federal complaint said the women entered the store near the Civic Center on April 6, carrying empty bags. “After the store manager offered assistance, Shabazz allegedly began to cough without covering her mouth,” according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office. The store manager asked Shabazz to leave if she was sick. “Instead, Shabazz walked over to Barela and both defendants began to cough audibly while taking merchandise off the shelves and placing it into their bags,” the statement said. “The manager told the defendants to leave the store, to which they responded by saying, “We have COVID.’ ” The manager and a security guard didn’t want to go near the women, who filled their bags with about $90 worth of goods and left without paying, authorities said. If convicted, the women could each face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.\n\nColorado\n\nGreeley: There won’t be a Greeley Stampede this summer because of concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, organizers said Saturday. The popular rodeo and accompanying musical performances have been “postponed” and are unlikely to take place in 2020, marketing coordinator Kevin McFarling said. Those who had purchased tickets will be offered the choice of receiving a refund or a credit toward 2021 performances. Information on claiming a refund or credit will be available soon at GreeleyStampede.org. The Greeley Stampede is generally regarded as one of the premier rodeos in the country, making USA TODAY’s top 10 list in 2018 and 2019. It ranks among the top 20 in prize money on the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association circuit. Musical performances this year were scheduled to include Chris Young, 3 Doors Down, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, LOCASH, Phil Vassar and Lecrae.\n\nConnecticut\n\nHartford: The city is moving to increase testing for the new coronavirus, offer free transportation to testing appointments and launch a community education campaign to lessen the impact on black, Hispanic and low-income residents, who have been hit disproportionately hard in communities of color across the country. About 820 city residents have tested positive for the virus and about 72 have died as of Friday, but Mayor Luke Bronin said the true scope of the local outbreak is unknown because of the lack of widespread testing. The city will also be conducting outreach to families who have confirmed cases of the virus, as well as those with suspected cases and is putting together a public education campaign in English and Spanish that will promote social distancing, wearing masks and hand washing, as well as provide information on health services and other resources.\n\nDelaware\n\nWilmington:Delaware residents are now required to wear face coverings in public settings, according to Gov. John Carney’s latest modification to his state of emergency declaration. The order, which goes into effect at 8 a.m. Tuesday, deems settings like grocery stores, pharmacies, doctor’s offices and public transportation as mandatory places to wear face coverings. This also includes outdoor public spaces like parks and golf courses, “if maintaining social distancing of six (6) feet between individuals of different households is impracticable,” according to the order. The directive does not apply to children 12 or younger. It also requires businesses to follow a number of additional requirements starting May 1, including requiring employees to wear a face covering while working in areas open to the public or when coming within 6 feet of other staff. Additionally, it requires businesses to provide face coverings and hand sanitizer to their employees, as well as deny entry to people who do not have a face covering.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington:The National Capital Poison Center said calls from people being exposed to hand sanitizer and disinfectants have seen a surge since March compared to the same time period last year. The report came as bogus home remedies for the new coronavirus continue to be discussed on areas of social media and following controversial comments President Donald Trump made during a news conference on Thursday. Information obtained from the National Capital Poison Center showed a dramatic rise in calls dealing with human exposure to hand sanitizer and disinfectants in areas around Washington, Northern Virginia, Prince George’s County and Montgomery County. According to the report, the center has dealt with 314 calls for disinfectant human exposure since March 1. The number marked an 111% increase compared to the same time period last year. The poison center also reported that the group has seen 112 calls dealing with human exposure to hand sanitizer since March 1, marking a 24% increase from a year ago.\n\nFlorida\n\nTampa: Two of the state’s largest police departments said they would delay buying body cameras because of financial concerns spawned by the coronavirus outbreak. Tampa police said that it would put on hold the purchase of more than 600 cameras that were supposed to have been acquired by the end of the year, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Across the bay, the St. Petersburg Police Department said that a body camera testing program has been delayed indefinitely, which in turn is postponing a decision by Police Chief to seek funding for hundreds of cameras. The city of Tampa had signed a five-year, $5 million contract to purchase more than 600 blue-tooth activated cameras that would have been distributed by the end of the year to every uniformed officer through the rank of corporal. Of that cost, about $1 million would have come from this year’s budget, Police Chief Brian Dugan said. However, the department is proceeding with a $500,000 purchase of Tasers.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: Business owners who chose to reopen after Gov. Brian Kemp relaxed coronavirus-related restrictions gratefully welcomed back customers, while others remained satisfied in their decision to stay closed. Russ Anderson, who owns four Ink Addiction Tattoo Studio shops in south Georgia, said Saturday he was thrilled to finally reopen his doors a day earlier. “I felt like a little kid at Disney World,” he said. Gyms, tattoo shops, nail salons and barber shops were among the businesses that were allowed to open Friday after Kemp relaxed a monthlong shutdown despite of warnings from health experts and disapproval from President Donald Trump. Another round of reopenings is set for Monday, when limited in-restaurant dining can resume and movie theaters can reopen. All the businesses have to adhere to restrictions including separating workers and enhanced sanitation. Shawn Gingrich, CEO and founder of Lion’s Den Fitness, said he decided very soon after the governor’s announcement that he would not be reopening his gym in midtown Atlanta right away. As he listened to the news on the radio Friday about businesses that were reopening, he felt discouraged. “We’ve sacrificed so much already,” he said Saturday. “I feel like if we do this too soon, we’ll see a spike in cases and we’re back to square one.”\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: Gov. David Ige on Saturday extended the state’s stay-at-home order and the mandatory quarantine for visitors through May 31. “This was not an easy decision. I know this has been difficult for everyone. Businesses need to reopen. People want to end this self-isolation and we want to return to normal,” Ige said in a statement. “But this virus is potentially deadly, especially for the elderly and those with preexisting conditions.” Ige also announced that elective surgeries can now take place and beaches will be open for exercise. At a news conference to outline the moves, Ige pointed to alarming COVID-19 clusters on the Big Island and Maui, Hawaii News Now reported. “We still need to remain vigilant,” he said. In his statement, Ige warned of undoing Hawaii’s progress in containing the virus if public places open up too early. The governor also extended an eviction moratorium, which prevents any eviction from a residential dwelling for failure to pay rent, through May 31.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: The head of an economic recovery committee formed by Gov. Brad Little to help the state reopen for business while also fighting the new coronavirus said Friday he’s optimistic Idaho will rebound, but there’s hard work ahead. Idaho Power CEO Darrel Anderson said the state can recover and even be poised to thrive when the pandemic passes, but businesses might have to adopt new practices. “What I would say is that the people of Idaho always seem to find a way,” Anderson said. “Idaho has always shown up when the chips are down.” The committee has about 30 members and is comprised of a cross-section of small and large business owners, including billionaire Frank Vandersloot, founder of wellness shopping club Melaleuca. Representatives from Micron and Simplot are also on the committee, as are several elected officials, including Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke, a rancher.\n\nIllinois\n\nWaukegan: A biochemical research company has opened a new site in Illinois to sterilize used N95 medical masks with hydrogen peroxide gas as the need for them has increased because of the coronavirus pandemic. Columbus, Ohio-based Battelle started the cleaning process at the Waukegan sterilization facility earlier this month, the Chicago Tribune reported. Company officials said the site can clean up to 80,000 masks daily. Health care workers use the N95 masks to prevent the spread of the virus. But supplies have plummeted amid the outbreak. The facility is intended to serve hospitals and first responders for free, said Lewis Von Thaer, CEO of Battelle, a nonprofit with a long history of government contracting. The Illinois site has been sterilizing masks for Advocate Aurora Health’s Illinois and Wisconsin hospitals, according to Battelle. Battelle has six pilot sterilization facilities. The federal government has awarded the company a $400 million contract to build 60 more facilities across the country. It will hire more than 1,000 people. The masks are not soggy after the cleaning process because the hydrogen peroxide is in gas form. The chemical is odorless and leaves behind no toxic residue, the company said. Company officials said the fabric of the mask does not break down, but the elastic bands will after about 20 cleanings.\n\nIndiana\n\nIndianapolis:The cancellation of conventions, conferences and trade shows because of the coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on tourism in Indianapolis, a tourism official said. Indianapolis attracted a record-breaking 30 million visitors last year, according to Chris Gahl, the senior vice president of marketing and communications for Visit Indy. Gahl said his nonprofit, which promotes Indianapolis, is doing its best to salvage the 2020 events that have been called off. Typically around 70% of Indianapolis hotel rooms are occupied but hotels are currently at around 7% occupancy. More than 80,000 residents depend on tourism for a paycheck, according to Visit Indy statistics, which showed that visitors spend $5.6 billion in Indianapolis and generate $725 million in state and local taxes. Gov. Eric Holcomb on April 17 extended Indiana’s stay-at-home order to May 1. He has said he hopes to reopen parts of Indiana’s economy starting in May, though organizers of conventions, sporting events, concerts and other events that attract large crowds might have to wait longer.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines:The state’s three major public universities are planning to resume in-person classes in the fall, but they are still working out the details of what that would look like during the coronavirus pandemic. Iowa Board of Regents President Mike Richards said the schools will follow state and federal health guidelines as they develop plans to bring thousands of students back to the campuses of the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and Northern Iowa University. Board of Regents spokesman Josh Lehman told the Des Moines Register that specific plans for the fall semester will be shared as they are developed. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds is beginning to ease some coronavirus restrictions even though COVID-19 is still spreading in Iowa. University of Iowa President Bruce Harreld said the school is taking a cautious approach to planning for the fall. Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen said in a letter to faculty and staff last week that the school is facing more than $80 million in losses and additional expenses since April 3 because of the pandemic. That total includes nearly $17 million in refunds to students and families for housing, dining and other fees. Wintersteen said she will continue to prioritize the health of students, faculty and staff as plans for the fall are developed.\n\nKansas\n\nBelle Plaine: Gov. Laura Kelly said she has reached a deal that could resolve a lawsuit brought by two churches challenging her order banning religious gatherings of more than 10 people to help slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Under the deal, the two churches and the Democratic governor agreed to the extension of a temporary restraining order that allows the churches to disregard the 10-person limit. The court’s initial order let the two churches to gather in-person until May 2 as long as they complied with social-distancing measures, including keeping worshippers a safe distance from each other. The new proposal would extend that court order to May 16. The agreement, which a judge must still approve, essentially allows the churches to continue in-person services while the governor finalizes plans for her less restrictive statewide reopening orders that would take effect on May 4. The churches and their pastors filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month against Kelly, arguing that the directive violates their religious and free-speech rights, as well as their right to assembly. A religious freedom advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a news release that it reserved the right to continue litigating the matter if the governor does not follow through with “appropriately amending her mass gathering ban.”\n\nKentucky\n\nLouisville:Nearly four dozen rural hospitals in Kentucky will receive help in fighting the coronavirus pandemic after they received a total of $3.8 million from the federal CARES Act, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Saturday. The University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health is getting $3,878,582 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, and the funds will go to 46 rural hospitals to support their efforts in fighting COVID-19, McConnell said in a news release. The emergency relief package aims to support American workers, families and industries facing health and economic challenges under the pandemic. The UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health, based in Hazard, was established by state legislation in 1990 to study and help fix health disparities in rural Kentucky. The CARES Act funding gives hospitals “maximum flexibility” in how they respond to COVID-19 within their communities, according to the release. The money could support testing and lab services, for example, and also purchase personal protective equipment for hospital staff working to treat COVID-19 patients. The Kentucky Office for Rural Health will oversee the disbursement of the federal funds to 46 rural hospitals across the state.\n\nLouisiana\n\nReserve: A nursing home for veterans has one of the state’s deadliest coronavirus clusters, data showed. In the last month, there have been 43 deaths at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home in Reserve, though just more than half were attributed to the virus, said Brandee Patrick, a spokeswoman for the facility’s operator, the state Department of Veterans Affair. The home, which held around 150 veterans when the outbreak began, now has just 96 left, The New Orleans Advocate reported. Five of them are hospitalized. Of the rest, 47 have tested negative for the virus, 34 have tested positive and six had inconclusive results, Patrick said. St. John the Baptist Parish Coroner Christy Montegut has said it’s possible that some of those nursing home residents who died early in the outbreak could have had the virus. That comes after new evidence showed the virus was infecting Americans earlier than previously thought. The facility has been on lockdown for more than a month. Contact has been limited to phone calls and videoconferencing.\n\nMaine\n\nAugusta: More than a dozen Maine health care industry groups representing hospitals, nursing homes, doctors and others are asking Gov. Janet Mills for civil and criminal immunity during the civil state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The request asked Mills to suspend the laws holding health care providers and their employees responsible for death or injury during the state of emergency, the Bangor Daily News reported Saturday. Harm due to gross negligence would be an exception. Because Maine’s Legislature has adjourned, the action would need to come through an executive order from the governor. The governor’s office is still reviewing the request, Mills spokeswoman Lindsay Crete said. Jeff Austin, a spokesman for the Maine Hospital Association, said its members were particularly concerned about having to reallocate resources in the event of a surge in cases\n\nMaryland\n\nAnnapolis:Gov. Larry Hogan said Maryland could be ready by early May to begin phase one of its recovery process if residents continue to stay home and abide by social distancing guidelines. Maryland isn’t ready to lift restrictions right away, but the governor said he’s optimistic in which he introduced the state’s recovery plan. The two key metrics officials are watching are the rate of hospitalizations and the number of patients being admitted to ICUs. The Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery takes into consideration the guidelines recently issued by the White House and the principles of the National Governors’ Association recovery plan, as well as input from experts. Recovery will be gradually rolled out in three phases. Hogan said the first phase will involve lifting the stay-at-home order, reopening many small businesses and restarting low-risk community activities. Certain counties with lower case concentrations will be allowed to reopen retail shops, golf courses, playgrounds and libraries, as well as begin recreational boating and fishing, tennis, outdoor fitness and religious activities. But social distancing would need to continue. As long as there’s no spike in deaths or admissions to intensive care units, Hogan said the state would then move on to phase two, which would allow for a larger number of businesses to reopen, including restaurants and bars, with significant safety precautions in place.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: A Massachusetts factory that usually makes some of the nation’s most beloved board games, including Monopoly, Risk and Candyland, has pivoted to making personal protective equipment for heath care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Charlie Baker said Saturday. The Cartamundi-owned Hasbro factory is making 50,000 face shields per week for hospitals in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the Republican said after a tour of the East Longmeadow facility. Making games and making personal protective equipment have the same goal, President and COO John Frascotti said. “It is our job to make the world a better place for children and their families,” he said. Baker also said an investigation into the high number of COVID-19-related deaths at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home is progressing, but there is no timetable for completion. Former federal prosecutor Mark Pearlstein has “free reign” to conduct his investigation, Baker said.\n\nMichigan\n\nDetroit: Foster child placement agencies are facing new challenges because the governor’s stay-at-home order has blocked most birth parents from visiting their children in wake of coronavirus outbreak. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision has prompted worries that families providing foster care or completing certification may stop because of health concerns or job losses. Janet Reynolds Snyder, executive director of the Michigan Federation for Children and Families, a Lansing-based association that has about 60 family support and child welfare service agencies in the state, said the directive supports good health, but it is important for foster children to have access to their biological parents. JooYeun Chang, executive director of Michigan’s Children’s Services Agency with the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, said discontinuing contact was a “painful” decision for the administration. Cynthia Johnson, an Oakland County resident who is caring for children ages 1, 5 and 6, is helping the two oldest with their school curriculum because the governor’s order has closed school districts. Johnson and her husband, Michael, keep contact with the children’s relatives frequently. “My job is to make sure that these kids are safe,” Johnson said. “We have to look out for ourselves, and we both have to look out for the kids.”\n\nMinnesota\n\nMinneapolis: City officials are putting an end to pickup basketball games and other outdoor recreation because people continue to gather in city parks and fields as the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths continues to rise. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board announced Friday it will close courts, athletic fields, playgrounds and skate parks by May 1, the Star Tribune reported. The decision includes removing or blocking basketball rims, removing tennis and volleyball nets, and posting signs notifying park visitors that soccer fields, playgrounds and skate parks are closed. The city has received more than 125 complaints of large groups at parks, many playing sports such as soccer and basketball, officials said.\n\nMississippi\n\nGreenwood: A school district in the Mississippi Delta should wait to try to borrow money because voters might be reluctant to support a bond issue during the coronavirus pandemic, said a retired educator who serves in two elected offices. David Jordan spoke last week at a board meeting for the Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District, the Greenwood Commonwealth reported He is a Democrat who serves in the Mississippi Senate and on the Greenwood City Council. The Greenwood Leflore district is considering a bond issue but has not specified how large it will be. It also has not set an election date. At least 60% of local voters must approve before a school district can borrow money through a bond issue. Jordan said reaching that margin can be difficult even without the financial uncertainty of the pandemic. Jordan mentioned a failed attempt to pass a 1998 bond issue that would have built a new Greenwood High School and a new elementary school. A less ambitious attempt by the Greenwood district four years later also failed. The Greenwood and Leflore County school districts have merged in the past two years. Jordan said the board should wait a couple of years for a bond vote. “I don’t think now is the time to do it because of what we have before us, the epidemic,” he said.\n\nMissouri\n\nO’Fallon: State health officials are hoping that a new testing strategy will help quickly identify people infected with the new coronavirus at meatpacking and food plants throughout the state. Outbreaks of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, have occurred at several U.S. meatpacking plants, where hundreds of people work next to each other on production lines and often share space in locker rooms and cafeterias. Several plants have been forced to temporarily close. In Missouri, at least 21 employees tested positive at Burgers Smokehouse, a smoked and cured meats plant in the small city of California. Forty-two of the 700 employees at a Conagra frozen meals plant in Marshall have also contracted COVID-19. And in St. Joseph, 16 workers at a Triumph Foods pork plant tested positive. Dr. Randall Williams, Missouri’s health director, said the state is deploying a new strategy to quickly test workers, including those who are asymptomatic, at plants where confirmed cases have occurred. The goal is to more quickly identify those who have the virus in the hopes of preventing it from spreading. Triumph Foods spokesman Chris Clark said all 2,800 employees of the St. Joseph plant will be tested, even those showing no symptoms.\n\nMontana\n\nBillings: The state took its first, halting step toward reopening on Sunday as churches were able to resume services and a general stay-at-home order expired. Although other states have been extending restrictions amid the continuing spread of the new coronavirus, Montana is among those that are beginning to loosen rules in hopes of restoring battered economies and regaining some normalcy. At Christ the King Lutheran Church in Billings, Pastor Ryan Wendt said the church was mixing faith with common sense precautions. Every other pew was being kept empty to comply with social distancing guidelines and elderly and medically vulnerable members of the congregation were advised to stay home. “This is God’s house. We are not doing frivolous, needless things. Not in a weird way, we simply trust that God is going to protect us and provide for us,” Wendt said. But some religious houses stayed shuttered as their leaders expressed worry that returning too soon could put people at risk. “We’ve been keeping our building clean and open and sanitized, but we’re not ready now. We just want to do a little more,” said Beth Rager with the Open Bible Christian Center in Billings, which plans to reopen in May. During the first phase of Montana’s reopening, which has no set timeline, people over age 65 and those with underlying health conditions are asked to continue to stay at home. Gyms, pools, movie theaters and bowling alleys will remain closed. Residents are still asked to minimize non-essential travel and to self-quarantine for 14 days after returning to the state.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: Business owners are starting to plan their comeback now that Gov. Pete Ricketts has unveiled his plan to ease coronavirus restrictions. Ricketts said Friday that he will relax restrictions in 59 counties, including those in the Omaha area. The new orders, effective until May 31, allow restaurants to reopen their dining rooms but require them to keep crowds at or below half of their capacity. Dining parties will be limited to six people, buffets will remain closed and bars will have to keep their dining areas closed. Ricketts’ plan also allows barbershops, tattoo parlors, salons and massage therapists to reopen, though they must adhere to social distancing precautions. Paul McCrae, owner of the Corner Kick Street Tacos and Tequila Cantina in Omaha, called the easing of restrictions a “life-saver,” especially with Cinco de Mayo the day after the reopening date. “That’s a big day for us,” McCrae told the Omaha World-Herald. But co-owners Kelsey Poulsen and Sarah Root of The Copper Pin Salon & Spa haven’t decided whether to open on May 4. About half of the 14-person staff don’t yet feel safe to return, they told the newspaper. “We’re thinking about taking the hit financially and keeping it closed until we can figure out how to safely operate,” Poulsen said. Ricketts, a Republican, didn’t order similar changes in the Lincoln area because that region’s public health restrictions don’t expire until May 6. The restrictions in the Omaha area were set to expire April 30.\n\nNevada\n\nReno:Hundreds of people gathered in Reno on Saturday for a second straight week of protests against Gov. Steve Sisolak’s sweeping efforts to contain the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The latest “Reopen Nevada” rally, like last week’s march to the Capitol in Carson City, was held in open defiance of statewide executive orders meant to encourage social distancing and prevent public gatherings of 10 or more people. Police estimated about 250 people showed up for the event. It also underscored the widening political divide over elected officials’ approach to fighting the pandemic, efforts protest organizers framed in starkly partisan terms. Monica Jaye – a conservative, Reno-based radio talk show host who headlined Saturday’s rally at Rancho San Rafael park – said officials had willfully inflated the virus’ death toll to push a leftist political agenda. She found plenty of sympathetic ears in a crowd dominated by supporters of President Donald Trump and organized by a group that has launched a bid to recall Nevada’s first-term Democratic governor. Jaye later said she had a better chance of being struck by lightning than dying of the coronavirus, a claim that won loud applause from the crowd.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nConcord: Officials have shut down more than 100 trail heads, shelters, picnic areas and other sites in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service said Friday said the decision was based on federal, state and local guidance for physical distancing and to ensure the health and safety of employees, visitors and volunteers. It comes after officials reported an unseasonably high number of visitors who were “not able or willing” to follow social distancing recommendations. Trails remain open to those who can get to them on foot, but the state is under a stay-at-home order and officials have urged people to stay local for outdoor recreation.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nCarteret:Mayor David Reimen is calling for the temporary closure of an Amazon warehouse following a report of a number of employees infected with the new coronavirus. NJ.com reported that after Business Insider quoted an employee as saying there were more than 30 cases of COVID19 at the Carteret Amazon fulfillment center, Reimen called on Middlesex County and state health officials to shutter the facility until all workers can be tested and the facility can be sanitized. An Amazon representative confirmed that there were cases but declined to tell NJ Advance Media how many employees at the Carteret facility tested positive for the virus. Spokeswoman Rachael Lighty said the company is “supporting the individuals who are recovering” and taking “extreme measures” to ensure the safety of workers. Reiman also called on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to make sure there were proper protective supplies at the million-square-foot facility that employs 1,600 people. An advocacy group, Make The Road New Jersey, called on the governor to use his executive authority to shut down the warehouse, alleging that “it’s clear this outbreak is beyond Amazon’s control.”\n\nNew Mexico\n\nLas Cruces: The City Council has extended Mayor Ken Miyagishima’s citywide emergency declaration order over the coronavirus pandemic. At a special Friday meeting, the City Council voted unanimously to extend the declaration, which was first proclaimed April 7, extended by council vote on April 10 and ran until April 24. The city plans to run the emergency proclamation concurrent with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s stay-at-home public health order, which lasts until May 15. The city council could, however, vote to rescind it before that order expires. The council approved an emergency powers provision for the mayor last month because the city previously had no mechanism for the mayor to declare an emergency. Miyagishima declared the citywide emergency April 7 to make it easier for the city to receive federal aid reimbursements for expenses incurred by the city as it fights the effects of the pandemic.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York City: Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday he hopes to have a road map by June 1 on how to rebuild the city after the coronavirus threat subsides. The mayor, a Democrat, said at a news conference that city leaders he has invited to help plan the city’s recovery should give him the road map by then. He said a full rebuild will take about 20 months. He also said the latest statistics on people being treated for COVID-19 continued to be stable or decline. The number of people in the city’s hospital intensive care units had dropped from 785 to 768. De Blasio said the city can’t begin reopening until decreases continue for 10 to 14 days. He said such a fall would signal it was time for the first steps in opening up. “The health indicators have to give us the all clear,” de Blasio said. “We restart when we have evidence. There’s no on-off switch here. It’s a series of careful, smart moves.”\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nWelcome: NASCAR team owner Richard Childress is auctioning one of the cars driven by the late Dale Earnhardt to raise money for coronavirus relief efforts. The Charlotte Observer reported that this is the first time Childress has sold or given away an original Earnhardt car from his personal collection. A news release Thursday from Richard Childress Racing officials doesn’t specify which of Earnhardt’s trademark No. 3 race cars is up for auction. Childress tweeted Friday that parting with one of his cars is “a small sacrifice” for him to make. Earnhardt died in a crash during the last lap of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in 2001. The eBay site for the auction doesn’t list a deadline for bidding on items.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: The state’s largest manufacturer, Doosan Bobcat, has resumed operations after daylong shutdown to clean the factory after an employee reported symptoms of the new coronavirus. Doosan Bobcat public affairs director Stacey Breuer said in a statement the factory in Gwinner reopened Saturday night. The employee has tested positive for COVID-19, she said.\n\nOhio\n\nCincinnati:Parkers Blue Ash Tavern is closing permanently, according to a recent announcement on its website. Although the message is no longer on its site, an employee confirmed the business was closing because of the coronavirus pandemic. “It is with heavy hearts that we must announce the permanent closure of Parkers Blue Ash Tavern,” read a statement on the restaurant’s website. “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant industry and Parkers, in particular, has proven insurmountable for us to reopen.” The company said it will give refunds for issued gift cards. Gift card reimburses will be given once the corporate office is reopened. Email your contact information, gift card number and return mailing address to info@selectrestaurants.com. “We will always value the relationships we’ve formed over the years and will forever cherish our times together with you, the Blue Ash community.”\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: Some businesses are reopening in parts of Oklahoma after Gov. Kevin Stitt eased restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, salons, spas and barbershops were allowed to reopen in much of the state, despite concerns from medical professionals. Those businesses have been told to adhere to social distancing standards, have employees wear masks and frequently sanitize equipment. Some of the state’s largest cities, including Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, decided to keep their bans in place until at least the end of the month, but other municipalities that had bans in place lifted them to align with the governor’s authorization. The mayors of Tulsa and Oklahoma City announced they would lift their stay-at-home orders next Friday, when Stitt, a Republican, has said that restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and places of worship can reopen. Teri Stevens, owner of The Barber Shop in the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow, told the Tulsa World that she was back at work cutting hair. She said her face was hot from wearing a mask and the atmosphere was “a little weird” because there’s usually “a little more camaraderie and people being out in the waiting area and everybody talking and socializing.” But Stevens said it was good to be back to work.\n\nOregon\n\nAlbany: The National Frozen Foods plant in Albany has shut down production because of an outbreak of COVID-19 that has sickened 10 people, Linn County Public Health announced Friday. Of the illnesses linked to the plant, eight are workers and two are associated with those employees, The Albany Democrat-Herald reported. The county worked with the plant to temporarily close the facility, said Linn County Sheriff’s Capt. Michelle Duncan, the county’s coronavirus pandemic spokeswoman. Steve Schossberger, general counsel and vice president of National Frozen Foods, said the shutdown started Friday and will continue at least through the weekend. A deep cleaning of the Albany plant will be done with the oversight of Linn County Public Health, he added. “We’ll look at opening back up on Monday, but only on automated lines. … That’s still yet to be determined,” Schossberger said. On the automated lines, workers would be at least 20 feet apart, he said. Employees will be notified by National Frozen Foods about how to receive testing and the next steps of the process. National Frozen Foods opened its Albany plant in 1982 and puts out millions of pounds of frozen produce each year. The plant processes beans, cut corn, squash, vegetable purees and cream-style corn, according to the company’s website.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: The state said 160 companies in 43 counties are getting help from a second round of state loan funding to help firms during the coronavirus pandemic. The state Department of Community and Economic Development said the companies have received a total of $13.5 million in loans as part of the COVID19 Working Capital Access Program. More than $23 million total has been awarded so far to businesses such as restaurants, wellness centers, wineries and breweries, consulting firms, salons and spas, officials said. Officials said the loans will help businesses quickly access capital to address critical needs while they follow shutdown and closure orders from the state.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: Even in the midst of the fight against the new coronavirus, Gov. Gina Raimondo is thinking about the budget process. Much depends on aid coming from Congress, she said Saturday. “Everything is on the table,” she said. “It’s going to be a brutal budget to balance.” She said layoffs and furloughs are inevitable. The state is “redeploying as many people as possible” to jobs where they are most needed now, such as contact tracing, she said. Department of Administration Director Brett Smiley said the Moody’s ratings service might have significantly underestimated Rhode Island’s revenue losses this year and next, The Providence Journal reported.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia:In accepting delivery of 1.5 million surgical masks from China, officials in South Carolina took an opportunity Sunday to express appreciation for the supplies needed to stem the coronavirus outbreak but to also call for a lessening of U.S. reliance on the foreign country. “We want the masks made in the United States,” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said during an availability on the tarmac of the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport after watching the unloading of the masks from a Boeing aircraft. “We don’t want to ever have to rely on China or anyone else for our basic health care needs.” Throughout the outbreak, Graham has repeatedly called for a draw-down of U.S. reliance on China, tweeting earlier this month he wanted the U.S. response to COVID-19 to be “so overwhelming China will change its behavior.” The Republican also told Fox News he felt the U.S. “should send China a bill for the pandemic.” Noting he expected a resurgence of the virus in the fall, Graham said Sunday he wanted the U.S. to be “much better prepared” in terms of needed supplies by the time that happens. U.S. Rep. William Timmons echoed Graham’s comments, saying of the necessity of a mask shipment from China: “This will not happen again.” The 1.5 million masks delivered Sunday are enough to equip PRISMA hospitals in South Carolina for one month, according to CEO Mark O’Halla. Of the shipment, 100,000 are being sent to the Medical University of South Carolina, he said.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nRapid City: Bars and restaurants are among the city businesses that could reopen under a plan that would require social distancing precautions to guard against spreading the new coronavirus. The City Council is scheduled to vote Monday on Mayor Steve Allender’s proposal, the Rapid City Journal reported. It would require bars and restaurants to maintain a minimum of 6 feet between tables, chairs and bar stools. Establishments would be allowed to have a maximum of 10 people, or for larger buildings, one customer for every 125 square feet of space. Food service employees would also be required to wear masks. Tony Demaro, owner of Murphy’s Pub & Grill and Kol, said he has been working with his staff to practice social distancing at the pub and is excited about the possibility of reopening next week. Takeout and delivery at his two businesses haven’t generated enough revenue to sustain being closed much longer, Demaro said. Justin Henrichsen, owner of Independent Ale House, said it would be difficult to make money under the proposed capacity restrictions.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville:A federal appeals court has ruled that Tennessee must continue allowing abortions amid a temporary ban on nonessential medical procedures during the COVID-19 outbreak. The ruling followed a U.S. District judge’s order last week that abortions could proceed during the pandemic. The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, based in Cincinnati, issued its opinion Friday. The justices wrote that courts must give governments flexibility to respond to a crisis. “Affording flexibility, however, is not the same as abdicating responsibility, especially when well-established constitutional rights are at stake, as the right to an abortion most assuredly is,” the court wrote in the 33-page opinion. Tennessee’s attorney general had argued that abortions are not being singled out but treated like any other procedure that is not necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury. Gov. Bill Lee issued an emergency order April 8 banning nonessential procedures for three weeks.\n\nTexas\n\nDallas: As Texas eases restrictions put in place to fight the coronavirus pandemic, one clothing store owner said Saturday that most of her customers so far are sticking to having orders shipped even though retail “to go” is now allowed. Allison Scott, who along with her parents owns a franchise of the clothing store Apricot Lane in Dallas, said though that she thinks the “to go” offering does provide some happiness to those “who are just itching to go somewhere.” As of Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, allowed retailers to sell items for curbside pickup. Also last week, he reopened state parks and is allowing doctors to perform nonessential surgeries. But appointments at salons and dine-in restaurant service, for instance, are still not yet allowed. At Galleria Dallas, the shopping mall where Scott’s Apricot Lane store is located, shoppers can now pull up and their purchases are placed in their vehicle. Scott said that on Friday they took five orders down to customers, and none on Saturday. She said that as much as she would like to see things return to the way they were and people be allowed to shop in person again, she said she thinks it’s too risky health-wise right now.\n\nUtah\n\nSt. George:To raise the spirit of residents and rekindle the importance of community bonding during the coronavirus pandemic, the City of St. George’s Leisure Services department has invited all residents to participate in the no-cost Stay Brighter Campaign from April 30 through May 30. The campaign is a 60-minute daily challenge that encourages citizens to stay active, stay kind and stay smart every day with 20 minutes allotted for each of the three disciplines. Examples include staying active by going for a walk or bike ride in the neighborhood, staying kind by doing things such as mailing a card to a grandparent or donating to a local food bank and staying smart by reading a book or learning something new. “We want to continue to spread joy and to work together — though we are physically apart — to show love, concern and support for others,” Michelle Graves, St. George Deputy Director of Arts and Events, said. “This time is a gift to stay sharp, creative, giving and healthy. We encourage St. George citizens to be a positive change in our city.” All residents are urged to participate and the daily challenge log, as well as more examples of each of the three disciplines, can be found online at www.sgcity.org/staybrighter.\n\nVermont\n\nBarre Town: City officials plan to hold a “drive-thru” election rather than have voters cast ballots by mail in its annual election in June. The town pushed the election back from May to at least June 2 amid Gov. Phil Scott’s stay-home order in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Last week, the Select Board unanimously approved the drive-thru voting system and sending voters postcards about the election, The Times Argus reported. Town Clerk Donna Kelty had recommended that the election be held by mail but some select board members had concerns with that. Voters can still request a ballot and vote by mail\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: Dozens of students from a Virginia medical school are doing their part in the fight against the new coronavirus by volunteering to care for the children of health care workers. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that nearly 100 students from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine have joined a new student organization called the VCU Childcare Co-op. Co-founder Annie Yang, a first-year medical student, said the student volunteers already have donated more than 250 hours to help more than 20 families, including those with a parent caring for COVID-19 patients. The students are caring for children, as well as pets. “Even as students, we can step up and make a small difference in our community,” Yang said. The COVID-19 pandemic has closed down many child care centers across Virginia. Gov. Ralph Northam announced earlier this month that Virginia is using $70 million in federal aid to help health care workers and others with child care.\n\nWashington\n\nEast Wenatchee: Dozens of farm workers at a Central Washington orchard have tested positive for COVID-19, though they weren’t experiencing symptoms, according to a newspaper reported published Saturday. Stemilt Ag Services, which operates the orchard, and local health officials tested the farm workers in East Wenatchee after some fruit packaging warehouse workers tested positive, The Spokesman-Review reported. The company said it decided to expand testing to orchard workers as a precaution. Of the 71 agricultural workers who were tested, 36 were positive for COVID-19, Stemilt reported this week. Despite social distancing measures in place at the orchards, there were a high number of positive cases, said Barry Kling, administrator at Chelan-Douglas Health District. Some people who have COVID-19 showed no symptoms. Stemilt was one of the first companies in the region to test a group of workers that was asymptomatic, but the company is still evaluating its next steps, said Roger Pepperl, Stemilt marketing director, in an email. Stemilt has been following Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention recommendations for social distancing. Workers who tested negative will be retested and are in isolation, according to a Stemilt press release. All workers who were tested are work visa holders and arrived around February. United Farm Workers and other advocates filed a lawsuit about a week ago against Washington state, arguing that farm workers do not have adequate protections. The groups called on the state departments of Health and of Labor & Industries to update safety guidelines. United Farm Workers is a union but does not represent the Stemilt workers who were tested.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nHuntington: Fire Capt. Scott Leep said he had prepared for the last day of his 22-year career at the department to be a quiet affair. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, there would be no way the 42-year-old could have a retirement party with his friends, family and co-workers. He had loaded his gear onto the fire truck for the last time before he heard honking and cheering. Leep’s friends at the department, along with coordination from his wife, held a surprise retirement parade for him as they drove by Fire Station 4 on April 22. Leep said he doesn’t plan to stay retired for long. This week, he will begin a new career as a power line worker for American Electric Power.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: Gov. Tony Evers’ office was flooded with hundreds of emails in the hours surrounding his decision to extend Wisconsin’s stay-at-home order, accusing him of destroying the state’s economy, begging him to let business reopen and warning that voters will punish him, an Associated Press review found. One woman pleaded with Evers to let her visit her husband in hospice before he dies of brain cancer. Other people demanded he let youth baseball resume and allow hair salons to reopen. A hairdresser wrote that Evers’ hair looks so good on TV he must be using a stylist in violation of his own order. Asked about the messages during a video conference, Evers acknowledged people and businesses are struggling but said the best way forward is to attack the virus. He said his order isn’t as restrictive as other states’ stay-at-home mandates. Evers issued a stay-at-home order in March that closed schools and nonessential businesses and mandated social distancing in an effort to slow the coronavirus. The order was supposed to lift Friday, but Evers on April 17 extended it until May 26, the day after Memorial Day.\n\nWyoming\n\nCheyenne: Legislative leaders began crafting two bills Friday morning that grant some abilities to Gov. Mark Gordon and state agencies to respond to Wyoming’s numerous needs that have emerged in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The Legislature’s Management Council, which consists of leaders from both chambers and parties, met virtually Friday in preparation for a special session that could come as soon as late next month, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported. The council did not vote on the two pieces of legislation, which touch on everything from hospital funding to low-income housing. Instead, legislators prepared the bills for a final vote at their next meeting on May 1. The first bill worked by lawmakers would set up a COVID-19 relief fund for a preliminary, partial distribution of the $1.25 billion Wyoming has received through the federal coronavirus relief bill. Gordon has the ultimate authority on how to use those funds, but through the legislation, the pot would be divided into a few separate sections to address various needs. Federal rules also prohibit the relief funds from being used to replace lost state revenues, forcing state officials to get slightly more creative with how they use the money.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/04/26"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_8", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/08/politics/joe-biden-midterms-stakes/index.html", "title": "Biden readies for 'a horrible two years' if GOP takes control of ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nAs if Democrats needed any more convincing Tuesday’s midterm elections carry enormous stakes, President Joe Biden offered a bluntly dire assessment during a fundraiser last Friday in Chicago.\n\n“If we lose the House and Senate, it’s going to be a horrible two years,” Biden told the small crowd gathered inside a hotel ballroom, where cameras weren’t allowed. “The good news is I’ll have a veto pen.”\n\nAfter two years of Democratic control of Congress, a change in leadership in the House or Senate – or both – would thrust Biden’s presidency into an entirely new phase. Biden himself has been projecting optimism in the final days of the campaign, but reality is setting in for Democrats their majority rule in Congress could soon end – and Biden’s ability to get his top priorities passed could go with it.\n\nWhite House officials have begun pointing out their losses aren’t likely to be nearly as bad as previous midterm wipeouts, including in 2010, and say the fact Democrats have a fighting chance at all is a positive sign for Biden. But his advisers privately acknowledge that they don’t see a viable path for Democrats to hold onto their House majority, though the president and his senior team are starting the day with the view that the prospect of Democrats holding on to their Senate majority is real – even if it’s one that may take days, or longer, to be fully realized.\n\nWith the intraparty blame game set to boil over in the weeks ahead, the White House moved Tuesday to separate Biden’s agenda – and the president himself – from the list of targets. The White House circulated an Election Day memo to allies more than two dozen individual poll results they say underscores the popularity of the key individual elements of Biden’s agenda, ranging from his cornerstone legislative achievements to his actions on student loans, marijuana and his administration’s response to Covid-19\n\n“Before all the votes have even been cast, pundits are declaring that these midterms have been a referendum on the president’s agenda – nothing could be further from the truth,” the memo, which was obtained by CNN, says in its introduction.\n\nYet even Biden has acknowledged that his agenda, no matter how it polls in isolation, hasn’t translated to an American public that has taken a largely negative view on the direction of the country.\n\n“We’ve passed so many good things,” Biden said at a fundraising event last week. “They’ve been so good people haven’t realized how good they are yet.”\n\nThe effort to get in front of expected losses comes after months of frontline Democratic candidates actively seeking to separate themselves from Biden, relegating the party’s leader mostly to Democratic states and districts as the party scrambled to save its majorities. It’s a reality advisers say Biden doesn’t take personally. After 36 years in the Senate, Biden’s view has long been that the candidates know what’s best for their state or district. But as Biden’s approval ratings started to inch up in the last few months, White House officials have bristled at the view that he was a singular drag on Democrats.\n\nThe defensive tone in the memo echoes a message Biden has repeatedly sought to emphasize in the closing days of the campaign, one that centers on the idea that the election represents a choice between two parties, not a referendum on Biden or his presidency.\n\nA loss of a few seats – Republicans need only pick up five seats to take control of the House – would mean dramatic changes for the president.\n\nHere are four areas that are at stake this Tuesday for Biden and his administration:\n\nGOP investigations\n\nRepublicans on Capitol Hill have made abundantly clear that if they take control of Congress, Biden should get ready: Investigations are coming his way.\n\nA majority in the House or Senate would hand GOP lawmakers powerful chairmanships on a number of oversight committees, giving them the ability to launch investigations targeting Biden, the White House and even members of the president’s family.\n\nAnd so far, Republican members have indicated that they’re eager to target all of the above.\n\nGOP lawmakers including Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan, who are likely to chair the House Oversight and Judiciary committees respectively, are getting ready to probe a range of issues, from the business dealings of Biden’s son, Hunter; to what Republicans allege is political interference by the FBI and Justice Department; to the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.\n\nAnd that’s not to mention the drumbeat of impeachment talk – for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas or even the president himself.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Kevin McCarthy asked about impeaching Biden if GOP wins House. Hear his answer 02:29 - Source: CNN\n\nWhite House officials have been expecting and preparing for this new world for months, including by making personnel hires earlier this summer to beef up its oversight operations. Officials say if Republicans do in fact, take control of Congress, the White House is prepared to beef up those efforts even more with additional hires, and believe it will be ready to push back on future GOP investigations as lacking in merit, politically motivated and nefarious.\n\nWhile officials have been cautious not to get in front of any GOP actions or pre-judge the results of the election, they are also keenly aware of political dynamics that may work in their favor, people familiar with the matter said.\n\n“American people historically don’t respond well to egregious overreach,” one of the people told CNN, specifically citing a new Republican majority’s battles with former President Bill Clinton. “We’ll be prepared, but it’s tough to look at House Republicans and think this won’t wander into that territory.”\n\nAgenda\n\nThe historic likelihood that Biden would lose seats – and majorities – in Congress has loomed over the White House his entire term so far. It is part of what motivated the president’s ambitious legislative agenda, including major Covid-19 relief and a bipartisan infrastructure package, in the earliest months of his presidency.\n\nIf Republicans gain control of one or both chambers, the era of big, progressive bills will likely end. Instead, Biden will be on the defense as Republicans work to undo much of what he accomplished in the first two years of his term.\n\nThe GOP has already vowed to roll back elements of Biden’s signature legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, including its new, higher taxes on corporations. And they could work to roll back or challenge some of the president’s climate initiatives that are included in the package.\n\nOther areas where the president has vowed action, like cementing into law the nationwide right to abortion, would have no chance of advancing if Republicans take control. And other programs, like student loan relief, could be subject to blocking efforts by the GOP.\n\nIn all of these areas, Biden is poised to wield his veto pen in rejecting potential Republican attempts to undermine his agenda. As president, Biden has not vetoed any bills, a facet of Democratic control on Capitol Hill.\n\nWhite House officials have already been quietly preparing for the areas where agreement is a necessity – spending bills and an increase of the nation’s debt limit. The two issues represent must-pass items that have been at the center of a series of Congress vs. White House battles over the last decade.\n\nHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, has been among a number of House Republicans who have pledged to deploy similar tactics should they take the majority.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback McCarthy tells CNN first bill would be on border security if GOP wins House 02:05 - Source: CNN\n\nThe first concrete signs of how that may play out will quickly become apparent. Lawmakers will return to Capitol Hill this month with a matter of weeks to reach an agreement to fund the government.\n\nAt the same time, Biden has a long history of working with Republicans to advance pieces of legislation. And he vowed when running for office to find areas to work across the aisle, something he was able to do on several of his key cornerstone legislative wins.\n\nBiden advisers point to the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law and the $250 billion semiconductor manufacturing and science bill as providing a road map to bipartisan success.\n\nBiden’s 2024 decision\n\nAs soon as the 2022 midterm election results are in, national attention will immediately turn to 2024 – including on the question of whether Biden will seek a second term.\n\nWhile Biden and his aides have been quietly thinking about his political future for months and they have accelerated conversations in the last month, those deliberations will accelerate with the close of the midterm cycle. Biden has pointed to family meetings during the holiday stretch as important to his decision-making, though people familiar with the matter say first lady Dr. Jill Biden and others are on board with another run.\n\nFor weeks, the president and his advisers have maintained that his intention, for now, is to run again. Biden moved quickly to transfer his 2020 operation to the Democratic National Committee after he defeated former President DonaldTrump. The party committee has spent the last two years maintaining and beefing up his grassroots list, fundraising pipeline and building out state-level infrastructure that would make up the critical infrastructure of a nascent campaign.\n\nThey’ve also said that no decision is final until the president has had ample opportunity to discuss his political future with his family. But Biden’s 2024 decision won’t just be a family affair – there will also be strong political dynamics at play.\n\nFor one, Trump’s decision to seek a second term – and the timing of that potential announcement – is expected to be a key factor. Biden advisers continue to believe that the president is best positioned to take on his predecessor, and are confident about a second Biden vs. Trump contest.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback See Al Franken's reaction to Trump's 2024 tease 02:57 - Source: CNN\n\nAnother consideration: How fellow Democrats respond to the results of Tuesday night. Polling from this fall indicates a majority of Democrats say they do not want Biden to run again in 2024. And losses for Democrats could only exacerbate the sense within the party that a change in direction is required.\n\nWhile many elected officials in Biden’s party have been loyal in expressing their public support for a second term, some others have openly called for change.\n\nDemocratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who said over the summer that he does not believe Biden should run again, told CNN on the eve of Election Day that he believes “a majority of Democrats” feel the same way.\n\n“Regardless of tomorrow’s results, I believe Democrats must rebuild our brand and repopulate our bench of future leaders – for both Congress and the White House,” Phillips said. “President Biden has fulfilled his promise to serve as a stabilizing ‘bridge’ to the future, and I expect a majority of Democrats will be seeking a next generation candidate to take the baton in 2024.”\n\nStaffing changes\n\nBiden has seen remarkably little turnover in the first two years of his tenure among his Cabinet and senior team. The halfway mark of his first term, however, could be a natural moment for staff changes.\n\nIt reflects a reluctance to shake up his team, despite calls at various points to dismiss members of his administration. Biden has refrained from firing or asking for the resignation of any members of his Cabinet and sought to lock in his senior team months ahead of this year’s midterms.\n\nThere has been turnover among his senior staff, including in top West Wing positions. His press secretary, White House counsel and senior adviser for public engagement all left earlier this year. Some officials decided to leave the White House around the one-year mark of the administration, while others departed at the start of summer.\n\nBut Biden’s inner circle remains mostly intact. That includes chief of staff Ron Klain, senior advisers Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, deputy chiefs of staff Bruce Reed and Jen O’Malley Dillon, communications director Kate Bedingfield and top communications adviser Anita Dunn.\n\nOfficials have said changes are possible both to the president’s Cabinet and his senior White House staff later this year, though no moves are guaranteed. Should Biden announce his decision to run in 2024, several of the members of his core team are considered likely to shift over to the political operation.\n\nEarlier this fall, the White House established a talent search project to prepare for potential vacancies across Cabinet and senior administration roles following the midterm elections.\n\nKlain brought forward the talent search idea, which will be overseen by two Biden White House alums, Jeff Zients and Natalie Quillian. The pair served in similar roles during the 2020 presidential transition.\n\n“It’s just good government to make sure that you’re thinking ahead,” O’Malley Dillon said during an Axios event last week. “The people that are part of this and helping make that change are the people that you’d expect, and you want to see.”\n\nZients and Quillian – who both served in Covid-19 response roles at the White House earlier in Biden’s presidential term – have specifically been conducting a wide and diverse search for prospective candidates outside the administration to fill Cabinet, deputy Cabinet and senior administration roles.\n\nSome top officials, like Covid adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, are preparing to leave soon. Climate envoy John Kerry has told CNN he plans to stay in the administration at least until this week’s major climate conference in Egypt – without indicating whether he’ll stay longer. And Biden recently appointed a seasoned veteran of Democratic White Houses, John Podesta, to serve as his climate adviser.\n\nThe future of other officials is unclear. Klain has been the subject of speculation, and it is typical for White House chiefs of staff to serve only a portion of a president’s term. But as Biden faces the inevitable personnel transition that all presidents experience after the midterms, Klain’s deeply ingrained role in all corners of the West Wing’s operations may create even more incentive for him to stick around, some officials note, even as they acknowledge he’s given no indication of his intentions.\n\nA potential replacement has been floated in Dunn, who would be the first woman to serve in the role.\n\n“I like the job I have,” Dunn insisted at the Axios event. She added, “I hope Ron Klain stays as long as Joe Biden is president.”", "authors": ["Kevin Liptak Mj Lee Phil Mattingly", "Kevin Liptak", "Mj Lee", "Phil Mattingly"], "publish_date": "2022/11/08"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/19/politics/republicans-inflation-midterm-what-matters/index.html", "title": "Here's how Republicans would address inflation | CNN Politics", "text": "A version of this story appears in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.\n\nCNN —\n\nLife is more expensive, which means everyone has gotten a pay cut. And people are not happy about it.\n\nStill-high gas prices. High rents. The cost of service. It’s all having a cumulative effect. And wage hikes haven’t kept pace with inflation.\n\n$1,000 for a day at Disney. A more specific example that affects people fortunate enough to consider a vacation is the fact that a family of four will now spend more than $1,000 for a single day parking their car and park hopping at Disneyland. And that’s before food or souvenirs, according to CNN’s Natasha Chen.\n\nTide turning. Aggravating and persistent inflation that refuses, so far, to be tamed by interest rate hikes, remains a motivating force in American politics. And the sour economic mood is tilting the political landscape toward Republicans, according to CNN polling director Jennifer Agiesta.\n\n“The nation’s overall political mood – which had been somewhat more favorable for Democrats following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade – may be tilting more in Republicans’ favor,” Agiesta writes.\n\nWhat would Republicans do? It’s worth considering how the economy will be different with Republicans in charge of the House or Senate.\n\nRepublicans on the campaign trail have tried to capitalize on the ongoing sticker shock and laid primary blame for inflation on government spending, an argument that overlooks the energy spike caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine and the supply chain issues caused by the lingering Covid-19 pandemic.\n\nHere’s an extended riff from Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy – who is in line to be speaker of the House next year if Republicans win in November – when he appeared on Fox on Tuesday:\n\n“Every American needs to be asked this one question: ‘Could you afford to give up one month of your wages?’ Ninety-five percent of Americans will say no. But that’s what the Democrats have taken from you. Because one month of your wages is 8.3% of your overall year – inflation is higher than that.\n\nThat’s why when you go to the store, eggs are higher. You‘ve got milk higher, your gasoline prices higher. It is the Democrat policies that brought that. That’s why in the Commitment to America, we will be energy independent, that lower your prices. We’ll take away this runaway spending. We’ll make America more productive to curve inflation, what the Democrats have brought us.”\n\nThat’s the pitch. Can they deliver?\n\nControlling the House and/or Senate would certainly give Republicans the ability to squash any more spending pushed by the Biden administration. And for an idea of what they support, check out McCarthy’s Commitment to America website. It contains few specifics, but has three basic tenets:\n\n“Curb wasteful government spending …”\n\nEnact “pro-growth tax and deregulatory policies …” (cut taxes and regulations)\n\n“Make America energy independent …” (specifically through oil and gas production)\n\nRegarding the tax and regulation ideas, those are longer-term ideas since they would require a Republican president.\n\nA fourth promise to end reliance on China and ease supply chain problems does not include specific policy ideas.\n\nPresident Joe Biden, for his part, has partially wrapped independence from China and building up US manufacturing into his climate policy, and on Wednesday announced $2.8 billion in grants for US battery supply chains under authority from the bipartisan infrastructure law that passed last year.\n\nHow far could Republicans go to cut spending?\n\nMcCarthy has suggested Republicans will go further and even use the debt ceiling, which will likely be reached early next year, as leverage to force spending cuts. It’s a more overt endorsement of the tactic, which would theoretically see the US default on its obligations.\n\nFor an assessment of what Republicans can and would be able to accomplish on inflation, I talked to Douglas Holtz-Eakin, an economist and president of the American Action Forum, a nonprofit organization that does not endorse policy positions but has a center-right viewpoint. He’s a former director of the Congressional Budget Office and was the economic policy adviser to Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, but he’s not affiliated with either party.\n\nControlling inflation is primarily the Fed’s job\n\nThe first thing to know, Holtz-Eakin said, is that the primary job of controlling inflation belongs to the Federal Reserve, not Congress or the White House.\n\nHowever, he’s of the opinion – along with other economists like the Democrat Larry Summers – that government spending, and in particular the American Rescue Plan Act passed without help from Republicans shortly after Biden took office, helped drive inflation.\n\n“Not committing the same mistake is something Republicans can control, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “They can block things if they control the House, and that would be beneficial” to curb spending.\n\nThe proof that spending helped spur inflation\n\nWhile Holtz-Eakin said it is not accurate to say Biden and Democrats created the inflation, they certainly helped accelerate it.\n\n“It’s quite clear in the data that there’s a sharp ramp up of inflation in April of 2021 immediately as the checks go out, to implement a $2 trillion stimulus in our economy,” he said.\n\nWhat about using the debt ceiling as leverage to cut spending?\n\n“We’ve seen this movie a million times before,” Holtz-Eakin said, rattling off various ideas that have been put forward to control deficit spending and the national debt.\n\n“People have talked on both sides of this forever, and there hasn’t been one difference in the outcomes,” he said. The debt has gone up steadily. It is currently set at nearly $31.4 trillion. At some point, he argued, someone is going to have to get serious about making fiscal policy more sustainable.\n\nCutting spending is contrary to Congress’ nature\n\nWhile the American Rescue Plan never would have happened if Republicans had been in control of the House, Holtz-Eakin also said something important about how even when there are promises to cut spending, spending occurs.\n\n“On the whole, Congress tends to spend more and tax less and run deficits,” he said. “On the whole, it’s directionally always more inflationary than not.” But a GOP majority would certainly lower the magnitude of spending, he said.\n\nA recession might be on the way no matter what\n\nThere are more and more predictions of a recession as the Federal Reserve tries to tamp down on inflation by raising interest rates.\n\n“Once inflation is there, you have nothing but bad choices,” Holtz-Eakin said. “You have to raise rates and tighten financial conditions. That means fewer jobs and less retail sales, fewer housing starts and all sorts of bad decisions.”\n\nThose decisions are being made regardless of who sits in the House and Senate.\n\n“Ownership of the economy usually falls to the president, who gets blamed or gets credit for what happens on his or her watch,” he said.\n\nWhat’s Biden doing?\n\nThe President tried again Wednesday to put even the smallest dent in gas prices with the formal announcement of yet another release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve – 15 million barrels in December – although it’s unlikely to have much impact.\n\nThe rest of the government is trying to do its part to ease the burden of inflation too:\n\nThat said, none of those measures will likely make Americans feel very different about the economy before Election Day.", "authors": ["Zachary B. Wolf"], "publish_date": "2022/10/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/15/washington-congress-news-live-updates/11255886002/", "title": "Recap: CBO report sets summer as timeframe for deal on debt", "text": "Debt ceiling default could come as soon as July.\n\nThe Congressional Budget Office Wednesday declared that the U.S. Treasury will run out of money to pay government bills such as Social Security and military paychecks by the summer unless lawmakers agree on a deal to raise the debt limit ceiling.\n\nThat doesn't leave much time to reach a deal and, as it turns out, there's not a lot of places Democrats and Republicans can agree to cut – at least in the short term.\n\nHere's what else is happening in politics:\n\nSmart analysis delivered to your inbox:Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nBiden, McCarthy spar over debt after CBO releases new projections\n\nPresident Joe Biden on Wednesday accused Republicans of supporting tax cuts for the wealthy and other policies that would add $3 trillion to the national debt, pushing back on their demands for spending cuts as part of raising the debt ceiling.\n\nBiden, speaking at an electrical workers union hall in Lanham Md., singled out Republican efforts to extend expiring Trump-era tax cuts for high-income earners and corporations, which would add a projected $2.7 trillion in debt. “It would explode the deficit and leave the American taxpayer holding the bag,” he said.\n\nHis remarks came after the Congressional Budget Office released an updated budget outlook that projects the U.S. will add more than $19 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, $3 trillion more than was projected last year.\n\nHouse Speaker Kevin McCarthy fired back in a tweet, saying Biden’s policies have led to $13 trillion in new spending and renewing his call to “negotiate a responsible debt limit increase that gets our fiscal house back in order.”\n\n“Democrats' reckless spending is plunging our country into deeper debt & jeopardizing our economy,” McCarthy said. “A blank check for more spending will destroy our country.”\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nCBO: Debt ceiling deadline could strike as soon as July\n\nThe U.S. Treasury will run out of money to pay government bills such as Social Security and military paychecks this summer, but there's no way to tell exactly what day yet, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.\n\nIf Congress doesn't raise the debt limit – the amount the U.S. can legally borrow – the \"extraordinary measures\" the Treasury is taking to pay America's bills will run out between July and September, the CBO said in a new report Wednesday afternoon.\n\nBut there is no \"X-date\" in the report to mark the threshold for when the U.S. will run out of cash.\n\nThe CBO blames the uncertain date on upcoming revenue collections, especially how much the U.S. collects in taxes by the April due date. If the country takes in less than expected, the U.S. could run out of money before July.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nHunter Biden’s art dealer tells House chairman to ask president’s son about paintings\n\nA lawyer for Hunter Biden’s art dealer has told a House committee it should seek information about the sales of paintings from the president's son, not the broker.\n\nRep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, asked New York art dealer Georges Berges for documents and testimony about who was buying Hunter Biden’s paintings and for how much. Comer voiced concerns the high prices could buy influence with the Biden administration.\n\nBut William Pittard, a lawyer for Berges, replied in a letter that Berges arranged to keep information about the art sales confidential to avoid ethical concerns with President Joe Biden. Pittard also cited a Supreme Court decision about demands from Comer’s panel in the investigation of former President Donald Trump that ruled “transactions by the President and his family” exceeded the House’s authority. Pittard suggested Comer pose his questions to Hunter Biden and his lawyer, Abbe Lowell.\n\nThe committee said in a statement Berges should abandon his delay tactics and produce the documents requested: \"We find the objections unconvincing and incoherent.\"\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nArt mystery:Hunter Biden's art dealer says his work is 'important.' Why the paintings factor into GOP probes.\n\nHow is fentanyl smuggled in the US? Lawmakers pose tough questions to stem the flow\n\nBiden administration officials warned a key Senate panel Wednesday that a surge of illicitly manufactured fentanyl trafficked into the United States continues to claim lives and has contributed to \"the worst drug crisis\" the nation has ever seen.\n\nMore than 56,000 people died from overdoses involving synthetic opioids in 2020, including fentanyl — a more than 56% increase in overdose death rates from 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nDuring a hearing Wednesday featuring key drug enforcement officials, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee demanded to hear ways to stem the flow of fentanyl into the country. Most of the fentanyl being trafficked into the country is mass-produced in labs in Mexico and made with from chemicals sourced from China, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.\n\n– Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nOpioid crisis:How is fentanyl smuggled in the US? Lawmakers are asking tough questions to stem the flow\n\nHouse GOP subpoenas 5 tech CEOs over alleged suppression of conservatives\n\nRep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, subpoenaed top executives of five tech companies to ask about interactions with the government and alleged suppression of conservatives.\n\nJordan, R-Ohio, said he is developing legislation to limit how much tech companies can restrict the circulation of content or remove users from their platforms. Jordan said Twitter recently set a benchmark for revealing its interactions with government requests to suppress content.\n\nThe subpoenas went to Timothy Cook, CEO of Apple; Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google; and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, the parent of Facebook.\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nRepublican probes:Investigating the investigators: GOP creates panels to probe DOJ, China\n\nNot just Haley: South Carolina's Tim Scott is also mulling presidential bid\n\nNikki Haley might not be the only politician from South Carolina to run for president in 2024.\n\nSen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the Senate's only Black Republican, has hired new political aides and is planning a trip to Iowa, all stoking speculation that he may also jump into next year's Republican race.\n\nScott allies are mum on whether he will take the plunge.\n\n“These next few weeks Senator Scott will not just talk about his faith, but also why he has faith in America,\" said Jennifer DeCasper, a senior adviser to the South Carolina senator. \"He is excited to share his vision of hope and opportunity and hear the American people’s response.”\n\nAsked about Scott's campaign-like activity, aides stayed mum.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nHawkeye haven:As GOP starting gate for 2024 presidential race, Iowa sees surge of announced and potential candidates\n\nDOJ drops investigation of Rep. Matt Gaetz without charges\n\nThe Justice Department has formally decided not to charge firebrand Rep. Matt Gaetz in a sex-trafficking investigation, the lawmaker's lawyers said Wednesday.\n\n\"We have just spoken with the DOJ and have been informed that they have concluded their investigation into Congressman Gaetz and allegations related to sex trafficking and obstruction of justice and they have determined not to bring any charges against him,\" attorneys Marc Mukasey and Isabelle Kirshner said.\n\nGaetz, R-Fla., has been under investigation for years for allegedly having sexual relations with a 17-year-old girl and allegedly paying for her to travel with him. But Gaetz, 40, who said he cooperated with federal investigators and strongly denied the allegations.\n\n- Bart Jansen\n\nGaetz charges dropped:Justice Department drops sex-trafficking probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz without charges, lawyers say\n\nDefense secretary: No unidentified objects in US airspace the last few days\n\nThe sky has been quiet since three unidentified objects were downed by U.S. fighter jets over the United States and Canada from Friday to Sunday, the head of the Defense Department said.\n\nDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters in Brussels Wednesday that no unidentified objects have been observed flying over the United States by the Pentagon the last few days.\n\n\"I'm not aware of any additional objects that have been reported operating in the space in the last 48 hours,\" Austin said.\n\n–Tom Vanden Brook\n\nLatest on flying objects:Unidentified flying objects might have been research or commercial balloons, White House says\n\nBiden to argue Republican proposals would add $3 trillion to national debt\n\nPresident Joe Biden plans to go on the offensive Wednesday in his standoff with Republicans over the debt ceiling, arguing that Republican proposals put forward this year would add $3 trillion in debt over the next decade.\n\nBiden will make that case in a speech Wednesday afternoon at an electrical workers union hall in Lanham, Maryland, according to excerpts of the address provided by the White House. Biden will say his budget proposal, which he will release March 9, would cut the deficit by $2 trillion over 10 years, not raise any taxes on individuals earning less than $400,000 and “protect and strengthen” Social Security and Medicare.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nBiden national debt remarks come before budget forecast\n\nBiden's remarks will come after the Congressional Budget Office is expected to release a budget forecast that will outline when Congress must raise the debt ceiling before the U.S. defaults on financial obligations.\n\nThe White House pointed to Republican efforts to extend expiring tax cuts for wealthy earners and corporations that passed under former President Donald Trump, which would add $2.7 trillion in debt. Republican-backed legislation that cleared the House to rescind IRS resources designed to crack down on tax cheats would add $144 billion in debt and a bill to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act would erase a new policy allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and raise the debt by $156 billion.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nHitting the campaign trial, Nikki Haley pursues big-name endorsements\n\nNikki Haley has a lot to do to build support with Republican voters, and one of her methods was on display at her announcement event: Prominent endorsers.\n\nRep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., the first member of the South Carolina congressional delegation to endorse the former governor, introduced Haley by saying that Donald Trump was \"exactly\" what the Republican Party needed back in 2016, but Haley is a \"leader\" for new times.\n\nAnother pre-speech speaker: Cindy Warmbier, whose 22-year-old son Otto died just days after North Korea released him from prison in 2017. She said the United States \"would be lucky to have Nikki Haley in the White House.\"\n\nHaley will also be pursuing endorsers during her upcoming trips to Iowa and New Hampshire.\n\n– David Jackson, Mabinty Quarshie\n\nNikki Haley in 2024:Nikki Haley announces 2024 presidential bid in first major GOP challenge to Donald Trump\n\nNikki Haley looks for a GOP lane between Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis\n\nNow that she's in the Republican presidential race, Nikki Haley must find a way to crash a party primary field dominated by Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.\n\nWhile touting her experience as the former governor of South Carolina and a former United Nations ambassador, Haley stresses something else: her relative youth.\n\n\"It's time for a new generation of leadership,\" Haley said in an announcement video put out a day before her announcement speech Wednesday in Charleston, South Carolina.\n\n– David Jackson, Mabinty Quarshie\n\nAs nation reels from Michigan shooting, courts wrestle with access to guns\n\nShould the government be able to take guns from Americans who smoke marijuana? What about people who are the subject of domestic violence protective orders?\n\nA federal appeals court in Philadelphia is grappling Wednesday with a case that questions whether Americans who have committed nonviolent felonies can be denied access to guns. It’s one of several such cases questioning who can be denied access to weapons that are percolating in federal courts in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year on the Second Amendment.\n\nThe case in Philadelphia, which deals with a man who has been denied access to guns after making false statements to boost his food stamp assistance nearly three decades ago, comes as the nation is reeling from another mass shooting. Three Michigan State University students were killed and five others were wounded in a shooting Monday night.\n\n– John Fritze\n\nGun access:As nation reels from Michigan State shooting, courts wrestle with access to guns\n\nWill Republicans get the spending cuts they want?\n\nAs the country looks to avert a potentially catastrophic default, Republicans are threatening to not raise the federal debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to cut federal spending.\n\nBut President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy agree that Social Security and Medicare – which combined account for a third of federal spending alone – are off the table. And Republicans oppose cuts to Defense or veterans' programs, which make up another 15%.\n\nWith Democrats who control the Senate unwilling to go along with broad cuts to a number of social safety programs, there doesn't appear much for Congress to trim – at least not in the short run.\n\n– Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nWhat's at stake in debt ceiling talks:With debt ceiling deadline looming, will Republicans get the spending cuts they want?\n\n4 Russian warplanes intercepted by American F-16 jets near Alaska\n\nA pair of American F-16 jets intercepted four Russian warplanes in Alaska in what the North American Aerospace Defense Command on Tuesday called a “routine intercept.”\n\nThe Russian jets were detected and intercepted Monday in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, which is a zone beyond the border of American and Canadian sovereign airspace that is jointly monitored by the two nations.\n\nRussian activity in the ADIZ “occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat, nor is the activity seen as provocative,” according to NORAD. Since 2007, a yearly average of six to seven intercepts of Russian jets have taken place in the zone, the organization said.\n\nNORAD also said the interception is in “no way” related to the airborne objects in American airspace during the last two weeks.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nNATO secretary general says military alliance will ‘step up’ support for Ukraine\n\nAs the first anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine approaches, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s top official affirmed support for Ukraine by promising sustained support from the intergovernmental military alliance.\n\nJens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary general, said Wednesday after a meeting of NATO defense ministers that the alliance would work to bolster defense and boost industrial capacity to replenish arms and munitions, both generally and in Ukraine. He said action is paramount because of the “more dangerous world” in which we live today, citing Russia’s “aggressive” behavior, ongoing threats of terrorism and the “challenges” posed by China.\n\n“Moscow underestimated #Ukraine's bravery & NATO unity,” Stoltenberg said in a Wednesday tweet. “We will step up & sustain our support for as long as it takes.”\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nIowa Gov. Kim Reynolds could be a caucus kingmaker. Why she won't play favorites\n\nIowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is always in demand ahead of the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, as candidates try to ingratiate themselves with the leader of the state party that will shape their political trajectory.\n\nBut Reynolds emerged from the COVID pandemic and the 2022 midterm election more polarizing yet more powerful, and Republicans say her new levels of political clout and popularity make her uniquely influential among the state's GOP base as the national spotlight turns, once again, to Iowa ahead of its 2024 presidential caucuses.\n\n“I would say with a great deal of confidence that Kim Reynolds is the only person in the state of Iowa that could be a king or a queenmaker,” Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann said.\n\n– Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register\n\nNicola Sturgeon to step down as Scotland's leader\n\nScottish leader Nicola Sturgeon, the head of the country’s independence movement for eight years, plans to resign.\n\nThe move was unexpected, and comes amid criticism in the country of her push to make it easier for people to legally change genders. She said the decision was not a reaction to political pressures.\n\n– The Associated Press\n\nGeorgia grand jury concerned witnesses lied during Trump investigation\n\nA special purpose grand jury in Georgia is concerned witnesses lied during its investigation of former President Donald Trump and his allies' efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election, raising the specter of potential charges.\n\nDescriptions of the alleged lies could be unveiled Thursday, when parts of the grand jury's long-awaited report on the Trump probe is made public. The witnesses won't be identified and no one has been charged yet. But prosecutors could pursue perjury charges as leverage to broaden the investigation, according to legal experts.\n\n“That expands the scope of potential defendants quite a bit,” said Clark Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University. “It also opens up the possibility for the district attorney to proceed immediately with perjury indictments, which would be pretty straightforward.”\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nRead the full story:Witnesses in Georgia Trump probe suspected of lying, raising more questions in closely watched inquiry\n\nJeff Zients, aka 'Mr. Fix-It,' takes on DC's most brutal job\n\nJeff Zients, a management expert and government official with a reputation for conquering the most impossible of tasks, embarked last week upon what may be his toughest challenge yet. He is the new White House chief of staff.\n\nZients is known for making things work. But the challenges he will face as chief of staff are like no challenges he has faced before.\n\nThe war in Ukraine shows no signs of ending. Fears the country could slip into a recession persist, with a government report released Tuesday showing that inflation is slowly easing but likely to keep prices elevated well into this year.\n\nThe administration is facing a showdown with congressional Republicans on raising the limit on how much money the government can borrow. House Republicans, emboldened by their new but razor-thin majority, are plotting a series of investigations into President Joe Biden and members of his family.\n\n– Michael Collins\n\nWho is Biden's new chief of staff?:Jeff Zients, aka 'Mr. Fix-It,' takes on DC's most brutal job\n\nMike Pence joins other potential presidential hopefuls in Iowa\n\nFormer Vice President Mike Pence is returning to Iowa this week, kicking off a surge of presidential caucus activity after a quiet start to the year.\n\nIowa Republicans will hold their traditional first-in-the-nation caucuses in early 2024, which serve as the starting line for the rest of the presidential primary cycle. A bevy of candidates are expected to compete, and they've been making inroads with the state's Republican elected officials and activists for months, if not years, as they weigh their plans.\n\nNow, with former President Donald Trump formally in the race and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley officially launching her campaign, activity in the Hawkeye State is ramping up.\n\n– Brianne Pfannenstiel\n\nMore:As GOP starting gate for 2024 presidential race, Iowa sees surge of announced and potential candidates\n\nFeinstein will not run again in 2024\n\nDemocrat Dianne Feinstein, California’s longest serving senator, is forgoing reelection.\n\n“I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024, but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein said in a statement Tuesday.\n\nThe decision shakes up the 2024 Senate map as multiple Democrats — including Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff — have either announced or are reportedly considering their bids to succeed the longtime senator, who had been dogged by questions about her ability to serve.\n\n– Phillip M. Bailey\n\nMore:Dianne Feinstein, California's longest serving senator, won't seek reelection in 2024\n\nBiden renews calls to ban assault weapons after Michigan State shooting\n\nPresident Joe Biden renewed his call to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines after a shooting at Michigan State University killed three people and injured five others.\n\n“I’m going to say something that’s always controversial,” Biden said Tuesday in remarks addressing the National Association of Counties in Washington. \"There is no rationale for assault weapons and magazines that hold 50, 70 bullets.”\n\nBiden’s push to reenact a ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004, is unlikely to pass a Republican-led House and even faces an uphill climb in the Democratic-controlled Senate.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nMore:President Biden says 'no rationale for assault weapons' after Michigan State University shooting", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/15"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/17/politics/republicans-house-election-economy-inflation/index.html", "title": "Republicans will control the House, but they can't do much to fix the ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nCongressional Republicans have repeatedly blamed President Joe Biden and their Democratic counterparts for the surge in inflation and the rocky economy.\n\nBut though the GOP has captured control of the House in the midterm election, albeit by a very slim margin, there’s not much the party can do to quickly bring down prices and put the economy on more solid footing when it assumes power in January.\n\n“It was really easy to criticize the economy and criticize inflation. But no one really had an agenda to do anything about it,” said Brian Riedl, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a free market think tank, and former chief economist for Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. “I think ultimately, they’re going to be pointing fingers at each other while they wait for the Federal Reserve to do most of the heavy lifting.”\n\nHouse Republican leaders provided some big-picture ideas of their economic plans in their legislative agenda, titled Commitment to America, which they released in September. Many are core GOP ideals: They promise to curb wasteful spending, reduce taxes and regulations, ramp up American energy production, expand US manufacturing and move supply chains away from China.\n\nHowever, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who is in line to become House speaker next year, may have difficulty garnering enough support to pass any economic proposals with such a narrow majority, Riedl said. The caucus is currently split between economic nationalists, who want to increase tariffs, reduce immigration and crack down on trade, and free-market supporters, who champion spending cuts, tax reductions, free trade and less regulation.\n\nThe only significant overlap between the factions is their interest in increasing energy production, though that would not swiftly or significantly bring down the prices of oil, natural gas and gasoline, he said.\n\nStop Democrats’ spending proposals\n\nThere is one thing House Republicans can do that they believe will help the economy: Slam the brakes on Biden’s and congressional Democrats’ big spending proposals, which the GOP argues has caused inflation to soar.\n\n“We’ll pursue an agenda focused on affordability,” Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, told reporters Wednesday. “That means less government spending, taxes and regulation that is fueling higher prices, more made-in-America energy, more workers reconnected to their job and innovation that can reduce the drivers of inflation.”\n\nSoon after Biden took office last year, Democrats passed a $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill that provided another round of stimulus checks, extended generous unemployment benefits, temporarily beefed up the child tax credit and enhanced federal subsidies for Affordable Care Act coverage, among other measures. Over the summer, the party passed a $750 billion health care, tax and climate bill – a much smaller version of a $3.5 trillion package Democrats had originally hoped to push through.\n\nSeveral other spending measures got bipartisan support, including a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package that passed last November and a bill that will invest more than $200 billion over five years to boost semiconductor chip manufacturing, which was approved over the summer.\n\nIt’s very hard to take all this money out of the system, so it just needs to work its way through, said Rohit Kumar, co-leader, Washington National Tax Services at PwC, and former deputy chief of staff for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. Most of the GOP’s economic policies are rooted in longer-term growth proposals, such as corporate tax incentives. In the short run, inflationary pressures will largely be handled by the Federal Reserve, though the GOP will seek to stop pouring more federal funds into the economy.\n\nIt’s possible the party will use the need to raise the debt ceiling sometime next year as leverage to force Biden and Democrats to curtail spending.\n\nBut if the economy does fall into a recession, cutting spending could make things worse, especially when the Federal Reserve is increasing interest rates, said Greg Valliere, chief US policy strategist at AGF Investments. Typically, providing targeted federal assistance to struggling Americans during downturns helps both them and the economy get back on their feet.\n\n“This mood on Capitol Hill against spending is not designed, in my opinion, to help the economy,” he said. “I think it could weaken the economy.”\n\nEconomic improvement\n\nAlthough prices for gas, food and other essentials remain high, inflation has cooled a bit in recent months. Wholesale prices rose by 8% in October from a year before, the smallest increase since July of last year, and the Consumer Price Index rose 7.7% for the year ending in October, the lowest annual inflation reading since January.\n\nMeanwhile, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said Monday that it could soon be time for the central bank to slow the pace of its rate increases. It has approved hikes of three-quarters of a percentage point at each of its last four meetings in an effort to curb inflation.\n\nThere’s no panacea for the nation’s economic and inflation woes, Valliere said.\n\n“Everybody’s probably hoping that the economy heals by itself,” he said.", "authors": ["Tami Luhby"], "publish_date": "2022/11/17"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/06/investing/stocks-week-ahead/index.html", "title": "Stocks week ahead: How the midterms could affect Wall Street ...", "text": "A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here.\n\nNew York CNN Business —\n\nLast week was a volatile one on Wall Street, with stocks falling after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell dashed the market’s dreams of a pivot and suggested that more big rate hikes are likely coming. But Wall Street is still turning its hopes to Washington.\n\nInvestors are betting on a big Republican wave in the midterm elections. If Republicans take at least one chamber of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm election, that will likely result in more gridlock, which the market usually loves.\n\nAccording to data from Edelman Financial Engines, the S&P 500 had an annualized return of 16.9% since 1948 during the nine years when a Democrat was in the White House and Republicans had a majority in both chambers of Congress. That compares to 15.1% during periods of full Democratic control and 15.9% in years when there was a unified GOP government.\n\nInvestors are more than happy when politicians bicker but don’t actually enact any new laws that may hurt corporate profits.\n\nForget about taxes\n\nOne example is taxes on businesses.\n\n“What do midterms mean for the markets? If Republicans get the House, tax hikes are dead in the water,” said David Wagner, a portfolio manager with Aptus Capital Advisors. Republicans may be less likely to approve a windfall tax on oil company profits and also are generally not in favor of tax hikes on the wealthy.\n\nThe market also is betting that some sectors could get a boost – even if Republicans take control of the House or Senate and presumably make it more difficult for President Biden to get laws passed.\n\nThat’s because there are some areas of consensus for the White House and Republican lawmakers.\n\n“A GOP sweep could lead to more spending on defense,” said Wagner. “Increasing the budget for defense seems to be a bipartisan issue.” The House passed a record high defense budget proposal this summer.\n\nBiden and Republicans also seem to be on the same page when it comes to boosting spending on infrastructure. That could give a boost to utilities, construction companies and some real estate stocks. Congress did pass a more than $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill last year that was championed by President Biden after all. But it’s not yet clear what the appetite for more spending is…even if there is consensus that more is needed.\n\n“Everything is polarized politically, but there has been common ground on infrastructure. That was even the case with [Donald] Trump and [Hillary] Clinton in 2016,” said Jim Lydotes, deputy chief investment officer of equities at Newton Investment Management. “As a country we’ve under-invested in infrastructure. That’s an area where there is a lot of agreement.”\n\nGridlock isn’t always a good thing\n\nOf course, there is no guarantee that Biden and other Democratic leaders will be able to work effectively with Republicans in Congress. After all, the political narrative will quickly shift to the 2024 presidential race once the midterms are in the rear view mirror. Congress and the White House may spend more time bickering than trying to pass legislation.\n\nThere also may be some significant drawbacks to a divided government, especially if fears of a recession come to fruition next year.\n\nRob Dent, US senior economist at Nomura Securities International, said there could be less federal government spending on social safety net programs if Republicans take control of Congress.\n\n“All else being equal, that could lead to a longer recovery from a recession,” Dent said. That would be bad for stocks more generally since consumer spending drives corporate profits.\n\nDent added that there’s also the unwelcome possibility of more bickering in Washington about the debt ceiling. The last time that was a major issue was during President Barack Obama’s first term. The US lost its prized perfect AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor’s as a result of the debt ceiling drama. The stock market plunged more than 5% after the downgrade happened in August 2011.\n\n“This election outcome is less about what might get done versus what might not get done to help the economy during a downturn,” Dent said. “We’re worried about divided government leading to brinkmanship about the debt limit and the potential for government shutdowns. We haven’t had to deal with that in quite some time.”\n\nBut at the end of the day, political headlines are often just noise for the markets. Ameriprise chief market strategist Anthony Saglimbene said on a conference call last week about the midterms that stocks have historically gone up after elections, no matter which party controls the White House and Congress.\n\nThe midterms may also take a “back seat” to other macro issues. Saglimbene noted that “growth, profits, inflation and interest rates” matter more to investors over the long haul. He conceded that election results could lead to more near-term volatility, but that the market is already pricing in a strong likelihood of divided government.\n\nInflation nation\n\nPolitically-induced market and economic volatility is the last thing that consumers, investors or the Fed need given that inflation has turned out to not be transitory as Fed chair Powell had predicted for much of 2021.\n\nIt is clear that higher prices for commodities and other raw materials, shipping and other transportation expenses and labor costs are not going away anytime soon.\n\nSteve Cahillane, the CEO of cereal and snack food giant Kellogg (K), even said on the company’s most recent earnings call last week that the thought that “inflation was going to be transitory was always obviously ridiculous.”\n\nWe’ll get a better sense of just how persistent inflation is on Thursday after the government reports the September consumer price index (CPI) figures.\n\nEconomists surveyed by Reuters are forecasting that overall prices rose 0.7% last month, up from a 0.4% gain in September. That would likely push year-over-year prices, which rose 8.2% over the past 12 months through September, even higher as well. The continued strength of the jobs market will put more pressure on prices too.\n\n“The labor market is resilient and inflation is spreading to the services sector, too,” said Troy Gayeski, chief investment strategist with FS Investments.\n\nThat may lead to more worries that the economy may be headed for a so-called stagflation environment, a period where stagnant growth occurs alongside high inflation. If that happens, the Fed is likely to keep rates higher for longer.\n\n“We will exit this inflationary/stagflationary situation eventually,” Gayeski said. “But it’s not like the Fed will quickly cut rates back to zero. It’s going to be really cautious.”\n\nUp next\n\nMonday: China trade data; earnings from BioNTech (BNTX), Take-Two (TTWO), Ryanair (RYAAY) and Lyft (LYFT)\n\nTuesday: US midterm elections; earnings from DuPont (DD), Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH), Lordstown Motors, Disney (DIS), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), News Corp (NWS), IAC (IAC), AMC (AMC) and Novavax (NVAX)\n\nWednesday: China inflation data; earnings from D.R. Horton (DHI), Weibo (WB), Hanesbrands (HBI), Capri Holdings (CPRI), Roblox, SeaWorld (SEAS), Wendy’s (WEN), Redfin (RDFN) and Beyond Meat (BYND)\n\nThursday: US CPI; US weekly jobless claims; earnings from Nio (NIO), Ralph Lauren (RL), Tapestry (TPR), WeWork, Six Flags (SIX), Yeti (YETI) and Warby Parker\n\nFriday: US bond market closed for Veterans Day; UK GDP; US U. of Michigan consumer sentiment; earnings from SoftBank (SFTBF)", "authors": ["Paul R. La Monica"], "publish_date": "2022/11/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/politics/spending-showdown-divided-washington-analysis/index.html", "title": "Republicans seek to sabotage year-end spending bill | CNN Politics", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe government funding standoff gripping Washington ahead of Friday’s shutdown deadline is one of the first indicators of the coming shift in power dynamics that will return the capital to a governing cold war between congressional Republicans and a Democratic White House.\n\nAn omnibus spending bill that would avert the closure of the federal government would be one of the last acts of unified Democratic political control of Washington. But it’s being pushed to the last minute as the routine disputes between Republicans and Democrats over spending priorities are exacerbated by conservative Republicans who want to hold key decisions until the new Congress in January, when they hope to use their new House majority to cut spending.\n\nIt’s an early glimpse of the paralysis that could result from divided government with neither side having the power to fully deliver on promises they made to voters in last month’s midterm elections, when Republicans won the House and Democrats retained control of the Senate.\n\nSome of these clashes, like disputes over funding social programs and the need to raise the government’s borrowing limit next year, threaten to shut the government or badly damage the US economy. This heralds a return of the government shutdown threats that were a regular holiday season tradition during the Obama administration after Republicans gained congressional majorities. And during Donald Trump’s administration, the government shut down for 35 days over the 2018-19 holiday season because of a dispute over the then-president’s demand for border wall funding – leaving federal workers furloughed and putting critical programs and services on hold.\n\nThis time, Republicans, especially in the House, believe that they have a mandate from voters to stem domestic spending on issues like Covid-19, climate change and other priorities that have characterized President Joe Biden’s administration. And even though Democrats control the House until the end of the post-election lame duck session, muscle-flexing GOP lawmakers want to use their new power now.\n\nDemocrats, meanwhile, understand that the government spending bill likely represents their last chance to enact Biden’s ambitious domestic plans until the next presidential election. The fraught final weeks of 2022 may also be their best opening to bypass the incoming GOP House by honoring Biden’s $37 billion request for new aid for Ukraine, which some conservatives oppose and which could be added to the government spending bill. Democratic leaders say the omnibus bill is urgently needed to fund police departments, to ease congestion at ports and to improve medical care for veterans and to help the US compete with China, among scores of other priorities. But Republicans argue domestic non-defense spending has already had a huge boost in Biden’s Covid-19 rescue measures and in his new climate and health care law.\n\nThe chances of a deal in the coming weeks hang in the balance and are creating a conflict between the need for good governance and politics – one that is usually resolved in bitterly divided Washington in favor of the latter force. The year-end government spending showdown – a classic example of Congress’ tendency to put off tough decisions until the last possible moment – is also being complicated by the need to pass the $858 billion National Defense Authorization Act. The House passed a version of the measure last week after ending Covid-19 vaccination mandates in the military in order to draw Republican votes.\n\nRepublicans’ grim prognosis for a deal with Democrats\n\nIn a sign of rising political pressure over the spending clash, a group of Republican senators wrote to GOP leader Mitch McConnell last week, laying out their strategy and urging him to block a big spending bill and to agree to a short-term funding package to keep the government open for a few weeks.\n\n“For the Senate to ram through a so-called ‘omnibus’ bill—which would fund the entirety of the Pelosi-Schumer spending agenda through most of next year—would utterly disempower the new Republican House from enacting our shared priorities,” said the letter signed by six senators including Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida.\n\nTheir stance helps explain why McConnell last week gave a grim prognosis for a deal with Democrats on a big funding bill, commenting, “We don’t have agreements to do virtually anything. … We don’t even have an overall agreement on how much we’re going to spend, and we’re running out of time.”\n\nThere is one school of thought that the passage of a long-term funding mechanism might actually give House GOP leaders a break since a short-term deal would raise the possibility that one of the first acts of a new majority would be to trigger a government shutdown – a state of affairs that has often been politically damaging to the reputation of the party saddled with the blame. But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is already under fierce pressure from the most radical members of his conference as he struggles to get enough votes to become speaker. He has little political leeway and has therefore been heaping public pressure on Senate Republicans to thwart Biden’s hopes of one more spending package, saying on Fox News earlier this month that once Republicans have the gavel in the House, “We would be stronger in every negotiation.”\n\nHis comments, while offering a glimpse of how he plans to preside over a confrontation with the White House, also offered insight into how the GOP House could make McConnell’s life more complicated next year as he tries to manage his party in the Senate.\n\nDemocrats are keen for one last show of power\n\nDemocrats are determined to get a government funding bill passed in the final days of their party’s House majority and are also gearing up for the battles that will unfold at the beginning of next year.\n\nIf lawmakers cannot agree on a deal, they will face the possibility of either passing a short-term spending bill to carry the debate into the new Congress or a longer-term continuing resolution that would extend current spending levels.\n\nBut a senior Biden administration official warned last week that even a funding deal that lasted a year would have “disastrous” consequences for key programs.\n\nAnd on Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, implied that Republicans were trying to jam Democrats at the end of this year to kickstart their effort in the new GOP House to slash spending on vital social programs.\n\n“Republicans see it as an opportunity to hold us hostage and get demands that, under normal circumstances, they would not,” Sanders said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”\n\n“Look, they have not been shy about making it clear they want to cut Social Security, they want to cut Medicare, they want to cut Medicaid,” Sanders told Dana Bash.\n\nBiden sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin up to Capitol Hill last week to brief senators on the war in Ukraine. But in a sign of the consuming nature of the spending showdown, Republicans emerged from the meeting complaining that the two secretaries spent time lobbying for an omnibus spending bill over a continuing resolution.\n\n“It was a waste of their time. It was a waste of our time,” Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy told reporters. He said that Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had asked Blinken and Austin to explain why the new spending bill was so necessary. “I knew as soon as Chuck said that. … this is just a political exercise,” Kennedy said.\n\nGiven the gulf between Democrats and Republicans who would be needed to back a spending deal in the Senate, it is increasingly likely that Congress may have to pass an ultra-short term measure to get past Friday’s deadline to allow for an extension in negotiations that would push lawmakers ever closer to the holidays.\n\n“Bring your Yuletide carols and all that stuff here because we may be singing to each other,” South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, told reporters last week.", "authors": ["Stephen Collinson"], "publish_date": "2022/12/12"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/08/politics/house-gun-reform-package-vote/index.html", "title": "House passes sweeping gun reform package though it's unlikely to ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe House voted Wednesday 223-204 to pass a wide-ranging package of gun control legislation called the “Protecting Our Kids Act,” after lawmakers faced intense pressure to act in the wake of recent mass shootings.\n\nFive Republicans voted for the bill: Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio, Fred Upton of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Chris Jacobs of New York. Two Democrats – Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon – voted against it.\n\nThe measure is not expected to pass the Senate, however, amid widespread GOP opposition to stricter gun control. A bipartisan group of senators is engaging in talks in an attempt to find common ground on gun policy, but it is still unclear what, if anything, will come of the effort. Passage of the legislation also took place hours after an emotional hearing on gun violence in which families of victims pleaded for more action.\n\nThe legislation that passed in the House includes a series of individual bills aimed at preventing gun violence. The measure would raise the legal age to buy certain semiautomatic centerfire rifles from 18 to 21 years old, establish new federal offenses for gun trafficking and for selling large-capacity magazines, and allow local governments to compensate individuals who surrender such magazines through a buyback program. It would create a tax incentive for retail sales of safe storage devices and criminal penalties for breaking new requirements regulating firearm storage on residential premises. The measure would also take steps to strengthen existing federal regulations on bump stocks and ghost guns.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback 'Spare me the bulls***': Democratic lawmaker fires back at GOP during hearing 02:45 - Source: CNN\n\n“We are on a crusade for the children, and – sadly now – by the children. Children testifying in committee,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during the floor debate in the House chamber, referencing Robb Elementary School fourth-grader Miah Cerrillo, who offered videotaped testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning. “America has lost more children from gun violence than any other cause. Does that embarrass you? To think that in our country, more children have died from gun violence than any other cause? These stories are tragically all too common in America today.”\n\nPelosi had requested in a Dear Colleague letter that her fellow Democrats be present in the chamber during the floor debate, but only about a quarter of the caucus was present as the debate began.\n\nHouse Republicans railed against the legislation, describing the package as trampling on Americans’ rights.\n\n“Here they come – going after law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment liberties,” Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan said. “The speaker started by saying this bill is about protecting our kids. That is important. … That’s what she said, ‘protecting our kids is important.’ Yes, it is. But this bill doesn’t do it. What this bill does is take away second amendment rights, God-given rights, protected by our Constitution from law-abiding American citizens. That’s what this legislation does, and that’s why we should oppose it.”\n\nPrior to the debate, the House took a procedural vote that also deemed as passed a resolution by Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York condemning the Buffalo mass shooting, and resolving that “the Great Replacement Theory as a White supremacist conspiracy theory, and reaffirming the House of Representatives commitment to combating White supremacy, hatred, and racial injustice.” His resolution also called out “many individuals in positions of power and media institutions with widely viewed public platforms” who have contributed to the normalization and legitimization of the underlying principles of the Great Replacement Theory.”\n\nWhen asked why he didn’t insist on a separate floor vote on his resolution, Bowman said that “the bottom line for us is that the resolution passes, however it comes to the floor.”\n\n“It’s something that is really important for Congress to take a position,” he said.\n\nEarlier on Wednesday during a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, family of gun violence victims and survivors called for legislative action on guns.\n\n“Lawmakers who continuously allow these mass shootings to continue by not passing stricter gun laws should be voted out,” Zeneta Everhart, mother of Zaire Goodman, a survivor of the Buffalo supermarket shooting, said in her testimony.\n\n“As an elected official it is your duty to draft legislation that protects Zaire and all of the children and citizens in this country.”", "authors": ["Kristin Wilson"], "publish_date": "2022/06/08"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/politics/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-plan-lawsuit/index.html", "title": "Biden administration scales back student loan forgiveness plan as ...", "text": "Washington CNN —\n\nThe Biden administration scaled back eligibility for its student loan forgiveness plan Thursday, the same day six Republican-led states sued President Joe Biden in an effort to block his student loan forgiveness plan from taking effect.\n\nBorrowers whose federal student loans are guaranteed by the government but held by private lenders will now be excluded from receiving debt relief. Around 770,000 people will be affected by the change, according to an administration official.\n\nThe Department of Education initially said these loans, many of which were made under the former Federal Family Education Loan program and Federal Perkins Loan program, would be eligible for the one-time forgiveness action as long as the borrower consolidated his or her debt into the federal Direct loan program.\n\nOn Thursday, the department reversed course. According to its website, privately held federal student loans must have been consolidated before September 29 in order to be eligible for the debt relief.\n\nBorrowers with privately held federal student loans who have not consolidated yet are currently out of luck, though the Department of Education said it “is assessing whether there are alternative pathways” to provide relief.\n\nBorrowers with privately held federal student loans represent a small portion of the 43 million federal student loan borrowers. There are about 4 million borrowers with Federal Family Education Loans, but not all of those people are likely eligible for the loan forgiveness plan, which also includes an income requirement.\n\n“Our goal is to provide relief to as many eligible borrowers as quickly and easily as possible, and this will allow us to achieve that goal while we continue to explore additional legally-available options to provide relief to borrowers with privately owned FFEL loans and Perkins loans, including whether FFEL borrowers could receive one-time debt relief without needing to consolidate,” the Department of Education said in an emailed statement.\n\n“Borrowers with privately held federal student loans who applied to consolidate their loans into Direct Loans before September 29, 2022 will obtain one-time debt relief. The FFEL program is now defunct and only a small percentage of borrowers have FFEL loans. This is a completely different program than Direct Loans,” the statement said.\n\nLawsuit argues forgiveness will hurt loan servicers\n\nThe lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Missouri by state attorneys general from Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska and South Carolina, as well as legal representatives from Iowa.\n\n“In addition to being economically unwise and inherently unfair, the Biden Administration’s Mass Debt Cancellation is another example in a long line of unlawful regulatory actions. No statute permits President Biden to unilaterally relieve millions of individuals from their obligation to pay loans they voluntarily assumed,” Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson’s office said in a news release.\n\nThe plaintiffs argued that student loan servicers – including the Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, known as MOHELA – are harmed by Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. It argues that the plan creates an incentive for borrowers to consolidate Federal Family Education Loans owned by MOHELA into Direct Loans owned by the government, “depriving them (MOHELA) of the ongoing revenue it earns from servicing those loans,” according to the lawsuit.\n\nBut the Department of Education’s move to exclude borrowers with privately held federal loans from the student loan forgiveness plan could weaken that legal argument, said Luke Herrine, an assistant law professor at the University of Alabama who previously worked on a legal strategy pushing for student debt cancellation.\n\nThe White House continues to argue that its student loan forgiveness plan is legal.\n\n“Republican officials from these six states are standing with special interests, and fighting to stop relief for borrowers buried under mountains of debt,”said White House spokesman Abdullah Hasan in an emailed statement.\n\n“The President and his administration are lawfully giving working and middle class families breathing room as they recover from the pandemic and prepare to resume loan payments in January,” he said.\n\nFederal student loan payments have been paused since March 2020, thanks to a pandemic-related benefit. The pause expires on December 31.\n\nEarlier this week, a public interest lawyer who is also a student loan borrower, sued the Biden administration over the student loan forgiveness plan, arguing that the policy is an abuse of executive power and that it would stick him with a bigger state tax bill.\n\nHow Biden’s plan will work\n\nUnder Biden’s plan, individual borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of households who made less than $250,000 annually in those years will see up to $10,000 of their federal student loan debt forgiven.\n\nIf a qualifying borrower also received a federal Pell grant while enrolled in college, the individual is eligible for up to $20,000 of debt forgiveness. Pell grants are awarded to millions of low-income students each year, based on factors that include their family’s size and income and the cost charged by their college. These borrowers are also more likely to struggle to repay their student debt and end up in default.\n\nThe administration is expected to roll out the first wave of student loan forgiveness in October.\n\nThe Congressional Budget Office estimated this week – before the administration excluded FFEL borrowers – that Biden’s plan could cost the government $400 billion but warned that the estimate relies on several assumptions and is “highly uncertain.”\n\nEstimating the cost of student debt forgiveness is complicated because loans are generally paid back over several years. The White House argues that the CBO’s estimate should be looked at over a 30-year time frame.\n\nUntested legal waters\n\nBiden announced the forgiveness plan in August, after facing mounting pressure from Democrats to forgive some student loan debt. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren repeatedly called on the President to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower.\n\nBut canceling federal student loan debt so broadly is unprecedented and, until now, has yet to be tested in court. Biden initially urged Congress to take action to cancel some student debt, rather than wade into a murky legal area himself, but Democrats don’t have the votes to pass such legislation.\n\nIn a Department of Education memo released in August, the Biden administration argued that the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 – or Heroes Act – grants the Education Secretary the power to cancel student debt to help address the financial harm suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.\n\nThe Heroes Act, which was enacted in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, “provides the Secretary broad authority to grant relief from student loan requirements during specific periods,” including a war, other military operation or national emergency, according to the memo.\n\nThe lawsuit filed Thursday argues that the Heroes Act does not grant the President such broad authority.\n\nWhat happens next\n\nAdditional lawsuits challenging Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan could be forthcoming. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, has said he is working on developing the best legal theory to sue the administration over the action.\n\nA conservative advocacy group called the Job Creators Network is also weighing its legal options, planning to file a lawsuit once the Department of Education formalizes the student loan forgiveness plan next month.\n\nBut some legal experts are skeptical that a legal challenge to Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan could be successful.\n\nAbby Shafroth, staff attorney at the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center, previously told CNN that she believes the merits of the Biden administration’s legal statutory authority are strong and that it’s unclear who would have legal standing to bring a case and want to do so. Standing to bring a case is a procedural threshold requiring that an injury be inflicted on a plaintiff to justify a lawsuit.\n\nIf the standing hurdle is cleared, a case would be heard by a district court first – which may or may not issue a preliminary injunction to prevent the cancellation from occurring before a final ruling is issued on the merits of the hypothetical case.\n\nSeveral recent US Supreme Court decisions have touched on executive power, limiting the federal government’s authority to implement new rules. While the Supreme Court takes up a small number of cases each year, lower courts may look at what the justices have said in those cases when assessing the Department of Education’s authority.\n\nThis story has been updated with additional information.", "authors": ["Katie Lobosco"], "publish_date": "2022/09/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/16/washington-congress-news-live-updates/11266601002/", "title": "Recap: Biden says aerial objects 'most likely' private balloons", "text": "President Joe Biden said Thursday the administration continues to study a series of unidentified flying objects shot down in recent days but that intelligence officials increasingly believe they were benign balloons used for research or commercial purposes.\n\nBiden said the intelligence community's current assessment is that three objects shot down over North American airspace were \"most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions.\" That does not include the Chinese spy balloon the U.S military shot down in early February.\n\nAlso, parts of the long-awaited report by a Georgia grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump and his allies were released Thursday. The grand jury recommended some witnesses should face perjury charges for lying and found there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.\n\nHere's what else is happening in politics:\n\nFormer White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has been subpoenaed by the Justice Department's special counsel investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to media reports.\n\nhas been subpoenaed by the Justice Department's special counsel investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to media reports. Haley in New Hampshire: Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley holds two events in the Granite State this week after officially launching her 2024 White House campaign.\n\nFormer South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley holds two events in the Granite State this week after officially launching her 2024 White House campaign. A presidential physical : President Joe Biden had a routine medical checkup as he eyes a second term as president.\n\n: President Joe Biden had a routine medical checkup as he eyes a second term as president. Debt ceiling needs to be raised by summer, CBO says: The Congressional Budget Office said the U.S. Treasury will run out of money as soon as July as the president and House Speaker McCarthy continue to spar over the debt ceiling and federal spending.\n\nHaley in N.H.: Chinese spy balloon a 'massive national embarrassment'\n\nRepublican presidential hopeful and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley appeared to criticize President Joe Biden over the Chinese spy balloon saga while on the campaign trail in New Hampshire Thursday.\n\n“The idea that Americans will look to the sky and see a Chinese spy balloon flying over us is nothing more than a massive national embarrassment,” Haley said, to raucous applause during a town hall event in Exeter.\n\n“The number one threat we have is China,” continued Haley, to more cheers.\n\n– Ken Tran\n\nGOP 2024 race:For Nikki Haley, New Hampshire presents challenges and opportunities\n\nBiden’s neurological exam shows no brain disorders, motor weakness\n\nAs part of his physical, Biden underwent an “extremely detailed” neurological exam that Kevin O’Connor, the president’s doctor, said uncovered no findings consistent with a brain or central neurological disorder, such as a stroke, multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s Disease.\n\nThe exam did show a “mild peripheral neuropathy” in both feet, O’Connor said. Biden did not demonstrate any motor weakness, the physician said, but showed a subtle difference in heat/cold sensation. O’Connor stressed that Biden’s symptoms haven’t progressed and have actually improved since his last exam.\n\nFrom the time Biden campaigned for the presidency in 2020, Republican critics including former President Donald Trump have demanded that Biden take a cognitive test to demonstrate his mental fitness.\n\n– Joey Garrison and Michael Collins\n\nBiden remains ‘healthy, vigorous 80-year-old,’ White House doctor says after physical\n\nPresident Joe Biden remains a \"healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency,\" the White House physician said Thursday after the president received his first physical in a year and a half.\n\nOne small lesion, however, was removed from the president's chest during the examination and will be sent for a traditional biopsy, Biden's physician, Kevin O'Connor, said in a letter that otherwise mostly reflected his last medical checkup from November 2021.\n\nBiden's routine physical has taken on extra scrutiny as the octogenarian is widely expected to announce a reelection bid in the coming weeks or months. Already the oldest person to assume the presidency, Biden would be 86 at the end of a second term.\n\nO’Connor observed that Biden’s gait remains stiff but has not worsened in the past year. He also has occasional bouts of gastroesophageal reflux, which cause him to clear his throat often and may contribute to occasional cough and sinus congestion, the report said.\n\nBiden weighs 178 pounds and had a blood pressure rate of 128/76 and pulse rate of 69, the physician’s report said. That's six pounds less than the 184 pounds he weighed in 2021.\n\n– Joey Garrison and Michael Collins\n\nBiden health update:President remains 'healthy, vigorous 80-year-old,' White House doctor says\n\nSen. Fetterman checks into hospital for 'severe depression'\n\nSen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., was checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for clinical depression, according to his office.\n\n“While John has experience depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,” Adam Jentleson, his chief of staff, said in a statement Thursday.\n\nThe Pennsylvania Democrat, who suffered a stroke during the 2022 campaign, was discharged from another hospital earlier this month after reportedly feeling lightheaded during a Democratic retreat.\n\nFetterman’s office said he did not suffer from another stroke.\n\n– Phillip M. Bailey\n\nBiden says unidentified objects likely not related to China or foreign surveillance\n\nPresident Joe Biden said the three unidentified objects shot down over North American airspace were likely not related to China’s balloon surveillance program, but likely tied to either “private companies, recreation or research institutions.”\n\n“We don’t yet know exactly what these three objects were but nothing right now suggests they were related to China’s spy balloon program or that they were surveillance vehicles from another country,” Biden said in remarks on the takedowns that occurred over the last weekend.\n\n“The intelligence community's current assessment is that these three objects were most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions studying weather or conducting other scientific research,” said Biden.\n\n– Ken Tran\n\nSupreme Court removes Title 42 immigration case from its calendar\n\nThe Supreme Court on Thursday removed from its calendar a major case involving a pandemic-era policy that allows for the rapid removal of migrants, known as Title 42.\n\nThe high court took the unusual step without explanation, though the Biden administration argued in a brief this month that the case might become moot given that it intends to cancel emergency declarations tied to COVID-19 the program relies on.\n\nThe justices had been set to hear arguments in the case March 1.\n\nThe administration intends to end the pandemic-era policy that allows for the rapid removal of migrants. And in November, a federal court required the administration to stop those removals. But a group of conservative state officials who say their states would be adversely affected want to step into the case and defend the use of Title 42.\n\n– John Fritze\n\nMcConnell: Balloon briefings lack 'any useful information'\n\nAhead of President Biden’s remarks on the unknown objects being shot down over the U.S. in recent days, the Senate’s top Republican said Thursday the closed-door intelligence briefings from the administration have been rather useless.\n\n“It’s perplexing,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Fox News.\n\n“We’ve been in these briefings,\" he said. \"But they don’t seem to know anything.”\n\nMcConnell ramping up the criticism on Biden, a longtime friend, comes as Republican and Democratic officials have said the White House needs to provide more information.\n\n“I’ve never been in briefings where I’ve learned so little,” he said.\n\n– Phillip M. Bailey\n\nPresident Biden to give speech on balloon, flying objects shot down\n\nPresident Joe Biden will deliver remarks Thursday on a series of unidentified flying objects shot down in recent days that intelligence officials increasingly believe were benign balloons used for research or commercial purposes.\n\nThe White House said Biden’s remarks on \"the United States' response to recent aerial objects\" will take place at 2 p.m. E.T. at the White House.\n\nIt will mark Biden’s first major address on the Chinese spy balloon shot down in the Atlantic Ocean and three subsequent objects shot down over North American airspace. Biden has faced bipartisan pressure from lawmakers to give a national address on the objects, which he has only sparingly discussed when asked by reporters.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nGeorgia grand jury finds no evidence of election fraud\n\nLittle information was revealed Thursday in a much-abbreviated disclosure of a Georgia grand jury examination of election fraud in the 2020 election, though the panel found no evidence of election fraud.\n\n“We find by unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result' in overturning that election,” the panel concluded in perhaps the only notable conclusion contained in the nine-page release.\n\n– Kevin Johnson\n\nMore about the investigation:New details of Georgia Trump investigation to be revealed Thursday. What we know.\n\nTrump has slight edge on DeSantis among voters, national poll finds\n\nAmong a field of 14 Republicans considered as potential GOP presidential nominees, a new poll finds former President Donald Trump lands top of the group with Republican voters – edging out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seen as the top competitor for Trump.\n\nTrump received 42% of Republican and Republican-leaning voters while DeSantis received 36%, according to a new Quinnipiac University national poll released Thursday. However, Trump’s lead over DeSantis erodes slightly with a smaller candidate pool.\n\nWith only four potentially candidates to pick from, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump only leads DeSantis by 2 percentage points, 43%-41% – a lead that falls within the poll's margin of error.\n\n– Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nGeorgia grand jury recommends perjury charges against witnesses who appeared to lie in testimony\n\nThe section of the Georgia grand jury report released Thursday dealing with alleged lies from witnesses recommended perjury charges against unnamed witnesses.\n\nIn its entirety, it says: “A majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it. The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.”\n\nThe witnesses were not named. Legal experts say perjury is rarely charged because it is difficult to prove, but that perjury charges could be used to build a larger case of conspiracy.\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nWitnesses in Georgia Trump probe suspected lying:Raising more questions in closely watched inquiry\n\nGeorgia grand jury heard from 75 witnesses\n\nThe Georgia grand jury tasked with investigating former President Donald Trump’s attempts to interfere in the 2020 election was presented evidence from or involving 75 witnesses, according to a part of the grand jury’s final report released Thursday.\n\nThe grand jury was empaneled on May 2 and heard evidence from June to December.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nRead the partial Georgia grand jury report about the Trump investigation\n\nPart of Georgia Trump grand jury report released\n\nA Georgia grand jury’s report examining former President Donald Trump’s attempts to interfere in the 2020 election was partially released Thursday.\n\nUSA TODAY reporters are reading through the report, and updates will follow shortly.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nTrump lawyer Eastman asks to delay California bar charge proceedings\n\nJohn Eastman – the lawyer who spearheaded an effort to use slates of fake electors in battleground states to overturn the 2020 election in favor of former President Donald Trump – asked the state bar of California to delay any proceedings against him until he is no longer at risk of criminal investigation so that he would not have to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination.\n\n“To the extent Respondent is under threat of criminal prosecution, implicating his Fifth Amendment rights, abatement of the disciplinary proceeding is arguably necessary to protect his rights and is within the Bar Court's discretion to order,” Eastman’s attorneys wrote in a filing Wednesday.\n\nCalifornia’s state bar in January said it would seek to revoke Eastman’s law license for violating his duty to uphold the U.S. and California state constitutions in an attempt to “usurp the will of the American people and overturn election results for the highest office in the land.”\n\nEastman holds law licenses from both D.C. and California.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nDeputy AG announces 'strike force' to combat foreign technology threats\n\nA new initiative between the Justice and Commerce departments will combat threats to national security posed by the use of “disruptive technologies” by foreign adversaries.\n\nThe Disruptive Technology Strike Force, announced Thursday by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, will use intelligence and data analytics to “target illicit actors, enhance public-private partnerships to harden supply chains.” It will also work to catch early warning signs of threats to critical assets like semiconductors.\n\nThe announcement comes as the Biden administration looks to answer GOP calls to crack down on growing threats from China.\n\n“Our goal is simple but essential – to strike back against adversaries trying to siphon our best technology,” Monaco said.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nDOJ special counsel issues subpoena to ex-Trump chief Mark Meadows\n\nFormer White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has been subpoenaed by the Justice Department's special counsel investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to media reports.\n\nThe summons for Meadows, a central figure in Trump's campaign to cling to power, was disclosed as former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday that he would challenge a separate subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith seeking his testimony in the Jan. 6 inquiry.\n\nThe Meadows' subpoena was first reported by CNN.\n\nThe Justice Department declined comment. Meadows and his lawyers also did not respond to requests for comment.\n\n– Kevin Johnson\n\nVoter fraud case:State A.G.: Meadows, former Trump chief of staff, won’t face voter fraud charges in North Carolina\n\nHouse Speaker Kevin McCarthy to travel to U.S.-Mexico border\n\nHouse Speaker Kevin McCarthy is expected to travel to Arizona Thursday in his first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border since his January election as speaker in the newly Republican-led lower chamber.\n\nFour GOP freshman lawmakers are set to accompany him: Reps. Juan Ciscomani, of Arizona, Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, Jen Kiggans of Virginia and Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin.\n\nThe visit will include a briefing with agents from the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which covers most of Arizona's border with Mexico, as well as an aerial tour of the border in Cochise County, according to Ciscomani’s district director, C.J. Karamargin.\n\n– Rafael Carranza, Arizona Republic; Ella Lee\n\nMore:House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Arizona border\n\nFEC complaint: George Santos staffer posed as McCarthy aide to raise money\n\nWASHINGTON— A staffer from George Santos' campaign posed as a top aide to House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to raise campaign funds — and kept up the front over the course of two campaign cycles, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission Wednesday.\n\nThe complaint, filed by liberal political action committee End Citizens United, alleges McCarthy's office was aware since 2021 the campaign staffer was impersonating the then-minority leader's chief of staff.\n\nThe new complaint is the latest sign of trouble for the freshman Republican from New York, who has stepped down from his committee assignments, but has doubled down on his refusal to leave Congress despite calls for his resignation.\n\n– Rachel Looker\n\nCampaign allegation:FEC Complaint: New York GOP Rep. George Santos staffer posed as McCarthy aide to raise money\n\nProud Boys trial evidence: D.C. police lieutenant warned group’s leader ahead of pre-Jan. 6 arrest\n\nA Washington, D.C., police lieutenant warned Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio that a warrant for his arrest for setting fire to a Black Lives Matter banner had been signed ahead of his arrest, according to evidence presented in federal court Wednesday during the sedition trial of five Proud Boys.\n\nProsecutors in the high-profile trial showed messages between Tarrio, one of the five defendants, and Metropolitan Police Lt. Shane Lamond, suggesting Lamond kept Tarrio in the loop about the police department’s investigations into him and other Proud Boys.\n\nThe Proud Boys on trial are charged with sedition and other alleged crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nTipster case:D.C. police lieutenant warned Proud Boys leader ahead of pre-Jan. 6 arrest: trial evidence\n\nIn Iowa, Mike Pence vows to resist special counsel's 'unconstitutional' subpoena\n\nFormer Vice President Mike Pence vowed Wednesday to resist special counsel Jack Smith’s decision to subpoena his testimony in his investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election, calling the move “unprecedented and unconstitutional.”\n\n“We'll stand on that principle, and we'll take that case as far as it needs to go — if need be to the Supreme Court of the United States,” Pence said at an event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “Because to me, it's an issue of the separation of powers.\"\n\nPence argued he is shielded by the Constitution’s “speech or debate clause,” which protects members of Congress from law enforcement scrutiny over their speech and debate in the chamber. The clause says they “shall not be questioned in any other place.”\n\n– Brianne Pfannenstiel\n\nMore:In Iowa, Mike Pence vows to resist special counsel's subpoena in Trump 2020 investigation\n\nBiden, McCarthy spar over debt after CBO releases new projections\n\nPresident Joe Biden on Wednesday accused Republicans of supporting tax cuts for the wealthy and other policies that would add $3 trillion to the national debt, pushing back on their demands for spending cuts as part of raising the debt ceiling.\n\nBiden, speaking at an electrical workers union hall in Lanham Md., singled out Republican efforts to extend expiring Trump-era tax cuts for high-income earners and corporations, which would add a projected $2.7 trillion in debt. “It would explode the deficit and leave the American taxpayer holding the bag,” he said.\n\nHis remarks came after the Congressional Budget Office released an updated budget outlook that projects the U.S. will add more than $19 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, $3 trillion more than was projected last year.\n\nHouse Speaker Kevin McCarthy fired back in a tweet, saying Biden’s policies have led to $13 trillion in new spending and renewing his call to “negotiate a responsible debt limit increase that gets our fiscal house back in order.”\n\n“Democrats' reckless spending is plunging our country into deeper debt & jeopardizing our economy,” McCarthy said. “A blank check for more spending will destroy our country.”\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nDebt ceiling debate:Debt limit forecast says US could be in default by summer. Here's how that could impact you\n\nNot just Haley: South Carolina's Tim Scott is also mulling presidential bid\n\nNikki Haley might not be the only politician from South Carolina to run for president in 2024.\n\nSen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the Senate's only Black Republican, has hired new political aides and is planning a trip to Iowa, all stoking speculation that he may also jump into next year's Republican race.\n\nScott allies are mum on whether he will take the plunge.\n\n“These next few weeks Senator Scott will not just talk about his faith, but also why he has faith in America,\" said Jennifer DeCasper, a senior adviser to the South Carolina senator. \"He is excited to share his vision of hope and opportunity and hear the American people’s response.”\n\nAsked about Scott's campaign-like activity, aides stayed mum.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nSusan Page:How do you challenge Trump for the nomination? With Nikki Haley in, let's count the ways.\n\nAs nation reels from Michigan shooting, courts wrestle with access to guns\n\nShould the government be able to take guns from Americans who smoke marijuana? What about people who are the subject of domestic violence protective orders?\n\nA federal appeals court in Philadelphia grappled Wednesday with a case that questions whether Americans who have committed nonviolent felonies can be denied access to guns. It’s one of several such cases questioning who can be denied access to weapons that are percolating in federal courts in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year on the Second Amendment.\n\nThe case in Philadelphia, which deals with a man who has been denied access to guns after making false statements to boost his food stamp assistance nearly three decades ago, comes as the nation is reeling from another mass shooting. Three Michigan State University students were killed and five others were wounded in a shooting Monday night.\n\n– John Fritze\n\nGun access:As nation reels from Michigan State shooting, courts wrestle with access to guns\n\nGeorgia grand jury concerned witnesses lied in Trump investigation\n\nA Georgia grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump will release parts of a long-awaited report Thursday, including a section mentioning concerns that some witnesses appeared to lie during the investigation.\n\nFulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered the release of parts of the report and said it “discusses the concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony to the grand jury.” But he said the witnesses wouldn’t be named.\n\nEven so, legal experts said the section on alleged lies on could allow prosecutors to pursue perjury charges against the witnesses and potentially broaden the investigation. “That expands the scope of potential defendants quite a bit,” said Clark Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University.\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nParts of Georgia grand jury report to be made public Thursday\n\nA Georgia judge is set to provide a first – albeit abbreviated – look Thursday at a grand jury's examination of former President Donald Trump's attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.\n\nFulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled earlier this week that three sections of the panel's report would be made public Thursday, including a passage expressing concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath.\n\nYet much of the panel's work, including specific charging recommendations and names of the witnesses suspected of lying, will remain under seal as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis continues an inquiry launched two years ago.\n\nWillis opened the investigation shortly after Donald Trump's extraordinary Jan. 2, 2021 conversation with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger went viral, later expanding the inquiry into a far-reaching criminal examination into election fraud and impaneling a special grand jury in May.\n\n– Kevin Johnson", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/16"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/11/06/biden-election-message-democracy-red-wave/10652974002/", "title": "Biden's final message second-guessed by Democrats before election", "text": "WASHINGTON – Joe Biden crisscrossed the stage for a half-hour before he delivered his gravest warning yet.\n\nThe president – his right hand holding a microphone, his left casually in his suit pocket – returned to the podium and paused.\n\n\"This is really deadly earnest, man,\" Biden told the Florida Memorial University crowd during a campaign rally last week in Miami. \"Democracy is on the ballot this year. Along with your right to choose and the right to privacy.\"\n\nBiden has spent the final days of an uphill midterm campaign for Democrats imploring that modern-day Republicans are uniquely dangerous – willing to destroy democracy to gain power, ban abortion nationally, cut Social Security and Medicare and, if they don't get their way on entitlements, crash the economy by forcing the government into default.\n\nMore:Amid midterm voting, Biden warns of 'chaos,' fears of political violence ahead of Nov. 8 election\n\nIn his closing argument to halt Republican momentum before Tuesday's election, Biden has painted a dark picture of a possible \"mega MAGA Republican\" Congress. \"This ain't your father's Republican Party,\" he's stressed repeatedly, focusing less on his own accomplishments and more on the intentions of his opponents.\n\nYet there are serious doubts, including among Democrats, whether Biden's doomsday portrayal of Republicans has broken through as stubborn inflation and pocketbook issues weigh on voters. Some in the party say Democrats should have touched more on economic concerns earlier in the campaign and less about restoring abortion rights, which dominated Democratic ads for much of the race, in part on the advice of the \"governing consulting class.\"\n\n\"That was a mistake,\" said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., arguing Democrats should compare Biden's efforts to bring manufacturing jobs home versus Republicans who want tax cuts for corporations. \"I've been saying for months that we need to frame this election as an economic choice.\"\n\nMore:As midterms loom, what's shaping undecided voters' opinions in 5 charts\n\nTo defy headwinds of 40-year high inflation and the historical trend of midterm losses for the party in the White House, Biden has tried to appeal to undecided voters by arguing \"this is no ordinary year.\"\n\n\"So, I ask you to think long and hard about the moment we're in,\" Biden said in a primetime speech last week. \"In a typical year, we're often not faced with questions of whether the vote we cast will preserve democracy or put us at risk.\"\n\nBut there's an underlying challenge with Biden's depiction of a Republican takeover, according to Lynn Vavreck, professor of American Politics and Public Policy at UCLA: many voters remember previous periods of Republican power in Congress not being especially catastrophic.\n\n\"It's sort of like saying, 'Trust me, this time it'll be really different if they take over. The country will never be the same,'\" Vavreck said. \"It's a lot of hyperbole. And you're asking voters to believe something that the past suggests may not be true.\"\n\nHow Biden has tried to defy midterm gravity\n\nRepublicans are widely favored to gain control of at the House, according to most analysts, and have an increasingly stronger outlook to take the Senate, with races in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada and a few other battlegrounds deciding control. Some Democrats have openly discussed fears of a \"red wave\" election that would deliver a party still dominated by Donald Trump sweeping victories.\n\nRepublican control of even one legislative body would be enough to block Biden's legislative agenda on taxes, abortion, voting reforms and other priorities. If Republicans take over both chambers, only Biden's veto pen would stand in the way of the GOP passing a host of conservative laws.\n\nMore:Schumer captured on hot mic telling Biden that Georgia Senate race is 'going downhill' for Democrats\n\nRepublican candidates have focused their attacks against Democrats on crime in cities, migrants at the southern border and, above all, inflation that's at 8.2% over last year – even as corporate profits hit a 70-year high. Robert Gibbs, who served as press secretary in the Obama White House, said the \"here and now\" of inflation has made Biden's warnings about a GOP takeover hard to stick.\n\n\"It's just tough to make the argument of 'if these guys get into power, here's the things they'll end up doing' versus, 'hey, bread was really expensive in Aisle 4,'\" said Gibbs, speaking on the podcast hosted by former Obama advisor David Axelrod.\n\nTuesday's election is the first national election since the Jan.6 assault on the U.S. Capitol led by Trump supporters. It's also the first election since the Supreme Court's decision in June that struck down abortion rights.\n\n\"This election is not a referendum. It's a choice,\" Biden has said frequently in a push to make the race not about his popularity, with approval ratings in the low 40s, but instead Democrats' vision versus Trumpism.\n\nMore:As recession fears weigh on midterms, Biden warns Republicans will 'crash the economy' if they win control\n\nIn a final gasp to blunt Republicans' polling edge on the economy, Biden has taken aim at House Republican leaders who have suggested they might use the debt ceiling as \"leverage\" to achieve their goals on Social Security and Medicare.\n\n\"Now they’ve come forward with a real ticking time bomb. This one is outrageous, \" Biden said in Hallandale Beach, Florida. \"Nothing will create more chaos and do more damage to the American economy than playing around with whether we pay our national bills.\"\n\nSecond-guessing begins\n\nFor much of the summer, Democrats outperformed expectations in midterm polling and in congressional special elections, a sign that women and suburban voters were motivated by restoring abortion rights.\n\nBut the dynamics appeared to shift about a month ago. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll taken Oct. 19 to Oct. 24 found 37% of likely midterm voters ranked inflation as their top concern, compared with 18% who said abortion.\n\nMore:Exclusive poll: Republican support rises ahead of Election Day, with inflation driving voters\n\nDemocratic ads haven't reflected that trend, however. Democratic candidates and the party's outside groups have spent a combined $424 million in advertising this election cycle focused on abortion, about eight times the $53 million spent on economic-themed ads, according to AdImpact, a media tracking firm.\n\nSome Democrats are second-guessing that decision.\n\n\"We're getting crushed on narrative,\" California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said in an interview with CBS, arguing Democrats leaned too much into abortion rights, allowing Republicans to win the \"messaging war.\" He said he worries about a red wave Tuesday. \"You feel it,\" Newsom said.\n\nCraig Varoga, a longtime Democratic strategist for congressional races, said, \"If we have made any kind of mistake, it's the fact that we haven't talked about all of these assaults on American freedom.\" He pointed to Democrats' siloed messages on abortion, the economy, and threats to democracy. \"We probably should have done a better job of pulling it all together.\"\n\nBiden's speech on democracy at risk was widely viewed as a play to the Democratic base.\n\n\"Number one, he absolutely believes it. And number two, it's a motivator to get Democrats out to vote,\" said veteran Democratic strategist Bob Shrum.\n\nMore:Inflation, health care and rent: key economic factors voters consider in midterms\n\nBut some progressives questioned whether another speech on democracy – his second on the topic in two months – was the right move.\n\n\"If you're going to vote on democracy and the frailty of democracy, if you're going to vote on abortion, a lot of those people have made their decision,\" Faiz Shakir, an adviser to independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, said in an appearance on MSNBC. \"The persuasion audience, the people who haven't decided, they are all in on economy.\"\n\nSidelined from most battlegrounds states\n\nBiden is a full-contact campaigner, known for hugging supporters, telling stories about life in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and giving fiery speeches about the little guy.\n\nBut he's not been at the center of action this cycle.\n\n\"Hello, New Mexico,\" Biden said last week from a community in Albuquerque New Mexico, hardly ground zero for the midterm campaign despite having one competitive congressional race.\n\nSaddled by low approval ratings, Biden has avoided most battleground Senates states, making no trips in the final weeks to Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona and New Hampshire or appearances with its Democratic Senate nominees. An exception is Pennsylvania, where Biden has roots and Senate nominee John Fetterman has needed help to turn out Black voters.\n\nBiden and former President Barack Obama joined Fetterman for a rally Saturday in Philadelphia. But typically, it's just been Obama, alone, as Democrats' chief-stumper in the bulk of states that will decide Senate control.\n\nObama, speaking Wednesday in Phoenix, lambasted the Republican \"cast of characters\" running in Arizona.\n\n\"If you've got an election denier serving as your governor, as your senator, as your secretary of state, as your attorney general, then democracy, as we know it, may not survive in Arizona,\" Obama said.\n\nBiden's 2024 planning underway\n\nA Republican takeover of the House would significantly impede what the White House can pass legislatively for the next two years, perhaps forcing Biden to turn more to executive authority on climate, guns and other areas.\n\nIt could also open the door to investigations into the business dealings of Biden's son, Hunter Biden, which House Republicans have openly discussed, and build pressure from Trump-aligned House Republicans to impeach Joe Biden.\n\nDemocrats dread the thought.\n\n\"There will be no governing in the House if Republicans take over,\" Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Politico. \"I'm pretty apocalyptic about what the House will look like if Marjorie Taylor Green is in charge. It's an absolute nightmare if Republicans win.\"\n\nA Republican takeover of the Senate and House would be widely interpreted as a repudiation of the Biden presidency, fueling more questions about whether Biden will seek reelection in 2024. Biden has said it's his \"intention\" to run but hasn't formally announced a bid.\n\nMore:Outnumbered Republican women raise cash to combat well-funded Democrats on Election Day\n\nBehind the scenes, the president has started to prepare for a reelection campaign in meetings this fall with a small team of his most trusted aides, according to a Biden adviser. Preliminary work, which has explored a Trump rematch and other potential Republican nominees, has included outreach to veterans of Obama's and Bill Clinton's reelection campaigns.\n\n\"If we weren't engaged in planning in November of this year, we should be in the political malpractice hall of fame,\" Anita Dunn, one of Biden's closest advisers, said at a recent discussion hosted by Axios.\n\nMore:The question Democrats keep struggling with: Should Biden run again in 2024?\n\nIt's unclear when Biden will make a decision on 2024, but Biden could face pressure from Democrats to announce his intentions quickly if Democrats lose Congress and Trump enters the race, as he's indicated he will.\n\nAssociates of Trump said they expect the former president to announce his candidacy shortly after Tuesday's Election Day.\n\nAn early announcement this month by Trump wouldn't affect Biden's timing on a 2024 decision, according to people in Biden's orbit.\n\nAlthough a midterm loss for a second-year president would follow the historical norm, Biden's circumstances are different than his predecessors: Biden, already the oldest serving president, will turn 80 on Nov. 20. Some members of his own party have said he should serve only one term. And Biden himself has left the door open that he might pass on another run.\n\nStill, those who know Biden insist Democratic losses Tuesday wouldn't influence his decision.\n\n\"Look, I've known him for almost 50 years. And he wanted to be president when he was young,\" said Shrum, a past consultant for Biden and senior adviser for the presidential campaigns of Al Gore and John Kerry. \"Assuming he's healthy, I don't think he's going to walk away.\"\n\nMore:Biden: If voters feel he's 'missing a beat' due to age, they should 'support some other Democrat' in 2024\n\nReach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/11/06"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_9", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/05/19/rihanna-baby-singer-asap-rocky-welcome-first-child/6646816001/", "title": "Rihanna, A$AP Rocky welcome first child after internet-breaking ...", "text": "The baby who broke the internet is finally here.\n\nFans couldn't contain their excitement on the last day of January when Rihanna and A$AP Rocky announced they were expecting their first child together with photos that showed off the 34-year-old singer's baby bump. About five months later, that baby is here.\n\nThe couple welcomed a baby boy in Los Angeles, People and Entertainment Tonight report. TMZ, the first outlet to publish the news, reports Rihanna gave birth on Friday.\n\nRihanna covers Vogue with fashionable baby bump, dishes on relationship with A$AP Rocky\n\nAhead of their baby's arrival, Rihanna graced the cover of Vogue magazine's May issue where she discussed Rocky getting out of the \"friend zone,\" the moment she and the rapper \"became my family,\" and how she learned that she was pregnant.\n\n\"People don’t get out of the friend zone very easily with me,” she said in the cover story published April 12. “And I certainly took a while to get over how much I know him and how much he knows me, because we also know how much trouble we can land each other in.”\n\nRihanna said the rapper \"became my family\" during the 2020 quarantine lockdowns. The two music artists left many of their luxuries behind to go on a road trip together from Los Angeles to New York.\n\nFORBES' BILLIONAIRES LIST:Rihanna makes list debut; Kim Kardashian, Ye, Jay-Z, more make 2022 cut\n\n\"I cooked our food on this little janky grill I bought from Walmart,\" the Forbes billionaire said. \"I love the simple things but also the grand adventures … I just feel like I can do any part of life by his side.”\n\nThe humble journey for the multihyphenate predated her debut on the Forbes Billionaires List. The outlet described Rihanna as the \"richest female musician\" after reaching billionaire status in 2021, with an estimated $1.7 billion net worth.\n\nIn her Vogue cover story, Rihanna revealed that the pair's latest adventure into parenthood wasn't something they had planned, but they also weren't opposed to the idea.\n\n\"It was just there on the test. I didn’t waste any time. I called him inside and showed him. Then I was in the doctor’s office the next morning and our journey began.”\n\nIn January, the couple posed for photos walking hand-in-hand in New York City on a weekend when temperatures fell below freezing, but Rihanna wore a long pink coat unbuttoned to show off her growing stomach, adorned by long body chains that fell past her belly.\n\nRihanna confirmed the news of her pregnancy two days later, in case the chilly photo reveal wasn't enough evidence. On Instagram, the singer posted the New York City-scape photos along with a new photo of herself looking down at her pregnant belly.\n\n\"How the gang pulled up to black history month,\" she captioned the post.\n\nThe pregnancy announcement was just the beginning of the maternity fashion storm Rihanna later flooded fans with, as she attended many fashion shows and red carpets showing off her baby bump in epic style.\n\nREAD THE ORIGINAL STORY:Rihanna confirms she's expecting her first child with A$AP Rocky\n\nRihanna and Rocky, 33, have largely kept mum about their relationship, though rumors began surfacing as far back as 2013, when the rapper opened for Rihanna's Diamonds World Tour. She revealed she was dating Hassan Jameel in 2019, but later attended the 2021 Met Gala with Rocky.\n\nRIHANNA ON HAVING CHILDREN:Singer wants 'three or four' kids with or without a partner, opens up about her own childhood\n\nThe rapper referred to her as \"the one\" in a GQ interview last summer, expressing how his life is \"so much better\" being in a relationship.\n\n\"So much better when you got the one,\" he added. \"She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones. I think when you know, you know. She's the one.\"\n\nRocky also said he would \"absolutely\" be open to having children \"if that's in my destiny.\"\n\nRihanna's pregnancy fashion is epic:See photos of her baby bump style\n\nHe added: \"I think I’d be an incredible, remarkably, overall amazing dad. I would have a very fly child. Very.”\n\nRihanna revealed in March 2020 that she wants to have three or four kids within the next 10 years: “I know I will want to live differently,\" she told British Vogue of how she sees her future. \"I’ll have kids – three or four of 'em.\"\n\nLast November, Rihanna was named Barbados' 11th national hero by the nation's Prime Minister Mia Mottley as the country celebrated becoming a republic for the first time in history.\n\n'SHINE LIKE A DIAMOND':Rihanna named a national hero of Barbados\n\nThe \"Umbrella\" singer accepted the honor wearing an orange floor-length Bottega Veneta gown and wore her hair in several large braids.\n\n\"May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honor to your nation,\" Prime Minister Mottley added using lyrics from the singer's 2012 single \"Diamonds.\"\n\nContributing: Elise Brisco, Edward Segarra, Naledi Ushe", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/05/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/12/rihanna-expecting-second-child-pregnancy-announcement-super-bowl-halftime-show/11245955002/", "title": "Rihanna pregnant with second child, makes reveal during Super Bowl", "text": "Rihanna didn't have a star-studded guest list for her Super Bowl Halftime performance, but there was a very unexpected onstage cameo.\n\nOn Sunday, the \"Lift Me Up\" singer hit the halftime show stage for Super Bowl 57 in a crimson red ensemble, which featured a stylish jacket and bralette. The singer's outfit, a custom-made design by LOEWE, also showed off the 34-year-old's growing baby bump.\n\nRihanna could also be seen caressing her stomach during the performance, a nod to her soon-to-be bundle of joy. The singer’s representative confirmed the pregnancy shortly after she ended her 13-minute set.\n\nUSA TODAY has reached out to Rihanna's representatives for more details.\n\n'If it flops or flies, my name has to stand by it': Rihanna dishes on Super Bowl halftime show\n\nRihanna welcomed her first child, a baby boy, with rapper A$AP Rocky last May, People and Entertainment Tonight reported at the time. The couple announced they were expecting in January 2022 with photos that showed off the singer's baby bump. Rihanna wore a long pink coat unbuttoned to show off her growing stomach, adorned by long body chains that fell past her belly.\n\nAhead of their baby's arrival, Rihanna graced the cover of Vogue magazine's May issue where she discussed Rocky getting out of the \"friend zone,\" the moment she and the rapper \"became my family,\" and how she learned that she was pregnant.\n\nChris Stapleton's mellow Super Bowl national anthemmoves Eagles coach Nick Sirianni to tears\n\nShe told the fashion outlet that the pair's latest adventure into parenthood wasn't something they had planned, but they also weren't opposed to the idea.\n\n\"It was just there on the test. I didn’t waste any time,\" Rihanna said of learning she was pregnant for the first time. \"I called him inside and showed him. Then I was in the doctor’s office the next morning and our journey began.”\n\nRihanna revealed in March 2020 that she wants to have three or four kids within the next 10 years: “I know I will want to live differently,\" she told British Vogue of how she sees her future. \"I’ll have kids – three or four of 'em.\"\n\nRihanna, A$AP Rocky welcome first childafter internet-breaking pregnancy: Reports\n\nThe 20 best Rihanna songs ever, definitively ranked (from 'We Found Love' to 'Umbrella')\n\nContributing: Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY; Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/12/17/rihanna-a-ap-rocky-baby-gets-tiktok-debut-see-adorable-video/10916251002/", "title": "Rihanna, A$AP Rocky baby gets TikTok debut: See adorable video", "text": "Rihanna is giving fans a first look of her 7-month-old baby in a new 45-second video.\n\nThe singer and A$AP Rocky welcomed the little one in May and on Saturday Rihanna posted a cute video of the baby boy on TikTok. The video features mom and baby riding around in the backseat of a car while the baby yawns, smiles and tries to grab the phone from her hand.\n\n\"You trying to get mommy's phone,\" Rihanna says in the video.\n\nThe \"Lift Me Up\" singer announced she was expecting at the top of the year with a viral photo shoot in New York City. The singer and beauty entrepreneur showed off her baby bump at various events, including the front rows of top fashion shows in Milan and Paris.\n\nThe video marks the first time fans have been able to see the baby since his birth in May.\n\nFashion baby:Rihanna, A$AP Rocky welcome first child after internet-breaking pregnancy\n\nRocky teased that the photos of the baby would be \"coming soon\" in an interview with Complex published Dec. 5. He said fatherhood has helped him \"prioritize\" and that since welcoming the baby into his world he's been \"all smiles.\"\n\n\"I think fatherhood gives me more time to do exactly what I want. I don’t have time for anything that isn’t priorities,\" he told the publication. \"Everything is just based around my newfound love for being a dad and a family man. It’s lit right now.\"\n\nMore:Rihanna covers Vogue with fashionable baby bump, dishes on relationship with A$AP Rocky\n\nAhead of their baby's arrival, Rihanna graced the cover of Vogue magazine's May issue where she discussed Rocky getting out of the \"friend zone,\" the moment she and the rapper \"became my family,\" and how she learned that she was pregnant.\n\n\"People don’t get out of the friend zone very easily with me,” she said in the cover story published April 12. “And I certainly took a while to get over how much I know him and how much he knows me, because we also know how much trouble we can land each other in.”\n\nRihanna said the rapper \"became my family\" during the 2020 quarantine lockdowns. The two music artists left many of their luxuries behind to go on a road trip together from Los Angeles to New York.\n\nFans will get to see even more Rihanna when she takes the stage in February for the Super Bowl LVII halftime show. The pop star hinted at her performance by posting a photo of a football to her Instagram in September.\n\nOfficial Twitter accounts for Apple Music and the NFL then confirmed Rihanna's performance.\n\nContributing: Edward Segarra, Hannah Yasharoff", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2022/12/04/keke-palmer-pregnant-hosting-snl/10831308002/", "title": "Keke Palmer confirms she's pregnant while hosting 'SNL'", "text": "Keke Palmer is booked and busy, as she attested to during her opening monologue on \"Saturday Night Live.\" She's appeared in several films and shows, including \"Nope,\" \"Alice,\" \"Lightyear,\" \"The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder\" and \"Human Resources.\"\n\nBut the longtime performer is taking on a new role: Mom.\n\nDuring her opening monologue of the Dec. 3 episode of the NBC sketch comedy show, Palmer, 29, said she was hoping to take the time on air to address some rumors that had been circulating about her as of late.\n\n\"People have been in my comments saying, 'Keke's having a baby,' 'Keke's pregnant,' \" she said. \"And I want to set the record straight: I am.\"\n\nShe unbuttoned an oversized trench coat to reveal a crop top and a baby bump, garnering a booming round of cheers and applause. Palmer joked that it's \"bad when people spread rumors about you on the internet... but it's even worse when they're correct.\"\n\n'SNL' takes jabs at Herschel Walker,Ye in Georgia Senate runoff cold open\n\nShe continued: \"I was trying to keep it on the down-low because I've got a lot of stuff going on. People coming up to me going 'congratulations!' I'm like, 'shh, can y'all stop? I've got a liquor sponsorship on the line. Let the check clear.\"\n\nPalmer's representative Lauren Auslander further confirmed the announcement to USA TODAY.\n\nPalmer's first acting appearance was in \"Akeelah and the Bee\" when she was 13. Since then, she has become a mainstay in the entertainment industry as an actress, singer, comedian and TV host.\n\n\"This has been the biggest blessing,\" she continued of her pregnancy news. \"I'm so excited. I want to be a mom. Even though some people feel a little weird about me being pregnant because I was a child actor, but I'm 29, I'm grown.\"\n\nToward the end of the episode, Palmer again showed off her baby bump while playing a pregnant character at a doctor's check-up, where she watches her overactive twins through the ultrasound monitor as they breakdance, place a Filet-O-Fish delivery order and put out a fire in the womb sparked by Palmer eating Flamin' Hot Cheetos.\n\nPalmer is hosting \"SNL\" for the first time, joined by musical guest SZA. It isn't the first time an \"SNL\" host has used the platform to announce a pregnancy. In 2018, Cardi B broke the news during her own debut on the show while performing, showing off a baby bump for the first time.\n\nPreviously on 'SNL':Dave Chappelle tackles Ye, antisemitism: 'I don't think Kanye is crazy at all'\n\nThe 'SNL' cast looks pretty different this season:See who's joined (and left) the show.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/12/04"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/15/tech/tiktok-depp-heard-trial/index.html", "title": "Johnny Depp, Amber Heard trial Tiktok posts are making accidental ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nTikTok posts about actor Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, have turned a stay-at-home mom based in Scotland into an accidental influencer. Or, perhaps more aptly, a DeppTok influencer.\n\nSophie Doggett, whose TikTok was previously populated by videos on everyday things such as herself or her pets, posted to her TikTok account on April 25 a clip of Heard’s lawyer asking a question of a witness and then immediately objecting to the response. It is one of many moments in the trial that has been seized upon by people like Doggett, as clips of testimony and references to the case have pervaded TikTok in a way that no trial has before. That’s partly because the proceeding, set to resume Monday, is being livestreamed during the age of TikTok, and also because of the high-profile celebrities the case involves.\n\nDoggett, who paired the clip to playful music, said she gained 30,000 followers seemingly overnight from the post which has, to date, been viewed more than 5 million times. Asked about her follower count before the viral post, she says it was 6,668, a number she recites by heart. In the three weeks since the post, she’s collected more than 25,000 additional followers. Her account is now dedicated to Depp-related posts, some of which pertain to the trial, others to past Depp films or interviews. The top three posts pinned to Doggett’s account have more than 14 million collective views.\n\nIf there’s any question of where her loyalty lies, it is with Depp, something that’s conveyed through the photo associated with her TikTok account — white text against a black background that reads “Justice for Johnny Depp.”\n\nInside the courtroom, jurors are tasked with determining whether Depp was falsely and maliciously accused of domestic abuse by Heard, which he claims cost him an estimated $50 million in damages associated with lost acting jobs. The case stems from a 2018 opinion piece published in The Washington Post wherein Heard described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Although Depp is not named in the piece, Heard refers to the year 2016, a year in which she filed for a divorce and obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp, claiming she’d been abused.\n\nTikTok creators are leveraging hashtags like #JusticeforJohnnyDepp to show support for the actor while using others to mock actress Amber Heard. From TikTok\n\nDepp denied the allegations then, as he does now, and the two reached a divorce settlement that year, issuing a joint statement at the time. During his testimony, Depp alleged he was physically and verbally abused by Heard and denied accusations that he was physically violent toward her. Heard has countersued Depp for $100 million, claiming statements his team made were damaging to her career\n\nOnline, however, everyone from everyday users like Doggett — who said she is now able to monetize her posts through TikTok’s creator fund due to the attention — to legal analysts, lifestyle influencers, activists of varying pursuits, and comedians are taking it upon themselves to dissect and analyze every minute detail of the trial, down to conspiracy theories about the way in which Heard dabbed her nose with a tissue.\n\nEmily D. Baker, a former LA deputy district attorney turned online creator, streams live legal commentary of the trial proceedings on her YouTube page, which has more than 330,000 subscribers. Her viewers increasingly request for her to respond to theories or footage they have seen on TikTok, she says.\n\n“When you have cameras streaming in the courtroom, people are going to clock every strange behavior. And they have,” said Baker.\n\nMany are in the comment sections on YouTube channels to cheer Depp or jeer Heard — typically in that order. Others have set up their own video broadcasts to provide ongoing commentary of the trial in real-time or devoted Instagram accounts to posting updates on the case. Perhaps most striking — because of the way in which the platform operates and how users take to it — is TikTok.\n\nLike Doggett, two other TikTok users CNN Business spoke with recounted similar stories of going from hundreds or thousands of followers to tens of thousands of followers in a matter of days due to Depp-related posts.\n\nOne TikTok user, who is based in the UK, said she posted a video on April 27 celebrating Depp for freeing his lawyer’s snagged charger cord with a comment, “the little things.” “I wasn’t expecting anyone to reach out, or like it, or share it even,” she said, noting that she’d originally created her account to post about films. But it has since garnered more than 10 million views. She’s continued posting about the trial and she says her account has gone from fewer than 300 followers to more than 50,000.\n\nMaria Pugsley, also based in the UK, similarly told CNN Business that followers to her account grew from fewer than 10,000 to more than 37,000. Previously, she said her use of TikTok included “jumping on the trends, really and having a bit of a laugh — it never really took off to be honest.”\n\nBut users have taken to her commentary on the trial, in which she favors Depp and has spoken about male victims of abuse. “In the beginning I went in very unbiased — all of my opinions are based on the courtroom,” she said, adding: “I am always open to having my opinion changed.”\n\nA high-profile trial, dissected on TikTok\n\nTikTok’s algorithm has been repeatedly reported upon as scary-good in its manner of feeding users more and more posts pertaining to their interests. One has to look no further than the hashtags on TikTok to gauge that sentiment there sways favorable toward the 58-year-old Depp, undoubtedly the bigger celebrity with a much longer history cultivating a fanbase compared to 36-year-old Heard. Doggett noted that she hadn’t personally come across posts on TikTok in support of Heard: “Maybe a couple people [in comments sections] saying ‘Team Amber.’ They get destroyed in the comments.”\n\nOne hashtag, #JusticeForJohnnyDepp, has garnered more than 11 billion views globally, while just the actor’s name has more than 19 billion, and #JohnnyDeppisInnocent has garnered more than 3 billion. Users are applying filters to their faces to personify Depp, combining clips of testimonies with past footage from Depp’s film archives. By contrast, #JusticeForAmberHeard has 41 million views. Heard’s name has garnered more than 9 billion views and #AmberTurd has 1.6 billion (a hashtag fueled by trial testimony concerning fecal matter.) Meanwhile, the #AmberHeardIsALiar had drawn more than 2 billion views when CNN Business reviewed it Friday afternoon, but the hashtag no longer appeared viewable in the app as of Friday evening.\n\n“What you’re seeing is fan base versus fan base,” Juda Engelmayer, a public relations professional who has worked with high-profile figures, such as disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein who was convicted for sex crimes, and is currently working with the fake heiress Anna Sorokin. “It was surprising to me that the social media throngs and supporters are almost entirely backing him.”\n\nThe passionate social media posts surrounding the case are, at times, rooted in other factors. Some see outsized support for Depp, and the dismissal of Heard’s allegations, as another example of internalized misogyny. Others, including men’s rights activists, have lifted up Depp in online forums as a rare well-known man who alleges he experienced domestic abuse at the hands of a woman, thereby bringing light to the issue.\n\nAccording to Daniel Klug, a systems scientist at Carnegie Mellon University’s Institute for Software Research who has researched TikTok’s algorithm, “TikTok creates a sort of mediated reality for the user.”\n\n“Over a time period, you see a lot of short videos … depending on what kind of content you see, let’s say a lot of content about the trial, that creates a certain perception of the reality of the trial for you on TikTok,” he said, noting that posts tends to fall into two categories: those that capture testimonies from Heard, Depp, or others on the stand “describing very personal and intimate and weird details of their relationship,” or content related to Depp or the trial that is “remixed or reinterpreted by other users.”\n\nCallum Hood, head of research at the Center for Countering Digital Hate which recently investigated abuse directed at several high-profile women, including Heard, on Instagram similarly noted that the nature of TikTok is such that “you get very, very slim segments of the trial presented and usually with a very heavy skew.”\n\n“This applies as much to [content posted about] Ukraine as clips of the Amber Heard, Johnny Depp trial,” said Hood, noting that “content on TikTok, more so than any other platform, is free of context … We tend to know less about the account that’s posting it, less about when it was posted, less about where the material is from, about the motivations of the person posting it … I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the users because it is genuinely very hard, with the information available to you in the app, to understand the context and to make an assessment of how true or false it is.”\n\nCenter for Countering Digital Hate’s report noted that discussions of Depp and Heard’s legal battles on social media “often contain abuse towards Heard, as well as the promotion of conspiracy theories around the rate of women’s false allegations of domestic abuse.”\n\nTrial-related content on TikTok varies from those who are analyzing and conspiracy theorizing to attempts to poke fun, which can quickly become distasteful. One popular variation of posts is based on satirical reenactments using audio from Heard’s testimony, in which she said, “I was walking out of the bedroom, [he] slapped me across the face and I turned to look at him and I said, ‘Johnny, you hit me. You just hit me.’” One widely-shared post, featured a cat role playing the former couple. It wears a blond wig when playing the part of Heard and a paper mustache and bandana when playing the part of Depp. While the original post is no longer viewable, it had been “dueted” by other accounts — a TikTok feature that enables users to post a video side-by-side one from another user in order to react to it — which can still be found on the platform.\n\nFor its part, TikTok said it removes content that violates its policies, which include “threats or degrading statements intended to mock, humiliate, embarrass, intimidate, or hurt an individual.” There may be some leeway in the case of Heard and Depp, as its community guidelines note that “critical comments of public figures may be allowed; however, serious abusive behavior against public figures is prohibited.”\n\n“I believe I was mass reported over political differences”\n\nThere are also questions about whether and how others on the platform may be able to silence certain voices or opinions.\n\nOne TikTok user named Ashley, who asked that her last name be withheld for privacy reasons, posted about how she felt some men’s rights activists were using the trial as an excuse to discredit allegations by women of abuse.\n\n“Can you imagine the leeway every narcissistic woman-hating man is going to have now?” she said in the post. Ashley told CNN Business that the post was quickly “dueted” and she received threats in the comments, then her account was banned.\n\nIn a message on April 26, Ashley — who is based in Pittsburgh and had 7,000 followers — asked TikTok to restore her account, “I believe I was mass reported over political differences,” she wrote, adding that she had screenshots of threatening messages she had received. Asked about her account by CNN Business last week, TikTok said it would investigate it. Following that, the company restored her account but did not provide any details on why.", "authors": ["Sara Ashley O'Brien"], "publish_date": "2022/05/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2022/09/30/nick-cannon-brittany-bell-10-kids-why-we-so-bothered/8121608001/", "title": "Nick Cannon welcomed his twelfth child. Is our criticism justified?", "text": "Surprise! Or maybe not — Nick Cannon welcomed his twelfth child on Dec. 14, model Alyssa Scott revealed Thursday.\n\n\"My sweet girl, I got my surprise!!\" Scott wrote in the caption of an emotional video a year after the death of their son, Zen. \"We love you Halo Marie Cannon!\"\n\nCannon, an actor, musician and TV host, has been making headlines for having multiple babies with different women in a short period of time, which he has said is \"no accident.\" Each pregnancy was planned and intentional, and his relationships with the mothers of his children are healthy and consensual, Cannon says. Yet his choice to father these children has been treated as comedic fodder while raising a plethora of concerns.\n\nRejecting traditional marriage:It's more common than you think.\n\nUntraditional families exist all around us every day. But when it comes to a celebrity like Cannon, we tend to judge them more harshly. Everyone has something to say, including fans, critics and even fellow stars like Vivica A. Fox (\"I don't like it,\" she said in August. \"The foundation of Black families, especially a strong father figure is needed.\")\n\n\"The public loves to express their opinions, because it makes them feel like part of the story,\" says Donna Rockwell, a clinical psychologist and CEO and founder of \"Already Famous.\" \"When we see behavior outside the norm in the lives of celebrities, we shake our heads, pass judgments… and write it off as 'typical' celebrity entitlement.\"\n\nBut does this make our judgments justified?\n\n'Struggle love' is toxic:Why are we romanticizing it?\n\nIs there a problem with Nick Cannon's take on fatherhood?\n\nWhen asked about his emotional involvement as a father, Cannon has insisted \"if I'm not physically in the same city with my kids, I'm talking to them before they go to school via FaceTime and stuff. And then when I am, I'm driving my kids to school, making sure I pick them up.\"\n\nA quick scroll through his Instagram page exemplifies the love and pride he holds for his kids, and many of the mothers have praised Cannon's presence.\n\nThis fixation on his family is unsurprising to Rockwell. Any time someone in the public eye behaves in a way that deviates from the norm, like having many children from different households, \"we as the public hang onto every detail\" and treat it as gossip.\n\nBut aside from it being unconventional, some experts worry this dynamic is detrimental. If his 10 kids, ages 11 and younger, live in different households, many wonder how Cannon can possibly be there, physically and emotionally, for each child.\n\nNick Cannon makes vasectomy cocktail:with Ryan Reynolds after teasing he's having more kids\n\nBarbara La Pointe, a relationship coach who primarily works with families dealing with divorce and separation, worries the \"Wild 'n Out\" host is \"unconsciously creating a legacy of generational trauma.\" Though there is less research on Cannon's approach to fatherhood, studies have shown that a child's emotional well-being is influenced by a secure relationship with their parents, as well as by the quality of that relationship.\n\nIn addition, relationship strategist Zakiya Knighten worries for his children's mothers who, despite going into these relationships willingly, may also be at risk for higher stress levels and mental health problems. In a now-deleted Instagram story, one of Cannon's partners said she had been awake for three days taking care of their baby, raising questions on social media about Cannon's whereabouts.\n\nAre we being too judgmental of Nick Cannon?\n\nContrary to popular belief, Cannon is not the first celebrity to father multiple children with different women. Actor Clint Eastwood is thought to have 8 known children with 6 different women, his daughter told The Sunday Times. Similarly, Elon Musk has joked about \"(helping) the underpopulation crisis\" with his 10 children, two with singer Grimes, two with Shivon Zilis, an executive at Musk's Neuralink, and six with his first wife, Justine Wilson.\n\nThe difference, however, is that Cannon proudly embraces his lifestyle of nonconventional fatherhood and rejects traditional monogamy, even challenging those who are skeptical.\n\n\"That's a Eurocentric concept when you think about the ideas of you're supposed to have this one person for the rest of your life,\" Cannon said in August. \"I understand the institution of marriage if we go back to what that was about. ... I don't have ownership of any of the mothers. We create families in the sense of we created a beautiful entity.\"\n\nRihanna is having kids without marriage:It matters more than you think..\n\nIt's tempting to speculate about a phenomenon that makes little sense to many. But, as Rockwell reminds, the reality of celebrity culture is that we only catch a glimpse of their personal lives. Without knowing the intimate details, we as outsiders will never truly know how worrisome — or how functional — Cannon's family of 10 actually is.\n\n'I'm taking it five minutes at a time':Nick Cannon reflects on grieving his infant son", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/09/30"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/20/us/nyc-squirrels-splooting-heat-scn-trnd/index.html", "title": "The squirrels 'splooting' all over New York City are just fine, officials ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nIf you see a squirrel splayed on its belly, you might be worried for the critter’s welfare. But don’t worry: It’s just “splooting,” as officials say – and it’s perfectly healthy.\n\nThe term splooting exploded on the internet shortly after the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation posted about the behavior on Twitter.\n\n“If you see a squirrel lying down like this, don’t worry; it’s just fine,” wrote the department on Twitter alongside an image of a squirrel stretching out its limbs. “On hot days, squirrels keep cool by splooting (stretching out) on cool surfaces to reduce body heat. It is sometimes referred to as heat dumping.”\n\nCharlotte Devitz, a biologist and PhD student studying squirrel behavior at the University of Minnesota, told CNN that she first noticed squirrels splooting while she was researching squirrels for her master’s degree.\n\n“At the time I wasn’t really familiar with the term. We just called it ‘flop’ behavior,” she said. “I thought it was super cute. For a long time I tried to find published articles on what this behavior was, but I didn’t have a lot of success.”\n\nDevitz says that splooting seems more common among larger, hairier squirrel species, like grey squirrels and fox squirrels. This dovetails with the scientific explanation for why squirrels sploot: It helps them cope with the heat, according to Devitz.\n\nThe more scientific name for splooting is “heat dumping,” Devitz said. “The squirrel is putting as much of their body surface as possible in contact with a cooler surface, frequently on concrete or pavement that’s been in the shade.”\n\n“We’ve had quite record-breaking heat this summer, so this behavior has been very, very prominent,” she said.\n\nSplooting is a “nice way for them to thermoregulate,” especially because squirrels don’t lose much body heat by sweating, Devitz said. The behavior, she said, is “also seen in other mammals. It’s just gained a lot of visibility because a lot of people see it and become worried when they see squirrels on their belly.”\n\nSplooting may be especially common in cities like New York because of the way urban areas trap heat, Devitz says.\n\n“It’s quite possible there’s a higher incidence of this type of behavior in squirrels that are in urban areas, just because they’re more in need of ways to cool down,” she said.\n\n“With climate change,” Devitz said, “overall temperatures are rising. We’re seeing more of these heat spikes, more drought. I think it’s quite possible that this behavior will be more and more prominent and more and more necessary for the squirrel.”\n\nDevitz notes that the cooling benefits of splooting are balanced by the possible risks squirrels face from predators. The prone pose “puts them in a somewhat vulnerable position” where they may be endangered by predators, she said.", "authors": ["Zoe Sottile"], "publish_date": "2022/08/20"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/09/17/lil-nas-x-using-his-baby-registry-raise-money-hiv-awareness/8362406002/", "title": "Lil Nas X is using his baby registry to raise money for HIV awareness", "text": "The rollout for Lil Nas X's highly anticipated debut album \"Montero\" once again proves the 22-year-old pop star is America's leading internet virologist. Our favorite sequin-clad rap cowboy decided the release, which includes features from Miley Cyrus, Elton John and Megan Thee Stallion, left him pregnant with possibility. So naturally, he booked an exclusive interview and photo shoot with People magazine to reveal his baby bump.\n\nMore:Bob the Drag Queen is Moontower Comedy Festival's best-dressed headliner\n\nWith a flower crown, a bouquet of white roses and a charming grin, he cradled his \"womb\" as the internet broke around him. The album is set to drop on Friday. On Wednesday, he released his \"baby shower\" video (no one showed up!) and by Thursday he was \"in labor.\"\n\nAs hype around his \"pregnancy\" ran high, the celebrity, who is gay, released his baby registry: a list of 13 LGBTQ and HIV advocacy organizations fans should support.\n\nWhat's in the Mirror, an Austin organization that \"works to end mental health and HIV stigma through art, advocacy, and culturally affirming care,\" is included in the rundown.\n\n“Being included on Lil Nas X’s registry is invaluable visibility for our work to raise awareness about HIV prevention and treatment in the black and queer community,\" Tarik Daniels, the group's executive director, said in a statement. \"The funds his fans are donating will accelerate our nonprofit’s plan to defeat the stigma that drives new infections.\"\n\nMore:Olivia Rodrigo is taping 'Austin City Limits' — but chances of getting inside are 'Brutal'\n\nWhat's in the Mirror founders think of HIV as a social justice and racial justice issue. \"The three groups most affected by HIV are Black gay men, Black cisgender women and transgender women of color,\" a release from the organization said.\n\nThey hope to overcome some of the structural barriers that lead to high infection rates by amplifying the message that HIV treatment and prevention strategies like frequent testing and pre-exposure medications are highly effective.\n\nLike their pop star champion, the nonprofit is also trying to break down faith-based stigma around homosexuality which they believe contributes to the spread of HIV.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/09/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2021/04/01/fort-collins-dude-dad-wife-make-youtube-diy-comedy/6944487002/", "title": "'Dude Dad' Taylor Calmus, now living in Fort Collins, to host TV show", "text": "Taylor Calmus has a lot to be proud of.\n\nThe 34-year-old Fort Collins dad has two children with one on the way, a funny and forgiving wife, Heidi, and — most recently — a sparkly new master bathroom.\n\n\"This is my pride and joy,\" Taylor said Thursday, showing off the shiny new space marked with a crisp, white-tiled shower, a huge soaking tub, modern black fixtures and trendy exposed rafters.\n\nAfter gutting it down to the studs, rendering it unusable for the past eight months, Taylor recently finished renovating the space with some help from friends.\n\nHis buddy Charlie Berens was there to assist with adding a new window to the room. His brother Zach drove down from Nebraska to help tile. And his friend Joanna gave her input on touches like the couple's new grey vanity.\n\nOh, and by Joanna, I mean former HGTV star Joanna Gaines.\n\nYou see, to his kids — 5-year-old Theo and 3-year-old Juno — Taylor may just be dad, but to his millions of followers, he's \"Dude Dad\" — comic, DIY extraordinaire and the star of a flourishing series of vlogs featured across Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.\n\nFort Collins spotlight:7 Netflix movies and TV shows with Colorado ties\n\nThis summer, he'll also become Super Dad — the center of a forthcoming DIY- and dad-focused TV series by the same name where Taylor and his crew will help dads build out-of-this world playhouses for their kids.\n\nThe full season of \"Super Dad\" is set to premiere July 15 on the Discovery+ streaming service and will go live on Magnolia Network — Chip and Joanna Gaines' new TV network — when it makes its cable premiere in January 2022.\n\nTaylor's videos started as a fun side project five years ago when Theo was born, he said.\n\nAt the time, he and Heidi, 35, were living in Los Angeles, where Taylor had been pursuing an acting career. He knew that with a baby on the way, he'd need a job that was more consistent.\n\n“I thought we might have to leave and move somewhere else where it would be harder to pursue that dream (of acting), but I was like, 'Well, I’m going to just start making my own thing as a way to stay creative while also being a father,' \" Taylor said.\n\n\"I saw a lot of mom blogs and things out there, but there wasn't a lot for dads,\" he added. \"I started doing it, and it just grew and grew and grew.\"\n\nWant to get the top trending news in Fort Collins? Coloradoan newsletters can help\n\nThe videos started as little comedy sketches based around fatherhood. In one of his first Dude Dad videos, Taylor offered viewers a list of things to never say to their pregnant wife — \"so you've just been sitting there eating pickles all day?\" and \"I can build a crib! It's just a wood cage!\"\n\nThat last part is true, though. Taylor could probably build a crib.\n\nAfter working for a carpenter through high school and college back in his home state of South Dakota, Taylor had building skills. And when Heidi was pregnant with their second child — their daughter, Juno — Taylor posted a video of an intricate Rube Goldberg machine he'd constructed through their entire house that ended with Juno's gender reveal.\n\n“That video kind of blew up and it kind of opened my eyes to go, ‘oh, maybe I can use those skill in my videos as well,’ \" Taylor said. \"I found this cool niche of A) being an invested father and B) being a millennial that knows how to work with your hands.\"\n\nEnter Fort Collins\n\nAfter about four years of success with their Dude Dad videos, Taylor and Heidi decided it was time for a change.\n\nThey'd lived in Los Angeles for a decade, and doing so with kids was getting harder and harder, Taylor said.\n\nThe family decided to move and narrowed their choices down to Minneapolis, Nashville and Fort Collins. In the vlog where they announced these contenders, Taylor made sure to say \"Colorado\" after \"Fort Collins\" — \"because if you don't, no one will know where Fort Collins is.\"\n\nThey ultimately landed on Fort Collins, owing the decision to its proximity to the mountains and their family in South Dakota and North Dakota as well as consistently sunny days and the fact that some of their friends already lived here.\n\n\"We just kind of jumped,\" Taylor said. \"Three weeks later, we were under contract for a house we’d never seen in a city we’d spent very little time in.”\n\nThe couple purchased a 1970s tri-level with lots of DIY project potential last May and had its kitchen and living room gutted down to the studs by the time they moved in a few weeks later.\n\n\"That was my kitchen,\" Heidi said, pointing to a hip-height built-in landing where she had once set up camping gear to cook.\n\nFrom the archive:Fort Collins man leaves behind wife, 2 young kids for a History Channel survival show (and shot at $500K)\n\nIn time, they renovated it into what it is now — a cheery space with vaulted, planked ceilings and a bright and open kitchen dotted with family photos and kids artwork.\n\nThey showed the whole process to their followers through a series of vlogs on their various Dude Dad channels. The vlogs continued to take off in the family's first year in Fort Collins, and Dude Dad now has more than 3 million followers on Facebook as well as 330,000 each on YouTube and Instagram.\n\nThe Dude Dad team also grew, now consisting of Taylor, Heidi and their friends (and video whizzes) DJ Cosgrove and Matt Berkenpas, who film and edit vlogs for the channels.\n\nBetween videos of shiplap and kitchen island installation, the couple also does comedic skits on parenthood and everyday life.\n\nEarlier this week, they posted a video of Taylor impersonating Heidi in her third trimester of pregnancy — wig, baby bump and all. A day later, they posted another video of Heidi reacting to it.\n\n\"I've never wanted to be in the spotlight, so it's pretty odd for me,\" said Heidi, who had never been a part of the entertainment industry back in Los Angeles — she worked with victims of human trafficking instead.\n\nFor subscribers:In the ever-changing world of COVID-19 restrictions, will Fort Collins' festivals happen?\n\n\"No, she hasn't,\" Taylor said. \"But it's funny because I think she's more popular than I am. If you look at my Instagram, my top posts are either pictures of her or pictures of me dressed as her.\"\n\nThe Dude Dad team usually produces about a video a week but is ramping up to likely double that, Taylor said.\n\nAfter all, there's plenty to video. While their house looks immaculate, there is always another project lurking. They need to finish the new baby's nursery, and the family's backyard is notably missing a cool playhouse like the ones Taylor helped build as part of \"Super Dad.\"\n\nTaylor said he plans to remedy that soon for Theo and Juno's sake.\n\nAnd there's a never-ending stream of material when it comes to funny takes on fatherhood and family life.\n\n“That’s what I’ve always wanted the page to be about. It should be a fun, positive place for people to come,\" Taylor said. \"One happy corner on the internet.”\n\nErin Udell reports on news, culture, history and more for the Coloradoan. Contact her at ErinUdell@coloradoan.com. The only way she can keep doing what she does is with your support. If you subscribe, thank you. If not, sign up for a digital subscription to the Coloradoan today.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/04/01"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/09/10/duchess-meghan-pregnant-twitter-and-tabloids-claim-they-know/1255166002/", "title": "Is Duchess Meghan pregnant? Twitter and tabloids claim to know", "text": "It's the bane of being royal and newly-married in the internet age: Twitter and tabloid media will obsess over your midsection and pronounce you pregnant – over and over, until one day, like a broken clock, they finally get it right.\n\nSo, just short of four months since the former Meghan Markle married Prince Harry, the newly minted HRH the Duchess of Sussex is getting the tabloid treatment.\n\n\"In very happy news, a Kensington Palace insider has confirmed that the Duchess of Sussex is pregnant and has all but cleared her diary to ensure she rests as much as possible,\" declared the Australian gossip weekly New Idea last week.\n\nThus, the magazine said, the royal couple's much-anticipated tour Down Under in October would have to be canceled.\n\nBaloney, said Kensington Palace, without using that precise term.\n\nOn Monday, the palace issued more details of the Down Under tour, which will mark Harry and Meghan's first big international trip in their new royal role as globe-trotting sweethearts of the Commonwealth.\n\nThe couple – both of them – will spend the last two weeks in October touring Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, including an appearance at Harry's Invictus Games in Sydney.\n\nGossip media have always been keenly interested in royal pregnancies because they're responding to their audiences – who are keenly interested in royal pregnancies. Remember that several of the more exuberant magazines, such as the American Life&Style, confidently predicted – twice – that Duchess Kate of Cambridge was about to give birth to twins.\n\n\"Kate Middleton Is Pregnant With Twins and She's Already Picking out Names! (EXCLUSIVE),\" shouted the headline on L&S last year. She didn't. In April, she gave birth to a baby boy, Prince Louis.\n\nBut interest in a possible Sussex pregnancy is even higher, in part due to their status as the royal couple of the moment, and in part due to Meghan's age: She turned 37 in August.\n\nBut the \"evidence\" being cited for her alleged pregnancy is pretty thin, and thinly sourced. To wit: Last week, when she and Harry attended a charity gala in London, she wore an electric blue Jason Wu frock with a ruffle detail at the waist.\n\n\"Is there already a bun in the oven?\" speculated Hollywood Life.\n\nOn Twitter, people in no position to know looked at pictures of Meghan in the dress and claimed to have \"feelings\" that she is pregnant.\n\nBut how could Meghan \"look\" pregnant in Jason Wu when only days before, at a charity gala performance of \"Hamilton\" in London, she wore a tuxedo-style mini-dress by Judith & Charles that showed off her slender waist. No baby bump in sight.\n\nThen a video surfaced of Harry and Meghan meeting some children at a different charity gala showing the prince, 33, rubbing his wife's back – and that, too, was taken as evidence of...well, something. (Actually, the two of them show way more PDA than most royal couples, although usually she is the one who is patting his back.)\n\nKensington Palace, of course, declined to comment one way or another, but US Weekly cited an unnamed “insider\" as pooh-poohing the pregnancy rumors. It was merely \"an unflattering dress and wind,” the magazine reported. Harry and Meghan are focusing the first year of their marriage on their royal duties and charities and will start a family later.\n\nTo be sure, some royal-covering media are uncomfortable with the Sussex baby bump watch. Harper's Bazaar points out that most people would not engage in this kind of rude speculation about anyone they actually know.\n\n\"You get no points for spotting her condition first. It just makes you look like an insensitive jerk,\" the magazine declared Monday.\n\nBut the jerks are moving on to the next unconfirmed rumor of pregnancy: Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, a yoga teacher and social worker who lives in Los Angeles but is said to be moving to London any day now.\n\nOn Sunday, the Daily Star, a London tabloid in the same media company as the tabloid Express and Sunday Express, reported that Ragland is taking \"nanny classes\" through a parenting center, Cradle Company, in Pasadena.\n\nShe's taking classes in breastfeeding, childbirth, newborn care, CPR and first aid because she plans to move to Kensington Palace to help Meghan once the first baby arrives, The Star claimed.\n\n“Meghan wants to avoid hiring staff if possible once her first child arrives. The thought of having her mum move in with them and take on the role of baby nurse is the best possible solution to that.\"\n\nAlix Abbamonte, a spokeswoman for Cradle Company, declined to comment to USA TODAY.\n\nNever mind, the rest of the celebrity media crowd seized on this unconfirmed report as an excuse to discuss her alleged pregnancy. On Monday, the Express reported that Ragland quit her job as a social worker in May and \"is expected to move to London as early as this month.\"\n\nCan any of this be officially confirmed? Not by the palace, which generally avoids announcing royal pregnancies until after the first 12 weeks have passed. (A recent exception: Duchess Kate, whose struggles with acute morning sickness caused her to cancel engagements early in her pregnancies, thus forcing the palace to make early announcements.)\n\nNor has Ragland confirmed anything. In fact, unlike Meghan's father, Ragland's ex-husband, Thomas Markle Sr, Meghan's mother has been resolutely discrete: She has not given a media interview since her daughter's relationship with Harry first emerged in 2016.\n\nDon't expect her to change that position now.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/09/10"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_10", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/super-bowl/2023/02/12/super-bowl-2023-live-updates-chiefs-eagles/11218626002/", "title": "Super Bowl 2023 score: Chiefs top Eagles 38-35 with late Mahomes ...", "text": "On one leg, Patrick Mahomes finished the job. His reward, other than resting an oft-injured ankle this postseason, is a second Lombardi Trophy for the reigning NFL MVP.\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl 57 on Sunday, the team’s second title in four seasons. A controversial holding penalty by Eagles cornerback James Bradberry gave the Chiefs a chance to run the clock down and kick a game-winning field goal with eight seconds left, which Harrison Butker nailed from 27 yards.\n\nMahomes finished 21 of 27 for 182 yards with three touchdowns. Kansas City scored a touchdown on its first three drives of the second half after trailing at halftime 24-14.\n\nEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was 27 of 37 for 304 yards passing, but was a force on the ground. He rushed for three touchdowns (15 carries, 70 yards) and tied the game at 35 on a two-point conversion with about five minutes left.\n\nChiefs tight end Travis Kelce (six catches, 81 yards, touchdown) bested his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, on the game’s biggest stage, while Chiefs coach Andy Reid defeated his former team.\n\nChiefs win Super Bowl 57:Patrick Mahomes and Co. capture second title in four seasons\n\nThis is like watching Michael Jordan in his prime. Patrick Mahomes is 27. He's on a team-friendly contract. In the five seasons he has been starter, the Chiefs have made it at least to the AFC title game. As long as Mahomes is under center, this will be the standard. He won his second Super Bowl MVP days after he won his second league MVP.\n\nMahomes had his right ankle injury reaggravated late in the second quarter when Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards fell on it as he dragged him to the turf. Ho hum. All Mahomes did after the injury was complete 13 of 14 passes for 93 yards and a pair of scores. As if that wasn't enough, with 2:55 left to play in a tie game, he outran the Eagles defense on a 26-yard scramble that set up the game-winning field goal.\n\nRead Lorenzo Reyes' full analysis of Super Bowl 57's winners and losers here.\n\nThe Philadelphia Eagles had a 10-point lead as Rihanna took center stage at halftime. In the second half, though, Philadelphia’s advantage evaporated in the desert air.\n\nThe Chiefs erased a 24-14 halftime deficit by scoring 24 points in the second half, including 17 in the fourth quarter to win 38-35 in a Super Bowl 57 thriller.\n\n“Not up to our standards. I feel like we got a little uncharacteristic on a lot of things. I got to hand it to them, they did a good job. We just didn’t come up when it mattered. We had a shot,\" Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat told USA TODAY Sports postgame.\n\nRead Tyler Dragon's full piece breaking down the Eagles' thoughts on what went wrong.\n\nA late Philadelphia Eagles penalty sent fans and social media into a frenzy, lamenting the referees and accusing the NFL of rigging Super Bowl 57.\n\nBut the player called for holding, cornerback James Bradberry, said afterward it was the correct call.\n\n“It was a holding,\" Bradberry told reporters in the locker room after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs. \"I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide.\"\n\nThat didn't stop fans of the Eagles -- and ones who were neutral for the big game -- from becoming outraged when the holding call allowed the Chiefs to run out the clock Sunday and win the Super Bowl 38-35. — Chris Bumbaca\n\nRead the what referee Carl Cheffers had to say about the play.\n\nSuper Bowl champions for the second time in four seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs seem quite ready to begin game-planning for their next opponent.\n\nHistory.\n\n\"It's a whole other feeling,\" said All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce after winning ring No. 2. \"I wanted this one more than I ever wanted a game in my life. Biggest difference is it solidifies your greatness. You can get lucky once; (this) wasn't beginner's luck. We wanted it, we took it.\n\n“You can call it a dynasty – you can call it whatever you want. All I know is we’re coming back next year. ... We're trying to get another one, I can tell you that right now.\"\n\nRead Nate Davis' full piece on what the Chiefs have accomplished.\n\nFor the second time of his career, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP.\n\nRead Jarrett Bell's column on Mahomes' superhero grit and how it powered the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57.\n\nFrom the opening kickoff to the game’s final play, the broadcast duo of Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen sounded more like Super Bowl veterans — crisp, informative and prepared — than the rookies they were. And Olsen distinguished himself with his assessment of the most critical play of the game.\n\nRead our full analysis of the Super Bowl 57 broadcast here.\n\nThe grass used in State Farm Stadium during Super Bowl 57 took nearly two years and more than $800,000 to prepare for Sunday, but it wasn't without faults. The playing conditions were less than pretty.\n\nPlayers from both the Eagles and Chiefs struggled to get traction on the natural grass and slipped many times. At least half a dozen Eagles players switched cleats during the first half in an attempt to get a better grip, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, who changed from Jordan 11 cleats to Jordan 1 cleats.\n\nEagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata, who said he's \"not a grass expert,\" described the conditions as \"pretty slippery,\" similar to \"playing on a water park.\" — Cydney Henderson\n\nSuper Bowl 57 was one of the highest-scoring Super Bowl games ever played. It was a thrilling showdown that featured numerous records either broken (longest punt return) or tied (most points scored by a player, Jalen Hurts with 20).\n\nHere is a look at the highest-scoring Super Bowls.\n\nTravis Kelce was the winner of the unofficial \"Kelce Bowl,\" as his Kansas City Chiefs defeated his brother Jason's Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57.\n\nBut as the Chiefs celebrated their victory and Travis Kelce gave a memorable postgame interview alongside Patrick Mahomes, he made sure to see his brother following the game, as the Kelce brothers shared an embrace and briefly spoke as the confetti fell down on State Farm Stadium.\n\nJason Kelce can be heard congratulating Travis, even cracking a smile and telling him to \"go celebrate.\" Before they part, both Kelce's told each other \"I love you.\" — Jordan Mendoza\n\nThe Super Bowl, like every other NFL game, has two halves. The Philadelphia Eagles only showed up for one of them.\n\nAfter pushing the Kansas City Chiefs to the brink and hobbling Patrick Mahomes, the Eagles imploded in the second half. They were outscored, outgained, outdisciplined – outhustled – and, as a result, they're out a Lombardi Trophy.\n\nMaybe that's harsh, given the final score was 38-35 and it took the Chiefs until the closing seconds to seal the victory. But when you have a 10-point lead, all the momentum and Mahomes barely able to run off the field at halftime, that's as close to a gimme as it gets in the NFL's biggest game.\n\nRead Nancy Armour's full column here.\n\nThe Blackest, most woke Super Bowl ever — can’t believe I wrote that since this is the Republican NFL, but here we are — started by again featuring the Black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” this time performed by Sheryl Lee Ralph.\n\nThen Rihanna performed at halftime. Despite once saying she wouldn’t perform in the Super Bowl halftime show because of the way the NFL treated Colin Kaepernick and protesting players, she was back, and make no mistake, Rihanna is one of the Blackest, proudest performers of our time.\n\nBut wait, it gets Blacker.\n\nSinger Babyface, a generational rhythm and blues singer, sang “America the Beautiful” before the game. He’s produced dozens of R&B hits and won 12 Grammy Awards. At this point we had the Black national anthem, Rihanna performing and two Black starting quarterbacks for the first time ever. During Black History Month. This wasn’t the Super Bowl. This was Wakanda.\n\nRead MIke Freeman's full column here.\n\nThe record for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history now belongs to Kadarius Toney.\n\nToney broke several tackles on the punt return for a 65-yard return, making it the longest punt return in Super Bowl history.\n\nThe Chiefs then scored three plays later on a Patrick Mahomes pass to Skyy Moore.\n\nThere has never been a punt return for a touchdown in Super Bowl history, but there have been multiple kickoff return TDs. — Jordan Mendoza\n\nHow excited was Andy Reid to win the Super Bowl?\n\nAndy Reid, immediately after winning his second Super Bowl, could not contain his excitement.\n\nWhen Fox sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi asked Reid how happy he was, the Kansas City Chiefs coach responded with his typical jovial sense of humor.\n\n“I could kiss you right now, but I’m not going to,” Reid told Rinaldi, as both laughed after the exchange.\n\nReid led the Chiefs to their second championship in four seasons.\n\nReid credited his offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy during his postgame interview.\n\n“Eric Bienemy was tremendous down the stretch there,” Reid said, complimenting his assistant who has been passed over for head coaching jobs several times.\n\n- Safid Deen\n\nJalen Hurts ties record for points in Super Bowl\n\nThe game is not over, but Jalen Hurts has tied a Super Bowl record: most points scored in the game.\n\nIn Super Bowl 51, James White accounted for 20 in the epic 28-3 comeback the New England Patriots pulled off against the Atlanta Falcons, including the game-winning touchdown in overtime.\n\nHurts has three touchdowns on the ground (one through the air) and the two-point conversion that tied the game at 35 was the equalizer with White.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nAnd we're all tied in Super Bowl 57 after Eagles score\n\nThese Eagles will not go quietly.\n\nTrailing by eight points in the fourth quarter, Jalen Hurts converted once again on third down early in the drive with a patented sneak. He found A.J Brown on the next third down for another first. Brown and Hurts connected again for 11 yards and another first.\n\nGiven plenty of time, Hurts found DeVonta Smith streaking down the left sideline on a blown coverage. Smith could not keep his balance and remain in bounds and went out at the 2-yard line, but not before picking up 45 yards. Hurts scored on the next play via a – you guessed it – quarterback sneak.\n\nHurts then tied the game on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt on a designed run to the left, breaking tackles and persevering over the goal line to even it at 35 with 5:15 left in the game.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nKansas City continues second-half domination\n\nKadarius Toney, Super Bowl MVP?\n\nToney had two of the biggest plays for the Chiefs during the fourth quarter, his latest was a 65-yard punt return - the longest in Super Bowl history - went to Philadelphia 5-yard line with 10:11 left in the game.\n\nThree plays later the Chiefs added to their fourth-quarter lead as Patrick Mahomes found receiver Skyy Moore for a 4-yard touchdown pass, and the Chiefs took a 35-27 lead with 9:22 left in the game.\n\nToney, acquired by the Chiefs during the season, is turning out to be a pivotal move that paid off in Kansas City’s favor during the biggest game of the season. His earlier 5-yard touchdown put the Chiefs ahead in the fourth quarter.\n\n- Safid Deen\n\nChiefs take first lead in Super Bowl 57\n\nThe Chiefs waiting until the fourth quarter to finally go ahead of the Philadelphia Eagles.\n\nPatrick Mahomes found receiver Kadarius Toney for a walk-in 5-yard touchdown, and kicker Harrison Butker made the extra point to put Kansas City ahead 28-27 with 12:04 left in the fourth quarter.\n\nToney went in motion toward the middle of the field, but turned quickly back to the right sidelinefor a wide-open touchdown.\n\nDuring the drive, running back Isiah Pacheco (with runs of 9 and 11 yards) and receiver Juju Smith-Schuster (with four catches for 38 yards) were instrumental for Mahomes and the Chiefs.\n\n- Safid Deen\n\nReplay decision helps Eagles add to lead on Chiefs\n\nJalen Hurts could not have thrown a better ball. On third-and-14 from the Kansas City 47, Hurts dropped back on the team’s first drive of the half with a three-point lead. He found tight end Dallas Goedert near the sideline between two defenders past the sticks for what appeared to be yet another third down conversion.\n\nAlthough Goedert bobbled the ball, he regained possession in time to land both feet in bounds and the call was upheld. The challenge cost Andy Reid and the Chiefs their first timeout of the second half.\n\nPhiladelphia moved the ball inside the red zone after the play but had to settle for a field goal to make it 27-21 with 1:45 left in the third quarter.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nHurt ankle, no problem for Patrick Mahomes\n\nAfter injuring his ankle on his final play of the second quarter, Mahomes started the second half, and even ran for a 14-yard gain inside the 5-yard line on the first drive of the third quarter.\n\nMahomes led the Chiefs on a touchdown drive to start the second half, which included a low pass to tight end Travis Kelce that kept their drive alive.\n\nChiefs running back Isiah Pacheco scored on a 1-yard run to help the Chiefs trim their deficit. The Eagles are holding onto a 24-21 lead after the first possession in the second half.\n\n- Safid Deen\n\nRihanna shines bright in Super Bowl halftime show\n\nRihanna has already evolved into an immensely successful singer, a business mogul with a net worth of more than $1 billion and, as of last year, a mom.\n\nOn Sunday, the multihyphenate added another accomplishment to the checklist: Super Bowl halftime headliner.\n\nTaking the State Farm Stadium stage in Glendale, Arizona, with her most visible outing in years, Rihanna stormed through a vibrant production that spotlighted her flexible R&B grooves coupled with infectious pop hooks. And, of course, her distinctive fashion style.\n\nALL OF THE LIGHTS:Rihanna stuns in spectacular Super Bowl performance\n\n- Melissa Ruggieri\n\nSuper Bowl halftime stats: Patrick Mahomes held to 89 yards passing\n\nOnly once has a team lost the Super Bowl after leading by double-digits at halftime: the Atlanta Falcons before the New England Patriots staged their famous comeback from a 28-3 deficit six years ago.\n\nThe Eagles, who lead 24-14 at the break, finished the first half with a time of possession of 21:54, leaving the Chiefs with 8:06. They ran 44 plays compared to the Chiefs’ 20 and outgained them 270-128.\n\nHere are some other statistics from the first half:\n\nNotable Eagles stats\n\nThird-down efficiency: 6-for-10,\n\nJalen Hurts: 17-for-22, 183 yards, TD; 11 rushes, 63 yards, 2 TD\n\nDeVonta Smith: six catches, 55 yards\n\nA.J Brown: three catches, 74 yards, TD\n\nNotable Chiefs stats\n\nThird-down efficiency:0-for-3\n\nPatrick Mahomes: 8-for-13, 89 yards, TD\n\nIsiah Pacheco: five carries, 28 yards\n\nTravis Kelce: three catches, 60 yards, TD\n\nBolton: three tackles, fumble recovery, TD\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nEagles take 24-14 lead at halftime after late field goal\n\nIn the NFC championship game, DeVonta Smith quickly got his team to the line of scrimmage and snapped the ball after a questionable catch on the Eagles’ first drive of their victory over the San Francisco 49ers.\n\nIt did not work against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.\n\nA replay review late in the second quarter showed Smith did not maintain control of the ball after a catch to the Kansas City 13, and it was ruled incomplete. The Eagles tried to snap the ball right away, but since there were less than two minutes in the first half, the officials in the booth called down to the field for a review.\n\nAfter the over turn, A.J. Brown, had a 22-yard catch-and-run that put Philadelphia in field goal range. Jake Elliott connected from 35 yards out as time expired in the first half, with the Eagles taking a 24-14 advantage into the locker room.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nPatrick Mahomes limps off after appearing to re-injure ankle\n\nWell, Patrick Mahomes’ injured right ankle was looking good until it wasn’t.\n\nMahomes, who was suffered a high-ankle sprain against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional playoff game, scrambled on third down shortly before halftime, and his injured right foot took the brunt of the fall after he was tackled by Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards with 1:44 left in the second quarter.\n\nMahomes limped off the field in obvious pain and was later shown in difficulty while his ankle was being evaluated by trainers on the sidelines.\n\nEarlier in the game, Mahomes appeared to run with ease like his foot was healed after a high-ankle sprain suffered last month.\n\n- Safid Deen\n\nEagles back in front on another Jalen Hurts touchdown run\n\nThe Eagles entered the Super Bowl with 35 fourth-down attempts. The 36th and 37th were the most important of the season thus far.\n\nOn fourth-and-5 from the Kansas City 44, Hurts ran to daylight and converted the first fourth down of the drive with a 28-yard carry down the right sideline. Facing a fourth-and 2, the Eagles got Kansas City to jump inside the red zone to set up a first-and-goal and Hurts scored his second rushing touchdown of the game on the next play to make it 21-14 with just over two minutes left in the second quarter.\n\nThe drive was 12 plays and took 7:19 off the clock. The Eagles are dominating time of possession. They have had the ball for 20:32, while Mahomes and Kansas City have had it for 7:08.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nChiefs erase deficit with defensive touchdown after Eagles miscue\n\nThe Eagles had a seven-point lead and were in Chiefs territory once again.\n\nInstead of putting Kansas City back on its heels, they let them back in the game.\n\nFacing a thrd-and-1 from the Chiefs’ 47, right guard Isaac Seumalo jumped early and moved the Eagles back five yards. On the next play, Hurts began to run on a quarterback keeper, but he dropped the ball and Nick Bolton – the Chiefs’ leading tackler – scooped it up and scored on a 36-yard return that tied the game.\n\nIt was the first fumble Hurts lost since Week 10 against Indianapolis and the team's first turnover of the playoffs.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nA.J. Brown puts Eagles ahead with long touchdown catch\n\nThe ability to hit the big play has been a hallmark for the Eagles offense all season.\n\nIn the Super Bowl, Brown made it.\n\nOn the first play of the second quarter, Hurts had all day in the pocket to watch Brown streak down the field and into double-coverage. Hurts threw to a place anybody who could catch the ball would have to make an adjustment.\n\nJuan Thornhill and McDuffie in coverage weren’t able. Brown did, and the Eagles regain the lead 14-7d on the 45-yard completion.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nChiefs fail to take lead as Harrison Butker field goal goes 'doink'\n\nThe Chiefs moved the ball well, but settled for a field-goal attempt when facing a fourth-and-3 at the end of their second drive. Butker’s 42-yard kick drifted left and was no good after hitting the upright, keeping the score tied at 7.\n\nThe possession by the Chiefs drive featured a stellar 22-yard pass from Mahomes to Kelce, and even some trickery from Kansas City. Kelce and receiver Juju Smith-Schuster signaled to the Chiefs sidelines like they did not know a play call, then turned around after Mahomes found running back Jerick McKinnon for a 7-yard completion on the right side.\n\nMahomes nearly threw an interception on the next play, and the Chiefs’ field-goal kick miss could come back to haunt them later this game.\n\n- Safid Deen\n\nEagles RB Miles Sanders sidelined after hit on game's first play\n\nOn the first play of the game, Sanders carried for a one-yard loss. Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie tracked him down near the sideline and delivered a large hit, knocking the ball out of bounds.\n\nSanders, a fourth-year player from Penn State, was seen shaking his hand after the play and went into the locker room before returning to the field. Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell handled the ball-carrying duting in his absence. Sanders returned to the field in the second quarter.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nChiefs respond quickly to tie game against Eagles\n\nThe Chiefs did not waste any time responding to the Eagles’ first score.\n\nChiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes found who else than his favorite target, tight end Travis Kelce, for a 18-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 with 6:57 left in the first quarter.\n\nMahomes’ first pass of the game was a 20-yard completion to Kelce. More important: Mahomes’ ankle looks great, too, after he galloped for an 8-yard run during the drive.\n\nThe Chiefs got near the red zone with a 24-yard run to the left side by running back Isaiah Pacheco.\n\nKelce also celebrated his touchdown with a dance in the end zone.\n\n- Safid Deen\n\nEagles jump out to early Super Bowl lead on Jalen Hurts touchdown run\n\nThat was quick.\n\nThe Eagles received the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown on the game’s first possession. Jalen Hurts found receiver DeVonta Smith on a key third down and later hit him for 23 yards to move Philadelphia into the red zone on a run-pass option that was initially snuffed out.\n\nKenneth Gainwell initially had the score, but replay review quickly confirmed his elbow was down short of the goal line. The call was Hurts’ specialty: a quarterback sneak. Behind the Eagles’ elite offensive line, Hurts plowed ahead for six points. Extra point was good and it's Philadelphia 7-0 early.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nChiefs win Super Bowl coin toss, Eagles get ball first\n\nIf you bet on the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl coin toss, congratulations.\n\nThe Chiefs called tails. And the Chiefs won the toss. They chose to defer and will kickoff to the Eagles start the game, and then get the ball to start the second half.\n\nTails breaks a two-game streak by heads, and has been the coin toss winner in seven of the last 10 Super Bowls, according to Oddsshark.com.\n\nAt +100, one would have doubled their money picking the Chiefs to win the coin toss.\n\n- Safid Deen\n\nChris Stapleton, Sheryl Lee Ralph shine with Super Bowl national anthems\n\nWith nearly as much attention paid to the music as the game during the Super Bowl, the trifecta of artists who took the field Sunday prior to kickoff knew the importance of their platform.\n\nChris Stapleton, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Babyface were tapped for the honors. Ralph singer infused the Black national anthem - \"Lift Every Voice and Sing\" - with the type of gusto exhibited during her Emmy acceptance speech last fall.\n\nBabyface followed with \"America the Beautiful\" and the festivities were capped by Stapleton's rendition of the \"Star-Spangled Banner\" that showcased his vocal skills.\n\nRIGHT NOTE:Reviewing the pregame Super Bowl singing performances\n\n- Mellissa Ruggieri\n\nEagles coach Nick Sirianni, center Jason Kelce both cry during Super Bowl national anthem\n\nAs Chris Stapleton performed the national anthem before the kick of the Super Bowl, cameras found Sirianni and Kelce, both of whom had tears in their eyes.\n\nKelce spoke about tears on the big stage after the Eagles’ Super Bowl 52 victory, saying he would find himself crying in the shower in the lead-up to that game against the New England Patriots.\n\n- Chris Bumbaca\n\nDamar Hamlin introduced on field at Super Bowl 57, speaks to Fox's Michael Strahan\n\nThe NFL continues to celebrate the remarkable recovery by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin from cardiac arrest he suffered in a Jan. 2 game.\n\nHamlin received a warm ovation from the crowd at State Farm Stadium.\n\nEarlier, on Fox's pregame show, Hamlin spoke with Michael Strahan about what he remembered when he made that fateful tackle on Bengals WR Tee Higgins.\n\nHamlin paused for nearly nine seconds.\n\n\"That's something I don't really want to get too deep into, in the detail,\" Hamlin said. \"That's something I'm still trying to work through. Why did it happen to me?\"\n\nThe full interview will air Monday morning on ABC's \"Good Morning America.\"\n\nEagles fans boo Cowboys QB Dak Prescott pregame\n\nDallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott received a rousing ovation after being recognized as the Walter Payton Man of the Year for his philanthropy and community impact.\n\nBut not the ovation you’d think one would receive for winning one of the NFL’s highest honors.\n\nEagles fans at the Super Bowl booed Prescott, because division rivalries don’t cease even for special awards.\n\nPrescott was a good sport about the reaction he received.\n\n- Safid Deen\n\nWith injured ankle, Patrick Mahomes goes for Super Bowl win No. 2\n\nThis is the third Super Bowl start for the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback. Mahomes split his previous two appearances, beating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54 before losing the championship game the following season against Tom Brady and the San Francisco 49ers.\n\nMahomes’ recovery from a right high-ankle sprain in the divisional playoff and his dart to the sidelines that set up a game-winning field goal to help the Chiefs beat the Bengals in the AFC championship game on Jan. 29 only added to his growing legacy.\n\nMahomes also has a chance to further separate himself from the rest of the current pack of active quarterbacks. With Brady’s retirement, Mahomes could have more rings than any other with his second championship.\n\n— Safid Deen\n\nThree keys to victory in Super Bowl 57\n\nThe pregame hype is finally dying down and the focus of Super Bowl 57 is ready to be turned to the gridiron where it belongs.\n\nBoth the Chiefs and Eagles have been the class of their respective leagues this season, so the most important thing for either team may only be the ability to execute what they already do well.\n\nHere are three keys to winning, according to USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon:\n\nEagles pass rush vs. Chiefs offensive line\n\nChiefs aerial attack vs. Eagles pass defense\n\nEagles rushing offense vs. Chiefs defense\n\nSuper Bowl X-factors: Unknown to hero?\n\nThe Super Bowl is where a relative nobody can become a household name, a place where Malcolm Butler and David Tyree were transformed from obscurity to an association with football's biggest stage, forever.\n\nThe stars will attract the attention and have the most impact on Super Bowl 57. The X-factors, however – the ones the majority of the 100-plus-million viewers do not know – will also play pivotal roles in determining who lifts the Lombardi Trophy.\n\nHere are a few who could find themselves in the spotlight on Sunday, according to USA TODAY Sports' Chris Bumbaca:\n\nEagles DT Jason Hargrave\n\nEagles RB Kenneth Gainwell\n\nChiefs OT Andrew Wylie\n\nChiefs LB Nick Bolton\n\nHow do Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts stack up?\n\nThis margin isn't as wide as you might think. Jalen Hurts, 24, is a star who is going to be a problem in the NFC for a long time. He worked with Tom House this offseason and has refined his mechanics. His ability to compromise defenses with his rushing ability has made it increasingly difficult to defend Philadelphia. And, if the Chiefs use a spy to try to limit what Hurts can do out in open space, it takes away a potential defender Kansas City can use in the secondary.\n\nAll that said, Patrick Mahomes is the most gifted passer in the NFL, possibly of all time. His arm makes it so that the Chiefs can score on any given play. And while he may not rack up rushing yards, his mobility — though it may be tested Sunday by a high ankle sprain — allows him to extend plays and find receivers who can break off their routes.\n\nAdvantage: Chiefs\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nWhere Kansas City has a potential home run hitter in Isiah Pacheco, the Eagles carry significant depth in the backfield. Philadelphia’s top three running backs — Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell — are all capable of taking over a game. Just look at Gainwell’s production; he averaged just 3.1 rushes per game in the regular season. In the playoffs, that number has jumped to 13 per and he has responded by leading the Eagles in rushing in both the divisional and conference championship rounds. Sanders, meanwhile, has a nose for the end zone.\n\nPacheco is explosive both rushing the ball and catching it out of the backfield, but Kansas City often doesn’t give him enough touches to be a major factor. The team also activated Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) off of injured reserve and he’d provide a huge boost if he’s able to play.\n\nAdvantage: Eagles\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nThis is perhaps the one position where a team has the strongest advantage over the other. A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith are both star playmakers whose different skill sets complement each other; Brown is physical and quick and can beat defenders with power and Smith is a silky route runner who is elusive in space.\n\nOn the other side, the Chiefs have navigated their first season without Tyreek Hill quite well, with Marquez Valdes-Scantling, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kadarius Toney making plays. Still, no Kansas City wideout eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in the regular season. Making matters worse for the Chiefs is that they are facing several nagging injuries at the position, with Mecole Hardman placed on injured reserve. Better put this way, Mahomes and the Chiefs system elevate Smith-Schuster, Valdes-Scantling and Toney, while Brown and Smith are stars who would flourish anywhere.\n\nAdvantage: Eagles\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nDallas Goedert has been a solid and steady option for Hurts. But in 14 games this season, including the playoffs, he reached the 100-yard mark only once.\n\nTravis Kelce isn’t just in the conversation for the best tight end in football — he’s already there — he’s in the conversation for the best of all time. Kelce has secured four All-Pro nominations in the last seven seasons, he’s rewriting the record book and he has become Mahomes’ preferred target and a near-unguardable player in the middle of the field.\n\nGoedert does have a clear advantage over Kelce in run blocking; because Philadelphia sets its identity on the ground, Goedert has become a key piece in the scheme. Still, Kelce is generational.\n\nAdvantage: Chiefs\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nWho are the commentators on FOX NFL Sunday's Super Bowl pregame show?\n\nAs is the case during the regular season, Fox Sports has Curt Menefee hosting its NFL Sunday pregame show, which is being broadcast live at State Farm Stadium.\n\nProviding analysis and commentary are Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson. Joining the set for the playoffs is retired NFL tight end-turned-kicker Rob Gronkowski.\n\nReporting from around the stadium: Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi, Charissa Thompson and Jay Glazer.\n\nStars from every industry are descending on State Farm Stadium to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles.\n\nIn the stadium early was NBA star LeBron James and his wife, Savannah.\n\nEagles superfan Bradley Cooper was also in attendance ready to cheer his team to victory.\n\nRap mogul Jay Z was spotted on the sidelines taking pictures of his daughter Blue Ivy.\n\nJuJu Smith-Schuster, Travis Kelce, Fletcher Cox make fashion statements as kickoff approaches\n\nEveryone knows what the players will be wearing when Super Bowl 57 kicks off. The Chiefs will be wearing white uniforms with red pants, red numerals and yellow trim. The Eagles will be wearing green uniforms with either green or white pants.\n\nHowever, pregame fashions can be any style and color under the rainbow, as evidenced by Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster.\n\nNot to be outdone, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce.\n\nAnd then there's Eagles DT Fletcher Cox.\n\nThis is another fascinating battle, as these are two of the top units in the NFL. The Eagles, however, have the best O-line in football. Their communication and ability to work together are unrivaled. They have two of the best players at their positions, center Jason Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson (both of whom were first-team All-Pro selections). They bore open holes in Nick Sirianni’s zone read offense and are disciplined and clean in avoiding penalties.\n\nBut where Philadelphia has two All-Pros on its offensive line, the Chiefs have a pair of second-teamers in center Creed Humphrey and left guard Joe Thuney. Orlando Brown has been excellent after moving to left tackle and, considering this is a unit that has been remade, it has done a remarkable job of keeping Mahomes clean.\n\nAdvantage: Eagles\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nThe Eagles are five sacks in the Super Bowl from breaking the record of the 1984 Bears for total sacks in the regular and postseason combined (82). Three of Philadelphia’s starting four defensive linemen, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and defensive ends Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham notched double-digit sack totals in the regular season, as each posted 11. The other starter, defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, is one of the game’s best interior linemen and recorded seven. The unit has depth with end Robert Quinn and tackles Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh coming on in relief.\n\nTo be clear, the Chiefs aren’t bad, they’re just not this good. Chris Jones is a force and the best interior lineman in football and Frank Clark can disrupt the timing and rhythm of opposing offenses. Kansas City just doesn’t have the depth or wealth of star talent to match Philadelphia in this spot.\n\nAdvantage: Eagles\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nIt’s almost unfair to consider Haason Reddick as a pure linebacker, since Philadelphia loves using him in five-man fronts, rushing off the left side of the line of scrimmage — or even at defensive tackle — so his presence is frankly more of a consideration for the defensive line. With that in mind, where this Eagles defense is weakest is at the other two linebacker spots. And, considering that linebackers and safeties are among the players asked to cover tight ends, this could be a spot where the Chiefs exploit Philadelphia, using Travis Kelce.\n\nThe Chiefs unit that included Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr. took some time to get settled this season, but it improved after Gay returned from suspension and as the group got healthier. They have speed and excellent range, though they are sometimes caught out of position, in part because of the relative inexperience of Bolton and Gay.\n\nAdvantage: Chiefs\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nThis is another spot in which Eagles executive vice president and general manager Howie Roseman’s aggressive moves in recent seasons have paid off. The three best players on the unit — corners James Bradberry and Darius Slay and strong safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson — were all acquired via trade or free agency. Bradberry had bounced around the league but found a home in Philadelphia’s defense, earning a second-team All-Pro nod.\n\nFor the Chiefs, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed clearing concussion protocol is a welcome sight; he doesn’t shy away from contact and actually helps out quite a bit in stopping the run along the outside. Trent McDuffie is a player who has perhaps been overlooked, though he has had a huge impact as a press corner. Rounding out the starters, at safety, Justin Reid and Juan Thornhill have become capable players. The biggest issue with the Kansas City secondary is the occasional blown coverage that can lead to chunk plays.\n\nAdvantage: Eagles\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nAs far as kicking and punting goes, this becomes tricky because where the Eagles are strong with place kicker Jake Elliott, the Chiefs are stronger with punter Tommy Townsend, a first-team all-pro. Kansas City place kicker Harrison Butker had the worst season of his career, missing six field goals for a 75% conversion rate. Still, in his last three games, Butker has converted all field goals and extra points.\n\nThe Eagles may be without punter Arryn Siposs (ankle), who has said he is ready to play. He presents an upgrade, though backup Brett Kern has been solid in relief. Where the Chiefs separate themselves is with their return men. Both Isiah Pacheco and Skyy Moore are flashes of lightning who can slip through creases and flip field position.\n\nAdvantage: Chiefs\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nThe Chiefs have the wealth of experience and Andy Reid may be the best coach not named Belichick over the last three decades. Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy should be a head coach. And defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has kept Kansas City’s defense competitive and loves to disguise blitzes, making it difficult for young quarterbacks to read the field.\n\nThe narrative that the Eagles have had a favorable path to the Super Bowl, while accurate, shouldn’t discount the effort and work it takes to win week in and week out. Coach Nick Sirianni’s players swear by him and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen could end up as a head coach this cycle. The zone read offense the pair have assembled requires defenses to make decisions in split seconds. Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker brings decades of experience and coordinator Jonathan Gannon oversees a unit that has taken a huge stride since last season.\n\nAdvantage: Chiefs\n\n— Lorenzo Reyes\n\nChiefs unlikely to face 49ers catastrophe if Mahomes gets hurt\n\nThe NFC championship game was a cautionary tale to NFL teams, particularly those vying for a title, about the risks of having only two quarterbacks active on game day.\n\nHowever, if catastrophe befalls the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Super Bowl 57, they have a plethora of emergency quarterback options – so many, that it's not immediately clear who would take snaps if presumptive MVP Patrick Mahomes and his, backup, Chad Henne, were unable to go. Obviously, that would be a worst-case scenario. But at least the AFC champs might become so wildly unpredictable that it could keep them in a game – at least temporarily.\n\n— Nate Davis\n\nEx-Broncos coach helps Eagles prepare for Chiefs offense\n\nThe Philadelphia Eagles reportedly brought in some veteran experience ahead of their Super Bowl 57 appearance against the Kansas City Chiefs.\n\nAccording to reports, the Eagles hired Vic Fangio to assist with game preparations that include self-scouting and analysis. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported Fangio signed a two-week contract that is expected to expire after the Super Bowl.\n\nFangio agreed to become the Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator last month.\n\n— Jaylon Thompson\n\nFathers of Super Bowl 57 QBs wreck stereotype of absent Black dad\n\nDuring Super Bowl 57 you will see more than a game. You'll see two Black quarterbacks — raised lovingly by two Black dads (and also by their moms). You will also see one more thing: a stereotype busted.\n\nIf you're looking for the story — the often repeated one, the ever-lasting one, the stereotypical one — of the Black kid who grew up impoverished and still made it. If you're looking for the same ol' story about the Black kid without a father who overcame this and that and the other thing and golly gee, goodness gracious look at him now. Well, this Super Bowl quarterbacks story is not for you.\n\n— Mike Freeman\n\nSpecial game-day deliveries for 2 Chiefs players\n\nJust playing in the big game is already memorable enough, but two members of the Kansas City Chiefs will have even more reason to remember this Super Bowl Sunday.\n\nWhile he was busy preparing to face off against the Philadelphia Eagles, Chiefs guard Nick Allegretti learned his wife Christina went into labor and delivered healthy twin girls early Sunday morning in Chicago.\n\nAt about the same time the Allegretti girls were arriving, Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman was frantically tweeting that his girlfriend Chariah Gordon was also about ready to give birth.\n\nThere could also be another Super Bowl baby before long on the other sideline.\n\nEagles center Jason Kelce and his wife Kylie are also expecting a baby.\n\nAndy Reid could win second Super Bowl – against his former team\n\nReid, 64, is a no-nonsense coach who has become endearing, never too shy to be himself or make others laugh at his own expense. He proudly wears Hawaiian shirts and professes his love for a good cheeseburger. He’s also one of the most accomplished coaches.\n\nReid was the Eagles’ coach for 14 seasons (1999-2012) and did mostly everything for the franchise – six NFC East titles, five NFC title games, one Super Bowl appearance – except win it all.\n\nWhen he was fired by Philadelphia, Kansas City pounced at the opportunity to hire him, and it has been rewarded with 10 winning seasons, nine playoff berths and a Super Bowl during the 2019 season.\n\nReid has the respect and the résumé to match, and he has an opportunity to solidify his Hall of Fame career with a second Super Bowl title. To do it against his former team would be special, too.\n\nSUPER BOWL STORYLINES: Reid, Kelce brothers, Mahomes' ankle all worth watching\n\n— Safid Deen\n\nWho will perform at the Super Bowl halftime show?\n\nWhile the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles take a break from shining bright like a diamond, Rihanna will be the Super Bowl 57 halftime show performer.\n\nIt's a show that's so exciting, at least one player is hoping to catch a glimpse.\n\nThe nine-time Grammy award-winner will perform a slew of hits with (or maybe without) some surprise guests. This will be her first public performance since 2018 when she performed DJ Khaled's \"Wild Thoughts\" at the Grammys.\n\n– Victoria Hernandez\n\nWith 10 Super Bowl appearances, Tom Brady has made his mark on the game's history, setting a plethora of individual records.\n\nBrady, who made 10 Super Bowl appearances with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice – who appeared in four Super Bowls during his career with the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders – hold multiple standards in the NFL's annual championship showcase.\n\nFrom a team perspective, Brady's New England Patriots and Rice's San Francisco 49ers figure prominently.\n\nSUPER BOWL RECORDS: Will any legendary marks be surpassed in Super Bowl 57?\n\nSUPER BOWL HISTORY: All-time results, winners, MVPs, more\n\nSUPER BOWL HIGHLIGHTS: Nate Davis' 57 greatest moments in Super Bowl lore\n\nHow 'No crush, no rush' slogan has Philadelphia Eagles defense on historic sack pace\n\nThe four-word phrase coined by defensive ends and outside linebackers coach Jeremiah Washburn means the defense has to stop the run to earn the right to rush the quarterback. Entering Super Bowl 57, the defense has lived up to its motto.\n\n“If you don’t stop the run, you can’t pass rush nobody,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said. “You got to take care of business. Early on, you got to send a message and let them know what the game is gonna be. You got to be the dictators. That’s any defense that wants to win a game, you got to let them know what it’s gonna be for the day.”\n\nThe Eagles had the NFL’s second ranked defense in the regular season and the unit hasn’t given up more than seven points in each of its postseason wins leading up to Super Bowl 57. When it comes to rushing the quarterback, the Eagles are on an historic pace.\n\nThe Eagles defense has amassed 78 total sacks across the regular season and postseason, the third most in NFL history. Philadelphia is three sacks away from surpassing the 1985 Chicago Bears for the second most sacks ever and five sacks shy of eclipsing the 1984 Bears (82 sacks) for the NFL single-season record.\n\n— Tyler Dragon\n\nJoe Biden's pregame Super Bowl interview with Fox called off\n\nPresident Joe Biden won’t be giving a pregame Super Bowl interview to Fox Soul after all.\n\nPresidents in recent years have granted wide-ranging interviews to the network hosting the Super Bowl. But last week there was confusion over whether Biden would follow the tradition.\n\nWhite House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted Friday that Biden had been looking forward to an interview on Fox Soul, a streaming sister service to the conservative Fox News. But she said the White House had been informed that the network’s parent company, Fox Corp., canceled the interview.\n\nBiden did pregame interviews with CBS in 2021 and with NBC in 2022.\n\n– Michael Collins\n\n'Superhero?' What other Chiefs say about QB Patrick Mahomes\n\nPatrick Mahomes exploded into an NFL superstar almost from the moment when he became the Kansas City Chiefs' starting quarterback in 2018, the year he also won his first MVP trophy.\n\nBut what we all see is not necessarily what Mahomes' teammates see.\n\nUSA TODAY Sports closely monitored and asked Chiefs players and coaches during the days leading up to the big game about what it's like being around their intrepid leader, and some common themes quickly emerged.\n\n— Nate Davis\n\nEagles' success starts at the top\n\nTo compare the team-building philosophies of the Philadelphia Eagles and last year's Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, and classify them as similar would be to miss the point.\n\nThere is a difference between mortgaging the future and having a foundation for continued success in place. The Rams, quite literally, employed a “(expletive) them picks” strategy. The Eagles have a pair of first-round picks in the 2023 draft and Jalen Hurts, an MVP-level quarterback on a rookie (second-round selection) contract.\n\nLeadership starts at the top. Knowing the right time to push the chips toward the middle is essential to winning it all, and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has given general manager Howie Roseman, who has been with the organization since 2000, the latitude – and payroll – to be aggressive.\n\nIn Super Bowl 57 against the Kansas City Chiefs, Roseman's fingerprints will be all over the field.\n\n– Chris Bumbaca\n\n'Special' Super Bowl for Black quarterbacks\n\nWhen Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts take the field Feb. 12, they will be the first two Black quarterbacks to start against each other in the Super Bowl. It’s an accomplishment both quarterbacks fully embrace.\n\n“It is history. It’s come a long way. I think there has only been (eight) African American quarterbacks to play in a Super Bowl. To be the first for something is pretty cool. I know it’ll be a good one,” Hurts, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, told reporters Thursday. “It’s history.”\n\nThere will be eight Black quarterbacks to start in a Super Bowl once the championship game kicks off: Doug Williams, Steve McNair, Donovan McNabb, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Mahomes and Hurts.\n\n– Tyler Dragon\n\nTHE 100-YEAR LONG ROAD: Fritz Pollard paved the way for Hurts, Mahomes\n\nOPINION: Fathers of Super Bowl 57 quarterbacks wreck stereotype of absent Black dad\n\nReport: Colts target Eagles offensive coordinator as next head coach\n\nThe Indianapolis Colts have reached a decision on who they want as their next head coach – but the process will have to wait until Super Bowl 57 concludes.\n\nPhiladelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen is the Colts' top choice, and, according to ESPN, the team has already begun informing the other candidates that they are no longer being considered.\n\nSteichen, 37, has run the Eagles offense for the past two seasons. On the way to reaching the Super Bowl, Philadelphia ranked first in rushing yards and third in points per game in 2022. That would seem to mesh well with the Colts, whose offense revolves around 2021 NFL rushing champion Jonathan Taylor.\n\nIn addition, the Arizona Cardinals plan to interview Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon for their head coaching vacancy, according to NFL.com.\n\nEx-Eagles, Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil can't pick a favorite\n\nDick Vermeil led the Philadelphia Eagles to the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance. He also finished his Hall of Fame career coaching the Kansas City Chiefs.\n\nSo, in what direction is Vermeil’s allegiance flowing for Super Bowl 57?\n\n“I’ve put in my frame of mind right now, philosophically, I’m going to root for both teams to win,” Vermeil told USA TODAY Sports. “And I’ll feel very bad for the team that loses.”\n\nThe only person other than Andy Reid to have coached both the Eagles and the Chiefs, Vermeil, 86, won’t even be inside State Farm Stadium on Sunday.\n\n– Jarrett Bell\n\nSUPER BOWL RECORDS: Will any of these marks be broken in Super Bowl 57?\n\nJason or Travis? Donna Kelce has a plan for which son she'll visit first after Super Bowl 57\n\nDonna Kelce, the mother of Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, has a game plan for after Super Bowl 57.\n\nShe is going to visit the winner first.\n\nBut Donna Kelce told USA TODAY Sports that it's not about favoritism. It's logistics.\n\n\"In the Super Bowl, you only have a chance to see the winner,\" Kelce said at Super Bowl 57 Radio Row at the Phoenix Convention Center. \"The losers are immediately sent to their hotel, like go to your room.\"\n\n— Cydney Henderson\n\nSIBLING RIVALRY: Kelce brothers embrace 'enjoyable chaos'\n\nSuper Bowl expert picks\n\nComing off a pair of dominant postseason wins, the Eagles enter the game as slight favorites. However, the Chiefs seem to have more big game experience as they prepare for their third Super Bowl in the past four seasons, led by presumptive league MVP and Super Bowl 54 MVP Patrick Mahomes.\n\nOur writers offer up their predictions and how they see the game unfolding:\n\nJarrett Bell: Chiefs\n\nChiefs Chris Bumbaca: Chiefs\n\nChiefs Nate Davis: Chiefs\n\nChiefs Safid Deen: Chiefs\n\nChiefs Tyler Dragon: Chiefs\n\nChiefs Lorenzo Reyes: Eagles\n\nHere are USA TODAY Sports' expert picks for Super Bowl 57 MVP:\n\nJarrett Bell: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes\n\nChiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Chris Bumbaca: Chiefs RB Jerick McKinnon\n\nChiefs RB Jerick McKinnon Nate Davis: Mahomes\n\nMahomes Safid Deen: Mahomes\n\nMahomes Tyler Dragon: Mahomes\n\nMahomes Lorenzo Reyes: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts\n\nWho is announcing Super Bowl 57?\n\nFOX's Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen will be the broadcasters for Super Bowl 57.\n\nRead more on how these two guys from Jersey became NFL broadcast stars.\n\nWho are the Super Bowl officials?\n\nCarl Cheffers will be the referee for Super Bowl 57. This is his third Super Bowl. He will be joined by umpire Roy Ellison, down judge Jerod Phillips, line judge Jeff Bergman, field judge John Jenkins, side judge Eugene Hall, back judge Dino Paganelli and replay official Mark Butterworth.\n\n— Jim Sergent\n\nAs Eagles' Nick Sirianni reaches Super Bowl, his brothers find success on parallel paths\n\nOver the past 20 years, Mike Sirianni has quietly become one of the top coaches in college football. He's never had a losing season. Never lost back-to-back regular-season games. His win percentage (.807) ranks sixth among active head coaches with tenures of at least 100 games, ahead of Dabo Swinney (.805) and Nick Saban (.801).\n\n\"People are like, 'You have the (sixth)-highest win percentage in college football right now,' \" he said. \"And I’m like, 'Yeah, but I’m the third-best coach in my own family.' \"\n\nThat would be behind middle brother Jay, who coached their high school alma mater to three New York state title games, winning two.\n\nAnd behind youngest brother, Nick, who will of course make his Super Bowl debut when the Philadelphia Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.\n\n\"In my opinion, until Nick wins a Super Bowl, Jay’s got two state championships,\" Mike said. \"So to me, I’m still voting him No. 1.\"\n\n— Tom Schad\n\nGannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO).", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/super-bowl/2023/02/12/chiefs-eagles-score-super-bowl-57-patrick-mahomes/11242303002/", "title": "Kansas City Chiefs edge Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57, win ...", "text": "GLENDALE, Ariz. – The NFL's next dynasty may have been born in the desert Sunday night.\n\nLed by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35, winning Super Bowl 57. Playing in its third Super Bowl in four seasons, K.C. collected its second championship in that span. Stocked with young talent and the league's best player, a team that's appeared in five consecutive AFC championship games appears to have extensive staying power.\n\nMahomes, who was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time just days after collecting his second league MVP award, was magnificent, despite aggravating his high ankle sprain late in the first half. But he never missed a snap while leading three consecutive second-half touchdown drives after his team trailed 24-14 at intermission. He completed 21 of 27 passes for 182 yards and three scores and also ran for 44 yards, much of that on his bad wheel.\n\nSUPER BOWL FINAL SCORE:Here's how the Chiefs beat the Eagles\n\nDIDN'T FINISH THE JOB:Eagles collapse in second half, costing themselves Super Bowl 57\n\nNow Mahomes, 27, who surpassed Tom Brady as the youngest QB to start three Super Bowls, might just be able to begin setting his sights on some of the GOAT's other records. But he was hardly the only story in one of Super Sunday's more remarkable matchups.\n\nBet on Black\n\nThe first Super Bowl to feature two Black starting quarterbacks delivered plenty of excitement from the position. Mahomes' heroics aside, Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts nearly crafted an MVP performance of his own.\n\nHurts was at his multi-dimensional best, rushing for 70 yards and three touchdowns (both Super Bowl records for a quarterback) while passing for another 304 yards and one TD. After a December shoulder injury slowed him down and probably cost him any legitimate shot at league MVP honors, Hurts recaptured the form that made him one of the NFL's most dangerous players for most of the season – and looked especially sharp throwing the ball after struggling on that front in previous playoff games.\n\nThe Eagles' third-year star finished with 18 rushing touchdowns, a single-season record for a quarterback when including postseason stats. He became the first player to rush for a pair of first-half TDs in a Super Bowl, and his trifecta matched Hall of Famer Terrell Davis' Super Bowl record. However, his second-quarter fumble proved a crucial mistake.\n\nThree phases\n\nWhile Mahomes was the star of the night, the Chiefs got hefty contributions from their defense and special teams. Among the biggest plays was linebacker Nick Bolton's 36-yard touchdown off Hurts' second-quarter fumble.\n\nToney, Toney\n\nWideout Kadarius Toney, a midseason trade acquisition from the New York Giants, was a huge asset for Kansas City. His fourth-quarter TD catch put the Chiefs up 28-27, and his Super Bowl record 65-yard punt return set up a TD on the subsequent drive.\n\nRookie returns\n\nAfter revamping their offense following the offseason trade of Pro Bowl wideout Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs reaped major output from their youngsters. Running back Isiah Pacheco and receiver Skyy Moore both scored touchdowns, Kansas City joining the vaunted 1985 Bears as the only teams in Super Bowl history to get TDs from multiple rookies.\n\nPressure?\n\nThe Eagles and Chiefs, who ranked first and second, respectively in sacks generated in the 2022 season (a combined 125), combined for a mere two Sunday, both suffered by Hurts.\n\nGame winner\n\nKansas City benefited from good fortune and made some of its own ahead of Harrison Butker's game-winning field goal with 8 seconds left. A holding call on Eagles corner James Bradberry allowed the Chiefs to bleed the clock – an effort advanced by running back Jerick McKinnon going down at the 2-yard line rather than scoring a touchdown that would have given Philadelphia more time to respond.\n\nThird Lombardi for Chiefs\n\nKansas City became the 10th franchise to win the Super Bowl at least three times. The Chiefs have prevailed twice under CEO and co-owner Clark Hunt, whose father, Lamar, founded the AFL in 1960 and was the team's original owner when the franchise was born as the Dallas Texans. The Chiefs' first Super Bowl win came under Lamar Hunt following the 1969 season, but it took 50 years before their second.\n\nKelce Bowl\n\nThe first Super Bowl that featured brothers opposing each other, Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce ran his record to 3-0 against older brother Jason (the Eagles All-Pro center). Travis Kelce had a huge night with six catches for 81 yards and a first-quarter TD. His 16 career playoff TD receptions trail only Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.\n\nReid Bowl\n\nAndy Reid, the winningest coach in Eagles history, improved to 4-0 against his former team. Reid, also the second-winningest coach in postseason history after Bill Belichick, improved to 2-2 Super Bowls, both victories with K.C.\n\n***\n\nFollow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/super-bowl/2023/02/12/super-bowl-2023-score-updates-kansas-city-chiefs-philadelphia-eagles/69893800007/", "title": "Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl 57 thriller over Philadelphia ...", "text": "The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles faced off on Sunday in Super Bowl 57 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Look back at our score updates and analysis on the game below.\n\nField called into question:Super Bowl 57 field scrutinized after Chiefs vs. Eagles game\n\nLooking closer at the critical holding penalty on Kansas City's final drive\n\nThere were not a lot of controversial plays in this Super Bowl, but one that was discussed in real time and after the game was the penalty on the Eagles' James Bradberry, who was flagged for holding Kansas City receiver Juju Smith-Schuster with 1:54 left and the Chiefs' facing 3rd and 8 at the Philadelphia 15 in a tie game.\n\nAt first glance there did not look to be much for the officials to call on the play, but in a post-game interview with pool reporter Lindsay Jones, referee Carl Cheffers said: “The receiver went to the inside and he was attempting to release to the outside. The defender grabbed the jersey with his right hand and restricted him from releasing to the outside. So, therefore, we called defensive holding.”\n\nYou know who backed up that opinion? Bradberry himself, taking accountability for a pivotal moment on what turned out to be the Chiefs' winning drive.\n\n“It was a holding. I tugged on the jersey,\" he said after the game.\n\nThe penalty gave Kansas City a first down on the Eagles' 11. After Jerick McKinnon ran for nine yards and intentionally slid short of the end zone, the Chiefs adeptly milked off the remaining time on two Patrick Mahomes kneel-downs, setting up the 27-yard game-winning field goal by Harrison Butker.\n\nWas Super Bowl 57 'rigged' for Chiefs?James Bradberry penalty has Eagles fans crying foul\n\nChiefs win Super Bowl 57 thriller over Eagles in Arizona\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs are your Super Bowl 57 champions.\n\nThe team rallied from a 24-14 halftime deficit by scoring on every second half possession in a thrilling 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Sunday.\n\nIt is the team's second Super Bowl championship in four years.\n\nChiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes went 21-for-27 for 182 yards passing to accompany three touchdowns as he overcame a sprained ankle. He also carried six times for 44 yards.\n\nMahomes was named the Super Bowl MVP for his performance.\n\nRunning back Isiah Pacheco rushed 15 times for 76 yards and a touchdown, while tight end Travis Kelce had six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown.\n\nEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts went 27-for-38 as he made his first appearance in the Super Bowl. He passed for 304 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 70 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.\n\nWide receiver DeVonta Smith had seven catches for 100 yards for Philadelphia.\n\nThe game gave Chiefs head coach Andy Reid his second Super Bowl trophy. He is now one of 14 coaches to win more than one Super Bowl.\n\nReid's first Super Bowl win came in 2019, when the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers, 31-20.\n\nFinal score: Chiefs 38, Eagles 35\n\nChiefs take late lead on field goal vs. Eagles\n\nThe Chiefs have taken a 38-35 lead on the Eagles with a 27-yard field goal by Harrison Butker with eight seconds left in the game.\n\nThe kick capped a 12-play, 66-yard drive that took 5:07 off the clock.\n\nOn a 3rd-and-8 from the Philadelphia 15-yard line, James Bradberry was called for defensive holding after an incomplete pass from Patrick Mahomes, giving the Chiefs a new set of downs.\n\nScore: Chiefs 38, Eagles 35 (:08 left in fourth quarter)\n\nSuper Bowl 58 odds:Kansas City Chiefs favored to repeat in 2024 NFL Championship Game\n\nEagles tie game against Chiefs in fourth quarter\n\nWe have ourselves a Super Bowl thriller.\n\nThe Eagles got right back in this game with an 8-play, 75-yard drive that culminated in a Jalen Hurts 2-yard run for a touchdown and then a successful run on a 2-point conversion by Hurts to tie the game, 35-35.\n\nThere is 5:15 left in the game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale and fans are getting a treat.\n\nScore: Chiefs 35, Eagles 35 (5:15 left in fourth quarter)\n\nChiefs extend lead vs. Eagles\n\nWe've got a completely different ball game.\n\nAfter trailing 24-14 at the half, the Kansas City Chiefs have outscored the Philadelphia Eagles 21-3 in the second half to take a 35-27 lead in the fourth quarter.\n\nAfter taking a 28-27 lead, the Chiefs forced a 3-and-out, the Eagles' first of the game.\n\nA 65-yard punt return by Kadarius Toney then set up a 4-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to Skyy Moore to give the Chiefs a 35-27 lead with 9:22 left in the game.\n\nWhatever Andy Reid told his team at halftime and the adjustments the team made have paid off.\n\nScore: Chiefs 35, Eagles 27 (9:22 left in game)\n\nChiefs take first lead of Super Bowl 57\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs lead Super Bowl 57 for the first time.\n\nKansas City went on a 9-play, 75-yard drive and took the lead on a 5-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to Kadarius Toney.\n\nThe Chiefs have two touchdowns on two second-half possessions after trailing 24-14 at the half.\n\nMahomes is now 17-for 22 passing for 161 yards and two touchdowns.\n\nScore: Chiefs 28, Eagles 27 (12:04 left in game)\n\nEagles add to lead with field goal\n\nThe Eagles just went on a 17-play, 60-yard drive that ended in a 33-yard field goal to give Philadelphia a 27-21 lead.\n\nThe drive took 7:45.\n\nJalen Hurts is now 22-for-31 passing for the Eagles, with 234 yards and a touchdown. He has 13 carries for 66 yards and two touchdowns.\n\nScore: Eagles 27, Chiefs 21 (1:45 left in third quarter)\n\nChiefs start second half with touchdown drive\n\nThe Chiefs needed a big drive to start the second half of Super Bowl 57 against the Eagles in Glendale.\n\nThey got it.\n\nIsiah Pacheco ran the ball in from 1-yard out to cap off a 10-play, 75-yard drive that took 5:30 off the clock and pulled Kansas City within 24-21 of Philadelphia.\n\nPatrick Mahomes, who hobbled off the field on the Chiefs' last possession of the first half, wasn't hobbling on this possession, and he picked up a key first down on a 14-yard run to set up the touchdown.\n\nScore: Eagles 24, Chiefs 21 (9:30 left in third quarter)\n\nSuper Bowl 57: First half numbers\n\nThe Eagles lead Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, 24-14, but it seems as if they should be ahead by even more.\n\nPhiladelphia has a 21:54 to 8:06 advantage in time of possession.\n\nIt has outgained Kansas City 270 yards to 128 yards and has run 44 plays to the Chiefs' 20.\n\nJalen Hurts is 17-for-22 passing for 183 yards and a touchdown, and he has carried the ball 11 times for 63 yards and two more scores.\n\nA.J. Brown has three catches for 74 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles.\n\nPatrick Mahomes is 8-for-13 for 89 yards and a touchdown, with Travis Kelce catching three of his passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.\n\nThe Chiefs have only managed 39 yards rushing in the game. The lone turnover in the game was a fumble by Hurts that the Chiefs ran in for a touchdown, at least keeping Kansas City in the game entering the second half.\n\nThe Chiefs get the ball to start the second half and could really use a scoring drive, but Kansas City especially needs its defense to start getting stops to give the team a chance.\n\nEagles take 10-point lead into halftime\n\nThe Eagles added to their lead with a 25-yard field goal by Jake Elliott as time expired in the first half.\n\nPhiladelphia covered 40 yards in 1:22 and eight plays to add to their lead.\n\nThe Chiefs are really fortunate to only be down 10. The Eagles dominated the first half, outgaining Kansas City 270-128.\n\nThey had the ball for 21:54 compared to just 8:06 for the Chiefs.\n\nKansas City does get the ball to start the second half, but Patrick Mahomes status looms large.\n\nScore: Eagles 24, Chiefs 14 (halftime)\n\nWas it a catch by Devonta Smith?\n\nDevonta Smith had a 35-yard catch on the Eagles' next drive that was ruled incomplete upon video review, reversing the call on the field.\n\nWhat do you think?\n\nEagles force Chiefs to punt\n\nThe Eagles forced the Chiefs to punt late in the first half, giving the Eagles a chance to add to their lead.\n\nKansas City's drive only went for nine yards over five plays, but of greater concern is Patrick Mahomes' health. The QB has been dealing with a high ankle sprain and limped off the field at the end of the possession.\n\nThe Eagles have the ball at the Philadelphia 43 with 1:22 left in the second quarter.\n\nEagles bounce back from turnover, regain lead vs. Chiefs\n\nIt didn't take Jalen Hurts long to bounce back from his turnover.\n\nHurts rushed for his second touchdown of the game to top off a 12-play, 75-yard drive and give the Eagles a 21-14 lead at State Farm Stadium in Glendale in Super Bowl 57.\n\nThe key play on the drive? A 28-yard run from Hurts on 4th & 5 at the Chiefs 44.\n\nThe Chiefs also forced a neutral zone infraction on the Eagles on fourth & 2 at the 8-yard line on the drive.\n\nThe drive took 7:19.\n\nHurts has rushed 10 times for 61 yards and two scores. He is 13-for-16 passing for 145 yards and a touchdown and was greeted by \"MVP\" chants as he exited the field after the latest score.\n\nScore: Eagles 21, Chiefs 14 (2:20 left in second quarter)\n\nChiefs' defense steps up, scores touchdown to tie game\n\nThe Chiefs' defense came through on the next Eagles' possession, forcing a fumble from Jalen Hurts (that was really just a drop from the QB) that Nick Bolton scooped up and ran into the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown.\n\nThat definitely changed momentum.\n\nThe Eagles had been driving and were at their own 49-yard line before the fumble, the first turnover of the game.\n\nHurts had been virtually unstoppable before that, completing 10-of-12 passes for 128 yards.\n\nScore: Chiefs 14, Eagles 14 (9:39 left in second quarter)\n\nChiefs go three-and-out on next possession\n\nThe Chiefs didn't answer the Eagles' touchdown this time as Kansas City went three-and-out on its next possession. Isiah Pacheco lost three yards on first down, and JuJu Smith-Schuster only gained five yards on a catch on second down.\n\nA Patrick Mahomes pass to Smith-Schuster on third down fell incomplete.\n\nThe Eagles now have a prime opportunity to put some distance between them and the Chiefs, with the pressure now falling on Kansas City's defense. Can it get a stop?\n\nSecond quarter starts with a bang for Eagles\n\nJalen Hurts just threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown on the first play of the second quarter to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead in Super Bowl 57.\n\nThe play capped a 5-play, 68 yard drive that took 2:32 off the clock.\n\nBrown also had a 7-yard reception on the drive. On the touchdown, he just adjusted to the throw in the end zone to reach out and beat Trent McDuffie.\n\nScore: Eagles 14, Chiefs 7 (14:52 left in second quarter)\n\n1st quarter stats for Super Bowl 57\n\nPatrick Mahomes is 5-for-7 for 73 yards and a touchdown for the Chiefs. Travis Kelce has three catches for 60 yards. Isiah Pacheco has four carries for 31 yards.\n\nJalen Hurts is 5-for-7 for 71 yards for the Eagles. He has rushed four times for 18 yards and a touchdown. Devonta Smith has four catches for 46 yards.\n\nThe Chiefs outgained the Eagles in the first quarter, 112-99.\n\nScore: Eagles 7, Chiefs 7 (end of first quarter)\n\nChiefs' drive ends with missed field goal\n\nWe've still got a tie game at Super Bowl 57 in Glendale.\n\nHarrison Butler just missed a 42-yard field goal attempt (it hit the left upright), to leave the game tied at 7 with 2:24 left in the first quarter.\n\nThe Chiefs' drive went for seven plays and 42 yards.\n\nButler entered the game 20 for 23 on field goal attempts in the postseason.\n\nThe Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce connection is paying off early for the Chiefs. Kelce had a 22-yard reception on the drive.\n\nHe has three catches for 60 yards on three targets in the game.\n\nAs for Butker, he has had some kicking adventures at this stadium before. Jose M. Romero detailed them in a recent story.\n\nChiefs' defense forces Eagles to punt\n\nThe Eagles had to punt on their second possession of the game after losing four yards on three plays.\n\nAn offensive pass interference penalty on Zach Pascal derailed the Eagles' possession on their first play of the drive.\n\nKenneth Gainwell only gained one yard on 1st and 20, then Devonta Smith only gained five yards on a short pass on second and 19. A Jalen Hurts pass fell incomplete on third down.\n\nChiefs answer on their first possession of Super Bowl\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs didn't take long to answer the Philadelphia Eagles' opening scoring drive of Super Bowl 57.\n\nPatrick Mahomes just threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce to tie up the game with 6:57 left in the first.\n\nThe Chiefs' scoring drive went 75 yards in just six plays and 3:12.\n\nMahomes went 2-for-2 on the drive, also connecting on a 20-yard pass to Kelce. The QB also had an 8-yard run, looking good on his hurt ankle.\n\nIsiah Pacheco also had a 24-yard run for Kansas City.\n\nKansas City didn't have a third down on the drive. The Chiefs couldn't have answered the Eagles' start any better.\n\nScore: Eagles 7, Chiefs 7 (6:57 left in first quarter)\n\nEagles strike first for touchdown on opening drive of game\n\nThe Philadelphia Eagles lead the Super Bowl, 7-0, after an impressive opening drive against the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium.\n\nJalen Hurts ran the ball in from 1-yard out to cap off an 11-play, 75-yard drive for the Eagles that took 4:51 off the clock.\n\nHurts connected on a key 12-yard pass to Devonta Smith on third and five early in the drive. He also had a nice 11-yard run for another first down and connected with Dallas Goedert on a 13-yard pass.\n\nThe big play of the drive was a 23-yard pass from Hurts to Smith.\n\nHurts was 4-for-5 on the drive, throwing for 54 yards. He also had two carries for 12 yards. Smith had three catches for 41 yards.\n\nThe Eagles couldn't have asked for a better start.\n\nNeither the Eagles or Chiefs trailed in the NFL playoffs on their road to the Super Bowl, so now the Chiefs are playing with their first deficit of the postseason.\n\nScore: Eagles 7, Chiefs 0 (10:09 left in first quarter)\n\nThe NFL honored Pat Tillman and the Pat Tillman Foundation before the coin toss of Super Bowl 57.\n\nThe Chiefs won the toss and deferred until the second half, meaning that the Eagles will receive the kickoff to start the game.\n\nThe last eight teams that won the coin toss at the Super Bowl went on to lose the game.\n\nSuper Bowl 57 inactives\n\nQB Ian Book, S Anthony Harris, LB Kyron Johnson, P Brett Kern, CB Josiah Scott, RB Trey Sermon and WR Greg Ward are inactive for the Eagles.\n\nPhiladelphia activated Arryn Siposs to serve as the team's punter and holder on Saturday. He has not played since Week 14.\n\nQB Shane Buechele, RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, TE Blake Bell, OT Darian Kinnard, C Austin Reiter, DE Joshua Kaindoh and DE Malik Herring are inactive for the Chiefs.\n\nRoof expected to be open for Super Bowl 57\n\nThe roof is expected to be open for Super Bowl 57 between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.\n\nThe temperature is expected to be 73 degrees at kickoff at 4:30 p.m. MST.\n\nTemperatures are expected to drop into the upper 50s during the game.\n\nThe game can be seen at 4:30 p.m. MST time on Fox.\n\nKevin Burkhardt will have the play-by-play call, with Greg Olsen as the analyst.\n\nErin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will be reporters for the game, with Mike Pereira serving as the rules analyst.\n\n'We're so proud':Pat Tillman to be honored with Super Bowl 57 coin toss\n\nThe Eagles are a 1-point favorite in the game.\n\nThe Eagles are -118 on the moneyline in the game.\n\nThe Chiefs are +102.\n\nThe over/under for the game is set at 51 points.\n\nSuper Bowl 57 ticket prices:How much does it cost to get into Chiefs vs. Eagles game?\n\nPredictions for the game are a little all over the place, with no clear consensus.\n\nSome have the Eagles winning big, others have them winning a close game and still others like the Chiefs' chances in the game.\n\nI predicted a final score of Eagles 27, Chiefs 24 in my Super Bowl 57 prediction.\n\nOuch:Super Bowl 57 champs will have more State Farm Stadium wins than Arizona Cardinals\n\nReach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.\n\nSupport local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2023/02/12/what-tv-channel-is-super-bowl-57-eagles-chiefs-game-updates-score/69893739007/", "title": "Kansas City Chiefs beat Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57, 38 ...", "text": "2023 Super Bowl LVII: Philadelphia Eagles (16-3) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (16-3)\n\nWhen: 6:30 p.m. Sunday.\n\nWhere: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.\n\nTV/streaming: Fox, Fox sports app.\n\nRadio: WXYT-FM in Detroit (97.1).\n\nBetting line: Eagles by 1½; Super Bowl 57 over/under is 50½ points.\n\n• Box score\n\nGame notes: The Eagles and Chiefs meet at the Super Bowl for the first time, and both have done it as the No. 1 seed. For the Eagles, this is their fourth Super Sunday appearance; this is the Chiefs' fifth overall and third in the past five seasons. In the 2019 season, they rallied to win 31-20 over San Francisco in Super Bowl 54, then lost Super Bowl 55 the next year, 31-9, to Tampa Bay. Philadelphia won Super Bowl 52 over New England, 41-33, to finish the 2017 season.\n\nSUPER BOWL PREDICTIONS:Who'll win it all, Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles?\n\nTHE MATCHUP:One reason why Chiefs will beat Eagles in Super Bowl: Patrick Mahomes\n\nChiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, MVP of Super Bowl 54, was named Thursday as the NFL's MVP of the 2022 season, with Eagles QB Jalen Hurts the runner-up. Philadelphia is 16-1 with Hurts starting this season and he has scored 15 rushing TDs in 17 games, setting a new QB single-season record (including playoffs). The Eagles' defense finished with the third-most sacks ever (70) in the regular season. They have eight more in two playoff games, and became the first team ever with four players grabbing at least 10 sacks in the regular season: Haason Reddick (16), Josh Sweat (11), Javon Hargrave (11) and Super Bowl hero and Detroit native Brandon Graham (11).\n\nMahomes is dealing with a sprained ankle suffered three weeks ago vs. Jacksonville, but should be in better shape after two weeks of rest. Chiefs DT Chris Jones registered 15½ sacks and TE Travis Kelce scored a career-best 12 touchdowns. Mahomes and Kelce have connected on 13 playoff TDs, two behind Tom Brady-Rob Gronkowski (15). Kelce will face his older brother and fellow All-Pro, Eagles C Jason Kelce, the first brothers to face off in a Super Bowl.\n\nTHE BUILD:Coaches, QBs get pub, but Super Bowl teams are built by great GMs. Is Brad Holmes the next one?\n\nAndy Reid is in his 10th season as Kansas City head coach, following 14 seasons leading Philadelphia. He is 1-2 in Super Bowls. Nick Sirianni is in his second season as Eagles head coach.\n\nFollow live updates and analysis below:\n\nBIG DREAMS:Detroit Lions as Super Bowl champs? Keep those dreams under control, fans.\n\nDETROIT LIONS MAILBAG:Should they extend QB Jared Goff's contract this offseason?\n\nLive updates\n\nCan't see the updates? Refresh the page or check them out on Twitter.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/super-bowl/2023/02/06/super-bowl-57-updates-kansas-city-chiefs-philadelphia-eagles-news/69877013007/", "title": "Super Bowl 57 updates: Patrick Mahomes wins second MVP", "text": "The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are preparing for Super Bowl 57 in Arizona on Sunday. Follow our updates on their preparations and the preparations for the game.\n\nCowboys' Dak Prescott named Walter Payton Man of the Year\n\nThe Dallas Cowboys quarterback received the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, the team's fourth player to earn that honor in franchise history. The others were Hall of Fame QBs Roger Staubach (1978) and Troy Aikman (1997), and Prescott's retired former teammate Jason Witten (2012).\n\nThe Man of the Year award is given to players for their charitable work away from the field.\n\n\"That's something I've always said, that I hope that when I finish this game they can say, 'He was a helluva player, but he was a much better person,' \" Prescott said.\n\nHe was recognized for Faith Fight Finish (FFF) Foundation for colon cancer research, mental health, suicide prevention, building stronger relationships between law enforcement and local communities, and the underprivileged.\n\nAlso, Prescott donated $1 million to improve police training and diminish systemic racism following the killing of George Floyd in 2020.\n\nHe gave a poignant speech about his late brother, who died from suicide during the pandemic that same year.\n\nPatrick Mahomes wins NFL MVP\n\nMahomes earned his second MVP award since 2018.\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs QB had the league's best QB rating (77.6), led in passing yards (5250) and touchdowns (41). Mahomes also led the Chiefs to their seventh straight AFC West title, third Super Bowl appearance in four years, and they tied their Super Bowl opponent Philadelphia for the league's best regular season record at 14-3.\n\n2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class inductees announced\n\nThe NFL revealed their eight new Hall of Fame members of the 2023 class. They are Rondé Barber, Darrelle Revis, Demarcus Ware, Chuck Howley, Don Coryell, Ken Riley, Joe Klecko, Zach Thomas, and Joe Thomas.\n\nJustin Jefferson wins Next Gen Stats Moment of the Year\n\nMinnesota's Jefferson achieved his second award of the evening in addition to Offensive Player of the Year.\n\nJefferson was given the trophy for his astounding one-handed 32-yard catch on fourth-and-18 around the fourth quarter's two-minute warning as the Vikings trailed the Buffalo Bills, 27-23.\n\nNFL Honors gives heartfelt moment to Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin\n\nThe Bills CB was honored by the league for his recovery after his life-threatening moment in which he collapsed on the field during their Monday Night Football game against Cincinnati on Jan. 2.\n\nHamlin suddenly collapsed and was unconscious after he tackled Tee Higgins, who collided into Hamlin's chest. He was taken off the field in an ambulance and the game was canceled thereafter. Hamlin was discharged from a Cincinnati hospital on Jan. 9, and was taken to a Buffalo hospital to further recover until he was released two days later, and recuperated more at home.\n\nHe was joined onstage at NFL Honors with that Cincinnati hospital's medical staff and the Bills training staff for the ceremony's tribute.\n\nDeMeco Ryans wins Assistant Coach of the Year\n\nNew Houston Texans head coach won the league's top assistant coach award for his former job as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, in which he led them to finish the season as the league's top-ranked defense.\n\nBengals' Joe Burrow, Raiders' Josh Jacobs wins FedEx Air & Grounds Players of the Year\n\nBurrow got the Air award after being the second-best among all QBs in completion rate (68.3%) and touchdowns (35) and fifth in passing yards (4475). He's the second to represent the Bengals as award winners of the ceremony after they won the league's top celebration award.\n\nJacobs ended the regular season first in rushing yards (1653, for which he won the Jim Brown Award as that category's leader) and yards per game (97.3), second in carries (340), fifth in TDs (12), and just three fumbles.\n\nBengals win Celly of the Year\n\nThe Cincinnati Bengals were honored for their roller-coaster touchdown celebration from Week 18 against Baltimore.\n\nLarry Bevans (Seahawks) wins Fan of the Year\n\nCommanders coach Ron Rivera wins Salute To Service Award\n\nSeahawks QB Geno Smith wins Comeback Player of the Year\n\nIn the wake of Russell Wilson's offseason trade to Denver, his former Seattle Seahawks backup QB Geno Smith replaced him and exceeded expectations. NFL pundits predicted it would be a rebuilding season for Seattle as their QB situation was in flux.\n\nThe 32-year-old Smith led the league on a 69.8% completion rate, fourth in touchdowns (30), tied with New York Giants at sixth in quarterback rating (60.8, career-high), and was eighth in passing yards (4282). He led the Seahawks to the NFC West's second-place record at 9-8, and a Wild Card playoff berth before losing to the division winner San Francisco.\n\nGiants' Brian Daboll wins Coach of the Year\n\nDaboll turned the New York Giants around in his first season with the team. They had their first winning record (9-7-1) since 2016, and led them to their first playoff win in 11 years. The Giants defeated the NFC North titleholder Minnesota in the Wild Card round before losing to their NFC East rival and eventual conference champion Philadelphia in the divisional round.\n\nJets CB Sauce Gardner wins Defensive Rookie of the Year\n\nThe New York Jets swept the league's two rookie of the year awards after cornerback Ahmad \"Sauce\" Gardner followed Garrett Wilson.\n\nAs the fourth overall pick out of Cincinnati in the 2022 draft, the cornerback Gardner got First Team All-Pro honors allowed just two touchdowns, had 20 passes defensed, and 75 tackles. Per NFL Network's NextGen stats, he intercepted two passes and generated a -28.8 target EPA, which was the second-best among all corners.\n\nGardner beat Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and Seahawks CB Tariq Woolen.\n\nJets WR Garrett Wilson wins Offensive Rookie of the Year\n\nThe Ohio State product Wilson earned the top offensive rookie award after reaching the most among all first-year players with 83 catches, 1103 yards, and 147 targets.\n\nThe other finalists for this award were San Francisco QB Brock Purdy and Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III.\n\n49ers DE Nick Bosa wins Defensive Player of the Year, Deacon Jones Sacks Leader awards\n\nSan Francisco's three-time Pro Bowl defensive end received his first Defensive Player of the Year award. Bosa led the league with 18.5 sacks for 138 yards through 16 games, and was a major factor in the 49ers ending the season as the league's top defense. He also helped lead them to their second consecutive NFC championship game, and they won the NFC West division on a 13-4 record.\n\nThe other award nominess were Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, Las Vegas Raiders edge Maxx Crosby, and Cleveland Browns edge Myles Garrett.\n\nVikings WR Justin Jefferson wins NFL Offensive Player of the Year\n\nMinnesota's Justin Jefferson earned the award after leading the NFL with 128 catches, 1809 receiving yards, and 184 targets in his third season. Jefferson helped lead the Vikings to the NFC North division title on a 13-4 regular season record.\n\nThe three other Offensive Players of the Year finalists were Miami Dolphins WR Tyreke Hill, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts. The latter two will compete in Sunday's Super Bowl.\n\nNFL Honors takes center stage\n\nThe 12th Annual NFL Honors show will be televised Thursday night from Symphony Hall in Phoenix at 7 p.m. MST on NBC and NFL Network.\n\nThe show will also be streamed live on Peacock.\n\nKelly Clarkson is hosting the show, which will hand out special awards to NFL players.\n\nAmong the awards:\n\nAP Most Valuable Player presented by Invisalign\n\nAP Comeback Player of the Year\n\nAP Defensive Player of the Year\n\nAP Defensive Rookie of the Year\n\nWalter Payton NFL Man of the Year presented by Nationwide\n\nPro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 presented by Uber Eats\n\nSalute to Service Award presented by USAA\n\nHead & Shoulders Never Not Working Protection Play of the Year\n\nArt Rooney Sportsmanship Award\n\nDeacon Jones Sack Leader Award\n\nAP Coach of the Year\n\nAP Offensive Player of the Year presented by Microsoft Surface\n\nAP Offensive Rookie of the Year\n\nNext Gen Stats Best Moment of the Year powered by AWS\n\nNFL Inspire Change Tribute\n\nFedEx Air & Ground Players of the Year\n\nBud Light Celly of the Year\n\nNFL Fan of the Year presented by Captain Morgan\n\nAP Assistant Coach of the Year\n\nThe NFL Network will air the NFL Honors Red Carpet Show beginning at 6 p.m. MST Thursday leading up to the NFL Honors Show.\n\nSuper Bowl prop bets abound for Chiefs vs. Eagles game\n\nYou can bet on more at the Super Bowl than just the point spread, moneyline or over/under for the game.\n\nMuch more.\n\nTipico Sportsbook offers a wide variety of other betting options on the game.\n\nOne that caught our eye? You can bet on whether any field goal or extra point attempt will hit an upright or cross bar (Yes is +400, No is -599).\n\nA popular one in the past is back as you can bet on color of Gatorade poured on the winning head coach (Yellow/Green is the favorite at +162).\n\nInterestingly, you can also wager on the team to call the first timeout in the game (Eagles are -105, Chiefs are -115) or the team to commit the first turnover (Chiefs are -120, Eagles are +100).\n\nThe coin toss outcome is also up for wagering (Tails -110, Heads -110) as is the team to win the coin toss (Eagles -110, Chiefs -110).\n\nYou can see more prop bets for the game here, making the Super Bowl all the more interesting for those who decide to put some money on it.\n\nGannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).\n\nThe offensive linemen who gathered in a meeting room at Northern Arizona University’s business college in 1986 won’t defy logic and ask you to believe they knew the new position coach they met that day would go on to accomplish such things as leading the Chiefs to three Super Bowls, including the one Sunday at State Farm Stadium.\n\nAndy Reid was only 27 then, and his mustache was thicker than his resume: one year as a graduate assistant at BYU, his alma mater, and three years as an offensive line coach at San Francisco State.\n\nReid wanted the job at NAU so desperately that he had stalked head coach Larry Kentera at the Sacramento airport while Kentera was on a recruiting trip.\n\nRead Kent Somers' complete column here.\n\nNFL to offer free CPR training\n\nThe NFL and American Heart Association will provide free CPR education in Arizona throughout Super Bowl week as part of the Super Bowl Experience at the Phoenix Convention Center.\n\n“Being able to deliver care in emergency situations is not just important at sporting events, but in all walks of life,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.\n\nPeople who visit the mobile training unit will receive hands-only CPR training from experts and receive CPR information that can be shared in their communities. Also, the American Heart Association is working with Damar Hamlin and his #3forHeart CPR Challenge, a social media initiative that encourages people to learn CPR, donate money to support CPR research, education and training, and share the word with others.\n\n− Associated Press\n\nOpening night has a bit of everything\n\nThere were players, coaches, media and fans at Super Bowl 57 Open Night on Monday at the Footprint Center, but there was also a whole lot more.\n\nDonna Kelce, mother to Super Bowl bound brothers Travis and Jason, gave away tickets to the big game to some lucky fans. Gamers played out the game on Madden NFL 23. Players were asked questions — only a fraction of which were related to the Super Bowl or football in general.\n\nAmong the questions were:\n\nWhich of your teammates would you want on your side in a fight? This was a frequent topic.\n\nWho would win a grizzly bear or tiger? Most players picked the grizzly.\n\nWhat's your favorite Rihanna song? Don't have one? Name any song at all.\n\nWhat would you be if you weren't an NFL player? Someone who will avoid being named admitted they would likely be in prison.\n\nWhat was your favorite moment of the season? To which Eagles QB Jalen Hurts answered that the season isn't over yet.\n\nWhat crazy conspiracy theory do you believe in? Kansas City RB Jerick McKinnon avoids all conspiracy theories.\n\nWhat you think of Arizona, what's the first thing that comes to mind? McKinnon said Old Town Scottsdale and the WM Open.\n\nPlayers weren't just asked questions, they were asked to participate in stunts. There was a bedazzled football to hold. And a cowboy hat to don, while playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey.\n\nChiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked about a cheese dip recipe.\n\nAbout the only thing missing was a dull moment as personalities abound.\n\nThe Philadelphia Eagles will win Super Bowl 57, according to a simulation from Madden NFL 23.\n\nThe video game simulated Sunday's game at State Farm Stadium and the simulation has the Eagles earning a 31-17 win over the Chiefs.\n\nAccording to the simulation, Jalen Hurts could have a big game on Sunday. He threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns — with an additional 88 yards and another score on the ground in the simulation to earn game MVP honors.\n\nThe Arizona Republic predicts a closer game in its prediction, but with the same team winning. It has the final score being Eagles 27, Chiefs 24.\n\nMore:Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles picks, predictions: Who wins Super Bowl 57?\n\nThe Eagles are a 1.5-point favorite, according to Tipico Sportsbook.\n\nThe Eagles are -125 on the moneyline in the game.\n\nThe Chiefs are +105.\n\nThe over/under for the game is set at 51 points.\n\nNothing comes close to the Super Bowl when it comes to the single sporting event that generates the most bets in the United States. Super Bowl 57 is in line to set a record for most money wagered on the king of all American sporting events.\n\nThe amount could reach $700 million for the Super Bowl alone, one expert believes, with somewhere around a billion dollars wagered on all sports combined in Arizona in the month of February.\n\nWith the game being played in Glendale this month, it marks the first time the Super Bowl will take place in a state that offers legal sports betting.\n\nClick here for more information on sports betting and Super Bowl 57.\n\n− Jose M. Romero\n\nNFL players to sign autographs at Phoenix Verizon stores\n\nSeveral Arizona Cardinals and other NFL players will sign autographs for fans at Phoenix-area Verizon stores leading up to the Super Bowl.\n\nHere is the schedule:\n\nZach Ertz - Wednesday, Feb. 8, 4-5 pm, W Bell Road, 7608 W. Bell Rd., Glendale, AZ\n\nDeAndre Hopkins - Thursday, Feb. 9, 3-4 pm, Peoria Crossings, 9184 W. Northern Ave., Ste. 101, Glendale, AZ\n\nDeebo Samuel - Friday, Feb. 10, 4-5 pm, Desert Ridge, 21001 N. Tatum Blvd, Ste. 16-1010, Phoenix, AZ\n\nTrevor Lawrence - Friday, Feb. 10, 2-3 pm, Avondale Gateway, 10120 W. McDowell Rd., Avondale, AZ\n\nJamaal Charles - Saturday, Feb. 11, 1-2 pm, Camelback, 4811 N. 16th St., Phoenix, AZ\n\nBrian Dawkins - Saturday, Feb. 11, 3-4 pm, Tempe Marketplace, 39 S. McClintock Dr., Tempe, AZ\n\nBowling with Legends\n\nBowling with Legends, a charity event headlined by Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, will be held Thursday at Mavrix Bowling and Event Center in Scottsdale.\n\nA bowling competition featuring various teams competing with Moon’s will be held from 3 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Moon’s team includes fellow Hall of Fame members John Randle, Andre Reed and Anthony Munoz, as well as former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia.\n\nOther NFL players expected to participate are Vince Young, Mike Wilson, Mark Rypien, Andre Ware, Eric Wright and Clinton Portis.\n\nThe event benefits Brothers in Arms, a charitable foundation led by Moon, Ware and Young that offers financial assistance and scholarships to student-athletes being raised in a single-parent environment, as well as the Arizona non-profit “Keeping Teachers Teaching.”\n\nFor more information, go to https://legendsbowl.com/ or call 866.325.3436\n\nService opportunity in Phoenix this week\n\nKids in Need Foundation will team up with volunteers to assemble 10,000 backpacks filled with core school supplies for students in the Phoenix area on Thursday from 12:45 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Skyline Prep High School (7500 S. 40th Street, Phoenix).\n\nThe event will be co-hosted by former Cardinals linebacker Lorenzo Alexander.\n\nLast week, the most expensive tickets for Super Bowl 57 on resale sites were running for around $25,000.\n\nThere are now some going for more than $100,000.\n\nThe cheapest tickets available for Sunday's Chiefs vs. Eagles game on resale sites are currently going for around $5,800 each.\n\nYou can get a breakdown of the latest Super Bowl ticket prices here.\n\nMonday's Super Bowl events schedule\n\nThe NFL will hold a Welcome to Super Bowl LVII press conference at 11:30 a.m., out on by the Arizona Super Bowl host committee, to celebrate the opening of Super Bowl week.\n\nFrom 1 to 3 p.m., there will be a Special Olympics Unified Flag game at Valley Vista High school in Surprise.\n\nSuper Bowl Opening Night is at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Monday night, beginning at 6 p.m. The event includes photo and interview sessions with Super Bowl players, a joint team appearance and a joint broadcast interview with head coaches and QBs from each team.\n\nSuper Bowl 57 ticket prices:How much does it cost to get into Chiefs vs. Eagles game?\n\nWhere the Chiefs, Eagles are practicing, staying Super Bowl week\n\nThe Chiefs are practicing at Arizona State university this week, on the ASU football team's practice fields in Tempe.\n\nThe Eagles are at the Arizona Cardinals' practice facility in Tempe.\n\nThe Chiefs are staying at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, while the Eagles are staying at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix.\n\nSuper Bowl 57: The Arizona Republic's prediction | Game picks | Odds | How to watch\n\nA problem with New York Giants' Super Bowl rings at Super Bowl Experience\n\nEasily the two biggest draws at the NFL Experience, based on how many people were lined up for them over the weekend, were the Vince Lombardi Trophy and the display of all 56 Super Bowl rings. People waited for an hour or more to see all the NFL bling, and were able to get up close to the silver, gold and precious stones.\n\nThere was just one problem – two of the New York Giants’ rings were out of sequence.\n\nThe ring exhibit displays them in chronological order, starting with the Green Bay Packers’ rings from the first two Super Bowls and ending with the Rams’ jewelry from last season.\n\nThe rings for the Giants’ first two Super Bowls, from the 1986 and 1990 seasons, were swapped. After the Bears’ ring from their 1985 “Super Bowl Shuffle” season, you see the Giants’ ring from Super Bowl XXV. That ring features two diamonds, for both of New York’s wins under coach Bill Parcells.\n\nThe ring from Super Bowl XXI comes after the ones for XXII, XXIII and XXIV. This one is fairly distinctive because it has the Lombardi Trophy, made up by 10 diamonds, sitting on a large sapphire background. The Lombardi Trophy carries a little extra significance for the Giants because the man for whom it was named was the team’s offensive coordinator the last time New York had won the NFL title, 1956. (That could be coincidental, but it’s a nice touch.)\n\nIt did not appear any of the other rings were out of sequence. The NFL Experience is closed (except for the NFL Shop, naturally) until Thursday, so there’s time for someone to make this right.\n\n− Mark Faller\n\nReach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.\n\nSupport local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/12/sport/gallery/nfl-2022-season/index.html", "title": "The best photos from the 2022 NFL season | CNN", "text": "The Cleveland Browns run the ball across midfield against the New York Jets during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns ended up losing 31-30 after being up by 13 points with 1:55 remaining in the game. Jets QB Joe Flacco threw for 307 yards and four TDs — including two in the final two minutes of the game — to carry the Jets. Sunday's game saw the return of \"Brownie the Elf\" to the Browns' home field. The logo was initially used by the Browns in their inaugural season in 1946 but fell out of favor in the 60s, returning when the franchise was brought back to Cleveland in 1999. Scott Galvin/USA Today Sports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/09/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/super-bowl/2022/02/13/super-bowl-2022-live-updates-score-bengals-rams-analysis/6774505001/", "title": "Super Bowl 2022 score: Rams defeat Bengals 23-20 on late TD ...", "text": "USA TODAY Sports\n\nThe Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in Super Bowl 56 Sunday at SoFi Stadium.\n\nQuarterback Matthew Stafford found star receiver Cooper Kupp for the go-ahead, 1-yard touchdown with 1:25 to play. But would the Bengals answer? Three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald ensured Cincinnati wouldn’t when he wrapped up Burrow on 4th-and-1 to seal the win with 39 seconds to play.\n\n“For the offense to be able to find a way and Aaron to finish it off,” head coach Sean McVay said, “is poetic.”\n\nIt was the Rams’ second Super Bowl title in franchise history, with the first coming in 2000.\n\nWith a strong presence of Rams fans in the crowd of 70,048, the team became only the second to win the Lombardi Trophy in its home stadium. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season became the first team to do it.\n\nThe victory provided at least short-term validation for the Rams’ all-in approach, with the club having traded a slew of draft picks to acquire Stafford, outside linebacker Von Miller and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. for its championship run.\n\nEach acquisition contributed powerfully.\n\nStafford completed 26-of-40 passes for 283 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He said the “up and down” game resembled the Rams’ inconsistent season and perhaps they even hearkened to Stafford’s high-octane but mistake-prone performances in a season replete with 41 touchdowns but 17 interceptions.\n\nAnd yet, like his regular-season wave, Stafford built a cushion early and would deliver late when he mattered most.\n\nThe Rams were on the board first, Stafford hitting fellow 2021 acquisition Beckham on an airborne 17-yard touchdown with 6:22 to play in the first quarter. He’d strike again as Kupp faked a block before hauling in an 11-yard touchdown in the second quarter.\n\nBut the momentum swung shortly before halftime. Beckham attempted a crossing route akin to one on which he’d earlier raced upfield to net a 35-yard gain. Not so this time. Facing third-and-9, with 3:54 to play in the first half, Beckham dropped a pass and clutched his left knee. He wouldn’t return to the game.\n\nStafford heaved a prayer on third-and-14 later in the drive, and Bengals safety Jessie Bates III instead intercepted in the end zone. Cincinnati couldn’t convert before halftime but needed just one play in the third quarter to unload.\n\nLeave it to Burrow to unleash a bomb toward receiver Tee Higgins down the left sideline, and Higgins capitalized for a 75-yard touchdown after Rams All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey lost his footing on a play Ramsey seemed to have expected a flag on for a facemask. Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie stole a tipped pass the following play, Stafford’s second interception in short time. The Bengals extended their lead with a field goal, their 4-point lead almost enough to sustain a late-game punting fest.\n\nBut seven sacks, not including the final wrap-up by Donald, proved too much for Burrow and the Bengals to overcome. Burrow completed 22-of-33 passes for 263 yards including the 75-yard touchdown. He made no mistakes. But Stafford and Kupp punctuated the performance late. Burrow and his Bengals failed to answer.\n\nCincinnati running back Joe Mixon notched a game-high 72 yards rushing on 15 attempts in addition to completing a lone pass for a 6-yard touchdown to Higgins on a trick play, Cincinnati’s first score of the day. Mixon’s ground game nearly doubled the entire Los Angeles output, the Rams sputtering with just 1.9 yards per attempt and a total of 42 yards in the win.\n\nThey overcame the brick wall encountered on the ground with well-timed passing success and a nasty pass rush. Miller and Donald each sacked Burrow twice, the Bengals' offensive line withstanding the Rams early but ultimately faltering in what had seemed like the game’s decisive mismatch.\n\nBurrow and Stafford each limped off the field at points, Burrow sustaining seven crushing sacks to cap off a postseason that began with him often on the ground.\n\nAnd with one last chance, down by three, Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald delivered the game-crushing sack. Stafford had punctuated his performance. Burrow couldn’t answer.\n\nAt 36, Rams head coach Sean McVay became the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl. The previous youngest was Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. He was 36 when the Steelers won the Super Bowl in 2009 with a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals but was about 10 months older than McVay.\n\nDespite the Bengals’ inspired one-year turnaround – they finished 4-11-1 in 2020 and this year went 10-7 and won the AFC North title before their postseason run – they remain one of 12 NFL franchises never to have won a Super Bowl.\n\n— Josh Peter and Jori Epstein\n\nBuffalo Bills, Kansas CIty Chiefs early Super Bowl favorites for next season\n\nThe glory of the Rams’ thrilling victory over the Bengals in Super Bowl 56 is still coursing through the hearts of the victors.\n\nAnd now everyone else in the league renews a dream of hope they’ll win Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, Arizona.\n\nOn Sunday night, Tipico Sportsbook unveiled its future-book odds for next season, with the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs slotted as +650 co-favorites.\n\n-- Lance Pugmire\n\nRams WR Van Jefferson and wife welcome Super Bowl Sunday baby\n\nVan Jefferson raced through the tunnels of SoFi Stadium after the game, his backpack slung over his right shoulder and his Super Bowl jersey hanging from his right hand.\n\nThe Los Angeles Rams receiver was fresh off a 23-20 Super Bowl 56 victory. Now, it was time for his family to greet their newest addition.\n\nJefferson’s wife, Samaria, knew such a star-crossed delivery was possible. Samaria was determined to attend her husband’s Super Bowl even at 40 weeks pregnant, she told The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue.\n\nSamaria made it to SoFi Stadium for kickoff. She left in labor midgame.\n\nLater on Sunday night, Jefferson posted a photo to Instagram of him holding his newborn baby.\n\n-- Jori Epstein\n\nLions fans, players happy for Matthew Stafford's success\n\nDetroit Lions fans had a vested interest in Super Bowl 56.\n\nNot only did former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford lead the Rams to a 23-20 win with a patented come-from-behind victory, but the Lions' extra first-round draft pick, coming from LA via the Stafford trade, hung on the game result.\n\nBecause the Rams were able to pull out the victory, the Lions have the final pick of the first round and now three selections in the first 34 spots.\n\nBut that's in April. For now, Lions fans and former teammates had a chance to live vicariously through ol' \"No. 9.\"\n\nAnd they celebrated almost as hard as Stafford did.\n\n-- Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press\n\nOpinion: Even in defeat, Joe Burrow shows he has championship mettle\n\nINGLEWOOD, Calif. – Joe Burrow played well enough to win in his first Super Bowl.\n\nOne problem: The phenomenal young Cincinnati Bengals quarterback lost.\n\nThis setback, a 23-20 nail-biter against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, was not on Burrow. He tried mightily to lift his team across the finish line, as you knew he would.\n\nIt’s just tough to win when you can feel the hot breath and stiff hits from guys like Aaron Donald, Von Miller and A’Shawn Robinson all game long. Burrow was sacked seven times and still nearly led the Bengals to a Super Bowl triumph for what would have been the first time in franchise history.\n\nMaybe next time. One thing is for certain: The Bengals' primary objective for the offseason is identified, loud and clear. Build the O-line. Invest heavily. Give Joe Cool the protection that will bring out the best in a quarterback who is already good enough, surely, to almost win a Super Bowl.\n\n-- Jarrett Bell\n\nChiefs players troll Bengals' Eli Apple after Super Bowl loss\n\nCincinnati Bengals cornerback Eli Apple may have got the upper hand on the Kansas City Chiefs after defeating them in the AFC championship game, but Chiefs players may have gotten the last laugh after some called out Apple on his performance in the Bengals' 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56.\n\nIn the AFC title game, Apple made a game-turning play at the end of the first half that proved to be critical to Cincinnati's 27-24 victory.\n\nTwo weeks later, it looks like numerous Chiefs players did not forget those comments, as Apple was called for a pass interference late in the fourth quarter and was in coverage on Cooper Kupp during the game-winning touchdown pass.\n\nKansas City receiver Mecole Hardman reminded Apple he has something the Bengals defender doesn't: a Super Bowl ring. And that was just the start of it.\n\n-- Jordan Mendoza\n\nRams defensive back Taylor Rapp proposes after Super Bowl win\n\nThe Los Angeles Rams won the Super Bowl, but safety Taylor Rapp secured another kind of victory after the game: gaining a fiancée.\n\nAs the Rams celebrated the 23-20 win with their families on the field, Rapp was with his longtime girlfriend Dani Johnson. After the two embraced, Rapp got down on one knee, pulled out a ring and asked Johnson if she would marry him as teammates watched. Johnson said yes before the two embraced once again as teammates cheered.\n\nRapp and Johnson have been together well before he played college football for Washington from 2016-2018, as the two dated when Rapp was playing high school football at Sehome High School in Bellingham, Washington.\n\nSuper Bowl takeaways: Cooper Kupp comes up clutch, Rams defense turns up the heat\n\nThe Rams provided a Hollywood ending to a blockbuster season, but it wasn't without some major plot twists.\n\nStar wide receiver Cooper Kupp delivered -- as he did all year.\n\nThe Bengals made some aggressive decisions, but ultimately succumbed to the Rams' pressure.\n\nUSA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis takes a look at the the major takeaways from Super Bowl 56.\n\nWill Aaron Donald retire now that he's won a Super Bowl?\n\nAfter eight seasons of terrorizing nearly all NFL quarterbacks, Aaron Donald can finally add one award to his already legendary career: Super Bowl champion.\n\nBut now that arguably one of the greatest defensive linemen in the league's history finally has a Super Bowl ring for his trophy collection, will this be the last time we see Donald in a Rams uniform?\n\nDuring NBC's Super Bowl pregame coverage, former safety Rodney Harrison sai Donald had indicated to him earlier this week that he would possibly retire with a Super Bowl 56 win.\n\nFollowing the victory, Donald deflected a question about retirement from NBC reporter Michelle Tafoya.\n\n\"I'm in the moment. I'm enjoying this right now with these guys,\" Donald said as he celebrated with teammates. \"We going to play in the confetti for a minute and live in the moment.\"\n\n-- Jordan Mendoza\n\nSean McVay becomes youngest NFL coach to win Super Bowl\n\nSean McVay entered the NFL head-coaching ranks in 2017 as the youngest hire in the league's modern history at 33.\n\nNow he's beaten all his predecessors and contemporaries to another feat.\n\nWith the Los Angeles Rams' 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in Super Bowl 56 at SoFi Stadium, McVay becomes the youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl. McVay, who is 36 years and 20 days old on Sunday, tops the Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin, who was 36 years, 10 months and 18 days old when his team beat the Arizona Cardinals to cap the 2008 season.\n\nMcVay defeated former pupil Zac Taylor, 38, in what marked the youngest matchup of coaches in Super Bowl history.\n\n-- Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz\n\nCooper Kupp named Super Bowl 56 MVP\n\nIt was a fitting conclusion to a historic season for Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp.\n\nHe led the NFL this year in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. And then in the biggest game of them all, Kupp's 1-yard touchdown reception provided the game-winning score in his team's comeback victory.\n\nNot surprisingly, Kupp -- who caught eight passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns, and also contributed a key 7-yard run on 4th-and-1 to keep the Rams' game-winning drive alive -- was named the Super Bowl MVP.\n\nFan tackled after running on SoFi Stadium field\n\nAfter the Cincinnati Bengals' Chidobe Awuzie intercepted Matthew Stafford early in the third quarter of Super Bowl 56, a fan was seen running across the SoFi Stadium field, beginning at the east end of the field.\n\nThe fan, who was fully clothed, was wearing a Super Bowl 56 sweatshirt and holding a banner\n\nThe streaker made it almost the length of the field before being tackled by security near the 10-yard line.\n\n-- Jordan Mendoza\n\nTee Higgins' 75-yard TD catch ties for sixth-longest in Super Bowl history\n\nOn the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow went for the quick strike. On the receiving end, wideout Tee Higgins outfought Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey for the ball and took it all the way into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown.\n\nWhile impressive, Higgins catch didn't make it into the top five longest touchdown receptions in Super Bowl history. The longest was an 85-yarder from Jake Delhomme to Muhsin Muhammad of the Carolina Panthers against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 38.\n\nStatistical leaders for the first half of Super Bowl 56\n\nThe Rams led the Bengals 13-10 at halftime, with quarterback Matthew Stafford leading the way on the stat sheet.\n\nStafford completed 12-of-18 passes for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half. Odell Beckham Jr. led the Rams with two catches for 52 yards and a TD before he left with an injury. Cooper Kupp caught three passes for 40 yards and a touchdown. Cam Akers led the Rams in rushing with seven carries for 10 yards.\n\nFor the Bengals, quarterback Joe Burrow matched Stafford's 12-for-18 line for 114 yards. Ja'Marr Chase caught three passes for 62 yards to lead Cinicnnati receivers. Joe Mixon rushed for 40 yards on seven carries and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass.\n\nDr. Dre headlines Super Bowl 56 halftime extravaganza\n\nThe Super Bowl is more than just the biggest football game of the year.\n\nWhile the annually televised event may be the crown jewel in the pantheon of American sports, it’s also a showcase for iconic musical performances.\n\nThis year, a lineup of hip-hop heavyweights, led by N.W.A. rapper and producer Dr. Dre, is filling the slot at this year’s halftime show.\n\nRappers Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, along with the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” Mary J. Blige, are joining Dre for the performance, as teased in a nearly 4-minute trailer that dropped last month.\n\n-- Edward Segarra and Charles Trepany\n\nInactive Bengals player penalized for taunting\n\nIt's never good when you cost your team yardage by going onto the field in street clothes to celebrate an interception.\n\nCornerback Vernon Hargreaves joined his teammates in doing \"The Griddy\" after Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates III's interception of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford near the end of the first half of Super Bowl 56.\n\nAdding insult to injury, NBC's Al Michaels called out Hargreaves -- among the Bengals' inactive players for the game - and added, \"He may be inactive for a while after this scene.\"\n\nA taunting penalty gave the Bengals the ball at their own 10 instead of the 20.\n\n-- Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer\n\nOdell Beckham Jr. injures knee in second quarter, will not return\n\nFor most of the half, Odell Beckham Jr. seemed to turn back time in the Super Bowl.\n\nTwo spectacular catches, 52 yards, a touchdown.\n\nThen came the scream, the wince, the grab of his left knee, the dreaded non-contact injury as the pain overwhelmed him too much to secure a near catch on second-and-9 with 3:54 to play in the second quarter.\n\nThe Rams initially said his return was questionable, but he was downgraded to out in the second half.\n\n-- Jori Epstein\n\nRELATED: Beckham tosses Super Bowl gloves to Kanye West\n\nBengals RB Joe Mixon tosses TD pass, call it a 'Cincy Special'?\n\nBengals running back Joe Mixon did his best Joe Burrow impression in the second quarter, tossing the first touchdown pass of his career, a 6-yarder to wide receiver Tee Higgins.\n\nMixon helped move the Bengals into scoring position with his legs, but on a second-and-goal play, he took a pitch from Burrow and swung wide enough to give him a perfect passing lane to Higgins.\n\nThe touchdown, with 5:47 left before halftime, cut the Bengals' deficit to 13-10. It made Mixon the fifth non-quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl. The last time it happened was the famous \"Philly Special\" when Philadelphia Eagles tight end Trey Burton connected with quarterback Nick Foles to spark a win over the New England Patriots four years ago.\n\nJa'Marr Chase makes instant impact with spectacular catch\n\nThe Bengals nearly answered the Rams' first touchdown with one of their own in the final minute of the first quarter.\n\nAlthough they had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Evan McPherson, the Bengals score was set up by a 46-yard pass from quarterback Joe Burrow to rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase.\n\nWorking against veteran Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey, Chase worked his way down the sideline to make a spectacular one-handed catch.\n\nWho will be the star of Super Bowl 56?\n\nThere are so many different potential storylines for this year's Super Bowl, from the quarterback battle to the coaching showdown between former teacher and pupil. Perhaps three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald going up against the Bengals' maligned line will be the difference in the game. Or could star wideouts Ja'Marr Chase, Cooper Kupp or Odell Beckham Jr. steal the show?\n\nUSA TODAY Sports' NFL editors and writers offer their insights on what the defining story of Super Bowl 56 will be.\n\nSoFi Stadium in Super Bowl spotlight\n\nSunday will serve as a showcase for SoFi Stadium, owner Stan Kroenke's $5 billion home for the Los Angeles Rams. Among its many notable features: an indoor-outdoor setup, a 120-yard-long Infinity Screen scoreboard and translucent, canopy-style roof.But the history and impact of SoFi Stadium are complex, as some heavily criticized tactics tactics paved the way for the project in Inglewood, California. Read more from USA TODAY Sports' Josh Peter on how the stadium has created hardships for thousands of residents.\n\nConcession prices at SoFi Stadium are super-sized as well\n\nA 25-ounce can of Michelob Ultra is usually a pretty cheap beer to buy from a grocery retailer, costing $3 at Vons and $2.79 at Instacart.\n\nBut this is the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium, where the same brand of beer costs $17 for the same-size can at Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.\n\nOther items at the concession stands on Super Bowl Sunday came with similar sticker shock:\n\n►$12 for a jumbo hot dog\n\n►$7 for a 20-ounce fountain soda\n\n►And $55 for a small Los Angeles Rams T-shirt\n\nSoFi Stadium had the most expensive hot dogs and beer in the NFL in 2021, according to Team Marketing Report’s NFL Fan Cost Index for 2021.\n\n-- Brent Schotenboer\n\nSuper Bowl 56 uniforms: Bengals wearing black, Rams in white\n\nAs the home team in Super Bowl 56 – despite playing at the Rams' home, Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium – the Cincinnati Bengals are wearing their black jersey, white pants with orange stripes. And orange socks.\n\nThe black jersey is part of the Bengals' standard uniform when they play at Paul Brown Stadium. They've worn it with white pants and black pants.\n\nThe Rams are wearing their white jerseys with blue numerals. And yellow pants.\n\nSuper Bowl squares are a standard pregame ritual\n\nWith football's biggest day of the year comes parties, fandom, betting, and – of course – Super Bowl squares.\n\nIf you're looking for a refresher on how to play this fun and easy party game, check out our primer on how to set up your own game. We also have some insight into exactly which squares provide the best odds to pay out. (Hint: avoid the 2s and 5s if possible!.)\n\nRams WR Odell Beckham Jr. no longer the villain\n\nLOS ANGELES – As Odell Beckham Jr. takes aim at his first championship ring, it's jarring to think he's no better than the third-best wide receiver playing in Super Bowl 56 – at least based on how the 2021 season unfolded.\n\nYet the likes of Los Angeles Rams Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp and Cincinnati Bengals Offensive Rookie of the Year Ja'Marr Chase are a long way from approaching the still-dynamic legacy OBJ has somehow crafted in just eight NFL seasons.\n\nIt was apparent this week that there's a real peace about Beckham, 29, who projected striking self-awareness while also appearing fully cognizant of his lofty place in the league's pantheon.\n\n\"Knowing that responsibility that I carry to set a standard, to know that some of them look up to me, is the reason why I feel like I'm how I am now instead of the 23-year-old me,\" Beckham says. \"You've got to go through things to grow through things.\"\n\n-- Nate Davis\n\nJoe Burrow unleashes his inner tiger en route to stadium\n\nCincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was looking sharp as he boarded the bus with his team ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl 56 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium, wearing a tiger-striped, gray-and-black suit with a black hat.\n\nNFL Network co-host Rich Eisen compared Burrow's pregame hat to that of Walter White's alter ego from \"Breaking Bad.\"\n\nThe Bengals also shared video of Burrow's locker as they arrived at SoFi Stadium.\n\n-- Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer\n\nSuper Bowl pregame reads\n\nUSA TODAY Sports has loaded up on Super Bowl coverage in the last two weeks. Here are some of the best reads to get you ready for the game.\n\nSuper Bowl predictions: Will the Bengals or Rams win? Who will be MVP? And which players could be X-factors?\n\nSuper Bowl matchup breakdown: Who holds the advantage in every facet of the game? Nate Davis breaks down how the game could be won.\n\nDid Sean McVay learn from being \"outcoached\" in the last Super Bowl?: The Rams coach addresses how he balances learning his previous Super Bowl disappointment with keeping a focus on the future.\n\nNFL's coaching revolution on display: The meeting between Sean McVay and Zac Taylor won't simply be a reunion between former teacher and protégé, but also an indicator of where the league's coaching movement is heading.\n\nHow Kelly and Matthew Stafford made things work in Los Angeles: Kelly, the wife of the Rams quarterback, gives exclusive insight on the challenges the Staffords' marriage faced after a move to Los Angeles.\n\nTightwad vs. big spender: The Bengals' Mike Brown and Rams' Stan Kroenke are a study in contrasting ownership styles.\n\nEric Weddle was retired - then he came back for a shot at a Super Bowl ring: How did the Rams get a 37-year-old who had been retired for 2 years up to speed for a Super Bowl run?\n\nMove over, Tom Brady: There's a new oldest active player in the NFL, and Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth relishes his senior status.\n\nHow one transfer changed the course of college football, NFL history: Joe Burrow's move from Ohio State to LSU forever changed the football landscape.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/02/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/02/12/super-bowl-2023-chiefs-vs-eagles-live-updates/51281309/", "title": "Super Bowl 2023: Chiefs vs. Eagles live updates", "text": "AP\n\nGLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles face off in the Super Bowl. Follow for the latest live updates and news from The Associated Press. All times MST.\n\n8:35 p.m.\n\nPatrick Mahomes has a Super Bowl MVP trophy to go with his regular season MVP, and the Kansas City Chiefs are once again hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy.\n\nMahomes was named the game’s MVP in a postgame ceremony after a gutsy performance that included 182 yards passing and three touchdowns. He played the entire game despite a right ankle injury that obviously limited how well he could move.\n\n“There was nothing that was going to keep me off the football field,” Mahomes said as Chiefs fans celebrated at State Farm Stadium.\n\nIt’s the second time in four seasons that the Chiefs have won the Super Bowl. Mahomes was asked if Kansas City’s recent run of success could be called a dynasty, and the quarterback said no because “we’re not done yet.”\n\n8:15 p.m.\n\nPatrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are the winners of Super Bowl 57.\n\nMahomes — hobbling around on a hurt ankle — led the Chiefs downfield for the winning drive that was capped by Harrison Butker’s 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left, sealing a 38-35 victory.\n\n“He's the MVP,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said about Mahomes. “That's all that needs to be said. MVP. And you saw it tonight.”\n\nThe Eagles took the ensuing kickoff but there would be no miracle. Jalen Hurts’ desperation heave on the final play fell way short of the end zone, and the Chiefs’ celebration began.\n\nThe Chiefs won the Super Bowl for the second time in four seasons. They beat the 49ers following the 2019 season before losing to the Buccaneers after 2020. This time, they trailed for most of the evening before rallying in the second half to beat the Eagles.\n\nIt’s a tough loss for Philadelphia, which got a great performance from quarterback Jalen Hurts, who threw for 304 yards and ran for three touchdowns.\n\nMahomes, who was named the AP NFL MVP on Thursday, threw for three touchdowns. The Chiefs overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and never led until taking a 28-27 lead early in the fourth quarter.\n\n8:00 p.m.\n\nThe scoring won’t stop at the Super Bowl, and it’s getting down to the wire.\n\nThe Eagles tied the game at 35 with 5:15 remaining when Jalen Hurts scored his third rushing touchdown of the night on a 2-yard run. The quarterback then also ran for the crucial 2-point conversion that tied the game.\n\nHurts continues his brilliant performance in his first Super Bowl, throwing for 304 yards and a touchdown while also running for three scores.\n\n7:50 p.m.\n\nKansas City’s Kadarius Toney turned in a crucial play for Kansas City early in the fourth quarter.\n\nThe Chiefs forced the Eagles to punt and Toney was there to catch it, breaking a few tackles before reversing field, where he had a convoy of Chiefs players waiting to provide blocking.\n\nToney made it 65 yards, all the way down to the Eagles 5-yard line, before getting knocked out of bounds. Three plays later, Mahomes hit a wide open Skyy Moore for a 4-yard touchdown and a 35-27 lead.\n\nToney also had the touchdown catch that put the Chiefs ahead 28-27 earlier in the fourth.\n\n7:40 p.m.\n\nRihanna was pregnant with her second child as she performed her Super Bowl halftime show Sunday.\n\nThe singer’s representative confirmed the pregnancy shortly after she ended her 13-minute set at Super Bowl 57.\n\nThe baby bump that was visible in the tight clothes she wore under her baggy red jumpsuit during the show set off a wave of social media speculation that she might be pregnant again.\n\nThe 34-year-old has a 9-month-old son with rapper A$AP Rocky.\n\n7:35 p.m.\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs have taken their first lead of the night.\n\nPatrick Mahomes threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Kadarius Toney, pushing the Chiefs ahead 28-27 with 12:04 remaining in the fourth quarter.\n\nMahomes has bounced back nicely after hobbling off the field late in the second quarter. He appeared to re-aggravate an ankle injury that’s been bothering him throughout the playoffs.\n\nThe veteran QB has still been very good, completing 17 of 22 passes for 161 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.\n\nMeanwhile, players from both teams have been struggling to keep their footing on a slippery playing surface, leading several to change their cleats.\n\n7:25 p.m.\n\nThe Philadelphia Eagles are clinging to a 27-21 lead in the Super Bowl as the game moves to the fourth quarter.\n\nThe Eagles had a 24-14 halftime lead, but the Chiefs responded with a touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter to pull within 24-21. Philadelphia pushed ahead 27-21 with 1:45 left in the third after Jake Elliott made a 33-yard field goal.\n\nEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has been stellar in his first Super Bowl appearance, completing 22 of 31 passes for 234 yards, one passing touchdown and two rushing touchdowns. His 66 yards rushing are the most ever by a QB in the Super Bowl.\n\nThe Eagles are trying to win their second Super Bowl in six seasons. The Chiefs are trying to win for the second time in four years.\n\n7:15 p.m.\n\nFanDuel says it is still going to give $10 million in free bets to spread among its Super Bowl bettors.\n\nIn a much-hyped ad for betting site FanDuel customers, Rob Gronkowski attempted a 25-yard field goal. A voiceover said he missed the kick, but they’d still give out the free bets. But online, onlookers were confused and thought it was good.\n\nGronk’s “Kick of Destiny” landed the gaming site plenty of free publicity for the stunt, as well as plenty of new customers who registered to be part of the campaign.\n\n6:58 p.m.\n\nPatrick Mahomes is still pretty good with only one fully functioning ankle.\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs quarterback led his team on a touchdown drive to open the third quarter. Isiah Pacheco ran for a 1-yard score to cut the Eagles’ lead to 24-21 with 9:30 left in the third quarter.\n\nMahomes appeared to re-aggravate a right ankle injury in the first half, limping off the field late in the second quarter. The injury has been bothering him throughout most of the playoffs.\n\nMahomes even ran for 14 yards on one play on the Chiefs’ scoring drive, though it was obvious he wasn’t moving quite as well as usual.\n\n6:40 p.m.\n\nRihanna began her Super Bowl halftime show hanging high above the field.\n\nShe wore a puffy, bright red jumpsuit as she stood on a transparent square that moved her up and down as she hovered in the air over the turf at State Farm Stadium and belted out the lyrics to “Bitch Better Have My Money.”\n\nDancers wearing what looked like white ski suits moved in sync on their own suspended platforms.\n\nShe and her dancers were lowered to a stage that matched her outfit, and moved in sync as she sped through two other hits, “Where Have You Been,” and “Only Girl,” belting out “Want you to make me feel like I’m the only girl in the world.”\n\n6:17 p.m.\n\nAre you not entertained?\n\nThe first half of Super Bowl 57 was an action-packed doozy as the Philadelphia Eagles took a 24-14 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs.\n\nPhiladelphia’s Jake Elliott made a 35-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer to put the Eagles up by 10.\n\nEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts ran for two touchdowns in the first half and also connected on a 45-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes also threw a touchdown pass and Nick Bolton returned a fumble 36 yards for another score.\n\nAn important development to watch: Mahomes limped off the field late in the second quarter. The two-time NFL MVP has been fighting a badly sprained right ankle and looked like he re-aggravated the injury.\n\n5:55 p.m.\n\nJalen Hurts made up for a costly mistake earlier in the second quarter with his second rushing touchdown of the evening a few minutes later.\n\nHurts ran 4 yards for the touchdown and a 21-14 lead as the pro-Eagles crowd chanted “MVP! MVP!” Hurts was the AP NFL MVP runner-up to Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.\n\nA few minutes before his TD, Hurts fumbled around midfield and Kansas City’s Nick Bolton recovered the fumble and ran it 36 yards for a touchdown, which tied the game at 14.\n\nHurts is already putting together a solid Super Bowl. He joins Jim McMahon as the only quarterbacks with two TD runs in a Super Bowl. His 61 yards rushing are already third-most for a QB in a Super Bowl behind Steve McNair and Colin Kaepernick.\n\n5:40 p.m.\n\nIt’s a tie game again at Super Bowl 57 after a stunning scoop and score by Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton.\n\nThe Eagles were in control with the ball and a 14-7 lead but Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts fumbled on third down around midfield. Bolton was there to grab the football and ran 36 yards untouched to the end zone.\n\nThe score was 14-14 with 9:39 left in the first half.\n\n5:35 p.m.\n\nBrittney Griner is in the crowd representing the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl.\n\nIt was the third public appearance for the WNBA star since her release from a Russian prison.\n\nGriner has said she’ll play for the Phoenix Mercury again this season, although she’s still an unsigned free agent. She hasn’t talked about her international future and potentially playing in the Olympics next year in Paris.\n\n5:30 p.m.\n\nThe Philadelphia Eagles have taken the lead again thanks to a big strike from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown.\n\nOn the first play of the second quarter, Hurts lofted a 45-yard throw toward the end zone. Brown outmaneuvered the scrambling Kansas City defense before catching the ball and then raising his arms to flex his muscles.\n\nThe Eagles lead 14-7.\n\nHurts — the AP NFL MVP runner-up to Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes — is off to a good start in his first Super Bowl. He’s 8-of-10 passing for 116 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.\n\n5:25 p.m.\n\nThe Super Bowl has settled down after a frantic start.\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are tied at 7 after the first quarter. The teams exchanged touchdowns on their opening offensive drives before each team’s defense recovered.\n\nThe Chiefs had a slight edge in the first quarter with 112 total yards to the Eagles’ 99. The Chiefs are averaging 9.3 yards per play.\n\nKansas City missed an opportunity to take a lead late in the first quarter when Harrison Butker’s 42-yard field goal attempt bounced off the left upright.\n\n5:10 p.m.\n\nIn its first Super Bowl ad, Dunkin’ Donuts enlisted superfan Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Lopez for its spot.\n\nIn the ad, Affleck mans the drive-through booth at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Medford, Massachusetts and shocks customers. Finally, Lopez comes through the drive-through and asks Ben what he’s doing. “You’re embarrassing me in front of my friends,” he says. “Grab me a glazed” she demands.\n\nAffleck has a long association with the brand, often spotted carrying Dunkin’ Donuts drinks in paparazzi photos. He directed the ad, too.\n\n5:02 p.m.\n\nOffense rules so far in at this Super Bowl.\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs tied the game at 7 midway through the first quarter when Patrick Mahomes found Travis Kelce on a beautiful fade route to the back corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown.\n\nThe drive went 75 yards on just six plays. Rookie Isiah Pacheco had 29 yards rushing in the drive.\n\n4:55 p.m.\n\nThe Philadelphia Eagles wasted little time taking a lead.\n\nQuarterback Jalen Hurts ran for a 1-yard touchdown to cap an efficient opening drive that traveled 75 yards on 11 plays. DeVonta Smith was Hurts’ favorite target on the drive, catching three passes for 41 yards.\n\nThe Eagles are the first team to take the opening kickoff in the Super Bowl and drive for a touchdown on offense since Super Bowl 32 when the Green Bay Packers did it against the Denver Broncos 25 years ago.\n\nThe Chicago Bears also scored on Devin Hester’s kickoff return for a TD in Super Bowl 41.\n\n4:45 p.m.\n\nThe Super Bowl is officially underway.\n\nThe Chiefs won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball to start the second half. That means the Philadelphia Eagles have the first offensive possession.\n\nKansas City’s kicker Harrison Butker booted the opening kickoff through the back of the end zone and the Eagles started with the ball on their own 25-yard-line.\n\nThe retractable roof is open and the weather is essentially perfect, with temperatures in the 70s. The Chiefs and Eagles both have plenty of fans in Arizona, but it’s a decidely pro-Philadelphia crowd.\n\n4:30 p.m.\n\nCountry musician and songwriter Chris Stapleton performed the national anthem for Super Bowl.\n\nThe Super Bowl might be known for its extravagance, but the anthem was anything but fancy. All that was needed was a Stapleton’s smooth baritone voice and a guitar. Deaf actor Troy Kotsur — who won an Oscar for the movie “CODA” — signed the anthem alongside Stapleton.\n\nEagles coach Nick Sirianni and starting center Jason Kelce both had tears in their eyes during Stapleton’s emotional performance.\n\nBefore Stapleton stepped to the microphone, Grammy Award winner Babyface performed “America The Beautiful.”\n\nThe series of pregame canonical songs began with “Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph performing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a song that’s been dubbed the Black national anthem.\n\nRalph, wearing a flowing red velvet gown, began the song as a reflective ballad, and it became a soaring hymn as it went on, with military-style drums joining her and a choir dressed all in white chiming in behind her.\n\nPLACE YOUR BETS\n\nThere will be plenty of action on the football field Sunday. And at the casinos.\n\nThe Super Bowl is one of the biggest sports betting days of the year, especially now that about two-thirds of the country can do so legally.\n\nSome of the most popular bets are also the most straightforward: The Eagles are favored by 1 1/2 points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The site’s over-under is currently set at 51 1/2 points.\n\nSportsbooks have also taken advantage of the increasing popularity of prop bets, which range from the team who wins the coin flip, to who scores the first touchdown, to whether the game goes to overtime.\n\nYou can even bet on the color of Gatorade used when the winning coach is given his postgame bath.\n\n3:45 p.m.\n\nDamar Hamlin is at the Super Bowl.\n\nThe Buffalo Bills safety made his third public appearance in Phoenix during Super Bowl week, this time on the field at State Farm Stadium prior to Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.\n\nIt’s another step in Hamlin’s remarkable recovery. It’s been a little more than a month since Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati.\n\nHe also appeared on stage at “NFL Honors” on Thursday night after the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals training and medical staffs, along with the staff at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, were recognized.\n\n3:40 p.m.\n\nThis is not the moment for the cable to go out in Philly, but here we are.\n\nComcast spokesperson Jen Bilotta said physical damage that severed fiberoptic cable in the Kensington section of northeast Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon resulted in an outage affecting a few thousand households in the Kensington and Fishtown neighborhoods and some surrounding areas.\n\nShe said crews have been “working furiously” for several hours to resolve the problem and some customers have started to come back online — they are hoping to restore service to everyone by kickoff.\n\nSUPER BOWL HISTORY\n\nFor the first time, young aspiring football players all over the world will get to watch two Black quarterbacks face each other in the Super Bowl.\n\nAP NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes leads Kansas City against the MVP runner-up, Jalen Hurts. The significance isn’t lost on Mahomes.\n\n“I think about it a lot,” Mahomes said. “The quarterbacks that came before me — Shack Harris, Doug Williams — that laid the foundation for me to be in this position. It goes across all sports. If you think about Jackie Robinson and the people who broke the color barrier in baseball, I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for them.\n\n3:20 p.m.\n\nArryn Siposs is active for the Philadelphia Eagles and will handle punting duties against the Kansas City Chiefs.\n\nSiposs went on injured reserve after injuring an ankle against the Giants in December. He was activated after the Eagles beat the 49ers for the NFC championship, raising expectations that he would play in the big game.\n\nBrett Kern had been punting for the Eagles. He was inactive for the Super Bowl.\n\nThe other inactive players for Philadelphia: quarterback Ian Book, cornerback Josiah Scott, running back Trey Sermon, safety Anthony Harris, linebacker Kyron Johnson and wide receiver Greg Ward.\n\nInactive for the Chiefs: quarterback Shane Buechele, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, defensive ends Josh Kaindoh and Malik Herring, tight end Blake Bell and offensive linemen Austin Reiter and Darian Kinnard.\n\nSUPER BROS\n\nFor the first time in Super Bowl history, a pair of siblings will play each other on the NFL’s grandest stage.\n\nTravis Kelce helped the Kansas City Chiefs return to their third championship game in four seasons, while brother Jason has the Eagles back for the second time in six years.\n\n“Cool scenario to be in, you know?” Travis Kelce said. “My mom can’t lose.”\n\nDonna Kelce said on Thursday before the “NFL Honors” show that she did her best to keep up with her two sons’ voracious appetites, but it was easier said than done.\n\n“The refrigerator was always packed, but it didn’t last more than a day or so,” she said. “Whole chickens, they would eat lots of pork, ribs. I’d have leftovers in the refrigerator and it never lasted past the day.\n\n“When they left for college, I got a raise.”\n\nIMPORTANT DELIVERIES\n\nTony Conigliaro’s Super Bowl started long before kickoff.\n\nThe owner of Tony’s Pizza in Brooklyn said he was taking orders Saturday, a day ahead of the big game, especially for the “family deal”: a large pie, 10 wings, garlic knots, soda and other extras for $32 — delivered.\n\n“The Super Bowl is a little crazy,” said Conigliaro, who has been selling pizzas for more than 30 years. “Everybody wants to eat at the same time. That’s the problem. Everybody wants 5:30, quarter to six, six o’clock. It comes to a point that we don’t pick up the phones no more because everybody’s calling back — ‘Where’s my pizza?’”\n\nThen the game starts and his ovens cool off a bit.\n\n“Then we get busy again. What do you call it — halftime?” Conigliaro said. “The phone starts ringing.”\n\nHe estimates his staff would make 200 pizzas Sunday, but not after 8 p.m.\n\n“We just clean up and go home,” Conigliaro said.\n\nHALFTIME LOOKAHEAD\n\nRihanna has put in the work ahead of her Super Bowl halftime show, focusing so hard on what she promises will be “a jam-packed show” that her upcoming birthday and Valentine’s Day almost slipped her mind.\n\n“The setlist was the biggest challenge. That was the hardest, hardest part. Deciding how to maximize 13 minutes but also celebrate — that’s what this show is going to be. It’s going to be a celebration of my catalog in the best way that we could have put it together,” Rihanna said.\n\nIt’ll be her first live performance in seven years.\n\nPHILLY GIRL\n\nJill Biden is expected to be among the fans at State Farm Stadium cheering on her beloved Philadelphia Eagles.\n\nThe first lady grew up in suburban Philadelphia and has never been shy about her allegiance to the hometown team. She and her grandson, Hunter, were at the stadium in Philadelphia on Jan. 29 when the Eagles won the NFC championship.\n\nThe 16-year-old will join her again on Sunday.\n\nNo sitting president has attended a Super Bowl, mainly because of the strict security requirements authorities would need to impose upon the tens of thousands of fans. President Biden will be at the White House on Sunday.\n\nPresident Biden says he’s a Philadelphia sports fan, too, out of necessity, and often jokes that “I’d be sleeping alone” otherwise.\n\n2:20 p.m.\n\nThe Kansas City Chiefs welcomed two new fans to the world on Super Bowl Sunday, with a third apparently on the way.\n\nChiefs offensive lineman Nick Allegretti’s wife, Christina, gave birth in the early hours to twin girls back home in Chicago, a team official confirmed to The Associated Press. Allegretti was able to watch everything unfold on FaceTime from the lobby of the team hotel while the rest of the Chiefs slept ahead of their game against the Philadelphia Eagles.\n\nAllegretti, who has started three games this season, will be available for the Chiefs in the big game.\n\nAbout the same time his wife was giving birth, Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman tweeted that his girlfriend, Chariah Gordeon, had gone into labor. Hardman went on injured reserve this week and was not available to play in the game.\n\nThere are plenty of Eagles on baby watch, too.\n\nStarting center Jason Kelce, whose brother Travis is a tight end for Kansas City, and his wife are expecting their third child at any moment. In fact, Kylie Kelce, who is 38 weeks pregnant, has said that her obstetricians would be on hand at State Farm Stadium on Sunday should the baby make a dramatic appearance during the game.\n\nPHILLY FAITHFUL\n\nPhiladelphia native Dawn Staley donned an Eagles jersey during Sunday’s South Carolina-LSU SEC matchup of undefeated teams in women’s basketball ahead of the Super Bowl. And after her top-ranked Gamecocks rolled to an 88-64 victory, Staley was asked about the Chiefs-Eagles matchup.\n\n“The Eagles have already won,” the coach beamed. “It’s divine order. Jalen Hurts, it’s divine order.”\n\nAD TALK\n\nBooze was a big buyer for Super Bowl ad space this year. Crypto, not so much.\n\nAnheuser-Busch will again be the biggest advertiser during the Super Bowl, with three minutes of national airtime. But the beverage giant gave up its deal to be the game’s exclusive alcohol advertiser, so Heineken, Diageo, Remy Martin and Molson Coors are also in.\n\nAfter last year’s “Crypto Bowl” featured four cryptocurrency companies running splashy ads, there won’t be any this year.\n\nSeveral 30-second ad slots sold for more than $7 million this year, with most going for between $6 million and $7 million.\n\nHEALTH WATCH\n\nPatrick Mahomes says he’s “definitely in a better spot” when it comes to his ailing right ankle than he was for the AFC championship game, and the AP MVP doesn’t expect to be limited by it when he leads the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.\n\nThe quarterback said this week that he continues to get treatment on the ankle, which he hurt in the divisional round against Jacksonville, and that it will probably continue up until Sunday’s kickoff.\n\n“You won’t know exactly how it is until you get to game day,” he said.\n\n1:50 p.m.\n\nEagles fan Lauren Clark strolled around State Farm Stadium with a wide grin, snapping pictures on her phone and taking in the experience of her first Super Bowl.\n\nThe Philadelphia native said she’s waited 40 years for this moment. As a 10-year-old, Clark listened to her first Super Bowl in 1981 on the radio and she's wanted to get a seat at the big game ever since.\n\nLife achievement, unlocked.\n\n“I was just tired of saying ‘Maybe next year,’” Clark said. “My Eagles are in the Super Bowl, my kids are grown, so I just said screw it, let’s go. You only live once. This is a dream come true.”\n\nClark was one of thousands of fans milling around the outside of State Farm Stadium at the NFL’s ‘Gameday Experience,’ which featured live music, food and drinks.\n\n1:40 p.m.\n\nThe Valley of Fun is in full force on Super Bowl 57 Sunday.\n\nFootball fans descended by the thousands on Glendale, Arizona, for the NFL’s title game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. It was glorious weather for revelers, with partly cloudy skies and high temperatures in the 70s.\n\nThe Chiefs and Eagles are at the stadium, too, arriving more than three hours before the scheduled game time 4:30 p.m. local time. The NFL said it expects the retractable roof will be open at State Farm Stadium thanks to the nice weather, which was also the case for the previous two Super Bowls played at the stadium.\n\nAP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/columnist/bell/2023/02/10/andy-reid-son-britt-prison-tragedy-accident-super-bowl-57/11222146002/", "title": "Super Bowl: Can't ignore tragedy that put Andy Reid's son in prison", "text": "SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – If you just so happen to wonder what Andy Reid’s favorite Mexican dish is, you would have been enlightened during a mid-week media session with the Kansas City Chiefs coach at the team’s Super Bowl hotel.\n\nWhat a show, an entertaining hype-fest, some of these pre-Super Bowl news conferences can be. And the jovial Reid can play along with the best of them.\n\nNo, that wasn’t Bill Belichick at the podium when someone asked the coach to name his three favorite rappers.\n\n“Do The Fat Boys count as one rapper?” Reid replied, prompting an outburst of laughs from the assembled audience.\n\nReid was also asked how he takes his coffee. He doesn’t.\n\n“I’ve got endless energy for a chubby guy,” he said.\n\nHis favorite cheeseburger? You get the picture. A lot of fluff stuff.\n\nAnother Super Bowl title:Reid, Chiefs beat Eagles for Super Bowl 57 crown\n\nMahomes is MVP:Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes named Super Bowl MVP\n\nNFL NEWSLETTER:Sign up now for exclusive content sent to your inbox\n\nDuring the two Reid sessions that I attended this week, which included the presence of dozens of national and international journalists, no one bothered to ask about the tragic incident that occurred three days before the Chiefs were last in the Super Bowl in February 2021. Or the aftermath of an accident caused by a then-Chiefs assistant coach, Reid’s drunken son, Britt, that left a then-5-year-old girl, Ariel Young, fighting for her life.\n\nThe matchup pitting Reid and the Chiefs against the franchise he coached for 14 years, the Philadelphia Eagles, is a big reason why he is one of the most compelling storylines of Super Bowl 57. Reid is 3-0 against the Eagles since continuing his Hall of Fame-credentialed career in Kansas City, and he readily acknowledges the sentimental twist added to the game on Sunday at State Farm Stadium that features the teams who shared the NFL’s best record this season.\n\n“Once the game gets going, it’s football,” Reid said. “Who’s got the better team? Better players? Better coaches? Who gets a break, here or there? All the things that normally happen in a football game.”\n\nStill, the tragedy that marred the ramp-up to Kansas City’s last Super Bowl appearance should not be ignored – as much as the Chiefs and the NFL seemingly would want it to just go away.\n\nBritt Reid is in prison now, serving a plea-bargained three-year sentence after pleading guilty to felony driving while intoxicated resulting in serious physical injury. Then a Chiefs linebackers coach, he left the team’s headquarters the night of Feb. 4, where court documents suggest he had consumed alcohol, and rammed his truck into two vehicles that were idled on the shoulder of I-435 near Arrowhead Stadium. He had a serum blood alcohol concentration of 0.113 approximately two hours later, well above the Missouri limit of 0.08. According to police, his truck was speeding at 84 mph in a 65 mph zone, and he admitted to an officer that he had mixed alcohol with the prescription drug Adderall.\n\nYoung was sitting in the back of one of the vehicles that Reid struck and suffered a traumatic brain injury after being pinned behind the driver’s seat. She was in a coma for 11 days and hospitalized for two months. Thank God that she survived. Yet at the sentencing hearing for Reid in November, Young’s mother, Felicia Miller, told the court that while her daughter’s condition has improved, she will have to deal with the impact of the crash for the rest of her life.\n\n“The positive thing is that the little girl is doing better. A lot better,” Andy Reid told USA TODAY Sports. “That’s the positive of this whole thing.”\n\nReid, always one of the most engaging and approachable coaches in the NFL, responded to a handful of questions following one of his media sessions this week. As he prepares to coach in his third Super Bowl in four seasons, surely it wasn’t the ideal topic for him. But it’s fair game, given his high-profile role in the public eye – and the connection to his job with the Chiefs.\n\nAnd it’s also apparent that the manner in which Reid has handled crisis is part of the example that he has set as a coach and leader, earning him tremendous respect and empathy.\n\nWhen asked for a lasting impression of Reid from the crisis before the last Super Bowl appearance, defensive end Frank Clark told USA TODAY Sports, “The main thing I learned about Coach Reid was just his grit. His will to keep on going, no matter what the situation.”\n\nThe NFL, which previously said it would review the case under the umbrella of its personal conduct policy – which it vigorously pursues regarding issues involving players – has not publicly released any findings from the review and did not respond to an inquiry from USA TODAY Sports this week.\n\nThe Chiefs engaged in an undisclosed settlement with Young’s family that covers medical and, conceivably, other expenses.\n\nReid, who lost his son, Garrett, to an accidental heroin overdose in 2012 while working on his father’s staff with the Eagles, hired Britt to his Chiefs staff despite scant experience that basically consisted of one year of coaching at the high school level. Like the conditions of the plea-bargained sentence that reportedly outraged Young’s family, the hire that led to Britt joining the Chiefs raises serious questions about privilege. Britt came to the Chiefs with a record that included previous jail time stemming from drug abuse, a road rage incident and had undergone drug rehab treatment.\n\nThe compassionate efforts by Reid to help his son – much like he provided a second chance to Michael Vick after the star quarterback served his prison sentence for dogfighting – were noble enough. But the opportunity afforded Britt that many qualified candidates don’t get a chance at, backfired.\n\n“Britt will do his time and he’ll be back and get back on his feet,” Reid told USA TODAY Sports.\n\nIt must be tough to separate the non-football issues related to the tragedy from his job.\n\n“You’ve got to do the best you can,” Reid said. “Absolutely. It’s all part of life.”\n\nWhen Reid lost his son, Garrett, while he coached the Eagles, he came back to work days after the death. The auto accident involving Britt was obviously a different circumstance, but it forced Reid to compartmentalize on the eve of coaching in one of the biggest games of his life.\n\nHow did he try to reconcile what happened?\n\n“Tried to stay focused on the job the best I could,” Reid told USA TODAY Sports. “There was a little girl involved, too. My son was hurt. She was hurt. For that time being, you’ve got to put that distraction aside the best you can.”\n\nDistraction. For the most affected victims, it was so much deeper than that. Yet that form of “coach speak” might also reflect why players and staff members describe Reid as a rock of consistency while employing a certain type of tunnel vision. In Reid’s case, though, his personal challenges have made him more human with the men he is charged to lead. The humanism that makes Reid such a hit on the podium works behind closed doors, too, in relating to players.\n\n“We can look at the (head) coach title and think that this person is so out of touch with reality, so out of reach, but he’s a normal person,” Clark said. “He goes through normal things. You look at the course of his career, he’s had real-life situations, dealing with players, dealing with his own kids, his own family and the situation (before Super Bowl 55). Eventually, does it affect the man? I’m sure it does.\n\n“It just shows his grit to continue to come in here, smiling in our faces, he’s giving us everything that we want. He’s not short-changing us with the coaching, either. He’s giving it all to his players.”\n\nLike Clark, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce saw another dimension of Reid’s persona revealed through the crisis in early 2021. The accident occurred the night before the Chiefs flew to Tampa for Super Bowl 55, their departure later in the week than usual for a Super Bowl team due to COVID-19 restrictions.\n\n“I learned how strong of a guy he is,” Kelce told USA TODAY Sports. “Mentally, how strong his family is, how tight-knit this entire locker room is and how much we love that guy, man. It wasn’t an easy time for him and we’re definitely trying to make this year that much better. I’ve got to get another one for Big Red, man. I love that guy too much.”\n\nThe Chiefs lost Super Bowl 55 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it wasn’t even close. Kelce insists that the sudden crisis dealt to Reid and the team had no impact on the 31-9 result.\n\n“All you saw in that game was how we played on that field,” Kelce said. “I don’t think anything like that got in the way.”\n\nYet the tragedy was still part of the storyline.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/10"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/06/sport/rams-buccaneers-nfl-week-9-preview-spt-intl/index.html", "title": "NFL Week 9 Preview: How to watch and all you need to know | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe two most recent Super Bowl winners face off on Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams (3-4) travel south to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5).\n\nThis will be just the eighth time in the past 20 seasons that the two most recent Super Bowl champions will meet in the regular season.\n\nTwo seasons ago, the Bucs defeated Patrick Mahomes’ Chiefs to win Super Bowl LV. Quarterback Tom Brady earned his seventh Super Bowl title and fifth MVP award, both the most by any player ever.\n\nLast season, the Rams took down Joe Burrow’s Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI. Wide receiver Cooper Kupp was awarded MVP for his game-winning touchdown and head coach Sean McVay made history as the youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl.\n\nBut before they made it to the main stage, Los Angeles conquered Tampa Bay in the divisional round. This week’s matchup will be the first time the teams have met since then.\n\nWith both the Bucs and Rams posting losing records, this season presents entirely different circumstances.\n\nThe Buccaneers have lost three games in a row, for Brady’s worst-ever start to a season. The Rams, with last week’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, have lost both of their divisional matchups this season.\n\nKansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII. The Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. Brynn Anderson/AP A pass soars over the head of Kansas City wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster late in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was called for holding on the play, setting up the Chiefs' game-winning field goal. Sarah Stier/Getty Images Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scores a two-point conversion to tie the Super Bowl at 35-35 in the fourth quarter. Hurts finished the game with three rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown. Abbie Parr/AP Mahomes throws a pass in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship against the Cincinnati Bengals. He led his team to a 23-20 victory. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick causes San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy to fumble during the NFC Championship. It was the Niners' first offensive drive and Purdy injured his elbow on the play. He left the game until the third quarter, when his backup Josh Johnson suffered a concussion. The Eagles won 31-7. Seth Wenig/AP Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase and running back Joe Mixon motion for a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills during the third quarter. Both Chase and Mixon had TDs as the Bengals convincingly beat the Bills 27-10 to advance to the AFC Championship game. Joshua Bessex/AP Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson celebrates an interception late in the fourth quarter of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes appearing to suffer a serious ankle injury, Kansas City was able to beat the Jaguars 27-20 to advance to play the Bengals. Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire/AP George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers catches a pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter. The 49ers' defense -- which picked off Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott twice -- helped stymie Dallas in a 19-12 victory to move San Francisco to the NFC Championship game. Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones loses the ball while under pressure by Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat. The Eagles thoroughly dominated the Giants, winning 38-7, to advance to play the 49ers in the NFC Championship game. Chris Szagola/AP Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott rushes the ball for a touchdown against Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Akiem Hicks in the first half. Prescott accounted for five touchdowns -- one rushing and four passing -- in the Cowboys' 31-14 victory over the Bucs to set up a clash against the San Francisco 49ers in the next round of the playoffs. Kim Klement/Reuters Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence celebrates on the field after completing a massive comeback against the Los Angeles Chargers. Lawrence threw four interceptions -- and also four touchdowns -- as he led the Jaguars back from 27-0 down in the first half to beat the Chargers 31-30 thanks to a last-second field goal. Kevin Sabitus/AP Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley loses the ball as it is knocked away by Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson. Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard picked up the fumble and returned it for a 98-yard touchdown in a game-changing moment in Cincinnati's 24-17 victory. Darron Cummings/AP Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir grabs a pass against Miami Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou. Despite playing with third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson, the Dolphins almost shocked the Bills but came up just short, turning the ball over on downs on Miami's final possession of the game as they lost 34-31. The Bills will now face the Bengals for the first time since Bills safety Damar Hamlin's on-field collapse brought a game between the two teams to a halt and set off a national outpouring of support. Adrian Kraus/AP The Minnesota Vikings' Eric Kendricks tackles New York Giants wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins. The Giants shocked the No. 3 seed 31-24 largely thanks to an excellent performance from quarterback Daniel Jones. The 25-year-old finished with 301 passing yards and two touchdowns, as well as 78 rushing yards. Abbie Parr/AP San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle celebrates after scoring a two-point conversion against the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers used a big second half to break away from a plucky Seahawks squad and win 41-23. It continues the remarkable run of rookie 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy -- who threw for three touchdowns -- who was drafted with the final pick of last year's NFL draft. Jed Jacobsohn/AP Buffalo Bills running back Nyheim Hines scores a touchdown on a kickoff return during the first half against the New England Patriots. Hines' touchdown -- his first of two against New England -- came in the Bills' first play since Damar Hamlin collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest. Joshua Bessex/AP Fans hold a sign in support of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during the second half of the game against the New England Patriots. On Sunday, a source told CNN that the Bills safety had shown continued progress with his recovery after his cardiac arrest and on-field collapse and expects to be released from the hospital in the coming days. Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney catches a touchdown against Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Luke Masterson during the fourth quarter at Allegiant Stadium. With the emphatic 31-13 victory, the Chiefs clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC and a bye for the first round of the playoffs. Jeff Bottari/Getty Images The Seattle Seahawks celebrate an interception by Quandre Diggs against the Los Angeles Rams in overtime at Lumen Field. Thanks to their 19-16 win and the Green Bay Packers' defeat later in the day, the Seahawks claimed a wildcard spot in the NFC playoffs. Steph Chambers/Getty Images Indianapolis Colts fans sit in the stands wearing sad face paper bag masks during a game against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts lost their last seven games of the season -- including Sunday's 32-31 defeat to the Texans -- to finish 4-12-1 for the season, leaving them with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Robert Scheer/USA Today Sports/Reuters Quez Watkins of the Philadelphia Eagles stiff-arms the New York Giants' Nick McCloud during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts returned to the line-up on Sunday and helped the team to a 22-16 win over the Giants, clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. Mitchell Leff/Getty Images The Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers kneel in prayer for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin before playing on December 8. The Steelers would go on to win 28-14. Matt Freed/AP Buffalo Bills players react after teammate Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during the first quarter of the Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Hamlin was administered CPR before being transported off the field in an ambulance. Joseph Maiorana/USA Today Sports/Reuters Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady celebrates after scoring a rushing touchdown against Carolina on Sunday, January 1. The Buccaneers clinched a postseason berth — and their second straight NFC South title — with a 30-24 win. Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey rumbles into the end zone against Las Vegas on January 1. McCaffrey and the Niners won 37-34 in overtime. John Locher/AP Philadelphia quarterback Gardner Minshew, making his second start in place of injured Jalen Hurts, passes against New Orleans on January 1. The Eagles lost 20-10 but still have a chance to clinch home-field advantage in next week's regular season finale. Matt Slocum/AP Kendrick Bourne of the New England Patriots catches a touchdown over Cam Taylor-Britt of the Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium on December 24. The Bengals won 22-18. Winslow Townson/Getty Images Atlanta Falcons center Drew Dalman prepares to snap the ball during the first half against the Baltimore Ravens at the M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens won 17-9. Tommy Gilligan/USA Today Sports Rachaad White of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stretches across the goal line for a touchdown as Marco Wilson of the Arizona Cardinals defends during the fourth quarter. The Bucs won 19-16. Christian Petersen/Getty Images Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs (28) is tackled during the second half of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers won 13-10. Don Wright/AP Michael Gallup of the Dallas Cowboys is unable to make a catch in the end zone under pressure from James Bradberry of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys won 40-34. Sam Hodde/Getty Images Minnesota Vikings place kicker Greg Joseph celebrates his game-winning field goal against the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings rallied from a 33-point deficit at halftime to defeat the Colts 39-36, completing the largest comeback in NFL history. Matt Krohn/USA Today/Reuters Jamal Agnew of the Jacksonville Jaguars attempts to catch a pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half. The Cowboys lost 40-34 in overtime after Rayshawn Jenkins' 52-yard interception was returned for a touchdown. Mike Carlson/Getty Images Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals is sacked by Lavonte David of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Burrow threw four touchdowns as the Bengals overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Tom Brady and the Bucs 34-23. Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images Mac Jones of the New England Patriots reacts after losing to the Las Vegas Raiders 30-24. A crazy ending to the game between the teams ended with the Patriots suffering a damaging defeat in their hopes to reach the playoffs. Chris Unger/Getty Images Cleveland Browns tight end David Njoku reaches for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, December 11. It was Deshaun Watson's first touchdown pass for the Browns since returning from an 11-game suspension over sexual misconduct allegations. Despite the touchdown, the Bengals won 23-10. Jeff Dean/AP Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams catches a pass against Miami Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard on December 11. The Chargers won 23-17. Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports/Reuters San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy celebrates after running for a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on December 11. The rookie also threw for two touchdowns in the 35-7 blowout win Jed Jacobsohn/AP Kansas City Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon dives for a touchdown against the Denver Broncos on December 11. McKinnon scored two receiving touchdowns in the game, and the Chiefs won 34-28. Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports/Reuters Green Bay Packers' Christian Watson celebrates as he crosses the goal line after catching a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers during the second half of a game against the Chicago Bears on December 4. Watson had two touchdowns in the Packers' 28-19 victory over the Bears. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Miami Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold hurdles over San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw during the first half of the teams' game. The 49ers, despite losing starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a season-ending injury early on, beat the Dolphins 33-17. Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Mack Hollins goes upside down on a reception during the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Raiders eventually beat the Chargers 27-20, largely thanks to a monster afternoon for star wide receiver Davante Adams, who finished with 177 receiving yards and two touchdowns. David Becker/AP Cincinnati Bengals running back Chris Evans runs in for a touchdown past Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis in the second half. Behind two touchdown passes from Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Cincinnati beat the Chiefs 27-24. Jeff Dean/AP New York Jets QB Mike White celebrates after beating the Chicago Bears 31-10 at MetLife Stadium on November 27. White had a monster afternoon, throwing for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Mike Stobe/Getty Images Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. makes the game-winning touchdown catch with 18 seconds left against Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters during the second half of their game in Week 12. Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Two sides of the coin... Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota and Washington Commanders defensive end Montez Sweat react to Mariota's second half interception on November 27. Washington won the game 19-13. Patrick Semansky/AP New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill is tackled by San Francisco 49ers defensive end Samson Ebukam, linebacker Fred Warner and defensive tackle Kevin Givens in the second half on November 27. The 49ers would go on to shut out the Saints 13-0 to move to 7-4 on the year. Jed Jacobsohn/AP Dallas' Peyton Hendershot, right, celebrates a touchdown with teammates inside a big Salvation Army kettle during the Cowboys' Thanksgiving Day win over the New York Giants on Thursday, November 24. Tony Gutierrez/AP Buffalo wide receiver Stefon Diggs digs into a turkey leg after the Bills defeated Detroit on Thanksgiving Day. Lon Horwedel/USA Today Sports Ahead of their game against the Las Vegas Raiders on November 20, Denver Broncos staff members and fans observe a moment of silence for victims of an attack at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub late Saturday. A gunman entered the Club Q nightclub and opened fire, killing at least 5 people and injuring 19 others, police said. Jack Dempsey/AP Atlanta Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson sets a personal record by running back a kick-return 103 yards for a touchdown in front of his home crowd. Patterson now has nine kickoff return touchdowns, the most in NFL history. The Falcons would go on to beat the Chicago Bears 27-24. John Bazemore/AP Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott celebrates a touchdown with running back Tony Pollard in the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at US Bank Stadium. The Cowboys (7-3) demolished the previously Vikings (8-2) 40-3 on the road in an astonishing performance. Brace Hemmelgarn/USA Today/Reuters New England Patriots fans celebrate as cornerback Marcus Jones scores an 84-yard punt return in the final 30 seconds of the game to give the Pats a 10-3 win over division rivals, the New York Jets. Steven Senne/AP Justin Jefferson catches arguably the pass of the year in front of the Bills' Cam Lewis during the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo. Jefferson had a monster afternoon — finishing with 10 catches, 193 receiving yards and a touchdown — as the Vikings stunned the Bills 33-30 in overtime to go to 8-1 on the year. Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady keeps on making history. Brady and the Bucs beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-16 in the NFL's first regular season game in Germany. With the victory, the seven-time Super Bowl champion became the first QB to win an NFL game in three different countries outside of the US. He had previously won in the UK and in Mexico. Gary McCullough/AP Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields evades Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph as he runs for a 67-yard touchdown. Fields ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough as the Bears lost 31-30 to the Lions. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson celebrates with fans after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys. The rookie caught three touchdowns as the Packers ended a five-game losing streak to beat the Cowboys 31-28 in overtime. Matt Ludtke/AP Miami Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold scores a touchdown in the first quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami beat the Browns 39-17, extending its winning run to four games, behind three touchdown passes from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Eric Espada/Getty Images Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen scores a first quarter touchdown against the New York Jets, but the Bills' fast start wasn't enough though, as the Jets fought back and were able to record a huge victory over their high-flying division rivals, 20-17. Robert Deutsch/USA Today/Reuters Joe Mixon scores a touchdown for the Cincinnati Bengals during the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers. Mixon scored five TDs in the 42-21 win over the Panthers, breaking the Bengals' record for the most touchdowns in a single game. Andy Lyons/Getty Images Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Brandon Powell is acrobatically tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Genard Avery during the first half of their game at Raymond James Stadium. Bucs quarterback Tom Brady threw a one-yard touchdown to tight end Cade Otton with 13 seconds left to complete a 16-13 comeback victory over the reigning Super Bowl champions. Mark LoMoglio/AP Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams catches a pass for a touchdown while being tightly defended by Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell. Despite another excellent afternoon for Adams — finishing with 146 receiving yards and two touchdowns — the Raiders were beaten 27-20 by the Jags. Gary McCullough/AP Green Bay Packers wide receiver Samori Toure is tackled by Detroit Lions safety Will Harris. The Packers lost their fourth straight game, losing to the Lions 15-9, as Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions on the day. Paul Sancya/AP Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown catches a 29-yard touchdown pass against Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Brown caught three touchdown passes as the Eagles remained undefeated with a 35-13 victory over the Steelers to move to 7-0 for the season. Eric Hartline/USA Today/Reuters San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey throws a touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk against the Los Angeles Rams. McCaffrey equaled a rare record in the 49ers 31-14 victory, becoming the first NFL player since Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005 to have a passing, rushing and receiving touchdown in a game. Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images DeAndre Hopkins make an amazing one-handed catch to reel in a touchdown for the Arizona Cardinals against the Minnesota Vikings. Hopkins' excellent display, finishing with the touchdown and 159 receiving yards, wasn't enough though as the Cardinals lost 34-26 to the Vikings. Adam Bettcher/Getty Images Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons celebrates his fumble recovery and touchdown run during the second half against the Chicago Bears. The Cowboys dominated the Bears, winning 49-29, with running back Tony Pollard scoring three rushing touchdowns. Ron Jenkins/AP New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara stretches across the goal line for a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders. The Saints shut out the Raiders, intercepting quarterback Derek Carr once, on the way to a 24-0 win. Rusty Costanza/AP Atlanta Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo is congratulated by teammates after kicking the game-winning field goal in overtime against the Carolina Panthers. Regular time ended in dramatic fashion after Panthers quarterback PJ Walker completed a huge Hail Mary touchdown pass to tie the scores but kicker Eddy Pineiro missed two key kicks which would have given Carolina the victory. In the end, Koo's overtime field goal gave the Falcons the 37-34 victory. John Bazemore/AP New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones slides and accidentally kicks Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker in the groin. Later on in the drive, Brisker got his revenge though with an impressive one-handed interception — one of three picks on the evening for \"Da Bears\" in a 33-14 win for Chicago. Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase catches one of his two touchdowns on the afternoon over Atlanta Falcons cornerback Cornell Armstrong and safety Jaylinn Hawkins. The Bengals beat the Falcons 35-17 behind a monster performance from quarterback Joe Burrow, who threw 34-for-42 for 481 yards and three touchdowns. Jeff Dean/AP It was tough times for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Brady — sacked here by Panthers defensive end Brian Burns — and the Bucs failed to score a touchdown in a 21-3 loss to Carolina to send Tampa Bay to 3-4 on the year. Despite the loss, the Bucs are still first place in the lowly NFC South. Scott Kinser/CSM/ZUMA Press/AP Seattle Seahawks receiver Marquise Goodwin makes an amazing catch for a touchdown in the first half of a 37-23 win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Goodwin made four catches for 67 yards and two TDs on the day. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP All eyes might have been focused on quarterback Dak Prescott's return but Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott — here hurdling Detroit Lions safety DeShon Elliott — stole the show with two rushing TDs to help America's Team to a 24-6 win over Detroit. Ron Jenkins/AP Arizona Cardinals cornerback Marco Wilson leaps into the end zone as he returns an interception for a touchdown during a Thursday Night Football football game against the New Orleans Saints. The Arizona defense scored touchdowns on two pick-sixes late in the first half. Norm Hall/Getty Images Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen hurdles Kansas City Chiefs safety Justin Reid as he scrambles for a first down. Allen's fourth quarter touchdown throw to Dawson Knox capped off a 24-20 victory against the Chiefs. Peter Aiken/Associated Press Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Parris Campbell stretches to get the ball over the pylon for a touchdown while defended by Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Darious Williams. The Colts beat their division rivals 34-27 thanks to a last-gasp touchdown from quarterback Matt Ryan to rookie Alec Pierce. Jenna Watson/USA TODAY New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley dives into the endzone to score a touchdown during the second half against the Baltimore Ravens. The Giants continued their excellent start to the season with a 24-20 win over the Ravens, improving their record to 5-1. Seth Wenig/Associated Press Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney makes catch under pressure from Washington Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste just short of the goal line in the final minute of the second half. Mooney came within inches of securing a come-from-behind victory for the Bears, but eventually had to settle for a 12-7 loss after he was adjudged to have landed just short of a touchdown. Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press Gabe Davis of the Buffalo Bills makes a one-handed catch for a touchdown against Minkah Fitzpatrick of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. The Bills dominated the Steelers 38-3 with Davis scoring two touchdowns on the day. Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images San Francisco 49ers cornerback Emmanuel Moseley scores a touchdown after having intercepted Carolina Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield. The 49ers emphatically beat the Panthers 37-15. Rusty Jones/AP New York Jets running back Breece Hall carries the ball down to the one-yard line against the Miami Dolphins during the fourth quarter. Hall rushed for a touchdown in the Jets' 40-17 demolishing of the Dolphins. His TD was one of the Jets' four rushing touchdowns as they dominated Miami on the ground. Adam Hunger/AP Dallas Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush celebrates with Dak Prescott after the team's 22-10 win against the Los Angeles Rams. Rush stepped in for starting quarterback Prescott in Week 2 after Prescott suffered a hand injury. Since then, the Cowboys have won four straight games. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Minnesota wide receiver Justin Jefferson dives for a two-point conversion during the Vikings' 29-22 victory over the Chicago Bears. Brad Rempel/USA Today Sports New Orleans Saints utility player Taysom Hill breaks the tackle of Seattle Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs and runs to the endzone for a 60-yard rushing touchdown during the Saints' 39-32 victory. Hill ran for three touchdowns, as well as throwing for another, as the Saints ended a three-game losing streak. Gerald Herbert/AP Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. is tripped up by Denver Broncos cornerback K'Waun Williams. It was a rare glimpse of offense in a lackluster 12-9 win for the Colts. David Zalubowski/AP A protester meets the full force of Los Angeles Rams defensive end Takkarist McKinley, left, and linebacker Bobby Wagner during the Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers on October 3. \"He looked like he wasn't supposed to be on the field,\" Wagner told reporters after the game. \"I saw security was having a little problem -- so I helped him out.\" The 49ers went on to dominate the Rams behind a stout defense that had seven sacks and an interception, winning 24-9 to move to 2-2 on the season. Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP The Las Vegas Raiders earned their first win of the 2022 season when they beat the Denver Broncos 32-23 in front of their home crowd. The Raiders relied on a heavy run game, led by Josh Jacobs' 144 yards and two TDs on 28 carries. Abbie Parr/AP Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was taken off the field on a stretcher during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, after suffering apparent head and neck injuries. The incident had a lot of fall out with the NFL beginning a review on allowing Tagovailoa to play, the Dolphins being criticized widely and the National Football League Players Association reportedly terminating the unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant who was involved in the evaluation of Tagovailoa for a concussion during their game against the Buffalo Bills. Jeff Dean/AP Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray runs in a touchdown in the fourth against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on October 2 in Charlotte. Murray's TD was part of a fourth quarter flurry which saw the Cards pull away from the Panthers to go .500 on the year so far. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence is brought down by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Kyzir White in the second half of the Eagles' 29-21 win in Philly. The Eagles are now 4-0 after Week 4. Matt Slocum/AP Fireworks and pyrotechnics go off ahead of the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints clash in London — the NFL's 100th international game. The Vikings won the game when the Saints' \"double doink\" kick — when the ball hits two parts of the uprights on a scoring attempt — fell short and let Minnesota return to the US with the 28-25 win. Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters The most bizarre incident of Week 3 occurred with the Miami Dolphins backed up in their own endzone. On their own one-yard line, needing to punt the ball away with restricted space available, punter Thomas Morstead kicked the ball off teammate Trent Sherfield's backside and out of bounds for a safety. Dubbed \"butt punt\" by many on social media, the flub ultimately didn't cost Miami as it won 21-19 over the Buffalo Bills. Jasen Vinlove/USA Today Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens makes a sensational, one-handed catch over Cleveland Browns cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. on September 22. Unfortunately for Pickens, the Steelers lost 29-17 after the Browns bounced back from an embarrassing Week 2 loss to the New York Jets. David Richard/AP Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Breshad Perriman fumbles after catching a pass during the first half against the Green Bay Packers in Week 3. The fumble was one of two lost by the Bucs on the day, helping the Packers win a tight affair, 14-12, in Tampa Bay. Chris O'Meara/AP Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa sits on the turf in the second quarter of Miami's game against the Buffalo Bills. Tagovailoa was tackled by Matt Milano and his head hit the ground, causing the Miami man to be taken into the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion. He eventually came back to lead the Dolphins to victory, but the NFLPA is initiating a review of the injury and medical evaluation. Megan Briggs/Getty Images Who knew Lions could fly? Detroit wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown soars over Minnesota Vikings cornerback Patrick Peterson to pick up a first down at the two-yard line in the first quarter of their Week 3 clash. The Vikings won the game, 28-24, led by Kirk Cousins' 260 yards passing and two TD tosses, to go to 2-1 on the year. Jerry Holt/AP Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore get into an altercation during the second half of the Bucs' chippy 20-10 win over the Saints in Week 2. The win snapped Brady's personal seven-game losing streak against the Saints. Jonathan Bachman/AP Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay gave the home crowd something to cheer for when he returned the opening kickoff 103 yards to score a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins on September 18. Despite the feat, the Ravens went on to lose 42-38 after being outscored by 25 in the fourth quarter. Julio Cortez/AP San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo celebrates with his teammates during the second half of a 27-7 win against the Seattle Seahawks on September 18. Garoppolo came on as a substitute after starter Trey Lance went down for the year with a fractured ankle and threw for 154 yards and one touchdown -- and rushed for another -- on 13/21 passing. Tony Avelar/AP The Cleveland Browns run the ball across midfield against the New York Jets during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Browns ended up losing 31-30 after being up by 13 points with 1:55 remaining in the game. Jets QB Joe Flacco threw for 307 yards and four TDs — including two in the final two minutes of the game — to carry the Jets. Sunday's game saw the return of \"Brownie the Elf\" to the Browns' home field. The logo was initially used by the Browns in their inaugural season in 1946 but fell out of favor in the 60s, returning when the franchise was brought back to Cleveland in 1999. Scott Galvin/USA Today Sports Arizona Cardinals cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., left, picks up a fumble and returns it for the winning touchdown during overtime of a dramatic 29-23 win against the Las Vegas Raiders on September 18. David Becker/AP Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow throws during the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1 on September 11 in Cincinnati. Burrow would go on to have five turnovers on the day — four interceptions and a lost fumble — in a 23-20 loss. Joshua A. Bickel/AP Seattle Seahawks fans make noise as Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos prepares to take a snap during a failed game-winning drive on September 12. It was Wilson's first game back in Seattle since leaving for Denver after 10 years with the Seahawks. Seattle won 17-16. AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb makes a run in the red zone against the Carolina Panthers on September 11 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Chubb had 141 yards on 22 carries in a tight 26-24 win for the Browns. Rusty Jones/AP Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen stiff-arms Los Angeles Rams safety Nick Scott in the third quarter of a massive 31-10 win against the defending Super Bowl champions at SoFi Stadium. The statement victory on NFL Opening Day shows the Bills are serious contenders for the title in 2022. Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today Sports/Reuters New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas makes a reception against Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell in the second half of their game in Atlanta on September 11. Thomas had two touchdown catches on the day as the Saints outscored the Falcons by 14 in the fourth to win 27-26. Erik S. Lesser/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The best photos from the 2022 NFL season Prev Next\n\nWhat has caused these two teams to struggle?\n\nTampa Bay has been plagued with injuries since the start of the season. Most recently, starting linebacker Shaq Barrett suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.\n\nHowever, they could be welcoming back some key players in the coming weeks. The team did not make any moves before the trade deadline, leaving the assumption that they believe the current roster is competent for the remainder of the season.\n\nThe Rams’ biggest struggle has been on offense. They rank 28th in the league when they have had to convert third downs of six or longer yards. To compare, they ranked third in that category last season.\n\nThey have trouble running the ball, as shown in last week’s loss to the 49ers. During that game, just 56 of 223 yards of total offense gained came on the ground.\n\nFor either team, a win this week would provide momentum heading into the second half of the season.\n\nWith both teams majorly struggling on offense, this game could be a low-scoring affair in which capitalizing on opposing mistakes is the main difference between success and failure.\n\nTune in on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET to see which team emerges victorious.\n\nBills and Jets Clash in AFC East Showdown\n\nWeek 9 also features a divisional matchup between the Buffalo Bills (6-1) and New York Jets (5-3).\n\nThe AFC East is one of the league’s most competitive divisions, and one of two divisions (NFC East) in which all four teams have won at least four games. Buffalo enters the matchup on a four-game win streak and heavily favored against their opponent.\n\nThe game presents an interesting comparison between quarterbacks Josh Allen and Zach Wilson.\n\nIn his fifth year, Allen is having one of the best seasons of his career. He is consistently in the conversation alongside names like Mahomes and Brady regarding the league’s best signal-callers.\n\nThrough seven games, his 2,504 combined passing and rushing yards trail only Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and Drew Brees for the most such combined yards by a quarterback in his first seven games of a season.\n\nWilson, on the other hand, has struggled at the start of his second year. His passer rating is 34th among quarterbacks who have started at least three games, and his completion percentage is tied for 35th.\n\nWilson will be seeking to emulate Allen's trajectory. Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America/Getty Images\n\nThe interesting part is that Wilson’s recent performance is reminiscent of Allen’s at the same point in his career.\n\nFor example, Wilson threw three interceptions in the Jet’s Week 8 loss to the Patriots. Allen had a nearly identical experience, throwing three interceptions and making many other mental mistakes during a Bills’ loss to the Patriots back in 2019.\n\nAllen is a shining example that not all great quarterbacks come out of the gate great; some take longer than others to sink into their role and reach their highest potential.\n\nThe rest of the season will be an indicator of whether or not Wilson is able to replicate a similar rise to eminence.\n\nThrough eight games, Wilson’s glimmers of greatness have been overshadowed by mistakes and inexperience. In a highly competitive AFC East, Wilson has the second-half of the season to prove whether or not he has the ability to be the Jets’ next franchise quarterback.\n\nTo see Wilson and Allen in action, tune in on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.\n\nPatrick Mahomes, Chiefs Host Primetime Battle with Titans\n\nKansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes has the chance to make history on Sunday when the Chiefs (5-2) host the Tennessee Titans (5-2).\n\nThe QB has recorded a league-leading 20 touchdown passes this season and ranks fourth with 2,159 passing yards. Through 70 career games (all starts), Mahomes has totaled 21,150 passing yards and 171 touchdown passes.\n\nWith 105 passing yards against the Titans, Mahomes would surpass Matthew Stafford for the most passing yards ever by a quarterback in his first 75 career starts.\n\nPatrick Mahomes can make history on Sunday. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images\n\nWith three touchdown passes, Mahomes will surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino for the most-ever by a quarterback in his first 75 career starts.\n\nThe Titans enter the matchup first in their division and on a five-game win streak. Out of the last ten meetings with Kansas City, Tennessee has won eight.\n\nKickoff is set for Sunday Night at 8:25 p.m. ET.\n\nHow to Watch\n\nHere’s how to catch these teams and others across the league in action, from wherever you are.\n\nAustralia: NFL Game Pass, ESPN, 7Plus\n\nBrazil: NFL Game Pass, ESPN\n\nCanada: CTV, TSN, RDS, NFL Game Pass on DAZN\n\nGermany: NFL Game Pass, ProSieben MAXX, DAZN\n\nMexico: NFL Game Pass, TUDN, ESPN, Fox Sports, Sky Sports\n\nUK: NFL Game Pass, Sky Sports, ITV, Channel 5\n\nUS: NFL Game Pass, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, ESPN, Amazon Prime", "authors": ["Hannah Brewitt"], "publish_date": "2022/11/06"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_11", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": []}
{"question_id": "20230217_12", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/14/bts-member-suga-announces-world-tour-u-s-stops/11255297002/", "title": "BTS member Suga announces historic solo world tour with US shows", "text": "Suga of BTS announced a string of concerts around the world Tuesday, making him the first member of the record-setting Korean group to launch a solo tour.\n\nThe tour will start in Belmont Park, New York April 26 and visit a slew of other cities between April and June with notable stops in Newark, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Oakland, California, plus destinations in Asia including Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and South Korea.\n\nThe South Korean rapper, music producer and songwriter who also goes by Agust D, took to Instagram Tuesday to share the news, simply posting a fire emoji as the caption.\n\nTicket pre-sales start March 1\n\nTicket pre-sales begin March 1 for Army Membership holders with Ticketmaster's Verified Fan Registration open now through Feb. 23. All tour tickets will be on sale during the pre-sale and if they sell out, there will not be a \"General Verified Fan\" pre-sale or public sale of tickets.\n\nIf tickets remain after the Verified Fan pre-sale, then general verified fan tickets will go on pre-sale March 2 and the public will have access to tickets March 3.\n\nFrom Bono to j-hope:Here are new music documentaries we can't wait to see in 2023\n\n'Time for a curtain call':BTS' Jin begins South Korean military duty at boot camp\n\nFull tour date list\n\nApril 26 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena\n\nApril 27 – Belmont Park, NY – UBS Arena\n\nApril 29 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center\n\nMay 3 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena\n\nMay 5 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena\n\nMay 6 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena\n\nMay 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum\n\nMay 11 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum\n\nMay 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum\n\nMay 16 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena\n\nMay 17 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena\n\nMay 26 – Jakarta, ID – Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE BSD) Hall 5-6\n\nMay 27 – Jakarta, ID – Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE BSD) Hall 5-6\n\nMay 28 – Jakarta, ID – Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE BSD) Hall 5-6\n\nJune 10 – Bangkok, TH – Impact Arena\n\nJune 10 – Bangkok, TH – Impact Arena\n\nJune 17 – Singapore, SG – Singapore Indoor Stadium\n\nJune 18 – Singapore, SG – Singapore Indoor Stadium\n\nJune 24 – Seoul, KR – Jamsil Indoor Stadium\n\nJune 25 – Seoul, KR – Jamsil Indoor Stadium\n\nDates for tour locations in Japan have not yet been announced.\n\nBTS members focusing on solo projects\n\nBTS said in June that the group is taking a break — but the mega-star K-pop group is making it clear that they're not breaking up.\n\n\"We're going into a hiatus now,\" Suga said in a more than hour-long video on YouTube and translated from Korean into English subtitles.\n\nA statement from Hybe, the South Korean entertainment company behind BTS, said they’ll still be working on projects as a group, as well as individually. “BTS are not taking a hiatus. Members will be focusing more on solo projects at this time,” the statement said.\n\nWhat BTS members have been up to recently\n\nWhile Suga has announced a world tour, the rest of BTS has been busy, too.\n\nBTS' j-hope performed at Lollapalooza, where he was the first South Korean act to headline and has a documentary dubbed \"j-hope IN THE BOX\" coming out this year, exploring his first solo album.\n\nJimin is working on his debut solo album that he anticipates releasing next month, according to Rolling Stone.\n\nJungkook performed at the World Cup, debuting his new song \"Dreamers.\"\n\nV is involved in an upcoming reality television program, tvN's 'Seojin’s, set to begin Feb. 24. He'll build a restaurant with fellow Korean celebrities Park Seo Joon (\"Itaewon Class\"), Choi Woo Shik (\"Parasite\"), Jung Yu Mi (\"Train to Busan\") and Lee Seo Jin (\"Three Meals a Day\").\n\nAnd RM is setting records with his solo album, \"Indigo.\" He was the first Korean soloist to enter the Top 3 of the Billboard 200 album chart and the first Korean male soloist to have an album spend at least five weeks on the Billboard 200\n\nContributing: Marco della Cava, Naledi Ushe and Hannah Yasharoff", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/25/entertainment/bts-jin-south-korea-military-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "BTS singer Jin set to begin South Korea military service, source says ...", "text": "Seoul, South Korea CNN —\n\nK-pop superstar Jin will begin his mandatory military service next month, a source with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed Friday, after the BTS singer appealed to the supergroup’s devoted fans to stay away from his South Korean army training center.\n\nThe source said the 29-year-old star, BTS’ oldest member, will enter service December 13 at Yeoncheon army base in the northern Gyeonggi province.\n\nMilitary service is compulsory in South Korea, where almost all able-bodied men are required to serve in the army for 18 months by the time they are 28 years old.\n\nSouth Korea’s parliament passed a bill in 2020 allowing pop stars – namely those who “excel in popular culture and art” – to defer their service until the age of 30.\n\nJin’s service will begin with a five-week basic training course before being assigned to a unit, based on standard practice.\n\nThe move had been widely expected.\n\nLast month, BTS’ record label said that all seven members of the group were planning to undertake military service and Jin – who turns 30 on December 4 – would be the first to enlist.\n\nOn Thursday, Jin posted a message on fan community app Weverse, urging fans not to visit the military training center to get a glimpse of him amid reports of his impending enlistment. He did not deny the reports in the post.\n\n“Reports have come out against my will, but our ARMYs (BTS fans), should not come to the training center,” he wrote. “It could be dangerous because the place will be crowded with many people besides me who are coming. ARMY, I love you.”\n\nV, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin and J-Hope of BTS attend the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images\n\nBTS has been frequently compared to The Beatles, even breaking one of the English rock band’s records with three Billboard No. 1 albums in a single year.\n\nTheir devoted fan base calls themselves the “BTS Army,” propelling their music and coming to their defense on social media in 2019 when the group was shut out from Grammy nominations. They have been nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2023.\n\nWith their military service looming, BTS said in June it would press pause to pursue solo projects. The group is expected to reconvene in 2025, according to their record label.", "authors": ["Yoonjung Seo"], "publish_date": "2022/11/25"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/04/03/grammys-2022-live-updates-winners/7244155001/", "title": "Grammys 2022: Jon Batiste wins album of the year, Silk Sonic takes ...", "text": "Jon Batiste ruled on a Grammys night that celebrated young hitmaker Olivia Rodrigo and embraced the funk of Silk Sonic.\n\nBatiste, who went into music's biggest night with a leading 11 nominations, won five trophies including album of the year – the top prize of the night – for \"We Are\" at Sunday's 64th Grammy Awards. Silk Sonic, the super duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, took home record and song of the year – as well as R&B song and performance Grammys for \"Leave the Door Open.\" And Rodrigo was named best new artist as part of her three-win day, which also included best pop vocal album for \"Sour\" and pop solo performance for her hit \"Drivers License.\"\n\nIt was a night of many performances, by Justin Bieber, BTS, Lady Gaga and more, and also of important tributes. Billie Eilish wore a T-shirt honoring the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a prerecorded message at the Grammys paired with a rousing rendition of \"Free\" by John Legend.\n\nGrammy winners:See which stars took home gold on music's biggest night\n\nGrammys best dressed:Lil Nas X, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga and more stars who made our hearts sing\n\nHere are all the highlights and winners from the prime-time Grammys:\n\nJon Batiste's 'We Are' wins album of the year\n\nAfter entering the night with 11 nominations and walking away with the Grammys' top prize. Batiste talks about how there shouldn't be such things as best new artist, best actor or best record because art is subjective. \"They have like a radar to reach that person when they need it the most,\" Batiste says. In regard to music, \"it's more than entertainment for me – it's a spiritual practice.\" He also left the crowd with a positive message: \"Be you. That's it. I love you even if I don't know you.\"\n\nGrammys red carpet:Hollywood still can't stop talking about Will Smith's Oscars slap\n\nCarrie Underwood debuts new song 'Ghost Story'\n\nHours after winning the Grammy for best roots gospel album, Underwood cranks up the wind machine so her dress can billow as she belts her new power ballad \"Ghost Story.\" (It's a'ight.)\n\nGrammy performances:Brutally honest reviews of everyone from BTS to Olivia Rodrigo\n\nBruno Mars, Anderson .Paak get a 'clean sweep' with Silk Sonic\n\nNot only did they win song of the year, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak take a second major Grammy. \"We're really trying our hardest to remain humble at this point,\" .Paak says. \"But in the industry, we call that a clean sweep.\"\n\nThe most memorable 2022 Grammy moments:From Gaga's Tony Bennett tribute to Zelenskyy's plea\n\nDoja Cat and SZA's 'Kiss Me More' wins a Grammy, H.E.R. bangs the drums\n\n\"I have never taken such a fast (pee) in my whole life,\" an out-of-breath Doja Cat says when accepting the honor for best pop duo/group performance. \"I'm glad you made it back in time!\" SZA adds. Doja Cat can't stop crying. \"This is a big deal,\" she says. Their win is followed by a performance from H.E.R., who sings \"Damage,\" plays drums on \"We Made It\" and is joined by Travis Barker and Lenny Kravitz for \"Are You Gonna Go My Way.\"\n\nJustin Bieber gets his ballad on at the Grammys\n\nDecked out in a backward baseball cap and hoodie, Justin Bieber sings his hit \"Peaches\" first at the piano when he's kicking it on the slow side and then is joined by R&B artists Daniel Caesar and Givēon.\n\nGrammys burning questions:What's Finneas' last name? How many BTS members are there? We answer 'em.\n\nJon Batiste gives a spirited rendition of 'Freedom'\n\nAfter going to town on the piano, Batiste joins a slew of backup dancers, his band and a bunch of candy-colored props for a joyful performance of \"Freedom.\"\n\n'In memoriam' segment honors Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, Stephen Sondheim\n\nTrevor Noah begins the \"In memoriam\" sequence with a tribute to Hawkins, the late Foo Fighters drummer, followed by an ode to Sondheim: Ben Platt performs \"Not a Day Goes By,\" Cynthia Erivo and Leslie Odom Jr. sing \"Send In the Clowns\" and \"West Side Story\" star Rachel Zegler comes in for \"Somewhere.\"\n\nBillie Eilish:Singer pays tribute to Foo Fighters' Taylor Hawkins during Grammys performance\n\nOlivia Rodrigo takes Grammy No. 3, for pop vocal album\n\nThe young singer's \"Sour\" wins the category, and Rodrigo thanks her parents, especially her mom \"for being supportive of my dreams, no matter how crazy.\"\n\nJazmine Sullivan wins best R&B album for 'Heaux Tales'\n\nBilly Porter presents Sullivan's win, though she responds in her acceptance speech, \"I don't know what I heard. I almost didn't believe it.\" Sullivan says the album was inspired by \"her own shame and decisions I made in my 20s that weren't favorable. But what it ended up being was a safe space for Black women to tell our stories.\" Backstage, Sullivan adds she was overwhelmed by her Grammy wins. (She also took best R&B performance.) “I’ve been wanting to win a Grammy since I was a kid,\" she says. \"After losing so many times, I kind of gave up, like maybe it’s not for me and I’ll just make my music. It’s surreal to hold these babies right now.\"\n\nLady Gaga gets jazzy for 'Love for Sale'\n\nTony Bennett couldn't appear but he introduces Gaga, who channels her inner swing goddess. She fronts a big band singing the uptempo \"Love for Sale\" then settles down for the string-laden ballad \"Do I Love You.\" She closes out her time with a message for Bennett: \"I love you, Tony. We miss you.\"\n\nUkrainian President Zelenskyy appears on screen at the Grammys\n\n\"Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos … but our music will break through anyway,\" Zelenskyy says in a virtual appearance asking to \"support us in any way you can\" as his country continues to fight the Russian invasion. John Legend then sings \"Free\" as he's joined by Mika Newton, whose sister is serving in the Ukrainian army, and Lyuba Yakimchuk, a poet from Donbas who fled Ukraine just days ago.\n\nZelenskyy addresses Grammys:'Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos'\n\nBaby Keem's 'Family Ties' wins rap performance Grammy, Chris Stapleton feels country 'Cold'\n\n\"Nothing could prepare me for this moment tonight,\" Baby Keem says of nabbing the best rap performance Grammy, which goes to his collaboration with Kendrick Lamar. From there, switching genres on a dime, Stapleton takes the stage to sing \"Cold\" – which won the best country song Grammy earlier in the day.\n\nNas brings old-school hip-hop back to the Grammys stage\n\nThe youngsters were gifted with an appearance from a legendary OG: With the help of a great horn section, rapper Nas performed a montage of tracks including \"I Can,\" \"Made You Look,\" \"One Mic\" and \"Rare.\"\n\nJoni Mitchell presents Brandi Carlile's performance of 'Right on Time'\n\nWith an opening from legends Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt, Carlile takes the stage to a stirring version of \"Right on Time,\" starting on piano and transitioning to guitar, accompanied by a string section.\n\nJoni Mitchell:MusiCares honors legendary singer as the 2022 Person of the Year\n\nOlivia Rodrigo (as expected) wins best new artist\n\nTwo previous winners in the Grammy category, Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion, welcome the next best new artist to their fold: Olivia Rodrigo. \"Whoa. This is my biggest dream come true,\" she says.\n\nGrammys:Dua Lipa, Megan Thee Stallion recreate iconic Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey gag\n\nBillie Eilish performs 'Happier Than Ever' in the weirdest bedroom ever\n\nWith her brother Finneas on acoustic guitar, the multi-time Grammy winner first sings her hit tune in a room where a couch is on the ceiling and she's walking around in water and then winds up on the rooftop of this very strange home to rock out like a champ. Also of note: Eilish is wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who was unexpectedly found dead while on tour last month.\n\nChris Stapleton rules the country album category\n\nAfter winning two Grammys earlier in the day, Chris Stapleton wins best country album for \"Starting Over.\" The dad of five says it's his 4-year-old twins' birthday so \"I'm thinking a lot about sacrifices,\" he says. \"I don't know how it is for everybody. ... It hurts sometimes but I hope it's making the world a better place.\"\n\nLil Nas X performs and seemingly calls out his haters\n\nJoined by Jack Harlow and rocking multiple glitzy costume changes, Lil Nas X performs a montage of his hits \"Dead Right Now,\" \"Montero (Call Me By Your Name)\" and \"Industry Baby,\" with voiceovers from his critics and a very large bust of his head in the middle of the stage. He owns it all, though, dancing up a storm in what's best described as the coolest drum major outfit ever.\n\nBTS unleashes 'Butter,' screaming crowds respond\n\nAfter one of the K-pop crew shares a moment with Olivia Rodrigo, the mega-popular group launches into a performance of \"Butter\" with a whole bunch of smooth dancing to melt everyone's hearts.\n\nSilk Sonic wins song of the year for 'Leave the Door Open'\n\nQuestlove tosses out another Oscars slap joke – \"I'm going to present this award and I hope that you people stay like 500 feet away from me\" – before song of the year goes to Silk Sonic. \"Andy, I couldn't be prouder of doing this song with you,\" Bruno Mars says to partner Anderson .Paak. The duo's tune also won for R&B song and tied for R&B performance.\n\nOlivia Rodrigo breaks out the 'Drivers License,' J Balvin goes 'In da Getto'\n\nRodrigo begins seated behind the wheel of a spiffy car as she performs a tender-turned-rockin' version of her huge hit song \"Drivers License.\" She also sings walking down a faux street looking like she's lost on the way to the prom but she's emoting like a champ so it's OK. Noah jokes that Rodrigo captures \"how heartbreaking it is to go to the DMV\" before J Balvin is joined by Maria Becerra for \"Qué Más Pues?\" then launches into \"In da Getto\" with an army of dancing arms.\n\nSilk Sonic begins the Grammys show by bringing the funk\n\n\"Vegas, baby! I can smell the bad decisions up here already,\" host Trevor Noah says kicking off the Grammys broadcast on top of the MGM Grand. He sends it to the Grand Garden Arena, where Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak) plays a brassy rendition of \"777\" – and evokes some James Brown feels – in a jam that feels right at home in the land of craps tables and roulette wheels. Afterward Noah makes the first Oscars slap joke of the night: \"We're going to be keeping people's names out of our mouths all night!\"\n\nSt. Vincent takes second best alternative music album Grammy\n\nA luminous St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) talks backstage about “Daddy’s Home,” her Grammy-winning best alternative music album. “I wanted the listener to feel like they were sitting in an old leather armchair with a glass of bourbon and luxuriate in the album,” she says.\n\nPosing in a floor-length pink gown accented with feathers, St. Vincent was proud that more women have landed in the category since her 2015 win there as the first female to do so since Sinead O’Connor 20 years prior. “I’m glad the times are a-changin’,” she says.\n\nKanye West rules two rap categories, Olivia Rodrigo gets her first Grammy\n\nYe wins for best melodic rap performance \"Hurricane\" and rap song (\"Jail\" with Jay-Z) but loses the rap album Grammy to Tyler, the Creator's \"Call Me If You Get Lost.\" Rodrigo's breakout \"Drivers License\" is named best pop solo performance while Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's \"Love for Sale\" wins for pop vocal album.\n\nFoo Fighters sweep rock Grammys in wake of Taylor Hawkins' death\n\nDave Grohl's band wins best rock performance (\"Making a Fire\"), best rock song (\"Waiting on a War\") and rock album (\"Medicine at Midnight\"). Foo Fighters were supposed to perform at the Grammys but canceled their appearance as well as the rest of their tour after drummer Hawkins died unexpectedly last month. In addition, H.E.R.'s \"Fight for You\" is named best traditional R&B performance and Silk Sonic's \"Leave the Door Open\" takes best R&B song and ties for R&B performance.\n\nCeCe Winans wins three, George Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' anniversary album takes honor\n\nWinans pulls a hat trick and wins for gospel performance/song, contemporary Christian music performance/song and best gospel album while Carrie Underwood's \"My Savior\" is named best roots gospel album. Plus George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass: 50th Anniversary Edition\" gets best boxed or special limited edition package, making it the first Grammy the former Beatle factored into since 2002, when “Marwa Blues,” from his final album “Brainwashed,” earned a nod for best pop instrumental performance.\n\n“This album has really endured,” his widow, Olivia Harrison, says backstage. “It’s full of hope and inspiration and good rock ‘n’ roll and great musicians. It’s George’s seminal work. He got his first Grammy 58 years ago (with The Beatles, who won best new artist) and it’s amazing that 58 years later I’m standing here. People have told me how (this music) has helped and healed them.\"\n\nJon Batiste runs his Grammy haul to four, 'Summer of Soul' gets Grammy love\n\nBatiste extends his streak, taking best music video for \"Freedom.\" \"We just wanted everybody to see it and be transformed by joy,\" he says of the video's New Orleans setting. And exactly seven days after winning best documentary at the Oscars, \"Summer of Soul\" snags the Grammy for best music film. \"What a journey for this film, from Sundance (Film Festival) until last week,\" director Ahmir \"Questlove\" Thompson says with a knowing laugh. (His Oscar win came directly after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.)\n\nJoni Mitchell gets Grammy for best historical album\n\nAfter making an emotional return to the stage at Friday's MusiCares pre-Grammys tribute, Mitchell receives a Grammy for \"Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol. 1: The Early Years (1963-1967).\" \"I didn't expect this,\" the legendary singer says, thanking Cameron Crowe (who did the liner notes) and \"my angel,\" her physical therapist who's been helping her since she suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015.\n\nChris Stapleton, Brothers Osborne win country Grammys\n\nStapleton shouts out the house band when accepting his best country solo performance for \"You Should Probably Leave.\" \"I was really slow so they had to play a long time,\" quips Stapleton, who also takes best country song for \"Cold.\" And Brothers Osborne takes the Grammy for country duo/group performance for “Younger Me,” written in response to T.J. Osborne coming out. “I never thought I would be able to do music professionally because of my sexual orientation,” says the first openly gay artist signed to a major country label. “And I never thought I’d be onstage accepting a Grammy after something I thought would be life-changing in a negative way. (But) I am here with a man I love and who loves me back. I don’t know what I did to be so lucky.”\n\nIn addition, Batiste runs his 2022 Grammy haul to three, winning for American roots performance and roots song.\n\nThe Police drummer Stewart Copeland takes new age album Grammy\n\n\"This has got to be a first: a rock drummer in a new age category,\" says Copeland, a founding member of The Police who wins for \"Divine Tides\" with Ricky Kej. Angelique Kidjo's \"Mother Nature\" takes the Grammy for global music album and the late Chick Corea receives two honors: best improvised jazz solo for \"Humpty Dumpty (Set 2)\" and Latin jazz album for \"Mirror Mirror\" with Eliane Elias and Chucho Valdés.\n\nJon Batiste snags Grammy win for 'Soul' soundtrack\n\n\"Tell the truth, you didn't expect Kunta to be this fine, did you?\" says host LeVar Burton, the \"Star Trek\" and \"Roots\" actor, to start the Grammys preshow. He points out the global unrest of the moment but also offers a positive message: \"Music is a balm for all our souls.\"\n\nBatiste grabs his first Grammy of the day – for \"Soul,\" which ties with \"The Queen's Gambit\" for score soundtrack for visual media. Bo Burnham's \"All Eyes on Me\" snags best song for visual media, \"The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical\" wins for best musical theater album and \"The United States vs. Billie Holiday\" takes the honor for compilation soundtrack for visual media.\n\nOlivia Rodrigo vs. Billie Eilish might be one for the ages\n\nTwo years after sweeping the major Grammy honors, Eilish returns with seven nominations this year, including album, song and record of the year for her “Happier Than Ever” and its title track. Rodrigo, the new kid on the scene, also has seven nods including those key categories. Plus she's favored for the prestigious best new artist – yep, which Eilish won in 2020 – against a field that includes Glass Animals, Saweetie and Eilish's own brother, Finneas.\n\nWondering how to watch the Grammy Awards? We got you\n\nYou can tune into the premiere ceremony – when about 70 of the 86 awards are distributed – starting at 3:30 EDT/12:30 PDT at grammy.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel. Red carpet arrivals will be streamed on grammy.com starting at 6:30 EDT/3:30 PDT; E! starts its coverage at 4 EDT/1 PDT, with \"Live From E!: Grammys\" starting at 6 EDT/3 PDT. And then there's the prime-time show: That airs live on CBS and Paramount+ at 8 EDT/5 PDT, and is also accessible via CBS.com and the CBS app (with a cable subscription).\n\nContributing: Melissa Ruggieri", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/04/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/media/disney-bts-korean-hnk-intl/index.html", "title": "BTS is coming to Disney in a major streaming deal | CNN Business", "text": "CNN Business —\n\nDisney is bringing BTS to its streaming services, adding the world’s biggest band to its roster of digital stars.\n\nIn an announcement shared first with CNN Business, the entertainment giant said Monday that it would add new original shows featuring members of the South Korean pop group to Disney+.\n\nThat will result in five new titles with HYBE, BTS’ management company. The firm was previously known as Big Hit Entertainment.\n\nAt least two of the new titles will be shot with the entire band, including a taped concert special in Los Angeles and a behind-the-scenes documentary series. Disney expects the latter to debut next year.\n\nIn a recorded video message shared with CNN Business, the band said they were looking forward to showing fans “a more up-close and personal side of us.”\n\nBTS has enjoyed meteoric success in recent years, attracting legions of fans around the world known as the “Army.”\n\nRecently, however, the seven-person group announced that it would be taking a break to explore various projects, including some on a solo basis.\n\nThe new tie-up with Disney reflects that. One forthcoming title is a reality show that will see V, a BTS star, head on vacation with other Korean celebrities, the company said.\n\nThe band’s documentary will also peek into their daily lives “as they prepare for their second chapter,” Disney and HYBE said in a joint statement.\n\nTerms of the deal were not disclosed. The move shows how Disney (DIS) is focusing on top-tier talent as it continues to go after Netflix (NFLX) and cash in on the recent wave of popularity surrounding Korean content and culture.\n\nLast year, for example, fans worldwide buzzed over “Squid Game,” the South Korean hit from Netflix that became the company’s top show globally. Disney said it has also found success with titles like “Snowdrop,” a Korean series that has become one of its most-watched titles throughout Asia recently.\n\n“This collaboration represents our creative ambition — to work with iconic content creators and top stars in Asia-Pacific so their talent can be enjoyed by mainstream audiences in multiple ways,” Jessica Kam-Engle, Disney’s head of content for Asia Pacific, said in a statement. “We believe these new titles will captivate consumers worldwide and look forward to introducing more music content on our service.”\n\nThe move is part of a major expansion into Asian content announced by the company last October. It plans to greenlight more than 50 original titles from the region by 2023.\n\nThe Hollywood giant said at the time that it was commissioning new shows from South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan and Indonesia. Many of the programs will be presented in local languages, from Bahasa Indonesia to Mandarin.\n\nNetflix has also been pouring money into original Asian language content, and touting the global success of its Korean and Japanese programs in particular.\n\nBut the company’s stock has faced pressure in recent months, after it revealed in April that it had lost subscribers for the first time in a decade. The news reignited debate about long-term prospects for the streaming sector.\n\nInvestors, however, seem calmer about Disney. The company said in its most recent earnings presentation in May that it had added more Disney+ subscribers than expected over the past quarter, bringing its total to 137.7 million.", "authors": ["Michelle Toh"], "publish_date": "2022/07/11"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/20/entertainment/american-music-awards-winners-2022/index.html", "title": "American Music Awards 2022: See the winners list | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe 50th American Music Awards took place on Sunday night at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.\n\nThe show, produced by dick clark productions and ABC, was hosted by Wayne Brady.\n\nThe star-studded event celebrated the year’s best music and performances, as voted on by fans.\n\nPuerto Rican performer Bad Bunny topped the list of nominees this year with the most nods, earning eight, including his first-ever for artist of the year. He ended up taking home two awards – for favorite male Latin artist and favorite Latin album, for “Un Verano Sin Ti.”\n\nThe night belonged to Taylor Swift, however, who won in all six categories for which she was nominated, including artist of the year, the night’s top honor. The wins cemented Swift as the most decorated artist in AMAs history, with 40 career wins.\n\nPerformers who took the AMA stage included Pink, who opened the show, as well as Dove Cameron, Lil Baby, Bebe Rexha, Carrie Underwood, Imagine Dragons and others.\n\nLionel Richie, a 17-time AMA winner, was honored with the Icon Award for his career contributions to the music industry. Charlie Puth, Stevie Wonder and other artists gave a heartfelt tribute performance for Richie.\n\nThe show announced some of the winners prior to the broadcast.\n\nElton John took home his first AMA win since 1988 for best collaboration with Dua Lipa, becoming the longest-recognized artist in the awards show’s history. (He was first nominated for an AMA in 1974.)\n\nBelow is the list of winners.\n\nArtist of the year\n\nAdele\n\nBad Bunny\n\nBeyoncé\n\nDrake\n\nHarry Styles\n\nTaylor Swift *WINNER\n\nThe Weeknd\n\nNew artist of the year\n\nDove Cameron *WINNER\n\nGAYLE\n\nLatto\n\nMåneskin\n\nSteve Lacy\n\nCollaboration of the year\n\nCarolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”\n\nElton John & Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart - PNAU Remix” *WINNER\n\nFuture ft. Drake & Tems, “Wait For U”\n\nLil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow. “Industry Baby”\n\nThe Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber, “Stay”\n\nFavorite male pop artist\n\nBad Bunny\n\nDrake\n\nEd Sheeran\n\nHarry Styles *WINNER\n\nThe Weeknd\n\nFavorite female pop artist\n\nAdele\n\nBeyoncé\n\nDoja Cat\n\nLizzo\n\nTaylor Swift *WINNER\n\nFavorite pop duo or group\n\nBTS *WINNER\n\nColdplay\n\nImagine Dragons\n\nMåneskin\n\nOneRepublic\n\nFavorite pop album\n\nAdele, “30”\n\nBad Bunny, “Un Verano Sin Ti”\n\nBeyoncé, “Renaissance”\n\nHarry Styles, “Harry’s House”\n\nTaylor Swift, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” *WINNER\n\nThe Weeknd, “Dawn FM”\n\nFavorite pop song\n\nAdele, “Easy on Me”\n\nCarolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz & Encanto Cast, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”\n\nHarry Styles, “As It Was” *WINNER\n\nLizzo, “About Damn Time”\n\nThe Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber, “Stay”\n\nFavorite music video\n\nAdele, “Easy on Me”\n\nBad Bunny ft. Chencho Corleone, “Me Porto Bonito”\n\nHarry Styles, “As It Was”\n\nLil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow, “Industry Baby”\n\nTaylor Swift, “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” *WINNER\n\nFavorite male country artist\n\nChris Stapleton\n\nCody Johnson\n\nLuke Combs\n\nMorgan Wallen *WINNER\n\nWalker Hayes\n\nFavorite female country artist\n\nCarrie Underwood\n\nLainey Wilson\n\nMaren Morris\n\nMiranda Lambert\n\nTaylor Swift *WINNER\n\nFavorite country group or duo\n\nDan & Shay *WINNER\n\nLady A\n\nOld Dominion\n\nParmalee\n\nZac Brown Band\n\nFavorite male hip-hop artist\n\nDrake\n\nFuture\n\nKendrick Lamar *WINNER\n\nLil Baby\n\nLil Durk\n\nFavorite female hip-hop artist\n\nCardi B\n\nGloRilla\n\nLatto\n\nMegan Thee Stallion\n\nNicki Minaj *WINNER\n\nFavorite hip-hop song\n\nFuture ft. Drake & Tems, “Wait For U” *WINNER\n\nJack Harlow, “First Class”\n\nKodak Black, “Super Gremlin”\n\nLatto, “Big Energy”\n\nLil Nas X ft. Jack Harlow, “Industry Baby”\n\nFavorite male R&B artist\n\nBrent Faiyaz\n\nChris Brown *WINNER\n\nGIVĒON\n\nLucky Daye\n\nThe Weeknd\n\nFavorite female R&B artist\n\nBeyoncé *WINNER\n\nDoja Cat\n\nMuni Long\n\nSummer Walker\n\nSZA\n\nFavorite rock artist\n\nMachine Gun Kelly *WINNER\n\nImagine Dragons\n\nMåneskin\n\nRed Hot Chili Peppers\n\nThe Lumineers\n\nFavorite rock song\n\nFoo Fighters, “Love Dies Young”\n\nImagine Dragons x JID, “Enemy”h\n\nKate Bush, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”\n\nMåneskin, “Beggin’” *WINNER\n\nRed Hot Chili Peppers, “Black Summer”\n\nFavorite male Latin artist\n\nBad Bunny *WINNER\n\nFarruko\n\nJ Balvin\n\nJhayco\n\nRauw Alejandro\n\nFavorite female Latin artist\n\nAnitta *WINNER\n\nBecky G\n\nKali Uchis\n\nKarol G\n\nRosalía\n\nFavorite Afrobeats Artist\n\nBurna Boy\n\nCKay\n\nFireboy DML\n\nTEMS\n\nWizkid *WINNER\n\nFavorite K-pop artist\n\nBLACKPINK\n\nBTS *WINNER\n\nSeventeen\n\nTomorrow X Together\n\nTwice\n\nOther non-televised winners\n\nFavorite dance/electronic artist: Marshmello\n\nFavorite gospel artist: Tamela Mann\n\nFavorite inspirational artist: for KING & COUNTRY\n\nFavorite Latin duo or group: Yahritza Y Su Esencia\n\nFavorite touring artist: Coldplay\n\nFavorite country album: Taylor Swift “Red (Taylor’s Version)”\n\nFavorite hip-hop album: Kendrick Lamar “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers”\n\nFavorite Latin album: Bad Bunny “Un Verano Sin Ti”\n\nFavorite R&B album: Beyoncé “Renaissance”\n\nFavorite rock album: Ghost “Impera”\n\nFavorite soundtrack: “ELVIS”\n\nFavorite country song: Morgan Wallen “Wasted On You”\n\nFavorite Latin song: Sebastián Yatra “Dos Oruguitas”", "authors": ["Dan Heching"], "publish_date": "2022/11/20"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/03/09/bts-interview-grammys-nomination-and-performance/4635419001/", "title": "BTS at the Grammys: Their historic nomination, 'Dynamite' success", "text": "It's been nearly eight years since BTS took to the stage for their debut performance. At Sunday's Grammy Awards, the seven men from South Korea will have more firsts. They are up for best pop duo/group performance for \"Dynamite,\" their chart-topping English-language hit. It marks the group's first nomination as well as the first for a K-pop group. They're on tap to perform and it'll be the first time they'll do so armed with one of their own songs (they had a cameo at the 2020 Grammys, but more on that later).\n\nMaking history and breaking records is nothing new for RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook.\n\nThey're the first K-pop group to debut at the top of Billboard's Hot 100. They hold the Guinness World Records for most-viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours (\"Dynamite\" hit 101 million views). They've beat their own record for the best-selling South Korean album of all time.\n\nAlong the way, they've gained a legion of fiercely loyal fans called ARMY (full disclosure: I am one of them).\n\n“We're really excited, it still feels surreal,” Jimin told USA TODAY via an interpreter. “We're still figuring out what to make of it. But we do know this is a great honor and we're deeply thankful. We're trying our best to deliver a great performance to return all the support we received from our fans.”\n\nBTS' journey to the Grammys\n\nIn 2018, during an interview with Jimmy Fallon, BTS was asked what they wanted next in their career and Suga said, “Go to the Grammys.” The rest of the boys laughed lightheartedly when Suga answered. It wasn’t the first time he had expressed this wish.\n\nA few months later, BTS flew out to attend the 2019 Grammys as presenters, where they walked the red carpet and promised they \"would be back.\"\n\nIn 2020, they made an appearance on stage during Lil Nas X's performance of \"Old Town Road.\" In a behind-the-scenes video from the event, the members reiterated how much they would love the opportunity to one day perform their own song.\n\nAnd that brings us to now. A nomination under their belt and finally a chance to perform.\n\n“(A) performance is what we wanted more, even more than a nomination or winning,” RM said. “We are a performance team, so a performance with our own song was one of our final dreams for this whole journey, so we are flattered and excited at the same time.”\n\nStill, taking home a gilded gramophone trophy would be momentous.\n\n“We've grown up watching the Grammys. It's one of the biggest awards, and a win would mean a lot for us,” said J-Hope.\n\nWhat 'Dynamite' represents now for BTS\n\nAfter nearly seven months and a list of accolades, did \"Dynamite\" fulfill its purpose to uplift fans? Absolutely, said Suga.\n\n“It's indicative of how much ARMY loves us,” he said. “We meant to give comfort with ‘Dynamite’ in the given circumstances, and we feel that many people resonated with this song even during such hardships.”\n\nFor RM, the song was a gateway to new possibilities. “For eight years, when we had hardships and very bad things from outside or inside, we always found a way, and we had this virus last year and everyone was confused and lost their way and ‘Dynamite’ gave us more than ‘Dynamite,' and now it symbolizes kind of a possibility, a stairway to another world.”\n\nWhat led BTS to the music industry leaderboard?\n\n“Of course, it’s ARMY,” Jungkook said.\n\nV also included the other members, their label BigHit Entertainment, family and friends who “have all helped us grow and advance step by step.”\n\nSuga said, “When the nominations were out and (we) were set to perform, obviously, we were filled with joy, but our fans seemed much happier than us. We always think: Would any of this have been possible without ARMY?”\n\nARMY has become a point of pride for the group, which thanks their fans for every achievement and milestone.\n\n“There are so many blessings we could’ve gotten for these eight years, but I guess for the whole journey the best luck we ever had is that we all have you guys all over the world,” RM said. “So please don’t forget that, whether we get the Grammys or not, we already got what we wanted, and we got you, so that means we got everything.”\n\nWhat’s next for BTS?\n\n2020 brought its share of ups and downs for BTS. They started the year with the release of their album “Map of the Soul: 7,” a retrospective look at their musical journey. Shortly after, due to the coronavirus pandemic, BTS had to postpone their highly anticipated world tour.\n\nLater in the year, they released a self-directed album, a more intimate and personal body of work reflecting on the pandemic, in the form of “BE.” With it, they got a second No. 1 debut on the Hot 100 with the title track “Life Goes On,” the first Korean-language song to top the chart.\n\nIn 2020, BTS was named Time's Entertainer of the Year and one of Wall Street Journal’s Innovators. They were the world's top-selling act and got the No. 1 spot on the IFPI’s Global Artists chart.\n\nLooking ahead to the rest of 2021, their biggest priority is meeting ARMY again. “The vaccines started to roll out,” Jin said. “If the situation allows, our priority would be to hold a concert with our fans. Also, we're working on individual songs and meeting up for group songs as well. So stay tuned for new things to come out.”", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/03/09"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/04/21/bigbang-biggest-boy-band-world-you-probably-havent-heard/83197506/", "title": "BIGBANG: The biggest boy band in the world you probably haven't ...", "text": "Hoai-Tran Bui\n\nUSATODAY\n\nAs the Internet celebrates Lin Manuel-Miranda and Leonardo DiCaprio landing on the Time 100 list, a South Korean boy band was quietly beating everyone from President Barack Obama to Beyoncé on the Time 100 Most Influential of 2016 reader poll. BIGBANG is barely a household name in America, but speak their name in South Korea, and you’ll probably get screams of ardour from their countless fans.\n\nNow they’re gaining recognition in the States, with their ranking on the Time poll and their 2015 world tour stops in New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles selling out despite not releasing any records in the U.S.\n\nIt’s all very exciting for a group that is just reaching its 10th year in the music industry, but that buzz is tinged with bittersweetness, as the three oldest members of the band ready themselves for two-year mandatory military enlistment at the end of this year and next year. Despite the finality of that sentence, BIGBANG is still a boy band worth your time and your devotion.\n\nWho is BIGBANG?\n\nBIGBANG is the biggest K-pop boy band across the Pacific, but to compare them to One Direction would be unfair. Even comparing them to NSYNC or the Backstreet Boys at their peak would be unfair. For one, BIGBANG dabbles in everything from hip-hop, to R&B, electro pop and trap — and for another, they’re no longer boys.\n\nAll men in their late 20s, G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P., Daesung and Seungri buck boy band convention by proving that they are each the most important member of the band.\n\nG-Dragon, the gremlin-like leader and rapper of the group who writes and produces most of the BIGBANG’s songs, has two full-length albums and several EPs — collaborating with artists like Diplo, Skrillex and Missy Elliott — while gracing the front rows of Paris fashion weeks. Lead singer Taeyang boasts two solo albums as well, and has established himself as one of the country’s foremost R&B vocalists. Deep-voiced rapper T.O.P. has formed a fairly successful movie career for himself, while the two youngest, powerhouse singer Daesung and manic mood-maker Seungri, have built out their careers in variety shows and acting.\n\nWhy should we care?\n\nBIGBANG -- unofficially called the “ kings of K-pop ” -- are old pros in the increasingly youthful K-pop industry, still beating out newbie boybands and girl groups every year in both awards and album sales. Their latest album, M.A.D.E., released in 2015 as a series of EPs, was so successful that three separate songs won “Song of the Year” at Korean awards shows.\n\nBIGBANG started out in the cog-like “idol” industry (a term for boy bands and girl groups put through rigorous training for years before they debut) before breaking out in 2008 with their self-written and self-produced songs — until then, a rarity for an “idol” group.\n\nSince then, they’ve been at the forefront of the Korean music wave, beating Britney Spears for the MTV Europe Music Awards’ “Best Worldwide Act” in 2011, cracking the Billboard 200 in 2012, and in 2015, holding the largest K-pop arena tour in U.S. history.\n\nListen to them if you like: Rihanna, The Weeknd, Diplo\n\nWhile they’re not above a good old-fashioned pop song, BIGBANG has become more known for punchy club bangers and trippy electronica. Their roots remain in emotional hip-hop though, with their first self-penned mid-tempo hit Lies still influencing their sound today. Two songs, Bae Bae and Loser from their M.A.D.E. album, embody their range from trap-influenced electro pop to acoustic-leaning hip hop.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/04/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/11/23/grammy-nominations-snubs-and-surprises-2022-awards-drake-bts-jon-batiste/8724506002/", "title": "Grammy 2022 snubs: BTS, Drake shorted; Miley Cyrus shut out", "text": "It wouldn’t be an awards show without an accompanying list of grievances.\n\nBut while the nominations for the 64th annual Grammy Awards certainly validated the Recording Academy’s revived commitment to diversity, some familiar names – and frequent visitors to the Grammy podium – were either shunned or relegated to smaller genre categories.\n\nBillie Eilish, Doja Cat, H.E.R. and Olivia Rodrigo are among the top nominees this year, while jazz-R&B musician Jon Batiste scored a leading 11 nominations.\n\nBut popular chart-toppers including Drake, Miley Cyrus and BTS didn't get much love.\n\n“The thing that keeps me up at night is that we don’t get a chance to honor all of the amazing projects produced every year,” Recording Academy CEO and President Harvey Mason Jr. tells USA TODAY. “I come from the music sphere and know the feeling of putting your heart and soul into a project, hoping to get recognized. But we only have 10 slots and one winner (for each category).”\n\nGrammys 2022: Check out the nominees\n\nMore Grammys: What to know about Jon Batiste\n\nAmong the notable snubs and surprises:\n\nGrammys 2022 snubs\n\nMiley Cyrus\n\nDespite a guest list featuring Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, Dua Lipa and Billy Idol, Cyrus’ seventh studio album, “Plastic Hearts” was blanked. Maybe voters didn’t cotton to her valentine to the ’80s, which is a shame. The release not only brims with Cyrus’ passion for the era but singles “Prisoner” (with Dua Lipa) and “Angels Like You” (featuring a co-write with Ryan Tedder) exemplify her ability to marry authenticity with rock charm.\n\nMachine Gun Kelly\n\nHis fifth studio album, \"Tickets to My Downfall,\" established Kelly as a pop-punkster who formally ditched his hip-hop roots. Still, his slick, guitar-fronted anthems didn't warrant a single nod. But between his ongoing musical partnership with Blink-182's Travis Barker and a hit rock single with \"Papercuts,\" from his upcoming \"Born with Horns\" album, MGK should have a reason for future Grammy consideration.\n\nDrake\n\nPrepare for another round of Drake vs. Kanye. The latter scored an album of the year nod for his much-tinkered with “Donda.” But Drake, despite breaking Spotify records, becoming the eighth artist in Billboard history to earn 10 No. 1 albums with “Certified Lover Boy” and outselling Ye with first-week sales, was only recognized for best rap album and best rap performance (“Way 2 Sexy” with Future and Young Thug). The Weeknd would like a word.\n\nBTS\n\nWe’ll acknowledge that “Butter” isn’t as hearty a slice of pop perfection as its predecessor, “Dynamite.” But it’s still a blissfully fun contribution from the K-pop superstars – not to mention the song of summer that broke a record on Spotify’s global chart for biggest song debut in the platform’s history. So only one nod for best pop duo/group performance? The BTS Army would like a word.\n\nMore awards: Brutally honest reviews of AMAs performances\n\nMegan Thee Stallion\n\nA nomination for best rap performance (“Thot S---”) is acceptable, but the most recent best new artist winner had every reason to expect that her debut album, “Good News,” would earn a few back slaps. The critically acclaimed release bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart, spawned the platinum singles “Body” and “Cry Baby” (with DaBaby) and pushed Megan further into the conversation of notable current female rappers.\n\nAriana Grande\n\nThe double Grammy-winner released “Positions” to reasonable acclaim as she continued to push a sound that mingled pop with R&B and trap. Though the album leaned more heavily on breathy ballads of seduction rather than club thumpers, it still earned her a No. 1 single with the title track, which landed a Grammy nod for best pop solo performance. The album will also compete for best pop vocal album, but there was an assumption it would warrant a bigger Grammy spotlight.\n\nLorde\n\n“Solar Power” is among the works that earned Jack Antonoff his producer of the year nomination, but as for the artist herself? MIA this year. While “Solar Power” wasn’t as adored as her 2013 debut “Pure Heroine” or 2017’s “Melodrama,” it signified a stylistic shift that usually appeals to the Grammy crew. Lorde has called “Solar Power” her “weed album” due to the songs being steeped in hazy psychedelic pop and sparser instrumentation than her past work. Apparently, voters preferred her in the clubs.\n\nTaylor Swift\n\nAs we know from her “Miss Americana” documentary, the album of the year category is the one that Swift covets the most, so no doubt she’s pleased with “Evermore” landing among the year’s heavyweights. But whither “Willow,” which she performed as part of a medley at this year’s Grammy ceremony? Or “No Body, No Crime,” which returned Swift to her country radio roots? The omissions make Swift's album nod seem obligatory, which it certainly is not.\n\nMorgan Wallen\n\nRecording Academy honcho Mason confirmed the embattled country singer was eligible to be nominated (“As long as the requirements meet our standards as far as date and genre, we don’t decide who is eligible,” Mason told USA TODAY). But despite the massive commercial success of “Dangerous: The Double Album,” and hit singles “Sand in My Boots,” “7 Summers” and “More Than My Hometown,” Grammy voters didn’t acknowledge Wallen, who was caught on camera uttering a racial slur in February.\n\nAlicia Keys, Kacey Musgraves, Lizzo\n\nOne year you’re a Grammy darling and the next cycle, a distant memory. Well, not completely. Keys, who has earned an impressive 15 Grammys (amid 29 nominations), popped up only in the best immersive audio album category (recordings released on formats such as DVD-Audio, Atmos and Blu-Ray) for “Alicia” and shares a record of the year nod not for her solo work, but “A Beautiful Noise,” which she performed with Brandi Carlile on “Every Vote Counts: A Celebration of Democracy” (it’s also on the digital version of “Alicia”).\n\nMeanwhile, former album of the year winner Musgraves, whose “Golden Hour” garnered an armload of trophies at the 2019 ceremony between the general and country categories, only nabbed a bit of recognition for “Camera Roll” (best country song and best country solo performance), from her current album (aka \"the divorce one\"), “Star-Crossed.”\n\nAs for Lizzo, she’s just a year removed from scoring her first three career Grammys, but her 2021 single with Cardi B, “Rumors,” didn’t merit any attention.\n\nGrammys 2022 surprises\n\nJon Batiste\n\nFaithful viewers of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” are well-aware of Batiste’s nimble musicianship with his band, Stay Human. But even with the jazz/R&B trailblazer’s sterling resume, his 11 nominations – the most among any artist this year – his isn’t a name expected among the album of the year (“We Are”) and record of the year (“Freedom”) lineups. It’s been a celebratory period for Batiste, who snagged an Academy Award in 2021 for best original score for “Soul.” Despite three previous Grammy nominations, he has yet to win. But with his current multiple nominations spread across jazz, R&B, American roots and classical categories, that will likely change in January.\n\nABBA\n\nWe’re the first to agree that ABBA’s absence among Grammy winners is blasphemous. But we’re also rational enough to realize that while their ’70s and ’80s output – “Mamma Mia,” “Waterloo,” “Dancing Queen” “The Winner Takes It All” – was undoubtedly deserving of awards praise, the single “I Still Have Faith In You,” from the group’s first album (“Voyage”) in 40-plus years, is an odd inclusion for record of the year.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/11/23"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/05/24/summer-concerts-phoenix-harry-styles-lil-tjay-korn-celine-dion/5151095001/", "title": "Your guide to the biggest and best summer concerts as live music ...", "text": "It may not be the back-to-normal summer concert season we were hoping for in 2021, but after more than a year of no live music as the touring industry shut down for COVID-19, seeing even a handful of stars on the schedule at Ak-Chin Pavilion is kinda nice.\n\nThis is the summer concert season as it stands for now. There are new concerts being added every day and other shows being rescheduled a second or third time.\n\nWe'll be updating as necessary throughout the summer, so check back as often as you'd like.\n\nMore live music: These are the biggest shows announced so far in 2021 for Phoenix\n\nFaster Pussycat\n\nTaking their name from the Russ Meyer cult classic “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!,” these glam-metal veterans hit the mainstream with the 1989 release of “Wake Me When It’s Over,” which contained their breakthrough single, “House of Pain.” The only holdout from that era in the current lineup is lead singer Taime Downe, but he sounded as sleazy as ever while adding a darker industrial edge to their sound on “The Power and the Glory Hole,” their only studio release so far this century.\n\nDetails: 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $20-$35. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\nKing Crimson\n\nThis will be King Crimson's seventh year of touring since the prog-rock pioneers returned to live performance in 2014. The show includes material from across the catalog, including many songs from \"In the Court of the Crimson King,\" a seminal 1969 release that's been hailed by the Who's Pete Townshend as an “uncanny masterpiece.” The seven-piece line-up, which includes guitarist Robert Fripp and bassist Tony Levin, will play songs King Crimson never previously played live, as well as new arrangements of Crimson classics. The California Guitar Trio opens.\n\nDetails: 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7. Talking Stick Resort, Loop 101 and Pima Road, Salt River Reservation. $35 and up. 480-850-7734, talkingstickresort.com.\n\nAll Time Low\n\nTaking their name from a song by fellow Warped Tour veterans New Found Glory, these Baltimore pop-punk veterans first got together as high-school kids covering Blink-182. Their biggest hits include a double-platinum breakthrough single, \"Dear Maria, Count Me In,\" \"Weightless,\" \"Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't),\" \"A Love Like War\" and \"Monsters.\" They're touring in support of last year's \"Wake Up, Sunshine.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. $35-$39. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\nPi'erre Bourne\n\nThis up-and-coming trap star rose to fame producing hits for Playboi Carti (\"Magnolia\") and 6ix9ine (\"Gummo\"). He arrives in support of \"The Life of Pi'erre 5,\" his second major-label effort as an artist in his own right. Pitchfork hailed the album as a marked improvement for an act whose skills as a producer tend to overshadow his own rapping. On this latest album, Pitchfork notes, \"His voice meets the production halfway, becoming more than just another detail in an audio mosaic.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 9. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. Sold out. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\nGrupo Firme\n\nAmong the hottest new regional Mexican acts, they've sold-out concerts across the U.S. and Mexico with their dance tunes, norteños and corridos. Billboard writes, \"Grupo Firme is not your typical banda artist.\" They're from Tijuana, not Mazatlán or Culiacán. And they have seven members. Banda ensembles typically have 16, norteño bands five. \"They are somewhere in the middle,\" Billboard writes. \"And it was their fresh take on regional Mexican classics that helped put them on the map.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13. Footprint Center (formerly Phoenix Suns Arena), 201 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix. Verified resale ticket prices vary. 602-379-7800, ticketmaster.com.\n\nCheap Trick\n\n“At Budokan” was Cheap Trick’s moment in the rising sun, the sound of power-pop gems as infectious as “Surrender,” “I Want You to Want Me” and “Clock Strikes Ten” being greeted by Japanese fans who scream like extras from \"A Hard Day's Night.\" The charms of Cheap Trick's catalog run deeper than \"At Budokan,\" of course — from “Dream Police” and \"Voices\" to such oft-forgotten ’80s gems as “Everything Works if You Let It” and “If You Want My Love\" to this year's model, \"In Another World,\" a modern-day power-pop gem whose highlights should sound perfect in the company of those songs that rocked the Budokan.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14. Talking Stick Resort, Loop 101 and Pima Road, Salt River Reservation. $59 and up. 480-850-7734, talkingstickresort.com.\n\nR&B Summer Jam with Ginuwine\n\nGinuwine topped the Billboard R&B charts twice, with 1996's \"Pony\" (which enjoyed a bit of a revival in 2012 when Channing Tatum stripped to it in \"Magic Mike\") and 2001's \"Differences.\" His first two albums, \"Ginuwine... The Bachelor\" and \"100% Ginuwine,\" went double-platinum. He's joined by Case and Sunshine Anderson at an R&B Summer Jam hosted by Tev Grant.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $55-$160. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com.\n\nCypress Hill and Atmosphere\n\nCypress Hill and Atmosphere will split headlining duties throughout the tour. Special guest Z-Trip, winner of the 2009 America’s Best DJ award, will perform before and between headliner sets. In a press release, Slug of Atmosphere said, “This is the longest time we’ve spent off of the stage since 1995. Words can’t express how excited we are to get back out there with our peoples.\"\n\nDetails: 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 15. Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St. $49.50 and up. 480-644-2560, mesaamp.com.\n\nRise Against\n\nLed by singer-guitarist Tim McIlrath, Chicago punks Rise Against bring a string of alternative-radio hits to the table, including \"Prayer of the Refugee,\" \"Re-Education (Through Labor),\" \"Savior,\" \"Help is On the Way,\" \"Make It Stop (September's Children)\" and \"Satellite.\" In a press release, Tim McIlrath said, “A year without live music in a time when we needed it most has been trying for all of us. Live music has been missing from all of our lives for far too long. We can’t wait to fix that....\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $45 and up. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com. This is a limited capacity show with social distancing implemented.\n\n'It doesn't feel like it's just me': Phoenix music scene backs drummer battling cancer\n\nTune-Yards\n\nTune-Yards began as a one-woman show for Merrill Garbus, a consistently inspired pop eccentric who previously scored a ukulele-driven adaptation of Jonathan Swift's \"A Modest Proposal\" titled \"Fat Kid Opera.\" Garbus took the indie blogosphere by storm in late 2009 with \"BiRd-BrAiNs,\" a beyond-intriguing introduction to her idiosyncratic brand of artistry, and somehow managed to retain that otherworldly appeal no matter how familiar we became with her aesthetic as she moved from strength to strength, including this year's model, an art-funk masterpiece called \"sketchy.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $26-$35. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\nRebelution\n\nThe Grammy-nominated reggae-rockers bring their Good Vibes Summer Tour to Phoenix with Steel Pulse, the Green, Keznamdi and DJ Mackle. When Rebelution topped the Billboard reggae charts with “Free Rein\" in 2018, they passed Matisyahu to secure their spot behind Bob Marley with the second-most appearances at No. 1 on that chart. And they grooved their way to No. 1 again a year later with \"Rebelution Vinyl Box Set.\"\n\nDetails: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $34 and up. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com. This is a limited capacity show with social distancing implemented.\n\nThe Mavericks and Los Lobos\n\nThis show has been billed as \"a night of Latin-infused country and rock 'n' roll.\" But they could just as easily have called it \"a chance to see two of the most consistently inspired live acts of the past four decades.\" The Mavericks' Raul Malo is one of country music's most distinctive vocalists, blessed with a soulful Roy Orbison-esque tenor. Los Lobos may be best remembered in the mainstream as the guys who did the soundtrack to \"La Bamba.\" But those Ritchie Valens covers barely scratch the surface of their artistry.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20. Talking Stick Resort, Loop 101 and Pima Road, Salt River Reservation. $30-$55. 480-850-7734, talkingstickresort.com.\n\nAmigo the Devil\n\nAmigo the Devil is Danny Kiranos, a singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas, whose second album, \"Born Against,\" certainly feels like the arrival of a major talent. He sets the tone by channeling the grandeur of Roy Orbison and Arcade Fire's \"Funeral\" in an opening track that builds to a crescendo with an overwrought delivery of \"Tell me the story of lonely/ I'll show you the pain of getting clean.\" Then he turns around and hits you with the Tom Waits-worthy gypsy-punk of \"Quiet as a Rat,\" in which the body of a girl who overdoses is discovered in the photo booth at last call. \"The pictures all showed her terrified and a loner,\" he sings, \"while everyone cried, 'What a good friend she was.'\" And nearly every song that follows has moments as striking as that.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21. Nile Theater, 105 W. Main St., Mesa. $17.50 in advance. theniletheater.com.\n\nThe Tubes\n\nThe Tubes spent the ’70s touring the country with strippers and sex toys as part of what Rolling Stone magazine later looked back on as “one of the wildest stage shows in the business (verging at times on soft-core pornography).” Then, they started crossing over to the mainstream with \"Talk to Ya Later\" and \"She's a Beauty,\" a Top 10 smash inspired by singer Fee Waybill's attempt to have an actual conversation with a stripper in a booth that promised, \"Pay A Dollar, Talk to a Naked Girl.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21. Talking Stick Resort, Loop 101 and Pima Road, Salt River Reservation. $25-$45. 480-850-7734, talkingstickresort.com.\n\nNeko Case\n\nThe acclaimed singer-songwriter, who often lives and/or records in Tucson, earned a spot on Paste magazine's list of the 50 best albums of 2018 with her latest album, \"Hell-On.\" The Guardian called it \"yet another high point in Case’s unstintingly stirring career.\" A good part of that stirring career has been spent at the helm of Canadian indie-pop supergroup the New Pornographers, sharing the spotlight with A.C. Newman, who opens this show (and will hopefully join her on stage).\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 22. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. $35-$55. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\nFlaming Lips\n\nIt takes a certain breed of entertainer to lead an audience on an emotional journey from the smile-inducing spectacle of “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1,” surrounded by giant inflatables, to the existential majesty of “Do You Realize??,” which brought this reviewer to actual tears. And I’m pretty sure the Flaming Lips would be the only entertainers in that certain breed. There's nothing quite like a Flaming Lips concert, thanks in large part to the beyond-bizarre, enigmatic magnetism of the great Wayne Coyne. And last year's \"American Head\" is among the greatest psychedelic headphone records of the century.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 23. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $40 and up. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\nDierks Bentley\n\nThe Phoenix native brings his Beers on Me Tour to Ak-Chin Pavilion with Riley Green and Parker McCollum. The tour takes its name from a song the country singer wrote a few months back with friends. As Bentley sees it, \"It’s a pretty simple recipe for summer. Get your friends together, have a round or two and dive into some great country music. That’s exactly what Riley, Parker and I plan on doing out there on the road with our fans.”\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $41 and up. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.\n\nHerman's Hermits\n\nHerman's Hermits were the most consistent U.S. hitmakers of the British Invasion, sending two songs all the way to No. 1, the melancholy \"Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter\" and \"I'm Henry VIII, I Am,\" the tale of the eighth bloke named Henry to marry the widow next door. The group's original lead singer, Peter Noone, is sure to dust off those two crowd-pleasers as well as hits as timeless as \"I'm Into Something Good,\" \"Can't You Hear My Heartbeat\" and \"There's a Kind of Hush.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27. Talking Stick Resort, Loop 101 and Pima Road, Salt River Reservation. $45=$90. 480-850-7734, talkingstickresort.com.\n\nThe Milk Carton Kids\n\nAn NPR reviewer once described this understated California duo's approach to the post-Mumford bluegrass revival as \"Gillian Welch & David Rawlings meets Simon & Garfunkel with a splash of the Everly Brothers,\" which seems about right. They arrive in continued support of \"The Only Ones,\" a mini-album that did nothing to slow down the Everly Brothers comparisons as they made their way through such obvious highlights as the bittersweet title track about faking it \"like we aren't the only ones\" and \"My Name is Ana,\" the ballad of a girl who lives in the attic with her family. They're joined by Haley Heynderickx.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, and Saturday, Aug. 28. MIM Music Theater, Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. $44.50-$64.50. 480-478-6000, mim.org.\n\nCoheed and Cambria with the Used\n\nCoheed and Cambria may be the most consistently conceptual recording artists in the history of rock and roll. Their latest album, \"Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures,\" was hailed as a welcome return to the Armory Wars concept, an ongoing saga that's run through almost their entire catalog. The Used arrive in continued support of last year's \"Heartwork.\" This is a co-headlining tour.\n\nDetails: 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28. Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St. $49.50 and up. 480-644-2560, mesaamp.com.\n\nMegadeth and Lamb of God\n\nThis is Megadeth's first North American tour since 2017, marking singer-guitarist Dave Mustaine’s return to the stage following his diagnosis of and recovery from throat cancer. A new Megadeth album, \"The Sick, The Dying… and The Dead!,\" is expected to arrive at some point this year. It's their first release since 2016's \"Dystopia.\" In addition to co-headliners Lamb of God, they're joined by Trivium and In Flames.\n\nDetails: 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $49.50 and up. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com. This is a limited capacity show with social distancing implemented.\n\nGuns N' Roses\n\nGuns N' Roses are headed to Phoenix with Mammoth WVH, led by Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang Van Halen. This is GNR's first Valley concert since August 2016, when the Not in this... Lifetime Tour, which marked the return of Slash and Duff McKagan, played the stadium. It had been 20 years since Slash abandoned ship and 19 since McKagan followed suit, leaving Axl Rose to carry on as the last member standing with any connection to that classic 1987 breakthrough, \"Appetite for Destruction.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 30. Footprint Center (formerly Phoenix Suns Arena), 201 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix. $34.50 and up. 602-379-7800, ticketmaster.com.\n\nBeyond BTS: Here's your guide to K-pop and how it got so popular\n\nAlan Parsons Live Project\n\nParsons began his career as an assistant engineer at Abbey Road Studios working on projects such as the Beatles’ \"Abbey Road\" and \"Let It Be,\" going on to produce Pink Floyd’s \"The Dark Side of the Moon.\" The Alan Parsons Project released 10 concept albums between 1976-1987, selling more than 50 million albums worldwide while scoring big pop hits with \"Eye in the Sky,\" “Time” and \"Don't Answer Me.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 31. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $40 and up. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com. Masks are optional but strongly encouraged. Social distancing is encouraged in common areas like restrooms, lobbies, bars and concession stands.\n\nLindsey Stirling\n\nThe Gilbert native is bringing her long-delayed Artemis Tour to Phoenix with special guest Kiesza. “Not only am I over the moon about finally bringing my Artemis tour to the U.S. but I’m excited to be a part of the first wave of tours going out post lockdown,\" Stirling says. \"People are craving connection so so badly, so as the world reopens, I know this is going to be a magical time we all remember for the rest of our lives.”\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $29.50 and up. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com. This is a limited capacity show with social distancing implemented.\n\nRauw Alejandro\n\nIn early 2019, Billboard heralded this Puerto Rican Reggaeton sensation as a Latin Artist on the Rise and heir apparent to Ozuna, Nicky Jam and Daddy Yankee. In June, he lived up to the promise of that early wave of hype by topping Billboard's Latin album chart with \"Vice Versa,\" a sophomore effort whose lead single \"Todo de Ti,\" became his first Top 40 entry on the Hot 100.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $67-$117. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com.\n\nPepe Aguilar\n\nThis Glendale stop is one of 15 new dates added to the singer's Jaripeo sin Fronteras Tour, which spent two years filling every venue it played across the U.S. and Mexico. The tour is a massive production with more than 40 musicians on stage, combining music with bullfighting and rodeo events and equestrian acrobatic performances. Aguilar has won four Grammys and five Latin Grammys.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4. Gila River Arena, 9400 W. Maryland Ave., Glendale. $45.50 and up. 623-772-3800, ticketmaster.com. Social distancing of at least 6 feet is encouraged when possible.\n\nMorris Day & the Time\n\nThis year marks the 40th anniversary of Morris Day's first album with the Time, a self-titled effort of synthesizer-driven party-funk written by Prince and members of the Revolution. That album sent two singles to the upper reaches of the Billboard R&B charts. But it was three years later that he really grabbed the mainstream by the collar with a star turn in the movie \"Purple Rain,\" thanks to stellar performances of \"Jungle Love\" and \"The Bird.\"\n\nDetails: 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $40 and up. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com. Masks are optional but strongly encouraged. Social distancing is encouraged in common areas like restrooms, lobbies, bars and concession stands but apparently not in the theater itself.\n\nNew Found Glory/Simple Plan\n\nNew Found Glory have been called \"the greatest pop-punk band in history\" by Bad Religion's own Brett Gurewitz, who scooped them up for Epitaph after they walked out on Geffen. They're here in continued support of \"Forever + Ever x Infinity,\" a 2020 album on their latest label, Hopeless Records. Kerrang! responded to the effort with \"Trends come and go, but energy, earnestness and tales of love and friendship, well told, will never go out of style.\" This is a co-headlining tour with Simple Plan.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $33. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\nStyx\n\nLongtime members Tommy Shaw and James \"JY\" Young bring the latest edition of Styx to town for two nights on the rotating stage of the historic Celebrity Theatre. Concert goers can expect to hear such Styx gems as “The Grand Illusion,” “Blue Collar Man,” “Lady,” “Miss America,” “Crystal Ball,” “Come Sail Away” and “Renegade” as well as new material from their upcoming 17th studio album, \"Crash of the Crown.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8, and Thursday, Sept. 9. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $40-$204. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com. Masks are optional, but strongly encouraged. Social distancing is encouraged in common areas like restrooms, lobbies, bars and concession stands but apparently not in the theater itself.\n\nGogol Bordello\n\nThese gypsy-punk sensations from the Lower East Side of Manhattan have a reputation for outrageously theatrical performances. Their latest album, 2017's freewheeling, frequently Dylanesque \"Seekers and Finders,\" was hailed in Magnet magazine as \"the straight cannonball the world's premier Gypsy punks haven't quite offered since 2005's 'Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike' itself.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 6. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. $30. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\nGary Clark Jr.\n\nNamed \"Best young gun\" eight years ago in Rolling Stone, this Austin guitarist has sent three consecutive albums — \"Black and Blu,\" \"The Story of Sonny Boy Slim\" and \"This Land\" — to the Top 10 on the Billboard album charts, a rarity for blues. \"This Land\" earned the star three Grammys, with the album winning Best Contemporary Blues Album while the title track picked up Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. $50-$55. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\nDaughtry\n\nChris Daughtry finished fourth on Season 5 of \"American Idol,\" but only two \"Idol\" winners — Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson — have sold more albums. The post-grunge singer and the band that bears his name arrive in continued support of \"Cage to Rattle,\" their fifth consecutive release to crack the Top 10 on the Billboard album chart.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9. Talking Stick Resort, Loop 101 and Pima Road, Salt River Reservation. $35 and up. 480-850-7734, talkingstickresort.com. Temperature checks upon entry. No masks are required if fully vaccinated. Social distancing is appropriately marked.\n\nMega 104.3 20th Year Anniversary Bash\n\nZapp will headline this 20th-anniversary bash for Mega 104.3. The funk legends from Dayton, Ohio, were initially led by the late Roger Troutman and known for their use of the talk-box effect. Their breakthrough single, \"More Bounce to the Ounce,\" was co-produced by P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins. Other hit singles included the R&B chart-topper \"Dance Floor,\" \"Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)\" and \"I Can Make You Dance.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10. Footprint Center (formerly Phoenix Suns Arena), 201 E. Jefferson St., Phoenix. $29.50 and up. 602-379-7800, ticketmaster.com.\n\nSlightly Stoopid\n\nSigned by Bradley Nowell of Sublime while still in high school, these San Diego rockers have summed up what they do as a fusion of folk, rock, reggae and blues with hip-hop, funk, metal and punk. They bring three modern-rock hits to the table — 2007's million-selling \"2 A.M.,\" \"Top of the World\" and \"The Prophet.\" They're joined by Fortunate Youth and the Elovaters.\n\nDetails: 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10. Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St. $59. 480-644-2560, mesaamp.com.\n\nWynonna & the Big Noise\n\nAs the younger half of the mother-daughter act the Judds, Wynonna topped the country charts with 14 singles, taking home five Grammys, seven ACM Awards and nine CMA Awards. And the hits kept coming when she struck out on her own in 1992, her first three singles hitting No. 1. Her latest album, released in 2016, is \"Wynonna & the Big Noise,\" which featured guest appearances by Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Jason Isbell and the Eagles' Timothy B. Schmit.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com.\n\nPat Benatar & Neil Giraldo\n\nThis four-time Grammy winner broke through on the eve of the '80s with \"Heartbreaker,\" the first of three hit singles from her platinum debut \"In the Heat of the Night.\" And the hits kept coming through the '80s, from \"You Better Run\" and \"Hit Me With Your Best Shot,\" to \"Treat Me Right,\" \"Shadows of the Nights,\" \"Love is a Battlefield\" and \"We Belong.\" She's joined, as always, by her husband, lead guitarist Neil Giraldo.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $58 and up. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com.\n\nCounting Crows\n\nAdam Duritz and company are touring in support of \"Butter Miracle, Suite One,\" their first release in nearly seven years. A four-track, nineteen-minute suite, the album was preceded by a song called \"Elevator Boots,\" summed up in Rolling Stone as \"a melodic, wistful ode to life on tour, with a sound that somehow manages to bridge the gap between the Band and Mott the Hoople.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 12. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com.\n\nKorn\n\nThese Grammy-winning metal veterans arrive in continued support of 2019's \"The Nothing,\" which became their 14th Top 10 entry on the Billboard album chart, led by singles “You’ll Never Find Me,” “Can You Hear Me,” and “Cold.” Noisey praised the album for continuing \"Korn’s mission of probing the hidden corners and harsh realities of life within a shrouded discordant darkness.\" They're joined by Staind.\n\nDetails: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $39.50 and up. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.\n\nNEEDTOBREATHE\n\nThe Christian rockers on touring on \"Into the Mystery,\" an album created in a historic house-turned-studio in Tennessee, where the bandmates lived and worked together for three weeks of what they refer to as extended summer camp. “Probably more than any other record of ours, it was a product of what was going on in the world and our environment,\" they say. \"It felt like we got this opportunity to make a record like a family.” They're joined by Switchfoot and the New Respects.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $35 and up. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com. This is a limited capacity show with social distancing implemented.\n\nBully\n\nAlicia Bognanno's expressive vocal range was put to brilliant use on last year's \"Sugaregg,\" a cathartic explosion of raw emotion and ragged guitars that effortlessly taps into the more abrasive side of American indie-rock from the '90s. As Clash magazine summed up the album's appeal, \"The rhythmic and melodic intensity projected here is believable, and the same applies to her Cobain-esque vocals and Hole-resembling screams.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $20; $17 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\nCity and Colour\n\nSinger-songwriter Dallas Green of Canadian screamo sensations Alexisonfire, who famously described their music as the sound of two Catholic high-school girls in mid-knife-fight, released his first album as City and Colour in 2005 as an outlet for a more subdued approach to self-expression. He's here in continued support of \"A Pill for Loneliness,\" an achingly beautiful headphone album that effortlessly lives up to the promise of its title.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13. Orpheum Theatre, 203 W. Adams St., Phoenix. $48. 800-282-4842, etix.com.\n\nPhoenix concert dates announced: Lady A, Jonas Brothers, Styx, 311 and more\n\nMavis Staples\n\nWhen Mavis Staples was a little girl, her father used to stand her on a chair so crowds who flocked to hear the Staple Singers could get a decent look at the source of that powerful vocal. By the time she finished high school, they were touring on \"Uncloudy Day.\" A lifetime later, Staples stands among the most consistently inspired artists of her generation, having added a jaw-dropping string of modern gospel-flavored classics to her legacy, from 2007's Ry Cooder-produced \"We'll Never Turn Back\" to \"We Get By.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St. $45-$75. 480-499-8587, scottsdaleperformingarts.org.\n\nJukebox the Ghost\n\nIs it even possible to sound more like Queen than these Brooklyn pop sensations have managed on \"Off to the Races?\" Not based on anything I've heard – although, to be fair, at times they also venture winningly into the realm of Billy Joel with hints of Ben Folds (the Bizarro World Billy Joel). PopMatters says, \"After two albums of leaning increasingly heavily into the pop side of their sound, 'Off to the Races' finds the band reclaiming some of the weirder sensibilities that made their early work such a treat.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $22. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\nGlass Animals\n\nThe British rockers are headed to Phoenix in support of last year's \"Dreamland,\" which debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard album chart and spun off four Top 40 entries on the Billboard rock chart. NME responded to the album with a rave, proclaiming it \"a sun-drenched record of summer tunes that will sound even better when heard at festivals with a tinnie in hand. Yet look behind glittering shells of these tunes and you’ll find hugely personal stories, told with new strength and resilience.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $49 and up. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com. This is a limited capacity show with social distancing implemented.\n\nPerfume Genius\n\nThere's a quivering vulnerability to the more dramatic tracks on last year's aptly titled \"Set My Heart on Fire Immediately\" that can feel a bit like Mike Hadreas channeling Roy Orbison. This is deeply felt music that underscores the depth of the singer's emotions with richly textured arrangements. It's also the crowning achievement to date from an artist whose first album, \"Learning,\" inspired Drowned in Sound to proclaim it a work \"of catharsis and rare, redemptive beauty, which ranks as one of the most uniquely endearing and quietly forceful debut albums of recent years.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $27. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\nLady A\n\nThe What a Song Can Do Tour is the country trio's first since dropping Antebellum from their name last summer, saying they were both “regretful and embarrassed” not to have taken the association with slavery into account. In a press release, they said, \"This tour is really going to be about letting our fans know how much they mean to us and what music has done for all of us over the last year...which is the essence of the tour name.\" They're joined by Carly Pearce, Niko Moon and Tenille Arts.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.\n\nKevin Gates\n\nThis Baton Rouge rapper followed through on a string of career-building mixtapes by hitting the charts at No. 2 with his first proper studio album, 2016's double-platinum \"Islah.\" That album spawned his first Top 40 entry on the Billboard Hot 100, the quadruple-platinum \"2 Phones.\" Other hits include \"I Don't Get Tired,\" \"Really Really,\" \"Time For That\" and \"Me Too.\" He arrives in support of the forthcoming \"Khaza\" album.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $40 and up. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com. This concert is standing-room-only on the floor with limited seating on the balcony.\n\nPitbull\n\nMr. Worldwide will be joined on the I Feel Good Tour by special guest Iggy Azalea, showcasing songs from his forthcoming English album, due this year, for the first time live while also dusting off the massive hits one might expect when Pitbull comes to town. Those hits include the Top 5 smash \"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho),\" the chart-topping \"Give Me Everything\" and \"Feel This Moment.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.\n\nJackson Browne: An Evening With\n\nThis Rock and Roll Hall of Famer launched his career with a breakthrough called \"Doctor My Eyes\" in the early ’70s, following through with such Top 40 singles as \"Running on Empty,\" his cover of \"Stay\" (a doo-wop hit for Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs), \"Boulevard,\" \"Somebody's Baby\" and \"Lawyers in Love.\" He's touring with his full band in support a new album \"Downhill From Everywhere,\" which was preceded by \"My Cleveland Heart,\" a song whose video features a cameo by Phoebe Bridgers.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, and Sunday, Sept. 18. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com.\n\nTame Impala\n\nKevin Parker returns to the Valley on his biggest tour yet in support of \"The Slow Rush,\" an intoxicating masterpiece of dreamy psychedelic disco grooves that NME declared \"a 57-minute flex of every musical muscle in Parker’s body.\" Two of the funkier highlights from the album, \"Lost in Yesterday\" and \"Is It True,\" topped the adult alternative airplay charts here in the States. Perfume Genius will open.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18. Gila River Arena, 9400 W. Maryland Ave., Glendale. $47.75 and up. 623-772-3800, ticketmaster.com. Social distancing of at least 6 feet is encouraged when possible.\n\nBoots in the Park with Jon Pardi\n\nIt makes sense that Jon Pardi would headline a concert called Boots in the Park. He's topped the country airplays chart three times since breaking through with 2012's \"Head Over Boots\" and \"Dirt on My Boots.\" He's joined by special guests Jameson Rodgers, Elvie Shane and more to be announced for a day of BBQ, cold beers, art installations and more.\n\nDetails: 12 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18. Tempe Beach Park, 80 W. Rio Salado Parkway. $59-$2,750. eventbrite.com.\n\nModest Mouse\n\nThe indie-rock legends are touring the States in support of their first album in six years, \"The Golden Casket.\" It follows “Strangers to Ourselves,” an album that featured an aerial image of Mesa’s Venture Out RV Resort on its cover. The AV Club called that album \"a comfortably familiar return to the less-than-comfortable mix of weighty lyrics and jittery, crazy-eyed indie rock that’s sustained Modest Mouse’s illustrious career.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $39.99 and up. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com.\n\nThe Monkees Farewell Tour\n\nMichael Nesmith and Micky Dolenz are bringing their Monkees farewell tour to Phoenix for one final spin on the rotating stage of the Celebrity. Dolenz sang a number of the Monkees’ biggest hits, from “I’m A Believer” and “Last Train To Clarksville” to “Pleasant Valley Sunday” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.” Nesmith wrote such Monkees gems as “Mary, Mary,” “Papa Gene’s Blues,” “You Just May Be The One” and “Listen To The Band\" before launching a post-Monkees solo career as a pioneering country rocker.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 19. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $40-$204. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com. Masks are optional, but strongly encouraged. Social distancing is encouraged in common areas like restrooms, lobbies, bars and concession stands.\n\nGary Numan\n\nThis New Wave legend may be thought of as a one-hit-wonder in the States, where \"Cars\" is destined to remain his mainstream calling card. But there is so much more to Numan's legacy than that. An electronic music pioneer whose impact on '90s industrial rock is undeniable, he was honored in 2017 with the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. And his recent work would seem shockingly relevant to anyone who hadn't paid attention to his music since the '80s, from 2017's \"Savage (Songs From A Broken World)\" to the brooding brilliance of \"Intruder.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 20. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $30. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\nLil Baby\n\nThe Atlanta rapper will be joined by Lil Durk, performing songs from \"The Voice of the Heroes,\" their recent collaborative album that topped the Billboard album chart. Lil Baby broke through in 2017 with the platinum \"My Dawg,\" going onto multi-platinum success with \"Freestyle,\" \"Yes Indeed,\" \"Drip Too Hard,\" \"Close Friends\" and \"Woah.\" He was named Artist of the Year at the 2020 Apple Music Awards.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.\n\nReach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.\n\nSupport local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/05/24"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2018/09/05/concerts-phoenix-september-2018/1118264002/", "title": "Concerts in Phoenix in September 2018: Dierks Bentley, J Balvin", "text": "Jay-Z and Beyonce brought their co-headlining tour to University of Phoenix Stadium in a month that will feature Valley concerts by Dierks Bentley, Death Cab for Cutie and J Balvin.\n\n9/28: Kidz Bop\n\nThe Kidz Bop Kids, who do kid-friendly versions of contemporary pop hits, have been Billboard’s top-ranked children’s artist for the past eight consecutive years (2010 – 2017).\n\nFour Kidz Bop Kids will take the stage for each performance, which will include a parent lip-sync battle to ’90s hits. Let's keep it clean up there, parents.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $35 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/28: Kandace Springs\n\nThis 27-year-old singer-songwriter, who cites Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Roberta Flack as heroes, is touring in support of a Blue Note Records debut called \"Soul Eyes,\" her sound a blend of jazz and soul.\n\nShe was chosen by Prince to perform at Paisley Park for the 30th Anniversary of \"Purple Rain.\" And Prince is said to have remarked that “Kandace has a voice that could melt snow.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.lm. Friday, Sept. 28. Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. $38.50-$48.50. 480-478-6000, themim.org.\n\n9/29: Dierks Bentley\n\nThe Mountain High Tour takes its name from the Phoenix native's fourth consecutive release to top the Billboard country charts, \"The Mountain.\" The singer's ninth album since signing to Capitol Nashville spawned his latest hit to top the country airplay charts, \"Woman, Amen.\" He's previously topped that chart with the platinum smashes \"I Hold On,\" \"Drunk on a Plane,\" \"Somewhere on a Beach\" and \"Different For Girls.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $39 and up. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.\n\n9/29: J Balvin\n\nThe Colombian superstar is on tour in support of \"Virbas,\" his second consecutive effort to top the U.S. Latin charts. The singer topped the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year as a featured guest (with Bad Bunny) on the double-platinum Cardi B hit \"I Like It Like That.\" His other big crossover hit in the States is \"Mi Gente.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $49 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/29: Flogging Molly/Dropkick Murphys\n\nThese punk veterans share an Irish heritage, a working-class ethos and one would assume several million fans. And yet, this is their first time joining forces on a co-headlining tour more than two decades deep into both acts' careers.\n\nThe Omaha Daily Herald raved about the first leg of the tour, declaring it \"the pinnacle of a genre that mixes up punk rock and Irish folk, raging guitars and tin whistle, head-banging beats and bagpipes.\"\n\nDetails: 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29. Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St., Mesa. $49.50. 480-644-2560, luckymanonline.com and mesaamp.com.\n\n9/29: The Breeders\n\nThey're back on the road in support of “All Nerve,” their first album in 10 years with the classic “Last Splash” lineup – Kim Deal of the Pixies on lead vocals, sister Kelley Deal on harmonies and guitar, Josephine Wiggs on bass, and Jim Macpherson on drums. And if you liked the way they sounded in the ‘90s, you will like the way they sound on this year’s model. It’s no retread. It just taps into the spirit of the “Last Splash” days and takes it somewhere new, with all the feedback and off-kilter hooks you could want.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $30-$60. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\n9/29: Death Cab for Cutie\n\nTheir flair for pretty, melancholy ballads served them well when songs from 2003's \"Transatlanticism\" started popping up on TV shows, from \"Six Feet Under\" to \"The O.C.\" By 2005, they'd signed a major-label deal and found a new home on alternative radio with \"Soul Meets Body,\" the first of nine Top 10 hits on that format, including the chart-topping \"You are a Tourist.”\n\nThis show, which also features Charly Bliss, is in support of \"Thank You For Today.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. SOLD OUT. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\n9/29: The Early November\n\nThese East Coast emo veterans are about to drop the long-awaited followup to \"Imbue,\" a 2015 album on which they blurred the lines between 21st Century emo and '70s power-pop with just a hint of '90s power-pop. Think Superdrag covering Cheap Trick with an eye toward stealing fans from Get Up Kids. Alternative Press said that last album \"transcended to a newfound comfort, creating the most natural music of their career.\"\n\nDetails: 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29. Nile Theater, 105 W. Main St., Mesa. $20; $17 in advance. niletheater.com.\n\n9/29-30: Goldrush Music Festival\n\nThe second annual Goldrush Music Festival features headlining sets by Deadmau5, Steve Aoki and Illenium. The lineup is a blend of EDM and hip-hop acts, with Kevin Gates, Vince Staples, Black Tiger Sex Machine, Slushii, Chris Lake, Jpegmafia, Juice WRLD, Liquid Stranger, Matroda, Medasin, Said The Sky, Tokimonsta, Wifisfuneral, YOOKiE and Yung Pinch.\n\nDetails: 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, and Sunday, Sept. 30. Rawhide, 5700 W. North Loop Road, Gila River Reservation. $99 Saturday; $89 Sunday; $179 weekend pass. 480-502-5600; rawhide.com.\n\nPHOTOS OF GOLDRUSH MUSIC FESTIVAL:\n\n9/30: Culture Club\n\nGet your '80s nostalgia fix when the Life Tour brings Boy George and Culture Club back to the Valley for a show that also features celebrated New Wave icons the B-52's and Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins fame.\n\nThe tour takes its name from a forthcoming Culture Club album, their first U.S. release since \"From Luxury to Heartache\" hit the streets of 1986 and added \"Move Away\" to a string of hits that started strong with \"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?\"\n\nDetails: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30. Talking Stick Resort, 9800 E. Talking Stick Way, Scottsdale. $40 and up. ticketmaster.com.\n\n9/30: Johnny Marr\n\nThere's a reason he took home the NME Godlike Genius Award. And it goes beyond having launched his career as the guitarist whose sound and vision helped define the magic of the Smiths.\n\nHe's also worked with the Pretenders, The The, Modest Mouse and Electronic, among others, in addition to launching a solo career, at long last, with \"The Messenger\" in 2013. He arrives in support of this year's model, \"Call the Comet.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $35-$65. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\n9/30: The Goo Goo Dolls\n\nThey're celebrating the 20th anniversary of \"Dizzy Up the Girl,\" the quadruple-platinum triumph that sent two singles – \"Slide\" and \"Iris,\" a tender ballad included on the soundtrack to \"City of Angels\" – to the top at alternative radio and Adult Top 40.\n\nThey'll be performing the entire album followed by an additional set packed with hits and surprises. It's billed as \"An Evening with the Goo Goo Dolls,\" so don't be late hoping to blow off the opening act. There is no opener.\n\nDetails: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. $55-$449.50. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\n9/30: Al Di Meola\n\nThe acclaimed guitarist rose to fame as a member of Chick Corea's Return to Forever, playing on \"Where Have I Known You Before,\" \"No Mystery\" and \"Romantic Warrior.\"\n\nHe went on to do memorable work with Return to Forever bassist Stanley Clarke, Jan Hammer, Jean-Luc Ponty and John McLaughlin.\n\nThis tour is in support of Di Meola's latest album, \"Opus,\" with Dream Theater's Jordan Rudess.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 30. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. Second St. $39-$75. 480-499-8587, scottsdaleperformingarts.org.\n\nPAST EVENTS\n\n9/4: Leon Bridges\n\nWhen Bridges arrived on the scene in 2015 with \"Coming Home,\" he explained in a press release, \"I'm not saying I can hold a candle to any soul musician from the '50s and '60s, but I want to carry the torch.\" And he carried it well.\n\nThe Grammy-nominated R&B recording artist arrives in support of a sophomore album titled \"Good Thing.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $36.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/4: Andrew W.K.\n\nThe man who gave you “Party Hard” gets the party restarted on “You’re Not Alone,” his first album in more than a decade (unless you count his New Age instrumentals or the ones that only came out in Japan).\n\nAfter setting the tone with “The Power of Partying,” he really hits his stride on “Music Is Worth Living For,” the first of several quasi-operatic self-help anthems that bring on the bombast like someone who couldn’t decide between ripping off Meat Loaf and channeling Queen (with a slight hint of Abba).\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 4. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $23; $19.50 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\n9/5: Scorpions and Queensryche\n\nYou may wonder why they're calling this the Crazy World Tour.\n\nKlaus Meine explained in a press release, “When our album 'Crazy World' was released back in ’91, right at the end of the cold war, we toured around a world that was pretty crazy back then, but there was so much hope in the air for a more peaceful future.\n\n\"Now 27 years later, things are getting more crazy every other day. After all these years ‘Crazy World’ is still a good motto for our world tour.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $48.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/5: Gary Numan\n\nThis New Wave legend may be thought of as a one-hit wonder in the States, where \"Cars\" is destined to remain his calling card. But there's more to Numan's legacy than that. An electronic music pioneer, he was honored in 2017 with the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.\n\nAnd his latest album, last year's \"Savage (Songs From A Broken World),\" would seem shockingly relevant to anyone who hadn't paid attention to his music since the '80s.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. SOLD OUT. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\n9/6: Cut Copy\n\nLed by DJ Dan Whitford, these indietronica sensations broke through in 2008 with their second album, \"In Ghost Colours,\" which topped the charts in their native Australia and landed in the Top 5 on year-end album lists at Drowned in Sound and Pitchfork. Last year's \"Haiku From Zero,\" their fifth full-length effort, expanded the scope of their sound, a departure made clear from the use of an African kalimba on the first track. The Line of Best Fit called the album \"a masterclass in assuredness.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $35; $30 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\n9/7: Journey and Def Leppard\n\nThis is not the first time these two acts have toured together. As Def Leppard’s Rick Savage recalls, \"Twelve years ago, we embarked on a US tour with Journey and it was an absolute blast. Believe me, this will be even more spectacular.\"\n\nThis tour follows Journey's induction this year to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which noted, \"Call it what you will – arena rock, stadium rock, concert rock – the music of Journey defined the big rock and roll sound of the late 1970s and early 1980s.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $174.75 and up. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.\n\nJOURNEY AND DEF LEPPARD IN PHOENIX 2018:\n\n9/7: Rebelution\n\nThese Santa Barbara reggae-rockers have topped the Billboard reggae album chart with five consecutive releases, \"Bright Side of Life,\" \"Peace of Mind,\" “Count Me In” (the biggest-selling reggae album of 2014), \"Falling Into Place\" and \"Live at Red Rocks.\"\n\nThey play between 100 and 120 shows a year, and you can definitely feel that when you see them live. They're joined by Stephen Marley, Common Kings, Zion I and DJ Mackle.\n\nDetails: 5:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7. Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St., Mesa. $35. 480-644-2560, luckymanonline.com and mesaamp.com.\n\n9/7: Buckcherry\n\nA cowbell-rocking celebration of rock and roll's sleaziest impulses, their best music swaggers through all the right echoes of everything from AC/DC to the Black Crowes, Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses, led by Josh Todd's gritty rasp. They topped the mainstream-rock charts their first time at bat, with the slashing up-with-cocaine anthem \"Lit Up,\" back in 1999. Other hits include the double-platinum \"Crazy B----\" and the platinum \"Sorry.\" This tour also features P.O.D., Lit and Alien Ant Farm.\n\nDetails: 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 7. BLK Live, 7301 E. Butherus Dr., Scottsdale. $45-$1,000. 480-494-5069, blkliveaz.com.\n\n9/7: Butch Walker\n\nThe former lead singer of Marvelous 3 brought home raves in 2016 for his eighth solo album, \"Stay Gold,\" a country-rock effort Alternative Press hailed as \"heart-on-sleeve Americana that’s equal parts earnest and exuberant.\"\n\nThe album follows the acclaimed \"Afraid of Ghosts,\" an effort haunted by the death of Walker's father, and this time around, Walker felt it was important to deliver a record that felt more like a celebration fueled by bittersweet nostalgia.\n\nDetails: Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $25-$38. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\n9/8: Eagles\n\nThis is the Eagles' first tour since the death of Glenn Frey. It features three surviving members – Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit – with a little help from the great Vince Gill and Frey's son, Deacon.\n\nPivotal players on the country-rock scene of the early '70s, the Eagles expanded the scope of their sound to great effect on \"Hotel California,\" which, after more than 40 years, remains among the 20 biggest-selling albums in U.S. history.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $156 and up. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.\n\nPHOTOS OF EAGLES IN PHOENIX 2018:\n\n9/8: Murder By Death\n\nAdam Turla has the perfect voice for the noirish American gothic of Murder by Death, his snarling baritone at times recalling Johnny Cash with hints of Nick Cave. Magnet said their latest album, \"Big Dark Love,\" is \"best experienced in depressed darkness while contemplating your existence.\" True, but I would think that same material would hold up really well with Turla singing it directly at you in a local rock club.\n\nThey're joined by the amazing William Elliott Whitmore.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $25; $23 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\n9/9: Bishop Briggs\n\nBorn in London to Scottish parents, this L.A. singer-songwriter hit the rock and alternative radio formats hard in 2016 with a handclap-driven triumph of post-Adele soul titled \"River,\" which kicked off her promising self-titled debut EP.\n\n\"River\" also appeared on her breathtaking full-length debut, \"Church of Scars,\" which hit the charts at No. 29 not long after the singer emerged as a crowd-pleasing highlight of the Innings Festival at Tempe Beach Park.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\n9/10: Social Distortion\n\nMike Ness formed and fronted the earliest version of Social Distortion in 1978, keeping the name at least somewhat alive through lineup changes, breakups and the death in February 2000 of Dennis Danell.\n\nBut as they proved conclusively on 2011's \"Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes,\" their first album since 2004, they still sound like Social Distortion, filtering California punk through old-school rock and roll, the New York Dolls and Johnny Cash.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 11. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $40. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\n9/11: The Mountain Goats\n\nJohn Darnielle has been releasing albums as the Mountain Goats since 1994, first as a solo project then a band, which for the past six albums has included Superchunk's Jon Wurster working his magic on drums and percussion.\n\nLast year's \"Goths\" is the project's 16th album and it finds them exploring new ground (for them at least) inspired by their leader's adolescent fascination with the post-punk stylings of the Cure, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division.\n\nDetails: 8 pm.. Tuesday, Sept. 11. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. SOLD OUT. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\n9/12: O.A.R.\n\nThey topped the U.S. independent album charts in 2014 with \"The Rockville LP,\" an album named for the city in Maryland where they fell in love with music in the first place.\n\nIn an interview with CBS News, singer Marc Roberge explained their decision to bring it on home. \"I think when you're home and you're present and you're looking at life the way you do when you're a child, it's something really special,\" he said.\n\n\"And if you can get that onto a record, then you're really doing what you set out to do when you were a kid — just play music for the fun of it and play songs from the heart.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $45.50-$75.50. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\n9/12: Gov't Mule\n\nWarren Haynes and his bandmates are headed to Phoenix in support of “Revolution Come… Revolution Go,” a 10 album that finds the guitarist wondering “Has the whole world gone insane?” in the course of addressing these turbulent times.\n\n“There are no glib solutions on offer,” writes Classic Rock magazine, “no political polemic, just the realisation that America is now a deeply divided nation and that this issue needs to be addressed.”\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. $35-$55. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\n9/13: Rascal Flatts\n\nThey’ve sent 17 songs to No. 1 on Billboard’s country chart, but the industry trade publication says, “The road has been where the band has done some of their most inspiring work over the years.” The biggest of those hits are \"Bless the Broken Road,\" \"What Hurts the Most\" and \"My Wish,\" all of which went platinum.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $35.75 and up. 602-254-7200, livenation.com.\n\n9/13: JJ Grey & Mofro\n\n\"Ol' Glory\" is the sound of the Southern soul revival getting all the details right, Grey effortlessly channeling the raspy essence of those classic Otis Redding records he appears to have been studying his whole damn life just to get to this moment.\n\nEven when they turn it down on the country blues of \"The Island,\" it feels like a spiritual cousin of \"(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay.\" As PopMatters says, they \"provide a connection to the past and a time when talent and tenacity moved the music forward.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $30-$60. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\n9/13: Yob\n\nThe Oregon doom-metal trio are touring in support of \"Our Raw Heart,\" their eighth album, which was written after front man Mike Scheidt recovered from near-fatal acute diverticulitis.\n\nThe Quietus calls it \"a crushing and stirring doom metal affair, a cathartic album\" that \"shines with a rare beauty\" as the music \"ebbs and flows from ballad-like meditations reminiscent of Earth to the caustic sludge of Yob’s early records.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13. Club Red, 1306 W. University Drive, Mesa. $18; $16 in advance. 480-258-2733, clubredrocks.com.\n\n9/13-14: Nine Inch Nails\n\nTrent Reznor and this year's assortment of Nails will launch their Cold and Black and Infinite North America Tour with two dates in Phoenix, at which they'll be joined by the Jesus and Mary Chain and Tobacco.\n\nThe tour is in support of \"Bad Witch,\" completing the trilogy that began with 2016’s \"Not The Actual Events\" and 2017’s \"ADD VIOLENCE.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 13-14. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $55 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\nPHOTOS OF NINE INCH NAILS IN PHOENIX 2018:\n\n9/15: Alice in Chains\n\nSinger-guitarist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney, bassist Mike Inez and singer-guitarist William DuVall topped the rock, alternative and hard music charts in August with \"Rainier Fog,\" the much-anticipated follow-up to 2013’s \"The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.\"\n\nNME wrote that although they were always on the more metallic side of the alt-rock boom that emerged from Seattle in the early '90s, \"on 'Rainier Fog,' there’s a beauty and an expanse – as well as a major chord or two – that sees the band evolving.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $45 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/15: Steven Curtis Chapman\n\nThe acclaimed singer-songwriter will present “Solo: A Night of Hits, History and Influences.” It’s described as essentially a concert adaptation of his 2017 memoir, with songs strung together to form the story of Chapman’s life and career, with lots of talk in between. Expect some surprises: He normally does “Folsom Prison Blues,” for example, as his father taught him the song.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15. Palmcroft Church, 15825 N. 35th Ave., Phoenix. $35-$75. 602-863-0945, eventbrite.com.\n\n9/15: Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators\n\nThe Guns N' Roses guitarist returns to Phoenix a week before hitting the streets with an album called \"Living the Dream,\" his third recording with Kennedy & the Conspirators.\n\nClassic Rock responded to their second album, \"World on Fire,\" whose title track topped Billboard's mainstream-rock charts, with \"Listening to all 17 tracks in one go feels like going 12 rounds with a heavyweight boxer, a championship belt on the line.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. $55.50. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\n9/15: Keyshia Cole\n\nThis soulful R&B star’s first three albums all went platinum while sending three songs — “Let It Go,” “I Remember” and “Heaven Sent” — to No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart. Last years \"11:11 Reset\" put her back at No. 1 on the R&B charts.\n\nThis is one of those Grown & Sexy shows with J. Holiday, who topped the R&B charts with his best-known single, \"Bed.\"\n\nDetails: 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $10-$40. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com.\n\n9/16: 3 Doors Down and Collective Soul\n\nThree Doors Down have worldwide album sales of 20 million, driven by such hits as “Kryptonite,” “When I’m Gone,” “Here Without You” and “It’s Not My Time.”\n\nSince breaking through in 1993 with the rock anthem “Shine,\" Collective Soul have sold more than 20 million records worldwide and continue to average more than one million Spotify streams per month\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $38 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/16: Miguel\n\nThe Ascension tour brings the Grammy-winning neo-soul sensation to the Valley in support of last year’s \"War & Leisure,\" which topped the R&B charts and spawned his biggest-selling single since \"Adorn,\" the Travis Scott-assisted \"Sky Walker.\"\n\nReleased in 2012 as the opening track of “Kaleidoscope Dream,” “Adorn” earned the singer best R&B song at the Grammys, where his show-stopping performance of that song had Kelly Clarkson testifying, “That was the sexiest goddamn thing I’ve ever seen.”\n\nDetails: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16. Mesa Amphitheatre, 263 N. Center St., Mesa. $35. 480-644-2560, luckymanonline.com and mesaamp.com.\n\n9/18: Chris Robinson Brotherhood\n\nFrom the time the Black Crowes hit the streets with \"Shake Your Money Maker,\" it was clear that we were dealing with a singer who could more than hold his own against the best his generation had to offer, boldly taking on an Otis Redding cover in the bargain.\n\nAs for the Brotherhood, Robinson explained in a press release, \"The music that we make, the concerts that we play, it's this world we've created for ourselves and our people. We don’t have the weight of responsibility or nostalgia, which means we're in the very psychedelic situation of getting to be totally honest and create everything in the moment. That's freedom.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $79-$249. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\n9/18: Suicidal Tendencies\n\nIt's been 35 years Suicidal Tendencies grabbed the punk scene by the studded collar with the classic self-titled debut that gave the world \"Institutionalized\" on which lead singer Mike Muir memorably tells his mother \"All I wanted was a Pepsi!\"\n\nAnd they're \"Still Cyco Punk After All These Years\" as they've named their latest effort, due Sept. 7. Assuming it rocks with the reckless abandon they managed on 2016's aptly titled \"World Gone Mad,\" you'll swear they haven't aged a day since 1983.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18. The Pressroom, 441 W. Madison St., Phoenix. $30. 602-396-7136, thepressroomaz.com.\n\n9/19: Jay-Z and Beyonce\n\nAmerica's favorite power couple haven't toured together since the summer of 2014, when the first On the Run tour played for six weeks in sold-out stadiums supporting the 2013 self-titled Beyonce release as well as Jay-Z’s “Magna Carta Holy Grail.”\n\nThe Guardian called it \"a mature, battle-worn, convincing love affair between two huge entertainers... played out on a vast stage with a set the size of a small city block, with double-jointed dancers, live horn and string sections and mobile hydraulic platforms.\"\n\nMORE:Beyonce and Jay-Z award $100,000 scholarship to Phoenix teen through Boys & Girls Club\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19. University of Phoenix Stadium, Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue, Glendale. $49.50 and up. livenation.com, ticketmaster.com.\n\n9/19: Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue\n\nTo celebrate the tricentennial of New Orleans, the trombonist has handpicked an all-star assortment of Crescent City musicians to join him in bringing the spirit and the sound of his hometown to 27 cities on the aptly titled Voodoo Threauxdown.\n\nThe touring street party also features Galactic, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and New Breed Brass Band, with special guest appearances by Cyril Neville, Ivan Neville, Kermit Ruffins, Walter “Wolfman” Washington and more.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. SOLD OUT. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/19: The Australian Pink Floyd Show\n\nThis the 30th Anniversary Tour for the celebrated Pink Floyd tribute show, hailed in the Times as “The Gold Standard.” They were even asked to play at David Gilmour’s 50th birthday celebration and were joined on stage by Rick Wright.\n\nIn addition to replicating the studio recordings note for note, they strive to reproduce the Pink Floyd live experience with their light and laser show, video animations, state-of-the-art high LED screen technology and other special effects, including a giant pig.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19. Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St., Mesa. $35-$85. 480-644-6500, mesaartscenter.com.\n\n9/19-20: Tower of Power\n\nNow celebrating their 50th year, Emilio Castillo's horn-heavy funk outfit still offers blistering, get-out-of-your-seat workouts like \"What is Hip?\" and \"Squib Cakes.\" On the flip side, few can create such majestic old-school ballads as the aching \"So Very Hard to Go\" and the luminous \"You're Still a Young Man.\" The group's MIM gigs usually sell out, so don't wait.\n\nDetails: 7 and 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, and Thursday, Sept. 20. Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. $43.50-$73.50. 480-478-6000, themim.org.\n\n9/21: Los Temerarios\n\nIt's been 40 years since two brothers – Adolfo and Gustavo Angel – formed the group that would become Los Temerarios with their cousin Fernando Angel, who's no longer involved in the project.\n\nAll Music Guide describes their sounds as \"bubblegum ranchera\"and goes on to say it \"was the romantic soundtrack of millions of Mexican and Mexican-American youths' lives during the '90s.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $52.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/21: Wolfmother\n\nThese stoner-rock revivalists emerged from Australia in 2006 with a self-titled triumph that wore its debt to Ozzy-era Sabbath like a badge of honor (more than likely sewn onto a faded denim jacket).\n\nAnd their love of that specific era in rock history was every bit as evident on 2016’s “Victorious,” despite the fact that singer Andrew Stockdale was the lone remaining member of the early lineup still on board.\n\nBut they'd also expanded the scope of their sound just enough to allow for departures as intriguing as an acoustic-guitar-driven ballad that ambled along like an outtake from Tom Petty's \"Wildflowers.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $79-$249. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\n9/21: Gabriel Royal\n\nThis cello-playing vocalist spent five years busking in the New York City subways before earning enough of a buzz for what he likes to call his \"grown-up lullabies\" to launch a recording career.\n\nThis year, he played the Newport Jazz Festival and released a second album, \"Miss Once in a Blue Moon.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21. Mesa Arts Center, 1 E. Main St., Mesa. $33. 480-644-6500, mesaartscenter.com.\n\n9/22: Ms. Lauryn Hill\n\nThis is a tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of \"The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,\" an eight-times platinum debut on which the former Fugee's reputation may forever rest — in part because it’s so good and in part because she's yet to make another proper album.\n\nShe did the “MTV Unplugged” thing in 2001 and has released a small handful of singles, including 2010's “Repercussions\" and 2013's \"Neurotic Society.\" She's also been sampled to brilliant effect on \"Nice For What\" by Drake, which spent six weeks at No. 1.\n\nDetails: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $52.50 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/22: Thrice\n\nThese are Thrice’s final shows before returning to the studio to start recording their 10th album. And it’s more than a little surprising that they'd be returning to the studio this soon. “To Be Everywhere is to Be Nowhere” was their first release in five years.\n\nSputnikmusic said of \"To Be Everywhere,\" \"There is familiarity here, but nothing feels routine. This is an album as cohesive and thunderous as it would have been if it had come out in 2014.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. $22.50-$37.50. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\n9/22: Kali Uchis\n\nThis Colombian-American R&B sensation is touring in support of \"Isolation,\" an acclaimed debut that makes the most of guest appearances by Bootsy Collins, Tyler, the Creator, Damon Albarn, Tame Impala's Kevin Parker, Thundercat and TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek.\n\nAnd the sound is even hipper than the guest list, effortlessly navigating every jazz-inflected detour with a soulful self-assurance that suggests we may be looking at her generation's Erykah Badu.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix. $32-$99. 866-468-3399, thevanburenphx.com.\n\n9/22: First Aid Kit\n\nSwedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg are touring in support of a heartbreaking gem of a breakup album, aptly titled \"Ruins,\" that often appears to be channeling the early works of Leonard Cohen.\n\nThe close country harmonies are gorgeous as they flesh out their fresh take on Cosmic American Music with chamber-pop flourishes, including mariachi horns, after setting the tone with an opening track that comes right out and sums it up with \"All is futile.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. The Pressroom, 441 W. Madison St., Phoenix. $25-$30. 602-396-7136, thepressroomaz.com.\n\n9/22: HONNE\n\nJames Hatcher and Andy Clutterbuck are touring the States in support of \"Love Me/Love Me Not,\" a second album of silky electro-soul ballads arranged as a concept album – one side exploring the bright side of life while the other puts the spotlight on sadness.\n\nThe Guardian says, \"This up-and-coming east London-based duo conjure up a compelling emotional landscape of cool robot soul, sprinkling sophisticated umami flavours over familiar pop tropes.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $20; $18 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\n9/22: Eleanor Friedberger\n\nThe former Fiery Furnaces returns to Phoenix in support of “Rebound,” a fourth solo effort that finds her exploring a new direction, recorded primarily alone with programmed drums, a Juno synthesizer and muted guitars.\n\nMOJO declared it her “finest solo album to date,” Spin noting that it finds her \"writing some of the most accessible music of her career.” The album is named for a nightclub in Greece, where the New Yorker learned to embrace the sound of EDM.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22. Rebel Lounge, 2303 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. $15. 602-296-7013, therebellounge.com.\n\n9/23: NEEDTOBREATHE\n\nThese GRAMMY-nominated rockers, led by singer-guitarists Bear Rinehart and his brother Bo, topped the rock and alternative album charts with their most recent albums, 2014's \"Rivers in the Wasteland\" and 2016's \"Hard Love.\"\n\nAlthough they've sent a slew of heartfelt singles up the charts at Christian radio, they'd rather not be classified as such. As they explained to Rolling Stone, \"Any label is limiting. That one in particular is especially limiting.\"\n\nDetails: 7:01 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $25 and up. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.\n\n9/23: Firebird Music Festival\n\nThe inaugural Firebird Music Festival Jazz Night brings Jeffrey Osborne, Earl Klugh performing with Bob James, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Rick Braun, and Jazz Funk Soul featuring Jeff Lorber, Paul Jackson Jr. and Everette Harp to WestWorld of Scottsdale. Osborne topped the R&B charts with 1988’s “She’s on the Left.” His other hits include “On The Wings Of Love,” “You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song)” and “Love Power,” a duet with Dionne Warwick. Randy Jackson of “American Idol” hosts.\n\nDetails: 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23. WestWorld of Scottsdale, 16601 N Pima Road. $45-$85. 480-312-6802, firebirdmusicfestival.com.\n\n9/23: Macy Gray\n\nBlessed with a disarmingly distinctive voice, this singer hit the mainstream with a triple-platinum 1999 debut, \"On How Life Is,\" a breakthrough driven by the Grammy-winning single that remains her calling card, \"I Try.\" She arrives in support of a 10th, \"Ruby,\" which features guest appearances by Meghan Trainor and Gary Clark, Jr. The album follows \"Stripped,\" a 10-song collection of jazz-flavored covers, including \"I Try\" and Metallica's \"Nothing Else Matters.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23. Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave. $38-$58. 480-782-2680, chandlercenter.org.\n\n9/23: Nothing\n\nThese Philly-based shoegaze revivalists are touring in support of a brilliant third album called “Dance on the Blacktop,” bathed in a blanket of shimmering distortion and topped by Dominic Palermo’s dreamy sighs.\n\nThe A.V. Club raved that “while much of the album intermixes the gritty and the gorgeous with all the economy of an Anton Corbijn photo, there are moments of open-hearted purity, too.”\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 23. Rebel Lounge, 2303 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. $18; $16 in advance. 602-296-7013, therebellounge.com.\n\n9/24: Hinds\n\nLed by guitar-playing vocalists Ana Perrote and Carlotta Cosials, these young Spanish women are touring the States in support of \"I Don't Run,\" a second album of reckless, infectious garage-rock. Drowned in Sound says, \"They may not push past boundaries they are comfortable with, but they have identified the qualities that make them special--carving out their own niche in the modern music spectrum of loveable lo-fi embedded with off-kilter charm.\n\nThis show also features locals Fairy Bones.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $18; $15 in advance. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\n9/25: Liz Phair\n\nIt's the 25th anniversary of \"Exile in Guyville,\" the landmark album with which Phair secured her standing as one of the most distinctive voices of the '90s.\n\nAs to whether it's a song-by-song reply to the Rolling Stones' \"Exile on Main St.,\" as Phair suggested at the time, that may depend more on the listener choosing to believe.\n\nWhat ultimately matters is that \"Exile in Guyville\" holds up as a landmark of her generation as surely the Stones' did of theirs.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25. Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. Second Ave., Phoenix. $29.50-$150. 602-716-2222, crescentphx.com.\n\n9/25-26: Greta Van Fleet\n\nIf all you ever wanted out of life was one more opportunity to see Led Zeppelin live, I'm pretty sure you missed the boat on that one. But say you were willing to settle for getting your Led out with some truly talented pretenders to the throne. Well, these guys somehow found a way to sound more like Led Zeppelin than Led Zeppelin ever did at times on \"From the Fires.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25 and Wednesday, Sept. 26. Marquee Theatre, 730 N. Mill Ave., Tempe. SOLD OUT. 480-829-0607, luckymanonline.com.\n\nREAD MORE:", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/09/05"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_13", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/24/2024-election-candidates-senate-sinema-stabenow-republicans-democrats/11106810002/", "title": "Senate 2024: Here are the candidates who have announced already", "text": "The countdown to the 2024 election is on with candidates beginning to announce their intentions to run for Senate seats – or give them up.\n\nDemocrats currently have a narrow majority in the upper chamber, but that will be tested next year. Thirty-four seats in the Senate will be up for grabs in the upcoming election, with Democrats (including independents who caucus with Democrats) currently occupying a majority – 23 – of those seats.\n\nThe majority party will seek to defend their incumbents in key races again Republican rivals as they look to maintain their slim majority in a presidential election year where President Joe Biden will likely be seeking his second term.\n\nSome members of the House are throwing their names on the ballot for a seat in the upper chamber while a handful of senators have launched campaigns for reelection. Others have announced they would not be seeking another term like California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the longest serving senator in the state, who announced in February she will be retiring.\n\nMichigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow has also said she would not be running in 2024. The third-ranking Democrat's departure leaves the GOP with a pickup opportunity in a swing state.\n\nOnPolitics: What the 2022 midterms will mean for the 2024 election\n\nStay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nHere are the candidates who have announced their Senate plans for 2024:\n\nCandidates running for Senate include Gallego (AZ), Banks (IN) and Porter (CA):\n\nMore:Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego announces Senate bid, set to challenge Sen. Kyrsten Sinema\n\nOnPolitics: Trump's GOP support craters, poll shows. Here's who is on the rise for 2024.\n\nSenators seeking reelection include Kaine (VA), Brown (OH) and Gillibrand (NY):\n\nOhio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown is up for reelection in 2024. He told Spectrum News he will be running to keep his seat in a race that already includes Republican challenger Matt Dolan. Brown has served in Congress since 2006.\n\nBrown is up for reelection in 2024. He told Spectrum News he will be running to keep his seat in a race that already includes Republican challenger Matt Dolan. Brown has served in Congress since 2006. Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine. Kaine announced he will be running for reelection in 2024. “I’m a servant. I love Virginia. I’m proud of what I’ve done,\" he said during his announcement. The former vice presidential candidate was first elected to the Senate in 2013.\n\nKaine announced he will be running for reelection in 2024. “I’m a servant. I love Virginia. I’m proud of what I’ve done,\" he said during his announcement. The former vice presidential candidate was first elected to the Senate in 2013. New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Gillibrand announced her reelection bid to serve a third term in the Senate. She has served in Congress since 2009, winning the last New York Senate race by wide margins.\n\nGillibrand announced her reelection bid to serve a third term in the Senate. She has served in Congress since 2009, winning the last New York Senate race by wide margins. Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen. Rosen publicly confirmed she is running for reelection in 2024, telling POLITICO in October, \"I am all in. I’m definitely running.\" She previously served in the House before winning a Senate seat in 2018 after defeating the Republican incumbent.\n\nRosen publicly confirmed she is running for reelection in 2024, telling POLITICO in October, \"I am all in. I’m definitely running.\" She previously served in the House before winning a Senate seat in 2018 after defeating the Republican incumbent. Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott. Scott is running for reelection to keep his Senate seat after rumors circulated that he may launch a 2024 presidential bid. \"I ran to fight for Floridians and that is exactly what I am going to keep doing. I’ve never lost a race and I don’t intend to now,\" he posted on Twitter.\n\nUSA TODAY Poll:Democratic support for Biden in 2024 surges after midterms as Trump takes a hit\n\nMore:In search of the perfect president: What Americans say they want, from age to gender\n\nSenators not seeking reelection including Feinstein (CA), Stabenow (MI) and Braun (IN):\n\nCalifornia Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein is the Senate's longest serving female senator and announced in February she will not be seeking reelection. The 89-year-old was first elected to office in 1992. Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee will be vying for her seat. \"The time has come,\" Feinstein told reporters of her decision to not run for reelection.\n\nFeinstein is the Senate's longest serving female senator and announced in February she will not be seeking reelection. The 89-year-old was first elected to office in 1992. Democratic Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee will be vying for her seat. \"The time has come,\" Feinstein told reporters of her decision to not run for reelection. Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Stabenow announced at the beginning of the year she will not be running to keep her Senate seat in 2024. “Inspired by a new generation of leaders, I have decided to pass the torch in the U.S. Senate,\" she said, adding, \"When my term ends, I intend to begin a new chapter in my life that includes continuing to serve our state outside of elected office while spending precious time with my amazing 96-year-old mom and my wonderful family.\"\n\nStabenow announced at the beginning of the year she will not be running to keep her Senate seat in 2024. “Inspired by a new generation of leaders, I have decided to pass the torch in the U.S. Senate,\" she said, adding, \"When my term ends, I intend to begin a new chapter in my life that includes continuing to serve our state outside of elected office while spending precious time with my amazing 96-year-old mom and my wonderful family.\" Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun. Braun has his sights set for a different public office: the governor's mansion. The first-term senator announced he would run for governor in 2024 just one month after November's midterm elections, leaving his Senate seat open for a GOP newcomer in the solidly red state.\n\nOther lawmakers not running for office:", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/24"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/14/unidentified-objects-briefing-national-security-live-updates/11251368002/", "title": "Feinstein won't seek reelection; Haley announces White House run ...", "text": "Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the longest serving woman senator, has announced she won't seek reelection in 2024, opening up a competitive and expensive seat in deep blue California.\n\nThe former San Francisco mayor who turns 90 in June has served since 1992. Her decision not to seek reelection Tuesday comes amid questions from colleagues about her ability to serve and as a younger generation – including Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff — have already announced their candidacies for the seat.\n\n“Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives. Each of us was sent here to solve problems. That’s what I’ve done for the last 30 years, and that’s what I plan to do for the next two years,\" she said in her announcement. \"My thanks to the people of California for allowing me to serve them.”\n\nSenators are slated to receive a classified briefing Tuesday on the three unidentified flying objects shot down by the U.S. military in recent days.\n\nAlso, Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley launched the presidential bid she has teased for weeks, tweeting out a video Tuesday saying that, yes, she is indeed running for president.\n\nHere's what else is happening in politics:\n\nPresident Joe Biden renewed his call to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines after a shooting Monday on the campus of at Michigan State University killed three and injured five others.\n\nand high-capacity magazines after a shooting Monday on the campus of at Michigan State University killed three and injured five others. Flying objects could be research, commercial activity: The U.S. intelligence community is considering as a “leading explanation” that three unidentified flying objects shot down from North American airspace were balloons used by research or commercial entities, White House spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.\n\nThe U.S. intelligence community is considering as a “leading explanation” that three unidentified flying objects shot down from North American airspace were balloons used by research or commercial entities, White House spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday. Mike Pence to challenge subpoena: The former vice president is planning to challenge a subpoena from a Justice Department special counsel investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.\n\nThe former vice president is planning to challenge a subpoena from a Justice Department special counsel investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Parkland shooting: Tuesday marks five years since a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people. On the eve of the anniversary, a gunman opened fire at Michigan State University, killing three people and wounding five more, before fatally shooting himself.\n\nSmart analysis delivered to your inbox: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nWhat we know:Questions mount after flying objects shot down\n\nSen. Casey undergoes prostate cancer surgery\n\nSen. Bob CaseyD-Penn., underwent successful prostate cancer surgery Tuesday afternoon, a little over a month since he first revealed the diagnosis.\n\n“His doctor reports that, as expected, the procedure went well and he confirmed that the senator should not require further treatment,” Mairéad Lynn, Casey’s spokesperson said in a statement.\n\nCasey, serving his third term, is up for re-election in 2024.\n\n– Ledyard King\n\nFeinstein will not run again in 2024\n\nDemocrat Dianne Feinstein, California’s longest serving senator, is forgoing reelection.\n\n“I announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024, but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein said in a statement Tuesday.\n\nThe decision shakes up the 2024 Senate map as multiple Democrats — including Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff — have either announced or are reportedly considering their bids to succeed the longtime senator, who had been dogged by questions about her ability to serve.\n\n– Phillip M. Bailey\n\nBiden renews calls to ban assault weapons after Michigan State shooting\n\nPresident Joe Biden renewed his call to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines after a shooting Monday on the campus of at Michigan State University killed three and injured five others.\n\n“I’m going to say something that’s always controversial,” Biden said Tuesday in remarks addressing the National Association of Counties in Washington. \"There is no rationale for assault weapons and magazines that hold 50, 70 bullets.”\n\nBiden’s push to reenact a ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004, is unlikely to pass a Republican-led House and even faces an uphill climb in the Democratic-controlled Senate.\n\n- Joey Garrison\n\nMore:'Americans deserve to be safe': House passes gun ban that has little chance in Senate\n\nCourt to reconsider case on Conn. school policy allowing trans athletes to participate in sports\n\nA federal appeals court agreed to reconsider a lawsuit that challenged a Connecticut policy that allowed transgender student athletes to compete in high school sports on late Monday.\n\nIn December, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that backed the policy, but the case, Soule v. Connecticut Association of Schools, will now be presented before the full court.\n\n“We’re pleased the 2nd Circuit has decided to rehear this important case, and we urge the court to protect women’s athletic opportunities,” said Christiana Kiefer, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group representing the plaintiffs and who are also at the forefront of nationwide efforts to ban transgender athletes from high school sports, in a statement.\n\nJohn Holt, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, who have implemented the policy, declined to comment\n\n- Ken Tran\n\nTrump ordered to pay $110K for contempt in fraud probe: NY appellate court\n\nA New York appellate court on Tuesday upheld a contempt order against former President Donald Trump for failing to provide documents as part of a fraud investigation into the family’s business dealings.\n\nThe contempt order, handed down in April, directs Trump to pay a fine of $110,000 to the state’s attorney general’s office. New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that the court’s ruling affirmed that Trump is “not above the law.”\n\n“For years, he tried to stall and thwart our lawful investigation into his financial dealings, but today’s decision sends a clear message that there are consequences for abusing the legal system,” James said. “We will not be bullied or dissuaded from pursuing justice.”\n\nThe New York civil fraud probe revolves around whether the Trump Organization deliberately misstated the valuations of its real estate holdings in official documents for unlawful gain. A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.\n\n- Ella Lee\n\nTrump penalty:Donald Trump ordered to pay $110,000 for contempt in New York AG civil fraud investigation\n\nBiden: MSU shooting one more argument for 'commonsense' gun legislation\n\nPresident Joe Biden expressed grief over the shooting at Michigan State University Monday evening, saying the tragedy was further motivation for Congress to pass limits on guns.\n\nIn a statement the White House released Tuesday, Biden called for measures requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, closing background check loopholes, requiring safe storage of guns, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers \"who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets.\"\n\nThe statement also acknowledged that Tuesday marks the five-year anniversary of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school shooting in Parkland, Florida which killed seventeen people and injured seventeen others. “As I said in my State of the Union address last week, Congress must do something and enact commonsense gun law reforms” it reads.\n\nThere have been over sixty mass shootings in 2023, totaling out to more than one mass shooting per day.-\n\n- Anna Kaufman\n\nBiden milestone: 100 federal judges confirmed by Senate\n\nPresident Joe Biden hit a milestone Tuesday that could have implications for the remainder of his term: The Senate confirmed his 100th federal judge.\n\nBiden's predecessor, Donald Trump, received praise from the right for quickly moving nominees – reshaping some federal courts in a more conservative direction. But Biden narrowly surpassed Trump's total by the end of his second year, 96 confirmations compared to Trump's 83.\n\nThe Senate voted 54-45 Tuesday to confirm Gina Méndez-Miró to be a district court judge in Puerto Rico.\n\n\"President Biden has one of the most important judicial legacies of any modern president,” said Christopher Kang, chief counsel at the progressive group Demand Justice. “He has begun to restore balance to the courts with 100 judges already confirmed, and while doing so he has written a whole new playbook for what types of lawyers Democrats consider when selecting federal judges.”\n\n– John Fritze\n\n'Sleazy but not criminal':Some George Santos fabrications likely protected by the First Amendment\n\nTrump-allied super PAC: Nikki Haley ‘just another career politician’\n\nA spokesperson for Make America Great Again Inc., a super PAC aligned with former President Donald Trump, called 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley “just another career politician” in a statement following Haley’s candidacy announcement.\n\n“She started out as a Never Trumper before resigning to serve in the Trump admin. She then resigned early to go rake in money on corporate boards. Now, she’s telling us she represents a 'new generation,'” Taylor Budowich, head of MAGA Inc., said in a statement. “Sure just looks like more of the same, a career politician whose only fulfilled commitment is to herself.\"\n\nMAGA Inc. was created in September and started 2023 with more than $54 million to spend, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Super PACs can raise unlimited money and spend it freely but are barred from coordinating directly with campaigns.\n\nHaley is the only big name Republican to announce a bid to run against the former president in 2024 so far.\n\n– Ella Lee, Associated Press\n\nWho is Nikki Haley?:Former S.C. GOP governor announces run for president in 2024\n\nNikole Hannah-Jones: 1619 Project a ‘political prop’ in Nikki Haley presidential candidacy announcement\n\nNikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project, criticized 2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley for using the project as a “political prop” in the video Haley shared Tuesday to announce her candidacy.\n\n“Uses #1619Project as political prop in a video that opens with growing up where railroad tracks (not white people) divided the town by race. Talking about being the child of immigrants without acknowledging that the rights she had in SC were won by Black resistance,” Hannah-Jones wrote in a tweet. “Just peak.”\n\nThe 1619 Project, produced by The New York Times, examines America’s history through the lens of slavery beginning in 1619, which is when the African slave trade began.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nHaley running for president:Nikki Haley announces 2024 presidential bid in first major GOP challenge to Donald Trump\n\nWhite House: Unidentified flying objects could turn out to be harmless research, commercial balloons\n\nThe U.S. intelligence community is considering as a “leading explanation” that three unidentified flying objects shot down from North American airspace were balloons used by research or commercial entities, White House spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday.\n\n“Given what we've been able to ascertain thus far, the intelligence community is considering as a leading explanation that these could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose,” Kirby said.\n\nKirby said the U.S. hasn’t seen any indication that points directly to the objects being part of China’s spy balloon program, even though they were shot down about a week after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon in the Atlantic Ocean. He said the Pentagon has ruled out the possibility that the objects were from the U.S. government.\n\nComplicating the search for more details, the U.S. has not yet retrieved debris from the objects shot down over Alaska, the Yukon Territory and Lake Huron because each is in remote areas with difficult conditions and two are in bodies of water.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nHow many spy balloons have been spotted?:Questions mount after flying objects shot down\n\nGeorge Santos doubles down: ‘I’m not leaving’\n\nEmbattled freshman Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., made clear on Tuesday he won’t heed calls to resign from his House seat amid a flurry of scandals.\n\n“Let me be very clear, I’m not leaving, I’m not hiding and I am NOT backing down,” he said in a tweet Tuesday. “I will continue to work for #NY03 and no amount of Twitter trolling will stop me.”\n\nCalls for Santos to step down have come from all sides, from Democrats to his GOP colleagues to his own constituents.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nSantos cosponsoring bills. Which ones?:Gun rights, TikTok ban and China: George Santos is cosponsoring these bills in Congress\n\nMichigan lawmakers mourn, call for action after Michigan State University shooting\n\nMichigan lawmakers took to social media Tuesday to mourn and make calls for action after a mass shooting at Michigan State University that left three students dead and five critically injured.\n\n“It’s hard to describe the agony we’re feeling in East Lansing tonight,” said Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who represents the congressional district that contains the university.\n\nDemocratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib called for the implementation of universal background checks, red flag laws and an assault weapon ban in the state and nationwide, while Republican Rep. Lisa McClain offered prayers for the MSU community that experienced “an act of senseless and horrific violence.”\n\nAnd Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow thanked first responders who “rushed to the scene” and “put their own lives on the line to keep people safe.”\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nShooting at Michigan State:Three dead, five wounded in shooting at Michigan State University, suspect found dead\n\nFormer VP Mike Pence expected to challenge DOJ special counsel subpoena\n\nFormer Vice President Mike Pence is planning to challenge a subpoena from a Justice Department special counsel investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.\n\nPence's legal team is expected to argue that the former vice president's dual role as president of the Senate and member of the legislative branch at the time would protect him from the special counsel summons.\n\nThe Pence subpoena marks the most aggressive known step taken by special counsel Jack Smith since his appointment in November to oversee both the election interference inquiry and a separate examination of former President Trump's handling of classified documents.\n\n- David Jackson, Kevin Johnson\n\nRead the full story:Former Vice President Mike Pence expected to challenge DOJ special counsel subpoena\n\nAdam Frisch, Colorado Dem who almost unseated Rep. Lauren Boebert, to run again\n\nColorado Democrat Adam Frisch, who was just a few hundred votes short of ousting Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert in the 2022 midterm elections, will run again in 2024, he announced Tuesday.\n\n“We lost by a mere 546 votes in '22 — the closest race in the country — and know we can make that up in '24,” Frisch said in a tweet.\n\nBoebert was heavily favored to win reelection in her Republican-leaning district in 2022, but what was once believed to be a long shot bid for Frisch became among the most closely watched races in the nation.\n\n-Ella Lee\n\nCould Adam Frisch have defeated Boebert?:Lauren Boebert won. But did Democrats miss a chance to flip her Colorado district?\n\nDNC: Nikki Haley embraced ‘most extreme elements’ of Trump agenda\n\nFormer U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley embraced the “most extreme elements of the MAGA agenda” while serving in former President Donald Trump’s administration, the Democratic National Committee alleged in a statement responding to her presidential candidacy announcement.\n\n“(Haley) couldn’t even identify a single policy difference between herself and Trump,” the committee said.\n\nHaley, who also served as governor of South Carolina, announced her intention to run for president in 2024 on Twitter Tuesday and will make her formal announcement speech Wednesday in Charleston, S.C.\n\n-Ella Lee\n\nWho is Nikki Haley?:Former S.C. GOP governor announces run for president in 2024\n\nBiden names Fed’s Lael Brainard as top economic adviser\n\nLael Brainard, vice chair of the Federal Reserve, has been tapped to serve as President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser.\n\nBrainard’s appointment comes as the Biden administration prepares for a potentially fraught battle with House Republicans over the nation’s debt ceiling and amid ongoing efforts to curb inflation. She will replace Brian Deese, who is expected to step down next month.\n\nAn announcement promoting Brainard to director of the National Economic Council cameTuesday.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nWho is Nikki Haley? Former S.C. governor announces run for president\n\nJust in case anyone had any doubt, Nikki Haley tweeted out a video Tuesday saying that, yes, she is indeed running for president.\n\nHaley, the former governor of South Carolina and U.N. ambassador, sketches out her biography and attacks President Joe Biden and the Democrats - but says nothing about Donald Trump.\n\nAt the end of the video, Haley does say that she doesn’t like bullies and won’t be afraid to fight back - perhaps a warning to the volatile Trump.\n\nIn sending a potential message to Trump, Haley also referenced that she may be the only woman in the Republican field: “You should know this about me, I don’t put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you’re wearing heels.”\n\nHaley makes her formal announcement speech Wednesday in Charleston, S.C.\n\n– David Jackson, Mabinty Quarshie\n\n'It's always on my mind': Five years after Parkland massacre\n\nDavid Hogg fine-tunes his kick-flip between classes at Harvard and his work building consensus around gun violence prevention. Cameron Kasky immerses himself in comedy and writing in Los Angeles, frustrated with a broken American political system. Sari Kaufman flies to protests of the gun industry across the country while managing her political science coursework at Yale.\n\nNearly five years since a gunman killed 17 of their classmates and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day, three survivors at the forefront of the March For Our Lives movement in 2018 spoke with USA TODAY about their lives now – and what they want Americans to know as the nation reflects on the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.\n\n\"I'm still feeling the impacts of the shooting every day,\" Kaufman said.\n\n– Grace Hauck\n\nWhite House rules out aliens, still can't say who's behind unidentified objects\n\nThe White House said Monday there are “no indications of aliens or extraterrestrial activity” from a series of unidentified objects the U.S. shot down from North American airspace.\n\n\"I don't think the American people need to worry about aliens with respect to these crafts. Period,\" White House spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing.\n\nKirby said the U.S. hasn’t determined the origins of the objects that were shot down over Alaska, Canada and Lake Huron one week after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon in the Atlantic Ocean. The Pentagon has also not identified the purpose of the objects, which Kirby said appeared to be moving by prevailing winds, not self-propulsion, about 40,000 feet high or lower.\n\nComplicating the search for more details, the U.S. has not made it to the debris sites of the objects, which fell in remote areas and, in two cases, frozen waters. Kirby said the U.S. has spotted “no active tracks” of additional high-altitude objects Monday.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nMore:White House rules out aliens, but still can't say who is behind unidentified flying objects\n\nPortions of Trump grand jury report to be released Thursday\n\nA Georgia judge Monday ordered a partial public release of a grand jury's investigative report on former President Donald Trump's attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.\n\nFulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said three portions of the panel's report will be released Thursday, including a section expressing concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath.\n\nMcBurney also said the grand jury's conclusions would be made public, in a ruling that represented a partial concession to District Attorney Fani Willis who argued last month that full disclosure of the panel's findings would damage an ongoing investigation.\n\n“In this case, the state understands... the world’s interest, but we have to be mindful of protecting future defendants' rights,\" Willis told McBurney during a January hearing in Atlanta.\n\n– Kevin Johnson\n\nTrump Georgia investigation:Judge orders partial release of Trump grand jury report Thursday", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/18/haley-lays-out-vision-biden-too-old-feinstein-wont-run-again-week-politics/11271784002/", "title": "This week in politics: Nikki Haley suggests US leaders are too old as ...", "text": "The week saw former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley enter the 2024 presidential contest with a generational salvo against America's aging leadership.\n\nThis comes as President Joe Biden continues to face questions about whether he is too old – read: unfit – to seek a second term, as polling show a majority of Democrats don't want him to run again.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/18"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/14/dianne-feinstein-california-senate-reelection-retire-2024-porter-schiff/11256755002/", "title": "Dianne Feinstein, California's longest serving senator, won't seek ...", "text": "Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the state's longest serving senator has decided to bow out of a reelection bid.\n\n\"The time has come,\" she told Capitol Hill reporters. \"It's not till the end of next year. So don't hold your breath. (But) there are times for all things under the sun and I think that will be the right time.\"\n\nFeinstein's decision came after much speculation on whether she would decide to run for another term, given her age and questions about her fitness for office. She was first elected in 1992.\n\nFeinstein expects to endorse a candidate later this year\n\nFeinstein's seat is solidly Democratic in deep blue California. While highly unlikely a Republican will be able to win a statewide election in the Golden State, the seat has attracted the interest of several Democrats.\n\nThe former San Francisco mayor told Capitol Hill reporters Tuesday she expects to endorse a successor within the next two months but \"I don't have anybody in mind right now.\"\n\nStay in the conversation on politics:Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nWho is in the running so far?\n\nAlthough Feinstein only announced her decision Tuesday, two Democrats have already launched their own Senate campaigns prior to her statement.\n\nDemocratic Rep. Katie Porter announced her bid for the seat in early January, calling for \"new leadership\" in a video shared on her social media accounts.\n\n\"California needs a warrior in Washington. That's exactly why I'm announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate in 2024,\" said Porter in the video.\n\nIn late January, Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff also announced his candidacy for the seat, tweeting that \"We're in the fight of our lives – a fight I’m ready to lead as California’s next U.S. Senator.\"\n\nSchiff earned the endorsement of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in February – an endorsement predicated on Feinstein's exit.\n\nRelated:Why retiring from politics is more complicated for women\n\n\"If (Feinstein) decides not to run, I will be supporting House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, who knows well the nexus between a strong Democracy and a strong economy,” Pelosi said in a statement shared by Schiff's Senate campaign.\n\nOther California Democratic representatives such as Rep. Barbara Lee and Rep. Ro Khanna are also reportedly considering running for the seat, setting up a potentially brutal primary fight in 2024.\n\nWhat is Feinstein known for?\n\nFeinstein will leave behind a sweeping legacy, notably for her authorship of the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004.\n\nShe was also chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee from 2009-2015, where she put a spotlight on the CIA's interrogation practices and later pushed through anti-torture legislation that was eventually signed into law by then-President Barack Obama.\n\n“Dianne Feinstein is a titan in the United States Senate, with a record that stands among the finest in history,\" Pelosi said in a statement on Feinstein's retirement.\n\nFeinstein is also one of Congress' early defenders of same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights, being one of 14 senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which banned same-sex marriage until it was ultimately repealed last December when President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2023/01/10/rep-katie-porter-enters-california-senate-race/11023051002/", "title": "Rep. Katie Porter is running for Sen. Dianne Feinstein's seat in ...", "text": "Democratic Rep. Katie Porter kicked off the 2024 campaign season early on Tuesday when she declared herself a candidate for the Senate in California.\n\nThe announcement comes despite no statement from longtime Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose up for reelection in 2024, that she is retiring.\n\nPorter, first elected in 2018, released a video across her social media accounts stressing the need for \"new leadership\" as she showcased her progressive credentials as a lawmaker who \"doesn't do Congress\" like others.\n\n\"I use whatever power I have to speak hard truths to the powers that be – to not just challenge the status quo but call it out,\" she said.\n\nPolitics: What we know about President Joe Biden's classified documents\n\nIn the video, the congresswoman pledges to fight against Wall Street, the \"big banks\" and pharmaceutical companies. She added how she won't accept lobbyist or corporate PAC money, and favors prohibiting lawmakers in Congress from stock trading.\n\n\"Especially in times like these, California needs a warrior in Washington,\" Porter said.\n\nMore: House approves new rules, first big test for Republican-led chamber\n\nFeinstein is the oldest senator currently in Congress and has been dogged by questions about her age and cognitive abilities.\n\nIn January 2021, she filed paperwork to seek reelection, saying last year how she hadn't heard about those concerns.\n\n\"I put in the hours. … And so I’m rather puzzled by this,” Feinstein told the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board.\n\nBut the 89-year-old Democrat has taken a step back from her Senate duties, such as leaving her leadership role on the Senate Judiciary Committee.\n\nFeinstein furthered speculation when she turned down being president pro tempore of the Senate, which historically goes to the most senior senator of the majority party and is third in line to the presidency.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/10"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/11/05/presidential-podcast-obama/93203288/", "title": "Podcast pick of the week: Hear 'Presidential' ahead of Election Day", "text": "Carly Mallenbaum\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nLooking for something new to listen to while you drive to work/go for a walk/wash the dishes? We're here for you. In our weekly series, we highlight a podcast, audio personality or specific story worth hearing.\n\nThis week's pick: Presidential\n\nAs we prepare to elect a new president, it's a good time to look back: Who has America already elected? What were they like? How have they shaped our country? Why does our presidential pick matter? Those are all questions that The Washington Post's Leadership editor, Lillian Cunningham, aims to answer on her podcast, Presidential. As of this weekend, she has published podcasts on all 43 presidents. (Yep, even William Henry Harrison, who only spent 32 days in the office before he died.) After the Barack Obama episode, Cunningham has one more show. Publishing the morning after Election Day, the finale will cover the new president elect.\n\nWhy it's ripe for listening\n\nCunningham talks to guests who know a thing or two about the presidents, from prolific presidential biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin to Barack Obama's chief strategist David Axelrod. And she asks them both the typical \"What was his legacy?\" questions, about \"cherry tree\"-type myths and the more nuanced, \"What would he be like on a blind date?\" queries. Hail to the Chief music and sounds from presidents' speeches score the show that offers insight like how more than one man in the Oval Office was a child of a dysfunctional family with alcoholic parents, and how that kind of upbringing shapes someone's leadership style.\n\nMemorable line\n\nJulie Miller from the Library of Congress talks about George Washington in Presidential's first episode:\n\n\"If you were going on a blind date with him, say it's like 1757, first of all you'd be really impressed, because he was really good looking, he had just finished a leadership role in the French and Indian War, you would've found that he was extremely charming...a really good dancer... but one thing you would need to be aware of is he was not a particularly rich person... and he would definitely be interested in your money.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/11/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/01/19/boy-meets-world-ben-savage-congress-candidate/11084823002/", "title": "'Boy Meets World' star Ben Savage to run for Congress in California", "text": "Actor Ben Savage appears to be considering a run for Congress, filing with the Federal Election Commission to potentially replace U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.\n\nThe forms, filed Wednesday, say Savage, a Democrat, would run for California’s 30th District in the House of Representatives in a 2024 election.\n\nThe seat is currently held by Schiff, who is expected to run for Senate to replace U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein has not publicly confirmed if she will seek reelection.\n\nRepresentatives for Savage told multiple outlets that \"he is focused on his upcoming wedding. Ben is still making decisions and always looking for opportunities to give back and serve the community.\"\n\nSavage is engaged to Tessa Angermeier.\n\nLive politics updates:Biden: 'I have no regrets' about classified documents; U.S. hits debt ceiling\n\n'Shocking ':Rep. George Santos pushes back on 'insane' claim he stole funds for veteran's dying dog\n\nThis isn’t the first time the “Boy Meets World” star has run for office.\n\nIn a 2022 race, Savage ran unsuccessfully to be on the West Hollywood City Council. His priorities outlined on his campaign website included community safety, supporting and promoting local businesses and fighting “to protect the rights of renters” and bringing down the cost of new housing.\n\nSavage studied political science at Stanford University. While he was a student, he interned for former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter.\n\nCalifornia’s 30th district includes West Hollywood and Burbank. The general election for the district will be Nov. 5, 2024.\n\nMore politics coverage from USA TODAY", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/19"}, {"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.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/02/gay-voters-trump-share-reasons-support-election/6116276002/", "title": "Gay voters for Trump share reasons for support this election", "text": "Kate Sosin\n\nThe 19th\n\nThis story was published in partnership with The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy.\n\nHis first bullies arrived by bike, middle-schoolers.\n\nThey called him a fairy, and other slurs. They smashed eggs on his head.\n\nThe taunts came day after day as he walked to and from school. His mother, fearing for her son, put him in a new school. He entered seventh grade with new classmates, but it didn’t get easier. This was Utah in the ‘90s.\n\nFrom the time he was little, he loved Barbies and Disney princesses. In kindergarten, he chose dresses when playing dress-up.\n\n“When I was like 8, and nobody was home, I would go in the closet and get the poofy part of my sister’s prom dress and just twirl around by myself and in the mirror,” he recalls. “And I definitely identified with what a culture calls female. And the great injustice for me, as someone who identifies with the feminine, is that this world says, a dress and makeup and sparkles are only for women.”\n\nMormon-raised in a house that did not support homosexuality, he desperately tried to suppress his attraction to boys. He went to Brigham Young University and served on a mission for two years in France. Still struggling after college, he put himself through anti-gay conversion therapy where he was promised a “normal” life. He started dating a best friend, a girl.\n\n“Her father actually left her family because he’s gay,” he said. “And I watched that devastation. And I was like, I’m not doing that, … She deserves a man who loves her, sexually and emotionally and physically and romantically, and I can’t do that.”\n\nHe took his chances. At age 22, he came out.\n\nMore than a decade later, Lady Maga USA makes her entrance into a throng clad in red T-shirts and hats.\n\n“Trump is making America great again, whether you’re Black, White, Latino or a drag queen!” she says to the crowd in Albuquerque, New Mexico.\n\nThe drag queen bit is not a joke. That’s actually Miss Maga herself. It’s been years since that closeted young Mormon from Utah broke up with his girlfriend and came out. Today, he’s a mini-celebrity among die-hard Trump supporters.\n\nMiss Maga is wearing a “Make America Great Again” shirt and hat, looking out across a crowd of thousands chanting “USA! USA!” She wears white a “Lady Maga USA” sash across her chest. Her lips, like her shirt, are bright red. Her curls are perfectly curled and blonde.\n\nThis outfit, like all of her outfits, is strictly G-rated. When she first appeared as Lady Maga USA (always add the USA, lest Lady Gaga’s people get litigious), it was in an American flag bikini. Now, she aims to be a family-friendly drag queen, typically sporting jeans or a ball gown.\n\nMiss Maga, who chooses to go by her stage name – she said she and her mother have received death threats because she supports Trump – used to be a Democrat. In the early 2000s, she met Al and Tipper Gore at a Human Rights Campaign dinner.\n\nBack then, Republicans just weren’t accepting, she said. Even still, she voted for George W. Bush in 2004. She felt like the left was growing intolerable and unforgiving, unwilling to engage in difficult conversations.\n\nFor three years, her drag persona had been Ryanna Woods, a nod to the character Elle Woods from the film “Legally Blonde.” In 2019, she debuted Lady Maga USA. Friends she had for years through Utah’s drag bars stopped talking to her.\n\n“As soon as I came out as a Trump supporter, for them it erased all the good qualities that I have, and they only focused on that, assuming that I’m some sort of monster,” she said. “I lost everything. I lost my performances. I lost my friends. I lost my sense of community.”\n\nHer new community is made up of thousands of other LGBTQ people who back president Trump, she says. She almost always appears at rallies as Lady Maga USA, and this October she was fully booked. Her schedule had no less than eight Trump events – all unpaid – leading up to Election Day.\n\nMiss Maga has drained her own finances on costumes, travel and hotels to show her support for the president.\n\nMiss Maga’s top issues are not LGBTQ rights. She is a strong advocate for the Second Amendment and for free speech. She thinks that people have a right to say offensive things, even if they are hateful.\n\n“I think that the LGBT mainstream community is pushing further and further trying to eliminate all discussion or questioning of their agenda,” she said. “And I think that’s dangerous because we could be next. Anyone can be next, and I believe that free speech is absolute.”\n\nAt the Albuquerque Trump rally, she gives hugs to fellow supporters. She speaks in Spanish and English. She stops for photos.\n\n“God bless you,” a man says to her.\n\nThis is not the response she expected the first time she went to a Trump rally in drag last year.\n\n“I was terrified to go to the Trump rally, because I thought I may be rejected, I may be yelled at, I may be kicked out for all I know,” Miss Maga told The 19th. “But the moment I arrived, the first thing that happened was a lady comes running up to me and asked for a picture and told me I was fabulous. And then I walked in my full drag into the rally past the line and people were just cheering and screaming and welcoming me.”\n\nEmbraced by conservatives\n\nMiss Maga is among a rarely discussed voting bloc: LGBTQ Republicans. According to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, just 15% of LGBTQ people are Republicans, compared with 35% of the general population. It’s unclear what percentage of those Republicans will vote for Trump in this election. Before taking office, Trump vowed to be a friend to LGBTQ people. Many say he broke that promise.\n\nLGBTQ media organization GLAAD has tallied at least 175 incidents of the Trump administration attacking the community, from substantial policy rollbacks to the transgender military ban to fighting against landmark LGBTQ workplace protections won at the Supreme Court in June. Jennifer Pritzker, transgender billionaire, backed Trump four years ago. This time around, she has funneled more than $100,000 into defeating him.\n\nConservative values have often been painted as antithetical to LGBTQ rights. But the people who encapsulate both of those groups present a different picture.\n\nChad Felix Greene describes a similar experience of being embraced by conservatives as an openly gay person. Greene grew up in West Virginia and Ohio, with no openly gay peers in school.\n\nAs he entered his teenage years, he wished desperately he could be a girl. He tried wearing women’s clothing, but none of it looked right on him.\n\n“I felt a sense of despair that there did not seem to be an option for me,” he said.\n\nIn 1998, the same year as the Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, Greene’s principal outed him to his parents in front of school counselors, he said. His father, who had only seen depictions of gay people because of the AIDS epidemic, was traumatized by the event, Greene said. He was the first person in his high school to come out, and it made him a target of bullying. Adults in his life worried that like the Columbine shooters, Greene was an outcast.\n\n“I had to go to a therapist and had to have a written statement that I was mentally fit, and I wasn’t dangerous to anybody,” he recalled.\n\nHe remembers sitting in high school science class one day next to a friend he’d had since kindergarten. Her eyes, crystal blue, reminded him so much of Ellen Degeneres’, which he’d seen on the cover of a book. He told her she had Ellen’s eyes.\n\n“And (I) remember that she instantaneously said, ‘Don’t ever compare me to that woman,’” Greene recalled.\n\nThe experience struck him so much that he drew into himself. Comparing anyone to a gay person was unforgivable – he was unforgivable. “I almost didn’t graduate,” he said. “I ended up graduating, I think second to last in my class. I just barely got by because I didn’t care any longer.”\n\nIn college, he took sociology and psychology classes, and the world started to open up. He became what he called an “aggressive liberal activist,” making pamphlets about gay rights that he left on cars and at churches.\n\nBut Greene found his liberal peers dismissive and unforgiving, he said. His first girlfriend in middle school, whom he always idealized, had been Black. He remembers sharing with a college class that when he had a kid, he wanted to adopt a Black child.\n\n“Several of the Black girls in the class told me that was the same as slavery,” he said. “They thought that I was purchasing a Black woman to be a symbol of pride for myself and that it was racism, and it was so startling to me to be called a racist.”\n\nIt was one of several incidents that pushed Greene away from progressive circles and toward conservative politics, he said. But it wasn’t until 2018 that he voted Republican, or voted at all. The confirmation process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh pushed him over the edge. Greene did not believe allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh or concerns from LGBTQ advocacy groups that he posed a threat to equal rights.\n\n“I thought he was brutally targeted by an intentional campaign to smear him as aggressively as possible with false allegations to try and thwart his nomination,” Greene said. “I’m a survivor of rape. What they did hurt me very personally.”\n\nToday, Greene’s a prominent LGBTQ conservative voice. He has more than 45,000 Twitter followers and a new book out, “Without Context: Evaluating the Anti-LGBT Claims Against the Trump Administration.” He early voted in Ohio this year, his first presidential election.\n\nIdeas over identity\n\nLike Greene, Wyatt Torosian takes issue with identity politics. Torosian, a bisexual and mixed-raced conservative, says he cares less about a person’s race or gender and more about their ideas.\n\n“There has been an overemphasis on personal background and people’s identifiers as determining what their beliefs could be,” he said.\n\nTorosian lives in Hollywood, a beacon of LGBTQ acceptance. His best friend is a “cis Jewish liberal socialist female,” he says. He grew up in what he describes as an apolitical family in Fresno, California. He came out as conservative in high school, long before he came out as bisexual, which was just four years ago. It’s hard to say which was more difficult, he said.\n\nTorosian believes in limited government and strong national defense. Social issues are low on his list. He concedes that it might be a privilege to look at this election and not see the outcome as life or death for him or the people that he loves, but he also thinks that people overstate that worry to bully people into voting with them.\n\n“If you’re on dialysis, and your health care coverage protects that, and then the next occupant [of the White House] might alter that health care coverage that could be a life or death situation, that is the person I want to hear from,” he said.\n\nLGBTQ conservatives interviewed tend to value the same things as as other conservatives: They believe in small government, have an “America-first” mindset, and are anti-abortion. They see Trump’s rollback of LGBTQ rights as part of a larger deregulation campaign to limit the powers of the federal government, not as a targeted attack on gay and transgender rights.\n\nStraight Republicans have welcomed LGBTQ people, they say. New data from the Human Rights Campaign suggests that Trump voters in swing states largely support LGBTQ equality. In Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, Trump voters were more likely than not to support marriage equality, adoption rights and transgender military service. At least 60% in each state said trans people should be able to live freely and openly, and 87% or more backed trans access to medical care.\n\nHowever, this doesn’t translate to support for transgender rights across the board. In fact, many gay, lesbian and bisexual conservatives openly question the validity of transgender people. Miss Maga and Greene believe transgender people will forever be “biologically” the gender they were assigned at birth.\n\n“I’m not going to tell a person who is transgender that they are not who they feel they are,” Greene said. “But I also don’t think that I’m obligated to believe them, or agree with them based on just what they tell me, either.”\n\nGreene cites his own teenage desires to be a girl as proof that it’s possible for people to outgrow gender dysphoria. He desperately wanted to be female, but he’s perfectly happy presenting as male now – though his gender is complicated, he says.\n\n“I feel like it’s similar to somebody who believes they’re psychic,” he said. “From an objective point of view, I can’t say that they aren’t, but I also can’t believe that they are. I feel the same way that if you are biologically male, you’re a physical male, and you say ‘I feel like I am female,’ what you’re doing is you are imagining what that must be like based on what you know, a female is.”\n\nMiss Maga, too, always longed to put on dresses and sparkle, like a Disney princess. But she’s very clear that when the dress comes off, so does the lady. She wants people to use male pronouns when she’s out of drag.\n\nTorosian differs here. While he says there is a difference between gender identity and sexual orientation, he sees trans issues as inherently connected to lesbian, gay and bisexual issues.\n\n“I don’t get into the conversation where people want to get into the semantics of what trans is and everything like that,” he said. “I think that it’s a personal experience for each individual.”\n\nLike many conservatives, Torosian, Greene and Miss Maga oppose gender-affirming health care for transgender children.\n\nTransgender children who experience gender dysphoria can be prescribed puberty blockers, temporary injections that pause puberty until a young person is old enough to make an informed decision about whether or not they want to medically transition.\n\nThe American Medical Association states that the importance of puberty blockers “cannot be overstated,” adding that once kids start development of the “ ‘wrong’ sex,” their psychological well being substantially deteriorates and they are at risk for suicide. A Harvard Medical School study this year found that puberty blockers lowered suicide risk in transgender children by 15 percent.\n\nBut many LGBTQ conservatives think that kids are too young to socially transition, and they discount consensus among major medical organizations that state puberty blockers are reversible, safe and necessary, favoring controversial, often debunked studies.\n\nBut for Miss Maga, the argument is simple. She feels like she grew up a lot like Elsa, heroine of Disney’s “Frozen,” who is forced to wear gloves because she can’t control her ability to turn everything into ice with a wave of her hand.\n\n“That’s how I felt as an Eagle Scout,” Miss Maga said. Playing into masculinity felt like keeping gloves on, keeping some magical power hidden, she said.\n\nWhen “Frozen” came out in 2013, Miss Maga realized that boys could be sparkly and beautiful. Boys could wear dresses and heels. A person doesn’t need to transition to do that, she feels. To her that feels like gender essentialism. Lost in this discussion is the difference between gender identity, who you are at the core, and gender expression — some of us wear pants and some of us wear skirts.\n\n“What makes me different, is actually beautiful,” she said. “It’s actually amazing, and I have something to offer the world. Watch me build a castle. Watch me sparkle.”\n\nAnd now, thousands of people do. At Trump rallies.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/11/02"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/26/live-politics-updates-trump-facebook-instagram-pelosi-video-rnc-chair/11123315002/", "title": "Biden says GOP 'threatening to destroy' economy; Elon Musk meets ...", "text": "Members of the Republican National Committee are gathering in Southern California as the party wrestles with how to position itself for the 2024 election in the aftermath of lackluster midterm results.\n\nDivisions about the path forward are on display ahead of a vote Friday for RNC chair.\n\nHere's what else is happening in politics:\n\nThe National Archives has sent a letter to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents asking them to examine whether they have classified information.\n\na letter to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents asking them to examine whether they have classified information. California state bar seeks to revoke the law license of Donald Trump lawyer John Eastman.\n\nthe law license of Donald Trump lawyer John Eastman. Biden at Virginia union hall accuses Republicans of \"threatening to destroy\" the economy with its positions on the debt limit and proposed cuts to domestic programs.\n\naccuses Republicans of \"threatening to destroy\" the economy with its positions on the debt limit and proposed cuts to domestic programs. Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao responded to Trump's repeated racist remarks about her.\n\nresponded to Trump's repeated racist remarks about her. Schiff announces Senate bid: Rep. Adam Schiff, who this week was blocked from serving again on the House Intelligence Committee, plans to run for Senate in California. No word on whether the current occupant of that seat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is running again.\n\nRep. Adam Schiff, who this week was blocked from serving again on the House Intelligence Committee, plans to run for Senate in California. No word on whether the current occupant of that seat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, is running again. Senators look to 2024. Several senators have already launched 2024 reelection campaigns and primary challengers in some races are starting to emerge.\n\nSeveral senators have already launched 2024 reelection campaigns and primary challengers in some races are starting to emerge. Video of the attack on Pelosi's husband to be released: A judge in California ruled late Wednesday that video footage of Paul Pelosi's attack could be released.\n\nStay up-to-date on everything politics:Sign up for the On Politics newsletter\n\nElon Musk meets with McCarthy and Jeffries\n\nAfter a closed-door meeting, Speaker Kevin McCarthy quipped to reporters about a rare 58th birthday gift: a visit from Elon Musk.\n\nIt appears it was actually a business meeting with Musk and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.\n\nThe tech magnate was spotted going into the speaker’s office late Thursday afternoon, as the House considered more than 20 amendments to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act.\n\nAfter the meeting, the Twitter CEO used his social media site to explain his appearance on Capitol Hill. “Just met with @SpeakerMcCarthy & @RepJeffries to discuss ensuring that this platform is fair to both parties,” Musk said in a tweet.\n\nHis visit comes two weeks before the House Oversight Committee is expected to hold hearings on what Republicans describe as collusion between Twitter and the federal government. They claim the social media site suppressed information about Hunter Biden’s laptop and censored GOP views on the platform. Twitter employees have been invited to testify.\n\n— Candy Woodall\n\nIn case you missed it:McCarthy plans to block Democrats Swalwell, Schiff from House Intelligence Committee\n\nBiden calls for ‘peaceful protests’ before release of body camera footage in Tyre Nichols case\n\nPresident Joe Biden said the family of Tyre Nichols deserves a “swift, full and fair investigation” into his death and called for “peaceful protests” after five former Memphis police officers were charged Thursday with second-degree murder.\n\n“Outrage is understandable, but violence is never acceptable,” Biden said in his first statement on the Nichols case. “Violence is destructive and against the law. It has no place in peaceful protests seeking justice.”\n\nNichols, 29, died Jan. 7 after a police traffic stop that resulted in “two confrontations with police,” according to Memphis police. Nichols \"complained of a shortness of breath,” police said. Video from police-worn body cameras of the interaction is scheduled for release Friday evening. Nichols was black. The five officers charged in the case are also Black.\n\n“We cannot ignore the fact that fatal encounters with law enforcement have disparately impacted Black and Brown people,” Biden said, renewing his call for policing reform legislation that stalled in Congress last year.\n\n- Joey Garrison\n\nMemphis police incident:'This was criminal': Former Memphis police officers arrested, face murder charges in Tyre Nichols' death\n\nCalifornia will seek to disbar Trump lawyer John Eastman\n\nCalifornia’s state bar is seeking to revoke the law license of John Eastman, the lawyer who spearheaded an effort to use slates of fake electors in battleground states to overturn the 2020 election in favor of former President Donald Trump.\n\nThe state bar alleges that Eastman violated his duty to uphold the U.S. and California state constitutions in an attempt to “usurp the will of the American people and overturn election results for the highest office in the land.”\n\n“There is nothing more sacrosanct to our American democracy than free and fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power,” George Cardona, chief trial counsel to California’s state bar, said in a statement. “...(Eastman) must be held accountable.”\n\nEastman holds law licenses in both Washington, D.C. and California.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\nTrump allies:State election officials tell Jan. 6 committee of pressure, threats from Trump and allies\n\nBiden: Republicans are ‘threatening to destroy’ economy over debt ceiling\n\nPresident Joe Biden accused Republicans Thursday of \"threatening to destroy\" the economy over brinkmanship on the debt limit and proposed GOP cuts to domestic programs.\n\n“They seem determined to be the party of chaos and catastrophe,” Biden, speaking from a steamfitters union hall in Springfield, Virginia, said after the release of a new report on the gross domestic product that showed better-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter of last year.\n\nHouse Republicans have not released a unified economic plan. The Republican Study Committee, which includes about 160 Republicans, last year endorsed raising the retirement age to 70 to qualify for Social Security benefits. Still, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has insisted Republicans have no plans to cut Social Security and Medicare, even as Biden warns the two programs could be slashed if Republicans get their way.\n\nFinancial markets are on edge that a failure to raise the debt limit would lead to the nation's first-ever default, a scenario that economists fear could plunge the economy into a recession. Biden has said he won't negotiate with Republicans seeking to use the debt ceiling to achieve unspecified spending cuts.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nElaine Chao addresses Donald Trump's racist comments about her\n\nFormer Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao chided her one-time boss – former President Donald Trump – this week, speaking out about him repeatedly making racist comments about her.\n\nTrump on Truth Social on Monday targeted Chao with a racial charged nickname and her husband, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as he attempting to link them to the classified documents found in a Washington, D.C. office that has been used by President Joe Biden. Chao responded by slamming the former president for the slurs he has repeatedly used against her.\n\n“When I was young, some people deliberately misspelled or mispronounced my name,” Chao, an Asian-American who served as transportation secretary in Trump’s administration, said in a statement to USA TODAY. “Asian Americans have worked hard to change that experience for the next generation. He doesn’t seem to understand that, which says a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans.”\n\n- Marina Pitofsky\n\nMore:'Says a whole lot more about him': Elaine Chao speaks out about Donald Trump's racist comments on her\n\nNational Archives asks former presidents, VPs to recheck their offices for classified material\n\nThe National Archives has sent a letter to representatives of former presidents and vice presidents dating back to the Reagan administration asking them to examine whether they have classified information in their possession, according to a source familiar with the matter.\n\nThe request was apparently prompted by investigations involving former President Donald Trump, current President Joe Biden, and former vice president Mike Pence and their handling of classified material.\n\nOther recipients of the National Archives request include the offices of former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan, and former vice presidents Dick Cheney, Al Gore, and Dan Quayle.\n\nAn official with one of the recipient offices confirmed the letter, but would not discuss it. The offices of Obama, Bush, and Clinton have said they have no classified material in their possession.\n\nCNN, which first reported the letter, said former presidents and vice-presidents are being asked to \"re-check their personal records for any classified documents or other presidential records in the wake of classified documents discovered in the homes of\" Trump, Pence, and Biden.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nNational Archives letter to ex-presidents:National Archives asks ex-presidents and vice presidents to look for classified documents\n\nRecords request:After Trump, Biden, Pence, are other former presidents holding classified documents? We asked.\n\n'Rules there for a reason': FBI's Wray urges compliance with classified document rules\n\nFBI Director Christopher Wray Thursday briefly addressed growing questions about officials’ handling of classified documents, saying “rules are there for a reason.”\n\nWhile not specifically commenting on the pending special counsel investigations involving former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, in addition to new disclosures about the recovery of documents at former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home, Wray said such inquiries are a “regular part” of the bureau’s Counterintelligence Division’s work.\n\n“And people need to be conscious of the rules regarding classified information,” Wray said at an unrelated Justice Department briefing. “Those rules are there for a reason.”\n\n- Kevin Johnson\n\nHouse to vote on Strategic Production Response Act. What is it?\n\nThe House is voting on legislation Thursday that would limit President Joe Biden's authority to withdraw oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after Republicans claim he misused the power for political gains.\n\nThe bill, labeled the Strategic Petroleum Response Act (H.R. 21), would prevent an administration from withdrawing oil from the reserves unless there is an increase in the percentage of federal lands that produce oil and gas to match the percentage withdrawn.\n\nThe bill is unlikely to become law; it does not have the votes to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the Biden administration has said it would veto it in any case. It comes after Biden ordered the largest withdrawal in U.S. history last year, a move that plummeted the reserves' levels to their lowest since 1984.\n\n– Rachel Looker\n\nMore on this bill:In House vote on Strategic Production Response Act, GOP aims to limit oil reserve withdrawal\n\nFBI dismantles website of notorious ransomware gang Hive\n\nFederal authorities dismantled a website operated by a notorious ransomware gang, known to extort millions of dollars from victims as part of a global cybercrime operation.\n\nAttorney General Merrick Garland said the FBI late Wednesday seized a cache of computer servers in Los Angeles supporting the group known as Hive, while foreign law enforcement partners took control of a similar network in Europe to take down the operation which had targeted 1,500 victims in 80 countries.\n\nSince June 2021, federal authorities said, Hive had reaped more than $100 million in ransom payments from schools, hospitals and a range of private companies.\n\n– Kevin Johnson\n\nRead more on the FBI operation:FBI dismantles ransomware gang Hive's website. $130 million in ransom payments averted.\n\nAdam Schiff announces bid for California Senate seat\n\nRep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., announced Thursday he is launching a campaign to run for Senate.\n\nSchiff, who has served in the House since 2001, was a member of the House Intelligence Committee in the last Congress and was a key figure during the Jan. 6 hearings to investigate the attack on the Capitol. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blocked Schiff this week from serving on the Intelligence Committee in the 118th Congress.\n\nSchiff will be the second candidate vying for the Senate seat currently held by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has not announced whether she will seek reelection or retire. California Democratic Rep. Katie Porter announced earlier this month she is also vying for the seat.\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nPaul Pelosi attack video to be released\n\nOver the objections of prosecutors, a judge has ruled that the footage of the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband can be released. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled there was no reason to keep the footage secret, especially after prosecutors played it in open court during a preliminary hearing last month.\n\nPaul Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi's husband, was asleep at the couple's San Francisco home on Oct. 28 when someone broke in and beat him with a hammer. Prosecutors have charged 42-year-old David DePape in connection with the attack.\n\nDePape pleaded not guilty last month to six charges, including attempted murder. Police have said DePape told them there was \"evil in Washington\" and he wanted to harm Nancy Pelosi because she was second in line to the presidency. His case is pending.\n\n- The Associated Press\n\nHow the Paul Pelosi attack unfolded:A break-in, a conversation, a 911 call, then violence\n\nThe battle to lead the RNC\n\nAll three contenders to lead the Republican National Committee are supporters of former President Donald Trump but are arguing about candidate recruitment and get-out-the-vote efforts.\n\nRNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, seeking a fourth term, faces opposition from California attorney Harmeet Dhillon and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell. McDaniel is favored to win, but opponents are roaming the halls of a beach resort in Dana Point, Calif., seeking support.\n\n\"We will decide if we're serious about winning in 2024,\" Dhillon tweeted this week. Republican delegates are also discussing party rules and procedures, including plans for debates among the GOP presidential candidates in 2024.\n\nRNC:Republicans are preparing for their national convention in Milwaukee. First, they have to decide who will lead the RNC\n\nBiden to highlight the economy in Virginia amid fight over debt ceiling\n\nPresident Joe Biden will travel Thursday to Springfield, Virginia where he is expected to discuss what the administration says is progress bolstering the economy.\n\nBiden is visiting the Steamfitters Local 602 union hall. His afternoon remarks will follow the release of fourth-quarter 2022 gross domestic product figures. The White House has warned of catastrophe if House Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling.\n\nFailure to act would lead to the nation's first-ever default on its debt. Biden has said that would lead to a “calamity that exceeds anything that’s ever never happened in the history of the United States.”\n\n- Joey Garrison\n\nMeta to lift bans on Trump Facebook, Instagram accounts\n\nMeta Platforms, Facebook's parent company, will reinstate former President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in the upcoming weeks as Trump prepares another presidential run, ending the two-year suspension.\n\nThe company indefinitely banned Trump's accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack to reduce the risk of violence as Mark Zuckerberg, the company's CEO, accused Trump of trying \"to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden.\"\n\nTrump responded to the ban being lifted on Truth Social: \"Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution!\"\n\n– Sarah Elbeshbishi\n\nCountdown to 2024: Porter, Gallego launch bids for Senate seats\n\nDemocrats currently have a narrow majority in the upper chamber but that will be tested next year. Thirty-four seats in the Senate will be up for grabs in the upcoming election with Democrats (including independents who caucus with Democrats) currently occupying a majority – 23 – of those seats.\n\nHere are the candidates who have announced their Senate plans for 2024:\n\nIndiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks.\n\nArizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego.\n\nWest Virginia Republican Rep. Alex Mooney\n\nCalifornia Democratic Rep. Katie Porter\n\nOhio Republican state Senator Matt Dolan\n\n- Rachel Looker\n\nGOP committee picks:Far-right Reps. Boebert, Gosar and Greene are on committees probing Biden. What does that mean?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/26"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_14", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/04/25/50-worst-product-flops-of-all-time-include-new-coke-cheetos-lip-balm/39380281/", "title": "New Coke, Cheetos lip balm among 50 all-time worst product flops", "text": "Michael B. Sauter, Evan Comen, Thomas C. Frohlich and Samuel Stebbins\n\n24/7 Wall Street\n\nGoogle+ finally ceased operations in April after eight years of efforts to boost interest in the struggling social network. The long-anticipated shutdown represents just the latest major Google product to fail to live up to its promise.\n\nGoogle has gained notoriety for scuttling dozens of projects, but just like success, failure is part of doing business. Entrepreneurs and large companies often take on big risks, hoping for success but not always finding it.\n\nThese failures can take many different forms. Often, a product simply does not connect with consumers and does not sell. In other cases, it may not come close to meeting a company’s expectations or plans, or it is recalled or discontinued for some flaws. These can all be marked as failures. While failures are expected, some can be so catastrophic they can lead to permanent damage to a company’s reputation, layoffs, and even complete financial ruin.\n\nThe real cost of cutting the cord:What streaming companies don’t want you to know\n\nDollar store games:Bargain shopping for video games, gaming accessories can pay off at dollar stores\n\nSometimes, it can take years or even decades for a product flop to disappear from the market. This was the case with Betamax, a video format that Sony introduced with the expectation it would replace VHS. Despite being technologically superior to VHS, Betamax lost market share until it eventually vanished.\n\nSome of the products on this list were among the most highly anticipated products of the year, and when released, they were the biggest product launches of the year – that is, before failing.\n\n24/7 Wall St. reviewed some of the greatest product launch blunders throughout history. Today, these product flops exist as case studies companies use to avoid future failure. They range from Ford’s Edsel in 1958 to 2016’s Galaxy Note 7. Many of these products led to losses in the hundreds of millions, and sometimes billions, of dollars. In tech, film, the internet, the pharmaceutical industry, and more, these are the biggest product flops of all time.\n\n1. Google Glass\n\n• Company: Google\n\n• Year introduced: 2013\n\n• What it was: Wearable technology\n\nGoogle first announced Google Glass – an eyeglasses-shaped head-mounted display with smartphone capabilities – to the public in 2012. The announcement began with a statement of principle: “We think technology should work for you – to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t.” After two years of disappointing sales, it was clear consumers did not need Google Glass. Google stuck to its principle, and in 2015 discontinued the product’s development. Privacy concerns, reported bugs, low battery life, bans from public spaces, and an inability to live up to the hype all stymied public adoption of the technology.\n\n2. The Newton\n\n• Company: Apple\n\n• Year introduced: 1993\n\n• What it was: Personal digital assistant\n\nWhile the personal digital assistant would become a popular consumer electronics product in the late 1990s, the first PDA was one of the biggest product flops of all time. One year after Apple CEO John Sculley coined the term “PDA” in 1992, the company released the Newton MessagePad. While the device incorporated innovative technology such as a pen-based touch screen and the ability to sync with software on a personal computer, Apple sold only 50,000 units of the product in its first four months on the market. The Newton product line was discontinued in 1998.\n\n3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial\n\n• Company: Atari\n\n• Year introduced: 1982\n\n• What it was: Video game\n\nSeveral video games have failed over the years, but arguably none as spectacularly as \"E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.\" The video game was developed shortly after the release of Steven Spielberg’s classic film. With only five weeks spent in development – games typically take months, if not years, to program – the game was notoriously difficult and sold miserably. Atari spent $21 million to purchase the rights to the franchise and $5 million on promotion of the game. The company made 4 million copies of the game, but sold only 1.5 million. Atari buried the leftover copies in a landfill.\n\n4. Satisfries\n\n• Company: Burger King\n\n• Year introduced: 2013\n\n• What it was: French fries\n\nIn 2013, Burger King introduced a new menu item advertised as a healthy alternative to their traditional french fries. Satisfries used a less porous batter, which caused the fry to absorb less oil than regular fries during cooking. While Satisfries were made with a healthier recipe, Burger King failed to convey the difference to customers. The fries were also more expensive than Burger King’s regular french fries, and failed to gain traction with consumers. The company discontinued the fries in 2014, less than a year after they were introduced.\n\n5. Premier smokeless cigarettes\n\n• Company: RJ Reynolds\n\n• Year introduced: 1988\n\n• What it was: Cigarette\n\nR.J. Reynolds, the second largest U.S. tobacco company, began marketing in 1988 a smokeless tobacco product that was intended to be a safer way to use a cigarette. In addition to concerns over the product's actual safety, smokers missed the familiar elements of traditional cigarettes – the smoke, the burn, and the flick. Another issue was the widely-reported unpleasant chemical taste, which one user described as resembling “burning plastic.” Reynolds sunk close to $1 billion into the product before pulling it off the market within a year.\n\n6. Cheetos Lip Balm\n\n• Company: Frito-Lay\n\n• Year introduced: 2005\n\n• What it was: Lip balm\n\nPopular lip balm brands such as Chapstick, Blistex, and Burt’s Bees, have successfully sold their products to Americans for decades. Many prefer such flavored varieties as cherry, mint, and vanilla bean. Not every popular flavor can be successfully turned into a lip balm, however, a lesson PepsiCo subsidiary Frito-Lay learned the hard way in 2005. While Cheetos has been a popular snack for more than six decades, Cheetos-flavored lip balm failed to catch on with consumers.\n\n7. Terra Nova\n\n• Company: Fox\n\n• Year introduced: 2011\n\n• What it was: TV show\n\nEvery year, TV shows are cancelled before the end of their first season. While Terra Nova, which aired for one 13-episode season, is not unusual in this regard, it may go down as the most costly cancelled television show of all time. Documenting the time-traveling adventures of a 22nd century family fleeing a dystopian society for a prehistoric past, the pilot of the show alone cost Fox between $16 and $20 million to make. Terra Nova encountered numerous production mishaps while filming in Australia, including a flood that nearly killed a crew member. Ratings failed to meet expectations, and the show was not renewed for a second season. Fox is estimated to have spent more than $50 million on the failed show, not including marketing costs.\n\n8. Touch of Yogurt shampoo\n\n• Company: Clairol\n\n• Year introduced: 1979\n\n• What it was: Shampoo\n\nIn keeping with the 1970s trend of incorporating natural food ingredients like lemon, herbs, and honey into beauty and hygiene products, Clairol – at the time a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb – thought a yogurt shampoo was just what the American consumer wanted. It turned out the company had grossly miscalculated. Many consumers were apparently confused as to what they had bought, as there were reported cases of people eating the shampoo.\n\n9. New Coke\n\n• Company: Coca-Cola\n\n• Year introduced: 1985\n\n• What it was: Soft drink\n\nOver the 15 years leading up to 1985, Coca-Cola’s flagship cola drink had been losing market share to Pepsi Cola. To compete, the company changed the drink’s formula for the first time in 99 years – but the move today is considered one of the greatest flops of all time. New Coke was met with public outrage and lasted only a few months. The company reintroduced its older formula, rebranded as Coca-Cola Classic.\n\n10. Windows Vista\n\n• Company: Microsoft\n\n• Year introduced: 2007\n\n• What it was: Operating system\n\nIntroduced in 2007 as a follow-up to Windows XP, the Windows Vista operating system was everything its popular predecessor was not – in all the wrong ways. Panned by customers and IT professionals alike, Vista reduced PC performance and caused a number of internet problems for users. As a result, Dell began offering Windows XP again on new laptops a few short months after Vista was introduced. Windows announced this month that it would no longer provide support for Vista, driving the final nail into the operating system’s coffin.\n\n11. Kitchen Entrees\n\n• Company: Colgate\n\n• Year introduced: 1982\n\n• What it was: Frozen meal\n\nMany of the worst product flops in recent memory were caused by otherwise popular brands wandering too far outside of their area of expertise. Colgate Kitchen Entrees may be the best example of such a product failure. When it came to pre-prepared frozen meals, Americans had plenty of options in the 1980s. Perhaps because consumers naturally associated the Colgate name with toothpaste, there was never much of an appetite for pre-made meals bearing the Colgate logo.\n\n12. Coors Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water\n\n• Company: Coors\n\n• Year introduced: 1990\n\n• What it was: Sparkling water\n\nCoors and Coors Light are two of the most popular beers in the United States. Introducing Coors Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water to the public in 1990, the Coors Brewing Company also sought to capitalize on the fast-growing bottled water segment in the United States. The water was Coors' first non-alcoholic product since Prohibition. The Coors brand name did not help to sell the product, however, as the beer-name branding may have confused or even frightened consumers. Coors let its trademark of Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water expire in 1997.\n\n13. Harley-Davidson perfume\n\n• Company: Harley-Davidson\n\n• Year released: 1994\n\n• What it was: Perfume\n\nHarley-Davidson is one of the most iconic and valuable brands in the world. It is also one of the more masculine brands. The company has not deviated considerably from this fact, although it has tried. The company released Legendary Harley-Davidson, a cologne for men, among several other varieties, starting in 1994. Another perfume, Black Fire, hit the market as recently as 2005. All are now discontinued. In the 1990s, the company released a number of other products, including wine coolers and aftershave, which after failing miserably have also become classic cases of brand overextension.\n\n14. Persil Power\n\n• Holding company: Unilever\n\n• Year released: 1994\n\n• What it was: Stain remover\n\nUnilever introduced Persil Power detergent to the market in 1994. The product utilized a newly patented stain removal formula called Accelerator. The company was so confident in the Accelerator catalyst that it carried out its $300 million introduction of Persil Power without any formal test marketing. Over time, it became clear the detergent was damaging clothes at high temperatures. After nine months on the shelves, the company replaced Persil Power with Persil New Generation, a detergent without the Accelerator compound.\n\n15. Cosmopolitan yogurt\n\n• Company: Cosmopolitan\n\n• Year introduced: 1999\n\n• What it was: Yogurt\n\nCosmopolitan is a popular women’s magazine, full of fashion advice, dating tips, celebrity gossip, and horoscopes. What the magazine’s leadership was thinking when they expanded the brand’s reach from the magazine aisle to the dairy aisle remains a mystery. Few will likely remember the 1999 debut of Cosmopolitan’s yogurt line, as the short-lived product was only available for 18 months. Like many other products on this list, Cosmopolitan yogurt was a case of a brand reaching too far beyond its area of expertise.\n\n16. DH 106 Comet\n\n• Company: De Havilland\n\n• Year introduced: 1949\n\n• What it was: Airplane\n\nWe now take jet travel for granted, but the development of a commercially viable jetliner involved a great deal of trial, error, and some utter failures. De Havilland, a British aircraft manufacturer, developed the Comet, the first commercial jet airliner. Unfortunately, within a few years of its 1949 debut, the Comet encountered several unexplained fatal crashes, including planes overrunning the runway and one exploding in midair. The Comet's reputation plummeted, and while De Havilland scrambled to redesign the plane, American companies Douglas and Boeing took over the industry.\n\n17. DeLorean DMC-12\n\n• Company: Delorean Motor Company\n\n• Year introduced: 1981\n\n• What it was: Sports car\n\nIn 1973, auto executive John DeLorean left General Motors to form the DeLorean Motor Company. After years of production delays, the DeLorean DMC-12 was released in January 1981. The car’s unique design was poorly received, however, and by 1982 less than half of the 7,000 DeLorean units produced had been sold. The DeLorean is widely recognized due to its use as a converted time machine in the “Back to the Future” series. However, the first of these films was released in 1985, far too late to save the ill-fated brand. DeLorean filed for bankruptcy in 1982.\n\n18. EZ Squirt\n\n• Company: Heinz\n\n• Year released: 2000\n\n• Company revenue when released: Ketchup\n\nBefore EZ Squirt, ketchup was always varying shades of red. To cater to kids, who were – and still are – among ketchup’s largest groups of consumers, Heinz began producing purple, green, and blue EZ Squirt ketchup in matching, vibrantly colored squeeze bottles. At first, the colorful ketchup was a huge success. The novelty wore off quickly, however, and not long after its introduction, sales of EZ Squirt began to decline. In January 2006, less than six years after its debut, Heinz halted production of the product.\n\n19. United States Football League\n\n• Company: USFL\n\n• Year introduced: 1982\n\n• What it was: Sports league\n\nConceived as a way to satiate America's appetite for football in the spring and summer months, the United States Football League was introduced in 1982. The league originally consisted of 12 teams, one of which, the New Jersey Generals, was owned by President Donald Trump. The league was beset with problems, not the least of which was finding stadiums to play in. Ultimately, over half a dozen teams folded when the league’s brain trust decided to compete directly with the NFL by scheduling games in the fall. By 1985, the league was finished.\n\n20. Home\n\n• Company: Facebook\n\n• Year introduced: 2013\n\n• What it was: Mobile phone app\n\nWith rising mobile phone use and social media engagement, Facebook in 2013 decided to launch a family of apps that combine these trends. Facebook Home converts the home screen of a smartphone into the Facebook news feed. While most of Facebook’s over 1 billion users log in to their accounts on a smartphone, the social media giant’s new product never caught on. Early users cited clunky operation, the inability to toggle between Facebook Home and the original phone interface, and lack of options for customization, among other snags.\n\n21. Edsel\n\n• Company: Ford\n\n• Year introduced: 1957\n\n• What it was: Car\n\nFord spent a year aggressively marketing the Edsel – named after Henry Ford’s son – ahead of its 1957 release. It was to be the “car of the future,” made available on dealership lots on what Ford dubbed “E-Day.\" Despite the hype, the car was a commercial disaster. It was considerably overpriced, disappointingly not futuristic, and generally ugly. Ford ceased the car's production after only two years, losing an estimated $350 million.\n\n22. Friendster\n\n• Company: Friendster\n\n• Year introduced: 2002\n\n• What it was: Social media site\n\nSocial media site Facebook is one of the biggest corporate success stories in recent memory. Unfortunately, when it comes to social media, for every success story there is at least one flop – as in the case of Friendster. The site’s users suffered through slow page loading times and the company’s developers failed to scale up when the number of subscribers spiked. Ultimately, competitors such as Facebook provided a much better user experience. Introduced in 2002, Friendster discontinued its services in mid-2015.\n\n23. WOW! Chips\n\n• Company: Frito-Lay\n\n• Year introduced: 1998\n\n• What it was: Snack\n\nPepsiCo subsidiary Frito-Lay introduced its line of WOW! Chips in 1998. The chips, which were made with the fat substitute olestra, were marketed as a healthy snacking alternative. While WOW! Chips were an initial success with $347 million in sales in their first year – the most of any new product in 1998 – sales slowed when the unpleasant side effects of olestra, such as diarrhea and cramps, became better known. To add to the product’s problems, the Food and Drug Administration instituted labeling requirements for all products containing olestra to carry warnings of “abdominal cramping and loose stools,\" and by 2000, sales of WOW! Chips were roughly 60% of what they were in the year of their release.\n\n24. Zune\n\n• Company: Microsoft\n\n• Year introduced: 2006\n\n• What it was: MP3 player\n\nIn an attempt to compete with Apple's dominant iPod MP3 player, Microsoft released the Zune in 2006. As of November 15, 2015, Microsoft discontinued all streaming, downloading, and other music services for the Zune. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, Microsoft recorded a 42% decline in revenue in its non-gaming devices segment – a decline largely attributable to the Zune’s poor performance. While the device might have been a reasonable choice for consumers, a number of reported bugs did not help sales. On December 31, 2008, most if not all 30GB Zunes stopped functioning simply because the underlying code had failed to account for the extra day in leap years.\n\n25. Relenza\n\n• Company: GlaxoSmithKline\n\n• Year introduced: 1999\n\n• What it was: Influenza pandemic drug\n\nIn 1999, a flu pandemic fear caused by the spread of avian flu created demand for antiviral medications. The FDA approved two flu drugs during the pandemic – Tamiflu and Relenza. The former went on to report massive sales, while the latter became one of the worst product flops in the pharmaceutical industry. The powder form of the drug caused respiratory problems in some patients and was only approved as a treatment for influenza rather than a preventative measure. GlaxoSmithKline sold just $13 million worth of the drug in the first quarter of 2006. By comparison, Roche reported $770 million in Tamiflu sales in the first half of the year.\n\n26. Google+\n\n• Company: Google\n\n• Year introduced: 2011\n\n• What it was: Social media site\n\nNo all product flops are necessarily discontinued. Sometimes, despite failing to live up to company expectations, they linger. Such was the case with Google+, the social media platform the Silicon Valley giant launched in 2011 to compete with Facebook. However, even with a monumental marketing campaign, Google+ failed to distinguish itself from Facebook and never took off in the same manner. While the site experienced an initial surge in subscribers, by April 2015, Google+ had experienced a 98% decline in user engagement. In April 2019 Google+ was shut down for good.\n\n27. HP Touchpad\n\n• Company: Hewlett-Packard\n\n• Year introduced: 2011\n\n• What it was: Tablet computer\n\nThe TouchPad was Hewlett Packard’s attempt to compete with Apple’s wildly successful iPad. Hewlett Packard unveiled the device in the middle of 2011 with an extremely costly advertising campaign. The rollout incorporated numerous celebrity contracts. By late summer, however, box stores such as Best Buy were sitting on excess inventory, and HP began offering steep discounts. Many discounted TouchPads were sold at a loss, and it is estimated the company lost hundreds of millions on the product in all.\n\n28. Kellogg's Breakfast Mates\n\n• Company: Kellogg's\n\n• Year introduced: 1998\n\n• What it was: Breakfast food\n\nIn 1998, Kellogg’s introduced Breakfast Mates, an all-in-one package containing a serving of cereal, a small carton of milk, and a plastic spoon. The product was designed as a time saver that would appeal to busy families with two working parents. The stated convenience of the all-in-one packaging did little to save time, largely because traditional cereal is already relatively convenient to consume. In a controlled test reported by The New York Times, preparing a bowl of cereal the traditional way took only one second longer than preparing a bowl of Breakfast Mates. To make matters worse, the product’s $30 million ad campaign sent a mixed message, depicting a family eating the supposedly portable cereal around the kitchen table. In August 1999, Kellogg’s announced Breakfast Mates would be discontinued due to low sales.\n\n29. Maxwell House Brewed Coffee\n\n• Company: Maxwell House\n\n• Year introduced: 1990\n\n• What it was: Coffee\n\nMaxwell House Brewed Coffee was pre-brewed coffee sold in a carton with a picture of a hot mug of coffee on the packaging, a misleading visual cue for a product meant to be stored in the refrigerator. Adding to the product’s issues, the carton was lined with foil and could not be microwaved. For a product marketed for its convenience, this was an especially problematic feature for consumers. The product was discontinued shortly after it was released.\n\n30. Arch Deluxe\n\n• Company: McDonald's\n\n• Year introduced: 1996\n\n• What it was: Hamburger\n\nMcDonald’s introduced several failed products throughout its 60-year history, but none so monumental as the Arch Deluxe. Introduced in 1996, the Arch Deluxe was marketed as a more gastronomic hamburger with “a grown-up taste.\" One commercial featured a child unable to enjoy the sophisticated burger, stripping its toppings to satisfy his unrefined palate. The Arch Deluxe’s advertising budget was an estimated $200 million, the most of any fast food product at the time. However, the approach failed and sales of the Arch Deluxe missed the $1 billion expectation set for its first year. The Arch Deluxe was eventually discontinued.\n\n31. HD DVD\n\n• Company: Toshiba\n\n• Year introduced: 2006\n\n• What it was: Media storage/playback device\n\nThe Blu-ray Disc’s succession of the DVD was not preordained. Before Blu-ray was the dominant medium for video playback, it was competing with Toshiba’s HD DVD. Essentially the same product, HD DVD was effectively taken out to pasture when in January 2008, Warner Bros. announced it would only support Sony’s Blu-ray format. Toshiba was not the only loser in the battle against Blu-ray. Millions of Americans found themselves stuck with HD DVD players and laptops after the dust settled.\n\n32. Microsoft Bob\n\n• Company: Microsoft\n\n• Year introduced: 1995\n\n• What it was: User interface\n\nMicrosoft released Microsoft Bob in March 1995. Intended as a simple, easy-to-use OS interface at the time, Bob presented the desktop as a house, with familiar objects corresponding with different computer applications. Clicking on the stationary lying on a desk, for example, opened the word processor. Despite its simple appearance, Bob required more processing power than most home computers had in 1995. Bob was also considered too expensive and poorly designed, and was overshadowed by the release of Windows 95 later that year. Bob was discontinued roughly a year after its release.\n\n33. 47 Ronin\n\n• Company: Universal Pictures\n\n• Year introduced: 2013\n\n• What it was: Movie\n\nThe 2013 fantasy action film “47 Ronin”, starring Keanu Reeves, is now notorious as one of the biggest box office flops of all time. The movie lost nearly $150 million on a $225 million budget and left Universal Pictures in the red for the fiscal year. Insiders point to multiple rewrites of the screenplay as well as several post-production changes that were made as filmmakers and studio executives attempted to find creative balance while appeasing moviegoers. In the end, the film failed to strike a chord with audiences and critics alike.\n\n34. Qwikster\n\n• Company: Netflix\n\n• Year introduced: 2011\n\n• What it was: DVD rental service\n\nBefore Netflix became the media streaming giant we know today, it was exclusively a deliver-by-mail DVD rental service. In an ill-conceived strategy, CEO Reed Hastings announced in September 2011 the company's plan to spin off its DVD rental service into a separate company, known as Qwikster. The move, which was meant to allow Netflix to focus more on its streaming services, would have cost consumers about 60% more if they wished to continue to have access to both services. Unpopular with customers and widely criticized, Hastings scrapped the plan less than a month after it was announced.\n\n35. Virtual Boy\n\n• Company: Nintendo\n\n• Year introduced: 1995\n\n• What it was: Portable game console\n\nVirtual Boy was game console maker Nintendo’s early foray into virtual reality technology. However, the company discontinued the portable console less than a year after its 1995 release, selling just 770,000 units globally. It is known as one of the company’s worst failures. To cut costs and reduce battery drain, Nintendo used only black and red shades in Virtual Boy games, which bothered some users. Using the Virtual Boy also caused eye strain in some users, which led Nintendo to include an automatic shutoff mechanism.\n\n36. MeeGo\n\n• Company: Nokia/Intel\n\n• Year introduced: 2010\n\n• What it was: Operating system\n\nUnlike Windows Vista, another operating system on this list, smartphone OS MeeGo was not necessarily a flawed product. By most accounts, the MeeGo operating system just came at the wrong time. Not long after its introduction, the operating system was dropped by then Nokia CEO Stephen Elop in favor of Windows Phone 7 operating system. Though it has not been used in years, MeeGo may find a second life as a tablet operating system.\n\n37. Crystal Pepsi\n\n• Company: Pepsi\n\n• Year introduced: 1992\n\n• What it was: Soda\n\nCrystal Pepsi was introduced to soda lovers across the United States in 1992. The product tasted like regular cola but was clear and caffeine free in an attempt to convey purity and heath. Crystal Pepsi was heavily promoted, with the company even buying an ad slot during Super Bowl XXVII. Despite strong initial sales, the public’s interest quickly waned and the soda was discontinued less than two years after its release.\n\n38. Hot Wheels and Barbie computers\n\n• Company: Mattel / Patriot Computers\n\n• Year released: 1999\n\n• What it was: Toy computer\n\nIn 1999, Mattel announced that it had entered a licensing agreement to sell Barbie and Hot Wheels computers. The computers would be manufactured and sold by the Patriot Computer Corporation, a privately held company based in Toronto. The move was part of an attempt to reconcile the declining sales of Barbie dolls and growing sales of software and CD-ROMs.\n\nThe computers, however, had many manufacturing flaws, and the resources Patriot devoted to fixing and replacing broken computers drove it out of business. By December the following year, the company had fired its 200 employees and filed for bankruptcy.\n\n39. LaserDisc\n\n• Company: Phillips\n\n• Year introduced: 1978\n\n• What it was: Media storage/playback device\n\nLaserDisc was effectively a precursor to the DVD, offering consumers a higher quality picture and sound than VHS tapes. The product’s numerous drawbacks, however, outweighed any benefits. Unlike VHS players, LaserDisc players could not record television shows – an important feature before the days of TiVo. LaserDisc players, as well as LaserDiscs themselves, were also relatively expensive. Introduced in the 1970s, LaserDisc made a brief comeback in the 90s, but ultimately failed to gain traction.\n\n40. Dreamcast\n\n• Company: Sega\n\n• Year introduced: 1999 (North America)\n\n• What it was: Game console\n\nIn the 1990s, Sega was a dominant player in the consoles and games business. Sega had such success with its Sonic the Hedgehog games and Genesis console, that at one point the company held 60% of the North American market. The Dreamcast launched in 1999 in North America, within a few years of successful predecessors like the Nintendo 64 and Sony Playstation. Many consider the Dreamcast to have been ahead of its time – it was the first console to introduce worldwide network compatibility – but the system just never caught on. Dreamcast sold miserably and was discontinued after just over two years, in part due to the success of the PS2, which launched in 2000. While it was not Sega’s only failure, it may have been its most colossal, marking the end of the company’s attempts at game consoles.\n\n41. S&W Mountain Bikes\n\n• Company: Smith & Wesson\n\n• Year introduced: 2002\n\n• What it was: Mountain bike\n\nGun manufacturer Smith & Wesson has been making police bicycles for about 20 years. The company also attempted to sell mountain bikes to the general public in 2002. Like many other products on this list, the company’s consumer bike segment likely failed because bicycles were too far beyond the scope of the Smith & Wesson brand and what most Americans associate with it.\n\n42. Lisa\n\n• Company: Apple\n\n• Year introduced: 1983\n\n• What it was: Personal computer\n\nBefore Apple hit its stride in the 2000s and became the most profitable corporation in history, the company was responsible for some of the worst product flops of all time. Designed as a high-end personal computer with a graphical user interface for business customers, the Apple Lisa took three years and $50 million to develop before its release in 1983. However, the computer’s $9,995 price tag, which is equivalent to roughly $25,000 today, was too high for many consumers. After selling just 100,000 units in two years Apple discontinued the Lisa in 1985.\n\n43. Betamax\n\n• Company: Sony\n\n• Year introduced: 1975\n\n• What it was: Videocassette format\n\nIn the early 1970s, videotapes were still a novel technology, and the VHS tape had yet to become the standard videocassette format. Sony introduced the Betamax format in 1975, one year before JVC introduced the VHS tape. While Betamax tapes had superior resolution and sound quality, Sony refrained from licensing its technology to other manufacturers, in turn limiting the variety of movies available on the format. Meanwhile, JVC licensed its VHS technology to any interested manufacturer. The Betamax’s share of the VCR market fell from 100% in 1975 to 10% in 1988, and continued to dwindle in the following years.\n\n44. Too Human\n\n• Company: Silicon Knights\n\n• Year introduced: 2008\n\n• What it was: Video game\n\nReleased in 2008 after years of costly development delays, “Too Human” failed to live up to expectations and became one of the worst flops in video game history. A legal ruling eventually removed the game from the marketplace and pushed Silicon Knights, the game’s developer, into bankruptcy. The game’s production budget skyrocketed to an estimated $100 million after the game engine developer, Epic Games, failed to deliver the engine on time, forcing Silicon Knights to build it own game engine. When Silicon Knights sued Epic Games for missing the deadline, the latter counter-sued, which resulted in a court order forcing the developer to destroy all unsold copies of the game.\n\n45. Mobile ESPN\n\n• Company: ESPN\n\n• Year introduced: 2006\n\n• What it was: Mobile phone service\n\nIn 2006, ESPN attempted to capitalize on the desire of sports fan to have access to sports stats, scores, and video on the go. Mobile ESPN required users to buy a specific phone, which would include access to ESPN content as part of the subscription. However, the only phone Mobile ESPN offered, a Sanyo, cost $400, and the service was $40 per month, too rich for many sports fans. The service shut down within a year. Disney, ESPN’s parent company, spent $150 million on the failed venture.\n\n46. Life Savers soda\n\n• Company: Life Savers\n\n• Year introduced: 1995\n\n• What it was: Soft drink\n\nThough Life Savers soda tested well in focus groups, it failed to gain traction with the broader consumer market. Many attribute the soft drink’s failure to the prevailing perception that it was liquid candy. The soda was available in some of the candy’s popular fruit flavors, including pineapple, orange punch, grape punch, and lime punch. Life Savers did not release a mint-flavored soda, however.\n\n47. Mars Needs Moms\n\n• Company: Walt Disney Motion\n\n• Year introduced: 2011\n\n• What it was: Studio film\n\nReleased in March 2011, Disney’s “Mars Needs Moms” grossed just $6.9 million in its opening weekend. Produced with a $150 million budget, “Mars Needs Moms” was one of the worst flops in cinema history. Film critics partially blame animation studio ImageMovers Digital for the film’s box office failure. The movie was animated using an expensive motion-capture process, a technology still in its infancy. According to one viewer, “The movie looked downright creepy.” ImageMovers Digital was closed after the studio wrapped production on the film.\n\n48. EONS\n\n• Company: Eons.com\n\n• Year introduced: 2006\n\n• What it was: Social media site\n\nIn July 2006, Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor launched Eons.com – a social network for baby boomers and other internet users over the age of 50. According to surveys conducted by Pew Research Center, an estimated 32% of seniors over the age of 65 used the internet at the time of the website’s launch compared to 86% of young adults aged 18 to 29. While the share of seniors on the internet has doubled over the past decade, Eons failed to gain traction and was sold to Crew Media in 2011.\n\n49. Supertrain\n\n• Company: NBC\n\n• Year introduced: 1979\n\n• What it was: TV show\n\nWhen NBC’s “Supertrain” premiered in 1979, it was the most expensive TV series ever aired. Set aboard a nuclear-powered train that travels between New York City and Los Angeles at speeds nearing 200 miles an hour, the show’s production required a model train set that cost around $3 million in today’s dollars. The model crashed during its first demonstration, and the show as a whole soon followed. Debuting to poor ratings and negative reviews, “Supertrain” was cancelled after just nine episodes.\n\n50. Galaxy Note 7\n\n• Company: Samsung\n\n• Year introduced: 2016\n\n• What it was: Tablet phone\n\nSamsung, which has overtaken Apple in the smartphone market last year, also had one of more recent product flops. The Note S7, a phablet that launched in August 2016, was initially well-received. However, it had a serious flaw. A problem with the battery software resulted in the phones catching fire on several occasions, including once on a Southwest Airlines flight, which had to be evacuated. Soon, the Department of Transportation made it illegal to bring a Note 7 on a commercial flight. By October, after an extremely expensive recall, Samsung suspended worldwide production of the Note 7. The company lost what is estimated to be over $3 billion due to the debacle, and Apple once again took the lead in the global smartphone market earlier this year.\n\nPrice, timing can cause product failings\n\nHindsight is 20/20, and while many of these gaffes might not have been predictable at the time, the reasons for their failure are often much clearer today. The reasons for the failures often fall into one of a several categories: overpricing, timing, bad advertising, product flaws, and reaching beyond what consumers of a brand are willing to accept.\n\nSometimes products are sold at a premium because they offer features competitors do not, either perceived or actual. When customers do not feel a product is superior to another – rightly so or not – they will not pay the premium price. While Apple is able to sell computers at a premium today because of its brand perception, the Lisa, introduced in 1983, failed largely as a result of its nearly $10,000 price tag.\n\nMany of the products on this list could have been perfectly viable, possibly even a hit, if they had been introduced at a different time. Sega’s Dreamcast was the first major console to introduce global network connectivity, but this was before every home had a stable connection fast enough to make the Dreamcast viable at the time.\n\nFor some flops on this list, it appears poor market research doomed these products. McDonald’s Arch Deluxe was marketed as a burger for those with refined palates, turning away kids, as well as many adults, from the ill-fated item. Coca-Cola completely misjudged the desire of its customers when it changed its classic flavor and introduced New Coke.\n\nSometimes, brands overextend their reach, introducing products that clash with their image and target demographics. One does not need to dig too deep to understand why Colgate, a brand associated with toothpaste, failed to make its line of frozen dinner products a success. The same can be said for Cosmopolitan’s brand of yogurt, Smith & Wesson’s mountain bike line, or Harley Davidson’s perfume.\n\nOf course, many of the products on this list were simply poorly designed or faulty – at times downright dangerous. Such was the case with Mattel’s line of seriously flawed Hot Wheels and Barbie computers, or the Galaxy Note 7, plagued by battery fires that caused the phone to be banned on airplanes, recalled, and eventually discontinued.\n\nDespite their disappointing launches, some of these products still exist today. Google’s Glass and Google+ each became the butt of jokes after failing to live up to lofty promises. One day, we may see one of these flops become the product it was meant to be.\n\n24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.\n\nCorporate reputations:Wegmans, Amazon have best ones, but which companies have the worst?", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/04/25"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/07/11/50-worst-product-flops-of-all-time/36734837/", "title": "Product launch blunders: 50 worst flops of all time", "text": "Michael B. Sauter, Evan Comen, Thomas C. Frohlich and Samuel Stebbins\n\n24/7 Wall Street\n\nSome product launches can be spectacular failures, and Google Glass, an eyeglasses shaped head-mounted device with smartphone capabilities, failed in such a manner several years ago. It was meant to be the first piece of technology to connect the typical consumer to augmented reality.\n\nGoogle continues to attempt to find a place for the product, but its original launch was a definitive failure. In 2017, the internet giant announced the relaunch of the device to target to businesses rather than the general public, but whatever happens, it will be adopted by a meaningfully narrower audience.\n\nJust like success, failure is part of doing business. Entrepreneurs and large companies often take big risks, hoping for success but not always achieving it.\n\nThese failures take many different forms. When a product doesn’t sell, when it is recalled or discontinued, or when it otherwise does not come close to meeting a company’s expectations or plans, it can be marked as a failure. While failures are expected, some can be so catastrophic they can lead to permanent damage to a company’s reputation, layoffs, and even complete financial ruin.\n\nSometimes, it can take years, or even decades for a product flop to disappear from the market. This was the case with Betamax a video format which Sony introduced, expecting it to replace VHS. Despite being technologically superior to VHS, Betamax lost market share until it eventually vanished.\n\n24/7 Wall Street reviewed some of the greatest product launch blunders throughout history. Today, these product flops exist as case studies companies use to avoid future failure. They range from Ford’s Edsel in 1958 to 2016’s Galaxy Note 7. Many of these products led to losses in the hundreds of millions, and sometimes billions. In tech, film, the internet, the pharmaceutical industry, and more, these are the biggest product flops of all time.\n\nMore: Population migration patterns: US cities Americans are abandoning\n\n1. Google Glass\n\nCompany: Google\n\nGoogle Year introduced: 2013\n\n2013 What it was: Wearable technology\n\nGoogle first announced Google Glass -- an eyeglasses shaped head-mounted display with smartphone capabilities -- to the public in 2012. The announcement began with a statement of principle: “We think technology should work for you -- to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t.” After two years of disappointing sales, it was clear consumers did not need Google Glass. Google stuck to its principle, and in 2015 discontinued the product’s development. Privacy concerns, reported bugs, low battery life, bans from public spaces, and an inability to live up to the hype all stymied public adoption of the technology.\n\n2. The Newton\n\nCompany: Apple\n\nApple Year introduced: 1993\n\n1993 What it was: Personal digital assistant\n\nWhile the personal digital assistant would become a popular consumer electronics product in the late 1990s, the first PDA was one of the biggest product flops of all time. One year after Apple CEO John Sculley coined the term “PDA” in 1992, the company released the Newton MessagePad. While the device incorporated innovative technology such as a pen-based touch screen and the ability to sync with software on a personal computer, Apple sold only 50,000 units of the product in its first four months on the market. The Newton product line was discontinued in 1998.\n\nMore: Budweiser, Coors Light, Bud Light top list of best-selling beers in America\n\n3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial\n\nCompany: Atari\n\nAtari Year introduced: 1982\n\n1982 What it was: Video game\n\nSeveral video games have failed over the years, but arguably none as spectacularly as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The video game was created/developed shortly after the release of Steven Spielberg’s classic film. With only five weeks spent in development -- games typically take months, if not years, to program -- the game was notoriously difficult and sold miserably. Atari spent $21 million to purchase the rights to the franchise and $5 million on promotion of the game. The company made 4 million copies of the game, but sold only 1.5 million. Atari buried the leftover copies in a landfill.\n\n4. Satisfries\n\nCompany: Burger King\n\nBurger King Year introduced: 2013\n\n2013 What it was: French fries\n\nIn 2013, Burger King introduced a new menu item advertised as a healthy alternative to their traditional french fries. Satisfries used a less porous batter, which caused the fry to absorb less oil than regular fries during cooking. While Satisfries were made with a healthier recipe, Burger King failed to convey the difference to customers. The fries were also more expensive than Burger King’s regular french fries, and failed to gain traction with consumers. The company discontinued the fries in 2014, less than a year after they were introduced.\n\n5. Premier smokeless cigarettes\n\nCompany: RJ Reynolds\n\nRJ Reynolds Year introduced: 1988\n\n1988 What it was: Cigarette\n\nR.J. Reynolds, the second largest U.S. tobacco company, began marketing in 1988 a smokeless tobacco product that was intended to be a safer way to use a cigarette. In addition to concerns over the product's actual safety, smokers missed the familiar elements of traditional cigarettes -- the smoke, the burn, and the flick. Another issue was the widely-reported unpleasant chemical taste, which one user described as resembling “burning plastic.” Reynolds sunk close to $1 billion into the product before pulling it off the market within a year.\n\n6. Cheetos Lip Balm\n\nCompany: Frito-Lay\n\nFrito-Lay Year introduced: 2005\n\n2005 What it was: Lip balm\n\nPopular lip balm brands such as Chapstick, Blistex, and Burt’s Bees, have successfully sold their products to Americans for decades. Many prefer such flavored varieties as cherry, mint, and vanilla bean. Not every popular flavor can be successfully turned into a lip balm, however, a lesson PepsiCo subsidiary Frito-Lay learned the hard way in 2005. While Cheetos has been a popular snack for more than six decades, Cheetos-flavored lip balm failed to catch on with consumers.\n\n7. Terra Nova\n\nCompany: Fox\n\nFox Year introduced: 2011\n\n2011 What it was: TV show\n\nEvery year, TV shows are cancelled before the end of their first season. While Terra Nova, which aired for one 13-episode season, is not unusual in this regard, it may go down as the most costly cancelled television show of all time. Documenting the time-traveling adventures of a 22nd century family fleeing a dystopian society for a prehistoric past, the pilot of the show alone cost Fox between $16 and $20 million to make. Terra Nova encountered numerous production mishaps while filming in Australia, including a flood that nearly killed a crew member. Ratings failed to meet expectations, and the show was not renewed for a second season. Fox is estimated to have spent more than $50 million on the failed show, not including marketing costs.\n\n8. Touch of Yogurt shampoo\n\nCompany: Clairol\n\nClairol Year introduced: 1979\n\n1979 What it was: Shampoo\n\nIn keeping with the 1970s trend of incorporating natural food ingredients like lemon, herbs, and honey into beauty and hygiene products, Clairol -- at the time a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb -- thought a yogurt shampoo was just what the American consumer wanted. It turned out the company had grossly miscalculated. Many consumers were apparently confused as to what they had bought, as there were reported cases of people eating the shampoo.\n\nMore: Jeep, Disney, Coca-Cola top survey list of America’s most patriotic brands\n\n9. New Coke\n\nCompany: Coca-Cola\n\nCoca-Cola Year introduced: 1985\n\n1985 What it was: Soft drink\n\nOver the 15 years leading up to 1985, Coca-Cola’s flagship cola drink had been losing market share to Pepsi Cola. To compete, the company changed the drink’s formula for the first time in 99 years -- but the move today is considered one of the greatest flops of all time. New Coke was met with public outrage and lasted only a few months. The company reintroduced its older formula, rebranded as Coca-Cola Classic.\n\n10. Windows Vista\n\nCompany: Microsoft\n\nMicrosoft Year introduced: 2007\n\n2007 What it was: Operating system\n\nIntroduced in 2007 as a follow-up to Windows XP, the Windows Vista operating system was everything its popular predecessor was not -- in all the wrong ways. Panned by customers and IT professionals alike, Vista reduced PC performance and caused a number of internet problems for users. As a result, Dell began offering Windows XP again on new laptops a few short months after Vista was introduced. Windows announced this month that it would no longer provide support for Vista, driving the final nail into the operating system’s coffin.\n\n11. Kitchen Entrees\n\nCompany: Colgate\n\nColgate Year introduced: 1982\n\n1982 What it was: Frozen meal\n\nMany of the worst product flops in recent memory were caused by otherwise popular brands wandering too far outside of their area of expertise. Colgate Kitchen Entrees may be the best example of such a product failure. When it came to pre-prepared frozen meals, Americans had plenty of options in the 1980s. Perhaps because consumers naturally associated the Colgate name with toothpaste, there was never much of an appetite for pre-made meals bearing the Colgate logo.\n\n12. Coors Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water\n\nCompany: Coors\n\nCoors Year introduced: 1990\n\n1990 What it was: Sparkling water\n\nCoors and Coors Light are two of the most popular beers in the United States. Introducing Coors Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water to the public in 1990, the Coors Brewing Company also sought to capitalize on the fast-growing bottled water segment in the United States. The water was Coors' first non-alcoholic product since Prohibition. The Coors brand name did not help to sell the product, however, as the beer-name branding may have confused or even frightened consumers. Coors let its trademark of Rocky Mountain Sparkling Water expire in 1997.\n\n13. Harley Davidson perfume\n\nCompany: Harley Davidson\n\nHarley Davidson Year released: 1994\n\n1994 What it was: Perfume\n\nHarley Davidson is one of the most iconic and valuable brands in the world. It is also one of the most masculine brands. The company has not deviated considerably from this manly personality, although it has tried. The company released Legendary Harley-Davidson, a cologne for men, among several other varieties, starting in 1994. Another perfume, Black Fire, hit the market as recently as 2005. All are now discontinued. In the 1990s, the company released a number of other products, including wine coolers and aftershave, which after failing miserably have also become classic cases of brand overextension.\n\n14. Persil Power\n\nHolding company: Unilever\n\nUnilever Year released: 1994\n\n1994 What it was: Stain remover\n\nUnilever introduced Persil Power detergent to the market in 1994. The product utilized a newly patented stain removal formula called Accelerator. The company was so confident in the Accelerator catalyst that it carried out its $300 million introduction of Persil Power without any formal test marketing. Over time, it became clear the detergent was damaging clothes at high temperatures. After nine months on the shelves, the company replaced Persil Power with Persil New Generation, a detergent without the Accelerator compound.\n\n15. Cosmopolitan yogurt\n\nCompany: Cosmopolitan\n\nCosmopolitan Year introduced: 1999\n\n1999 What it was: Yogurt\n\nCosmopolitan is a popular women’s magazine, full of fashion advice, dating tips, celebrity gossip, and horoscopes. What the magazine’s leadership was thinking when they expanded the brand’s reach from the magazine aisle to the dairy aisle remains a mystery. Few will likely remember the 1999 debut of Cosmopolitan’s yogurt line, as the short-lived product was only available for 18 months. Like many other products on this list, Cosmopolitan yogurt was a case of a brand reaching too far beyond its area of expertise.\n\n16. DH 106 Comet\n\nCompany: De Havilland\n\nDe Havilland Year introduced: 1949\n\n1949 What it was: Airplane\n\nWe now take jet travel for granted, but the development of a commercially viable jetliner involved a great deal of trial, error, and some utter failures. De Havilland, a British aircraft manufacturer, developed the Comet, the first commercial jet airliner. Unfortunately, within a few years of its 1949 debut, the Comet encountered several unexplained fatal crashes, including planes overrunning the runway and one exploding in midair. The Comet's reputation plummeted, and while De Havilland scrambled to redesign the plane, American companies Douglas and Boeing took over the industry.\n\nMore: Which manufacturers are bringing the most jobs back to America?\n\n17. DeLorean DMC-12\n\nCompany: Delorean Motor Company\n\nDelorean Motor Company Year introduced: 1981\n\n1981 What it was: Sports car\n\nIn 1973, auto executive John DeLorean left General Motors to form the DeLorean Motor Company. After years of production delays, the DeLorean DMC-12 was released in January 1981. The car’s unique design was poorly received, however, and by 1982 less than half of the 7,000 DeLorean units produced had been sold. The DeLorean is widely recognized due to its use as a converted time machine in the “Back to the Future” series. However, the first of these films was released in 1985, far too late to save the ill-fated brand. DeLorean filed for bankruptcy in 1982.\n\n18. EZ Squirt\n\nCompany: Heinz\n\nHeinz Year released: 2000\n\n2000 Company revenue when released: Ketchup\n\nBefore EZ Squirt, ketchup was always varying shades of red. To cater to kids, who were -- and still are -- among ketchup’s largest groups of consumers, Heinz began producing purple, green, and blue EZ Squirt ketchup in matching, vibrantly colored squeeze bottles. At first, the colorful ketchup was a huge success. The novelty wore off quickly, however, and not long after its introduction, sales of EZ Squirt began to decline. In January 2006, less than six years after its debut, Heinz halted production of the product.\n\n19. United States Football League\n\nCompany: USFL\n\nUSFL Year introduced: 1982\n\n1982 What it was: Sports league\n\nConceived as a way to satiate America's appetite for football in the spring and summer months, the United States Football League was introduced in 1982. The league originally consisted of 12 teams, one of which, the New Jersey Generals, was owned by President Donald Trump. The league was beset with problems, not the least of which was finding stadiums to play in. Ultimately, over half a dozen teams folded when the league’s brain trust decided to compete directly with the NFL by scheduling games in the fall. By 1985, the league was finished.\n\n20. Home\n\nCompany: Facebook\n\nFacebook Year introduced: 2013\n\n2013 What it was: Mobile phone app\n\nWith rising mobile phone use and social media engagement, Facebook in 2013 decided to launch a family of apps that combine these trends. Facebook Home converts the home screen of a smartphone into the Facebook news feed. While most of Facebook’s over 1 billion users log in to their accounts on a smartphone, the social media giant’s new product never caught on. Early users cited clunky operation, the inability to toggle between Facebook Home and the original phone interface, and lack of options for customization, among other snags.\n\n21. Edsel\n\nCompany: Ford\n\nFord Year introduced: 1957\n\n1957 What it was: Car\n\nFord spent a year aggressively marketing the Edsel -- named after Henry Ford’s son -- ahead of its 1957 release. It was to be the “car of the future,” made available on dealership lots on what Ford dubbed “E-Day.\" Despite the hype, the car was a commercial disaster. It was considerably overpriced, disappointingly not futuristic, and generally ugly. Ford ceased the car's production after only two years, losing an estimated $350 million.\n\n22. Friendster\n\nCompany: Friendster\n\nFriendster Year introduced: 2002\n\n2002 What it was: Social media site\n\nSocial media site Facebook is one of the biggest corporate success stories in recent memory. Unfortunately, when it comes to social media, for every success story there is at least one flop -- as in the case of Friendster. The site’s users suffered through slow page loading times and the company’s developers failed to scale up when the number of subscribers spiked. Ultimately, competitors such as Facebook provided a much better user experience. Introduced in 2002, Friendster discontinued its services in mid-2015.\n\n23. WOW! Chips\n\nCompany: Frito-Lay\n\nFrito-Lay Year introduced: 1998\n\n1998 What it was: Snack\n\nPepsiCo subsidiary Frito-Lay introduced its line of WOW! Chips in 1998. The chips, which were made with the fat substitute olestra, were marketed as a healthy snacking alternative. While WOW! Chips were an initial success with $347 million in sales in their first year -- the most of any new product in 1998 -- sales slowed when the unpleasant side effects of olestra, such as diarrhea and cramps, became better known. To add to the product’s problems, the Food and Drug Administration instituted labeling requirements for all products containing olestra to carry warnings of “abdominal cramping and loose stools,\" and by 2000, sales of WOW! Chips were roughly 60% of what they were in the year of their release.\n\nMore: Per capita government spending: How much does your state spend on you?\n\n24. Zune\n\nCompany: Microsoft\n\nMicrosoft Year introduced: 2006\n\n2006 What it was: MP3 player\n\nIn an attempt to compete with Apple's dominant iPod MP3 player, Microsoft released the Zune in 2006. As of November 15, 2015, Microsoft discontinued all streaming, downloading, and other music services for the Zune. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, Microsoft recorded a 42% decline in revenue in its non-gaming devices segment -- a decline largely attributable to the Zune’s poor performance. While the device might have been a reasonable choice for consumers, a number of reported bugs did not help sales. On December 31, 2008, most if not all 30GB Zunes stopped functioning simply because the underlying code had failed to account for the extra day in leap years.\n\n25. Relenza\n\nCompany: GlaxoSmithKline\n\nGlaxoSmithKline Year introduced: 1999\n\n1999 What it was: Influenza pandemic drug\n\nIn 1999, a flu pandemic fear caused by the spread of avian flu created demand for antiviral medications. The FDA approved two flu drugs during the pandemic -- Tamiflu and Relenza. The former went on to report massive sales, while the latter became one of the worst product flops in the pharmaceutical industry. The powder form of the drug caused respiratory problems in some patients and was only approved as a treatment for influenza rather than a preventative measure. GlaxoSmithKline sold just $13 million worth of the drug in the first quarter of 2006. By comparison, Roche reported $770 million in Tamiflu sales in the first half of the year.\n\n26. Google+\n\nCompany: Google\n\nGoogle Year introduced: 2011\n\n2011 What it was: Social media site\n\nNo all product flops are necessarily discontinued. Sometimes, despite failing to live up to company expectations, they linger. Such is the case with Google+, the social media platform the Silicon Valley giant launched in 2011 to compete with Facebook. However, even with a monumental marketing campaign, Google+ failed to distinguish itself from Facebook and never took off in the same manner. While the site experienced an initial surge in subscribers, by April 2015, Google+ had experienced a 98% decline in user engagement. Today, Google+ has some active user groups and is often used to share photos.\n\n27. HP Touchpad\n\nCompany: Hewlett-Packard\n\nHewlett-Packard Year introduced: 2011\n\n2011 What it was: Tablet computer\n\nThe TouchPad was Hewlett Packard’s attempt to compete with Apple’s wildly successful iPad. Hewlett Packard unveiled the device in the middle of 2011 with an extremely costly advertising campaign. The rollout incorporated numerous celebrity contracts. By late summer, however, box stores such as Best Buy were sitting on excess inventory, and HP began offering steep discounts. Many discounted TouchPads were sold at a loss, and it is estimated the company lost hundreds of millions on the product in all.\n\n28. Kellogg's Breakfast Mates\n\nCompany: Kellogg's\n\nKellogg's Year introduced: 1998\n\n1998 What it was: Breakfast food\n\nIn 1998, Kellogg’s introduced Breakfast Mates, an all-in-one package containing a serving of cereal, a small carton of milk, and a plastic spoon. The product was designed as a time saver that would appeal busy families with two working parents. The stated convenience of the all-in-one packaging did little to save time, largely because traditional cereal is already relatively convenient to consume. In a controlled test reported by The New York Times, preparing a bowl of cereal the traditional way took only one second longer than preparing a bowl of Breakfast Mates. To make matters worse, the product’s $30 million ad campaign sent a mixed message, depicting a family eating the supposedly portable cereal around the kitchen table. In August 1999, Kellogg’s announced Breakfast Mates would be discontinued due to low sales.\n\n29. Maxwell House Brewed Coffee\n\nCompany: Maxwell House\n\nMaxwell House Year introduced: 1990\n\n1990 What it was: Coffee\n\nMaxwell House Brewed Coffee was pre-brewed coffee sold in a carton with a picture of a hot mug of coffee on the packaging, a misleading visual cue for a product meant to be stored in the refrigerator. Adding to the product’s issues, the carton was lined with foil and could not be microwaved. For a product marketed for its convenience, this was an especially problematic feature for consumers. The product was discontinued shortly after it was released.\n\n30. Arch Deluxe\n\nCompany: McDonald's\n\nMcDonald's Year introduced: 1996\n\n1996 What it was: Hamburger\n\nMcDonald’s introduced several failed products throughout its 60-year history, but none so monumental as the Arch Deluxe. Introduced in 1996, the Arch Deluxe was marketed as a more gastronomic hamburger with “a grown-up taste.\" One commercial featured a child unable to enjoy the sophisticated burger, stripping its toppings to satisfy his unrefined palate. The Arch Deluxe’s advertising budget was an estimated $200 million, the most of any fast food product at the time. However, the approach failed and sales of the Arch Deluxe missed the $1 billion expectation set for its first year. The Arch Deluxe was eventually discontinued.\n\nMore: Wage potential: Highest paying jobs you can get without a college degree\n\n31. HD DVD\n\nCompany: Toshiba\n\nToshiba Year introduced: 2006\n\n2006 What it was: Media storage/playback device\n\nBlu-ray’s succession of the DVD was not preordained. Before Blu-ray was the dominant medium for video playback, it was competing with Toshiba’s HD DVD. Essentially the same product, HD DVD was effectively taken out to pasture when in January 2008, Warner Bros. announced it would only support Sony’s Blu-ray format. Toshiba was not the only loser in the battle against Blu-ray. Millions of Americans found themselves stuck with HD DVD players and laptops after the dust settled.\n\n32. Microsoft Bob\n\nCompany: Microsoft\n\nMicrosoft Year introduced: 1995\n\n1995 What it was: User interface\n\nMicrosoft released Microsoft Bob in March 1995. Intended as a simple, easy-to-use OS interface at the time, Bob presented the desktop as a house, with familiar objects corresponding with different computer applications. Clicking on the stationary lying on a desk, for example, opened the word processor. Despite its simple appearance, Bob required more processing power than most home computers had in 1995. Bob was also considered too expensive and poorly designed, and was overshadowed by the release of Windows 95 later that year. Bob was discontinued roughly a year after its release.\n\n33. 47 Ronin\n\nCompany: Universal Pictures\n\nUniversal Pictures Year introduced: 2013\n\n2013 What it was: Movie\n\nThe 2013 fantasy action film “47 Ronin”, starring Keanu Reeves, is now notorious as one of the biggest box office flops of all time. The movie lost nearly $150 million on a $225 million budget and left Universal Pictures in the red for the fiscal year. Insiders point to multiple rewrites of the screenplay as well as several post-production changes that were made as filmmakers and studio executives attempted to find creative balance while appeasing moviegoers. In the end, the film failed to strike a chord with audiences and critics alike.\n\n34. Qwikster\n\nCompany: Netflix\n\nNetflix Year introduced: 2011\n\n2011 What it was: DVD rental service\n\nBefore Netflix became the media streaming giant we know today, it was exclusively a deliver-by-mail DVD rental service. In an ill conceived of strategy, CEO Reed Hastings announced in September 2011 the company's plan to spin off its DVD rental service into a separate company, known as Qwikster. The move, which was meant to allow Netflix to focus more on its streaming services, would have cost consumers about 60% more if they wished to continue to have access to both services. Unpopular with customers and widely criticized, Hastings scrapped the plan less than a month after it was announced.\n\n35. Virtual Boy\n\nCompany: Nintendo\n\nNintendo Year introduced: 1995\n\n1995 What it was: Portable game console\n\nVirtual Boy was game console maker Nintendo’s early foray into virtual reality technology. However, the company discontinued the portable console less than a year after its 1995 release, selling just 770,000 units globally. It is known as one of the company’s worst failures. To cut costs and reduce battery drain, Nintendo used only black and red shades in Virtual Boy games, which bothered some users. Using the Virtual Boy also caused eye strain in some users, which led Nintendo to include an automatic shutoff mechanism.\n\n36. MeeGo\n\nCompany: Nokia/Intel\n\nNokia/Intel Year introduced: 2010\n\n2010 What it was: Operating system\n\nUnlike Windows Vista, another operating system on this list, smartphone OS MeeGo was not necessarily a flawed product. By most accounts, the MeeGo operating system just came at the wrong time. Not long after its introduction, the operating system was dropped by then Nokia CEO Stephen Elop in favor of Windows Phone 7 operating system. Though it has not been used in years, MeeGo may find a second life as a tablet operating system.\n\n37. Crystal Pepsi\n\nCompany: Pepsi\n\nPepsi Year introduced: 1992\n\n1992 What it was: Soda\n\nCrystal Pepsi was introduced to soda lovers across the United States in 1992. The product tasted like regular cola but was clear and caffeine free in an attempt to convey purity and heath. Crystal Pepsi was heavily promoted, with the company even buying an ad slot during Super Bowl XXVII. Despite strong initial sales, the public’s interest quickly waned and the soda was discontinued less than two years after its release.\n\n38. Hot Wheels and Barbie computers\n\nCompany: Mattel / Patriot Computers\n\nMattel / Patriot Computers Year released: 1999\n\n1999 What it was: Toy computer\n\nIn 1999, Mattel announced that it had entered a licensing agreement to sell Barbie and Hot Wheels computers. The computers would be manufactured and sold by the Patriot Computer Corporation, a privately held company based in Toronto. The move was part of an attempt to reconcile the declining sales of Barbie dolls and growing sales of software and CD-ROMs.\n\nThe computers, however, had many manufacturing flaws, and the resources Patriot devoted to fixing and replacing broken computers drove it out of business. By December the following year, the company had fired its 200 employees and filed for bankruptcy.\n\nMore: How much did a personal computer cost the year you were born?\n\n39. LaserDisc\n\nCompany: Phillips\n\nPhillips Year introduced: 1978\n\n1978 What it was: Media storage/playback device\n\nLaserDisc was effectively a precursor to the DVD, offering consumers a higher quality picture and sound than VHS tapes. The product’s numerous drawbacks, however, outweighed any benefits. Unlike VHS players, LaserDisc players could not record television shows -- an important feature before the days of TiVo. LaserDisc players, as well as LaserDiscs themselves, were also relatively expensive. Introduced in the 1970s, LaserDisc made a brief comeback in the 90s, but ultimately failed to gain traction.\n\n40. Dreamcast\n\nCompany: Sega\n\nSega Year introduced: 1999 (North America)\n\n1999 (North America) What it was: Game console\n\nIn the 1990s, Sega was a dominant player in the consoles and games business. Sega had such success with its Sonic the Hedgehog games and Genesis console, that at one point the company held 60% of the North American market. The Dreamcast launched in 1999 in North America, within a few years of successful predecessors like the Nintendo 64 and Sony Playstation. Many consider the Dreamcast to have been ahead of its time -- it was the first console to introduce worldwide network compatibility -- but the system just never caught on. Dreamcast sold miserably and was discontinued after just over two years, in part due to the success of the PS2, which launched in 2000. While it was not Sega’s only failure, it may have been its most colossal, marking the end of the company’s attempts at game consoles.\n\n41. S&W Mountain Bikes\n\nCompany: Smith & Wesson\n\nSmith & Wesson Year introduced: 2002\n\n2002 What it was: Mountain bike\n\nGun manufacturer Smith & Wesson has been making police bicycles for about 20 years. The company also attempted to sell mountain bikes to the general public in 2002. Like many other products on this list, the company’s consumer bike segment likely failed because bicycles were too far beyond the scope of the Smith & Wesson brand and what most Americans associate with it.\n\n42. Lisa\n\nCompany: Apple\n\nApple Year introduced: 1983\n\n1983 What it was: Personal computer\n\nBefore Apple hit its stride in the 2000s and became the most profitable corporation in history, the company was responsible for some of the worst product flops of all time. Designed as a high-end personal computer with a graphical user interface for business customers, the Apple Lisa took three years and $50 million to develop before its release in 1983. However, the computer’s $9,995 price tag, which is equivalent to roughly $25,000 today, was too high for many consumers. After selling just 100,000 units in two years Apple discontinued the Lisa in 1985.\n\n43. Betamax\n\nCompany: Sony\n\nSony Year introduced: 1975\n\n1975 What it was: Video cassette format\n\nIn the early 1970s, videotapes were still a novel technology, and the VHS tape had yet to become the standard video cassette format. Sony introduced the Betamax format in 1975, one year before JVC introduced the VHS tape. While Betamax tapes had superior resolution and sound quality, Sony refrained from licensing its technology to other manufacturers, in turn limiting the variety of movies available on the format. Meanwhile, JVC licensed its VHS technology to any interested manufacturer. The Betamax’s share of the VCR market fell from 100% in 1975 to 10% in 1988, and continued to dwindle in the following years.\n\n44. Too Human\n\nCompany: Silicon Knights\n\nSilicon Knights Year introduced: 2008\n\n2008 What it was: Video game\n\nReleased in 2008 after years of costly development delays, “Too Human” failed to live up to expectation and became one of the worst flops in video game history. A legal ruling eventually removed the game from the marketplace and pushed Silicon Knights, the game’s developer, into bankruptcy. The game’s production budget skyrocketed to an estimated $100 million after the game engine developer, Epic Games, failed to deliver the engine on time, forcing Silicon Knights to build it own game engine. When Silicon Knights sued Epic Games for missing the deadline, the latter counter-sued, which resulted in a court order forcing the developer to destroy all unsold copies of the game.\n\nMore: Are these the worst cities to live in? Study looks at quality of life across the U.S.\n\n45. Mobile ESPN\n\nCompany: ESPN\n\nESPN Year introduced: 2006\n\n2006 What it was: Mobile phone service\n\nIn 2006, ESPN attempted to capitalize on the desire of sports fan to have access to sports stats, scores, and video on the go. Mobile ESPN required users to buy a specific phone, which would include access to ESPN content as part of the subscription. However, the only phone Mobile ESPN offered, a Sanyo, cost $400, and the service was $40 per month, too rich for many sports fans. The service shut down within a year. Disney, ESPN’s parent company, spent $150 million on the failed venture.\n\n46. Life Savers soda\n\nCompany: Life Savers\n\nLife Savers Year introduced: 1995\n\n1995 What it was: Soft drink\n\nThough Life Savers soda tested well in focus groups, it failed to gain traction with the broader consumer market. Many attribute the soft drink’s failure to the prevailing perception that it was liquid candy. The soda was available in some of the candy’s popular fruit flavors, including pineapple, orange punch, grape punch, and lime punch. Life Savers did not release a mint flavored soda, however.\n\n47. Mars Needs Moms\n\nCompany: Walt Disney Motion\n\nWalt Disney Motion Year introduced: 2011\n\n2011 What it was: Studio film\n\nReleased in March 2011, Disney’s “Mars Needs Moms” grossed just $6.9 million in its opening weekend. Produced with a $150 million budget, “Mars Needs Moms” was one of the worst flops in cinema history. Film critics partially blame animation studio ImageMovers Digital for the film’s box office failure. The movie was animated using an expensive motion-capture process, a technology still in its infancy. According to one viewer, “The movie looked downright creepy.” ImageMovers Digital was closed after the studio wrapped production on the film.\n\n48. EONS\n\nCompany: Eons.com\n\nEons.com Year introduced: 2006\n\n2006 What it was: Social media site\n\nIn July 2006, Monster.com founder Jeff Taylor launched Eons.com -- a social network for baby boomers and other internet users over the age of 50. According to surveys conducted by Pew Research Center, an estimated 32% of seniors over the age of 65 used the internet at the time of the website’s launch compared to 86% of young adults aged 18 to 29. While the share of seniors on the internet has doubled over the past decade, Eons failed to gain traction and was sold to Crew Media in 2011.\n\n49. Supertrain\n\nCompany: NBC\n\nNBC Year introduced: 1979\n\n1979 What it was: TV show\n\nWhen NBC’s “Supertrain” premiered in 1979, it was the most expensive TV series ever aired. Set aboard a nuclear-powered train that travels between New York City and Los Angeles at speeds nearing 200 miles an hour, the show’s production required a model train set that cost around $3 million in today’s dollars. The model crashed during its first demonstration, and the show as a whole soon followed. Debuting to poor ratings and negative reviews, “Supertrain” was cancelled after just nine episodes.\n\n50. Galaxy Note 7\n\nCompany: Samsung\n\nSamsung Year introduced: 2016\n\n2016 What it was: Tablet phone\n\nSamsung, which has overtaken Apple in the smartphone market last year, also had one of (the larger and--optional) more recent product flops. The Note S7, a phablet that launched in August 2016, was initially well received. However, it had a serious flaw. A problem with the battery software resulted in the phones catching fire on several occasions, including once on a SouthWest Airlines flight, which had to be evacuated. Soon, the Department of Transportation made it illegal to bring a Note 7 on a commercial flight. By October, after an extremely expensive recall, Samsung suspended worldwide production of the Note 7. The company lost what is estimated to be over $3 billion due to the debacle, and Apple once again took the lead in the global smartphone market earlier this year.\n\nMore: Can you afford that new vehicle? 25 most expensive car models to insure\n\nDetailed findings and methodology\n\nHindsight is 20/20, and while many of these gaffes might not have been predictable at the time, the reasons for their failure are often much clearer today. The reasons for the failures often fall into one of a several categories: overpricing, timing, bad advertising, product flaws, and reaching beyond what consumers of a brand are willing to accept.\n\nSometimes products are sold at a premium because they offer features competitors do not, either perceived or actual. When customers do not feel a product is superior to another -- rightly so or not -- they will not pay the premium price. While Apple is able to sell computers at a premium today because of its brand perception, the Lisa, introduced in 1983, failed largely as a result of its nearly $10,000 price tag.\n\nMany of the products on this list could have been perfectly viable, possibly even a hit, if they had been introduced at a different time. Sega’s Dreamcast was the first major console to introduce global network connectivity, but this was before every home had a stable connection fast enough to make the Dreamcast viable at the time.\n\nFor some flops on this list, it appears poor market research doomed these products. McDonald’s Arch Deluxe was marketed as a burger for those with refined palates, turning away kids, as well as many adults, from the ill-fated item. Coca-Cola completely misjudged the desire of its customers when it changed its classic flavor and introduced New Coke.\n\nSometimes, brands overextend their reach, introducing products that clash with their image and target demographics. One does not need to dig too deep to understand why Colgate, a brand associated with toothpaste, failed to make its line of frozen dinner products a success. The same can be said for Cosmopolitan’s brand of yogurt, Smith & Wesson’s mountain bike line, or Harley Davidson’s perfume.\n\nOf course, many of the products on this list were simply poorly designed or faulty -- at times downright dangerous. Such was the case with Mattel’s line of seriously flawed Hot Wheels and Barbie computers, or the Galaxy Note 7, plagued by battery fires that caused the phone to be banned on airplanes, recalled, and eventually discontinued.\n\nDespite their disappointing launches, some of these products still exist today. Google’s Glass and Google+ each became the butt of jokes after failing to live up to lofty promises. One day, we may see one of these flops become the product it was meant to be.\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": "2018/07/11"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/05/health/dementia-ultraprocessed-food-wellness/index.html", "title": "Ultraprocessed food may contribute to dementia, study says | CNN", "text": "Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Eat, But Better: Mediterranean Style. Our eight-part guide shows you a delicious expert-backed eating lifestyle that will boost your health for life.\n\nCNN —\n\nWe all eat them — ultraprocessed foods such as frozen pizza and ready-to-eat meals make our busy lives much easier. Besides, they are just darn tasty — who isn’t susceptible to hot dogs, sausages, burgers, french fries, sodas, cookies, cakes, candy, doughnuts and ice cream, to name just a few?\n\nIf more than 20% of your daily calorie intake is ultraprocessed foods, however, you may be raising your risk for cognitive decline, a new study found.\n\nThat amount would equal about 400 calories a day in a 2,000-calories-a-day diet. For comparison, a small order of fries and regular cheeseburger from McDonald’s contains a total of 530 calories.\n\nThe part of the brain involved in executive functioning — the ability to process information and make decisions — is especially hard hit, according to the study published Monday in JAMA Neurology.\n\nIn fact, men and women who ate the most ultraprocessed foods had a 28% faster rate of global cognitive decline and a 25% faster rate of executive function decline compared with people who ate the least amount of overly processed food, the study found.\n\n“While this is a study of association, not designed to prove cause and effect, there are a number or elements to fortify the proposition that some acceleration in cognitive decay may be attributed to ultraprocessed foods,” said Dr. David Katz, a specialist in preventive and lifestyle medicine and nutrition, who was not involved in the study.\n\n“The sample size is substantial, and the follow-up extensive. While short of proof, this is robust enough that we should conclude ultraprocessed foods are probably bad for our brains.”\n\nThere was an interesting twist, however. If the quality of the overall diet was high — meaning the person also ate a lot of unprocessed, whole fruits and veggies, whole grains and healthy sources of protein — the association between ultraprocessed foods and cognitive decline disappeared, Katz said.\n\n“Ultraprocessed foods drag diet quality down, and thus their concentration in the diet is an indicator of poor diet quality in most cases,” Katz said. “Atypical as it seems, apparently some of the participants managed it. And when diet quality was high, the observed association between ultraprocessed foods and brain function abated.”\n\nUltraprocessed foods, like burgers and fries, could raise your risk for cognitive decline if it's more than 20% of your daily calorie intake, a new study found. d3sign/Moment RF/Getty Images\n\nIt’s not a lot of calories\n\nThe study, presented Monday at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in San Diego, followed over 10,000 Brazilians for up to 10 years. Just over half of the study participants were women, White or college educated, while the average age was 51.\n\nCognitive testing, which included immediate and delayed word recall, word recognition and verbal fluency were performed at the beginning and end of the study, and participants were asked about their diet.\n\n“In Brazil, ultraprocessed foods make up 25% to 30% of total calorie intake. We have McDonald’s, Burger King and we eat a lot of chocolate and white bread. It’s not very different, unfortunately, from many other Western countries,” said coauthor Dr. Claudia Suemoto, an assistant professor in the division of geriatrics at the University of São Paulo Medical School.\n\n“Fifty-eight percent of the calories consumed by United States citizens, 56.8% of the calories consumed by British citizens, and 48% of the calories consumed by Canadians come from ultraprocessed foods,” Suemoto said.\n\nUltraprocessed foods are defined as “industrial formulations of food substances (oils, fats, sugars, starch, and protein isolates) that contain little or no whole foods and typically include flavorings, colorings, emulsifiers, and other cosmetic additives,” according to the study.\n\n“People who consumed more than 20% of daily calories from processed foods had a 28% faster decline in global cognition and a 25% faster decline in executive functioning compared to people who ate less than 20%,” said study coauthor Natalia Gonçalves, a researcher in the department of pathology at the University of São Paulo Medical School.\n\nIt’s not just the brain\n\nIn addition to the impact on cognition, ultraprocessed foods are already known to raise the risk of obesity, heart and circulation problems, diabetes, cancer and a shorter life span.\n\n“Ultraprocessed foods in general are bad for every part of us,” said Katz, president and founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine.\n\nUltaprocessed foods are usually high in sugar, salt and fat, all of which promote inflammation throughout the body, which is “perhaps the most major threat to healthy aging in the body and brain,” said Dr. Rudy Tanzi, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of the genetics and aging research unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was not involved in the study.\n\n“Meanwhile, since they are convenient as a quick meal, they also replace eating food that is high in plant fiber that is important for maintaining the health and balance of the trillions of bacteria in your gut microbiome,” Tanzi added, “which is particularly important for brain health and reducing risk of age-related brain diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.”\n\nWhat to do\n\nHow can you keep this from happening to you? If you include ultraprocessed foods in your diet, try to counter these by also eating high-quality, whole foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.\n\n“The conclusion suggested here is that ultraprocessed foods are, indeed, an important ‘ingredient,’ but the exposure that should be the focus of public health efforts is overall diet quality,” Katz said.\n\nOne easy way to ensure diet quality is to cook and prepare your food from scratch, Suemoto said.\n\n“People need to know they should cook more and prepare their own food from scratch. I know. We say we don’t have time but it really doesn’t take that much time,” Suemoto said.\n\n“And it’s worth it because you’re going to protect your heart and guard your brain from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease,” she added. “That’s the take-home message: Stop buying things that are superprocessed.”", "authors": ["Sandee Lamotte"], "publish_date": "2022/12/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/03/29/senate-passes-changes-iowa-bottle-bill-grocery-stores-opt-out-mobile-redemption-can-collection/7196959001/", "title": "Iowa bottle bill changes advance in Senate, would let stores opt out", "text": "Iowa lawmakers are more determined than ever to overhaul the state's decades-old bottle and can redemption program — but don't crack open a celebratory beverage just yet.\n\nSenate lawmakers passed their proposal, Senate File 2378, Tuesday on a 31-18 vote. Every Republican voted yes except Sen. Mark Lofgren, R-Muscatine, who joined Democrats in voting no. It was the first time in years that the issue has been debated by a full chamber of the Legislature.\n\nLawmakers have been repeatedly stymied when attempting to update the law, which allows Iowans to return empty cans and bottles to grocery stores and other retailers to get back a 5-cent deposit that they paid when buying the drink. Some have tried to scrap the program, and others have argued for expanding it, saying it encourages people to recycle their containers rather than throwing them away.\n\nHouse Republicans have their own plan this year — with key differences from the Senate version — and it's not clear the two chambers will be able to reach an agreement this year since the end of the legislative session is potentially just a few weeks away.\n\nKick the can:Iowa's bottle bill was falling apart — and then the pandemic made things worse\n\nThe House had been scheduled to debate its own bill, House File 2571, Tuesday afternoon, but pulled it from the calendar following the Senate vote.\n\n\"We’re letting some negotiations play out before determining our next step,\" Rep. Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant, one of the authors of the House bill, said in a statement Tuesday. \"We remain hopeful that we will be able to come together and reach an agreement on a good bill for Iowa.\"\n\nLast Thursday, Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee, said during a taping of \"Iowa Press\" on Iowa PBS that \"I wouldn't predict this is the year yet.\"\n\n\"I do think momentum is building towards getting something finally done on that. I don't know that this is the year or not,\" Dawson said of the law. \"But I do think that post-pandemic a lot of Iowans are starting to take a look at how we recycle and maybe trying to find a way to refresh the old system.\"\n\nEven the bill's floor manager, Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, acknowledged the legislation had made more progress than in past years.\n\n\"I didn’t fully expect to get to this point,\" he said.\n\nBut Democrats said the Senate's bill would in essence kill the decades-old law by giving Iowans fewer opportunities to return their bottles and cans.\n\n\"Iowans have been loud and clear,\" Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said in a statement. \"They have been frustrated with the loss of redemption centers and the refusal of some retailers to accept containers. This bill takes us in the wrong direction and would mean the death of the bottle bill.\"\n\nWhat would the House and Senate bottle bill plans do?\n\nOne of lawmakers' central aims is to prop up Iowa's redemption centers, which have struggled to make ends meet under the current system. Many centers have gone out of business over the years.\n\n\"Our redemption centers are starting to dwindle as the years have gone on there,\" Dawson said on Iowa Press. \"And if we're going to have a recycling program, particularly for rural Iowa, there has to be a robust redemption center system out there.\"\n\nThe House and Senate plans each would give more money to redemption centers than the centers receive under the current law. The House bill would increase the redemption centers' 1-cent handling fee to 2 cents, while the Senate would increase it to 3 cents.\n\nSchultz said boosting the handling fee to 3 cents would incentivize new or expanded redemption centers.\n\n\"I think if you triple the amount of money that goes into a certain sector, whether it’s cotton candy, a gun shop or a luxury car dealership, you’re going to get more of them,\" he said. \"It happens that way.\"\n\nBoth the House and Senate bills would allow ways for retailers like grocery stores and convenience stores to opt out of taking back empty bottles and cans. The Senate's version would allow stores to stop accepting containers beginning July 1, 2023.\n\nCurrent law requires them to accept the empty containers and return the 5-cent deposit paid by Iowans when they purchase pop or beer — but some stores have refused to take back the bottles and cans, in defiance of the law.\n\nLohse, who owns a local grocery store, called it \"a food safety issue\" for grocery stores to have to accept dirty containers, especially when stores serve fresh food.\n\n\"I will not get into — in public and online — the things that we have found in the cans and bottles that come into our store,\" Lohse said at a committee meeting last week.\n\nRep. Mary Wolfe, D-Clinton, was one of three Democrats to vote against the House proposal in the Ways and Means Committee last week. She said the bill seems to address grocery stores' flouting of the requirement that they accept empty containers by doing away with the requirement altogether.\n\n\"It seems like we are somewhat rewarding them for getting away with it for so long,\" she said.\n\nRepublicans like Dawson and Lohse have said they'd like to see mobile redemption centers where Iowans can return containers, scan a code and have money deposited in their accounts. The Senate bill contains language to set up those systems, which would be allowed to return Iowans' 5-cent deposit to them within 10 days rather than immediately.\n\nBut Senate Democrats said they don't believe those programs will end up being accessible for all Iowans.\n\n\"Those are expensive, and they’re only going to work in areas where you have a high volume of cans,\" Dotzler said. \"You’re not going to invest in a mobile unit and take it and put it in a rural Iowa area and expect that to be profitable, so I don’t see those as being the answer to this.\"\n\nSen. Tom Shipley, R-Nodaway, said his ears \"popped up\" when he heard that.\n\n\"I’m the smallest market area that you can imagine,\" he said, referring to Adams County in southwest Iowa. \"In my little county, they’re already looking at this system. They started looking at this system months ago.\"\n\nThe Senate's bill would also require proof of identification when someone returns more than 2,000 cans, to ensure people aren't crossing state lines to obtain the 5-cent deposit.\n\nAnd it would reduce the per-barrel beer excise tax from 5.89 cents to 4.3 cents, which is expected to reduce state revenues by about $4.3 million annually, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency. Senators did not give a reason for making the change.\n\nPolling shows the bottle bill is popular\n\nA February poll of Iowa's active registered voters conducted by Selzer & Co. and commissioned by Cleaner Iowa found the bottle bill remains popular in Iowa. Eighty-four percent of respondents said they believe the program has been good for Iowa, while 12% said they believe it has been bad for the state.\n\nThe poll found 86% of Iowa voters favor expanding the number of places bottles and cans can be returned, and 72% favor increasing the 1-cent handling fee for redemption centers and stores.\n\nThe poll also found 71% support expanding the law to cover plastic bottles for water and sports drinks, and 51% support increasing the 5-cent deposit to 10 cents. Neither option is being considered in the House and Senate proposals this year.\n\n\"Unfortunately, it has been so drained, so exhausted over time without legislative attention that expansion is not an option right now,\" Schultz said of the law. \"We do not have the infrastructure, we don’t have the redemption centers to handle an additional load.\"\n\nThe poll also found 62% of voters said all stores that sell containers covered by the law must accept customers' return of the containers, compared to 34% who said stores should not have to accept returns if they feel it would affect the food they sell.\n\nStephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/03/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2017/05/27/man-who-reinvented-meth/330877001/", "title": "The Man Who Reinvented Meth", "text": "Thomas Gounley\n\nNews-Leader\n\nJohn Cornille had been with the Drug Enforcement Administration for seven years. Yet he couldn't wrap his head around what his informant was describing.\n\nIt was November 1992, and the man was talking about a visit to a home in Reeds Spring, Missouri. He said he'd been forced at gunpoint to use methamphetamine manufactured there. But something was off. The informant didn't mention beakers, flasks, Bunsen burners — none of the complex glassware Cornille was taught were part of meth labs.\n\nInstead, the informant reported an unusual scene: Black trash bags stuffed with empty boxes of cold medicine. A mason jar full of kerosene, with something resembling a hockey puck settled at the bottom. Starter fluid. And a cookie sheet in the oven, with a yellowish cake on it.\n\nCornille, like other DEA agents, had made meth himself, under controlled circumstances, as part of his official duties. It was standard practice; the agency knew it meant he'd have more credibility when he asked a court for a search warrant or filled out a probable cause statement recommending criminal charges. It was important that prosecutors see him and other agents as experts on the manufacturing of illegal drugs.\n\nAs Cornille sat down to request a warrant for the Reeds Spring home, he couldn't be that authoritative. He needed another source, someone who could credibly link common household items with the production of meth, a highly-addictive substance known for its energy boost. He called a chemist working for the DEA in Chicago.\n\n“I still remember what he said, because I wrote it down word for word,\" Cornille recalled in a recent interview. \"He said, ‘There’s a basis for such a formula in literature, but it’s not been seen in the United States.\"\n\nIt's been nearly 25 years since the investigation, but that's not the only comment that remains lodged in Cornille's memory.\n\nAt some point, as the informant was describing the unusual lab in Reeds Spring, Cornille asked him if the meth was any good. If the answer was no, he figured, the situation might not be that big a deal. Low-quality stuff was unlikely to spread.\n\nThe informant, however, had five words for him:\n\n\"Best dope I ever had.\"\n\nThree months later, in Springfield, Cornille sat across from a recently-arrested 49-year-old man.\n\nWith a voice recorder rolling, Cornille introduced himself for the record, then moved on to his guest.\n\n“With me today is Mr. Bob Paillet,” Cornille said, according to a transcript. “Mr. Paillet has agreed to talk to me and explain to me different methods of manufacturing methamphetamine. One using the sodium metal and anhydrous ammonia and then a couple others.”\n\nCornille told Paillet — pronounced “Pie-ay” — that he wanted \"just to sit down and talk to you about those different methods.\"\n\n\"How you discovered them, and so forth,” Cornille said.\n\nPaillet began by saying he'd always been interested in chemistry and physics and that he'd \"just played around with my chemistry set.\" Then he got detailed. He talked about molecules, replacement reactions and acetic acid, about catalysts, synthesis and hydroxyl groups. Scientific terms flowed with minimal prompting.\n\nAbout halfway through the conversation, Paillet made a remark that fell somewhere between a suggestion and a prediction.\n\n“You’re gonna have to send all your agents back to school and learn chemistry … There’s people out there that are going to great lengths to avoid getting caught,” he said.\n\nCornille responded. “Well, see I went to school to learn how to manufacture methamphetamine and to …”\n\nPaillet cut him off.\n\n“All the old ways,” he said.\n\nCornille joined the DEA in 1985 after serving on the local police force in Washington D.C. He spent the remainder of the decade in the nation's capital, fighting the crack epidemic. In 1990, he was transferred to southwest Missouri. At that point, Cornille recalls now, meth ranked about third on the agency's local priority list. Cocaine and marijuana were much more prevalent.\n\nIn the mid-to-late 1990s, however, the number of meth labs seized by the authorities drastically increased, first in Missouri, and gradually in other communities around the country. Before the decade was out, as the public and the media sought answers as to how the drug shifted from a problem to a crisis — how it grew powerful enough to ravage entire communities — law enforcement would point to Paillet by name.\n\n\"He brought it to life for this area,\" Springfield police Cpl. Dan Schrader told the News-Leader in 1998.\n\nPaillet essentially converted the process of producing meth from a complex formula — one that required the so-called \"cook\" to have a chemistry background — to a simple recipe that could be followed by the masses. DEA and court records indicate Paillet taught his method to others, who in turn taught it within their own respective circles. The man behind the unusual meth lab in Reeds Spring learned the method from one of Paillet's friends, Cornille said.\n\nPaillet wasn't a drug lord; he didn't control a network of associates. In fact, he did the opposite, spawning a generation of cooks by unintentionally democratizing an illegal industry. One textbook released in 2014 called Paillet \"arguably the Johnny Appleseed for the spread of local meth production throughout the Midwest.\" Journalist Frank Owen, in his own book released in 2007, wrote that Paillet “effectively decentralized the local meth trade … broadening the appeal of the drug.\"\n\nIn other words, Bob Paillet reinvented meth.\n\nHow did he do it? The story he told law enforcement revolves around the Springfield campus of Missouri State University, which at the time was known as Southwest Missouri State.\n\n“Bob claims he went to SMS’ library, and in a research manual he found this method of converting pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine using sodium metal as one of the catalysts,\" Cornille said. \"He claimed that at the top of the page was a swastika.”\n\nThus the moniker: The new process was the \"Nazi method.\" The new stuff, \"Nazi dope.\"\n\n“I really believe that his method, here in Springfield, was the bounce to get meth spread throughout the rest of Missouri and the United States,\" said Nick Console, who ran the DEA's Springfield office from the mid-1990s through the early 2000s.\n\nDespite Paillet's pioneering role in an American drug epidemic, relatively little has been known about him. In the later years of his life, he appears to have avoided public scrutiny, as well as further trouble with the law. He died in Texas, age 72, on Jan. 1, 2016.\n\nPaillet's death and the passage of time have obscured some details. Other key elements — like his recipe's alleged connection to the Third Reich — have taken on the characteristics of urban legend.\n\nCourt documents obtained by the News-Leader shed light on his arrest and the early spread of the Nazi method. Interviews with family members and a key associate, none of whom have previously spoken publicly, paint a picture of a man with an obsession who left public officials scrambling to respond for years.\n\nThe probable cause statement used to charge Paillet, written by Cornille, traces his arrival on law enforcement's radar to Jan. 24, 1993 — just over a week before he was arrested.\n\nThat day, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested two Springfield residents, Christopher Fricks and Kimberly Lee Duncan, for possession of a controlled substance and possession of a short-barreled shotgun.\n\nIt's not clear from court documents how or why Paillet's name came up as the two were taken into custody. What is clear is that they told deputies of two places where Paillet stored materials he used to make meth.\n\nThe first was a room in a house Fricks was renting in Joplin. Authorities searched it on Jan. 28. The second was a property near the small town of Morrisville, where Paillet previously lived. One of his ex-wives allowed law enforcement on the property on Feb. 1. Both tips were substantiated.\n\nThen, on Feb. 2, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper and Polk County deputies headed to Paillet's apartment on West 3rd Street in Battlefield. Paillet wasn't home, but his current wife was, and she began speaking to the men. She mentioned her husband would sometimes disappear for up to three weeks at a time, telling her he was working in Kansas City.\n\nMidway through the conversation, Paillet drove up in a tan 1983 Chevy Cavalier. He walked inside, and set an unzipped black duffel bag on the floor. The grip of a pistol stuck out from the top, and the trooper quickly moved to secure the gun. It was loaded: Nineteen rounds, one in the chamber. Paillet said he'd traded for it.\n\nThe trooper and the deputies asked Paillet to talk outside. He said sure.\n\nThey walked out and the officers read Paillet his Miranda rights. According to court documents, Paillet “stated he was glad to see them and glad that it was over.”\n\nThen he began to talk.\n\nStanding outside his Battlefield, Missouri, home with a state trooper and several sheriff's deputies, Bob Paillet gave the men consent to search his vehicle.\n\nHe knew why they were there. Before they could open the door of his Chevy Cavalier, he told them what they'd find: methamphetamine, inside a small white pill bottle in the trunk. Once the drugs were retrieved, Paillet led the officers back inside and pointed out the two sawed-off shotguns under a bed.\n\nThe same day — Feb. 2, 1993 — the trooper and the Polk County deputies drove Paillet to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's regional headquarters on Kearney Street. There they were joined by John Cornille, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent based in Springfield.\n\nAuthorities found a note in Paillet's pocket, with a chemical formula written out. They also found two receipts, from trips to Walmart.\n\nShortly before dusk, after speaking with investigators, Paillet led the men to Room 431 of the American Inn Hotel in northeast Springfield, where he showed them the meth-making materials he had stashed there. Then they all drove across town to a storage facility in Battlefield, where he kept a second stash.\n\nThe News-Leader reported the bust two days later, with the headline \"Police nail 'Nazi Dope' laboratory in Battlefield.\" The authorities said chemical disposal workers wearing special suits and protective gloves spent about three hours clearing the storage unit. They estimated disposing of the chemicals would cost the federal government $35,000.\n\nThe story noted that, nationwide, the number of meth lab busts had declined in recent years. But it also quoted the head of a local drug task force, with a premonition that would turn out to be spot on.\n\n“This Nazi dope is definitely new to this area, and it could be the first in the U.S.,” said Steve Whitney, also the sheriff in nearby Christian County. “I still think we may see this more and more.”\n\nAlthough credited with pioneering the so-called \"Nazi method\" of producing meth — and opening the door to an era of amateur meth labs across the Midwest — Paillet himself has remained something of a mystery.\n\nNews stories and a handful of books published in the decades since his 1993 arrest have presented scant detail: He moved from California to Missouri in the 1980s and, upon finding meth was more expensive than he was used to out west, set out to make it himself. He researched chemistry at the library at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield. He was arrested. He moved to Texas.\n\nThat narrative covers just a portion of his life.\n\nBorn on March 4, 1943, Robert Paillet was 72 when he died Jan. 1, 2016.\n\nHe left behind two daughters. In an email to the News-Leader, the oldest offered a theme for his biography:\n\n\"My father is a classic case of what PTSD does to a brilliant mind.\"\n\nSpeed. Crank. Dope. Ice. Zip. The poor man's cocaine.\n\nWhatever you call it, meth is a stimulant that affects the central nervous system.\n\nIt's odorless, typically white and can be found in powder and crystal forms. In the United States, it has for decades been a schedule II substance, which means it has some very limited accepted medical uses — for conditions like attention deficit disorder and obesity, under the trade name Desoxyn — but also a high potential for abuse, as well as psychological or physical dependence.\n\nOne of the things that sets meth apart from other illegal substances is its means of production.\n\n\"Unlike other major drugs of abuse, methamphetamine is a synthetic drug, and as such, is manufactured in a laboratory,\" the DEA wrote in a 2016 report. \"Methamphetamine does not rely on a plant as its main source and is not affected by drought, flooding, growth cycles, or other natural elements that affect production. Instead, methamphetamine production relies on the ability of traffickers to obtain precursors and other essential chemicals.\"\n\nMeth is most commonly smoked, snorted or injected. Its use causes an increase in energy and alertness and a decrease in appetite. Meth also produces an intense euphoric rush, and can make users hypersexual. Cornille said the high from crack cocaine lasts for a matter for minutes. With meth, the high lasts for hours.\n\nMeth can cause increased heart rate and blood pressure, tremors and convulsions and — particularly with repeated use — depression and motor and cognitive failure. Users also tend to not sleep for extended periods, which leads to additional detrimental effects.\n\nBob Paillet's death certificate lists his birthplace as San Diego. His oldest daughter, now 48, said her father was actually born on Canada's Vancouver Island, although his parents had previously lived in California.\n\nLisa Paillet — who spoke to the News-Leader on the condition that her real first name not be used — said Bob's father, Francis \"Fred\" Paillet, was a Vermont native and worked as a carpenter and master gardener. His mother, Quebec native Louise Marie Paillet, was a maid and cook.\n\nThe family moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, when Bob was in junior high, then to the small town of Exeter, Missouri, about 60 miles southwest of Springfield, several years later. After graduating from Exeter High School in 1961, Bob enlisted in the Navy and was sent to California's Bay Area. He was taking forestry classes at the University of California-Berkeley when, in 1964, he was deployed to Vietnam on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger.\n\nLisa said her father returned to the United States with \"debilitating migraines and a jaundiced view of the world,\" after a commanding officer \"rode one of his crew members so hard\" that he committed suicide. She believes Bob had post-traumatic stress disorder, although he was never formally diagnosed. For the most part, Lisa said, her father avoided talking about his time at war.\n\nUpon his return home in 1965, Bob Paillet married Lisa’s mother, whom he met in Berkeley prior to his deployment. They briefly lived in Oakland before embarking on a year-long trip around the United States, ultimately ending in Kansas City. Over the next five years, Bob and his wife bounced back and forth between there and the Bay Area. Bob never returned to college.\n\nLisa was born in California in 1968. She said her father had an assortment of jobs over the years. Sometimes he flipped houses, or built new ones. He liked to purchase and restore antique cars, a lifelong passion of his, for resale. He wasn't always self-employed, however. When Lisa was born, he worked as a lineman for the phone company.\n\nAround 1970, the family of three was living in Kansas City, where Bob worked for a fiberglass company. One day, he saw a friend and co-worker get electrocuted. It's a moment that \"damaged\" her father, Lisa said.\n\nThe family moved back to California, where Bob reconnected with a friend who was using meth. At some point, Lisa said, the friend got hold of a bad batch and became sick.\n\n\"So my father went to the Berkeley public library and the university library and started researching chemistry books,\" Lisa said.\n\nWhy chemistry books? Bob \"wanted him to have clean drugs.\"\n\n\"That’s my father’s logic,\" she said. \"Not get him off the drugs — but make them better.”\n\nWithin a few years, Lisa said, Bob became \"really flaky and moody.\" Around 1973, at Bob's request, Lisa's mother gave her husband a year to travel and find himself. He took two. When Bob came back, the couple divorced.\n\n\"After that, I saw him off and on for camping trips, hiking, or things like roller skating,\" Lisa said. \"It was a good compromise. I got to see him when he was in the mood to play. If he was not, he was not around. This basic relationship carried us through life.\"\n\nThe extent to which Bob used or produced meth in the ensuing years is unclear. Sometime during the two-year break, Lisa said, Bob met the woman who would become his second wife. His youngest daughter, Gena Paillet, was born in the Springfield area in 1978.\n\n\"I can remember I grew up terrified of him, because he would be one happy person one minute and literally in a second go to this terrifying person,\" Gena said.\n\nBy the time he was arrested with methamphetamine in the trunk of his car in 1993, Bob Paillet was on his third marriage.\n\nHe had fathered two children, born 10 years apart, in different states, to different women. The lives of his daughters, to this day, have had relatively little overlap.\n\nBoth women, however, have memories of living with their father on a plot of rural land along Highway JJ, not far from Morrisville, Missouri. The town of about 400 is 25 miles north of Springfield.\n\nThe remote venue in the anonymous rolling hills of the Ozarks appears to have been one place where Paillet refined the work that would later turn the meth trade on its head.\n\nGena Paillet, Bob's youngest daughter, lived there in the mid-1980s. She and her father had recently moved back to Missouri from California. Her mother, Bob's second wife, stayed behind in the Golden State for a year to work. Gena and her father lived in a modified school bus while Bob began building a house.\n\nIt was a simple setting. The bathroom for a time was an outhouse. But the property gave Gena, who says she grew up fearing her father, what she calls \"some of the best memories of my life.\" There were dense woods to explore, and the property abutted the Little Sac River.\n\n“We’d go swimming in that all the time and catch crawdads, things like that,\" Gena said. \"I’ve thought about going back to that property.\"\n\nWithin a couple years, however, Bob and his second wife separated. Gena said her father was unfaithful and verbally abusive. She and her mother went to live in Morrisville.\n\nNot long after, in 1987, Bob's oldest daughter, a product of his first marriage, arrived at the property.\n\nLisa Paillet — the first name is a pseudonym — grew up in California, where she was born in 1968. She saw her father only occasionally, but at times felt his presence even when he wasn't around. In high school, Lisa said, adults would sometimes show up and \"imply that they knew my father and were supposed to watch out for me.”\n\nLisa came to live with her father as she prepared to attend Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield. He was footing the bill.\n\nThree decades later, Lisa remembers the property as a place where her father experimented. Bob never said exactly what he was doing, and Lisa sensed it might be best if she didn't exactly know. She recalls helping her father hook together motors and going on shopping trips to Walmart to buy cold medicine.\n\n\"He would buy tons of that stuff, and he said it was easy for him to break down to get the chemicals he wanted,\" Lisa said.\n\nBob coached Lisa not to give her name to people. If somebody came looking for her father, she was supposed to deny that she knew him. Instead of guard dogs, the property near Morrisville had guard geese. The animals tend to raise a racket when they're disturbed.\n\n\"If you heard the geese and it was dark outside, you hit the lights and you hit the floor,” Lisa said.\n\nThere is some overlap in Lisa and Gena's memories. Both recall a room on the property where they weren't supposed to go. Gena distinctly remembers hiding behind a tree one day, on a weekend visit sometime after her parents separated, and watching her father go inside.\n\n\"I just remember seeing this one huge table ... with beakers and pots and things smoking and, you know, tubes going from one to the other,\" she said. \"I didn’t know what it was, but I knew he was up to something. And by his behavior becoming much more erratic, we knew something was wrong. We just didn’t know what.”\n\nBy the 1980s, the U.S. meth trade — both manufacturing and distribution — was largely run by outlaw motorcycle gangs. In some places, it was the Hell's Angels. In Texas, it was the Bandidos.\n\nNick Console, a Louisiana native now living in Ash Grove, joined the DEA in 1983, and was soon working out of the agency's Houston office.\n\nIn an interview, Console said that meth labs back then were primarily located in out-of-the-way, rural areas, so the rotten egg smell produced during a cook wouldn't give the operation away. They were full of glassware, not unlike a scene from the hit TV series \"Breaking Bad.\" The labs churned out batches of the drug measured in pounds.\n\nBusts by the authorities would sometimes lead to shoot-outs. At times, cleaning up a lab consisted of dumping the chemicals in the nearest ditch, Console said. The Environmental Protection Agency had yet to sound the alarm. Nobody thought to wear a respirator.\n\n“These labs, they were out in west Texas, they might be out in the boonies in an old mobile home, but everything in that mobile home was a lab,\" Console said.\n\nMeth was big business for the bikers, and it required a specialized workforce, he said. The gangs employed their own chemists, who generally used what is known as the P2P method, in reference to its incorporation of phenylacetone, a chemical often used for industrial cleaning or photo processing purposes.\n\nBack then, Console said, “you had to be a chemist to make meth.”\n\nThe meth trade's biker era bled into southwest Missouri. In 1987, Glennon Paul Sweet, a local member of the Hell's Angels-affiliated Galloping Goose motorcycle club, gunned down Highway Patrol Trooper Russell Harper during a routine traffic stop just outside Springfield. It was later determined Sweet, who was ultimately put to death, was transporting meth.\n\nThe wooded hollows of southern Missouri once attracted moonshiners. By the late 1980s, the region's rural nature and sparse law enforcement presence were seen as ideal for making meth. DEA officials reported that manufacturers were buying or leasing farmhouses and converting them into P2P labs. Still, they were few and far between; Cornille said agents typically came across a couple of labs per year.\n\nAfter being transferred from Houston, Console worked for the DEA overseas in Turkey, then in San Francisco. In the fall of 1994, about a year and a half after Paillet's arrest, he arrived in Springfield as the DEA's new resident agent in charge.\n\n“When I got here, it was the beginning of the spike in meth labs,\" he said.\n\nLisa Paillet doesn't believe her father was ever in a motorcycle gang. But Bob definitely associated with some shady types.\n\n\"I know that when I was in circles of people that I would consider very bad people, he was known in California,” she said.\n\nLisa also said her father \"would have hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash sometimes, and then he would have nothing.\"\n\nEither way, Paillet had no prior criminal record when, in January 1993, he became a person of interest to law enforcement agencies in southwest Missouri. The authorities had encountered a new type of meth lab — using what became known as the \"Nazi method\" — in the town of Reeds Spring just a couple months earlier.\n\nIn DEA records reviewed by the News-Leader, Paillet said he was the one who discovered the new process, but never specifically stated when that happened. Evidence suggests, however, that it was years before his arrest.\n\nThe Reeds Spring lab wasn't the first of its kind. A Nazi method-style lab was found in 1988 in a trailer park in Vacaville, California, according to a 1990 article in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. Authorities later came to believe Paillet was behind the lab — a conclusion that appears supported by his numerous connections to the state.\n\nThe Nazi method starts with the compound pseudoephedrine, which, chemically speaking, is one oxygen atom removed from methamphetamine. Pseudoephedrine is the active ingredient in cold medicines sold under brand names such as Sudafed.\n\nHere’s how a former DEA chemist described the ensuing process:\n\nTo make meth, the manufacturer pulverizes the pseudoephedrine pills in a coffee grinder, creating a fine powder that is placed in a coffee filter. Methyl alcohol, in the form of something like windshield washer fluid, is poured over it, and then evaporated out.\n\nThe cook then adds ether, anhydrous ammonia - a compound commonly used by farmers as fertilizer – and sodium metal or lithium metal, which can be stripped from commercial batteries. That produces a liquid called meth oil.\n\nMore ether is added, and the solution is put through another coffee filter. A bubbler is then used to convert rock salt and other material to hydrogen chloride gas, which converts the meth oil into a white powder. Meth.\n\nThe Nazi method is also sometimes referred to as the Birch method because it builds upon the Birch reduction, a reaction first reported in 1944 by the Australian chemist Arthur Birch.\n\nThe significance of the Nazi method was how simple it was. When DEA agent John Cornille gave talks to community members, he'd compare it to baking a cake.\n\n“Bob made meth a recipe anyone could follow,” he said.\n\nThe Nazi method produced small amounts of the drug, not the big batches typically cooked up in rural \"superlabs.\" But unlike previous manufacturing methods, Nazi dope didn't require an open heat source. It involved fewer steps, and took less time.\n\n\"From start to finish, you could probably do it in an hour,\" Cornille said.\n\nAdditionally, the chemicals involved were legal, and often easy to obtain. It takes hundreds of pseudoephedrine pills to make a half ounce of meth. But purchasing cold medicine in vast quantities didn't raise eyebrows in the early 1990s.\n\n\"At that time, if someone came in and bought 10 boxes of pseudoephedrine, Walgreens was happy,\" Cornille said.\n\nBob Paillet ordered a pecan waffle with extra butter and a glass of milk, then settled into the booth at a north Springfield Waffle House. He was wearing a wire.\n\nAfter being arrested on Feb. 2, 1993, the Springfield-area resident told the authorities that he'd taught his new recipe for methamphetamine — the so-called \"Nazi method\" — to a friend. Now, less than 24 hours later, Paillet, 49, was killing time reading the newspaper, waiting for that man to arrive. Drug Enforcement Administration agent John Cornille and a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper were listening from a van parked nearby.\n\n\"Hey, late as usual,\" Paillet said as Mike Poplawski, 34, arrived.\n\nA transcript of the conversation that took place over breakfast — obtained from the DEA under the Freedom of Information Act — is heavily redacted, with Poplawski's comments completely blacked out.\n\nBy the time they parted ways, however, Poplawski had given Paillet 279 milligrams of meth, according to court documents. The wire caught everything.\n\nThe next day, Cornille and the trooper showed up at Poplawski's home on South Newton Street.\n\nPoplawski was cooperative. He invited the officers in, and, when told there was an ongoing investigation that involved him, admitted that he cooked meth, according to court documents. He showed the trooper a baggie of the drug inside his wallet, and then took them to another apartment where he stored lab equipment and precursor chemicals.\n\nLater, at the DEA office, Poplawski confirmed he'd been taught by Paillet how to make meth using the Nazi method.\n\nIn a recent interview, Poplawski, now 59, said he first met Paillet in 1979.\n\nRollerskating was the thing to do back then, and \"we were both hotdoggers,\" Poplawski said, using a term for those fond of showing off. The pair — 35 and 21 years old — met at a north Springfield rink. Poplawski said they were among the first in the city to purchase jogger skates, basically tennis shoes with big, brightly-colored wheels.\n\nPoplawski said he believes Paillet might've smoked a little pot back then, and he drank, but he didn't do anything harder. Then Paillet left for California. When he returned, he was into meth. And Poplawski was, too.\n\nHe attempted to describe his relationship with Paillet back then.\n\n\"Friend?\" he said. \"No. Associate. Close associate.\"\n\nIt's unclear from court records when Paillet taught Poplawski the Nazi method. Poplawski declined to clarify the timeline.\n\nPoplawski did state that, sometime in 1992, there'd been what might be called a misunderstanding between the pair. Paillet asked Poplawski to stop giving meth to a mutual friend of theirs. Poplawski complied. The friend complained to Paillet, who by that point had forgotten his earlier directive and became angry at Poplawski. The two stopped talking.\n\nThen six or eight months later, there was a phone call. And a request to meet at the Waffle House along North Kansas Expressway. From Poplawski's perspective, it seemed an effort to repair the rift.\n\nSitting in the living room of his east Springfield home, Poplawski briefly looked over the redacted transcript of the conversation that day. Some of it was small talk, he said. Mostly, Paillet was \"crying about hurting, wanting some speed.\"\n\nIt's been nearly a quarter century since the conversation, and Poplawski doesn't have a single positive thing to say about Paillet.\n\nThe man was chauvinistic, he said. A shorter guy with \"a big man's want for power,\" someone who walked around \"like a bantam rooster.\" A guy who \"hit on every woman that he come across, no matter what.\" And a man whose defining obsession — all speeders have one, Poplawski said — was \"his process,\" the way he made his dope.\n\n\"He experimented on people,\" Poplawski said. \"He’d change the formula a little bit and then give it to junkies he knew’d take it and ask no questions, and then watch their reactions. This is the guy that DEA worked with.\"\n\nAs Poplawski looked at the transcript, he wouldn't even agree with Paillet's remark that he showed up to the Waffle House late.\n\n“I’m more on time than anybody I know,” he said.\n\nThe authorities didn't stop with Poplawski.\n\nShortly after 9 p.m. on July 26, 1993, Cornille and three other law enforcement officers parked their vehicles in rural Webster County, with a barn in sight. They were investigating the latest appearance of Nazi dope. Cornille remembers hearing coyotes howl.\n\n\"Having moved from D.C. to here, it was a bit of a change for me,\" he said.\n\nEarlier in the day, an informant told a Springfield police detective that a man named Frank Wright was planning to cook meth at the barn, which was owned by an associate, Gary Davis. The men would start once the sun went down, the informant said, to take advantage of lower humidity levels. The informant indicated Wright drove a green Dodge van. It was parked by the barn.\n\nInvestigators would later learn that, earlier that afternoon, Davis heard that a friend with a similar vehicle was stopped by the DEA. Davis became nervous and told Wright to \"burn the barn\" if agents showed up.\n\nAround 10 p.m., the van started up. It drove off the property, headed west. Cornille and the others followed and initiated a traffic stop.\n\nWright agreed to a search. The van was clean. But the officers found a cigarette pack with a small amount of meth on Wright himself. They read him his rights.\n\nWright admitted to the authorities that he was planning to cook meth, and said he was placing supplies inside the barn. It was to have been something of a trade, court documents indicate. Davis, in exchange for providing the setting for the cook, was to receive two \"eight balls\" — the term for an eighth of an ounce — and be allowed to assist in production, so as to learn the new method himself.\n\nWright was arrested. The barn, by all accounts, escaped unharmed.\n\nDavis contacted the DEA a week later. He admitted to knowing about plans for the cook and said he'd participated in an earlier one.\n\nWright, in turn, contacted the DEA in mid-August. He said he'd been introduced to meth about 18 months prior when he was at Poplawski's home. Paillet showed up to deliver the drug. Wright said he started doing work on Paillet's vehicle, and his involvement gradually grew, until he was loading and unloading chemicals and driving Paillet around while he distributed meth.\n\nWright told the DEA that Poplawski taught him to make meth. He described it as a somewhat formal process that entailed assisting with three cooks. (Poplawski, in a recent interview, denied ever teaching anyone the Nazi method).\n\nThe hardest ingredient to obtain was sodium metal, Wright told the DEA, so he figured out a way to manufacture it himself, using lye, an electric stove, jumper cables and a 12-volt car battery.\n\nHow did Wright come up with the workaround? Perhaps his time with Paillet influenced him.\n\n\"In late June, 1993, or early July, 1993, Wright did research into the manufacture of sodium metal at Southwest Missouri State University,\" court documents say.\n\nPaillet, Poplawski, Wright and Davis were indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 8. 1993, along with two others, Kenneth and Sybil Allen. Court documents say Poplawski sold meth to, and purchased meth from, the couple. The charge against Sybil Allen was later dropped.\n\nNone of them were rich, at least as far as the court knew. Financial affidavits indicate that Poplawski was the only one employed in a traditional sense, bringing home $280 a week. Paillet and the others were listed as self-employed or unemployed, with minimal assets.\n\nThree of the men had a record. Poplawski had been convicted in 1978 of felony robbery in Phelps County. Two others had stealing and drug offenses.\n\nThe men all initially pleaded not guilty and bonded out of jail. Dates were set for jury trials. Behind the scenes, however, negotiations were being made for plea agreements.\n\nBetween mid-December and early January 1994, all five pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture and distribute meth. In exchange, additional charges against some of them, for physically manufacturing or possessing the drug, were dropped.\n\nWith Paillet and his co-conspirators rounded up, the authorities could have been excused for thinking they'd nipped the nascent meth-making boom in the bud. But they were soon disappointed. The recipe for Nazi dope was no longer a secret.\n\nThe inaugural class of those involved with \"Nazi dope\" was sentenced in Springfield in the spring of 1994.\n\nThere was Bob Paillet, who told authorities he was the pioneer behind the new meth labs popping up in southwest Missouri; Mike Poplawski, to whom Paillet taught his new method; Frank Wright, who said he learned it from Poplawski; Gary Davis, who arranged to learn it from Wright; and Kenneth Allen, who bought meth from, and sold meth to, Poplawski.\n\nAllen, who tested positive for using drugs while on bond, was sentenced to three years probation.\n\nDavis also used meth while on bond and traveled without permission out of the state. He was sentenced to five years in prison.\n\nPoplawski was sentenced to nearly six years in prison.\n\nIf the sentencing guidelines at the time were followed, Wright would've faced something similar — between six to seven years behind bars. Prosecutors, however, told the judge he provided \"substantial assistance\" in the prosecution of Poplawski. So he was sentenced to about three years in prison, followed by a similar amount of probation.\n\nThen there was Paillet, who received the best deal of them all.\n\nUsing the sentencing guidelines, prosecutors calculated Paillet's \"total offense level\" to be 31. That would correspond with nine to 11 years behind bars. The prosecutors, however, wrote that \"defendant agreed to fully cooperate with the government.\" He was credited with assisting in obtaining the guilty pleas of the others: Poplawski, Allen, Wright and Davis.\n\nAdditionally, the prosecutors wrote that Paillet \"provided significant information concerning the origin of this particular method of making methamphetamine.\"\n\n\"Defendant fully admitted that he first devised this method of making methamphetamine, and it was through him that the method was related to other 'cooks' in the southwest Missouri area,\" they wrote.\n\nPaillet was sentenced to five years of probation. He also attended a drug treatment program. While there, he received a letter from his oldest daughter, living in California.\n\n\"Surprise, Surprise,\" she wrote. \"If I would have known you could do things like that I would have asked for help with my chemistry homework.\"\n\nNearly a quarter century later, Poplawski doesn't understand how Paillet didn't spend a day in prison.\n\n“This was the man that experimented on people, and the DEA worked with him,\" Poplawski said. \"I’m a little burnt about that, still. It still rises my anger a bunch. Not that I was interested in working with them myself, don’t get me wrong, and not that I wasn’t involved, don’t get me wrong there. But I was not the man on top. I was not the man to hit for the heavy sentence.”\n\nPoplawski was implicated when Paillet wore a wire to their meeting at a north Springfield Waffle House. Poplawski told the News-Leader the pair never spoke after that day, except for one comment when they found themselves in the same courtroom.\n\n\"No hard feelings,\" Paillet told the man who had once been his friend. Poplawski, flabbergasted, didn't respond.\n\n\"If I could’ve shot lightning out of my eyes, he’d have been a pile of flesh, a pile of ash, in a heartbeat,\" Poplawski said. \"He just cost me five years. He cost me five years.”\n\nThere's something about calling a drug recipe the \"Nazi method\" that attracts attention.\n\nA few days after Paillet was arrested in February 1993, the News-Leader wrote about the bust. A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration was quoted saying that \"people give their drugs all kind of names.\"\n\n\"Just because it was made by German soldiers during World War II and now is called 'Nazi drugs' has no meaning to us,\" the spokeswoman said. \"It's a nothingness. It only means that the producers don't have to use the usual ingredients, that they can make it without the regular methods. It's dangerous, no matter what you call it or how you make it.\"\n\nThere's a problem with the spokeswoman's response — one that's been replicated in many subsequent discussions of the Nazi method. It implied there's a direct link between Paillet's recipe and the Third Reich. But is there? After reviewing the available evidence, the News-Leader found the connection, while compelling, is tenuous.\n\nResearchers have delved into German use of meth during World War II. Temmler, a Berlin-based pharmaceutical company, introduced meth in pill form under the brand name Pervitin in 1938, according to a 2005 report in the news magazine Der Spiegel. By 1940, millions of pills were being shipped to the front lines, resulting \"in a Blitzkrieg fueled by speed.\"\n\nGermany wasn't alone in exploiting new substances with minimal consideration for side effects. The United States and British supplied service members with tablets of Benzedrine, an amphetamine, during the same period. Both were viewed as particularly valuable for pilots, who needed to remain alert on long bombing raids.\n\nThe large-scale manufacture of Pervitin pills in German factories, however, stands in stark contrast to Paillet's method, which resulted in small amounts of a powdered version of the drug. Which raises the question: If the method wasn't the same, how did meth produced in southwest Missouri end up referencing a fascist state?\n\nIn an interview, DEA agent John Cornille said that Paillet told him he learned the Nazi method by researching in the library at what was then Southwest Missouri State University. Cornille said Paillet indicated he came across a book or a document with a swastika on it.\n\nThose two particular claims aren't found in the hundreds of pages of federal court and DEA records reviewed for this story. The DEA records, which were heavily redacted, do include one conversation in which Cornille asked Paillet if he looked \"this stuff up in a book or something.\" The response, however, contradicts the notion that there was one all-important document.\n\n\"OK, I have a lot of books,\" Paillet said. \"I have gone through the library, many libraries and read lots of books, hundreds of 'em. Ah, involving many phrases of chemistry.\"\n\nCornille asked what books \"originally kinda gave you this idea that maybe this thing could work.\"\n\n\"I can’t say that it was any one in particular,\" Paillet responded.\n\nCornille told the News-Leader he believes most of the backstory Paillet gave regarding his discovery. However, he said the DEA tried to determine the exact book that contributed to Paillet's breakthrough, but came up empty-handed.\n\n“I believe he found it in a book at SMS,\" Cornille said. \"But the swastika thing — they looked far and wide.”\n\nThe man who did the searching says it's a little more complicated than that.\n\nTerry Dal Cason retired from a 40-year-career as a forensic chemist with the DEA in 2011. He told the News-Leader that, back in the mid-1990s, his colleagues in the world of meth lab analysis didn't talk vaguely about a cook in southwest Missouri coming across a book or document with a swastika on it, as Cornille does now.\n\nInstead, Dal Cason said, they specifically mentioned a \"Nazi patent.\" Some of his colleagues stated as fact that the cook came across a patent that contained the exact recipe for Nazi dope. But Dal Cason wanted proof.\n\n\"People kept talking about this patent, and I was trying to get a copy of it,\" he said.\n\nDal Cason ended up with two theories. In 1997, he laid them out in an article for a little-known DEA publication called Microgram.\n\nTheory one:\n\nDal Cason wrote that \"one of the earliest groups\" to make Nazi dope compiled packets of documents that included instructions for the method, and hid them away from their lab sites. If the lab was busted, the hidden packets insured they'd still have a written copy of the recipe somewhere, Dal Cason wrote.\n\nWhat does that have to do with the name? \"The top page of the synthesis 'packets' was a photocopy of a drawing from the cover of a video cassette case of the Third Reich propaganda film, 'Triumph des Willens,'\" Dal Cason wrote.\n\n\"Triumph of the Will,\" the English translation of the title, was commissioned by Hitler. The drawing Dal Cason referred to shows an eagle clutching a wreath containing a swastika.\n\nDal Cason wrote in 1997 that \"it is relatively easy to postulate how the seizure of these packets could present an opportunity to misinterpret a relationship between the most recognizable of NAZI symbols and the Li (or Na)/NH3 reduction procedure contained in the packets.\"\n\n\"From this point it is easy to imagine a 'word of mouth' genesis of the 'Nazi patent' myth,\" he wrote.\n\nThe documents and court records reviewed by the News-Leader do note materials seized in connection with the investigation of Paillet and his associates, but don't mention the German propaganda film. Dal Cason told the News-Leader he didn't recall the specific individuals who apparently hid the packets. The footnotes of his Microgram article reference cases filed in federal court in 1996, years after Paillet was arrested and the Nazi dope moniker was first used.\n\nTheory two:\n\nDal Cason also asked a colleague in the United Kingdom to search German patents. Those published from 1932 to 1945 were topped with the \"Imperial Eagle,\" a coat of arms depicting an eagle perched on wreath containing a swastika (similar, but not identical, to imagery on Triumph Des Willens).\n\nLeslie King, head of the Forensic Science Service's Drugs Intelligence Laboratory, wrote Dal Cason in October 1996, and said he failed to find a patent for the technique Paillet used.\n\nThere were, however, patents that were somewhat related. Dal Cason said the packets mentioned in his first theory contained not just a recipe for the Nazi method, but also instructions for another process using methcathinone.\n\nDal Cason said King found a German patent from 1936 which provided techniques for synthesizing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine using methcathinone.\n\n\"The chemical names 'Ephedrinen' and 'Pseudoephedrine' are easily recognized among the German wording of the patent,\" Dal Cason wrote. \"Misinterpretation of the patent's content, combined with a clandestine laboratory having chemicals appropriate for the Li(Na)/NH3 method, might easily lead to the assumption that this process was described in the patent.\"\n\nTo be clear, however, the patent wasn't describing the method Paillet used. And to Dal Cason's knowledge, no one ever found a copy of the German patent in connection with a lab bust — it's something for which Dal Cason had to search.\n\nThe audience for Microgram, where Dal Cason's article appeared, was largely limited to law enforcement. An editor's note attached to the piece read: \"If anyone has hard evidence that a 'NAZI' patent does exist, please contact the Microgram editor.\" Dal Cason never heard from anyone.\n\nPoplawski, for his part, offered a third theory.\n\nIn an interview, he said Paillet \"wasn't smart enough to invent\" the method, and that he must have gotten the recipe from someone else. Poplawski also said he never heard Paillet or any of his associates use the phrases 'Nazi method\" or \"Nazi dope.\"\n\n“The first time we heard it the DEA threw it out there, and we had no idea what they were talking about,” he said.\n\nWhy does all this matter? Words stir emotion. Dan Viets — a defense attorney based in Columbia, Missouri — told the News-Leader that, by the late 1990s, prosecutors were brandishing the Nazi method moniker \"as a weapon\" in front of juries, taking advantage of the average person's extreme dislike of Nazis.\n\nViets considers the term \"obviously prejudicial,\" particularly given the the lack of an established connection between Paillet's method and actual Nazis.\n\n\"The cops liked to say that as many times as they could in a courtroom,\" he said.\n\nThe sentencing of Paillet and his associates didn't stop use of the Nazi method.\n\nInstead, the opposite occurred. The small-scale labs began to proliferate.\n\nAt first, most state and local officials, such as the average rural county sheriff's office, didn't have the training to safely deal with meth labs. Instead, they'd call the DEA. As the 1990s progressed, Cornille says he began feeling like a firefighter, rushing from small blaze to small blaze without time to investigate their causes. Instead of fires, of course, it was meth labs — although the explosions the labs sometimes prompted could end up blurring the distinction.\n\nThe Missouri State Highway Patrol, contacted by the News-Leader this fall, could only find records regarding the number of meth lab incidents in the state annually dating back to 1996. That year, according to the patrol, there were 121 labs found.\n\nThat figure increased to 319 in 1997. Then 480 in 1998. Then 615 in 1999.\n\n\"Once everything got rolling, it spread like wildfire,\" said Nick Console, who led the DEA's Springfield office for about a decade starting in 1994.\n\n(A meth lab doesn't have to be operational when it is discovered to be counted in state or federal tallies of \"meth lab incidents.\" Those tallies generally also count situations when authorities seize materials used to make meth, or find sites where lab waste material has been discarded.)\n\nCornille said he recalls Paillet telling him that he taught five people his method for Nazi dope.\n\n“My initial thought was if we could get those five, we could make an impact,\" Cornille said. \"But it didn’t work. Maybe we didn’t get one or we didn’t get to them fast enough.”\n\nConsole said he spent the mid-to-late 1990s trying to warn DEA leadership in Washington D.C. that what was happening in southwest Missouri was a serious situation, one that could get worse if unchecked. He says the leaders didn't feel a sense of urgency.\n\n\"We’re trying to tell them — it’s not heroin, it’s not cocaine,\" Console said. \"It’s not a major organization, like a biker gang, that’s producing large amounts of methamphetamine. It’s Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith down here, and the Johnsons over here, making a half ounce. In their eyes, that wasn’t a problem. That was a local problem. It wasn’t a national problem.\"\n\nThe spread of the Nazi method meant that a drug once manufactured in large quantities by \"superlabs\" situated away from populated areas was now being produced on a small scale within towns and cities.\n\nConsole said he can tell stories all day about unusual busts.\n\nThere was the time agents executed a search warrant and noticed bullet holes in the ceiling of a bedroom. When they asked the home's resident why, the man said he knew the agents were monitoring him from his attic, so he shot at them while he laid in bed. The agents hadn't been to the house previously.\n\n“Think about being up without sleep for seven days,\" Console says. \"Think about it. Where would your mind be, where would your body be? So they’d become very paranoid.”\n\nThere was the man in Joplin whose lab exploded, the force of it enough to embed sodium metal in his skin. Sodium metal reacts when it comes in contact with water. When someone went to clean the man's body with a saline solution at the hospital, the sodium metal exploded — the \"pops\" sounding like a miniature fireworks display.\n\nThen there were the deformed chickens. Agents responded to a farm in Christian County where large tanks of anhydrous ammonia were buried in the barn. The stuff wasn't being used as fertilizer.\n\n\"He had chickens with double beaks, he had chickens that were a foot growing out of another foot,\" Console said. \"All the chemicals they were using — they were making meth there for a long time — were being dumped all over the area where the chickens were being raised.\n\nIn 1998, the man credited with pioneering the so-called \"Nazi method\" of methamphetamine production was contacted by a News-Leader reporter.\n\nBob Paillet had moved to Texas from southwest Missouri several years prior, not long after being sentenced for conspiring to manufacture and distribute the drug. He was still on probation.\n\nIt appears to be Paillet's only published interview. He expressed regret to reporter Laura Bauer.\n\n\"I never thought it would spread like this,\" he said. \" ... I don't travel in those circles anymore.\"\n\nIn the years after his arrest, Paillet also wrote several letters to — and once spoke on the phone with — John Cornille, the Drug Enforcement Administration agent who investigated him.\n\n\"I can remember him expressing remorse that he had started 'this mess,' as he referred to it,\" Cornille said.\n\nBy the turn of the new millennium, Nazi dope was no longer a Missouri-specific phenomenon.\n\nIn north Texas, the commander of an 11-county narcotics task force told a magazine in 2001 that the unit came across its first Nazi lab three years prior. By the following summer, the task force was busting one every week.\n\n\"It has exploded on the scene so quick, it's so easy to do, and there are so many people involved in manufacturing it, that it has completely overtaxed our capabilities,\" the commander said.\n\nIn Illinois, a state police representative said in November 2000 that meth labs were \"getting to the epidemic stage.\" He cited the fact that the state was on track to have 400 lab busts by the end of the year. Within four years, Illinois would be logging more than 1,500 labs annually.\n\nIn California, the Modesto Bee reported in 2000 that officials in the Central Valley had encountered eight labs using the Nazi method, and that \"five of them were traced to a man from Missouri who had moved into a trailer park near Fresno and was teaching this method.\"\n\nOfficials in numerous other communities around the country reported a version of the same thing.\n\nNick Console, the former head of Springfield's DEA office, said top agency officials did little to respond to the growth in small-scale labs in the 1990s. By the early 2000s, he said, that began to change, as politicians representing affected communities began putting pressure on the agency.\n\n“It took ‘em a good eight to 10 years,\" Console said. \"And the damage was already done, it’d already spread.”\n\nThe Nazi method didn't just spread cook to cook. Its rise coincided with the early days of the modern internet and anonymous forums like The Hive, where users traded information about illegal substances.\n\n\"There were a number of really good dope sites,\" said Terry Dal Cason, a retired DEA forensic chemist who investigated the origins of the Nazi method moniker.\n\nSince 2002, the DEA has published an annual report called the \"National Drug Threat Assessment,\" which details the prevalence of illegal drugs in the United States.\n\nEach year, the agency asks various state and local law enforcement agencies what they consider the \"greatest drug threat\" in their community. In 2003, 33.1 percent of agencies selected cocaine. Methamphetamine was second, with 31 percent.\n\nThe report stated that meth was widely available in the western and central United States and gradually becoming more available in the eastern United States. It concluded, however, that “despite the rising threat, methamphetamine is not likely to surpass the overall threat posed to the United States by powder cocaine and crack in the near term.”\n\nTwo years later, it did.\n\nThe 2005 report read: \"According to state and local law enforcement agencies, the threat associated with methamphetamine trafficking and abuse has increased sharply since 2002 and now exceeds that of any other drug.\"\n\nTo be clear, the Nazi method wasn't the only way meth consumed in America was produced. In its annual reports, the DEA largely focused on other sources.\n\nFirst, there was the foreign supply; meth was smuggled into the United States from Mexico and, to a much lesser extent, southeast Asia.\n\nThen there were the domestic \"superlabs\" — those capable of producing 10 pounds of meth in a single day. In 2001, federal authorities seized 303 of them, two-thirds of which were located in California. The California labs alone likely produced more meth than all other domestic laboratories combined, the DEA wrote.\n\nThere was regional variation, however. In 2002, the agency wrote that \"local independents account for as much as 80 percent of retail methamphetamine distribution in some areas of the country,” specifically the central United States. The Nazi method was a key process used, but there were also other recipes, like the \"Red-P\" method named for the required red phosphorous.\n\nThe DEA struggled to accurately detail the problem. In 2004, the agency wrote that meth use and distribution in the Midwest was \"very high\" in rural and suburban areas, but \"less so in metropolitan areas, where most drug consequence data are collected.\"\n\n\"Therefore, available drug consequence data for methamphetamine use in the Central States likely under-represents the problem, perhaps significantly,\" the agency wrote.\n\nSmall labs accounted for much of the drug's impact on communities, which was felt in burn units and mental health clinics, courtrooms and cemeteries. While the Nazi method simplified meth production, it didn't make it foolproof. The more labs, and the more cooks, the more opportunities for something to go wrong, and the greater the cost of cleanup.\n\nIn 2003, there were 361 reported fires and explosions at meth lab sites, and 255 law enforcement officers were injured responding, according to the DEA. The agency spent $16.3 million on laboratory cleanup that fiscal year, eight times more than it spent less than a decade earlier.\n\nThat same year, the DEA reported that 893 children were present when meth labs were seized. About two-thirds tested positive for toxic levels of chemicals in their bodies. The agency said \"child neglect and abuse are common within families whose parents or caregivers produce or use methamphetamine.\"\n\n“The devastation and the damage to kids … I understand why Bob had regret,\" Cornille said.\n\nNationwide, meth lab busts peaked in 2004, when there were nearly 24,000 seizures.\n\nAlmost 3,000 of them were in Missouri. Two years earlier, the number of meth lab busts in the state passed those in California — the birthplace of the methamphetamine industry — for the first time. Since then, Missouri has led the nation most years, never dropping below third in annual busts. In some parts of the country, the area code for southwest Missouri, 417, is said to be slang for meth, or a particular type.\n\nCornille and Console both acknowledge that if Paillet hadn't introduced the Nazi method, someone else might have done so a short time later. Just like any legal industry, there is a steady pace of innovation in the world of illegal drugs, typically in response to some government crackdown.\n\nTo combat meth in the early 2000s, laws were implemented requiring medications containing pseudoephedrine to be sold from behind the counter. In 2007, fewer than 7,000 meth labs were seized across the country.\n\nBut makers and users adjusted, developing what became known as \"one-pot\" or \"shake-and-bake\" meth production, in which just a couple of pseudoephedrine pills are mixed in a 2-liter soda bottle for smaller batches. The new method led to another spike — 15,000 national meth lab busts in 2010.\n\nConsole said he views these newer methods as just continued innovation. The Nazi method was the truly critical shift, he said — the one that turned meth consumers into producers.\n\nAfter they were sentenced for conspiring to manufacture and distribute meth, those indicted alongside Paillet struggled to stay on the right side of the law.\n\nKenneth Allen, who was given three years probation, ended up behind bars after he repeatedly tested positive for meth; he was also arrested for driving with a revoked license and failing to support his dependents.\n\nMichael Poplawski, sentenced to nearly six years in prison, later completed community service for patronizing a prostitute in the early 2000s, according to online court records. He pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, with intent to distribute, in 2012.\n\nGary Davis, sentenced to five years in prison, briefly escaped in August 1994 from the Kansas facility where he was incarcerated. His sentence was later reduced for aiding in the prosecution of two others, but he ultimately ended up back behind bars. Davis is currently serving time in a federal penitentiary in Texas for, among other things, stealing explosive materials and conspiring to use them to rob a bank, according to a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.\n\nCourt records indicate that Paillet never violated parole. There is no evidence he got in trouble with the law during the rest of his life.\n\nPaillet found work after he moved to Texas in the mid-1990s. His youngest daughter said he was a CNC programmer, developing the programs that run automated machining equipment. His oldest daughter, however, said Paillet did sales and technical installations for a company.\n\nBy the end of the decade, health problems prompted him to go on disability, and he talked about having dystonia, a neurological disorder characterized by uncontrollable and sometimes painful muscle spasms.\n\nCourt records indicate Paillet divorced his third wife in 2008. He spent the final years of his life living with another woman in a trailer park in Sherman, a city of about 40,000 an hour north of Dallas.\n\nIn 2014, Stephanie Denton, 37, moved into the unit next to Paillet. Within a few months, she and Paillet — now in his early 70s — were drinking coffee together every morning.\n\nDenton was having issues in her relationship, and her son was having legal troubles; Paillet encouraged her to be more positive, she said. From what Denton could tell, her neighbor didn't really have close friends.\n\nPaillet didn't talk about his past very much, Denton said. She knew he was a Vietnam vet — Paillet talked about the war being pointless — and that he'd been involved with drugs to a degree. She said he claimed he'd sold drugs to raise money for a school for disabled kids.\n\nPaillet was more inclined to talk about the government, with a bent more paranoid than partisan. Denton said he repeated a well-known conspiracy theory that claims the Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to imprison citizens in camps after the imposition of martial law. Paillet's minimal online presence included posts about a group advocating for the secession of the state of Texas.\n\nPaillet also had an extensive rock collection and talked and posted online about searching for gold on a claim in Colorado. He appears to have become obsessed with the process, not unlike his days of manufacturing meth.\n\n“He first really started talking about gold mining after he was arrested,\" his oldest daughter Lisa Paillet said. \"One of the things that he was really very interested in doing was separating gold from rock, so not mining in the river, but using chemistry to remove gold from rock without requiring massive amounts of water.\"\n\nLisa said her father's health issues worsened during the final years of his life, and that he appeared to be struggling with dementia at times. In what would end up being her last conversation with her father, he talked about his will.\n\nBob Paillet didn't leave a suicide note.\n\nEarly in the afternoon of Jan. 1, 2016, the 72-year-old drove his red Dodge truck from the mobile home park where he lived in Sherman, Texas, to a nearby hospital. It was a little over a mile. Then, he took a gun — \"he had a lot of guns,\" said his daughter Gena — walked to the front of the vehicle, and shot himself in the head. He died minutes later in the emergency room.\n\nPaillet's family held a memorial service after his death. To the outside world, however, the only acknowledgement of his passing can be found on the website of a Denison, Texas, funeral home. It's not really an obituary, just a name and a pair of dates.\n\nThere's a guest book option on the site. One person — Paillet's second wife, Gena's mother — has left a message: \"We had a lot of happy years together. You will be missed. Your pain is over, ours now begins.\"\n\nOtherwise, there was nothing in the public record acknowledging that the man credited with reinventing methamphetamine production in the U.S. was dead. All in all, it probably turned out about how Paillet would have wanted it.\n\nIn 1998, he spoke briefly with a News-Leader reporter, the only time he was ever quoted in the media. At the time, meth lab busts were drastically increasing across the central United States. Authorities were blaming the phenomenon on the ease of the \"Nazi method,\" and said Paillet pioneered it while living in the Springfield area.\n\nIn that interview, Paillet expressed regret, as well as a wish regarding his future.\n\n\"I hope my name is forgotten or it's put in the back of people's minds,\" he said.\n\nPerhaps Paillet found some measure of peace. In an interview, Gena said that, while growing up, she was not allowed to talk or ask about the concept of a God around her father. In his later years, however, Bob Paillet softened on that view.\n\nIn 2008, he wrote on online message boards that \"I was an atheist, then agnostic, and now I believe that there is a God.\" He also said that he believed in evolution, and expressed a degree of incredulity that there are individuals who do not.\n\n\"He was still a scientific man, but he found his version of God,” Gena said.\n\nGena, 38, came of age in a world that her father helped create.\n\nGrowing up in Morrisville, she \"never really fit in,\" she said, and started drinking at an early age. When Gena and her mother moved to Springfield, she \"immediately just fell in with the wrong crowd.\" She graduated from Springfield's Parkview High School in 1996.\n\n\"A lot of people believe that addiction is genetic,\" Gena said. \"I am my father's daughter, not just in that way, but every way that there is.\"\n\nGena said she used meth for the first time at age 15. Two years later, she met Steven Joseph Brown, the man who would become her husband.\n\n\"He used needles, and he shot me up for the first time with heroin, and it was pretty much over from there,\" she said. \"It was always either that or meth. There was like a two-year period where I probably never slept. It’s been a struggle for me ever since.\"\n\nBrown — who died in February 2016 — was 16 years older than Gena. Prior to meeting her, he gave Gena's father precursor chemicals in exchange for meth, she said. At one point, he was even arrested by John Cornille, the Drug Enforcement Administration agent who investigated Bob.\n\n“My husband kind of ended up learning my dad’s recipe,\" Gena said. \"Not anywhere near as good as my dad.”\n\nGena, who said she grew up fearing her father, first got in trouble for drugs when she was 17. She thought her father was going to kill her. Instead, she said, he \"became my best friend ever, because we understood each other.\"\n\n\"My mom — I love my mom — she’s never done a drug in her life,\" Gena said. \"She’s had maybe one speeding ticket, and I think she even got that dismissed. Really this connection grew between him and me that was just amazing. I could really do no wrong in his eyes.”\n\nGena said that between her late teens and late 2015, she was only \"clean\" for extended periods twice, when she became pregnant. \"But I always went pretty much right back.\"\n\nIn late December 2015, Gena said, she overdosed on heroin. Gena's mother, who she lived with at the time, kicked her out of her house. Gena called her father, who paid for a motel room for a week, and indicated she should come live with him in Texas.\n\n\"He said, 'I want you to go to your parole officer and start getting everything transferred down here and I want you to come back here,' and he said, 'I will get you through this,'\" Gena said.\n\nTwo days later, she got the call that her father was dead.\n\nGena said she traveled to Texas to attend her father's memorial service, but got in a dispute with the woman Bob was living with at the time of his death, and ended up leaving beforehand (Lisa Paillet described her half-sister as \"high as a kite\" at the time). Gena expressed regret that she didn't receive something her father wanted her to have — \"this metal container thing that his very first successful batch of stuff was made in.”\n\nIn August, Gena said she put herself through treatment after returning from Bob's memorial service. She said she had been clean since Jan. 25.\n\n\"It really hurts me that my dad never got to see me get my life together,\" she said.\n\nBy November, however, Gena was back in a three-week rehab program. She attributed the relapse to her depression, and said she \"wasn’t managing it with medication like I should have been.\" In early May, she said she had stayed clean since completing the program.\n\n\"It’s still hard a lot of days,\" Gena said. \"And it’s hard to stay away from the people that kind of want to push it on you.”\n\nLisa Paillet, who asked that her first name be changed for this story, graduated in 1991 from then-Southwest Missouri State University with a degree in theater — which she said her father \"paid for, I’m pretty sure, with drug money.\"\n\nShe returned to California, where she grew up, and gradually drifted away from theater-related work. When her father, then on probation in Texas, found a job that made machining equipment, he paid for her to go to school to get a machinist's certification. She was hired by a company she described as being in the military aerospace research sector, which paid for her to get a bachelor's degree in engineering.\n\n“That’s when our conversations about science really took off, and we would talk for long periods of time,” she said of her father.\n\nRegarding her sister, she said Gena's \"world is very, very different from mine.”\n\n“He and Gena had a very, very different relationship than he and I had ... I think he treated her far more like a child than he ever treated me,\" Lisa said. \"And because he didn’t really raise me, he didn’t have rules for me … I think even though I went down his road a little bit when I was very young, I think my upbringing with my mother definitely was not the same.”\n\nLisa said her father's decision to take his own life wasn't entirely unexpected. Suicide was something he mentioned casually over the years, she said.\n\n\"He knew he was going to commit suicide if he ever got too sick, and I knew it a long time ago,\" Lisa said.\n\nBob Paillet's parents died in the 1980s. They are buried in a cemetery in Exeter, Missouri, where they lived and where Bob spent his high school years.\n\nLisa said her father, who became obsessed with gold mining in the later years of his life, requested his ashes be scattered at his gold claim. However, she's has been unable to find it. When Lisa called Colorado, she was told he didn't have a claim in the state.\n\nThough Paillet appears to have avoided run-ins with the law late in life, the process he pioneered continued to occupy authorities.\n\nSome states responded to the rise in small-scale meth labs by requiring prescriptions for purchase of products containing pseudoephedrine.\n\nMissouri didn't, but over time dozens of communities within the state instituted their own prescription laws. City leaders in Springfield debated doing the same in 2013, but the effort wasn't without controversy.\n\nThat fall, Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky — a former prosecutor who supported the measure — asked Springfield's police chief to provide monthly reports detailing meth lab activity in the city. She pitched it as a way for council to stay informed on the issue. Councilman Doug Burlison, a libertarian who opposed the prescription requirement, described it as \"an attempt to educate us to have different opinions.\"\n\nThen a funny thing happened. The police chief's monthly reports consistently described fewer and fewer meth labs being found in the city. In July 2014, the prescription bill was tabled indefinitely.\n\nThe situation wasn't unique to Springfield. The number of small meth labs seized in the United States has declined in recent years, from about 15,000 in 2010 to about 4,500 in 2016.\n\nIt's not that the drug has lost its presence in the United States. Last year, when state and local law enforcement agencies were asked to name the greatest drug threat in their area, heroin received the most votes. The agencies that selected it, however, were strongly concentrated in the Great Lakes and northeast regions of the United States. In the western part of the country, more agencies chose meth.\n\nMost of that meth is produced in Mexico and smuggled across the border.\n\nIn a 2016 report, the DEA attributed the decline in domestic labs to the wide availability of high-purity, high-potency meth from Mexico, as well as the passage of the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, a federal law enacted in 2006 which placed restrictions on the meth precursors ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine.\n\nNick Console, who spent about a decade as the top DEA official in Springfield, said Paillet's Nazi method may have prompted the cartels to become more involved with production of meth.\n\n\"Why? Because you had a huge addiction problem here in the United States to methamphetamine,\" he said. \"Supply and demand.”\n\nConsole retired to a farm in Ash Grove. John Cornille, the DEA agent most involved with investigating Paillet, still works for the agency.\n\nMike Poplawski — who was taught the Nazi method by Paillet himself — has served his prison sentence. He understands how the statute of limitations works, double jeopardy and all that.\n\nAsk him about the early days of Nazi dope, however, and he chooses his words carefully. He's convinced that saying certain things could get the DEA interested in him again. He says he's been at the same job for 15 years, together with his wife for 25 years.\n\n\"I’ve got grandkids that love me, step-kids that love me, extended family that love me,\" he said. \"You look from the other side — the law enforcement side — I’m a bad man.”\n\nIn an interview in his Springfield home, Poplawski, 59, said the people he considers meth's Nazi dope generation are \"all in jail or dead,\" and that those currently involved with the drug aren't self-starters. He voiced frustration at seeing \"bangers shooting each other, shooting up neighborhoods, doing dope and falling asleep in their cars with the kids in the cars and s---- like that.\"\n\n\"I want to go around with a .22 starter pistol and start capping people,\" he said. \"I can still find the houses. They’re not the same houses. But a speeder can always recognize another speeder.\"\n\nAsked about his own actions, Poplawski said \"if I knew then what I knew now, I would’ve done things different.\"\n\n\"I like to think that I had the ability to make a change,\" he said.\n\nAt the same time, he said, \"there's always going to be an addiction.\"\n\n\"The hole’s always there,\" Poplawski said. \"And once it got filled by meth, we had the meth crisis ... Now you’ve got [a] prescription drug crisis and you’ve got [a] heroin crisis hard. Meth’s bad. I don’t think heroin’s an improvement.\"\n\nReached at a federal prison in Texas, Gary Davis — the only other individual indicted alongside Paillet still living — declined to be interviewed without compensation. In a brief email, he did include one comment.\n\n\"Meth is a scourge on society,\" Davis wrote. \"I wish I would have never messed with it.\"\n\nPaillet expressed similar sentiments years before his death.\n\n\"I wish I never started it,\" he told a News-Leader reporter in 1998. \"I would never do it again.\"\n\n\"I caused a lot of trouble with a lot of people.\"\n\nHow we reported this story\n\nReporter Thomas Gounley began working on this story in the wake of Bob Paillet’s death in January 2016.\n\nThe events leading to the arrest of Paillet and his co-conspirators are detailed in federal court records. Additional information regarding Paillet was obtained from the Drug Enforcement Administration through a Freedom of Information Act request.\n\nInterviews with Paillet’s family members and one-time associates, along with current and retired law enforcement personnel, were conducted between August 2016 and May 2017. One of Paillet’s daughters, citing concerns regarding how this story could affect future job prospects, agreed to be interviewed on the condition that her first name be replaced with a pseudonym. Editors agreed to that request.\n\nThe photos of Bob Paillet in this story were provided by his daughters. Booking photos of those indicted alongside Paillet were obtained from the Greene County Archives and Records Center. Center staff said they did not have a booking photo of Paillet himself.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/05/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/01/31/super-bowl-commercials-top-ten-trends/1870741/", "title": "Super Bowl ad trends: Sex, goofy guys, stars and cars", "text": "Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY\n\nNine in 10 viewers are as interested in the commercials as the game\n\nTwo advertisers will air commercials that are two-minutes long\n\nCelebrities will show up in swarms in some spots\n\nMadison Avenue's 2013 Super Bowl efforts can be described in two words: eye candy.\n\nThat's not necessarily a good thing.\n\nThe commercials for Super Bowl 2013 are so overloaded with eye candy — sexy models, too-cute kids, wacky animals, magical happenings and effects — that by the time folks take them all in, many viewers will feel like they just swallowed the entire bag of Halloween candy in one sitting.\n\nNo room for the chips and dip.\n\nThat, of course, won't stop an estimated 111 million viewers from watching most of the 50-some TV spots from 30-some advertisers.\n\nA new survey by Nielsen confirms that: 91% of consumers say they are as interested in watching the commercials as the game itself. At roughly $3.8 million per 30-second spot, Super Bowl marketers are expected to easily top last year's record of $262.5 million, reports Kantar Media.\n\nAnd we will test them all on Sunday in the 25th Anniversary USA TODAY Ad Meter — a consumer rating of the game's ads — to see which ad tops them all.\n\nMeanwhile, here are the top 10 trends to track as you watch the ads:\n\n• Cars that empower. Maybe it's that new-car smell. Maybe it's the octane in the gasoline. Or maybe it's just Madison Avenue hyperbole on the ad world's biggest stage.\n\nThere's something about new cars in this year's Super Bowl commercials that seems to utterly embolden whoever is driving them — or even just sitting in them — to do things they never would otherwise.\n\nTake the Audi spot. A high school kid goes dateless to the prom. Even his little sister pokes fun at him. But then his dad hands him the keys to the Audi — the hot S6 performance model — and everything magically changes. He drives to prom and brazenly pulls into the school principal's parking spot. Once on the dance floor, he bravely kisses the prom queen — even with her boyfriend (prom king) watching. OK, it costs the kid a black eye, but, heck, he drives off in his Audi with prom queen in tow.\n\nIn a Hyundai spot, a kid is moved to strategically take on the neighborhood bully.\n\nThen, there's spunky VW. Its new commercial takes place in a dysfunctional office that has but a single, happy worker. Turns out the key to his happiness also is the key to his VW. Turns out that his happiness is contagious — so long as you sit with him in his VW.\n\n• Sex still sells. Sex never gets old on the Super Bowl.\n\nIt just gets weird.\n\nAdvertisers are fully aware that the single simplest way to snatch the attention of jaded male or female viewers is to show a sexy babe or dude. Or, in this year's oddest version, show a supermodel passionately kissing a computer geek.\n\nThat's what Go Daddy has in store, with Bar Refaeli, a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, puckering up with chunky, totally nerdy computer guy. The story line: Go Daddy's found the perfect match of brains and beauty.\n\nThe action gets even rougher in Kia's spot, featuring a former Miss USA, Alyssa Campanella, who plays a sexy robot who plasters a car-gawking dude — who leaves fingerprints on and kicks the tires of a new Forte — with a punch that sets him flying on his can.\n\nSpeed Stick gets into the act, too, with a guy at the laundromat who accidentally finds himself holding a cute stranger's yellow panties.\n\nBut the sexiest battle may be that of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit models. In one corner, there's Go Daddy's Refaeli. In the other, there's supermodel Kate Upton, appearing in the Mercedes-Benz commercial as a hopeful dude's dream date.\n\nMaybe next year, some savvy advertiser will coax Betty White into a bikini.\n\n• Ads with and by you. There was a time when Madison Avenue utterly ruled on Super Bowl Sunday. The nation's biggest and most powerful advertisers and advertising agencies used to publicly wrestle to display who could wow TV viewers by creating the one TV commercial that everyone would chat about the next morning at the water cooler.\n\nBut in a social-media age, not only is the water cooler empty, but so is the notion that consumers will idly sit by and watch whatever the advertising kingpins have to show them.\n\nThese days, many folks want to be hands-on. With an assist from the big agencies and advertisers, some people will create the ads that air Sunday — or, at the very least, choose to vote on which ads appear. This is a trend that Doritos began seven years ago with its \"Crash the Super Bowl\" platform that lets real people compete to create the ads that air based on online consumer voting. Once again, the chip brand has two consumer-created spots in Sunday's game.\n\nOthers, will have the chance to actually appear in — or even have their tweets included in — Super Bowl commercials. Lincoln is broadcasting a dramatization of tweets consumers submitted about their wackiest road trips. And Coca-Cola is urging fans to vote online to decide which of three commercial endings it uses in its ad. The ending to the Audi ad also was based on consumer input. And Pepsi asked people to send their photos for possible inclusion.\n\n• Celebrity swarms. It just wouldn't be a Super Bowl without a couple of dozen celebrities — from A- to C-list — parading in and out of the commercials.\n\nBut this go-round there's a twist: celebrity swarms. That's right, ads with celebs showing up in teams of three or more. The hope: Amid the crowd and frenzy of Super Bowl advertisers, the right celebrity might actually catch your attention.\n\nMercedes-Benz will flaunt three celebs: supermodel Kate Upton, singer Usher and actor Willem Dafoe.\n\nSubway, too, loads its Super Bowl spot with familiar celebrities and jocks, including spokesman Jared Vogel, superstar quarterback Robert Griffin III and nearly a dozen other athletes.\n\nSamsung's spot features comic actors Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Bob Odenkirk, all trying to figure what the next \"big thing\" is. It turns out, at least in this commercial, that the next big thing is someone who is arguably already a big thing: LeBron James. And, of course, James has a cameo in the ad.\n\n• Weird wildlife. There was a time when putting a puppy or cute kitty in a Super Bowl spot all but guaranteed instant payback. But Madison Avenue being Madison Avenue, well, it's rarely satisfied with what actually works.\n\nSo this Super Bowl, it seems, the domesticated, furry critters are increasingly being replaced by the undomesticated kind. Goodbye cats and dogs. Hello wolves, sabertoothed tigers, rhinos, cheetahs — and gazelles.\n\nA Skechers spot features a guy in a pair of Skechers who manages to outrun a cheetah in order to save the gazelle that the cheetah is eyeing for dinner. And the sabertoothed tiger joins a family for breakfast in an offbeat Hyundai spot.\n\nDon't rule out a real dinosaur showing up next year.\n\n• Ads go long. At $3.8 million per 30-second slot, it might seem that cost-conscious Super Bowl advertisers would all try to ram their messages into a very tight time-frame.\n\nNot this go-round. This Super Bowl comes complete with at least two, two-minute commercials, and several full-minute spots.\n\nChrysler has done it before. Its two-minute spots at halftime last year featured Clint Eastwood and the year before had Eminem. The carmaker is believed to have at least one, two-minute commercial in this year's game, but is keeping mum.\n\nSamsung, however, isn't keeping mum. Its two-minute spot, featuring three comic actors and LeBron James, is all about trying to call attention to its own coolness factor.\n\nWhile the arguments for two minutes in terms of prominence and story-telling are compelling, the risks are huge. Two minutes is an enormous amount of time to capture and keep the attention of a generation more accustomed to 140-character tweets and five-second sound bites. While a 30-second dud on the Super Bowl can be a yawn, a 120-second dud can be a brand buster.\n\n• Put up your dukes. It might seem that there's nothing new about fists flying during the Super Bowl — particularly during the commercial breaks. After all, a fight is a fight, right?\n\nNot this year. Some of the bigger punch-outs aren't about guys fighting guys, but about guys fighting wild animals — and women beating up dudes. These are all staged slapstick fights, of course, aimed at luring frazzled viewers to give a look.\n\nIn the Kia spot the former Miss USA as a robot basically pulverizes the guy, while in Coke's commercial, a Las Vegas showgirl beats the pants off a motorcycle dude.\n\nThings get even weirder in a couple of spots that pit man against beast. If the Skechers ad isn't enough, there's the Axe ad in which a hunk of a lifeguard beats the be-jeebers out of a shark that is about to attack a bikini babe.\n\nAre you watching, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals?\n\n• Name that tune. Savvy advertisers know that on Super Bowl Sunday, it's not just what viewers will see that matters, but also what they hear. While all the commercial images can become a blur, the right music can turn heads.\n\nMusic, also, is generational. Marketers typically use it to hit the target they want. On Super Bowl Sunday, it's at the most focused. While Volkswagen, for example, is using famous YouTube rants to appeal to Millennials, it's also reaching out to Baby Boomers with a musical nod to their past: The familiar theme song to the Partridge Family Come on Get Happy, re-created by reggae legend Jimmy Cliff.\n\nTaco Bell, meanwhile, is setting its spot to music — but with a Spanish twist. The commercial, about ol' folks breaking out the retirement home for a night of romping, is a Spanish language version of We Are Young.\n\nPepsi, of course, has Beyonce singing at halftime. And then there's Wonderful Pistachios, which convinced YouTube sensation Psy to pen new, nut-worthy words to his Internet hit, Gangnam Style.\n\n• Guys as goofballs. There was a time when the guys who showed up in Super Bowl commercials were as tough as the guys on the field.\n\nThat was followed by a far different time, when the guys in the Big Game spots became touchy-feely wimps.\n\nNow we're in yet another era: guys as goofballs.\n\nAn ad for Pepsi Next focuses on a father who's apparently more concerned with the calories in his soda than his kid's party that's destroying his home. A Kia spot features a dad who mindlessly spins an absurd tale for his kid who asked where babies come from. A Century 21 spot stars a groom who literally faints at the altar when he's told his mother-in-law will be moving in.\n\n• Wishing and hoping. There's apparently a new way to make dreams come true in 2013: watch the Super Bowl ads.\n\nThe theme embraced by several advertisers is the notion of one's fondest wishes being granted — almost in fairy godmother-like style.\n\nToyota is doing it with its \"Wish Granted\" spot, featuring actress Kaley Cuoco. In the ad, Cuoco tosses clouds of pixie dust that appear to make wishes come true.\n\nLikewise, Taco Bell latches onto the trend, magically giving a group of senior citizens a very special, youth-driven night out on the town — ending up, of course, at Taco Bell.\n\nThen, in a couple of Bud Light spots, rabid fans reach out for a magic touch to help their teams win.\n\nBut the real wishing and hoping Sunday night will be on the part of every Super Bowl advertiser who wants to achieve lightning in a bottle.\n\nBut faster than you can say poof, most will disappear.\n\nThe roster of Super Bowl advertisers:\n\nAnheuser-Busch InBev: Beck's serenade\n\nAnheuser-Busch InBev: Black Crown coronation\n\nAnheuser-Busch InBev: Black Crown celebration\n\nAnheuser-Busch InBev: Bud Light journey\n\nAnheuser-Busch InBev: Bud Light chair\n\nAnheuser-Busch InBev: Budweiser Clydesdales\n\nAudi: Prom-goer in dad's Audi\n\nAxe (Unilever): Girl goes for astronaut\n\nBest Buy: Amy Poehler seeks help\n\nBlackberry (RIM): Blackberry 10 phone\n\nCalvin Klein: Man vs. Machine\n\nCars.com: No stress car buying\n\nCentury 21: Groom faints at wedding\n\nChrysler\n\nCoca-Cola: Who gets to Coke oasis?\n\nDoritos: First consumer ad winner\n\nDoritos: Second consumer ad winner\n\nE-Trade: E-Trade baby returns\n\nGildan Activewear: Guy wants his t-shirt\n\nGoDaddy: Model kisses geek\n\nGoDaddy: Danica Patrick is pilot 30\n\nHyundai: Epic play date\n\nHyundai: Boy takes on bullies\n\nHyundai: Sonata turbo passes\n\nKia: Where babies come from\n\nKia: Robot woman gets tough\n\nLincoln (Ford): Wacky road trip\n\nM&Ms (Mars): M&Ms sing\n\nMercedes-Benz: Kate Upton\n\nMilk Processors Education Program: \"The Rock\" hunts for milk\n\nMio (Kraft): Change is good\n\nNational Football League: Players thank fans\n\nOreo: Cookie debate\n\nParamount Pictures: \"Star Trek Into Darkness\"\n\nPepsi: Party with Pepsi Next\n\nPepsi: Halftime introduction\n\nSamsung Mobile: Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd\n\nSkechers: Guy outruns cheetah\n\nSodaStream: Soda bottles explode\n\nSpeed Stick: Guy folds panties\n\nSubway: Jocks congratulate Jared\n\nTaco Bell: Seniors night out\n\nTide (Procter & Gamble): Both teams featured\n\nToyota: Kaley Cuoco grants wishes\n\nUniversal Pictures\n\nVolkswagen: Happy office worker\n\nWalt Disney \"Iron Man 3\"\n\nWalt Disney: \"Lone Ranger\"\n\nWalt Disney: \"Oz\"\n\nWonderful Pistachios \"Gagnam Style\" star Psy", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2013/01/31"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/31/investing/unilever-stock-nelson-peltz-dove/index.html", "title": "Nelson Peltz comes after Hellmann's and Dove | CNN Business", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nA shakeup may be in the works at Unilever, the consumer goods giant behind brands like Dove soap, Hellmann’s mayonnaise and Vaseline.\n\nUnilever (UL) announced Monday that Nelson Peltz, one of the most influential corporate raiders on Wall Street, will join the company’s board of directors and disclosed that Peltz’s fund holds a 1.5% stake in Unilever (UL).\n\nPeltz is an activist investor known for pushing under-performing companies to restructure, spin-off businesses and even break up. In the past, he has helped force changes at food and consumer giants such as Procter & Gamble (PG), Mondelez (MDLZ) and Wendy’s (WEN).\n\nIt’s not immediately clear what Peltz has planned for London-based Unilever, which has lagged rivals in recent years and made three failed bids to acquire GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer health care business.\n\nIn January, Unilever said it was cutting 1,500 management jobs around the world and simplifying its business structure.\n\nSome analysts have called for Unilever to split its food and drink brands from its home and personal care division.\n\nWall Street, however, is betting that Peltz will help transform Unilever. Shares rose 8% during early trading Tuesday. Analysts say the company needs a major revamp.\n\n“Unilever has a double problem,” said AllianceBernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne. The company is in “structurally low growth categories” and investors have lost confidence in the board and management.\n\nMonteyne expects Peltz to bring Unilever “back to basics” and focus on investing in innovation, adjusting executive compensation incentives and accelerating the pace of acquisitions and sales.\n\nUnilever has been on Peltz’s radar for months. In January, the Financial Times reported that he acquired a stake in the company. On Monday, Unilever chair Nils Anderson said in a statement that the company has held “extensive and constructive discussions” with Peltz.", "authors": ["Nathaniel Meyersohn"], "publish_date": "2022/05/31"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/01/02/january-2019-free-food-meal-deals-and-other-savings/2461085002/", "title": "January 2019 free food, meal deals and other savings", "text": "January is the month of resolutions.\n\nAnd if you're resolving to save more money in 2019, you've come to the right place.\n\nWelcome to USA TODAY's January guide of free food, meal deals, made-up food holidays and other savings.\n\nOne of the month's sweetest days is Jan. 23, which is National Pie Day not to be confused with Pi Day held March 14.\n\nBookmark this page because it'll be updated frequently with more specials.\n\nHere are the deals, big days and ongoing specials, available at participating locations. To be on the safe side, always check with your closest location before heading out. Also, some will require you to have a restaurant's app or be signed up for emails.\n\nMore:Businesses offer furlough freebies, shutdown specials and assistance to federal workers\n\nMore:McDonald's brings back 2 for $5 Mix & Match Deal, includes new Quarter Pounder with Cheese\n\nMore:Free coffee, doughnuts, cheeseburgers and more: How to fill 2019 with freebies and deals\n\nLimited-time specials\n\n7-Eleven: Through Feb. 12, get a small cup of Chips Ahoy Hot Chocolate or any other hot beverage for $1 at participating stores. According to the convenience store chain, the limited-edition flavor is “a combination of fresh-baked cookies and warm hot chocolate.”\n\nCarrabba’s Italian Grill: Through Thursday, Jan. 31, get a free order of lasagne or spaghetti to take home when you dine in and order select signature dishes, including Chicken Bryan, Chicken Marsala, Pollo Rosa Maria or Chicken Trio and mention the “Carrabba’s Today, Carrabba’s Tomorrow” offer.\n\nHardee's: The fast-food chain’s new Angus Thickburger Melts – the Cheddar Bacon Melt and the Mushroom Swiss Melt – start at $3.\n\nIHOP: For a limited time at participating locations, get all-you-can-eat pancakes with any breakfast combo or get just the pancakes for $4.99. Dine-in and buttermilk pancakes only. Some exclusions apply and this offer isn't valid with senior and kids meals.\n\nJack in the Box: For a limited time, get $1 medium seasoned curly fries with the restaurant’s mobile app. On the menu section of the app, select “app exclusives” and add fries to your cart.\n\nOn The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina: For a limited time, get endless seasoned ground beef or Chicken Tinga tacos for $8.99 at participating locations. Dine-in orders only.\n\nRed Lobster: Lobsterfest is back for a limited time and the seafood chain has its largest selection of lobster dishes available all year.\n\nSubway: Through Feb. 6 or while supplies last, get $3 off any $3 order with a purchase through the Subway app when you pay with PayPal. According to the fine print, \"Limited to the first 50,000 to save the offer.\"\n\nTaco Bell: Not a deal, but in a tweet Taco Bell announced the Naked Chicken Chalupa is back on the menu \"for a hot second\" and to \"get it ASAP before it disappears again.\"\n\nMore:Taco Bell testing new items for menu: Beefy Potato Flatbread, two new Nachos Boxes\n\nJan. 28: Pretzel Pizza returns to Little Caesars\n\nAfter a four-year hiatus, Little Caesars is bringing back its \"much-loved Pretzel Crust Pizza\" to its U.S. restaurants starting Monday, Jan. 28.\n\nThe pizza was first introduced as a limited-time promotion in 2014 and features \"a large buttery-flavored soft pretzel crust pizza with creamy cheddar cheese sauce, mozzarella and Muenster cheeses and pepperoni.\" The pizzas are $6 plus tax and will be available at participating locations nationwide for a limited time.\n\n“When the pretzel pizza promotion ended in 2015, we were inundated on social media and with phone calls, emails, and even online petitions by pretzel-loving customers,” said Ed Gleich, Little Caesars senior vice president of global marketing in a statement. “Four years later we’re still getting those requests and have a very passionate fan base. In fact, it’s still our most common product request.”\n\nPretzel Crust Pizza is available from 4 to 8 p.m. and customers can order ahead and pre-pay with the Little Caesars app, then collect the order using \"Pizza Portal pickup, the Little Caesars heated, self-service mobile order pickup station.\"\n\nJan. 28-Feb. 4: Get a free Wendy's Baconator\n\nThere's a bacon battle heating up and Wendy's says it wants to prove it's the \"Boss of Bacon.\"\n\nThe fast-food chain is giving away free Baconator burgers with zero delivery fees through DoorDash with a $10 purchase through Monday, Feb. 4.\n\n“We’ve always owned bacon and that’s not changing because our competitors are throwing a happy hour to celebrate its importance,” said Kurt Kane, Wendy's executive vice president, chief concept and marketing officer in a statement. “Bacon is at the core of what we do at Wendy’s, and we aren’t afraid to throw down the gauntlet.”\n\nUse promo code FREEBACONATOR when checking out at DoorDash to receive one free Baconator with a $10 purchase and also get free delivery. The promo code can only be used one time for each DoorDash account, but the free delivery is available all week without a promo code.\n\nWendy's says in a blog post that it has offered bacon since 1982 \"when we threw the first slice of our delicious bacon on the flat grill, giving consumers the freshly-cooked bacon they deserve.\"\n\nMcDonald's hosted a nationwide bacon bash and hour-long free bacon giveaway on Jan. 29, before launching its new bacon lineup Jan. 30, which include Cheesy Bacon Fries, the Big Mac Bacon burger and the Quarter Pounder Bacon burger.\n\nJan. 30: Aldi's Valentine's Day items go on sale\n\nIf you're looking to wine and dine your sweetheart, discount grocer Aldi's heart-shaped cheese and a special chocolate wine will be available starting Wednesday, Jan. 30.\n\nThe two heart-shaped cheeses part of the Happy Farms Valentine’s Day Cheese Assortment are $3.99 each and the Chocolate Cellar Chocolate Red Wine, available at locations that sell alcohol, costs $7.99. Prices can vary.\n\nAldi, one of the world's largest grocery store chains, has other Valentine's Day special products including: Specially Selected Heart-Shaped Chocolate Chip Brioche for $4.99, Reggano Valentine’s Day Pasta for $1.99 and Belmont Chocolate Sampler or Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake for $9.99.\n\nThere will be several non-food items, including: a Bee Happy 39-inch Cuddle Valentine Plush for $12.99, the Heart to Tail Valentine’s Day Dog Toy Set for $8.99 and Pembrook Valentine’s Day Cards for 99 cents.\n\nHours vary by location but many stores open at 9 a.m. weekdays. The special items will be available while supplies last. In November, Aldi's wine and cheese Advent calendars quickly sold out.\n\nJan. 30: Krispy Kreme's heart doughnuts available\n\nKrispy Kreme's new Valentine Conversation Doughnuts will be available starting Wednesday, Jan. 30 and through Valentine's Day.\n\nMore:Krispy Kreme looks to fill Sweethearts candy void with Conversation Doughnuts for Valentine's Day\n\nJan. 30: McDonald's launches bacon menu\n\nOn Wednesday, Jan. 30, Cheesy Bacon Fries, the Big Mac Bacon burger and the Quarter Pounder Bacon burger join the McDonald's lineup for a limited time.\n\nMore:Free bacon, bacon and more bacon: McDonald's, Wendy's go whole hog on what Americans love\n\nJan. 31: Baskin-Robbins' $1.50 scoops\n\nOn Thursday, Baskin-Robbins celebrates its original 31 flavors with $1.50 scoops at participating locations. The Celebrate 31 promotion happens in months with 31 days.\n\nJan. 31: Bruegger’s Bagels anniversary\n\nBruegger’s Bagels celebrates its 36th anniversary Thursday, Jan. 31 with its annual free bagel giveaway. From open until 11 a.m. Jan. 31, members of the Inner Circle loyalty program get three free bagels with any purchase and the special offer.\n\n“Our fans are the reason for our success, and that’s why we want to give them the gift of free bagels in celebration of our anniversary,” Bruegger’s Bagels President Tyler Ricks said in a statement.\n\nJoin the loyalty program at https://rewards.brueggers.com/subscribe. The free bagels' coupons will be sent on Thursday, Jan. 24, according to the Bruegger's website.\n\nFor taking part in the anniversary celebration, customers will also get a coupon for $2 off a future $5 purchase, valid through National Bagel Day, Feb. 9.\n\nPlus, the chain will have a contest on social media. To enter for a chance to win a year of free bagels and coffee, post a “current or past photo of themselves at a Bruegger’s bakery” on the company’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.\n\nJan. 31: National Hot Chocolate Day\n\nNot to be confused with National Hot Cocoa Day held in December, National Hot Chocolate Day is Thursday, Jan. 31.\n\nBiggby Coffee: At participating stores, baristas will be featuring different varieties of hot chocolate and some locations will hand out a variety of bounce back coupons, which will be valid until Feb. 13.\n\nNestlé Toll House Café by Chip: Buy a hot chocolate and get one free Thursday, Jan. 31. Find locations at www.nestlecafe.com/locations.\n\n7-Eleven: Through Feb. 12, get a small cup of Chips Ahoy Hot Chocolate or any other hot beverage for $1 at participating stores. According to the convenience store chain, the limited-edition flavor is “a combination of fresh-baked cookies and warm hot chocolate.” Plus, with the 7Rewards loyalty program, when you buy six coffees, hot chocolates, fountain drinks or Slurpee treats, your seventh is free. Sign up for the free program at the 7Rewards website, by downloading the 7-Eleven app, messaging the 7-Eleven bot on Facebook Messenger or by picking up a physical 7Rewards card at participating locations.\n\nOngoing specials\n\nApplebee’s: The January drink of the month is the \"$2 Captain and Cola,” made with Captain Morgan Spiced Rum and Pepsi and served in a 10-ounce mug.\n\nCicis: The pizza buffet chain has joined forces with Nickelodeon’s Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to create “Rise of the Turtles Tuesdays.” Each Tuesday through March 12 from 4 p.m. to close, kids 10 and under get a kid’s buffet for 99 cents with the purchase of one adult buffet and large drink. Limit one kid’s buffet per adult buffet and drink purchase. Learn more about the promotion at www.cicis.com/rtmnt.\n\nChili’s: The chain’s first $5 margarita of the month for 2019 is a fan favorite from 2018, The Cherry Blossom. The drink features of Lunazul tequila, St-Germain, Fresh Sour and Grenadine.\n\nDunkin’: Through March 3, get a medium-sized latte or cappuccino, hot or iced, for $2 from 2 to 6 p.m. at participating locations.\n\nKFC: For a limited time, KFC is offering a two for $3 deal on its Chicken Littles. The sandwiches are available in four flavors: Smoky Mountain BBQ, Extra Crispy, Nashville Hot and Georgia Gold.\n\nMcDonald's: With an offer on the fast-food chain's app, buy one sandwich and get a second for 25 cents. Some sandwiches are excluded including the new bacon items. According to the offer details, this deal will be valid once per week through March 31.\n\nOlive Garden: The fast-casual Italian restaurant announced its first-ever Never Ending Stuffed Pastas. For a limited time, get unlimited refills while dining in on four stuffed pastas including Stuffed Ziti Fritta and Cheese Ravioli with a choice of four sauces and five toppings. Prices start at $12.99.\n\nPanda Express: Through Sunday, Feb. 3, get $10 off one Family Feast or $25 off two Family Feasts with promo code TOUCHDOWN. For online and app orders only.\n\nPopeyes Louisiana Kitchen: For a limited time, get three pieces of chicken tenders or bone-in chicken with a biscuit for $3.99.\n\nTaco Bell: Get a free drink with any purchase through the app or website once-a-day through Feb. 1. According to the fine print, this deal is available at participating locations for web and app pay ahead orders only.\n\nWawa: Through Feb. 3, get any cup of hot coffee for $1 including Kenya AA Reserve coffee, which is available for a limited time. This offer is for self-serve coffee.\n\nWendy’s: The fast-food chain has brought back its Giant Junior Bacon Cheeseburger – also known as the Giant JBC – and its signature $5 meal deal. The combo deal, available for a limited time at participating locations, includes the Giant JBC, four-piece chicken nuggets, small fries and a small drink for $5. The burger also is available a la carte for $3.49. Pricing and participation can vary.\n\nMore:Last day for Gymboree and Crazy 8 returns is Feb. 1; gift cards worthless after Feb. 16\n\nMore:Sonic Drive-In adds county fair favorite deep-fried Oreos to menu\n\nMore:They're back! Taco Bell's Nacho Fries now available for a limited time nationwide\n\nKelly Tyko is a consumer columnist and retail reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers and TCPalm.com, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Read her Bargainista tips at TCPalm.com/Bargainista, follow her on Twitter @KellyTyko and email her at kelly.tyko@tcpalm.com.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/01/02"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2015/10/29/movie-theaters-classic-eastern-iowa/74268146/", "title": "Venerable movie theaters still fill seats in eastern Iowa", "text": "Emery Styron\n\nSpecial to the Register\n\n“Why would you want to stay home and watch a little box? Because it’s convenient? Because you don’t have to get dressed up, because you could just sit there? How can you call that entertainment, alone in your living room? Where’s the other people? Where’s the audience? Where’s the magic? I tell you, in a place like this, the magic is all around you.”\n\n— Dialogue from the movie, \"The Majestic\"\n\n+++\n\nMovie magic is all around southeast Iowa.\n\nEntrepreneurs and communities have joined hands to restore 19th and 20th century entertainment palaces. Using a blend of technology, creature comforts and marketing savvy — not to mention hot, buttery popcorn — they keep filling theater seats in small downtowns.\n\nThe movie business is tough in rural markets, said Brian Fridley, vice president of Des Moines-based R.L. Fridley Theatres. The company has sold some of its properties at bargain prices and even given away others, such as the Temple Twin in Mount Pleasant. Scott and Amy Lowe couldn’t imagine their town without its theater, so they jumped on Fridley’s offer of a free building in 2012.\n\nAided by a $40,000 grant from the city, the Lowes wasted no time in launching a $400,000 renovation of the former Masonic Temple, uncovering high ceilings and crown moldings that would help them recapture the structure’s 1920s flavor. Customers would thank them for replacing grimy restrooms, carpet and seating that, in Scott’s words, “assaulted every one of the senses.”\n\nIn a nod both to Disneyland and the theater’s downtown location, the Lowes renamed the business Main Street Cinemas. Customers flocked back in to enjoy modern amenities like digital projection, Dolby Surround Sound and rocker-back seats with cup holders and leg room.\n\nFrom the restored, digitally lit marquee to the plush-carpeted lobby hung with classic movie images to the gold-accented, red-and-black paint scheme, the intent was to make the theater “a place you want to be,” and offer a different experience than watching movies in a modern multiplex.\n\nThe enlarged concession stand and expanded menu offering pretzel bites, pizza, wine and beer is part of the effort to differentiate. Popcorn, soda and candy remain the top sellers.\n\nThe improvements were well received.\n\n“We were pleasantly surprised with the public appreciation and the business uptick we saw,” said Mr. Lowe.\n\nFridley, meanwhile, was restoring to the State Theater in Washington to its 1946 look. After a 2010 fire caused extensive smoke and water damage to the former downtown opera house, Fridley utilized historic tax credits and grants funneled through Washington’s downtown revitalization group for improvements including digital projection, surround sound, new seats and carpets, remodeled concession area and reopened balcony.\n\n“The community is loving it,” manager Crystle Christner said of the restoration.\n\nShe doesn’t think Washingtonians would support a multiplex.\n\n“Sixty-five to 70 percent of our population is retired. They don’t want new-fangled stuff,” said Christner. Customers like getting popcorn from a well-seasoned machine that’s been popping since 1948, she said.\n\nWhile Washington and Mount Pleasant play mainly recent or first-run movies, Burlington’s restored Capitol Theater and Performance Center specializes in classic films and live events. Owned by a non-profit foundation that has raised $2.5 million for improvements, the Capitol offers concerts, classes and workshops and a venue for local high school and college drama productions.\n\nThe investment in digital projection at Burlington, Mount Pleasant and Washington is expensive — costs run upwards of $100,000 per screen — but the technology opens a new world of possibilities. Besides enabling 3D movies, captioning and language options, the digital systems allows computer scheduling and play of feature movies, commercials, preview and announcements. Even light and sound levels can be preset with the system.\n\nAnything that can be viewed on a computer can now be projected to the big screen. That capability allowed Main Street Cinemas to invite customers to turn out in tuxes and evening gowns for cocktails and a viewing of the Academy Awards. The Capitol is planning a video game event to utilize its digital capacity.\n\nWhen the Capitol was built in the dreary Depression days of 1937, says manager Jerry Johnson, “going to the theater was supposed to transport you to another land, to put you in a majestic place you wouldn’t normally be.”\n\nEven in 2015, when entertainment can be streamed to any device, anytime, anywhere, Iowa’s small communities still have plenty of people who still want to be transported, to experience the magic of laughing, screaming or clapping as they watch a movie on the big screen — together.\n\nA CLOSER LOOK AT SOUTHEAST IOWA THEATERS\n\nCapitol Theatre, 211 N. Third St., Burlington, IA 52601, 319-237-1099\n\nExecutive Director: Jerry Johnson\n\nwww.burlingtoncapitoltheater.com\n\nThe then-state-of-the-art, 700-seat Capitol Theater opened in 1937 with a showing of \"The Prince and the Pauper,\" starring Errol Flynn, and operated until 1977, when it closed with a showing of \"Carrie.\" It took 25 years for the Capitol Theater Foundation to form and raise funds to reopen the facility as a movie theater and performing arts center. Programming includes a $5 Classic Movie Series, Cheap Date Movie Nights, Family Movie Sundays, the Annual Snake Alley Film Festival, concerts, local drama performances, classes and workshops. Concessions include wine and beer.\n\nGrand Theatre, 26 N. 6th Street, Keokuk, IA 52632, 319-524-1026\n\nPat Kemp, member of Grand Theatre Commission\n\nkeokukgrandtheatre .org\n\nBuilt on the foundation of the Keokuk Opera House, which burned in 1923, the Grand opened in 1925 and was known “as the finest theater west of the Mississippi,” according to local resident Pat Kemp. Traveling vaudeville companies played there and movies there were well attended but the theater fell on hard times, opening and closing repeatedly. The Bott-Millar Charitable Trust saved the Grand from the wrecking ball and turned it over to the city, which delegated upkeep and management to the 15-member Grand Theatre Commission. No movies are shown but the Grand is booked about 50 weekends per year for meetings and performances.\n\nOrpheum Theater, 121 West Broadway Ave., Fairfield, IA 52556\n\nBuilding owner: Johnson Real Estate, 641-469-1919\n\nThe Orpheum Theater opened in 1910 and operated until 1940, when it closed for remodeling. Students from Parsons College won a contest for the best redesign idea, so when the theater reopened on Christmas Day that year, the name was changed to the Co-Ed Theater in their honor. The Co-Ed closed in September 2012 and reopened in 2014 under the ownership of Modern American Cinema, which changed its name back to the Orpheum, and briefly showed a mix of blockbusters, independent, foreign and documentary films before closing. The theater has a 1920-30s atmosphere and is equipped with lounge and sofa seating, digital projection and sound equipment, according to owner Chris Johnson. It opens for rentals and special events, such as the recent, sold-out Creative Edge Film Festival.\n\nMain Street Cinemas, 115 N. Main St., Mount Pleasant, IA 52641, 385-3726\n\nKelly Miyoshi, manager\n\nwww.mainstreetcinemas.net\n\nThe former Temple Twin Theater was remodeled in 2013 and renamed Main Street Cinemas by new owners Scott and Amy Lowe. The facility shows first-run and recent movies, including 3D, on two screens. The recently expanded concession stand serves popcorn, candy, soda, pretzel bites and pizza. Wine and beer is available for consumption on 21-and-up balconies with enhanced sound and seating. The theater is available for rental to school and church groups and other organizations.\n\nState Theatre, 123 East Washington, Washington, Iowa, 319-653-4023\n\nManager: Crystle Christner\n\nwww.fridleytheatres.com/washington.html\n\nBuilt in 1893 as the Graham Opera House, the facility first showed movies in 1897. Washington resident W. Frank Brinton showed some of the earliest silent films there until World War I. The State now shows recent and first-run movies, including 3D, 365 days per year on its single screen. Free 46-ounce popcorn every Tuesday with paid admission.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/10/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/12/26/udf-balancing-family-history-new-approach-75/77660490/", "title": "UDF balancing family history, new approach at 75", "text": "Emilie Eaton\n\neeaton@enquirer.com\n\nNorwood-based United Dairy Farmers had a rewarding year.\n\nThe company was recently ranked the fifth largest privately-held company in Cincinnati on the Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100 list, it was the company's 31st year in the top 100 of the prestigious list, and it was the business' 75th anniversary.\n\nFamily principles are at the foundation of the company, which was founded by Carl Lindner, Sr. in 1940. Since then, the company has grown rapidly, and it now has nearly 2,100 employees. The company does not disclose its revenue.\n\nCEO and third-generation leader Brad Lindner met with The Enquirer to discuss the way the company operates, recent success and future plans.\n\nOh, and ice cream.\n\nHere is a portion of Lindner's hour-long interview with The Enquirer, with some questions and answers edited for brevity.\n\nTo what do you credit UDF's recent successes?\n\nI think probably a couple of key things, one of which is the legacy that we inherited from my grandfather, father, uncles and aunt. Not only the business itself, but the approach to business. They probably trained us well by their example to treat people – both employees, customers, vendors – with the respect that they deserve, to be fair, to have that commitment to quality, yet also combine that with creating value or having value.\n\nWe always strive to offer the best that we can for a reasonable price. And we frankly have been very fortunate to have outstanding people working for us over the years, who have been very committed to the company and what they do, what it stands for.\n\nHow do you balance the legacy that came from your family with your own innovative approach?\n\nThat’s the tightrope that one walks, which is holding on to those things that are core values and looking at the past for some direction, but not constantly focusing on the past. One needs to look at the future and be responsive to changes in business and society and demographics.\n\nI think the other important factor is to hire good people, and hire people with outside experience. There’s a nice mix of processes and approaches that have been successful and gotten us to this point, and bringing in fresh ideas from a lot of different large companies, people who have had past experience with large companies. Having those ideas, techniques, approaches blend in with some of the old historical approaches. It’s a combination of a Fortune 500 blended with a small family business. You try to strike a balance and get the best of both worlds, so there’s a sense of professionalism, sense of urgency, but also a sense of familiarity, a sense of humor, and a sense of camaraderie.\n\nYou mentioned looking forward to the future. What's in store in the future?\n\nWe are working on a new store prototype, and hopefully we will have some examples of that finished in the second quarter of next year.\n\nI think we probably are using more research in general to help guide us, to help make some decisions, as opposed to just relying on internal opinions or gut feel. We’re back checking some things and getting a better understanding of who our customers are. That’s been a more recent push for us.\n\nWith dealing with our training of our people, developing our people, putting more of an emphasis on that... There are a lot of mandated training modules that store employees have to go through in respect to alcohol sales, tobacco sales and (payment card industry) compliance. Years and years ago, before we had those, we could focus more time on how to make a sundae or how to make a malt. It’s evolved over the years. The oxygen in the training room has been sucked up a lot by those mandated modules that have to be by law trained. I think we will look to add emphasis and training hours back to those skills that are specific to the dairy, primarily, around ice cream treats and how to make those.\n\nVaguely speaking, what will the new store prototype be like?\n\nAgain, it’s kind of looking at that balance of what worked for us in the past and the opportunities going forward. There’s going to be more emphasis on coffee, fast food, refrigerated space, specifically adding beer barns to the store, which we have a number of, but that’s been pretty successful. Emphasizing the fountain beverages – the soft drinks, that come out of the machine. A bit more fresh thematically.\n\nWhat has been your biggest success or accomplishment and your biggest failure since becoming CEO in 1998?\n\nWhen I say I, I’m talking euphemistically for the company. Our biggest successes has been to offer UDF branded gasoline. We used to offer branded Mobil gasoline for close to 12 years. That was good at the time. We learned a lot, we got a lot of experience. I think we gained a lot of credibility and respect in the consumer’s mind with respect to our fuel and our fuel offering. But by delinking with Mobil, we improved our purchase price of fuel considerably.\n\nAs far as failures go, that’s a long list. Generally speaking, my biggest failure – and I won’t be real specific – but it’s when we’ve hired or I have hired somebody and discovered that it wasn’t a good fit, not reacting fast enough to enact a change to let it work itself out...I’m getting better at that, but hiring people is really challenging. Interviewing people and trying to get a sense of who’s really sitting there. Are they really just play acting for a couple hours to convince you and then somebody else show up on the first day of work?\n\nHow many hours do you work? I’ve heard your Dad was notorious for being in here on weekends.\n\nSundays not too much. He would always be in church on Sundays, but Saturdays he would come in during the morning and typically do that for half a day.\n\nI don’t have the same rigor he does. I’m more of a five-day-a-weeker, although realistically it’s very difficult to detach yourself from work. ... Your mind is engaged all the time on things at work. Obviously you can enjoy a game or a TV show or a movie or something like that, and be distracted. Whether cutting the grass or doing something, I find myself problem-solving or thinking about what’s transpired the last week, what has to happen the next week or the next year or so on.\n\nYour Dad still comes to work, correct? The receptionist tried to send me to him when I said I was here to see Mr. Lindner.\n\nYeah, he just turned another major milestone this year, which was his 95th birthday. He still comes in on a daily basis. He doesn’t come in as early as he used to, and he doesn’t stay as late as he used to, but that’s a wonderful thing – to have your Dad around at 95. Most of the time it’s a wonderful thing (laughing).\n\nDoes he ever give you advice?\n\nOh yeah. Not as much as he used to.\n\nI give him a lot of credit. Often time in family business I think, the patriarch or the person who started the business has a hard time letting go and passing responsibilities on to the next generation. I’m fortunate to have two other brothers working here. And more recently, two of my children have started working here. I give Dad a lot of credit for letting us take the reins.\n\nYour family is so well-known in Cincinnati. Does being in the public eye have any downsides?\n\nWe’re probably more cut from the cloth to stay out of the limelight, and that makes it a bit more challenging to do so. To maintain some sense of privacy is a bit more challenging. I think to a large degree most of my uncles and father and aunt preferred to be behind the scenes instead of being out front, on display.\n\nI’ve heard that UDF is in the process of expanding in Dayton and Columbus. Can you talk a little bit about that?\n\nBased on some of our research, we found specifically in Columbus that people like us. They like to shop at our store. They like our ice cream... Looking at the concentration of dairy stores in Cincinnati relative to Dayton and Columbus, we thought we would focus more of our efforts on those two markets in the upcoming future.\n\nAny other markets that you’re interested in?\n\nWe’ve had some pretty good success in country markets... Out in the country, there’s not a lot of opportunity to go get a scoop of ice cream. You can get a whippy dip, but that’s different than a hand-dipped hot fudge sundae or a chocolate malt.\n\nYou mentioned that two of your kids are involved in the company now. What do they do?\n\nOne is an assistant brand manager for us, and the other is a category manager. ... Both of them came up through the stores. They started out going through clerk training and working as a clerk, and then came into the office.\n\nIs your daughter who’s at Occidental College in Los Angeles interested at all in the business?\n\nI don’t think so. She’s more of a STEM person. She started out in chemistry, and that was a little bit too dry for her, so she moved to biology. ... Hopefully she’ll pursue something that follows her college degree.\n\nHave any of your kids expressed an interest in someday taking on a bigger role?\n\n...I think I have had the conversation with them. Ideally, they get a broad sense of experience throughout the company, so they are better at whatever they end up doing. Who knows – maybe they’ll even go somewhere else and do something other than this. This is a great opportunity for them to gain really intricate knowledge in a broad breadth of experience, in a lot of different disciplines and functions, and come away with an understanding of how business operates and what it takes to be successful.\n\nHave you thought about how long you want to stay CEO?\n\nOccasionally, yes (laughing).\n\nHaving two other brothers engaged, I would say it’s a good partnership. ... I’m thankful for those guys being here. Frankly, I wouldn’t want to be the lone guy in charge. I really enjoy and appreciate the knowledge that they bring, the experience that they bring to the party.\n\nAt some point, it would be nice to shove a little more stuff on my younger brother and free up a little bit more time. He’s 10 years younger than I am. Maybe I could take a two-week vacation sometime, but I don’t have any specific timeline.\n\nOkay, I have one more question. It’s the most important question…\n\nWhat’s my favorite flavor?\n\nYes. I’m sure you’ve been asked that before.\n\nFrankly, that’s kind of a hard one. I don’t know if I could have one favorite flavor. If I had to say one, probably it would be our homemade chocolate.\n\nWhy?\n\nFlavor, body and texture. We use a really good cocoa out of the Netherlands that I think really offers a superior flavor. I like chocolate, and this is a good chocolate. A lot of chocolates I think are a little bit kind of weak. Whether it’s the type of cocoa powder they use, or the amount they use. Ours is not harsh, but it’s kind of a good balance of chocolaty goodness.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/12/26"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_15", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/02/14/pharrell-williams-named-head-louis-vuitton-menswear/11256240002/", "title": "Pharrell Williams is new Louis Vuitton creative director of menswear", "text": "Pharrell Williams has been named creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear, according to the fashion house.\n\nLouis Vuitton announced Williams's new role in a news release Tuesday, calling the producer and mogul \"a visionary\" and a \"global icon\" who has poured his creative spark into many facets for more than two decades.\n\nWilliams will be taking the position that once belonged to designer Virgil Abloh, who died Nov. 28, 2021, after silently battling cancer. Williams' first collection under Louis Vuitton will be revealed in June during men's fashion week in Paris.\n\nThe Billionaire Boys Club designer has worked with Louis Vuitton on collaborations in 2004 and 2008 with his 1.1 millionaire sunglasses, which Abloh pulled from the archives during his first collection for Louis Vuitton.\n\n\"The way in which (Pharrell) breaks boundaries across the various worlds he explores aligns with Louis Vuitton’s status as a Cultural Maison, reinforcing its values of innovation, pioneer spirit and entrepreneurship,\" Tuesday's release said.\n\nWilliams announced his new position with a photo of himself wrapped in a Louis Vuitton blanket that he posted to Instagram.\n\nDespite being known for producing megahits such as \"Happy,\" \"Frontin' \" and \"Blurred Lines,\" Williams has a rich history with fashion collaborations, having worked with Moncler, Adidas and Chanel.\n\nWilliams now takes the torch from Abloh, who was the first Black designer to hold a creative director position at Louis Vuitton. Williams was a close friend of the late creative.\n\nMourning his death in 2021, Williams wrote on Twitter: \"My heart is broken Virgil you were a kind, generous, thoughtful creative genius your work as a human and your work as a spiritual being will live forever Sending love and light to your wife, children, family and day ones you’re with the Master now, shine.\"\n\n\"I am glad to welcome Pharrell back home,\" Louis Vuitton Chairman and CEO Pietro Becarri wrote. \"His creative vision beyond fashion will undoubtedly lead Louis Vuitton towards a new and very exciting chapter.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/03/26/virgil-abloh-named-louis-vuittons-mens-wear-designer/457733002/", "title": "Virgil Abloh named Louis Vuitton's menswear designer", "text": "The Associated Press\n\nNEW YORK (AP) — Paris-based fashion house Louis Vuitton has named Kanye West collaborator Virgil Abloh as its new menswear designer.\n\nThe 37-year-old is founder of the Off-White label and will become, alongside Balmain's Olivier Rousteing, one of only two people of color in charge of a major fashion house. He replaces Kim Jones, who left in January to become men's wear designer for Christian Dior.\n\nIn a statement, Abloh said \"I find the heritage and creative integrity of the House are key inspirations and will look to reference them both while drawing parallels to modern times.\"\n\nLouis Vuitton CEO Michael Burke Monday praised Abloh's \"innate creativity and disruptive approach (that) have made him so relevant, not just in the world of fashion but in popular culture today.\"\n\nThe company says Abloh's first show will take place during men's fashion week in Paris in June.\n\nMore:Meghan Markle's dreamy Jimmy Choos and Mackage coat stole the show in Northern Ireland\n\nMore:Duchess Kate dons skinny jeans for last public appearances before maternity leave", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/03/26"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/11/28/virgil-abloh-dies-louis-vuitton-director-off-white-ceo-cancer/8786929002/", "title": "Virgil Abloh dies: Louis Vuitton director, Off-White CEO fought cancer", "text": "Virgil Abloh, the artistic director for Louis Vuitton menswear and the founder and CEO of fashion house Off-White, has died after a private battle with a \"rare, aggressive form of cancer,\" according to social-media posts from the brands. He was 41.\n\nAbloh, a fashion trailblazer and frequent celebrity collaborator, died Sunday after fighting cardiac angiosarcoma, which blocks blood flow to the heart, according to a post shared to his verified Instagram account. Louis Vuitton and Off-White also confirmed his death on their accounts.\n\n\"He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture,\" Abloh's Instagram read.\n\nHe was a pioneer in the fashion world, serving as the first Black artistic director to lead Louis Vuitton menswear, just one of two people of color in charge of a major fashion house (along with Balmain's Olivier Rousteing) at the time of his appointment in 2018. The same year, he was named a Time 100 Most Influential People honoree.\n\nFashion icon: How Daniel Kaluuya saved Hollywood's red carpet season\n\nRemembering those we lost: Celebrity Deaths 2021\n\n'A once in a generation creative mind': Kanye West, more stars mourn designer Virgil Abloh\n\n\"Part of my equation is to inspire the next generation and to help them think outside the box,\" Abloh told Interview magazine in 2018. \"When I was growing up, I didn’t know that I could be showing in Paris, because I didn’t see anyone doing that who looked like me. Even when I just walked into a luxury store, people would look at me like I didn’t belong there.\"\n\n\"Through it all, his work ethic, infinite curiosity, and optimism never wavered,\" the post on his Instagram account read. \"Virgil was driven by his dedication to his craft and to his mission to open doors for others and create pathways for greater equality in art and design. He often said, 'Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,' believing deeply in the power of art to inspire future generations.\"\n\nBTS hits the runway: The K-Pop kings model new looks in Louis Vuitton's latest menswear show in Seoul\n\nBorn in Illinois to Ghanaian immigrant parents, Abloh went on to get a civil engineering degree from University of Wisconsin–Madison and a masters in architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology, the latter of which also sparked his interest in the fashion industry. He would go on to intern at Fendi with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, which sparked a longtime collaboration with the rapper.\n\nAbloh was behind several of Ye's notable album covers, including 2010's \"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,\" 2011's \"Watch the Throne\" with Jay-Z and 2013's \"Yeezus.\" The rapper was in attendance for Abloh's first Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week in 2019, where the two were photographed warmly embracing afterward.\n\nHis work with Ye served as a blueprint for future border-crossing collaborations that married high and low. With Nike, he partnered his Off-White label for a line of frenzy-inducing sneakers remixed with a variety of styles and Helvetica fonts. Abloh also designed furniture for IKEA, refillable bottles for Evian and Big Mac cartons for McDonald's. His work was exhibited at the Louvre, the Gagosian and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.\n\nPassages: Stephen Sondheim, iconic Broadway composer and lyricist, dies at 91\n\nAbloh, who moonlighted as a DJ, often stressed how vital music was to his creative process.\n\n\"I can’t work in my studio without music. I don’t like silence,\" he told Interview. \"I’m listening to John Coltrane. I’m listening to Miles Davis. But I’m also listening to whatever new rap is coming out that week. I have teams in Milan, Italy, London and America, so as long as I have a fully charged iPhone, I feel like I can change the world.\"\n\nAs a DJ, Abloh gained wide recognition. He played international gigs including at the nightclub Hï Ibiza in Spain, was booked for 2019's Tomorrowland music festival in Germany and held a DJ residency at Wynn Las Vegas's XS Nightclub that same year.\n\nAbloh made several recent public appearances, including at the Met Gala in September and the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize Gala on Nov. 3.\n\nIn 2018, as Abloh prepared for his debut menswear show, he told GQ, \"I now have a platform to change the industry.\"\n\n\"We’re designers, so we can start a trend, we can highlight issues, we can make a lot of people focus on something or we can cause a lot of people to focus on ourselves,\" Abloh said. \"I’m not interested in (the latter). I’m interested in using my platform as one of a very small group of African-American males to design a house, to sort of show people in a poetic way.\n\nHe is survived by his wife, Shannon Abloh; his children, Lowe and Grey Abloh; his sister, Edwina Abloh; his parents, Nee and Eunice Abloh, and \"numerous dear friends and colleagues,\" according to his Instagram account.\n\nLouis Vuitton: 14 people steal about $120,000 worth of LV merchandise from Chicago store\n\nContributing: The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/11/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/07/07/bts-louis-vuittons-menswear-show-modeling-fashion-ambassadors/7885279002/", "title": "BTS models in Louis Vuitton's menswear show as fashion ...", "text": "BTS has taken over the music world, topping the charts and breaking records. Now, the South Korean group is making waves in the fashion world, too.\n\nThe K-pop icons participated in Louis Vuitton's fall/winter \"Spin-Off\" collection show in Seoul Wednesday. The looks, created by Men's Creative Director Virgil Abloh, consist of 34 new designs that expand on the earlier 2021 men's fall/winter collection, released in January.\n\nThe group's seven members — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook — wore seven looks from the collection, as the \"Butter\" band strutted in vivid greens, eye-catching reds, airplane-embellished suits and metallic brief cases.\n\nBTS modeled the looks in a \"moving-image performance,\" according to the show notes. The digital fashion video, directed by Jeon Go-woon, \"stages a conversation between space, movement, and global connectivity central to our moment in time, and explores the city of Seoul through the lens of diversity,\" the show notes said.\n\nFace of fashion:Virgil Abloh named Louis Vuitton's menswear designer\n\nThe show featured a skyscraper in an industrial warehouse, made of metal framing with red staircases adorning the sides. BTS modeled the latest releases while walking around and within the structure, which was topped with neon lights and included a floating blimp that read \"Hope.\"\n\nIn 2020, Abloh created \"The Voyage\" format that the BTS show followed, where the fashion house's collections and shows travel to different areas with adaptations central to destinations around the brand's global community, \"meeting clients in their own parts of the world.\"\n\nThe Seoul show used Korean music artists, a Korean director and included a tracklist curated and featuring Korean singers and producers like CIFIKA, Kate Kim and NET GALA.\n\nMore BTS:BTS dropped its second English-language single in May. What to know about 'Butter'\n\nLouis Vuitton announced in April the Korean pop stars would be joining the brand as ambassadors.\n\n\"@bts_bighit are recognized for their uplifting messages that impart a positive influence,\" the brand tweeted at the time.\n\nBefore the announcements, BTS was seen wearing custom Louis Vuitton for their Grammys red carpet look during the 2021 award show.\n\n'It still feels surreal': BTS makes Grammys history, whether they win on Sunday or not\n\nBTS made history as the first Korean pop group to be nominated at the Grammy Awards for best pop duo/group performance. In February they spoke to USA TODAY about their historic nomination for their chart-topping English-language hit, \"Dynamite.\"\n\n“We're still figuring out what to make of it. But we do know this is a great honor and we're deeply thankful. We're trying our best to deliver a great performance to return all the support we received from our fans,\" group member Jimin said via an interpreter.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/07/07"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/04/04/a-listers-creative-directors/1997187/", "title": "A-listers head to boardroom as 'creative directors'", "text": "Arienne Thompson\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nBeyonce has her fingerprints all over Pepsi%27s latest ad campaign\n\n%22Everyone%27s out there endorsing something%2C and this %28trend%29 makes it a little bit more authentic%22\n\nA well-connected%2C A-list star can bring a specific value to a company\n\nBeyoncé is flying straight from the BeyHive to the boardroom with a fancy new title in her pocket.\n\nNot content being just a singer/dancer/actress/filmmaker/wife/mother, the pop star is adding creative director to her list of duties.\n\nThis morning, Pepsi rolled out the pop supernova's latest ad in its global campaign, which the soft-drink brand says she helped conceive and produce, pitching in for storyboarding, wardrobe, consultations with the director and tagline creation.\n\nYes, she is gearing up for her Mrs. Carter Show world tour, which kicks off later this month, but the latest entry on Beyoncé's résumé is part of a new trend that's giving major stars a major title.\n\nIn March, Conde Nast appointed longtime Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour as its \"artistic director.\" Meanwhile, Diet Coke unveiled its playful ad campaign featuring new creative director Marc Jacobs, who in between running his two eponymous fashion lines and Louis Vuitton, designed an entire suite of cans for the beverage company.\n\nCelebrity creative directors are not just being plucked from the style world, though.\n\nIn December, Pepsi announced Beyoncé as its new creative \"partner and brand ambassador,\" and just weeks later fellow A-listers Justin Timberlake, Rihanna and Alicia Keys were tapped by Budweiser, MAC Cosmetics and BlackBerry, respectively, for their own creative directorships.\n\nBut, is this latest trend in celebrity-fueled marketing just an advertising gimmick used to get around the word \"endorsement\"? Or are stars truly dedicated to being in the office, giving input and helping to advance a brand's product innovation?\n\n\"Everyone's out there endorsing something, and this (trend) makes it a little bit more authentic,\" says Miro Copic, a marketing professor at San Diego State University. \"Where it will really work is when a celebrity will make an interesting or good contribution; it adds value to the brand. It's a secondary association that will create positive imagery around the brand.\"\n\nWintour is a veteran journalist, and her contributions as artistic director to the company that owns and publishes her magazine fall well within her realm of expertise. But, when consumers hear about Timberlake aligning himself with Bud Light Platinum or Keys taking on the role of \"global creative director\" for BlackBerry, are they more likely to reach for their wallets, or scratch their heads?\n\nUltimately, the move to hire stars as more than just pretty faces is contingent upon consumers buying into the notion that the partnership is authentic, sensible and credible, says Kimberly Hairston, a brand architect and senior beauty executive who has worked for Coca-Cola, Unilever and L'Oreal.\n\n\"I've read some of the blogs and people have kind of said, 'What?! Alicia Keys? BlackBerry?' Just because you love technology doesn't necessarily make you an expert,\" Hairston says. \"I'm not sure if (she's) bringing, besides awareness, credibility to position a brand and really move the brand forward.\"\n\nHowever, Keys tells USA TODAY via e-mail that accepting the BlackBerry title was about connecting her fans to the latest technology.\n\n\"As an artist, I am looking to connect to others, to inspire them, to move them, through our common connections. To do this, it's vital for me to stay ahead of the technological curve,\" she writes. \"I wanted to further explore the potential of working with a technology company to deepen those connections, and where possible use my unique experience and platform to influence and inspire creativity. That's where we align — finding ways to connect with audiences everywhere and embracing the changes and technology that make this possible.\"\n\nCredibility aside, even if the connection between celebrity and brand is not obvious on the surface, a well-connected, A-list star brings a specific value to a company, says Copic: insight into consumers.\n\n\"Will.i.am is playing to millions of fans all over the world, so he understands the intensity of that relationship between him or his band and that consumer,\" Copic says of the Black Eyed Peas frontman, who has served as Intel's director of creative innovation since 2012. \"He knows how they live, and that's who these companies are trying to target at the end of the day. Intel, in their battle with Apple, needs to know how to better resonate.\"\n\nFor celebrities and the companies who hire them, creative direction is the intersection between the roles of employee and endorser, and the terms should be clear, says Daymond John, the founder of clothing company FUBU and an investor/mentor on ABC's business reality competition Shark Tank.\n\nWhen he launched FUBU 20 years ago, John says, rapper LL Cool J and other musicians were \"integral\" to some creative and promotional aspects of the line, but he would not go so far as to name a star \"creative director.\"\n\n\"Because we're a design firm; we're creative,\" John explains. \"Ambassador, yes? Creative director, no. Because, then they'd say, 'Well, then what the hell is your job?!'\"\n\n\"You're seeing the evolution of celebrities,\" Copic says. \"Justin Timberlake, moving from boy band idol to solo artist to actor and now he is one of the co-owners of MySpace. You're seeing a handful of actors and singers who have a business bent. … Whether they are co-owners in a company or really go down this creative director route, they're lending their unique insights on consumers.\"\n\nRihanna's collaboration with MAC is the first of its kind, as the singer was named the cosmetics company's inaugural \"creative partner\" in February. James Gager, who is MAC's creative director, says he and the team were clear about distinguishing her title from his and detailing exactly how she would contribute to the brand.\n\n\"It could be considered a vague title since I'm the creative director of the brand, but for us, Rihanna is one of those people that as creative partner, she can keep coming and going within the brand as she'd like to or we'd like her to, and she can have new ideas,\" Gager says. \"She's bringing something to the brand that me as a creative director, I'm not a woman. I'm a guy looking at it from a different kind of perspective. She's our ultimate user. In her pocketbook when she came in, her makeup bag was mostly all MAC product, and she was already wearing a lot of the stuff that we're just tweaking a little bit for her.\"\n\nThe collaboration, Gager adds, was not just about tweaking products that already existed and giving Rihanna credit. He says that the ever-busy singer, whose four-part collection will roll out throughout the year starting May 4, \"worked with her whole heart and soul\" on the project.\n\n\"She had done her homework. She knew what colors she really wanted to have in the collection. She knew what looked amazingly good on her. She had a point of view about the packaging and where she wanted the packaging to be, as well as the textures of the products. She was in the office, working with us!\" he says. \"It's not like someone getting paid some money and we're going to slap their name on something. That isn't really how we work here. … We're real. It's not a small percentage that Rihanna worked on this.\"\n\nNaturally, any sort of celebrity-brand partnership will call into question whether a star is actually contributing or if they're just collecting a paycheck. Gager says he's well aware of the stigma, but maintains that it doesn't apply in this case.\n\n\"Consumers are not stupid. I think they see deals with celebrities where they're maybe done for the money vs. the authentic quality of what the association might be. I know I'm not naive about what goes on, and I feel like when we really are real, people admire us for that.\"\n\nWhat consumers are admiring less and less, though, are pure endorsement deals, and tapping celebs to be creative directors may be one way to turn the tide, says entertainment publicist Tara Smith.\n\n\"Every brand has some type of celebrity attached to it, so it kind of defeats the purpose after a while. There has to be authenticity to it all, too. If you're coming across as 'I'm-saying-this-because-you're-paying-me-to-say-it,' people don't go for that anymore. But, if you bring them in to make it seem like they are part of the company, like they do have some type of creative control or like they do have some say in their campaigns, then people may be a little bit more (open).\"\n\nIt will take more than just semantics to get today's customers on board, though, says Essence magazine entertainment editor Cori Murray.\n\n\"People who are true fans and who really follow (celebs') lives will start to try and pick (the creative director title) apart and be like, 'Well, that means this.' When they have this big, lofty title attached to some company, I think it does bring consumers to pause, as opposed to something that's just a collaboration, or more of a traditional endorsement.\"\n\nCreative direction doesn't always go in the right direction for every brand.\n\nKeys, who received her new title from struggling smartphone company BlackBerry on Jan. 30, got backlash less than two weeks after her appointment when a tweet posted from her Twitter account indicated that it had been sent from an iPhone. She later tweeted that her account was hacked, but Hairston says the damage to her credibility was already done.\n\n\"Her iPhone! Her iPhone! Yes! I can give you so many times where that's happened where a celebrity endorses one product, but loves another. That is where I find it almost like 'nepotism celebritism.' It is just based on your name. It only makes sense as a creative director when you have stability to be in that space.\"\n\nMishaps big and small are the risk companies take when they bring boldfaced names aboard, whether they are called straight-up spokespeople or crowned creative directors.\n\n\"You're paying these people a lot of money, and their offsite behaviors can negatively impact your brand,\" says Copic. \"When you hire an endorser, that's a big risk that you take. … Companies really struggle with this.\"\n\nCertainly some companies suffered when endorsers such as Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong and Chris Brown fell from grace, and the risk they take with creative directors looms just as large.\n\nA bad or risky creative director has the potential to rob their brand of authenticity, credibility and even money.\n\n\"I don't know that we've seen the creative director downfall yet, because it's such a new term,\" says Hairston, \"but when Pepsi puts out a huge amount of money for Beyoncé, believe me, there's going to be someone that's held accountable if those dollars don't start to translate — quickly. That's a lot of money, and you have to have it turn into sales.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2013/04/04"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/11/28/virgil-abloh-dies-louis-vuitton-off-white-designer-mourned-celebs/8787333002/", "title": "'A once in a generation creative mind': Kanye West, Kim Kardashian ...", "text": "The fashion world is paying tribute to Virgil Abloh, the trailblazing Louis Vuitton director who died Sunday at age 41.\n\nAbloh, the artistic director for Louis Vuitton menswear and founder and CEO of fashion house Off-White, died after a private battle with a \"rare, aggressive form of cancer,\" according to social media posts from the brands.\n\nHe was a pioneer in the fashion world, serving as the first Black artistic director to lead Louis Vuitton menswear. He was a longtime collaborator and friend of Ye, formerly known as Kanye West – the two met while interning for Fendi, and Abloh went on to design several of the rapper's iconic album covers.\n\nYe honored Abloh at the end of his livestreamed Sunday Service performance with a title card that read \"In loving memory of Virgil Abloh, the creative director of Donda.\"\n\nUSA TODAY has reached out to Ye's representatives for further comment.\n\nVirgil Abloh dies at 41: Trailblazing Louis Vuitton director had privately battled cancer\n\nKim Kardashian West mourned the death of Abloh on social media Monday with a touching tribute. \"God doesn't make mistakes,\" she wrote. \"I know that but I still can't help but ask why. Why Virgil?! Why him so soon?\"\n\nThe KKW Beauty founder shared old photos of her with Kanye, Abloh and his wife, Shannon.\n\n\"Virgil - you were always so gentle, kind and calm. You somehow made time for everyone. We also talked about your superpower of calmness often,\" she continued.\n\nKardashian also sent \"so much love\" to Abloh's wife. \"Because you loved and supported Virgil the way that you did, he was able to give so much of himself (to) everyone else,\" she wrote.\n\nHailey Bieber, who wore a custom Abloh design for her 2018 wedding to Justin Bieber, shared old photos of the two alongside a lengthy tribute.\n\n\"Virgil completely changed the way I looked at street style and fashion, the way he looked at things inspired me deeply,\" she wrote. \"I felt he was always rooting for me.\"\n\nBieber added: \"He was someone who always brought life, charisma, love and fun to any situation, and every room he walked into. A once in a generation creative mind that is so rare and I’ll never forget his impact.\"\n\nColman Domingo, who modeled Abloh's designs for Louis Vuitton's Paris Fashion Week show over the summer, shared photos of himself wearing the vibrant looks \"in honor of Virgil.\"\n\n\"He made me feel so fly. A master craftsman,\" Domingo added. \"Thank you for your artistry.\"\n\nBTS, who modeled Abloh's designs in a Louis Vuitton show over the summer in Seoul, called the designer \"a true creative genius.\"\n\n\"You will be missed,\" read a tweet on the group's Twitter account. \"It was an honor to work with you.\"\n\nBTS hits the runway:The group models new looks in Louis Vuitton's latest menswear show in Seoul\n\nAmanda Gorman reflected on feeling \"so privileged to have met you and to have worn such a beautiful piece by you designed in honor of your grandmother\" on the cover of Vogue in May.\n\n\"I knew then I was experiencing the honor of wearing a designer whose work transcends both past and present,\" Gorman added. \"To rephrase something you once said, let us paint new pictures where the old ones have been erased. Rest in power king.\"\n\nJay-Z's entertainment company, Roc Nation, dubbed Abloh \"forever an icon.\"\n\nPharrell Williams tweeted that his \"heart is broken.\"\n\n\"Virgil you were a kind, generous, thoughtful creative genius your work as a human and your work as a spiritual being will live forever,\" Williams added.\n\nVictoria Beckham called the designer \"a true inspiration in so many ways ... We will all miss you so very much.\"\n\n\"My plan is to touch the sky 1000 more times for you,\" Drake wrote on Instagram. \"love you eternally brother, thank you for everything.\"\n\n\"Too soon Virgil,\" tweeted Idris Elba tweeted Sunday. \"You will be missed from this world man.\"\n\nOn Monday, Elba paid tribute to the late designer at The Fashion Awards, saying that \"the fashion industry lost an icon and the world lost a legend.\" Elba also read the poem When Great Trees Fall by Maya Angelou.\n\nElba concluded the tribute by saying that \"anyone who knew Virgil would know that we would want to celebrate tonight in honor of his life.\"\n\nKehlani called Abloh's death \"shocking.\"\n\n\"This is a devastating loss to culture and fashion,\" wrote Tracee Ellis Ross. \"What an inspiration.\"\n\nJustin Timberlake dubbed Abloh a \"force … taken too soon.\"\n\n\"You gave the world so much, in so little time,\" Timberlake added. \"And created with intensity … knowing better than the rest of us that life is short, but anything is possible. I’m honored to have known you.\"\n\nGigi Hadid said she was \"heartbroken by the loss of my dear friend\" Abloh.\n\n\"He was 1 of 1,\" Hadid wrote in an Instagram tribute, along with photos of the two. \"His kindness and energetic generosity left a lasting impression on every life he touched— he made everyone feel seen and special. He will be deeply missed, cherished, and celebrated by me and all the people and industries that have been lucky enough to work around & know the true supernova behind this man.\"\n\nKourtney and Khloe Kardashian, Ty Dolla $ign, DJ Khaled, The Weeknd, Katie Couric, Timothée Chalamet, and Busta Ryhmes also paid tribute.\n\nFashion brands and designers mourned Abloh on social media.\n\n\"Virgil was not only a genius designer, a visionary, he was also a man with a beautiful soul and great wisdom,\" Louis Vuitton CEO Bernard Arnault said in a statement on social media.\n\nDesigner Sergio Hudson called Abloh \"one of the sweetest most giving souls I've ever encountered on this journey through fashion.\"\n\nHudson added: \"You told me my destiny was set all I had to do was walk through the door. Those words gave me the confidence to ask for what I wanted and to push even harder. You may be gone in flesh but your breakthrough moments and incredible legacy are solidified in our memories and in history forever.\"\n\nEdward Enninful, editor in chief of British Vogue, said Abloh \"changed the fashion industry\" and celebrated the designer's achievements.\n\n\"Virgil believed that anything was possible for humankind, if only we could tear ourselves away from unconscious biases and norms and reassume the imagination we had as children,\" Enninful wrote. \"We are only seeing the beginning of his impact on the creative industries and surrounding world.\"\n\nGucci's official accounts wrote a tribute to Abloh, calling him \"an immense inspiration to us all both as a designer and as a person.\"\n\nThe brand added: \"He will be deeply missed though his vision will live on through the trails that he blazed throughout his career.\"\n\nDonatella Versace wrote she was \" lost for words.\"\n\n\"The world has lost a fashion superstar,\" she said on Instagram, alongside a photo of herself and Naomi Campbell with the designer. \"An innovator. A creator for the history books. I am thinking of all your loved ones on this tragic day. Love, Donatella\"\n\nElle editor in chief Nina García penned a tribute to Abloh, highlighting \"your creativity, your infinite sense of curiosity, your love for design, your impeccable work ethic and your enormous generosity\" that shaped a creative universe and \"challenged old misconceptions about how fashion should establish a dialogue with other disciplines.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/11/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/06/21/kanye-west-crys-rihanna-slays-virgil-ablohs-first-louis-vuitton-show/722222002/", "title": "Kanye West cries, Rihanna slays at Virgil Abloh's first Louis Vuitton ...", "text": "Virgil Abloh's first Louis Vuitton show got support from the stars.\n\nThe Ghanaian-American fashion designer, who is the first African-American to take over as artistic director at the French fashion label, showcased his Menswear Spring/Summer 2019 show on Thursday in Paris — and celebrities turned out to celebrate.\n\nOne emotional celebration came from Kanye West, who started crying in the front row when he and Abloh shared a warm embrace at the end of the show.\n\nAs Abloh took his final bow on the runway, he approached West for a heartwarming hug that has since been shared around the internet.\n\nAbloh has been a longtime West collaborator. The two reportedly interned at the fashion label Fendi together.\n\nRihanna also made waves on social media for attending the show in a stunning white ensemble by Abloh.\n\nShe showed off a transparent duffel bag, a trend that appeared on the runway.\n\nThe runway featured even more bags (cross-bodies, fanny packs and more) as well as plenty of outerwear and some tailored pieces in mostly whites and solid brights.\n\nOther celebrities in attendance include Kim Kardashian West, Kylie Jenner, Bella Hadid, A$AP Rocky and Naomi Campbell.\n\nMore:These clear shoes have reached peak celebrity trend with Kim Kardashian, Rihanna on board\n\nMore:Kim Kardashian West slammed as 'ignorant' for wearing braids at MTV Movie & TV Awards", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/06/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/11/30/louis-vuitton-pays-tribute-virgil-abloh-debuts-final-fashion-collection/8817583002/", "title": "Louis Vuitton show pays tribute to designer Virgil Abloh | AP News", "text": "Kelli Kennedy\n\nAssociated Press\n\nMIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Louis Vuitton’s first ever U.S. fashion show turned into a somber yet whimsical tribute to groundbreaking designer Virgil Abloh days after his death.\n\nThe Miami menswear event, an unofficial kickoff to the prestigious Art Basel fair, had been in the works for months. Guests were ferried by yachts to the star-studded affair held on an island. Celebrity attendees, including Kim Kardashian West and her daughter North, Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, model Bella Hadid, Ricky Martin, Rauw Alejandro, Joe Jonas, Maluma and Pharrell, arrived in sleek LV monogrammed silver speedboats.\n\nKid Cudi and Erykah Badu performed at an after-party. “Hey Virgil,” she yelled at the start of her set, later saying “we want to see you fly.”\n\nAbloh, who died Sunday after a lengthy battle with cancer, was known for pushing boundaries as the head of the legendary French fashion house, thanks to his childlike curiosity and an eagerness to instill a sense of playfulness. His groundbreaking fusions of streetwear and high couture made him one of the most celebrated tastemakers.\n\nA focal point of the show was a giant, red LV monogrammed hot air balloon that puffed flames as Abloh’s voice was heard in the background.\n\nThe brand’s CEO Michael Burke said Abloh’s wife and family wanted the show to go on. He had just spoken to the young designer on Saturday night, describing the inspiration for the show as a coming of age of sorts because “inspiring future generations was very important to Virgil.”\n\n“We had imagined it all and he was distraught not to be here in person,” Burke said.\n\nModels walked the meandering runway, showcasing the collection that featured everything from neon-colored amphibian, aqua-gear looks with colorful fish backpacks to letterman-style school sweaters and snow bunny looks with furry boots.\n\nThere was a sleek matte black ensemble that resembled SWAT gear, military-style suits in olive with belted coats and even brightly color Southern-belle style hoop skirts. Prints included tie-dye hues and the iconic checkered logo redone in new color patterns.\n\nWhile the clothes were like Abloh — playful, colorful and vibrant — the mood was somber. During and after the show, many in the audience wiped away tears, standing to hug each other or offer a pat of comfort.\n\nThe sparse clapping at the end was awkward. Unlike most shows, no one got up to mingle or talk, but instead sat in heavy silence.\n\nThe designer’s traditional finale bow was not coming and never would again and as fireworks lit up the Miami skyline, the audience seemed painfully aware of his absence.\n\nInstead, the show circled back to the bold hot air balloon as the designer’s voice said “life is short” for “worrying about what someone thinks you can do versus knowing what you can do” — a sort of anthem that a generation of young fans rallied behind.\n\nLamont Spears traveled from Atlanta just for the show, wearing a fuzzy LV monogrammed hoodie coat and a sweatshirt with Abloh’s picture.\n\n“It’s a very sad moment, but we’ve got to celebrate his life, we’ve got to keep on pushing because he made a way for us to keep going, to keep being confident,” said the 35-year-old. “He showed me that I can.”\n\nAbloh in 2018 became the first Black man to serve as Louis Vuitton’s director of men’s wear in the French design house’s storied history. He grew up outside of Chicago, his first-generation Ghanaian American seamstress mother teaching him to sew.\n\nNew York stylist Memsor Kamarake, who saw Abloh’s first show in Paris, flew in specifically for the final tribute, saying through tears after the fireworks, “I felt like now I can finally grieve him.”\n\n“So often Black folks are depicted through pain, through struggle, that’s why it was so important for him to tap into this childlike joy,” Kamarake said.\n\nAbove a red carpet leading to an outdoor after-party, the sky lit up with red dots that danced in various configurations before coming together to say “Virgil was here.”\n\nAbloh, who founded his own Off-White label in 2013, had a vast creative presence outside of clothing. His sculpture “Dollar a Gallon,” unveiled this week during Art Basel, is a commentary on the effect of advertising on the impressionable.\n\nVirgil Abloh, trailblazing Louis Vuitton director, dies after private cancer battle at 41\n\nHe also designed furniture for IKEA, refillable bottles for Evian and Big Mac cartons for McDonald’s. His work was exhibited at the Louvre, the Gagosian and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.\n\nAbloh had a prominent influence in streetwear. He interned with Ye at the LVMH brand Fendi, was the rapper’s creative director and scored a Grammy nomination as art director for the 2011 Ye-Jay-Z album “Watch the Throne.”\n\n“I think it’s going to be the most important moment ever in LV history,” said David Filipucci, a 21-year-old who traveled from the Netherlands to attend the show.\n\n“LV for the moment is Virgil. He made it more special.”\n\n'A once in a generation creative mind': Kanye West, Kim Kardashian more mourn designer Virgil Abloh", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/11/30"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/12/07/virgil-abloh-memorial-service-mca-chicago-celebrities/6414957001/", "title": "Virgil Abloh memorial draws A-list stars including Ye, Kim ...", "text": "Fashion trailblazer Virgil Abloh was remembered Monday by family, friends and A-list stars who stepped out in droves to mourn the late Louis Vuitton director, who died at 41 last month after a private battle with a \"rare, aggressive form of cancer.\"\n\nYe (formerly known as Kanye West), Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Kendall Jenner, Lauryn Hill, Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator were among the celebrities who gathered at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art for Abloh's hometown memorial service, according to photos and videos shared by attendees on social media.\n\nThe outside of the museum was adorned with a banner that read \"Abloh,\" while the inside was filled with white, pink and brown flowers. Hill sang and Tyler, the Creator and Abloh's sister, Edwina Abloh, gave emotional speeches.\n\n\"All these different people – colors, ages, backgrounds, religions – all came for one man,\" Tyler, the Creator said. \"That's what he did: He brought, like, the illest people together.\"\n\nObituary:Virgil Abloh, trailblazing Louis Vuitton director, dies after private cancer battle at 41\n\nAleta Clark, a community activist known on social media as Englewood Barbie who worked closely with Abloh, also highlighted his unique ability to draw attention and adoration from so many notable artists.\n\n\"I was touched that he reached these people & they pulled up for him… everyone in that room was hand picked,” she wrote on Instagram, adding \"everyone showed mad love to each other and it wasn’t as sad I projected it would be… people process death differently.. I was all broken up like damn another person that truly believed in me is dead.. then I looked up like nah… virgil is still very much alive.\"\n\nShe added: \"virgil truly reached the world.. he lead with love & everyone felt it.\"\n\n'A once in a generation creative mind': Kanye West, Kim Kardashian more mourn designer Virgil Abloh\n\n\"Virgil was here,\" read a pin Drake showed off on Instagram. \"love you g,\" he captioned the post.\n\nAbloh, the artistic director for Louis Vuitton menswear and the founder and CEO of fashion house Off-White, had been privately fighting cardiac angiosarcoma, which blocks blood flow to the heart, according to a post shared to his verified Instagram account.\n\n\"He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture,\" Abloh's Instagram read.\n\nHe was a pioneer in the fashion world, serving as the first Black artistic director to lead Louis Vuitton menswear, just one of two people of color in charge of a major fashion house (along with Balmain's Olivier Rousteing) at the time of his appointment in 2018. The same year, he was named a Time 100 Most Influential People honoree.\n\nAbloh was also a frequent celebrity collaborator – he at one point interned at Fendi with Ye, which sparked a longtime collaboration with the rapper. Ye honored Abloh at the end of his livestreamed Sunday Service performance the day of his passing with a title card that read \"In loving memory of Virgil Abloh, the creative director of Donda.\" Abloh also designed album covers for artists including Kid Cudi, A$AP Rocky and Lil Uzi Vert.\n\nLast week, Louis Vuitton’s first ever U.S. fashion show turned into a somber yet whimsical tribute to Abloh days after his death.\n\nThe Miami menswear event, an unofficial kickoff to the prestigious Art Basel fair, had been in the works for months. Guests were ferried by yachts to the star-studded affair held on an island. Celebrity attendees, including Kardashian, Ye and their daughter North, Bella Hadid, Ricky Martin, Rauw Alejandro, Joe Jonas, Maluma and Pharrell, arrived in sleek LV monogrammed silver speedboats.\n\nKid Cudi and Erykah Badu performed at an after-party. “Hey Virgil,” she yelled at the start of her set, later saying “we want to see you fly.”\n\nContributing: The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/12/07"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/01/23/thierry-mugler-french-fashion-designer-dead/6631704001/", "title": "Thierry Mugler dies at 73: Iconic fashion designer behind Kardashian", "text": "Legendary French fashion designer Manfred Thierry Mugler, known for his dramatic and avant garde designs, died Sunday. He was 73.\n\nMugler's death was announced on his official Instagram account. \"RIP. We are devastated to announce the passing of Mr Manfred Thierry Mugler on Sunday January 23rd 2022,\" the announcement said. \"May his soul Rest In Peace.\"\n\nNo cause of death was given.\n\nThe designer's fashion house also confirmed the news of Mugler's death \"with deep sadness\" Sunday evening. \"A visionary whose imagination as a couturier, perfumer and image-maker empowered people around the world to be bolder and dream bigger everyday,\" the House of Mugler official Instagram account said.\n\nUSA TODAY has reached out to Mugler's reps for comment.\n\nThe celebrated fashion designer's death comes five days after the Jan. 18 death of André Leon Talley, the visionary former creative director of Vogue magazine.\n\nRIP André Leon Talley: Fashion industry icon and former creative director of Vogue, dead at 73\n\nRelated:Kim Kardashian describes Mugler's creation at 2019 Met Gala\n\nBorn Dec. 21, 1948, in Strasbourg, France, Mugler launched his first fashion collection called \"Café de Paris\" in 1973.\n\nIn an interview with WWD magazine published in September, Mugler spoke about his early beginnings in fashion. \"… All I wanted to do was this very pure, Parisian silhouette: the little black suit, the trenchcoat, the black dress, the siren dress,\" Mugler said.\n\n\"I did the first nude body-conscious dress. Nobody was doing nude at that time. My first ready-to-wear line was called Café de Paris, and it was all about a very precise, streamlined silhouette, very strongly influenced by dance.\"\n\nMugler became internationally recognized as a designer during the 1980s and 1990s. He designed one of the most famous gowns of the 90s, which appeared in the 1993 romance/drama \"Indecent Proposal,\" starring Demi Moore. Moore donned the timeless black cut-out velvet backless number while giving the classic line: \"The dress is for sale, I'm not.\"\n\nMugler retired from fashion in 2002, but in more recent years, the designer's iconic looks have been worn by high-profile entertainers including Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Cardi B, David Bowie, Miley Cyrus, Nicole Kidman, Bella Hadid and Diana Ross.\n\nRoss shared a picture of her and Mugler on Twitter, writing, \"I will miss you Thierry Mugler this was a wonderful time in our lives.\"\n\nIn 2009, Mugler worked as Beyoncé's artistic advisor and created the costumes for her \"I Am… World Tour.\" Beyoncé posted a photo tribute of a smiling Mugler on her official website Sunday writing, \"Rest in peace.\"\n\nAt the 2019 Met Gala, Kardashian wore a creation made of silk organza, crystals and silicone to the Vogue event. \"This is the first time in 20 years Mr. Mugler has designed for the House of Mugler,\" Kardashian told Vogue then. \"So to come and design this gown for me is such an honor.\"\n\nKardashian described her fashion and beauty look, which took eight months to create, as a \"California girl, stepping out of the ocean onto the red carpet, wet and dripping.\"\n\nMugler has dressed Kardashian on several occasions, including a daring vintage design from his spring/summer '98 collection, which Kardashian wore to 2019's 5th Annual Hollywood Beauty Awards. The gown featured a cutout design at the top, with thin straps going across her torso, and a thigh-high slit.\n\nMugler also created Kardashian's 2021 Halloween costume, an out-of-this-world \"CowBot\" ensemble featuring a silver bra with a star motif and metallic shorts.\n\nWhen asked by WWD magazine about dressing Kardashian, Mugler called her \"truly a self-made woman, and she says so herself.\"\n\nOn Monday, Kardashian shared a series of photos with Mugler on Instagram as well as some of her wearing his designs.\n\n\"Your vision, your transformations, your magic! I am so honored to have known you, spent time with you and be a muse for you. There was so much more for you to show the world and that we had planned to do together, but you already gave us so much,\" Kardashian captioned the post.\n\nKardashian wrote she would never forget her time with the talented designer and cherished how much he taught her about couture.\n\n\"You always said beauty will save the world - and you really believed it was a better place because of the beauty all around! Thank you for the beauty. I love you so much,\" she wrote.\n\nIn 2019, Mugler also dressed rapper Cardi B for the Grammy Awards, where she stunned in a vintage Mugler gown. The oyster shell gown was an archive piece from Mugler Couture's fall 1995 collection.\n\nIn Mugler's interview with WWD, the designer called Cardi B \"extremely sophisticated in her own way, she really takes it to the max.\"\n\n\"When I dressed her for the Grammy Awards in 2019, people were blown away. Her performance was incredible and people were stunned, because the direction, the lighting, the choreography — everything was flawless,\" Mugler said.\n\nMugler published his first photography book in 1988, titled “Thierry Mugler: Photographer.” In 1998, he published “Fashion Fetish Fantasy,” a collection of photos of his creations.\n\nSpeaking to WWD about whether Mugler was planning a fashion comeback, the designer responded: \"I have very, very good ideas and I hope to execute them well. That’s all I will say.\"\n\n\"Fashion is still a great tool because it’s a three-dimensional art,\" he said. \"It’s the most feral form of art, in the best sense of the word, meaning that it touches on the human, and that’s interesting.\"\n\nMore:Virgil Abloh's final show: Louis Vuitton, stars honor late designer at Paris Fashion Week", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/01/23"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_16", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/07/15/twa-flight-800-crash-anniversary-conspiracy-theories/7830073002/", "title": "TWA Flight 800 crash: Conspiracy theories linger 25 years later", "text": "On July 17, 1996, a Boeing 747 exploded in midair off the coast of Long Island. The flight from New York City to Rome with a stop in Paris broke apart and fell into the ocean below. The 230 people onboard Trans World Airlines Flight 800 perished.\n\nAs quickly as the wreckage plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, questions arose. Conspiracy theories took shape.\n\nTwenty-five years later, the questions and conspiracies live on.\n\nFollowing a four-year, $40 million investigation – the longest in the history of the National Transportation Safety Board – board officials concluded an electrical failure ignited fuel vapors in a nearly empty tank in the belly of the jet.\n\nTheories that Flight 800 may have been destroyed by a bomb, missile or meteor have nonetheless lingered.\n\nTWA Flight 800:Remnants to be scrapped, 25 years after explosion killed 230 passengers, crew\n\nAs recently as July 2014, NTSB officials had to publicly respond to requests to reconsider its findings in the investigation of the 1996 crash. Petitioners from a high-profile group called The TWA 800 Project claimed a “detonation or high-velocity explosion” caused the crash. An NTSB review determined the claim cast insufficient doubt of a flawed initial investigation.\n\nOn the day of the crash, witnesses said they saw a streak of light near the plane and one or more explosions near the aircraft. Speculation bloomed that the crash had been touched off by a proximity-triggered rocket, missile or flare.\n\nThe day after the crash, the possibility that an explosive device was fired toward the plane or placed inside before takeoff took hold. The Federal Bureau of Investigation considered potential terrorist links and began a criminal investigation.\n\n230 people perished when TWA Flight 800 exploded. 25 years later, the wounds are 'still raw.'\n\nConspiracies were born\n\nAt the time, fears of domestic terrorism were high. The nation was still processing the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1995 Oklahoma City explosion and the trial of Ramzi Yousef for conspiracy to destroy American-bound airliners. Ten days after the crash, a bombing rocked the Atlanta Olympics.\n\nNTSB officials quickly said the initial evidence surrounding the crash of Flight 800 did not point to an outside explosive device. Still, speculation stemming from eyewitness accounts spread through chat rooms on the burgeoning World Wide Web.\n\nShane Miller, a professor at Saint John’s University in Minnesota who researched the conspiracy theories surrounding the crash, said the Flight 800 conspirators used the web in novel ways.\n\n“It was really the first conspiracy of the internet age,” Miller said. “It was the first to be picked up and widely circulated online.”\n\nMichael Barkun, professor emeritus of political science at Syracuse University's Maxwell School, said internet forums and social media platforms have served as mass media outlets without gatekeepers. They allow unconventional ideas to quickly become mainstream.\n\n“Now anyone with an idea, no matter how bizarre, has a way of potentially getting it in front of fairly large audiences,” he said. “That has eroded what was once a firm boundary between the fringe and the mainstream.”\n\nAccidents that changed aviation:Controlling in-flight fires and more\n\nTed Goertzel, emeritus professor of sociology at Rutgers University said the internet has been a game changer for conspiracy theory consumption and evolution. The way the theories germinate nonetheless remains relatively standard.\n\nConspiracy theories regularly emerge from idle speculation in the face of more probable explanations, Goertzel said. They often gain acceptance and spread from those “who score low in measures of interpersonal trust and general agreeableness,” he added.\n\n“Someone says, 'I wonder if X happened,' \" Goertzel said. \"Someone else says, 'I heard X' and it spreads.\"\n\nAs the theory that federal officials were covering up a terrorist attack to thwart panic spread, it evolved and eventually split, Miller said. Both camps agreed on a government coverup. However, the divergent group blamed friendly fire.\n\nOne early version posted online alleged the crash resulted from an attack designed to kill former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who was, in fact, not on board. Another claimed the friendly fire was designed to kill former Arkansas state troopers once assigned to then-President Bill Clinton’s security detail.\n\nThe one that took off was an August 1996 America Online post claiming the airplane was “shot down by a U.S. Navy guided-missile ship.” The information came from Richard Russell, a 66-year-old former United Airlines pilot and safety representative for the Air Line Pilots Association.\n\nIt was later progressed by Pierre Salinger. Once John F. Kennedy’s press secretary, Salinger misrepresented the post as a document he obtained by someone in French intelligence that originated from a Secret Service agent with U.S. Navy contacts before a CNN reporter pointed out the similarities.\n\nHigh-profile supporters can help build a case for a conspiracy theory, even if their reputations were built in other areas of expertise, Miller said. In this case, Russell said that a longtime friend said he had radar footage that showed a missile traveling toward the plane just prior to the crash.\n\nRussell's message was meant for an inner circle of aviation experts but was leaked online. It ended up a topic of discussion at a Sept. 16 NTSB news briefing on Long Island after media outlets began to investigate.\n\nEasy to blame the government\n\nGovernments are common targets for conspiracy theories, according to Goertzel. They offer someone tangible to blame for unfortunate events, are often disliked and rarely give immediate, comprehensive or definitive answers. Even when government officials respond with emphatic denials, distrust is common.\n\n“A common rhetorical device of conspiracy theorists ... is to advance speculations and then criticize the authorities for not definitively refuting them,” Goertzel said. “They also rely on an inherently implausible claim of a coverup by government agencies that don't really have a very good record of covering things up.”\n\nRussell followed up his claim with a radar tape he said amounted to proof of a rocket strike. Again, Salinger progressed the claim. Ultimately, NTSB officials determined the alleged evidence was a “ghost” signal produced by another jet airplane.\n\nThe personal investment involved in accepting or progressing conspiracy theories can make them tough to dismiss, Barkun said. Corroborating evidence is nice but not necessary. Moreover, contrary evidence can easily be dismissed as another stage in the alleged conspiracy's coverup.\n\n“The conspiracy theory then becomes a closed system,” Barkun said. “There's no way to disprove it.”\n\nTWA Flight 800 investigation\n\nDuring the NTSB's four-year investigation, federal officials obtained signed certifications from U.S. military chains of command running crash area assets, training exercises and armaments capable of reaching the aircraft. They also essentially pieced 95% of the plane back together over a 30-month span.\n\nPurported evidence of a missile strike dried up. CIA analysts determined the Linda Kabot photo of a missile in flight was taken from the opposite direction and featured an airplane flying the opposite way. Another photo that appeared to show an object near the airplane showed debris on the film surface, FBI officials said.\n\nThe airplane’s oddly stained upholstery brought to light by TWA’s chief 747 pilot Robert Terrell Stacey also proved to have a less than salacious origin. Once subjected to microscopic and chemical examination, federal investigators found the red flaky residue was from contact adhesive used to stick the upholstery to its foam base, not rocket fuel.\n\nNTSB officials said any internal speculation into bomb and missile theories dried up within months. Michael Marx, a former metallurgist with the NTSB said FBI personnel unreasonably pushed the sabotage theories, even after a January 1997 ATF report pegged the cause as a mechanical failure.\n\n“By the fall of 1996, in looking at all of the physical evidence and not seeing any evidence of any bomb or missile damage, it became unreasonable to continue to push that theory,” he said during a May 1999 congressional hearing.\n\nStill, doubt lingered. Henry Hughes, a senior accident investigator with the NTSB, was among the group that in 2013 unsuccessfully petitioned the NTSB to re-investigate the crash.\n\nDuring the investigation, FBI officials demanded full control over photographs and were inconsistently inventorying, handling and analyzing aircraft components, NTSB officials said. Meanwhile, the NTSB's assessment overlooked evidence of a missile strike, such as radar data, witness statements and holes in the fuselage, according to Hughes.\n\nAsk the Captain:The unnecessary mystery of EgyptAir 804\n\nThe finger-pointing and varying interpretations of the data between officials at the federal agencies added to the uncertainty, Miller said. Combined with concurrent reporting about real government experiments and other real conspiracies, a tone had been set, he added.\n\n“They really did create a perception that nobody had a clue of what had happened,” Miller said.\n\nWhat really happened to Flight TWA 800?\n\nUltimately, NTSB officials proved that an electrical short could have sparked flammable vapor trapped in a nearly empty fuel tank and concluded that was the likely cause of Flight 800's demise.\n\nThe finding led to regulations requiring a system that pumps inert gas into fuel tanks as they empty. They also spurred the aircraft producer, Boeing, to replace the brittle old wiring on other 747s and redesign their air conditioning packs.\n\nStill, investigators seemed to have difficulty finding a definitive answer for the trails of light witnesses claimed to see near the plane, Miller said. As long as there is ambiguity surrounding the crash, conspiracy theories will remain, Barkun said.\n\nOther potential causes introduced in late 1990 persist along with the friendly-fire claim more than two decades later. One alleged the plane may have been struck by fragments of a meteor that broke up as it entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Another, from Harvard professor Elaine Scarry, claimed electromagnetic interference from a nearby U.S. Navy aircraft triggered the explosion.\n\nPeople have an innate desire to explain evil and misfortune, Barkun said. They also have an aversion to the idea that the world is random — even if that means there is some evil force creating the order, he added.\n\n“Conspiracy theories never die,” Barkun said. “There's no way really to test them.”\n\nFollow reporter David Zimmer on Twitter: @dzimmernews\n\nInvestigations:Massage schools across the US are suspected of ties to prostitution and selling fake diplomas. Many remain open.\n\nIn-depth:How the FBI played a role in the capture of Princess Latifa of Dubai", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/07/15"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/us/955459/5g-and-planes-the-risk-to-flying-examined", "title": "5G and planes: the risk to flying examined | The Week UK", "text": "Ten of the biggest airlines in the US have warned of an impending “economic calamity” ahead of the switch-on of 5G mobile phone services in the country.\n\nMobile networks AT&T and Verizon have agreed to postpone the expansion of their services in some airports, which were due to be switched on today, as airlines fear 5G signals could disrupt the safety and navigation systems of some planes.\n\nChief executives of American Airlines, Delta, United, and South West wrote to the White House and air-travel regulators to warn that disruption to commercial air travel would be worse than originally thought, potentially stranding “tens of thousands of Americans overseas” and causing “chaos” for US airlines.\n\n“Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the travelling and shipping public will essentially be grounded. This means that on a day like yesterday, more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers would be subjected to cancellations, diversions or delays,” the chief executives wrote.\n\nThis is because “dozens” of large airports with “buffer zones” designed to limit 5G interference with aircraft would still be subject to flight restrictions announced by the Federal Aviation Administration last week (FAA), said Sky News.\n\nHow could 5G disrupt US flights?\n\n5G, the latest generation of mobile internet connection, relies on “greater use of radio signals” explained the BBC. In the US, the radio signals being used for 5G are part of a spectrum known as C-Band.\n\nThe frequencies 5G will be using is close to the ones used by radio altimeters on aeroplanes, which are used to “measure the height of the aircraft above the ground, and also provide data for safety and navigation systems”, said the broadcaster.\n\nAirlines are concerned that interference from 5G transmissions could stop altimeters from working properly, ultimately causing safety issues “particularly when aircraft are coming in to land”.\n\nHow big is the risk?\n\nIn 2020, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates commercial use of the radio spectrum in the United States, studied the question of whether 5G transmitters near airports would interfere with rada altimeters, and concluded “the two systems could work together,” reported The Economist.", "authors": ["The Week"], "publish_date": "2022/01/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/05/30/colorado-missing-toddler-jaryd-atadero-poudre-canyon-mountain-lion-disappearance-mystery/3708176002/", "title": "Jaryd Atadero, missing toddler from Poudre Canyon, a haunting story", "text": "Allyn Atadero emerged from the closet of a basement bedroom decked out in a Poudre River Resort theme, a nod to the place he once owned that now harbors happiness and immense heartache.\n\nTears welled up as he pulled a toy tank, Oakland Raiders hat, Star Wars toy and the top of his son's skull from a white cardboard box.\n\n\"I know it seems weird and some people might not understand, but this is all I have of him,'' said Allyn, now 61, as he pulled the skull fragment from a clear plastic bag. \"It’s sad, kind of surreal to think that this is my son.''\n\nTwenty years ago, Allyn Atadero experienced a parent's worst fear when his 3-year-old son, Jaryd, went missing while hiking with a group on the Big South Trail in the Roosevelt National Forest, 60 miles west of Fort Collins.\n\nThe perplexing events surrounding Jaryd's Oct. 2, 1999, disappearance set off one of the largest search-and-rescue missions in Larimer County history. The case garnered national and international headlines that created a cult-like following of a mystery that has haunted Allyn for much of the past 20 years.\n\nAdding to the case’s intrigue was the crash of a search helicopter, disappearance theories ranging from a mountain lion attack to abduction to drowning in the Big South River — each with its own holes — and a slew of reported sightings of Jaryd from around the country.\n\nThen, on June 4, 2003, two hikers from Fort Collins stumbled upon what 200-plus trained searchers, a water dive team, a dozen dog teams, professional trackers and a search plane couldn’t — Jaryd Atadero, or what remained of him.\n\nThis is the story of one of Colorado’s most infamous unsolved mysteries. It’s an emotional story with waves of heartache, frustration and false hope felt by family, law enforcement and search and rescue staff. It’s a story of a grieving father who, 20 years later, is filled with forgiveness and a tepid peace.\n\n\"I tell people Jaryd is kind of like having a pebble in your shoe,'' Allyn said during an interview at his home in Parker earlier this May. “You know it’s there; every time you take a step you feel it. You can’t do anything about it, but it’s not enough to stop you from doing what you need to do every day. That’s Jaryd.\n\n\"He’s my little pebble.''\n\n‘They lost my baby, they lost my baby’\n\nSaturday, Oct. 2, 1999, was one of those gorgeous fall bluebird days in the mountains of Colorado, and Allyn Atadero and his children, Jaryd and 6-year-old Josallyn, were in the heart of the beauty at the Poudre River Resort owned by Allyn and his twin brother, Arlyn.\n\nThe kids were anxious to go on an excursion to the nearby state fish hatchery with members of the Christian Singles Network group, of which Allyn, who was divorced from the children's mother, was a member.\n\nAllyn was reluctant for Jaryd to go, but when the group said they would only be going to the hatchery, he consented. But from there, the 11 members of the Christian group plus Josallyn and Jaryd decided to take an early afternoon hike up the Big South Trail, 15 miles west of the resort.\n\nThough reports vary on what happened next, it is generally believed the group split into faster- and slower-paced groups on the 11-mile trail, located at 8,440 feet in the rugged Comanche Peak Wilderness and that eventually crosses into Rocky Mountain National Park.\n\nAbout 1.5 miles up the trail, Jaryd ran ahead of the group he was with and talked to two fishermen, who didn’t think much about Jaryd being alone since they told investigators they saw a group about 50 to 80 feet down the trail, according to a Larimer County Search and Rescue report. The last the fishermen saw of Jaryd, he was walking rapidly up the trail adjacent to the \"Camp 2\" sign, indicating the second of 16 backcountry campsites along the trail.\n\nIt is unclear if Jaryd was between the two groups or ahead of the faster group when he met the fishermen, who are believed to be the last to see Jaryd before he disappeared.\n\nSome members of the 11-person hiking party reported hearing a scream, according to the investigation report. Josallyn told Allyn she did, too.\n\n\"I asked her, 'What kind of scream was it?'; like somebody getting attacked or somebody playing with someone,\" he said. \"She said it sounded like a playful scream, like someone was going up to tag him.\"\n\nAfter realizing Jaryd was missing and searching for him for about an hour, two members of the group returned to the resort to tell Allyn.\n\n\"They said, 'you need to sit down, something happened to Jaryd,'\" Allyn recalled. \"I asked them, 'What happened to Jaryd?' — thinking he fell down and got hurt. They said, 'He’s OK, we just can’t find him.' ''\n\nAllyn jumped in his vehicle and drove to the trailhead, screaming, \"They lost my baby, they lost my baby,\" and \"beating my chest all the way up there.\"\n\nHe ran up the trail but quickly discovered he wasn’t going to find Jaryd by himself. By the time Allyn returned to the trailhead to have his resort manager call the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, the manager already had.\n\nA sheriff's deputy and a Larimer County Search and Rescue member arrived, followed by more of each.\n\nJosallyn, who is now married and lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, said she doesn’t have many vivid memories of the events but does remember her father returning from the trail without Jaryd.\n\n\"One of those memories was at the resort and hugging my dad, who was kneeling or squatting and crying and then wrapping my arms around him because I realized how serious this was,'' she said.\n\nBill Nelson, now a recently retired undersheriff with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, was in charge of the search for Jaryd. When searchers arrived, it appeared to be just another mission, he said in a recent interview.\n\n\"Absolutely, I thought we would find him,''’ he said. \"Yes, it was a young child, but my thought was we should be able to get in there with our people and do what we do and what we have done hundreds of times: find the person. It might take a few hours to find the child crying or hiding someplace nearby, but we would be done before midnight.''\n\nNelson said he went to his vehicle to nap just before midnight and told his staff to wake him when they found the boy. When he awoke the next morning in the front seat of his pickup, he became concerned.\n\nThe search for Jaryd hadn't gone as planned. Nor would it.\n\nHelicopter down\n\nSunday morning, Allyn and Josallyn heard the \"whop, whop, whop'' of a search helicopter making its way up the canyon.\n\n\"I remember saying to Josallyn, 'Look, there’s the helicopter, they are going to find your brother,' and we watched it fly over us,'' Allyn said.\n\nInstead of searching for Jaryd on that flight, the Huey UH-1N helicopter from F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., flew to what was then the Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport to refuel.\n\nWhen the helicopter returned, it struggled with the fuel load and mountain conditions and stalled out, falling 100 feet and crashing up the Big South Trail. Aboard were four members of the Air Force and Mark Sheets, a Loveland resident and Larimer County Search and Rescue member.\n\nSheets wasn’t supposed to be on the flight but had relieved his manager, George Janson, from his shift. Janson suggested Sheets fly with the crew to help the team make ground search plans.\n\nSheets, 57, who retired from Larimer County Search and Rescue in 2017 after 30 years, remembers the moment before impact.\n\n\"I said on the intercom that we needed altitude now and (remember) the co-pilot saying, 'I know but I can’t. We are going in,'\" he said. \"To me that was code for brace for impact.\"\n\nSheets was the only crew member not in a seat — he was on the floor with the door open. He saw the rotors hit the tops of trees and pieces of helicopter spray into the forest. He tried to shut the door, but a severed tree limb came through and struck the Air Force doctor on board, fracturing the doctor's eye socket.\n\nSheets said the helicopter continued to disintegrate — the fuselage split into three pieces — as it crashed across the trail. The jet engines, still operational, would roar for hours until the fuel ran out.\n\nThe Air Force crew was able to get out of the helicopter, Sheets said, but he was trapped. Nearby search and rescue members ran to the downed helicopter, kicked in a window and managed to pull the unconscious Sheets out.\n\nSheets, who skipped wearing a helmet so he could wear a headset to communicate with the pilot, suffered a severe concussion and a 13-inch, L-shaped gash that left his femur exposed. He also suffered three broken vertebrae in his lower back and a broken shoulder, he presumes from being pulled from the wreckage.\n\nHe spent three days at Poudre Valley Hospital, where he impatiently waited for word about the search for Jaryd.\n\n\"That made me angry because I wanted to be out there doing something useful,'' he said.\n\nCurrent Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith was a sergeant with the department during the search, for which he was the public information officer. He said the crash added to the stress of a search that only grew more frustrating as the national media took notice.\n\nTV trucks and newspaper reporters began to swarm the remote site after the grand jury in another chilling child case — the death of JonBenet Ramsay in Boulder — postponed its announcement of whether it would hand down indictments.\n\nThe perfect storm was brewing.\n\n\"I remember from moment one that second day, we quickly realized what we were up against,'' Smith said. \"We had searchers down who they were bringing out on stretchers, we had a missing kid overnight, we had the Air Force closing off the crash site. Emotionally it was overwhelming, and you could see it in the eyes of everybody involved.\"\n\nTV satellite trucks — 17 at one time — lined up along Colorado Highway 14 with \"anchors in fur coats walking around and anybody and everybody calling us for information,'' Smith said.\n\nThe disappearance of Jaryd Atadero had become an international spectacle.\n\n‘Daddy, if he's not alive, God has him’\n\nAs the search stretched into the third day, searchers combed river banks and up steep slopes. Dive teams peered into small pools left in the narrow, slow-moving river. A plane made passes overhead.\n\nWith every intense hour that searchers came up empty, the crush of questions squeezed law enforcement and searchers even harder.\n\nWell-meaning but ill-equipped people were increasingly hounding the Larimer County Sheriff's Office and Larimer County Search and Rescue to allow them to help.\n\nPsychics professed to know where searchers could find Jaryd. A bare-footed man with a mule showed up at the search site, ready to track him down. An American Indian came to perform a ritual, asking the mountain to give up the boy.\n\nTheories as to what happened to Jaryd were expanding from rational possibilities — killed by a predator, fell behind boulders and died, drowned in the river — to the less plausible, but still possible, theory of abduction, to strange conspiracy theories.\n\nA variety of people were voicing those theories to a vulnerable Allyn and his family, creating growing tension between the family and searchers.\n\n\"It became a tornado, hurricane, biggest storm in all of our lives,'' Allyn said. \"I was critical of them at the time because when you are in a survival situation, you want everything that can be done to be done, and at times I thought there was so much more they could have done.''\n\nNelson said things became so tense between the family and searchers that he had to take Allyn and his family for a hike up the trail to hash things out.\n\n\"Allyn and his family were certain that Jaryd had been abducted because we couldn’t find him,\" Nelson said. \"I might have felt the same way if it was my son, but we knew abduction was slim.''\n\nIt was the theory that, despite long odds, was gaining traction.\n\nBut who could have abducted Jaryd?\n\nInvestigators questioned everyone from Allyn to members of the Christian singles group to the fishermen who were presumably the last to see Jaryd. They talked to Allyn’s ex-wife, who was living in San Diego and came to Colorado after hearing Jaryd was lost.\n\nNo red flags.\n\n\"There were people who wanted to point to the abduction conspiracy theory but nothing ever fell in line with it,'' Smith said. \"How could you capture this kid in the woods in this short time frame and then have gotten out without anybody seeing you? It just wasn’t probable.''\n\nThere is only one easy way out of the narrow canyon — back down the trail. On the day of Jaryd's disappearance, one of the first searchers quickly hiked up to where snow covered the trail and saw no tracks. Hiking out either side of the narrow canyon would require a climb of 1,000 to nearly 2,000 vertical feet through thick trees and downed logs on a 45-degree slope.\n\nAs the search continued with no signs of Jaryd, the mountain lion attack theory became officials' prevailing thought. There were mountain lion prints found in the area but nothing conclusive to indicate Jaryd might have been killed along the trail.\n\nBut an 18-year-old man was killed by a mountain lion near Idaho Springs in 1991, and a 10-year-old boy was killed by a lion in 1997 in nearby Rocky Mountain National Park. Wildlife experts said it wouldn’t take much for a mountain lion to carry a 3-year-old boy off the trail.\n\nWith Jaryd's trail growing colder, the sheriff's office met with Allyn and his family and made the difficult decision to call off the official search after a week. Others were allowed to continue the search on their own.\n\n\"I remember that Saturday after they called off the search going to Jaryd’s closet and putting away his dirty clothes and picking up the tank and toy soldiers from the bathtub where, the day before he went missing, he took a bath,'' Allyn said. \"I realized then I would never see him again. I had his toys but I didn't have my baby.''\n\nGone was Allyn falling asleep nightly with Jaryd holding his hand. Gone was the weekly ritual where Allyn, Josallyn and Jared would stand together holding hands, raising them up as Allyn declared, \"This is who you can count on for the rest of your life.''\n\nGuilt, loneliness and frustration ate at Allyn in the apartment the three shared in Littleton, where Allyn was teaching. Josallyn came to the rescue.\n\n\"Looking back, Josallyn was always there for me, but I wasn’t always there for her,'' Allyn said. \"She was always putting her arms around me after Jaryd was gone. One day she asked me if Jaryd was bothering me and I said, 'Yes.'\n\n\"Her response was, 'Daddy there are only two things that could happen to Jaryd: Somebody has him and he is alive. If he’s not alive, God has him, so why are you worried?'\"\n\nMiracle on the mountain\n\nWhile the search for Jaryd faded, hoaxes continued to haunt Allyn for years.\n\nA Fort Collins woman was charged for repeatedly and falsely claiming she knew a woman who abducted Jaryd. Reports of Jaryd being seen alive ranged from coast to coast. And earlier this May, a California man who for years has claimed to be Jaryd — though DNA tests have shown otherwise — was arrested in Douglas County near where Allyn lives for violating a restraining order against him.\n\n\"For many, many years, a door would open that would lead to another door that would lead to another door,'' said Deborah Atadero, Allyn’s wife of 16 years. \"It was just exhausting, hoping the next door is going to be the answer, the next person is going to help, that next we would find out exactly what happened to Jaryd.''\n\nAnd then they did. Or, at least, they found more breadcrumbs.\n\nOn June 4, 2003, Fort Collins businessmen and hiking partners Gary Watts and Rob Osborne were hiking off-trail in the Big South Trail area when they stumbled upon a white Tarzan tennis shoe in a talus slope 500 vertical feet above the trail.\n\nThen they found the other shoe, a brown fleece jacket and blue sweatpants turned inside out. One pant leg was mostly scattered by birds using the material in their nests.\n\nWatts and Osborne knew instantly who they had discovered.\n\n\"The thing is, we were up there a week earlier and talked quite a bit about the various scenarios about his disappearance,'' said Osborne, owner of Avogadro’s Number restaurant and bar in Fort Collins. \"Then we happened upon the clothes, and it’s mystery solved.\n\n\"Once we saw the clothes, I knew exactly what happened to him; a mountain lion killed him. We felt that finding the items would hopefully bring some closure to the family.''\n\nThey photographed the area and clothing as they found them, turned a bread bag inside out and took the fleece jacket and a shoe with them to the sheriff’s office the next day, as they didn’t return to Fort Collins until late that evening.\n\nThe next day, it took searchers about an hour to reach the site near Campsite 2, where they found the remaining clothing scattered across a 25-foot area. Some of the items were sheltered from the elements and some were exposed.\n\nWhile the cloth jacket had what appeared to be puncture marks and the pants were tattered, the nylon shoes had little weathering. Eleven days later — just before Father's Day — searchers found a molar and skull cap.\n\n\"One of our members was walking and about to step on a shrub when a member just below them saw the skull under the shrub,'' said Don Davis, a search and rescue member involved with the search. \"I remember Allyn being up there with us. He asked if he could hold his son’s skull, and it was a very sad situation.''\n\nInitial DNA tests found an 86% chance the remains were Jaryd, Allyn said. It wasn’t until a decade later that new DNA technology proved 100% they were Jaryd's remains.\n\n\"Once you hear that, all hope of him being alive or somewhere else all goes right out with that,\" Allyn said of the confirmation.\n\nAccording to Larimer County Search and Rescue's report, searchers on foot had never made it up to the 9,120 foot elevation at Jaryd's skull and tooth were found. The Air Force helicopter would have likely searched the area had it not crashed.\n\nAdditional tests by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, including for blood and hair on the clothing the hikers found, revealed little about what killed Jaryd. His death certificate indicates the manner of death as \"undetermined, probable mountain lion attack.\"\n\n\"I'm not sure we will ever know 100%, but at this point in my life I'm not sure it matters,'' Allyn said.\n\n‘Wish you were here’\n\nJaryd has been gone in body for 20 years, but not in spirit.\n\nAllyn, Deborah and family members celebrate Jaryd’s birthday — Jan. 2, 1996 — every year with a cake.\n\n\"We sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him each year, and each year Allyn barely gets out the first two words when he starts crying,'' Deborah said. \"But we believe it’s important to honor him.''\n\nWhen Josallyn got married last summer, they had a seat for Jaryd at the reception, adorned with his beloved Raiders hat. A month before the wedding, Allyn hiked up to the spot where they found Jaryd's remains and left a wedding invitation for him.\n\nAnd then there is the Pink Floyd song, \"Wish You Were Here.\" It was Allyn's and Jaryd’s song, he said, and it plays on the radio just when he needs to be reminded of his son.\n\n\"On Oct. 2 of last year, I got into my car and was backing out of the driveway when our song came on the radio,'' Allyn said. \"That made me smile''\n\nAllyn, who retired Tuesday as a physical education teacher at Falcon Bluffs Middle School in Ken Caryl, said it’s those little reminders and a strong Christian faith that comfort him now.\n\n\"I know I will see him again one day,'' he said. \"When I do, I’m going to walk up to him and say, 'Jaryd, so tell me what happened.' And he’s going to look at me and say, 'Dad does it really matter?'\"\n\nArlyn, Allyn’s twin brother and a retired school administrator who lives in Fort Collins, said he has slowly seen his brother work through the dark times to a place not of closure, but contentment.\n\n\"For years, I looked at him and saw dead man walking,'' Arlyn said. \"People talk about the worst thing a parent can go through, and I had a front-row seat for it and it was a horrible thing to watch. But I definitely see him at peace now.''\n\nJosallyn said she, too, has noticed her father has healed, but she knows \"what could have been\" remains that pebble in both of their shoes.\n\n\"We will probably never know exactly what happened to Jaryd, but we are at some kind of peace with that,'' she said. \"Still, you think about all the things you missed out on in those 20 years, and it makes me miss him even more.''\n\nNelson and Smith said they have come as close to peace with the case as they can get. It’s not complete peace because of the outcome, but they feel they did all they could to find Jaryd alive. Both believe Jaryd was killed quickly by a mountain lion before they were even called.\n\n\"I have no drive to try and change somebody’s mind of what happened,'' Smith said. \"We are 95% or 99% sure what happened to Jaryd. What I do know is that I can go to a (Search and Rescue) meeting today and bring up Jaryd Atadero’s name and there will be tears. They all wanted a different outcome, and it is something these people will take to their graves.''\n\nAllyn and Deborah have rallied for a number of initiatives to help fund search and rescue teams since Jaryd's death. And those hard feelings during the search have faded to admiration for the difficult tasks of law enforcement and searchers.\n\n\"Back then we all started in different spots up there on that mountain,'' said Allyn, rubbing the top of Jaryd's skull. \"Today, it’s about where we finished. We can all start in different spots and still finish in the same spot. I need to give all those people a hug because they are God’s angels.\n\n\"I always tell people pain is a direct reflection of love. The more you love something, the more it’s going to hurt. My hurt was intense because my love for Jaryd was intense. But there comes a point when you look back and say the best part of the world is the peace that we have. There is nothing more important than having peace and joy in your life. And I finally feel that peace.''\n\nMore:Podpast: Family speaks about the disappearance of Chris Vigil\n\nTimeline: The disappearance of Jaryd Atadero\n\nThis timeline was compiled from Larimer County Search and Rescue's investigation report.\n\nOct 2, 1999\n\n10 a.m.: Three-year-old Jaryd Atadero, his 6-year-old sister, Josallyn Atadero, and 11 members of the Christian Singles Network leave the Poudre River Resort, owned by the children’s father, Allyn Atadero, for a hike on the Big South Trail, 15 miles west of the resort and 60 miles west of Fort Collins.\n\n11:30 a.m.: Two fishermen talk to Jaryd near the Camp 2 site and see hikers from a group 50 to 80 feet away. They return to fishing, believing Jaryd will soon be met by the group. They are the last known people to see Jaryd alive.\n\nApproximately 12:15 p.m.: The hiking group realizes Jaryd is missing and searches for him for about an hour. Some members return to the Poudre River Lodge to alert Allyn, who drives to the trail and searches for another hour.\n\n4 p.m.: Allyn returns to the lodge to call 911, which has already been called by his resort manager.\n\n4:26 p.m.: An emergency pager alert is sent to Larimer County Emergency Services Specialist Bill Nelson.\n\n5:07 p.m.: Page sent to Larimer County Search and Rescue manager George Janson. (Lag time here is standard procedure to allow mountain deputy to verify if a search is needed.)\n\n6:30 p.m.: Search personnel reach lower Big South Trailhead.\n\n8 p.m.: Searchers from the lower and upper trailhead meet between Campsites 7 and 8 without finding a sign of Jaryd. Search plans are expanded and more resources are ordered, including a helicopter planned to arrive at first light.\n\nOct. 3, 1999\n\n7 a.m.: Overnight search team members are told to be extremely vigilant at dawn as family members tell searchers Jaryd wakes at dawn. Dive team employed for Big South River.\n\n7 a.m.: Air Force helicopter from F.E. Warren Air Force base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, makes first flight then heads to Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport to refuel.\n\n3:30 p.m.: Helicopter crashes during low hovering search of area along upper Big South Trail. Four Air Force members and a Larimer County Search and Rescue member were aboard.\n\n6 p.m.: All five aboard are transported from the crash site, three via air ambulance and two via ground ambulance. All survive but two have significant injuries.\n\nOct. 4, 1999\n\nA Lama helicopter from GeoSeis Helicopters in Fort Collins joins searchers and encounters swirling winds that require full power to prevent crashing. Shortly thereafter, the helicopter returns to Fort Collins.\n\nOct. 5-7, 1999\n\nMore than 200 trained searchers, a dozen dog teams, professional trackers, a dive team and a plane search for Jaryd without finding any solid clues.\n\nOct. 8, 1999\n\n7 p.m.: The search for Jaryd is suspended due to lack of clues. Family is notified.\n\nJune 4, 2003\n\nLate afternoon: Fort Collins businessmen and avid hikers Gary Watts and Rob Osborne are hiking off trail about 500 vertical feet and 1,050 lateral feet on the east slope above near the Camp 2 marker along the Big South Trail when they come upon sneakers and clothing. They know instantly they have found Jaryd’s clothes. They were not looking for Jaryd but were on a hike of the area.\n\nJune 5, 2003\n\nWatts and Osborne take photos and some of the articles of clothing they found to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. Photos are emailed to Allyn Atadero in Littleton and he confirms the clothing and shoes are Jaryd's.\n\nJune 6, 2003\n\nLarimer County Sheriff’s Office staff hikes to the area where the clothing was found, retrieves the other articles and processes the scene.\n\nJune 14, 2003\n\n8:30 a.m.: Team of Larimer County Sheriff’s Office members, Larimer County Search and Rescue, Colorado Division of Wildlife and NecroSearch meet at Big South Trailhead to start search for remains of Jaryd. Later, Allyn Atadero and personnel from the local Child Protection Network join the group.\n\n9:30 a.m.: Searchers hike in approximately 1.5 miles and make the 500 vertical climb up to the site where hikers found the clothing.\n\n11:30 a.m.: Searchers find a skull fragment in a crevice and a tooth on a log spanning the crevice above the skull fragment. The positioning of the skull fragment is such that it is visible from only a narrow angle and is lit by a shaft of light from the sun. The site is about 180 feet north and about 20 feet higher in elevation than the clothing site.\n\n5 p.m.: Allyn, searchers and others meet with the media at the trailhead to announce what they have found.\n\nSource: Larimer County Search and Rescue report\n\nHiking with children\n\nFollow these safety tips when hiking with children:\n\nKeep children in your sight.\n\nDress them in brightly colored clothing with multiple layers to accommodate the changing temperatures.\n\nGive them a whistle in case they get lost. A whistle can be heard farther than a child yelling.\n\nHave them carry snacks such as trail mix, raisins and candy bars.\n\nIf a child is missing, begin your search immediately and call 911 as quickly as possible.\n\nIf a child becomes lost, teach them these rules:\n\nStay calm.\n\nStay put. Hug a tree near a clearing to make yourself more visible.\n\nStay warm. Find a protective spot that is still visible but out of the wind.\n\nStay noisy. Frequently blow your whistle or yell as loud as you can.\n\nMiles Blumhardt looks for stories that impact your life — be it news, outdoors, sports, you name it he wants to report it. Have a story idea, send it his way. Email him at milesblumhardt@coloradoan.com or find him on Twitter at @MilesBlumhardt. If you find value in these stories, support Miles and the other journalists at the Coloradoan by subscribing atColoradoan.com/subscribe.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/05/30"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/us/953069/donald-trump-demands-republicans-back-figures-campaign-trail-return", "title": "Donald Trump hits campaign trail to demand Republican loyalty ...", "text": "Donald Trump has returned to the political arena to call on Republicans to nominate only candidates loyal to him for election to Congress next year.\n\nIn a “rambling” 90-minute speech at his first rally “since being prised from the White House in January”, the former US leader “reiterated his groundless allegation” that the 2020 election was “stolen from him” in what he described as “the crime of the century”, says The Times. And he “hinted that he would make a third presidential run” in 2024, the paper adds.\n\n“Our movement is far from over,” Trump told the North Carolina Republican Party’s convention. “In fact, it is just getting started.”\n\nIn a bid to “galvanise supporters ahead of next year's elections for the Senate and House of Representatives”, Trump “hailed his administration’s achievements” and launched “typically colourful attacks on opponents foreign and domestic”, says The Telegraph.\n\nThe former president attacked Dr Anthony Fauci’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, describing the White House’s most senior scientific adviser as “not a great doctor but a great promoter”.\n\n“He’s been wrong on almost every issue and he was wrong on Wuhan and the lab also,” Trump added, in a nod to theories that the coronavirus came from a research facility in the Chinese city at the epicentre of the outbreak.\n\n“We demand reparations from the Communist Party of China,” said Trump, who told the Republican convention that the Asian superpower should pay $10tr (£7tr) in “reparations”.\n\nHe also called for the US to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese goods and urged other countries to repudiate their debts to Beijing as a “down payment” for the economic disruption caused by the pandemic.\n\nPredictably, Trump blasted Joe Biden too, claiming that the Democrat is leading “the most radical left-wing administration in history”.\n\n“All Joe Biden had to do was sit back and do nothing - it was taking off like a rocket ship nobody's ever seen,” Trump said. “Instead, the economy is going to hell and inflation is going to cause a catastrophe in the near future.”\n\nThe speech marked Trump's first political appearance outside his home state of Florida since leaving the White House, and in contrast to “the mega-rallies he hosted during his presidency”, was attended by only about 1,200 people, The Telegraph reports.\n\nBut despite being “a diminished public figure after losing office and being blocked by both Twitter and Facebook”, says The Times, Trump “retains a grip on Republican politics” and is the “front runner for the party’s presidential nomination in 2024 in every survey”.\n\nAll the same, while the convention crowd applauded the ex-president’s inflammatory comments, internet chat focused on footage from the event which appeared to show that Trump's trousers were “oddly wrinkled around the front thighs, with no visible fly”, says the Daily Mail.\n\nSome critics claimed that he had “put his pants on backwards”, while others suggested that the trousers “might be elastic-waisted pull-ups with no button or front zipper”, the paper reports.\n\n.", "authors": ["Joe Evans"], "publish_date": "2021/06/07"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/us/956634/what-does-war-ukraine-mean-donald-trump-2024-ambitions", "title": "How the Ukraine war may affect Donald Trump's 2024 hopes | The ...", "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": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2022/05/04"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/science-health/953594/ufo-files-pentagon-report", "title": "The UFO files: exploring the findings of the Pentagon's report | The ...", "text": "In 2017, The New York Times publicly revealed that the US Defence Intelligence Agency had, ten years earlier, established the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Programme – a secret $22m government project to examine military encounters with unidentified flying objects, or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), as they are officially known today.\n\nBy that time, details and footage of some particularly striking incidents had already been leaked and widely reported. There was growing interest among members of Congress, who called for greater transparency on the issue. The Senate’s intelligence committee demanded that the Pentagon – the Department of Defence – release a public report describing its findings.\n\nWhat were these widely reported incidents?\n\nIn 2014 and 2015, US navy pilots from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt described close encounters in the Atlantic off Virginia with what looked like flying spheres.\n\nPilots reported that the objects had no visible engine or exhaust plumes, but that they could reach altitudes of 30,000 feet and hypersonic speeds. Some incidents were videotaped, including one in early 2015 that shows an object zooming over the waves as a pilot exclaims: “Wow, what is that, man? Look at it fly!”\n\nIn November 2004, two jets from the USS Nimitz were 100 miles southwest of San Diego when they encountered a white oval-shaped craft hovering above the sea. As one of the F-18 jets descended to look, the object ascended towards it, then zipped away. “It accelerated like nothing I’ve ever seen,” said David Fravor, one of the pilots. “It had no plumes, wings or rotors and outran our F-18s.”\n\nWhat did the report find?\n\nThe Pentagon examined 144 reports of UAPs made by US military pilots between 2004 and 2021. Although only nine pages long, it presents some interesting findings. One is that UAPs “probably do represent physical objects”, as opposed to technical anomalies or figments of pilots’ imaginations. Some 80 of the UAPs were observed with “multiple sensors”, for instance by radar, infrared and optical cameras as well as pilots’ visual observations.\n\nFurthermore, in 18 of the incidents, the objects demonstrated “unusual flight characteristics”, such as manoeuvring abruptly or moving at intense speeds – potentially demonstrating advanced, as-yet unknown technologies. The report also identified 11 “near-misses” between UAPs and US pilots, concluding that they “clearly pose a safety of flight issue and may pose a challenge to US national security”.\n\nDid it offer explanations?\n\nBy and large, no. In one case, the Pentagon felt confident that the reported sighting of a UAP was in fact “a large, deflating balloon”. As for the other 143 sightings, it said it was unable to explain them definitively. But it did put forward five potential categories for sightings of UAPs: first, “airborne clutter”, such as birds, drones, balloons or debris; second, “natural atmospheric phenomena” such as thermal fluctuations, ball lightning or solar flares; third, classified technology operated by “US entities”; fourth, “foreign adversary systems”, i.e. secret technologies deployed by China or Russia; fifth, a catch-all “other”.", "authors": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2021/07/23"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/959061/people-of-2022", "title": "People of 2022: from Meghan Markle to Matt Hancock | The Week UK", "text": "Arise, Sir Tony Blair: 14 years after leaving Downing Street, the former Labour prime minister Tony Blair is controversially knighted in the New Year Honours list.\n\nAs Moscow builds up its troop deployments near the Ukrainian border, Joe Biden warns Vladimir Putin that the US will respond “decisively” if Russia invades.\n\nA jury acquits the defendants known as “the Colston Four” (pictured) of criminal damage, for their part in toppling a statue of the 17th century slave trader and philanthropist Edward Colston in 2020, and tipping it into the harbour in Bristol.\n\nDuring an audience at the Vatican, the Pontiff castigates couples who “substitute cats and dogs for children”, saying “renouncing parenthood diminishes us. It takes away our humanity.”\n\nJonathan Van-Tam is hailed as a “national treasure” as he announces his decision to step down as England’s deputy chief medical officer. He is later knighted, but his trip to the Palace is delayed by a bout of Covid.\n\nOwing to his refusal to be vaccinated for Covid, Novak Djokovic is deported from Australia, ending the world No. 1’s hopes of defending his Australian Open title.\n\nAfter a New York judge throws out his last-ditch attempt to have Virginia Giuffre’s civil suit against him dismissed, Prince Andrew is cut adrift by the royal family, losing his military affiliations, royal patronages and HRH title.\n\nThe final “Plan B” restrictions in England – the mask mandate, vaccine-pass rules, working from home guidance – are all lifted. Sue Gray unveils her long-awaited report into No. 10 lockdown parties, albeit only in outline form. In the 12-page document, presented as an “update”, the senior civil servant discloses that she has looked into 16 alleged parties, and has uncovered failures of “leadership and judgement”.\n\n“They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” claims the Canadian rock legend Neil Young as he demands that Spotify stops hosting the popular podcasts of the comedian Joe Rogan on the grounds that they promote “fake information about vaccines”. The world’s largest music streaming service opts to remove Young’s music from the platform instead.", "authors": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2022/12/22"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/us/956550/does-us-believe-ukraine-can-beat-russia", "title": "Does the US believe Ukraine can beat Russia? | 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": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2022/04/26"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/russia/955833/why-us-warning-about-russia-kill-lists", "title": "Why the US is warning about Russian 'kill lists' | 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": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2022/02/21"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/us/957996/ron-desantis-flying-migrants-marthas-vineyard", "title": "Ron DeSantis' 'appalling stunt': flying migrants to Martha's Vineyard ...", "text": "Ron DeSantis is truly shameless, said Jack Shafer on Politico. The Republican governor of Florida – who is up for re-election in November and is considering a White House run – staged an appalling “stunt” last week, flying two planeloads of illegal migrants, mostly from Venezuela, to the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard, a favourite summer haunt of well-to-do liberals.\n\nHe got the idea from the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, who has ferried thousands of migrants to Washington DC, New York and Chicago. These are all so-called “sanctuary cities”, which pride themselves on welcoming immigrants and protecting them from deportation.\n\nAbbott’s line is that his state is so overwhelmed with immigrants that he needs to send them to the places that are attracting them. Florida, of course, has no border with Mexico, but that didn’t stop DeSantis. He just got some migrants from Texas, and “exploited” them for “political gain”.\n\nLiberals are aghast at DeSantis’s move, said Jordan Boyd in The Federalist. They’ve branded it “evil”. But the “real cruelty”, of course, is that Joe Biden’s policies have allowed the border crisis to get so out of control. At least 650 migrants died last year trying to cross the border, and hundreds more have died this year.\n\nBorder states, meanwhile, are struggling to absorb the vast number of arrivals from Mexico: two million are set to enter the US this year. By eradicating the “Remain in Mexico” rule, which required asylum seekers to await court decisions in Mexico, and ending other border-control measures, Biden invited a dangerous surge in illegal crossings. “If dropping migrants at the doorstep of the rich” forces Democrats to reckon with the polices that caused the crisis, “then so be it”.\n\nBorder states have every reason to be fed up with America’s immigration system, said Rex Huppke in USA Today. It’s “a mess”. But Republicans won’t help solve this by scooping up desperate migrants – including families with young children – and dumping them in cities run by people they don’t like.\n\nThe same tactic was employed by southern segregationists in the 1960s. Annoyed by activists from northern states advocating integration, they lured black citizens onto buses with promises of jobs and dumped them in northern cities. “Americans at that time saw it as a callous ploy, and it fizzled into infamy. The same will happen with this modern-day version.”", "authors": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2022/09/22"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_17", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2023/02/15/raquel-welch-actress-sex-symbol-dead-at-82/11265151002/", "title": "Raquel Welch dead: 'One Million Years B.C.' sex symbol dies at 82", "text": "Raquel Welch, the Hollywood sex symbol famous for her 1960s roles in \"One Million Years B.C.\" and \"Fantastic Voyage,\" has died at 82.\n\nWelch died Wednesday morning after a brief illness, her manager, Steve Sauer, confirmed to USA TODAY.\n\nWelch's career spanned 50 years, 30 films and 50 TV series and appearances. She won a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical for her role in “The Three Musketeers” in 1975, and was nominated for a Globe in the 1987 TV movie \"Right to Die.\"\n\nThe star was born Jo Raquel Tejada on Sept. 5, 1940, in Chicago to a Bolivian father and American mother. As a child, her family moved to San Diego, where she learned ballet and competed in beauty pageants. She studied performing arts at San Diego State College and was a weather forecaster and model before landing her first film roles in 1964's \"A House Is Not a Home\" and the Elvis Presley musical \"Roustabout.\"\n\nRaquel Welch's 5 essential roles:From 'Fantastic Voyage' to 'One Million Years B.C.'\n\nRemembering those we lost: Celebrity Deaths 2023\n\nEarly in her career, Welch said Hollywood higher-ups pushed her to change her name to \"Debbie.\" But the actress refused and always remained proud of her Hispanic heritage.\n\n\"People didn't like my name and they said it was too ethnic, too difficult to pronounce, too exotic,\" Welch told The Associated Press in 2015. \"They wanted to change it and I was not happy at all. I did really feel like Raquel.\"\n\nIn the late '60s, Welch became a sex symbol thanks to movies such as \"Bedazzled,\" \"The Biggest Bundle of Them All\" and Frank Sinatra crime comedy \"Lady in Cement.\" She also starred in the X-rated \"Myra Breckinridge\" in 1970, but she had no regrets about playing racier roles starting out.\n\n\"I am not a fool,\" Welch told the Los Angeles Times in a 2010 interview. \"I realized when I came along, I wasn’t Meryl Streep who had been put into a bikini. I was somebody that got rocketed into the spotlight and superstardom overnight. I knew this was going to give me an opportunity and I should make the best of it.\"\n\n'We've lost a true icon':Reese Witherspoon, Chris Meloni, more stars react to Raquel Welch's death\n\nWelch's breakout came with a pair of bombshell roles in 1966: \"Fantastic Voyage,\" a sci-fi adventure about a submarine crew who get shrunk down and injected into a scientist's bloodstream, and \"One Million Years B.C.,\" set in a prehistoric world where cavemen and dinosaurs co-exist. Despite her having only three lines in the latter, the film spawned a best-selling poster of Welch clad in a fur bikini.\n\nPlayboy crowned her the \"most desired woman\" of the 1970s, despite never being completely naked in the magazine. In 2013, she graced the No. 2 spot on Men’s Health’s \"Hottest Women of All Time\" list.\n\nWelch's last role was Rosa in the 2017 TV drama \"Date My Dad,\" co-starring Audrey Smallman and Barry Watson, according to her IMDB page. She also appeared that same year in big-screen comedy \"How to Be a Latin Lover,\" playing a widowed billionaire whom Eugenio Derbez tries to seduce.\n\n\"I always wanted to be an actress because I wanted to entertain,\" Welch told entertainment site BackstageOL in 2017. \"Comedy seems to fit that kind of a need in me. I like to entertain people.\"\n\nThroughout her career, Welch made memorable appearances in TV series such as \"Mork & Mindy,\" \"The Muppet Show,\" \"Sabrina the Teenage Witch\" and \"Seinfeld.\" In addition to her screen work, Welch appeared on Broadway twice and had a successful line of wigs.\n\n\"I believe that most women recognize there is an art to femininity,\" Welch told Wigs.com in 2011. \"I'm always interested in talking to that woman and helping her practice that art. Let's face it: Your hair is such an important part of how you present yourself as a woman. Why not utilize the advantage of wigs?\"\n\nWelch was married four times. She is survived by her two children, son Damon Welch and daughter Tahnee Welch, with first husband James Welch.\n\nContributing: The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/02/15/raquel-welch-death-celebrity-reactions/11265651002/", "title": "Raquel Welch death: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Meloni, more stars ...", "text": "Raquel Welch became famous for her striking beauty, but people's love for her was more than skin deep.\n\nWelch, the Hollywood sex symbol known for her 1960s roles in \"One Million Years B.C.\" and \"Fantastic Voyage,\" died Wednesday following a brief illness. She was 82.\n\nBorn Jo Raquel Tejada in September 1940, Welch's career spanned 50 years, 30 films and 50 TV series and appearances. She won a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy or musical for her role in “The Three Musketeers” in 1975.\n\nAn outpouring of love for the Bolivian American actress has flowed in, with several stars taking to social media to share their fondness for Welch.\n\n\"So sad to hear about Raquel Welch's passing. I loved working with her on 'Legally Blonde,'\" actress Reese Witherspoon tweeted. \"She was elegant, professional and glamorous beyond belief. Simply stunning. May all her angels carry her home.\"\n\n\"We are saddened to hear about the passing of legendary actress Raquel Welch,\" visual effects creator Ray Harryhausen's Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation wrote on Twitter.\n\n\"An iconic role which spawned one of the most famous movie posters ever,\" the tweet read. \"Our thoughts are with her family at this sad time.\"\n\nRaquel Welch:Sexy star of 'One Million Years B.C.' and 'Fantastic Voyage' dies at 82\n\nRaquel Welch's 5 essential roles:From 'Fantastic Voyage' to 'One Million Years B.C.'\n\n\"Raquel Welch dying is a very weird feeling,\" actor Chris Meloni tweeted.\n\n\"Amazing beauty grace (and) talent,\" \"General Hospital\" alum Antonio Sabato Jr. wrote. \"Rest in peace.\"\n\n\"This is so sad. I had the great pleasure of working with Ms. Welch when I was a regular on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and she was awesome,\" director and producer Paul Feig shared.\n\n\"Kind, funny and a true superstar whom I was pretty much in love with for most of my childhood,\" Feig added. \"We’ve lost a true icon.\"\n\n\"She lit up movie screens for years with her beauty and charisma,\" Deborah Roberts, a correspondent for \"Good Morning America,\" wrote on Twitter. \"What a life.\"\n\n\"A unique beauty who left her one of a kind groovy vibe wherever she went,\" actress and comedian Sandra Bernhard wrote.\n\n\"When Raquel Welch hosted SNL, I had a sketch with her in which I played Lina Wermuller,\" \"Saturday Night Live\" alum Laraine Newman wrote.\n\n\"It was cut because she wanted to sing a song instead but a couple of years later she sent me a postcard from Italy with Wertmuller’s autograph,\" Newman added. \"RIP sweet lady.\"\n\n\"I know she's famous for bigger/more notable things (inventing the bikini basically) but for me, Shake Your Whammy Fanny is forever burned on my brain,\" singer-songwriter Tom Aspaul wrote alongside a clip of Welch on \"Sabrina the Teenage Witch.\"\n\n\"Abbott Elementary\" actor Bruno Amato shared a throwback photo of himself with Welch on Twitter.\n\n\"She was a guest on 'The Talk' and I was working on the show 'Baby Daddy,'\" Amato recalled. \"Somehow our dressing rooms were across from each other. She was so gracious and still a total bombshell and I was in complete awe.\"\n\n\"Gorgeous, bawdy, elegant and bright…Raquel Welch was all of these things,\" television producer Melissa Rivers wrote alongside a photo of Welch with her mother, Joan Rivers. \"More than just a pretty face, she had glamour in her soul.\"\n\n\"We’ll never forget our remarkable friend Raquel Welch, one of our favorite guests on The Muppet Show,\" the official account for The Muppets posted on Twitter. \"From dancing with a giant spider, to inspiring Fozzie Bear, and duetting with Miss Piggy, Raquel could do it all!\"\n\n\"Raquel Welch has departed,\" actor Titus Welliver tweeted. \"An iconic beauty and actor.\"\n\nDave Hollis:Former Disney exec, author and ex to Rachel Hollis dies at 47\n\nCody Longo:Actor from 'Days of Our Lives,' 'CSI' and 'Piranha 3D' dead at 34\n\nContributing: Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2023/02/15/raquel-welch-best-movies-fantastic-voyage-three-musketeers/11265747002/", "title": "Raquel Welch's best movies: 'Fantastic Voyage,' 'Three Musketeers'", "text": "Only one star could pull off that cavewoman bikini.\n\nRaquel Welch, who died Wednesday at age 82, became infamous for wearing hardly anything in a prehistoric blockbuster but her international sex-symbol status went hand-in-hand with an interesting filmography.\n\nThe actress started in Hollywood in the mid-1960s – and even appeared with Elvis Presley in the musical \"Roustabout\" – for a career that lasted into the 2010s with an array of featured parts (including in the '70s roller-derby drama \"Kansas City Bomber\") and occasional cameos (playing herself in 1994's \"Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult\").\n\nHere are Welch's five essential roles and where to watch them:\n\nRaquel Welch:Sexy star of 'One Million Years B.C.' and 'Fantastic Voyage' dies at 82\n\n'Fantastic Voyage' (1966)\n\nWay before superhero movies made the most of tight leather and spandex, Welch rocked a skin-tight diving suit in this Cold War sci-fi adventure. She's part of a submarine crew that shrinks down to microscopic size and takes one heck of a trip when injected into a scientist's body to repair a blood clot in his brain and save his life after an assassination attempt.\n\nWhere to watch:HBO Max\n\n'One Million Years B.C.' (1966)\n\nIn the fantasy adventure full of dinosaurs, cavepeople and erupting volcanoes, Welch played a fisherwoman who falls for a man (John Richardson) banished from his own tribe. She only had a few lines but that's OK: She and some prehistoric lingerie became a pop-culture hit, with the pinup poster of her adorning many a bedroom walls in the 1960s – as well as a key scene in \"The Shawshank Redemption.\"\n\nWhere to watch: Blu-ray/DVD\n\n'Myra Breckinridge' (1970)\n\nBased on the Gore Vidal novel and also starring Mae West and John Huston, the controversial comedy bombed in every way but became one of Welch's best-known lead roles (and one that's probably safe from ever being remade). She stars as a transgender woman who claims part ownership of her uncle's acting school and decides to teach a class on \"femdom.\"\n\nWhere to watch: DVD\n\n'The Three Musketeers' (1973)\n\nWelch won a Golden Globe for her work in this adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas classic by director Richard Lester (\"A Hard Day's Night\"). Playing Constance Bonacieux, dressmaker to the queen of Austria, the bombshell showed off her physical comedy chops in a food fight with Faye Dunaway while also being romanced by Michael York (as the swashbuckling d'Artagnan).\n\nWhere to watch: Amazon Prime Video\n\n'How to Be a Latin Lover' (2017)\n\nA highlight of her later years (and one that introduced her to a new generation of film fans), the goofy comedy featured Welch as a billionaire widow pursued by a ladies' man (Eugenio Derbez) who's made a career of seducing older woman yet desperately needs to rekindle his romantic mojo. But this Latin lover gets some competition for her affections from his best friend, another conniving gigolo (Rob Lowe).\n\nWhere to watch: Paramount+\n\n'We've lost a true icon':Reese Witherspoon, Chris Meloni, more stars react to Raquel Welch's death", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/02/17/stella-stevens-star-the-nutty-professor-dead/11283615002/", "title": "Stella Stevens, star of 'The Nutty Professor,' dead at 84", "text": "Lindsey Bahr\n\nAssociated Press\n\nStella Stevens, a prominent leading lady in 1960s and '70s comedies perhaps best known for playing the object of Jerry Lewis' affection in \"The Nutty Professor,\" has died. She was 84.\n\nStevens' estate said she died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness.\n\nBorn Estelle Caro Eggleston in Yazoo City, Mississippi in 1938, she married at 16 and gave birth to her first and only child, actor/producer Andrew Stevens, in 1955 when she was 17, and divorced two years later. She started acting and modeling during her time at Memphis State University and made her film debut in a minor role in the Bing Crosby musical \"Say One for Me\" in 1959, but she considered \"Li'l Abner\" her big break.\n\n\"The head of publicity at Paramount basically made me a worldwide sex symbol,\" Stevens told FilmTalk in 2017. \"He had me doing a lot of layouts with photographers — indoors, outdoors, here and there — being seen in different places, going to the best restaurants, meeting with wonderful actors and directors … those were the golden years of Hollywood. It was a very exciting time.\"\n\nRaquel Welch dies:Sexy star of 'One Million Years B.C.' and 'Fantastic Voyage' was 82\n\nSoon after, she won the New Star Golden Globe, was named Playboy's Playmate of the Month and got a contract with Paramount Pictures, leading to film work and \"Girls! Girls! Girls!\" with Elvis Presley, which she only agreed to do because she was promised to a Montgomery Clift movie if she did it. It was a miserable six days of filming, she said, due to the temper of director Norman Taurog, though she said Presley was nice. The Clift picture didn't pan out either, at least with her promised co-star. It turned into John Cassavetes' \"Too Late Blues,\" with Bobby Darrin.\n\n\"Bobby was a very fine actor, but as you can imagine, he was no Montgomery Clift,\" she said.\n\nNext came \"The Nutty Professor\" as Lewis' student, Stella Purdy, who he is infatuated with.\n\nR. Kelly:Prosecutors ask for 25 more years in prison for, adding to his 30-year sentence\n\n\"Jerry Lewis had told the bosses at Paramount he wanted to cast the most beautiful ingénue working at the studio — or something like that — and so I got the gig,\" she said. \"We all tried to make the characters he had created in the script special, wonderful, unique — and if you ask me, I do believe that's why the film still holds up after all those years.\"\n\nAt Columbia Pictures, she'd appear in \"The Secret of My Success,\" \"The Silencers,\" with Dean Martin, and \"Where Angels Go Trouble Follows,\" as a nun opposite Rosalind Russell. Other notable roles include \"Slaughter,\" with Jim Brown, the Sam Peckinpah television film \"The Battle of Cable Hogue\" and \"The Poseidon Adventure\" in which she played Linda Rogo, Ernest Borgnine's character's wife.\n\nStevens worked steadily in television in the 1970s and 80s, appearing in the pilots for \"Wonder Woman,\" \"Hart to Hart\" and \"The Love Boat\" and in series like \"Night Court,\" \"Murder She Wrote\" and \"Magnum, P.I.\"\n\nIn 2017, she'd say that her favorite director that she worked with was Vincente Minnelli on \"The Courtship of Eddie's Father,\" from 1963. She also directed several films, the documentary \"An American Heroine,\" which never got distribution, and \"The Ranch.\" She retired in 2010.\n\nIn an interview in 1994, Stevens said that she worried that she didn't succeed in bringing out the best in her directors and that her ambitions changed.\n\n\"I wanted to be like my favorite actresses: Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. I wanted to be like a burst of youth and then when I got a little crow's feet or age, I'd be off the screen,\" she said.\" But I also had the plan of being a director ... I saw (Bob Hope) at 83 cracking jokes and having fun. I said then that I never wanted to quit. I want to be like this man. I want to go on forever. I want to die on a movie set.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/26/passages-2013-list/4210837/", "title": "Passages 2013: List of notable deaths", "text": "USATODAY\n\nThis year's Passages, USA TODAY's annual roundup of notable people we lost in 2013, is a rich and often unexpected series of encounters.\n\nBelow, we remember the accomplishments of those who left us this year.\n\nBUSINESS\n\nHerbert M. Allison Jr., 69, former president of Merrill Lynch who was appointed to lead and help rescue troubled Fannie Mae in 2008 and who later ran the federal government's bank bailout program. Allison was a political appointee of both President Obama and President George W. Bush. Allison took over Fannie Mae after retiring as chief executive of TIAA-CREF, the giant financial services company. Heart attack, July 14.\n\nAmar G. Bose, 83, visionary engineer, inventor and billionaire entrepreneur whose namesake company, the Bose Corp., became synonymous with high-quality audio systems and speakers. As founder and chairman of the privately held company, Bose focused relentlessly on acoustic engineering innovation. His speakers, though expensive, earned a reputation for bringing concert-hall-quality audio into the home. And by refusing to offer stock to the public, Dr. Bose was able to pursue risky long-term research, such as noise-canceling headphones and an innovative suspension system for cars, without the pressures of quarterly earnings announcements.Cause not given, July 12.\n\nRoy Brown Jr., 96, defiantly proud designer of the Ford Edsel, the chrome-encrusted, big-grilled set of wheels that was one of the worst flops in automotive history. More than five decades after Brown's creation debuted then disappeared, the term \"Edsel\" remains practically synonymous with failure. Pneumonia, Feb. 24.\n\nAlex Calderwood, 47, co-founder of the hip Ace Hotel chain. No cause given, Nov. 14.\n\nPhilip Caldwell, 93, first chief executive officer of Ford Motor Co. who wasn't a member of the founder's family. He gambled the automaker's future on the Taurus sedan in the 1980s. It became the best-selling car in the USA. Stroke, July 10.\n\nA.W. \"Tom\" Clausen, 89, who led San Francisco-based Bank of America both before and after a five-year (1981-86) term as president of the World Bank. At both banks he focused attenton on the needs of developing countries. He was credited with reviving Bank of America during his second term at the helm. Complications from Pneumonia, Jan. 21.\n\nRonald Coase, 102, oldest living Nobel Prize winner who was a pioneer in applying economic theory to the law. The British-born economist won the Nobel in 1991 for expanding economic theory to include simple but neglected concepts such as property rights and overhead costs.The former University of Chicago professor was the oldest living Nobel laureate before his death. Short illness, Sept. 2.\n\nDouglas Dayton, 88, former executive of Minneapolis-based Dayton's department stores who in remaking his family's company into a discount business helped reinvent American retailing when he launched Target Stores in 1962. Minneapolis-based Target is now No. 36 on the Fortune 500. Cancer, July 5.\n\nRay Dolby, 80, American inventor and audio technology pioneer who founded Dolby Laboratories. His work in noise reduction and surround sound led to the creation of a number of technologies that are still used in music, movies and entertainment today. Dolby held 50 U.S. patents and won a number of notable awards for his life's work, including several Emmys, two Oscars and a Grammy.He was awarded the National Medal of Technology from President Bill Clinton and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the U.S. and the Royal Academy of Engineers in the U.K Alzheimer's disease, Sept. 12.\n\nRobert W. Fogel, 86,University of Chicago economist and Nobel Prize winner whose study of the economics of slavery sparked a furious debate in academia. His work on slavery and on the impact of railroads in the 19th Century helped earn him a Nobel prize. Brief illness, June 10.\n\nRobert Earl Holding, 86, billionaire whose business empire included ownership of Sinclair Oil and Sun Valley Resort in Idaho and Snowbasin Resort in Utah. Cause not given, April 18.\n\nWojciech Inglot, 57, Polish chemist and businessman who founded and ran a cosmetics company, Inglot, that grew into an international success with nearly 400 stores in 50 countries. Recently Inglot found unexpected success with a breathable nail polish that became a surprise hit with Muslim women. Internal hemorrhaging, Feb. 23.\n\nLawrence R. Klein, 93, longtime University of Pennsylvania professor who won the Nobel Prize in economics. In 1946 Klein correctly predicted that pent-up demand for consumer goods combined with the purchasing power of returning soldiers would ward off a depression. At Penn He developed the so-called \"Wharton Models,\" statistical models which led to his Nobel Prize. Cause not given, Oct. 20.\n\nHarry Lewis, 93, founder in the 1950s of the Hamburger Hamlet chain. The restaurants were decorated with movie memorabilia and offered customized hamburgers long before the idea became trendy. Cause not given, June 8.\n\nWilliam C. Lowe, 72, who in 1980 promoted the bold idea that IBM should develop a personal computer that could be mass marketed, expanding the company's reach beyond businesses and into people's homes. He also was credited with fostering collaboration within the computer industry. Heart attack, Oct. 18.\n\nPaul C. McIlhenny, 68, chief executive and chairman of the board of the McIlhenny Company that makes the trademarked line of Tabasco hot pepper sauces and other products. Cause not given, Feb. 23.\n\nBob Meistrell, 84, who began making wet suits for surfers and scuba divers in the early 1950s and with his twin brother, Bill, founded Body Glove, one of the world's largest wet-suit companies. Heart attack, June 16.\n\nGeorge P. Mitchell, 94, developer and philanthropist who is considered the father of fracking, a process of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of gas-laden rock. The process brought an entirely new — and enormous — trove of oil and gas within reach. Environmentalists have attacked the practice over concerns about air and water pollution. No cause given, July 26.\n\nMarc Rich, 78, trader known as the \"King of Commodities\" whose controversial 2001 pardon by President Clinton just hours before he left office unleashed a political firestorm of criticism. Rich, who was on the FBI's most Wanted List, fled to Switzerland in 1983 after he was indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury on more than 50 counts of fraud, racketeering, trading with Iran during the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis and evading more than $48 million in income taxes. Stroke, June 26.\n\nMuriel \"Mickie\" Siebert, 84, who in December 1967 became the first woman to have a seat on the New York Stock Exchange after months of struggling with the male-dominated business world that resisted her efforts to join. In 1977 she was appointed the first woman superintendent of banking for the State of New York, serving five years. She established her investment firm, Muriel Siebert & Co. Inc., the same year and transformed it into a discount brokerage house in 1975. Cancer, Aug. 24.\n\nJames Strong, 68,former chief executive officer of Australia's biggest carrier, Qantas Airways, and former chairman of the country's largest retailer, Woolworths. Complications following surgery, March 2.\n\nRobert R. Taylor, 77, entrepreneur who took soap out of dishes and put it in pump bottles as . His SoftSoap forever changed the way people wash up. Taylor created and sold more than a dozen businesses during his lifetime, including those that produced toothpaste, shampoos and popular fragrances, such as Calvin Klein's Obsession. Cancer, Aug. 29.\n\nEiji Toyoda, 100, a member of Toyota's founding family who helped create the super-efficient \"Toyota Way\" production method. He served as company president from 1967 to 1982, engineering Toyota's growth into a global automaker. He became chairman in 1982, and continued in advisory positions up to his death.Heart failure, Sept. 17.\n\nCal Worthington, 92, West Coast auto salesman known for his zany commercials. He was the nation's top-selling Dodge salesman in the 1960s and at one time he owned nearly two dozen car dealerships, stretching from Alaska to Texas. Cause not given, Sept. 8.\n\nHiroshi Yamauchi, 85, who ran Nintendo from 1949 to 2002 and led the Japanese company's transition from a maker of playing cards to a video game giant. He also was known for owned the Seattle Mariners major league baseball club. Pneumonia, Sept. 19.\n\n*****\n\nNEWSMAKERS\n\nSidney Berry, 87, retired Army lieutenant general and decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam and Korean wars who led the U.S. Military Academy during a turbulent period in the 1970s. During his tenure as superintendent a cheating scandal rocked West Point and despite initial misgivings, he oversaw the admission of the first female cadets. Parkinson's disease, July 1.\n\nMargaret Brewer, 82, retired brigadier general who in 1978 became the first woman to hold the rank of general in the U.S. Marine Corps. She led the Marines' public affairs division late in her career. Alzheimer's, Jan. 2.\n\nJoyce Brothers, 85, a pioneering psychologist whose television shows starting in the 1950s paved the way for an entire genre of programming. Brothers offered advice on psychological issues at a time when such subjects were rarely discussed on TV. She was also a columnist, author, film personality — and game show champion. Cause not given, May 13.\n\nScott Carpenter, 88, a member of the\"Mercury Seven,\" the USA's first group of astronauts. He was the fourth American in space and the second to orbit the Earth. His five-hour, three-orbit journey on May 24, 1962, was marred by a wildly off-course landing that sparked concern that he might have died midflight. Complications from a stroke, Oct. 10.\n\nAndre Cassagnes, 86, French inventor of the Etch A Sketch drawing toy that generations of children drew on, then hook up and started over. No cause given, Jan. 16.\n\nJulius Chambers, 76, attorney who with his partners won cases that shaped civil rights law. The Supreme Court's ruling in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education required the busing of students to integrate public school. His home and his car were firebombed on separate occasions in 1965, and his office was burned to the ground in 1971. No cause given, Aug. 2.\n\nPaul Crouch, 79, televangelist who built what's been called the world's largest Christian broadcasting network. Founded in 1973 by Crouch and his wife, Jan, Trinity Broadcast Network has 84 satellite channels and more than 18,000 television and cable affiliates. Degenerative heart disease, Nov. 30.\n\nGeorge \"Bud\" Day, 88, Medal of Honor recipient who spent 5½ years as a POW in Vietnam and was Arizona Sen. John McCain's cellmate. A retired colonel, Day earned more than 70 medals during service in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. was one of the nation's most highly decorated servicemen since Gen. Douglas MacArthur and a tireless advocate for veterans' rights. Day received the Medal of Honor for escaping his captors for 10 days after the aircraft he was piloting was shot down over North Vietnam. Long illness, July 27.\n\nJessie Lopez De La Cruz, 93, longtime leader in the national farmworker movement. Cause not given, Sept. 2.\n\nCartha D. DeLoach, 92, who in the number three position in the FBI was a confidant to J. Edgar Hoover and an intermediary between Hoover and President Lyndon B. Johnson during a tense political era. In a 25-yar career he also headed FBI investigations of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1960s. Cause not given, March 13.\n\nBillie Sol Estes, 88, flamboyant Texas huckster who became one of the most notorious men in America in 1962 when he was accused of looting a federal crop subsidy program. He was convicted and spent several years in prison. His name was synonymous with Texas-sized schemes, greed and corruption. Cause not given, May 14.\n\nLeonard Garment, 89, lawyer who was a friend and adviser to President Richard Nixon as the Watergate scandal unfolded and who urged him not to destroy tapes of his conversations. The tapes played a major role in the erosion of Nixon's public support and led to Nixon's his resignation. Short illness, July 13.\n\nThomas Griffin, 96, major who navigated a B-25 bomber in the daring air raid on Japan led by Lt. Col. James Doolittle in 1942. Sixteen B-52s were launched from the U.S.S. Hornet and bombed Tokyo in retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Cause not given, Feb. 26.\n\nMarcella Hazan, 89, Italian-born author of multiple cookbooks who taught generations of Americans how to create simple, fresh Italian food. She was best known for her six cookbooks, written by her in Italian and translated into English by Victor, her husband of 57 years. The recipes were traditional, tasty and sparse — her famous tomato sauce contained only tomatoes, onion, butter and salt — and mirrored the tastes of her home country. Cause not given, Sept. 29.\n\nEdward \"Babe\" Heffron, 90, whose World War II service as a member of famed Easy Company, a unit of the 101st Airborne Division, was recounted in the book and TV miniseries Band of Brothers. Cause not given, Dec. 1.\n\nJames A. Hood, 70, one of two black students whose effort to enroll at the University of Alabama in June 1963 led to Gov. George Wallace's segregationist \"stand in the schoolhouse door.\" He later forged an unlikely friendship with the former governor. Cause not given, Jan. 17.\n\nDean Jeffries, 80,celebrated car customizer who painted James Dean's Porsche and made the Monkeemobile for The Monkees TV show. In his sleep, May 4.\n\nDavid C. Jones, 92, retired Air Force general who helped set in motion a far-reaching reorganization of the U.S. military command while chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His recommendations helped strengthen the chairman's role while curbing service rivalries. He previously was Air Force chief of staff. Parkinson's disease, Aug. 10.\n\nFrank B. Kelso II, 79, admiral who retired under pressure as chief of naval operations in 1994 in the aftermath of rampant sexual misconduct by Navy officers at an aviation convention known as Tailhook. He oversaw capture of terrorists who hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro, led air strikes against Col. Muammar Qaddafi's Libya in 1986 and directed U.S. naval operations during the 1990-91 Gulf War. Injuries from a fall, June 23.\n\nChris Kyle,38, former Navy SEAL sniper who wrote a best-seller graphically chronicling his life as the military's most prolific marksman. He had 160 confirmed kills in four tours in Iraq. Upon retirement He co-founded Craft International, a security company which provides training to military, police, corporate and civilian clients, and Fitco Cares, a foundation he helped establish for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Shot to death, Feb. 2.\n\nBenjamin Lawless, 88, who brought a galvanizing showmanship to museum exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution, Elvis Presley's Graceland, the National Civil Rights Museum and the Jurassic Park Discovery Center. Lawless helped conceive the National Museum of History and Technology, now the National Museum of American History, which opened in 1964 in Washington to display the Smithsonian's hodgepodge of social, cultural, scientific and technological memorabilia. Heart ailment, Aug. 2.\n\nWillie Louis, 76, black teenage farm worker who heard the screams of lynching victim Emmett Till in 1955 and agreed to testify in court against his white assailants. An all-white jury acquitted the men and Louis fled to Chicago where he lived in obscurity. Cause not given, July 18.\n\nJeanne Manford, 92, the mother whose love for a gay son prompted her to found an international organization for parents and relatives of gay men and lesbians, PFLAG for short. Manford became an outspoken gay rights advocate in 1972 after her son, Monty, was beaten by police during a demonstration in New York City. Cause not given, Jan. 8.\n\nRonald L. Motley, 68, crusading plaintiff's lawyer who in the 1990s pioneered the development of mass-tort litigation. He took on the asbestos industry before targeting tobacco companies and achieving a landmark victory for the anti-smoking movement that brought the biggest civil settlement in U.S. history. Organ failure, Aug. 22.\n\nJames Muri, 93, World War II pilot who saved his crippled B-26 bomber and crew by buzzing the flight deck of the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi during the Battle of Midway. More than 500 bulet holes were counted in the plane's fuselage afterward and Muri and his crew earned the Distinguished Service Cross. Natural causes, Feb. 1.\n\nDemetrius Newton, 85, civil rights attorney who represented icons like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. before becoming the first black person to serve as speaker pro tem of the Alabama House in 1998. Long illness, Sept. 11.\n\nAugusto Odone, 80, former World Bank economist who defied skeptical scientists to invent a treatment, derived from cooking oils, to try to save the life of his young terminally ill son, wasting away from a neurological disease. His son Lorenzo astonished doctors by surviving for decades. His efforts were depicted in the 1992 film Lorenzo's Oil. Organ failure, Oct. 23.\n\nSteuart L. Pittman, 93, chief of President John F. Kennedy's civil defense program, he marshaled a national effort at the height of the Cold War to organize the massive — and now largely forgotten — system of nuclear fallout shelters across the country. Stroke, Feb. 10.\n\nCharles Pollock, 83, furniture designer who created a chair that became ubiquitous in offices in the mid-20th century and is still in production. His Pollock Executive Chairin 1963 for the Knoll company. The chair, set on rolling wheels, had was visually distinctive with tufted upholstery and an aluminum band around its edges. Died in a fire, Aug. 20.\n\nLilly Pulitzer, 81, who's tropical print dresses became a 1960s rage after first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who attended boarding school with Pulitzer, wore one of the sleeveless shifts in a Life magazine photo spread. Cause not given, April 7.\n\nFred F. Scherer, 98, painter who from 1934 to 1972 created vivid dioramas of animals and birds in natural scenes for the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Natural causes, Nov. 25.\n\nRex Scouten, 88, former chief usher of the White House whose 48-year career began as a Secret Service agent with the Trumans and ended with the Clintons as curator of the building's art and furnishings. Complications from hip surgery, Feb. 20.\n\nJames van Sweden, 78, landscape architect who in the 1970s successfully reinvented the look and character of the American garden. He promoted a radically different approach to landscape design — replacing staid evergreen hedging, bedding annuals and groomed lawns with favored broad sweeps of long, flowering perennials and ornamental grasses. Parkinson's disease, Sept. 20.\n\nCurtis Tarr, 88, appointed head of the Selective Service System in 1970, he oversaw the lottery for the draft during the last years of the Vietnam War. The lottery took decisions over who would be drafted away from local draft boards. Pneumonia, June 21.\n\nCharlie Trotter, 54, Chicago-based chef who changed the way Americans viewed fine dining and whose name was synonymous with cutting-edge cuisine. His namesake restaurant put Chicago at the vanguard of the food world. He earned 10 James Beard Awards, wrote 10 cookbooks and in 1999 hosted his own public television series, The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter. Stroke, Nov. 5.\n\nJames B. Vaught, 86, Army general who was commander of the Carter administration's disastrous April 1980 mission aimed at freeing more than 50 American hostages held in Iran. The failed mission that left eight servicemen dead underscored coordination problems between U.S. military branches. Drowning, Sept. 20.\n\nMichael Moses Ward, 41, one of two survivors of the 1985 bombing of the militant group MOVE in Philadelphia. Ward was 13 and known as Birdie Africa when Philadelphia police, trying to dislodge MOVE from its fortified inner-city compound, dropped explosives on the roof of the MOVE compound, igniting a fire that consumed 61 row homes. Drowning, Sept. 20.\n\nEssie Mae Washington-Williams, 87, who revealed after the 2003 death of segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond that she was his mixed-race daughter. Her mother was a servant for Thurmond's parents in the 1920s.They both kept secret her parentage — her mother was a Thurmond family maid — for more than 70 years. Cause not given, Feb. 3.\n\nAlbert Wheelon, 84, former Hughes Aircraft chairman who played a key role in developing the first spy satellite as Wheelon was the CIA's science and technology director when he helped guide development of the photo reconnaissance satellite in the early 1960s. Cancer, Sept. 27.\n\nJohn Wilpers, 93, last known surviving member of a team of Army intelligence officers who captured the former Japanese prime minister Hideki Tojo after World War II. Tojo shot himself in a suicide attempt but the team got medical attention to keep him alive so he could be tried and executed for war crimes. Cause not given, Feb. 28.\n\n*****\n\nPOLITICS\n\nBill Allain, 85, Democrat who was governor of Mississippi from 1984-88 and appointed many women and minorities to government jobs and strengthened the executive branch by removing lawmakers from state boards. No cause given, Dec. 2.\n\nOtis R. Bowen, 95, small-town family doctor who overhauled Indiana's tax system as governor and was the first Indiana governor re-elected since the mid-1800s. He later helped promote safe sex practices in the early years of AIDS as director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Reagan. Cause not given, May 3.\n\nHarry F. Byrd Jr., 98, Democrat-turned-independent U.S. senator who began his career as a staunch segregationist and preached fiscal restraint in Washington long before it became fashionable. His 1970 re-election was only the second time an independent won a U.S. Senate seat. Byrd served 17 years in the U.S. Senate, replacing his powerful father, Harry Flood Byrd, a U.S. senator from 1933-65. Cause not given, July 30.\n\nArgeo Paul Cellucci, 65, governor of Massachusetts from 1997 to 2001 before becoming U.S. ambassador to Canada. Complications from ALS, June 6.\n\nWilliam P. Clark, 81, who rose from campaign volunteer to one of President Ronald Reagan's most trusted advisers. Clark was national security adviser and later Interior secretary. and he was a key player in Reagan's philosophy of \"peace through strength.\" Parkinson's disease, Aug. 10.\n\nTom Foley, 84, Democrat who as House speaker was known for his ability to forge consensus but who lost his seat in Congress in the Republican takeover of 1994. Foley, who served in the House for 30 years, was later U.S. ambassador to Japan. Complications from a stroke, Oct. 18.\n\nJohn J. Gilligan, 92, liberal Democrat who was a former governor of Ohio and U.S. representative. In 1971, he persuaded legislators to create Ohio's first income tax. The move was his most lasting accomplishment and the undoing of his political career. His daughter, Kathleen Sebelius, is the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. No cause given, Aug. 26.\n\nWilliam H. Gray III, 71, who rose to influential positions in Congress and was the first African American to become House majority whip in the 20th century. He authored legislation implementing economic sanctions against South Africa. In 1991, he surprised colleagues by resigning to run the United Negro College Fund, for which a biography on his company website says he raised more than $2.3 billion for minority institutions. In 1994, President Clinton tapped him as a temporary special adviser on Haiti. Sudden illness, July 1.\n\nEd Koch, 88, combative New York mayor who helped rescue the city from near-financial ruin during three terms in which he embodied Big Apple chutzpah. The larger-than-life Koch, who breezed through the city flashing his signature thumbs-up, won a national reputation with his feisty style. He also served four terms in Congress. Cause not given, Feb. 1.\n\nBert Lance, 82, Georgia banker and close ally of former President Carter who served as his first budget director before departing in September 1977 amid a high-profile investigation of his former bank's lending practices. Cause not given, Aug. 15.\n\nFrank Lautenberg, 89, longtime liberal Democratic senator from New Jersey who wrote some of the nation's most sweeping health and safety laws. He was the oldest U.S. senator at the time of his death. Pneumonia, June 3.\n\nWilliam W. Scranton, 96, a progressive Republican and former Pennsylvania governor, presidential candidate and ambassador to the United Nations. Scranton was a progressive Republican from the northeastern Pennsylvania city named after his wealthy family. Scranton also chaired the presidential panel that investigated deaths during campus protests at Kent State University and Jackson State College in 1970. He was elected to Congress in 1960 and was elected as Pennsylvania's 38th governor in 1962. Cerebral hemorrhage, July 28.\n\nE. Clay Shaw Jr., 74, Republican congressman from Florida who was one of the architects of the nation's landmark welfare overhaul in 1996. The revised law added work requirements for welfare recipients and was seen as a bipartisan achievement for President Clinon and the GOP-led Congress. Lung cancer, Sept. 10.\n\nIke Skelton, 81, former Democratic representative from Missouri, he built a reputation as a military expert and social conservative during 34 years in Congress. He chaired the House Armed Services Committee at the time of his 2010 loss to a tea party conservative. Cause not given, Oct. 27.\n\nBarbara Vucanovich, 91, first woman to represent Nevada in Congress and went on to serve the sprawling 2nd Congressional District for 14 years. Among the bills she authored was the repeal of the 55 mph speed limit. Short illness, June 9.\n\n*****\n\nSCIENCE\n\nHarold Agnew, 92, Los Alamos National Laboratory Director, 1970-79, who worked on the Manhattan Project and led the effort to train the first group of international atomic inspectors. He is credited with developing \"fail-safe\" methods for nuclear weapons that are still used today. Lymphocytic leukemia, Sept. 29.\n\nDoug Engelbart, 88, visionary who invented the computer mouse and developed other technological innovations that has transformed the way people work, play and communicate. Kidney failure, July 2.\n\nDonald A. Glaser, 86, who won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1960 for inventing an ingenious device called (when he was just 25 years old) the bubble chamber to trace the paths of subatomic particles. Glaser's chamber generated data that enabled physicists to figure out that most particles of matter, like protons and neutrons, are composed of even smaller particles known as quarks. Cause not given, Feb. 28.\n\nWilliam Glasser, 88, psychiatrist who published more than two dozen books promoting his view that mental health is mostly a matter of choice. His precept found a vast popular audience and influenced teachers, drug counselors and personal therapists. Respiratory failure, Aug. 23.\n\nDonald F. Hornig, who as a young scientist once \"babysat\" the world's first atomic bomb and who later became Brown University president and the top science adviser to President Lyndon B. Johnson. Alzheimer's, Jan. 21.\n\nDavid Hubel, 87, half of an enduring research team that earned a Nobel Prtize for explaining how the brain assembles information from the eye's retina to produce detailed visual images of the world. Dr. Hubel and Dr. Torsten Wiesel showed that the brain behaves like a microprocessor, deconstrs ucting and then reassembles details of an image to create a visual scene. They collaborated for more than two decades, becoming, as they made their discoveries, one of the best-known partnerships in science. Kidney failure, Sept. 21.\n\nThomas E. Hutchinson, 77, University of Virginia engineering professor who invented a device to help disabled people communicate by sending commands to a computer with eye movements. He also created scratch-and-sniff technology by accident. Complications from Dementia, stroke and heart ailments. Sept. 2.\n\nVirginia Johnson, 88, half of the renowned Masters and Johnson research team who oversaw groundbreaking investigations that changed the way human sexuality was perceived. Several illnesses, July 24.\n\nC. Everett Koop, 96, 1980s surgeon general known for frank talk about AIDS and a strong stand against tobacco use. Koop, a pediatric surgeon with a conservative reputation and a distinctive beard, served from 1982 to 1989. Cause not given, Feb. 24.\n\nHilary Koprowski, 96, Polish-born researcher who developed the first successful oral vaccination for polio. Later, as director of The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia he helped from 1957 to 1991. Under his leadership, the develop a rubella vaccine that helped eradicate the disease in much of the world. Long illness, April 11.\n\nGeorge Magovern, 89, Pittsburgh cardiovascular surgeon who pioneered artificial heart valves. Magovern is best known for co-inventing a sutureless heart valve, which was first used in 1962. Cause not given, Nov. 3.\n\nStephen Malawista, 79, infectious-diseases researcher who led orchestrated investgative work that in the mid-1970s led to the discovery of Lyme disease, which begins with the transmission of bacteria through the bite of a black-legged tick. Metastatic melanoma, Sept. 18.\n\nBruce C. Murray, 81, who led the influential Jet Propulsion Laboratory and battled Washington and NASA over money, projects and policy. Alzheimer's, Aug. 29.\n\nRuth Patrick, 105, scientist whose research on freshwater ecosystems led to groundbreaking ways to measure pollution in rivers and streams. Patrick is credited with creating an approach that assesses the health of a lake, stream or river by evaluating the quantity, diversity and health of its plants, insects, fish and other organisms — not solely examining the chemistry of the water itself. Her work made her the recipient of dozens of the top U.S. science awards including the National Medal of Science. Cause not given, Sept. 23.\n\nFrederick Sanger, 95, British biochemist who twice (1958 and 1980)won the Nobel Prize in chemistry and was a pioneer of genome sequencing. Sanger was one of just four individuals to have been awarded two Nobel Prizes; the others being Marie Curie, Linus Pauling and John Bardeen. Sanger first won the Nobel Prize in 1958 at the age of 40 for his work on the structure of proteins. He later turned his attention to the sequencing of nucleic acids and developing techniques to determine the exact sequence of the building blocks in DNA. That work led to His second Nobel Prize, awarded jointly with others in 1980 with Stanford University's Paul Berg and Harvard University's Walter Gilbert, for their work determining base sequences in nucleic acids. In his sleep, Nov. 19.\n\nAlbert D. Wheelon, 84, physicist whose early work on satellites for the CIA in the 1960s helped lay the groundwork for a vast American arsenal of aerial spying machines. Cancer, Sept. 26.\n\n*****\n\nSPORTS\n\nWalt Bellamy, 74, Basketball Hall of Fame center who was NBA rookie of the year in 1962 and averaged 20.1 points and 13.7 rebounds in 14 NBA seasons. The former Indiana University star won an Olympic gold medal in 1960 and was NBA rookie of the year in 1961-62. No cause given, Nov. 2.\n\nSergei Belov, 69, Soviet basketball great who scored 20 points as his team beat the United States in the epic 1972 Olympic final in Munich. He was widely considered one of the best non-American players of his generation. No cause given, Oct. 2.\n\nJerry Buss, 80, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. He bought the team in 1979 and turned it into the NBA's glamour franchise, winners of 10 championships, by spending heavily for marquee players. He also owned the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and the Forum sports arena. Cancer, Feb. 18.\n\nTodd Christensen, 57, former Raiders tight end and five-time Pro Bowl selection. In 1983, he had 92 catches, setting the NFL record at the time for tight ends. He broke that record three seasons later with 95 catches. Complications during liver transplant surgery, Nov. 12.\n\nLavonne \"Pepper\" Paire Davis, 88, star of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940s and an inspiration for the central character played by Geena Davis in the movie A League of Their Own. Natural causes, Feb. 2.\n\nJoe Dean, 83, former LSU basketball star who was inducted into the National collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and later was LSU's athletic director for 14 years. As an analyst from 1969 to 1987 on SEC basketball broadcasts he coined the phrase \"string music, to describe the sound of a basketball swishing through the net. Cause not given, Nov. 16.\n\nPaul Dietzel, 89, football coach who led the LSU Tigers to their first football national championship, in 1958. He left to coach Army and South Carolina before returning as LSU athletics director from 1978-82. Brief illness, Sept. 24.\n\nRay Grebey, 85, who led Major League Baseball labor negotiations during the tumultuous 50-day strike that split the 1981 season. Stomach cancer, Aug. 28.\n\nL.C. Greenwood, 67, former Steelers defensive end from 1969-81 and a member of the famed 1970s Steel Curtain defense. He earned four Super Bowl rings and was selected to the Pro Bowl six times. Kidney failure, Sept. 28.\n\nEmile Griffith, 75, elegant boxer with a quick jab whose brilliant career was overshadowed by the fatal beating he gave Benny \"The Kid\" Paret in a televised 1962 welterweight title bout after Paret mocked him. The outcome darkened the world of boxing, even prompted some TV stations to stop showing live fights. Pugilistic dementia, July 23.\n\nArt Donovan, 89, NFL lineman for the Baltimore Colts whose hilarious stories about his football career kept him popular long after his retirement and his 1968 election to the Hall of Fame. Cause not given, Aug. 4.\n\nDon James, 80, former University of Washington football coach who led the Huskies to a perfect season and a share of the national championship in 1991. He left in 1993 to protest what he felt were unfair sanctions levied against the team by the Pacific-10 conference. Pancreatic cancer, Oct. 20.\n\nDick Kazmaier, 82, Princeton halfback who was the last Ivy League player to win the Heisman Trophy, in 1951. He rejected a career in the NFL, saying he could make more money in business. He was chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Heart and lung disease, Aug. 1.\n\nBob Kurland, 88, Hall of Fame basketball big man who led Oklahoma A&M to consecutive NCAA championships in the 1940s, then starred for two gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic teams. Kurland is credited with giving national exposure to the slam dunk and also was a chief target of the goaltending rule adopted in 1944 and still in effect. Cause not given, Sept. 29.\n\nDon Meineke, 82,University of Dayton basketball hero and the first NBA rookie of the year, in 1953. Long illness, Sept. 3.\n\nCaleb Moore, 25, snowmobile freestyler injured when his 450-pound machine landed on him during the Winter X Games competition in Aspen. Brain injury, Jan. 31.\n\nStan Musial, 92, one of baseball's greatest hitters and a Hall of Famer with the St. Louis Cardinals for more than two decades. Stan the Man won seven National League batting titles, was a three-time MVP and helped the Cardinals capture three World Series championships in the 1940s. He retired in 1963 with a then-National League record 3,630 hits, a .331 average and 475 home runs. Cause not given, Jan. 19.\n\nKen Norton, 70, heavyweight champion who in 1973 beat Muhammad Ali and broke his jaw but three years later lost a rematch to Ali at Yankee Stadium in a controversial decision. He was the only heavyweight champion never to win the title in the ring. Cause not given, Sept. 18.\n\nAndy Pafko, 92, four-time All-Star who played on the last Chicago Cubs team to reach the World Series, in 1945, and was the famously forlorn outfielder who watched Bobby Thomson's \"Shot Heard 'Round the World\" sail over the left-field wall during the 1951 National League playoff. Alzheimer's disease, Oct. 8.\n\nAce Parker, 101, star running back in the NFL who was the oldest living member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the time of his death. He could do just about everything on a football field in the days of leather helmets and the single wing formation. Cause not given, Nov. 5.\n\nBum Phillips, 90, folksy Texas football icon who coached the Houston Oilers during their Luv Ya Blue heyday and later led the New Orleans Saints. Cause not given, Oct. 18.\n\nOscar \"Ossie\" Schectman, 94, former New York Knicks guard who scored on a layup for the first basket in NBA history in 1946. Respiratory failure, July 30.\n\nGeorge Scott, 69, massive first baseman for the Boston Red Sox and others. Known as Boomer for his slugging prowess, he also had defensive skills, collecting eight Gold Glove awards during 14 Major League seasons. Cause not given, July 28.\n\nBill Sharman, 87, Hall of Famer who won four NBA titles as a player for the Celtics and then another as a coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972. He was widely considered one of the greatest outside shooters of his era and is still ranked as one of the NBA's best free-throw shooters. Cause not given, Oct. 25.\n\nTommy Smith, 75, jockey who guided the bay thoroughbred Jay Trump to victory in the British Grand National in 1965, the first time an American horse and rider won the prestigious steeplechase. Complications from a fall from a horse in 2001, March 5.\n\nJames Street, 65, former University of Texas quarterback who ran the Wishbone offense to a 1969 national championship with a crucial 15-14 win over Arkansas in a matchup billed as the \"Game of the Century.\" Cause not given, Sept. 30.\n\nPat Summerall, 82, NFL kicker-turned-play-by-play broadcaster who was a regular on NFL telecasts for CBS and Fox from the 1960s into the 2000s. Cardiac arrest, April 16.\n\nBert Trautmann, 89, former German WWII prisoner of war who became one of the greatest Manchester City goalkeepers of all time. He cemented his legendary status when he continued to play during the 1956 FA Cup final despite breaking his neck in a challenge with a Birmingham City striker. Cause not given, July 19.\n\nKen Venturi, 82, who overcame dehydration to win the 1964 U.S. Open and spent 35 years in the booth analyzing golf for CBS Sports. He rallied over the final 36 holes, played in one day in stifling heat, to win the 1964 U.S. Open. He overcame a severe stutter as a youth to become a familiar voice to millions watching golf tournaments. Intestinal infection, May 17.\n\nEarl Weaver, 82, notoriously fiery Hall of Fame manager of the Baltimore Orioles, whom he guided to five 100-win seasons and , six AL East titles and four AL pennants, winning the World Series in 1970. His .583 winning percentage ranks fifth among managers who served 10 or more seasons in the 20th century. Apparent heart attack, Jan. 19.\n\nMichael Weiner, 51, plain-speaking, labor lawyer who became head of the powerful baseball players' union four years ago in 2009 and smoothed its perennially contentious relationship with management. Brain tumor, Nov. 20.\n\n*****\n\nWORLD\n\nHugo Chávez, 58, Venezuelan president for 14 years and socialist leader who assailed U.S. influence in Latin America in his campaign against capitalism and democratic freedoms. Chávez dismantled Venezuela's democratic political system, rewrote the constitution in his favor, clamped down on freedom of expression and tried to spread his version of socialism. Cancer, March 4.\n\nGlafcos Clerides, 94, former president of Cyprus who guided his nation into European Union membership and dedicated most of his 50 years in politics to trying to reunify the ethnically split island. Cause not given, Nov. 14.\n\nVo Nguyen Giap, 102, relentless and charismatic North Vietnamese general who fought Japanese occupiers and whose campaigns drove both France and the United States out of Vietnam. In later years he supported economic reform and closer relations with the United States Cause not given, Oct. 4.\n\nDavid Hartman, 81, rabbi who was one of the world's leading Jewish philosophers and who promoted both Jewish pluralism and interfaith dialogue. He is praised for having developed a unique Jewish philosophy which positioned man at the center of Judaism, opening the door to a more tolerant approach that took personal choice and experience into greater account. Hartman's line of thought placing man in a dialogue with God, rather than as an obedient, unquestioning worshipper. He promoted thoughtful criticism and interpretation of Jewish texts and laws Long illness, Feb. 10.\n\nMikhail T. Kalashnikov, 94, arms designer credited by the Soviet Union with creating the AK-47, one of the the most abundant firearms ever made. The weapons were known for their reliability and were recognizable by their curved magazines. Cause not given, Dec. 23\n\nNelson Mandela, 95, whose struggle against apartheid, South Africa's former system of racial segregation and discrimination, made him a global symbol for human rights and earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. Natural causes, Dec. 5.\n\nTadeusz Mazowiecki, 86, pro-democracy writer and an intellectual who became a moving force in Poland in 1980 by joining ranks with striking workers at the Gdansk shipyard who founded the Solidarity movement. In 1989 he became Poland's first post-communist prime minister. Cause not given, Oct. 27.\n\nRochus Misch, 96, German SS sergeant who was Adolf Hitler's devoted bodyguard for most of World War II and the last remaining witness to the Nazi leader's final hours in his Berlin bunker. Cause not given, Sept. 5.\n\nOttavio Missoni, 92, patriarch of the Missoni fashion house, whose iconic zigzag-patterned knitwear helped popularize Italian ready-to-wear fashions and turn Milan into a fashion mecca. No cause given, May 9.\n\nBruce Reynolds, 81, and Ronnie Biggs, 84, criminals renowned for their roles in chief architect of one of 20th-century one of Britain's most notorious crimes, the caper known as the Great Train Robbery in 1963. No cause given for either. Reynolds, chief architect of the robbery, died Feb. 28. Biggs, who broke out of prison and lived in Brazil for decades before giving himself up in 2001, died Dec. 18.\n\nManfred Rommel, 84, mayor of Stuttgart, Germany, from 1975-996 and only son of Germany's most famous World War II military commander, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the \"Desert Fox.\" Cause not given, Nov. 6.\n\nMargaret Thatcher, 87, \"Iron Lady\" of British politics and the first woman to be prime minister. She restored her country's confidence and pride — but alienated many voters, from coal miners to gay people, with her uncompromising policies. Her achievements ranged from privatization of cumbersome state-run industries to reclaiming the Falkland Islands after Argentina's 1982 invasion. Stroke, April 16.\n\nOvadia Yosef, 93, rabbi who was a religious scholar and spiritual leader of Israel's Sephardic Jews. He transformed his downtrodden community of immigrants from North Africa and Arab nations and their descendants into a powerful force in Israeli politicsthrough the Shas party. Multiple ailments, Oct. 7.\n\nMasao Yoshida, 58, nuclear engineer who earned praise for efforts to contain a nuclear disaster at the the Fukushima Daiichi power plant as multiple reactors spiraled out of control after a 2011 tsunami. He later acknowledged he had underestimated the need for tsunami protection walls for the facility. Cancer, July 9.\n\nZhuang Zedong, 72, three-time world champion in table tennis he became a key figure in 1971's groundbreaking \"pingpong diplomacy\" between China and the U.S. by presenting a gift to a U.S. player at the world championships. Cancer, Feb. 10.\n\n*****\n\nENTERTAINMENT\n\nConrad Bain, 89, stage and film actor who became a TV star in middle age as the kindly white adoptive father of two young African-American brothers in the 1970s sitcom Diff'rent Strokes. He also had a role in Maude on CBS from 1972-78. Natural causes, Jan. 14.\n\nKaren Black, 74, actress best known for her roles in film classics such as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces and Nashville. Black appeared in more than 100 films. Her breakthrough came in 1969's Easy Rider, in which she played a prostitute who takes LSD with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda. Cancer, Aug. 8.\n\nEileen Brennan, 80, who went from musical comedy on Broadway to memorable characters in such films as Private Benjamin and Clue. Bladder cancer, July 28.\n\nRichard Briers, 79, British actor who who was an avuncular comic presence on TV and movie screens for decades on such shows as The Good Life and Monarch of the Glen. Briers starred in the 1970s sitcom \"The Good Life\" as Tom Good, a man who decides to quit the urban rat race for a life of self-sufficiency in suburbia. Emphysema, Feb. 17.\n\nRoger Ebert, 70, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967 who teamed up on television with Gene Siskel, and later Richard Roeper, to create a must-see format for criticism with its trademark thumbs up or down reviews. \"I'll see you at the movies,\" was his familiar signoff. Cancer, April 4.\n\nDennis Farina, 69, a former Chicago cop-turned-character actor who was often cast as either a cop or a hood in a long career on TV and in films. Blood clot, July 22.\n\nJoan Fontaine, 96, Academy Award-winning actress who found stardom playing naive wives in Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion and Rebecca. She also was featured in films by Billy Wilder, Fritz Lang and Nicholas Ray. She was the sister of fellow Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland. In her sleep, Dec. 15.\n\nBryan Forbes, 86, British film director whose work includes the original 1970s horror classic The Stepford Wives. Cause not given, May 8.\n\nBonnie Franklin, 69, redheaded actress known whom millions came to identify with for her role as divorced mom Ann Romano on the long-running sitcom One Day at a Time. On stage, Franklin was in the original Broadway production of Applause, for which she received a 1970 Tony Award nomination. Pancreatic cancer, March 1.\n\nStuart Freeborn, 98, pioneering movie makeup artist behind creatures such as Yoda and Chewbacca in the Star Wars films. Freeborn's six-decade career led him to work on many classics, including Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Multiple ailments, Feb. 5.\n\nAnnette Funicello, child star who was a cute-as-a-button Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s. She teamed up with Frankie Avalon during the '60s in a string of fun-in-the-sun movies such as Beach Blanket Bingo and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini. She endeared herself to baby boomers again when she announced in 1992 that she had multiple sclerosis and began grappling with the effects with remarkably good cheer and faith. Multiple sclerosis, April 14.\n\nJames Gandolfini, 51, beefy, balding actor who personified the Mafia for millions as New Jersey family patriarch Tony Soprano in HBO's acclaimed \"The Sopranos.\" He won three Emmy Awards for his performance. He also had dozens of film roles, including as CIA Director Leon Panetta in last year's \"Zero Dark Thirty.\" Heart attack, June 19.\n\nAlexei German, 74, Russian film director best known for his works, such as My Friend Ivan Lapshin, offering a bitter view of life in the Soviet Union under dictator Josef Stalin. German came to prominence internationally for his 1983 production \"My Friend Ivan Lapshin\" about a police investigator battling a criminal gang. Censors blocked the film's release for two years because of its realistic depiction of Soviet life in the wake of the Stalinist terror of the late 1930s.Heart failure, Feb. 21.\n\nRichard Griffiths, 65, one of the great British stage actors of his generation, but for millions of movie fans he was simply grumpy Uncle Vernon from the Harry Potter movies. Griffiths won a Tony Award for The History Boys and appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows. Following heart surgery, March 28.\n\nJulie Harris, 87, one of American theater's most prolific and affecting artists and winner of five Tonys. Harris received the Tony Award for best actress in a play five times and also garnered a special lifetime-achievement Tony in 2005. The deceptively fragile-looking actress was responsible for some of the most celebrated stage performances of the mid- to late 20th century and also appeared on screen and TV. Congestive heart failure, Aug. 24.\n\nRay Harryhausen, 92, Hollywood special-effects pioneer known for combining stop-motion model animation with live actors in such films as Jason and the Argonauts. He invented the sword-wielding skeletons of Jason and the Argonauts, the great ape of Mighty Joe Young and the dinosaurs opposite Raquel Welch in One Million Years B.C. Cause not given, May 7.\n\nJane Kean, 90, diverse performer who got her start in musical theater but was best known for playing Trixie alongside Jackie Gleason on a television revival of The Honeymooners in the 1960s. Hemorrhagic stroke, Nov. 26.\n\nSaul Landau, 77, prolific, award-winning documentary filmmaker who traveled the world profiling political leaders like Cuba's Fidel Castro and Chile's Salvador Allende. In his more than 40 films he used his camera to draw attention to war, poverty and racism. Bladder cancer, Sept. 9.\n\nTom Laughlin, 82, actor-writer-director known for his production and marketing of the counterculture favorite, Billy Jack. The film was released in 1971 after a long struggle by Laughlin to gain control of the low-budget, self-financed movie, a model for guerrilla filmmaking. Pneumonia, Dec. 12.\n\nA. C. Lyles, 95, who rose from the mailroom to producer at Paramount Pictures and created a string of profitable low-budget westerns. Cause not given, Sept. 27.\n\nCory Monteith, 31, who played an upbeat and outgoing young student and singing coach on the hit Fox musical comedy series Glee. Drug overdose, July 13.\n\nLou Myers, 76, actor best known for his role as ornery restaurant owner Mr. Gaines on the TV series A Different World. His TV credits included NYPD Blue, E.R. and The Cosby Show. Cause not given, Feb. 19.\n\nPeter O'Toole, 81, best known for playing British officer T.E. Lawrence in 1962's \"Lawrence of Arabia.\" Other roles included Henry II in 1968's \"The Lion in Winter\" and the title role in 1969's \"Goodbye, Mr. Chips.\" An eight-time Academy Award nominee, he got a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2003 and was an unrepentant bad boy to the end. Long illness, Dec. 14.\n\nEleanor Parker, 91, actress who was nominated for Academy Awards three times in the 1950s for her portrayals of strong-willed women and later played a scheming baroness in The Sound of Music. Complications from pneumonia, Dec. 9.\n\nHarry Reems, 65, male star of the 1972 cultural phenomenon Deep Throat, which brought pornography to mainstream audiences. Multiple health issues, March 19.\n\nDale Robertson, 89, Oklahoma native who became a star of movie and television Westerns, such as Death Valley Days, during the genre's heyday and later appeared in night-time soap operas Dallas and Dynasty. Brief illness, Feb. 26.\n\nRichard Sarafian, 83, an influential film director whose 1971 countercultural car-chase thriller Vanishing Point brought him a decades-long cult following. Sarafian worked primarily in television in his early career, directing episodes of 60s shows like \"Gunsmoke,\" ''I Spy,\" and \"77 Sunset Strip.\" Pneumonia, Sept. 18.\n\nToshi Seeger, 91, a driving force and partner in a variety of musical and environmental endeavors with her husband, folk singer Pete Seeger. Seeger credited his wife with figuring out how to turn his artistic concepts into commercial successes. Cause not given, July 9.\n\nMel Smith, 60, actor and writer who was a major force in British comedy growing out of the evening news parody Not the Nine O'Clock News. Heart attack, July 19.\n\nJean Stapleton, 90, stage-trained character actress who played Archie Bunker's far better half, the sweetly naive Edith, in TV's groundbreaking 1970s comedy All in the Family. Natural causes, May 31.\n\nPatsy Swayze, 86, choreographer and dance instructor and the mother of the late actor Patrick Swayze. Her students included Tommy Tune and Debbie Allen. No cause given, Sept. 16.\n\nGilbert Taylor, 99, influential Star Wars cinematographer who also worked on a number of such landmark films as Dr. Strangelove and A Hard Day's Night, alongside some of the world's most famous directors. Cause not given, Aug. 23.\n\nPetro Vlahos, 96, two-time Academy Award winner whose blue- and green-screen special effects technique in films like Mary Poppins and Ben Hur made modern blockbusters possible. No cause given, Feb. 10.\n\nPaul Walker, 40, star of the Fast & Furious street-racing movie series. Car accident, Nov. 30.\n\nEsther Williams, 91, swimming champion-turned-actress who was the star of glittering aquatic musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Williams became one of Hollywood's biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers in films such as \"Dangerous When Wet\" that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure. In her sleep, June 6.\n\nJonathan Winters, 87, cherubic-faced comic known for his breakneck improvisations and misfit characters. He was a pioneer of improvisational standup, using facial contortions and sound effects to carry his jokes. Natural causes, April 11.\n\nLee Thompson Young, 29, who began his acting career as the teenage star of the Disney Channel's The Famous Jett Jackson and was featured in the film Friday Night Lights. Self-inflicted gunshot, Aug. 19.\n\n*****\n\nLITERATURE\n\nGary Brandner, 83, novelist whose trilogy ''The Howling'' delighted werewolf enthusiasts and inspired a popular film series of the same name. Esophageal cancer, Sept. 22.\n\nA.C. Crispin, 63, science fiction author who wrote more than 20 popular tie-in novels to Star Trek and Star Wars. and helped run the online watchdog Writer Beware that alerted authors to literary scams. Cancer, Sept. 6.\n\nJoseph Frank, 94, whose magisterial, five-volume life of Fyodor Dostoevsky was frequently cited among the greatest of 20th-century literary biographies. Pulmonary failure, Feb. 27.\n\nSeamus Heaney, 74, who in 1995 became Ireland's first Nobel Prize-winning poet since William Butler Yeats in 1923. Short illness, Aug. 30.\n\nChristopher J. Koch, 81, Australian author whose 1978 novel The Year of Living Dangerously was the basis of the atmospheric, award-winning film about intrigue in Indonesia. Cancer, Sept. 23.\n\nElmore Leonard, 87, a master of the crime novel who in 2012 became the first crime writer to receive an honorary National Book Award. He churned out more than 40 novels, most reaching best-seller status. Complications of a stroke, Aug. 20.\n\nDoris Lessing, 94, Nobel Prize-winning British author who was an often-polarizing figure. She wrote more than 55 works. She was best known for her 1962 novel The Golden Notebook. Age 88 at the time she earned the Nobel, she is the oldest recipient for literature. Cause not given, Nov. 17.\n\nRichard Matheson, 87, prolific science-fiction and fantasy writer whose I Am Legend and The Shrinking Man were turned into films. His 1954 science-fiction vampire novel I Am Legend inspired three different film adaptations. No cause given, June 23.\n\nBarbara Mertz, 85, best-selling mystery writer who wrote dozens of novels under two pen names, Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. the group's top award. Mertz wrote more than 35 mysteries under the name Elizabeth Peters, including her most popular series about a daring Victorian archaeologist named Amelia Peabody. She also wrote 29 suspense novels under the pen name Barbara Michaels. Cause not given, Aug. 8.\n\nEdmund S. Morgan, 97, award-winning historian who illuminated the intellectual world of the Puritans, explored the paradox of freedom and slavery in colonial Virginia and wrote a best-selling biography of Benjamin Franklin. In 2006, the Pulitzer Prize jury awarded him a special citation for his work as a historian over the previous half-century. In 2008, the American Academy of Arts and Letters honored him with a gold medal for lifetime achievement. Cause not given, July 8.\n\nBarbara Park, 66, author of kids' books about grade-schooler Junie B. Jones. Ovarian cancer, Nov. 15.\n\nFrederik Pohl, 93, author of more than 40 novels who over decades gained a reputation as a literate and sophisticated writer of science fiction. His Gateway earned the 1978 Hugo Award for science fiction writing. Respiratory problems, Sept. 2.\n\nAndre Schiffrin, 78, who was expelled from the corporate publishing world after fostering the likes of Art Spiegelman, Jean-Paul Sartre and Studs Terkel. He founded the nonprofit publisher The New Pressafter he was forced out of Pantheon Books in 1990 over the high-brow imprint's slender bottom line. Schiffrin argued that corporate control was incompatible with literature and threatened free expression. Pancreatic cancer, Dec. 1.\n\n*****\n\nMEDIA\n\nAlan Abelson, 87, who spent 57 years as a writer, editor and chief columnist for the financial news publication Barron's. He authored the long-running Up and Down Wall Street column. Heart attack, May 9.\n\nRichard Ben Cramer, 62, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who wrote What It Takes, a 1,047-page account of the 1988 presidential election widely hailed as among the finest books about American politics ever published. Cramer was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for his coverage of the Middle East as a correspondent for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He wrote a best-selling biography of Joe DiMaggio (\"Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life,\" Lung cancer, Jan. 7.\n\nMary J. Corey, 49, first woman to serve as top editor of The Baltimore Sun, in 2010. Corey was named senior vice president and director of content at the Tribune-owned paper in 2010, overseeing all print and digital news operations. Breast cancer, Feb. 26.\n\nJudith Glassman Daniels, 74, first woman to serve as top editor of Life magazine and creator of Savvy, an early magazine for professional women. Daniels served in senior editing positions at The Village Voice, New York magazine, Time Inc. and Conde Nast over a career that spanned 35 years Stomach cancer, Sept. 1.\n\nArthur C. Danto, 89, provocative and influential philosopher and for 25 years an art critic for The Nation magazine. He championed Andy Warhol and other avant-garde artists and upended the study of art history by declaring that the history of art was over. Heart failure, Oct. 24.\n\nDaniel J. Edelman, 92, founder of one of the world's top public relations companies and a pioneer in celebrity endorsements and media tours. The firm he started with two people became a global marketing force with more than 4,500 employees in 66 offices worldwide. Heart failure, Jan. 15.\n\nFrank L. Fouce, 85, dynamic force in Spanish-language entertainment, he turned the Million Dollar Theater in Los Angeles into a prestigious venue for those acts. He was co-founder of the firm Spanish International Communications Corp., which operated the first Spanish-language television stations in the United States that became what is today known as Univision. Lymphoma, Sept. 22.\n\nDavid Frost, 74, British broadcaster best remembered for his post-Watergate interviews with former president Richard Nixon. His career also included stints as a satirist, game show host and political journalist. Heart attack, Aug. 31.\n\nJack Germond, 85, curmudgeonly chronicler of American politics for a half-century. Germond was a regular panelist on The McLaughlin Group and a frequent commentator on Meet the Press. Germond was renowned for his no-nonsense manner and his cultivation of political sources around the country. Once the Washington Bureau chief for Gannett newspapers, he moved to the Washington Star, where he started a syndicated column with Jules Witcover. After the Star folded, they went to the Baltimore Evening Sun. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Aug. 14.\n\nBob Gilka, 96, director of photography at National Geographic from 1963 to 1985. He helped establish the publication as one of the premier outlets for photojournalism. He was the magazine's director of photography from 1963 to 1985. Complications from pneumonia, June 25.\n\nSteve Jones, 57, longtime music critic for USA TODAY, who displayed an impressive mental warehouse of music history, unflappable cool and a devilish witIn an accessible and entertaining voice, he introduced readers to a staggering variety of artists and trends, shedding light on the cultural and artistic significance of everything from Michael Jackson's tragic odyssey to the Bay Area's youth-culture hyphy craze. Long illness, Aug. 2.\n\nHerb Kaplow, 86, Washington correspondent who brought an authoritative voice to his reporting for NBC News and ABC News for more than four decades. Kaplow's resonant voice and craggy face were familiar to generations of viewers of nightly news broadcasts. Stroke, July 27.\n\nStanley Karnow, 87, award-winning author and journalist who worked on a definitive book and television documentary about the Vietnam War and later won a Pulitzer Prize for a history of the Philippines. Congestive heart failure, Jan. 27.\n\nBalthazar Korab, 86, architect-turned-photographer with a wide-ranging eye whose moody images captured the spirit of midcentury-modern architecture and celebrated its masters.Korab became one of architecture's most eminent photographers during a career that spanned six decades, he produced evocative images of modernist icons, including Saarinen's curvaceous TWA Terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Minoru Yamasaki's World Trade Center Parkinson's disease and a stroke, Jan. 15.\n\nAnthony Lewis, 85, two-time Pulitzer winner whose column in The New York Times championed liberal causes for three decades. His acclaimed 1964 book Gideon's Trumpet told the story of a petty thief whose fight for legal representation led to a landmark Supreme Court decision. Heart and kidney failure, March 25.\n\nStan Lynde, 81, Western cartoonist and author who created the nationally syndicated \"Rick O'Shay\" comic strip. The strip began in 1958 and ran for 20 years with an average daily readership of about 15 million people. In 1979, he launched another comic strip, \"Latigo,\" which ran through 1983. Cancer, Aug. 6.\n\nAllen H. Neuharth, 89, newspaper visionary and former Gannett chairman who founded USA TODAY, helped create a museum dedicated to news and became one of the industry's most influential and sometimes controversial figures. Newsroom smart and board room savvy, Neuharth was audacious, flamboyant and a self-described \"dreamer and schemer.\" He used all those talents, and a dose of Midwest charm and common sense, to help build Gannett into one of America's largest media companies. Injuries from a fall, April 19.\n\nJohn Palmer, 77, longtime NBC News correspondent frequently who moved easily from war zones to the White House and brought a reassuring voice to news seen on segments , particularly on Today and othe shows in much of the 1980s. Pulmonary fibrosis, Aug. 3.\n\nEugene Patterson, 89, Pulitzer Prize-winning editor at the Atlanta Constitution from 1960 to 1968. hand columnist. His columns reminded fellow Southern whites of their complicity in racist violence at the height of the civil rights movement. He was editor of the Atlanta Constitution from 1960 to 1968. Cancer, Jan. 12.\n\nGodfrey Sperling Jr., 97, Washington correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor whose weekly on-the-record breakfasts attracted would-be newsmakers for on the record sessions with reporters in the era before the 24-hour news cycle. Known as Budge, he worked for the Christian Science Monitor from 1946 until his retirement as a senior Washington columnist in 2005. No cause given, Sept. 10.\n\nRichard \"Dick\" Thien, 73, veteran journalist who was chosen by Gannett CEO Al Neuharth in 1981 as one of five prototype editors to develop USA TODAY, the nation's first general-interest national newspaper. The Associated Press named Thien one of the 12 best editors in the country in 1986. Natural causes, Aug. 23.\n\nHelen Thomas, 92, first women to serve as White House bureau chief for a wire service, UPI in 1974. She covered every president from Kennedy to Obama and was known for her dogged persistence and undaunted determination to get to the facts. Her public hostility toward Israel ultimately ended her career following a 2010 videotape of her saying Israel should \"get out of Palestine.\" Cause not given, July 20\n\nLee Thornton, 71, who in 1977 became the first black woman to cover the White House regularly for CBS. She covered the Carter White House, focusing on the first lady, until 1981. She later taught journalism and was an administrator at the University of Maryland. Pancreatic cancer, Sept. 25.\n\nWilliam Watts Biggers, 85, co-creator of the cartoon Underdog, about a meek canine shoeshine boy who turned into a caped superhero to rescue his girlfriend, Sweet Polly Purebred. Underdog debuted on NBC in 1964. Cause not given, Feb. 10.\n\nLew Wood, 84, journalist who marched with Martin Luther King, covered John F. Kennedy's assassination and was the third news anchor for NBC's Today show, in 1975, during a distinguished broadcast career that began with the dawn of television, . Kidney failure, Aug. 21.\n\nPeter Workman, 74, founder of Workman Publishing Co., one of the largest independent publishers of non-fiction trade books and calendars. the firm was known for such best-sellers as What to Expect When You're Expecting, The Silver Palate Cookbook and the boxed Page-A-Day Calendar. Cancer, April 7.\n\n*****\n\nMUSIC\n\nJewel Akens, 79, pop singer who had a 1965 hit with The Birds and the Bees. Complications from surgery, March 1.\n\nPatty Andrews, 94, lead singer and last surviving member of the Andrews Sisters, a sibling trio who lifted the spirits of the troops during World War II. Among their hits were Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Accentuate the Positive. Cause not given, Jan. 30.\n\nSid Bernstein, 95, promoter who in 1964 made The Beatles the first rock group to play Carnegie Hall in New York just as their fame exploded in the U.S. He also booked their concert at New York's Shea Stadium. He also booked such acts as diverse as Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland and the Rolling Stones. He worked with Judy Garland, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles and promoted Dion, Bobby Darin and Chubby Checker. Natural causes, Aug. 21.\n\nLeroy \"Sugarfoot\" Bonner, 69, frontman for the hit-making funk music band the Ohio Players. Known for their brassy dance music, catchy lyrics and flamboyant outfits, the group topped music charts in the 1970s with hits such as Love Rollercoaster and Fire. Cause not given, Jan. 27.\n\nDonald Byrd, 80, jazz musician who was a leading hard-bop trumpeter of the 1950s and later enjoyed commercial success with hit jazz-funk fusion records such as Black Byrd. Byrd was also a pioneer in jazz education. He was the first person to teach jazz at Rutgers University in New Jersey and started the jazz studies department at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Cause not given, Feb. 4.\n\nJJ Cale, 74, singer-songwriter known as the architect of the Tulsa Sound. He penned a series of top hits including After Midnight and Cocaine, both of which were sung by Eric Clapton. Heart attack, July 26.\n\n\"Cowboy\"Jack Clement, 82, producer and songwriter who helped birth rock 'n' roll and push country music into modern times. His death came months after he learned he would be joining the Country Music Hall of Fame. Clement's career included stops in Memphis at Sun Records as an engineer for Sam Phillips, where he discovered Jerry Lee Lewis and recorded greats like Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison. He also came through Nashville, where he was a close collaborator of Johnny Cash, Charley Pride and many of his fellow hall of fame members. As a producer, he helped break through the color barrier in country music through his discovery of Charley Pride. Liver cancer, Aug. 8.\n\nVan Cliburn, 78, pianist who at age 23 and at the height of the Cold War took top prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. That earned him a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan, the first and last time a pianist won such an honor. Bone cancer, Feb. 27.\n\nTom Connors, 77, Canadian country-folk singer Stompin' whose toe-tapping musical spirit made and fierce patriotism established him as one of Canada's biggest cultural icons. He was best known for songs Sudbury Saturday Night, Bud the Spud and especially The Hockey Song, a fan favorite played at NHL arenas around North America. Kidney failure, March 6.\n\nGeorge Duke, 67, Grammy-winning jazz keyboardist and producer who fused genres in a long career whose sound incorporated acoustic jazz, electronic jazz, funk, R&B and soul in a 40-year-plus career. Duke appeared on a number of Frank Zappa albums and played in the Don Ellis Orchestra, Cannonball Adderley's band and with jazz musician Stanley Clarke. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Aug. 5.\n\nTompall Glaser, 79, country music singer, publisher and studio owner best known for his association with the outlaw movement against record labels. Long illness, Aug. 13.\n\nEydie Gormé, 84, popular nightclub and television singer as a solo act and as a team with her husband, Steve Lawrence. Gormé had a huge solo hit in 1963 with Blame It on the Bossa Nova. She sang solos and did duets and comedy skits with Lawrence on a local New York TV show, which became NBC's Tonight Show in 1954, vaulting them to stardom. Cause not given, Aug. 10.\n\nJim Hall, 83, one of the leading jazz guitarists of the modern era, whose subtle technique, lyrical sound and introspective approach strongly influenced younger proteges. In 2004, he became the first of the modern jazz guitarist to be named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, the nation's highest jazz honor. In his sleep, Dec. 10.\n\nOtis \"Damon\" Harris, 62, member of the Motown group The Temptations from 1971 to 1975. He sang on hits including Papa Was a Rollin' Stone. Prostate cancer, Feb. 18.\n\nRichie Havens, 72, folk singer who set the tone for the 1969 Woodstock festival with his distinctively rhythmic improvised song Freedom. His big radio hit came with a 1971 remake of The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun. Heart attack, April 21.\n\nGeorge Jones, 81, Country Music Hall of Famer who was a master of sad country ballads, chief among them his He Stopped Loving Her Today. Bruised by alcohol and drug abuse, which led to a history of no-shows at concerts, he still still was often called the greatest male vocalist in country music history. Cause not given, April 25.\n\nMarilyn King, 82, who spent decades singing with the King Sisters and also worked as a songwriter and actress. King began her singing career at 13, eventually joining her sisters' quartet, which released more than 150 albums in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Cancer, 82.\n\nYusef Lateef, 93, Grammy-winning musician and composer who was one of the first to incorporate world music into traditional jazz. He introduced different types of flutes and other woodwind instruments from many countries into his music and is credited with playing world music before it was officially named. Cause not given, Dec. 23.\n\nAlvin Lee, 68, British rock guitarist and founder of the band Ten Years After who burst to stardom with a memorable Woodstock performance. His electrifying solos on his Gibson guitar for the 11-minute performance of I'm Going Home were immortalized in the documentary film about the festival. Complications from surgery, March 6.\n\nMindy McCready, 37, country singer better known for her personal troubles than her string of late-'90s hits. Self-inflicted gunshot, Feb. 17.\n\nMarian McPartland, 95, U.K.-born jazz pianist who was host of the National Public Radio program Piano Jazz. McPartland recorded more than 50 albums for the Concord Jazz label and played in venues across the U.SIn 2007, the Kennedy Center named McPartland a Living Jazz Legend. Natural causes, Aug. 20.\n\nShadow Morton, 71, 1960s pop-song writer and producer whose biggest hits, including Leader of the Pack and \"Remember (Walking in the Sand),\" , has, were made popular by The Shangri-Las. Cancer, Feb. 14.\n\nAlan Myers, 58, drummer from 1976-85 of the band Devo, best known for the 1980 song Whip It. Brain cancer, June 24.\n\nPatti Page, 85, known as The Singin' Rage, she was a multimillion-selling purveyor of wholesome pop hits such as (How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window? and With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming. and Her Tennessee Waltz is among the best-selling tracks in recorded music. Cause not given, Jan. 1.\n\nReg Presley, 71, lead singer for the Troggs on their rock classic Wild Thing. Lung cancer, Feb. 4.\n\nRay Price, 87, legendary country music singer and bandleader with over 100 hits, including For the Good Times. Best known for his version of the Kris Kristofferson song For the Good Times, a pop hit in 1970, the velvet-voiced Price was a giant among traditional country performers in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Pancreatic cancer, Dec. 16.\n\nPhil Ramone, 79, engineer, arranger and producer who earned 14 Grammys and was awarded another for lifetime achievement. A pioneer of digital recording, he produced what is regarded as the first major commercial release on compact disc, Billy Joel's 52nd Street in 1982. Complications from heart surgery, March 30.\n\nLou Reed, 71, hugely influential songwriter and guitarist who helped shape nearly 50 years of rock music. With the Velvet Underground in the late 1960s, Reed fused street-level urgency with elements of European avant-garde music. As a solo artist from the 1970s into the 2010s, he was as unpredictable as he was influential. Cause not given, Oct. 27.\n\nBobby Rogers, 73, a founding member of the Motown group The Miracles and a collaborator with Smokey Robinson. He performed on such songs as The Tears of a Clown. Long illness, March 3.\n\nMagic Slim, 75, singer and guitarist acclaimed as a keeper of the flame of electrified Chicago blues. No cause given, Feb. 21.\n\nCleotha Staples, 78, whose smooth and velvety voice helped set apart the sound of the influential and best-selling gospel group The Staple Singers. Known as Cleedi, she was the eldest member of the group founded by her father and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Alzheimer's, Feb. 21.\n\nRise Stevens, 99, mezzo-soprano opera star who sang with the Metropolitan Opera for more than 20 years in the 1940s and 1950s. Among her greatest roles was the title character in the opera Carmen which she sang for 124 performances. Cause not given, March 20.\n\nPaul Tanner, 95, trombonist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra from 1938 to 1942 who later played an instrument he developed, the Tannerin, on the Beach Boys hit Good Vibrations. He helped develop the electro-theramin, a keyboard-style electronic instrument which he played on the Beach Boys hit. Pneumonia, Feb. 5.\n\nJohn Tavener, 69, British composer whose career was boosted in 1968 with the help of The Beatles' Apple records label and who is remembered for the \"Song for Athene\" — reworked as \"Songs of Angels\" — performed as Princess Diana's coffin was carried out of Westminster Abbey. His wistful, elegant setting of William Blake's poem \"The Lamb\" (1982) became a staple of Christmas carol services. Cause not given, Nov. 11.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2013/12/26"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_18", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/02/15/opioid-and-fentanyl-overdose-reversal-drug-narcan-gets-fda/11267058002/", "title": "Narcan should be made available over the counter, FDA experts say", "text": "A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee today endorsed over-the-counter sales of the overdose reversal drug Narcan.\n\nThe recommendation would make the nasal spray used to counteract fentanyl and opioid overdoses more accessible to consumers who could buy the medication at stores without a prescription or pharmacist's recommendation. The FDA usually follows its advisory committee's recommendation but is not obligated to do so. The federal agency is expected to decide by March 29.\n\nWhy is retail Narcan important?\n\nAll states have standing orders that allow a person to get naloxone from a pharmacist without a doctor’s prescription, but consumers must approach a pharmacist and ask for the medication before purchasing.\n\nDr. Bobby Mukkamala, chair of the American Medical Association's substance use and pain care task force, said a retail version of the drug would make it easier for people to access.\n\n“Making naloxone over the counter is a safe and vital step to ending the nation’s overdose epidemic,\" Mukkamala said. “Individuals should be able to pick up a package of naloxone without having to face the potential stigma or shame of having to ask for this life-saving medication.\"\n\nWhen will the drug be available for purchase?\n\nEmergent Biosolutions has not said how soon the drug might be available or how much it will cost if the FDA approves retail sales.\n\nNarcan and its generic version, naloxone, is widely distributed by community organizations that seek to slow the nation's spiraling overdose epidemic. Community health departments, schools, police and fire departments often carry the drug.\n\nMore:More than 107,000 Americans died from overdoses last year. This drug is behind most deaths.\n\nEarlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated 106,840 overdose deaths over the 12-month period ending in September 2022. Most of these deaths are caused by illicitly manufactured fentanyl as well as street drugs methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.\n\nDr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, on Wednesday cited the use of naloxone as one factor that helped slow the number of overdose deaths. He said the drug was used by emergency medical service personnel on more than 393,000 calls over the 12-month period ending in September 2022\n\nKen Alltucker is on Twitter at @kalltucker, or can be emailed at alltuck@usatoday.com", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/15"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/11/health/fda-postpones-covid-19-kid-vaccine-meeting/index.html", "title": "Covid-19 vaccine authorization for younger children delayed as FDA ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nParents will have to keep waiting to find out when their youngest children can get a Covid-19 vaccine.\n\nPfizer and BioNTech filed a request with the US Food and Drug Administration in the first week of February for an emergency use authorization of their vaccine in children 6 months to 5 years old. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee was scheduled to meet February 15 to go over data from vaccine trials and make a recommendation on whether a two-dose vaccine regimen should be authorized.\n\nBut the FDA announced Friday that it had postponed the meeting because “new data have recently emerged.”\n\nThe data supported the safety of the vaccines but showed disappointing effectiveness, the Washington Post reported Friday.\n\nThe agency needs to see data from an ongoing trial of a third vaccine dose in these younger children in order to move forward with emergency use authorization, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said during a news briefing.\n\nPfizer and BioNTech said Friday that they expect to have data on three doses available in early April.\n\nInformation came in “so rapidly” during the Omicron wave “that at this time, it makes sense for us to wait until we have the data from the evaluation of a third dose before taking action,” Marks said.\n\n“The data that we saw made us realize that we needed to see data from a third dose as in the ongoing trial in order to make the determination that we could proceed with doing an authorization.”\n\nThe delay is a sharp change of pace.\n\nThere are about 18 million children ages 6 months through 4 years in the United States who would be eligible for the vaccine. Jeff Zients, the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator, said Wednesday that planning was well underway to roll out vaccines, needles and syringes as soon as the FDA made an authorization decision. A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention planning document posted online had said deliveries could begin as soon as February 21.\n\nWinding path to authorization\n\nIn December, Pfizer said that the vaccine appeared to protect the youngest children – infants and toddlers up to 2 – at the same levels seen in teens and young adults, slashing symptoms in 90% of kids who got the shot. However, the 3-microgram dose did not produce the same immune response in 2- to 5-year-olds.\n\nThe dose for infants and young children is about one-third of the dose given to children age 5 to 11 and a tenth the size of the dose given to people 12 and older.\n\nAt the time, the company decided to expand its trial to include a third dose, rather than the two doses older children and adults receive in a primary vaccine series.\n\nBut high rates of infection and illness among children from the Omicron variant have allowed the company to quickly accumulate trial data. At the start of February, while it continued to investigate a third dose, the company said it had decided to submit for authorization of the two-dose vaccine “with pediatric Covid-19 cases surpassing 10 million and at the request of the FDA.”\n\nIn a news release Friday, Pfizer said it continues to share data from its child vaccine trial with the FDA.\n\n“Given that the study is advancing at a rapid pace, the companies will wait for the three-dose data as Pfizer and BioNTech continue to believe it may provide a higher level of protection in this age group,” Pfizer’s news release said. “This is also supported by recent observations of three dose booster data in several other age groups that seems to meaningfully augment neutralizing antibody levels and real world vaccine protection for omicron compared to the two-dose regimen.”\n\nPfizer said the study’s independent data monitoring committee supports the continuation of the trial. It believes that the data collected indicates that the vaccine is well-tolerated and supports a potential three-dose regimen.\n\nAfter the FDA postponed the meeting of its vaccine advisers, Marks said it’s important for the agency to stay nimble in the face of a quickly pandemic.\n\n“What we’re dealing with is taking the approach that we very much should take as a public health agency, which is to constantly take in the data that come to us and adjust to that,” Marks said. “So what we’re doing now is adjusting to this, and yes, some of this was late-breaking, but that’s what our job is, it’s to adjust to it.”\n\nDr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA vaccine committee, said he is glad things played out this way.\n\nIf the committee had met on Tuesday and voted no, “that would have sent the message to the general public that something’s wrong with this vaccine. And then [if] we come back a few months later and vote yes, people may still be suspicious or less likely to take the vaccine up,” he said.\n\n“My word to parents who have young children is that this is not a ‘no’; it’s a ‘not yet,’ ” he added.\n\nDr. William Schaffner, professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said that with cases and hospitalizations going down across the country, there is a little more breathing room to look at the data and determine the right vaccine schedule up-front.\n\n“Let’s take a step back and take a deep breath. When we recommend ‘should we do vaccines for all children aged 6 months to 4 years of age,’ we want to be able to communicate to the parents exactly what they can expect regarding effectiveness and safety,” said Schaffner, a vaccine advisers to the CDC. “If that takes us a few more days to secure those data, analyze them, think about them and then present them, let’s take a few more days, because we want to be able to do this in the best possible way we can.”\n\nFDA says it will move as fast as it can\n\nThe Covid-19 case load among children has been “extremely high” during the Omicron surge, the American Academy of Pediatrics says. There have been over 7 million child cases reported since September, and more than half of them have come this year.\n\nChildren have a lower risk of serious outcomes from a Covid-19 infection compared with elderly or immunocompromised adults. But about 1% of children who catch Covid-19 will be hospitalized. Infections can also lead to long-term consequences in children as they do in adults, increasing the risk for diabetes, autoimmune disease and a delayed reaction to infection called multisystem inflammatory syndrome, which requires hospital care.\n\nDr. Helen Talbot, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt, called the decision to delay the meeting “heart-wrenching.”\n\n“I think as a scientist, they’re going to have more data sooner than they thought and that we’ll get to see and analyze and really get to delve into the data that’s coming,” said Talbot, who is a vaccine adviser to the CDC. “But I can imagine parents with kids less than 5 years of age are just so frustrated, and they’re just so ready to have their kids vaccinated.”\n\nMarks said he understands that parents are eager to get protection for their young children, and the agency is “absolutely committed to moving as rapidly as we can once we have a submission.”\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“We take our responsibility for reviewing these vaccines very seriously because we’re parents as well, and in looking over the data, I think parents can feel reassured that we have set a standard by which we feel that if something does not meet that standard, we can’t proceed forward.”\n\nWhile the additional data are gathered, that means “parents will have to rely on what they’ve come to do well, which is they’re using masking procedures, and they’re making sure that they’re vaccinated and taking those types of precautions with their youngest children,” Marks said. “We will do our part, obviously, to move as fast as we can when we have the data, but for now, we’ll have to ask parents to help to continue to do what they’ve been doing.”", "authors": ["Jen Christensen Brenda Goodman Jamie Gumbrecht", "Jen Christensen", "Brenda Goodman", "Jamie Gumbrecht"], "publish_date": "2022/02/11"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/15/health/fda-covid-vaccine-youngest-children-vrbpac-vote/index.html", "title": "FDA advisers vote in favor of authorizing Covid-19 vaccines for ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nVaccine advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Wednesday in favor of expanding the emergency use authorizations for the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines to include children as young as 6 months.\n\nAll 21 members of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted “yes” in response to the question: “Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine when administered as a 2-dose series (25 micrograms each dose) outweigh its risks for use in infants and children 6 months through 5 years of age?”\n\nAnd all the committee members voted yes in response to the question: “Based on the totality of scientific evidence available, do the benefits of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine when administered as a 3-dose series (3 micrograms each dose) outweigh its risks for use in infants and children 6 months through 4 years of age?”\n\nThe FDA, which typically follows the committee’s decisions, will now decide whether to authorize the vaccines for emergency use in the youngest children.\n\nHowever, shots can’t be given until the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s own vaccine advisers have voted on whether to recommend them and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has signed off on the recommendation.\n\nThe CDC’s vaccine advisers are expected to vote Saturday. The White House has said shots could begin as early as next week.\n\nChildren younger than 5 are the only age group not currently eligible to be vaccinated against Covid-19. About 17 million kids will become eligible for Covid-19 vaccines once they’re authorized for this age group.\n\n“To be able to vote for authorization of two vaccines that will protect children down to 6 months of age against this deadly disease is a very important thing,” said committee member Dr. Archana Chatterjee, dean of the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University.\n\nShe compared the day to December 2020, when the first Covid-19 vaccines were authorized for adults and older teens.\n\n‘Benefits seem to clearly outweigh the risks’\n\n“The benefits seem to clearly outweigh the risks, particularly for those with young children who may be in kindergarten or in collective child care,” committee member Oveta Fuller, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School, said of the Moderna vaccine.\n\nCommittee member Dr. Art Reingold added that even though the risk of Covid-19 hospitalization and death is lower for young children than for adults, children already get vaccinations to protect them against diseases for which their risk is low.\n\n“If we have a vaccine with benefits that outweigh the risks, then making it available to people is a reasonable choice,” said Reingold, of the University of California, Berkeley.\n\n“I would point out that we as a country continue to give a large number of vaccines to children where the risk of the child dying or being hospitalized of those diseases are pretty close to zero,” he said, such as polio and measles.\n\nThe number of Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths in children is concerning and much higher when compared with influenza-related deaths and hospitalizations, FDA official Dr. Peter Marks said at Wednesday’s meeting.\n\n“There still was, during the Omicron wave, a relatively high rate of hospitalization during this period,” said Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “That rate of hospitalization actually is quite troubling, and if we compare this to what we see in a terrible influenza season, it is worse.”\n\nMarks said the number of deaths for children 4 and under during the first two years of the pandemic “also compares quite terribly to what we’ve seen with influenza in the past.”\n\n“We are dealing with an issue where I think we have to be careful that we don’t become numb to the number of pediatric deaths because of the overwhelming number of older deaths here. Every life is important,” he said, adding that “vaccine-preventable deaths are ones we would like to try to do something about.”\n\nMarks said the Covid-19 vaccines are an intervention similar to the influenza vaccine, which has been broadly and routinely used and accepted to prevent deaths.\n\nModerna vaccine ‘well-tolerated’ in youngest children\n\nThe Moderna vaccine is already authorized for adults. In a meeting Tuesday, the FDA’s advisers voted unanimously in favor of expanding the emergency use authorization to include older children and teens, ages 6 to 17, saying it would also offer more benefits than risks.\n\nModerna’s Covid-19 vaccine, when given as a 25-microgram dose, is “well-tolerated” in children ages 6 months to 5, said Dr. Rituparna Das, Moderna’s vice president of Covid-19 vaccines clinical development, during Wednesday’s meeting as she described the safety profile of the vaccine among this age group and adverse reactions.\n\n“Pain was the most common event,” Das said. “Young children’s events included fever, headache, fatigue, myalgia, arthralgia, nausea, vomiting and chills. For infants and toddlers, events included fever, irritability, crying, sleepiness and loss of appetite.”\n\nThese reactions were more common after the second dose of vaccine and resolved within two or three days, Das said, adding that fever was an important assessment of the vaccine’s safety for this age group.\n\nFever after any dose of vaccine happened in about a quarter of the children, but more often after the second dose, and one incident of febrile seizure was considered to be related to vaccination, Das told the committee members. The child who had the seizure remained in the vaccine study and got a second dose of vaccine with no serious events.\n\nNo deaths or cases of myocarditis or pericarditis were reported among vaccine recipients, Das said.\n\n“In summary, mRNA-1273 was well tolerated,” she said, using the technical name of Moderna’s vaccine. “Local and systemic reactions were seen less frequently in these youngest groups.”\n\nConcern over number of doses\n\nVRBPAC member Dr. Paul Offit said in Wednesday’s meeting that children who get the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will have to complete a three-dose series to get sufficient protection.\n\n” ‘Do the benefits outweigh the risks’ is something I can support, but I do have some concerns about this vaccine,” said Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania.\n\nCommittee member Dr. Jeannette Lee of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences also mentioned concern that some children might not complete all three doses and that uptake of the vaccine will be slow.\n\n“Three doses will certainly benefit. I have a lot of concern that many of these kids will not get a third dose,” she said. “My concern is that you have to get the three doses to really get what you need.”\n\nData from a phase 2/3 trial of the Pfizer vaccine included 1,678 children who had received a third dose during the period when the Omicron coronavirus variant dominated. The vaccine appeared to be safe and had a strong immune response. The data has not been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.\n\nAntibody levels tested one month after the third dose showed that the vaccine produced a similar immune response as two doses in 16- to 25-year-olds, the companies said.\n\nIn FDA briefing documents, it was noted that among young children who had received the vaccine in trials, there were no cases of anaphylaxis, myocarditis or pericarditis, and the most common adverse reactions among children 6 months to 23 months were irritability, drowsiness, decreased appetite and tenderness at the injection site. For children 2 to 4 years old, the most common adverse reactions were fatigue and pain and redness at the injection site.\n\nWill these children get vaccinated?\n\nThere is already slow uptake of Covid-19 vaccines among children in the United States.\n\n“Having vaccine options for the youngest children is very important; however, we have seen a relatively low uptake of Covid vaccines in children in the 5- to 12-year-old group, and so my concern is that uptake in the youngest children under 5 years old might also be lower than we would like,” Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, told CNN on Wednesday.\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\nBarouch, who is not a member of the FDA advisory committee, helped develop and study the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.\n\nHe said there were “striking” differences in how many adults are fully vaccinated compared with children and teens.\n\nChildren 5 to 11 were the most recent group to become eligible for vaccination, in November. But just 29% of these children are fully vaccinated with their two-dose primary series in the United States, according to the CDC, compared with about:", "authors": ["Jacqueline Howard"], "publish_date": "2022/06/15"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/21/health/covid-vaccines-under-5-begin/index.html", "title": "Covid-19 vaccinations begin for US children under 5 | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nDr. Sarah Schaffer DeRoo described in one word how she felt after getting her 7-month-old son vaccinated against Covid-19: thrilled.\n\nHer active baby boy sat in her lap at a vaccine clinic hosted by Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, while receiving his first dose of Covid-19 vaccine. The shot was administered in his thigh. He cried for a few seconds but then his attention turned toward a golden retriever that was on site as a comfort dog provided by the hospital.\n\n“I’m feeling really thrilled that we have this opportunity,” DeRoo, a pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, told CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux on Tuesday about her son’s vaccination.\n\nDeRoo added that her family now will feel more comfortable participating in certain activities, knowing that their youngest son has started his Covid-19 vaccine series.\n\n“It will certainly allow us to have more freedom with our personal lives and what we do,” DeRoo said. “And for the baby, we’ll feel like we have cloaked him in as much protection as we can.”\n\nCovid-19 vaccinations for children younger than 5 are beginning Tuesday across the United States, marking a milestone in the nation’s fight against the disease.\n\nLast week, the US Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorizations for Moderna’s vaccine to include children 6 months through 17 years and Pfizer/BioNTech’s for children 6 months through 4 years.\n\nThen on Saturday, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on Covid-19 vaccinations for children under 5, clearing the way for vaccinations to be administered in that age group.\n\nAbout 17 million kids under the age of 5 are now eligible for Covid-19 vaccines.\n\n“This is a big day. We’ve been waiting a long time for children to have access to the vaccine. We now have every age group, 6 months and above, in the country which is now eligible to get protection from the Covid-19 vaccine. And I’ll tell you as a dad of a 4-year-old, this is a big deal for my family as well,” US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on Tuesday morning.\n\nAs of the end of Tuesday, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has delivered approximately 2.7 million doses of vaccine for children under 5 nationwide.\n\n“Another 1 million doses have been shipped and will soon be received by administration sites,” Tim Granholm, an HHS spokesperson, wrote in an email to CNN on Wednesday morning.\n\n“HHS has received orders for approximately 4.2 million doses to date,” Granholm wrote. “We will continue to deliver vaccines expeditiously as we fulfill orders and take new ones. We made 10 million doses of vaccine available for ordering initially, with millions more available soon, so supply should not be a barrier to someone getting their young child vaccinated.”\n\nVaccines given in child-sized doses\n\nUnder the FDA’s authorization, the Moderna vaccine can be given as a two-dose primary series, with doses given four weeks apart, at 25 micrograms each dose, to infants and children 6 months through 5 years of age.\n\nWhile the FDA has authorized Moderna’s vaccine for children ages 6 to 17, the CDC has not yet recommended it for that age group, so those shots can’t be administered yet. The FDA authorization would allow children ages 6 to 11 to receive doses are 50 micrograms each. For those ages 12 and older, it would be administered as 100-microgram doses.\n\nThe Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine now can be given as a three-dose primary series, at 3 micrograms each dose, for use in infants and children 6 months through 4 years. The vaccine is administered as a two-dose primary series at 10 micrograms per dose for children 5 to 11 and at 30 micrograms per dose for adolescents and adults ages 12 and older.\n\nCompleting the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine series is a longer process, as the first two doses are administered three weeks apart, and then the third dose is given eight weeks later.\n\nDr. Jeannette Lee of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, who serves on the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, expressed concern about children not completing all three doses.\n\n“Three doses will certainly benefit. I have a lot of concern that many of these kids will not get a third dose,” Lee said. “My concern is that you have to get the three doses to really get what you need.”\n\nAs for children who might turn from age 4 to 5 at any point while completing their Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine series, the CDC recommends two options. The child could complete the two-dose primary series authorized for children ages 5 to 11, or they could complete the three-dose series for younger kids, but each of doses 2 and 3 may be either the dosage for younger children or ages 5 to 11.\n\nThe FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee determined that the benefits of both vaccines outweigh the risks and noted that the vaccines have been “well-tolerated” among the children who got them in clinical trials.\n\nAccording to clinical trial data, common side effects for both vaccines include pain at the injection site, headache, fever, chills and fatigue. The vaccines appeared to elicit similar immune responses in children as has been seen in adults.\n\nWhere young children can get vaccinated\n\nPediatricians’ offices and pharmacies are the main sites where young children could get vaccinated.\n\n“We know that parents are going to want to get their children vaccinated in pediatricians’ offices. Some people will go to a pharmacy, some people will go to a children’s hospital or some sort of a community health center,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s Covid-19 response coordinator, said Monday on CBS.\n\n“But the bottom line is, I think a majority of parents are going to want to get their child vaccinated in their pediatrician’s office,” Jha said. “So, many pediatricians are going to be offering the vaccine.”\n\nAs for the pharmacy locations offering these child-sized vaccines, CVS and Walgreens have announced plans to provide vaccinations.\n\nCVS will begin administering Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccines to children under five on Tuesday, a communications representative told CNN.\n\n“We will begin administering the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for eligible children 18 months through four years of age at our 1,100 MinuteClinic locations starting on Tuesday,” Matt Blanchette, senior manager of retail communications with CVS Pharmacy, told CNN in an email.\n\n“MinuteClinic is located inside select CVS Pharmacy stores in 35 states and Washington, DC,” Blanchette said. Appointments will be available on a rolling basis according to vaccine supply.\n\nBlanchette said children over 5 will still be able to access Covid-19 vaccines in CVS pharmacies.\n\nOn Saturday, Walgreens announced in a news release that appointments for vaccinations in young children will be available starting June 25. Walgreens will be vaccinating children 3 and older at “select” locations, and appointments can be scheduled online.\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\nHy-Vee pharmacies will have Covid-19 vaccinations available for children under 5 once doses are available, a communications representative told CNN on Monday.\n\n“Hy-Vee anticipates receiving its allocations for the newly approved age groups in the coming days,” Tina Potthoff, senior vice president of communications, wrote in an email.\n\n“As soon as we receive vaccine and our appointment scheduler is open for these age groups, we will post an update on our COVID-19 vaccine landing page, post on our Hy-Vee store Facebook pages, and contact media outlets in our eight-state region to make them aware of our pediatric hubs that are accepting appointments.”\n\nDue to federal regulations, she wrote, Hy-Vee will only be providing vaccinations to children 3 and older.\n\n“Under the PREP Act, retail pharmacies, including Hy-Vee pharmacies, are only authorized to administer vaccines to patients ages 3+,” Potthoff wrote in the email. “Patients younger than age 3 should visit their pediatrician or health care provider to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”", "authors": ["Jacqueline Howard"], "publish_date": "2022/06/21"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/17/health/fda-vaccine-authorization-younger-kids/index.html", "title": "FDA authorizes Covid-19 vaccines for younger children | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines are now authorized for emergency use in young children. The US Food and Drug Administration expanded the authorizations for the vaccines Friday to include children as young as 6 months.\n\nHowever, shots can’t be given until the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisers have voted on whether to recommend them – a vote is scheduled for Saturday – and CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has signed off on that recommendation. The White House has said vaccinations for younger children may begin next week.\n\nModerna’s vaccine is now authorized for use in children 6 months through 17 years and Pfizer/BioNTech’s for children 6 months through 4 years. About 17 million kids under the age of 5 are now are eligible for Covid-19 vaccines.\n\nPfizer's vaccine for children under 5 being manufactured. Pfizer\n\n“Many parents, caregivers and clinicians have been waiting for a vaccine for younger children and this action will help protect those down to 6 months of age. As we have seen with older age groups, we expect that the vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf said in a news release. “Those trusted with the care of children can have confidence in the safety and effectiveness of these COVID-19 vaccines and can be assured that the agency was thorough in its evaluation of the data.”\n\nPreviously, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was authorized for people 5 and older and approved for 16 and up, and Moderna’s vaccine was authorized only for adults.\n\nDr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, called Covid-19 vaccines for younger age groups a “milestone.”\n\n“It is a bit of a milestone to bring down the age range for these vaccines as we work through this,” Marks said Wednesday in a meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.\n\nIn that meeting, the committee members voted unanimously in favor of expanding the authorizations to include children as young as 6 months.\n\n“To be able to vote for authorization of two vaccines that will protect children down to 6 months of age against this deadly disease is a very important thing,” said committee member Dr. Archana Chatterjee, dean of the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University.\n\nShe compared the day to December 2020, when the first Covid-19 vaccines were authorized for adults and older teens.\n\n“I’m really pleased that we’ve reached this kind of milestone,” said committee member Dr. Ofer Levy, of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children’s Hospital, who also likened the moment to when Covid-19 vaccines previously were authorized for other age groups.\n\n“I recall our first vote a year ago or more on the first Pfizer authorization,” Levy said. “I was one of the 17 votes in favor. I remember those early discussions – even then, should the 16- and 17-year-olds be included? At that point, that was a controversial topic that was being discussed. And here we are now, as a committee unanimously recommending authorization down to 6 months of age. So we’ve come a long way.”\n\nWill the youngest children get vaccinated?\n\nMany public health experts worry that even though the Covid-19 vaccines are now authorized for younger age groups, parents of these children might not take their kids to receive the vaccinations.\n\nThere is already slow uptake of Covid-19 vaccines among children in the United States.\n\n“Having vaccine options for the youngest children is very important; however, we have seen a relatively low uptake of Covid vaccines in children in the 5- to 12-year-old group, and so my concern is that uptake in the youngest children under 5 years old might also be lower than we would like,” Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, told CNN on Wednesday.\n\nBarouch, who is not involved in the FDA’s decision, helped develop and study the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.\n\nHe said there were “striking” differences in how many adults are fully vaccinated compared with children and teens.\n\nChildren 5 to 11 were the most recent group to become eligible for vaccination, in November. But just 29% of these children are fully vaccinated with their two-dose primary series in the United States, according to the CDC, compared with about:\n\n60% of adolescents 12 to 17\n\n64% of adults 18 to 24\n\n67% of adults 25 to 39\n\n75% of adults 40 to 49\n\n82% of adults 50 to 64\n\n94% of adults 65 to 74\n\n88% of adults 75 and older\n\n“We are planning and preparing for the rollout of pediatric vaccines. Of course, there’s a lot of work to be done to look at uptake of this vaccine. Some of the polls and surveys that have gone out to the public have indicated an ongoing lessening of parents considering giving their children these vaccines over time,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.\n\nAccording to a Kaiser Family Foundation’s Vaccine Monitor survey, published in May, only 18% of parents of children under 5 said they would vaccinate their child against Covid-19 as soon as a vaccine was available.\n\n“I think the more the pandemic is in the rearview mirror for some people – or they believe it is – then the less compelled they will be to do this, and so we have a big public health education campaign ahead of us,” Freeman said. “Also, health departments at the local level will be looking to understand the landscape of their community in terms of how many providers, pediatricians and pharmacies have actually signed up to give out the vaccine.”\n\n‘Benefits seem to clearly outweigh the risks’\n\nUnder the FDA’s authorization, the Moderna vaccine can be given as a two-dose primary series, at 25 micrograms each dose, to infants and children 6 months through 5 years of age. For older children, ages 6 to 11, the doses are administered at 50 micrograms.\n\nVials of Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine for younger children being filled. Pfizer\n\nThe Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine now can be given as a three-dose primary series, at 3 micrograms each dose, for use in infants and children 6 months through 4 years.\n\nThe FDA’s vaccine advisers have determined that the benefits of both vaccines outweigh the risks and that the vaccines have been “well-tolerated” among the children who received them in clinical trials.\n\n“The benefits seem to clearly outweigh the risks, particularly for those with young children who may be in kindergarten or in collective child care,” committee member Oveta Fuller, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School, said of the Moderna vaccine.\n\nCommittee member Dr. Art Reingold added that even though the risk of Covid-19 hospitalization and death is lower for young children than for adults, children already get vaccinations to protect them against diseases for which their risk is low.\n\n“If we have a vaccine whose benefits outweigh the risks, then making it available to people is a reasonable choice. I would point out that we as a country continue to give a large number of vaccines to children where the risk of the child dying or being hospitalized of those diseases are pretty close to zero,” such as polio and measles, said Reingold, of the University of California, Berkeley.\n\nThe number of Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths in children is concerning and much higher when compared with influenza-related deaths and hospitalizations, Marks said.\n\n“There still was, during the Omicron wave, a relatively high rate of hospitalization during this period,” he said. “That rate of hospitalization actually is quite troubling, and if we compare this to what we see in a terrible influenza season, it is worse.”\n\nMarks said the number of deaths for children 4 and under during the first two years of the pandemic “also compares quite terribly to what we’ve seen with influenza in the past.”\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“We are dealing with an issue where I think we have to be careful that we don’t become numb to the number of pediatric deaths because of the overwhelming number of older deaths here. Every life is important,” he said, adding that “vaccine-preventable deaths are ones we would like to try to do something about.”\n\nHe added that the Covid-19 vaccines are an intervention similar to the influenza vaccine, which has been broadly and routinely used and accepted to prevent deaths in all ages.", "authors": ["Jacqueline Howard"], "publish_date": "2022/06/17"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/05/health/fda-johnson-johnson-vaccine-eua/index.html", "title": "FDA puts strict limits on Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe US Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is limiting the emergency use authorization of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Covid-19 vaccine to people 18 and older for whom other vaccines aren’t appropriate or accessible and those who opt for J&J because they wouldn’t otherwise get vaccinated.\n\nThe FDA said in a statement that the change is being made because of the risk of a rare and dangerous clotting condition called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) after receiving the vaccine.\n\n“We’ve been closely monitoring the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and occurrence of TTS following its administration and have used updated information from our safety surveillance systems to revise the EUA,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in the statement. “We recognize that the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine still has a role in the current pandemic response in the United States and across the global community. … Today’s action demonstrates the robustness of our safety surveillance systems and our commitment to ensuring that science and data guide our actions.”\n\nThe agency confirmed to CNN that the updated authorization also applies to booster doses.\n\nThe FDA says it has determined that the benefits of the J&J vaccine outweigh the risks for certain people. Examples of people who may still get the vaccine include:\n\nThose who had a severe allergic reaction to an mRNA vaccine such as those from Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna\n\nThose with personal concerns about the mRNA vaccines who would remain unvaccinated without the J&J vaccine\n\nThose with limited access to mRNA Covid-19 vaccines\n\nAs of Thursday, more than 18.7 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the US, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those who are considered fully vaccinated, 7.7% got this vaccine.\n\nAfter a meeting in December, the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee issued an updated recommendation on Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, saying it makes a “preferential recommendation for the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines over the Janssen adenoviral-vectored COVID-19 vaccine in all persons aged ≥18 years in the United States.”\n\nThe committee cited the same concerns over TTS.\n\nBoth the CDC and the FDA previously recommended a pause in the use of this vaccine over reports of TTS. The pause was lifted, but that move came with a warning over the rare clotting events.\n\nJohnson & Johnson said in a statement at the time, “The safety and well-being of the people who use our products is our number one priority. We are aware of an extremely rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets in a small number of individuals who have received our COVID-19 vaccine. … We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public.”\n\nIn an updated fact sheet on the vaccine, the FDA says that 15% of TTS cases have been fatal.\n\nThe agency’s updated analysis of the vaccine includes cases reported to its Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) database through March 18. The FDA says it has confirmed 60 cases of TTS, including nine deaths.\n\nOverall, the risk of TTS is extremely rare: about three cases for every million doses of vaccine administered. The highest rate of TTS has been in women 30 to 49 years of age. About eight cases per 1 million doses of vaccine administered have been in women in this age group.\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\nCases of TTS typically begin one or two weeks after vaccination. Symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling, persistent abdominal pain, neurological symptoms like headaches or blurred vision, or red spots just under the skin called petechiae beyond the site of vaccination.\n\nThe new warning on the vaccine’s fact sheet says “The Janssen Covid-19 vaccine can cause thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) which may be life-threatening.”", "authors": ["Katherine Dillinger"], "publish_date": "2022/05/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/18/health/cdc-covid-vaccine-children-under-5/index.html", "title": "CDC recommends Covid-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nUS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed off on Covid-19 vaccinations for children under 5 on Saturday, clearing the way for vaccinations to be administered soon.\n\nThis move comes after vaccine advisers to the CDC voted unanimously on Saturday in support of recommending the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines to children as young as 6 months.\n\n“Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against COVID-19. We know millions of parents and caregivers are eager to get their young children vaccinated, and with today’s decision, they can,” Walensky said in a statement. “I encourage parents and caregivers with questions to talk to their doctor, nurse, or local pharmacist to learn more about the benefits of vaccinations and the importance of protecting their children by getting them vaccinated.”\n\nVaccinations may not begin until Tuesday in some places.\n\nPresident Joe Biden praised the CDC’s decision to recommend the vaccines on Saturday.\n\n“Today is a monumental step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus, with virtually every American now eligible for the protections that COVID-19 vaccines provide,” Biden said in a written statement, adding: “For parents all over the country, this is a day of relief and celebration.”\n\nWalensky signed off on the administration of two doses of Moderna’s vaccine in children ages six months to 5 years, and three doses of Pfizer’s vaccine in children ages six months to 4 years. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) noted on Saturday that if any Pfizer vaccine is given, then the vaccination series needs to contain three doses.\n\n“We’ll be monitoring inventory as the vaccines are delivered starting Monday to clinics, pharmacies and other clinical settings to determine when the search for the under-five vaccines will be available on vaccines.gov,” Dr. Kevin Chatham-Stephens, the Pediatric Vaccine Planning and Implementation Lead with the CDC’s Vaccine Task Force, said in ACIP’s meeting.\n\n“Parents and caregivers can reach out to the child’s pediatrician or family practice doctor or a local health department, pharmacy, et cetera to ask if they have the vaccine, understanding that not every clinic or pharmacy will get their vaccine on Monday.”\n\nThe Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines are now authorized for young children\n\nOn Friday, the US Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency use authorizations for Moderna’s vaccine to include children 6 months through 17 years and Pfizer/BioNTech’s for children 6 months through 4 years.\n\nThe CDC’s vaccine advisers will be discussing use of the Moderna vaccine in older children ages 6 to 17 years of age at their meeting June 23.\n\nAbout 17 million kids under the age of 5 are now are eligible for Covid-19 vaccines.\n\nCovid-19 is the leading cause of infectious disease-related death in people up to 19 years old, but data shows that those deaths can be prevented through vaccination, Dr. Matthew Daley said in Friday’s ACIP meeting.\n\n“Covid-19 is the leading cause of death among infectious diseases for people ages 0 to 19 years. And Covid-19 is the seventh most common of all causes of death for people ages 0 to 19 years,” Daley, senior investigator with the Institute for Health Research at Kaiser Permanente Colorado, told the committee.\n\n“Through March of 2022, unvaccinated people 5 years of age and older had 10 times the risk of dying from Covid-19 compared to those vaccinated with at least the primary series,” Daley said, adding that in other words, the data “provide real-world evidence that most deaths from Covid-19 are preventable through vaccination.”\n\nIn Saturday’s ACIP meeting, Dr. Veronica McNally said she was “struck” by the impact Covid-19 has had on children.\n\n“I am struck by these numbers: 2 million cases, 20,000 hospitalizations and over 200 deaths. And I am also concerned that there’s really an underappreciation for the potential severity of a respiratory virus in kids in this age and an unclear understanding sometimes in parents about the long-term consequences, including MIS-C,” McNally said.\n\nWill the youngest children get vaccinated?\n\nMany public health experts worry that even though the Covid-19 vaccines are now authorized for younger age groups, parents of these children might not take their kids to get them.\n\n“The hard work only continues,” after recommending the vaccine, Daley said, citing the importance of communicating to parents “how vitally important these vaccines are to protect children’s lives.”\n\nThere is already slow uptake of Covid-19 vaccines in children.\n\n“Having vaccine options for the youngest children is very important; however, we have seen a relatively low uptake of Covid vaccines in children in the 5- to 12-year-old group, and so my concern is that uptake in the youngest children under 5 years old might also be lower than we would like,” Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said Wednesday.\n\nBarouch, who is not involved in the FDA’s or CDC’s decisions, helped develop and study the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.\n\nHe said there were “striking” differences in how many adults are fully vaccinated compared with children and teens.\n\nChildren 5 to 11 were the most recent group to become eligible for vaccination, in November. But just 29% of these children are fully vaccinated with their two-dose primary series in the United States, according to the CDC, compared with about:\n\n60% of adolescents 12 to 17\n\n64% of adults 18 to 24\n\n67% of adults 25 to 39\n\n75% of adults 40 to 49\n\n82% of adults 50 to 64\n\n94% of adults 65 to 74\n\n88% of adults 75 and older\n\n“We are planning and preparing for the rollout of pediatric vaccines. Of course, there’s a lot of work to be done to look at uptake of this vaccine. Some of the polls and surveys that have gone out to the public have indicated an ongoing lessening of parents considering giving their children these vaccines over time,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.\n\nAccording to a Kaiser Family Foundation’s Vaccine Monitor survey published in May, only 18% of parents of children under 5 said they would vaccinate their child against Covid-19 as soon as a vaccine was available.\n\n“I think the more the pandemic is in the rearview mirror for some people – or they believe it is – then the less compelled they will be to do this, and so we have a big public health education campaign ahead of us,” Freeman said. “Also, health departments at the local level will be looking to understand the landscape of their community in terms of how many providers, pediatricians and pharmacies have actually signed up to give out the vaccine.”\n\nPediatrics groups support ACIP’s recommendation\n\nThe American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) both released statements Saturday in support of a vote to recommend Covid-19 vaccines in children as young as six months.\n\nSpeaking in the CDC meeting on Saturday, Dr. Bonnie Maldonado, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, said it would be important to focus distribution equitably.\n\n“As of June 8, 23 million children ages five to 17 have received two doses of Covid vaccine. But another 26 million in this age group have yet to receive any doses. Our work is cut out for us. We must also all work together to reduce disparities and address barriers to vaccination in every community so that all children and families can benefit from the protection of these vaccines,” she said.\n\nPatsy Stinchfield, with NAPNAP, also spoke in support of the recommendation but asked ACIP to stress the importance of vaccination in this age group.\n\n“I was a bit dismayed with some of the headlines coming out after the VRBPAC decision emphasizing quote, it’s up to the parents. This can be misinterpreted to consider this vaccine in young children as optional. We don’t say to parents of a baby with a cardiac defect, ‘it’s up to you for your child to have open heart surgery.’ We say, ‘your child needs open heart surgery’,” she said.\n\n“We don’t get out of pandemics with ‘it’s-up-to-you’-type strategies,” she said.\n\n‘Benefits seem to clearly outweigh the risks’\n\nUnder the FDA’s authorization, the Moderna vaccine can be given as a two-dose primary series, at 25 micrograms each dose, to infants and children 6 months through 5 years of age. For older children, ages 6 to 11, the doses are 50 micrograms each.\n\nThe Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine now can be given as a three-dose primary series, at 3 micrograms each dose, for use in infants and children 6 months through 4 years.\n\nDr. Paul Offit, a vaccine adviser to the FDA, said Wednesday that children who get the Pfizer vaccine will have to complete a three-dose series to get sufficient protection.\n\n” ‘Do the benefits outweigh the risks’ is something I can support, but I do have some concerns about this vaccine,” said Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania.\n\nDr. Jeannette Lee of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, who also serves on the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee, agreed.\n\n“Three doses will certainly benefit. I have a lot of concern that many of these kids will not get a third dose,” she said. “My concern is that you have to get the three doses to really get what you need.”\n\nAccording to clinical trial data, common side effects for both vaccines include pain at the injection site, headache, fever, chills and fatigue. The vaccines appeared to elicit similar immune responses in children as has been seen in adults.\n\nThe FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee determined that the benefits of both vaccines outweigh the risks and noted that the vaccines have been “well-tolerated” among the children who got them in clinical trials.\n\n“The benefits seem to clearly outweigh the risks, particularly for those with young children who may be in kindergarten or in collective child care,” committee member Oveta Fuller, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School, said in a discussion about the Moderna vaccine.\n\nThe number of Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths in children is concerning and much higher when compared with influenza-related deaths and hospitalizations, said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.\n\n“There still was, during the Omicron wave, a relatively high rate of hospitalization during this period,” he said. “That rate of hospitalization actually is quite troubling, and if we compare this to what we see in a terrible influenza season, it is worse.”\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\nMarks said the number of deaths for children 4 and under during the first two years of the pandemic “also compares quite terribly to what we’ve seen with influenza in the past.”\n\n“We are dealing with an issue where I think we have to be careful that we don’t become numb to the number of pediatric deaths because of the overwhelming number of older deaths here. Every life is important,” he said, adding that “vaccine-preventable deaths are ones we would like to try to do something about.”\n\nHe added that the Covid-19 vaccines are an intervention similar to the influenza vaccine, which has been broadly and routinely used and accepted to prevent deaths in all ages.", "authors": ["Jacqueline Howard"], "publish_date": "2022/06/18"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/28/health/fda-advisers-vote-omicron-booster/index.html", "title": "FDA advisers vote to include an Omicron-specific component for a ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe US Food and Drug Administration’s independent Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted Tuesday to support recommending inclusion of an Omicron-specific component for a Covid-19 booster vaccine.\n\nTwenty-one voting members of the FDA’s independent committee voted on the question:\n\n“Does the committee recommend inclusion of a SARS-CoV-2 Omicron component for COVID-19 booster vaccines in the United States?”\n\nNineteen of the members voted yes, two voted no.\n\n“I voted in favor of Omicron because I think it’s important to broaden immunity,” said Dr. Wayne Marasco, a professor of medicine with the department of cancer immunology and virology Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Harvard Medical School. “I will say that I was pretty impressed today that we can do better.”\n\n“I think this is a step in the right direction, but we have to reevaluate this as we move forward,” he added.\n\nThe committee felt that a modified vaccine would offer broader protection to match the coronavirus strain that is in circulation now.\n\nTwo Omicron subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5, are now dominating transmission of Covid-19 in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nFuture US Covid-19 vaccines will be different\n\nThis means that the Covid-19 vaccine people in the US will get in the future will be different. The committee does not determine how, and the committee was not asked to vote on what sublineage to include or whether the booster should be monovalent vaccine or a bivalent vaccine, which would include two strains.\n\nDr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said there will be a conversation going forward to determine who needs another booster and what that booster will look like. Marks noted that a bivalent vaccine targeting the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants seemed to be the preference of the committee.\n\nWhen the FDA’s independent vaccine advisers had met in April, they agreed that they had to develop a framework for how the country can keep up with the evolving virus with an appropriate vaccine strategy.\n\nThe FDA said in May that the “new normal” may include an annual Covid-19 and flu shot for people in the fall. Cases are expected to rise again in the fall and winter.\n\nChallenging work ahead\n\nDr. Arnold Monto, the acting chair of the independent vaccine advisers committee, suggested determining what goes into the booster will not be easy.\n\n“I think we have done the best we can in a difficult situation with imperfect data and inability to say what is going to follow what looks like Omicron 4 or 5 wave,” said Monto. “We’ve looked at the options that are available and come up with a set of recommendations and some advice that FDA can follow.”\n\nMoving forward to create a vaccine to best fight a virus that changes quickly is “uncharted territory”\n\n“Looking in the past doesn’t help us a great deal to look in the future for this virus which has baffled a lot of us and made predictions almost irrelevant,” Monto added.\n\nWhat the companies are working on\n\nCurrent Covid-19 vaccines are based on the coronavirus that emerged in late 2019, but Pfizer and Moderna have been working on updated versions of the vaccines. The current vaccines are not as effective against the variants in circulation.\n\nModerna presented details about its bivalent Covid-19 vaccine booster, mRNA-1273.214, which the company said elicits “potent” immune responses against the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.\n\nModerna’s bivalent booster vaccine candidate contains components of both Moderna’s original Covid-19 vaccine and a vaccine that targets the Omicron variant.\n\nPfizer/BioNTech also presented data to the committee that showed that their two Covid-19 vaccine boosters targeting Omicron showed a substantially higher immune response than its current Covid-19 vaccine. Preliminary lab studies suggest the vaccines could neutralize the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5.\n\nAnother vaccine maker, Novavax, has committee support for emergency use authorization in the United States, but the FDA has not yet authorized its vaccine. Novavax told the committee that it has been developing variant-specific updated versions of its Covid-19 vaccine as well as a Covid-19 and flu combination vaccine.\n\nBroader is better\n\nThe World Health Organization told the independent committee of vaccine advisers Tuesday that the vaccination strategy going forward should probably be based around a vaccine that would offer as broad a kind of protection as possible, rather than just continuing with the vaccines that were made against the original strain that is no longer in circulation.\n\n“I still think there’s value in increasing the breath of immunity and I will reiterate that we’re not trying to match what may circulate,” said Dr. Kanta Subbarao with the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Influenza and the University of Melbourne. “It is not so much to match what is likely to circulate because there’s so much uncertainty about the trajectory of this evolution.”\n\nIncluding Omicron in a future vaccine would help because Omicron is the most distinct of the variants of concern that have emerged she said, but a standalone vaccine that would match just Omicron would not likely be broad enough to protect against other variants going forward.\n\n“We’re trying to increase the breadth of the immune response without losing the benefit from the index vaccine that’s performed so well,” she added.\n\n“We simply don’t have enough information on any of the other variants, but I could make a strong case based on our experience with influenza that using a virus to boost that is antigenitically as far as possible, is a better strategy than something that is partway there,” she added.\n\nThe longer that Omicron is the dominant variant circulating in the world, the odds are that whatever comes after it will come from Omicron.\n\n“At least that’s a realistic possibility,” Jerry Weir, director of the Division of Viral Products in FDA’s vaccine research office, told the committee.\n\nFuture Covid-19 vaccine strategy\n\nGoing forward, as the committee determines how to create a process for the future if people will need regular Covid-19 boosters, members agreed that there needed to be better central coordination on studies and on what the plans should be going forward.\n\n“Without such a plan, we’re going to be playing Whack a Mole as this virus evolves, because it’s going to continue to evolve,” said committee member Dr. Bruce Gellin, chief of global public health strategy with the Rockefeller Foundation.\n\n“We’ll get better at this, but we still need to get ahead of it,” he said.\n\nWeir, with the FDA, tried to help the committee keep what they have accomplished in perspective.\n\n“I think we’ve made enormous progress in this whole endeavor over the last few months, but I’ll remind you that the sort of parallel track of influenza strain selection, which works very well, was a process that was honed over many, many years and so we probably have quite a bit of work. This is a different virus. We have a lot of work to do on the strain selection process for Covid vaccines.”\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\nSeveral committee members also were concerned about the lack of data concerning what should go into future pediatric vaccines.\n\n“In terms of extrapolating available data, I am very hesitant to extrapolate that from adults into children,” said committee member Dr. Archana Chatterjee, who is dean of Chicago Medical School. “I think the pediatric studies need to be done and they need to be done now.”\n\nFollowing the VRBPAC vote, the FDA will rule on the updated vaccine. Next a panel of independent experts that advise the CDC will take a closer look at the available data and make a recommendation, and the head of the CDC would decide if they should sign off on it.", "authors": ["Jen Christensen"], "publish_date": "2022/06/28"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/03/health/teen-covid-booster-qa-wellness/index.html", "title": "Pediatrician answers your questions on Pfizer Covid-19 booster for ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe US Food and Drug Administration gave emergency use authorization for booster doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 15 Monday.\n\nThe agency also shaved four weeks off the waiting period for the booster after the administration of the second dose, from at least six months to at least five months for everyone 12 and older.\n\n“The FDA expanded emergency use to a whole group of people, children aged 12 to 15, who were not previously eligible for boosters,” said pediatrician and child development expert Dr. David Hill, former chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communications and Media.\n\n“Additionally, the FDA recommended boosters for some children ages 5 to 11 who are severely immunocompromised, meaning that particularly vulnerable children down to age 5 can now get the booster vaccine,” said Hill, who is a co-host on the AAP’s flagship podcast, “Pediatrics on Call.”\n\nCNN asked Hill questions that parents and caregivers will want answered as they wait for formal recommendation of boosters, expected later this week after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, meets Wednesday and a final go-ahead from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.\n\nThis conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.\n\nCNN: You mentioned that children down to age 5 who are immunocompromised are also eligible for the booster. How is that defined?\n\nDr. David Hill: What they are giving us as an example is a child who’s had a solid organ transplant, for example, like a kidney or liver transplant. But they are also saying children with equivalent degrees of immunocompromise – for example, there are hereditary conditions that may lead to fairly severe degrees of immunocompromise. Those children are almost certainly already being seen by an immunologist or an infectious disease specialist.\n\nIf you are a parent who thinks that your child may qualify for the booster based on their immune status, check in with a doctor who is managing their condition and see what they say.\n\nCNN: When will boosters for this age group be available?\n\nHill: That is a great question. What we know is that there is one more step: a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, called the ACIP. The CDC has said that they are anticipating a meeting later this week. Once the ACIP signs off on this, then implementation should occur very quickly.\n\nThere can be delays in terms of ordering and stocking the vaccine in various locations.\n\nCNN: How will I know if the booster will be in stock in my area?\n\nHill: I know that the availability of vaccines continues to vary by location and demand. I have not seen specific reports on where shortages might exist. I do know that you can check in with local health care authorities or your health department to find the best place to get the booster administered.\n\nCNN: What do I need to bring to the appointment?\n\nHill: Definitely bring your child’s vaccine card. The booster needs to occur at least five months after the child’s second dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, so facilities will be looking for some evidence as to when that second dose was administered.\n\nMany states now have a statewide vaccine registry. If the location where you got your booster participates in the statewide registry, there may actually be an electronic document that should be available throughout the state, so that’s another source of confirmation.\n\nAnd then there is your child’s electronic health record, which track vaccines. The electronic health records sometimes have to be adjusted to accommodate the development of a new vaccine or a new vaccine schedule, and the vendors who program those records are usually very responsive, to make sure that the systems are ready when the CDC approves the booster.\n\nCNN: How does this dose compare to the original vaccine doses and what are the side effects?\n\nHill: It should be the same. I haven’t seen that there is any difference in the dose for the booster compared to the first two vaccines.\n\nThe common side effects from the booster remain the same as they are for the first two vaccines, so obviously there may be pain or redness or swelling at the injection site. Some people will experience fatigue or headaches, they may have muscle or joint pains, they may have chills.\n\nOne thing that seems a little bit more common with the booster dose is swollen lymph nodes in the armpit of the arm where the dose was given. Lymph nodes are our body’s way of responding to infection or inflammation, so it’s not unusual with any inflammatory response to see some lymph nodes swelling. But that seems to be a little more common with the booster dose.\n\nThe good news, in terms of side effects, is that none of the children studied so far have developed cardiomyopathy. That doesn’t surprise us, because you probably need to get millions of shots before you think a single case of cardiomyopathy, and of course we haven’t given millions of third vaccines in this age group yet. But it’s very heartening that, of the people who have been studied, there has not been a single case.\n\nCNN: Would you advise parents and caregivers to keep their child home from school the day after their booster shot?\n\nHill: I think most children will be able to go to school the following day. But if childcare is difficult for you, it would probably be good to have a backup plan in case your child were to feel too bad or to have a fever that would keep them out of school.\n\nCNN: How long before that boost of immunity kicks in after the booster shot?\n\nHill: What we know so far from boosters in other age groups is that it looks like a significant boost in the immunity you already have occurs in the first seven days and is maximized by about 14 days. It’s not a switch that clicks on after seven to 14 days, however, it’s kind of a curve that goes up over that two weeks.\n\nCNN: Do we know how well the boosters protect against the Delta or Omicron variants?\n\nHill: We do have data on how well the boosters protect against Delta and Omicron, and they appear to protect extremely well. Now when you say protect, it’s very important to ask, protect against what? People will say, “Oh, you know, I got the vaccine, and I still contracted Covid-19.” Yes, that may happen. In fact, that is guaranteed to happen to a certain number of people.\n\nWhat you want to know is, are you are less likely to be hospitalized? Are you less likely to die? And the answer is yes. The effectiveness of these vaccines against serious, life-threatening illness is extraordinarily high.\n\nIt’s no different than the question people have with flu vaccines: It’s not uncommon to get vaccinated against the flu and then get a mild case of influenza. That can happen. But the vaccine against flu has always been strongly protected against hospitalization and death, and this is a similar situation. Data on the endpoints that count – such as “Will I be alive next year? Will I be able to breathe?” – are extraordinarily positive.\n\nCNN: Parents often see comments online about how the vaccine – including the booster – may harm their child’s development. What are the facts?\n\nHill: There are absolutely no data suggesting that these vaccines had any negative impact on child development at all. The side effects that we’re aware of are temporary, fairly mild, comparatively speaking, and none of them are permanent.\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\nThere is still this concern of cardiomyopathy, particularly in older teenagers. But even when we have seen children get this incredibly rare side effect, the vast majority have recovered with no long-term health issues. I think we can feel very good that, on the balance, the vaccine is a tremendous positive.", "authors": ["Sandee Lamotte"], "publish_date": "2022/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/24/health/evusheld-unused/index.html", "title": "Vulnerable Americans are desperate to find this Covid-19 drug ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nSoon after the US Food and Drug Administration gave the green light to Evusheld, a new drug to prevent Covid-19, pharmacist Tom Henry alerted his blog readers. He was thrilled because finally, there was a drug that could protect people like him who are immune-compromised and had a weak response, or no response at all, to their vaccinations.\n\n“Exciting news – FDA grants emergency use authorization [to Evusheld],” Henry wrote in a post published December 18.\n\nA few weeks later, a reader wrote back that she’d been able to find the drug.\n\n“Congratulations on getting this medication,” Henry responded. “I know it is in short supply.”\n\nBut Henry, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and a pharmacist with multiple advanced degrees, was unable to find Evusheld. He contracted the virus and died from complications of Covid-19 on February 9.\n\nIn the State of the Union address this month, President Joe Biden said that “if you’re immunocompromised or have some other vulnerability, we have treatments. … We’re leaving no one behind or ignoring anyone’s needs as we move forward.”\n\nBut a CNN investigation raises questions about the way federal and state governments have distributed Evusheld and why, more than three months into the rollout, many immune-compromised people are still having trouble getting it.\n\nCNN’s investigation found that as the Omicron variant ripped through the United States, infecting and killing Americans, including some who might have been saved with timely access to Evusheld, thousands of boxes of the drug have been sitting on pharmacy shelves.\n\nCNN also found that the government distributed Evusheld, a drug that was developed by AstraZeneca with the support of the US government, to unlikely places such as a spa that offers Botox and another location that does eyelash extensions.\n\nThen, last week, the US Department of Health and Human Services removed at least dozens of locations that have Evusheld from an online locator, which means millions of immune compromised patients and their doctors can no longer find them.\n\n“This whole thing is sad. It’s just very, very sad,” said Henry’s widow, Meli Rockhold. “It reminds me of the government response to Katrina. It’s just a cluster – I can’t say that next word.”\n\nA leading researcher on Covid-19 and the immune-compromised emphasized that Evusheld, a monoclonal antibody, is the only prevention available for immune-compromised people – transplant patients and some cancer patients, for example, or people who take certain medications for rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions – who had a weak response to the Covid-19 vaccines.\n\n“For people who did everything they could but didn’t have an adequate response to the vaccines, [Evusheld] is their only hope, and to deny them that because of a disorganized and chaotic distribution and education rollout is just terrible,” said Dr. Dorry Segev, a transplant surgeon and epidemiologist at NYU Langone Health.\n\nJanet Handal, who runs an advocacy organization for people who are immune-compromised, says she hears every day from people who can’t find Evusheld.\n\n“It’s just a tragedy that this is happening because there is such a great need for Evusheld, and there’s so many people who don’t have it,” said Handal, the founder of the Transplant Recipients and Immunocompromised Patient Advocacy Group.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback FDA approves drug to help protect the immunocompromised from Covid 01:39 - Source: CNN\n\nThe federal government distributes Evusheld and other Covid-19 medicines to states based on their population. States then distribute the drugs to various locations.\n\n“We make these allocations to states and territories on a weekly basis, with states and territories ultimately determining how best to distribute the product within their jurisdictions,” according to a statement to CNN from an official with HHS. “We encourage jurisdictions to distribute the product in ways that ensure it reaches immunosuppressed patients such as prioritization of medical centers where these populations typically receive care.”\n\nThe head of an association of state health officials noted that state health departments are managing the distribution of five different Covid-19 drugs, including Evusheld.\n\n“I think most state health departments do not want to be in the medical supply chain business. That’s not their core competency,” said Michael Fraser, the CEO of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “It’s a complex problem, and it’s happening in real time.”\n\nFraser added that state health departments are looking forward to the time when the private sector starts distributing Covid-19 drugs.\n\n‘It’s just a waste’\n\nOn March 10, Avi Patel walked out the front door of his Florida pharmacy and unexpectedly found himself in possession of 192 boxes of Evusheld.\n\n“All of a sudden, I see [these] huge boxes arriving at my doorstep. It just popped up,” said Patel, a pharmacist who owns Lemon Bay Drugs East in Englewood, Florida.\n\nTwo weeks later, Patel hasn’t used a single one of those 192 boxes.\n\n“It’s just a waste,” Patel said.\n\nCNN interviews with dozens of US pharmacies reveal that Patel’s situation is not unique: Many of them have used up none or very little of the Evusheld that their state health departments sent them.\n\nTo see how much Evusheld is sitting unused on pharmacy shelves, CNN in February downloaded an HHS database of sites that have Evusheld. CNN identified 59 retail pharmacies and the number of boxes of the drug they had received. Each patient needs two boxes for a full course of treatment.\n\nOn March 16-21, CNN confirmed with 58 of those pharmacies the number of boxes they had received and how many boxes they had remaining.\n\nIn total, these 58 pharmacies have received 5,372 boxes of Evusheld from the federal government, which is enough to treat 2,686 patients. Most of the shipments were in January and February and some in March.\n\nAs of CNN’s calls last week, the pharmacies had used up 1,376 of those 5,372 boxes. That means about three-quarters of the drug the pharmacies received, or 3,996 boxes, is still unused. That’s enough to treat 1,998 patients.\n\nRed Rock Pharmacy in Tempe, Arizona, received 480 boxes of Evusheld by early February. It has not used up a single box.\n\nThe De Queen Health and Wellness Pharmacy in De Queen, Arkansas, received 264 boxes by March 3 and has used just two of them.\n\nDr. Aziz Pharmacy in Indianapolis hasn’t used any of the 72 boxes they received by January 27.\n\nTrieu Bao, pharmacist and co-founder of Soleil Pharmacy in Glen Burnie, Maryland, said he hasn’t used any of the 96 boxes that were sent to him before March 1, and they’ve asked the state to stop sending the drug because of lack of space to store it.\n\nThe issue, according to pharmacists, doctors and patient advocates, is that unlike the Covid-19 vaccines, pharmacists need a prescription before giving Evusheld, and those prescriptions have been slow in coming.\n\n“Pharmacists aren’t allowed to administer Evusheld [without a prescription], so to send this many is ridiculous,” said Patel, the Florida pharmacist.\n\n“Pharmacies don’t know what to do with it,” added Michael Hogue, dean of the Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy and a liaison representative from the American Pharmacists Association to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. “They’re getting Evusheld from states, but pharmacists don’t have the authority to prescribe it, so their hands are tied.”\n\nHogue said distributing the drug to pharmacists “really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense” and that the federal government has had “a not very well-thought-out plan on how to distribute Evusheld.”\n\nTo increase access to the drugs, patients and pharmacists have tried to educate their doctors about Evusheld.\n\n“We’ve had people in our group call their doctor and ask about Evusheld and been told, ‘What’s that?’ ” said Handal, the founder of the advocacy group for immune-compromised patients.\n\n“My experience is, most doctors have no clue about these treatment options,” said Harsh Patel, pharmacist and co-founder of Queens Pharmacy in Charlotte, North Carolina, which has not used any of the 24 boxes it received by late January.\n\nDoctors don’t know about Evusheld partly because it came out at a time when there was an “avalanche” of news about other Covid-19 drugs, said Dr. William Schaffner, a liaison representative from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases to the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee.\n\nHHS began distributing Evusheld on December 17, and around that time, the FDA authorized a different monoclonal antibody drug that often gets confused with Evusheld, even though the other drug, bebtelovimab, treats Covid-19 and Evusheld is for prevention. Also around this time, two other monoclonal drugs were taken out of circulation, and the FDA authorized two antiviral medications.\n\n“No one knows about Evusheld,” said Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “I think it’s very sad.”\n\nEven if a doctor does know about Evusheld, locating it can be complicated. Some doctors’ offices have it, but most do not. Some pharmacies have it, but not large retail chains such as CVS and Walgreens, where many Americans get their prescriptions. That means doctors have to know to search for the federal government locator website that lists some – but not all – of the locations that carry it.\n\n“There’s never been a mechanism that says ‘hear ye, hear ye, we have a new way to protect your immune-compromised patients against Covid, and here’s how you get it for your patients,’ ” Schaffner said.\n\nIf immune-compromised patients want to advocate for themselves and find a pharmacy with Evusheld, they must defy a government warning in large bold type on top of its online locator that tells patients “the therapeutics locator is intended for provider use” and that “patients should not contact locations directly unless instructed to do so by their healthcare provider.”\n\nIf a patient defies the warning and uses the locator, it’s of limited use because it’s missing at least dozens of locations that have Evusheld.\n\nOf the 59 pharmacies with Evusheld that CNN identified on the HHS database in February, HHS removed 30 on March 16, even though all of them still had Evusheld when CNN contacted them last week. Together, these 30 pharmacies that the government removed from public view have more than 2,400 boxes of Evusheld, and now doctors and patients now have no way of finding them.\n\nAmong the pharmacies with Evusheld that HHS removed from its locator are Prescriptions Unlimited, DeliveRxd, Red Rock Pharmacy, Queens Pharmacy and Lemon Bay Drugs East, which all have Evusheld.\n\nHHS’s response\n\nAt a March 2 meeting among HHS and state health officials, Dr. Derek Eisnor, the federal government’s lead official on allocation and distribution of Covid-19 drugs, said the “utilization rate is low” for Evusheld.\n\nAt a March 9 meeting among HHS officials and national health care and medical associations, Eisnor said the agency was “somewhat dismayed” about the low utilization numbers.\n\nAt that meeting, Cicely Waters, director of external affairs for the HHS’s Assistant Secretary for Preparedness & Response, read a question from one of the attendees.\n\n“[Are] there any successful ways to connect prescribers to patients that want product?” Waters read. “I’ve heard of news stories about patients who want Evusheld and sites that have product, but there’s still no way to get it to those patients.” The attendee then asked HHS for its thoughts on “closing that treatment gap.”\n\n“It’s frustrating,” Eisnor answered. “It’s really a question of what are the best mechanisms to get that patient in front of that provider and as expeditiously as possible, and so I think some of this is obviously going to depend on the location and the site or the institution. But it is – it is frustrating.”\n\nAn HHS spokesperson told CNN that the agency has done two dozen meetings recently with states, providers and others “to not only encourage greater utilization but to do education about how the product works and who it’s for and answer questions about how best to manage supply to target those at high-risk.”\n\n“We continue to engage provider and advocacy groups that support immunocompromised patients to help increase overall awareness and utilization of Evusheld. In addition to the dozens of engagements we’ve held with these groups, we have also created virtual resources as well as a platform for clinician peer-to-peer sharing of best practices, case studies, and administration models,” an HHS official wrote in another email.\n\nThe official said HHS removed a site from its locator if it has “less than five patient courses” of Covid-19 therapeutics. Of the 30 pharmacies that CNN found had been removed from the locator, pharmacists at 29 of them told CNN they had more than five boxes left of Evusheld. Most of them had considerably more, and several had hundreds of boxes left each.\n\nHHS also said that “if a location goes seven days without reporting their product on hand and utilization amounts, that location is removed from the map since we cannot confirm product availability at that location.” The official added that removing “numerous” locations from the map last week “helped improve data reliability and overall product access.”\n\nThe official did not explain how removing sites from the locator that collectively have thousands of boxes of Evusheld improves product access.\n\n“That makes no sense whatsoever,” said Handal, the founder of the advocacy group for immune-compromised people. “How could anybody even say that with a straight face?”\n\nEvusheld sent to sites offering beauty treatments\n\nCNN also reached out to the two locations offering beauty treatments that received Evusheld from the government.\n\nTwenty-four boxes of Evusheld were sent to a location in Las Vegas that, in a cached version of its website, describes itself as a “premier medical spa chosen by the stars to help them look younger,” with services such as Botox and “facial rejuvenation.” CNN was unable to find a current website or contact information for anyone at this location.\n\nShannon Litz, a spokeswoman for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, told CNN that “the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy has reviewed this inquiry and determined it is in compliance, as the medication is being used by the physician in a different part of his practice.”\n\n“We did an inquiry on it, and they’re operating within the rules of the EUA and the federal program,” said Dave Wuest, executive secretary of the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy. “There was a physician that was licensed there at the time that we sent the medicine there.”\n\nBut a Google Maps search of the address listed for the location shows an outdoor strip mall, with no indication of the business existing. Wuest said the location may have closed, and it would be up to the provider to notify the state if it had.\n\n“Things change,” Wuest said. “I’m going to send somebody to the location and see if there’s a practitioner there.”\n\nTwenty-four Evusheld boxes were sent to Integrative Medicine, Laser, and Aesthetics, in Carmel, Indiana, which offers, along with some health services, eyelash extensions and facial hair removal. The medicine was delivered prior to January 28, according to the HHS database.\n\nNone of those boxes has been used, according to Sarah Wygant, a medical assistant and paramedic at Integrative Medicine, Laser, and Aesthetics.\n\n“Once the Evusheld product was offered, this provider met the necessary requirements to receive an allocation, which included having a physician providing oversight,” Megan Wade-Taxter, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Health, wrote in an email CNN.\n\nA ‘Hunger Games’-like competition for Evusheld\n\nWhile many pharmacies have too much Evusheld, several medical centers say they don’t have nearly enough for their immune-compromised patients.\n\nThe Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, has received 2,352 boxes of Evusheld, according to now removed HHS data, and the hospital has between 10,000 to 15,000 patients who could benefit, said Dr. Raymund Razonable, an infectious disease expert who heads up the hospital’s monoclonal antibody program.\n\nTo prioritize who gets the medication, Mayo has set up a tiered priority system – and the 2,352 boxes doesn’t even cover the first tier, which has 3,000 patients, he said.\n\n“Things are tough right now. There’s not enough supply,” Razonable said.\n\nThe Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, has received enough Evusheld for just over 500 patients, according to spokeswoman Kim Polacek, and there are “potentially thousands” of Moffitt patients who could benefit from the drug, according to Dr. Robert Keenan, Moffitt’s chief medical officer.\n\n“When you know there is a therapy that’s been developed but you don’t yet have the ability to give it to a patient, that’s an awful thing to have to tell the patient and an awful thing to have to deal with,” Keenan said.\n\nCNN spoke with some medical centers that said they are not feeling strapped for Evusheld and have been able to get it to the patients who need it.\n\nBut some patients eligible for Evusheld have described a “Hunger Games”-like endeavor to find the drug.\n\n“It’s almost like we are in a game and competing,” said Michele Nadeem-Baker, who has chronic lymphocytic leukemia and has not been able to get Evusheld from her doctors in Boston. “It’s almost Darwinian and survival of the fittest.”\n\nDr. Brian Koffman, a retired family doctor in Claremont, California, who has CLL, said he’s “one of the lucky ones” who’s been able to get Evusheld. He writes a blog to help other CLL patients and describes the roller coaster of emotions that many immune-compromised patients go through upon learning about Evusheld and then not being able to find it.\n\n“There’s this light at the end of the tunnel that says ‘we have a way out’ [but then] ‘oh, sorry, you can’t get it,’ ” Koffman said.\n\nWithout protection against the virus, many immune-compromised people who did not get a full response from the vaccine and can’t find Evusheld are left to stay at home, still on lockdown after more than two years.\n\n“We’re doing everything we can to rejoin society,” said Doreen Zetterlund of Los Angeles, who has CLL and has been trying unsuccessfully to get the drug. “[Evusheld] is the one last piece that will help us.”\n\nKeenan, the chief medical officer at Moffitt, remembers Henry, the pharmacist who was unable to get Evusheld and died from Covid-19. Henry got care for his chronic lymphocytic leukemia at Moffitt, and he was the center’s chief pharmacy officer in 2018.\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\nMoffitt didn’t start administering Evusheld until January 24, Keenan said. That would have been too late for Henry, since by that time, he was already sick with Covid.\n\n“Here’s Tom Henry – you couldn’t get more sophisticated about medications, [yet] he succumbs to Covid,” added Koffman, the family physician and the chief medical officer of the CLL Society. “Even when you’re [an] expert, you may not survive this.”\n\nNow, Henry’s family – and the CLL patients he helped – wonder whether Henry might be alive today if he’d been able to get Evusheld in December, when he first excitedly told his readers about the new drug.\n\n“Would he be alive today, doing the great work that [he’d] been doing?” said Diane Langan, a CLL patient in Syracuse, New York, who followed Henry’s blog. “It’s been very discouraging and very, very disheartening.”", "authors": ["Elizabeth Cohen Danielle Herman", "Elizabeth Cohen", "Danielle Herman"], "publish_date": "2022/03/24"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_19", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/07/world/titanic-mystery-deep-sea-coral-reef-scn/index.html", "title": "Divers uncover a surprising discovery near the wreck of the Titanic", "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 wreck of the Titanic sits in two parts at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean, slowly decaying nearly 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) below the surface, but it’s not alone. A sonar blip detected around 26 years ago has now revealed there’s much more to this underwater area than previously thought.\n\nP.H. Nargeolet, a veteran Nautile submersible pilot and Titanic diver, originally picked up the blip on echo sounding equipment in 1996, but its origins have remained unknown.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback Watch footage from first Titanic dive in 14 years (2019) 01:02 - Source: CNN\n\nIn an expedition to the Titanic shipwreck earlier this year, Nargeolet and four other researchers went to the blip’s previously recorded location to search for the mysterious object it represented. Due to the blip’s magnitude, Nargeolet had believed he was looking for another shipwreck — he instead found a rocky reef, made up of various volcanic formations, and thriving with lobsters, deep-sea fish, sponges and several species of coral that could be thousands of years old.\n\n“It is biologically fascinating. The animals that live there are very different to the animals that are found otherwise living in the abyssal ocean,” said Murray Roberts, a professor of applied marine biology and ecology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and one of the researchers on the expedition. “(Nargeolet) did a really important piece of scientific work. He thought it was a shipwreck, and it turned out, in my mind, even more amazing than a shipwreck.”\n\nThe abyssal plain is a term used to describe the ocean floor at a water depth of 3,000 to 4,000 meters (around 12,000 feet), which makes up 60% of Earth’s surface, according to Roberts. It is thought to be a featureless, muddy seabed without much structure. On a few occasions, divers have observed rocky formations on the plain. Since the recent discovery near the Titanic, Roberts now believes such features might be more common than previously thought.\n\nRocky areas may also help explain the distances that sponges and corals travel across the ocean floor, which has always been a mystery to scientists. Within the muddy environment where they are typically observed, there are few hard surfaces for these species to latch onto in order to grow and reproduce.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback He found the Titanic. Here's his next mission 11:53 - Source: CNN\n\n“Sometimes they turn up in places where we think, ‘Well, how did they get there? They don’t live long enough to get there,” Roberts said. “But if there are more of these rocky places, these stepping stones, than we ever thought, I think it could help us understand the distribution of these species across the ocean.”\n\nThe researchers are currently working on analyzing images and videos taken of the reef during their dive, and they intend to share their findings to improve the scientific community’s collective knowledge of deep-sea life. Roberts also hopes to link this discovery to a wider Atlantic Ocean ecosystem project he leads, called iAtlantic, that will allow for further study and protection of the fragile ecosystem within the reef.\n\nThere is another sonar blip near the Titanic that Nargeolet is hoping to identify on a future expedition. It was recorded in the same survey he performed years ago, in between the wreck of the Titanic and the newly uncovered reef — now named the Nargeolet-Fanning Ridge after him and the 2022 expedition’s mission specialist Oisín Fanning. Nargeolet expects whatever it is to be even bigger than this reef.\n\nOceanGate Expeditions and their foundation — which, along with Fanning, provided the financial support for Nargeolet’s dive this year — will continue its longitudinal research work of the Titanic and surrounding areas in 2023.\n\n“The marine life … was so beautiful. It was really unbelievable, because I was never expecting to see that in my life,” Nargeolet said. “I’ll be very happy to continue to look at the Titanic.”", "authors": ["Taylor Nicioli"], "publish_date": "2022/11/07"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_20", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": []}
{"question_id": "20230217_21", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": []}
{"question_id": "20230217_22", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/07/europe/boris-johnson-resignation-intl/index.html", "title": "Boris Johnson: UK Prime Minister resigns after mutiny in his party ...", "text": "London CNN —\n\nBoris Johnson’s turbulent tenure as Britain’s Prime Minister came to an end Thursday after a historic party revolt over a series of ethics scandals forced him to step down.\n\nIt took the resignation of nearly 60 members of his government – almost half the payroll – for Johnson to finally abandon his attempts to cling on to power. Even then, the Prime Minister insisted that he would continue as caretaker leader while the Conservative Party launches the process of choosing a successor.\n\nSome senior figures in his party say even that will be unsustainable, given the dwindling number of people willing to work for him.\n\nOthers are already lining up to replace him. Party officials say they will announce the timetable for a leadership election by Monday.\n\nSpeaking in front of the famous 10 Downing Street door, the same place where many of his predecessors delivered their own resignation address, Johnson announced that he would be stepping down – without actually saying the words out loud.\n\n“It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore, a new prime minister,” Johnson said.\n\n“The process of choosing that new leader should begin now,” he added, saying the time line will be announced next week.\n\nIn a sign that he is planning to stay in the office for as long as he can, Johnson announced he had appointed a new cabinet “to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place.” Appointing new cabinet ministers means that the government can continue to function as he prepares to depart.\n\nJohnson spoke of his attempts to stay on as leader and how “painful” it is for him to step down, but made no mention of the scandals that have proved his political downfall.\n\n“In the last few days, I’ve tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much… and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally,” Johnson said.\n\n“I regret not to have been successful in those arguments, and of course, it’s painful, not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself,” he said, adding that he’s proud of “getting Brexit done” and “leading the West in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.”\n\nJohnson went on to address voters directly, expressing sadness at stepping down after nearly three years.\n\n“To you, the British public: I know that there will be many people who are relieved and, perhaps, quite a few will also be disappointed,” he said. “And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world, but them’s the breaks.”\n\nJohnson has in recent months been engulfed in a series of scandals that forced even his most stalwart supporters to abandon him. The latest was Downing Street’s botched handling of the resignation by Johnson’s former deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher, who was accused of groping two men last week.\n\nJohnson initially attempted to ride out the crisis – despite an unprecedented flight of middle-ranking ministers from the government, a battering at Prime Minister’s Questions and a bruising appearance before a committee of senior lawmakers in Parliament. On Wednesday, he still insisted he wasn’t going to resign.\n\nHe finally gave in Thursday after some of his most loyal allies told him that the game was up.\n\nUK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Johnson had made the “right decision” to resign. “We need calmness and unity now and to keep governing while a new leader is found,” she added.\n\nGreg Clark, newly appointed UK Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said that he had a “duty to ensure that the country has a functioning government.”\n\nThe leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, said it was “good news for the country” that Johnson had decided to resign, adding that “it should have happened long ago.”\n\n“He was always unfit for office. He has been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial scale,” said Starmer on Twitter.\n\nThe opposition leader also had scathing words for the Conservatives. “They have been in power for 12 years. The damage they have done is profound. Twelve years of economic stagnation. Twelve years of declining public services. Twelve years of empty promises,” Starmer said.\n\n“Enough is enough. We don’t need to change the Tory at the top – we need a proper change of government. We need a fresh start for Britain.”\n\n‘Needless damage’\n\nConventionally, when a Conservative leader resigns, he or she gives the party time to hold a thorough leadership contest, in which Conservative lawmakers and then party members nationwide vote.\n\nBut some said Johnson should leave office more quickly.\n\n“We now need a new Leader as soon as practicable,” Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said on Twitter. “Someone who can rebuild trust, heal the country, and set out a new, sensible and consistent economic approach to help families,” he added.\n\nScottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also called for the leadership question to be settled.\n\n“There will be a widespread sense of relief that the chaos of the last few days (indeed months) will come to an end, though notion of Boris Johnson staying on as PM until autumn seems far from ideal, and surely not sustainable?” Sturgeon said in a series of tweets.\n\nConservative MP Steve Baker told CNN that the party needs “to move swiftly to a leadership contest.”\n\nBaker said Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab should be caretaker prime minister, but that Johnson could also continue in office. Raab has deputized for Johnson in the past: When the PM was in intensive care with Covid-19 in April 2020 and then again briefly last month when Johnson underwent “routine” operation and was put under general anesthetic.\n\nRaab said he would not stand as next Conservative party leader, according to Britain’s PA news agency, which would make him a candidate for a caretaker PM if Johnson was to step down early.\n\n“I am absolutely determined that we should not prolong this crisis. If it’s agreed within government that Boris Johnson should continue as caretaker, then that’s fine with me,” Baker told CNN. “Because we need to just end the crisis, get into a leadership contest, and start fresh in September.”\n\nFormer British Prime Minister John Major said it would be “unwise and may be unsustainable” for Johnson to remain in the office of prime minister for long while a new Conservative leader is chosen. He too suggested Raab could serve as the acting prime minister.\n\nHours after Johnson’s announcement, Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat launched his campaign for the top job with an editorial in UK newspaper the Telegraph.\n\nBarrage of criticism\n\nJohnson’s departure will mark a remarkable downfall for a prime minister who was once seen as having political superpowers, with an appeal that transcended traditional party lines.\n\nHe won a landslide victory in December 2019 on the promise of delivering a Brexit deal and leading the UK to a bright future outside the European Union. But his premiership unraveled in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.\n\nIn recent months the prime minister has faced a barrage of criticism from all sides over his conduct and that of some members of his government, including illegal, Covid-19 lockdown-breaking parties thrown in his Downing Street offices for which he and others were fined.\n\nNumerous other scandals have also hit his standing in the polls. These include accusations of using donor money inappropriately to pay for a refurbishment of his Downing Street home and ordering MPs to vote in such a way that would protect a colleague who had breached lobbying rules.\n\nLast month, he survived a confidence vote among members of his own party, but the final count of his lawmakers who rebelled against him was higher than his supporters expected: 41% of his own parliamentary party refused to back him.\n\nHe suffered a further blow late last month when his party lost two parliamentary by-elections in a single night, raising new questions about his leadership.\n\nHis reputation was also damaged by the resignation of his second ethics adviser in less than two years.", "authors": ["Jack Guy Luke Mcgee Ivana Kottasová", "Jack Guy", "Luke Mcgee", "Ivana Kottasová"], "publish_date": "2022/07/07"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/20/uk/liz-truss-government-crisis-thursday-gbr-intl/index.html", "title": "Liz Truss resigns as Britain's Prime Minister after disastrous six ...", "text": "London CNN —\n\nLiz Truss will become the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, after announcing her intention to resign just six weeks into a disastrous term that pitched Britain deep into political and economic turmoil.\n\nTruss said Thursday that she would step aside for a new leader to be chosen within the next week, after a growing number of her own Conservative Party’s lawmakers said they could not support her any longer.\n\n“Given the situation, I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party. I have therefore spoken to His Majesty The King to notify him that I am resigning as Leader of the Conservative Party,” Truss said while standing outside the famous black door of 10 Downing Street, the same spot in which she had promised to put the UK back onto the path to economic growth and stability just six weeks earlier.\n\nThe announcement brings to an ignominious end a catastrophic tenure in Downing Street, which appeared doomed ever since the announcement of Truss’s flagship economic agenda sent markets into panic. A record rise in UK government bond prices sent borrowing costs surging and forced the Bank of England to make three successive interventions to rescue overstretched pension funds. The pound at one point hit an all-time low against the US dollar.\n\nTruss said she would stay in Downing Street until her successor is named.\n\nGraham Brady, who chairs the 1922 Committee which represents rank-and-file Conservative Members of Parliament, said Thursday that the new party leader – and therefore prime minister – should be in place before the end of October.\n\nCandidates to replace Truss will need at least 100 nominations from British Conservative lawmakers, Brady said later on Thursday, a move that effectively narrows the field of potential candidates.\n\nThe threshold allows for the possibility of three candidates, maximum, he said. There would be an online vote for Conservative Party members if two candidates make it through the parliamentary stages, party chairman Jake Berry added.\n\nIf only one candidate emerges, there could be a new party leader and Prime Minister by Monday, Brady said.\n\nTruss had tried to save her position by admitting her plan was a mistake and replacing her chancellor and long-time ally Kwasi Kwarteng with Jeremy Hunt, a staunch supporter of former Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest over the summer.\n\nIn the end, even that was not enough.\n\nOn Wednesday, Truss lost another top official when Home Secretary Suella Braverman dramatically quit just a few weeks into the job, using her letter of resignation to launch a blistering attack on the prime minister’s leadership.\n\n“The business of government relies upon people accepting responsibility for their mistakes. Pretending we haven’t made mistakes, carrying on as if everyone can’t see that we have made them, and hoping that things will magically come right is not serious politics,” Braverman wrote in a critique of Truss’s numerous U-turns on taxes and public spending.\n\nBritish Prime Minister Liz Truss announces her resignation outside Number 10 Downing Street on October 20, 2022. Henry Nicholls/Reuters\n\nMaking a bad day even worse, chaotic scenes unfolded in the UK Parliament on Wednesday evening during a vote on whether to ban controversial fracking for shale gas.\n\nLawmakers reported that aides for Truss had manhandled MPs into the voting lobby to force them to vote against the ban proposed by the opposition Labour Party. Politicians in the lobby tweeted eyewitness accounts alleging that MPs were being physically dragged to vote in the government lobby, amid angry scenes of shouting and altercation.\n\nHouse of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle announced Thursday that he had ordered an investigation into the allegations.\n\nShortest tenure ever\n\nThe names of potential successors began floating around even before Truss announced she was going to resign.\n\nLeader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt, who stepped in for Truss during a difficult parliamentary debate earlier this week and also stood in the leadership contest over the summer, will likely be in the running. Sunak, who was Truss’ biggest rival in that contest, is another possible candidate.\n\nMeanwhile, allies of Boris Johnson, Truss’s predecessor in Number 10, made it clear on Thursday that they think the former prime minister will stand in the leadership contest, according to two sources who worked on Johnson’s 2019 leadership campaign.\n\nNewly appointed Home Secretary Grant Shapps and Kemi Badenoch, who came fourth in the last leadership contest, could also stand.\n\nTruss announced her decision to leave on day 45 of her tenure. George Canning previously held the record for the shortest term in Downing Street, having served for 119 days until his death in 1827.\n\nHer move ensures a fresh power struggle within the ruling Conservative Party, which has hemorrhaged public support for the past year and has now overthrown Boris Johnson and Truss in the space of a few months. The new prime minister will be the third since the last general election in December 2019 and the fifth since the Conservatives came into power in 2010.\n\nEarlier this year, Truss’s predecessor Johnson narrowly survived a confidence vote in his leadership. But he resigned weeks later when dozens of ministers and members of the government quit, citing a lack of confidence in his government.\n\nTruss was elected the Conservative Party leader in early September. The September 6 audience during which Queen Elizabeth II officially appointed Truss as the new prime minister, the 15th of her reign, was one of the last duties carried out by the monarch before her death on September 8.\n\nThe new prime minister, whoever that may be, will become the first to be appointed by King Charles III.\n\nKeir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, which is enjoying a huge lead in opinion polls, on Thursday repeated his calls for an early general election.\n\n“After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos,” the opposition leader said in a statement posted on Twitter.\n\n“The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people,” he added.\n\nScottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also called for an early vote.\n\n“The interests of the Tory party should concern no-one right now. A General Election is now a democratic imperative,” Sturgeon said on Twitter.\n\nThe next general election is due to take place no later than January 2025, but the prospect of Britain seeing its third prime minister since the last poll in 2019 would heap pressure on Truss’ successor to ask the public for a new mandate.\n\nThe British pound was trading 0.5% higher against the dollar after Truss announced her resignation, indicating that investors welcomed the decision.", "authors": ["Ivana Kottasová Rob Picheta", "Ivana Kottasová", "Rob Picheta"], "publish_date": "2022/10/20"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/21/uk/uk-no-election-explained-intl-gbr/index.html", "title": "UK election: Why crisis-wracked nation won't be voting soon | CNN", "text": "London CNN —\n\nThe United Kingdom is – once again – in the market for a new leader following the resignation of Prime Minister Liz Truss only six weeks into her disastrous premiership.\n\nTruss’ successor will be the fifth PM to lead the country since it voted for Brexit in 2016 – a decision that set into motion the turmoil that ultimately led to the current political chaos.\n\nAnd while a general election might seem to be the obvious way forward, Brits (and their dogs) are unlikely to be lining up in front of the ballot box any time soon. Here’s why.\n\nWhy won’t there be a new election?\n\nIn the UK, general elections must be held at least every five years.\n\nLuckily for the Conservative Party, which is currently in power but trailing the opposition in opinion polls, the next vote doesn’t need to be held until January 2025.\n\nThat’s because in the UK, prime ministers are not elected directly by the people. In fact, four of the last five British prime ministers came into the role without a general election.\n\nTruss is in Downing Street because she is the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons. She was picked by the roughly 172,000 members of the Conservative Party after the departure of Boris Johnson, who himself became prime minister without a general election after winning the party leadership contest in 2019 – although he did call a new vote in December that year and won.\n\nTheresa May, who served as prime minister before Johnson, also first became PM without an election, as did Labour’s Gordon Brown when he replaced Tony Blair in 2007.\n\nSo how will the new PM be picked?\n\nThe Conservative Party is still the largest one in Parliament, so its new leader will automatically become prime minister.\n\nWhile the last leadership election took almost two months – longer than Truss will spend as prime minister – the next one will be swift.\n\nGraham Brady, leader of the 1922 Committee, which represents rank-and-file Conservative members of parliament, said Thursday the new PM will be chosen by next Friday.\n\nTo narrow the field of those in the running, the candidates to replace Truss will need at least 100 nominations from Conservative MPs, which means there will be a maximum of three people in the running.\n\nMust the new prime minister call a general election?\n\nNo. The next general election is due to take place no later than January 2025.\n\nHowever, the prospect of Britain seeing its third prime minister since the last poll in 2019 and the second to come into power without a public vote will put pressure on Truss’ successor to ask the public for a new mandate.\n\nThe last time three successive prime ministers entered Downing Street without standing in a general election was before and during the World War II.\n\nThe opposition, sensing an opportunity, is pushing for a new vote. Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, which is enjoying a huge lead in opinion polls, repeated his calls on Thursday for an early general election. “After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos,” he said in a statement posted on Twitter. Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also called for an early vote, saying a new “general election is now a democratic imperative.”\n\nWhat do British people think about all this?\n\nJudging by the numerous protests, jokes and memes, many are far from impressed. A public petition calling for a new election was launched in September. It gathered more than 715,000 signatures and was debated in parliament earlier this week.\n\nHowever, there is little the public can do if the Conservative Party, which is firmly in control of parliament, decides not to call an election now. For many Conservative lawmakers, voting for an early election would mean the end of their political careers. The odds of that happening are likely to be low.", "authors": ["Ivana Kottasová"], "publish_date": "2022/10/21"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/06/uk/boris-johnson-vote-of-confidence-uk-prime-minister-intl/index.html", "title": "Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister, squeaks through confidence ...", "text": "London CNN —\n\nUK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a confidence vote by members of his own party – but the final count of lawmakers who rebelled against him was far higher than his supporters expected.\n\nAfter a tidal wave of recent criticism – which included illegal, lockdown-breaking parties thrown in his Downing Street offices – Johnson squeaked by with 211 votes to 148 in a secret ballot on Monday.\n\nThe government hailed the result, with Johnson saying he thought “this is a very good result for politics and for the country.”\n\n“I think it’s a convincing result, a decisive result, and what it means is that as a government we can move on and focus on the stuff that really matters to people,” Johnson said.\n\nYet his thin margin of victory means that 41% of his own parliamentary party refused to back Johnson, three years after he led the Conservative Party to a landslide victory in the last general election.\n\nVoting began at 6 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) Monday after Johnson urged Conservative lawmakers to back him and reminded them that he had led the party to its biggest electoral win in 40 years, according to a letter he wrote seen by PA Media.\n\nThe large rebellion by his lawmakers will leave Johnson’s reputation diminished and could damage his ability to push through legislation. Disappointing results for the party in upcoming polls could also heap more pressure on Johnson, as Conservatives face two difficult parliamentary by-elections in late June.\n\nDespite the victory, the opposition Labour Party has said that by hanging onto power this time, Johnson makes the prospect of an early election even more likely. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer predicted to LBC that Monday’s vote would mark “the beginning of the end” of the Prime Minister’s political career – no matter which way the vote went.\n\n“If you look at the previous examples of no confidence votes, even when Conservative Prime Ministers survive those … the damage is already done,” the opposition leader told LBC Monday. “Usually, they fall reasonably swiftly afterwards.”\n\nFollowing the vote, Starmer said Johnson was “utterly unfit for the great office he holds” and accused Conservative lawmakers of ignoring the British public. “The Conservative Government now believes that breaking the law is no impediment to making the law.”\n\nScotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called Johnson an “utterly lame duck” on Twitter following the vote.\n\n“That result is surely the worst of all worlds for the Tories. But much more importantly: at a time of huge challenge, it saddles the UK with an utterly lame duck PM,” Sturgeon said in a tweet on Monday night.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback 'No way out': Commentator predicts Boris Johnson's future 02:10 - Source: CNN\n\nJohnson’s predecessor Theresa May was the last sitting British leader to face a no-confidence vote from their own party. May narrowly survived that vote, which had been called amid months of chaos over her doomed Brexit deal – but she ultimately resigned months later.\n\nMonday’s vote was triggered after more than 54 lawmakers sent letters to the chair of the Tory backbench 1922 committee, following a tidal wave of criticism over a number of scandals that have engulfed Johnson’s premiership for several months.\n\nLast month, a damning report by a senior civil servant found a culture of partying and socializing among Johnson’s staff during Covid-19 lockdown, while millions of Britons were banned from seeing their friends and relatives.\n\nBoris Johnson waves from the steps of No. 10 Downing Street after giving a statement in London in July 2019. He had just become prime minister. Frank Augstein/AP A 15-year-old Johnson, right, is seen outside Eton College, a boarding school outside London, in 1979. Ian Sumner/Shutterstock Johnson, 21, speaks with Greek Minister for Culture Melina Mercouri in June 1986. Johnson at the time was president of the Oxford Union, a prestigious student society. Brian Smith/Reuters Johnson started his career as a journalist. He was fired from an early job at The Times for fabricating a quote. He later became a Brussels correspondent and then an assistant editor for The Daily Telegraph. From 1994 to 2005, he was editor of the weekly magazine The Spectator. Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images In 2001, Johnson was elected as a member of Parliament. He won the seat in Henley for the Conservative Party. Tim Ockenden/PA Images/Getty Images Johnson looks apologetic after fouling Germany's Maurizio Gaudino during a charity soccer match in Reading, England, in May 2006. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Johnson is congratulated by Conservative Party leader David Cameron, right, after being elected mayor of London in May 2008. Cameron later became prime minister. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire via AP Johnson, left, poses with a wax figure of himself at Madame Tussauds in London in May 2009. Sang Tan/AP Johnson poses for a photo in London in April 2011. He was re-elected as the city's mayor in 2012. Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Johnson and his wife, Marina, enjoy the atmosphere in London ahead of the Olympic opening ceremony in July 2012. The couple separated in 2018 after 25 years of marriage. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Johnson gets stuck on a zip line during an event in London's Victoria Park in August 2012. Barcroft Media via Getty Images Johnson waves on London's Wandsworth Bridge as a bike-sharing program was expanded in the city in 2013. Jonathan Brady/PA Images/AP Johnson poses with his father, Stanley, and his siblings, Rachel and Jo, at the launch of his new book in October 2014. Stanley Johnson was once a member of the European Parliament. David M. Benett/Getty Images Johnson takes part in a charity tug-of-war with British military personnel in October 2015. Jonathan Brady/AP Johnson and Michael Gove ride on a \"Vote Leave\" campaign bus in June 2016. Stefan Rousseau/PA Images/AP Johnson kisses a wild salmon while visiting a fish market in London in June 2016. A month earlier, he stepped down as mayor but remained a member of Parliament for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Stefan Rousseau/AP Johnson arrives at a news conference in London in June 2016. During the Brexit referendum that year, he was under immense pressure from Prime Minister Cameron to back the Remain campaign. But he broke ranks and backed Brexit at the last minute. Mary Turner/Bloomberg via Getty Images Johnson sits next to Prime Minister Theresa May during a Cabinet meeting in November 2016. Johnson was May's foreign secretary for two years before resigning over her handling of Brexit. Peter Nicholls/WPA Pool/Getty Images As foreign secretary, Johnson meets with US House Speaker Paul Ryan in April 2017. Johnson was born in New York City to British parents and once held dual citizenship. But he renounced his US citizenship in 2016. Richard Pohle/WPA Pool/Getty Images Johnson launches his Conservative Party leadership campaign in June 2019. Leon Neal/Getty Images Johnson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt take part in the Conservative Leadership debate in June 2019. Jeff Overs/BBC via Getty Images Johnson speaks in July 2019 after he won the party leadership vote to become Britain's next prime minister. Toby Melville/Reuters Britain's Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Johnson at Buckingham Palace, where she invited him to become Prime Minister and form a new government. Victoria Jones/AP Johnson poses with his dog Dilyn as he leaves a polling station in London in December 2019. DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images Johnson appears on stage alongside Bobby Smith during the count declaration in London in December 2019. Johnson's Conservative Party won a majority in the UK's general election, securing his position as Prime Minister. Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Johnson and his partner, Carrie Symonds, react to election results from his study at No. 10 Downing Street. Andrew Parsons/i-Images/ZUMA Press Johnson speaks on the phone with Queen Elizabeth II in March 2020. Andrew Parsons/WPA Pool/Getty Images In March 2020, Johnson announced in a video posted to Twitter that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus. \"Over the last 24 hours, I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus. I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government's response via video conference as we fight this virus. Together we will beat this,\" Johnson said. He was later hospitalized after his symptoms had \"worsened,\" according to his office. From Twitter Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, outside of No. 10 Downing Street, join a national applause showing appreciation for health-care workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Aaron Chown/PA Images/Getty Images Johnson is seen via video conference as he attends a Covid-19 meeting remotely in March 2020. Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street After recovering from the coronavirus, Johnson returned to work in late April 2020. Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Johnson and staff members are pictured together with wine at a Downing Street garden in May 2020. In January 2022, Johnson apologized for attending the event, which took place when Britons were prohibited from gathering due to strict coronavirus restrictions. Guardian/eyevine/Redux Johnson wears a face mask as he visits the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust in July 2020. Ben Stansall/WPA Pool/Getty Images US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sits across from Johnson in the garden of No. 10 Downing Street in July 2020. HANNAH MCKAY/POOL/AFP/Getty Images 14/07/2020. London, United Kingdom. Boris Johnson and Carrie NHS Call.The Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds with their son Wilfred in the study of No10 Downing Street speaking via zoom to the midwifes that helped deliver their son at the UCLH. Andrew Parsons/No10 Downing Street Johnson holds a crab in Stromness Harbour during a visit to Scotland in July 2020. Robert Perry/Getty Images Johnson is seen with his wife, Carrie, after their wedding at London's Westminster Cathedral in May 2021. The ceremony, described by PA Media as a \"secret wedding,\" was reportedly held in front of close friends and family, according to several British newspaper accounts. Rebecca Fulton/Pool/Reuters Johnson and US President Joe Biden speak at Carbis Bay in Cornwall, England, after their bilateral meeting in June 2021. Biden and Johnson were participating in the G7 summit that weekend. Andrew Parsons/No10 Downing Street/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II greets Johnson at Buckingham Palace in June 2021. It was the Queen's first in-person weekly audience with the Prime Minister since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Dominic Lipinski/Pool/Getty Images Johnson delivers his keynote speech on the final day of the annual Conservative Party Conference in October 2021. Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Johnson and former British prime ministers attend a requiem Mass for Conservative MP David Amess in November 2021. From left are former Prime Ministers John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Johnson. Stefan Rousseau/Pool/AFP/Getty Images Johnson and his wife, Carrie, holding their newborn daughter, Romy, hold video calls in December 2021. Simon Dawson/No10 Downing Street Johnson speaks in the House of Commons in January 2022. He apologized for attending a May 2020 garden party that took place while the UK was in a hard lockdown to combat the spread of Covid-19. Johnson told lawmakers he believed the gathering to be a work event but that, with hindsight, he should have sent attendees back inside. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor via AP Johnson meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine, in April 2022. Presidential Office of Ukraine/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Johnson attends the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London in June 2022. It was part of Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II. Victoria Jones/AP \"I think it's an extremely good, positive, conclusive, decisive result which enables us to move on to unite,\" Johnson said in an interview shortly after surviving a confidence vote in June 2022. PA/AP Johnson leaves No. 10 Downing Street on July 6, a day after two senior Cabinet ministers quit over Downing Street's handling of the resignation of deputy chief whip Chris Pincher. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images At Prime Minister's Questions on July 6, Johnson said \"the job of a Prime Minister in difficult circumstances when he has been handed a colossal mandate is to keep going, and that's what I'm going to do.\" Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/Reuters Johnson announces his resignation in front of No. 10 Downing Street on July 7. \"It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister,\" he said. Henry Nicholls/Reuters Johnson speaks outside No. 10 Downing Street on September 6. It was his last day as prime minister. Alberto Pezzali/AP In photos: Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Prev Next\n\nThe so-called Partygate scandal plunged his approval ratings and sparked a drumbeat of dissatisfaction among several of his backbenchers. But Johnson has also been criticized for his response to a cost-of-living crisis, and his party suffered heavy losses at local elections in May.\n\nUnder Conservative party rules – which can be changed at any time – a leader who survives a confidence vote is safe from such a challenge for 12 months.\n\nBut with only 58.6% of Conservative MPs backing Johnson on Monday, the Prime Minister suffered a worse result than his predecessor May, who had the support of 63% of her lawmakers in a much smaller parliamentary party when she faced a confidence vote in 2018.\n\nDespite the worse performance, Johnson insisted it was an “extremely good” result, saying he was not interested in a snap election to gain a new mandate from the public.", "authors": ["Tara John Ivana Kottasová Rob Picheta Luke Mcgee", "Tara John", "Ivana Kottasová", "Rob Picheta", "Luke Mcgee"], "publish_date": "2022/06/06"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/959709/kate-forbes-snp-frontrunner-who-could-be-scotlands-jacinda-ardern", "title": "Kate Forbes: SNP frontrunner who could be 'Scotland's Jacinda ...", "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": ["Sorcha Bradley"], "publish_date": "2023/02/16"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/24/scots-second-independence-try/86325426/", "title": "Scots preparing for second independence try after 'Brexit' result", "text": "Jill Castle and Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY NETWORK\n\nGLASGOW, Scotland — Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon will push for a second vote to decide whether her country should remain part of the United Kingdom, she said Friday.\n\nScots voted overwhelmingly to stay in the European Union. Independence was defeated in a referendum in 2014.\n\nShe said legislation for a new vote \"has to be on the table\" and that she would do everything possible to keep Scotland inside the EU.\n\nBritain’s decision to leave the EU represents a substantial, material change in Scotland’s relations and could justify another independence vote, she said. The Scottish leader also praised British Prime Minister David Cameron. He will resign before October.\n\nThe SNP's manifesto ahead of May's Scottish Parliament election said Scotland should have the right to hold a second independence vote if there was a \"significant and material\" change in circumstances from 2014, such as it being taken out of the EU against it will.\n\nBritain votes to leave European Union\n\n'We're out': Front pages reflect historic 'Brexit'\n\nSturgeon said legislation is being prepared for a second independence to ensure it can be held before the U.K. leaves the EU in two years time.\n\nAddressing the nation, Sturgeon said: \"As first minister I have a duty to respond not just to the U.K. outcome of the referendum but to the democratic decision of Scotland.\n\n\"As things stand Scotland faces the prospect of being taken out of the EU against our will. I regard that as unacceptable.\"\n\nSturgeon said that she has spoken to the Bank of England and would be meeting with the European Commissioner after the shock result.\n\nFormer SNP leader Alex Salmond, who led the first failed independence bid, has said it would take place within the two-year negotiating period between a Brexit vote and the U.K.'s formal withdrawal from the EU, allowing Scotland to remain a member.\n\nHe dismissed suggestions the SNP had undermined the \"remain\" vote by criticizing the prime minister's economic case for staying in the EU.\n\nHe said: \"On the contrary. I think it was really important for someone to say the style of the 'remain' campaign led by the prime minister and (Finance Minister) George Osborne was wrong.\"\n\nSturgeon also confirmed that the Scottish Cabinet will meet Saturday to discuss the next move.\n\nShe said she made clear to Cameron that the Scottish government must be involved in all future steps that the U.K. government intends to take on Europe.\n\nShe added: \"The manifesto that the SNP were elected on last month said the Scottish Parliament should have the right to hold a referendum if there is a significant and material change in our circumstances.\n\n\"Scotland now faces that prospect. The option of a second referendum must be on the table and it is on the table.\n\n\"Discussions have to be had before decisions are taken but if parliament judges that a referendum is the only way to protect Scotland's place in Europe it must be able to do so in that time scale.\"\n\n'Brexit' bombshell torpedoes global markets\n\nGlobal reaction pours in over 'Brexit' result\n\nBritish pound plummets to 31-year low amid 'Brexit' vote\n\nJill Castle reports for The (Glasgow, Scotland) Herald; Kim Hjelmgaard reports for USA TODAY. Follow Castle and Hjelmgaard on Twitter: @jillscastle and @khjelmgaard", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/06/24"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/11/uk/queen-death-whats-next-guide-intl-cmd/index.html", "title": "Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral: What to expect | CNN", "text": "London (CNN)–The death of Queen Elizabeth II has set into motion an intricate period of mourning which will culminate with a huge state funeral on September 19 honoring her lifetime of devotion and steadfast service.\n\nCodenamed “Operation London Bridge,” arrangements for Britain’s longest-serving monarch have been carefully pored over for years by the many agencies involved, with the Queen herself signing off on every single detail before her death. However, these details were kept under wraps until the sitting sovereign, King Charles III, gave it all his final seal of approval.\n\nThe Queen will ultimately be laid to rest within St. George’s Chapel, in the grounds of Windsor Castle, alongside her “strength and stay” of 73 years, Prince Philip. Here, we’ve put together a day-by-day guide on what will happen from now until the state funeral.\n\nFollowing the Queen’s death, her oak coffin – draped with the Royal Standard for Scotland and a wreath of flowers – sat in the ballroom at Balmoral, where estate staff had the chance to pay their last respects.\n\nOn Sunday morning, gamekeepers carried it to a waiting hearse, and then the beloved monarch left Balmoral for the last time. The first leg of the Queen’s final journey saw the royal cortege make a six-hour journey to Edinburgh and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. The trip by road ordinarily takes around three hours, however, it was driven slowly to allow people to witness the procession and bow their heads as it passed.\n\nAn honor guard made up of the Royal Regiment of Scotland greeted the hearse in Edinburgh with a royal salute before the coffin was transferred to the Throne Room by a military bearer party.\n\nMeanwhile, back in London, the King met with the Commonwealth secretary general before hosting a reception for the high commissioners from the realms of which he is now head of state in Buckingham Palace’s Bow Room.\n\nOn Monday morning, the King started the day with a trip to Westminster Hall where both Houses of Parliament expressed their condolences. He and his wife Camilla then flew to Edinburgh, where they headed straight to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.\n\nIn the afternoon, the King led a procession carrying the Queen’s coffin to St. Giles’ Cathedral for a service of thanksgiving attended by members of the royal family, as well as a congregation made up “from all areas of Scottish society,” according to a senior palace official. Afterward, the coffin rested there for 24 hours to allow the Scottish public to see it.\n\nFollowing the service, the King had an audience with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and a meeting with the presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament. Charles, accompanied by the Queen Consort, also went to the Scottish Parliament to receive a motion of condolence.\n\nIn the evening, the King and members of the royal family mounted their own guard – or vigil – of the Queen’s coffin.\n\nThen-Prince Charles and his brother Edward, left, stand vigil beside their grandmother's coffin while the Queen Mother lies in state at Westminster Hall in 2002. Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images\n\nOn Tuesday, the King and Camilla visited Belfast, Northern Ireland, as part of his first tour as monarch of the nations that make up the United Kingdom. The couple visited Hillsborough Castle and viewed an exhibition on the Queen’s long association with Northern Ireland. The King then met the secretary of state for Northern Ireland in addition to other party leaders, and received a message of condolence led by the speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.\n\nBack in Scotland, the Queen’s only daughter, Princess Anne, accompanied her mother’s body as it was flown back to London. The coffin traveled 8.2 miles (13.2 kilometers) by hearse to Edinburgh Airport, where it departed for RAF Northolt.\n\nA state hearse brought the monarch’s remains to Buckingham Palace, where the King, the Queen Consort, as well as other members of the Windsor clan, were waiting for the coffin’s arrival at around 8 p.m. (3 p.m. ET). The Dean of the Chapels Royal conducted prayers and a bearer party founded by The Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards placed the coffin on trestles in the center of the Bow Room to rest overnight.\n\nWednesday saw an extraordinary procession take the coffin on a gun carriage from Buckingham Palace over to Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster, where the Queen will lie in state until the morning of the funeral.\n\nFor this journey, the coffin was be adorned with the Imperial State Crown and a flower wreath. The procession set off at 2:22 p.m. (9:22 a.m. ET) along The Mall, across Horse Guards Parade, past Downing Street toward Westminster.\n\nSenior royals including King Charles III and Princes William and Harry walked behind their beloved matriarch. They were followed by senior staff from the royal households as well as close personal staff and members of the Household Division. As crowds watched the procession – which took around 40 minutes – Big Ben tolled and minute guns fired by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery at Hyde Park echoed across the capital.\n\nThe Queen’s coffin was placed on a raised platform – or catafalque – in the middle of the hall and is being guarded around the clock by officers from the Household Division, the King’s Bodyguard or the Royal Company of Archers.\n\nUpon its arrival at Westminster Hall, a short service was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, after which the hall opened for the public to pay their respects.\n\nKing Charles III walks with his sons behind the Queen's coffin on Wednesday. Daniel Leal/Pool/AP\n\nMembers of the public filed past the Queen’s coffin during its first full day lying in state at Westminster Hall on Thursday.\n\nThe hall will be open 24 hours a day until 6:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m.) on the day of the Queen’s funeral. The UK government has warned that those wishing to pay their respects “will be required to queue for many hours, possibly overnight.” All those attending the lying in state will go through “airport-style” security with only small bags permitted.\n\nBrass plaques in the 11th-century hall mark the spot where Edward VII lay in state in 1910, George V in 1936, George VI in 1952 and Queen Mary a year later. The hall, which is 900 years old, is also where wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill lay in state in 1965.\n\nOn Friday, the lying in state continued for a second full day. Huge numbers of people lined up in central London for a chance to visit the coffin and be part of this historic moment.\n\nSeparately, King Charles and Camilla visited Wales on Friday, bringing their tour of all four nations that make up the United Kingdom to a close.\n\nPublic access to the lying in state continues into the weekend. And in a surprise announcement, the Queen’s eight grandchildren – including Princes William and Harry – will stand vigil beside her coffin on Saturday evening.\n\nSunday marks the final full day the Queen’s body will lie in state in Westminster Hall.\n\nThe UK public has also been invited to observe a minute’s silence at 8 p.m. (3 p.m. ET) in a national moment of reflection.\n\nOn the morning of Monday, September 19 – declared a public holiday across the UK – the Queen’s lying in state will end. The coffin will then travel in procession once more to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral, the details of which will likely come in the following days.\n\nWestminster Abbey, founded in 960 AD by Benedictine monks, is one of the most recognizable landmarks in London. The historic church has been the setting for every coronation since 1066, and was where the then-Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip in 1947. But there hasn’t been a funeral of a monarch there since that of George II in 1760.\n\nHeads of state and dignitaries from around the world are expected to be invited to the British capital to join members of the royal family to celebrate the Queen’s life and unwavering service to the nation and Commonwealth. While a guest list has not yet been announced, US President Joe Biden plans to attend the funeral.\n\nOther familiar faces at the televised service will be some of the 15 prime ministers to have served during the Queen’s reign.\n\nAt its conclusion, the coffin will travel in procession to Wellington Arch, before making its final journey out of London to Windsor.\n\nThe George VI Memorial Chapel in St. George's Chapel, Windsor, where the Queen's father and mother were interred. A casket containing the ashes of the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret, is also in the vault. Tim Ockenden/PA Images/Getty Images\n\nIts destination is the now-familiar St. George’s Chapel within the grounds of Windsor Castle. It’s where Prince Philip’s funeral service was held, as well as more jubilant occasions like the nuptials of the Queen’s grandchildren.\n\nFollowing the service for the Duke of Edinburgh in 2021, his coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault, set below the chapel, where many royal family members have been laid to rest. However, he will be relocated to lie together with the Queen in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, located elsewhere within St. George’s Chapel.\n\nTo get updates on the British Royal Family sent to your inbox, sign up for CNN’s Royal News newsletter.", "authors": ["Lauren Said-Moorhouse Max Foster", "Lauren Said-Moorhouse", "Max Foster"], "publish_date": "2022/09/11"}, {"url": "http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/08/scottish-muslim-leaders-invite-ignorant-trump-to-visit-mosque/85587828/", "title": "Muslim leaders invite 'ignorant' Donald Trump to visit mosque during ...", "text": "Kate Devlin\n\nThe (Glasgow, Scotland) Herald\n\nGLASGOW, Scotland — Leading figures from the Muslim community have invited Donald Trump to visit a mosque when he comes to Scotland at the end of this month.\n\nThe controversial presumptive Republican presidential nominee should \"learn more about the Muslims that he offends almost every time he opens his mouth,\" they said in a joint statement.\n\nTrump attracted worldwide condemnation after he demanded a temporary ban on all Muslims entering America following the killing of 14 people at a health center in San Bernardino, Calif., by a Muslim couple who are believed to have been radicalized.\n\nThe tycoon also claimed that Muslims nursed a \"hatred\" for Americans.\n\nHis comments led to calls from Scottish ministers and members of Parliament for the Home Secretary Theresa May to ban Trump from Britain for \"hate-preaching.\"\n\nTrump is due to fly into Scotland later this month to re-open his Turnberry golf course and hotel, in Ayrshire, after a £200 million ($290 million) revamp.\n\nHafiz Ghafoor of Edinburgh's Annandale Mosque, and Munawar Hussain, secretary of Roxburgh Street Mosque & Islamic Center, also in Edinburgh, accused the billionaire of “ignorance” and invited him to visit their mosques.\n\nDonald Trump set to do whistle-stop tour of all resorts this month\n\nThere, they said, he should educate himself \"before he makes another inflammatory speech.”\n\nThey said: “Donald Trump aspires to lead the free world but his run for the White House has been rooted in ignorance and intolerance.\n\n“Muslims in Scotland and elsewhere are working together with people of all faiths to build understanding and peace across the world and tackle extremism.\n\n“Trump should learn more about the Muslims that he offends almost every time he opens his mouth.\n\n\"We would welcome the opportunity to show him the work that we are doing in the community in Edinburgh when he comes to Scotland later this month.”\n\nBoth mosques have a record of promoting interfaith relations and have also worked with the homeless.\n\nThe call was echoed by Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, who has been in touch with the mosques.\n\nHe said: \"Donald Trump has spent much of the last year spouting disgusting nonsense about women, Mexicans and others but some of his most ludicrous statements have been about Muslims.\n\n\"Muslims are our friends, colleagues, family and neighbors. When he insults them in such a grotesque manner he insults us all.\n\n\"I have been in touch with Muslim community leaders in Edinburgh. He should come and meet some of those he wants to ban from America when he visits Scotland later this month. He can see first hand the work that they are doing to help marginalized groups like the homeless and then try to justify his outlandish claims.\"\n\nTrump is already facing demonstrations against his visit while he is in the country, under the banner \"Scotland against Trump.\"\n\nHe had been due to arrive in Scotland on the day that the result of the EU vote is announced, June 24.\n\nHowever, he announced last week that he has changed his plans and will land the day before voters go to the polls, prompting speculation that he intends to make an intervention in the referendum.\n\nDonald Trump's Turnberry golf course reopens after £200m renovation\n\nHe has already lined up against (Prime Minister) David Cameron on the issue, saying that the U.K. should leave the EU.\n\nCameron has condemned Trump's remarks about Muslims as \"stupid, divisive and wrong.\"\n\nBut Cameron has also said that he would be \"very happy\" to meet Trump in the U.K. before the presidential vote (in November).\n\nLast week an exclusive BMG poll for The Herald showed that 42% of the U.K. public think (Cameron) should not meet Trump, while another 31% said that he should — but only to criticize him face to face.\n\nDuring his campaign for his party’s nomination Trump has also been criticized for demanding that Mexico pay to erect a wall at its border to prevent immigrants crossing into the U.S.\n\nHe was also attacked after he said that women should be punished if they have an abortion. He later walked back from that claim.\n\nFollow Kate Devlin on Twitter: @_katedevlin", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/06/08"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/10/20/second-scottish-independence-referendum-vote-permission/92461132/?showmenu=true", "title": "Scottish independence vote would need British permission", "text": "Daniel Sanderson\n\n(Glasgow, Scotland) Evening Times\n\nGLASGOW, Scotland — The Scottish leader will need cooperation from the British Parliament in order to hold a second independence referendum, ministers have confirmed.\n\nA draft referendum bill, published Thursday, showed that an order temporarily transferring legal powers to the seat of the Scottish government in Holyrood would be sought if the legislation is introduced at the Scottish Parliament.\n\nIn a preamble to a consultation accompanying the draft bill, the Scottish government states that it would be \"expected\" that a Section 30 order would be granted, as it was ahead of the 2014 vote.\n\nScottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said previously that it is \"inconceivable\" that British Prime Minister Theresa May would block a vote. However, other Scottish National Party figures including former justice secretary Kenny MacAskill have said it is \"perfectly feasible\" that Downing Street will refuse to grant the powers. The British government has not yet given a definitive answer to the question.\n\nIt is proposed at this stage that the same question as in 2014, \"should Scotland be an independent country?\" would be used in a second referendum although a variation has not been ruled out after the consultation. Scotland's constitutional future would be decided by a simple majority, with no minimum turnout threshold.\n\nScottish leader prepares for pre-Brexit independence vote\n\nAs in 2014, 16 and 17-year-olds would be eligible to vote, as would European Union citizens. Minor changes to 2014 are proposed around absent voting arrangements and permitted participants.\n\nThe consultation asks about technical aspects of the bill, not whether a repeat referendum should be held.\n\nSturgeon has said she will move for a second referendum if she concludes independence is the best or only way to protect Scotland's interests, after the United Kingdom's decision to quit the EU.\n\nIn the June referendum, 52% of voters voted to leave the European Union.\n\nThe first minister, in the foreword to the consultation document, said that the Scottish National Party has been elected on a \"clear mandate\" that it should have the right to hold a referendum, if there was a \"significant and material change in circumstances\" to 2014 such as Scotland being taken out of the EU against its will.\n\nShe added: \"Scotland is now faced with one of the specific scenarios in which this government pledged that the Scottish Parliament should have the right to hold an independence referendum.\n\nBritain: No special migration deal for Scotland after Brexit\n\n\"The UK Government’s recent statements on its approach to leaving the EU raise serious concerns for the Scottish Government. We face unacceptable risks to our democratic, economic and social interests and to the right of the Scottish Parliament to have its say.\n\n\"Indeed those statements contradict the assurances given before the independence referendum in 2014 that Scotland is an equal partner within the UK and that a vote against independence would secure our EU membership.\n\n\"For many people, this approach will be evidence of a wider democratic deficit within the UK, where decisions about Scotland are too often taken against the wishes of people who live here.\"\n\nShe added: \"This government remains willing to work with the UK Government to negotiate a future relationship with Europe that is in line with the views of the overwhelming majority of the Scottish people and which works for the United Kingdom as a whole.\"\n\nThe 2014, the independence referendum was defeated 55% to 45%, meaning Scotland remained a part of the United Kingdom.\n\nContributing: Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY. Follow Daniel Sanderson on Twitter: @DanSandersonHT\n\n'Hard Brexit' could cost U.K. $81 billion a year\n\nScottish voters choose to stick with U.K.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/10/20"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/959706/does-sturgeons-exit-mean-the-end-of-snp-dominance-in-scotland", "title": "Does Sturgeon's exit mean the end of SNP rule in Scotland? | The ...", "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": ["Chas Newkey-Burden"], "publish_date": "2023/02/16"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_23", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:14", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/959652/sky-brown-becomes-uks-first-skateboarding-world-champion", "title": "Sky Brown becomes UK's first skateboarding world champion | The ...", "text": "Sky Brown has become the UK’s first skateboarding world champion at the age of just 14.\n\nThe British-Japanese teenager, who won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, “produced a dazzling final two runs” to win gold in the park skateboarding category at the world championships in Sharjah, UAE, said The Sun.\n\nOlympic silver medallist Kokona Hiraki led until the final round, but fell on her final attempt, while Tokyo gold medallist Sakura Yosozumi​​​​​ struggled throughout before taking bronze.\n\nBrown told Sky Sports after the event: “Being on the podium with these guys again is so crazy. There’s new girls ripping it and it’s really inspiring.\n\n“I’m really stoked. It’s just been really fun. I was trying to enjoy it as much as I could. Landing all three of my runs was an amazing feeling. I didn’t really know until the end because all the girls are crazy right now,” she added.\n\nAged 13 years and 28 days, Brown became the UK’s youngest ever Olympic medallist at the Tokyo Games held in 2021.\n\nThe skateboarder, who was born in Miyazaki, Japan, to a Japanese mother and British father, competed at the US Open in 2016 at the age of eight and first chose to compete for Great Britain in 2018.\n\nLast year, Brown told the Independent that her next ambition is to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics in both skateboarding and surfing. That will “present practical challenges”, said the news site, given one competition will be held in Paris and the other off the Pacific island of Tahiti. But “Brown has overcome greater challenges already in her burgeoning career,” said the website. “It’s gonna be pretty hard but I’m gonna try my best because I love them both,” she said.\n\n“That feeling, being on the podium, it made me fired up. It made me want to go and get a gold medal next time. It was so fun and I want to do it again,” she said.", "authors": ["Jamie Timson"], "publish_date": "2023/02/13"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/959104/michael-smith-nine-darter-darts-reactions-greatest-leg-of-all-time", "title": "Michael Smith's nine-darter: video and best tweets after the 'greatest ...", "text": "Michael Smith hit a sensational nine-dart leg as he defeated three-time champion Michael van Gerwen in last night’s PDC World Darts Championship final.\n\nHeld in front of a raucous crowd at London’s Alexandra Palace, the rematch of the 2019 final saw the Englishman gain revenge over the Dutch master, winning 7-4 on the night to become the world champion and world No.1 for the first time.\n\n“Bully Boy” Smith, who lost to Van Gerwen in the 2019 showpiece and to Peter Wright last year, finally “banished all the tears” to fulfil his world championship “destiny”, said Rob Maul in The Sun. And he did it in one of the “most spectacular matches” ever witnessed at Ally Pally.\n\n‘Leapt round the stage like a madman’\n\nWith 16 ranking titles between them, Smith and Van Gerwen have been the “best two players on the planet” throughout the last 12 months, said Aaron Bower in The Guardian. “We hoped this final”, the “most mouthwatering” in years on paper, “would deliver”, he added. “And how they delivered.” This was a meeting of the “two finest tungsten technicians”.\n\nWhen he ended his major title duck in November by winning the Grand Slam of Darts, Smith said he would “eventually be a world champion”. And now he has the ambition to do what Van Gerwen has done and “take over” this sport. “It sounds amazing – world champion,” he told Sky Sports. “I finally took a chance that I didn’t deserve. I want to apologise to Michael as I’ve been in his position before.”\n\nAfter sealing the win, Smith “could not hold back the tears” as he “leapt round the stage like a madman”, Maul added in The Sun. And he celebrated with his family “like Pat Cash at 1987 Wimbledon”.\n\nFrom a sporting memory “it’s the greatest ever”, Smith said of his victory. “I don’t think that will ever be topped. Even if I won a second [world title], it will never top how I just felt then.”\n\nSmith delivers the ‘magical nine’\n\nVan Gerwen had “cruised through” his quarter-final and semi-final ties “without dropping a set”, said BBC Sport. After taking the opener in this “classic final”, it “needed something special” to end his run of 14 successive victorious sets.\n\nSmith “duly delivered” in a final which featured the “greatest leg of darts the world will ever see”, Bower added in The Guardian. In the third leg of the second set Smith “pinned the perfect nine-dart leg” – but only after Van Gerwen had missed double 12 for a nine-darter of his own. “I thought I’d give the crowd what they deserved and they got one, the magical nine,” Smith said.\n\nOn social media video clips of the nine-darter went viral with fans left bewildered by the stunning feat. The PDC’s video on Twitter has already had more than 8m views. In the commentary box Sky Sports’s Wayne Mardle “lost his voice” as he “provided the soundtrack” for one of the greatest moments in darts history, said Ben Parsons in The Mirror. Going “berserk” as he called the nine-dart attempts, Mardle expressed the emotions of darts fans across the globe. “That is the most amazing leg of darts you will ever see!” Mardle said after Smith hit 141. “I can’t speak, I can’t speak!”\n\nHow fans reacted to the ‘greatest leg’\n\nSmith “realised all his darting dreams at once” as he laid his hands on the Sid Waddell trophy, claimed the £500,000 cheque and became the No.1 player on the planet, said Parsons in The Mirror. In what will be considered “one of the sporting moments of 2023”, the man from St Helens “made fans lose their minds” by nailing the perfect nine. Here’s how darts fans reacted on Twitter…\n\nThe greatest leg of darts ever 🎯 Michael van Gerwen 60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️ 57✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️ D12 X Michael Smith 60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️ 60✔️ 57 ✔️ D12 ✔️ #9Darter pic.twitter.com/lIHBwLZWVM — Francis Keogh (@HonestFrank) January 3, 2023\n\nThe love we as a nation have for darts warms my heart. Wayne Mardle’s pure joy at watching Michael Smith hit his 9 darter is a beautiful thing to watch. “I can’t speyk!” pic.twitter.com/PlvYZlZGrZ — HLTCO (@HLTCO) January 4, 2023\n\nOne of the greatest athletic feats I have ever witnessed pic.twitter.com/I7V5TeGq3T — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 3, 2023\n\nIt’s only 4 days into the sporting year and we already have the ‘best moment’ or ‘wow moment’ for that ‘9 darter leg’ in the @OfficialPDC final. Nothing tops that this year, nothing comes even remotely close! @Michael180Smith - what a guy, what a champ 👍🏻 — Mart McClelland (@MartMcClelland) January 4, 2023\n\nStill thinking of that 9 darter last night and what great commentary watched it 50 plus times #lovethedarts — Wayne Roberts (@Onesipatatime7) January 4, 2023\n\nAmazing World Darts final! The greatest leg of darts ever seen with both players having a dart for a 9 darter and Bully Michael Smith taking his and the ultimately title 👏🏻🏆🎯🥇💪🏻 — Kev_Allen71 (@Allen71Kev) January 4, 2023\n\nOMG THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!! IN A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL!!! 😱😱😱😱😱😱 — Emma Paton (@MissEmmaPaton) January 3, 2023", "authors": ["Mike Starling"], "publish_date": "2023/01/04"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/football/959662/jakub-jankto-first-current-international-footballer-to-come-out-as-gay", "title": "Jakub Jankto: first current male international footballer to come out ...", "text": "Jakub Jankto, a 27-year-old Czech footballer, has become the first current international in men’s football to come out publicly as gay.\n\nIn a short video posted on Twitter on Monday, the Sparta Prague midfielder said: “Hi, I’m Jakub Jankto. Like everybody else, I have my strengths. I have my weaknesses. I have a family. I have my friends. I have a job which I have been doing as best as I can for years, with seriousness, professionalism and passion.\n\n“Like everybody else, I also want to live my life in freedom. Without fears. Without prejudice. Without violence. But with love.\n\n\"I am homosexual and I no longer want to hide myself.”\n\nWho is Jakub Jankto?\n\nJankto was born in Prague, and has a three-year-old son from a previous relationship. He is currently on loan to Sparta Prague from the Spanish side Getafe. Since joining Sparta Prague in August, he has made 10 league appearances, said the BBC. He has scored once and provided one assist.\n\nJankto has so far spent most of his club career in Italy with Udinese, Ascoli and Sampdoria. He then signed for Getafe in 2021. He has also made 45 appearance for the Czech Republic, scoring four goals since making his debut in 2017. He started for his country in the Euro 2020 group match against England at Wembley in June 2021.\n\n“Jankto is the most prominent active men’s player to come out, by some distance,” said Paul MacInnes in The Guardian. And, he added, Jankto’s “age and personal history” could be “significant in helping change perceptions… within the game”.\n\nThe response so far\n\nJankto’s video had been watched a million times on Twitter within four hours of being uploaded, said The Guardian. It received 100,000 likes in the same period on Instagram.\n\nSparta Prague released a statement in support of the player, which read: “Jakub Jankto spoke openly about his sexual orientation with the club’s management, coach and teammates some time ago.\n\n“No further comments. No more questions. You have our support. Live your life, Jakub. Nothing else matters.”\n\nJankto’s Spanish team Getafe likewise said: “Our maximum respect and unconditional support for our footballer, Jakub Jankto.”", "authors": ["Asya Likhtman"], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/golf/956999/saudi-backed-liv-golf-league-a-controversial-threat-to-the-pga-tour", "title": "Saudi-backed LIV golf series: 'a controversial threat' to the sport ...", "text": "The controversial, Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series will finally tee off today at the Centurion Club in Hertfordshire.\n\nBefore the lucrative event even began it has been accused of “disrupting the dynamics in professional men’s golf”, said USA Today, and threatens to continue doing so as the season goes on.\n\n“Hanging above the shifting balance of power in the business of golf are the questions of ethics and morals facing players and executives who have joined the league,” explained the newspaper.\n\nThe new series presents a very real and “controversial threat” to the historic US PGA Tour, according to Martin Rogers on Fox Sports, while the pros joining the new set-up were labelled by Jamie Weir on Sky Sports as a “rag-tag bunch of struggling players” who were purely motivated by the “cold hard cash on offer”.\n\nPotential sanctions\n\nTuesday’s announcement that former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson would quit the PGA Tour to play in the new eight-match tournament came as the latest significant blow. The American will join five other players in relinquishing their membership of the US tour to join LIV.\n\nOthers, like Phil Mickelson and Graeme McDowell, have resisted quitting the official tour but face potential sanctions for their involvement with the new event. The Times reported they could face punishments ranging from “temporary suspensions or fines” to complete bans “depending on the level of involvement”.\n\nHigh-profile players such as Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods have openly opposed the tournament but the likes of European Ryder Cup stars Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Sergio García are playing in the inaugural Centurion Club event, and The Telegraph reported that American major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed have signed up and will play in the second event, starting in Portland on 3 July.\n\nEye-watering sums\n\nBacked by the Saudi government controlled Public Investment Fund and fronted by former Australian pro Greg Norman, the LIV Series is offering eye-watering sums of money to attract participants.\n\nSix-time major champion Mickelson is expected to receive $200m for his participation, while the first event in the series will feature an overall prize pot of $25m, with the winner receiving $4m. For contrast, the winner of the US Masters tournament in 2022 received $2.7m from a prize pot of $15m.\n\nLIV’s monetary power, as well as the disruption to the traditional calendar, leaves golf “mired in turmoil” and with uncertainty “it has never encountered before”, said Fox Sports. Players, and LIV frontman Norman, have refused to earnestly engage in questions around Saudi-sportswashing – the country's attempt to “gain legitimacy on the world stage and deflect from [its] human rights violations”, as The Times said.\n\n“Just tell us it’s the money,” said Brendan Quinn in The Athletic. “Stop telling us you’re excited to play what amounts to video game golf.” Weir agreed, writing for Sky Sports: “There’s one motive and one motive alone for these players. Money.”\n\nFans will decide\n\nUltimately the success of LIV will rely on how many people consume it, though the tournament will initially only be streamed on the organisers’ website and on Youtube and Facebook. “Fans must choose whether this is a black eye for golf,” said Rogers on Fox Sports.\n\nThree-time major winner Padraig Harrington, though, believes controversy around Saudi money will pass as the LIV series attracts viewers. “As much as it’s being used as a stick to beat those guys and it’s a big issue for anyone who is going,” Harrington said, “clearly time will pass,” Sports Illustrated reported.", "authors": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2022/06/08"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/tennis/955561/australia-expects-ashleigh-barty-melbourne-grand-slam", "title": "Australia expects: Ashleigh Barty eyes history at Melbourne grand ...", "text": "Ashleigh Barty, the world No.1 women’s tennis player, has become the first Australian in 42 years to reach the women’s singles final of the Australian Open grand slam. In the semi-final, the 25-year-old was too strong for Madison Keys, winning 6-1, 6-3 in straight sets, and will now face 27th seed Danielle Collins in the showpiece Melbourne match.\n\nTop seed Barty, a two-time grand slam champion, is just “one win away from becoming the first Australian – man or woman – to win the singles since Christine O’Neil won the title in 1978”, the BBC said. This year so far she has “looked unstoppable and unburdened by the weight of Australian expectation”.\n\nBarty picked up her 14th career title and third on home soil in Adelaide three weeks ago and is now on a ten-match winning streak, the WTA said. After her 62-minute victory on Rod Laver Arena, the Queenslander said: “It’s just unreal – as an Aussie we are spoiled that we are a Grand Slam nation, and now we have a chance to play for a title.”\n\nCricket ‘set things right’\n\nBarty’s rise to the top of women’s tennis is an “incredible story”, said the Daily Mail. After picking up a racquet at the age of four, her talent “was obvious” and she quickly competed against older children. However, after going overseas to play international competitions when she was 14, the schedule “became too much and the teenager found herself overwhelmed”.\n\nIn 2014 she “walked away from a promising tennis career”, Fox Sports said. Barty revealed she got “twisted” and quit tennis to be with the people who loved her. “I think I just needed to find myself a little bit,” she said. “I felt like I got twisted and maybe a little bit lost along the way in the first part of my career, just within myself mentally and what I wanted to do.”\n\nTurning her attention to cricket, Barty earned a contract with the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League. After all the “media attention, pressure and depression” as a ​​dazzling tennis prodigy, the stint playing cricket “set things right”, The Guardian said.\n\nBarty’s positive impact\n\nReturning to tennis in 2016, Barty has gone on to win the French Open and WTA Finals in 2019 and is the reigning Wimbledon champion. On Saturday, she will have the whole of Australia supporting her bid for more grand slam glory.\n\nFormer British No.1 Tim Henman believes the support from the home crowd has acted as a catalyst to fuel her run to the final, SportsKeeda reported. “Ashleigh Barty is so popular [here in Australia],” Henman said on Eurosport. “I also think it is great that we had some negative stories before this event started. Now we’ve got so many positive stories at the end and I think it has been led by Barty.”\n\nOne Australian who will definitely be watching – and supporting Barty – is tennis legend Laver. On Twitter, the 11-time grand slam winner praised his fellow Australian and backed her to beat Collins on the centre court that bears his name. “Congratulations on another outstanding performance @AshBarty,” he tweeted. “I know you can go all the way.”", "authors": ["Mike Starling"], "publish_date": "2022/01/27"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/tennis/956178/ash-barty-retires-tennis-reactions", "title": "'I'm fulfilled, I'm happy': Ash Barty retires at the top of her game | The ...", "text": "Ash Barty, the women’s world No.1 and reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, has shocked the world of tennis by announcing her retirement from the sport at the age of 25.\n\nSpeaking to friend and former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua in a video posted on Instagram, the Australian revealed she was quitting tennis as she wanted to “chase other dreams”.\n\n“Success for me is knowing I’ve given everything I can – I’m fulfilled, I’m happy, and I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself,” said the three-time grand slam champion. “I’ve said it to my team multiple times, it’s just that I don’t have that in me, I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want – everything it takes to challenge yourself at the top level anymore. I am spent... physically I had nothing more to give. I’ve given absolutely everything I can to this beautiful sport of tennis.”\n\nBarty’s second ‘retirement’\n\nThis marks Barty’s second “retirement” from the sport, Sky News said. She walked away from tennis as a teenager in late-2014, before “returning two years later and rising rapidly up the rankings”.\n\nBarty’s rise to the top of women’s tennis was an “incredible story”, said the Daily Mail. After picking up a racquet at the age of four, her talent “was obvious” and she quickly competed against older children. However, after going overseas to play international competitions when she was 14, the schedule “became too much and the teenager found herself overwhelmed”.\n\nIn 2014 she “walked away from a promising tennis career”, Fox Sports said. Barty revealed she got “twisted” and quit tennis to be with the people who loved her. “I think I just needed to find myself a little bit,” she said. “I felt like I got twisted and maybe a little bit lost along the way in the first part of my career, just within myself mentally and what I wanted to do.”\n\nTurning her attention to cricket, Barty earned a contract with the Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League. After all the “media attention, pressure and depression” as a ​​dazzling tennis prodigy, the stint playing cricket “set things right”, The Guardian said.\n\n‘As a person, this is right’\n\nAfter winning the Australian Open in January, Barty became the first Aussie to win the men’s or women’s singles title in 44 years. Now feeling “so happy” and “so ready”, Barty knows “in my heart, for me as a person, this is right”.\n\n“People may not understand it and I’m ok with that because for me, Ash Barty the person has so many dreams that she wants to chase after that don’t necessarily involve travelling the world, being away from my family, being away from my home, which is where I’ve always wanted to be, it’s where I’ve grown up,” she said. “I’ll never ever ever stop loving tennis, it’ll always be a massive part of my life, but now I think it’s important that I get to enjoy the next phase of my life as Ash Barty the person, not Ash Barty the athlete.”\n\n‘One of the great champions of the WTA’\n\nAcross all-levels of play, Barty had a 305-102 record in singles and a 200-64 record in doubles, earning total career prize money of $23,829,071, Greg Garber said on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) website. Her current reign as world No.1 is the “fourth-longest streak in the history of the WTA Tour”, behind Steffi Graf (186 weeks), Serena Williams (186) and Martina Navratilova (156). Her 121 total weeks are seventh on the all-time list.\n\nSteve Simon, chief executive of the WTA, praised Barty for being the “ultimate competitor” who always led by example through the “unwavering professionalism and sportsmanship” she brought to every match. “With her accomplishments at the grand slams, WTA Finals, and reaching the pinnacle ranking of No.1 in the world, she has clearly established herself as one of the great champions of the WTA,” he said.\n\nHow the tennis world reacted on social media\n\nAsh, what can I say, you know I have tears right? My friend, I will miss you on tour. You were different, and special, and we shared some amazing moments. What's next for you? Grand Slam champion in golf?! Be happy and enjoy your life to the max xo Simo@ashbarty pic.twitter.com/WbX7kXnJ1l — Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) March 23, 2022\n\nCongrats on an incredible career Ash 🙏 It was a privilege to share a court with you. Wishing you all the best in your next chapter, @ashbarty. You will be missed 🥺❤️ pic.twitter.com/bpL20nIUJQ — Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) March 23, 2022\n\nAsh, I have no words... actually you are showing your true class leaving tennis in this beautiful way. I am so happy I could share the court with you.. tennis will never be the same without you! I admire you as a player and a person.. wishing you only the best! ❤️@ashbarty — Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) March 23, 2022\n\nHappy for @ashbarty gutted for tennis 🎾 what a player❤️ — Andy Murray (@andy_murray) March 23, 2022\n\nAn incredible tennis player but more importantly one of the nicest people on tour ♥️ Congratulations @ashbarty on an amazing career and good luck with what’s next! pic.twitter.com/Mhwzyf6nbX — Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) March 23, 2022", "authors": ["Mike Starling"], "publish_date": "2022/03/23"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/golf/956395/scottie-scheffler-the-masters-meteoric-rise-worlds-best-golfer", "title": "Scottie Scheffler wins the Masters: a meteoric rise to be the world's ...", "text": "What a year it’s been so far for Scottie Scheffler. It’s only April but the 25-year-old American has already climbed to the top spot on the Official Golf World Rankings, having won three out of five starts on the PGA Tour. Then on Sunday he won his fourth tournament of the season, which was the biggest of them all – the Masters, his first career major title.\n\nAt Augusta National Scheffler showed why he’s the No.1 golfer in the world and “cemented his place as the dominant force in the men’s game”, said Jonathan Jurejko on BBC Sport. Scheffler claimed the Green Jacket, Masters trophy and the $2.7m (£2m) winners’ purse with a one-under 71 in the final round, finishing on ten-under, three shots clear of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.\n\nScheffler held a three-shot overnight lead going into Sunday’s final round of the first major of the year. And afterwards he revealed that he “cried like a baby” on the morning of the final round because “he doubted if he was ready to win one of the sport’s most iconic tournaments”, the BBC added.\n\nIn his post-tournament speech, Scheffler said that the first time he thought of winning was “probably Friday in the afternoon”. When asked how it felt to be the Masters champion, he added: “I want to go home! I’m pretty tired right now – I’m really at a loss for words. I can’t thank my family enough – they’ve made many sacrifices over the years. To have the honour of winning the tournament and to have my family with me was incredible.”\n\nWith this victory, Scheffler becomes the first player to win four times in a six-start stretch on the PGA Tour since Jason Day in 2015. He becomes the sixth player to win in his first PGA Tour start as world No.1 and sixth world No.1 to win the Masters.\n\n‘Standout player at every single level’\n\nThe last two months have been “transformative” for Scheffler, who in February “didn’t have a PGA Tour victory to his name”, said Ben Morse on CNN. Now in the “form of his life”, over the four days at the lush, sprawling golf club in Augusta, Scheffler produced “some excellent golf” and refused to “falter under the pressure of being the tournament’s leader for nearly three days”.", "authors": ["Mike Starling"], "publish_date": "2022/04/11"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/football/958783/operation-stop-kylian-mbappe-kyle-walker-england-fifa-world-cup", "title": "'Operation stop Mbappé': how Kyle Walker can be England's 'secret ...", "text": "Gareth Southgate has taken England to the semi-finals and final of two major championships during his six years as head coach. It’s an impressive record, but now the Three Lions are preparing for what is perhaps the biggest challenge of his tenure yet – a World Cup quarter-final against France, the reigning champions.\n\n“Make no mistake”, this last-eight clash will be a “gargantuan test” for Southgate’s team, said Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail. France “could well be the best team here” in Qatar, and are certainly the “best of the European contingent”.\n\nDidier Deschamps’s world champions are in “free-scoring form”, said Nick Ames in The Guardian, but they have been “ravaged by injuries” and are “unbalanced in some areas”. They do, however, possess one “significant” strength: Kylian Mbappé, the World Cup’s top scorer, with five goals so far. As he showed in the last-16 against Poland, the 23-year-old can “illuminate the dreariest of games in an instant”.\n\nIf England are to knock out the holders and reach the semi-finals, they will have to nullify the threat of France’s talented attack. “Operation stop Mbappé” was one of the headlines on the front page of the i newspaper this morning, a theme that has been a major talking point ahead of Saturday’s match at the Al Bayt Stadium.\n\n‘Right, let’s have a race’\n\nThe Three Lions looked “mightily impressive” in their 3-0 win over Senegal in the round of 16, said Kobe Tong on GiveMeSport. “But it’s one thing to beat the champions of Africa and another thing to beat the champions of the world.” And one of the “biggest threats” that Southgate’s men will face is the “sheer amount of pace” that France boast out wide.\n\nEngland’s defence have been in decent form in Qatar, conceding just two goals in four games. However, they will need to be at their very best against the likes of Mbappé, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé – who all offer different traits in Les Bleus’s front-line.\n\nMbappé “may not get it all his own way” though, said Lewis Winter in the Daily Express, because Southgate and England have their own “secret weapon” – Manchester City defender Kyle Walker. Former England striker Theo Walcott has argued that while the French star is a “different beast”, he could “struggle” against Walker’s “physicality”.\n\nEx-England defenders Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville agreed that Walker’s pace is key for the Three Lions’s hopes. He’s the “only defender on the planet” right now that will “stand there and go to Mbappé, ‘right, 1-v-1, let’s have a race’”, Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five YouTube show.\n\nIn terms of “physicality, pace and experience”, Neville couldn’t think of anyone better able to match Mbappé than 32-year-old Walker. “That’s not to say he’ll keep him quiet for 90 minutes as Mbappé is sensational and special,” he said on Sky Sports. “But we have a chance as Walker can match him in certain areas.”\n\nWhatever happens in this World Cup quarter-final, it promises to be a “game of a lifetime”, Neville added. “They don’t come around in your life very often. They are big moments. I can’t wait.”\n\nEngland vs. France takes place on Saturday at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. Kick-off is at 7pm (GMT) and the match is live on ITV.", "authors": ["Mike Starling"], "publish_date": "2022/12/06"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/tennis/957611/serena-williams-evolution-away-from-tennis", "title": "Serena Williams and her 'evolution' away from tennis | The Week UK", "text": "Such is her standing in the worlds of sport and culture, it was no surprise that Serena Williams announced her imminent retirement from tennis by writing an intimate first-person essay in Vogue. In its September issue, the fashion magazine said the 40-year-old would bid farewell to tennis “on her own terms – and in her own words”.\n\nIn fact retirement is not a term that she’s ever liked, “it doesn’t feel like a modern word to me”, she wrote. “I’ve been thinking of this as a transition. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”\n\nA few years ago Williams “quietly started” Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, she started a family. “I want to grow that family.”\n\n‘I should have had 30-plus slams’\n\nIt’s “almost the end of an era”, said Amy Lofthouse on BBC Sport. As “one of the greatest tennis players of all time” and a “sporting icon”, it will be “difficult to imagine tennis without the American legend”, who has won “all there is to win” during her 27-year career.\n\nA winner of 23 grand slam singles titles in the open era, Williams is just one behind the all-time record held by Australian Margaret Court. In her essay she suggested that the 2022 US Open, which starts on 29 August, will be her farewell event. It was in New York, as a “braided 17-year-old phenomenon”, where she lifted the family’s “first major title” in 1999, said Bryan Armen Graham in The Guardian. Her older sister Venus, a seven-time grand slam champion, won the US Open major a year later and in 2001.\n\nWithin reach of Court’s 24 slams, Williams would “be lying” if she said she didn’t want that record. “Obviously I do,” she wrote. “But day to day, I’m really not thinking about her. The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus grand slams.”\n\nWith 23 slams and 73 career titles, Williams has “set the marker that matters”, said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian. “No asterisks needed”, her tennis legacy “goes far beyond statistics”.\n\nIn Vogue’s September issue, @serenawilliams prepares to say farewell to tennis on her own terms and in her own words. “It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine,” she says. “I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next” https://t.co/6Zr0UXVTH1 pic.twitter.com/YtGtcc18a9 — Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) August 9, 2022\n\n‘It hurts like a 120mph serve to the stomach’\n\nWilliams’ retirement will be “a crushing loss” for tennis, said Johnny Oleksinski in the New York Post. “Without a doubt”, she is a “once-in-a-generation athlete” on the “same godlike level” as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James or Tom Brady. “The sports world will be a lot less ferocious or fascinating without her.” We all knew this sad day was coming, but it “still hurts like a 120-miles-per-hour serve to the stomach”.", "authors": ["Mike Starling"], "publish_date": "2022/08/10"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/formula-1/955366/lewis-hamilton-future-could-he-retire-from-f1", "title": "Lewis Hamilton's future: could he retire from F1? | The Week UK", "text": "There will be major changes for Formula 1 in 2022 as a new generation of cars hit the track and a record 23 races feature on the schedule. However, with just six weeks to go until the first pre-season test in Barcelona, the sport could yet have to deal with the biggest change of all: the possibility of Lewis Hamilton not being on the grid.\n\nFollowing the 2021 season’s highly-contentious last race – and lap – in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton’s future in F1 remains “unclear”, Sky Sports reported. The British driver missed out on winning a record-breaking eighth world title as Max Verstappen won his first in “hugely controversial circumstances”.\n\nHamilton’s Mercedes team withdrew their appeal against the result as governing body the FIA “pledged an investigation into the events surrounding the Safety Car procedures”, the broadcaster said. And the FIA’s Abu Dhabi investigation is understood to be “key” to the resolution of Hamilton’s future.\n\nMercedes want to see something “tangible”, said Sky Sports News’ Craig Slater. “It’s been put to me like this: the longer this drags on then the worse the Lewis Hamilton situation is, and that is from a senior source.”\n\n‘He is a man with clear values’\n\nAfter the 2021 season finale, Hamilton made a “cryptic reference” when speaking with Jenson Button in the post-race interview. “We gave it everything and never gave up and that’s the most important thing,” he said. “We’ll see about next year.”\n\nHowever, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff last month said the driver would “never overcome the pain and the distress” that was caused at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he indicated that it was not a certainty the 37-year-old would be back in 2022, Wheels24 reported.\n\nWolff “very much” hopes that Hamilton continues racing, because he is the “greatest driver of all time”. But when asked if the Brit could retire, Wolff added: “As a racer his heart will say I need to continue because he’s at the peak of his game. But we have to overcome the pain that was caused upon him. He is a man with clear values.”\n\nFIA boss ‘confident’ Hamilton will return\n\nHamilton has not posted anything on his social media channels since before the race in Abu Dhabi and this has prompted suggestions of retirement in some circles.\n\nBut racing fans across the globe may “breathe a sigh of relief”, after Mercedes “dropped a huge hint” that their driver will be on the grid in 2022, the Daily Mirror reported. On 2 January Mercedes tweeted an image of Hamilton along with the caption: “Adversity causes some to break; others to break records.”\n\nMohammed Ben Sulayem, the new FIA president, disagreed with suggestions Hamilton would retire. “No, I don’t think he will [quit],” he said. “I’ll ask your question, did Lewis declare that he’s not going to race? No. Exactly. Being a driver, you declare yourself, you don’t let the rumours [talk].”\n\nBen Sulayem is “confident” that Hamilton will return as he is a “big part of motorsport” and of F1. “The new era [can add to] Lewis’s wins and achievements, and also Verstappen is there,” he added. “I am very confident that you will see a very challenging Formula 1 season next year.”", "authors": ["Mike Starling"], "publish_date": "2022/01/11"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_24", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:15", "search_result": []}
{"question_id": "20230217_25", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:15", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/football/959662/jakub-jankto-first-current-international-footballer-to-come-out-as-gay", "title": "Jakub Jankto: first current male international footballer to come out ...", "text": "Jakub Jankto, a 27-year-old Czech footballer, has become the first current international in men’s football to come out publicly as gay.\n\nIn a short video posted on Twitter on Monday, the Sparta Prague midfielder said: “Hi, I’m Jakub Jankto. Like everybody else, I have my strengths. I have my weaknesses. I have a family. I have my friends. I have a job which I have been doing as best as I can for years, with seriousness, professionalism and passion.\n\n“Like everybody else, I also want to live my life in freedom. Without fears. Without prejudice. Without violence. But with love.\n\n\"I am homosexual and I no longer want to hide myself.”\n\nWho is Jakub Jankto?\n\nJankto was born in Prague, and has a three-year-old son from a previous relationship. He is currently on loan to Sparta Prague from the Spanish side Getafe. Since joining Sparta Prague in August, he has made 10 league appearances, said the BBC. He has scored once and provided one assist.\n\nJankto has so far spent most of his club career in Italy with Udinese, Ascoli and Sampdoria. He then signed for Getafe in 2021. He has also made 45 appearance for the Czech Republic, scoring four goals since making his debut in 2017. He started for his country in the Euro 2020 group match against England at Wembley in June 2021.\n\n“Jankto is the most prominent active men’s player to come out, by some distance,” said Paul MacInnes in The Guardian. And, he added, Jankto’s “age and personal history” could be “significant in helping change perceptions… within the game”.\n\nThe response so far\n\nJankto’s video had been watched a million times on Twitter within four hours of being uploaded, said The Guardian. It received 100,000 likes in the same period on Instagram.\n\nSparta Prague released a statement in support of the player, which read: “Jakub Jankto spoke openly about his sexual orientation with the club’s management, coach and teammates some time ago.\n\n“No further comments. No more questions. You have our support. Live your life, Jakub. Nothing else matters.”\n\nJankto’s Spanish team Getafe likewise said: “Our maximum respect and unconditional support for our footballer, Jakub Jankto.”", "authors": ["Asya Likhtman"], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/beijing/2022/02/18/timothy-leduc-first-openly-nonbinary-athlete-winter-olympics/6842692001/", "title": "USA's Timothy LeDuc competes as first openly nonbinary Winter ...", "text": "BEIJING — More than a month ago, in the bowels of Bridgestone Arena, Timothy LeDuc said they did not want this moment to be about them.\n\nLeDuc, whose pronouns are they/them, did not want the narrative to focus on the history ahead. They wanted it to be the beginning of a shift, a way of showing queer people that they have the opportunity \"to be open and be authentic to themselves and everything that makes them unique, and still achieve success in sport.\"\n\nWith a brilliant performance at Capital Indoor Stadium on Friday, LeDuc did just that.\n\nSkating with partner Ashley Cain-Gribble in the short program of the pairs event, LeDuc became the first openly nonbinary athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics – a historic step for LGBTQ representation and visibility at the Games.\n\nOLYMPIC NEWSLETTER:Sign up now to stay up to date on all things Beijing Olympics\n\nBEIJING TEXT UPDATES: Get behind-the-scenes access to the Tokyo Olympics\n\n\"I know for me, being openly nonbinary is only possible because amazing queer people have come before me and laid the groundwork for me,\" LeDuc, 31, said Friday night. \"So now I want to do that for others to come after, as well.\"\n\nLeDuc's debut in Beijing follows that of Quinn, a women's soccer player who became the first openly transgender and nonbinary person to win an Olympic medal when they earned gold with Canada at the most recent Summer Games.\n\nAccording to GLAAD and Outsports, a website that covers LGBTQ issues and personalities in sports, LeDuc is one of at least 32 out LGBTQ athletes competing in the Beijing Games. There were 15 out athletes at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.\n\n\"I think it’s amazing,\" fellow figure skater Jason Brown, who came out as gay last summer, said of the number of LGBTQ athletes competing in Beijing.\n\n\"The fact that visibility is just growing, for other people to come, is huge. I’m so proud to be a part of that. And I just feel so lucky to everybody that came before me.\"\n\nLeDuc has long echoed that sentiment. An Iowa native, they first told their parents at 18 that they were gay, then came out as nonbinary more than a decade later. The term encompasses people whose gender identity and/or gender expression falls outside the \"man\" and \"woman\" binary.\n\nAt the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, LeDuc spoke at length about struggling to portray masculinity in figure skating, especially in a discipline like pairs where skaters often take on traditional masculine and feminine roles. It just felt \"forced,\" they said.\n\n\"It was never authentic to me,\" LeDuc said. \"When I was finally given the tools and shown the example that I can exist outside of that, it all made sense. I finally felt whole in myself.\"\n\nWhile feeling that there's too much of a focus placed on physical characteristics when discussing gender expression, LeDuc also noted that they portray elements of both masculinity and femininity. They have a beard, for instance, but wear makeup during competition.\n\nLeDuc found a perfect match in 2016 with Cain-Gribble, a former singles skater who has been open about facing body shaming earlier in a career that almost forced her into retirement. While LeDuc aims to prove that athletes shouldn't be limited by their gender expression, Cain-Gribble hopes to show they shouldn't be limited by body type.\n\n\"There is a body stereotype, still,\" she said last month. \"And we're trying to definitely fight that.\"\n\nTogether, LeDuc and Cain-Gribble have won two national championships. They are also trying to break the mold of traditional pairs skating, which Cain-Gribble has described as \"the girl being lifted and the male partner just kind of standing there and lifting them.\"\n\nIt's why, in their short program Friday night set to \"The White Crow\" by Ilan Eshkeri, they displayed equal skating skills – performing many of the same moves, in unison, rather than filling stereotypical gender roles. They were rewarded with a score of 74.13, good for seventh place. The competition will continue with the long program Saturday night.\n\n\"I think both Ashley and I have had to overcome so many different things – so many times when people have told us no, or that we don't belong,\" LeDuc said Friday. \"So for both Ashley and I, we had something to prove today, I think. And hopefully people watching us feel that there is space for them to come into figure skating, and for them to be able to celebrate what makes them unique and different.\"\n\nContributing: The Associated Press\n\nContact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/02/18"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2021/09/02/bryan-ruby-only-active-professional-baseball-player-out-gay/8244571002/", "title": "Bryan Ruby becomes only active professional baseball player out as ...", "text": "Bryan Ruby first started to realize he was different at 14 years old. That's when the hiding began. Along with the darkness.\n\nHe found emotional refuge in two different parts of his identity. He's a professional baseball player, a member of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, which makes him much closer to a journeyman than a major-leaguer. And he's a country music songwriter, having written two songs that reached the charts, plus countless ballads in his notebook.\n\nYet it's Ruby's hidden part of his identity that he now believes can have the biggest impact, partially because it's so foreign to the worlds of baseball and country music.\n\nRuby is a gay man, the only active professional baseball player at any level to be publicly out.\n\n\"I kept thinking about the little 14-year-old me, who was scared because I'm a baseball player who loved country music,\" Ruby, 25, told USA TODAY Sports. \"Those are worlds where people like me are told they can't belong. I'm not a hot-shot prospect. But today, you can't find a single active baseball player who is out publicly. I want to help create a world where future generations of baseball players don't have to sacrifice authenticity or who they really are to play the game they love.\"\n\nHis coming out follows a summer in which Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib and Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop also came out as gay. After years of no actively out players in men's professional sports, now there are three.\n\nPlaying the guitar in his bedroom in recent months, with posters of Dierks Bentley and Cal Ripken Jr. hanging in the background, Ruby sang a song he's co-written that seems especially relevant given his purpose behind coming out.\n\n\"If that white line ever gets lonely, if the nights get a little too cold, if it don't work out, if you have your doubts, you've got a place to go.\"\n\nRuby's goal is clear: to help others who are forced to hide their identity, too.\n\n\"Being closeted for basically 10 years, it was a struggle the whole time,\" he said. \"I used to hate myself. Hate how I felt. I'd ask why am I feeling this way?\"\n\n\"I kept having people tell me, 'Be very cautious of who you tell' or 'They don't need to know your personal life.' The best way to describe the hiding as an athlete is like you're running with a weighted vest on,\" he said. \"It's on all day and you can't take it off. I've been gradually taking that weight off.\"\n\nFactor in Ruby's second career in Nashville – where he moonlights writing hits for Hayden Joseph and Xavier Joseph – and you've got two worlds that scream he's straight.\n\n“As a country music songwriter, at first I thought being gay was a huge weakness,” said Ruby, who will be showcased in the upcoming documentary, \"Out in Nashville.\" “There’s this genre about drinking beer and hooking up with girls in the back of the truck. Then I realized that I can bring something different to the table. Love songs don’t need to be gay or straight. And I’ve been able to write my best songs by being authentic.”\n\nRuby told his family and close friends he was gay four years ago, then his teammates this summer. But being out to the world publicly was the last step.\n\nRuby pauses: \"But I don't like the connotation to, 'coming out.' Because it's more like 'inviting in.' \"\n\nA supportive family, 'such courage'\n\nRuby trembled over the phone sitting parked in his black Dodge Ram truck with the wind blowing in the background.\n\n\"Mom, it's me ... I got a spot.\"\n\nTears flowed down his cheeks as he told his family in March that he made the Volcanoes roster.\n\nA year ago, the future was uncertain for Ruby and the Volcanoes. A Class-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants from 1997 to 2020, the Volcanoes were not one of the teams invited to join Major League Baseball's newly created minor league structure. They eventually formed the Mavericks Independent League with three other teams based in the Salem, Oregon area.\n\nMeanwhile, Ruby did not play last year, along with hundreds of other farmhands when minor league seasons at all levels were canceled because of COVD-19.\n\n\"I didn't think I'd ever play (pro) baseball again,\" said Ruby, who has kept his career going internationally in six countries that include Austria, Chile, Germany, Guatemala, Peru, and Switzerland – all after a standout career at Vassar College. \"I told myself I’d go to the end of the earth if it meant I could keep my baseball career alive. ...I've been a baseball player since I was seven or eight, way before I knew I was gay. It's the lens through which I see the world.\"\n\nRuby's mother, Lauren, remembers her son's Little League days – a childhood he said he couldn't have scripted more perfect. But as puberty hit and his friends were growing more attracted to girls, he started to isolate and develop self-hatred at his feelings for guys.\n\n\"When Bryan told me he was gay I was shocked actually,\" Lauren Ruby said of the revelation when Bryan was 21. \"I didn’t see it coming. Mostly because Bryan did a really good job of hiding it. I took several weeks of needing to change my reality from my fantasy of what I thought Bryan’s life was going to be. It was heartbreaking to know he was suffering for so long. I was scared for him because people can be so close-minded and hateful. And the male sports world can be very homophobic with degrading banter. I wanted to protect him from all of that.\"\n\nBryan was terrified to tell his father, Jon, a star high school quarterback who also played Division I baseball. \"I shocked my Mom, but my Dad shocked me because he sort of suspected it,\" Bryan said. \"Then he sort of helped my Mom come along.\"\n\n\"When your son sits there and bares his soul,\" Jon Ruby said, \"you just want him to be happy, and it hits you: what do you want for your kids? To go out into the world and be the best version of themselves. He has so much to offer the world with baseball and music. And he has such conviction ...\"\n\n\"Such courage,\" his mother gently interrupts.\n\n\"I grew up in a culture where homosexuality was taboo,\" Jon, a baseball coach at Friends' Central High School in Philadelphia, said. \"I had an unusual look into that culture, though, because my brother's gay. He came out to me when he was 22, and it changed my whole perspective. All of the sudden, the (gay) slurs that I was hearing resonated much differently. It heightened my awareness.\"\n\nThat same type of familial coincidence happened to Ruby when he was in the process of coming out to his teammates this year.\n\nGabriel Cotto, the Volcanoes' catcher, said he never would've pictured Ruby as gay. But Cotto immediately embraced Ruby once he told him because his own father is gay.\n\n\"I grew up with two Dads and we were just like a regular family,\" Cotto said. \"But I used to get bullied and in fights growing up because my pops is gay. When Ruby told me, I just had so much respect for him. It made our friendship closer.\"\n\nWhy 'voices matter'\n\nRuby wears his lucky shoes in just about every game. They've got rainbow shoelaces in them now. He got the cleats from his mentor and friend, Billy Bean, the MLB vice president and special assistant to the commissioner.\n\nBean played in the major leagues as an outfielder for nearly a decade and came out as gay himself after his retirement in the 1990s. Despite a paucity of publicly out active players – Milwaukee Brewers minor leaguer David Denson came out in 2015 and retired shortly thereafter – Bean has been a visible presence and confidant for closeted MLB players.\n\nRuby wrote Bean a letter in 2018, and Ruby still has Bean's response letter framed on his wall.\n\n\"I didn't even put my last name or address,\" said Ruby. \"He's someone who sits right next to the MLB commissioner and he has my back. I've worn his cleats everywhere I've played – on three different continents. I look down at them, and know I have support.\n\n\"I didn't think about the symbolic meaning until recently, of me wearing his shoes and what I'm doing (going public).\"\n\n\"The beauty of it for Bryan is that he's not playing to only become a big leaguer,\" Bean told USA TODAY Sports. \"He's playing because he loves the game. I imagine he'll be proud of himself when he's 40 years old in his country music career knowing what he's doing for baseball. I couldn't be prouder, and I definitely think Bryan's story is a stepping stone in the right direction.\"\n\nA stepping stone that could have a domino effect for other gay professional athletes. Bean said that the decision of a closeted player to come out or not is \"not as simple as people want to make it. There are so many considerations.\"\n\nRuby ran the gamut in those considerations before telling his team.\n\n\"You must do well with the ladies, huh, man?\" The questions in the locker room were aplenty. His typical answer: \"I'm in a relationship.\" True, but the answer evaded the discomfort of revealing his relationship with his boyfriend, Max, of a year and a half.\n\n\"It's not all super rosy,\" Ruby said.\n\nOlder coaches from past generations have been subtly homophobic, urging him to keep his sexual orientation a secret or to be with a woman to keep up a front. Teammates over the years have slipped out gay slurs. And opponents can be the worst of them all, shooting out sexual barbs to intimidate.\n\nGehrig Richins, the Volcanoes' assistant coach, said he imagines teammates being protective of Ruby if gay slurs were to persist once he's out publicly. \"It's almost better if we know as a team,\" Richins said. \"Because then there's a sense of respect and guys can watch their language to avoid harm. We can have his back.\"\n\nBut therein is part of the paradox of being closeted: Homophobic language begets fear. Then fear keeps athletes closeted and, in turn, teammates aren't as likely to check their offensive language at the door.\n\n\"Bryan understands that until there's more people like him or Carl Nassib (out), voices matter,\" Bean said. \"The expectation would be to mute your life off the field and hide. Putting yourself in discomfort to make others comfortable. But we embrace Clayton Kershaw's family since it shows us he's human.\"\n\nRuby called Nassib and Prokop \"heroes\" and said he even bought his first-ever NFL jersey the day after Nassib came out.\n\n\"Each time somebody comes out in industries where queer people have not been historically represented in the mainstream,\" Ruby said, \"it helps to crumble the myth that you can't be yourself. But we're in the 2020s. It's about damn time for this.\n\n\"If I can help just one person from this, then that’s greater than any single hit or home run or win that I ever get on the field.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/09/02"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/18/football/josh-cavallo-attitude-man-of-the-year-award-spt-intl/index.html", "title": "Josh Cavallo: Gay Australian footballer says World Cup shouldn't be ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nIt has been almost a year since Josh Cavallo announced he is gay, but even now he still struggles to comprehend the far-reaching impact his announcement has had – especially as he has begun to speak out on major issues, notably the Qatar World Cup.\n\nSince making that life-changing decision in October 2021, Cavallo has become one of the most recognizable names and faces in world football, as well as becoming something of an icon.\n\nThe Adelaide United star was recently named “Man of the Year” at an awards ceremony hosted by Attitude Magazine, Europe’s largest LGBTQ magazine publication. It was the culmination of a whirlwind year that started with what he describes as the beginning of a new chapter in his life.\n\n“It was huge for me,” Cavallo tells CNN Sport. “To come out, it was a lot for my family, my friends and it was a huge step forward.\n\n“I just didn’t know what to expect … and I just took it as best as I could and I ran with it, and this is who I am.\n\n“I didn’t want to hide anymore and I wanted to show everyone who Josh Cavallo the person is. To see that I’m affecting and helping people in their everyday lives.\n\n“I’m walking in the streets of London and getting stopped. I’ve only been to London twice now and I’m like: ‘Wow, I’m all the way from Australia and what I did was via social media,’ and to see the impact it’s had from people on the other side of the globe is absolutely phenomenal.”\n\nJosh Cavallo publicly announced he was gay in October 2021. Jason McCawley/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images\n\nA year on, Cavallo remains the only openly gay top-flight male footballer in the world – he plays for Adelaide United in Australia’s A League – but his decision inspired Jake Daniels, a forward for English second division club Blackpool, to come out in May of this year.\n\nCavallo admits he did not know what the reaction would be to his announcement, and even though there have been negative comments, for every hateful message he says he receives, there are 100 supportive ones.\n\nThough he experienced concerns ahead of publicly coming out, he says the overwhelming feeling was being “emotionally pleased” that he would no longer be “hiding and living in that fear.”\n\n“It was just the uncertainty, seeing that there was no active gay footballer that’s come out before and there was no plan with it,” he recalls.\n\n“I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know how people were going to react, there was a lot of uncertainty and that’s something that I struggled with growing up and why it took me so long to become the person I am.\n\n“I wanted to be that person that, you know, people look at now and say: ‘Oh my God, that’s so cool. I want to do that. I want to do what Josh is doing,’ and I want it to be inclusive and quite influential.\n\n“It’s great to see the people now in the football industry, the referees and people in sport coming out and referring to my story and saying I had an influence on them. It’s just absolutely phenomenal that it’s had that impact.”\n\n\"To see that we're heading to a country (Qatar) that's criminalizing people like myself ... It's quite concerning,\" says Cavallo of the 2022 World Cup. Ashley Feder/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images\n\n‘A long way to go’\n\nCavallo names Lionel Messi as one of his inspirations on the pitch growing up, but he says he looked up to Justin Fashanu for inspiration in his personal life.\n\nFashanu became the first openly gay professional footballer after coming out in 1990 while playing in the English top flight, but the backlash he suffered eventually led him to take his own life eight years later.\n\n“To see that story end in such a sad way, it did hurt me and it was like I didn’t want people to get that perspective on it,” says Cavallo.\n\n“It is so great to be gay. It is so great to be a footballer and to be comfortable in your own skin. Why aren’t we embracing that? And I knew I had the chance to change that.”\n\nEarlier this month, former Spain internationals Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol were widely criticized after the former posted a tweet claiming he was gay.\n\nIn a now deleted post on his official Twitter account, Casillas wrote: “I hope I’ll be respected: I’m gay.” In response, former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol wrote: “The time has come to tell our story, Iker.”\n\nCasillas, who has two children with his former wife, deleted the post shortly after it was sent and later apologized, as did Puyol. The original tweet came amid gossip within Spanish media which has linked Casillas to multiple women since his divorce.\n\nCavallo criticized Puyol and Casillas for their tweets. Sarah Reed/Getty Images AsiaPac/Getty Images\n\nCavallo, who tweeted criticism of the the pair at the time, says the trivialization of such an important topic does a disservice to those around the world who face persecution for their sexuality.\n\n“It’s hard for people to understand when they don’t experience it,” he says.\n\n“You get a lot of messages via social media of people in countries like Qatar and they say: ‘Josh, please help me. I want to come out, I want to be myself but they’re going to criminalize me. I’m going to get the death penalty.\n\n“When you hear stuff like that, it breaks your heart because they’re the things that everyday people go through in these countries.\n\n“There are 69 countries in the world that still criminalize this, so it is a huge, important topic and to see icons of the game making fun out of that and mocking my own tribe, it does hurt me and offend me because there are a lot of people that are fighting for their lives just to be comfortable with who they are in their own skin.”\n\nCavallo says the exchange between Casillas and Puyol proves football still has “got a long way to go” to eradicate homophobia, even if the sport has recently made steps in the right direction.\n\n“Something that could be an exchange of a joke or a mockery is quite hurtful to people like us because we go through our lives so strong, finding our identity of who we are and we finally build up the courage to be who we are and be comfortable in our own skin,” he says.\n\n“Then you see people and legends of the game doing that it is quite hurtful because we look up to these people. These are the people we dream of playing against or playing with alongside.\n\n“So to see people like that do things like that and [make] silly jokes like that is quite hurtful to myself especially and my community.”\n\nCavallo players for Adelaide United in the A-League, Australia's top football division. Sarah Reed/Getty Images\n\nAfter announcing his sexuality last year Cavallo said that he would be “scared” to play in Qatar, where same-sex activity is prohibited.\n\nIn response to Cavallo’s fears at the time, Nasser Al Khater, the chief executive of the tournament’s organizing committee, told CNN: “On the contrary, we welcome him here in the state of Qatar, we welcome him to come and see even prior to the World Cup … Nobody feels threatened here, nobody feels unsafe.”\n\n“I know personally, if I go there, I will be protected because I’m in the public eye,” Cavallo told CNN anchor Amanda Davies.\n\n“But it’s not me that I’m worried about. It’s those ones that are messaging me. It’s those people that aren’t in the public eye that are scared to even be themselves and walk the streets.”\n\n“To see that we’re heading to a country that’s criminalizing people like myself … It’s quite concerning,” added Cavallo.\n\nCNN has reached out to Qatar’s World Cup organizers for comment on Cavallo’s comments, but did not get a response.\n\nEarlier this year, former England international David Beckham become one of the most high-profile ambassadors for the World Cup in Qatar.\n\nBeckham has previously been widely criticized for accepting the role and Cavallo says he would like to see Beckham using his platform to support the LGBTQ community instead.\n\n“Look, I don’t know David personally, so I can’t really comment on him and his actions,” Cavallo says. “But having allies in the game is really helpful and when I came out to my changing room, my teammates and to see the reception – every single one of them is an ally of me.\n\n“It made me so proud on the inside and it makes you really emotional because it’s something that I struggled for a long time. So it has such a significant impact on myself and my community.\n\n“If someone like David Beckham with his platform does get around us and becomes an ally that we we are wanting him to be, it is really helpful.\n\n“If he could take that next step and show what he means to the LGBTQ community, that would be fantastic.”", "authors": ["Amanda Davies Richard Parr Matias Grez", "Amanda Davies", "Richard Parr", "Matias Grez"], "publish_date": "2022/10/18"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/sport/isaac-humphries-basketball-australia-spt-intl/index.html", "title": "Isaac Humphries: 'I'm essentially starting a new life,' says the only ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nAs he begins to discuss his sexuality, Isaac Humphries says he is able to lift 25 years of weight off his shoulders.\n\nHumphries, who plays for Melbourne United in Australia’s National Basketball League, had never previously spoken publicly about his sexuality out of fear it would negatively impact his career.\n\nBut now, he says he feels ready to “live my true life” and become the world’s only openly gay man playing top-flight basketball.\n\n“Forever, I thought that being a professional basketball player and gay were mutually exclusive and that I had to hide that side of my life and wasn’t allowed to be who I truly am,” Humphries exclusively tells CNN Sport’s Amanda Davies.\n\n“I’m making the decision to come out … because I believe that I can be who I am in my environment, and I can change the trajectory of how we view being gay in sport.”\n\nIn 2013, former NBA player Jason Collins became the first openly gay athlete in one of the four major North American sports leagues when he came out late in his career.\n\nMore recently, Josh Cavallo, who plays for Adelaide United in Australia’s A League, became the only current openly gay top-flight male soccer player when he came out last year.\n\nAs for Humphries, he says coming to terms with his sexuality drove him to a “very dark” and “very lonely” place before feeling comfortable enough to come out.\n\nHumphries joined Melbourne United in July this year. Ian Knight\n\n“My self-hate, my self-homophobia – everything in that realm was very, very real within my brain and it got so dark that I absolutely thought about exiting this world,” he adds.\n\n“I didn’t want to exist like this, I didn’t think I was allowed to exist like this within my basketball world.”\n\nBut it was his love of basketball that Humphries says saved his life, together with the notion that he could help others in a similar position.\n\nWhile he says his Melbourne United team is “so accepting” and that he feels “honored and privileged” to play basketball, the six-foot, 11-inch center points to the locker-room atmosphere as one of the barriers to feeling comfortable as a gay man in the sport.\n\n“The environment is very masculine,” says Humphries. “It’s not as progressive as the rest of the world. It’s a little bit back in time in those locker rooms. It is talked about quite negatively, the idea of being gay.\n\n“It’s our working environment at the end of the day,” he adds. “We are there every single day and we become a family. Why wouldn’t they want their family members to be comfortable within their environment?”\n\nThe 24-year-old Humphries has experienced different sporting environments across the globe, previously playing Division 1 NCAA college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats before stints in the NBA, the G-League and in Europe.\n\nHumphries, seen facing the Hofstra Pride in December 2016, played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Rich Graessle/AP\n\nHe returned to Australia to play for the Adelaide 36ers in 2020 and then signed for Melbourne earlier this year.\n\nHumphries has found his form in the past four games, averaging 16.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, but he says it was while in Los Angeles last year that he was able to feel happy about his sexuality after seeing members of the LGBTQ+ community living in a positive environment for the first time.\n\nHe says taking the decision to come out has changed his life immeasurably.\n\n“I have a weight lifted off my shoulders, 25 years of weight,” says Humphries.\n\n“And it’s not just a little weight – it’s deep-rooted feelings and weight that get to be lifted from you – it’s euphoric. It’s an amazing feeling to just not have to hide every single day, to not have to pretend, to not have to make up stories and lies.\n\n“I’m essentially starting a new life – it’s like a birthday,” he adds. “I can’t believe this is happening; from how dark I was to now is night and day. I’m super grateful for that.”", "authors": ["Amanda Davies George Ramsay", "Amanda Davies", "George Ramsay"], "publish_date": "2022/11/16"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/19/football/qatar-world-cup-2022-lgbtq-rights-spt-intl/index.html", "title": "World Cup host country Qatar says all are welcome to but some ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: A version of this article appears in Friday’s edition of CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here.\n\nCNN —\n\n“I’m a man and I love men. I do – please don’t be shocked – have sex with other men. This is normal. So please get used to it, or stay out of football.”\n\nDario Minden was a relatively unknown German football fan before a video of a powerful speech he made was widely shared on social media in September.\n\nFor the majority of the 15-minute talk he spoke in his native German before switching to English, a change he deliberately made, he says, for impact. He wanted the world to hear.\n\nLooking directly at Qatar’s ambassador to Germany, Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud al-Thani, in a room full of dignitaries and sponsors at a human rights conference in Frankfurt, hosted by the German Football Association, he said his impactful words. Sitting in the front row, the camera pans briefly to al-Thani and shows him looking at and listening to Minden.\n\n“Football is for everyone,” Minden continued. “It doesn’t matter if you’re lesbian, if you’re gay, it’s for everyone. For the boys, for the girls and for everyone in between … The rule that football is for everyone is so important. We cannot allow you to break it no matter how rich you are. You are more than welcome to join the international football community and, also, of course, to host a big tournament. But in sports, it is how it is. You have to accept the rules.”\n\nWhen Minden finishes, a sprinkling of applause can be heard from some members of the audience.\n\nThat he loves men and has sex with men isn’t an issue in his homeland, but it is in Qatar, a country which from Sunday will be hosting the month-long World Cup, one of sport’s biggest and most lucrative events.\n\nVisitors gather at the FIFA World Cup countdown clock in Doha on October 30, 2022. Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images\n\nAs the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East, it is undoubtedly a historic event, but it is also one clouded by controversy, from the death of migrant workers and the conditions many have endured as the Gulf state prepared for the tournament, to LGBTQ and women’s rights.\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\nSpeaking to CNN, Minden said he would not be going to Qatar and would not be watching the competition on television.\n\n“When we talk about the situation for the LGBTQ+ rights, we mean not only the football tourists, but also the situation before, and especially after, the World Cup,” he said.\n\nAfter the conference, Minden said he spoke privately with the ambassador who he said told him all were welcome to Qatar. But Minden told CNN: “It’s not safe and it’s not right.”\n\n‘Everyone is welcome to Qatar’\n\nA Qatar government official told CNN in a statement that the World Cup host was an inclusive country. “Everyone is welcome in Qatar,” the statement read, adding: “Our track record has shown that we have warmly welcomed all people regardless of background.”\n\nMeasures were being implemented to ensure discrimination of any kind did not happen, such as human rights training sessions with public and private security forces, and the enacting of legal provisions for the protection of everyone, according to FIFA.\n\nA statement sent to CNN on behalf of 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, said it was committed to “an inclusive and discriminatory-free” World Cup, pointing to the fact that the country had, it said, hosted hundreds of international and regional sporting events since being awarded the World Cup in 2010.\n\n“There has never been an issue and every event has been delivered safely,” the statement read.\n\n“Everyone is welcome in Qatar, but we are a conservative country and any public display of affection, regardless of orientation, is frowned upon. We simply ask for people to respect our culture.”\n\nBut there have been mixed messages with a World Cup ambassador and former footballer Khalid Salman saying earlier this month that homosexuality was “damage in the mind,” in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF.\n\nWhen asked by CNN for its advice to any members of the LGBTQ community traveling to Qatar, FIFA referred to a recent public statement made by Fatma Samoura, the the governing body’s secretary general, who said: “No matter your race, your religion, your social and sexual orientation, you are most welcome, and Qataris are ready to receive you with the best hospitality that you can imagine.”\n\n‘I don’t feel comfortable traveling to Qatar’\n\nBut for Englishman Rob Sanderson the respecting of cultures is a “two-way street.”\n\nSanderson is Special Projects Officer of Pride in Football, a network of UK LGBTQ fan groups and one of the supporter groups which joined forces in an open letter to condemn both FIFA and the Supreme Committee, refuting the world governing body and Qatar’s claims that it would be a World Cup for all.\n\nHe is a regular at England internationals and was once the victim of a homophobic assault, he says, at Wembley four years ago, ahead of England’s match against Spain in 2018, when he had an altercation with another fan. The incident was reported to the police and investigated, he says, but there was “insufficient evidence” to proceed, he says. But, largely, he has felt accepted at England matches, where he and his friends hold pride flags aloft celebrating their community and the team.\n\nHowever, he will not be going to Qatar and says if England were to win the tournament, it would be a tarnished trophy.\n\n“I don’t feel comfortable traveling out to Qatar and being in any way visible because if I’m visibly showing I’m an LGBT+ football fan, all I’m doing is drawing a target on the back of a local who is anything other than hostile towards me,” the 34-year-old told CNN.\n\n“I don’t feel comfortable being used as an excuse for any hostility that would be around after the tournament. It doesn’t sit right with me.”\n\nQatar isn’t the first controversial host of a big sporting event, or even a FIFA World Cup. The last edition was held in Russia, a country which introduced laws in 2013 which banned “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.”\n\nIn the build-up to the 2018 tournament, the UK Foreign Office warned of a “heightened risks” to members of the LGBT community traveling to Russia.\n\nBut while some Pride in Football members went to Russia, Sanderson says, feeling that it was safe as Russian society had previously accepted, in the post-Soviet and pre-Putin era, same-sex relationships, none of its members are going to Qatar. “It’s a totally different environment,” he said.\n\n“They said ‘everyone’s welcome’ but they’ve signed that line off by saying ‘you must respect our culture’.”\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 on Sunday.\n\nFIFA confirmed to CNN that a letter signed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Samoura was sent out to the 32 participating nations but would not divulge the contents.\n\nA joint statement issued earlier this month by fan groups Pride in Football, The Rainbow Wall and Three Lions Pride said: “Let’s be clear, talking about human rights is neither ideological nor political. It is simply asking for decency and the ability for people to be able to watch their teams without fear of abuse.”\n\nA number of European federations also issued a statement saying they would continue to campaign at the tournament on human rights issues and compensation for migrant workers.\n\nUSA's team logo is displayed in a room used for briefings during a training session at the team's training camp in Doha ahead of Qatar 2022. Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images\n\nGareth Bale, once the world’s most expensive footballer and Wales captain, will wear a OneLove armband during matches in Qatar in support of a season-long campaign which promotes diversity and inclusion. Wales is one of eight participating European countries at the World Cup supporting the initiative.\n\nSpeaking to reporters before traveling to Qatar, the former Real Madrid player said: “We can shed a light on the problems that are going on.”\n\nHowever, Hugo Lloris, captain of France, another team participating in the OneLove campaign, said on Monday he had to “show respect” to Qatar’s culture when asked by reporters about wearing a rainbow-colored armband.\n\n“In France, when we welcome foreigners, we often want them to play by our rules and respect our culture – and I will do the same when I go to Qatar,” he said.\n\nEngland flew into Qatar on Tuesday on a plane called “Rain Bow” and the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) is displaying a rainbow logo at the team’s training facility in Doha. Talking to reporters, head coach Gregg Berhalter said: “We recognize that Qatar has made strides and there has been a ton of progress, but there’s some work still to do.”\n\nThe nearer we get to the kick-off of the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador on November 20, the louder the dissenting voices are becoming and the more visible the signs of support for LGBTQ issues.\n\nThe World Cup, like the Olympics, puts the host country under a global spotlight. Usually, most controversies are forgotten once the sport starts, but such has been the intensity of focus on Qatar’s human rights record that it would be astonishing if all were forgotten by kickoff on Sunday. It is unlikely that headlines over the next month will solely be about football.", "authors": ["Aimee Lewis"], "publish_date": "2022/11/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2013/05/01/gay-male-player-in-tennis-jason-collins-martina-navratilova-billie-jean-king/2125387/", "title": "Tennis seems ready for gay male, but none are out", "text": "Douglas Robson. USA TODAY Sports\n\nThe tennis community rallied in support of NBA player Jason Collins announcing he was gay\n\nTennis has a history of prominent players being out\n\nSo far%2C however%2C that has been exclusively women\n\nAs support poured in from the tennis community for NBA player Jason Collins' decision to come out Monday, another question cropped up.\n\nWhere are the gay men in tennis?\n\nAn individual sport with a history of prominent out athletes such as Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Amelie Mauresmo — No. 1s all — tennis has been conspicuously without an active openly gay male player in the Open era.\n\nIn interviews with more than a dozen male and female players over the past few months — from teenager Laura Robson of Britain to 40-year-old doubles specialist Daniel Nestor of Canada — none expressed discomfort with the idea of a gay peer.\n\nAnd many agreed that simple math suggests they exist. Studies put the percentage of homosexuals in the general population at anywhere from 2%-5%.\n\n\"There's got to be someone who plays tennis who is gay,\" said Sam Querrey, the top-ranked American at No. 19. \"Whether they are on the tour now or up and coming, I'm completely fine with it.\"\n\nStill, most scratched their heads for an explanation.\n\n\"I don't know,\" admitted nine-time Wimbledon singles winner Navratilova after learning about Collins. Navratilova came out during her prime in 1981.\n\nWhile 12-year NBA veteran Collins is the first active male in a major American team sport to declare his same-sex preference, several men have come out in baseball, football and basketball, not to mention a variety of other sports from soccer to figure skating to swimming. Until Collins, 34, nearly all did so after retiring.\n\nSome, such as diver Greg Louganis and relay swimmer Bruce Hayes, both Olympic gold medalists, reached the pinnacle of their sport.\n\nAt least one male player has come out in retirement: Francisco Rodriguez of Paraguay, a former all-American who competed on the pro tour from 2001-2006 and earned a high ranking of No. 373.\n\nRodriguez spoke about being gay in a 2008 article in Out Magazine, saying: \"'If you came out on the tennis tour you would be an outcast.'\"\n\nPro tennis might not be a bastion of tolerance, but it would appear to contain the framework for gay athletes, male or female, to compete with greater ease.\n\nPlayers are independent contractors that control their own destiny (in singles). They do not rely on teammates. General managers or coaches cannot thwart or threaten playing time. It is non-contact. They face no external forces except the opponent on the other side of the net.\n\nIn searching for answers, players offered several possibilities for the lack of openly gay men and scarcity of publicly out women.\n\nSome wondered if a global sport like tennis might actually be less tolerant due to the complicated matrix of nationalities, languages and religions.\n\n\"It's so many different islands,\" said Mike Bryan, who with twin brother Bob is ranked No. 1 in doubles. \"I don't know how everyone feels on that issue.\"\n\nOthers such as American veteran Michael Russell pointed to the timeworn but still persistent idea that locker room etiquette is a deterrent.\n\n\"It's pretty open in the locker room,\" said Russell, who nevertheless said he'd have no problems in that scenario. \"Maybe they'd feel uncomfortable.\"\n\nA few cited the threat economic sanctions in the form of lost endorsements.\n\n\"Trust me, Martina and Billie Jean suffered with the endorsements,\" said 18-time major winner Chris Evert, referring to her rivals and friends Navratilova and King.\n\nEvert said that fear lingers, though that did not seem to affect Frenchwoman Mauresmo, who came out during her run to the Australian Open final as a 19-year-old in 1999 but seemed little penalized during her career.\n\nEvert also argued that staying closeted — or at least not publicly speaking about one's sexuality — stems from a desire for privacy. She noted that some women players continue to travel openly with their partners but have not officially come out.\n\n\"I think a lot of people feel that what they do off the court or off the set is nobody's business,\" she said, comparing professional sports to Hollywood. \"People want to keep one part of their life private.\"\n\nQuerrey wondered if gay men naturally gravitate away from sports and were thus less represented.\n\nRennae Stubbs of Australia, who came out near the end of her career and now is a commentator for television, said macho stereotypes have worked both for and against gay athletes.\n\n\"Most people perceive a lot of women athletes as being gay anyway, which is ridiculous because we all know that's not the case,\" the four-time doubles Grand Slam champion said. \"I think it's a lot more difficult for the guys, and not just tennis. Every sport has this issue.\"\n\nStubbs came out because she didn't want it \"hanging over my head\" as she made the transition to other endeavors after retiring.\n\n\"The bottom line,\" she said of coming out, \"is that it's a personal preference and some people are very private people. Only they can answer that. I'm a very open person. That's why.\"\n\nCertainly, the climate for gay athletes is warming.\n\nAfter hearing about Collins, Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish became the first two male tennis players to join Athlete Ally, an organization dedicated to ending homophobia in sports.\n\nFish, who lives close to Collins' twin brother Jarron in Los Angeles and has socialized with both brothers, wrote by email that he joined Athlete Ally to be \"part of something I believe in.\"\n\n\"I don't know how an openly gay male tennis player would be received but in my eyes nothing would change,\" said the former top-10 player, who has played sparingly this year due to the ongoing effects of a heart condition. \"Hopefully these are the first steps towards a day when this won't be big news.\"\n\nThe 35-year-old Bryans, who attended Stanford University with the Collins brothers and remain friends, echoed most views when they said they don't know any current men who are gay but believe the environment is transforming quickly.\n\n\"The world has changed,\" said Mike. \"It's the 21st century. Everyone is more accepting. I don't think anyone would have any issues. But who knows?\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2013/05/01"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/20/football/qatar-2022-world-cup-of-firsts-spt-intl/index.html", "title": "Qatar makes World Cup debut in a controversial tournament of firsts ...", "text": "Doha, Qatar CNN —\n\nThere have been 21 editions of the men’s World Cup since its inauguration in 1930 but Qatar 2022 is set to be a tournament like no other.\n\nSince it was announced as the host city almost 12 years ago, it was always destined to be a World Cup of firsts.\n\nFrom extreme weather to tournament debuts, CNN takes a look at the ways this year’s competition will be breaking new ground.\n\nQatar debut\n\nThis will be the first time the Qatari men’s national team will participate in a World Cup finals, having failed to qualify through usual means in the past.\n\nFIFA, the sport’s governing body, permits a host nation to take part in a World Cup without having to go through the qualifying rounds, which means the small Gulf state can now test itself against the best in world soccer.\n\nQatar is relatively new to the sport, having played its first official match in 1970, but the country has fallen in love with the beautiful game and the national team has steadily improved.\n\nIn 2004, The Aspire Academy was founded in the hope of finding and developing all of Qatar’s most talented sportspeople.\n\nIn recent years, that has reaped rewards for its soccer team. Qatar won the Asia Cup in 2019, capping off one of the most memorable runs in the tournament’s history, conceding only one goal throughout the tournament.\n\nSeventy percent of the squad that won the trophy came through the academy, and that number has only increased heading into the World Cup.\n\nCoached by Spaniard Felix Sanchez, Qatar will be looking to surprise people and faces a relatively kind group, alongside Ecuador, Senegal and The Netherlands.\n\nQatar will look to spring a surprise at Qatar 2022. Joe Klamar/AFP/Getty Images\n\n‘Winter’ Cup\n\nThe World Cup has always been held in either May, June or July but Qatar 2022 will break away from such tradition – more out of necessity.\n\nTemperatures in Qatar can reach over 40 degrees Celsius over those months so, with this in mind, the tournament was moved to a cooler time.\n\nHowever, winter in Qatar is a relative term with temperatures still likely to be around 30 degrees, but organizers hope to combat the heat with multiple methods, such as high-tech cooling systems in stadiums.\n\nThe change in tournament dates has played havoc with some of the biggest domestic leagues in the world.\n\nAll of Europe’s top leagues have had to work a winter break into their schedules, meaning congested fixture lists before and after the tournament.\n\nThis will be the first World Cup played in November and December. David Ramos/Getty Images\n\nIslamic country\n\nOne of FIFA’s justifications for awarding Qatar the hosting rights was the ability to take the tournament to a new part of the world.\n\nNone of the 21 previous World Cups have been held in an Islamic country and this month’s tournament will be a chance for the region to celebrate its growing love for the game.\n\nHowever, it undoubtedly raises a few problems that organizers have had to tackle. For many fans, drinking alcohol has, and will continue to be, a big part of the experience of such tournaments.\n\nIn Qatar, though, it’s illegal to be seen drunk in public, which has forced organizers to come up with inventive ways to circumnavigate the issue.\n\nAs a result, alcohol will only be served in designated fan parks around Doha and there will be separate areas for fans to sober up before and after matches.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback World's only openly gay active pro footballer is concerned for LGBTQ community ahead of Qatar 2022 04:39 - Source: CNN\n\nSmallest hosts\n\nAnother question mark around the tournament is how the country will be able to deal with the influx of an expected one million visitors, given it’s the smallest country to host the World Cup, with a population of just under three million.\n\nAs a result, all eight stadiums are in and around Doha, the capital city, and are all within an hour’s drive of each other.\n\nOrganizers say the travel infrastructure – including buses, metro and car hires – will be able to cope with the increased pressure.\n\nOne benefit of the small distances between venues is that fans will be able to see up to two games in one day. Should traffic be kind.\n\nDue to its size, Qatar has also had to be smart with its accommodation. Two cruise ships, MSC Poesia and MSC World Europa, are being moored in Doha to provide some support to hotels.\n\nFans will have the chance to stay on cruise ships in Doha, Qatar. Catherine Ivill/Getty Images\n\nBoth vessels will offer the usual cruise ship experience, but fans won’t be sailing any further than the 10-minute shuttle-bus ride into the heart of Doha.\n\nFor those fans prone to a touch of sea sickness, organizers have also built three ‘Fan Villages’ which will offer a place to stay on the outskirts of the city.\n\nVideo Ad Feedback The Qatar World Cup's migrant worker dilemma 04:31 - Source: CNN\n\nThese include a variety of accommodation – including caravans, portacabins and even camping experiences – and all are located within reasonable distances of the venues.\n\nAlso, for those able to afford a little more, there will be luxury yachts docked in Doha’s harbor, which can offer a place to sleep for, let’s face it, an extortionate price.\n\n‘Carbon neutral’ tournament\n\nFIFA has pledged to make Qatar 2022 the first carbon neutral World Cup, as world soccer’s governing body continues its pledge to make the sport more environmentally friendly.\n\nIt, alongside Qatar, pledged to offset carbon emissions by investing in green projects and buying carbon credits – a common practice used by businesses to “cancel out” the impact of a carbon footprint.\n\nQatar, the world’s largest emitter per capita of carbon dioxide, has said it will keep emissions low and remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as the tournament produces by investing in projects that will capture the greenhouse gases.\n\nFor instance, it will be sowing the seeds for the largest turf farm in the world by planting 679,000 shrubs and 16,000 trees.\n\nThe plants will be laid at stadiums and elsewhere around the country and are supposed to absorb thousands of tons of carbon from the atmosphere every year.\n\nHowever, critics have accused organizers of “greenwashing” the event – a term used to call out those who try to cover their damage to the environment and climate with green initiatives that are either false, misleading or overstated.\n\nCarbon Market Watch (CMW), a nonprofit advocacy group specializing in carbon pricing, says Qatar’s calculations are grossly underestimated.\n\nFemale officials\n\nQatar 2022 will also see female referees officiate a men’s World Cup match for the first time.\n\nYamashita Yoshimi, Salima Mukansanga and Stephanie Frappart have all been named among the 36 officials selected for the tournament.\n\nThey will be joined by Neuza Back, Karen Diaz Medina and American Kathryn Nesbitt, who will be traveling to the Gulf nation as assistants.\n\nFrappart is arguably the most famous name on the list after she wrote her name into the history books in 2020 by becoming the first woman to take charge of a men’s Champions League match.\n\nReferee Yoshimi Yamashita will make her debut at the men's World Cup. Masashi Hara/Getty Images\n\nBut looking to learn from her in Qatar is Rwanda’s Mukansanga, who told CNN that she was excited to embrace the challenge of refereeing at a major tournament.\n\n“I would look at what the referees are doing, just to copy the best things they’re doing, so that one day I would be in the World Cup like this,” she said, adding that her family couldn’t wait to see her take to the pitch.\n\nIt’s not yet decided when the women will be refereeing their first match at the tournament, but there will be some new rules to enforce.\n\nFor the first time, teams will be able to use up to five substitutes and managers can now pick from a squad of 26 players, rather than the usual 23.\n\nQatar 2022 is set to start on November 20. You can follow CNN’s coverage of the World Cup here.", "authors": ["Ben Church"], "publish_date": "2022/11/20"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/01/health/pride-month-explainer/index.html", "title": "Pride Month: What to know about the LGBTQ celebration | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nJune is Pride Month, when the world’s LGBT communities come together and celebrate the freedom to be themselves.\n\nBut Pride gatherings are more than bright colors and good times. They are rooted in the arduous history of minority groups who have struggled for decades to overcome prejudice and be accepted for who they are.\n\nThe original organizers chose this month to pay homage to the Stonewall uprising in June 1969 in New York City, which helped spark the modern gay rights movement. Most Pride events take place each year in June, although some cities hold their celebrations at other times of the year.\n\nWho celebrates it?\n\nA participant from Venezuela takes part in Berlin's annual gay pride parade in 2017. JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images\n\nPride events are geared toward anyone who feels like their sexual identity falls outside the mainstream – although many straight people join in, too.\n\nLGBT is an acronym meaning lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. The term sometimes is extended to LGBTQ, or even LGBTQIA, to include queer, intersex and asexual groups. Queer is an umbrella term for non-straight people; intersex refers to those whose sex is not clearly defined because of genetic, hormonal or biological differences; and asexual describes those who don’t experience sexual attraction.\n\nThese terms may also include gender fluid people, or those whose gender identity shifts over time or depending on the situation.\n\nHow did it start?\n\nPeople celebrate outside the historic Stonewall Inn during the New York Pride March on June 27, 2021, in New York City. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images North America/Getty Images\n\nIn the early hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York’s Greenwich Village, and began hauling customers outside. Tensions quickly escalated as patrons resisted arrest and a growing crowd of bystanders threw bottles and coins at the officers. New York’s gay community, fed up after years of harassment by authorities, broke out in neighborhood riots that went on for three days.\n\nThe uprising became a catalyst for an emerging gay rights movement as organizations such as the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance were formed, modeled after the civil rights movement and the women’s rights movement. Members held protests, met with political leaders and interrupted public meetings to hold those leaders accountable. A year after the Stonewall riots, the nation’s first Gay Pride marches were held.\n\nIn 2016 the area around the Stonewall Inn, still a popular nightspot today, was designated a national monument.\n\nWhere did the Pride name come from?\n\nMembers and allies of the LGBTQ community march on June 12, 2021, in Washington. Drew Angerer/Getty Images\n\nIt’s credited to Brenda Howard, a bisexual New York activist nicknamed the “Mother of Pride,” who organized the first Pride parade to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall uprising.\n\nWhat’s the origin of the rainbow flag?\n\nEric Thayer/Getty Images\n\nIn 1978, artist and designer Gilbert Baker was commissioned by San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk – one of the first openly gay elected officials in the US – to make a flag for the city’s upcoming Pride celebrations. Baker, a prominent gay rights activist, gave a nod to the stripes of the American flag but drew inspiration from the rainbow to reflect the many groups within the gay community.\n\nBaker, a prominent gay rights activist, gave a nod to the stripes of the American flag but drew inspiration from the rainbow to reflect the many groups within the gay community.\n\nA subset of flags represent other sexualities on the spectrum, such as bisexual, pansexual and asexual.\n\nCan I participate in Pride events if I’m not LGBT?\n\nKamala Harris, then California's attorney general, rides in San Francisco's Pride parade in 2016. JOSH EDELSON/AFP/AFP/Getty Images\n\nSure. Pride events welcome allies from outside the LGBT community. Parades and other celebrations are opportunities to show support, to observe, listen and be educated.", "authors": ["Ayana Archie"], "publish_date": "2022/06/01"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/22/health/florida-meningococcal-disease-outbreak/index.html", "title": "CDC investigates 'one of the worst outbreaks of meningococcal ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Florida Department of Health are investigating “one of the worst outbreaks of meningococcal disease among gay and bisexual men in U.S. history,” the CDC said Wednesday.\n\nThe CDC said Thursday there have been 26 cases and seven deaths from meningococcal disease in Florida during the investigation period. Among those, 24 cases and six deaths were in men who have sex with men.\n\nThe CDC says the outbreak is “primarily among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, including those living with HIV. Recent data show that about half of the cases associated with this outbreak are among Hispanic men. This outbreak is mostly affecting people who live in Florida but has also affected some people who have traveled to Florida.”\n\nMeningococcal disease includes meningitis – infections of the lining of the brain and spinal cord – and bloodstream infections. “Meningococcal disease can affect anyone and can be deadly,” the CDC said in its statement.\n\nThe bacteria is spread through sharing respiratory or throat secretions, such as saliva or spit. It normally takes close or lengthy contact, for example kissing or being close to someone who is coughing, to spread the bacteria.\n\nSymptoms include high fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea or vomiting or a dark purple rash, the CDC said. While they can first appear as flu like, they typically get worse very quickly. If someone has these symptoms, they should seek medical attention immediately.\n\nCDC is recommending that gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men get the meningococcal vaccine if they live in Florida, or talk to their health care provider if they are traveling to the state. For those who live with HIV, health officials are emphasizing the importance of routine vaccination.\n\n“Getting vaccinated against meningococcal disease is the best way to prevent this serious illness, which can quickly become deadly,” said Dr. José R. Romero, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, in the CDC news release. “Because of the outbreak in Florida, and the number of Pride events being held across the state in coming weeks, it’s important that gay and bisexual men who live in Florida get vaccinated, and those traveling to Florida talk to their healthcare provider about getting a MenACWY vaccine.”\n\nThe vaccine is offered at doctors’ offices, pharmacies, community health centers or local health departments, the CDC said, and insurance should cover the cost for people for whom the vaccine is recommended during an outbreak. Anyone in Florida can get the vaccine at no cost at county health departments during the outbreak.\n\nAccording to the CDC, the outbreak affecting men who have sex with men is caused by serogroup C. There is also an unrelated serogroup B cluster among college and university students in one county.\n\nThe meningococcal disease outbreak update comes as the CDC has been tracking an unusual outbreak of monkeypox in countries where the disease is not endemic, including the United States. The CDC reports has reported 142 orthopoxvirus cases in the United States, including 13 in Florida.\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 threat to the general US population is low, the CDC says, but there are notably high numbers of monkeypox cases among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. “However, anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has monkeypox is at risk,” the CDC notes.", "authors": ["Naomi Thomas"], "publish_date": "2022/06/22"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_26", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:15", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/china/954896/five-high-profile-people-who-have-disappeared-in-china", "title": "Five high-profile people who disappeared in China | The Week UK", "text": "The disappearance of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai after she accused a senior Communist Party official of sexual assault has made headlines worldwide in recent weeks. Demands from international leaders for proof of her well-being show that while the Chinese government “has become extremely effective in controlling what the country’s 1.4bn people think and talk about”, influencing the rest of the world “is an entirely different matter”, said The New York Times columnist Li Yuan. Peng went missing for more than two weeks after claiming in a social media post that former vice premier Zhang Gaoli had “forced” her to have sexual relations with him. Amid growing global concern, the 35-year-old tennis champ spoke to the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during a 30-minute video call on Sunday. But while Peng insisted she was safe and well at her home in Beijing, experts told The Telegraph that she might have been abducted under the Chinese regime’s programme of “enforced disappearances”, known officially as RSDL – Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location. People who have criticised the Beijing regime often vanish “for several months, while they are interrogated in a nondescript government building”, said the paper. Many then “re-emerge in society with an outwardly different personality, their plucky mode of resistance replaced by a supine deference to Beijing authorities”. Here are five other high-profile people who have disappeared after falling foul of President Xi Jinping’s Communist Party. Zhao Wei One of China’s most popular actresses, Zhao disappeared from public view in August. Films and TV series in which she appeared were removed without explanation from video platforms, and her name was scrubbed from the Chinese internet. Her profile on social media platform Weibo – where she had accumulated 86 million followers – was also shut down. And social media users were censored when trying to discuss Zhao, the Chinese ambassador for luxury Italian fashion house Fendi. Skip advert Chinese state newspaper Global Times said that Zhao was “widely known as a billionaire investor surrounded with lawsuits” and that she and her husband had previously been banned from “China’s securities markets” for five years for market violations.\n\nBut according to Variety, her disappearance “epitomises many aspects of the Chinese government’s campaign to tear down fandom, celebrity and the driving forces behind them”. “Zhao Wei is like a poster child for what the Communist Party sees as what’s wrong with celebrity culture in China,” Stanley Rosen, a professor at the University of Southern California specialising in Chinese films and politics, told the magazine. “Going after her without offering a smoking-gun explanation as to why they did it will certainly make other celebrities extremely cautious and proactive in embracing regime goals. “It’s a demonstration that no one, no matter how wealthy or popular, is too big to pursue.” Whether Zhao is now “under house arrest” or just “keeping a low profile” is unclear, said The Guardian. She was reportedly spotted in her hometown in eastern China “posing for a photo” in September. And Chinese internet portal Netease has claimed that Zhao took part in a recent “online shopping event”. Jack Ma The billionaire entrepreneur behind e-commerce giant Alibaba went missing for three months shortly after criticising the Chinese financial system in a controversial speech in October last year. Ma told an audience including senior Chinese officials at the Bund Summit in Shanghai that traditional lenders operated with a “pawn shop” mentality. His criticisms “angered the banking establishment and reportedly reached the attention” of President Xi, said the BBC. China analyst Christina Boutrup told the broadcaster that Ma “apparently crossed the invisible red line for what can be said and done” in Xi’s China. Within a fortnight, Ma and two of his close colleagues were summoned to meet financial regulators, who halted the flotation of Ant Group – his financial technology firm and China's biggest payments provider. Ma wasn’t seen in public again until 20 January, when he took part in an online charity event for rural teachers. According to local media, the tycoon said he had been “studying and thinking, and we have become more determined to devote ourselves to education and public welfare”. He Jiankui The Chinese biophysicist went missing after telling a summit in Hong Kong that he had engineered the world’s first genetically edited babies. Addressing the Human Genome Editing Conference in November 2018, the scientist said that he felt “proud” of the historic feat. Skip advert But fellow scientists in China and worldwide “denounced” the work as “a step too far”, said The New York Times (NYT), with some dubbing him the “Chinese Frankenstein”.", "authors": ["Kate Samuelson"], "publish_date": "2021/11/23"}]}
{"question_id": "20230217_27", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:15", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/02/15/marco-goecke-german-ballet-director-feces-attack/11262719002/", "title": "German ballet director apologizes after attacking critic with feces", "text": "Associated Press\n\nBERLIN – A German ballet director issued a public apology on Tuesday for smearing dog feces on the face of a newspaper critic whose reviews he had taken exception to.\n\nMarco Goecke was suspended from his post as ballet chief at the Hannover state opera following the weekend incident. The theater's management called on him Monday to apologize “comprehensively” and explain himself.\n\nAccording to the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Goecke approached its dance critic, Wiebke Huester, during the interval of a premiere at the opera house on Saturday and asked what she was doing there.\n\nThe newspaper said that Goecke, who apparently felt provoked by a recent review she wrote of a production he staged in the Netherlands, threatened to ban her from the ballet and accused her of being responsible for people canceling season tickets in Hannover. He then pulled out a paper bag with the feces and smeared her face with the contents.\n\nFeces: Ohio man arrested after allegedly sending three dozen feces-filled letters to GOP\n\nDangers of feces:What happens when you flush a public toilet? A plume of germs erupts\n\nGoecke blames 'nervous strain'\n\n“I would like to apologize sincerely to all concerned, first and foremost to Ms. Huester, for my absolutely unacceptable act,” Goecke said in a written statement. “In retrospect, I am clearly aware that this was a disgraceful act in the heat of the moment and an overreaction,” he added.\n\nHowever, he added that it's time for media to “rethink a certain form of destructive and hurtful reporting that damages the whole cultural sector” and criticized Huester for what he said were “often nasty reviews.”\n\nGoecke pointed to the “nervous strain” resulting from two premieres in quick succession as a reason for his actions.\n\n“I apologize for the fact that I finally blew my top, but I also ask for a certain understanding at least for the reasons why this happened,” he wrote.\n\nHuester: 'What kind of apology is this?'\n\nHuester filed a criminal complaint after the incident. Goecke faces an investigation on suspicion of bodily harm and slander.\n\nGoecke has said his elderly dachshund had defecated earlier, and he had packed the mess into a bag and had been planning to dispose of it. While he says he then acted in the heat of the moment, the critic has contended that it was a premeditated attack.\n\nHuester said she was shocked by Goecke’s statement on Tuesday.\n\n“What kind of an apology is this supposed to be?” she asked on 3sat television, describing it as an attempted justification of his actions, German news agency dpa reported.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2019/10/29/haunted-places-kentucky-and-indiana-see-map-ghost-story-sites/2496300001/", "title": "300+ haunted places in Kentucky, Indiana: Waverly Hills, Seelbach", "text": "Eastern Cemetery is haunted by some of its dead who are angry the cemetery is in such bad shape.\n\nHot Rod Hill hosts the ghosts of a tragic prom couple\n\nWaverly Sanitorium: You can check out, but you can never leave\n\nLOUISVILLE, Ky. — Halloween is the perfect time to visit haunted houses, spooky theme parks and ghostly attractions.\n\nSure, a trip to the Baxter Avenue Morgue or The Haunted Hotel can be scary fun, but what about those really haunted places — cemeteries with legends of ghost visits, abandoned hospitals with stories of tragic deaths.\n\nThe Courier Journal assembled a map of hundreds of places in Kentucky and Southern Indiana with reports of paranormal activity, as collected by the Shadowlands Haunted Places Index.\n\nWe also gathered up some history and a few legends surrounding some of Louisville's eeriest locations, you know, just in case.\n\nSo, if you want to find out if these ghost stories are real, check them out for yourself.\n\nWe dare you.\n\nEastern Cemetery's angry spirits\n\nEastern Cemetery on Baxter Avenue is said to be haunted by some of its dead who are angry the cemetery is in such bad shape. It has endured severe overcrowding ⁠— cemetery ownership even began to reuse graves at one point ⁠— and general neglect over the years.\n\nGravestones date back to the 1700s, and there could be any number of people buried at Eastern Cemetery with reason for vengeance, including whoever is under one crumbling gravestone covered in dead grass and leaves, or the people near a rotting pumpkin strewn across the sidewalk.\n\nAccording to Louisville Ghost Hunters Society, Eastern Cemetery Corp. opened the first crematorium in Louisville in the early 1930s in what is now an apartment building. There is supposedly a ghost of a woman that takes care of the graveyard's babies, who have a special section in the back.\n\nYou may like:This Louisville store has serving up Halloween scares for 99 years\n\nMitchell Hill Road's tragic prom couple\n\nAt the top of Mitchell Hill Road is a cemetery, and legend says buried there is a girl who died at the bottom of the hill in a car crash in the 1940s when she and her boyfriend were on their way to prom.\n\nApparently, some people have reported seeing the girl on top of the hill wearing her prom dress, wandering through the cemetery or walking along the road.\n\nThe stretch of the road where the accident supposedly happened is known as \"Hot Rod Haven\" because it was a popular, dangerous place for teenagers to race their cars in the mid-20th century.\n\nAccording to Keith Age, director of the Louisville Ghost Hunters Society, county records show an accident similar to the one described in the legend did occur on Sept. 23, 1946, when Roy Clarke and Sarah Mitchell were on their way to a school dance.\n\nHowever, a search of an online archive of the graves at Mitchell Hill Cemetery did not yield any gravestones with the name Roy Clarke. Two women named Sarah Mitchell have gravestones at the cemetery, but neither died at an unusually early age.\n\nMore:Your guide to 50+ best things to do in Louisville and Kentucky\n\nSeelbach Hotel's disembodied spooks\n\nThe Seelbach Hotel was built in the early 20th century, opening in 1905. According to the hotel's website, it began as the dream of Bavarian brothers Otto and Louis Seelbach, who came to Louisville in 1869 to learn the hotel business.\n\nDuring its 100-plus years downtown, the Seelbach has had many guests report strange sounds and activity during their stays.\n\nThere have been reports of televisions turning on at a loud volume at around 4 a.m., as well as the sound of running footsteps on wooden floors, even though the halls are now carpeted.\n\nSome guests have said they heard disembodied voices or felt cold patches throughout the hotel.\n\nThe ghostly Waverly Hills Sanatorium\n\nA list of haunted places in Louisville wouldn't be complete without mention of Waverly Hills Sanatorium.\n\nWaverly Hills in southwestern Louisville opened in 1910 as a two-story hospital to accommodate Louisville patients struck by a tuberculosis outbreak, according to Waverly Hills Historical Society. It eventually expanded to a new five-story building, which could hold more patients and opened in 1926.\n\nBefore the discovery of an antibiotic that treated and cured tuberculosis, a diagnosis of the disease was more or less a death sentence. The hospital was its own community set apart from the rest of Louisville to avoid contaminating the healthy population — it had its own post office and water treatment facility, and it grew and raised its own food.\n\n\"Once you went to Waverly Hills, you became a permanent resident,\" the historical society states on its website.\n\nThe tuberculosis hospital closed in 1961 and reopened in 1962 as WoodHaven Medical Services, a geriatric facility the state closed down in 1981.\n\nAfter it closed, Waverly Hills quickly gained a reputation for being haunted. It was purchased in 2001 by paranormal enthusiasts Charles and Tina Mattingly, and many volunteers working on the building's restoration have reported hearing ghostly sounds and slamming doors, seeing apparitions in doorways and being struck by invisible hands.\n\nToday, Waverly Hills attracts tourists from around the country with its paranormal and historical guided tours. It also allows private paranormal groups to host investigations of the facility, many of whom claim to have experienced inexplicable paranormal activity during their visits.\n\nMore:Explore Louisville's secret underground tunnels and the creepy stories they tell\n\n300+ haunted places in Kentucky and Indiana\n\nWant more? Here are all the ghost stories submitted to Shadowlands Haunted Places Index for Kentucky and Southern Indiana.\n\nRead it at your own risk.\n\nAlexandria, Ky. Witch Hill\n\nThere is a tree in the middle of the road in Wilder where 3 witches were supposedly hung, and there is a curse on the tree to whomever tries to cut it down or spits on it. I have been to this place many times, and taken pictures, and many times even though it was a clear night, the pictures have come back covered in white blotches. You will find many out of the ordinary happenings on the way out to the tree. - September 2004 update /correction: It has recently been cut down and moved to the church parking lot at the top of the road. The three humps were also left off the story. There are three evenly spaced humps right before the bend the tree was on. These are the graves of the witches. The stories of distorted pictures are true though.\n\nAnnville, Ky. Hwy 577\n\nOff Hwy 30 on Hwy 577 in Annville in Jackson county at night during a full moon you can see a glowing grave late at night. You can only see it from the road. When you go to the graveyard it disappears.\n\nAshland, Ky. Paramount Art Center\n\nIt is said that during some early renovation work on the Paramount Theatre, a death occurred there, and the man's ghost has forever since haunted the Paramount. In the early 1940s, four construction workers from Boyd Theater Company in Cincinnati, Ohio were working on a project inside the auditorium. It is reported that all of them had gone to lunch except for one man, a guy named Joe. When the other three returned, they found Joe hanging from the curtain rigging, dead. And since then, sounds have been heard, things have gone missing, cold drafts have been felt, and some folks even claim to have seen the image of a man appear on occasion. However, he is, by all means, a \"good ghost\" - one who seems to look out for the benefit of the theatre and its occupants. When Billy Ray Cyrus was here filming his video for \"Achy Breaky Heart,\" he was told about the legend of Paramount Joe. Between breaks, Billy Ray would talk to Joe, laughing and joking with him, sometimes even asking for his help. It is customary to get 8 x 10 photographs signed by each performer that appears at the Paramount and then hang the photo on the 'Wall of Fame' in the box office. Billy Ray personally autographed large color posters to each of the female employees working here at the time - and one with a personal inscription to Paramount Joe, whom he now had a fondness for. Each lady put her poster near her desk and Joe's was hung in the box office, near all the other performers. As time passed and the walls in the box office became too full of 8x10’s signed by other performers, the executive director felt that some of the pictures and posters needed to come down. Since there were so many of Billy Ray, she asked the women to remove their posters since they were all so similar. Nobody wanted to take their personally autographed picture of Billy Ray down, so they took down the one he had signed to Paramount Joe. The next day, when the ladies came to work, every single 8x10 and poster that had been hanging neatly on the walls the night before were now lined strewn on the floor, many of their glass frames shattered! It was as if someone had wiped each one off the wall. To this day, Paramount Joe’s poster still hangs in the Paramount, in a very special part of The Marquee Room, which is now the site of Paramount Joe's Rising Star Cafe.\n\nAshland, Ky. Small Blvd\n\nThere is a picture of a young Irish woman that hangs in the 5th house on the left. If you look at the picture the eyes will glow non-stop! If you look at the picture at night and walk across the room at the same time you will see the eyes follow you across the room. This lady had 5 kids, the picture has been passed down through the generations.\n\nBarbourville, Ky. Union College\n\nFinancial Aid office - Many people in the Financial Aid office have witnessed doors opening, closing, locking, and unlocking. Some have said that they have seen a woman. The office was once a house. The woman died in that house of mysterious causes.\n\nBarbourville, Ky. Union College\n\nPfeiffer Hall room 245 - there is said to be a ghost of a student that attended Union College in the 1960s. His name was James Garner and he was a football and basketball player at Union. James was about 6'4 or so and weighed about 250. Records say that he fell from his 2nd-floor window while trying to close it on a cool night. The date of his death was have said to be on October 30, 1963. Sources say that if you go to the room around midnight and open the window, James ghost will shut it. Many sightings have been reported. - March 2008 additional information: doors opening & lights turning on when no one else is present.\n\nBarbourville, Ky. Warfield Cemetery\n\nSomething follows you. Its footsteps move as you do, and stop when you do, yet this unseen thing moves very fast. You can feel its sense of urgency, and the steps crunch over the ground, as if it's agitated. When it starts this, you are standing there cringing, just certain something is going to knock you down from behind, but the steps just stop abruptly and don't start back up until you begin walking again. When you step outside of the gate, the sounds of the footsteps stop.\n\nBardstown, Ky. Old Kentucky Home Middle School\n\nDuring the Civil War the school was used as a hospital. The Morgue was in the basement. The floors and the ceilings have been said to bleed. The school’s art room (which is also located in the basement.) smells of rotting flesh. It has been said that this room was used for holding of decomposing bodies. They painted the basement walls white and blood-red spots bled back through.\n\nBardstown, Ky. Jailers Inn\n\nmany reports of this place being haunted. It was formerly the jail and now is a bed and breakfast. Former employees reported hearing footsteps and people crying.\n\nBardstown, Ky. Old Smith Mansion\n\nAcross from Heaven Hill distillery, is the old Smith Mansion on Loretto Rd. On clear nights during the summer, a German shepherd can be seen stomping the yard around the old house.\n\nBardstown, Ky. The Old Talbott Inn\n\nHaunted by numerous spirits that were killed there.\n\nBell County, Ky. Hutch\n\nthere is a small area off the main highway called Hutch. In this small community, there is a local swimming hole called \"Devil's Garden\". Before it earned this name, a small group of partying teenagers was swimming one summer night. After partying too much, one of the kids slipped and hit his head on a rock in the shallows. Not thinking straight, the other kids decided to hide the body under water, tied to a rock. The next day, the kids went to see if the night before had really happened. They arrived to find that the local authorities had already arrived and discovered the body. To their surprise, their friend had drowned and not died of the fall. They lived with their secret for over 15 years until they each started disappearing mysteriously, and the remaining two confessed and were sentenced to ten years in prison. Now every full moon, the moon's reflection casts a skull-like image on the water's surface.\n\nBellefonte, Ky. Bellefonte Hospital\n\nBellefonte is an Old Catholic hospital and it is said that the ghost of an old nun named Fannie haunts the hospital. There have been reports of things mysteriously falling off shelves and things making loud crashing noises, but when you go to look, nothing is there. Fannie is said to be seen most often in and around the emergency room.\n\nBerea, Ky. Berea College\n\nBoone Tavern Hotel - Once a part of the underground rail road. The basement had several rooms that were used to hide runaway slaves and for other purposes. Voices can sometimes be heard, and on more than one occasion a photograph of a young African American boy was taken. He appeared to be frightened and about 12 years of age. - March 2007 Correction: Construction on the Boone Tavern Hotel began in 1908, long after the Civil War and Railroad. Berea, Ky. as a city wasn't even established until after the Civil War, and during the war Berea College (which owns Boone Tavern) was only a normal school with two buildings. Also, Boone Tavern has no basement, only a sub-basement that houses an office and laundry. The sub-basement was dug out under the building in the 1940s.\n\nBloomfield, Ky. Maple Grove Cemetery\n\nAnna Beauchamp, of the famous 1825 Romantic Tragedy can be seen walking along the road and throughout the cemetery at times.\n\nBooneville, Ky. Owsley County High\n\nIn the gymnasium boy's sower room two students were punched so hard they were sent flying back and hitting the wall. Pairs of glowing red eyes were seen along with someone's finger poking through the door. Cold drafts have been felt and voices were heard.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Greenwood Mall\n\nBack in '96, a man was found dead in his pickup truck in the rear parking lot. The cause of death was never determined, and the vehicle was stolen. No one ever figured out who he was, or what he died of. These days when people park in the spot where his truck was and leave their vehicle overnight, you can walk up to it and see a man in the passenger seat who looks to be dead or sleeping. It’s always the same guy. When any of the guards on duty call a police officer over to remove the guy, they find the car empty. Every single time. The parking spot has an oil stain that looks like a face and has never washed off or changed over the years. The police have nicknamed him \"the sleeper\". It’s so common; when they call PD dispatch they just say, \"We have a sleeper\".\n\nBowling Green, Ky. off the bridge\n\nThere is an old metal bridge with a wooden road ... a girl once jumped off the bridge and drown. The theory is if you go to the end of the bridge and turn your car off and put it in neutral the ghost of the girl will pull you across the bridge.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Western Kentucky University\n\nAcademic Complex - The Academic Complex used to be an old hospital and now houses several classrooms, medical facilities, and the campuses TV and Radio stations. There have been DJs working for the Radio station that have heard things in the night, seen people out of the corner of their eyes. One night two DJs were talking about haunted places in the area and their CD player started to move about, opening and closing and rattling. It has been rumored that in the old hospital days, people had died in some of the classrooms and in a radio station studio. - February 2004 Update: It is said this is a rumor started by upper classmen to scare newcomers.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Western Kentucky University\n\nBarnes-Campbell Hall - showers have been reported turning on and off by themselves, and chairs crashing against walls. A young man fell to his death down the dorm’s elevator shaft.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Western Kentucky University\n\nHelm Library - is known to be haunted by a student who fell to his death from the ninth floor when trying to open a window.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Western Kentucky University\n\nThe Kentucky Museum - Located on campus is haunted by an unknown male.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Western Kentucky University\n\nMcClean Hall - McClean Hall on campus is supposed to be haunted by Mattie McClean the woman it’s named for. Supposedly if you stare at a picture of her long enough in the lobby she will smile back at you. Pearce Ford Tower (Dorm Hall) is supposed to be haunted by a construction worker crushed by an elevator.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Western Kentucky University\n\nPotter Hall - In 1977 a girl hung herself in the basement. Change has been heard dropped in soda machines, but no one is there, scratching sounds of the basement floor. - February 2004 Update: is now just used for the office of the register, housing has been moved down to South West Hall. Which did once have a creepy incident involving an Ouija board where a wall began to crack open. Also, for Potter, it was in room 8 on the bottom floor that the girl hung herself -- though that is debated some believe she was murdered. - January 2006 Correction/ Update: A student that attended school with the girl has cleared a few things up on this haunting. She was a very quiet but very nice girl. Though she didn’t leave a note, she had taken her own life. They report her name was Teresa nicknamed Tye-Dye. Many on campus believe it to be Penny because of several of the office workers in that area of the building said they often find pennies rolling down the hall and find them on the floor. So, if anyone happens to notice pennies rolling down the hall or hears change clanging in the vending machines, don't be afraid. Potter Hall is Tye-Dye's old stomping ground where one day back in 1978, she made the decision to exert the only control she had over her own life.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Western Kentucky University\n\nSchneider Hall - Objects disappear and then reappear. Knocks and strange noises during the day and night. Sudden temperature changes in certain rooms. Feelings of being watched. - February 2004 Update: It is no longer used as a dorm, it is being renovated to be a math building. Also, a student claims that - White Stone Hall and White Hall are the same building as Florence Schneider hall.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Western Kentucky University\n\nRhodes Harlin Hall - is haunted by a girl who jumped to her death. People hear scratching on their windows and doors.\n\nBowling Green, Ky. Western Kentucky University\n\nVan Meter - Auditorium - The auditorium is reportedly haunted by a man that fell to his death there while working on one of the catwalks. Students, workers and performers have seen him. Also rumored, he fell onto the stage and his blood, of course, soaked into the wood. In the 1950s and again in 1968 this stage was re-floored, and the stain again returned.\n\nBoyle, Ky. Perryville\n\nPerryville Battlefield - Sightings of a soldier walking the battlefield at night. Reported to be seen by local police.\n\nBradfordsville, Ky. North Rolling Fork River\n\nDuring the summer of 1965, several of the children of Bradfordsville heard a mysterious sound coming from the North Rolling Fork River which flows parallel to the streets of the town. The sound was very similar to a whip being cast. If you got close to the river looking for the source of the sound--the sound got quieter. If you got farther away from the river the sound became louder. It went on and on. Many adults were called out by the children to find out what was causing the strange \"whip\" like cracking sound. No one ever was able to explain what caused the strange sounds.\n\nBrandenburg, Ky. Meade County High School\n\nAfter those horrible tornadoes on May 4 used the old high school gym as a morgue for all those who passed on. Sometimes you can hear voices in the hallways.\n\nBrandenburg, Ky. Meade County High School\n\nBand room - There are cold spots in the room, voices can be heard, there have been sightings of a boy with a tuba standing in the window when the school is empty. Also, there were rumors that our vice principal had photos of a concrete worker bent over inspecting something on the floor. The story goes that this person died when he fell while the school was being built.\n\nBrandenburg, Ky. Meade County High School\n\nbehind the football - field of the school is a graveyard, and people have their own opinions as to why the school is haunted. Also, on April 7, 1974, the gym was used for a funeral.\n\nBreathitt County, Ky. Salyersville\n\nFrozen - Old Vancleave Bible Institute - Located near Frozen Creek, this was once a bible school which housed both male and female students. Due to the difficult terrain, students lived on campus. In the flood of 1939, many students and staff perished while holing up in the boiler room. (They were warned of a tornado, not flood). Little remains of the school after the flood. Buildings include a dorm, a gym and a stone chapel. It has been reported that sounds of children laughing and crying can be heard. It is also reported that heat can be felt coming from the \"punishment rooms\". You can go there and feel like you are being watched, the laughter of little kids and in the third building you can feel heat as you go up the stairs to the punishment rooms. Some have even seen red glowing eyes in the upstairs. There is also what seems to be a small chapel that has an aboveground basement that sits out in a field. The basement is filled with black mud like substance. If viewed from above it has a whirlpool design to it. Several people say that they have heard cries of young children and have even seen them. It has been said that you will see and hear terrifying things. - December 2006 Update — has been torn down.\n\nCalloway, Ky. Dexter\n\nHill - There is a hill that is almost perfectly dome-shaped, like someone took a bowl of dirt and turned it over. Witnesses report they had seen it light up at night, heard strange sounds, and that it was haunted.\n\nCampbellsville, Ky. Campbellsville University\n\nFine Arts Building - The Fine Arts building was originally a Catholic Hospital. Some say they have heard babies crying where the nursery was, footsteps heard in the hall when no one was there, and art students have witnessed pottery wheels beginning to spin by independently. There are also numerous cold spots throughout the building.\n\nCampbellsville, Ky. Hiestand House\n\nThis house is haunted by the Hiestand family.\n\nCampbellsville, Ky. Taylor County\n\nM&R estates - In the civil war days the confederate soldiers took the war prisoners to this house for execution. They were murdered and hung in the barn behind the house. As the legend goes there are extreme temperature changes in the house, also the screams can be heard at night by people that walk down the road. On some occasions, people have been known to see blood dripping from the rafters of the old barn. The entire property is haunted and not many people dare to cross its boundaries if you do there is no telling what could happen. It appears people that go across its lines have been tortured in the future as in their dreams and everyday life. it will be a life-changing experience.\n\nClermont, Ky. Jim Beam Distillery\n\nSeveral years ago, there was an old man worked as a guard at the whiskey distillery in Clermont, KY. The guard was old and possibly out of his mind. One of his favorite things to do was to holler at the moon when it was full on his work shift. Some of the guards say that on a night with full moon, they can sometimes hear him screaming when they are on their patrol rounds.\n\nClinton, Ky. The Old Hickman County Elementary School\n\nBefore the old elementary school had burned down in 1998 it was believed to be haunted by the people who were once buried there. The tombstones were said to be removed but the bodies remained under the school. Numerous of students were said to be locked in the bathroom, heard and seen doors shut by themselves, and could also hear noises.\n\nClosplint, Ky. the child's creek bridge\n\nit is said that on a late night when you are all alone, there is a woman that appears and in a split second as she holds your attention you wreck ... it is said that the woman died after being run off the road at the curb and keeps coming back to get her revenge.\n\nColumbia, Ky. Lindsey Wilson College\n\nHorton Hall - Horton Hall is one of the many old buildings on the college campus. It is located between the Soccer Field and the Gym. Most of the horrific sightings have been spotted in the dorm rooms on the 2nd Floor. There have been many encounters late at night and mostly on the weekends of Dark Figures pulling up and shaking the ceiling tiles. Others have reported that if you lay really still without any movement at all that the Dark figures will slowly Creep down into your room. If you do let things get this far do not startle the shadow looking spirits. Once reported that loud screams would come from the spirits if they see any type of human life in the room. These spirits have no history to the area but just seem to appear random time during the course of the year.\n\nCombs, Ky. old combs school\n\nthe old combs school was used for many years. Closed in the early 1970s.for the new school that is still used today. The old abandoned school is on a hill above the new school. It has been told you can hear kids talking, teachers still give kids the lessons. Walking can be heard in the old halls. lights are seen, and sights of someone in windows. The school was kindergarten to the 8th grade. it is thought principal Spicer, who died in the late 60s or early 70s.still is on the job today. The building is in poor shape, and not too safe anymore. after all, that’s why it was abandoned that long ago.\n\nCorbin, Ky. old Corbin hospital\n\nEven though the old hospital has been closed for many years and has no electric. Strange noises and lights were always seen.\n\nCorbin, Ky. Cumberland Falls State Park\n\nBack in the 1950's, a Bride and Groom came to Cumberland Falls State Park for their Honeymoon. The couple decided to take in some of sites at the falls area before going back to their room at the lodge. Before leaving the falls, they wanted to have their photos the with the falls in the background. The couple found an overlook just a few hundred feet from the falls that would work great for the photo. As the Bride stood on the Pillars at the edge of the 75 to 80-foot cliff, the Bride lost her balance and fell to her death. This place is now called \"Lovers Leap\". There have been reports of people driving around the last curve and hitting a woman that seems to be wearing a wedding dress and when they go to look for her, she is nowhere to be found.\n\nCorbin, Ky. Florence Road\n\nLocated near Early Addition St. There is a certain place in the road where people passing by will experience a strong sense of fear and the feeling that they are being watched. These feelings disappear quickly after they leave this one certain spot in the road. There have been no known reports of anything terrible having happened in the past to account for this haunting. - February 2004 update/correction: The zone of fear is mainly experienced by pedestrians. It is a road with a lot of hills and curves and while the speed limit is posted as 15 mph, many people drive as fast as they can through this area just for fun. The submitter believes there have been a few accidents in the area, but they don't have the facts with them. Could be more of an urban myth than anything else. A variation they’ve heard is that the area of fear lies off the road along the railroad tracks.\n\nCovington, Ky. Old Theater\n\nThe old theatre (and church) on Maine Strasse in Covington is frequented with glimpses of spectral figures in the corner of the eyes or in reflections, footsteps, light switches turn themselves on, and occasionally a loud noise as of something heavy being dropped to the ground and dragged across the floor on the ground level.\n\nCrittenden, Ky. Juvenile Detention Facility\n\nThere have been numerous occurrences there: hearing voices in the hallway, feeling something touching or grabbing your arm, seeing lights, a young woman twice and she almost instantly disappears.\n\nCumberland, Ky. Benham Inn\n\nSounds of children running in the hallways, and the sounds of a child's laughter in the distance, slamming doors and lights turning off and on by themselves.\n\nCumberland, Ky. Lynch Mountain\n\nReports of an apparition of \"Headless Annie\" laying on the hood of a car when it stalls out, when she is gone, it starts back up.\n\nCumberland, Ky. Power Street\n\nIt is believed that a little girl haunts this neighborhood. The people that live there tell at night they hear noises like someone trying to get into doors and windows. If you look out they say you can see where her mother hit her in the head with an ax. It is believed she is hunting the people who did not come to her rescue when her mother was doing this to her.\n\nCumberland Falls Sawyer, Ky. Cumberland bridge\n\na while back a couple was getting married, but their parents would not let them so they both jump off the bridge and you can see the woman’s ghost at night crying.\n\nCynthiana, Ky. WCYN radio station building\n\nIt is the oldest building in Cynthiana. It used to be a house. The old occupants still haunt the building because they don't like that their house has been turned into a business and abused. There are voices, sightings, and objects mysteriously moving.\n\nDawson Springs, Ky. Lick Creek Cemetery\n\nNumerous incidents have been reported over the years at this small cemetery just outside Dawson Springs. Glowing eyes, ghosts of the dead, things appearing and disappearing.\n\nDawson Springs, Ky. Olney Road\n\nMcNeeley graveyard - about 3 miles down Olney Road. A road to the right Walter Calvert road. Up the road about 1 mile a graveyard on right named McNeeley. You will hear a baby crying at night. - Always get permission or tell the proper authorities before exploring this site after hours.\n\nDawson Springs, Ky. West Hopkins accelerated school\n\nThere are rumors that the school is haunted. slamming doors, doors not opening, and hearing things.\n\nDiamond, Ky. Wynn Cemetery\n\nRumors are there are 2 bodies of people who were believed to witches, buried in this cemetery. They both have an above-ground body coffin (they were thrown in the ground and cement was poured over them). The cemetery also used to have 3 trees on which the witches were hanged. Every anniversary of the night they were killed you will hear and see things. There is also a change in the climate in which after you walk into the gates that surround the cemetery.\n\nDunmor, Ky. Peach Orchard Rd.\n\nsounds of the man who was killed and rolled off the hill on peach orchard rd. can still be heard\n\nEddyville, Ky. Kentucky State Penitentiary\n\nMany inmates, the correctional office says that numerous ghosts haunt this former castle.\n\nEddyville, Ky. Lyon county elem. gymnasium girl’s bathroom\n\nA 9-year-old girl named Lisa is said to haunt this bathroom. she was stabbed, and her ghost now haunts the restroom. you can hear her knocking on the door, screaming, shadows on the walls, water coming on, and misplaced items. it is also said that she has torn down the doors to the stalls.\n\nElizabethtown, Ky. Bethlehem Academy\n\nNow a restaurant, this old house used to be a convent later a hotel. It is said that several nuns were murdered here along with others. Cold spots are present and during restaurant hours chairs are moved and things are misplaced. Drive by at any hour after midnight and you will see windows open and close along with lights being turned on and off. If you're brave enough walk up on the porch and feel the bad feelings that seem to radiate from the building.\n\nElizabethtown, Ky. Gates of Hell cemetery\n\nThe \"Gates of Hell\" is the nickname of a cemetery at the end of St. John Road. In Elizabethtown, the cemetery at the end of Saint Johns road, known as Gates of Hell, is said to be haunted. The interesting thing about this haunted place is that when traveling to the cemetery one of the last buildings you see is Elizabethtown’s other haunted place, Bethlehem Academy. No more than a couple of miles to the end of the road where surrounded by trees and overgrowth the cemetery contains the graves of unknown people from the 1700s and 1800s. The place right outside the remains of the iron and stone gate is where people go to party away from town. Many years ago, while parked there at night witnesses report they watched an enormous green orb suddenly suspended right above them. After a couple of long minutes, the orb shot straight up so fast that it was out of sight in a second. Others have claimed other phenomena while hanging out at the cemetery such as hearing screams, seeing shadow people, having electrical problems with their cars, and becoming so scared that many of them never returned.\n\nEolia, Ky. Arlie Boggs Elementary\n\nThere used to be downstairs bathrooms in the school back in the late 1900's but after many reports on a baby crying down there and due to the need for new bathrooms more where built upstairs and the bottom one sealed off. Now at night, you can hear a baby crying and the sound of an older woman, thought to be the mother, saying, \"LET ME OUT\", and beating on the floorboards.\n\nErlanger, Ky. Narrow's Road\n\nNarrow's Road is a winding back road. In the 1950s a police officer was hit and killed pulling someone over. Local legend says that if you drive this road at midnight, an officer will pull you over in a 1950's style cruiser talk to you, then go back to his car and disappear.\n\nEvarts, Ky. Black Mountain Elementary school\n\nIn the Black Mountain elementary school, they have been things seen in the girl’s locker home in the gym they have been names hollowed out. People have often heard kids laughing and shoes tapping on the floor.\n\nEvarts, Ky. Coxton\n\nOn rainy or foggy nights, a woman can be seen either on the side of the road or in the back of the car. It is said that one night her and her husband got into a fight and he beat her and threw her out of the car and left her to die, now she will take rides to try to get back home.\n\nEvarts, Ky. Eastbrook\n\nMany residents of the apartment complex have told that they have heard cries for help in the middle of the night and have seen random faces appearing in their home many have had exorcism done on the homes.\n\nEvarts, Ky. Evarts High School\n\nThe band room is told to be haunted. Many students have heard strange noises and seen ghostly figures in the band room. It is also said to be haunted by a janitor that died in the basement. He was found covered with coal and nobody ever found out what exactly happened.\n\nEvarts, Ky. Hwy 38\n\nIf you stop on the side of on the second curve a head- less woman will get in and ride so far. She was claimed to have been killed in the old sawmill off in the woods. She was reported to have been raped and murdered, but there have been many other versions of this story reported over the years.\n\nFeds Creek, Ky. Feds Creek High School\n\nwater faucets coming on and off. Televisions in classrooms blinking on and off with no intentions. Bats and crows (blackbirds) coming in and out of the windows or sitting on the windowsills. It is a place that is dark and damp anyways, but the strange Phenomena that goes on is still horrifying\n\nFisherville, Ky. The Trestles\n\nThere was supposed to have been a little boy who lived in the house next to the creek under the trestles. He went out one day to watch a train go by from the top of the hill and fell onto the tracks, he was then run over. If you drive under the trestles right at dusk, you can see his blue shirt blowing in the wind stuck in the middle of the tracks, and him waving to you from the tracks.\n\nFlemingsburg, Ky. Simons Middle School\n\nAuditorium - there have been reports of footsteps being heard coming down the large aisle and echoing in the room. They are that of a man wearing what sounds like hard-soled dress shoes.\n\nFlorence, Ky. Bone Lick Park\n\nYou can drive down the road in which it is located and experience phenomenal things. Things such as whispers, undeclared figures, and unknown noises. This supposedly happens to a numerous amount of people. Like the spirit is looking for help. THE BONE LICK PARK is a place in which is Indian related. There are buffalo and such in the park. Many believe that the noises have to do with cries of many children who wander off into the woods surrounding the area and never return because of an evil spirit who takes lives because his was taken. Some people also say that this person was murdered there and is just in search of the killer (in look for help). This is a tourist attraction around Kentucky and fewer cases have happened because of this. So, on some night drive down that road and get out of your car and walk on the outskirts of the woods and you may be able to hear the cries.\n\nFlorence, Ky. Yealey Elementary\n\nWhen they were redoing the cafeteria, a worker got decapitated by a falling light fixture. He's seen after hours by the cleaning staff juggling his head and laughing.\n\nFloyd, Ky. Prestonsburg\n\nCliffside Apartments - The apartments are said to be built on an Indian barrel ground. Strange things happen there. Unoccupied apartments with lights on, the sound of footsteps walking up and down the stairs. A ghostly figure of a man appearing in closets of children. TV's turning on by themselves. The dials of radio's turning by themselves. It is definitely a very haunted place.\n\nFloyd, Ky. Wayland\n\nMillcreek - in 1956 there was a coal mines collapse that killed 26workers at night you can walk down the road the miners will follow you and you can see the miners go into the mines wearing their hardhats with light.\n\nFort Thomas, Ky. Carmel Manor Nursing Home\n\nA young woman in the late 1800s was murdered and decapitated at this location--the killer took her head and threw in a well located at Bobby Mackey's bar in Wilder, Ky (another haunted place seen on Unsolved mysteries) --The spirit of the headless woman is said to roam the grounds. Unexplained noises come from the 3rd floor of the assisted living wing of the nursing home--Some staff and residents have claimed to have seen the ghost of \"pearl\"-The nursing home is run by the Carmelite Sisters--do not go uninvited as this is a nursing home and respect the residents that reside there - WARNING - the area is highly patrolled by Ft. Thomas police in addition to Carmel Manor Security.\n\nFort Thomas, Ky. Highlands High School\n\nHighlands High School is haunted by a former student named David Cecil. He was a football player and suffered a fatal accident during a home football game. What was the locker room at the time was turned into the music/band room and is constantly full of paranormal activity. Chimes will swing, symbols will slide down the split-level floor, his \"spot\" gets icy cold when it's disturbed, trophies will fall from the shelves, and a door with no knob or lock will shake uncontrollably as if someone were locked inside that closet (you hear and see this as it happens), and the TV goes on and off \"by itself\". And sometimes, during home games if you look into the band room from the stands of David Cecil Memorial Stadium, you can see a figure of a teenage boy peering through the window even though no one is allowed access after school hours but the band members\n\nFoster, Ky. Foster Dam\n\nMany people have been killed, died accidental and committed suicide at this location. If you go you can always feel the presence of somebody who has died there.\n\nFrankfort, Ky. Liberty Hall\n\nLady Grey haunts this building along with a ghostly Indian and soldier. There is also a young woman in the back yard that was murdered. And another woman inside the house. So, altogether there are five ghosts there\n\nFrankfort, Ky. Old State Office Building\n\nDuring renovation of the office building, several workers have stated that they have felt like they were grabbed by something in stair tower #2. This building is located on the old State Penitentiary grounds.\n\nFranklin, Ky. Octagon House\n\nSpirits of civil war soldiers are said to still haunt the house. no one really knows why they are there but there are many visitors to experience this spine chilling oddly shaped house.\n\nFrenchburg, Ky. Carrington Rock\n\nImages of Confederate Soldiers have been seen on and around this very high sandstone rock formation, it has been said, this was once a lookout post during the civil war. Also, there have been several sightings of a woman who paces around on top and for a few minutes and then plunges herself over the edge. Her screams, as she falls, can be heard up to a mile away. The forest and surrounding hollows in this area have produced sounds of orders coming from soldiers on the battlefield, moans, cries of agonizing pain, and sightings of both confederate and union soldiers. Carrington Greens Golf Course has had reports from several of their customers about weird noises and seeing soldiers on the course, which is located on most of the battlefield.\n\nFrenchburg, Ky. Tar Ridge\n\nLocals call this area of roadway the \"devil’s backbone\". Sightings include solders riding house back late into the night. As well as a woman running down the road with blood coming from her mouth where her tongue was removed. An old man walking along holding a lighted lantern and many more. The ghosts also have been said to haunt several of the homes along the roadway.\n\nGlasgow, Ky. Coral Hill Road\n\nReports from a man walking home one night of an apparition of a white transparent headless horseman. Later, members of his family report it followed him home and it had been seen outside the home when they awoke to see him in the yard and the doors open.\n\nGrayson, Ky. Big Clifty\n\nA Woman having just left her husband, was on her way to her mother's house when her car hydroplaned off a small bridge. If you pass the bridge around the same time of the accident you can hear the baby cry from the trapped car. Ten years later the same bridge takes two more lives on a rainy night. Two 18-year-old boys a week shy of their high school graduation drowned after hydroplaning off the bridge. Both accidents happened at the same exact time.\n\nGreensburg, Ky. Courthouse\n\nGreensburg has the oldest courthouse in Kentucky. The courthouse was in use until 1931. Sounds of courtroom activity, talking and footsteps have been reported. Whether you are stopping in or passing through the small town, the courthouse will draw your attention with its historical presence outside and from within.\n\nGreensburg, Ky. Old Greensburg Elementary\n\nThe school is about to be torn down however years ago a lady was said to have jumped out of one of the upper-level windows and killed herself on the ground below. Also, if you walk next to the large windows on the side of the building you are supposed to be able to see a little girl in a white nightgown hanging in the window. Many people go there at night and claim to see and hear strange things.\n\nHardburly, Ky. an old graveyard\n\nA graveyard around the mountain in Hardburly is haunted. fog like thing moves around a headstone.\n\nHardburly, Ky. Coal Spring\n\nHardburly is an old mining camp in Kentucky. It has legends of hauntings. One is Coal Spring, a stretch of road that lines Jake Branch Stream. It’s here they say you can hear a child scream, with no one there. The story is a boy drown in flood waters there. He still screams. In the 1970s a guy was chased by an unseen thing. Faster he ran it ran, just behind him. He stopped to catch his breath it was heard gasping for air also. After he got up a bank he did not hear it any more.\n\nHardy, Ky. Mudlick Road\n\nIn the early 1980's it has been told that exactly 1/4 a mile up Mudlick Road a white house has been haunted. Usually at 1:20 a.m. you will hear a little girl named Abby whispering, \"Get me out!!\" They have also been residences say you can hear the doors cracking and footsteps on the front porch.\n\nHarlan, Ky. Bardo Hollow\n\nUp in Catrons Creek in a hollow named Bardo Hollow every spring, there is a mysterious light that appears at the end of the hollow. It usually stays up there and eventually disappears but there have been times that the light will start floating down to the bottom of the hollow. It has been seen for many years.\n\nHarlan, Ky. Cardinal Financial Services\n\nThere have been numerous encounters of a female ghost named Cheyenne. There are keys rattling and doors slamming. It has been reported that you can feel Cheyenne walk up behind you and breathe down your neck. When you turn around, she's gone.\n\nHarlan, Ky. Closplint\n\nChildscreek - it is said that on a cold, rainy night that you can see a headless man by the name of Doc walking up and down the hollow trying to find his head and the people that cut it off.\n\nHarlan, Ky. Hall Elementary\n\nFootsteps heard, apparitions seen. The story is a male janitor died from falling into the furnace.\n\nHarlan, Ky. Pine Mountain\n\nat the top of the mountain some nights you can see a ghostly figure of a lady on a dark night.\n\nHarlan, Ky. Wallins creek\n\nWatts creek - there are several hauntings in the small community one that most people in this community has experienced is an old coal miner who died in an explosion he still walks the old path from his mines to his home and is seen quite often.\n\nHarlan County, Ky. East Brook\n\nResidents of the Eastbrook apartments have heard little girls in their bathrooms talking about putting on makeup. And heard voices calling for help and constant banging on doors and a cry for help.\n\nHarrodsburg, Ky. Pepsi-cola warehouse\n\nTelevision changes channels, Lights, ceiling fans turn on/off by themselves. Doors close, unlock and open by themselves. Cold spots reported at times. Employees feel as if being watched at times.\n\nHarrodsburg, Ky. Shaker Village\n\nUnwanted children were once reportedly thrown into a pond by the Shakers. This was verified generations later when the pond was drained, revealing scores of baby skeletons. It is said that sometimes at night, one can hear the babies crying.\n\nHarrodsburg, Ky. Young's Park\n\nYoung's Park was the site of a ball in the late 1800s. A young woman is said to have danced herself to death. Her grave is still there and marked UNKNOWN. People have reported seeing her dancing there late at night.\n\nHatfield, Ky. big creek\n\nA woman has been seen walking along the railroad tracks, that had got married the same day she was struck by a train in the 1940's. Also, the coal mines, workers have seen a man on his knees working that had been killed several years before, also they have seen men coming out with their mining lights on. There have been several hauntings on big creek too many to be told on here, there are also several houses as well.\n\nHebron, Ky. Country Place\n\nMany people who have once lived here have reported a weird occurrence. You will sometimes hear beads fall down your steps and your dogs may sometimes stair up the stairs and have an uncontrollable bark. This site is believed to be built on an Indian burial ground. You may sometimes see scratch marks on the trees, because this was how Indians cut their fingernails.\n\nHi Hat, Ky. Cemetery On a hill overlooking the Hi Hat post office\n\nIt’s a spot through the years that a lot have people have visited over the years, so it is telling what has happened there. Anyway, if you visit this cemetery late at night like 1 or 2 something will sound like it is running beside the old church banging very hard on the walls. Sometimes this unseen force that will rock your whole vehicle will slam your whole vehicle. It has a weird feeling like your being watched, and you can see things that can’t be there. It’s really a creepy place.\n\nHickman, Ky. Wilson Hill\n\nMany years ago, a little girl was murdered and decapitated there. Her body was thrown off the hill. At night if you park your car there and flash your headlights three times the little girl will come walking up the hill with her head in her arms.\n\nHighland Heights, Ky. NKU\n\nAlumni House - This house once belonged to a farming family who owned the land where Northern Kentucky University now sits. The house is now used as the Alumni House for gatherings and functions. At times locked doors are unable to be unlocked. Mysterious footsteps on the second floor where the bedrooms are and the toilet on the second-floor flushing by itself. In the second-floor window, a person can be seen standing at the window with the curtain held back at times seen from outside. The longer you stand there looking at the window the person disappears, and the curtain will fall back into place.\n\nHindman, Ky. Motel 80\n\nYears ago, a man is said to have found his wife, and another guy together. He shot and killed the other man. Today it’s said the ghost of the man killed is haunting the motel. lights go on and off. sounds of walking can be heard, and no one is found.\n\nHodgenville, Ky. Creekfront Tunnel\n\nSounds of a loud stomping as if someone was jumping up and down as hard as they could.\n\nHopkinsville, Ky. Riverside Cemetery\n\nThis is the burial site of Edgar Cayce, A civil war General Killed in Hopkinsville by a Union sympathizer and One of the Bell Kids. (yes, associated with the Bell Witch and Adams Tennessee) There have been reports of screams in the cemetery, People staring out of the front gate and strong smells of Lilac even in the winter when snow is on the ground.\n\nHoney Bee, Ky. Cumberland Falls State Park\n\nBack in the early 1950s a bride & Groom came to Cumberland Falls State Park for their honey moon but, their honeymoon turned fatal soon after. They were at the falls area when they decided to tour the park. As they hiked down through the park trails, they came to one of the overlooks, facing back toward the falls were the view of the falls was a perfect place for a photo shoot. After standing and waiting for that perfect last view, the Bride then stood atop one of the pillars to have her picture taken. As the Groom started to take the picture, she screamed his name for the last time as she fell 73 feet to her death. This overlook is now what they call \"Lovers Leap \". An apparition of a floating woman motioning you to come to here has been reported. A Ranger was patrolling around the park we he was heading to the Falls Area when women dressed in a wedding gown walked right out in front of him and hitting her. When he realized he hit this woman he stopped his vehicle and began to check on the women but to his surprise, there was known one to be found. To this day he fills this was the bride who died on that fatal summer night.\n\nHyden, Ky. Hendover\n\nTugs point - you hear horses and wagons coming down the river. hooves and guns.\n\nJackson, Ky. Combs cemetery\n\nMany sightings and noises within the graveyard.\n\nJackson, Ky. Frozen Creek\n\nJuly 5, 1939, Frozen Creek was suddenly flooded killing hundreds. One of the most tragic events in Eastern Kentucky History. Supposedly you can hear children's cries at this site which was once a school/church before the flood.\n\nJackson, Ky. Jackson Independent School\n\nHaunted by a young girl who met her death after falling down a flight of stairs during a fire alarm. - October 2004 correction/additional information: It was a young girl who suffered from seizures. She had one on the stairs one night during a PTA meeting. It was in the 20s or 30s. There have been lockers opened during the night, books scattered up and down the halls. The face of a little girl in the window at night; janitors have chased the apparition down the hall, thinking it was a real child, doors open and close in the old high school building, etc. Her name was \"Maxine”. She is not a malicious ghost.\n\nJackson, Ky. Jefferson Hotel\n\nMany can hear the sounds of the man who was gunned down on the entrance steps.\n\nJessamine, Ky. Nicholasville\n\nWest Jessamine High School - There is an old family cemetery on the grounds. It is enclosed by an old rock wall. The football field was also used as a mass grave during a cholera epidemic. It is also said that three women were hung on a tree in the old family cemetery. They had been accused of witchcraft. Teachers have told of hearing a woman humming while walking the halls. Also, the smell of rose perfume will suddenly overtake a room. If you visit the school after dark you may see shadow figures in the old cemetery. If you leave your car and go down to the cemetery your car will start by itself and the lights will go on and off. Custodians have also told of seeing three ladies, all dressed in red walking side by side in the halls at night.\n\nKnott County, Ky. Caney\n\nLate at night at about 10 o'clock you can walk along the side of the hill, an unseen force in the hills follow you as you walk down the path.\n\nKnox, Ky. Barbourville\n\nUnion College - Pfeiffer Hall - In room 212 there is said to be a ghost that haunts the dorm. You can hear her run through the halls and slam doors. No one knows why she is here, they think that maybe she died here.\n\nLatonia, Ky. Value City Department Store\n\nThe store is haunted by a man who died in the store in December of 2006. He had worked there for 30 years and he can be seen wandering in the back of the store by where the house wares and toy department is. He has also been seen walking around on the back dock in the early morning.\n\nLawrence, Ky. Webbville\n\nDiamond Ridge - Irish Creek - For years many of the local people have reported a noise in the woods. If you walk down a particular stretch of the road you can hear something walking with you. A very religious lady, not from the area, said it is the devil himself. She says he walks the ridge. This area has an unusual amount of murders and suicides reported in and near it.\n\nLebanon, Ky. The Caldwell House\n\nThings fly off the walls out of the blue during the night, They're Christmas photos showed up with blotches of \"fog\", and at night they turn the heat up VERY high because it gets extremely cold!\n\nLebanon, Ky. St. Ivos Cemetery\n\npeople have experienced when they went there to investigate the haunting of this place they left a video camera on one of the graves and as they were seen walking away in their video when they played it back the camera zoomed in on them and followed them wherever they walked then the camera fell off the grave and went foggy. Reports of voices and other strange noises heard.\n\nLecher, Ky. Doty creek\n\non every Halloween night (at 12:00) there is suspected to be a ghost dog coming back to haunt the person that lives in his master home. His master died by a robber who shot the dog and his master four times each. the ghost dog comes every other year, the dog is suspected to be seen the thirty-first of October 2001. we do not know for a fact that he will come this year, but we do know he has come every other year since the happening in October 31, 1911.\n\nLeslie County, Ky. Wotton\n\nW.B. Muncy school - Ghost from the graveyard above the school. and, a ghost from the hills behind the school. a man working in the log woods lost his head and he walks the grounds of the school in the fall trying to find it.\n\nLexington, Ky. Campbell House Inn\n\nThis haunted hotel is very spooky, not to mention very old. Two women have been said to have been murdered here, one on the steps where one woman was stabbed to death. You can still see bloodstains in the carpet on the stairs. Another was shot in one of the third story rooms. Strange happenings have occurred such as doors slamming and seeing things that really aren’t there.\n\nLexington, Ky. Hunt-Morgan House\n\nThe previous residents have stayed here to haunt it.\n\nLexington, Ky. Leestown Division VA Hospital\n\nMade up of many different buildings and a huge, wooded grounds area, the Leestown Division of the VA Hospital in Lexington has been the site of several strange and frightening occurrences. Haunting images of several ghosts have been seen, as well as screams and moans, doors slamming, footsteps, disembodied voices talking and equipment and appliances turning on and off by themselves.\n\nLexington, Ky. Lexington Cemetery\n\nThe tomb has the feel of anger and often a large black blob can be seen in the back of the mausoleum.\n\nLexington, Ky. Loudoun House\n\nLoudoun house is an 1852 Gothic Villa that was once home to the families of Francis Key Hunt and William Cassius Goodloe that is home to the Lexington Art League. A partial list of activities includes a Victorian woman who haunts the western half of the house, an apparition of a black cat, the apparition of another Victorian woman seen in the former dining room. The aroma of an antique floral perfume in one of the upstairs rooms now used as a studio, voices and distant strains of ballroom music are sometimes heard.\n\nLexington, Ky. The Mansion-Griffin Gate\n\nThis historic building was once used as a house. A teenager named Gretta lived in it. It is now a restaurant, but employees always warn people about the blue room. It was Gretta's when she lived there. One night she hung herself in her room because a guy had stood her up or turned her down for a date. Visitors claim in the blue room (her room) and every so often the lights and candles would flicker, and you'd feel a cold breeze go across your legs, even though there were no vents. A few other people also noticed it too. Then if someone made her mad, Gretta would slam the shutters on the windows and sway the chandeliers a bit\n\nLexington, Ky. Transylvania University\n\nThere is said to have been a suicide here and at night in a certain dorm you can wake up and see a male student standing in front of your bed with a pair of gym shorts on.\n\nLexington, Ky. Transylvania University\n\nFounder's Cabin - There is a myth that the founder put a curse on it when he died.\n\nLexington, Ky. University of Kentucky\n\nGuignol Theatre - Witnesses report feeling as if being watched.... strange banging noises at night. Some claim to have a seen a ghostly man wandering the catwalk or the lighting booth.\n\nLiberty, Ky. Wilson Ridge Hill\n\nA woman in a flowing white bridal gown has been seen wandering and peeking from behind the trees many times over the years. She never makes a sound, but some have come close to her and it's said that she wears a veil to cover her face. No one knows who she may be, however, there is a grave yard and a church at the bottom of the hill ... most certainly her final resting place. She is simply called, \"The Bride\".\n\nLondon, Ky. East Bernstadt\n\nNo. 8 Tunnel in the old tunnel - It has been said that a man named old Caleb or Caleb red eyes that walks the old tunnel at midnight. The reason his name was Caleb red eyes is that he was always drunk, and his eyes were bloodshot. It's been said that if you turn your vehicle off and lights you can hear him singing and the sound of him will get closer and closer and if you wait long enough you will see a figure that looks just like a person.\n\nLondon, Ky. McWhorter\n\nRubin Ridge - There is a tale of a young man riding his four-wheeler when he comes upon a truck parked under a tree which is up on a coal bank. Upon further inspection he finds a man hanging from the tree inches from the tailgate. They say if you ride down to the bottom of the coal bank and shut off your four-wheeler and turn off your lights you can hear the sound of a rope rubbing against the tree. Just as soon as you turn your lights on the sound will stop.\n\nLondon, Ky. Sue Bennett College\n\nthey say the dorms and the theater are haunted and that Bell Bennett roams the halls all night playing the piano’s turning off and on lights and watching people sleep that still stay there if you go in your sure to find something\n\nLouisville, Ky. Cave Hill\n\nWitnesses have seen green lights moving around in cave hill in Louisville. They have also heard noises and graves falling down. If you wait by the back gate it can be heard miles away.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Central State\n\nA phantom man on a tall black horse has been sighted.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Cherokee Cemetery\n\nWitnesses report flashing lights, the scream of a man, and was chased by an unseen force.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Eastern Cemetery\n\nHis cemetery has graves dating back to the eighteenth century. It is now in horrible condition. It is said that some of the dead haunt it, angry that the cemetery is in such bad shape. There is supposedly a ghost of a woman that takes care of the babies, who have their own section in the back.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Formerly Hoffman Lighting\n\nLater River City Lighting - Owned by two men one of which killed the other in the showroom. The accused killer was found not guilty. A manager at the showroom from 1979-81 would come in before anyone else to do some work. Very distinct footsteps could be heard in the warehouse above my office. Many people heard this ghost at different times.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Harvey Browne Church\n\nThere are variety of things that happen at the church each night. Around 5:00 pm a strange presence can be felt in the largest chapel in the church. This wing during this is time should be pretty much unpopulated. There is even more though. Around 7:00 pm- 9:30pm about things start to get a lot stranger, you can hear footsteps, foot scuffing, and sometimes knocks. there are at least three spirits that haunt the chapel, a male presence was felt. Reports of what sounded like a little girl and mother or older woman laughing.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Hebron Lane Cemetery\n\non moon lit nights you can see the ghost of Hebron Lane. It is an old woman walking through the cemetery among the headstones carrying a lantern. She is dressed in a long dress with a long apron, and she has a covering over her head. She holds the lantern up high looking in the trees, (some trees are no longer there), the story goes that she is trying to find her cat in the trees. She appears mostly around Halloween. However, she can be seen at other times as well.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Louisville Theater\n\nIn the theatre lighting booth an old light tech had a heart attack and died. Since, employees have heard strange noises and have found his name written in the dust in the catacombs that run throughout the theatre.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Meyzeek Middle School\n\nback in the 1930's a young boy was shot in the lobby of the school. To this day he haunts there. At this school there is a lock-in for the graduating 8th graders. Each year they have had a lock-in, something has happened. One witness reports someone's belongings went missing, someone broke a finger, and another sprained her ankle while running down the stairs. She claimed that something had pushed her. In years past people had reported missing items, strange noises, and so-called accidents.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Middletown\n\nWoodland Hills - While driving on one of the roads in Woodland Hills, a lady in her 90's with white hair and black eyes, runs after your car and takes a picture. It is to be known that her husband died in a hit and run, and the lady runs out of nowhere and takes the pictures of the vehicle. The woman’s basement is filled with pictures on her walls, of cars, and teenagers. However, when you take a picture of her, it doesn't come out, but in the film’s negatives, you see a white mark. The lady goes by the name of \"The Watcher on Davidson\", and to her neighbors, she died twenty years ago.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Phoenix Hill Tavern\n\nFootsteps coming down the stairs and across the Saloon. White-colored flashes in mirrors. The taproom area is extremely old and has cold spots in air when otherwise warm. Objects get moved, disappear for a while, then show back up in the same place. All this happens when no one else is around to have caused it.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Portland Family Health Center\n\nOld Army Hospital - In the back of the property is the original two-story hospital, which was built before the civil war. It was built near the banks of the Ohio river, for easier access to the river. It was used to treat army soldiers. Also used in the Civil War. They stopped using the building because of the said hauntings. People have seen soldiers walking around and have heard strange noises. Windows and doors have been seen to open and close on their own. Lights have been seen on at night when not a person is there.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Rose Bowl Lanes\n\nEmployees and customers have witnessed TV sets and pin machines turning on and off only to have found them un-plugged, accompanied by the apparition of a woman.\n\nLouisville, Ky. The Deaf Community Center, Inc.\n\nFormerly known as the Hampton House. It was habited by the Hampton Family in the 1800's. The house had many parties and balls there. Mrs. Hampton always burned a lamp in the second-floor window when Mr. Hampton was not home. The lamp still burns at night when no one is they're watching for Mr. Hampton to come home. The elevator, which was installed after their deaths, goes up and down the 3-story building and opens at every floor as if someone is looking for someone. The spirit of Mrs. Hampton can be seen at times walking the halls of the house.\n\nLouisville, Ky. The Jefferson Mall\n\nThe screams of a small boy can be heard coming from the mall's main restrooms.\n\nLouisville, Ky. The Speed Museum\n\nA female ghost is said to appear in the basement and other poltergeist activities occur in the basement of the establishment.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Sleepy Hollow\n\nthere have also been reports by locals of hearing a woman crying while parked close to the old dam.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Spring Street Bar and Grill\n\nA ghost of an old man walks the 2nd floor of this restaurant at night when the employees are closing the bar. There is no information currently who he is (was). All the employees and owners who go to this storage area on the second floor report their hair standing on end when they are upstairs in this space. This building is at least 80 years old.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Tucker Station swimming area\n\nThe Tucker Station swimming area used to be a large lake that was open to the public during the 1980's. So many young children drowned because of the height of the diving platforms. The diving platforms are three stories high and many inexperienced children would jump off without adult supervision. Stories say that you can still here the children playing in the lake.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Sleepy Hollow\n\nSleepy Hollow off US42, Brownsboro Road - Reports of phantom cars, a three-legged dog and a deserted house boat where lights have been seen.\n\nLouisville, Ky. The Seelbach Hotel\n\nReports of running footsteps in the hallway on wooden floors (the floor is carpeted. TV's will come on during the 4AM hour blaring, then after 15 minutes just stop.\n\nLouisville, Ky. Waverly Manor/Waverly Hills\n\nOld T.B. and Mental hospital. Includes crematory and body slide. Several cold spots and a young girl has been spotted on several floors but mostly in the basement and on the third floor. Sighting of a young boy with dark hair in old fashioned clothing and hat, by main entrance (golf course) but watch out if you see him he will come up to you wanting to go home with you. Local rumors are that he was a victim of a doctor who performed illegal experiments on his patients. There is also a body chute that is said to be haunted. The chute was used to transport the dead bodies of TB patients who had died so that the other patients wouldn't see them carting all the dead bodies out of the hospital. Many strange figures and noises can still be heard. The overall feeling of dread in the entire building. - January 2007 Additional information. A visitor has 12 photos out of about 50 that they personally took, and they have orbs in them (one photo has over 20 orbs, and it hadn't rained in days, and there was nothing for light to reflect off).\n\nWilliamsburg, Ky. Route 92E\n\nthere is rumored to be a black panther that roams the forests at night and then disappear. Locals call it the Mulberry Black Thing.\n\nLyon County, Ky. Lyon County Elementary\n\nIt has been said that in the girl’s bathroom in the gym that a little 9-year-old named Lisa died there. She has haunted the bathroom since her death. People have seen shadows, heard screaming, seen things moving, and seen water come on by itself. Even if you knock on the closet door you will hear her knocking back. It's also been said that she has gotten so angry that she tore the doors off the stalls.\n\nMadisonville, Ky. Grapevine Cemetery\n\nThere is a statue of an Angel in the Grapevine Cemetery and it is said that her eyes turn red and bleed and she cries for all the dead babies. There are two different versions of the story to the angel of the grapevine cemetery. One is that at midnight on a full moon she will look up at you and her eyes will leak blood. My friends mother said she saw that about twenty years ago, the story of my generation goes as all my friends grew up within minutes of the cemetery, that her head has been broken off and sits atop her body and her right-wing is broken off and laying in the ground. It is said that if you knock off her head that she will curse you with bad luck and you might die, however, if you place her wing on her then she will give you one wish. There is another story of a grave there, I don't know which one but that you pull up in front of it and roll down all your windows open your trunk and doors and turn a love song up loud, because some guy committed suicide after his girlfriend left him, the ghost of a young teenager will scream a death roar and you have to get the trunk closed along with the doors and roll up the windows before he gets to your car or you will die.\n\nMarion, Ky. Baker Hollow Road Cemetery\n\nMany different things occur at this cemetery. It is located off Baker Church Road going toward Morganfield. You turn to the left off Baker Church Road on to Baker Hollow Road. There is one cemetery behind the church on the left. After you pass this church there is a fork in the road, follow it to the left and this is where everything begins. However, on a good night, it begins when you first turn on the road. You must go after dark but the best time to go is around or after midnight. This cemetery disappears and then reappears in different locations. However, it will not show itself when you drive down the road. You must drive down to the end of the road and turn around and come back to see the cemetery. You will know when you are close to the cemetery because you will have an overwhelming feeling of sadness and will begin to cry for no apparent reason. You will see and hear various things. Sometimes you can hear music playing, laughter, screams and hear things trying to get in your vehicle. There have also been fingerprints and dents in vehicles visitors have taken but there as well as scratches that came from the outside but went all the way through the glass. If you are lucky enough to find the cemetery and drive up into it, you will not be able to drive out. It is so spiritually active that it drains the battery of your car leaving you stranded until the morning or until you get brave enough to push your car out. There have been images of Soldiers killing each other and those around them. There have been sightings of the dense woods opening where you can see more than you should. The fork in the road rolls and a dense mist appears and disappears as you drive the road. There is also a guardian dog. This dog closely resembles the \"Hounds of Hell\" as described in the Bible. This dog has dead yellow eyes and casts the shadow of a demon when it gets ready to disappear in the triangle at the fork in the road. The dog appears to be injured when it first appears on the side of the road, thus making you want to stop and pick it up, which in turn gives an open invitation to any spirit that is around. When you fail to pick up the dog things begin to change. The dog will walk a few steps and then turn to see if you are still following it. However, if you speed up the dog will speed up, if you slow down it will slow down, if you go to the left it will go to the left, if you go to the right it will go to the right and it is impossible to run over this dog. There have also been sightings of wrecked vehicles with people screaming for help. Due to the period when this cemetery was beginning you will see images of men who were hung from the trees out this road before and after you pass the cemetery. You will also see images of dead family members calling to you. You will also experience a change in the weather when you turn out this road. For instance, it will be raining before you turn on the road, but when you turn on to this road the rain mysteriously stops, and the mist begins until you exit this road where the rain will start again. There are many other things that occur out this road, but you must be very alert and very open to the spirit world and you cannot show fear, or it can take your soul, according to the legend. There are many trapped souls at this location that will mess with you. Make sure you do not have an open invitation of any kind. This means windows rolled up and doors locked. These spirits can also communicate with you through your dreams if you will let them. So, go if you dare just don't show fear! Everyone sees something different when they go to this location so be prepared to be scared.\n\nMarion, Ky. Pilot's Knob\n\nWitches Grave - This cemetery is located off Ford's Ferry Road in Marion. The legend behind this cemetery is about a five-year-old girl who was burned at the stake, along with her mother, in the late 1800s to the early 1900s for witchcraft. It is not known what happened to the body of the mother, however, the little girl, Mary Evelyn, is buried in a steel lined grave that is covered with rock and not dirt. She has a white picket fence surrounding her grave. The base of this fence is a series of crosses that connect end to end. However, she is not tall enough to climb over the fence, unlike a normal 5-year-old. Her tombstone looks brand new even though it is close to 100 years old, as does the fence. She paces inside this fence when someone comes to visit her making faces at them and reaching out to them. She sleeps during the day but is very evident at night. The legend also says that she cannot rest because she is searching for her mother but cannot escape the confines of the fence. Many unexplainable things occur at this cemetery. For one the \"Watcher\" makes himself very know and tries to follow you out of the cemetery. The \"Watcher\" was murdered at the swinging bridge but haunts the witch’s grave. He is trying to get to the little witch but because of the crosses that surround her he is unable to because he is evil. Crosses appear in the trees both upright and upside down, directly over her grave, though they face different directions. She presents herself as a normal 5-year-old little girl in a white dress, though her dress is scorched at the bottom as is her blonde hair. If you lay on her grave she will hold you down refusing to let go until someone from outside of the fence pulls you free. However, never lay on the grave when you are alone because chances are you will be pulled into her grave to be with her thus giving her more power. As with every haunted cemetery people that are open to the spirit world see something different.\n\nMartin, Ky. Arkansas Creek\n\na man in old army clothing is supost to be seen in the kitchen and roaming the hallways the land was an old cemetery.\n\nMartin, Ky. Crum Branch\n\na lady has been seen walking around in a white dress with no head and asking the people she sees for their head.\n\nMayfield, Ky. Maplewood Cemetery\n\nsupposedly the angel tombstone located in the center of the cemetery will drop rocks on your head at the stroke of midnight if you're sitting on the bench beneath her feet...\n\nMaysville, Ky. Hayswood hospital\n\nLocated at the north end of 4th street, Abandoned since the early '80s. People who live near it have said they have often seen strange lights in the windows and heard infant’s cries. Also, some have claimed to see a figure standing in the last window on the third floor both day and night. Others who have been inside since its closing have noticed an old stretcher that seems to move on its own, others have said to have been followed by shadows accompanied by voices and the feeling of being watched. Others have claimed to see doctors in the halls and heard the cries of past patients. Red glowing eyes and what seems to be some sort of dog that seems to be chasing something have been seen, also cold spots and children playing in the waiting rooms. In the basement and all over the building are strange markings as if they are warnings of some kind, anyone who goes in walks past, or drives by have said they felt sick and a threatening hostility. It is believed to haunt the entire town.\n\nMaysville, Ky. Washington Opera house\n\nA young girl named Maras performing on stage until she fell through a trap door and broke her neck. People that have performed at the Opera house Have seen a blue light where she fell to her death. There is also a reddish stain on the basements carpet.\n\nMcCracken, Ky. Paducah\n\nCC Cohen Restaurant - Haunted History - CC Cohen Restaurant - Known to most Paducah residents as the Cohen building, this important structure was built around 1865, probably for M. Livingston & Company. Afterward, it became a clothing store, a dry goods store and in 1914, a Paducah City Directory identified the occupants as the R.L. Peacher Liquor Dealers and the Rehkopf Distilling Company\n\nMcCreary County, Ky. Granny's Old House\n\nBuilt on an ancient Indian burial ground. In the middle of the night, you see balls of light flying at you. You can also hear footsteps, people talking, and doors slamming.\n\nMidland, Ky. Jones cemetery\n\nvery large dark figures have been spotted several times in the past. For unknown reasons any visitor at night will encounter these large inhumanly figures and will be chased after by them.\n\nMiddlesboro, Ky. Middlesboro Park, near Greenwood Rd.\n\nThere was a little boy murdered there by the swings. They claim that she was out playing at night by herself and got raped and killed. If you walk down the park late at night around 12:00p.m., you can see visions on her swinging on the swings.\n\nMorehead, Ky. Clack Mountain\n\nIn recent decades there has been occult activity. Satanic symbols have been sandblasted from the mountainsides but soon reappear. People report getting a \"bad feeling\" as they come into the vicinity of the long-abandoned sacrificial rock.\n\nMorehead, Ky. Fleming Avenue\n\nCabin - Footsteps heard, apparitions are seen & items seem to move on their own right in front of the residents’ eyes.\n\nMorehead, Ky. Morehead State University\n\nButler Hall - has had strange noises in the middle of the night and footsteps in empty rooms. And TV's and computers turn on by themselves. It is said to be haunted by three resident that have lived then died in the building previous years\n\nMorehead, Ky. Morehead State University\n\nButtin Auditorium - in the 1980's a janitor was cleaning a large clock hanging off the balcony and apparently, he fell off the balcony and a chair broke his back and sometimes if you're sitting in the area he fell on you get a crushing sensation and a very odd smell.\n\nMorehead, Ky. Morehead State University\n\nNunn Hall - A ghost of a former student named Penelope, is said to haunt Nunn Hall. Penelope is said to be seen late at night and in the early morning hours. She plays with lights and televisions, turning them on and off. The story of Penelope is that she was dating someone her parents did not approve of and she became pregnant by him. Unable to tell her parents about the pregnancy, she jumped from the ninth floor, falling to a tragic death.\n\nMorehead, Ky. Morehead State University\n\nWaterfield Hall - On the Third floor in room 358 you can hear screams, the TV goes and off and the door to the room and stairs open by themselves.\n\nMorehead, Ky. Mr. Gatti's\n\nA man named Carl is rumored to haunt this business. Years ago, this Mr. Gatti's was a saloon and Carl was shot in the head by a jealous man in the old apartment (now abandoned) above the store. Employees have reported seeing strange figures moving around the store, mostly during closing hours. Also, voices and noises have been heard in the office area. The strangest of all is employees finding evidence that a game back in the game room has just recently been played when there has not been a customer for hours.\n\nMorgan County, Ky. Wrigley Hill\n\nJust off 519 lays route 7 which flows across Wrigley Hill. Late at night people driving across Wrigley Hill have seen a woman hitch-hiking or the have seen her in their car.\n\nMorganfield, Ky. Earl C. Clements Job Corps Center\n\nthere have been reports from students that men with old green army suits have been standing over them. Others say that they were strangled by a ghost while they were trying to sleep. You also feel like someone is watching you, doors close and open on their own. Sometimes you can feel something touching your shoulder and nothing is there. Some people say that General Breckinridge himself walks the hallways of the dormitories\n\nMorgantown, Ky. Woodbury\n\nYears ago, a little girl was left, or her parents/family had all died when she was only 2 or 4 years old. People have heard her crying and going up the stairs. People have blocked the house off, so people can't go in it. People have tried to tear it down, but the girl makes sounds and scares the workers away.\n\nMount Sterling, Ky. Old Windsor Nursing Home\n\nThe old Windsor nursing home is the old nursing home that is abandoned now. The story is that if you go up there late at night, you can peek in the windows and see the old wheelchairs rolling around. You can hear moaning and screaming. This nursing home was shut down in the 80's because they had many patients dying and found out it was abuse. So, their lost souls roam the halls.\n\nMount Sterling, Ky. Stepstone Church\n\nIn an abandoned church on Stepstone. The church still stands but the inside of the church was gutted by a fire long ago. A few men hung 4 teenage girls on a cross in the loft and set fire to the church. If you go at night, it is said you can hear them laugh, cry and see the shadows of them flying around. It is also known that if you do something to upset the girls, you will find hear them scream in rage.\n\nMuhlenburg, Ky. Rosewood\n\nSkipworth Cemetery - It is said that this cemetery, established in the 1800's, is patrolled at night by a Civil war soldier whose body is buried there. If you see a round, white light on a moonlight night in the spring of the year and are not family or friend you must exit the cemetery at once or your entire family will be cursed.\n\nMunfordville, Ky. Hart County High School\n\nA man fell down a manhole in the student parking lot. There are always strange things happening here, but it gets more active around the end of basketball season. You'll find locked doors open, lights turned on after they have been turned off, and in rm. 46 the air conditioners will be on in the mornings during the middle of winter.\n\nMunfordville, Ky. Raider Holler\n\na little boy was drowned in this well known to be Jacob, this is his well and if you park your car by his well and turn off your vehicle and get out and holler for Jacob and say, \"Jacob your mommy is here to get you, can you hear me.\" He'll be known to say help me mommy! DANGER!! this will happen!!!\n\nMurray, Ky. Asbury Cemetery\n\nReports of an apparition that chases people. Sounds of a baby crying have also been reported.\n\nMurray, Ky. Coles Campground Cemetery\n\nGraves shift sometimes, strange noises can be heard in the surrounding woods, and this is just during the daytime. At night there is an odd feeling, a feeling of true urgency that is indescribable. Although it is too dark to see anything properly. The farther back you go in the graveyard the older the tombstones get. One is just a crudely carved stone slab that becomes illegible after a few lines.\n\nMurray, Ky. Murray State University\n\nFine Arts Building - An apparition has been accompanied with very cold air. The Fine Arts elevators always seem to hang on the fourth floor; the significance of this is unknown. Anywhen you ride them there is a weird sense of impending doom.\n\nMurray, Ky. Murray State University\n\nFine Arts Building -The elevator - they have completely gutted the elevator shaft several times to no avail the young female student who fell to her death in the shaft after the door opened and there was no elevator there. She takes out her revenge upon the riders of the elevator; the elevator shakes and rattles as it travels up and down the shaft. It stops constantly between floors; the doors constantly refuse to close.\n\nMurray, Ky. Murray State University\n\nHester Hall - In 1998 there was a fire in Hester hall at Murray state university. A young man was purposely trapped in his room and perished in the fire. The room was room 402. The dorm reopened the following and only incoming freshmen were placed on the floor. Former resident claims Room 402 always had a scary presence about it and standing outside the door one felt watched. The room was kept empty and like all empty rooms it was supposed to be locked yet often if you walked up to the door it would be unlocked and even slightly opened on several occasions they with entered the room and closed the door it would open on its own. In room 406 you could on some nights hear a scratching sound on the door and if you opened it nothing would be there. The story is that the young man had escaped his room and was found dead of smoke inhalation outside of the hallway to elevator 406 was across from this hallway.\n\nMurray, Ky. Murry State University\n\nSigEp House - An old lady by the name of \"Ma\" Crawford rented rooms out to the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon at Murray State University when their house burned down in the 1970s. When she died, the brothers inherited the house and still live in it today. She is still heard walking up and down the stairs, the light in what used to be her bedroom still turns off and on from time to time with no one touching it, and you hear people talking downstairs in the living room when no one is down there. Also, the most recent experience happened when one of the brothers was sleeping and his door opened from the shut position (doorknob turned, and the door opened completely) and no one was there. She is believed to just be checking on the brothers and making sure they are alright.\n\nNicholas Co. -Robertson, Ky. Blue Licks Park\n\nThe lodge is haunted by a friendly woman. you can hear her talking.\n\nNicholasville, Ky. West Jessamine High School\n\nJanitors report being hit by thrown trash cans in the middle of the night. Lockers seen opening and closing on their own. Football field lights go off and on by themselves at strange hours of the night.\n\nOlive Hill, Ky. Bethel Hill\n\nTwo things are rumored to happen there. One legend is never pass the old church on a Saturday night when it is drizzling. They say a woman is walking on the side of the road and if you pick her up she will disappear after a few miles. If you don't pick her up she will welcome herself into your backseat. The other one is to go to the church on Friday the 13th and look into the windows the locals say you will see the scariest thing in your life. Although no one has yet to describe what is in there nobody will go out to the church on Friday the 13th.\n\nOlive Hill, Ky. Clark Hill Trail\n\nIn the early 1900s, a young woman named Stella Kinney went to live with her aunt and uncle who lived out of town. According to legend, her uncle got her pregnant. Well on the way back he murdered her. He took her placed her on a huge rock and cut her head off with a hand ax. For years after the rock was called by the locals \"Bloody Rock\" and every time it rained it would bleed. But now it has been buried into the ground because they made the road bigger.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. Ben Hawes State Park\n\nA girl who was accused of witchcraft in the 18th century was burned at the stake in the woods. If you up there at night you can see her ghost walking and the light of the torches of the people who came to burn her.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. Davies County Middle School\n\nin the middle of the day you can hear screams of a woman in the girls’ bathroom of the 3rd floor. You can look around and see that there is no one there\n\nOwensboro, Ky. Davies County Public library\n\nan apparition of a boy with high red knee socks, a red vest, very old-style shoes, high shorts, and one of those hats you see on many men back in the '20s and '30s.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. Fordsville\n\nDeanefield - During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers hiding from the Yankees used a small cliff cave to hideout. It is said that the Yankees ambushed the southern soldiers, killing them all. On summer nights of the full moon, shots can be heard as well as sounds of laughter, a fire crackling, and horses galloping. The cliffs can be found off highway 1414 in Ohio Co, Ky.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. Hospital\n\nOn the first floor near the old morgue, you can hear screams coming from empty hallways. Also, you can see shadows on the wall as if someone is walking beside you.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. Wilson House\n\nThis house was one of the first built in the area. It was once owned by a large family back in the early 1800s. The family was an outcast family and very odd. The story goes that a son named John killed them all, then killed himself. You can hear screams and laughter late at night at this deserted house.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. Owensboro Catholic Middle School\n\nAt night, neighbors have reported screams and wicked laughter. They have seen doors flying open and shut as if possessed. There are dark reddish stains that have never come out of the floors in certain rooms.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. Owensboro High School\n\nWhen Owensboro High's elevator was first put in the seven-year-old son Johnny of the builder of the elevator was playing with his ABC blocks the elevator wasn’t all finished and there had been no doors to the elevator yet and the boy fell to his death, to this day if you go to the school real late at night right in front of the elevator and say Johnny are you playing with your blocks, you are to hear the sound of the blocks clinging together as if he were playing with them.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. River Park Center\n\nAt night on the catwalk you can see a woman in white, dripping water as she continues to walk over the edge to the river below.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. The Old Theater Workshop\n\nIn 1809 this theater was a Baptist church. A young priest lived there with his family. His daughter was dating a young man who her father disapproved of. Late one night the daughter came to her father with dreadful news. She told her father she was pregnant. He was so disappointed in her, he told her he never wanted to see her again and sent her away. So, the story goes that night she was out of her mind, she ran up to the bell tower and hung herself. Her father was so sad he killed himself in the basement. With what nobody knows. To this day, lights are said to go on and off constantly, the bell rings when there isn't a bell anymore, coldness out of nowhere surrounds you, and if you’re not careful while standing in front of the basement you just might get pushes as many have before.\n\nOwensboro, Ky. Whitesville\n\nold Whitesville school - If you go to the old Whitesville Public School you can hear doors and windows opening and shut and the lights will flicker on and off. There are reports of people finding an old electric chair in the basement.\n\nOwenton, Ky. Perry Park\n\nHere there is a pre-Civil War plantation that burnt down and killed 2 kids and their nanny. It was rebuilt and later turned into a private country club in 1967. The house was made into the restaurant and the rooms upstairs were rented out (to live in) then redone into a bed and breakfast (just for members guests). If you listen hard you can always hear little kids screaming and running footsteps all around. Doors won’t unlock and open or sometimes they won’t open even if unlocked. The nanny keeps quiet but every once in awhile, someone will get the privilege to see her full body in big windows that start at your nose. Since then the country club has been turned into a resort where they have built a hotel and made the golf course public. The ghosts do not like this, the fire alarms go off in the middle of the night for no reason and even after being reset will go off again. Curtains shut themselves and in the kitchen pots and pans will bang together and the doors will shut and lock themselves. The lights have dimmers and at night employees have said after turning off the switch and the lights on high they will come in the next morning and the lights will be switched on and on low dim. This doesn’t just happen at a certain time it happens ALL the time.\n\nOwsley County, Ky. Booneville\n\nOwsley County High School - A man roams the halls and writes disturbing words and phrases on the walls and chalkboards. The student was supposedly hung by a janitor in 1973 in the shower room in the boy's locker room. Exactly one year later the janitor was found hanging in the same spot as the student and was hanging by an old rusty chain. To this day no one really knows what happens!\n\nPaducah, Ky. Emma Morgan Elementary\n\nIn the little-kids playground, through the gates, you will be talking and back around the corner you can hear a bike being slammed up against the gates, but when you walk back there, it stops. There are also voices and footsteps in the halls, especially in the hallway that has the names of the past principals listed. Also, for two miles around it, almost all the houses have had paranormal activity. No one knows the identity of the school's ghosts, but most of the ghosts in the community are either past owners or past owners' pets. Also, the place used to be a gravel pit. According to myth, many people died on construction of the town, and, to keep people from knowing that some people had died unexplained deaths, there buried them under the town. Of course, that's just a myth...\n\nPaducah, Ky. Lone Oak\n\nGerman Cemetery - This is an old Catholic cemetery located directly across the road from St John’s Catholic Church. There have been many sightings here of unexplained supernatural phenomenon. Such events include but are not limited to sightings of a \"werewolf\" type creature that charges up the hill at you, a female apparition that is not fond of males, and a strange light that seems to hover over one of the graves in the lower portion of the cemetery. Late at night during certain events, even the crickets are silenced.\n\nPaducah, Ky. Oak Grove Cemetery\n\nThe spirit of a young woman named Della Barnes walks through this cemetery on certain nights. Documents claim she was accidentally poisoned by the doctor who was treating her for an illness. Legend has a different story though. Some people believe that her fiancé murdered her in a fit of rage. He even went as far as to cut off her left ring finger to retrieve the expensive engagement ring he had given her. There is also an iron-rod statue of an angel that is said to turn and face a different direction in the cemetery.\n\nPaducah, Ky. Paducah Middle School\n\nThere have been reports of 4 gangsters roaming the halls and firing blanks at students. at night the janitors have reported smoke and the smell of marijuana coming out of the boy’s locker room.\n\nPaducah, Ky. Reidland Middle and High School\n\nDuring the day you could hear someone walking down the hallway and there would be no one there. Then some of the doors would open and close real fast and there would be nothing there some of them would not open it would be like it is stuck. Then the lights would go on and off and would not come on but when the teachers or students would go over there it would stop. Nobody knows what it is.\n\nPaducah, Ky. Whitehaven\n\nA restored mansion, now a rest area, and open to the public. A female apparition has occasionally been sighted on the balcony attached to the second-floor bedroom, believed to be the owner's wife. Legend has it she bled to death during an appendectomy. The feeling in that room is very pleasant, however, due to how much she loved that room---her husband had the room and balcony added on especially for her. She has been known to turn off the lights in that room, and the sounds of long skirts swishing as well as the scent of her perfume have been noted. Also, even though the old kitchen is now the employees' break room, there have been times the smells of someone cooking a huge feast have greeted startled visitors. It has been known to happen during the holidays, mainly Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is a beautiful place to visit, even if you don't get to meet the happy spirits inhabiting this great house.\n\nPaintsville, Ky. the City\n\nbuilt over partially or very near an Indian war and burial ground. This city is named for its numerous amounts of Indian paintings found here, and there are several Indian burial grounds here that businesses had been built on, that have had sightings.\n\nPaintsville, Ky. Local Gas Station\n\nthere have been reports, of 'fully dressed' in battle clothing- headdresses and all, Indians, walking through a local gas station and disappearing again and dishes in the eatery of the place falling and being thrown around as well, many employees have quit.\n\nPaintsville, Ky. Mayo Church\n\nMr. Mayo who was the richest man in a town built a church mostly for his wife. Some said that they have seen Mrs. Mayo praying or just sitting in the chapel late at night. Others say that you can hear whispering or humming coming from the chapel late at night.\n\nPaintsville, Ky. Mayo Mansion\n\nMr. Mayo has been seen in his era clothing and hat on the sidewalk watching people drive by. a tunnel leading from the house underground to the church has long been filled however you get an eerie feeling standing near the site of the tunnel.\n\nPaintsville, Ky. Old Town Cemetery\n\nThere have been reports of an old lady who wanders around the cemetery that overlooks the town of Paintsville in eastern Ky.\n\nPaintsville, Ky. Paintsville Elementary School\n\nNumerous reports of unexplained happenings from within the building including unexplained moaning, a sighting of a woman in one of the classrooms crying out to her husband and a child on the other side of the room, and many of the janitors working there claim there is in fact a ghost within the school.\n\nPaintsville, Ky. Ramada Inn\n\nThe RAMADA INN was built on haunted grounds. The once place called BRISTLE BUCK. At the RAMADA, employees have had first hand experience at hauntings. In the kitchen, pans will come flying from off the wall at whoever! Late at night in the atrium, there have been the footsteps of a woman in high heels heard, this is every night. You don't want to go into one of the banquet rooms alone, you will feel as if someone is behind you.\n\nParis, Ky. The Covered Bridge\n\nLocated on Colville Road. Haunted by a young girl who was killed in a wreck with her boyfriend. They were coming home from prom and were going to stop at the bridge. You can set in the middle of the bridge and watch headlights come up behind you, but no car and then you see lights under the bridge as if a car has fallen in the water.\n\nParis, Ky. Old Hospital\n\nA", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/10/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/03/12/coronavirus-vermont-live-updates-cases-closures-covid-19/5023835002/", "title": "Coronavirus in Vermont: Latest news and impact", "text": "Free Press Staff\n\nAs the situation surrounding the COVID-19 caused by the new coronavirus continues to evolve in Vermont, here are updates and information. The latest news is at the top.\n\nSymptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.\n\nTuesday, July 21, 2020\n\nDespite the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial outlook for the Burlington International Airport is stable, the airport announced Tuesday.\n\nMoody's Investors Service affirmed the airport's Baa2 credit rating with the stable outlook earlier this month. The rating, according to Moody's, means the airport's obligations are medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk, but that it has a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.\n\n________________\n\nProperty taxes for Williston residents will be a bit higher than expected this year due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nThe pandemic delayed construction in the town, which impacted property values, the town stated in a news release. As a result, grand list increases were less than initially estimated.\n\nThe new rate is set to $0.2750, meaning that for every $100,000 in property value, municipal taxes will be $275, the town said. The deadline for the first property tax payment has been postponed from Aug. 15 until Sept 15. The other two deadlines will remain the same.\n\n________________\n\nMonday, July 20, 2020\n\nThree full-time staff were laid off at Colchester Parks and Recreation due to diminished demand for camps and recreation programs during the pandemic, Town Manager Aaron Frank announced last week.\n\n\"Please do what you can to help towards positive changes in COVID outcomes that will allow us to bring back these valuable programs and staff that help make Colchester a great place to live, work and play,\" Frank wrote in a newsletter.\n\nOn a more upbeat note, the town announced that rehabilitation work on the Colchester Causeway is moving along ahead of schedule. If the trend holds, the breathtaking walk/bike trail across a portion of Lake Champlain will re-open by early September.\n\n________________\n\nTen new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the state's health department Monday morning, bringing the cumulative state total to 1,360.\n\nThree people are currently hospitalized with the virus, the same number as yesterday. Nineteen other hospitalizations are being investigated.\n\nDeaths have remained at 56 since June 18.\n\nTotal people recovered are 1,139 and a total of 83,868 people have been tested.\n\n_________________\n\nThe lakefront ECHO nature and science center in Burlington has waived its entrance fees to the public through Sept. 14, thanks to a fundraising effort by its members.\n\nAlthough there is no cost for admission, tickets — available online — are required, the center reported in a news release.\n\nECHO is open 10 a.m. - noon, and 1-3 p.m., Friday - Monday.\n\nBeginning July 24, the center will reserve the 10 a.m. - noon slot as a \"member-preferred\" time for visits.\n\n________________\n\nA new drop-off center for recycling and trash will open in Hinesburg on Saturday, according to an update posted today by Chittenden Solid Waste District.\n\nThe new facility at 907 Beecher Hill Road features a more efficient layout and up-to-date compactors that will help reduce truck traffic, wrote CSWD spokesperson Alise Certa.\n\nHours: 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Saturdays only for now.\n\nSafety: All customers must wear masks and stay six feet apart.\n\nRestrictions: No bulky items (mattresses, furniture, construction material) at this time.\n\nCheck CSWD's website for a locator map, and more guidelines.\n\nThe district's drop-off centers in Richmond and Burlington remain closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.\n\n=================\n\nSunday, July 19, 2020\n\nAn gathering to paint a Black Lives Matter mural on Burlington's Main Street between St. Paul Street and South Winooski Avenue was planned from 2-3 p.m. Sunday. The mural was approved by city councilors and multiple city departments took part in organizing and undertaking the event.\n\n___________\n\nTwelve new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the health department, bringing the cumulative state total to 1,350. Three people are currently hospitalized with the virus, one less than the previous day.\n\n21 other hospitalizations are being investigated.\n\nDeaths remained at 56.\n\nTotal people recovered are 1,137 and a total of 82,500 people have been tested.\n\n___________\n\nThe National Weather Service issued a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday for the Burlington area, with high humidity and temperatures soaring near 100 degrees.\n\nThe forecast calls for a high of 98 degrees, with the heat index — a measure of the combined affect of heat and humidity — topping out at 101.\n\nSaturday, July 18, 2020\n\nThree new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the health department, bringing the cumulative state total to 1,338. Four people are currently hospitalized with the virus, one less than the previous day.\n\n21 other hospitalizations are being investigated.\n\nDeaths remained at 56.\n\nTotal people recovered are 1,125 and a total of 80,446 people have been tested.\n\n___________\n\nFriday, July 17, 2020\n\nNine new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the Health Department. The recovery total is 1,121.\n\nThe cumulative state total of cases is now at 1,334.\n\nThe deaths remain at 56, and the number currently hospitalized is 4.\n\n88,246 people have been tested.\n\nThe state listed the following updates on its dashboard:\n\n\"July 17 The number of people tested is incorrect and will be updated later this afternoon. July 16 The number of people tested displayed in the dashboard dropped by less than 300 people due to a new method being used that improves the quality of the demographic information about people tested and removes duplicates. The change also affects the numbers in the 'Total People Tested' graph and 'People Tested by Day' graph. A new map on the dashboard, 'Percent of Population Tested by County,' shows the percent of residents by county that have been tested.\"\n\n___________\n\nTakeaways from Gov. Scott's Friday news conference include the following:\n\nVermont's Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine gave an update on the Manchester situation (with 59 people who had positive antigen tests): 17 had PCR tests, \"which is recommended to confirm the positive antigen result.\" Of this group, two tested positive .\n\nSchool re-openings: Scott said he expects Vermont will use a hybrid model featuring remote and in-person learning. Dr. William Raszka with the UVM Health Network noted children seem less likely to transmit the virus that causes COVID-19. State Epidemiologist Dr. Patsy Kelso named strategies like: daily screenings; testing symptomatic people; contact tracing; using physical distancing and facial coverings.\n\n\n\n___________\n\nThe Fletcher Free Library announced updated services in a July 16 news release.\n\nThese include allowing scheduled computer time, \"brief visits to collect materials and receive library support\" and outdoor seating (\"when staffing allows\").\n\nThe library has a Kids' Open Air Hours service that will allow youth to pick and chat about books.\n\n\"Weather permitting, the FFL Youth Department will staff a table on the library lawn in front of the historic Carnegie building at 235 College Street on Saturdays from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm and Wednesdays from 1 to 3 pm,\" the news release stated. \"FFL requests that participants wear masks and maintain social distance.\"\n\nThe library also has mystery bags with youth books.\n\n\"The bags are available at Open Air Hours and at the front desk and the list of themes is on the Kids’ webpage at fletcherfree.org,\" the news release stated. \"There is no bag limit.\"\n\n___________\n\nThursday, July 16, 2020\n\nNine new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the Health Department. Seven people have recovered, bringing the cumulative recovery total to 1,111.\n\nThe cumulative state total of cases is now at 1,325.\n\nThe deaths remain at 56, and the number currently hospitalized remains at 5.\n\n79,040 have been tested.\n\n___________\n\nWednesday, July 15, 2020\n\nThirteen new cases of COVID-19 were reported to the health department, bringing the cumulative state total to 1,318. Five people are currently hospitalized with the virus, three more than the previous day.\n\nFourteen other hospitalizations are being investigated.\n\nDeaths remained at 56.\n\nTotal people recovered are 1,104 and a total of 78,358 people have been tested.\n\n___________\n\nThose who file a new initial claim for unemployment insurance may receive a call from the Department of Labor to confirm their identity and intent to file.\n\n\"This extra step is being taken to protect Vermonters against fraudulent filers using their personal information,\" a news release from the Department of Labor said. Imposter fraud has been on the rise across the country, according to the labor department.\n\n\"Individuals may ask the Department’s call center representative to provide further information to identify themselves, or if they do not feel comfortable providing information to the representative, the claimant can call the trusted Claimant Assistance Line at 877-214-3332 and select ‘Identity Confirmation’ from the menu options to connect with a call center representative,\" the release states.\n\nThose who do not validate their identity when contacted may see a delay in payments.\n\n__________\n\nThe Burlington city building at 625 Pine St. is open for limited, in-person services.\n\nBurlington residents can do business with Public Works, Permitting & Inspections and Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Tuesday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.\n\nVisitors are required to wear masks, not to exceed four customers in the lobby and sign a log book.\n\n\"While the City still encourages the public to conduct as much business over the phone or internet as possible in the interest of public health, we also recognize the value of serving the public directly,\" the news release says.\n\nHow to contact (online, email and phone):\n\n__________\n\nTuesday, July 14, 2020\n\nGov. Phil Scott announced Tuesday that Vermont's Health Care Provider Stabilization Grant Program will launch on Friday, July 17. The program utilizes up to $275 million from the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund to provide direct cash grants to eligible health care and human service providers who have lost revenue or incurred increased expenses because of the COVID-19 crisis.\n\nThe Agency of Human Services and the Department of Vermont Health Access will host a webinar on Monday, July 20, to explain the grant application process, eligibility requirements and the documents providers should plan to submit when applying for a grant. Sign up here to receive an email when the application is open.\n\n_________\n\nFour new cases of COVID-19 were reported Tuesday morning by the Vermont Department of Health, bringing the cumulative total for the state to 1,305.\n\nTwo people were hospitalized with the virus — the same number as the previous day. Eight hospitalizations are under investigation. Deaths remain at 56.\n\nThe health department is reporting 1,099 Vermonters who have recovered from the disease, with a total of 77,624 people have been tested.\n\n_________\n\nA preliminary outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Windham County was announced by state officials Tuesday during Gov. Phil Scott's weekly news conference.\n\nOver 30 \"presumptively positive\" cases have been reported by Manchester Medical Center, said Health Commissioner Mark Levine, after the center's urgent care conducted a series of antigen tests to regional residents.\n\nThose that test positive on antigen tests, which differ from PCR tests, are \"not considered to be a lab-confirmed test\" said Levine. Antigen tests tend to not be included in Vermont's number of cases, and those that were either confirmed positive or \"false negatives\" would need to be tested by the Health Department.\n\nLevine stated that the Health Department has already set up a pop-up site in Londonderry for July 15, and he encouraged those that tested positive, as well as others in the region to attend it.\n\nIn regards to the outbreak, Mike Smith, secretary of the state's Agency of Human Services, cautioned Vermonters against failing to quarantine after traveling to \"hotspots\" outside of the state's designated safe areas. He further went on to recommend residents should not attend social events or gatherings following those trips where they know they are \"bound to have close contacts\" with other people.\n\n\"It is a pattern that I'm starting to get a little concerned about,\" said Smith.\n\n\"We all need to do our part. Risky behavior can lead to outbreaks.\"\n\nBoth Levine and Smith were hesitant to call it \"the Manchester outbreak\", citing that where people were getting tested did not reflect where they had contracted the virus.\n\n_________\n\nGov. Phil Scott announced Tuesday that he would be extending Vermont's state of emergency through August 15. The action will not roll back opening-up procedures, Scott said — but will provide a mechanism through which the administration can update guidelines as necessary.\n\n_________\n\nTwo statewide grant programs — aimed at providing relief to Vermont's dairy industry and health care system — were announced Tuesday.\n\nThe Vermont COVID-19 Agriculture Assistance Program will be offering a total of $25 million in federal funding to dairy producer and processors stating Friday, July 17.\n\nThose eligible include dairy farmers and processors who were operating as of March 1 and were subsequently impacted by the pandemic, either through income loss, additional expenses or market disruption of dairy prices.\n\nAn estimated 25 Vermont dairies have closed operations since March 1, according to Anson Tebbetts, secretary of the sate's Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, during the governor's news conference. Prior to the pandemic, the state saw a loss of 1.5 farms per month.\n\n\"This has been a direct result of what happened when the markets went away for our dairy farmers,\" Tebbetts said.\n\nApplications are available via the Agency's website, and must be completed by Oct. 1.\n\n--------------\n\nThe Health Care Stabilization Grant Program is additionally set to launch this Friday, intended to give $275 million of financial assistance to Vermont health care providers.\n\nApplications must be completed by August 15, and will be evaluated and distributed based on \"demonstrated need\", as opposed to a first come, first serve basis.\n\nThe program is intended to cover a wide variety of providers, organizations and small-scale practices including health centers, dentists, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, physical therapists, and emergency medical service providers.\n\n\"We want to continue to meet the needs of providers during and after this time of crisis,\" said Mike Smith, secretary of the state's Agency of Human Services. \"If providers are not certain if they are eligible, we want them to apply anyway.\"\n\nCash grants for the first round of this program will cover expenses between March 1 and June 15. The second round is expected to launch in October, and will cover between June 16 to Sept. 30.\n\n_________\n\nBurlington School District will host a series of town hall meetings this week, inviting community members to learn about and participate in the district's plans to reopen schools this fall.\n\nThe meetings will be conducted virtually via Zoom and split between two days to allow both families and staff the opportunity to ask questions and hear from school administrators about the reopening.\n\nThe town hall meeting for families will meet 7 p.m. on July 15, whereas a meeting for staff will be conducted the following day, at 7 p.m. on July 16.\n\n“This is a key moment in our planning process,\" said Tom Flanagan, the new superintendent for Burlington School District when began his tenure on July 1st.\n\n\"We need to hear from the community in order to finalize our plans and inform our families so they can start planning their lives.\"\n\nFor more information, those interested can visit the district's website via this link. The meeting will also be aired live through the district's YouTube and Facebook pages. Interpreters will be available to translate the meeting.\n\nMonday, July 13, 2020\n\nSix new cases of COVID-19 were reported Monday by the Vermont Department of Health, which brings the cumulative total for the state to 1,301.\n\nTwo people were hospitalized with the virus — the same number as the previous day. Eight hospitalizations are under investigation.\n\nDeaths remained the same at 56. There has not been a COVID-related death in Vermont since June 18.\n\nThe health department is reporting 1,096 Vermonters who have recovered from the disease.\n\n76,581 people have been tested for the virus.\n\nNOTE: The Free Press noticed the numbers regarding new and total case counts didn't align from July 11 to July 13 and subsequently reached out to the Health Department. Ben Truman with the department said in an email that this is why there is a notice that this data is preliminary. He provided an example: A person who tested positive might no longer get counted if it is learned that they don't live in Vermont.\n\n_________\n\nSunday, July 12, 2020\n\nFourteen new cases of COVID-19 were reported Sunday by the Vermont Department of Health, which brings the cumulative total for the state to 1,296.\n\nTwo people were hospitalized with the virus — the same number as the previous day. Fifteen hospitalizations are under investigation.\n\nDeaths remained the same at 56. There has not been a COVID-related death in Vermont since June 18.\n\nThe health department is reporting 1,089 Vermonters who have recovered from the disease.\n\n75,851 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n__________\n\nSaturday, July 11, 2020\n\nSix new cases of COVID-19 were reported Saturday by the Vermont Department of Health, which brings the cumulative total for the state to 1,283.\n\nTwo people were hospitalized with the virus — the same as yesterday. Sixteen hospitalizations are under investigation.\n\nDeaths remained the same at 56. There has not been a COVID-related death in Vermont since June 18.\n\nThe health department is reporting 1,066 Vermonters who have recovered from the disease.\n\n75,032 people have been tested for the virus.\n\nFriday, July 10, 2020\n\nThe Governor announced $30 million in housing assistance for those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nThe money would be allocated Federal CARES Act funding: $25 million for renters and landlords and $5 million for homeowners behind on making payments. Those interested in receiving assistance can begin applying online starting Monday July 13 for the rental assistance program or mortgage assistance program.\n\nRenters' assistance money could be used for rent or security deposits as well as make up for landlord losses from the period starting March 1, 2020. Funding can be re-applied for and is given out on a first-come, first-served basis. Proof of payment delinquency will be required.\n\nThe mortgage assistance program prioritizes the lowest income, highest risk of foreclosure homeowners who have missed at least two payments. Homeowners could apply for up to three missed mortgage payments; funds will be paid directly to the mortgage lender.\n\n__________\n\nKinney Drugs and a Walgreens in Essex will soon begin COVID-19 testing at their pharmacies.\n\nGov. Phil Scott asked other local companies to join the effort. Health Commissioner Mark Levine said having testing locations at local pharmacies takes some of the burden off the health department so they can focus on outbreaks and vulnerable populations.\n\n___________\n\nFive new cases of COVID-19 were reported Friday by the Vermont Department of Health, which brings the cumulative total for the state to 1,277.\n\nTwo people were hospitalized with the virus — down one from yesterday. Nine hospitalizations are under investigation.\n\nDeaths remained the same at 56. There has not been a COVID-related death in Vermont since June 18.\n\nThe health department is reporting 1,066 Vermonters who have recovered from the disease.\n\n74,098 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n__________\n\nThe ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain will be regularly open starting July 10, Fridays through Mondays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Timed tickets are required for two different time slots, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.\n\n_________\n\nIn a news conference Friday afternoon, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said Vermont is doing well combatting the coronavirus, but emphasized that we are only in the second inning of a nine inning game, using a baseball analogy to make the point that there’s a long way to go before the crisis is over.\n\nWeinberger echoed the same point made during the call by Dr. Stephen Leffler, president and chief operating officer of University of Vermont Medical Center, who said, “There’s a lot of coronavirus in front of us.” Leffler said he understands that people are fatigued by the effort to deal with the virus, but “we have to be in this for the long term.”\n\nLeffler used a different spots analogy, saying we just finished the first quarter of the effort to fight the disease.\n\n_________\n\nAirport Director Gene Richards also joined the mayor’s call to give an update on measures being taken Burlington International Airport against COVID-19. The airport has added thermal imaging that can pick up abnormally high body temperatures, indicating a fever, in groups of up to 20 people. Richards said if someone is “running warm” a red square shows up on her image rather than a green square.\n\nRichards explained that a person who possibly has a fever is notified and advised to check with a physician, but no further steps are taken. “We don’t want to get into people’s personal business at this point,” Richards said. “It’s very voluntary.”\n\nRichards said about 4,000 people are passing through the airport weekly, up from a low of 800 at the start of the pandemic. Normally, Burlington International Airport would be seeing as many as 17,000 people passing through weekly at this time of year, before the coronavirus struck the nation.\n\nThursday, July 9, 2020\n\nThe Vermont Cheesemakers Festival announced it is canceling the 12th annual event planned for Sunday, Aug. 9 at Shelburne Farms.\n\n\"We have been pondering what to do – postpone the festival, offer alternative events, etc. – and found is that there really is no alternative to the festival given the current conditions and our interest in keeping both our vendors’ and attendees’ safety prioritized,\" reads a note on the festival's website.\n\nThe Vermont Cheese Council, which plans the event, has had to focus in recent months \"trying to help cheesemakers keep their doors open, helping them find grant and other emergency funds, redirecting and identifying new sales strategies to try to make up for the 25-75% losses most of them have experienced, helping them navigate the changing regulations related to operating within our industry at this time, and marketing their products as widely as possible,\" according to the website.\n\n_________\n\nVermont Humanities and the Vermont Arts Council have wrapped up their Cultural Relief Grant Program that distributed nearly $750,000 in emergency relief grants to 122 Vermont cultural organizations, including museums, libraries, performing-arts venues and other cultural centers, the council announced in a news release.\n\nThe program, which concluded May 31, supported humanities and arts organizations struggling to survive through resulting economic fallout from the pandemic. The grants are for general operating expenses of $5,000 to $10,000 depending on organization size.\n\nThe program was seeded by more than $700,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.\n\nThe Opera Company of Middlebury canceled its planned June production of Tchaikovkiy's \"Maid of Orleans,\" causing nearly 60 Vermont singers, musicians and staff members to go without a paycheck.\n\n“This grant supports our plan to produce an innovative, socially-distanced video production this fall, putting these talented people back to work, and bringing opera once again to the Vermont audience,” artistic director Douglas Anderson said in a news release.\n\n_________\n\nThe Shelburne Museum will re-open to the public July 30.\n\nFree admission will be offered to patrons visiting by September 6. Online ticket reservations will be required and can be can be obtained at shelburnemuseum.org.\n\nThe museum will be open four days a week — Thursday through Sunday — from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Occupancy limits will be imposed on both outdoor and indoor spaces. Three exhibit buildings will be open to the public. Masks will be required for those ages 5 and up.\n\n_________\n\nEfficiency Vermont is offering grants to schools updating their ventilation systems to lessen airborne viral transmission.\n\nThe School Indoor Air Quality Grant Program was created by the Vermont Legislature and uses federal coronavirus relief funds to help schools improve their indoor air quality in response to national guideline recommendations.\n\n\"The goal is to complete as much work as possible before schools open in September, and all projects must be completed by the end of the year,\" a news release from Efficiency Vermont reads.\n\nThe initiative is seeking contractors, HVAC technicians and other specialists who can help perform the work schools are requesting.\n\nMore info at efficiencyvermont.com/schools.\n\n__________\n\nSixteen new cases of COVID-19 were reported Thursday by the Vermont Department of Health, bringing the cumulative total for the state to 1,272.\n\nThree people were hospitalized with the virus — up one from Wednesday. Twelve hospitalizations are under investigation.\n\nDeaths remained the same at 56.\n\nThe health department is reporting 1,054 Vermonters have recovered from the disease.\n\nThe total number of tests performed so far were 72,749 (just shy of 1,000 additional tests in the past 24 hours).\n\n__________\n\nWednesday, July 8, 2020\n\nThe City of Burlington is moving the deadline for property tax payments due to delays in other tax deadlines that occurred because of the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nThe deadline for property tax bills will now be Sept. 14, according to Burlington Chief Administrative Officer Katherine Schad. The original deadline was Aug. 12.\n\nThe city will not penalize residents who wait until the new deadline to pay their bill, Schad said.\n\nTaxpayers who have automatic payments set up through their bank should notify their bank of the change, according to Schad. Taxpayers enrolled in the city's direct debit program do not have to take any action.\n\n___________________\n\nThe City of Burlington is supporting a move by Gov. Phil Scott this week to write letters to bar owners in the state to remind them of COVID-19 compliance rules.\n\nThis comes after four Burlington bars received written warnings accusing them of breaking rules put in place through an executive order signed by Scott. These rules were set to ensure health and safety within bars during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nScott's letter also informs bar owners that the Department of Liquor and Lottery would be conducting compliance checks to ensure they are following the rules, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said during a news conference Wednesday.\n\nWeinberger has expressed concern about these violations, saying that COVID-19 transmission can easily occur in bars. He said the guidelines are restrictive, but they must be followed to ensure patrons' safety.\n\n\"I want to be clear: these are important businesses for Burlington,\" Weinberger said. \"They've been an important part of Burlington's economic successes, they're a part of the vibrancy of Burlington. I take no joy at all in having to have this tougher posture.\"\n\n___________________\n\nTwo new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont on Wednesday in today's update from the Department of Health.\n\nThere were no new deaths related to COVID-19 reported, keeping the total number of deaths in the state at 56.\n\nTwo people remain hospitalized with the disease (the same as Tuesday) and 12 are hospitalized with their diagnosis still under investigation.\n\nThe Health Department says 1,049 Vermonters have recovered from COVID-19, an increase of 10 over Tuesday.\n\nThe state reported 643 more people were tested yesterday, bringing the total number of individuals tested to 71,756.\n\n____________________\n\nA major lacrosse tournament scheduled for July in Stowe has been cancelled, organizers announced on the Bitter Lacrosse website Wednesday.\n\nThe Stowe LAX Classic for high school boys and girls was to have taken place July 18 - 19 and July 25-26.\n\nLocal concerns about the potential spread of COVID-19 prompted the cancellation, according to a story posted Tuesday by VT Digger.\n\n===================\n\nTuesday, July 7, 2020\n\nThere were 3 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Vermont on Tuesday. There were no new deaths related to COVID-19 reported, keeping the total number of deaths in the state at 56.\n\nTwo people are hospitalized with the virus and 11 are hospitalized under investigation. The health department says 1,039 Vermonters have recovered from COVID-19.\n\nThe state reported 760 new tests, bringing the total number of individuals tested to 71,113.\n\n__________\n\nVermont colleges and universities will be required to adopt strict health and safety protocols moving into the fall 2020 semester in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, according to an announcement Tuesday.\n\nRichard Schneider, former president of Norwich University and a member of Gov. Phil Scott's Re-Start committee, outlined guidance for colleges and universities during a news conference:\n\nMandatory quarantine\n\nHealth screening required for all students, staff and faculty\n\nLimiting visitors (the same 14-day quarantine restrictions apply)\n\nAll students must sign a health-safety contract, to establish personal accountability. There would be ramifications if they threaten the health of others.\n\nTesting of students at least once per year\n\nModifying calendars – everybody home by Thanksgiving; not returning before Christmas.\n\nRestricting travel (specifically, college-funded travel).\n\nReducing density in dining halls, and in classes.\n\nMore:New guidelines: College students will face a COVID-transformed semester in Vermont\n\n__________\n\nFree COVID-19 testing will be available at select locations in Burlington and Winooski this week.\n\nPop-up sites will be running at various hours on these days:\n\nChamplain Elementary School , 800 Pine St., Burlington: (Wednesday, July 8 & Thursday, July 9 between 1 to 7 p.m. , and Friday July 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)\n\n, 800 Pine St., Burlington: O'Brien Community Center , 32 Malletts Bay Ave., Winooski: (Tuesday, July 7 between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)\n\n, 32 Malletts Bay Ave., Winooski: Riverside, 666 Riverside Ave., Burlington: (Wednesday, July 8 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)\n\nWalk-ins are welcome, although pre-registration is encouraged. Interpreters are available upon request. To register, individuals can call (802) 828-2828 visit humanresources.vermont.gov/burlington or humanresources.vermont.gov/winooski.\n\nMonday, July 6, 2020\n\nVermont businesses can now apply for an economic-recovery grant through the state of Vermont via federal Coronavirus Relief Funds.\n\nThe grants are intended for businesses that can demonstrate revenue loss in any one-month period from March 1-Aug. 31, 2020, when compared with the same month in 2019.\n\nThe state Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) and Vermont Department of Taxes will work together to administer the more than $150 million available. Businesses that pay rooms and meals or sales and use taxes will go through the Department of Taxes. All others will go through ACCD.\n\n__________\n\nThe COVID-19 pandemic means no drivers education this summer for students at South Burlington High School this summer, Principal Patrick Burke tweeted.\n\nThe school district does not have an approved budget for 2020-21, Burke noted. \"COVID relief funds have not been approved to provide summer drivers-education 'make-up' hours for students for whom DE was cut short last semester,\" Burke tweeted. \"As a result, there will be no SBHS summer drivers' education services this summer.\"\n\nMaking up the hours for students enrolled in drivers education last spring \"will be a priority as we reopen the school in late August,\" according to Burke.\n\n__________\n\nThere were 2 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Vermont on Monday. There were no new deaths related to COVID-19 reported, keeping the total number of deaths in the state at 56.\n\nOne person is hospitalized with the virus and 23 are hospitalized under investigation. The health department says 1,022 Vermonters have recovered from COVID-19.\n\nThe state reported 329 new tests, bringing the total number of individuals tested to 70,353.\n\n============\n\nSunday, July 5, 2020\n\nThere were 11 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Vermont on Sunday. There were no new deaths related to COVID-19 reported, keeping the total number of deaths in the state at 56.\n\nOne person is hospitalized with the virus and 14 are hospitalized under investigation. The health department says 1,007 Vermonters have recovered from COVID-19.\n\nThe state reported 627 new tests, bringing the total number of individuals tested to 70,024.\n\n============\n\nSaturday, July 4, 2020\n\nTwo new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont on Saturday, one in Chittenden County and another in Lamoille County. There were no new deaths related to COVID-19 reported, keeping the total number of deaths in the state at 56.\n\nThere was no change from yesterday when it came to hospitalizations: 1 person is hospitalized with the virus and 15 are hospitalized under investigation. The health department says 999 Vermonters have recovered from COVID-19, a number that jumped by 32 since yesterday.\n\nThe state reported 995 new tests, bringing the total number of individuals tested to 69,397.\n\n============\n\nFriday, July 3, 2020\n\nVermont State Historic Sites are re-opening for the season this week, according to an announcement from the Division for Historic Preservation.\n\nGuests will be required to wear face coverings inside of buildings at historic sites, and outside when in proximity to others. Some spaces will be closed to encourage social distancing.\n\nSome sites, including the President Chester A. Arthur Historic Site, Kents Corner Historic Site, and Eureka Schoolhouse Historic Site will remain closed for the 2020 season. Read more here about which sites are now open: https://historicsites.vermont.gov\n\n__________\n\nNine new cases of COVID-19 — five of them in Chittenden County — were reported in Vermont as of Friday morning.\n\nThe total number of positive cases thus far in the pandemic is 1,236, according to data from the state's health department.\n\nThere were no new deaths related to COVID-19 reported; that total remains at 56.\n\nOne person is currently hospitalized with the coronavirus, while 15 people are hospitalized under investigation for COVID-19. The Health Department reports that 967 Vermonters have recovered from the disease, seven more people since yesterday.\n\nA total of 68,395 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n__________\n\nThe Vermont Foodbank Farmers to Families Food box program will continue through July and August.\n\nThe program provides boxes of fresh produce, dairy and chicken, and there are several distribution locations and times each day. To reduce wait times, reservations will be required.\n\nFor information on reservations and the program, read here: https://www.vtfoodbank.org/coronavirus-services-for-individuals\n\n============\n\nThursday, July 2, 2020\n\nECHO, the Burlington science and nature museum, will be reopening to the public this weekend. There will be timed tickets to limit capacity in the building.\n\nFor more information, read here: https://www.echovermont.org/plan-your-visit/reopening-information/\n\n__________\n\nThe 17 new cases reported today are not related to any one outbreak, nor are they unexpected, Public Health Communication Officer Ben Truman said Thursday.\n\nThe new cases are spread out across six counties. Chittenden County leads with eight new cases.\n\nTruman said that one case is related to an outbreak that began in Winooski, and some of them are related to travel.\n\n__________\n\nAn \"intermission\" in performances for the foreseeable future has been announced by Burlington-based Off Center for the Performing Arts.\n\nThe group, which had been planning to throw a celebration of its 10th year, will store its stage, lighting and other equipment and \"wait patiently offstage for the cue to start our next act,\" according to an update posted Wednesday by Laura Roald, its board president.\n\nMeanwhile, Roald adds, the nonprofit will continue its search for a permanent performance space. She encourages anyone wishing to help in that quest, or just to help with the move to a storage space, to contact he group at theoffcenter@gmail.com.\n\n__________\n\nSeventeen new cases of COVID-19 — eight of them in Chittenden County — were reported in Vermont as of Thursday morning.\n\nThe total number of positive cases thus far in the pandemic is 1,227, according to data from the state's health department.\n\nThere were no new deaths related to COVID-19 reported; that total remains at 56.\n\nTwo people are hospitalized with the new coronavirus, while 19 people are hospitalized and under investigation for COVID-19. The Health Department reports that 960 Vermonters have recovered from the disease.\n\nA total of 67,341 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n============\n\nWednesday, July 1, 2020\n\nVermont's Economic Recovery Grant Program is set to begin July 6, Gov. Phil Scott announced Wednesday.\n\nThe effort is the product of from a proposal by Scott's administration and amendments from the state legislature. It will disburse funds from the federal CARES Act in the form of cash grants to Vermont businesses that have lost revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a news release.\n\n“Helping these businesses survive is essential to the future of our state,\" Scott said in a statement. \"These economic recovery grants are a first step to ensuring our economy survives this period, so we can look to thrive in the wake of this pandemic.”\n\nThe first boost of funds will be $50 million for businesses who pay rooms and meals or sales and use tax, to be administered through the Department of Tax.\n\nAnother $20 million will be available to all other private businesses and non-profits through the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. The grants will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.\n\nFor further information, visit: https://accd.vermont.gov/content/emergency-recovery-grants-overview-webinar.\n\n__________\n\nEarly voting has begun for the Aug. 11 state primary, and Burlington city officials are encouraging residents to vote via mail to avoid unnecessary contact with others at polling stations during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nThe city has sent postcards to city residents who are registered voters informing them of the vote by mail option. Those postcards have detachable absentee ballot request forms, said Amy Bovee, an assistant city clerk. The request form can be mailed back to the city with postage the city has already paid. Ballots can also be obtained by calling the Burlington City Clerk’s Office at 802-865-7000 or by visiting mvp.vermont.gov.\n\n__________\n\nBurlington’s Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Department is working to make food trucks available to residents in a safe and socially distant way with its “Grazin’ on the Greenway” program this summer.\n\nThe COVID-19 pandemic has canceled traditional food truck events like the Leddy Beach Bites program and the ArtsRiot Truck Stop due to health and safety concerns. Through the new program, food trucks will be available at four city parks — Leddy Park, Water Works Park, Waterfront Park, and Oakledge Park — on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., said Cindi Wight, director of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront. This program begins July 2.\n\nDuring the program, guidelines for health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic will apply. Visitors must wear facial coverings, stay 6 feet apart, wash their hands frequently, and should not attend if they are sick.\n\nWight said the department is looking for more food truck owners to participate in the program. She encouraged them to reach out to the department.\n\nParks officials are also hoping to do something similar in various city neighborhoods, but details on that plan had not been finalized as of Wednesday.\n\n__________\n\nThe Intervale Center announced Wednesday that it will host a \"Spirit of Summervale\" digital event series this summer to take the place of its popular annual food and music festival.\n\nThe new format will take place each Thursday from July 9 through Aug. 27. The weekly concerts will be broadcast at 6:30 p.m. on the Intervale Center's Facebook and Instagram pages.\n\nThe revamped version of Summervale will support local businesses via weekly giveaways announced during the set break each week. Participants will have an opportunity to win a $100 gift card from their favorite Summervale vendors by getting takeout at select locations and sharing on social media.\n\nThe 2020 music lineup will feature Mister Chris & Friends, Zach Nugent, Pete’s Posse, Collin Cope & Friends, Ryan Montbleu, Joe Adler & the Rangers of Danger and Swimmer, according to a news release. Viewers will also have the opportunity to hear words from long-time event partners and guest nonprofit organizations working in climate, food, and social justice.\n\n__________\n\nCity Market employees will continue to receive hazard pay through Aug. 15 after a five-hour negotiation on Tuesday night, according to the workers' union, UE Local 203.\n\nThe amount of the funds, called an \"appreciation bonus,\" will be smaller but union members will continue to earn at least $15 an hour during the pandemic. The union's agreement with store management is scheduled to revisit the situation and possibly bargain further on Aug. 17.\n\nPer the extended agreement, employees will earn an extra $75 per 40-hour work week, prorated\n\n\"\"For the pay periods of June 28 through August 15, 2020 the Appreciation Bonus is $75 per employee per pay period based on a 40-hour work week, prorated to the number of hours the employee worked.\n\n__________\n\nTwo new cases of COVID-19 have been reported, bringing the total of cumulative cases in the state to 1,210.\n\nOne person with the virus remains hospitalized, while 16 others hospitalized are under investigation.\n\nDeaths remained 56. So far, 961 people have recovered and 66, 292 people have been tested.\n\n__________\n\nThe Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival has been postponed until 2021.\n\nCompetitors have an extra year to perfect their trebuchet and guests can look forward to attending the 12th annual event at the Stoweflake Resort and Spa in Stowe on September 26, 2021.\n\n__________\n\nFree Wi-Fi is being offered to the general public on the campuses of Northern Vermont University, Castleton University and Vermont Technical College.\n\nThe Vermont State Colleges System is providing the space and the Vermont Electric Power Company provided and installed equipment to expand the number of people who could log on at a time.\n\nDesignated hot spot spaces will be available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for 20 to 30 socially-distanced users at a time; locations can be found on the state's public Wi-Fi map.\n\nThe initiative was developed to help remote workers and learners in areas underserved by internet access.\n\n__________\n\nThe Montshire Museum will reopen to the public July 8 with outdoor exhibits and programs.\n\nThe Norwich science museum has created two new outdoor experiences on their forest nature trail land: \"Prehistoric Giants,\" sculptures of animal ancestors visitors can stroll past and observe, and \"The Play Grove,\" a play area with structures and informal science exploration.\n\nIn addition, a bubble exhibit has moved outdoors, where science programming will also take place.\n\nIndoor exhibits will remain closed, however, restrooms will be available. Hours have changed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Visitors must reserve a morning arrival or afternoon arrival ticket in advance up to three days prior (though visitors can stay until closing).\n\nGuests aged three and older are required to wear a mask indoors and when interacting with staff or the public, and are encouraged to wear them outdoors. Some one-way directional traffic patterns will be imposed.\n\nMore information is available at the Montshire Museum of Science website.\n\n__________\n\nTuesday, June 30, 2020\n\nZero new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont as of Tuesday morning, keeping the total number of positive cases at 1,208, according to data from the state's health department.\n\nTwo people are hospitalized with the new coronavirus, while 14 people are hospitalized under investigation for COVID-19. The Health Department reports that 953 Vermonters have recovered.\n\nThe number of deaths related to COVID-19 remains 56. A total of 65,764 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n__________\n\nVermont will open up to more states for people who want to visit without quarantining.\n\n“Effective July 1, people from low-risk counties in additional states can travel to Vermont without having to quarantine,” the Health Department wrote in a daily update Tuesday.\n\nThis includes:\n\nDelaware.\n\nMaryland.\n\nNew Jersey.\n\nOhio.\n\nPennsylvania.\n\nVirginia.\n\nWest Virginia.\n\nThis update also includes the District of Columbia.\n\n__________\n\nMonday, June 29, 2020\n\nSix new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont as of Monday morning, bringing the total number of positive cases to 1,208, according to data from the state's Health Department.\n\nTwo people are hospitalized with the new coronavirus, while 11 people are hospitalized under investigation for COVID-19. The Health Department reports that 949 Vermonters have recovered.\n\nThe number of deaths related to COVID-19 remains at 56. A total of 64,993 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n__________\n\nFree COVID-19 testing will be available at select locations in Burlington and Winooski this week.\n\nPop-up sites will be running from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on these days:\n\nChamplain Elementary School , 800 Pine St., Burlington: (Tues. 6/30, Weds. 7/1, and Thurs. 7/2)\n\n, 800 Pine St., Burlington: O'Brien Community Center , 32 Malletts Bay Ave., Winooski: (Mon. 6/29, Tues. 6/30)\n\n, 32 Malletts Bay Ave., Winooski: VT Department of Health, 108 Cherry St., Burlington: (Tues. 6/30)\n\nPre-registration is required for the Health Department location, otherwise, it is not required. Interpreters are available upon request. To register, individuals can call (802) 828-2828 visit humanresources.vermont.gov/burlington or humanresources.vermont.gov/winooski.\n\n__________\n\nAll patients, visitors and staff at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin will now have their body temperature scanned by a thermal imaging camera prior to entering the hospital.\n\nPrior to the announcement, since March 21, any person entering the facility was required to pass a individual temperature screening to monitor symptoms of COVID-19. The hospital said those methods were \" time consuming\" and involved a sizeable number of staff members to screen patients, proving inefficient as they returned to normal patient capacity.\n\n“This technology greatly improves the experience and increases the speed and safety of the screening process,” said Robert Patterson, Vice President of Human Resources and Clinical Operations for Central Vermont Medical Center.\n\n“Once people answer a few questions about their health, they simply walk into the facility and their temperature is automatically taken. It greatly decreases the time it takes for them to enter, eliminates the need to remove their mask, and decreases the time they spend in close proximity to our staff, which keeps everyone safer.”\n\n__________\n\nVermont Law School will conduct all of its fall 2020 classes online, according to a news release Monday.\n\nNo on-campus residential courses will offered during the semester, and all on-campus classes will be held virtually in a series of live sessions.\n\n\"We strive to provide a consistent educational experience for all of our students while being sensitive to our community's safety and security,\" said Thomas McHenry, president and dean of Vermont Law School.\n\n\"We want to provide as much notice to our students, facility, and staff, in order to plan appropriately and deliver the high-quality course content and access to faculty that VLS is known for.\"\n\n__________\n\nSunday, June 28, 2020\n\nTwo new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont as of noon on Sunday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 1,202, according to Health Department data.\n\nTwo people are hospitalized with COVID-19, while 13 people are hospitalized and under investigation for the virus. The Department of Health is reporting that 946 people in Vermont have recovered, the same number as yesterday, Saturday June 27.\n\nThe number of COVID-19-attributed deaths is still 56. A total of 63,865 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n__________\n\nSaturday, June 27, 2020\n\nTwo new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont on Saturday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 1,200, according to Health Department data.\n\nTwo people are hospitalized with COVID-19, while 12 people are hospitalized and under investigation for the virus. The state is reporting that 946 people in Vermont have recovered.\n\nThe number of COVID-19-attributed deaths remained at 56. A total of62,723 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n__________\n\nAs anticipated, sports competitions between Vermont-based teams may resume July 1, according to Friday's updated guidance from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Only no- or low-contact sports (such as tennis) or short-duration sports (such as soccer, softball, baseball, lacrosse, volleyball, hockey) are allowed to play games. High-contact sports remain limited to conditioning and skill-building drills.\n\nMore:Independent league to replace American Legion baseball in Vermont this summer\n\n__________\n\nPlay structures or playgrounds are now open for use to the public, Gov. Phil Scott said in his Friday news conference. Proper signage must be displayed, saying users or anyone in their household cannot be ill. Users must also wash hands before and after use. Organizations responsible for the play structures are encouraged to provide hand sanitizers, according to updated guidance from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.\n\n__________\n\nFriday, June 26, 2020\n\nSeven new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont on Friday, bringing the total number of positive cases to 1,198, according to Health Department data.\n\nFour people are hospitalized with COVID-19, while 10 people are hospitalized and under investigation for the virus. The state is reporting that 941 people in Vermont have recovered.\n\nThe number of COVID-19-attributed deaths remained at 56. A total of 61,589 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n__________\n\nMayor Miro Weinberger offered updates on the city's budget, which he said must be passed next week, as well as COVID-19 during his briefing Friday. Some takeaways include:\n\nAn emergency budget that doesn't implement new voter-approved taxes.\n\nThe Fiscal Year 2021 budget including: A $1 million fund for racial justice. A $250,000 Public Safety Transformation Fund.\n\nBurlington is kicking off its \"Open Streets\" initiative Saturday, temporarily restricting traffic flow downtown for businesses and foot traffic.\n\n__________\n\nStarting July 1, Vermont will allow travel without quarantine from certain counties in six new states and from the District of Columbia, Gov. Phil Scott announced at a press conference Friday. Individuals from counties in these states that have less than 400 cases per million people can travel to Vermont without the 14 day quarantine mandate required of other travelers.\n\nThese states are:\n\nOhio\n\nPennsylvania\n\nDelaware\n\nMaryland\n\nWest Virginia\n\nVirginia\n\nThe District of Columbia\n\nThis accounts for about 19 million people across 216 counties, a population which Scott hopes will support the struggling hospitality industry in the state. Travelers must travel by personal vehicle, and cannot fly or take a bus or train.\n\nVermont has already allowed travel without quarantine from low-risk counties in New York, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.\n\n__________\n\nThursday, June 25, 2020\n\nSeven new cases of COVID-19 reported in Vermont on Thursday brought the total number of positive cases to 1,191, according to Health Department data.\n\nThree people are hospitalized with COVID-19, while 12 people are hospitalized and under investigation for the virus. The state said that 938 people across the state have recovered.\n\nThe number of deaths attributable to COVID-19 remained at 56. A total of 60,709 people have been tested for the virus.\n\n__________\n\nThe Chittenden Solid Waste District's drop-off center in South Burlington will be reopening on Saturday, June 27 after being temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nCustomers will be required to wear facial coverings and vehicles will be metered into the facility, according to the organization's website. The facility will be open on Monday, Friday and Saturday between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.\n\nThe facility is currently not accepting large bulky items such as mattresses, furniture, or construction material. Items that will be accepted and their fees can be found on the Chittenden Solid Waste District's website at cswd.net/facility-locations/south-burlington-drop-center.\n\n__________\n\nWednesday, June 24, 2020\n\nDuring the Governor's meeting Wednesday, Health Commissioner Mark Levine gave updates on outbreaks and clusters of COVID-19 across the state.\n\nWinooski outbreak: The total cases are 114 so far with its peak in early June. According to Levine we are \"clearly on a downward and stable slope.\" He said it takes time for numbers to peter out because of the 7 to 14 day incubation perid.\n\nRutland County cluster: A Rutland County employer in the Fair Haven area has 12 cases within its population. Testing is being performed on employees and community wide testing is expected to be announced soon. Levine would not identify the business but said it was not of the type where consumers would be coming in and out.\n\nWindham County family cluster: one family in Windham County has multiple cases. Testing is being performed today in Brattleboro. Levine said the number of cases there is less than 10 but would not give an exact number as to not inadvertently identify the family.\n\nLevine said a cluster is when cases are confined to one main source such as a family, household or business and not distributed across the population. The term outbreak is used when transmission is beyond one particular source, he said.\n\n__________\n\nThere were 20 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the state cumulative total to 1,184. Hospitalizations increased to four (from two) and those hospitalized under investigation decreased from 17 to 9 over the last 24 hours.\n\nDeaths remained at 56. Total people being monitored increased by 20 to 1,230.\n\nThose recovered total 930, while 1,296 completed being monitored and 59,860 tests have been performed so far.\n\n__________\n\nThe University of Vermont Medical Center is scaling back some limitations on visitors to the hospital. Every Vermont hospital began restricting visitation in March to slow the spread of COVID-19.\n\nEffective today, UVM Medical Center is allowing one \"consistent\" family member or support person in inpatient and procedural areas. Outpatient restrictions remain in place, where family and friends are not allowed to accompany patients into their doctors' offices unless patients requires support and assistance to meet with their doctors.\n\nFor pediatric patients, one parent or support person is recommended, but both parents may be permitted to visit when \"necessary and appropriate,\" based on unique care needs and circumstances determined by the care team.\n\nPatients arriving in the emergency department or urgent care may also be accompanied by one consistent family member or support person.\n\n__________\n\nNational Life Group in Montpelier announced it cut 53 jobs in Vermont as a result of the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The insurance company also cut 30 jobs in Texas and 12 in \"other remote locations,\" according to a news release.\n\nMehran Assadi, chairman, president and CEO of National Life, said in a statement the company does not anticipate any further job cuts.\n\nNational Life employees have been working remotely since mid-March, with the exception of a few dozen essential workers who continue to report to the office in Montpelier, the news release said. The company is currently planning a phased return to the office, which will not occur before July 20.\n\n__________\n\nTuesday, June 23, 2020\n\nOne new case of COVID-19 brought the state cumulative total to 1,164. Hospitalizations increased to two (from none) and those hospitalized under investigation increased from 8 to 17 over the last 24 hours.\n\nDeaths remained at 56. Total people being monitored are 1,210.\n\nThose recovered total 927, while 1,270 completed being monitored and 59,328 tests have been performed so far.\n\n__________\n\nSmugglers' Notch Resort reopens for travelers and locals June 26. Activities such as pools, water parks, guided hiking, disc golf and 20 miles of mountain biking trails are expected to be open. Food and beverage service will be available on-site. Social distancing and enhanced cleaning protocols will be employed.\n\n__________\n\nEmployees of restaurant and retail shops in downtown Burlington can park for free.\n\nTemporary free parking will be available at the Lakeview/College Street garage. Those who haven't done so previously need to sign up for FlexVal and fill out a sign up form.\n\nEmployees will receive a printed reusable validation parking pass to use until the end of July. The period could be extended.\n\n__________\n\nSome Vermonters who apply for unemployment insurance will see an increase to their weekly benefits.\n\nThe announcement came from Gov. Phil Scott and the Vermont Department of Labor Tuesday, as part of a series of changes to the state's Unemployment Insurance (UI) program.\n\nBeginning the first week of July, maximum weekly UI claims will increase from $513 to $531.\n\nIn addition to the benefits increase, Vermont employers will see a lowering of their UI tax rates as of July 1.\n\n“This tax relief will help reduce the burden on employers who’ve had to make difficult decisions to protect the health and safety of their workers and help limit the spread of COVID-19 in Vermont,” said Governor Scott in a news release.\n\n“We know Vermonters made a tremendous economic sacrifice in order to respond to this virus, and we will continue to pull every lever we can to help workers and employers recover from this pandemic.”\n\n__________\n\nChittenden Solid Waste District's South Burlington Drop-Off Center will resume its operations starting June 27.\n\nThe facility will reopen at limited capacity, with new hours (Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) and temporary flat fees while precautions are ongoing for the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nAll customers and visitors will be required to wear facial coverings when entering the Drop-Off Center. Trailers, wood waste, mattresses, and major electronic appliances (air conditioners, dehumidifiers, refrigerators) are not currently allowed.\n\n__________\n\nMonday, June 22, 2020\n\nFour new cases of COVID-19 were reported Monday by the Vermont Department of Health, bringing the cumulative total to 1,163.\n\nNo additional deaths were reported — the total remains at 56.\n\nNo people were reported hospitalized for the disease, although eight are under observation in a hospital.\n\nThe number of people being monitored for symptoms stands at 1,142 and the number who have completed monitoring is 1,241. These numbers include close contacts of confirmed cases and people traveling to Vermont from out-of-state who have enrolled in the state's Sara Alert program.\n\n_____________\n\nDarn Tough Vermont announced on Monday that it had to lay off nearly 50 employees.\n\n\"A few months ago we couldn’t grow fast enough,\" the company wrote on its social media account. \"There are larger problems in the world, and we get that. It’s always about people though, and compassion.\"\n\nDarn Tough falls under Cabot Hosiery Mills, Inc. President Ric Cabot had 330 employees in February, the Free Press reported.\n\nMore:Just socks: How Darn Tough's single-minded focus has fueled growth in good times and bad\n\n_____________\n\nMiddlebury College released a list of expected protocols for the fall semester in light of COVID-19. These include:\n\nA 12-week semester beginning Sept. 8, with no October break. The final day for on-campus class will be Nov. 20; Classes will start up again Nov. 30 remotely.\n\nThe final day for on-campus class will be Nov. 20; Classes will start up again Nov. 30 remotely. Spacing in classroom settings, though \"many classes will be hybrid\" incorporating remote and in-person teaching elements. About 175 of approximately 530 courses are expected to be remote.\n\nare expected to be remote. Students needing to quarantine at home for two weeks . If this isn’t possible before they come to campus, they must quarantine in their dorms.\n\n. If this isn’t possible before they come to campus, they must quarantine in their dorms. Only students being permitted to go into residence halls when they move in (though they can be joined by one other person for the move-in process).\n\nwhen they move in (though they can be joined by one other person for the move-in process). Students testing positive going to the Munford House for isolation. This rule applies to students living on and off campus.\n\nRelated:University of Vermont announces coronavirus precautions for safe fall return to campus\n\n_____________\n\nState officials said Monday that recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in other states came after residents started to be lax in their compliance with guidelines for health and safety from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nVermont’s Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said 12 states recently set records for the number of new cases in a single day. The demographic with the largest growth in positive cases is people aged 18 to 44.\n\nLevine said the spikes in these states have been widely attributed to “a breakdown in the willingness of the public to adhere to the simple precepts of avoiding mass gatherings, hence an inability to physically distance; and to wear facial coverings.”\n\nResidents must still follow these guidelines despite the hot weather and Vermont’s success so far in lowering the number of new cases per day, Levine said. Guidelines also recommend regular hand-washing and staying home when sick.\n\n“We can’t lose track of the fact that the virus hasn’t gone anywhere,” Levine said.\n\n_____________\n\nAn inmate who was being brought into the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington has tested positive for COVID-19.\n\nAgency of Human Services Secretary Mike Smith said officials believe the inmate had contact with some staff members and some other inmates before the test came back positive on Saturday. It is unclear whether the inmate was in contact with others in the general population. Health Department officials are conducting contact tracing.\n\nCorrections officials have been testing inmates for COVID-19 upon intake to facilities throughout the state, Smith said. All inmates and staff in the South Burlington prison will be tested.\n\nAnother inmate last week tested positive after being brought into the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland. Smith said that testing over the weekend turned up no other positive cases at the facility. A second mass-test of the Rutland facility will be conducted next week.\n\nIn late May and early June, the Department of Corrections had tested all staff and inmates in its facilities and reported no new positive cases. An outbreak in March at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town was the only recorded spread of the virus in a Vermont prison.\n\n___________\n\nThe number of cases associated with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Winooski and Burlington has risen to 110, Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said Monday.\n\nLevine said he believes health officials have been successful in identifying those who could have been affected to try to suppress the outbreak, but the outbreak will not be over until there is no new activity that can be connected back to those involved.\n\n“It’s so common to use the forest fire analogies these days, so I would use the term ‘smoldering,’” Levine said. He added, “We’re doing what we can to contain it, and we’re doing a great job actually, but the bottom line is, to say that it’s fully contained. It’s not quite there yet.”\n\nLevine gave the following breakdown of the cases associated with the Winooski outbreak:\n\nThe median age of those affected is 24.\n\n65% of the cases were adults, and 35% were children.\n\n30% of the 110 cases reported having COVID-19 symptoms.\n\n126 people have been contacted by contact tracers. 19 of those contacts have gone on to be positive cases.\n\n____________\n\nThe VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region (VNAHSR) is re-opening its outpatient therapy clinic in Manchester, the health group reported Monday.\n\nAppointments physical and occupational therapy will be staggered to minimize coronavirus exposure to patients and staff, according to a news release.\n\nPatients who seek appointments are encouraged to contact their health providers, or call the clinic directly at (802) 362-6509.\n\n============\n\nSunday, June 21, 2020\n\nA dozen new cases of COVID-19 were reported Sunday by the Vermont Department of Health, bringing the total cases in Vermont to 1,159. No additional deaths were reported, which keeps the state's total at 56.\n\nThere are no people hospitalized with the disease but 11 are currently under investigation. An additional 817 people have been tested statewide, bringing the total to 57,845.\n\nThe number of people being monitored for symptoms stands at 1,018 and the number who have completed monitoring is 1,209. These numbers include close contacts of confirmed cases and people traveling to Vermont from out-of-state who have enrolled in the state's Sara Alert program.\n\n________\n\nSaturday, June 20, 2020\n\nThree new cases of COVID-19 were reported Saturday by the Vermont Department of Health, bringing the total cases in Vermont to 1,147. No additional deaths were reported, keeping the state's total to 56.\n\nThere are no people hospitalized with the disease but nine are currently under investigation . In addition, 1,141 more people were tested statewide, bringing the total to 57,028.\n\n________\n\nFriday, June 19, 2020\n\nAll inmates and staff at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility will be tested for COVID-19 over the next week, Vermont Department of Corrections announced Friday.\n\nThe tests will be conducted on June 20 and 29, following an inmate testing positive for the new coronavirus earlier in the week.\n\nThis will be the second round of facility-wide testing at Marble Valley. On May 28, the Vermont Health Department conducted a series of tests on staff and inmates at the Rutland facility, all of which came back negative.\n\n________\n\nThe city of Burlington will begin its \"Open Streets BTV\" initiative this summer starting June 27, closing off a select number of downtown streets to cars and opening them up for restaurants and pedestrians.\n\nThe announcement came during a press conference held by Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger Friday.\n\nThe initiative will occur every Saturday until August 28, and will run from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., depending on the weather.\n\n\"It could possible be a game changer for some of our small businesses that are in really dire straits right now,\" said Kara Alnasrawi, executive director of Church Street Marketplace.\n\nThe initiative has received positive feedback from business owners, Alnasrawi said, as downtown establishments have seen fewer customers and sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nAmong the health and safety measures being undertaken for the \"Open Streets\" initiative to ensure physical distancing will include reservation-only dining, increased security, and limits on crowding.\n\nSome of the participating restaurants and streets include:\n\nCollege Street : Pho Son, Stone Soup, Finnigan's Pub, Bento Japanese Restaurant, The Archives, Sweetwaters, Leunig's, Whiskey Room.\n\n: Pho Son, Stone Soup, Finnigan's Pub, Bento Japanese Restaurant, The Archives, Sweetwaters, Leunig's, Whiskey Room. Bank Street : El Cortijo, Ken's Pizza, Captain Tom's Tiki Bar, Farmhouse, Henry's Diner, A Single Pebble.\n\n: El Cortijo, Ken's Pizza, Captain Tom's Tiki Bar, Farmhouse, Henry's Diner, A Single Pebble. Cherry Street : Penny Cluse, Lucky Next Door, New Moon Cafe, Burlington Paint and Sip.\n\n: Penny Cluse, Lucky Next Door, New Moon Cafe, Burlington Paint and Sip. Center Street: Daily Planet, Revolution Kitchen, Swinging Pinwheel.\n\n________\n\nNine new cases of COVID-19 were reported Friday by the Vermont Department of Health, bringing the total cases in Vermont to 1,144. No additional deaths were reporting, keeping the state's total to 56.\n\nFive new cases of the disease are in Chittenden County. Bennington, Rutland, Lamoille and Orleans counties each have one new case.\n\nOne more person has recovered from the disease. In addition, 1,142 more people were tested statewide, bringing the total to 55,887.\n\n________\n\nVermont's unemployment rate decreased from 16.5% to 12.7% for May, according to a press release from the Vermont Department of Labor.\n\n============\n\nThursday, June 18, 2020\n\nThe state has received a $2 million grant provide support to substance abuse and mental health services during the pandemic. The grant comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. COVID-19 has disrupted many services of support and recovery for Vermonters struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse.\n\n________\n\nStarting tomorrow, June 19, Vermont will begin the opening of long-term care facilities, according to the Vermont Department of Health. These facilities can allow two guests per resident per day, so long as those visits occur outside and follow social distancing protocols.\n\nMore:Coronavirus: Gov. Scott allows limited visits at Vermont nursing and senior homes\n\nVermonters over 65 will no longer be required to stay home. The Health Commissioner suggests that those individuals do continue to take safety precautions if they choose to leave their homes.\n\n________\n\nOne new death related to COVID-19 was reported Thursday by the Vermont Department of Health. The state's total fatalities related to the coronavirus now stand at 56.\n\nSix new cases of the disease were reported in the department's mid-morning update, for a cumulative total of 1,135. Three of the cases are in Chittenden County. Addison, Bennington and Rutland counties each had one new case.\n\nStatewide, about 917 people have recovered from the virus and 54,745 people have been tested.\n\nTwo people are hospitalized for the disease, the department said; nine people are hospitalized and under investigation as possible cases.\n\n________\n\nU.S. and state flags will be lowered to half-staff on Friday at all state facilities as part of a monthly observance of Vermonters who have died due to COVID-19, Governor Phil Scott announced.\n\nVermont's first fatality from the new coronavirus took place March 19, 2020. A month later, after 35 deaths, Scott ordered flags to be lowered on the eighteenth of every month until the end of the year.\n\nFifty-six people in Vermont have died from the disease; the most recent death was reported on June 18.\n\n____________\n\n============\n\nWednesday, June 17, 2020\n\nNo new cases have been reported in Vermont, which currently has 1,129 cases, according to the Vermont Department of Health's dashboard Wednesday.\n\nSo far, about 915 people have recovered from the virus and 53,663 people have been tested.\n\nOne person is in the hospital for COVID-19 and four are hospitalized under investigation.\n\nNo additional deaths have been reported — that total remains at 55, according to the data.\n\n_________\n\nThe Farmers To Families nutrition assistance program has been extended through August, Vermont's congressional delegation announced Wednesday.\n\nA pair of Vermont-based organizations, Willing Hands and the Abbey Group, secured contracts to continue the food box-delivery program for two more months, according to news release from Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Peter Welch.\n\nThe program will bring an additional $8.5 million in aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Vermont and the Upper Valley with New Hampshire, much of which will go toward buying produce and dairy from local farms, the news release stated.\n\nDetails on how to sign up to receive food boxes can be found on the Vermont Department of Emergency Management’s website: https://vem.vermont.gov.\n\n_________\n\nThe recent decline in new cases of COVID-19 after an oubreak in Winooski and Burlington's Old North End earlier this month is a positive sign, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said during a press briefing Wednesday afternoon.\n\nParticularly for Burlington, Weinberger noted, the low number of new cases in the past week bodes well that an influx of college students moving in on June 1 didn't lead to an additional surge in cases.\n\n“If they were bringing the virus with them and infecting others I think we’d be seeing that now reflected in these numbers,\" Weinberger said.\n\nDr. Stephen Leffler, president of the UVM Medical Center, said he was \"sure there were asymptomatic people that came\" to Burlington during that time period but Vermont's efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus — unlike other states —probably limited the impact.\n\n\"Vermont’s still really doing it right,\" Leffler said. \"People are in general all masking, we’re social distancing well. We’re being smart about how we open up our businesses.\n\n“There’s pretty good evidence now that shows each of us wearing a mask helps us prevent spread to someone else,\" he said. \"It’s a relatively small sacrifice that each of us can make and we can keep transmission down.\"\n\n_________\n\nAlso during Wednesday's briefing, Weinberger explained Burlington's plans to allocate resources to \"racial equity and police transformation” effforts.\n\nOn top of an immediate commitment of $300,000 to the city's Fund for Racial Equity and Police Transformation, paid for via cuts to the police department, Weinberger said he's confident similar savings could expand that amount closer to $1 million during the next fiscal year.\n\nAdditionally, the city has another $300,000 in small business relief and rental assistance that it will look into spending \"through the lens of racial justice,\" he said.\n\nAnd the city will explore using an anticipated $1 million in federal funds marked for community investment next year to serve anti-racism efforts, Weinberger said.\n\n“I think there’s some real opportunity looking at all these funds about how to make progress with racial justice,\" the mayor said.\n\n_________\n\nTuesday, June 16, 2020\n\nThe Working Lands Enterprise Board, affiliated with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, has announced that 16 businesses will receive over $250,000 in COVID-19 Response Business Development Grants in agriculture and forestry. The awards will focus on business response, shifting marketing strategies, or other activities that may improve business recovery.\n\nOne grant recipient, The Royal Butcher of Braintree, intends to respond to the surge in demand for slaughter and meat processing. Current bottlenecks in processing will require urgent need to meet the local demand for this butcher’s services.\n\n“These dollars will allow us to expand our business while helping farmers who need our services during the pandemic,” Justin Sauerwein of The Royal Butcher said in a news release. The Royal Butcher, established in 2003, is a USDA inspected slaughterhouse and meat processor, attending to the needs of local livestock and dairy farms.\n\n_________\n\nThe New England Foundation for the Arts announced the launch of the New England Arts Resilience Fund, part of the nationwide United States Regional Arts Resilience Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.\n\nThe New England Arts Resilience Fund is also supported by federal CARES Act funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Fund was created in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s arts infrastructure and will support New England nonprofit arts and cultural organizations with recovery and planning capital for a post-pandemic future.\n\nThe New England Arts Resilience Fund will provide approximately 50 non-matching grants, generally in the range of $10,000-$75,000, with potential for a small number of grants up to $100,000. The fund prioritizes organizations, communities, populations and art forms that have historically had less access to major financial resources for sustainability and seeks in particular to support organizations that are led by and deeply engage communities of color.\n\n_________\n\nTravelers looking to make a trip to Canada or Mexico will have to wait at least another month after the Department of Homeland Security extended border closures with both countries due to the coronavirus pandemic, USA Today reported.\n\nThe borders, including Vermont's border with Quebec, will remain closed to nonessential travel until July 21.\n\n\"Based on the success of the existing restrictions and the emergence of additional global COVID-19 hotspots, the Department will continue to limit non-essential travel at our land ports of entry with Canada and Mexico,\" Chad Wolf, acting Secretary of Homeland Security, said in a statement. \"This extension protects Americans while keeping essential trade and travel flowing as we reopen the American economy.\"\n\n“This is a decision that will protect people on both sides of the border as we continue to fight COVID-19,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.\n\n_________\n\nVermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce announced the launch of the Municipal Emergency Statewide Education Property Tax Borrowing Program to assist municipalities as they manage their finances and cash-flow needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nBased on eligibility, the program will cover interest incurred for short-term borrowing meant to manage the effects of statewide education property-tax delays as a direct result of COVID-19. Eligible “short-term borrowing costs” do not include principal payments, fees, or any interest on borrowings not directly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nMunicipalities can learn more, and apply, by visiting https://www.vermonttreasurer.gov/content/local-government.\n\n_________\n\nThree additional positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont, bringing the pandemic total to 1,130, according to Vermont Department of Health data.\n\nAt the same time, about 914 people have recovered from the virus, the data showed, and 52,890 people have been tested.\n\nTwo people are in the hospital for COVID-19, and 10 are hospitalized under investigation — the same numbers as Sunday.\n\nNo additional deaths have been reported — that total remains at 55, according to the data.\n\nMonday, June 15, 2020\n\nGov. Phil Scott extended a state of emergency through July 15. That action does not roll back opening-up procedures, Scott said — but provides a mechanism by which guidelines can be updated (relaxed or tightened, as needed) in an orderly, methodical way.\n\n_________\n\nOutdoor camping facilities may operate at 100% capacity, beginning today, the governor announced. Campground use had been capped at 50% capacity.\n\nQuarantine guidelines from out-of-state campers will remain in place.\n\n_________\n\nOne additional positive case of COVID-19 was reported in Vermont on Sunday, bringing the pandemic total to 1,128, according to Vermont Department of Health data.\n\nAt the same time, about 912 people have recovered from the virus, the data shows, and 52,557 people have been tested, the data showed.\n\nTwo people are in the hospital for COVID-19, and 14 are hospitalized under investigation — the same numbers as Sunday.\n\nNo additional deaths have been reported — that total remains at 55, according to the data.\n\n________\n\nDespite uptick in cases due to a cluster in Winooski in early June, Vermont seems to be back on a reliable path toward containing and tracking the coronavirus (# of cases dipped to just three over the weekend), according to Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine.\n\nStatewide, effective ways of managing outbreaks can take place even as restrictions are relaxed, he said.\n\nSerology tests (that test blood for the presence of, or exposure to, coronavirus) would be of limited utility in Vermont, where the population that has been exposed remains very low by national standards (Levine's best guess is 5%).\n\nLess invasive and more comfortable tests (front-of-nose; saliva) are in development, and will, until a vaccine is developed, make it easier for people to seek out testing, Levine added.. Tests with “real-time” results might conceivably be required for entrance to large sports or entertainment venues.\n\nThe “Sara Alert” app used by the Health Department is a tool for communication between Vermonters and the Department of Health – and is not a “tracking app” that reports the user’s location, Levine said. The state has no plans to implement detailed case-tracking software.\n\n_________\n\nUpcoming governor's news conference topics this week:\n\nWednesday: Long-term health facilities.\n\nFriday: Health guidance on K-12 school re-openings.\n\n============\n\nSunday, June 14, 2020\n\nTwo additional positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont on Saturday, bringing the pandemic total to 1,127, according to Vermont Department of Health data.\n\nAt the same time, 909 people have recovered from the virus and 50,982 people have been tested, the data showed. Two people are in the hospital for COVID-19, and 14 are hospitalized under investigation, 14 more than Friday.\n\nNo additional deaths have been reported — that total remains at 55, according to the data.\n\n_________\n\nThe vandalism of a Black Lives Matter mural that was painted Saturday on the street in front of Vermont's statehouse is under investigation, police said. The vandalism took place in the early hours of Sunday morning. Read more here.\n\nSaturday, June 13, 2020\n\nSix additional positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont on Friday, bringing the pandemic total to 1,125, Vermont Department of Health data showed.\n\nAt the same time, 908 people have recovered from the virus, while 49,933 people have been tested, the data showed. One person is in the hospital for COVID-19, and 10 are hospitalized under investigation.\n\nNo additional deaths have been reported — that total remains at 55, according to the data.\n\n_________\n\nThe South Burlington Public Library will resume incremental in-person service beginning Wednesday, June 17.\n\nHere's what the library said it will offer:\n\nMondays 1-3 p.m.: Curbside pickup. Requests must be in by 10 a.m. by email or phone for same day pickup. Requests are put out for a week before being returned to the shelves.\n\nCurbside pickup. Requests must be in by 10 a.m. by email or phone for same day pickup. Requests are put out for a week before being returned to the shelves. Wednesdays 11-6:30 p.m.: Open to the public. No curbside pickup. Come in to browse or use public computers on a first come, first served basis. We can accommodate 10 members of the public at one time, and ask you to follow social distancing guidelines and use hand sanitizer upon entering. Computers will be limited to 20 minutes. Face coverings are required.\n\nOpen to the public. No curbside pickup. Come in to browse or use public computers on a first come, first served basis. We can accommodate 10 members of the public at one time, and ask you to follow social distancing guidelines and use hand sanitizer upon entering. Computers will be limited to 20 minutes. Face coverings are required. Fridays 1-3 p.m.:, Curbside pickup. Requests must be in by 10 a.m. for same day pick up.\n\nIn addition, the book drop is now open 24/7 for returns. For more information, call 802-846-4140 or email sbplinfo@southburlingtonvt.gov.\n\nFriday, June 12, 2020\n\nKat Wright will perform at the Champlain Valley Exposition Sunday, June 21.\n\n\"Higher Ground’s new 'Drive-in Experience,' announced Tuesday, provides a space for concerts and community events in an era of social distancing,\" the Free Press reported. \"Up to 250 vehicles can park six feet from each other, with room for attendees to set up a blanket or lawn chairs in front of their vehicles.\"\n\nDetails on adjustments in light of COVID-19, as well as details on purchasing tickets, can be found in the Free Press story.\n\nMore:Kat Wright to play Champlain Valley Expo in Higher Ground's 1st concert since coronavirus\n\n_________\n\nThe Lake Champlain Dragon Boat Festival will go virtual this summer. Details on this year's event can be found on the Free Press and Dragonheart Vermont.\n\n_________\n\nNo-lab confirmed cases so far have been associated with protest activity, according to a daily update from the Health Department. The department encouraged testing for anyone taking part in public actions.\n\n\"We support Vermonters engaging in peaceful protests and other civic activities,\" the statement read. \"We remind everyone that it continues to be important to follow universal precautions when you are out – wear a face covering or mask when near others, maintain 6-foot distance, and f you're sick, find actions to make yourself heard from home.\"\n\n_________\n\nThere are a total of 81 cases associated with a recent outbreak in Chittenden County as of Thursday, according to a daily update from the Health Department. A majority are in Winooski. One individual is hospitalized but no deaths have been associated with this outbreak.\n\n\"Only 18% of people associated with the outbreak are reporting symptoms,\" the update stated. \"This indicates that the number of people who were asymptomatic is a contributing factor to the spread of the virus in the community.\"\n\n_________\n\nGov. Phil Scott and members of his cabinet announced a proposed $90 million in economic relief on Friday — phase two of a relief package he has proposed to restart the economy following the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nFunds from the first phase are being considered by the Vermont Legislature currently. Scott had proposed $250 million in relief for businesses impacted by the pandemic, but expressed frustration at seeing the Legislature reducing the amount he asked for in his proposal. The Vermont House of Representatives announced Friday that it had fast-tracked a $93 million coronavirus relief package to Scott's desk for his signature.\n\n\"They're only including about a third of the money we recommended,\" Scott said during a news conference Friday. He added, \"While this pandemic has impacted everyone in the state, this crippled small businesses — the folks who provide the jobs that families rely on and generate the revenue we need for the services we provide in state government.\"\n\nThe second phase money, which will also be reviewed by the Legislature, provides assistance for long-term economic recovery, housing and community recovery, broadband expansion, and modernizing Vermont's regulatory programs.\n\nThe money being put toward relief from the pandemic was granted to the state through the federal CARES Act.\n\n__________\n\nNine additional positive cases of COVID-19 were reported in Vermont on Friday, bringing the pandemic total to 1,119, Vermont Department of Health data showed.\n\nAt the same time, 907 people have recovered from the virus, while 48,634 people have been tested, the data showed. Two people are in the hospital for COVID-19, and 14 are hospitalized under investigation.\n\nNo additional deaths have been reported — that total remains at 55, according to the data.\n\n__________\n\nBurlington City Arts will begin its 2020 summer artist market this weekend on Pine Street.\n\nThe arts organization announced a number of health and safety measures that would be in place due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The market will run each Saturday from June 13 through Oct. 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 339 Pine St. in Burlington.\n\nPrecautions being taken include:\n\nRequiring vendors to wear face masks and gloves, and encouraging shoppers to do the same.\n\nDirecting shoppers in one direction, with only one entrance and one exit.\n\nLimiting 10 to 15 shoppers in the market at one time, and relying on extra staff to regulate these numbers.\n\nEstablishing hand sanitizing stations at booths in addition to the market's entrance and exit.\n\nLimiting the number of vendors to 20 each week, with booths spaced at least 6 feet apart.\n\nEncouraging vendors to display merchandise in a way that limits touch.\n\nLimiting two people per booth at a time.\n\nOffering contactless payment.\n\nA full list of vendors participating in the 2020 markets can be found at burlingtoncityarts.org/artistmarket\n\n__________\n\nThursday, June 11, 2020\n\nThe Vermont National Education Association (NEA) expressed its concerns with the Governor and Agency of Education's announcement to reopen Vermont schools by Labor Day.\n\nDon Tinney, Vermont-NEA president, called the announcement “unfortunate” because the hard work required to plan for a safe reopening has not been completed, according to a press release from the Vermont-NEA.\n\nSome of the issues the organization said need to be resolved before setting an opening date are:\n\nEffective and robust testing and contact tracing in areas with in-person schooling.\n\nCollective pre-opening planning.\n\nSufficient time to plan and make facility preparations.\n\nEstablish protocols for social distancing and use of personal protective equipment, cleaning, how to respond if a student or staff member contracts the virus.\n\nAddress learning deficits as a result of remote learning and address student trauma.\n\nPlan for contingency distance learning if schools need to close again.\n\nEstablish regular and effective communication between schools and families.\n\nCreate protocols for how to deal with students and staff at higher risk of contracting the virus or experiencing life-threatening complications as a result.\n\nState should allocate funding to hire nurses, custodians, bus drivers, mental health counselors and to purchase sufficient amounts of personal protective equipment.\n\nGuidance on special education services.\n\nProtection of vulnerable children if schools close again.\n\nResources for families who do not benefit consistently from distance learning.\n\nEstablish which student groups would return first in a gradual return to school.\n\nSolve the internet access issues some families face.\n\nStandardized testing requirements be waived.\n\n__________\n\nNorthern Vermont University will begin its fall semester one week earlier than initially planned to position itself in case there is a resurgence of COVID-19 cases later this year.\n\nThe semester will also end early — residential students will return home for Thanksgiving break and will take final exams remotely, the college announced Thursday.\n\nThe plan will not affect the number of teaching and learning days, the college said in a statement. The accelerated semester includes no breaks, with instruction on Labor Day and throughout October. Students will leave campus on Friday, November 20, and are planned to be welcomed back when the spring semester begins on January 19, 2021.\n\n“We know this is different from our normal semester,” college President Elaine Collins said. “The health of the entire NVU community is our number one priority as we prepare to return to campus for face-to-face instruction.”\n\n__________\n\nVermont reported an additional 16 positive cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing its total to 1,110, Health Department statistics show.\n\nAccording to the data, 905 people have recovered from COVID-19 and 47,209 people have been tested for the virus in Vermont.\n\nThe number of people hospitalized with the virus decreased by one on Thursday for a total of three. Nine people are hospitalized under investigation for COVID-19.\n\nNo additional deaths due to COVID-19 have occurred — that total remains at 55.\n\n__________\n\nNo cases of COVID-19 were found at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield following mass testing of inmates and staff, the Vermont Department of Corrections said.\n\nAccording to Corrections officials, 336 inmates and 181 staff at the facility were tested June 8. All tests came back negative for the virus.\n\nThe Springfield-based prison was the sixth and final facility to undergo mass testing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town was the only facility to have inmates test positive for the virus since it was first detected among members of the prison population, the Corrections Department said.\n\n__________\n\nWednesday, June 10, 2020\n\nA total of 74 cases of COVID-19 are thought to be associated with the recent outbreak that emerged in Winooski, according to Vermont Department of Health data from Tuesday evening.\n\nAbout 80% of those cases are in Winooski and most of the rest are in Burlington, the Health Department said. Only one in five people associated with the outbreak are reporting symptoms — the number of asymptomatic individuals is thought to be a contributing factor to the spread of the virus in the community.\n\nThere have been no deaths associated with the outbreak, the state reported.\n\n__________\n\nGuidance is underway to prepare Vermont schools across the state to tentatively open by Labor Day, announced Gov. Phil Scott in a press briefing Wednesday.\n\nHealth and safety measures for school districts are being developed by the state's Agency of Education and the Health Department, in collaboration with other Vermont educational organizations and pediatricians, and will be formally announced by next week.\n\n\"it's critical we finalize a plan now so we can reopen in the fall,\" said Scott.\n\nAmong the objectives of the guidance is to decrease the risk of COVID-19 entering school, being transmitted between staff and students, and ensuring students with certain needs are \"addressed in a fair and equitable measure\".\n\nProvisions could include social distancing on busses, daily temperature screenings at bus stops and school entrances, increased testing and tracing capacity, and mandatory dismissals if students or staff display any symptoms.\n\n\"It's likely we'll have to change or amend this guidance in the coming months,\" said Dan French, secretary of the Agency of Education.\n\n\"We're also preparing to improve our ability to provide remote learning as a contingency.\"\n\n__________\n\nRegistration is open for Vermonters seeking meals from distribution sites across the state this month.\n\nPick up sites are scheduled on these days in these areas , with more sites to be added for the remainder of June:\n\nMiddlebury area: June 10\n\nBrattleboro area: June 11\n\nMorristown area: June 12\n\nLyndon area: June 15\n\nGrand Isle County: June 16\n\nRandolph area: June 17\n\nDover area: June 18\n\nChittenden County: June 19\n\nPeople can register online at humanresources.vermont.gov/food-help or over the phone via 2-1-1. Those who register will receive a time window to pick up meals at their designated site, upon which they can receive a\n\n__________\n\nFour people are now hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the Vermont Department of Health, double the total from 24 hours earlier.\n\nThe state recorded 11 new cases of the virus, increasing the total to 1,095 since the start of the pandemic. Fifty-seven people are being monitored for the virus. The number of deaths remains 55.\n\nThe total of tests for COVID-19 continues to jump in light of an outbreak in Winooski that has since spread to Burlington. The Health Department reports 45,742 people have been tested, up roughly 1,500 from the previous day's total.\n\n__________\n\nThunder Road Speedbowl announced Tuesday that it would begin its 2020 schedule on June 18, about a month later than originally planned. The event will be held without spectators and will be broadcast pay-per-view on the Northeast Sports Network (www.nsnsports.net).\n\nMore:Thunder Road to open 2020 season with pay-per-view race on June 18\n\n__________\n\nTuesday, June 9, 2020\n\nTwo people are now hospitalized with COVID-19, according to the Vermont Department of Health, up one from Monday.\n\nThe department noted 9 new cases of the virus in the past 24 hours, increasing the total to 1,084 since the pandemic began. The number of deaths remains at 55.\n\nThe total of tests for COVID-19 continues to jump in light of an outbreak in Winooski that has since spread to Burlington. The Health Department reports 44,228 people have been tested, up almost 1,500 from the previous day's total.\n\n__________\n\nWith new cases of COVID-19 having cropped up in Winooski and Burlington in recent days, the Community Health Centers of Burlington announced several opportunities for testing in those two cities.\n\nTesting in Burlington is from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. daily through June 12 at the O.N.E. Community Center on Allen Street. Testing in Winooski is offered from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., also through June 12, at the O'Brien Community Center on Malletts Bay Avenue except for June 11, when tests will be conducted at the Winooski Senior Center on Barlow Street.\n\n__________\n\nThree new college presidents, Laura Walker (Bennington College), Dr. Benjamin Ola. Akande (Champlain College) and Col. Mark Anarumo (Norwich University), took on new positions in the midst of the coronavirus.\n\nMore:Coronavirus: New college presidents to lead Champlain, Bennington, Norwich schools, communities\n\n__________\n\nGov. Scott's new racial equity task force is taking applications for a public member to be appointed. The force intends to consider a few projects, one of which involves looking at support structures for diverse populations. This includes honing in on \"racial disparities in health outcomes highlighted by COVID-19.\"\n\nMore:Vermont seeking public member for newly created racial equity task force\n\n__________\n\nVermont has been awarded over $4.4 million in Emergency Solutions Grants for its population experiencing and at risk of experiencing homelessness, according to a June 9 news release from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.\n\nThis can go toward a number of uses, like providing hotel vouchers or operating emergency shelters.\n\n“We are proud of the extraordinary efforts being made by our Vermont homeless partners to protect our most vulnerable from the impacts of COVID-19, this funding helps to further their efforts in this fight,” said David Tille, HUD New England Regional Administrator, in the news release.\n\n__________\n\nMonday, June 8, 2020\n\nThe total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Vermont rose by 12 to a total of 1,075, according to data released Monday by the Vermont Department of Health. About 895 people were estimated to have recovered while a total of 42,798 people had been tested for the virus.\n\nOne person is hospitalized with COVID-19, and 12 people are hospitalized under investigation.\n\nNo additional deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in Vermont on", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/03/12"}]}
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{"question_id": "20230217_29", "search_time": "2023/02/20/04:15", "search_result": []}