{"question_id": "20230331_0", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:45", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/30/us/school-shootings-one-week-america-ctrp/index.html", "title": "In a single week in America, 4 communities confronted the aftermath ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nOver the span of a week, four different communities across the United States have grappled with the aftermath of a school shooting.\n\nFamilies in Florida are reeling after a jury recommended life in prison for the gunman who killed 17 people in a Parkland high school in 2018. The shooter is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday. In a Connecticut court, far-right talk show host Alex Jones has asked for a new trial after jurors said he should pay nearly $1 billion in compensatory damages to eight families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims and one first responder over his lies about the 2012 massacre.\n\nOn Monday, a teen accused of killing four students and wounding seven others at a Michigan high school in November pleaded guilty to all charges against him. As that shooter entered his plea, another gunman walked inside a St. Louis high school with an AR-15-style rifle, killing a student and a teacher and injuring several others.\n\nAnd on Thursday, the Texas Department of Public Safety top cop defended his agency’s role in the May 24 attack on a Uvalde elementary school that left 19 young students and 2 teachers dead.\n\nHigh School students were evacuated to a parking lot from the Central Visual & Performing Arts High School after a shooting on October 24, 2022 in St. Louis, Missouri. David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Zuma Press\n\nShootings in US schools, while still rare when compared with other incidents of gun violence, have become far more regular than any other country in the world and show no sign of slowing. There have been at least 53 school shootings at K-12 schools so far this year, more than in all of 2021 and nearly double as many as in 2018. In many cases, legal proceedings seeking justice can last decades, offering a national reminder every few months of the victims and the violence.\n\n“It tells us how many shootings, some of which we forgot about, we’ve lived through in the past few years,” said Janet Johnson, a Florida criminal defense attorney. “It’s hard to keep them straight.”\n\nIn between proceedings, new attacks reignite decades-old conversations for change and flare up political debates. But often, little changes.\n\n“We have become way too comfortable with these events,” said Joel Dvoskin, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine. “People have just kind of gotten used to this, it’s normalized. Which is horrible.”\n\nThe frequency of gun violence at schools has traumatized scores of survivors and deeply impacted people across the country who are exposed to violence regularly through outlets like the media, experts say. And it’s created a distorted reality for young learners – one consisting of active shooter drills, metal detectors and clear backpacks – and robbed them of their sense of security in what are supposed to be sanctuaries.\n\nOffering true justice to scarred communities will be about more than just securing convictions and monetary penalties, experts say. And finding a way out of consistent violence in school buildings will require that we begin asking new questions.\n\nFamilies of Sandy Hook victims react to $1B Alex Jones verdict 10:48 - Source: CNN\n\nWe’re experiencing collective trauma\n\nStudents are already in a mental health crisis and exposure to gun violence – during and outside school hours – can have a deep impact on their health, their ability to develop normally and their motivation to learn, according to an August report from two members of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium. The impacts often disproportionately affect students of color, who are more likely to be exposed to gun violence, said Amanda Nickerson, a professor of school psychology at the University at Buffalo, and one of the report’s authors.\n\n“We know that there have been surges in depression and anxiety among youth, and parents and school children report being concerned about a school shooting in their school,” Nickerson said.\n\nA Pew Research Center survey released this month found about a third of parents with children in K-12 schools said they were “very or extremely worried” about a shooting happening at their school. A higher proportion of Hispanic and Black parents reported being worried.\n\nBut it’s not just those close to the violence: There are significant impacts on the larger American collective, too. The repeated gun violence in classrooms “shatter our sense of security and safety,” and leave many angry, fearful and in a constant state of worry, Nickerson said.\n\n“Being on high alert and having a constant stress response can also affect us in many ways. It can interfere with concentration, work, interpersonal relationships, and other areas of functioning,” she said. “What appears to some as being ‘numb’ may reflect fatigue, disengagement if we think we can’t do anything about it or being overwhelmed by (the) complexity of the issues that feed into violence.”\n\n“There does seem to be a kind of resigned acceptance among youth that this is the world we live in.”\n\nIt’s a scary thought for Dvoskin, who says he thinks about his 3-year-old granddaughter and what today’s America means for her.\n\n“Her formative years are going to be in this climate,” Dvoskin said. “The idea that parents are afraid to let their kids go to school because, what if the next one’s here… and the fact that kids are, more than before, learning how to be in a constant state of wariness. It’s hard to learn when you’re fearful.”\n\nWhat does justice look like?\n\nLegal proceedings and holding those responsible to account have played a role in the healing journey for families and communities, but justice itself has been elusive.\n\n“It’s really hard to talk about justice and closure when it’s an ongoing issue,” said Ron Avi Astor, a social welfare professor at UCLA. “When there’s a disaster that happens and it’s done and over with, then you could look back and we could come together as a country. But when it’s happening every week, over and over and over again, there is no justice or closure, because it’s not done. We’re in the midst of it, as a collective, as a country.”\n\nActions like being able to deliver a victim impact statement or watch a conviction be handed down can often feel cathartic for survivors or victims’ families, Johnson, the attorney said.\n\nHolding all parties involved accountable is also critical, she added. In Michigan, the parents of the 16-year-old who killed four students at an Oxford high school, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter charges related to the shooting, after prosecutors accused them of giving their son easy access to a gun and ignoring signs he was a threat. (They have pleaded not guilty and will be tried in January.) Those charges are especially important, Johnson said, because they help deliver a message to other parents that they, too, can be held to account, if their child commits a violent act.\n\nIn Uvalde, after consistent public scrutiny over law enforcement’s failure to confront the gunman, the school board fired the district police chief over his handling of the attack. A Texas state trooper and another officer were also fired and several others are under investigation for what they did or didn’t do. Families and a prominent Texas newspaper are also calling for the resignation of the DPS director.\n\nThe proceedings and the investigations are just about as close to justice as any of these communities will be able to get. Many survivors and victims’ families have instead directed their fight for justice toward creating change. After the jury’s recommendation of life in prison for the Parkland shooter, Tony Montalto, the father of 14-year-old victim Gina, said their mission remained to “effect positive change at a federal, state and local level.”\n\n“Passing new laws, if the result is that there are new laws where parents are held more accountable, or people who sell guns are more accountable, or, as in Uvalde, law enforcement that don’t respond are held accountable, that’s something that at least family members can say, my child died, but maybe other children won’t die in the future,” he said.\n\n'Ruling is another gut punch': Father of Parkland victim speaks after Cruz jury recommendation 01:44 - Source: CNN\n\nFinding a ‘North Star’\n\nAstor, the UCLA professor, says he’s optimistic change can come, but it will likely require reframing many of the questions Americans are asking.\n\nAstor said he believes it’s worth revisiting the way school shootings – and details about the shooters – are reported on and shared on social media, to avoid creating notoriety for the attackers. It’s also important to avoid polarized discussions rekindled after each incident of school violence and instead, to engage in local, ground-up discussions that are less likely to turn political and attempt to find common ground, Astor said.\n\n“We are at an impasse. We just frame things at such extreme positions, we can’t have a dialogue,” Astor said. “This is about … working together with an ideal of who we want to be as a society. Without that North Star, without that directional view of what we could be, it’s hard to unite people.”\n\nAnother important lesson could come from seeing how other countries have responded to violence, said Pedro Noguera, the dean of the University of Southern California’s School of Education.\n\nAfter a gunman killed 35 people in Port Arthur, a historic tourist site in Tasmania in April 1996, Australia implemented gun law reforms under the leadership of a conservative prime minister, which included bans on rapid-fire rifles and shotguns countrywide, tightening gun ownership licensing and implementing a national buyback program – leading to a rapid decline in firearm homicides and suicides. In New Zealand, the parliament voted nearly unanimously to ban military-style semi-automatic weapons less than a month after 51 people were killed in a 2019 mass shooting.\n\nAddressing what he calls the country’s “broken” mental health system is another key component, Noguera said. “We’re expecting teachers, who are already burdened by the responsibility of addressing the academic needs of kids, to do something they’re not trained to do, which is to address the mental health needs of kids.”\n\nBut addressing that alone won’t be enough.\n\nIn the St. Louis shooting that left two dead, authorities reported when family members of the 19-year-old gunman grew concerned about his mental health, they did everything right. His parents contacted police, had a firearm removed from his possession, had previously committed him to a mental institution, were consistently in touch with medical providers and would occasionally search his room. But the shooter still wreaked terror on the school.\n\nAstor, Nickerson and Noguera were all part of a group of academics who have released an eight-point gun violence prevention plan which tackles a wide range of approaches to the problem, including the need to have adequate staffing for mental health services, a national program to train crisis intervention teams, a requirement to help maintain safe and positive school environment conditions, red flag laws and comprehensive background checks as part of gun ownership licensing procedures.\n\n“The only semblance of justice,” Noguera said, “Could be a concerted effort to prevent these incidents from occurring in the future. Then at least, parents would know we’ve learned from our mistakes.”", "authors": ["Christina Maxouris"], "publish_date": "2022/10/30"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/08/us/highland-park-suspect-family-turmoil-invs/index.html", "title": "Highland Park gunman's family was in turmoil for years leading up to ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nWhen Bob’s Pantry and Deli opened for business in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park in 2008, loyal customers lined up in the snow at 4 a.m. to support Bob Crimo, who was striking out on his own after years running a convenience store franchise. Photos from opening day showed customers hoisting massive sandwiches and Crimo posing with his beaming family – including his eight-year-old son Robert Crimo III, who went by Bobby.\n\nThe deli quickly became a popular local fixture: a hangout spot for teenagers, a friendly gathering place for the neighborhood, and a pit stop for an affordable, delicious lunch.\n\nBut behind the scenes, the Crimo family was in turmoil. Police reports show that officers were regularly called to their home over domestic disputes between Crimo and his wife, and in 2019, police briefly confiscated a collection of knives after then 18-year-old Bobby threatened to “kill everyone.”\n\nMore recently, after the once-bustling deli closed, the family appeared to fall into dire financial straits, with foreclosure cases proceeding against both of the homes they owned and Bob Crimo telling a judge several weeks ago he was on food stamps.\n\nThen, as Highland Park prepared to celebrate the Fourth of July this week with the annual parade through the city’s picturesque downtown, Bobby allegedly climbed onto a cosmetics store rooftop with a semi-automatic rifle and opened fire on the festivities, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others.\n\nIn the wake of the tragedy, the close-knit community of Highland Park is reeling and trying to understand a massacre with no apparent motive. Locals said that it was even more shocking that the shooter was Bobby Crimo – the son of a well-known local figure beloved by his regular customers, who even ran for mayor several years ago.\n\nBob Crimo at the Bob's Pantry and Deli opening in 2008. Obtained by CNN\n\nThe elder Crimo is facing scrutiny in part because he sponsored a permit allowing his son to purchase firearms before he turned 21, including the gun he used in the shooting. Locals who once lined up for “Nicky D” sandwiches at Bob’s say they can’t comprehend how the family could have missed warning signs, including violent imagery in the music videos Bobby posted online, or why Crimo would have signed the gun permit application.\n\n“To be that irresponsible and signing off is mind-blowing to me,” said Barbara Medina, a longtime Highland Park resident who often shopped at the deli and was marching in the parade when the shooting took place. “It’s a shock that it’s anybody in your town, that they could come in and do that to their own community.”\n\nCrimo did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment, but in an interview with the New York Post, he said he had no idea Bobby was preparing to commit the shooting and that he wasn’t responsible for his son’s actions.\n\n“I’ve been here my whole life, and I’m gonna stay here, hold my head up high, because I didn’t do anything wrong,” he declared.\n\nPolice called to family home several times\n\nMore than a dozen Highland Park residents who knew the shooter or his family spoke to CNN about his upbringing, as they tried to piece together how their city had joined the long list of American communities whose names have become shorthand for mass shootings.\n\nBy all accounts, Bobby Crimo was a quiet kid, who could be seen running around his dad’s shop as he grew up. His father ran the White Hen Pantry, a franchise of a local convenience store chain that became known for its sandwiches.\n\nIn an affluent lakeside suburb where most shops closed early, the White Hen Pantry was open 24 hours, giving teenagers a safe hangout spot at night. Regulars remembered the elder Crimo as a gregarious, generous presence who would let customers waiting on a paycheck buy food on credit, and who seemed to be manning the counter at all hours of the day and night.\n\nLocals described Crimo as “the mayor of Ravinia,” the local neighborhood where the store was located, who knew all his customers and their regular orders.\n\nLoyal customers eagerly await the opening of Bob Crimo's deli in 2008. Obtained by CNN\n\nCrimo could be eccentric: One time, a friend said, he competed with another local restaurant owner to see which business could go longer without replacing any lightbulbs – until both stores were almost completely dark.\n\nCrimo’s shop closed after 7-Eleven bought out the White Hen Pantry chain. But Crimo reopened in a new location under his own name, and his loyal clientele followed.\n\nStill, there were signs of trouble in the family. One longtime customer and friend of Crimo’s — who asked to remain anonymous to speak candidly about the family — remembered that he and his wife, Denise Pesina, would have heated arguments in the deli, even in front of customers.\n\n“It was awkward for people,” the friend said. “I remember thinking, if that’s the public arguments, I can only imagine the private ones.”\n\nPolice reports released this week show that the couple’s fights continued behind closed doors. In the six years after the deli opened, officers were called to their home at least a dozen times to settle domestic disputes or respond to allegations that one or the other was intoxicated.\n\nIn one 2010 incident, Crimo alleged that Pesina “had hit him with a screwdriver on the left forearm” – before recanting once he got to the police station – and in another, he claimed she hit him on the head with a shoe.\n\n“He threatens to call the police for any and every argument we get in,” Pesina wrote in one handwritten witness statement. “He says he wants the police to think I’m crazy.”\n\nThere is no record that any of those incidents led to criminal charges against either Crimo or Pesina.\n\nThe two separated at some point, according to friends, with Pesina staying in their Highland Park home and Crimo moving to his father’s home in neighboring Highwood. Bobby lived in both homes over the years.\n\nPesina had had another brush with the law as well: In 2002, when Bobby was nearly two years old, she was arrested for child endangerment after allegedly leaving him in a locked car at a Toys-R-Us parking lot for about 27 minutes on a 79-degree day with the windows rolled up, according to court documents. Pesina pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment, and completed a year of court supervision.\n\nPesina did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment. Her lawyer at the time, Steven Lunardi, said that she admitted having made a mistake.\n\nJeremy Cahnmann, who taught Bobby and his brother in an elementary after-school sports program, said the boys stuck out in his memory because their parents almost never picked them up on time.\n\n“I remember talking to faculty at the school about how uninvolved the parents were,” he said. Bobby was “always the kid there at the end who didn’t get picked up.”\n\nFormer classmates describe suspect as withdrawn and odd\n\nAt school, Bobby kept to himself, with former classmates of the future gunman describing him as an odd, soft-spoken kid who showed little interest in class, school activities or his peers. But he explored a different side of his personality with rap songs and music videos he posted online – some of which included troubling imagery.\n\nMolly Handelman, who attended middle school and high school with Bobby, described him as a “very quiet” guy. “When he did talk, he was very soft. He didn’t seem aggressive ever, at all,” she said.\n\nHandelman, who worked with Bobby on class projects a few times, said “something definitely seemed off” about him. “He made it very clear he didn’t care about school,” she said.\n\nAnother former classmate who asked not to be named due to privacy concerns said he and Bobby used to hang out, play video games and skateboard together in middle school. “He would make YouTube videos all the time back then,” the classmate said, “DIY videos on how to grip a skateboard or replace a wheel, stuff like that.”\n\nBut in high school, the former classmate said, Bobby grew more insular and distant. “He was always by himself,” he said. “No one seemed to try to be his friend.”\n\nAccording to a school district spokesperson, Bobby stopped attending Highland Park High School in 2016, after his freshman year. It’s unclear whether he went to another school after dropping out.\n\nA body is transported from the scene of a mass shooting during the July 4th holiday weekend in Highland Park, Ill. Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/AP\n\nIn recent years, Bobby revealed a louder side of himself online, posting music videos he apparently made – some of which featured ominous lyrics and animated scenes of gun violence. Bobby, who made music under the moniker “Awake the Rapper,” uploaded his music on several major streaming outlets and on a personal website.\n\nIn one video titled “Are you Awake,” Bobby sports multicolored hair and face tattoos and declares, “I need to just do it. It is my destiny.” The video shows a cartoon animation of a stick-figure man resembling Bobby in tactical gear, carrying out an attack with a rifle.\n\nIn another video, a similar stick-figure cartoon character resembling Bobby is depicted lying face down on the ground in a pool of his own blood, surrounded by police officers with their guns drawn. And in a third, Bobby is seen wearing a helmet and a tactical vest and dropping bullets onto the floor of a classroom.\n\nFinancial struggles took a toll\n\nAs Bobby was struggling in school, his father’s business was also having trouble staying afloat. Regular customers said that they noticed more of the shelves in the store going empty, and the hours it was open shrinking. In conversations with friends, Bob Crimo complained about a downturn in the business, increases in rent, and fees he said he had to pay the city.\n\nIn 2018, Crimo settled on a solution: running for mayor of Highland Park. People who knew him said they were puzzled about why he would embark on what seemed like a quixotic campaign against the popular incumbent, Nancy Rotering, who was Bobby’s former Cub Scout leader.\n\nIn a local news profile, Crimo talked about making the city more business-friendly, but he didn’t seem to actively campaign, and it’s unclear how seriously he took the race. State records show Crimo didn’t receive any campaign donations other than a $560 loan from himself, which he spent on yard signs. In the end, Rotering won 72% of the vote in the April 2019 election, soundly defeating Crimo.\n\nIn another blow, Crimo’s deli shuttered around the same time. Google Street View photos show that while the shop had a big “Bob Crimo for Mayor” poster hanging in the window in late 2018, by September 2019, the storefront was vacant and empty.\n\nAccording to court documents, the store was under a mountain of debt: A lender sued the deli and Crimo in late 2018, alleging he owed more than $764,000. A judge ruled in the lender’s favor by default in March 2019 after Crimo failed to appear in court. It’s unclear whether the debt was ever paid.\n\nGun permit granted despite ominous threats\n\nAround the same time, Bobby started showing more troubling behavior.\n\nIn April 2019, according to police reports released by Highland Park, officers performed a wellness check on the 18-year-old Bobby after receiving a report that he had “attempted to commit suicide by machete” a week prior. Mental health professionals handled the episode, officers wrote.\n\nThen in September of that year, police received the report that Bobby had “stated that he was going to kill everyone.” Bobby admitted that he was depressed and had a history of drug use, according to the report. His father turned over a collection of 16 knives, a dagger and a “Samurai type blade” to police, and officers sent the Illinois State Police a “clear and present danger” report related to the threats Bobby made. But the state police declined to approve that determination, which could have blocked Bobby from buying guns, because there wasn’t enough evidence to do so, the agency said this week.\n\nJust three months later, Crimo signed his son’s application for a Firearm Owners Identification card, a requirement to buy guns in Illinois. Under state law, young adults under 21 years of age need a parent or guardian to sponsor them in order to get the permit.\n\nCrimo told the New York Post that he sponsored the application so his son could shoot at a gun range. This week, an attorney for Bob Crimo – who no longer represents him – told the Chicago Tribune that Crimo was not aware of the incident that resulted in the confiscation of the knives when he signed the card. Yet, according to the state police, Crimo was actually the one who reclaimed the knives from officers. In the Post interview, Crimo downplayed Bobby’s threats in that incident as a “childish outburst.”\n\nAttorney George Gomez, who is representing both parents, told CNN that “the family denies that there was any issues of suicide at the time,” and stressed law enforcement found “no safety risk.”\n\nBobby went on to use the card to legally purchase multiple guns before he turned 21 last year, passing a total of four background checks, according to the state police. That included the semi-automatic rifle he used in the shooting.\n\nMeanwhile, the family’s finances appeared to unravel in recent years. HSBC Bank filed for foreclosure on their Highland Park house, where Bobby had grown up, in December 2019, alleging Crimo, Jr. owed more than $460,000. The case was delayed amid the coronavirus pandemic, and the lender restarted efforts to take possession of the home last year.\n\nIn April 2022, a mortgage servicing company filed to foreclose on a second property Crimo owns in the neighboring town of Highwood. The company, NewRez LLC, alleged that he had failed to make payments since July 2020, and owed more than $197,000.\n\nIn the Highland Park case, a judge granted Crimo a full waiver of court fees in May after he appeared in person and provided proof that he was receiving food stamps, according to court documents.\n\nLast Thursday – four days before the shooting – Crimo filed a last-ditch motion to block foreclosure of the house, arguing the lender hadn’t given him sufficient notice of being in default or of accelerating the due date for the balance of the mortgage.\n\nPaul Crimo, Bob’s brother, who lives with him and worked at his delis, told CNN he didn’t think the financial stress affected Bobby.\n\n“My brother always made sure his kids always had a roof over (their) head at all times,” he wrote in a text message, adding that Crimo “is a great father.”\n\nCommunity looks to family for answers\n\nMourners embrace during a memorial for the victims of the July 4th parade shooting on July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Ill. Taylor Glascock for CNN\n\nSome of the Highland Park residents who were at the parade when Bobby opened fire said they blamed the father for allowing his son to buy guns.\n\nThe elder Crimo “should be held liable for it and responsible for it,” declared Fred Kroll, a three-decade Highland Park resident who attended the parade with his wife and daughter and said he saw multiple people shot dead. “Whether it’s civil lawsuits by the survivors or he goes to jail … he should be punished.”\n\nState officials have poured cold water on the idea of Crimo facing criminal responsibility over the deaths. “There’s not a criminal liability that’s directly attached to vouching for someone else… and they end up doing something terrible like this,” said Eric Rinehart, the Lake County State’s Attorney.\n\nGomez said the family is “trying to cooperate with all local, state, and federal authorities at the moment.” When asked if he felt there was any criminal wrongdoing on part of his clients, particularly the father, Gomez said, “we take the position that my client, Crimo Jr., did nothing wrong in this case.”\n\nCrimo reportedly has said he wants “a long sentence” for his son, who faces seven counts of first-degree murder and a sentence of life in prison, if convicted. Illinois abolished capital punishment in 2011.\n\nStill, even Crimo’s friends say they doubt he’ll be able to stay in his hometown, or ever open a business here again.\n\n“His kid shot up his hometown, and he’s going to have to come to terms with that action and, honestly, the role he played in his son’s evolution as a person,” one friend said. “It was his son’s name on the news – and that’s his name, too.”", "authors": ["Casey Tolan Daniel A. Medina", "Casey Tolan", "Daniel A. Medina"], "publish_date": "2022/07/08"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/01/05/utah-family-8-dead-enoch-city-shooting/10994182002/", "title": "Utah family of 8 found shot dead in Enoch City: 5 children among dead", "text": "Eight members of a family, including five children, are dead after authorities said they found them shot in an apparent murder-suicide inside a rural Utah home on Wednesday.\n\nPolice officers made the discovery while conducting a welfare check at the home in Enoch City according to local officials in the agricultural city northeast of Utah's border with Nevada and Arizona, about 245 miles south of Salt Lake City.\n\nOn Thursday, city officials identified the shooting suspect as 42-year-old Michael Haight.\n\nTwo other adults in the home were identified as Haight’s wife, Tausha Haight, 40, and Tausha’s mother, 78-year-old Gail Earl. The other five victims were identified as the shooting suspect's children: a 17-year-old girl, 12-year-old girl, 7-year-old girl, 7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy.\n\n\"Evidence suggests that the suspect took his own life after killing seven others in the home,\" Enoch City Manager Rob Dotson told reporters during a Thursday morning press conference.\n\nThe state medical's office will conduct autopsies to determine the victims' official cause of death, Dotson said.\n\nAccording to Dotson, the welfare check took place after \"someone with whom (the mother) had an appointment\" notified police she did not show up.\n\nDotson said the community was sent reeling by news the family had been found dead and that they were well-known in the community.\n\n“Many of us have served with them in church, in the community and gone to school with these individuals,” Dotson said\n\nThe five children attended preschool, elementary, middle and high schools in the Iron County School District, officials said Thursday..\n\n\"The Haights were my neighbors, the youngest children played in my yard with my sons,\" Mayor Geoffrey Chesnut told reporters during the news conference as he tried to fight back tears. \"Enoch is a home of lots of young professionals and families... This is a tremendous blow to many many families who have spent many, many nights with these individuals who are now gone.\"\n\nDodson said a divorce petition was filed on Dec. 21 by the suspected shooter's wife.\n\nHe said did he did not know who was living in the home at the time of the killings.\n\nInvestigators with the Enoch Police Department and Iron County are among some of the agencies working together to determine what took place inside the home.\n\n\"We don't know what happened,\" Dotson said. \"They were are friends, they were our neighbors and we loved them.\"\n\n“This community at this time is hurting. They’re feeling loss, they’re feeling pain and they have a lot of questions,” Dotson added.\n\nWhite House response\n\nThe White House on Thursday released the following statement:\n\n\"The President and First Lady are mourning with the Enoch City, Utah community in the wake of a tragic shooting that has reportedly claimed the lives of five children and multiple adults in their family home.\n\n\n\nToo many Americans have lost loved ones or had their lives forever changed due to gun violence, and gun violence remains the leading cause of death for children in America. Less than one month after we marked 10 years since the Sandy Hook tragedy, another mass shooting has claimed the lives of five more children in Enoch City.\"\n\nLive updates:Evacuations ordered as California bomb cyclone unleashes powerful winds, heavy rain\n\nIdaho slayings:Idaho student murder suspect lands back in state as officials promise more information in mysterious case\n\nEnoch, off Interstate 15 in rural Utah, just north of the city of Cedar City and some 80 miles west of Bryce Canyon National Park, had major flooding in 2021 that caused damage at hundreds of homes.\n\nUtah Gov. Spencer Cox offered condolences in a tweet Wednesday night.\n\n\"Our hearts go out to all those affected by this senseless violence. Please keep the community of Enoch in your prayers,\" Cox wrote.\n\nIf you or someone you know needs support for mental health, domestic abuse, suicidal thoughts or substance abuse call, text or chat: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 and 988lifeline.org Domestic abuse: 800-799-7233 and thehotline.org BlackLine: 800-604-5841 and callblackline.com Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860 and translifeline.org Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 800-273-8255 and press 1 to talk to someone or send a text message to 838255 to connect with a VA responder. You can also start a confidential online chat session at Veterans Crisis Chat. veteranscrisisline.net\n\nContributing: Joey Garrison\n\nNatalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/05/26/live-updates-uvalde-texas-school-shooting-victims-shooter-salvador-ramos-aftermath/9930459002/", "title": "Thursday's updates on Uvalde, Texas school shooting victims, shooter", "text": "This story is no longer being updated with information about the school shooting in Uvalde. For new updates, visit Friday's live blog here.\n\nAfter a gunman opened fire in a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school on Tuesday, details began to emerge about the horror that unfolded.\n\nThe rampage — the deadliest school shooting in Texas history — left 19 students and two teachers dead after an 18-year-old man barricaded himself inside their classroom.\n\nLaw enforcement officers eventually forced entry into the classroom, and police killed the shooter.\n\n\"It's a small classroom, you can have anywhere from 25 to 30 students in there, plus there were two teachers in there ... a typical classroom setting, where you have mass groups of children inside that classroom all together, with nowhere to go,\" Lt. Chris Olivarez, spokesperson for the Texas Department for Public Safety, said in a televised interview.\n\nWe also know now that the gunman legally purchased two AR rifles in the last two weeks, according to a briefing by state and federal officials provided to Texas officials.\n\nAs the hours passed, more victims were identified, and the community learned more about the lives lost Tuesday.\n\nFollow along for live updates from the Uvalde, Texas school shooting and its aftermath Thursday. This story will be updated throughout the day.\n\nMore:Live updates Friday: Texas officials investigating police response to Uvalde school shooting\n\nAbbott cancels NRA appearance, will deliver video remarks\n\nGov. Greg Abbott canceled an in-person appearance at a National Rifle Association convention in Houston on Friday and instead will be in Uvalde to speak about state resources for people affected by a mass shooting in the South Texas city this week.\n\nAbbott will appear at the convention via a video recording, his spokeswoman Renae Eze said. He had been scheduled to address a leadership forum sponsored by the NRA’s lobbying arm.\n\nEarlier this week, the NRA recommitted to holding its annual convention over the weekend after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School and killed 21 people, the deadliest school shooting in the United States in a decade.\n\nFormer President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will attend the convention as planned.\n\nRather than cover game, baseball teams tweet gun violence info\n\nAs two Major League Baseball teams faced off Thursday night, the official Twitter accounts for the teams shared facts about gun violence rather than posting updates about the game.\n\n\"In lieu of game coverage and in collaboration with the Tampa Bay Rays, we will be using our channels to offer facts about the impacts of gun violence,\" the New York Yankees tweeted. \"The devastating events that have taken place in Uvalde, Buffalo and countless other communities across our nation are tragedies that are intolerable.\"\n\nThe Tampa Bay Rays tweeted the same statement.\n\nAlong with citations, the teams tweeted that, \"every day, more than 110 Americans are killed with guns, and more than 200 are shot and injured,\" as well as that \"firearms were the leading cause of death for American child and teens in 2020.\"\n\nOther MLB teams' Twitter accounts still covered their games Thursday.\n\nThe Rays made a $50,000 commitment to Everytown for Gun Safety, one of the largest gun violence prevention organizations in America.\n\n\"This cannot become normal,\" the Rays tweeted. \"We cannot become numb. We cannot look the other way. We all know, if nothing changes, nothing changes.\"\n\nDavid Hogg, a founder of the student-led March For Our Lives which supports gun control legislation, shared the Yankees' tweet Thursday night.\n\n\"I'm telling you,\" Hogg tweeted, \"this time is going to be different.\"\n\nFather says parents pleaded for police to confront gunman\n\nJavier Cazares, the father of 9-year-old Jackie, who was among the 19 students killed in the Uvalde school shooting, told the American-Statesman that he rushed to the school after hearing about the shooting, arriving about noon Tuesday.\n\nHe said several parents were yelling for officers to go into the building to confront the gunman and when the officers did not, the parents threatened to enter themselves.\n\nHe said it appeared that no police were inside the building during the time he was waiting outside.\n\nThe account echoes several others that have emerged from parents and other bystanders outside the school.\n\nVictor Escalon, a regional director at the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Thursday that the gunman was inside the school for about an hour before he was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent.\n\nEscalon, speaking at a press conference, did not answer questions about why Uvalde police did not stop the shooter. Instead, he said they were evacuating students and staff from other classrooms.\n\nHe said investigators are still piecing together exactly what transpired.\n\nCazares said he has not spoken with investigators but that a federal agent stopped by his home when he was not there.\n\n\"You're angry. You're sad. You're all over the place,\" he said.\n\nHis niece, Annabelle Rodriguez, also was killed.\n\n— Staff writer Ryan Autullo\n\nDPS: Gunman was killed about an hour after entering school\n\nVictor Escalon, South Texas Regional Director for the Department of Public Safety, said the gunman who fired “numerous rounds,” killing 19 children and 2 teachers was in the school for about an hour before being fatally shot.\n\nDuring a press conference on Thursday, Escalon said the gunman arrived at the school at approximately 11:30 a.m. and shot at two nearby witnesses, but was not confronted by police before entering the school about 10 minutes later through a door in the west entrance that appeared to be unlocked.\n\nEscalon said there was not an armed school resource officer at the school who exchanged gunfire with the gunman, contrary to initial reports from DPS officials.\n\nOfficers with the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde school district police arrived about four minutes later and were unable to initially make entry because of an exchange of gunfire. He said the majority of the gunfire was at the beginning of the shooting.\n\nWhile the officers were there, he said they called for additional resources and helped evacuate children and teachers.\n\nApproximately an hour later, Escalon said U.S. Border Patrol tactical teams arrived, made entry and killed the gunman. Escalon did not answer questions about why Uvalde police officers did not kill the gunman during the hour he was inside the school.\n\n“We're all hurting inside. We're hurting inside for the community members in Uvalde, Texas,” Escalon said. “We've got local partners that have to ... live here and work here every day. The victims, the family members, we feel for them.”\n\nEscalon stressed that it would take hours or days to recreate the scene and find out exactly what happened.\n\nUvalde Police Department chief releases statement on shooting\n\nDaniel Rodriguez, chief of the Uvalde Police Department, said officers responded within minutes to the school shooting along with Uvalde CISD officers. UPD officers sustained gunshot wounds from the gunman, but not life-threatening injuries.\n\nHe said there is an ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers.\n\n“I understand questions are surfacing regarding the details of what occurred. I know answers will not come fast enough during this trying time, but rest assured that with the completion of the full investigation, I will be able to answer all the questions that we can,” Rodriguez said in a statement.\n\nJoe Garcia, husband of Texas teacher killed in Uvalde shooting, dies of heart attack\n\nJoe Garcia had just placed flowers Thursday morning at the memorial site of his high school sweetheart Irma Garcia — his wife of 24 years and mother of their four children. Then he had a fatal heart attack.\n\nIrma Garcia was one of two fourth grade teachers and 19 children who died Tuesday in a hail of gunfire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.\n\n\"What happened was my Uncle Joe went to go leave flowers for my Tia (Aunt) Irma, his wife, and whenever he got back, he sat down at the kitchen table with his entire family, and after 3 minutes, he just fell over. I'm told my mom was giving him chest compressions. It happened around 10 o'clock. I know my little brother was there,\" nephew John Martinez of San Marcos, Texas, told the Detroit Free Press.\n\nNow the four Garcia children — ages 23, 19, 15 and 13 — are planning two funerals, Martinez said.\n\n- Detroit Free Press reporter Phoebe Wall Howard\n\nPresident Biden to travel to Texas to comfort families of Uvalde school shooting victims\n\nPresident Joe Biden will travel to Uvalde on Sunday to meet with the families of the victims of a mass elementary school shooting.\n\nThe White House said in a statement that the president and first lady would visit Texas to \"grieve with the community that lost twenty-one lives in the horrific elementary school shooting.\"\n\n\"As a nation, I think we must all must be there for them,\" Biden said at the White House earlier this week.\n\n- USA Today writers Michael Collins and Rebecca Morin\n\nCongressman calls for FBI investigation into law enforcement action\n\nU.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, is calling for a federal investigation into the law enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in light of inconsistent reports emerging from state officials about what transpired on Tuesday.\n\nIn a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wrap on Thursday, Castro said state officials are providing conflicting accounts of the shooting that are \"at odds with those provided by witnesses.\"\n\n\"The people of Uvalde, of Texas, and of the nation deserve an accurate account of what transpired,\" he wrote, before calling on the federal agency \"to use its maximum authority to thoroughly examine the timeline of events and the law enforcement response and to produce a full, timely, and transparent report on your findings.\"\n\nCastro said officials have failed to account for every moment between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Tuesday, when the shooting allegedly took place. He also highlighted conflicting reports from officials about whether a school security officer exchanged fire with the shooter before he entered the school.\n\n\"Onlookers allege that parents unsuccessfully urged law enforcement to enter the building during this time and confront the shooter,\" he wrote.\n\nThe letter was made public moments after a news conference in Uvalde where officials recanted details about the shooting they previously reported.\n\nFunds established for victims of Uvalde school shooting\n\nThe League of United Latin American Citizens has set up a fundraiser to help support the community of Uvalde, Texas.\n\n\"Where 90 percent of the students of Robb Elementary School identify as Hispanics and more than four-fifths are economically disadvantaged, this community needs our collective prayers, help, and support,\" LULAC said in a release.\n\nMore:Here's how you can help those affected by the Texas school shooting in Uvalde\n\nUnited Way of San Antonio and Bexar County has set up a “United with Uvalde” fund to support the victims families and survivors of the shooting.\n\n\"When a tragedy like this happens, it is imperative that we show those affected that they are not alone. They should not have to navigate these unimaginable circumstances by themselves,\" United Way of San Antonio said in a release.\n\n- Digital producer Sarah Ann Dueñas\n\nTwo performers withdraw from performances at NRA convention\n\nTwo performers scheduled to perform at the National Rifle Association convention in Houston this week have withdrawn in response to the school shooting at Uvalde.\n\nIn a statement, Larry Gatlin said he could not perform in “in good conscience.” He said he agreed with most positions of the NRA, but believes background checks would be a “step in the right direction” toward preventing tragic events like the shooting in Uvalde.\n\n“My prayers and thoughts go to all who are suffering, and I pray that the NRA will rethink some of its outdated and ill-thought-out positions regarding firearms in AMERICA,” Gatlin wrote on Facebook.\n\nMore:Don McLean cancels NRA performance after Texas shooting: 'It would be disrespectful'\n\nDon McLean said in a statement that he thought it would be disrespectful to perform “In light of the recent events in Texas.”\n\n“I'm sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans,” McLean said. “I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation.”\n\nUvalde CISD postpones high school graduation after shooting\n\nThe Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District announced in a tweet that the Uvalde High School Graduation ceremony would be postponed.\n\n“Uvalde Community, out of the deepest respect for the families and our community affected by the tragedy we have experienced, the Uvalde High School Graduation Ceremony has been postponed,” the district said. “This is a difficult time for everyone. Please keep all families in your prayers.”\n\nTexas officials investigating if police acted fast enough to stop shooter at Uvalde school\n\nTexas officials are scrutinizing law enforcement's response to the first reports that a gunman had breached a Uvalde elementary school Tuesday to determine whether officers failed to act quickly enough before the attacker killed 19 children and two teachers.\n\nAuthorities are focusing on an early timeline of law enforcement's convergence on Robb Elementary School, as some community members pleaded for officers to storm the building, where the 18-year-old gunman had barricaded himself in a fourth grade classroom where most victims died.\n\nSources close to the investigation said the review of law enforcement actions is routine after a major incident, but it has intensified in this case because of differing accounts from neighbors and witnesses about what police did and when. Authorities also are awaiting final collection of evidence at the scene and analysis of ballistics.\n\n- Staff writer Tony Plohetski\n\nMore:Texas officials investigating if police acted fast enough to stop shooter at Uvalde school\n\nMeghan Markle visits Texas school shooting memorial site, leaves white roses\n\nMeghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, made a visit Thursday to Uvalde to pay tribute to the victims.\n\nAn Archewell spokesperson confirmed Markle's visit to the memorial to USA TODAY. The spokesperson said it was important for her to make the trip and extend her condolences and support to the Texas community..\n\nMarkle was pictured at the memorial site Thursday looking at a somber line of headstones. In another photo, she left a bouquet of white roses at the base of one of the memorial headstones.\n\nAustin restaurants donating portion of sales to Uvalde relief efforts\n\nTwo big hospitality and restaurant groups in Austin have announced they intend to contribute money to relief efforts in Uvalde following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.\n\nVia 313 will donate 10% of all sales at its Texas locations on Thursday to a selection of verified GoFundMe campaigns that has been established to assist the families in Uvalde.\n\nNew Waterloo hospitality group, which operates almost a dozen hotels and restaurants in Austin and iSanta Fe, New Mexico, announced it would donate 15% of food and beverage sales at its Austin properties to a fundraiser created by the Los Verdes Austin FC supporters group.\n\n- Staff writer Matthew Odam\n\nMore:Austin restaurants donating portion of sales Thursday to Uvalde shooting relief efforts\n\nGoFundMe sets up hub for verified Uvalde shooting fundraisers to prevent scams\n\nThe crowdfunding platform GoFundMe has set up a central hub for people looking to donate to help people directly affected by the Uvalde school shooting, and GoFundMe executives say they are working to prevent scammers from taking advantage of the tragedy.\n\n“Our hearts go out to everyone impacted by (Tuesday's) school shooting. At GoFundMe, we are working around the clock to ensure the families receive the support they need,” GoFundMe said in a written statement.\n\nGoFundMe has a specific, promoted centralized hub for verified fundraisers related to the Robb Elementary school shooting that is being updated as new fundraisers are verified. It can be found at gofundme.com/texas-elementary.\n\n- Staff writer Kara Carlson\n\nMore:GoFundMe sets up hub for verified Uvalde shooting fundraisers to prevent scams\n\nSan Antonio hospital provides updates on four patients; two in serious condition\n\nUniversity Health, a hospital in San Antonio, reported in a tweet that the conditions of the four patients in their care from the shooting in Uvalde remains the same. The hospital reported that there is a 66-year-old woman and 10-year-old girl in serious condition, as well as a 10-year-old girl and 9-year-old girl in good condition.\n\n'It's time to die:’ Fourth-grader recounts surviving Uvalde school shooting\n\nA fourth grader at Robb Elementary recounted his experience of surviving the school shooting in Uvalde to KEN5, a television station in San Antonio,\n\n\"He shot the next person’s door. We have a door in the middle. He opened it. He came in and he crouched a little bit and he said, he said, 'It's time to die,'\" the boy recalled.\n\nAccording to KEN5, the student and four others hid under a table with a tablecloth during the shooting and came out from the table when the shooting stopped.\n\n“When the cops came, the cop said: 'Yell if you need help!' And one of the persons in my class said 'help.' The guy overheard and he came in and shot her,\" the boy said. \"The cop barged into that classroom. The guy shot at the cop. And the cops started shooting.”\n\nHe said Irma Garcia and Eva Mireles — his teachers —saved their lives.\n\n“They were nice teachers,\" he said. \"They went in front of my classmates to help. To save them.”\n\nABC: Mother of Uvalde gunman says son was “not a monster”\n\nThe mother of the gunman who shot 19 children and two adults in an elementary school in Uvalde told ABC News that her son was “not a monster\" but could \"be aggressive.\"\n\n\"I had an uneasy feeling sometimes, like 'what are you up to?\" Adriana Reyes told ABC News. \"He can be aggressive... If he really got mad.\"\n\nThe gunman — who has been identified as Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old Uvalde resident — legally purchased two AR rifles in the past two weeks before killing 21 people.\n\n\"We all have a rage, that some people have it more than others,\" Reyes added.\n\nAccording to ABC, Reyes did not know her son bought the weapons. She also expressed sympathy for children who were killed and their families\n\n\"Those kids, … I have no words,\" Reyes said. \"I don't know what to say about those poor kids.\"\n\nIllinois governor responds to Abbott’s comments on gun violence in Chicago\n\nIllinois Gov. JB Pritzker responded Wednesday afternoon on Twitter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott comments during a news conference mentioning gun violence in Chicago.\n\nAt Uvalde High School, Abbott said there are ‘real’ gun laws in Chicago, but “there are more people who are shot every weekend in Chicago than there are in schools in Texas.”\n\n“We need to realize that people who think, ‘Well, maybe if we just implement tougher gun laws it’s going to solve it.’ Chicago and L.A. and New York disprove that thesis,” Abbott said.\n\nMore:Gov. Greg Abbott says tougher gun laws 'not a real solution' to ending mass shootings\n\nPritzker said Abbott was lying about Chicago and “what actually perpetuates gun violence.” Pritzker said that the majority of guns used in Chicago shootings come from states “with lax gun laws.”\n\n“Don’t feed into the false narrative about Chicago and Illinois – it’s an excuse that politicians like you hide behind to stop the federal legislation we need to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” Pritzker tweeted.\n\n“Do better,” Pritzker added. “You have 19 kids and two teachers who deserve our best.”\n\nFormer Columbine High School principal expresses support for Uvalde shooting victims\n\nAs he has done after multiple previous school shootings, Frank DeAngelis, the former principal of Columbine High School, is expressing his support for the Uvalde community and victims.\n\nDeAngelis told TV station KUSA in Denver that he left a message for the principal of Robb Elementary School, and he could go to Uvalde if needed, although he would also respect their space.\n\nIn 1999, two gunmen killed 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School. According to the Washington Post, more than 311,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine.\n\nDeAngelis previously helped form the Principal Recovery Network, a group of principals who hope to offer support to other school leaders after school shootings. The network is now ready to help support the principal of Robb Elementary School, he told CNN.\n\n“They’re all of our kids. It doesn’t matter whether they live in Texas, Colorado. They’re all of our kids. These senseless deaths just need to stop,\" he said to KUSA. “You know, the thing that really feels important is I was asked early on is, 'what are you gonna do?' I said, 'What are we gonna do?' because they’re all of our kids and we need to step up as a society and say enough is enough and we got to stop this.”\n\nCNN: Local hospital treating 3 children, gunman’s grandmother\n\nLillian Liao, the pediatric trauma medical director at University Hospital in San Antonio, said the hospital is treating three children and the gunman's grandmother, according to CNN. All four patients are in critical but stable condition and will continue to receive care over the next days to weeks, she said.\n\n\"Broadly speaking, ... we were treating destructive wounds, and what that means is that there were large areas of tissue missing from the body, and they required emergency surgery because there was significant blood loss,\" Liao told CNN.\n\nLiao, with tears in her eyes, said the hardest part of responding to the shooting at the hospital was knowing that many of the victims were likely already dead.\n\n\"I think that's what has hit us the most, not of the patients that we did receive and we are honored to treat them, but the patients that we did not receive,\" she said. “I think that that is the most challenging aspect of our job right now.”\n\n“Our job as the trauma center is to be focused on treating the patients that we did receive, and that's what we're going to do today,” she added.\n\nNAACP President urges Gov. Abbott to skip NRA conference\n\nDerrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, urged Gov. Greg Abbott to skip the National Rifle Association conference scheduled to begin on Friday after the shooting in Uvalde.\n\nIn a statement, Johnson said that Abbott’s attendance at the event after a gunman shot and killed 19 children would send a message that “guns are more important than the lives you represent.” He implored Abbott to “not attend” and “make the right decision.”\n\n“You say you ‘don’t know the answer’ to the endless, senseless school shootings. We have the answer: gun regulations,” Johnson said. “Where do you begin? By skipping this week’s National Rifle Association conference.”\n\nMore:The NRA annual meeting in Texas still scheduled despite Uvalde shooting\n\nAP: Frustrated onlookers urged police to charge into elementary school in Uvalde\n\nDuring the shooting, bystanders urged police officers to move more quickly and charge the elementary school in Uvalde where a gunman shot 19 children and two teachers, according to the Associated Press.\n\nJuan Carranza, who saw the scene from outside his house, said nearby women pleaded with officers to “Go in there! Go in there!” but they did not immediately do so.\n\nJavier Cazares, who arrived at Robb Elementary School while police were outside, reportedly suggested to other onlookers that they should charge into the school. The AP reported that the gunman shot and killed Cazares’ fourth grade daughter.\n\n“Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” Cazares said, according to the AP. “More could have been done.”\n\nMore:Bystanders report urging police to charge into Uvalde, Texas school\n\nUvalde Leader-News mourns shooting victims on front page\n\nThe front page of the Uvalde Leader-News, the local paper in the town where a gunman killed 21 people, is almost entirely black, except for a single date: May 24, 2022.\n\nThe paper ran a story about the shooting with the headline “City’s Soul Crushed” and photos of law enforcement officers escorting children outside the school.\n\nNames of Texas school shooting victims continue to emerge\n\nFamilies and friends are mourning the loss of the 21 victims of the Uvalde school shooting. According to American-Statesman reporters, the list of confirmed victims currently includes:\n\nNevaeh Bravo, 10\n\nEliahana Cruz Torres, 10\n\nJose Flores, 10\n\nAmerie Jo Garza, 10\n\nUziyah Garcia, 10\n\nEllie Garcia, 10\n\nXavier Javier Lopez, 10\n\nMaranda Mathis, 11\n\nJayce Luevanos, 10\n\nLayla Salazar, 10\n\nJailah Silguero, 10\n\nAlithia Ramirez, 10\n\nMaite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10\n\nAlexandria \"Lexi\" Aniyah Rubio, 10\n\nIrma Garcia, teacher\n\nEva Mireles, teacher\n\nMore:'He was our baby': Families share stories of those who died in Uvalde school shooting\n\nAustin-area school districts increase law enforcement presence after Uvalde shooting\n\nWith the last day of school and graduation ceremonies around the corner for many Central Texas school districts, officials increased law enforcement presence on some campuses in the wake of the deadly shooting Tuesday at a Uvalde elementary school.\n\nSeveral districts such as Austin, Hays, Leander and Pflugerville increased the number of officers at some campuses and for graduation ceremonies. Some districts, including Leander, were holding graduation ceremonies Wednesday.\n\nOfficers who serve at Austin school district high schools will be redeployed to elementary and middle schools, district spokesperson Jason Stanford said. That is in addition to normal security measures, such as locking all doors and monitoring social media for threats.\n\n- Staff writer Nusaiba Mizan\n\nMore:Austin-area school districts increase law enforcement presence after Uvalde shooting\n\nWhat you need to know Thursday: Uvalde, Texas school shooting", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/05/26"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/2021/04/17/indianapolis-fedex-shooting-victims-vigils/7268079002/", "title": "FedEx shooting: Indianapolis community holds vigils for victims ...", "text": "Indianapolis is still reeling from the shock of a mass shooting at a FedEx facility that left eight people dead and several others wounded.\n\nSaturday evening Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett joined with U.S. Congressman Andre Carson, D-Indianapolis, and other officials as well as co-workers, family and friends of those whose lives were lost at a candlelight vigil at Krannert Park on the Westside.\n\nNot only did those gathered offer sympathy and prayers, some issued calls for stronger gun laws in the wake of the tragedy at the FedEx Plainfield Ground Operations Center.\n\n\"We can't continue living with the constant threat of gun violence everywhere we go,\" Carson said. \"It's not normal. It will never be normal. ... Let's turn this tragedy into a catalyst of change and create safer communities for all Americans.\"\n\nJust a few hours before the vigil began, Indianapolis City Council President Vop Osili celebrated his mother's 97th birthday. The occasion led him to reflect how everyone deserves to live a life in which they can leave the house and be assured that they will not be touched by gun violence, whether they're headed to school or work.\n\nThe events of the past week prove, he said, that it's time to have \"an adult discussion without rancor\" about gun violence and to take steps to ensure that no other mass shootings occur.\n\nMore:Indianapolis leaders, White House calls for gun control measures after FedEx Indy shooting\n\nFor DeAndra Dycus, Pamela Wooden, Brenda Hutson and other members of Purpose 4 My Pain, the scourge of gun violence is personal.\n\nThey’ve all lost children to gun violence. It’s a club whose membership they wouldn’t wish on anyone, so when they heard the news that eight more families were now experiencing the same pain, Dycus said they knew they needed to act.\n\n“I wanted to show solidarity in our community, because we’re tired,” Dycus said. “Enough is enough. And I wanted families who have been impacted by gun violence to know their community is here to support them.”\n\nJoined by gun control advocacy group Moms Demand Action, they held a vigil earlier Saturday at the Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, so those affected by Thursday night's shooting would know they weren’t alone.\n\n“It hurts us all,” said Wooden, who lost a son and daughter to gun violence, “because a lot of us have been there.”\n\n'I watched too many people die'\n\nFedEx workers at both gatherings painted a picture of a tight-knit workplace, where many employees knew one another and cared deeply for each other. Many wore FedEx face masks and some wore bright orange t-shirts with brilliant blue lettering that had the address and phone number of the operations center with words \"Now Hiring.\"\n\nMany of the employees hired at the facility belonged to the Sikh community. When Malkiat Singh visited his mother who worked there on a day shift, he heard people speaking Punjabi and saw signs written in the language most Sikhs use.\n\nProximity forged friendships.\n\nNaseha Tai worked side by side with Amarjeet Kaur Johal for more than a year. While both were born in India, they spoke different languages – Tai Hindi and Johal Punjabi – and were different religions, Muslim and Sikh respectively.\n\nAs they loaded and scanned packages, however, they bonded. Johal shared her recipes for Punjabi dishes and shared with Tai how she was working to save money to give to her son and daughter-in-law.\n\nThursday was Tai's day off but Johal worked. She was among the eight victims.\n\n\"I'm going to miss her,\" said Tai, who during the vigil moved to stand close to another co-worker who was quietly sobbing.\n\nDonna Mealer was at the facility Thursday night, too. Still shaken, she and her \"work son\" Will Higgins, who had Thursday off, embraced before the vigil began.\n\nFor the past two nights, Mealer said, she has been unable to sleep, traumatized by the incident, which she tries to push out of her mind.\n\n\"I am devastated,\" she said. \"I watched too many people die.\"\n\nFedEx shooting victims:8 victims identified by Indianapolis police\n\nOther FedEx workers said the vigils were just what they needed. At the afternoon tribute, Savana DeLao and Michelle Parks said they would ordinarily have been working at the facility when the shooting occurred.\n\nParks is certain she would have been in the parking lot on her dinner break. Last Thursday, though, Parks didn't work her shift. Her kids needed her and something, she said, didn’t feel right.\n\nDeLao would have been handing out paychecks to her colleagues. She doesn’t normally work Thursdays, though. She’d gone in last Thursday but left early, around 5:30 p.m.\n\n\"I was laughing, like 'you guys have a good day. I'll see you next week,'\" she remembered.\n\nSo a friend of hers was distributing paychecks to the facility's employees when a man that police have said was a former employee opened fire and killed eight people. Some of the victims had been waiting in line for their checks.\n\nHow FedEx shooting unfolded:Timeline shows an 'act of violence' took mere minutes\n\nKarli Smith, 19, was waiting in line for her first check said Parks, who helped train her days earlier.\n\n“Her work ethic was awesome,” Parks said.\n\nDeLao and Parks were among 50 or so who attended the afternoon vigil. Parks remembered the smile in 74-year-old John Weisert's eyes, behind his mask. He died in Thursday's tragedy. And they recalled the positive energy that radiated off Samaria Blackwell, who died, too.\n\n\"She'd have a hundred-pound package and toss it like it was nothing,\" Parks said, laughing at the memory.\n\nHard to return\n\nFor many employees returning to the facility is difficult to imagine.\n\nEven though Singh's mother works the day shift, he said, she knew all of the people who died. Now, he said, he does not know what the future holds.\n\n\"My mother is still in shock,\" he said. \"We're trying to make her calm but it's never going to be easy for her to work in the same place again.\"\n\nOnce people are allowed to come back, D.J. Boyles plans to return to check on everyone, but then he plans to quit. While he was not at the facility Thursday night, the shooting was the final push he needed to start looking for a new job, he said.\n\nMealer said she's planning to return but she hopes that the company improves its safety guidelines.\n\n\"Our security guards should at least have Tasers so this doesn't happen again,\" she said.\n\nCall IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.\n\nContact IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky by email at shari.rudavsky@indystar.com.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/04/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2021/09/23/louisville-bus-stop-shooting-russell-neighborhood-mourns-tyree-smith/5818026001/", "title": "Louisville bus stop shooting: West End reeling after Tyree Smith shot", "text": "Mark Pence woke up to gunshots Wednesday morning. Minutes later he was on the corner of Chestnut and Dr. W.J. Hodge streets, covering a teen's wound and begging him to keep breathing.\n\n\"I felt that little boy's wound this morning and that changed my life forever,\" he said hours later, his voice rising as he looked toward the scene of the shooting. \"I was in the Marines. I'm used to telling other soldiers and other people in the service, 'You ain't going to die. You're going to be OK.' This morning I had to tell a teenager, 'You ain't going to die. You're going be OK' – and I didn't even know for sure, because there was one right there that was dead.\"\n\nThe victim Pence found is still alive. Tyree Smith wasn't as lucky. The 16-year-old Eastern High School student was killed as he waited for his school bus in an early morning drive-by shooting, the 144th criminal homicide this year in Louisville.\n\nPence's pain was raw less than 12 hours after Tyree's death – \"That's what I woke up to this morning. God gave me another day, and I had to wake up to see somebody else not get another day.\"\n\nHis words reflected the feelings of a Russell community left reeling after another gut-wrenching shooting, which killed Tyree and injured two other teens at the West End bus stop.\n\nMore than 100 people gathered Wednesday evening at the street corner to mourn, to remember Tyree, and to use the tragedy as a call to action. What happened that morning can never happen again, activist Kamal Wells said, and he called on others in the community to help make that vision a reality.\n\n\"My personal objective is to try and get 50 men – 50 men – to be at 25 bus stops every morning and every evening,\" Wells said. \"The mothers have stepped up, they take the kids to school and everything in this community. That's all I'm asking for, is 50 men to step up and be at the bus stops to protect the kids, because the kids shouldn't be harmed.\"\n\nMore than 15 community members and parents returned to the same corner Thursday morning to light candles and discuss potential ways to end the relentless violence.\n\nSeveral Louisville Metro Police cruisers along with Jefferson County Public Schools personnel were also present by the intersection as the group gathered from about 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. in the crisp morning air.\n\n\"This is our community,\" former JCPS principal Michelle Pennix said. The group showed up to let children \"know this is not normal\" and that \"we love them.\"\n\n\"If this would have happened by Shelbyville (Road) and Hurstbourne (Parkway),\" Pennix said Thursday, referring to roads in the East End, \"I think this city honestly would have stopped. We're here to say, everywhere matters.\"\n\nIn a city with more than 700 bus routes, calling for 50 men to protect the bus stops is a strategy that isn't without question. But Wells and others in the Russell community were looking for answers Wednesday night.\n\nRead more:Mother of Tyree Smith, teen killed in shooting, says she's 'lost for words'\n\n'Enough is enough':Louisville reacts to student killed in bus stop drive-by shooting\n\nAt the vigil, the Rev. Charles Elliott urged those in the crowd to join him later that evening at Greater Israel Missionary Baptist Church, seven blocks from where Tyree was shot, to pray and to bring what they could to support the teen's family. Timothy Findley Jr., a mayoral candidate and pastor at downtown's Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center, canceled his planned Bible study for the evening and instead opened the church's doors to kids who wanted to talk about how the shooting had affected them.\n\nOthers outside the church searched for answers of their own.\n\nStachelle Bussey, a minister and founder of the Hope Buss nonprofit, said Tyree's death could be traced to the poverty that has plagued the West End for decades. In 2018, the most recent year IRS data is available, more than half of individual income tax filings were below $25,000 in 40211, the ZIP code where the shooting occurred.\n\n\"At some point, we've got to come together and say enough is enough,\" Bussey said, noting that she's working with city groups and officials to push back against the violence. \"Our kids are dying. It is direct correlation to poverty.\"\n\nSome Louisville Metro officials were in the crowd. Metro Councilman Jecorey Arthur, for instance, urged the audience to get involved in their communities before handing the microphone to a young boy who called for an end to the violence.\n\nMayoral candidates including Craig Greenberg, David Nicholson and Shameka Parrish-Wright were among those who listened, with Parrish-Wright at one point offering an impassioned plea for Black women to \"step up, stand out and take control of your community,\" and for Black men to \"stand with us.\"\n\nWednesday headlines:Kentucky hospitals renew plea for help as COVID surges\n\nVincent James, Louisville's chief of community building, has been searching for the answers to the city's violence since he decided to take action after a triple homicide took place outside his church in 2012.\n\nBussey was right when she said it's about poverty, he said. Now, James continued, it's about setting aside differences and working together. Anti-violence groups that were in the crowd can help, he said, but in the end, \"it takes all of government, all the law enforcement, it takes the community coming together to be able to resolve these issues.\"\n\n\"We're going to continue to work hard,\" he said. \"We're not going to stop until the bodies stop dropping in our community.\"\n\nAll of Russell was searching for answers Wednesday. But no one had more questions than one of the night's final speakers – Sherita Smith, Tyree's mourning mother.\n\n\"My son left out of my door at 6:15. He called me at 6:18 and said, 'Mama, I got shot,'\" she told the crowd. \"So what am I supposed to do when I'm guiding my son down the right path and he gets killed and hurt by senseless violence?\"\n\nLucas Aulbach can be reached at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/09/23"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/2021/09/22/3-kids-shot-at-louisville-bus-stop/5810699001/", "title": "Louisville bus stop shooting leaves 1 student dead, 2 other injured", "text": "A 16-year-old Eastern High School student is dead, two other teens are injured and a community is reeling after a drive-by shooting at a school bus stop in Louisville early Wednesday morning.\n\nAs night approached, community members were expected to gather near the site of the shooting, which was reported about 6:30 a.m. at Dr. W.J. Hodge and West Chestnut streets in the Russell neighborhood. Jefferson County Public Schools officials were making plans to ensure affected students have access to crisis counseling.\n\n'Enough is enough.':Louisville reacts to student killed in bus stop drive-by shooting\n\nIn total, Louisville Metro Police said three students were struck during the shooting.\n\nOne of the boys, 16-year-old Tyree Smith, was later pronounced dead at University of Louisville Hospital. The second boy, 13, was sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A 14-year-old girl was grazed on the ankle and declined medical treatment.\n\n‘He had his whole life ahead of him’\n\nSharonda Smith, who said she was the aunt of the slain boy, said he was a junior at Eastern. She said she believes the location was the target, not her nephew.\n\n\"That bus stop was a target for whatever reason,\" she said. \"But all I know is my nephew, he went to school, he went to work, he was in 11th grade. He’s never had a problem. He don’t get calls home from the teachers regarding his behavior or anything.”\n\nThe Rev. Charles Elliott, pastor of King Solomon Missionary Baptist Church, which is a few blocks from Wednesday’s shooting scene, said the boy’s death made him think of how, decades ago, he was “protesting for the right for Black kids to have the same opportunity that white kids have” and attend the same schools.\n\nBut just as Elliott noted Louisville suffered “many shootings” about 50 years ago, the longtime pastor and civil rights leader said he wonders how much has really changed in the city.\n\n“It’s heartbreaking for me now to see that my marching and my protesting for that is in vain,” Elliott said while inside his church office Wednesday.\n\n“…We can’t police our way out of this,” added Elliott, who is nearing his 60th year in ministry. “It’s not actually a school problem (either). The problem is sin and because we have no respect for one another no more.\"\n\nRelated:Another grim milestone in Louisville: Nonfatal shootings of kids top last year's total\n\nAt Eastern High School, counselors from a JCPS “special response team” were on hand to work with students and staff, district spokesman Mark Hebert said.\n\n“Our primary goal is to give (students) a safe space to talk, give them positive coping skills,” JCPS counseling specialist Michelle Sircy said. “And we're triaging students and identifying students that may need more additional, intensive counseling intervention after the crisis team has left.”\n\nInvestigation, discussions of crime issues ongoing\n\nNo suspects had been identified as of Wednesday afternoon, according to LMPD officials.\n\nPolice were looking for a 2019 Jeep Cherokee with an Illinois license plate, number BD91644, in connection with the case. Anyone with information on the vehicle is asked to call LMPD at 502-574-5673.\n\nWith Wednesday morning’s shooting, 21 children and teens have been killed in Louisville this year, according to preliminary LMPD data. All but one of this year’s child victims died by gunfire.\n\nThat’s more than the number killed in all of 2020, when 16 children and teens younger than 18 were among the city’s record-high 173 homicide victims.\n\nLouisville is not alone in grappling with escalating gun violence. But Jefferson County’s juvenile homicide rate of 4.7 slayings per 100,000 children was more than twice the national rate of 2.1 from 2010-19, data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed.\n\nJCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio said Wednesday keeping school bus stops safe has to be a “community issue.” A bus driver shortage has already left JCPS running fewer bus routes than it should be, he said.\n\n“We should have 900-and-something but we have 770 … We struggle to run 770 bus lines with drivers. And so, I would say, once again, how are we going to man, or what would we do, with 770 bus stops that are in our community?”\n\nPollio said JCPS wants to be part of the solution to youth gun violence but should not be expected to solve the crisis on its own.\n\n“I got asked recently in a meeting I was at with community leaders, ‘What are we doing about homelessness in JCPS?’ And that really bothers me,” he said. “We are educators in a school system. And yes, we've got to provide these services to our kids. But I just don't know when in our nation the school became the answer to all of our community's problems and ills.”\n\nMany local leaders expressed frustration with violence in the community and encouraged community members to get involved in the wake of Wednesday’s events.\n\n\"My job is to pass laws,\" said Metro Councilman Jecorey Arthur, D-4th District. \"Mayor Fischer's job is to make sure that those laws actually happen. The chief's job is to make sure those laws are enforced. What is your job? Everyone in Louisville is responsible for Louisville.\"\n\n'What is your job?':Louisville councilman calls for action after fatal bus stop shooting\n\nMore coverage:Louisville police chief's push for school police after bus stop shooting called 'shameful'\n\nCouncilman Anthony Piagentini, R-19th District, agreed, saying: \"If you weren't plugged in and engaged in this problem, then you are part of the problem.\"\n\nBut not all were unified in their responses.\n\nComments from LMPD Chief Erika Shields in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting calling for JCPS to put officers in schools drew criticism from some.\n\n\"We can’t sit here with our thumbs up our ass, do nothing different and think we won’t be back at this podium,\" she said at a press conference Wednesday.\n\nJCPS board member Chris Kolb, a staunch opponent to school police, called Shields' remarks \"shameful and reprehensible.\"\n\n\"I am absolutely disgusted that it took @LMPD Chief Shields less than six hours to cynically use the murder of a child to push for a measure that will do nothing to improve safety and will further marginalize black students,\" Kolb tweeted.\n\nLMPD pulled out all of its officers, which made up the majority of school resource officers at the time, in July 2019 due to budget cuts. The district's school board later ended the remaining contracts for police.\n\nFor now, Pollio said, JCPS personnel are planning to be at the bus stop early Thursday morning and possibly throughout the week.\n\n“We do stay at an event for as long as we're needed,” said Sircy, the JCPS counselor. “So, depending on the situation, we may stay for half a day, and we have stayed at a school for as long as a week before just to provide more intensive, wrap-around counseling support services to students that need that.\"\n\nEditor's note: An earlier version of this story misstated the age of the teenage student who was treated at the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. LMPD now says he is 13.\n\nReach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com.\n\nContact Ayana Archie at aarchie@courier-journal.com or follow on Twitter @AyanaArchie. Support strong local journalism by subscribing to The Courier Journal.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/09/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/05/15/buffalo-new-york-shooting-market-grief-community/9789647002/", "title": "Jefferson Ave., Buffalo Tops mass shooting location, asks why us", "text": "BUFFALO, N.Y. — People here simply call it \"Jefferson Ave,\" a historic neighborhood on the city's near East Side.\n\nJefferson Avenue and surrounding streets form a place where people live and work and shop. It's a place to buy books, coffee, clothing, groceries. A record shop here once nurtured the musical interests of a young Rick James.\n\nCommunity members know each other like family, people who live here say, and look out for each other like family, too. Elders gather to pass the time sitting in cars parked beneath the shade of trees that dot the perimeter of the Family Dollar parking lot. People who used to call it home still come back, drawn by the pull of family, friends and community.\n\nThen, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, a stranger arrived.\n\nA white 18-year-old gunman drove three hours from his home to the Tops Friendly Markets store and opened fire, officials say. Ten people were killed and three others injured in a shooting authorities believe was racially motivated. Eleven of the 13 victims were Black.\n\nIn a matter of minutes, the attack transformed the tight-knit neighborhood of Jefferson Ave into an epicenter of raw grief and outrage. The community was overwhelmed with questions, as people struggled to make sense of the unimaginable: Why Buffalo? How could this have happened? What will they do now?\n\nGlen Marshall was drawn to the Tops on Saturday by the same sense of connection that draws people back to this neighborhood even after they've moved away. He wasn't present during the shooting but said it's important to be present now.\n\n\"This is the neighborhood Tops. This is the Black community — this is the heart of the Black community,\" said Marshall, who is from the area. \"If we don't live in this community, we grew up in this community. Everybody comes back to the community.\"\n\nJefferson Avenue runs north and south through Buffalos' East Side, where 78% of the residents are people of color, according to a 2019 economic development report. Forty-two percent of the city's residents live on the East Side and 40% of the city's working-age population call it home. American Community Survey data show that the median household income in the zip code area that encircles the Tops market is less than $25,000.\n\nOn Sunday, hundreds of people crowded together near the scene of the shooting, mourning together in a vigil and march.\n\nBut they began gathering well before then. Before outsiders descended on their community, neighbors were there, supporting each other.\n\nJust hours after the shooting, dozens of neighborhood residents congregated in the parking lots and sidewalks near the Tops. Two older men had been sitting in their usual spot, a parked minivan, when one of them heard gunshots. He was in shock, he said, and couldn't shake the question from his mind — why had the gunman picked Buffalo?\n\nFive longtime residents of the neighborhood, all in their 30s and 40s, stood watching the scene unfold after the shooting. All of them, rattled by what had occurred.\n\nMisty Walker, a lifelong Buffalonian, was mourning one of the victims, a retired Buffalo police officer working in the store as a security guard who confronted the shooter. She called him a \"good, good man.\"\n\nMany residents on the East Side are older, with low incomes and limited transportation. Lemar Williams, who has lived in Buffalo since the 1970s, had planned to take his nephew to work at Tops that Saturday. But his nephew got a call that he didn’t have to go to work that morning — moments later, he found out why.\n\nLike many in the neighborhood, Williams wants to know why no one stopped the shooter before he executed the plans he'd posted online.\n\nThe suspect may have been known to police. Last year, the suspect threatened an attack at his high school, resulting in a referral for a mental health evaluation, a law enforcement official told USA TODAY on Sunday. The incident was reviewed by state authorities at the time.\n\nEXTREMIST VIOLENCE:Buffalo attack highlights most lethal domestic threat\n\nOn Sunday, Takesha Leonard of Buffalo cried during a prayer vigil across the street from the Tops.\n\n“I want to know why the government didn’t have no scope on this kid,” Williams said. “The government got a scope on everybody, so why didn’t they have one on this young man that assassinated and killed people?”\n\nJemar Amine, Williams’ nephew, was outside the Tops following the shooting. The 21-year-old was visibly shocked and hurt — his friends were working in the store at the time of the shooting.\n\n“Buffalo is Buffalo,” he said. Racism \"ain’t nothing new. I can’t even say that’s crazy.”\n\nMarshall was concerned people wouldn't want to shop at the Tops anymore, haunted by the massacre that unfolded in the heart of their community.\n\nWilliams was worried about a more immediate concern: Along Jefferson Ave, where many people don't have cars, Tops is their only grocery store.\n\nTops has since announced a free bus shuttle service to the next closest location, and community groups have begun organizing to help provide groceries to people in need.\n\nBut in the immediate wake of tragedy, in a neighborhood forced to grapple with overwhelming questions of \"why\" and \"how,\" Williams asked one more:\n\n“Where are we supposed to shop at tomorrow?\"\n\nAdria R. Walker is the Upstate New York storytelling reporter for the USA TODAY Network's New York State Team. Follow her on Twitter at @adriawalkr.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/05/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/02/14/michigan-state-shooting-live-updates/11253707002/", "title": "Michigan State shooting live updates: 3 dead, 5 wounded after ...", "text": "EAST LANSING, Mich. – A clearer picture began to emerge Tuesday about the 43-year-old shooter with a previous gun violation who killed three Michigan State University students late Monday and critically wounded five others, but police were still searching for a motive.\n\nAuthorities said Anthony Dwayne McRae had once been on probation for the gun offense and had a history of mental health struggles. He shot and killed himself after a manhunt that ended in a confrontation with police miles from campus, authorities said Tuesday.\n\nUniversity police identified the three dead students as sophomores Arielle Anderson and Brian Fraser and junior Alexandria Verner. All three hailed from the Detroit metropolitan area.\n\n“It's a family's worst nightmare and it’s happening far too often in this country,” President Joe Biden said in Washington. “We have to do something to stop the gun violence that’s ripping apart our communities.''\n\nBiden also released a statement calling for Congress to pass specific measures to tighten gun laws nationwide, noting that Tuesday marks the fifth anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.\n\nThe president spoke by phone with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, an MSU graduate who said at a morning briefing, “Our Spartan community is reeling today.”\n\nInvestigators were still looking into why McRae fired inside the Berkey Hall academic building and the student union shortly before 8:30 p.m. Monday, leading to a campus lockdown and a three-hour search for the killer.\n\n“We have absolutely no idea what the motive was,” said Chris Rozman, deputy chief of campus police, adding that McRae, of Lansing, was not a student or a Michigan State employee.\n\nDevelopments:\n\n►The five wounded students remained in critical condition Tuesday, a Sparrow Hospital official said.\n\n►Rozman said two people were killed and several wounded at Berkey Hall and another was killed at the student union before the gunman apparently fled.\n\n►Several prayer services and vigils are scheduled to honor the victims, including one at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in the Detroit suburb that was home to two of the students killed in the shooting.\n\n►The university canceled classes, sports and other activities for at least 48 hours, a time for those affected to collect their thoughts and grieve, interim President Teresa Woodruff said. \"Our Spartan hearts are broken,'' she said.\n\nMASS KILLING DATABASE:Revealing trends, details and anguish of every US event since 2006\n\nHow the events unfolded\n\nRozman said at a briefing Tuesday that authorities received multiple calls of a shooting at Berkey Hall at around 8:18 p.m. Monday.\n\n\"There was an absolutely overwhelming police response to that call,\" he said, and officers arrived within minutes.\n\nMinutes later, calls came in reporting a second shooting scene at the student union building nearby, he said, sending officers scrambling there.\n\nRozman said police \"had no idea'' about McRae's whereabouts for nearly the first three hours of the manhunt before his image, captured on school security cameras, was sent to news media around 11:15 p.m. Soon after, an “alert citizen” spotted him in the Lansing area and notified police, Rozman said.\n\nThey found McRae in an industrial area about 5 miles from campus, and he shot himself in the confrontation, Rozman said. Four hours after the first shots were reported, police announced the man’s death.\n\n“This is still fluid,” Rozman said. “There are still crime scenes that are being processed, and we still are in the process of putting together the pieces to try to understand what happened.”\n\nPlea bargain to gun charge in 2019 allowed shooter to buy weapons\n\nMcRae pleaded guilty in 2019 to a weapons-related charge in Lansing, according to court and Michigan Department of Corrections records, and relatives and neighbors told the Detroit Free Press he fired a gun dangerously in his backyard.\n\nMcRae was originally charged with a felony, and a conviction would have prevented him from legally owning a gun in the future. But McRae agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, a charge that did not bar his ability to buy a firearm after he successfully completed probation.\n\nChris Gautz, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections, said a Lansing police officer had spotted McRae near an abandoned building at about 1:30 a.m. one night. The officer questioned McRae, who admitted he had a gun and did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, Gautz said.\n\nThe officer found a Ruger LCP .380 semi-automatic pistol in McRae's pants pocket, according to court records. He was charged with a violation of concealed-carry law and possessing a loaded weapon in a vehicle; he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapon-in-a-vehicle charge and the other was dropped, according to court records. Gautz said McRae was placed on probation in late 2019 and was “successfully discharged” on May 14, 2021.\n\n– Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press\n\nMcRae's brother 'still trying to process this whole thing'\n\nMcRae’s older brother, Michael McRae Jr., 45, said he doesn’t “have a clue” what prompted Anthony McRae’s shooting spree on campus. His brother “stayed to himself” and they had grown apart over the years, he said. Michael McRae lives in Delaware. The brothers grew up in New Jersey. Anthony McRae and his parents moved to Michigan about 20 years ago after his father was transferred from New Jersey by General Motors.\n\n“This just don’t seem real, that he would be able to do anything like this,” the older brother told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Tuesday. “I am still trying to process this whole thing.”\n\nThe last time the brothers spoke was at their mother’s funeral two years ago. Anthony McRae had no children, no spouse and no friends his older brother knew of. Michael McRae said his younger brother worked at warehouse jobs in Lansing.\n\n“He kind of secluded himself,\" said Michael McRae, who learned what happened from their father Tuesday morning.\n\n“I am deeply sorry for this whole thing,” McRae said.\n\nThe suspected gunman shared a house in Lansing with his father, also named Michael McRae, who told CNN his son was a ''mama's boy'' who spiraled after his mother died in 2020.\n\n\"Ever since my wife died, my son began to change,'' the elder McRae said in a phone interview with the network. \"He was getting more and more bitter, angry and bitter. So angry, evil angry. ... He began to really let himself go. His teeth were falling out. He stopped cutting his hair. He looked like a wolfman.''\n\n– Christine MacDonald and Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press\n\nCollege mass shooters typically have ties to campuses\n\nNearly all of the mass shooters at places of higher education in recent history have had a relationship with the campus, according to The Violence Project, a nonprofit research center. There have been nine mass shootings that killed four or more people in or around college or university settings since 1966, and in eight of them the gunmen were current or former students or employees, co-founder James Densley said.\n\nThe shooters were all men, with an average age of 28 – the youngest was 22 and the oldest was 43 – and three were white, he said. Like the Michigan State shooter, five of the nine died by suicide.\n\n– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY\n\nStudents sheltered in place or hid where they could\n\nBen Finkelstein, a senior, said he was sheltering in place in his room.\n\n\"I don't think I've ever been this scared,\" he said. \"I've been listening to the police scanner for an hour.\"\n\nFinkelstein said he was hiding under a pile of dirty laundry in his first-floor room. He closed all of his blinds and turned off his lights.\n\n\"It's far too late for this to be called a wake-up call,\" he said. \"The sad truth is I doubt we're going to be the last. Other than that, I'm praying for everybody.\"\n\nKayal Ghassan, a 19-year-old fisheries and wildlife student, was eating in another building on campus when word of the shooting spread, he said. He noticed other students began crowding at the doors.\n\nStudents were worried and panicking, he said. Many were calling their families. “Everyone was running in fear,\" he said. \"I saw people climbing over other people.”\n\nGhassan and others ran to a nearby parking lot, where police immediately asked if they saw the suspect and knew what he looked like.\n\n“I was fearing for my life, honestly. I’ve never experienced something like this,” he said.\n\nGunman had note indicating possible threat to schools in New Jersey\n\nPolice in Ewing Township, New Jersey, said information received during the investigation indicated the MSU shooter had local ties to the township. When McRae was found by police in Michigan, he had a note in his pocket that \"indicated a threat to two Ewing Public Schools,\" Ewing police said in a Facebook post. An investigation revealed that McRae had a history of mental health problems, police said.\n\nEwing Public Schools were closed for the day as a precaution. Officers from Ewing and surrounding agencies were stationed at all schools and in the township.\n\nFive wounded students remained in critical condition Tuesday\n\nDr. Denny Martin, chief medical officer at Sparrow Hospital, choked back tears as he described the effort to save the lives of the five wounded students rushed to his building. He said that four of the five needed immediate surgery and that all five remained in critical condition Tuesday.\n\nHe lauded physicians and staff at the hospital for dealing with the mass casualties.\n\n\"We practice this very often but hope we never have to do it,\" he said. \"It was a sad but very proud night for all of us here.\"\n\nWho was the shooter?\n\nRozman said McRae was located at about 11:35 Monday night in Lansing by officers about 5 miles away in an industrial area. McRae killed himself and a firearm was recovered at the scene, Rozman said. McRae was not a student or employee of the school and no connection to the school was immediately determined.\n\nMcRae was on probation for 18 months until May 2021 for possessing a loaded, concealed gun without a permit, according to the state Corrections Department.\n\nRozman said authorities reviewed security camera footage after the shooting, found frames that included the shooter and released his photo. Officers following up on a tip called in \"from an alert citizen\" found the killer, he said.\n\n\"We want to sincerely thank our community for their help,\" campus police said in a Twitter post. \"Because of the quick release of the suspect photos through our campus security cameras, a caller’s tip was able to lead officers to the suspect.\"\n\nStudent near shooting had lost friends in high school rampage\n\nThe mother of a freshman Michigan State student says her daughter was traumatized by gun violence at school for the second time in less than two years. Jennifer Mancini told the Detroit Free Press her daughter was at Oxford High School north of Detroit in November 2021 when a fellow student opened fire at the school, killing four people. Mancini said two of the victims were close friends of her daughter.\n\nMancini, who asked that her daughter's name not be used, said her daughter was across the street from the student union Monday when gunfire erupted. Her daughter saw people running out of the building and called her mother.\n\n\"She said, 'Mom, I hear gunshots … What's going on?' \" Mancini said. \"She said, 'Get me out of here.'\"\n\nHer daughter's father went to get her after the lockdown ended. Read more here.\n\n– Tresa Baldas, Detroit Free Press\n\n3 KILLED AT MICHIGAN STATE:Suspect dead after hourslong search\n\n‘It's the same cycle over and over again,’ says Parkland survivor\n\nExactly five years since a gunman fatally shot 17 people and wounded 17 others at his high school in Parkland, Florida, David Hogg awoke Tuesday to news of another mass shooting, this time at Michigan State University.\n\n“It's just that it's really disheartening and frustrating when this stuff continues to happen. It's the same cycle over and over again,” said Hogg, 22, now a senior at Harvard University studying history and political science.\n\nHogg noted students at Michigan State who were affected by the shooting included survivors of the mass shootings at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Michigan, in 2021, and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, in 2012.\n\n“It’s awful,” he said. “It's becoming increasingly common that kids don't just go through a school shooting but that they go through multiple.”\n\nAt the same time, Hogg said he hasn’t lost hope. He’s focused on building consensus around gun violence prevention.\n\n“We need to have a dialogue, not a debate. That's the bottom line here,” Hogg said. “Debate is getting us nowhere. We need to focus on what we can agree on.”\n\n-- Grace Hauck\n\nMSU moves to emergency operations\n\nInterim MSU President Teresa Woodruff said Tuesday that the school has moved to emergency operations for two days to allow students, staff and faculty \"to think, grieve and be together\" after a \"day of shock and heartbreak.\"\n\nThe school has 50,000 students, almost 20,000 of whom live on campus. A Family Assistance Center was set up for families to pick up their on-campus students. Counselors were available for staff and students.\n\n\"We are devastated at the loss of life,'' Woodruff said. \"Our campus grieves, we will all grieve. We will change over time. We cannot allow this to continue to happen again.\"\n\nBacon reported from Arlington, Va. Contributing: Paul Egan, Andrea Sahouri, Mike Ellis, Emily Lawler, Mark Johnson and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY NETWORK; The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2016/03/11/burlington-teen-kedarie-johnson/81640886/", "title": "After Kedarie: Iowa teen's death leaves city reeling", "text": "Courtney Crowder\n\nccrowder@dmreg.com\n\nBURLINGTON, Ia. — The teenage girl inched toward the open coffin of Kedarie Pierre Johnson, stopping short of the rug where mourners paused to pay respects. Her shoulders convulsed with rolling sobs as she wrapped her arms around her waist and shook her head.\n\nShe attempted to approach again, but for every step forward, she took one step back, as though if she never made it to the casket, Johnson’s death wouldn’t be real; if she could just hold off, maybe he would come bounding into the Burlington High School gym like he did so often.\n\nDisbelief was a common reaction to the shooting death of 16-year-old Johnson, a well-liked junior who many said lived life to the beat of his own drum. His body was found last week amid overgrowth in an alley in Burlington’s South Hill neighborhood.\n\nIn the wake of Johnson’s death, the greater Burlington area has rallied around his family, doling out hugs and meals as frequently as tissues. And as the family mourns, the community is searching for ways to heal itself from the painful wound of losing a life so young.\n\n“Death comes in many ways: It can be a thief in the night or an angel of mercy,” said Burton Prugh, a funeral director and lifelong Burlington resident. “When people live a long time, you’re celebrating a life well-lived. But when you lose young people who haven’t had a chance to experience life, you’re mourning all the things they will never get to do, the things they will never get to see.”\n\n“When someone is taken like this, it affects the whole community,” he continued. “This sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen in Burlington.”\n\nNo one was more paralyzed than Kedarie’s mother, Katrina Johnson, who moved to the small Iowa city from Chicago’s South Side five years ago, hoping to escape the city’s systemic violence.\n\n“I (brought) my boys down here for a different life and to have a better life … (to) keep them away from the negativity,” she said the morning after her son’s funeral. The ornate urn holding Kedarie’s ashes sat just out of reach as she waited for a train to Chicago, where she planned to hold a memorial service with his extended family.\n\nJohnson’s killing is the first this year in the Mississippi River town, which has a population of about 25,000. Burlington had three homicides in 2015. In the previous four years, it had four total. Two of last year’s killings remain unsolved.\n\nWhile there isn’t a rash of violence in Burlington, many in the community said they believe crime is increasing.\n\nThe local police have “every detective” working to solve Johnson’s killing, said Lt. Jeff Klein, commander of Burlington’s criminal investigation division, but no arrests have been made. He said there isn’t evidence so far to connect the killing to drugs, gangs or Johnson’s sexual orientation or gender identity, both of which were fluid.\n\nWhile sometimes reported to be a transgender teen, Johnson’s status isn’t that simple, those who knew him said. Most of the time he presented as male, but he loved to wear hair extensions and sometimes went by the name Kandicee. He had girlfriends, friends said, but also liked men.\n\nIn general, he didn’t feel confined to either sex and, at 16, he was on the cusp of “figuring himself out,” said his pastor, Nathan Williams.\n\nRELATED: Slain Burlington teen remembered for style, dance\n\nBurlington police balk at calling his death a “hate crime,” but to Katrina Johnson and many other community members, it’s the only answer to the gnawing question of “Why Kedarie?”\n\n“I truly believe that it was a hate crime, I do, because if it wasn’t, he’d still be here,” his mother said.\n\nHer voice caught in her throat as tears emerged from under her sunglasses: “My son was only a child, and because of his sexuality, his life is gone.”\n\nPassing in front of Johnson’s casket, some of the hundreds of students who attended the funeral collapsed into sorrowful wails, while others cried silently. A few let out staccato breaths, a sort of physical manifestation of the jarring effect of seeing a peer in a coffin.\n\nAfter saying a prayer at the casket, the eyes of Johnson’s friend Demetria Dean were painfully puffy, her face as red as her Chicago Bulls T-shirt.\n\n“I’ve been sending him Facebook messages,” she said, casting her eyes downward. “I know he can’t respond. But I want him to know I’m still here, I still care. Every day since it happened, I’ve been waking up and hoping there’ll be a response. He still responds in my heart.”\n\nJohnson liked to be the center of attention, friends said, and had plans to be famous. He loved to sing, and even more to dance, and was known for his signature boisterous laugh. He’d do cartwheels or take off his shoes and slide down the school hallways on his way to class.\n\n“He had this beautiful smile, and you never caught him down or feeling any kind of way except happy,” said Shaunda Campbell, a Burlington High counselor. “There wasn’t a mean bone in his body.”\n\nAnd Johnson was selfless, friends said. Mona Ash remembered seeing him one summer morning riding his bike while trying to balance two bursting bags of McDonald’s on his handlebars.\n\n“He said he’d just received his first paycheck,” Ash recalled, “and he wanted to bring his family the biggest breakfast he could buy.”\n\nHeidi Quinn, 33, said if her family was ever running low on food, a bag of groceries would appear at her front door. It was often from Johnson, she said.\n\nJohnson didn’t have enemies, according to schoolmates. He seemed to be friends with everyone.\n\nAnd even though Johnson was “figuring out” his gender and sexuality, many said kids at school accepted him, calling him whichever name he wanted to use that day, not batting an eye at his leggings, makeup or beloved hair weave.\n\n“He had better hair than I did, which always made me mad,” Alisha Morris, 17, said facetiously, cracking a small grin through her tears.\n\nIn the days after the killing, a makeshift memorial of flowers, colorful teddy bears and handmade signs reading “Rest in Paradise Kedarie” sprung up where Johnson’s body was found. When heavy rain hit, a neighbor brought the bears into her house. She returned them as the sun came out, cushioning them from the remaining moisture with garbage bags.\n\nThis small kindness is emblematic of how Burlington has come together since Johnson’s death, pastor Williams said. Money was collected to help the family, sympathy flowers were delivered and an overwhelming number of people called, offering to lend a hand, Katrina Johnson said.\n\n“It wasn’t even just people who knew him,” Williams said. “It was people who knew him through people who knew him or just those who heard the news and wanted to help however they could.”\n\nThe high school brought in a crisis team of counselors and let students spend the days after the killing in the library. The school even opened its doors to the public, creating a space for anyone who wanted to grieve.\n\nTo mourners gathered at the memorial Wednesday, Johnson’s murder is the latest event in what they said feels like an increase in crime. South Hill business owner Dana Atkins said each new incident of violence feels like ripping a Band-Aid off a wound: All the resilience the area has built up tears off immediately, and the hurt is raw again.\n\nAs people search for answers, they also begin to point fingers. Some community members described an influx of people coming to Burlington from other parts of the country and bringing “baggage” with them.\n\n“When you find graffiti on garages and businesses and things like that that the community never saw before, you have to take note that something is coming that wasn’t here before,” Atkins said.\n\nBut Williams cautioned that painting all nonnative Burlingtonians with the same brush isn’t fair: “I believe the majority of families come here for a better life for their children,” he said. “I do know there are people that aren’t coming here for the betterment of their family and, yes, they bring an element of violence with them.”\n\nExpecting almost a thousand people for Johnson’s funeral, the high school gym’s basketball court was filled with folding chairs. But as students, faculty members and other mourners filed through the reception line, they sat bunched like sardines on the bleachers near the casket, their drawn faces illuminated by the low lamps lighting Johnson’s body.\n\nWhen the funeral began, Johnson’s brother, Cedric Peterson, crumbled like a tower of blocks, folding in on himself as he wept. His mother got up and hugged her son from behind, his fingers leaving marks on her skin from the intensity of the embrace.\n\nBefore the funeral, Katrina Johnson had no idea how much Kedarie meant to the community. But it was clear from the emotion in the room and the stories mourners told her that he was people’s “sunshine.”\n\n“He loved living,” said Campbell, the school counselor. “I am grateful to God that I got to spend the little time with him that I did get to, because he is a special kid to me. You don’t meet people that like in your life very often.”\n\nWhile Burlington is still reeling from the killing, many in town promised to fight the recent violence and do what they can to help police find justice for Johnson.\n\n“If everybody takes a stand, we can out do the violence,” Atkins said. “We are a community of love and caring (and that) can overpower violence without a doubt.”\n\nDespite this tragedy, Katrina Johnson said she won’t relocate to Chicago.\n\n“I don’t think this town will ever be the same, but I won’t go back home … because I have to think about my (other) son,” she said. “I refuse to take him back.”\n\nWhen the first chords of the funeral’s last song, Lauryn Hill’s version of the gospel standard “Joyful, Joyful,” began to play over the speakers, Katrina Johnson dried her eyes and readied for the last surprise she’d ever give her son. “I knew I had to stop the tears,” she said.\n\nAs the slow, methodical strings of the song’s ballad portion gave way to a pop beat — “Drive the dark of doubt away … Fill us with the light of day” — she jumped up and started dancing with arms outstretched, a bundle of wet Kleenex in one hand.\n\nSoon, more friends and family joined in, focusing their revelry around the casket. Even though their eyes were still puffy and their faces still stained with tears, everyone swaying to the music wore a wide smile.\n\nAnd in the center was Johnson — just where he would have wanted to be.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/03/11"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_1", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:45", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/13/coronavirus-bill-house-nears-approval-free-tests-paid-sick-leave/5039259002/", "title": "Coronavirus: Trump backs economic relief deal reached with ...", "text": "Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that one Democrat did not vote in favor of the bill.\n\nWASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly passed legislation to provide economic relief to Americans affected by coronavirus after President Donald Trump said Friday he would support the sweeping measure.\n\nThe Families First Coronavirus Response Act was adopted 363-40 with every Democrat and most Republicans voting in favor of the measure. The vote was conducted shortly after midnight Friday following two days of around-the-clock negotiations between Democratic leaders and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.\n\nThe bill now heads to the Senate for an expected vote Monday.\n\n“I fully support H.R. 6201: Families First CoronaVirus Response Act, which will be voted on in the House this evening. This Bill will follow my direction for free CoronaVirus tests, and paid sick leave for our impacted American workers,” Trump tweeted.\n\nTrump said he encouraged Republican and Democratic lawmakers to \"VOTE YES\" on the package.\n\nHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an agreement earlier Friday, but Trump appeared to cast doubt on that measure during a Rose Garden press conference where he declared the coronavirus outbreak a national emergency.\n\nFor several hours White House aides declined to offer clear guidance on whether they agreed with Pelosi about the economic package. Trump’s remarks and the subsequent silence from the White House left the fate of the legislation unclear. Rank-and-file Republicans in the House were unlikely to go along with an agreement without a clear understanding that the president would sign it.\n\n\"We don't think the Democrats are giving enough,\" Trump said.\n\nCoronavirus a national emergency:What Trump's declaration mean?\n\nThe legislation would ensure sick leave for affected workers and include money for testing for Americans, including the uninsured. Trump and lawmakers have been under pressure to ease fears over the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has halted many parts of public life, forced the closure of schools and pummeled financial markets.\n\nBut Trump appears to have not won a key provision he had sought: a payroll tax holiday. Trump blamed Democrats for opposing the idea, but it also drew a chilly response from a number of Senate Republicans.\n\nRepublicans won at least one concession: Small businesses with 50 employees or fewer would not be required to provide more than 14 days of paid sick leave if it \"would risk closing the business.\" The federal government would cover the cost if businesses that qualify for the exemption choose to provide this support to their employees.\n\n– John Fritze and Ledyard King\n\nTrump sought reboot with Rose Garden news conference\n\nAfter days of criticism of his handling of the coronavirus, President Donald Trump sought to regain his footing with his Rose Garden news conference laying out his most specific plans yet to fight the pandemic.\n\nHis declaration of a national emergency added momentum to Friday's rebound in the battered stock market.\n\nFlanked by senior public health and private industry officials, Trump ran through a other actions, such as waiving federal regulations to expand hospital capacity and suspending interest payments on federal student loans..\n\nTrump was seeking a reboot after his Wednesday prime-time address when he stumbled over his words and later had to correct misstatements. His Oval Office remarks led to a massive selloff on Wall Street.\n\n'This will pass.’ Trump seeks to regain footing as he declares coronavirus emergency\n\nFrom 'great' to 'blindsided':How Trump changed his coronavirus message amid fear, confusion in the White House\n\nIn the Rose Garden, Trump repeatedly cut off reporters when their questions turned to fact checking or following up on his claims. At one point, reporters questioned whether Trump felt any responsibility for an initial slow federal response after he removed White House officials charged with pandemic response, Trump said he did not, and quickly moved on to the next question.\n\n“I just think it’s a nasty question,” Trump said. “We’re doing a great job.”\n\nTrump was unapologetic about the test shortages and other problems with the response. And he took several swipes at his predecessor, President Barack Obama, while also criticizing Democrats on Capitol Hill.\n\n– John Fritze and Courtney Subramanian\n\nThird person who visited Trump's resort tests positive for coronavirus\n\nThe Brazilian Embassy identified a second official late Friday who tested positive with coronavirus and interacted with President Donald Trump.\n\nBrazil's Chargé d'Affaires Ambassador Nestor Forster sat Trump’s table and posed for multiple photos with the president last weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.\n\n“Following medical advice, Amb. Forster will extend his self-quarantine, which he had already placed himself into as a precautionary measure, for another two weeks,” the embassy said.\n\nThis makes Forster the third person who has tested positive that visited Trump's Florida resort.\n\nFabio Wajngarten, a senior adviser to Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for the novel coronavirus five days after he was among a group of officials who met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.\n\nAdditionally, Trump Victory, a super PAC that supports the president, sent an email to supporters about a donor who was at Mar-A-Lago on Sunday who tested positive for COVID-19.\n\nWhen asked if he would be tested for coronavirus by reporters after these potential exposures, Trump said he \"most likely\" will be tested, despite not having symptoms.\n\n– Savannah Behrmann\n\nMnuchin signals deal on economic package\n\nTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin appeared to signal Friday that the White House is on board with a coronavirus response legislation announced earlier by House Democrats, despite some pushback from President Donald Trump.\n\n\"We have an agreement that reflects what the president talked about in his speech the other night,\" Mnuchin told Fox Business Network.\n\nHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who spent days negotiating with Mnuchin, announced an agreement had been reached on an economic package to help Americans cope with the impact of the coronavirus.\n\nStocks soar after wild week:In rebound, Dow up 1,900 points as Trump frees up aid to fight coronavirus\n\nResponse to Trump Oval Office address:Airport chaos, anxious lawmakers, market plunge\n\nBut at a news conference earlier Friday where Trump announced a national emergency over the virus, the president suggested he had concerns about the progress of the talks with Democrats, and White House aides have so far declined to say whether they agree with Pelosi's assessment that a deal has been reached.\n\n\"We just don't think they’re giving enough,\" Trump said in his Rose Garden news conference. \"We don't think the Democrats are giving enough.\"\n\n– John Fritze\n\nTrump announces cruise lines suspending operations\n\nPresident Donald Trump announced that several major cruise lines – Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian and MSC – would suspend operations for 30 days beginning at midnight Friday at his request.\n\n“It is a great and important industry – it will be kept that way!” Trump said in a tweet.\n\nTrump’s request came after two companies – Princess Cruises and Viking Cruises – suspended operations Thursday for 60 days.\n\nPassengers of two Princess Cruises ships, Diamond Princess and Grand Princess, have been quarantined abroad. In the U.S., nearly 700 people contracted coronavirus after being quarantined on board the Diamond Princess and at least 21 people have tested positive after being on Grand Princess.\n\nThe leading trade group, Cruise Lines International Association, had proposed greater screening for passengers and to deny boarding for people at higher risk from the virus. But Vice President Mike Pence said during a news conference announcing federal efforts to corral the outbreak that more steps were expected from the industry.\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nTrump, lawmakers reach deal on coronavirus economic relief\n\nDemocratic congressional leaders and the Trump administration have reached a deal on an economic package to help Americans cope with the impact of the coronavirus, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who spent days negotiating it with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.\n\nThe legislation would ensure sick leave for affected workers and include money for testing for Americans, including the uninsured. Trump and lawmakers have been under pressure to ease fears over the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has halted many parts of public life, forced the closure of schools and pummeled financial markets.\n\nPresident Donald Trump, who has declared a national emergency, is expected to sign off on the deal shortly. And a vote in the House on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act could come within hours.\n\nThe legislation would:\n\nProvide two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave.\n\nExtend unemployment insurance to furloughed workers.\n\nBeef up food assistance for needy families, including seniors, students and food banks.\n\nIncrease Medicaid funding for local, state, tribal and territorial governments and health systems, to help cover response to the emergency which has claimed dozens of lives and infected hundreds across the country.\n\n“This legislation is about testing, testing, testing,” Pelosi, D-CA, said in a news release announcing the deal. “To stop the spread of the virus, we have secured free coronavirus testing for everyone who needs a test, including the uninsured. We cannot fight coronavirus effectively unless everyone in our country who needs to be tested can get their test free of charge.”\n\n– Ledyard King and Christal Hayes\n\nTrump: I 'most likely' will be tested for coronavirus\n\nPresident Donald Trump said Friday that he would most likely be tested for coronavirus, though he said he had no symptoms of infection and offered no timeline for being tested.\n\nSpeaking at a Rose Garden news conference, Trump was pressed about his interactions with officials who have tested positive, including an official from Brazil who met with Trump recently at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago. At one point a reporter asked if Trump was being “selfish” for not taking a test and self-isolating himself. “I think I’ll do it anyway,” Trump responded. “We’re working on a schedule.”\n\n– John Fritze\n\nHelp for cruise companies and airlines\n\nPresident Trump said Friday he has waived all interest on federal student loans. He said the suspension would be in effect “until further notice.” Such a move could provide financial aid to workers experiencing reduced hours or layoffs.\n\nTrump also said that with oil historically inexpensive after a recent plunge in prices, he has ordered the Energy Department to buy “large quantities of crude oil” for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Such a move can help support prices for the beleaguered oil industry and ensure the nation has sufficient reserve stockpiles in the event of an international crisis. The strategic reserve has about 645 million barrels of oil.\n\nBenchmark U.S. crude prices have fallen more than 30% the past 10 days on shrinking global demand.\n\nAnd Trump suggested the government could provide financial assistance to the ailing cruise line industry.\n\n“It’s an industry that’s very badly impacted because of what’s going on with the virus,” he said, adding that the administration would probably help the cruise industry and the airlines if they ask.\n\n– Paul Davidson\n\nTrump: 'I don't take responsibility at all' for testing shortages\n\nWhen asked if he is responsible for the delay in availability of coronavirus tests, President Donald Trump said: \"I don't take any responsibility at all.\"\n\n\"We were given a set of circumstances, given rules, regulations, and specifications from a different time. It wasn't meant for this kind of an event, with the kind of numbers that we are talking about,\" Trump said.\n\n\"What we've done is redesign it very quickly,\" he added.\n\nThe president has repeatedly blamed the Obama administration for a rule that limited third-party laboratories from developing and running tests, but the rule was actually put in place under the Trump administration, according to an Associated Press fact check this month.\n\nNew coronavirus website:Trump announces that Google will launch site\n\nThe Trump administration reversed one of its own Food and Drug Administration policies that previously only authorized tests made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new regulation allows labs to develop coronavirus tests before the FDA reviews them.\n\nDraft FDA guidance considered during the Obama administration called for tighter regulation of lab tests, but that guidance, which didn't pertain to public health emergencies, never went into effect, according to the Associated Press.\n\n– Courtney Subramanian and John Fritze\n\nNo deal on economic relief package\n\nPresident Donald Trump said Friday there is no deal yet on an emergency package to respond to the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic and accused Democrats of reneging on negotiations.\n\n“We just don’t think they’re giving enough,” he said, but did not give specifics. “We thought we had something. All of a sudden, they didn’t agree to certain things they agreed to. … They’re not doing what’s right for the country.”\n\nTrump’s remarks in the Rose Garden came about an hour after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, announced the House would move forward with a vote Friday on a sweeping package to confront the coronavirus.\n\nThe bill would include free testing for all Americans, including those uninsured, as well as two weeks of paid sick leave for those who have to skip work due to the virus. It would also included expanded food assistance, such as seniors’ meals, student lunches and food banks.\n\nNational emergency:What does Trump's emergency declaration for coronavirus mean?\n\nPelosi has spoken numerous times with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in an effort to reach a deal. One of the sticking points has been on the paid sick leave provisions.\n\nDrew Hamill, Pelosi's spokesman, tweeted that the House speaker and Mnuchin had their latest conversation during the news conference.\n\n– Ledyard King\n\nStocks welcome Trump's emergency declaration\n\nStocks recovered Friday following a brutal week of selling after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to free up about $50 billion in federal aid to fight the fast-spreading coronavirus. The Dow Jones industrial average finished the day up 1,985 points, or 9.4%, a day after plunging 2,352 points, for its worst loss since its nearly 23% drop on Oct. 19, 1987.\n\n– David Brinkerhoff\n\nTrump shakes hands with executives\n\nPresident Donald Trump shook hands with an array of company executive who were invited to join him at his Rose Garden news conference to discuss the coronavirus response – despite repeated advice from his own public health experts against such contact.\n\nOnly one company official, Bruce Greenstein of the home healthcare provider LHC Group, moved his hand away from Trump’s outstretched hand and offered an elbow instead.\n\n“I like that. That's good,\" Trump said a bit awkwardly after elbow-bumping Greenstein.\n\n'I’m not concerned at all':Trump says he's not worried as coronavirus arrives in DC area\n\nTrump himself may have been exposed to the virus; he had contact with Fabio Wajngarten, the communications secretary for Brazil's president, who has tested positive for coronavirus.\n\nWajngarten was in Florida last weekend at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, and he posted a photo of himself standing next to the American leader.\n\nTrump has said publicly that he's \"not concerned\" about the potential exposure, and the White House has said there's no reason for him to be tested.\n\n\"I don't have any of the symptoms,\" Trump said.\n\n– Deirdre Shesgreen\n\nAzar given broad authority to waive hospital regulations\n\nPresident Donald Trump said the emergency declaration would give broad authority for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to waive provisions of laws and regulations to give doctors and hospital \"maximum flexibility to respond to the virus.\"\n\nUnder the declaration, Azar can:\n\nWaive laws to enable telehealth services\n\nAllow remote doctor visits and hospital check-ins\n\nWaive certain federal licensing requirements so doctors from other states can provide services\n\nWaive requirements limiting hospitals to 25 beds or a stay of 96 hours\n\nAllowing hospitals to bring additional physicians on board and obtain additional office space\n\nWaive rules that restrict hospital care of patients within the hospital itself\n\n-- Courtney Subramanian\n\nTrump: 'This will pass'\n\nPresident Donald Trump, whose administration has been criticized heavily over a shortage of tests for coronavirus, promised to increase the number of tests but said administering them to everyone was not necessary.\n\n\"Our overriding goal is to stop the spread of the virus and to help all Americans who have been impacted by this,\" Trump said. \"Again, we don't want everybody taking this test. It's totally unnecessary. And this will pass. This will pass through and we're going to be stronger for it.\"\n\n– Courtney Subramanian\n\nTrump’s emergency declaration will come with more than just money\n\nThe most significant element of President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration will be federal disaster aid. Trump said up to $50 billion would be made available. Democrats and the Federal Emergency Management Agency had earlier estimated the number to be closer to $40 billion.\n\nBut it’s not just money. Trump said his order would waive several key regulations. Among them:\n\nThe order would waive rules so that telehealth can be more easily accessed, providing care in ways that will not require patients to come into a doctor’s office.\n\nThe order would waive rules limiting the number of beds and length of stays in hospitals.\n\nThe the order would waive rules about which parts of a hospital can treat patients, a move designed to deal with capacity and space if a large number of patients show up seeking care.\n\n– John Fritze\n\nTrump announces drive-through testing\n\nPresident Donald Trump announced plans to partner with pharmaceutical and retail companies to set up drive-through test sites for coronavirus in an effort to catch up to a nationwide demand and deliver on the administration's promise for wider access to testing.\n\nHe met with company executives Friday to discuss expanding access to testing through drive-through testing.\n\n\"The goal is for individuals to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car,\" he said in a Rose Garden news conference.\n\nBy allowing people to remain in their car, health officials say it limits the chance for exposure. Trump said the administration is working with Google to create a web portal to direct people to those locations.\n\nThe administration has faced mounting pressure from lawmakers to increase testing access as the coronavirus pandemic continues to intensify, prompting travel restrictions, school closures, suspension of professional sports leagues and market turmoil. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, admitted to lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday that limited access to testing was \"a failing.\"\n\nNew Rochelle, a New York City suburb, became the first on the East Coast to open a drive-through testing facility Friday after it was designated a coronavirus containment zone following a recent outbreak.\n\n– Courtney Subramanian\n\nTrump announces emergency declaration\n\nPresident Donald Trump declared a national emergency Friday to free up billions of dollars to combat the coronavirus as he sought to persuade anxious Americans and battered financial markets that he was responding forcefully to the crisis.\n\n\"I am officially declaring a national emergency. Two very big words,\" Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden. As the outbreak has shuttered schools, sporting events and even Broadway, Trump has come under intense criticism for his handling of the pandemic, including an Oval Office address he delivered Wednesday that was marred by factual errors. Medical experts say there’s an acute shortage of coronavirus testing kits, the number of infections has soared and Wall Street suffered its worst day Thursday since the financial crash of 1987.\n\n”The action I’m taking will open access up to $50 billion for states in our shared fight against his disease,” Trump said, adding that he was ordering every state to open emergency operation centers.\n\n\"This will pass,\" Trump said of the outbreak. \"We’ll be even stronger for it We’ve learned a lot.”\n\nThe emergency declaration comes as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been negotiating with Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill on legislation to stem the economic fallout from the coronavirus. About an hour before the president delivered his remarks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House would move forward with a vote Friday on a sweeping package to confront the coronavirus.\n\nThe bill would include free testing for all Americans, including those uninsured, as well as two weeks of paid sick leave who have to skip work due to the virus. It would also include expanded food assistance, such as seniors’ meals, student lunches and food banks.\n\n– John Fritze, Ledyard King and Nicholas Wu\n\nPelosi: House to vote on relief package\n\nHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House would move forward with a vote Friday on a sweeping package to confront the coronavirus.\n\nThe bill would include free virus testing for all Americans, including the uninsured, as well as two weeks of paid sick leave for those who have to skip work due to the virus. It would also included expanded federal food assistance, such as seniors’ meals, student lunches and food banks.\n\n\"The three most important parts of this bill are: testing, testing, testing,” she said in her televised remarks at the U.S. Capitol.\n\nPelosi has been in constant communication with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who is leading negotiations for the Trump administration.\n\nHer remarks came amid reports that President Donald Trump is expected to declare a national emergency Friday over the coronavirus outbreak, a move that would enable federal officials to direct billions of dollars in federal disaster money to responders fighting the virus.\n\nThe pandemic has killed dozens in the U.S., canceled major sporting events, limited commercial travel, roiled stock markets and transformed everyday life around the globe.\n\n– Ledyard King and Nicholas Wu\n\nTrump to declare national emergency\n\nPresident Donald Trump is expected to declare a national emergency Friday over the coronavirus outbreak, a move that would enable federal officials to direct billions of dollars in disaster money to responders fighting the virus, according to a senior administration official.\n\nThe declaration would be among a series of steps the administration is taking to try to boost the confidence of the American public and the financial markets in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.\n\nTrump, who is scheduled to hold a news conference at 3 p.m. EDT, has been heavily criticized for the administration's response, including problems rolling out test kits for the virus and an Oval Office speech he delivered Wednesday that exacerbated huge losses on Wall Street. Investors were shaken by misstatements in the speech and what many saw as the lack of a broader strategy to address the crisis.\n\nAt the 3 p.m. news conference, Trump is also expected to weigh in on a relief package negotiated between Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that would provide paid sick leave to workers, among other steps to blunt the impact on the economy of virus-related disruptions.\n\nThe national emergency is expected to be declared under the 1988 Stafford Act, which authorizes federal assistance to local governments, usually for natural disasters. The Stafford Act is one several laws in a president's extensive emergency powers toolkit. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency over the virus in late January. That step made it easier for states to redirect staff responding to the virus.\n\nThe nation's Disaster Relief Fund has a balance of about $42 billion, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.\n\nDebt relief, airline help under consideration, Mnuchin says\n\nTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said debt relief for student loans and help for the hard-hit airline industry are under consideration for the next coronavirus rescue package. Speaking to CNBC as a deal was imminent on a separate, near-term package that includes paid emergency leave, Mnuchin said President Donald Trump has no intention of closing financial markets.\n\nMnuchin also said:\n\nCongress and the administration have \"100 things on our list” for the next possible package, and added “The president wants a stimulus package.\"\n\nFinancial authorities are ready to provide liquidity to parts of the economy taking a hit from shutdowns.\n\nA “big rebound” in economic activity could come by the end of the year, drawing a contrast with the Great Recession that began after the 2008 market meltdown.\n\n\"This is not like financial crisis where people don't know when this will end. ... By the end of the year, we're going to expect we're going to have a big rebound in economic activity,\" he said.\n\nAsked about suspending student debt of three months, Mnuchin said: \"That's on our list of 50 different items we're bringing to the president for a decision.\" He added: “We're like in the second inning of getting things done. We'll be passing more legislation.\"\n\nHe’s spoken to the airlines: \"That is the next priority on my list,\" Mnuchin said while also mentioning hotels, the cruise industry and small businesses.\n\nTariff rollbacks are not under consideration by Trump.\n\nLouisiana will delay presidential primary\n\nLouisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced Friday he has requested to delay the state's presidential primary for two months due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.\n\nThe presidential primary was slated for April 4, but will be moved to June 20.\n\n2020 race::How coronavirus is changing the 2020 presidential campaign for Trump, Biden and Sanders\n\nArdoin, during a press conference, said there are provisions in place that allow for the delay of primaries and early voting in “declared states of emergency\" as a way to \"protect the integrity of the electoral process”\n\n“Today I have certified that the state of emergency exists and requested that the government issue an executive order postponing the elections this spring,” he said.\n\nAccording to the Monroe, La., News Star, Gov. John Bel Edwards will grant the delay.\n\nLouisiana is the only state that has announced it will delay its primaries due to coronavirus.\n\nFormer Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign released a statement in response to Louisiana’s primary delay, saying that “our elections can be conducted safely in consultation with public health officials.”\n\n“Voting is at the very heart of who we are as a democracy,” Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement. “If voters are feeling healthy, not exhibiting symptoms, and don’t believe they've been exposed to COVID-19, please vote on Tuesday.”\n\n– Rebecca Morin\n\nG-7 leaders will hold virtual summit to discuss coronavirus\n\nPresident Donald Trump and six other world leaders will hold a virtual summit Monday to coordinate a global response to the coronavirus, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday.\n\nThe videoconference of G-7 leaders will focus on research efforts to find a vaccine, as well as an economic response to the crisis, which has rocked global markets and sparked fears of a recession.\n\nFollowing a call with Trump, “we agreed to organize an extraordinary Leaders Summit by video conference on Monday on Covid-19,” Macron announced on Twitter.\n\n– Deirdre Shesgreen\n\nTrump to hold press conference on coronavirus\n\nPresident Donald Trump will speak on the coronavirus on Friday, he announced on Twitter.\n\nTrump said he would hold a press conference at 3 p.m. EDT. It comes as the White House is negotiating with House Democrats on a bill intended to limit the economic impact of the virus, and as the administration is scrambling to increase the number of coronavirus tests available to the public.\n\nTrump has significantly ramped up the number of times he has taken questions in a press conference setting since the coronavirus spread to the U.S. He has twice appeared in the briefing room to take questions on his administration’s response. He appeared in the briefing room again earlier this week but did not take questions.\n\nThe president otherwise has a relatively light public schedule, though the White House official schedule rarely reflects the totality of the president’s activities. Other than the press conference, Trump is expected to meet with “industry executives” on the virus at 1:30 p.m. EDT.\n\n– John Fritze\n\nMnuchin: coronavirus response deal ‘very close’\n\nTreasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin sounded a positive note Friday morning, saying a deal on a coronavirus response package with Congress was imminent.\n\n“We’re very close to getting this done,” he told CNBC.\n\nMnuchin has been the lead negotiator for the White House on the deal, speaking frequently with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., over the past 24 hours.\n\nPelosi said the deal, which is expected to provide free coronavirus testing, paid emergency leave and increased unemployment coverage, is expected to come to the House floor for a vote Friday.\n\nDespite Mnuchin’s optimism about a sweeping deal, he also echoed health officials’ warnings of a worsening situation.\n\n“People should understand the numbers (of infections) are going to go up before they go down,” he said\n\nMnuchin said after this deal is reached, he expects the administration will come back to Congress in the coming weeks for a package of economic stimulus measures (Trump has been pushing for a payroll tax cut) which he predicted would lift the country.\n\n“We will get through this and the economy will be stronger than ever when we get through this,” he said. “By the end of the year, we’re going to have a big rebound in economic activity.”\n\n– Ledyard King\n\nTrump knocks Fed, repeats call for payroll tax cuts\n\nPresident Donald Trump lashed out at Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell to lower rates after repeating his call for Congress to include a payroll tax cut in a sweeping, multibillion-dollar package in response to the growing coronavirus pandemic.\n\n\"The Federal Reserve must FINALLY lower the Fed Rate to something comparable to their competitor Central Banks.\" Trump wrote Friday. \"Jay Powell and group are putting us at a decided economic & physiological disadvantage. Should never have been this way. Also, STIMULATE!\"\n\nTrump also renewed calls for a payroll tax cut holiday on Friday as House Democrats and administration officials signaled they were close to reaching a deal.\n\n\"If you want to get money into the hands of people quickly & efficiently, let them have the full money that they earned, APPROVE A PAYROLL TAX CUT until the end of the year, December 31,\" Trump tweeted. \"Then you are doing something that is really meaningful. Only that will make a big difference!\"\n\nDemocrats dismissed the proposal of payroll tax cuts, which are taken from workers' paychecks to fund Social Security and Medicare. The president has particularly failed to shore up support among Senate Republicans.\n\nHe first pitched the idea to Senate Republicans on Capitol Hill Monday and again proposed it during an Oval Office address to the nation Wednesday\n\n– Courtney Subramanian\n\nHouse may vote on coronavirus response Friday\n\nThe House appears close to approving a massive federal response to confront the intensifying coronavirus pandemic that has killed dozens across the U.S., roiled financial markets and disrupted the lives of millions of Americans.\n\nHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi late Thursday said congressional leaders and the White House were close to finalizing a deal on a sweeping, multibillion-dollar package that would guarantee free testing for all Americans – including the uninsured – and expand worker protections such as sick leave and unemployment insurance.\n\nFinal details of the sweeping package could be unveiled by late Friday morning, with a vote by the full House possibly later in the day, Pelosi said.\n\nCoronavirus questions:You asked us tons of questions about the coronavirus. We're answering them.\n\n“Time is of the essence, and this bill must be passed and sent to the Senate,” she said in a statement issued late Thursday. “The House will then get to work on a third emergency response package that will take further effective action that protects the health, economic security and well-being of the American people.”\n\nAccording to a press release from Pelosi, the measure would:\n\nMandate free testing “for everyone who needs a test, including the uninsured.\"\n\nSet aside up to 14 days of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave for workers affected by the coronavirus contamination.\n\nExpand unemployment benefits to workers sent home due to the crisis.\n\nEnsure availability of food assistance such as SNAP, student meals, seniors’ nutrition and food banks. Democrats were able to place a temporary hold on work requirements under SNAP during the public health crisis.\n\nProvide federal Medicaid funds to help states defray costs associated with the crisis.\n\nEven if it passes Friday and gets taken up by the Senate early next week, enacting all the measures will take time.\n\nMarch sadness:NCAA cancels men's and women's basketball tournament due to coronavirus concerns\n\nThe tremendous shortage of fully complete test kits, for example, means access remains a major hurdle even if the cost of the procedure is covered by private insurers or the government.\n\nStill, the deal would represent a major breakthrough and a shot of confidence intended to calm rattled markets and anxious Americans.\n\nPelosi, who had several conversations throughout Thursday with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, told reporters outside her office Thursday night that both sides have “resolved most of our differences” and the remaining issues can be settled in future bills.\n\nPelosi said she was particularly stunned by the sudden cratering of the financial markets, which have nosedived in recent weeks and deepened worries about a possible recession due to the rapidly spreading virus.\n\nThe Standard & Poor's 500 entered a bear market for the first time since the financial crisis, and the Dow endured its biggest one-day percentage drop since the 1987 crash.\n\n“That was very shocking,” Pelosi said of the markets. “I'm not going to go into that because what we're trying to do is be a positive.\"\n\nPositive test:Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife, tests positive for coronavirus\n\nThe aggressive approach comes a day after Trump announced a suspension of all air travel from the European Union to the U.S. for 30 days, starting midnight Friday.\n\nThe bill is being considered a week after Congress passed an $8.3 billion package that includes more than $3 billion for research and the development of vaccines and $2.2 billion that will help in prevention, preparedness and response. It also allocates $1 billion for state and local response, about half of which would go to specific cities. Each state would receive no less than $4 million.\n\nTrump signed the bill last Friday.\n\nTed Cruz extends his self-quarantine\n\nPhoning into \"CBS This Morning\" from a self-imposed quarantine, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he would extend his self-quarantine after learning he came into contact with another individual who tested positive for the coronavirus.\n\nCruz, who self-quarantined earlier this month after interacting with a person at the Conservative Political Action Conference who later tested positive, told CBS he would self-quarantine until March 17. The Texas Republican said he had \"no symptoms\" but had interacted with a \"second individual who has tested positive – a Spanish government official who came to my office in D.C.\"\n\n\"On March 3 I had a meeting in the conference room with him for about 20 minutes,\" Cruz said, noting he had not been tested for the virus because he had no symptoms.\n\nCruz and two other Republican lawmakers quarantined themselves after coming into contact with an infected individual at CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz, Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., have also self-quarantined.\n\n– Nicholas Wu\n\nTrump attacks CDC amid coronavirus\n\nFacing pressure for his own administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump is increasingly slamming the efforts under his predecessor to prepare for an outbreak – often with dubious claims.\n\nTrump started his latest attack on President Barack Obama with a tweet late Thursday that repeated a narrative that has increasingly cropped among his supporters: That Obama “took 6 months” to declare a national emergency to respond to the 2009 Swine Flu outbreak.\n\nThe claim overlooks the fact that Obama, just like Trump, declared a public health emergency early in the swine flu outbreak. That designation from Obama came in April 2009, before the H1N1 virus was declared a pandemic and at a time when there were only 20 cases in the U.S.\n\nFor the coronavirus, the Trump administration declared a public health emergency in January.\n\nA public health emergency is different – and less significant – than a national emergency. Obama declared a national emergency about six months into the swine flu outbreak. Trump has yet to declare a national emergency for coronavirus.\n\nTrump continued the attack on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a tweet early Friday morning.\n\n“For decades the @CDCgov looked at, and studied, its testing system, but did nothing about it,” Trump claimed. “President Obama made changes that only complicated things further.”\n\nThe Trump administration has been under enormous pressure, including from governors and members of his own party, to speed up the distribution of coronavirus tests. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, acknowledged Thursday that the testing system is “failing.”\n\nBut it’s not accurate that an Obama-era rule limited third-party laboratories from developing and running tests for the coronavirus during an emergency, according to an Associated Press fact check this month.\n\nThe Trump administration reversed a policy that its own Food and Drug Administration put in place, the Associated Press said. That new regulation allows labs to develop coronavirus tests before the agency reviews them. Previously, the FDA only authorized tests made by the CDC.\n\nDraft FDA guidance considered during the Obama administration called for tighter regulation of laboratory tests but that guidance, which did not pertain to public health emergencies, never went into effect, the Associated Press said.\n\n– John Fritze and Christal Hayes", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/03/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/26/wisconsin-senate-vote-ending-statewide-face-mask-mandate/6699978002/", "title": "Wisconsin Senate votes to end statewide face mask mandate", "text": "MADISON - The state Senate on Tuesday voted to end the statewide mandate to wear face masks — one of the most effective protections against the virus for the vast majority of Wisconsin residents who are not yet vaccinated.\n\nThe move could put Wisconsin in a minority of states without such a statewide requirement and has drawn opposition from organizations representing hospital leaders, churches, doctors, emergency medical workers, pharmacists, small-business owners and concert venues.\n\n\"Other than vaccines, mask-wearing is one of the few tools we have in our arsenal to help prevent spreading COVID-19 even further than it already has,\" Wisconsin Medical Society CEO Bud Chumbley said in a statement this week urging lawmakers to vote against the proposal.\n\nThe resolution sponsored by 29 Republican lawmakers would end the requirement to wear masks in public, indoor settings on the grounds that Gov. Tony Evers is issuing emergency orders, which include the mask requirement, unconstitutionally.\n\n\"It is not OK or normal or inevitable or necessary to indefinitely suspend the lawmaking process,\" Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, said Tuesday. \"There is no such thing as a perpetual emergency.\"\n\nIt passed the Senate 18-13, with Republican Sens. Rob Cowles of Allouez and Dale Kooyenga of Brookfield joining Democrats in opposing the measure. The state Assembly plans to take up the measure Thursday.\n\nIf the resolution is passed by the Assembly, it would be the first measure related to the pandemic that the state Legislature has passed since April.\n\n\"This is a basic test of what government is supposed to do,\" Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said about enacting requirements to prevent deaths.\n\n\"Are we going to start saying that seatbelts, taking off your seat belt, is a sign of independence? And therefore flying through a windshield when you get in an accident is the utmost way to exercise your liberty?\" he said.\n\nRepublicans who control the Legislature never agreed to extend the emergency declaration, which automatically expired after 60 days under state law, so Evers issued subsequent ones.\n\nEvers has argued he can issue multiple emergency declarations because the threat of the pandemic changes over time, much as a river may flood multiple times in one season. Republicans argue he cannot do so legally because it's the same health threat.\n\nState law allows the Legislature to end a governor's health emergency with a majority vote. The governor can't veto the measure.\n\nKooyenga, who represents Brookfield and Wauwatosa, said he agrees Evers has acted illegally but opposed the resolution because it could keep schools closed longer.\n\n\"I have to balance out some priorities here and right now my priority is to open our schools,\" he said.\n\nThe two houses went most of a year without taking action to respond to the effects of the pandemic on the state and so far this year have disagreed on what to include in a bill aimed at providing new relief.\n\nThe state Senate struck a deal with Evers and passed a compromise piece of legislation. But the Assembly criticized Republican senators for negotiating with Evers and removing provisions they want, like bans on employers from requiring vaccinations and closing churches to keep COVID-19 from spreading.\n\nThe Assembly on Tuesday passed a third version of the bill that includes the measures that were previously removed by the Senate, but it's unclear if the Senate, or Evers, are on board.\n\nA spokeswoman for Evers did not respond to questions about whether the governor would veto the new version of the bill or whether he will issue a new health emergency declaration if the current one is ended by the state Legislature.\n\nSpeaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, recently filmed an ad with Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan encouraging people to wear masks, but he said Tuesday he did not think ending the mask requirement would undercut the message of that spot. He said people would continue to wear masks by choice and argued Evers had overstepped his authority.\n\n“I don’t think the Constitution envisioned a single person being able to make rules forever by himself,” he said. “I’m going to say people should still wear a mask, especially if you’re in a group of people that you don’t know.”\n\nVos spoke to a reporter after meeting privately for a couple of hours with dozens of Republican lawmakers. Most of them were wearing masks as the meeting broke up, but Vos and several others were not. Vos put on a mask just before he talked to a reporter.\n\n“I don’t think it’s the job for the governor, or the government in general, to mandate this forever,” Vos said.\n\nThe potential move would eliminate the only statewide effort to control the spread of the virus, which has killed nearly 5,700 Wisconsinites since March.\n\n'I think it's the wrong message'\n\nCowles, the Republican from Allouez who voted against the measure, said he feared more people would stop wearing masks because of the lawmakers’ action, leading to more illnesses.\n\n“I think it’s the wrong message,” he said after the vote. “I’m coming from the science point of view and from the health care point of view and I can’t imagine making it worse for the people who have worked their butts off to try to make this better in the health care community.”\n\nIf lawmakers revoke the statewide mask requirement, local officials can maintain their own. That would create a patchwork of policies, with some parts of the states enforcing mask requirements and others forgoing them.\n\nForty-one states have a statewide face mask mandate in place, and 49 states have an emergency order in place, according to the National Academy of State Health Policy.\n\nThe resolution was authored and co-sponsored by some GOP lawmakers who have repeatedly downplayed the threat of COVID-19 or misled constituents about the effectiveness of face masks. Since the Legislature resumed activity in January, some of the sponsors of the bill have participated in hearings and floor sessions maskless.\n\nTrack COVID-19 in Wisconsin:See the latest numbers and trends\n\nThe Republican legislative caucuses also experienced COVID-19 outbreaks among their members and staff in recent months but did not disclose the infections publicly or to others who work in the state Capitol. The director of the Legislature's human resources office said the office manages \"internal contact tracing\" and notifies people who have potentially been exposed.\n\nGOP Sen. Kathy Bernier of Lake Hallie said she believed wearing masks is a good idea but that Evers was extending the mask mandate to make Republicans look bad.\n\n“It’s a gotcha thing,” she said. “The governor wants to put it out as a mandate in order to get the reaction out of the Republican Legislature to be anti-maskers. In fact, it’s not about the mask mandate, it’s about his authority to pass a mask mandate and to re-create an emergency … when in fact he knows he can’t do that.”\n\nSen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, told reporters during a virtual news conference ahead of the Senate vote that the move would lead to more infections and deaths.\n\n“Apparently the only thing that Republican legislators in both houses can agree upon is that they want the death rates to climb in this pandemic. They want to prolong the economic devastation. Those are the two guaranteed outcomes of trying to undermine mask wearing,” she said.\n\nA study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released in November showed in counties that had face mask mandates, new COVID-19 cases decreased by 6% between one week in July and one week in August. In counties without mandates, new cases increased by 100%.\n\nGroups register opposition to lifting mandate\n\nTwenty-four organizations registered against the resolution including the powerful Wisconsin Hospital Association and Wisconsin Medical Society, a children's hospital, organizations representing doctors, assisted living facilities, health care departments, people with disabilities and a state organization of churches.\n\nNo groups have registered in favor of the proposal.\n\nThe lawmakers, many of whom are members of the Legislature's health committees, are seeking to end the only mitigation measure in place to control the spread of COVID-19 at a time when some GOP lawmakers are also arguing the governor isn't doing enough to protect Wisconsinites from the virus.\n\nBefore the Nov. 3 election, Republican leaders of the Legislature fended off calls from some of their members to end the mandate in order to keep more vulnerable lawmakers from being on record opposing the requirement that is supported by a majority of Wisconsinites, according to 2020 polling.\n\nResolution author Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, who has been calling for months to take a floor vote to end the governor's emergency declarations, said Evers \"has repeatedly abused the powers granted to him\" in state law by issuing repeated emergency declarations since the virus began spreading in Wisconsin in March.\n\nThe resolution is co-sponsored by several members of the Legislature's health committees, including Senate Health Committee Chairman Patrick Testin. Assembly health committee members Chuck Wichgers, Ken Skowronski, Gae Magnafici, Barb Dittrich, Clint Moses and Rachael Cabral-Guevara also co-sponsored the resolution.\n\nThe resolution argues Evers overstepped his authority by issuing a new public health emergency this week because the state Legislature never voted to extend the original health emergency he declared in March when the coronavirus pandemic spread to Wisconsin.\n\nA St. Croix County judge upheld Evers' ability to issue consecutive orders, saying the governor has broad discretion during health emergencies. A case at the state Supreme Court makes a similar argument to the lawmakers' resolution.\n\nThe suit alleges Evers no longer has the power to issue emergency orders because the initial emergency declaration he made in response to the pandemic has expired.\n\nStalled COVID-19 relief bill\n\nLegislation to address the COVID-19 pandemic remains stalled because Assembly Republicans and Senate Republicans can’t agree on what to do. Assembly Republicans on Tuesday made changes to the bill that has been bouncing between the two houses, but Senate leaders have not agreed to accept them.\n\n“I feel very good about where we have been. I don’t know where they are,” Vos said of his counterparts in the Senate.\n\nThe bill would put $100 million toward fighting the pandemic and shield businesses, schools and local governments from COVID-related lawsuits.\n\nThe amendments the Assembly passed would ban employers from requiring their workers to get vaccinated; bar health officials from closing churches and other places of worship because of COVID-19; and give lawmakers a say in how federal coronavirus aid is spent. Now, Evers can spend that federal money without consulting the Legislature.\n\nEvers supported the version of the bill the Senate recently passed, but changing it raises the possibility of a veto.\n\nContact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/01/26"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/30/white-house-says-biden-wont-veto-bill-end-covid-19-emergency/11569438002/", "title": "White House says Biden won't veto bill to end COVID-19 emergency", "text": "WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will not try to stop Congress from ending the treatment of COVID-19 as an emergency weeks earlier than he'd planned.\n\nDespite his opposition to the faster time frame, Biden won't veto a bill the Senate passed Wednesday ending the national emergency declaration first issued by former President Donald Trump in March of 2020.\n\nThe administration has been winding down authorities over the last few months after announcing in January that emergency powers would end May 11, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.\n\nThe congressional action won't \"impact our efforts to do so in an orderly way,\" she added.\n\n\"We are in a different place and time than we were in January,\" she said.\n\nThe emergency declaration freed up disaster money to fight the spread of the virus and reduced health regulations that could slow action. For example, hospitals were allowed to screen patients for COVID-19 off campus.\n\nA separate public health emergency declared in late January 2020 is also set to end in May. Actions tied to the public health emergency are more expansive and include Title 42, a Trump-era pandemic policy that allows the federal government to rapidly expel migrants.\n\nWhen House Republicans introduced legislation in January to immediately end both emergencies, Biden stopped short of issuing a veto threat. But the administration said an abrupt end to the emergencies would \"create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system.\"\n\nSome of those concerns were tied to the public health emergency termination which passed the House in January but has not been considered in the Senate.\n\nThe resolution ending the national emergency passed the Democrat-controlled Senate 68-23 Wednesday after it passed the GOP-led House by a vote of 229-197 in February.\n\nSen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, who championed the effort in the Senate, said Biden no longer needs powers to act quickly in a pandemic.\n\n\"It’s time for Biden to do what he should have done months ago and end the COVID national emergency,\" he tweeted.\n\nThe COVID emergency is ending:What it means for tests, vaccines, treatment\n\nMore:Here's why Medicaid coverage and free COVID tests, treatments will soon change\n\nOpinion:COVID-19 public health emergency may end, but need remains for lifesaving treatments", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/30"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/11/coronavirus-senate-democrats-ask-trump-emergency-declaration/5020048002/", "title": "Coronavirus: Trump, Congress split on details of economic package", "text": "WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would use emergency authority to defer payments on federal loans to small businesses and to defer taxes for businesses hurt by coronavirus.\n\nTrump also said in a prime-time address that he would ask Congress to approve an immediate payroll tax holiday, although he didn't say for how long. “Hopefully, they will consider this very strongly,” he said.\n\nAnd he will ask lawmakers for $50 billion for for the Small Business Administration loan program. He said deferring taxes for certain businesses would provide the economy with $200 billion.\n\n“This is not a financial crisis,\" Trump said.\n\nBut lawmakers have opposed suspending the payroll tax because it would starve Social Security of funding and wouldn’t help hourly workers who lose work from reduced demand. Even without losing revenue this year, Social Security is scheduled to deplete its balance by 2034.\n\n\"I would prefer they exercise other options before going down that path,\" Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, has said.\n\n\"It's a non-starter,\" said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.\n\nTrump's proposal came as congressional Democrats proposed free testing for the virus and enhanced paid sick leave, unemployment insurance and food assistance.\n\n\"The best way to deal with the economic problems is focusing on the people who have suffered from the virus, not some scattershot approach that the ideologues in the White House may want,\" said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.\n\nTrump appeared to agree with lawmakers on the need to help the ill with health care costs and with sick leave, but he didn't spell out details. The president said after meeting with health-insurance executives that they would waive copayments for coronavirus treatments and \"prevent surprise medical billing.\"\n\nTrump said he would be taking emergency action soon to provide financial relief for paid sick leave, and would ask . Senate Democrats proposed emergency legislation Wednesday for 14 days of paid sick leave, but action on the bill was blocked.\n\n\"If you are sick or not feeling well, stay home,\" Trump said. \"To ensure that working Americans impacted by the virus can stay home without fear of financial hardship, I will soon be taking emergency action, which is unprecedented, to provide financial relief. This will be targeted for workers who are ill, quarantined or caring for others due to coronavirus.\"\n\nThe administration has also studied aid to the airline and cruise ship industries as travelers cancel trips amid what the World Health Organization is now calling a pandemic.\n\nThe number of U.S. cases surpassed 1,000, with 31 deaths, federal health officials said. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield told a congressional committee the virus has spread to at least 38 states.\n\nLegislative proposals are the first step in negotiating an economic stimulus package. Reaching a deal could take weeks. While Democrats focused on individuals losing wages or benefits, Trump sought to tackle the effects on smaller businesses and larger industries, as more people quarantine themselves to avoid getting sick.\n\n\"We are working on details right now,” said Larry Kudlow, a senior economic adviser to Trump. “We’re checking with the leaders of both parties of both houses to see what is doable.”\n\nSen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., chairman of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, said he would hold a hearing Thursday about expanding the loan program as Trump proposed.\n\n“I look forward to working with President Trump on bipartisan legislation that will give the SBA additional resources and authority to infuse billions of dollars into our nation’s small businesses to help Americans deal with the coronavirus,” Rubio said.\n\n'Working on detail':'Trump delays release of economic package for businesses, workers hurt by coronavirus\n\nHouse Democrats are planning to introduce a package Wednesday to address the economic impact on individuals due to the coronavirus. The bill is set to include issues like paid sick leave, bolstering unemployment insurance and free testing for the virus.\n\nHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who is leading the negotiations for the White House, spoke \"briefly by phone\" Wednesday about proposals for the next coronavirus legislative response, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill tweeted.\n\nHoyer told reporters that lawmakers were expected to vote Thursday on legislation addressing “the economic consequences to individuals to assure that they do not fall through the cracks.”\n\nIn the Senate, Democrats are preparing to send a letter urging the Trump administration to formally declare coronavirus a national emergency, to help state and local governments fight the virus. The goal is to allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to use more than $40 billion in the Disaster Relief Fund to assist state and local governments to fight the virus named COVID-19.\n\nSenate Democrats proposed emergency unemployment insurance to replace lost wages from a quarantine or the need to stay home with children whose schools close. They also proposed requiring employers to allow workers to accumulate seven days of paid sick leave, allowing them to stay home to prevent the spread of disease, and also 14 days of paid sick leave at the beginning of any public health emergency.\n\nTrump floats payroll tax cut: Administration working on economic package as coronavirus spreads\n\nUS coronavirus outbreak:Tracking the outbreak\n\nSen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the labor committee, proposed that the Senate immediately consider legislation for paid sick leave. But she was blocked by a Republican objection.\n\nMurray said employees such as restaurant workers, truck drivers and service industry workers shouldn’t face the choice of working while sick or losing their pay.\n\n“This is not a choice we should be asking anyone to make in the United States of American in the 21st Century, but 32 million people in our country today – or about one out of every four private sector workers – are faced with this impossible choice every time they get sick,” Murray said.\n\nSen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, objected to fast-tracking the legislation. He acknowledged workers are struggling but said businesses are also struggling and that an expensive federal mandate wouldn’t help them.\n\n“The idea of paid sick leave is a good idea,” Alexander said. “But if Washington, D.C., thinks it’s a good idea, Washington, D.C., should pay for it.”\n\nDemocrats also sought to ensure food for low-income children who might miss breakfasts or lunches at schools that are closed during the crisis. Lawmakers proposed several enhancements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to provide additional aid during health emergencies, boosting SNAP benefits and allowing students to take meals home from closed schools or have them delivered.\n\n\"We believe the help should be aimed at people, not at corporations. We believe the help should be targeted at the people who have suffered from this coronavirus problem – directly or indirectly,\" Schumer said. \"We don’t think they should just throw money out of an airplane and hope some of it lands on the people who are affected.\"\n\nContributing: Courtney Subramanian", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/03/11"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/03/26/coronavirus-live-updates-senate-stimulus-us-deaths-donald-trump/5079447002/", "title": "Coronavirus updates: US surpasses China in deaths ...", "text": "China is no longer the global leader in cases of the virus that originated on its soil. The United States, with about one-fourth the number of people of the world's most populous country, overtook China and Italy in confirmed coronavirus cases on Thursday.\n\nThat dubious distinction took place as jobless claims smashed a record and U.S. deaths neared 1,300 as the coronavirus tightened its grip on America. Still, the prospect of a stimulus package soon becoming reality helped propel a third consecutive stock market rally.\n\nDespite the continued increase in cases of COVID-19, President Donald Trump repeated his recent message that the country needs to get back to work.\n\n“The mortality rate is way, way down,” Trump said. “The people that actually die, that percentage is much lower than I expected.”\n\nThe Labor Department, in announcing the unemployment claims numbers for last week, said what Americans already knew — that layoffs hit the hospitality and food service industries particularly hard. Other industries that struggled included health care and social assistance, arts, entertainment and recreation, transportation and warehousing, and manufacturing industries, Labor said.\n\nCongress was trying to supply a ray of hope. The House is scheduled to take up a Senate-passed, $2 trillion emergency aid proposal Friday. Swift passage was expected — after an initial hangup, the package flew through the Senate on Wednesday night by a vote of 96-0. Trump has expressed a willingness to sign the measure.\n\nConfirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. had surpassed 85,000 by early Friday, leading to 1,296 deaths. The global death toll was more than 24,000, with confirmed cases over 532,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard.\n\nDaily coronavirus updates: Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox\n\nOur live blog is being updated throughout the day. Refresh for the latest news. More headlines:\n\nUS becomes world leader in COVID-19 cases, surpassing China and Italy\n\nThe U.S. surged past China and Italy to become the planet's most infected nation Thursday, a stark milestone in the coronavirus era — and a reminder of its deadly, culture-changing effects on American life.\n\nPart of the reason for the nation's top ranking is cause and effect: The U.S. has drastically ramped up its testing protocols to identify infected people and those who may be carriers of the virus. As testing has increased, so has the number of confirmed cases.\n\nBut the new numbers also reflect a slow roll-out of the measures to combat the virus, especially an initial lack of testing capabilities that left officials unable to identify how quickly the disease was spreading and where to focus resources.\n\n– Mike James\n\nAmerican Airlines flight attendant, 65, dies of coronavirus\n\nPaul Frishkorn, a Philadelphia-based American Airlines flight attendant and union representative, has died from coronavirus, the flight attendants union confirmed Thursday.\n\n\"It is with deep sadness we report that one of our own … has passed away from Covid-19,\" Lori Bassani, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents 27,000 flight attendants at American Airlines, said in a statement.\n\nFrishkorn, 65, was described as a tireless advocate for the flight attendant corps who was spending time in the Philadelphia crew room \"answering questions and assisting our members through this difficult time\" before he fell ill, according to the statement.\n\nSpeaking by phone to USA TODAY, Bassani said that Frishkorn's death has increased the already deep concern for flight attendants working amid the highly contagious virus.\n\n\"When this hits one of your own, it sheds a whole new light on the coronavirus,\" said Bassani. \"This does spread more fear among our ranks. This is a killer virus, unlike any we have experienced.\"\n\n– Bryan Alexander\n\nDeath rate in New Orleans soars; city could become next epicenter\n\nThe number of known coronavirus cases in Louisiana jumped to 2,305 on Thursday, an increase of 510 cases from Wednesday, and a total of 83 deaths, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. Nearly half of Louisiana's cases -- 997 -- came from New Orleans.\n\nThrongs of revelers may have brought the coronavirus to New Orleans during Mardi Gras celebrations.\n\nBut the city’s poverty rate, lack of healthcare and affordable housing, coupled with high rates of residents with preexisting medical conditions, may be driving its explosive growth and could make it the next U.S. epicenter of the outbreak.\n\nThe city reported Thursday that a 17-year-old teen died after contracting the virus, bringing the city's coronavirus death tally to 46 — more than half of the state's total death count.\n\nNew Orleans Homeland Security Director Collin Arnold said hospital capacity in the New Orleans region is dwindling and the city will need additional hospital beds within weeks.\n\n– Rick Jervis, Maria Clark and Lorenzo Reyes\n\n3 migrant children in US custody test positive for coronavirus in New York\n\nThree unaccompanied minor children in U.S. custody in New York have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Thursday.\n\nThe children, whose ages and nationalities weren't released, are in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The office is responsible for housing migrant minors.\n\nThe agency said it is doing an evaluation of the children and will not release them from New York care provider facilities. It has stopped placements of unaccompanied minor children in the states of California, New York, and Washington, which have been the hardest hit by the coronavirus. With more than 30,000 cases in New York, the state has become the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in the United States.\n\n– Monsy Alvarado, NorthJersey.com\n\nStimulus package checks up to $1,200 for most Americans expected soon\n\nThe House is expected to vote Friday on the stimulus package and passage would send the legislation to President Donald Trump for his signature. Once signed, it is expected money will be distributed in the next three weeks.\n\nHighlights of the bill include direct payments of up to $1,200 for most individuals and $2,400 for most married couples filing jointly, with an extra $500 for each child.\n\nHere's how you can calculate the amount of stimulus money your household can expect.\n\nUnemployment insurance benefits would be expanded, increasing the maximum benefit by $600 a week for up to four months. Benefits would be available to workers who are part-time, self-employed or part of the gig economy. People who are still unemployed after state benefits end could get an additional 13 weeks of help. Food assistance programs would get a boost, and homeowners with federally backed mortgages would be protected from foreclosures for as long as 180 days. Students with federal loans could suspend payments until October.\n\n– Maureen Groppe and Ledyard King\n\nUS stocks surge for third day in a row despite 'horrible' unemployment news\n\nU.S. stocks notched their first three-day rally in six weeks on hopes that Congress will quickly approve a coronavirus rescue package for the economy while the outbreak in China is showing signs that it has been largely contained.\n\nThe Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1,351.62 points, or 6.4%, to close at 22,552.17. The blue-chip average has advanced more than 20% over the past three days, its biggest three-day gain since 1931. The Standard & Poor’s 500 added 6.2% to finish at 2,630.07.\n\nThe gains came despite the daunting number of claims following a wave of layoffs from the coronavirus pandemic.\n\n\"Record unemployment data is horrible news, but we knew it was going to be terrible,\" said Joe Conroy, founder of Maryland-based Harford Retirement Planners. \"Most people agree that we’re in a recession. What's helped prop up the market are signs that China is starting to contain the virus.\"\n\n– Jessica Menton\n\nRecord 3.3 million Americans apply for unemployment benefits amid coronavirus\n\nThe number of Americans filing initial applications for unemployment benefits jumped nearly twelvefold to a record 3.3 million last week, the Labor Department said, offering the most vivid evidence yet of the coronavirus’s widespread damage to the economy. The total was well above the 1.5 million claims economists had forecast, according to the median estimate of those surveyed by Bloomberg.\n\nThe pandemic has set off the most abrupt near-shutdown of the economy in history. Many restaurants, shops, movie theaters, sports arenas and other gathering spots were compelled to close their doors or scale back service – and lay off staff.\n\n– Paul Davidson\n\nDr. Anthony Fauci goes live on Instagram with NBA star Steph Curry\n\nIn what is arguably the most important play of his 11-year pro basketball career, Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors hosted Dr. Anthony Fauci on a Thursday Instagram Live video.\n\nNearly 50,000 viewers tuned in — including former President Barack Obama, pop star Justin Bieber, rapper Common and former teammates Andre Iguodala and Leandro Barbosa. More will likely watch the archived version. Either way, they will have witnessed something that does not usually match what they see on social media.\n\nFor nearly 28 minutes, Curry asked Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, questions about COVID-19, testing and social distancing. Fauci gave precise answers to all of them.\n\nFauci explained the difference between the flu and the coronavirus, which he considered \"much more serious.\" Although young people are not as vulnerable to COVID-19, Fauci argued they should still follow social distancing rules because of the rare chance they could become ill and the likely chance they could pass the virus to someone older. Fauci predicted that large events, including the NBA season, will not take place until \"the country as a whole is turning that corner.\"\n\nFauci has been a popular TV guest this week, and is scheduled to appear on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah late Thursday night. Earlier Thursday, he spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper during the network's coronavirus town hall, explaining that Trump's desire to open the country by Easter was an \"aspiration projection.\" Fauci added that Trump is listening to medical experts, including Fauci, and understands they have to evaluate the virus's impact \"in real time.\"\n\n– Mark Medina\n\nDeath toll rises in New York\n\nOne hundred people in New York state died Wednesday from the coronavirus, the state's single deadliest day since the virus at the center of a global pandemic first hit, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The surge of deaths pushed New York's total count to 385 since the beginning of March, when the state found its first confirmed case of COVID-19.\n\nNew York remains the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak with 37,258 confirmed cases – almost half of the national total as of Thursday afternoon. Cuomo said the outbreak's peak in the state is still at least two weeks away, and the state was battling to make room in hospitals and obtain ventilators.\n\n\"I don’t want to sugarcoat the situation,\" Cuomo said. \"The situation is not easy. But easy times don’t forge character. It’s the tough times that forge character.”\n\n– Joseph Spector\n\nIs Florida the next New York?\n\nFlorida has come under fire after its beaches remained jammed with spring breakers last week, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has ignored calls to issue a statewide shelter-in-place order.\n\nThat may contribute to the state becoming the next hot spot for COVID-19, a chilling possibility considering the elderly are the most likely to die from the disease and Florida is home to nearly four million people 65 and over, the second-highest number in the U.S. behind California.\n\nHospitals and doctors around the state say they still don't have nearly enough testing kits and can't get the ones they have analyzed fast enough, echoing complaints from state health officials across the country. Health officials have completed 27,000 tests so far in Florida, while New York is doing more than 18,000 tests a day.\n\n– Alan Gomez\n\nChicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot: 40,000 coronavirus hospitalizations expected\n\nMayor Lori Lightfoot implored Chicago residents to “stay home, save lives” in an address to the city, warning there could be tens of thousands of hospitalizations in the coming weeks.\n\n\"We could be expecting upwards of 40,000 hospitalizations in the coming weeks,'' Lightfoot said. \"Not 40,000 cases, but 40,000 people who require acute care in a hospital setting. That number will break our healthcare system.”\n\nCrowds of hundreds of people have been seen congregating along the city’s lakefront in recent days, which a fiery Lightfoot called a “blatant violation” of Illinois’s stay-at-home order. She warned future violators would be arrested and Thursday closed the city’s lakefront trail, 606 trail and Riverwalk, along with adjacent parks and beaches.\n\nPresident Donald Trump on Thursday approved a major disaster declaration for Illinois, freeing federal funding.\n\n– Grace Hauck\n\nTesla to make ventilators; hockey helmet firm to make face masks\n\nTesla CEO Elon Musk said the company's solar-panel factory in Buffalo, New York, hopes to begin ventilator production \"as soon as humanly possible.\" Musk tweeted that \"we will do anything in our power to help the citizens of New York.\" New York actually invested $750 million to help build the plant. Cuomo said the state, which has about 12,000 ventilators, may need as many as 40,000 in the next few weeks as the coronavirus outbreak races toward its peak in the state.\n\nAnd Bauer, a hockey equipment manufacturing company, said it has shifted its focus to make products like masks and shields for medical professionals.\n\n– Joseph Spector and Chris Bumbaca\n\n2-month-old Tennessean tests positive for COVID-19, has mild symptoms\n\nA 2-month-old who has tested positive for COVID-19 in Nashville could be the youngest pandemic patient in the nation, officials say. City health officials said metro Nashville had 36 new cases in 24 hours. Alex Jahangir, the city's coronavirus task force chair, said the infant has mild symptoms and is home \"doing well.\"\n\nChildren appear to be at lower risk for the harshest effects of COVID-19 than adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but they are not immune to the disease.\n\n– Yihyun Jeong\n\nMore coronavirus news, tips and information from USA TODAY:\n\nContributing: The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/03/26"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/04/04/wisconsin-legislature-adjourns-special-session-monday-voting-track-tuesday-election/2948444001/", "title": "Coronavirus in Wisconsin: Legislature stalls move to postpone election", "text": "MADISON - Get ready for the pandemic election.\n\nRepublicans stalled Gov. Tony Evers' move to push back Tuesday's election, quickly adjourning a special legislative session to deal with voting issues because of the coronavirus pandemic.\n\nDuring Saturday's proceedings, the state Assembly and state Senate each gaveled in and out within seconds and recessed until Monday.\n\nLive Updates:The latest on coronavirus in Wisconsin\n\nDaily Digest: What you need to know about coronavirus in Wisconsin\n\nThe move came as pressure mounted on the Democratic governor to act on his own by using emergency powers to block the election. A source close to Evers said the governor was reluctant to do that over concerns that a postponement would quickly be blocked by conservatives who control the state Supreme Court.\n\nWith only a few lawmakers present, the Legislature did not take up Evers' effort to extend the election date to May 19 and convert entirely to mail-in voting.\n\nAs the Legislature made its move, the virus remained unabated.\n\nThe number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wisconsin has more than doubled this week, climbing to over 2,000 on Saturday. Milwaukee County accounts for around half the cases.\n\nThe state Department of Health Services reported 196 new cases Saturday afternoon, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to at least 2,112. At least 56 people have died from COVID-19, the department reported.\n\nMore than 23,859 tests for COVID-19 have come back negative, according to the state. Of those who tested positive, more than a quarter, or 588 people, have been hospitalized.\n\nPresident Donald Trump issued a federal disaster declaration for Wisconsin.\n\nAccording to Evers' office, the declaration \"provides access to public assistance programs for all 72 Wisconsin counties and the state’s federally recognized tribes.\"\n\n17 seconds in Assembly; less in Senate\n\nThe political action in Madison was brief.\n\nIn the Assembly, the session lasted for 17 seconds. In the Senate, it was even shorter.\n\nAssembly Speaker Pro Tem Tyler August of Lake Geneva — the only Republican to show up in either house Saturday — refused to talk to reporters after gaveling the session to a close.\n\n\"No, not today. Gotta go,\" August told reporters as he hurried out of the Assembly chamber.\n\nIn the Senate, no Republicans made an appearance. Instead they had their appointed chief clerk, Jeff Renk, bring the Senate into session and immediately end it. Two Democrats — Jon Erpenbach of West Point and Tim Carpenter of Milwaukee, both wearing rubber gloves — watched from the Senate floor.\n\nErpenbach said the Republican majority should go along with Evers and push back the election over health concerns. People will get ill if they don’t, he said.\n\n\"The math will tell you people will get sick. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a polling place or you’re in a convenience store or you’re doing pickup. It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s around. I know they’ll practice social distancing and do what they possibly can to keep people safe but I don’t know how somebody won’t get sick.”\n\nErpenbach said he saw a glimmer of a chance that Republicans would eventually act because they did not completely shut down the special session, as they did last year when they dispensed with a special session on firearm background checks within seconds.\n\nA growing chorus of Democrats and mayors are urging Evers to halt the election on his own using broader authority he has during emergencies. But the Evers source said he was unlikely to do that because it would be sure to face an immediate court challenge.\n\nAn adverse ruling by the state Supreme Court would limit his ability to act in the coming weeks, when the coronavirus crisis is expected to worsen in Wisconsin. Evers wants to make sure he has as much authority as possible to fight the pandemic and doesn't want to see it curbed early on over an election fight he believes he would lose, the source said.\n\nIn a statement, Evers accused legislative Republicans of \"playing politics with public safety and ignoring the urgency of this public health crisis.\" He urged them to \"do their jobs and take a vote on this common sense proposal to extend the election date so everyone can vote safely from home.\"\n\nRepublicans have said they believe clerks will be able to take enough steps to keep voters safe. They are stressing the importance of preserving a core democratic institution: the right to vote.\n\nThey also have accused the governor of trying to make changes at the last minute after he repeatedly said he wanted to keep in-person voting on schedule.\n\nOn Saturday, the Republican National Committee and state Republican Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a judge’s ruling that will allow absentee ballots to be counted in the days after Tuesday’s election.\n\nU.S. District Court Judge William Conley determined Thursday that absentee ballots should be counted if they are received by clerks by April 13 because tens of thousands of voters likely won’t get their absentee ballots until after Tuesday. Voters who requested ballots by the legal deadline deserve to have their votes counted, he ruled.\n\nConley also extended online voter registration and allowed an extra day to request absentee ballots in a slew of legal challenges brought by the Democratic National Committee, Souls to the Polls and others. (In addition, Conley loosened the witness requirement for absentee ballots, but that part of his ruling was overturned by an appeals court on Friday.)\n\nThe Republican filing raises the possibility that voting rules will again change before Tuesday. But there’s no guarantee the Supreme Court will take any action by then.\n\nDean Knudsen, a former Republican lawmaker and chairman of the state Elections Commission, said in a series of tweets that the election involves races for thousands of offices and that it is \"critically important in our democracy that citizens choose their representatives especially during a crisis.\"\n\nHe noted that elections have taken place during wars and the 1918 influenza pandemic, and that voters have responded impressively during the present health crisis by asking for a record 1.2 million absentee ballots.\n\n\"Everything is in place for our elections to go forward,\" he tweeted. \"Don't let fear and panic derail our democracy. Instead let's pull together to help ensure we minimize health risks in polling places while protecting the integrity of our elections.\"\n\nFriday was the last day to request absentee ballots.\n\nVos dismisses Milwaukee concerns\n\nAssembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said in a tweet earlier Saturday that the city of Milwaukee wasn't doing enough ahead of the election.\n\nHe tweeted: \"Milwaukee could easily use city staff to open polling places like many other municipalities are doing in addition to their poll workers. Gov. Evers has also offered the National Guard. It appears they want problems instead of an actual solution. \"\n\nVos' tweet ignited a furious response from the city's top election official, Neil Albrecht, who said public health \"will be compromised by the Legislature's reckless intent to move forward with this election.\"\n\nAlbrecht also invited Vos to work in one of the city's hot spots as a poll worker on election day. Vos plans to work the polls in Burlington.\n\nMilwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett also leveled criticism at Vos.\n\n\"He wants to blame Milwaukee for a worldwide pandemic,\" Barrett said of Vos. \"I don't think anybody, anybody is buying that for a second. If he knew how much work our Election Commission, how much work our Health Department, how much work others who are working for this city, this county, have done to try to control the spread of this pandemic and then to suggest we are trying to do something to create a problem?\n\n\"Mr. Speaker, it's a worldwide pandemic, the problem is here. We're not creating anything. We are responding to a worldwide pandemic.\"\n\nPublic health professionals also called for a postponement of Tuesday's election, citing safety concerns.\n\nThe Wisconsin Public Health Association and Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards called on Evers and the Legislature \"to delay the election and implement an alternative method for voting.\"\n\nJames Conway, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Global Health Institute, said moving ahead with the election will put people at unnecessary risk.\n\n\"It just seems really irresponsible to make this one giant exception,\" Conway said in an interview. \"I was a little naive a week or so ago in thinking, 'Oh, they've got to realize they've got to delay.' ... And then time has crept on and I'm like, really? I am very concerned.\"\n\nEarly in-person voting continued to be brisk in Milwaukee.\n\nPolice officers in neon vests, gloves and masks helped direct traffic for people who were doing curbside early voting at the Zeidler Municipal Building.\n\nPoll workers, also wearing neon vests, gloves and masks, helped run ballots out to and from cars that waited in a lengthy line. Voters turned their hazard lights on to indicate to poll workers that they could retrieve ballots.\n\nSeparate from all the breaking news, many people on Saturday just tried to enjoy a day outside during what is in effect a lockdown. Even though Milwaukee County authorities closed the beaches there were a few people walking on the Bradford Beach sand. Others were sitting on the rocks looking out at Lake Michigan. Along the lakefront pedestrian walkways, many people ran, walked their dogs or pushed strollers.\n\nRicardo Torres and Molly Beck of the Journal Sentinel and Natalie Brophy of USA TODAY-Wisconsin network contributed to this report.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/04/04"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/02/coronavirus-michigan-lansing-whitmer-lawmakers/5111089002/", "title": "Legislature taking extraordinary coronavirus precautions Tuesday", "text": "LANSING – The Michigan Legislature is planning extraordinary measures — including taking lawmakers' temperatures before they enter the chambers — to limit the risk of anyone contracting coronavirus when lawmakers convene Tuesday, officials said Thursday.\n\nSenators will be evaluated and screened when they enter the Capitol to make sure they don’t have a fever, said Amber McCann, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake.\n\nThe same will happen with members of the public who want to view from the public gallery, said McCann, who added that the public is not encouraged to attend but would be allowed to do so, according to state law.\n\nThe public can watch livestreams of the House and Senate sessions on their respective websites.\n\nThe Legislature has canceled recent sessions because of the coronavirus pandemic, but plans to meet Tuesday to vote on extending Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's emergency declaration, which is set to expire Tuesday, and possibly her disaster declaration, which was issued Wednesday. Whitmer has asked for a 70-day extension of each declaration, but many Republican lawmakers say 70 days would be too long.\n\nA few senators at a time will be allowed in to the chamber for attendance roll call, she said. Once that roll call is taken and there is a quorum of at least 20 members present, a simple voice vote on the resolution to extend the emergency declaration will be taken.\n\n“There will be very few people on the floor for the actual vote,\" McCann said. “This is not the traditional session by any means,” she said. “And we’re still in a troubleshooting phase on how this will happen, so there may be tweaks.”\n\nGideon D'Assandro, a spokesman for House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, said the House also has a plan to extend the emergency declaration and minimize exposure, but “some of the details are still being worked out.”\n\nWhitmer, at a Thursday news conference, urged state lawmakers not to come to the Capitol on Tuesday, saying it is too dangerous to convene a session during the coronavirus pandemic.\n\nWhitmer noted that one member of the Legislature, Democratic state Rep. Isaac Robinson of Detroit, has already died of apparent complications from COVID-19.\n\nBut she later clarified her remarks through a spokeswoman, saying lawmakers should convene briefly and in a safe manner to extend her emergency and disaster orders, and then return to their districts.\n\n\"They should come in, extend (the orders) 70 days, and return to their communities like the rest of us are doing to keep the public safe,\" spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said.\n\nMore:Michigan estimates that drop in tax revenues could be up to $3B for fiscal year\n\nMore:Michigan ends in-person school year for K-12 students due to coronavirus\n\nBecause she made a new disaster declaration on Wednesday, Whitmer can continue to exercise emergency powers for another 28 days from Wednesday without the need for the Legislature to convene and vote on a resolution to extend the emergency or the disaster.\n\nShe also has powers under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act to continue to act unilaterally, even without an extension from lawmakers.\n\nSo her request to the Legislature to extend her emergency and disaster orders by 70 days does not require immediate action.\n\nBrown said Whitmer \"is highly concerned about the Republican leaders' proposals that would needlessly have the Legislature convene every few weeks to renew the emergency declaration.\"\n\nA 70-day extension \"is consistent with past emergency declarations and will make sure we have the tools we need to protect public health and save lives,\" Brown said.\n\nThe Senate leadership is still in negotiations on how long the extension will last, she said. Shirkey is looking more at what’s happening on the national level, which is currently to end the emergency by the end of April, she said.\n\n\"We should extend the emergency long enough to do what is needed to keep people safe, but adapt to circumstances that are changing pretty rapidly.”\n\nSeveral Republican state lawmakers said Whitmer's proposed 70-day extension is far too long.\n\nState Rep. Jason Sheppard, R-Temperance, said the situation with the virus \"is ever-changing, and 10 weeks is far too long to go without legislative review.\"\n\n\"It would be much more responsible to re-examine the need for an emergency declaration every two weeks, so we can make decisions based on up-to-date information,\" Sheppard said in a news release.\n\nState Rep. James Lower, R-Cedar Springs, said on Twitter that Whitmer’s request to stay away from Lansing will not happen.\n\n“We have these checks & balances for a reason. We'll be in on 4-7,” he tweeted.\n\nHouse Minority Leader Christine Greig, D-Farmington Hills, said she is \"deeply concerned\" by GOP statements that they do not intend to approve a full 70-day extension.\n\nAs Chatfield said earlier, the governor is in the best position, with the advice of health professionals, to know the best action to take, Greig said.\n\n\"The Legislature should stand beside her with bipartisan support for the requested 70-day extension.”\n\nFollowing the death of Robinson, no other legislator or staffer has tested positive for the virus as of Wednesday, said D'Assandro and McCann.\n\nIt's not clear whether the Legislature could legally hold a remote session — through videoconference, for example — as long as it provided for public access.\n\nWhat is clear is that such a thing has never happened before.\n\nMichigan's constitution says the Legislature \"shall meet at the seat of government,\" which is Lansing. But the constitution also says the Legislature can meet at \"some other place\" if Lansing becomes dangerous, for any reason.\n\nThe Lansing newsletter Gongwer reported this week that some experts interpret that to mean that a video meeting could pass legal muster, but that the logistical and technological problems associated with making such a meeting happen on relatively short notice could still pose a major challenge.\n\nState Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn, said he just emerged from a self-imposed, 14-day quarantine, because he is a seatmate to state Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, who tested positive for coronavirus before Robinson's death, and he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for the Legislature to return to the Capitol next week.\n\n“I’m not sure what the likelihood is at this point. Will they even have enough for a quorum because many people are scared?” he said.\n\n“We have to take all the necessary precautions if we gather in such a large group. The last thing we want is to have members going back to their districts and creating new clusters all across the state.”\n\nContact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/04/02"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/coronavirus/2021/05/28/kansas-covid-19-coronavirus-emergency-declaration-extended-evictions-ban-foreclosure-moratorium-ends/7457715002/", "title": "Kansas COVID-19 emergency declaration extended — evictions ...", "text": "A panel of top legislators voted Friday to extend the state's COVID-19 disaster declaration until June 15 in an effort to give the Kansas National Guard and other agencies time to wind down any ongoing emergency operations.\n\nBut as part of the deal, members nixed an executive order from Gov. Laura Kelly banning evictions and foreclosures, which has been in existence off and on since spring of last year.\n\nUnder legislation signed into law in March, Kelly no longer has a formal role in the decision over extending the order, with those powers instead resting in a committee made up predominantly of Republican legislators. That panel, the Legislative Coordinating Council, also can review and reject any of the governor's executive orders.\n\nMembers voted to approve the extension on a party-line-vote. It comes as a half-dozen states have or will soon end their emergency declarations, as COVID-19 cases slow nationally.\n\nBut while Kelly stressed the need for the broader emergency order to continue, her office slammed the decision to end the eviction and foreclosure moratorium.\n\n\"As we finally start to recover from this global pandemic, now is not the time to kick people out of their homes,\" Reeves Oyster, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement. \"Governor Kelly will continue to focus on doing what’s right — and not what’s politically convenient.\"\n\nMore:Will Kansas have a vaccine lottery? Maybe, but don't expect a $1 million prize.\n\nStill, Republican legislators indicated they too were growing weary of the need for any pandemic-related orders.\n\n\"When is it going to stop?\" House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, said. \"When are these extensions going to stop. We always can find a reason for an extension.\"\n\nThat hasn't stopped the Kelly administration, however, from making a case to legislators for the declaration's renewal.\n\nAdjutant General David Weishaar told legislators Wednesday that the declaration was still needed to support the state's emergency operations center, which received about two dozen requests in May from local governments for first-aid supplies, gowns and masks.\n\nHe added the order also gave the Kansas National Guard authorization to pitch in with vaccine clinics and transporting testing samples.\n\nAnd Weishaar warned the order's demise could threaten federal disaster funding, although he noted guidance on this matter was hazy from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It doesn't appear that other states who have ended their orders have lost any disaster aid.\n\nBut legislators were skeptical Friday that the order was really needed to continue current operations, including vaccine rollout.\n\n\"I think most of the things that are being done now can be done without a declaration in place,\" said House Speaker Pro Tempore Blaine Finch, R-Ottawa.\n\nDemocrats on the committee argued it was foolhardy to pretend that ending the declaration would mean the risk of the virus for Kansans would disappear, pointing to the fact that fewer than half of the state's residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19.\n\n\"Yes, we need an exit strategy and I think we are on that path,\" said Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, D-Lenexa. \"But to say we don't want this because we want it to be over? We will harm Kansans.\"\n\nMore:New COVID-19 tests in Kansas dip to lowest levels in months, data shows\n\nAdvocates worry about eviction ban uncertainty\n\nThe end of Kansans' ban on evictions and foreclosures troubled advocates, especially given uncertainty about a similar moratorium at the federal level.\n\nRepublicans have long been skeptical of the state's moratorium, arguing it prevents landlords from getting paid.\n\nAn evictions ban issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still in place, although it is hanging by a thread. It was struck down in a Washington, D.C., federal court but will remain in place pending appeal. It is set to expire on June 30.\n\nEvictions have continued throughout the pandemic, sometimes in defiance of the ban.\n\nAnd Dustin Hare, a Wyandotte County organizer, said the CDC ban was more effective than the state's moratorium.\n\n\"I don't think the state-level moratorium has really been effective,\" he said. \"The federal one was a lot stronger than the state-level. A lot of people I know have been filling out the declaration form through the CDC since the beginning.\"\n\nMore:As Gov. Laura Kelly signs education deal, can fragile peace take hold on school funding?\n\nBut if the CDC order isn't renewed or remains mired in legal purgatory, Hare said things could get difficult for renters.\n\n\"If that goes away, I think we're going to be in for a world of hurt,\" Hare said.\n\nRental assistance programs do exist, both at a statewide level, as well as an aid fund targeted directly at Wichita residents. More money could be coming, with $50 billion approved in the American Rescue Plan to help renters.\n\nBut advocates have argued more needs to be done, particularly in modifying the program's structure. The Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance program, for instance, pays landlords instead of sending those funds directly to tenants, something Rent Zero Kansas has opposed.\n\nThe KERA program, operated by the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, has paid out over $1 million in aid, although this has only gone to 167 of the 4,038 applications submitted.\n\nMore individuals to process those applications, Hare said, as well as an improved outreach strategy would help ensure resources reach renters.\n\nBut Vince Munoz, an organizer with the housing advocacy group Rent Zero Kansas, said the most effective measure was still some sort of moratorium.\n\n\"It isn't as effective as simply saying we aren't going to have evictions,\" Munoz said.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/05/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/12/gov-bill-lee-declares-emergency-tennessee-works-combat-spread-coronavirus/5030408002/", "title": "Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee declares emergency amid coronavirus ...", "text": "As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the world, including in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee declared a state of emergency on Thursday while making plans to shore up the state's medical resources in anticipation of a wave of new patients.\n\nThe governor's action comes one day after the World Health Organization said COVID-19 had become a global pandemic, President Donald Trump ordered a ban on air travel from Europe, sports leagues suspended seasons and schools throughout Tennessee said they'd shutter campuses.\n\nLee's decision to declare a state of emergency comes two days after he said he such a move wasn't yet necessary until Tennessee had seen \"clusters of affected patients.\"\n\n\"We believe there clearly will be more cases,\" Lee said Thursday on the need for the emergency declaration, minutes before a flood of sporting events were canceled.\n\n\"This emergency declaration is an important next step in our efforts to treat and mitigate the impact of this disease,\" the governor said.\n\nWhile praising the governor for his declaration, Democrats criticized Lee, saying more needs to be done.\n\nAs of 2 p.m. on Thursday, state officials said Tennessee had 18 detected cases of COVID-19.\n\nWith the emergency declaration, Tennessee will join an ever-growing number of states to take similar action. As of Wednesday, at least 28 had declared states of emergency, according to the National Governors Association.\n\nThe declaration will also give Tennessee access to additional federal funding to combat the coronavirus. Before Thursday's announcement, Tennessee was set to receive $10 million from the federal government to help with the state's response.\n\nFirst case declared a week ago\n\nSince Tennessee's first case of the coronavirus was announced last week, Lee and others stressed the state was prepared and drastic measures like closing schools and businesses were not necessary.\n\n\"As confirmed cases surfaced in other parts of the world, we in Tennessee prepared early,\" Lee said March 5. He noted Tennessee was one of the first states to begin testing for COVID-19.\n\nAt the time, state officials said they had an adequate number of tests available. Department of Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said at the time \"the overall risk to the general public remains low.\"\n\nAs of Thursday, Tennessee had completed 88 coronavirus tests at its state lab. Piercey said as of Thursday morning, the state had the capacity to test at least 500 people, in addition to resources available through private labs.\n\n\"We continue to remain confident in our ability and the measures that we're taking to prevent the spread of this infection,\" Lee said last week.\n\nOn Tuesday, the governor said he didn't see a reason for schools and workplaces, including state offices, to close.\n\n\"We don’t see a reason at this point (to close state offices) because the threat is significantly low to Tennesseans,\" he said.\n\nBut on Thursday, Lee said the emergency declaration was necessary in light of additional cases while giving the state access to more money.\n\nLee warned vulnerable populations to stay home and avoid large gatherings.\n\n\"We also know this is especially serious for our neighbors who are elderly,\" he said, imploring everyone in the state to take the issue seriously.\n\n\"While the risk to the general public remains low, the risk to vulnerable populations is very real,\" he said.\n\nAlthough Lee didn't define that vulnerable population at the news conference, members of his administration pointed to the definition by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nThe agency's definition includes \"older adults\" and people with serious chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease and diabetes. According to the CDC, vulnerable adults are those 60 or older or people who have those underlying medical conditions.\n\nLee encouraged Tennesseans to avoid non-essential visits to nursing homes and hospitals.\n\nPiercey said the emergency declaration could help pay for additional costs to provide access to telemedicine.\n\nThe governor's latest move caps off a week that began with officials saying they would not release county-level data of infected patients. The decision was later reversed after criticism from across the state, including from local officials.\n\nBut as of Thursday, the Department of Health has refrained from giving additional information, including the age and sex of those infected.\n\nTennessee lawmakers continue work\n\nThe emergency declaration comes as Tennessee colleges and universities, as well as K-12 schools throughout the state, have closed, fans have been banned from sporting events, and festivals, concerts and conferences have been canceled. Minutes after Lee's Thursday announcement, the SEC basketball tournament in Nashville was canceled.\n\nThe NBA, NHL and Major League Soccer all suspended their seasons. Major League Baseball delayed the start of its season by two weeks.\n\nPiercey said such actions are part of an effort to \"flatten the curve\" of cases of the coronavirus.\n\n\"That deals with slowing the number of cases in order to reduce the strain on our hospitals, health care resources and allow our communities more time to prepare,\" she said.\n\nMeanwhile, state lawmakers across the country have taken action to reduce public gatherings and Congress has halted public access through April 1. But Tennessee legislators continued pressing ahead Thursday with their business.\n\nHouse and Senate lawmakers pressed forward with their agendas, welcoming the Tennessee Titans and debating everything from honoring Trump to making the Bible the official book of Tennessee. The House did not ultimately vote on the Bible bill.\n\nOn Wednesday, Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, called for legislative leadership to temporarily halt the session. The House and Senate speakers have shown no sign of a forthcoming change.\n\nLee said it was ultimately up to legislative leaders to decide how to proceed, noting his administration was ramping up efforts to introduce his final proposed budget for the year. Lawmakers are constitutionally required to pass a budget each year.\n\nIn a joint statement, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, encouraged those who planned to come to the Capitol and lawmakers' offices to stay away while vowing to press ahead with the session.\n\nHospitals ramp up efforts to prepare\n\nWendy Long, head of the Tennessee Hospital Association, said the state's hospitals are ramping up their efforts to prepare for an expected surge in patients who will come as a result of COVID-19.\n\n\"We are concerned, regarding the potential, for supply, equipment and manpower shortages down the road,\" said Long, who noted such issues would depend on demand. \"We'll be monitoring all those issues very closely.\"\n\nLong said the state is looking at options ranging from telemedicine to providing Tennesseans with longer lasting prescriptions to avoid having them visit medical facilities.\n\n\"Also looking at issues like canceling elective surgeries in order to free up beds and really upping our efforts to discharge patients,\" she said.\n\nHouse Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, remained confident Thursday the state's hospitals had an \"enormous amount of capacity\" and could treat anyone who needed it.\n\n\"It is going to continue to spread, we are ready for it, and we will make sure that anybody (who) needs treatment, gets that treatment,\" he said.\n\nFor all the latest efforts by the state, Democrats said more needs to be done.\n\n\"This is an emergency,\" said Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville. \"Coronavirus represents a serious threat to Tennesseans, and it's time for the state government to act like it and to take decisive action.\"\n\nYarbro said Tennesseans need to hear about the plans every state agency and department has regarding the coronavirus.\n\n\"The effectiveness of the United States response to this disaster is ... going to be determined by how effective local and state governments are,\" he said, rejecting the notion that politics were at play while raising such questions himself. \"It's not going to cut it to just follow the lead of the federal government.\"\n\nWant to read more stories like this? A subscription to one of our Tennessee publications gets you unlimited access to all the latest politics news, podcasts like Grand Divisions, plus newsletters, a personalized mobile experience and the ability to tap into stories, photos and videos from throughout the USA TODAY Network's 261 daily sites.\n\nReach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.\n\nWhat to know\n\nAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of being exposed to the coronavirus (COVID-19) for most people is low. The CDC recommends taking simple, everyday steps to avoid catching or spreading respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. These include covering your cough or sneeze and thoroughly washing or sanitizing your hands. Call your doctor and stay home if you are sick. Get more information at CDC.gov/coronavirus or contact the Tennessee Department of Health coronavirus information line at 877-857-2945 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. CST daily.\n\nAs of 6 p.m. CST on Thursday, the total number of coronavirus cases are:\n\nTennessee: 18\n\nWilliamson County: 8\n\nDavidson County: 6\n\nShelby County: 2\n\nKnox County: 1\n\nSullivan County: 1\n\nUnited States: 1,215\n\nWorldwide: 125,288\n\nSource: Tennessee Department of Health; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; World Health Organization", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/03/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/03/25/coronavirus-live-updates-stimulus-deal-done-us-deaths-stocks-trump/2909339001/", "title": "Coronavirus updates: $2T stimulus; Prince Charles; Floyd Cardoz ...", "text": "The Senate passed a $2 trillion stimulus deal, the mayor of New York said more than half his city could face coronavirus infection, and Britain revealed Wednesday that Prince Charles tested positive for the virus.\n\nSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the bipartisan deal \"the largest rescue package in history.\" And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, \"This is a wartime level of investment into our nation.\"\n\nNow the bill will head to the House for a vote before heading to President Donald Trump's desk. The agreement comes as confirmed cases in America, now over 69,000, have been climbing at an exponential rate. More are expected as the U.S. increases testing.\n\nHouse Majority Leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., announced the House will vote on the $2 trillion bill Friday, and that they will convene at 9 a.m.\n\n\"We expect the bill to pass by voice vote,\" he said.\n\nThe U.S. death toll was at 1,050 early Thursday after eclipsing 600 on Tuesday. Globally, more than 21,200 people have been killed by the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard.\n\nOur live blog is being updated throughout the day. Refresh for the latest news. More headlines:\n\nSenate passes historic emergency aid package to curb coronavirus impact\n\nThe Senate approved its largest emergency aid package in modern history that will offer $2 trillion to help Americans, hospitals and businesses weather the effects of the coronavirus. The vote late Wednesday night was 96-0.\n\nAmong the provisions offered in the measure are one-time $1,200 checks to individuals, $367 billion in loans and grants to small businesses, over $130 billion for hospitals and community health centers and financial help to airlines and other industries hit hard by the virus.\n\nThe massive package aims to offer a financial lifeline to Americans and businesses that are hurting while also offering reassurance to the markets, which have seen some of its worst days in decades due to the virus’ impacts on the economy.\n\nThe emergency aid package is the third Congress has taken up to offset the effects of the virus. Wednesday’s vote capped off days of tense, round-the-clock negotiations between the Trump administration and leaders of the House and Senate.\n\n– Christal Hayes\n\nNBA star Stephen Curry, Anthony Fauci to talk coronavirus on Instagram\n\nNBA superstar Stephen Curry is joining the effort to confront the coronavirus by moderating an Instagram discussion with Anthony Fauci on Thursday at 1 p.m. EDT.\n\nFauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has been the leading voice for science and medicine in the Trump administration's response to the pandemic. He will answer fans' questions about the virus.\n\nCurry missed most of the now-suspended NBA season with a fractured hand, but the two-time league MVP and three-time champion remains one of the league's most popular players.\n\nWHO calls for six measures to halt worldwide spread of coronavirus\n\nIn a press briefing Wednesday evening, World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for countries to adopt six measures to aggressively attack the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.\n\nThe measures ask countries to expand, train and deploy healthcare workers; implement a system to find every suspected case “at the community level”; ramp up production and availability of testing; equip and adapt facilities to isolate and treat patients; develop plans and protocols to quarantine; and refocus the whole of government to suppress and control COVID-19.\n\n“These measures are the best way to suppress and stop transmission, so that when restrictions are lifted, the virus doesn’t re-surge,” Tedros said. “The last thing any country needs is to open schools and businesses, only to be forced to close them again because of a resurgence.”\n\nTedros also welcomed the call made Monday by United Nations secretary general António Guterres for a global ceasefire so that governments can wholly focus on eradicating the virus.\n\n– Lorenzo Reyes\n\nMayor Bill de Blasio: Half of New York City will be infected by coronavirus\n\nMore than half of New York City's population can expect to be infected by the coronavirus, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. Most will suffer only a \"mild experience,\" but many will become very sick, and \"we are going to lose some people,\" he said.\n\nApril will be tough and May tougher before the virus crisis eases, he said. The city has seen 192 deaths so far, and there are more than 17,000 confirmed cases of the virus.\n\n\"The world we knew is gone,\" de Blasio said in a social media post. \"And it's not coming back, not for the next few months. That's the blunt truth.\"\n\nProtesters block US-Mexico border amid fears of spreading coronavirus\n\nProtesters on the Mexican side of the border blocked the Mexico-bound lanes in the twin border cities of Ambos Nogales for several hours Wednesday to express their displeasure with the Mexican government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.\n\nThe protesters demanded greater controls and screenings on southbound traffic at the U.S.-Mexico border out of concern that travelers from the U.S. could import new cases of the coronavirus into Mexico.\n\nLess than a dozen people wearing face masks and carrying signs used two of their vehicles for a blockade of the two southbound lanes at the DeConcini crossing, several hundred feet into the Mexican side of the border, video taken by Mexican media showed.\n\nSome of the signs asked U.S. residents to \"stay at home.\" Others called on Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to step up controls and restrictions along the U.S.-Mexico border to contain the spread of COVID-19.\n\n– Rafael Carranza, Arizona Republic\n\nTwo Grand Princess cruise ship passengers die from coronavirus\n\nTwo passengers from the Grand Princess, the cruise ship that floated off the California coast for days before being allowed to dock in Oakland, have died from the effects of the coronavirus, the Department of Health and Human Services said.\n\nA statement from HHS to USA TODAY said both passengers had been quarantined at Travis Air Force Base in California after leaving the ship, then were transferred to area medical facilities after developing COVID-19 symptoms. One person died Saturday and the other one Monday.\n\nMore than 3,500 people on board the Grand Princess for a San Francisco-to-Hawaii voyage were potentially exposed to the coronavirus, and 21 of them eventually tested positive while on board.\n\nMorgan Hines and Andrea Mandell\n\nNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo touts benefits of social distancing\n\nNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said social distancing has helped slow the rate of hospitalizations in his state, but that they are still rising above expectations. He said the state will need 140,000 hospital beds, almost three times the existing capacity. He expects the state's curve to hit its apex in two or three weeks.\n\n\"We are still on the way up the mountain,\" he said.\n\nCuomo also said the state has sufficient masks and other protective equipment to last several days, but that the race to acquire respirators remained critical. He said they will be returned to states who donate them – and that his state will provide expertise on treatment as well.\n\n\"We are asking the country to help us,\" he said. \"We will return the favor.\"\n\nPrince Charles tests positive for coronavirus, displays 'mild symptoms'\n\nBritain's Prince Charles, heir to the throne, has tested positive for the coronavirus, his official royal residence said in a statement. The statement said Prince Charles, 71, has \"been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health.\" His wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, does not have the virus, a test showed.\n\nPrince Charles' coronavirus diagnosis:It's a huge deal for Brits, the monarchy. Here's why.\n\nBritain's Queen Elizabeth has canceled a number of diary events \"as a sensible precaution\" amid the outbreak, but as late as last week she was still holding \"audiences\" with members of the public. Britain's monarch is 93.\n\n– Kim Hjelmgaard\n\nGov. Gavin Newsom: 1 million jobless claims in California this month\n\nCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom said more than a million unemployment insurance claims have been filed in the state this month, a sign of the widespread shutdowns affecting residents because of the coronavirus pandemic.\n\nHe called the expected relief from the stimulus package \"very helpful and very timely'' but said more such aid will be needed. Newsom also announced at a news conference that several banks have agreed to allow homeowners impacted by the crisis to defer mortgage payments.\n\nThe Labor Department will release national unemployment-claim numbers Thursday morning, and analysts are projecting anywhere from 1 million to 4 million claims.\n\nStudent loan collection program eased\n\nMany student loan borrowers far behind on their payments will see the federal government easing collection efforts as part of its response to the financial uncertainty as the coronavirus spreads. The federal government will no longer withhold portions of borrowers’ tax returns and Social Security payments, the Education Department said. And borrowers whose paychecks were garnished will be entitled to their full wage. Private collectors working for the government have also been told to stop collection calls and letters.\n\n– Chris Quintana\n\nTexas gets major disaster declaration\n\nTrump issued a major disaster declaration for Texas as the state grapples with a growing number of cases of the coronavirus. Gov. Greg Abbott said in a tweet the declaration will expand the state’s access to federal resources.\n\nA major disaster declaration gives the state access to federal assistance programs for individual and public infrastructure, including funds for emergency and permanent work.\n\nTexas has 1,130 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the 11th largest total in the nation.\n\n– Nicole Cobler, Austin American-Statesman\n\nInnovative chef Floyd Cardoz dead at 59 after bout with coronavirus\n\nRevolutionary chef Floyd Cardoz, who wowed critics and diners alike with his bold cooking at Tabla and Bombay Bread Bar in Manhattan, has died from COVID-19. He was 59.\n\nCardoz, who co-owned The Bombay Canteen and O Pedro in Mumbai, won the third season of \"Top Chef Masters.\" He had returned from India via Frankfurt on March 8 feeling feverish. He admitted himself to a New York hospital believing he had the flu, according to close friend Lou Palma.\n\nOn his Instagram account, Cardoz apologized for worrying anyone about his health. \"I am so sorry for causing undue panic,\" he said.\n\nEsther Davidowitz, Bergen Record\n\nTony Awards postponed by coronavirus\n\nNearly two weeks after Broadway went dark due to concerns over the coronavirus, this year's Tony Awards have been postponed. They had been scheduled for June 7 in New York City's Radio City Music Hall.\n\nOfficially, Broadway is shut down until April 12, but experts say it's unlikely curtains will rise that soon. The awards show won't be rescheduled until theater productions restart, organizers said.\n\n– Ilana Keller, Asbury Park Press\n\nItaly, Iran see spike in coronavirus deaths; Spain surpasses China\n\nItaly saw a jump in its daily death toll following two straight days of declines, the nation's civil protection chief said Wednesday. Tuesday saw 743 deaths, up from 601 on Monday and 653 on Sunday. More than 6,800 have died since the outbreak swept into Italy last month. In Spain, where an ice rink has been converted into a morgue, 738 more deaths were reported for a total of 3,434 overall, surpassing China's total.\n\nIran reported 122 deaths, bringing the total there to more than 2,000. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned that U.S. sanctions are impeding Iran’s efforts to fight coronavirus – and are putting the entire world in danger. \"In a context of global pandemic, impeding medical efforts in one country heightens the risk for all of us,\" Bachelet said.\n\nFirst immigration detainee tests positive for coronavirus in New Jersey\n\nA federal immigration detainee in New Jersey is the first to test positive for the coronavirus, spurring renewed warnings from advocates about the safety of those being held. People held in detention centers are \"sitting ducks,\" said Andrea Flores, a deputy director of policy at the ACLU. Flores urged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to set more detainees free.\n\nThe jail in Bergen County — the epicenter of the New Jersey outbreak —was put under lock down after the positive test. A spokesman for ICE, which pays Bergen and other county jails to house those accused of immigration violations, said the agency has been working with local officials to determine whether any detainees require additional testing.\n\n– Monsy Alvarado and Steve Janoski, Bergen Record\n\nUS, Asian stocks leap after Dow Jones' historic surge\n\nU.S. stocks raced higher again Wednesday, a day after the Dow Jones Industrial Average's biggest surge since 1933. Global markets also soared, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumping 5.3%, Hong Kong adding 3% and Sydney climbing 3.6%. Tokyo share prices were also boosted by the decision to postpone the 2020 Olympics to 2021 in view of the coronavirus pandemic.\n\nAll that followed a stunning 11.4% surge Tuesday in the Dow. The S&P 500 index leaped 9.4% as a wave of buying around the world interrupted what has been a brutal month of nearly nonstop selling.\n\nMike Pompeo blasts China, calls COVID-19 ‘Wuhan virus’\n\nSecretary of State Mike Pompeo repeatedly used the term “Wuhan virus” to refer to the coronavirus, despite warnings from health experts that the term risks stigmatizing Asian-Americans and concerns the label has incited racist attacks in the U.S.\n\nIn a 15-minute news conference, Pompeo never used the official medical term – COVID-19 – for the disease. Pompeo also lashed out at China again for its handling of the initial outbreak, which began in Wuhan.\n\n“They were the first country to know about the risk to the world from this virus,\" Pompeo told a handful of reporters gathered for Wednesday’s briefing. \"They repeatedly delayed sharing.”\n\n– Deirdre Shesgreen\n\nHundreds of Waffle House restaurants go dark amid coronavirus outbreak\n\nWaffle House, known for weathering many a natural disaster, said it's closing 418 of its restaurants. The chain posted a map on social media showing the closed restaurants, while another 1,574 across the southeastern U.S. remained open. The posts also featured the hashtag \"#WaffleHouseIndexRed.\n\nThe initial Facebook post drew almost 1,000 comments, most of them reflecting alarm, such as \"Oh geez, now we can worry\" and \"It's getting real sir.\"\n\nThe chain has its own \"Waffle House Index\" used during natural disasters to assess damage. If a store is closed, it's likely in an area with significant damage.\n\nFever charting shows social distancing is slowing the spread of coronavirus\n\nEarly evidence suggests closing bars, restaurants and other businesses to keep people apart in places including New York City, has slowed the incidence of fevers that are an early indicator of coronavirus, according to a new analysis of fevers and symptoms across the U.S.\n\nData from health technology company Kinsa, which did the analysis using its digital thermometers, show the number of people with flu-like illness – atypical fever and symptoms – began dropping almost immediately after mandatory social distancing measures were implemented in some areas. The company downloads fever readings from more than 1 million thermometers in use around the U.S.\n\n\"When you shut down schools and businesses, you are breaking the chain of infections,\" said Kinsa CEO Inder Singh. \"The data are showing it is working.\"\n\n– Jayne O'Donnell\n\nMore coronavirus news, tips and information from USA TODAY:\n\n• Need a refund on those tickets to NBA, NHL or baseball games? Hold that thought.\n\n• Coronavirus lockdowns: These states are ordering residents to stay home or shelter in place.\n\n• There's a new symptom of coronavirus, doctors say:Sudden loss of smell or taste\n\nIf you get coronavirus, this is everything to know about the infection process.\n\n• Stores are running low on diapers.Here's where you can still get them.\n\n• Grocery stores like Walmart, Albertsons and Kroger are adding sneeze guards in stores.\n\n• Fact check: COVID-19 crisis has not created decreased long-term human environmental impact\n\n•Sen. Rand Paul explains why he did not self-quarantine.\n\n• The US is confronting coronavirus without the CDC. It's 'like fighting with one hand tied behind your back,' ex-director says.\n\n• Greta Thunberg thinks she had coronavirus.She urged the public to stay at home.\n\n• You order, they deliver:Here's a list of food delivery services you can use now.\n\nWe want to help. Gannett launches website to help local small businesses.\n\nContributing: The Associated Press.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/03/25"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_2", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:45", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/27/delaware-river-spill-utilities-say-water-safe-pennsylvania/11548687002/", "title": "After Delaware River spill, utilities say water safe in Pennsylvania", "text": "Water utilities along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania and New Jersey continue monitoring a Friday night chemical spill in a river tributary northeast of Philadelphia.\n\nThe utilities say there's no risk to people so far from the latex polymer release, and none of the contaminant has been detected in city water supplies.\n\nUtilities are tracking a plume of contamination in the river, and updates are expected later today in Bucks County and the city of Philadelphia.\n\nIn Philly, the city said its water should be safe through at least 11:59 p.m. Monday, based on the time it takes water from the Delaware River to move through its system.\n\nThe water available to customers has been treated and tested to confirm that it is \"safe to drink and use for bathing, cooking, and washing,\" the city said in a news release Monday morning.\n\nElsewhere, Pennsylvania American Water said it had determined there was no impact to its Yardley water treatment plant 15 miles upstream from the spill. \"We will continue to monitor the source water and provide updates if we receive additional information,\" the water company said.\n\nWhat happened in Pennsylvania?\n\nAn estimated 8,100 gallons of a 50/50 mix of water and a latex polymer solution was released Friday evening when a pipe failed at a Trinseo Altuglas acrylic resins manufacturing facility. The plant is in Bristol, roughly 17 miles northeast of Philadelphia.\n\nThe material overflowed a containment system and entered a storm drain, where it flowed into Otter Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River in Bucks County, plant owner Trinseo said in a news release.\n\nThe company and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, said the latex mixture is nontoxic to humans. Trinseo said the mixture is a white liquid that's visible in surface water.\n\nWhy are people buying water in Philadelphia?\n\nEarlier on Sunday, Philadelphia's water department said residents who receive water from the city's Baxter drinking water treatment plant might want to use bottled water \"out of an abundance of caution. However, by Sunday afternoon, the city told residents there was \"no need to buy water.\"\n\n\"Customers can fill bottles or pitchers with tap water with no risk at this time,\" the city said.\n\nThe department said it was confident water from its Baxter facility would be safe to drink and to cook with through at least 11:59 p.m. Monday. That was based on the time it takes water from the Delaware to enter the utility's Baxter intakes and move through the treatment system.\n\nNo contaminants had been found through Monday, city officials said.\n\nWhat's the latest update with Philadelphia water?\n\nAt 11 a.m. Monday, the Philadelphia Water Department said the spill could potentially affect water treated at its Baxter Water Treatment Plant, which draws water from the Delaware River and services part of Philadelphia.\n\nResidents who want to make sure they have water available can fill bottles or pitchers with tap water with no risk at this time, the city said.\n\nThe tidally influenced Delaware will flush itself out, especially given the influx of rain that fell Saturday, city officials said, but they planned to continue testing the water from the river throughout the day on Monday and into Tuesday to be certain.\n\nWhere does Philadelphia get its tap water?\n\nThe Philadelphia Water Department uses water from the Delaware River and the Schuylkill River, pumping it to a reservoir or basin where sediments settle out. Chlorine is added to kill pathogens, and then the water is pulled through filters and treated for drinking.\n\nThe city is using a computer model to track the movement of the plume of contaminant through the river.\n\nTwo additional Philadelphia water treatment plants draw water from the Schuylkill River and have not been impacted by the spill, the city said.\n\nResidents can find out if their area is affected here: Spill map\n\nIs the water safe to drink in south New Jersey?\n\nNew Jersey American Water said its water is safe to drink. Delaware River water provided to customers in South Jersey was \"not impacted\" by the spill, the utility said.\n\nHowever, the utility did ask customers in three counties – Burlington, Camden and Gloucester – to limit nonessential water use to reduce demand at its facility in Delran, where water is pulled from the Delaware River.\n\nEnvironmental group responds\n\nThe Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an environmental advocacy group, suggested Monday that people in the region monitor and report smells or any impacts on fish and wildlife.\n\n\"The public is worried and has a right and need to know what is going on when there is a hazardous release,\" said Maya van Rossum, the network's leader. The network chided state and federal agencies for not releasing more timely live reports or issuing emergency notifications to residents.\n\n“It is always a concern when there is a spill of chemicals or hazardous materials to our River system,\" van Rossum said. \"Once a chemical is released, the flow of the water, including the tidal effects of the estuary reach of the river, can carry the impacts significant distances.\"\n\nContributing: John Bacon and Thao Nguyen with USA TODAY and Jim Walsh of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2023/03/27/aqua-pa-bucks-county-water-safe-despite-chemical-spill-delaware-river/70051394007/", "title": "Delaware River chemical spill includes toxin released in Ohio train ...", "text": "A rainy Saturday wasn’t what most Bucks County and Philadelphia residents wanted to see this past weekend but the water runoff that flowed into the Delaware River during and after the storm may help to dilute a toxic chemical spill from a Bristol Township manufacturing plant into a river tributary Friday night, officials said Sunday.\n\nSame chemicals released in Palestine, Ohio\n\nThe accidental spill of more than 8,100 gallons of latex emulsion chemicals, some of which flowed into the Otter Creek in Bristol Township and then into the Delaware in Bristol, included butyl acrylate, which gained notoriety as one of the hazardous chemicals released during a horrific train derailment last month in Palestine, Ohio, it was announced at a Philadelphia press conference Sunday on the spill.\n\nTrinseo, a plant that manufactures acrylic resins on Route 413 in Bristol Township, estimated that the equipment failure allowed 8,100 gallons of a solution of water and latex polymers to be spilled into a containment area and then into the creek that flows into the river late Friday night.\n\nEnvironmental remediation teams were still working to contain the spill Monday, as another round of rain sent more water into the contaminated creek. On Sunday, the Coast Guard said some 60,000 gallons of contaminated water had been collected.\n\nCrews with Lewis Environmental were drawing contaminated water from the channel. Hundreds of gallons of potentially tainted water was gathered up and shipped away in large trucks.\n\nTeams from the Banks Industrial Group installed four plastic dams to slow the spread of the contaminated water. But a milky white, bubbly sludge remained visible downstream.\n\nDelaware River spill:Is Bucks County at risk after Delaware River chemical spill? What we know about drinking water\n\nDetails of Delaware River incident:Maps, timeline of the latex chemical spill that threatened drinking water in Philadelphia\n\nWhat is butyl acrylate?\n\nButyl acrylate is a clear colorless liquid with a sharp, distinct smell less dense than water, which can form a surface slick on water, according to the National Library of Medicine. The chemical is used for making paints, coatings, caulks, sealants and adhesives, according to a story in the Columbus Dispatch about the train derailment.\n\nShort-term exposure to butyl acrylate can cause skin and eye irritation and respiratory problems.\n\nThe other chemicals are ethyl acrylate and methyle methacrylate. Both are colorless liquids that can irritate eyes, nose, lungs and throat.\n\n“The latex emulsion is a white liquid that is used in various consumer goods. Its pigmentation makes the water-soluble material visible in surface water,” Trinseo said on its website.\n\nHow have officials monitored and secured water in Delaware River since spill in Bristol?\n\nMany residents of Lower Bucks get their drinking water from Aqua Pennsylvania which said its water intakes in Bristol were immediately shut down and the drinking water here is safe.\n\n\"We continue to monitor the situation while also working closely with state and federal agencies. We will reopen our intake only when we are confident that the source water is safe for our customers and meets our stringent quality standards,\" Aqua stated. Aqua said its system uses water from multiple sources.\n\n\"Our Bristol Plant is upstream of the confluence of the spill, which gives us added flexibility,\" the utility said in another statement Monday afternoon. \"While we continue to test the river water through our lab with highly specialized analysis equipment, we also perform other operational tests as we've begun turning on the plant when the tide moves downstream. And we monitor the tide and shut down the plant when it begins to move upstream.\"\n\nBucks County issued a statement Monday that there continues to be \"no known adverse impacts to drinking water in Bucks County.\" The Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority, the North Penn and North Wales water authorities and Pennsylvania American Water also stated that their water supplies are not affected.\n\n\"Pennsylvania American Water is monitoring the water quality of the Delaware River ...The company has determined there is no impact to our Yardley Water Treatment Plant, which is 15 miles upstream of the chemical release and serves Yardley Borough, Lower Makefield Township, and part of Falls Township,\" the company stated.\n\nPhiladelphia remains a concern after chemical spill\n\nBut Philadelphia officials have more concerns about the safety of the water taken from the river south of the spill by the Philadelphia Water Dept. For a time on Sunday morning, residents were urged to use bottled water and there was a run on supermarkets, including in Lower Bucks close to the border with the city.\n\nAt a press conference late Monday afternoon, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and other city officials said that water from city taps is safe until at least 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and urged residents to save three days worth of water in case the water entering the city system at its Baxter plant would show signs of contamination at that time.\n\nPhiladelphia police helicopters took aerial views of the river and determined there was no plume of toxins visible in the water, officials said Sunday.\n\nThe city is concerned that if contaminated water was found through testing, it would have to work its way through the system, which could take until next week, and that people and restaurants would be advised to use other sources of water until that happens.\n\nSupermarkets there were already out of bottled water. The mayor said that people living on the other side of the Schuylkill River had no concern about their water, as it is not treated at the Baxter plant.\n\nSo far, the city has not seen any signs of contamination through 40 tests of the water involving the Baxter plant and city officials said it is safe to drink.\n\nThe mayor didn't blame Bucks County for the problem. \"We have a good relationship with Bucks County and its government and this is a private company,\" Kenney said about the spill.\n\nRiverkeeper won't drink from Delaware\n\nBut Maya van Rossum wouldn’t drink the water, she said Monday.\n\nThe longtime head of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network said she was deeply concerned about the release of information related to the spill and – in particular – notices sent to nonprofit organizations charged with protecting the environment.\n\nDNR is routinely notified of spills that could impact the Delaware River watershed, said van Rossum. “We received no indication of this event.”\n\nAmong her concerns, the tidal flow of the Delaware could send chemicals both up and down the river. “The river sloughs up and down,” she said.\n\nHer organization is sending right-to-know requests to the Coast Guard and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. “In situations like this, we ask for everything,” she said. “We want to see everything related to this incident.”\n\nOn Monday, van Rossum refrained from making an assessment of the possible environmental damage caused by the spill. The DNR needs much more information before it can determine the potential impact on the environment, including endangered fish species on the Delaware, van Rossum said.\n\nThe DEP said Sunday the water in the Delaware had not been contaminated and no fish or wildlife were injured, but they continue to monitor and take samples.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2021/08/16/genx-water-crisis-recap-key-moments-recent-stories/8130977002/", "title": "GenX water crisis: Recap of the key moments, recent stories", "text": "For more than 30 years, an untold amount of toxic, cancer-causing chemicals entered the Cape Fear River and private residents’ drinking wells from a chemical manufacturing plant outside Fayetteville, North Carolina.\n\nThe chemicals that leaked from the plant are known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, and their manufacturers have allegedly known for decades that they are dangerous to humans.\n\nYet Chemours and DuPont, the two manufacturers who owned the Fayetteville Works plant, contaminated the drinking water for more than 300,000 North Carolinians since as early as 1980. It wasn’t until 2017 when the StarNews broke the story, that the public became aware they were consuming toxic chemicals in dangerously high amounts.\n\nIn the four years since the crisis began, Chemours has had to pay a $12 million fine to the state of North Carolina, and is now required by legal agreement to clean up its manufacturing facility and help some of the thousands of affected residents.\n\nBut a vast majority of the 300,000 people affected by the GenX water crisis have yet to receive any assistance from Chemours or DuPont, and major questions remain over how many will ever get any help, what the chemicals will do to people long term and what stops the same crisis from happening again.\n\nSince 2017, the StarNews has provided comprehensive coverage of the GenX water crisis by publishing dozens of articles. Here are the most recent stories and key coverage from the past:\n\nResidents still awaiting help 4 years after GenX water crisis began\n\nResidents around the Fayetteville Works plant say Chemours is doing very little to help them. In a crisis that’s affected more than 300,000 people, fewer than 5,000 have received any direct assistance from Chemours in the four years since the disaster began.\n\nWhile some in Cumberland County have slowly gotten help from Chemours, an open question remains over what assistance, if any, everyone else will see.\n\nRead on:4 years later, residents say little help has come in GenX water disaster's aftermath\n\n4 years later; Chemours, DuPont face 1,000+ lawsuits for part in GenX water crisis\n\nIn the four years since the GenX water crisis began, a vast majority of those affected haven’t gotten any assistance from Chemours or DuPont. Many have decided to sue as a result.\n\nChemours and DuPont face more than 1,000 lawsuits for their part in the GenX water crisis, but North Carolina is just the tip of the iceberg for the two chemical makers when it comes to water contamination lawsuits.\n\nRead on: GenX lawsuits: North Carolina, other states accuse Chemours, DuPont of fraud, negligence and misconduct\n\n4 years later; what stops the GenX crisis from happening again? Nothing, experts say\n\nThe field of chemistry, especially for commercial purposes, is a quickly expanding area, and there’s no realistic way for scientists or regulators to keep track of all the compounds companies come up with.\n\nWhile some progress has been made in terms of monitoring, environmentalists and experts say little has changed in terms of regulations that could prevent a similar crisis from happening.\n\nRead on:GenX water crisis: Could we face another toxic water disaster? Experts say danger is still there\n\n4 years later; health impacts of GenX crisis remain a mystery\n\nIn the four years since the GenX crisis began in the Cape Fear region, scientists have established that North Carolinians who drank the water from the Cape Fear River had higher amounts of PFAS in their bodies compared to the average American.\n\nYet little is known about what high amounts of PFAS exposure will do to people. Scientists have established some compounds such as PFOA, also known as C8, are possible human carcinogens, but other chemicals leaked into the river by Chemours aren’t as well understood by scientists.\n\nScientists, including many in North Carolina, are making progress in determining the health impacts of PFAS on humans, but they say progress is slow and ultimately understanding the true effects of the crisis might never be possible.\n\nRead on:GenX and your health: What we know 4 years after the toxin was found in Wilmington's drinking water\n\nChemours, North Carolina and Cape Fear River Watch enter into consent order\n\nIn February 2019, Chemours, the state of North Carolina and Cape Fear River Watch entered into a consent order requiring the chemical manufacturer to reduce its chemical emissions and clean up its manufacturing facility outside Fayetteville.\n\nAs part of the agreement, Chemours agreed to pay a $12 million fine to the state and make a $100 million investment in its operation to reduce PFAS emissions. The consent order also mandated Chemours help those around the Fayetteville Works site by installing filters in their homes if their drinking water wells were contaminated.\n\nRead on:Judge signs GenX consent order\n\nChemours admits to polluting Cape Fear River since 1980s\n\nIn a public meeting with local and state officials, Chemours said it had been dumping unregulated chemicals into the Cape Fear River since as early as 1980. Despite the admission, Chemours didn’t commit to ceasing its chemical discharges into the public waterway.\n\nChemours officials believed GenX ended up in the Cape Fear River as a result of a vinyl ether process that takes place on the massive industrial site.\n\nRead more:Chemours: GenX polluting the Cape Fear since 1980\n\nStarNews breaks story on PFAS contamination\n\nIn June 2017, a StarNews investigation revealed that a chemical known commercially as GenX had been identified in the drinking water system of Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, which provides drinking water to approximately 200,000 people.\n\nThe discovery of the PFAS compound, which at the time CFPUA couldn’t filter out, came after years of researchers finding the toxins in the Cape Fear River flowing down from the Fayetteville Works plant approximately 100 miles upstream from Wilmington.\n\nAt the time, scientists had only tested CFPUA for the compound, but expected the contamination zone to spread as more areas were tested.\n\nRead on:Toxin taints CFPUA drinking water", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/08/16"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/12/24/liquid-oozes-onto-highway-red-squirrels-rising-floods-oysters-exploding-atm-news-around-states/40882385/", "title": "50 States roundup", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nRogersville: It’s unknown when a popular north Alabama state park that was hit by a tornado on Dec. 14 will be fully reopened. The lodge, marina and some other sections of Joe Wheeler State Park are operating following the strike by what forecasters determined was an EF-1 twister. But the campground and day-use areas were badly damaged, and park officials said clearing away fallen trees and other debris will take time. The park is on the Tennessee River at Rogersville. The weather service said it was struck by a twister with 110 mph maximum winds that left a trail of damage as wide as 500 yards.\n\nAlaska\n\nWillow: At least six homes were evacuated after an ice jam caused a creek to flood in a subdivision north of Anchorage, emergency officials said. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Department of Emergency Services responded to flooding reports in Willow around 11 p.m. Saturday, The Anchorage Daily News reported.No injuries were reported. Residents near the Willow Creek and Deneki Road areas were evacuated late Saturday and early Sunday. A large chunk of ice jammed at the Deneki bridge and restricted water flow, which caused upstream flooding, a National Weather Service flood advisory said. The American Red Cross opened a temporary shelter at the Willow Community Center, although some residents chose to remain in their homes, officials said. The Willow Fire Department, Alaska State Troopers and Mat-Su Water Rescue Team responded to provide assistance in the community about 70 miles north of Anchorage, the borough said. The water began to recede Sunday, but a layer of ice formed and cars were frozen in place.\n\nArizona\n\nSafford: After a devastating 2017 wildfire nearly wiped the species out, the Mount Graham red squirrel, the nation’s rarest small mammal, continues its slow climb out of the danger zone. The annual survey of the bushy-tailed rodents found at least 78 squirrels living on the upper slopes of Mount Graham in southeastern Arizona, a 4% increase from 2018. The survey was conducted by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Coronado National Forest, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arizona Center for Nature Conservation at the Phoenix Zoo, and the University of Arizona. Although the species’ growth this year was much smaller than the 91% rise noted in the year after the 2017 Frye Fire, biologists are still encouraged that the half-pound critters are on the comeback. But a report released Nov. 18 suggests that the tiny mammal – which has survived fire, construction, introduced competitors and drought – faces a foe that could finally do it in: climate change. The report in the journal Nature Climate Change found that virtually all the of country’s 459 endangered species, including the red squirrels, have at least some vulnerabilities to long-term alterations like drought, increasingly intense storms and temperature rise.\n\nArkansas\n\nMountain Home: The Baxter Regional Medical Center officially broke ground Wednesday on the hospital’s outpatient surgery center. The 23,000 square-foot facility, which will be located along Beard Drive southeast of the hospital, is estimated to cost $8.7 million and should be completed in early 2021. The hospital presently performs close to 8,000 surgeries a year, medial center CEO Ron Peterson said, with about 65% percent of those outpatient procedures. The hospital expects the outpatient surgery center to perform about 3,000 procedures in its first year of operation, and it has the capacity to perform about 7,000 a year at full capacity.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSanta Barbara: A shark reportedly bit a surfer Saturday afternoon off Southern California in a “truly terrifying situation,” the Coast Guard said. The 37-year-old man had been surfing near Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands, during the attack, according to a news release. A friend aboard a nearby boat applied a tourniquet to his leg and called the Coast Guard for help, the release stated. A helicopter crew flew the man to the Santa Barbara airport for treatment and he was in stable condition Saturday night. Coast Guard video footage posted on Twitter showed the man, wearing a full-body wetsuit, being hoisted up from the boat into the helicopter. “This was the best possible outcome to a truly terrifying situation,” Coast Guard Lt. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said in the release.\n\nColorado\n\nDenver: The city’s water utility said it will speed up the removal of lead pipes from homes across the metro area. Denver Water said it expects the program to launch in 2020 and take 15 years at a cost of $500 million, Colorado Public Radio reported. The public agency estimated there are between 64,000 and 84,000 lead service lines in the system. Denver Water said it committed to removing at least 4,500 lines annually under an agreement with the EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Lead exposure can lead to kidney and brain damage, as well as developmental issues for children. Homes built before 1951 are more likely to have lead service lines, Denver Water said.\n\nConnecticut\n\nBridgeport: A police officer grabbed onto a driverless SUV that had rolled into traffic and stopped it from potentially hitting a group of children, authorities said. Surveillance video posted online by news outlets showed Bridgeport School Resource Officer Carlos Carmo Jr. running toward the moving vehicle and using his body to slow and stop the car. A group of Harding High School school students was walking on the sidewalk near the path of the SUV. There were two passengers in the car – one in the passenger seat and one in back – but no driver, when it somehow slipped out of park and rolled away, officials said. It had been parked on the street on a downward slope. Carmo was treated at a hospital for minor injuries, authorities said. No other injuries were reported. Mayor Joe Ganim said Carmo will be honored for his actions.\n\nDelaware\n\nGeorgetown: Two weekend events recently brought a group of Satanists and hundreds of Christian worshippers together in the middle of town. Hundreds of people attended a live nativity Saturday night in Georgetown, while a group of Satanists held a quiet vigil nearby, The News Journal reported. The Satanist organizers said their vigil marked the winter solstice and celebrated religious diversity and equal rights during the holiday season. The group describes itself as a “nontheistic Delaware-based modern Satanic group.” A group called the Good Ole Boy Foundation is sponsoring the nativity scene each night until Christmas. “Everybody has the right to celebrate whatever they celebrate,” Georgetown resident Katie Rohlfing told the newspaper.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: Advocates for homeless people marched through the streets of the nation’s capital with an empty coffin as part of an annual vigil to the honor those who have died. City data showed at least 117 homeless people have died in the district this year, The Washington Post reported. Data showed about 52 of the deaths were considered accidents, including 44 that involved intoxication and three that involved the person being hit by a car. Of the remaining deaths, 26 causes were still pending, two were suicides, eight were homicides and 27 were considered natural, including several that involved alcoholism or cardiovascular disease. The seventh annual vigil hosted by the People for Fairness Coalition opened late Thursday with attendees singing hymns in front of the coffin at a local church before carrying it to Freedom Plaza. After the overnight vigil, participants attended a ceremony at another church where the names of those who died were read aloud.\n\nFlorida\n\nTampa: Sheriff’s deputies were searching for a suspect who they believe exploded an ATM in an unsuccessful effort to steal money. In a news release, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reported that an ATM exploded early Sunday just after surveillance cameras caught the male suspect spray-painting the exterior cameras black at the Pilot Bank. The Tampa Bay Times reported the suspect was unable to get through the ATM’s internal safe so no money was taken. Authorities said a similar incident took place at another bank in nearby Oldsmar in November.\n\nGeorgia\n\nSavannah: The National Park Service plans to place a more storm-resistant roof on a historic building that serves as its staff headquarters at Fort Pulaski on the Georgia coast. The building wasn’t an original part of the Civil War-era fort east of Savannah. It was constructed just before World War I as an attendant’s quarters for a nearby quarantine station. The station was used to treat people with highly contagious diseases between 1889 and 1937. The park service is seeking public comment on its plan to replace the existing asphalt shingle roof with one made of steel, the agency said in a news release. The current roof suffered damaged from Hurricanes Matthew and Irma in 2016 and 2017. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the last surviving building associated with the former quarantine station. The park service said Georgia’s state historic preservation office determined a steel roof would adversely affect the building’s historic character because it would lack the appearance of the original shingle roof. The park service said it plans to minimize the new roof’s impact by applying steel in a diamond shingle pattern that mimics the original design.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: New U.S. Navy contracting terms have resulted in a pullout by a major contractor that is expected to result in the loss of hundreds of jobs at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, officials said. BAE Systems PLC will no longer perform Navy surface ship repair at Pearl Harbor, eliminating about 325 jobs, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. The Navy contracts with private shipyards and other firms for maintenance on nonnuclear surface ships. The multinational security, aerospace and ship repair firm was the prime contractor for repair projects through which subcontractor surface ship work was funneled. BAE announced a five-year multiship, multioption contract in 2014 for modernization and maintenance on nine destroyers and cruisers at Pearl Harbor. But multiship, multioption contracts using cost-reimbursement have been replaced nationally by a Navy strategy called “multiple award contract-multi order,” officials said. The new system uses firm-fixed-price contracts that do no allow adjustments for cost overruns, officials said. BAE cannot bid on smaller, $1 million to $2 million contracts under the new Navy format, but can seek major ship projects that can be $50 million to $100 million, officials said.\n\nIdaho\n\nCoeur d’Alene: A state Supreme Court ruling has upheld a lower-court decision regarding ownership of a launch on Lake Coeur d’Alene. The Dec. 11 ruling said the Eastside Highway District does not own a park boat launch in Coeur d’Alene’s Boothe Park, The Coeur d’Alene Press reported. The highway district had appealed a decision establishing a boundary on the park’s east side. The case has led to a debate over who can access the boat launch and whether the district and the public are allowed lake access at the park, district administrators said. The state Supreme Court affirmed the lower-court decision that Gregory and Ellen Delavan own the launch. The court found that any boundary agreement between the couple and the highway district no longer exists, regardless of whether an agreement existed between the district and previous property owners. The Supreme Court also ruled the summary judgment granted to the Delavans by the district court must be readdressed. The park was established around 1955 when it was conveyed to the Coeur d’Alene Highway District, the precursor to the Eastside Highway District.\n\nIllinois\n\nChicago: New HIV diagnoses in Chicago continue to go down and have declined for four consecutive years, according to figures released by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city’s health department. The 734 new diagnoses reported in 2018 among Chicago residents are the lowest number since 1988, health officials said Monday. Chicago Department of Public Health’s 2019 HIV/STI surveillance report showed 23,580 people were living with HIV through the end of 2017, the year for which most current data is available. The health department’s HIV Services Portfolio is awarding more than $40 million annually to more than 60 community-based and health care organizations. Although HIV rates are declining in Chicago, other sexually transmitted infections are rising. More than 30,600 cases of chlamydia, nearly 12,700 cases of gonorrhea and 877 primary and secondary cases of syphilis were reported to the health department in 2018.\n\nIndiana\n\nFishers:A 4-year-old girl who sledded Saturday onto a frozen pond that was rapidly melting was rescued by firefighters as the ice began to crack while they pulled her to safety. The incident happened at 10 a.m. Saturday in the girl’s backyard, according to a post on the fire department’s Facebook page. The sled was parked near the house but the snowy backyard led directly to the retention pond on a downward slope. Firefighters said the child hopped on the sled before the parents could react, and it carried her onto the pond. The ice did not crack and the parents did not try to walk out to the sled, which firefighters said was the right thing to do because the ice was brittle. Instead, they called 911 and waited for the fire department. The rescuers arrived quickly as the child waited on the sled, according to the post. They used equipment to scoot onto the ice and grab the girl. As they did, firefighters heard the cracking but “luck held that the ice could support the weight,” according to the Facebook post. Officials with the fire department could not be reached immediately for comment but they warned on Facebook that ice-covered ponds will continue to melt this week as temperatures remain above average.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines:Twice within an hour on the afternoon of Dec. 9, police said a Des Moines woman intentionally struck young pedestrians with her SUV, later telling authorities that she targeted a teenage girl because she was Latino. The other victim is a black male. Nicole Marie Poole Franklin, 42, is accused of hitting a 12-year-old boy with her SUV as he walked on a sidewalk within an apartment complex property in the 6000 block of Creston Avenue in Des Moines. Franklin is charged with attempted murder in the incident, which occurred at 3:54 p.m. on Dec. 9, according to a news release from Des Moines police. Witnesses told police the SUV accelerated before striking the boy, who suffered minor injuries. About 30 minutes later, Clive police said Franklin drove off the roadway and struck 14-year-old Natalia Miranda as she walked on a sidewalk along Indian Hills Drive. Franklin faces an attempted murder charge in the hit-and-run. Clive Police Chief Michael Venema said Franklin told police that she targeted Miranda because the girl \"is Mexican.\" Miranda suffered several injuries but returned to school less than a week after the incident. She told KCCI after the crash that she remembers the vehicle coming toward her, but doesn't recall being hit. About an hour after Miranda was hit, West Des Moines police were called to a Conoco gas station where Franklin allegedly stole merchandise and referred to employees and customers by racial and ethnic slurs. West Des Moines police on Sunday said Franklin would face a felony hate crime charge – assault in violation of individual rights – for the Conoco incident, on top of previous charges of theft and public intoxication.\n\nKansas\n\nTopeka: Shawnee County has an extra $75 in its coffers because of a former thief with a guilty conscious. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that someone anonymously sent the money to Shawnee County along with a letter dated Dec. 18. The letter stated that the sender is in a 12-step program and working to make financial amends. It stated that many years ago, the writer stole a receptacle meant for cigarette ashes that was in front of the courthouse. County Commission Chairman Bill Riphahn said the letter was accompanied by three $20 bills, a $10 bill and a $5 bill.\n\nKentucky\n\nFrankfort: State Police collected more than 236 tons of food for Kentucky families with the 10th annual “Cram the Cruiser” food drive. Post 16 in Owensboro collected the most this year with a total of 60,925 pounds of food. Post commander Capt. Brenton Ford credited Master Trooper Corey King for organizing the drive and also recognized the support of local people and businesses, a state police news release said. State police initiated the program in 2010 to help families in need in local post and region areas. Since then, the agency has contributed nearly 2 million pounds of food to shelters, food banks and churches around the state.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: At least one bald eagle, and possibly a second, might have been killed in northwest Louisiana, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Agents believed it happened in the Lake Claiborne area, though they don’t think it was in the state park there, enforcement division spokesman Adam Einck said in an email Monday to the Associated Press. Einck said he couldn’t provide any details because agents are still investigating. The birds are no longer endangered but remain protected by two federal laws. Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, a first offense of killing a bald eagle can bring up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The other law is the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The number of bald eagle nests being used for eggs and nestlings fell to at most seven in the early 1970s. A survey in southeast Louisiana, where the birds are most numerous, found 264 active nests in 2018.\n\nMaine\n\nPortland: A Maine lobstering group has promised to fight the approval of an oyster farm off the state’s southern coast that has become part of a protracted fight over access to the water. The Maine Department of Marine Resources approved a lease of about 35 acres on Maquoit Bay on Dec. 19 for the Mere Point Oyster Company. The state uses a leasing system to allow people raising seafood to use state-owned waters to grow shellfish such as oysters and mussels. Many Maine lobster fishermen opposed the application because they fear it will take away their access to the bay bottom, where they trap lobsters. Some have also said the project is symptomatic of an aquaculture industry they think is growing too fast for the state and will make it difficult to catch Maine’s signature seafood. Opponents of the project are filing an appeal in court to attempt to stop it. Representatives for the Mere Point Oyster Company did not return calls seeking comment.\n\nMaryland\n\nRidge: The state’s first formal stock assessment supported claims by environmentalists that oyster numbers have experienced a sharp decline in the Chesapeake Bay – down 50% since 1999. The study estimated market-size oysters dropped from 600 million in 1999 to about 300 million in the Maryland portion of the bay in 2018. The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science collaborated in the study at the request of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources after the state legislature mandated it. Oysters play an important role in the bay’s ecosystem because of their water-filtering capabilities. They also create reefs for habitat for other bay life. DNR chief Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio said the stock assessment provides “the best available science” to move forward. She also said the state’s oyster management plan has been updated, with the goal of creating a sustainable oyster fishery in eight to 10 years.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: A federal judge is hearing arguments in a case challenging how Massachusetts prisons treat inmates with opioid addiction. The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts is seeking a temporary restraining order compelling the state Department of Correction to provide three prisoners their prescribed medication for opioid addiction while they serve out their sentences. The ACLU and the law firm Goodwin Procter filed suit Friday alleging that the three inmates had been prescribed addiction treatment medication before being incarcerated but were told by prison officials that they would only receive them for up to 90 days, after which they would be withdrawn. The organizations argue the policy violates the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act’s protections for people suffering from opioid addiction. The organizations said the inmates are effectively being forced to go through painful withdrawal and face an increased risk of relapse, overdose, and death without their medication. The Correction Department has said it doesn’t have a policy restricting the dosage or length of treatment for opioid addiction medications. It said any decisions about maintaining or discontinuing medications are made by the company it contracts for inmate health care service.\n\nMichigan\n\nMadison Heights:The state said there is no immediate health threat as crews continue to clean up a greenish-yellow chemical ooze that ran onto I-696 in Madison Heights on Friday, apparently seeping from a nearby chemical plating plant that was closed three years ago. The underground plume is not impacting air quality or the drinking water, Jill Greenberg, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said Sunday. The contaminated water is migrating underground and working its way to the freeway, she said. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is working with the state, determined the liquid likely was groundwater contaminated with hexavalent chromium. Samples results from the site are expected this week, Greenberg said. The spill has been traced to a nearby, closed electro-plating company in Madison Heights whose owner was convicted of storing dangerous chemicals in leaky containers. Hexavalent chromium is the same chemical Pacific Gas and Electric Company was accused of contaminating the drinking water in a California town in the famous lawsuit brought by activist Erin Brockovich.\n\nMinnesota\n\nMillerville: Authorities said two brothers are dead after being overcome by fumes in a grain silo on a western Minnesota farm. The Star Tribune reported the victims were identified as 47-year-old Curt F. Boesl and 49-year-old Steven T. Boesl. Authorities said an 11-year-old son of Curt Boesl’s, Alex, also fell ill to the fumes late Saturday morning and was taken by air ambulance to a Twin Cities hospital. His condition has not been released. Authorities said Boesl and his son were working in the top of the silo and “were apparently overcome by fumes.” Another son outside the silo saw what happened and called 911. He also called his uncle, Steven, who arrived and went to the top of the silo to try and rescue his brother and nephew. Authorities said Steven Boesl also was apparently overcome by fumes. By the time deputies arrived, all three were unconscious. Emergency responders removed them from the silo. Ambulance personnel declared Steven Boesl dead at the scene. Curt Boesl died Sunday morning.\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: Average wait times have tripled at Mississippi’s driver’s license stations over the past two years, according to a report by a state legislative watchdog agency. The Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review report released Dec. 18 attributed the spike in waits to reasons including vacancies, malfunctioning kiosks and clients being provided outdated or inaccurate or incomplete information. Other reasons include the adoption of a computer system that the report said increased processing times for routine transactions by 40% to 50%, news outlets reported. The state Department of Public Safety is working to lessen wait times, the report said. Changes include implementing appointment scheduling, filling vacant positions and improving online services, the report and Public Service Commissioner Marshall Fisher said.\n\nMissouri\n\nSt. Clair: Authorities said two boys have died after plunging through a frozen pond near their home in eastern Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said the 7- and 8-year-old boys were found Sunday afternoon in the private pond in Franklin County. The search began after the boys didn’t return from a bicycle ride. The patrol said a family member found one of them floating in the pond. A diver then located the second child. The report didn’t say how long they had been in the water. They were pronounced dead several hours later. Their names weren’t immediately released.\n\nMontana\n\nBillings: US officials transferred 33 disease-free bison from Yellowstone National Park to a Montana Indian Reservation as part of efforts to reduce the slaughter of bison that migrate out of the park. Robert Magnan with the Fort Peck Tribes said a trailer carrying the animals left the park Monday morning. It was expected to arrive at the reservation in northeastern Montana later in the day. The animals were to be released into a pasture on Tuesday. The shipment includes bison and their descendants who were trapped to prevent the spread of the disease brucellosis. They have been tested repeatedly to make sure they are disease-free. Brucellosis can cause pregnant animals to prematurely abort their young. It has been eradicated in the U.S. except for the Yellowstone area, where it persists in herds of elk and bison. Yellowstone has captured thousands of bison and sent them to slaughter for disease control over the past few decades. Monday’s transfer was done under a program that puts some captured animals through a quarantine to make sure they do not carry brucellosis. The quarantine program has been in place for more than a decade, but struggled in its early years in part because of opposition from the livestock industry due to worries about cows becoming infected.\n\nNebraska\n\nLincoln: Prison officials have canceled Christmas Eve visits to the Nebraska State Penitentiary to fight a prison system flu outbreak. Nearly four dozen flu cases have been confirmed and a higher number are suspected at five prison facilities, the Department of Correctional Services said in a new release Sunday. The penitentiary in Lincoln has the highest number of confirmed and suspected cases, said prisons director Scott Frakes. The department is taking several steps to help stop the outbreak, including providing face masks for staffers and inmates and encouraging inmates to get flu shots.\n\nNevada\n\nReno:State water officials want to pause the approval of groundwater for new developments in Cold Spring Valley north of Reno, which has seen thousands of new homes in recent decades. They want to know more about the sustainability of the valley’s groundwater supply before signing off on new projects. On Friday, state engineer Tim Wilson, Nevada's highest-ranking water official, signed an order declaring a moratorium on approving new subdivision maps if the development would rely on groundwater pumped from the Cold Spring Valley. The order makes exceptions for developments that would import water via pipeline, such as the proposed 5,000-unit Stonegate development. Pumping to support existing homes in the valley isn't affected by the order. Wilson and his boss, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Director Bradley Crowell, are concerned the amount of water rights approved exceed the rate at which nature replenishes the underground aquifer.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nConcord: State lawmakers will be considering two bills to crack down on vaping this session. Last session, the Legislature added vaping to state’s tobacco laws and raised the minimum age for cigarettes and vaping products to 19. Next year, lawmakers will consider a bill to go even further and raise the minimum age for vaping to 21. Lawmakers also will take up a bill that would ban all flavored vaping products except for menthol. Democratic Rep. Jerry Knirk told New Hampshire Public Radio that he believes it’s a public health issue and that lawmakers should be doing everything they can to stop teens from vaping. But Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said he would not support banning sales of any vaping products.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nFreehold Township:About 200 people rallied Saturday for Stephanie Parze, a 25-year-old missing Freehold Township woman, an effort by her family to keep a light burning for her. The group stood outlined in yellow police tape shaped into a heart as a tower ladder from the East Freehold Fire Company hoisted photographers over the crowd. Parze was last heard from on Oct. 30 after a night out with family. Her on-again, off-again boyfriend, John D. Ozbilgen, 29, was named by police as a person of interest. He took his own life on Nov. 22, hanging himself in the garage of his parents’ Freehold Township home. That was two days after he was released from Monmouth County Jail, where he was held for 11 days on a child pornography charge that resulted from a review of his cellphone in connection with Parze’s disappearance. Suspicion hung over Ozbligen up to his death. He was accused of choking and beating other women and posting Facebook messages and sending texts that alluded to abuse, violence and homicide. Parze’s father, Ed, said the outpouring of support has been surprising. One woman delivered 21 baskets of gifts worth thousands of dollars that she collected from neighbors to be auctioned off at a fundraiser. The family is continuing to schedule searches and fundraising events. A search will be staged at 9 a.m. Sunday at 333 Route 522 in Manalapan.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nAlbuquerque: President Donald Trump signed legislation Friday that extends federal grant programs aimed at preserving indigenous languages and expands eligibility so more tribes can participate. The legislation was named after Esther Martinez, a traditional storyteller and Tewa language advocate from northern New Mexico’s Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo who died in 2006. Her family, tribal leaders and members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation said reauthorization of the programs through 2024 marks a commitment by the federal government to keeping Alaska Native and American Indian languages alive. Dozens of tribes from Alaska to Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana and Massachusetts have benefited from the programs over the years. There are more than 40 active grants totaling more than $11 million that are being used for language preservation and immersion efforts.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York City: The most popular baby names in New York City last year were Liam and Emma, according to data released by city health officials Monday. Of the babies born in New York City in 2018, there were 779 Liams and 501 Emmas, according to the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s birth certificate records. The number of births in the city decreased from 117,013 in 2017 to 114,296 in 2018, according to the city’s data. Liam has been the top name for boys since 2016, and Emma has been the top name for girls since 2017. Some New Yorkers opted for rarer names: There were a handful of girls named Aminah, Ida and Zadie and boys called Bentley, Lucian and Warren. Nine of the top 10 boy names from 2017 remained on the list in 2018. Jayden was dropped from the 2018 list while Alexander was added as the 10th-most popular name. Eight of the top girl names stayed on the top 10 list for 2018. Amelia and Chloe joined the list as the ninth- and 10th-most popular names in 2018 respectively.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nWaynesville: Authorities said a man impersonating a police officer pulled a woman over and told her to get out of her car at gunpoint. The man is still at large. The Haywood County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the incident happened Sunday. The sheriff’s office said the man was driving a silver Dodge Charger with dark-tinted windows and white strobe lights. The woman thought it was a police vehicle and pulled over. The sheriff’s office said the man wore a black button up collared shirt, cargo pants and silver badge. He also had a gun on his belt. Authorities said the man pulled out his gun and told the woman to “get out of the car.” The woman drove off only for the man to briefly chase her in his car.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: A landslide closed a road in the Bismarck area, but authorities said no one was injured. A driver called authorities Sunday afternoon about the impassable River Road. It wasn’t immediately known what caused the landslide that blocked both lanes of traffic. Burleigh County highway department engineers were assessing the situation and how best to reopen the road.\n\nOhio\n\nDayton: Aerospace fans who have trouble fitting a museum visit into daytime hours will have the opportunity next year to make evening visits to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The extended schedule once a month will give busy families and other people with time crunches more options to see and experience the museum’s exhibits, museum officials said. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. but will remain open until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month beginning next year. Visitors on select evenings will get up-close looks at different vintage aircraft in the museum’s collection with volunteer experts on hand to discuss and answer questions. The museum near Dayton plays host to some 800,000 visitors a year who can see more than 350 aerospace vehicles and thousands of artifacts. It also shows movies and offers simulators and other attractions. Admissions and parking are free.\n\nOklahoma\n\nTulsa: An iconic building in downtown Tulsa that was once the world headquarters for televangelist Oral Roberts’ ministries is losing its distinctive diamond-shaped facade for safety reasons. The Tulsa World reported workers are removing the diamond-shaped slabs of granite that cover the Abundant Life Building, The building was originally constructed in 1958 but has been vacant since the 1980s. Its ownership has changed hands several times over the years. It’s now owned by Sharp Development. Brian Elliott, with Sharp Development, on Friday said several of the diamonds have fallen on their own. Preservation Oklahoma chose the windowless structure as one of 2016’s most endangered historic places. Preservationists said the building exemplifies at-risk midcentury architecture and is woven into the fabric of Tulsa’s past. The building had been subject to several nuisance violations between 2004 and 2014. A trespasser died in 2013 after falling down an elevator shaft.\n\nOregon\n\nSalem:A group of homeless people followed up on a plan to set up tents on the state Capitol grounds Monday after being displaced from downtown under a camping ban passed by the City Council earlier this month. About 25 people with about a dozen tents occupied the park before State Police and Parks and Recreation Department officials arrived. State officials and Salem Housing Authority staff told the homeless they had two hours to leave the Oregon Capitol State Park. At least one camper was arrested on an outstanding warrant. City officials briefly revisited an idea to allow sanctioned tent camping Friday, but they have backed away from that proposal. Instead, they are redoubling efforts to find a space to operate a 90-day warming shelter after Salem First Presbyterian Church decided not to participate.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nGladwyne: Joseph Segel, a “quintessential entrepreneur” who founded the home-shopping network QVC, has died, the company that owns the channel announced. He was 88. Segel died Saturday in Gladwyne because of congestive heart failure, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. He was remembered as an innovator for creating QVC, short for “Quality Value Convenience.” It launched in 1986 and was played by nearly 60 cable stations. It now reaches 380 million homes throughout the world, according to a press release from Qurate Retail Group. In 1993, Segel retired as chairman of QVC. He stayed on as a company adviser until 2013. Segel’s entrepreneurial streak wasn’t just limited to QVC. He also founded the Franklin Mint, a private mint company that produces commemorative coins and other collectibles. It is now owned by Sequential Brands Group.\n\nRhode Island\n\nBurrillville: State environmental officials have cited two people and are looking for four others they said were deer hunting out of season over the weekend. Environmental officers responded to Burrillville on Sunday after getting reports of out-of-season hunters, according to Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management posts on social media. The first officer on the scene made contact with two people they described as poachers, but four others fled into the woods. A department dog was brought to the scene and found three shotguns hidden under the snow and leaves. One was still loaded. A fourth hidden shotgun was located by officers searching another area of the woods. No names were released.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nSpartanburg: Nearly 1,200 city employees are getting early Christmas presents in the form of January pay raises. The Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported that the County Council recently adopted the county’s first pay restructuring in more than a decade, which includes $5.3 million in annual pay increases and benefits for jobs in 27 pay grades ranging from $23,500 to $167,710. The increases will affect 1,183 employees. The Council had budgeted for 4% increases. Some will get more, and others will get less. County Administrator Cole Alverson said tax revenue is greater than expected, and all the raises can be paid for without a tax increase. The raises take effect Jan. 3, and will be seen in the Jan. 23 paychecks, he said. Designed to attract and retain employees, council members said they hope the raises make up for several lean budget years of no or little pay increases.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nPierre: Two South Dakota companies have paid off all lunch debt in the Pierre School District. Karber Construction and American Trust Insurance have eliminated a negative balance of about $2,300 in students’ meal accounts. Mandy Karber said that as a small business, they were looking for a way to give back. She said it’s typical of the community where there are a lot of people willing to help out, according to the Argus Leader. American Trust Insurance said it raised about $1,000 with an employee-giving campaign. District business manager Darla Mayer said school officials are grateful for the generous individuals and businesses.\n\nTennessee\n\nMemphis:Two American originals, Elvis Presley and David Lynch, will converge when Graceland plays host to a fan convention celebrating the 30th anniversary of “Twin Peaks.” The gathering – officially known as “Twin Peaks 30: Official Fan Celebration” – is set for April 3-5, with most events at the Elvis Presley’s Memphis entertainment complex across the street from the mansion. According to Graceland, the convention will include “‘Twin Peaks’-themed parties; exhibits of props and costumes; screenings of fan-favorite episodes; and autograph and meet-and-greet sessions “accompanied by cherry pie and ‘damn good coffee,’” according to a press release citing the culinary preferences of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, the series hero played by Kyle MacLachlan. Celebrity guests who are scheduled to attend include Sherilyn Fenn, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook, Chrysta Bell, Michael Horse, James Marshall, Kimmy Robertson and Sheryl Lee. Lynch, the celebrated director who created the cult series with writer Mark Frost, is not scheduled to attend. Ticket packages for the “Twin Peaks 30: Official Fan Celebration” go on sale at 2 p.m. Thursday at www.graceland.com/TwinPeaks. Tickets initially will be offered in expensive “packages,” ranging from $399 to $999; one-day tickets and other types of admission are expected to be made available at a later date.\n\nTexas\n\nKaty: A dispute over a child’s haircut ended with gunfire Saturday at a barbershop, according to authorities. Deputies are looking for a man who shot an employee of a barbershop in the Houston suburb of Katy during an argument, the Harris County Sheriff’s office said in a tweet Saturday. Witnesses said the argument was over a haircut given to the man’s son. The alleged shooter left the barbershop in a grey, four-door sedan, according to the sheriff’s office. The employee was shot three times and was in stable condition at an area hospital, KPRC-TV reported Saturday. The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to requests for information Sunday.\n\nUtah\n\nSt. George: Federal officials are considering whether to allow a highway to be built through protected Mojave desert tortoise habitat in southern Utah, a plan that has drawn criticism from conservationists. The proposed four-lane highway would pass through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area north of St. George to connect traffic from Washington City to St. George, the Spectrum newspaper reported. The Bureau of Land Management is taking public comments through Jan. 6 ahead of a draft environmental impact statement that’s expected to come out late spring or early summer. Elected officials in southern Utah have been pushing for the road to address current and future traffic concerns in one of the most rapidly growing parts of the country. Conservationists argue that officials should consider alternatives to a highway that could put the threatened tortoise and other sensitive species at risk.\n\nVermont\n\nBarre: Three school districts will soon be using electric buses to carry some of their students to and from school. The Barre Unified School District, Champlain Valley School District and Franklin West Supervisory District will each replace a regular bus as part of an electric bus pilot program. The districts were chosen from a long list of applicants to participate in the program funded by Vermont’s legal settlement with Volkswagen for violations of the Clean Air Act, MyChamplainValley.com reported. Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Emily Boedecker said it’s an opportunity to check the benefits of electric transport on a small scale. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation are working together on the program. Over the next few months the districts will be working with the sponsors to purchase the buses, build charging infrastructure, and look at any other facility upgrades that might be needed.\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: Gov. Ralph Northam said Friday that he hired Melissa Baker to oversee 38 state parks and more than 270 employees. She will be the first woman to run the department in the park system’s 83-year history when she starts in January. Baker previously worked as the director of North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department and previously worked as chief of operations for Montana State Parks. She previously taught at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the University of Maine.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: Health officials are warning people to stay away from area beaches and bodies of water as the region’s record-breaking rainstorms have caused sewage spills. Medina Park Beach along Lake Washington, Saltwater State Park in Des Moines and Port Washington Narrows in Kitsap County were hit by sewage overflows caused by a 48-hour storm system that soaked the region. The heavy rainstorm began Thursday, dropping more than 6 inches of rain before easing up Saturday. Friday was the wettest day in Seattle in 10 years, and the most rain for Dec. 20 since record-keeping at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport began in 1945. The National Weather Service said the airport recorded 3.25 inches of rain Friday, making it also the fifth-rainiest day in city history. Seattle also broke a daily rainfall record on Thursday with 2.91 inches, making it the 11th-wettest day recorded at the airport. King County said the Medina Pump Station was fully functioning when it overflowed on Friday for about four hours. Advisory signs have been posted. Officials said coming into contact with fecal contaminated waters can cause gastroenteritis, skin rashes, upper respiratory infections, and other waterborne illnesses.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: Residents who want to recycle their Christmas trees after the holidays will be able to donate them to be used for fish habitats. The recycling event is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 4 at Charleston’s Capitol Market. There’s no limit to the number of trees each person can donate and no size limit. Trees must be real. All decorations must be removed, and branches must be attached to the tree. The trees will be repurposed as fish habitats in lakes across West Virginia, including Cheat, Tygart, Stonewall Jackson, Stonecoal, Burnsville, Sutton, Summersville, Big Ditch, Sherwood, R.D. Baily, Beech Fork and East Lynn lakes, and the Apple Grove Hatchery in Mason County. The program is sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan in conjunction with West Virginia State Parks and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Staff will be at the donation site to help unload trees. Those who donate can register for prizes, and each person who donates will receive a gift from the Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan.\n\nWisconsin\n\nWausau: For decades, those who have participated in snowball fights in Wausau have risked getting in trouble with the law. But that might be about to change. A 1962 ban on throwing projectiles in Wausau lumps snowballs into the same category as rocks and other items that can cause serious harm. City Council President Lisa Rasmussen said that recent negative national attention over the rarely used ordinance has raised questions about whether it could be time to take snowballs off the naughty list. Wausau police and the mayor even made a video showing officers having a snowball fight. The City Council will consider decriminalizing snowball fights at a meeting next month.\n\nWyoming\n\nCody: The city plans to continue using police sharpshooters to reduce its deer population. A Wyoming Game and Fish Department permit allows the city to cull as many as 50 deer per year. A recent count showed 180 deer in the city limits, down from 192 in 2018 and nearly 300 in 2015, the Cody Enterprise reported. A task force in 2015 recommended reducing the deer population to 150. Police sharpshooters have killed 151 deer since the local program began. Allowing the herd to grow would cause the deer to have insufficient food and become unhealthy, Police Chief Chuck Baker said. The Police Department provides the deer to people willing to process and eat the meat.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/12/24"}]}
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{"question_id": "20230331_4", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:45", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/17/business/tips-coffee-ice-cream-touch-screens-ctrp/index.html", "title": "'Out of control': No one knows how much to tip | CNN Business", "text": "New York CNN —\n\nA new checkout trend is sweeping across America, making for an increasingly awkward experience: digital tip jars.\n\nYou order a coffee, an ice cream, a salad or a slice of pizza and pay with your credit card or phone. Then, an employee standing behind the counter spins around a touch screen and slides it in front of you. The screen has a few suggested tip amounts – usually 10%, 15% or 20%. There’s also often an option to leave a custom tip or no tip at all.\n\nThe worker is directly across from you. Other customers are standing behind, waiting impatiently and looking over your shoulder to see how much you tip. And you must make a decision in seconds. Oh lord, the stress.\n\nCustomers and workers today are confronted with a radically different tipping culture compared to just a few years ago — without any clear norms. Although consumers are accustomed to tipping waiters, bartenders and other service workers, tipping a barista or cashier may be a new phenomenon for many shoppers. It’s being driven in large part by changes in technology that have enabled business owners to more easily shift the costs of compensating workers directly to customers.\n\n“I don’t know how much you’re supposed to tip and I study this,” said Michael Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University and one of the leading researchers on US tipping habits.\n\nAmerica has tipping fatigue. Liz Hafalia/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images\n\nAdding to the changing dynamics, customers were encouraged to tip generously during the pandemic to help keep restaurants and stores afloat, raising expectations. Total tips for full-service restaurants were up 25% during the latest quarter compared to a year ago, while tips at quick-service restaurants were up 17%, according to data from Square.\n\nThe shift to digital payments also accelerated during the pandemic, leading stores to replace old-fashioned cash tip jars with tablet touch screens. But these screens and the procedures for digital tipping have proven more intrusive than a low-pressure cash tip jar with a few bucks in it.\n\nCustomers are overwhelmed by the number of places where they now have the option to tip and feel pressure about whether to add a gratuity and for how much. Some people deliberately walk away from the screen without doing anything to avoid making a decision, say etiquette experts who study tipping culture and consumer behavior.\n\nTipping can be an emotionally charged decision. Attitudes towards tipping in these new settings vary widely.\n\nSome customers tip no matter what. Others feel guilty if they don’t tip or embarrassed if their tip is stingy. And others eschew tipping for a $5 iced coffee, saying the price is already high enough.\n\n“The American public feels like tipping is out of control because they’re experiencing it in places they’re not used to,” said Lizzie Post, co-president of the Emily Post Institute and its namesake’s great-great-granddaughter. “Moments where tipping isn’t expected makes people less generous and uncomfortable.”\n\nStarbucks has rolled out tipping this year as an option for customers paying with credit and debit cards. Some Starbucks baristas told CNN that the tips are adding extra money to their paychecks, but customers shouldn’t feel obligated to tip every time.\n\nOne barista in Washington State said that he understands if a customer doesn’t tip for a drip coffee order. But if he makes a customized drink after spending time talking to the customer about exactly how it should be made, “it does make me a little bit disappointed if I don’t receive a tip.”\n\n“If someone can afford Starbucks every day, they can afford to tip on at least a few of those trips,” added the employee, who spoke under the condition of anonymity.\n\n“Un-American”\n\nThe option to tip is seemingly everywhere today, but the practice has a troubled history in the United States.\n\nTipping spread after the Civil War as an exploitative measure to keep down wages of newly-freed slaves in service occupations. Pullman was the most notable for its tipping policies. The railroad company hired thousands of Black porters, but paid them low wages and forced them to rely on tips to make a living.\n\nCritics of tipping argued that it created an imbalance between customers and workers, and several states passed laws in the early 1900s to ban the practice.\n\nIn “The Itching Palm,” a 1916 diatribe on tipping in America, writer William Scott said that tipping was “un-American” and argued that “the relation of a man giving a tip and a man accepting it is as undemocratic as the relation of master and slave.”\n\nBut tipping service workers was essentially built into law by the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, which created the federal minimum wage that excluded restaurant and hospitality workers. This allowed the tipping system to proliferate in these industries.\n\nIn 1966, Congress created a “subminimum” wage for tipped workers. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees has stood at $2.13 per hour — lower than the $7.25 federal minimum — since 1991, although many states require higher base wages for tipped employees. If a server’s tips don’t add up to the federal minimum, the law says that the employer must make up the difference. But this doesn’t always happen. Wage theft and other wage violations are common in the service industry.\n\nThe Department of Labor considers any employee working in a job that “customarily and regularly” receives more than $30 a month in tips as eligible to be classified a tipped worker. Experts estimate there are more than five million tipped workers in the United States.\n\nTips on tipping\n\nJust how much to tip is entirely subjective and varies across industries, and the link between the quality of service and the tip amount is surprisingly weak, Lynn from Cornell said.\n\nHe theorized that a 15% to 20% tip at restaurants became standard because of a cycle of competition among customers. Many people tip to gain social approval or with the expectation of better service. As tip levels increase, other customers start tipping more to avoid any losses in status or risk poorer service.\n\nThe gig economy has also changed tipping norms. An MIT study released in 2019 found that customers are less likely to tip when workers have autonomy over whether and when to work. Nearly 60% of Uber customers never tip, while only about 1% always tip, a 2019 University of Chicago study found.\n\nWhat makes it confusing, Lynn said, is that “there’s no central authority that establishes tipping norms. They come from the bottom up. Ultimately, it’s what people do that helps establish what other people should do.”\n\nYou should almost always tip workers earning the subminimum wage such as restaurant servers and bartenders, say advocates and tipping experts.\n\nThe option to tip at coffee shops has become ubiquitous. Adobe Stock\n\nWhen given the option to tip in places where workers make an hourly wage, such as Starbucks baristas, customers should use their discretion and remove any guilt from their decision, etiquette experts say. Tips help these workers supplement their income and are always encouraged, but it’s okay to say no.\n\nEtiquette experts recommend that customers approach the touch screen option the same way they would a tip jar. If they would leave change or a small cash tip in the jar, do so when prompted on the screen.\n\n“A 10% tip for takeaway food is a really common amount. We also see change or a single dollar per order,” said Lizzie Post. If you aren’t sure what to do, ask the worker if the store has a suggested tip amount.\n\nSaru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, which advocates to end subminimum wage policies, encourages customers to tip. But tips should never count against service workers’ wages, and customers must demand that businesses pay workers a full wage, she said.\n\n“We’ve got to tip, but it’s got to be combined with telling employers that tips have to be on top, not instead of, a full minimum wage,” she said.", "authors": ["Nathaniel Meyersohn"], "publish_date": "2022/12/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/restaurants/2021/09/17/restaurant-etiquette-should-you-add-tip-your-takeout-order/8346290002/", "title": "Restaurant etiquette: Should you add a tip on your takeout order?", "text": "Christopher Elliott\n\nSpecial to USA TODAY\n\nLeaving a gratuity at an American restaurant was all but mandatory before the coronavirus pandemic. But as COVID-19 lingers, customers have discovered a new requirement: tipping on takeout orders – seriously.\n\nAnd by \"takeout,\" I mean that you're picking up your order in the restaurant. No meals delivered to your table. No water refills. Just your meal in a paper bag.\n\nMore than half of Americans (56%) started tipping more for restaurant food last year, according to a new Bank of America survey. Just under 40% of all orders – on-premises, pickup and delivery – included a tip before COVID-19. But that figure rose by 10% last year, according to Paytronix Systems.\n\nThe gratuities are more generous, too. One-third of guests left 20% or more of the bill as a tip, on average.\n\n\"Before COVID, only a small percentage of customers gave tips when picking up takeout,\" says restaurant consultant Izzy Kharasch. “The pandemic has changed things.\"\n\nTakeout tipping rules are fuzzy\n\nBut now, travelers are confused.\n\nPattie Haubner was a generous tipper in the early days of the pandemic. She hoped her gratuity would support the restaurant workers behind the counter who received less than minimum wage. But as the pandemic drags on, she's not sure what to do.\n\n\"I'm put off by pre-service prompts, especially in coffee shops and takeout places where a $3 coffee prompts you to offer even up to a $5 tip,\" says Haubner, a retired communications professional and frequent air traveler from West Nyack, New York. \"But I'm concerned that if I dare hit no tip – even at a drive-thru – I'll get a nasty look. Or worse.\"\n\nSo what's the right thing to do? Some etiquette experts say you should tip on takeout orders. Others disagree, saying customers shouldn't pay a gratuity if there's no table service. They are tired of guilt tips and just wish the restaurant industry would end the confusion by paying their workers a living wage.\n\n► Guilt tip: Travelers face pressure for gratuities\n\nThe case for tipping on your takeout order\n\n\"Tipping on takeout orders is the right thing to do,\" says H.G. Parsa, professor of lodging management at the University of Denver. \"Even takeout involves some amount of service, and we should tip those employees.\"\n\nA tip is a token of appreciation for the service provided, and takeout is a service, Parsa says.\n\nYour gratuities also support restaurant workers and their employers during difficult times. You may disagree with the restaurant industry's compensation system, which allows employers to pay less than minimum wage and make the rest up on tips. But this is no time to protest.\n\n\"As of right now, I would encourage you to tip on takeout orders if you can, because restaurants are still understaffed and aren’t operating at full capacity,\" says Bonnie Tsao, founder of Beyond Etiquette, an etiquette consultancy.\n\nHow much should you tip on a takeout order? Elena Brouwer, director of the International Etiquette Centre, says anywhere from 15% and up for the restaurant bill. \"Twenty percent is even better,\" she says. \"And if you can't afford to tip, order something less expensive to allow the person taking care of you to receive a tip.\"\n\nThe case against tipping\n\nBut travelers are baffled by the way restaurants solicit a gratuity when you place your takeout order. \"Why are they asking for a tip before the service is rendered?\" asks Harry Clark, who owns a vintage automobile dealership in Phoenix.\n\nSome etiquette experts say tipping on takeout is a bad idea.\n\n\"I don’t tip on takeout,\" says Adeodata Czink, an etiquette consultant with Business of Manners. \"All they do is put it in a bag.\"\n\nShe's also offended by the payment systems that don't accept cash and have set tips – 12%, 15%, 20% – programmed on the tablet. You have to push the button in front of the worker, which is unnerving.\n\n\"And for what?\" she says. \"They give you a cup of coffee in a paper cup. You can't even sit down to enjoy it.\"\n\nCustomers are regularly refusing to leave a gratuity on a takeout order.\n\n\"To me, a tip is a recognition of extra service beyond providing the food,\" says Clayton Murtle, an account executive for a marketing company in Brooklyn, New York. \"It’s an interesting symptom of tipping culture that we still feel obligated to tip when restaurants are doing the one thing that should be included in the price of the food.\"\n\nHe says friends have told him that even the employees providing the takeout food depend on tips. \"But why should I pay $18 for tikka masala just because the restaurant can’t be bothered to pay their employees a living wage?\"\n\nSo what's a traveler to do? I asked Jodi R.R. Smith, owner of Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting, for guidance. She says tipping a restaurant worker for good service is still polite. But the payment systems that try to extract a tip from you before your food arrives aren't asking for a tip. Anything charged before you get the food is a service fee.\n\n\"I wish the programmers for some of these payment systems had taken the time to actually speak with etiquette experts before coding the choices and interface,\" she says. \"Tipping occurs at the end of the transaction, not before.\"\n\nIn the end, maybe it doesn't come down to manners, but honesty in advertising. If a restaurant publicizes a price for an entree, then you should be able to pay that rate without shame. A 20% gratuity on a takeout order is difficult to justify – even now.\n\nHow to handle a request for a takeout order tip\n\nWhat do you want to say as a customer? Even if you're offended by a payment system that demands a gratuity before you receive your food, you may want to still consider a takeout tip. After all, one reason people tip is to acknowledge that the compensation system for many workers in the hospitality industry makes the tip an essential part of someone's wages. So if you want to make a statement about the unfairness of the system – and make no mistake, it's unfair – \"then definitely go ahead and tip,\" says Nick Leighton, host of the weekly etiquette podcast \"Were You Raised By Wolves?\"\n\nConsider adjusting your tip. That's the advice of Lisa Grotts, an etiquette expert with The Golden Rules Gal. She supports tipping on takeout orders and recommends 20% by default. But if something goes wrong, some systems allow you to increase or decrease the gratuity. \"I have experienced one delivery service where a tip can be adjusted after the fact in case of issues,\" she says.\n\nFollow your instinct. In the end, you have to do what you believe is right, says Diane Gottsman, owner of the Protocol School of Texas. \"Simply hit the 'custom tip' or 'no tip' if you feel strongly,\" she says. \"Yes, I know it feels uncomfortable to push that 'no tip' button – but it’s important to follow your instinct.\" She notes that a gratuity is respectful in many, but not all circumstances.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/09/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/advice/2019/11/29/automatic-tipping-travelers-beware-unexpected-gratuities/4321746002/", "title": "Automatic tipping: Travelers, beware of unexpected gratuities", "text": "Christopher Elliott\n\nSpecial to USA TODAY\n\nAutomatic tipping is everywhere, and it's time to do something about it.\n\nI saw it at a pizza restaurant in Provo, Utah, recently. When I paid for my order, the electronic payment system asked if I wanted to tip 10% (cheapskate!), 15% (better!) or the correct amount, 20%. No, the touchpad didn't actually comment on the choices, but the incorrect selection was clear: the \"no tip\" box that wasn't highlighted.\n\nIt was a takeout order, for goodness sake.\n\nTipping is a confusing ritual for consumers. Coffee shops, hair salons and fast-food restaurants now actively solicit tips from their customers. But automatic tipping takes it to the next level. When a business either strongly suggests a tip or just adds a gratuity to your bill hoping you won't dispute it, that feels wrong.\n\nHotel tipping guide:Here's how much – and who – you should be tipping at American hotels\n\nAutomatic tipping takes tipping to the next level\n\nConsider what happened to Joshua Zweighaft, a New York-based travel consultant. When he ordered a beer at a poolside bar at an upscale hotel in San Jose, California, it added an 18% gratuity for his \"convenience.\"\n\n\"I paid it,\" he says. \"But did not leave an additional tip. I hope the gratuity went to the bartender.\"\n\nService charges for drinks are becoming common in resort towns, particularly Las Vegas. You can sometimes negotiate them off your bill, but do you really want to make a scene?\n\nAlso:Resort fees on Las Vegas Strip are on the rise. Here's why they're likely here to stay\n\nEven when a business doesn't automatically add a tip, it still feels as if you have no choice. Wade Eyerly, the CEO of an insurance company based in New Canaan, Connecticut, is unhappy about the airport restaurants that solicit tips through a tablet-based payment system like Square before you receive your food.\n\n\"It’s like a mob threat,\" he says. \"Tip well, or who knows what happens, you know? But there’s no way for your tip to reflect the service.\"\n\nThe cruise industry may be the worst when it comes to auto-tipping.\n\nCruise lines such as Carnival, Princess and Norwegian automatically add fees of up to $23 per person, per day to your bill. You can remove these tips before you disembark, but once you're off the ship, there's nothing you can do. Many cruise passengers don't review their folio before they disembark. As a result, they sometimes tip twice.\n\nShould tipping even exist?\n\nA lot of service employees believe tips ought to be mandatory. If you don't believe me, I'll show you the hate mail I'll get after this story appears. Before chewing me out, they'll inform me that a tip is part of their salary – and that by encouraging readers to withhold a tip, I'm an accessory to theft.\n\nThat's nonsense. Tips have always been optional. But the servers and tour guides are right about one thing: gratuities are starting to feel like an undisclosed tax.\n\n\"I think you hit the nail on the head by calling it a tax,\" says Tanner Callais, editor of Cruzely.com, a website about cruising. \"These fees are all but mandatory, especially on a cruise.\"\n\nThe automatic tipping problem is forcing travelers to ask difficult questions. For example, should we be tipping at all?\n\n\"Tipping is another word for dishonest pricing,\" says Wayland Eheart, a retired professor from Urbana, Illinois. \"It’s a way to advertise prices that are lower than what you’ll actually pay. Tipping should not exist. \"If the salary of the provider is insufficient, raise it. And raise the price accordingly.“\n\nEheart has traveled abroad and seen how it's done in other countries.\n\nMost restaurants in Europe charge a flat rate “service charge” for a meal, for example, and tipping on top of that is entirely discretionary and not at all expected. In some places, like Japan, there's basically no tipping. The service cost is worked into the basic price.\n\nI think many Americans would agree with Eheart. Ideally, the price of a meal or cruise would include everything. If you want to leave a tip for exceptional service, that should be your choice, but not an obligation.\n\nSo what should you do about automatic tipping?\n\nIf you see an automatic tip on your bill, do something about it quickly. No one should pay a tip before they receive the service. So as you might have guessed, I didn't accept any of the suggested tips on my takeout order.\n\nDon't let a business tip shame you, either. When an employee pivots the payment screen to you, sign and tap that \"no tip\" button without remorse. (Although, if a server later provides outstanding service, feel free to leave a tip.)\n\nRemember, a tip is for great service. It's not an entitlement.\n\nWhat if it's too late? Elaine Thompson thought it might be after a conference dinner at a fancy restaurant. Thompson, a history professor from Ruston, Louisiana, watched the dinner's host write out a $200 tip.\n\n\"It dawned on me the next day that, as a party of more than eight, there was likely an automatic gratuity, so I called the (dinner) host to let her know,\" she recalls. \"Sure enough, she had accidentally tipped the waiter about $425 total. The restaurant was gracious enough to refund the additional tip because the waiter had not pointed out the automatic gratuity.\"\n\nSometimes, that's all it takes.\n\nHow to identify and eliminate an automatic tip\n\nRead before signing. Automatic tips often hide in plain view. On a restaurant bill, they're rendered in small print just before your subtotal.\n\nTalk to a manager. If you've inadvertently signed a bill that agrees to an automatic tip, or if a server or employee refuses to remove an automatic tip, politely ask for a manager. That person usually has the authority to override the gratuity.\n\nIf all else fails, dispute the charge on your credit card. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, you have the right to remove charges such as an automatic tip, especially if it wasn't previously disclosed. It won't be easy, but it's worth a try.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/11/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2022/07/21/what-to-tip-uber-lyft-drivers/10088851002/", "title": "Do you tip Uber drivers? What about delivery drivers? What to know.", "text": "You should tip Uber and Lyft drivers between 10 and 20 percent based on quality of service.\n\nYou should use a set tip of $4-$6 for rideshare delivery.\n\nAccording to HyreCar, Uber and Lyft drivers make less than $15 an hour when driver costs are considered.\n\nUber generated $17.4 billion in revenue in 2021, according to Business of Apps. According to the same source, Lyft generated $3.2 billion that same year.\n\nWhether you’re trying to get home after a long night out or exploring a new city, it’s likely you’re using Uber or Lyft. But, the rideshare market is relatively new, and the social customs associated with these services are not always clear.\n\nAt restaurants, tipping norms are well-established, but in situations like these, it’s easy to feel unsure how much you’re supposed to pay in gratuity.\n\nUber sued:Over 550 sexual assault claims, alleging assault, attacks by drivers, law firm says\n\nDo you tip Uber drivers?\n\nAccording to Uber, “Tips are neither expected nor required.”\n\nAlthough Uber does not require tipping, the median income of an Uber driver falls below the average living wage for a family of four, so many drivers, especially those with families, depend on tips to supplement their income, according to Gigworker.\n\nAccording to HyreCar, Uber and Lyft drivers make less than $15 an hour when driver costs are considered.\n\nAccording to Ridester, an online resource for the rideshare industry created by former Uber driver Brett Helling, Uber drivers also rely on tips for gas, car maintenance and other costs not covered by Uber.\n\nThere are plenty of reasons to tip, but do you know how much you're supposed to give your driver?\n\nUber Eats innovation:Uber Eats testing autonomous deliveries, allows food ordering at stadiums\n\nHow much do you tip an Uber driver?\n\nTo make tipping simple, Uber always suggests $1, $2 or $5, but you should consider the total price of your ride when deciding on a tip. Just like at restaurants, Uber tips should be calculated in proportion to the total.\n\nInternational etiquette consultant Julia Boyd recommends tipping between 10 and 20%, according to The New York Times.\n\nDo you tip Uber Eats, Doordash and Postmates delivery drivers?\n\nJust as you tip a pizza delivery driver, Uber Eats, Doordash and Postmates workers should be tipped. The standard in the restaurant industry is 15 to 20%, according to Shopfood.\n\nRidester says a minimum tip amount of $4-$6 should be the standard, as a $3 coffee delivery could require the same driving or biking distance as a more expensive meal. Business Insider also reports customers and drivers generally believe $4 is a reasonable amount to tip.\n\nYou should also consider the weather your delivery driver has to endure. If you're staying in and ordering food because it's pouring rain, your rideshare driver should be compensated for working in adverse weather conditions, according to Ridester.\n\nJust curious?:We're here to help solve life's everyday problems\n\nHow much are Uber and Lyft drivers paid?\n\nAs of January 2021, Uber drivers reported an average income of $15.68 per hour, according to Doughroller, while Lyft drivers reported a slightly higher $17.50 per hour.\n\nBoth these averages are before expenses like car maintenance and gas. HyreCar estimates Uber and Lyft drivers make less than $15 an hour when costs like these are considered.\n\nEarnings, though, largely depend on where a driver is working. In New York City, for example, USA TODAY reported drivers earned an average of $37.44 per hour. USA TODAY also said drivers in Chicago and Philadelphia earned $30.49 and $32.60, respectively.\n\nHow much do Uber drivers make?:That depends on where you drive\n\nHow much do Lyft drivers make?:What we know", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/07/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/allthemoms/2018/06/22/tipping-guidelines/725363002/", "title": "Here's how much to tip for everything from getting food to haircuts", "text": "Zachary Hansen\n\nSpecial for All The Moms\n\nIn the United States, tipping is a fact of life, both customary and expected.\n\nIt's also nuanced and confusing.\n\nHow much money do you leave? And in what situations?\n\nWe turned to The Emily Post Institute for general guidelines to help you make sure you aren't under-tipping certain workers while over-tipping others.\n\nTo avoid having your waiter spit in your soup or your hair dresser wanting to cut something other than your hair, consider this tipping advice.\n\nSit-down restaurants and buffets\n\nTip somewhere between 15 to 20 percent for sit-down meal. Buffets can be less — about 10 percent.\n\nWhat about that kind soul who brings the pizza to your door or the Uber driver? Yes. You should tip for the luxury of home delivery food. Aim for somewhere in-between buffets or sit-downs...about 12 percent.\n\nTo-go orders\n\nUnlike pizza delivery, you're the driver here. So unless you really think the person who hands you your take-out needs the extra money, there's no obligation to tip.\n\nBaristas and bartenders\n\nFor those that make a daily, morning coffee run, throw in an extra buck for your barista or about 10 to 15 percent. The same applies to the bartender crafting your drinks and keeping you company.\n\nTaxi and valet drivers\n\nMake sure you tip your taxi driver just as you would a waiter or waitress — about 15 to 20 percent. This applies to Uber and Lyft drivers as well. You should give about $2 to $5 to a valet driver too.\n\nHotel housekeeping staff\n\nThe best practice is to leave about $5 to $10 per night for the housekeeping staff. A CreditCards.com survey shows only 27 percent always leave money for housekeeping staff, but make sure you treat them fairly.\n\nBarbers and hair stylists\n\nAccording to the same CreditCards.com survey, about 67 percent tip their barber or hair stylist. Considering they're holding sharp scissors and blades near your face and hair, 15 to 20 percent is customary.\n\nSkycap at the airport\n\nMake sure to give the person who carries your bags at the airport, also known as a skycap, about $2 for the first bag and $1 for each additional bag.\n\nBellhop at the hotel\n\nJust like skycaps, pay a bellhop $2 for the first bag and $1 per each additional bag. Also, throw in an extra $2 or $3 for additional services, such as room delivery.\n\nLike All the Moms?\n\nFollow us on Facebook and Twitter.\n\nREAD MORE:", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/06/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2023/04/08/easter-restaurants-open-hours-2023/11601867002/", "title": "Restaurants open on Easter: Starbucks, Dunkin', McDonald's, IHOP ...", "text": "Whether you're looking to grab something to eat before dinner or go out with family and friends, there will be plenty of food options to choose from for Easter Sunday 2023.\n\nEaster is unlike Christmas, as many restaurant and fast food chains will be open this Sunday, April 9, so people won't be too restricted in looking for places to eat. The only for sure place closed is Chick-fil-A, since the chain is already closed on Sundays.\n\nBut if a restaurant or chain is open on Easter, that doesn't mean it will have regular hours; some locations may have reduced hours, so it's best to check your local locations to confirm store hours.\n\nHere are when companies and chains will be open – as well as store hours – for Easter 2023:\n\nWhen is Easter 2023?: How the holiday's date each year is determined and why some celebrate\n\nStarbucks Easter hours\n\nStarbucks told USA TODAY it will be open, but store hours will vary by location on Easter, adding hours may be adjusted \"based on business and customer needs.\"\n\nDunkin' Easter hours\n\nDunkin' will be open on Easter, with store hours varying by location.\n\nMcDonald's Easter hours\n\nMost McDonald's locations in the U.S. will be open on Easter, with hours varying by location.\n\nChick-fil-A Easter hours\n\nChick-fil-A will be closed on Easter already since the holiday falls on a Sunday.\n\nWendy's Easter hours\n\nWendy's will be open on Easter, with store hours varying by location.\n\nBurger King Easter hours\n\nBurger King will be open on Easter, but holiday hours may vary based on franchise location.\n\nKrispy Kreme Easter hours\n\nKrispy Kreme will be open under normal hours on Easter.\n\nIHOP Easter hours\n\nIHOP will be open on Easter, but hours will differ by location.\n\nPeet's Coffee Easter hours\n\nPeet's Coffee will be open under normal hours on Easter.\n\nApplebee's Easter hours\n\nApplebee's will be open on Easter with regular business hours.\n\nChili's Grill & Bar Easter hours\n\nChili's Grill & Bar will be open under regular hours on Easter.\n\nOlive Garden Easter hours\n\nOlive Garden will be open on Easter under normal hours.\n\nBJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse Easter hours\n\nBJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse will be open under regular hours for Easter.\n\nRed Robin Easter hours\n\nRed Robin will be open on Easter, will all locations closing at 9 p.m.\n\nOutback Easter hours\n\nOutback will be open on Easter, with hours varying by location.\n\nTexas Roadhouse Easter hours\n\nTexas Roadhouse will be open on Easter, hours varying by location.\n\nCalifornia Pizza Kitchen Easter hours\n\nCalifornia Pizza Kitchen will be open under normal hours on Easter.\n\nYard House Easter hours\n\nYard House will be open on Easter under regular business hours.\n\nGolden Corral Easter hours\n\nGolden Corral told USA TODAY it will be open on Easter and will be offering to-go holiday menu options Sunday, which can be preordered beginning April 6.\n\nMaggiano's Easter hours\n\nMaggiano's will be open under regular hours for Easter.\n\nCracker Barrel Easter hours\n\nCracker Barrel will be open under normal business hours on Easter.\n\nBuffalo Wild Wings Easter hours\n\nBuffalo Wild Wings will be open on Easter, but store hours may vary by location.\n\nHooters Easter hours\n\nHooters will be open on Easter, with hours varying by location.\n\nIn-N-Out Easter hours\n\nIn-N-Out told USA TODAY it will be closed on Easter \"to allow associates to be with their families.\"\n\nHardee's and Carl's Jr. Easter hours\n\nHardee’s and Carl's Jr. will be open on Easter, but hours may vary by location.\n\nWhite Castle Easter hours\n\nWhite Castle will be open under normal hours on Easter.\n\nLittle Caesar's Easter hours\n\nLittle Caesar's will have majority of stores open on Easter, with hours varying by location.\n\nWhataburger Easter hours\n\nWhataburger will be open on Easter under normal hours.\n\nFollow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/04/08"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/03/24/do-you-leave-tip-go-orders-should-you-lafayette-restaurants-weigh/396678002/", "title": "Lafayette restaurants: not all to-go orders need tips", "text": "Shannon Hall\n\nJournal & Courier\n\nLAFAYETTE, Ind. — Not everyone has time to sit down and eat at a restaurant. Maybe they just want to have a few moments to themselves with a meal already prepared.\n\nSeveral local restaurants offer food to go, but what should people do about to-go tipping? Sure, you're getting the same food, but the service is a different experience.\n\nA Florida server complained on social media about how she wasn't tipped on a 75-item order, which totaled about $700, last month. According to the Palm Treasure Post, she spent most of her shift preparing the order.\n\nSo what's the protocol for to-go orders? What do local restaurants expect?\n\nFor Arni's manager Connie Moorehouse, it depends on the situation.\n\n\"My personal take on it is you shouldn't have to tip for carry-out,\" Moorehouse said.\n\nMore:Don Pablo's, last location in Indiana, closes after decades in Lafayette\n\nMore:Is wine on tap Lafayette's newest trend?\n\nBut it depends on from whom you're ordering.\n\nIf you're ordering to-go from a server, absolutely you should tip them, Moorehouse said.\n\nServers make less than minimum wage — usually around $2.50 an hour, if not less — and they have to pay taxes on their tips, sometimes even if they don't get a tip.\n\n\"They say, 'Well, you should pay your employees more,'\" Moorehouse said. \"Well, if we pay our employees more, then they'll have to pay more for their food, more this and that.\"\n\nMoorehouse said their servers pay 8 percent tax on every order they ring up.\n\nBut if you call Arni's and pick up a pizza, Moorehouse said, it's not mandatory nor is it expected that you tip that person ringing you up.\n\nPeople who work the pick-up counter, she said, usually make at least minimum wage.\n\nStaff members outside of servers don't rely on tips as part of their income. But that's not to say you can't tip them.\n\n\"If that person goes out of their way to do something for you ... and you want to reward them in that way, I think that's great,\" Moorehouse said. \"But just to say 'I automatically tip (on to-go order)' — nuh uh, no.\"\n\nSome restaurants, usually chains, offer curbside service. Moorehouse said since they're bringing it out to you or if they deliver, then tipping is expected.\n\nTipping: Is it ever OK to skip the tip?\n\nIt's not a bad habit to tip based on your service, especially when you sit down to eat, but not everyone is a fan of tipping in general, she said.\n\nThe normal tipping amount has increased. She said a good-service tip is between 25 to 28 percent.\n\nSgt. Prestons manager Rich Micky said when they get to-go orders, only about 30 to 40 percent of those customers tip. And his staff doesn't really expect people to tip for to-go orders.\n\nAt Sgt. Prestons, the cooks and the servers may be the ones to box up your order, depending on how busy everyone is, Micky said.\n\nFor larger orders that may include a larger tip, it's split up between everyone who handles, he said.\n\nBut should people tip to-go orders?\n\n\"It's hard to say,\" he said.\n\nHow much to tip and for what?\n\nBut there's still a lot of confusion on the topic, including how much to tip, which services deserve one and how taxes come into play. Here are some suggestions:\n\nWhat's standard?\n\nIn theory, anything goes with tipping. If you're satisfied with the service, you can leave as much as you want — or nothing if you feel shortchanged. But in reality, most of us look over our shoulders, wondering what the guy at the next table is paying.\n\nAccording to a survey by CreditCards.com, which elicited more than 1,000 responses in June, four in five restaurant customers said they always leave a tip, at 18 percent on average. That's a median or midpoint amount, meaning half the respondents leave more than 18 percent and half, less. Somewhere between 15 percent and 20 percent appears to be the standard range.\n\nWhether you should tip on the total bill or just the pre-tax amount is a debatable and unresolved point, though pre-tax seems more logical. It doesn't make sense that a waitress server in Louisiana should make almost 10% more than another in Oregon just because sales-tax differentials between the two states are roughly that wide.\n\nForms of payment\n\nOne interesting finding from the CreditCards.com study was that customers using credit or debit cards were significantly more likely to tip than people paying with cash. This reflects a tendency that researchers have noted for years — many people often don't view purchases made with plastic the same way they view cash transactions.\n\n“When you pay with a card, your brain doesn’t see it as real money, so it’s not as painful,” Michael McCall, a Michigan State University professor, told CreditCards.com.\n\nBut there also might be an anonymity factor at work here. If you don't want to leave a big tip, you can plunk down some currency or coins, then scramble for the exit without disclosing your name.\n\nWhich services are covered?\n\nAmericans commonly tip for certain types of assistance but not others. Some examples cited in the CreditCards.com survey: 67 percent of respondents said they always tip barbers/hair stylists, 29% always tip baristas at coffee shops and 27% always leave money for the housekeeping staff at hotels.\n\nThe Emily Post Institute offers various general suggestions, including 15 percent to 20 percent at sit-down restaurants, 10 percent for buffets and 10 percent to 15 percent for home food delivery ($2 to $5 for pizzas). Other suggestions: $2 to $5 a night for hotel maid staff (with a note marked for housekeeping), 15 percent to 20 percent for taxi drivers (plus $1 to $2 for bags carried), $2 to $5 when a valet returns your vehicle and 15 percent to 20 percent at hair salons.\n\nContributing to tip jars on counters isn't obligatory, according to the etiquette company.\n\nThe \"Tipping: The latest on how much to tip and for what\" portion of the story was published online at usatoday.com in July 2017 and was written by Russ Wiles, USA Today Network.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/03/24"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/23/business/restaurant-delivery/index.html", "title": "Food delivery is a big mess. Here's how companies are coping ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nRestaurants have a delivery problem.\n\nEarly in the pandemic, when eateries were forced to shut their doors, delivery became a lifeline. Restaurant operators scrambled to set up delivery channels from scratch or promote ones that previously existed.\n\nBut there was a reason that many restaurants hadn’t focused on delivery before the pandemic: Delivery is a pain. It’s expensive, since restaurants have to hire drivers or outsource to third-party providers like DoorDash (DASH) or Grubhub, which charge a fee that cuts into their already razor-thin margins. It’s also stressful for employees, who must balance taking care of in-store customers while filling increasing numbers of to-go orders. And when deliveries go wrong, the restaurants take the blame, whether or not it’s their fault.\n\nRestaurants aren't huge fans of delivery. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images\n\nCustomers, on the other hand, don’t see it that way. Delivery is convenient. It’s usually pretty fast, and perhaps best of all, they can do it through an app — without ever having to talk to a person.\n\nAlthough dine-in restrictions in most places have eased, delivery rates remain higher now than they were pre-Covid. In 2019, delivery accounted for about 7% of total US restaurant sales, according to Euromonitor International. After a spike in 2020, it settled at nearly 9% in 2021, according to Euromonitor’s forecast for last year (The company’s 2021 foodservice data has not been published.)\n\nSo whether restaurant owners like it or not, delivery is here to stay.\n\n“Consumers have become accustomed to getting products delivered to their homes,” said Joe Pawlak, managing principal at Technomic, a food service consulting company. Now, restaurants “have to figure out what to do to make it profitable.”\n\nFor restaurants, fixing delivery means not only making it work better, but also finding ways to convince customers to choose carryout or drive-thru instead.\n\nThe problem with delivery\n\nDuring the pandemic, restaurants had to shift to a delivery or takeout model to survive, said Tom Bailey, senior consumer foods analyst at Rabobank.\n\n“They didn’t necessarily do the most efficient adjustment,” Bailey noted.\n\nFor some restaurants, the economics of delivery simply don’t add up. Third-party providers charge fees which can be as high as 30%. Restaurants, particularly independent ones, already have thin margins. For some, delivery fees can mean operating in the red.\n\nCertain measures have been put in place to help make delivery less expensive for restaurants. Cities have been capping fees at lower rates. Third-party providers have also started offering lower rates for limited services, allowing restaurants to opt into more affordable, if less extensive, services. Some restaurants are able to negotiate lower rates directly. Others pass costs onto consumers.\n\nAnother problem with outsourcing delivery is that when circumstances outside of a restaurant’s control go wrong, their own costs can spike. Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Kevin Johnson walked analysts through a recent scenario that increased costs for the coffee chain during a February call.\n\n“Our third-party delivery providers had Omicron-related staffing shortages, impacting their ability to fulfill a portion of our distribution needs,” he said. “This required us to greatly increase the use of much more expensive … alternative delivery solutions in order to meet strong customer demand,” he added. Ultimately, the disruptions meant “a rapid increase” in costs.\n\nVirtual brands\n\nCheeto-flavored wings are on the menu at Cosmic Wings. Cosmic Wings\n\nOne way to tackle the delivery challenge is to separate the service from regular restaurant operations, and use it mainly to attract new customers. That’s especially important for casual dining brands such as Applebee’s and Chili’s, which are designed to serve diners primarily in their restaurants.\n\nThe pandemic prompted these chains and others to set up online-only concepts designed specifically for delivery.\n\nApplebee’s launched Cosmic Wings, which serves Cheeto-flavored chicken wings. Brinker International (EAT), owner of Chili’s and Maggiano’s Little Italy, has two virtual brands so far: It’s Just Wings and Maggiano’s Italian Classics.\n\nOnline-only brands allow restaurants to promote products that travel well for delivery, such as sandwiches and wings, helping turn the service from a burden into an competitive advantage.\n\nThose virtual brands “offer some really unique opportunities to explore … urban and smaller take-out delivery-centric prototypes,” said Wyman Roberts, Brinker’s CEO, during a February analyst call.\n\nFor fast casual and fast food restaurants, which were already designed to get people out the door quickly, better drive-thrus and incentives for carry-out may be the way to go.\n\nBetter drive-thrus and easier pick up\n\nRestaurants like Burger King are investing in drive-thrus. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images\n\nAs customer habits change, restaurants are rethinking their layouts. For many, that means more drive-thrus.\n\nChains from Taco Bell to Burger King are adding drive-thru lanes to restaurants. More lanes can help speed pick ups — and faster drive-thrus could ultimately be a more attractive option to consumers than delivery.\n\nChipotle (CMG), for example, is planning to open about 4,000 more locations in North America. Most of them will have Chipotlanes, a dedicated drive-thru for customers who place orders digitally.\n\n“What we’ve seen with the Chipotlane [is], our digital business goes up, our delivery business goes down as a percentage and the order pickup percentage goes up,” the company’s CEO Brian Niccol told CNN Business in a recent interview ahead of the opening of the chain’s 3,000th location. “From an economic standpoint, the best margin transaction for us is in order ahead, and then the customer comes in,” he said.\n\nIf chains can’t convince customers to use speedier drive-thrus, they might try something else, like a small bonus for skipping delivery.\n\nLate last month, Domino’s (DPZ) offered a deal: Pick up your own pizza, the company said, and get a $3 credit toward your next order. Earlier this year, the chain also vowed to deliver a pizza to customers in under two minutes — but only if those customers drove themselves to a Domino’s (DPZ) location and parked in the right spot.\n\nIf all else fails, companies may see delivery fall off naturally as the service becomes pricier.\n\nHigher prices\n\nTo make delivery more profitable, companies have been making it more expensive.\n\nAt many restaurants, “menu prices are higher for delivery than they are .. when somebody goes to the restaurant,” said Pawlak.\n\nThat’s certainly the case at Chipotle (CMG). “The reality is that channel comes with additional cost,” Niccol said during a recent analyst call. “What we’ve seen is people recognize that and are willing to accept that for those occasions.”\n\nCompanies have been raising prices on everything from menu items to consumer goods and are saying that so far, customers are sticking around. But that won’t last forever.\n\n“It’s easier to do pricing in a stimulus environment where everyone else is going up,” Coca-Cola (KO)’s CEO James Quincey said during a recent analyst call. “It’s much harder when there’s a real squeeze on income.” Coca-Cola (KO) raised prices last year, and may do so again this year if needed.\n\nThe risk is that with inflation on the rise, customers might turn on higher prices, including for delivery. “Consumers are willing to pay for [delivery] now,” Pawlak said. “At a certain point, there’s going to be some pushback on that.”", "authors": ["Danielle Wiener-Bronner"], "publish_date": "2022/02/23"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnists/graham-couch/2020/05/07/see-how-lansing-restaurants-coping-coronavirus/3074188001/", "title": "See how Lansing area restaurants are coping with carry-out, takeout", "text": "The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated Lansing-area restaurants, pubs, coffee joints and bakeries. I checked in with more than 60 of them recently, wondering, among other things, whether they can survive another month of takeout and curbside pickup business only.\n\nGRAHAM COUCH:Inside the Lansing-area restaurant industry's fight to survive\n\nHere's how each of them is doing:\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yes, we’ll be fine.\" – owner Greg Sinicropi\n\nThe skinny: Art's Pub opened two years ago under new ownership, replacing Art's Bar, with popular pizzas, loaded voodoo fries that are worth the years off your life and one of the best views of the Lansing skyline you'll find. \"We're lucky Art's is a pizza place, so you can survive,\" Sinicropi said. \"The thing about this that's helpful, and might be more peace of mind, everybody is dealing with it everywhere.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: LEAP grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We’re going to be OK. Simply because we do have and incredibly strong support system.\" – Nick Berry, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: Blue Owl, with locations in REO Town, Old Town and East Lansing, is down to two locations for the time being, with the Old Town shop closed. With the help of the Washington Avenue Advisors, Berry said they reworked their business model. \"It used to be getting people into the shop, how to make a good party,\" Berry said. \"Now it's how to get that into your home.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I will say we will keep doing our best. We are running. ... That’s good enough. And I think that’ll be good enough for a while. It’s very different. But we can do it, man. It’s going to be good.\" – Ben Hutson, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: BrickHaven Brewing Co. in Grand Ledge is down about 40% in sales, which isn't bad for a brewery, focusing on lunch specials and comfort food, along with growlers to go, trying to provide a good meal and an end-of-week (or mid-week) drink when needed.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Applied for everything. None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I'd say yes. I've got a lot of hope.\" – Ken Campbell, owner\n\nThe skinny: Campbell's Market Basket in East Lansing has reinvented itself in short order, both in terms of clientele and what it provides. \"We transitioned to a convenient market downtown for campus and MSU to local neighborhood market for East Lansing and residents,\" Campbell said. They also went from being known for fresh soup and sandwiches to becoming a curbside and contact-free grocery store, with their entire inventory on their website.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Farm Bureau grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Well, I mean, yes. The difference: We didn’t rely on banks for the investment to build Cask & Company. ... It’s still very scary. And how long will that private money last, we couldn’t go on for months at this point.\" – Kurt Weaver, general manager\n\nThe skinny: Cask & Co. Kitchen and Bar and the adjoining Front 43 Neighborhood Pub on Lansing's east side have continued to offer their diverse menu through takeout and curbside pickup, but they've also tried to use this time to plan for what's ahead. Their lunch buffet isn't coming back. A \"contactless section\" might be on the way, with guests able to order themselves from the table. Most interesting, a new PathSpot hand scanner is being installed, which shows employees if there is food-borne bacteria on their hands.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan, State Farm grant.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I believe we will survive into June if we continue at the same pace. The Paycheck Protection Program, it’s just adding more life. Adding more weeks of staying alive.\" –Stuart Vanis, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: Coral Gables in East Lansing is a staple of the community for nearly 100 years, owned by the same family for more than 50. It is a place that's about the experience as much as the food. \"This is not experience, just people picking up food and taking it home,\" Vanis said. \"Restaurants like ours were built for people to dine in. The experience part of these restaurants is not there right now.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Short answer, yes. We'll find a way to stay open one way or another.\" – Mike Krueger, owner\n\nThe skinny: Crunchy's, as quintessential Michigan State University as any bar in East Lansing, is having a tough go of it, with campus emptied out and a business model based on the dine-in and bar experience. \"I don't sleep much,\" Krueger said.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: LEAP grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah, we'll make it. It won't be pleasant.\" – Margie Cheadle, owner\n\nThe skinny: Dagwood's, an institution on Lansing's far east side, is in a bad way, down about 90% in sales. It's not a place that's easily adaptable, because while it offers curbside pickup, it's a place people go to drink and the food is cheap. \"The price of our food is such that we need the alcohol to make work. We're doing growlers but doing them at cost. It does not seem right to raise (food) prices during a pandemic. It doesn’t seem right to raise prices with what a lot of people are going through.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: One grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah, I think we’ll be OK. He got that grant. ... A lot of places aren’t open. So we’re still getting quite a few orders.\" – Maria Chamberlain, bartender\n\nThe skinny: Darb's has seen great generosity from the town of Mason. But one of the difficult things for restaurants right now is the unpredictability of customer habits. \"Some days are really good. Some days are really horrible,\" Chamberlain said. \"Some days we'll go all day with no orders. Some days we'll be slammed with 35 orders in an hour.\"\n\nDeano's Pizza\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Approved for PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I think we'll be fine.\" – Dean Mazzolini, owner\n\nThe skinny: Mazzolini is one of the very few restaurant owners in the area to not layoff any staff yet. \"Feel sorry for the new guy who’s got a bunch of debt, new employees,\" he said. \"We’re a small town. But our small-town people are overtipping tremendously. They just sort of take care of you. Those that can, really are (spending).\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I think because of the limited staff and limited utilities and food cost, we are surviving with the business having just takeout and curbside.\" – Demetra Christofilis\n\nThe skinny: The Delhi Cafe in Holt, owned by sisters Demetra and Elaine Christofilis, is hanging in there, inspired by what they've seen in terms of community support. \"We certainly want to stay open for our community after this,\" Demetra said. The first Friday night they offered a fish fry, more than 100 people showed up.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah, carryout has been very good. It’s paying the bills.\" – John DeLuca, owner\n\nThe skinny: The famed DeLuca's Pizza on Lansing's west side shut down for six weeks before reopening in late April. The world was ready for it. \"People were lined up all the way down the parking lot,\" DeLuca said. That doesn't mean DeLuca's isn't feeling it. They're down to 20 employees from 58 and paid the price for being closed for more than a month. \"When machinery sits there, it goes bad — two coolers, a boiler,\" DeLuca said.\n\nSTAYING OPEN:Carryout carries Lansing mainstay DeLuca's, Detroit Frankie's through coronavirus\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We are (surviving). But we don’t want to be. We don’t want to be a takeout pizza place.\" – Dan Buonodono, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: EagleMonk in west Lansing is still able to sell just about everything it makes — beer, cider, homemade soda, filling up growlers, howlers and kegs, along with a full menu. \"I don't think we're losing money. But we're not making any money either,\" Buonodono said. \"We can’t wait until we can relax with our customer base and have a beer.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan, LEAP grant.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"It’s kind of up in the air, depending how long it lasts. ... We have a lot less labor. But the cost is still up there. At this time, we’re making it, barely.\" – Johnny Vlahakis, general manager, son of owner\n\nThe skinny: Despite sales that are down 90%, El Azteco in East Lansing finds itself grateful it's not like other East Lansing establishments in two ways: It doesn't rely primarily on the MSU student population and it owns its building in a high-rent district. \"We’re fortunate that we have a pretty large local following,\" Vlahakis said. \"A lot of people that eat here grew up here.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I’m going to do everything I can. ... I'm not going to let this bring me down. I’ll make it work.\" – Bobbi London, owner\n\nThe skinny: El Azteco, a staple of Lansing's near west side for more than 40 years, is staying just \"above water,\" London said, thanks to the community's care. \"Extra big tips, gift cards, they're doing whatever it takes to make sure we're standing at the end,\" she said. The side entrance, being used for takeout, is just off the patio, giving customers a heartbreaking glimpse at our old life on a warm spring day.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah, we have good cash reserves. We’re constrained to survival mode, restricting spending to make it through. But I’ll be honest, we’ve got a 15-acre property with a mortgage and a lot of overhead. For so many customers and guests, we are an important part of their life. People get engaged at the inn, people get married there, people come back every single anniversary. We’re an important part of people’s lives in the community. And we’re going to be there for them.\" – Erik Nelson, owner\n\nThe skinny: The English Inn in Eaton Rapids found itself with a problem right away — it's a restaurant built on the date night experience. “We brainstormed a lot: ‘What do we do to make things special?’” Nelson said. “If you just order a dish, take it home, and eat out of Styrofoam carton, that’s not special.” So, on Fridays and Saturdays, they're offering a four-course meal and a bottle of wine to go. \"You just finish it in the oven and plate it.\" That's helped The English Inn maintain 20% of its sales.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: LEAP grant.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"The sales are not there. I’m 44. I cannot get into my savings for retirement. I'm hoping in the next couple weeks (I'll have a better idea). I know I’m prepared to work open to close. In small business, you have to. I’m not above that. It’s sad, we (my Mom and I) worked so hard to get this place going. I pray and hope we can keep it going. We’re a staple in a Charlotte, a melting pot for business meetings.\" – Erica Limas, owner\n\nThe skinny: Limas bought Evelyn Bay in Charlotte from her mother five years ago. After business took a dive in mid-March, she closed the shop for a couple weeks and is just reopening.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"The quick answer to that is yes. Labor cost is down. Purchasing is pretty stable. The menu’s been trimmed down. I’m sometimes defined as a blind optimist. But I am pretty amazed by the last six weeks.\" – Tim Russell, owner\n\nThe skinny: Family Tree Cafe in DeWitt is usually shut down on holidays. But as a thank you to the community, they decided to offer a full Easter dinner last month for $11. They wound up serving 117 dinners and 68 desserts. They have almost nightly specials posted on Facebook – burgers, fish fry Fridays, etc. Patrons have tipped Russell's staff so well at one point it made him cry.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Applied, but none.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"It's a valid question. Here’s what I say: We haven’t been around all that long, but what we’ve been able to achieve with and connecting point with our foodie base is more than I could have imagined.\" – Mark Taylor, owner\n\nThe skinny: Fidler's on the Grand in Lansing hasn't even been around two years. That may be helping this American-style diner in one regard – it's been at ground zero before and not so long ago. \"When we started (in August of 2018), we were just attempting to go ahead and build one brick at a time,\" said Taylor, who comes across as a determined son of a gun. \"We had to do the same thing here, because of the deep cut to our foot traffic. We cut our labor. We got real creative with inventory. I didn’t know how long it would last.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None\n\nCan they survive through May: \"That would be the point we’re either closed up or running for 50% capacity. I would say that’s the furthest would go or could go with uncertainty.\" – Mike Mudrey, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: For Crêpe Sake in downtown Lansing is closed temporarily, since April 3. \"We realized the only people coming in were regulars coming in to do their part to support local business,\" Mudrey said. \"Breakfast and lunch places weren't doing as well. Dinner places do better. It wasn’t profitable. We were down to two employees. It wasn’t worth the risk for our customers and for our employees.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yes, Yes. One thing (co-owner) Nicholas (Pidek) and I have done, we've just figured stuff out. We realize we’re fortunate in that sense. We’re struggling like a lot of businesses, but we have a lot of plans in place to weather the storm. If this continues on, we’ll make it work. We don’t know how necessarily, but we’ll make it work.\" – Jon Moore, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: Foster Coffee Co. temporarily closed its East Lansing location (and Flint), keeping open its shop in Owosso, which is close to the homes of its two owners, for curbside and carryout. They plan to re-open the other two. Getting by has meant getting creative, with offerings like half-gallon iced vanilla and chai lattes that you can keep in your fridge. \"It's forced us to get out of our comfort zone in some ways,\" Moore said.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None yet.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"It would certainly be difficult but I believe we should be able to last through it. … As of right now, we're doing all right.\" – Will Faucett, operations manager\n\nThe skinny: Good Bites Food Truck in Mason and usually works in conjunction with BAD Brewing Company, which is next door. Good Bites adjusted its hours and weathered the tough first few weeks. Now, \"Business seems to be returning to what it was before the stay-at-home order,\" Faucett said. \"Supporting local business, people are taking that to heart. They do want to come out with the specific intention of supporting local business. … That really is what’s kept us going, seeing that they really do care.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah, we’ll be fine.\" – Nick Sinicropi, owner\n\nThe skinny: Good Truckin' Diner in REO Town has quickly become a popular spot. And it's one of the few places around that's been able to keep its staff employed and working. \"The advantage of Good Truckin', I didn't instantly lose 40 percent off the top with alcohol sales,\" Sinicropi said. \"Another advantage is that we're pretty small. Takeout was never a huge part of the business, so it's been pretty wild.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan, another grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We will, only because we have a great leader, Mr. Gregory Eaton. He will keep us alive. ... It's about being there for the community. He will dig deep and keep the doors open. For him, it's worth it.\" – Jackie Salazar, Eaton's assistant\n\nThe skinny: Gregory's, a gem on Lansing's north side, is one of those places that's about food and, at night, experience. It can only provide half of that right now. \"We’re soul food,\" Salazar said. \"We have great customers that still want our food. It’s hard. It’s hard. Hopefully, we come out on the other end still alive.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan, LEAP grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I would say since we’ve able to receive some financial support recently, the answer is yes. Compared to where we were starting the year, growing the business ... obviously we're not going to achieve those goals. Not within the next year, probably. Will we be able to survive it? I’d say yes.\" – Andrew Gauthier, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: Groovy Donuts, with locations in East Lansing and Williamson, had begun to reach a point where not every day was a 20-hour grind for its co-owners, Gauthier and Monica Lucas. They’ve weathered this largely by going back to that grind and with the generosity of a community they’ve embraced. Not all of the support is monetary. \"We’re been getting about one personalized letter per week from children from all different families, drawings, with donuts all over it. ... It's a really cool thing.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I think we’ll be fine. I’m very lucky in the sense that we don’t have a mortgage. That’s a huge help.\" – Harea Bates, owner\n\nThe skinny: This Westside Neighborhood favorite, around since 1921, has seen a lot, including the closing of Fisher Body Assembly Plant across the street. Harry's initially remained open for takeout after dining rooms were forced to closed, but then shut down for most April, before reopening recently. \"Just the support that people are willing to give,\" Bates said, \"we're so blessed to be in this wonderful neighborhood here. Even though they're scared, they're still so good about giving and helping out where they can.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Applied. Haven't heard.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yes, we'll be able to survive.\" – Reem Hanna, owner\n\nThe skinny: Jerusalem Bakery on East Michigan Avenue in Lansing is hanging in there, despite a 70% drop in sales. \"Our customers are our life and we’re going to do our best to hang on,\" said Hanna, who's owned the bakery for 16 years.\n\nWHAT'S OPEN:A comprehensive list of takeout and delivery options across Greater Lansing\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I think the way it’s going, the one in Williamston, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be OK like this. Williamston is a pretty supportive community. ... The Lansing one, last two weeks sales are going up a bit, which makes me feel safer to say we'll be there.\" – Jose Miroquesada, owner\n\nThe skinny: Jose's opened a second location, in Williamston, at the beginning of March for his famed Cuban sandwiches. While that could seem to be horrible timing, the Williamston spot has outperformed his Lansing location off Kalamazoo and Pennsylvania. \"Lots of people picking up (food in Williamston), lots of deliveries, people asking if we’re going to stay,” Miroquesada said.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: SBA grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We’re going to rock takeout until you can sit in like you used to and be comfortable. We're going to rock this as long as we need to.\" – Autumn Weston, owner\n\nThe skinny: Kewpee Sandwich Shop in downtown Lansing has seen all sorts of things in nearly 100 years under one family. Weston, the fourth generation, says she isn't about to let it fail. \"I’ve got shoes to fill. If my great grandma got through the depression ... we'll work with it and rock it.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Not yet. Applying for PPP.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"If you would have asked me that at the beginning of this, I would have said no. But things have hanged and people have responded more than I thought they would. I've gotten good feedback, a lot of new customers. There is a limit on how long we can do this. But with a limited staff, I think it’s going to be OK, through the end of May. After that, I’m only taking it one month at a time.\" – Lori Conarton, owner\n\nThe skinny: MoringLory in Dimondale has been around about 18 months. Sales are down about 50% over the last month and a half, but it's not as bad as Conarton feared. \"I was scared about how it would impact my business, which seemed to be growing. I'm very surprised and happy to see how the community has supported my business. ... Let me tell you people are eating a lot more pie than they were before.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I was worried about our people. What do they do? What do I do? My daughter said, 'Mom, we fought too hard and long for this. We've got this. We're OK.' We'll be OK.\" – Debbie Heinze\n\nThe skinny: Debbie Heinze has owned My Place Diner in Charlotte since December 2018. She's resisted seeking loan or grant assistance, leaning on a community that she says has been \"absolutely fabulous.\" She paired with First Baptist Church in Charlotte to provide 50 meals for families. They gave her the vouchers and she and a skeleton crew cooked the meals.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"The first two weeks, I was dying on the vine. Now our sales are almost up to par.\" – Mike Alexander, owner\n\nThe skinny: Olympic Broil on Lansing's north side has actually increased staff by one to deal with inefficiencies that came with primarily utilizing a previously unused drive-thru window at a place never meant to be a drive-thru restaurant. It's worked, though. Alexander said he's seen a more compassionate side from customers, who have been both patient and generous purchasing coney dogs, burgers and wraps.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: LEAP grant; PPP loan\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We’re hoping some things might be able to be relaxed by the beginning of June (in terms of customers dining in). If that is the case, we will be able to hold on that long. Beyond that, it’s hard to say.\" – Meghan Bell, general manager\n\nThe skinny: The Peanut Barrel is a beloved institution in East Lansing. Takeout business has been better than anticipated, but that doesn't make up for the loss of MSU graduation and the patio opening for the spring and summer. What's helping is that The Peanut Barrel is one of the few places in that stretch of East Lansing that doesn't rely heavily on students. \"That’s been a real saving grace. A lot of the community is being helpful in continuing to patronize,\" Bell said.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Not yet.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah, I don’t want to but yeah. I’m going to keep the doors open. We're not profiting by any means.\" – Sophie Bell, co-owner and general manager\n\nThe skinny: The Peoples Kitchen on Lansing's east side just celebrated its one-year anniversary in late April. Well, it was hard to celebrate. The restaurant went from having 32 employees to two and has seen an 85% dip in business, with severely reduced hours. Bell and Co. have gotten creative. Known for their pancakes, they've begun offering a pancake kit, so you can create The People's Kitchen pancake experience in your own home. Bell plans to survive despite bleak outlooks for restaurants beyond the pandemic. \"We were just gaining momentum,\" Bell said. \"We’re going to survive. We’re going to be one of the one in four (that do).\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: N/A\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We’re able to survive.\" – Jeremy Bates, general manager\n\nThe skinny: Pizza House is missing out on what's usually a lucrative time of year, between March Madness, MSU's spring game, graduation, Mother's Day, etc. \"The customer support is incredible,\" Bates said. \"From the get-go, there have been a lot of people who want to support locally owned businesses. On a weekly basis, I'm blown away how generous people are and how understanding.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: N/A\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We’re a small restaurant, family owned. Most of the staff is family. I'm hoping we’ll be fine. I’m more scared about when it all gets back to normal, what it’s going to be like. Once you're able to open for sit-down, I think it'll be more of a challenge than it is now.\" – Francisco Gutierrez, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: Pancho's Taqueria is known for its popular food truck in Grand Ledge, just outside Sanctuary Spirits. The brick and mortar restaurant in Delta Township has only been open a year. The food truck's steady business has helped as the restaurant's sales have dipped 50%. Also helpful: Having roots in a business that requires quick food prep and carryout. \"We're used to takeout only,\" Gutierrez said.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah, I think we’ll be all right. I think long-term we'll be able to balance it all. You never know.\" – Dianne Holman\n\nThe skinny: Red Cedar Spirits in East Lansing jumped into making hand sanitizer, which made them an essential service. They were already set up to sell Working Bugs products, as well as Katarina Naturals healthy and beauty products, which they've emphasized for the time being to help them survive. \"We'll give it more attention (from here on),\" Holman said. \"Times are changing. I think people are going to be a lot more conscious about keeping things cleaned or sanitized.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan and a local grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah, I think, with what we’re doing now. ... The question is, at one point will we have to make a bigger change (down the road)?\" – Nina Santucci, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: Red Haven has realized its business model not only doesn't fit where we are now, but it might not fit the future – big groups, shared plates. \"I think people’s habits are going to be significantly different. I’m not sure there's a place for family-style dining,\" Santucci said. For now, Red Haven is taking advantage of its farm-to-table approach, with meals that feed two to six people and harvest baskets with local produce, meats and dairy.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None directly (owner of building received a LEAP grant)\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yes.\" – Colleen Armitage\n\nThe skinny: Armitage is operating The Red Rosie Bakery in Charlotte out of her home, with business down about 90%. Armitage made most of her sales on weddings, baking birthday parties in schools, etc., the sort of things that aren't happening right now. Her husband is the dispatch director for Eaton County 911, so she has a good understanding of what's going on. \"I'm only getting a few orders. Now a wife, a mother, a teacher and a baker. I sure hope my kids wanted to be bakers, because that’s what they’re learning. ... I’m sorry if I talked your ear off. I don’t talk too many adults anymore.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"(Yes, but) we were on an upward (trajectory), up 10, 12 percent overall (this year), then the breaks came on. My sales were set to do something really, really great and wheels came off. ... This is a challenge. Some people will rise to it and some people won’t.\" – Mike Riedy, owner\n\nThe skinny: Riedy's just had its 40th anniversary in March. \"We were getting ready to celebrate,\" Riedy said. \"We’ve been real fortunate with the people, especially the people in Charlotte supporting us. They really are concerned. I hope it ends, but I think we’ll be OK through it.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: LEAP Grant; Kingsford Charcoal Grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"That's our hope. We've stayed on our feet the whole time. We've been swinging.\" – Matthew Gillett\n\nThe skinny: Saddleback, with locations in REO Town in Lansing and Okemos, was reminded through this crisis they were best in the quick-service model. \"It took a pandemic to find that out,\" Gillett quipped. Like many restaurants, they've been active with charity even as they've struggled themselves, donating hundreds of meals to children and first-responders.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Not yet\n\nCan they survive through May: \"If this can continue and we can keep our momentum, we’re not going to lose our business.\" – Brenda Glinke, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: The Shove It Pizza Truck regrouped overnight after losing most of its summer of work at festivals and fairs, turning itself into a handmade specialty pizza delivery service, offering \"partially baked, take and make\" pizzas. You order on their website by 8 p.m. They deliver the next day between 2 and 5:30 p.m., anywhere within 20 miles of the state Capitol. \"We’re paying the bills, we’re staying alive. We’re still able to give back to people who aren’t (in a good place),\" Glinke said.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Not yet\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I will come out the other end because I’m 400 square feet. My overhead is very low.\" – Dave McNamara, owner\n\nThe skinny: Sidesteets in Charlotte has done OK, down only about 30% to 35% in business over the last month thanks to community support, including a large order from Meijer. \"We have it better than most people. (With carryout.) We're sort of playing in our wheelhouse anyway,\" McNamara said.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: N/A\n\nCan they survive another month: “If we can do what we’re doing, we may be able to pay most of our bills and stay open. I’d say after the next four weeks, check in with us.” – Jeremy Sprague, president and head brewer\n\nThe skinny: Sleepwalker opened in October 2019 in REO Town. “We were just starting to get our footing as a microbrewery,” Sprague said. They’ve been getting by in recent weeks offering an array of pizzas and growlers to go. “Our to go and curbside pickup has been going very well,” Sprague added.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Oh, yeah, we’re going to be just fine. The extra money (from the Payroll Protection Program), a great team. It's a great product they produced. Throw in a delivery service. We're doing fine. Better than expected. We're very fortunate.\" – Brian Torok, owner\n\nThe skinny: The Smoke 'N Pig in Delta Township was better positioned to deal with this disruption than most. \"Our roots are as a food truck,\" Torok said. \"We were just beginning to build a dining room business (after opening in December). Our roots are in the takeout business. ... The first couple weeks were down quite a bit. Since then, our numbers have been strong. We’re doing probably about normal business right now.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We’re getting by. We still have bills we haven’t paid yet. ... There's a lot on my mind, keeping the doors open.\" – Sam Spagnuolo, owner\n\nThe skinny: Spag's in Williamston is down about 75 percent in sales, facing its roughest patch in 22 years. \"We sailed right through 2008-09, didn’t have a problem with sales. Now, it's pretty bad,\" Spagnuolo said. \"The community has been great. There have been people I've never seen before (come and) get takeout. We appreciate it.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We hope so. But who knows. That’s the gamble. We were kind of the first aspect of the economic sector to be hit by this.\" – Keith Buchele, general manager.\n\nThe skinny: Soup Spoon, a staple of Lansing for more than a decade, made the decision to stay open throughout. \"We decided to be here and stay relevant, no matter what,\" Buchele said. \"Our goal is to be here for the community.\" Beyond temporarily becoming a takeout and curbside delivery business, Soup Spoon began offering family-style meals and making its wine list available for takeout.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah. (Sales) might be a quarter or half of what it usually is, but so are your expenses. We’ll be able to see it through the other side.\" – Charles Semerly, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: Steakhouse Philly Bar & Grill on the edge of East Lansing rebuilt itself just two years ago after the Red Cedar River flooded the restaurant. \"We lost everything,\" Semerly said. This is a different kind of disaster, but no less devastating and without a certain end date. One thing that's helped – a previously unused takeout window. \"Fortunately we have a sliding window, behind the front cash register,\" Semerly said. \"When we did renovations, we put it in, in case the bar next door got busy and we're slinging food out there until 4 a.m. It never happened. But we look like geniuses now.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: LEAP grant\n\nCan they survive through May: \"It's like I live so day to day, It’s hard to look ahead. I don’t know. The grant is helpful. We were just coming out of our slow period. We're already behind. There's rent (at the) Grand Rapids (location), which is part of the problem. I get panicky just thinking about it. What we're doing right now, seems like it's helping. But I can’t imagine doing this all the way through June. It's hard to think about.\" – Ellie Hundt Sutherland, general manager and daughter of owner.\n\nThe skinny: Sweetie-licious in DeWitt is doing about 40% of its usual sales, \"on a really good day,\" Sutherland said. They closed their Grand Rapids location for the time being and are working without their staff of more than 15 employees, going to online ordering and curbside pickup. \"People need a little positivity. If we can give someone their favorite birthday cookie or pie, we want to be there for that.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"The first few weeks were hard, adjusting. Now that we have a system in place, it seems like we’re doing good. We’d normally be doing better. But I thought we’d be doing a lot worse.\" – David DeLaCruz Jr., general manager\n\nThe skinny: Tacos E Mas on Lansing's south side has brought back most of its 35 staffers in recent weeks as business has picked back up. Like many places, they've donated meals to hospitals — nearby McLaren in their case — and found the surrounding community is grateful they're open. \"It makes us feel good,\" DeLaCruz said.\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: N/A\n\nCan they survive through May: \"I would like to say yes. It's really up to the owner. All indications are yes, but who knows what May will bring.\" – Hailli Ridsdale, bartender and manager\n\nThe skinny: Tavern 109 is not only a staple of Williamston, it's become a go-to date night in the Lansing area. \"We’re not doing as well as if we were open (for in-house dining),\" Ridsdale said. \"But we've been surprised how much business we've gotten and how much everyone has supported us.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: Not yet.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"It doesn’t look like it. I hate to say file bankruptcy. But that might be the only choice I have. ... Can I make it personally until the end of May? Probably, because my landlord is working with me. Problem is, I have to pay the piper eventually.\" – Stefan Farrell, owner\n\nThe skinny: Tony M's in southwest Lansing used to do $35,000 in sales a week. It's doing about $4,000 now, with fixed expenses mounting. \"My wife, myself, my kids are working (the restaurant). Nobody's getting paid. We're just doing it for survival. ... Our core customers have stuck with us. Meijer Warehouse came in and we did 1,900 subs for them. The people have been outstanding, as far as customers.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: PPP\n\nCan they survive through May: \"We're very fortunate. We have fantastic owners, who don't keep or spend any money on themselves. We could just do take-out for the foreseeable future and do OK.\" – Tom Dombrowski, general manager\n\nThe skinny: The three Ukai Hibachi Grills in the Lansing area and AI Fusion are owned by the same family and run by Dombrowski. They own three of the buildings, only paying rent at Al Fusion. \"Everybody (on staff) is planning to and welcome to come back if and when they're ready.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: N/A\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Without the other store (Darrell's Supermarket), I don’t think we would be. Without that, a lot of calculus would have been different.\" – Travis Spitzley, manager\n\nThe skinny: The Vault Delicatessen in Mason is starting to see an increase in business again, though much of its regular customer base — teachers, local business groups, Dart Container Corp., etc. — aren't in the office. The Vault used to sell 100 sandwiches daily and, last week, it cracked 50 for the first time since mid-March. Spitzley can quantify the generosity of customers in the tip jar. The average tip per sandwich is usually about 50 cents. These days, it's about $4. \"People have been tipping an insane amount,\" he said.\n\nWaypoint Coffee Company\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: EIDL loan.\n\nCan they survive through May: \"Yeah, we definitely are (surviving). We’re really blessed to have low overhead. One of the things about opening a business in a smaller town, your operational costs are lower. We have funds set aside to get us through.\" – Ethan Painter, co-owner\n\nThe skinny: Waypoint Coffee in St. Johns had the misfortune of a March 1 grand opening. Two weeks later, our world changed. They've hung in there with the generosity of the St. Johns community and by offering online ordering and free delivery within 20 minutes. \"There are days that are really difficult, when it's like, 'Man, maybe we should have waited a few months to open.' But we're grateful for the opportunity to be the hope in people’s day.\"\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: None\n\nCan they survive through May: “I think we’ll be OK. We’ve been downsizing (staff and inventory) and working with what we’ve got to work with. I’m in the same boat as everybody else. As you go through the process, the regular customers and people (you have) known a while, want to see you make it.” – Chuck Raad, owner\n\nThe skinny: Woody’s Oasis Mediterranean Restaurant, around for 35 years, is open on Trowbridge Road in East Lansing for carryout, but not at its second location, in MSU’s International Center, which is closed. Customers have dropped off face masks and kept Woody's Oasis afloat with steady business on Friday and Saturday evenings. “This has been a major hit for us, for sure,” Raad said. “We’re trying the best we can. It is pretty devastating.”\n\nOn Facebook\n\nLoan/grant assistance: N/A\n\nCan they survive through May: \"So far, thankfully yes. (The owner) thinks we'll make it through May, the way we've been going lately.\" – Walah Aljabbary, general manager\n\nThe skinny: Zaytoon, with locations in Lansing and Holt, has been able to keep 35 of its 40 staffers on, with hours reduced. They're now open on Sundays, as well – a move largely to make available more hours for staff, even if business is slower than other days. \"It doesn’t do as much for us, but does give us an opportunity to help employees,\" Aljabbary said.\n\nIf you'd like to see a restaurant added, contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com.\n\nFollow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/05/07"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2014/06/01/ultimate-guide-new-tried-true-restaurants/9800729/", "title": "Ultimate Guide: New or tried and true restaurants", "text": "Wini Moranville\n\nSpecial to the Register;\n\nThis past year has seen a healthy number of new restaurants bursting onto the chef-driven dining scene. Yet at the same time, we should tip our hats to places that have weathered ups and downs (not to mention fads) for over a decade — or even half a century.\n\nFIVE NEW\n\nBlue Tomato Kitchen\n\n860 First St., West Des Moines; 277-7785\n\nDavid Baruthio, who serves modern French cuisine at his flagship restaurant, Baru 66, opened this more casual venue in January. Pizza and pasta are the focus, but don't expect goofball hybrid pizzas (no matter how fun those can be!) or staid Alfredo-sauced pastas; rather, the sophisticated fare brings to mind the France-to-Italy sweep of the Mediter­ranean.\n\nFind traditionally topped pizza, such as the Margherita (mozza­rella and basil) and quatro formaggi (four cheeses), as well as unique (yet grounded) takes, such as the prairie pizza, with prosciutto, arugula and an egg. With Bolognese, carbonara and meatball options, the pasta menu might at first glance seem a bit predictable, but remember, you're in the hands of one of the city's best chefs — nothing here is done by rote.\n\nEatery A\n\n2932 Ingersoll Ave.; 282-8085\n\nRemember how excited everyone was when Centro energized downtown by overhauling the space in the old Masonic Temple? That sort of grand-scale ambition has now come to Ingersoll Avenue, with Eatery A. Owner Jason Simon, who also owns Alba in the East Village), has tricked out the new restaurant (a former Blockbuster video store) with dash, verve and an Iowa barn's worth of gleaming reclaimed wood.\n\nEverything is priced under $15, and Des Moines has not seen casual food quite like this. Find pasta, wood-fired pizzas and plenty of interesting bites, such as roasted lamb with date and pistachio Farotto, hangar steak with Romesco sauce and stuffed calamari with chorizo. And take a look at happy hour, slated to run 3-6 p.m., with half-price pizza and wine — a great time to check out the new patio.\n\nLe Jardin\n\n2815 Beaver Ave.; 255-5787\n\nFrom 2008 to 2010, Chef Tag Grandgeorge's Le Jardin offered dinner in the space that housed La Mie, the breakfast and lunch bakery/cafe at the Shops of Roosevelt. When one building could no longer house both restaurants, Grandgeorge vacated, leaving a huge crater in the local French dining scene. After all, nobody does everyday French food quite like this chef.\n\nKick off with a fabulous pate, then move on to Grand­george's modern French bistro cooking; signature dishes include rabbit meatloaf, dinner-worthy omelets and a fabulously fresh salade Nicoise. Most entrees cost under $22 (pates run $6 or $7). Yes, you can go here on a Wednesday night without burning a hole in your pocket.\n\nTable 128\n\n12695 University Ave., No. 140, Clive; 327-7427\n\nAfter closing French-focused Tartine and opening Table 128 in its place, husband-and-wife duo Lynn and Sara Pritchard have hit their stride — the food is less about France and more about the skill, hard work and imagination of a Midwestern farm lad with a degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.\n\nOn chef Lynn Pritchard's menu, you can expect plenty of farm-fresh and local ingredients with playful and worldly up-to-date touches. Don't miss the scallops with sweet corn emulsion, with fennel and radish slaw. On casual nights, go for the Table 128 Burger with pickled pear, Brie, crispy onion and Dijon aioli.\n\nTrellis\n\n909 Robert D. Ray Dr.; 323.6288\n\nChef Lisa LaValle , who formerly oversaw The Des Moines Art Center Restaurant, recently took her talents to this new space in The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Fans of her work at The Art Center will be equally — if not more — pleased with what she's up to at Trellis.\n\nLaValle's signature style is to offer plenty of hearty and healthy vegetables and grains, without making the menu read (or taste) like diet fare. Sure, you can go meatless (with a recent Latin quinoa rice vegetable salad, for instance), but expect hearty entrees as well: A beef brisket, mushroom and blue cheese sandwich and an Italian-sausage pasta dish added heft to a recent menu.\n\nThe modern, bright space will only get better as time goes by: A patio with a waterfall and lily pond, overlooking our river and cityscape, is under con­struction and will be completed this autumn.\n\nFive tried and true\n\n801 Steak and Chophouse\n\n801 Grand Ave.; 288-6000\n\nEdwardian grandeur, polished service and opulent food — this place has everything you need to finesse your clients (or your date). Although beef — glorious USDA Prime beef — is the major draw here, the fresh sheet of seafood specials generally pleases non-red meat lovers. If you have extra-deep pockets, look for special preparations, such as bone marrow or foie gras add-ons to the steaks. If you need to keep an eye on the bottom line, don't be shy about splitting an entree — one is generally plenty gratifying for two.\n\nChristopher's\n\n2816 Beaver Ave.; 274-3694\n\nThis long-standing Beaverdale venue serves much-loved Italian-American steakhouse classics like spaghetti and meatballs, prime rib, pan-fried walleye and tender barbecue ribs. Yet that doesn't mean the spot is stuck in the mid-century. Choices like the olive chicken — with sparkling spinach atop a zesty wine-and-lemon sauce — shows that the kitchen can strike a more contemporary chord, too. And don't forget the lively lounge for casual pizzas and sandwiches.\n\nJesse's Embers\n\n3301 Ingersoll Ave.; 255-6011\n\nIt's your father's (or grandfather's!) steakhouse — snug bar, captain's chairs and all — lovingly maintained by committed owners who took over the 50-year-old standby just a few years ago. Beef is the draw here, including the Prime 12-ounce sirloin, the ribeye and the classic bacon-wrapped filet. And who can resist the super-garlicky signature salad dressing?\n\nOn more casual nights, opt for terrific burgers and sandwiches, including one of the best French dips ever: When was the last time anyone asked you for a temperature on a French dip? Yes, you can get yours a rosy-pink medium, if you wish.\n\nTursi's Latin King\n\n2200 Hubbell Ave.; 266-4466\n\nAlthough the Latin King boasts an airy and stylish wine-country interior, the long-standing east-side venue remains old school in all the right ways, from white-shirted busboys bringing the bread basket at the beginning of the meal to the owner keeping an eagle eye on what's going on in the King's realm.\n\nEnjoy all kinds of Italian- American favorites, including steaks and robust red-sauced pasta. Specialties include chick­en spiedini, rolled, breaded and broiled chicken, as well as one of the city's best takes on Steak de Burgo, a juicy cut of beef filet in an intense garlic sauce.\n\nSplash Seafood Bar and Grill\n\n303 Locust St.; 244-5686\n\nGiven the public's love for trends, fine dining venues that endure longer than a decade risk becoming a relic. This enduring seafood restaurant, which opened in 1998, knows how to keep it fresh. It helps, of course, that they serve some of the freshest, best seafood around. You can't go wrong with the classics—such as king crab cocktail, oysters Rockefeller and fish prepared meunière style; however, keep an eye on the more playful dishes, too, such as Kung Pao calamari and shrimp and the Siracha scallops.\n\nRed-meat-lovers will find a limited but well-purveyed selection of steaks; for a lighter, more casual bite, swing by the raw bar and nibble your way through oysters and appetizers.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2014/06/01"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_5", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": [{"url": "http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/detroit-reborn/2015/11/08/detroit-rising-life-after-bankruptcy/75085252/", "title": "Detroit Rising: Life after bankruptcy", "text": "Matthew Dolan, Susan Tompor and John Gallagher\n\nDetroit Free Press\n\nThe City of Detroit has more than enough cash to pay its daily bills. Thousands of busted streetlights have been replaced. City retirees still receive pension checks, and valuable paintings remain ensconced in the gilded halls of the Detroit Institute of Arts.\n\nThat's the good news. But a year after a federal judge approved a cost-cutting and reinvestment plan in the nation's largest-ever municipal bankruptcy case, Detroit's financial future still hangs in the balance.\n\nAmong the greatest concerns: a multibillion-dollar pension bill that starts coming due in less than a decade.\n\nThe city is on the hook to make a balloon pension payment estimated at more than $100 million in 2024 alone. But if the pension investments do not perform as anticipated, the bill could be significantly higher.\n\nSo far, the early returns for the investments since the bankruptcy are falling short. City officials and their watchdogs are already considering paying more into funds much sooner than prescribed by the city's bankruptcy exit plan confirmed only a year ago. It's unclear how Detroit would foot the bill.\n\nOn Nov. 7, 2014, federal bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes gave a green light for Detroit's government to cut more than $7 billion in unsecured liabilities and pour $1.4 billion over 10 years into basic services to rehabilitate the city reeling from a decades-long population exodus, disinvestment and cash drain. At one time, the city's liabilities were estimated at more than $18 billion before creditors and pension holders took a financial haircut.\n\nIt was officially known as a plan of adjustment. In reality, it amounted to Detroit's second chance.\n\nSome, especially retirees, remain embittered by pension cutbacks. But those who designed and approved the plan praise the city's hard-fought decisions forged in bankruptcy as a financial reckoning years overdue.\n\n\"I think the early indicators exceeded our expectations,\" former Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr said in an interview late last month.\n\nOrr, a seasoned corporate bankruptcy lawyer, became the city's viceroy in March 2013, ushering Detroit into a rare Chapter 9 bankruptcy and commanding the city through months of tense negotiations to clean up the balance sheet before leaving office late last year at the bankruptcy's conclusion.\n\nSince then, trying to tear down thousands of blighted homes and commercial buildings while improving city services including public safety have been expensive and slow ordeals. Fixing the city's high poverty rate, unemployment and poorly performing schools were largely left out of the bankruptcy process despite impeding the city's revival.\n\nMany acknowledge it's tough to come up with a complete report card on the city's bankruptcy plan after less than a year. But in an interview, Rhodes, the case's presiding judge, echoed Orr's early assessment: \"My impression is that the city is actually doing better at this point in time than we had projected during the bankruptcy case.\"\n\nDetroit's bond rating up, but at a cost\n\nThe city officially quit bankruptcy in December 2014, essentially capping the nation's largest Chapter 9 case, which raced through court after the city almost ran out of money, stopped paying its pension bills and filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2013.\n\nLeading architects of the city's restructuring have been lauded with awards for their work. At least three books are in the works on the case and its 24-day trial featuring dozens of witnesses, thousands of exhibits and average Detroit residents saying no to Orr's sweeping restructuring plan. But many others, including some of the city's leading business and philanthropic leaders, cheered the end to the city's financial crisis despite the costs.\n\nUntil this summer, when Hillview, Ky., population 8,000, filed for Chapter 9 protection, no one dared follow in Detroit's costly footsteps. The city alone spent $165 million in fees for an army of lawyers and consultants.\n\n\"We certainly know many people were hurt during the bankruptcy, but what would have been the alternative and how would they have been hurt under the alternative?\" said Michigan Treasurer Nick Khouri, who now chairs the city's financial oversight commission created during the bankruptcy.\n\nModern-day soothsayers once envisioned doomsday scenarios for Detroit: The city would be trapped in bankruptcy court for years. Defaulting on the city's debt would ripple throughout the municipal bond market. Detroit would be unable to borrow from creditors again.\n\nNone came true.\n\nIndeed, some of the city's largest creditors and most fierce courtroom opponents took financial stakes in the city's future by taking over city parking garages and securing redevelopment rights to landmark properties such as Joe Louis Arena. A $245-million bond offering to finance reinvestment in city services this summer came at a premium for the city, but it also benefited investment grade from rating agencies for a city once seen as junk status.\n\nPart of bankruptcy's legacy has been a turn to a more regional approach to the city's problems. Detroit is scheduled to transfer management of its water and sewerage department to a new regional authority on Jan. 1 as a byproduct of the city's bankruptcy.\n\nGenerally, most city revenue streams appear on track or better than expected, but progress on revamping and revving up city government remains a long slog with some delays in key initiatives such as hiring police officers, according to documents and interviews.\n\nThe city's dysfunctional and embarrassing street-lighting system is nearly overhauled, and the greater downtown seems to be taking off with new development. Local business titans Dan Gilbert and Mike Ilitch continue to reinvest in the city's core by spending hundreds of millions of dollars to re-create neighborhoods where their employees and others can live, work and play.\n\nThere is also palpable optimism as outside investors, including some of the nation's largest foundations and leading businesses — from the Ford Foundation to JPMorgan Chase to India-based Sakthi Automotive — flock to double down on Detroit's future.\n\nSome residents in neighborhoods, however, wonder whether the new, good times will trickle onto their streets with new development and new jobs. Some have coined the phrase \"Two Detroits\" to describe a disconnect between eye-popping redevelopment in greater downtown and entrenched challenges in some of Detroit's fragile neighborhoods. Detroit remains one of the nation's most crime-ridden cities despite declining violent crime in 2014, according to FBI statistics.\n\nDilapidated and abandoned buildings littered across the city's 139 square miles remain just one of the city's many urban ills.\n\n\"I think the city's off to a very good start in removing blight, but it's a moving target,\" said John Mogk, a longtime law professor at Wayne State University who specializes in land and development issues. \"As vacant buildings are removed, other vacant buildings crop up because of the rash of tax and mortgage foreclosures that are ongoing.\"\n\nAs a result, Mogk said, the initial expectations of eliminating blight in as little as five years were over-optimistic. More realistic, he said, is to think of ridding blight over a 10-year period.\n\n'What we have here is a minimal city'\n\nWhen the bankruptcy started, the city faced furious opposition from retirees, unions and financial creditors, making an amicable and speedy resolution appear unlikely. The city eventually reached settlements with all its major creditors, including retirees, unions, bondholders, bond insurers and banks. A fire sale of the city's art collection worth billions was prevented.\n\nToday, the city has seen some dividends to a peaceful resolution to an urban crisis that some feared would end in unrest. Detroit continues to lose residents but at a much slower clip, with about 1% moving out between 2013 and 2014, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau in April. Some officials inside city government believe the city's population decline may have finally reached bottom this year.\n\nPeter J. Hammer, director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University in Detroit, has doubts about a true rebound. He argues that the city has so far failed to reconcile the exuberance over the growing investment in downtown and Midtown Detroit while many in the city's neighborhoods have only seen limited gains in improved services.\n\n\"What we have here is a minimal city,\" he said, adding that municipal amenities across the city's borders remain far superior to city life. \"A whole range of services from recreation to public health to neighborhood improvement are not available in the same ways that they are available if you just cross 8 Mile.\"\n\nA better balance sheet, with challenges ahead\n\nWhen asked for evaluations of the city's progress, many city and state leaders first point to the reform of the city's balance sheet.\n\n\"I think that's a strong statement right there,\" Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who authorized the city's bankruptcy, said in an interview Friday. \"They show forecasts that they continue to balance budgets.\"\n\nThere are signs, so far, of a substantial recovery, according to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. Buses meet posted schedules for the first time in two decades, police and ambulance response times have been significantly reduced, according to the mayor. More than 7,000 blighted homes have been torn down in the last 18 months.\n\nThe mayor who took office when an emergency manager still ruled the city also points to significant business reinvestment in the city and major new housing developments set for the riverfront, the new Red Wings arena district and Brush Park.\n\n\"We've got jobs coming back, and we're feeling good,\" Duggan said in an interview last week.\n\nEven with the city now expected to bring in more revenue than expected in its current fiscal year, Duggan said there are still significant financial challenges ahead. At the top of the list are boosting the city's income tax collections and preparing for the significant payment that the city must make nine years from now to the city's general pension fund.\n\nThanks to rebounding real estate prices in neighborhoods across the city, property tax revenues are up, but income tax collections are coming in below projections, Duggan said.\n\n\"We're OK for now, but if we don't deal with that, it will become an issue,\" he said.\n\nDuggan is working with lawmakers in Lansing on a bill to require suburban employers to withhold Detroit city income taxes on Detroiters who work in the suburbs.\n\n\"That's the biggest threat to the plan of adjustment: the inability to collect income taxes on Detroiters who work in the suburbs,\" Duggan said.\n\n'It's not only a grand bargain, but a grand bet'\n\nThe centerpiece of the bankruptcy blueprint was the so-called grand bargain, an $816-million investment by the State of Michigan, some of the nation's leading foundations and the Detroit Institute of Arts to preserve the city-owned art museum collection in exchange for helping to pay down the city's crushing employee pension debt.\n\nAfter emerging from the shadow of the city's bankruptcy, the DIA hit its $100-million fund-raising goal for the grand bargain earlier this year. Housed in a beaux-arts-style building along Woodward Avenue lined with Picassos and signature Diego Rivera murals, the world-class museum is expanding its statewide programming as part of its grand-bargain obligations.\n\nThe museum has also turned its attention back to building a $400-million endowment to replace the $23 million in annual operating support provided by a tri-county property tax until the year 2023.\n\nDespite the grand bargain's success, the future of the city's pension funds, whose investments performed below expectations in the first year after bankruptcy, remains worrisome.\n\n\"It's not only a grand bargain, but a grand bet,\" said James Spiotto, one of the nation's leading experts on municipal bankruptcy. The managing director of Chapman Strategic Advisors in Chicago noted that the city is largely absolved of its obligation to pay into the pension system for a 10-year period but \"projecting 10 years out is quite difficult, so I think they are going to have to pay attention to that.\"\n\nCity retirees now 'taking on water'\n\nAt stake is the future of retirees like Sonia Moore, 71, who left her job with the city in 1989 after an illness and went on disability. Despite the underfunding in the pension system, Moore said her friend still wonders about whether she and other retirees might see cuts to their pensions restored.\n\n\"She said, 'You think they're going to give us our money back?' \" Moore recalled. \"I said, 'Yeah, when hell freezes over.' \"\n\nUnder the plan, general pensioners were hit with 4.5% cuts on their monthly checks, the elimination of annual cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increases, and a clawback in excessive interest from annuity savings. Police and fire pensioners saw a reduction only in their COLA increases. Without the grand bargain, the cuts would have been much worse, city leaders said.\n\nMore than 25,000 retirees and active city workers, including police and fire, are covered by both the General Retirement System and the police and fire system, according to the pension system's latest data. Pension fund officials interviewed last week said the idea of restoring cuts to pensioners as spelled out in the city's bankruptcy plan in great detail is not likely in the near term.\n\nMany days, retirees say they fear that they've been forgotten while they struggle to move forward after the bankruptcy forced them to make changes in their own lives. The first cuts to monthly pensions hit checks April 1. But the new added cost of health care coverage — which added another $300 a month to $600 a month for coverage for some retirees — cut even deeper into family budgets.\n\nCity retiree Dave Nelson, 64, who lives in Lowell outside of Grand Rapids, said the city's bankruptcy has moved off the radar and has been forgotten by many people who aren't connected to the city.\n\n\"It's like it never happened,\" Nelson said.\n\nAn EMS captain for the Fire Department, Nelson was part of the city's General Retirement System, which faced deeper cuts than police and fire retirees. He said he personally pays $700 a month more now for health care coverage. His pension check was also cut by 4.5% each month, like other retirees. He lost about $25,000 in the clawback.\n\nNelson says he still has a good pension of about $4,200 a month, which sounds like a lot, he says. But he has property taxes, medical expenses and other costs to cover. Too often, the family has pulled out charge cards over the year and let credit card debt build.\n\n\"I was living within my means when I retired,\" said Nelson, who retired in 2005. \"We've got a slow leak. We're taking on water.\"\n\nGoing back to work after pension cuts\n\nIn some cases, retirees in their late 50s and early 60s say they went back to work to deal with higher health care costs once covered in large part by the city. The extra costs of obtaining insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace can eat up an extra $300 to $600 per person for a retiree under age 65, according to financial advisers.\n\n\"I went in fighting,\" said Shirley V. Lightsey, president of a retiree association for the general city retirees. \"I was ready to go to the (U.S.) Supreme Court.\" She said that she went into the bankruptcy thinking that the city's retirees should never approve cuts to their pension checks at all. Two-thirds of the city's retirees are age 65 and over with an average pension $19,000 a year, she said.\n\nBut she changed her mind and turned around to support the retiree cuts because she realized the cuts were necessary. Voting yes also meant that the cuts would be smaller because of the grand bargain. And if the issue went to the U.S. Supreme Court, some retirees wouldn't live to benefit from a resolution.\n\n\"At some point, you just have to resolve the issue in your brain,\" Lightsey said.\n\nSound the alarm bells, or is it too early to tell?\n\nEven after the cuts, city officials, including the mayor, say the remaining pension obligation looms large.\n\nEarly returns since the bankruptcy are not especially encouraging. The city's two pension funds reported rates of return on its investments of less than 4% in the first half of the year, mirroring a poorly performing market. The General Retirement System covering most city retirees, for example, posted a 2.7% return for the six months ending June 30.\n\nFiscal year 2015 for the General Retirement System fund with a market value today of $2 billion could be worse. It \"will likely show an investment loss,\" leading to an expected decline in the system's funding status, according to an Oct. 27 actuarial report commissioned by the fund. The latest figures show the General Retirement System has a funding level of 62.5%.\n\nThose funding-level figures assume city will earn 6.75% return on its investments in the coming decades. But if the return is lower — say 4.29%, or the equivalent of the current long-term municipal bond rate — the funding level drops to less than 50%, according to an analysis last month by the actuarial firm Gabriel Roeder Smith & Co. for the General Retirement System. That could also push the final bill for city taxpayers much higher.\n\nA similar report prepared for the city's police and fire department employees and retirees is not publicly available because it has not yet been approved by the pension board, a spokesman said.\n\nCity officials and pension fund experts say one year's lagging performance is not enough to sound major alarm bells. They note that the city has time to make up ground financially in future years.\n\nBut others, including the expert assigned to assess the feasibility of Detroit's bankruptcy plan, worry that low returns, especially in the early years, could mean the payments still owed by the city will have to increase when it resumes its funding of the system. The city is already on the hook to pay its largest pension fund $118 million in 2024 even if the funds met projected investment returns, one recent pension analysis found.\n\n\"There was really no Plan B if it doesn't work,\" said Martha Kopacz, who analyzed the plan for Rhodes and now consults for the city's financial review commission. \"People just get tired of me chirping about this, but this is a really big number.\"\n\nCan Detroit grow its way out of a pension problem?\n\nAs part of the bankruptcy, the pension systems lowered their annual expected growth rate to 6.75% from 7.9%, a move that puts the system at the conservative end of expected returns at other major public pension programs, officials said. But Eric Scorsone, professor and director of the center for local government finance at Michigan State University, said even the lower city's assumed rate of return of 6.75% could be a challenge to achieve.\n\n\"To be quite frank, what they're using is still pretty high,\" said Scorsone, who participated in the city's revenue-estimating conference in September.\n\nThe issue of pension bills no matter the rate of return has already attracted the attention of the city's financial review commission set up during the bankruptcy as a watchdog over Detroit finances.\n\nAt a meeting late last month, financial review commission member Darrell Burks, a former senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said, \"We need to be prepared — whatever the number is — to accept the reality that it's going to be a substantial amount in 2024.\" He estimates an adjustment in the upcoming city budget \"somewhere between $100 to $200 million to accommodate this problem.\"\n\nThat's because original forecasts submitted in the bankruptcy case showed the city paying roughly $92 million into the pension funds between now through 2024 plus help of the grand bargain.\n\nBut in 2024, pension payments made by the city alone could explode in subsequent decades. The city's pension payments between 2024 and 2034 are expected to be roughly $1 billion, forecasts produced by Orr's staff show. The debt owed by the city remains at about $900 million between the years 2034 and 2044. Finally, between the years 2044 and 2054, the payments reduce to about $629 million, according to the 40-year projection submitted as part of the bankruptcy. No updated and comprehensive forecast has been completed by the pension funds since the bankruptcy.\n\nCity officials hope that Detroit's population and tax base will be growing by 2024, increasing its ability to pay off its pension debt without blowing a hole in its budget.\n\nShould Detroit prepay pensions?\n\nStill, there is already talk about trying to prepay some of that obligation well before 2024 to offset the risk of a balloon payment envisioned by the bankruptcy plan.\n\nIn an Oct. 27 report from Gabriel Roeder to the city's largest pension board of trustees, the firm's actuaries recommended \"that every potential action be taken to generate contributions to the Retirement System above and beyond those provided in the\" bankruptcy plan of adjustment.\n\nThe city plans to hire a consultant to examine whether the assumptions about pension payments made during the bankruptcy still hold true and could explore the idea of prepayments.\n\n\"The decisions to be made on what can be done on pensions would have to go through the budget process,\" Detroit Chief Financial Officer John Hill told the commission last month. \"The consultant would perform actuarial work — take a detailed look at assumptions, which are appropriate for the city to consider moving forward. The time period is as soon as possible so we can start thinking about a solution.\"\n\nThe message is finding a receptive audience among some charged with keeping the city on track.\n\n\"The sooner you can sock away money, the more that pot will grow to meet the identified challenges down the road,\" Bill Martin, the financial review commission's vice chairman and the former athletic director at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, said in an interview last week.\n\nRemoving blight and installing streetlights\n\nThe $1.4-billion reinvestment initiative called for in the bankruptcy plan included $483 million in anticipated new revenues drawn from higher bus fares and improved tax collection. The city also projected $358 million in cost savings from establishing a more efficient city government, which could theoretically make the reinvestment plan $1.7 billion over 10 years.\n\nBut ramping up reinvestment in the city over the last year has been a massive challenge.\n\nJohn Hill, Detroit's financial chief, describes the city's budgeting process as deliberately cautious, with stricter rules for each city department now to meet financial goals. So, for example, rather than simply buying new police cars, the city also budgets four years out on what it will cost to maintain and repair those vehicles so that those costs don't come back to bite the city, Hill said.\n\nSome efforts have outpaced expectations. A $185-million project to overhaul and modernize Detroit's antiquated street-lighting system is on budget and ahead of schedule with more than 56,000 new LED streetlights installed of the planned 65,000, officials say.\n\nThe project, scheduled to conclude in late 2016, is headed up by the newly created Public Lighting Authority of Detroit. Many residents say they are pleasantly surprised to see working lights in their neighborhoods, although work crews did add several hundred extra and unplanned lights this year in response to complaints about dimness.\n\n\"The lights are coming back on,\" said U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen, the Detroit-based chief judge in the state's Eastern District who appointed Rhodes to the case and then led the marathon mediation sessions that ended with agreements between the city and its major creditors. \"All these new young kids moving back to Detroit, it really creates a sense of optimism and momentum.\"\n\nOther efforts have remained more slow-going.\n\nIn the early days of Detroit's bankruptcy case, Orr estimated that Detroit could have as much as $500 million to battle blight over 10 years. Visions of a blight-free Detroit briefly raised expectations.\n\nBut as more realistic estimates of future revenue emerged, projections of the cash for blight removal began to shrink. By the time the city emerged from bankruptcy, it was clear that the funds for blight removal would be only what Mayor Duggan could wrangle from outsiders, particularly from the federal government.\n\nIn that Detroit proved adept: The city has snared roughly $121 million in so-called Hardest Hit funds to pay for blight removal, federal money designed to assist cities in overcoming the scourge of mortgage foreclosure.\n\nThat money has enabled the city to raze about 7,000 derelict houses since early 2014. Enough money remains from the latest batch of Hardest Hit funds to remove another 1,000 to 1,500.\n\nRecent controversy over the price of demolitions — the city's rush to supercharge the demolition process has pushed up costs — obscures how much progress the city has made in a short time. Duggan empowered the Detroit Land Bank Authority, previously a small and mostly ineffective agency with a handful of employees and a couple hundred parcels, to lead his blight fight.\n\nMoving aggressively, the Land Bank, now with 93 full- and part-time employees and nearly 80,000 parcels in the city, has auctioned and closed the sale of 527 houses to new owners and sold 2,655 vacant side lots to current homeowners, according to city figures provided last week. It also posted 5,133 eyesore properties with notices of coming action and filed 3,246 lawsuits against the owners of those properties, with more than half of those cases already resolved in the city's favor.\n\nExecutive Fire Commissioner Eric Jones said blight removal has been crucial to reducing the number of fires.\n\n\"If you remove 7,000 blighted, vacant structures, that is fuel that arsonists don't have to burn,\" Jones said. \"It's gone.\"\n\nBut much more remains to be done.\n\nWith roughly 100,000 vacant lots in the city and tens of thousands of vacant buildings, the city could labor for years at its current stepped-up pace before ridding the city of all eyesores. And there's no guarantee the city will have anywhere near the funds it needs to keep up the blight battle beyond next spring or so.\n\nProgress on reforms, but will they stick?\n\nConsultants and the expert witness Rhodes hired to assess the plan's feasibility also raised questions about the ability of the city's workforce to adjust, saying large numbers of workers and even managers lack skills and education needed for their roles. Part of the city's plan of adjustment calls for spending millions on training and retraining workers, in addition to an overhaul of the city's human resources operations.\n\nDetroit in recent decades has also been far behind the digital revolution in other places, relying on paper records and obsolete computers to handle the city's business.\n\nLast winter, frozen and broken water hydrants plagued firefighters battling blazes in the city. An antiquated reporting-and-maintenance system, based on paper records and e-mails, caused delays and communication lapses between the Fire Department and the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which is supposed to fix hydrants.\n\nToday, firefighters have smartphones to report troublesome hydrants to a system monitored by the water department.\n\nChief Information Officer Beth Niblock, whom Duggan hired during the bankruptcy from a similar post in Louisville, Ky., said 2,000 desktop computers have been replaced since the spring.\n\nPerhaps most noticeable to the public, four new mobile applications were launched to assist people in reporting problems to the city, connecting to the Police Department, monitoring buses and paying for parking at meters. With the \"ParkDetroit\" app, users can pay for a space with a credit card, add time and set the system to sound an alert when the meter is about to expire.\n\nNiblock said she has much to do, including implementing a new financial management system, a dispatching system for public safety, and fitting police officers with body cameras.\n\n\"We're making progress,\" she said. \"It's never, I think, as fast as we all want it to be.\"\n\n'I gave it my all,' but had to move out\n\nDay-to-day life is now a little easier for Jerald Gossett, 33, who used to walk 10 minutes out of his way to get to a grocery store because of the dim and often broken streetlights along multiple blocks of Second Avenue, north of the New Center.\n\n\"You wouldn't want to walk down here before; it was pitch black,\" said Gossett, who lives on Euclid.\n\nThis year, work crews finally upgraded those streetlights, and he no longer avoids Second Avenue. It is now one of the brightest streets at night in all Detroit.\n\n\"I can walk straight down here and get home faster,\" he said last week, full grocery bags in hand.\n\nIn his ruling a year ago, Judge Rhodes determined the city's exit plan treats creditors fairly and gives the city a feasible chance of returning to solvency and restoring basic services for neglected residents.\n\nNot all of them stayed, however. Toni McIlwain, who used to run the Ravendale Community Development Center on the east side, moved out of the city because her husband's city pension got cut by $400 a month.\n\nThey moved to Clinton Township, where she says they're paying $200 a month to insure two cars, as opposed to $1,000 a month in the city.\n\nShe says she \"cried and cried\" when they realized they had to move, but the numbers just didn't work. Also, the pension cuts for her husband \"stole his dignity,\" McIlwain says. Her home of 16 years was lost in foreclosure when a potential buyer died after agreeing to buy the home on East Outer Drive, according to the former community activist.\n\n\"I gave it my all,\" McIlwain says after spending 32 years trying to keep kids out of harm's way and improving life over a 40-block section near the city airport through dozens of block clubs.\n\nBut many longtime Detroiters like McIlwain find it hard to give up on the hardscrabble city they grew to love.\n\n\"Even now, I get this feeling, I really belong in Detroit,\" she says. \"I'm thinking, 'Is there a possibility I'll be back there someday?'\"\n\nContact Matthew Dolan: 313-223-4743 or msdolan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @matthewsdolan. Free Press staff writers Jim Schaefer, John Wisely, JC Reindl, Matt Helms, Joe Guillen, Mark Stryker and Gina Damron contributed to this report.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/11/08"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/07/politics/senate-democrats-climate-health-care-bill-vote/index.html", "title": "Inflation Reduction Act: Senate passes Democrats' sweeping health ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe Senate on Sunday afternoon passed Democrats’ $750 billion health care, tax and climate bill, in a significant victory for President Joe Biden and his party.\n\nThe final, party-line vote was 51-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie. The package is the product of painstaking negotiations, and its final passage would give Democrats a chance to achieve major policy objectives ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.\n\nThe Democrat-controlled House, which is expected to take up the legislation on Friday, August 12, must approve the bill before Biden can sign it into law.\n\nThe sweeping bill – named the Inflation Reduction Act – would represent the largest climate investment in US history and make major changes to health policy by giving Medicare the power for the first time to negotiate the prices of certain prescription drugs and extending expiring health care subsidies for three years. The legislation would reduce the deficit, be paid for through new taxes – including a 15% minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% tax on stock buybacks – and boost the Internal Revenue Service’s ability to collect.\n\nIt would raise over $700 billion in government revenue over 10 years and spend over $430 billion to reduce carbon emissions and extend subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and use the rest of the new revenue to reduce the deficit.\n\nSenate Democrats, with a narrow 50-seat majority, stayed unified to pass the legislation, using a special, filibuster-proof process to approve the measure without Republican votes. Final passage came after a marathon series of contentious amendment votes known as a “vote-a-rama” that stretched nearly 16 hours from late Saturday night until Sunday afternoon.\n\nWest Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin told CNN that the legislation he helped write is “a good balanced bill.”\n\n“I think we’ll all benefit from it; the country will,” Manchin told CNN. “We have energy security, that’s what we were looking for. And we have the ability to invest in the energy of the future.”\n\nBiden praised the Senate for passing the bill in a statement Sunday, thanking Democrats in the chamber and touting the legislation’s climate investments and health care provisions.\n\n“Today, Senate Democrats sided with American families over special interests, voting to lower the cost of prescription drugs, health insurance, and everyday energy costs and reduce the deficit, while making the wealthiest corporations finally pay their fair share,” Biden said.\n\nHow Senate Democrats passed the bill on a party-line vote\n\nSenate Democrats have long hoped to pass a signature legislative package that would incorporate major agenda items for the party, but struggled for months to reach a deal that gained full support of their caucus.\n\nManchin played a key role in shaping the legislation – which only moved forward after the West Virginia Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a deal at the end of July, a major breakthrough for Democrats after earlier negotiations had stalled out.\n\nArizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema on Thursday night offered critical support after party leaders agreed to change new tax proposals, indicating she would “move forward” on the sweeping economic package.\n\nBut Sinema, Manchin and other senators worked through the weekend making crucial alterations on the bill.\n\nTo avoid a last-minute collapse of the bill on Sunday, Democrats created a plan to win over Sinema, who was concerned over the 15% corporate minimum tax’s impact on subsidiaries owned by private equity. Senate Democrats accepted a narrower tax proposal, but instead of paying for it through a change to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, as Senate GOP Whip John Thune of South Dakota suggested, they instead extended the limitation on the amount of losses that businesses can deduct for another two years.\n\nThe change was intended to prevent House Democrats primarily from coastal districts, who have campaigned on repealing limits on the SALT deduction, from breaking from the bill, when they vote on it later this week.\n\nAfter the bill’s passage in the Senate, Sinema said in a statement it would “help Arizonans build better lives for themselves and their families by lowering prices, making health care more affordable and accessible, and securing Arizona’s water and energy future,” while also “boosting innovation and spurring job creation.”\n\nIn a good sign for the bill becoming law, key House Democrats signaled later Sunday that they’ll vote for it despite previous demands over SALT.\n\nRep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey had been part of the “No SALT, no deal” caucus. But he said the bill passes his test because it doesn’t raise individual income tax rates.\n\nRep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, another member of that caucus, echoed his sentiment: “I will also remain steadfast in my commitment to ensuring that any discussion of reforms to the 2017 tax law begins with addressing SALT. Because this legislation does not raise taxes on families in my district, but in fact significantly lowers their costs, I will be voting for it.”\n\nRepublicans used the weekend “vote-a-rama” to put Democrats on the spot and force politically tough votes. They were also successful in removing a key insulin provision to cap the price of insulin to $35 per month on the private insurance market, which the Senate parliamentarian ruled was not compliant with the Senate’s reconciliation rules. The $35 insulin cap for Medicare beneficiaries remains in place.\n\nSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement that the bill included “giant job-killing tax hikes” and amounted to “a war on American fossil fuel.” The Kentucky Republican said Democrats “do not care about middle-class families’ priorities.”\n\n“And their response to the runaway inflation they’ve created is a bill that experts say will not meaningfully cut inflation at all,” said McConnell. “The American people are clear about their priorities. Environmental regulation is a 3% issue. Americans want solutions for inflation, crime, and the border.”\n\nHow the bill addresses the climate crisis\n\nWhile economists disagree over whether the package would, in fact, live up to its name and reduce inflation, particularly in the short term, the bill would have a crucial impact on reducing carbon emissions.\n\nThe nearly $370 billion clean energy and climate package is the largest climate investment in US history, and the biggest victory for the environmental movement since the landmark Clean Air Act. It also comes at a critical time; this summer has seen punishing heat waves and deadly floods across the country, which scientists say are both linked to a warming planet.\n\nAnalysis from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office – as well as multiple independent analyses – suggests the measure would reduce US carbon emissions by up to 40% by 2030. Strong climate regulations from the Biden administration and action from states would be needed to get to President Joe Biden’s goal of cutting emissions 50% by 2030.\n\nThe bill also contains many tax incentives meant to bring down the cost of electricity with more renewables, and spur more American consumers to switch to electricity to power their homes and vehicles.\n\nLawmakers said the bill represents a monumental victory and is also just the start of what’s needed to combat the climate crisis.\n\n“This isn’t about the laws of politics, this is about the laws of physics,” Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii told CNN. “We all knew coming into this effort that we had to do what the science tells us what we need to do.”\n\nKey health care and tax policy in the bill\n\nThe bill would empower Medicare to negotiate prices of certain costly medications administered in doctors’ offices or purchased at the pharmacy. The Health and Human Services secretary would negotiate the prices of 10 drugs in 2026, and another 15 drugs in 2027 and again in 2028. The number would rise to 20 drugs a year for 2029 and beyond.\n\nThis controversial provision is far more limited than the one House Democratic leaders have backed in the past. But it would open the door to fulfilling a longstanding party goal of allowing Medicare to use its heft to lower drug costs.\n\nDemocrats are also planning to extend the enhanced federal premium subsidies for Obamacare coverage through 2025, a year later than lawmakers recently discussed. That way, they wouldn’t expire just after the 2024 presidential election.\n\nTo boost revenue, the bill would impose a 15% minimum tax on the income large corporations report to shareholders, known as book income, as opposed to the Internal Revenue Service. The measure, which would raise $258 billion over a decade, would apply to companies with profits over $1 billion.\n\nConcerned about how this provision would affect certain businesses, particularly manufacturers, Sinema has suggested that she won changes to the Democrats’ plan to pare back how companies can deduct depreciated assets from their taxes. The details remain unclear.\n\nHowever, Sinema nixed her party’s effort to tighten the carried interest loophole, which allows investment managers to treat much of their compensation as capital gains and pay a 20% long-term capital gains tax rate instead of income tax rates of up to 37%.\n\nThe provision would have lengthened the amount of time investment managers’ profit interest must be held from three years to five years to take advantage of the lower tax rate. Addressing this loophole, which would have raised $14 billion over a decade, had been a longtime goal of congressional Democrats.\n\nIn its place, a 1% excise tax on companies’ stock buybacks was added, raising another $74 billion, according to a Democratic aide.\n\nThis story and headline have been updated with additional developments.", "authors": ["Alex Rogers Clare Foran Ali Zaslav Manu Raju", "Alex Rogers", "Clare Foran", "Ali Zaslav", "Manu Raju"], "publish_date": "2022/08/07"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/12/31/brands-that-disappeared-in-the-last-decade/43298485/", "title": "Disappearing brands: 26 that shut down over the last 10 years", "text": "Grant Suneson\n\n24/7 Wall Street\n\nRunning a company is never easy, and 2020 was even more challenging, presenting business owners with an unprecedented set of circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions to the American economy, with the unemployment rate peaking at 14.7% in April. While unemployment dropped to 6.7% in November, it is still more than 3 percentage points higher than it was prior to the escalation of the pandemic.\n\nWith this economic crunch, many struggling companies were forced to seek bankruptcy protection or cease operations altogether. These businesses will join a list of once-prominent brands that, for one reason or another (long before the pandemic), lost profitability and shut down in the past 10 years.\n\nTo determine the brands that disappeared between 2011 and 2020, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed press releases, financial filings, and other news sources to find the major corporations that either went completely out of business or ceased the bulk of their operations.\n\nMinimum wage:Pay scale set to rise in 20 states, 32 localities as growing number adopt $15 an hour\n\nProduct recall:Target recalls 480,000 infants' rompers, swimsuits over choking, pinching concerns\n\nMany of the companies on this list failed to adapt to changing market forces and lost profits because of it. Retailers that were once successful saw online shopping cut into their sales, even before the pandemic required social distancing.\n\nThough virtually every business faced pandemic-related struggles, few sectors had a harder time getting through 2020 than restaurants. With restrictions on indoor dining and supply chain issues, as well as having to temporarily close due to local health measures, more than 100,000 eateries have closed their doors for good. According to the National Restaurant Association, these closures will affect around one out of every six restaurants in the country. Among these casualties are world famous restaurants all across the country. These are the saddest restaurant closings of 2020.\n\n1. Vine\n\n• Founded in: 2012\n\n• Type of business: Media\n\nVine was a short-lived but beloved video making app that took the internet by storm in the early 2010s. The app let users make six second videos that looped over and over, often to hilarious effect. Vine was purchased by Twitter in 2012 for $30 million as an easy way for users to shoot and share videos on the social media platform. Many other social media platforms began to offer video services similar to Vine's – specifically Instagram, which also gave creators a longer time limit on videos. Perhaps as a result, Vine usership plummeted, and Twitter discontinued the app in 2016.\n\n2. Pier 1 Imports\n\n• Founded in: 1962\n\n• Type of business: Home goods\n\nUnlike many of the other companies that folded in 2020, Pier 1 Imports was already on its way out long before the COVID-19 pandemic. The home goods retailer filed for bankruptcy in February, following nine straight quarters of declining sales. A few months later, Pier 1 decided to cease all operations and liquidate its assets.\n\n3. Borders\n\n• Founded in: 1971\n\n• Type of business: Retail, books\n\nAs Amazon expanded far beyond its initial aim of selling books through the internet, brick-and-mortar book sellers like Borders struggled to keep up. While Borders competitor Barnes and Noble launched its own eBook reader, Borders failed to adapt to shifts in customer preferences and went bankrupt in 2011. The company had nearly $1.3 billion in debt, exceeding the total value of its assets.\n\n4. The Weinstein Company\n\n• Founded in: 2005\n\n• Type of business: Entertainment\n\nAfter becoming successful in founding Miramax Films, Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob founded film studio The Weinstein Company in 2005. In 2017, the New York Times and The New Yorker magazine published accounts from numerous women accusing Weinstein of rape, sexual harrassment, and unprofessional conduct. Following these revelations, the company bearing Weinstein's name was in a public relations crisis. After an attempted sale fell through, The Weinstein Company declared bankruptcy in early 2018. Lantern Capital eventually won a bidding war for the assets of the company.\n\n5. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus\n\n• Founded in: 1884\n\n• Type of business: Entertainment\n\nFor nearly 150 years, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus traveled around the country to entertain the masses. Acquired by Feld Entertainment in 1967, the circus began losing its popularity over the past few decades – attendance has reportedly dropped by as much as 50% since the 1990s.\n\nAnimal rights activists continuously targeted the circus for its use of creatures like elephants in the show. Feld Entertainment's CEO also noted that audiences seemed to be abandoning the circus due to their shortening attention spans and expanding entertainment options. The high cost of moving the show from city to city eventually made the business model untenable. The circus act performed for the final time in 2017.\n\n6. Sports Authority\n\n• Founded in: 1987\n\n• Type of business: Retail, sports\n\nIn 2005, Sports Authority had $2.5 billion in sales across nearly 400 stores. The following year, the Colorado-based sporting goods retailer became a private company after a buyout by a private equity firm. Over the course of the next decade, Sports Authority faced stiff competition not just from online retailers, but also similar businesses like Dicks Sporting Goods. In March 2016, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It initially planned to keep most of its stores open, but eventually decided to shutter all locations. Later that year, Sports Authority's intellectual property was auctioned off for $15 million to its former competitor Dick's Sporting Goods.\n\n7. Theranos\n\n• Founded in: 2003\n\n• Type of business: Health care\n\nTheranos once appeared to be on the verge of revolutionizing the health care industry, but the entire operation turned out to be a sham. CEO Elizabeth Holmes claimed her company was creating a machine that could diagnose a wide range of diseases by analyzing a few drops of blood from a pricked finger. This promising idea earned Theranos a $9 billion valuation. It was later revealed that Theranos was simply testing customers' blood using standard testing devices from other companies. Holmes now faces up to 20 years in prison on nine counts of wire fraud and two conspiracy counts related to defrauding investors, doctors, and patients. The company was dissolved in 2018.\n\n8. Gawker\n\n• Founded in: 2003\n\n• Type of business: Media\n\nGawker was an incredibly popular gossip blog that spawned a media empire, including specialty sites like Jezebel, io9, Deadspin and Kotaku. It was also one of the most divisive sites on the internet, publishing revealing pieces, frequently outing public figures as gay – including tech billionaire Peter Thiel. Thiel eventually funded a violation of privacy lawsuit filed by pro wrestler Hulk Hogan after Gawker published a sex tape of Hogan without his or his partner's permission. Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, won a $140 million judgement in 2016, which was settled for $31 million. Gawker declared bankruptcy, and the company was put up for auction.\n\nUnivision acquired all the brands under the Gawker Media umbrella but shut down Gawker.com itself as the brand could have been a target of further lawsuits. Gawker.com was purchased by Bustle and planned to relaunch in 2019, but after a series of disagreements among staff and management, the relaunch was postponed and the staff laid off.\n\n9. Solyndra\n\n• Founded in: 2005\n\n• Type of business: Tech, solar panels\n\nSolar panel manufacturing company Solyndra was a Silicon Valley darling, raising about $1 billion in venture capital funds and getting a $535 million loan thanks to a U.S. Department of Energy green power initiative. When the company went out of business in 2011, it became the most well-financed flop in U.S. venture capital history. Even though it had $140 million in revenue, the influx of cheaper solar panels put Solyndra out of business in 2011.\n\n10. Dressbarn\n\n• Founded in: 1962\n\n• Type of business: Retail, clothing\n\nDressbarn was one of many companies that have suffered with the decline of the American mall. A staple at many large malls and shopping centers, Dressbarn offered professional women's clothing at hundreds of locations across the country. In 2019, the company announced it would close down all of its approximately 650 nationwide stores. Dressbarn's CFO said the company was not \"operating at an acceptable level of profitability in today's retail environment.\"\n\n11. A&P Supermarket\n\n• Founded in: 1859\n\n• Type of business: Grocery store\n\nA&P Supermarket disappeared in 2015 after more than 100 years in business as it could not compete with cheaper grocers like Walmart or higher-end chains like Whole Foods. A&P first went bankrupt in 2010, declaring $2.5 billion in assets and $3.2 billion in debt, before re-establishing itself as a private company two years later. The company again declared bankruptcy in 2015, this time shuttering or selling all of its locations.\n\n12. MoviePass\n\n• Founded in: 2011\n\n• Type of business: Entertainment\n\nMoviePass allowed users to pay a flat monthly fee to see as many movies as they wanted in theaters. According to MoviePass co-founder Stacy Spikes, its $9.95 price point was simply too low for the business model, which aimed to gain more revenue from the data it could glean from its customers. Spikes said parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics gained so many users after lowering the price, they refused to raise it.\n\nWith users seeing millions of dollars worth of movies each month on the company's dime, the model became unsustainable and Helios and Matheson was bleeding cash. The company began imposing restrictions, blacking out certain films, and gained a reputation for poor customer service, driving away users. Finally, in September 2019, MoviePass ceased operations. At one point in 2018, Helios and Matheson stock was worth over $2,000 per share. Now it is worth less than a penny.\n\n13. Modell's\n\n• Founded in:1889\n\n• Type of business: Sporting goods\n\nModell's was a large sporting goods chain that operated in the northeastern part of the country. After initially planning to shut down just 24 of its stores, the company filed for bankruptcy in February, before the pandemic, and announced plans to close all stores. Modell's executives blamed competition from big box stores and Amazon as well as warmer winters that cut into jacket sales for hurting sales and ultimately causing the stores to close.\n\n14. Teavana\n\n• Founded in: 1997\n\n• Type of business: Retail, tea\n\nStarbucks is the nation's leading coffee seller, and in 2012, the company decided to venture into tea, acquiring Teavana for about $620 million. Many Teavana stores were located in shopping malls, which have experienced a significant decline in foot traffic in recent years. Starbucks decided in 2017 to close all of Teavana's nearly 400 locations.\n\n15. Toys R Us\n\n• Founded in: 1957\n\n• Type of business: Retail, toys\n\nToys R Us was once a corporate juggernaut, controlling a quarter of the world's toy market with nearly 1,500 stores in the 1990s. The company's fortunes changed in the 21st century. Several private equity firms combined to take Toys R Us private in a $6.6 billion leveraged buyout deal in 2005. The company registered for an IPO in 2010 but withdrew the application in 2013 as sales have been declining. In 2017, Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy, with $5 billion worth of debt. The next year, the company announced plans to close all of its 800 or so remaining stores.\n\n16. Alta Motors\n\n• Founded in: 2010\n\n• Type of business: Vehicles, electric motorbikes\n\nEven as electric cars like Tesla have been taking off, one of the major players in electric motorbikes shut down operations in 2018. Alta Motors had expanded to more than 70 dealerships by 2018, but it failed to maintain a firm financial footing, even though sales had increased 50% in 2018 and reviewers and journalists seemed to be impressed with the product. A potential partnership with Harley-Davidson reportedly fell through, and the company ceased operations in 2018.\n\n17. Vertu\n\n• Founded in: 1998\n\n• Type of business: Tech, phones\n\nVertu was founded in 1998 by Nokia as a high-end luxury phone maker. Vertu phones were often covered in jewels and other precious metals, costing over $10,000 for even the most basic of models. Nokia spun it off in 2012 to a Swedish private equity group that paid over $200 million for Vertu in 2012. The phones were difficult to sell, in part because of the high price point, but also because the technology itself was inferior to other phones on the market. The company was struggling over the next few years, posting losses of more than $60 million in 2014. Vertu was sold to a Hong Kong-based fund in 2015, then to an exiled Turkish businessman in 2017. That year, it was revealed the company had over $130 million in debt, and it was liquidated.\n\n18. American Apparel\n\n• Founded in: 1989\n\n• Type of business: Retail, clothing\n\nOnce a shopping mall staple, there are no more physical American Apparel locations in any of America's malls. At its peak, the company was valued at over $1 billion, and once had over $600 million in sales. But the company filed for bankruptcy in 2015 after failing to turn a profit for six years. The clothing retailer would file for bankruptcy again just over a year later. American Apparel laid off employees and auctioned off its brand and equipment for just $88 million. It now operates as an online-only retailer.\n\n19. Compaq\n\n• Founded in: 1982\n\n• Type of business: Tech, computers\n\nCompaq was once one of the leading computer companies in America and the world overall. After its 1982 founding, the company had experienced tremendous growth, and by 1994, it controlled over 10% of the global computer marketplace. At its peak in 2000, Compaq was worth $40 billion. Yet competitors like Dell were able to eat up much of Compaq's market share by selling directly to customers and allowing customization, while Compaq had distribution deals with retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City. In 2002, Compaq was acquired by HP for $24 billion in a controversial and contentious merger. HP retired the Compaq name in 2013.\n\n20. Luby's\n\n• Founded in: 1947\n\n• Type of business: Restaurant\n\nLike many other restaurants, Luby's Cafeteria struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic. The eatery was particularly ill-suited to survive – its cafeteria-style serving made social distancing harder, and the restaurant chain had already been struggling financially for years. The company announced in September 2020 that all of its Luby's Cafeteria locations would close. Its parent company, Luby's Inc., said in December it would sell off all Fuddruckers locations to a franchisee before dissolving the company altogether.\n\n21. Pebble\n\n• Founded in: 2012\n\n• Type of business: Tech, wearables\n\nTech startup Pebble appeared poised for success after raising over $10 million on Kickstarter – then the most successful campaign of all time – to fund its early venture into smartwatches. While Apple was still focused on iPhones and iPods, Pebble's campaign proved people would be interested in wearable tech. Once Pebble watches hit the market, sales were solid and reviews were mostly positive.\n\nBy 2015, Pebble was valued at $740 million – but it would be out of business the following year as Apple released its own smartwatch. Pebble struggled with supply chain issues, while Apple Watches took up more and more of the smartwatch market share. Pebble was unable to compete and was sold to FitBit for less than $40 million.\n\n22. Jawbone\n\n• Founded in: 1999\n\n• Type of business: Tech, wearables\n\nJawbone is a classic case of a unique Silicon Valley phenomenon: \"death by overfunding.\" The wearable tech company, known for making Bluetooth headsets and speakers, was once worth billions of dollars, but only because of all the capital it raised and not necessarily because of its earning potential. The company raised about $900 million in funding, which boosted its peak valuation to $3.2 billion in 2014.\n\nBy 2017, Jawbone was facing lawsuits from vendors, who said the company owed them money, and the company entered liquidation. According to Reuters, only one other venture capital-supported startup, solar panel maker Solyndra, raised more capital than Jawbone, and it also went out of business.\n\n23. Palm\n\n• Founded in: 1992\n\n• Type of business: Tech, phones\n\nWell before smartphones, PDAs – personal digital assistants – were a must-have device. The company that manufactured them, Palm, rose in value quickly. In 1998, Palm had more than two-thirds of the world's PDA market. It had a massively successful IPO in 2000 when it was spun off from parent company 3Com, and like many tech companies of that era, Palm was riding the dotcom bubble that was about to burst. At its peak in 2000, Palm's valuation was more than $53 billion, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. Competitors like Sony began to eat into the PDA market, and once the tech bubble burst, Palm's stock price came crashing down. By 2009, Palm was bleeding cash, and it was acquired by HP for $1.2 billion in 2010. HP announced in 2011 it would no longer make Palm hardware and retired the brand.\n\n24. Henri Bendel\n\n• Founded in: 1895\n\n• Type of business: Retail, luxury\n\nOnce an iconic department store, Henri Bendel shuttered all of its remaining locations in 2019. In 2018, the brand operated at a $45 million loss. The luxury retailer, which was owned by L Brands, suffered the same fate as many other high-end stores. Many brick-and-mortar operations struggled to compete with online shopping, while industry analysts believe consumers have been spending less on luxury goods in favor of other purchases like phones and other tech.\n\n25. Blockbuster\n\n• Founded in: 1985\n\n• Type of business: Retail, entertainment\n\nEven before the advent and surging popularity of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, Blockbuster was struggling. The once-ubiquitous video rental store has been in decline since 2004, when it had 9,000 stores worldwide. Blockbuster now has just one location – in Bend, Oregon. The decision to abandon online service helped doom the company, which filed for bankruptcy in 2010.\n\n26. Lord & Taylor\n\n• Founded in: 1826\n\n• Type of business: Department store\n\nLord & Taylor, which opened in 1826, was considered the oldest department store in the country. It shut down largely due to COVID-19, but the store suffered from the same issues many department stores and retailers were facing even before the pandemic, including lower foot traffic and declining revenue as online shopping became more common. Lord & Taylor was sold to an investment firm in 2006 for $1.2 billion. In 2019, fashion rental company Le Tote bought it for around $71 million. The company began liquidating its stores in August.\n\n24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/12/31"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/university-of-iowa/2014/06/11/summary-regents-efficiency-study-gives-details/10349315/", "title": "Summary of Regents efficiency study gives few details", "text": "Sara Agnew\n\nIowa City Press-Citizen\n\nThe initial summary of a multi-million dollar efficiency study for the state's three universities released Wednesday was so vague that even one member of the Iowa state Board of Regents expressed dismay with the report's lack of detail.\n\n\"I certainly expected more than this,\" said Regent Bob Downer of Iowa City, who learned the summary had been released to the public by a news reporter.\n\n\"I think it's important that the board members see it as soon as possible since we are spending considerable public funds on this report and have just voted to spend quite a bit more,\" he added.\n\nThe summary of the first phase of the study includes eight general areas where Deloitte Consulting believes the most efficiencies can be made. Among those areas are academic programs, space utilization and student services.\n\nOUR VIEW:Looking for far more specifics on efficiency study\n\nThe consultants are conducting a more than $3 million review of Iowa's three public universities, which include University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and Iowa State University in Ames. The Board of Regents — which oversees the state's public universities and two specialty schools — hired Deloitte in February at a cost of $2.45 million to conduct the system's largest-ever efficiency study.\n\nLast week, the board voted unanimously to spend up to another $1 million for the second phase of the study, which is expected to begin in mid-June.\n\nAt the time, Regent Ruth Harkin questioned whether it was wise to approve spending more money on a study for which they had not received a report.\n\n\"This can tend to be a loose situation, where we don't know if they are giving us new information, old information or impossible information,\" she said. \"We should have some kind of product for the money.\"\n\nSheila Doyle Koppin, the Board of Regent's communication officer and transparency officer, said the next phase of the efficiency study will include a more detailed analysis of the eight identified areas. She added it is too early to speculate about whether any jobs will be cut or how much money will be saved.\n\n\"Nothing can be predicted at this time,\" she said. \"The analysis is not done until the end of phase two.\"\n\nAccording to the summary, phase two will include \"developing a business case of the costs, benefits and estimated implementation time frame for each opportunity to further gauge the potential to increase efficiency and effectiveness.\"\n\nKoppin said the summary released Wednesday is based on a more detailed report issued by the board's subcommittee that is overseeing the Deloitte study. When asked if the more detailed report could be made public, Koppin said: \"I could check on that and get back to you.\"\n\nKoppin said subcommittee meetings were not made public because the group only includes two regents — Larry McKibben and Milt Dakovich — which doesn't constitute a quorum. Meetings of a similar subcommittee that worked on the performance-based funding model were made public because, Koppin said, \"It was our choice to make those meetings public.\"\n\nAlthough McKibben indicated last week that figures would be released along with the summary, Koppin said, \"He is committed to releasing figures prior to July 4.\"\n\nJoe Brennan, UI's vice president of strategic communication, said the university wasn't surprised by the summary's lack of specifics.\n\n\"We understand that phase one was a very broad assessment that then focused in on opportunity areas,\" he said. \"Now that the task force has identified those areas, we look forward to working with Deloitte to come up with specific strategies for each one.\"\n\nDeloitte will return to each of the three universities this month to kick off the second phase of the review with a public forum.\n\nKoppin said the purpose of the forums will be to give the campus communities and the general public an opportunity to ask questions, express concerns, provide input and learn more about the second phase of the review.\n\nMiles Lackey, ISU's associate vice president and chief of staff to the president, said is university looks forward to the next step of the study.\n\n\"This first report provides a look at the breadth of the efficiency study and points to areas where the consultant believes there is potential for improvement at our universities,\" he said. \"Continuous improvement is our goal, so we look forward to the next phase of this project.\"\n\nUNI spokesman Scott Ketelsen declined to comment about the report, saying it was a Board of Regents' initiative and that any comments about the study should come from the regents' office.\n\nISU did not respond to requests to comment on the summary.\n\nAccording to the summary, Deloitte found the most pressing challenges that face the three state universities are limited cross-university collaboration; overlapping and duplication of roles, services and programs; inefficient processes that cause time delays and frustration; and difficulty accessing and using data to drive decision-making.\n\nWednesday's summary comes at the end of the first phase of the study, which lasted 10 weeks. During that time, Deloitte visited each campus twice, conducted more than 390 interview sessions and focus groups and met with nearly 700 individuals across the three universities and Board of Regents' office.\n\nDeloitte is expected to focus most of its efforts this summer on reviewing efficiencies within the university's administration while slowing its review of academics since many faculty and students are not on campus. Work on the academic areas will pick up in the fall, when Koppin said \"highly interactive working groups will be convened to develop business cases.\"\n\nRegents President Bruce Rastetter has said it has been 30 years since a previous efficiency study and that a review of the entire system is long overdue. Regents have said they hope the review will uncover $15 million to $24 million in efficiencies at the three institutions, which they say are necessary to deliver quality education.\n\nReach Sara Agnew at 887-5418 or sagenw@press-citizen.com.\n\nEfficiency study summary\n\nDeloitte Consulting identified during the first phase of its efficiency study the following areas where the three state university could make cuts to save money and streamline services:\n\n• Sourcing and procurement to analyze further improvements to purchasing practices.\n\n• Academic programs to strengthen academic programs to achieve maximum competitiveness, to broaden non-traditional student access through Distance Education and to better support institutional research practices and capabilities.\n\n• Information technology services to examine ways to optimize how IT services are provided.\n\n• Facilities to explore ways to more effectively use university infrastructure and reduce utility consumption.\n\n• Finance to determine ways to simplify the delivery of finance services.\n\n• Human resources to optimize how HR services are provided.\n\n• Strategic space utilization to improve building usage rates.\n\n• Student services to evaluate if a common application portal across the three universities would benefit students and the universities.\n\nTown hall meetings\n\nTown hall meetings to kick off the second phase of the efficiency study will be on the following dates:\n\n• University of Northern Iowa: Monday.\n\n• University of Iowa: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Wednesday in the University Memorial Union, second-floor ballroom.\n\n• Iowa State University: June 23", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2014/06/11"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2020/08/05/choctaw-crisis-space-needle-teen-outbreak-news-around-states/112824204/", "title": "Choctaw crisis, Space Needle: News from around our 50 states", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nTuscaloosa: City leaders are moving to limit nightlife in the college town during the pandemic as thousands of students return to school for the fall semester. The Tuscaloosa News reports a divided City County approved a measure Tuesday night that allows Mayor Walt Maddox to enact rules aimed at combating a surge in coronavirus cases in the city. Among the regulations is a move to reduce the capacity at bars to 50% after 9 p.m. There’s currently no limit. Another rule would reduce the occupancy of entertainment venues to 25%, down from 50%. The limits, which are expected to take effect Thursday, are in addition to statewide rules that include masks for anyone who is in public and can’t socially distance. Students already are arriving for the fall at the University of Alabama, where classes begin Aug. 19. The city of about 100,000 people also is home to Shelton State Community College and Stillman College.\n\nAlaska\n\nAnchorage: Alaska Airlines said 331 employees among the company’s workforce in the city may lose their jobs Oct. 1. The company said the Anchorage layoffs are part of companywide job cuts because of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Alaska Public Media reports. Alaska Airlines said 4,200 workers may be furloughed or laid off across the company beginning in October. The 331 workers account for about 26% of the airline’s workforce in Anchorage, company spokesman Tim Thompson said. Thompson said the number of layoffs may be lowered by Oct. 1, a day after the federal government’s multibillion-dollar payroll support program is set to expire. The airline announced in an alert to state and local governments that the jobs being considered for elimination include 135 Anchorage flight attendants, 76 customer service agents, and maintenance technicians and ramp service workers.\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: A judge has ruled Gov. Doug Ducey’s closure of gyms across the state in response to the pandemic violates the due process rights of health clubs, and he set an Aug. 11 deadline for the governor to set up a system for giving fitness businesses a chance to apply to reopen. Judge Timothy Thomason wrote in the ruling that clubs that have been shut down for more than a month might not be able to survive yet were denied due process because they couldn’t apply to reopen until Ducey ended the shutdown. “It is imperative that their constitutional rights be respected,” Thomason wrote. Tom Hatten, chief executive of Mountainside Fitness, one of the two health club chains that challenged the order in the case, said he plans to reopen his clubs Aug. 11. The judge said a health club would be allowed to reopen once it attests it is following COVID-19 prevention guidelines, though the state could still deny applications as long as it’s providing due process.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday said scammers fraudulently filed on his behalf for unemployment assistance intended for people affected by the coronavirus pandemic, as officials said thousands of claims have been frozen over potential fraud concerns. Hutchinson said he received a notice over the weekend that he had been approved for unemployment assistance intended for independent contractors, gig workers and the self-employed. Hutchinson said he never applied for the assistance. “It can happen to anyone,” Hutchinson said. The Republican governor said the FBI is investigating a scheme that includes other fraudulent applications. State Commerce Secretary Mike Preston said 27,000 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims and another 10,000 unemployment claims have been frozen after they were flagged for potential fraud. Preston said several other Cabinet secretaries had received similar notices to Hutchinson’s.\n\nCalifornia\n\nLos Angeles: Figures showing the state has slowed the rate of coronavirus infections may be in doubt because a technical problem has delayed reporting of test results, the state’s top health official said. For days, California hasn’t received full counts on the number of tests conducted nor the number that come back positive for COVID-19, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Tuesday. He blamed an unspecified technical problem affecting the state’s database that provides test results to local health departments. Ghaly said it’s unclear when the issue would be fixed, adding that the state is relaying information manually to county health officials. The announcement came a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom gave his most optimistic report on the state’s virus efforts since a second surge of cases in early June.\n\nColorado\n\nDenver: Gov. Jared Polis is urging Congress to go beyond simple renewal of earlier federal pandemic assistance and provide a more extensive package of aid to blunt the economic fallout of the coronavirus. Polis, a Democrat, said he wants food stamp benefit increases, home heating and child care assistance, support to meet anticipated surges in Medicaid demand, and an automatic extension of immigrant work visas for workers in health care and agriculture. The requests, in a Tuesday letter to the state’s congressional delegation signed by Democratic Treasurer Dave Young as well, also ask for more U.S. financial support for water projects, clean energy and public lands infrastructure – key initiatives of Polis’ administration. Polis insisted Tuesday that the initiatives would be long-term job generators and said Congress should “use this opportunity to invest in resilient, climate-focused solutions as our communities recover” from the pandemic.\n\nConnecticut\n\nHartford: An online portal has been launched to help state residents who need housing assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Department of Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said the website came about after a call center that opened last month was swamped with calls, resulting in busy signals and long wait times for callers. Connecticut is offering two new programs that provide rental assistance and mortgage assistance for those struggling to pay their housing costs due to a job loss, a reduction of work, a furlough or the closing of a business because of COVID-19. Details on the two programs and eligibility can be found by visiting the Department of Housing website for renters and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority website for homeowners. Applicants can submit questionnaires online to determine if they’re eligible, as well as contact the call center at 1-860-785-3111 during business hours.\n\nDelaware\n\nWilmington: Gov. John Carney approved a hybrid start to the school year Tuesday, allowing schools to use a combination of in-person and online learning when classes resume in the fall. Schools must also follow extensive health and safety precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19. The decision comes after weeks of the governor monitoring data and alluding to the likelihood of a hybrid school reopening. The state will provide free COVID-19 testing for teachers and staff before the school year begins and monthly throughout the school year using an at-home testing option. Schools across the state will also host community testing sites for students wishing to get tested before the school year starts. Schools are encouraged to offer some sort of in-person teaching, especially for students who would have difficulty learning in a fully remote setting, such as those with special needs, low-income students, homeless students or English learners.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: Mayor Muriel Bowser is asking residents to continue going to their scheduled doctor’s appointments despite concerns surrounding health centers during the pandemic, WUSA-TV reports. Hospitals are safe, ready and waiting to help, officials said. Bowser is also urging parents to take their children to the doctor to make sure they are up to date with vaccinations even though they will be returning to school virtually. District leaders want students to be ready to enter an in-person learning environment when it’s safe, Bowser said. “One pandemic is enough, and we do not want an epidemic in our pandemic,” said Dr. Laquandra Nesbitt with D.C. Department of Public Health.\n\nFlorida\n\nJacksonville: During a Tuesday roundtable at a nursing home in the city, Gov. Ron DeSantis returned to a familiar theme: protecting the state’s most vulnerable from the coronavirus. The governor said he was looking for “a pathway to get families access” to the 1.5 million loved ones who are finding themselves socially and emotionally isolated in nursing homes and senior facilities. “Four and a half months are a long, long time,” the governor said. Though Florida has managed to bring down the proportion of pandemic deaths stemming from nursing homes by keeping them on lockdown and other measures since March, infections have been surging in those facilities alongside community spread throughout the state this summer. The number of residents of long-term care facilities in the state testing positive for COVID-19 was about 5,800 as of Tuesday, roughly double that of early July.\n\nGeorgia\n\nMacon: Organizers of the annual Macon Film Festival say they will hold the event despite the coronavirus, but the bulk of the film entries will be streamed online. Festival board chairman Steven Fulbright told The Telegraph the event is important to Macon and filmmakers. It will run from Aug. 13 through Aug. 30. Fulbright, who is also Visit Macon’s director of tourism, said attendees to the Macon event will have a variety of ways to enjoy the films while staying safe. Two feature films will be screened at the Grand Opera House on weekends, including a new documentary about Macon-based piano player Chuck Leavell. Leavell played the keyboard for the Allman Brothers Band and the Rolling Stones. Other film entries will be streamed online at scheduled times for a fee.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: Many private schools in the state expect to begin the new year with in-person instruction. The private schools are typically smaller than their public counterparts and can more easily make adjustments to cope with the pandemic, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. Philip Bossert, executive director of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, said flexibility is a hallmark of its 120 member schools. “They can move pretty fast and do things responsibly without asking 10,000 people,” Bossert said. “To my knowledge all of them have a plan to open face-to-face, but when will be entirely up to each of them. And they have a plan also to switch back to remote learning if necessary.” The Hawaii Association of Independent Schools has sent daily updates and hosted numerous virtual discussions for school leaders, Bossert said.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: Gov. Brad Little said Wednesday that he’ll call a special session in late August due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Republican governor said in a statement that the special session will start the week of Aug. 24 and possibly include how to conduct the November general election amid the pandemic. Little also said the session might include legislation creating a liability shield for protection against lawsuits during declared emergencies such as the pandemic. A majority of House and Senate lawmakers on the Judiciary and Rules Working Group last month concluded that such a law is needed to protect government, schools and private businesses from frivolous lawsuits. A timeline calls for lawmakers to give the governor specific legislation by mid-August to be considered in the special session. Little would then issue a proclamation Aug. 17 detailing the exact issues to be considered during the special session.\n\nIllinois\n\nChicago: The mayor on Wednesday announced that the nation’s third-largest school district will not welcome students back to the classroom, after all, and will instead rely only on remote instruction to start the school year. The city’s decision to abandon its plan to have students attend in-person classes for two days a week once the fall semester starts Sept. 8 came amid strong pushback from the powerful teachers union. When Chicago officials announced their hybrid-learning plan last month, they said it was subject to change depending on families’ feedback and how the coronavirus was faring in the area. On Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot attributed the change in plans to a recent uptick in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the city. A survey also showed 41% of parents of elementary school students and 38% of parents of high school students didn’t plan to send their children back to the classroom this fall, the district said in a news release.\n\nIndiana\n\nIndianapolis: The state’s second-largest teacher organization announced Tuesday that its members may resort to striking to ensure a safe return to school as the state continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The Indiana chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents about 4,500 teachers and education staff statewide, said schools should reopen for in-person instruction only if teachers and school staff are provided with adequate personal protective equipment, funding is provided for necessary safety resources such as masks and cleaning products, and cases in the community are under control. If those safeguards aren’t met, AFT Indiana President GlenEva Dunham said union members would consider a strike. Dozens of Indiana school districts have already reopened for in-person classes or are planning to in the coming weeks, and Dunham said concerns remain about the precautions in place for brick-and-mortar settings.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: Doctors running the city’s intensive care units say they’re witnessing the consequences of many Iowans’ lax attitudes toward the coronavirus. “We’re seeing people suffering that don’t need to suffer, people dying that don’t need to die. This didn’t need to happen,” said Dr. Jason Mohr, who is the lead physician for UnityPoint Health’s intensive care units at Iowa Methodist Medical Center and Iowa Lutheran Hospital. The intensive care units have been refilling over the past few weeks as the virus surges again. During the first coronavirus spike, in spring, most severely ill patients were elderly or worked in jobs that put them at particular exposure to the virus. Many adults in their 30s or 40s, with no known risk factors, are now being brought to the intensive care units because they’re stricken with COVID-19, said Mohr and his counterpart at Des Moines’ MercyOne Medical Center, Dr. Brad Wilcox.\n\nKansas\n\nOverland Park: Nearly a quarter of the state’s almost 29,000 coronavirus cases have been linked to cluster sites, according to health officials. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment identified 360 outbreaks that have infected 7,710 people and led to 243 of the state’s 365 COVID-19 deaths, the Kansas City Star reports. Dr. Lee Norman, the state health department’s top administrator, said Tuesday that he expects to see a rise in cases linked to gatherings following the upcoming Labor Day weekend. The state’s clusters include 132 at private businesses, 95 at long-term care facilities and 54 from gatherings. Nursing facilities account for most of the deaths related to clusters, at 193. Meatpacking facilities and state prisons also accounted for some clusters. In Chanute, Kansas, 11 school administrators who attended a leadership retreat last week in Branson are in quarantine after six of them tested positive for the virus.\n\nKentucky\n\nFrankfort: Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday that he supports local school leaders who decide to begin the academic year with online instruction as a precaution against the coronavirus. On a day that Kentucky reported 700 new virus cases, the Democratic governor said he’s not surprised some school districts are opting for digital learning, rather than in-person instruction, at the outset of the school year. “Right now we still have a very high rate of cases in Kentucky,” Beshear told reporters. “While we believe we have stopped what could have been a very severe escalation, it’s still concerning with the number of cases that we see.” The governor recently recommended that public and private schools wait until at least the third week of August to resume in-person classes to help curb the spread of the virus.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: The state’s agriculture department said a dog has tested positive for the coronavirus, the state’s first confirmed case in an animal. A nasal swab test determined the dog’s infection, the department said. Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain said no evidence suggests pets play a significant role in helping to spread the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease, and he urged people not to abandon their pets because of worry. “It appears that people with COVID-19 can spread the virus to animals during close contact. It is important for people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to avoid contact with pets and other animals to protect them from possible infection,” Strain said in a statement. “At this time, routine testing of animals is not recommended.” The agriculture department refused to provide details about the dog, where its owner lives or any information that could help identify the pet owner, citing federal health privacy laws.\n\nMaine\n\nMilbridge: State officials are investigating a group of positive coronavirus cases among blueberry workers. Four employees of Wyman’s who had just arrived to begin working at a location in Milbridge have tested positive. It was the third cluster of coronavirus cases at a blueberry processing facility or farm in the state, the Portland Press Herald reports. Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah said the workers were tested before they began work. The cases have come at a time when the state is struggling to fill agricultural jobs. Maine public health authorities reported 17 new cases of the virus Wednesday. They also reported an additional death. The state has had more than 3,900 reported cases of the virus and 124 deaths.\n\nMaryland\n\nBaltimore: Health officials said a nightclub was shut down after it was found in violation of coronavirus safety regulations, making it the first time an establishment in the city was ordered to close for violations. The decision came after a video posted on Instagram showed a large day party outside Euphoria Nightclub on Sunday, The Baltimore Sun reports. In addition, officials have received more than 300 complaints about the establishment, Adam Abadir, a spokesperson for the city’s Health Department, told The Baltimore Sun. “Events like those depicted on social media at Euphoria are exactly the type of ‘super-spreader’ events that have led to dozens of cases around the country,” Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa said in a statement Monday.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: Thousands of travelers to the Bay State have begun filling out forms required by the state to help combat the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday. On Saturday, the state began requiring visitors to comply with a new executive order mandating they quarantine for 14 days or face a $500-per-day fine if they refuse to comply. That includes residents returning home from out-of-state trips. Travelers who can produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72 hours before their arrival in Massachusetts are exempt. Those visiting from a lower-risk state as designated by the state Department of Public Health are exempted from filling out the form. Current lower-risk states include New England states, New York, New Jersey and Hawaii.\n\nMichigan\n\nLansing: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday announced additional steps to combat racism, declaring it a public health crisis and ordering state employees to complete implicit bias training as the state confronts what she called systemic inequities highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic. The governor also created an advisory council of Black leaders. Black people account for 39% of Michigan’s nearly 6,500 confirmed and probable deaths related to COVID despite making up 14% of the population. In cases where race and ethnicity are known, the infection rate among Black residents is 14,703 per 1 million compared to 4,160 for white residents. Whitmer said the overall daily count of new cases has plateaued recently, but she wants to see a decrease. “Now is no time to spike the football,” the Democrat said on a day Detroit’s casinos were allowed to reopen after being closed since March.\n\nMinnesota\n\nMinneapolis: A group of voters sued Gov. Tim Walz and other officials Tuesday to try to block a requirement that voters wear face masks at polling places to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Members of the Minnesota Voters Alliance, backed by Republican lawmakers, argue that Walz’s mask mandate conflicts with a 1963 state law making it a misdemeanor for someone to conceal their identity with a mask. The Star Tribune reports the group is seeking a federal court order to block the rule for people who vote in person in next Tuesday’s primary. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a statement standing behind “the legality and constitutionality” of Walz’s executive order. Ellison’s office noted that the lawsuit is the 11th legal challenge against Walz or the state over COVID-19 restrictions.\n\nMississippi\n\nPhiladelphia: The state’s only federally recognized American Indian tribe has been devastated as COVID-19 has ripped through Choctaw families, many of whom live together in multigenerational homes. Almost 10% of the tribe’s roughly 11,000 members have tested positive for the coronavirus. More than 75 have died. The once-flourishing Choctaw economy is stagnant, as the tribal government put in place tighter restrictions than those imposed by the state. July brought a glimmer of hope, with some numbers dropping among Choctaws, but health officials worry the reprieve is only temporary. Choctaw Indians used to live across millions of acres in southeastern Mississippi but were forced off the land. Under an 1830 treaty, they were to move to Oklahoma. Those who remained in Mississippi endured segregation, racism and poverty. The tribe has long been a target of hate, members say, and the virus has only made things worse, with many blaming Choctaws for high case numbers.\n\nMissouri\n\nKansas City: The American Royal will not hold this year’s World Series of Barbecue because it could not find a way to make the event safe during the coronavirus pandemic, the organization announced Tuesday. Glen Alan Phillips, president and CEO of the American Royal Association, said it was “painful” to cancel the barbecue contest for the first time since it began, The Kansas City Star reports. The barbecue, which draws competitors from more than 30 states and several countries, was scheduled for Sept. 17-20 at the Kansas Speedway. “It gets really challenging to have a large public component to your event, which then leads to major financial revenue issues with not being able to sell tickets,” Phillips said. The organization also canceled this year’s Pro Rodeo, which was scheduled for Sept. 25-26. But Phillips said most equine shows and the livestock show will be held this year.\n\nMontana\n\nGreat Falls: The state listed 115 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, hours after Cascade County reported an “outbreak” of six incidents at a long-term living facility. This brings the state total of confirmed cases to 4,429 and 65 deaths, which was one more fatality than was listed Tuesday. There have been 2,820 recoveries, and 1,544 cases remain active. The state reports 79 people remain hospitalized out of 248 hospitalizations during the pandemic. The Cascade City-County Health Department said Tuesday evening that it “has identified an outbreak of six total COVID-19 cases in connection with a long-term care facility in Cascade County.” They said they would not release the names of the facility or further details at this time. The health department said it is working with the facility to determine appropriate strategies for containing and preventing further spread of the respiratory illness.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: More court hearings are being handled over video conference in Douglas County because of a coronavirus outbreak at the jail in the state’s most populous county. Inmates who test positive for COVID-19 or who have been near people with the virus aren’t being transferred to the courthouse for routine hearings, officials say. “We’re not going to bring them over and spread it to the courthouse,” Douglas County District Court Administrator Doug Johnson said. Thirteen correctional officers and six inmates recently tested positive, Corrections Director Mike Myers said. A total of 46 employees, 59 inmates and two contractors have tested positive at the jail, which houses nearly 1,200. Presiding Judge Horatio Wheelock said judges are doing as many hearings by video conference as possible in Douglas County District Court. The number of video hearings has steadily increased to 331 in July, up from April’s 288.\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: State officials said Tuesday that 95% of new coronavirus cases reported statewide during the prior day emerged in the Las Vegas area. State coronavirus response chief Caleb Cage said Clark County residents accounted for 931 of the 980 positive COVID-19 tests reported to the state Department of Health and Human Services. Fewer than 3% came from the Reno area. Confirmed cases in the state topped 52,000, and 15 more deaths were reported – bringing the total to at least 862. Separately, Gov. Steve Sisolak’s office issued a report tallying $16.7 billion in federal coronavirus funding to the state since Congress approved a $2.2 trillion rescue package to help businesses, workers and the health care system deal with the pandemic. State administration chief Laura Freed said almost $11.8 billion has been allocated or spent on economic relief and development.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nConcord: A plea to those visiting northern New Hampshire from a chamber of commerce: Please pick up your trash and wear a mask. The Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce says even with the threat of a $100 fine and towing, cars crowd the roads near popular swimming holes and waterfalls, and visitors leave a trail of trash. And not all are following guidelines to wear a mask and practice social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. “We continue to see and hear stories at the chamber about the general disregard for good old American manners. It’s taken us all by surprise,” Janice Crawford, the organization’s executive director, said Tuesday.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nCresskill: A COVID-19 outbreak among teens in the borough may be the result of numerous recent house parties and a prom, authorities say. Chris Ulshoefer, Cresskill’s fire chief and coordinator of the Office of Emergency Management, said in a letter to residents Monday that “these events, along with improper social distancing, may be related to an outbreak of COVID-19 in our community.” Ulshoefer said in an interview Tuesday that he had learned of 20 teens who may have tested positive for the coronavirus, although that has not been confirmed by Bergen County health officials. Mayor Benedict Romeo said he was “disgusted” after hearing that teens in the borough could have been infected with COVID-19 at parties with no social distancing.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nAlbuquerque: The city’s zoo will partially reopen next week to visitors wearing face masks or other face coverings after being closed for months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Outdoor exhibits of the ABQ BioPark Zoo will reopen Aug. 12, but indoor facilities such as the reptile and crocodile buildings will remain closed to the public, Mayor Tim Keller announced Wednesday in a statement. Also, high-touch attractions such as the carousel and trains will not operate, and daily public feedings and shows that draw crowds remain canceled temporarily, Keller said. Limited tickets will be available, and guests are asked to reserve their tickets in advance online to secure their spot, Keller said. “We’re excited to bring this family favorite back in a safe way.” The zoo will reopen Friday to BioPark Society members to test run the new ticketing system and experience procedures, Keller said.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York: Travelers coming to the city from 35 states and territories on the state’s COVID-19 quarantine list may be met at bridges and train stations and told to fill out travel forms under a program announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio. He said Wednesday that the city will set up checkpoints at Penn Station and other entry points to the city to tell travelers from places with high COVID-19 infection rates that they must quarantine for 14 days. The travelers will be given a health form to complete so that contact tracers can follow up and make sure they are quarantining, he said. The checkpoints will be set up at different entry points each day starting with Penn Station on Thursday, de Blasio said. Sheriff Joseph Fucito said there will be “a random element,” and every sixth or eighth car on a bridge might be checked. Travelers who refuse to fill out the travel form could be fined up to $2,000, de Blasio said.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nRaleigh: A federal judge on Tuesday refused to order a wide array of changes to the state’s election rules sought by voting advocacy groups worried about how COVID-19 could limit ballot access. But he told election officials they can’t reject mail-in absentee ballots unless there’s a way that voters can fix errors. U.S. District Judge William Osteen said people turning in an absentee ballot should be told why it won’t otherwise count and be given a chance to address the problem. The issue is poignant this year as more registered voters are considering voting by mail to avoid the risk of contracting the coronavirus at traditional in-person voting centers and precincts. Democracy North Carolina and the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, two plaintiffs in the case, presented evidence to Osteen showing about 15% of absentee mail-in ballots were rejected in the March primary.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nFargo: A medical research company in the city will conduct two clinical trials that could lead to a vaccine for COVID-19. Lillestol Research is among several facilities across the nation participating in “Operation Warp Speed,” the federal government’s plan to provide 300 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by January 2021. Lillestol operations director Jamie Brown said the company plans to begin recruiting patients for the trial soon. She said patients chosen for the study will be tracked regularly to see if they contract coronavirus, KFGO reports. Participants will be compensated, but the company did not say to what extent. “These trials are placebo-controlled, meaning patients will get real vaccine or a placebo, which is inactive. We won’t know who is getting which type,” Brown said. “They will be followed for approximately two years. They’re really followed closely that first year.”\n\nOhio\n\nColumbus: A statewide rule prohibiting bars and restaurants from serving alcohol after 10 p.m. will remain in place after a Franklin County judge on Wednesday rejected a request to put a temporary hold on the mandate. Common Pleas Judge Kim Brown denied a temporary restraining order requested by a group of Columbus bar and restaurant owners who filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the Ohio Liquor Control Commission’s emergency action imposed as a means of slowing the spread of COVID-19. The ruling means Ohio’s bars and restaurants, which normally can serve alcohol for on-premises consumption until 1 or 2:30 a.m., must continue to abide by the emergency rule requiring sales to end at 10 p.m. and consumption by 11 p.m. Brown said limits on business operations imposed during the pandemic have been upheld by courts around the nation, and the plaintiffs’ lawsuit is unlikely to succeed.\n\nOklahoma\n\nYukon: The mayor of an Oklahoma City suburb alleges she was threatened by a state lawmaker because of a mandate she issued requiring bar and restaurant workers to wear masks in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Republican State Rep. Jay Steagall on Tuesday denied threatening Yukon Mayor Shelli Selby and said he was talking to her about his constituents’ concerns. “I’ve never threatened anyone,” Steagall told the Associated Press. “I’ve tried to take constituent concerns to her.” No court records show that charges have been filed. Selby, whose voter registration records indicate she is a Republican, issued the proclamation last month. In a police report, Shelby complained that “she was being harassed and intimidated for political reasons” by Steagall on July 29. She said she sent a letter of complaint about Steagall to state House Speaker Charles McCall.\n\nOregon\n\nSalem: Health officials reported 342 confirmed coronavirus cases Tuesday, increasing the state’s total since the start of the pandemic to 19,699, with five new deaths related to COVID-19, the Oregon Health Authority said. The total death toll is 333. On Monday the state reported one of its highest weekly coronavirus testing positivity rates – 6.1%. The previous week it had been less than 5%. Oregon Health Authority officials said they continue to receive widespread reports of extended turnaround time from commercial laboratories, with some case results being reported two weeks after the test. The state’s increased positivity rate raises concerns about the possibility for students returning to school in the fall. School reopening guidelines released last week say the county where the school district is located must have 10 or fewer new cases per 100,000 residents over seven days, and the countywide and state test positivity rate must be 5% or less over the span of a week.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: State lawmakers heard about the slew of challenges ahead when schools reopen during a pandemic, as two days of hearings that ended Wednesday offered little reason for optimism. In hours of testimony before the House Education Committee, school officials and other experts said there have been months of planning, but there are also concerns about what lies ahead. Among the issues are questions about what standards schools should use to decide whether to shut down a school or a district when an outbreak occurs, a prospect that looms large as the school year is about to begin. “What happens if a student tests positive, a teacher?” asked Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-Schuylkill. “Because if you don’t have a plan in place, you can be prepared to hear exactly what we’ve been hearing, which is what the hell have you been doing to prepare for this?”\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: The Rhode Island Family Court is holding night sessions to deal with a backlog of cases because of the coronavirus pandemic, court officials say. Chief Judge Michael B. Forte will preside over nine uncontested divorces Thursday evening and another nine on the evening of Aug. 20. The sessions, starting at 6:30 p.m., will be conducted remotely, with Forte presiding from home and other participants from their homes or offices. Proceedings will be streamed live and are expected to last about three hours. “When I learned in early July that the earliest a couple could get a hearing on an uncontested divorce was November, that was unacceptable,” Forte said in a statement. “We want to address the backlog, but we also want to take advantage of the remote hearing technology we have been using since this past spring and provide hearings during evening or non-working hours that are more convenient for many people.”\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nLaurens: The first trial in a South Carolina courtroom since the COVID-19 pandemic began included spread-out jurors, a glass shield around the witness stand and bailiffs reminding everyone that masks are required. The murder trial started Tuesday in Laurens County and was the first case tried in front of a jury since courts closed in mid-March as the virus began spreading, Solicitor David Stumbo said. Two additional rows of chairs were placed in front of the jury box so jurors could stay socially distant, The Index-Journal of Greenwood reports. Only three spectators could sit in any one row, outside of the families of the defendant and the victim. Both prosecutors and defense lawyers sat on the opposite side of the courtroom from jurors. Everyone had to wear a mask, and bailiffs were quick to point out when noses and mouths were not covered.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls: The state on Wednesday reported 89 new cases of COVID-19 and one death amid an uptick in the average number of daily new cases over the past two weeks. During those two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 20, an increase of 31%. The Department of Health also reported the highest number of active cases since June, with 951 people. But the number of people hospitalized from the coronavirus has remained low, now sitting at 43 patients. During the course of the pandemic, a total of 9,168 people have tested positive for COVID-19 statewide, and 88% of those people have fully recovered, while 137 have died. Minnehaha County, which is the state’s most-populated area, saw the largest increase with a daily tally of 27 cases. The latest death was a man in his 70s from Davison County, according to Department of Health data.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: Gov. Bill Lee reversed course Tuesday by announcing that Tennessee will release data on COVID-19 in schools despite initially declaring such information would not be collected by the state. The move marks yet another concession from the Republican’s administration to be more transparent only after Lee faced loud pleas from the public to release more information during the pandemic. “This is a health crisis. Privacy around personal information around someone’s health is incredibly important,” Lee told reporters during a COVID-19 briefing. “It’s a real balance to determine how to protect that privacy and at the same time to give transparency to folks who need to know.” Lee’s state health agency had stated last week that it would neither collect nor report data regarding the virus in schools, which are currently in the early stages of opening for the new school year.\n\nTexas\n\nHouston: The state board that licenses doctors has warned physicians that it could take action against anyone who falsely advertises a cure for COVID-19. The Texas Medical Board issued its warning after a Houston-area pastor and doctor, Dr. Stella Immanuel, very publicly touted hydroxychloroquine as a cure for the disease caused by the coronavirus, the Houston Chronicle reports. Multiple studies have found that hydroxychloroquine doesn’t help against the virus, and the Food and Drug Administration has cautioned against using it to treat patients with the disease because of reports linking it with heart problems and other injuries and disorders. In a video that went viral last week and caught the attention of President Donald Trump, Immanuel said that if everyone took hydroxychloroquine, it would stop the virus in its tracks within 30 days. She said it was “fake science” to say that the drug doesn’t work as a cure.\n\nUtah\n\nSouth Salt Lake: Hundreds of teachers and parents gathered in northern Utah to argue whether school district reopening plans intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 are too restrictive. Two demonstrations Tuesday in Farmington and South Salt Lake showcased opposing views in response to their respective school districts’ reopening plans, the Deseret News reports. About 250 people gathered outside the Davis School District building in Farmington to demand a return to normalcy. The district announced plans to implement a hybrid learning model where students will alternate between in-person and online classes. Another protest was held outside the Granite School District building in South Salt Lake. The district announced parents have the option to choose distance learning, while students who attend in-person classes will be isolated by classroom groups. Most protesters in South Salt Lake called for a hybrid plan – the exact thing the protesters in Farmington denounced as “absurd,” “tough on working families” and “political.”\n\nVermont\n\nJay: A federal judge has granted the request of the receiver overseeing Burke Mountain and Jay Peak ski resorts, whose owner was charged with fraud, to execute a $3.2 million federal government coronavirus relief loan to help keep the resorts open and employees working. The resorts have reopened after being closed down for several months due to the pandemic and hope to prepare for the ski season and boost staffing by November, federal receiver Michael Goldberg told U.S. District Court, according to Caledonian Record. The loan through the Paycheck Protection Program would be financed by City National Bank. Miami businessman Ariel Quiros, who owned Jay Peak and Burke, pleaded not guilty in May 2019 to 12 felony charges, including seven counts of wire fraud and three counts of false statements.\n\nVirginia\n\nDoswell: A theme park that is one of the state’s biggest tourist attractions and economic boosters will not open this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Richmond-Times Dispatch reports Kings Dominion in Hanover County will remain closed for the rest of 2020. It’s the first time since the park’s 1975 opening that visitors won’t ride the Dominator or reach the top of a 323-foot reproduction of the Eiffel Tower. Tony Johnson, the park’s vice president and general manager, cited Virginia’s Phase Three reopening restriction of limiting the park to only 1,000 guests. Kings Dominion said in late June that the 1,000-people limit was not economically sustainable. The park employs up to 4,000 seasonal employees each year and is one of the state’s top employers.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: The Space Needle has reopened to visitors after recently completing $1 million in upgrades intended to provide a safer experience during the coronavirus pandemic. Chief Operating and Marketing Officer Karen Olson said the skyline-defining tourist attraction, which closed in March, has focused on air quality, sanitation and touchless procedures, The Seattle Times reports. The Space Needle has installed ultraviolet lights designed to kill airborne viruses and bacteria, a fresh air circulation system in the elevators, and reverse-ATM kiosks that will convert cash into a card for a more touch-free experience. “We really focused in on how to have a safer experience, and not just for guests, but for team members and guests,” Olson said, adding that the attraction also bought 250,000 surgical masks to hand out more than two months before mask mandates were implemented.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nHuntington: Two Huntington Fire Department firefighters have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Monday. Huntington Fire Chief Jan Rader said the first firefighter tested positive Friday, and a second tested positive Monday, as officials work to quarantine and test additional staffers. Stations and trucks are being professionally cleaned and sanitized, according to a news release. Mayor Steve Williams said he is working with union representatives to ensure the city still has enough fire department staff while also maintaining a safe work environment.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: A federal judge on Wednesday questioned whether it would be right to order an easing of the state’s absentee voting regulations ahead of the November presidential election, saying the coronavirus might pose less of a threat to in-person voting by then. Democrats and allied groups filed a series of lawsuits ahead of Wisconsin’s presidential primary election in April demanding that Judge William Conley ease absentee voting and voter registration requirements to simplify voting by mail because of the pandemic. Conley decided to extend the deadlines for requesting and filing absentee ballots, but conservatives on the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the extensions the day before the election. The plaintiffs renewed their lawsuits for the November election. Wisconsin is expected to be a key battleground state in Democrat Joe Biden’s bid to unseat Republican President Donald Trump, who narrowly won the state in 2016.\n\nWyoming\n\nJackson: A new animal attack response team will rescue people attacked by grizzly bears in the northwestern Wyoming backcountry. The Teton County Sheriff’s Office, Teton County Search and Rescue, Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Grand Teton National Park are behind the effort. Grizzly attacks in Wyoming often involve elk hunters. Officials hope to have the team ready to go when hunting season begins in September. It’s becoming more common for several different agencies to get called to attacks, Wyoming Game and Fish large carnivore biologist Mike Boyce told the Jackson Hole News & Guide. With more people and bears alike in the backcountry, grizzly attacks have been increasing. A fatal attack a hunting guide on a mountain two years ago, which left the guide’s client in need of rescue with the bear nearby, led to the idea for the response team, Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr said.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/08/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/10/17/student-loan-forgiveness-application-instructions-details/8170284001/", "title": "Student loan forgiveness application is available: Here's what to do", "text": "It's here.\n\nThe form to apply for President Joe Biden's one-time student loan debt forgiveness is now online. Borrowers can submit their applications here.\n\nThe unveiling of the application – following a beta test that launched Friday and attracted 8 million applicants – suggests the federal government is confident it can deliver on its mammoth debt cancellation campaign promise in the face of several legal challenges, including from seven conservative states.\n\n\"It landed and handled more than 8 million applications without a glitch or any difficulty,\" President Joe Biden said Monday during an announcement event, adding that the administration's plan is \"economically responsible.\"\n\nBorrowers are eligible to receive $10,000 or $20,000 in debt relief depending on their income and whether they received a Pell Grant in college. The Education Department has said borrowers who apply in October could have a chunk of their debt wiped out as soon as November. The feds have encouraged borrowers to file their forms by Nov. 15 if they want to see their balances shrink before the end of a freeze on payments that began during the pandemic and ends in January.\n\nTo apply, borrowers will have to provide their Social Security number and birthdate in the government's online form. As part of that, they will self-attest that they earn less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for couples, and those who provide false information could face fines or jail time. Some borrowers may have to file proof of their income.\n\nThe application is available in English and Spanish and via desktop computer or cell phones. People who already applied once the beta version went live don't need to apply again.\n\n“My commitment was if elected president, I was going to make government work to deliver for the people,\" Biden said. \"This rollout keeps that commitment, just as I am keeping my commitment to relieve student debt as borrowers recover from this economic crisis caused by the once in a lifetime pandemic.”\n\nWhen will student loans be forgiven? What to know about debt relief applications\n\nMore:Legal challenges stack up for Biden's student debt forgiveness plan\n\nFirst came lawsuits. Instantly, fewer could apply for loan forgiveness\n\nAbout 43 million people hold $1.6 trillion in federal student loans, and about 40 million are expected to qualify for the one-time debt cancellation. But the loan forgiveness program, or at least the publicly available details about it, has evolved as the application window approached and legal challenges mounted. These changes mean fewer applicants can take advantage of the relief.\n\nAssuming that most of the 8 million who have already applied are eligible for loan forgiveness, that would mean roughly 20 percent of the eligible pool already have signed up for relief. The White House previously estimated that about 75% of qualified borrowers would apply for debt forgiveness. Borrowers have through the end of 2023 to apply.\n\nOne group, the Pacific Legal Foundation, sued to stop mass cancellation on the grounds that borrowers living in some states would be unfairly taxed. But within days of that suit being filed, the White House said borrowers would be able to opt out of the debt relief plan. A federal judge in Indiana dismissed the group’s request to halt the forgiveness plan, saying the plaintiff couldn't be injured if his debt wasn't being forgiven.\n\nMore:Federal student loan forgiveness could be taxed as income in some states\n\nSix conservatives states – Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina, filed a suit together, arguing Biden had overstepped his authority.\n\nThe states also said quasi-state agencies that service old student loans in the Federal Family Education Loan program would lose money. These loans are backed by the federal government but held by commercial banks. Until Sept. 29, the government had allowed borrowers to consolidate these loans into one loan owned by the federal government, meaning they would have a chance to be a part of the debt cancellation.\n\nThe states argue they would lose money because borrowers would collectively ditch their existing FFEL loans for those offered by the government. On the same day the lawsuit was filed, the federal government said any remaining FFEL borrowers could not consolidate their loans.\n\nThe federal government has said the new policy will cut nearly 800,000 borrowers from the debt forgiveness program, out of universe of nearly 4 million borrowers who have FFEL loans.\n\nEducation Secretary Miguel Cardona said Monday the administration is \"working on pathways\" to support private borrowers.\n\nThe state of Arizona also sued the Biden administration, arguing the widespread availability of debt relief would steer some borrowers away from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. That’s a government initiative meant to encourage workers to forgo the high wages in the private sector and opt for work in the public sector. After a decade in these roles, a borrower's entire outstanding loan balance may be forgiven.\n\nOther legal challenges were dismissed almost as quickly as they were filed. In Wisconsin, a conservative group attempted to stop the debt cancellation by arguing the president didn't have the authority to cancel debt. It also claimed the White House intentionally crafted the program to benefit borrowers of color, which they say violated the constitution's guarantee of equal protection of the laws. The suit was filed on Oct. 4th, and by Oct. 6th a judge had dismissed the case, saying the group didn't have standing.\n\nHow much will the president's student debt relief plan cost?\n\nIt depends on whom you ask. The federal government has estimated the plan would cost about $30 billion a year for the next 10 years, or $300 billion over the next decade. The Congressional Budget Office put that cost at about $400 billion over the next 30 years, though it added in a report that such measurements are “highly uncertain.” That model is based on 90% of eligible applicants filling out their forms, a high adoption rate that has raised some skepticism from the White House.\n\nThe Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated the debt cancellation will cost about $360 billion.\n\nMore:Biden's student loan forgiveness will cost US about $400 billion, CBO estimates\n\nFrom payment pause to student debt cancellation in under 3 years\n\nIn recent weeks, conversations around student debt forgiveness have been focused on how it would happen, and if one of the legal challenges would derail the president’s multibillion-dollar plan. That’s a sea change from conversations earlier this year in which borrowers wondered when the payment pause might end or if the average borrower would have any debt canceled.\n\nThere was reason to believe they would. Biden had campaigned on forgiving up to $10,000 in student debt per borrower, but some advocates had started to question if he would deliver on that promise.\n\nThe federal government froze student loan payments in March 2020 under President Donald Trump, and extensions of the moratorium often came just weeks or days ahead of when a given freeze was scheduled to end. In addition to the pause on payments, the federal government set interest rates at zero percent, and collections agencies stopped attempting collect on overdue bills.\n\nMore:How the student loan payment pause changed people’s lives\n\nThough the uncertainty wore on loan holders’ nerves, it allowed millions of borrowers to pay down their debts, save for a home, or keep food on the table. The pandemic and the sluggish economy that came with it initially drove the pause, but rising gas prices and inflation prompted the Biden administration to renew it time and again.\n\nIn August, the federal government announced the one-time debt cancellation and what it called a \"final extension\" of the payment pause. A year earlier, the government said an extension of the payment pause through January 2022 would be the \"final\" one. But then last December, the administration extended the moratorium yet again.\n\nNow, borrowers who fill out the form may see some of their debt erased in a matter of weeks.\n\nMore:Debt relief will change the lives of some with student loans, but fall short for others.\n\nContact Chris Quintana at (202) 308-9021 or cquintana@usatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter at @CQuintanadc.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/10/17"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/18/africa/green-ammonia-hive-energy-scn-climate-spc-intl/index.html", "title": "South Africa is building the world's biggest green ammonia plant for ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nIn Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, thousands of hectares of land could one day become the world’s largest green ammonia plant.\n\nAmmonia, which is made up of nitrogen and hydrogen, is commonly used as a fertilizer. In the early 1910s scientists devised a way to synthesize it, but before then, the main agricultural fertilizer was guano, bat or bird excrement, which had to be obtained from tropical islands and was in short supply.\n\nProduction of ammonia at an industrial scale allowed agriculture to boom, and according to a study from the University of Manitoba, without it, we wouldn’t be able to produce roughly half of the world’s food today.\n\nAmmonia is also used to manufacture explosives for the mining industry and is a key ingredient in many pharmaceutical and cleaning products. Currently, its production mainly involves fossil fuels and is responsible for 1.8% of global CO2 emissions. But by using renewable energy, “green” ammonia can be manufactured, slashing the carbon footprint of agricultural production and opening up the compound to further uses.\n\nProminent among them is the use of ammonia as fuel, which could help decarbonize the shipping sector. It is what the Mandela Bay plant will focus on. “It’ll start replacing heavy fuel oils on ships and it’ll replace diesel. That will become the fuel of the future, particularly in the maritime industry,” says Colin Loubser, managing director of Hive Energy Africa, which is building the plant.\n\n‘A completely green process’\n\nThe process to make green ammonia is quite simple, Loubser says, requiring just water, air and energy. Electrolysis is used to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, and an air separation unit extracts nitrogen from the air. The hydrogen and nitrogen are then combined to produce ammonia.\n\n“The process of making it green is that you’re using renewable energy for this. You’re not using fossil fuels, coal or gas to make it. It’s a completely green process,” says Loubser.\n\nProjected to start operations in 2026, the plant will cost $4.6 billion. It will be powered by a nearby solar farm and will get its water — of which vast amounts are needed to make ammonia — from a local table salt factory that desalinates seawater.\n\nAt least 20,000 jobs will be created in the region over the lifespan of the project, according to Loubser.\n\nIt will be a welcome development for the area. “We were hit very hard by Covid,” says Asanda Xawuka of the Coega Development Corporation, the entity in charge of bringing employment to the region. “A number of jobs were lost in South Africa. For us in the Eastern Cape, the unemployment rate is sitting at over 50%. (This) means an investment of this nature with a number of jobs that are going to be created, it’s going to be very big.”\n\nThe shipping industry made up nearly 3% of global CO2 emissions in 2018. According to the International Energy Agency, ammonia will need to account for 45% of the global energy demand for shipping in 2050, for net zero scenarios to realize, which means it’s an essential component of a greener future. But green ammonia could also be burned in existing coal-fired power plants to quickly reduce their CO2 emissions, the study notes, or in plants customized to run entirely on ammonia.\n\nOne limiting factor is that ammonia is a pungent and toxic gas, so it needs to be handled by trained professionals. Using it as a fuel produces nitrogen oxides, which can act as greenhouse gases and cause air pollution, requiring additional technology to control emissions.\n\nAnd many of the systems that will make use of green ammonia – including ship engines – are still under development, which is why production levels are low at the moment. However, production is expected to boom: according to a report by Precedence Research, the green ammonia market accounted for just $36 million in 2021, but will grow to $5.4 billion by 2030.", "authors": ["Jacopo Prisco"], "publish_date": "2022/10/18"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/22/politics/republican-ukraine-support-what-matters/index.html", "title": "Watch as support for funding Ukraine erodes among Republicans ...", "text": "A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.\n\nCNN —\n\nIf Republicans win the House in the midterm elections, their pledge is to take a hard look at the money the US is spending to help foot the bill – to the tune of billions in security aid – for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.\n\nKevin McCarthy, who would likely be Speaker of the House in January if Republicans win in November, still supports US aid. But if Republicans win the House, he said there will be no more “blank check.”\n\nPresident Joe Biden said McCarthy’s comments show today’s Republicans “have no sense of American foreign policy.”\n\n“These guys don’t get it. It’s a lot bigger than Ukraine – it’s Eastern Europe. It’s NATO. It’s real, serious, serious consequential outcomes,” Biden said Thursday at a fundraiser in Philadelphia for Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman.\n\nWhy the next few months is crucial for the future of Ukraine's military 05:36 - Source: CNN\n\nMcCarthy expressed surprise Wednesday that his questioning of Ukraine aid caused a stir.\n\n“Wouldn’t you want a check and balance in Congress? Wouldn’t you want this hardworking taxpayers’ money, someone overseeing it?” he said on CNBC.\n\nAn emerging GOP divide\n\nIt’s wrong to paint Republicans with one brush on this issue. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has expressed consistent support for Ukraine funding and put out a statement Friday vowing that a Senate GOP majority would continue to aid Ukraine in its war against Russia.\n\nBut McCarthy’s suggestion that a House Republican majority could target Ukraine funding may be part of a larger shift on the war. And the split between McConnell and McCarthy over the issue could be a point of contention if the GOP wins control of the House.\n\nMcCarthy has also said cutting spending in general will be Republicans’ top priority if they win control of the House.\n\nAmerica first vs. standing up to Russia\n\nSpeaking on Fox on Thursday, the pundit Laura Ingraham mocked former Vice President Mike Pence for referring to the US as the “arsenal of democracy” and suggested the US military is too depleted to be helping out other countries.\n\nShe had a sympathetic guest in Pence’s fellow Indianan, Rep. Jim Banks, who said the US should not be depleting its own cache of weapons to help a country in Europe. Keeping the weapons, he said, rather than putting them on the battlefield, would help the US stay stronger.\n\n“That’s the reality of this moment we’re in today. We can’t put America first by giving blank checks to those around the world to solve their problems,” Banks said, echoing McCarthy’s language.\n\nThe ground is shifting\n\nLawmakers will have another chance to vote on Ukraine funding, likely this year as part of a larger government funding bill.\n\nThe last time the House voted directly on aid to Ukraine, the vote was strongly in favor – 368-57. The no votes were all Republicans.\n\nBut you can feel the ground shifting as a new wave of Republicans hopes to sweep into Washington.\n\nRep. Mo Brooks of Alabama lost a Republican nomination to run for Senate in his state and said he felt attacked for voting to support Ukraine aid by his opponent Katie Britt and by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon, it should be noted, has inspired many of former President Donald Trump’s policy positions and has been consistently opposed to the US funding for Ukraine.\n\n“I stand by my vote & am proud of it,” Brooks said on Twitter. “Putin must be stopped. At home, America must hold political opportunists accountable.”\n\nHow much has the US given?\n\nThe US has committed more than any other country to Ukraine, according to a database of military, financial and humanitarian aid maintained by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. As a percentage of GDP, the US ranks sixth.\n\nIt has given a total of $18 billion in military aid to Ukraine since January 2021, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement last week, while announcing an additional $725 million in aid.\n\nWhere does the money go?\n\nFrom CNN’s report on the most recent $725 million authorized by the Biden administration:\n\nThe assistance includes High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs), anti-tank weapons and small arms as well ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and small arms, according to a press release from the Department of Defense. The aid package also provides medical supplies, more than 200 high mobility vehicles, and thousands of artillery rounds and rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) systems.\n\nRepublicans aren’t the only ones reevaluating the cost of aid to Ukraine\n\nElon Musk, the billionaire who has provided critical Starlink internet service to Ukrainian forces, tried to get the Pentagon to start footing the bill for that service before backing off earlier this week.\n\nMusk has expressed support for Ukraine, but drew criticism when he suggested a peace plan in line with Russia’s interests in a recent tweet. Read more on Starlink from CNN’s Alex Marquardt, who first reported Musk was asking the Pentagon to foot the bill.\n\nEven if Musk won’t be brokering a peace plan and will be continuing to provide internet service to Ukrainians, his recent actions could be another signal of the beginnings of fatigue in what has been mostly unified global support. Italy’s new governing coalition is expected to include former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has had a friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.\n\nNone of that means there will be less support from the US or the world for Ukraine, but it certainly means that powerful people – and people like McCarthy who may soon have a lot more power – are taking a harder look at how much is being spent.", "authors": ["Zachary B. Wolf"], "publish_date": "2022/10/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2019/07/22/titanic-auction-legos-mighty-mississippi-news-around-states/39794949/", "title": "Titanic auction, Legos, mighty Mississippi: News from around our 50 ...", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nBirmingham: The state’s busiest airport is partnering with a company that can identify passengers through eye scans and fingerprints. Al.com reports that Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport recently added kiosks offering the technology for a fee. CLEAR offers a $15 per month membership, paid annually, with various discounts for family members. After the biometric identification, passengers move to the front of physical security screening. The company says its technology is available at more than 60 airports, stadiums and other locations.\n\nCorrections & clarifications: In a previous version of this story, it erroneously stated what CLEAR members do in the security line. CLEAR is not involved with physical security. The article also incorrectly stated the number and types of locations where CLEAR is available. The program is available at more than 60 airports, stadiums and other locations.\n\nAlaska\n\nKodiak: Alaska has become the only state without an arts council following a loss of funding through state budget cuts. The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports that the closure of the Alaska State Council on the Arts last week means a $2.8 million loss of arts funding in the state. Although only $700,000 is state funding, another $2.1 million consists of federal funds through matching grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and private foundation support. Officials say those funds will no longer be available without the state council as a connecting vehicle. Officials say Alaska residents’ federal taxes will still help pay for the arts in other states through the NEA, but those funds will not contribute to the arts in their own communities.\n\nArizona\n\nTucson: A program that prioritizes drug treatment over jail time is credited with keeping people out of jail and saving taxpayers some money. The Arizona Daily Star reports more than 500 people struggling with opioid addiction were sent to a grant-funded Pima County “deflection” program in the past year. Based on jail booking costs, taxpayers saved $178,000 in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The effort began a year ago as a six-month pilot program in two divisions of the Tucson Police Department. Officers could recommend a suspect caught with 2 grams of opioids or less for treatment instead of arrest. Authorities say the program proved successful with nearly 120 people getting “deflected.” The county has since received $1.4 million in federal funds to expand the program.\n\nArkansas\n\nFayetteville: Northwest Arkansas cities are figuring out how to handle the arrival of electric scooters, and the process will be evolving, officials say. A state law set to take effect Wednesday authorizes electric scooters vendors to set up shop in any Arkansas city. The scooters are battery-powered, have two wheels and a T-shaped handlebar and a floorboard. Riders pay to unlock them through a mobile app. The law says riders must be at least 16, and scooters have a maximum speed of 15 mph. The law allows municipalities to establish reasonable regulations for the safe operation and presence of the scooters on public property, but not ban them from the public right of way. Fayetteville’s City Council first took up a draft of an ordinance to regulate the devices July 2. Scooter companies will have to apply for a permit, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSanta Rosa: The Sonoma County Fair has eliminated the pig scramble from Farmers Day because of rising public concern and protests over animal welfare. In the long-running event at the fair, youngsters chased and tried to capture piglets weighing 40 to 60 pounds. Officials say this year’s event Aug. 4 will instead include elementary school children carrying watermelons slicked with vegetable oil around an obstacle course in a timed race. The board president says the decision reflects a “heightened awareness” toward calls for humane treatment of farm animals at the fair 55 miles north of San Francisco.\n\nColorado\n\nLoveland: State wildlife officials are telling people near the Rocky Mountain foothills to keep an eye on their children and pets after a series of mountain lion sightings. Donna Kendrick says she and a neighbor saw a mountain lion recently in their backyards in west Loveland. Kendrick told the Loveland Reporter-Herald on Friday the big cat saw her and “vanished like a ninja.” Kendrick called the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department, where spokesman Jason Clay says wildlife managers are aware of the sighting. Clay says Loveland-area residents reported mountain lions twice previously this year. People have reported mountain lions six times this year in nearby Masonville.\n\nConnecticut\n\nHartford: State Insurance Commissioner Andrew N. Mais is urging homeowners to review their insurance policies before the upcoming tropical storm season. Peak hurricane season in Connecticut begins in mid-August and runs through late October. Mais says policyholders should discuss with an agent or insurance company if they have appropriate and adequate coverage. Although homeowners, condo and renters insurance cover many types of storm damage, he notes that damage from flooding is excluded. Separate policies can be purchased from the federal National Flood Insurance Program or a private insurer. He says now is the time to buy those policies, considering there’s a 30-day waiting period before the policy takes effect.\n\nDelaware\n\nWilmington:From 2006 through 2012, nearly 300million painkillers were shipped into Delaware according to a Drug Enforcement Administration database published this week by The Washington Post. If those 276,177,276 pills were distributed equally, that would be 286 for every Delawarean. The data set, known as ARCOS, tracks the journey of every prescription painkiller in the United States, starting with the manufacturer that produced it all the way to the pharmacy that purchased it. In 2006, 29 million prescription painkillers landed in Delaware communities. In 2011, the year with the highest volume, that number was nearly 48 million — a 68% increase. In 2012, the most recent year of data available, the number was 41 million. More than half of the pills — nearly 150 million — arrived in New Castle County. Sussex County had the highest per capita rate in the state at 361 pills per person. Kent County saw the greatest increase in pills delivered between 2006 and 2012, going from 4.5 million to 7.1 million respectively — a 57% increase.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: Developer Adrian Washington, CEO and founder of Neighborhood Development Company, has apologized for padlocking Little Jewels Daycare and Nooks Barbershop citing environmental concerns last week, WUSA-TV reports. To make amends, Washington has offered the barbershop and daycare spots in a new building paying the same rent. “We did the right thing (where) there was a clear health emergency, but we did it in the wrong way. We didn’t communicate well, we came in suddenly and people rightly felt disrespected,” Washington says. He adds it served as a valuable learning lesson even for a developer who has been in the business for more than two decades.\n\nFlorida\n\nSt. Augustine: An alligator that eluded capture for days in a Chicago lagoon is settling in its new home. The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park said in a Facebook post Friday that it welcomed the reptile known as Chance the Snapper with a banner, pizza and the band Chicago’s greatest hits. The park that now houses Chance recommended the Florida trapper Chicago officials flew in to capture the gator. The 4-foot, 18-pound American alligator became an instant sensation from the day he was spotted in the Humboldt Park lagoon and photos popped up online. Investigators don’t know why the animal was in the lagoon, but experts say it wouldn’t have survived the winter. Park director John Brueggen says Chance will stay alone for 90 days to make sure he is illness-free, and then join other gators.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: Georgia Power intends to rely more on solar power than in past years to deliver energy to homes and businesses. It will also close a coal-fired power plant in the northwest part of the state. WABE-FM reports that it’s part of the company’s long-range energy plan, which was recently approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission. Under the plan, Georgia Power will close its coal-fired power plant near Rome. Also part of the plan: the company says it will add more wood burning to its energy mix. Georgia Power has proposed an increase in rates by about 7 %. Hearings on that matter are scheduled to begin later this year.\n\nHawaii\n\nWailuki: The governing authority for Maui’s water utility plans to study the feasibility of buying and maintaining an irrigation system that diverts stream water from east Maui and delivers it other parts of the island. The county Board of Water Supply voted Thursday to establish a subcommittee to study the issue, The Maui News reported. Alexander & Baldwin developed the East Maui Irrigation system a century ago to supply water to its sugar cane fields in central Maui. The company last year sold the cane fields to Mahi Pono, which is growing a variety of crops on the land. The system, which is today owned by A&B and Mahi Pono, has also supplied 35,000 residents in Upcountry with water. These water users have been in limbo after a bill that would have authorized the state to extend A&B’s water permits failed at the state Legislature in May. A&B’s diversion permit expires in December. The bill’s failure raises questions about the permit’s renewal and the delivery of water to end users after that date.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: In February, Idaho Fish and Game drastically cut the number of moose tags because of population declines across the state. In 2019-2020, there will be only 634 moose tags available each year, a 22% decrease from 2017-2018, which also saw an 8% reduction compared to 2015-2016. The Panhandle region of Idaho saw a 45% reduction in moose tags, the largest in the state, and the elimination of antlerless tags. Wildlife biologists do not have clear answers for the drop in moose population, but the likely suspect is a combination of habitat loss, ticks and predators. Idaho Fish and Game does not know exact moose population numbers but estimates there are 10,000 to 12,000 in the state. To estimate populations, Idaho Fish and Game relies on harvest information.\n\nIllinois\n\nSpringfield: Thousands of people have visited the governor’s mansion since it reopened last year after renovations that cost $15 million. The State Journal-Register reports that the governor’s office says more than 29,000 people have toured the mansion. Former Gov. Bruce Rauner spearheaded the renovations because maintenance had been neglected. Recent former governors rarely used the mansion before the renovations. But Rauner lived there and now Gov. J.B. Pritzker has moved in. The mansion offers exhibits highlighting the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago and life during the Civil War. An “Art of Illinois” project also showcases 80 pieces of fine and decorative art. The mansion has hosted free weekly concerts this summer. The mansion is open daily from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. for guided tours.\n\nIndiana\n\nBurns Harbor: The Navy is planning to commission its new USS Indianapolis combat vessel at a northwestern Indiana port this fall. The ceremony marking the ship’s entry into the Navy’s active fleet is set for Oct. 26 at Burns Harbor along Lake Michigan. It is the fourth military vessel carrying the Indianapolis name. The second USS Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine in July 1945 while returning from a Pacific island where it delivered key components for the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Only 317 of its nearly 1,200 crewmen survived the sinking and days in shark-infested waters. The ship was built at a Marinette, Wisconsin, shipyard and will be based near Jacksonville, Florida. It is a Freedom-class littoral ship designed to be highly maneuverable for missions such as mine-clearing and anti-submarine warfare.\n\nIowa\n\nCoralville: Iowa State University is dropping claims of wrongdoing against a former employee and paying her $225,000 to resolve a legal dispute over its popular outdoor sculptures made from Legos. As part of the settlement, Iowa State has also taken several steps to restore the reputation of Teresa McLaughlin. Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen has written her a glowing letter of recommendation calling her an honest, innovative employee. The school also will dedicate a bench for McLaughlin in Reiman Gardens, the campus landmark that McLaughlin spent most of her career building as its director. Those steps will resolve a contentious three-year legal dispute that derailed Nature Connects, the traveling Lego art program conceived by McLaughlin. McLaughlin had accused the university of failing to pay her commissions. The university accused her of working to market competing exhibits.\n\nKansas\n\nGarden City: A local zoo says two of four red panda cubs born last week have died. Officials with the Lee Richardson Zoo say one of the male cubs died of injuries “of an unknown origin” shortly after he was born. Another female cub died while being cared for by her mother. The cubs were among quadruplets born last Wednesday to Ember, a 9-year-old red panda. The zoo says only 1% of red panda litters are quadruplets. Ember and the cubs are expected to be on public display in late September or early October. Until then, footage of mom and cubs will be available on the zoo’s social media accounts.\n\nKentucky\n\nNewport:The city’s plans to install a SkyWheel at the Newport on the Levee can move forward, the city announced Monday. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved the permit for construction of SkyWheel, the observation wheel planned for the riverfront, according to the city. Construction on the 230-foot tall SkyWheel will start as soon as possible. It will feature 30 climate-controlled gondolas and will be built at Newport on the Levee, right next to the Newport Aquarium, by Koch Development of St. Louis.\n\nLouisiana\n\nNew Orleans: The Mississippi River is finally low enough again to let the Army Corps of Engineers begin closing a huge spillway after a record-breaking run diverting water into Lake Ponchartrain. The corps says Monday in a news release that about 10 of the 168 open bays in the Bonnet Carré spillway would be closed by day’s end. Spokesman Matt Roe says full closing is expected to take about a week, with daily checks to make sure the river remains low enough to avoid stressing the city’s levees. The spillway was created to limit the river’s rush past New Orleans, keeping it below 1.25 million cubic feet per second – an amount that would fill the Empire State Building in 30 seconds. The spillway was opened May 10 for the second time this year.\n\nMaine\n\nStonington: A group of Maine lobstermen that has the backing of the state’s Congressional delegation is pushing back at a plan to protect endangered whales with new fishing regulations. A federal team has called for the removal of half the vertical trap lines from the Gulf of Maine to reduce risk to North Atlantic right whales. Lobstermen from the Maine coast gathered with three members of the delegation and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in Stonington on Sunday to make the case the new rules would put an unfair burden on a key state industry. Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree, who attended the rally, says right whales need help, but the government’s “one-size-fits-all risk reduction” approach might not be the best way. The whales number about 400 and have experienced high mortality recently.\n\nMaryland\n\nBaltimore: Several hundred people gathered outside Johns Hopkins Hospital to protest the hospital’s practice of suing patients over unpaid medical bills. The Baltimore Sun reports the Saturday demonstration also promoted the efforts of Hopkins nurses to join the National Nurses United union. The Sun reported in May that Hopkins has filed thousands of lawsuits since 2009 against patients with outstanding bills. It reported a large portion of those lawsuits targeted residents of low-income areas. Hopkins emailed a statement to employees Saturday saying it supports its nurses right to unionize, but the union released false information about Hopkins’ debt collection practices. Spokeswoman Kim Hoppe says the court is only called on when patients stop responding and all points of contact are exhausted. She says patients can apply for medical or financial hardship.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: Lawmakers are weighing a ban on the practice of declawing cats. Supporters of the measure say declawing is cruel and painful. They say cats rely on their paws and claws to groom themselves and to help protect and defend their bodies. The practice involves amputating a cat’s toes to the first knuckle. A bill that would prohibit declawing is scheduled for a public hearing at the Statehouse on Monday before the Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. Lawmakers in New York last month voted to approve a bill banning the declawing of cats. The bill was sent to Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Declawing a cat is already illegal in much of Europe and in several Canadian provinces, as well as in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver.\n\nMichigan\n\nArcadia:An exclusive golf course no longer encourages players to hit balls into Lake Michigan after a diver found hundreds in the water. A description on the Arcadia Bluffs website of the 12th hole overlooking the lake had said, “Go ahead and do it, everyone does,” in reference to hitting a ball into the water before striking a tee shot. The Detroit Free Press says Arcadia Bluffs removed that reference last week after inquiries from the newspaper. Golf course president William Shriver says he doesn’t want to encourage the practice. Experts say golf balls are made of plastic and rubber and aren’t good for the Great Lakes. A beverage cart employee says she was fired for discouraging players from hitting balls into the lake. Arcadia Bluffs declined to comment.\n\nMinnesota\n\nSt. Cloud:About 400 butterflies filled the sky on Sunday afternoon to celebrate lost loved ones at the eighth annual butterfly release event organized by Quiet Oaks Hospice. More than a thousand people were in attendance to listen to music, send off a butterfly, sip on root beer floats and enjoy a summer breeze by the river. In previous years, the event organizer would read off the names of those who were being celebrated during the butterfly release. But this year, attendees were invited to speak the name of the person they were celebrating and take a moment of silence to reflect.\n\nMississippi\n\nColumbus: A group petitioning to legalize medical marijuana in the state says it needs about 28,700 more signatures to put the initiative on the November 2020 ballot. Jamie Grantham is communications director for Medical Marijuana 2020. She says organizers have gathered more than 86,000 signatures. That’s about two-thirds of what’s needed. The Commercial Dispatch reports Grantham spoke to a civic club Tuesday in Columbus. She says the state Department of Health would regulate every facet of the program, including overseeing treatment centers where products would be sold. She says only Mississippi licensed physicians could prescribe marijuana products to people with “debilitating medical conditions.” State Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher says he opposes easing marijuana laws because of concerns the drug could be abused. He was a longtime narcotics agent.\n\nMissouri\n\nKansas City: Lobbyist spending in Missouri has dropped by 94% since voters approved a $5 cap on lawmaker gifts last year. A KCUR analysis of state data concludes that lobbyists spent less than $17,000 on lawmakers in this year’s legislative session compared with last year’s spending of about $300,000. Peverill Squire, a University of Missouri political science professor, says financial gifts don’t buy votes, but they can buy lawmakers’ effort and time. Squire says most of the spending is on larger events that all lawmakers can attend, which adheres to the cap rule. Kelly Gillespie, a lobbyist who heads Missouri Biotech Association, says the new rules limit educational possibilities. Gillespie’s group funded a program last year to teach lawmakers about drug discovery and health care affordability. That is no longer an option.\n\nMontana\n\nMissoula: Glacier National Park officials are teed off over a report that tourists were hitting golf balls off Going-to-the-Sun Road during a traffic delay. NBC Montana posted a video Thursday taken by a tourist during a road construction delay that shows two men teeing off with golf clubs on the side of the steep mountain road. On Friday, Glacier spokeswoman Lauren Alley told the Missoulian the incident is under investigation. She says throwing or hurling things over Going-to-the-Sun Road has the potential to hurt or kill people or wildlife. She says anyone who spots such activity should try to record the person’s license plate number or remember their face if it can be done safely. Alley says law enforcement calls at Glacier are up 40% over last year.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: Two king penguin chicks that hatched in March are now on display at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The first chick hatched March 14 and now weighs 26 pounds. The second hatched March 16 and weighs 32 pounds. Their genders are not yet known. The chicks will remain in a segregated “chick pen” in the Antarctic penguin habitat until they molt their nonwaterproof down feathers. It also allows the chicks to get acclimated to the habitat and the other penguins. The chicks were raised by adult males – not typical for this species. Generally, an adult female shares that responsibility. The Zoo’s Aquarium Birds staff only intervened during select feeding times to get the chicks used to accepting food by hand. The zoo has 24 king penguins: 13 males, nine females and the chicks.\n\nNevada\n\nFernley: The second-largest commercial land sale in state history is expected to bring thousands of new jobs to a northern Nevada industrial park covering nearly 7 square miles about 30 miles east of Reno. A California-based real estate firm, Mark IV Capital, outlined details of the $45 million purchase along Interstate 80. The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada estimates more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created as a result of the potential development at what will be called the Victory Logistics District. Mark IV Capital cited location and infrastructure as reasons for its decision to acquire the property. In addition to easy railway access, it sits at a crossroad near I-80 and U.S. Highways 50 and 395.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nLoudon: The state Department of Transportation will be implementing a traffic control plan for fans attending Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 Race in Loudon. The race starts at 3 p.m., with maximum traffic congestion occurring in the late afternoon and early evening. There will be ramp closures and other changes affecting Route 106, Interstate 93 and Interstate 393. In some areas, extra temporary lanes will be created.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nNewark: Passengers traveling between New Jersey and New York have experienced rail delays of five hours or more about 17 times per year in recent years. That’s the conclusion of a review conducted on behalf of New Jersey Transit and Amtrak. The study’s findings were released Monday by the overseers of a multibillion-dollar project to build a second Hudson River rail tunnel and a new rail bridge over New Jersey’s Hackensack River. The study covered 2014 through 2018 and says the delays cost commuters almost 2,000 hours in extra transit time. They were mostly caused by mechanical problems and an aging infrastructure. The $13.7 billion tunnel project has been stalled by disputes between New York and New Jersey and the federal government over how the cost will be divided up.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nAlbuquerque: In what’s expected to be a long, contentious process, a few dozen people gathered recently for the first public meeting hosted by Public Service Co. of New Mexico on the planned shutdown of its coal-fired power plant. The utility says it wants feedback on four proposed options for replacing the power that will be lost when the San Juan Generating Station closes in 2022. The proposals are outlined in a filing made earlier this month with the Public Regulation Commission. Regulators will review the options in public hearings over the next nine to 15 months. The Albuquerque Journal reports PNM also will hold meetings in August with organizations that want to test potential changes in the different scenarios using modeling tools to determine costs and feasibility.\n\nNew York\n\nAlexandria Bay: The St. Lawrence River has been named the best bass fishery in the nation. It’s a first for the river, which borders Canada to the north and was ranked in the top 10 twice in the past four years by Bassmaster Magazine. The average weight of the entire 149-team field during a June tournament was 20.3 pounds, topped by the winning team from Sam Houston State University, which averaged 24.4 pounds a day. The Big Bass Award for that event was a 6-pound, 7-ouncer. Bassmaster Magazine editor James Hall says in some years there was internal debate over No. 1, but not this year. New York’s Lake Erie out of Buffalo was 10th.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nAsheville: Housing prices in Buncombe County have never been higher, outpacing even that of prices in Asheville city limits for the first time in nearly six years, data compiled by area real estate agencies show. The county's median sale price for the year's second quarter was $319,500, up more than 10% from the same time in 2018 and its highest figure on record, according to Mosiac Community Lifestyle Realty. The rise is being driven by more homes selling for more than $300,000 and fewer selling below $300,000 compared to the same time in 2018, Mosaic said. Buncombe had 732 home sales during the quarter, a roughly 8% boost from the previous year's totals. The same time period yielded 453 home sales in Asheville, also a record number for a quarter, says Mosiac.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: The state Game and Fish Department says its workers have just completed one of the largest fish stocking efforts in the history of the agency. Crews have stocked 140 lakes across the state with more than 11 million walleye fingerlings from the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery. Fisheries production leader Jerry Wiegel says the Garrison Dam hatchery had to step up this year because of fish production that couldn’t be used at the Valley City National Fish Hatchery. Its source of water is Lake Ashtabula, where zebra mussels were recently discovered. Walleye already produced at Valley City here used only to stock Lake Ashtabula. Some were also sent to other states for use in lakes where zebra mussels exist.\n\nOhio\n\nRossford: Amazon says it will open two new distribution centers in Ohio. The company announced Monday that the two sites in Akron and near Toledo will bring a combined 2,500 full-time jobs. The new facility in Akron will be built on the site of a former shopping mall. The one in Rossford near Toledo is going up at the intersection of Interstate 75 and the Ohio Turnpike. Each of the two distribution centers will cover more than 700,000 square feet. Both centers will employ workers to pack and ship small items. Amazon has five other distribution centers in the state. They employ a total of roughly 8,500 workers.\n\nOklahoma\n\nChickasha: One of the last remaining Democrats from a rural district in the state Legislature says he won’t seek re-election in 2020. Rep. David Perryman announced Monday that he won’t seek a fifth-consecutive term for House District 56. The southwest Oklahoma district includes the towns of Anadarko, Chickasha, Fort Cobb, Minco and Pocasset. A minority floor leader, Perryman says it’s a “frustrating time” to be a Democrat from rural Oklahoma and that he’s disappointed with the lack of bipartisanship in the Legislature. Republicans have a 77-24 advantage over Democrats in the House. Perryman says that when he completes his term in November 2020, he plans to resume his full-time law practice in Chickasha.\n\nOregon\n\nSalem:The state’s iconic Douglas firs are declining as the state’s summers have grown hotter and drier. Drought also is killing grand fir and might be contributing to declines in Western red cedar and bigleaf maple. Oregon has experienced drought each summer since 2012, peaking in 2015. Although rainfall and snowpack have been close to average the past two years, temperatures in many areas still were above normal. Climate change is expected to increase drought in Oregon. Oregon Department of Forestry scientists conduct statewide aerial and ground tree surveys across 30 million acres each year, recording the number of dead and dying trees from all causes, including drought, storms, disease and insect damage. In 2018, about 680,000 acres contained damaged or dead trees attributed to all causes. That’s fewer than at the peak of the drought but still higher than historic levels.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nWilkinsburg: Pogopalooza, known as the World Championships of Pogo, bounced into the city last weekend. Extreme pogo stick athletes from around the world came to town to show off their huge tricks and flips to compete for world titles in such categories as High Jump and Best Trick. The events on Saturday and Sunday weren’t just for the grown-ups. Pogo users under the age of 15 entered a “bounce off” competition and those who bounced the longest got a free pogo stick. Visitors tried their hand at pogo-sticking in a free jump area that had pogo sticks of all sizes. In addition to the main competitions, the pogo athletes attempted to break three Guinness World Records over the weekend.\n\nRhode Island\n\nNewport: A Titanic survivor’s walking stick with an electric light she used to signal for help from a lifeboat has sold for $62,500 at an auction of maritime items. Guernsey’s auction house held the auction in Newport on Friday and Saturday. Guernsey’s President Arlan Ettinger says the top bid on Ella White’s cane was $50,000, plus the surcharge added by the auction house. The preauction estimate had been $300,000 to $500,000. The walking stick was consigned to Guernsey’s by the Williams family in Milford, Connecticut. Ettinger says some family members contested the sale. The issue was resolved before the auction, but the dispute might have made potential bidders nervous. Ettinger says the winning bidder said he was there on behalf of a friend in the United Kingdom.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nOrangeburg: A family owned plant in Orangeburg County that makes machines for textile mills is closing after nearly 50 years. Mayer Industries Inc. CEO George Fischer says the company is consolidating its work making braiding machines at plants in Germany. Fischer told The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg that its 59 employees were told of the closing two years ago and the company has been working to help anyone find a new job. Fischer says Mayer Industries did a similar consolidation of its knitting machine business nearly 20 years ago. Mayer Industries built the Orangeburg plant in 1970 and created a course at the nearby technical college to teach workers metric measurements they would need to make machines for the European market.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nRapid City: A National Guard unit has been welcomed home after a nearly year-long deployment to the Middle East. A ceremony was held Sunday afternoon for the 26 members of the 935th Aviation Support Battalion at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Rapid City. KOTA-TV says community members showed their appreciation with prayer and applause. Gov. Krisit Noem told the guard members their dedication did not go unnoticed because of their exemplary work. The Rapid City-based unit provided aviation maintenance and repair support for the Army.\n\nTennessee\n\nMemphis: The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says six corrections officer have resigned after an internal investigation into accusations of inappropriate conduct. The Commercial Appeal reports that the identities of the deputies were not provided. A social media post from the sheriff’s office says the investigations focused on inappropriate relationships with inmates at the Shelby County Jail. The deputies were suspended with pay in mid-June while an investigation was conducted. One of the deputies resigned in June after being charged with a personal conduct violation and consorting with persons of bad or criminal reputation, which are administrative charges. Sheriff’s Office Captain Anthony Buckner says in a video release that the investigation was halted because the deputies left the department and the office’s General Investigation Bureau did not find sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges.\n\nTexas\n\nDeer Park: The cleanup of millions of gallons of waste and polluted water is far from over four months after a large fire burned for days at a Houston-area petrochemical storage site. The Houston Chronicle reports that Intercontinental Terminals Company, the facility’s owner, must abide by a 31-page management plan that underscores how waste is sampled and identified, stored and discarded. The March 17 fire at the company’s Deer Park site, located southeast of Houston, triggered air quality warnings. More than 21 million gallons of potentially hazardous waste and contaminated water have since been collected from the tank farm and Houston Ship Channel. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office filed water pollution charges in April against Intercontinental Terminals Company, alleging the fire caused chemicals to flow into a nearby waterway.\n\nUtah\n\nAlpine: Police in northern Utah were surprised to learn the suspect in a reported burglary was a wild turkey. Dave Ventrano with Lone Peak police says they received a call on Saturday from a resident who heard a window break in the house next door. The family that lives there was out of town. Officers searched the house and found a dead turkey lying in a pile of broken glass underneath a window on the first floor of the home. Ventrano said the turkey died after flying through the window. He said there are a lot of wild turkeys in Alpine. Police gave the turkey carcass to a resident who owns a local barbecue restaurant.\n\nVermont\n\nStowe:The once-endangered common loon is making a comeback in Vermont, but not without the help of humans across the state who build islands for the birds. Eric Hanson, a loon biologist with the state Center for Ecostudies has been leading the group's efforts to manage loon populations in the state. On July 15, Hanson, volunteers from the conservation group Friends of Waterbury Reservoir and Park Ranger Chad Ummel met at the northern part of Waterbury Reservoir to grab some canoes and kayaks and paddled out to build a nesting raft for the two loons that call the artificial lake home. The raft the crew put together on the reservoir was made from a base of cedar logs. Hanson sawed notches on the logs so they fit together like Lincoln Logs.\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond:The state Department of Health has issued a warning to residents that there has been an increase in respiratory illnesses across the state. The health department received increased reports of respiratory, or breathing, illnesses across the Commonwealth greater than observed in previous summers. Most of the reports have occurred among older adults and those with chronic medical conditions in assisted living and long-term care facilities, the VDH said. The reports involve different regions of the state and different diseases, including pertussis (whooping cough), influenza, haemophilus influenzae infection, Legionnaire’s disease and pneumonia caused by rhinovirus or human metapneumovirus.\n\nWashington\n\nBremerton:The Kitsap Pride in the Park 2019 event emphasized unity: among law enforcement, churches, elected officials and community members. The Bremerton Police Department, City Council members and Mayor Greg Wheeler were among the hundreds of community members in attendance at Evergreen Park on Saturday. The Police Department took to the main stage following Wheeler's address to announce its “Safe Place” program. The program, operated by Officer and LGBTQ liaison Mitchell Chapman, will allow the department to offer a safe haven at the station for victims of hate crimes while police resolve the issue. Chapman says he will be working closely with local businesses and social services to train them on the protocols to serve as safe spaces.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nVivian: Crews have begun clearing the scene of a train derailment, where up to 20 cars went off the rails, some of which had carried hazardous materials at one point. No one was injured. The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports Kimball Fire Chief Jimmy Gianato says the hazardous material train cars were empty during the Saturday crash, but will still be continually monitored becauese of possibility of a leak. After the Norfolk Southern train cars derailed near Vivian, some toppled onto their side. Others fell into the neighboring creek. The newspaper reports one was labeled “Carbon Dioxide Refrigerated Liquid.” Crews with Norfolk Southern, Emergency Railroad Services and Cranemasters worked to clear the scene Sunday.\n\nWisconsin\n\nAppleton:In the midst of a sweltering heatwave that scorched more than half of the U.S., there was some good news for Appleton residents: It apparently has been worse. A Seattle news station reported Friday that Appleton is home to the hottest \"feels like\" day in U.S. history, when the temperature hit a high point of 101 degrees with a dew point of 90 degrees on July 13, 1995. That combination produced a heat index — or made it feel like — 148 degrees that day, KOMO News reported. Friday wasn't quite that hot — Appleton saw a high temperature of 90 degrees and dew points ranged from the low-to-mid 70s, says Scott Berschback, a meteorologist out of the National Weather Service office in Green Bay. Berschback couldn't confirm Friday's peak heat index, nor could he confirm the purported record.\n\nWyoming\n\nRock Springs: Two residents are trying to end the use of a gas chamber for euthanasia at an animal shelter. The Humane Society of the U.S. says Wyoming is one of just four states where shelters still use gas chambers rather than lethal injection to euthanize animals; the others are Missouri, Ohio and Utah. Animal welfare advocates say gas chambers are cruel because death often doesn’t happen quickly. The Rock Springs Rocket-Miner reports Madhu Anderson and Eve Waggoner have been protesting the use of gas at the Rock Springs animal shelter. Anderson says lethal injection is more humane and not difficult to implement. Rock Springs Police Chief Dwane Pacheco says the shelter only euthanizes feral cats and aggressive dogs and has one of Wyoming’s few free spay-and-neuter programs.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/07/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2019/11/15/surfboard-proposal-duke-dorm-opossum-sky-bars-back-news-around-states/40617883/", "title": "Surfboard proposal, Duke dorm opossum: News from around our 50 ...", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nGadsden: Hundreds of fish have been added to a creek as part of an ongoing effort to boost tourism. The Gadsden Times reports Black Creek was restocked Tuesday with about 1,100 pounds of trout above Noccalula Falls by the Rainbow Fly Fishing Club. The group also stocked 1,000 coppernose bluegill into the watershed in late March. Republican Rep. Craig Lipscomb, of Rainbow City, is a member of the fishing club and says its members are working with the city to fill a gap for activities at the falls in the winter months. Lipscomb says trout fishing in Georgia brings in tens of millions of dollars for the state, and Gadsden would benefit even from a fraction of that.\n\nAlaska\n\nAnchorage: A new FBI report says the state has the nation’s highest rate of sexual assault, and violent crime has increased. Alaska Public Media reports that the 2018 statistical analysis from the agency’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program says Alaska does not conform to a general national decline in violent crime. The annual report uses statistics from law enforcement agencies to provide an analysis of crime at the national, state and municipal levels. The report says violent crime in Alaska increased by 3% from 2017 to 2018 while falling 3% nationally. It says Alaska saw an 11% increase in the number of sexual assaults reported to law enforcement, while nationally there were 2.7% more assaults. The FBI says Alaskans reported four times more sexual assaults than the national rate.\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: An increase of bald eagle breeding areas this year didn’t result in more nestlings in the state. Game and Fish Department officials say there were 71 eagle nestlings during the 2019 breeding season, down from 87 hatched last year. During the department’s annual bald eagle survey, raptor biologists counted a minimum of 74 occupied breeding areas statewide – up from the 69 counted last year. But the number of eggs laid dipped from 102 last year to 97 this year. The number of birds that made their first flight fell to 63 from the 70 recorded in 2018. Arizona’s bald eagle population has flourished since 1978, when 11 pairs were counted within the state and the species was listed as endangered. There currently are an estimated 74 adult breeding pairs.\n\nArkansas\n\nFayetteville: Court records show a former lobbyist who pleaded guilty to bribing three former state lawmakers will be sentenced this month. Rusty Cranford could face up to 10 years in federal prison for bribing Sen. Jon Woods, Rep. Hank Wilkins and Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, the nephew of Gov. Asa Hutchinson and son of former U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson. Cranford had hoped to increase revenue for the Missouri-based nonprofit Preferred Family HealthCare. Cranford also confessed to embezzling from the nonprofit where he worked. His attorney declined to comment. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports court records posted Tuesday show he’ll be sentenced Nov. 25. A federal grand jury in Missouri indicted Cranford on one count of conspiracy and eight counts of accepting bribes.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSanta Rosa: A Northern California brewery owner upset with devastating fires sparked by Pacific Gas & Electric power lines is producing a beer he named “F--- PG&E,” and the brew has sparked a backlash. Steve Doty, owner of Shady Oak brewery in Santa Rosa, announced the new beer last week on a Facebook post. Doty tells SFGate he meant to draw attention to the negligence of PG&E executives and was stunned by the onslaught of critical comments by people who said they are related to utility employees. Others have attacked Shady Oak by giving it one-star reviews on Yelp and Google or calling the taproom with violent threats. Doty posted an apology to those upset by the beer name but says he is still standing by the name.\n\nColorado\n\nDenver: A Muslim civil rights group is protesting after an arena security guard told a woman to remove her hijab before she could enter to see her 8-year-old daughter sing the national anthem with her school choir at a Denver Nuggets basketball game. Gazella Bensreiti said Wednesday that the guard told her to “take that thing off of my head” at the Pepsi Center box office Nov. 5. Bensreiti said she explained the scarf was for religious purposes. She said the guard replied that she didn’t care. After speaking with a supervisor, the guard ushered her inside. The Council on American-Islamic Relations protested the incident. Arena owner Kroenke Sports & Entertainment called the encounter a misunderstanding and said the guard didn’t recognize that Bensreiti was wearing a hijab.\n\nConnecticut\n\nHartford: Republicans in the state Senate are unveiling an alternative transportation plan they say doesn’t rely on tolls or tax increases. Thursday’s plan from the minority party in Connecticut’s Senate comes a day after Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont pitched his 10-year, $21.3 billion initiative to Senate Democrats. While the Democrats liked projects in Lamont’s proposal, they didn’t like how it includes 14 tolls on bridges across the state. It’s unclear whether the GOP’s plan will ultimately lay the groundwork for a compromise on an issue that has vexed the state for years. Like Lamont’s plan, the 10-year, nearly $18 billion Senate Republican plan also relies on low-cost borrowing from the federal government. Instead of using toll money to pay off the loans, it banks on money from the state’s dedicated transportation fund.\n\nDelaware\n\nWilmington: The state’s birding community is mourning the loss of Wilmington resident William “Bill” Stewart Jr., who died Tuesday after battling cancer, while celebrating his legacy of conservation and determination. Stewart, 67, was a well-known birder, conservationist, educator and former gymnastics coach who helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to permanently preserve nearly 2,000 acres of land for future generations of birders and Delawareans through the Delaware Bird-A-Thon program he started in 2006. He helped put the First State on the birding map by showing visitors and locals the state’s beauty and international role in shorebird migrations. The Bird-A-Thon effort has raised more than $400,000, which has helped protect properties and start a hawk watch program in northern Delaware, as well as a science education grant for researchers. A celebration of life for Stewart will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday at the Delaware Nature Society’s Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: A landlord in the district is being forced to pay $1.1 million in rent payments to former residents who homes were plagued by pests, mold and raw sewage and violated housing and fire codes. The Washington Post reports D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced Wednesday that Sanford Capital LLC will pay the settlement to 155 former residents “forced to live in squalor.” Racine’s office had sued the Bethesda, Maryland-based company for violating consumer protection laws. For years, tenants struggled with unsanitary and poor conditions that left many without heat in winter months. Prosecutors said some residents also lacked working toilets, stoves or refrigerators. They say Sanford refused to fix some broken locks and didn’t maintain fire extinguishers, a move made even more dangerous by missing or broken smoke detectors.\n\nFlorida\n\nOrlando: It’s light and bright in all the merriest of ways at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom this holiday season. For the first time since the park opened in 1998, there’ll be holiday-themed entertainment and decor throughout the 500-acre park, with twinklers lining rooftops and other new seasonal touches at the park, now Central Florida’s second most popular theme park, behind Magic Kingdom. At DinoLand, Donald’s Dino-Bash, the dance party is complemented by holiday decorations chosen by Donald Duck’s pals, with all kinds of holiday merch available for sale at the gift shop. Diwali, India’s festival of lights, is celebrated over in Asia, while in Africa, African celebrations blend with Western traditions, making a stroll through Harame for food and shopping a colorful mix of tastes and treats.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: A nonpartisan organization has placed a national debt clock downtown ahead of a Democratic presidential debate coming to the city. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports New York-based Peter G. Peterson Foundation placed the billboard on Ted Turner Drive between Walton and Marietta streets, near Centennial Olympic Park. The clock displays the nation’s nearly $23 trillion debt and pegs each American’s share of the number at about $68,000. CEO Michael A. Peterson says the debt issue affects everyone, not just lawmakers. He says he hopes the billboard sparks conversation on the enormous debt and ways to manage it. The foundation says the clock will remain in the city indefinitely. The Democratic debate will be Wednesday at Tyler Perry Studios in southwest Atlanta.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: A man was surfing with his girlfriend when – instead of hanging 10 – he knelt down on one knee on his board and proposed. Hawaii News Now reports Lauren Oiye said yes just before Chris Garth dropped the ring in the ocean. Multiple photographers nearby captured the Sunday moment. Luckily, he had a spare. Garth said he knew it could go wrong, so he used a stand-in while they were out in the water. The real ring was on shore at Queen’s Beach in Waikiki, where the two met years before.\n\nIdaho\n\nRexburg: Brigham Young University-Idaho has stopped accepting Medicaid as health insurance coverage, forcing full-time students to buy a university-backed plan. University officials say health plans could be purchased for at least $81 a month for single students and up to $678 a month for a family. Officials say a student form used to opt out of the school health plan was updated this month reflecting the change in policy. Open enrollment for Medicaid expansion began Nov. 1. State health officials say Madison County has the highest concentration of potential Medicaid expansion enrollees in the state. Students say a reason for the change has not been disclosed. Some students argue the plan is expensive and has limited coverage. The university declined multiple requests for comment.\n\nIllinois\n\nSpringfield: A copy of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address that was handwritten by the 16th president himself is going on display at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum for two weeks. In a news release, the museum says it will display the copy – one of only five surviving copies written by Lincoln – from Thursday through Dec. 2. The display coincides with the anniversary of Lincoln’s delivery of the brief speech Nov. 19, 1863, at the height of the Civil War. The document that stays in a climate-controlled space most of the time to protect it from light and humidity will be housed in the museum’s Treasures Gallery. The address that begins famously with the words: “Four score and seven years ago … ” is handwritten on plain white paper.\n\nIndiana\n\nIndianapolis: Gov. Eric Holcomb isn’t promising any quick action on the call for further boosting teacher pay that thousands of educators will be making at the Statehouse next week. Teacher unions say at least 107 school districts with more than 40% of Indiana’s students will be closed Tuesday while their teachers attend the rally. Holcomb didn’t criticize school districts for closing the day of the union-organized rally, saying it was a local decision. The Republican governor said Thursday that he applauds teachers for expressing their concerns, but he’s waiting for a teacher pay commission he appointed to make recommendations by the end of next year. The rally dubbed “Red for Ed Action Day” will happen on the day legislators are gathering for organization meetings ahead of their 2020 session.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: The Slaughterhouse has a new home downtown. The haunted attraction, which has become a staple in Iowa, has begun moving to the old Bank of America building. To break in the new digs, set to open fully next September, Slaughterhouse will host a Krampus Krawl. The event will begin Dec. 7 with an all-age photo op before the crawl to four Full Court Press establishments. Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure described as “half-goat, half-demon” in Austro-Bavarian Alpine folklore. During the Christmas season, Krampus punishes children who have misbehaved, as opposed to Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved children with gifts. Tickets are available online. General admission tickets include a Glow Stein for one free pour at each of the four Full Court Press stops.\n\nKansas\n\nWichita: The City Council has approved a public financing package worth about $35.5 million to subsidize the creation of a medical school. The Wichita Eagle reports the package approved Tuesday will help create a campus for training osteopathic physicians. Called the Kansas Health Science Center, the new school will be built in the former Finney State Office Building. Once the center of state government in Wichita, the building was abandoned in favor of leasing privately owned office space across the city. Plans also call for three other buildings to be transformed – one into student housing, another into a dining hall and culinary center, and the third into a boutique hotel. The bulk of the money for the development will come from tax abatements.\n\nKentucky\n\nFrankfort: A federal court is allowing a man to personalize a license plate with the phrase “IM GOD” after a three-year legal battle over the custom engraving. Court documents show Ben Hart, a self-identified atheist, set out to get the Kentucky plate in 2016. But Hart’s request was denied by the state transportation department on the basis it violated antidiscrimination guidelines. News outlets report similar plates had been approved before, including “TRYGOD” and “NOGOD.” Kentucky’s American Civil Liberties Union and the Freedom From Religion Foundation got involved to help Hart challenge the decision. In an opinion Wednesday by a U.S. District Court in Frankfort, the judge ruled that “vanity plates” are private speech protected by the First Amendment and that the state had violated Hart’s rights by denying him the plate.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: A legislative auditor says 18 cities, towns and villages may be close to reaching bankruptcy or may have the inability to provide basic services to residents in the future based on the municipalities’ most recent financial information. The Monroe News Star reports Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera compiled a list of “fiscally distressed municipalities” and added it the auditor’s website. The municipalities range from small villages like Epps in northeastern Louisiana to larger towns like Winnsboro in central Louisiana. Purpera says the list is a way to alert the public and officials of the problems so they can be easily addressed. The list includes concerns for each municipality, including incomplete or inaccurate financial information, insufficient utility rates, debt and rural water infrastructure problems.\n\nMaine\n\nHarpswell: The town wants the Navy to protect the clam flats as part of its remediation plan for the former Brunswick Naval Air Station. The Harpswell Conservation Commission has argued the stormwater system that brings water from ponds at the former Navy base to Mare Brook and Harpswell Cove should be extended. The commission told the environmental coordinator for the closure process that the Navy has an obligation to investigate the impact of the stormwater system. The Times Record reports that an investigation of the pond system had found several heavy metals including lead, arsenic and cadmium that could potentially reach nearby clam flats. Paul Plummer, Harpswell’s harbormaster, says the Harpswell side of the Harpswell Cove alone holds $100,000 worth of shellfish.\n\nMaryland\n\nBaltimore: The city has reached 300 homicides in a year for the fifth year in a row. Detective Donny Moses told WBAL-AM the total reached 300 Thursday morning with the shooting deaths of a man and a woman. The Baltimore Sun reports the city is on track to see one of its most violent years on record. The city recorded 309 homicides last year and 342 the year before. Democratic Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young addressed the homicide rate at a news conference Wednesday. He said the city is working to reduce the crime rate, and leaders aren’t to blame. Young took over as mayor this spring after Democrat Catherine Pugh resigned amid investigations into her business dealings. He’s running for reelection in 2020 against a dozen challengers, some of whom criticized his comments Wednesday.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nSudbury: The Sky Bar, the multiflavored chocolate bar divided into four sections, is back on the market after a yearlong hiatus. The Boston Globe reports that production of the confection has resumed at a suburban gourmet shop less than a year after the owner bought rights to the brand in an online auction. The Sky Bar made its debut in 1938 but was discontinued last year when the New England Confectionery Co., also known as Necco, went out of business. Louise Mawhinney, owner of Duck Soup in Sudbury, bought the rights to the Sky Bar in January. The candy bar, divided into caramel, vanilla, peanut and fudge sections, is available in the store and online for $1.98. After the holidays, Mawhinney plans to get a wholesale license and ramp up operations.\n\nMichigan\n\nJackson: A museum at a former southern Michigan prison is closing at the end of December. Cell Block 7 in Jackson allows visitors to step into the cells and walk the corridors of what was once the largest walled institution in the world. The museum’s website invites people to “spend some time on the inside” during a self-guided tour. The museum opened five years ago under an agreement between the state of Michigan and the Ella Sharp Museum, also in Jackson. Ella Sharp director Diane Gutenkauf says the costs are too high. Gutenkauf says some artifacts from the prison museum will be available at the Sharp museum, including oral histories of people who worked there or were inmates. The last day at the prison museum will be Dec. 29.\n\nMinnesota\n\nSt. Paul: The battle over the name of a popular Minneapolis lake has landed before the Minnesota Supreme Court. Justices heard arguments Wednesday on whether the state Department of Natural Resources has the authority to change the name of Lake Calhoun to its original Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska. The state Court of Appeals ruled in April that the agency overstepped its authority in January 2018 when it changed the name. It said authority to change the name rested with the Legislature under statutes governing lake and other place names. KARE-TV reports Save Lake Calhoun attorney Erick Kaardal argued the legislature enacted a policy that says lake names that have been used more than 40 years cannot be changed without lawmakers granting additional authority. It could take the court months to make a decision.\n\nMississippi\n\nRolling Fork: The state is naming a stretch of land in the south Delta in honor of the two-term governor who is leaving office in January. Officials gathered Wednesday to dedicate the Phil Bryant Wildlife Management Area. The 18,000-acre site in Warren and Issaquena counties is made up of bayous, cypress sloughs and bottomland hardwoods. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Director Sam Polles says the area is divided into four tracts that will offer different types of hunting, including group hunts in a primitive setting. The department worked with the Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to buy the land in 2018 from Anderson-Tully Company. Republican Bryant said during the dedication ceremony that he looks forward to bringing his grandchildren hunting on the land.\n\nMissouri\n\nJackson: A rescued puppy is attracting a lot of attention because of his resemblance to a unicorn. The nearly 10-week-old puppy, named Narwhal, has a tail-like appendage growing from his forehead. Narwhal was rescued over the weekend and sent to Mac’s Mission in Jackson, which specializes in fostering animals with special needs. Mac’s Mission founder Rochelle Steffen says Narwhal doesn’t notice the extra tail and is otherwise a happy, healthy puppy. Although it looks like a tail, Narwhal cannot wag it. Steffen says the rescue group has been flooded with requests from people wanting to adopt Narwhal since his picture hit social media. But he’ll remain at Mac’s Mission so his caretakers can be sure the tail doesn’t grow out of proportion to his face and cause him problems.\n\nMontana\n\nButte: A fish hatchery will be locked at night and begin using security cameras after vandals mutilated several fish. The Montana Standard reports the perpetrators killed about 20 rainbow trout, broke windows and tossed items into water channels at the Ennis National Fish Hatchery. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the Oct. 27 vandalism at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facility about 88 miles southeast of Butte. Sheriff Phil Fortner says a witness saw a yellow ATV near the hatchery, but no suspects have been identified. Hatchery Manager Ron Hopper says the fish were cut with garden hoes, ice choppers or other tools. Hopper says that for the previous 80 years, the hatchery was left unlocked for after-hours visitors.\n\nNebraska\n\nLincoln: The state Transportation Department is offering to produce and emplace roadside memorials as a way to keep highways free of roadside safety hazards. The new departmental policy announced Wednesday says each sign will display the name of the person being memorialized and include one of five safety messages: “Please Drive Safely,” “Seat Belts Save Lives,” “Don’t Drink and Drive,” “Don’t Text and Drive” or “Don’t Drive Impaired.” The sign will be placed as near to the accident site as possible. Family members who have placed private memorials alongside state highways are encouraged to contact their local department offices to discuss disposition of the memorials and get information on the state installing new signs. The department’s Jeni Campana says the state-produced signs would be of a familiar design and would pose less of a safety hazard than the irregular appearance of private memorials.\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: Elon Musk’s Boring Co. will begin drilling an underground tunnel Friday for the Las Vegas Convention Center’s forthcoming people mover. To officially kick off the tunneling phase of the company’s first commercial project, the boring machine will be turned on 40 feet below ground. The $52.5 million underground people mover will allow convention attendees to travel the expanse of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s 200-acre campus in approximately one minute, according to officials. The transportation system will include three passenger stations that connect the convention center’s 3.2 million-square-foot space with the 1.4 million-square-foot West hall that is now under construction. Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority officials say plans call for the expansion project to be completed by January 2021.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nDurham: After facing criticism over its prior annual holiday celebrations, the town is making some tweaks, planning a “Frost Fest” without a tree-lighting ceremony or grand entrance from Santa. WMUR-TV reports in past years Durham’s held a tree-lighting ceremony. But after some concerns that the event was too focused on Christmas, a working group was formed to make changes, such as not hanging wreaths on light posts. The Frost Fest is billed as a “winter celebration” with a bonfire, cookie decorating, ice sculpting, crafts and activities. Last year, town officials were under fire for denying a menorah to be displayed next to the tree decorated annually at a local park. The officials cited vandalism concerns.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nToms River: The state has drumsticked up a plan to deal with flocks of wild turkeys that are ruffling some feathers in a Jersey Shore neighborhood. And it doesn’t involve them winding up on dinner plates in two weeks. The state Department of Environmental Protection will trap scores of turkeys that have descended on a retirement community in Toms River and relocate them. The move comes as some residents say large flocks of turkeys have invaded the area, pecking at cars – and at some people who venture too close. Others say they give the birds a wide berth and haven’t experienced any problems. Toms River residents who have run a-fowl of the birds include former New York Yankees and Mets baseball player Todd Frazier, whose SUV was covered by turkeys recently.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nSanta Fe: Federal and state officials have reached an agreement they say will strengthen their relationship as they work to improve forest conditions in the state. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and U.S. Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen signed the so-called shared stewardship agreement during a gathering Thursday in Santa Fe. The agreement has been a work in progress over years and will address issues such as wildfires, drought and invasive species. Officials say the challenges faced by land managers transcend boundaries and affect people beyond the jurisdiction of any single organization, so they have to find new ways of working together and doing business at a greater pace and scale. Under the agreement, the state and national forests plan to evaluate opportunities, threats and alternatives for risk management.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York: Until recently, New York City police secretly kept fingerprints of children arrested as juveniles on file permanently in a department database. It’s an illegal practice that raised alarms about the lengths the nation’s largest police force has taken to keep tabs on the city’s youth. The Legal Aid Society uncovered the years­long practice. The public defender organization pressured the police department to acknowledge it and threatened legal action to make it stop, citing a state law barring local police from stockpiling juveniles’ fingerprints. Now, after years of wrangling and resistance, the NYPD said Wednesday that it has purged all juvenile fingerprints records from the database and will no longer keep them indefinitely. The Legal Aid Society said the database contained the fingerprints of tens of thousands of New York City youths.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nDurham: An opossum has illegally taken up residence in the ceiling of a Duke University dorm, where students have been complaining about being bitten by fleas. The school’s assistant vice president of student affairs, Joe Gonzalez, told reporters Wednesday that the school has yet to catch the elusive opossum about which students first complained in October. He says the creature has escaped custody partly because it appears to be splitting its time between the Few Quad dorm and somewhere else. Reports of fleas also began to surface last month, prompting the school to put students up in another dorm while they fumigated the place. Gonzalez says the opossum may have brought the fleas, but that’s unconfirmed. Irritated students are questioning why they’re dealing with such conditions at a $78,608-per-year school.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: State officials have given an estimate on how much oil was spilled from a pipeline leak in Williams County last month. The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality says an estimated 12,432 gallons of oil leaked from a pipeline operated by Hiland Crude about a mile northeast of McGregor on Oct. 17. The department says the oil leaked onto cropland. Department staff have inspected the site and say they will continue to monitor remediation.\n\nOhio\n\nDayton: A traveling exhibit celebrating the service and heroism of military working dogs and the sacrifices they make during battle is being displayed at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The exhibit titled “Canine Warriors – Courage and Sacrifice, Always Beside You” features wooden sculptures of eight Wounded Warrior Dogs and four Canine War Dogs and is now on display at the museum in Dayton. Ohio craftsman James Mellick designed the exhibit to be symbolic of the wounds suffered by military dogs in battle and to raise awareness of their needs. The exhibit also features art depicting working military dogs from the Air Force Art Program. It will remain at the museum through Jan. 31.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: District attorneys are raising concerns about a proposed new ballot measure aimed at further reducing the state’s prison population. In a statement late Tuesday, Oklahoma District Attorneys Association President Jason Hicks says one problem is that crimes like child trafficking, aggravated assault and battery, and domestic abuse aren’t technically violent crimes under state law. The proposed state question filed Tuesday would prohibit prosecutors from using previous nonviolent felony convictions to enhance prison sentences. Hicks says state prosecutors are still examining the proposal, but there are already elements that would be “detrimental, if not catastrophic, for public safety.” District Attorney Angela Marsee says ignoring past convictions of repeat offenders is “detrimental to our mission.”\n\nOregon\n\nMedford: Traditional Christmas feasts featuring Dungeness crab may not be in the cards this year, as officials have delayed the commercial crabbing season due to the small size of the crustaceans. The Mail Tribune reports the season had been set to start Dec. 1 for Oregon’s most lucrative commercial fishery, but now crabbing has been postponed until at least Dec. 16. It’s the sixth straight year the season has been delayed to allow the crabs a chance to fatten up to meet industry standards. Dungeness crabs off the coasts of Washington and California also have low meat levels in their shells, prompting similar delays in those states. Tests planned for late November or early December will determine whether commercial crabbers can start plying the Pacific beginning Dec. 16.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: The FBI has begun a corruption investigation into how Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration came to issue permits for construction on a multibillion-dollar pipeline project to carry highly volatile natural gas liquids across the state. FBI agents have interviewed current or former state employees in recent weeks about the Mariner East project and the construction permits, according to three people who have direct knowledge of the agents’ line of questioning. All three spoke on condition of anonymity. The focus of the agents’ questions involves the permitting of the pipeline, whether Wolf and his administration forced environmental protection staff to approve construction permits, and whether Wolf or his administration received anything in return, those people say.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: A federal judge has sided with the cities of Providence and Central Falls after they challenged the conditions of U.S. Department of Justice public safety grants they said in a lawsuit would turn local police into federal immigration agents. District Court Judge John McConnell Jr. said in a ruling Thursday that “Congress has not granted the power to impose the conditions the DOJ imposed.” The federal government, among other things, wanted cities receiving public safety grants to notify federal agents when immigrants in the country illegally are about to be released. Attorneys for the cities said in a statement that they are pleased the court “found DOJ’s attempts requiring our police departments to be agents of a federal immigration system to be unlawful.”\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nClemson: Bars throughout downtown in this college town are now signed on to the Angel Shot program, offering patrons a way to request help when they don’t feel safe. The simple order – “one Angel Shot, please” – is meant to be a simple solution to combat sexual violence and assault in the university’s entertainment district. An “Angel Shot” is not an actual drink. It is a code word that signals to a bartender or barback that a customer feels unsafe, typically from a potential perpetrator of sexual violence. From there, the bar’s staff will find that customer safe passage out of the bar and home. The Angel Shot program was implemented in every bar downtown this fall semester by Clemson University Student Government, which partnered with Pickens County Advocacy Center, Clemson City Police Department and Clemson’s Healthy Campus for the initiative.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls: A man sentenced to 90 years in prison for killing his stepfather has petitioned the court in Minnehaha County to change his name because he wants a fresh start. Thirty-five-year-old Daniel Charles was 14 when he was sent to prison in 2000 for first-degree murder in Meade County. He was accused of putting a rifle to his stepfather’s head and pulling the trigger at a ranch near Opal. He told law enforcement at the time that he didn’t know the gun was loaded. Charles’ petition says he wants to change his name to Rameus Tiberius Aryada to start a new life with an adult identity. The South Dakota Department of Corrections lists Charles’ earliest parole eligibility as March 2045.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: The Tennessee State Museum is collecting stories of cultural identity, immigration and migration from the public. The project called Your Story, Our Story uses everyday objects as an entry point for these personal stories. Members of the public can add their own stories and read the stories of others on the Tennessee State Museum’s website. Because the museum is currently showcasing an exhibit on Tennessee food, it is especially encouraging visitors to add images and stories of recipes, cookware, dinnerware and ingredients that carry meaning in their families. Your Story, Our Story is an initiative of the Tenement Museum in New York City and partners across the U.S. that include museums, colleges, schools, libraries and community groups.\n\nTexas\n\nRobstown: With help from Nueces County Public Libraries, county Judge Barbara Canales led local students on a “bear hunt” at Oscar O. Ortiz Park on Wednesday evening. Despite the biting cold, Canales gamely led the students down a path to read from “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” by Michael Rosen. The county unveiled StoryWalk, a new feature at the park in which pages of picture books are displayed in wooden stands along paths so residents can read while they walk. It’s an effort to promote literacy and physical activity, and the county plans to implement StoryWalk at more parks. Canales and the kids read aloud together as the characters braved tall grass, a deep river, a forest and mud along their search for a bear. Canales called out to the students to stomp in big strides, run and tip-toe like the characters to bring the story to life.\n\nUtah\n\nSalt Lake City: Former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. on Thursday announced his 2020 candidacy for the Republican nomination for the office that he held from 2005 to 2009 before leaving to serve as a U.S. ambassador. Huntsman announced his candidacy in a statement before a scheduled kickoff swing Thursday and Friday to Cedar City and St. George in southern Utah. Incumbent Republican Gov. Gary Herbert is not running for reelection, and Huntsman has said he was considering a run for governor. Huntsman served as U.S. ambassador to China in the Obama administration and as U.S. ambassador to Russia in the Trump administration. Other Republicans in the 2020 race include Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah County businessman Jeff Burningham and Salt Lake County Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton.\n\nVermont\n\nMontpelier: Five groups are sharing more than $1 million to use phosphorus recovery technologies as the state works to reduce algae-causing phosphorus runoff into Lake Champlain and other waterways. It’s part of the Vermont Phosphorus Innovation Challenge announced last year to generate creative solutions to the phosphorus pollution in the state. Officials estimate about 38% of the phosphorus load in the lake comes from agricultural land. Gov. Phil Scott said Thursday that the state received 21 applicants for the funds. The finalists include Agrilab Technologies of Enosburg Falls. The governor’s office says the group will use existing phosphorus recovery technologies, composting and drying equipment to create a series of sites for phosphorus processing in Franklin, Addison, Lamoille and Caledonia counties.\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: A task force has been created to come up with ways to help mitigate and prevent evictions in the city. The group will include affordable housing and social justice advocates, youth and family homelessness specialists, public housing residents and property management professionals. Mayor Levar Stoney said in a news release that the group will work with the city’s Eviction Diversion Program, which began last month to provide rental assistance, free legal help, financial counseling and supportive service referrals to residents who are facing eviction. Stoney said the task force will explore steps the city can take to better understand the root causes of evictions. A research group at Princeton University found that Richmond and four other Virginia cities have some of the highest eviction rates in the country.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: A weeklong hearing will help determine whether a small American Indian tribe from the northwest corner of Washington state can once again hunt whales. The Makah Tribe conducted its last legal hunt in 1999, when its crew harpooned a gray whale from a cedar canoe. A U.S. appeals court later revoked permission for the hunts, saying the tribe needed to obtain a waiver under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The tribe has been trying to obtain the waiver since 2005, a process that has been repeatedly stalled by scientific reviews. The hearing beginning Thursday will focus on whether the tribe meets the requirements for the waiver. Animal rights groups oppose the effort. Whatever the outcome, the matter is likely to end up in federal court.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: The West Virginia Board of Education will give the public 60 days to comment on a proposal on charter schools, double the normal allotted time. The board put the policy proposal up for comment Thursday. Legislation signed by Gov. Jim Justice authorizes a staggered implementation of public charter schools, limiting the state to three charters until 2023, then three more every three years after that. The legislation was part of a broader education bill that included teacher pay raises. The West Virginia Education Association and the West Virginia chapter of the American Federation of Teachers have lambasted the bill, saying it shut out teachers’ voices and violates the state Constitution.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: Gov. Tony Evers is asking the Republican leaders of the Legislature’s budget committee to release $3.7 million a year in funding to pay for programs designed to help homeless people. Evers sent a letter Thursday to the committee cochairs, urging them to make available the funding that has been pending for four months. Evers is seeking action now before winter sets in. He says with cold temperatures and snow across the state already, “my concern has only grown.” The funding would go toward such things as grants to help low-income people with housing costs, help fund emergency shelters and pay for support to help homeless people get into permanent housing. The Assembly passed bills to approve the funding, but they’ve stalled in the Senate.\n\nWyoming\n\nYellowstone National Park: The National Park Service says snowy weather last month likely cut down on visitors to Yellowstone during October. The agency recorded just over 170,000 visitors during the month, a 22% decrease from October 2018. So far in 2019, the park has hosted over 3.9 million visitors, which is down 2.5% from the same period last year. Yellowstone is entering its winter season, when visits to the park are typically the lowest of the year.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/11/15"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_6", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/02/business/companies-pulling-back-russia-ukraine-war-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "Companies pulling back from Russia over the war in Ukraine | CNN ...", "text": "CNN Business —\n\nDozens of the world’s biggest companies have abandoned or scaled back their operations in Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.\n\nThe exodus affects every corner of the economy, from its vast energy riches through autos, finance, retail, entertainment and fast food, starving Russia of new investment and removing products and services that had become popular in the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union.\n\nHere’s a look at the major corporate departures.\n\nAutos\n\nFord (F) announced it was suspending its operations in Russia. The American automaker has a 50% stake in Ford (F) Sollers, a joint venture that employs at least 4,000 workers and is shared with Russian company Sollers.\n\nA Ford dealership and service center. Artyom Geodakyan/TASS/Getty Images\n\nThe company has plants in St. Petersburg, Elabuga and Naberezhnye Chelny but said it had “significantly wound down” its Russian operations in recent years. The automaker said it was “deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine,” and noted it has “a strong contingent of Ukrainian nationals working at Ford around the world.”\n\nGeneral Motors (GM) said it was halting all exports to Russia “until further notice.”\n\nGM doesn’t have a significant presence there: It sells only about 3,000 vehicles a year through 16 dealerships, according to a spokesperson. That’s out of the more than 6 million vehicles the Detroit-based automaker sells annually.\n\nToyota announced it would stop making cars in Russia or importing them to the country “until further notice, due to supply chain disruptions.”\n\nVolkswagen (VLKAF) is stopping production of vehicles in Russia and has suspended exports to the Russian market. The decision applies to the Russian production sites in Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod.\n\nNissan (NSANF) has suspended the export of vehicles to Russia, adding that it “anticipates that production will stop soon at our plant in St. Petersburg.”\n\nAviation\n\nBoeing (BA) said it would suspend support for Russian airlines.\n\nA company spokesperson confirmed the aircraft maker was pausing “parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines,” and had also “suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv.”\n\nAirbus (EADSF) followed Boeing with a similar move. In a statement, the company said it has “suspended support services to Russian airlines, as well as the supply of spare parts to the country.”\n\nBig Tech\n\nAirbnb cofounder and CEO Brian Chesky said in a tweet that his company was suspending all operations in Russia and Belarus.\n\nAmazon (AMZN)’s cloud division, Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, said March 8 it would halt new sign-ups for the service in Russia and Belarus. The company has already had a “long-standing policy of not doing business with the Russian government” and does not have data centers, infrastructure or offices in Russia, the company said in a blog post.\n\n“AWS has clear terms of service where if a customer is using AWS services to threaten, incite, promote, or actively encourage violence, terrorism, or other serious harm, they will not be permitted to use our services,” Amazon said. “Any customer we know of who is participating in this type of behavior will have their access to AWS suspended.”\n\nApple (AAPL) has stopped selling its products in Russia.\n\nThe tech giant said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about the Russian invasion. In response, the company has also moved to limit access to digital services, such as Apple Pay, inside Russia, and restricted the availability of Russian state media applications outside the country.\n\nA re:Store shop in central Moscow. re:Store is one of the largest Apple resellers in Russia. Vladimir Gerdo/TASS/Getty Images\n\nFacebook (FB)-parent Meta said it would block access to Russian news outlets Sputnik and RT, the Russia-backed television network infamous for promoting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agenda, across the European Union.\n\nThe move comes after the company received “requests from a number of governments and the EU to take further steps in relation to Russian state controlled media,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s VP of global affairs, wrote in a tweet.\n\nMeta has also said it has applied algorithmic restrictions on Russian state media that should prevent those posts from surfacing as prominently in users’ feeds.\n\nHitachi (HTHIY) said March 10 that it is pausing exports to Russia and suspending all manufacturing in the country, “with the exception of products, services and support for electrical power equipment that are indispensable to the daily lives of people,” it said.\n\nThe Japanese conglomerate added that Russia accounts for just a small fraction — roughly 0.5% — of its revenue.\n\nIBM (IBM) CEO Arvind Krishna said the company has suspended all business in Russia.\n\n“In Ukraine, we have been in constant touch with our local teams and continue to provide assistance that includes relocation and financial support,” Krishna said. “The safety and security of IBMers and their families in all areas impacted by this crisis remains our top priority.”\n\nIntel (INTC) said April 5 that it has suspended business operations in Russia. Earlier this year, the company said it stopped all shipments to Russia and Belarus.\n\nMicrosoft (MSFT) said it was suspending all new sales of its products and services in Russia. President and vice-chair Brad Smith also said the company is stopping “many aspects” of its business in Russia in compliance with government sanctions. Microsoft (MSFT) also said it will continue aiding in Ukrainian cybersecurity.\n\nNetflix (NFLX) said it will be suspending its streaming service in Russia.\n\n“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” a Netflix spokesperson told CNN.\n\nNo other details were provided.\n\nPreviously, the company said it was refusing to air Russian state TV channels — something that the platform would have been required to do starting this week under Russian law.\n\n“Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” the company told CNN Business.\n\nNintendo (NTDOF) has stopped taking online orders in Russia.\n\nIn a statement on its Russian website, the Switch console maker said that it had “suspended the processing of payments in rubles,” and temporarily set its digital store on “maintenance mode.”\n\nRoku (ROKU), which sells hardware allowing users to stream content through the internet, has banned RT worldwide.\n\nSony (SNE) has halted all software and hardware shipments, and temporarily suspended orders on its online PlayStation store in Russia.\n\nThe entertainment giant has also paused plans to launch Gran Turismo 7, a driving simulator game, in the country. Sony “joins the global community in calling for peace in Ukraine,” it said in a statement.\n\nSpotify (SPOT) said it has closed its office in Russia “indefinitely” and restricted shows “owned and operated by Russian state-affiliated media.” The streaming service removed all content from RT and Sputnik in Europe and other regions, a company spokesman said.\n\n“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the unprovoked attack on Ukraine,” the spokesman added. “Our first priority over the past week has been the safety of our employees and to ensure that Spotify continues to serve as an important source of global and regional news at a time when access to information is more important than ever.”\n\nTwitter (TWTR) has similarly announced plans to “reduce the visibility and amplification” of Russian state media content.\n\nYouTube, which is owned by Google (GOOGL), said it blocked Russian state media within Ukraine, including RT. The video platform also said it would be “significantly limiting recommendations to these channels.” Google (GOOGL) and YouTube have also said they will no longer allow Russian state media outlets to run ads or monetize their content.\n\nConsulting\n\nAccenture is discontinuing its business in Russia as it “stands with the people of Ukraine,” it said.\n\nThe firm announced the move in a statement on March 3, where it thanked its “nearly 2,300 colleagues in Russia for their dedication and service to Accenture over the years.”\n\n“We will be providing support to our Russian colleagues,” the company added.\n\nIn a similar move, Deloitte announced on March 7 that it would stop operating in Russia and Belarus.\n\n“While we know this is the right decision, it will have an impact on Deloitte’s [approximately] 3,000 professionals located in Russia and Belarus. Like others, we know our colleagues in Russia and Belarus have no voice in the actions of their government,” the firm said.\n\n“We will support all impacted colleagues during this transition and do all we can to assist them during this extremely difficult time.”\n\nEY, otherwise known as Ernst & Young, also said it would remove its Russian practice from its official global network, but allow it to “continue working with clients as an independent group of audit and consulting companies.”\n\n“EY in Russia is a team of 4,700 professionals working in 9 cities of the country. The company has been operating in the Russian market for more than 30 years,” it said on March 7.\n\n“In light of the escalating war, the EY global organization will no longer serve any Russian government clients, state-owned enterprises or sanctioned entities and individuals anywhere in the world.”\n\nConsulting and accounting firm KPMG International said that its “Russia and Belarus firms will leave the KPMG network.”\n\n“KPMG has over 4,500 people in Russia and Belarus, and ending our working relationship with them, many of whom have been a part of KPMG for many decades, is incredibly difficult,” the company said. “This decision is not about them – it is a consequence of the actions of the Russian Government. We are a purpose-led and values-driven organization that believes in doing the right thing.”\n\nPricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is also planning to break away from its Russian business.\n\n“As a result of the Russian government’s invasion of Ukraine we have decided that, under the circumstances, PwC should not have a member firm in Russia and consequently PwC Russia will leave the network,” the “Big Four” consultancy said in a statement.\n\n“Our main focus at PwC continues to be doing all we can to help our Ukrainian colleagues and support the humanitarian efforts,” it added.\n\n“We are also committed to working with our colleagues at PwC Russia to undertake an orderly transition for the business, and with a focus on the wellbeing of our 3,700 colleagues in PwC Russia.”\n\nEnergy and metals\n\nBP said it was planning to exit its 19.75% stake in Russia’s biggest oil company, Rosneft, and suspending their joint ventures — which amount to one of the biggest foreign investments in Russia.\n\nEquinor will also begin to exit its joint ventures in Russia, the Norwegian oil and gas company announced.\n\n“We are all deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine, which represents a terrible setback for the world,” said CEO Anders Opedal.\n\nThe company said it had $1.2 billion in long-term investments in Russia at the end of 2021. It has operated in Russia for more than 30 years and has a cooperation agreement with Rosneft.\n\nExxon pledged to leave its last remaining oil-and-gas project in Russia and not to invest in new developments in the country.\n\nThe Sakhalin-1 venture is “one of the largest single international direct investments in Russia,” according to the project’s website. An Exxon subsidiary has a 30% share, while Rosneft also owns a stake.\n\nBy quitting this project, Exxon would end more than a quarter-century of continuing business presence in Russia.\n\nRio Tinto (RIO) was the first major mining company to announce it was cutting all ties with Russian businesses.\n\n“Rio Tinto is in the process of terminating all commercial relationships it has with any Russian business,” a Rio spokesman told Reuters.\n\nThe miner owns an 80% stake in Queensland Alumina Ltd in a joint venture with Russia’s Rusal International, the world’s second-largest aluminum producer. The company did not comment on how its decision to cut ties with Russian businesses would affect Queensland Alumina dealings with Rusal.\n\nShell is getting out of Russia and ditching its joint ventures with Gazprom, including its involvement with the moribund Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.\n\nThe UK-based oil company said on February 28 it would dump its stake in a liquified natural gas facility, its stake in a project to develop fields in western Siberia and its interest in an exploration project in the Gydan peninsula in northwestern Siberia.\n\n“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression which threatens European security,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement.\n\nShell has also decided to stop buying Russian oil and gas and will close its service station network.\n\nA Shell gas station seen in Moscow in 2020. Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg/Getty Images\n\nTotalEnergies (TOT) also condemned Russia’s actions and said it would no longer provide capital for new projects in the country.\n\nThe French oil giant has done business in Russia for 25 years, and recently helped launch a major liquefied natural gas project on the Siberian coast.\n\nFinance\n\nNorway’s $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund will divest shares in 47 Russian companies as well as Russian government bonds, the Norwegian prime minister said.\n\nMastercard (MA) said it was suspending its network services in Russia. Cards supported by Russian banks will not work in the company’s network, and any cards issued outside of Russia will not work within the country.\n\nThe credit giant, which has operated in Russia for more than 25 years, had previously announced that it had “blocked multiple financial institutions” from its network as a result of anti-Russian sanctions, and would “continue to work with regulators in the days ahead.”\n\nVisa (V) said it is suspending all of its operations in Russia. It will end all Visa (V) transactions within its borders, and Visa (V) cards issued in Russia will no longer work outside of the country. In addition, all Visa (V) cards worldwide “will no longer work within the Russian Federation,” Visa (V) said.\n\nAmerican Express (AXP) said in a statement that globally issued American Express (AXP) cards will no longer work in Russia, and cards issued in Russia won’t work outside the country. The company also said it is ending its business operations in Belarus.\n\nMoody’s said it is suspending commercial operations in Russia. Its investors service will “maintain analytical coverage for existing ratings from outside Russia.”\n\nGoldman Sachs (GS) became the first major Wall Street bank to announce plans to exit Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. “Goldman Sachs (GS) is winding down its business in Russia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements,” a Goldman Sachs (GS) spokesperson told CNN.\n\nJPMorgan Chase (JPM), America’s largest bank, said it is “actively unwinding” its Russian business and not pursuing any new businesses in the country. JPMorgan cited “compliance with directives by governments around the world” for its decision.\n\nWestern Union (WU) said in a statement that it is suspending operations in Russia and Belarus. “We have thoroughly evaluated internal and external considerations, including the consequences for our valued teammates, partners, and customers,” the company said. “Ultimately, in light of the ongoing tragic impact of Russia’s prolonged assault on Ukraine, we have arrived at the decision to suspend our operations in Russia and Belarus.”\n\nCitigroup (C) expanded its exit from Russia, saying it’s going to stop soliciting new clients. In pulling out of the country, Citi said it will “include other lines of business and continue to reduce our remaining operations and exposure,” according to a company blog post from Executive Vice President of Global Public Affairs Edward Skyler. Citi noted that pulling its operations “will take time to execute” and that it is assisting multinational corporations.\n\nPayPal (PYPL) CEO Dan Schulman said the company is suspending services in Russia.\n\n“The PayPal community will remain steadfast in our humanitarian efforts to care for those in Ukraine who are experiencing devastating violence and tragic loss,” Schulman said.\n\nFood and beverage\n\nAB InBev, the maker of Budweiser and other beer brands, said it has “requested the controlling shareholder” of its Russia operations to suspend the license for the production and sale of Bud in the country. The company said it’s also “forfeiting all financial benefit” from its joint venture operations. Employees will still be paid.\n\nBurger King said it is pulling corporate support from its businesses in Russia. Restaurant Brands International, which owns the burger chain, said it “has suspended all of its corporate support for the Russian market, including operations, marketing and supply chain.” That doesn’t necessarily mean that Burger King restaurants will be closed in Russia, however, as the company said the chain’s roughly 800 locations there are “fully franchised and managed by a local master franchisee.” This means that the company cannot simply pull the plug on those restaurants as other brands such as McDonald’s have done.\n\nCoca-Cola (COKE) said that it is “suspending its business in Russia.” The company stated that “our hearts are with the people who are enduring unconscionable effects from these tragic events in Ukraine,” adding that it will monitor the situation as things change.\n\nHeineken will stop producing and selling beer in Russia. The brewer announced on March 9 that it would “take immediate steps to ring-fence” its Russian business, “to stop the flow of monies, royalties and dividends” out of the country. The beverage giant, which sells into more than 190 countries, had already announced a suspension on new investments and exports to Russia. “We are assessing the strategic options for the future of our Russian operations,” it said in a statement. “We see a clear distinction between the actions of the government and our employees in Russia.”\n\nMcDonald’s is temporarily closing its Russian restaurants. Eighty-four percent of McDonald’ locations in Russia are operated by the company, according to the document. Russia’s restaurants, along with another 108 in Ukraine, all operated by McDonald’s, accounted for 9% of the company’s revenue in 2021.\n\nNestle (NSRGF) is suspending all capital investment in Russia and halting advertising in the country.\n\n“We are working hard to help keep food available to the people, be it on store shelves or through donations of essential foods and beverages like baby food, cereals, soup and noodles to those in need across the region,” the company said in a statement.\n\nPepsiCo said it is suspending the sale of Pepsi-Cola and global beverage brands in Russia, but will continue to sell some of its essential products.\n\nPepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said that Pepsi is suspending capital investments, ads and promotional activity in Russia. But PepsiCo will continue to sell some of its products, including baby formula, baby food, milk and other dairy options.\n\n“We have a responsibility to continue to offer our other products in Russia, including daily essentials,” Laguarta said. “By continuing to operate, we will also continue to support the livelihoods of our 20,000 Russian associates and the 40,000 Russian agricultural workers in our supply chain as they face significant challenges and uncertainty ahead,” he added.\n\nStarbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said that “we have decided to suspend all business activity in Russia,” in a message to employees. He added that “our licensed partner has agreed to immediately pause store operations and will provide support to the nearly 2,000 [employees] in Russia who depend on Starbucks for their livelihood.” Johnson added that Starbucks is halting shipment of all Starbucks products to Russia.\n\nYum Brands (YUM), which has 1,000 KFC and Pizza Hut franchises in Russia, said it would suspend all investment and restaurant development in the country. The company said it would “assess additional options” and redirect all profits from operations in Russia to humanitarian efforts.\n\nHospitality\n\nHyatt (H) is halting development in Russia and new investments there following the invasion of Ukraine. Hyatt (H) said it continues to “evaluate hotel operations” in Russia while complying with sanctions and US government directives.\n\nHilton (HLT) has shut down its corporate office in Moscow and is suspending all new development activity in Russia, the hotel company announced Wednesday. The moves will not end the Hilton (HLT) brand in Russia, where there are 26 Hilton (HLT) hotels. The company does not own any hotels in Russia. The 26 Hilton (HLT) hotels in Russia are managed or franchised and represent a small percentage of the company’s worldwide footprint of more than 6,800 properties, a spokesperson said.\n\nMarriott (MAR) has closed its corporate office in Moscow, and paused the opening of upcoming hotels and all future hotel development and investment in Russia.\n\n“Our hotels in Russia are owned by third parties and we continue to evaluate the ability for these hotels to remain open,” it added.\n\nIndustrials\n\n3 said it has halted operations in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.\n\nDow (DOW) has suspended all purchases of feedstocks and energy from Russia, and says it “significantly reduced its operations and product offerings” in the country. Dow (DOW) has also stopped all investments in the region, and is only supplying limited essential goods in Russia, including food packaging, hygiene, cleaning and sanitation products and household goods.\n\nGeneral Electric (GE) suspended most of its operations in Russia, with the exception of “providing essential medical equipment and supporting existing power services.”\n\nJohn Deere (DE), the world’s largest agriculture equipment maker, has halted shipments of its products to Russia. A Deere spokesperson said the only equipment produced in Russia is at a small factory in Orenburg, Russia that makes seeding and tillage equipment.\n\nCaterpillar said on March 9 that it is suspending operations in its Russian manufacturing facilities.\n\n“Operations in Russia have become increasingly challenging, including supply chain disruptions and sanctions,” the manufacturing giant said in a statement.\n\nMedia & entertainment\n\nDirecTV is cutting ties with RT.\n\nA spokesperson for the US satellite carrier told CNN Business that it had already been reviewing whether to renew the outlet’s carriage agreement, which was due to expire later this year. Russia’s war on Ukraine sped up its decision, according to the representative.\n\nDisney (DIS) is also suspending the release of its theatrical films in Russia, citing “the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”\n\nThe entertainment giant had multiple films set for release in Russia in the coming months. That includes Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” on May 5 and Pixar’s “Lightyear” on June 16.\n\nA shopper opening an umbrella featuring Disney Princesses at the Central Children's Store in Moscow's Lubyanka Square in 2017. Valery Sharifulin/TASS/Getty Images\n\n“We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation,” a Disney spokesperson said.\n\nWarnerMedia said on February 28 that it would pause the release of “The Batman” in Russia.\n\nThe film is one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, and is being released in most countries by Warner Bros. which, like CNN, is a unit of WarnerMedia.\n\nA company spokesperson said that the decision was made “in light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine,” and that the company hoped “for a swift and peaceful resolution to this tragedy.”\n\nWarnerMedia is also pausing all new business in Russia, ceasing broadcast of its channels, halting all new content licensing with Russian entities, and pausing planned theatrical and games releases.\n\nRetail\n\nCrocs said March 9 that it will “pause its direct-to-consumer business, inclusive of e-commerce and retail operations, in Russia.” It will also pause “the importation of goods into the country.”\n\nEstée Lauder Companies said March 7 that it will “suspend all commercial activity in Russia, including closing every store we own and operate, as well as our brand sites and shipments to any of our retailers in Russia.” The company had already suspended business investments and initiatives in Russia, it said in a statement.\n\nFast Retailing announced March 10 that it was suspending Uniqlo’s business activities in Russia.\n\nThe turnaround came just days after Tadashi Yanai, CEO of the Japanese group, vowed to keep operating there, calling clothing a basic human necessity.\n\nNow, “it has become clear to us that we can no longer proceed,” Fast Retailing said in a statement, citing “a number of difficulties.”\n\nThe company “is strongly against any acts of hostility,” it added. “We condemn all forms of aggression that violate human rights and threaten the peaceful existence of individuals.”\n\nH&M (HMRZF) will pause all sales in Russia.\n\nIn a statement, the company said that it was “deeply concerned about the tragic developments in Ukraine, and stands with all the people who are suffering.”\n\nThe clothing giant’s stores in Ukraine are already closed due to safety concerns.\n\nH&M Group, which operates a number of brands, had 168 stores in Russia as of last November, according to its website.\n\nIkea, the world’s largest furniture company, is closing its 17 stores in Russia. The company said the conflict is having a “huge human impact” and is “resulting in serious disruptions to supply chain and trading conditions.” In addition to pausing its retail and manufacturing operations in Russia, it will suspend all trade with the country and its ally, Belarus.\n\nIkea said 15,000 workers would be directly affected by the shutdown in the region. The company will continue to pay them, at least for the time being.\n\nImperial Brands (IMBBY), one of the world’s largest tobacco players, will sell off its Russian business.\n\nThe company behind Winston and Gauloises cigarettes says its operations in Russia comprise 1,000 employees in sales and marketing, as well as a factory in the city of Volgograd.\n\nImperial will “continue to pay their salaries until any transfer is concluded,” it said in a statement.\n\nInditex, the parent company of Zara, said it is pausing operations in Russia and closing 502 stores in the country. In a statement, the company said Russia accounts for about 8.5% of its earnings before interest and tax.\n\nMothercare is suspending business in Russia and stopping shipments there.\n\n“Our local partner has confirmed that it will be immediately pausing operations in some 120 stores and online,” it said on March 9.\n\nRussia accounts for around 20% to 25% of sales for the retailer, which specializes in goods for parents and babies.\n\nMondelez (MDLZ) said it would scale back all non-essential activities in Russia “while helping maintain continuity of the food supply.” The company said it would focus on “basic offerings,” and discontinue all new capital investments and suspend a advertising spending in the country.\n\nGerman sports company Puma said it is suspending operations of all of its stores in Russia. The company said it operates more than 100 stores in the country.\n\nLuxury fashion house Prada is suspending its retail operations in Russia.\n\nProcter & Gamble (PG) CEO Jon Moeller said in a letter to employees on March 7 that the company has “discontinued all new capital investments in Russia” and is “suspending all media, advertising, and promotional activity.”\n\n“We are significantly reducing our product portfolio to focus on basic health, hygiene and personal care items needed by the many Russian families who depend on them in their daily lives,” Moeller said. “As we proceed with the reduced scale of our Russian operations, we will continue to adjust as necessary.”\n\nUnilever (UL) said it will “continue to supply our everyday essential food and hygiene products made in Russia to people in the country,” adding “we will keep this under close review.” But the company noted it is has suspended imports of its products to Russia and is stopping all investment in the country, in addition to stopping exports from there. It said it won’t profit from its presence in Russia.\n\nShipping goods\n\nUPS and FedEx have suspended operations in Russia and Belarus. FedEx said it suspended operations to “support the people of Ukraine.” DHL said it has suspended inbound shipments to Russia and Belarus.\n\nMaersk and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company are both halting cargo bookings with Russia.\n\n“As the stability and safety of our operations is already being directly and indirectly impacted by sanctions, new Maersk bookings to and from Russia will be temporarily suspended, with exception of foodstuffs, medical and humanitarian supplies,” the Denmark-based company said in a statement.\n\n“We are deeply concerned by how the crisis keeps escalating in Ukraine,” the company added.\n\nMSC, a Swiss-owned container shipping line, said its suspension would cover “all access areas, including Baltics, Black Sea and Far East Russia.”\n\nTransportation\n\nFrench train maker Alstom said that it will “suspend all deliveries towards Russia” in a statement on March 9.\n\nThe group is also suspending all future business investments in Russia, it added.\n\nAlstom owns a 20% stake — as a capital investment — in Transmashholding (TMH), the Russian locomotives and rail equipment provider.\n\n“There was no material business nor operational link between Alstom and TMH,” the company said. “The book value will be re-assessed as part of the fiscal year 2021/22 closing accounts.”\n\n— Rishi Iyengar, Michelle Toh, Diksha Madhok, Chris Isidore, Vanessa Yurkevich, Paul P. Murphy, Mark Thompson, Vasco Cotovio, Peter Valdes-Dapena, Frank Pallotta, Brian Fung, Oliver Darcy, Jordan Valinsky, Aliza Kassim, Chris Liakos, Pamela Boykoff, Robert North, Anna Stewart and Blake Essig contributed to this report.", "authors": ["Cnn Business Staff"], "publish_date": "2022/03/02"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/04/17/ai-too-white-male-more-women-minorities-needed-facial-recognition/3451932002/", "title": "The problem with AI? Study says it's too white and male, calls for ...", "text": "SAN FRANCISCO – Facial recognition systems frequently misidentify people of color. Lending tools charge higher interest rates to Hispanics and African Americans. Sentencing algorithms discriminate against black defendants. Job hunting tools favor men. Negative emotions are more likely to be assigned to black men's faces than white men. Computer vision systems for self-driving cars have a harder time spotting pedestrians with darker skin tones.\n\nThe use of artificial intelligence, which combs through vast amounts of our personal data in search of patterns, is rapidly expanding in critical parts of Americans' daily lives such as education, employment, health care and policing. Increasingly, powerful artificial intelligence tools determine who gets into school, who gets a job, who pays a higher insurance premium.\n\nYet a growing body of research shows that these technologies are rife with bias and discrimination, mirroring and amplifying real-world inequalities. A study scheduled to be released Wednesday by New York University's AI Now Institute identifies a key reason why: The people building these technologies are overwhelmingly white and male.\n\nArtificial intelligence technologies are developed mostly in major tech companies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and Microsoft, and in a small number of university labs, which all tilt white, affluent and male and, in many cases, are only getting more so. Only by adding more women, people of color and other underrepresented groups can artificial intelligence address the bias and create more equitable systems, says Meredith Whittaker, a report author and co-founder of the AI Now Institute.\n\n\"The problem of a lack of diversity in tech is obviously not new but it's reached a new and urgent inflection point. The number of women and people of color in the AI sector has decreased at the same time that the sector is establishing itself as a nexus of wealth and power,\" Whittaker says. \"In short, the problem here is that those in the room when AI is built, and those who are benefiting from the rapid proliferation of AI systems, represent an extremely narrow segment of the population. They are mainly men, they are mainly technically educated and they are mainly white. This is not the diversity of people that are being affected by these systems.\"\n\nThe study, \"Discriminating Systems: Gender, Race, and Power in AI,\" comes as scrutiny of AI intensifies.\n\nFor years, tech companies could not deliver on the industry's ambitious promises of what hyper-intelligent machines could do. Today, AI is no longer the stuff of science fiction. Machines can recognize objects in a photograph or translate an online post into dozens of languages. And they are getting smarter all the time, taking on more sophisticated tasks.\n\nTech companies, AI researchers and industry groups cast AI in a positive light, pointing to the possibility of advances in such critical areas as medical diagnosis and personalized medicine. But as these technologies proliferate so, too, are alarm bells.\n\nPeople often think of computer algorithms and other automated systems as being neutral or scientific but research is increasingly uncovering how AI systems can cause harm to underrepresented groups and those with less power. Anna Lauren Hoffmann, an assistant professor with The Information School at the University of Washington, describes this as \"data violence,\" or data science that disproportionately affects some more than others.\n\nThe NYU researchers say machines learn from and reinforce historical patterns of racial and gender discrimination.\n\nLast year, Amazon had to scrap a tool it built to review job applicants’ resumes because it discriminated against women. Earlier this month, more than two dozen AI researchers called on Amazon to stop selling its facial recognition technology to law enforcement agencies, arguing it is biased against women and people of color.\n\nGoogle's speech recognition software has been dinged for performing better for male or male-sounding voices than female ones. In 2015, Google's image-recognition algorithm was caught auto-tagging pictures of black people as “gorillas.” Last year, transgender drivers for Uber whose appearances had changed were temporarily or permanently suspended because of an Uber security feature that required them to take a selfie to verify their identity.\n\nOther companies use AI to scan employees' social media for “toxic behavior” and alert their bosses or analyze job applicants' facial movements, tone of voice and word choice to predict how well they would do the job. Predictim analyzes online activities to produce ratings of which babysitters are more likely to abuse drugs or bully.\n\nAI can't make up for lack of diversity:Russia exploited race divisions on Facebook. More black staffers, diversity could have helped.\n\nRead more on tech's lack of diversity:Inequity in Silicon Valley\n\nLeading the charge in raising awareness of the dangers of bias in AI is Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Joy Buolamwini, who with her research and advocacy has prompted Microsoft and IBM to improve their facial recognition systems and has drawn fire from Amazon, which has attacked her research methodology. Her work has also caused some in Congress to try to rein in the largely unregulated field as pressure increases from employees at major tech companies and the public.\n\nLast week, Democratic lawmakers introduced first-of-their-kind bills in the Senate and the House that would require big companies to test the \"algorithmic accountability\" of their artificial intelligence systems such as facial recognition. The bills were introduced just weeks after Facebook was sued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has charged the social media giant's targeting system with allowing advertisers to exclude protected groups from seeing housing ads.\n\nSan Francisco is considering banning city agencies from using facial recognition. Privacy laws in Texas and Illinois require anyone recording biometric data, including facial recognition, to give people notice and obtain their consent. The Trump administration has made developing \"safe and trustworthy\" algorithms one of the key objectives of the White House's AI initiative.\n\nAI is controversial in tech world too:Elon Musk says AI could doom human civilization. Zuckerberg disagrees. Who's right?\n\nSome see AI doing social good:Can artificial intelligence prevent the next Parkland shooting?\n\nFacebook: Big user of facial recognition:Facebook wants to save your face. Should you say yes to facial recognition?\n\nThe NYU researchers say it's critical for AI to diversify the homogeneous group of engineers and researchers building these automated systems. Yet the gender gap in computer science is widening.\n\nAs of 2015, women made up 18 percent of computer science majors in the U.S., down from a high of 37 percent in 1984. Women make up less than one quarter of the computer science workforce and receive median salaries that are 66 percent of their male counterparts, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The number of bachelor’s degrees in engineering awarded to black women declined 11 percent between 2000 and 2015.\n\nThe problem is even more acute in AI. Most speakers and attendees of machine learning conferences and 80 percent of AI professors are men, research shows. Women account for 15 percent of AI research staff at Facebook and 10 percent at Google. While there is very little public data on racial diversity in AI, anecdotal evidence suggests that the gaps are even wider, the study says.\n\nLast month when Stanford University unveiled an artificial intelligence institute with 120 faculty and technology leaders to represent humanity, not a single one was black. Boards created by tech companies to examine the ethics of artificial intelligence also lack members from underrepresented groups.\n\nGoogle also announced an “external advisory council” on AI ethics last month. NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson complained the new body \"lacks a qualified member of the civil rights community.\" \"This is offensive to people of color & indicates AI tech wouldn't have the safeguards to prevent implicit & racial biases,\" he wrote on Twitter. Google later scrapped the advisory council.\n\n\"Both within the spaces where AI is being created, and in the logic of how AI systems are designed, the costs of bias, harassment, and discrimination are borne by the same people: gender minorities, people of color, and other underrepresented groups. Similarly, the benefits of such systems, from profit to efficiency, accrue primarily to those already in positions of power, who again tend to be white, educated, and male,\" the NYU study, a year in the making, found.\n\nCurrent efforts to attract and retain underrepresented groups in AI are not cutting it, the study warned.\n\nThe push to bring more women into tech is too narrow and is \"likely to privilege white women over others.\" Arguments focused on a recruiting or \"pipeline\" problem ignore pernicious issues in corporate and university work cultures – power imbalances, harassment, exclusionary hiring practices and unequal compensation – that drive women and people of color from AI or dissuade them from joining the field in the first place, researchers say.\n\nAmong the study's recommendations: publish compensation levels broken down by race and gender and end pay and opportunity inequality; produce harassment and discrimination transparency reports; change hiring practices to increase diversity and the number of people of color, women and other underrepresented groups at senior leadership levels and create pathways for contractors, temps and vendors, who tend to be from more diverse backgrounds, to become full-time employees; and ensure executive incentives are tied to increases in hiring and retention of underrepresented groups.\n\n\"To tackle the diversity crisis and to address AI bias, we need to look beyond technical fixes for social problems. We need to look at who has power, we need to ask who is harmed, we need to look at who benefits and we need to look at, ultimately, who gets to decide how these tools are built and which purposes they serve,\" Whittaker says. \"If the AI industry wants to change the world then it needs to get its own house in order first.\"\n\nAir Force is using AI:The technologies have a military application\n\nIs next use of AI college admissions?:Who's going to review your college applications – a committee or a computer?\n\nEven spices are getting AI assist:McCormick and IBM are using AI to invent new flavor combinations", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/04/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2019/05/24/diversity-west-point-sloths-vs-snakes-sinking-island-news-around-states/39511837/", "title": "News from around our 50 states", "text": "From staff and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nMobile: Historical officials say researchers have located the wreck of the last ship known to bring enslaved people from Africa to the United States. A statement issued Wednesday by the Alabama Historical Commission says remains of the Gulf schooner Clotilda have been identified and verified after months of assessment. The commission’s executive director, Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, calls the discovery “an extraordinary archaeological find.” In 1860 the wooden ship illegally transported 110 people from what is now the west African nation of Benin to Mobile. The Clotilda was then taken into delta waters north of the port and burned. The captives were later freed and settled a community that’s still called Africatown.\n\nAlaska\n\nAnchorage: The Anchorage Assembly has adopted a climate action plan setting goals for the city. Alaska Public Media reported Wednesday that officials voted Tuesday to adopt the 100-page document outlining aims such as reducing carbon emissions by 80% within 30 years. The measure passed 8-2, with both Eagle River assembly members opposed. The action plan is primarily a set of nonbinding proposals to guide municipal entities toward more environmentally friendly policies. All 22 members of the public who testified at the meeting favored the measure. Many spoke about the evidence of climate change observed in their lives such as warmer winters, worsening tree pollen, invasive insect species and heightened wildfire conditions.\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: State lawmakers are poised to consider tripling the amount of cash they’re paid for each day they work in new legislation that emerged as their yearly session nears a close. Lawmakers in both parties appeared supportive of the change Thursday. They said rural lawmakers especially are undercompensated for their costs of traveling to and staying in Phoenix during the session. They also note that federal tax law changes eliminated the ability to write off those expenses. Lawmakers earn $24,000 a year, plus a daily expense stipend that currently is $60 for rural lawmakers and $35 for Maricopa County residents. The Senate bill introduced Thursday raises the daily rate for rural lawmakers to the federal rate of $185 a day and half that for Phoenix-area residents. The rate would adjust yearly.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: The governor has announced 15 new Cabinet secretaries under a state agency reorganization that cut the number of departments answering directly to him. Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday said the new secretaries will begin work in July under the reorganization plan that lawmakers approved earlier this year. The plan cut the number of Cabinet-level agencies from 42. The new secretaries include Jami Cook, who will head the new Department of Public Safety that includes State Police, the Crime Lab and the Department of Emergency Management. Cook currently heads the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training. State Department of Heritage Director Stacy Hurst will head the new Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. State Economic Development Director Mike Preston will head the new Department of Commerce.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSacramento: The Trump administration will not immediately give $1 billion it revoked from the state’s high-speed rail project to another project, according to a legal agreement reached Wednesday between the two sides. The Federal Railroad Administration announced last week that it was revoking the money, prompting California to sue on Tuesday. Beyond the lawsuit, the state planned to seek a temporary restraining order halting the federal government from giving the money to a different rail project. The new agreement means the state won’t file the restraining order, but it does not change the status of the lawsuit. California is trying to build a high-speed rail line between Los Angeles and San Francisco, a venture expected to cost upward of $77 billion. The $929 million is for a segment of track already under construction in the Central Valley that must be completed by 2022.\n\nColorado\n\nHighlands Ranch: Construction workers have unearthed fossils in a Denver suburb that experts say could be from a rare horned dinosaur. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science said Monday that it is exploring the construction site near a retirement community in Highlands Ranch where a dinosaur’s lower leg bone and several ribs were found. Fossil expert Natalie Toth told KDVR-TV the fossils could be from a torosaurus – a dinosaur similar to the triceratops but differentiated by three bones. Toth says the fossils seem to be intact, so crews are hoping to uncover the entire dinosaur. The fossils are embedded in a rock layer 66 million to 68 million years old. Toth says fossils in the Denver formation are from dinosaurs that were among the last “walking around before the big extinction.”\n\nConnecticut\n\nTorrington: The local police department has reached a deal with a fugitive that would have him surrender if enough people respond to a wanted poster on social media, an agreement that at least one expert calls unethical. Jose Simms, 29, who is believed to be somewhere in New York, has seven arrest warrants and is being sought as a fugitive after failing to appear in court on charges that range from breach of peace to risk of injury to a child. Torrington police Lt. Brett Johnson posted on the department’s Facebook page Wednesday that Sims had contacted him through the social media site and agreed to turn himself in if the post containing his poster gets 15,000 likes. Johnson said he negotiated Simms down from 20,000 likes. “It will be difficult but is doable,” he wrote.\n\nDelaware\n\nRehoboth Beach: Those who love people-watching and checking out the sights and sounds of nature at the state’s beaches but can’t make it out for Memorial Day weekend – or aren’t fans of dealing with sand, sunscreen and sea creatures – have an option to get their fix online. Southern Delaware Tourism maintains a list of online live cameras available in the area, so people can tune into the shorebirds aflutter along the Delaware Bay or the Boardwalk cruisers from the comfort of their own couch. “It’s such a great tool to be able to help visually relay what a great scene it is here along the coastline,” says Scott Thomas, executive director at Southern Delaware Tourism.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: Officials of the Metropolitan Area Transit Authority say part of the transit train system is set to shut down for 15 weeks, affecting an estimated 17,000 riders per day. News outlets report the six-station shutdown is set to start Saturday and will be the longest in Metro history. Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld urged affected riders on Wednesday to explore other commuting options, such as working from home or carpooling. Officials say more buses will be available. This shutdown is part of a three-year platform reconstruction project and will affect Braddock Road, King Street-Old Town, Eisenhower Avenue, Huntington, Van Dorn and Franconia-Springfield stations. This project portion is expected to cost about $200 million. The transit agency hopes to rebuild 20 station platforms by the end of 2021.\n\nFlorida\n\nOlga: With no fanfare, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has quietly closed a well-loved Caloosahatchee River beach. This week, staff will start sodding over the sand that slopes to the river at the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam. Though the swimming area was often barricaded for high fecal bacteria levels, it was Lee County’s only official upriver swimming hole, the site of many a kid’s birthday and al fresco wedding. The Florida Department of Health in Lee County will no longer sample the water there for dangerous bacteria, spokeswoman Tammy Yzaguirre said. In rural Olga some 30 miles upriver from the Gulf, the beach is just one of its 154 miles of navigable waterway the Corps supervises between the Franklin and the St. Lucie locks.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: Two film projects have pulled production from the state after the governor signed the so-called heartbeat bill, which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The heartbeat can be detected as early as six weeks, before many women realize they’re pregnant. The Lionsgate comedy “Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar,” starring Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, and director Reed Morano’s Amazon series “The Power” initially were to be shot in Georgia but now will relocate production. Morano did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday but told Time she had been scheduled to fly to Savannah to scout locations for the new TV series. She canceled after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill. The measure is set to go into effect Jan. 1.\n\nHawaii\n\nHilo: The first breeding attempt by a pair of Hawaiian crows in the wild in nearly 20 years appears to have failed. The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports officials at the Puu Makaala Natural Area Reserve did not find offspring at a nest the birds built. Researchers at the state park on the Big Island saw the crows, Manaolana and Manaiakalani, display behavior associated with egg incubation earlier this month, but then found no sign of chicks in the nest beyond the point when eggs would be expected to hatch. While the female, Manaiakalani, continues to act as though incubating, researchers say it is normal for alala – the Hawaiian name for the crows – to perch on infertile or otherwise nonviable eggs until realizing they will not hatch.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: Federal officials are taking public comments on a plan to build a 16.5-mile power line at an eastern Idaho nuclear site as part of a cybersecurity effort to bolster protections for the nation’s electric grid. The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday that it’s taking comments through June 21 on the plan to build the power line at the 890-square-mile federal site that includes the Idaho National Laboratory. Officials say the proposed 138-kilovolt powerline will make it easier to conduct experiments at the Idaho National Laboratory’s Power Grid Test Bed. The Idaho National Laboratory contains one of the United States’ primary cybersecurity facilities that uses the existing power grid at the site for experiments to make electric grids around the U.S. more secure from potential hackers.\n\nIllinois\n\nSpringfield: The Illinois State Fair karaoke contest is returning this summer, and the winner will get to perform on the fair’s biggest stage. Organizers say nine regional county fairs will host qualifying rounds of State Fair Karaoke this summer. The top two winners from the regional contests will compete at the finale at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield on Aug. 11. The overall winner will be chosen that day. Fair Manager Kevin Gordon says it’s a great opportunity for local talent to perform on the grandstand stage. It’s also another type of free entertainment for people attending the fair. Competitors must be a solo act and at least 18. The contest is free to enter, but space is limited. Competitors are encouraged to pre-register on the fair website.\n\nIndiana\n\nIndianapolis: Quinto sleeps about 15 hours a day and covers his face with a blanket. If enough moss is in his habitat, some could grow in his fur and turn him sort of green. The 15-year-old is part of a group of two-toed sloths who are the first of the mammals ever to reside at the Indianapolis Zoo. The group will live part of the time in the new MISTery Park, one of two new permanent experiences the zoo is unveiling this Memorial Day weekend. The other, in contrast to the cuddly mammals, is “Size, Speed & Venom: Extreme Snakes,” which includes black mambas, pythons and rattlesnakes. The exhibits are different enough that the zoo is instituting a competition between the two – visitors which choose which team they’re on at the end of their visit.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: The U.S. General Services Administration has released concept drawings of the approved design for the new U.S. Courthouse planned along the city’s riverfront. The GSA said in a release that the design concept for the $137 million building remains subject to minor modifications, according to budgetary, operational and security requirements. The federal courthouse is planned to be built at the former YMCA site along the riverfront. The project has been controversial, with Des Moines leaders fighting GSA’s plans to build at the site for years. Local officials have said that it won’t be in the best interest of a city that has been working to revitalize the riverfront for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.\n\nKansas\n\nScott City: The state is relying on its conservation effort to protect the lesser prairie chicken as an ecotourism attraction that is attracting birdwatchers from across the world. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism officials are working with ranchers and tour groups to meet the high demand for areas to view the vulnerable species of grouse. The department’s outdoor content manager, Michael Pearce, says western Kansas is one of the last remaining places with a sustainable native population of lesser prairie chickens. The tourism aspect has taken off recently, and the state is trying to hand off the project to private citizens. Tour organizer Jim Millensifer says Kansas ranches have had more than 200 people from 11 countries visit for guided tours.\n\nKentucky\n\nFrankfort: The state’s Division of Waste Management is giving grants to five counties to use recycled rubber tires to repave roadways. The $502,000 in grant funding will be used for rubber-modified asphalt projects that use crumb rubber manufactured from waste tires. The grants were announced by the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, which oversees the waste management division. Cabinet Secretary Charles Snavely says the grant program is valuable because it promotes the use of recycled rubber from discarded tires. The counties of Clark, Fayette, Hardin, Hopkins and Pulaski received the grants. The state’s Waste Tire Trust Fund collects a $2 fee from the sale of each new tire in the state. The funding helps manage millions of scrap tires discarded each year and develops markets for recycled tire products.\n\nLouisiana\n\nNew Orleans: Residents of an island that’s sinking into the Gulf of Mexico are working with legal representatives and case managers hoping to help them relocate. Louisiana’s Office of Community Development Executive Director Pat Forbes tells The Houma Courier that representatives have been working with Isle de Jean Charles residents for several weeks. The island has lost about 98% of its land over the past 60 years. It has 40 residents, many of whom belong to the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw or the United Houma Indians tribes. Resettlement options include moving into a planned 150-home community or getting funding for a home elsewhere. Forbes says residents don’t have a deadline to decide, though federal funding for the project must be used by September 2022. He says construction may start on the community this year.\n\nMaine\n\nBar Harbor: The National Park Service says numerous improvements are taking place at Acadia National Park over the coming months. The service says work has begun at the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, and work is slated to begin on the Frazer Point Pier early in July. Hiking trails are also scheduled for improvements. Some work is already finished, including the rehabilitation of historic firepits at Seawall Campgrounds. Acadia National Park is one of Maine’s top tourist destinations in the summer months. It’s famous for Cadillac Mountain, the high point of the North Atlantic’s seaboard. The park service says the maintenance projects are paid for via methods including park entrance fees, federal funding and fundraising.\n\nMaryland\n\nOcean City: Two male grey seals rescued by the National Aquarium earlier this year were released Thursday at the city’s beach. Choppy waves and a windy, cloudy morning greeted the two semi-aquatic mammals as they were released from their crates. Keeping in line with the nonprofit’s 2019 theme of naming seals after influential scientists, the National Aquarium Animal Rescue Team dubbed the rescuees Edwin Hubble and George Washington Carver. Hubble was found stranded in St. Augustine, Florida – several hundred miles out of the normal range for grey seals, who usually don’t go south of North Carolina. Sea World took him in, and from there, rescuers up and down the Atlantic Coast coordinated a relay for Hubble. He eventually landed in Baltimore at the National Aquarium. Carver was found in early April just south of where he and Hubble were released Thursday.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nAmherst: A slab of rock that bears dinosaur footprints is being donated to Amherst College by authorities who seized it as part of a poaching case. Massachusetts Environmental Police turned the fossil trackway over to the school’s museum of natural history Thursday. It’s believed to bear the tracks of Eubrontes giganteous, a large dinosaur that lived about 190 million years ago. The specimen was taken as evidence in a 2004 case involving poaching in the rich fossil beds of western Massachusetts. The case led to passage of a law protecting fossils and artifacts on public land. After finishing their investigation, police offered it to Amherst’s natural history museum in February. The museum, which says it has the world’s largest collection of fossil dinosaur tracks, was glad to take it.\n\nMichigan\n\nAnn Arbor: A nonprofit tree-planting and education organization is seeking the largest trees in the state. Ann Arbor-based ReLeaf Michigan says its 14th Michigan Big Tree Hunt Contest runs through Sept. 3. Certificates and prizes will be awarded for the largest tree submitted from each of the state’s counties, for the largest tree found by someone 15 and younger and 16 and older, and for the largest eastern white pine in the state. The Michigan Big Tree Hunt was started in 1993 to celebrate the state’s beauty and gather information about its biggest trees. Contest entries provide potential state champion trees to Michigan’s Big Tree Registry as well as the National Register of Big Trees. ReLeaf Michigan partners with communities to replenish the state’s tree canopies by planting trees in public spaces.\n\nMinnesota\n\nSt. Paul: Minnesota State has agreed to pay up to $1.9million to settle a wage dispute with faculty at its two-year colleges. The Minnesota State College Faculty union has been fighting since 2010 over wage calculations for faculty who do certain jobs, such as teaching independent studies or coordinating internships. The union prevailed at arbitration in 2016 but argued the public higher education system refused to comply with that ruling. The faculty sued Minnesota State in Ramsey County District Court in December 2017, alleging unfair labor practices. Responding to that lawsuit, Minnesota State said it paid faculty in accordance with the arbitration ruling but maintained it was not required to change practices going forward. The settlement announced Wednesday brings an end to that lawsuit.\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: Wildlife are struggling to survive as floodwaters cover some of the state’s wildlife management areas. Residents and officials say prey and predators alike are congregating wherever there are dry grounds, adding even more stress to their situation. Roger Tankesly, a Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks wildlife management area biologist for the Delta region, says seven of the state’s more popular wildlife management areas have been completely underwater since January, with some covered in 15 feet of water. David Thornton, 77, of Eagle Lake, says he’s hunted in the area for as long as he can remember. He says the deer have “eaten all the leaves they can reach,” and even raccoons are now wading through water in search for food.\n\nMissouri\n\nColumbia: Callers to a state hotline for abuse of elderly or disabled residents frequently can’t get through to anyone. Records obtained by the Columbia Missourian and KBIA radio found only about half of the 92,000 calls to the hotline last year were answered. From January through April, only about 39% of calls were answered. Data obtained through a records request shows the past decade has seen a 35% increase in reports of abuse or exploitation. The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services added one hotline worker during that time. Jessica Sax, director of the Division of Senior & Disability Services, says the department is first addressing inefficiencies in the hotline before asking for more workers. She says the division also is studying how other states run their hotlines.\n\nMontana\n\nBillings: Renewable energy activists are urging state regulators to reject a proposal to add a charge for homeowners who generate surplus electricity from their own solar panels. Critics told the Montana Public Service Commission on Thursday that the NorthWestern Energy proposal would kill a burgeoning rooftop solar industry. Over the past two decades, about 2,300 NorthWestern customers in Montana installed their own solar panels. When they generate more electricity than a customer uses, the surplus is fed into the electric grid and earns the customer a credit on their bill in a process known as net-metering. NorthWestern spokeswoman Jo Dee Black says the new charge would ensure net-metering customers pay their fair share of service costs. Officials say the charge would be about $50 a month based on average customer demand.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: The Omaha Airport Authority is preparing to move forward with a $500 million reconstruction of Eppley Airfield. The Omaha World-Herald reports the project to rebuild the terminal within five years would overhaul its concourse, airline gates, security checkpoints, ticket counters and baggage claim. The Airport Authority is working with contractors to create a preliminary design for the terminal by this fall. The plans come as Eppley Airfield sees steady passenger growth and airline investments. Airlines scheduled a record of more than 6 million seats to fly through Eppley last year. They’ve also doubled the number of nonstop flights from the airport since 2013. Officials are planning to issue long-term revenue bonds to fund the reconstruction.\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: A company backed by tech billionaire Elon Musk has been granted a nearly $49 million contract to build a transit system using self-driving vehicles underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center. The board of directors of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority approved the contract Wednesday with The Boring Co., the Musk-backed enterprise based in Hawthorne, California. The company plans to construct a twin tunnel system running less than a mile long. The system will use self-driving electric vehicles capable of transporting up to 16 people. The system also will include three underground stations and a pedestrian tunnel. The company plans to start construction in September and debut the system by December 2020. The authority will reimburse the company as it completes certain stages of the project.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nPlymouth: A new exhibit showcases the grand hotels that once were commonplace in the White Mountains. The exhibit at the Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University opened last week, and a series of talks and events runs through Sept. 12. Featuring paintings, photographs and various artifacts as far back as the 1880s, as well as stories of the people who visited and worked at these gracious establishments, the exhibit explores the origins and history of the hotels. Among the highlights will be landscape paintings from residents at several of the hotels including Edward Hill and Frank Shapleigh. A special focus will be on the four surviving hotels: the Omni Mount Washington Resort, Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa, Eagle Mountain House & Golf Club and The Wentworth Hotel.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nSea Girt: Smoking and vaping will be banned on nearly every public beach in the state this summer under tougher new restrictions. Nonsmokers are rejoicing over the ban, which also applies to public parks. But some smokers are feeling discriminated against by the law, which took effect in January. Fines would start at $250 for a first offense and go up to $1,000 for a third offense. At least 20 Jersey shore towns had already enacted their own smoking bans before the statewide law took effect. Nationwide, more than 300 coastal communities have banned smoking on their beaches. But bans as broad as New Jersey’s are rare. The Clean Ocean Action environmental group counted more than 22,000 cigarette butts its volunteers picked up from New Jersey beaches during spring and fall cleanups last year.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nSanta Fe: The first woman to oversee the state’s multibillion-dollar mineral resources is proposing to do away with gender-specific pronouns such as “he,” “his” or “him” in agency rulebooks. Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard says the State Land Office will hold a public hearing Friday in Santa Fe on the proposed changes. Gender-specific pronouns would be replaced by more neutral or specific references. Garcia Richard says current agency rules use male pronouns throughout to refer to her position. She says it’s no surprise that some written wording has grown outdated at the 120-year-old agency. The commissioner has final say on the language changes. The State Land Office oversees energy leases across about 14,000 square miles of state trust land to help fund schools, universities and hospitals.\n\nNew York\n\nWest Point: The class of cadets preparing to jubilantly toss their caps in the air at the U.S. Military Academy’s graduation ceremony Saturday includes 34 black women, a record number that’s a sign of concerted efforts to diversify West Point’s Long Gray Line. West Point remains mostly white and mostly male. “I can show other little girls that yes, you can come to West Point. Yes, you can do something that maybe the rest of your peers aren’t actually doing. And yes, you can be different from the rest of the group,” says senior cadet Stephanie Riley, who was among the black female cadets who recently posed for pre-graduation photos in their gray uniforms, holding out ceremonial sabers. The pictures – part of a tradition for graduating cadets – were posted widely online and became a symbol of West Point’s increasing diversity.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nRaleigh: Gov. Roy Cooper says his directive that state agencies provide paid leave for workers following a birth means parents will no longer have to choose between their career or their child. Cooper signed an executive order Thursday that offers paid parental leave to state employees in his Cabinet-level departments starting Sept. 1. That’s eight weeks of full paid leave to those who give birth and four weeks to their spouses or partners. Such paid leave is already offered by many private-sector companies. At an Executive Mansion event, Cooper said such leave has been found to increase worker productivity and improve recruitment and retention. Cooper says carrying out the order will cost $3.5 million annually, with his agencies absorbing the expenses from current funds.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nMandan: A federal judge has granted a reprieve to the owners of a bar fighting to preserve a mural at their business. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland granted a temporary restraining order Wednesday two days after the owners of Lonesome Dove filed a lawsuit against the city of Mandan over the mural city officials ordered removed. Bar owners Brian Berube and August “Augie” Kersten were cited for have an unpermitted, Western-themed mural on the outside of the bar. The Bismarck Tribune says Berube and Kersten were unaware of the permit, later applied and were denied because city ordinance states that “no mural may be placed on the front of the building.” The judge says “such a content-based restriction on speech as Mandan has enacted is unlikely to survive constitutional muster.” He scheduled a settlement conference for June 4.\n\nOhio\n\nAlliance: The University of Mount Union has ended its affiliation with the United Methodist Church over the denomination’s renewed bans on LGBT clergy and same-sex marriage. The Canton Repository reports the school’s president says the board of trustees considered the issue for months before voting recently to end the affiliation of more than 150 years. University President W. Richard Merriman Jr. says the school wants a diverse campus. He says it became difficult to see how the denomination’s recent actions could be reconciled with the university’s values. The General Conference of the United Methodist Church in February voted to continue prohibiting ordination of gays and lesbians and barring its clergy from presiding at same-sex weddings. The university says ending the affiliation won’t affect its curriculum.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: A bill that would force more school districts to return to five-day school weeks has been given final legislative approval and is heading to the governor’s desk. A top priority of Senate Republicans this year, the bill passed the House on Wednesday on a 63-32 vote. The state Department of Education says 92 of Oklahoma’s more than 500 school districts currently are operating on four-day school weeks. In those cases, instructional hours are extended each day to reach the required number of hours. Under the bill, schools could continue operating four-day weeks if the district meets minimum guidelines for student performance and cost savings. Supporters of the four-day school week say it helps districts save money and recruit teachers.\n\nOregon\n\nPortland: A new report says that in future years, the state’s population will mostly grow through people moving into the Beaver State rather than through new births. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis predicts the state will see deaths outnumber births sometime in the next decade. Josh Lehner, a state economist, predicts the flip will happen around 2026 or 2027. It would be the first time in Oregon’s history that deaths outnumber births. The trend is already affecting the state’s more rural counties but now is spreading statewide. As the trend continues, analysts say factors that negatively affect migration to Oregon from other states – such as housing affordability – will have a bigger impact on the economy and the size of public budgets.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: Gov. Tom Wolf says preliminary statistics are pointing to a decrease in overdose deaths in the state last year, as his administration suggests the opioid crisis might be starting to wane in some parts of Pennsylvania. Wolf spoke Wednesday as he participated in a training session on how to administer a nasal spray that reverses an opioid overdose. Wolf says physicians are issuing fewer opioid prescriptions and doctor-shopping is over, thanks to a 2016 law that requires prescribers to check a state database before issuing an opioid prescription to a new patient. His administration says more robust health care outreach and law enforcement programs are paying dividends. It’s also made the anti-overdose medication naloxone regularly available at most pharmacies in Pennsylvania, at little or no cost for those with insurance.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: A poet has sued the city and a police officer, saying he was racially profiled, assaulted, harassed and falsely arrested three years ago. The Providence Journal reports Christopher Johnson, of Providence, a spoken-word artist and former state poet laureate candidate, is seeking unspecified damages and the firing of the officer. Johnson says he declined to provide his name to the officer, who pulled alongside him in a police SUV while walking home from a concert in May 2016. Johnson says he was grabbed and slammed into the vehicle so hard it left a dent. Charges against Johnson were later dismissed. A police spokeswoman says Johnson never filed a formal complaint with the department.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: The South Carolina State Fair this year marks its 150th anniversary of showcasing the state’s agricultural roots. The commemorative event is themed “Prize-Winning Memories” and will be held Oct. 9-20 at Columbia’s fairgrounds. WIS-TV reports the fair will present many special offerings along with traditional favorites including a free, daily big top circus; a Midway with 70+ rides; nearly 70 food stands; arts and crafts displays; pig races; livestock and agricultural exhibits; and stage shows. On July 12 as an early kick-start to the celebration, the fair will host a free outdoor screening of “The Greatest Showman.” The fair was organized in 1869 and is a self-supported, charitable organization, dedicated to preserving and promoting the state’s agricultural roots while supporting statewide education.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls: The South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will elect a new bishop next month. The election will take place during the synod assembly May 31 and June 1 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls. Fifteen names have been pre-identified as potential candidates but will not be official nominees until their names are placed on the ballot by someone at the assembly, according to Sawyer Vanden Heuvel, director of communications for the South Dakota Synod. Any ELCA rostered minister of Word and Sacrament is eligible for the nomination, and the first ballot becomes the ballot of nominations. Nominees will be contacted and allowed to withdraw their names if they so choose by 2 p.m. Friday.\n\nTennessee\n\nMemphis: A massive new exhibition and entertainment hall is set to open at Elvis Presley’s Graceland with three museum-style exhibits, including one on the late boxing great Muhammad Ali. Graceland officials say the 80,000-square-foot Graceland Exhibition Center opens Saturday to guests visiting the Presley-themed tourist attraction in Memphis. The singer, actor and pop icon lived in the city until his death Aug. 16, 1977. Presley and Ali were known to be friends. Presley once gave Ali a custom-made robe in Las Vegas in the early 1970s. A replica of that robe is part of the Ali exhibit, along with photos of the heavyweight boxing and civil rights champion and other artifacts. Exhibits about motorcycles and the planet Earth also are scheduled to open Saturday.\n\nTexas\n\nDallas: City leaders have declared a Confederate statue surplus property and offered to sell it for a minimum $450,000 – what it cost to move the bronze artwork from public view. The Dallas City Council on Wednesday designated the statue, of Robert E. Lee and a young soldier riding horses, available for sale to the highest bidder. The 1935 sculpture by Alexander Phimister Proctor was removed from a park in September 2017 and put in storage. The statue was appraised at $950,000, which Dallas authorities say could pay for removal of the city’s Confederate War Memorial. The Dallas Landmark Commission in March approved a plan to disband the 123-year-old memorial complex, which critics say is racist and not historic. A 65-foot obelisk has stood over Pioneer Park Cemetery since 1961.\n\nUtah\n\nSalt Lake City: State and federal officials have signed an agreement to defer to the state when planning forest projects. The Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday that Republican Gov. Gary Herbert and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed the agreement Wednesday. Officials say the deal obligates the U.S. Forest Service to rely on the state’s guidance for designing, implementing and prioritizing projects intended to reduce wildfire risks and promote the health of the state’s 12,500 square miles of forest. Utah officials say they believe the agreement will build on existing programs and investments in restoring degraded forest landscapes. A Utah forest supervisor says the forest service has already prepared and authorized treatment plans on 1,563 square miles of state forest land using mechanical thinning and controlled fires.\n\nVermont\n\nMontpelier: State Attorney General T.J. Donovan says he’s filed suit against eight members of the family that owns the drug company that manufactures OxyContin, one of the drugs believed to be partly responsible for the opioid crisis. Donovan alleged Tuesday that for over two decades the Sackler family, the owners of Purdue Pharma, minimized the health risks of opioids, claiming the prescription drugs were rarely the cause of abuse, addiction or death. Donovan says the Sacklers directed Purdue to promote products that were more dangerous, addictive and lucrative. Last September, the state filed suit against Purdue. In a statement released after the September lawsuit, the company said it shared Vermont’s concerns about the opioid crisis but denied Purdue acted improperly.\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: A large trash collector in the state will use recycling bins that are partly made from recycled trash. The Central Virginia Waste Management Authority said this week that it ordered 2,000 bins from Israeli company UBQ. The firm uses a patented process that converts municipal waste into a plastic-like composite material. UBQ said the authority is its first U.S. customer. CVWMA serves about 280,000 households in the Richmond area. Executive Director Kim Hynes said it’s testing out the bins, which she said are comprised of 25% of the UBQ material. UBQ says it creates the material by milling anything from banana peels to dirty plastics into a powder. The powder is then placed into a reaction chamber. UBQ says the process produces no greenhouse gas emissions or residual waste.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: State and local authorities will now be restricted from asking about people’s immigration status, adding to a West Coast wall of states with so-called sanctuary policies. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a measure Tuesday implementing the new rules. They put Washington among only a handful of states, including California and Oregon, to have enacted statewide sanctuary policies and rank among the strongest statewide mandates in the nation. Police officers in Washington won’t be able to inquire about immigration status except in limited circumstances, and the state attorney general will draw up rules for courthouses, hospitals and other state government facilities aimed at limiting their use as places where federal immigration agents look for people in the country illegally. “We will not be complicit in the Trump administration’s depraved efforts to break up hard-working immigrant and refugee families,” Inslee said.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nLogan: The community is taking a stand against needle exchange programs. News outlets report Logan County commissioners voted this week to draft an ordinance that would outlaw starting a needle exchange program there. Commissioner Danny Godby says officials want to find a way to eliminate dirty needles, but they think a needle exchange would make the problem worse by adding more needles to the mix. Some communities in West Virginia and other states have approved needle exchanges to reduce the spread of infectious diseases like hepatitis and HIV and distribute educational materials about where drug addicts can seek help. A needle exchange in Charleston closed last year over concerns about increased needle litter and other issues.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: The state Department of Natural Resources board is tweaking the state’s bear hunt structure for the first time since 1980. The new framework calls for six bear management zones rather than the current four. Numeric zone kill limits in DNR rules would end. The agency would instead set limits based on agricultural damage, hunter success and nuisance complaints. The changes could into effect as early as the fall of 2021. The plan called for allowing hunters to use hounds in a newly formed central Wisconsin hunting zone. The board voted 6-1 to remove those provisions, however. Opponents told the board that allowing hounds in the zone would lead to trespassing. Megan Nicholson of the Humane Society of the United States said hunting with hounds is a blight on the state.\n\nWyoming\n\nGillette: A traditional Native American horse race in the city has been postponed following cold and wet conditions in northeast Wyoming. The Gillette News Record reports the Horse Nations Indian Relay was planned for Saturday and Sunday, but rough track conditions have forced organizers to reschedule the event for Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. The sport involves racers riding without saddles to make three laps around a track. Riders finish each lap on a different horse, so they jump on to a new horse twice during each race. Four to six relay teams compete in every race. The event leads up to the Championship of Champions race in Walla Walla, Washington, in late September.\n\nFrom staff and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/05/24"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_7", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2023/04/13/buccaneers-gm-says-no-intention-to-trade-lb-devin-white/70112458007/", "title": "Buccaneers GM says no intention to trade LB Devin White", "text": "FRED GOODALL\n\nAP\n\nTAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Buccaneers have no intentions of trading star linebacker Devin White, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht said Thursday.\n\nLast month, the 25-year-old who helped Tampa Bay win the Super Bowl in his second season posted cryptic messages on social media that suggested he may have played his last game with the Bucs. ESPN and NFL Network reported this week that White has requested a trade.\n\nWhite is seeking a long-term contract and entering the final year of the deal he signed as the fifth overall selection in the 2019 draft. The Bucs picked up the fifth-year option that'll pays him $11.7 million in the upcoming season.\n\n“First of all, we all have all the respect in the world for Devin. He’s done some great things for us as a player and we look forward to more from him in the future,” Licht said during the team’s annual pre-draft media availability.\n\n“He’s on our team. We are looking forward to this season. We’re gearing up for the season with the draft right now, free agency, and we’re looking forward to him being part of this team,” Licht added. “If he has the kind of year we all think he’s capable of, we can hopefully put this to rest and everybody’s happy.”\n\nWhite, a team captain, became an immediate starter as a rookie and had a career-best nine sacks in 2020. That same year, he had a breakout postseason in helping Tom Brady lead the Bucs to the second Super Bowl title in franchise history.\n\nHe had another solid season in 2022 with 124 tackles, 5½ sacks and 16 quarterback hits, but also drew some criticism on social media in October for what was perceived as a lack of hustle on a key play during a nationally televised prime-time loss to the Baltimore Ravens.\n\nLicht was asked if he envisioned the possibility of White holding out from training camp or maybe not playing under his current contract if the linebacker remains frustrated by a lack of progress toward a new deal.\n\n“I can’t look into the future,” Licht said. “Like I said, we have the utmost respect for Devin. That’s part of the business world of ... this job that I don’t like. He’s a competitor, he’s a player. Everybody holds him in high regard.\"\n\n___\n\nMore AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/04/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2022/03/21/colts-could-matt-ryan-answer-indianapolis/7117531001/", "title": "Insider: How a botched Deshaun Watson trade allowed the Colts to ...", "text": "As the latest NFL quarterback carousel continues to turn, a commercial has been popping up between March Madness games. It stars Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford in an AT&T store.\n\n\"Oh, so I get it: So you can take your old phone that you've had for 12 years and loved every minute of and trade it in for something new that fits your life now?\" he asks an employee. \"And then enjoy immediate success, even though you'll never forget your old phone? Ever?\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/03/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/ravens/2023/03/27/lamar-jackson-requests-trade-baltimore-ravens-quarterback/11549466002/", "title": "Lamar Jackson, Ravens QB, requests trade amid contract standoff", "text": "The notion that the marriage between the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson would last at least an additional year took a major hit Monday when the quarterback revealed in a Twitter thread addressed to his fans that he requested a trade more than three weeks ago.\n\nJackson said his ask came on March 2, five days before the team placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on him, allowing the 2019 NFL MVP to negotiate with the league’s 31 other teams while giving Baltimore a chance to match any offer sheet signed.\n\n“The Ravens (have) not been interested in meeting my value,” Jackson wrote of his ongoing negotiations with the team for a contract extension, which has lasted more than two years.\n\n“Any and everyone that’s (sic) has met me or been around me know I love the game of football and my dream is to help a team win the super bowl,” Jackson wrote in his message.\n\nOPINION:For Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, it's well past time to hire an agent – so don't wait any longer\n\nThroughout the offseason, Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta and head coach John Harbaugh have stated signing Jackson to a long-term extension is their top priority.\n\nIn his message, Jackson thanked Ravens fans in what amounted to a farewell.\n\n“You all are great but I had to make a business decision that was best for my family and I,” Jackson said. “No matter how far I go or where my career takes me, I’ll continue to be close to my fans of Baltimore Flock nation and the entire State of Maryland. You’ll See me again.”\n\nWhile speaking at the league’s owners meetings in Phoenix, Harbaugh said he had not seen Jackson’s tweets and that he still expected the 26-year-old to be Baltimore’s starter Week 1.\n\n“Lamar’s handled it with class,” Harbaugh said.\n\nShould Jackson and the Ravens' situation remain unresolved with the two sides unable to work out a contract or a trade – reports earlier this month said multiple teams are not currently interested in Jackson – Jackson could opt not to play next season without incurring any fines since he has not signed his franchise tender.\n\nIf Jackson signs the tender, he would receive a $32.41 million salary for the 2023 season. Baltimore has until July 17 to reach a multiyear contract extension with the quarterback.\n\nLast week, the NFL management council sent a memo to team executives and contract negotiators that the NFL Players Association informed the league that a person named Ken Francis was contacting teams on Jackson’s behalf despite not being an NFLPA certified agent. Jackson disputed that report, saying “stop lying that man never tried to negotiate for me.”\n\nJackson took over the starting quarterback job from Joe Flacco in 2018, the year Baltimore selected the Heisman Trophy winner No. 32 overall, and the Ravens have gone 45-16 with him as a starter. Injuries have prevented Jackson from playing down the stretch in each of the last two seasons. In the 2022 campaign, a knee injury prompted him to miss the final five regular-season contests as well as Baltimore's wild-card round loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/titans/2022/04/21/aj-brown-trade-tennessee-titans-wide-receiver/7399588001/", "title": "A.J. Brown trade: Titans GM shoots down idea of moving Pro Bowl WR", "text": "Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson on Thursday reiterated his hopes of keeping star A.J. Brown on the team for years to come amid an eventful offseason surrounding wide receivers.\n\nThe market at the position has skyrocketed over the last month, with a slew of elite receivers – Stefon Diggs, Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams among them – receiving megadeals. And Deebo Samuel’s trade request from the San Francisco 49ers added another ripple in the discussion. If he’s dealt and immediately signs a new deal with the trading team, it could set a new bar for Brown’s extension.\n\nBrown and Samuel are both represented by CAA’s Tory Dandy, who negotiated three-year deals worth $60 million earlier this offseason for two other big-name receivers: Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Mike Williams (Los Angeles Chargers).\n\nAt the Titans' pre-draft news conference, Robinson shut down any speculation that Tennessee could trade their star receiver before next week’s draft.\n\n“I do not foresee that happening,” he said.\n\nNFL DRAFT:Which 10 teams have most at stake this year?\n\nDEEBO SAMUEL:Which NFL teams could be landing spots for disgruntled 49ers star?\n\nIt falls in line with comments Robinson has previously made. He said at the NFL owners meeting last month that he wanted to keep Brown with the Titans for a “long time” and wanted to extend him “this offseason, or whenever that manifests itself.”\n\nBrown, who’s entering the last year of his rookie deal, has 185 receptions for 2,995 yards and 24 touchdowns in 43 games with the Titans. He was named a Pro Bowler after the 2020 season.\n\nBrown could command at least $20 million per year in a new deal, contracts expert Joel Corry told The Tennessean earlier this month.\n\n“We’ve had some discussions with his reps,” Robinson said of contract negotiations with Brown. “He was here a couple weeks ago. I talked to him. We’re working through that. Not going to get into any details with contract negotiations; never have really done that. But we’ve made it public about how we feel about A.J and how we want him to be apart of this football team.”\n\n“A.J. knows how we feel about him and how much he means to this football team.”", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/04/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/lakers/2019/07/15/anthony-davis-lakers-forward-doesnt-regret-midseason-trade-request/1732294001/", "title": "Anthony Davis: Lakers forward doesn't regret midseason trade request", "text": "Anthony Davis, now officially a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, says he still doesn't have any regrets about his midseason trade request.\n\nAfter his introductory news conference Saturday, Davis told ESPN that he doesn't wish that he would have waited until the conclusion of the season to ask for a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans.\n\n\"I knew I wasn't going to sign an extension and that my time in New Orleans was definitely coming to an end,\" Davis told ESPN. \"And, you know, I see a lot of people that say 'wait' or 'you should have did it this way, that way.'\n\n\"But for me, I've been in the league long enough. I'm a grown man. I know what I want. And so I thought doing it at that time was definitely going to be beneficial for myself and for the organization to get the best package available, so that way the organization is still set.\"\n\nDavis, 26, added that he loves the city of New Orleans but knew \"it was time for me to move on.\"\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nWith the addition of Davis prior to free agency, the Lakers have spent much of the past few weeks seeking to add pieces to put around their new star forward — and, of course, his new teammate LeBron James. Davis said he has had constant input throughout free agency, telling ESPN that he received calls from general manager Rob Pelinka \"every 30 to 45 minutes.\"\n\n\"Sometimes I had to tell him, like, 'Rob, I'm in the movies.' He'd be like, 'All right, well, call me as soon as you get out,'\" Davis told ESPN. \"But we're trying to put the best team around us, and I think he did a great job of doing it.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/07/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cowboys/2022/11/08/cowboys-owner-jerry-jones-confirms-interest-odell-beckham-jr/8301067001/", "title": "Jerry Jones confirms interest in Odell Beckham Jr.: 'Cowboys star on ...", "text": "Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has confirmed that the team is interested in free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.\n\nOn his weekly radio show, 105.3 The Fan, the longtime owner said \"Odell is someone that we have all the appreciation in the world for what he is as a competitor and know that the Cowboys star on that helmet when he puts it on could look pretty good.”\n\nThe free agent is expected to be medically cleared soon after spending nine months recovering from a torn ACL. While the New York Giants, Buffalo Bills and Green Bay Packers are among potential landing spots, the Cowboys could be a frontrunner.\n\nHead coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Monday that while the team does \"really love our receiver group,\" he has \"always been a huge fan\" of Beckham Jr., who was taken by the Giants in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.\n\nWEEK 10 NFL POWER RANKINGS: Who cracks Top 5 after major trade?\n\n32 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM WEEK 9: Bills may regret last week; Packers, Rams done?\n\n\"All the guys that I've worked with – with the NY Giants and the Cleveland Browns – everybody has nothing but great things to say about him. Obviously, I've always been so impressed with his football-playing ability. But I've heard so many excellent things about him over the years. I think those are conversations for the future.\"\n\nCowboys linebacker Micah Parsons expressed his excitement Tuesday on Twitter of the prospect of Beckham in a Dallas uniform, tagging the three-time Pro Bowler. Beckham responded saying, \"u tell me !? U kno all the fam on my daddy side down there. Im just tryna win… wheeerever I go.\"\n\nIn an interview with Complex, Beckham shared his thoughts on where he might go next.\n\n“Whether it’s Buffalo, Green Bay calling, the Cowboys, a reunion with the Giants,” Beckham said, “I want to be able to spill my last — I’m not saying I’ve only got three or four (years) left — but these next three or four (years) into (a place) where I can buy a home. Like, I can call this place home.”\n\nContact Analis Bailey at aabailey@usatoday.com or on Twitter @analisbailey.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/11/08"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2021/11/03/von-miller-lands-with-rams-after-broncos-trade/119097142/", "title": "Von Miller lands with Rams after Broncos trade", "text": "AP\n\nTHOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Von Miller spent Monday in a sentimental daze after the Denver Broncos traded him. He went down into the memorabilia-packed basement of his Colorado home and tearfully contemplated his departure from the only NFL team he had ever known.\n\nBy the time Miller boarded a plane Tuesday for the West Coast, the pass-rushing star's eyes were dry — and his vision of the future was increasingly clear.\n\n“I went to sleep 4-4 and woke up 7-1,\" Miller said with a grin.\n\nMiller participated in his first workout with the Los Angeles Rams on Wednesday, the blue numerals on his bone-colored No. 40 jersey peeling off because of their hasty adhesion.\n\nMiller is already acquainted with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey from Pro Bowls and offseason gatherings. He feels his overall comfort level rising by the hour as he embraces the opportunity given to him when the Broncos shipped out the face of their franchise for two high draft picks.\n\nThe Rams already were a Super Bowl contender, and this former Super Bowl MVP is eager to make the trip with them.\n\n“I’ve been wearing blue and orange forever, (so) everything just looks weird, but it feels extremely right,\" Miller said. \"Feels right to be here. Feels like this is the right thing for me. (No.) 40 looks weird, but it feels right. Being here with all these guys, it’s really a dream come true, man. (Denver) definitely did me right by sending me to such a legendary franchise with a legendary team.”\n\nMiller and Donald are two of the greatest pass rushers of their generation, and they'll team up for at least the rest of this season in a partnership with the potential to reconfigure the NFC race. While the Rams have taken statistical steps back after fielding the league's best defense last season, sending Miller after quarterbacks alongside Donald and Leonard Floyd adds new dimensions to a unit that already leads the NFL with 25 sacks.\n\n“I feel like it frees us all up,” Miller said. “They’ll try to figure out creative ways to triple-team and double-team, but it can’t possibly be that effective. We’ve got great coaches. We’ve got great guys playing on this team, and we’ll be able to figure it out. ... You hear stories of the Fearsome Foursome, you hear stories of this legendary defense, and we want to recreate that. They’ve been playing great defense all year. I just want to add some of the things that I do best.”\n\nMiller is likely to take it easy in practice this week after missing the Broncos' game last weekend due to an ankle injury. Although he has “some lingering issues,” he intends to play Sunday night against AFC-leading Tennessee (6-2) at SoFi Stadium.\n\nMiller still hasn't seen the Rams' palatial new home because he didn't travel to the Broncos' game against the Chargers last season while injured.\n\n“I’ve heard stories on how incredible it is, and how the Super Bowl is going to be there this year,” Miller said. “Hopefully that will be us playing there.”\n\nThe rest of the Rams already felt the Super Bowl was a reachable goal for their current core, but Miller's arrival underlined the urgency of this season. Miller will be an unrestricted free agent next spring, although the Rams have already spoken with his representation about the possibility of a longer stay in LA.\n\nMatthew Stafford, the other major star who left his longtime NFL home for the Rams through a blockbuster trade this year, welcomed Miller to sunny Southern California.\n\n“I've been a fan of Von Miller for a long time,” Stafford said. “He's a big-time player in this league, and adding him to a defense that's already got a bunch of playmakers has the possibility of being something real special. ... We'll do everything we can to pull him along as quickly as we possibly can, and I know once he's out there, he's going to be big value for us.”\n\nNOTES: Stafford was among several Rams who didn't participate in a short, light practice Wednesday. The quarterback has a stiff back, but he says he'll play Sunday. ... WR Robert Woods sat out with a foot injury, and WR Cooper Kupp sat out to rest. Coach Sean McVay expects both to play. ... LT Andrew Whitworth also rested, and his availability isn't certain after missing last week's game.\n\n___\n\nMore AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/11/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2017/12/27/10-story-lines-defined-year-sports-ball-family-nfl-unrest/945460001/", "title": "10 story lines that defined the year in sports: From the Ball family to ...", "text": "As 2017 comes to a close, so too does the year in sports.\n\nAnd what a year it was.\n\nThere were historic winning streaks and inspiring championship runs, national-anthem protests and monumental trade requests, massive scandals, ascending stars, a boxing spectacle, an FBI sting and much more.\n\nAs 2018 looms, USA TODAY Sports pinpoints the 10 story lines that defined sports in 2017:\n\n10. An offseason soap opera in the NBA\n\nEvery offseason features trades and free-agent signings, but rarely have as many stars found new homes as they did last summer — and with some drama, too. Chris Paul requested a trade and joined James Harden in Houston. Carmelo Anthony and Paul George moved to Oklahoma City. Jimmy Butler was shipped to Minnesota. And then, of course, was the upheaval in the Eastern Conference. In a ballyhooed decision, Gordon Hayward signed with the Boston Celtics, who then nabbed Kyrie Irving in a massive trade with the rival Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving supposedly requested a trade because he wanted to escape LeBron James' shadow, but he has since declined to talk about his reasoning for the request.\n\nLive Leaderboard: PGA Championship Tournament Scores, Schedules, Pairings and More\n\n9. Historic streaks, from Cleveland to Storrs\n\nThe Cleveland Indians went more than three weeks without a loss, winning 22 consecutive games from Aug. 24 through Sept. 15. It was the longest winning streak in baseball history without a tie and second-longest unbeaten streak in the sport overall, behind only the New York Giants' 26-game streak in 1916. The stretch featured seven shutouts and four one-run wins.\n\nMeanwhile, the UConn women's basketball team saw its own historic streak come to an end after multiple years. The Huskies' 66-64 overtime loss to Mississippi State in the Final Four ended a 111-game winning streak that dated to Nov. 23, 2014 and was the longest in the history of Division I basketball. \"We kind of lived a charmed life for a long time,\" coach Geno Auiriemma said after the loss.\n\n8. Serena still shining\n\nThough she only played two events early in January, 2017 was still a banner year for tennis legend Serena Williams, on and off the court. First, she beat her older sister, Venus, in the Australian Open final to claim her 23rd Grand Slam single's title, the most of any tennis player since 1968. Then, in April, she revealed that she was eight weeks pregnant when the tournament began. Williams gave birth to a baby girl, Alexis Olympia, on Sept. 1 and is scheduled to return to the court with an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi this weekend.\n\n7. A stunning Super Bowl\n\nTo say the Patriots rallied from a 28-3 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons, 34-28, would be accurate — and wildly incomplete. This was the first overtime game in Super Bowl history. It featured the largest comeback (25 points) in Super Bowl history. It was arguably the most compelling game in Super Bowl history. And, according to Fox, it was the second most-watched event, period, in the history of the network, with a total audience of 172 million. Yes, it was only one game in a year full of buzzer-beaters and come-from-behind thrillers. But it came on the largest stage in American sports, and defined the year unlike any other single event could.\n\nBrennan:Sending out sports wishes for 2018 to Serena, Brady, Pyeongchang and others\n\nBell:The best and worst of the 2017 NFL season\n\nFTW:10 biggest sports and pop culture disappointments of 2017\n\n6. The Ball family circus\n\nRarely has one family dominated headlines as the Balls did in 2017. Oldest son, Lonzo, emerged as one of college basketball's stars in his only season at UCLA and was drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers. His younger brother, LiAngelo, enrolled at UCLA, was arrested and suspended for shoplifting in China, left the school and recently signed a contract with a professional team in Lithuania. And the youngest Ball, LaMelo, is also headed to Lithuania, though he only recently turned 16, after he was pulled out of a California high school and briefly homeschooled.\n\nAnd then there's the family's braggadocious patriarch, LaVar. He outrageously claimed that he could beat Michael Jordan in a game of one-on-one. He went on a sexist rant after demanding a female referee be replaced during an AAU game. And, most recently, he baited President Donald Trump into a Twitter spat. Through it all, LaVar became a lightning rod of criticism and a constant source of eye rolls — but he got America's attention.\n\n5. Dark Olympic clouds\n\nOn the heels of 2016 reporting by The Indianapolis Star, USA Gymnastics found itself at the heart of one of the most disturbing stories of 2017. Former team doctor Larry Nassar was accused of sexual abuse by more than 150 women — including three members of the Fierce Five — and was sentenced to serve 60 years in federal prison on child pornography charges. Steve Penny, the embattled president of USA Gymnastics, resigned. And last week, McKayla Maroney filed a lawsuit alleging she was paid to not publicly accuse Nassar of sexual abuse, which she says was an attempt by USA Gymnastics to \"allow Nassar to quietly leave USAG; further silencing his victims.\"\n\nMeanwhile, Russia faced a wave of sanctions from the International Olympic Committee after widespread violations of anti-doping rules. Forty-three Russian athletes have been sanctioned, resulting in the loss of 13 medals at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and several lifetime bans. The country has also been barred from competing in the February Winter Games in Pyeongchang. Russians will be able to compete as neutral athletes, however.\n\n4. The spectacle of Mayweather-McGregor\n\nThe fight itself was better than many expected, with MMA fighter Conor McGregor holding his own during his first foray into boxing before losing to Floyd Mayweather in a 10th-round TKO. It generated a massive payout and was one of the most publicized bouts in years. But the real story was the circus surrounding the fight in the weeks and months leading up to it — and in a few months afterward.\n\nThere were roughly five months of public posturing from both sides about whether the fight would even take place, then a string of verbal jabs, some of which had racial undertones. And the talking didn't stop after they left the ring. McGregor has since said there's \"no doubt\" he would win a rematch, while Mayweather has claimed he could make $1 billion for three or four fights, including one against McGregor, in the octagon.\n\n3. The FBI stings college basketball\n\nIn news that shook the world of college sports, four assistant basketball coaches were indicted in a fraud and corruption scheme after a lengthy investigation by the FBI. Adidas, sports agent Christian Dawkins and Louisville were among the several entities swept up in the scandal, which resulted in the firing of longtime coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich, but the effects were (and still are) felt throughout college basketball. Like many 2017 storylines, this one will carry over in 2018, as several lawsuits remain pending and the government continues submitting evidence for its case.\n\n2. #HoustonStrong\n\nIn the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which caused nearly $200 billion in damage and displaced thousands of residents, the Houston Astros gave their city a reason to celebrate. Led by American League MVP Jose Altuve, they slipped past the Los Angeles Dodgers in one of the most thrilling World Series in recent years to win their first title in franchise history.\n\nThe city also received a boost through the efforts of Houston Texans linebacker J.J. Watt. Though Watt missed most of the season due to injury, his impact off the field was profound: He raised more than $37 million for hurricane relief efforts, 185 times his initial goal of $200,000.\n\n1. Unrest in the NFL\n\nWhen President Donald Trump used an expletive at a September rally to describe NFL players who protest during the national anthem, he turned an already massive sports story into the story of the year. Trump's comments prompted a major backlash from players (and, in some cases, owners) that rippled across the league and the nation at large. While Trump has continued to blast the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell on Twitter, one notable sponsor blamed the protests for declining profits, and a group of players has since negotiated a fundraising agreement with the league, with a focus on social justice issues.\n\nMeanwhile, quarterback Colin Kaepernick — who started the protest in 2016 to bring attention to racial inequality and police brutality — didn't play in 2017. Kaepernick became a free agent in March, and in October, he filed a collusion grievance against NFL owners. Though he's largely remained out of the public eye over the past year, Kaepernick remains a key figure in the movement and has donated at least $900,000 to social-justice causes.\n\nOthers receiving votes:\n\nSouth Carolina dominates the Final Four, with the women winning the national title and the men making a surprise run\n\nDale Earnhart Jr.'s retirement\n\nClemson's national championship win over Alabama, and news of their subsequent Sugar Bowl rematch\n\nTiger Woods' DUI and return\n\nRussell Westbrook's historic season\n\nRoger Federer and Rafael Nadal split the men's Grand Slam singles titles\n\nThe Ezekiel Elliott investigation, battle with NFL and six-game suspension\n\nO.J. Simpson's release from prison\n\nGiancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani find new homes\n\nU.S. soccer fails to qualify for the 2018 World Cup\n\nLas Vegas gets a professional franchise, with another on the way\n\nPHOTOS: Best sports moments of 2017", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/12/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/cardinals/2023/04/14/budda-baker-requests-trade-arizona-cardinals/11668521002/", "title": "Budda Baker requests a trade from Arizona Cardinals", "text": "Another star could be on his way out of Arizona.\n\nCardinals safety Budda Baker has requested a trade, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.\n\nBaker was originally a second round pick by the Cardinals in 2017. He’s spent his entire career in Arizona and is regarded as one of the best safeties in the NFL.\n\nBaker is a two-time first team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler. The defensive back has amassed 650 tackles, 34 pass deflections, seven interceptions and six forced fumbles in 93 career games, all in a Cardinals uniform.\n\nThe 27-year-old signed a contract extension with the Cardinals in 2020. He's signed through the 2024 season.\n\nNFL DRAFT HUB: Latest NFL Draft mock drafts, news, live picks, grades and analysis\n\nBaker is not the only big-name player to leave the desert this offseason. Future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt retired and standout wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is rumored to be on his way out of Arizona.\n\nAll this comes after the firing of head coach Kliff Kingsbury. He was replaced by a first-time head coach in Jonathan Gannon.\n\nPossible destinations for Budda Baker\n\n► Chicago Bears\n\nThe Bears have the most salary cap space in the NFL with $35.8 million available, per Over The Cap. Bears general manager Ryan Poles has shown a willingness to go aggresively after players this offseason.\n\n► Philadelphia Eagles\n\nThe Eagles lost versatile safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in free agency. Baker would fill the void and be an upgrade in Philly's defensive backfield.\n\n► New England Patriots\n\nLong-time Patriots safety Devin McCourty retired this offseason. Baker would be an adequate replacement in the defensive backfield and a leader on the New England defense.\n\n► Indianapolis Colts\n\nThe Colts have $22.4 million in salary cap space, per Over The Cap. Indianapolis could use a playmaker and a veteran leader in its defensive backfield after trading cornerback Stephon Gilmore to the Dallas Cowboys.\n\nFollow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on Twitter @TheTylerDragon.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/04/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2019/09/01/miami-dolphins-kiko-alonso-trade-new-orleans-saints-vince-beigel/2186570001/", "title": "NFL: Dolphins' trading continues, trade Kiko Alonso to Saints", "text": "The Miami Dolphins' rebuild continues.\n\nOne day after the team traded starters offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills to the Houston Texans, Miami shipped another starter in linebacker Kiko Alonso to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for linebacker Vince Beigel, a person with knowledge of the deal confirmed to USA TODAY Sports' Mike Jones.\n\nThe person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the trade.\n\nNFL Network was the first to report on the trade.\n\nAlonso, 29, has been Miami’s starter the past three seasons and has been very productive in that stretch. In his first two seasons with the Dolphins, he posted 115 tackles in each, before tallying 125 last season. He also had three interceptions and three forced fumbles.\n\nTANKING FOR TUA?:Dolphins fire sale of Laremy Tunsil, Kenny Stills sends NFL message\n\nCLOWNEY TRADE:NFL now entering the player empowerment era\n\nBeigel, 26, is headed into his third season in the NFL. A fourth-round draft pick of the Packers in 2017, Beigel has just 20 career tackles in 23 games over two seasons with Green Bay and New Orleans.\n\nThe Dolphins shed Alonso’s base salary of $6.5 million for 2019 and 2020, as the team enters its first season under rookie coach Brian Flores. Miami has been stockpiling draft picks and is trying to invigorate its roster with younger players.\n\nThe Saints, meanwhile, bolstered a position group as they try to capitalize on their combination of star veterans and high-performing young players on rookie deals on a potential Super Bowl push.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/09/01"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_8", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/12/09/sienna-miller-wins-settlement-phone-hacking-suit-against-tabloid/6451485001/", "title": "Sienna Miller wins settlement in phone-hacking suit against tabloid", "text": "The Associated Press and Staff Reports\n\nAssociated Press\n\nLONDON — Movie star Sienna Miller on Thursday accepted \"substantial\" damages from the publisher of British tabloid The Sun, which she accused of hacking her phone and leaking news of her pregnancy.\n\nMiller, whose films include \"Factory Girl,\" \"Black Mass\" and \"The Lost City of Z,\" joins a list of dozens of people who have received payments from News Group Newspapers over illegal eavesdropping that took place more than a decade ago.\n\nNews Group Newspapers, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp conglomerate, has paid millions of pounds to settle lawsuits from hacking victims, many of them famous British figures.\n\nJussie Smollett found guilty of 5 counts of staging racist, anti-gay attack in Chicago, lying to police\n\nPhone hacking to obtain an individual's private information is illegal in the United Kingdom and in the United States.\n\nMost of the cases in the U.K. have involved the now-defunct News of the World, which was shut down by Murdoch in 2011 after revelations that its employees had snooped on the voicemails of celebrities, sports figures, politicians and even crime victims in search of scoops.\n\nNews Group Newspapers has acknowledged hacking by the News of the World but not by The Sun, which continues to operate. Once the largest-circulation publication in the U.K., it has been overtaken by the Daily Mail in recent years.\n\nMiller, 39, said she felt \"fully vindicated\" after the publisher agreed to pay her undisclosed \"substantial damages\" without admitting liability. The settlement means her claims of illegal activity by the tabloid will not go to a full trial.\n\nOutside court, Miller said journalists and management at the newspaper \"very nearly ruined my life. I have certainly seen how they have ruined the lives of others.\"\n\nJosh Duggar found guilty of receiving and possessing child pornography\n\n\"Their behavior shattered me, damaged my reputation – at times beyond repair – and caused me to accuse my family and friends of selling information that catapulted me into a state of intense paranoia and fear,\" said Miller, who was a British tabloid fixture during her relationship with fellow actor Jude Law in the early 2000s.\n\nMiller's lawyer, David Sherborne, said the payment was \"tantamount to an admission of liability\" by The Sun.\n\nThe lawyer, who has also represented celebrities such as Duchess Meghan of Sussex and Johnny Depp in their lawsuits against tabloids, said Miller \"was the subject of intense media scrutiny and serious intrusion into her private life from around 2003.\"\n\n\"In particular, The Sun published numerous intrusive stories about her that contained intimate private details about her relationships and feelings and even her confidential medical information,\" he said.\n\nHe said Miller accused the then-editor of The Sun, Rebekah Brooks, and others of leaking the news of her pregnancy, a leak that had \"led her to being unable to trust those closest to her when she really needed them.\"\n\nBrooks, who has a close daughter-like relationship with Murdoch, is now the chief executive of Murdoch’s News UK business; she was tried and acquitted in 2014 of phone hacking.\n\nFor more than a decade, British tabloids have been settling phone-hacking lawsuits filed by multiple accusers, thus heading off the claims before they reached trial. Just this week, others who have settled claims against The Sun's publisher included the former soccer star Paul Gascoigne, the actor Sean Bean and Sharleen Spiteri, lead singer of the band Texas.\n\nMeanwhile, Prince Harry's phone-hacking case against three tabloids (The Sun, News of the World and The Daily Mirror), which he joined in 2019, remains pending. He is among multiple celebrities who claim these tabloids illegally intercepted their voice messages decades ago. In court papers, Harry said hacking affected his relationships with friends and family and led to a breakdown in trust.\n\nHarry and his wife, the former Meghan Markle, who now live in California after stepping away from royal duties, have become leading voices in the cross-ocean debate about alleged tabloid intrusions. So far the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been winning more battles than losing.\n\nMeghan just won another victory in her legal battle against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday for invading her privacy and violating her copyright in publishing a letter she wrote to her estranged father after her 2018 wedding to Harry. The publisher has said it will appeal that ruling.\n\nContributing: Maria Puente, USA TODAY", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/12/09"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/960643/ten-things-you-need-to-know-today-26-april-2023", "title": "Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 26 April 2023 | The Week UK", "text": "Canadian poison investigation\n\nA chef in Canada has been accused of supplying young people in Britain with a lethal poison to enable them to take their own lives, according to an investigation by The Times. Kenneth Law, who has been sending the substance to vulnerable people around the world from Canada for two years, allegedly told an undercover reporter posing as a suicidal buyer how to take the substance to ensure death. The Times report claims up to seven deaths, including four in the UK, are linked to the poison. The Canadian authorities are said to be investigating.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/04/26"}, {"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.cnn.com/2022/11/30/world/william-kate-us-visit-boston-intl-scli/index.html", "title": "Prince William and Kate are in the US for their first trip in eight years ...", "text": "Boston CNN —\n\nThe new Prince and Princess of Wales touched down in Boston Wednesday ahead of the second iteration of the Earthshot Prize Awards later this week, in their first trip to the United States since 2014.\n\nThe couple flew into the city on a commercial flight as controversy erupted back home, after an aide resigned following “unacceptable and deeply regrettable” remarks to a Black executive visiting Buckingham Palace earlier this week.\n\nLady Susan Hussey – a godmother to Prince William who served as Queen Elizabeth II’s lady in waiting for six decades – was identified by British media as the aide who made the remarks at a palace event on Tuesday, where she repeatedly asked a Black British charity founder where she was “really” from.\n\nCharity boss Ngozi Fulani said that after identifying herself as British-born to the aide at the royal reception, the aide asked her “where do you really come from;” “where do your people come from;” and “when did you first come here?”\n\nA spokesman for William said: “Racism has no place in our society, these comments were unacceptable. It’s right that the individual concerned has stepped down.”\n\nKensington Palace denounced the incident, saying the remarks were “unacceptable” and that it was “right that the individual concerned has stepped aside with immediate effect.”\n\nIt’s the couple’s first visit to the US since their trip to New York eight years ago. The pair also previously embarked on a whirlwind California tour a few months after their wedding in 2011.\n\nThe trip is a chance for William to showcase how he intends to adapt to his new Prince of Wales role from his predecessor, while Catherine will hope to charm the public – as her new title’s former holder effortlessly did – but on her own terms.\n\nWilliam founded his climate change prize back in 2020 in the hope of harnessing the world’s smartest minds to confront some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing humanity. Each year for the next decade, five winners will receive £1 million (around $1.12 million) to fund their creative solutions to the climate crisis.\n\nThe heir to the British throne was inspired to launch the project by President John F. Kennedy’s “moonshot” speech in 1962 when he tasked the US to push forward with space exploration.\n\nHundreds gathered at Speaker’s Corner outside City Hall despite pouring rain and biting temperatures to get a glimpse of the royal couple. The crowd screamed and cheered as the pair walked outside with city officials.\n\nRoyal watchers await the arrival of William and Kate at City Hall Plaza. Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images\n\nTaking the podium, Prince William told well-wishers he and wife, Catherine were “absolutely delighted to be with you today, for our first engagement in the great city of Boston, as we start the countdown to The Earthshot Prize Awards this Friday.”\n\nThe 40-year-old royal said Boston was “the obvious choice” for this year’s ceremony as the former president’s hometown and “because your universities, research centers and vibrant start-up scene make you a global leader in science, innovation and boundless ambition.\n\n“Like President Kennedy, Catherine and I firmly believe that we all have it in ourselves to achieve great things, and that human beings have the ability to lead, innovate and problem-solve,” William continued.\n\n“We cannot wait to celebrate the Earthshot Prize finalists later on this week, and we are both looking forward to spending the next few days learning about the innovative ways the people of Massachusetts are tackling climate change,” he added.\n\nThe couple were then joined by Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healey to help formally start the city’s Earthshot celebrations, and with the push of a button lit the civic building and other landmarks in green.\n\nAhead of the lighting ceremony, the senior royals had an audience with Mayor Wu inside City Hall. Chris Jackson/Getty Images\n\nTheir busy schedule on Wednesday saw them attend a Boston Celtics game against Miami Heat in downtown Boston. They were seated courtside for the game alongside Healey.\n\nResetting royal perceptions\n\nWhile William and Kate’s stateside trip is not an official royal tour, the senior royals aren’t simply parachuting in for a glittering ceremony on Friday night. Instead, they have a jam-packed three-day visit during which they will turn their spotlight onto initiatives in some of Boston’s most hard-pressed communities and meet with local indigenous leaders.\n\nA Kensington Palace spokesperson told CNN the couple were eager for more time in Boston so they could get to know communities and learn about the climate-related challenges facing the coastal city.\n\nBefore the fresh racism row emerged, the couple’s trip had also being seen by some as an opportunity to reset perceptions in the US after a damaging few years. New seasons of Netflix show “The Crown” have revived old criticisms of the monarchy, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey tarnished the family’s reputation.\n\nThey claimed family members had made racist remarks and the institution had abandoned Meghan when she admitted contemplating suicide while pregnant with their first child, Archie. William subsequently defended the monarchy, stating, “we’re very much not a racist family.”\n\nMayor of Boston Michelle Wu; Governor-elect Maura Healey; Prince William; Catherine, Princess of Wales; Emilia Fazzalari and her husband Celtics owner Wyc Grousebeck watch the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat play on November 30, 2022. Brian Snyder/Pool/AFP/Getty Images\n\nIncidentally, days after this tour, Harry and Meghan are set to pick up an award for their work through their Archewell Foundation on race, mental health and social impact. The Sussexes were recently named as recipients of the 2022 Ripple of Hope award by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization (RFKHR). They join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky among others being honored this year.\n\nAnnouncing the accolade last month, RFKHR President Kerry Kennedy said the couple “has always stood out for their willingness to speak up and change the narrative on racial justice and mental health around the world.”\n\n“They embody the type of moral courage that my father once called the ‘one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.’”\n\nThere are no plans for the brothers and their spouses to catch up while in the same country. Their priority is Earthshot and they are savvy enough to know a family gathering would overshadow their objectives.\n\nInstead, the senior royals will be hoping to focus the public’s attention on the causes they champion and the work they do during their stay in the US.\n\n“The prize has become the prince’s Superbowl moment of the year, and he looks forward to continuing to use the platform each year to shine a light on some of the most impactful projects doing amazing things around the world to save our planet’s future,” a Kensington Palace spokesperson said.\n\nOne meeting that is on the cards is a catch-up with the US President Joe Biden, who will greet the pair while visiting Boston for a fundraiser on Friday, according to the White House.\n\nStar-studded prize ceremony\n\nThe visit to the US culminates in the star-studded Earthshot ceremony grand finale on Friday, which will unite innovation with entertainment.\n\nSingers Annie Lennox, Billie Eilish and Ellie Goulding will perform, and the five winners will be announced by presenters that include Oscar winner Rami Malek, actress Shailene Woodley and Catherine O’Hara of “Schitt’s Creek” fame.\n\nBritish broadcaster Clara Amfo will return to co-host the awards with actor Daniel Dae Kim. British veteran broadcaster, naturalist and all-round national treasure David Attenborough is also set to feature in the glittering extravaganza.\n\nThe awards will be broadcast in the UK on Sunday on BBC at 5:30 p.m. GMT. It’s set to air on PBS on December 14 but will start streaming on the broadcaster’s website and app on Monday. Viewers across Africa will also be able to catch the ceremony Monday when it premieres on Multichoice channels at 5:00 p.m. WAT.\n\nCorrection: The trip is Prince William and Kate's first to the US since 2014. This story has been corrected to remove an editing error that inaccurately described the date of their last trip.", "authors": ["Lauren Said-Moorhouse Max Foster Carolyn Sung", "Lauren Said-Moorhouse", "Max Foster", "Carolyn Sung"], "publish_date": "2022/11/30"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2019/05/31/new-memorial-dc-statehood-tiny-baby-news-around-states/39531143/", "title": "News from around our 50 states", "text": "From staff and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nMontgomery: A top donor to the University of Alabama says students should boycott enrolling at the school in response to the state’s newly approved abortion ban. Hugh Culverhouse Jr. has donated more than $30 million to the university. He said Wednesday that he doesn’t want students who go to the school to become “trapped” under what he calls a morally and constitutionally wrong law. The university renamed its law school in his honor last September after he pledged a record-setting donation. Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation May 15 that makes performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases and provides no exceptions for rape or incest. Culverhouse, a Florida businessman who was born in Montgomery, says businesses should also boycott the state. His parents both attended the university.\n\nAlaska\n\nFairbanks: The wettest region in the state is experiencing the first extreme drought recorded by the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Anchorage Daily News reports scientists say the southernmost portion of southeast Alaska has been in a drought for the past two years. Climatologists at the Fairbanks-based Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy say the drought was upgraded last week to an extreme, or D3, drought. The designation is the second-highest category measured by the U.S. Drought Monitor and marks the first time those conditions have been recorded in Alaska. Scientists say the extreme drought area includes Ketchikan, Prince of Wales Island, Wrangell and Metlakatla. Officials say areas experiencing lesser “severe” and “moderate” droughts have also expanded, and the region’s precipitation, while higher than other areas, is drastically less than normal.\n\nArizona\n\nCrown King: A meat-eating, tiger-striped predator with a mouthful of sharp teeth has been intentionally released in a remote lake. The Arizona Department of Game and Fish introduced about 450 tiny tiger muskies May16 into Horsethief Basin Lake, a small reservoir 6,000 feet high in the mountains near Crown King. While they are sardine-sized now, the long, spear-like fish grow quickly and are known among anglers for their feisty nature. They can grow up to 3 feet long or more. The survivors should be a foot long in about a year, says Curt Gill, an aquatic wildlife program manager for the game and fish department. “They should be catchable next summer,” he says. The department hopes the voracious fish will grow and eat many of the small bass in Horsethief Basin, allowing the remaining bass to grow larger. Surveys of bass in the lake show 80% are smaller than 8 inches.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: Officials say a decrease in federal subsidies allocated by the state has caused substance abuse treatment providers to lay off employees and turn away patients who can’t afford to pay for residential care. The reduction comes from the state’s annual substance abuse funding that exceeds $13 million. One impacted program is Arkansas CARES, which assists pregnant women and mothers with mental illness who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. The 120-day residential treatment program can treat up to 10 women at its Little Rock campus. But the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports just three women were staying at the addiction treatment facility as of last week. The program’s officials noted that 41 other women have been put on the program’s treatment list and are waiting for funds to become available.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSan Diego: When she was born, she weighed about the same as an apple. A hospital has revealed the birth of a baby girl believed to be the world’s tiniest surviving micro-preemie, who weighed just 8.6 ounces when she was born in December. The girl was born 23 weeks and three days into her mother’s 40-week pregnancy. Doctors told her father after the birth that he would have about an hour with his daughter before she died. “But that hour turned into two hours, which turned into a day, which turned into a week,” the mother said in a video released by Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns. More than five months have passed, and she has gone home as a healthy infant, weighing 5 pounds. The baby’s family gave permission to share the story but wanted to stay anonymous, the hospital says. They allowed the girl to go by the name nurses called her: “Saybie.”\n\nColorado\n\nDenver: The governor has signed a law reducing penalties for single-use possession of many drugs. KMGH-TV reports Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation Tuesday that “defelonizes” drug possession for Schedule I and II substances such as heroin, fentanyl, cocaine and most other illicit drugs. The new law says anyone found with a small amount of a drug will face a misdemeanor instead of a felony charge, while those suspected of dealing drugs will still face felony charges. Supporters say the law is an effective way to stop “arresting away” community drug problems and will save taxpayer money. Opponents say state savings will come at the expense of county taxpayers and jails, where those sentenced for the lesser crimes will be held.\n\nConnecticut\n\nHartford: The state is expanding the number of bee, butterfly and hummingbird-friendly spots along state highways by encouraging wildflower growth. The Hartford Courant reports the Connecticut Department of Transportation already has eight designated locations where minimal mowing allows wildflowers to blossom as part of its Pollinator Corridor Program. Another 51 areas along state highways, off-ramps and medians will be designated. Invasive plants will be removed and native flowers and grasses allowed to grow, increasing the density and quality for pollinators. The agency says it has generally reduced the amount of mowing along highways in recent years, fostering native plant growth beyond the designated areas. The program was authorized as part of a 2016 General Assembly law supporting pollinators that face loss of habitat, disease and widespread pesticide use.\n\nDelaware\n\nDover: Lawmakers are once again proposing to increase the age for compulsory school attendance. A bill slated to be filed Thursday raises the age through which students must attend school from 16 to 18. The age increase would be phased in over a two-year period, starting in 2022 with students required to stay in school through age 17. The legislation is similar to bills filed in recent years and aims to encourage more Delaware children to graduate from high school. The legislation allows for alternative routes to completing high school for children 16 and older, including independent study and online courses. It also allows a child to be excused from required attendance at the request of a parent or legal guardian with written support from a qualified health professional.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: The very first hearing for the district’s statehood will be held this summer, according to D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, WUSA-TV reports. “We’ve announced the first hearing on #DCstatehood (HR 51) in the House in 26 years: July 24,” Norton wrote on Twitter. “This is a monumental step forward for equality and self-government for D.C.” Maryland House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer spoke in support of D.C. statehood during a news conference and released an op-ed stating the same support. If passed, the bill is unlikely to make any headway in the Republican-controlled Senate, but it would mark the first vote on D.C. statehood in a quarter-century and the first time either chamber of Congress has ever endorsed statehood for the nation’s capital.\n\nFlorida\n\nTallahassee: Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet met in Israel on Wednesday, waving away complaints that the session violated open-government laws because it was held outside the state. They presented a proclamation of support for Israel and heard from Israelis on several issues important to Florida. The Republican governor then signed a bill that prohibits anti-Semitism in the state’s public schools and universities. The law defines anti-Semitism as including “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis,” “blaming Israel for all interreligious or political tensions,” or “requiring behavior of Israel that is not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.” Open-government watchdog organization First Amendment Foundation and several news outlets sued in an effort to stop the meeting, claiming it violated a state law that requires government meetings to be accessible to the public.\n\nGeorgia\n\nMarietta: A police department in metro Atlanta has announced a new intervention program as deaths from opioid overdoses in Cobb County appear to be declining. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the new program by Marietta police will create an alert system where authorities are notified when someone is revived using medication, like naloxone, that can reverse the effects of opioid overdose. Two plainclothes officers will then visit the survivor and try to convince them to seek treatment. Officers will also receive training on how best to approach the sensitive conversations. Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn says the program arose from the success the department has had in using naloxone to combat overdose deaths.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: U.S. Census Bureau estimates show urban Honolulu’s population declined for the fourth straight year last year. Hawaii News Now reports newly released census estimates put the district’s population at more than 347,000 people in 2018. That’s down about 1.2% from more than 351,000 in 2015. The agency defines Urban Honolulu as extending from Aliamanu to Kahala on Oahu. Last month, census estimates showed nearly 62,000 more people moved to the mainland from Oahu than moved to the island between 2010 and 2018. Oahu’s high cost of living has fueled population declines as salary increases have failed to keep pace with a rising home prices. Economists say people may be leaving for better jobs or salaries, greater opportunities or in order to purchase a home.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: The state Supreme Court says there is no cap on how much money juries can award to whistleblowers who sue their employers. The Idaho Statesman reports that in the unanimous May 24 ruling, the high court said Idaho’s whistleblower law trumps the state’s tort claim statute. Idaho’s tort claim law limits the amount of money that can be awarded to people who sue public agencies to $500,000 for each occurrence or accident. But the high court said the Whistleblower Act doesn’t cap damages, so the tort claim caps don’t apply. The ruling came in the case of Idaho State Police crash investigator Brandon Eller, who said ISP retaliated against him because he testified against another officer in a court hearing. A lower judge had reduced Eller’s jury award of $1.5 million.\n\nIllinois\n\nSpringfield: Lawmakers working to legalize recreational marijuana hit a snag that other states have wrestled with – whether to allow people to grow a few pot plants for personal use. The 10 states that have legalized recreational marijuana have different “home grow” rules, with Michigan allowing individuals to grow as many as 12 plants and Washington state not allowing them to grow any. The question in Illinois was settled Wednesday night when the Senate approved recreational use of marijuana after universal home cultivation of the plant was replaced by a provision allowing only medical-marijuana patients to grow their own. The differences in home grow regulations reflect how states view the competing arguments about home cultivation: Opponents say it fuels black market sales, while proponents argue that if businesses can sell it, they should be able to grow it.\n\nIndiana\n\nAngola: Fifteen counties where lakes are becoming choked with aquatic plants have landed more than $600,000 to combat the fast-growing plants. The funding from Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources will boost efforts to control or manage non-native species, including curly-leaf pondweed and Eurasian watermilfoil. Such invasive species can take over and clog lakes, affecting lake ecosystems and hurting local economies by making them less attractive destinations for pleasure boat enthusiasts and anglers. The nearly $633,000 from the DNR’s Lake and River Enhancement program will fund 42 plant eradication projects at 62 lakes and one river in 15 Indiana counties. The money comes from an annual fee boat owners pay to register their boats with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: A state court judge has temporarily halted enforcement of a new law that would have blocked Planned Parenthood of the Heartland from receiving federal grant money for sex education courses. Judge Joseph Seidlin signed an order Wednesday prohibiting the state from implementing the bill that Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law May 3 until the court can decide whether the law is constitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa filed a lawsuit for Planned Parenthood on May 15 challenging the law as a violation of free speech, due process and equal protection rights. Seidlin says that Planned Parenthood is likely to succeed in its equal protection claim and that it has demonstrated significant harm through loss of funding. The judge says it’s likely the court would not find the new law rational.\n\nKansas\n\nTopeka: Two peregrine falcon chicks that hatched earlier this month atop a 12-story building have been given metal identification bands to help track their movements. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the chicks, a male and a female, hatched around the first of May on top of the Westar Energy Building. Westar spokeswoman Kaley Bohlen says it’s the ninth year in a row that falcons Nemaha and Boreas have produced offspring in the perch. Westar biology coordinator Eric Johnson said the chicks could be ready to fly in about a month. Falcons have been nesting at the Westar building off and on since 1993. Peregrine falcons were nearly wiped out in North America by DDT and similar pesticides in the 1950s. Their numbers began to rebound after DDT was banned.\n\nKentucky\n\nLouisville: A new program in the state is training veterans with aviation or power plant mechanics experience to become Federal Aviation Administration certified. The new Veterans Accelerated Learning for Licensed Occupations initiative offers certifications for veterans and transitioning military members looking for jobs. Stewart Ditto, director of the Kentucky Aerospace Industry Consortium, says Kentucky’s aerospace and aviation industry is facing critical workforce shortages. A release from Kentucky’s Education and Workforce Development Cabinet says the program is a collaborative effort, including the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, the state’s technical college system, the University of Louisville and the Kentucky Commission on Military Affairs.\n\nLouisiana\n\nNew Orleans: “Attack of the Bloodsuckers!” isn’t a horror movie but a new exhibit at a nature center in the city. The Audubon Louisiana Nature Center will teach why mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, leeches and other parasites are important to the ecosystem. The free exhibit will also explain how to avoid them – or at least find them in time. A news release says hints include keeping yards free of standing water so mosquitoes can’t lay eggs in them and checking yourself carefully for deer ticks before they can transmit Lyme disease. It opened Wednesday in the interpretive center and runs through Sept. 1.\n\nMaine\n\nAugusta: The state’s schools will be getting new safeguards to protect children from drinking water that’s contaminated with lead. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill into law Tuesday that’s designed to improve the lead testing in schools. Only schools on well water are currently required to test for lead contamination in drinking and cooking water, but Democratic Sen. Rebecca Millett’s bill would change that. Millett, of Cape Elizabeth, proposed that all schools be required to do the tests to the extent that the state can provide money and help for the testing. The proposal won bipartisan support in the Legislature. Exposure to lead is dangerous to children, who can suffer damage to the brain and impaired growth as a result.\n\nMaryland\n\nSalisbury: A pony found on Assateague Island with a balloon ribbon in its mouth Monday is expected to have no health issues following the incident, which nonetheless prompted officials to remind people of the dangers posed to wildlife by balloons and other plastic debris. Representatives with the National Park Service could not confirm whether the pony had ingested any part of the ribbon but said it did chew through it. The pony did not, however, swallow the balloon, NPS said. Allison Turner, a biological technician with NPS, said the pony was likely eating when it chewed through the ribbon, which may have been tangled into some grass. Liz Davis, chief of interpretation and education with the service, urged people to not release balloons or other foreign objects into the environment.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: A report recommends that bans on cellphone use at dozens of courthouses in the state be phased out, with new security measures to prevent abuse. A working group formed last year by trial court leaders concluded in its report released Wednesday that cellphone bans impose “unacceptable hardships” on certain individuals, particularly those representing themselves in court. Current policy generally allows cellphones in courthouses so long as they’re turned off or silenced. But the report identified 56 courts that prohibit them, with exceptions for court employees and attorneys, citing risks the phones could be used to photograph or intimidate victims, witnesses or jurors. The working group says those courts should consider alternatives to outright bans, such as magnetically locked security pouches designed to prevent unauthorized cellphone use.\n\nMichigan\n\nDetroit: The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has selected the final design for a project intended to allow removal of dams from rivers without letting exotic species migrate upstream. The “FishPass” initiative will take place on the Boardman River in Traverse City, which is undergoing a restoration program that includes removal of several dams. At the site of the last dam to be removed, a barrier will be installed to prevent parasitic sea lamprey from swimming upriver and attacking native fish. The mechanism also will include a channel where fish-sorting techniques and technologies will be tested. The goal will be to block the path of unwanted fish while letting the others continue upstream. A second channel will allow recreation and normal water flow.\n\nMinnesota\n\nChaska: Prince’s former bodyguard answered questions from attorneys for seven hours as part of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by relatives of the late rock star. Kirk Johnson’s attorney told KSTP-TV that Wednesday’s deposition at the Carver County Courthouse was difficult for his client, who considered Prince a good friend. Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose April 21, 2016. “This was a traumatic event for my client,” attorney F. Clayton Tyler said. “He feels very sad over the loss of a good friend of his. To have to come back and go through this and relitigate this whole matter has been very difficult.” The lawsuit names Dr. Michael Schulenberg as a defendant. Authorities say Schulenberg admitted prescribing oxycodone, a different opioid, to Johnson in the days before Prince died, knowing the drug would go to Prince.\n\nMississippi\n\nVicksburg: Historian and city native Dr. William R. Ferris is being recognized with the placement of a Mississippi Blues Trail marker in his honor. The marker unveiled Tuesday honors Ferris, winner of two Grammy Awards for his documentation of blues and other folk legend. It was approved in March by the Mississippi Blues Commission. The Vicksburg Post reports it’s the 205th marker along the trail and sixth in Vicksburg. Ferris recently received two Grammys for “Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris” for Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes. The 120-page book covers three decades of Ferris’s work and, as a result, he said, connects the otherwise disparate voices of musicians, artists and storytellers with whom he’s worked over the years.\n\nMissouri\n\nIndependence: The son of U.S. Sen. John McCain will accept the Truman Public Service Award in his late father’s name. The Independence Examiner reports the city bestows the award each year to someone in public life who followed President Harry Truman’s traits such as ability, honesty and integrity. Doug McCain will accept the award during a ceremony Saturday at the Truman Memorial Building. The event is free and open to the public. John McCain died last year. He spent 30 years in the U.S. Senate and was the Republican nominee for president in 2008. He also was a Navy pilot who was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. McCain accepted the Truman Good Neighbor Award in 2016.\n\nMontana\n\nKalispell: Tourists visiting Glacier National Park last year contributed $344 million to the economy in areas around the park. The National Park Service says 2018 spending was up 25% over the $275 million spent in 2017. The Daily Inter Lake reports visitors spent 40% of those dollars on lodging, 16% at restaurants and 10% for transportation at businesses within 60 miles of the park’s borders. Nearly 3 million people visited Glacier park last year, supporting 5,230 jobs.\n\nNebraska\n\nLincoln: Lincoln Public Schools will purchase 12 new school buses equipped with lap and shoulder seat belts following new recommendations from a federal safety agency. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that the district’s school board approved the $1.4 million plan this month. Last month the board adopted a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation to ensure all new buses have seat belts. The issue of whether the safety measures should be required in school buses has been debated for decades. The NTSB and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration had said for years that the design of large buses provides adequate protection. But the NTSB switched its position last year after investigating two bus accidents in Tennessee and Maryland that collectively killed two people and injured 37.\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: It’s growing crowded inside the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang. What began in 2000 as a few dozen Vietnamese Catholics gathering at local homes on Sundays has flourished into a church with a growing campus and native-language Mass every day. Across three Sunday services, some 1,500 people crowd into the low-ceilinged chapel a few miles east of the Las Vegas Strip. “Right now we have over 200 youth that have activities here every Sunday,” Tuan Pham, a Vietnamese-American immigrant and the church’s event coordinator, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The growth of the community is so big.” The same can be said across the board for Asian-Americans, the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in Clark County around Las Vegas. According to census estimates, more than 220,000 Asian-Americans live in the county today – triple the population at the start of the millennium.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nConcord: The state, which hasn’t executed anyone in 80 years and has only one inmate on death row, on Thursday became the latest to abolish the death penalty when the state Senate voted to override the governor’s veto. The Senate vote came a week after the 400-member House voted by the narrowest possible margin to override Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s veto of a bill to repeal capital punishment. “Now it’s up to us to stop this practice that is archaic, costly, discriminatory and final,” said Sen. Melanie Levesque, D-Brookline. With New Hampshire’s action, 29 states allow capital punishment, but in four of them, governors have issued moratoriums on the death penalty, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Twenty-one states have abolished or overturned it.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nTrenton: The state is suing eight members of the family that founded opioid drug maker Purdue Pharma over the lethal toll of the drugs. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced the suit Thursday. He says the Sackler family wasn’t satisfied with “merely raking in” millions of dollars and instead wanted billions. Messages have been left with the family’s spokespeople. They’ve denied wrongdoing in response to other states’ claims. New Jersey is at least the 11th state to take legal action against one or more family members over the toll of opioids. Several states have announced allegations against the family in the past month. Opioids, including prescription painkillers and related drugs such as heroin, were involved in nearly 48,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2017, more than auto accidents kill annually.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nFarmington: The city is examining if it can ban the sale of miniature liquor bottles littering the grounds across town. Mayor Nate Duckett asked City Attorney Jennifer Breakell this month to investigate if the city could pass an ordinance banning the small booze bottles. The request came after a resident showed up at a City Council meeting with a bag full of mini liquor bottles he’d picked up while walking near an elementary school. New Mexico Petroleum Marketers Association state executive Ruben Baca said banning miniature liquor bottles from being sold would likely be a hard battle for the city to win. The Petroleum Marketers Association lobbies for convenience stores. “It will be challenged in court, and they’ll lose,” Baca said. When Albuquerque and Santa Fe have tried to enact related bans, courts have ruled that the sales are governed through the Liquor Control Act and that cities cannot pass ordinances or zoning codes restricting the sales.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York: Family members of recovery workers who died after digging through smoldering ruins joined city officials Thursday at a dedication ceremony for a new section of the Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. They were joined by recovery workers who themselves are ill. The 9/11 Memorial Glade honors rescue and recovery workers who were sickened or died after responding to the Sept. 11 attacks. The grassy clearing on the southwest corner of the 8-acre plaza includes a path flanked with six huge, sloping stone structures made of granite slabs inlaid with steel recovered from the fallen trade center towers. The larger memorial’s original architects, Michael Arad and Peter Walker, designed the memorial glade.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nCharlotte: A nightclub that served the black community during the era of segregation is now on a list of the nation’s 11 most endangered historic places. The Charlotte Observer reports the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed The Excelsior Club in Charlotte on the list, making it the first property in the state to make the list. It’s also designated as a historic landmark by the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Historic Landmarks Commission. Musicians like Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong performed there. Bill Clinton and Al Gore campaigned there, and locals went to the club to celebrate Barack Obama’s election as the first African American president. The club, which opened in 1944, closed in 2016. State Rep. Carla Cunningham, who owns the building, has filed paperwork to have it demolished.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: The state will continue to employ railroad safety inspectors to monitor crude oil shipments for at least two more years. The state-run rail safety pilot program that supplements federal oversight of oil train traffic began four years ago but was set to expire in July. Gov. Doug Burgum signed legislation this month that extends the program through 2021. Republican Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner says he believes the program will eventually become permanent. The program includes two rail safety inspectors to supplement inspections by the Federal Railroad Administration. The idea had been a campaign platform for Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak. Since the program’s inception in 2015, she says state inspectors have found about 6,000 “defects” on tracks and railroad rolling stock, resulting in more than 90 violations.\n\nOhio\n\nDelaware: A $10 million gift from an anonymous alumni couple is the largest single donation in the 177-year history of Ohio Wesleyan. The university says the gift will support the central Ohio school’s plans to renew its residential campus, including construction of new senior student apartments. The gift also will go toward plans to renovate and restore Slocum Hall, a 121-year-old campus landmark. The donation is part of $23.56 million in gifts and pledges to the university’s Connect Today, Create Tomorrow campaign. The $200 million campaign that began in July 2014 will provide money for scholarships, faculty innovation, living and learning environments, and real-world experiences. The fundraising campaign is set to end in 2021 and already has received more than $196 million in pledges and contributions.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: A former University of Oklahoma student is seeking class-action status for her federal lawsuit against the school for misreporting data used to nationally rank the university. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in federal district court in Oklahoma City on behalf of Elani Gretzer, who says she enrolled at OU’s Price College of Business in 2016 in part because of its national ranking by U.S. News. The company is well-known for its lists of the nation’s best colleges and universities. University officials acknowledged to the company last year that it had inflated its alumni giving data since 1999. The lawsuit estimates as many as 350,000 current and former students could be a part of the proposed class, with claims well in excess of $5 million.\n\nOregon\n\nSalem: The state will ban restaurants from offering single-use plastic straws under a measure on its way to the governor. The House voted 48-12 late Wednesday night to prohibit restaurants from providing single-use plastic straws unless a customer asks. Drive-thrus could still offer straws. Although the Senate already approved the measure, the chamber must still approve a technical change before the bill hits the governor’s desk. The World Economic Forum projects there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. Over 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year, though plastic straws make up less than 1% of ocean waste. Oregon would become the second in the nation after California to enact statewide restrictions on plastic straws.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nStrasburg: A barn fire in the heart of the state’s Amish country sent up a plume of smoke visible for 2 miles and required a hazardous materials team to respond for runoff into a nearby stream. LNP newspaper reports the Wednesday night blaze in Strasburg occurred on the site of Pop’s Produce Stand, a popular summer market, destroying the 50-by-100-foot barn. The fire chief said Thursday that the cause hasn’t been established, but the property owner had been doing some grinding in the barn about an hour before flames broke out. Strasburg is in Lancaster County, about 70 miles west of Philadelphia.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: The iconic Superman Building in the city is included on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual list of the nation’s most endangered historic places. The 2019 list highlights 11 architectural and cultural sites the private nonprofit deems at risk because of neglect, development or other threats. The 91-year-old vacant skyscraper is Rhode Island’s tallest building at about 430 feet. Formally the Industrial Trust Building, it resembles the Daily Planet headquarters in the old TV show. Katherine Malone-France, the National Trust’s interim chief preservation officer, says few buildings in Providence are as iconic or beloved, but the Superman Building has deferred maintenance needs after six years of vacancy. The National Trust says the list can mobilize support for preservation.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: A county elections and voter registration director has been fired. The State reports the Richland County elections agency’s new board voted 5-0 Wednesday to terminate Rokey Suleman’s service after it was discovered that the office failed to count more than 1,000 votes in the November midterm elections. Gov. Henry McMaster fired the agency’s entire board in February. Many voters thought Suleman was already out of the job, since he reportedly resigned after the count debacle. But he, in fact, had never resigned, saying he only agreed to leave if the board paid the rest of his contract, which expired April 30. McMaster fired the board before it could vote on that payout, so he stayed in the job. The new board will select Suleman’s replacement.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nRapid City: A student group wants the Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity. High school students from Working to Initiate Societal Equality told board members last week that the district’s anti-discrimination policy should be updated because it doesn’t include gender identity. The Rapid City Journal reports that the policy forbids harassment and discrimination based on “age, citizenship, color, creed, disability, ethnic background, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex,” sexual orientation or veteran status. The students brought the board a petition signed by about 240 of their peers. School Board President Ron Riherd says he understands the students’ point, but members have yet to discuss the proposal.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: State auditors have found water leaks at the new $160 million state museum. According to a report released Thursday, nine water leaks were reported between October and March. One leak was found in an electrical closet, another in an exhibition area. Officials say no artifacts were damaged, but some items were moved to prevent damage, and buckets were placed to catch falling water. Museum management officials say no new leaks have occurred since March 10, and they are continuing to work with the Department of General Services and their contracted providers on water issues. The 137,000-square-foot museum opened at Nashville’s Bicentennial Capitol Mall in early October after previously being housed in the basement of the James K. Polk building for nearly 40 years.\n\nTexas\n\nCorpus Christi: Let the digging begin. Ceremonies were held Wednesday to kick off expansion of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in a bid to attract larger oil tankers to the state. Illinois-based Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company won the $92 million contract to deepen and widen the channel as part of a more than $400 million project. The federal government and the Port of Corpus Christi are funding the upgrades, to be completed in 2022. The Corpus Christi Ship Channel depth will increase from 47 feet to 54 feet. The width will expand from 400 feet to 530 feet. Corpus Christi’s Harbor Bridge, which opened in 1959 with a 138-foot clearance, is being replaced with a larger span.\n\nUtah\n\nSalt Lake City: An ax-throwing business has been granted a license to sell beer after adding pool and billiard tables to the venue. A new liquor law that took effect May 14 raised questions about whether some locations could serve alcohol. It listed businesses that can have recreational beer licenses, including bowling alleys, concert venues, miniature golf courses and pool parlors, but did not include ax throwing or karaoke. The commission last month denied license requests from Social Axe and Heart and Seoul Karaoke, both in Salt Lake City. On Tuesday, Utah alcohol commissioners approved the license for Social Axe Throwing after finding that the addition of the pool and billiard tables on the premises satisfied a new law’s definition of a “recreational amenity.” Social Axe co-owner Mark Floyd told commissioners that they have “done everything” to comply with the law.\n\nVermont\n\nMontpelier: State police say they want body cameras, but cost is an issue. Vermont Public Radio reports 31 police agencies around Vermont are outfitted with body cameras, but state police are not. Vermont State Police Capt. Garry Scott says it’s frustrating because troopers and the public want the cameras, but it comes down to doing it the right way as far as storage methods and cost. Scott says that $260,000 a year for storage is a conservative estimate and that it needs to be determined whether a state-funded cloud system or private vendor is better. State Attorney General TJ Donovan says he’s optimistic state police will get body cameras, and it’s now best practice in law enforcement. Scott says the agency will continue working with lawmakers to secure body camera funding.\n\nVirginia\n\nBlacksburg: Virginia Tech wants to pay incoming in-state students to delay their start date and not attend the university for up to a year. The Roanoke Times reports the school budgeted $3.3 million to quell the expected 7,500-student freshman class, which officials have said would strain the town. The school has said this class would be its largest. It said the size was unanticipated, but engineering education professor Marie Paretti said that wasn’t true, as faculty predictions of the swollen class size were shared with administrators. The payment options include a $1,000 grant to take a gap year, tuition reimbursement for taking classes at a community college for a year, and tuition-free classes next summer for those who skip the upcoming fall or spring semester. Students can apply until June 6.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: A man took exception to a car-share vehicle that was parked without permission at his duplex – so he built a fence around it. Dan Smith tells KIRO-TV he doesn’t know who parked the car2go Mercedes on May 17, but it wasn’t one of his tenants. By the next day, he had erected the barricade, preventing other customers from using the vehicle. He wants Share Now, the company that operates car2go, to pay $65 a day in storage fees, $300 for the fence and up to $500 for “harassment fees.” The company says it has been unable to remove the sedan because of the fence. Its policy requires customers who park in unapproved areas to pay any towing and ticketing fees. The company says it does not tolerate having its vehicles held for ransom.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra will receive a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Orchestra officials say the award will help support the 2019-2020 season, helping make its music more accessible to more West Virginians. The orchestra, which is entering its 80th season, presents classical, pops and chamber-music concerts annually throughout the state. Officials say that the award, combined with support from the state Department of Arts, Culture and History, means the music will keep playing. The award was among grants approved recently by National Endowment for the Arts Acting Chairman Mary Anne Carter.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: A bipartisan proposal designed to help the state’s fledgling hemp industry as it enters its second year faces opposition from law enforcement agencies concerned about a provision that would allow drivers to have THC in their blood. The bill, heard by a Senate committee Thursday, is broadly designed to help farmers, hemp processors, retailers and consumers as the industry in Wisconsin explodes. “Hemp is Wisconsin’s comeback crop,” the bill’s lead sponsor, Sen. Patrick Testin, said at a news conference prior to the hearing. Wisconsin sheriffs, chiefs of police and district attorneys oppose a provision of the bill meant to prevent someone who has consumed a product made with trace amounts of THC, such as the marijuana and hemp derivative CBD, from being charged with operating while intoxicated.\n\nWyoming\n\nLaramie: The University of Wyoming is planning a $10 million expansion to its law school that coincides with the college’s centennial celebration next year. The Laramie Boomerang reports the renovation to the College of Law is expected to be completed in December 2020, but the university expects most of the project to be done in time for the celebration in September 2020. The university says U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is expected to speak for the law school celebration. Law school dean Klint Alexander told university trustees that $4 million has already been raised for the project, which is still in the design phase. The expansion project aims to bring the school’s various legal clinics into the law building.\n\nFrom staff and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/05/31"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_9", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": []}
{"question_id": "20230331_10", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/04/01/final-four-live-updates-san-diego-state-vs-fau-uconn-vs-miami/11576361002/", "title": "NCAA men's Final Four recap: UConn continues March Madness ...", "text": "The college basketball world will be focused on Houston, where the men's Final Four tipped off Saturday.\n\nThe Cinderellas have taken over the sport in the last two weeks and now four teams who each surprised during the tournament are ready to play after leaving busted brackets along the way.\n\nFlorida Atlantic, a school of about 25,000 students located in Boca Raton, Florida, made only its second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Owls blitzed through the East Region, but lost to San Diego State 72-71 after the Aztecs came back from a 14-point deficit and won the game on Lamont Butler's buzzer-beater.\n\nIn the second semifinal, UConn continued its March Madness domination, cruising past No. 5 Miami 72-59.\n\nFollow along for live updates throughout the night:\n\nUConn continues NCAA Tournament domination with win over Miami\n\nForward Adama Sanogo had a game-high 21 points and No. 4 Connecticut continued a historically dominant march through this NCAA men's basketball tournament with a 72-59 win against No. 5 Miami to reach Monday night's national championship game.\n\nThe Huskies will face No. 5 San Diego State, which beat No. 9 Florida Atlantic 72-71 in the first national semifinal on a last-second buzzer beater by guard Lamont Butler.\n\nThis has been an NCAA tournament for the ages for UConn, which has now beaten five teams by at least 13 points: No. 13 Iona (87-63), No. 5 Saint Mary's (70-55), No. 8 Arkansas (88-65), No. 3 Gonzaga (82-54) and the Hurricanes.\n\nWhile the Aztecs are the first team in men's tournament history to win Elite Eight and Final Four games by one point apiece, UConn was only the eighth team to reach the semifinals having defeated four opponents by 15 or more points.\n\nThis one, like the wins against Arkansas and Gonzaga, saw the Huskies in almost wire-to-wire control.\n\n— Paul Myerberg\n\nMiami's Nijel Pack on bench with broken shoe\n\nHurricanes sophomore guard Nijel Pack is on the bench with what CBS reports is a broken shoe. The team checked the locker room for a replacement and an assistant came to the bench with a pair of black sneakers. Pack looked them over before shaking his head and handing them back. The assistant ran back to the locker room as Jordan Hawkins made a pair of free throws to extend Connecticut's lead to 53-40.\n\nPack has eight points for the Hurricanes.\n\nPack returned to the court with about four minutes left in the game. SportsCenter reports that the UConn staff found a pair of shoes for him to wear.\n\nThe UConn Huskies take their largest lead of the game into the half, up 13 points over the Miami Hurricanes after Joey Calcaterra made a three-point shot at the buzzer. The Huskies go into the break up 37-24.\n\nThe Hurricanes tied the game at 19 with 8:23 on the clock, but UConn went on an 8-0 run to take back the lead. Miami was held to only nine field goals in the first half.\n\nHuskies junior forward Adama Sanogo is the game's leading scorer with 13 points. Senior guard Jordan Miller has seven points for Miami.\n\nConnecticut star guard Jordan Hawkins has not scored since opening the game with a 3-point bucket.\n\nThere is a small window where college basketball intersects with Major League Baseball and Saturday hit the sweet spot. The San Diego Padres were hosting the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park and the starting lineups were being announced right as Lamont Butler won San Diego State's Final Four game with a buzzer-beater. The game was being broadcast on the stadium's video boards and the crowd cheered loudly as their hometown team advanced to its first national championship game.\n\nThe Miami Hurricanes didn't stay down for long as they erased a 10-point deficit in five minutes of play. Nijel Pack scored a three-point shot with 8:23 in the first half to tie the game at 19 and slow down the Connecticut Huskies' momentum.\n\nThe Hurricanes went on a 15-5 run kicked off by a trey from star guard Isaiah Wong.\n\nThe Connecticut Huskies wasted no time in asserting themselves over the Miami Hurricanes. Six minutes into the game, Tristen Newton made a 3-point shot to put the Huskies up 14-4. Adama Sanogo had two buckets from behind the arc to build UConn's lead. Miami is shooting 2-of-14 from the field, for a shooting percentage of 0.143.\n\nUConn sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins is set to start after battling a stomach bug this week, CBS' Tracy Wolfson reported prior to the team's Final Four game against the Miami Hurricanes. He didn't practice Friday and received \"round the clock treatment.\" He was participating in shootaround prior to tipoff Saturday night.\n\nHawkins averaged 16.3 points for the Huskies during the regular season and is averaging 17.3 points in the NCAA tournament. He had 24 points in the Sweet 16 win against the Arkansas Razorbacks.\n\nHe scored the first points of the game, a three-point shot.\n\nThe San Diego State Aztecs beat the Florida Atlantic Owls 72-71 Saturday in Houston to advance to their first national championship game.\n\nLamont Butler made the game-winning shot at the buzzer after San Diego State trailed the entire second half.\n\n\"The plan was just to get downhill, they cut me off a little bit, I looked back, there was two seconds left, so I got to a shot that I was comfortable with,\" Butler said on ESPN after the game, \"and I hit it. I'm happy.\"\n\nThe Aztecs were down by as many as 14 points and tied the game at 65 with 4:05 on the clock. The Owls answered with a jumpshot from Giancarlo Rosad, but couldn't quite pull away comfortably. It's the fifth-largest comeback in Final Four history.\n\nFlorida Atlantic's sophomore guard Alijah Martin was the game's leading scorer with 26 points. Aztecs senior guard Matt Bradley had 21 points.\n\nAfter being down by as many as 14 points, the San Diego Aztecs tied the game at 65 points with 4:26 left on the clock in Final Four action. The team came within two of the Florida Atlantic Owls multiple times, but senior forward Aguek Arop made the jumper that finally leveled the score. San Diego has 11 offensive rebounds compared with Florida Atlantic's seven, which is helping the Aztecs in their comeback.\n\nThe Florida Atlantic Owls have maintained their lead through the second half, but not without a fight from the San Diego State Aztecs. Brian Dutcher's team is within two after going on a 16-4 run, capped off by a pair of free throws from Matt Bradley. The senior guard had a key three-point shot in the run. The Aztecs are down 60-58 with 9:05 on the clock.\n\nSan Diego State also had a short 5-0 run to start the period that shook the Owls' momentum.\n\nWomen's Final Four does big ratings for ESPN\n\nWith South Carolina's Aliyah Boston and Iowa's Caitlin Clark facing off in the women's Final Four on Friday night, ratings were expected to be high.\n\nThey were record-setting for ESPN, the network announced Saturday.\n\nESPN, which broadcast both NCAA Tournament semifinal games, said the LSU-Virginia Tech early game averaged 3.4 million viewers with a peak of 5 million across network platforms. That was up 57% from last year's early game.\n\nIowa-South Carolina averaged 5.5 million with a peak of 6.6 million, up 72% from last year's late game.\n\nBoth games drew record audiences for a college basketball game – men's or women's – on ESPN+, the network said.\n\n— Mike Brehm\n\nThe Florida Atlantic Owls are up 40-33 over the San Diego State Aztecs at the half. The Owls' lead was as large as 10, but Keshad Johnson made a 3-point shot with 39 seconds on the clock to keep the difference single digits.\n\n\"We've been able to open up some gaps and drive those gaps,\" Owls head coach Dusty May said on the CBS broadcast. He said his message to the team in the locker room will be to keep playing, \"frame by frame, possession by possession.\"\n\nSan Diego State is shooting 13-of-29 from the field, but has gone 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.\n\nAztecs senior guard Matt Bradley is the game's leading scorer with 11 points. He's made three treys. For the Owls, freshman guard Nicholas Boyd has nine points.\n\nFlorida Atlantic and San Diego State are playing in their first Final Four game. The Owls made a statement first, going up 5-0 with a three-point bucket from Nicholas Boyd and a jumpshot from Johnell Davis. The Aztecs crept ahead with back-to-back baskets from Matt Bradley, but Florida Atlantic took the lead again with a 16-3 run. The Owls are up 21-17 halfway through the first half.\n\nWhen does Men's NCAA Tournament Final Four start?\n\nThe first national semifinal between Florida Atlantic and San Diego State tips off at 6:09 p.m. ET on Saturday.\n\nThe second game between UConn and Miami will begin 30 minutes after the first game finishes, at approximately 8:49 p.m. ET.\n\nThe winners of the two semifinals will meet in the men's national championship game, which will be played on Monday, April 3, starting at 9:20 p.m. ET.\n\nMiami coach Jim Larranaga has elite March Madness dance moves\n\nThe Miami Hurricanes football team of the 1980s won three national championships and was known for its dance moves, flips, touchdown celebrations and sack celebrations.\n\nThe men's basketball team carries on the legacy as this season, head coach Jim Larrañaga has led his players to the program's first Final Four. Since taking over the Hurricanes in 2011, he has led Miami to four Sweet 16 appearances and back-to-back Elite Eight berths, including this year's run.\n\nAll along the way, he has shimmied and two-stepped along with his team in each victory celebration, delighting fans across the country.\n\n\"It's really about March Madness is the big dance,\" Larrañaga said on CBS' Final Four Show. \"You have to have fun. And everybody loves dancing.\"\n\n- Victoria Hernandez\n\nBIG DANCE:Jim Larrañaga has some elite March Madness dance moves\n\nFinal Four predictions\n\nThe NCAA men's tournament field has been whittled from 68 to four in a matter of two weeks of postseason games. The remaining quartet arrives in Houston with just one of the top 16 seeds remaining. That school, No. 4 Connecticut, will be joined by three first-time Final Four participants – No. 5 seeds San Diego State and Miami (Florida) and No. 9 Florida Atlantic.\n\nHere's who the USA TODAY Sports has to win:\n\nFAU vs. San Diego State\n\nDan Wolken: FAU\n\nPaul Myerberg: SDSU\n\nEddie Timanus: SDSU\n\nErick Smith: SDSU\n\nMiami vs. UConn\n\nWolken: UConn\n\nMyerberg: UConn\n\nTimanus: Miami\n\nSmith: UConn\n\nWill Florida Atlantic stay together after Final Four?\n\nIn the era of the transfer portal, the most pressing concern for FAU is retaining a talented but overlooked roster put on national display during four successive NCAA men's tournament wins.\n\n\"Without a doubt, it's going to be fluid every single day,\" coach Dusty May said. \"And until the ball is tipped up next season, you may not know truly who your roster is going to be, and it's part of it. Luckily, I'm still relatively young and have a lot of energy, because I don't think there's going to be a day where you can just relax and not fear your phone buzzing.\"\n\n– Paul Myerberg\n\nHow Michigan's Fab Five legacy runs through San Diego State\n\nSan Diego State's Final Four run traces back to the glory and heartache of the Fab Five era at Michigan, where current Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher was an assistant under Steve Fisher.\n\n“I’ve heard from all five of them,” Dutcher told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. “They texted me 'Good luck,' 'Congratulations,' 'Go get ‘em.' \"\n\n– Brent Schrotenboer\n\nConnecticut's Sanogo manages fasting for Ramadan while leading team's Final Four run\n\nHOUSTON — Nine minutes before Saturday’s second national semifinal is scheduled to tip off, Connecticut center Adama Sanogo is going to eat.\n\nIt won’t be much. Maybe just some oranges and coconut water, but he will get something in his stomach. And that’s going to be a lot better than what Sanogo had to deal with last weekend at the West Regional in Las Vegas.\n\n“I’m not trying to think about it,” he said. “The more you’re thinking about it, the more it’s hard to do it.”\n\nSanogo, a native of Mali who has arguably been UConn’s best player during the NCAA men’s tournament, is Muslim and currently observing Ramadan, a month where he is not allowed to eat or drink from sunrise to sunset.\n\n- Dan Wolken\n\nSDSU assistant Mark Fisher, living with ALS, is helping Aztecs at Final Four\n\nThe assistant confined to a wheelchair helps explain the makeup of the men’s Final Four.\n\nMore specifically, to understand how fifth-seeded San Diego State earned the school’s first trip to the Final Four where it will be playing Saturday against Florida Atlantic in Houston, it helps to know Mark Fisher, who serves as an assistant to Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher.\n\nHe is the son of Steve Fisher, the retired basketball coach who won a national championship with Michigan in 1989 and took the school back to the Final Four in 1992 and 1993 with the celebrated \"Fab Five.\"\n\nMore importantly, Mark Fisher, 44, has no use of his arms and legs.\n\nBut before tip-off here is some essential reading to get you ready.\n\n– Josh Peter\n\nFrom FAU's nasty locker rooms to the Final Four\n\nHOUSTON — In May of 2008, Craig Angelos was looking for something that would give Florida Atlantic basketball a spark. So he drove two miles from campus and went to church.\n\nThe purpose of the trip wasn’t prayer, even though the program could have used some. Angelos, then FAU’s athletics director, had gone to meet with Mike Jarvis, the former George Washington and St. John’s coach who had moved to Boca Raton and become an influential member at Spanish River Church. They did the interview right there in the pastor's office.\n\n“He was a great coach, but I also thought, he’s part of this 6,000-member church right by FAU,” said Angelos, now a senior deputy athletics director at Long Island University. “So if we have any of his friends come to games, maybe 100 or 200 or even 1,000 because they want to support their fellow church member, that’s a huge plus. In Boca, you need a guy who can do more than just coach.”\n\n– Dan Wolken\n\nWill Miami's Norchard Omier play football?\n\nHOUSTON — The University of Miami birthed one of the great basketball-to-football conversions of all time when Jimmy Graham, a four-year basketball role player for the Hurricanes, picked up football as a graduate student in 2009.\n\nNFL scouts saw enough of Graham’s size, speed and athleticism in that one year of college football to make him a third-round draft pick. He went on to catch 713 passes in the NFL, make five Pro Bowls and become one of the best tight ends of his generation.\n\nPeople who watch Miami for the first time Saturday when they play Connecticut in the Final Four may get flashbacks when they see center Norchad Omier, a 6-foot-7 block of steel whose physical profile suggests he could be a big-time NFL prospect.\n\n- Dan Wolken\n\nHere are some stories to get you ready before tip-off.\n\nWHO IS TAKING THE TITLE?: See USA TODAY staff's Final Four staff predictions\n\nEXPECTING SURPRISES: Five bold predictions for the men's NCAA Tournament's Final Four\n\nANOTHER RUN?: Three ways Florida Atlantic's team can stay together\n\n30 YEARS LATER: Fab Five legacy lives with San Diego State at Final Four", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/04/01"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaw/2023/03/28/ncaa-womens-basketball-final-four-teams-games-times-tv-streaming/11556181002/", "title": "Women's March Madness Final Four 2023: Schedule, times ...", "text": "After four exciting rounds, the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament has reached the Final Four with No. 1 seeds South Carolina and Virginia Tech, No. 2 seed Iowa and No. 3 seed LSU the last teams standing.\n\nSouth Carolina (36-0) is seeking its second consecutive and third national championship overall under coach Dawn Staley, and the Gamecocks are riding a 42-game winning streak dating back to the start of last year's NCAA tournament. Virginia Tech under coach Kenny Brooks, Iowa under coach Lisa Bluder and LSU under coach Kim Mulkey are each seeking a first title — though Mulkey coached Baylor to three national championships before coming to Baton Rouge.\n\nOf the four teams, LSU (32-2) has six Final Four appearances, though this is the Tigers' first since 2008, while South Carolina is playing in its fifth Final Four — all since 2015. Iowa (30-6) is making its second Final Four appearance and first since 1993, while Virginia Tech (31-4) is the newcomer, with the Hokies advancing to their first.\n\nHere is all the information you need to get ready for the NCAA women's basketball Final Four, Friday at American Airlines Center in Dallas:\n\nOPINION:Don't be fooled when South Carolina appears challenged. The kill is coming.\n\nOPINION:Iowa's Caitlin Clark is perfect player at perfect time for women's basketball\n\nWhen are the NCAA women's Final Four games?\n\nNo. 1 Virginia Tech faces No. 3 LSU at 7 p.m. ET, followed by No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 2 Iowa at 9 p.m. ET. Both games are Friday, March 31.\n\nWhat TV channels are the NCAA women's Final Four games on?\n\n— ESPN and ESPNU are each broadcasting both games with Ryan Ruocco (play-by-play), Rebecca Lobo (color commentary), Holly Rowe (sideline) and Andraya Carter (sideline) on the call.\n\n— ESPN2 will televise \"The Bird And Taurasi Show presented by AT&T\" at the same times, with women's basketball superstars Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi analyzing the games along with special guests.\n\n— Both ESPN and ESPN2 will televise a pre-game show beginning at 6 p.m. ET.\n\nWill there be a live stream of the NCAA women's Final Four?\n\nBoth games can be streamed on Watch ESPN, ESPN+ and the ESPN app.\n\nWho are the players to watch for each team?\n\n— Virginia Tech: C Elizabeth Kitley, senior (18.2 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 2.3 bpg); G Georgia Amoore, junior (16.3 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.0 prg).\n\n— LSU: F Angel Reese, sophomore (23.2 ppg, 15.7 rpg, 1.6 bpg); G Alexis Morris, senior (14.9 ppg, 4.1 apg, 1.9 spg).\n\n— South Carolina: F Aliyah Boston, senior (13.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.0 bpg); G Zia Cooke, senior (15.1 ppg, 2.0 apg, 1.9 rpg).\n\n— Iowa: G Caitlin Clark, junior (27.3 ppg, 8.6 apg, 7.3 rpg); F/C Monika Czinano, fifth year (17.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.4 apg ).", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2023/03/25/ohio-state-stuns-uconn-in-sweet-16-to-advance-to-elite-eight/70041120007/", "title": "Ohio State stuns UConn in Sweet 16 to advance to NCAA women's ...", "text": "SEATTLE — In 1993, the Ohio State women's basketball team made its first and only trip to the Final Four. In every NCAA Tournament since then — all 29 of them — Connecticut has made it at least to the Sweet 16, has won 11 national championships and has made 14 straight Final Fours, while the Buckeyes haven't made it past the Sweet 16.\n\nOn Saturday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, facing the Huskies in the Sweet 16, Ohio State changed that. With an 73-61 win, the Buckeyes snapped UConn's historic Final Four streak and are in the Elite Eight for the first time since the Katie Smith-led Final Four run 30 years ago.\n\nFreshman forward Cotie McMahon, unafraid of the largest stage she's played on, led the Buckeyes with 23 points.\n\nThe Buckeyes will play No. 1 seed Virginia Tech on Monday for a spot in the Final Four. Virginia Tech defeated 73-64 Tennessee on Saturday.\n\n\"We have tremendous respect for Connecticut and all that they have accomplished forever, but certainly this year,\" Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. \"I told the team, they certainly have had incredible success that no one will ever match again as a program. But they have a really good team this year. They just started getting healthy at the right time. I think we beat one of the best teams in the country today.\"\n\nThe first four minutes were the exact kind of start Ohio State was looking to avoid. UConn built a 10-2 lead, as the Buckeyes struggled to slow the Huskies down in the half court and couldn't score at the other end of the floor.\n\nBut after a timeout with 5:57 left in the first quarter, Ohio State no longer looked helpless in the face of UConn's talent. The tide didn't immediately turn, but the Buckeyes began to settle in and slowly chipped away at the Huskies' lead. By the 3:57 mark, led by a layup and a made free throw by McMahon, they'd cut the lead to five points, and started to force more and more turnovers with their full-court press.\n\n\"Our goal is to make teams feel uncomfortable and speed them up a little bit,\" senior guard Jacy Sheldon said. \"When we get turnovers and finishes, that just gets us more excited to continue to do that throughout the game.\"\n\nThe Huskies had a scoring drought from 2:37 left in the first quarter to 5:27 of the second. By the end of the first quarter, Ohio State trailed by just two points, and the Buckeyes forced four turnovers over the final three minutes of the quarter.\n\nMcMahon, who entered the game 13 of 52 from beyond the arc on the season, hit a 3 to give Ohio State its first lead just over a minute into the second quarter, and she came right back down the floor to make another 41 seconds later. By the time the Huskies ended their scoring drought, the Buckeyes had come from eight points down to take a seven-point lead, 26-19.\n\nBy the end of the first half, UConn trailed 36-26 — just the fifth time in NCAA Tournament history that UConn faced a double-digit deficit at halftime. The Huskies were 0-5 in those games, and they're now 0-6.\n\nThe Buckeyes forced 18 turnovers in the first half, two more than the Huskies' average of 16 per game, and 25 in the game.\n\n\"Ohio State just outplayed us and took us out of a bunch of stuff that we want to do,\" UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. \"It's unfortunate that we chose tonight to play the way we did, but I think Ohio State had so much to do with that. I thought Kevin's team was really, really good and really well prepared. They knew exactly what they wanted to do and what to take away from us.\n\n\"We lost our balance and we lost our equilibrium a little bit and I don't think we ever got it back.\"\n\nTo open the third quarter, the teams traded baskets, but a nearly-four minute scoring drought for Ohio State in the middle of the quarter gave UConn an opening. The Huskies took advantage, making four baskets in a row to get within five points at 44-39.\n\nBut out of the ensuing timeout, senior guard Taylor Mikesell made a jump shot — just her second basket of the game — to put the Buckeyes back up by seven, and Ohio State remained just far enough in front for the rest of the quarter. Every time it looked like UConn could break the game open, the Buckeyes responded, refusing to let the Huskies get on a roll.\n\nGuard Azzi Fudd cut the lead to eight with 21 seconds left in the third quarter, but Thierry's layup with just four seconds left put Ohio State back up by 10 points heading into the final 10 minutes.\n\nMikesell was visibly playing through pain — often receiving treatment on her hamstrings during timeouts — but she made her first 3-pointer of the game to open the fourth quarter. She finished with just nine points, only the third time she's scored in single digits this season, but she played 38:31 despite not being 100% healthy.\n\n\"(Mikesell) will run through a brick wall for any of us, even if she's on one leg,\" Sheldon said. \"She's as tough as it gets. She's an amazing player. ... She creates driving lanes for every single person on this team because she's so dangerous offensively. She's an incredible person, a great teammate, and she's tough as nails.\"\n\nMoments after Mikesell's 3, redshirt junior guard Rikki Harris went on a solo 5-0 run, with two free throws and a 3, to give Ohio State a 16-point lead, its largest of the game. UConn chipped into the deficit from that point.\n\nBut after the Huskies got within 10 points with 4:31 to go, on the next possession, McMahon rolled in a layup with just two seconds left on the shot clock, drew a foul and calmly made the free throw to complete the three-point play. UConn had several opportunities to get back in the game over the final three minutes, but Ohio State never allowed it.\n\nWith under 30 seconds left, Sheldon could calmly dribble at the top of the key, just waiting for the clock to run out and secure the Buckeyes' historic victory.\n\n\"You don't, obviously, want to come into a game expecting to lose or kind of even being nervous,\" McMahon said. \"I feel like, we as a team, we weren't nervous. We looked at it as any other game. I feel like that's really what helped us not to feed in to the fact that they are UConn, this great program, and not to feed into the media and how much they were hyping UConn up.\n\n\"We really stayed in our lane, stayed focused, and believed in each other, and I feel like that's really what set us apart from other teams, who lose the game before it even tips off.\"\n\nbjohnson@dispatch.com\n\n@BaileyAJohnson_\n\nGet more Ohio State news by listening to our podcasts", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/25"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/26/march-madness-bracket-updates-elite-eight-ncaa-tournament-final-four/11544361002/", "title": "Men's NCAA Tournament Elite 8 recap: Miami joins San Diego State ...", "text": "The Miami, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic men's basketball teams are in the Final Four for the first time.\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State rallied to beat No. 6 Creighton in the first of two Elite Eight games on Sunday after each program advanced out of the Sweet 16 for the first time. Darrion Trammell's free throw with 1.2 seconds to play lifted the Aztecs to a 57-56 win. San Diego State will play Florida Atlantic on Saturday night.\n\nNo. 5 Miami defeated No. 2 Texas after staging a huge second-half rally. Miami will face UConn, which routed Gonzaga 82-54, in the Final Four.\n\nBrackets:See how the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments have played out\n\nFollow along for Sunday's NCAA men's tournament action:\n\nThe No. 5 Miami Hurricanes defeated the No. 2 Texas Longhorns, 88-81, in Kansas City to earn their first trip to the Final Four. The Hurricanes were down as many as 13, but came back in the second half to rally and win the game.\n\nSenior guard Jordan Miller led Miami with 27 points and shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the field along with 13-13 in free throws. The only other player to go perfect from the floor and the charity stripe was Duke's Christian Laettner in a 1992 game against Kentucky.\n\n\"No one wanted to go home. We played, we came together, we stuck together, we showed really good perseverance and the will to just get there,\" Miller said after the game as his teammates stormed around him.\n\nThe Hurricanes were knocked out the tournament last year in the Elite Eight, so the win serves as a redemption for the team.\n\nHead coach Jim Larrañaga took George Mason to its first Final Four in 2006, exactly 17 years ago from the day that he did so with the Hurricanes.\n\nSenior guard Marcus Carr led the Longhorns with 17 points. Senior forward Timmy Allen and senior guard Sir'Jabari Rice added 16 and 15 points, respectively.\n\nThe Hurricanes and Longhorns are battling it out in the second half as Miami came back to take the lead after being down by as many as 13 points.\n\nThey went on a 13-2 run to take a 73-72, capped off by a free throw by Norchad Omier.\n\nTexas answered back with a three-point shot from Tyrese Hunter to take a short lead before Isaiah Wong scored a jumper to tie the game at 75.\n\nThe teams have traded buckets with the score tied at 77 with 2:40 left in the game.\n\nThe Texas Longhorns carried their momentum from the end of the first half into the second half. Thirty seconds in, Marcus Carr found Dillon Mitchell for a monster dunk. The team had a 6-0 run to extend its lead beyond double digits and continued to dominate from beyond the arc, making nine three-point shots compared to Miami's two.\n\nThe Longhorns are up 62-49 with 14:04 on the clock.\n\nHalftime: Texas 45, Miami 37\n\nThe first half between No. 5 Miami and No. 2 Texas flew by, as the teams combined for only nine called fouls and play pushed well past the automatic television stoppages.\n\nTexas caught fire at the end of the first half and scored on seven of its last eight possessions. That didn't count a final one in which the Longhorns were fouled on a three-point attempt. Texas has shot lights out from beyond the arc, hitting 7-of-13 attempts (53.8%). Interestingly, Texas actually averages seven made three-pointers per game. The Longhorns have nearly half of their total points (21) coming from players off the bench.\n\nMiami guard Jordan Miller is carrying the Hurricanes and hasn't missed any of his six shot attempts. He leads all scorers with 13 points. While the Hurricanes were aggressive in the first half in attacking the paint, many of their baskets have come from individual efforts, with the Hurricanes assisting on only six of their 16 field goals. The Longhorns, by comparison, have 14 assists on 17 field goals.\n\nMiami, Texas locked in a back-and-forth battle\n\nAt different points in the first half, both No. 5 Miami and No. 2 Texas have had to weather shots from their opponents, only to respond. What has made this an interesting game is that both squads are doing it differently.\n\nThe Longhorns are doing it from deep and on the bench. Texas has converted 5-of-11 three-point attempts and has 13 bench points; that compares to the Hurricanes going just 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and having only two points off the bench.\n\nWhere Miami is dominating is in the paint. Eight of the 12 Hurricane field goals have been in the paint, and Miami is also pushing the tempo, trying to get numbers out on the break. Hurricanes guard Jordan Miller leads all players with 11 points, while Longhorns forward Timmy Allen has posted 10.\n\nTexas leads 31-28, with 4:33 left to play in the half.\n\nMiami aggressive, getting to the cup early, but Texas roars back\n\nNo. 5 Miami raced out to a seven-point lead by being aggressive and attacking the basket; each of the first six Hurricanes shots came inside the paint, with Miami converting four.\n\nNo. 2 Texas, however, scored seven unanswered in a minute-and-a-half of play to tie the game, 9-9, just more than five minutes into the game.\n\nThe Longhorns are edging Miami 5-2 on the boards and shooting 37.5% from the floor. The Hurricanes are isshooting 57.1%. Miami guard Jordan Miller leads all players in the early going with five points.\n\nBishop gets the start for injured Disu in Texas' matchup vs. Miami\n\nTexas forward Christian Bishop will start only his second game of the season with the injury to Dylan Disu, who suffered a bone bruise on his left foot in the second round. Bishop, a 6-foot-8 senior, has started 86 of his 161 career games, but Sunday’s Elite Eight contest against No. 5 seed Miami marks only his second start this season.\n\nBishop certainly took care of his business in Friday’s win over Xavier, when he came off the bench and scored a game-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds while playing 24 minutes after Disu played only two minutes in the Sweet 16 game. That performance mirrors his career stats; he’s made 61% of his shots and averaged almost 10 rebounds and more than 15 points per 40 minutes in his five college seasons.\n\nBishop transferred from Creighton before last season, and this season marks his first as a reserve since his freshman campaign with the Bluejays in 2018-19. Now he’ll seek to send No. 2 seed Texas into its fourth Final Four in school history.\n\n— Thomas Jones, Austin American-Statesman\n\nFor the first time in program history, SDSU reaches Final Four\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State held a two-point lead with 34.2 seconds left in the game. All the Aztecs had to do was inbounds the ball successfully and convert free throws. Instead, an errant pass gifted No. 6 Creighton an easy layup under the basket to tie the game.\n\nThe Aztecs, however, recovered, and guard Darrion Trammell was fouled on his game-winning floater attempt down the left side of the lane as the clock ticked down. The foul call instantly set social media ablaze, debating the merits of a call like that in such a tense moment in the game, but Creighton guard Ryan Nembhard did place his left hand on Trammell's back as he took the shot.\n\nWith a trip to the Final Four on the line, Trammell missed the first free throw but drained the second. Creighton's desperation inbound heave caromed off of a scrum of players and did not leave enough time on the clock for the Bluejays to get a final shot.\n\nSan Diego State won, 57-56 and will face Florida Atlantic in Saturday's semifinals.\n\nFinally, the Aztecs regain the lead\n\nMore than 30 minutes of game time elapsed before No. 5 San Diego State finally regained a lead three-quarters of the way through the second half. From then on, the Aztecs regained offensive efficiency, confidently converting pull-up jumpers off of pick-and-roll action.\n\nWhat’s not helping No. 6 Creighton is the sheer volume of shots missed in the paint, as the Bluejays have four missed field goals in the paint in the second half.\n\nThe Aztecs hold a 52-50 lead with 3:30 to play, and a trip to the Final Four on the line.\n\nCreighton goes cold, SDSU still can't quite get over hump\n\nNo. 6 Creighton went more than four minutes without a point midway through the second half, but No. 5 San Diego State simply cannot find enough consistency on the offensive end to erase the Bluejay lead.\n\nEvery time the Aztecs pull closer, they seem to get cold until Creighton is able to string together a basket or two. While both teams are struggling from three-point range — the two have combined to 5-of-26 (19.2%) — San Diego State is not backing away from more attempts, even if they’re not dropping. The Aztecs though, are putting forth plus effort on the offensive glass, and now hold an 11-8 edge over Creighton in that space.\n\nSan Diego State has done a tremendous job on Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who only has three points after intermission, in the second half.\n\nThe Bluejays hold a 45-41 lead with 7:40 left in the game.\n\nCreighton holding steady, SDSU starts slow\n\nBoth offenses struggled from the floor to open the second half, though No. 5 San Diego State’s 6-2 mini-run closed the deficit before No. 6 Creighton’s consecutive trips to the free throw line (including an and-one on the second possession) kept the Bluejays ahead.\n\nThe Aztecs have clogged the lane with a 2-3 zone that has made it more difficult for Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner to receive the ball in the post. And San Diego State is actually picking up the slack on the offensive glass in the second half, but is struggling from the field, converting just 5-of-18 (27.8%) shots after halftime.\n\nCreighton leads 43-39 with 11:30 to play in the game.\n\nAztec guard Lamont Butler leads all players with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting.\n\nHalftime: Creighton 33, San Diego State 28\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State has settled a touch on offense, in large part to the play of guard Lamont Butler, who paces the Aztecs at the half with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.\n\nThere are some warning signs, however, for San Diego State: it is being outrebounded by a margin of 16-14, though minutes earlier, it was 13-7. The Aztecs and have assisted on only two of their 13 field goals. Another concern? San Diego State has taken just one trip to the line and missed that free throw.\n\nDespite all that, the Aztecs are taking a five-point deficit into the second half after Creighton went 3:20 without a field goal in the middle of the first half.\n\nThe Bluejays did bounce back from their cold spell and are riding the play of Ryan Kalkbrenner (10 points), Baylor Scheierman (seven points) and Ryan Nembhard (seven points) combining for 72.7% of Creighton’s points.\n\nSan Diego State's bench is outscoring Creighton's 8-0.\n\nCreighton building modest lead\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State went nearly two-and-a-half minutes without a field goal early in the first half, allowing No. 6 Creighton to start to build a modest lead. The Bluejays are moving the ball fairly well and getting everyone involved; by the midway point of the first half, all five starters had scored. In fact, all starters have combined for 9-of-17 (52.9%) shooting from the floor.\n\nOne area where the Aztecs are performing well, however, is on perimeter defense. San Diego State has held Creighton to 1-of-6 shooting from three-point range. The Aztecs, though, need to play with more composure, having committed four turnovers and four player fouls.\n\nThe Bluejays are up 22-16, with 7:40 left to play in the first half.\n\nSiblings face off for Final Four spot\n\nNot only are San Diego State and Creighton playing for a spot in the Final Four, but a pair of brothers are playing for bragging rights against another once again.\n\nCreighton sophomore forward Arthur Kaluma and San Diego State senior guard Adam Seiko are meeting against each other in the Elite Eight matchup, the second straight year they will do so in the tournament. Last year, Kaluma and Creighton won their first round matchup against the Aztecs in overtime, 72-69.\n\nBefore the Sweet 16, Seiko said it would be a “surreal feeling” if the two teams met with a Final Four berth on the line.\n\n“Something I can’t even put into words, really,” Seiko said.\n\nThe siblings' mother, Saira Eva Ariko, is in attendance for the game in Louisville.\n\n— Jordan Mendoza\n\nOffenses finding footing early on in Creighton-SDSU\n\nThe perimeter shooting from both teams slagged to start the game between No. 6 Creighton and No. 5 San Diego State, with both teams putting up an airball on three-point attempts on consecutive possessions. But the importance of post play and rebounding already showed its weight, as Creighton forward Arthur Kaluma's offensive board two minutes into the game led to center Ryan Kalkbrenner's flush on an alley-oop feed from guard Trey Alexander.\n\nBoth squads have combined to go 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Kalkbrenner leads the way early with six points on 3-of-5 shooting. Creighton holds an 8-7 lead with 14:05 left to play in the first half.\n\nSunday's Elite Eight slate\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 6 Creighton: San Diego State's defense is off the charts – just ask Alabama. The Aztecs held the top overall seed to 32.4% shooting and completely bottled up future lottery pick Brandon Miller, who finished with just nine points on 3 of 19 shooting, including just one make in 10 attempts from deep. But Creighton could put this defense to the test. The Bluejays have scored at least 80 points in five of the past seven games and are shooting 50.6% from the field in tournament play.\n\nNo. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Miami: After some early struggles, Miami's backcourt has taken over games to help the Hurricanes earn a second trip in a row to the regional finals. Nijel Pack has been on point since the start of tournament play, averaging a team-best 19.7 points per game and dropping a season-high 26 points to lead Miami into the Elite Eight. Texas has gone 22-7 since Rodney Terry replaced Chris Beard in December and is in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008 and just the second time since the tournament expanded from eight teams in 1951. Under Terry, the Longhorns have fought through off-court drama and injuries to peak at the right time.\n\n— Paul Myerberg\n\nBluejays, Aztecs have familiarity\n\nWhile in different regions of the country, Creighton and San Diego State are not unfamiliar with each other.\n\nMonths ago, the Bluejays and Aztecs shared a chartered flight to the Maui Invitational. Creighton coach Greg McDermott said he sat across from San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher and talked about wanting to face off in the championship because \"we would be OK with one of us winning and one of us losing.\"\n\nLittle did they know their meeting this season would be on a bigger stage.\n\n— Paul Myerberg\n\nTexas' Dylan Disu dealing with injury\n\nDylan Disu, Texas' best player this postseason, played less than two minutes in the Longhorns' Sweet 16 win against Xavier with what team officials called a bone bruise in his left foot. He's officially day-to-day.\n\nHe spent most of the game with a walking boot on his left foot. Team officials said he suffered the bone bruise in the win over Penn State in the second round last Saturday. He practiced some but aggravated the injury late in the week.\n\n— Thomas Jones, Austin American-Statesman\n\nFlorida Atlantic most-surprising Final Four team ever?\n\nIt has become more and more common in recent years for an overlooked, out-of-nowhere tournament team to get hot at the right time and march all the way to the Final Four. Of the nine teams to reach the national semifinals as a No. 9 seed or higher, six have occurred since 2013.\n\nThe Owls' run to Houston is among the most unexpected Final Four teams since the tournament expanded that same season. There are eight teams that have shocked the nation most by advancing from off the radar to the national semifinals.\n\n— Paul Myerberg\n\nUConn is now the team to beat -- and Huskies know it\n\nParity in college basketball, huh? UConn didn’t get the memo.\n\nAll those close calls, all those middling years in the wilderness of the American Athletic Conference suddenly seem far away in the rear-view mirror. In his fifth season at UConn, Dan Hurley doesn’t just have the Huskies back in the Final Four, he has them playing in a way that should earn them the school’s fifth national title.\n\n— Dan Wolken\n\nKansas State coach Jerome Tang shares message with FAU after game\n\nFlorida Atlantic may have eliminated his Kansas State team, but Wildcats coach Jerome Tang had nothing but praise for the Owls – and delivered his classy message in person in the celebratory FAU locker room.\n\n“Your toughness, your togetherness, your ability to make plays for each other, the way you communicate with each other – nobody can beat ya’ll,” the first-year K-State coach told the Owls. “Just stay together, don’t get distracted between now and (the Final Four). Stay locked in, keep doing what you’re doing.”\n\n\"Ya’ll the toughest son-of-a-guns we’ve played all year long,\" Tang added. \"Just proud of ya and rooting for ya.\"\n\nTang’s first year in Manhattan, Kansas, was a tremendous success after little was expected of the Wildcats in the preseason. They nearly made their first Final Four since 1964, falling to Florida Atlantic 79-76. The Owls are making their first Final Four appearance and will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Creighton and San Diego State.\n\n— Jace Evans\n\nParity creating ultimate March Madness chaos\n\nIn a span of mere minutes Friday night, two programs that have had lots of good seasons but rarely seemed like they’re on the cusp of anything significant, evicted the last two No. 1 seeds left, from this NCAA men's tournament.\n\nAnd with those back-to-back results, this is officially the maddest March of them all.\n\n— Dan Wolken", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/26"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaw/2023/03/26/womens-ncaa-tournament-updates-march-madness-elite-eight/11544382002/", "title": "Women's NCAA Tournament recap: Caitlin Clark lifts Iowa to Final ...", "text": "The madness marches on Sunday with the start of the women's college basketball Elite Eight.\n\nTo start off the competition, the No. 3 LSU Tigers beat the No. 9 Miami Hurricanes with a record day from Angel Reese. This is the Tigers' first trip to the Final Four since 2008.\n\nIowa star Caitlin Clark followed with her own record day to send the Hawkeyes to their second Final Four in school history. No. 2 seed Iowa toppled No. 5 seed Louisville, 97-83, in the nightcap behind Clark's 11th career triple-double.\n\nHere's all the action from Sunday's Elite Eight matchups:\n\nIowa downs Louisville to reach first Final Four since 1993\n\nCaitlin Clark put on show and made sure Iowa would celebrate a huge anniversary.\n\nClark was electric, recording 41 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to send No. 2 seed Iowa to a 97-83 win over No. 5 Louisville and into its first Final Four in 30 years. The Hawkeyes made their only other Final Four appearance in 1993 under Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer.\n\nClark, a candidate for national player of the year, recorded the 11th triple-double of her career with a rebound with less than a minute remaining in the game and became the first player in NCAA Tournament history to record a 40-point triple-double. The 6-0 junior from West Des Moines, Iowa, had already tallied her 17th double-double of the season and 43rd career before the end of the third quarter.\n\nLouisville battled back from a 22-point deficit in the final five minutes to close the gap to 10 points when the Hawkeyes shooting went cold, but it was not enough to send the Cardinals to their fifth Final Four.\n\nHailey Van Lith powered Louisville with 27 points, and Olivia Cochran recorded a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds.\n\nLSU coach Kim Mulkey has no doubt Gamecocks will be in Final Four\n\nKim Mulkey is already calling South Carolina in the Final Four.\n\nThe defending national champions don’t play their Elite Eight game against second-seeded Maryland until Monday night, but Mulkey doesn’t need to wait around for that. The top-seeded Gamecocks will be in Dallas next weekend, LSU’s coach said Sunday night.\n\n“South Carolina is going. I’m just telling you that, flat out,” she said after LSU clinched its own spot in the Final Four with a 54-42 win over Miami. “That’s nothing against who they play. I just know how good they are.”\n\nSouth Carolina thumped LSU by 24 points, 88-64, in their one meeting in the regular season. If Mulkey’s team sees the Gamecocks again, a national title would be on the line.\n\n“I’d sure love to be in that championship with them,” Mulkey said.\n\n— Nancy Armour\n\nIowa pulls away from Louisville in third quarter\n\nIowa ended the third quarter on a 11-2 run and outscored Louisville 30-16 in the period to take a 78-59 lead into the final quarter. The Cardinals had cut the lead to one point early in the quarter before Caitlin Clark and her Iowa teammates caught fire, especially from three-point range. Clark scored 11 points in the quarter and added six assists, giving her 33 points and 10 assists through three periods. It was her fourth career NCAA Tournament game with at least 20 points and 10 assists.\n\nLouisville shot only 5-for-18 in the third quarter.\n\nHALF: Iowa 48, Louisville 43\n\nThe stars have put on a show for both No. 2 seed Iowa and No. 5 seed Louisville in the first half of their Elite Eight game.\n\nIowa guard Caitlin Clark, a candidate for national player of the year, nearly had a first-half double-double, tallying 22 points and eight assists, while shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 5-for-9 from three-point range. Forward McKenna Warnock was also hot, scoring 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.\n\nBut Louisville also got stellar play from its star — Hailey Van Lith. The junior guard scored 17 first-half points and shot 60% from the field to pace the Cardinals, who cut a 12-point Iowa lead to five before the break.\n\nIowa leads Louisville after first quarter\n\nLouisville jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in Sunday's second Elite Eight game before Iowa stormed back to take a 25-21 lead after the first 10 minutes.\n\nCaitlin Clark, one of the most dynamic players in women's basketball, poured in 15 points and four assists, and McKenna Warnock added seven points to fuel the Hawkeyes' surge. Chrislyn Carr led Louisville with nine first-quarter points, and Hailey Van Lith chipped in six.\n\nIowa star Caitlin Clark makes more history\n\nCaitlin Clark has set yet another record.\n\nClark became the first player in Division I history to tally 900+ points and 300+ assists in a single season early in the first quarter of the Hawkeyes' Elite Eight matchup against Louisville.\n\nThe junior guard averages 26.9 points per game, the second-most in Division I history, and has recorded 10 career triple-doubles, which is also second-most in DI history.\n\nThe No. 3 LSU Tigers are still dancing as they defeated the No. 9 Miami Hurricanes, 54-42, on Sunday to earn their eighth trip to the Final Four and first since 2008.\n\nSenior guard Alexis Morris led the Tigers with 21 points. Sophomore forward Angel Reese had 13 points and 18 rebounds for her 32nd double-double of the season, an SEC record.\n\nSophomore guard Jasmyne Roberts had 22 points for Miami. No other Hurricane player scored in double figures, and the team went 0-for-15 from behind the arc. They were out-rebounded by the Tigers 49-36 and committed 18 turnovers compared to LSU's 12.\n\nLSU led by as m16 midway through the fourth quarter.\n\nMiami's Lashae Dwyer was hurt with 4:03 remaining when she had contact with Angel Reese in the fourth quarter. She jumped up and fell backwards with her leg folding beneath her. She laid on the court with her eyes closed for several minutes while athletic trainers tended to her. She eventually got up and hobbled off the court with the help of Miami's staff.\n\nMiami was on an 8-0 run prior to her injury. She had four of Miami's eight points in the period.\n\nLSU is leading Miami 38-27 after the third quarter. Angel Reese came alive after not having a field goal in the first half and now has 11 points and 13 rebounds, 10 of which came on defense. This is the sophomore forward's 32nd double-double of the season, which sets an SEC record.\n\nThe Hurricanes had a three-minute scoring drought from when Destiny Harden scored a free throw to when Lola Pendande made a layup.\n\nLSU has led by as many as 13.\n\nAfter her feathery pink ensemble for the Sweet 16, LSU head coach Kim Mulkey went with a more subdued look for the Elite Eight. She wore a grey and pink checkerboard jacket, but the look still stood out because it had plenty of sparkles.\n\nThe Tigers mascot gave Mulkey a run for her money, wearing a sparkly butterfly jacket. Mike the Tiger debuted the look, which is modeled after one of the head coach's own, in February of 2022. He broke it out again as LSU fights to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2008.\n\nThe No. 3 LSU Tigers lead the No. 9 Miami Hurricanes 26-20 at the half.\n\nTigers star Angel Reese has seven points, all from free throws, and eight rebounds.\n\n\"I'm gonna let the game come to me. I'm missing a lot of shots, but my teammates and coaches are putting a lot of confidence in me, so I'm going to keep shooting,\" she said on the ESPN broadcast at the break.\n\nSenior guard Alexis Morris leads LSU with 10 points while Miami is led by sophomore guard Jasmyne Roberts' 16 points.\n\nNeither team has made a three-point shot yet.\n\nLSU leads Miami 10-8 after first quarter\n\nAs the Miami men completed an epic 88-81 comeback win over Texas to reach the Final Four, the Miami women were locked in a tight early battle with LSU with the third-seeded Tigers leading the ninth-seeded Hurricanes 10-8. LSU ended the quarter on a 6-0 run. Guard Alexis Morris had six points to lead the Tigers, while LSU star Angel Reese was held without a field goal — though she did sink three free throws. The Hurricanes were paced by by guard Jasmyne Roberts, who also scored six.\n\nMiami fans will need split screens for a few minutes\n\nNo. 9 seed Miami, seeking the program's first-ever Final Four, tipped of against No. 3 LSU as the men's program was locked in a tie in the final minutes of its own Elite Eight game. The Miami men's team, seeded fifth, was facing off against No. 2 seed Texas with the last Final Four berth at stake. Connecticut, Florida Atlantic and San Diego State have already won Elite Eight games in the men's tournament. LSU vs. Miami is the first of four women's Elite Eight games — with Iowa vs. Louisville to follow on Sunday night.\n\nUConn's dynasty is dead – and that's actually good news\n\nFor the first time in 15 postseasons, the women’s Final Four (and Elite Eight) will not include the UConn Huskies, the most dominant program in women’s basketball this century.\n\n\"The problem with streaks is the longer they go, you're closer to it ending than you are to the beginning of it,” said Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said.\n\nSo the dynasty is dead. And if you’re a fan of women’s basketball, you shouldn’t be rooting for another to take hold (unless you’re a South Carolina fan).\n\nYou can’t deny it: When March really is mad, everyone wins.\n\n— Lindsay Schnell\n\nCaitlin Clark playing with chip on her shoulder\n\nIt’s all well and good to say last year’s results mean nothing and Caitlin Clark has nothing to prove.\n\nBut they do. And she does.\n\nAs dynamic and exciting as the Player of the Year front-runner is, Iowa has yet to make the Final Four, since Clark got to campus. Last year the Hawkeyes didn’t even get out of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, falling in the second round.\n\nBut with Stanford, seeded ahead of the No. 2 Hawkeyes in the Seattle 4 region, out of the tournament along with Duke and Texas, this is Clark and Iowa’s chance to make a statement.\n\nClark is as explosive a player as you’ll find in college basketball, racking up points as if she’s playing Pop-a-Shot. She’s averaging 26.8 points per game, third best in the country. She’s had eight 30-point games and two games when she’s gone over 40.\n\nBut the best players are not judged on individual accomplishments. Not primarily, at least. What they do to impact their teams matters more, especially at this time of year, and Clark is still looking for that signature moment.\n\n— Nancy Armour\n\nFamous fan Lil Wayne has reason to root for Miami and LSU\n\nThe game hasn’t even begun and already Miami and LSU are battling.\n\nAnd Lil Wayne is in the middle of it.\n\nMiami’s Haley Cavinder and LSU’s Angel Reese each asked the Grammy-winning rapper to come to Sunday’s Elite Eight game, with both teams claiming his allegiance.\n\nHanna Cavinder tweeted a photo of her and sister Haley FaceTiming with Lil Wayne after the Hurricanes upset Villanova, while the rapper gave Reese a shoutout on Twitter later Friday night.\n\n\"I'm on him because he's from (New Orleans) and he called them before he called us,\" Reese said Saturday. \"So luckily he did tweet it out last night. Hopefully he comes to the game.\"\n\nHaley Cavinder echoed that.\n\n\"Hopefully he comes to the game if he likes Angel Reese and our team. Lil Wayne, if you see this ...,\" she said.\n\n— Nancy Armour\n\nVanessa Bryant gifts LSU Tigers with Kobe 6 Grinch sneakers\n\nAhead of their Elite Eight matchup against the Miami Hurricanes, the LSU Tigers received a special gift from Vanessa Bryant. On Saturday the widow of Kobe Bryant surprised the team with Nike Kobe 6 Grinch sneakers.\n\nLSU shared the exciting moment on Instagram with a video of when the players saw the black shoeboxes with the late NBA superstar's logo and then opened them up to reveal the neon green sneakers. The players' faces lit up and they shrieked with the thrill of the special gift.\n\n\"Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop,\" Emily Ward said while shaking a sneaker in front of the camera.\n\n\"That's heat right there,\" Angel Reese said, nodding her head in approval.\n\n— Victoria Hernandez", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/26"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/nancy-armour/2023/03/27/south-carolina-remains-ruthless-en-route-womens-ncaa-final-four/11553728002/", "title": "South Carolina remains ruthless en route to women's NCAA Final Four", "text": "If you can’t see South Carolina play in person, find a cat. Give that cat a toy and watch it bat the toy back and forth, back and forth, back and forth until WHACK! The toy goes flying across the room without warning, the cat having decided it’s had enough of this game.\n\nThat’s South Carolina.\n\nThe defending national champions are so skilled, so deep and so unflappable it’s only a matter of time before they exert their will. And when they do, opponents can be forgiven if they’re just praying for the end, that’s how deflating the Gamecocks are.\n\nFor the first 15 minutes Monday night, second-seeded Maryland gave South Carolina as good a game as it could. It pushed the pace. It bodied the Gamecocks in the paint. It closed off angles. It went right at South Carolina in a way few other teams have the courage to do.\n\nBy halftime, the game was effectively over.\n\nIn a 3½-minute span, South Carolina ripped off a 14-4 run, scoring on all but one possession. What had been a 1-point Maryland lead became a 10-point Gamecocks advantage.\n\n“Their size, their length, their depth wears you out as the game continues on,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said.\n\nDallas-bound:South Carolina advances to third straight women's Final Four\n\nBrackets: See how the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments have played out\n\nThere is little drop off from South Carolina’s starters to its bench, making their rotations more like hockey shifts, and the Terrapins could only fend off the waves for so long. Worse, by trying to do so, they picked up an albatrossian number of fouls.\n\nBut that’s what South Carolina does. It grinds you into submission. The only question is when in the game it’s going to happen.\n\n“The game had to settle down,” coach Dawn Staley said. “Obviously Maryland came out and played extremely fast. I thought it took us a while to get our footing and make adjustments to how they were playing us.\n\n“This team just wants to win. They don’t care how it looks, they just want to do what’s necessary for us to score more points. They know how to win, they know how to win with different styles of play. The main thing is they just don’t want to lose.”\n\nIt’s hard to imagine they could. To see how they would.\n\nSouth Carolina has not lost a game since the SEC tournament championship last year. That’s 42 wins in a row, for those keeping track. Only five teams have gotten within double digits of the Gamecocks this season, and they are beating teams in the NCAA Tournament by an average of more than 22 points.\n\nThe Gamecocks have done all this despite carrying a burden that’s two-fold: Everyone wants to steal their crown and every opponent wants to be the one to finally hang a loss on them. South Carolina’s commitment to avoiding the disappointment and anger that follows a loss is even greater, however.\n\n“We know what it feels like to lose. We know what it feels like to be sent home,” said Brea Beal, one of five players left from the team that lost to Stanford on a last-second shot in the Final Four two years ago.\n\n“We don’t want that feeling. Especially this time of year.”\n\nThe Gamecocks will play Iowa in the Final Four on Friday, a game that has been hotly anticipated for two seasons now. South Carolina has Aliyah Boston, the national player of the year, while Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is likely to claim the honors this year.\n\nThey are the two most dominant players in college basketball, though in very different ways. Boston is quietly – and ruthlessly – efficient, finishing with her 82nd career double-double Monday with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Five assists, too.\n\nClark is a live wire, making baskets from the logo and zipping passes all over the court. She had a 41-point triple-double Sunday night against Louisville.\n\n“I want to enjoy this,” Staley said when asked about the matchup. “I want to enjoy our team and something special they’ve been able to accomplish today.\"\n\nThere the Gamecocks go, biding their time again.\n\nFollow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2023/03/19/2023-ncaa-tournament-michigan-womens-basketball-game-score-lsu-live-scoring-updates/70023509007/", "title": "NCAA tournament: Michigan women's basketball loses to LSU, 66 ...", "text": "2023 NCAA women's basketball tournament: No. 6-seed Michigan women's basketball (23-9) vs. No. 3 LSU Tigers (29-2)\n\nMatchup: No. 6 Michigan (23-9, 11-7 Big Ten) vs. No. 3 LSU (29-2, 15-1 SEC), NCAA tournament Greenville 2 region second round.\n\nTipoff: 7:30 p.m. Sunday; Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.\n\nTV: ESPN.\n\nAt stake: Winner faces either 3-seed Utah or 10-seed Princeton on Friday in Greenville, South Carolina, for spot in Elite Eight.\n\n• Box score\n\nNCAA history\n\nThe Wolverines’ victory improved them to 11-10 all time in 11 tournaments, with five straight second-round appearances under head coach Kim Barnes Arico. (Though they made it all the way to the Elite Eight last season.) LSU appears to be achieving the desired results in its second season under longtime Baylor coach Kim Mulkey, starting with a 23-point win over 14-seed Hawaii in the first round on Friday. After losing in the second round last season, the Tigers are 45-27 all-time in the tournament over 28 seasons, with five trips to the Final Four (albeit with no title game appearances). All five Final Four appearances came during a five-season run from 2003-08; the Tigers have made the Sweet 16 just twice (2013-14) since then.\n\nFRIDAY'S FIRST ROUND:Michigan women roll over Rebels, 71-59, to advance to NCAA tournament 2nd round\n\nTROPHY CASE:Michigan women's basketball has 3 players selected to Big Ten all-conference teams\n\nScouting the Tigers\n\nIt’s a simple formula for Mulkey’s Tigers: Shoot often inside the arc (LSU’s 50.2 2-pointers per game ranks sixth in the nation), do it well (50.6% on 2-pointers, good for 34th nationally), and if you miss, rebound the ball (47.2 boards per game, third nationally, and 17.2 per game on offense, good for fourth) and start all over again. What about 3-pointers? We’re not saying LSU can’t hit them — their 35.9% success rage ranked 26th in the nation — but they don’t really try a whole lot, either: Their 15 3s per game ranks just 307th out of 350 teams.\n\nScouting the Wolverines\n\nThe Wolverines’ plan isn’t so different, especially as executed on Friday afternoon against UNLV: U-M attempted just 15 3s, hit six of them (and four of those, on six tries, came from senior guard Maddie Nolan) and shot 45.5% (20-for-44) on 2-point tries. Really, it wasn’t a good shooting day for the Wolverines, who hit nine of 13 shots in the third quarter and just 17 of 46 (36.9%) in the other three frames. Fifth-year guard Leigha Brown seemed to penetrate the Rebels’ defense in the paint with few issues. Doing so against the Tigers will be another matter altogether, but we’ll get to that.\n\nFour on the floor\n\nThere are plenty of talented players on both rosters, but here are four players — two Wolverines and two Tigers — who could come up big on Sunday:\n\nU-M’s star: G Laila Phelia\n\nDespite having nearly two weeks off from games, the sophomore may not be fully healthy. In just her third game back after missing seven straight in February and March, she logged 32 minutes and scored eight points with 11 rebounds while wearing a bulky knee brace. Phelia, who hails from Cincinnati, entered the tournament averaging 16.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals a game. That scoring average is nearly double that of her freshman year (8.8) while only going from 22.9 minutes a game to 33. When Phelia’s scoring game is on, so is the Wolverines’; she scored at least 20 points 10 times this season, with U-M going 8-2 in those games.\n\nOff the bench for U-M: G/F Elise Stuck\n\nBarnes Arico kept her bench short on Friday in Baton Rouge, keeping four of her starters on the court for at least 32 minutes. The lone exception was forward Cameron Williams, who played just under 16 minutes. Filling in for her was Stuck, who logged just over 22 minutes. It was a definite uptick in minutes for the 6-foot-1 junior from Charlevoix, who was averaging 9.7 minutes a game entering the NCAA tournament. She scored just two points (one field goal attempt, one make) but filled the stat sheet in other ways, with seven rebounds, an assist, a steal and three blocks. The Wolverines won’t have the size advantage against LSU — the Tigers feature five forwards listed at 6-2 or taller; the Wolverines have six such forwards, but only two (Williams and Emily Kiser) log serious minutes — that they had against UNLV, but they’ll need every capable minute they can get in the paint.\n\nLSU’s star: F Angel Reese\n\nThe reason for that, of course, is Reese, who made the AP’s All-America team for the second straight season. The 6-3 sophomore averaged a double-double (17.8 points, 10.6 rebounds) last season at Maryland, but didn’t do much damage in her first two seasons against the Wolverines, averaging seven points and 7.3 rebounds in three games as a Terp. This season, she posted a double-double in 29 of her 31 games, including the Tigers’ win over Hawaii on Friday (34 points, 15 rebounds). (The only opponents to stop her from getting a double-double: No. 1 South Carolina, which held her to 16 points and four rebounds on Feb. 12, and Georgia, which held her to 15 points and six rebounds on March 3.) This season, Reese has averaged 23.7 points and 15.5 rebounds, all while shooting 54.5% on 2-pointers.\n\n(Perhaps Michigan can convince Reese to try some 3s; she’s just 1-for-6 from beyond the arc this season.) So what lured her to the Bayou? The seafood, apparently. (Remember, she’s from Maryland.) As she told WSLAM magazine, her official visit to Baton Rouge featured an intense seafood spread: “We went to coach's house and we had seafood laid out. ... I'm talking about crab legs, oysters, shrimp, crawfish,\" Reese said. \"I was like, 'Oh, I could get used to this.' \"\n\nOff the bench for LSU: F Sa’Myah Smith\n\nMulkey has ridden her upperclassmen hard, with Reese and three seniors all averaging better than 23 minutes a game. Likewise, Flau’jae Johnson, the SEC Freshman of the Year, averaged 26.7 minutes a game; that doesn’t leave a lot of time for anyone else. Just one other LSU player, junior Kateri Poole, averaged more than 16 minutes.\n\nSmith managed to get a SEC All-Freshman nod despite averaging just 15.8 minutes entering the tournament. Despite the limited time, the 6-2 Texan put up 5.1 points, 44 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game this season. Even when she’s not scoring, she can change the flow of the game: Just ask Texas A&M and Kentucky, who held her to two points combined in back to back games, only to surrender seven combined blocks. Or South Carolina, which saw her paint presence in real time last month.\n\nRyan Ford’s prediction\n\nThe Wolverines have thrived against smaller and less-talented teams this season, but against the cream of the crop, U-M’s offense has frequently gone cold. Expect the same against the host Tigers, with Reese dominating inside. The pick: LSU 74, U-M 52.\n\nLive updates\n\nDon't see the updates? Refresh the page or check it out on Twitter.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaw/2023/03/27/womens-ncaa-tournament-winners-sec-super-regional-format/11553237002/", "title": "Women's NCAA Tournament winners: 'Down' SEC, super regional ...", "text": "The upsets of top-seeded Stanford and Indiana were fun and all, and the double-digit comebacks that shook up the early rounds were wildly entertaining.\n\nIf chaos is what you want in your Final Four, however, you’re going to have to watch the NCAA men’s tournament. Even accounting for Virginia Tech reaching the national semifinals for the first time, there are no wild cards left in the women’s bracket.\n\nWhile the lowest seed left in the men’s tournament is No. 4 UConn, the highest in the women’s tournament is a No. 3. The defending national champion South Carolina is still alive. LSU hasn’t won a title in its previous five trips to the Final Four, but coach Kim Mulkey has. Three, in fact, when she was coaching Baylor.\n\nAnd Iowa has Caitlin Clark, the front runner for national player of the year, and a starting five that has been together for the last 90 games, most in the NCAA in 20 years.\n\nSo no, not exactly a lineup that makes you scratch your head or do a double take and ask how in the world they made it to the Final Four. (Yeah, Florida Atlantic, we are talking about you.) Whatever surprises the women’s tournament had in store already happened.\n\nThat doesn’t mean the Final Four will be lacking for drama or intrigue. No team has defended its title since UConn won the last of four in a row in 2016. A women’s coach has never won titles with different programs. The Big Ten won its only national title last century.\n\nThere’s going to be plenty to see. Who cares if it isn’t a roller coaster of chaos?\n\n'Absolutely incredible': Iowa star is college basketball's most electrifying (men's or women's) player\n\nBrackets: See how the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments have played out\n\nHere’s a look at the other winners and losers from the Elite Eight:\n\nWINNERS\n\nSEC\n\nThe SEC will take your apologies now.\n\nDissed at the beginning of the season for being “down,” for being South Carolina and not much else, the SEC will have two of the Final Four teams. The defending champion Gamecocks are joining LSU in Dallas after dismantling Maryland on Monday night.\n\n“Two. That’s 50% last time I checked,” LSU coach Kim Mulkey said. “What is down? We had seven make (the tournament), four of the seven made it to the Sweet 16. How down is that?”\n\nThe ACC (Virginia Tech) and the Big Ten (Iowa) have the other two Final Fours.\n\nKenny Brooks\n\nWith the 84-74 win over Ohio State, Brooks becomes just the second Black male coach to lead a team to the women's Final Four since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1994. (The other was former Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman, who led the Orange to the 2016 Final Four.)\n\nBrooks, now in his seventh year, came to Blacksburg after 14 seasons at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. In his final 11 years at JMU, Brooks won at least 24 games per season including three consecutive CAA championships (2014-2016).\n\nThe Hokies were upset last year by 12th-seeded FGCU. This year, after cruising through the ACC Tournament they earned the first No. 1 seed in school history. As one of the few Black male head coaches in women's college hoops, Brooks understands his success resonates with many people who look like him.\n\n“Everything I am doing, I’m doing for myself, my program, for our university,” Brooks said before Virginia Tech defeated Tennessee in the Sweet 16. “I do it for people who look like me. There are a lot of great male Black coaches who deserve an opportunity. If they can see what I’ve done and it inspires them to give another Black male an opportunity. then I’ve done my job.”\n\nSuper regional format\n\nIt’s an understatement to say the new regional format, with games in two sites instead of four, was a hit.\n\nPart of the thinking in centralizing the regional games was to bolster attendance. It worked, to say the least.\n\nAttendance across the four days in Greenville and Seattle totaled a record 82,275 fans, an average of 10,659 per session. That shattered the previous record of 73,954 total fans for the regional round, set in 2003.\n\nOut of the eight sessions, five drew 10,000 or more fans.\n\nThe super regional format will continue next year, with Portland, Oregon, and Albany, New York, set to host. In 2025 it'll be Birmingham and Spokane and in 2026, Sacramento and Fort Worth are scheduled to host.\n\nAlexis Morris\n\nLSU’s point guard is returning home in style.\n\nMorris’ career has taken her to many places – she started at Baylor, transferred first to Rutgers and then to Texas A&M before landing at LSU last season – but she knew where she was going to finish it. Or hoped to, anyway.\n\nThe Beaumont, Texas, native said after LSU’s last regular-season home game last month that she didn’t need a Senior Night because she planned to have hers in her home state. Morris made good on her word, finishing with a team-high 21 points, four steals, two rebounds and two assists in LSU’s 54-42 win that earned the Tigers a trip to the Final Four.\n\n“I'm heading to Dallas. I'm ending my senior night where I wanted it to be. Hopefully we can go cut nets in Dallas,” Morris said.\n\n“At one point when I left Rutgers, I wasn't even going to play basketball anymore. So this moment is literally everything to me.”\n\nLOSERS\n\nHaters\n\nSomewhere there's a guy in his basement jumping on social media to rant about how nobody cares about women's sports.\n\nYour loss, dude.\n\nIf you can't appreciate Caitlin Clark pulling up from the logo or Aliyah Boston swatting an opponent's shot attempt into the third row or Angel Reese snatching someone's soul along with a rebound or Elizabeth Kitley's feathery touch around the rim, then you really don't like basketball — women's or otherwise.\n\nTruth is, women's basketball is getting better and more popular every year, and another terrific NCAA Tournament will only help grow the game more.\n\nLate surges\n\nMiami and Louisville both turned their seasons around this month. Louisville, which had dropped out of the Top 25 before Christmas never to return, reached the final of the ACC tournament then got to the Elite Eight. Miami lost three of its last four in the regular season only to top-seeded Indiana in the second round, handing the Hoosiers their only loss at home this year.\n\nBut both drew tough opponents in the Elite Eight, and it proved to be too big a test.\n\n“Even though we didn't get the outcome we wanted tonight, we've had a hell of a season,” Louisville’s Mykasa Robinson said. “And people can say we didn't, but we know what it is here at Louisville, so I'm just super proud of this team.”", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaw/2023/03/27/womens-march-madness-elite-8-live-updates-south-carolina-action/11548068002/", "title": "Women's March Madness Elite 8 recap: Virginia Tech in Final Four", "text": "Half of the women's NCAA Tournament Final Four field was set on Sunday. The other half was settled Monday night.\n\nThe South Carolina Gamecocks and Virginia Tech Hokies will join Iowa and LSU in Dallas.\n\nNo. 1 South Carolina — the defending national champions — beat the second-seeded Maryland Terrapins. The Gamecocks are aiming to be the first repeat women's basketball champion since Connecticut won four straight national titles from 2013-16.\n\nIn the night's second game, another No. 1 seed, Virginia Tech fended off No. 3 seed Ohio State, 84-74. The Hokies have never reached the Final Four. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, last made the Final Four in 1993 when three-time Olympic gold medalist, WNBA champion and future Hall of Famer Katie Smith was a freshman.\n\nFollow along for updates on all the action from Monday's Elite Eight matchups:\n\nThe top-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies defeated the No. 3 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, 84-74, on Monday in Seattle to earn the program's first trip to the Final Four.\n\nThe Hokies had an early lead with strong shooting from behind the arc, but the game was a fierce back-and-forth battle in the first half until they took control in the third quarter. Virginia Tech's largest lead was 13 points.\n\nVirginia Tech's Elizabeth Kitley was the game's co-leading scorer with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Georgia Amoore added 24 points despite being shaken up in the second quarter. For the Buckeyes, Taylor Mikesell also had 25 points.\n\nThey will face LSU on Friday in the national semifinals in Dallas.\n\nAfter a fierce duel in the first half, the Virginia Tech Hokies are starting to take control, up 63-55 over the Ohio State Buckeyes at the end of the third quarter in Elite Eight action.\n\nGeorgia Amoore made a leaping three-point shot right before the buzzer to give the Hokies an extra boost of momentum. The Australian has 15 points, tied for a team-high, after suffering an injury in the second quarter. Elizabeth Kitley also has 15.\n\n\"I'll go anywhere in the world to find another player like that,\" head coach Kenny Brooks said of Amoore during the ESPN broadcast. \"... Georgia's special to us. She makes us go. She is why we're here.\"\n\nOhio State's Taylor Mikesell is the game's leading scorer with 19 points.\n\nThe Virginia Tech Hokies are up 48-45 at the half over the Ohio State Buckeyes.\n\nBoth teams have traded off the lead several times, but Virginia Tech went ahead again after a layup from Taylor Soule with 1:10 on the clock.\n\nThree players are in double digits for the Hokies, including Cayla King with 12, Soule with 11 and Elizabeth Kitley with 10. Georgia Amoore has eight, including a key three-point shot after going to the locker room when she slammed onto the court.\n\n“We just said she’s carried us this far, so we’ve got to do it for her,\" King said of the team's mentality when their leading scorer in the tournament went down.\n\nHokies guard Georgia Amoore was injured when Ohio State's Eboni Walker bumper her shoulder into her face with 8:31 on the clock in the second quarter. Amoore fell backwards and landed on her back. She laid on the court holding her face as her teammates ran over to check on her. She lurched as she stood to her feet with the help of a coach and walked with a wobble toward the bench. She was helped to the locker room with the help of two people.\n\nAmoore returned to the bench soon after and made a three-point shot after reentering the game.\n\nOhio State has surged ahead as the Buckeyes lead the Virginia Tech Hokies 23-22 after an intense first quarter of play.\n\nThe Hokies led from the start until Taylor Mikesell tied the game at 19 with a three-point shot with three minutes left in the quarter. Ohio State finally took the lead at 1:50 remaining when Jacy Sheldon made a layup. She followed that up with a jumpshot to close out the quarter.\n\nMikesell has nine points for Ohio State, while Cayla King has the same for the Hokies.\n\nThe second game of Monday night's action tipped off with buckets galore. Halfway through the first quarter, there are already five total three-point shots with the top-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies leading the No. 3 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes 17-14. Both teams are perfect from behind the arc.\n\nThe Hokies tipped off the action with back-to-back treys, one each from Kayana Traylor and Cayla King. King already has six points on the night as does Ohio State's Taylor Mikesell.\n\nIt was a rocky start, but No. 1 South Carolina is still in the running to defend their national championship after beating the No. 2 seeded Maryland Terrapins, 86-75, in Elite Eight action on Monday. The Gamecocks are headed to their third straight Final Four. This game marks a school-record 36th win of the season and their 42nd in a row dating to last year's NCAA Tournament.\n\nSouth Carolina star Aliyah Boston finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for her 82nd career double-double.\n\n\"I'm super excited,\" Boston said on the ESPN broadcast after the game. \"The coaches did a great job on scout. We're going to the Final Four!\"\n\nSenior guard Diamond Miller led the Terrapins with 24 points. Abby Meyers finished with 14 points after fouling out in the fourth quarter.\n\nAfter a slow start, Aliyah Boston powered the South Carolina Gamecocks to what's been another dominant performance. The senior forward exited the game with 4:20 on the clock and her team up 79-63. She finished the night with 22 points and 10 rebounds for her 82nd career double-double.\n\nSouth Carolina has all the momentum as it ended the third quarter up 62-50 over the Maryland Terrapins and are inching closer to a third straight Final Four appearance.\n\nThe Gamecocks went on a 7-0 run toward the end of the quarter and had a lead as large as 15.\n\nAliyah Boston and Zia Cooke each have 18 points for South Carolina, while Diamond Miller has 15 points for Maryland. Abby Meyers has 14 but got into foul trouble after leading the Terrapins most of the game.\n\nDespite South Carolina's surge, head coach Dawn Staley did not appear happy with her team's inconsistent performance. \"Cookie's gotta cook,\" she said on the ESPN broadcast.\n\nThe South Carolina Gamecocks might not have looked like themselves in the first quarter, but they shook off the dust and lead the Maryland Terrapins 38-30 at halftime.\n\nMaryland took nearly two minutes to score in the second quarter as South Carolina inched closer to the lead. Star forward Aliyah Boston put the Gamecocks ahead with a layup and 4:55 on the clock. South Carolina went 9-2 to close the period and were up by as many as 10 points.\n\nBoston is the leading scorer for the Gamecocks with 12 points and Zia Cooke added all nine of her points in the quarter.\n\nMaryland is staying alive with 14 points from senior guard Abby Meyers. She scored a layup with eight seconds on the clock to keep the Terrapins from going into the break down double digits.\n\nThe Maryland Terrapins are not making it easy for the South Carolina Gamecocks to reach the Final Four and are up 21-15 at the end of the first quarter. The Terrapins scored 12 unanswered points toward the end of the period as Dawn Staley's team failed to find a rhythm. South Carolina's Laeticia Amihere finally broke the streak with a pair of free throws.\n\nSenior guard Abby Meyers is the game's leading scorer with seven points for Maryland. For South Carolina, star forward Aliyah Boston has six points.\n\nCan Maryland buck the odds and topple undefeated South Carolina?\n\nIt’s not often that a No. 2 seed is considered a mammoth underdog to a top seed in the NCAA Tournament, but that’s exactly what the Maryland Terrapins (28-6) are as they head into an Elite Eight showdown with reigning national champion South Carolina.\n\nSouth Carolina has lost precisely two games in the past two seasons to Missouri and Kentucky in the 2021-22 season. The Gamecocks (35-0) have mostly steamrolled opponents this season and are riding a 41-game winning streak dating back to last year’s NCAA Tournament. Only five opponents have even kept the losses under single digits with two taking the Gamecocks to overtime – Stanford in November and Ole Miss in February.\n\nSo, Maryland coach Brenda Frese, who coached the Terrapins to the 2006 national championship, knows what her team is up against: experience, depth and size.\n\n“Obviously, to be undefeated and to look at the depth and the size that they have, you bring the players off the bench, and they just even get better, Frese told the Washington Post. “It’s got to rank up there as one of the best when you talk about all the size being on their roster.”\n\nMaryland is seeking its first Final Four since the Terrapins made back-to-back appearances in 2014 and 2015.\n\n— Ellen J. Horrow\n\nSouth Carolina guard savoring senior year ahead of WNBA draft\n\nSouth Carolina senior guard Brea Beal has an additional season of COVID-19 eligibility available but said she doesn't plan to use it and will declare for the 2023 WNBA draft.\n\n\"School is not for me, I'll tell you that, so I definitely have (made a decision),\" Beal said with a laugh. \"So much of my career I feel like a lot of things went unnoticed, so to be able to close out my senior year, to see a lot of people putting me in mocks or just talking about me, it shows that I'm beginning to get noticed and how valuable I can be.\"\n\nBeal has never been a headliner for the No. 1 Gamecocks, but she has anchored the starting lineup from the moment she set foot on campus. Last year, she earned All-American honorable mention honors for the first time in her career from the Associated Press and was named a finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year alongside her teammate Aliyah Boston, the reigning winner of the award.\n\nESPN and The Athletic currently project Beal as the No. 7 overall pick in the WNBA draft on April 10.\n\n— Emily Adams, Greenville (South Carolina) News\n\nSouth Carolina, Virginia Tech guards are March Madness power couple\n\nOn the morning of the 2023 SEC championship game, the first thing South Carolina women's basketball point guard Kierra Fletcher did was text her girlfriend Kayana Traylor good luck.\n\nAt nearly the same time as Gamecocks tipped off against Tennessee on March 5, Traylor and Virginia Tech women's basketball were hoisting the ACC championship trophy. Fletcher and South Carolina went on to win the SEC title hours later.\n\n\"It was crazy, because right after we played I checked the score and I was like, 'Wow, they won,'\" Fletcher said. \"I called her as soon as I got time, and we were just talking about how crazy it was that both of us won the conference tournament together.\"\n\nTraylor, a 5-foot-9 senior guard for the Hokies, first connected with the Gamecocks' starting point guard on social media. They bonded over being from the Midwest — Fletcher is from Michigan and Traylor from Indiana — and have now been together for nearly three years.\n\nNow, South Carolina and Virginia Tech are the only 1-seeds left. If Virginia Tech beats Ohio State and the Gamecocks take down Maryland, Fletcher and Traylor will head to Dallas with a legitimate chance to face each other for the national championship.\n\n— Emily Adams, Greenville (South Carolina) News\n\nShould No. 1 seed Virginia Tech be worried about Ohio State's full-court press?\n\nIt didn't take a miracle for Ohio State to advance past the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1993. The Buckeyes, in a 73-61 win over Connecticut on Saturday, simply outplayed the Huskies for the majority of the game.\n\n\"As long as we play our game,\" Ohio State senior forward Eboni Walker said, \"we have the utmost confidence in ourselves and in each other.\"\n\nFor Ohio State, playing its game goes hand-in-hand with its full-court press. When the Buckeyes get their press set and start forcing turnover after turnover after turnover, as they did against the Huskies, they can be almost impossible to stop.\n\nNow, No. 1 seed Virginia Tech will have to grapple with Ohio State's press just as UConn did. During the Hokies' Sweet 16 win over Tennessee, the Lady Vols used their own press to come back from an 18-point deficit early in the third quarter to get within one point.\n\nVirginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks knows Ohio State will employ the full-court press Monday night and says his team will have to play smart but aggressive offense.\n\n\"We have to get downhill, break the pressure, and get some easy opportunities, and I think that that will kind of ease it up a little bit,\" Brooks said. \"But they have been doing it all year long. They're really good at it.\"\n\n— Bailey Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch\n\nLSU coach Kim Mulkey has no doubt South Carolina will be in Final Four\n\nKim Mulkey is already calling South Carolina in the Final Four.\n\nThe defending national champions don’t play their Elite Eight game against second-seeded Maryland until Monday night, but Mulkey doesn’t need to wait around for that. The top-seeded Gamecocks will be in Dallas next weekend, LSU’s coach said Sunday night.\n\n“South Carolina is going. I’m just telling you that, flat out,” she said after LSU clinched its own spot in the Final Four with a 54-42 win over Miami. “That’s nothing against who they play. I just know how good they are.”\n\nSouth Carolina thumped LSU by 24 points, 88-64, in their one meeting in the regular season. If Mulkey’s team sees the Gamecocks again, a national title would be on the line.\n\n“I’d sure love to be in that championship with them,” Mulkey said.\n\n— Nancy Armour\n\nIowa star proves she's college basketball's most electrifying (men's or women's) player\n\nTo get an idea of just how intoxicating Caitlin Clark’s game is, all you had to do Sunday — if you weren’t near a TV to watch her pile up 41 points, hand out 12 assists and grab 10 rebounds — was scroll Twitter.\n\nIn the second half as her Hawkeyes pulled away from Louisville and everyone in Climate Pledge Arena went on triple-double watch, Clark became the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter. And as Clark led No. 2 seed Iowa to its first Final Four since 1993, it became clear: the junior guard is the superstar women’s basketball needs, right when the game needs it.\n\nOn Saturday, women’s basketball bid an early goodbye to UConn, the program that had made an NCAA-record 14 consecutive Final Fours but will be watching from home this April. On Sunday, it said hello to Clark, the most electrifying player in college basketball, men’s or women’s. Her passes in transition causes gasps, her tendency to pull up from the logo makes opponents shake their heads.\n\nShe’s a transcendent talent, a player of the year candidate who elevates everyone around her and loves the big stage. Sunday when Iowa built as much as a 22-point lead she played to the crowd, motioning to fans to cheer louder, cupping her ear to see if they complied. Asked afterward what it’s like to have an entire arena wrapped around your finger, Clark leaned into the mic and admitted sheepishly, “I feel kinda powerful.”\n\n— Lindsay Schnell", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/12/march-madness-selection-sunday-live-updates/11428190002/", "title": "March Madness 2023 bracket reveal: Updates on Selection Sunday", "text": "March Madness 2023 takes center stage with Selection Sunday, when teams across college basketball learn if they'll earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament.\n\nUSA TODAY Sports will provide the latest bracket reveal updates, news, analysis, conference tournament scores and more throughout the day. Follow along.\n\nHow to enter USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge with a chance to win $1 million\n\nThe USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back. There’s a $1 million grand prize for a perfect bracket, $25,000 prize for the top bracket. The Challenge is free to enter for those age 21 and over. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See official rules and get in the game.\n\nAlabama clearly the favorite in South Region, but championship pedigree lurks\n\nThe South Region is loaded. It begins at the top with the overall highest seed, but if Alabama is to make its first Final Four in program history, it will have to navigate a bracket filled with lots of accomplished programs, including four programs with national championship banners hanging in their home arenas.\n\nTwo of the three most recent NCAA champs are here, Baylor and Virginia. Arizona, a powerhouse of the ‘90’s, is back in the title hunt. Then there’s Maryland, which cut down the nets early this century and is hoping to make noise as one of the Big Ten’s numerous representatives in the field.\n\n— Eddie Timanus\n\nDefending-champion Kansas leads West Region\n\nGood news for the Jayhawks – they wouldn’t have to play Texas again until the Final Four. Even better news – Kansas head coach Bill Self is expected to rejoin the team. He was discharged Sunday from the hospital, where he checked in Wednesday with chest tightness and balance problems.\n\nThe No. 2 seed, UCLA, enters the tournament with injury issues. If UCLA hadn’t lost defensive whiz Jaylen Clark to injury in the regular-season finale, there’s a good chance the the Bruins would have had a No. 1 seed and a path to the Final Four.\n\n— Josh Peter\n\nPurdue is No. 1 in East Region, but lots of contenders loom\n\nPurdue is looking to advance to the Final Four for the first time under coach Matt Painter and the first time as a program since 1980. The Boilermakers are built around 7-foot-4 junior center Zach Edey, the favorite for national player of the year.\n\nThe East Region doesn't lack for star power: Purdue is joined by No. 2 Marquette, No. 3 Kansas State and No. 4 Tennessee, followed by No. 5 Duke and No. 6 Kentucky.\n\n— Paul Myerberg\n\nTexas A&M, Penn State have little time to bounce back\n\nHow can you not like a regional bracket that – if the seedings hold form – will have Texas meeting Texas A&M in the second round and wind its way to Houston and Texas playing for a spot in a Final Four being held in Houston?\n\nThe best first-round matchup in the Midwest?\n\nThe Texas A&M-Penn State game pairs teams that had great runs this weekend and have tremendous guard play; but both played Sunday and have to come back and play Thursday. (It also matches the sartorial splendiferousness of Aggies coach Buzz Williams and his suit vests against the quarter-zip-casual Micah Shrewsberry.)\n\n— Steve Berkowitz\n\nAlabama men a popular choice to win it all\n\nDick Vitale and Rece Davis were among the ESPN analysts to pick Alabama basketball to go all the way. Alabama is the No. 1 overall seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament.\n\nVitale predicted Alabama, Duke, Texas, and Gonzaga would reach the Final Four in Houston, with Alabama winning its first national title.\n\nDavis, an Alabama graduate, also predicted the Crimson Tide would make the Final Four, alongside Duke, UConn, and Texas, with Alabama cutting down the nets. Analysts LaPhonso Ellis and Seth Greenberg agreed, both having the same Final Four and the Crimson Tide as their national champion.\n\n— Mikey DiLullo, The Tuscaloosa News\n\nSouth Carolina women get top seed overall\n\nCOLUMBIA, S.C. — There were no surprises for the South Carolina women's basketball team as it watched the Selection Sunday show for its March Madness placement. As expected, the Gamecocks drew the top overall seed in the 2023 women's NCAA Tournament.\n\nThe No. 1 Gamecocks (32-0) will host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, facing Norfolk State (26-6) at Colonial Life Arena on Friday.\n\nSouth Carolina enters March Madness undefeated for the first time in program history, and the team will look to become just the 10th women's team in NCAA history to complete a perfect season. The Gamecocks also aim to defend their 2022 national championship. Just three programs — Southern California, Tennessee and UConn — have ever won consecutive titles.\n\n— Emily Adams, Greenville News\n\nTexas interim coach only focused on Colgate, not rival Texas A&M\n\nThe Texas men’s basketball team will compete in the Midwest region headlined by No. 1 seed Houston. But the region also includes No. 3 Xavier, No. 4 Indiana and No. 7 Texas A&M. If A&M beats Penn State and Texas handles Patriot League champion Colgate, then the Longhorns and Aggies would meet in the second round.\n\nBut Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry wasn't interested in any possible theatrics with ancient rivals at Texas A&M, which will renew a conference rivalry with the Longhorns when Texas joins the SEC for the 2024-25 school year. He knows his squad could have their hands full with a dangerous Colgate team that likes to launch an array of 3-pointers - which is a recipe often use by underdogs in March Madness.\n\n\"Colgate will be on our minds, and that's what we're going to start working on,\" he said Sunday. \"Our staff will be working tirelessly on (studying) them starting here in a couple of hours. We'll be digging into them; they're a good team, a conference champion.\"\n\nHouston, powered by point guard Jamal Shead, earned the region's top seed after going 31-3 and winning the regular-season title in the American Athletic Conference. They lost high-scoring guard Marcus Sasser to an injury during the tournament, and he did not play in Houston's 75-65 loss to Memphis in the conference title game Sunday.\n\n— Thomas Jones, Austin American-Statesman\n\nRutgers among top tournament snubs\n\nA soft non-conference schedule and an injury to forward Mawot Mag likely cost the Rutgers men’s basketball team a trip to the NCAA Tournament.\n\nMag went down with a torn ACL in early February. Rutgers was not the same team without him; the Scarlet Knights were 8-4 in the Big Ten at the time and went 2-6 for the rest of the regular season. The NCAA considers injuries when weighing the selection process, and selection committee chair Chris Reynolds referenced Mag's injury while being interviewed on CBS after the bracket was unveiled.\n\nAsked about Reynolds' comment regarding Mag, coach Steve Pikiell said, “Again, you know they felt like our resume wasn’t good enough, but obviously that changed our team a little but. But I do think we did a lot this year; they’re supposed to look at our entire schedule, our entire body of work.”\n\nPikiell acknowledged his players' disappointment and added, \"every (projected) bracket kind of had them in. I’m sure they were seeing that.\"\n\n— Jerry Carino, Asbury Park Press\n\nPurdue is your final No. 1 seed and heads East\n\nLots contenders here to make it to New York for the reginal final. Purdue won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament title but now must face the winner of either Memphis or Florida Atlantic. Not an easy task. Duke is also a dangerous team having run through the ACC tournament now that it is healthy. Getting a No. 5 seed, the Blue Devils get to face a struggling Tennessee in the second round if each advance. Kentucky and Providence - two teams previously coached by Rick Pitino - meet in what should be an entertaining opener. Marquette and Kansas State - the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds - both had surprising successes this year and could face off in Sweet 16.\n\nIn Columbus, Ohio\n\nNo. 1 Purdue (26-5)\n\nNo. 16 Texas Southern-Fairleigh Dickinson\n\nNo. 8 Memphis (26-8)\n\nNo. 9 Florida Atlantic (31-3)\n\nIn Orlando, Fla.\n\nNo. 5 Duke (26-8)\n\nNo. 12 Oral Roberts (30-4)\n\nNo. 4 Tennessee (22-10)\n\nNo. 13. Louisiana-Lafayette (26-7)\n\nIn Greensboro, N.C.\n\nNo. 6 Kentucky (21-11)\n\nNo. 11 Providence (21-11)\n\nNo. 3 Kansas State (23-9)\n\nNo. 14 Montana State (25-9)\n\nIn Columbus, Ohio\n\nNo. 7 Michigan State (19-12)\n\nNo. 10 Southern California (22-10)\n\nNo. 2 Marquette (28-6)\n\nNo. 15 Vermont (23-10)\n\nKansas earns No. 1 seed in West\n\nSo the Jayhawks don't get to go to Kansas City and head west into a region with UCLA and Gonzaga. Shapes up as one of the best regionals to watch. Arkansas and Illinois will fight to play Kansas in the second round. Bill Self would face his former team if the Illini advance. Saint Mary's and VCU should be an up-and-down gain with a classic 5-12 feel. Iona and Rick Pitino are capable of beating Connecticut in a home-state game. TCU - hurt by a loss to star Mike Miles - was only seeded sixth, but with Miles back are capable of making a run. Gonzaga and UCLA meeting in Las Vegas in the Sweet 16 would be a heck of a showdown.\n\nIn Des Moines, Iowa\n\nNo. 1 Kansas (27-7)\n\nNo. 16 Howard (22-12)\n\nNo. 8 Arkansas (20-13)\n\nNo. 9 Illinois (20-12)\n\nIn Albany, N.Y.\n\nNo. 5 Saint Mary's (26-7)\n\nNo. 12 Virginia commonwealth (27-7)\n\nNo. 4 Connecticut (25-8)\n\nNo. 13 Iona (27-7)\n\nIn Denver\n\nNo. 6 TCU (21-12)\n\nNo. 11 Arizona State/Nevada\n\nNo. 3 Gonzaga (28-5)\n\nNo. 14 Grand Canyon (24-11)\n\nIn Sacramento, Calif.\n\nNo. 7 Northwestern (21-11)\n\nNo. 10 Boise State (24-9)\n\nNo. 2 UCLA (29-5)\n\nNo. 15 UNC Asheville (27-7)\n\nHouston is the No. 1 seed in Midwest Region\n\nThis looks like a very-balanced regional and could feature one of the best first-round games with Texas A&M and Penn State both coming off runs to their conference title games. Texas won the Big 12 tournament and will have a great opportunity to reach the regional final. They could face in-state rival Houston with a trip to the Final Four in ... Houston. Xavier being seeded as high as a No. 3 even with a run to the Big East final. Kent State has a good chance to knock off Indiana in the first round.\n\nIn Birmingham, Ala.\n\nNo. 1 Houston (31-3)\n\nNo. 16 Northern Kentucky (22-12)\n\nNo. 8 Iowa (19-13)\n\nNo. 9 Auburn (20-12)\n\nIn Albany, N.Y.\n\nNo. 5 Miami (Fla.) (25-7)\n\nNo. 12 Drake (27-7)\n\nNo. 4 Indiana (22-11)\n\nNo. 13 Kent State (28-6)\n\nIn Greensboro, N.C.\n\nNo. 6 Iowa State (19-13)\n\nNo. 11 Mississippi State-Pittsburgh\n\nNo. 3 Xavier (25-9)\n\nNo. 14 Kennesaw State (26-8)\n\nIn Des Moines, Iowa\n\nNo. 7 Texas A&M (25-9)\n\nNo. 10 Penn State (22-13)\n\nNo. 2 Texas (26-8)\n\nNo. 15 Colgate (26-8)\n\nAlabama earns the No. 1 overall seed and plays in South\n\nThe Crimson Tide leads the South Regional and gets to play through Louisville in the Sweet 16 if they get that far. Arizona and Baylor are two tough seeds lurking, however, in their path. The first-round matchup of San Diego State and College of Charleston should be a doozy. Nice regional rivalry in the 8-9 game featuring Maryland and West Virginia. Creighton could sleeper team to watch for if they can play as they did in the second half of the season.\n\nIn Birmingham, Ala.\n\nNo. 1 Alabama (29-5)\n\nNo. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi-Southeast Missouri State\n\nNo. 8 Maryland (21-12)\n\nNo. 9 West Virginia (19-14\n\nIn Orlando\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State (27-6)\n\nNo. 12 College of Charleston (31-3)\n\nNo. 4 Virginia (25-7)\n\nNo. 13 Furman (27-7)\n\nIn Denver\n\nNo. 6 Creighton (21-12)\n\nNo. 11 North Carolina State (23-10)\n\nNo. 3 Baylor (22-10)\n\nNo. 14 UC Santa Barbara (27-7)\n\nIn Sacramento, Calif.\n\nNo. 7 Missouri (24-9)\n\nNo. 10 Utah State (26-8)\n\nNo. 2 Arizona (28-6)\n\nNo. 15 Princeton (21-8)\n\nWhen is Selection Sunday 2023?\n\nSunday, March 12, 2023. The men’s bracket reveal show begins at 6 p.m. ET and airs on CBS. The women’s bracket reveal show begins at 8 p.m. and airs on ESPN.\n\nPRINTABLE BRACKET:Fill out the NCAA Tournament field as bids are announced\n\nWhat day does March Madness start?\n\nGames for the men's First Four are March 14-15. The women's First Four will be played March 15-16. First-round games for the men are March 16-17 and March 17-18 for the women.\n\nMarch Madness 2023 schedule\n\nHere is the men's schedule:\n\nFirst Four: March 14-15\n\nFirst round: March 16-17\n\nSecond round: March 18-19\n\nSweet 16: March 23-24\n\nElite Eight: March 25-26\n\nFinal Four: April 1\n\nNational championship game: April 3\n\nHere is the women's schedule:\n\nFirst Four: March 15-16\n\nFirst round: March 17-18\n\nSecond round: March 19-20\n\nSweet 16: March 24-25\n\nElite Eight: March 26-27\n\nFinal Four: Friday, March 31\n\nNational championship game: Sunday, April 2\n\nHow to watch March Madness 2023\n\nFor the men, CBS will air the Selection Sunday show, as well as the Final Four and the national championship game. TruTV will carry the First Four. CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV will air first- and second-round games. CBS and TBS will air Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. CBS will air the men's Final Four and championship game.\n\nFor the women, ESPN will air the Selection Sunday show. ESPN and ABC will carry the First Four. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews and ABC will air first- and second-round games. ESPN and ABC will air Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. ABC will air the national championship game.\n\nWho are the March Madness 2023 broadcasters?\n\nFor the eighth consecutive year, Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson will call the men's Final Four and championship game. This will mark Nantz's 32nd – and final – Final Four as lead play-by-play announcer. Nantz announced in October that he would be leaving the longtime role with CBS and Turner Sports to be with his family.\n\nJay Wright and Stan Van Gundy will join NCAA Tournament coverage as analysts. The network also tried in vain to get Dick Vitale to join its team. Vitale said he turned down the offer, in part, because of loyalty to ESPN, the network he has worked for since 1979.\n\nGreg Gumbel will host studio coverage from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, joined by Charles Barkley, Clark Kellogg and Kenny Smith as well as Wally Szczerbiak. Ernie Johnson will host studio coverage from WBD Studios in Atlanta alongside Jay Wright, Candace Parker and Seth Davis. Additionally, Adam Zucker and Adam Lefkoe will also serve as hosts from New York and Atlanta, respectively.\n\nPrintable March Madness 2023 bracket\n\nHere is a printable version of the men's bracket. Here is a printable version of the women's bracket.\n\nFilling out a March Madness bracket is a daunting task.\n\nCompared to correctly predicting the fate of 68 teams through six rounds, the USA TODAY Sports' March Madness survivor pool games appear to be a much more accessible challenge.\n\nMake a small number of picks each round. If you get them right, you advance. Last the longest without missing a pick and collect some serious cash. And you get two chances to win by competing in both the men's and women's survivor pools.\n\nIs it really that simple?\n\nWell, here's the catch: You can only pick a team once during the entire tournament. Each of your picks must be correct to advance to the next round. If you fail to make any or all picks in a round, you are eliminated.\n\nAhead of Selection Sunday, which will reveal the 68-team fields for both tournaments, USA TODAY Sports announced two brand new survivor pool games to give fans a chance to win $5,000, the amount awarded to the person who lasts the longest in the men's or women's pools.\n\nHere are the keys to winning the survivor pool.\n\n— Richard Morin\n\nMemphis answers, pulls away to earn AAC title\n\nThough Houston eventually cut the lead to five late in the second half, Memphis tightened up with half-court pressure to help its defense facilitate its offense. The Cougars took the American Athletic Conference championship, 75-65. Leading the charge was guard and Houston-native Kendric Davis, who has ignited for 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting and a perfect 8-of-8 from the line.\n\nWith Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (groin) sidelined, Houston went to a short rotation, with only seven players hitting the floor. The offense was disjointed, despite the Cougars taking an overwhelming 21-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Houston shot only 31.3% (20-of-64) from the floor, though the Cougars still have a chance to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.\n\nPurdue (barely) closes out Penn State\n\nPurdue had outclassed Penn State in just about every major category. Still, the Nittany Lions nearly pulled off the miraculous comeback, scoring five points inside the final 20 seconds of the Big Ten tournament final to close the gap to one point. The Boilermakers, however, held on, 67-65, to win the conference title.\n\nPenn State had no answer for Purdue center Zach Edey, whose 30-point, 13-rebound performance Sunday prevented the Nittany Lions from ever overcoming the steady deficit they faced throughout the game.\n\nHouston charging back\n\nThe Cougars have relied on a zone defense in the second half to smother Memphis, which started the period 1-of-8 from the field. Houston has started to have mid-range and three-point shots drop and started the second half on a 14-3 run.\n\nThe only thing that has allowed Memphis to retain its lead has been consistent shooting from the free-throw line, as Houston has fallen into foul trouble midway through the second half. The Tigers lead 55-48 with 11:07 left to play in the American Athletic Conference championship game.\n\nNittany Lions go ice cold from 3-point\n\nPenn State has struggled to find consistent offense throughout the Big 10 Tournament final and a large part of that has been because of the team's inefficiency from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions have converted just 3-of-15 (20%) three-point attempts.\n\nCoupled with Purdue's absolute domination on the glass, where the Boilermakers have a 9:3 advantage on offensive rebounds, and Purdue has opened a comfortable 52-41 lead with 9:29 left to play in the game.\n\nPair of games at the half\n\nWith guard Marcus Sasser apparently out for Houston the Cougars simply haven't been able to sustain consistent offense in the American Athletic Conference tournament final. After keeping it close in the first 10 minutes of the game, Houston fell behind and is in danger of being blown out, as Memphis guard Kendric Davis went off for 20 points in the first half. At one point midway through the first half, Davis had scored as many points as Houston's entire team had. The Tigers lead 46-31.\n\nIn the Big Ten tournament final, Purdue has opened a 35-27 lead on Penn State. The Nittany Lions finished the half strong, though no player has more points than Camren Wynter's seven. Boilermaker center Zach Edey is dominating, scoring 15 points (on 7-of-10 shooting) and collecting seven rebounds.\n\nOffenses slow to start in Big Ten title game\n\nIt has been a slow start for both Penn State and Purdue midway through the first half of the Big Ten Tournament championship, though the Nittany Lions, in particular, have struggled. Both teams have combined to go 10-of-30 (33.3%) from the field, with the Boilermakers taking a 13-6 lead with just fewer than 10 minutes to play in the period.\n\nIt has been a different story in the AAC title game\n\nEven with Houston not starting star guard Marcus Sasser (groin), both the Cougars and Memphis have found a rhythm early in the American Athletic Conference championship game. The Tigers, however, are particularly on a roll, connecting on 11-of-20 (55%) shots with 6:25 left to play in the first half. The Cougars slowed a touch after their hot start, and have gone 6-of-21 (28.6%) from the field as Memphis has taken a 26-18 lead.\n\nSasser, who averaged 17.1 points per game this season, has yet to appear in the game.\n\nRoll Tide Roll\n\nAlabama made its strongest case yet for the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed, crushing Texas A&M in an 82-63 victory in the SEC Tournament championship. The Crimson Tide excelled on help defense, hustle plays and rebounding, while holding the Aggies to 29.7% shooting (19-of-64).\n\nAlabama outrebounded Texas A&M by a margin of 50-39. The Tide were led by forward Brandon Miller (23 points, 12 rebounds) and guard Jahvon Quinerly (22 points). Texas A&M never held a lead in the game.\n\nThis marks Alabama's second SEC title in three seasons, and its 82 points were second most in program history in an SEC Tournament championship.\n\nAnother Tournament trip booked\n\nVCU cruised in the second half of the Atlantic 10 tournament championship, outscoring Dayton by 18 after halftime, en route to its 68-56 victory. The Flyers got a huge game from forward Daron Holmes II, who poured in half of Dayton's scoring with a 28-point, 16-rebound day. And while fellow forward Mustapha Amzil scored another 17 points, that was where Dayton's proficiency ended, as the next leading scorer, forward Toumani Camara, scored only six.\n\nVCU put on a clinic from three-point range, connecting on a staggering 8-of-17 (47.1%) from beyond the arc to pull away and make its second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three seasons.\n\nCrimson Tide pulling away as Aggies stars struggle\n\nAlabama forward Brandon Miller has caught fire in the second half of the SEC Tournament final, chipping in 18 points and 12 rebounds so far as the Crimson Tide are extending their lead.\n\nThe Aggies, who have never won a men's SEC Tournament championship, are looking like they will need to wait at least another season to do so. Guard Wade Taylor IV, the team's leading scorer in the regular season, has started the game 0-of-8 and scored only two points midway through the second half. Forward Julius Marble, Texas A&M's fourth-leading scorer, has been sidelined with foul trouble.\n\nThe Aggies trail 58-45, with 9:12 left to play.\n\nKentucky, in 2012, was the last SEC team to win it all.\n\nSEC schools supplied five of the nation’s top 12 men’s basketball coaching salaries when this season began, in USA TODAY’s latest analysis. The salary list features a facelift this year after well-paid stalwarts Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright retired.\n\nSEC basketball is on solid footing. The conference may tie its record with eight NCAA selections.\n\n\"I think we’re poised to have a team ascend to the top of the competitive mountain this year – and, if not this year, soon,\" SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told USA TODAY Sports.\n\nIn the past 10 tournaments, the SEC supplied six Final Four teams. That matches the Big 12 and Big East and ranks one shy of the ACC and Big Ten.\n\nBut, investment doesn't ensure championships in a tournament celebrated for its madness.\n\nRead the full look into the investment into SEC basketball here.\n\n— Blake Toppmeyer\n\nTigers punch ticket to Big Dance\n\nFor the first time since 2017, Princeton is going to the men's NCAA Tournament. The Tigers had four players reach double figures in a 74-65 victory over Yale Sunday in the Ivy League Tournament championship. Forward Tosan Evbuomwan led the way for Princeton, dropping 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting.\n\nThis marks the 26th trip to the tournament in program history.\n\nAlabama races out to 11-point led in SEC final\n\nThe Crimson Tide defense showed up again and held Texas A&M to 20.7% shooting (6-for-29) and 23 points in the first half of the SEC Tournament final. In fact, because the Aggies are 10-of-12 from the line, they have scored just 13 points off of made field goals.\n\nAlabama, meanwhile, has been efficient, scoring at a 40.7% clip. Forward Brandon Miller (eight points) and guard Jahvon Quinerly (13) have led the way for the Tide.\n\nPrinceton holding steady, Yale running out of time\n\nThe Tigers opened the second half on a 14-8 run to extend their lead, but Yale has battled back to stay within striking distance. The problem for the Bulldogs is that time is running out. Princeton is holding a 55-48 lead with 7:47 left to play in the Ivy League final and the Tigers have done it behind forward Tosan Evbuomwan, whose 20 points (8-of-13 from the field) lead all players.\n\nPrinceton is looking to win its first Ivy League Tournament since 2017, the inaugural season of the championship.\n\nTigers extend lead in first half of Ivy League final\n\nA buzzer-beating three-pointer from Princeton forward Caden Pierce gave the Tigers a 33-29 lead heading into halftime. The Tigers got big first-half contributions from Pierce (eight points), forward Tosan Evbuomwan (10 points) and guard Matt Allocco (nine points), who combined for 27 of Princeton's 33 (81.8%) points. Only five Princeton players, all of whom are starters, have scored points in the Ivy League Championship.\n\nYale, on the other hand, got a huge spark from reserve forward Matt Knowling, who scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench. That's tied for the team high through the first half with fellow guard August Mahoney, who did so on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.\n\nHow Mick Cronin went from being perceived as an underwhelming hire by UCLA almost four years ago to the coach who has revived the school’s basketball program is best illustrated by, well, a dog bone.\n\nIt measures two feet long.\n\nIt travels with the second-ranked Bruins.\n\nIt represents what Cronin has instilled in his players, who along with the dog bone are in Las Vegas this week competing for the Pac-12 tournament title and possibly a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.\n\n“When they throw the food out at night from a restaurant, the law of the alley says that the hungry dog’s going to get the bone,’’ Cronin told USA TODAY Sports. “A hungry dog’s going to go fight and get the bone and take all of this clawing and scratching because he’s starving.\n\n“That’s how you have to be as a team.’’\n\n— Josh Peter\n\nPrinceton starts hot in Ivy League final, Yale answers\n\nThe Tigers did it on both ends to start the Ivy League Championship, scoring the game's first 12 points a quarter of the way through the first half. But the Bulldogs got some defensive stops and then answered with an 11-point run over 3:35 of game time midway through the period. Though it looked like the final was setting up to be a game of runs, both squads settled and traded baskets.\n\nYale, which is looking for its third consecutive Ivy League Tournament championship, shot 8-of-22 (36.4%) from the field, while Princeton converted 8-of-20 (40%) baskets with 5:15 left to play in the first half. The Bulldogs scored nine points off the bench and are down 23-20.\n\nTexas takeover\n\nThis year's men's NCAA Tournament will have some solid representation from the nation's second-biggest state.\n\nTexas is expected to be home to more than 10% of the 68-team field with seven schools likely included when the committee's bracket is unveiled. Texas, Texas Southern and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each won automatic berths in their conference tournaments. Houston can be the fourth Sunday in the American Athletic title game against Memphis. Even if the No. 1 Cougars lose, they should be one of the top seeds along with other at-large entries from the Lone Star State — Baylor, TCU and Texas A&M.\n\nWinners and losers ahead of Selection Sunday\n\nSelection Sunday starts at 6 p.m. ET but we have plenty to work out before that — like who the No. 1 overall seed will be, and where they’re going to play. The overall No. 1 seed location will dictate where everyone else goes, and a lot can happen on championship Sunday, when conference tournament titles will be awarded in the SEC, Big Ten and AAC, among others.\n\nA lot can happen between now and when the bracket goes from pencil to pen. But for now, these are Saturday's winners and losers. Kansas might be kicking itself for a while after no-showing against the Longhorns, but a run to the Final Four will make everyone feel better and forget about this performance.\n\nThese are the winners and losers in men's college basketball ahead of Selection Sunday.\n\n— Lindsay Schnell\n\nThere are 32 conference tournaments that produce 32 automatic bids. The other 36 at-large teams selected to the field will be announced on Selection Sunday. Here is who has secured automatic bids.\n\nAlabama: SEC tournament champion\n\nArizona: Pac-12 Conference tournament champion\n\nCharleston: Colonial Athletic Association tournament champion\n\nColgate: Patriot League tournament champion\n\nDrake: Missouri Valley tournament champion\n\nDuke: ACC tournament champion\n\nFairleigh Dickinson: Earns Northeast Conference bid due to title game opponent Merrimack's ineligibility\n\nFlorida Atlantic: Conference USA tournament champion\n\nFurman: Southern tournament champion\n\nGonzaga: West Coast Conference tournament champion\n\nGrand Canyon: WAC tournament champion\n\nHoward: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament champion\n\nIona: MAAC tournament champion\n\nKennesaw State: Atlantic Sun tournament champion\n\nKent State: MAC tournament champion\n\nLouisiana-Lafayette: Sun Belt tournament champion\n\nMarquette: Big East Conference tournament champion\n\nMemphis: American Athletic Conference tournament champion\n\nMontana State: Big Sky tournament champion\n\nNorth Carolina-Asheville: Big South tournament champion\n\nNorthern Kentucky: Horizon League tournament champion\n\nOral Roberts: Summit League tournament champion\n\nPrinceton: Ivy League tournament champion\n\nPurdue: Big 10 tournament champion\n\nSan Diego State: Mountain West Conference tournament champion\n\nSoutheast Missouri State: Ohio Valley Conference tournament champion\n\nTexas: Big 12 Conference tournament champion\n\nTexas A&M-Corpus Christi: Southland Conference tournament champion\n\nTexas Southern: SWAC tournament champion\n\nUC Santa Barbara: Big West Conference tournament champion\n\nVermont: America East tournament champion\n\nVirginia Commonwealth: Atlantic 10 tournament champion\n\nSome of the most successful coaches in college basketball rank among the nation's highest-paid, including Kansas coach Bill Self and Virginia's Tony Bennett. But there are many more coaches struggling to match the expectations that come with a contract worth multiple millions in annual salary.\n\nThat includes the highest-paid coach in the sport, Kentucky's John Calipari, who is earning $8.5 million in total compensation with a contract that runs through the 2028-29 season. After being knocked out in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats have spent most of this season unranked and on the tournament bubble.\n\nUSA TODAY Sports compiled pay information from each school in the Power Five conferences and from each school outside those conferences whose team has appeared in at least three of the past five NCAA tournaments.\n\nThese are the five most overpaid coaches in men's college basketball.\n\n— Paul Myerberg", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/12"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_11", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/01/much-cost-final-four-indy/70806958/", "title": "How much does it cost to have the Final Four in Indy?", "text": "Mark Alesia\n\nmark.alesia@indystar.com\n\nThe men's Final Four comes to town this weekend, with a great story line in undefeated Kentucky, attractive teams and soaring television ratings.\n\nTens of thousands of people from out of state will spend money that wouldn't otherwise be spent in and around Indianapolis. It likely means Indy's television exposure will be more valuable because of a larger TV audience.\n\nBut while the city throws a party for basketball, the price of being a sports city is going up.\n\n\"Having been in the business for 21 years, that is a market where the competitive dynamics have changed,\" said Leonard Hoops, president of Visit Indy. \"The sporting events themselves have better understood the potential value of their asset and the interest it draws from destinations around the country. So they've gone in and said, 'Well, if you want us to be in your city, here's what we want.' \"\n\nAnd in the case of the minimum bid requirements for this Final Four — obtained by The Indianapolis Star from a party involved in the process — the NCAA tells cities they're encouraged to provide \"enhancements\" to those minimums.\n\nBy that, the bid document says, cities can show \"a commitment ... to forego, for the benefit of the NCAA, any portion of the revenue reserved to the (local event organizing committee)\" and \"offer additional forms of value to the NCAA.\"\n\nIt's impossible to tell how much it costs for Indianapolis to put on the Final Four, and the amount of public money involved, because of secrecy surrounding bids for major sports events.\n\n\"I'm not trying to be a jerk,\" said Ryan Vaughn, president of the Indiana Sports Corp., which organizes Indy's bids for major sports events and coordinates the work as host city. \"I just don't want to give up our competitive advantage and our relationships.\"\n\nBut there are clues to the money involved.\n\nMultimillion-dollar show\n\nTexas has a Major Events Fund to apply tax money toward sports events.\n\nGetting the money requires itemizing expenses. Public records show that last year's men's Final Four in the Dallas area cost $10.7 million in state and local tax money. That included everything from $320 for the shot clock operator to $29,041 for cancellation insurance to $76,636 for police escorts.\n\nBecause of Indy's compact Downtown, officials said, the bill is less here.\n\nIn November, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained bid documents that showed up to $8.5 million in public money being used for the 2020 Final Four.\n\nThat included $3.15 million for stadium expenses and $3.33 million for the fan festival and concerts.\n\nThe money comes from a 1 percent increase in the city's hotel-motel tax. The head of the city's visitors bureau told the newspaper that \"one of the beauties of this model\" is the money comes mostly from out-of-state people.\n\nThat is the argument Vaughn makes for Indy.\n\n\"The industry becomes self-sustaining or self-perpetuating by virtue of the fact that it's visitors and folks who come here driving the revenue that supports the event,\" Vaughn said.\n\nIt's a lot of tax money.\n\nThe Capital Improvement Board took in almost $143 million in 2013 from a variety of taxes, including hotels, rental cars, food and beverage. The CIB uses the money to pay for Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center and their operation. (The Pacers operate Bankers Life Fieldhouse, although the CIB pays the expenses.)\n\nThere is still debt on the old RCA Dome that isn't scheduled to be paid off until 2021. The stadium was demolished in 2008. That debt of about $43 million is combined with improvements and debt refinancing for the convention center, according to the CIB.\n\nTaxpayers paid for at least $620 million of the $720 million to build Lucas Oil Stadium, site of the Final Four.\n\nThe CIB uses its tax money to fund Visit Indy, the tourism bureau, whose primary role in the Final Four bid was to secure hotel rooms for the best price possible. It also works on space needs at the convention center and markets Indy as a tourist destination.\n\nIndiana public records law allows the CIB to redact the essential parts of contracts, such as the one with the NCAA for use of the convention center for its fan festival.\n\nVaughn said that when the Sports Corp. bids on events, \"We're raising that from private corporations or individual donors who see value in attracting the event for them.\"\n\nThe Sports Corp. is a tax-exempt organization. Its latest tax filing shows revenue of $4.6 million, including $350,000 in \"government grants,\" $400,000 in membership dues and $1.2 million in contributions.\n\nThe Final Four, Vaughn said, is \"certainly a multimillion-dollar event expense, for sure. Whether it's $10.7 million (like Texas), I don't think so.\"\n\nIn relative terms, the Indianapolis host committee for the Super Bowl said it raised about $25 million from corporate and private donors to pay a wide array of expenses.\n\nVisit Indy estimates that the Final Four will have an economic impact of $71 million. That's based on an \"economic impact calculator\" developed for Indy by Rockport Analytics.\n\nSports economist Brad Humphreys of the University of West Virginia said he couldn't do a precise analysis without looking at the methodology. But he said the economic impact number is \"almost certainly overstated.\"\n\nA city that delivers\n\nMark Lewis, NCAA executive vice president, said every Final Four city is different for assessing bids.\n\nThere are publicly owned stadiums and privately owned stadiums. There are different amounts of public money and private money involved.\n\n\"For us, the key is, we need to have a city and organization structure that can deliver,\" Lewis said. \"Indianapolis is one of the best at that.\"\n\nAccording to the NCAA bid document obtained by The Star, the NCAA keeps ticket money and controls at least half of the luxury suites, including all suites above the length of the basketball court. The NCAA keeps money from programs and souvenirs. It gets 325 parking spaces at the stadium.\n\nThe local organizers pay for security and crowd control at Lucas Oil Stadium, the fan festival and music festival. Same for fire and medical personnel.\n\nThe venue keeps parking and concessions money. The NCAA provides the \"basketbowl\" seating and pays to set it up.\n\nLewis said the convention center space for the fan fest is free, but corporate sponsors pay for their own attractions. Indy also had to provide space for the National Association of Basketball Coaches convention trade show and the use of Old National Centre for Thursday night's Final Four Salute program.\n\nThe NCAA receives the large majority of its money from the men's basketball tournament. Most of that money is distributed to member schools in direct payments and services.\n\nLewis said the group doesn't try to squeeze every penny it can out of host cities.\n\nThe three-day March Madness Musical Festival, for example, is free to the public and has corporate sponsors that pay for the bands. As for the space for a concert, the stage, the fencing, the portable toilets ... cities might choose to provide that as part of their bid.\n\n\"We always want to make sure we're asking people to compete for (the Final Four),\" Lewis said, \"but not leave a bad taste in their mouth.\"\n\nCall Star reporter Mark Alesia at (317) 444-6311. Follow him on Twitter:@markalesia.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/04/01"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2017/01/17/final-four-phoenix-basketball-town-colangelo/95663062/", "title": "Final Four proves Phoenix is a basketball town: 7 for 2017", "text": "Jerry Colangelo, AZ I See It\n\nEditor's Note: The Republic asked Valley leaders to share their take on events that will happen in 2017, including the NCAA Final Four Tournament that will be held at University of Phoenix Stadium April 1 and 3.\n\nUpon arriving in Phoenix almost 50 years ago, it was unimaginable for me to think that one day the NCAA Final Four Tournament would be held here in the Valley.\n\nAnd back then, who would have even cared? Though ASU had a nice run under legendary coach Ned Wulk in the '60s and '70s, interest in basketball throughout the Valley was pretty limited. Even after the Phoenix Suns made their NBA debut in 1968, fan interest was marginal. Most people attending our games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum were only there to watch and cheer their team – the visiting team!\n\nArizona at pinnacle of March Madness\n\nSpeed forward all these years later and Arizona joins just 21 other states to have ever hosted this iconic sporting spectacle. And today there are only nine venues in America that even meet the NCAA criteria for hosting this prestigious 87-year-old tournament. Fortunately for us, University of Phoenix Stadium is one of them.\n\nThis spring, “March Madness” will culminate here in Valley, and basketball fans from around the world will be watching. Dateline Glendale — and the larger metropolitan Phoenix area — will enjoy hundreds of millions of dollars in media exposure as 90-plus million fans will watch on television. Many others will watch the games online and all of this exposure will ultimately be a huge boost for Arizona tourism. The immediate benefits are also tremendous as last year more than 100,000 fans traveled to Houston for the game or weekend festivities and the city benefited from $300 million in direct economic impact.\n\nThere are also significant benefits for our community as the NCAA Legacy Restoration Project will rebuild Harmon Park in downtown Phoenix. For years this park has been a hotbed for professional and college players looking for a pickup game. And the kids watching ultimately become more than just spectators as they take up the game and get into youth leagues … and off the streets.\n\nWho would've imagined ...\n\nPhoenix will actually be the first western city to host a Final Four since 1995, and this is a testament to the incredible success of all the prior major sporting events that have been staged in the Valley. Three Super Bowls, multiple NBA and MLB All-Star Weekends, several NCAA National Championship football games and so many other sporting events have paved the way for our turn to host a Final Four. Our great weather and a legion of seasoned volunteers extending warm Arizona hospitality to visiting fans will ensure that the NCAA returns again and again.\n\nBOIVIN: Your Final Four teams? Got 'em right here\n\nBeyond the important economic benefits and significant media exposure that is generated by hosting “The Big Dance,” I suppose what I’m most excited about is how it works to further validate the Valley as a sports mecca. Again, I would have never imagined that Phoenix would be among the nation’s elite cities to host these signature sporting events, and I think we may sometimes take this for granted as other cities can’t boast of such trust and popularity.\n\nOn a more personal note, basketball has meant so very much to me as I first started dribbling a basketball at age 7. It ultimately afforded me the opportunity to attend the University of Illinois, where I played on a scholarship, and eventually led me into my first job with the expansion franchise Chicago Bulls. In turn that provided me and my family the opportunity to move to Phoenix and start an NBA expansion franchise — our beloved Phoenix Suns. The Suns and a tradition of basketball in the Valley then led to the start of the Phoenix Mercury franchise, which has resulted in multiple WNBA championships.\n\nIt’s fair to say that Phoenix is today an indisputable basketball town.\n\nCementing our basketball mecca status\n\nThroughout my career, I have been privileged to be involved in numerous other basketball organizations, programs and activities and serve in a multitude of leadership roles.\n\nI have been most honored to serve as chairman of USA Men’s and Women’s Basketball these past dozen years and help orchestrate our country’s return to world dominance in the sport, winning three consecutive gold medals. One day, I am hopeful that the USA Olympic Basketball Headquarters will actually relocate to the Valley, as that would only further validate us as a basketball mecca.\n\nAs chairman of the Board of Governors of Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and a 2004 inductee into the hall, I am also working to place a west coast museum here as that too would help us attract future signature basketball events.\n\nThe sport of basketball has meant so very much to me and my family. As it turns out, it has also meant a great deal to the Valley of the Sun, helping transform us from a sleepy desert town into a true “major league” city.\n\nJerry Colangelo is a principal partner of JDM Partners LLC, a real estate development company, and a longtime sports executive. He was the first general manager of the Phoenix Suns and was managing general partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is managing director of the USA Olympic Men’s Basketball Team.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/01/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/finalfour/2023/03/25/where-is-final-four-2024-future-locations/11414510002/", "title": "Where is the 2024 Final Four? Future men's championships coming ...", "text": "The 2023 Final Four came to a close with UConn winning the national championship in dominant fashion over unlikely runner-up San Diego State, but it's never too early to look ahead to where it will settle in the future.\n\nThis year, the Final Four and championship were held at NRG Stadium in Houston, the third time the events have been held in the stadium and fourth time in the city.\n\nBut if you missed out on attending the title game this year, the next seven Final Four locations have already been determined, allowing college basketball fans to plan ahead. Here's what to know.\n\nWant to buy NCAA men's national championship tickets? Here's what to know about going to the championship game\n\nFollow the madness: Latest Men's NCAA Tournament College Basketball Scores and Schedules\n\nFuture Final Four locations: 2024 and beyond\n\nHere is where and when the next seven Final Fours will be, up to 2030:\n\n2024: Phoenix – State Farm Stadium, April 6 and 8\n\n2025: San Antonio – Alamodome, April 5 and 7\n\n2026: Indianapolis – Lucas Oil Stadium, April 4 and 6\n\n2027: Detroit – Ford Field, April 3 and 5\n\n2028: Las Vegas – Allegiant Stadium, April 1 and 3\n\n2029: Indianapolis – Lucas Oil Stadium, March 31 and April 2\n\n2030: North Texas – AT&T Stadium, April 6 and 8\n\nWhat to know about future Final Four sites\n\nAll known future sites will be held in football stadiums, a tradition of holding the Final Four in larger stadiums that began in 1971 (Astrodome) and became an annual occurrence in 1997 (RCA Dome).\n\nAll of the future sites have already hosted a Final Four except for Allegiant Stadium, as 2028 will be the first time the Final Four will be played in Las Vegas and the state of Nevada.\n\nLucas Oil Stadium will also be hosting two Final Fours in a four-year span, which will make it the fifth time it will host the event. By 2029, the city of Indianapolis will have hosted 10 Final Fours, tying it with Kansas City for the most times hosting the college basketball finale.\n\nFollow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/25"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/12/march-madness-selection-sunday-live-updates/11428190002/", "title": "March Madness 2023 bracket reveal: Updates on Selection Sunday", "text": "March Madness 2023 takes center stage with Selection Sunday, when teams across college basketball learn if they'll earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament.\n\nUSA TODAY Sports will provide the latest bracket reveal updates, news, analysis, conference tournament scores and more throughout the day. Follow along.\n\nHow to enter USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge with a chance to win $1 million\n\nThe USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back. There’s a $1 million grand prize for a perfect bracket, $25,000 prize for the top bracket. The Challenge is free to enter for those age 21 and over. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See official rules and get in the game.\n\nAlabama clearly the favorite in South Region, but championship pedigree lurks\n\nThe South Region is loaded. It begins at the top with the overall highest seed, but if Alabama is to make its first Final Four in program history, it will have to navigate a bracket filled with lots of accomplished programs, including four programs with national championship banners hanging in their home arenas.\n\nTwo of the three most recent NCAA champs are here, Baylor and Virginia. Arizona, a powerhouse of the ‘90’s, is back in the title hunt. Then there’s Maryland, which cut down the nets early this century and is hoping to make noise as one of the Big Ten’s numerous representatives in the field.\n\n— Eddie Timanus\n\nDefending-champion Kansas leads West Region\n\nGood news for the Jayhawks – they wouldn’t have to play Texas again until the Final Four. Even better news – Kansas head coach Bill Self is expected to rejoin the team. He was discharged Sunday from the hospital, where he checked in Wednesday with chest tightness and balance problems.\n\nThe No. 2 seed, UCLA, enters the tournament with injury issues. If UCLA hadn’t lost defensive whiz Jaylen Clark to injury in the regular-season finale, there’s a good chance the the Bruins would have had a No. 1 seed and a path to the Final Four.\n\n— Josh Peter\n\nPurdue is No. 1 in East Region, but lots of contenders loom\n\nPurdue is looking to advance to the Final Four for the first time under coach Matt Painter and the first time as a program since 1980. The Boilermakers are built around 7-foot-4 junior center Zach Edey, the favorite for national player of the year.\n\nThe East Region doesn't lack for star power: Purdue is joined by No. 2 Marquette, No. 3 Kansas State and No. 4 Tennessee, followed by No. 5 Duke and No. 6 Kentucky.\n\n— Paul Myerberg\n\nTexas A&M, Penn State have little time to bounce back\n\nHow can you not like a regional bracket that – if the seedings hold form – will have Texas meeting Texas A&M in the second round and wind its way to Houston and Texas playing for a spot in a Final Four being held in Houston?\n\nThe best first-round matchup in the Midwest?\n\nThe Texas A&M-Penn State game pairs teams that had great runs this weekend and have tremendous guard play; but both played Sunday and have to come back and play Thursday. (It also matches the sartorial splendiferousness of Aggies coach Buzz Williams and his suit vests against the quarter-zip-casual Micah Shrewsberry.)\n\n— Steve Berkowitz\n\nAlabama men a popular choice to win it all\n\nDick Vitale and Rece Davis were among the ESPN analysts to pick Alabama basketball to go all the way. Alabama is the No. 1 overall seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament.\n\nVitale predicted Alabama, Duke, Texas, and Gonzaga would reach the Final Four in Houston, with Alabama winning its first national title.\n\nDavis, an Alabama graduate, also predicted the Crimson Tide would make the Final Four, alongside Duke, UConn, and Texas, with Alabama cutting down the nets. Analysts LaPhonso Ellis and Seth Greenberg agreed, both having the same Final Four and the Crimson Tide as their national champion.\n\n— Mikey DiLullo, The Tuscaloosa News\n\nSouth Carolina women get top seed overall\n\nCOLUMBIA, S.C. — There were no surprises for the South Carolina women's basketball team as it watched the Selection Sunday show for its March Madness placement. As expected, the Gamecocks drew the top overall seed in the 2023 women's NCAA Tournament.\n\nThe No. 1 Gamecocks (32-0) will host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, facing Norfolk State (26-6) at Colonial Life Arena on Friday.\n\nSouth Carolina enters March Madness undefeated for the first time in program history, and the team will look to become just the 10th women's team in NCAA history to complete a perfect season. The Gamecocks also aim to defend their 2022 national championship. Just three programs — Southern California, Tennessee and UConn — have ever won consecutive titles.\n\n— Emily Adams, Greenville News\n\nTexas interim coach only focused on Colgate, not rival Texas A&M\n\nThe Texas men’s basketball team will compete in the Midwest region headlined by No. 1 seed Houston. But the region also includes No. 3 Xavier, No. 4 Indiana and No. 7 Texas A&M. If A&M beats Penn State and Texas handles Patriot League champion Colgate, then the Longhorns and Aggies would meet in the second round.\n\nBut Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry wasn't interested in any possible theatrics with ancient rivals at Texas A&M, which will renew a conference rivalry with the Longhorns when Texas joins the SEC for the 2024-25 school year. He knows his squad could have their hands full with a dangerous Colgate team that likes to launch an array of 3-pointers - which is a recipe often use by underdogs in March Madness.\n\n\"Colgate will be on our minds, and that's what we're going to start working on,\" he said Sunday. \"Our staff will be working tirelessly on (studying) them starting here in a couple of hours. We'll be digging into them; they're a good team, a conference champion.\"\n\nHouston, powered by point guard Jamal Shead, earned the region's top seed after going 31-3 and winning the regular-season title in the American Athletic Conference. They lost high-scoring guard Marcus Sasser to an injury during the tournament, and he did not play in Houston's 75-65 loss to Memphis in the conference title game Sunday.\n\n— Thomas Jones, Austin American-Statesman\n\nRutgers among top tournament snubs\n\nA soft non-conference schedule and an injury to forward Mawot Mag likely cost the Rutgers men’s basketball team a trip to the NCAA Tournament.\n\nMag went down with a torn ACL in early February. Rutgers was not the same team without him; the Scarlet Knights were 8-4 in the Big Ten at the time and went 2-6 for the rest of the regular season. The NCAA considers injuries when weighing the selection process, and selection committee chair Chris Reynolds referenced Mag's injury while being interviewed on CBS after the bracket was unveiled.\n\nAsked about Reynolds' comment regarding Mag, coach Steve Pikiell said, “Again, you know they felt like our resume wasn’t good enough, but obviously that changed our team a little but. But I do think we did a lot this year; they’re supposed to look at our entire schedule, our entire body of work.”\n\nPikiell acknowledged his players' disappointment and added, \"every (projected) bracket kind of had them in. I’m sure they were seeing that.\"\n\n— Jerry Carino, Asbury Park Press\n\nPurdue is your final No. 1 seed and heads East\n\nLots contenders here to make it to New York for the reginal final. Purdue won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament title but now must face the winner of either Memphis or Florida Atlantic. Not an easy task. Duke is also a dangerous team having run through the ACC tournament now that it is healthy. Getting a No. 5 seed, the Blue Devils get to face a struggling Tennessee in the second round if each advance. Kentucky and Providence - two teams previously coached by Rick Pitino - meet in what should be an entertaining opener. Marquette and Kansas State - the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds - both had surprising successes this year and could face off in Sweet 16.\n\nIn Columbus, Ohio\n\nNo. 1 Purdue (26-5)\n\nNo. 16 Texas Southern-Fairleigh Dickinson\n\nNo. 8 Memphis (26-8)\n\nNo. 9 Florida Atlantic (31-3)\n\nIn Orlando, Fla.\n\nNo. 5 Duke (26-8)\n\nNo. 12 Oral Roberts (30-4)\n\nNo. 4 Tennessee (22-10)\n\nNo. 13. Louisiana-Lafayette (26-7)\n\nIn Greensboro, N.C.\n\nNo. 6 Kentucky (21-11)\n\nNo. 11 Providence (21-11)\n\nNo. 3 Kansas State (23-9)\n\nNo. 14 Montana State (25-9)\n\nIn Columbus, Ohio\n\nNo. 7 Michigan State (19-12)\n\nNo. 10 Southern California (22-10)\n\nNo. 2 Marquette (28-6)\n\nNo. 15 Vermont (23-10)\n\nKansas earns No. 1 seed in West\n\nSo the Jayhawks don't get to go to Kansas City and head west into a region with UCLA and Gonzaga. Shapes up as one of the best regionals to watch. Arkansas and Illinois will fight to play Kansas in the second round. Bill Self would face his former team if the Illini advance. Saint Mary's and VCU should be an up-and-down gain with a classic 5-12 feel. Iona and Rick Pitino are capable of beating Connecticut in a home-state game. TCU - hurt by a loss to star Mike Miles - was only seeded sixth, but with Miles back are capable of making a run. Gonzaga and UCLA meeting in Las Vegas in the Sweet 16 would be a heck of a showdown.\n\nIn Des Moines, Iowa\n\nNo. 1 Kansas (27-7)\n\nNo. 16 Howard (22-12)\n\nNo. 8 Arkansas (20-13)\n\nNo. 9 Illinois (20-12)\n\nIn Albany, N.Y.\n\nNo. 5 Saint Mary's (26-7)\n\nNo. 12 Virginia commonwealth (27-7)\n\nNo. 4 Connecticut (25-8)\n\nNo. 13 Iona (27-7)\n\nIn Denver\n\nNo. 6 TCU (21-12)\n\nNo. 11 Arizona State/Nevada\n\nNo. 3 Gonzaga (28-5)\n\nNo. 14 Grand Canyon (24-11)\n\nIn Sacramento, Calif.\n\nNo. 7 Northwestern (21-11)\n\nNo. 10 Boise State (24-9)\n\nNo. 2 UCLA (29-5)\n\nNo. 15 UNC Asheville (27-7)\n\nHouston is the No. 1 seed in Midwest Region\n\nThis looks like a very-balanced regional and could feature one of the best first-round games with Texas A&M and Penn State both coming off runs to their conference title games. Texas won the Big 12 tournament and will have a great opportunity to reach the regional final. They could face in-state rival Houston with a trip to the Final Four in ... Houston. Xavier being seeded as high as a No. 3 even with a run to the Big East final. Kent State has a good chance to knock off Indiana in the first round.\n\nIn Birmingham, Ala.\n\nNo. 1 Houston (31-3)\n\nNo. 16 Northern Kentucky (22-12)\n\nNo. 8 Iowa (19-13)\n\nNo. 9 Auburn (20-12)\n\nIn Albany, N.Y.\n\nNo. 5 Miami (Fla.) (25-7)\n\nNo. 12 Drake (27-7)\n\nNo. 4 Indiana (22-11)\n\nNo. 13 Kent State (28-6)\n\nIn Greensboro, N.C.\n\nNo. 6 Iowa State (19-13)\n\nNo. 11 Mississippi State-Pittsburgh\n\nNo. 3 Xavier (25-9)\n\nNo. 14 Kennesaw State (26-8)\n\nIn Des Moines, Iowa\n\nNo. 7 Texas A&M (25-9)\n\nNo. 10 Penn State (22-13)\n\nNo. 2 Texas (26-8)\n\nNo. 15 Colgate (26-8)\n\nAlabama earns the No. 1 overall seed and plays in South\n\nThe Crimson Tide leads the South Regional and gets to play through Louisville in the Sweet 16 if they get that far. Arizona and Baylor are two tough seeds lurking, however, in their path. The first-round matchup of San Diego State and College of Charleston should be a doozy. Nice regional rivalry in the 8-9 game featuring Maryland and West Virginia. Creighton could sleeper team to watch for if they can play as they did in the second half of the season.\n\nIn Birmingham, Ala.\n\nNo. 1 Alabama (29-5)\n\nNo. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi-Southeast Missouri State\n\nNo. 8 Maryland (21-12)\n\nNo. 9 West Virginia (19-14\n\nIn Orlando\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State (27-6)\n\nNo. 12 College of Charleston (31-3)\n\nNo. 4 Virginia (25-7)\n\nNo. 13 Furman (27-7)\n\nIn Denver\n\nNo. 6 Creighton (21-12)\n\nNo. 11 North Carolina State (23-10)\n\nNo. 3 Baylor (22-10)\n\nNo. 14 UC Santa Barbara (27-7)\n\nIn Sacramento, Calif.\n\nNo. 7 Missouri (24-9)\n\nNo. 10 Utah State (26-8)\n\nNo. 2 Arizona (28-6)\n\nNo. 15 Princeton (21-8)\n\nWhen is Selection Sunday 2023?\n\nSunday, March 12, 2023. The men’s bracket reveal show begins at 6 p.m. ET and airs on CBS. The women’s bracket reveal show begins at 8 p.m. and airs on ESPN.\n\nPRINTABLE BRACKET:Fill out the NCAA Tournament field as bids are announced\n\nWhat day does March Madness start?\n\nGames for the men's First Four are March 14-15. The women's First Four will be played March 15-16. First-round games for the men are March 16-17 and March 17-18 for the women.\n\nMarch Madness 2023 schedule\n\nHere is the men's schedule:\n\nFirst Four: March 14-15\n\nFirst round: March 16-17\n\nSecond round: March 18-19\n\nSweet 16: March 23-24\n\nElite Eight: March 25-26\n\nFinal Four: April 1\n\nNational championship game: April 3\n\nHere is the women's schedule:\n\nFirst Four: March 15-16\n\nFirst round: March 17-18\n\nSecond round: March 19-20\n\nSweet 16: March 24-25\n\nElite Eight: March 26-27\n\nFinal Four: Friday, March 31\n\nNational championship game: Sunday, April 2\n\nHow to watch March Madness 2023\n\nFor the men, CBS will air the Selection Sunday show, as well as the Final Four and the national championship game. TruTV will carry the First Four. CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV will air first- and second-round games. CBS and TBS will air Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. CBS will air the men's Final Four and championship game.\n\nFor the women, ESPN will air the Selection Sunday show. ESPN and ABC will carry the First Four. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews and ABC will air first- and second-round games. ESPN and ABC will air Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. ABC will air the national championship game.\n\nWho are the March Madness 2023 broadcasters?\n\nFor the eighth consecutive year, Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson will call the men's Final Four and championship game. This will mark Nantz's 32nd – and final – Final Four as lead play-by-play announcer. Nantz announced in October that he would be leaving the longtime role with CBS and Turner Sports to be with his family.\n\nJay Wright and Stan Van Gundy will join NCAA Tournament coverage as analysts. The network also tried in vain to get Dick Vitale to join its team. Vitale said he turned down the offer, in part, because of loyalty to ESPN, the network he has worked for since 1979.\n\nGreg Gumbel will host studio coverage from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York, joined by Charles Barkley, Clark Kellogg and Kenny Smith as well as Wally Szczerbiak. Ernie Johnson will host studio coverage from WBD Studios in Atlanta alongside Jay Wright, Candace Parker and Seth Davis. Additionally, Adam Zucker and Adam Lefkoe will also serve as hosts from New York and Atlanta, respectively.\n\nPrintable March Madness 2023 bracket\n\nHere is a printable version of the men's bracket. Here is a printable version of the women's bracket.\n\nFilling out a March Madness bracket is a daunting task.\n\nCompared to correctly predicting the fate of 68 teams through six rounds, the USA TODAY Sports' March Madness survivor pool games appear to be a much more accessible challenge.\n\nMake a small number of picks each round. If you get them right, you advance. Last the longest without missing a pick and collect some serious cash. And you get two chances to win by competing in both the men's and women's survivor pools.\n\nIs it really that simple?\n\nWell, here's the catch: You can only pick a team once during the entire tournament. Each of your picks must be correct to advance to the next round. If you fail to make any or all picks in a round, you are eliminated.\n\nAhead of Selection Sunday, which will reveal the 68-team fields for both tournaments, USA TODAY Sports announced two brand new survivor pool games to give fans a chance to win $5,000, the amount awarded to the person who lasts the longest in the men's or women's pools.\n\nHere are the keys to winning the survivor pool.\n\n— Richard Morin\n\nMemphis answers, pulls away to earn AAC title\n\nThough Houston eventually cut the lead to five late in the second half, Memphis tightened up with half-court pressure to help its defense facilitate its offense. The Cougars took the American Athletic Conference championship, 75-65. Leading the charge was guard and Houston-native Kendric Davis, who has ignited for 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting and a perfect 8-of-8 from the line.\n\nWith Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (groin) sidelined, Houston went to a short rotation, with only seven players hitting the floor. The offense was disjointed, despite the Cougars taking an overwhelming 21-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Houston shot only 31.3% (20-of-64) from the floor, though the Cougars still have a chance to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.\n\nPurdue (barely) closes out Penn State\n\nPurdue had outclassed Penn State in just about every major category. Still, the Nittany Lions nearly pulled off the miraculous comeback, scoring five points inside the final 20 seconds of the Big Ten tournament final to close the gap to one point. The Boilermakers, however, held on, 67-65, to win the conference title.\n\nPenn State had no answer for Purdue center Zach Edey, whose 30-point, 13-rebound performance Sunday prevented the Nittany Lions from ever overcoming the steady deficit they faced throughout the game.\n\nHouston charging back\n\nThe Cougars have relied on a zone defense in the second half to smother Memphis, which started the period 1-of-8 from the field. Houston has started to have mid-range and three-point shots drop and started the second half on a 14-3 run.\n\nThe only thing that has allowed Memphis to retain its lead has been consistent shooting from the free-throw line, as Houston has fallen into foul trouble midway through the second half. The Tigers lead 55-48 with 11:07 left to play in the American Athletic Conference championship game.\n\nNittany Lions go ice cold from 3-point\n\nPenn State has struggled to find consistent offense throughout the Big 10 Tournament final and a large part of that has been because of the team's inefficiency from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions have converted just 3-of-15 (20%) three-point attempts.\n\nCoupled with Purdue's absolute domination on the glass, where the Boilermakers have a 9:3 advantage on offensive rebounds, and Purdue has opened a comfortable 52-41 lead with 9:29 left to play in the game.\n\nPair of games at the half\n\nWith guard Marcus Sasser apparently out for Houston the Cougars simply haven't been able to sustain consistent offense in the American Athletic Conference tournament final. After keeping it close in the first 10 minutes of the game, Houston fell behind and is in danger of being blown out, as Memphis guard Kendric Davis went off for 20 points in the first half. At one point midway through the first half, Davis had scored as many points as Houston's entire team had. The Tigers lead 46-31.\n\nIn the Big Ten tournament final, Purdue has opened a 35-27 lead on Penn State. The Nittany Lions finished the half strong, though no player has more points than Camren Wynter's seven. Boilermaker center Zach Edey is dominating, scoring 15 points (on 7-of-10 shooting) and collecting seven rebounds.\n\nOffenses slow to start in Big Ten title game\n\nIt has been a slow start for both Penn State and Purdue midway through the first half of the Big Ten Tournament championship, though the Nittany Lions, in particular, have struggled. Both teams have combined to go 10-of-30 (33.3%) from the field, with the Boilermakers taking a 13-6 lead with just fewer than 10 minutes to play in the period.\n\nIt has been a different story in the AAC title game\n\nEven with Houston not starting star guard Marcus Sasser (groin), both the Cougars and Memphis have found a rhythm early in the American Athletic Conference championship game. The Tigers, however, are particularly on a roll, connecting on 11-of-20 (55%) shots with 6:25 left to play in the first half. The Cougars slowed a touch after their hot start, and have gone 6-of-21 (28.6%) from the field as Memphis has taken a 26-18 lead.\n\nSasser, who averaged 17.1 points per game this season, has yet to appear in the game.\n\nRoll Tide Roll\n\nAlabama made its strongest case yet for the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed, crushing Texas A&M in an 82-63 victory in the SEC Tournament championship. The Crimson Tide excelled on help defense, hustle plays and rebounding, while holding the Aggies to 29.7% shooting (19-of-64).\n\nAlabama outrebounded Texas A&M by a margin of 50-39. The Tide were led by forward Brandon Miller (23 points, 12 rebounds) and guard Jahvon Quinerly (22 points). Texas A&M never held a lead in the game.\n\nThis marks Alabama's second SEC title in three seasons, and its 82 points were second most in program history in an SEC Tournament championship.\n\nAnother Tournament trip booked\n\nVCU cruised in the second half of the Atlantic 10 tournament championship, outscoring Dayton by 18 after halftime, en route to its 68-56 victory. The Flyers got a huge game from forward Daron Holmes II, who poured in half of Dayton's scoring with a 28-point, 16-rebound day. And while fellow forward Mustapha Amzil scored another 17 points, that was where Dayton's proficiency ended, as the next leading scorer, forward Toumani Camara, scored only six.\n\nVCU put on a clinic from three-point range, connecting on a staggering 8-of-17 (47.1%) from beyond the arc to pull away and make its second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three seasons.\n\nCrimson Tide pulling away as Aggies stars struggle\n\nAlabama forward Brandon Miller has caught fire in the second half of the SEC Tournament final, chipping in 18 points and 12 rebounds so far as the Crimson Tide are extending their lead.\n\nThe Aggies, who have never won a men's SEC Tournament championship, are looking like they will need to wait at least another season to do so. Guard Wade Taylor IV, the team's leading scorer in the regular season, has started the game 0-of-8 and scored only two points midway through the second half. Forward Julius Marble, Texas A&M's fourth-leading scorer, has been sidelined with foul trouble.\n\nThe Aggies trail 58-45, with 9:12 left to play.\n\nKentucky, in 2012, was the last SEC team to win it all.\n\nSEC schools supplied five of the nation’s top 12 men’s basketball coaching salaries when this season began, in USA TODAY’s latest analysis. The salary list features a facelift this year after well-paid stalwarts Mike Krzyzewski and Jay Wright retired.\n\nSEC basketball is on solid footing. The conference may tie its record with eight NCAA selections.\n\n\"I think we’re poised to have a team ascend to the top of the competitive mountain this year – and, if not this year, soon,\" SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey told USA TODAY Sports.\n\nIn the past 10 tournaments, the SEC supplied six Final Four teams. That matches the Big 12 and Big East and ranks one shy of the ACC and Big Ten.\n\nBut, investment doesn't ensure championships in a tournament celebrated for its madness.\n\nRead the full look into the investment into SEC basketball here.\n\n— Blake Toppmeyer\n\nTigers punch ticket to Big Dance\n\nFor the first time since 2017, Princeton is going to the men's NCAA Tournament. The Tigers had four players reach double figures in a 74-65 victory over Yale Sunday in the Ivy League Tournament championship. Forward Tosan Evbuomwan led the way for Princeton, dropping 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting.\n\nThis marks the 26th trip to the tournament in program history.\n\nAlabama races out to 11-point led in SEC final\n\nThe Crimson Tide defense showed up again and held Texas A&M to 20.7% shooting (6-for-29) and 23 points in the first half of the SEC Tournament final. In fact, because the Aggies are 10-of-12 from the line, they have scored just 13 points off of made field goals.\n\nAlabama, meanwhile, has been efficient, scoring at a 40.7% clip. Forward Brandon Miller (eight points) and guard Jahvon Quinerly (13) have led the way for the Tide.\n\nPrinceton holding steady, Yale running out of time\n\nThe Tigers opened the second half on a 14-8 run to extend their lead, but Yale has battled back to stay within striking distance. The problem for the Bulldogs is that time is running out. Princeton is holding a 55-48 lead with 7:47 left to play in the Ivy League final and the Tigers have done it behind forward Tosan Evbuomwan, whose 20 points (8-of-13 from the field) lead all players.\n\nPrinceton is looking to win its first Ivy League Tournament since 2017, the inaugural season of the championship.\n\nTigers extend lead in first half of Ivy League final\n\nA buzzer-beating three-pointer from Princeton forward Caden Pierce gave the Tigers a 33-29 lead heading into halftime. The Tigers got big first-half contributions from Pierce (eight points), forward Tosan Evbuomwan (10 points) and guard Matt Allocco (nine points), who combined for 27 of Princeton's 33 (81.8%) points. Only five Princeton players, all of whom are starters, have scored points in the Ivy League Championship.\n\nYale, on the other hand, got a huge spark from reserve forward Matt Knowling, who scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting off the bench. That's tied for the team high through the first half with fellow guard August Mahoney, who did so on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.\n\nHow Mick Cronin went from being perceived as an underwhelming hire by UCLA almost four years ago to the coach who has revived the school’s basketball program is best illustrated by, well, a dog bone.\n\nIt measures two feet long.\n\nIt travels with the second-ranked Bruins.\n\nIt represents what Cronin has instilled in his players, who along with the dog bone are in Las Vegas this week competing for the Pac-12 tournament title and possibly a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.\n\n“When they throw the food out at night from a restaurant, the law of the alley says that the hungry dog’s going to get the bone,’’ Cronin told USA TODAY Sports. “A hungry dog’s going to go fight and get the bone and take all of this clawing and scratching because he’s starving.\n\n“That’s how you have to be as a team.’’\n\n— Josh Peter\n\nPrinceton starts hot in Ivy League final, Yale answers\n\nThe Tigers did it on both ends to start the Ivy League Championship, scoring the game's first 12 points a quarter of the way through the first half. But the Bulldogs got some defensive stops and then answered with an 11-point run over 3:35 of game time midway through the period. Though it looked like the final was setting up to be a game of runs, both squads settled and traded baskets.\n\nYale, which is looking for its third consecutive Ivy League Tournament championship, shot 8-of-22 (36.4%) from the field, while Princeton converted 8-of-20 (40%) baskets with 5:15 left to play in the first half. The Bulldogs scored nine points off the bench and are down 23-20.\n\nTexas takeover\n\nThis year's men's NCAA Tournament will have some solid representation from the nation's second-biggest state.\n\nTexas is expected to be home to more than 10% of the 68-team field with seven schools likely included when the committee's bracket is unveiled. Texas, Texas Southern and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each won automatic berths in their conference tournaments. Houston can be the fourth Sunday in the American Athletic title game against Memphis. Even if the No. 1 Cougars lose, they should be one of the top seeds along with other at-large entries from the Lone Star State — Baylor, TCU and Texas A&M.\n\nWinners and losers ahead of Selection Sunday\n\nSelection Sunday starts at 6 p.m. ET but we have plenty to work out before that — like who the No. 1 overall seed will be, and where they’re going to play. The overall No. 1 seed location will dictate where everyone else goes, and a lot can happen on championship Sunday, when conference tournament titles will be awarded in the SEC, Big Ten and AAC, among others.\n\nA lot can happen between now and when the bracket goes from pencil to pen. But for now, these are Saturday's winners and losers. Kansas might be kicking itself for a while after no-showing against the Longhorns, but a run to the Final Four will make everyone feel better and forget about this performance.\n\nThese are the winners and losers in men's college basketball ahead of Selection Sunday.\n\n— Lindsay Schnell\n\nThere are 32 conference tournaments that produce 32 automatic bids. The other 36 at-large teams selected to the field will be announced on Selection Sunday. Here is who has secured automatic bids.\n\nAlabama: SEC tournament champion\n\nArizona: Pac-12 Conference tournament champion\n\nCharleston: Colonial Athletic Association tournament champion\n\nColgate: Patriot League tournament champion\n\nDrake: Missouri Valley tournament champion\n\nDuke: ACC tournament champion\n\nFairleigh Dickinson: Earns Northeast Conference bid due to title game opponent Merrimack's ineligibility\n\nFlorida Atlantic: Conference USA tournament champion\n\nFurman: Southern tournament champion\n\nGonzaga: West Coast Conference tournament champion\n\nGrand Canyon: WAC tournament champion\n\nHoward: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament champion\n\nIona: MAAC tournament champion\n\nKennesaw State: Atlantic Sun tournament champion\n\nKent State: MAC tournament champion\n\nLouisiana-Lafayette: Sun Belt tournament champion\n\nMarquette: Big East Conference tournament champion\n\nMemphis: American Athletic Conference tournament champion\n\nMontana State: Big Sky tournament champion\n\nNorth Carolina-Asheville: Big South tournament champion\n\nNorthern Kentucky: Horizon League tournament champion\n\nOral Roberts: Summit League tournament champion\n\nPrinceton: Ivy League tournament champion\n\nPurdue: Big 10 tournament champion\n\nSan Diego State: Mountain West Conference tournament champion\n\nSoutheast Missouri State: Ohio Valley Conference tournament champion\n\nTexas: Big 12 Conference tournament champion\n\nTexas A&M-Corpus Christi: Southland Conference tournament champion\n\nTexas Southern: SWAC tournament champion\n\nUC Santa Barbara: Big West Conference tournament champion\n\nVermont: America East tournament champion\n\nVirginia Commonwealth: Atlantic 10 tournament champion\n\nSome of the most successful coaches in college basketball rank among the nation's highest-paid, including Kansas coach Bill Self and Virginia's Tony Bennett. But there are many more coaches struggling to match the expectations that come with a contract worth multiple millions in annual salary.\n\nThat includes the highest-paid coach in the sport, Kentucky's John Calipari, who is earning $8.5 million in total compensation with a contract that runs through the 2028-29 season. After being knocked out in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats have spent most of this season unranked and on the tournament bubble.\n\nUSA TODAY Sports compiled pay information from each school in the Power Five conferences and from each school outside those conferences whose team has appeared in at least three of the past five NCAA tournaments.\n\nThese are the five most overpaid coaches in men's college basketball.\n\n— Paul Myerberg", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/asu/2023/03/31/phoenix-2024-final-four-organizers-in-houston-for-first-hand-look/70046558007/", "title": "One year out: Phoenix on the clock for NCAA 2024 men's Final Four", "text": "When the NCAA Final Four convenes in NRG Stadium in Houston this week there will be at least a dozen or so interested parties from Arizona on hand taking thorough notes.\n\nThe 2024 men's basketball championship is coming to State Farm Stadium, with Arizona State serving as the host institution. The field trip will be for local officials to gather information and exchange ideas with those doing the hosting honors this year.\n\n\"It might seem like a year is a long time but it goes by so fast and there is a lot to do,\" said Debbie Johnson, co-chair of the local organizing committee along with Tom Sadler, president and CEO of the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority. \"We're gearing up for what is going to be a very busy and exciting time.\"\n\nCities get plenty of lead time when it comes to preparing for the undertaking. The right to host the event was awarded to Phoenix in July of 2018, a year after the Final Four was played here for the first time. Future Final Fours have been decided through 2030: San Antonio in 2025, Indianapolis (2026), Detroit (2027), Las Vegas (2028), Indianapolis again (2029) and Dallas (2030).\n\nGreater Phoenix is no stranger to hosting major sporting events. Already this year, the VRBO Fiesta Bowl served as the site of a College Football Playoff semifinal between TCU and Michigan, and of course, just two months ago Super Bowl 57 between Kansas City and Philadelphia took place in Glendale.\n\nWhile the basketball games — two national semifinals on Saturday, with the championship played Monday — will be the main attraction, the Final Four includes ancillary events, many of which will be open to the public at no charge.\n\nIn 2017 a three-day March Madness Music Festival drew a total of 135,000 enthusiasts to Hance Park, which reached capacity for the weekend events. The Final Four Fan Fest, sponsored by Capital One, drew 50,803 to the Phoenix Convention Center.\n\nJohnson confirmed that those activities will likely be part of the agenda for next year's event, although they're still early in the planning stages. Both venues were key sites during Super Bowl 57.\n\nThe 2017 semifinal games, which featured Gonzaga vs. South Carolina and Oregon vs. North Carolina, drew 77,612, the second-largest crowd in State Farm Stadium history. The Final Four’s total attendance of 153,780, remains the second-highest in the event’s history.\n\n\"It's really about the student-athlete experience. We got a lot of great feedback on what we did the last time but of course, you always want to do more,\" said J.D. Loudabarger, ASU's associate athletic director for facilities and operations. \"What that means and in what form that will come, we're not sure yet.\"\n\nWhile the local group has the experience of having hosted before, Johnson said things could change drastically in just a few years and there is always more to be learned. That's why the Arizona contingent is in Houston this week despite having already hosted.\n\n\"Things are always evolving, whether that comes to something like security or logistics and the experience you're providing for the teams. You never stop learning or evolving as to things you can do better,\" she said.\n\nWhen Glendale hosted in 2017 it was the first men's Final Four to be held west of Texas since 1995. The NCAA requires a minimum capacity of 70,000 to host the event and until recently few indoor venues in the west met that benchmark. Today, Arizona faces stiffer competition when it comes to bidding for major athletic events, most notably SoFi Stadium in greater Los Angeles and Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.\n\nSoFi, which seats 70,000 spectators but could accommodate up to 100,000 depending on the event, opened in the fall of 2020 and is home to the NFL's Rams and Chargers. It hosted Super Bowl 56 on Feb. 13, 2022, and was the site of College Football's most recent CFP championship game, in January. Next up for the venue is Wrestlemania 39 this weekend.\n\nPreviously in Glendale:What we learned when North Carolina beat Gonzaga for 2017 national title\n\nAllegiant Stadium, which seats 65,000 but is expandable to 71,835, is home to the NFL's Raiders as well as the UNLV football team. It is also the site of the Pac-12 championship football game as well as the annual Las Vegas Bowl, which in 2021 featured Arizona State against Wisconsin. It opened in July 2020. The stadium will host next year's Super Bowl, the first to be played in Las Vegas.\n\nNot only are these events good publicity for the state, but they also generate significant revenue. The 2017 Final Four generated an estimated economic impact of $324.5 million, according to a study by ASU's WP Carey School of Business.\n\nExposure can also bring in future dollars as well. The 2017 championship game between North Carolina and Gonzaga averaged nearly 23 million TV viewers. It was broadcast in 176 countries and was the first Final Four broadcast in Spanish. More than 2,200 media members were credentialed.\n\nThe last event was staffed by 3,332 local volunteers who logged a combined 29,736 hours. Johnson said a call for people who want to help will go out soon, and all are welcome, whether they want to volunteer for a few hours or can work multiple days.\n\nLoudabarger said between 25 and 30 staff members from ASU are going to be directly involved with the event, their primary focus being what he called \"running the floor,\" taking care of details such as the shot clock, game clock and scoreboard. ASU will also provide athletic training and medical staff which regularly works with its teams. ASU's marching band director, Jim Hudson, will serve as a liaison with the bands from the visiting schools.\n\n\"We have shown that we can hold major events here and it will be organized and everyone is going to have a good time,\" Johnson said. \"If we didn't provide a great experience then they wouldn't keep coming back to us. We're looking forward to meeting that challenge again.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/31"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2023/03/26/march-madness-bracket-updates-elite-eight-ncaa-tournament-final-four/11544361002/", "title": "March Madness Elite 8 men's recap: Miami, SDSU earn Final Four ...", "text": "The Miami, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic men's basketball teams are in the Final Four for the first time.\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State rallied to beat No. 6 Creighton in the first of two Elite Eight games on Sunday after each program advanced out of the Sweet 16 for the first time. Darrion Trammell's free throw with 1.2 seconds to play lifted the Aztecs to a 57-56 win. San Diego State will play Florida Atlantic on Saturday night.\n\nNo. 5 Miami defeated No. 2 Texas after staging a huge second-half rally. Miami will face UConn, which routed Gonzaga 82-54, in the Final Four.\n\nBrackets:See how the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments have played out\n\nFollow along for Sunday's NCAA men's tournament action:\n\nThe No. 5 Miami Hurricanes defeated the No. 2 Texas Longhorns, 88-81, in Kansas City to earn their first trip to the Final Four. The Hurricanes were down as many as 13, but came back in the second half to rally and win the game.\n\nSenior guard Jordan Miller led Miami with 27 points and shot a perfect 7-of-7 from the field along with 13-13 in free throws. The only other player to go perfect from the floor and the charity stripe was Duke's Christian Laettner in a 1992 game against Kentucky.\n\n\"No one wanted to go home. We played, we came together, we stuck together, we showed really good perseverance and the will to just get there,\" Miller said after the game as his teammates stormed around him.\n\nThe Hurricanes were knocked out the tournament last year in the Elite Eight, so the win serves as a redemption for the team.\n\nHead coach Jim Larrañaga took George Mason to its first Final Four in 2006, exactly 17 years ago from the day that he did so with the Hurricanes.\n\nSenior guard Marcus Carr led the Longhorns with 17 points. Senior forward Timmy Allen and senior guard Sir'Jabari Rice added 16 and 15 points, respectively.\n\nThe Hurricanes and Longhorns are battling it out in the second half as Miami came back to take the lead after being down by as many as 13 points.\n\nThey went on a 13-2 run to take a 73-72, capped off by a free throw by Norchad Omier.\n\nTexas answered back with a three-point shot from Tyrese Hunter to take a short lead before Isaiah Wong scored a jumper to tie the game at 75.\n\nThe teams have traded buckets with the score tied at 77 with 2:40 left in the game.\n\nThe Texas Longhorns carried their momentum from the end of the first half into the second half. Thirty seconds in, Marcus Carr found Dillon Mitchell for a monster dunk. The team had a 6-0 run to extend its lead beyond double digits and continued to dominate from beyond the arc, making nine three-point shots compared to Miami's two.\n\nThe Longhorns are up 62-49 with 14:04 on the clock.\n\nHalftime: Texas 45, Miami 37\n\nThe first half between No. 5 Miami and No. 2 Texas flew by, as the teams combined for only nine called fouls and play pushed well past the automatic television stoppages.\n\nTexas caught fire at the end of the first half and scored on seven of its last eight possessions. That didn't count a final one in which the Longhorns were fouled on a three-point attempt. Texas has shot lights out from beyond the arc, hitting 7-of-13 attempts (53.8%). Interestingly, Texas actually averages seven made three-pointers per game. The Longhorns have nearly half of their total points (21) coming from players off the bench.\n\nMiami guard Jordan Miller is carrying the Hurricanes and hasn't missed any of his six shot attempts. He leads all scorers with 13 points. While the Hurricanes were aggressive in the first half in attacking the paint, many of their baskets have come from individual efforts, with the Hurricanes assisting on only six of their 16 field goals. The Longhorns, by comparison, have 14 assists on 17 field goals.\n\nMiami, Texas locked in a back-and-forth battle\n\nAt different points in the first half, both No. 5 Miami and No. 2 Texas have had to weather shots from their opponents, only to respond. What has made this an interesting game is that both squads are doing it differently.\n\nThe Longhorns are doing it from deep and on the bench. Texas has converted 5-of-11 three-point attempts and has 13 bench points; that compares to the Hurricanes going just 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and having only two points off the bench.\n\nWhere Miami is dominating is in the paint. Eight of the 12 Hurricane field goals have been in the paint, and Miami is also pushing the tempo, trying to get numbers out on the break. Hurricanes guard Jordan Miller leads all players with 11 points, while Longhorns forward Timmy Allen has posted 10.\n\nTexas leads 31-28, with 4:33 left to play in the half.\n\nMiami aggressive, getting to the cup early, but Texas roars back\n\nNo. 5 Miami raced out to a seven-point lead by being aggressive and attacking the basket; each of the first six Hurricanes shots came inside the paint, with Miami converting four.\n\nNo. 2 Texas, however, scored seven unanswered in a minute-and-a-half of play to tie the game, 9-9, just more than five minutes into the game.\n\nThe Longhorns are edging Miami 5-2 on the boards and shooting 37.5% from the floor. The Hurricanes are isshooting 57.1%. Miami guard Jordan Miller leads all players in the early going with five points.\n\nBishop gets the start for injured Disu in Texas' matchup vs. Miami\n\nTexas forward Christian Bishop will start only his second game of the season with the injury to Dylan Disu, who suffered a bone bruise on his left foot in the second round. Bishop, a 6-foot-8 senior, has started 86 of his 161 career games, but Sunday’s Elite Eight contest against No. 5 seed Miami marks only his second start this season.\n\nBishop certainly took care of his business in Friday’s win over Xavier, when he came off the bench and scored a game-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds while playing 24 minutes after Disu played only two minutes in the Sweet 16 game. That performance mirrors his career stats; he’s made 61% of his shots and averaged almost 10 rebounds and more than 15 points per 40 minutes in his five college seasons.\n\nBishop transferred from Creighton before last season, and this season marks his first as a reserve since his freshman campaign with the Bluejays in 2018-19. Now he’ll seek to send No. 2 seed Texas into its fourth Final Four in school history.\n\n— Thomas Jones, Austin American-Statesman\n\nFor the first time in program history, SDSU reaches Final Four\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State held a two-point lead with 34.2 seconds left in the game. All the Aztecs had to do was inbounds the ball successfully and convert free throws. Instead, an errant pass gifted No. 6 Creighton an easy layup under the basket to tie the game.\n\nThe Aztecs, however, recovered, and guard Darrion Trammell was fouled on his game-winning floater attempt down the left side of the lane as the clock ticked down. The foul call instantly set social media ablaze, debating the merits of a call like that in such a tense moment in the game, but Creighton guard Ryan Nembhard did place his left hand on Trammell's back as he took the shot.\n\nWith a trip to the Final Four on the line, Trammell missed the first free throw but drained the second. Creighton's desperation inbound heave caromed off of a scrum of players and did not leave enough time on the clock for the Bluejays to get a final shot.\n\nSan Diego State won, 57-56 and will face Florida Atlantic in Saturday's semifinals.\n\nFinally, the Aztecs regain the lead\n\nMore than 30 minutes of game time elapsed before No. 5 San Diego State finally regained a lead three-quarters of the way through the second half. From then on, the Aztecs regained offensive efficiency, confidently converting pull-up jumpers off of pick-and-roll action.\n\nWhat’s not helping No. 6 Creighton is the sheer volume of shots missed in the paint, as the Bluejays have four missed field goals in the paint in the second half.\n\nThe Aztecs hold a 52-50 lead with 3:30 to play, and a trip to the Final Four on the line.\n\nCreighton goes cold, SDSU still can't quite get over hump\n\nNo. 6 Creighton went more than four minutes without a point midway through the second half, but No. 5 San Diego State simply cannot find enough consistency on the offensive end to erase the Bluejay lead.\n\nEvery time the Aztecs pull closer, they seem to get cold until Creighton is able to string together a basket or two. While both teams are struggling from three-point range — the two have combined to 5-of-26 (19.2%) — San Diego State is not backing away from more attempts, even if they’re not dropping. The Aztecs though, are putting forth plus effort on the offensive glass, and now hold an 11-8 edge over Creighton in that space.\n\nSan Diego State has done a tremendous job on Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who only has three points after intermission, in the second half.\n\nThe Bluejays hold a 45-41 lead with 7:40 left in the game.\n\nCreighton holding steady, SDSU starts slow\n\nBoth offenses struggled from the floor to open the second half, though No. 5 San Diego State’s 6-2 mini-run closed the deficit before No. 6 Creighton’s consecutive trips to the free throw line (including an and-one on the second possession) kept the Bluejays ahead.\n\nThe Aztecs have clogged the lane with a 2-3 zone that has made it more difficult for Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner to receive the ball in the post. And San Diego State is actually picking up the slack on the offensive glass in the second half, but is struggling from the field, converting just 5-of-18 (27.8%) shots after halftime.\n\nCreighton leads 43-39 with 11:30 to play in the game.\n\nAztec guard Lamont Butler leads all players with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting.\n\nHalftime: Creighton 33, San Diego State 28\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State has settled a touch on offense, in large part to the play of guard Lamont Butler, who paces the Aztecs at the half with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.\n\nThere are some warning signs, however, for San Diego State: it is being outrebounded by a margin of 16-14, though minutes earlier, it was 13-7. The Aztecs and have assisted on only two of their 13 field goals. Another concern? San Diego State has taken just one trip to the line and missed that free throw.\n\nDespite all that, the Aztecs are taking a five-point deficit into the second half after Creighton went 3:20 without a field goal in the middle of the first half.\n\nThe Bluejays did bounce back from their cold spell and are riding the play of Ryan Kalkbrenner (10 points), Baylor Scheierman (seven points) and Ryan Nembhard (seven points) combining for 72.7% of Creighton’s points.\n\nSan Diego State's bench is outscoring Creighton's 8-0.\n\nCreighton building modest lead\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State went nearly two-and-a-half minutes without a field goal early in the first half, allowing No. 6 Creighton to start to build a modest lead. The Bluejays are moving the ball fairly well and getting everyone involved; by the midway point of the first half, all five starters had scored. In fact, all starters have combined for 9-of-17 (52.9%) shooting from the floor.\n\nOne area where the Aztecs are performing well, however, is on perimeter defense. San Diego State has held Creighton to 1-of-6 shooting from three-point range. The Aztecs, though, need to play with more composure, having committed four turnovers and four player fouls.\n\nThe Bluejays are up 22-16, with 7:40 left to play in the first half.\n\nSiblings face off for Final Four spot\n\nNot only are San Diego State and Creighton playing for a spot in the Final Four, but a pair of brothers are playing for bragging rights against another once again.\n\nCreighton sophomore forward Arthur Kaluma and San Diego State senior guard Adam Seiko are meeting against each other in the Elite Eight matchup, the second straight year they will do so in the tournament. Last year, Kaluma and Creighton won their first round matchup against the Aztecs in overtime, 72-69.\n\nBefore the Sweet 16, Seiko said it would be a “surreal feeling” if the two teams met with a Final Four berth on the line.\n\n“Something I can’t even put into words, really,” Seiko said.\n\nThe siblings' mother, Saira Eva Ariko, is in attendance for the game in Louisville.\n\n— Jordan Mendoza\n\nOffenses finding footing early on in Creighton-SDSU\n\nThe perimeter shooting from both teams slagged to start the game between No. 6 Creighton and No. 5 San Diego State, with both teams putting up an airball on three-point attempts on consecutive possessions. But the importance of post play and rebounding already showed its weight, as Creighton forward Arthur Kaluma's offensive board two minutes into the game led to center Ryan Kalkbrenner's flush on an alley-oop feed from guard Trey Alexander.\n\nBoth squads have combined to go 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. Kalkbrenner leads the way early with six points on 3-of-5 shooting. Creighton holds an 8-7 lead with 14:05 left to play in the first half.\n\nSunday's Elite Eight slate\n\nNo. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 6 Creighton: San Diego State's defense is off the charts – just ask Alabama. The Aztecs held the top overall seed to 32.4% shooting and completely bottled up future lottery pick Brandon Miller, who finished with just nine points on 3 of 19 shooting, including just one make in 10 attempts from deep. But Creighton could put this defense to the test. The Bluejays have scored at least 80 points in five of the past seven games and are shooting 50.6% from the field in tournament play.\n\nNo. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Miami: After some early struggles, Miami's backcourt has taken over games to help the Hurricanes earn a second trip in a row to the regional finals. Nijel Pack has been on point since the start of tournament play, averaging a team-best 19.7 points per game and dropping a season-high 26 points to lead Miami into the Elite Eight. Texas has gone 22-7 since Rodney Terry replaced Chris Beard in December and is in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008 and just the second time since the tournament expanded from eight teams in 1951. Under Terry, the Longhorns have fought through off-court drama and injuries to peak at the right time.\n\n— Paul Myerberg\n\nBluejays, Aztecs have familiarity\n\nWhile in different regions of the country, Creighton and San Diego State are not unfamiliar with each other.\n\nMonths ago, the Bluejays and Aztecs shared a chartered flight to the Maui Invitational. Creighton coach Greg McDermott said he sat across from San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher and talked about wanting to face off in the championship because \"we would be OK with one of us winning and one of us losing.\"\n\nLittle did they know their meeting this season would be on a bigger stage.\n\n— Paul Myerberg\n\nTexas' Dylan Disu dealing with injury\n\nDylan Disu, Texas' best player this postseason, played less than two minutes in the Longhorns' Sweet 16 win against Xavier with what team officials called a bone bruise in his left foot. He's officially day-to-day.\n\nHe spent most of the game with a walking boot on his left foot. Team officials said he suffered the bone bruise in the win over Penn State in the second round last Saturday. He practiced some but aggravated the injury late in the week.\n\n— Thomas Jones, Austin American-Statesman\n\nFlorida Atlantic most-surprising Final Four team ever?\n\nIt has become more and more common in recent years for an overlooked, out-of-nowhere tournament team to get hot at the right time and march all the way to the Final Four. Of the nine teams to reach the national semifinals as a No. 9 seed or higher, six have occurred since 2013.\n\nThe Owls' run to Houston is among the most unexpected Final Four teams since the tournament expanded that same season. There are eight teams that have shocked the nation most by advancing from off the radar to the national semifinals.\n\n— Paul Myerberg\n\nUConn is now the team to beat -- and Huskies know it\n\nParity in college basketball, huh? UConn didn’t get the memo.\n\nAll those close calls, all those middling years in the wilderness of the American Athletic Conference suddenly seem far away in the rear-view mirror. In his fifth season at UConn, Dan Hurley doesn’t just have the Huskies back in the Final Four, he has them playing in a way that should earn them the school’s fifth national title.\n\n— Dan Wolken\n\nKansas State coach Jerome Tang shares message with FAU after game\n\nFlorida Atlantic may have eliminated his Kansas State team, but Wildcats coach Jerome Tang had nothing but praise for the Owls – and delivered his classy message in person in the celebratory FAU locker room.\n\n“Your toughness, your togetherness, your ability to make plays for each other, the way you communicate with each other – nobody can beat ya’ll,” the first-year K-State coach told the Owls. “Just stay together, don’t get distracted between now and (the Final Four). Stay locked in, keep doing what you’re doing.”\n\n\"Ya’ll the toughest son-of-a-guns we’ve played all year long,\" Tang added. \"Just proud of ya and rooting for ya.\"\n\nTang’s first year in Manhattan, Kansas, was a tremendous success after little was expected of the Wildcats in the preseason. They nearly made their first Final Four since 1964, falling to Florida Atlantic 79-76. The Owls are making their first Final Four appearance and will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Creighton and San Diego State.\n\n— Jace Evans\n\nParity creating ultimate March Madness chaos\n\nIn a span of mere minutes Friday night, two programs that have had lots of good seasons but rarely seemed like they’re on the cusp of anything significant, evicted the last two No. 1 seeds left, from this NCAA men's tournament.\n\nAnd with those back-to-back results, this is officially the maddest March of them all.\n\n— Dan Wolken", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/26"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2018/07/16/indianapolis-host-2026-final-four/789776002/", "title": "Indianapolis to host 2026 Final Four", "text": "INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA announced Monday that Indianapolis will host the 2026 Men's Basketball Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium. It will be the ninth time the city will host the event, including 2021. The 2026 event will take place April 4 and 6.\n\nThe nine Men’s Final Fours in Indianapolis would be second only to the 10 hosted in Kansas City. Indianapolis hosted the Men's Final Four in 1980 at Market Square Arena, 1991, '97, 2000 and 2006 at the RCA Dome, and 2010 and '15 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The NCAA also announced that Houston (2023), Phoenix (2024) and San Antonio (2025) will also host Final Fours.\n\n\"We're just a great host city from an infrastructure standpoint,\" Indiana Sports Corp President Ryan Vaughn said. \"We've got great hotel partners, great convention center. Unbelievable stadium.\"\n\nVaughn also mentioned how great the volunteers were in 2015 and he said that's what makes Indianapolis's bid successful.\n\n\"One of the key things that we're always mindful of, especially when you're competing to host an event for the ninth time, is that you never take it for granted,\" Vaughn said. \"You're always trying to add some innovation to the event because we want to be a value add to the event just like we know the event is a value add to the community.\"\n\nVaughn said technology will be one major area where they will look to innovate for 2026.\n\nThe event will be hosted by the Horizon League and IUPUI. Indianapolis also bid on the 2024 Final Four.\n\nThe Final Four is just one of many NCAA Tournament events Indiana will host in upcoming years.\n\nTerre Haute will host the Division I regional for men's and women's cross-country in 2018 and 2020, along with hosting the Division I championships in 2019. Evansville will host the Division 1 regional in 2021 for men's and women's cross country. Bloomington will host the men's and women's track and field Division 1 regional in 2022.\n\nIn addition to the Final Four, the Division III championship for men's basketball will be hosted in Fort Wayne 2019-2022 and Fort Wayne will also host a Division I regional for women's basketball in 2020.\n\nFrom 2019 to 2021, Indiana will also host NCAA tournament events for women's rowing and golf, men's swimming, golf and lacrosse.\n\nIndianapolis serves as the annual backup site for the Final Four. The men's basketball tournament generates more than 80 percent of the NCAA's money.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/07/16"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/columnist/dan-wolken/2023/03/22/sweet-16-las-vegas-ncaa-embraces-sin-city-march-madness/11525471002/", "title": "With men's Sweet 16 in Las Vegas, NCAA finally embraces Sin City ...", "text": "LAS VEGAS — Jim Livengood had a big idea.\n\nThe longtime athletics director at Washington State, Arizona and UNLV, Livengood had been living in Las Vegas since his retirement in 2013. Over time, he began to see that the NCAA was making a mistake by eschewing Sin City as a place to plant its flag with championship-level events.\n\n“There were so many people (in college sports) who hadn’t been to Vegas in 25 years,” Livengood said. “They had no idea.”\n\nIn his view, Vegas had everything you’d want for a Final Four or college football national championship game: Lots of flights in and out, plentiful hotel space and endless options for food and entertainment. And with the NHL and NFL moving into town, sports venues were on the way that could compete with any in the country.\n\nBut the NCAA, as usual, was behind the times. A rule prohibiting NCAA championships being played in states where sports gambling was legal meant that there was no conceivable way for Vegas to host an NCAA basketball tournament.\n\nThe NCAA was so committed to the bit that former NCAA president Mark Emmert was among several sports executives deposed in a 2012 federal lawsuit challenging the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), a law that made sports gambling illegal everywhere except Nevada.\n\n“This is clearly a threat to the integrity of intercollegiate athletics,” Emmert said.\n\nThose days, of course, are over. PASPA was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018, and sports gambling is now legal either online or in a physical sports book in 33 states plus the District of Columbia.\n\nIn the wake of that decision, Livengood began to pitch an idea that he thought might help break the ice among some of his former colleagues in NCAA world: Bring the entire women’s Sweet 16 to Las Vegas as a trial run.\n\n“That was part and parcel of just trying to get some traction on the idea that Vegas could deliver all the things that were needed,” he said.\n\nWHO WILL MAKE FIRST FINAL FOUR?:Sweet 16 men's teams with best shot at first Final Four\n\nSCHEDULE, RESULTS:Complete 2023 NCAA men's tournament schedule, results and times\n\nThough it never came to fruition, the wheels started turning. NACDA, the professional association for athletics directors that Livengood had formerly been president of, moved its annual convention here. Then in 2018, he helped facilitate the NCAA men’s basketball committee summer meeting in Las Vegas, where members toured a still-under-construction Allegiant Stadium, where the Raiders have been playing since 2020.\n\n“That opened a lot of windows,” Livengood said.\n\nBecoming a hub for college sports\n\nFast-forward to 2023, and Las Vegas is now poised to be a hub for college sports with several NCAA events scheduled over the next several years, beginning with Thursday’s West Regional at T-Mobile Arena. From golf to bowling to hockey — the 2026 Frozen Four will also be held here — the NCAA logo will soon be as ubiquitous on the Las Vegas Strip as ads for celebrity chef restaurants and Cirque du Soleil shows.\n\nIt will all lead up to 2028, when the NCAA brings its crown jewel event, the men’s Final Four, here for the first (and probably not last) time.\n\n“It was just getting over the stigma that it was Las Vegas,” Livengood said.\n\nPeople can debate whether the spread of sports gambling has had a positive or negative effect on college sports, but realistically it never made a lot of sense for the NCAA to avoid one of America’s most travel-friendly cities for events that rely on tens of thousands of people flying in for a weekend.\n\nThe days of UNLV basketball players being photographed in a hot tub with the infamous Richard “The Fixer” Perry, who had been implicated in multiple point-shaving scandals, were long in the past.\n\nIf anything, that ugly incident — which helped lead to coach Jerry Tarkanian's resignation in 1992 — helped the industry modernize and become more vigilant about potential problems. While at UNLV, Livengood said he learned that there was a much closer eye on their athletes in the community than anything he had experienced in his previous stops.\n\nAnd pragmatically, for all those years the NCAA was keeping Vegas at arm’s length, the wider basketball world was ingratiating itself more and more here through USA Basketball training camps, the NBA summer league, the Pac-12 moving more of its biggest events here and several youth travel tournaments coming every summer where college coaches evaluate prospects.\n\nArkansas freshman Jordan Walsh said he had played in Las Vegas “four or five times” in high school before returning with the Razorbacks for the Sweet 16.\n\n\"It's a nice place,” he said. “Not somewhere I’d want to live.”\n\nFor two of the teams here this weekend, this is nothing new. Both UCLA and Gonzaga play their conference tournaments here annually. They even played each other here, on this same floor, on Nov. 23, 2021.\n\n\"The atmosphere was crazy,” said Gonzaga junior Julian Strawther, who grew up here. “Vegas showed up and showed out. It was one of the biggest and most fun games I’ve ever been a part of. I feel like slowly over the last five years, everything is kind of rolling through town and we’re getting a lot of big events.”\n\nFor most of the players, it doesn’t particularly matter where these tournaments are held. Once they arrive, it’s all business leading up to tip-off.\n\nBut it's a big deal for the fans to have a true destination that they can get to easily from every corner of the country, which is why it always made sense to have Vegas as a regular stop in the rotation. That’s likely going to be true in the expanded College Football Playoff as well. Though no CFP championship game has been awarded here yet due to scheduling conflicts with the Consumer Electronics Show at that time of year, Vegas is expected to be heavily involved once the next round of bidding begins.\n\nBut for people like Livengood, who were advocating for the NCAA to embrace Las Vegas before it was popular, this weekend is an exciting time. College sports have been a big deal here for decades, and treating it as a taboo has long been an outdated and flawed notion.\n\n“More than anything else, it was making people aware that Vegas wasn’t just this place where it was sports books and gambling, but understanding from a transportation, food and lodging, ease of getting around, all the facilities being built that you could do anything you wanted and get there easily,” he said. “It's going to be a fan favorite.”", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/22"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/04/28/archive-ncaa-apparently-reconsider-host-cities/83671352/", "title": "Archive: NCAA apparently will reconsider host cities", "text": "Dana Hunsinger Benbow\n\ndana.benbow@indystar.com\n\nNote: This story originally was published Nov. 20, 2015:\n\nAmid a national debate over civil rights protections based on sexual orientation, the Indianapolis-based NCAA apparently will reconsider sites already chosen to host its championships — including Indianapolis, the NCAA told The Indianapolis Star.\n\n“We’ll continue to review current events in all cities bidding on NCAA championships and events, as well as cities that have already been named as future host sites, such as Indianapolis,” Bob Williams, NCAA senior vice president for communications, wrote in an email statement Nov. 12.\n\nRequests to speak to NCAA leaders for more information were denied.\n\nThe NCAA statement about future and scheduled sites comes after Houston voters this month repealed an ordinance that banned discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.\n\nAmong the Indianapolis events that could be in jeopardy is the NCAA’s richest showcase — the men’s basketball Final Four — slated to return to the city in 2021. The same event held here this year pumped an estimated $71 million into the local economy, according to Visit Indy. Indianapolis also is scheduled to host first- and second-round games in the 2017 men’s basketball tournament.\n\nIndiana is currently in the opening round of a second battle over lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender LGBT rights, with Senate Republicans proposing statewide anti-discrimination protections, but with several significant exemptions.\n\nNCAA vote: No Final Fours at sites without anti-discrimination laws\n\nHouston will still host the men’s Final Four next year because “it takes years to plan and implement this world-class event,” Dan Gavitt, vice president of men's basketball championship, said in a statement. Likewise, the women’s Final Four in Indianapolis will go on as planned in April, the NCAA said.\n\nBut the NCAA’s refusal to consent to an interview leaves several questions unanswered:\n\n• Is Indy’s 2021 men’s Final Four at risk because Indiana does not have a law protecting LGBT individuals from discrimination? Where does the NCAA stand on the new rights legislation proposed Tuesday by Indiana Senate Republicans?\n\n• What is the lead time required for the NCAA to reject a tournament site it has already committed to? In 2014, the NCAA approved men’s Final Fours through 2021 in five states, only one of which has LGBT civil-rights protections.\n\n• Will the organization automatically reject future bids from would-be hosts that don’t have LGBT anti-discrimination laws? Could this affect Indianapolis’ special relationship that has brought the men’s Final Four to the city every five years?\n\nIn his statement, the NCAA’s Williams wrote, that “There are many factors in a thorough bid process that the NCAA considers when determining what cities will host the Final Four, including but not limited to local, city and state laws and ordinances.”\n\nMoving target in Indiana\n\nSeven months ago, the state Legislature passed the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (RFRA), which some feared would allow businesses to refuse to serve same-sex couples. That came just days before the men’s Final Four was to start at Lucas Oil Stadium, and the NCAA’s president warned that his organization would examine Indiana’s new law “and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce.\"\n\n\"The NCAA national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events,\" president Mark Emmert said in a statement then. \"We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees.”\n\nA national uproar ensued over RFRA. Pressed by local business and civic and sports leaders to fix the legislation, GOP lawmakers adopted an amendment that would prevent services from being denied due to sexual orientation in communities with anti-discrimination laws in place. There are about a dozen such communities in Indiana.\n\nAfter the change was passed, Emmert issued this statement: “We are very pleased the Indiana legislature is taking action to amend Senate Bill 101 so that it is clear individuals cannot be discriminated against. NCAA core values call for an environment that is inclusive and non-discriminatory for our student-athletes, membership, fans, staff and their families.”\n\nNCAA joins group lobbying for LGBT rights\n\nNow the debate has started anew in Indiana. Republican lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation that would protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people against discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations statewide.\n\nBut exemptions would allow:\n\n• Religious-affiliated adoption agencies to reject prospective same-sex parents.\n\n• Schools, employers and others to determine their own restroom policies for transgender people.\n\n• Businesses with fewer than four employees to refuse wedding services to same-sex couples.\n\nHow will the NCAA deal with this new twist?\n\n\"That’s something the NCAA is going to have to look at,\" said Chris Paulsen, campaign manager of Freedom Indiana, a grass-roots advocacy group that supports LGBT rights. \"People vote their conscience with their dollars. Holding events in cities that are welcoming to the LGBT community, it's a smart business move.\"\n\nA note of caution\n\nOthers noted that social change takes time.\n\nAllison Melangton, who was CEO of Indy's Super Bowl Host Committee that brought the 2012 Super Bowl here, doesn't recall any language in the bidding process that reflected a requirement for anti-discrimination laws.\n\n\"Certainly, the NFL would have brought it to our attention if they believed it was an issue in Indiana at the time even though it was not a specification in the bid,\" said Melangton, now a vice president at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. \"We bid in 2008 and were held to 2008 standards by the NFL — so that is almost eight years ago and times have changed.\"\n\nSince then, the NFL has acted upon the issue. In 2014, Arizona’s legislature passed its own RFRA legislation. The NFL hinted in a statement that if the measure became law, the state could lose the 2015 Super Bowl it was scheduled to host.\n\nGov. Jan Brewer vetoed the measure.\n\nIf sports organizations and leagues do start looking at such laws when they make decisions on where to have events, they should not do so rashly, said Richard McGowan, who teaches ethics at Butler University.\n\nLaws aren't going to change overnight, he said, just as major sporting events can't be moved overnight.\n\n\"Time is a factor and we live in a compressed society, but think about how long Martin Luther King Jr. worked to get civil rights (for African Americans),\" he said. \"There is a needed sense of patience and working through things with time.\"\n\nSports can help bring about that change, maybe even speed it, said Hudson Taylor, a wrestling coach at Columbia University, a straight activist for LGBT rights and the founder of Athlete Ally, an organization focused on ending homophobia in sports.\n\n\"The most impactful moments in history are the ones when social issues and sports intersected,\" said Taylor. \"When Jackie Robinson stepped onto the playing field. The black power salute at the 1968 Olympics. Those are the moments that change a country.\"\n\nFollow Star reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/04/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2019/04/02/final-four-ncaa-march-madness-heads-transformed-minneapolis/3335660002/", "title": "Final Four: NCAA March Madness heads to a transformed Minneapolis", "text": "MINNEAPOLIS — The last time a college men’s basketball champion was crowned in this city, fans walked through a neighborhood that was charmless and nameless in order to sit in a nondescript domed stadium to see the Duke Blue Devils cut down the nets.\n\nThe Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, a marshmallow surrounded by parking lots, hosted Final Fours in 1992 and 2001. By 2008, it was deemed obsolete for the occasion and Minneapolis lost its bid to land another.\n\nThe decade since has brought a remarkable transformation to the rapidly growing city, and especially to the area now known as Downtown East. U.S. Bank Stadium has risen where the Metrodome was laid to rest, occupying the same footprint but hardly the same plane. The $1.1 billion glass-enclosed marvel dominates a new urban landscape and will welcome 70,000 spectators when the Final Four is contested Saturday and Monday.\n\nThe stadium, under construction in 2014 when Minneapolis won the right to host the 2018 Super Bowl and this Final Four, has helped spur $600 million in development surrounding it. That includes two office buildings, commercial, retail, housing and even a park.\n\nThey’ve razed the parking lots and put up a paradise.\n\n“It’s still transforming,” Chuck Lutz said of the Downtown East neighborhood. “The stadium was the catalyst. Another major catalyst for that area was there was just no place else for downtown Minneapolis to expand. All other sides of downtown are constrained. So the development pressure certainly was heading east.\n\n“What we didn’t want to do is create another downtown. So we wanted more of a neighborhood feel as opposed to another neighborhood of skyscrapers, because we already have that.”\n\nSEMIFINAL BREAKDOWN: Analyzing the Virginia-Auburn matchup\n\nLOOKING AHEAD:Who has edge in Michigan State-Texas Tech semifinal?\n\nNEW APPROACH:To win titles, Krzyzewski and Calipari plan to build roster\n\nFOUR THRILLERS:Was this Elite Eight the best NCAA weekend ever?\n\nStill, Lutz vividly recalls how “contentious” the process was. Taxpayers were on the hook for about half of the costs. The stadium project passed the Minneapolis City Council on a 7-6 vote.\n\n“There is some hangover. There are some people that are still opposed to the stadium,” Lutz said. “Some of these feelings will never die.”\n\nOver the past 20 years, the city has built seven major sports venues. Adjusted for inflation, these stadiums together cost $2.5 billion, and Minnesota taxpayers shelled out 56 percent of it: $1.4 billion.\n\nLutz has worked for Minneapolis since 1986, now as part of its Department of Community Planning and Economic Development.\n\nHe remembers well the wasteland that surrounded the Metrodome, a building that housed the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins from 1982 to 2013 but never inspired any nightlife — or life at all, really — around it. There was one bar nearby, Hubert’s. And it didn’t survive the redevelopment of the past five years.\n\nMinneapolis has added 40,000 residents since 2000, its largest rate of growth since a post-World War II surge saw it reach the apex of its population at 522,000 in 1950. It’s just north of 422,000 now, with the city having a stated goal of getting to 500,000 by 2025. Lutz thinks it will get there.\n\nThe growth in Downtown East has helped. There are now about 2,000 apartment and condominium units in the area, Lutz said. The condos, along the river, have attracted a great deal of empty-nesters. The apartments tend to be populated by young adults.\n\nIn 2001, basketball fans would have been hard-pressed to navigate the three blocks from the stadium to the Mississippi. It’s much more accessible now, with trails and the two-square-block Gold Medal Park.\n\nThe city is embracing the river and its heritage as the “Flour Milling Capital of the World.” The Mill City Museum, opened in 2003 near the Metrodome, is a popular example.\n\n“That’s what we are,” Lutz said simply. “We are here because of the river.”\n\nAll of this was important in securing the chance to host the Final Four, said Melvin Tennant, president and CEO of Meet Minneapolis, a key figure in preparing the bid.\n\n“We’re selling a compact urban experience,” Tennant said, pointing out that fans can walk or take light rail lines from their hotels to the games and all the ancillary events associated with a Final Four.\n\nThe bid to host the Final Four came with a guarantee of 10,000 hotel rooms within a 30-minute radius of downtown. But even fans farther out won’t need to rent cars to get around.\n\nThat is because Minneapolis is now linked by light rail routes that didn’t exist in 2001. The blue line goes to the airport and the Mall of America; the green line connects downtown Minneapolis with downtown St. Paul. Both will bring fans right to the stadium’s large, rotating doors.\n\nIt is why the new stadium was built on the same spot as the old, even though the construction forced the Vikings to spend two seasons playing on the University of Minnesota campus. The Twins had departed for their new $522 million Target Field in 2010.\n\nThe city is expecting 94,000 visitors for the Final Four; there were an estimated 125,000 for the Super Bowl.\n\nThose visitors, if they take the time, will notice a city becoming more diverse by the day. The Scandinavian influence is still present in long-standing places like the American Swedish Institute. But there is also a Somali Museum of Minnesota that opened in 2011. The largest concentration of the Somali population is a half-mile east of U.S. Bank Stadium.\n\nOn the south side of Minneapolis, a growing Latino community has transformed East Lake Street with a global market and other shops.\n\n“Those populations have settled in all parts of the city, bringing new shops, new restaurants, and really breathing life into corridors that were struggling before,” Lutz said. “A lot of people think of Minneapolis in old terms, largely all-white and Scandinavian. While that population still exists, it certainly is not representative of the city any longer because we are multicultural.”\n\nThe Twin Cities and their suburbs are home to 18 Fortune 500 companies. UnitedHealth Group is the largest with 2017 revenues of $201 billion. Target is the most ubiquitous, its name and logo on the basketball arena and baseball stadium and nearly anywhere else you look.\n\nThen there is U.S. Bancorp, which sits at No. 122 on the Fortune 500 and paid $220 million to have its name attached to the shiny new stadium for 25 years. The company, and the city, is betting this won’t be the last Final Four under the stadium's translucent roof. The stadium is designed to offer views of downtown Minneapolis. Unlike the last time the Final Four stopped here, there is actually something to see.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/04/02"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_12", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2023/03/28/new-pepsi-logo-cans/11535642002/", "title": "New Pepsi logo: Branding updated on cola cans before 125th ...", "text": "Pepsi is updating the soft drink's logo ahead of its 125th anniversary – while paying tribute to the pop in the brand's classic labeling.\n\nThe new logo, which replaces one used since 2008, has a bold \"PEPSI\" centered in a black-bordered circle over red, white and blue stripes. The current logo displays the word \"pepsi\" in a leaner font, alongside a globe with more muted colors.\n\nThe goal in reimagining the logo was to infuse \"great energy and confidence and boldness,\" PepsiCo chief design officer Mauro Porcini told USA TODAY.\n\nPepsiCo will begin using the new logo this fall in the U.S. and Canada on \"electric\" blue and black cans and in promotions. PepsiCo will roll out the logo internationally in 2024.\n\nRevamping Pepsi logo: Several years before it was in the can\n\nThe company began rethinking its branding over the past few years. Focus groups liked the past logos with the word \"Pepsi\" inside a globe, Pepsi chief marketing officer Todd Kaplan said.\n\nConsumer research revealed a preference for those Pepsi logos from the '70s and '80s. \"So there was this implicit connection that we thought was not even out there today,\" Kaplan said. \"The challenge was: How can we take something that was part of our heritage and our past and project it to the present and the future?\"\n\nLook to the sky:Five planets will be lined up in a 'planetary parade' Tuesday. Here's how to see it.\n\nThis great white shark is back:This 1,500 pound great white shark is making his annual return to North Carolina\n\nThe richer \"electric\" blue and black (now the color of Pepsi Zero Sugar cans) will be used across the portfolio to bring \"a contemporary edge\" to the brand's color scheme, the company says in a press release.\n\nThe new logo lends itself to artistic renditions not only on delivery trucks, hats and merchandise but also in vibrant animations in video and online. \"It looks like a badge that you can wear or put on equipment (but) is very aligned to the latest trends in terms of visual communications,\" Porcini said.\n\nAn unveiling video shows what look like waves of energy, sound and lights radiating from the new logo and cans. Similar artwork is shown on sample social media posts, 12-packs and delivery trucks.\n\nThe 'Pepsi pulse' recalls brand's connection to music\n\nA \"Pepsi pulse\" emanating from the logo or can is a reminder of Pepsi's connection to music, Porcini said. \"Music is in the DNA of the brand,\" he said.\n\nThe new logo is better suited for a digital world and \"can bring new energy ... (and) endless potential and opportunities in licensing in the worlds of music and in sport,\" Porcini said. \"It is something we can leverage to convey that idea of unapologetic enjoyment once again.\"\n\nMore adaptable messaging is important in a competitive marketplace. PepsiCo has a 22.9% share of the total volume of soda sales in the U.S. compared with Coke, which has 43.4%, according to Euromonitor International. Coke has increased its market share from 42.7% in 2021, while Pepsi has declined from 24.2%, the market research firm said.\n\nDig Deeper:\n\nFollow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.\n\nWhat's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/28"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/27/business/laflamme-wendys-gray-hair-ctv/index.html", "title": "Why Wendy's in Canada has given its iconic red-headed mascot ...", "text": "New York CNN —\n\nThe Wendy’s mascot has a new hairdo on its Canadian social media sites – all in support of one of the nation’s veteran journalists.\n\nThe fast food giant’s Canada unit posted a new profile picture on its Twitter feed Thursday that gave Wendy’s iconic red pigtails a gentle gray shade. The company posted the picture, with the hashtags #LisaLaFlamme and #NewProfilePic and the caption “Because a star is a star regardless of hair colour,” using two star emojis. It had more than 45,000 likes on Saturday.\n\nLaFlamme worked at Bell Media as a reporter and news anchor on CTV National News for more than 30 years, the last 11 as its anchor. This month, she revealed that she was told on June 29 that her contract was ending, bringing her career at the network to a sudden end.\n\nIn an August 15 video posted to Twitter, LaFlamme said she was “blindsided” by the decision to let her go, and that it was “crushing to be leaving CTV in a manner that’s not my choice.”\n\nThe news that her contract was not renewed has received significant blowback in Canada, with claims that her decision to stop coloring her hair blonde during the pandemic was a major factor in the company’s decision. “At 58, I still thought I’d have a lot more time to tell more of the stories that impact our daily lives,” LaFlamme said in the video.\n\nIn a statement, Bell Media’s President and Chief Executive Officer Mirko Bibic said LaFlamme’s hair color had nothing to do with the company’s decision to let her go. “That is not the case,” he said, adding that the company is implementing an independent review.\n\nCNN has reached out to Bell Media for comment.\n\nA Bell Media executive, Michael Melling, is taking a leave from the company after The Globe and Mail reported that he asked who approved the decision to “let Lisa’s hair go grey.” Melling, vice president of Bell Media, CTV’s parent company, started heading the news division in January. He was the one who informed LaFlamme that she would no longer hold her role on the newscast.\n\nWendy’s is not the only brand in Canada to show its support for LaFlamme. Though the former news anchor was not specifically mentioned in it, Dove Canada launched a campaign last week asking its followers to turn their profile pictures to greyscale, and donated $100,000 to an organization advocating for inclusive workplaces for women.\n\nThe Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Twitter account retweeted its cover of this year’s swimsuit edition featuring Maye Musk, Elon Musk’s mother who also has gray hair, with the comment that “We’re going grey with @Dove in support of women aging confidently on their own terms.”\n\nAge is beautiful. Women should be able to do it on their own terms, without any consequences 👩🏼‍🦳👩🏾‍🦳Dove is donating $100,000 to Catalyst, a Canadian organization helping build inclusive workplaces for all women. Go grey with us, turn your profile picture greyscale and #KeepTheGrey pic.twitter.com/SW5X93r4Qj — Dove Canada (@DoveCanada) August 21, 2022\n\nDove’s Canada Twitter acount responded to the Wendy’s tweet with one of its own: “Looks Beautiful, Wendy!” it says, with the hashtag #KeepTheGrey. It had almost 6,000 likes on Saturday.", "authors": ["Ramishah Maruf"], "publish_date": "2022/08/27"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/business-food/starbucks-cup-sustainability/index.html", "title": "Starbucks is planning to phase out its iconic cups | CNN Business", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nStarbucks has a love-hate relationship with its cups.\n\nThe company’s white — or sometimes holiday-themed — logo-emblazoned paper cups for hot drinks, and clear plastic cups for cold drinks are instantly recognizable symbols of the brand. But that’s not entirely a good thing.\n\n“Our cup is ubiquitous, and we love that,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer. “But it is also this ubiquitous symbol of a throwaway society.”\n\nThat’s because the cups are disposable. When they are thrown away, the cups end up in landfills or as litter in streets and waterways. Some might be recycled, but recycling is an imperfect option — recyclable items still end up in landfills.\n\nThe best solution? “Eliminating the disposable cup,” Kobori said. He called that option “the holy grail.”\n\nThe traditional Starbucks disposable cup. Joe Raedle/Getty Images\n\nBy 2025, the company wants every customer to be able to either use their own mug easily or borrow a ceramic or reusable to-go mug from their local Starbucks. That could mean rolling out more borrow-a-mug programs that require a deposit.\n\nStarbucks is also planning, by the end of next year, to let customers use their own personal mugs at every Starbucks in the United States and Canada, even if they order ahead or use the drive-thru.\n\nThe goals don’t mean Starbucks will get rid of the paper and plastic cups. But they do want to make that option less attractive. That won’t be easy to do, as most Starbucks customers are used to that simple, single-use option. But the company has a plan.\n\nTesting out Borrow-A-Cup programs\n\nExamples of Starbucks' reusable cups. Courtesy Starbucks Coffee Company\n\nTo phase out disposables, Starbucks is considering a widespread borrow-a-cup program, in which customers pay a deposit for a durable cup that they take with them and drop back off after use.\n\nAmelia Landers, a vice president of product experience whose team is responsible for sustainable packaging at Starbucks, expects that this model will resonate more with customers compared to other sustainability efforts.\n\n“I think that will take the lead,” she said. “We are testing a number of different [borrow-a-cup] programs around the globe,” including “20 different iterations and in eight different markets.”\n\nIn Seattle, Starbucks tested a beta version of such a program last year.\n\n“We developed a new cup that had a very low environmental footprint, was lightweight polypropylene, ultimately recyclable and could replace 100 single-use disposable cups,” Landers explained.\n\nFor that test, customers paid a $1 deposit, and had to return the cup to a smart bin located in the store to get their dollar back. Customers also earned rewards for using the cup.\n\nKim Davis, who manages a store where the program was tested, said that customers were curious about the bin, and once baristas explained it to them, many were on board with the concept.\n\n“The excitement and engagement was really high among my customers and my [employees],” she said. For baristas, the process was straightforward enough — they just used the reusable cup instead of a regular one to prepare drinks. A third-party company collected the dirty cups for cleaning, so baristas didn’t have to worry about that part of the process.\n\nStarbucks (SBUX) is running similar pilot programs in Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom.\n\nThe model is the most promising because it’s the easiest to integrate into customers’ daily lives.\n\nYou don’t have to remember to bring your own reusable mug or, if you do, get stuck with a dirty cup for the rest of the day. And you don’t need to sit and sip your coffee at a Starbucks, something most people don’t have time for on a weekday morning.\n\nBut that model is still just being tested, so the company wants to encourage the use of reusable mugs in other ways.\n\nBringing back the personal cup\n\nStarbucks wants all customers to be able to use reusable mugs and glasses at its stores. Courtesy Starbucks Coffee Company\n\nEarly in the pandemic, when people feared that the coronavirus could spread easily on surfaces, Starbucks barred customers from bringing their own mugs. It has since brought back the option and is now trying out ways to make it more attractive.\n\n“We’re testing an incentive on the personal cup to go up from where it is today — from 10 cents to 50 cents,” Landers said. “We are also going to be testing a disposable cup fee.” She added that the chain is also experimenting with discounted prices for people who use a Starbucks-provided ceramic mug in stores.\n\nThat’s simple enough. But it gets a lot more complicated when customers bring their own cups to the drive-thru or when they order ahead through the Starbucks app.\n\nYears ago, ordering ahead or using a drive-thru might have been a rare enough occasion. But since the pandemic, more customers have been coming through the drive-thru or ordering ahead.\n\nDuring a February analyst call, Starbucks CFO Rachel Ruggeri said that Starbucks’ drive-thru windows and its mobile orders together account for about 70% of sales at US stores operated by the company.\n\nSo to achieve its zero-disposable-cups goal, Starbucks needs to figure out how to get reusables through a drive-thru, and make them available to customers who order ahead.\n\nTo that end, Starbucks has been testing different options at its innovation center.\n\n“We’ve got mock stores set up,” said Landers. “We have different versions of the drive-thru layout.”\n\nCustomers can simply give their cups to baristas at the drive-thru window. But Starbucks is exploring ways to make the process smoother.\n\nOne option is to allow customers to drop off their cups at an earlier point in the drive-thru lane so that the drink is ready in a personal cup once they swing around to the window, Landers said. Another is for baristas to pre-make drinks when customers place their orders, and pour them into personal tumblers at the window or when they arrive at a store to pick up their order. Starbucks is also testing out cup-washing stations in stores.\n\nThe team is trying “different things, over and over again,” to figure out what might work, she said. “We’re right now in the middle of all of that work.”\n\nIt’s crucial for Starbucks’ mobile order and drive-thru experiences to be seamless. After just a few sluggish pickups, customers may take their business elsewhere.\n\nBut Starbucks also has to be careful not to put too much additional burden on employees, who already have to prepare complicated, customized orders at high speeds.\n\nThat’s especially important now. Workers across the country are considering unionization, going against the wishes of the company’s leadership.\n\nA Starbucks, in Buffalo, New York, was the first to vote to unionize in December. Employees at a handful of other stores have since made similar efforts and several Starbucks around the country are preparing for their own votes.\n\nIf the company’s initiative leads to the end of paper and plastic cups at Starbucks, it will be quite an achievement.\n\n“We know that even the most ardent of sustainability champion customers, they really don’t change their behavior all that easily,” Landers said. “Even though they really, really want to.”", "authors": ["Danielle Wiener-Bronner"], "publish_date": "2022/03/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/06/22/general-mills-artificial-ingredients-cereal/29101165/", "title": "General Mills to ax artificial flavors from cereals", "text": "Hadley Malcolm\n\nUSA TODAY\n\nTrix, Lucky Charms and other iconic cereals are getting a natural upgrade in the latest bid by a major food company to create healthier products.\n\nGeneral Mills (GIS) said Monday that it will phase out artificial flavors and colors from all of its cereals by 2017. The announcement is the latest from an ever-growing group of food retailers vowing to ax artificial ingredients, including Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Panera, Kraft Foods Group and Subway.\n\n\"We've continued to listen to consumers who want to see more recognizable and familiar ingredients on the labels and challenged ourselves to remove barriers that prevent adults and children from enjoying our cereals,\" said Jim Murphy, president of General Mills cereal division, in a statement.\n\nPackaged-food companies are losing market share and seeing revenue fall as consumers turn toward brands known for less processed, simpler, more authentic food. Many companies are trying to draw back customers' attention by redoing products with fewer complex ingredients and taking stands against additives like antibiotics in meat.\n\nThose that don't will likely lose customers, says Kelly O'Keefe, a brand management professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.\n\n\"They need to be investing, they need to be changing out their product lines with better ingredients and they need to do it very quickly,\" he says. \"In the next two to three years, if you're not moving in the right direction you're going to see those brands fading rapidly into obscurity.\"\n\nAMERICA'S MARKETS: 12 iconic food companies on the decline\n\n\n\nGeneral Mills cereals such as Trix and Reese's Puffs will now be made with fruit and vegetable juices and natural vanilla. Trix will lose some colors in the process. The company began reformulating it about three years ago, and when the new version rolls out this winter, it will have just four colors instead of six. Blue and green didn't make the cut because the company hasn't identified a suitable natural alternative.\n\n\"We're continuing to work on them, but they didn't deliver on that vibrant color that we expect from Trix,\" says Kate Gallager, a General Mills cereal developer. Reese's Puffs, also rolling out this winter, will no longer be artificially colored, but Gallager says the difference is barely noticeable. The recipe changes will only affect cereals sold in the U.S. and Canada.\n\nGeneral Mills, whose cereals include Corn Chex, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Wheaties and Fiber One, declined to say how much it's investing to upgrade ingredients, but the cost won't be passed along to consumers, says spokesman Mike Siemienas.\n\nThough consumers will likely eventually have to pay for all the ingredient changes food companies are making, O'Keefe says.\n\n\"(Companies) might be willing to take a slightly shallower profit for a couple years, but ultimately, if they're not passing along the cost to the consumers, they're not staying in business.\"\n\nArtificial ingredients are already absent from 60% of General Mills cereals, the company said. They either never had them or they were already replaced.\n\nReformulating cereals with marshmallows will be a focus next year, says the company, adding this may take longer than grain-heavy cereals. General Mills plans to have more than 90% of the cereal portfolio artificial-free by the end of 2016, with 100% free by the end of 2017.\n\nThe hardest part about switching from artificial ingredients to natural ingredients is maintaining consistent flavor and texture, according to Gallager. Natural dyes like turmeric for yellow, paprika for red and fruit and vegetable concentrates can sometimes impart too much flavor or don't produce colors that are as bold.\n\nBeyond cereal, General Mills says it's already transforming multiple product lines to make them healthier.\n\nLast week the company was in the spotlight thanks to the Food and Drug Administration's announcement that food manufacturers must get rid of trans fats by 2018. General Mills' brands include Betty Crocker and Pillsbury, whose baking mixes and frosting tubs include partially hydrogenated oil, the primary contributor to trans-fat consumption.\n\nGeneral Mills said last week that it's already working to remove trans fats from products and that more than 95% of its products are already trans-fat free.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/06/22"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/27/business/sprite-green-bottle/index.html", "title": "Sprite will no longer be sold in green bottles | CNN Business", "text": "1. How relevant is this ad to you?\n\nVideo player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues", "authors": ["Jordan Valinsky"], "publish_date": "2022/07/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2018/06/07/blackberry-key-2-proves-blackberry-still-alive-but-can-sell/674950002/", "title": "Still here? BlackBerry Key2 aims to keep faded iconic brand breathing", "text": "“An icon reborn.”\n\nThat’s the hopeful marketing phrase TCL Communication is using to pump up interest in the latest BlackBerry smartphone, the Key2, which begins to ship globally this month. In the U.S., it will cost $649. As with the BlackBerrys of yesteryear, this latest device emphasizes a physical Qwerty keyboard, industrial-strength security and long battery life.\n\nYou’re forgiven if your first response is one of surprise: “BlackBerrys are still around?”\n\nIt’s been about 16 months since China's TCL, under the BlackBerry Mobile brand, unveiled a predecessor model, the BlackBerry KeyOne, at the Mobile World Congress industry trade show in Barcelona.\n\nBy then BlackBerry — the Waterloo, Canada company — had stopped making BlackBerry hardware, instead licensing the brand to TCL. But that BlackBerry, known in its heyday as Research In Motion or RIM, still contributes much of the DNA inside a BlackBerry phone.\n\nIn one form or another, BlackBerry has been on the comeback trail for several years now, and while the market for BlackBerry isn’t exactly thriving, the fact that there even will be a Key2 after the KeyOne has to say something.\n\nAlain Lejeune, who is a senior vice president at TCL Communication and the president of BlackBerry Mobile, told me he’s realistic about BlackBerry’s current standing. While he wouldn’t disclose sales figures, he claims the KeyOne is making a “positive contribution to TCL.”\n\nLejeune recognizes that for the Key2 to succeed, BlackBerry must go beyond nostalgia and appeal to smartphone users who have grown up in the iPhone era, a tough task.\n\nHe hopes that in the race to uniformity among smartphones, BlackBerrys will stand out for being, well, different.\n\nWhy for example, wouldn’t at least some young people find a physical keyboard appealing the way their parents once did?\n\nOf course, TCL’s ongoing challenge has been to make today's BlackBerry both modern and relevant. Along those lines, the Key2 becomes the first BlackBerry with dual rear cameras, each 12MP. Better late than never. Same goes for the new Portrait mode feature.\n\nBut when it comes to the camera, there’s no facial recognition as on the iPhone X or some Samsung Galaxys.\n\nInside the Key2 is a robust Qualcomm processor, 6GB of memory, and 64 or 128GB storage options, expandable through MicroSD.\n\nAs an Android Oreo phone, the Key2 has Google Lens and the Google Assistant.\n\nThe physical hardware has an aluminum frame and soft back. The screen is a modest-sized 4.5-inch touch display.\n\nBlackBerry still must play up to its traditional strengths, and that means security. An improved version of the DTEK by BlackBerry security app that we’ve seen on other BlackBerry models comes preloaded here. It gives you an overall reading on how secure your phone is, and you can dig deeper for info on downloaded apps, managing permissions as necessary. DTEK might tell you, for example, how many times a given app might have retrieved your location and reports on what apps are doing in the foreground and the background.\n\nA password or fingerprint-protected Locker app is a handy place to stash photos, documents and even entire apps from prying eyes, a dating program for example.\n\nWith the renewed focus these days on privacy, maybe that's what it will take to give this faded brand the latest boost to keep going.\n\nEmail: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow USA TODAY Personal Tech Columnist @edbaig on Twitter", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/06/07"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/29/business/sears-last-christmas/index.html", "title": "Is this the last Christmas for Sears? | CNN Business", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nTracy Easterling spent about an hour Sunday shopping at Sears, which used to be one of her favorite stores. She ended up with nothing to show for it but memories.\n\nEasterling was at the Sears in her hometown of Jersey City, New Jersey, one of only 15 full-line Sears stores still open. Sears was once the world’s largest and most important retailer.\n\n“It’s the first time I’ve been here in awhile,” she said as she browsed the shoe selection, where the shoes were still boxed up rather than out on display.\n\n“I just came in looking for sales. But it’s so empty, and there’s not a lot to choose from,” she said. “Back in the day you could come in and get most everything you needed in one store.”\n\nEasterling said when she told friends that she was going to be stopping at Sears, their reactions were: “Is there still a Sears that’s open?”\n\n“Look at it. It’s as empty as can be,” she said looking down aisles without seeing any other customers, despite shoppers being out in force on the weekend after Thanksgiving.\n\nMost of the smattering of shoppers in the Jersey City store Sunday were older, and like Easterling, could remember Sears in its heyday.\n\nMany quickly left without finding what they were looking for. A few of the younger shoppers said they stopped by only because they could remember coming in as a kid.\n\n“I used to shop here years ago with my great-grandmother,” said Razeyah Surrell, 23, who came hunting for a pair of pants while shopping with his friend Taryn Reczkowski, 22. They left quickly after Surrell couldn’t find what he was looking for.\n\n“I walked in and said, ‘Wow, this is sad,’” Reczkowski said.\n\nSears was once a powerhouse\n\nIt has been a slow, quiet death for an iconic chain, whose groundbreaking catalog and anchor position at many malls nationwide once made Sears both the Amazon (AMZN) and the Walmart of its day.\n\nWhen Sears and Kmart merged in 2005, they counted 3,500 US stores between them and more than 300,000 employees. But both brands were already in a downward spiral. After the merger the company concentrated on selling off its more attractive real estate and buying back stock in an effort to prop up its declining share price, rather than investing in modernizing stores to make them competitive.\n\nBy 2018 the company had filed for bankruptcy. Eddie Lampert, the hedge fund operator who had engineered the disastrous Kmart merger and served as the holding company’s CEO, bought the remains of the business out of bankruptcy in early 2019. He had promised to turn things around after it had shed much of its debt, unprofitable stores and less attractive leases.\n\nThe company that emerged from bankruptcy in early 2019 — with the overly optimistic name Transformco — owned 223 Sears and 202 Kmart stores nationwide. But less than four years later, it is barely on life support, as the miniscule brick-and-mortar footprint and lack of shoppers demonstrates.\n\nNow experts say there’s basically little to no reason to keep even the handful of stores it still has open.\n\n“Sears has been going down the drain for a very long time. There’s no chance of it being revitalized,” said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. “No one apart from Eddie Lampert knows why he’s keeping these remaining stores open. You can’t make the economics work with that volume of stores.”\n\nAs for why Sears has hasn’t yet pulled the plug, Saunders said, “It might be that in some contracts or agreements that there is a penalty if he closes all the stores. Or perhaps they’re open because Eddie Lampert has a very strange view of business. He still seems to hold onto this illusion that he can bring it back. A lot of it could be about ego.”\n\nWhat might have been\n\nAlthough the company’s demise seems inevitable now, it didn’t need to be this way, insists Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia University and the former CEO of Sears’ Canadian unit before the Kmart merger.\n\nHe said that Sears’ experience operating its catalog, which had an all-encompassing list of products, positioned it better than other traditional retailers to make an early move into online sales. And he said Sears had better lease agreements than competing department store chains.\n\n“It could have been a rival to Amazon. It had been the Amazon of its day,” Cohen said. “No doubt that Sears would have needed to close stores and consolidate holdings, but their real estate holdings would not have been the albatross they were for other department store chains. Nothing would have stopped it from having a second life as a world beater. At the end of the day, this was all about the incompetence and malfeasance of its leadership.”\n\nA dismantled sign leans outside a Sears store in Nanuet, New York, one day after it closed in 2019. Mike Segar/Reuters Businessman Richard W. Sears was a railroad station agent who started selling watches as a side business in North Redwood, Minnesota, in 1886. The following year, he moved to the company's first Chicago location and hired watchmaker Alvah Roebuck. The two started a catalog business selling watches and jewelry in 1888, incorporating under the Sears Roebuck name in 1893. Chicago History Museum/Getty Images The cover of a Sears Roebuck and Co. catalog in the fall of 1900. The Sears catalog was the way many Americans first started to buy mass-produced goods. Bettmann/Getty Images A Sears, Roebuck and Co. store in El Paso, Texas, circa 1940. Sears' stores helped reshape America, drawing shoppers away from the traditional Main Street merchants. Fotosearch/Getty Images Sales clerks go on strike in Chicago circa 1946. Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis/Getty Images A Sears store in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1949. Bettmann/Getty Images People vote inside a Sears store in Tucson, Arizona, in 1953. PhotoQuest/Getty Images A woman receives a cosmetics consultation at a Sears store in Caracas, Venezuela, circa 1953. Jack Manning/Hulton Archive/Getty Images A worker goes over files in Sears' catalog office. Frank Scherschel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Cars fill a parking lot outside a Sears store, circa 1958. A. Y. Owen/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Sales clerk Lucille Jagusch shows drapery samples to shopper Arlene Hardt at a Sears store in Niles, Illinois, in 1961. File photo/AP People shop inside a Sears store in Morton Grove, Illinois, in 1961. AP Soldiers guard a Sears store in Baltimore after riots broke out following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images People watch the Apollo 11 rocket launch at a Sears store in White Plains, New York, in 1969. Ron Frehm/AP An iron worker helps construct the Sears Tower in Chicago. Sears' new headquarters, built in 1973, was the world's tallest building until 1998. Sears sold the building in 1994. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images A customer shops in Woodfield, Illinois, in 1991. Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis/Getty Images A woman works at a Sears in Hicksville, New York, in 1994. Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images Seth Meyers, left, and Hugh Jackman play Sears photographers during a \"Saturday Night Live\" skit in 2001. NBCUniversal/Getty Images Kaylin Wilson sets up children's clothes in a Kmart in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 2005. The store was the first Kmart in the country to begin receiving Sears merchandise after stockholders voted on a merger to form the nation's third largest retailer. Jim Cole/AP Black Friday shoppers duck under the opening door of a Sears store in Mentor, Ohio, in 2011. Bloomberg/Getty Images A woman in Mississauga, Ontario, looks at used store furniture for sale in 2018. The Sears location was closing forever. Rene Johnston/Toronto Star/Getty Images Shoppers wait in line by an empty rack of jeans during a 2019 Black Friday sale at a Sears store in Hialeah, Florida. Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters Residents cast their vote in the 2020 presidential election at a shuttered Sears store in Janesville, Wisconsin. Scott Olson/Getty Images Cesar Villasenor, right, sweeps away dirt in front of a vacant Sears store in Santa Monica, California, in 2020. The location underwent a $50 million makeover to turn the Art Deco-style building into an office, restaurant and retail complex. Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images A police sergeant receives a Covid-19 vaccination in a former Sears store at the Townsquare Mall in Rockaway, New Jersey, in 2021. Sarah Blesener/The New York Times/Bloomberg/Getty Images People arrive to receive Covid-19 shots in 2021 at a vaccination site in a former Sears store at the Lake Square Mall in Leesburg, Florida. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Patti Naleck pushes a cart carrying a mannequin through a Sears store that was about to permanently close in Schaumburg, Illinois, in 2021. Naleck said she plans to use the mannequin for Halloween displays. Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service/Getty Images In pictures: The rise and fall of Sears Prev Next\n\nIf — or perhaps when — Sears does close its final store, it will join a long list of retailers including RadioShack, Payless Shoes, Gymboree and American Apparel, that emerged from bankruptcy only to subsequently go out of business in short order.\n\nGetting a precise count of remaining open stores at the company is difficult. The total of 15 remaining Sears outlets is down about a third from 23 at this time last year. But those numbers come from what’s listed in the store locator on the company’s Web site. Spokespeople for Sears, Transformco and Lampert’s hedge fund did not respond to questions about the remaining store count, the company’s profitability or its plans going forward.\n\nWill the Sears name survive?\n\nThe name Sears might survive even if the final full-line stores close.\n\nAfter emerging from bankruptcy, Transformco bought the holding company it had previously spun off, which includes a chain of franchisee-owned stores operating under the name Sears Hometown. The stores are a fraction of the size of the full-line Sears and concentrate on selling appliances, tools and outdoor equipment.\n\nThere were about 700 of those stores just before Transformco reacquired Sears Hometown in 2019, but they’ve been steadily closing as well. About 100 stores closed earlier this year, leaving just more than 100 open today.\n\nKmart has shriveled to an even smaller size.\n\nA year ago there were only six Kmart stores on the US mainland, and six more across Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands. Since then the store in Puerto Rico has closed and there are only three stores left in the mainland, one each in Florida, New Jersey and Long Island, New York, according to Dick Barta, a former Kmart employee who has closely tracked store closings over the years. The Kmart website backs up those numbers.\n\nThe holiday shopping season is off to a strong start, and that might help keep Sears breathing a little while longer. But if the US economy does topple into recession as many economists fear, it could be the final straw that leads to its demise, said Katie Thomas, head of the Kearney Consumer Institute, an internal think tank at the Kearney consulting firm.\n\n“It’s tough to make the case consumers will go to those stores if they’re pulling back spending,” she said. “I think that [a recession] could be the final nail in the coffin.”\n\nAs for when Sears might finally close the last remaining stores, Cohen said it really doesn’t matter at this point.\n\n“The time of death was 2005,” he said, referring to the year Lampert took control of the company.", "authors": ["Chris Isidore"], "publish_date": "2022/11/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/business-journal/2017/08/31/wahlburgers-restaurant-coming-sioux-falls/620328001/", "title": "Wahlburgers partnering with Hy-Vee stores and coming to South ...", "text": "Brenda Wade Schmidt\n\nArgus Leader\n\nHy-Vee Inc. will bring a new restaurant concept to Sioux Falls with Wahlburgers restaurants, the Iowa-based grocery store chain said Thursday.\n\nWithout providing specifics of where in Sioux Falls Hy-Vee stores might put the new Wahlburgers and when it might build it, Sioux Falls is identified on the map as being part of the future expansion. All stores with Market Grille restaurants also will see select Wahlburgers menu items locally. Hy-Vee has seven stores in Sioux Falls.\n\n\"I don't have a date for Sioux Falls,\" said Jeremy Gosch, executive vice president of strategy and chief merchandising officer. \"Sioux Falls is in the plan.\" The restaurant location will be where it best makes sense for a restaurant and not necessarily by a grocery store, he said.\n\nHy-Vee plans to build, own and operate 26 Wahlburgers restaurants in seven midwestern states, nearly doubling the brand's current locations through a strategic partnership to diversify business, the company said in a news release. The company also will partner with Orangetheory Fitness to provide access to group fitness in or adjacent to Hy-Vee stores.\n\n“These unprecedented collaborations reinforce our company’s longstanding commitment to health and wellness, culinary expertise and customer experience,” said Hy-Vee Chairman, CEO and President Randy Edeker. “However, they also represent a bold step to deliberately evolve our business to meet the change in our customers’ lifestyles and spending habits. These partnerships keep us on the leading edge as the retail grocery industry evolves.”\n\nThe first Hy-Vee-owned Wahlburgers, a family restaurant that sells signature burgers and drinks, will be in West Des Moines, Iowa, where Hy-Vee has its headquarters. That free-standing restaurant will open in mid-2018, the company said. The first restaurant is not near a Hy-Vee store.\n\nLast year, eating meals outside the home surpassed meals consumed in the home, Hy-Vee said. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery spending trends began to shift in 2014. Millennials have played a significant role in the evolution, spending 44 percent of their food dollars annually on eating out, according to the Food Institute’s analysis of the USDA food expenditure data from 2014. That increase has skyrocketed income spent in restaurants and on take-out meals, rising from 34 percent in 1974 to 50 percent in 2014.\n\n“There is a changing landscape in the retail industry,” Edeker said. “Hy-Vee has a responsibility to our customers, employees and communities to look for new ways to strengthen our company. With this type of progressive action, Hy-Vee is well positioned for future growth.”\n\nCurrently, Wahlburgers operates 17 locations in nine states and Canada. With Hy-Vee's partnership, the grocery store will become the brand’s largest single franchisee. In addition, all 84 Hy-Vee Market Grille restaurants will offer Wahlburgers-branded menu items. The Wahlburgers restaurants will complement Hy-Vee’s Market Grille restaurants, and tie into to the organization’s commitment to providing culinary expertise and experiences, Hy-Vee said.\n\nPaul Wahlberg, chef and co-founder of Wahlburgers, said he welcomes Hy-Vee to the company. “It’s a great honor to be able to partner up with a company that has a long and successful history in the two areas that are very important to Wahlburgers, quality and customer service.\"\n\nOrangetheory Fitness is a revolutionary fitness program with an intensive group training workout. With 750 studios open nationwide, the company is on track to open 1,500 in the next two years. Hy-Vee will partner with Orangetheory to offer customers a fitness experience in or adjacent to Hy-Vee stores.\n\nIn addition, Hy-Vee dietitians will work with Orangetheory members to offer dietetic services, provide samples of nutritional products and lead store tours to showcase items that align with member needs. This partnership creates an integrated fitness component to bolster Hy-Vee’s focus on health and wellness – including in-store dietitians, HealthMarkets, chefs, fresh and organic produce and pharmacies.\n\nThe first Hy-Vee Orangetheory Fitness location will open in 2017 in the Twin Cities.\n\n“Orangetheory is a revolutionary fitness experience, which combined with Hy-Vee’s health offerings, creates a one-stop shop for wellness,” said Orangetheory Fitness Chief Brand Officer Kevin Keith. “Like our members, we know that many Hy-Vee customers are looking for more convenient ways to access fitness and healthy eating options in one location – this partnership solves that need.”\n\nHy-Vee, Inc. an employee-owned corporation operating more than 240 retail stores across eight Midwestern states, has sales of $9.8 billion annually.\n\nWahlburgers, based in Hingham, Mass., was founded by Executive Chef Paul Wahlberg, celebrity brothers Mark and Donnie and other investors. Wahlburgers offers a fun, casual music-filled atmosphere where the Chef Paul inspired menu features a variety of fresh burgers, housemade condiments, crispy haddock, seared chicken and vegetarian options along with thick creamy frappes and floats. Wahlburgers’ full-service bar offers adult frappes, cocktails, wines and beers.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/08/31"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/06/17/aunt-jemima-reportedly-change-name-remove-image-black-woman/3204562001/", "title": "Aunt Jemima to change name, remove image of Black woman", "text": "The pancake syrup company Aunt Jemima is changing its name and imaging in the wake of renewed calls for racial equality.\n\nThe Quaker Oats-owned company said Wednesday that the iconic Aunt Jemima figure on its packaging is \"based on a racial stereotype\" and acknowledged that its prior work to update the character was \"not enough.\"\n\n\"We will continue the conversation by gathering diverse perspectives from both our organization and the Black community to further evolve the brand,\" said Kristin Kroepfl, vice president and chief marketing officer of Quaker Foods North America, in a statement sent to USA TODAY. The move was reported earlier by NBC News and Adweek.\n\nShoppers will start to see new packaging at the grocery store without the Aunt Jemima image in the fourth quarter of this year. The company's new name for the syrup and other products will be announced soon after.\n\nProtests:Yelp adds tool search for black-owned businesses\n\nFollowing the news of Aunt Jemima's future evolution, two other iconic brands, Uncle Ben's and Mrs. Butterworth's, announced that they were also looking at making changes.\n\nMars-owned Uncle Ben's said it plans to change the image on its rice packaging, but said in a release that it didn't yet know \"what the exact changes or timing will be, but we are evaluating all possibilities.\"\n\nConagra Brands, owner of Mrs. Butterworth's, says it has \"begun a complete brand and packaging review\" of the syrup brand.\n\n“The Mrs. Butterworth's brand, including its syrup packaging, is intended to evoke the images of a loving grandmother,” Conagra Brands said in a statement Wednesday. “We stand in solidarity with our Black and Brown communities and we can see that our packaging may be interpreted in a way that is wholly inconsistent with our values.”\n\nThe Aunt Jemima brand was formed in 1889 after owners Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood developed the pancake mix. The character on the box was brought together and inspired by a Black storyteller and cook named Nancy Green, according to the company's website.\n\nMore than a century later, Aunt Jemima, who is said to have been born into slavery, no longer resembles a servant from the era. Quaker Oats bought the brand in 1926, and in 1989 swapped her red bandanna for pearl earnings and soft curls.\n\nDo Black employees matter?:Protests lead to reckoning as employees speak out on racism and discrimination at work\n\nStill, the company's image with its Black servant origins has come under fire for perpetuating racist stereotypes.\n\nThe marketing shift comes at a time when big brands face increasing pressure to increase diversity efforts and combat racism in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.\n\nThe news comes one day after parent company PepsiCo announced a $400-million set of initiatives to lift up Black communities over the next five years. Part of the plan is to increase Black representation internally and to introduce mandatory training on unconscious bias.\n\nContributing: Kelly Tyko\n\nFollow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: @Dalvin_Brown.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/06/17"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/27/business/mcdonalds-adults-happy-meal/index.html", "title": "McDonald's is selling Happy Meals to adults — with a twist | CNN ...", "text": "1. How relevant is this ad to you?\n\nVideo player was slow to load content Video content never loaded Ad froze or did not finish loading Video content did not start after ad Audio on ad was too loud Other issues", "authors": ["Jordan Valinsky"], "publish_date": "2022/09/27"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_13", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2023/03/28/whitmer-uaw-convention-right-to-work-shawn-fain/70056771007/", "title": "Whitmer touts right-to-work repeal, UAW as partner at convention", "text": "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer got a chance Tuesday to tout the recent repeal of right-to-work legislation and her support for the UAW during the second day of the union’s special bargaining convention in Detroit.\n\nAfter telling the hundreds of delegates gathered at Huntington Place, formerly Cobo Center, that she had signed the bills Friday on right-to-work and restoring prevailing wage rules, she told them it was a “BFD” as the delegates answered with loud applause. That means it’s a big deal though the “F” can’t be spelled out here. (The governor urged those in the crowd to ask a union brother or sister to explain if they weren't clear on the concept.)\n\nMore:Fain calls it 'new day in the UAW' on first day of convention\n\n“That makes Michigan the first state to repeal the so-called right-to-work law since (the 1940s),” Whitmer said.\n\nWhitmer said it took a lot of work and advocacy to get to this point, but that more effort is needed on union and worker issues.\n\n“I’m damn proud of the work that we had to do, but we cannot for one second take our foot off the accelerator. We cannot assume it is over and things are just going to be sunny and bright for anyone who is working hard in this state. We’ve got to continue to work for these rights,” she said.\n\nWhitmer said Michigan would be a place where workers thrive and businesses can succeed. The state, she said, would be a place where people want to move for solid infrastructure and a good quality of life.\n\nShe said the state would “fight like hell” to bring battery-electric vehicle and semiconductor plants to Michigan, an answer to critics who have questioned the administration’s work to secure more EV-related investments during a massive transformation of the auto industry.\n\nMore:UAW to bring militant negotiations like Detroit Three haven't seen in years, experts say\n\n“Together we put the world on notice that Michigan was, is and always will be the beating heart of the auto industry,” Whitmer said, noting that the UAW is the center of much of this work.\n\n“I’m here because the UAW has been a phenomenal partner to me, and I will continue so long as I’m in office to be a phenomenal partner to you, too.”\n\nNewly elected UAW President Shawn Fain called the governor “our friend, our ally and our sister,” after recounting how the governor, a Democrat, had been on hand when the right-to-work legislation was pushed forward under the administration of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.\n\n“I’ll never forget her standing there with us, and I think it’s awesome to stand here 10 years later and now she’s our governor,” said Fain, who was sworn in to office on Sunday following a divisive election.\n\nMore:UAW, Stellantis execs play blame game as automaker cuts jobs to make up for EV costs\n\nWhitmer’s speech provided a rousing moment during the second day of the convention, but she would have had serious competition for the most fiery speech, with UAW Vice President Rich Boyer, the director of the union’s Stellantis department, clearly animated after a video was shown highlighting the impact of the idling of Stellantis’ Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.\n\nThe automaker announced its decision in December, attributing it to the high cost of the transition to electric vehicles. The plant, which produced the Jeep Cherokee SUV, employed more than 1,200 workers as of December, although that’s not a full picture of the associated jobs there or the reductions in force that had happened previously.\n\nBoyer, echoing a message that Fain has expressed, talked about how the membership needs to “start punching back” and “this could be you.”\n\nMore:Fain declares victory in UAW presidential election; Curry sets swearing-in for Sunday\n\nHe told members to imagine as an example the spillover effect if Stellantis stopped producing the Jeep Gladiator in Toledo, how it would affect a whole range of other plants. That’s not something the company has actually suggested, but Boyer was using it to make a point that would resonate with many delegates.\n\n“We have to stand together,” he said.\n\nThe convention is scheduled to wrap up Wednesday.\n\nOne other note from the convention, where the union sets out its bargaining priorities for upcoming contract talks with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, was the news that Fain's vehicle was broken into Monday night, with a window smashed and a bag and laptop taken near a bar in Detroit where convention attendees had gathered. Boyer mentioned the break-in, with additional details confirmed by a spokesman for Fain.\n\nContact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/08/act-10-turns-10-four-takeaways-law-shook-wisconsin/4402917001/", "title": "Act 10 at 10: Four takeaways from the Scott Walker legislation that ...", "text": "MADISON - Act 10, the Scott Walker-era law that sparked massive protests at the state Capitol, is turning 10. Here's a look at how the law limiting collective bargaining for most public workers has played out.\n\nFOR SUBSCRIBERS:The day Scott Walker 'dropped the bomb': 10 years later, Act 10 maintains a firm grip on Wisconsin government\n\nAct 10 delivered a blow to unions\n\nThe measure cut public workers' paychecks and siphoned off most of the strength of their unions.\n\nPublic workers earning $50,000 a year saw their take-home pay shrink by about 8.5% because they had to pay more for their benefits, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau at the time.\n\nAct 10 ended the ability of public-sector unions to negotiate over any issues other than raises, and those raises were capped at the rate of inflation. In addition, unions were required to hold annual elections to maintain their ability to negotiate for those raises. For those elections, they must win a majority of all eligible members, not just those who cast votes.\n\nFour years after Act 10 passed, Republicans approved a right-to-work law that limited the power of private-sector unions. Between 2010 and 2019, Wisconsin lost about 137,000 union members, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.\n\nUnion members in 2010 made up more than 14% of Wisconsin's workforce but by 2019 their share fell to about 8%.\n\nPassing Act 10 wasn't easy\n\nNow part of Republican orthodoxy, Act 10 wasn't guaranteed to pass when it was first unveiled. Former Gov. Scott Walker, who was the architect of the plan, noted some lawmakers were more willing to embrace it than others.\n\n\"When I went in (the Assembly Republican caucus) and told them what we were going to do, it was like a scene out of ‘Braveheart.’ They wanted to lift me up on their shoulders and go out to battle,\" Walker said in a recent interview. \"When I went to the Senate caucus … it was like I had told them their puppy had died. A number of them were not keen on making that kind of dramatic change.\"\n\nBefore Republican senators could settle on what to do, their Democratic colleagues left the state. That stymied the Senate because the state constitution requires 20 senators to be present to consider certain types of legislation and the Republicans had 19 seats.\n\nIn the midst of it all, massive protests sprung up, with Act 10's opponents occupying the Capitol through the night for long stretches. With the Senate sidelined, the Assembly debated the measure for 61 hours.\n\nDemocrats and Republicans alike said they weren't sure what would happen during that period. Attempts at compromise failed and after three weeks Senate Republicans modified the legislation so they could pass it without any Democrats having to be there.\n\nWalker signed Act 10 on March 11, 2011.\n\nWisconsin's divisions in 2011 signaled where America was headed\n\nAct 10 divided Wisconsin — much as America is divided today.\n\nThe dispute over the law drove wedges between friends and disrupted family gatherings. Bartenders told their patrons to steer away from political talk.\n\nBefore long, the rest of the country was in a similar place, with Americans tuning into news feeds and internet communities that echo only what they want to hear.\n\nAct 10 bolstered some political careers and ended others\n\nAct 10 launched an unusual wave of recall elections. Walker became the first governor in U.S. history to survive a recall challenge. Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch became the first lieutenant governor to face one, as well as the first to survive one.\n\nThirteen state senators faced recalls over Act 10 — 10 Republicans and three Democrats. Most incumbents won, but Democrats managed to unseat three Republicans. That was enough to give them control of the Senate in the summer of 2012, but the victory came when the Legislature was out of session and was short-lived. Republicans took back the majority that fall.\n\nThe attention from Act 10 made Walker a national figure, giving him a chance to launch a bid for the presidency. For weeks, he topped polls among conservatives, but he quickly abandoned his campaign after Donald Trump's popularity among Republicans took off.\n\nContact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/02/08"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/05/08/anonymous-donations-spark-million-common-wage-ad-war/26992647/", "title": "Anonymous donations spark $1.1 million common wage ad war", "text": "Tony Cook\n\ntony.cook@indystar.com\n\nIt’s pretty clear who financed most of the $1.1 million advertising war over the repeal of Indiana’s common wage law — two major unions.\n\nWhat’s less clear is who put up $400,000 to fight them.\n\nAn Indianapolis Star review of spending on the issue found that ads advocating repeal of the law — which governs wages on publicly funded construction projects — were funded primarily through a group whose donors are a secret.\n\nThe records show the advertising blitz began after a group with close ties to House Speaker Brian Bosma, the Indiana Opportunity Fund, began purchasing $357,000 in air time on 14 stations in six cities across the state. The group is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, which means it is not required to disclose its donors.\n\nGov. Mike Pence, who signed the repeal into law on Wednesday, also took the unusual step of spending $50,000 of his own campaign cash to advocate for repeal.\n\nThose purchases essentially set off an advertising arms race with two of the state’s largest unions, which ultimately outspent repeal supporters by a margin of nearly 2-1.\n\nThe Star gleaned details about the advertising purchases from hundreds of pages of public records that the Federal Communications Commission requires television stations to keep on political commercials.\n\nThe records show that the Indiana Opportunity Fund’s purchases started in late February, not long after Bosma, R-Indianapolis, gave a surprise green light to the legislation.\n\nThe group is not required to disclose its donors and three people associated with it did not respond to interview requests from The Star.\n\nJim Bopp, a Republican attorney from Terre Haute who led the successful legal fight before the U.S. Supreme Court to to allow unrestricted outside spending on campaigns, started the Indiana Opportunity Fund in 2011 to advocate passage of Indiana’s right-to-work law.\n\nAfter Bosma indicated his plans to push common wage repeal this session, the fund was re-activated.\n\nFCC filings list the organization’s president as William Bock III, one of Bosma’s law partners at Downtown law firm Kroger Gardis & Regas and a former House parliamentarian.\n\nRecords show the group purchased its ads through Mark It Red, a campaign consulting firm led by Mike Gentry, the political operative who, as the top staffer for Bosma’s House Republican Campaign Committee, helped the GOP win back the Indiana House after years of Democrat control.\n\nBosma did not respond to messages seeking comments for this story.\n\nThe Indiana Opportunity Fund’s activity prompted two unions — the International Union of Operating Engineers and the Laborers International Union — to purchase their own advertisements opposing the repeal.\n\nTogether, the two unions spent $692,000, including two 30-second spots during the Final Four regional finals that cost $8,000 apiece on WTTV-Channel 4 in Indianapolis. Most of the purchases mirrored those of the Opportunity Fund.\n\nDespite that outlay, organized labor could not beat back the effort by Pence and leaders of the Republican-controlled legislature to repeal the law, which allows local boards to set wages — often union wages — for construction workers on publicly financed projects.\n\nNor did thousands of construction workers and contractors who flooded the Statehouse lawn last month to rally against the law’s repeal. The scene echoed those from the successful effort several years ago to make Indiana a “right-to-work” state.\n\nDavid Frye, business manager for the Indiana Laborers District Council, said he saw Indiana Opportunity Fund’s commercials as an effort to put pressure on Republicans in the Senate.\n\nIn that chamber, President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne, assigned the issue to a tax and fiscal committee rather than the labor committee, where it’s chances were less clear. The Senate ultimately approved the measure on a narrow 27-22 vote.\n\nFrye said the unknown financial interests behind the Indiana Opportunity Fund and its influence should concern Hoosiers.\n\nThe advertising spending here is in many ways part of a larger national battle over the issue. Recently elected GOP majorities in West Virginia and Nevada have repealed similar laws, and Illinois’ new Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, has called for similar action.\n\nSupporters of the common wage, or prevailing wage as it is often known in other states, say it ensures quality work and helps working families earn higher paychecks.\n\n“This repeal will lower middle class wages in the state of Indiana,” Frye said. “It will degrade the quality of work that is done because there will be a good chance it won’t be skilled labor.”\n\nBut oppponents of the common wage say it artificially inflates pay scales for public projects, costing taxpayers extra money.\n\n“Wages on public projects should be set by the marketplace and not by government bureaucracy,” Pence said in signing House Bill 1019 on Wednesday. “By repealing the common construction wage, our state is putting hard-working taxpayers first, lessening the burden on cash-strapped local governments and schools, and opening doors of opportunity for small businesses across our state.”\n\nCall Star reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter: @indystartony.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/05/08"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/12/right-to-work-michigan/1762993/", "title": "Right-to-work is the law in Mich., but it's not over", "text": "Paul Egan and Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press\n\nGovernor announced it was on the agenda Dec. 4; a week later he signed measures into law\n\nLaws go into effect 90 days after signing, around April 1\n\n\n\nRecall petitions against state senators can start now; July 1 is date for House members\n\nLANSING, Mich. — In the blink of an eye, Michigan became the 24th right-to-work state Tuesday after the state House rushed through legislation and Gov. Rick Snyder immediately signed it, capping a day of charged emotions, huge crowds and mostly peaceful demonstrations.\n\nThe speed with which the controversial legislation became law left organized labor and Democrats reeling. There is talk of legal challenges and recall efforts, but Democrats and labor leaders say they are mostly focused on 2014, when they hope to elect lawmakers and a governor who will repeal the law.\n\n\"This is a major day in Michigan's history,\" Snyder told reporters late Tuesday during a news conference, shortly after signing two right-to-work bills approved Tuesday by the state House and Thursday by the Senate.\n\nThe news of the signing was a bit of a surprise, and relayed rather matter-of-factly by the governor. He said he saw how divisive the issue was and noted the large crowds of protesters outside the Capitol, saying he didn't see a need for a public signing or ceremony. Instead, he said, it was just time to take a position and move forward.\n\n\"I don't view this as anti-labor. I view this as pro-worker,\" Snyder said.\n\nHere for good?\n\nBecause the new law is designed to include a $1 million appropriation to cover implementation, it can't be repealed by voter initiative.\n\nBut the right-to-work law wasn't what many of the opponents said they were interested in recalling Tuesday.\n\n\"The sleeping tiger is awake now,\" Michigan AFL-CIO President Karla Swift said. \"We have 2014 as a goal to shift out and win justice.\"\n\nAn estimated 12,500 demonstrators — 10,000 on the Capitol grounds and 2,500 more inside the building — converged on Michigan's Capitol, waving signs, hoisting inflatable rats mocking Snyder, and stomping their feet and shouting their voices hoarse in the Capitol Rotunda.\n\nWhen their actions had no effect on the Legislature, demonstrators turned their focus to Snyder and briefly massed outside his offices across from the Capitol, accusing him of a double-cross because the Republican originally said he would not pursue the anti-union legislation.\n\nMichigan, following Midwest neighbor Indiana into right-to-work status, garnered huge national and international attention largely because of the state's history as a birthplace of the UAW and the location of the first sit-down strikes of the 1930s.\n\nThe process began Dec. 4, when Snyder announced publicly that the controversial issue was \"on the agenda\" here. By Thursday, Snyder, who since taking office in January 2011 had described right-to-work as too divisive and not on his agenda, bowed to pressure from conservative members of his party and announced that the process was moving forward. Just five days later, the change was law, without a committee hearing and with little debate in the Legislature.\n\nThe law, which makes it illegal to require financial support of a union as a condition of employment, is expected to deal a significant blow to the finances and political clout of organized labor. Snyder and other Republicans who back the law say unions simply will have to do a better job of showing value to members for the dues they pay since they no longer will have a captive clientele.\n\nNot giving up\n\nBackers of organized labor were adamant that while Tuesday was a major setback for their cause, it was not the death knell.\n\n\"Have you ever seen a squirrel get run over and get back up?\" asked Joel Bullock Sr., 66, of Detroit, a retired Ford worker from UAW Local 600 who was at the Capitol on Tuesday. \"It's amazing, isn't it?\n\n\"You don't have to lay down and roll over just because you take a licking,\" he said. \"This is coming up again. It won't be done after today.\"\n\nProponents, such as Patrick Wright, a senior legal analyst with the conservative Mackinac Center, said he's confident that the change will help Michigan's still-recovering economy.\n\n\"We like to think this is bigger than unions,\" Wright said. \"It's going to make this place a better choice for businesses to grow and expand,\" he said.\n\nAbout 700,000 Michigan residents, less than 20% of the state work force, are union members.\n\nThe fallout\n\nThe right-to-work law is expected to take effect around April 1 and will cover all public and private employees in the state with the exception of police and firefighters, who were excluded intentionally.\n\nThe law won't affect existing contracts, only contracts that take effect or are renewed after the law's effective date, said Robert Sikkel, a Grand Rapids, Mich., lawyer specializing in employment issues.\n\nUntil existing contracts expire, all employees covered in union contracts at governments and businesses with closed shops will have to continue to pay union dues, or at least the union agency fee related to the cost of representation, Sikkel said.\n\nBut once those contracts expire, employees will be free to decide whether they want to pay anything to the unions and still will be covered by union-negotiated contracts, whether they pay or not, he said.\n\nThe state House voted 58-51 to pass the right-to-work bill for public employees, and 58-52 on a bill for private-sector workers.\n\nAll the Democrats in the House and six Republicans voted no. But it wasn't enough to defeat the legislation.\n\nThe debate over the two bills lasted nearly three hours but were voted on without any committee hearings or input from the public, although audience members in the gallery overlooking the House chamber began chanting, \"Shame on you,\" as soon as the bills passed.\n\nContributing: Lori Higgins, David Jesse and Megha Satyanarayana, Detroit Free Press\n\nWhat's next on right-to-work?\n\n• The law takes effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns. That will put the effective date around April 1. The law won't affect existing union contracts.\n\n• Legal action can be taken on several grounds, including whether the $1 million appropriation attached to the law is proper and whether the carve-out of police and firefighters is a violation of equal protection clauses in the Constitution.\n\n• The right-to-work bills cannot be repealed in a statewide vote because of the appropriation. However, opponents can mount a drive to put a constitutional amendment on the 2014 statewide ballot, which could overturn the right-to-work bill.\n\n• Recall campaigns against state senators who supported the legislation can begin immediately. But recalls against House members cannot begin until July 1 when they reach the six-month mark in their 2013-14 terms.\n\n• Campaigns will begin quickly to try to defeat Gov. Rick Snyder and enough Republicans in the state House and Senate, so Democrats can regain control of the majority and vote to overturn the laws.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2012/12/12"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/politics/abortion-rights-2022-midterms/index.html", "title": "Abortion rights were on the ballot in these states. Here's what voters ...", "text": "Washington CNN —\n\nVoters in key states on Tuesday made their support for abortion rights clear, affirming a months-long push by Democrats to act on a number of ballot measures in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.\n\nSeveral states moved to enshrine abortion protections in their constitutions and others rejected proposals to limit abortion access or criminalize doctors in some cases. Democratic lawmakers and organizers cast the midterm elections as a referendum on Republican efforts to limit women’s choices, and the notable electoral reaction could serve as a warning sign for future GOP efforts to restrict the procedure at the state-level.\n\nAbout 27% of voters cited abortion as the issue most important to them, according to the preliminary results of the national and state exit polls conducted for CNN and other news networks by Edison Research. The results also showed that when it comes to the issue, roughly half of voters said they trusted Democratic candidates, compared with more than 4 in 10 voters who said they trusted Republican candidates.\n\n“This fall, Roe is on the ballot,” President Joe Biden declared in a defiant speech from the White House just hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year.\n\nWhile CNN projected some anti-abortion Republicans will win their races, voters in five states moved to affirm abortion rights.\n\nHere’s a running list of what voters decided on Election Day.\n\nMontana rejects abortion measure that would allow criminal penalties on health care providers\n\nVoters in Montana rejected on Tuesday proposed legislation that would have imposed criminal penalties on health care providers who do not act to preserve the life of infants born during the course of an abortion, CNN projects.\n\nLR-131, if adopted, would have provided that an infant “born alive” – defined as an infant “at any stage of development” who breathes, has a beating heart or definite movement of voluntary muscles after expulsion or extraction – be treated as a legal person entitled to medical treatment.\n\nA health care provider who violated the proposed law would have been guilty of a felony and could have faced up to 20 years in state prison and/or a fine of up to $50,000. It would have also mandated that health care providers and clinics report “a failure to comply with the requirements” to law enforcement.\n\nMontana currently prohibits abortions past viability – “the ability of a fetus to live outside the mother’s womb” – except to save the life or health of the woman.\n\nLast year, the state’s Republican-led legislature passed the bill that put the referendum on the ballot.\n\nBackers of the measure said such a law was necessary to protect infants born during an abortion attempt, while opponents said the bill wasn’t needed because there are laws in place that require care to be given.\n\nHillary-Anne Crosby, the campaign coordinator and communications lead for Compassion for Montana Families, previously said LR-131 “zeroes in on families that are having complications in the labor and delivery room, such as lethal fetal abnormalities.”\n\n“It’s not uncommon for families to make the decision to induce labor so that they can hold their infant for a few minutes, maybe have family come in and be able to meet their new family member for the few moments that they are alive, and LR-131 throws a wrench in that being a viable option to them without the health care workers facing a felony,” she previously told CNN.\n\nKentucky rejects proposal that would have further restricted abortion rights\n\nKentucky voters on Tuesday rejected a proposal to amend the state’s constitution to say that it does not “secure or protect a right” to abortion or the funding of abortion, CNN projects.\n\nThe ballot question voters faced read: “Are you in favor of amending the Constitution of Kentucky by creating a new Section of the Constitution to be numbered Section 26A to state as follows: To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion?”\n\nKentucky’s “trigger law,” which bans most abortions at all stages of pregnancy, and a law banning abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy have been allowed to be enforced temporarily while a lawsuit challenging the laws continues.\n\nKentucky Right to Life executive director Addia Wuchner, who chairs the Yes for Life Alliance, which supported Amendment 2, previously said voting “yes” would “ensure there’s no false interpretation of the constitution.”\n\nWithout the amendment, “instead of the lawmakers who duly reflect the people’s will, we would end up with the abortion industry taking each law back into court,” Wuchner said.\n\nTamarra Wieder, the Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, had said passing the amendment would “open the door to more attacks on abortion access,” but rejecting it would allow abortion rights advocates to “continue to fight back” against the six-week ban and the trigger ban.\n\nIf adopted, the measure would have gone into effect immediately once the results of the election are certified by the State Board of Elections.\n\nMichigan enshrines abortion rights\n\nMichigan voters on Tuesday voted to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution, a move that will help block a decades-old abortion ban from taking effect, CNN projects.\n\nThe passage of ballot Proposal 3 amends the Michigan constitution to establish an “individual right to reproductive freedom, including right to make and carry out all decisions about pregnancy.”\n\nMichigan has a 1931 law that essentially bans abortion in the state, but that law is being blocked by the courts. The passage of the ballot proposal helps prevent the ban from taking effect.\n\nThe amendment allows the state to regulate abortion after fetal viability, except if needed to protect a patient’s life or physical or mental health. It also bars the state from prosecuting an individual for having an abortion or miscarriage or from prosecuting someone who assists a pregnant person in “exercising rights established by this amendment.”\n\nThe proposal had to overcome legal challenges to be included on the ballot, with the Michigan Supreme Court ordering officials in September to include the question on ballots in a 5-2 ruling.\n\n“We are energized and motivated now more than ever to restore the protections that were lost under Roe,” Darci McConnell, a spokesperson for Reproductive Freedom for All, a group backing the effort, said in a statement after the ruling.\n\nMichigan Republicans had blasted the court’s decision, along with another on a voting rights ballot proposal. “Despite the court ruling, these measures remain too extreme for Michigan, and we are certain they will be handily defeated at the ballot box in November,” Elizabeth Giannone, deputy communications director for the state party, predicted in a statement earlier this year.\n\nCalifornia voters put abortion rights in state constitution\n\nThe California Constitution will protect the right to an abortion after residents on Tuesday passed a ballot initiative to enshrine the right in the state’s governing document, CNN projects.\n\nCurrently, the state constitution guarantees a right to privacy, which the California Supreme Court has ruled includes the right to have an abortion.\n\nIn May, following the leak of the US Supreme Court’s draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, California Democratic leaders Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and state Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said in a statement that they would propose an amendment “so that there is no doubt as to the right to abortion in this state.”\n\nThe Democratic-controlled state legislature in June approved putting the amendment on the November ballot.\n\n“Proposition 1 ensures that no matter what the future legislature looks like, what the future governor looks like, that people in California have a constitutional protection that explicitly ensures the state won’t interfere with their right to reproductive freedom,” Jodi Hicks, the head of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and co-chair of the Yes on Prop 1 campaign, previously told CNN.\n\nThe California Family Council had said the proposed amendment is an “extreme and costly proposal that does nothing to advance women’s health.” And the California Catholic Conference, which opposes Proposition 1, called it a “misleading ballot measure that allows unlimited late-term abortions – for any reason, at any time, even moments before birth, paid for by tax dollars.”\n\nThe Yes on Prop 1 campaign previously said the proposal would not change “existing state constitutional protections and law, which provide for the right to choose an abortion prior to viability or to protect the pregnant person’s life or health.”\n\nThe measure goes into effect the fifth day after the vote is certified.\n\nVermont voters back abortion rights\n\nVoters in Vermont on Tuesday approved an amendment to the state’s constitution that abortion rights supporters say will protect “every person’s right to make their own reproductive decisions,” including about pregnancies, abortion and birth control, CNN projects.\n\nThe Vermont Constitution will now be amended to read: “That an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”\n\nAbortion is currently legal at all stages of pregnancy in Vermont. The proposed amendment was first brought by the Vermont Legislature in 2019.\n\nVermont for Reproductive Liberty Ballot Committee, the coalition that backed Article 22, had previously said state-level protections “are vital to safeguarding access” now that the US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade.\n\n“It would mean that abortion access has been codified in the state constitution, and really the most important part of that is that it’s protected long-term, and it means that access is going to be there, no matter what our politicians do,” Sam Donnelly, the campaign manager for the coalition, previously told CNN.\n\nBoth supporters and opponents of Article 22 have said its adoption means that Vermont lawmakers will be unable to pass any limitations or regulations on abortion in the future because it would then be deemed unconstitutional.\n\nMary Beerworth, the executive director of the Vermont Right to Life Committee, which opposes the amendment, had said the proposal goes “way, way further” than codifying abortion rights into the state constitution.\n\n“It will be about a vast range of anything that pertains to your personal reproductive autonomy, from surrogacy, three-parent embryo, designer babies, minors possibly accessing the hormone blockers for transgender surgery without their parents’ knowledge or consent,” she previously told CNN. “It’s opening a whole new world here if it passes.”\n\nThis headline and story have been updated with additional developments.", "authors": ["Veronica Stracqualursi Devan Cole Paul Leblanc", "Veronica Stracqualursi", "Devan Cole", "Paul Leblanc"], "publish_date": "2022/11/09"}, {"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.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/03/everything-table-collective-bargaining-debate-iowa/96006988/", "title": "'Everything is on the table' for collective bargaining debate in Iowa", "text": "Jason Noble\n\njnoble2@dmreg.com\n\nBig changes to state and local government workers' benefits, disciplinary procedures and the way they negotiate their employment contracts may be coming to Iowa.\n\nRepublican lawmakers, newly empowered and emboldened after last November's election, are making clear they intend to rewrite the state’s collective bargaining law, sparking what could be one of the fiercest battles of the legislative session that opens next Monday.\n\n“Everything is on the table, I’ll put it that way,” said state Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, and the incoming chairman of the Senate Labor Committee. “We’re looking at everything from repeal all the way back to a few minor tweaks.”\n\nRepublicans won a majority in the state Senate in 2016 and now control both legislative chambers and the governor's office. In their view, the state’s current collective bargaining law – known colloquially as Chapter 20, for its place in the Iowa Code – provides overly generous benefits to public-sector workers and undermines governments’ control over spending.\n\n“The big thing we’re looking for is to give taxpayers a place at the table,” said state Rep. Greg Forristall, R-Macedonia. “That means they have some say in how the money is spent, and that there are safeguards to see that taxes aren’t increased willy-nilly every time there’s a demand from collective bargaining.”\n\nDisputing that view and looking to preserve the current law are Democrats and public-employee labor unions, who criticize GOP efforts as unnecessary, harmful to workers and communities and politically motivated.\n\n“When (Republicans) were in the minority, they thought the law was great. Now that they’re in majority, they think the law needs to be changed,” AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan said. “Everything about this is about politics. Everything about this is about weakening unions’ ability to bargain over wages, terms and conditions.”\n\nHoman’s organization is the largest public-sector union in the state, representing some 40,000 workers on road crews, in county courthouses, at state institutions and elsewhere.\n\nWhile it’s not clear yet what specific changes the Republican Legislature will pursue, key lawmakers and interest groups have identified a handful of areas of interest. Among them:\n\nHealth care benefits\n\nCurrently, state law requires public employers and their employees to negotiate health insurance benefits within a collective bargaining agreement – a situation that for decades has afforded workers generous insurance plans at relatively low cost.\n\nRepublican lawmakers argue such plans are out of step with those available to private-sector employees and represent a huge cost to state and local governments. Republican Gov. Terry Branstad has floated the idea of removing health insurance from collective bargaining and establishing a single contract for all public employees across the state.\n\n\"If we treated health insurance like we do retirement — which has never been covered by collective bargaining, and which has one uniform program that is available for counties, cities, school districts and the state — we think that could save significant money,\" Branstad said. \"It would give a lot more flexibility to local governments.\"\n\nArbitration\n\nSeveral GOP lawmakers called for reforming the arbitration process by which labor contracts are settled when employers and workers can’t agree. Under the current system, each side makes a final offer and an independent arbitrator chooses one.\n\nThis is seen as particularly problematic for school districts, which may be forced to raise property taxes to pay for the salary or benefit increases required in a contract approved by an arbitrator. Indeed, changing the law on arbitration is a priority for the Iowa Association of School Boards.\n\n“We can’t continue to give 3 percent increases when we’re only getting a 2 percent increase in school funding from the state,” association Executive Director Lisa Bartusek said.\n\nGrievances\n\nLawmakers also say they’d like to streamline the grievance process by which employers and workers settle issues with job performance.\n\nState Rep. Dave Deyoe, R-Nevada and the incoming chairman of the House Labor Committee, said the current process is “overly cumbersome.”\n\n“Department heads spend too much time with grievances,” he said. “It’s too difficult for the state of Iowa or school districts to fire an employee who in any other field would be dismissed.”\n\nUnions push back at priorities\n\nNone of these issues, argues Iowa State Education Association President Tammy Wawro, are a real priority for Iowa voters – even those who sent Republicans to Des Moines with a legislative majority.\n\n“There is not a peoples’ mandate for something like this,” Wawro said. “I’ve not heard taxpayers talking about the need to change collective bargaining in Iowa. Maybe that’s why they’re all over the place and don’t know what to do – because this is much more of an attack than something the voters asked for.”\n\nThe ISEA is the state’s largest teachers union, and a major force in both the state’s Democratic Party and labor community.\n\nThe experience in Wisconsin – where Gov. Scott Walker and a Republican legislative majority abolished public workers’ right to bargain collectively in 2011 – looms over any talk of altering such laws here. That move sparked protests drawing tens of thousands of people and an occupation of the state Capitol in Madison. Democratic state senators fled to Illinois in an attempt to prevent a vote on the measure, and activists later attempted to throw Walker and several lawmakers out of office.\n\nThis year in Iowa, though, both sides say they’re not interested in bringing such upheaval to Des Moines. Even as Republican leaders say all changes to Chapter 20 are “on the table,” several expressed a personal preference to stop short of fully repealing bargaining rights. And key labor leaders concede massive public demonstrations are unlikely.\n\nBut even so, the battle is likely to be fierce.\n\n“We will do everything in our power to protect the rights of workers to have a say in their job,” said state Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines. “That is a fundamental right that we believe in and we will do everything in our power to protect those rights.”\n\n— William Petroski contributed to this story.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/07/biden-state-of-the-union-sotu-address-updates/11204405002/", "title": "State of the Union 2023 address recap: Biden lays out ambitious ...", "text": "WASHINGTON, D.C — President Joe Biden took credit Tuesday for what he said was the country's economic revival while pushing an agenda of reducing prescription drug costs, protecting abortion rights and banning assault weapons.\n\nThe economy was reeling two years ago, Biden said in his second State of the Union address delivered in a packed House chamber. In a preview of an expected reelection campaign announcement, he noted that the unemployment rate was at 50-year low while inflation has been easing.\n\n“We’ve been sent here to finish the job,” Biden said, invoking a phrase he used several times in his speech.\n\nBut the rancorous atmosphere in the House chamber telegraphed fights ahead, including over budget priorities and avoiding a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt. At several points in Biden’s speech, was interrupted by Republicans, who criticized his handling of border policy and pushed back when he accused them of trying to cut popular entitlements.\n\nSOTU analysis:Pivot point: Joe Biden faced a different chapter of his presidency in his State of the Union\n\nHeckles, spats and deflection:The biggest moments you missed from Biden's State of the Union\n\nState of the Union takeaways:Blue-collar Joe, GOP boos and a 2024 preview\n\nThe latest on Biden's speech:\n\nBlue-collar pitch: Promoting his economic plan, Biden assured Americans that he wants to invest in “places and people that have been forgotten,” arguing that “too many people have been left behind or treated like they’re invisible.”\n\nPromoting his economic plan, Biden assured Americans that he wants to invest in “places and people that have been forgotten,” arguing that “too many people have been left behind or treated like they’re invisible.” Biden calls Pelosi 'greatest speaker’ ever: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t sitting behind Biden for his address but she got a special call-out from the president anyway.\n\nFormer House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t sitting behind Biden for his address but she got a special call-out from the president anyway. Biden touts progress on insulin prices while pushing for more: Biden renewed his call to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American.\n\nBiden renewed his call to cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American. Biden spars with GOP over Social Security and Medicare: The president prompted protests in the chamber from Republican lawmakers when he repeated his accusation that the GOP was trying to cut entitlements. When the protests continued, Biden said he wasn’t arguing that all Republicans back reviewing entitlement programs every five years. “But it’s being proposed,” he said.\n\nSanders: Biden has 'failed' American people; calls for 'new generation'\n\nSarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, at age 40 the youngest governor in the country, didn't hesitate to point out that 80-year-old Joe Biden is the oldest president in history – and added that it is time for a \"new generation\" of Republican leadership.\n\n\"Biden and the Democrats have failed you,\" Sanders said in the formal GOP response to Biden's State of the Union address. \"It's time for a change.\"\n\nSpeaking from the governor's mansion in Little Rock, Ark., Sanders cited domestic issues like inflation, immigration, and crime. Also criticizing the president's foreign policy, Sanders said Biden is \"unfit\" to be Commander-in-Chief.\n\nCiting the Republican majority in the House, Sanders said: \"We will hold the Biden administration accountable.\"\n\n– David Jackson\n\nThe GOP:In Republican response to Biden's State of the Union, a vow to block the president's agenda\n\nBiden calls Paul Pelosi 'tough'\n\nBiden called out the political violence that was unleashed in the wake of Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.\n\n“With democracy, everything is possible. Without it, nothing is,” he said.\n\nBiden introduced Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was violently attacked in their home by an intruder, saying the assailant was “unhinged by the Big Lie” that the election was stolen.\n\n“Here tonight in this chamber is the man who bears the scars of that brutal attack, but is as tough and strong and as resilient as they get. My friend, Paul Pelosi,\" he said. “But such a heinous act never should have happened.”\n\n– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy\n\nPaul Pelosi attack:Video footage of violent home attack on Paul Pelosi released\n\nBiden gets personal and celebrates Cancer Moonshot initiative\n\nBiden celebrated the Cancer Moonshot initiative, aimed at advancing cancer prevention and treatment,\n\n“Our goal is to cut the cancer death rates at least by 50% in the next 25 years. Turn more cancers from death sentences to treatable diseases. Provide more support for patients and their families.” The issue is also deeply personal to Biden, as one of his sons, Beau Biden, passed away due to brain cancer. “It’s personal to so many of us.”\n\nBiden also singled out Maurice and Kandice Barron, a pair of guests invited by First Lady Jill Biden. Their daughter, Ava Barron, was diagnosed with a form of kidney cancer when she was one year old. “She turns four next month,” Biden said to wide cheers from the audience. “They just found out Ava’s beating the odds and is on her way to being cured from cancer.”\n\n– Ken Tran\n\nCancer treatment:New cancer therapy takes personalized medicine to a new level\n\nBiden says US stood up to China\n\nFacing Republicans who’ve accused him of being too soft on China, Biden said he responded clearly last week when a Chinese surveillance balloon floated over the United States.\n\nChina knows that if U.S. sovereignty is threatened, Americans will act to protect the country.\n\n“And we did,” Biden said, an apparent reference to his decision to shoot down the balloon.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nChinese spy balloon:Chinese spy balloon went over other US missile and nuclear weapons sites, lawmaker says\n\nBiden: Stop production, trafficking of fentanyl\n\nCiting Americans’ growing dependence on prescription drugs, Biden called for a major campaign to stop the production, sale and trafficking of fentanyl.\n\nBiden noted that fentanyl is killing more than 70,000 Americans a year. But his remarks were met with contempt from some members of Congress.\n\n“It’s your fault!” several Republicans shouted.\n\n– Michael Collins\n\nWhat is fentanyl poisoning?:These State of the Union guests lost their son to it\n\nBiden says VA working to end 'the silent scourge of suicide'\n\nBiden said when he first appointed Denis McDonough to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, the country was losing up to 25 veterans a day to “the silent scourge of suicide,” and continues to lose 17 per day.\n\n“The VA is doing everything it can, including expanding mental health screenings and a proven program that recruits veterans to help other veterans understand what they’re going through and get the help they need,”\n\n– Erin Mansfield\n\nMilitary suicide:Amid suicide crisis, the Army says it will rush mental health providers to Alaska\n\nBiden calls for higher teacher pay\n\nBiden hasn't touched much on education issues during the address but did take a moment to outline several priorities on that front. Among them: expanding access to preschool and raising teacher pay.\n\nIn 2021, teachers made less than 77 cents on the dollar compared with other college graduates. Yet surveys show teachers work more than 50 hours a week on average. Close to 1 in 5 work elsewhere at another job. It's no surprise that nearly half of U.S. schools are short teachers. Some states and districts have proposed or enacted pay bumps but they've been modest at best.\n\nFederal legislation again before Congress this session would set a teacher salary floor of $60,000. While raising teacher pay has garnered the support of some Republicans, the American Teacher Act is unlikely to get far. In some states teachers make less than $50,000 on average.\n\n– Alia Wong\n\nTeacher shortage:Amid crippling teacher shortages, some schools are turning to unorthodox solutions\n\nBiden urges lawmakers to protect abortion rights\n\nBiden called on lawmakers to “restore” abortion rights after the Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.\n\n“The vice president and I are doing everything to protect access to reproductive health care and safeguard patient safety,” Biden said, noting that states across the country have implemented abortion bans and restrictions.\n\n“Make no mistake about it. If Congress passes a national ban, I will veto it,” the president vowed.\n\n– Marina Pitofsky\n\nRoe v. Wade overturned:Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, eliminating constitutional right to abortion\n\nAbortion pills:20 Republican attorneys general warn CVS, Walgreens against selling abortion pills by mail\n\nBiden renews call to stand with Ukraine 'as long as it takes'\n\nCalling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “test for the ages,” Biden said the U.S. passed that test by standing for sovereignty.\n\nThat matters, Biden said, because it “prevents open season for would-be aggressors.”\n\nHis argument – and promise to stand with Ukraine “as long as it takes” – comes as some Republicans are calling for greater scrutiny, or even a curtailment, of U.S. involvement.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nUkraine latest:Ukraine pushes to exclude Russia from 2024 Paris Olympics\n\nBono at the SOTU:Here's why musician, advocate Bono is at Biden's State of the Union address\n\nAmerica’s border problems won’t be fixed until Congress acts, said Biden.\n\nSince launching a new border plan last month, unlawful migration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela has come down 97%, Biden said.\n\n“We now have a record number of personnel working to secure the border, arresting 8,000 human smugglers and seizing over 23,000 pounds of fentanyl in just the last several months,” he said.\n\nHe urged Congress to pass his plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border. He also asked Congress to pave a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, and essential workers.\n\n– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy\n\nBorder politics:Republicans said Biden wasn't doing enough on the border. New GOP-led House is demanding answers\n\nBiden highlights ‘courage’ of Brandon Tsay and calls for assault weapon bans\n\nBiden singled out Brandon Tsay’s heroism two weeks ago when he disarmed the Monterey Park shooter who killed 11 people who attended a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration. Tsay, who is in attendance, received a standing ovation from lawmakers as Biden acknowledged him.\n\n“He saved lives. It’s time we do the same as well,” Biden said. “Ban assault weapons once and for all.”\n\nMass shootings typically lead lawmakers to call for such actions but it’s unlikely that a ban will pass in a divided Congress with many Republican lawmakers who have vowed that they will not waver on gun control.\n\n– Elisabeth Buchwald\n\n'Still too high':Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin orders independent panel to study military suicide\n\nMarjorie Taylor Greene yells at Biden multiple times\n\nRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a fervent opponent of Biden who has called for his impeachment, yelled at him twice during the State of the Union address.\n\nThe first time came as Biden said Republicans want to cut Social Security and Medicare – an accusation that Greene refuted when she stood up yelled “Liar!”\n\nGreene later yelled, “China spied on us!” near the end of Biden’s speech.\n\nShe also yelled to “close the border” and “it’s your fault” when the president talked about the fentanyl crisis.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nHeckling lawmakers:Marjorie Taylor Greene, other Republicans spar with Biden over Social Security, Medicare\n\nState of the Union guests:Lawmakers highlight policing, abortion, wrongful imprisonment\n\nBiden on Tyre Nichols’ death: ‘Something good must come from this’\n\nBiden used his speech to pay tribute to Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers.\n\nBiden called for more police training and more resources to reduce violent crime, along with more investments in housing, education and training.\n\nNoting that Nichols’ mother and stepfather were seated in the first lady’s box, Biden urged lawmakers to commit themselves to making the words of Nichols’ mother come true: “Something good must come from this.”\n\n– Michael Collins\n\nTyre Nichols killing:7 more Memphis police employees under investigation in Tyre Nichols' death, city attorney says\n\nBiden invokes Uvalde massacre in call for gun reform\n\nIn a call to action on gun violence, Biden invoked his trip to Uvalde, Texas, after the Robb Elementary School shooting where 19 students and two teachers were killed.\n\n“Do something, do something. That was the plea of parents who lost their children in Uvalde, I met with everyone.” Biden said, then pointing to the bipartisan gun reform law he signed. “Thank god we did. Passing the most sweeping gun safety law in three decades.”\n\n– Ken Tran\n\nUvalde shooting:Her daughter was killed in Uvalde. She's suing police, the school district and a gunmaker.\n\nCOVID is under control but vigilance necessary, says Biden\n\nWhile COVID-19 deaths are down nearly 90%, and the end of the public health emergency is close, Biden said the country will remember the pain of losing loved ones will never go away for many.\n\n“Families grieving. Children orphaned. Empty chairs at the dining room table. We remember them, and we remain vigilant,” he said.\n\nBiden said it was important to remain vigilant and monitor dozens of variants and support new vaccines and treatments. He urged Congress to fund these efforts and keep America safe.\n\n– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy\n\nThe COVID emergency declaration is ending:What it means for tests, vaccines, treatment\n\nBiden: Police departments 'must be held accountable'\n\nSaying Tyre Nichols’ mother wants something good to come from his death at the hands of police officers in Memphis, Biden called for police reform.\n\n“When police officers or departments violate the public trust, they must be held accountable,” he said.\n\nBiden also pointed to an executive order he signed affecting federal officers that banned chokeholds, restricted no-knock warrants, and implemented “other key elements of the George Floyd Act.”\n\n– Erin Mansfield\n\nTyre Nichols:Ex-Memphis police officer took a photo of Tyre Nichols after beating, document says\n\nBiden urges Congress to act on labor reform\n\nBiden called for Congress to take up labor reform and worker protections as he touted his support for unions and his pledge to be “the most pro-union president.”\n\n“I’m so sick and tired of companies breaking the law by preventing workers from organizing,” said Biden. “Workers have a right to form a union.”\n\nBiden also urged action on additional worker protections and benefits, including paid family and medical leave and affordable child care, specifically calling for the return of the expanded Child Tax Credit.\n\n– Ken Tran\n\nLabor secretary makes move:Former Boston mayor Marty Walsh stepping down as Biden Labor Secretary for job with NHL union\n\nBiden calls for rebooting the expanded Child Tax Credit\n\nParents who qualify for the Child Tax Credit (CTC) won’t be getting as hefty checks as last year. That’s because the enhanced CTC, which parents could also opt to receive in installments rather than waiting to receive it in a lump sum payment when they file their taxes, expired.\n\nThe enhanced CTC increased payments from $2,000 per qualifying child to $3,600 for children ages 5 and under and $3,000 for children ages 6 through 17. This year it will go back to $2,000 for qualifying children of all ages.\n\nIn his remarks, Biden vowed to “restore the full Child Tax Credit which gave tens of millions of parents some breathing room and cut child poverty in half, to the lowest level in history.”\n\n– Elisabeth Buchwald\n\nChild tax credit this year:How much is the Child Tax Credit for 2023? Here's what you need to know about qualifying.\n\nBiden: Ban ‘junk fees’ on hotel bills, other services\n\nBiden urged Congress to pass legislation to ban excess fees that companies often tack onto hotel bills, airline tickets and other services.\n\n“Americans are tired of being played for suckers,” he said.\n\nThe Junk Fee Prevention Act, if approved, would bar so-called “resort fees” that can add up to $90 a night on hotel bills, stop cable internet and cell phone companies from charging up to $200 more when a customer switches providers, and prohibit airlines from charging up to $50 roundtrip for families to sit together, Biden said.\n\n– Michael Collins\n\nJunk fees:Biden moves to limit credit fees to $8 for missed payments in latest \"junk fee\" crack down\n\nSocial Security and Medicare benefits draw tension during speech\n\nBiden’s State of the Union address comes as he and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have started talks on the debt ceiling and government spending.\n\nTension has been building between the two parties over Social Security and Medicare benefits. McCarthy said Republicans aren’t going to cut those programs, but Democrats say the math will force those cuts if the GOP demands lowered government spending.\n\nBiden in his speech said Republicans want to cut the programs, to which Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., stood up and yelled “Liar!” as other members booed the president.\n\n“OK, so we agree,” Biden said. “Social Security and Medicare is off the books.”\n\nBipartisan cheers returned to the chamber.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nMedicare:Medicare launches plan to negotiate prices for the costliest drugs. Here's what to know.\n\nBiden takes credit for deficit cuts\n\nBiden celebrated the government’s deficit cuts seen under his administration in his State of the Union address.\n\n“For the last two years, my administration has cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion, the largest deficit reduction in American history,” Biden said. The deficit’s cut was partly a result of higher tax revenues that Biden touted but also the end of spending related to the pandemic.\n\nBiden also took a jab at former President Donald Trump for increases in the federal deficit under Trump’s administration. “Under the previous administration, the American deficit went up four years in a row,” Biden said, to boos and jeers from Republican lawmakers.\n\n– Ken Tran\n\nWhat happens if the US hits the debt ceiling?:Here's what to expect if we reach debt limit.\n\nBiden says Republicans want to ‘take the economy hostage’ in debt ceiling talks\n\nBiden accused Republicans of wanting to “take the economy hostage” unless he agrees to their demands for spending cuts during debt ceiling talks.\n\nBiden demanded Republicans show “what their plans are.” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has not specified what Republicans want axed.\n\n“Some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset every five years,” Biden said, prompting loud boos from Republicans in Congress.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nMedicare and debt ceiling fight:How Medicare and Social Security benefits factor into the Kevin McCarthy debt ceiling fight\n\nBiden defends Inflation Reduction Act\n\nPresident Biden touted the Inflation Reduction Act which he signed into law, saying he was taking on powerful interest to bring health care costs down.\n\n“You know, we pay more for prescription drugs than any major country on earth,” he said. “Big Pharma has been unfairly charging people hundreds of dollars – and making record profits.”\n\nHaving capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare, Biden said it was time to help Americans not on Medicare, including 200,000 young people with Type I diabetes who need insulin to save their lives. “Let’s cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month for every American who needs it,” he said. The law also caps out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare at a maximum $2,000 per year.\n\nHe also promised to veto any attempts to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.\n\n– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy\n\nCredit fees:Biden moves to limit credit fees to $8 for missed payments in latest \"junk fee\" crack down\n\nBiden tangles with GOP lawmakers over Social Security and Medicare\n\nBiden got into an unusual back and forth with Republicans over whether GOP lawmakers want to end the automatic continuation of Social Security and Medicare.\n\nWhen some vocally protested, Biden responded: “Anyone who doubts it, contact my office. I’ll give you a copy of the proposal.”\n\nWhen the protests continued, Biden said he wasn’t arguing that all Republicans back reviewing entitlement programs every five years.\n\n“But it’s being proposed,” he said.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nMedicare debate:How Medicare and Social Security benefits factor into the Kevin McCarthy debt ceiling fight\n\nCheers and boos for Biden\n\nProgressive members of the House, known as “the Squad,” cheered as President Joe Biden pushed for fair taxes and called out low tax rates for billionaires.\n\n“You tell ‘em, Joe,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.\n\nHe also had plenty of jeers from the Republican side of the chamber when he slammed former President Donald Trump’s fiscal record and accused the House GOP of trying to cut Social Security and Medicare. The latter attracted loud boos.\n\nRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., stood up and yelled, “Liar!” from the back of the chamber.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nTalkative Biden:On average, Biden is most talkative president in six decades of State of Union addresses\n\nBiden repeats call for ‘billionaire’s tax’\n\nBiden used his speech to call again for Congress to pass a so-called “billionaire’s tax,” saying some of the biggest corporations in the country are raking in billions of dollars in profits but paying no federal income taxes.\n\n“That’s simply not fair,” he said.\n\nBiden did not spell out the specifics of his proposal. But in the past, he has called for a 20% levy on households with a net worth of more than $100 million.\n\n– Michael Collins\n\nWhat are the tax brackets?:What are the 2022 US federal tax brackets? What are the new 2023 tax brackets? Answers here\n\nBiden calls climate crisis ‘an existential threat’\n\nBiden said “the climate crisis doesn't care if you're in a red or blue state” as he touted his administration’s work to take on what he called “an existential threat.”\n\nHe pointed to the Inflation Reduction Act, which included the largest climate package ever, and investments from his infrastructure law.\n\nHe later went off-script, saying, “We’re still going to need oil and gas for a while.”\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nUN Secretary-General::'No more baby steps' on climate change\n\nBiden to Congress: Continue insurance subsidies that lowered uninsured rates\n\nBiden celebrated the fact that a record number of Americans have health insurance while calling on Congress to continue expanded insurance subsidies that helped boost that rate.\n\nThose enhanced subsidies for people who purchase insurance on their own, instead of getting coverage from the government or an employer, expire after 2025.\n\n“Let’s finish the job and make the savings permanent,” Biden said as he also called for extending expanded Medicaid coverage to all states.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nBiden takes made in America a step further\n\nBiden touted American manufacturing gains and a campaign promise to move more production to the U.S. from foreign countries. Biden then announced, “new standards to require all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made in America.”\n\n“American-made lumber, glass, drywall, fiber optic cables,” he said. “And on my watch, American roads, American bridges, and American highways will be made with American products.”\n\nBiden’s message echoes former President Donald Trump’s prior State of the Union addresses where he boasted about initiatives to bring back manufacturing jobs that have been lost over the years.\n\n– Elisabeth Buchwald\n\nInsulin costs:Medicare caps insulin costs at $35 a month. Can Biden get that price for all Americans?\n\nBiden touts legislative victories in infrastructure and manufacturing\n\nBiden championed his series of legislative victories that ranged from tackling the country’s supply chain shortage and sweeping investments in domestic manufacturing and infrastructure.\n\n“We’re gonna make sure the supply chain for America begins in America,” Biden said, touting a bipartisan bill he signed that made investments to boost domestic manufacturing of semiconductors.\n\n“To maintain the strongest economy in the world, we need the best infrastructure in the world,” said Biden, pointing to the bipartisan infrastructure bill. “Folks, we’re just getting started.”\n\n– Ken Tran\n\nWhy Bono is at SOTU:Here's why musician, advocate Bono is at Biden's State of the Union address\n\nBiden appeals to middle and working class people on manufacturing\n\nIn an appeal to middle class and working class people, Biden said he ran for president “to make sure the economy works for everyone” so that everyone can have pride in what they do for a living.\n\n“For decades, the middle class was hollowed out,” he said. “Too many good-paying manufacturing jobs moved overseas. Factories at home closed down. Once-thriving cities and towns that many of you represent became shadows of what they used to be.”\n\nBiden then spoke about his administration’s accomplishments in the manufacturing sector.\n\n– Erin Mansfield\n\nWhat is fentanyl poisoning?:These State of the Union guests lost their son to it\n\nMore:As Biden prepares 2024 reelection run, Dems worry blue-collar voters are slipping away\n\nBiden: ‘COVID no longer controls our lives’\n\nBiden said the nation’s economy is roaring back from the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\n“Two years ago, COVID had shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much,” he said. “Today, COVID no longer controls our lives.”\n\nBiden said his administration has created 12 million jobs, “more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four.”\n\n– Michael Collins\n\nA full House – literally – for State of the Union\n\nPresident Joe Biden entered a full House chamber Tuesday.\n\nThe capacity crowd included House and Senate members, current and former Supreme Court justices, family and honored guests.\n\nBiden’s first words were met with a standing ovation, as he honored Republican and Democratic leaders – but also as he described the state of the union.\n\nThe applause came from Democrats and Republicans, and the standing ovations were sometimes led by a row of powerful Senate moderates, including Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Kyrsten Sinema, who recently changed her party affiliation to independent.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nBiden: Pelosi is 'greatest speaker’ ever\n\nFormer House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t sitting behind Biden for his address but she got a special call-out from the president anyway.\n\n“I want to give special recognition to someone who I think will be considered the greatest speaker in the history of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi,” Biden said.\n\nPelosi stepped down from Democratic leadership after the midterm elections. Biden also congratulated her successor, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the first Black American to be House minority leader.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nWhat are burn pits?:Why were burn pits used? Toxic fumes, medical risks explained.\n\nBiden begins speech telling McCarthy he looks forward to ‘working together’\n\nBiden began his remarks congratulating Kevin McCarthy, the new Republican House speaker, and saying he looks forward to “working together.”\n\nBiden also congratulated Democratic Leader Hakeem Jefferies, the first African American man to lead a party, and gave shout outs to Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.\n\n“The story of America is a story of progress and resilience. Of always moving forward. Of never giving up,” Biden said.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nLabor Secretary Marty Walsh is designated survivor for 2023 State of the Union\n\nSecretary of Labor Marty Walsh is the designated survivor for this year's State of the Union address.\n\nEvery year, a top government official is chosen as the “designated survivor” as a way to maintain the presidential line of succession in case of a catastrophic event where multiple officials in the line are unable to assume office.\n\n– Ken Tran\n\nMarty Walsh:Former Boston mayor Marty Walsh stepping down as Biden Labor Secretary for job with NHL union\n\nBono is at the State of the Union\n\nBono, the Irish lead singer of U2, is attending the State of the Union as a guest of first lady Jill Biden.\n\nBono is a longtime social justice advocate who co-founded the nonprofit ONE Campaign to address poverty and preventable diseases and Prouct RED to address HIV and AIDS in Africa.\n\nHe’s sitting next to Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.\n\n– Erin Mansfield\n\nWhat is fentanyl poisoning?:These State of the Union guests lost their son to it\n\n2 Californians will sit behind Biden\n\nVice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy may not share a political party. But they do have something in common. Both are from California.\n\nThat gave them at least one thing to talk about as they stood on the rostrum, waiting for Biden’s speech to begin.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nBiden gets a Supreme Court majority for speech, if not policies\n\nAt least for tonight, President Joe Biden landed a majority of the Supreme Court.\n\nFive sitting Supreme Court justices stepped into the House chamber before the president’s remarks: Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson.\n\nThat’s a decent turnout for an event some current and former justices have derided as a “political pep rally” and a “childish spectacle.”\n\nWhether the president can cobble together a majority for any of his policies pending at the court – on immigration, student loan debt relief or environmental rules – remains to be seen.\n\n– John Fritze\n\nBiden to get bipartisan escort into House chamber\n\nBiden will be escorted into the House chamber by a bipartisan group of House and Senate officials, including Senate leaders Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.\n\n–Michael Collins\n\nFace masks uncommon as pre-pandemic normality returns\n\nFew lawmakers were wearing face masks as they filed onto the House floor for Biden’s State of the Union speech.\n\nAnd unlike last year, members of Congress were allowed to bring guests, a return to pre-pandemic normality.\n\n“Today, COVID no longer controls our lives,” Biden will declare, according to speech excerpts the White House released in advance.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nState of the economy:A look at economy's strengths, weaknesses as Biden sets to boast of record job growth in State of Union\n\nBiden arrives at Capitol\n\nBiden’s motorcade arrived at the Capitol at 8:40 p.m. ahead of his 9 p.m. State of the Union speech.\n\n“Great shape, getting better,” Biden said when a reporter asked him, “What’s the state of the union?” before he departed the White House.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\n5 big questions for Biden's speech:Is he running? 5 big questions Joe Biden will answer in the State of the Union\n\nPoll: Republicans want GOP leaders to 'stand up’ to Biden\n\nIf Biden doesn’t find a receptive audience to his call for the two parties to work together, Republican voters could be the reason.\n\nMost Republicans (64%) want GOP congressional leaders to “stand up” to Biden on matters important to GOP, even if that makes it harder to address critical problems facing the country, according to recent polling from the Pew Research Center.\n\nAnd more are concerned that GOP lawmakers won’t focus enough on investigating the administration than the share worried that they will focus too much on investigations.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nState of the Union guests:Lawmakers highlight policing, abortion, wrongful imprisonment\n\nBiden approval rating hovering in low 40s ahead of speech\n\nBiden’s second State of the Union address Tuesday comes as he remains under water politically, with more than half of voters disapproving of his job performance, according to most polls.\n\nA Washington Post-ABC poll released this week found 42% of voters approve of Biden’s job performance, while 53% disapprove. That closely matches the FiveThirtyEight average of polls.\n\nBiden’s job performance has stayed below since August 2021 in most polls. Even more troubling for Biden, most Americans can’t identify his achievements. Sixty-two percent of Americans said Biden has accomplished \"not very much\" or “little or nothing,\" in the same Washington Post-ABC News poll, while only 36% said he has accomplished \"a great deal\" or \"a good amount.\"\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nWhat to watch for:The State of the Union is Tuesday: Here's what you can expect from Joe Biden's speech\n\nVice President Kamala Harris chats with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ahead of speech\n\nVice President Kamala Harris shook hands with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the two chatted, as they stood behind the rostrum waiting for Biden to enter the House chamber.\n\nThis will be the first State of the Union with McCarthy as speaker since Republicans took control of the House during the midterm elections.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nBiden heads to the Capitol\n\nBiden left the White House at 8:30 p.m. en route to the Capitol. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived ahead of him along with the majority of his Cabinet.\n\n– Elisabeth Buchwald\n\nPaul Pelosi arrives at State of the Union\n\nPaul Pelosi, the 82-year-old husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, arrived at the State of the Union about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.\n\nThis marks his first visit to a joint session of Congress since a video release of a brutal October attack that left him with head and hand injuries requiring surgery.\n\n– Candy Woodall\n\nLawmakers arrive for State of the Union\n\nIf handshakes across the aisle are any reliable indication, there was a hint of bipartisanship in the air as lawmakers arrived for President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union before a divided Congress.\n\nThere was also the smell of cigars in the House gallery hallways on the third floor, a sign of the changing guard and new House rules.\n\nSeveral guests and congresswomen were wearing white, as a nod to the suffragettes. That included Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who despite earlier posts did not bring a white balloon into the chamber to troll Biden about what she describes as a delayed response in taking down the Chinese spy balloon.\n\n- Candy Woodall\n\nBiden traveling to Wisconsin and Florida after speech\n\nBiden administration officials will hit the road this week, holding events in at least 20 states to highlight parts of the president’s message.\n\nBiden himself will talk about his economic agenda in Wisconsin Wednesday and will discuss Social Security and Medicare in Florida Thursday.\n\nVice President Kamala Harris is heading to Georgia and Minnesota. Multiple other cabinet members are also fanning out across the country.\n\n- Maureen Groppe\n\nHow would Biden’s billionaire tax work?\n\nTonight Biden will resurface his plan to levy more taxes on the ultra-wealthy. But how would that work?\n\nUnder the current tax system, you don’t have to pay taxes on assets like stocks, homes and artwork that can appreciate over time until you sell it. But if you hold onto them until you die, you won’t have to pay any taxes. And on top of that, heirs that inherit your assets won’t have to pay taxes if they sell them.\n\nThe Biden Administration refers to this as a tax loophole, as billionaires benefit the most since they’re more likely than working-class Americans to get compensated via stocks or other assets that appreciate over time or inherit them.\n\nTo end the practice, Biden is proposing “minimum income tax” on American households worth more than $100 million. His plan calls for the wealthiest Americans to pay a tax rate of at least 20% on their full income, including unrealized gains from assets that have increased in value since their purchase.\n\n– Elisabeth Buchwald\n\nTaxing billionaires:Should the wealthy pay taxes on expensive art and wine? Joe Biden thinks so. Here's how it would work\n\nOcasio-Cortez lays out expectations for Biden’s speech, working with Republicans\n\nAhead of Biden’s address, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D.-N.Y., said she’s hoping to “hear a really strong vision” from Biden and explained how Democrats and Republicans could find common ground after the GOP gained control of the House during the midterm elections.\n\nThe New York lawmaker told CNN she hopes to hear “about not just what we've done so far, but also our plans on executing on the enormous bills and successes that we've had in the last one to two years,\" saying “There still is implementation and execution on these plans to address our priorities around climate, taxing the rich and so much more.”\n\n– Marina Pitofsky\n\nBiden's 'finish the job' call in State of the Union echoes FDR\n\nHistorian Michael Beschloss hears echoes of Franklin D. Roosevelt in Biden’s State of the Union address.\n\nBiden will call on Republicans to work with him to “finish the job” of rebuilding the economy and uniting the country, according to excerpts of the speech released by the White House.\n\n“Finish the job” was used as a rationale for FDR's reelection, Beschloss tweeted about the phrase’s historical lineage. It was also a slogan for the World War I effort. And in a famous radio address during World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill vowed to “finish the job.”\n\nAt the start of Biden’s administration, many comparisons – not all of them favorable – were made between the size and scope of Biden’s ambitions, Roosevelt’s programs and the World War II spending that lifted the nation out of the Great Depression.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nSarah Huckabee Sanders: Biden is more interested in 'woke fantasies' than concerns of everyday Americans\n\nIn delivering the Republican response to the State of the Union, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sander plans to attack Biden and the Democrats over a panoply of issues that include inflation, taxes, education and so-called \"culture wars.\"\n\n\"And while you reap the consequences of their failures, the Biden administration seems more interested in woke fantasies than the hard reality Americans face every day,\" Sanders plans to say, according to speech excerpts released by her office.\n\nAnother excerpt: \"Most Americans simply want to live their lives in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didn’t start and never wanted to fight.\"\n\n– David Jackson\n\nState of the Union guests:Lawmakers highlight policing, abortion, wrongful imprisonment\n\nHow long does the State of the Union last? What it will take for Biden to set a SOTU record\n\nBiden’s first State of the Union address in 2022 was somewhere between the longest and shortest speeches ever given, according to The American Presidency Project. Will he keep his second address tonight short and sweet, or will he be long-winded?\n\nIf he intendeds to break the record for the shortest speech ever, he’d have it keep it under 28 minutes and 55 seconds. That was the time Richard Nixon took to deliver his address in 1972. To beat the longest address ever, he’d have to outdo his fellow Democrat former President Bill Clinton, who went on for 1 hour, 28 minutes and 40 seconds for his final State of the Union speech in 2000. Clinton also claims the spot for the second longest address, clocking in at 1 hour, 24 minutes and 58 seconds in 1995.\n\n– Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy\n\nBiden to promise investment in ‘places and people that have been forgotten’\n\nBiden will spend part of his address promoting his economic plan and assuring Americans that he wants to invest in “places and people that have been forgotten.”\n\nAmid the economic upheaval of the past four decades, too many people have been left behind or treated like they’re invisible, he will say, according to excerpts of the speech released by the White House.\n\n“Maybe that’s you watching at home,” Biden will say. “You remember the jobs that went away. And you wonder whether a path even exists anymore for you and your children to get ahead without moving away. I get it. That’s why we’re building an economy where no one is left behind. Jobs are coming back, pride is coming back because of the choices we made in the last two years. This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and make a real difference in your lives.”\n\n– Michael Collins\n\nBiden to praise recovery from Jan. 6 riot, COVID\n\nPresident Joe Biden will say “the story of America is a story of progress and resilience” in his State of the Union address as he touts a rebounding economy, COVID-19 recovery and democracy that survived the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, according to excerpts of the speech provided by the White House.\n\nBiden will tout 12 million new jobs created under his presidency – many that came back following the pandemic – to claim economic progress. And he will reflect on a period two years ago when businesses and schools closed at the height of the pandemic.\n\n“Today, COVID no longer controls our lives,” Biden plans to say. “And two years ago, our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken.”\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nBiden to ask Republicans to work with him in SOTU speech\n\nPresident Joe Biden will make a plea to Republicans in Congress to work with him. He said after the November elections that Americans sent a divided Congress to Washington because they want them to work together.\n\n“The people sent us a clear message,” Biden will say, according to excerpts released from the White House. “Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere.”\n\n– Erin Mansfield\n\nWhy Sen. Patty Murray and other lawmakers will be wearing crayons at State of the Union\n\nWashington Sen. Patty Murray and some of her Democratic colleagues will be wearing crayon pins to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday to signal their support for greater investments in child care. Such care now costs more than $10,000 a year on average, and roughly half of Americans live in a child care desert. Insufficient child care takes a toll on America's economy, recent research shows, costing taxpayers $122 billion annually.\n\nPartisan gridlock has prevented progress on major child care reforms, such as Murray's Child Care for Working Families Act, which would generally cap child care expenses at 7% of a family's household income. Biden, who alluded to that cap in his last State of the Union, has also struggled to gain traction on his child care proposals.\n\n– Alia Wong\n\nLawmakers to highlight key social issues through guests\n\nTuesday night’s State of the Union address will be the first year since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic where lawmakers are allowed to bring their own guests. As part of tradition, lawmakers tend to invite guests that draw attention to issues important to them.\n\nSeveral Democratic lawmakers have invited guests to champion abortion access such as Roslyn Roger Collins, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Metropolitan New Jersey, who will attend the address alongside Rep. Bob Mendendez, D-N.J., according to Planned Parenthood.\n\nIn the wake of the brutal beating and subsequent death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, members of the Congressional Black Caucus are bringing guests who have been impacted by police violence. House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has invited Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who died at the hands of a New York police officer in 2014.\n\n– Christine Fernando and Ken Tran\n\nRepublican response: Sarah Huckabee Sanders follows in historic footsteps with her State of the Union response\n\nArkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the first former White House press secretary to deliver a formal State of the Union response – she is not, however, the first governor of Arkansas to do the honors.\n\nBack in 1985, the Democrats picked a young governor of Arkansas to deliver their response to President Ronald Reagan.\n\nHis name? Bill Clinton ... then-future President Bill Clinton.\n\nSanders will give the Republican rebuttal after Biden's speech.\n\n– David Jackson\n\n5 big questions for the SOTU:Is he running? 5 big questions Joe Biden will answer in the State of the Union\n\nBiden and China: Spy balloon likely to be addressed\n\nThe speech is a chance for Biden to respond to those who have criticized how he handled the suspected Chinese spy balloon that drifted over the United States last week – and to send a public message to China. Republicans have accused Biden of showing weakness by not shooting down the balloon sooner.\n\nTensions have been rising with China, which the U.S. considers its biggest strategic and economic competitor. The nations have clashed over Taiwan, technology, human rights, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other disputes.\n\nThe Biden administration has been trying to stabilize the relationship, building what it’s called “guardrails” as it normalizes interaction. But one effort to do that – sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China – was postponed because of the balloon incident.\n\n– Maureen Groppe and Michael Collins\n\nIntel chair: China balloon flew over nuke sites\n\nBiden to lay out 'forceful approach’ to combatting fentanyl\n\nThe Biden administration will launch a national campaign to educate young people on the dangers of fentanyl, part of the “forceful approach” for going after fentanyl trafficking and reducing overdose deaths.\n\nOther steps include:\n\nUsing new large-scale scanners to improve efforts to stop fentanyl from being brought into the U.S. through the southern border.\n\nWorking with package delivery companies to catch more packages containing fentanyl from being shipped around the country.\n\nWorking with Congress to make permanent a temporary tool that that’s helped federal agents crack down on drugs chemically similar to fentanyl.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\n5 big questions on Biden's speech:Is he running? 5 big questions Joe Biden will answer in the State of the Union\n\nBiden to plug job market as recession looms\n\nPresident Joe Biden is expected to take credit for a booming job market and easing inflation when he speaks to the nation Tuesday night.\n\nBut he’ll likely leave out a litany of trouble spots, including a slumping housing market, a monthslong manufacturing downturn and elevated recession risk this year. Meanwhile, inflation is still high and economists pin at least some of the blame on Biden for showering Americans with cash in early 2021 while the economy was already healing.\n\n– Paul Davidson\n\nState of the economy:A look at economy's strengths, weaknesses as Biden sets to boast of record job growth in State of Union\n\nWho is Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Arkansas governor to giver Republican response to Biden's State of the Union address\n\nSarah Huckabee Sanders, one-time White House press secretary for former President Trump and current governor of Arkansas, will deliver the Republican rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union address tonight.\n\nSanders, the youngest governor in the U.S., hails from a prominent political family. Her father Mike Huckabee was the 44th governor of Arkansas, serving from 1996 to 2007 before launching an unsuccessful presidential bid during the 2008 election. The younger Sanders has since cut out her own place in GOP politics, emerging as one of the more high-profile members of the Trump administration.\n\n– Anna Kaufman\n\nBono, Tyre Nichols’ family members among guests sitting with first lady Jill Biden Tuesday night\n\nThe lead singer for the rock group U2, Bono, and Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, are among the White House guests attending President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday.\n\nGuests are chosen to highlight themes of the president’s speech or because they represent his policy initiatives.\n\nBono is the cofounder of the ONE campaign to fight poverty and preventable diseases, and (RED), which fights HIV/AIDS in Africa. Other guests who will be sitting with first lady Jill Biden during the speech include:\n\nThe mother and stepfather of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers.\n\nBrandon Tsay, the man who disarmed the Monterey Park gunman who killed 11 people and injured 10 others during a Lunar New Year celebration.\n\nA Texas woman who almost died because doctors were concerned that intervening when her pregnancy ran into difficulties would violate the state’s abortion ban.\n\nOne of the Massachusetts same-sex couples who sued the state for the right to marry in 2001.\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nWhat to expect from tonight's speech:Here's what you can expect from Joe Biden's speech\n\nBiden's speech comes amid job gains\n\nOne accomplishment Biden is sure to bring up tonight is the level of job gains under his presidency. Since he took office the unemployment rate went from 6.3% to 3.4%, per the latest jobs data.\n\nDespite recession fears and massive tech layoffs, U.S. employers added 517,000 new jobs last month, well exceeding economists' expectations of around 180,000 new jobs.\n\nThe blowout jobs report paved the way for the Federal Reserve to pass more rate hikes aimed at lowering inflation, Fed Chairman Powell said in remarks he delivered earlier today. But the rate hikes could push the economy closer to a recession, which the central bank has avoided so far.\n\n– Elisabeth Buchwald\n\nBiden’s student loan forgiveness plan remains stalled\n\nBiden has yet to fulfill his campaign promise of canceling at least $10,000 in student loan debt. Last year he unveiled a plan to make good on his promise.\n\nHowever the plan is being stalled by legal challenges. Six states – Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina – formed a coalition to fight the proposal. They argue that canceling student loan debt extends beyond the administration’s legal authority.\n\nThe Supreme Court is set to hear arguments for the case later this month. The Biden administration claims it is well within their legal realm to proceed with its plan. It cannot do so unless the Court rules in its favor, however.\n\n– Elisabeth Buchwald\n\nStock market under Biden\n\nSince President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10%. Last year the index fell into a bear market, meaning it dropped 20% below a market peak set last January.\n\nDuring former President Donald Trump's time in office, the Dow gained 56%. That represents an annualized gain of close to 12%, one of the best stock market performances under a Republican president according to data from LPL Financial.\n\n– Elisabeth Buchwald\n\nWhat time is the State of the Union speech tonight?\n\nBiden’s State of the Union speech is Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST.\n\nHow to stream the SOTU\n\nThe speech will be livestreamed by USA TODAY.\n\nWho is the designated survivor tonight?\n\nThe State of the Union address, delivered to a joint session of Congress and a crowd that includes all nine Supreme Court justices, poses a unique scenario in which every key member of the nation’s leadership is in one room.\n\nThat makes it both a momentous affair, and a significant national security risk. For this reason, each year one member of the president’s Cabinet dubbed the \"designated survivor\" hangs back.\n\nThe practice dates back to the Cold War, during which fears of a Soviet Nuclear attack abounded and a fresh urgency surrounded protocols for the order of presidential succession. The designated survivor for 2023 has not yet been announced, but heads of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy have most frequently been chosen.\n\n– Anna Kaufman\n\nWhat channel is the State of the Union on?\n\nThe major TV networks and other news outlets, such as Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and PBS, are providing live coverage of the address.\n\nWhat is the State of the Union address?\n\nThe State of the Union address isn’t just a tradition in the nation’s capital. It's rooted in the Constitution.\n\nArticle II of the Constitution says the president shall “from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.\"\n\nThat doesn’t mean the president has to give a speech – as they often do today.\n\n\"From that very general mandate in the Constitution has evolved into what we recognize today as a yearly event, with lots of pomp and circumstance,\" Claire Jerry, a curator of political history at the National Museum of American History, told USA TODAY.\n\n– Marina Pitofsky\n\nWhen did the annual message become known as State of the Union address?\n\nFrom 1790 to 1946, the speech delivered by the president to Congress was known simply as the \"Annual Message.\"\n\nIn 1947 is became the ‘State of the Union’ and has since been referred to by that name.\n\n– Anna Kaufman\n\nWhat is the origin of the state of the union address?\n\nArticle II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states that the president will “give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”\n\nThis language birthed the practice, allowing the executive to deliver to a joint session of Congress and the American people.\n\nIn the modern era, the speech has become a vehicle for administrations to roll out their policy priorities for the coming year and spotlight key agenda issues.\n\n– Anna Kaufman", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/07"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/covington/2017/01/05/piece-nky-chambers-agenda-fast-track/96224656/", "title": "Piece of NKY Chamber's agenda on fast track", "text": "Nancy Daly\n\nndaly@communitypress.com\n\nCOVINGTON – Only three weeks since unveiling “Where We Stand,” the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 state legislative priorities, the chamber has already seen two of its preferences win approval in the House.\n\nA right-to-work bill and repeal of prevailing wage are among the first bills given House approval in the 2017 legislative “short” session in Frankfort which started Jan. 3.\n\nThe NKY Chamber hosted its “Where We Stand” event at the Hotel Covington on Dec. 15. Most attendees in the overwhelmingly Republican Northern Kentucky legislative caucus barely suppressed their glee at the GOP’s takeover of the Kentucky House of Representatives, giving Republicans super majorities in both chambers.\n\nAnd presenters of the longtime pro-business policy stands – chamber officers, leaders in business, health care, education and law – were similarly upbeat about chances of getting issues passed by the Kentucky legislature this year.\n\n► FRIDAY IN FRANKFORT:\n\n\n\nRight-to-work bill marches on, awaits passage\n\nEach year the NKY Chamber identifies key legislative issues affecting its members, formulates pro-business policy positions and advocates for those positions on behalf of members.\n\nAt the Hotel Covington get-together, subject matter experts presented and discussed the top priorities, which include:\n\nLabor and employment law changes\n\nRight to work\n\nRepeal of prevailing wage\n\nTax reform\n\nImplementation of outcomes-based and equity funding for Northern Kentucky University\n\nMedical review panels\n\nWith the General Assembly called to order Jan. 3, a right-to-work bill and repeal of prevailing wage were among the first bills to receive a vote.\n\nPrevailing wage repeal gets House OK\n\nA bill that would repeal a state law requiring payment of an hourly base wage – or prevailing wage – to workers on public works construction projects passed the House on Jan. 5.\n\nHouse Bill 3, sponsored by House Speaker Jeff Hoover, R-Jamestown, and Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, would apply to projects for which bids have not yet been awarded at the time the bill, should it pass, takes effect. An emergency clause included in HB 3 would ensure the bill takes effect immediately upon being signed into law by the governor.\n\nKoenig, who presented HB 3 to the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee before the committee approved the bill Jan. 4, said prevailing wage laws are “unlikely to yield rates that are representative of market wages.” They are also a financial strain on local governments and school districts, Koenig said, emphasizing that saving money was the motivation for filing HB 3, according to a Legislative Research Committee press release.\n\nThe bill has the support of Boone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Randy Poe who testified alongside Koenig, as well as at the Hotel Covington preview. Poe told the committee that higher construction fees on prevailing wage projects have cost his school district as much as $50 million over the last 19 years.\n\n“The higher fees we pay through prevailing wage keeps us from improving upon traditional space versus portable space (for) our students,” Poe said. “This is about creating more space for our students.”\n\nSpeaking against the bill was Bill Finn, state director of the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council. Finn said that nine out of 11 economic studies since 2001 have shown no increase in overall construction costs due to prevailing wage.\n\nHB 3 now goes to the Senate for its consideration.\n\nRight-to-work bill passes House\n\nThe Kentucky House of Representatives has passed right-to-work legislation that would prohibit Kentuckians from being required to join labor unions as a condition of employment.\n\nHouse Bill 1 would prohibit mandatory membership in or payment of dues to labor organizations with few exceptions involving federal law and agreements entered into before HB 1 would take effect. Violators would be subject to prosecution. Passed by a vote of 58-39, the bill would make Kentucky the 27th right-to-work state.\n\nThe legislation had passed the House Economic Development and Workforce Investment Committee favorably after an hour-long discussion that began with comments from Gov. Matt Bevin. “Jobs come from private sector employers and they’re incentivized by the kinds of things you’re going to hear in coming days,” Bevin said. “This is a zero-sum game,” the LRC reported.\n\nOn Jan. 4, union members angrily protested the progress thus far of right to work and prevailing wage repeal, the AP reported.\n\nIn a video shot by the Courier-Journal, union members booed Gov. Bevin as he left a committee room at the Capitol Annex urging support for right-to-work legislation Jan. 4.\n\nAfter the Jan. 5 House approval, right to work now goes to the Senate for its consideration.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/01/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/26/whitmers-state-address-2023-transcript/69840922007/", "title": "Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's 2023 State of the State address: Read the ...", "text": "Detroit Free Press\n\nGov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered her 2023 State of the State address Wednesday in the House chamber in the Michigan Capitol. Here's a transcript of her remarks as prepared for the speech she gave before elected leaders, state officials and invited guests.\n\nAcknowledgments\n\nGood evening, Michigan. It’s great to be back in the Capitol.\n\nAnd it feels even better to be making history. I am honored to stand between Speaker Joe Tate and Majority Leader Winnie Brinks. Both are firsts—the first Black Speaker and the first woman Majority Leader. They will certainly not be the last.\n\nSpeaker Tate, Majority Leader Brinks, Minority Leader Hall, and Minority Leader Nesbitt—I look forward to our partnership centered on problem solving. It’s what Michiganders deserve.\n\nLet’s also take a moment to honor our Michigan State Police and Michigan National Guard. They and their families all make sacrifices to keep us safe. We will always have their backs. We mean it.\n\nWe are calling on the Biden administration to keep supporting our guard members, their families, and the community. And continue to base a fighter mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.\n\nNow I want to acknowledge Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson—you’ve been strong allies and great friends. I’m looking forward to more good work together.\n\nAlso want to acknowledge all our state employees, my cabinet, and executive office staff who work hard to move our state forward. Thank you.\n\nSOTS\n\nMy fellow Michiganders. We spoke with a clear voice in November. We want the ability to raise a family without breaking the bank. Strong protections for our fundamental rights to: vote and control our own bodies. Leaders who will work across the aisle to solve problems and deliver on the issues that make a real difference in our lives.\n\nMichiganders are facing the pinch right now: Picking up items at the store and putting them back before checking out. Having tough conversations about medical bills, prescription costs, and what paths their kids can afford after high school. We are all concerned about making sure we live in a safe neighborhood and have jobs and businesses in our towns next year and next decade.\n\nWe might not be able to solve inflation or supply chain issues on our own, but we must work together to lower costs and put Michiganders on the path to a brighter future. As I said in my inaugural address, Michiganders compete with an underdog spirit and carry ourselves with championship swagger. No challenge is too tough.\n\nTonight, let’s talk about what we can do and where we’re going, together. We are eager to chase our bright future with hustle and grit.\n\nMichigan, the state of our state is: strong and ready to go.\n\nFrame\n\nMy proposals tonight will; tackle the challenges people are facing right now, make a real difference in their lives, and make Michigan more competitive. This is our future. But policies alone mean nothing—it’s about the people they impact.\n\nSo, I’m not going to give you a list. Instead, let’s talk about what my proposals will mean to 3 groups of Michiganders with whom we can all identify.\n\n1) Folks working hard to care for themselves and support their families.\n\n2) Young people about to graduate.\n\nAnd finally, 3) Michiganders born today.\n\nTHE WORKER\n\nThe #1 issue for folks trying to make ends meet is costs. Michiganders at home: I know how hard you work. I’ll get right to the point. Tonight, I am excited to announce “Lowering MI Costs,” a plan offering immediate relief. It’s got 3 parts.\n\nFirst: let’s roll back the retirement tax, saving half a million households $1,000 a year.\n\n***\n\nSecond: let’s expand the Working Families Tax Credit, delivering at least $3,000 refunds to 700,000 families.\n\n***\n\nAnd third: Pre-K for All to save families an average of $10,000 a year and ensure every 4-year-old in Michigan gets a great start.\n\n***\n\nWith inflation, every dollar saved makes a difference. That’s why we’re moving fast. Parts of the plan have already been introduced by Representatives Witwer and Shannon and Senators Hertel and McDonald Rivet. Let’s get it done.\n\nNow let’s talk about what Lowering MI Costs means for you.\n\nRetirement Tax\n\nRepealing the retirement tax will make a huge difference for our seniors. Ultimately, it will save 500,000 households an average of $1,000 bucks a year. That’s money for prescriptions, groceries, gas, or gifts for grandkids. I fought this tax as a legislator and as governor because I knew it hurt people.\n\nWe need to get this done for Michiganders like Michael, a retired firefighter from Livonia. He was aghast when his retirement income was taxed. He spent his career putting his life on the line to pull his neighbors from burning buildings, and then the state changed the rules in the middle of the game, raising taxes on his hard-earned dollars.\n\nSeniors who served, saved, and did everything right deserve to keep more of what they earned. Let’s get this done.\n\nWFTC\n\nThe Working Families Tax Credit, formerly known as the EITC, is a bipartisan tax break at the federal and state level. Boosting it delivers an average refund of at least $3,000 to 700,000 families.\n\nAs we work together to build a brighter future, we need to lower costs and support every kind of family: those who have kids and those who do not. The Working Families Tax Credit benefits all kinds of families, and it directly impacts nearly 1 million children—almost half the kids in Michigan. It will put hundreds of millions back in family budgets to help with rent, school supplies, and food on the table.\n\nData shows boosting the Working Families Tax Credit also closes health and wealth gaps. Children who grow up with this support have better test scores, graduation rates, and earnings as adults.\n\nThe credit especially benefits single moms and working class families of every race in all 83 counties—from city centers to small towns. It is, in the words of President Reagan, “the best anti-poverty, the best pro-family, the best job creation measure.”\n\nMake it Right\n\nThese 2 tax changes will right a wrong inflicted on Michiganders 12 years ago. In 2011, seniors and hardworking families had the rug ripped out from under them when the retirement tax was enacted and the Working Families Tax Credit was gutted. It was wrong. Now, we can make it right.\n\nPreschool\n\nLowering MI Costs goes further to save people money. Part 3—pre-K for all—saves families an average of $10,000 a year compared to their current pre-K or child care.\n\nEvery parent knows an early start is critical to their child’s future. It’s why we: read, talk, and sing to our babies, worry about finding a great child care provider, and have wait lists for great preschools.\n\nIt’s why one of us showed up to work just hours after his daughter, Violet, was born—so he could keep fighting for all our kids. Representative Andrews , I hope you’re enjoying some well-deserved time with your baby. Congratulations to you and especially to your wife, Lora (Laura), another strong Michigan woman who is already an incredible mom.\n\nData shows that children who go to preschool are: more likely to graduate, earn a certificate or degree, and get a good-paying job. Preschool helps employers too, which is why so many business groups support it.\n\nUnfortunately, affordable preschool is hard to find right now. 20 years ago, it was invaluable for me. Without it, I could not have raised my girls and continued my career. Most in this room could say the same. We were fortunate because we had access and could afford preschool. Every parent and every child in Michigan deserves the same because we all want what’s best for our kids.\n\nLet’s expand our bipartisan preschool effort—the Great Start Readiness Program—so every 4-year-old in Michigan can access a free, public preschool education by the end of my second term.\n\nThis investment will ensure children arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and saves their families upwards of $10,000 a year. It helps parents, especially moms, go back to work. And it will launch hundreds more preschool classrooms across Michigan, supporting thousands of jobs.\n\nTogether, we can lower costs for Michiganders feeling the pain of inflation right now. For our seniors, families, and kids, let’s get this done.\n\nTHE GRADUATE\n\nNow let’s turn to the Michiganders who recently graduated from high school or college. I’m looking at my daughters and thinking of all the young people in our state.\n\nThey're smart, engaged, and fighting for their future—record turnout on campuses last November proved it. I know Secretary of State Benson will ensure their voices—and the voices of every Michigander—are heard in every election. Together, we are going to expand voting rights, protect election workers, and build on last year’s bipartisan law to help military members and their families overseas have their votes counted.\n\nTo keep young Michiganders here and attract even more talent to Michigan, we must focus on 2 things: economic opportunity and personal freedom.\n\nTo deliver on these priorities, I am excited to announce: Make it in Michigan.\n\nEconomic Opportunity\n\nFirst, opportunity. A quote from the 90’s: it’s the economy, stupid.\n\nAmbitious young people have a lot of options when they graduate. As they decide where to live, we must make sure Michigan is the answer—not just for a few years but for the rest of their lives—by creating opportunity that lasts for decades.\n\nLet’s start with the good news. Just over a year ago, in a bipartisan way, we came together to create powerful new tools to attract jobs and investment to Michigan. Since then, we have brought home over $13.5 billion worth of projects including: A chipmaker in Bay City. Battery plants in Big Rapids, Grand Rapids, and Van Buren Township. And Big 3 investments across Michigan. Heck, there’s a new GM battery plant being built just down the road. Our work is paying off, with nearly 13,000 good-paying jobs secured.\n\nMake it in Michigan proposes a sustainable funding source for our economic development efforts while growing talent, making our communities better places to live, and helping our state become a place where anyone can thrive.\n\nIf we get this done, we can move faster year-round to compete and win cutting-edge manufacturing projects and bring more supply chains home. We can create opportunity for you and your family and support local economies and small businesses across our state. Businesses know that we must compete to grow, and when we do, we all win.\n\nI am proud that we created powerful economic development tools and I know we will work together to make them the strongest in our state’s history. For too long, we were fighting with a hand tied behind our back. Now we’ve got the upper hand.\n\nCompete with Everyone\n\nHustling for more projects is a solid first step. But building a strong economy is a marathon, not a sprint. If we want to play in the global market, we must go everywhere and compete with everyone.\n\nThe good news: competition is in our DNA. Whether it’s a local rec league or the global manufacturing market, Michiganders hustle. That spirit can be found in our hungry, passionate young people too. We can channel that energy to shore up Michigan as the world’s premier advanced manufacturing destination.\n\nThe last few years—with economic shocks in China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—have demonstrated that a domestic supply of chips and energy is tied to national security.\n\nThat’s why over the last few weeks, I met with business leaders around the globe and across our nation. I told them what Michigan has to offer: Friendly, hardworking people. Unbeatable natural resources. A great quality of life at a good cost of living. But most of all, I told them that we will do what it takes to bring them to Michigan because our young people deserve the best opportunities in the world.\n\nTo quote our great senior Senator Debbie Stabenow, Michigan “makes stuff and grows stuff.” Let’s develop that core strength by manufacturing the building blocks of the future in Michigan. Let’s keep bringing supply chains of cars and chips home. And let’s increase domestic clean energy production, like wind and solar, so we can produce more energy in America instead of overseas.\n\nWorkforce Development\n\nTo help young people get jobs to “make stuff and grow stuff,” let’s support talent development and keep closing in on our 60 by 30 goal to have 60% of people earn a degree or skills certificate by 2030.\n\nLet’s keep funding the bipartisan Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which lowers the cost of higher education—community college, private, or public university—by thousands of dollars for most students and makes college tuition-free for 65% of graduating seniors. Maybe you can use it to: study engineering at Michigan Tech, nursing at Alpena Community College, teaching at Saginaw Valley, or attend MSU’s #1 ranked supply chain program or U of M’s #1 ranked undergrad business program!\n\nLet’s fund apprenticeships and initiatives that are putting nearly 200,000 Michiganders on tuition-free paths to higher education or skills training, helping them land good-paying, union jobs.\n\nTo help even more people “Make it in Michigan,” let’s take steps to lower the age for Michigan Reconnect from 25 to 21.\n\nReconnect is our bipartisan program that offers anyone 25 and older a tuition-free associate’s degree or skills training. I want to thank Senator Anthony for her work to establish and grow this program. Over 113,000 Reconnectors have been accepted, and we want that number to grow. Let’s unleash opportunity for young people while offering companies the skilled, hardworking talent they need to succeed in Michigan.\n\nEssential Freedoms\n\nThe other half of attracting and retaining young people is standing up for their freedoms. Just a few months ago, Michiganders told us that people should be able to make their own decisions about their own bodies. Let’s get to work.\n\nLet’s repeal our extreme 1931 law banning abortion.\n\nI want to thank the Progressive Women’s Caucus for their leadership on this issue and Representative Pohutsky and Senator Geiss for introducing legislation to get it done.\n\n***\n\nLet’s repeal other dangerous laws prohibiting people from accessing reproductive health care or shaming them for seeking it in the first place.\n\n***\n\nLet’s repeal outdated laws restricting who you can marry.\n\n***\n\nAnd let’s expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act so you can’t be fired or evicted against because of who you are or how you identify.\n\nI called for this in my first State of the State back in 2019. I want to thank Senator Moss and Representative Hoskins for introducing this bill. It’s about damn time we got it done.\n\n***\n\nProtecting these freedoms is the right thing to do and it’s just good economics. States with extreme laws are losing talent and investment because bigotry is bad for business. We should build on our reputation as a welcoming beacon of opportunity where anyone can succeed.\n\nI know talent development is a personal priority for Lieutenant Governor Gilchrist, and I look forward to working with him so we can help people see their futures in Michigan.\n\nI’ve also heard from folks like Lauren, who grew up in Traverse City and wants to move back to start a family but waited until she knew her reproductive rights would be protected. Lauren, I want you and anyone living in a state that wants to control your body or deny your existence to know that Michigan has a place for you.\n\nTogether, we are going to change Michigan from a state with century-old bans to forward looking protections.\n\nOur message is simple: we will fight for your freedom. And you know what? Let’s go on offense. I’ll go to any state that restricts people’s freedoms and win business and hardworking people from them. I’m looking at you, Ohio and Indiana.\n\nEvery parent—Republican, Democrat, or Independent—wants our kids to stay in Michigan. Let’s give them reasons to stay beyond the promise of a home-cooked meal or free laundry facilities. Let’s expand economic opportunity and protect fundamental freedoms.\n\nTHE KID\n\nNow that we’ve talked about folks working to make ends meet and young people choosing where to build their lives, I want to talk about the littlest Michiganders.\n\nA baby born down the street at Sparrow today could live past the year 2100. What will they see in that time? More Stanley Cups for the Wings? A Super Bowl for the Lions? More World Series for the Tigers? Hey, we can dream. All I know is that Izzo will still be coaching.\n\nTruth is, we have no idea what kids born today will live through. Heck, when I was here 3 years ago we had no idea what we were about to live through. What we do know, however, is we can act now to set them up for success.\n\nA lot will change by the year 2100, but what every child needs to succeed will not.\n\nTonight, I’m proposing bold investments in public safety and education to make sure a child born today lives in a safe neighborhood and can get a great public education.\n\nEvery Kid, Every School\n\nOver the last 4 years, we made record investments in our children and schools by leading with our shared values: We closed the funding gap between schools and brought student investment to an all-time high—4 years in a row without raising taxes. We made a generational investment to build new libraries and labs and improve air in classrooms and water from drinking fountains. We funded mental health and campus safety at record levels.\n\nWe set up fellowships and started paying our student teachers. Student teacher stipends are already making a difference for future educators like Zahara (zaa-haa-rah) from Canton, who uses the money to pay her bills as she gears up to enter the classroom. Zahara—we’re rooting for you! And we will continue having your back and growing the profession, so every classroom has a caring, qualified educator.\n\nIn the months ahead, we will deliver another strong education budget. But we must do more.\n\nMI Kids Back on Track\n\nLet’s fund MI Kids Back on Track, to offer every child personalized learning support to get them back on track for long-term success. I want to thank Representative Haadsma for championing this issue.\n\nWhen a child gets a great start, learns to read, and graduates high school, they are on track to land a good-paying job or pursue higher education. Unfortunately, the last few years have disrupted regular learning patterns. In-class instruction alone is not enough—our children need more support to master the skills we know they need most.\n\nInvesting in tutoring, after-school programs, and other learning supports gets children 1-on-1 time with a caring, qualified educator that they need to succeed.\n\nWhether you’re a 3rd grader learning about the solar system, a 6th grader focusing on fractions, or a junior sharpening persuasive writing skills—tutoring addresses your specific learning challenges.\n\nAnd we know that education investments matter to the private sector too. Employers know that today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce and entrepreneurs. We need tutoring to get our kids back on track for Michigan’s long-term economic success.\n\nLet’s fund MI Kids Back on Track before spring break.\n\nPublic Safety\n\nNow let’s talk about public safety.\n\nAs a former prosecutor, public safety is a top priority for me. I will work hard to make sure everyone can get home at the end of the day. And I am proud to have a strong partner in Attorney General Nessel. She prosecutes violent criminals, is shoring up consumer protections, and faces down anyone who tries to harm Michiganders.\n\nSince I’ve been governor, we’ve invested $1 billion in public safety. Let’s continue funding law enforcement with better training, oversight, and access to mental health resources. Police officers, state troopers, and prosecutors have tough, dangerous jobs, and if we work together, we get them what they need to keep our communities safe.\n\nGuns\n\nRight now, there is a flood of illegal guns on our streets. There’s been a rise of break-ins at gun dealerships and straw purchases, where one person illegally buys a firearm for another. Firearms are getting more dangerous too, thanks to 3D printed technology called Glock switches that turn semi-automatic weapons fully automatic.\n\nThat’s why we launched Operation Safe Neighborhoods, taking hundreds of illegal firearms off the street before they could be used in the commission of a crime. But we must do more so the world our kids inherit is not more violent than the one we inhabit now.\n\nThe time for only thoughts and prayers is over. It’s time for commonsense action to reduce gun violence in our communities.\n\n***\n\nLet’s enact universal background checks for people who want to buy firearms.\n\n***\n\nLet’s enact safe storage laws so we can make sure firearms are stored safely at home.\n\n***\n\nAnd let’s enact extreme risk protection orders, so we can keep guns out of the hands of those who might represent a danger to themselves or others. If Florida and Indiana can get this done, we sure can, right?\n\n***\n\nDespite pleas from Oxford families, these issues never even got a hearing in the legislature. This year, let’s change that and work together to stop the violence and save lives. I want to thank Senator Bayer and Representative Brabec for their leadership on this issue.\n\nAnd I want to be very clear—I’m not talking about law-abiding citizens. Hunters and responsible gun owners from both sides of the aisle know that we need to get these commonsense gun safety proposals across the finish line.\n\nWe need to do this for our kids, like Zyaire (zai-year) from Plymouth, who wrote to me and said that he just wants to feel safe going to school to learn. Zyaire—we will get this done so you and your classmates can focus on learning and growing.\n\nInfrastructure\n\nTonight, I spoke to 3 groups of Michiganders we can all see ourselves in. I proposed that we Lower MI Costs, Make it in Michigan, and fund public safety and education.\n\nThere are many more priorities I will share in my budget proposal. But I want to highlight 2 more tonight that impact us all: infrastructure and climate.\n\nIf you haven’t heard, roads are pretty important to me and every Michigander—our state flower might as well be an orange barrel! Since I took office, we’ve fixed 16,000 lane miles and 1,200 bridges, supporting 89,000 jobs. Throughout my second term, I will continue finding ways to keep fixing the damn roads. And as we fix them, let’s build the most innovative transportation systems in the country. With new smart road technology, we can avert hundreds of crashes and get the next-generation of made-in-Michigan vehicles on the road.\n\nWe also have billions in federal resources from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law headed our way. To invest them as efficiently as possible, I established the Michigan Infrastructure Office. This year, it will redouble its efforts, helping to build up every kind of infrastructure—roads, high-speed internet, clean energy, and lead-free pipes.\n\nLast, but certainly not least, it is our shared duty to face climate change head-on and protect our land and water. We must pursue climate action while creating jobs, lowering costs, and becoming a hub of clean energy production. Last year, we unveiled the MI Healthy Climate Plan, and this year, we should make bold investments in climate action to deliver on its targets. Let’s get it done.\n\nCLOSE\n\nI am honored to be standing here tonight as your governor. I will work with anyone who’s serious about solving problems to move Michigan forward. Before I go, I want to talk about an American superpower—belief.\n\nI’ve always been a hopeful person. I believe in our bright future. I write in my gratitude journal every day and insist on quoting Ted Lasso, much to my staff’s chagrin and occasional delight.\n\nDon’t get me wrong—I’m not naïve. Over the last 4 years, we’ve faced historic challenges and seen the visceral consequences of political division. But the prevailing take now seems to be that things will get worse. Fatalism is in vogue as people wonder aloud whether America’s best days are behind her.\n\nI reject that. We cannot mistake pessimism for intelligence. And we must never forget who we are.\n\nMy fellow Michiganders, we live in a special place. Our beautiful state has played host to so much progress because of our unbreakable, hopeful spirit.\n\nAs the world grapples with big challenges and asks itself tough questions, our responsibility as Michiganders is to roll up our sleeves and do the work.\n\nOn May 31, 1907, that’s exactly what President Teddy Roosevelt reminded us at a speech just down the road at Michigan Agricultural College, known as MSU today. He said, “I believe in the happiness that comes from the performance of duty, not the avoidance of duty. But I also believe in trying, each of us, as strength is given us, to bear one another’s burdens.”\n\nMichigan—let’s embrace our duty.\n\nLet’s show everyone that the cure for cynicism is competence.\n\nLet’s lead by example as a state of hardworking, happy warriors.\n\nAs Coach Campbell said, we know what we are.\n\nSo, whether it’s your buffs, the map decal on your car, or your GRIT hat… Let’s show the world: We are Michiganders and nothing gets in our way.\n\nThank you and goodnight!", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/26"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_14", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:46", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/03/27/kelly-clarkson-new-album-chemistry-summer-las-vegas-shows/11549450002/", "title": "Kelly Clarkson announces new album, Las Vegas concert residency", "text": "Kelly Clarkson is kicking off the week on a high note with multiple career announcements.\n\nThe \"Since U Been Gone\" singer is releasing a new album and will perform for a 10-show stint in Las Vegas this summer.\n\nThe new album, \"Chemistry,\" follows her divorce from Brandon Blackstock and took her close to three years to complete, she said, noting she wasn't sure she was going to release it initially.\n\n\"This album is definitely the arc of an entire relationship, you know, and a whole relationship shouldn't be just brought down to one thing,\" she said in a video Sunday posted to Twitter. \"Chemistry can be a really amazing, sexy, cool, fun thing but it can also be very bad for you.\"\n\nClarkson and Blackstock's divorce process started in 2020 and was marred by legal encounters including a property battle, a labor dispute over Clarkson’s management fees under Blackstock’s firm, as well as a custody battler over their two children. Clarkson was awarded primary custody of the children in November 2020.\n\nOn 'The Kelly Clarkson Show':Jay Leno shows off 'brand new face' following burn accident\n\n'We're going to work it out':Kelly Clarkson gets candid about how her kids cope with her divorce\n\nClarkson didn't share a release date but did say music from the album would be coming soon in a tweet with a wine glass, broken heart and sun emoji.\n\nKelly Clarkson to perform 10 shows in Las Vegas\n\nAptly timed is the announcement of Clarkson's mini residency in Las Vegas.\n\n\"It's happening, y'all! I'm so excited to announce that I'm finally heading to Las Vegas for 10 shows this summer!\" she wrote on Twitter Monday. \"I'll be singing all of your favorites... and yes, I'll be singing some new ones, too!\"\n\nHer Vegas engagement \"chemistry…an intimate night with Kelly Clarkson,\" kicks off July 28 at Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, according to a Monday release.\n\nClarkson said that she can't think of a better place to get back on stage than Las Vegas.\n\n“So many of my musical idols have had, and still have, incredible residencies on The Strip, and I’m so excited to create my own!\" she said in the release.\n\nHow to buy tickets to see Kelly Clarkson in Vegas: Presale, general sale\n\nTickets to Clarkson's Vegas shows will go on presale Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET through Thursday at 1 a.m. ET for Citi cardmembers. Caesars Rewards members, Live Nation and Ticketmaster users will be able to buy tickets on presale starting Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET through Thursday at 1 a.m. ET. on Ticketmaster.\n\nGeneral sale tickets will be available starting Friday at 1 p.m. ET.\n\nHere's the full list of dates Clarkson will perform in Las Vegas:\n\nJuly 28\n\nJuly 29\n\nAug. 2\n\nAug. 4\n\nAug. 5\n\nAug. 9\n\nAug. 11\n\nAug. 12\n\nAug. 18\n\nAug. 19\n\n2023 North American tour with 21 Savage:Drake announces more shows\n\nSorry Beyoncé, sorry Taylor:The Weeknd is the world's most popular artist per Guinness\n\nContributing: Bryan Alexander, Edward Segarra", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/09/04/usher-announces-las-vegas-residency-opening-july-2021/5714694002/", "title": "Usher announces Las Vegas residency opening July 2021", "text": "Usher is getting his own Las Vegas residency.\n\nThe singer, 41, will headline \"an extraordinary immersive experience\" at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, according to a press release Friday. The residency is set to open on July 16, 2021.\n\nThe show is promoted by Live Nation and Caesars Entertainment and will include songs from Usher's 20-year career in music.\n\n“I have missed performing for my fans live and I am so excited to see them in Las Vegas,” Usher said in the release. “My residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace will be full of surprises and an Usher experience like they've never seen or heard before!”\n\nIn a video on Live Nation's Twitter Friday, Usher described the residency as \"a celebration of life, love, and of course, all your favorite songs that you don't want to miss! So I'll see you there.\"\n\nThe 2021 dates are as follows: July 16, July 17, July 21, July 23, July 24, July 28, July 30, July 31, Dec. 28, Dec. 29 and Dec. 31. The only date currently set in 2022 is for Jan. 1.\n\nTickets go on sale to the public on Sept. 10, 2020 at 10 a.m. PT. Presale tickets will be available beginning Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. PT to Sept. 9 at 10 p.m. PT.\n\nGeneral ticket prices begin at $59.\n\nLas Vegas has been impacted this year by the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic forced the popular destination for concerts, casinos and more to effectively shut down for tourists and travelers.\n\nZZ Top's Las Vegas residency at The Venetian, originally set for March 20-28, is now being rescheduled for a later date. The Jonas Brothers and Kelly Clarkson also canceled their respective Las Vegas residencies, both originally set for April.\n\nBars were closed statewide in March and remained shuttered for 48 days before being allowed to reopen June 30. Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered bars in and around Las Vegas and Reno closed again on July 27 after coronavirus cases soared in those areas. Most Las Vegas casinos, however, have reopened since closure orders were lifted June 4.\n\nStill, overall visitor volume at the region's hotels was down 61%, the tourism authority regional Convention and Visitors Authority said in August, and the airport tallied fewer than 500,000 passengers earlier this year after regularly handling 4 million people a month before the emergence of COVID-19. It tallied fewer than 153,000 passengers in April and 392,000 in May.\n\nMore:36,000 Las Vegas casino workers at MGM, Caesars can keep health insurance until March\n\nUsher joins other big names who have had residencies in the past, including Paula Abdul.\n\nOn May 1, 2019, the \"Forever Your Girl\" singer and former \"American Idol\" judge announced she would begin a stint at Flamingo Las Vegas on Aug. 13, 2019.\n\nLady Gaga began her Vegas residency on Dec. 28, 2018, at the Park MGM resort's Park Theater.\n\nOthers stars who have announced residencies include Drake, Cardi B, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera and more.\n\nContributing: The Associated Press\n\nMore:Usher, Lupita Nyong'o, Taylor Swift and more celebrities honor Juneteenth, call for action\n\nMore:In the middle of a pandemic, Kelly Clarkson wants you to love with new song 'I Dare You'", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/09/04"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/03/11/coronavirus-cancellations-postponements-movies-tv-shows-music-events/5024819002/", "title": "Coronavirus cancellations: Rolling Stones tour, 'Black Widow' on hold", "text": "The rapid spread of the coronavirus has sparked cancellations and postponements in the entertainment industry as safety concerns grow.\n\nOn Tuesday, the Rolling Stones announced they were postponing their upcoming \"No Filter\" tour in North America. The 15-date leg was set to start in San Diego on May 8 and end in Atlanta on July 9.\n\n“We’re hugely disappointed to have to postpone the tour. We are sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to it as much as we were, but the health and safety of everyone has to take priority. We will all get through this together – and we’ll see you very soon,” the Stones said in a statement.\n\nAlso on Tuesday, ZZ Top announced their Las Vegas residency at The Venetian, originally set for March 20-28, would be rescheduled for a later date.\n\nDisney is delaying indefinitely Marvel’s “Black Widow” standalone movie with Scarlett Johansson, a studio source not authorized to speak on the record confirmed to USA TODAY on Tuesday. The superhero movie, a major player for the summer season, was set to hit theaters May 1.\n\nCoronavirus fears: All New York talk shows nix studio audiences\n\nHere are musicians, television shows, movies, award shows and festivals that have canceled or postponed events over safety concerns.\n\nTelevision\n\n'SNL'\n\n“Saturday Night Live” joined other late-night comedy shows in putting production on hiatus indefinitely. The next original episode, with John Krasinski hosting and Dua Lipa as musical guest, had been scheduled for March 28.\n\n'Fargo' premiere delayed\n\nProduction stoppages are affecting program schedules, too. After temporarily shutting down production of \"Fargo,\" FX is now postponing the scheduled Season 4 premiere date, which was scheduled for April 19. Physical production on eight of 10 episodes of for the installment, which stars Chris Rock, has been completed.\n\nFX hopes to broadcast the latest edition of the franchise this year but it will not air in time to be eligible for the 2020 Emmys. A new premiere date will be announced when production resumes.\n\n'America's Got Talent' wraps auditions early\n\nNBC's \"America's Got Talent,\" which traditionally premieres each season in late spring, ended its Season 15 audition rounds – which had been taped without an audience – early, on Saturday. The show is now on hiatus and will determine whether the coronavirus threat will affect scheduled April production dates. But the new season was not due to premiere until after the planned summer Ol\n\n\"AGT\" became part of the coronavirus story when judge Heidi Klum left a taping last week because she was feeling ill. Klum posted on Instagram Sunday that she had been tested for coronavirus and is practicing social distancing while awaiting the result.\n\nNBC Universal, Disney, Warner Bros. and CBS halt productions, including 'Grey's Anatomy'\n\nProduction of the current season of ABC medical drama \"Grey's Anatomy\" was postponed on March 12 for two weeks \"out of an abundance of caution,\" according to a letter to the series' cast and crew from executive producers Krista Vernoff and Debbie Allen.\n\nLater in the week, NBC Universal suspended production on about 35 series, from \"Chicago Fire\" to \"Kelly Clarkson,\" while Warner Bros.said it would halt production on some of its 70 shows, including \"Riverdale\" and pilots for the upcoming season. Disney also said it would stop production on pilots for at least three weeks.\n\nLate-night talk shows\n\nJimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers are all benched, at least until March 30, after airing audience-free episodes on Thursday. Plans changed amid heightened scrutiny of large auditorium crowds.\n\n‘Grace and Frankie’\n\nSkydance Television, the producer of the Netflix comedy, confirmed to USA TODAY on March 12 that production of the seventh and final season has been placed on hold \"to ensure the health and safety of our cast and crew.\" The series stars Jane Fonda, 82, and Lily Tomlin, 80.\n\n'The Price is Right'\n\nThe game show is temporarily on hold, Fremantle announced on March 12. \"As live audiences are integral to the format of 'The Price Is Right,' we will be suspending production for the short term,\" the production company said in a statement provided to USA TODAY by Jordan Perlmutter.\n\n'Survivor'\n\nCBS says it will delay \"Survivor\" production by two months on the 41st season of \"Survivor,\" due to begin filming in Fiji, and is tentatively planning to begin instead on May 19.\n\n'The Amazing Race'\n\nCBS paused production in February on \"The Amazing Race,\" its reality competition in which pairs sprint around the globe, after shooting three episodes in England and Scotland.\n\n'The Bachelorette'\n\nThe reality dating competition canceled plans to shoot Clare Crawley's international getaway in Italy, where at least 12,462 cases of coronavirus were confirmed as of March 11.\n\n'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'\n\nUSA TODAY confirmed on March 10 that Disney had shut down production of \"The Falcon and the Winter Soldier\" in Prague after the Czech Republic city closed schools and instituted restrictions on events and travel.\n\nMovies\n\n'Black Widow'\n\nMarvel/Disney’s prequel starring Scarlett Johansson, scheduled for release for May 1, has been postponed to a future date, a studio source not authorized to speak on the record confirmed to USA TODAY.\n\n'The Matrix' reboot production\n\n\"The Matrix\" reboot starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss has stopped filming as of Monday. The untitled film had finished filming in San Francisco, and was about to start filming in Germany when the shutdown was called, a person familiar with the situation but not able to speak publicly tells USA TODAY.\n\n'The Batman\" production\n\nDirector Matt Reeves' film starring Robert Pattinson as the dark hero went dark Sunday. \" 'The Batman' will hiatus filming for two weeks beginning today The studio will continue to monitor the situation closely,\" a statement from Warner Bros. representative Paul Maguire said.\n\n‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’\n\nThe Charles Dickens adaptation starring Dev Patel is on hold, after being previously announced for May 8.\n\n‘The Woman in the Window’\n\nThe mystery starring Amy Adams and based on the A.J. Finn novel was scheduled for May 15; no future date has been announced.\n\n'The Climb'\n\nSony postponed the indie comedy, which played at last year's Toronto Film Festival and was slated for release Mar in New York and L.A., \"for several months\" to an unannounced later date.\n\n'Mulan'\n\nDisney's live-action remake of \"Mulan,\" which was supposed to hit theaters March 27, has been postponed, a studio source not authorized to speak on the record confirmed to USA TODAY. The studio will announce a new date for a 2020 release later.\n\nDisney moved forward with the film's Hollywood world premiere on March 9 and held a scaled-down premiere in London on March 12.\n\n'Antlers'\n\nDisney horror flick \"Antlers,\" originally dated for April 17, has been pushed back. The studio will announce a new date for a 2020 release later.\n\nWalt Disney Studios' entire live-action film slate\n\nWalt Disney Studios announced a halt to its entire film production slate on March 12.\n\nIn the works for Disney are the live-action \"Little Mermaid\" musical directed by Rob Marshall, which was to start shooting next week, Marvel's \"Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings,\" the Disney+ \"Home Alone\" reboot, Ben Affleck's knight tale \"The Last Duel,\" \"Nightmare Alley,\" \"Peter Pan & Wendy\" and \"Shrunk.\"\n\nA Disney corporate statement read: \"While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on our productions, after considering the current environment and the best interests of our cast and crew, we have made the decision to pause production on some of our live-action films for a short time. We will continue to assess the situation and restart as soon as feasible.”\n\n'F9'\n\nThe ninth \"Fast and Furious\" installment release date is moving from May 2020 to April 2021, the franchise announced Thursday on Twitter.\n\n\"While we know there is disappointment in having to wait a little while longer, this movie is made with the safety of everyone as our foremost consideration,\" read a statement on the official @TheFastSaga account.\n\n'The Lovebirds'\n\nParamount Pictures postponed the release of the action comedy starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani from April 3 to a date not yet determined.\n\n'New Mutants'\n\nDisney postponed Marvel's \"New Mutants,\" which was previously set for April 3. The studio will announce a new date for a 2020 release later.\n\n'No Time To Die'\n\nThe release date for Daniel Craig's final James Bond film \"No Time to Die\" has been postponed until November .\n\nUniversal Pictures' live-action slate\n\nUniversal announced on March 13 that its live-action film productions – including the upcoming sequel \"Jurassic World: Dominion,\" the biopic \"Flint Strong\" with Ice Cube, and an untitled Judd Apatow project starring Billy Eichner (currently in pre-production) – would go on hiatus.\n\nMore: New James Bond movie 'No Time To Die' postponed to November amid global coronavirus fears\n\n'Mission: Impossible VII'\n\nTom Cruise's \"Mission Impossible VII\" filming was halted in Venice following the coronavirus outbreak in Italy. Paramount Studio announced in February it would halt the planned three-week Venice shoot, which would have been the start of production for the action franchise.\n\n'A Quiet Place: Part II'\n\nThe sequel to the 2018 horror hit, planned for release March 20, is pushed back, director John Krasinski shared on Twitter. \"I'm gonna wait to release the film til we CAN all see it together,\" Krasinski added. A new date hasn't been announced.\n\nKrasinski is scheduled to host \"Saturday Night Live\" on March 28, making him the second star in a row to host while promoting a movie that has been pushed back due to coronavirus. James Bond franchise star Daniel Craig hosted March 7.\n\nComedy\n\nAdam Sandler\n\nSandler announced on March 11 that he's postponing the March dates for his upcoming stand-up comedy tour, \"Adam Sandler 100% Fresher Tour 2020.\" Sandler tweeted advice to fans to \"stay safe, wash your hands, don’t make out with Schneider, and we will get through this like champs.\"\n\nJerry Seinfeld\n\nOn March 12, Seinfeld announced on Instagram that he's pushing back his sold-out stand-up comedy shows in New York this weekend to \"another time when we can relax and enjoy it a lot more.\" ⁣A rescheduled date will be announced shortly, he added.\n\nTrevor Noah\n\nThe \"Daily Show\" host announced on March 13 he would be postponing his comedy tour dates for the next month to support efforts to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.\n\n\"By reducing large gatherings, we can help flatten the curve of any possible outbreaks to keep it manageable within our communities,\" Noah wrote in a tweet. \"All postponed dates will be rescheduled and new show info will be posted to my website as soon as it comes in.\"\n\nMusic\n\nElton John\n\nThe tour dates scheduled for March 26 through May 2 have been postponed, but the May 22 through July 8 are expected to go on as scheduled.\n\nFoo Fighters\n\nThe rock band is rescheduling five shows on its Van Tour that were scheduled for April: Phoenix; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Oklahoma City; Wichita, Kansas; and Knoxville, Tennessee. Frontman Dave Grohl said in a statement, \"We (expletive) love you guys. So let’s do this right and rain check (stuff)...The SECOND we are given the go ahead, we’ll come tear (expletive) up like we always do. Promise. Now go wash your hands.\"\n\nThe Jonas Brothers\n\nPumped the brakes on touring, announcing Friday the cancellation of their Las Vegas residency in April. After \"growing concern for our fans, touring staff and families’ wellness we regret to announce that our April 1-18 Las Vegas residency at Park MGM is being cancelled,\" the brothers tweeted Friday, adding that they \"did not make this decision lightly.\"\n\nThom Yorke\n\nThe Radiohead frontman postponed the North American leg of his \"Tomorrow's Modern Boxes\" solo tour on Friday. The spring tour was scheduled to begin March 28 in Virginia.\n\nKelly Clarkson\n\nThe \"American Idol\" alum postponed the April 1opening of her Las Vegas residency until July \"out of concern and care for everyone's safety,\" she tweeted on March 13. Details about ticket replacement are soon to come, she added.\n\nBillie Eilish\n\nThe teen announced on March 12 that she's postponing nearly a dozen shows in March on the North American leg of her tour, \"Where do we go?\"\n\n\"i’m so sad to do this but we need to postpone these dates to keep everyone safe. we’ll let you know when they can be rescheduled. please keep yourselves healthy. i love you,\" the teen tweeted. Postponed stops include Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C.\n\nBret Michaels\n\nThe rocker explained on March 13 that he backed out of his appearance on the Entertainment Cruise Productions’ '80s Cruise because he’s in one of the \"high risk categories\" for contracting the virus as a Type 1 diabetic dependent on insulin. \"Diabetes cause) an extremely compromised immune system,\" he wrote on Twitter.\n\nThe '80s Cruise departed from Miami, Florida on March 8 and returns to the port on March 15.\n\nSomething in the Water music festival\n\nPharrell Williams' Virginia music festival was pushed back until April 2021 \"after much consideration.\" Purchased tickets will be honored for next year's festival, according to a Twitter announcement posted on March 13. Refunds are also available.\n\nThe 2020 lineup for the Something in the Water included Post Malone, Chance the Rapper, Pharrell and Friends, A$AP Rocky, Tyler, the Creator, and more.\n\nCeline Dion\n\nDion announced on Twitter Thursday that the remainder of the North American leg of her \"Courage World Tour,\" from March 24 to April 27, would be suspended. Ticket holders of the postponed performances were told to keep their original tickets to use at the rescheduled dates later this year.\n\nOn Tuesday, Dion rescheduled shows on March 11 (in Washington D.C.) and March 13 (Pittsburgh) due to a \"common cold,\" according to a message posted Tuesday on Dion's Facebook page.\n\n\"After testing her, the doctors concluded that her virus was not related to COVID-19.\"\n\nCoachella\n\nGoldenvoice, the Los Angeles-based company that produces the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, postponed the festival \"at the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities.\" Coachella is being rescheduled for Oct. 9-11 and 16-18.\n\nMore: Coachella, Stagecoach music festivals move to October amid coronavirus concerns\n\nStagecoach\n\nStagecoach, Coachella's country music counterpart, is also postponed until the fall. Originally slated to take place late April, Stagecoach will now take place Oct. 23-25.\n\niHeartCountry Festival\n\nThe annual celebration of all things country music will be rescheduled, organizers said Thursday. It was originally planned for May 2 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Performers were to include Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and Lady Antebellum. The venue has announced that all upcoming events are on hold.\n\nDan + Shay\n\nCountry music duo Dan + Shay announced plans to postpone the spring leg of their \"The (Arena) Tour,\" pushing back 39 shows throughout the country. The first new show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was originally scheduled for March 20 but will now take place July 30, with shows continuing through October.\n\nReba\n\nCountry singer Reba announced Thursday on Instagram she was postponing her tour until July. “All tickets will be honored for the new dates. Most importantly, stay safe and take care of you and your loved ones. We’ll get through this together.”\n\nThe Format\n\nIndie rock band The Format rescheduled reunion shows in New York, Chicago and Phoenix that were planned for March and April to July. The group led by former Fun. frontman Nate Ruess, joked on Instagram that if \"we could wait 12 years, what's another few months?\"\n\nThe Who\n\nRock band The Who postponed their UK and Ireland tour that was scheduled to start Monday and run through April 8.\n\nChris Stapleton\n\nThe singer-songwriter announced he was postponing four shows this month, from the March 12 concert in Austin, Texas to the March 21 show in Birmingham, Alabama. New dates will come later.\n\nMy Chemical Romance\n\nThe rock band, which recently reunited to go on tour after six years apart, announced on March 12 they'd be postponing their Japan show dates and said they're working to reschedule.\n\n\"The promoter of our Japan shows suggested that we postpone the shows in Japan for the safety of the public, and we are heeding that advice,\" the note read. \"We had very much hoped to have alternate dates confirmed before we announced the postponement, to make sure our fans knew we had every intention of coming back. Somehow, word got out before we could do that.\"\n\nCher\n\nOn March 11, the Grammy-award winner announced the cancellation of her Oklahoma City concert on March 12 because she felt it \"wasn't safe.\"\n\n\"I AM SO SORRY, BUT YOUR HEALTH IS PARAMOUNT,\" she tweeted. \"CONCERTS R AMAZING FUN, BUT NOTHING IS WORTH YOUR HEALTH.\"\n\nMadonna\n\nThe pop star announced on her website on March 9 that her March 10-11 Madame X shows in Paris are cancelled now that France has banned events with more than 1,000 people in response to the coronavirus outbreak.\n\nMore: Zac Brown Band, Pearl Jam, Madonna and more cancel and postpone shows amid coronavirus fears\n\nMariah Carey\n\nCarey announced on Twitter on March 3 that she was rescheduling a March 10 concert in Hawaii because of the \"evolving international travel restrictions\" stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. She moved her Honolulu concert stop to Nov. 28, where she will perform her \"special All I Want for Christmas Is You & Hits extravaganza for the first time ever in Hawaii!\"\n\nPearl Jam\n\nThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band postponed their North American tour. \"As residents of the city of Seattle, we’ve been hit hard and have witnessed firsthand how quickly these disastrous situations can escalate,\" the rock band tweeted on March 9. \"It is with deep frustration and regret that we are forced to make this most unfortunate of announcements.\"\n\nCarlos Santana\n\nThe Grammy-winning star announced on March 10 that he has canceled the European tour dates of his Miraculous 2020 World Tour. Refunds will be available through point of purchase. The tour was scheduled to start March 17 in Poland.\n\nMiley Cyrus\n\nThe pop star, who was set to headline an Australian bushfire relief concert on March 13, released a statement on March 9 saying she's \"no longer travelling to Australia for the show.\" In lieu of her performance, Cyrus vowed to make a donation to support bushfire victims, a cause close to her heart after Cyrus lost her Malibu home during the 2018 California wildfires.\n\nNeil Young\n\nThe rocker pressed pause on his highly-anticipated \"Crazy Horse\" tour, citing his \"older audience\" as a concern. \"The idea of announcing the tour and putting tickets on sale is questionable and needs to be thought through,\" he wrote on March 7 on his website, Neil Young Archives.\n\nZac Brown Band\n\nThe band announced it was postponing the spring leg of its \"The Owl Tour.\" In a social media post on March 10, the band said it made the decision \"out of caution and due to increasing public health concerns.\" Tickets for the original dates will be honored at the rescheduled shows, which have yet to be announced.\n\nCiara\n\nThe Grammy-winning singer, who is pregnant, was set to perform in Texas at the grand opening of the new Fort Hood USO on March 19 but announced on March 7 that the event is being postponed. The grand opening of the new Fort Hood USO will now take place in the summer and the concert will be rescheduled for later this year.\n\nMichael Buble\n\nFourteen of the singer's tour dates, from March 17 through April 5, will be postponed. Dates beginning May 2 in Anaheim, California will continue as scheduled.\n\n“I was looking forward to getting back on the road but the safety of my fans and my touring family of course take priority under the current circumstances,” said Buble in a release.\n\nSlipknot\n\nThe band's Knotfest announced on Twitter on March 4 that it was postponing this year's Japan festival due to the coronavirus .The festival was originally scheduled for March 20 and 21. The announcement stated that ticket holders can wait for the rescheduled dates, which are yet to be announced, or can wait for info on how to receive a refund.\n\nKhalid\n\nIn February, Khalid postponed his upcoming \"Free Spirit World Tour\" shows in several Asian countries, citing recent advisories and travel restrictions. \"Our highest priority remains the safety of Khalid’s fans, his team and everyone who has been working on these concerts,\" promoter AEG Presents Asia wrote in a statement on Feb. 13.\n\nBTS\n\nThe Korean pop group was scheduled to kick off their \"BTS Map of the Soul Tour\" on April 11 in Seoul, South Korea, one of the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus. Now they've announced that all April dates in Seoul have been canceled.\n\nGreen Day\n\nThe rock band announced on social media on Feb. 28 that they're nixing their tour dates in Asia \"due to the health + travel concerns with coronavirus.\" Green Day was scheduled to perform in Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan starting in March as part of their \"Hella Mega Tour.\"\n\nAvril Lavigne\n\nLavigne was scheduled to begin the Asian leg of her \"Head Above Water World Tour\" in Shenzhen, China on April 23, but the star announced on social media that the shows in Asian countries have been canceled. She was scheduled to perform in Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, among other Chinese cities like Hong Kong and Shanghai from April 23- May 29. On March 5, Lavigne announced another set of cancellations in Europe.\n\nPentatonix\n\nThe a cappella pop group announced on Twitter on March 10 that they will postpone the European leg of their World Tour, which was set for March 16 through April 8. The group added that they are working to rescheduling these performances and that fans should hold onto their tickets in the meantime.\n\nUltra electronic dance music festival\n\nThe three-day event that draws thousands of people from around the world was set to begin March 20 at Miami’s downtown Bayfront Park, but city officials announced on March 5 that the electronic dance music festival has been postponed. Among the acts scheduled to perform were David Guetta, The Chainsmokers, Afrojack, Cash Cash, Martin Garrix and Galantis, according to the Ultra website.\n\nMore: Miami’s Ultra Music Festival postponed amid coronavirus fears\n\nEvents and awards shows\n\nAcademy of Country Music Awards\n\nThe annual Academy of Country Music Awards, headed into its 55th show, has been postponed to September, organizers announced in a statement released Sunday. Previously slated for April 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the show now takes place at an exact date, time and venue to be determined.\n\nTribeca Film Festival\n\nThe annual NYC film festival pulled the plug on March 12, saying in a statement that while \"it is in our DNA to march forward while caring about our community ... we have made the difficult decision to postpone the 19th Tribeca Film Festival (April 15-26) based on the announcement by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that events of 500 people or more are banned due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.\"\n\nRock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction\n\nThe Cleveland-based 35th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony has been postponed from May 2 to an unannounced date. Details for the HBO live broadcast of the event will be shared later, a statement from the Rock Hall said. The 2020 inductees are: Whitney Houston, Notorious B.I.G., Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Nine Inch Nails and T. Rex.\n\nMeanwhile, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland announced it would be closed Saturday through March 27.\n\nEvents in Nashville\n\nIn Nashville, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum also closed Saturday through March 31, the museum said on its website. The museum, which calls itself “the Smithsonian of country music,” is one of the Nashville's biggest tourist draws, bringing in a record 1.3 million visitors last year.\n\nAlso in Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium have been affected: All live events and tours at the Opry will be \"paused\" through April 4, and the Saturday Night Grand Ole Opry Show will return to its original format as a live radio broadcast but without a live audience, according to its website.\n\nAt the Ryman, all night-time events are postponed through April 4, but the daytime tours of the building will remain open, according to its website.\n\nCinemaCon\n\nThe annual four-day trade show in Las Vegas, at which studios preview their big films for theater owners, was scheduled for March 30-April 2 in Las Vegas but was canceled on March 11 because \"a significant portion of the worldwide motion picture community\" can't attend, said Mitch Neuhauser, managing director of the National Association of Theatre Owners, which runs CinemaCon.\n\nThe decision was made following \"the travel ban from the European Union, the unique travel difficulties in many other areas of the world and other challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic,\" he said.\n\nJames Beard Foundation Awards\n\nConsidered the Oscars of the food world, the awards events that are postponed include the James Beard Media Awards (originally scheduled for April 24 in Manhattan), the Leadership Awards (May 3, in Chicago), and the Restaurant & Chef Awards (May 4, in Chicago). The final nominees announcement will be made on March 25 from Philadelphia as scheduled, as of now.\n\nKids Choice Awards\n\nOn March 11, Nickelodeon announced that its March 22 awards program has been postponed \"in consideration of the safety and well-being of every person involved with the show.\"\n\nPaleyFest\n\nThe Paley Center announced on March 11 that its annual event in Los Angeles will be postponed \"out of an abundance of concern,\" said spokesperson Teresa Brady. The television festival, which was scheduled from March 13 to 21, is looking into rescheduling dates, when purchased tickets will be honored.\n\nGLAAD Awards\n\nThe Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation announced on March 11 the cancellation of the GLAAD Awards on March 19th in New York City. \"Given our long-standing commitment to the safety of our members, sponsors, and guests, the #GLAADawards will no longer take place,\" the organization tweeted.\n\nNight of Too Many Stars benefit\n\nHBO announced on March 11 that the Jon Stewart-hosted live, all-star benefit for autism programs has been postponed for a future date. \"Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism Programs\" was scheduled to take place on April 18 in New York City.\n\nSXSW\n\nThe South by Southwest music, film and technology conference was canceled after the city of Austin declared a local disaster on March 6 to prevent the event from taking place, Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced, although there have been no confirmed cases of the virus in the Austin area.\n\nRuPaul's DragCon LA\n\nOrganizers for RuPaul's DragCon LA announced on March 10 that the drag convention, scheduled for May, has been canceled this year due to coronavirus. The announcement on the event's website said the convention will return in 2021.Organizers added they will be working with Eventbrite over the next seven days to issue refunds.\n\nAFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute\n\nThe American Film Institute said on March 7 it is postponing its 48th annual AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute honoring Julie Andrews in an apparent response to the coronavirus outbreak. The organization planned to give Andrews, 84, its Life Achievement Award on April 25 in Los Angeles. The event will be rescheduled for early summer.\n\nCoronavirus:AFI postpones gala honoring Julie Andrews amid COVID-19 spread\n\nStill happening\n\nCountry Music Awards\n\nOfficials with the Academy of Country Music Awards said in a statement on March 11 they were \"closely monitoring\" the spread of coronavirus. The awards show is set to take place April 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with Keith Urban hosting.\n\niHeartRadio Music Awards\n\nThe iHeartRadio Music Awards will take place as scheduled on March 29 in Los Angeles, according to a statement sent to USA TODAY. Usher is set to host. \"Our primary goal is always the safety our guests, employees and partners and we will continue to provide any relevant updates as they become available,\" the statement said.\n\nContributing: Gary Levin; Brian Truitt; Charles Trepany, Rasha Ali; Jennifer McClellan, Gary Grace Hauck; The Associated Press; Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Arizona Republic.\n\nMore: 'Amazing Race' production halts amid coronavirus concerns", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/03/11"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/03/17/coronavirus-cancellations-entertainment-rolling-stones-black-widow-snl-james-bond/5070289002/", "title": "Coronavirus postponements: CMA Fest, Burning Man, new ...", "text": "USA TODAY staff\n\nThe rapid spread of coronavirus has sparked cancellations and postponements in the entertainment industry as safety concerns grow.\n\nOn Tuesday, CMA Fest announced it would cancel this year's music festival in downtown Nashville. The event, which has been taking place for nearly 50 years, is one of the largest country music events in the world. Organizers say CMA Fest will return June 10-13, 2021.\n\nSony Pictures' entire summer-movie slate is the latest to join a slew of music, film and TV postponements, and major international events that have also had to adjust their schedules to the pandemic.\n\nSony announced on March 30 that the studio is moving \"Ghostbusters: Afterlife\" from a July 10 release to March 5, 2021, and the Jared Leto superhero horror film \"Morbius\" from July 31 to March 19, 2021.\n\nOther movies shifting dates this year: \"Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway\" was pushed back from Aug. 7 to Jan. 15, 2021; the Kevin Hart drama \"Fatherhood\" scooted up, from Jan. 15, 2021 to Oct. 23; and the Tom Hanks World War II drama \"Greyhound\" (slated for June 12) was pulled off the calendar entirely.\n\nIn addition, the Tom Holland-starring video-game adaptation \"Uncharted\" went from a March 5, 2021 release to later next year on Oct. 8, and an untitled Marvel/Sony project scheduled for Oct. 8. 2021 is now undated.\n\nHere are musicians, TV shows, movies, award shows and festivals that have canceled or postponed events over safety concerns.\n\nTelevision\n\n'Big Brother Canada' Season 8\n\nIn an online statement on March 24, the reality show \"Big Brother Canada\" announced it is halting work on Season 8, which was already mid-production. The final two episodes of the season will air March 25 and April 1. \" 'Big Brother Canada' is a labor of love for so many, and even though it hurts to say goodbye to the season, it’s the right thing to do,” said the show's host, Arisa Cox.\n\n'New Amsterdam'\n\nNBC said March 25 it is postponing an episode of its New York hospital drama that was to air April 7 because it centers around a flu pandemic. The show's Season 2 finale will air April 14, with the epidemic episode possibly running at a later date.\n\n'The Walking Dead' Season 10 finale\n\nFans of AMC's long-running zombie apocalypse series will have to wait until \"later in the year\" to find out how Season 10 ends. In a press release Tuesday, the network confirmed that \"current events have unfortunately made it impossible to complete post-production of 'The Walking Dead Season' 10 finale, so the current season will end with its 15th episode on Sunday, April 5.\" The finale episode, when completed will air as a special on the network later this year.\n\n'The Walking Dead' spin-off\n\nA new \"Walking Dead\" spin-off has also been pushed back due to coronavirus. AMC's \"Walking Dead: World Beyond\" was supposed to premiere April 12, but got pushed back to \"later this year,\" a tweet from the show's account announced March 20. The series is a spinoff of the original zombie apocalypse show set in the far future.\n\nThe 'Friends' reunion\n\nCall it The One with the Delay? The taping of the much-awaited reunion of the six \"Friends\" cast members, scheduled for March 23 and 24, has been postponed, a sourced with knowledge of the matter but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to USA TODAY on March 18. Taping of the unscripted special is now supposed to happen at a later date on the \"Friends\" stage, Stage 24, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.\n\n'American Idol'\n\nABC's \"American Idol\" will take a breather after its final taped episode airs March 29. The singing competition was due to tape two more episodes, beginning March 27, then go live through mid-May, but those plans were nixed due to the pandemic.\n\n'SNL'\n\n“Saturday Night Live” joined other late-night comedy shows in putting production on hiatus indefinitely. The next original episode, with John Krasinski hosting and Dua Lipa as musical guest, had been scheduled for March 28.\n\n'Fargo' premiere delayed\n\nAfter temporarily shutting down production of \"Fargo,\" FX is now postponing the scheduled Season 4 premiere date, which was scheduled for April 19. Physical production on eight of 10 episodes has been completed. A new premiere date will be announced when production resumes.\n\n'America's Got Talent' wraps auditions early\n\nNBC's \"America's Got Talent\" ended its Season 15 audition rounds – which had been taped without an audience – early. The show, which was expected to premiere after the Summer Olympics, is now on hiatus and will determine whether the coronavirus threat will affect scheduled April production dates.\n\nNBC Universal, Disney, Warner Bros. and CBS halt productions, including 'Grey's Anatomy'\n\nProduction of the current season of ABC medical drama \"Grey's Anatomy\" was postponed on March 12 for two weeks \"out of an abundance of caution,\" according to a letter to the cast and crew from executive producers Krista Vernoff and Debbie Allen.\n\nLater, NBC Universal suspended production on about 35 series, from \"Chicago Fire\" to \"Kelly Clarkson,\" while Warner Bros. said it would halt production on some of its 70 shows, including \"Riverdale\" and pilots for the upcoming season. Disney also said it would stop production on pilots for at least three weeks.\n\nLate-night talk shows\n\nJimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers are all benched until at least March 30.\n\n‘Grace and Frankie’\n\nSkydance Television, producer of the Netflix comedy, confirmed to USA TODAY on March 12 that production of the seventh and final season has been placed on hold \"to ensure the health and safety of our cast and crew.\" The series stars Jane Fonda, 82, and Lily Tomlin, 80.\n\n'The Price Is Right'\n\nThe game show is temporarily on hold, Fremantle announced on March 12. \"As live audiences are integral to the format of 'The Price Is Right,' we will be suspending production for the short term,\" the production company said in a statement provided to USA TODAY by Jordan Perlmutter.\n\n'Survivor'\n\nCBS says it will delay production on the 41st season in Fiji until May 19.\n\n'The Amazing Race'\n\nCBS paused production in February on \"The Amazing Race,\" its reality competition in which pairs sprint around the globe, after shooting three episodes in England and Scotland.\n\n'The Bachelorette'\n\nThe reality dating competition canceled plans to shoot Clare Crawley's international getaway in Italy.\n\n'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'\n\nUSA TODAY confirmed on March 10 that Disney had shut down production in Prague.\n\nCoronavirus: Stephen Colbert, more late night suspend production; 'AGT,' 'Family Feud' nix live audience\n\nMovies\n\n'Ghostbusters: Afterlife'\n\nThe next chapter of the popular 1980s horror-comedy franchise, directed by Jason Reitman and starring Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard and Paul Rudd, moved from July 10 to March 5, 2021.\n\n'Morbius'\n\nThe superhero horror film, part of Sony's live-action Spider-Man universe and starring Jared Leto as a scientist-turned-vampire, had its release pushed from July 31 to March 19, 2021.\n\n'Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway'\n\nBased on the Beatrix Potter stories and starring James Corden as the title bunny, the live-action/CGI hybrid sequel switched dates from Aug. 7 to Jan. 15. 2021.\n\n'Greyhound'\n\nThe World War II drama, starring Tom Hanks as a battleship commander leading a group of Allied boats pursued by German submarines, was delayed indefinitely from its scheduled June 12 release.\n\n'Wonder Woman 1984'\n\nPatty Jenkins' retro sequel to her 2017 superhero hit that stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and Kristen Wiig as the villainous Cheetah has shifted release dates, from June 5 to Aug. 14.\n\nWarner Bros. summer slate\n\nThe studio is delaying indefinitely three movies on its summer calendar: the animated Scooby-Doo reboot \"Scoob!\" (initially scheduled for May 15) featuring the voices of Zac Efron, Gina Rodriguez and Will Forte; a big-screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musical \"In the Heights\" (June 26); and horror guru James Wan's latest scary-movie directorial effort, \"Malignant\" (Aug. 14).\n\n'Black Widow'\n\nMarvel/Disney’s prequel starring Scarlett Johansson, scheduled for release May 1, has been postponed to a future date, a studio source not authorized to speak on the record confirmed to USA TODAY. The superhero movie had been intended to kick off the summer movie season.\n\nLionsgate horror films 'Spiral,' 'Antebellum' and 'Run'\n\nLionsgate studios announced the postponement of the Janelle Monáe horror film \"Antebellum\" (expected out April 24), the horror film \"Run\" (originally slated for May 8) and Chris Rock's \"Saw\" film \"Spiral\" (expected May 15). No new release dates have been set for the films.\n\n'The Matrix' production\n\nThe reboot starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss has stopped filming. The untitled film had finished filming in San Francisco, and was about to start filming in Germany when the shutdown was called, a person familiar with the situation but not able to speak publicly tells USA TODAY.\n\n'The Batman\" production\n\nDirector Matt Reeves' film starring Robert Pattinson as the dark hero went dark March 15. \" 'The Batman' will hiatus filming for two weeks beginning today The studio will continue to monitor the situation closely,\" a statement from Warner Bros. representative Paul Maguire said.\n\n‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’\n\nThe Charles Dickens adaptation starring Dev Patel is on hold, after being previously announced for May 8.\n\n‘The Woman in the Window’\n\nThe mystery starring Amy Adams and based on the A.J. Finn novel was scheduled for May 15; no future date has been announced.\n\n'The Climb'\n\nSony postponed the indie comedy, which played at last year's Toronto Film Festival and was slated for release March 27 in New York and L.A., \"for several months\" to an unannounced later date.\n\n'Mulan'\n\nDisney's live-action remake of \"Mulan,\" which was supposed to hit theaters March 27, has been postponed, a studio source not authorized to speak on the record confirmed to USA TODAY. The studio will announce a new date for a 2020 release later.\n\n'Antlers'\n\nDisney horror flick \"Antlers,\" originally dated for April 17, has been pushed back. The studio will announce a new date for 2020.\n\nWalt Disney Studios' entire live-action film slate\n\nDisney announced a halt to its entire film production slate on March 12.\n\nIn the works for Disney are the live-action \"Little Mermaid\" musical directed by Rob Marshall, Marvel's \"Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings,\" the Disney+ \"Home Alone\" reboot, Ben Affleck's knight tale \"The Last Duel,\" \"Nightmare Alley,\" \"Peter Pan & Wendy\" and \"Shrunk.\"\n\n'F9'\n\nThe ninth \"Fast and Furious\" installment release date is moving from May 2020 to April 2021, the franchise announced on Twitter. \"While we know there is disappointment in having to wait a little while longer, this movie is made with the safety of everyone as our foremost consideration,\" read a statement on the official @TheFastSaga account.\n\n'The Lovebirds'\n\nParamount Pictures postponed the release of the action comedy starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani from April 3 to a date not yet determined.\n\n'New Mutants'\n\nDisney postponed Marvel's \"New Mutants,\" which was previously set for April 3. The studio will announce a new date for a 2020 release later.\n\n'No Time To Die'\n\nThe release date for Daniel Craig's final James Bond film \"No Time to Die\" has been postponed until November.\n\nUniversal Pictures' live-action slate\n\nUniversal announced on March 13 that its live-action film productions – including the upcoming sequel \"Jurassic World: Dominion,\" the biopic \"Flint Strong\" with Ice Cube, and an untitled Judd Apatow project starring Billy Eichner – would go on hiatus.\n\n'Mission: Impossible VII'\n\nTom Cruise's \"Mission Impossible VII\" filming was halted in Venice following the coronavirus outbreak in Italy. Paramount Studio announced in February it would halt the planned three-week Venice shoot, which would have been the start of production.\n\n'A Quiet Place: Part II'\n\nThe sequel to the 2018 horror hit, planned for release March 20, is pushed back, director John Krasinski shared on Twitter. \"I'm gonna wait to release the film til we CAN all see it together,\" Krasinski added. A new date hasn't been announced.\n\nComedy\n\nNetflix is a Joke Fest\n\nThe Los Angeles festival, which was supposed offer several live shows and events featuring the biggest names in comedy from April 27 to May 3, has been postponed. Netflix has not announced when the festival will take place. \"We will work to reschedule it when we can,\" Netflix said in a company statement to USA TODAY. \"In the meantime, please everyone take care, hold onto your tickets and we look forward to seeing you all soon.\"\n\nAdam Sandler\n\nSandler announced on March 11 that he's postponing the March dates for his upcoming Adam Sandler 100% Fresher Tour 2020. Sandler tweeted advice to fans to \"stay safe, wash your hands, don’t make out with Schneider, and we will get through this like champs.\"\n\nJerry Seinfeld\n\nOn March 12, Seinfeld announced on Instagram that he's pushing back his sold-out stand-up comedy shows in New York to \"another time when we can relax and enjoy it a lot more.\"A week later, Seinfeld postponed two April shows at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas to \"keep everyone as safe as we can.\"\n\nRescheduled dates will be announced shortly, he added.\n\nTrevor Noah\n\nThe \"Daily Show\" host announced on March 13 he would be postponing his comedy tour dates for the next month. \"All postponed dates will be rescheduled and new show info will be posted to my website as soon as it comes in,\" Noah wrote in a tweet.\n\nMusic\n\nBTS\n\nThe Korean pop group was scheduled to kick off its BTS Map of the Soul Tour on April 11 in Seoul, South Korea, one of the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus. Now, all April dates in Seoul have been canceled.\n\nThe band also postponed its North American dates according to an announcement shared by the group to Twitter on March 26.\n\nThe Korean pop group was expected to kick off the North American leg of their tour on April 25. The announcement, issued by Big Hit Entertainment, said the shows would be scheduled to later dates, which have not yet been set.\n\nHarry Styles\n\nThe singer announced in a series of tweets on March 25 that his upcoming tour in the United Kingdom and Europe will be rescheduled to 2021.\n\n\"Anyone who knows me, knows that performing has always been my favorite part of working in music,\" Styles tweeted. \"However, during times like these, the safety and protection of touring crew, fans, and everyone else around the world is an immediate priority.\"\n\nHe also urged his followers to self-isolate \"for the safety of yourself and others.\"\n\nCamila Cabello\n\nThe singer announced the postponement of her tour on Instagram on March 24. The decision left her \"truly heartbroken,\" Cabello added.\n\n\"We can't start rehearsals without putting people at risk and with so much up in the air with no real and definitive end in sight, I feel this is the responsible thing to do,\" Cabello wrote. Her tour was originally scheduled to start in May.\n\nNew York Philharmonic\n\nThe New York Philharmonic canceled the rest of its season and a 10-concert European tour, estimating it will have $10 million in operating losses to its $87 million annual budget because of the pandemic.\n\nThe Philharmonic said the salaries of 106 unionized orchestra players will be cut to minimum scale for April and 75% of minimum scale through May. Health benefits will be continued through the current contract’s expiration on Sept. 20.\n\nAlicia Keys\n\nThe singer announced the postponement of her upcoming album, \"Alicia,\" and her More Myself Tour. Keys tweeted, \"Everyone’s health and safety is the #1 priority! Thank u for ur deep love, I’ll let u know about new dates soon.\"\n\nMetropolitan Opera\n\nThe nation's largest performing-arts institution announced on March 19 it is canceling the rest of its season and stopping the pay of the orchestra, chorus and other unionized employees at the end of March due to the pandemic, according to the Associated Press.\n\nPerformances had already been canceled through March 31, but the season was to conclude on May 9. It is scheduled to resume on Sept. 21. The crisis forced cancellation of about one-third of the season and three high-definition telecasts to movie theaters around the world.\n\nZZ Top\n\nZZ Top's residency at The Venetian in Las Vegas, originally set for March 20-28, has been delayed.\n\nThe Rolling Stones\n\nThe band is postponing its upcoming \"No Filter\" tour in North America. The 15-date leg was set to start in San Diego on May 8 and end in Atlanta on July 9.\n\n“We’re hugely disappointed to have to postpone the tour. We are sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to it as much as we were, but the health and safety of everyone has to take priority.” the Stones said in a statement.\n\nElton John\n\nTour dates scheduled for March 26-May 2 have been postponed, but the May 22-July 8 shows are expected to go on.\n\nFoo Fighters\n\nThe rock band is rescheduling five April shows on its Van Tour: Phoenix; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Oklahoma City; Wichita, Kansas; and Knoxville, Tennessee. Frontman Dave Grohl said in a statement, \"We (expletive) love you guys. So let’s do this right and rain check (stuff) ...The SECOND we are given the go ahead, we’ll come tear (expletive) up like we always do. Promise. Now go wash your hands.\"\n\nThe Jonas Brothers\n\nThe brothers tweeted that they've canceled their Las Vegas residency in April.\n\nThom Yorke\n\nThe Radiohead frontman has postponed the North American leg of his Tomorrow's Modern Boxes solo tour. The tour was scheduled to begin March 28 in Virginia.\n\nKelly Clarkson\n\nThe \"American Idol\" alum postponed the April 1 opening of her Las Vegas residency until July \"out of concern and care for everyone's safety,\" she tweeted. Details about ticket replacement are soon to come, she added.\n\nBillie Eilish\n\nThe teen has postponed nearly a dozen shows in March on the North American leg of her Where Do We Go? tour. \"i’m so sad to do this but we need to postpone these dates to keep everyone safe,\" the teen tweeted. Delayed stops include Philadelphia, New York and Washington.\n\nBret Michaels\n\nThe rocker backed out of his appearance on Entertainment Cruise Productions’ '80s Cruise because he’s in one of the \"high risk categories\" for contracting the virus as a Type 1 diabetic dependent on insulin. The cruise departed from Miami on March 8.\n\nCeline Dion\n\nDion announced on Twitter that the remaining North American dates of her Courage World Tour, March 24- April 27, would be suspended. Ticket holders of the postponed performances were told to keep their original tickets to use at the rescheduled dates later this year.\n\nDan + Shay\n\nThe country music duo announced plans to postpone the spring leg of The (Arena) Tour, pushing back 39 shows. The first new show in Tulsa was originally scheduled for March 20 but will now take place July 30, with shows continuing through October.\n\nReba\n\nThe country singer has postponed her tour until July. “All tickets will be honored for the new dates. Most importantly, stay safe and take care of you and your loved ones. We’ll get through this together.”\n\nThe Format\n\nIndie rock band The Format rescheduled reunion shows in New York, Chicago and Phoenix for March to July. The group led by former Fun. frontman Nate Ruess, joked on Instagram that if \"we could wait 12 years, what's another few months?\"\n\nThe Who\n\nThe rock band postponed its U.K. and Ireland tour that was scheduled to run through April 8.\n\nChris Stapleton\n\nThe singer/songwriter announced he was postponing four shows this month, from the March 12 concert in Austin to the March 21 show in Birmingham, Alabama. New dates will come later.\n\nMy Chemical Romance\n\nThe rock band, which recently reunited to go on tour after six years apart, postponed show dates in Japan, which will be rescheduled.\n\nCher\n\nOn March 11, the singer announced the cancellation of her Oklahoma City concert on March 12 because she felt it \"wasn't safe.\"\n\n\"I AM SO SORRY, BUT YOUR HEALTH IS PARAMOUNT,\" she tweeted. \"CONCERTS R AMAZING FUN, BUT NOTHING IS WORTH YOUR HEALTH.\"\n\nMadonna\n\nThe pop star canceled her March 10-11 Madame X shows in Paris after France banned events with more than 1,000 people.\n\nMariah Carey\n\nCarey tweeted that she would push back her March 10 concert in Honolulu to Nov. 28, where she will perform her \"special All I Want for Christmas Is You & Hits extravaganza for the first time ever in Hawaii!\"\n\nPearl Jam\n\nThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band postponed its North American tour. \"As residents of the city of Seattle, we’ve been hit hard and have witnessed firsthand how quickly these disastrous situations can escalate,\" the rock band tweeted March 9. \"It is with deep frustration and regret that we are forced to make this most unfortunate of announcements.\"\n\nCarlos Santana\n\nThe Grammy-winning star announced March 10 that he has canceled the European dates of his Miraculous 2020 World Tour. Refunds will be available through point of purchase. The tour was scheduled to start March 17 in Poland.\n\nMiley Cyrus\n\nThe pop star, who was set to headline an Australian bushfire relief concert on March 13, released a statement on March 9 saying she's \"no longer traveling to Australia for the show.\" In lieu of her performance, Cyrus vowed to make a donation to support bushfire victims, a cause close to her heart after she lost her Malibu home during the 2018 California wildfires.\n\nNeil Young\n\nThe rocker pressed pause on his Crazy Horse tour, citing his \"older audience\" as a concern. \"The idea of announcing the tour and putting tickets on sale is questionable and needs to be thought through,\" he wrote March 7 on his website.\n\nZac Brown Band\n\nThe band announced March 10 it was postponing the spring leg of The Owl Tour \"out of caution and due to increasing public health concerns.\" Tickets for the original dates will be honored at the rescheduled shows, which have yet to be announced.\n\nCiara\n\nThe Grammy-winning singer, who is pregnant, was set to perform in Texas at the grand opening of the new Fort Hood USO on March 19 but announced March 7 that the event is being postponed. The grand opening will now take place in the summer and the concert will be rescheduled for later this year.\n\nMichael Buble\n\nFourteen of the singer's tour dates, from March 17-April 5, will be postponed. Dates beginning May 2 in Anaheim, Calif., will continue as scheduled.\n\n“I was looking forward to getting back on the road but the safety of my fans and my touring family of course take priority under the current circumstances,” Buble said in a release.\n\nSlipknot\n\nThe band's Knotfest announced March 4 on Twitter that this year's festival in Japan would be postponed. The festival was originally scheduled for March 20-21. Ticket holders can wait for the rescheduled dates, which are yet to be announced, or receive a refund.\n\nKhalid\n\nIn February, Khalid postponed his upcoming Free Spirit World Tour shows in several Asian countries. \"Our highest priority remains the safety of Khalid’s fans, his team and everyone who has been working on these concerts,\" promoter AEG Presents Asia wrote in a statement.\n\nGreen Day\n\nThe rock band announced Feb. 28 on social media that it's nixing tour dates in Asia \"due to the health + travel concerns with coronavirus.\" Green Day was scheduled to perform in Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan starting in March as part of the Hella Mega Tour.\n\nAvril Lavigne\n\nLavigne was scheduled to begin the Asian leg of her Head Above Water World Tour in Shenzhen, China, on April 23, but canceled shows in Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai through May 29. On March 5, Lavigne announced another set of cancellations in Europe.\n\nPentatonix\n\nThe a cappella pop group announced March 10 on Twitter that it will postpone the European leg of a world tour set for March 16-April 8. Fans should hold onto their tickets until dates are rescheduled.\n\nEvents and awards shows\n\nBurning Man\n\nThe Burning Man nonprofit said March 30 it has indefinitely postponed its main ticket sale, which was planned for April 8. The event attracts approximately 80,000 attendees and is currently slated for Aug. 30 to Sept. 7 in Northern Nevada's Black Rock Desert.\n\n2020 Essence Festival of Culture\n\nAccording to a statement posted to Essence's website, the annual New Orleans festival, which was scheduled for July, has been postponed \"closer to the fall.\" New dates will be confirmed soon and previously announced talent will remain in the festival's line-up. Tickets that have already been purchased will be valid for the rescheduled dates.\n\nFashion Weeks in Paris, Milan and New York\n\nMultiple fashion events around the world have been either canceled or postponed as a result of the pandemic. On March 27, the Board of Directors of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode announced online that Paris Fashion Week Menswear, which was scheduled for June 23-28, and Haute Couture Week, which was scheduled for July 5-9, \"cannot take place.\" The statement noted that \"the Federation is actively working with its members on possible alternatives.\"\n\nOn the same day, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana announced online that Milan Men's Fashion week has been postponed. Instead of taking place June 19-23, the event will coincide with Milan Women's Fashion Week in September.\n\nAdditionally, the Council of Fashion Designers of America canceled the New York Fashion Week: Resort 2021 schedule of presentations. In an online statement, the council noted they will not publish a schedule for this event and discouraged designers from showing their Resort Spring 2021 collections.\n\n\"The CFDA, in alignment with New York Men’s Day, Liberty Fairs and PROJECT, decided to postpone the June men’s shows and are working with the tradeshows to align on future date,\" the council continued.\n\nUSA TODAY has reached out to the British Fashion Council inquiring if London Men's Fashion Week, which is currently scheduled for June 13-15, will also be postponed or canceled.\n\nGovernors Ball Music Festival\n\nOn March 26, the Governors Ball Music Festival announced it was canceling. Originally scheduled for June 5-7, the festival lineup included such performers as Miley Cyrus, Vampire Weekend and Missy Elliott. Organizers released a statement saying they were already working on the 2021 festival.\n\nTony Awards\n\nThe Tony Awards, which were scheduled for June 7, are being postponed to a yet-to-be-determined date, the production company announced March 25.\n\nTony Award Productions released the following statement on March 25 Wednesday:\n\n\"The 74th Annual Tony Awards, scheduled to air live on the CBS Television Network on Sunday, June 7th from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, will be postponed and rescheduled at a later date, in coordination with our broadcast partner. The health and safety of the Broadway community, artists and fans is of the utmost importance to us.\n\nSummerfest\n\nThe Milwaukee music festival has been rescheduled to September \"in the interest of safety and in cooperation with artists,\" Don Smiley, president and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival Inc, announced on Twitter March 23.\n\nSummerfest, which was originally scheduled to start in late June, included headliners Justin Bieber, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Blink-182, Chris Stapleton, Dave Matthews Band, Halsey and Guns N' Roses.\n\nWhite House Correspondents Dinner\n\nThe White House Correspondents Association is postponing its dinner. \"Saturday Night Live\" cast member Kenan Thompson was set to host the annual celebration of the First Amendment, scheduled for April 25.\n\nDaytime Emmys\n\nThe Daytime Emmys, a prominent television awards show, is postponing the 47th annual edition scheduled for June in Pasadena, Calif., the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced. The judging process will continue, with nominations announced later in the spring, and officials are exploring alternative ways to recognize the honorees.\n\n\"As there are so many unknowns right now with the flow of information changing on a daily, almost hourly, basis, it would simply be irresponsible to move forward with our annual celebration of excellence in daytime television at this time,” NATAS Chairman Terry O'Reilly said in a statement.\n\nBookExpo and BookCon\n\nPublishing's annual national convention, BookExpo, has been pushed back from May to July 22-26 in Manhattan. BookCon, the fan-based event that follows BookExpo, also has been postponed. \"We are committed to running a show for this industry and the fans this year. What will that show look like? We are not exactly sure yet,\" said events director Jenny Martin in a statement.\n\nCannes Film Festival\n\nCannes Film Festival will not take place this May in the South of France, festival organizers announced Thursday on Twitter. \"Due to the health crisis and the development of the French and international situation, the Festival de Cannes will no longer be able to take place on the dates planned,\" the tweet stated. Organizers said the event would be delayed from May 12-23 to June or July.\n\nNew Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival\n\nThe New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, originally set for April 23 through May 3, will be rescheduled for the fall, organizers said. Exact dates have not been announced. Tickets already purchased will be valid for the new dates. Performers this year were to include Stevie Nicks, Lizzo and the Foo Fighters.\n\nBonnaroo Music & Arts Festival\n\nThe Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, has rescheduled this year's event for Sept. 24-27 \"out of an abundance of caution and for the health and safety of all Bonnaroovians, artists, staff and our community.\" Vampire Weekend, Bassnectar and the 1975 are among the musical acts booked this year.\n\nBillboard Music Awards\n\nThe awards, set to take place April 29 in Las Vegas, will be rescheduled to air on NBC at a later date. “We look forward to celebrating the incredible artists who topped those charts over the last year,” Dick Clark Productions said in a statement.\n\nTelemundo and Billboard also postponed the Billboard Latin Music Awards (previously scheduled to air live April 23) and LatinFest+ conference (April 20-23).\n\nAcademy of Country Music Awards\n\nThe 55th annual Academy of Country Music Awards has been postponed to September, organizers announced. Previously slated for April 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the exact date, time and venue are to be determined.\n\nTribeca Film Festival\n\nThe annual NYC film festival pulled the plug on March 12, saying in a statement that while \"it is in our DNA to march forward while caring about our community ... we have made the difficult decision to postpone.\" The festival was scheduled for April 15-26.\n\nRock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction\n\nThe Cleveland-based 35th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony has been postponed from May 2 to an unannounced date. Details for the HBO live broadcast of the event will be shared later, a statement from the Rock Hall said. The 2020 inductees are: Whitney Houston, Notorious B.I.G., Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Nine Inch Nails and T. Rex.\n\nMeanwhile, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland announced it would close through March 27.\n\niHeartRadio Music Awards\n\nThe iHeartRadio Music Awards, which were scheduled for March 29 in Los Angeles, have been postponed to an as-yet undetermined date. Fan voting in eight categories will continue through March 23, with voting for best fan army going through March 27.\n\nEurovision\n\nThe annual song contest, set to take place this year in the Netherlands, has been canceled. Event organizers will notify ticket holders whether their tickets will be refunded or if they'll stay valid for next year's event \"as soon as possible,\" an announcement on the Eurovision website read.\n\nCoachella\n\nGoldenvoice, the Los Angeles-based company that produces Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, postponed the festival \"at the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities.\" Coachella is being rescheduled for Oct. 9-11 and 16-18.\n\nStagecoach\n\nStagecoach, Coachella's country music counterpart, is also postponed until the fall. Originally slated to take place late April, Stagecoach will now take place Oct. 23-25.\n\nGlastonbury Festival\n\nThe England-based arts festival, which was scheduled for June 24-28, has been canceled, organizers announced Wednesday. Major headliners were set to include Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Diana Ross and Kendrick Lamar.\n\n\"Clearly this was not a course of action we hoped to take for our 50th anniversary event, but following the new government measures announced this week – and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty – this is now our only viable option,\" a statement on the festival site read.\n\niHeartCountry Festival\n\nThe annual celebration of country music will be rescheduled, organizers said. It was originally planned for May 2 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Performers were to include Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and Lady Antebellum. The venue has announced that all upcoming events are on hold.\n\nUltra electronic dance music festival\n\nThe three-day event that draws thousands of people from around the world was set to begin March 20 at Miami’s downtown Bayfront Park, but city officials announced on March 5 that the electronic dance music festival has been postponed. Among the acts scheduled to perform were David Guetta, The Chainsmokers, Afrojack, Martin Garrix and Galantis.\n\nCinemaCon\n\nThe annual four-day trade show in Las Vegas, at which studios preview their big films for theater owners, was scheduled for March 30-April 2 in Las Vegas but was canceled on March 11 because \"a significant portion of the worldwide motion picture community\" can't attend, said Mitch Neuhauser, managing director of the National Association of Theatre Owners, which runs CinemaCon.\n\nJames Beard Foundation Awards\n\nConsidered the Oscars of the food world, the awards events that are postponed include the James Beard Media Awards (originally scheduled for April 24 in Manhattan), the Leadership Awards (May 3 in Chicago), and the Restaurant & Chef Awards (May 4 in Chicago). The final nominees announcement will be made March 25 from Philadelphia.\n\nKids Choice Awards\n\nOn March 11, Nickelodeon announced that its March 22 awards program has been postponed \"in consideration of the safety and well-being of every person involved.\"\n\nPaleyFest\n\nThe Paley Center announced that its annual TV festival in Los Angeles, scheduled for March 13-21, will be postponed \"out of an abundance of concern,\" said spokesperson Teresa Brady. The festival is looking into rescheduling dates, when purchased tickets will be honored.\n\nGLAAD Awards\n\nThe Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation announced on March 11 the cancellation of the GLAAD Awards on March 19 in New York. \"Given our longstanding commitment to the safety of our members, sponsors, and guests, the #GLAADawards will no longer take place,\" the organization tweeted.\n\nNight of Too Many Stars benefit\n\nHBO announced on March 11 that the Jon Stewart-hosted live, all-star benefit for autism programs has been postponed for a future date. \"Night of Too Many Stars: America Unites for Autism Programs\" was scheduled to take place on April 18 in New York City.\n\nSXSW\n\nThe South by Southwest music, film and technology conference was canceled after the city of Austin declared a local disaster on March 6 to prevent the event from taking place.\n\nRuPaul's DragCon LA\n\nOrganizers for RuPaul's DragCon LA announced March 10 that the drag convention, scheduled for May, has been canceled this year due to coronavirus. The announcement on the event's website said the convention will return in 2021. Organizers added they will be working with Eventbrite over the next seven days to issue refunds.\n\nAFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute\n\nThe American Film Institute has postponed its 48th annual AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute honoring Julie Andrews. The organization planned to give Andrews, 84, its Life Achievement Award on April 25 in Los Angeles. The event will be rescheduled for early summer.\n\nSomething in the Water\n\nPharrell Williams' Virginia music festival was pushed back until April 2021 \"after much consideration.\" Tickets will be honored for next year's festival, according to a Twitter announcement. Refunds are also available.\n\nThe 2020 lineup for the Something in the Water included Post Malone, Chance the Rapper, Pharrell and Friends, A$AP Rocky and Tyler, the Creator.\n\nEvents in Nashville\n\nIn Nashville, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum also closed Saturday through March 31, the museum said on its website. The \"Smithsonian of country music” is one of the Nashville's biggest tourist draws, bringing in a record 1.3 million visitors last year.\n\nThe Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium have also been affected: All live events and tours at the Opry will be paused through April 4, and the Saturday Night Grand Ole Opry Show will return to its original format as a live radio broadcast but without a live audience, according to its website.\n\nAt the Ryman, all night-time events are postponed through April 4, but the daytime tours of the building will remain open, according to its website.\n\nContributing: Cydney Henderson, Gary Levin, Brian Truitt, Charles Trepany, Rasha Ali, Jennifer McClellan, Gary Dinges, Grace Hauck, Kim Willis, Kelly Lawler and Bill Keveney, USA TODAY; Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Arizona Republic; Dave Paulson, The Tennessean and The Associated Press.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/03/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/04/20/coronavirus-ticket-refunds-wont-happen-many-postponed-concerts/2989116001/", "title": "Ticket refund? Unless your concert has been canceled amid the ...", "text": "A number of Americans are stuck with tickets to concerts that have been postponed indefinitely amid the coronavirus pandemic.\n\nGetting a refund has proven difficult in many cases.\n\nThat's because most major ticket sellers' policies differentiate between events that have been canceled and those that have been postponed.\n\nCanceled? Sure, you can get your cash back, often automatically. New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi, for instance, canceled their entire 2020 tour Monday, in an effort to help ticketholders \"pay their bills or buy groceries,\" the band said in a statement.\n\nBut postponed, even if a new date hasn't been set? The answer tends to be no. That has left fans fuming as the pandemic forces A-listers like the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Kelly Clarkson, Cher and Jason Aldean to cancel or postpone their shows.\n\nJeni Garcia is one of the lucky ones. She had tickets to a Keane show on March 15 in Austin, Texas, that were automatically refunded when the show was canceled. Her tickets to a Glass Animals show in San Antonio, though, haven't been refunded because the concert is classified as postponed.\n\n\"I'm really not sure when I will feel comfortable attending a show again,\" she says. \"It will depend on the availability of a treatment and vaccine for COVID-19, as well as the trajectory of cases.\"\n\nCoronavirus fallout:Taylor Swift cancels all upcoming 2020 concerts, live appearances amid pandemic\n\nTicketmaster, in particular, has been taking heat, with some online posters claiming the company altered its policies because of the coronavirus. (In a statement to USA TODAY, Ticketmaster said that although it recently clarified the language in the policy, the basics remain the same.)\n\nIn response to the criticism, Ticketmaster's parent company, Live Nation, announced an initiative Friday that will give ticketholders 30 days to request a refund once their postponed show sets a new date. If they don't want a refund, their tickets will still be good for the rescheduled show.\n\nThe new policy, which begins May 1, also gives fans the option to receive credit they can use for future tickets, or to donate tickets to health care workers.\n\nLive Nation's rival AEG Presents announced a similar 30-day refund program last week, also starting May 1.\n\nIn most cases, there's no set limit on how long organizers have to decide whether they're going to cancel or reschedule a concert. If a person can't attend a rescheduled show, Ticketmaster's website suggests selling the tickets via a resale site.\n\nEventbrite, another major ticket seller, suggests contacting event organizers directly for details on potential refunds for postponed shows and events. Organizers are expected to reply to inquiries within a week, according to Eventbrite's site.\n\n'I Dare You':In the middle of a pandemic, Kelly Clarkson wants you to love\n\nBut fans are finding it difficult to sell their expensive concert tickets when new dates and other details are scarce.\n\nAndrew Doebler is one of those stuck with tickets to a rescheduled event he can't attend. He says he spent $1,300 for two tickets and a tent at Bonnaroo.\n\nBonnaroo, on its website, says refunds are available \"in the event of a full cancellation,\" but the Tennessee music and arts festival wasn't canceled. Instead, it was pushed from June to September.\n\n\"I cannot attend Bonnaroo in late September because of prior commitments and would not have purchased the tickets and tent rental,\" Doebler says. \"I have lost my job in the wake of this craziness of COVID-19 and could really use my money.\"\n\nVenues have been scrambling to find new dates for shows they'd booked months or even years in advance, says Colleen Fischer, director of booking for the Austin City Limits Live venue, home of PBS's \"Austin City Limits\" and countless other performances.\n\n\"The process of moving six or seven months’ worth of concerts and corporate events has been daunting,\" she says. \"Calendar management is always a puzzle, but this pandemic has taken it to a whole new level.\"\n\nCoronavirus quarantine:100 things to do while stuck inside due to a pandemic\n\nA lot of money is on the line for performers, promoters and venues, which could explain why refunds are hard to get. With concerts expected to be delayed or canceled into the summer, the industry is looking at a minimum projected loss of $10 billion, according to Dave Brooks, Billboard's senior director of live and touring. If the shutdown extends into 2021, it would be even more catastrophic.\n\n\"Like the airline industry, hotels, restaurants and any business where people celebrate in groups, the concert industry has been hit extremely hard by the coronavirus,\" he says.\n\n\"There’s no income being generated for venues, artists or the hundreds of thousands of men and women who work in the events business, from talent agents and promoters all the way down to food service employees, ushers and security guards. Tens of thousands of people are out of work right now.\"\n\nAtticus Lite, who photographs concerts for a living, is one of those affected by the shutdown. The past few weeks have been overwhelming, Lite says.\n\n\"Everything is so uncertain at this point and reading articles as time passes is like reading symptoms on the internet when you’re sick,\" Lite says. \"I’ve read that concerts might not return until fall 2021. I’ve read the 6-foot rule might take us all the way through 2022, even if the world 'opens back up.'\n\n\"I have just a toe in the music industry, and that’s an entire business that I worry about during this pandemic,\" he says.\n\nStaying Apart, Together: A newsletter about how to cope with the coronavirus pandemic\n\nNikki Cali, who lives in Modesto, California, is one of many who've tried unsuccessfully to get money back for tickets purchased via Ticketmaster. She and a group of friends each have seats for a postponed Justin Bieber show.\n\n\"We all talked about whether or not we should get the tickets refunded or wait it out,\" she says. \"We came to the same agreement: Let’s just get (a refund).\"\n\nTheir hopes of a refund quickly vanished, though, after several back-and-forths with Ticketmaster representatives, she says.\n\nTickets to the show cost $250 each, Cali said. That's cash she could desperately use.\n\n\"That money would make all the difference right now,\" she says. \"Look at the circumstances. We’ve all lost our jobs, unemployment hardly covers our bills, and we have tickets for a show that is indefinitely postponed? It’s madness.\"\n\nAs a Christmas gift, Scott Radcliffe got tickets from his wife to see the Avett Brothers at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater in Austin. The show, initially set for April 30, has now been pushed to June.\n\nBut Radcliffe suspects it may get bumped back again. He and his wife haven't requested a refund – yet – saying they're \"waiting things out to a degree.\"\n\nIf the show goes on as planned in June, will he attend?\n\n\"Hard to say, really,\" he says. \"If it would have held to the date in April, I can pretty safely say no, we wouldn’t be comfortable, but things are changing so fast that it’s possible … though I’m not sure we would even then.\"\n\nIf you paid with a credit card and a refund isn't being offered by your ticket seller, you could try to have your bank initiate a chargeback, says Billboard's Brooks. There's a chance, though, that the company you bought the tickets from could contest.\n\n\"Consumers will have to be patient as this complicated web gets untangled,\" he says.\n\nWhatever the outcome, don't settle for less money than you paid, Brooks cautions. If you're having trouble, he suggests contacting your state's consumer protection office.\n\nContributing: Charles Trepany, USA TODAY\n\nViral video: See high school's 'virtual choir' sing Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven Is A Place on Earth' in quarantine", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/04/20"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/2019/11/05/entertainers-of-the-year-duchess-meghan-taylor-swift-kim-kardashian/4110577002/", "title": "Entertainers of the Year: Celebs who excelled, from Meghan to Taylor", "text": "USA TODAY Staff\n\nThey sold books, movies, albums and TV shows, and sometimes, their own celebrity. They took political stands, fought back against trolls and defied expectations, fighting against injustice and telling their own stories, joyfully and sometimes painfully.\n\nBut along the way, they also entertained us with their talent, audacity and charm, singing, acting, writing or performing (in one way or another) into America's hearts.\n\nUSA TODAY picks these 10 stars of their fields as its most powerful entertainers of the year, ranging from bestsellers to up-and-comers, and from the already super famous to others you may have barely heard of.\n\nTaylor Swift\n\nAmerica clearly still loves Taylor Swift. The 29-year-old pop superstar's seventh studio album, \"Lover,\" released in August, was hailed by fans and critics alike, with a string of favorable reviews including USA TODAY's, which called it \"less focused and more open-hearted\" than anything she’s released since “Red.\" When the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard, it was the biggest sales week since her previous album, \"Reputation\" in 2017. Swift again topped the Forbes highest-paid celebrity list, beating out billionaire Kylie Jenner. The \"You Need to Calm Down\" singer also took stands in 2019, advocating for the pro-LGBTQ Equality Act and slamming Big Machine's sale of her previous masters to Scooter Braun, whom Swift accused of \"incessant, manipulative bullying.\" Swift will receive the artist of the decade award at the American Music Awards on Nov. 24, when she has a chance to break Michael Jackson's record for most wins.\n\nMeghan, Duchess of Sussex\n\nDuchess Meghan proved she's far from your average royal in 2019. The former Hollywood actress and wife of Prince Harry welcomed baby Archie in May, and stepped out a few days later, showing a postpartum body that many moms could relate to. In the months that followed, she launched a clothing line in support of unemployed women searching for jobs, guest edited British Vogue and fought back against cruel media speculation. The final months of 2019 saw Meghan, 38, standing up for herself when she and Harry sued UK tabloids following an onslaught of negative headlines. She told her version of the year she had in a recent ITV documentary.\n\nKim Kardashian\n\nKim Kardashian, who for years elicited eye rolls as someone who's famous for being famous, found the secret to using her celebrity to influence public policy. Kardashian, 39, who boasts a staggering 150 million Instagram followers, this year announced she plans to become a lawyer, and expects to take the bar exam in 2022. The move, which seemed shocking to those who haven’t been following her closely, came after Kardashian developed a passion for prison reform that began as she convinced President Trump to commute Alice Marie Johnson's life sentence for a non-violent offense. Since then, Kardashian has been closely involved in the First Step Act and found time in the middle of her busy year to launch a shapeware line (to some controversy) and welcome a fourth child. Meanwhile, her family's E! series, \"Keeping up with the Kardashians,\" is now in its 17th season, and she was named Forbes' 26th highest-paid entertainer of 2019, thanks partly to her cosmetics line, KKW Beauty.\n\nMargaret Atwood\n\nNobody would have blamed Margaret Atwood if she had rested on her laurels and soaked up the adulation. More than 30 years after it was published in 1985, her novel “The Handmaid’s Tale” was enjoying rare renewed success. That’s thanks in part to the success of the Hulu TV series, but also because of the frightening new relevance many saw in the dystopian story, in which the United States has turned into totalitarian Gilead and women have been stripped of their rights. Instead, the grande dame of Canadian literature got writing, and at the age of 79 published her classic’s much longed-for sequel, “The Testaments.” While “Handmaid’s Tale” offered a warning, “The Testaments” offers hope. It’s a stirring call to action that won Atwood this year’s Booker Prize.\n\nKeanu Reeves\n\nWhoa! Keanu Reeves had 2019’s most fun comeback, gifting movie lovers with a summer to remember. Reeves, 55, absolutely killed as the well-dressed assassin of “John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum,” thrilled as insecure Canadian action figure Duke Caboom in “Toy Story 4,” and filled hearts by stealing the Netflix romantic comedy “Always Be My Maybe.” Even better, the Internet’s new boyfriend proved to be the sweetest dude offscreen, too. With more “Bill & Ted” and “Matrix” on the way, the Keanuaissance could be around for a while - and we couldn’t be happier.\n\nScarlett Johansson\n\nWhat a year for Black Widow. After taking center stage in the highest grossing film of all time (“Avengers: Endgame”) Scarlett Johansson, 34, is closing out 2019 with a pair of stellar films that will likely send her to the Oscars: “Jojo Rabbit” and “Marriage Story.” The year wasn't snafu-free; the actress came under fire for her views on casting, but Johansson explained herself and then went back to work, recently completing principal photography for her long-awaited \"Black Widow\" standalone film (due May 1), which she's also producing. Named by Forbes as 2019’s highest paid-actress, she’s also heading down the aisle: In May, ScarJo became engaged to “Saturday Night Live” head writer Colin Jost after two years of dating.\n\nPhoebe Waller-Bridge\n\nYou may never have heard of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, or “Fleabag,” the Amazon comedy she produces, writes and acts in, until the 2019 Emmys. But after she walked out of TV’s biggest night with three major awards (beating juggernaut “Veep”), you won’t forget the infinitely charming star. Waller-Bridge, 34, is this year's breakout, and not just for the exquisite second season of “Fleabag” or adding the term “Hot Priest” to the zeitgeist. She won another Emmy nomination for BBC America’s “Killing Eve,” which she created; hosted “Saturday Night Live”; and brought the “Fleabag” stage show to Broadway. Waller-Bridge also scored a job writing the new Bond movie, “No Time to Die.” To quote one of her many acceptance speeches, Fleabag (and the rest of us) say thanks for all that, Phoebe.\n\nKelly Clarkson\n\nKelly Clarkson made a huge splash on the small screen this year, a fitting outcome for a Grammy-winning, platinum-selling singer who became a star on TV’s \"American Idol.\" Clarkson, 37, launched daytime talk’s No. 4 series (and highest-rated new entry) “The Kelly Clarkson Show” – which she opens with an audience-pleasing musical cover – while keeping her night job as a coach on NBC’s popular singing competition, “The Voice.” She hosted the Billboard Music Awards, too, even though she was suffering from appendicitis. Away from TV, she voiced a character in the film “Ugly Dolls” and recorded an upcoming (and more P.C.) update of \"Baby It's Cold Outside\" with John Legend. Her 2020 schedule already is filling up with a 16-show Las Vegas residency that starts in April.\n\nLil Nas X\n\nLil Nas X took “Old Town Road” on a record-breaking run this year, challenging music industry's expectations and cultural stereotypes. The singer's “Old Town Road” climbed Billboard’s Country music charts, only to be disqualified for \"not embracing enough elements of today’s country music.\" Rallying, Lil Nas X brought on Billy Ray Cyrus, and the country-rap song soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it reigned for a record-breaking 19 weeks to become the longest-running No. 1 hit in history. His success bolstered black Western culture, with African American cowboys and cowgirls cheering him along. At the end of Pride Month in June, the 20-year-old from Atlanta announced to his 1.4 million Twitter followers he is gay, garnering support from friends like Miley Cyrus and personally facing down homophobic comments online.\n\nOcean Vuong\n\nWhen America is at its best, it makes possible the success of a talent as singular as Vuong’s. The celebrated poet and MacArthur Fellow, who's 31, this year published his first novel, “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” a stunning autobiographical account of a queer Vietnamese immigrant coming of age and into his sexuality, dogged by familial trauma from the Vietnam War and the specter of the looming opioid crisis. It’s a riot of feeling and sensation spanning decades in the form of a letter to his illiterate mother, pushing literary boundaries and reshaping the definition of the novel to fit the contours of his poetic exploration. No one’s written more luminous, heart-stopping prose this year.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/11/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/04/07/phoenix-concert-news-listings-announcements/7128492002/", "title": "Arizona concert news: Young the Giant, Beck, Nickelback and more ...", "text": "Young the Giant's summer tour is bringing Milky Chance to Arizona Financial Theatre on Saturday, Aug. 5, with Rosa Linn opening.\n\nThe tour begins May 30 in Montreal and ends Aug. 31 in Dillon, Colorado, with stops at the Rooftop at Pier 17 and Red Rocks Amphitheatre along the way.\n\nThe tour is in support of Young the Giant's first release in four years, \"American Bollywood.\"\n\nYoung the Giant and Activist will partner with REVERB to reduce the tour's environmental footprint and engage with fans to take action for people and the planet.\n\nTo ensure that tickets get directly into the hands of fans, advance presale registration is now available at youngthegiant.com, powered by Seated. The Young the Giant presale runs from 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, through 10 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2. Advance registration does not guarantee tickets. Supplies are limited.\n\nVIP packages include a private preshow performance and Q&A with the band, premium tickets, an exclusive poster signed by the band, early entry and merchandise shopping. Packages go on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31. For full details, click HERE.\n\nKali Uchis at Arizona Financial Theatre\n\nKali Uchis is bringing a tour in support of her forthcoming English-language album, “Red Moon in Venus,” to downtown Phoenix for a concert at Arizona Financial Theatre on Tuesday, May 30.\n\n“Red Moon in Venus” is slated for release March 3 on Geffen Records.\n\nUchis is among the top-billed performers at this year’s Coachella, Lollapalooza in Chile, Argentina and Brazil, and Estéreo Picnic in Colombia.\n\nIn a press release, Uchis said, “Red Moon in Venus is a timeless, burning expression of desire, heartbreak, faith and honesty, reflecting the divine femininity of the moon and Venus. The moon and Venus work together to make key aspects of love and domestic life work well. This body of work represents all levels of love — releasing people with love, drawing love into your life and self-love.”\n\nTickets are on sale now at kaliuchis.com.\n\nConcert News:Beck and Phoenix are bringing Japanese Breakfast to Footprint Center. How to get tickets\n\nBeck and Phoenix bring Japanese Breakfast to Footprint Center\n\nBeck and Phoenix are set to bring their co-headlining Summer Odyssey tour to Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix on Friday, Aug. 11, with Japanese Breakfast and Sir Chloe.\n\nThis is Beck's first Valley concert since 2019, when the Night Running Tour played what was then known as Ak-Chin Pavilion with Cage the Elephant and Spoon.\n\nClick here for ticket information.\n\nMore:Ak-Chin Pavilion concert venue in Phoenix has a new name. Here's what it's called now\n\nNickelback tour with Brantley Gilbert at Footprint Center\n\nNickelback will bring their tour in support of \"Get Rollin'\" to Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday, July 12, with country rocker Brantley Gilbert and an opening set by up-and-coming country singer Josh Ross.\n\nClick here for ticket information.\n\nRBD Soy Rebelde Tour at Desert Diamond Arena\n\nThe paradigm-breaking, multigenerational phenomenon RBD will bring the Soy Rebelde Tour to Desert Diamond Arena on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023.\n\nProduced by T6H Entertainment and Live Nation, the tour celebrating their 20-year legacy will hit 26 cities across the U.S., Mexico and Brazil, including 10 stadiums.\n\nTickets for all U.S. dates go on sale at noon Friday, Jan. 27, at SoyRebelde.World.\n\nThe tour has partnered with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform in the U.S. on two presales. Fans can register for both presales through 9:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22.\n\nAll U.S. tickets will be made available during the Verified Fan presale. Any remaining U.S. tickets will be sold at the general public beginning at noon Friday, Jan. 27.\n\nCiti is the official credit card in the U.S. Citi cardmembers can take advantage of a special Citi Presale via Verified Fan for tour dates in the U.S. Cardmembers can register starting at 9:59 p.m. Sunday Jan. 22, to unlock access to tickets and use their Citi card to complete the ticket purchase if verified.\n\nThe Citi Presale runs from noon Wednesday, Jan. 25, through 11:45 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 26. To register, visit CitiVerifiedFan.\n\nRegistered fans who receive a code will have access to purchase tickets before the general public from noon to 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26.\n\nTo register for the General Verified Fan presale, visit LiveNationVerifiedFan.\n\nA Discord channel has been unveiled at discord.gg/rbd where fans will get the chance to purchase NFTs that will be released along with the tour.\n\nKidz Bop at Arizona Financial Theatre\n\nThe Kidz Bop Never Stops Tour will make a Phoenix stop at Arizona Financial Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023.\n\nKidz Bop is the No. 1 music brand for kids. The family-friendly concert, which features kids singing all pop hits without the references to murder, sex and drugs, will travel to 37 cities across the U.S. and Canada this summer.\n\nPresales begin Tuesday, Jan. 24. Tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 27. For information, visit www.kidzbop.com and livenation.com.\n\nZach Bryan coming to Desert Diamond Arena\n\nGrammy-nominated rising country star Zach Bryan is bringing the Burn, Burn, Burn North American Tour, his biggest tour yet, to Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday, Aug. 25.\n\nLast year, each date on the singer’s American Heartbreak Tour tour sold out in minutes.\n\nFans can register for the chance to purchase tickets to the Glendale concert via Fair AXS at axs.com/zachbryan.\n\nAfter the Fair AXS registration period concludes at 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 29, AXS will work to ensure that any suspicious, fraudulent and/or duplicated registrations are removed.\n\nFans who have been randomly selected to purchase tickets will be notified via email, starting Monday, Feb. 13, with all pertinent information to complete their purchase, subject to availability.\n\nTickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis at axs.com/zachbryan. An invitation email for the chance to purchase tickets does not guarantee tickets will be available.\n\nTickets purchased through AXS cannot be transferred or resold for profit. If a fan can no longer attend a show, tickets can be sold on the Zach Bryan AXS Marketplace for face value to another fan.\n\nBryan’s first live album, “Live From Red Rocks,” is available now on all DSPs via Warner Records.\n\nHis chart-topping 2022 triple album, “American Heartbreak,” appeared on several Best of 2022 lists and topped the year-end country charts at Spotify, spending 104 consecutive days on Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits chart.\n\nTo date, “American Heartbreak” has earned more than 3 billion streams globally and has been certified gold in the U.S. and Canada along with gold single “From Austin,” platinum single “Heading South” and double-platinum single “Something in the Orange,” which is currently a Top 10 entry on the Billboard Hot 100.\n\nSeal launching tour in Phoenix\n\nGrammy-winning global legend Seal is set to launch his 30th Anniversary Tour at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix on Tuesday, April 25.\n\nThe singer is teaming with longtime producer and collaborator Trevor Horn, who's taken on the role of musical director for the run of shows in addition to performing with the Buggles of \"Video Killed the Radio Star\" fame.\n\nAfter launching in Phoenix, the six-week tour is making stops at such famed venues as the Beacon Theatre in New York City, the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and the Paramount Theatre in Seattle.\n\nA special fan presale will go live at 9 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, followed by a Live Nation presale at 10 a.m. that same day. General on-sale begins at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 27, at sealofficial.com.\n\nThe 30th Anniversary Tour will celebrate three decades of Seal's landmark self-titled debut (1991) and follow-up \"Seal II\" (1994). He'll be performing the records in their entirety for the first time, delivering a set highlighted by “Crazy,” “Future Love Paradise,” “Killer” and “Kiss From a Rose.”\n\nFans can also expect to hear soul staples and standards peppered throughout the set, showcasing the full spectrum of his repertoire.\n\nMore:Madonna's Celebration Tour is coming to Phoenix in 2023. Here's ticket and presale info\n\nMastodon and Gojira tour coming to downtown Phoenix\n\nGrammy-winning metal mavericks Mastodon will bring the co-headlining Mega-Monsters Tour with French metal heroes Gojira to Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix on Saturday, April 22, with special guests Lorna Shore.\n\nMastodon and Gojira are taking turns closing each stop on the tour.\n\nTickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com. VIP ticket packages will be available at mastodonrocks.com/tour.\n\nMastodon will hit the road in support of their critically acclaimed ninth studio album, \"Hushed and Grim.\" Gojira are supporting \"Fortitude,\" their seventh full-length album, which earned a Grammy Best Metal Performance nomination for the track “Amazonia.”\n\nMastodon and Gojira previously toured North America together in 2014.\n\nMore:How a pop song written by one of the Monkees made Linda Ronstadt a star\n\nKeb' Mo' at the Celebrity Theatre\n\nDanny Zelisko Presents will bring Keb’ Mo’ to Celebrity Theatre on Sunday, April 30.\n\nTickets are on sale now at CelebrityTheatre.com.\n\nIn a press release, Mo' said, “I may be turning 70, but I’m still breathing and I’m still hungry. I’m still out there going for it every single day.”\n\nMadonna playing Footprint Center in Phoenix\n\nMadonna is bringing the Celebration Tour to Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix on Saturday, July 22, with special guest Bob the Drag Queen.\n\nThis is Madonna's first performance in the Valley since 2015, when the Rebel Heart Tour played Desert Diamond Arena (which at the time was called Gila River Arena).\n\nTickets for the Phoenix concert go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 27, at madonna.com/tour.\n\nHere's a link to everything you need to know to get in on the presales.\n\nLuke Combs playing SiriusXM Super Bowl party in Phoenix\n\nSiriusXM is bringing CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs to Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, Feb. 9, to kick off football’s biggest weekend with an exclusive concert for SiriusXM and Pandora.\n\nThe concert, hosted by SiriusXM The Highway’s Storme Warren, precedes Super Bowl 2023 in Glendale, Arizona, and will feature Combs performing highlights of his latest album \"Growin’ Up\" as well as fan favorites.\n\nAhead of the concert, Warren will sit with Combs for an exclusive interview to discuss his new music, touring, becoming a father and more.\n\nThe event will be open to SiriusXM subscribers and Pandora listeners. Fans can RSVP to attend the in-person show HERE.\n\nIn a press release, Combs said, \"I am super excited to team up with SiriusXM and Pandora for this performance. It's going to be a party!\"\n\nThe performance will air live on SiriusXM’s The Highway (ch. 56) at 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9 and will be available to stream on the SXM App.\n\nConcert news:Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and friends are playing 2 Phoenix shows. Here's what we know\n\nEric Church Outsiders Revival at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre\n\nModern country maverick Eric Church brings the Outsiders Revival Tour to the newly rechristened Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (most recently known as Ak-Chin Pavilion) in Phoenix on Saturday, Sept. 16, with Jelly Roll and Paul Cauthen.\n\nKnown for his marathon sets and hailed in Pollstar as “having already long established himself as one of the most successful touring country artists,” Church won Top Country Tour at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards.\n\nJoining Church at assorted dates on his first outdoor summer tour are Whiskey Myers, Cody Jinks, Jelly Roll, Ashley McBryde, Koe Wetzel, Lainey Wilson, Midland, Parker McCollum, Travis Tritt, Elle King, Jackson Dean, Morgan Wade, Muscadine Bloodline, Shane Smith & The Saints, Hailey Whitters, Ray Wylie Hubbard and The Red Clay Strays.\n\nIn a press release, Church said, “When I approach touring, I’m always inspired by a new experience, a new way to gather, to express ourselves sonically and visually. Whether it’s solo, in the round, double down; being able to bring a different perspective has always brought out our best creatively.\n\n\"Well, we have never done an outdoor summer tour. Never headlined amphitheaters. Never brought a summer experience to your town that featured artists we want to share the summer with. Until now.”\n\nTickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.\n\nFor more information or to join the Church Choir, visit EricChurch.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter (@ericchurch) and Instagram (@ericchurchmusic).\n\nConcert news:Rob Gronkowski Super Bowl Gronk Beach bash bringing star-studded lineup to metro Phoenix\n\nKUPD has announced the UFEST lineup\n\nArizona’s top-rated rock station, 98KUPD, is bringing its long-running, headbanging festival, UFEST, to Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (most recently known as Ak-Chin Pavilion) on Saturday, May 6, with Godsmack, I Prevail, Nothing More, Fozzy, the Warning and local heroes Grey Daze and the Black Moods.\n\nTickets are on sale now at livenation.com.\n\nJanet Jackson playing Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre\n\nJanet Jackson is bringing her first tour in four years to Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (most recently known as Ak-Chin Pavilion) on Wednesday, June 7, with Ludacris as a special guest on the Together Again Tour.\n\nThe Together Again Tour celebrates several milestones in Jackson's career: her 50th anniversary in entertainment, the 25th anniversary of the critically acclaimed “The Velvet Rope” and 30 years of “janet,\" the six-times-platinum smash that sent six singles to the Top 10 on the Hot 100.\n\nThe set will feature Jackson's biggest hits and new music.\n\nThis is Jackson's first concert in the Valley since 2017, when the State of the World Tour played what was then called Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix.\n\nTickets are on sale now at livenation.com.\n\nMore:Janet Jackson weighs in on the State of the World while dancing through the hits in Phoenix\n\nZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre\n\nZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd are slated to co-headline The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour at Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (most recently known as Ak-Chin Pavilion) on Sunday, Aug. 13.\n\nProduced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off in July in Florida and stops in Fort Worth, Chicago and more before wrapping in New Jersey in September.\n\nTickets are on sale now at livenation.com.\n\nKevin Hart at Arizona Financial Theatre\n\nKevin Hart will bring his Reality Check Tour to Phoenix for four shows in two days on Super Bowl Weekend: Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10 and 11, at Arizona Financial Theatre.\n\nThese are Hart's first shows in Phoenix since 2018.\n\nTickets are on sale now at KevinHartNation.com and livenation.com.\n\nPostal Service and Death Cab for Cutie\n\nIndie rock legends the Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie will bring a co-headlining tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of two landmark albums to Arizona Financial Theatre on Oct. 3, 2023.\n\nBenjamin Gibbard, the co-founder of both bands, is pulling double duty on this tour, leading his bandmates through the Postal Service’s \"Give Up\" and Death Cab for Cutie’s \"Transatlanticism\" — two classics released within eight months of each other in 2003 — in their entirety.\n\nGibbard will be joined by Jimmy Tamborello and Jenny Lewis in the Postal Service and perform alongside Nick Harmer, Dave Depper, Zac Rae and Jason McGerr in Death Cab.\n\nTickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com. For complete details and ticket information, visit giveuptransatlanticismtour.com.\n\nBest live music in Phoenix this weekend:Why you shouldn't miss these under-the-radar acts\n\nNoah Kahan at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix\n\nCritically acclaimed Vermont singer-songwriter Noah Kahan is bringing his Stick Season Tour to Arizona Financial Theatre on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, with the formerly local Joy Oladokun as support.\n\nThe tour is named for Kahan's latest album, which debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard album chart.\n\nTickets are on sale now at noahkahan.com/tour.\n\nIn addition to recently wrapping the 2022 leg of his tour, Kahan performed “Stick Season” on \"Jimmy Kimmel Live!\" and “Northern Attitude” on \"The Kelly Clarkson Show.\" He also released a live acoustic performance of the fan favorite “Homesick” shot in his hometown of Strafford.\n\nKey Glock at the Van Buren in Phoenix\n\nKey Glock will play the Van Buren on Sunday, April 16, 2023, as part of SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation Presents: Key Glock - Glockoma Tour, with support from fellow Memphis rapper Big Scarr.\n\nKey Glock will perform songs from his catalog, including \"PRE5L,\" the 5-song EP he released in November. Glock’s last solo headlining tour, YellowTape 2022, sold more than 35,000 tickets across intimate venues.\n\nTickets are on sale now at keyglock.com.\n\nFit for a King at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe\n\nFit for a King will launch the Hell We Create Tour on Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe, with Northlane, Alpha Wolf and Kingdom of Giants.\n\nTickets are on sale at fitforakingband.com.\n\nVIP tickets are on sale at soundrink.com.\n\nFit For a King released their new album \"The Hell We Create\" in October on Solid State Records.\n\nBilly Strings at Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix\n\nBilly Strings will play Arizona Financial Theatre on Wednesday, May 17, 2023.\n\nTickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.\n\nThe bluegrass phenom has been pulling in for \"Me/And/Dad,\" the first album he’s recorded with his father, Terry Barber. (You didn't think Strings was his real name, did you?) Released in November on Rounder Records, the album features new recordings of 14 bluegrass and country classics the two have been playing together since Strings was a young child.\n\nIn celebration of the release, Strings and Barber were featured on NPR’s \"All Things Considered\" and \"CBS Sunday Morning.\"\n\nConcert review:Alice Cooper's Christmas Pudding 2022 is Phoenix's trippiest holiday party. Here's why\n\nRed Hot Chili Peppers playing two stadium shows in Glendale\n\nThe Red Hot Chili Peppers will play State Farm Stadium in Glendale with special guests the Strokes and Thundercat on Sunday, May 14.\n\nThis is the Chili Peppers' first appearance in metro Phoenix since 2017, when the Getaway Tour played Gila River Arena.\n\nTickets and VIP packages are on sale now at redhotchilipeppers.com and seatgeek.com.\n\nDon't miss out:The best and biggest concerts playing metro Phoenix in December 2022\n\nYeat playing Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix\n\nYeat will play Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in support of the L.A. rap sensation's hit project \"LYFË.\"\n\nProduced by Live Nation, the tour kicks off March 1 in Minneapolis, making its way through 27 U.S. cities with two stops in Canada, before coming to an end at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado on April 12.\n\nTickets are on sale now at Twizzyrich.com.\n\nMorgan Wallen playing two concerts at Chase Field\n\nMorgan Wallen's One Night at a Time World Tour will now feature back-to-back concerts at Chase Field in Phoenix with special guest Hardy and additional support acts Ernest and Bailey Zimmerman.\n\nThe tour was originally due to play the downtown Phoenix ballpark on Thursday, July 20, 2023. Due to overwhelming demand, a second date has been added on Wednesday, July 19.\n\nTickets for both concerts are on sale now at morganwallen.com.\n\nBud Light Super Bowl Music Fest in Phoenix\n\nParamore, Imagine Dragons and Dave Matthews Band will be the main attractions when the 2023 Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest hits downtown Phoenix Feb. 9-11 for a three-day festival at Footprint Center as we football fans count down the hours to Super Bowl Sunday.\n\nParamore will headline Thursday with a special guest to be announced.\n\nDave Matthews Band tops Friday’s lineup with a DJ set by Anderson .Paak (as DJ Pee .Wee).\n\nImagine Dragons headline Saturday with special guest Kane Brown.\n\nTickets are on sale at superbowlmusicfest.com, where additional ticket information is available.\n\nAn array of premium seating is available, including suite and club packages plus options for premium hospitality.\n\nFor more details on tickets and packages to the Super Bowl, visit onlocationexp.com/nfl/super-bowl-tickets.\n\nMetallica playing two stadium shows in Glendale\n\nMetallica will play two nights at Glendale's State Farm Stadium on Friday, Sept. 1, and Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023.\n\nMetallica’s M72 world tour will see the band performing two nights in each city they visit — with each No Repeat Weekend featuring two completely different set lists and supporting lineups.\n\nThe first night will feature support from Pantera and Mammoth WVH. The second night will feature support from Five Finger Death Punch and Ice Nine Kills.\n\nTwo-day tickets are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com and will include the option of preordering “72 Seasons” on vinyl and/or CD.\n\nSingle-day tickets will be available beginning Jan. 20. For further information including fan club presales, enhanced experiences and more, visit metallica.com.\n\nJimmy Buffett bringing Coral Reefer Band to Phoenix\n\nJimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will perform at Footprint Center on Thursday, March 9 as part of their Life on the Flip Side Redux Tour.\n\nIn a press release, the venue's General Manager Ralph Marchetta. “We can’t wait to welcome the Parrot Heads back to downtown Phoenix for what will be the party of the year!”\n\nThe tour name is a reference to the singer's 2020 album, co-produced by long time Coral Reefers Michael Utley and Mac McAnally.\n\nTickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com. There is an eight-ticket limit per customer.\n\nMana adds 3rd metro Phoenix concert in 2023\n\nDue to overwhelming demand, Maná's México Lindo Y Querido tour has added a second date at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale on Saturday, Sept. 16.\n\nThat makes three metro Phoenix concerts on Maná's 22-date U.S. tour.\n\nTickets are on sale now for Friday, March 24 at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix, and Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale on Saturday, March 25, and Saturday, Sept. 16 at ticketmaster.com.\n\nThe tour is a celebration of Maná's love and admiration for México and the multigenerational Latino community. Over three decades, Maná have amassed a diverse audience of fans of all ages.\n\nIn a press release, they said fans can expect \"a brand new production and all our hits,\" adding, \"This isn’t just a concert tour, it’s a celebration of life.”\n\nGordon Lightfoot reschedules due to illness\n\nDue to illness, the Gordon Lightfoot concerts originally scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 6, and Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix have been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 11, and Wednesday, April 12.\n\nTickets for Lightfoot's Dec. 6 concert will now be honored on April 11. Dec. 7 tickets will be honored April 12.\n\nIf the new date doesn't work with your schedule, you have until Saturday, Dec. 17, to request a refund.\n\nNo refunds will be honored after that date.\n\nWizkid tour playing Phoenix concert\n\nWizkid is coming to Phoenix Thursday, April 6, for a stop at Arizona Financial Theater on his tour in support of the recently released \"More Love, Less Ego.\"\n\nProduced by Live Nation, the 20-city tour kicks off March 3 in Houston, making stops in Miami, Atlanta, Brooklyn and more before wrapping at Los Angeles' Kia Forum a night after Phoenix.\n\nTickets are on sale now at Wizkidofficial.com.\n\nJoe Gatto Night of Comedy in Phoenix\n\nJoe Gatto brings his Night of Comedy tour to Celebrity Theatre on Jan. 14.\n\nTickets are on sale now at CelebrityTheatre.com.\n\nGatto is best known for the hit TV shows “Impractical Jokers” and “The Misery Index.” He's a founding member of The Tenderloins Comedy Troupe and has played to sold-out crowds across the world, including legendary arenas such as Madison Square Garden and the O2 Arena in London.\n\nTrevor Noah in Phoenix\n\nTrevor Noah brings his Off the Record Tour to Arizona Financial Theatre on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023.\n\nThe U.S. leg is set to launch Jan. 20 at Fox Theatre in Atlanta, following an extensive world tour in 2022.\n\nTickets are on sale now at LiveNation.com.\n\nThe comedian also returns to Netflix with another original comedy special, \"I Wish You Would,\" premiering globally on Nov. 22, 2022.\n\nNoah is the most successful comedian in Africa and the host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central. This year, “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” landed a record seven Emmy nominations.\n\nReview:Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? Not by the looks of Elton John's 2nd Phoenix farewell concert\n\nLizzo at Footprint Center\n\nLizzo will bring her Special tour to Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix on Wednesday, May 24, 2023.\n\nHer latest album, \"Special,\" peaked at No. 2 in Billboard, hailed by Rolling Stone as “the most unabashedly joyous, sonically diverse and emotionally profound album put out by a major label since Beyonce’s 'Lemonade.'”\n\nTickets are on sale now at lizzomusic.com.\n\nMore:Taylor Swift adds 2nd stop on Eras Tour in Phoenix. Here's how to get tickets\n\nPink at Chase Field\n\nP!NK will bring her Summer Carnival 2023 Tour to Chase Field on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023 with special guests Brandi Carlile, Grouplove and KidCutUp.\n\nTickets are on sale now at LiveNation.com.\n\nMarc Anthony in Glendale\n\nMarc Anthony’s Viviendo Tour will continue in 2023, adding multiple shows including a Saturday, March 4, concert at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.\n\nTickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com.\n\nFor more information, visit marcanthonyonline.com.\n\nForeigner farewell tour in Phoenix\n\nForeigner will bring their farewell tour with Loverboy to Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (most recently known as Ak-Chin Pavilion) in Phoenix on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023.\n\nTickets are on sale now at LiveNation.com.\n\nForeigner will continue their long-term initiative with the Grammy Museum Foundation to invite choirs to open the show with a live a cappella \"Pitch Perfect\" performance of classic rock songs.\n\nForeigner will join radio partners across the country to create a contest for local choirs to win donations to their music programs. One winning choir will be selected at each show, and that choir will receive a grand prize of new musical equipment.\n\nFor more details, go to foreignerchoirs.com.\n\nMore:How Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction is prepping for the imminent redemption of the world\n\nTommy James and the Shondells\n\nTommy James and the Shondells will play the Celebrity Theatre on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, presented by Danny Zelisko Presents.\n\nTickets are on sale now at CelebrityTheatre.com.\n\nJames has sold more 100 million records worldwide and currently has one of Sirius XM’s most popular radio shows. He has one of the most-played and most-covered repertoires in music history.\n\nJames and the Shondells topped Billboard's Hot 100 twice, with \"Hanky Panky\" (July 1966) and \"Crimson and Clover\" (February 1969).\n\nOther Top 10 hits include \"I Think We're Alone Now,\" \"Mirage,\" \"Mony Mony,\" \"Sweet Cherry Wine\" and \"Crystal Blue Persuasion.\"\n\nTyler Childers at Arizona Financial\n\nTyler Childers and his longtime band the Food Stamps are bringing the Send in the Hounds Tour to Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix on Monday, April 24, with special guest Charley Crockett.\n\nThe nationwide run in support of the triple album, \"Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven?\" includes two nights in New York City at Radio City Music Hall and two performances at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre.\n\nProduced by Childers and the Food Stamps and recorded in guitarist James Barker’s home studio, the album features eight songs presented in three distinct sonic perspectives.\n\nTickets are on sale now at tylerchildersmusic.com/tour.\n\nStyx at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix\n\nStyx sold out two shows at Celebrity Theatre in 2021.\n\nNow, they're headed back to Phoenix for two more Celebrity concerts on Thursday and Friday, March 9-10, presented by Danny Zelisko Presents.\n\nTickets are on sale now at CelebrityTheatre.com.\n\nJames “JY” Young, Tommy Shaw, Chuck Panozzo, Todd Sucherman, Lawrence Gowan and Ricky Phillips are touring the States in support of 2021's \"Crash of the Crown,\" Styx's 17th album.\n\nConcertgoers can expect to hear selections from that album alongside favorites from “The Grand Illusion” to “Blue Collar Man,” \"Too Much Time on My Hands,\" “Lady,” “Come Sail Away” and “Renegade.\"\n\nDon't miss out: The best and biggest concerts coming to metro Phoenix in November\n\nWhiskey Myers tour playing Phoenix\n\nFresh from headlining a sold-out date at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and back-to-back nights at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, Whiskey Myers have announced new dates for 2023, including Arizona Financial Theatre on Friday, March 17.\n\nA recent Pollstar cover story raved, “An outlier of alt-country with more thrust, Southern cousin of the Black Keys or spiritual grandchild of Waylon and Willie’s Outlaw Country, Whiskey Myers is currently taking a regional movement global.”\n\nTickets are on sale now at livenation.com.\n\nEric Johnson at Madison Center\n\nEric Johnson brings his Treasure Tour to the Madison Center for The Arts on Friday, March 3.\n\nTickets are $25-$65, on sale now at ticketmaster.com.\n\nThe guitarist rose to fame with 1990's platinum \"Ah Via Musicom,\" a sophomore album whose success was largely driven by the Grammy-winning instrumental majesty of \"Cliffs of Dover.\"\n\nGuitar Player magazine has called him \"one of the most respected guitarists on the planet.\"\n\nJohnson's touring band includes Tom Brechtlein on drums and Roscoe Beck on bass.\n\nTaylor Swift at State Farm Stadium\n\nTaylor Swift will launch the Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Saturday, March 18.\n\nThis is Swift's first metro Phoenix concert since 2018, when she launched the Reputation Tour at what was then called University of Phoenix Stadium, playing to a record-breaking capacity crowd of 59,157 fans.\n\nTickets are on sale now at seatgeek.com.\n\nSmokey Robinson coming to Mesa Arts\n\nMesa Arts Center presents an Evening with Smokey Robinson on Saturday, Jan. 21.\n\nTickets are $60-$175, on sale now at MesaArtsCenter.com.\n\nThe great Bob Dylan once declared the Motown legend \"America's greatest living poet.\" His hits include “Shop Around,” \"Tears of a Clown,\" “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” and “Cruisin.”\n\nPrior to the 8 p.m. performance, Mesa Arts Center Foundation will present a HeART and Soul Gala featuring Robinson at a reception beginning at 5:30 p.m.\n\nTickets to the gala are $500 and include prime seats to the performance as well as an exclusive Motown post-show party with dessert reception, a DJ and more.\n\nRobert Cray Band playing Phoenix\n\nThe Robert Cray Band will play the Celebrity Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 26, as part of a tour in continued support of 2020's \"That’s What I Heard.\"\n\nTickets are on sale now at CelebriyTheatre.com.\n\nIt’s been 35 years since “Strong Persuader” took this soulful blues guitarist to the mainstream, largely on the strength of “Smoking Gun,” a breakthrough single that remains his biggest hit.\n\nCray may never top the double-platinum benchmark set by “Strong Persuader.” But the album this tour is supporting proves that Cray is as strong a persuader as ever.\n\nShania Twain\n\nShania Twain will bring her 2023 Queen of Me Tour to Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (most recently known as Ak-Chin Pavilion) in Phoenix on Tuesday, May 30, with Hailey Whitters opening.\n\nThe 49-date tour is named for Twain’s first album since 2017.\n\nTickets are on sale now at livenation.com.\n\nGeorge Strait with Chris Stapleton\n\nState Farm Stadium in Glendale is one of six stadiums George Strait will play in 2023 with special guest Chris Stapleton and an opening set by Little Big Town.\n\nThe Phoenix date is Saturday, May 6.\n\nTickets are on sale now at GeorgeStrait.com.\n\nIn an interview with Billboard, Strait said, “When we talked about doing these six shows next year with Chris, it was a no brainer for me. I was all in.”\n\nIn a press release, Stapleton said, “I love doing these shows with George about as much as I like doing anything. There’s nothing to compare it to. So many of his songs are in the ethos of what country music is.\"\n\nDermot Kennedy tour playing Phoenix\n\nDermot Kennedy will bring the Sonder Tour to Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix on Saturday, May 20.\n\nTickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.\n\nThe tour is in support of Kennedy's new album, \"Sonder,\" which means “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.\"\n\nGilmour Project brings 'Dark Side of the Moon' to Phoenix\n\nThe Gilmour Project, a tribute act featuring members of Utopia, the Tubes and RatDog, will play the Celebrity Theatre Wednesday, Feb. 15, as part of a 50-date tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of \"The Dark Side of the Moon.\"\n\nTheir previous tour was based on Pink Floyd’s 1972 Eclipse Tour, where the songs on \"The Dark Side of the Moon\" were first performed.\n\nTickets are on sale now at CelebrityTheatre.com.\n\nGraham Nash postpones Phoenix for COVID-19\n\nThe Graham Nash concert scheduled for Oct. 16 at Celebrity Theatre has been postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the touring party.\n\nDanny Zelisko Presents, the show's promoter, was working to organize a new date for 2023 and planned to announce that date as soon as possible.\n\nTickets will be honored for the new date.\n\n'Painful and delightful': Graham Nash mourns the music lost in feud with David Crosby\n\nBlink-182 reunion with Tom DeLonge\n\nTom DeLonge has rejoined Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus for a Blink-182 reunion tour that will bring the pop-punk trio to downtown Phoenix for a Footprint Center concert on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.\n\nDeLonge left Blink-182 in 2015. Barker and Hoppus recruited Matt Skiba and carried on, releasing two albums, 2016’s \"California\" and 2019’s \"NINE.\"\n\nThis is the first tour in nearly 10 years with the classic Blink lineup.\n\nThey've also recorded new music for the first time in a decade, a single titled \"Edging.\"\n\nTickets for the show are sale now at blink182.com.\n\nThe tour announcement also features multiple festival appearances in Latin America and the US, including Lollapalooza alongside co-headliners Billie Eilish and Drake and the 2023 edition of When We Were Young with Green Day among others.\n\nDead & Company final tour\n\nDead & Company will bring their Final Tour to Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre (most recently known as Ak-Chin Pavilion) on Tuesday, May 23.\n\nMickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, John Mayer and Bob Weir will be joined by Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Chimenti and perform two sets drawing from the Grateful Dead’s historic catalog of songs.\n\nTickets are on sale now at deadandcompany.com.\n\nGuests who prefer an enhanced experience can purchase a variety of VIP and travel packages. Packages include seamless venue access, early GA entry, pre-show lounge with food and a cash bar, exclusive merchandise or travel packages for multi-night runs in various cities.\n\nPackages from 100X Hospitality are on sale now at deadandcompany.100xhospitality.com.\n\nInnings Festival announces 2023 dates\n\nInnings Festival has announced its dates for 2023 at Tempe Beach & Arts Park.\n\nThe baseball-themed festival returns to Tempe for another two-day weekend Saturday and Sunday, February 25-26.\n\nThe lineup hasn't been announced but this year's Innings Festival featured headlining sets by Tame Impala and the Foo Fighters with great performances by St. Vincent, the War on Drugs, Billy Strings, Black Pumas and more.\n\nReba McEntire: Live in Concert\n\nReba McEntire has added a date in downtown Phoenix to her Reba: Live in Concert Tour. The country superstar is playing Footprint Center Thursday, March 30, with special guests Terri Clark and the Isaacs.\n\nIn a press release, McEntire said touring with Clark and the Isaacs and playing her first headlining show at New York City's Madison Square Garden is \"just the extra icing on an already triple-layered, stuffed and filled, iced and frosted cake!\"Tickets are on sale now at reba.com.\n\nMuse bring U.S. tour to metro Phoenix\n\nBritish rockers Muse will play Desert Diamond Arena (as Gila River Arena in Glendale will be known by then) on April 2 in support of their ninth album, \"Will of the People.\"\n\nThe tour features special guest Evanescence.\n\nTickets at gilariverarena.com.\n\nPaul Anka at Celebrity Theatre\n\nPaul Anka returns to the road this winter with Greatest Hits: His Way!, making a stop in Phoenix on Wednesday, Jan. 25, for a show at the Celebrity Theatre.\n\nTickets are on sale now at celebritytheatre.com.\n\nInterview: Paul Anka traces the story of 'My Way' from dinner with Frank Sinatra to caviar with Putin\n\nMore:Shawn Mendes cancels all tour dates, including metro Phoenix. Here's what we know\n\nJazz is Dead\n\nJazz is Dead, an all-star ensemble exploring the music of the Grateful Dead, bring their 25th anniversary tour to the Celebrity Theatre on Tuesday, Jan. 17.\n\nThe shows on this tour will be honoring the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead's \"Wake of the Flood.\"\n\nTickets are on sale now at CelebrityTheatre.com.\n\nRod Stewart reschedules Phoenix date\n\nDue to production delays, Rod Stewart has rescheduled six shows at the start of his 2022 North American run, including a June performance in Phoenix at Footprint Center.\n\nThat show will now take place on Aug. 4, 2023.\n\nWhile this delays the tour’s start, it also opens new routing in 2023 including a coast-to-coast Canadian tour.\n\nFans should hold onto their tickets as they will be valid for the new dates. Keep an eye on your email for more information.\n\nDates from July 1 through Sept. 3 will play as scheduled. Stewart, who kicked off a run of his Las Vegas residency on May 13, is excited to be back on the road performing for fans again, and has planned what he says will be one of the most dynamic tours of his career.\n\nStewart issued a statement saying, “I truly can’t wait to get back on tour. This is what the good lord put me on this earth to do and this time away has felt like a big part of who I am is missing. To my incredible fans, I thank you for your patience and promise that the best is yet to come.”\n\nCarrie Underwood: Denim & Rhinestones\n\nFresh from her triumphant headlining set at California's Stagecoach Festival, Carrie Underwood has announced a Glendale date on the Denim & Rhinestones Tour.\n\nThe 43-city tour brings the singer to Gila River Arena on March 13, 2023, with special guest Jimmie Allen, the CMA Awards' New Artist of the Year and ACM Awards' New Male Artist of the Year.\n\nTickets are on sale now.\n\nA limited number of exclusive VIP Packages are available, which include an \"amazing\" selection of tickets, Meet & Greets, custom merchandise and more.\n\nFor more information, go to carrieunderwoodofficial.com.\n\nUnderwood issued a statement saying “I’m excited to bring the new music of 'Denim & Rhinestones' to life on tour, as well as put new spins on familiar favorites. We’ve been working hard already preparing an amazing show, and I can’t wait to see everyone on the road!”\n\nStatic-X\n\nStatic-X's Rise Of The Machine Tour featuring Fear Factory, Dope, Mushroomhead and Twiztid has been moved to 2023.\n\nThe 42-date tour, celebrating the 20th anniversary of \"Machine,\" their second album, will now begin on Feb. 25, 2023, in San Francisco, with a stop in downtown Phoenix on Tuesday, March 7, for a show at the Van Buren.\n\nAll previously sold tickets and meet and greets will be honored and more information on tickets, meet & greets and other VIP experiences for the Rise Of The Machine tour can be found at Static-X.com.\n\nStatic-X issued a statement saying, \"We are incredibly disappointed to share this news with our fans. However, considering how infrequently Static-X, Fear Factory, and Dope have each toured over the last 10 years, we felt that the priority was to ensure that ALL of these 20th anniversary shows are ultimately able to play.\"\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": "2021/04/07"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2017/01/03/phoenix-arizona-concert-announcements-2017/96118504/", "title": "Phoenix concert news: Tony Bennett reschedules Celebrity Theatre ...", "text": "Ed Masley\n\nThe Republic | azcentral.com\n\nTony Bennett's Celebrity Theatre date has been rescheduled from July 11 to Thursday, Dec. 7, due to \"unforeseen scheduling conflicts.\"\n\nBennett's management regrets any inconvenience this may cause fans of the 19-time Grammy winner who looks forward to performing in Phoenix in December.\n\nAll tickets purchased for the July 11 show will be honored at the 7:30 p.m. show on Dec. 7. Refunds are available at point of purchase. Tickets ($72 and $132) are on sale for the show now slated for Dec. 7 at the Celebrity Theatre Box office or online at celebritytheatre.com. All tickets are subject to facility and ticketing surcharges. All ages welcome.\n\n11/18-19: Goldrush Music Festival\n\n\n\nRelentless Beats’ Goldrush Music Festival will bring a mix of EDM and hip-hop acts, including Dillon Francis, Lil Uzi Vert, Snow tha Product, Marshmello, Ugly God, Rich Chigga and the Underachievers, to Rawhide the weekend of Nov.18-19.\n\nAlso playing: Injury Reserve Shiba San, Mija, Keys N Krates, GG Magree, Rezz, Malaa, Drezo, Al Grime, Smokepurpp, Hippie Sabotage, Oona Dahl, Walker & Royce, Sonny Fodera and San Holo.\n\nGoldrush will feature four stages with more than 50 national acts with Rawhide Western Town as a backdrop.\n\nPresales are available now for $99 general admission and $219 VIP at seetickets.us.\n\n2/3: Shakira\n\nShakira brings her El Dorado World Tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena on Saturday, Feb. 3.\n\nTickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 30, but there are plenty of presales you can take advantage of.\n\nThere’s a Citi presale from 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 27, to 10 p.m. Thursday, June 29, and a Viber presale beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 28. Live Nation also has a presale starting at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 29.\n\nThe tour is in support of “El Dorado,” which topped the Billboard Latin charts in early June, topping the iTunes charts in 37 countries.\n\nThe 12-time Grammy winner has issued a statement that says, “Thank you all so much for listening to my music in so many places around the world. I can’t wait to be onstage again singing along with all of you, all of your favorites and mine. It's going to be fun! The road to El Dorado starts now!”\n\nShakira’s biggest U.S. hits include the double-platinum “Hips Don’t Lie,” “Beautiful Liar,” “She Wolf” and “Empire.”\n\n3/16: Lorde\n\nLorde will bring her “Melodrama” world tour to Gila River Arena in Glendale on March 16.\n\nTickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 23, at the arena box office, 800-745-3000 or gilariverarena.com.\n\nFans can sign up for Lorde’s email list for first access to pre-sale tickets and find more info on tour dates at https://lorde.co.nz/melodrama-tour\n\nThe tour is named for Lorde’s new album, which arrived today. Ahead of the release, fans were given a preview of her studio album in the form of “Green Light,” “Liability,” “Sober” and “Perfect Places,” the last of which became the singer’s latest track to make our monthly playlist.\n\nThe songs I’ve heard so far from her “Melodrama” have already made it clear that 2013’s “Pure Heroine,” the singer’s platinum debut, was no fluke.\n\nThe star was all of 17 when \"Royals\" spent nine weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, selling 7.5 million copies worldwide. And she scored a second multi-platinum U.S. hit with “Team” from that same debut album. She hasn’t toured since late 2014, but I did just see her at Coachella, where she was amazing. You can read the full review here.\n\n8/17: Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame\n\nThe Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17 at the Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. The event will honor the following four inductees: The Meat Puppets, the Gin Blossoms, Nils Lofgren, and the theater itself. The show will feature live performances by each of the artists and presentations by special guest speakers.\n\nFOX 10 TV’S John Hook and Kari Lake will introduce the event.\n\nThe ceremony will recognize these inductees for their contributions to the music and entertainment culture of the state of Arizona. These three artists have never shared a bill.\n\nThe Celebrity Theatre has had a significant impact on the Arizona music scene, from 1964 to the present.\n\n“It seems only fitting that we hold our induction ceremony at this historic venue,” said Mark Myers, president of the Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame.\n\nDanny Zelisko says, “This is the most historic venue in the valley where thousands of the best shows ever to tour have played. This recognition is so deserved, and I am so proud to be the most active promoter in this great place.”\n\n\n\nCelebrity Theater owner Rich Hazelwood added, “The theatre has a soul, a wonderful place to experience the intimate connection between the artist and the audience.”\n\n\n\nDoors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets ($10, $20 and $40) go on sale on at 10 a.m. Monday, June 19 at celebritytheatre.com and the theater's box office. To order by phone, call 602-267-1600. All tickets are subject to a surcharge.\n\n9/2: Dave Chappelle\n\nDue to popular demand, Dave Chappelle has added a second show at Comerica Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 2. He's now performing at 7 and 10 p.m.\n\nTickets are $69-$555, on sale now at ticketmaster.com.\n\nChappelle is best-known as the star of the short-lived \"Chappelle's Show,\" a brilliant sketch-comedy series that aired for two full seasons (2003-2004) on Comedy Central before Chappelle abruptly left the series after taping began on a truncated third season.\n\nIn 2009, Comedy Central ranked him 43rd on its list of the 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time, but chances are, he would have finished higher if he hadn't left the network hanging on what could have been a long-running hit series.\n\nIn 2006, Esquire magazine called \"the comic genius of America.\"\n\n11/14-15: Tedeschi Trucks Band\n\nWhat’s even better than Tedeschi Trucks Band playing the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Phoenix? Tedeschi Trucks Band playing the Orpheum Theatre two nights in a row, Nov. 14 and 15.\n\nBoth shows start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $39-$125, goin on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, June 12 at https://phoenix.ticketforce.com/, the Orpheum box office, 203 W Adams St., Phoenix, and 602-534-5611. All tickets are subject to facility and ticketing surcharges. All ages welcome.\n\nSusan Tedeschi had already earned five Grammy nominations by the time she and her husband, slide guitarist Derek Trucks, joined forces, bringing home a best-blues-album Grammy for their first joint effort, \"Revelator,\" which felt a bit like Derek and the Dominoes as fronted by a woman, blending blues and soul with occasional hints of a '70s soft-rock vibe.\n\nAnd they're still going strong two albums later, hitting the road in continued support of \"Let Me Get By,\" which inspired a PopMatters writer to rave that it's \"finally the record that capitalizes on the promise this collective has had from the start.\"\n\nThey recently released “Live From the Fox Oakland,” a CD/DVD recorded at a show that set a new peak in the continuing story of this great American rock & roll family band. The double disc live recording showcases the band’s ability to move seamlessly from blistering rock and blues to soulful ballads and includes their take on classics from Derek and the Dominos (see?), Leonard Cohen, and even Miles Davis among TTB’s original songs.\n\n7/29: #FOLLOWME\n\nDance sensations WilldaBeast (“So You Think You Can Dance” choreographer; 2.6 million followers), Nia Sioux (“Dance Moms”; 5.8 million followers), Kenneth San Jose and Janelle Ginestra will join forces in a new live dance show #FOLLOWME. Directed by Jennifer Weber (The Hip Hop Nutcracker, BRING IT LIVE!), the tour makes its way to Comerica Theatre on July 29.\n\n#FOLLOWME is an electrifying dance show celebrating the hip-hop dance community and inspiring dancers to step into the spotlight and get the incredible opportunity to see, dance, and interact with their YouTube dance idols. Each of the headliners will have moments throughout the show to highlight their singular style and performance skills, incorporating their greatest hits with never-before-seen dances and songs.\n\nAnd fans will have the opportunity to interact digitally and physically with the headliners prior to and during the show, with the ultimate prize being a featured position in #FOLLOWME’s finale. The choreography for the finale will be released over social media for audience members to learn ahead of time, and select fans will be chosen from video submissions to get the opportunity of a lifetime – to dance with their idols on stage.\n\nWith over 1.9 million YouTube subscribers, dancer-choreographer-entrepreneur Will “WilldaBeast” Adams started his career as a dancer and quickly became in-demand for recording artists such as Usher, Madonna and the Black Eyed Peas, also guesting on “Glee.” WilldaBeast recently launched his own dance company immaBEAST, which has choreographed for T-Pain, “So You Think You Can Dance” on FOX, Nike, and many more.\n\nTickets will go on sale to the general public on June 9. For special pre-sales, check the websites for individual venues. Ticket prices will range from $35 to a $150 VIP Ticket, which includes a Meet & Greet with the headliners, a premium seat and exclusive merchandise. For additional ticket information & the most updated touring schedule to #FOLLOWME, visit: http://followmeonstage.com/\n\n10/26: Luke Bryan\n\nLuke Bryan is bring his Huntin' and Fishin' and Lovin' Every Day Tour to Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix on Thursday night, Oct. 26, with Brett Eldredge and Granger Smith.\n\nTickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 9, at ticketmaster.com.\n\nBryan's latest album, \"Kill the Lights,\" which hit Billboard's country charts at No. 1, his third consecutive release to do so. His hits include country chart-toppers \"Rain is a Good Thing,\" \"Someone Else Calling You Baby,\" \"I Don't Want This Night to End,\" \"Drunk on You,\" \"That's My Kind of Night,\" \"Drink a Beer,\" \"Play It Again,\" \"I See You,” “Kick the Dust Up” and “Strip it Down.”\n\n10/28: Bob Seger\n\nBob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band will bring their Runaway Train tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena on Saturday, Oct. 28.\n\nThe star fueled speculation that this could be a farewell tour earlier this week when he released a video that included the tag line “one last time.”\n\nThe tour announcement comes on the heels of Seger and the Silver Bullet Band’s highly-anticipated show at Pine Knob selling out in 9 minutes during the pre-sale.\n\nMORE MUSIC: Get the Things to Do app | Phoenix local music news | Concerts this week\n\nTickets for the Phoenix show go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 16. Bob Seger fan club members will have special access to purchase tickets in advance the Tuesday before each scheduled on-sale. To become a Bullet Club member, visit BobSeger.com. Tickets can be purchased at BobSeger.com and livenation.com.\n\nJust this week, Seger’s “Greatest Hits” album was certified diamond by the RIAA for 10 million U.S. sales.\n\nIn 2015, the year of Seger's last Valley appearance, he was honored with Billboard’s “Legend of Live” award at the 12th annual Billboard Touring Conference & Awards for his significant and lasting impact on the touring industry.\n\n8/11: Bryson Tiller\n\nBryson Tiller is headed to Rawhide Event Center on Friday, Aug. 11 in support of “True to Self,” the R&B sensation's much-anticipated second album. After blowing up on SoundCloud, Tiller cracked the Top 10 in 2015 with a platinum studio debut called “Trapsoul.” That album spawned his first two double-platinum singles, “Don’t” and “Exchange,” as well as the platinum “Sorry Not Sorry.”\n\nMetallica bring WorldWired Tour to University of Phoenix Stadium\n\nJust announced: 2017 Country Megaticket lineup at Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix\n\nPresale tickets for Tiller’s Set It Off Tour can be purchased beginning Wednesday, May 31, and general tickets will be available to the public at 10 a.m. Friday, June 2 at trapsoul.com and AEGPresents.com. With the purchase of any product on Tiller’s webstore, users will receive a unique pre-sale code for early access to tickets. Codes will be valid from May 31 to June 1.\n\nTiller made “True to Self available for digital streaming going into Memorial Day weekend, almost a month in advance of the album’s previously announced physical release on June 23. That first day, “True to Self” streamed more than 25 million times across all streaming services in the U.S., while the single “Somethin Tells Me” currently has over 13 million streams worldwide since its May 11 release. The video for the single has nearly 2 million views so far since its midnight debut on Thursday.\n\n9/8: Death Cab for Cutie\n\nDeath Cab for Cutie have joined an already impressive opening lineup of concerts at downtown Phoenix's newest live performance venue, the Van Buren.\n\nLed by Ben Gibbard, who's also one half of the Postal Service, the Bellingham, Wash., indie-rockers' 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 eight Top 10 hits on that format, including the chart-topping \"You Are a Tourist\" and two songs from \"Kintsugi,\" their latest release (\"Black Sun\" and \"The Ghosts of Beverly Drive.\")\n\nIn addition to Death Cab for Cutie's performance on Friday, Sept. 8, the venue announced a show with West Coast rapper Too Short on Saturday, Sept. 2. Tickets to both concerts go on sale this Friday, May 26, at thevanburenphx.com.\n\nThe Van Buren officially opens its doors in late August. The first show on the books for now is Wednesday, Aug. 23, a benefit for Rosie’s House, among the largest free music after-school programs in the nation, with Long Beach, Calif., indie rockers Cold War Kids.\n\nTwo other shows announced since our initial story on the venue opening are Seu Jorge (Sept.5) and Beth Hart (Sept. 12), both of which are on sale now.\n\n1/19: Katy Perry\n\nKaty Perry is bringing her tour in support of “Witness” to Gila River Arena in Glendale Jan. 19.\n\n“Witness,” due June 9, finds the singer reflecting on the changes in her own life and the world around her. The lead single, “Chained to the Rhythm” with Skip Marley, hit the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. A second single, “Bon Appetit” featuring Migos, was released last month.\n\nEach ticket purchased for Witness: The Tour includes a pre-order for “Witness: The Album.”\n\nTickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Monday, May 22, at ticketmaster.com. A presale powered By Ticketmaster Verified Fan run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday, May 18.\n\nTickets for the tour will be available through registration using Ticketmaster Verified Fan, a fan-first technology that helps artists combat bots and get tickets into the hands of fans. Registration is open now and continues through 10 p.m. Tuesday, May 16. For more information and to register, visit katyperry.com.\n\nCiti is the official U.S. credit card of Witness: The Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to U.S. pre-sale tickets from 12 p.m. Thursday, May 18 to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 20, through Citi’s Private Pass program. For complete pre-sale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.\n\nWITNESS: The Tour follows Perry’s sold-out, 151-date Prismatic World Tour, which concluded in 2015 and was hailed by Rolling Stone as \"a show to damage retinas and blow minds.\"\n\nKaty, who will be the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” on the May 20 season finale, made her Capitol Records debut with 2008’s “One of the Boys” after signing to the label in 2007. She cemented her status as a global superstar with the follow-up album, “Teenage Dream,” in 2010. “PRISM,” her 2013 album, debuted at No. 1 on iTunes in 100 countries and has sold more than 12.5 million adjusted albums worldwide. With the singles “Firework” and “Dark Horse” each surpassing the 10 million threshold, including song sales and streams, Perry is the first female artist to earn two RIAA digital single Diamond Awards. In her 10 years with Capitol, she’s racked up more than 18 billion streams alongside worldwide sales of more than 40 million adjusted albums and more than 125 million tracks. She is the most-followed person globally on Twitter.\n\nWe spoke with the star when she headlined the Super Bowl halftime show in 2015 and she talked about her Scottsdale roots.\n\n“I used to live in Scottsdale,” Perry said. “So I have little hometown vibes there. I went to Paradise Valley Christian School in kindergarten and first grade. Mrs. Dalton was my first-grade teacher and that's when I started becoming a conscious adult. (laughs). So yeah, I have a lot of memories there. I remember it always being so extremely hot. But I also lived in Lake Havasu, actually. So I've lived in a couple places in Arizona. But Scottsdale has always been a really beautiful place in my mind. I have hiked Camelback Mountain. You are talking to a Super Bowl performer who has hiked your mountain. So I know about you guys a bit.\"\n\n9/27: Paramore\n\nParamore’s Tour Two is playing Comerica Theatre in Phoenix on Sept. 27.\n\nThe tour is in support of “After Laughter,” their first album in more than four years. The first video, “Hard Times,” has earned more than 25 million views on YouTube in its first month of release, while second video “Told You So” has pulled in more than 7 million in just two weeks.\n\n“After Laughter” will be celebrated with a series of high-profile TV appearances, beginning this Wednesday, May 17, with an outdoor mini-concert on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” They’re playing “Told You So” on CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” on Wednesday, May 24, and appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America on Friday, Aug. 25, at part of its 2017 GMA Summer Concert Series.\n\nAT&T priority presale ticket access begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 18, through the AT&T THANKS program at att.com/frontoftheline.\n\nCiti cardmembers will also have access to presale tickets beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 20, through Citi’s Private Pass program at citiprivatepass.com.\n\nTickets go on-sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 24, at livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\nDue to the intimate size of the venues on this tour, fans can register for a unique code using Ticketmaster Verified Fan to purchase artist presale tickets before the general public. Registration through Ticketmaster Verified Fan will run from through 10 p.m. Monday, May 15. A unique code will be deployed to verified fans on Wednesday, May 17, beginning at 8 a.m. local time, two hours prior to the commencement of the Paramore artist presale at 10 a.m. local time. For more information and to register, visit paramore.tmverifiedfan.com.\n\n“After Laughter” was recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A – Paramore’s first time recording in their hometown. Produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Paramore’s own Taylor York, the album also marks the return of original Paramore member Zac Farro. Billboard declared the song “Hard Times” to be “an addictive, Talking Heads-inspired jam that sounds like it could follow ‘Ain’t It Fun’ as a Hot 100 smash,” while Rolling Stone praising “Told You So” as “polyrhythmic funk-pop.” And Variety raved about the album: “Paramore has never sounded — or looked — more defiantly joyous... ‘After Laughter’ sounds like it’s about when life kicks you in the gonads. Instead of crying about it, hopefully Paramore will come back fighting and chop life’s head clean off.”\n\n9/24 Fleet Foxes\n\nFleet Foxes are bringing Beach House to Comerica Theatre on Sept. 24.\n\nTickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 12, at livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\nThe tour is in support of their forthcoming followup to 2011’s “Helplessness Blues,” a rustic gem whose more inspired moments felt like Brian Wilson writing harmonies for Crosby, Stills & Nash.\n\nThe much-anticipated “Crack-Up” hits the streets on June 16.\n\nThe lead single, a majestic chamber-folk suite called \"Third of May / Ōdaigahara,\" made our playlist of best March singles. In an interview with Pitchfork, Robin Pecknold talked about the inspiration for the single – his relatoinship with Skyler Skjelset, the childhood friend with whom he formed Fleet Foxes in 2006. The date in the title refers to May 3, 2011, the release date of “Helplessness Blues,” their previous effort, after which they embarked on a lengthy hiatus. It’s also Skjelset’s birthday. “It addresses our distance in the years after touring that album, the feeling of having an unresolved, unrequited relationship that is lingering psychologically,\" Pecknold said. \"Even if some time apart was necessary and progressive for both of us as individuals, I missed our connection, especially the one we had when we were teenagers, and the lyrics for the song grew out of that feeling.”\n\n9/26: Imagine Dragons\n\nImagine Dragons are launching their tour in support of “Evolve” at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Sept. 26 with special guests Grouplove and K.Flay.\n\n“Evolve” is set to be released June 23. But fans can pre-order the album now at all participating digital retailers, receiving instant downloads of the album’s first single “Believer,” and two additional tracks, “Thunder” and “Whatever It Takes.” Fans who pre-order the album at shop.imaginedragonsmusic.com today through 8 a.m. Saturday May 13 will be sent registration instructions and receive priority access in the Ticketmaster Verified Fan pre-sale, which begins on at 10 a.m. Monday, May 15.\n\n“Believer” spent six consecutive weeks at No. 1 at alternative radio and broke a record that had stood more than 13 years for number of spins at the format, besting by Linkin Park’s “Faint” in the process. TIME called “Believer” “another showstopper of an anthem,” while Entertainment Weekly noted its “thudding tribal drums, a massive shout along chorus, and a wicked bassline that’s the sonic equivalent of a slug to the gut.”\n\nVerified pre-sale goes from 10 a.m. Monday, May 15 to 10 p.m. Thursday, May 18. Fans can register now for early access to tickets at presale.imaginedragonsmusic.com. By registering, fans will reserve a spot in line for the fan presale, which they can then improve by sharing their unique pre-sale link with friends and family, or by pre-ordering Imagine Dragon’s new album “Evolve.” Fans who have registered will be let into a special ticket presale in waves, based on their place in line.\n\nCiti is the official credit card of the Evolve Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to pre-sale tickets beginning 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 16, through Citi’s Private Pass program. For complete pre-sale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com. AT&T customers will also have access to priority pre-sale tickets beginning 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 16. For complete details visit att.com/frontoftheline. Tickets go on-sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday, May 19. For more information visit livenation.com.\n\n9/7: The David Bromberg Quintet\n\nThe David Bromberg Quintet play Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on Thursday, Sept. 7.\n\nTickets are $30-$65, going on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, May 15, at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. 2nd St., scottsdaleperformingarts.com and 480-847-4681. All tickets are subject to facility and ticketing surcharges. All ages welcome.\n\nThe Americana veteran Dr. John once declared “an American music icon” released “The Blues, The Whole Blues and Nothing But The Blues” on Red House Records last October. Produced by Levon Helm and Bob Dylan’s long-time collaborator Larry Campbell, Bromberg’s first album since 2013 is a mix of deep cuts from the blues genre and original compositions. Bromberg found his inspiration for the album when he heard Willie Nelson repeat a quote from Texas fiddler Johnny Gimble: \"There's only two kinds of music - the Star-Spangled Banner and the Blues.\" This is Bromberg’s 18th album, the latest in a solo career that began in 1971 on his self-titled debut.\n\n8/3: Meek Mill, Yo Gotti\n\nMeek Mill and Yo Gotti are bringing their Against All Odds tour to Comerica Theatre on Thursday, Aug. 3. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 12, at livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\nHailed by Rolling Stone as \"one of rap's few voices for the everyman,\" Meek Mill's latest album “DC4” follows “Dream Worth More than Money,” which topped the Billboard album charts and spawned two platinum hits, “All Eyes on You” and “R.I.C.O.” It also took home Top Rap Album at last year’s Billboard Music Awards.\n\nMemphis rapper Yo Gotti topped the rap and R&B charts with last year’s “The Art of Hustle.” The album spawned his biggest single yet, the platinum \"Down in the DM,\" which peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop songs chart.\n\nTIDAL members will have access to a special pre-sale beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 9. Members can find details for purchasing tickets as well as enter for the chance win tickets to each show at TIDAL.com.\n\nCiti is the official credit card of the Against All Odds Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to pre-sale tickets beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 10 through Citi's Private Pass program. For complete pre-sale details visit citiprivatepass.com.\n\n12/5: The Piano Guys\n\nThe Piano Guys, four dads from Utah, have climbed the Great Wall of China for their craft, landed atop the Billboard charts, sold out tour dates around the world, accrued a massive social media following and scored YouTube viewership of more than 730 million. Now, they’re heading back to Phoenix for a Dec. 5 date at Comerica Theatre.\n\nTickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 12, at ticketmaster.com, the box office or 800-745-3000.\n\nThe Piano Guys became an Internet sensation with their series of self-made music videos. They’ve performed everywhere from “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” to “The Today Show” and been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, Buzzfeed, People Magazine, Mashable and more.\n\n10/8: Tom Rush\n\nTom Rush is playing Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, October 8, accompanied by Matt Nokoa with special guest Danny O’Keefe.\n\nTickets ($65, $40, and $25) go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday, May 15 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. 2nd St. or online at scottsdaleperformingarts.com. To charge by phone, call 480-847-4681. All tickets are subject to facility and ticketing surcharges. All ages welcome.\n\nNow celebrating more than 50 years of touring, Rush's impact on the American music scene has been profound. He helped shape the folk revival in the '60s and the renaissance of the '80s and '90s, his music having left its stamp on generations of artists. Rush’s early recordings introduced the world to the work of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne and James Taylor, and in more recent years his Club 47 concerts have brought artists such as Nanci Griffith and Shawn Colvin to wider audiences when they were just beginning to build their own reputations.\n\nRush began his musical career in the early '60s playing the Boston-area clubs while a Harvard student. The Club 47 was the flagship of the coffee house fleet, and he was soon holding down a weekly spot there, learning from the legendary artists who came to play, honing his skills and growing into his talent. He had released two albums by the time he graduated. Rush displayed then, as he does today, an uncanny knack for finding wonderful songs, and writing his own - many of which have become classics re-interpreted by new generations. Signed by Elektra in 1965, Rush made three albums for them, culminating in “The Circle Game,” which, according to Rolling Stone, ushered in the singer-songwriter era.\n\nPepsi Amphitheater season\n\nLooking to beat the Phoenix heat while taking in an outdoor concert? Flagstaff’s Pepsi Amphitheater, a gorgeous place to see a show, has announced its summer concert season and they’ve got some great shows coming in, from Andrew Bird to Michael Franti.\n\nSun., May 21. Leftover Salmon with The Moves Collective. Tickets on-sale at PepsiAmp.com. Show begins at 3pm, gates open 2pm. A unique trailblazer in the Americana music genre, Leftover Salmon blend sounds rooted in jazz, rock and roll, bluegrass and soul.\n\nSat., June 17. BoDeans and Smithereens. Tickets on-sale now. Gates open 5:30pm, show begins 6:30pm Bringing their energetic, year-round tour to Flagstaff, BoDeans' show will also include the Smithereens. Pepsi Amphitheater is theonly Arizona show.\n\nTues., June 27. Andrew Bird. Tickets on-sale now; GA Pit $39, GA Lawn $29, GA County $22. Show begins at 7:30pm with gates opening at 6:30pm. Bird's talents as a singer, songwriter and violinist are evident throughout his songs and performances. Margaret Glaspy, a singer-songwriter from New York, will open the show.\n\nTues., July 4. Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra. In its 67th year, the orchestra will take the stage in Fort Tuthill Park to bring the community and amphitheater to life.\n\nWed., Aug. 16. Slightly Stoopid 'Sounds of Summer' tour with Iration, JBoog and The Movement. Tickets on-sale Fri., March 10 at 10am. Show begins at 5:30pm, gates open at 5:00pm. The Ocean Beach, CA based group, released their latest studio album, “Meanwhile...Back at the Lab,” in June 2015. The album reached No. 3 of Billboard’s Independent Album and Modern Rock/Alternative Album charts. Pepsi Amphitheater is their only Arizona show.\n\nSat., August 26. KNAU Presents Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home “Love and Comedy” Tour 2017. Tickets on sale. Show begins at 5pm, doors open 4pm. He’s celebrating his 75th birthday with a 28-day tour and Keillor's Flagstaff show includes an expanded cast featuring Aoife O’Donovan, Richard Dworsky, Fred Newman, Richard Kriehn and Chris Siebold. Pepsi Amphitheater is their only Arizona show.\n\nFri. - Sun., Sept. 15-17. Pickin' in the Pines Bluegrass and Acoustic Music Festival. The 12th annual, award-winning bluegrass & acoustic music festival will transform the Ponderosa Pines during a weekend of bluegrass, old-time music, Celtic, gypsy jazz and more. Festival features concerts and workshops\n\nFri., Sept. 29. Michael Franti & Spearhead. Tickets on-sale Tue., May 16 10am. Show begins at 7:30pm, gates open 6:30pm. Franti returns to Pepsi Amphitheater again! Over the years, Michael Franti & Spearhead produced anthems such as \"Everyone Deserves Music,” \"Yes I Will\" and the US Hot 100 hit “Say Hey (I Love You).” Pepsi Amphitheater is their only Arizona show.\n\nPepsi Amphitheater at Fort Tuthill County Park is located within the Fort Tuthill Coconino County Park complex, 2446 Fort Tuthill Loop, Flagstaff, AZ 86001. Take I-17, Airport Exit 337 and continue west into Fort Tuthill County Park. Follow the loop road until reaching the Amphitheater sign.\n\n5/22: Brian Wilson\n\nThe Brian Wilson Pet Sounds: The Final Performance Tour will now be playing in the round when the legend returns to Phoenix for a Celebrity Theatre concert on May 22. And that means more seats have been added for the show.\n\nThe additional tickets go on sale at 11 a.m. Monday, May 8 at the Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., in Phoenix, or online at celebritytheatre.com. To charge by phone, call 602-267-1600 ext. 1. All tickets are subject to facility and ticketing surcharges. All ages welcome.\n\nWilson launched the “Pet Sounds” tour last year to honor the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys’ finest hour with two fellow Beach Boys – Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin – joining in the celebration (although Matthew Jardine, Al’s son, would go on to be the MVP with those amazing high notes when the tour played Phoenix last year).\n\nReleased on May 16, 1966, “Pet Sounds” is among the most acclaimed recordings in the history of rock and roll, with NME, Uncut and Mojo all declaring it the greatest album of all time. And with good reason.\n\nWilson started working on the \"Pet Sounds\" sessions while the other Beach Boys were off touring on the hits. Inspired by the Beatles’ “Rubber Soul,” he set out to create a masterpiece that marked a huge departure from the classic Beach Boys sound, although he’d hinted at the new direction in the more ambitious moments of “Today.”\n\n“It’s really been a trip to sit here and think about releasing Pet Sounds 50 years ago,” Wilson says. “I love performing this album with my band and look forward to playing it for fans all across the world.”\n\nIn addition to a full performance of the classic album, Wilson will be treating fans to highlights of his 54-year career with the Beach Boys as well as solo cuts.\n\nIn my review of last year’s show, I wrote:\n\nIt’s a magical — at times transcendent — night, an opportunity to witness Wilson reconnect as best he can with “Pet Sounds” in a 50th anniversary celebration of an undisputed masterpiece whose legacy hasn’t endured so much as blossomed with each passing year.\n\nIt’s a beautiful album whose bittersweet charms are heightened, in a way — made more cathartic and more poignant — by those obvious reminders that the man who poured his heart and soul into the making of that masterpiece has never been the same. Could never be the same. Will never be the same.\n\nAnd here he was revisiting “You Still Believe in Me,” “I’m Waiting For the Day,” “God Only Knows,” “I Know There’s an Answer,” “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times,” the heartache, the longing, the vulnerability he brought to those recordings duly underscored by the realities of Wilson’s life.\n\nThis was especially true of his vocal on “Caroline, No,” the album’s final song, on which a girlfriend’s haircut is the catalyst for a heartbreaking ballad about wishing he could go back to the way things used to be.\n\nHe’s assembled a stellar assortment of backing musicians for the tour, including fellow Beach Boy Al Jardine, who actually appears on “Pet Sounds,” and another former Beach Boy, Blondie Chaplin, who joined in the ‘70s.\n\nThere were 10 or 11 musicians on stage, including several multi-instrumentalists, allowing him to capture every richly textured nuance of the album — French horn, xylophone, saxophone, bass harmonica, electrotheremin, several keyboards, flute and a wide assortment of percussion instruments.\n\nThat also meant a wealth of vocalists on hand to reconstruct those awe-inspiring harmonies, with Matt Jardine emerging as the evening's MVP on that front, nailing every key falsetto part.\n\n7/19: Chris Isaak\n\nChris Isaak returns to the Celebrity Theatre on Wednesday, July 19th, for an 8 p.m. show.\n\nTickets ($60 and $90) go on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday, May 5 at the Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix, celebritytheatre.com and 602-267-1600 ext. 1.\n\nThe star has worn his share of hats since \"Wicked Game\" turned up in David Lynch's \"Wild at Heart.” He’s been a talk-show host, a sitcom star, a SWAT commander in \"The Silence of the Lambs,\" No. 68 on of VH1's list of sexiest artists and a singer whose music continues to embody the qualities that made his early records so evocative.\n\n\"First Comes the Night,\" his latest effort, finds Isaak channeling the sound and spirit of the Sun recording artists he saluted on \"Beyond the Sun,\" especially Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley, while sounding more timeless than retro.\n\n“My last release was ‘Beyond The Sun’ — my tribute to Sun Records with a lot of covers,” Isaak says. “So this time around I had a lot of new material that I was thrilled to record.”\n\nThis is the first time album Isaak has written and recorded so much in Nashville, a change in location he explored partly upon the suggestion of his friend Stevie Nicks. For all the firsts, there’s a strong through-line that continues from Isaak’s earlier triumphs like “Silvertone” (1985) and “Heart Shaped World” (1989).\n\n“I guess you can make a drink with many ingredients, but if one is very strong, that’s what you taste,” says Isaak with a laugh. “For better or worse, I have a tendency to dominate because I have a big voice and some twisted ideas.”\n\nAs for the show, expect the usual mixture of pathos and humor from Isaak and his band.\n\nDoors open at 6 p.m All tickets are subject to a surcharge.\n\n10/31: Halsey\n\nSpend Halloween with Halsey when the singer brings her U.S. tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena on Oct. 31 with PartyNextDoor and Charli XCX.\n\nThe eight-week tour is in support of Halsey’s second album, “hopeless fountain kingdom,” out June 2.\n\nPre-sales run May 8 through May 11 at hfktour.com, with general on-sale scheduled for May 12. For every pair of online tickets purchased, fans will have access to redeem one physical copy of the new release.\n\nAT&T is sending customers to the front of the line with AT&T priority pre-sale ticket access beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 9, through the AT&T THANKS program. For complete pre-sale details, visit att.com/frontoftheline. Citi is the tour’s official credit card. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets also beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 9, through Citi’s Private Pass program. For complete presale details visit citiprivatepass.com.! See below for the full itinerary. For additional ticket information, please visit livenation.com.\n\n“Hopeless fountain kingdom” exorcises moments of sorrow, pain, joy and love through a whirlwind of poetic lyricism, cinematic production, and searing hooks with guest appearances by Quavo, Lauren Jauregui (Fifth Harmony), and Cashmere Cat. Fans can visit findmeinthekingdom.com for all available pre-order offers, including exclusive bundles, merch, vinyl and more.\n\nNow 22, the singer broke through with a platinum debut titled “Badlands” in 2015. She’s best known for the singles “New Americana” and this year’s “Now or Never” – unless, of course, you count her featured vocal on the Chainsmokers’ seven-times-platinum chart-topper “Closer.” And really, why would you not count that?\n\n8/30: Linkin Park\n\nLinkin Park will bring their One More Light World Tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena on Aug. 30 with Machine Gun Kelly. And fans will get first access to those tickets through a special presale aimed at circumventing bots and other scalpers.\n\nThe Linkin Park Presale – powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan, will utilize fan-first technology to level the playing field and ensure fans compete against other fans – not software – for tickets. The more you participate, the higher your spot in line and the better your access to tickets. Linkin Park Fan Club (LPU) members will get priority, but anyone can work their way to the top.\n\nPre-sale begins May 9. Fans and LPU members can register for the tour pre-sale right now at presale.linkinpark.com.\n\nGeneral tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. May 12, at ticketmaster.com and livenation.com. Every full-priced ticket purchased for the tour includes a choice of a standard CD or standard digital copy of “One More Light,” their much-anticipated seventh album, which arrives on May 19 on Warner Bros. Records. Their most personal album to date, it’s built on the stories of six voices coming clean about their lives and struggles, as if it were the first time. As the press release says, “OML isn’t bigger, louder, or more avant-garde, it’s more human.”\n\nThe set list will combine their biggest hits and songs from the new album.\n\n“Our fans know how much love we put into our live show,” says guitarist Brad Delson. “They know how much we enjoy the connection when we play a fan favorite on stage. The emotional and sonic content of this new batch of songs is going to bring a whole new dimension to the show.”\n\nOne dollar from every full-priced ticket sold will benefit Music For Relief, the charity foundation Linkin Park founded in 2005 to aid survivors of natural disaster. For further info go to www.musicforrelief.org\n\n9/21: Janet Jackson\n\nJanet Jackson is bringing the State of the World Tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena Thursday, Sept. 21.\n\nTickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 5, at ticketmaster.com.\n\nProduced by Live Nation, the State of the World Tour is set for a 56-city run beginning September 7, in Lafayette. Tickets for the newly scheduled dates will go on sale on May 5. Tickets held for previous “Unbreakable” tour events that are now re-scheduled will be honored at the new dates. For more information please visit livenation.com.\n\nThe legendary entertainer began her sold out “Unbreakable” tour in August 2015, but just one year ago reached out directly to fans via Twitter with news of her focusing on starting a family, confirmed months later with the arrival of her first child. Jackson has taken the past year to enjoy pregnancy and motherhood, and is now ready to return to the live stage to give the fans everything they could hope for in one epic concert event. The State of the World Tour is a continuation of the “Unbreakable” tour and will include fan favorites from her chart-topping “Unbreakable” album, an array of the socially conscious music she’s released throughout her career, and other smash hits and soon-to-be released new tracks with a state of the art live production.\n\nJackson has won six Grammys, two Emmys, a Golden Globe Award and a nomination for an Academy Award along with dozens of American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards. She has received accolades as an actress as well, including the NAACP Best Supporting Actor award. With sales of more than 160 million records worldwide, Jackson stands as one of the best-selling artists of all time with a string of hits that have left an indelible impression on pop culture.\n\n7/14: Anthony Hamilton\n\nGrammy-winning neo-soul singer Anthony Hamilton will play the Celebrity Theatre at 8:30 p.m. Friday, July 14.\n\nTickets ($41, $51 and $61) are on sale now at Celebrity Theatre or online at www.celebritytheatre.com. To charge by phone, call 602-267-1600 ext.1.\n\nIt's been 13 years since a slow-burning ballad called \"Charlene” hit the pop charts, positioning North Carolina-born Hamilton as a major player in the soul revival a year after singing the hook on the Nappy Roots' rap track \"Po' Folks\" earned the singer his first Grammy nomination. And although he hasn't had much luck crossing over to the pop charts since that debut single, Hamilton's still making good on the artistic promise of those early records on his latest album, last year’s “What I’m Feelin’.”\n\nOther song of note include “Can’t Let Go,” which topped the Adult R&B charts, and “You Got the Love I Need,” a collaboration with Al Green for which he won a Grammy.\n\n10/14: Harry Styles\n\nHarry Styles of One Direction is playing Comerica Theatre on Oct. 14.\n\nTickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 5 at ticketmaster.com and the Comerica box office. Fan registration for all North American dates has already begun through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program. Supplies are limited, further information here.\n\nStyles’ self-titled debut album will be released globally on Friday, May 12. The 10-track album features the lead single “Sign of the Times,” which topped the charts in more than 84 countries the day it was released. The album was executive produced by Jeff Bhasker, with additional production from Alex Salibian, Tyler Johnson and Kid Harpoon.\n\nStyles began to showcase the live show with his debut performance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” where he premiered the album track “Ever Since New York” and the single “Sign of the Times,” with an additional performance of the single on BBC talk show “The Graham Norton Show.” He is set for upcoming appearances on NBC’s “Today Show Summer Concert Series” May 9, followed by a week-long residency on CBS’ “The Late Late Show with James Corden” May 15-18.\n\n11/18: Fall Out Boy\n\nTalking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix is the final stop on the “M A N I A” tour for Fall Out Boy on Saturday, Nov. 18.\n\nPre-sale tickets will be available beginning Monday, May 1. General tickets will be available at 10 a.m. Friday, May 5, at ticketmaster.com.\n\nOne dollar of every ticket sold will benefit a number of Chicago-area charities via the newly launched Fall Out Boy Fund.\n\nThe news of the tour was accompanied by the release of “Young and Menace,” the first taste of their seventh album, “M A N I A,” which is set to arrive Sept. 15.\n\nPete Wentz says, “There’s a lyric in the song, ‘trying to send the world a message, I was young and a menace,’ that reminded me of growing up in the suburbs of Chicago. I didn't look like anyone there or feel like anyone – I felt like an outsider in my own town. It wasn't until I discovered punk rock and that community that I realized I did fit in somewhere in this world – with the other people who didn't fit in. It’s hard to rationalize rage – it’s hard to quantify anxiety ... this song does neither, it embraces the wave.\"\n\nThe album is their follow-up album to “American Beauty/American Psycho,” a platinum effort that debuted at No. 1 on Billboard in early 2015.\n\n7/12: Kendrick Lamar\n\nKendrick Lamar is launching The DAMN. Tour at Gila River Arena in Glendale on Wednesday, July 12, with Travis Scott and D.R.A.M.\n\nThe DAMN. Tour follows a spectacular appearance at Coachella, which you can read about in our review here, and the release of his critically acclaimed fourth album, “DAMN.,” his third release to hit the charts at No. 1, selling more than 603,000 album units.\n\nPitchfork hailed “DAMN.” As “a widescreen masterpiece of rap, full of expensive beats, furious rhymes, and peerless storytelling about Kendrick’s destiny in America” while Rolling Stone called it “a dazzling display of showy rhyme skills, consciousness-raising political screeds, self-examination and bass-crazy-kicking.”\n\nTickets go on sale to the general public starting at 10 a.m. Friday, April 28. For complete presale details and ticket information, please visit www.ticketmaster.co\n\n7/18: Earth, Wind & Fire with Chic\n\nEarth, Wind & Fire and CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers will bring 2054 The Tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena on July 18 with a DJ and a specialized seating configuration toward the front of the stage where seats will have additional space between them to encourage fans to dance, dance, dance, dance as Chic would put it (yowzah, yowzah, yowzah)\n\nTickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, April 28, at www.ticketmaster.com. American Express cardholders will have access to presale tickets in select cities beginning 10 a.m. Monday, April 24. T\n\n\"Nile Rodgers and Chic are legendary for their iconic style, song, sound, and groove,\" says Philip Bailey, co-founder of Earth, Wind & Fire. \"Get ready for a non-stop 2054 party!\"\n\n\"There was a time when we could only dream of 'seeing' Earth, Wind & Fire live, now we get the honor of sharing the stage together. Get your feet ready for a deluge of hits,\" says Rodgers, who was honored with an Award for Musical Excellence from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted in 2000.\n\n11/4: Sebastian Maniscalco reschedules\n\nSebastian Maniscalco has postponed his Celebrity Theatre stop on the Why Would You Do That? tour, originally scheduled for this Friday, April 21, to Saturday, Nov. 4.\n\nWhy would he do that?\n\nManiscalco shared a note with fans on social media.\n\n\"I would do anything for my fans who support me tremendously,\" the comic writes. \"Anything but miss the birth of my first child! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! Phoenix, I will have to reschedule this weekend’s show because baby Maniscalco is on the way! I’ll see you guys on November 4th instead! Thank you for understanding.\"\n\nAll tickets will be honored on the new date.\n\n10/5 Flaming Lips and Mac DeMarco\n\nThe Flaming Lips and Mac DeMarco are playing Comerica Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 5.\n\nThe Lips last played the Valley last October at the Arizona State Fair, a magical night to which I responded in my review (which you can read in its entirety just by clicking these words):\n\n“It takes a certain breed of entertainer to lead the members of an audience on an emotional journey from the smile-inducing spectacle of ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1,’ with Wayne Coyne surrounded by giant inflatables, including Santa Claus, to the existential majesty of ‘Do You Realize??,’ which brought me to tears.\n\nAnd I’m pretty sure the Flaming Lips would be the only actual entertainers in that certain breed.\n\nCoyne is such a bizarre, enigmatic performer, giving into the silliest aspects of the task at hand, with his bag of confetti, his smoke gun and his crazy jacket with strands of multi-colored lights hanging like extra-long fringe, while gleefully spreading his message of peace and love and making the most of the moment you’re in because ‘you realize that everyone you know someday will die.’”\n\nTickets are on sale at ticketmaster.com, the Comerica Theatre box office and 800-745-3000.\n\nThe Canadian singer-songwriter most likely to perform nude (with apologies to Gordon Lightfoot), DeMarco is touring an album titled “This Old Dog,” his much-anticipated followup to “Another One.”\n\nDeMarco is known for two things – songs that reach inside your soul and force you to reflect on what you’ve done and how you plan to make it right, and being a total goof onstage. A bit Paul Westerberg in that respect. And as Smokey Robinson, who may not have been writing specifically about DeMarco, could tell you, “There’s some sad things known to man / But ain't too much sadder than the tears of a clown.”\n\nI caught his set last Friday at Coachella, writing:\n\n“He mocked his placement on the bill. ... He brought out former bassist Pierce McGarry for an extended bit in which the bassist kept insisting he was actually Orlando Bloom. … He joked about King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, whose set had preceded his own on that stage. And he joked with a fan in the audience about his hat. ... As for the music, it was often as sublime as his behavior was ridiculous, from 'Salad Days' through 'On the Level.' \"\n\n9/10: Florida Georgia Line with Nelly\n\nFlorida Georgia Line will bring Nelly and Chris Lane to Ak-Chin Pavilion on Sunday, Sept. 10.\n\nGet tickets at at ticketmaster.com.\n\nThe country duo and Nelly are touring together, of course, because of their collaboration on the remix of “Cruise,” a bro-country landmark that five years later, remains the biggest-release digital release the country genre has ever produced.\n\nFour subsequent Florida Georgia Line followed “Cruise” to No. 1 on Billboard’s country charts while going multi-platinum -- \"Stay,\" the Luke Bryan-assisted \"This is How We Roll,\" \"Dirt\" and \"H.O.L.Y.\" (from their latest album, \"Dig Your Roots\").\n\n7/25: Buckingham McVie\n\nLindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac: The Rumours Years are headed to Phoenix in support of their first album as a duo, playing Comerica Theatre on Tuesday, July 25, with the Wallflowers.\n\nThe 10-song album is due to hit the streets June 9, preceded by a single, “In My World,” available now.\n\nThe collaboration began three years ago, when McVie rejoined Fleetwood Mac for their “On With The Show” tour. The duo went in to record new material prior to rehearsals for the tour and their natural creative chemistry was reignited. According to Buckingham, “We were exploring a creative process, and the identity of the project took on a life organically. The body of work felt like it was meant to be a duet album. We acknowledged that to each other on many occasions, and said to ourselves, ‘What took us so long?!!’”\n\nMcVie says, “We’ve always written well together,Lindsey and I, and this has just spiraled into something really amazing that we’ve done between us.”\n\nSessions for the album took place at The Village Studios in Los Angeles, where Fleetwood Mac recorded several of their classic albums, including “Tusk.” Buckingham and McVie were joined in the studio by fellow bandmates Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, who supplied much of the dynamic rhythmic engine.\n\nTickets are on sale at livenation.com.\n\n10/3: The Shins with Spoon\n\nThe Shins and Spoon will be playing four concerts together this year. And one of those concerts is happening right in Phoenix (your reporter is resisting the urge to end that sentence with several exclamation marks).\n\nThe tour hits Comerica Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 3, in support of two of this year’s most acclaimed releases, the Shins’ “Heartworms” and Spoon’s “Hot Thoughts.” Tickets are $39.50-$50 and available through ticketfly.com.\n\nThe Shins recently headlined the opening night of McDowell Mountain Music Festival, where the songs from that new album, of which there were many, more than held their own against such classics as “Caring is Creepy” and “New Slang.” You can see how that set went, complete with pictures, here.\n\nIn an interview quoted on Pitchfork, James Mercer, the last remaining member of the “Oh, Inverted World” lineup, said the new music is closer to the way they sounded on their first three albums by design.\n\n“I’m really excited about this record,” he said. “I think we’ve got something that Shins fans will really love, and I think there’s some other things on there that are different enough. I made a concerted effort on certain songs to fit the palette, to use the palette that I’ve used historically for the band.”\n\nSpoon’s fourth album in a row to crack the Top 10, “Hot Thoughts,” was released to just the sort of hyperventilating praise you can expect from critics when a new Spoon album hits the streets. And with good reason. They’ve already given us a number of the century’s best rock releases. And this new one more than lives up to the promise of that legacy. I now defer you to the wisdom of the Consequence of Sound reviewed who suggest that Britt Daniel’s “big statement is his Body of Work, of which every fine part adds up to a greater sum. Here comes another one.”\n\n8/25: Yestival\n\nFresh from taking their long-denied place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the members of Yes will be bringing a festival called Yestival to the Celebrity Theatre, with Todd Rundgren and Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy on Friday, Aug. 25.\n\nTickets ($49.50, $89.50 and $125) are available at Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix, www.celebritytheatre.com or 602-267-1600 ext. 1.\n\nYes will play a set of greatest hits from every album up to 1980’s “Drama,” showcasing the storied career of one of the world’s most influential, ground-breaking, and respected progressive rock bands.\n\nThat era produced such Yes staples as “Roundabout,” “I’ve Seen All Good People,” “Yours is No Disgrace,” “Long Distance Runaround,” “Heart of the Sunrise” and “Close to the Edge.”\n\n“We are looking forward to presenting songs from each of the first nine studio albums, including some surprises,” says guitarist Steve Howe.\n\nFor the purpose of this tour, Yes will feature Howe, Alan White (drums), Geoff Downes (keyboard), Jon Davison (vocals) and Billy Sherwood (the late Chris Squire’s chosen successor on bass).\n\n10/4: Father John Misty\n\nFather John Misty is playing the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix on Wednesday, Oct. 4, in support of “Pure Comedy.\"\n\nTickets are on sale at phoenix.ticketforce.com.\n\nThe singer’s darkly comic narratives, often done in character, have marked Misty as his generation’s Randy Newman – not that I see Pixar work in Misty’s future. “Pure Comedy” is guaranteed to figure prominently on the shortlist of the year’s most celebrated albums, a third straight triumph for the singer-songwriter. Mojo said this album lifts him “to another level altogether,” while the Skinny raved: “He embraces the role, plays up to it, uses it to bend and manipulate the parameters of modern rock music and has managed to create something bitingly acerbic and cynical, yet achingly sincere. Again.”\n\nHe topped our playlist of best February singles with a track from “Pure Comedy” called “Ballad of the Dying Man,” on which he turns his darkly comic eye for detail on a self-important know-it-all who wonders on his deathbed if he’s “successfully beaten back the rising tide of idiots, dilettantes and fools on his watch.”\n\nWeyes Blood opens.\n\n10/8: Scorpions\n\nThe Scorpions Crazy World Tour is bringing Megadeth to Talking Stick Resort Arena on Sunday, Oct. 8.\n\nTickets are $40-$125 at www.dannyzeliskopresents.com.\n\nWhy Crazy World? If you have to ask:\n\n\"When our album 'Crazy World' was released back in '91, right at the end of the Cold War,” Klaus Meine says, “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. Now, 26 years later, things are getting more crazy every other day. After all these years, Crazy World is still a good motto for our upcoming world tour. We are very much looking forward to seeing all of you out there.\n\nFounded in Hannover, West Germany, in 1965, Scorpions released their debut album, “Lonesome Crow,” released in 1972. They rose to arena status with seminal releases “Lovedrive,” “Virgin Killer” and “Animal Magnetism.” In 1982, they topped the U.S. rock charts with \"No One Like You,\" a soaring power ballad they soon followed with their first Top 40 single, \"Rock You Like a Hurricane.\" Their biggest U.S. hit came later with another ballad, \"Wind of Change.\" They finished 46th on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, and \"Rock You Like a Hurricane\" was No. 18 on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.\n\nThe set will offer a mix of fan favorites and highlights of their 19th studio release, “Return To Forever,” released in 2015 as part of their 50th anniversary festivities.\n\n5/2: New Found Glory\n\nPop-punk veterans New Found Glory are bringing their 20th Anniversary Tour to the Nile Theater in Mesa on May 2. They've 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. Their first album for the label, \"Not without a Fight,\" debuted at no. 12 with Alternative Press declaring it \"a reminder of why we fell in love with NFG in the first place.\" After two albums on Epitaph, they switched to Hopeless for 2014's \"Resurrection,\" which Kerrang! declared \"a powerhouse of a record, the brave onward steps of New Found Glory proving that hope — like pop-punk — is not dead.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 2. Nile Theater, 105 W. Main St., Mesa. $24-28. www.niletheater.com.\n\n5/4: Zac Brown Band\n\nThe Zac Brown Band will bring their Welcome Home 2017 tour to Gila River Arena in Glendale. The Atlanta-based band is embarking on a 40-date tour, and they will also release a new album, 'Welcome Home,\" just a few days later on Friday, May 12. The eight-member country-music band has three platinum albums and three Grammys.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Thursday, May 4. Gila River Arena, Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue, Glendale. $44.75-$74.75. ticketmaster.com.\n\n5/5: REO Speedwagon\n\nHelp the members of REO Speedwagon celebrate 50 years of rock when they play the Celebrity Theatre on Friday, May 5. Formed in 1967 and signed four years later, REO Speedwagon topped the album charts for 15 weeks in 1981 with the nine-times-platinum \"Hi Infidelity,\" which spawned the platinum chart-topper \"Keep On Loving You\" and the Top 5 \"Take It On the Run.\" Their other hits include \"In Your Letter,\" \"Keep the Fire Burnin',\" \"One Lonely Night,\" \"That Ain't Love,\" \"In My Dreams,\" \"Here With Me\" and a second chart-topping smash, \"Can't Fight This Feeling.\" Kevin Cronin, who’s been fronting REO since signing on in time to be featured on “R.E.O. T.W.O.,” their second album, is joined by bassist Bruce Hall, keyboardist Neal Doughty, guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt. Opening the show will be Paul Gurvitz & the New Army.\n\nDetails: Friday, May 5. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $50-$90. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com.\n\n5/6: Bassrush Massive\n\nRelentless Beats is partnering with Bassrush to bring Bassrush Massive to Rawhide Western Town & Event Center on Saturday, May 6, with music by Adventure Club, Flux Pavilion, NGHTMRE, Andy C and more. Beginning in the ‘90s, the Bassrush brand has evolved from its strictly drum & bass roots to include dubstep and other bass-oriented genres. Along with exclusive one-off events, Bassrush hosts stages at all major Insomniac festivals such as EDC Las Vegas, EDC Orlando and Beyond Wonderland. In 2011, the brand expanded beyond California, hosting multi-date national tours for major artists including Skrillex, Excision and Datsik. Bassrush Massive is an 18 and over event.\n\nDetails: 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6. Rawhide, 5700 W. North Loop Rd., Chandler. $55-85. www.relentlessbeats.com.\n\n5/9: The Chainsmokers\n\nThe Chainsmokers will bring the 40-city Memories: Do Not Open Tour to Gila River Arena in Glendale on Tuesday, May 9. The Grammy-nominated duo also announced that they will be releasing an actual album, having left it to their fans to decide whether or not they should. Each ticket purchased online for the tour includes a copy of that forthcoming debut.Their other hits include the platinum “#Selfie” and the triple-platinum “Roses.”\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 9. Gila River Arena, Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue, Glendale. $21.25-$77.25. ticketmaster.com.\n\n5/12: Blue October\n\nBlue October will play the Celebrity Theatre on Friday, May 12. Led by singer Justin Furstenfeld, the Houston alternative-rockers are touring in support of “Home,” which topped the rock charts and the independent album charts. “’Sway’ was about finding inner peace and learning to live in a healthy way,” says Furstenfeld. “This new album ‘Home’ is about what we do with our time on earth, how we’re going to utilize that time in a positive way and make it the best we possibly can by bettering ourselves.” They're best known for the modern-rock-radio singles \"Hate Me,\" “Into the Ocean,” \"Dirt Room,\" \"Say It,\" \"The Chills\" and \"Bleed Out.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, May 12. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $35-$55. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com.\n\n5/15: Chris Brown\n\nChris Brown brings the Party Tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena on Monday, May 15, with 50 Cent, Fabolous, O.T. Genasis and Kap G. In a break with arena tradition, Brown takes the stage at the start of the show and brings his guests out as the party goes, which means you’d do well not to show up late hoping to blow off the opening acts. The R&B star topped the Hot 100 in 2005 with \"Run It!,\" his first single, which went on to be his first of several multi-platinum hit, from the chart-topping \"Kiss Kiss\" to “With You,” \"No Air,\" \"Forever,\" \"Deuces, “Look at Me Now” and “Loyal.”\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 15. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $25.20-$145.20. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.\n\n5/16: Train\n\nThe Train Play That Song Tour is headed to Ak-Chin Pavilion on Tuesday, May 16, with O.A.R. and Natasha Bedingfield. Train scored a huge hit in 2001 with \"Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)\" and went Top 20 two years later with \"Calling All Angels.\" They're best known now for the comeback drive they staged with six-times-platinum, Grammy-winning, ukulele-driven \"Hey Soul Sister,\" the biggest download of 2010 at iTunes. Two more singles from that album — \"If It's Me\" and the platinum \"Marry Me\" — went Top 40 on the Hot 100. And the hits kept coming in 2012 with triple-platinum \"Drive By\" and \"50 Ways to Say Goodbye.\" The tour takes its name from their latest adult-alternative-radio hit.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 16. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $25-$79.50. 602-254-7200, ticketmaster.com.\n\n5/19: Chris Stapleton\n\nChris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show is set to play Ak-Chin Pavilion on Friday, May 19, with Brothers Osborne and Lucie Silvas. Stapleton is planning to release new music on May 5 — exactly two years to the day since the release of “Traveller.” Stapleton picked up Best Male Vocalist, New Artist of the Year and Album of the Year (for the chart-topping \"Traveller\") at the Country Music Association Awards in late 2015, and received four Grammy nominations, winning two (Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance). Then, he added five more trophies to his mantel at the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards. How does he do it? By being really good. His album effortlessly stands out from the Nashville herd mentality while still bringing the hits.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Friday, May 19. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $30.75-$70.75. 602-254-7200, ticketmaster.com.\n\n5/23: Ann Wilson of Heart\n\nAnn Wilson of Heart will play the Celebrity Theatre on Tuesday, May 23.\n\n“The stage is a magical place where I can be beautifully in and out of control, where I can build a fire and then jump into it,” says the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. “The stage is where I have always lived; where I’ve expressed my deepest emotions and supreme joys… I suppose I am addicted to it. I’ve never been much good at talking, but I can sing, and when I sing I connect with people in a much deeper, higher way.” Musicians on board for the tour include Craig Bartock on guitar (Heart member for a dozen years, who also performed in the Ann Wilson Thing for two years); Andy Stoller on bass (the Ann Wilson Thing member for two years); Denny Fongheiser on drums and percussion (Heart member for two years in the 1990s).\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 23. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $35-$60. 602-267-1600 ext. 1, www.celebritytheatre.com.\n\n5/24: John Legend\n\nJohn Legend is bringing the Darkness and Light tour with Gallant to Comerica Theatre on Wednesday, May 24. The multi-platinum singer-songwriter has won 10 Grammys in addition to an Oscar and a Golden Globe award. The tour is named for Legend’s fifth studio album, which was meat with much acclaim. USA TODAY hailed it as Legend’s “most personal record,” Time Magazine called it “unflappably classy” and the New York Times said Legend “treats love as something far more complex than a panacea and a fount of perpetual reassurance, with music to match.” The R&B sensation topped the Billboard Hot 100 with his biggest-selling, highest-charting hit to date, the eight-times-platinum \"All of Me.\" His other hits include the breakthrough single, \"Ordinary People,\" \"Green Light,\" which featured a guest rap from Andre 3000, and last year’s “Love Me Now.”\n\nDetails: Time TBA. Wednesday, May 24. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $53.50-$129. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n6/10: Julianne & Derek Hough\n\nSuperstar siblings Julianne & Derek Hough will bring Move – Beyond -- Live on Tour to Comerica Theatre on Saturday, June 10. The Houghs are promising their biggest and best show yet, with brand-new stage production inspired by the elements – earth, wind, fire, and water – which the duo have infused into fresh, high impact choreography. The pair will be joined by the Move Company Dancers for group performances in styles ranging from ballroom and tap to salsa and hip-hop. \"There is nothing like performing onstage in front of a live audience and this show is going to be like nothing we’ve done before,” says Julianne. “For those that have been before or will be experiencing the show for the first time, it will transport them beyond their wildest imaginations and expectations.”\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 10. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $38.50-$65. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n6/11: Chicago and the Doobie Brothers\n\nHaving taking their place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, the members of Chicago are hitting the road with another veteran act that ruled the airwaves in the ‘70s – the Doobie Brothers.Their double-platinum debut, \"Chicago Transit Authority,\" was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014, the same year they made their first appearance as Grammy performers. No fewer than 25 of their 36 albums have gone platinum. The Doobies’ latest album, “Southbound,” features new recordings of their biggest hits with country music’s biggest stars, from Blake Shelton to Zac Brown Band, Brad Paisley and Toby Keith.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, June 11. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $25-$125. 602-254-7200, ticketmaster.com.\n\n6/14: Enrique Iglesias with Pitbull\n\nEnrique Iglesias and Pitbull are back on the road with a co-headlining tour that stops at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Wednesday, June 14, with an opening set by CNCO. The son of Latin pop sensation Julio Iglesias has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and been declared the King of Latin Pop by Billboard magazine. He holds the record for most No. 1 appearances on the magazine's hot Latin Tracks chart. Miami rapper Pitbull hit the mainstream in 2004 when \"Culo,\" his first single, went Top 40 on the Hot 100. He went on to greater success with the Top 5 smash \"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)\" in 2009. The duo last played Phoenix in early 2014.\n\nDetails: Time TBA. Wednesday, June 14. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. Tickets start at $35. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.\n\n6/17: Brit Floyd\n\nBrit Floyd have been billed as the World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Show (by which one would assume “not counting Pink Floyd” is implied), and they’re bringing their Immersion World Tour to Comerica Theatre on Saturday, June 17. The spectacle of a Pink Floyd concert experience is recaptured in high-definition sound, with a million-dollar light show and state-of-the-art video design. In addition to playing the crowd-pleasing highlights of “The Dark Side of the Moon,” “Wish You Were Here,” “The Wall” and “The Division Bell,” Brit Floyd will pay special tribute to the “Animals” album to honor its 40th anniversary, with a show-stopping “Dogs” as well as a host of other Pink Floyd musical gems.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, June 17. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $30-55. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n6/23: Queen + Adam Lambert\n\nQueen + Adam Lambert will launch a 25-date U.S. tour at Gila River Arena in Glendale on Friday, June 23. After wildly successful and sold-out tours through Europe, Asia, Australia, Latin and North America, Brian May, Roger Taylor and Adam Lambert will debut a brand new show specially created for this outing, bringing fans all their favorite Queen hits, including “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, June 23. Gila River Arena, Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue, Glendale. $120.25-$170.25. ticketmaster.com.\n\n6/25: Brad Paisley\n\nBrad Paisley is heading to Ak-Chin Pavilion on Sunday, June 25, with Dustin Lynch, Chase Bryant and Lindsay Ell. One of country's most consistent hit machines, Paisley scored his first of 18 chart-topping country hits, \"He Didn't Have to Be,\" in 1999 and sent a record-breaking streak of 10 consecutive releases to the top from 2005 (\"When I Get Where I'm Going,\" a duet with Dolly Parton) to 2009 (\"Then\"). His biggest hits include four double-platinum singles — \"Whiskey Lullaby,\" \"She's Everything,\" \"Then\" and \"Remind Me,\" a duet with Carrie Underwood.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Sunday, June 25. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $31.25-$61. 602-254-7200, ticketmaster.com.\n\n6/27: Ted Nugent\n\nTed Nugent returns to the Celebrity Theatre on Tuesday, June 27. In his '70s prime, when songs like \"Cat Scratch Fever,\" \"Free-For-All\" and \"Stranglehold\" were tearing it up on the album-rock side of the radio dial, Nugent — or the Motor City Madman, as he's known — would swing from the speakers while wearing a loincloth and headdress. He's been known to ride a buffalo on stage, shoot flaming arrows at Saddam Hussein in effigy and tell a crowd that former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton could suck on one of the machine guns he'd been brandishing on stage before bringing his speech to a close with a holler of \"Freedom!\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 27. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $50-70. 602-267-1600 ext. 1, www.celebritytheatre.com.\n\n6/28: Iron Maiden\n\nThe Iron Maiden Book of Souls Tour will play Talking Stick Resort Arena on Wednesday, June 28, with Ghost in the opening slot. The tour’s opening night in Fort Lauderdale was hailed in the Sun-Sentinel as “…a full-throttle, devil-may-care performance that thrilled a sold-out BB&T Center” while Revolver raved about how Iron Maiden’s legendary mascot Eddie dominated the Maya-themed stage: “From a walking zombie towering over band members during the set, to being featured on a host of back-drops and huge blow-up figures – the quintessential symbol was omnipresent for the entire show.” There’s even a point in the show where Eddie has his heart ripped out and hurled into the crowd by lead singer Bruce Dickinson.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 28. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $34.75-$94.75. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.\n\n6/28: Future\n\nFuture was full of surprises in 2017 – announcing a headlining tour and a new self-titled album. The Nobody Safe Tour brings Future to Ak-Chin Pavilion on Wednesday, June 28, at the top of a bill that also features Migos, Kodak Black, ASAP Ferg and Zoey Dollaz. Future engaged a full-court blitz in 2015 that resulted in one of hip-hop’s most impressive winning streaks ever. In under a year, he achieved three back-to-back No. 1 appearance on Billboard’s album chart -- the platinum “DS2,” the platinum “What A Time To Be Alive” with Drake, and “EVOL.” His best-known songs include the double-platinum smashes “Low Life” (featuring the Weeknd) and “Where Ya At” (featuring Drake), as well as the platinum hits “Stick Talk,” “F--k Up Some Commas,” and “Turn On The Lights.” Each ticket purchase will come with a digital copy of “FUTURE.”\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 28. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $26-$89.50. 602-254-7200, ticketmaster.com.\n\n6/30: Santana\n\nGuitar legend Carlos Santana and the band that bears his name will bring the Transmogrify Tour Ak-Chin Pavilion on Friday, June 30, promising fan favorites from Woodstock to \"Supernatural\" and beyond. Santana's hits include \"Evil Ways,\" \"Black Magic Woman,\" \"Smooth\" and \"Maria, Maria,\" the last two from the Grammy-sweeping '90s comeback album, \"Supernatural.\" With with the 2014 release of “Corazón,” Santana became one of only two musical artists to land an album in the Top 10 for six consecutive decades. Last year’s “Santana IV” debuted at No. 5, their 14th Top 10 album. Santana are currently headlining a multi-year residency at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. In the fall of 2014, the guitarist released a memoir called “The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light.”\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, June 30. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $25.50-$150.50. LiveNation.com, ticketmaster.com.\n\n7/6: Bruce Hornsby\n\nBruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers may be best remembered in the mainstream for his triple-platinum debut, “The Way It is,” whose title track topped Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1986. Other hits include “Mandolin Rain” and “The Valley Road.” Since those early records, Hornsby has successfully ventured into bluegrass, jazz, classical, and even electronica, reflected on acclaimed releases like two projects with Ricky Skaggs, a collaborative jazz trio album with Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride, and an orchestral project spearheaded by Michael Tilson Thomas featuring this new music.\n\n“Rehab Reunion” is Hornsby’s piano-free new album that features guest appearances by Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon as well as gospel legend Mavis Staples.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 6. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $35-$65. 602-267-1600 ext. 1, www.celebritytheatre.com.\n\n7/6: J. Cole\n\nJ. Cole’s “4 Your Eyez Only” tour hits Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix on Thursday, July 6. The tour takes it name from Southern rapper’s platinum fourth album, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s album chart in December. Each of its 10 tracks has charted on the Billboard Hot 100. This tour follows Cole’s 2015 Forest Hills Drive Tour, which was the highest-selling hip-hop tour of the year, after which Cole embarked on an international festival run in 2016. His best-known hits are the double-platinum \"Work Out,\" \"Power Trip,\" \"Crooked Smile,” “No Role Modelz” and this year’s “Déjà vu.”\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Thursday, July 6. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $24.75-$120.75. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.\n\n7/9: Deftones\n\nDeftones and Rise Against are joining forces on a very heavy co-headlining summer tour that hits Ak-Chin Pavilion on Sunday, July 9, with Thrice and Frank Iero and the Patience. Seventeen years down the road from unleashing “White Pony,” the nu-metal answer to “OK Computer,” Deftones haven’t lost their knack for bringing the aggression with ambition and a sense of drama (which doesn’t rule out the occasional bloodcurdling shriek). Led by guitarist Tim McIlrath, 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” and “I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore.”\n\nDetails: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 9. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $30-$69.50. ticketmaster.com and livenation.com.\n\n7/11: Tony Bennett\n\nTony Bennett will play the historic Celebrity Theatre on Tuesday, July 11, with his daughter, Antonia Bennett, opening the show with a collection of jazz and pop standards. Bennett has won 19 Grammy Awards in the course of a career spanning more than six decade. His signature tunes include “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” and “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.” The singer turned 90 in August, a milestone celebrated in a two-hour prime-time special and companion CD titled “Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best is Yet to Come.” Last year also saw the release of Bennett’s fifth book, titled “Just Getting Started,” which he wrote with journalist Scott Simon. Bennett is a Kennedy Center Honoree, an NEA Jazz Master and a recipient of the United Nation’s Humanitarian and Citizen of the World honors.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 11. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $72-$132. 602-267-1600 ext. 1, www.celebritytheatre.com.\n\n7/16: Goo Goo Dolls and Phillip Phillips\n\nGoo Goo Dolls will bring the Long Way Home Tour to Phoenix on July 16 with Phillip Phillips.The Goo Goo Dolls have been on the road consistently since the release of their 11th studio album, “Boxes,” which features the hit “So Alive.” Formed in Buffalo, the Goo Goo Dolls were scrappy post-Replacements rockers before their mainstream breakthrough with the wistful, acoustic-guitar-driven \"Name.\" Now, they're best-known for their ballads and mid-tempo rockers, from \"Iris\" to \"Slide.\"\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Sunday, July 16. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $48.50-$89.50. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n7/17: Daryl Hall & John Oates and Tears for Fears\n\nDaryl Hall & John Oates, the top-selling duo in music history, are bringing Tears for Fears to Gila River Arena in Glendale on Monday, July 17, with a special acoustic performance by opening act Allen Stone. Hall & Oates were Philly soul's dynamic duo, breaking through with the back-to-back hits \"Sara Smile\" and \"She's Gone\" in 1976. They made their first appearance at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 the following year with \"Rich Girl\" and ruled the early '80s pop scene with a string of massive hit singles, including the chart-topping \"Kiss on My List,\" \"Private Eyes,\" \"I Can't Go For That (No Can Do),\" \"Maneater\" and \"Out of Touch.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Monday, July 17. Gila River Arena, Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue, Glendale. $30.25-$124.75. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.\n\n7/18: Third Eye Blind\n\nIt’s the 20th anniversary of Third Eye Blind, and they intend to celebrate by playing their debut in its entirety (which they’ve never done before now) on the modestly billed Summer Gods Tour. The tour makes its way to Comerica Theatre in Phoenix on Tuesday, July 18, with special guests Silversun Pickups. Third Eye Blind blew up in 1997 with a six-times-platinum self-titled debut that spawned three massive pop hits — \"Semi-Charmed Life,\" \"How's It Going To Be\" and \"Jumper.\" In addition to blowing the dust off that album, they’re planning on featuring songs from “We Are Drugs,” an EP they released last year. In addition to hitting the festival circuit (Outside Lands, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Leeds and Redding), they made headlines last year with Stephan Jenkins’ hold-nothing-back opinion pieces and trolling of the RNC.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 18. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $49.95-$60. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n7/21: Happy Together Tour\n\nThe Happy Together Tour returns to Phoenix on Friday, July 21, bringing The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie, the Association, Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night), the Box Tops, the Cowsills and the Archies’ Ron Dante.\n\nThe Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie are the signature headliners of the Happy Together tour and act as your musical hosts with their crazy antics, satire and a boatload of hits. Led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, known as Flo & Eddie, the Turtles have sold more 40 million records worldwide. Their hits include “Happy Together,” “She’d Rather Be With Me,” “Elenore,” “It Ain’t Me Babe” and “You Showed Me.”\n\nThe Association are best known from their number one hits “Windy,” “Cherish,” and “Never My Love.”\n\nChuck Negron of Three Dog Night performs their biggest hits including “Joy to the World,” “Mama Told Me Not To Come,” “Shambala,” “One,” and “Easy To Be Hard.”\n\nThe Box Tops recorded a string of Top 40 hits including the No. 1 “The Letter,” “Cry Like A Baby” and “Soul Deep.”\n\nThe Cowsills have been dazzling crowds the last two years on the Happy Together tour with their effervescent brand of contagious pop magic. Bob, Paul and Susan Cowsill are a family singing group and the original inspiration for television’s “The Partridge Family.” Best known for songs “The Rain, The Park and Other Things,” “Hair,” “Indian Lake,” and “Love American Style,” The Cowsills appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.”\n\nRounding out the lineup is The Archies’ Ron Dante. Dante sang lead for the Archies, whose hits include the chart-topping “Sugar, Sugar,” “Bang-Shang-A-Lang” and \"Jingle Jangle.” Dante had another top 10 hit in the summer of 1969 with “Tracy” by the Cuff Links.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Friday, July 21. Celebrity Theatre, 440 N. 32nd St., Phoenix. $43-75. 602-267-1600, celebritytheatre.com.\n\n7/22: I Love the '90s\n\nI Love the 90s – The Party Continues is bringing the party to Phoenix with a Talking Stick Resort Arena concert on Saturday, July 22, topped by TLC, performing all their hits and new songs from their forthcoming album for the first time ever.\n\nThey’re joined by Blackstreet, All-4-One, Rob Base, Biz Markie and C+C Music Factory with Freedom Williams.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 22. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $45-$95. ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/1: John Mayer\n\nJohn Mayer is bringing the Search for Everything World Tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Each stop on Mayer’s tour will be comprised of three sets -- full band, solo acoustic and John Mayer Trio. “The Search for Everything” is Mayer’s latest album, which he’s releasing in waves of four songs each. As the star explained to Rolling Stone, \"The price of admission is four songs. If you don't like these, don't get the next four. But if I've engendered some kind of trust that you think I'm onto something, get the next four, and come along with me on every single wave.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1. Talking Stick Resort Arena, Second and Jefferson streets, Phoenix. $35-95. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/2: Matchbox Twenty with Counting Crows\n\nMatchbox Twenty and Counting Crows will bring their A Brief History of Everything Tour to Ak-Chin Pavilion on Wednesday, Aug. 2. Matchbox Twenty front man Rob Thomas spent last summer on a co-headlining tour with Counting Crows and can’t wait to do it again. As the Crows’ Adam Duritz says, “To be honest, we took a vote after last year and decided to spend every summer with Rob from now on. Can. Not. Wait.” This year marks the 20th anniversary of Matchbox Twenty’s 12-times-platinum debut album, “Yourself or Someone Like You,” which featured the platinum single, “3 a.m.,” which topped the charts at Adult Top 40 radio. Counting Crows’ first album, “August and Everything After,” went seven-times-platinum, mostly on the strength of “Mr. Jones,” a Top 5 entry on the Billboard Hot 100 that remains their biggest hit. Other hits include “Round Here,” “A Long December,” “Hanginaround” and “Accidentally in Love” from the “Shrek 2” soundtrack.\n\nDetails: 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/5: Ed Sheeran\n\nEd Sheeran is bringing his U.S. tour to Glia River Arena in Glendale on Saturday, Aug. 5. The Grammy-winning singer/songwriter is touring to support “÷,”pronounced “divide,” which features Sheeran’s latest multi-platinum single and first No. 1 appearance on the Hot 100, “Shape of You,” and “Castle On The Hill.” “Shape of You” is in its sixth week at the top, while “Castle On The Hill” debuted the same week at No. 6, establishing Sheeran as the first artist to ever have two singles make simultaneous top 10 debuts in the chart’s 58-year history. The ginger-haired Brit is no stranger to the arena, where he served as the opening act on Taylor Swift's Red Tour. At the time, his biggest U.S. hit was still \"The A Team.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5. Gila River Arena, Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue, Glendale. $34.75-$94.75. 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/9: Diana Krall\n\nDiana Krall is returning to Phoenix Symphony Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 9, on a tour in support of a forthcoming album called “Turn Up the Quiet,” which celebrates the superstar’s return to jazz and the Great American Songbook, with Tommy LiPuma producing. The only jazz singer in history to have eight albums debut at the top of Billboard’s jazz chart, Krall has been among the higher-profile names in jazz since 1997, when the “Love Scenes” album topped the jazz chart and went on to earn the piano-playing vocalist a Grammy nomination. She has two Grammys to her credit. “When I Look in Your Eyes” won a best-jazz-vocal-performance award in 2000, and “Live in Paris” won a best-jazz-vocal-album Grammy in 2003. But never mind all that. She’s also really entertaining, and she tours with musicians whose chops are impressive as her own.\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9. Phoenix Symphony Hall, 100 N. Third St., Phoenix. $45-$125. 877-840-0457, phoenix.ticketforce.com.\n\n8/12: Incubus, Jimmy Eat World\n\nMulti-platinum alt-rock icons Incubus will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their major-label debut on a tour that hits Ak-Chin Pavilion on Saturday, Aug. 12, with Phoenix local heroes Jimmy Eat World and Judah & the Lion. This is Incubus’ first headlining U.S. tour in two years. Incubus emerged from Calabasas, California, with an indie debut titled “Fungus Amongus” in 1995. They’ve sent four singles to the top of the Billboard Alternative Songs chart since then -- “Drive” (2000, also Top 10 on the Hot 100), “Megalo­maniac” (2003), “Anna-Molly” (2006) and “Love Hurts” (2008). Other hits include \"Pardon Me,\" \"Stellar,\" \"Wish You Were Here,\" \"Warning,\" \"Talk Shows on Mute,\" \"Adolescents\" and 2015’s “Absolution Calling.”\n\nDetails: 6:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $29-50-$99.50. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/12: Bring It!\n\nAfter a sold-out summer tour, Bring It! is heading to Phoenix, bringing the stars of the hit Lifetime series, Miss D and her Dancing Dolls, to Comerica Theatre on Saturday, Aug. 12. In 2016, the elite world of hip-hop majorette competition was brought to the main stage with an inimitable energy that took the country by storm. Audiences across the nation were enamored by the fierce, original, high-octane performances that brought motivation, inspiration and formation. With hotter-than-ever, never-before-seen performances on deck for the 2017 tour, there has never been a better time for Bring It! fans. New episodes of \"Bring It!\" can be seen Fridays at 9/8c on Lifetime or anytime on mylifetime.com.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 12. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $32.75. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/15: Deep Purple and Alice Cooper\n\nDeep Purple’s Long Goodbye Tour is headed to Phoenix with the legendary Alice Cooper and special guests the Edgar Winter Band on Tuesday, Aug. 15. Deep Purple’s new studio album, “Infinite,” is set for release on April 7. Produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Cooper, Kiss), “Infinite” features 10 tracks they say were recorded “in the spirit of the ’70s.” Finally inducted just last year to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after decades of snubs, the metal pioneers have released five studio albums since 1996, augmented by an abundance of solo work and special projects from members Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Steve Morse and Don Airey. But they plan to cover decades of fan favorites for this run. At his controversial, taboo-tweaking peak, Alice Cooper kept the generation gap alive while the punks were still getting their chaos together (taking half their cues from Cooper). Here’s a guy who staged his own beheadings, hung from the gallows and otherwise pushed the theatrical envelope to shocking new extremes.\n\nDetails: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $33-$97.50. LiveNation.com, ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/19: Sam Hunt\n\nSam Hunt is bringing his 15 in a 30 Tour to Ak-Chin Pavilion with special guests Chris Janson, Maren Morris and Ryan Follese. A former college football quarterback, Hunt has written hits for Kenny Chesney (the country chart-topper \"Come Over\"), Keith Urban (\"Cop Car\") and Billy Currington (\"We Are Tonight\"). His debut album, \"Montevallo,\" topped the country charts and remains the biggest-selling debut album for a country artist since 2011. It helps that it was packed with massive hits – the multi-platinum chart-toppers \"Leave the Night On,\" \"Take Your Time” and “House Party,” the double-platinum “Break Up in a Small Town” and the platinum “Make You Miss Me.” Hunt explained the name of this year's tour, which is also a line in his new single, \"Body Like a Back Road,\" to Nash Country Daily. “Most of our camp,\" Hunt says, \"and from what I know about the other camps, everybody is kind of laid back, and I think the title of the tour, 15 in a 30, will reflect that,” Hunt explains. “It will still be high energy and a good time.”\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $51.50-$66.50. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/20: Slayer\n\nMetal legends Slayer will end their American tour with a stop on Sunday, Aug. 20, at Comeria Theatre in Phoenix. Lamb of God and Behemoth are the supporting acts on the tour. Kerry King of Slayer says about the impending tour: \"As metal tours go, this is the one that your fellow metal heads will be bragging about if you miss it! Not very often I get to go on tour where we are all friends to start. That being said, the potential for greatness at these events is mind-blowing.\"\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 20. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $39.50-$59.50. 800-745-300, ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/22: Rancid and Dropkick Murphys\n\nRancid and Dropkick Murphys have announced a co-headlining trip called the From Boston To Berkeley Tour (for obvious reasons), with an Tuesday, Aug. 22, stop at Rawhide Event Center in Chandler. Each night will culminate with Rancid and Dropkick Murphys on stage together for a joint encore. The Selecter and Kevin Seconds open the Rawhide date. Rancid and Dropkick Murphys have a long and significant history together. In 1997, Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen came across a copy of Dropkick Murphys’ original EP at a friend's house. He turned it over to his bandmate and Hellcat Records president Tim Armstrong, who quickly snatched up the band for his new label.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22 Rawhide, 5700 W. North Loop Rd., Chandler. $35.50-$36.99. www.DropkickMurphys.com and www.RancidRancid.com.\n\n8/24: Foreigner and Cheap Trick\n\nThe Foreigner 40th anniversary tour will play Ak-Chin Pavilion on Thursday, Aug. 24, with Cheap Trick, who are also celebrating the 40th anniversary of their own self-titled debut. “I never could have imagined when I set out to create Foreigner 40 years ago, that we’d still be touring around the world and performing the music we love all these years later,” says lead guitarist Mick Jones. “I can’t express the gratitude I feel when fans share stories of how our songs have been woven into their milestones and memories over the years.\" Cheap Trick took their rightful place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year while releasing their 17th studio album, “Bang Zoom Crazy … Hello.”\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $29.95-$99.95. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/29: OneRepublic\n\nThe Honda Civic Tour will bring OneRepublic, Fitz and the Tantrums and James Arthur to Phoenix's Ak-Chin Pavilion on Tuesday, Aug. 29. OneRepublic hit the mainstream in 2007 with \"Apologize,\" a dramatic first single that's sold more than 5 million copies and briefly held the record for most airplay in a single week. Their other hits include the multi-platinum \"Stop and Stare,\" \"All the Right Moves,\" \"Secrets,\" \"Good Life\" and their biggest hit to date, 2013's \"Counting Stars.\" Front man Ryan Tedder has written and/or produced songs for Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Far East Movement, Jordin Sparks, Leona Lewis and Adele.\n\nDetails: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $25-$135. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n8/29: Toto with Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo\n\nToto and Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo bring their co-headlining summer tour to Comerica Theatre on Tuesday, Aug. 29.\n\n“I’ve known Neil a long time and he’s a fantastic musician,” Toto’s Steve Lukather commented. “Pat’s voice is one of the all-time greats and we’re super excited to join together with them to do some shows this summer.” A four-time Grammy winner, Benatar broke through on the eve of the '80s with \"Heartbreaker,\" following through with hits as big as \"Hit Me With Your Best Shot,\" \"Treat Me Right,\" \"Shadows of the Nights,\" \"Love is a Battlefield\" and \"We Belong.\" Toto topped the charts in 1982 with “Africa.” Their other hits include “Hold the Line” and “Rosanna.” In 2015, they released their first studio album in 10 years – “Toto XIV.”\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. ticketmaster.com.\n\n9/3: Idina Menzel\n\nTony-winning actress and chart-rocking singer Idina Menzel will bring her concert tour to Comerica Theatre in Phoenix on Sunday, Sept. 3. After releasing her fifth solo studio album, “idina.,” last fall, the Tony-winning star announced today that she will head out on a tour of more than 50 cities from Japan to Phoenix, where the tour concludes. Menzel earned her first Tony nomination as Maureen in the Pulitzer Prize-winning \"Rent,\" and won a Tony for her performance as Elphaba in \"Wicked.\" She crashed the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a song called \"Let It Go” from Disney’s “Frozen,” which won an Oscar and a Grammy. She earned another Tony nomination for her role in the musical “If/Then\" and turned in a well-received nation anthem when the Super Bowl played Glendale.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. $126.50. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n9/9: Nickelback\n\nNickelback's Feed the Machine Tour is headed to Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix on Saturday, Sept. 9, with Daughtry. The Canadian rockers, led by guitar-playing singer Chad Kroeger, cracked the U.S. market with a six-times-platinum breakthrough called \"Silver Side Up\" in 2001, following through with an even bigger eight-times-platinum triumph called \"All the Right Reasons\" four years later. The only foreign act to sell more albums in the States between the years 2000 and 2009 was the Beatles. Their hits include the chart-topping \"How You Remind Me,\" \"Someday,\" \"Photograph,\" \"Far Away,\" \"Rockstar\" and \"Gotta Be Somebody,\" all of which went Top 10 on the Hot 100. Billboard ranked “How You Remind Me” as the biggest-selling rock song of the decade. They’re currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their ninth album, “Feed The Machine,” set for release on Friday, June 9.\n\nDetails: 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $25-$125. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n9/16: Gloria Trevi vs. Alejandra Guzmán\n\nThe Gloria Trevi vs. Alejandra Guzmán Tour will play Gila River Arena on Saturday, Sept. 16. The Latin pop legends have been breaking ticket sale records, demonstrating once again the strength of their legacies and their star power. A portion of each ticket sold will be donated to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) to benefit their Immigrant Defense Fund. Guzmán and Trevi are two of the most legendary names in music sung in Spanish. Throughout the years, entire generations have been influenced by their music, style, ideologies and performances. The rivalry between them, mainly attributed to the media, has been the subject of endless stories and controversies.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16. Gila River Arena, Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue, Glendale. ticketmaster.com.\n\n9/27: Depeche Mode\n\nNew Wave legends Depeche Mode are returning to Ak-Chin Pavilion on Wednesday, Sept. 27, on the U.S. leg of the Global Spirit tour. Depeche Mode – Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and Andy Fletcher – plan to release a new album Friday, March 17. Q Magazine has called \"Spirit\" \"the most energized Depeche Mode album in years.\"\n\nDetails: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $30-$99.50. livenation.com and ticketmaster.com.\n\n10/28: Joe Bonamassa\n\nBlues-rock guitar hero Joe Bonamassa is playing Comerica Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 28, in support of his latest studio album, “Blues of Desperation.” He’ll be backed by the musicians featured on his Grammy-nominated “Live At The Greek Theatre,” including Anton Fig on drums (Letterman, Ace Frehley), Michael Rhodes on bass (Faith Hill, Randy Travis), Reese Wynans on piano/organ (Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble), Lee Thornburg on Trumpet (Tower Of Power), Paulie Cerra on saxophone and back up vocalists Mahalia Barnes, Jade McCrae and Juanita Tippins. “Live at the Greek Theatre” was Bonamassa’s 17th release to top the Billboard blues chart.\n\nDetails: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Comerica Theatre, 400 W. Washington St., Phoenix. ticketmaster.com.\n\nMORE AZCENTRAL ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest\n\nReach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495.Twitter.com/EdMasley.\n\nLATEST MUSIC NEWS:\n\nLady Antebellum owned the night in Phoenix\n\nPhoenix summer concert guide\n\nBeyond 'Sgt. Pepper' The top sounds of 1967\n\nNew Kids on the Block concert review, photos\n\nSee Arizona college students' Spotify trends\n\nChris Stapleton concert review, photos", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/01/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/concerts/2019/01/07/indianapolis-concerts-50-buzzworthy-shows-2019/2462802002/", "title": "Indianapolis concerts: 89 buzzworthy shows for 2019", "text": "The 2019 calendar for live music in Indianapolis is packed with both household names and emerging talent.\n\nElton John, Ariana Grande and Carrie Underwood will sing their hits at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Rock fans will congregate at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center to catch the Who, Kiss and Santana.\n\nThe menu of mainstream country acts includes Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett and Jason Aldean. And the roster of rising stars includes Quinn XCII, Mitski and the Interrupters.\n\nCheck out our roster of buzzworthy concerts:\n\n1. Travis Scott\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Feb. 20. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $39.50 to $139.95. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nWhile this will be Travis Scott's first headlining appearance at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the \"Sicko Mode\" performer joined Kanye West fans on the arena's floor when West launched his \"Saint Pablo\" tour in Indianapolis in 2016. Scott shared a bill with R&B singer Khalid May 24, 2017, at the Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park.\n\n2. Blake Shelton\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. Feb. 21. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $21 to $125. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nBilled as the \"Friends and Heroes\" tour by headliner Blake Shelton, this show will showcase a supporting cast of the Bellamy Brothers, John Anderson, Trace Adkins and Lauren Alaina.\n\n3. Kurt Vile\n\nWhen: 9 p.m. Feb. 21. Where: the Vogue. Tickets: $23.50 to $25. Info: Visit TheVogue.com.\n\nIndie-rock mainstay Kurt Vile collaborated with Courtney Barnett on 2017 album \"Lotta Sea Lice\" before issuing his 2018 album \"Bottle It In.\"\n\n4. Lil Duval\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Feb. 23. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: $48 to $75. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nLil Duval, whose stage name pays tribute to the Florida county that's home to Jacksonville, is a comedian who landed a Top 25 hit with 2018 song \"Smile (Living My Best Life).\"\n\n5. Adrian Belew\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. March 2. Where: the Hi-Fi. Tickets: $30 to $45. Info: Visit HiFiIndy.com.\n\nGuitarist Adrian Belew has been a valued sideman for artists such as Frank Zappa, Robert Fripp, Paul Simon, David Bowie, Talking Heads, Trent Reznor and Tori Amos. Belew sells an app titled \"Flux,\" which is a vehicle for releasing new music that's presented in an ever-changing running order.\n\n6. Lauren Daigle\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. March 7. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: Sold out. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nAs one of the most popular performers in Christian music, Lauren Daigle landed at No. 3 on Billboard magazine's all-genre Top 200 chart with 2018 album \"Look Up Child.\" Daigle is nominated for two Grammy Awards this year.\n\n7. Mariah Carey\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. March 9. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: $74.95 to $199.95. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nFive-time Grammy winner Mariah Carey will make a rare Indianapolis appearance when she promotes 2018 album \"Caution\" at Old National Centre.\n\n8. DMX\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. March 10. Where: Citadel Music Hall, 6447 W. Washington St. Tickets: $30 to $60. Info: Visit CitadelMusicHall.com.\n\nRapper DMX will visit Indianapolis as the third stop on a tour that celebrates the 20th anniversary of his debut album, \"It's Dark and Hell is Hot.\" Citadel Music Hall is a new venue overseen by managers of the Emerson Theater.\n\n9. Metallica\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. March 11. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $135. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis Rock and Roll Hall of Fame quartet will perform in the round at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Metallica issued its \"Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct\" album in 2016.\n\n10. ‘Soul Music Festival’\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. March 15. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $42.50 to $99.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nCharlie Wilson, Indianapolis native Kenny \"Babyface\" Edmonds and Joe are featured on this triple-bill event.\n\n11. Gary Clark Jr.\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. March 18. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: $29.50 to $49.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nBlues-rock musician Gary Clark Jr. has collaborated with Childish Gambino, Foo Fighters and Alicia Keys. Clark's next studio album is expected to arrive in stores before summer.\n\n12. Jeff Tweedy\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. March 21. Where: Egyptian Room in Old National Centre. Tickets: $25 to $39.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nWilco founder Jeff Tweedy will play a solo show in Indianapolis for the first time. The singer-songwriter's resume includes recordings with Uncle Tupelo, Golden Smog, Loose Fur and Billy Bragg.\n\n13. ‘Millennium Tour 2019’\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. March 21. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $42.50 to $99.50. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nR&B acts B2K, Mario, Llloyd, Pretty Ricky will hit the road with rap acts Ying Yang Twins and Chingy for this package tour of performers who scaled the charts around the turn of the century.\n\n14. Kelly Clarkson\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. March 22. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $35 to $115. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nA two-time performer of \"The Star-Spangled Banner\" at the Indianapolis 500, Kelly Clarkson will bring her \"Meaning of Life\" tour to Bankers Life Fieldhouse.\n\n15. Graham Nash\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. March 22. Where: the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts, Carmel. Tickets: $36 to $86. Info: Visit TheCenterPresents.org.\n\nA two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee for his work in Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Hollies, Graham Nash issued a 50-year anthology of his songs — titled \"Over the Years ...\" — in 2018.\n\n16. Mumford & Sons\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. March 25. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $44.50 to $64. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis in-the-round performance will showcase songs from Mumford & Sons' 2018 album \"Delta.\" The English band previously headlined Bankers Life Fieldhouse in 2016.\n\n17. The Interrupters\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. March 29. Where: Deluxe in Old National Centre. Tickets: $22. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nAfter landing their song \"Take Back the Power\" in a 2015 T-Mobile commercial, the Interrupters recorded more ska-punk sounds for 2016 album \"Say It Out Loud\" and 2018's \"Fight the Good Fight.\" Recent single \"She's Kerosene\" landed at No. 4 on Billboard's alternative songs chart.\n\n18. Justin Timberlake\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. April 2. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $90 to $225.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nA case of bruised vocal cords shifted this date from Dec. 14 to April 2. Assuming Justin Timberlake is back to full strength, he will promote 2018 album \"Man of the Woods\" in Indianapolis.\n\n19. Mitski\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. April 2. Where: Deluxe in Old National Centre. Tickets: Sold out. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\n\"Be the Cowboy,\" Mitski's current album, was listed at No. 1 on best-of-2018 lists published by Pitchfork and Consequence of Sound. The native of Japan who attended college in New York is signed to Bloomington-based label Dead Oceans.\n\n20. Amos Lee\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. April 3. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: $39.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nSeven years ago, singer-songwriter Amos Lee topped Billboard magazine's Top 200 chart with his \"Mission Bell\" album. Lee's seventh album, \"My New Moon,\" arrived in stores last August.\n\n21. Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. April 5. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: $49.50 to $99.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nAs the drummer in Pink Floyd, Nick Mason played on iconic albums \"The Dark Side of the Moon,\" \"The Wall\" and \"The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.\" The name of his current musical project, Saucerful of Secrets, served as the title for Pink Floyd's 1968 album.\n\n22. Temptations, Four Tops\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. April 6. Where: Clowes Hall. Tickets: $41 to $75. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nThis pairing of Motown icons guarantees an evening of sing-alongs, including the Temptations' \"My Girl,\" \"Just My Imagination\" and \"Get Ready\" and the Four Tops' \"Bernadette,\" \"Reach Out I'll Be There\" and \"I Can't Help Myself.\"\n\n23. ‘Legends of Hip-Hop’\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. April 12. Where: Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Tickets: $52 to $75. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nThis all-star show will bring Juvenile, Scarface, Too Short, DJ Quik, 8ball & MJG and Bun B to the Indiana State Fairgrounds.\n\n24. Patty Griffin\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. April 14. Where: the Hi-Fi. Tickets: $35 to $40. Info: Visit HiFiIndy.com.\n\nSinger-songwriter Patty Griffin won a Grammy Award for 2010 album \"Downtown Church,\" and she collaborated with Robert Plant on his \"Band of Joy\" album the same year. Griffin's 10th studio album, a self-titled release, will arrive in stores March 8.\n\n25. Woo Grl Fest\n\nWhen: Noon April 20. Where: Fountain Square. Tickets: $15. Info: Visit Eventbrite.com.\n\nKristin Newborn, Ariana Beedie and Nicole O'Neal are organizing this first-time festival to raise the profile of women musicians and other performers who are under-represented on local stages.\n\n26. Houndmouth\n\nWhen: 9 p.m. April 26-27. Where: the Vogue. Tickets: $20 to $30. Info: Visit TheVogue.com.\n\nSouthern Indiana's Houndmouth will perform on consecutive nights at the Vogue. The first high-profile act to play the revamped Nickel Plate District Amphitheater last summer is on tour to promote 2018 album \"Golden Age.\"\n\n27. Alan Jackson\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. April 27. Where: Lucas Oil Stadium. Tickets: $29.95 to $122.50. Info: Visit NRAAM.org.\n\nCountry Music Hall of Famer Alan Jackson will perform as part of the 148th NRA Annual Meetings. Jackson previously sang at the 2015 NRA convention in Nashville.\n\n28. Pink\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. April 30. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $59.95 to $324.95. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nIt's rare that a musician headlines Bankers Life Fieldhouse twice on the same tour, but Pink will accomplish the feat when her \"Beautiful Trauma\" road trip returns to the arena following a March 17, 2018, visit.\n\n29. Lovelytheband\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. April 30. Where: Deluxe in Old National Centre. Tickets: $20. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis trio enjoyed a mainstream breakthrough with 2018 single \"Broken,\" which reached No. 1 on three Billboard charts: adult pop songs, alternative songs and rock airplay.\n\n30. Amy Grant\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. May 3. Where: the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts, Carmel. Tickets: $50 to $95. Info: Visit TheCenterPresents.org.\n\nThis year marks the 40th anniversary of Amy Grant's \"My Father's Eyes\" album, which gave the teenager her first No. 1 album on Billboard magazine's Christian chart. Grant enjoyed crossover success when her song \"Baby Baby\" reached No. 1 on Billboard's all-genre Hot 100 chart in 1991.\n\n31. Chicago\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. May 4. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: $39.50 to $125. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band ranked higher than any other U.S. act when Billboard ranked the top 60 duos and groups on the Hot 100 chart from 1958 to 2018. At No. 4, Chicago trailed the Beatles (1), Rolling Stones (2) and Bee Gees (3).\n\n32. Strand of Oaks\n\nWhen: 9 p.m. May 4. Where: the Hi-Fi. Tickets: $18. Info: Visit HiFiIndy.com.\n\nTimothy Showalter, who grew up in Goshen, Indiana, makes indie rock for Bloomington-based label Dead Oceans. Strand of Oaks, Showalter's musical persona, will issue an album titled \"Eraserland\" on March 22.\n\n33. New Kids on the Block\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. May 5. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $29.95 to $79.95. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThe New Kids on the Block will be accompanied by fellow throwback acts Salt-N-Pepa, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson and Naughty by Nature on \"The Mixtape Tour.\"\n\n34. Tony Bennett\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. May 8. Where: the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts, Carmel. Tickets: $86 to $196. Info: Visit TheCenterPresents.org.\n\nEighteen-time Grammy Awards winner Tony Bennett collaborated with jazz vocalist Diana Krall on 2018 album \"Love is Here to Stay.\" Among many local performances through the decades, Bennett headlined the 2005 edition of Indy Jazz Fest in Military Park.\n\n35. Virginia Avenue Music Fest\n\nWhen: May 8-12. Where: Multiple venues in the Fletcher Place and Fountain Square neighborhoods. Admission: Free. Info: Visit VirginiaAvenueMusicFest.com.\n\nDozens of acts will play this 5-year-old event. Performers include Allison Victoria, Sweet Poison Victim, Charlie Ballantine, Gideon Wainwright and Manners, Please.\n\n36. Maren Morris\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. May 10. Where: Egyptian Room in Old National Centre. Tickets: $40. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nOn the heels of crossover hit \"The Middle,\" country singer Maren Morris returns March 8 with a sophomore album titled \"Girl.\"\n\n37. Tom Morello\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. May 10. Where: Deluxe in Old National Centre. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nKnown for his work in Rage Against the Machine, guitarist Tom Morello will play the subterranean venue inside Old National Centre to promote 2018 album \"The Atlas Underground.\"\n\n38. Elle King\n\nWhen: 9 p.m. May 11. Where: Deluxe in Old National Centre. Tickets: $29.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nKnown for 2015 hit single \"Ex's and Oh's\" and a high-profile collaboration with Dierks Bentley on the song \"Different for Girls,\" Elle King issued her \"Shake the Spirit\" album last fall.\n\n39. Neko Case\n\nWhen: 5 p.m. May 11. Where: Upland Brewing Company, Bloomington. Tickets: $50. Info: Visit Indiana.edu.\n\nSinger-songwriter Neko Case is one of the musical acts headed to Bloomington for the second edition of \"Granfalloon: A Kurt Vonnegut Convergence.\" On May 11, Case tops a bill that includes Parquet Courts and Durand Jones & the Indications. May 10 performers range from Khruangbin to Chrome Sparks.\n\n40. Slayer\n\nWhen: 5:30 p.m. May 16. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: $28.50 to $58.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nKnown as one of the \"big four\" bands of thrash metal (along with Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax), Slayer plans to cease touring this year. The \"Final World Tour\" launches a new string of U.S. dates May 2 in Phoenix.\n\n41. Snarky Puppy\n\nWhen: 9 p.m. May 17. Where: the Vogue. Tickets: $35 to $40. Info: Visit TheVogue.com.\n\nKnown for progressive instrumental tunes, Snarky Puppy is a three-time Grammy Award winner. \"Immigrance,\" the group's first studio album since 2016, will arrive in stores March 15.\n\n42. The Who\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. May 18. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $53 to $228. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nFounded in 1964, the Who boasts a catalog of songs that includes \"Won't Get Fooled Again,\" \"My Generation\" and \"Baba O'Riley.\" Who members Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey will launch a 29-city tour May 7 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.\n\n43. Sammy Hagar & the Circle\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. May 23. Where: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park. Tickets: $32.50 to $225. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nLong-running rocker Sammy Hagar will bring the Circle (bass player Michael Anthony, drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson) to Indianapolis to promote a studio album titled \"Space Between.\"\n\n44. Foreigner, Kool & the Gang\n\nWhen: 3:30 p.m. May 24. Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tickets: $30 to $50. Info: Visit IMS.com.\n\nThe annual Carb Day concert the Friday before the Indianapolis 500 will star rock band Foreigner and R&B group Kool & the Gang.\n\n45. Zac Brown Band\n\nWhen: 3:30 p.m. May 25. Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tickets: $35 to $75. Info: Visit IMS.com.\n\nThe Firestone Legends Day concert one day before the Indianapolis 500 will showcase this country/pop/rock act. To play this show, the Zac Brown Band likely will break a seven-summer streak of performing at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center.\n\n46. Skrillex\n\nWhen: 7 a.m. May 26. Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tickets: $45 to $135. Info: Visit IMS.com.\n\nThe soundtrack for this year's Indy 500 Snake Pit will be supplied by Skrillex, Alesso, Illenium and Chris Lake. It will be an encore performance for Skrillex, who headlined the 100th Running edition of the Race Day infield party in 2016.\n\n47. India Arie\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. May 29. Where: the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts, Carmel. Tickets: $35 to $199. Info: Visit TheCenterPresents.org.\n\nFour-time Grammy Award winner India Arie released her eighth studio album, \"Worthy,\" on Feb. 15.\n\n48. Dierks Bentley\n\nWhen: May 31. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: Available Jan. 25 to Feb. 15 as part of \"Country Megaticket\" promotion. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nAs a pre-teen, this country star from Arizona attended summer camp at Culver Academies in Northern Indiana. Dierks Bentley grew up to be the singer of more than 15 No. 1 Billboard hits.\n\n49. Rob Thomas\n\nWhen: 6 p.m. June 4. Where: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nKnown for his work in Matchbox Twenty, vocalist Rob Thomas will promote upcoming solo album \"Chip Tooth Smile\" at the Lawn.\n\n50. Vampire Weekend\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. June 7. Where: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park. Tickets: $29.50 to $59.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nNew York-based band Vampire Weekend will make a rare Indianapolis appearance as part of a tour to promote upcoming album \"Father of the Bride.\"\n\n51. Tom Joyner ‘One More Time Experience’\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. June 8. Where: Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Tickets: $52 to $75. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nRadio icon Tom Joyner will bring retirement tour to Indiana Farmers Coliseum, accompanied by musical guests Maze featuring Frankie Beverly and Kem.\n\n52. Trombone Shorty\n\nWhen: June 8. Where: Conner Prairie. Info: Visit IndianapolisSymphony.org.\n\nAfter playing the 50th-anniversary edition of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this spring, Trombone Shorty will play a Symphony on the Prairie date in Fishers.\n\n53. Hozier\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. June 10. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nIrish singer-songwriter Hozier will perform songs from his 2019 album \"Wasteland, Baby!\" at Old National Centre.\n\n54. David Gray\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. June 11. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: $29.50 to $79.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nEnglish singer-songwriter David Gray will issue an album titled \"Gold in a Brass Age\" in March. He enjoyed a U.S. mainstream breakthrough with 1999 single \"Babylon.\"\n\n55. Dead & Company\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. June 12. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: $48.50 to $153.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis band, featuring Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann with vocalist-guitarist John Mayer, bass player Oteil Burbridge and keyboard player Jeff Chimenti, made its Indiana debut in June 2016. The band returned to Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center last summer.\n\n56. Reba McEntire\n\nWhen: 8:30 p.m. June 15. Where: Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nCountry music icon Reba McEntire will perform outdoors in Anderson, where fans will hear hits such as \"Fancy,\" \"Is There Life Out There\" and \"Whoever's in New England.\"\n\n57. Carrie Underwood\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. June 16. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $42 to $92. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nThis winner of seven Grammy Awards and the 2005 \"American Idol\" title will perform in the round at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Carrie Underwood previously headlined at the arena in 2010, 2012 and 2016.\n\n58. Young the Giant, Fitz and the Tantrums\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. June 16. Where: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis co-headlining show features Young the Giant, a band known for 2010 hit \"Cough Syrup\" and Fitz and the Tantrums, a band known for singles \"Out of My League,\" \"Moneygrabber\" and \"The Walker.\"\n\n59. Josh Groban\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. June 19. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $45 to $175. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nAfter co-hosting the Tony Awards and acting in Netflix series \"The Good Cop\" in 2018, Josh Groban is on tour to promote his \"Bridges\" album.\n\n60. Thomas Rhett\n\nWhen: June 21. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: Available Jan. 25 to Feb. 15 as part of \"Country Megaticket\" promotion. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThe \"Very Hot Summer Tour\" will make Thomas Rhett a first-time headliner at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. In 2015, Rhett performed as supporting act for Florida Georgia Line during the annual Legends Day concert at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.\n\n61. En Vogue\n\nWhen: June 22. Where: Conner Prairie. Info: Visit IndianapolisSymphony.org.\n\nR&B group En Vogue, presently a trio of Terry Ellis, Rhona Bennett and Cindy Herron, will make their Symphony on the Prairie debut.\n\n62. Twenty One Pilots\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. June 28. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $59.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nTyler Joseph and Josh Dun followed 2015's chart-topping \"Blurryface\" album with 2018's \"Trench.\" Twenty One Pilots singer-songwriter Joseph collaborated with Mutemath vocalist Paul Meany when penning seven tunes for \"Trench.\"\n\n63. Dave Matthews Band\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. June 28-29. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nRuoff Home Mortgage Music Center will host the 41st and 42nd overall performances by the Dave Matthews Band at the Noblesville amphitheater.\n\n64. Ariana Grande\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. June 29. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $54.95 to $74.95. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nSix-time Grammy nominee Ariana Grande sold the equivalent of 231,000 copies of 2018 album \"Sweetener\" in its first week of release. Grande debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 chart thanks to 127 million streams and 127,000 copies sold as a full album, according to Nielsen.\n\n65. Third Eye Blind\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. June 30. Where: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park. Tickets: $35 to $75. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nHitting the road with Jimmy Eat World and Ra Ra Riot, Third Eye Blind is reviving the tour name \"Summer Gods\" — initially used when the band traveled with Silversun Pickups in 2017.\n\n66. Chris Young\n\nWhen: July 13. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: Available Jan. 25 to Feb. 15 as part of \"Country Megaticket\" promotion. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nOn current single \"Raised on Country,\" Chris Young mentions influential Nashville stars Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, George Strait and Joe Diffie by name. At Ruoff, Young will be accompanied by supporting act Chris Janson.\n\n67. Wynonna & The Big Noise\n\nWhen: July 19. Where: Conner Prairie. Info: Visit IndianapolisSymphony.org.\n\nThe Symphony on the Prairie series boasts country music royalty with Wynonna Judd, a five-time Grammy Award winner as a member of the Judds (the duo featuring her mother, Naomi).\n\n68. Brad Paisley\n\nWhen: July 20. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: Available Jan. 25 to Feb. 15 as part of \"Country Megaticket\" promotion. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nIn addition to being Peyton Manning's co-star in a series of Nationwide Insurance ads, Brad Paisley is a three-time Grammy Award winner who issued his \"Bucked Off\" single in advance of a 2019 studio album.\n\n68. Train, Goo Goo Dolls\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. July 21. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: $28.50 to $124. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nAfter playing the 2018 edition of the Carb Day concert at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the band Train will return to Indiana for this show co-headlined by the Goo Goo Dolls.\n\n70. Tedeschi Trucks Band\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. July 24. Where: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park. Tickets: $35 to $199.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nVocalist-guitarist Susan Tedeschi and guitarist Derek Trucks will bring their blues-rock family band (Tedeschi and Trucks are married) to White River State Park for the fourth consecutive summer.\n\n71. Jon Bellion\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. Aug. 2. Where: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park. Tickets: $25 to $49.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nSinger-rapper Jon Bellion reached the Top 20 of Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart with 2016 single \"All Time Low.\" He issued studio album \"Glory Sound Prep\" in 2018.\n\n72. Smokey Robinson\n\nWhen: Aug. 3. Where: Conner Prairie. Info: Visit IndianapolisSymphony.org.\n\nMotown great and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Smokey Robinson is expected to perform hits such as \"The Tracks of My Tears,\" \"Tears of a Clown\" and \"I Second That Emotion\" at this Symphony on the Prairie show.\n\n73. Beck, Cage the Elephant\n\nWhen: 6 p.m. Aug. 4. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: $28.50 to $144.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis highly anticipated double bill unites modern-rock hitmakers Beck and Cage the Elephant, with Spoon performing as a supporting act.\n\n74. Heart\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. Aug. 7. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: $28.50 to $128.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nSiblings Ann and Nancy Wilson will end a three-year break from touring with a new Heart excursion featuring Joan Jett & the Blackhearts as a supporting act.\n\n75. Santana\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. Aug. 9. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: $46 to $172. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nRock and Roll Hall of Famer Carlos Santana is devoting his \"Supernatural Now\" tour to celebrating the 50th anniversary of his Woodstock performance and the 20th anniversary of his landmark \"Supernatural\" album.\n\n76. John Mayer\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $59.50 to $129.50. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nSinger-songwriter John Mayer won't be done with Indiana after he performs June 12 with Dead & Company at Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Mayer will be back in Indianapolis two months later for a solo show at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.\n\n77. Hootie & the Blowfish, Barenaked Ladies\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 17. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: $44. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nPop-rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which hasn't issued a recording since 2005, sold more than 20 million copies of its 1994 debut album, \"Cracked Rear View.\"\n\n78. Luke Bryan\n\nWhen: Aug. 18. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: Available Jan. 25 to Feb. 15 as part of \"Country Megaticket\" promotion. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis Georgia native will headline a Ruoff concert for the eighth consecutive summer. Luke Bryan won top country artist honors at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.\n\n79. Jason Aldean\n\nWhen: Aug. 23. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: Available Jan. 25 to Feb. 15 as part of \"Country Megaticket\" promotion. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis Georgia native has landed four consecutive albums — including 2018's \"Rearview Town\" — at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Top 200 chart. Kane Brown and Carly Pearce will perform as Aldean's supporting acts at Ruoff.\n\n80. Iron Maiden\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 24. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: $34. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nIron Maiden designed its current stage production and selected songs to perform live based on the band's 2016 mobile game \"The Legacy of the Beast,\" starring band mascot \"Eddie.\"\n\n81. Mark Knopfler\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Aug. 27. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: $77 to $97. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nVocalist-guitarist Mark Knopfler is known for his work with the band Dire Straits, a 2018 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.\n\n82. ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Aug. 29. Where: Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park. Tickets: $29.50 to $75. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nPop music's parody king is prepping his first symphonic orchestra tour, billed as \"Strings Attached,\" for 2019.\n\n83. Kiss\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. Aug. 31. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: $38.50 to $295. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nPaul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer are planning a three-year \"End of the Road\" farewell tour, beginning with a Jan. 31 show in Vancouver.\n\n84. ‘FGL Fest’\n\nWhen: 3 p.m. Sept. 7. Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Tickets: $39 to $99. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nFlorida Georgia Line will headline this NASCAR Brickyard 400 weekend show, joined by Dan & Shay, Mitchell Tenpenny and Nelly at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.\n\n85. Backstreet Boys\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Sept. 10. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $29 to $59. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nAfter ending their \"Larger Than Life\" Las Vegas residency in April, the Backstreet Boys will play arena dates to promote new studio album \"DNA.\"\n\n86. Rascal Flatts\n\nWhen: Sept. 14. Where: Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center. Tickets: Available Jan. 25 to Feb. 15 as part of \"Country Megaticket\" promotion. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis trio will return to Ruoff, where a bomb threat brought an early end to Rascal Flatts' 2018 performance. Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney issued a single titled \"Back to Life\" last September.\n\n87. Elton John\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Oct. 25. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: Sold out. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nWith plans to stop touring in 2021, \"Your Song\" singer Elton John launched his \"Farewell Yellow Brick Road\" tour Sept. 8 in Allentown, Pa.\n\n88. The Chainsmokers\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. Nov. 7. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $39.50 to $129.50. Info: Visit Ticketmaster.com.\n\nEDM chart-toppers the Chainsmokers will return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where the duo performed in December 2018. This year's show will feature guests 5 Seconds of Summer and \"Nashville\" star Lennon Stella.\n\n89. Alabama\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. Nov. 9. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $55.50 to $75.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nCountry band Alabama — known for hits such as \"Mountain Music,\" \"Dixieland Delight\" and \"The Closer You Get\" — will bring its 50th anniversary tour to Indianapolis. The show was postponed from its original date of Jan. 11 because of back spasms experiened by vocalist Randy Owen.\n\nSo that happened:\n\nKacey Musgraves\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Jan. 9. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: Sold out. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nAlready a two-time Grammy Award winner, Kacey Musgraves is a nominee in four categories (best album, country album, country song and country solo performance) when trophies are handed out Feb. 10.\n\nShow recap:4 ways Kacey Musgraves brought her Nashville groove to Indianapolis\n\nRayland Baxter\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Jan. 22. Where: the Hi-Fi. Tickets: $15. Info: Visit HiFiIndy.com.\n\nNashville singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter will return to Fountain Square's Hi-Fi, where the \"Casanova\" singer performed last summer.\n\nVince Gill\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31. Where: Murat Theatre in Old National Centre. Tickets: $59.50. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nCountry Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill devoted most of his 2018 on the road as a member of the Eagles. This show at Old National Centre is a make-up date after Gill couldn't make it to Indianapolis Nov. 17 because of illness.\n\nAlejandro Escovedo\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Feb. 4. Where: the Hi-Fi. Tickets: $25. Info: Visit HiFiIndy.com.\n\nNamed \"artist of the decade\" for the 1990s by No Depression magazine (a publication devoted to alt-country music), Alejandro Escovedo will promote his 2018 album \"The Crossing\" at the Hi-Fi.\n\nShow recap:Alejandro Escovedo explores this hard land at the Hi-Fi\n\nDavid Sanborn\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Feb. 8. Where: the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts, Carmel. Tickets: $15 to $75. Info: Visit TheCenterPresents.org.\n\nAlto saxophone player David Sanborn stands as one of the key figures in the history of jazz-to-pop crossover recordings, thanks to tunes such as \"Chicago Song\" and \"Bang Bang.\"\n\nToby Mac\n\nWhen: 7 p.m. Feb. 10. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $18 to $28.75. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nKnown offstage as Toby McKeehan, Toby Mac made his name as a member of 1990s Christian hip-hop group DC Talk. The 54-year-old is a seven-time Grammy winner.\n\nMarsha Ambrosius\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Feb. 10. Where: the Vogue. Tickets: $30 to $99. Info: Visit TheVogue.com.\n\nFollowing the breakup of U.K.-based R&B act Floetry, Marsha Ambrosius made a bold solo debut with a 2010 single titled \"Hope She Cheats On You (With a Basketball Player).\" Abrosius issued her third solo album, \"Nyla,\" in 2018.\n\nCher\n\nWhen: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14. Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Tickets: $47.95 to $137.95. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis Grammy and Oscar winner gave her 2019 tour the title \"Here We Go Again,\" a name shared with a \"Mamma Mia\" film sequel featuring Cher in its cast.\n\nShow recap:After paint-by-numbers nostalgia trip, Cher finally turns back time\n\nMegan Hilty\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Feb. 15. Where: the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts, Carmel. Tickets: $35 to $85. Info: Visit TheCenterPresents.org.\n\nWith portrayals of Glinda the Good Witch in Broadway's \"Wicked\" and Ivy Lynn on NBC's \"Smash,\" Megan Hilty will bring star power to Carmel one night after Valentine's Day.\n\nQuinn XCII\n\nWhen: 8 p.m. Feb. 19. Where: Egyptian Room in Old National Centre. Tickets: $27. Info: Visit LiveNation.com.\n\nThis Michigan native was born in 1992, a year that's commemorated in his stage name. Indianapolis is the first U.S. city on Quinn XCII's tour to promote 2019 album \"From Michigan with Love.\"\n\nIndianapoLIST:Obsessed with Indianapolis? Subscribe to our newsletter\n\nCall IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at 317-444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/01/07"}, {"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": "20230331_15", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/theater/2019/05/10/pnc-broadway-series-hello-dolly-comes-louisville-kentucky-with-betty-buckley/1139339001/", "title": "'Hello, Dolly!' in Louisville: PNC Broadway show hits Kentucky Center", "text": "When Betty Buckley — the legendary actress dubbed \"The Voice of Broadway\" — begins her long descent of the iconic staircase in the musical \"Hello, Dolly!,\" she'll follow in the formidable footsteps of superstar performers Carol Channing, Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters.\n\nThe beloved musical first opened on Broadway in 1964 and Channing won one of the show's 10 Tony Awards that year.\n\nHalf a century later, Midler won the same award for her portrayal of Dolly Gallagher Levi in the Broadway revival directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks and choreographed by Tony Award winner Warren Carlyle.\n\nTony Award winner Peters succeeded Midler in the role, which has also been played by Ethel Merman, Pearl Bailey and Mary Martin.\n\nDo you see what we mean? This musical comedy attracts megawatt star power.\n\nBuckley continues the lineage, playing the world's most famous matchmaker in the show's national tour, which arrives at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville on Tuesday as part of the PNC Broadway in Louisville 2018-19 season.\n\nCheck out:Broadway in Louisville's 2018-19 season includes amazing productions\n\n\"I saw 'Hello, Dolly!' a few times many decades ago but it never did anything for me until I saw Bette in the show directed by Jerry Zaks,\" Buckley told the Courier Journal. \"He clarified the story and focused it more on the book it is based on, Thorton Wilder's 'The Matchmaker.' He made it less of a tool to showcase the performer and more about the story and I feel like that greatly improved the show.\"\n\nSitting in the Shubert Theater in New York City, Buckley was so delighted by this new version of \"Hello, Dolly!\" that she cried when Milder took her final bow and the curtain came down. She never imagined three years later she'd play the lead in the national tour.\n\n\"I spent years perfecting my craft as a dramatic actress,\" she said. \"The role of Dolly is very comedic; she's involved in a lot of shenanigans, so I spent the summer before we went out on tour learning a new skill — comedic acting. I loved it.\"\n\nFans know Buckley for her wide range of roles including the Tony-winning “Memory” —singing Grizabella in “Cats,\" as well as the star of “Sunset Boulevard,” “Pippin,” “1776” and “Grey Gardens.”\n\nOr you may remember her as the kind stepmother Abby on TV’s “Eight Is Enough.\" In addition, she has appeared in dozens of films and has produced 18 solo albums in her 50-year career.\n\nToday, at age 71, she has embarked on the nationwide yearlong tour. \"Hello, Dolly!\" lands in Louisville on Tuesday as the second-to-last show in a season that also includes the smash hit \"Hamilton,\" which plays June 4-23.\n\n\"We have an incredible ensemble including original choreography by Gower Champion. The dancers are like Olympic athletes and the costumes and sets are magnificent,\" Buckley said. \"More than anything I want the audience to feel they are part of a joyous celebration full of colorful sets and costumes — they'll come out of the theater feeling wonderful.\"\n\nSee also:With a new Food Network show, Kentucky's favorite baker is busy\n\nSet in the 1880s, Buckley plays Dolly, a middle-aged marriage broker in New York City who is hired by a wealthy grain merchant to find him a wife. Dolly decides the perfect wife is herself and devises a series of tricks to get the grain merchant to propose.\n\nIf you like watching television dating shows like ABC's \"The Bachelor\" or \"The Bachelorette,\" this is the musical for you. \"Hello, Dolly!\" includes all the matchmaking plus memorable musical numbers and Buckley's legendary performance.\n\n\"You know it's true, this is a very hopeful production. Maybe if you are in the dating pool, it will give you hope,\" Buckley laughed.\n\nAnd, if you aren't in the market for a love connection, there is still much to love about the touring \"Hello, Dolly!\" revival. The fresh take on the musical favorite is made all the better thanks to the talent of a superstar like Buckley.\n\nReach Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com or Twitter @kirbylouisville. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/kirbya.\n\nHello, Dolly! — PNC Broadway over Louisville\n\nWHAT: \"Hello, Dolly!\" starring Tony Award-winning Broadway actress Betty Buckley\n\nWHEN: May 14-19\n\nWHERE: Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, 501 W. Main St.\n\nTICKETS: Starting at $39.25. Available at The Kentucky Center box office (501 W Main St.), by visiting kentuckycenter.org, or by calling 502-584-7777.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/05/10"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/arts/2023/03/29/new-playhouse-square-season-led-by-back-to-future-tour-launch-mj-musical-on-michael-jackson/70056751007/", "title": "Playhouse Square Broadway series includes 'MJ,' launch of 'Back to ...", "text": "Playhouse Square announced its 2023-24 KeyBank Broadway Series on Tuesday, featuring the launch of the North American tour of \"Back to the Future,\" the pre-Broadway tour of \"The Wiz\" and \"MJ,\" the musical that celebrates the creativity and collaborative spirit of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.\n\nThe seven-show season was announced on New Day Cleveland on Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.\n\nCraig Hassall, Playhouse Square's new president and CEO, praised the loyalty of Playhouse Square's more than 44,000 annual season theatergoers.\n\n\"Your enthusiasm and knowledge rival that of audiences anywhere in the world,\" he said.\n\nMore:Genie homecoming in 'Aladdin' a blast for Akron native Marcus Martin\n\nDavid Greene, senior vice president of programming, said Playhouse Square has the largest Broadway season ticket community in North America. He promised a season that includes plenty of nostalgia for multiple generations as well as new spins on familiar titles.\n\nThe full season Playhouse Square season for 2023-24\n\n● \"The Wiz,\" Oct. 3 to 22. Cleveland will be one of the first cities in the country to host a pre-Broadway stop of this musical, which will have a limited Broadway run in spring, 2024. The musical, a groundbreaking twist on \"The Wizard of Oz,\" has an iconic score featuring soul, gospel, rock and funk, including the timeless hit \"Ease on Down the Road.\" This revival infuses ballet, jazz and modern pop for a whole new groove.\n\n● \"Girl From the North Country,\" Oct. 31 to Nov. 19. The Tony Award-winning musical reimagines 20 legendary songs by Bob Dylan to tell the 1934 story of a group of wayward travelers whose lives intersect in 1934 Duluth, Minnesota. Written and directed by Conor McPherson, the show features Tony-winning orchestrations by Simon Hale of Dylan hits including \"Forever Young\" and \"Like a Rolling Stone.\"\n\n● \"Mrs. Doubtfire,\" Jan. 9 to 28, 2024. Based on the beloved film, the musical tells the story of an out-of-work actor who will do anything for his kids, even pose as a Scottish nanny. The family-friendly comedy is directed by Jerry Zaks.\n\n● \"Funny Girl,\" Feb. 20 to March 10, 2024. Fanny Brice, who has always dreamed of a life on stage, becomes one of the most beloved performers in history, despite everyone telling her she'd never be a star. The musical comedy revival features a score with the classic songs \"Don't Rain on My Parade,\" \"I'm the Greatest Star\" and \"People.\"\n\n● \"Company,\" April 30 to May 19, 2024. The winner of five Tony awards, including best revival of a musical, is a new production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's musical comedy. In the revival, gender-swapping has lead Bobbie as a 35-year-old single woman, rather than the original male Bobby, whose friends continually ask her why she hasn't settled down and started a family. Other characters have switched genders, including the man Jamie, originally written as a woman Amy. The musical's iconic Sondheim songs include \"Side by Side by Side\" and \"Being Alive.\"\n\nMore:Cult Kitchen goes for casual brunch, glorified bar bites from scratch | Local Flavor\n\n● \"Back to the Future: The Musical,\" June 11 to July 7, 2024. Playhouse Square will host the official North American tour opening less than 12 months after the show's Broadway opening in August 2023. The musical, based on the Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainment film, includes hit songs from the movie such as \"The Power of Love\" and \"Back in Time.\"\n\n● \"MJ,\" July 16 to Aug. 11, 2024. The Tony Award-winning musical centers around the making of Michael Jackson's 1992 Dangerous World Tour, with direction and Tony-winning choreography by Christopher Wheeldon and a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage. The musical looks at the creative mind and collaborative spirit that made Jackson a pop legend.\n\nSeason tickets are available from $160 to $750 per seat at 216-640-8800 or playhousesquare.org/broadway.\n\nArts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/arts/2016/12/29/bucket-list-theater-critic/95934602/", "title": "My shameful bucket list: A theater critic confesses", "text": "Kerry Lengel\n\nThe Republic | azcentral.com\n\nAfter spending two weeks interviewing actors, directors and designers about their artistic bucket lists, it occurred to me that I should have one of my own.\n\nI’m not really a bucket-list kind of guy. But as the theater critic for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com for the past eight years, there are still some gaping holes in my cultural education that I really ought to do something about. So consider these my new-year’s resolutions for 2017.\n\nRELATED:Local theater stars tell us their bucket list roles and productions\n\n1. See “Cats”\n\nI’m probably going to hate it. I mean, most of the people who share my taste in theater despise it. “Memory” is sentimental claptrap, and seriously, who needs to see a musical with a character named Rum Tum Tugger?\n\nOn the other hand, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash from 1981 is the fourth-longest-running show in Broadway history. I’ve seen professional productions of all the others in the Top 10 except for “Oh! Calcutta!” — which is hardly a staple of regional theater. And you never know. I expected to hate “Phantom of the Opera,” but I kinda liked it. (“Les Mis,” not so much.)\n\nMORE ARTS:Top 15 plays and musicals to see in January | Top 10 classical, dance concerts in January\n\nI’ve been whittling away at my list of must-see musicals for years now. It used to include “Oklahoma!” and “Annie,” for instance. But I still haven’t seen “The Sound of Music” onstage. Shouldn’t the movie be enough?\n\nAs for “Cats,” a revival opened on Broadway last July. So it looks like I have a good excuse to splurge on another trip to New York in 2017.\n\n2. Go to Chicago\n\nI’ve been to Broadway and I’ve seen plays in many of the 99-seat theaters in Los Angeles. But I’ve never been to what many consider to be the ultimate theater town.\n\nChicago is home to the Second City comedy troupe, which regularly sends its alums on to fame and fortune, and the legendary Steppenwolf Theatre, which is just one of the companies creating new work that challenges audiences’ expectations and sensibility.\n\nHere in the Valley, you can get a second-hand dose of the Chicago aesthetic at Stray Cat Theatre. But it’s really time to make a pilgrimage to the source.\n\n3. Take an improv class\n\nI took an introductory acting class in junior high school, and the results were … well, let’s just say that’s the source of my go-to story when asked for my most embarrassing moment.\n\nI’m never going to be an actor, but I definitely should know more about what actors experience when they put everything on the line in front of an audience (not to mention those persnickety critics). And I can’t think of anything more terrifying that the prospect of being asked to come up with a character and dialogue without a script.\n\nThings To Do app: Get the best in events, dining and travel right on your device\n\nBut improv isn’t just for actors. Improv teachers — including Sam Haldiman, founder of the brand-new Second Beat Improv Theater — tell me that they get a lot of students who want to develop poise, positivity and spontaneity in their personal and professional lives, even if they never perform onstage. It’s almost Toastmasters 2.0.\n\nJust please, nobody tell the other students what I do for a living.\n\n4. Come up with a decent Halloween costume\n\nMy mom set me up with a great Darth Vader outfit when I was 6 (see top of story), but my Halloweens have been all downhill from there. My best effort as an adult was Bullwinkle to my wife’s Rocky, which consisted of brown shirt, pants and shoes and some undersized moose antlers attached to a headband.\n\nConsidering I get paid to comment on the work of professional costume designers, that’s a pretty weak effort. Maybe somebody can help me up my game?\n\n5. Write a 10-minute play\n\nI may not have the right stuff to be an actor, but I do have a creative writing degree, and nothing makes you appreciate the challenges of creating compelling characters and dialogue like trying to do it yourself. I’ve done a little … let’s say doodling … with scene writing, but it’s definitely a goal of mine to turn out a fully formed short story for the stage.\n\nThe real problem: I can’t finish anything without a deadline. So maybe the ultimate trial by fire would be sign up for the next 24 Hour Theatre Project at Phoenix Theatre, where playwrights have to finish a script literally overnight.\n\nDo I have the guts?\n\nProbably not.\n\nReach the writer at kerry.lengel@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4896. Follow him at facebook.com/LengelOnTheater and twitter.com/KerryLengel.\n\nMORE AZCENTRAL ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/12/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/12/14/ann-reinking-tony-winning-choreographer-chicago-revival-dies-71/3898592001/", "title": "Tony-winning choreographer, actress Ann Reinking dies at 71 | AP ...", "text": "Mark Kennedy\n\nAssociated Press\n\nNEW YORK — Ann Reinking, the Tony Award-winning choreographer, actress and Bob Fosse collaborator who helped spread a cool, muscular hybrid of jazz and burlesque movement to Broadway and beyond, has died. She was 71.\n\nReinking died Saturday while visiting family in Seattle, said her manager, Lee Gross. No cause of death was disclosed.\n\nTributes poured in from the Broadway community, including from Tony Yazbeck, who called her “an absolute inspiration,” and Leslie Odom, Jr., who thanked Reinking for being a mentor: “She honored the calling for real. RIP to a legend.” Bernadette Peters took to Twitter to say her heart was broken and Billy Eichner said she was “one of the most mesmerizing people I’ve ever seen on stage. A singular genius. RIP.”\n\nKristin Chenoweth described Reinking on Twitter as \"an inspiration (to) all of us in the Broadway community.\"\n\n\"May we remember her at her happiest: dancing,\" she added. \"Rest In Peace, Ann. Thank you for always being so kind and supportive of me.\"\n\nLin-Manuel Miranda was among those praising her talent. “A singular talent has left us,” he wrote on Twitter. Jason Alexander added: “She was a pure joy — fun and funny and endlessly kind and talented. Heaven’s chorus line just got a star.”\n\n“I’m beyond words to hear of the sudden and untimely passing of my dear friend Ann Reinking. The world has lost such a beautiful soul and talent,” said Chita Rivera. “I loved sharing the stage with her whenever we could. Her spirit and razzle-dazzle will be with me forever.”\n\nTrained as a ballet dancer, Reinking was known for her bold style of dance epitomized by her work in the revival of the Kander and Ebb musical “Chicago,” complete with net stockings, chair dancing and plenty of pelvic thrusts.\n\nReinking co-starred as Roxie Hart along with Bebe Neuwirth’s Velma, and created the choreography “in the style of Bob Fosse,” the show’s original director and choreographer who died in 1987. She and Fosse worked together for 15 years and she was also his lover for several of them.\n\nHer work on “Chicago” earned her a 1997 Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards. Reinking replicated its choreography in productions throughout the world — England, Australia, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands and elsewhere. She was portrayed by Margaret Qualley in the recent FX series “Fosse/Verdon.”\n\nThe musical’s revival was first done in a concert version at City Center’s “Encores” series in 1996 and then moved to Broadway, where in 2011 it became the second longest-running show in Broadway history.\n\n“You know how you hear sometimes a woman goes into labor and 10 minutes later she’s got this beautiful baby? You couldn’t believe that it was materializing in such a beautiful way,” she told The Associated Press in 2011 about the early days of the revival.\n\nIn 1998, she co-directed “Fosse,” a salute to the man who had the largest influence, both professionally and personally, on her life. He once called her “one of the finest dancers in the jazz-modern idiom.”\n\nHer movie credits include “Annie” (1982), “Movie, Movie” (1978) and the documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom” (2005), which portrayed Reinking as a ballroom-dance competition judge for New York City kids.\n\nReinking’s career began in Seattle, where she grew up. In the beginning, she wanted to be a ballet dancer, “like all girls,” she said. As a student, she won a scholarship in San Francisco with the Joffrey Ballet, but at many of the students’ after-hours improvisations, she would just sing and not dance.\n\nRobert Joffrey said that with her outgoing personality and other abilities, she should pursue musical theater. “I waited tables to save up enough money to get here,” she said of New York City, where she arrived with a round-trip ticket back to Seattle and $500. She didn’t need the return trip.\n\n“You wouldn’t get into this if you had a guarantee. People who get into this have a certain sense of the high stakes,” she said. “You need the break and when you get it, you’d better be ready for it.”\n\nReinking’s break was strung out over several shows. She was in the ensemble for Broadway’s “Coco,” which starred Katharine Hepburn as Coco Chanel, in 1969, and was in the chorus of “Pippin” in 1972, picked by its director and choreographer, Fosse. The ensemble was so small — there were only eight — that the dancers were really seen.\n\nChoreographer Pat Birch was one who noticed, and in 1974 put her in “Over Here,” a World War II musical starring two of the three Andrews Sisters and featuring another unknown, John Travolta.\n\nIt led to a starring role in “Goodtime Charley,” a musical about Joan of Arc, opposite Joel Grey. The musical was not a success, but it did make theatergoers look at Reinking as a principal performer and not just a member of the chorus.\n\nHer other big break, she said, was in “Dancin’” in 1978, “because I realized you had to be in an original part and that show has to be a hit.” The music-and-dance revue directed and choreographed by Fosse was, running more than three years and earned her a 1978 Tony nomination.\n\nBut it was her work on the revival of “Chicago” where Reinking basked in the most attention. The original, a dark indictment of celebrity and hucksterism, opened in the summer of 1975 and ran for about 900 performances. Though not in the opening night cast, Reinking eventually slipped into the role of Roxie Hart, taking over the part from Gwen Verdon, Fosse’s third wife and dancing alter ego. In the 1996 revival, which is still on Broadway, Reinking kept the part of Hart opposite Gray and Neuwirth.Reinking also gained experience — and stayed in shape — by replacing stars in hit shows: Donna McKechnie in “A Chorus Line”; Gwen Verdon in Fosse’s original “Chicago”; and Debbie Allen in the 1986 revival of “Sweet Charity.”\n\nAnd she embarked on an eclectic film career — from playing Roy Scheider’s lover in Fosse’s 1979 semi-autobiographical film “All That Jazz,” to the screen version of “Annie” to Blake Edwards’ “Micki and Maude.”\n\nShe also created dances for a revival of “Pal Joey” at Chicago’s Goodman Theater and a musical about first lady Eleanor Roosevelt called “Eleanor.” She was on the national tour of “Bye Bye Birdie” opposite Tommy Tune.\n\nNew Orleans 'Queen Sugar' actress Carol Sutton dies from COVID-19 complications at 76\n\nAfter “Eleanor,” offers to choreograph “kept falling in my lap,” Reinking said. She created dances for a pre-Encores “Chicago” in Long Beach, California, with Neuwirth and Juliet Prowse.\n\nIn one of the more cringe-worthy moments in her career, Reinking was asked to sing and perform the Oscar nominated song “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins at the 1985 telecast. Reinking lip-synched as she danced a bombastic, cheesy rendition marred by fog.\n\nIn recent years, she choreographed “The Look of Love” on Broadway and the Roger Rees-directed off-Broadway “Here Lies Jenny” (2004), starring Neuwirth. In 2011, she helped choreograph “An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin” on Broadway.\n\nReinking also produced a documentary called “In My Hands,” about working with children of Marfan’s Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder of the connective tissues that often leaves its victims with limbs that are disproportionately long. She also produced the film “Two Worlds, One Planet,” about “high-functioning” autism.\n\nTony Awards: Aaron Tveit makes history as only nominee for best lead actor in a musical\n\nReinking’s first three marriages ended in divorce. Since 1994, she had been married to Peter Talbert. She also is survived by a son, Christopher, who has been diagnosed with Marfan syndrome and autism.\n\n“If there is a heaven, I think Bob can look down and be satisfied. He really did have an exponential effect on the next generation of choreographers and dancers,” Reinking once said.\n\n“He demanded the best from you and you wanted to give it. So you got better. All great directors — however, they do it — make you want to be good. I hope I do it. It’s like being a parent, a psychiatrist, a disciplinarian and a friend. You really have to know when to hold them and when to show them.”\n\n'Today' anchor Craig Melvin's brother Lawrence Meadows dead at 43 of colon cancer\n\nContributing: Charles Trepany, USA TODAY", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/12/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/theater/2015/05/29/pippin-formative-experience-tony-winning-director/28139251/", "title": "Revival of Tony-winning 'Pippin' hits town", "text": "Elizabeth Kramer\n\n@arts_bureau\n\nPaulus is one of only three women to win Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Musical\n\n‘Pippin’ includes choreography by original director Bob Fosse along with circus performers.\n\nPaulus studied at Columbia University wtih Anne Bogart, who has directed 14 works at Actors Theatre.\n\nIn the span of less than five years, director Diane Paulus led three Broadway productions that were showered with accolades, including multiple Tony Awards. The revival she mounted of the musical “Hair” won a Tony for Best Revival of a Musical in 2009 and “The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess” napped the same award in 2012.\n\nBut it was the next year when the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League — which present the Tony Awards — recognized Paulus’ 2013 Broadway revival of “Pippin” with the award for Best Direction of Musical. It made her only one of three women to receive that award, placing her among Julie Taymor (“The Lion King”) and Susan Stroman (“The Producers”).\n\nOn Tuesday, the touring production of Paulus’ revival of “Pippin” comes to the Kentucky Center as part of the Broadway in Louisville series.\n\nFor Paulus, who was born in 1966, “Pippin” was part of her childhood in New York. Living in Manhattan, she regularly saw Broadway musicals, including three performances of “Pippin,” which was directed by the legendary dancer and director Bob Fosse and ran from 1972 through 1977. During its run and even after it closed, the music of “Pippin” was woven into Paulus’ life.\n\n“I remember it being this powerful, seductive world and remember wanting to be part of it,” she said. “I played ‘Corner of the Sky’ on the piano and danced the Manson Trio (the name of Fosse’s soft-shoe dance number in the musical at the apex of a gruesome battle scene) in my seventh-grade talent show. I sang ‘With You’ at my brother’s wedding. The soundtrack went with every milestone.”\n\nThe musical is a show within a show, where a group of traveling players tells the story of Pippin, the son of the 9th century Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, known as Charles in this story.\n\nStory continues after the gallery\n\nReviving a Time-Honored Musical\n\nIn some ways, “Pippin,” with music by Stephen Schwartz — the composer behind “Godspell” and “Wicked”— seemed to belong to the 1970s. When it premiered, Schwartz’s music was deemed as heavily rock influenced and audiences drew parallels between the story and younger generation of that era, and society’s distress over the Vietnam War.\n\nPippin, on the cusp of adulthood in the musical, tries to find his place in the world — including a dramatic portion of the show where he goes to war in a quest to prove himself to his father. He subsequently questions war, then toys with revolution and has a foray of sexual adventures that leave him empty.\n\nThat background could make the musical an intimidating venture for any revival. But perhaps the most daunting aspect is that the musical had the fingerprints of the legendary Fosse.\n\nBut Paulus embraced that because Fosse was so integral to the original production. She enlisted director and choreographer Chet Walker, who was in the original production as a teenager. She also shared with Walker and Schwartz her idea of adding a twist to this remarkable musical — to weave it with performances of the Canadian circus troupe Les 7 doigts de la main (Seven Fingers of the Hand), which was founded in 2002 by artists who worked for the Cirque du Soleil.\n\n“Chet said Mr. Fosse loved the circus. He loved clowns. He love the films of (Federico) Fellini. It was a world that interested him,” Paulus said.\n\nCasting for Quadruple Threats\n\nPaulus described casting as a task of finding “extraordinary quadruple threats” — those who could sing, dance, act and perform acrobatics. Finding such multi-talented performers was also a goal, she said, in casting the touring production.\n\nBut casting the role of Pippin’s father, Charles, was a case of happenstance. Months before the Broadway production closed last year, Ashland, Ky., native Terrence Mann was planning to leave his role as Charles to work on the upcoming Netflix series “Sense8.” That’s when John Rubinstein, who had played Pippin in the original production, got a call from his agent in New York about auditioning for the part in front of Paulus and Walker. He got the part and was invited to go on tour. Although he had performed in several Broadway productions since “Pippin,” he hadn’t toured in a show since 1968.\n\n“It is a show that is very different in character, flavor and ambiance, but it is the same show,” Rubinstein said when asked to compare Fosse’s and Paulus’ productions.\n\nPaulus’ production, he said, retains about 20 percent of Fosse’s choreography with the other 80 percent simulating his style and blended with the acrobatics.\n\nHe also defined her re-imagining of “Pippin” as “brilliant.”\n\n“Instead of this production being about dance (as Fosse’s production was), she made it about magic and acrobatics and daring feats with Pippin struggling with — metaphorically and realistically — measuring up and be as extraordinary as the people on stage around him,” Rubinstein said.\n\nPaulus said having Rubinstein in the production was “a dream come true.”\n\nRaised in the Arts\n\nBesides seeing “Pippin” several times as a child, Paulus was immersed in the arts. She played piano growing up and even considered it as a career choice. She danced as a child with the New York City Ballet and developed a love of George Balanchine’s story ballets “Coppelia,” “Serenade” and “Harlequinade.”\n\nBut when she went to Harvard for her undergraduate degree, she chose political science. As time went on, she felt herself drawn to the transformative effects of theater and its capacity to strengthen communities. She said she sees politics and theater as ways of making the impossible possible.\n\n“I opted to do it through theater and art then through legislation, but both feel very connected to me,” she said.\n\nWhile at Harvard, she said “my mind exploded” seeing productions at American Repertory Theatre that was then under founder and artistic director Robert Brustein. But she later returned to New York and earned her Master’s degree from Columbia University, where she studied with Andrei Serban, who helped her start directing operas, and Anne Bogart, who has directed 14 productions at Actors Theatre of Louisville since 1991.\n\n“I’ve carried Anne with me to every rehearsal that I conduct — just how you work with actors, how you nurture a process and how you push actors to be greater than they are and do the best work of their lives,” Paulus said.\n\nA Life of Creating Musicals\n\nSince 2008, Paulus hasn’t just revived works but has experimented to bring new musicals to the stage in her position as American Repertory Theatre’s artistic director. From that perch, she saw “Finding Neverland,” a new musical she directed, premiere at A.R.T. last year open on Broadway in March. The musical is based on the 2004 film about “Peter Pan” writer and playwright J. M. Barrie.\n\nWhile she still has solid footing in New York, her artistic home is at A.R.T. in Cambridge, Mass., where this month she opens an opera called “Crossing” with music by composer Matthew Aucoin and inspired by Walt Whitman’s diary written when he was a nurse during the Civil War. In August, she opens a new musical “The Waitress,” composed by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (“Love Song”) and inspired by Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 film of the same name.\n\nGiven her workload, her time directing “Pippin” is in the rearview mirror these days. Given its connection to her formative years, however, it is never far from her heart.\n\nReporter Elizabeth Kramer can be reached at (502) 582-4682. Follow her on Twitter at @arts_bureau.\n\nIF YOU GO\n\nWhat: “Pippin.” Music and Lyrics Stephen Schwartz. Book Roger O. Hirson. Director Diane Paulus. (Recommended for ages 10 and above)\n\nWhen: Tuesday through June 7\n\nWhere: The Kentucky Center, Whitney Hall, 501 W. Main St.\n\nAdmission: $28 to $93\n\nInformation: (502) 584-7777, www.kentuckycenter.org, www.ticketmaster.com", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/05/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2016/08/05/hurricane-native-makes-broadway-debut-cats-revival/88225538/", "title": "Hurricane native makes Broadway debut in 'CATS' revival", "text": "Brian Passey\n\nbpassey@thespectrum.com\n\n“CATS” opened its first Broadway revival Sunday night and an actress from Hurricane was on stage in the role of Tantomile.\n\nEmily Tate grew up in Hurricane and received dance, acting and vocal training at Diamond Talent in St. George before going on to the Julliard School in New York City, where she graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in dance. It all prepared her for Sunday evening, where she performed on Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre stage during the opening night performance.\n\n“I’m still on such a high,” Tate tells The Spectrum & Daily News on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after her Broadway debut. “It was incredible — such a dream come true.”\n\nFrom looking out into the audience and seeing Broadway legends to the red carpet walk at Sunday night’s after-party, Tate says the entire evening was a culmination of dreams that began when she joined Diamond Talent at age 7.\n\nAt the St. George studio she studied under Melinda Larson, who co-owns Diamond Talent with her husband, Brian Larson. Melinda directs the dance program while Brian oversees musical theater training.\n\n“There’s no way I would have got into Julliard without their exceptional training,” Tate says. “They saw my potential and nurtured and fostered my growth. They challenged me and have helped me through every step of the way in getting here.”\n\nTate says her Broadway dream also belongs to the Larsons. And they were there in New York City on Sunday night to share the dream with her. They had purchased tickets for the Monday performance but Tate surprised them with seats for opening night as well.\n\n“That was really special to have them in the audience,” Tate says. “It feels like yesterday that I was 7 years old and sitting in the dance studio looking up at Melinda.”\n\nMelinda says it was “exhilarating” to see her former student standing on a Broadway stage. She remembers hearing Tate’s childhood dreams and telling her they were possible. Now, she says, it’s wonderful to see her “at the other end.”\n\nBrian says it has been fun to watch Tate’s journey.\n\n“I think she was probably our first student to really make a big leap,” Brian says. “She was 11 or 12 when she jumped to our advanced level. … She’s been an inspiration to us and to all our (students).”\n\nShakespeare Festival to open two plays in new black box\n\nWhile attending Julliard, Tate would return to Southern Utah during the summers to teach at Diamond Talent. Melinda says she taught the students to be less competitive and focus instead on where they belong individually. Tate’s success on Broadway only emphasizes her teachings, Melinda says.\n\nIt also changed the way Diamond Talent students approached their classes in general.\n\n“It’s actually easier to teach,” Melinda says. “I’m not trying to convince them of anything. They know dreams are possible because of Emily.”\n\nTate says Diamond Talent not only gave her the training necessary to make it to Julliard and Broadway, the studio also helped form her as a person. She says her instructors taught her life skills that shaped who she is as a human being.\n\n'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' joins Tuacahn season\n\nAfter Diamond Talent, Julliard took over. Tate says her time at the legendary fine arts conservatory was often intense and demanding, but it gave her the training necessary to make it to Broadway. It also brought her to New York City, opening up opportunities for her career.\n\n“I knew I always wanted to do musical theater because I did so much of that growing up in Diamond Talent,” she says.\n\nYet at Julliard she focused on dance because she feels as if that is the aspect of musical theater that is sometimes overlooked. She focused on dance but also took voice lessons at Julliard to build up her “tool kit.”\n\n“CATS,” in particular, makes good use of her dance talents. Part of what she enjoys about the musical is the variety of dance numbers in the show.\n\n“I get to use all the training I’ve received through the years,” she says. “You don’t find that in every Broadway show.”\n\nBroadway bound\n\nTate’s journey to Broadway began after her graduation from Julliard with a production of “Oklahoma” at The Muny in St. Louis during the summer of 2015. She then performed during the fall in the original production of “The Bandstand” at the Paper Mill Playhouse, a regional theater in Millburn, New Jersey. “The Bandstand” is set to move on to Broadway next year.\n\nAndy Blankenbuehler directed and choreographed the Paper Mill’s production of “The Bandstand.” He has won two Tony Awards for choreography, including a 2016 Tony for his work on “Hamilton.” Blankenbuehler is also the choreographer for “CATS,” which provided Tate with a connection to the show when she became one of 1,500 actors auditioning for a role in the revival.\n\nOf those 1,500 who auditioned, only 34 made the cut. It’s a staggering number that hits Tate every day when she walks into the theater and realizes she is meant to be there.\n\n“I had seven auditions for it,” she says of the role. “I got called back seven times.”\n\nSeven interviews for a single job is just part of life in the business. Tate says auditioning is almost like a part-time job.\n\nVocal Edge contestants sing for the grand prize\n\nBut the phone call she received from the casting director for “CATS” back in April made the six weeks of auditions all worth it. She was working as a nanny at the time.\n\n“It was such a surreal moment. It was one of the moments I had dreamed of since I was little — getting the Broadway offer,” Tate says. “It was like a movie, a fairytale, something that would never happen to me.”\n\nShe didn’t call anyone for an hour after hearing the good news. It took that long for it to sink in. For a time, she says she wasn’t sure if it was real.\n\nFinally she called her family. Then she called the Larsons.\n\nThe role she landed is Tantomile, the female twin to Coricopat. The character’s name comes from the T.S. Eliot poem, “Witch’s Cat.” The entire musical is based on Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.”\n\nCoincidentally, Coricopat is played by Tate’s close friend, Corey Snide, whom she met at Julliard.\n\n“Somehow, miraculously, we both ended up getting cast in this show,” she says.\n\nThe stuff of dreams\n\n“CATS” originally opened on Broadway in 1982 and ran for what was, at the time, a record-breaking 18 years. It is now the fourth-longest running Broadway show.\n\nSince it opened, “CATS” has played throughout the world but this is the first Broadway revival since the original run closed in 2000. Tate says it’s fun being part of a revival because the audience already knows the music and gets excited for all the iconic moments.\n\nSpeaking of iconic moments, “CATS” is perhaps best known for the song “Memory,” performed by the character Grizabella. For the revival, British pop singer Leona Lewis is performing the role of Grizabella. “CATS” is also Lewis’ Broadway debut.\n\n“She has been amazing,” Tate says of Lewis. “She is so kind and humble. She can sing incredibly well.”\n\nWhile “CATS” is sometimes criticized for its minimal storyline, it remains a beloved musical. Tate says she loves it because audience members don’t expect to be moved as much as they are moved during the production.\n\nTate describes “CATS” as a celebration of community and the individuals within a community. Although the characters are cats, they face many of the same struggles that humans face.\n\n“My favorite part of it is that it’s told through beautiful music and exceptional dancing and spectacle,” she says. “It’s really like no other musical. There’s something really magical about it.”\n\nWhile the run length for this show is open-ended, Tate says she’s sure everyone involved is hoping for a long run. Whether it will even come close to the original production’s record-breaking 18-year run remains to be seen.\n\nLiving in New York City has also given Tate the opportunity to see other shows, including the musical blockbuster “Hamilton.”\n\n“I was lucky enough to see it last fall and it lived up to every ounce of its hype,” Tate says. “It was the best entertainment I’ve ever seen. It was incredible.”\n\nShe was even rehearsing with Blankenbuehler the day before he won the Tony Award for his choreography in “Hamilton.”\n\nLooking to the future, Tate says one of her dream roles would be the chance to perform in “Movin’ Out,” a musical by rock star Billy Joel and choreographer Twyla Tharp. Unlike traditional musicals, none of the dancing actors sing. Instead they act out the plot through dance while a piano-playing singer and backing band provide all the vocals.\n\nBrian says his former student has plenty of potential for continued success. “CATS” is just the beginning, he says, describing Tate as an intelligent performer who knows how to make connections.\n\n“Things have really fallen into place for her and I think it’s because she’s a great person, a great human being,” he says.\n\nFor now, Tate is just beginning her adventures as Tantomile, a role that requires more than an hour of wardrobe, hair and makeup preparation each night. The show’s makeup designer taught each of the actors how to apply their own makeup.\n\nWhile Tate is hoping the makeup process will speed up over time, she does appreciate the life skills it’s teaching her. Her future children will benefit from some detailed makeup work if they ever decide to dress as cats for Halloween, she says with a laugh.\n\nWhile the costume preparation combined with body and vocal warmup means she has to arrive at the theater more than two hours before each show, Tate says it’s still fun to see everyone getting into costume as they prepare to regale their audiences with “The Naming of Cats.”\n\nShe finds it amusing to think about where her childhood dreams have led her.\n\n“Oh, this is what I do for a living,” she says. “I dress up like a cat.”\n\nEmail reporter Brian Passey at brian@thespectrum.com and follow him at Facebook.com/PasseyBrian or on Twitter and Instagram, @BrianPassey. Call him at 435-674-6296.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2016/08/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2019/01/15/carol-channing-broadway-legend-heres-timeline-her-career/2581278002/", "title": "Carol Channing was a Broadway legend. Here's a timeline of her ...", "text": "Broadway icon Carol Channing passed away Tuesday morning. She was 97.\n\nThe long-time Rancho Mirage resident was known for her roles in the musicals \"Hello, Dolly!\" and \"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes\" and the film version of \"Thoroughly Modern Millie.\"\n\n\"I feel so sad that the world will no longer feel the glow of the bright light that was Carol Channing,\" said actress Fran Drescher. \"She was an enormous comedic talent and a person who exemplified the best of the biz across all media.\"\n\nTheater was Channing's first love and where she shined brightest. She is best known for playing Dolly Levi, the matchmaker character in “Hello, Dolly!” for which she won a Tony Award in 1964.\n\nREFLECTIONS:Friends recall the Broadway icon as 'unsurpassable'\n\nPERFORMANCES: Here's where Carol Channing performed in the Coachella Valley\n\nAWARDS: Over the years, Carol Channing has received numerous local awards\n\nCHARITY WORK:Carol Channing made it her mission to support local charities\n\n“Carol Channing taught me everything I needed to know about scale and proportion,\" said fashion designer Bob Mackie. \"She was a tall girl with huge eyes, a mouth and a talent to match. No one was as well rehearsed or better prepared than she. In this world of endless copycats, we will miss a truly original personality.\"\n\nChanning experienced success well beyond Broadway. She also was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as “a jazz baby” in the 1967 musical, “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” opposite Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore.\n\n\"Our beloved Carol! One-of-a-kind, larger-than-life, the end of an era and our painful loss,\" said actress Loretta Swit.\n\nTake a look back at Channing's storied career:\n\n1921: Born in Seattle. Her family moves to San Francisco when she’s 2 weeks old.\n\n1930: Sees Ethel Waters perform and decides she wants to become a singer\n\n1937: Attends Bennington College in Vermont\n\n1938: Graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco. School theater is now named in her honor.\n\n1941: Makes New York stage debut in \"For No Answer.\" Marries first husband, Theodore Nash. They divorce in 1946.\n\n1949: Earns Theatre World Award for \"Lend An Ear\"; stars in \"Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,\" which runs for 740 performances on Broadway\n\n1950: Marries Canadian football player Alex Carson. They have one son, Channing Carson, before divorcing in 1956.\n\n1956: Co-stars in the film \"The First Traveling Saleslady\" with Ginger Rogers and a young Clint Eastwood. Marries Charles Lowe, TV producer of “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show.” Son Channing takes Charles' last name and becomes a Pulitzer Prize-nominated cartoonist known as Chan Lowe.\n\n1958: Replaces Gracie Allen in George Burns’ act at Allen’s suggestion\n\n1961: Nominated for a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical for the revue, “Show Girl,” one of the few times an actress not in a book musical receives such a nomination\n\n1964: Stars in \"Hello, Dolly!\" earning a Tony Award. She reprises her role in 1978 and 1996 on Broadway and in 1979 in London. She does a take-off called “Hello, Lyndon” at the 1964 Democratic Convention.\n\n1966: Stars in her first television special, “An Evening With Carol Channing.” Makes a pilot with Desi Arnaz and “I Love Lucy” writers that doesn’t get picked up for a series\n\n1967: Co-stars in film musical, \"Thoroughly Modern Millie\" with Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore, earning a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress\n\n1968: Earns a special Tony Award after leaving the cast of \"Hello, Dolly!\" in 1967\n\n1969: Attends the opening of Elvis Presley’s first Las Vegas show since the 1950s\n\n1970: Becomes the first celebrity to perform at a Super Bowl halftime\n\n1973: Named on President Richard Nixon’s “Enemies List,” which she calls “among my highest honors”\n\n1974: Nominated for a Tony for “Lorelei” and wins Special Tony Award\n\n1978: Voices a character as a guest at Heartland in the Beatles' \"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band\"\n\n1979: Nominated for Olivier Award for the London production of “Hello, Dolly!”\n\n1981: Inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame\n\n1985: Stars in \"Legends\" with Mary Martin and takes it on a national tour\n\n1995: Earns Lifetime Achievement Tony Award\n\n1998: Divorces husband of 41 years, Charles Lowe, alleging he physically abused her, ran through her money “like a drunken sailor” and only had sex with her twice – on their honeymoon\n\n2000: Performs at a tribute to “Hello, Dolly!” composer Jerry Herman at a benefit dinner for the Millennium March on Washington for gay rights\n\n2002: Releases her autobiography, “Just Lucky I Guess”\n\n2003: Marries Harry Kullijian, her fourth husband\n\n2004: Receives honorary doctorate of fine arts from California State University, Stanislaus\n\n2009: Releases gospel album, “For Heaven’s Sake,” in memory of her father, who sang spirituals and classic Americana songs to her as she was growing up\n\n2012: Documentary on her life, “Larger Than Life” released, screens at Palm Springs International Film Festival\n\n2013: Appearing at a production of the “One Night Only” benefit show, produced by Michael Childers at the McCallum Theatre, the cast bursts into a spontaneous chorus of \"Hello Dolly!\" Channing starts \"directing\" them from her chair\n\n2016: Stars including Lily Tomlin, Lucie Arnaz, Alan Cumming, Florence Henderson and Gavin MacLeod celebrate Channing’s 95th birthday party in a musical revue at McCallum Theatre with Channing in the audience next to Tommy Tune. Channing joins in for a chorus of “Hello, Dolly!”\n\n2017: Coachella Valley Repertory announces its new theater in Cathedral City will be named the Carol Channing Playhouse pending completion of a $3 million fundraising drive. By 2019, that goal had not been achieved.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/01/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/2015/10/23/eddie-george-make-broadway-debut-chicago/74473566/", "title": "Eddie George to make Broadway debut in 'Chicago'", "text": "Amy Stumpfl\n\nSpecial to Nashville Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK — TENNESSEE\n\nFormer Tennessee Titan Eddie George is no stranger to playing on the “big stage,” rushing for more than 10,000 yards during his professional career and leading the Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV. But now the NFL legend and Heisman Trophy winner is preparing to make the transition to Broadway, as he joins the company of the Tony Award-winning smash hit “Chicago.”\n\nThe celebrated running back will make his Broadway debut in the role of Billy Flynn on Jan. 11, playing a six-week limited engagement at the storied Ambassador Theatre. It’s an opportunity that has been more than a year in the making.\n\n“I went to see ‘Chicago’ at TPAC last year, and I said kind of jokingly to (Tennessee Performing Arts Center president and chief executive officer) Kathleen O’Brien, ‘I would love to play that role.’ Two weeks later I got a call — I couldn’t believe it,” George says.\n\nThe news may come as a surprise for his many fans, as well. But indeed, the work ethic and focus that served George so well on the football field has bolstered his new career.\n\n“Sitting with Eddie for ‘Chicago the Musical’ at TPAC, I could see he was engaged completely with the performance and almost on the edge of his seat,” O’Brien says. “Afterward, he shared with me how much he wanted to play the role of Billy Flynn. I asked if I could contact the producer to see if there was an interest, and he gave me the green light.\n\n“I had never heard Eddie sing, but I knew his acting chops were strong and that he had the poise and confidence needed to play the smooth-talking Flynn. He went up for a work session and got the part. We couldn’t be more excited for him, and I think he will be terrific.”\n\nLocal audiences may recall that George made his Nashville stage debut in 2006, with Amun Ra Theatre’s production of “God’s Trombones,” and subsequently appeared in that company’s excellent staging of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Topdog/Underdog.”\n\nSince then, George has built an impressive list of stage credits, playing the title roles in both “Othello” and “Julius Caesar” at Nashville Shakespeare Festival. And last winter, George garnered excellent reviews for his work in Nashville Repertory Theatre’s haunting production of Matthew Lopez’s compelling drama “The Whipping Man.”\n\n“It’s interesting, people used to always come up to me and talk about my time as a football player, and I still get a lot of that,” he says. “But the conversation has shifted a bit. Now I have people coming up and saying, ‘Hey, you were really great in ‘Othello.’ Or, ‘I really enjoyed your performance in ‘The Whipping Man.’ It’s so exciting to see that — it means a lot to me.”\n\nFormer Titan Eddie George helps tell powerful ‘Othello’\n\nNow, George turns his attention to the plum role of Billy Flynn, the slick criminal lawyer who defends the murderous minx Roxie Hart and rival cellmate Velma Kelly amid the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s.\n\n“I was so nervous when I went to New York to meet with the producer,” he says. “But I started thinking about how nervous I was the first time I was performing Shakespeare — that was an incredible challenge. But all of those challenges, all the vocal work that I’ve being doing, that really laid the foundation for this opportunity. So I just decided to let go and have some fun. It was great.”\n\nFeaturing a legendary book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, “Chicago” is the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. The production won six 1997 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival, as well as the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.\n\nDirected by Tony Award-winner Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Tony Award winner Ann Reinking, “Chicago” features set design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Tony Award-winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by Tony Award-winner Ken Billington and sound design by Scott Lehrer.\n\n“It’s such an incredible show — the writing, the songs, the nuance of the characters,” George says. “All of the songs are really cool, but I think I’m especially looking forward to ‘We Both Reached for the Gun.’ It’s such a challenging number, but so funny. And you really get a sense of who Billy is — this great puppet master, pulling all the strings. I’m really looking forward to digging in and finding those moments, and to putting my own thumbprint on Billy Flynn.”\n\nFor more information, visit www.chicagothemusical.com.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/10/23"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/theater/2015/11/19/revival-means-new-sunrise-broadway-fiddler-roof/75462192/", "title": "Revival means new sunrise for Broadway 'Fiddler On the Roof'", "text": "Elysa Gardner\n\n@elysagardner, USA TODAY\n\nNEW YORK -- In a room called the Jerome Robbins Studio, part of the New 42nd Street Studios in Times Square, a group of dancers is rehearsing a production number from one of Robbins' most beloved works.\n\nThe number is To Life, from Fiddler On the Roof, which the legendary director/choreographer introduced on Broadway back in 1964. The new revival being rehearsed today, set to begin previews on Nov. 20 and open Dec. 20 at the Broadway Theatre, features new dance and movement, based on Robbins' original staging, by the celebrated Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter.\n\nBased on the stories of Yiddish author and playwright Sholem Aleichem, the musical follows Tevye, a Jewish dairyman living in early 20th-century Russia with his wife, Golde, and their five daughters. To Life takes place just after Tevye has granted his eldest girl's hand in marriage to the local butcher, a much older man. (Spoiler alert for those who haven't seen Fiddler: She marries someone else.)\n\n\"They seal the deal, and there is a big dance,\" explains Shechter, a spry man of 40 with an easy wit. As he runs the performers through their paces, director Bartlett Sher, 56, looks on, mostly silent but smiling as he takes in their joking and their exuberant athleticism. Two men practice back flips, over and over; while another lies face-down in mock exhaustion for a moment, then rolls over laughing.\n\nSher is known to musical theater lovers for his revivals of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific and The King and I, which brought fresh insights to stories of intolerance and fortitude, buoyed by soaring scores. Shechter says that Fiddler's music, by Jerry Bock (with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick), is the first thing that attracted him when he saw the film adaptation, as a boy of 9 or 10, growing up in Jerusalem.\n\nA few years later, at 12, Shechter began studying folk dance, which in Israel stems \"from a lot of places -- East Europe, West Europe,\" he says, during a lunch break. It's \"about bringing people together...Coming to Fiddler On the Roof, my experience in folk dance, coming from Israel, having family that came from Russia, from Germany -- having all that in in my DNA, in my experience, I felt an immediate connection.\"\n\nShechter adds, \"For me, the story is really about the tension between tradition, the old culture, and the new world. What do we keep, and what do we let go? What is progress, and how do we stay connected to our ancestors?\"\n\nDanny Burstein and Jessica Hecht, the stage veterans who play Tevye and Golde in the new Fiddler, ponder this as well. \"In my synagogue, there's something written on the window that says, 'Tradition is not what you're born into, it's what you create,'\" says Hecht, 50. \"It is true, and you see it as you revisit this play.'\"\n\nBurstein, 51, notes that Fiddler \"is about a Jewish family in 1905, but the themes are universal. Every culture goes through these kinds of things, transitions, with kids trying to break away. My own sons are 22 and 19; they're at that age where they're going, 'I want to be somebody different. I want to break the mold.' It's exciting to see them go through that, and it's challenging, too.\"\n\nHecht, who has two teenagers, says, \"A lot of kids will be coming to the show who don't have this story as part of their history. They're not disconnected from it, but it's our fault if we don't bring it to them.\"\n\nShechter, too, savors \"the idea that there will be 16-year-old boys and girls, that perhaps they're thinking. 'What is my connection to that?' To show them that there is a connection -- there is always a connection.\"", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/11/19"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/arts/2018/03/27/dear-evan-hansen-hello-dolly-aladdin-willis-broadway-series-des-moines-performing-arts/456148002/", "title": "Find out now which Broadway shows are coming to Des Moines ...", "text": "Three of Broadway’s hottest shows are headed to Iowa’s capital city. And, no, we’re not just talking about “Hamilton.\"\n\nTony Award-winning sensation “Dear Evan Hansen,” celebrated revival “Hello Dolly!” and a two-week run of Disney’s beloved “Aladdin” lead the 2018-19 Willis Broadway Series announcement from Des Moines Performing Arts, unveiled Tuesday.\n\nThe nonprofit arts organization released details on 10 shows — six season ticket package shows and four add-on productions — planned for the 40th anniversary season, kicking off with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera” sequel, “Love Never Dies,” in October.\n\nSeason ticket packages can be purchased now via dmpa.org, by phone at 515-246-2300 or at the Civic Center ticket office (221 Walnut St.). Single show ticket information is yet to be released.\n\n“It’s a tremendous season,” said Jeff Chelesvig, president and CEO of Des Moines Performing Arts. “We’ve got three certified hits in the series.”\n\nThe Broadway season package at a glance:\n\nOct. 16-21: “Love Never Dies”\n\nNov. 28-Dec. 9: “Aladdin”\n\nFeb. 5-10, 2019: “Dear Evan Hansen”\n\nApril 9-14, 2019: “Hello, Dolly!”\n\nApril 30-May 5, 2019: “School of Rock”\n\nJune 25-30, 2019: “The Play That Goes Wrong”\n\nBroadway add-on shows at a glance:\n\nDec. 27-29: “Finding Neverland: The Musical”\n\nFeb. 26-March 3, 2019: “Bat out of Hell: The Musical”\n\nMarch 8-10, 2019: “Rock of Ages”\n\nMay 11, 2019: Brian Stokes Mitchell and Megan Hilty in concert\n\nMore:The next Des Moines Symphony season is celebrating an American favorite\n\nThe season comes following the highly anticipated Des Moines debut of “Hamilton: An American Musical,” which runs June 27 to July 15 at the Civic Center. Behind the wild success of “Hamilton,” Des Moines Performing Arts saw 2017-18 Broadway season subscribers reach a record 16,200 people and a donor poll reach 5,000 — leading to a waiting list for the former.\n\nMost touring markets are “probably feeling pressure,” Chelesvig said, in following-up the biggest thing Broadway’s seen in a generation.\n\n“We’re fulfilling our mandate that we want to bring the best of Broadway here,” Chelesvig said. “When I look at the (next) season and say: ‘There’s three shows that are knocking it out of the park currently on Broadway, coming to Des Moines in their first year of (touring)’ ... that’s pretty spectacular.”\n\nMore:'Hamilton' tickets in Des Moines virtually sell out in six-and-a-half hours\n\nSix-time Tony Award-winner “Dear Evan Hansen,” a contemporary musical telling the story of a socially anxious teen fighting for a way to fit in, highlights the upcoming season.\n\nVirtually sold out on Broadway, Des Moines sees the “You Will Be Found” musical in its first national tour. Des Moines Performing Arts invested in “Hansen” as part of the Independent Presenters Network, a cohort of 40 Broadway presenters, theaters and performing arts centers across the nation.\n\nMusic and lyrics in \"Hansen\" come via Benj Pasek and Justin Paul of “La La Land” and “The Greatest Showman” fame.\n\n“It’s a powerful story,” “Hansen” producer Stacey Mindich told the Register, speaking on the show’s commercial and critical success. The Washington Post coined it earlier this year “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history.”\n\nShe continued: “I really do think it is the power of the story itself. The message of how to connect in an era where it seems so easy (to connect) and yet it’s not” .\n\nOn the show, Chelesvig said: “For the Broadway fanatics, that’s going to be one of the big hooks of the season.”\n\nMore:Des Moines Playhouse plots 100th season with new shows, multimillion dollar renovation\n\nFast facts for the 2018-19 season:\n\nHis work appearing twice in the upcoming season, Andrew Lloyd Webber is the Civic Center’s most-performed musical composer. His work have been produced 256 times to a total 504,513 people.\n\nThe most-performed Lloyd Webber piece? “Phantom of the Opera.”\n\n“Aladdin” plans to be the sole two-week Broadway engagement from the Civic Center next season.\n\nThe “Dear Evan Hansen” soundtrack debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, the highest debut from a cast album since 1961.\n\nAlong with “Dear Evan Hansen,” Des Moines Performing Arts invested in “Hello, Dolly!” as part of the Independent Presenters Network. The revival earned four Tony Awards in 2017.\n\n“The Play That Goes Wrong” comes produced by film director J.J. Abrams, his first Broadway project.\n\nIn case you missed it: Des Moines Performing Arts celebrated its 10 millionth visitor during the 2017-18 Broadway season.\n\n“Love Never Dies” (Oct. 16-21)\n\nA sequel to Lloyd Webber’s famed “Phantom of the Opera,” this story of “boundless love” takes audience members to 1907 New York City, 10 years removed from (spoiler!) the Phantom’s Paris Opera House disappearance. The production takes onlookers through a self-described “roller-coaster ride of intrigue, obsession and romance.”\n\n“Aladdin” (Nov. 28-Dec. 9)\n\nBased on the Disney classic of the same name, the producers of Broadway crossover success “The Lion King” bring a whole new world of “magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle” to the Civic Center stage.\n\n“Finding Neverland: The Musical” (Dec. 27-29)\n\nTaking place between Christmas and New Years, this musical tells the story of J.M. Berrie and his journey in creating Peter Pan. An adaptation of the 2004 movie — starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet — of the same name.\n\n“Dear Evan Hansen” (Feb. 5-10, 2019)\n\nThe season’s cornerstone production, this Grammy and Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of Evan Hansen, a socially anxious teen, and his battle to fit in. Self-described as “.. profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it,” The Washington Post coined the production “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theater history.”\n\nMore:How an Iowan's emotional journey led to one of the summer's most-anticipated events\n\n“Bat out of Hell: The Musical” (Feb. 26-March 3, 2019)\n\nFamed rock ’n’ roll producer Jim Steinman offers a new take on the music of Meat Loaf in this post-apocalyptic “jaw dropping spectacle.” Winner of “Best Musical” at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.\n\n“Rock of Ages” (March 8-10, 2019)\n\nRock ’n’ roll dreamers “line up to turn their fantasies into reality” at this weekend engagement, the 10th anniversary of “Broadway’s best party.” Music from 1980s rock favorites Styx, Twisted Sister and Poison will be featured in the production.\n\n“Hello, Dolly!” (April 9-14, 2019)\n\nBroadway favorite Betty Buckley stars in the 2017 Tony Award-winning “Best Musical Revival” production. Staying true to the beloved New York City story of Dolly Gallagher Levi, Rolling Stone coined the revival “a musical comedy dream.”\n\n“School of Rock” (April 30-May 5, 2019)\n\nThe legend of the rent is way hardcore in Des Moines next year. Lovable protagonist Dewey Finn hits the Civic Center stage in Lloyd Webber’s adaptation of the popular 2003 film starring Jack Black.\n\nBrian Stokes Mitchell and Megan Hilty in concert (May 11, 2019)\n\nA double dose of Broadway fame teams up with the Des Moines Symphony for the one-night collaborative performance.\n\n\"The Play That Goes Wrong\" (June 25-30, 2019)\n\nPromotional materials for this production asks, “What would happen if Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python had a illegitimate Broadway baby? You’d get ‘The Play That Goes Wrong.’” A slapstick take on murder mystery, this play offers audiences a night of “comedic gold.”\n\nDes Moines Performing Arts plans to announce later this spring 2018-19 plans for comedy, music, dance and family shows. Find more information at dmpa.org.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/03/27"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_16", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/29/howard-schultz-senate-hearing-bernie-sanders-starbucks-ceo/11561369002/", "title": "Former Starbucks CEO testifies during Senate hearing on treatment ...", "text": "WASHINGTON — Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz testified in a Senate hearing Wednesday, grilled by Democrats on the committee about whether the coffee company violated federal labor laws.\n\nThe Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee targeted Schultz and Starbucks to examine the corporation's treatment of employees working to unionize.\n\nIt's part of a larger push from the committee, led by Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, to hold accountable billionaires and corporations for potentially illegal business practices.\n\nSchultz said multiple times and unequivocally that Starbucks did not break the law.\n\nHis testimony comes as Starbucks employees walked out of more than 100 stores last week across the United States to protest the company's anti-union efforts. More stores plan to hold union elections.\n\nSchultz defended the company to the Senate HELP committee, saying Starbucks respects their employees' rights and repeated that allegations the company violated labor laws will be proven false.\n\nHis testimony follows a threat from the committee to subpoena the former CEO after he previously declined to appear for questioning.\n\nMore:Get political news, fast and to the point, delivered to your inbox.\n\n\"The fundamental issue we are confronting today is whether we have a system of justice that applies to all or whether billionaires and large corporations can break the law with impunity,\" Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who chairs the committee, said.\n\nDid Starbucks violate federal labor laws?\n\nThe National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, filed more than 80 complaints against Starbucks for violating federal labor laws. Charges included the illegal firing of Starbucks workers for working to form a union, employees collectively bargaining for benefits, and advocating for increased wages and better working conditions.\n\nAdditionally, there have been more than 500 unfair labor practice charges against the company, according to the Senate committee.\n\nA Starbucks in Buffalo, New York, was the first to unionize in December 2021. Since then, more than 360 stores in nearly 40 states have held union elections. There are now nearly 300 unionized stores in the country.\n\nIn March, an administrative judge found Starbucks guilty of “egregious and widespread misconduct” and that the company showed “a general disregard for the employees’ fundamental rights” in the union-organizing efforts in Buffalo. The judge also found Starbucks retaliated against its employees for pushing to unionize.\n\n\"We're confident that those allegations will be proven false,\" Schultz said when asked about the allegations.\n\nFormer Starbucks CEO: 'Starbucks coffee company did not break the law'\n\nSchultz defended the company and said he respects the right of every employee whether they choose to join a union or not.\n\n\"Starbucks coffee company unequivocally has not broken the law,\" he repeated throughout the hearing.\n\nBecause of an arrangement made by the union and NLRB in Buffalo, union negotiations must take place at one single store at a time. Sanders and other Democrats on the committee accused Starbucks of intentionally delaying these meetings.\n\nSchultz responded that they have tried to arrange more than 350 separate meetings, which they say must take place through face-to-face negotiations.\n\nSanders asked Schultz to promise to the committee that the company will exchange proposals with the union.\n\n\"On a single store basis, we will continue to negotiate in good faith,\" Schultz said.\n\nRepublicans defend former Starbucks CEO\n\nRepublican senators on the committee defended the CEO, who has ties to the Democratic Party, and applauded him for his success despite their political disagreements.\n\nSen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Americans spending an extraordinary amount of money for a cup of coffee is a testament to capitalism.\n\n\"I don't want to be part of any witch hunt that vilifies any American business so count me out,\" Paul said. \"Count me as one who is ecstatic that Starbucks is an American success story and I'll have no party in trashing their success.\"\n\nLouisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, the top Republican on the committee, said allegations against Starbucks have not been fully investigated.\n\n\"I am not here to defend Starbucks. I have my own questions about the alleged misconduct and the law should be filed and upheld.... but let's not kid ourselves. This is not a fair and impartial hearing,\" he said.\n\nMullin points fingers at Sanders\n\nSen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., turned his questioning to Sanders saying he took offense that Sanders feels all CEOs are corrupt because they're millionaires.\n\n\"It's bothering to me because Mr. Chairman, you yourself have been very successful,\" Mullin said, adding that public records show the Vermont senator has amassed more than $8 million.\n\n\"Why is it that all CEOs are corrupt because they're wealthy? And yet our chairman is wealthy – and I'm glad you are – is not?\" Mullin asked Sanders.\n\nSanders responded that if he's worth $8 million, \"that's good news for me.\"\n\n\"I'm not aware of it. That's a lie,\" he said, adding that Mullin has no evidence he ever said that all CEOs are corrupt. \"I have never, ever said that.\"\n\n\"What this hearing is about is whether workers have the constitutional right to form a union,\" Sanders said.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/29/watch-howard-schultz-testimony/11561458002/", "title": "Watch: Howard Schultz Senate hearing testimony on Starbucks ...", "text": "Dee-Ann Durbin\n\nThe Associated Press\n\nLongtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz will face sharp questioning Wednesday when he appears before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to defend the company's actions during an ongoing unionizing campaign.\n\nU.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who has been a vocal supporter of Starbucks labor organizers, has been seeking Schultz's testimony for months. Schultz had tried to sidestep the hearing, suggesting that others in the company were more deeply involved in the union effort, which Starbucks opposes.\n\nBut Sanders had argued that Schultz — a longtime leader who stepped down as interim CEO last week but remains on the company’s board — was instrumental in setting the company's policies. Under threat of a subpoena, Schultz agreed to testify.\n\nUSA TODAY will stream the testimony and have full coverage of the hearing.\n\nAt least 293 of Starbucks' 9,000 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late 2021, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Starbucks Workers United, the labor group organizing the stores, has yet to reach a contract agreement with Starbucks at any of those stores.\n\nWorkers say they're seeking higher pay, more consistent schedules and better benefits. But Starbucks argues that it already provides some of the best pay and benefits in the industry, and says its stores function better when it works directly with employees.\n\nMore coverage from USA TODAY", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/03/29/former-starbucks-ceo-aumf-repeal-narcan-wednesdays-news/11562201002/", "title": "Former Starbucks CEO, AUMF repeal, Narcan: Wednesday's news", "text": "A Senate panel scrutinized Starbucks' business practices during a hearing with the company's former CEO. The Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of an overdose-reversal drug without a prescription. And legislation repealing decades-old military authorizations was passed by the Senate.\n\n👋 Hi, Julius here. And it's Wednesday. Let's get into today's news, shall we?\n\n⚾ But first: Get familiar with new MLB rules. Some of the biggest Major League Baseball rule changes in history roll out when the season begins tomorrow, including a 15-second pitch clock.\n\nThe Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here.\n\n🌤 What's the weather up to in your neck of the woods? Check your local forecast here.\n\nEx-Starbucks CEO defends company in face of labor complaints\n\nFormer Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz told senators Wednesday that his company did not break labor laws, despite the company facing more than 80 complaints from the National Labor Relations Board for doing just that. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee targeted Schultz and Starbucks to examine the corporation's treatment of employees working to unionize. Schultz's testimony comes after Starbucks employees walked out of more than 100 stores last week to protest the company's anti-union efforts. Here's what else was said during Wednesday's hearing.\n\nAfter Nashville, little hope for gun reform on Capitol Hill\n\nLawmakers from both parties said the prospects for major gun control legislation advancing in Congress are slim even as President Joe Biden said he's exhausted what he can do to address gun violence through executive action. It appears the nation's latest mass shooting – a massacre at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee – could turn into a familiar story: Calls for sweeping gun reform, followed by inaction. A ban on assault weapons lacks the votes in the Republican-led House and even faces an uphill fight in the Democratic-led Senate. Here's why major gun law changes are unlikely.\n\nWhat everyone's talking about\n\nThe Short List is free, but several stories we link to are subscriber-only. Consider supporting our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today.\n\nFDA approves over-the-counter sale of Narcan\n\nThe FDA on Wednesday approved selling the overdose-reversal drug Narcan without a prescription, a move long sought by advocates to improve access to the lifesaving drug. The approval would make the nasal spray used to counteract fentanyl and opioid overdoses more available to consumers who could buy the medication at stores without a prescription or pharmacist's recommendation. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf urged the drug's manufacturer to make Narcan widely available at an affordable price. Here's what the FDA's approval means.\n\nSenate votes to repeal military authorizations for Iraq, Gulf wars\n\nThe Senate passed legislation Wednesday repealing decades-old military authorizations and formally ending the Iraq and Gulf wars. The bipartisan legislation would prevent future presidents from misusing military force without congressional authorization. It also gives Congress more power in determining when to send troops into combat. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday the odds are high it will be signed into law before the end of the year because there's a lot of support in the House and from Biden.\n\nA break from the news", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/10/05/facebook-whistleblower-live-updates-frances-haugen-speaks-congress/6001909001/", "title": "Facebook whistleblower's explosive testimony: Company makes ...", "text": "WASHINGTON — A Facebook whistleblower who raised alarms about several of the company's business practices testified Tuesday before Congress after a series of incriminating revelations about the company.\n\nFrances Haugen, a former project manager at Facebook who leaked a massive trove of internal documents to the Wall Street Journal, told a Senate subcommittee that Facebook \"put their astronomical profits before people\" and asked for congressional action to rein in the tech giant.\n\n\"We can have social media we enjoy that connects us without tearing our democracy apart or democracy, putting our children in danger, and sowing ethnic violence around the world,\" Haugen said.\n\nThe documents Haugen released unearthed several explosive revelations about the company's tactics in the pursuit of growth, including bids to market its products directly to children, documents underscoring the severity of the platform's public health misinformation crisis and internal research that found its Instagram platform is destructive to young girls' mental health.\n\n►Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg:CEO breaks his silence as Congress demands answers after whistleblower testimony\n\n►'Profits before people':After Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen argued her case, will Congress act?\n\n\"The choices being made inside of Facebook are disastrous for our children or our public safety for privacy and for our democracy. And that is why we must demand Facebook changes,\" Haugen told senators on Tuesday.\n\nFacebook hasn't outright denied any of the Journal's reporting, but it claims the characterizations are \"misleading\" and has strenuously pushed back on them.\n\n►More:Who is Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen? Everything you need to know\n\nLawmakers questioned Haugen over the implications of the documents, which come as opinion on Capitol Hill had already turned sharply against the tech giant across both sides of the aisle.\n\n►More:Would you take a Facebook or Instagram break? Why civil rights groups want you to log out\n\nFacebook responds to whistleblower's testimony\n\nFollowing Haugen's Capitol Hill appearance, her former employer rebutted her testimony.\n\n“Today, a Senate Commerce subcommittee held a hearing with a former product manager at Facebook who worked for the company for less than two years, had no direct reports, never attended a decision-point meeting with C-level executives – and testified more than six times to not working on the subject matter in question,\" Lena Pietsch, Facebook's director of policy communications, said in a statement to USA TODAY. \"We don’t agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about.\"\n\nFacebook also detailed steps it has taken or called for that would protect users in an emailed statement.\n\n\"Every day, we make difficult decisions on where to draw lines between free expression and harmful speech, privacy, security, and other issues, and we use both our own research and research from outside experts to improve our products and policies,\" the statement reads. \"But we should not be making these decisions on our own which is why for years we’ve been advocating for updated regulations where democratic governments set industry standards to which we can all adhere.\"\n\n►More:Is Facebook down? Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger coming back after one of worst Facebook outages\n\nRep. Adam Schiff says Haugen needs to testify in Jan. 6 select committee\n\nAfter Haugen's testimony in the Senate had wrapped, California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff said on Twitter that she deserved to be called into conversation with the House Select Committee that is investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.\n\n\"According to this Facebook whistleblower, shutting down the civic integrity team and turning off election misinformation tools contributed to the Jan 6 insurrection,\" Schiff tweeted. \"The Select Committee will need to hear from her, and get internal info from Facebook to flesh out their role.\"\n\nHaugen says she lost faith in Facebook’s commitment to protecting users after it disbanded the civic integrity team after the 2020 presidential race. Facebook said it distributed the work to different teams. But Haugen says Facebook stopped paying close attention, leading to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.\n\n– Katie Wadington and Jessica Guynn\n\nMisinformation propeled by serving it to those who are isolated\n\nSen. Todd Young, R-Indiana, dove into misinformation on Facebook, asking Haugen how it could be addressed.\n\nMisinformation can be spread by a small number of users, she said.\n\nBut users who are constantly exposed to misinformation – \"the misinformation burden,\" she called it – and \"are exposed to ideas that are not true over and over again, it erodes their ability to connect with the community at large, because they no longer adhere to facts that are consensus reality,\" Haugen said.\n\nFacebook knows, through its own research, that those most exposed to the most misinformation are often isolated in some fashion – divorced, recently widowed or having relocated to a new city, she said.\n\nSince highly engaged users may propel misinformation, she said, there could be built-in curbs on them or their posts, she suggested.\n\n\"The fact that Facebook knows that its most vulnerable users, people who recently widowed, they're isolated, the systems that are meant to keep them safe like demoting this information stop working when people look at 2,000 posts a day,\" Haugen said. \"It breaks my heart, the idea that these rabbit holes can suck people down and then make it hard to connect with others.\"\n\n– Mike Snider\n\nParents need to be equipped to help children navigate online spaces\n\nFacebook whistleblower Frances Haugen expressed concern about how many parents around the world are poorly equipped to help their children navigate the dangers of social media given the relative novelty of the technology.\n\n“Very rarely do you have one of these generational shifts where the generation who leads — these parents — have such a different set of experiences that they don’t have the context to support their children in a safe way,” Haugen told lawmakers.\n\nShe called on schools and the National Institutes of Health to create guidelines to help parents guide children through the pitfalls of the internet.\n\n“They don’t have the context to support their children in a safe way,” Haugen cautioned lawmakers, urging for greater aid from public institutions.\n\n“It should be easy for them to know what is constructive and not constructive because Facebook’s research alone shows that kids today feel like are struggling alone with these issues because their parents can’t guide them,” Haugen said.\n\nThe former Facebook product manager continued that some online critics calling on parents to simply \"take a child's phone away\" are unfair given the complexities of the issue in today’s society.\n\n“The reality is that these issues are a lot more complicated than that,” she said. Haugen argued governments should provide aid to parents in navigating online platforms, like Facebook’s products, “because if Facebook won’t protect the kids we at least need to help parents to protect the kids.”\n\n“Parents are anguished,” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said in response to Haugen’s testimony. The Connecticut lawmaker noted that Facebook disregarded recommendations in its internal research that sought to remedy many of the issues facing children and youth.\n\n– Matthew Brown\n\nHaugen has national security concerns about Facebook\n\nSen. Dan Sullivan asked Haugen about whether Facebook might be an active haven for terrorists and global rivals, including China and Russia.\n\n\"Do they provide a platform for those leaders who, in my view, clearly don't hold America's interests in mind?\" the Alaska Republican asked.\n\nHaugen worked on Facebook's counterespionage team, which found China surveilling the network and signs that the Iranian government was doing espionage \"on other state actors,\" she said.\n\n\"So this is definitely a thing that is happening,\" Haugen said, \"and I believe Facebook's consistent understaffing of the counterespionage information operations and counterterrorism teams is a national security issue, and I'm speaking to other parts of Congress about that.\"\n\nIn response, Sullivan asked, \"So you are saying in essence that the, the platform, whether Facebook knows it, or not is being utilized by some of our adversaries in a way that helps push and promote their interests at the expense of Americans?\"\n\nFacebook is \"very aware that this is happening,\" she said. \"I believe the fact that Congress doesn't get a report of exactly how many people are working on these things internally is unacceptable because you have a right to keep the American people safe.\"\n\nAs the questioning ended, Blumenthal suggested that Sullivan's questions and Haugen's answers \"may have opened up a new area for another hearing.\"\n\n\"I have strong national security concerns about how Facebook operates today,\" Haugen said.\n\n– Mike Snider\n\nFacebook's underpinnings explored as cause of conflict\n\nHaugen broke down how Facebook's own algorithms can affect user behavior on its platforms and lead to social problems such as Jan. 6 revolt in Washington and conflict in places such as Ethiopia.\n\nA process called engagement-based ranking amplifies topics users will see on Facebook or Instagram, based on subjects and topics users have looked at previously. The company has done tests to confirm how the networks' \"amplification algorithms\" can lead users to remain engaged, at the same time transporting them to new topics that could be harmful to users, she said.\n\n\"The way that they pick the content in Instagram for young users, for all users, amplifies preferences, and they have done something called a proactive incident response where they take things that they've heard for example like can you be led by the algorithms to anorexia content, and they have literally recreated that experiment themselves and confirmed. Yes, this, this happens to people,\" she told Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. \"So Facebook knows that they, that they are leading young users to anorexia content.\"\n\nFacebook needs legislation to provide oversight, otherwise it will never put aside engagement-based rankings, she said. Otherwise, \"Facebook is going to say ... you're not gonna like Facebook as much, if we're not picking out the content for you,\" Haugen said.\n\nWithout the algorithm, users might not engage as much. As the platforms stand, \"we spend more time on their platform (and) they make more money,\" she said.\n\n\"They know that other people will produce more content, if they get the likes and comments and ratios, they prioritize content in your feed, so that you will give little hits of dopamine to your friends, so they will create more content, and they've run experiments on people producer-side experiments where they have confirmed (this),\" Haugen said.\n\nShe suggested Congress make changes in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields online platforms from being responsible for what is posted by third parties on their sites, to make Facebook \"responsible for the consequences of their intentional ranking decisions.\"\n\nThat could help prevent the viral spread of misinformation and content that results in violent incidents such as the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and repressive actions in Myanmar and Ethiopia, she said.\n\n\"I think the moment which I realized we needed to get help from the outside … that the only way these problems would be solved is by solving them together, not solving them alone, was when civic integrity was dissolved, following the 2020 election,\" Haugen said. \"It really felt like a betrayal of the promises that Facebook had made to people who had sacrificed a great deal to keep the election safe by basically dissolving, our community and integrate and just other parts of the company.\"\n\n– Mike Snider\n\nWill the Facebook Files move Congress to act on social media?\n\nThe latest series of reports by the Wall Street Journal exposing a range of malpractices by the tech giant, lawmakers are rallying to regulate the company, a call that has been issued many times before.\n\n“Here’s my message for Mark Zuckerberg: Your time of invading our private, promoting toxic content and preying on children and teens is over. Congress will be taking action,” Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in remarks during the Senate hearing.\n\n“You can work with us or not work with us, but we will not allow your company to harm our children and our families and our democracy any longer,” the senator continued. “We will act.\"\n\nFacebook is among a cadre of Big Tech companies that have come under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers across the globe as their influence and power have become more apparent.\n\nWhile Washington has been slow to act on issues including antitrust, privacy, data portability and algorithmic bias among technology giants, regulators in the European Union have passed laws cracking down on Big Tech companies including Amazon, Alphabet, Apple and Facebook.\n\nCalifornia lawmakers have also enacted policies targeting Big Tech from Sacramento on issues like privacy and taxation. The laws are considered by many industry watchers as a potential blueprint for if and when Washington finally moves on the issue.\n\nOn Tuesday, Markey and other lawmakers blamed Washington’s inaction on lobbying from the technology industry.\n\n\"We have not done anything to update our privacy laws in this country,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., lamented during the hearing, “because there are lobbyists around every single corner of this building that have been hired by the tech industry.\"\n\nHaugen, the whistleblower, argued that any regulation of social media should also include a specified regulatory agency that has people well-versed in the technology because most people who best understand the underlying technology already work in the technology industry.\n\n– Matthew Brown\n\nFacebook likely to continue work on Instagram Kids, whistleblower speculates\n\nChildren's advocacy groups and some in Congress called on Facebook earlier this year to stop its work on a planned kids version of its social media app. But when Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, asked Haugen about the project, she doubted that work had stopped.\n\n\"I would be sincerely surprised if they do not continue working on Instagram kKds, and I would be amazed if a year from now we don't have this conversation again,\" she responded.\n\nHaugen said Facebook had a need to ensure the \"next generation is just as engaged\" with Instagram. \"And the way they'll do that is by making sure that children establish habits before they have good self regulation.\"\n\n\"By hooking kids?\" Schatz asked.\n\nHaugen: \"By hooking kids.\"\n\nShe went on to note the research she had provided showed that \"problematic use\" of social media peaked at age 14.\n\n\"It's just like cigarettes. Teenagers don't have good self-regulation,\" she said. \"They say explicitly, 'I feel bad when I use Instagram and yet I can't stop'.\"\n\n– Mike Snider\n\nHaugen: Algorithms encourage virality in face of incitement to violence on platforms\n\nFacebook whistleblower Frances Haugen discussed how the company's use of its algorithms to boost engagement leads to dangerous levels of violence and conflict around the world, something the company does not avoid because it would harm profits.\n\nHaugen said Facebook needed to be “less twitchy, less reactive, less viral\" as it develops products if it is going to avert the worst effects for individuals and society.\n\nSen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked Haugen about Facebook’s role in the 2020 election, during which the company briefly throttled engagement-boosting algorithms for American users ahead of the presidential voting.\n\n“It seems that Facebook invests more in users who make them more money, even though the danger may not be evenly distributed based on profitability,” Haugen told Klobuchar.\n\n“Facebook is presenting a false choice,” Haugen repeated, arguing that the company seeks profit through increased engagement at any cost. She said one of the major avenues for this, the engagement-based ranking of posts on Facebook and Instagram, is especially damaging.\n\n“The choices that were happening on the platform was how reactive and twichty was the platform, how viral was the platform, and Facebook changed those safety defaults in the run-up to the election because they knew they were dangerous,” Haugen told lawmakers.\n\n“And because they wanted that growth back, they wanted the acceleration of the platform back after the election, they returned to their original defaults. And the fact that they had to break the glass on Jan. 6 and turn them back on, I think that’s deeply problematic.”\n\n– Matthew Brown\n\nHaugen: Facebook needs to admit 'moral bankruptcy' to move forward\n\nIn answering questions from Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen said there is no one at the company holding its cofounder accountable.\n\n\"The buck stops with Mark,\" she said.\n\nFacebook's corporate strategy has led to its current trials, she added.\n\n\"The metrics make the decision. Unfortunately that in itself is a decision and in the end, (Zuckerberg) is the CEO and the chairman of Facebook, he is responsible for those decisions,\" she said.\n\nAfter Blumenthal called Zuckerberg \"the algorithm designer in chief,\" Haugen described how the CEO and chairman's management style has led to a troublesome cycle.\n\n\"Facebook has struggled for a long time to recruit and retain the number of employees in needs to tackle the large scope of projects it has chosen to take on,\" she said. \"That causes it to understaff projects, which causes scandals, which then makes it harder to hire.\"\n\nThat is why the company, \"needs to come out and say, 'We did something wrong. We made some choices that we regret,' she said. \"The only way we can move forward and heal Facebook is we first have to admit the truth.\"\n\n– Mike Snider\n\nHaugen: 'The choices being made inside Facebook are disastrous'\n\nIn her opening remarks, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen recounted her experience at Facebook and pleaded with lawmakers to tackle the tech giant's behavior head on.\n\n“The choice being made at Facebook are disastrous,” Haugen said in her opening remarks, adding that many of the decisions made through its business practices and products have “led to actual violence that harms and even kills people.”\n\nHaugen highlighted instances of radicalization on Facebook’s platforms around the world, including mob violence and genocides in many countries like Myanmar and Ethiopia.\n\nShe said the company was fully aware of its platforms’ effects on people, especially children. “This is about Facebook choosing to grow at all costs,” Haugen said.\n\n“Almost no one outside of Facebook knows what happens inside of Facebook,” Haugen said, comparing the company’s opacity to other tech giants like Alphabet, which owns Google and YouTube.\n\nHaugen said Facebook “intentionally hides” its inner workings from the American public and governments around the world in an effort to hide the effects of its company.\n\n“Until the invectives change, Facebook will not change. Left alone, Facebook will continue to make choices against the common good. Our common good,” she said.\n\nHaugen called on lawmakers to intervene in the situation and reign in the social media company’s behavior, comparing Facebook's behavior to that of the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries avoiding accountability in the past.\n\nHaugen said that because of the black box nature of Facebook’s algorithms, the government and the public are left to judge the company’s algorithms by their end result, which is less effective than seeing the technology from the inside.\n\n“A safer, free speech respecting social media is possible,” Haugen said, arguing that the many revelations about the company “are only the first chapters in a story so terrifying, no one wants. To read the end of it.”\n\n– Matthew Brown\n\nSen. Marsha Blackburn calls out Facebook's role in addiction in kids\n\nSen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., charged that Facebook continues to put profit ahead of the safety of the children and teen users on its platform – a bipartisan issue that could unite legislators against the tech giant.\n\nShe cited research provided by Facebook after Haugen's revelations, which found 66% of teen girls and 40% of teen boys on Instagram experienced negative social comparisons. Another finding: 52% of teen girls who experienced negative social comparison on Instagram said it was caused by images related to beauty.\n\n\"Social comparison is worse on Instagram because it is perceived as real life, but based on celebrity standards,\" Blackburn said.\n\nThe resulting social media consumption cycle can lead to \"a downward emotional spiral encompassing a range of emotions from jealousy to self-proclaimed body dysmorphia,\" Blackburn said.\n\nFacebook also accepts that users can become addicted, Blackburn said, using a term it \"calls conveniently 'problematic use,'\" which is \"most severe in teens peaking at age 14.\"\n\n\"Big tech companies have gotten away with abusing consumers for far too long,\" Blackburn said. \"It is clear that Facebook prioritizes profit over the well-being of our children and all users.\"\n\n– Mike Snider\n\nFacebook CEO Zuckerberg, COO Sandberg silent amid crisis\n\nAs lawmakers and the public again train their attention on Facebook amid its most damaging scandal in years, the company’s top executives are silent.\n\nFacebook Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is absent from the national spotlight. The company’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, is also missing in action.\n\nSen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has said he will call on Zuckerberg to testify about the latest reports on the company’s internal research. Facebook has not yet issued a statement on whether he would testify before Congress.\n\nSince the latest reports from the Wall Street Journal, the company’s vice president for global affairs and communications, Nick Clegg, has been the main spokesperson for the company, pushing back on the latest reports.\n\nInstagram's top executive, Adam Mosseri, has also made media appearances since the latest revelations, including announcing that the company would halt work on its Instagram Kids project amid public backlash.\n\nZuckerberg and Sandberg’s absence from the public eye mirrors past major crises for the company, including the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal.\n\n– Matthew Brown\n\nFacebook's Monday outage stranded billions of users\n\nTuesday's hearing comes less than 24 hours after Facebook and its associated apps came back to life following one of the longest outages in its history.\n\nMonday’s outage of Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp marooned billions of users who rely on the social media giant and its apps for everything from connecting with friends to running their businesses and logging into websites.\n\nThe social network and the Facebook-owned platforms stopped working around 11:30 a.m. EDT Monday, according to the site Downdetector.com. At around 5:40 p.m., some users were able to access the platforms, but not all functions were back.\n\nFacebook said late Monday that “the root cause of this outage was a faulty configuration change” and that there was “no evidence that user data was compromised as a result.”\n\n– Terry Collins\n\nFollow Matthew Brown online @mbrownsir.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/10/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/06/business/starbucks-union-white-house/index.html", "title": "Starbucks says it's 'deeply concerned' White House met union ...", "text": "New York CNN Business —\n\nStarbucks isn’t pleased that the White House left management out of a meeting with union representatives.\n\nOn Thursday, union organizers representing workers at Starbucks, REI and Amazon, among others, met with Vice President Kamala Harris and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh at the White House. President Joe Biden also stopped by the meeting to greet the organizers.\n\nRepresentatives for Starbucks (SBUX) weren’t present. That doesn’t sit well with the company.\n\n“We are deeply concerned” that union representatives were invited to the meeting while “official Starbucks representatives” weren’t there to share their views, wrote AJ Jones II, SVP of global communications and public affairs at Starbucks, in a Friday letter addressed to Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president.\n\nStarbucks is \"deeply concerned\" that it was excluded from a White House meeting with union representatives. Spencer Platt/Getty Images\n\n“We believe this lack of representation discounts the reality that the majority of our partners oppose being members of a union,” he said. “I am requesting the opportunity to meet with you and bring a diverse, representative group of Starbucks [employees] … so that they can share points of view and experiences.” The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.\n\nStarbucks Workers United, which has been working to unionize Starbucks stores, said in a statement that “if Starbucks … grants us equal company time to talk to partners for every anti-union meeting they hold, we’d be happy to have them tag along next time we get invited to the White House.”\n\nThe group added that “the President, VP and Sec Walsh took the time yesterday to hear Laura Garza, a proud 22-year [employee] at Starbucks, explain what it’s like to be intimidated and harassed by a company she has devoted her working life to.” The company added that “she spoke on behalf of the partners at over 60 stores across the US who have voted to unionize.”\n\nSo far, dozens of company-operated Starbucks (SBUX) stores have so voted to unionize. That’s just a sliver of Starbucks (SBUX)’ roughly 8,800 US corporate stores. But the movement is gaining momentum, and Starbucks (SBUX) is eager to squash it.\n\nEarlier this week, Starbucks’ interim CEO Howard Schultz said during an analyst call that unionized workers could be left out of future wage hikes. Starbucks Workers United said that it is filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board, requesting an order that would require the company to give all Starbucks workers access to the new benefits.\n\n— CNN’s Brian Fung contributed to this report.", "authors": ["Danielle Wiener-Bronner"], "publish_date": "2022/05/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/28/politics/january-6-hearing-day-6-takeaways-hutchinson/index.html", "title": "7 takeaways from Tuesday's shocking January 6 hearing", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection reconvened Tuesday for a hastily scheduled hearing, featuring blockbuster testimony from Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.\n\nHutchinson has cooperated extensively with the investigation, having sat for four closed-door depositions. She revealed how then-President Donald Trump and his inner circle were warned about the potential for violence on January 6, and how Trump wanted to join the throngs of his supporters at the US Capitol.\n\nThe testimony bolstered the narrative that the committee has been driving toward over the last few weeks: That Trump incited and supported the insurrection as part of a desperate power grab to steal a second term, and that many of his top advisers thought his schemes were illegal.\n\nHere are takeaways from Hutchinson’s key testimony.\n\nTrump and his chief of staff were warned about violence – including armed attendees of rally\n\nHutchinson really moved the ball forward in terms of establishing that Trump was personally aware of the potential for violence, yet forged ahead on January 6 with his attempts to rile up his supporters to interfere with the joint session of Congress to certify President Joe Biden’s victory.\n\nShe said Trump was told that morning that weapons were being confiscated from some of his supporters who came for his rally. Later, when Trump and his team were at the Ellipse – the large oval lawn on the south side of the White House – and before his speech, Trump barked out orders to his staffers to “take the mags away” – referring to the metal detectors – because the people in the crowd, “they’re not here to hurt me.”\n\nTrump also said, “I don’t f**king care that they have weapons,” according to Hutchinson. This is particularly shocking, because Trump then encouraged the same crowd to march to the Capitol while lawmakers were affirming Biden’s win. (Hundreds of Trump’s diehard supporters soon stormed the Capitol, many carrying knives, bear spray, metal poles, tasers and a few guns.)\n\nEx-aide was backstage with Trump at his Jan. 6 rally. Here's what she heard him say 02:52 - Source: CNN\n\nWhen Hutchinson told her boss, Meadows, about early reports of weapons getting confiscated, Meadows didn’t even look up from his phone, according to Hutchinson. Two days earlier, he told her that “things might get real, real, bad on January 6.”\n\n“The potential for violence was learned or known before the onset of the violence, early enough for President Trump to have taken steps to prevent it,” said Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the panel’s GOP vice chair. She added that Trump could have urged his supporters not to march to the Capitol, or condemned the violence more quickly, but didn’t, because he “had something else in mind.”\n\nTrump intended to go the Capitol and pushed to do so until the last minute\n\nThe select committee effectively proved as much on Tuesday by featuring a mix of damning witness testimony and White House records that show Trump intended to join his supporters at the Capitol and was pushing to do so just minutes before the violence began to escalate.\n\nIt was previously known that Trump wanted to go to the Capitol, but Hutchinson’s testimony established for the first time that people around Trump had advance knowledge of this plan.\n\nThe reality of Trump’s intentions became clear to national security officials in real time as they learned the Secret Service was scrambling to find a way for the former President to travel to the Capitol while he was on stage urging his followers to march, according to National Security Council chat logs from that day that were revealed for the first time during Tuesday’s hearing.\n\nThe NSC chat logs provide a minute-by-minute accounting of how the situation evolved from the perspective of top White House national security officials on January 6 and, along with witness testimony delivered on Tuesday, contradict an account by Meadows in his book where he says Trump never intended to march to the Capitol.\n\n“MOGUL’s going to the Capital … they are clearing a route now,” a message sent to the chat log at 12:29 p.m. ET on January 6 reads – referring to the former President’s secret service code name.\n\n“MilAide has confirmed that he wants to walk,” a 12:32 p.m. message reads. “They are begging him to reconsider.”\n\n“So this is happening,” a message sent at 12:47 p.m. states.\n\nHutchinson also testified that some in Trump’s orbit had made clear days before January 6 that Trump wanted to travel to the US Capitol.\n\nShe told the committee Tuesday that Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told her on January 2 – four days before the US Capitol was attacked by Trump supporters – that “we’re going to the Capitol” on January 6, and that Trump himself was also planning to be there.\n\n'This was obscene': Tapper reacts to ex-White House aide's Jan. 6 testimony 05:28 - Source: CNN\n\nAide recounts secondhand incident where Trump reached for steering wheel\n\nHutchinson testified Tuesday that she heard a secondhand account of how Trump was so enraged at his Secret Service detail for blocking him from going to the Capitol on January 6 that he lunged to the front of his presidential limo and tried to turn the wheel.\n\nShe said that Tony Ornato, then-White House deputy chief of staff, said that Robert Engel, who was the Secret Service agent in charge on January 6, repeatedly told Trump on their way back to the White House after Trump’s Ellipse speech that it wasn’t safe to go to the Capitol.\n\nAccording to Hutchinson, Ornato recounted Trump screaming, “I’m the f**king President. Take me up to the Capitol now.” Trump then “reached up toward the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel,” Hutchinson remembered learning. She added that, according to Ornato, Trump used his other hand “lunge” at Engel.\n\nEngel and Ornato have both testified to the committee behind closed doors, but their statements were not used in the hearing Tuesday.\n\nAfter the testimony, a Secret Service official familiar with the matter told CNN that Ornato denies telling Hutchinson that the former President grabbed the wheel or an agent on his detail.\n\nThe Secret Service, through the Department of Homeland Security Office of Legislative Affairs, notified the committee Tuesday afternoon that it will make the agents involved available to testify under oath, the official said. The agents are also prepared to say under oath that the incident itself did not occur.\n\nThe lead agent, Engel, previously testified before the committee and described the interactions with Trump on January 6, including the former President’s desire to travel to the Capitol, but he was not asked about an altercation or being assaulted, the official said.\n\nAsked about the Secret Service disputing the testimony, a committee spokesman said, “The committee trusts the creditability of a witness who is willing to testify under oath and in public but is also willing to hear any and all information that others may have that would aid in their investigation.”\n\nSecret Service officials: Agents willing to dispute Trump SUV incident under oath 03:21 - Source: CNN\n\nHutchinson also recounted a separate Trump tantrum after then-Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press in December 2020 there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.\n\n“I remember hearing noise coming from down the hallway,” Hutchinson began. She saw the President’s valet in the dining room, changing the tablecloth, ketchup dripping down the wall, and a porcelain plate shattered on the floor.\n\n“The President was extremely angry at the attorney general’s … interview and had thrown his lunch against the wall,” Hutchinson said. “I grabbed a towel and started wiping the ketchup off the wall.”\n\nThe anecdote came up as the committee questioned Hutchinson about Trump’s state of mind after losing the election.\n\nCipollone warned: ‘People are going to die and the blood’s gonna be on your f**king hands’\n\nTrump defended the rioters chanting for the hanging of then-Vice President Mike Pence on January 6, according to Hutchinson.\n\nHutchinson relayed a conversation she observed between White House Counsel Pat Cipollone and Meadows after they discussed with Trump the chants to inflict violence on Pence.\n\n“I remember Pat saying something to the effect of ‘Mark, we need to do something more. They’re literally calling for the vice president to be f**king hung,’” Hutchinson recalled.\n\nMeadows replied, “You heard him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong,” according to Hutchinson.\n\nCipollone responded, “This is f**king crazy. We need to be doing something more.”\n\nHutchinson testified that Cipollone had previously rushed into Meadows’ office after rioters breached the Capitol and told Meadows what had happened, and said they needed to go meet with Trump.\n\n“Mark, something needs to be done, or people are going to die and the blood’s gonna be on your f**king hands,” Cipollone told Meadows, according to Hutchinson. “This is getting out of control.”\n\nHear John Dean's direct message to ex-Trump White House lawyer 01:48 - Source: CNN\n\n‘There was a large concern’ in White House of the 25th Amendment being invoked after riot\n\nTrump delivered a speech on January 7, 2021, finally acknowledging that Biden would be inaugurated in part because there was a “large concern” by the White House that Pence and the Cabinet could invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from power, according to Cassidy’s testimony.\n\nHutchinson also testified that Trump did not want to include references in the speech to prosecuting the pro-Trump rioters, but instead wanted to float pardons for them. After the White House Counsel’s office pushed back, Trump did not mention pardons in that speech.\n\nIf the 25th Amendment had been invoked, Trump could’ve put his presidency up for a vote before Congress, where two-thirds would have been necessary to kick him out.\n\n“There was a large concern of the 25th Amendment potentially being invoked, and there were concerns about what would happen in the Senate if it was,” Hutchinson testified.\n\nThe thinking at the time was that Trump needed the speech “as cover” to protect himself from the threat of his Cabinet trying to oust him from power, Hutchinson said. She said that was a “secondary reason” for Trump to give the speech; the first was that Trump needed to condemn the violent attack to try and prevent it from becoming his legacy.\n\nWhile Trump gave the speech effectively conceding the election, he wanted to remove calls for “prosecuting the rioters or calling them violent” from early drafts of his January 7 speech, according to Hutchinson, but wanted to float pardons to his supporters.\n\n“He didn’t want that in there,” Hutchinson said. “He wanted to put in that he wanted to potentially pardon them.”\n\n“He didn’t think that they did anything wrong,” said Hutchinson, referring to the pro-Trump rioters. “The people who did something wrong that day-or-the person who did something wrong that day was Mike Pence, by not standing with him.”\n\nTrump’s conduct on January 6 was ‘un-American’ and ‘unpatriotic,’ Hutchinson says\n\nIn emotional and powerful testimony, Hutchinson said Trump’s behavior on January 6 was “unpatriotic” and “un-American.”\n\nThe committee asked Hutchinson to describe her real-time reaction from January 6, when Trump attacked Pence in a tweet at 2:24 p.m. ET, which was after his supporters invaded the Capitol, forcing Pence, lawmakers, and staffers to run for their lives.\n\n“As a staffer … I remember feeling frustrated, disappointed, and really, it felt personal. It was really sad,” Hutchinson said. “As an American, I was disgusted. It was unpatriotic. It was un-American. We’re watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie. And it was something that was really hard in that moment to digest. … I still struggle to work through the emotions of that.”\n\nHer condemnation of Trump’s behavior may shed some light on her motivations for coming forward with so much damaging information about January 6. Committee members have heaped praise on Hutchinson and other Republicans who have testified, calling them patriots.\n\nSee how close rioters got to Pence as they breached the Capitol 03:07 - Source: CNN\n\nCommittee teases evidence of witness tampering\n\nThe committee has secured testimony from some major witnesses members of Trump’s inner circle, even members of his family. But Cheney suggested during the hearing that there might be a Trump-imposed blockade of sorts, and that the panel has evidence of witness tampering.\n\nShe said one witness – whom the committee did not identify – testified that: “What they said to me is, as long as I continue to be a team player, they know that I’m on the team, I’m doing the right thing, I’m protecting who I need to protect, you know, I’ll continue to stay in good graces in Trump world.”\n\nAnother unidentified witness said they were told by someone in Trump’s orbit that Trump was “thinking about you” and that “he knows you’re loyal” and hopes that “you’re going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition.”\n\nCheney said the committee takes this “seriously” and will be considering “next steps,” potentially hinting at a criminal referral, for possible witness tampering or obstruction. Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the committee chairman, issued a public plea for more cooperation, saying to potential witnesses that if “you discovered some courage you had hidden away somewhere, our doors remain open.”\n\nTrump has denied all wrongdoing regarding January 6 and the related investigations.\n\nThe new evidence from the committee is consistent with a years-long pattern of behavior by Trump, who has repeatedly used private and public channels to pressure people who could testify against him. This happened with his former lawyer Michael Cohen and his 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort during the Russia investigation, and with a US ambassador during the 2019 impeachment hearings.\n\nTrump has also retaliated against people who provided damaging public testimony against him, including a top White House national security official and his ambassador to the European Union, who both described his pressure campaign against Ukraine during House impeachment hearings in 2019.\n\nThis story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday.\n\nCORRECTION: This story has been corrected to note that Trump did not mention pardons for rioters in his January 7, 2021, speech.", "authors": ["Marshall Cohen Zachary Cohen Alex Rogers", "Marshall Cohen", "Zachary Cohen", "Alex Rogers"], "publish_date": "2022/06/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/09/joe-biden-hunter-biden-weaponization-live-updates/11211785002/", "title": "Democrat introduces resolution to expel Santos from House: Updates", "text": "WASHINGTON — A Democratic congressman Thursday launched an effort to expel GOP Rep. George Santos from Congress. California Rep. Robert Garcia referred a resolution to the House Ethics Committee to kick out tghe freshman New York lawmaker who lied about his background and finances during last year's campaign.\n\nMeanwhile, the Republican head of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee ramped up his probe of President Joe Biden’s son and brother. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., is requesting Hunter and James Biden for documents since 2009 covering communications with intelligence agencies, travel and financial records since Biden was vice president\n\nHere's what else is happening in politics:\n\nSmart analysis delivered to your inbox: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter\n\nFetterman's doctors rule out stroke as cause of recent dizziness\n\nSen. John Fetterman's doctors have concluded that the Pennsylvania Democrat who was hospitalized late Wednesday for lightheadedness did not suffer a stroke.\n\nFetterman, who suffered a stroke during his 2022 Senate campaign in Pennsylvania, was taken to George Washington University Hospital after feeling dizzy toward the end of a Senate Democratic retreat Wednesday, according to his spokesperson, Joe Calvello.\n\nOn Thursday, Calvello said the results of an MRI \"along with the results of all of the other tests the doctors ran, rule out a new stroke. He is being monitored with an EEG for signs of seizure - so far there are no signs of seizure, but he is still being monitored.\"\n\n- Candy Woodall\n\nMinnesota congresswoman attacked in apartment building elevator\n\nMinnesota Democratic Rep. Angie Craig was assaulted at her apartment building in Washington Thursday morning, according to the congresswoman’s office.\n\nThe incident occurred in an elevator around 7:15 a.m.\n\n“Rep. Craig defended herself from the attacker and suffered bruising, but is otherwise physically okay,” Craig’s chief of staff, Nick Coe, said in a statement.\n\nCoe added that “there is no evidence that the incident was politically motivated.”\n\n- Phillip M. Bailey\n\n‘Time for him to go‘: Democrats introduce resolution to expel George Santos\n\nRep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., referred a resolution Thursday to the House Ethics Committee to expel GOP Rep. George Santos from Congress. The freshman Democrat called Santos a fraud and a liar for misrepresenting his background and finances during his campaign last year for New York's third district.\n\n“It’s time for him to go,” Garcia said. “We have given him plenty of time to resign and he has chosen not to do so.”\n\nThe odds of expulsion are long. It would take two-thirds of the chamber to vote for such a move. Santos told USA TODAY “it’s their prerogative\" to introduce a resolution, and maintained his position that he will not resign from office.\n\n“They can do whatever they want. For people who like to talk about silencing voters, they want to silence 142,000 people who voted to send me here,\" he said.\n\n- Rachel Looker and Candy Woodall\n\nSantos probes:George Santos controversy: Here's a look at investigations of the House Republican\n\nDonald Trump's Facebook account is officially restored\n\nBrace yourselves for Donald Trump's first new Facebook post.\n\nMeta Platforms Inc. mechanically restored Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts Thursday, more than two years after suspending him for improper content in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.\n\nThe social media giant announced Jan. 25 that it would lift Trump's suspension, and threatened more penalties if the ex-president again violates their content policies.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nWhy Biden keeps revisiting the Social Security, Medicare heckling episode\n\nPresident Joe Biden won’t let Republicans forget about their heckling – and apparent commitment not to touch Medicare or Social Security – from his State of the Union address this week.\n\n“It sounded like they agreed to take these cuts off the table. I sure hope so. I mean it,\" Biden said, speaking Thursday at the University of Tampa in Florida.\n\nRepublicans booed and jeered Biden during the State of the Union when he accused them of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare, pointing to a proposal by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to sunset all federal programs every five years. The White House believes the moment boxed Republicans – who have pushed unspecified spending cuts during debt ceiling talks – into a corner.\n\n“I know that a lot of Republicans' dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare. Well, let me say this. If that's your dream, I'm your nightmare,” Biden said.\n\n- Joey Garrison and Maureen Groppe\n\nNikki Haley schedule update: Iowa is also on her announcement itinerary\n\nHaving already announced events in South Carolina and New Hampshire, soon-to-be presidential candidate Nikki Haley has added another early contest state to her announcement tour: Iowa.\n\nHaley, who formally announces her candidacy Wednesday in Charleston, S.C., will conduct a town hall in Urbandale, Iowa, on Feb. 20, and Marion, Iowa, on Feb. 21, according to her campaign. The 2024 GOP presidential campaign kicks off in the Hawkeye State which holds the first caucus in the nation.\n\nThe former United Nations ambassador who is challenging Donald Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024 has two halls in New Hampshire late next week.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nGOP Congressman calls Santos 'a joke' but wouldn't vote to expel him\n\nRep. Dusty Johnson, a South Dakota Republican and key ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is joining the growing number of members in his party who believe Rep. George Santos doesn’t belong in Congress.\n\n“George Santos is a joke, and he shouldn’t be in Congress,” Johnson told USA TODAY Thursday. But Johnson was hesitant about a Democratic resolution to expel Santos.\n\n“It’s the voters who get to decide who to hire and fire,” he said. “Before we start exercising a veto over the decision of the voters, I think we really want to proceed cautiously.”\n\n- Candy Woodall\n\n'Sick puppy':Mitt Romney calls George Santos 'a sick puppy' after Biden State of the Union\n\nHouse unanimously condemns China’s spy balloon\n\nA usually divided House came together Thursday to slam the Chinese government for sending a spy balloon to fly over much of the continental U.S. this month.\n\nFive days after the military shot down the surveillance device, lawmakers unanimously passed a resolution condemning the foreign nation that called the incident “a brazen violation of (American) sovereignty.”\n\nState Department officials said Thursday the balloon, which was shot down off the South Carolina coast, was fashioned with equipment that was \"clearly for intelligence surveillance.”\n\n“An event like this… must not happen again. And it cannot go unanswered,” Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, of Texas, who is chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said during Thursday’s floor debate.\n\n- Phillip M. Bailey\n\nWhite House calls House inquiry ‘political stunt’\n\nA White House spokesperson slammed a House hearing scheduled Thursday as a “political stunt” aimed at getting participants more attention on Fox News.\n\nThe Judiciary subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government will hear from witnesses including Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who have investigated Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals. Other witnesses include former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Fox News contributor, and former FBI agent Nicole Parker.\n\n“These extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress are choosing to make it their top priority to go down the rabbit hole of debunked conspiracy theories about a ‘deep state’ instead of taking a deep breath and deciding to work with the President and Democrats in Congress to improve Americans’ everyday lives,” Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement.\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nHunter Biden laptop story enflames House lawmakers:7 takeaways from Twitter hearing\n\nReport: Election deniers lost, but election threats remain\n\nMany Donald Trump-backed election deniers lost bids for office last year, but the threat of election subversion remains, says a new report – particularly physical threats to election workers.\n\n“While the most feared threats to election administration and vote counting did not materialize in 2022, that doesn’t mean that the elevated risks to our elections have disappeared and we can lower our guard,” said Wendy Weiser, Vice President for Democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law.\n\nWeiser is a member of the National Task Force on Election Crises, which issued a report Thursday warning that there are still some current government officials – mostly Trump-style Republicans – who want to manipulate voting and election laws to favor their candidates.\n\nThe report urged the government to remain vigilant about election threats, especially from partisans willing to physically threaten election officials to try and get their way.\n\n\"The threat of political violence was one the most concerning aspects of the 2022 cycle and one that shows no signs of abating,\" the report said.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nSen. Fetterman hospitalized:Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke on campaign trail, hospitalized for lightheadedness\n\nComer demands documents from president’s son, brother\n\nThe head of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee ratcheted up his investigation of President Joe Biden’s son and brother with a request to them for documents since 2009 covering communications with intelligence agencies, travel and financial records since Biden was vice president.\n\nRep. James Comer, R-Ky., said the letters to Hunter and James Biden, and their business associate Eric Schwerin, would help the panel draft stronger ethics legislation for federal officials and their families. The request followed a six-hour hearing Wednesday about Twitter stifling news coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop, which contained information about foreign business deals.\n\nJoe Biden dismissed the inquiry. “The public’s not going to pay attention to that,” Biden told the PBS NewsHour on Wednesday. “If the only thing they can do is make up things about my family, it’s not going to go very far.”\n\n--Bart Jansen\n\nBiden's GOP antagonists:Biden’s most vocal GOP antagonists emerge, World Economic Forum preview: 5 Things podcast\n\nHunter Biden lawyer calls Comer inquiry ‘inaccurate’ and ‘baseless’\n\nAbbe Lowell, a lawyer representing Hunter Biden, replied to Rep. James Comer’s request for documents from the president’s son as “peddling inaccurate and baseless conclusions.”\n\nAs head of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, Comer, R-Ky., had demanded Hunter Biden documents about intelligence agencies, travel and finances since 2009 to draft stronger ethics legislation. But Lowell said Hunter Biden is a private citizen and the panel lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.\n\n“Peddling your own inaccurate and baseless conclusions under the guise of a real investigation, turns the Committee into ‘Wonderland’ and you into the Queen of Hearts shouting, ‘sentence first, verdict afterwards,’” Lowell wrote in a four-page letter to Comer.\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nHunter Biden's art dealer says his work is 'important':Why the paintings factor into GOP probes.\n\nPentagon: China conducted spy balloon program for years\n\nThe Chinese balloon shot down off the South Carolina coast was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon said Wednesday.\n\nWhen similar balloons passed over U.S. territory on four occasions during the Trump and Biden administrations, the U.S. did not immediately identify them as Chinese surveillance balloons, said Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. But he said “subsequent intelligence analysis” allowed the U.S. to confirm they were part of a Chinese spying effort and learn “a lot more” about the program.\n\n– Associated Press\n\nSpy balloon flew over sensitive US sites:Chinese spy balloon flew over other US missile and nuclear weapons sites, lawmaker says\n\nWhite House hits back at GOP after State of the Union heckling over Social Security, Medicare\n\nDuring President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday, GOP lawmakers responded with vocal outrage when the president suggested Republicans want to cut Social Security and Medicare. But on Thursday, the White House pulled out the receipts.\n\nIn a fact sheet titled “Congressional Republicans’ Many Proposals to Cut Social Security and Medicare, and Increase Prescription Drug Prices and Health Care Premiums,” the White House called out the party and several GOP lawmakers by name for having a “different record” on the popular programs than they loudly claimed Tuesday.\n\nThe fact sheet shows the White House’s growing boldness in calling out the opposite party as the 2024 election rapidly approaches.\n\n-Ella Lee\n\nState of the Union takeaways:Blue-collar Joe, GOP boos and a 2024 preview\n\n'Moms for Liberty' asks Iowa lawmakers to get 'inappropriate' books out of schools\n\nFive Iowa moms, all members of the conservative \"Moms for Liberty\" group, made their case to lawmakers this week about their efforts to remove or limit inappropriate books in schools.\n\n\"This legislature needs to come together and find common ground on protecting children from obscenity,\" said Mandy Gilbert, a Johnston parent and secretary for the Polk County Moms for Liberty chapter.\n\nOutside the Iowa House Government Oversight Committee room, a small group held signs that condemned book banning. Former Iowa teacher Alena Treat said she's concerned the push against inappropriate books is part of a larger effort to remove LGBTQ representation from schools.\n\n– Katie Akin, Des Moines Register\n\nRead the full story:'Moms for Liberty' calls on Iowa legislature to rid schools of 'inappropriate' books'\n\nHunter Biden laptop story enflames House lawmakers\n\nThe House hearing Wednesday into Twitter’s brief suppression of a story about Hunter Biden’s laptop outlined the queasiness of former executives to block it and provided a bare-knuckle arena for partisan lawmakers to debate allegations against President Joe Biden.\n\nFormer Twitter executives told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee the company blocked links to the New York Post story in October 2020 because of similarities to the posting of leaks from hacked Democratic computers before the 2016 election. The executives called the 24-hour suppression a mistake and said it was difficult to judge between contentious and dangerous speech during a campaign.\n\nRepublican lawmakers argued Twitter’s decision could have thrown the election to Biden rather than former President Donald Trump, while Democrats called the hearing “silly” and a \"bizarre political stunt.”\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nRead the full story:Hunter Biden laptop story enflames House lawmakers: 7 takeaways from Twitter hearing\n\nSen. John Fetterman hospitalized for lightheadedness\n\nSen. John Fetterman, who had a stroke during his 2022 Senate campaign in Pennsylvania, is in the hospital, his office said late Wednesday night.\n\nFetterman was taken to George Washington University Hospital after feeling lightheaded toward the end of the Senate Democratic retreat Wednesday, according to a statement from his spokesperson, Joe Calvello.\n\n\"Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke, but doctors are running more tests and John is remaining overnight for observation,\" Calvello said.\n\n-- Candy Woodall\n\nRead the whole story here:Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who suffered a stroke on campaign trail, hospitalized for lightheadedness\n\nBiden schedule today\n\nPresident Joe Biden will travel to Floriday as part of his post-State of the Union travel to bring his key issues to an outside-the-Beltway audience. He will focus today is on Social Security and Medicare.\n\nBiden's event at 1:30 pm will be held in Tampa.\n\nBiden to bring Social Security fight to Florida\n\nPresident Joe Biden will continue his attacks on Republicans over Social Security and Medicare when he travels to Florida.\n\nBiden has accused Republicans – including Florida Sen. Rick Scott – of endangering the popular retirement programs by proposing all federal legislation by renewed every five years. Scott says Biden is twisting his words.\n\nBiden appeared to relish the dispute over the issue during his State of the Union address when Republican lawmakers interrupted his speech to challenge him.\n\nBiden said Wednesday he hopes that means Republicans have agreed not to cut Social Security and Medicare but, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”\n\n– Maureen Groppe\n\nMore:Marjorie Taylor Greene, other Republicans spar with Biden over Social Security, Medicare\n\nSubcommittee on weaponization of the government set to hold first hearing Thursday\n\nSen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., will testify Thursday during a GOP-led hearing of the congressional subcommittee investigating the alleged weaponization of the government against Republicans.\n\nJohnson plans to speak about the “roadblocks” he faced from government agencies during his investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, that concluded in 2020 while Johnson was the chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Johnson's office told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.\n\nSen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who recently quit the Democratic Party, and former FBI special agent Nicole Parker will also testify during the hearing, according to CNN, which was first to report the developments.\n\n– Lawrence Andrea\n\nBiden under scrutiny:House Republicans gear up investigations of the president\n\nBiden: Republican investigations of my family 'won’t go very far'\n\nPresident Joe Biden said House Republicans’ investigations into the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, and other members of his family \"won’t go very far.\"\n\n\"The public’s not going to pay attention to that,\" Biden said in an interview Wednesday on PBS NewsHour. \"They want these guys to do something. If the only thing they can do is make up things about my family, it’s not going to go very far.\"\n\nThe Republican-led House Oversight Committee held its first hearing Wednesday investigating the Biden family as former Twitter executives faced questions about media coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop. It's the start of a string of probes into the president that Republicans have long promised.\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\n7 takeaways from Twitter hearing:Hunter Biden laptop story enflames House lawmakers", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/09"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/13/tech/amazon-union-jfk8-warehouse/index.html", "title": "'It's war.' Tensions remain high at first Amazon warehouse in US to ...", "text": "CNN Business —\n\nIn the two months since workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, voted to form the company’s first US labor union, the organizers have been on a victory lap.\n\nLeaders for the newly formed Amazon Labor Union have visited the White House, testified before a Senate committee, been featured on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people and rallied alongside prominent progressive political figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The fired-Amazon-worker-turned-union-president, Chris Smalls, has also been recognized publicly, both as a labor leader and for his fashion sense, with his style written up by the New York Times.\n\nBut inside the Staten Island facility, known as JFK8, tensions remain high between the union and Amazon. Several worker-organizers at the facility have been fired, sparking heated responses from the union. Amazon has yet to sit down at the bargaining table with the union, prompting Sen. Sanders and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Friday to urge Amazon’s CEO to recognize the union rather than fight it. And Amazon is currently attempting to have the election results thrown out after filing more than two dozen objections, not only concerning alleged behavior of union leaders but also that of the regional office of the National Labor Relations Board, which oversaw the election. The agency has denied Amazon’s charges against it.\n\nA hearing on the objections kicked off Monday at an NLRB regional office in Phoenix, Arizona, given the accusations alleged in Amazon’s objections against the local regional office in New York. Amazon pushed to keep the hearing closed to the public, but the federal labor agency ruled against it in a recent filing. “The Board’s hearings are not secret. Accordingly, preventing the public from viewing its important processes is not an option,” the filing stated. The ALU, meanwhile, has indicated plans to travel to Phoenix to rally for recognition.\n\nThe ongoing saga at the facility shows how the surprise victory for the underdog Amazon Labor Union is far from the end of a long battle for collective bargaining between some warehouse workers and one of the country’s largest employers. It also points to a playbook Amazon could use with other warehouses, at a time when the pandemic has heightened concerns among some employees about working conditions at the e-commerce giant. At Amazon, only a few other US locations have held a union election and, so far, they’ve failed to successfully unionize.\n\n“Amazon is not willing to recognize having a union,” said Kate Bronfenbrenner, the director of Labor Education Research Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She added that the developments at JFK8 reveal major weaknesses in US labor laws. “One of the problems under our labor law is that if a company refuses to bargain, the worst penalty is a piece of paper saying, ‘Go bargain.’”\n\nUnion organizer Christian Smalls speaks following the April 1, 2022, vote for the unionization of the Amazon Staten Island warehouse in New York. Andrea Renault/AFP/Getty Images\n\nAmazon has repeatedly emphasized in statements that while employees have a choice to join a union, it prefers to communicate with workers directly — a common refrain among employers facing a wave of workplace activism during the pandemic. In a recent interview at the Bloomberg Technology Summit, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy reiterated this point, stating the company believes its workers are “better off without a union.”\n\nAmong its complaints, Amazon alleged in a filing that the NLRB’s regional office, which oversaw the election at the facility, “unfairly and inappropriately facilitated the [Amazon Labor Union’s] victory.” Amazon also accused the grassroots union, spearheaded by Smalls, of intimidating employees, among other allegations.\n\nSeth Goldstein, an attorney for the union, called the objections “racist, baseless, and absurd” in a statement online. Smalls added, “These objections are insulting to the workers of JFK8 who survived the pandemic and defeated a trillion-dollar company just to see Amazon use their highly-paid lawyers to silence the voices of thousands of their workers.”\n\nThe new union, meanwhile, has strongly taken issue with staff firings at JFK8. After news last week that the company had fired another worker-organizer at the facility, marking at least the third to have been dismissed since the initial election results, the newly formed union did not mince words.\n\n“It’s war,” the Amazon Labor Union tweeted on Thursday. Days earlier, the union had issued a similar warning to “Amazon’s lawyers” in a tweet: “If you fire the person you’re thinking about firing right now we’ll take it as an act of war.”\n\nIn a statement to CNN, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the employee was let go due to violent workplace behavior. The union did not respond to requests for comment.\n\nAmazon's JFK8 Staten Island fulfillment center is seen in Staten Island on March 25, 2022 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images\n\nIn early May, there was also a reported dismissal of a group of managers at JFK8. Asked about this by CNN Business at the time, Amazon did not provide a comment but, in an explanation to the New York Times, said the management changes came after evaluating “operations and leadership” at the facility.\n\nBronfenbrenner said Amazon’s actions since the union election are not surprising for an employer that has opposed and avoided unionization efforts for so long.\n\n“They’re going to fight to stay non-union for a very long time,” she said, “until the cost of being non-union becomes greater than the cost of being union, and that’s going to take having their customers and their investors put a great deal of pressure on them.”", "authors": ["Catherine Thorbecke Sara Ashley O'Brien", "Catherine Thorbecke", "Sara Ashley O'Brien"], "publish_date": "2022/06/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/09/congress-gop-senator-fight-union-boss/11434057002/", "title": "'Shut your mouth': GOP Sen. Mullin tangles with union boss in hearing", "text": "WASHINGTON–The clash between a union boss and Republican senator could be a preview of what's to come in the Sen. Bernie Sanders-led Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.\n\nSanders has vowed to take on corporate, \"union busting\" CEOs as chair of the HELP committee, and a Thursday hearing served up rowdy moments of drama as the Vermont progressive keeps his promises.\n\nThe moment getting the most attention came during an intense exchange between GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Teamsters President Sean O'Brien.\n\nHeated debate between union president and Republican senator\n\nMullin, who said he's not anti-union, accused O'Brien of \"sucking the paycheck\" from workers to earn his nearly $200,000 salary.\n\nO'Brien, who was at the hearing to testify about how employers intimidate employees, told Mullin he was out of line.\n\n\"Don't tell me I'm out of line,\" Mullin said. \"You need to shut your mouth.\"\n\nGOP senator fights with union leader\n\nMullin said he doesn't back down from a fight – and sometimes welcomes a physical fight – but he said he resents the type of union pressure he experienced as a businessman.\n\n\"I'm not afraid of a physical confrontation. In fact, sometimes I look forward to it,\" he said.\n\nThe Oklahoma senator claimed he came from less than nothing to build a multimillion-dollar plumbing company with hundreds of employees, and those non-union employees were intimidated by a local union.\n\n\"We hold greedy CEOs like yourself accountable,\" O’Brien said. \"You want to attack my salary, I’ll attack yours. What did you make when you owned your company?\"\n\nMullin claimed during the hearing he took a salary of $50,000 to be able to invest more revenue back into the company, but financial disclosures through the years show income between $200,000 and $2 million. U.S. senators earn $174,000 annually.\n\nMore:Teacher salaries become a bipartisan cause: Low pay 'a major crisis in education'\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": "2023/03/09"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/19/politics/what-is-in-jan-6-committee-report-summary/index.html", "title": "What's in the Jan. 6 committee's report summary | CNN Politics", "text": "CNN —\n\nThe full report was published December 22, 2021. Read here.\n\nThe House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol has concluded that former President Donald Trump was ultimately responsible for the insurrection, laying out for the public and the Justice Department a trove of evidence for why he should be prosecuted for multiple crimes.\n\n“That evidence has led to an overriding and straight-forward conclusion: the central cause of January 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, who many others followed,” the committee writes in a summary of its final report released on Monday. “None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him.”\n\nThe summary describes in extensive detail how Trump tried to overpower, pressure and cajole anyone who wasn’t willing to help him overturn his election defeat – while knowing that many of his schemes were unlawful. His relentless arm-twisting included election administrators in key states, senior Justice Department leaders, state lawmakers, and others. The report even suggests possible witness tampering with the committee’s investigation.\n\nThe committee repeatedly uses forceful language to describe Trump’s intent: that he “purposely disseminated false allegations of fraud” in order to aid his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and to successfully solicit about $250 million in political contributions. “These false claims provoked his supporters to violence on January 6th.”\n\nThe full report, based on 1,000-plus interviews, documents collected including emails, texts, phone records and a year and a half of investigation by the nine-member bipartisan committee, will be released Wednesday, along with along with transcripts and other materials collected in the investigation.\n\nHere’s what’s in the report summary:\n\nThe committee thinks Trump and others committed crimes, and is referring them to DOJ\n\nThe House committee lays out a number of criminal statutes it believes were violated in the plots to stave off Trump’s defeat and says there’s evidence for criminal referrals to the Justice Department for Trump, Trump attorney John Eastman and “others.”\n\nThe report summary says there’s evidence to pursue Trump on multiple crimes, including obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to make false statements, assisting or aiding an insurrection, conspiring to injure or impede an officer and seditious conspiracy.\n\nFormer President Donald Trump and John Eastman\n\nThe committee says it also has the evidence to refer Eastman on the obstruction charge, and it names him as a co-conspirator in other alleged criminal activity lawmakers have gathered evidence on.\n\nIn addition, several others are named as being participants in the conspiracies the committee is linking to Trump, including then-DOJ attorney Jeffrey Clark and Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows, as well as Trump-tied lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Rudy Giuliani.\n\nThe committee alluded to evidence of criminal obstruction of the House investigation but the summary does not go into detail about that evidence.\n\nSeveral of the individuals named by the committee – including Trump, Eastman and Giuliani – had their own responses Monday.\n\nTrump’s false victory declaration was ‘premeditated’\n\nThe committee outlines 17 findings from its investigation that underpin its reasoning for criminal referrals, including that Trump knew the fraud allegations he was pushing were false and continued to amplify them anyway.\n\n“President Trump’s decision to declare victory falsely on election night and, unlawfully, to call for the vote counting to stop, was not a spontaneous decision. It was premeditated,” the summary states.\n\nThe committee revealed emails from Tom Fitton, president of the conservative group Judicial Watch, from before the 2020 presidential election that say Trump should declare victory regardless of the outcome.\n\nIt also notes that Trump’s top allies, including those who testified before the committee, acknowledged they found no proof to back up the former president’s claims.\n\n“Ultimately, even Rudolph Giuliani and his legal team acknowledged that they had no definitive evidence of election fraud sufficient to change the election outcome,” the summary states, referring to Trump’s then-personal attorney.\n\n“For example, although Giuliani repeatedly had claimed in public that Dominion voting machines stole the election, he admitted during his Select Committee deposition that ‘I do not think the machines stole the election,’” it states.\n\nTrump’s belief that the election is stolen is no excuse, lawmakers say\n\nSources familiar with Trump’s legal strategy in the Justice Department probe have told CNN that his attorneys believe prosecutors face an uphill battle in proving he did not believe the election was stolen despite being told as much by senior members of his own administration.\n\nIn making its case for a Justice Department prosecution of Trump, the House committee took aim at that possible defense.\n\nIn describing why the committee believes Trump’s conduct meet the prongs of each criminal statute, the summary stresses evidence that Trump had been warned that his schemes were unlawful.\n\nTrump raised about $250 million by crying fraud\n\nThe committee says it gathered evidence indicating that Trump “raised roughly one quarter of a billion dollars in fundraising efforts between the election and January 6th. Those solicitations persistently claimed and referred to election fraud that did not exist.”\n\n“For example, the Trump Campaign, along with the Republican National Committee, sent millions of emails to their supporters, with messaging claiming that the election was ‘rigged,’ that their donations could stop Democrats from ‘trying to steal the election,’ and that Vice President Biden would be an ‘illegitimate president’ if he took office,’” the summary states.\n\nSeveral members of Congress are being referred to the House Ethics Committee\n\nThe select committee is referring several Republican lawmakers who refused to cooperate with the investigation to the House Ethics Committee.\n\nRep. Kevin McCarthy speaks to reporters at the US Capitol in Washington in November. Michael A. McCoy/Reuters\n\nHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, as well as Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Andy Biggs of Arizona, could all face possible sanctions for their refusal to comply with committee subpoenas.\n\nConcerns about witness credibility and Trump-allied attorneys\n\nThe committee raised concerns that attorneys paid by Trump’s political committee or allied groups were incentivized to protect the former president, saying, “lawyers who are receiving such payments have specific incentives to defend President Trump rather than zealously represent their own clients. The Department of Justice and the Fulton County District Attorney have been provided with certain information related to this topic.”\n\nIn one instance, a witness whose lawyer was being paid by a Trump-allied group was told she could “in certain circumstances, tell the Committee that she did not recall facts when she actually did recall them.” When the witness raised concerns with her lawyer about that approach, the lawyer said, “They don’t know what you know, [witness]. They don’t know that you can recall some of these things. So you saying ‘I don’t recall’ is an entirely acceptable response to this,” according to the report summary.\n\nWhen it came to a specific issue that reflected negatively on Trump, the lawyer told his client, “No, no, no, no, no. We don’t want to go there. We don’t want to talk about that.”\n\nThe committee notes both Trump and his allies attempted to contact witnesses ahead of their committee testimony.\n\n“The Select Committee is aware of multiple efforts by President Trump to contact Select Committee witnesses. The Department of Justice is aware of at least one of those circumstances,” according to the summary.\n\nIvanka Trump and Kayleigh McEnany\n\nThe committee also, in its final report, highlighted two high-profile witnesses – Ivanka Trump and then-White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany – as being less cooperative than others. They and others “displayed a lack of full recollection of certain issues, or were not otherwise as frank or direct as Cipollone.”\n\nA video of Ivanka Trump is shown on screen during the seventh hearing held by the committee on July 12. Doug Mills/The New York Times/Pool/Getty Images\n\nIn another instance, Trump had an angry conversation with Pence in which he referred to the then-vice president as “The P word,” according to a committee interview with Ivanka Trump’s chief of staff, Julie Radford.\n\nIn Radford’s recollection, the name-calling was upsetting to Ivanka at the time, but when the committee asked Ivanka whether there were any “particular words” her father used in the conversation with Pence, “She answered simply: ‘No.’”\n\nThe summary states: “In several circumstances, the Committee has found that less senior White House aides had significantly better recollection of events than senior staff purported to have.”\n\nAs for McEnany, the committee called her testimony “evasive, as if she was testifying from pre-prepared talking points,” noting she was deposed early in the investigation and wasn’t as forthcoming as others from Trump’s press office.\n\nImpropriety by Trump Justice Department officials\n\nThe report points the finger at two Trump appointees at the Justice Department who the committee believes abused their positions and acted unethically.\n\nClark, the former acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Division, is already well known for trying to weaponize the Justice Department to help Trump overturn the 2020 election. The committee raises the prospect that Clark broke the law. The Justice Department is already investigating Clark and federal agents have searched his home.\n\nJeffrey Clark, speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington in September 2020. Susan Walsh/Pool/AFP/Getty Images\n\nOne of the most egregious things Clark did was draft a letter for the Justice Department to send to election officials in battleground states, urging them to essentially overturn their results. The letter, crafted with help from fellow Trump appointee Ken Klukowski, falsely asserted that the department believed there were problems with the results.\n\n“This was an intentional choice by Jeff Clark to contradict specific Department findings on election fraud, and purposely insert the Department into the Presidential election on President Trump’s behalf and risk creating or exacerbating a constitutional crisis,” the summary states.\n\nIn a new development, the panel flagged its concerns about Klukowski’s conduct.\n\nHe worked for the Trump campaign before joining the Justice Department during the final weeks of the administration. And while at the department’s civil division, he spent some of his time helping Clark with his attempts to overturn the election, “despite the fact that election-related matters are not part of the Civil portfolio,” the summary says.\n\nTrump and others may try this again, committee warns\n\nThe summary’s section outlining the referrals makes a case for why the Justice Department’s prosecutions should extend beyond the rioters who physically breached the Capitol.\n\nThe committee says that Trump “believed then, and continues to believe now, that he is above the law, not bound by our Constitution and its explicit checks on Presidential authority.”\n\n“If President Trump and the associates who assisted him in an effort to overturn the lawful outcome of the 2020 election are not ultimately held accountable under the law, their behavior may become a precedent and invitation to danger for future elections,” the summary says. “A failure to hold them accountable now may ultimately lead to future unlawful efforts to overturn our elections, thereby threatening the security and viability of our Republic.”\n\nThe summary revisits Trump’s infamous phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, where he begged Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to nullify Biden’s victory in the state. The summary also highlights that Trump doxed the leader of the Michigan Senate by tweeting out his cell phone number after he publicly said he wouldn’t undermine the election results.\n\nLawmakers also highlighted the plight of former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, who previously testified about the abuse they suffered when Giuliani and others in pro-Trump circles falsely accused them of rigging the results in Atlanta.\n\nLike Freeman and Moss, other officials who faced Trump’s ire received death and rape threats and an avalanche of phone calls and emails, and some of them feared for their safety.\n\nPardon requests show that Trump allies knew they were in possible legal jeopardy\n\nThe evidence that Trump allies sought pardons as the administration drew to a close shows that they knew their conduct was legally problematic, the committee argues.\n\nThe summary points to previously public accounts of pardon requests from members of Congress, while providing new details of Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz’s alleged attempt for a pardon, which had been discussed in the public committee testimony of ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.\n\nCNN previously reported that the McEntee testimony linked Gaetz’s pardon request to a separate DOJ probe; Hutchinson, however, said Gaetz and others asked “blanket” pardons for participants at a meeting where election-related schemes were discussed.\n\nIntelligence and law enforcement agencies knew of threats of violence on January 6, but information didn’t get through\n\nThe summary of the report lays out how the intelligence community and law enforcement agencies were receiving information that January 6 was likely to be violent and shared that information with the White House and US Secret Service.\n\nFor example, on January 3, 2021, Department of Justice officials received an intelligence summary of plans to “occupy the Capitol” and “invade” the Capitol on January 6. According to testimony from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, then-Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist predicted on a National Security Council call that the Capitol could be the target of violence.\n\n“I’ll never forget it,” Milley said in testimony revealed by the committee.\n\nThe panel suggests former White House deputy chief of staff Tony Ornato failed to adequately serve as the intermediary between the intelligence community and the White House when it came to security updates ahead of January 6.\n\n“Ornato had access to intelligence that suggested violence at the Capitol on January 6th, and it was his job to inform Meadows and Trump of that. Although Ornato told us that he did not recall doing so, the Select Committee found multiple parts of Ornato’s testimony questionable,” the panel wrote.\n\nThe head of Trump’s security detail, Bobby Engel, testified to the committee that he shared critical information with Ornato as a means to convey messages to the White House.\n\nOrnato confirmed Engel’s understanding of information sharing, but when pressed on whether he talked to Meadows about concerns of the threat landscape going into January 6 said, “I don’t recall; however, in my position I would’ve made sure he was tracking the demos, which he received a daily brief, Presidential briefing. So he most likely was getting all this in his daily brief as well.”\n\nHope Hicks, former senior adviser to President Donald Trump, displayed on a screen during a hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. The committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection will complete its 17-month probe with votes on recommendations for the first-ever criminal prosecution of a former president, with offenses including insurrection. Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images\n\nAides urged Trump to call for peaceful protests\n\nStaffers close to Trump told the committee they tried to get the then-president to act preemptively to quell concerns about January 6.\n\nHope Hicks, Trump’s former communications director, texted spokesman Hogan Gidley as the violence was unfolding on January 6 that she had “suggested…several times” on January 4 and 5 that Trump should publicly state that January 6 remain peaceful. Hicks also testified that Herschmann advised Trump to make a preemptive public statement ahead of January 6 calling for there to be no violence that day. No such statement was ever made.\n\nBy the time of Trump’s rally on January 6, the committee says testimony it received indicates that the former president had received a security briefing and that the Secret Service mentioned that there were prohibited items being confiscated from individuals trying to attend.\n\nMotorcade incident proves Trump’s intent to participate in overturning the election\n\nThe committee highlights Trump’s frustration with not being taken to the Capitol on January 6 as evidence that he intended to participate in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.\n\n“The Committee’s principal concern was that the President actually intended to participate personally in the January 6th efforts at the Capitol, leading the attempt to overturn the election either from inside the House Chamber, from a stage outside the Capitol, or otherwise,” the summary of the report reads. “There is no question from all the evidence assembled that President Trump did have that intent.”\n\nThe report details that the panel was ultimately unable to get Ornato to corroborate a bombshell moment during the public hearings, in which Hutchinson recalled Ornato describing Trump’s altercation with the head of his security detail when he was told he would not be taken to the Capitol. The committee summary said both Hutchinson and a White House employee testified to the committee about the Ornato conversation. But “Ornato professed that he did not recall either communication, and that he had no knowledge at all about the President’s anger.”\n\nUltimately, the committee writes that it “has significant concerns about the credibility of this testimony” and vows to release his transcript publicly. Ornato did not recall conveying the information to Hutchinson or a White House employee with national security responsibilities, according to the report.\n\n“The Committee is skeptical of Ornato’s account.”\n\nThe panel writes that it has obtained evidence from “several sources about a ‘furious interaction’ in the SUV.” The panel cites multiple members of the Secret Service, a member of the Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police and national security officials in the White House who described Trump’s behavior as “irate,” “furious,” “insistent,” “profane” and “heated.”\n\nThe driver of Trump’s motorcade on January 6 testified to the committee:\n\nTrump’s former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump continued to push to travel to the Capitol even after he returned to the White House.\n\n“So to the best of my recollection, I recall him being – wanting to saying that he wanted to physically walk and be a part of the march and then saying that he would ride the Beast if he needed to, ride in the Presidential limo,” McEnany said.\n\nAnother intent the committee’s report summary seeks to prove is that Trump’s call to his supporters to go the Capitol during his rally speech was pre-planned.\n\nFor example, the committee notes that January 6 rally organizer Kylie Kremer texted MyPIllow CEO Mike Lindell, “This stays only between us. … It can also not get out about the march because I will be in trouble with the national park service and all the agencies but POTUS is going to just call for it ‘unexpectedly.’”\n\nTrump refused to act as riot unfolded\n\nThe committee lays out Trump’s failure to act as the riot unfolded, noting that as he watched the riot on television, he made no calls for security assistance and resisted efforts from staffers asking him to call off his supporters.\n\n“President Trump did not contact a single top national security official during the day. Not at the Pentagon, nor at the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the F.B.I., the Capitol Police Department, or the D.C. Mayor’s office,” the committee writes. “As Vice President Pence has confirmed, President Trump didn’t even try to reach his own Vice President to make sure that Pence was safe.”\n\nMilley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the committee he had this reaction to Trump, “You know, you’re the Commander in Chief. You’ve got an assault going on on the Capitol of the United States of America. And there’s nothing? No call? Nothing? Zero?”\n\nTrump did, however, take the time to reach out to his attorney.\n\nWhite House staffers, meantime, described being appalled that as the Capitol was under attack, Trump fired off a tweet criticizing Pence.\n\nHicks texted a colleague that night to say, “Attacking the VP? Wtf is wrong with him,” according to the committee’s summary report.\n\n“No photographs exist of the President for the remainder of the afternoon until after 4 p.m. President Trump appears to have instructed that the White House photographer was not to take any photographs,” the committee writes, citing testimony from former White House photographer Shealah Craighead.\n\nIn the aftermath, on the evening of January 6, Trump’s former campaign manager Brad Parscale told Katrina Pierson, one of the rally organizers, that that he felt guilty helping Trump win, the report states..\n\nThe events of the day, Parscale said, resulted from “a sitting president asking for civil war.”\n\nGOP lawmakers called for help\n\nThe committee also highlights real-time reactions from Republican members of Congress who have since downplayed the Capitol attack or defended Trump.\n\nTrump’s son-in-law and former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner described House GOP leader McCarthy as “scared” as McCarthy reached out to members of Trump’s family for help during the riot.\n\nIn a text to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote, “Mark I was just told there is an active shooter on the first floor of the Capitol Please tell the President to calm people This isn’t the way to solve anything,” according to the summary.\n\nFILE - Violent rioters, loyal to President Donald Trump, storm the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. John Minchillo/AP\n\nTrump’s reaction upon finding out the Capitol had been attacked: ‘Oh really?’\n\nThe committee reveals a conversation Trump had with a White House employee upon returning to the White House after his speech on January 6. Trump’s actions and conversations from when he returned to the White House to when he called off the rioters, referred to famously as the 187 minutes, continues to have huge gaps of information.\n\nHe asked the White House employee – whose identity the panel kept anonymous “to guard against the risk of retaliation” – if they had watched his rally speech on television. The White House employee responded, “Sir, they cut it off because they’re rioting down at the Capitol.”\n\nWhen Trump asked what they meant, the employee repeated:\n\nThe committee says DOJ has tools to get more information\n\nThe summary acknowledges the roadblocks the House committee ran into in its investigation and says the Justice Department has the tools – such as grand jury subpoena power – to knock down those obstacles.\n\nThe summary also notes the invocations of privilege made by former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone that prevented the committee from learning details about direct conversations with Trump. But the panels appears optimistic that a recent, under-seal court victory the DOJ secured will allow prosecutors to obtain that testimony from Cipollone.\n\n“Based on the information it has obtained, the Committee believes that Cipollone and others can provide direct testimony establishing that President Trump refused repeatedly, for multiple hours, to make a public statement directing his violent and lawless supporters to leave the Capitol,” the summary says.\n\nMore than 30 witnesses before the select committee exercised their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and refused, on that basis, to provide testimony. They included individuals central to the investigation, such as Eastman, Clark, Chesebro, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn and others.", "authors": ["Tierney Sneed Sara Murray Zachary Cohen Annie Grayer Marshall Cohen", "Tierney Sneed", "Sara Murray", "Zachary Cohen", "Annie Grayer", "Marshall Cohen"], "publish_date": "2022/12/19"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_17", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/03/28/woolly-mammoth-meat-lab-grown/11554736002/", "title": "Mammoth meatball? Cultured meat made with extinct animal DNA", "text": "A cell-based meat company resurrected the extinct woolly mammoth – in the form of a lab-grown meatball.\n\nThe woolly mammoth was chosen by Vow because the extinct mammal is a symbol of loss and climate change, a video released by the company explains.\n\nThe product was unveiled Tuesday at Nemo, a science museum in the Netherlands. The “iconic” meatball was chosen because of its popularity worldwide “for centuries,” Vow said.\n\n“It is an accessible dish, simple to make and affordable,” their website says. “Exactly what we hope to achieve for cultured meat products in the future.”\n\nGeorge Peppou, co-founder and CEO of Vow, wrote in a 2021 article that the food tech startup believes animals domesticated by our ancestors “aren’t the best possible meat we can produce with new technologies.”\n\nWooly mammoths:Climate change, not humans, was reason woolly mammoths went extinct, research suggests\n\n'It’s expanding': Deadly flesh-eating bacteria thrive on East Coast as climate warms, research shows\n\nAccording to the Guardian, Vow has used DNA from 50 animal species so far, including a variety of fish, alpaca, buffalo, crocodile, kangaroo and peacocks, with energy from renewable sources.\n\nAnother goal, Vow co-founder Tim Noakesmith said, is to transition billions of meat eaters away from traditional animal proteins to eating “cultured” cell-grown meat that's flavorful and nutritious.\n\nHow was wooly mammoth meat made?\n\nScientists used a key protein that gives red meat its taste, mammoth myoglobin, along with the DNA of the woolly mammoth’s closest living relative, an African elephant, to fill in missing sequences and create the mammoth muscle protein, according to researchers at Vow and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering at the University of Queensland.\n\nIn collaboration with the creative agency Wunderman Thompson, Vow took the elephant and mammoth DNA sequences and placed them in stem cells from a sheep to replicate the cells used to grow “the world's first meat made out of the extinct woolly mammoth.”\n\nMore than 20 billion cells were used to create each meatball.\n\nCan you eat it?\n\nThe mammoth meatball is not ready for consumption, and no one has tasted it – yet, according to the company’s website.\n\n“Since we are dealing with an extinct protein, it will take some time before we can guarantee that Mammoth meat is safe and healthy,” the website says.\n\nCultured meat products can be purchased and consumed only in Singapore, the first country to approve cultured meat for commercial sale in 2020.\n\nWorldwide, legislation bans cultured meat products from being sold in supermarkets or restaurants, according to Vow.\n\nThis year, diners in Singapore will have the opportunity to try the first cultivated meat sold in restaurants: a Japanese quail.\n\nMore coverage from USA TODAY\n\nCamille Fine is a trending visual producer on USA TODAY's NOW team.\n\nWhat's everyone talking about?Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/03/28/nashville-shooting-mike-pence-mexico-fire-tuesdays-news/11555560002/", "title": "Nashville shooting, Mike Pence, Mexico fire: Tuesday's news", "text": "Police have released body camera footage of the deadly shooting at a Nashville, Tennessee, elementary school. Mike Pence has been ordered to testify as part of an investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. And at least 40 people have died in a fire at an immigration detention center in Mexico.\n\n👋 Hi there! It's Julius with Tuesday's news.\n\n🥩 But first: A mammoth meatball? A cell-based meat company resurrected the extinct woolly mammoth – in the form of a lab-grown meatball.\n\nThe Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here.\n\n🌤 What's the weather up to in your neck of the woods? Check your local forecast here.\n\nFootage shows police confrontation with Nashville shooter\n\nAuthorities on Tuesday released police body camera footage from a deadly shooting at a Nashville elementary school. Police released more than two minutes of surveillance footage Monday, followed by six minutes of body camera video on Tuesday from officers who encountered the shooter. The footage shows officers arriving at the school and entering the building and classrooms with rifles raised as alarms ring. The video ends with the confrontation in an upstairs lobby area, when several shots were fired at the attacker, who went down amid shouts of \"stop moving,\" \"suspect down,\" and \"get your hand away from the gun.\"\n\nPence ordered to testify in Jan. 6 investigation\n\nA federal judge has ordered former Vice President Mike Pence to provide information to a grand jury as part of a special counsel's investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a person familiar with the matter said. The decision represents a potentially significant blow to the former president's claims that he did nothing wrong while urging Pence to intervene in the certification of President Joe Biden's election. A strategy mapped out by Trump lawyer John Eastman called for Pence to reject electors from seven contested states that Biden won. Pence refused to participate.\n\nWhat everyone's talking about\n\nThe Short List is free, but several stories we link to are subscriber-only. Consider supporting our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today.\n\n40 dead in fire at detention center near US-Mexico border\n\nAt least 40 people have died in a fire in a dormitory at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico near the U.S. border, immigration officials said Tuesday. Twenty-nine injuries have also been reported thus far, the National Immigration Institute said. The fire broke out when migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze at the facility in Ciudad Juarez, just south of El Paso, Texas, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said. Authorities are investigating the fire, the institute said. Mexico's National Human Rights Commission was also alerted. Read the latest on the fire.\n\nReady for a 'planetary parade'? 🪐\n\nA planetary alignment will happen on Tuesday, allowing people to see five planets – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus – in the night sky. Gary Swangin, manager of the Panther Academy Planetarium in Paterson, New Jersey, said it'll be easy to see Mars, Venus and Jupiter in the sky, but it may require binoculars or a telescope to see Mercury and Uranus. To see the alignment, look to the western horizon right after sunset.\n\nA break from the news", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/01/31/genetics-company-wants-bring-back-dodo-along-woolly-mammoth/11141047002/", "title": "Scientists trying to bring dodo bird back from extinction", "text": "The list of extinct species that genetic engineering company Colossal wants to bring back to life is growing. The latest addition: the dodo.\n\nColossal gave life to real-world visions of Jurassic Park in 2021 with its mission of bringing back the woolly mammoth. In August 2022, the company, which has offices in Boston, Dallas and Austin, Texas, said it also planned to de-extinct the Australian thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger.\n\nThis new project, announced Tuesday, would bring back a species that's historically highlighted as a case of how humans can contribute to the extinction of an animal species.\n\nPreviously:Scientists are trying to bring back the Tasmanian tiger nearly a century after extinction\n\nLabor Department:Company hired over 100 children as young as 13 to clean meat processing plants\n\nWhen did the dodo become extinct?\n\nThe last dodo was killed in 1681, according to Britannica.com. Portuguese sailors discovered the dodo on the island of Mauritius, which is off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, more than five centuries ago.\n\nThe birds, which were larger than turkeys, were killed for food, the site says. Pigs and other animals brought to the island ate dodo eggs.\n\n“The dodo is a prime example of a species that became extinct because we – people – made it impossible for them to survive in their native habitat,\" said Beth Shapiro, lead paleogeneticist and a member of Colossal's scientific advisory board, in the announcement.\n\nShapiro, a professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz, led a group that announced in March 2022 it had sequenced the dodo genome. \"I am thrilled to collaborate with Colossal and the people of Mauritius on the de-extinction and eventual re-wilding of the dodo,\" she said. \"I particularly look forward to furthering genetic rescue tools focused on birds and avian conservation.”\n\nHow are scientists trying to bring back extinct species like the woolly mammoth?\n\nColossal's biotech and genetic engineering teams are combining woolly mammoth and elephant DNA to recreate a next-generation mammoth capable of surviving in the Arctic and helping restore that ecosystem. \"These embryos will be implanted into healthy female elephant surrogates with our first calves expected in 5 years,\" accounting for the 22-month gestation period, Ben Lamm, co-founder and CEO of Colossal, told USA TODAY.\n\nA similar process is being used with the Tasmanian tiger's genome and similar mammal DNA to bring back that predator – exterminated in the early 20th century – to the island off the southeast tip of Australia.\n\nColossal is creating an Avian Genomics Group to bring back the dodo and, eventually, other extinct bird species \"through genetic rescue techniques and its de-extinction toolkit,\" the company said in its announcement. Colossal also announced $150 million in investments, boosting to $225 million its funding since the company's September 2021 debut.\n\nWhat other benefits might Colossal's research yield?\n\nGene editing and biotech advances used for de-extinction \"will inevitably have utility in the human healthcare field,\" Lamm said. Gene editing technology such as CRISPR is already being used to correct genetic mutations found in diseases. \"We'll be building new tools to enable more complex editing protocols which will advance the state of the art when compared to what is available in the healthcare industry,\" he said.\n\nWhat is CRISPR? What to know about the transformative gene-editing tool\n\nAfter a decade, CRISPR gene editing is a 'revolution in progress':What does the future hold?\n\nFollow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.\n\nWhat's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/01/31"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_18", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2022/05/13/free-lunch-meal-students-iowa-school-districts-costs-families-dmps/9634633002/", "title": "Free lunch for all students is ending. What are Iowa districts doing?", "text": "School districts in Iowa and across the country are up against a federal deadline that will end a pandemic-era free meals program for students next month.\n\nWhile many school officials are waiting to see if federal or state lawmakers will extend the program, at least one district, Des Moines Public Schools, is working to continue offering most of its students free meals next school year.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/05/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2022/04/20/queen-prairie-sports-bubble-bursts-reactor-overhaul-news-around-states/50112783/", "title": "'Queen of the Prairie,' sports bubble bursts: News from around our ...", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nMontgomery: Plaintiffs in lawsuits challenging the state’s law criminalizing medical treatment for transgender youth plan to file a new suit after withdrawing two actions Friday. Melody Eagan, an attorney with Birmingham-based Lightfoot, Franklin and White, which represented two families and two physicians in a lawsuit titled Ladinsky v. Ivey, wrote in an email Monday that they planned to “file a new case in the immediate future” against SB 184. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the law April 8; it will take effect in early May. “We promptly filed a lawsuit on behalf of two families and two doctors on the day Governor Ivey signed the bill,” Eagan wrote. “After filing that case, we are hearing from numerous Alabama families, including patients facing loss of critical medical care and parents facing potential criminal penalties. We also are hearing from numerous medical providers and others who care for transgender youth.” The law subjects doctors who prescribe puberty blockers and hormones to transgender youth to a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. It also forbids public and private school personnel from withholding information about a student’s confusion over their gender identity and bans genital surgeries (except circumcisions) on minors. Health professionals have said surgeons don’t perform those procedures on youth in Alabama.\n\nAlaska\n\nJuneau: Officials have purchased a gondola in Austria for a city-owned ski area in Alaska’s capital city, but questions remain about the installation and long-term plans for the gondola. City officials have expressed interest in working with an Alaska Native corporation on the project. Eaglecrest Ski Area’s general manager and a city project manager recently visited a ski area in Austria to examine the lift and sign a sale agreement for $1.33 million, the Juneau Empire reports. Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said the city is seeking bids from transport companies to bring the gondola to Juneau. Eaglecrest has said its leaders have been looking for ways to expand summer operations and create opportunities for a more sustainable year-round model. The ski area, on its website, said it would work with planners, engineers and contractors on the best placement for the new infrastructure. Eaglecrest is on Douglas Island. City leaders last week authorized City Manager Rorie Watt to negotiate an agreement with Goldbelt Inc., an Alaska Native corporation that operates a tram near downtown Juneau and owns land near Eaglecrest. Watt, in a memo to the city’s Assembly, said Goldbelt has expressed interest in providing funding for up to $10 million for the installation of the gondola and “other related improvements.”\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: Metro-area eviction filings are climbing back to pre-pandemic levels despite hundreds of millions of dollars in rental aid going to landlords. Moratoriums helped keep many Valley renters in their homes, but those are over. Now tenants, some still trying to pay back rent after struggling during COVID-19, are also facing skyrocketing rents and wages that aren’t keeping up. And Maricopa County renters who had evictions filed against them during the pandemic are facing record judgments despite all that relief money funneled to landlords. Housing researchers and tenant advocates say the rent-income gap, the lightning speed of Arizona’s eviction process and a lack of legal support for renters led to an eviction crisis in the Phoenix area that started even before the pandemic. An Arizona Republic analysis found eviction filings in Maricopa County hit a five-year high in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. In January, February and March of this year, Valley evictions reached about 91% of filings from the first three months of 2019. About 65,000 Arizona renters believe they will likely be evicted in the next two months, according to the latest Census Pulse Survey. State law allows a landlord to initiate an eviction as soon as five days after a tenant misses rent, and the tenant is typically locked out within three weeks of filing.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders continues to far outpace her rivals in fundraising and spending for her bid for governor, the latest campaign finance reports show. Sanders, the daughter of former Gov. Mike Huckabee, reported raising more than $680,000 last month in her bid for Arkansas governor by Friday’s deadline for monthly campaign finance reports. She faces former talk radio host and podcaster Doc Washburn in next month’s Republican primary. Sanders spent more than $834,000 during the month and reported having nearly $7.4 million on hand. Sanders has raised more than $14 million since announcing her candidacy last year, a record for a governor’s race in the state. Sanders’ closest rival among the Democrats, Chris Jones, raised more than $120,000 in March and spent more than $213,000. Jones’ campaign reported having nearly $94,000 on hand. Jones faces Anthony Bland, Jay Martin, James “Rus” Russell and Supha Xayprasith-Mays in next month’s Democratic primary. Term limits bar Republican incumbent Asa Hutchinson from seeking reelection.\n\nCalifornia\n\nLos Angeles: A $1.8 billion facility intended to connect Metro light-rail lines under downtown Los Angeles is 90% complete, and test runs of trains are underway, officials said Monday. The Regional Connector Project was designed to save commuters’ time by eliminating transfers between trains, allowing one-seat rides across Los Angeles County. “The trackwork, the rail guideways, the platform areas are now complete,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told a press conference. “We’ve been waiting for like 10 years.” County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, board chair of the Los Angeles County Transportation Authority, said the connector will open later this year. The overall project is a 1.9-mile underground light-rail extension connecting the A, E and L lines and three new stations, including the Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill Station about 100 feet beneath ground level.\n\nColorado\n\nFort Collins: The state is expecting the birth of another litter of wolf pups any day now, creating both excitement and concern over the natural rebirth of a predator with a long, human-induced absence from the state. The breeding pair of wolves that naturally migrated into the state last year formed the pack north of Walden in Jackson County with the birth of six pups. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials had watched the pups for some time before announcing their birth in early June as the first litter of wolf pups born in the state in several decades. And soon that pack could grow, as wolves typically have pups from mid-April through mid-May. State wildlife officials said staff have not seen evidence of denning behavior or any sign of a new litter from the pack this year. “How could it get any better that soon we will see more pups,” said Dale Baker, a wolf advocate from Fort Collins who volunteered to watch North Park rancher Don Gittleson’s cattle herd after Gittleson lost three cows to the wolfpack. “The folks in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming had a big outcry when they brought wolves there, but now that this is naturally happening here, it seems like there should be less of an outcry.” Gittleson said the pack’s adult female was observed in heat, ready to mate in a pasture on his property in February.\n\nConnecticut\n\nNorwich: The city’s aging housing is creating public health concerns on top of squeezing a tight market. Shiela Hayes, president of the NAACP Norwich Branch, said the pandemic laid bare the importance of having the city address housing quality. “We can no longer act like that neighborhood, or that section, or that backstreet (can) continue to be underperforming housing stock; we don’t have that kind of luxury,” Hayes said. The majority of resident-owned homes in the state are 60 years or older, said Sam Giffin, a policy and data analyst for the Hartford-based Open Communities Alliance, as housing production has fallen since the baby boom – more so in Connecticut than in other parts of New England. Some of the risks that come from older houses include paint and other sources of lead. “There’s concern across the state that our old housing stock is a concern to both health and safety,” Giffin said. Hayes said Norwich has a lot of older housing, especially in Greenville, Taftville and downtown, where there are cheaper, privately held, multi-rental units converted from single-family homes. “They’re old, and they take a lot of maintenance,” Hayes said. Maintenance is usually not a matter of upgrading a single unit but multiple units at the same time, which means more money must be spent to get them up to code.\n\nDelaware\n\nNewark: President Joe Biden will return to his alma mater to give the commencement speech at the University of Delaware graduation in May, the university announced Tuesday. It’s the first time a sitting president will speak at a UD graduation ceremony. Biden is no stranger to visiting UD or giving graduation speeches there. May’s ceremony will be his fifth time speaking at commencement at the school – last in 2014, while serving as vice president. “(Biden’s) commitment to a lifetime of public service is an inspiring example for our graduates, as well as all our students and alumni, of what they can accomplish with a UD education, whatever path they may choose in life,” University President Dennis Assanis said in a statement. Students and their guests should expect heightened security at the graduation ceremony, UD spokeswoman Andrea Boyle Tippett said. Secret Service members will also likely visit campus to prepare with UD Police Department officers prior to the president’s arrival. The ceremony to honor this year’s 4,000-student graduating class is slated to start at 9:30 a.m. at Delaware Stadium on May 28. The event will also be livestreamed.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: The National Museum of American History is opening a permanent entertainment exhibit in December, WUSA-TV reports. “Through the National Museum of American History’s extraordinary collection of theater, music, sports, movie and television objects, the exhibition Entertainment Nation will feature a powerful, ever-changing selection of objects and interactive experiences,” the museum said in a press release. “Through the objects and their stories, the exhibition will explore how, for over 150 years, entertainment has provided a forum for important national conversations about who we are, and who we want to be.” Some of the items set to go on display can be previewed online, including pop culture relics like Prince’s yellow “cloud” guitar, Muhammad Ali’s boxing robe, and Tejana singer Selena’s leather jacket and pants. The goal is to highlight how entertainment has shaped the nation’s society and shine a light on entertainers who have broken barriers. The permanent bilingual exhibit is set to open Dec. 9.\n\nFlorida\n\nTallahassee: The state Department of Education rejected more than 50 mathematics textbooks – about 40% of those submitted – for failing to meet Florida’s new learning standards or because they “contained prohibited topics” that included references to critical race theory. Now, the only publisher approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the department for K-5 mathematics is Houston, Texas-based Accelerate Learning. “In the subject area as large as mathematics for grades K through five, it is unusual for there only to be one publisher to choose from,” said Billy Epting, assistant superintendent for academic services for Leon County Schools. DOE said more than half the textbooks being disallowed incorporated “prohibited topics or unsolicited strategies, including CRT,” which is an academic framework that is rarely seen outside of higher education. The term has become a highly charged catch-all buzzword for discussion of diversity of inclusion. Other books were not allowed because publishers “rebranded” Common Core Standards. DeSantis has taken a lead role nationally in Republican efforts to aggressively push back against liberal cultural values and what he calls “woke indoctrination.”\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: Students at Druid Hills High School put together a short documentary video, shot on iPhones, to show the troubling conditions inside their learning environment. The video opens with a student explaining how human waste flows up from the ground and floods an area where he and his friends eat lunch. The high schoolers’ footage shows the classrooms, hallways and bathrooms crumbling around them. Plaster falls off walls, and water drips around electrical outlets. So much water has leaked into the weight room that it oozes up from the floor when a student steps on it. Another student demonstrates how one of the holes in a ceiling is so large that he can put his entire hand through it. “You can tell someone about the conditions, but when you visually see it, it’s a lot more impactful,” sophomore Harley Martz, one of the video’s producers, told the Associated Press in an interview. “Some of the things we pointed out in the video are very undeniable.” In the video, Druid Hills junior Montrice Berry describes the assault on the senses: “As you walk through the school now, you can smell the mold, and it’s kind of really nasty. So I tend to walk outside just so I can avoid the smell.” The video, which has garnered more than 40,000 views since it was posted on YouTube this month, has prompted outrage among some parents in the suburban area just east of Atlanta who want repairs made. It was produced after the DeKalb County School Board in February removed Druid Hills from a list of schools in need of priority renovations.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: Federal authorities have begun monitoring the state’s wastewater for COVID-19, while Hawaii expects its own monitoring program to be fully operational this summer, officials said. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been testing in the islands as part of its National Wastewater Surveillance System, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. The agency posts wastewater data on its COVID Data Tracker website, denoted by dots on a U.S. map. Data from Hawaii hasn’t been included yet due to “a technical glitch being resolved with how the points are displayed on the map,” said CDC spokesperson Nick Spinelli. The agency said it would also display data from the Hawaii Department of Health once the state is able to submit its own figures. More than 30 states have been funded to participate in the CDC program, but some are still getting their collection efforts up and running. Several issues delayed Hawaii’s early plans to set up its own statewide monitoring program. The state faced a six-month wait for shipment of sample-collection machines, which were back-ordered due to high demand. Federal funds paid for the the monitoring equipment at a cost of about $100,000. The equipment is now in place, as are protocols.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: Scientists at the Idaho National Laboratory have completed a rare overhaul of one of the world’s most powerful nuclear test reactors, and normal operations are expected to resume later this spring, officials said Monday. The 11-month outage at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Test Reactor in eastern Idaho allowed a core overhaul that’s done, on average, about every 10 years. The change-out was the sixth since the reactor started operating in 1967 and the first in 17 years. “Overall, I’m very pleased with the ATR workforce and teamwork they demonstrated during the longest and most complex outage in our history,” said Sean O’Kelly, associate lab director for the Idaho National Laboratory’s Advanced Test Reactor Complex. He said the coronavirus pandemic and supply chain issues caused some delays beyond the best-case scenario of completing the work in nine months. Experiments at the reactor help the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered war fleet stay at sea longer, bolster NASA’s space exploration, and advance lifesaving medical treatments. The reactor also plays a key role in the effort to keep commercial nuclear power plants running longer and creating new and safer reactors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The reactor is now going through readiness assessments, instrument calibrations and low-power system checks.\n\nIllinois\n\nChicago: Federal authorities on Monday said they will not criminally charge Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer convicted of murder in the 2014 shooting death of Black teenager Laquan McDonald. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said in a news release that the decision was made after consulting with the McDonald family and that the “family was in agreement not to pursue a second prosecution.” According to the release, prosecuting Van Dyke on federal charges would have been much more difficult than it was to prosecute him in state court because the burden of proof is far higher. Federal prosecutors “would have to prove not only that Mr. Van Dyke acted with the deliberate and specific intent to do something the law forbids, but also that his actions were not the result of mistake, fear, negligence, or bad judgment,” the office said in the release. “It requires federal prosecutors to prove beyond a reasonable doubt what Mr. Van Dyke was thinking when he used deadly force, and that he knew such force was excessive.” Van Dyke, who was captured on video shooting the teenager 16 times, was convicted in Chicago in 2018 of second-degree murder and aggravated battery and sentenced to 81 months in state prison. The former officer served less than half that sentence before he was released from prison in February.\n\nIndiana\n\nCarmel: A priest who was “suspended from public ministry” last month is suing a man who came forward with allegations about the priest’s behavior. James De Oreo, who was an associate pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, was suspended March 11 after allegations of “inappropriate conduct with a minor.” The priest filed a lawsuit April 4 against the man who wrote two letters in 2021 to the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana about De Oreo’s behavior toward him when he was a teen attending St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church in Zionsville. The man said he was considering becoming a priest, and De Oreo used his position of power to emotionally abuse, sexually harass and groom him for sexual abuse. This led to an eating disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder as well as “extreme emotional distress” from acts that his lawyer said were intentional and preventable. In the lawsuit, De Oreo disputed the man’s claims and said there was no “intentional infliction of emotional distress.” He said the man’s allegations could lead to “irreparable harm” that would prevent him from participating in parish ministry and doing his job. Diocese spokesperson Gabby Hlavek confirmed the diocese was aware of the De Oreo’s lawsuit but didn’t comment further.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: A ride at an amusement park where an 11-year-old boy died last summer will not reopen this year, the park’s new owners said. Bill Lentz, general manager of Adventureland in Altoona, said officials have not determined if the Raging River ride will ever reopen. Michael Jaramillo died and his brother and father were injured July 3, 2021, after their raft overturned and trapped them in the water. Park owner Palace Entertainment has hired the ride’s original maker, Intamin Amusement Rides, to determine what would be needed to make the ride safe, Lentz said. That project could take several months, he said. Palace Entertainment, the U.S. subsidiary of Madrid-based Parques Reunidos, bought the almost 48-year-old theme park in December. Ryan Best, the attorney representing the Jaramillo family, of Marion, Iowa, said recently that his clients believe the ride should never be reopened. The Iowa Division of Labor, which licenses amusement park rides, required Adventureland to make several changes and receive approval from the ride’s manufacturer or a certified engineer to reopen the ride.\n\nKansas\n\nHutchinson: Under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Laura Kelly, fairgoers will be able to more widely consume adult beverages at the Kansas State Fair. The proposal, Senate Bill 2, will allow beer and wine to be consumed outside designated areas. The fairground’s current liquor policy confines drinking to the grandstands and certain beer gardens throughout the property. It will also pave the way for the sale of hard liquor. Fair officials have not yet determined if the policies will be in place for the 2022 edition of the fair, scheduled to take place Sept. 9-18, or if they will instead roll out next year. The policy was intended to help the fair recoup revenue lost after the 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19. Legislative proponents of the bill also argued it was in line with what consumers were demanding from the event. “People wanted to have more wine and more outlets at the state fairground. They also wanted spirits,” Rep. Louis Ruiz, D-Kansas City, said on the floor of the Kansas House. “They wanted to walk around to look at animals ...with a daiquiri.” But the move was not without its critics, some of whom argued making liquor more readily accessible would harm the fair’s family-friendly nature. Some Wichita-area lawmakers pointed to the city’s vaunted Riverfest festival, which opted to expand liquor sales, dividing residents.\n\nKentucky\n\nBowling Green: The National Corvette Museum says it’s adding an education gallery that will feature artifacts and interactive technology to share the brand’s story. Construction of the 2,000-square-foot gallery is set to begin in late May, museum officials said. The gallery is scheduled to open late this year or in early 2023 at the Bowling Green-based museum. “This new gallery will educate, engage and entertain our guests,” said Sharon Brawner, the museum’s president and CEO. The gallery will provide a state-of-the-art educational experience geared toward the next generation of Corvette enthusiasts, the museum said. “The new education gallery will be designed for both children and adults to enjoy, featuring artifacts and interactive technology celebrating the unique story of Corvette,” said museum educator Deb Howard. The project was made possible through the generosity of donors Tim and Melanie McMichael of Gypsum, Colorado, the museum said.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: A proposal to let New Orleans adopt a set of gun control measures than are stronger than the state currently allows was overwhelmingly rejected Tuesday by a state House panel. The Criminal Justice Committee voted 9-1 against the measure by state Rep. Mandie Landry, D-New Orleans, despite calls for passage from a City Council member, a deputy chief of the police department and District Attorney Jason Williams. Among the specified laws the city would have been allowed to pass were the bill to become law: a requirement that loss or theft of firearms be reported to police, prohibition against openly carrying firearms at public events requiring government permits, and prohibition on carrying firearms where alcohol is being served. Backers of the bill said it would help fight increasing violent crime by helping prevent gun trafficking or the use of guns at large events where alcohol is consumed, in a city known for festivals and Bourbon Street nightlife. “At the end of the day, we’re asking this committee and the Legislature to allow New Orleans to carve out legislation that affects the unique problems that we have,” said City Council member Eugene Green. Gun control advocates said the laws the city sought to pass would be ineffective and slammed the bill as an attack on Second Amendment rights.\n\nMaine\n\nBar Harbor: The arrival of the first large cruise ship in two and a half years in Maine is another signal tourism is getting closer to pre-pandemic normalcy. Last year, more than 15.6 million visitors came to the state – a third more than made the trip the year before, at the start of the pandemic, officials said. But there were no large cruise ships until the arrival of the Norwegian Pearl in the waters off Bar Harbor. The ship dropped anchor in Frenchman Bay, and visitors were ferried to shore on tenders. “It’s exciting to see these ships and their passengers coming back to Maine,” said Sarah Flink, executive director of CruiseMaine. Cruise ships could restore some visitation. The number of visitors last year remained about a million below 2019, before the pandemic. Cruise ships made 409 port calls and brought 450,000 passengers in 2019. One positive sign from the 2021 tourism numbers is that spending soared. Spending grew 63.7% from 2020 and 20.3% from 2019.\n\nMaryland\n\nAnnapolis: A former small-city mayor who admitted to posting nude photos of his ex-girlfriend on Reddit will not have to spend time behind bars under a plea deal announced by the state prosecutor’s office on Monday. Former Cambridge Mayor Andrew Bradshaw pleaded guilty to five counts of distributing revenge porn online and was sentenced to a year and a day for each of the five counts, with all the incarceration time suspended. He also was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and fined $1,000 for each count. Bradshaw was ordered to pay $750 in restitution to the victim and to perform 100 hours of community service. The ex-mayor had faced a maximum penalty of two years’ incarceration and a $5,000 fine for each count. Bradshaw pleaded guilty to posting nude photos of a woman with whom he was once in a relationship after the relationship had ended. The woman contacted authorities in May after learning the photos were posted on Reddit. She told authorities she had sent the photos only to Bradshaw while they were in an intimate relationship, and she didn’t give him permission to redistribute them. Investigators discovered Bradshaw had made numerous separate public posts that contained at least 10 unique visual representations of the victim, many with language related to humiliation and degradation, the state prosecutor’s office said.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: A shooting at an MBTA station in the city left one person injured Monday, according to transit police. Officers were called to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Ruggles Station shortly after 6 p.m. on reports of shots fired. At an area where buses stop for passengers, officers found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The man was taken to a hospital with injuries that were considered serious but not life-threatening, police said. No arrests had been made in the shooting. Police said they were investigating and would continue to look for suspects. Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden denounced the shooting and said gun violence “is something that we’ve really got to lay a hold of and take care of.” “Every time there’s a shooting, there are multiple victims,” Hayden said, according to WCVB-TV. “There’s obviously the victim that’s shot, but there’s also the community at large.”\n\nMichigan\n\nLansing: The state has reached a 19.3% recycling rate, an increase of 35.4% from prior to 2019, according to an analysis the state of Michigan released Monday ahead of Earth Day on Friday. Before 2019, the state estimated Michigan’s recycling rate, the rate at which recyclable materials are recycled from waste, was 14.25%. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy estimates the state now has a 35.4% recycling rate. Increasing access to recycling services has helped the state to increase recycling, EGLE Director Liesl Clark said at a news conference Monday. More than 75% of the state’s households have access to either curbside recycling bins or drop-off sites in their communities. The increase in recycling equals out to Michigan recycling 500,000 more tons of recyclable materials a year, according to EGLE. Since 2019, more than $460 million has been invested into technology for recycling and maintaining existing recycling infrastructure, Clark said, all in an effort to help Michigan reach its goals to fight climate change and reach a 45% recycling rate by 2030. This Thursday, the state will release a plan outlining a 30-year strategy to make Michigan a carbon neutral state by 2050. A rough draft of the plan was released earlier this year.\n\nMinnesota\n\nSt. Paul: The Roseville School District has settled two federal lawsuits accusing a former second grade teacher of discriminating against Black students. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports the district settled the cases privately, and terms were not disclosed. One case was settled last week and the other in January, according to court records. The lawsuits accused Geraldine Cook of making the Black students in her class sit apart from their peers in 2019. She allegedly grabbed a girl’s arm, tearing her shirt, and choked a boy after he gargled water and made him walk to the principal’s office with his hands behind his back. The mothers of the girl whose shirt was torn and the boy who was choked filed the lawsuits. Cook taught at Harambee Elementary, a year-round racial integration school. She resigned in December 2019.\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: An assistant chief says the city’s police department is short-staffed, and recruitment and retention are big challenges. Joseph Wade of Jackson Police Department discussed staffing levels Monday during the City Council’s Public Safety Committee meeting, WLBT-TV reports. He said JPD is budgeted for 356 sworn officers but has 258. On the civilian side, JPD is budgeted for 199 employees and has 132. “I went to a leadership class in Ohio, and guess what? They’re having (retention issues),” he said. “It’s not a popular job right now.” JPD loses officers to smaller departments, where officers can earn comparable salaries but answer fewer calls, Wade said. He said the city needs to enforce a state law that would require departments to reimburse JPD for training costs of any officer it hires who has been with Jackson less than three years. Wade said JPD leaders appreciate the premium pay that the City Council approved for police department employees earlier this year. The assistant chief also suggested a signing bonus and a tuition reimbursement program for new officers. Capitol police officers, who work for the state Department of Public Safety, also patrol in parts of Jackson where state government buildings are located.\n\nMissouri\n\nSpringfield: Regal fritillary butterflies, which subsist on violets and stick to prairie habitats, are disappearing. “They’ve almost been entirely lost from the eastern U.S.,” Chris Barnhart, distinguished professor of biology at Missouri State University, said of the vulnerable insect species. One-third of Missouri used to be covered in tallgrass prairie. Where there’s a decent patch of prairie, regal fritillary butterflies can be seen in good numbers, Barnhart said. However, without extra help, Missouri may lose the “Queen of the Prairie” altogether. MSU and the Missouri Department of Conservation are two years deep into a project to examine the reproduction and survival of the butterflies, developing methods to raise them in captivity and reintroducing them to suitable sites. Missouri has some of the highest numbers of these butterflies, Barnhart said during a tour of MSU’s Temple Hall greenhouse. Fifteen million acres of tallgrass prairie once covered Missouri, said Francis Skalicky, MDC spokesman. “Today, 99% of Missouri’s tallgrass prairie habitat has disappeared, and a number of species that depend on plants found in this habitat have been negatively impacted by the state’s dwindling prairie acreage,” Skalicky said. The regal fritillary butterflies are considered “a species of concern” and at a S3 level of endangerment, Skalicky said.\n\nMontana\n\nBillings: The board of trustees of the state’s largest school district has voted to allow students additional time to graduate after a public campaign by the family of a student with Down syndrome who otherwise would not have been allowed to attend her senior year with her classmates. Under the policy passed Monday by a 5-3 vote, any student who does not turn 20 before Sept. 10 will be able to enroll in classes at Billings high schools. For students receiving special education services, enrollment will continue as long as the student hasn’t turned 21 before the Sept. 10 deadline, The Billings Gazette reports. The family of Emily Pennington had urged the school district to take advantage of a law passed by the Legislature in 2021 that offered some state funding for students who are receiving special education services to continue attending school as long as they had not turned 21 before Sept. 10 and had not graduated. Schools are not required to participate. Emily repeated kindergarten because she had been dealing with numerous medical issues. She will turn 19 in July, which would have made her ineligible to attend school this fall under the old policy. After the school board declined to hear Emily’s request for a change in the age-out policy, Billings West students staged a brief walk-out in support.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: Former U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford, a Democrat who served one term representing the state’s Omaha-centered district, died Tuesday morning. He was 72. Ashford’s family announced his death in a Facebook post, saying that “his death was peaceful though much too premature.” Just two months earlier, Ashford had revealed he was undergoing treatment for brain cancer. Ashford was a state senator from Omaha when he unseated longtime Republican incumbent Lee Terry to represent Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. Ashford lost the seat two years later to current GOP Rep. Don Bacon. He sought the seat again in 2018 but lost the Democratic primary to Kara Eastman. In 2020, his wife, Ann Ferlic Ashford, announced her candidacy for the seat, but she also lost the primary to Eastman. Brad Ashford shook up the general election race by endorsing Bacon over Eastman. An attorney and lifelong Omaha resident, he began his political career in the 1980s as a Democrat but switched parties several times over the years and pitched himself as an independent-minded moderate. Ashford earned his bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in 1971 and his law degree from Creighton University in Omaha in 1974. He worked as an attorney for the Federal Highway Administration in 1974 before opening a private practice the next year. In the 1990s, he became co-owner of the Nebraska Clothing Company.\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: The Nevada office of the FBI has a new special agent in charge, with the announcement Monday that Spencer Evans will head the bureau’s Las Vegas field office. Evans has held various investigative and leadership positions since joining the FBI in 2004 as an agent in New Haven, Connecticut. His most recent post was as deputy assistant director in human resources at FBI Headquarters in Washington. In Las Vegas, Evans replaces Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse, who retired in February after 25 years with the bureau. Rouse arrived in the city in 2016 and headed the Nevada field office during the 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip that killed 58 people and became the deadliest in modern U.S. history. Two additional deaths later were attributed to the shooting.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nMerrimack: A chemical company agreed Monday to providing drinking water to about 1,000 properties in the state that showed elevated levels of toxic industrial compounds associated with serious health conditions. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics announced the agreement for properties in the towns of Bedford, Hudson, Litchfield, Londonderry and Merrimack. It also provides a framework should additional properties be affected. “Ensuring safe drinking water is something we take very seriously,” state Attorney General John Formella said in a statement. “This agreement is an important step forward in a continuing, multi-faceted effort to ensure impacted New Hampshire residents have access to clean drinking water.” A spokesperson for Saint-Gobain didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company, which bought the Merrimack plant from ChemFAB in 2000, initially believed it wasn’t emitting anything harmful. But the state said that changed in 2004 after the company installed more sophisticated technology and realized it was emitting the chemical. After the company alerted the state, DES determined Saint-Gobain was exceeding state air limits for the chemical, and the company agreed to significantly reduce emissions.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nAtlantic City: The state’s robust sports betting market broke the $1 billion mark for the sixth time last month in terms of the amount of bets taken. But the news was bad in March for seven of the nine casinos that continued to lag behind their in-person gambling revenue levels from before the coronavirus pandemic hit, according to figures released Monday by state gambling regulators. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported the state’s casinos and three horse tracks that take sports bets handled over $1.12 billion worth of such wagers in March, aided by the March Madness college basketball tournament. Yet out of that total, only $66.4 million was kept as sports betting revenue by the casinos and tracks after paying off winning bets, third-party partners and other expenses. The casinos and tracks made $423.6 million in gambling and sports betting revenue in March, up nearly 18% from a year earlier. However, that comparison is flawed because in March 2021, Atlantic City’s casinos were still operating under state-imposed pandemic-related restrictions. Going back two years is also an invalid comparison because the casinos shut down in the middle of March 2020 as the pandemic originally surged.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nSanta Fe: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is getting married, and Vice President Kamala Harris has been picked to officiate. The first-term Democratic governor made the announcement through her personal spokesman Tuesday, saying a small ceremony will be held May 21 in Washington, D.C. No other details about the upcoming ceremony were released. Lujan Grisham, who is running for reelection, will be tying the knot with fiancé Manny Cordova. The couple have been together about 10 years, and Cordova was at her side during an inaugural Mass in Santa Fe before her public swearing-in ceremony Jan. 1, 2019. “We’re delighted to celebrate our wedding in front of family and close friends,” Lujan Grisham and Cordova said in a joint statement. “Like so many New Mexicans, we’ve postponed family celebrations over the past two years during this pandemic. We feel fortunate to be with our loved ones in celebration of our marriage.” The couple initially planned to get married in 2021 but had not set a date, said Jared Leopold, a spokesman for Lujan Grisham. Both Lujan Grisham, 62, and Cordova, 66, were previously married and have adult children and grandchildren. Lujan Grisham was married to her first husband, Gregory Grisham, for more than 20 years until his death in 2004. The son of ranchers, Cordova grew up in a rural community south of Albuquerque. He owns an auto repair shop in Santa Fe.\n\nNew York\n\nBinghamton: About 100,000 customers were without power Tuesday morning in upstate New York as a late-season storm dumped a foot or more of heavy, wet snow on some high-elevation areas. In the Binghamton area, Broome County Executive Jason Garnar declared a state of emergency and issued a travel ban for nonessential workers. Gov. Kathy Hochul said in an interview on Binghamton radio station WNBF that listeners in the area should stay home if they could. “It was a very heavy snow. And as a result, the weight … is snapping these limbs, which is sad when you see your beautiful trees harmed like that,” Hochul said. “But it also can be dangerous for people walking on the streets or walking under power lines or if people are getting into their cars.” Some higher-elevation areas of the Southern Tier had up to 14 inches of snow, though accumulations were less for lower elevations, according to the National Weather Service in Binghamton. “That is pretty typical for a for a late-season storm; you’re going to have quite a bit of elevation dependency,” said meteorologist Bryan Greenblatt. Power outages stretched from the Southern Tier to the Adirondack Mountains, which was forecast to get up to a foot of snow by Tuesday night.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nAsheville: Buncombe County jail detainees have spent up to a week in group holding areas with no blankets, constant light, cold temperatures, and nowhere to sleep but hard surfaces, such as concrete floors, according to several people who spent time behind bars in the local facility. “There’s no cots; they don’t give you a blanket. Everyone is in flip-flops without socks. And all the drunk tanks were full. There’s 10 of you in there. And it’s all concrete,” said Eric Stimson, who said he spent five days trying to find ways to sleep and stay warm in a group cell with an overflowing toilet before being moved to a regular cell for the remainder of his 16-day DUI sentence in January. The harsh conditions were detailed by three detainees and confirmed by the Buncombe County chief public defender. They appear to represent direct violations of state rules meant to protect those in the custody of the jail, most of whom have not been convicted of crimes of which they are charged and are awaiting their day in court. Spokespeople for Sheriff Quentin Miller, who is responsible for managing the jail, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In an attempt to block out light to sleep and find some comfort, detainees took to stuffing their court papers behind COVID-19 masks to use as eye shields, Stimson said, adding that they would stack their slippers to create something like a pillow. As far as COVID-19 infection concerns go, “if you didn’t have COVID coming in, you’ve got it now,” he said.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nMinot: The future of Minot State University’s sports bubble is up in the air after a blizzard last week caused it to collapse. The university was forced to cancel all the activities that were scheduled in the bubble, which is on the grounds of the athletic facility. The bubble has been used as a fallback location for softball games when weather is poor, Minot Daily News reports. And MSU planned to hold a spring football game in the bubble, which is also used for various sports practices. The athletic staff is meeting this week to begin rescheduling and searching for other places to practice. Athletic director Andy Carter said the university is waiting for the company that supplied the bubble in 2016 to send representatives to assess the damage and how much it would cost to repair it. “It’s covered in snow now,” he said. “You can’t even really get to it right now.” He said a considerable amount of sporting equipment had been stored in the bubble. “It could be a big issue. We don’t even know because we can’t see it. So we don’t know if it’s damaged or it’s just sitting there under the tarp,” he said.\n\nOhio\n\nColumbus: A judge has blocked early enforcement of an abortion law signed by Gov. Mike DeWine in December that included additional licensing requirements challenged by the ACLU and Planned Parenthood as unnecessarily onerous. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway’s ruling Friday blocked restrictions imposed on two southwest Ohio clinics by the Ohio Department of Health that came before June 21. That date ends a 90-period for compliance that followed its original effective date of March 23. Hatheway issued a temporary restraining order against the law March 2, before it could take effect. The stated goal of the bill was to impose criminal penalties on doctors who fail to give medical care in the extremely rare circumstance of a baby born alive following an abortion attempt. However, provisions were added to the legislation that prevented abortion providers from contracting with backup physicians who teach at or contract with public medical schools. Abortion rights groups said eliminating such a broad swath of physicians to serve as their backups could lead to two clinics in southwest Ohio being closed. The lawsuit argued the requirements would almost certainly have shuttered Women’s Med in Dayton and Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio in suburban Cincinnati.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: Gov. Kevin Stitt signed legislation Monday to allow law enforcement to keep from the public audio or video recordings showing an officer’s line-of-duty death. The measure was drafted after Tulsa police were required under Oklahoma law to release a video of a suspect shooting two officers, one of whom later died. A jury trial began Monday for the man accused of the killing. “This bill is about protecting the dignity not only of our fallen heroes but their fellow officers and surviving family members who can be retraumatized by these recordings,” state Sen. John Haste, R-Broken Arrow, said in a statement. “It can also make it more difficult to seat a jury in such cases.” The bill prohibits the public release of such videos unless a judge determines the public interest outweighs the reason for denial. It also authorizes a deceased officer’s family members to view the audio or video. Prosecutors and defense attorneys retain the right to use such videos in legal proceedings under the new law.\n\nOregon\n\nSalem: Gov. Kate Brown has signed a bill into law that phases out the state’s agricultural overtime pay exemption. The Capital Press reports Brown wrote in a letter Friday to Senate President Peter Courtney and Speaker of the House Dan Rayfield that she views the bill as an important step in the right direction to correct a historic wrong. “This policy will make a significant difference in the lives of farmworkers and their families,” Brown wrote. The new law establishes overtime pay requirements for agricultural workers in Oregon after 40 hours per week, with the requirements phased in over five years starting in 2023. Under the law, farmworkers will be owed time-and-a-half overtime wages after 55 weekly hours of work next year, after 48 hours of work in 2025-2026 and then after 40 hours per week beginning in 2027. Most farmers will be eligible for one of three tiers of tax credits, depending on how many people they employ. Tax credits will incrementally decline between 2023 and 2028 and then will end or be reevaluated by lawmakers. Brown wrote that the law may need to be changed and improved over time, so she said it’s important that conversation about the issue continue.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nDents Run: The FBI might not have found any Civil War-era gold at a remote woodland site, but it definitely has records of the agency’s 2018 dig and will soon have to turn them over to a father-son pair of treasure hunters. A federal judge has ordered the FBI to speed up the release of records about the search for the legendary gold, ruling Monday in favor of Finders Keepers, the treasure hunting outfit that led FBI agents to the remote site. The group accuses the Justice Department of slow-walking their request for information. The FBI must turn over 1,000 pages of records per month, starting in 30 days, and the first batch of records must include a key report sought by Finders Keepers, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta ordered. The ruling came four months after Finders Keepers sued the Justice Department over its failure to produce records on the FBI’s search. The FBI has long insisted its March 2018 dig came up empty, but Finders Keepers says the government has acted suspiciously throughout the four-year saga. Finders Keepers’ owners, the father-son duo of Dennis and Kem Parada, spent years looking for the fabled 1863 shipment of Union gold that was supposedly lost or stolen on its way to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. The pair eventually led the FBI to the remote site, where the agency took over.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: The city’s newly formed reparations commission is considering what form payments might take and looking to other cities for inspiration. In a meeting Monday, Silas Pinto, who is serving as Providence’s first-ever director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, noted that reparations are being considered and implemented in a dozen other cities, including Boston and Amherst, Massachusetts. So far, housing and land ownership comprise one of the largest spending categories for cities investing in reparations. Those funds are not paid to individuals but toward renovations and down payments, for example. Direct cash payments, tuition and scholarships have also been popular investments. Pinto said it’s evident that cities are “viewing reparations work really through the lens of closing the racial wealth gap,” and “it’s going to come down to issues around land ownership, around how are we supporting our minority-owned businesses, and how are we helping individuals?” However, as Providence is aiming to use $15 million in federal pandemic relief, it will need to comply with rules on how those funds should be spent.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: Five University of South Carolina trustees won’t be allowed to run for reelection next month after some powerful lawmakers felt they were responsible for hiring a president who crudely criticized the school, interfered in daily school affairs and left in less than two years. The legislative board that screens university trustees is refusing to send them to a May 4 election by the General Assembly at which more than a dozen other trustees for universities across the state will be elected. The decision comes as the state Senate prepares to review a bill that passed the House earlier this month, the day after it was proposed, that would fire all current trustees at the end of June 2023 and redraw their districts, cutting the board from 20 members to 13. Trustees kicked off the board could run for the new seats. The University of South Carolina trustees the College and University Trustee Screening Commission refused to allow to run for reelection to a new four-year term are board chairman C. Dorn Smith as well as trustees Thad Westbrook, C. Edward Floyd, John von Lehe and Charles Williams. The trustees will be allowed to remain until either the board is restructured or the screening board takes further action.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls: A deadline for Gov. Kristi Noem to respond to a pair of ethics complaints levied again her last year has passed. But neither Noem nor the panel of retired judges vetting whether the Republican governor misused state airplanes for personal use and improperly interfered in a state certification program in which her daughter was enrolled will say whether a response was submitted by Friday’s deadline. The South Dakota Government Accountability Board is scheduled to revisit both complaints during its next meeting at 10 a.m. May 2 in Sioux Falls. But because the confidential nature of the board and the complaints it examines, few other details are known. Assistant Attorney General Katie Mallery, who serves as the board’s liaison, said Tuesday that the April 15 deadline for the subject of the complaints to respond remained in place, though she declined to say whether any response or responses were received by the board. Created in 2017 by the Legislature, the South Dakota Government Accountability investigates complaints against state officials. The majority of its work is done behind closed doors. Considering complaints in secret, GAB is by law required to keep any complaints and related information it receives confidential throughout its proceedings.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: Republican legislators passed legislation Monday to make camping on public property a misdemeanor crime, which critics say effectively criminalizes homelessness. Under HB978, a person who camps on the shoulder, right-of-way, bridge, overpass or underpass of a state or interstate highway could face a misdemeanor offense and a $50 fine or community service requirement. The legislation cleared the state Senate last week after a lengthy debate and now goes to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. Sponsors Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, and Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, have defended the bill as a tool local law enforcement could use to address homelessness. Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, said he experienced homelessness multiple times as a child and criticized the legislation, calling for a more “compassionate” approach. Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, drew widespread criticism last week for meandering comments tenuously connecting Adolf Hitler to the legislation. Niceley said Hitler at one point lived on the streets and used the experience as a “way to connect with the masses.” “People can come out of these camps and have a very productive life, or in Hitler’s case, a very unproductive life,” Niceley said. Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Nashville, called the comments “embarrassing” to Tennessee.\n\nTexas\n\nAustin: Some Republicans are pushing state leaders to declare an “invasion” at the Mexican border in response to an increase in migrant border crossings, allowing Texas to enforce federal immigration policies, according to some interpretations of the U.S. Constitution. Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, chair of the House Committee on General Investigating, has asked state Attorney General Ken Paxton for a legal opinion on “whether the federal government has failed to uphold its obligations to protect Texas from invasion under article IV section 4 of the United States Constitution, and whether Texas has the sovereign power to defend itself from invasion.” Paxton’s opinion would be nonbinding, but his answer could add ammunition to a push from conservative groups for states bordering Mexico to use a formal declaration of an “invasion” to justify allowing state authorities to deport migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally. The effort comes as Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have continued to criticize the Biden administration for not doing enough to stem the flow of illegal immigration and as federal authorities prepare to end a Trump-era public health mandate that allowed for the immediate expulsion of migrants.\n\nUtah\n\nSt. George: Huge numbers of Washington County students started eating breakfast and lunch at school last year when pandemic-related federal waivers made it possible for schools to offer free meals to all students. Now, the program that made those free meals possible is ending, and some hunger advocates are worried that children who benefited from the program could go back to being hungry. The Seamless Summer Option program had allowed any Washington County School District student to receive two free meals per day, regardless of status. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, school officials in Washington County and across the U.S. were concerned for students’ well-being and whether they would find enough food to eat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture set aside money to help schools offer free meals on a temporary basis. With the expiration of the federal waivers, as well as the SSO program, local schools will go back to offering free or reduced-price meals only to students who qualify under household income guidelines. With no limits on who could get their meals for free, the district saw large increases in the number of students who ate at school. In September 2020, the district provided 1,842 breakfasts and 10,712 lunches a day on average. By March 2022, those figures had jumped to 4,531 and 16,166.\n\nVermont\n\nBurlington: After a failed attempt to pass a plan to regulate short-term rentals, city councilors have decided to begin the process again in an attempt to reach a compromise. City officials and councilors agree that short-term rentals are contributing to the housing shortage. The ongoing argument lies in how to regulate the housing that is commonly rented through sites like Airbnb and VRBO. A new version of the ordinance that will be considered in the City Council’s ordinance committee would allow for short-term rentals to be located in detached homes, accessory dwelling units, duplexes and homes with three to four units as long as they are on the same lot as the host’s primary residence. Hosts could also rent their own home out to guests. The exceptions to the necessity for owner-occupancy would be seasonal homes and units in a multi-unit building where one unit is rented out at an affordable rate to a long-term tenant. A previous version of the ordinance that Mayor Miro Weinberger vetoed would have limited short-term rentals to bedrooms within a host’s home with few exceptions. The prior proposal would have stopped people from creating short-term rentals out of independent units on their property such as detached houses, carriage houses and units in an owner-occupied multi-unit home.The ordinance committee will bring a new proposal for regulating short-term rentals to council by June 1.\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: The father of a journalist fatally shot during a live broadcast in 2015 has conceded that he failed to make the ballot in the Democratic nomination contest for the 5th Congressional District. Andy Parker, who announced in January that he would seek to unseat incumbent GOP Rep. Bob Good, said in a statement Monday that he would instead throw his support to Democratic nominee Josh Throneburg. “I was looking forward to a spirited primary and campaign against Good this fall, but to my great disappointment our campaign did not meet the technical requirements to be on the primary ballot. I want to thank the thousands of Virginians and supporters across America who stood with me,” Parker said. Since the death of daughter Alison, a 24-year-old reporter at Roanoke’s WDBJ-TV who was killed by a former colleague during an interview, Parker has pushed for gun-control measures. He’s also battled with Facebook over its allowing the video of his daughter’s slaying to circulate. Parker’s campaign told WDBJ last week that it was reviewing its petition signatures after being informed that the 5th District Committee was able to verify only 937 of the 1,000 required. Alison Parker’s death also prompted her boyfriend, WDBJ anchor Chris Hurst, to run for the General Assembly in 2017. The Democrat served two terms in the House of Delegates before being unseated by a Republican last November.\n\nWashington\n\nSpokane: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected Klickitat County’s claim to a portion of the Yakama Indian Reservation, likely ending a dispute that has raged for more than a century. The court denied the county’s appeal without comment. Klickitat County had argued that 121,465 acres in the southwestern portion of the reservation, including the eastern half of Mount Adams and the Glenwood Valley, were not actually included when the reservation was created. “The Supreme Court’s decision once again validates the continuing strength of our treaty rights under the United States Constitution,” said Yakama Tribal Council Chairman Delano Saluskin. “The Yakama Nation will never compromise when our treaty is at stake.” The dispute involved ambiguous language in the tribe’s Treaty of 1855 with the U.S. government. Territorial Gov. Isaac Stevens, who drafted the treaty, wrote that the reservation’s southwestern border passed “south and east of Mount Adams, to the spur whence flows the waters of the Klickatat and Pisco rivers.” The tribe said that no such spur existed and that the Yakama Nation had always understood that Mount Adams and land known as Tract D was reservation land. That position was affirmed by the Indian Claims Commission in 1966, by an executive order by President Richard Nixon in 1972, by federal surveyors in 1982 and by numerous earlier court cases.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nGlen Jean: New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is offering special events this week to celebrate National Park Week. The park is uploading its museum collection online. Information and images give details about the prehistoric and industrial past of the communities in the area. Some of the more than 5,000 items include a miner’s belt designed for self-rescue, a fossil from a time when the entire gorge was an underwater home to marine life and a Native American hammerstone used to prepare food hundreds of years ago. On Wednesday, the public can watch Cultural Resource Program Manager David Fuerst clean a 1942 mural that depicts early 20th-century coal miners. The park hopes to restore the painting to its appearance 80 years ago. The mural demonstration leads up to the opening Friday of the Smithsonian Institution’s “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” exhibit at the historic Cottle Mountainair Hotel in Mount Hope. The exhibit runs through May 30. Winning art for the Youth Arts in the Parks Appalachian Spring Wildflower Art Contest will continue to be displayed at Tamarack Marketplace and online at nps.gov/neri/youth-arts-in-the-parks.htm.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMilwaukee: The brother of former first lady Michelle Obama and his wife are suing a private school alleging it refused to allow their two sons to reenroll after they voiced concerns that racism and inappropriate conduct at the school had not been satisfactorily addressed. In a civil lawsuit filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Craig and Kelly Robinson accuse University School of Milwaukee of terminating their 9- and 11-year-old sons’ reenrollment contracts for the 2021-2022 school year after the couple complained that teachers treated students of color and socioeconomically underrepresented students unfairly. According to the lawsuit filed Monday, the school failed to provide the supportive and inclusive learning environment it had promised in its enrollment contracts with the Robinsons. The boys had attended the pre-K-12 school for about five years, the Robinsons said Tuesday in an interview with the Associated Press. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a trial by jury. USM said in a statement that the enrollment decision had nothing to do with their complaints of inequity or discrimination. The independent school, with a campus that stretches from Milwaukee to the nearby suburb of River Hills, enrolls about 1,100 students every year.\n\nWyoming\n\nCasper: Federal officials are including only about two-thirds the previously expected number of Wyoming sites for lease for oil and gas exploration this summer, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. The first such lease sale of President Joe Biden’s administration will list 129 tracts across the state, covering more than 130,000 acres, according to the paper.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/04/20"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/opinions/fixing-problems-public-schools-culture-wars-roundup/index.html", "title": "Opinion: The culture wars have come to the classroom. Now what ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: This roundup is part of the CNN Opinion series “America’s Future Starts Now,” in which people share how they have been affected by the biggest issues facing the nation and experts offer their proposed solutions. The views expressed in these commentaries are the authors’ own. Read more opinion at CNN.\n\nCNN —\n\nThere are many problems roiling America’s public schools, including culture wars that have found their way into the classroom, school libraries and school board meetings over the past several months. But some challenges are more endemic, the product of decades of low pay and lack of appreciation for the service that administrators and teachers perform. CNN Opinion gathered the views of nine experts in the field of education about the problems they feel should be most urgently addressed in the classroom – and what solutions might be viable in our tumultuous political times.\n\nShaun Harper: Conservatives reject any mention of race in the classroom. We must counter by teaching truth\n\nShaun Harper Bradford Rogne\n\nLast year, Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe lost his reelection campaign, at least in part because his Republican opponent, Glenn Youngkin, repeatedly declared that McAuliffe’s reelection would lead to the widespread teaching of critical race theory in schools across the Commonwealth. Simply put, attacking critical race theory helped the now-governor of Virginia secure his win.\n\nCritical race theory is a set of concepts seeking to explain the structural underpinnings of inequality and racism in the United States. But the term has been attacked by its critics as unfairly pinning blame on White Americans for some of society’s most pernicious ills.\n\nClassroom discussions about race, and what I like to call “truth teaching,” haven’t been as much of a talking point as they were a year ago, and critical race theory isn’t being debated as much in this year’s midterm campaigns. It doesn’t have to be. For the most part, conservatives have already succeeded in banishing talk about racism from the classroom.\n\nAfter a campaign of intentional misinformation and fear mongering, critical race theory quickly became one of our nation’s most contested and misunderstood education issues. Conservative strategists successfully convinced millions of Americans, including concerned parents of school-aged children, that it was being taught in K-12 districts across the country. No evidence exists to confirm that this was actually the case.\n\nAs of last month, elected officials in 42 states have introduced legislation that broadly aims to ban the teaching of racial and social justice topics in public schools, according to data compiled by Education Week. Similar bills have passed in 17 of those states. Many more school boards have enacted local bans. In addition, books about race have been banned in numerous districts.\n\nThe campaign to eliminate critical race theory succeeded mostly because White parents and state lawmakers were led to believe that White school children were being made to feel badly about being White. Where’s the proof that teachers, nearly 80% of whom are White, were doing this? They weren’t, certainly not in any widespread fashion.\n\nWith no credible evidence of an actual problem and no opportunity to vote on the issue, citizens who recognize the value of teaching our children the truth about America’s racial past and present won’t have a voice in the upcoming election.\n\nThere’s at least one state where voters will decide this fall what gets taught in the classroom. West Virginians will consider a ballot question known as the Education Accountability Amendment, which if passed, would amend the state constitution to give the majority-Republican legislature more control over just about every aspect of public schooling.\n\nUntil bans on truth teaching are lifted, our democracy will become increasingly susceptible to the exacerbation of the racial tensions, inequities, injustices and violent acts of racism that have always kept America from reaching its full potential. Educators, meanwhile, will have unchecked authority to lie to school children about race. One recent example of this is educators’ failed attempt to change slavery to “involuntary relocation” in Texas schools.\n\nThose who truly care about the advancement of our democracy must insist that its full truth be taught. Unfortunately, we may have to wait a while before that discussion resumes in our public schools.\n\nShaun Harper is a professor at the Rossier School of Education and the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. His research focuses primarily on race, gender and equity in the classroom and in the workplace. He tweets @DrShaunHarper.\n\nValerie Wolfson: Teachers deserve trust and respect\n\nValerie Wolfson Courtesy Valerie Wolfson\n\nI’m a middle school social studies teacher in New Hampshire and an avid supporter of public education. Having taught for over 20 years, my greatest joy is participating in a democratic institution that is for everyone.\n\nI stand for all my students by committing myself to perpetual learning and growth. I continue to update instructional strategies, let go of old projects that no longer serve my current students and adapt my curriculum and language to ensure my approaches are culturally sensitive.\n\nI teach well-rounded history to the best of my ability as I continually strive to keep my background knowledge robust. I am here to hold space for all my students regardless of their identity, political positions or other affiliations. To do this, I must rigorously and regularly examine my biases, consider what and whom I am centering and why.\n\nThat’s why it was so disheartening to see laws like House Bill 2 (sometimes referred to as the “divisive concepts” law) pass in New Hampshire. The disrespect and lack of trust it communicates to the hundreds of honorable educators I know and work with cannot be overstated.\n\nThe measure, formally known as the Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Public Workplaces and Education bill, was written with the mistaken idea that discrimination is somehow endorsed or practiced in public spaces and classrooms.\n\nThe new law bars educators from teaching that any particular group is inherently racist, sexist or otherwise oppressive. It purports to promote teaching about people without regards to their race, gender, disability or other differences. But the language is so vague that it discourages teachers from having classroom conversations about race, racism and discrimination.\n\nLegislation like HB2 and similar laws in other states are obstacles to growth, student well-being and compassionate practices. HB2 prohibits schools in New Hampshire from creating mandatory equity training for faculty because someone might “feel bad.”\n\nBecause I teach social studies, I’ve developed a healthy resilience around complex conversations and divergent opinions. My entire career has been centered around navigating one tricky topic or another. I’ve mediated dialogues around presidential elections, the events of September 11, different wars and conflicts, and facilitated a variety of debates.\n\nThrough it all, I’ve dedicated myself to building a foundation of trust, joy, understanding, respectful discourse, care and acceptance in my classroom. Some of us are finding that harder to achieve under the new legislation. For example, a colleague who teaches in a nearby school district was told that if she openly said slavery was a “bad practice,” she must make it clear to her students that she is expressing an “opinion.” It’s an experience other teachers in my state have spoken about as well.\n\nAt what point did we decide it’s divisive to take a stance on cruel and dehumanizing activities? Who are we harming by taking a hardline on the concept of slavery? Our silence is an endorsement. That is our ethical crisis. That is what fear-mongering yields.\n\nTeachers deserve better: Shame and blame have been imposed upon a profession that is filled with loving, kind, compassionate and principled people. Choosing a career in education is almost always driven by a heart-centered desire to make a positive difference. I have never encountered a teacher in four districts, two states and 22 years who displayed devious political intentions.\n\nThe conflation of equity and inclusion work with “critical race theory” has led to wildly inaccurate and unfounded accusations. This “threat” has taken seed in the imaginations of some legislators and families.\n\nFuture voters must understand that disagreement is normal and healthy. Changing your mind in light of new evidence is logical and admirable. Nothing could be more American, patriotic or democratic than striving for a more just society.\n\nFeeling discomfort and dissonance often accompanies growth and learning; this is something I strive to normalize for my students. Teachers teach critical thinking and analysis by asking students to wrestle with challenging ideas and evidence. At some point, we have confused feeling uneasy with a lack of safety. There is a crucial difference.\n\nPoorly constructed laws were drafted to stop good, productive work under the guise of being “anti-critical race theory” and have resulted in the oppression of free thought, critical thinking and children. I know we can do better.\n\nMy message to lawmakers? Trust teachers. Asking them to be thoughtful, sensitive and inclusive is always reasonable. You’ll find that’s what they generally already are.\n\nValerie Wolfson, a middle school social studies teacher, was named the 2020 New Hampshire Social Studies Teacher of the year.\n\nNeal McCluskey: American schools have a diversity problem\n\nNeal McCluskey Neal McCluskey\n\nPublic schooling struggles with diversity. From early battles over the Bible to current fights over race, gender identity, prayer and more, public schooling – in which all must fund a single system of government schools – inevitably pits people with diverse values, needs and backgrounds against each other.\n\nBut why are conflicts burning especially hot now?\n\nCovid-19 set the conditions, creating clashes over in-person instruction and masking that many saw as having literally life-and-death stakes.\n\nThe murder of George Floyd added fuel, prompting many public school officials to target systemic racism – discrimination built into American institutions – and conservatives to demand colorblindness and an emphasis on America’s basic goodness. Graphic novels, such as “Gender Queer,” with graphic depictions of sexual activity, and other books on hot-button topics sparked dueling accusations of “hate” and “indoctrination.”\n\nThis all happened amid rapid demographic and social change.\n\nIn 2000, the US population was 71% non-Hispanic white. By 2020, that was down to about 58%. Gay marriage support skyrocketed from 27% of Americans in 1996 to 77% in 2021, while the share of people belonging to a church, synagogue or mosque plummeted from 70% in 1999 to 47% in 2020.\n\nWhat can deescalate education politics?\n\nNot “parents’ rights,” a term that can encompass useful things like requirements that districts share curriculum information, but sometimes seems invoked so that just one group of parents will get what it wants.\n\nGiving parents more say does nothing to change a system that forces diverse people, including parents, to fund – and fight to control – government-run schools.\n\nFreedom is the answer: Attach money to students – as many other countries do – and let families choose among diverse options. This can be accomplished through universal education savings accounts, such as Arizona recently enacted, scholarship tax credits and other choice vehicles.\n\nRegardless of how it is done, the goal of choice is to enable diverse families to access education they think is right rather than forcing neighbor to defeat neighbor to control public schools.\n\nNeal McCluskey directs the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute and is the author of “The Fractured Schoolhouse: Reimagining Education for a Free, Equal, and Harmonious Society.”\n\nDenise Forte and Randi Weingarten: How we can recover ground lost to Covid-19 closures\n\nDenise Forte Courtesy Denise Forte\n\nRandi Weingarten AFT\n\nAmerican students’ steady progress in reading and math has become the latest casualty of the Covid-19 era.\n\nIn the first results since the pandemic began, the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed steep declines in the math and reading scores of fourth- and eighth-grade students. It’s not hard to see why. The pandemic has disrupted three years of students’ lives.\n\nMore than 200,000 children in the United States are grieving the loss of at least one parent to Covid-19. The economic fallout of the pandemic exacerbated food and housing insecurity. People were, and still are, stressed and scared. And remote learning has always been an inadequate substitute for in-person instruction, although NAEP results show comparable drops in student performance in school systems that were quicker to reopen.\n\nSome critics see this as a chance to point fingers and to use kids as political pawns. We see it as an urgent call to institute short-term and long-term investments and proven strategies to support students’ emotional development and to accelerate learning, especially for Black and Latino students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds, who were underserved and behind their peers prior to the pandemic.\n\nWhat we must not allow is for students and educators to be dragged into bad-faith battles over bathroom access and participation on sports teams as an unwelcome distraction from ensuring that every student receives a great education and the supports needed to thrive academically and socially.\n\nThe good news is that we know what works from research and experience, and there is historic federal funding to accelerate learning and to start to remedy long-standing inequities. Resources from the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund can be directed so students have better access to experienced, diverse and certified teachers, high-quality summer and after-school programs, engaging and relevant curriculums and mental health supports.\n\nBoth our organizations are engaged in longer-term strategies to address the needs of kids, families and communities, but there are interventions that can help students right now.\n\nIn the short term, targeted, intensive tutoring has large positive effects on both math and reading achievement. Teachers tend to be the most consistently effective tutors; however, recent studies have found that paraprofessionals (teaching assistants), AmeriCorps volunteers and others who are trained to support student learning can be just as effective when tutoring one-on-one or in small groups.\n\nMany states are using state and federal funds to invest in strategies to increase the diversity of the workforce. Access to a racially and culturally diverse teacher workforce is beneficial for all pre-K-12 students, particularly for students of color, who often thrive in classrooms led by teachers who share their racial and cultural background.\n\nThe pandemic’s impact on children cannot be measured by assessments alone. But we hope that the alarm over the steep drop in NAEP scores creates urgency to address the conditions that contributed to the decline, many of which far predate the pandemic.\n\nEducators didn’t need to see declines in test scores to know what to do right now: focus like a laser on helping our kids recover and thrive.\n\nSafety was required to return to in-person teaching and learning. Now is the time to double down on proven strategies, using the resources we are fortunate to have, to deliver on a promise the US has not yet fulfilled—providing every child access to a high quality public education, without exception.\n\nDenise Forte is the CEO at The Education Trust. Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers.\n\nJay Richards: The battle over parents’ rights in education is just getting started\n\nJay Richards The Heritage Foundation\n\nIt should come as no surprise that parents have been fighting for their rights so vociferously when it comes to public education. They’re fighting because they sense that those rights are under attack.\n\nIt started with the lockdowns in 2020. For the first time, many parents suddenly saw, courtesy of online conferencing apps like Zoom, what their kids were being taught. And they didn’t like it: Toxic and divisive ideas about race – disguised as lessons on slavery and racism – contradicted the belief in racial equality that most Americans – whatever their politics – shared with civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.\n\nBut critical race theory is far less shocking than the radical gender ideology that seems to have overtaken our nation’s schools. It teaches children that “some people are boys, some people are girls, some people are both, neither, or somewhere in between”’ – as one popular children’s book puts it.\n\nSchools are promoting the notion that some kids – perhaps many kids if recent trends continue – are born in the wrong body. Suddenly, from Florida to Texas to Wyoming, parents are discovering that schools are teaching, seemingly across the curriculum, that an internal sense of gender trumps biological sex. Worse, some schools are changing, at their students’ request – but without their parents’ knowledge or consent – their students’ names and pronouns to conform to a child’s surprising new “gender identity.”\n\nWhen parents come to school board meetings to complain, far too many are met with silence or risible accusations that they are politicizing education. Parents have the primary right and responsibility to raise and teach their children.\n\nMany parents delegate part of the teaching task to schools, in an act of trust. Rather than acting as faithful stewards of that trust, too many schools have decided that it’s their job to alienate kids from “regressive” views of their parents.\n\nIs it any wonder that this has proved controversial?\n\nWe could dissipate some of the heat by increasing the rights of parents over their children’s schooling. States should connect school money to children, rather than to school buildings. Universal school choice for everyone – rich and poor, conservative and liberal – would not just make schools better and more competitive. It would make them less of an arena for the culture war that is otherwise roiling our culture.\n\nJay Richards is the William E. Simon Senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, where he is also director of the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family.\n\nAkilah Alleyne: The education investments we need to make\n\nAkilah Alleyne Akilah Alleyne\n\nBook bans and censorship debates have always existed, but America’s children are facing an unprecedented moment in history. Today, school resources are stretched thin, schools are facing teacher and staff shortages and districts are still grappling with the long-term effects of the pandemic on student learning, as individuals’ rights to quality education are under increasing threat.\n\nImportant investments toward providing more supports for teachers, classroom aid and salary increases – such as by passing the RAISE Act – are needed now more than ever. That measure would provide teachers tax credits totaling as much as $15,000 each year.\n\nRather than addressing the real challenges facing teachers, many MAGA extremists have taken aim at books, racial and gender inclusion and more. Defunding the Department of Education, an ongoing federal level tactic among other changes in public school funding, should not be a topic of debate. However, it has also been central to MAGA Republicans’ federal policy agenda and could have devastating consequences for students nationwide.\n\nWhile parents are working with teachers and librarians to ensure that every child is acknowledged in school curricula and has a chance to thrive in school, regardless of who they are or where they live, far-right MAGA extremists are increasingly running for vacant school board seats or for reelection to gain control and power over decision-making at all levels of government.\n\nStudents and teachers want safer schools that reflect the diversity of their families and teach truthful history. They can be best supported through policy making that increases equity and understanding in our school systems by supporting their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, not denying them.\n\nAkilah Alleyne is the director for K-12 Education at the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington, DC.\n\nRoss Wiener: Restoring trust in public schools should be a national priority\n\nRoss Wiener Courtesy Ross Wiener\n\nPublic schools educate approximately 90% of young Americans. The society we are, and the one we will become, is profoundly shaped by public education.\n\nIt has made America more inclusive, improving outcomes across lines of race, gender and ability status. The result has been overwhelming bipartisan support for public schools over generations.\n\nBut the evidence of a crisis in our public schools is overwhelming: Hundreds of thousands of students have disappeared from school rolls, derailing their futures and foreshadowing budget woes when emergency Covid-19 relief funds expire. The Nation’s Report Card reported historic declines in reading and math scores, not surprising given pandemic disruptions.\n\nWhat’s more, educator morale is low, exacerbating staff shortages. Classrooms are targets in the culture wars, leading to book bans and speech codes that never end well. Young people report epidemic levels of anxiety and depression.\n\nThe pandemic and broader turmoil afflicting the nation have left public education in peril. Every one of us has a stake in reversing this decline because, whether we’re talking about growing the economy or strengthening democracy, every path to redeeming the promise of America runs through public schools. Addressing lost learning is important, and so is addressing the lack of trust in public education.\n\nPublic education has played an enormous societal role: In the 19th century, common schools forged shared identity when government of the people, by the people, for the people was a novel idea. In the 20th century, universal high school fueled the growth of the middle class.\n\nOver the last several decades, the broad vision that propelled America’s public schools has dwindled into a narrow, technocratic policy frame.\n\n“A Nation at Risk,” a major report on education released by the Reagan administration in 1983, used fear-based arguments to argue that reading and math test scores were essential for national security. This logic eventually transformed test scores from one critical indicator (which they are) to the very purpose of public schools (which they are not).\n\nEarly accountability reforms led to gains among low-income students and students of color, but progress plateaued a decade ago. Test-and-accountability reforms over-promised and under-delivered and no longer command broad bipartisan support.\n\nRenewing the promise of public education starts by rebuilding trust. Local education leaders were left holding the bag on school closings that should have been shared with health officials and political leaders.\n\nSchools were expected to arrange meals, computers and broadband access – burdens they often shouldered alone. This was thrust on school systems where teachers already felt beleaguered and disrespected; in truth, our schools have operated in a low-trust environment for years. This led to schools being closed for far too long with continuing consequences, not only in diminished learning but also in diminished public support.\n\nWe must recommit to the mission of public education.\n\nThe Aspen Institute recently convened a bipartisan group of state policymakers to ask: What do we want to be true about the opportunities our public schools offer? After reflecting on values and reviewing research, these policymakers authored “Opportunity to Learn, Responsibility to Lead.” The principles they developed refocus attention on the core purposes of education in a diverse democracy and market-driven economy. It presents an evidence-informed vision for schools as engines of opportunity, which could galvanize the political middle to coalesce around a more positive approach.\n\nState leaders should call for a public conversation about the future of their state and the role of public education in realizing that future. Unspent federal Covid-19 relief can be a perfect catalyst for this work. Grants to community-based organizations and PTAs, after-school providers, 4-H Clubs and faith-based youth groups can support stakeholders in articulating what they want to be true about their public schools and identifying opportunities in their communities. Universities, chambers of commerce and other civic organizations can use their own resources to sponsor similar inquiries.\n\nExperience demonstrates there is much common ground to be found in efforts to strengthen public schools. Channeling Americans’ shared commitment to opportunity is the ideal antidote to the cynicism and division currently plaguing the policy and politics of public education.\n\nRoss Wiener is executive director of the Education & Society Program at the Aspen Institute and the author of “We Are What We Teach.”\n\nElisa Villanueva Beard: We can fix America’s teacher shortage\n\nElisa Villanueva Beard Teach for America\n\nTeacher shortages are not new, especially in schools serving predominantly students from low-income backgrounds, who are disproportionately young people of color. Yet cracks in the system before the pandemic have become gaping crevasses: In February 2022, there were nearly 600,000 fewer educators in public schools than there were in January 2020, and National Center for Education data showed less than half of schools serving majority Black and brown students were fully staffed.\n\nThe organization I lead, Teach For America, has 33 years of experience attracting talented individuals early in their careers to teach in rural and urban classrooms. Our research into the priorities of current college students finds that they want to have an impact on what matters most in the world, and the issue of quality education for all children is in their top five.\n\nHowever, they also want to preserve their mental health and have financial stability, and the teaching profession’s low pay and structures that challenge work-life balance are deterrents – especially when the average student-loan debt is nearly $30,000 and many other professions offer flexible schedules and remote work options. This disconnect affects the profession at large, which has been struggling for years. Between 2008 and 2019, the number of graduates from traditional teacher education programs fell by more than a third.\n\nWe can tackle these issues in a number of ways: by increasing teacher pay; creating financial incentives for effective educators to teach in schools serving low-income communities; expanding student loan forgiveness for teachers, especially in hard-to-staff schools and subjects; ensuring teachers’ have sufficient resources and planning time, proper administrative help and the support of counselors and nurses; and fostering educator wellbeing by offering mental health supports and addressing sources of occupation-related stress.\n\nThese policies and practices will make teaching more desirable and accessible and will work to increase the racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the teaching workforce, a move that research shows has a positive impact for students.\n\nAs essential as these efforts are, they are not sufficient to address teacher shortages in the long term. Our country must think boldly at this moment about another problem that needs solving: What if the real issue is not that young adults don’t want to teach, but that the purpose of education has changed drastically and our education system has not kept up? What if we’ve reached the limits of this outmoded system and the conventional role of the teacher?\n\nIt’s time to expand the traditional definition of learning to include all the skills and mindsets that students want and need to thrive in our 21st century world and careers of the future: qualities like developing empathy, sustaining mental health and wellbeing, building relationships and applying learning to solve real-world problems.\n\nRedefining learning opens the door to a more diverse set of adult leaders to work alongside educators and students: professionals in various fields who can support the development of students’ workplace skills; college students who can support digital literacy and serve as tutors and mentors; and any number of community leaders who can support students’ sense of belonging.\n\nGet our free weekly newsletter Sign up for CNN Opinion’s newsletter. Join us on Twitter and Facebook\n\nFor example, technology could allow expert educators to teach multiple classes virtually while a colleague who is expert in creating productive learning spaces – where every student is valued and feels they belong – focuses there. Many teachers excel at both roles – we just don’t have enough of them to staff every classroom in our country. This shift is not only about making teachers’ jobs more sustainable, but also about positioning teachers to further develop their areas of greatest expertise.\n\nFundamental changes of this magnitude don’t happen quickly. But, for too long, we’ve expected teachers to carry the weight of an outmoded education system. We can’t just replenish this system. We must redefine what and how students learn and reimagine the role of the teacher to inspire a new generation of purpose-driven young people to get involved and reinvent the system for a stronger, more equitable future.\n\nElisa Villanueva Beard is the CEO of Teach For America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving educational access, opportunity and outcomes for young people in low-income communities. She tweets @VillanuevaBeard.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/11/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/maryland/2018/06/12/maryland-primary-election-2018-democratic-governor-candidates-gubernatorial-2018/656239002/", "title": "Maryland Primary Election 2018: 9 Democrats are running for ...", "text": "Delmarva Now Staff Report\n\nMaryland's primary election is June 26.\n\nNine democrats are running for state governor.\n\nThe winner of the primary will face Gov. Larry Hogan.\n\nDelmarva Now and The Daily Times asked all candidates in contested primary races to complete a questionnaire on their candidacy. All answers have been published unedited. Should a candidate’s answers exceed the allotted word count, their response will appear with an ellipsis marking the maximum number of words. Maryland’s primary election is June 26, 2018.\n\nThe following people did not return candidate questionnaires after multiple requests: Valerie Ervin and James Hugh Jones II. On Wednesday, June 13, Ervin withdrew as a candidate.\n\nRushern Baker\n\nAge: 59\n\nOccupation: Prince George’s County Executive\n\nWhy are you running for office?\n\nI’ve seen firsthand how education can save lives. I've learned as a caregiver for my wife why having affordable healthcare is so important for every Marylander. I've seen what transforming neighborhoods and finding a good job means to families that are struggling.\n\nWhen I became County Executive, Prince George's County was leading the state in foreclosures, homicides had increased, there was no Economic Development going on and we we in the midst of a major ethics scandal. Eight years later, we lead the state in job creation, we have the fastest rising home values in the state, we have attracted $9 billion in private investment, and homicide rates have been cut by more than half to 50-year lows.\n\nTo me, these issues are personal. I'm the one candidate with experience passing laws at the state level and running one of the most complex governments in the state. I have a proven record of delivering results.\n\nTop 3 issues? What is your stance on each, and how would you address it?\n\n1. Education: As governor, my top funding priority will be to fully fund education. I know that education can change lives because it changed mine. If it weren't for my loving parents and dedicated teachers, I would not have had the opportunity to be the first in my family to graduate college.\n\nAs County Executive, I have consistently fought for increases in school funding for higher teacher salaries; dual-enrollment programs; expanded universal pre-k and full-day kindergarten.\n\nI know that fully funding schools is the first step to ensuring that every student in our state has the same opportunities I had. Our public schools are the heart of our communities -- they have the ability to provide students with a lifetime of opportunity and are a signal to families and businesses that this is a place they should move to and invest.\n\n2. Transportation: If you want to bring jobs and economic development to Maryland, you start by investing in mass transit projects. Baltimore, which has been historically underserved with transit options, deserves the kind of economic prosperity and improved quality of life that mass transit projects like the Red Line can provide.\n\nWe need 21st century solutions to our transit problems that will not only connect more people to jobs and take cars off the road, but also spur economic development in the communities they serve.\n\n3. Criminal Justice Reform: In the County, we were able to achieve historic reductions in crime in part because we had a partner in Governor O'Malley. That support is no longer there for counties.\n\nThe recidivism rate in Baltimore City is staggering - estimates by DPSCS place it at 70%. Public Safety Compact, an innovative public-private partnership, has worked in Maryland. The recidivism rate for the program after three years was less than 10 percent and saved $2.5 million. Governor Hogan stopped the program. I would reinstate immediately. Investing in these programs not only saves money, it makes communities safer.\n\nWe will look at ways to address the systemic issues that perpetuate crime including poverty, lack of jobs and poor education. We will work to reduce prison populations, address racial disparity, and eliminate barriers for formerly incarcerated individuals to return to their communities. Investing in long term solutions that address the root causes of crime and reforming our criminal justice system will be a top funding priority of mine.\n\nClosing argument:\n\nAs County executive, I ran the second largest county in the state. I faced tough challenges - corruption, crime, failing schools, foreclosures - but I never did what was best for my political career – I did what was best for my community.\n\nAs a result, we created the fastest growing economy in Maryland, cut crime in half and raised home values without displacing people. We did it by proactively transforming neighborhoods, implementing mandatory bias training for police officers, lowering dropout rates, and getting more jobs for returning citizens.\n\nI have been endorsed by the Washington Post, Senator Chris Van Hollen, Congressman Steny Hoyer, Attorney General Brian Frosh and dozens of other Maryland elected officials because of my record of success and progressive ideas for the state. I believe we have the vision and experience necessary to make our plans for Maryland a reality. It would be an honor to serve as your next governor.\n\nMore:Larry Hogan campaign reports raising more than $1.2 million in 35 days\n\nRalph Jaffe\n\nAge: 76\n\nOccupation: Teacher\n\nWhy are you running for office?\n\nI have been a political science teacher since 1964.\n\nSince 2002, I have been leading the movement to try to put a stop to the moral bankruptcy that has pervaded Maryland government and replace it with real ethical reform.\n\nAs a teacher, I believe the best way to teach is not by words, but by actions. Therefore I use these political campaigns as a teaching methodology to point out the corruption in government.\n\nThis is my 6th campaign for political office. I am not a politician, but if elected, I will serve.\n\nMy platform consists of 5 principles.\n\nRefuse campaign contributions - they are disguised bribes. Pursue the truth Keep away from paid political lobbyists Serve one term only Serve free\n\nTop 3 issues? What is your stance on each, and how would you address it?\n\nCrime\n\nThe size of Police Departments in metropolitan areas in Maryland needs to be increased, especially in Baltimore City because currently there’s a severe shortage of police officers. We need at least 1200 more foot patrol officers on Baltimore City streets.\n\nWe need to restore public trust in the police force. This calls for a two way operation where we are able to trust the people whose job is to protect us while we give police officers the support they require in order to do their job properly.\n\nWe also need police commissioners who know how to lead and can be trusted.\n\nEducation\n\nWe need an educational system that gives students hope instead of hopelessness. My TUTOR-MENTOR TEAM PROGRAM is designed to keep students on the right path to a life of success rather than despair. Students are given an opportunity to connect with a TUTOR-MENTOR TEAM who will stay with them from the moment of linking up until the student graduates from high school and/or college and is gainfully employed.\n\nAdditionally, I believe that teachers are overworked and underpaid.\n\n\n\nNursing Homes\n\nThe treatment of the elderly in nursing homes can be labeled as disgraceful. Unless the resident has tons of money to pay for special service, it comes as no surprise that the residents are often victims of negligence and mistreatment. I have expressed concerns about understaffing and safety in these facilities for the last 20 years.\n\nBetter treatment of citizens living in nursing homes will be a major priority. Currently, one nurse’s assistant can be assigned 30 patients at one time on his/her shift. This is unacceptable. I will try to get the state legislature to pass legislation calling for no more than 6 patients to one nurse’s assistant.\n\nClosing argument:\n\nThe most important issue is TRUST. Which candidate can be trusted?\n\nSince the movement started in 2002 I have kept my word. I do not take campaign contributions, because they are disguised bribes. I will serve free. I do pursue the truth.\n\nI will put the salary in a trust fund to be distributed to the needy in our state. I do not deal with lobbyists; I teach my students to be their own lobbyists. I will serve one term only so I can really serve the people rather than worry about getting re-elected and gaining money, power, and fame.\n\nI believe my track record demonstrates I can be trusted.\n\nRight now, I believe we do not have any ethical politician in our state. That’s why our state is so messed up.\n\nBen Jealous\n\nAge: 45\n\nOccupation: Former National President & CEO of the NAACP; Partner at Kapor Capital\n\nWhy are you running for office?\n\nI’m running for governor, not because I need a job, but because I have a vision. A vision where we fully fund our schools, ensure universal healthcare and stop rising premiums, and invest in communities across the state to ensure economic opportunity for all. I’m a civil rights leader and community organizer who was named the youngest ever National President and CEO of the NAACP. In 2012, I was named Marylander of The Year by The Baltimore Sun for leading the effort to pass the Maryland DREAM Act, ensure marriage equality, abolish the death penalty, and expand voting rights -- all in one year. Many people may tell you the things I want to do are big, well, I’ve specialized in doing big things my entire life and Marylanders are ready for a governor able to actually solve their problems.\n\nTop 3 issues? What is your stance on each, and how would you address it?\n\n1. Education is my top priority and what I see in Maryland is chronic underfunding of our public school system. Well-funded public schools are the surest ticket to the middle class and the best way to make sure we have a dynamic, well-educated, productive workforce. Our own state’s consultants have found that we are underfunding our kids by $2.9 billion annually. That’s unacceptable. I have two kids in our public schools, so this is personal to me. I’ve been endorsed by the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) which represents 74,000 educators across our state because they know that I am committed to fully funding our schools. I’ve come out with two education plans highlighting how we’ll fully fund our schools, provide full-day universal Pre-K, and ensure free-tuition for all Marylanders to attend community college. I’m the only candidate with two plans for education. One which outlines how we will fund full-day universal Pre-K and raise teacher pay and the other which outlines how we will expand tuition-free community college to every Marylander. You can read both on my website at benjealous.com.\n\n2. Marylanders have faced annual double-digit increases in premiums for several years, we’ve seen prescription drug costs continue to cripple families, and even those who have “good insurance” have to spend thousands of dollars out of pocket before they can use it. The only real solution is a Medicare-for-All system which can lower prescription drug costs, stop rising premiums, and ensure quality care for every Marylander. The greatest obstacle to enacting a Medicare-for-All type system in Maryland is a governor who lacks the courage to take on big challenges or one who can’t bring together diverse coalitions committed to progressive change. I was named Marylander of the Year in 2013 because I lead the efforts to abolish the death penalty, pass the DREAM Act, pass marriage equality, and expand voting rights all in one year. Traditional politicians warned us that we couldn’t get even one of these things done, but we pulled together our coalitions and fought for all four at once. When I’m governor, we will have a Medicare-for-All system in this state and we will do it by building a grand coalition of working families committed to getting the priorities of our government back in order. I’ve been endorsed by Maryland’s nurses from the Service Employees International Union, National Nurses Union, and the Maryland nurses represented by the DC Nurses Association because they trust me to make our healthcare system better for everyone. I’m the only candidate with a plan for Medicare-for-All which you can read on my website at benjealous.com.\n\n3. As governor, I will also work to reform our criminal justice system and improve public safety. If we are serious about keeping Marylanders safe, we have to invest in proven programs like Safe Streets which has reduced violence significantly in neighborhoods where it has been deployed. I’m the only candidate in this race with comprehensive plans for both criminal justice reform and police reform. My grandfather was a probation officer in Baltimore for decades and I have family members across Maryland who wake up every day and pull on a uniform, badge, and gun. It’s because of my close, personal relationships with law enforcement that I am committed to making sure they are given the proper training and tools to protect our communities. Making sure our officers are well-prepared includes keeping them accountable to the public and making sure that communities trust officers. As governor, I’ll invest in proven programs that reduce crime, invest in communities where there is little hope, and give police the training and resources to do their jobs.\n\nClosing argument:\n\nI’ve been endorsed by the Maryland State Education Association which represents 74,000 educators across our state, organizations that represent tens of thousands of nurses, and the lions share of progressive groups. That’s because I have a track record of getting big things done in our state, the experience of running a large, complex organization, and because I’m a lifelong community organizer and civil rights leader. As governor, I’ll fully fund our schools, ensure that every Marylander has quality, reliable healthcare, and enact comprehensive criminal justice reform. Join our movement of working families at benjealous.com!\n\nRich Madaleno\n\nAge: 52\n\nOccupation: State Senator/public servant\n\nWhy are you running for office?\n\nOn the critical issues facing the people of our state we need a bold, tireless governor who can set an agenda of progress for all Marylanders. I will be that governor. From education to transportation, from economic development to economic justice, from sustainable healthcare to environmental sustainability, Larry Hogan has not served the people of Maryland. I will. I will advance the rights and address the needs of ALL Marylanders. From jobs, wages and tax fairness t o education and the environment, I will ensure that our great state is ready and prepared not just for the next four years, but for the next forty years, to ensure Maryland will be a beacon for the future. We need a governor who fights for Marylanders and for progress, who says Maryland is open to the future and ready to lead again. Maryland can be a great, diverse, prosperous, welcoming community working together.\n\n\n\nTop 3 issues? What is your stance on each, and how would you address it?\n\n1. Education. My commitment to education is demonstrated by my leadership on the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (Kirwan Commission), charged with establishing the future direction for Maryland’s education system. It released preliminary recommendations, which provide a blueprint for improving education and opportunity for all children, especially those with significant challenges. A key recommendation, which I fully support, is investing in high-quality early childhood education. As Vice-Chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee I was a leader in this year’s budget which includes $200 million for future investments in education and funds for school safety.\n\n2. Healthcare. Healthcare is a human right. Yet Larry Hogan refused to speak out against Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and their repeal of the individual mandate. I will find solutions to protect affordable, high quality health care for Marylanders by supporting an individual down payment plan so that all Marylanders have health care coverage. When the Republicans threatened to cut off reimbursements for Planned Parenthood, I successfully championed a new law guaranteeing continued state funding for these health care services. I will make prescription drugs affordable by establishing a new drug review commission.\n\n3. Economy. Under my leadership Maryland will be “Open to the Future”. I will vigorously pursue opportunities for greater economic development and family-supporting jobs. Strong partnerships between employers and our educational institutions will provide the trained, skilled workers that businesses need. I fought for career and technical education programs and tax credits for businesses that grow jobs in our state. I support construction of the East Coast’s largest offshore wind energy project off Ocean City to create thousands of jobs in construction and support services. Salisbury is the perfect location for the manufacture of vessels needed to construct and service offshore wind turbines worldwide.\n\nClosing argument:\n\nI urge you to support my campaign for governor because I will provide real results and proven progressive leadership on the issues of importance to Maryland families. I will be the education governor who will invest in our children and our educators to build a 21st century system of education. I will fight to enact the $15 per hour minimum wage, indexed for inflation, so that our growing economy will be a just economy. I am the only candidate with the experience and a proven record of accomplishments -- in areas critical to Maryland families such as education, civil rights, and labor -- and a true progressive vision for our future. There is no other candidate in the race - including the incumbent - who brings a track record of leadership and real results for the people of Maryland. For more information go to www.MadalenoForMaryland.com.\n\nAlec Ross\n\nAge: 46\n\nOccupation: Author and Technology Expert\n\nWhy are you running for office?\n\n\n\nI am running for governor of Maryland because I believe that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not; and that needs to change. I have spent my entire career in public service and believe that our state and country are at an inflection point in our politics. We need to elect leaders who can help us move into an ever-changing future.\n\nMy specific experience working as an executive in government managing massive programs across many departments and agencies uniquely equips me for the role. Throughout my career, I have been a progressive leader and policy maker on a number of important issues - be it education, broadband internet access, environmental issues, transparency and openness in government, or economic development, to name a few. When I am governor of Maryland, it will be no different.\n\nTop 3 issues? What is your stance on each, and how would you address it?\n\nEducation - We must fundamentally reset how we fund education in our state, and that will be my number one priority as governor. I came to Baltimore 24 years ago to be a public school teacher in Baltimore City, and my wife continues to teach in our public schools. We have a tremendous opportunity with the Kirwan Commission, and I believe we must do everything we can to implement new funding models that help us take bold steps to improve our education system. Education is the starting point for addressing nearly every societal need, and we must prioritize equitable, innovative educational programs for our children.\n\nEnvironmental policy and the Green Economy - The Chesapeake Bay is a treasure, providing economic and recreational benefits estimated at $33 billion a year. Protecting it will be one of my primary priorities. Additionally, we will make Maryland the center of the Green Economy and create jobs for people across the state. We need to invest in solutions to help clean up the bay that harness advances in technology, innovation, and citizen engagement and establish a statewide Maryland Green Bank.\n\nEconomic development - Our current governor likes to claim that Maryland is “open for business,” when in reality, we are not doing enough to support our state’s innovators and business owners. Maryland is the only state in the country that’s projected to see its economy get worse in 2018. We need to focus on supporting the small and medium-sized businesses that form the backbone of our economy. My running mate Julie Verratti is a small business owner herself and is acutely aware of the challenges that face business owners. Together, we are focused on supporting and growing homegrown innovators. This will increase the amount of good jobs in our state and attract the kind of investment that will lead to many more.\n\n\n\nClosing argument:\n\nI believe that we are at an inflection point in both our politics and economic future as a country, and it is more important than ever that we elect leaders who can help us navigate the years to come. There are many choices in this crowded primary, and when November’s primary elections come around, voters will have a hard choice to make. I am a leader who can be counted on for transparency, innovation, and compassionate policy. I have spent my career looking at what’s next and helping prepare people and organizations to compete and succeed in a changing world. I don’t think the same-old, same-old politicians and policies are going to best serve Marylanders, and I promise that as your governor, I will work every day on behalf of the diverse communities and individuals that call our great state home. Together, we can face the future with confidence.\n\nJim Shea\n\nAge: 65\n\nOccupation: Chair Emeritus, Venable LLP\n\nWhy are you running for office?\n\nI have deep and varied experience in issue areas that Marylanders care about most, including education, transportation, and job creation. I have led the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, and economic development zones in Baltimore, all while building my own business into a global enterprise.\n\nSince Larry Hogan has been governor, Maryland’s schools are slipping, we sit in some of the worst traffic in the nation, and our economy lags behind neighboring states. Together with my running mate, Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott, we will make wise investments to get Maryland back on track and build a better future for our children.\n\n\n\nTop 3 issues? What is your stance on each, and how would you address it?\n\n1. Education - Education is the surest ladder of opportunity as it provides children the tools they need to succeed in life and realize their full potential. Maryland needs a world-class education system, from pre-k through higher education, that will improve lives, broaden opportunity, and drive economic development. My bold and comprehensive plan includes universal pre-k, increased support for economically disadvantaged areas, a curriculum benchmarked against international standards, better compensation and career tracks for teachers, increased vocational training, and an equitable funding formula that properly accounts for relative wealth.\n\n2. Transportation – Marylanders need to be able to get to school and work quickly and reliably, but traffic congestion is currently harming both quality of life and the environment. We cannot fully step into the 21st century and compete in today’s economy unless we commit to developing a statewide first-class public transit system. As Governor, I will implement an integrated statewide plan that focuses on public transportation. I will invest in infrastructure in Western and Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore that combats traffic congestion, and I will integrate multi-county transit services such as Shore Transit and Maryland Upper Shore Transit. We need to make public transit more attractive than driving.\n\n3. Economic Development - As Governor, I will foster an environment that promotes economic growth and creates good-paying jobs, expanding opportunity and giving hard-working Marylanders the raise they deserve. I will build our economy from the middle out to create a dynamic and growing middle-class. I will work with private and public-sector employers to expand economic opportunity across the state. My administration will attract the jobs of today and prepare Marylanders for the jobs of tomorrow. I have significant economic development experience, including supporting the creation of small businesses and start-ups, and I will use it grow our economy.\n\nClosing argument:\n\nIn the Democratic primary on June 26 and the general election in November, Marylanders must choose the candidate with the vision and experience to invest in our state’s future. Larry Hogan has failed our state’s children and economy. I am the only Democratic candidate who has delivered a statewide education system. I have fought for mass transit, including expanding the MARC service. And I have supported the creation of small businesses in disadvantaged areas and hundreds of startups. I have comprehensive statewide plans that will improve education, transportation, job creation, and public safety across the state, as well as ways to fund them. My running mate, Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott, and I will bridge the generational, geographic, and ideological divides in our state to expand opportunity for all Marylanders.\n\nKrish O'Mara Vignarajah\n\nAge: 38\n\nOccupation: Former Policy Director for First Lady Michelle Obama, who has worked at the highest levels of law and business. Proud mom of my 10-month-old daughter, Alana.\n\nWhy are you running for office?\n\nI am running for Governor, because I couldn’t sit on the sidelines as our children’s schools decline, our friends die from opioid overdoses, our neighbors cannot afford to pay their healthcare bills, and our economy remains stuck in traffic. As Governor, I will focus on what matters most—fully funding our schools, increasing wages, reducing crime, treating drug addiction, alleviating traffic, investing in infrastructure, and protecting our sacred environment. To accomplish all this, we need a new generation of leadership.\n\n\n\nIt was not long ago that Maryland led the nation in school performance, job creation, and conservation. But today too many of the students who can least afford to be left behind have been forgotten altogether. Too many workers have been left out. And under the Trump administration, our precious environment faces its greatest threats in decades. A deficit in leadership from the Governor could not come at a worse time.\n\nTop 3 issues? What is your stance on each, and how would you address it?\n\nExpanding Educational Opportunity from Cradle to Career\n\nBoth of my parents were Baltimore City school educators, and I am the only gubernatorial candidate who attended Maryland public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. Improving the public education system in Maryland remains my top priority, and my administration will close the multi-billion dollar funding gap and attack systemic inequity by (1) offering tuition free community college, (2) universal access to pre-kindergarten, and (3) 21st century STEM education in every Maryland school -- all while improving free-and-reduced lunch programs. No matter your age, income, or address, you should always have access to educational opportunity in Maryland.\n\nBuilding a Resilient Economy\n\nIf Maryland didn't have over 300,000 federal jobs, our state would have the highest unemployment rate in the country, and for those who do find work, most new jobs today pay less than a living wage. My administration will invest in 21st century infrastructure projects to bring low-cost, high-speed internet to every Maryland resident; in transit projects that both alleviate traffic and accelerate the movement of commercial goods in our economy; and in the translation of taxpayer-funded research into new, well-paid jobs for Maryland resident. My administration will create 250,000 new jobs for working families over 4 years because Maryland needs an economy that's both strong and, more importantly, accessible to everyone.\n\nProtecting the Environment\n\nUnder my administration, Maryland would lead the nation in climate action: cutting emissions, improving our resilience to flooding and sea-level rise, and leading in energy efficiency, offshore wind, solar, and other clean energy industries — all of which will create well-paying jobs. Government at the local, state, and federal level has subsidized the energy industry. It is time to direct those resources away from fossil fuels and towards 21st century energy solutions.\n\nClosing argument:\n\nIt’s time to put everyday working people over partisan politics. My campaign is driven by a desire to focus on the policy, issues, and ideals that will improve the lives of everyday Marylanders. From high-speed internet access to 3 months of paid family leave and investments in mobile health clinics for rural areas, the Eastern Shore needs support from the state to thrive and evolve into an economic engine for Maryland. Maryland also needs a Governor who will stand against the Trump administration for working families. Every Marylander must have the chance to reach their fullest potential, regardless of their age, race, or zip code.\n\nLast, Maryland has had 62 governors — none of them were women —and out of 14 positions, there are no women who hold statewide or federal elected office in Maryland. This is about more than representation, it’s about policy. When women lead, better policies follow.\n\nMore:Maryland Primary Election 2018: Meet the candidates for District 37A House of Delegates\n\nMore:Maryland Primary Election 2018: Meet the candidates for District 37B House of Delegates\n\nMore:Maryland Primary Election 2018: Meet the candidates for District 38C House of Delegates", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2018/06/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/12/read-iowa-gov-kim-reynolds-2021-condition-state-speech-full-text-transcript/6637040002/", "title": "Transcript of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds 2021 Condition of the State ...", "text": "Des Moines Register staff\n\nIowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is giving her 2021 Condition of the State speech. This is the transcript of the speech as prepared for delivery:\n\nMr. President, Mr. Speaker, Lieutenant Governor, legislative leaders and members, justices and judges, my fellow Iowans:\n\nOur state constitution says that, every year, the governor must communicate to the general assembly the condition of the state. That usually happens in the morning on the second day of the legislative session, but tonight I’m breaking with that tradition so that I may speak directly to Iowans.\n\nIt’s been a year — and I’ll let you fill in whatever adjective you want. Covid-19. Civil Unrest. A drought. A derecho. We’ve been beaten and battered in about every way imaginable and some unimaginable. But together, we’ve met every challenge with bravery and outright grit.\n\nWe’re told that “tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance, character.” From what I’ve seen, there’s no shortage of character in the people of Iowa. And despite what we’ve been through—or maybe because of it—the condition of our state has never been stronger.\n\nWe live in a place where 82-year-old Blanche Chizek from Britt sewed over 1,000 masks and baked dozens of pastries for healthcare workers. Where 17-year-old Tanner Kenin recruited his friends to start a grocery delivery company for the elderly. Where an anonymous donor gave out more than $80,000 in gift cards from local businesses to every resident of Earlham. And where countless other Iowans donated food, time, and resources.\n\nThousands of Iowans—truck drivers, manufacturers, grocery store clerks, meat-processing workers, and so many others—showed up to work everyday to make sure that the people of this state, and the world, were fed. Police officers, social workers, and government employees worked around the clock to deliver PPE and make sure Iowans continued to receive the services they depend on. Small businesses adjusted their hours and often how they operate to protect their employees and customers.\n\nAnd nowhere was the dedication and commitment to others more evident than in our healthcare system.\n\nNurses, doctors, technicians, janitors, pharmacists, EMTs, social workers, and the thousands of direct care workers in our senior living communities: In 2020, you worked some of the longest hours, in the most uncertain conditions. Your actions saved lives. Your spirit inspired us.\n\nAnd you didn’t just provide medical care. Your patients often couldn’t be with their loved ones, so you also provided them comfort and company. You sat with them when no one else could. You held their hand, facilitated calls to family, and in some cases stood by them while they took their last breath. While many of us were shielded from the worst of the pandemic, you were on the front lines everyday.\n\nWe cannot sufficiently express our gratitude, but we will try. Please join me in thanking these heroic Iowans.\n\nIowans are well-accustomed to the extremes of Mother Nature’s temper, but the derecho in August was unlike anything we’ve seen. Hurricane-force winds recorded as high as 140 miles an hour raged across our state. Over one-third of our counties impacted; 584,000 households left without power; thousands of homes damaged. Millions of acres of crops were flattened, and as grain bins crumpled, we lost over 100 million bushels of grain storage. It was a disaster of unprecedented scope.\n\nIn Marshalltown, the derecho left behind three times as much debris as the F3 tornado that ripped through the city’s downtown in 2018. And the scars will be evident for generations to come in places like Cedar Rapids and Marion, where they lost more than half of their tree canopy.\n\nWe praise the dedication of the more than 200 National Guard members who deployed to help remove debris; the local police, fire, public works departments, and emergency managers, who stepped up and served their neighbors tirelessly; and the dedicated staff of state agencies like DHS, DNR and DOT, who pressed ahead where their state needed them.\n\nWe thank the thousands of line workers who came from across the country to supplement the crews from Alliant, MidAmerican, and our other utilities to restore electricity with astonishing speed, often to the applause of Iowans.\n\nI spoke with some of the line workers from out of state, and heard not only that our disaster was as bad as the aftermath of hurricanes whose names have been retired, but also that Iowans showed more hope, more patience, and more gratitude than people from anywhere else.\n\nGood corporate citizenship was put on display not only by our power companies, but by essential suppliers like Hy-Vee and Fareway that donated food, water, and supplies. It was shown by small-business owners like Willie Ray Fairley, whose Willie Ray’s Q Shack gave away hundreds of meals a day to people whose own refrigerators and stoves weren’t working. Willie Ray didn’t just fill hungry stomachs, he fed a sense of community. And that’s what makes a disaster bearable.\n\nWhat happened this year went beyond Iowa nice. You showed a humanity that rivals what most of us have seen in our lifetime.\n\nOur job now is to hold on to that humanity. 2020 left its mark on everyone, but not evenly. There are people across this state who are still hurting. Many lost their job or their business or even their home.\n\nAnd many lost loved ones to this horrible pandemic. For them, and for anyone who lost someone this year, whatever the cause, saying goodbye was even harder than it usually is. You may not have been able to be with them while they were sick, to hold their hand one last time, or to fully celebrate their life at a funeral with all of those they loved.\n\nWhether you’re in the chamber or watching at home, please take a moment, bow your head, and remember all of those we lost this year and the loved ones they leave behind.\n\nThank you.\n\nWhen I stood here last year, our fiscal health was strong. We had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, incomes were going up, and our economy was roaring. Then 2020 happened.\n\nWe took a hit like everyone else, but we didn’t falter long. Because of conservative budgeting practices, Iowa’s diverse economy, the decision to keep over 80% of our businesses open, and the tenacity of our people, Iowa isn’t facing a massive budget shortfall like many states.\n\nAs I stand here tonight, our unemployment rate has returned to 3.6%, one of the lowest in the country, and our GDP grew over 36% in the third quarter of 2020, outpacing the nation. Iowa’s coming back, and we’re coming back strong.\n\nIowa’s success has always been about turning obstacles into opportunities and overcoming adversity together. The post-Covid world won't be the same as the pre-Covid world. And it shouldn’t.\n\nWatch live:Gov. Kim Reynolds calls on Iowa Legislature to ‘immediately’ send in-person education bill to her desk\n\nBe bold to solve the 'challenges facing our economy'\n\nWe’ve learned a lot. Entire sectors of our economy were forced to innovate overnight and adapt to survive. We can approach Iowa’s economic recovery in a number of ways. We can return to where we were, which is a realistic but still ambitious goal. Or we can take what we’ve learned and the innovation that’s been applied over the past ten months and capitalize on the opportunity to reimagine, modernize, and possibly restructure everything from healthcare and education, to our workforce and quality of life.\n\nIt’s about ensuring our future prosperity is widespread and reaches all people and all parts of Iowa, including those that too often feel left out when times are good.\n\nThat’s why I formed the Economic Recovery Advisory Board this summer. Chaired by Ruan Transportation CEO Ben McLean, the 15-member board and 350 working group members volunteered their time and talents to meet my charge to be bold, innovative and direct about the challenges facing our economy. I want to thank them for their diligent work to make sure that we support every part of Iowa and every Iowan.\n\nThe report will be released soon, but there are a few big issues that we can begin to address tonight.\n\nThe need for universal broadband is one of them. As we’ve seen during the pandemic, high-speed internet is as vital to our communities as running water and electricity; if they don’t have it, they can’t grow.\n\nEvery year I’ve been governor, I’ve focused on expanding broadband to every Iowa community, and we’re making progress. But not enough.\n\nAbout a third of our counties are still broadband deserts, where high-speed internet is rarely offered. And for many Iowans, it’s just not affordable. Iowa also has the second lowest broadband speeds in the country.\n\nI’m done taking small steps and hoping for big change. This is the time for bold action and leadership. Let’s plant a stake in the ground and declare that every part of Iowa will have affordable, high-speed broadband by 2025.\n\nWe’ll get there by committing $450 million over that time period, which will leverage millions more in private investment, giving Iowa the biggest buildout of high-speed internet in the country.\n\nIowa has more households with all parents working than any other state, yet we’ve lost one-third of our childcare spots over the last five years. When schools abruptly closed last spring, a system already under stress was pushed even harder.\n\nSome families were able to adapt by working from home. Others leaned on grandparents, aunts and uncles, and family friends for support. In Pottawattamie County, a group of daycare providers and other partners teamed up to provide free daycare for essential workers.\n\nBut many parents weren’t so lucky and struggled to find ways to care for their children and still show up for work—often in roles that are essential to all of us. Even when the coronavirus is a distant memory, Iowa will still need an abundance of high-quality child care so that families can prosper and children can grow.\n\nMany of our communities and businesses are working together to address this issue. In Stuart, seventeen local businesses joined together to purchase an empty building, with plans to renovate and lease it to a childcare provider.\n\nIt’s in our state’s interests to encourage these types of public-private partnerships, which is why we created the Child Care Challenge Fund last year. It’s an innovative program that encourages employers, community leaders, and others to collaborate in developing child care facilities.\n\nThis year, we need to fund that program, so I’m allocating $3 million to jump-start these public-private partnerships. I’m also using $25 million of child care development block grants to further promote child care startups. Every community has different needs and different resources. Just as the leaders in Stuart found a solution that fits their hometown, we want to facilitate local solutions in other places, too.\n\nLet’s remove the obstacles to high-quality, affordable child care so that Iowa families can nurture their kids while parents maintain the maximum freedom to enter and remain in the workforce.\n\nAs our economy comes back, we’re facing a familiar problem: more job openings than there are people who have skills to fill them. That’s why we need to continue the work we started with Future Ready Iowa, a program that is designed to increase the number of Iowans with education or training beyond high school.\n\nEducation or training. That’s worth repeating. We have exceptional universities, colleges, and community colleges in this state. But not all skills are learned in a classroom. On-the-job training and reskilling are some of the most valuable ways to advance our workforce and increase Iowan’s wages. We need to continue to find ways to recognize this type of experience.\n\nWe took a big step in June by passing a significant licensing reform package. It didn’t get a lot of attention at the time, but at the beginning of this session we should stop to recognize how important it was: Iowa now has the most flexible licensing reciprocity and recognition laws in the nation, which sends a signal to the country that Iowa is open for business.\n\nAnd we’re not done. This year, we’ll begin the task of reviewing each of our licensing boards and commissions to make sure they are serving their purpose.\n\nWe must also continue the great strides we’ve made by integrating work-based learning into the K-12 curriculum. We know that many kids think of education differently when it involves real-life experience. They see why education matters and it can be key in helping them choose and prepare for a career that fits them.\n\nMany schools across the state are offering these work-based learning experiences. Let’s make sure that every high-school student gets that same chance. I’m calling on the legislature to make that an expectation of all our schools.\n\nWhen Iowa families come together after work and school, they need a place to call home. Unfortunately, we have a growing mismatch between where job opportunities are thriving and where people can find affordable places to live.\n\nSome communities have rallied to buck this trend. Forest City hadn’t seen a new affordable apartment complex in more than 25 years, so community leaders raised $4 million in financing by leveraging local and state resources. And a new apartment complex was built in 2017.\n\nIn Davenport, leaders used the same public-private partnership to convert an old, vacant school building into 41 affordable apartments, which were rented within two months. This project brought new housing to the historic riverfront and served as a catalyst for redevelopment.\n\nForest City and Davenport exemplify the spirit of Iowa communities. But the reality is, there aren’t enough resources to go around. Last year alone, Iowa communities requested more than three times what was available.\n\nWe must expand initiatives like these that address pent-up demand for affordable housing, helping our communities thrive and our families move where opportunities await them.\n\nThere’s a lot to do this year, but if we tackle issues like broadband, childcare, workforce training, and affordable housing, we’ll set Iowa on a solid path for economic prosperity for years to come.\n\nAnd remember, that unlike many states we’re starting from a good financial position. We aren’t looking at tough budget cuts and we’re certainly not looking at raising taxes. If anything, we need to continue the conversation about cutting taxes, and we can start by getting rid of the unnecessary triggers that were put in place in 2018. Let’s make Iowa more competitive and guarantee our taxpayers that they can keep more of their hard earned money.\n\nKids should be in schools; 'School choice shouldn’t be limited'\n\nA high-quality education system is the foundation of our state. Historically, we’ve had some of the best schools in the nation. And I believe we still do. What many of our teachers and administrators did this last year was nothing short of amazing.\n\nIn Clear Creek Amana, Barb Hunt’s special-education students were struggling with virtual learning, so she worked with transportation director Denny Schreckengast to convert a camper into a classroom. Since the kids couldn’t come to the classroom, they brought the classroom to them.\n\nIn Hinton, when the school went to a hybrid model for a few weeks, teachers spent hours holding individual Zoom calls with students, sometimes going into the evening, to make sure they weren’t falling behind.\n\nAt West Sioux, teachers personally went to the homes of Spanish-speaking families who needed help setting up internet service.\n\nIn Clarinda, the district was short on bus drivers so Josh Porter, a school administrator with a CDL, jumped behind the wheel to make sure his kids could be in the classroom.\n\nAnd in Cedar Rapids, Noreen Bush, Superintendent of the second largest school district in the state, and her team, made heroic efforts to get her kids back into the classroom just weeks after many of their schools were ripped apart by the derecho, and she did it while receiving chemotherapy.\n\nThere are stories like this from all across the state. Teachers and administrators put their students first in uncertain and difficult times, especially as they implemented plans to safely and responsibly reopen schools.\n\nBut that hasn’t been the case everywhere. Over the last few months, I’ve heard the frustration from many parents, students and teachers who didn’t have the opportunity to go back to school. Let me give you just a sample of those frustrations.\n\nI talked to a passionate teacher whose student hasn’t logged in for class in nine weeks, and there is nothing she can do about it.\n\nI visited with the parent of a child with special needs who is devastated by seeing her daughter’s education and social progress fade because a computer screen isn’t a substitute.\n\nI spoke to a middle-school student who has to watch her younger siblings during the day and complete her own school work at night.\n\nAnd I heard from numerous parents whose kids’ school day consisted of just 60 to 90 minutes of online instruction per day, at most.\n\nNicole, a mother of three elementary students who, since March, have spent less than a week in the classroom, told me she’s struggling to facilitate her children’s online learning while keeping up with her job. She said she feels like she’s failing as a parent, a spouse, and an employee.\n\nThese stories are heartbreaking. And let me assure you Nicole, it’s not you who’s failing.\n\nThe vast majority of our schools found a way to safely and responsibly reopen, all day, Monday through Friday. It’s past time that every district makes that happen. As one parent told me: “Options are good. But if some parents get the option to go 100% online, why don’t my kids get the option to be 100% in the classroom?”\n\nI agree, so tonight I am asking the legislature to immediately send a bill to my desk that gives parents the choice to send their child back to school full time. We can’t wait any longer. Our kids can’t wait any longer.\n\nIf there’s one thing the pandemic has taught us about education, it’s that our parents need choice. And it’s not just in-person versus virtual. Sometimes it’s about which school to attend altogether.\n\nWhen some schools remained closed or went part-time this fall, a lot of parents sent their kids to private school or open enrolled. But not everyone had that option. Many parents can’t afford private school. And because some of our larger districts prohibit open enrollment, they won’t let you transfer to another public school.\n\nOne parent I talked to said that a school administrator actually recommended that she buy a house in the neighboring district if she wanted her son to go to school in-person.\n\nWe need to fix that. School choice shouldn’t be limited to those who have the financial means or are lucky to live in a district that’s confident enough to allow open enrollment. So let’s make choice an option for everyone.\n\nWe can do that by making open enrollment available in all districts and by allowing our communities more flexibility to create public charter schools where there is a need for an alternative. And we should create education savings accounts for students who are trapped in a failing school; let’s give them another choice by making sure money isn’t their barrier.\n\nMake no mistake, it’s imperative that we have a strong public school system—which is why we have and will continue to prioritize school funding while many other states are cutting their education budgets. But school choice isn’t a zero sum game. It has the potential to raise the quality for all schools. And for those schools that do fall behind, it ensures our children don’t fall with them. Let’s work together to make sure every child receives a quality education, regardless of income, and no matter their zip code.\n\nReynolds: Protect law enforcement, march toward racial justice.\n\nIn 2020, we saw an overwhelming call for racial justice in Iowa and across the nation.\n\nWe heard that call and, with a bipartisan effort, passed the More Perfect Union Act to improve police work in Iowa. I’m proud of that legislation, and we’re continuing to make criminal justice reform a priority.\n\nI’m also very proud of our law enforcement. They put their lives on the line every day—something we should never forget. And if we needed a reminder, last year’s civil unrest and last week’s attack on the Capitol provided it. Violence and anarchy is not acceptable. Period.\n\nOur prayers are with the families of the Capitol Police Officers, who sacrificed their lives to defend the beacon of our democracy and the people in it. And our prayers are with every other officer who defends us against those who are intent on violence.\n\nThis summer, when protests gave way to rioting and looting in the Quad Cities, three Davenport police officers were ambushed. Thirty-two rounds of gunfire were pumped into the truck that Sgt. Lansing, Lt. Behning, and Detective Sievert were in.\n\nThe truck windows were shattered, Sgt. Lansing was shot in the leg, and multiple bullets struck his headrest. The truck took so much fire that it could barely accelerate, but Sgt. Lansing navigated it to safety.\n\nIn her Quad-City Times column, Barb Ickes eloquently wrote that this nightmare scene is “precisely what police train for,” but that “the resulting courage cannot be taught.” “Their escape is astonishing,” she said. “Most of us can’t even imagine it.”\n\nI couldn’t agree more; please join me in thanking these brave officers, who are with us tonight.\n\nWe should never take this bravery for granted, but in cities like Minneapolis, Portland, and New York, they have. They’ve embraced the attacks on law enforcement, and now their violent crime rates are rising for the first time in a generation.\n\nThat’s not going to happen in Iowa; not on my watch. We should never be afraid to talk about ways to improve policing, but there will be no talk of defunding the police here. Our men and women in blue will always have my respect, and I will always have their back.\n\nTo that end, I’ll be introducing a bill that protects law enforcement and continues our march toward racial justice.\n\nThe bill will make clear that if you riot or attack our men and women in uniform, you will be punished. We won’t stand for it.\n\nThe bill will also ban racial profiling and other forms of disparate treatment. Because no actions should ever be taken based upon the color of someone’s skin. As Martin Luther King Jr. recognized, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”\n\nLet’s come together again, like we did last year, to support our law enforcement and racial justice. Let’s make Iowa a safer place for everyone.\n\nWhen Iowans come together, we do big things. We’ve grown our economy, protected life and our second amendment, lowered the tax burden on Iowans, supported our farmers and producers by increasing demand for biofuels, protected our environment by promoting renewable energy, and so much more.\n\nLike this past year, when we watched healthcare in Iowa transform from a collection of competing hospitals and clinics to a single statewide healthcare system committed to collaborating for the sake of all Iowans.\n\nAs we move forward, let’s build on this collaborative and innovative spirit. In my budget, I’m proposing $1 million to encourage hospitals and clinics to start what’s called a Center of Excellence. It’s a program that aligns rural physicians with specialists, creating regional hubs that provide highly-skilled care closer to where patients and their primary-care providers live.\n\nWhether you’re dealing with the trauma of an accident or the joy of childbirth, it’s not just the quality of the team that matters—it’s the proximity. I want a better system of care for all Iowans, regardless of where they live.\n\nI also want to be sure that when Iowans call 911 for an emergency, there’s a quick response. I know members in this chamber are already working on a bill to improve rural EMS services; I look forward to working with you this session.\n\nWe must also continue our focus on mental health. While the virus threatened our physical wellbeing, the realities of last year placed unimaginable stress on so many Iowans. Seniors were isolated from friends and loved ones; kids were kept out of the classroom and away from the stability it provides; and thousands of Iowans had their livelihoods turned upside down.\n\nIn the last three years, we have reformed our mental health system and we’re continuing to make it better. I’m proposing to increase mental health funding by $15 million this year, and another $15 million next year, to fully fund those reform efforts. And I know that our mental health regions are working on innovative solutions to address the unique needs of children who have been affected by the pandemic.\n\nAnd because of the legislation we passed last year, which allows schools to host behavioral health sessions by using telehealth services, kids no longer have to leave school for hours to receive quality treatment.\n\nThat’s a lesson many of us learned over the last ten months: telehealth is a powerful tool that we should continue to encourage and expand. And it’s not just for mental health. Thousands of Iowans experienced it first-hand this year, receiving treatment and check-ups from their own home.\n\nIn 2020, we asked so much of our healthcare providers. And they’ve met those expectations at every step of the way. Many of our hospitals were at the forefront of developing treatments for Covid-19, and the University of Iowa has been key in the development of vaccines.\n\nThe availability of vaccines marks the most significant turning point since the pandemic began. And I’m proud to say that Iowa is one of the states leading the nation in administering the vaccine.\n\nTo date, nearly 100,000 Iowans, including our healthcare workers, have received their first dose, and several thousand have now received their second. By the end of the week, everyone at the Iowa Veterans Home, our largest nursing facility in the state, will be vaccinated. And by January 25, all 90,000 nursing-home residents and staff will have received the vaccine, ensuring that Iowans most at risk are among the first to have this protection.\n\nI know we are all eager to be vaccinated and turn the corner, and wider distribution to more Iowans is imminent.\n\nBut as we begin to put 2020 behind us, I have two requests for my fellow Iowans.\n\nFirst, let’s not forget those neighbors who are still hurting. Reach out. Keep volunteering; continue to stock food banks. Continue to show the country that it doesn’t take a pandemic or a derecho to lend a helping hand.\n\nSecond, let’s not return to normal. Let’s be better. Let’s think bigger. Be bolder.\n\nIf anything, this year has shown us what we can accomplish, and how fast we can do it. Hold onto that spirit. To that ingenuity and collaboration. To the feeling that we’re working for the greater good, and not ourselves.\n\nIf we can do that—if we can work with and for each other—then we will do great things.\n\nI believe in this State, because I believe in you. I’ve seen what you’ve done; I’ve watched, sometimes with tears of pride in my eyes. And that’s how I know that the condition of our State is strong. Because you are strong—stronger than you ever imagined.\n\nThank you, God bless you, and God bless the great state of Iowa.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/01/12"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2022/05/17/tidal-basin-flooding-rally-raccoon-garden-razed-news-around-states/50241761/", "title": "Tidal Basin flooding, 'rally raccoon': News from around our 50 states", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nMobile: A man convicted of murder more than a decade ago was captured Monday a day after escaping from a minimum-security corrections center near Mobile, prison officials said. Jeffery Strugg, 31, was discovered missing from community-based facility in Prichard on Sunday, according to a notice from the Alabama Department of Corrections. The agency didn’t release any information about how Strugg got out. He surrendered without any violence in Mobile County, corrections officials said. Strugg was 18 when he was sentenced to 29 years in prison after being convicted in the 2007 killing of Dewone Smiley, 15, in Selma, court records show. Strugg was accused of entering an apartment and shooting Smiley, a student at Selma High School, to death in front of two witnesses. Strugg is eligible for parole consideration Dec. 1, prison records show.\n\nAlaska\n\nJuneau: The state House on Saturday voted against accepting a spending package passed by the Senate that included payments of about $5,500 to residents. The vote to concur with the Senate package failed, with 18 members in favor of accepting the Senate plan and 22 against. The vote sets the stage for a conference committee, with the regular legislative session set to end by Wednesday. In a conference committee, House and Senate negotiators are tasked with hashing out differences between the state budgets that passed each chamber. The House, in its version of the budget, included a dividend of about $1,250 plus a $1,300 “energy relief” check. The Senate plan called for a dividend of about $4,200 from Alaska’s oil wealth fund, an amount in line with a long-standing formula last used in 2015. The Senate plan also included a $1,300 energy check. Some lawmakers have argued the state is benefitting from high oil prices and can afford to help Alaskans who are struggling. But critics of the higher payments to residents say oil prices are volatile, and the oil price in the state revenue forecast can’t be assured.\n\nArizona\n\nTucson: A federal appeals court has upheld a judge’s ruling overturning a federal agency’s approval of Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals Inc.’s plan for a new open-pit copper mine in southeastern Arizona. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that the U.S. Forest Service’s approval of a permit for the Rosemont Mine project in a valley on the eastern flank of the Santa Rita Mountains near Tucson went beyond what is allowed under a federal mining law. The appellate court cited the planned use of Coronado National Forest land for long-term storage of waste rock, not actual mining, and the lack of valuable minerals on that property. Hudbay Minerals officials said in a statement Thursday that they were reviewing the ruling and would continue to pursue alternative plans for mining part of the Rosemont copper deposit on nearby private lands. A coalition of environmental and tribal groups challenging the mining hailed the appellate court’s decision, the latest in a series of legal obstacles to the project. “This momentous decision makes it clear that Hudbay’s plan to destroy the beautiful Rosemont Valley is not only a terrible idea, it’s illegal,” said Allison Melton, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. Hudbay has another mine project in the works on the western flank of the Santa Ritas.\n\nArkansas\n\nFayetteville: A raccoon ran loose in the stands during Arkansas baseball’s Friday matchup with Vanderbilt, but a fan came to the rescue. Fayetteville native Grant Harmon grabbed the raccoon with his bare hands and held it up to cheers from the crowd at Baum-Walker Stadium as members of the Commodores’ bullpen looked on from left field. The incident was dubbed by fans on social media as the “rally raccoon,” as the Hogs came back to tie the game after being down 5-0 and then 6-5. Despite that, the rallies ultimately fell short as Vanderbilt won 9-6 in 10 innings. After grabbing the raccoon, Harmon continued to carry it out of the stadium. “The opportunity just came about, and I guess I just took action and grabbed it,” he said. “That was a first. I have no prior experience grabbing raccoons.”\n\nCalifornia\n\nModesto: The state will acquire a sprawling former farm property in the San Joaquin Valley and create a new state park for the first time in 13 years. Dos Rios Ranch, where the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers meet southwest of Modesto, will become California’s 280th state park and the first new one since Fort Ord Dunes near Monterey in 2009, the Modesto Bee reports. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday earmarked $5 million for the new park as part of his revised budget proposal for the fiscal year starting July 1. The nearly 4-square-mile expanse featuring willows and valley oaks will be donated by River Partners, a conservation group that’s spent the past decade restoring the site. State Parks Director Armando Quintero said Friday that the property will serve “a park-poor region” – the San Joaquin Valley – and help address inequities in access to state recreation sites. “Everyone deserves to have close access to vibrant parks, and this opportunity is an exciting one,” Quintero said. Dos Rios could get trails, picnic areas, restrooms and other basics within five years, state parks officials said. Campgrounds could follow within another five years, the Bee reports.\n\nColorado\n\nColorado Springs: The city is enacting a fire ban after a series of blazes have spread quickly in hot and dry conditions, including a fatal one caused by smoking. Under the ban taking effect Monday, smoking and grilling will be banned in parks in Colorado’s second-largest city. People grilling at home will only be able to use gas or liquid fuel, not charcoal or wood, and chain saws must have spark arresters. Welding or torching work may still be allowed but only with a permit, the Colorado Springs Fire Department said. A woman died in a fire Thursday at a mobile home park that was blamed on “the improper disposal of smoking materials,” city spokesperson Natashia Kerr said. Eight homes were destroyed. Under the ban, smoking materials must be disposed of in a non-combustible container with a lid. Meanwhile, a wildfire in the foothills southwest of the city that also started Thursday has burned 2.4 square miles. The fire near the former mining town of Cripple Creek was 27% contained Monday.\n\nConnecticut\n\nBridgeport: A former assistant police chief’s lawsuit claiming he was defrauded out of the police chief’s job can go forward, a state appeals court has ruled. James Nardozzi’s lawsuit stemmed from the hiring scandal that landed the city’s police chief and personnel director in prison last year. Nardozzi claimed former Chief Armando Perez and former personnel director David Dunn conspired with Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim to fix the selection process so Perez would be selected as chief, the Connecticut Post reports. Prosecutors said Perez, 65, received confidential information about the police chief’s examination that was stolen by Dunn, including the questions for an oral examination and the scoring guide for written essays. Perez, who was the acting chief at the time, also admitted that he had two officers complete his essays, passed the work off as his own and lied to federal authorities in an effort to cover up his actions. Last April, Perez was sentenced to a year in prison, and Dunn received a four-month term. Both have since been released, according to the Courant. The appeals court ruled Friday that Nardozzi’s suit can proceed even though the city had paid him to settle a previous lawsuit after he was fired by Ganim in 2016. The case could go to trial later this year.\n\nDelaware\n\nDover: State lawmakers have introduced bipartisan legislation that would put state law enforcement officials in charge of background checks for gun purchases. A bill filed Friday would resurrect Delaware’s Firearm Transaction Approval Program, which was eliminated more than a decade ago when lawmakers voted to rely on the federal government’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. That vote came amid concerns then that Delaware’s background check system was not providing the federal NICS with information about mentally ill individuals prohibited from buying or possessing firearms. The bill authorized state agencies to provide such information to NICS, created a federally mandated program allowing individuals previously deemed mentally ill to reestablish eligibility for gun ownership, and abolished the state’s existing background check system. Lawmakers now want to return responsibility for firearm transactions background checks in Delaware to the State Bureau of Identification. The SBI would be the point of contact between gun dealers and the federal databases checked by the FBI. The SBI would thus become responsible for determining whether a person is prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm and would be able to search other databases other than NICS in making that determination.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: In 100 years, if nothing is done, the historic Tidal Basin may be underwater, WUSA-TV reports. In 500, the Jefferson Memorial will be accessible only by boat. A combination of rising waters and a sinking human-made Tidal Basin puts the entire area – cherry blossoms, memorials, walking paths – at risk. But it’s not inevitable. The Trust for the National Mall and the National Trust for Historic Preservation have teamed up to create the Tidal Basin Ideas Lab, an initiative to plan out what the reservoir could become in the next century. It was once just a part of the Potomac River, but after the great flood of 1881, city planners got to work dredging up the river and Washington Channel to build the Tidal Basin. Teresa Durkin, executive vice president for the Trust for the National Mall, said the gates that engineers installed to control the water flow are no longer doing their job. “The gates have actually silted shut. So the water keeps coming through, but with it, it’s bringing all this silt and debris. So over time, it literally cannot open and close anymore. It doesn’t function as it was designed to,” Durkin said. “A lot of that sediment, because it’s not flushing out of the out gates, is also settling in the Tidal Basin itself. So it has likely raised the water.”\n\nFlorida\n\nVero Beach: A food truck exploded during a seafood festival Saturday, sending one person to the hospital with severe burns, according to authorities. The Vero Beach police said state and local fire officials are investigating the cause of the explosion. The department posted photos of the scene on Facebook that showed the sides and roof of the truck blown off the vehicle. One person was flown to a hospital burn unit in Orlando. There were no other injuries, and the festival continued as authorities secured the scene of the explosion, police said.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: A group of voters who challenged U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s eligibility to run for reelection said Monday that they have filed an appeal of the Georgia secretary of state’s decision that she can appear on the ballot. The five voters from Greene’s district in March filed a complaint with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger alleging that the Republican congresswoman played a significant role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory. They argued that puts her in violation of a seldom-invoked part of the 14th Amendment having to do with insurrection and makes her ineligible to run for reelection. Georgia Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot last month held a daylong hearing that included arguments from lawyers for the voters and for Greene, as well as extensive questioning of Greene herself. He then sent his decision to Raffensperger on May 6. Beaudrot found that the voters hadn’t produced sufficient evidence to back their claims. Raffensperger affirmed that decision, writing that whether Greene’s political statements and actions disqualify her from office “is rightfully a question for the voters of Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.” Under state law, the voters are allowed to appeal that decision in Fulton County Superior Court.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: Hawaiian Airlines is exploring electric aircraft technology with an eye toward using the vehicles for interisland travel, Hawaii News Now reports. A Boston-based company called REGENT is designing “seagliders” that would each carry up to 100 people. Hawaiian hasn’t committed to purchasing any of the aircraft but is exploring the possibility. A news release from REGENT said Hawaiian agreed to strategically invest to support the initial design of the company’s next-generation seaglider. Hawaiian is the first airline to partner with the company, which hopes to have its Monarch seagliders in the air by 2028. “We look forward to working with REGENT to explore the technology and infrastructure needed to fulfill our vision for convenient, comfortable and environmentally sustainable interisland transportation,” said Avi Mannis, chief marketing and communications officer at Hawaiian Airlines. REGENT’s seagliders fly through the air close to the water’s surface. The company said the aircraft will service routes up to 180 miles with existing battery technology and routes up to 500 miles with next-generation batteries. The company said the seagliders will move at the speed of an airplane but have the operating cost of boats and will use existing dock infrastructure.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: State officials have agreed to a $119 million settlement with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and three major distributors over their role in the opioid addiction crisis. Republican Gov. Brad Little and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said in an announcement Friday that it’s the second-largest consumer settlement in state history, trailing only the 1998 national tobacco settlement. An Ada County judge on Wednesday approved the settlement that includes all 44 Idaho counties, 24 cities and the state’s seven health districts. The money will address damage wrought by opioids, which the federal government declared a public health emergency in 2017. Johnson & Johnson and the three distributors agreed to a national $26 billion settlement in February. “Idaho has made significant strides in recent years in combatting the opioid crisis, and the culmination of our legal action against opioid manufacturers – led by Attorney General Wasden and his team – now offers additional resources,” Little said in a statement. Wasden is continuing legal action against other opioid makers as well as the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma. “This settlement holds some of those most responsible for the opioid crisis accountable and provides significant funding for treatment, recovery and prevention in Idaho,” he said.\n\nIllinois\n\nChicago: Mayor Lori Lightfoot tightened a citywide curfew for young people Monday, a day after she restricted access by unaccompanied minors to downtown’s Millennium Park following the weekend shooting death of a 16-year-old boy near “The Bean” sculpture at the park. The citywide weekend curfew for minors now will begin each night at 10 p.m., instead of the 11 p.m. curfew in place since the 1990s, Lightfoot said. At Millennium Park, which is a popular stop for tourists and Chicago residents, minors will not be allowed in the park after 6 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays without an adult. “We need to make sure they are safe and importantly that our young people understand and respect basic community norms, respect for themselves, respect for each other, and we must ensure that every one of our residents and visitors – no matter who they are or where they come from or how old they are – are able to safely enjoy our public spaces,” the mayor said at a news conference. Lightfoot said she hoped and expected that people would abide by the restrictions and that it would not lead to widespread arrests. She said officials “don’t want to arrest children,” but those who break the law will be.\n\nIndiana\n\nNoblesville: A tiny community garden that provided 1,500 pounds of free food over five years to people in need was bulldozed by city crews after a nuisance call about overgrown grass. City officials said the lease with the nonprofit that managed the garden expired more than a year ago, and there was no sign that the land had been maintained since. The overgrown six parcels next to Southside Park posed a safety risk, officials said. Garden caretakers said they were in talks with the city about entering a new contract and weren’t given a warning the plot would be flattened and its furniture removed. Hidden underneath the pollinators and overgrowth were viable shrubs and plants, said Renee Rule, coordinator of the garden since its founding. The plot is messy when it’s not growing season but was a little more scraggly this year because bad weather had delayed volunteers who were to prepare it for planting, Rule said. “I wish they would have given us a call, and we could have saved some of the plants,” Rule said. The garden has provided free tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, onions and lettuces to neighborhood families and served as an instructional farm for college students and Girl Scouts alike. Families rented plots so they could grow vegetables to eat. Schoolchildren were given pumpkins in the fall. A beekeeper gave demonstrations at a beehive.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: School districts across the state are up against a federal deadline that will end a pandemic-era free meals program for students next month. While many school officials are waiting to see if federal or state lawmakers will extend the program, at least one district, Des Moines Public Schools, is working to continue offering most of its students free meals next school year. Students have faced repeated upheavals since March 2020, when schools across the country closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to help districts feed students during the health crisis – whether they were at school or home – the U.S. Department of Agriculture temporarily relaxed rules that tied who received free lunch to family income and neighborhood poverty levels. As the June 30 deadline draws near, school district officials and school nutrition advocates are asking state and federal lawmakers to intervene by either extending the relaxed rules or offering free meals to all students permanently. If no legislation is passed, students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals will still receive those services. Educators and advocates stress that studies show students do better academically when they are not hungry. School meals reduce both hunger and anxiety about it.\n\nKansas\n\nTopeka: A federal judge is blocking a public school’s policy preventing teachers from outing transgender students to their parents after a teacher raised religious objections. Fort Riley Middle School math teacher Pamela Ricard sued USD 475 Geary County Schools over LGBTQ anti-discrimination policies that conflicted with her Christian beliefs. District Judge Holly Teeter issued a preliminary injunction Monday blocking the school from disciplining Ricard if she reveals preferred names and pronouns of her transgender students when communicating with their parents. “The Court relies on Plaintiff’s statements that she does not intend to communicate with a parent for the sole purpose of disclosing a student’s preferred name and pronouns,” Teeter wrote. Ricard has two transgender students in her class, the judge wrote, neither of whom has authorized the district to disclose a preferred name and pronouns to parents. While Ricard uses their preferred names in class and avoids pronouns, she has emailed parents using a student’s legal name and biological pronouns. “Plaintiff believes that addressing students one way at school and a different way when speaking to their parents is dishonest,” the opinion said. “Being dishonest violates her sincere religious beliefs.” Teeter was appointed by then-President Donald Trump.\n\nKentucky\n\nRichmond: A judge entered a not guilty plea Monday for a man accused of fatally shooting the daughter of a former state lawmaker during a home invasion. Shannon Gilday, 23, appeared in Madison Circuit Court for a continued arraignment on charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, burglary and criminal mischief, news outlets report. His attorney tried to enter a plea of guilty but mentally ill on his behalf last week, but the prosecution argued against it, and the judge continued the hearing. Meanwhile, prosecutors filed a notice of aggravating circumstances seeking enhanced penalties upon a conviction, which stopped defense attorney Tom Griffiths from trying to enter a plea of guilty but mentally ill, news outlets report. Gilday allegedly broke into a multimillion-dollar Madison County home owned by former lawmaker C. Wesley Morgan and shot Jordan Morgan while she was asleep, according to court records and statements from Morgan. Gilday also exchanged shots with Morgan during the Feb. 22 break-in. State police investigators said Gilday told them he was determined to get access to a bunker in the home. He was arrested in Madison County about a week after the shooting.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: Child drownings are on the rise in Louisiana, according to the state Department of Health, which says inability to swim, lack of supervision, and unfenced pools, spas and water bodies are top causes of drownings among babies and children under 15 years old. “As temperatures heat up and families return to water activities, it is important for parents and families to stay aware of the precautions they can take to prevent child drownings,” the department said in a news release. The agency said the number of drownings among children had fallen steadily for years, from 26 in 2015 and 2016 to 15 in 2019. But the total rose 60% in 2020, to 24. And preliminary data indicates that last year’s total was 25, it said. The department’s most recent Louisiana Child Death Review Report, covering 2017 through 2019, found that an average of 17 children drowned each year. That made drowning the No. 3 cause of injury-related death in children up through age 14, behind vehicle crashes and homicide. It found that 96% of them could not swim, 72% were unsupervised, and 54% died in water that hadn’t been fenced off. It found that 60% drowned in a pool, hot tub or spa. Looking at all drownings including adults, Louisiana had the nation’s third-highest rate, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nMaine\n\nPortland: A proposed order from the state’s Board of Environmental Protection would let stand a permit issued for a $1 billion electric transmission corridor to serve as a conduit for Canadian hydropower. The draft order was written by environmental agency staff ahead of a hearing this week that was postponed because of COVID-19 illnesses. The board was supposed to meet Tuesday to decide whether to hold a public hearing or to begin deliberations the following day. The permit was suspended by Maine Environmental Commissioner Melanie Loyzim after voters rebuked the project in a statewide referendum. Because the permit was not permanently revoked, the Board of Environmental Protection was required to issue a final decision on consolidated appeals. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court, meanwhile, is weighing a lawsuit aimed at overturning the referendum on constitutional grounds, as well questions about the legality of a state lease for a small portion of land. Funded by Massachusetts ratepayers, the New England Clean Energy Connect would supply up to 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower – enough electricity for 1 million homes – to the regional power grid. Supporters say bold projects are necessary to battle climate change. Critics say the benefits are overstated, and it would destroy woodlands.\n\nMaryland\n\nAnnapolis: U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen says he has suffered a minor stroke and is being treated at George Washington University Hospital. The Maryland Democrat said he has been told there are no long-term effects or damage. In a statement Sunday night, Van Hollen said he has been advised by doctors to remain under observation at the Washington, D.C., hospital for a few days out of an abundance of caution. Van Hollen, 63, was elected to the Senate in 2016 after serving seven terms in the U.S. House. The senator said he experienced lightheadedness and acute neck pain while delivering a speech in western Maryland. On the advice of a physician, he sought medical attention upon his return home. An angiogram indicated a minor stroke in the form of a small venous tear at the back of his head, Van Hollen said. “I look forward to returning to work in the Senate later this week and thank the medical team for their excellent care,” he said.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: Chelsea Millsap, 32, who can trace her ancestry to the Pilgrims, is the first woman named sexton in the nearly 300-year history of Boston’s Old North Church. The critical job involves caring for and maintaining the parish buildings and equipment, including an 18th-century clock, the 75-piece chandeliers and the crypt where more than 1,100 people have been laid to rest. One of her first tasks will be managing a major renovation and restoration of the crypt. The church, still home to an active Episcopal congregation, is famous as the place where in 1775, two lanterns in the steeple signaled British soldiers were heading to Concord and Lexington, sending Paul Revere on the ride that sparked the American Revolution. One of the people who hung the lanterns was Robert Newman, the sexton at that time. “What an incredible opportunity to be able to sit in the very same pew as Robert Newman and in a world that is so divided to work in a place that welcomes all people from Bostonians to world dignitaries, like the Queen,” Millsap, a Detroit native and former firefighter with experience in fire prevention, security technology and project management, said in a statement. “I could have been the one to hang the lanterns 247 years ago. It is such an honor to show women that they too can hold these sorts of jobs.” Millsap is a descendant of teenage Mayflower passenger Mary Chilton, buried at nearby King’s Chapel.\n\nMichigan\n\nDetroit: A man walking on a footbridge to a Detroit Tigers game said he fell 15 feet to the ground when part of the concrete collapsed. Ely Hydes said the incident occurred May 9, but the bridge still was open until the Detroit News reached out to the state Transportation Department on Sunday. The Spruce Street pedestrian bridge is above M-10, also known as the Lodge Freeway. Hydes said he was walking to Comerica Park with a friend when “the bridge just collapsed under my feet.” “I remember thinking, ‘I hope I’m not over the freeway.’ I landed about 6 feet from the traffic. … After I hit the ground, I got the wind knocked out of me pretty good,” Hydes, 36, told the newspaper. He informed police, then resumed his walk to the Tigers game, a 2-0 loss to Oakland. Hydes went to a hospital a few days later. “I’m a giant walking bruise right now,” he said. The Transportation Department said it wasn’t aware of the hole in the bridge until notified by the newspaper. “The Spruce pedestrian bridge was built in 1953, and based on its age and condition, it is on a yearly detailed bridge inspection that is due this month,” spokeswoman Diane Cross said.\n\nMinnesota\n\nLutsen: Communities in northeastern Minnesota are preparing to deal with more flooding and are calling for volunteers to help with sandbagging. Near Voyageurs National Park, most docks are underwater at area lakes, and some 200 homes and resorts are at risk. Kabetogama Township Supervisor John Stegmeir said his area is bracing for a record-breaking flood. Stegmeir said more volunteers are needed, especially since the average age of volunteers sandbagging right now is 65. The volunteers, along with some staff from Voyageurs National Park, have been working since last Tuesday, Minnesota Public Radio News reports. “I think we’ve filled 8,000 bags this week, which isn’t big when you talk about the flooding on the Red River – they’re talking millions of bags – No. 1, we couldn’t do that, and the people who have been coming out to bag are older, you know,” he said. Volunteers are asked to check in at the town hall and to bring a shovel if possible. A flood warning is in effect for many communities in the Rainy River Basin of far northern Minnesota. In Cook County, the owner of Lutsen Resort on Lake Superior is hoping the iconic bridges on the property can be saved. Recent high water levels sent debris rushing down the Poplar River, damaging the bridges.\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: The state has revised its landlord-tenant law to give renters time to gather their belongings from a home before being forced to leave, after a federal judge ruled that the previous law was unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills wrote in his Nov. 30 order that the old law was “unpredictable and absurd,” saying it went further than eviction laws in any other state. He wrote that it violated an occupant’s right to due process. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the new law April 21, and it took effect immediately. It passed with broad bipartisan support. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the new law gives a tenant seven days to gather belongings and vacate a home after an eviction notice. An exception is made for emergencies. If the occupant does not leave during the initial order, a judge could issue a separate one authorizing law enforcement to remove a tenant. That would give the person another 72 hours to gather their belongings. The previous law allowed landlords to immediately seize and dispose of a delinquent occupant’s personal property. The impetus for his order was a lawsuit by Samantha Conner, a Columbus woman who sued her landlord after he took nearly everything she owned when she was evicted in 2019.\n\nMissouri\n\nSpringfield: The state has retained a dubious distinction for the 10th time, topping the Humane Society’s list of the worst puppy mill problem. In their annual list of worst dog breeders in the country, the advocacy group listed Missouri as having 26 of the most abusive puppy mills. Since the “Horrible Hundred” list was first published 10 years ago, Missouri has topped the list each year. This year the Show-Me State garnered 26 spots on the list, compared to just 17 in Iowa, 12 in New York, and seven each in Kansas and Wisconsin. That Missouri has so many puppy mills is no surprise, according to Humane Society Stop Puppy Mills campaign senior director John Goodwin. “Missouri has always been at the heart of the puppy mill industry since the beginning,” Goodwin said. “The post-World War II era was a time period where there was a lot of consolidation in agriculture, and a lot of small farms closed. This industry was seen as a solution in Midwestern states, and Missouri became the epicenter of large-scale puppy mills.” That evolution was aided by state regulations allowing the mills to flourish, Goodwin said. That would have changed in a 2010 proposition approved by voters that would have required large-scale breeders to provide “sufficient food, clean water, housing and space” to the dogs under their care, along with “necessary veterinary care; regular exercise and adequate rest between breeding cycles.” After the initiative was passed, the Legislature changed the language of the regulations.\n\nMontana\n\nCrow Agency: Little Big Horn College, a tribal college on the Crow Reservation, in partnership with the Crow Language Consortium, will host the 10th annual Crow Summer Institute on June6-24. The three-week program offers free Crow language and culture classes. Participants must be at least 18 years old, and registration is now open, according to a news release. The institute offers two options, one for beginners and one for intermediate learners. Learners will have access to resources developed by Crow elders, speakers and knowledge keepers, including textbooks, flashcards, dictionaries and multimedia apps. The Crow Summer Institute is offering $100 gas cards to some early registrants and Crow dictionaries for those who complete the program. Participants may also earn college credit through Little Big Horn College. Ishkoochìia Chiiakaamnáah (Jacob Brien), a Crow language learner who attended past Crow Summer Institutes, said the program helped him “realize different connections and patterns within the language.” “It really helped me understand Crow jokes and, by extension, Crow culture, which of course usually doesn’t translate, as many subtleties of the language don’t work in English,” he said in a statement. For more information, visit summer.crowlanguage.org.\n\nNebraska\n\nLincoln: The state has agreed to pay $479,000 to the family of a “talkative” Scottsbluff man who was strangled to death in 2017 by a fellow inmate who didn’t want a cellmate. The lawsuit, filed by Terry Berry Jr.’s family against prison officials they argued were responsible for the 22-year-old’s death because they put him in the same cell as Patrick Schroeder, was dismissed last week after both sides agreed to the settlement. Berry was nearing parole on a sentence for forgery and assault when he was placed with Schroeder, who was serving a life sentence for killing a 75-year-old man and dumping his body in a well. The Lincoln Journal Star reports Schroeder later pleaded guilty to killing Berry and was sentenced to death. Berry’s family argued in the lawsuit that prison officials should have known there would be problems if they placed the two men together, and a caseworker at the prison even warned co-workers involved in the decision that Schroeder didn’t want a cellmate and wouldn’t likely tolerate Berry well because he was known to be “very talkative and bothersome.” Back in 2019, a federal judge dismissed the head of the state Department of Correctional Services and the prison’s warden as defendants, but the case had been allowed to move forward against several prison employees involved.\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: A proposed ballot initiative seeks to amend the state constitution to establish open top-five primaries and ranked-choice voting for general elections, though it isn’t without its critics. The Nevada Voters First political action committee is spearheading the initiative and must collect 140,777 signatures from registered Nevada voters by June 29 to qualify the measure for the 2022 general election ballot. Approval in November would call on the Legislature to institute the changes to the Nevada Constitution by July 1, 2025. In ranked-choice balloting, voters are directed to mark candidates in order of preference and to mark as many choices as they want. A voter may also choose only one candidate. The proposal would establish open primary elections, including all candidates regardless of party affiliation, squaring off in ranked-choice fashion. The top five finishers would advance to the general election, which would also be conducted using ranked-choice voting. About 30% of registered voters in Nevada list themselves as nonpartisan, and about 40% aren’t registered as Republican or Democrat, said Sondra Cosgrove, a representative with Nevada Voters First and a past president of the League of Women Voters of Nevada. “That’s a lot of people who are being shut out of important races,” she said.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nConcord: A former Trump administration official running for Congress did not violate state law by voting twice during the 2016 primary election season, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office said Thursday without taking a position on whether federal law was broken. The Associated Press reported in April that Matt Mowers cast ballots in both the Feb. 9, 2016, New Hampshire presidential primary and the New Jersey primary four months later. Legal experts said Mowers could have a violated federal law that prohibits “voting more than once” in “any general, special, or primary election.” That includes casting a ballot in separate jurisdictions “for an election to the same candidacy or office.” Though the article did not allege violation of state law, the attorney general’s office investigated based on the report and complaints from voters. After reviewing Mowers’ voting history, rental and property records, driver’s license documents and other material, it concluded he did not violate New Hampshire’s law against double voting. Mowers is a leading candidate for the GOP nomination in the state’s 1st Congressional District, though New Hampshire has yet to complete its redistricting process and finalize the congressional map. He was the nominee in 2020 but lost to Democratic incumbent Rep. Chris Pappas.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nToms River: The Ocean County Board of Commissioners plans this week to wade into the contentious debate over the state’s new health and sex education curriculum. While the five-member, all-Republican board has no legal authority to determine what is taught in schools, its bully pulpit is seen as influential in a county that is a bastion of conservatism in an otherwise progressive state. Commissioner Virginia E. Haines, who is also a Republican National Committee member, circulated a draft resolution among her colleagues last Wednesday to establish a “Parents’ Bill of Rights.” If approved as expected, the resolution would put the full weight of the county government behind a grassroots effort to establish such a bill of rights by providing political, administrative and legal support. The text of the draft resolution authorizes and directs the county commission director, the county administrator and county general counsel to organize parents, community leaders and unspecified professionals to develop the framework for such a document. The framework for such a declaration would then be used to marshal local school districts and county schools into adopting their own bills of rights.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nAlbuquerque: The city’s Asian American community is testing a new way to bolster security for Asian-owned businesses in the wake of two deadly shootings. KOAT-TV reports an Albuquerque startup is trying out an online service that connects armed security guards with Asian-owned businesses. Businesses would report suspicious activity to toServo. The service would utilize GPS-enabled mobile technology to put them in touch with a private security team, and the security on call would respond within minutes. It is part of an initiative established by the Asian Business Collaborative. The nonprofit started a Good Neighbor Program to check up on shops and restaurants. For now, four businesses will be chosen for the service. But there are hopes to expand its use by the end of the year. Collaborative organizers say the city’s Asian community has been on edge since shootings at two Asian-owned spas. In January, the female owner of one spa was shot and killed during an attempted robbery. Two men have been charged in her killing. Less than a month later, another woman of Asian descent was killed inside another massage business during a robbery. The suspect was killed in a police pursuit 10 days later.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York: City health officials issued an advisory Monday urging New Yorkers to wear masks in all indoor public settings as the city approaches “high risk” COVID-19 alert status. Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said everyone “regardless of vaccination status or past COVID-19 infection” should wear face coverings at all times in settings such as grocery stores, offices and building lobbies. People at high risk of severe illness from the virus, such as those over 65 years old, should avoid crowded settings and nonessential gatherings, he said. Vasan said he was issuing the guidance as the city approaches the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “high” level of COVID-19 alert, representing high community spread and increasing pressure on the health care system. New York City has been averaging about 3,600 reported new cases of COVID-19 per day over the past week – a number that is likely an undercount because it doesn’t include positive tests done at home. The daily case counts have been rising slowly since March but have leveled off somewhat recently. The CDC risk level for Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island is currently “medium,” while the Bronx is still “low.” But much of the surrounding metropolitan area has already moved into the CDC’s “high risk” category.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nRaleigh: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in the shooting death of an endangered red wolf in North Carolina. The wolf was found in a muddy field in Tyrrell County on April 15, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The News & Observer reports it had been shot in the spine and collapsed in the mud – some of which was found in its lungs. Killing a red wolf is illegal, except under special circumstances. Red wolves once ranged across the Southeast, but after decades of habitat loss and killing by humans, they were nearly extinct by 1980. The Fish and Wildlife Service gathered up the remaining wild wolves and began a captive breeding program. The first captive wolves were reintroduced to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina in 1987. By 2006, as many as 120 red wolves were thought to be living in the wild. Since then, wolf populations have declined again. Last year, the Biden administration abandoned a proposal made under President Donald Trump to scale back the areas where red wolves are protected and allow the killing of wolves found outside federal land.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: Hoping to head off an explosion of electronic pull tab machines at gas stations and liquor, grocery and convenience stores, state regulators want to change the definition of a bar to make clear where the wildly popular Las Vegas-style games that mimic slot machines will be allowed. The state attorney general’s office, which oversees gambling in North Dakota, has identified a handful of gas stations and convenience stores that have begun selling and serving booze and are now “masquerading” as bars so that they can put the machines in their businesses, Attorney General Drew Wrigley said. Wrigley and Deb McDaniel, North Dakota’s top gambling regulator, said the idea for the rule change is to clarify and preserve what they believe the intent of the Legislature was when it defined a bar as a “retail alcoholic beverage establishment where alcoholic beverages are dispensed and consumed.” The amended language specifies that a bar does not include gas stations or liquor, grocery and convenience stores. A bar in a hotel, bowling alley or restaurant could still have the machines, under the new definition. The North Dakota Gaming Commission scheduled a Thursday meeting at the state Capitol to discuss the proposed changes and to take public comments.\n\nOhio\n\nColumbus: The state took the formal step of signaling interest in expanding Amtrak passenger rail in Ohio, though it is far from saying yes to the idea. Gov. Mike DeWine has asked the Ohio Rail Development Commission to work with Amtrak to study potential new routes, according to Dan Tierney, a spokesperson for the governor’s office. The move was first reported by Cleveland.com. “It’s not to the point where we’re ready to go jump up and ‘yippee,’ but it’s significant, and we’re optimistic,” said Stu Nicholson with All Aboard Ohio, an advocacy group for rail. Amtrak wants to build a line connecting Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton and Cincinnati. The company agreed to cover the cost of construction, track upgrades and operating costs for at least five years, then split the estimated $17 million to $20 million annual operating costs with the state. The roughly $100 million cost to build the line would come from a massive infrastructure package Congress passed into law. The approach could better entice Ohio to expand rail given much of the upfront cost will be covered, advocates said. Nicholson said recent guidance allows the state to use other sources outside its general revenue, such as private grants, to go toward its share.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: New laws signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt will increase funding for local enforcement of the medical marijuana industry and target illicit sales of cannabis. Each of the bills moved through the Legislature last week, and as a result county sheriffs are now able to receive grant funding to dedicate a full-time deputy to assist with compliance visits conducted by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. The intent of the law is to allow enforcement officers to help the medical marijuana authority in situations where licensed cannabis businesses are not willing to allow inspections of their property. According to the bill’s authors, compliance inspectors were denied access 181 times between April 2021 and February of this year. “This bill is not meant to threaten anyone. We just want to make sure our compliance inspectors can safely do their jobs,” said state Rep. David Hardin, R-Stilwell, the House author. “This is a very important piece of legislation that will help rein in illegal marijuana operations and give Oklahomans the safe, fair, free market for medical marijuana that they voted for in 2018.” Logistics of the bill create a revolving fund, provided by the medical marijuana authority, that sets aside an annual $5 million for county sheriffs to dedicate an officer for one year to the medical marijuana authority.\n\nOregon\n\nPortland: Criminal defendants who have gone without legal representation for long periods of time amid a critical shortage of public defense attorneys filed a lawsuit Monday that alleges the state violated their constitutional right to legal counsel and a speedy trial. The complaint, which seeks class-action status, was filed as state lawmakers and the Oregon Office of Public Defense Services struggle to address the huge shortage of public defenders statewide. The crisis has led to the dismissal of dozens of cases and left an estimated 500 defendants statewide – including several dozen in custody on serious felonies – without legal representation. Crime victims are also affected because cases are taking longer to reach resolution, a delay that experts say extends their trauma, weakens evidence and erodes confidence in the justice system, especially among low-income and minority groups. “There is a public defense crisis raging across this country,” said Jason D. Williamson, executive director of the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law at New York University School of Law, who helped prepare the filing. “But Oregon is among only a handful of states that is now entirely depriving people of their constitutional right to counsel on a daily basis, leaving countless indigent defendants without access to an attorney for months at a time.”\n\nPennsylvania\n\nCarlisle: Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz is stepping up his criticism of far-right candidates gaining traction ahead of Tuesday’s primary election. After spending much of the campaign steering clear of fellow Republican Senate contender Kathy Barnette, Oz on Saturday said she was out of step with the GOP and would be unable to win the general election in November. In an interview, he took issue with a 2015 tweet from Barnette in which she wrote that “Pedophilia is a Cornerstone of Islam.” Oz, who would be the nation’s first Muslim senator, described the comments as “disqualifying.” “It’s reprehensible that she would tweet out something that is defamatory to an entire religion,” Oz told the Associated Press. “This state was based on religious freedom. I’m proud as a Pennsylvanian to uphold those founding beliefs that every faith has its merits.” The Barnette campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier in the week, Barnette told NBC News that she did not make the statement, which was still live on her Twitter feed Monday.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: A congressional candidate recently arrested on a menacing charge in another state has dropped out of the race. Michael Neary said in a statement Friday that he was seeking medical treatment for non-epileptic seizures following his arrest in Ohio in March. He said the decision followed “careful consultation and prayer.” Neary, 28, was among a large field of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District following incumbent Democrat Jim Langevin’s announcement in January that he’s retiring. Neary has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of menacing by stalking March 23, as well as drug counts after marijuana and drug paraphernalia were allegedly found in his car. He’s previously said he’d remain in the race despite the charges. The Columbus, Ohio, resident, who grew up in Rhode Island, was stopped by police after another driver reported having been followed from Columbus to Troy, more than 60 miles away. Police said the driver reported that Neary’s car mimicked their every move, matching speed and lane changes and even stopping at a rest area after they did. Authorities said Neary told them he had recently returned from Rhode Island, was very stressed and had been focusing on the vehicle’s Ohio registration.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nGreenville: Grace Church has purchased a dormitory building from Greenville Technical College to convert into affordable housing as part of a special program to address the local housing crisis. The church will serve as the landlord for the property, and rent will be adjusted to fit families’ income. Rent prices will range from $450 for a single room to $1,000 for a three-bedroom unit. The goal, according to Grace Church’s care and recovery ministry director LeeAnne Cavin, is that the average family will pay in the $900 range for a unit. “We do have a crisis of housing,” Cavin said. “Our whole community is really starting to desire collaboration.” The units are expected to open for rent the first week of June, and the church already has almost 40 families ready to move in. The program will accept emergency housing vouchers through the Greenville Housing Authority but not Section 8 vouchers or extra subsidy from the federal government that goes directly toward rent. To sign a lease in one of the units, families agree to be a part of a Grace Church housing program that offers medical coverage, dental care, a savings matching program, mental health support, car maintenance, financial education, cooking classes, self-defense classes, and job and interview preparation.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nPierre: The ongoing drought in South Dakota has been hard on the state’s wildlife. The U.S. Forest Service says the grouse population in the Fort Pierre National Grassland has declined by 15% in 2022, largely because of the dry conditions. The total grouse population has averaged about 300 since the mid-1980s. Over the past twenty years, both greater prairie chicken and sharp-tailed grouse populations have primarily remained stable or have grown. “The thing that I think was really damaging to us last year was we had record-high and record-dry conditions in early June, right when those birds started incubation or, for the earlier semester, to hatch. And, boy, that’s just so tough on a chick to thermoregulate and be able to find sufficient moisture,” District Ranger Dan Svingen said. Greater prairie chickens and sharp-tailed grouse both nest on the ground and require tall grass to hide their nests, the Capital Journal reports. Because they start laying eggs as early as April, before sufficient grass growth, they’re dependent on dead grass from the previous year as cover. However, the drought prevented extensive grass growth in 2021, leaving them more exposed to predators in 2022. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, a little more than 76% of South Dakota is experiencing some kind of drought.\n\nTennessee\n\nKnoxville: In its quest to redefine tourism at the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has inked a deal to bring an international entertainment company to the United States for the first time. Tribal Council and international theme park company Puy du Fou have signed a letter of intent to develop a new “spectacular immersive show” as part of a 200-acre development located at Exit 407 south of Interstate 40 on the way to the Smokies. The Tribal Council approved $75 million May 4 for phase one development of “The 407: Gateway to Adventure.” Its leaders are seeking world-class attractions to appeal to the record-breaking crowds flocking to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. The 407 partners have estimated the development could attract 6.7 million visitors in the first year after phase one is complete. That’s expected sometime in 2024. “We are excited to take the first steps towards developing this world-class attraction that will help support our nation economically while creating a new platform to share dimensions of Cherokee history many have never heard,” said Chairman of the Tribal Council Richard French. Puy du Fou is known worldwide for its immersive experiences inspired by history.\n\nTexas\n\nHouston: Two people were killed and three more taken to a hospital with injuries after a shooting Sunday at a bustling flea market, authorities said. The shooting at the open-air market arose from an “altercation” that involved at least two guns and all five of the people, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. He said no “innocent bystanders” were injured. Investigators believe one of the people hospitalized was among those who opened fire, and two more suspected shooters were detained at the scene, a sheriff’s deputy told KTRK-TV. Thousands of people were shopping at the market 14 miles north of Houston’s downtown when the shooting began around 1 p.m. Sunday, Gonzalez said on Twitter. The sheriff said multiple shots were fired, and deputies recovered two pistols from the scene. Authorities did not immediately provide further information about what led to the shooting but said all the people involved were men in there 20s who appeared to know each other.\n\nUtah\n\nSalt Lake City: A copper mining company will begin manufacturing a rare mineral used in solar panels that used to be discarded along with the other mine tailings. Rio Tinto officials and Gov. Spencer Cox unveiled the plan Wednesday at the Kennecott refinery west of Salt Lake City where the tellurium will be produced, FOX-13 news reports. The company says it is one of two in the U.S. to produce tellurium, which is listed as a “critical mineral” by the U.S. government. Most of the tellurium produced comes from China and other countries. Rio Tinto is working with the U.S. Department of Energy on ideas to produce more tellurium. The company said it hopes to produce 20 tons of the tellurium each year. “If we can produce it here, we are all going to be better off,” said Cox, a Republican. “We desperately need more of it.”\n\nVermont\n\nMontpelier: Gov. Phil Scott signed legislation into law Monday that creates an advisory committee to make recommendations on how to spend the state’s share of settlement money with drug manufacturers and distribution companies over the toll of prescription opioids. The number of opioid-related overdose deaths in Vermont jumped 33% in 2021 to a record 210 fatalities, the Vermont Health Department reported last month. The committee will be made up of the state’s health commissioner; a member each from the state Senate and House; health care providers; two people who lived through the experience of opioid use disorder; an assistant judge; and representatives from municipalities. Each year, the committee will make recommendations to the Vermont Department of Health and legislative committees for expenditures from a special opioid abatement fund. The health commissioner is expected to call the first meeting of the panel to occur on or before June 30.\n\nVirginia\n\nNorfolk: A professor whose research on pedophilia created a stir at Old Dominion University has landed a new job with Johns Hopkins University’s Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. Allyn Walker stepped down from ODU in November after using the phrase “minor-attracted person” instead of “pedophile” in research, leading to an outcry on campus and social media, as well as threats of violence. The Virginian-Pilot reports the Moore Center announced last week that Walker, who uses the pronoun they, would be joining the center as a postdoctoral fellow. The center said in a series of tweets that it was excited to welcome Walker and that they would be working on research and new projects to develop a “comprehensive public health approach to addressing child sexual abuse and effective prevention programs.” On its website, the center says it works “to change the way the world thinks about child sexual abuse, from inevitable to preventable.” In the series of tweets, the center referred to Walker as “a leader in the field of perpetration prevention research.” Walker was an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice before more than 15,500 people signed an online petition calling for their removal from ODU in the fall. That came after a controversial interview about “A Long, Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity,” a book focused on people who do not act on their sexual attraction to children and strategies to prevent them from acting on the attraction.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: Amtrak will postpone restoring its Cascades passenger-train service between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., until possibly December because of a lack of personnel. The service gap occurred despite the Biden administration’s much-hyped $66 billion allotted in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to catch up on maintenance and spread Amtrak’s national railway service to new cities, The Seattle Times reports. Janet Matkin, rail spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Transportation, said transportation officials in the state hoped the trains would roll again by summer or even late spring. Amtrak doesn’t have enough conductors, mechanics and onboard service staff yet to operate the trains, though new classes of conductors are in training, according to a letter to Washington and Oregon rail directors from Ray Lang, an Amtrak vice president. Pre-pandemic, about 159,000 people per year rode between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., or 290,000 when including stations between the cities, Matkin said. Passenger fares traditionally cover about two-thirds of operation costs, while states cover the rest.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nWelch: Gov. Jim Justice visited the site of a planned $147 million highway project that will connect Welch to the Coalfields Expressway. The 5-mile stretch of highway is expected to be completed in 2026. “This announcement today means we are one step closer to bringing this area of West Virginia to the world once and for all,” Justice said in a media release. “We have waited and waited in southern West Virginia for way too long.” Justice announced Friday that Bizzack Construction of Lexington, Kentucky, won the bid to build the new highway. The governor’s office said plans are in the works to build a 5-mile stretch of the Coalfields Expressway from Mullens to Twin Falls State Park and a 3-mile link from Twin Falls toward Pineville. The four-lane Coalfields Expressway that runs from Raleigh County to Wyoming County opened in 2020.\n\nWisconsin\n\nSparta: The popular Elroy-Sparta State Trail officially reopened over the weekend following several years of flood-related repairs. Summer flood damage in 2018 closed the 32-mile-long trail which had about 60,000 visitors a year. The state Department of Natural Resources said the western Wisconsin trail needed two complete bridge replacements and landslide repairs, among other work. According to the DNR, $2.3 million needed for repairs came from the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the state. State Sen. Howard Marklein, of Spring Green, and state Rep. Tony Kurtz, of Wonewoc, spearheaded efforts in the Legislature to secure funds for the trail’s repairs, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. “The easy part was the funding,” the DNR’s Missy VanLanduyt said. “The more difficult part was just the sheer amount of infrastructure that needed to be replaced, and designing all of that, and then going through the bidding process and then finally a very long construction period as well.” While repair work is largely complete, a 1-mile section of the trail was closed as of Friday because of bridge safety concerns. VanLanduyt said it’s set to reopen after Memorial Day weekend, with a permanent bridge replacement coming in late 2023 or early 2024.\n\nWyoming\n\nCheyenne: U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis apologized Monday after getting booed and heckled for remarks she made on sexual identity during a University of Wyoming graduation speech. A first-term Republican from deep-red Wyoming, Lummis said in Saturday’s speech in Laramie that human rights are derived from God but that government seeks to redefine many of them. “Even fundamental, scientific truths such as the existence of two sexes, male and female, are subject to challenge these days,” Lummis said. She paused and smiled while many in the crowd responded with boos and heckling. “And I challenge those of you,” she said, without completing that thought, saying: “I’m not making a comment on the fact that there are people who transition between sexes.” Lummis is a former congresswoman, state treasurer and University of Wyoming graduate who’s been prominent in Wyoming politics for decades. Until now, at least, she has been less outspoken than many Republicans who’ve made a major issue of gender and sex identity. The stir happened in a community known for the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in 1998, a watershed event in LGBTQ activism. A college town of about 32,000 people, Laramie leans left compared to the vast majority of Wyoming.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/05/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2021/03/31/chef-initiative-ice-fishing-trash-tribeca-plans-news-around-states/115656660/", "title": "Chef initiative, ice fishing trash: News from around our 50 states", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nMontgomery: A spokeswoman for Gov. Kay Ivey said Monday that the state’s mask mandate will end April 9 despite the president’s request for states to reinstate or maintain restrictions. “We have made progress, and we are moving towards personal responsibility and common sense, not endless government mandates,” Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said in a statement. President Joe Biden and a top health official on Monday appealed for mask requirements and other restrictions to be maintained or restored to stave off a “fourth surge” of COVID-19. Alabama has kept a mask mandate in place longer than surrounding states, but Ivey has made clear it will not be extended past the end of next week. The Republican governor has urged Alabamians to keep wearing face coverings as a matter of personal responsibility. “After April 9, masks will no longer be a mandate, but they remain one of the most successful tools we have to keep folks safe from COVID-19,” Ivey said last week. Her office released sign templates that businesses could use to request that their patrons wear masks.\n\nAlaska\n\nAnchorage: Eight youths from the state have developed a serious inflammatory syndrome from previous coronavirus infections, health officials said in a report. The report released Friday said some of the eight children ended up in the pediatric intensive care unit with severe complications. The condition they developed is called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. MIS-C can lead to inflamed organs, including the heart, lungs, kidneys and brain, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since May 2020, the CDC has reported 2,617 cases of the syndrome and 33 deaths from MIS-C across the nation. Most cases were in children and adolescents between ages 1 and 14, with the median age being 9. Cases have occurred in children and adolescents less than 1 year old and up to 20. About 66% of the reported cases have occurred in children who are Hispanic, Latino or Black – a total of 1,586 cases, according to the CDC. Roughly 99% of those who developed the syndrome had previously tested positive for the coronavirus. The remaining 1% were around someone who had the virus, the CDC said. “This happens to kids after COVID,” said Dr. Benjamin Westley, an infectious disease specialist who treated six of the eight Alaska minors and contributed to the report.\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: Corrections officials cited staffing and resource demands of the pandemic in trying to fend off a contempt-of-court fine against the state that could reach as high as $17 million for failing to follow through on promises in a legal settlement to improve health care for inmates. Lawyers for corrections officials said in a court filing Friday that the pandemic forced people working in prisons to take on more duties, caused infection employees to miss work and required resources to be spent on trying to guard against the coronavirus. They said the focus on protecting prisoners and staff members from the virus came at the expense of compliance with the 6-year-old settlement. While acknowledging their clients’ noncompliance on many provisions of the settlement, the lawyers said corrections officials still made their best efforts to comply in a challenging situation. Compliance declined during periods when the state experienced spikes, when mass testing was done inside prisons and when providing care to inmates with the virus, the attorneys said. The state has already been the subject of two contempt fines totaling $2.5 million for noncompliance with the settlement. U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver, who had threatened the third round of fines, has warned the state against offering any of its past excuses for noncompliance. In an order earlier this month, Silver wrote that coronavirus restrictions may provide a valid basis for noncompliance but emphasized that the virus can’t be used as a complete shield.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: The state will open up COVID-19 vaccinations to anyone 16 and older and is dropping its mask mandate immediately, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday. The Republican governor announced the moves as Arkansas saw its coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to decline. The state had previously made the vaccine available to people 65 and older as well as several other categories, including teachers, health care workers and food service employees. Hutchinson last month lifted most of the state’s virus restrictions, including restaurant and bar capacity limits, and had said the mask mandate would expire at the end of March if the state met goals for test positivity and hospitalizations. Hutchinson is lifting the mask mandate despite President Joe Biden urging states to reinstate or maintain such restrictions to stave off another surge of the virus. “Last year, the urgent COVID message was ‘wear a mask,’ ” Hutchinson said Saturday in a tweet. “Masks remain important, but today’s urgent message is ‘get vaccinated’ … but if we are going to win, we must increase the count. Roll up your sleeve for Arkansas!”\n\nCalifornia\n\nLos Angeles: Massive Los Angeles County can reopen even more businesses – including outdoor bars that don’t serve food – while expanding how many people are allowed to dine indoors and catch a movie, but it won’t do so until next week, officials said Tuesday. The county of 10 million people was one of several, including neighboring Orange, that moved into the state’s second-least-restrictive orange tier amid low coronavirus case rates and increased vaccinations. Half of the state’s population is now in that tier, where the virus rates are “moderate.” The new rules allow for expanded activities the following day, but counties can opt to maintain more restrictions. LA County’s public health director, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, said Tuesday that reopenings and expansions will go into effect Monday, as she wanted to take a more cautious approach given the mix of new variants of the virus. The county, home to a quarter of California’s residents, was reporting well over 10,000 new cases and a couple hundred deaths a day during the winter surge. On Tuesday, Ferrer reported 26 additional deaths and 386 new cases as she implored people to continue wearing masks. “If we wish to maintain these low numbers, it will be essential that each of us not get sloppy,” she said.\n\nColorado\n\nDenver: Students will only take one state standardized test this year in either math or English following a year of challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The federal government has approved a request from Colorado that allows students in fourth, sixth and eighth grades to take the math assessment and students in third, fifth and seventh grades to take the English or language arts assessment, Colorado Public Radio reports. Parents can choose to have their child take both tests, which are intended to measure students’ academic progress at the end of each year in multiple subjects. “This is the answer we’ve been waiting for,” said Democratic state Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, who sponsored the waiver bill. “I appreciate the quick response from the federal government that will allow our schools to plan and prepare.” State officials made the request to give students, parents and educators some relief after a year both in and out of the classroom during the pandemic. The tests this year won’t be used to evaluate teacher performance or rate schools, but officials hope the results will help evaluate the effects of the pandemic. Parents and teachers have argued that students’ learning and mental health must take priority over standardized tests during the pandemic.\n\nConnecticut\n\nHartford: With everyone age 16 and older eligible Thursday to begin signing up for COVID-19 vaccination appointments, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday that people with certain medical conditions that put that put them at high risk, including people with intellectual disabilities, will have “priority access” for shots. Some hospitals are planning to hold dedicated vaccine clinics, and others are reaching out to patients with reserved appointments, while some patients will likely get vaccinated during their normal medical appointments at the hospital, said Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer, who expects the group will include about 10,000 people. The list of conditions includes sickle cell disease, end-stage renal disease on dialysis, active cancer treatment and solid organ transplant. “These are the conditions that the chief medical officers at the hospitals felt were most worthy of prioritization,” Geballe said. He urged families to hold off on signing up their older teens in the early days of this final phase of the rollout. “I think if you’re the parent of an older teenager, about 16, or if you’re in your 20s, you’re perfectly healthy, please give it a week. You’re going to get in your turn very soon. But let’s let people in their 40s or people in these other conditions get appointments first,” he said. “That’s good advice.”\n\nDelaware\n\nWilmington: The state is easing restrictions on outdoor gatherings starting Thursday and will make all residents 16 and older eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine next Tuesday. The loosened gathering limits will allow up to 150 people at certain venues for events including weddings, funerals, sporting events and concerts. It’s the second set of changes Delaware has made this year to loosen restrictions, but many are still in place, including a public mask mandate and a 10-person limit for private indoor gatherings. In a statement, Gov. John Carney said the state is comfortable easing some outdoor restrictions because the coronavirus is less likely to spread outdoors, especially in warm weather. Under the revisions, the state can also issue an additional 1,000 surf fishing tags for the 2021 season. But restaurants, retail locations, gyms, houses of worship, arts venues and other businesses remain limited to the lesser of 50% of their stated fire capacity or 25 people. Almost 1 in 3 Delawareans have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with 15.7% of the population fully vaccinated, according to federal data. Coronavirus cases have started increasing again in the state and throughout the region. In the past two weeks, the seven-day average for new cases in Delaware has increased by 44% to 284.6.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: A coalition of chefs in D.C. is stepping up to spread awareness and raise money to end anti-Asian racism, WUSA-TV reports. Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate is launching a series of dining experiences throughout April to get people talking about violence against the Asian American community that’s widely seen as being amplified by the coronavirus pandemic. “A lot of people are trying to fight for what’s right,” said chef Kevin Tien, a co-organizer with Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate. He said he’s sick of seeing attacks on Asian people in America but turning that sadness and anger into action with the monthlong takeout dinner series to fight racism. “I always cook whenever I’m having times of self-doubt or trouble,” said Tien, who is partnering with 45 chefs in the area to prepare five-course to-go meals every Sunday in April. Tien is Vietnamese-American and said, culturally, many elders within his community chose to ignore and stay silent on racism against them for years. The xenophobia is now amplified, many believe, because of rhetoric related to where the virus first took hold. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration announced it is donating $10,000 to support the effort. Others in the area can back what the group is doing by ordering meals online from Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate.\n\nFlorida\n\nTallahassee: Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that he would issue an executive order forbidding local governments and businesses from requiring so-called vaccine passports to show proof that customers have been inoculated against COVID-19. He made the announcement during a ceremony he convened at the state Capitol to sign into law a bill approved by the Legislature on Friday that would bar coronavirus-related lawsuits against businesses that have made good-faith efforts to comply with guidelines meant to stop the spread of the virus. A plaintiff would also need a signed affidavit from a doctor stating with reasonable certainty that injury or death caused by COVID-19 was a result of the defendant’s actions. “We don’t want to be in a situation where people are scared of being sued just for doing normal things,” the Republican governor said. DeSantis had a live band playing a cover version of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends” in the Cabinet meeting room before he signed the bill. Of the order to bar businesses from refusing to serve people who can’t prove they have been vaccinated, he called it “completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply participate in normal society.”\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: Diners could permanently get mixed alcoholic drinks to go when ordering food under a measure that passed the General Assembly on Monday. The House voted 120-48 for the bill, sending it to Gov. Brian Kemp. Georgia lawmakers already agreed to allow restaurants to sell takeout beer or wine. Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton, who owns a restaurant, said the measure is needed to reflect a change in dining habits spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. “Moving forward, Georgians will eat out differently,” said Carpenter, who said his business does not sell mixed drinks. “This bill seeks to give our industry the flexibility to address those needs.” The drinks would have to be packaged in tamper-proof containers with no straw holes and would have to be transported in a vehicle’s trunk, in a glove compartment or behind the last seats. Only two drinks per entree could be ordered. Local governments could still prohibit such sales, but they would be legal if a city or county does not act. The measure would take effect as soon as the governor signs it. The Distilled Spirits Council, which lobbies for alcohol makers, says to-go cocktails are currently allowed in more than 30 states.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: A recent surge of tourists has driven up the price of rental cars after fleets were thinned out during the pandemic. Some companies in Honolulu have recently had only large vans for $500 a day and convertibles for $1,000 a day or more, Hawaii News Now reports. Timo Lee, a part-time Honolulu resident, said some vendors she checked with were “completely out of stock.” The pandemic resulted in limited inventory, which meant rental companies “had to get rid of them,” said Jerry Agrusa, a professor in the School of Travel Industry Management at the University of Hawaii. “They had to sell them.” Uncertainty about when tourism would return is another factor for the high prices, he said. Like Oahu, Maui has also seen a recent surge in COVID-19 cases, and the island’s mayor is warning visitors to follow local mandates. “You see these people on the beach back here – they’re visitors, and they’re not wearing masks,” Mayor Mike Victorino said. “If you can’t obey our rules, don’t come if you can’t wear a mask or do what is right.” The mayor said he is considering more options to help curb the spread of COVID-19, including a post-travel coronavirus test for all travelers and tighter local restrictions.\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: Gov. Brad Little has issued his first veto of the 2021 legislative session, refusing to sign a bill involving the responsibilities of the chairman of the Idaho State Tax Commission. Following Friday’s veto, the Republican governor said the legislation would add red tape that goes against his core belief of good government. “The legislation adds a burdensome level of bureaucracy and uncertainty, which I fear will only complicate and slow the Tax Commission’s ability to accomplish its important mission,” Little wrote in his veto letter. “In the last year, we witnessed firsthand during the pandemic the incredible ability of the Tax Commission staff to step up and adapt quickly in changing environments to successfully implement initiatives and programs that support Idaho citizens and businesses.” The Legislature is recessed until April 6 due to a COVID-19 outbreak among lawmakers in the House. Last year, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Little signed a proclamation extending the tax filing deadline from April 15 to June 15. The commission also played a role in many other financial areas, including handling applications for small businesses so they could receive federal coronavirus emergency funding.\n\nIllinois\n\nChicago: A hospital CEO has been suspended for two weeks following a series of COVID-19 vaccination events involving alleged favoritism, including one in which ineligible Trump Tower workers were vaccinated. The unpaid suspension of Loretto Hospital’s president and CEO, George Miller, is on hold until the hospital finds a new chief operating officer and chief financial officer, a hospital spokeswoman said late Monday. Dr. Anosh Ahmed, who had been Loretto’s COO and CFO, resigned last week, days after he and Miller were reprimanded by the board of directors following news reports that hospital executives provided vaccines to some people who weren’t yet eligible. Loretto Hospital is located on Chicago’s West Side and largely serves Black and Latino people. It was chosen last year to administer the city’s ceremonial first COVID-19 vaccination as part of efforts to encourage residents in West Side neighborhoods to get vaccinated. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday that Loretto is a “safety net hospital” that is pivotal to Chicago and that she is “committed to helping Loretto get it right because they’re so important to the West Side community.” She said it was clear that officials “deviated from what I think is their core mission and what should have been the focus during this critical time period.”\n\nIndiana\n\nSouth Bend: University of Notre Dame officials say they will be able to vaccinate all students on campus by the end of the spring semester. The school will receive enough Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for every student to be fully inoculated with both doses before the end of May, the university’s president, the Rev. John Jenkins, said in a letter to students, faculty and staff Thursday night. A vaccination clinic is anticipated to open by mid-April, but students are only being encouraged – not required – to receive the shots. “Needless to say, we are delighted to receive this positive news,” Jenkins said, noting that Notre Dame will continue enforcing its current campus health and safety protocols. The Notre Dame vaccination clinic will also have shots available for faculty and staff, he said, although university officials have asked non-students to first seek out vaccine at local community sites. The announcement follows Gov. Eric Holcomb’s confirmation in a statewide address last week that all Hoosiers ages 16 and up will qualify for the vaccine starting Thursday. The Republican governor said he would also lift the statewide mask mandate and remaining COVID-19 business restrictions next Tuesday.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: A week before Gov. Kim Reynolds officially makes all adults eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations, public health officials acknowledged Monday that some counties have already started providing the shots to anyone over age 16. In northwest Iowa’s Humboldt County, for example, public health officials announced they would hold mass vaccination clinics Wednesday and Thursday for anyone 16 and up. Public health officials said they have 650 doses of the Pfizer vaccine available. Appointments were required and confirmed on a first-come-first-served basis for the clinics to be held at the county fairgrounds. Reynolds has said she anticipates opening up availability to all adults Monday as national supplies and the allocation of doses to states increase. As of Monday, Iowa was eighth in the nation for the percentage of the entire population fully vaccinated at 19%. Nationally, 15.8% of the U.S. population is vaccinated. Iowa, like many states, is seeing a recent increase in coronavirus activity. The state on Monday reported 110 new confirmed cases and seven additional deaths. The seven-day rate of positive coronavirus tests increased to 4.7%. State public health officials reported 196 people in hospitals and 44 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units.\n\nKansas\n\nTopeka: Legislators are working on a plan for setting aside potentially several hundred million dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay businesses harmed by state and local restrictions imposed last year to check the coronavirus’ spread. The state Senate Judiciary Committee is considering a proposal to set up a fund to pay claims from businesses that either were shut down or had their operations curtailed by state restrictions. The measure also would require counties and cities that imposed restrictions to set up similar funds. The state, cities and counties would be required to set aside 25% of their federal COVID-19 relief funds that aren’t dedicated to a specific purpose. The committee had hoped to vote on the proposal Monday, but Chair Kellie Warren, R-Leawood, said lawmakers and interested parties were still trying to hash out some details. The measure is designed to end the threat that the state, counties and cities could face a larger total payout from lawsuits from business owners. A Wichita fitness studio’s owner and his business sued the state in December, and his attorneys and Attorney General Derek Schmidt agreed to put the lawsuit on hold to allow lawmakers to consider a plan for compensating businesses.\n\nKentucky\n\nLouisville: The mass vaccination site at Cardinal Stadium, set to open April 12, will start accepting appointments for everyone 16 and older Wednesday. The site, which will include 24 lanes in the parking lots outside the stadium, has set a goal of inoculating at least 4,000 people a day through May 28 – 200,000 total. Dr. Jason Smith, chief medical officer for University of Louisville Health, said Tuesday that he hopes the site can administer 24,000 vaccines in its first week. U of L Health is providing fourth-year medical students, nurses and physicians to run the site, as well as “a huge pool of volunteers that are willing to help out,” Smith said. There will also be an AmeriCorps presence and a National Guard presence to help with traffic. Smith said the site will have the Pfizer vaccine and, later, the Johnson & Johnson one-dose version. People can sign up at UofLHealth.org or call 502-681-1435 starting Wednesday. Meanwhile, the University of Kentucky has also announced an expansion of its vaccine and coronavirus testing services to new locations around the state.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: The state will end many of its coronavirus restrictions for businesses but will keep its mask mandate in place, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday. Customer limits on bars, restaurants, salons, gyms, malls, casinos and other nonessential businesses will be removed, though they’ll be required to use social distancing. They had previously been capped at 50% or 75% of their occupancy limits. Direct table service still will be required at bars, but an 11 p.m. alcohol curfew will end. The changes mean businesses face the fewest restrictions since the pandemic began. The new rules start Wednesday, though local officials could choose to enact tougher limits than those put in place by the Democratic governor. “Today marks a big step forward, but we’re all going to have a role to play,” Edwards said. He urged people to continue to “mask, vaccinate and distance.” But the lightened limits diverge from some of the recommendations of President Joe Biden’s administration, which has urged restrictions to be maintained or tightened to avoid another surge of COVID-19. Edwards said he won’t loosen the rules for face coverings, which have been in place since July, arguing that mask-wearing is among the most effective ways to lessen the spread of COVID-19.\n\nMaine\n\nAugusta: The Augusta Civic Center is slated to pull double duty this week as the host of the Legislature and a COVID-19 vaccination clinic. The Legislature, which has been using the civic center to facilitate easier social distancing, was slated to convene at the venue Tuesday and expected to take up the biennial budget proposal. MaineGeneral Medical Center was also scheduled to hold a continuing vaccination clinic at the facility. Maine Senate President Troy Jackson of Allagash and Chuck Hays, president and chief executive officer of MaineGeneral Health, said they were confident the civic center could accommodate the two events simultaneously. “We’ve been working with legislative leadership and the state of Maine to ensure that both the legislative session and the community vaccination clinics can occur at the same time in the same building,” Hays said. MaineGeneral said it has provided more than 16,300 COVID-19 vaccinations, and 14,700 of those have been provided at the civic center.\n\nMaryland\n\nAnnapolis: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has agreed to open a community vaccination center in Prince George’s County, officials announced Tuesday. The center will open at the Greenbelt Metro Station on April 7, with its daily schedule to be announced. Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration said as more vaccine doses become available, the center’s capacity is expected to be up to 3,000 shots per day. This will be the first federally operated site in Maryland, using direct vaccine allocations from the federal government. Prince George’s County has had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state. Local officials have criticized a lack of equitable distribution of vaccine doses to the county, which is the state’s second-largest jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Maryland entered the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccination eligibility Tuesday. Phase 2B expands eligibility to Marylanders age 16 and older with underlying medical conditions that increase the risk for severe COVID-19 illness, as well as to residents with disabilities.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBrimfield: A small town known for its outdoor summer antiques shows has given the go-ahead for them to resume this year, but not everyone is on board. The Brimfield Select Board voted Monday to allow this year’s Brimfield Outdoor Antiques Shows and Flea Markets to go on after the town’s Health Board met last week with state officials to discuss the logistics of the shows, which bring tens of thousands of people to town to shop a milelong stretch of markets. This year’s three shows are scheduled for May 11-16, July 13-18 and Sept. 7-12. Last year’s shows were canceled because of the pandemic. Some of the promoters who provide the space for vendors said they will opt out of the May show, citing COVID-19 safety concerns. “It would be impossible to conduct a successful show for either our vendors or our shoppers under the current regulations,” said Klia Ververidis, spokesperson for the Brimfield Show Promoters Association, according to Masslive.com. Those who do open will be asked to provide a safety plan to the town’s health agent, who will review plans with the state Department of Labor Standards.\n\nMichigan\n\nLansing: A barber who defied Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and reopened his shop last spring amid the pandemic was fined $9,000 for violating licensing rules, including joining a protest where hairstylists cut hair on the state Capitol lawn. Karl Manke will appeal the penalties in court, his lawyer said. The Board of Barber Examiners on Monday accepted an administrative law judge’s findings and issued the fines for violations – including barbering on the Capitol steps, where he was not licensed to operate. He also allowed used neck strips and piles of hair to accumulate on the floor in his Owosso barbershop and stored a comb in his shirt pocket instead of a covered container, according to the board, whose membership consists primarily of barbers. The fines were levied against both Manke and his business, and $6,000 stemmed from his participation in the Capitol demonstration last May. “It shows their pettiness; it shows their vindictiveness. The lack of proportionality here is almost breathtaking, really,” said David Kallman, Manke’s attorney. In a March 1 report, Administrative Law Judge Stephen Goldstein said Manke’s argument that he had a right to free speech “may have merit,” but the tribunal had no jurisdiction to address constitutional issues. “Respondent had the option of protesting without cutting hair,” Goldstein wrote. “He chose a different path and in so doing has violated the Code.”\n\nMinnesota\n\nMinneapolis: The coronavirus pandemic drove many residents outdoors to go ice fishing, and authorities say it led to an increase of an unwanted byproduct as some anglers left behind litter and trash. “In some places, it was a little more than usual,” said Joe Albert, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources spokesman. “And that’s likely kind of reflective of the fact that there (were) more people out this year ice fishing.” Discarded items ran the gamut from cigarette butts to bait to plastic bottles to slabs of wood used to prop up fish houses, Minnesota Public Radio News reports. On a visit to Medicine Lake in early March, conservation officer Brent Grewe filled the back end of an all-terrain vehicle with trash he collected, including beer cans, pieces of Styrofoam, plastic bags and even a tip-up flag that alerts anglers when they’ve caught a fish. “It’s just kind of disgusting,” Grewe said. There was a silver lining: Grewe noticed more anglers cleaning up other people’s messes, which he called “a breath of fresh air.”\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday signed a bill authorizing a $1,000 pay raise for most teachers, and lawmakers worked to adopt final parts of state spending and borrowing plans for the year that begins July 1. Approving a teacher pay raise is a two-part process. First, it must be authorized. Then, money must be budgeted to pay for it. Reeves, a Republican, signed the legislation that sets a $1,000 raise for most teachers and a $1,100 raise for those in the early years of the career. “It’s hard to imagine how difficult 2020/21 have been on our state’s educators,” Reeves wrote on Twitter as he announced the bill signing. “But so many have stepped up and done what Mississippians do – whatever it took to help MS kids!” Mississippi has long had some of the lowest teacher salaries in the nation. According to the Southern Regional Education Board, the average teacher salary in the U.S. for 2018-19 was $62,304. For Mississippi, the average was $45,105. The state-funded portion of the state government budget will be nearly $6.6 billion. It includes an increase in funding for early learning collaboratives. Those preschool programs are partnerships between public school districts and Head Start centers, child care centers or private or parochial schools. “This is a real good year for education, as far as money going into it,” said House Education Committee Chairman Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach.\n\nMissouri\n\nSpringfield: Federal prosecutors unveiled new charges in the case against state Rep. Tricia Derges last week, this time accusing her of misleading Greene County officials to secure a pandemic grant worth nearly $300,000. According to the latest from a grand jury, Derges, who operates multiple medical clinics in the area, effectively got the county to reimburse her for providing coronavirus tests for which patients had already paid her. The new filing says Derges applied for the grant saying she needed the money to cover the cost of free tests for the poor provided by her nonprofit, Lift Up Someone Today. She included invoices totaling $296,574 from Dynamic DNA for more than 3,000 tests. But the indictment says those tests were actually provided by her for-profit company, Ozark Valley Medical Clinic, where patients had already paid roughly $517,000 for the service. When the check came to her nonprofit’s account, the filing says, she transferred the funds to the company’s account. The new charges add to a February indictment that also accuses her of duping patients with a fake stem cell treatment, illegally distributing prescription drugs and lying to federal agents as they investigated her. Republican leaders have barred her from serving on House committees that review legislation and called for her resignation. When she refused to leave, they kicked her out of Republican caucus meetings and moved her office to a closet.\n\nMontana\n\nHelena: The state’s House Appropriations Committee has moved forward with a bill to allocate about $2 billion in federal stimulus money, including financial penalties for local governments, tribes and schools that have stricter COVID-19 guidelines than the state. Gov. Greg Gianforte lifted the statewide mask mandate Feb. 12. State law allows cities and counties to have stricter guidelines, and several still have mask mandates, while some continue to limit the sizes of gatherings and business operating hours. The appropriation bill, sponsored by Rep. Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, calls for a 20% reduction in grants awarded to cities, counties, tribes and schools that are still enforcing mask mandates or other health guidelines. Rep. Sharon Stewart Peregoy, D-Crow Agency, argued Monday that “cities and counties are being extorted” to lift their regulations when they want to protect their people and wait until more people are vaccinated. Republican Rep. Matt Regier said he finds it ironic that local governments can impose strict COVID-19 protocols that hurt the economy but then ask for tax money to bail them out. The measure passed the appropriations committee 16-8 on Monday. Most of those voting “no” opposed the deficit spending.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: Now that vaccines are becoming more widely available, many residents are scouring the internet in search of an appointment to get a COVID-19 shot. Michael Nollett of Lincoln said he hopes to land an appointment soon, after pharmacies participating in a federal program in the state opened up vaccine eligibility to all adults Monday. Local health officials remain focused on vaccinating people 50 and older, although some public health districts in rural areas are also offering the shots to all adults. Officials have said they expect to make the vaccines available to the general public statewide by late April or early May. “There’s a lot of imperfect things about the way it’s being done,” Nollett told the Omaha World-Herald. “I’m hopeful with this new thing opening up (Monday) that I’ll be able to make some headway somewhere.” More than 325,000 Nebraskans have registered with the state online to get a vaccine. That system notifies people when they are eligible to get the shots at their local health department, which Nollett doesn’t quite qualify for yet in Lancaster County at age 47. Pharmacies participating in the federal program are offering appointments to anyone online, but they fill up quickly.\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: Health officials say they’re hopeful about the direction of the state’s coronavirus outbreak as reported cases, deaths and hospitalization trends remain favorable and as the state gradually reopens following a winter surge. State biostatistician Kyra Morgan said during a telephone news conference Monday that Nevada did not see any significant increase in reported virus cases after allowing businesses to increase capacity to 35% up from 25% in mid-February, nor from allowing another increase up to 50% capacity March 15. State COVID-19 Response Director Caleb Cage said officials are watching closely but hoping that the statewide mask mandate, along with other measures aimed to stop spread of the virus, will help keep cases low and businesses open. Nationally, cases of the virus are up about 10% over the past week from the previous week, to about 60,000 cases per day, with both hospitalizations and deaths ticking up. Nevada, however, has seen consistent declines in cases, hospitalizations and deaths since mid-January. The state’s 14-day rate of coronavirus tests coming back positive fell slightly to 4.2% Monday, down from 4.3% a day earlier.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nConcord: U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has helped introduce a bill that would increase funding to fight the opioid epidemic, which has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. The bill increases funding authorization levels and sets out new policy reforms in the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act, which was enacted in 2016. Policy changes include new research into non-opioid pain management alternatives and long-term treatment outcomes to sustain recovery from addiction. The bill establishes a commission to improve the quality and safety of care for drug overdoses and substance use disorders. The bill also authorizes $300 million to expand evidence-based medication-assisted treatment and $200 million to build a national infrastructure for recovery support services to help individuals move successfully from treatment into long-term recovery. “Over the last year, we’ve witnessed the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbate the substance use disorder epidemic in New Hampshire. Essentially, we’ve experienced one public health crisis exacerbate another. It has taken a devastating toll on our communities and it demands Congress’ attention and action,” Shaheen said in a news release.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nTrenton: State officials on Monday warned about another public health consequence begat by the COVID-19 pandemic, this one disproportionately harming young children: a significant decrease in testing for the toxic metal lead. The number of children tested for lead last year dropped about 35,000 – or 20% – from 2019, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. Meanwhile, the percentage of children who had lead levels that warrant intervention increased somewhat from about 2.2% in 2019 to 2.8% of children tested last year. In 2019, three children were hospitalized for lead above 45 micrograms per deciliter in their blood, but 11 were hospitalized last year, according to the Health Department. The government requires action when a child’s tests show just 5 micrograms per deciliter in their blood, though no level of lead is safe. “This data seems to confirm that the pandemic is exacerbating New Jersey’s childhood lead poisoning epidemic, which continues to disproportionately impact lower-income children and children of color,” said Staci Berger, president and CEO of the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. Before the pandemic eclipsed the attention of public health professionals, a lead water crisis that started in Newark brought the issue to the forefront.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nSanta Fe: The state’s public schools have a long way to go to meet goals for returning students to the classroom set by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the administration of President Joe Biden. An analysis by the Associated Press shows 5% of New Mexico students from kindergarten through eighth grade can walk through school doors full time. The national average for a similar age group was about 45% in February. The governor has urged schools to open their doors to in-person learning for all students next Monday. On Thursday, Biden reiterated his goal to have over half of K-8 schools open by April 30, his 100th day in office. The state and federal government are dedicating enormous resources to rebooting in-person education and making up for learning loss. State officials haven’t estimated the toll on learning for the entire pandemic, but a legislative analysis found learning loss of between four and 12 months as a result of last spring’s closures alone. An increased percentage of New Mexico students were failing at least one class last fall, and some rural districts still hadn’t connected students to the internet. On the bright side, roughly 85% of all the state’s educators, including those who work in pre-K and universities, have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, and a third are fully inoculated.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York: The Tribeca Film Festival said Monday that it plans to hold its 20th edition in person this June and with outdoor screenings spread throughout the city’s five boroughs. The springtime festival – canceled last year due to the pandemic – will instead turn to the summer for its next edition, spanning 12 days beginning June 9. Tribeca will screen films at outdoor venues around New York, including the Battery, Hudson Yards, Pier 57 Rooftop, Brookfield Place, the MetroTech Commons in Brooklyn and Empire Outlets in Staten Island. The festival will also use a traveling 40-foot HD screen in other areas. “The Tribeca Film Festival was born out of our mission to bring people together in the aftermath of 9/11. We’re still doing it,” said Tribeca co-founder Robert De Niro. “And as New York emerges from the shadow of COVID-19, it seems just right to bring people together again in-person for our 20th anniversary festival.” Tribeca has gradually broadened the footprint of its annual festival, stretching beyond its downtown namesake. It has regularly hosted outdoor “drive-in” screenings on city streets, something it expanded nationwide last year in a series of drive-ins held around the country showing classic films.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nAsheville: More than veterans can now get vaccinated against COVID-19 through the Western North Carolina VA Health Care system thanks to a new law that expands the VA’s eligibility to veterans’ spouses and caregivers. In an announcement Monday, the WNC VA Health Care system said it has already begun providing vaccinations to all veterans, their spouses and caregivers participating in the VA’s Program and General Caregiver Support Services and more. The announcement came after eligibility was opened to all veterans regardless of age, profession or medical status March 19 and after a mass vaccination event Saturday at the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville. WNC VA Public Affairs Officer Vance Janes said 608 doses were given, 77 of which were to those eligible under the SAVE LIVES Act. “Overall, we viewed it as a success,” Janes said, as those 608 doses were in addition to the VA’s normal vaccination efforts, when it uses all 1,170 of its normal weekly allotment of doses. The new law opens eligibility for any spouses and caregivers of the roughly 46,000 veterans enrolled for health care with the WNC VA system, he said, as well as any area veterans not enrolled.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved $19.4million in additional funding for pandemic response efforts in the state. To date, FEMA has paid more than $77.1 million in public assistance funding for COVID-19 response in North Dakota. About $18.3 million was provided to the North Dakota Department of Health to add temporary nursing staff and couriers to administer and distribute coronavirus tests and materials to testing sites throughout the state. And $1.1 million was provided to the McKenzie Healthcare System Inc. to convert an abandoned medical clinic into a fully functioning Alternate Care Site, temporarily expanding hospital capacity and providing the needed care to patients living in the city of Watford and surrounding areas.\n\nOhio\n\nCincinnati: City Councilman David Mann is calling on the city administration to evaluate compliance with basic COVID-19 precautions following the opening of the outdoor drinking area at The Banks last weekend. Hundreds of people gathered at The Banks on Saturday to bask in the good weather and enjoy the 85-acre open-container drinking district. Long lines packed with mostly unmasked people formed outside bars and restaurants for hours. Mann is asking what additional enforcement or education may be appropriate to minimize the risk that the Dora district will become a major source of new coronavirus cases. Tracy Schwegmann, spokesperson for The Banks, could not give officials numbers about how many people visited the Dora on Saturday. “If you went to any public park or space anywhere downtown, you saw it was packed. People clearly had spring fever,” Schwegmann said. There are signs posted throughout the Dora reminding guests to social distance and wear masks. “I think at this point people understand what the risks are and what measures they can and should be taking.” The Dora district is not planning any specific celebrations for Thursday’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball, but crowds may once again gather throughout the district.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: Gov. Kevin Stitt received a COVID-19 vaccine Monday as state health officials opened eligibility to everyone over age 16. Stitt, a Republican who in July became the first U.S. governor to announce testing positive for the coronavirus, received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said he hopes that receiving his shot publicly will encourage Oklahomans who may be hesitant to get vaccinated. “I wanted to wait until our most vulnerable had the choice, but now that we’re in Phase 4, I’m going to lead by example, and I’m going to do it,” said Stitt, who flashed a thumbs-up to reporters after getting his shot. Deputy Health Commissioner Keith Reed said surveys have shown about 66% of Oklahomans have indicated a willingness to receive the vaccine, a number he said he hopes continues to increase as more doses are distributed. “The vaccine is free to all Oklahomans,” Reed said. “There are appointments available across the state, including in our metro areas, so if you haven’t enrolled in the state portal yet, I highly encourage you to do so.” The state currently ranks 16th nationally with 30.4% of its population having received at least one dose, compared to a national average of 28.6%, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\n\nOregon\n\nSalem: Gov. Kate Brown and education officials marked the return to in-person learning for the state’s schoolkids in a virtual address Monday morning, saying parents should be confident they will be able to keep students safe. “Today, Oregon officially returns to in-person instruction,” Brown said. “It’s truly a moment worth celebrating. I know students, parents, educators, all of us, have been looking forward to this for months.” The most enriching learning environment for school kids is the classroom, Brown said, for both educational and socialization needs. However, the Democratic governor cautioned that a return to classrooms doesn’t signify a return to pre-pandemic normal. Distance learning days will still be needed, she said, as the state continues to work toward complete in-person learning. Colt Gill, director of the Oregon Department of Education, said parents should be confident their children will be safe when returning to in-person learning in Oregon’s schools. He praised the state’s reopening guidance as among the best in the country. These same protocols will also protect educators and staff from contracting COVID-19, he said. “It is time to go back to our school buildings,” Gill said. Oregon schoolchildren have largely been studying at home since March 12, 2020.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: The state’s schools will get nearly $5 billion from the federal pandemic aid package, the Wolf administration announced Monday. School districts must use at least 20% of the money to address learning loss from the pandemic and to support the “social, emotional and academic needs of underrepresented students,” including students from low-income families, those with disabilities and English language learners, according to the governor’s office. Schools may use the rest of the money for professional training, technology, cleaning supplies, summer and after-school programs, and mental health services and other expenses. About $4.5 billion will go directly to public school districts and charter schools. The Education Department itself will get about $500 million for various initiatives and to assist career and technical schools, intermediate units and other education entities that do not get a direct allocation. “This extra funding is critical to help schools meet the unique needs of educating students at this time while keeping school buildings safe when students return to the classroom,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: The state is on track to meet Gov. Dan McKee’s target of making all residents 16 and older eligible to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine by April 19, health officials said Tuesday. Federal allocations of vaccines will make that possible. “We have a pretty good sense of what our allocations are going to look like, by beginning of June, mid-June, getting 100,000 doses per week in the state,” Tom McCarthy, executive director of the COVID-19 Response Team, said at a virtual meeting of the state COVID-19 Vaccine Subcommittee. About 70% of the population should be fully vaccinated at that point, he said. “So, in order to reach herd immunity, getting as many people vaccinated that are 16-plus is critically important,” McCarthy said. The state is also stepping up efforts to vaccinate more people of color, who have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. The age-adjusted hospitalization rate among Hispanic or Latino Rhode Islanders is 4.6 times higher than the rate among white, non-Hispanic Rhode Islanders, while the age-adjusted rate among Black or African American Rhode Islanders is 2.6 times higher, according to the state Health Department.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: Gov. Henry McMaster said Tuesday that he will spend $6 million in discretionary COVID-19 relief funds on free community computer labs near broadband deserts statewide. Schoolchildren, teachers and others in need of computer access will soon be able to use Apple computers at eight sites across the state, McMaster announced in a news conference at Benedict College, a historically Black liberal arts school in the capital city. “The pandemic has made it abundantly clear that internet access is not a luxury but a necessity for millions of South Carolinians,” McMaster said in a statement. The announcement comes as officials push to expand broadband access across the state. Hundreds of thousands of people in its rural areas have struggled to get online, a problem underscored after the coronavirus pandemic pushed many functions of life onto the internet. The eight computer labs will be strategically located so local school districts, historically Black colleges and universities, and technical colleges can use them, officials said. Two hubs will be centered in Columbia’s Bull Street District and at Benedict College, with some others located at University of South Carolina campuses.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls: The opening of the city’s new triage and addiction center has been long-awaited by many as a central location that can provide help for substance abuse and mental health patients. City Councilor Marshall Selberg said that’s why he’s pushing to appropriate $500,000 of Sioux Falls’ COVID-19 relief funds toward the center, known as The Link. “There’s a bigger issue out there than we realize about people who need some help,” Selberg said. Operation Hope Fund would be part of the Sioux Falls for All funding package that will head to a council vote in April. The fund would be available for a broad number of uses, he said, such as paying for treatments, assisting with housing or transportation that would improve access to care, or helping to buy medication or medical supplies. “We’re trying to use it to be as open as possible,” Selberg said. He said with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating many issues around mental health, he doesn’t want anyone who could benefit from The Link’s help to refrain from reaching out for financial reasons. Selberg said there’s not a hard limit on how much could be spent per person, but officials have spoken generally about $500, which would enable them to help 1,000 people.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: Businesses would be able to decide whether to follow health guidelines issued by state or local authorities during a pandemic under legislation approved by state House lawmakers Monday. Businesses would still be required to follow public health guidelines. But under the bill, titled “Business Fairness Act,” they could decide whether to adhere to less stringent state guidelines over ones put in place by local authorities. The legislation cleared the House on a 90-0 vote and the Senate 28-0 last week and is expected to arrive on Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. Sen. Bill Powers, R-Clarksville, said the bill protects small businesses that suffered economic loss due to mandated closures during the pandemic. Under the bill, businesses could choose to comply with any executive orders, rules or guidelines issued by the governor, state agencies or local authorities to curb the spread of a health crisis. As case numbers climbed in spring 2020, Lee temporarily closed nonessential businesses, and similar restrictions were put in place in cities such as Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville. Even as Lee lifted the statewide orders, local governments in metropolitan areas kept more restrictive measures in place. Davidson and Shelby counties have both faced lawsuits from businesses protesting the mandated closures last summer.\n\nTexas\n\nHouston: A federal appeals court has struck down a lawsuit brought by elderly inmates who alleged the state did not implement adequate measures to shield them from COVID-19. Two male inmates of the Wallace Pack Unit near Houston filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the conditions there violated their constitutional rights by endangering their health and safety. A federal judge in Houston had agreed and ordered the state to equip inmates with protective equipment. Last June, the appeals court panel overturned the order, saying the state was in substantial compliance. The three-judge appeals court panel on Friday ruled in favor of the state. Brandon Duke, one of the inmates’ attorneys, said the decision was disappointing, “but we do agree with the court that the suit, as stated in the opinion, ‘played a role in motivating the prison officials into action and saved countless lives.’ That was the ultimate goal of the case.” It’s unclear whether further appeals are planned.\n\nUtah\n\nSt. George: With vaccines rolling out and a long buildup of cabin fever, visitors are already flocking to Utah’s national parks by the thousands. Zion National Park, the nation’s third most popular national park, saw more than 300,000 visitors in January and February alone this year, breaking records for the winter months. Capitol Reef also broke records, and Canyonlands National Park saw double its January-February 2020 visitation this year, according to official data. A fall surge to Utah national parks last year followed months of drops related to pandemic restrictions. But now, it’s all on the up-and-up. “The forecast looks like it’s going to be a really busy year; there’s a lot of pent-up energy around the country and the world. Because we have open space and we’re accessible, the demand is high,” Greater Zion Office of Tourism Director Kevin Lewis said. For Utah’s tourism economy, this means nothing but profit to make up for last year’s pandemic losses. However, for locals, this means the effects of overtourism could be coming back again with crowding, graffiti and litter beyond control. To help with that, the Utah Office of Tourism is shifting how it does business, with a “Forever Mighty” initiative it hopes will encourage visitors to leave no trace and mindfully spend time on Utah land.\n\nVermont\n\nMontpelier: State officials are urging eligible residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but they are also asking people to keep up with the measures designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Tuesday call came as Vermont continues to set or approach records for new cases of the virus. But deaths and hospitalizations are down because many older Vermonters, those most vulnerable to death and serious consequences of COVID-19, have been vaccinated, with the state leading the nation in inoculation rates among those 65 and older. Many of the new cases are among young people who are less likely to suffer serious consequences or death from COVID-19. “The key to ending the pandemic is for all of us to get vaccinated,” said Mike Pieciak, the Vermont commissioner of financial regulation who has been monitoring COVID-19 statistics during the pandemic. “This individual action will have a significant collective impact.” But it will be some time before all Vermonters can be vaccinated. “People are sick of life in a pandemic, plain and simple,” Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said Tuesday. “That’s been true for awhile, of course, but our strides in vaccination, the beginning of spring and hope for the future may be enticing us to take increasing risks.”\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: Evictions are continuing in the state despite a nationwide moratorium by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Washington Post reports loopholes and misinformation are the likely culprits. Palmer Heenan, an attorney with the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society, said more than 11,000 eviction judgments were made in the state between September and December of last year. The CDC eviction moratorium applies only to failure-to-pay-rent cases. And it requires tenants to fill out a declaration form. That puts the onus on a tenant who might be uninformed about the options. “Part of the problem with the protection as it currently exists is that they require an invocation by the tenant,” Heenan said. “The tenant has to know about the protections. They have to print out and sign a declaration. And they have to bring it to the landlord.” Another problem is that the moratorium applies only to failure-to-pay-rent cases and not other causes of eviction. Housing experts say more landlords are finding other reasons to evict someone, such as a noise complaint or a lease expiring.\n\nWashington\n\nOlympia: As of Wednesday, about 5 million of the state’s more than 7.6 million residents will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine. The latest tier expansion was announced by Gov. Jay Inslee earlier this month. Starting Wednesday, eligibility will be extended to those those 16 and older with two or more comorbidities, anyone between the ages of 60 and 64, and workers 16 and older employed by restaurants, manufacturing and construction. Those living in congregate settings like correctional facilities or group homes for disabilities, plus those experiencing homelessness, will also be eligible for a vaccine. That leaves about 1.2 million more Washingtonians who are not yet eligible, excluding kids under age 16. Inslee has said that the remainder will be eligible by May 1, a federal deadline set by President Joe Biden. Many states have moved to lift eligibility requirements sooner, but Inslee has said he wants to ensure the most vulnerable receive the shot before eligibility opens to everyone. More than 3.2 million doses of vaccine have been administered to date, and more than 16% of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, including those vaccinated by the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: Schools in the capital city and surrounding Kanawha County reported the most coronavirus outbreaks since the start of the pandemic Monday. A total of 41 students and three staff members have been affected by outbreaks across seven schools, according to the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. And in northern West Virginia, officials at East Fairmont High School announced that classes will be conducted remotely until next Tuesday due to a virus outbreak there, prompting all sports competitions to be called off. Less than a week after Republican Gov. Jim Justice announced the state’s color-coded map of outbreak severity would no longer determine in-person school attendance, some counties are struggling to keep classroom doors open. Justice has left it up to local health and school officials to determine when outbreaks are severe enough to cancel activities. The outbreaks come amid a bump in hospitalizations and cases statewide. Justice lifted capacity limits on businesses earlier this month and loosened restrictions on schools, keeping in place a mask mandate. Positive coronavirus cases grew for the third consecutive week in West Virginia. Confirmed cases hit 1,924 last week, up 16% from the previous week, according to state health records.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: State health officials have decided to make COVID-19 vaccinations available for the general public starting next week, accelerating the timetable by a month, Gov. Tony Evers said Tuesday. The move comes as Evers’ administration braces for another surge in infections and a court order that could wipe out the governor’s statewide mask mandate. Currently, health care workers, people over 65, nursing home residents and staff, educators and people with existing health conditions are eligible for vaccines. That will expand to everyone 16 and older starting Monday, Evers announced. “We still have a heck of a long way to go to get everyone vaccinated,” Evers said during a news conference. “But every day we are closer than yesterday in getting back to our Wisconsin way of life. I know I’m not alone in feeling the hope, excitement and relief. … We are this close to the finish line.” State health officials had planned to open up vaccinations to the general public May 1. But case rates in Wisconsin have been rising over the past two weeks, mirroring a national rise in infections. Meanwhile, the state’s conservative-leaning Supreme Court is scheduled to rule Wednesday on whether Evers’ mask mandate is legal.\n\nWyoming\n\nCheyenne: Lawmakers plan to wrestle with state spending as they meet a couple of days longer than expected due to a snowstorm that shut down operations in the capital. This year’s legislative session – one already divided into virtual and in-person segments and scheduled to go a few weeks later than usual due to the coronavirus pandemic – was due to end this Friday. A storm that dumped 31 inches of snow shut down state government and prevented lawmakers from meeting March 15-16. The session is now scheduled to conclude April 7, two days after lawmakers take Monday off in observance of the Easter holiday, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. Tasks remaining for legislators include agreeing on a supplemental budget and finding a solution to Wyoming’s education funding model. The budget is especially important after the coronavirus and a downturn in fossil fuel markets caused Gov. Mark Gordon to slash state spending last year. Legislators, meanwhile, are trying to find a way to sustainably fund public education, which is running at a deficit.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/03/31"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2019/05/13/golden-spike-anniversary-lake-monster-mister-rogers-news-around-states/39474531/", "title": "News from around our 50 states", "text": "From staff and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nBirmingham: The funeral for one of the first black members of the state Legislature will be held in the same church where his daughter died in a racist bombing in 1963. A service for Chris McNair will be held Friday at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. McNair’s daughter, Denise McNair, was among four black girls killed when Ku Klux Klansmen bombed the church Sept. 15, 1963. A surviving daughter, Lisa McNair, said Friday that her father planned his funeral and wanted it held at the church. She says he appreciated the historical significance of the church. Chris McNair became one of the first African-American members of Alabama’s Legislature since Reconstruction when he was elected in 1973. He died Wednesday at age 93.\n\nAlaska\n\nAnchorage: The mysterious animal people say they see in Iliamna Lake is dark, longer than 15 feet, with a long head and tail and distinct fins. It isn’t a whale or a seal, and it often vanishes quickly. Fishermen have tried hooking it. The Anchorage Daily News once offered $100,000 for proof of its existence. But so far, nobody has photographed the creature some call the Iliamna Lake monster. Palmer resident Bruce Wright, a former marine ecologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, hopes to solve the riddle once and for all this summer by sinking an underwater video camera to the bottom of the sprawling, sparsely lake, the largest and one of the deepest in the state. People call Iliamna Lake an inland sea. It’s 80 miles long, with a rare population of freshwater harbor seals that scientists believe moved in from the ocean long ago, and an old legend that something large lives in its 1,000-foot depths.\n\nArizona\n\nFlagstaff: The public is sending mixed messages to the U.S. Forest Service about the future of a popular but primitive recreation area in central Arizona. Some people are calling for more infrastructure improvements at Fossil Creek near Camp Verde, while others want more solitude. The Arizona Daily Sun reports Forest Service officials are analyzing the nearly 220 public comments submitted for the development of a long-term management plan. It’s expected to be complete early next year. Fossil Creek project manager Marcos Roybal says some people want more parking, restrooms and other infrastructure projects, while others are concerned about the possible negative effects of increasing visitor numbers. According to agency data, Fossil Creek averages nearly 8,000 visitors a month between May and October when permits are required.\n\nArkansas\n\nHot Springs: The state’s first dispensary has opened two and a half years after voters approved a measure legalizing medical marijuana for certain qualifying conditions. About 100 people lined up in the rain outside Doctor’s Orders RX in Hot Springs on its first official day of business Saturday, as wait times and confusion about the dispensary’s hours frustrated some people. Despite reports that the dispensary was scheduled to open at 8 a.m., employees said they didn’t plan on opening until 10 a.m. One employee also said he expected to process no more than six patients an hour through the state-required electronic tracking system. Some people said they’d been in line since before dawn. On Friday, the state approved another dispensary, Green Springs Medical, and owner Dragan Vicentic has said he plans to open Monday morning.\n\nCalifornia\n\nOjai: This artsy Southern California city is so safe that a single attempt by teens to steal beer accounted for the majority of its violent crimes last year. Sheriff’s Capt. James Fryhoff says that “a beer run that went bad” accounted for four of the six crimes. The teens allegedly went into a gas station mart to steal beer and used a skateboard to beat an employee who confronted them and hit a witness who called 911. That tallied up as two robberies and two assaults with a deadly weapon. Fryhoff serves as police chief of Ojai, a community of just under 7,700 residents in a scenic valley northwest of Los Angeles. It’s best known for galleries, boutiques and outdoor recreation that draw tourists.\n\nColorado\n\nAlamosa: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve has been recognized for its unpolluted views of the night sky. KOAA-TV reports the International Dark-Sky Association announced Thursday that it has designated the southern Colorado park as an International Dark Sky Park. Park Superintendent Pamela Rice says the park is an ideal place to view the stars because of its dry air, high elevation and lack of light pollution. The park is planning to hold a celebration of the recognition this summer.\n\nConnecticut\n\nNewtown: A school violence prevention program started by parents whose children were killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre is receiving a $25,000 donation. The gift from the Wireless Zone Foundation will be presented to Sandy Hook Promise on Monday. The donation is earmarked to support the training of youth and adults in Sandy Hook Promise’s Know the Signs program, which is designed to help decrease violence, bullying and other forms of victimization, while strengthening school communities. More than 7.5 million people in more than 14,000 schools and youth organizations have gone through the training, learning techniques to reduce bullying and cyberbullying and help identify those as risk to commit violence, including school shootings.\n\nDelaware\n\nLewes Beach: Residents of this beach community have the usual concerns about parking and littering as the summer tourism season begins. But the residents of Lewes Beach are also concerned that beach visitors will continue using the dunes as an outhouse. Lifelong resident JuneRose Futcher says residents are “very worried about the public toileting.” She says the city of Lewes needs to look after residents first. When residents confront people going to the bathroom in the dunes, Futcher says they don’t care. Town officials say there’s no room for more parking or public bathrooms. Resident Mark Schaeffer says a comprehensive land use plan would help Lewes Beach, which has homes ranging from quaint coastal cottages to waterfront villas that list for about $2 million.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: A Jordanian American writer is facing a backlash after she posted a picture on Twitter of a public transit worker eating on a Washington Metro train and reported details about the employee to her bosses. Natasha Tynes apologized a day later on Twitter and deleted her post before making her account private. But people online were upset that someone who calls herself a “minority writer” would shame a black woman and possibly cause her to lose her job. The Washington Post reports the publishing house distributing her debut novel dropped her, and her publisher delayed the book’s planned release. Union officials say the woman was on the train to get to another assignment and had just 20 minutes to eat. Tynes told the Associated Press on Sunday that she didn’t want to talk.\n\nFlorida\n\nTallahassee: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed a bill that would have prevented local governments from banning plastic straws. DeSantis rejected the environmental regulation bill Friday, marking his first veto since taking office this year. The legislation originally addressed issues with contaminated recyclable materials but was amended to include a moratorium on local regulations of single-use plastic straws until 2024. A legislative analysis of the bill lists 10 Florida cities with straw bans, including Miami Beach, St. Petersburg and Fort Lauderdale. DeSantis wrote in the veto that the bans hadn’t frustrated any state policy or harmed state interests. He said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is encouraging residents to reduce plastic straw use, and residents who oppose the bans should elect new city commissioners.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: Executives from three production companies say they won’t film in the state because of its “heartbeat” abortion ban. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports they include David Simon of Blown Deadline, Christine Vachon of Killer Films and Mark Duplass of Duplass Brothers Productions. The boycotts aren’t likely to have an immediate effect because the companies don’t regularly work in Georgia. Killer Films and Duplass Brothers Productions specialize in independent films. Simon’s company has produced HBO series such as “The Wire.” The Georgia law will ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually about six weeks into a pregnancy. Critics say it’s unconstitutional and have vowed to sue. The Motion Picture Association of America represents major studios and is taking a wait-and-see approach.\n\nHawaii\n\nKailua-Kona: Legislation meant to protect the state’s shark population was altered at the 11th hour to remove the apex predators from the bill amid concerns from the scientific community. West Hawaii Today reports the bill was intended to extend protections already in place for manta rays to include all rays and sharks. It would have made it illegal to “capture, take, possess, abuse, or entangle any shark, whether alive or dead, or kill any shark, within state marine waters,” the measure says. There were exceptions for academic research, but the scientific community found them inadequate. University of Hawaii shark researcher Kim Holland said that researchers would be forced to apply for state permits from personnel without scientific expertise and that the bill was too ambiguous in defining terms like “harassment.”\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: It’s the perfect time of year for morel mushrooms to start springing up in the state as soil temperatures warm, and already competition to find the tasty, coveted fungi is heating up. Members of online Idaho morel-hunting groups have been posting their finds for a few weeks, the Idaho Statesman reports. Excited commenters will ask at what elevation the honeycomb-capped mushrooms were found and perhaps what region of the state. But there’s one question you’d better not bother asking: Where’d you find them? “If you have to ask … you will never know,” one commenter wrote in a Facebook group for Idaho morel hunters. In the world of morels, much like in fishing, game hunting or even huckleberry picking, the whereabouts of fruitful caches are kept secret.\n\nIllinois\n\nEvanston: An escaped pet snake that apparently slithered into a suburban Chicago family’s washing machine ended up smelling like fabric softener after going through the wash. Sanela Kamencic tells WMAQ-TV she was “totally creeped out” when the snake turned up Wednesday in the washing machine in Evanston. Police Officer Pedro Carrasco and Animal Control Warden Jason Pound brought the reptile to the Chicago Exotics Animal Hospital. Carrasco says it was “peeking its head out of the washing machine” when it was found. Pound says it “smelled like Downy” after surviving the wash cycle. Veterinarian Melissa Giese tells radio station WBBM the snake was “in pretty good shape” and “really feisty.” The animal hospital says the corn snake, named Penelope, belonged to a 12-year-old boy who lives nearby. They were reunited afterward.\n\nIndiana\n\nIndianapolis: An elephant at the Indianapolis Zoo has tested positive for a virus that killed two other elephants at the zoo in March. Kedar, a 13-year-old male African elephant, tested negative for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus until May 6, the zoo said. Zoo staff had been testing elephants twice a week for the virus since the deaths of Kalina and Nyah. “Kedar is receiving aggressive treatment to help him fight the virus,” said Dr. Rob Shumaker, president of the zoo, which is now conducting daily blood tests on all the elephants in its herd. The virus causes fatal hemorrhagic disease in elephants, mainly Asian elephants. It is one of the most devastating viral diseases in elephants. There is no vaccine for it, and it is not preventable. It has an 85% mortality rate.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: A new building in the East Village neighborhood is the first in the U.S. built using a unique type of mass timber – an eco-friendly material becoming more popular as developers look to reduce their carbon footprints. Mass timber is made by pressing smaller planks of wood together. It can be glued or nailed. In this case, the timber was pressed together using dowels. There are about 200 mass timber buildings across 36 states, but the Des Moines building was the first to use the dowel-laminated product. About 11% of global carbon emissions each year come from concrete and steel manufacturing, says Mark Wishnie, director of forestry and wood products for The Nature Conservancy, and “you also create a new carbon storage pool” with mass timber. During photosynthesis, trees absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The carbon stays in the wood, even after the tree is cut down.\n\nKansas\n\nWichita: A government report forecasts a bountiful winter wheat harvest in the state. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Friday that this year’s wheat crop is expected to be up 17% from a year ago. It predicted Kansas growers would bring in 323 million bushels. The agency forecast the state’s average yield at 49 bushels per acre, up 11 bushels from last year. It also anticipated that grain would be harvested from 6.6 million acres in Kansas, down 700,000 acres from a year ago. The government’s estimate is a bit more optimistic than the one put out by participants in last week’s winter wheat tour who estimated the size of the Kansas crop at 306.5 million bushels.\n\nKentucky\n\nLouisville: A historic commission says a Confederate statue can be removed from a prominent location. The Louisville Metro Landmarks Commission voted 5-3 on Thursday to allow removal of John B. Castleman’s monument from a neighborhood traffic circle. Hours later, the statue was vandalized with paint for the fifth time since a 2017 deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The commission’s decision is final unless it’s appealed to a Circuit Court within 30 days. Castleman was a Confederate soldier and later a U.S. general. He helped found Louisville’s park system. Mayor Greg Fischer’s administration has pushed to relocate the statue because of Castleman’s ties to the Confederacy and support of slavery. The city is working to move the statue to Cave Hill Cemetery, where Castleman is buried.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: Hank Williams’ iconic “Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” won’t become one of the state’s official songs. Republican Sen. Norby Chabert, of Terrebonne Parish, told The Advocate he’s shelving the proposal for this legislative session. Louisiana already has two official state songs: “Give Me Louisiana” and “You Are My Sunshine.” Chabert’s proposal chafed some who objected to adding another song, particularly those who love “You Are My Sunshine.” It was sung by Jimmie Davis, a country singer from Jackson Parish who served two terms as governor. Williams released “Jambalaya” in 1952, and it was the best-selling record for 14 weeks. It’s often played at Louisiana functions, particularly in southern parishes, because of its celebration of the region’s culture.\n\nMaine\n\nAugusta: The state is turning 200, and officials want to make sure the Pine Tree State celebrates the big birthday with the best flag possible. Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap is asking the public for input on three proposed designs for the commemorative flag, which will be on display around the state in 2020. Maine became a state in 1820. Dunlap is charged with presenting a final decision about the flags to the Legislature and Maine Bicentennial Commission. The state says the result of the public vote will play a major role in Dunlap’s decision. Dunlap says the voting has begun, and it is scheduled to end at 5 p.m. Friday.\n\nMaryland\n\nAnnapolis: Ever since a townhome developer in the 1980s dug up a cemetery on the former grounds of the county’s first African-American church, two skeletons have been sitting in boxes archived in a museum. After searching for decades, historian Janice Hayes-Williams’ new mission is to get the remains back to their proper resting place in Annapolis and restore dignity for black families whose neighborhood was destroyed by gentrification. The plan for the return relies on extracting DNA and matching it with the living ancestors of those buried on the property that is now home to City Gate Lane townhouses. County Executive Steuart Pittman and Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley plan to ask Gov. Larry Hogan to put Maryland State Highway Administration Chief Archaeologist Julie Schablitsky on the case.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: A performing arts group has found the child who was literally wowed by a recent classical music concert. The Handel & Haydn Society had just finished a rendition of Mozart’s “Masonic Funeral” at Symphony Hall when a youngster blurted out: “WOW!” The group was so charmed that it launched a search for the “Wow Child” with the help of audio of the moment captured by WCRB-FM. The child is 9-year-old Ronan Mattin, of New Hampshire, WGBH-FM reports. He attended the concert with his grandfather Stephen, who saw a report on TV about the society looking for the child. Stephen Mattin said Ronan is on the autism spectrum and expresses himself differently from how other people do. He said his grandson is a huge music fan. The society will invite Ronan and his family back to the venue in October, when the 2019-2020 season opens, for another Mozart performance.\n\nMichigan\n\nMuskegon: A museum housed on a World War II-era warship is bringing a massive anti-aircraft gun aboard. The USS LST 393 Veterans Museum in Muskegon is adding an 18,000-pound anti-aircraft cannon to its landing ship tank this summer. The Muskegon Chronicle reports that the Bofors twin-barreled anti-aircraft cannon is currently being restored. The museum aims to have the gun lifted onto the ship ahead of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, which will be held June 1-2. Board member John Stephenson says the museum has searched for a Bofors cannon since 2005. The warship would’ve carried multiple Bofors when entering battle during World War II. It was part of the Allied Forces’ D-Day invasion in Normandy, France, that weakened the Nazi’s hold on Western Europe in 1944.\n\nMinnesota\n\nSt. Paul: The top Republican in the state Senate, who helped defeat a proposed ban on so-called gay conversion therapy for minors, sent his daughter to a therapist opposed to gay relationships after suspecting she had a same-sex attraction when she was a teenager, the Star Tribune reports. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, a conservative Christian from Nisswa, led his caucus in voting down a Democratic proposal May 1 against the practice of trying to turn gay people straight. Genna Gazelka, 30, who uses the pronoun “they” and now identifies as bi-gender, recalled being sent to a therapist who decried same-sex relations. The therapist was Marcus Bachmann, the husband of former U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, a fiery conservative Christian who ran for president in 2012. “This is harassment, and it is tantamount to what could be said of torture or sexual torture,” Genna Gazelka said of conversion therapy.\n\nMississippi\n\nTupelo: A total of 28 counties and cities in northeast Mississippi have criminalized the possession and sale of kratom, a legal but unregulated herbal product. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the governments are being urged to action by the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and a Columbus-area anti-Kratom group. Bills to ban the substance statewide failed this year in the Legislature. Kratom is produced from the leaves of a tropical tree and consumed as a powder, a liquid or capsules. Supporters of kratom say it provides safe, non-addictive pain relief and can also combat anxiety disorders. Some kratom users also say it manages the withdrawal symptoms of potent opiate drugs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said the substance may be addictive and prone to abuse.\n\nMissouri\n\nKansas City: The city’s school district has found its public and charter schools are increasingly racially segregated, expensive to operate and losing high school students. KCUR-FM reports the district released a new analysis showing that 78% of schools in the Kansas City system were racially segregated by 2017, well over the 32% of schools in 1999. The report says it’s in part due to white families opting out of the system. Only 10% of the city’s public school students are white. The analysis also says Kansas City spends $80 million more on administration, transportation and overhead than the comparably sized Springfield district. The report attributes high costs to inefficiencies from operating 83 schools, compared to Springfield’s 53. Public schools have been losing nearly half of all students between kindergarten and 12th grade.\n\nMontana\n\nHelena: Gov. Steve Bullock signed a series of bills Friday that allow for spending nearly $400 million on buildings, bridges and water systems across the state – an effort aimed at creating jobs, boosting the state’s economy and clearing up a backlog of needed work. The bills include money to repair or replace 14 bridges and 51 water, wastewater and sewer projects. Overall, the 2019 Legislature passed $2.7 billion in infrastructure projects, including highway projects. Other projects include $25 million for long-sought renovations to Romney Hall at Montana State University; a dental hygiene lab at Great Falls College; and backlogged maintenance at state buildings, including $2 million for the state Capitol complex.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: A new report says a nearly $200 million decline in the state’s agricultural exports in 2017 was driven by President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on U.S. trading partners. The Nebraska Farm Bureau report attributes the drop to decreases in soybean and corn exports, while beef and pork exports both increased in 2017. The bureau’s senior economist, Jay Rempe, says Trump’s talks of tariffs in January 2017 caused a decline in soybean and other commodity prices. Rempe points out that China’s retaliatory tariffs didn’t occur until May 2018. Rempe says Nebraska’s agricultural community will continue to face pressure unless the administration resolves its trade disputes with China, Mexico and other countries.\n\nNevada\n\nCarson City: The governor signed a law Friday opening the books on those awarded lucrative licenses to sell recreational marijuana, prompting the state tax department to reveal that just 16 applicants won all 61 new pot dispensary licenses awarded last year. Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak said the measure ushers in a “new era of transparency that will benefit the industry and the public alike.” The new law makes public the identity of marijuana license applicants and the method the state uses to score and rank bids. The licensing process has faced complaints from companies who say it is not clear what criteria officials used to award licenses. In lawsuits, the companies accuse the state of unconstitutionally picking winners and losers for the marijuana licenses. Sisolak declined Friday to comment on specifics of the pending litigation.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nHampton: The Department of Environmental Services has closed the state’s ocean coastline and Hampton-Seabrook Harbor to shellfish harvesting because of a toxin that comes from what’s known as red tide. New Hampshire Public Radio reports the DES found high levels of the toxin, which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning. It was recently found in mussel samples. Chris Nash, shellfish program manager at the department, says it comes from toxic algae. The waters will be closed for the rest of May, which will affect soft shell clamming season. Some oyster harvesting areas remain open in Great Bay and Little Bay. The DES says paralytic shellfish poisoning is a life-threatening syndrome. It says the onset of symptoms is rapid, usually within two hours of consumption. Symptoms include tingling, burning, numbness, drowsiness, incoherent speech and respiratory paralysis.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nTrenton: A microorganism that played a role in treating tuberculosis is now officially recognized as the state microbe. Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill Friday giving the distinction to Streptomyces griseus. The microbe was discovered in New Jersey soil in 1916. In 1943, researchers from Rutgers University used the microbe to create the antibiotic streptomycin. Tuberculosis death rates in the U.S. plummeted. They fell from about 194 deaths per 100,000 people in 1900 to about 9 deaths per 100,000 people in 1955. Rutgers researcher Selman Waksman was awarded the 1952 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discovering the microbe and creating the antibiotic.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nRio Grande del Norte National Monument: Rafting and angler guides are predicting a good season for Rio Grande tourism in the state thanks to strong runoff generated by a good snowmelt this year. A healthy snow patch this winter is feeding the Rio Grande with much-needed water after long dry spells stemming from drought, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. This year, the National Weather Service in Albuquerque predicts runoff to be at least 148% of normal through June. Water levels were 50% of normal in 2018. Parts of rivers were bone dry or only inches high. Fish – such as trout in the Pecos River – died off, and long sandbars formed along once-wet areas. In addition to tourism, strong runoff is predicted to help the ecosystem around the river and its banks. University of New Mexico biology researcher Rebecca Bixby says the increased flow will help the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow lay eggs and spawn.\n\nNew York\n\nNew York: The workers who spent their time helping with recovery efforts at ground zero are being commemorated on special-issue transit system MetroCards. The cards will be available starting Wednesday at 10 subway stations, mostly in the area of the World Trade Center site, the Daily News reports. The special MetroCards are connected to the upcoming opening of a glade at the national Sept. 11 memorial that pays tribute to the rescue and recovery workers. The 9/11 Memorial Glade is scheduled to formally open May 30, the anniversary of the day in 2002 when the recovery effort was officially ended. The MetroCards include images of four different people who worked at the site.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nNew Bern: Almost 2,000 students will receive scholarships to take a field trip to Tryon Palace, the state’s first permanent capitol. Tryon Palace officials say 1,775 students at 16 Title I schools will receive scholarships to visit the historic site. Title I schools meet certain guidelines for the number of students who are economically disadvantaged. The Tryon Palace Foundation raised the money for the field trips with donations from individuals. The foundation president says the field trips are important because experiencing history is different from merely reading about it. Most of the schools receiving the scholarships are in eastern North Carolina. Applications to attend a field trip next year will be accepted Aug. 15 through Sept. 30.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nMinot: An imitation B-52 bomber and an oil derrick will be showcased in the proposed Magic City Discovery Center, according to recently unveiled concept plans. The Minot Daily News reports that the children’s museum’s board president, Mark Lyman, says the project has raised nearly two-thirds of the $7 million needed for the three-story, 22,000-square-foot facility. Lyman says groundbreaking will happen on a gill just south of the Minot airport once the project has raised 75% to 80% of the intended funding target. Paul Orselli, chief instigator with POW!, detailed a 35-foot climbing structure with a B-52 at the top that will be viewed through the multi-story, glassed-in atrium.\n\nOhio\n\nDayton: French and American teams are working together again on a D-Day project, this time to allow some virtual time travel back to that decisive moment in world history. Visitors to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton can use French-developed tablet technology when the museum begins its commemorations of D-Day on Monday. Events include paratroopers dropping from a vintage plane flying overhead and showings of movies about the June 6, 1944, assault that helped end World War II. Tablets called HistoPads let users contrast current views of historic sites with detailed re-creations of them, enhanced in this case with video footage, photos and maps from 1944. This will be the first U.S. site for HistoPads.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: The state Department of Corrections is asking federal lawmakers to authorize the use of cellphone signal jamming technology after being bombarded by an overflow of smuggled cellular devices they say gangs use to commit crimes inside and outside prison. The Oklahoman reports that since 2011, the Corrections Department has seized over 48,500 prohibited cellphones, including almost 1,800 since January. In 2016, correctional officers removed a record high of 9,766 cellphones. Corrections officials across the U.S. have cited cellphones as a reason for violent crimes behind bars and on the streets.\n\nOregon\n\nPortland: The state Supreme Court disagreed with more than 50 years of state case law by ruling that Oregonians retain a privacy interest in the garbage they leave on the curb for pickup. That means police can’t simply rummage through it even after a truck hauls it away. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the court wrote Thursday that the state’s residents have a reasonable expectation that after they leave their trash in opaque bins covered with a lid, no one will inspect it without a warrant. The Supreme Court ruled in the case of Tracy Lynn Lien and Travis Allen Wilverding, who shared a home and were convicted of methamphetamine dealing after police from Lebanon asked the community’s garbage hauling company, Republic Services, to pick up and set aside the contents of the pair’s garbage on collection day in 2014.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nLatrobe: Residents of Fred Rogers’ home state will be encouraged to exhibit acts of kindness in honor of the beloved PBS children’s show host. Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday that the state’s website will share stories of good deeds and kind gestures May 23 for “1-4-3 Day,” named for Mister Rogers’ favorite number. Rogers used the number 143 to say “I love you,” as each digit reflects the number of letters in each word in the phrase. May 23 is the 143rd day of the year. The Fred Rogers Trail highlights locations in his hometown of Latrobe and in Pittsburgh, where “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was produced. The show aired from 1968 to 2001. Rogers, an ordained minister, is buried at Latrobe Presbyterian Church. He died in 2003 at age 74.\n\nRhode Island\n\nWarwick: The yogurt company Chobani plans to pay the school lunch debts of low-income families with students attending a district that made headlines by announcing children who owe money would get cold sunflower butter and jelly sandwiches instead of a hot meal, the mayor’s office confirmed Friday. Mayor Joseph Solomon’s office said it’s coordinating with Chobani to accept nearly $50,000, the amount owed by low-income families with children in Warwick Public Schools. Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya tweeted Thursday that as a parent, the news broke his heart. Access to nutritious food should be a right, not a privilege, he said. Chobani was but one of the businesses and organizations that offered to donate money to the district, officials said. After a public backlash, Warwick Public Schools reversed the cold-lunch decision last week.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: The city’s police agency says it is using technology to combat and reduce gun violence. During a news conference Friday, the Columbia Police Department announced it’s using ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection technology that uses acoustics to detect, locate and alert law enforcement about gunfire in real time. Officials say data is transmitted wirelessly and verified, triangulated and reported to police within approximately 45 seconds. Police Chief Skip Holbrook says the city council approved the department’s acquisition of the technology in September 2018, and it has been implementing the system north of the capital city. He says it’s currently the only agency using the technology. Holbrook says police have received 131 alerts, detected 339 shots and seized 11 firearms since deploying the technology April 18.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls: An animal rights group is asking Gov. Kristi Noem to reconsider her decision to shoot off fireworks at Mount Rushmore for the Fourth of July celebration in 2020. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Friday that its president sent a letter to Noem suggesting she consider replacing the fireworks with a drone show. The letter from Ingrid Newkirk said fireworks can scare animals and start wildfires, among other hazards. Newkirk said drone shows are safer and don’t cause pollution. Noem spokesman Joshua Shields called PETA’s suggestion “puzzling” and said forest animals might not react well to “hundreds of drones buzzing and blinking” around the monument at night.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: The state Supreme Court has ruled that city school districts don’t have to share money they receive from liquor taxes with county governments. News outlets report the opinion this week settles five lawsuits filed by Blount, Bradley, Sullivan, Washington and Coffee counties. State law calls for the Department of Revenue to keep half the proceeds from liquor-by-the-drink taxes for general education funds and return the other half to the originating city or county. The counties argued that the state law required cities to share the revenue with counties. The Supreme Court disagreed. Justice Holly Kirby wrote that since cities make the money, they are entitled to the proceeds. The ruling applies to all 95 counties and 43 cities that operate independent school districts.\n\nTexas\n\nHouston: The Federal Aviation Administration has not passed a new safety regulation that legislators say would fortify supervision of the hot-air balloon industry and help avoid fatal crashes similar to a crash that killed 16 people in the state almost three years ago. The agency’s indecision triggered an irritated response from Texas U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who sent a letter to the FAA’s acting administrator asking what was causing the extended delay, the Houston Chronicle reports. Doggett helped create bipartisan legislation that requires medical exams for commercial balloon pilots, who have been exempt from health screenings since the 1930s. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the balloon’s pilot was as impaired by prescription medications as a drunk driver when he ignored weather warnings and flew the ride into a power line.\n\nUtah\n\nPromontory: Music, bells and cannon fire rang out Friday at a remote spot in the desert where the final spikes of the Transcontinental Railroad were hammered 150 years ago, uniting a nation long separated by vast expanses of desert, mountains and forests. An estimated 20,000 people swarmed to the celebration at Golden Spike National Historic Park northwest of Salt Lake City – the signature event of several days of festivities marking the railroad’s anniversary. Visitors came from as far as China, many decked out in old-fashioned dresses, top hats, bonnets and scarves. The event included a re-enactment of an iconic “champagne toast” photo of railroad workers perched atop facing stream locomotives giving cheers to the epic feat. The festivities also highlighted the vital contribution of the Chinese workers who put in long hours in brutal conditions and haven’t always received their proper due throughout history.\n\nVermont\n\nBurlington: The Queen City doesn’t get a lot of sunlight but makes up for it in other ways. The city is nestled in Chittenden County, which gets some of the lowest average levels of sunlight per day, according to AccuWeather. However, Burlington manages to take advantage of as many sun rays as possible using solar panels. The city takes the fourth spot on a list by AccuWeather of solar energy per capita. Honolulu took the highest place. AccuWeather points out that the city managed to earn the title of “America’s First All-Renewable-Energy,” according to Politico.\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: The Hershey Company has picked the state for a major expansion of its manufacturing operation. Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday that the candy maker plans a $104 million expansion at its facility in Augusta County. The expanded facility will manufacture a type of fudge and peanut cream. The new project is expected to create 65 new jobs. Northam approved $1 million in state grants for the project. Hershey brands include Reese’s, Kit Kat and Jolly Rancher.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: The state is set to become the first to enter the private health insurance market with a universally available public option. A set of tiered public plans will cover standard services and are anticipated to be up to 10% cheaper than comparable private insurance, thanks in part to savings from a cap on rates paid to providers. Unlike existing government-managed plans, the Washington plans are set to be available to all residents regardless of income by 2021. The Legislature approved the measure creating the plans last month, and Gov. Jay Inslee is scheduled to sign it into law Monday. The move also thrusts the state into the national debate over the role of government in health care, with a hybrid model that puts it to the left of market-only approaches but stops short of a completely public system.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: He’s a billionaire who owns mines, farms and a resort. But how Jim Justice spends his time as the state’s 36th governor has largely been a mystery. Since taking office in 2017, critics have said Justice is rarely at the Statehouse and called his business portfolio distracting. He’s pushed back on those claims. His schedule for the past seven months was recently released to the Associated Press through an open-records-law request. It shows he rarely meets with his Cabinet, rarely is at the Statehouse and was largely missing at one of the legislative session’s most critical points. His office said Justice wasn’t available for an interview but released a statement. Justice says his calendar doesn’t reflect the time and work he puts in as governor. His lawyer says Justice doesn’t log most of his office time.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMilwaukee: The Medical College of Wisconsin is looking for ways to fight racial disparity in cancer deaths in the state. The National Cancer Institute reports that black residents in Wisconsin get cancer at a 22% higher rate than do white residents. Factors leading to cancer disparities for African Americans include stress, income, lifestyle and poor diet. Biological differences and medical access also contribute. Lauren Matthews has focused on the problem for three years as a community program coordinator at the college. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the college has launched a program offering free prostate screenings for black men. The program also provides community education about cancer screening. The college also is studying breast cancer, colorectal cancer and smoking with funding help from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.\n\nWyoming\n\nLaramie: Volunteers are clearing dead trees and repairing fences along a former railroad right of way that’s been converted to a trail in southern Wyoming. The Laramie Boomerang reports the Friends of the Medicine Bow Rail Trail group is working with the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest to maintain the route, which winds 21 miles from Lake Owen to the Colorado border. The lake is 40 miles southwest of Laramie. Friends of the Medicine Bow Rail Trail President Dave Nelson says he and other cyclists frequently encountered dead trees on the trail, many killed by beetles. Members have been volunteering on the trail for years, and last year they formed a nonprofit that can accept donations and apply for grants. Forest Service spokesman Aaron Voos says such groups do invaluable work for the agency.\n\nFrom staff and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/05/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2021/10/13/school-food-shortages-elk-sheds-tire-city-status-retained-news-around-states/119045212/", "title": "School food shortages, elk sheds tire: News from around our 50 states", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nAlexander City: Schools across the state have been facing food shortages, education officials say. Disruptions in the workforce needed to serve and deliver meals – along with supplies of food and packaging materials – are behind the shortages, Al.com reports. State education officials say every school district in Alabama is facing shortages to some degree. Alexander City Schools recently warned parents that it’s experiencing supply chain issues with its food vendors. In recent weeks, the school system hasn’t received food deliveries because suppliers are short on supplies, drivers and warehouse employees. The school system asked parents to feed breakfast to their students at home if possible. In southeast Alabama, Dothan City Schools asked parents last month to prepare for a possible shift to remote learning due to the district’s food supply issues.\n\nAlaska\n\nAnchorage: Several Republican state lawmakers are urging easier access to ivermectin amid the pandemic, though that drug is not authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for preventing or treating COVID-19. Senate Majority Leader Shelley Hughes of Palmer said she urged Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state health commissioner to consider supplying Alaskans with vitamins and drugs, including ivermectin, “that some Alaskan physicians are prescribing but pharmacies aren’t filling.” Three Republican House members testified about ivermectin at a recent state pharmacy board meeting, Alaska Public Media reports. “Maybe the pharmacists could be directed – or directed’s the wrong word – suggested that they allow the doctors to actually be doctors and do their jobs,” said Rep. Kevin McCabe of Big Lake. In a letter to the House members after the meeting, the board’s chair, Justin Ruffridge, a Kenai Peninsula pharmacist, noted potential legal liability for pharmacists for drugs they dispense and said pharmacists were free to use their “professional judgment” when deciding whether to fill prescriptions. He said the board has not threatened pharmacists’ licenses around the issue but said reports of misuse of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 “should give most prescribers and pharmacists reason to pause.”\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: A judge has blocked the state from collecting $1.1 million from the city of Flagstaff to compensate for its minimum wage that is higher than the state’s rate, ruling that the state missed a deadline for the assessment and was stretching a law targeting higher voter-approved city wages to collect its indirect costs. But the ruling from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge James Smith released Monday sidestepped the question of whether the assessments are unconstitutional. The state minimum wage reached $12 an hour in 2020 with inflation adjustments after that and now stands at $12.15 an hour. Flagstaff voters in 2016 phased in higher city minimum wages, which hit $15 per hour this year with annual increases thereafter. Smith’s ruling said a law enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2019 targeting higher local minimum wages set a July 31 deadline for setting the yearly assessment. The state missed that deadline. The judge also said the state can’t charge for the indirect costs of Flagstaff’s higher minimum wage, which is what it did in coming up with the $1.1 million figure. The state is exempt from paying the higher minimum wage Flagstaff voters approved in 2016, and the law authorizing assessments does not specifically say the state can calculate the indirect costs of paying contractors.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: Lawmakers sent the governor a congressional redistricting plan that critics say weakens the influence of minority voters in the Little Rock area by splitting the state’s most populous county among three U.S. House districts. The measure splits portions of Pulaski County, a heavily Democratic county that includes Little Rock, among the 1st, 2nd and 4th congressional districts. The county is currently in the 2nd District, which Democrats have tried unsuccessfully to flip in recent years. Republicans hold all four of the state’s U.S. House seats and a majority of both chambers of the Legislature. Democrats have criticized the plan for moving predominantly Black and Hispanic precincts out of the 2nd District and accused Republicans of trying make a GOP district even redder. Arkansas is the only former Confederate state that has not elected a Black representative to the U.S. House. “It’s going to disenfranchise African American communities, regardless of the intent,” state Rep. Fred Love, D-Little Rock, said before the House approved the measure last week. Supporters of the plan say splitting Pulaski County makes sense given its location in the middle of the state. They also say it helps limits the number of counties split up. Opponents of splitting up counties have said it divides up communities and their interests.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSantee: Recordings indicate the pilot of a twin-engine plane nose-dived into a San Diego suburb despite a growingly concerned air traffic controller who repeatedly warned the pilot to climb in altitude – information that will be examined by investigators who arrived at the crash scene Tuesday. The Cessna 340 smashed into a UPS van, killing the driver, and then hit two houses to ignite just after 12 p.m. Monday in Santee, a suburb of 50,000 people east of San Diego. United Parcel Service of America Inc. held a moment of silence Tuesday for van driver Steve Krueger, who was remembered for making work better with his laugh, the company said in a statement. The plane’s owner, an Arizona physician, also died, and an elderly couple whose home went up in flames after it was hit suffered burns. It was unclear whether others were on board the plane. An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the crash scene Tuesday morning, according to agency spokeswoman Jennifer Gabris. Investigators will review radar data, weather information, air traffic control communication, airplane maintenance records and the pilot’s medical records, she said. The plane had planned to land at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego when it crashed.\n\nColorado\n\nPine: Wildlife officials say an elusive elk that has been wandering the hills with a car tire around its neck for at least two years has finally been freed of the obstruction. The 41/ 2 -year-old, 600-pound bull elk was spotted near Pine Junction, southwest of Denver, on Saturday evening and tranquilized, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Officers with the agency had to cut off the elk’s five-point antlers to remove the encumbrance because they couldn’t slice through the steel in the bead of the tire. “We would have preferred to cut the tire and leave the antlers for his rutting activity, but the situation was dynamic, and we had to just get the tire off in any way possible,” Officer Scott Murdoch said. Murdoch and fellow officer Dawson Swanson estimated the elk shed about 35 pounds with the removal of the tire, the antlers and debris inside the tire. Wildlife officers first spotted the elk with the tire around its neck in July 2019 while conducting a population survey for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goats in the Mount Evans Wilderness. They said they have seen deer, elk, moose, bears and other wildlife become entangled in a number of items, including swingsets, hammocks, clotheslines, decorative or holiday lighting, furniture, tomato cages, chicken feeders, laundry baskets, soccer goals and volleyball nets.\n\nConnecticut\n\nSimsbury: A plot of land that was once a thriving tobacco farm where Martin Luther King Jr. worked as a college student in the 1940s will be protected for its historic and cultural significance to the state’s civil rights history. Last month’s finalized sale of the 288-acre parcel of land was announced Friday. The nonprofit Trust for Public Land and the town of Simsbury plan to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday for the Meadowood site. Nearly 130 acres will be set aside for recreational access and roughly 120 acres for working farmland. The rest will be saved for future needs of the town of Simsbury, while 2 acres will be kept for historic preservation purposes. Simsbury voters in May overwhelmingly authorized $2.5 million to purchase the property. Various state agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the George Dudley Seymour Trust, individuals and foundations have provided an additional $4 million. Historians believe King’s experiences in Connecticut influenced his decision to become a minister and civil rights leader. He was among a group of students from Atlanta’s Morehouse College recruited by tobacco growers to work in the fields to earn money for tuition. “On our way here we saw some things I had never anticipated to see,” King wrote his father in June 1944. “After we passed Washington there was no discrimination at all. The white people here are very nice. We go to any place we want to and sit any where we want to.”\n\nDelaware\n\nDover: The state auditor, who is responsible for rooting out government fraud, waste and abuse, was indicted Monday on public corruption charges. An indictment issued by a New Castle County grand jury charges Kathleen McGuiness, 58, with felony counts of theft and witness intimidation, plus misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, conflict of interest and noncompliance with state procurement laws. Prosecutors said the charges include allegations that McGuiness hired her daughter and one of her daughter’s friends, both high school seniors at the time, as temporary employees in May 2020, even though other temporary employees had to leave their positions because of the lack of available work amid the coronavirus pandemic. Authorities said Elizabeth McGuiness, who has not been charged, continued to be paid even after enrolling at a college in South Carolina last August, and she was still listed as an employee as recently as Aug. 28 of this year. She was initially listed as a “public information officer” and later as an “intern.” McGuiness also is charged with orchestrating a 2019 no-bid “communications services” contract for a company she had used as a campaign consultant when running for lieutenant governor in 2016.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: Howard University and Netflix have announced a $5.4 million endowed scholarship to honor the late actor, writer, producer and Howard alumnus Chadwick Boseman, WUSA-TV reports. The Chadwick A. Boseman Memorial Scholarship will provide incoming students in the College of Fine Arts, recently named for Boseman, with a four-year scholarship to cover the full cost of tuition, the university said. “This scholarship embodies Chadwick’s love for Howard, his passion for storytelling, and his willingness to support future generations of Howard students,” Howard University President Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick said in a release. “I am thankful for the continuous support and partnership of Chadwick’s wife, Mrs. Simone Ledward-Boseman, and to Netflix for this important gift.” The scholarship was established with the support of Ledward-Boseman, with Netflix as the inaugural donor. The first four scholarships were earmarked for one recipient in each class beginning this fall, and they’ll continue to be distributed to an incoming freshman every year. The university said the scholarship will focus on students who exemplify exceptional skills in the arts, reminiscent of Boseman, and who demonstrate financial need.\n\nFlorida\n\nOrlando: The state is investigating dozens of local governments, performing arts centers, the Miami Marlins, a law enforcement counterterrorism unit and a concert by singer Harry Styles for violating a law prohibiting businesses and governments from requiring people to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. About 120 cases are being reviewed for violations of Florida’s “vaccine passport” law, which took effect last month and can result in a $5,000 fine per violation, according to a public records request from the Orlando Sentinel. The law is being challenged in court and conflicts with a Biden administration order that companies with over 100 employees require them to be vaccinated or face weekly coronavirus testing. In central Florida, the list includes Orange County government; the Orange County Convention Center; AdventHealth, one of the state’s largest health care systems; several performing arts venues; and the Amway Center, which is home to the Orlando Magic and recently hosted a concert by Styles whose tour mandated attendees either be vaccinated or have a negative test. “At this point … the courts have not reached the final decision, but the indication is that the Florida law flies in the face of our Florida Constitution and perhaps in the face of common sense,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings told the newspaper.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: Officials in Fulton County, where election operations are already under review by the state, have fired two workers accused of shredding paper voter registration applications, according to a county statement released Monday. Preliminary information indicates the employees checked out batches of applications for processing, and they are alleged to have shredded some of the forms, the Fulton County statement said. Fellow employees reported the alleged actions to their supervisor Friday morning, and the two employees were fired that day. The county statement said the applications were received in the past two weeks. Fulton County includes most of the city of Atlanta, where voters are set to go to the polls Nov. 2 to elect a mayor, City Council members and other municipal officials. The deadline to register to vote in that election was Oct. 4. It’s not immediately clear whether the 300 voter registration records in question were lost, county spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt said. “Normally, processing a voter registration application involves entering them in the state system, updating them, verifying their information,” she said. “That is the matter that’s under investigation – was that process completed.” Voters don’t register by party in Georgia, so the applications had no party affiliation.\n\nHawaii\n\nWailuku: The median sales price of a single-family home in Maui County dropped below $1 million last month as people priced out of the market have chosen to pause their homebuying. The Maui News reports the median sales price for a single-family home in the county stood at $996,500 in September. That’s up 27.3% from the same month last year. But it’s below levels from May through August, when the median topped $1 million for four straight months. Median sales prices for single-family homes in Kauai and Honolulu counties have also topped $1 million this year. The September report from the Realtors Association of Maui said declining affordability has had “a significant impact” on homebuyers who have been priced out of the market. Association President Keone Ball said Sunday that he believes prices will go back up. “The problem is the volume – you know, there isn’t enough for sale,” he said, noting that low inventory combined with high demand for affordable housing is also a nationwide problem. Pending sales decreased 4.3% for single-family homes in Maui County but increased 5.7% for condominiums. Ball said investment in condos may have spiked due to the settling of the COVID-19 pandemic, affordability and condominiums being “the only option.”\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: State officials will make available up to $200,000 to be divided into payments for hunters and trappers who kill wolves in the state through next summer. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game late last month entered into an agreement with a nonprofit hunting group to reimburse the expenses for a proven kill. The agreement follows a change in Idaho law aimed at killing more wolves that are blamed for attacking livestock and reducing deer and elk herds. Montana this year also expanded when, where and how wolves can be killed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at the request of environmental groups concerned about the expanded wolf killing in the two states, last month announced a yearlong review to see if wolves in the U.S. West should be relisted under the Endangered Species Act. Idaho has managed wolves since they were taken off the list in 2011. State wildlife managers had been incrementally increasing wolf harvest during that time – but not fast enough for lawmakers, who earlier this year passed the law backed by some trappers and the powerful ranching sector. Republican Gov. Brad Little signed the measure lawmakers said could lead to killing 90% of the state’s 1,500 wolves before federal authorities would take over management.\n\nIllinois\n\nChicago: Al Capone died nearly 75 years ago, but it’s clear interest in the infamous Chicago gangster is very much alive after some of his prized possessions were auctioned off over the weekend for at least $3 million. The Chicago Tribune reports Capone’s family sold several of his belongings, including what was billed as his favorite gun, at auction in California, where his three surviving granddaughters live. The event, called “A Century of Notoriety: The Estate of Al Capone,” was held at a private club in Sacramento and attracted nearly 1,000 registered bidders, including 150 who attended the nearly four-hour-long event in person. Among the items up for auction was a bear-shaped humidor as well as diamond jewelry and some family photographs. The most popular item proved to be Capone’s favorite Colt .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol, which went for $860,000. The story of Capone, the original “Scarface,” is a familiar one, thanks in large part to a host of movies, television shows and books about the mobster. Called Public Enemy No. 1 after the 1929 “Valentine’s Day Massacre” in which seven members of a rival bootlegger gang were gunned down in a Lincoln Park parking garage, Capone was convicted of income tax evasion in 1934. He spent 11 years locked up in Alcatraz and died of a heart attack in 1947.\n\nIndiana\n\nIndianapolis: More than 6,600 Afghan refugees who began arriving at the Indiana National Guard’s Camp Atterbury training post nearly six weeks ago are awaiting resettlement. Additional evacuees are expected to arrive in the coming weeks, although it’s unclear how many, said Mark Howell, regional spokesman for the federal Transportation Security Administration overseeing Operation Allies Welcome. Officials said they’re also uncertain if the refugees will be permanently resettled by early November, as hoped. Howell said Friday that many Afghans are still completing medical and security screening checks. Once cleared, they’ll work with nongovernmental organizations to determine housing assignments, sponsor families and work authorizations before they can leave the post. Camp Atterbury, about 25 miles south of Indianapolis, is one of eight sites in the U.S. that the Department of Defense is using for Afghan special immigrant visa applicants, their families and other Afghan personnel. Exodus Refugee Immigration, an Indianapolis agency, has helped at least four Afghan families resettle in the city in the past month, Executive Director Cole Varga said. They were all U.S. citizens or had visas and family ties to the area. It’s unclear how many Afghans have resettled in Indiana, but the state is projected to take 490, according to U.S. officials.\n\nIowa\n\nDes Moines: A judge has found a local activist guilty of a felony theft count for taking a police flyer used to identify protesters from an officer’s back pocket during a protest last year. Alexandria Dea, 27, was found guilty of first-degree theft Monday by Judge David Porter after she waived her right to a jury trial and consented to allow the judge to base his decision on facts already on the record. Dea is expected to seek a deferred judgment when she’s sentenced Dec. 7. Prosecutors have said Dea picked up and threw a police radio that fell to the ground as the officer scuffled with a protester July 1, 2020. She was also accused of taking the intelligence bulletin from an officer’s back pocket during the confrontation, then giving it to another Black Lives Matter activist who gave it to a television reporter. Dea and the other activist had also initially been charged with a rarely used count of leaking intelligence data, but the charge was dismissed in July after a judge ruled that the bulletin did not count as “intelligence data.”\n\nKansas\n\nKansas City: An organization run by rapper Jay-Z has facilitated donations totaling $1 million for an effort to investigate wrongful convictions in Wyandotte County. The money was raised by Team Roc, which is the criminal justice division of Jay-Z’s entertainment organization, Roc Nation, the Kansas City Star reports. Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, called it “a huge investment,” adding that the ability to look at these cases is going to shine a light on what the group needs to do to provide a just criminal legal system in Wyandotte County. Among those injustices is the wrongful conviction of Lamonte McIntyre, who spent 23 years in prison for two murders he did not commit in Kansas City, Kansas. Another is the case of Olin “Pete” Coones Jr., who spent 12 years in prison before he was exonerated of a Wyandotte County murder – only to die from cancer that went undiagnosed 108 days after he was freed. About 40 others have asked the innocence project to investigate their convictions in Wyandotte County, Rojo Bushnell said Monday. In September, Team Roc filed a petition seeking records from the Kansas City, Kansas, police department related to what it calls a history of officer misconduct within the agency.\n\nKentucky\n\nLouisville: The city has agreed to pay $75,000 to a couple who say police removed them from their car and frisked them because they were Black and driving a nice vehicle. But in an unusual condition of the payment, the couple and their lawyers are forbidden from criticizing the Louisville Metro Government or the police officers involved. The prohibition includes criticisms in statements to the media or on social media, according to a copy of the settlement obtained under open records laws. Michael Abate, a lawyer for the Louisville Courier Journal and the Kentucky Press Association, said the stipulations are “totally improper.” “The city is paying to silence its critics,” he said. “It is paying them off. And it seems designed to impede reform. It is bad policy and really troubling.” In a statement, First Assistant County Attorney Ingrid Geiser said the couple “are not prohibited from talking truthfully about what happened during their traffic stop,” though she said the language “should have more accurately reflected the agreement of the parties.” In their federal lawsuit, Anthony Parker Sr. and Demetria Firman, who are now married, say they were pulled over in 2018 for failing to use a turn signal, but body camera footage from one of the officers showed their turn signal was on.\n\nLouisiana\n\nBaton Rouge: The state’s problem of wasted COVID-19 vaccine shots continues to balloon, with about 224,000 doses thrown out across Louisiana as health providers can’t find enough residents willing to roll up their sleeves. The number of trashed doses has nearly tripled since the end of July, even as the state grappled with a fourth, deadly surge of the coronavirus pandemic during that time that led to increased interest in the vaccines. The latest data provided by the Louisiana Department of Health showed 223,918 doses of the two-shot Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been thrown out. That’s relatively small compared to the 4.4 million vaccine doses administered around the state. But while waste is not uncommon in mass immunization efforts, the throwing away of doses in the United States comes as millions of people around the globe still are waiting for the opportunity to get inoculated against COVID-19. Most of Louisiana’s wasted vaccine doses happened because vials containing the shots were opened, but hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and other providers couldn’t find someone to take the doses, health department spokesperson Kevin Litten said. More than 21,500 shots simply weren’t used before their expiration dates. Louisiana has one of the nation’s lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates.\n\nMaine\n\nAugusta: Environmental regulators will soon undertake a statewide investigation to find concentrations of long-lasting environmental pollutants. The investigation stems from the state’s efforts to mitigate a class of chemicals known as PFAS, also called “forever chemicals.” The substances are a problem in some parts of Maine because of the long-standing use of municipal sludge and paper mill waste as farm fertilizer, the Portland Press Herald reports. The state set aside $30 million to test for the chemicals and install filtration systems in areas with contaminated water. Maine officials also plan to help farmers and start cleaning up sites, the Press Herald reports. Maine is hiring and training 17 new staff members for the effort. The state needs to decide which of more than 500 sludge application sites should be prioritized for testing. Sewage sludge as farm fertilizer has caused environmental problems in other parts of the country as well. The chemicals also carry human health risks.\n\nMaryland\n\nGaithersburg: Four police officers will not be charged for fatally shooting a Black man they said fired first during a late-night foot chase in January. A grand jury declined to charge the officers from the Gaithersburg Police Department due to lack of evidence in a decision announced last week. The officers, members of a plainclothes street crimes unit, told investigators they saw a “muzzle flash” from a gun aimed at them by Kwamena Ocran, 24, according to their recorded statements released by Montgomery County prosecutors. One officer said he heard a round pass by his head. All four fired on Ocran, who was running away from them. He was hit eight times, according to a report from prosecutors. The shooting happened outside an apartment complex after officers said they received a tip that Ocran was illegally carrying a gun he intended to sell, according to the report. The incident was not recorded on video. Another officer arrived at the scene moments later and recorded footage of a gun next to Ocran’s body, but investigators could not find evidence he had fired it. Crime scene technicians failed to find shell casings from Ocran’s gun – only the 23 shell casings from the officers’ guns, prosecutors said. Howard County Deputy State’s Attorney Christopher Sandmann told The Washington Post that investigators had prepped Ocran’s hands for gunshot reside analysis, but there was a “mistake or miscommunication,” and his hands were never swabbed.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: A letter written by founding father Alexander Hamilton during the Revolutionary War and believed stolen decades ago from the state archives has been returned following a federal appeals court decision, officials said Tuesday. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin hailed the homecoming, after last week’s decision by the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous ruling by a district court judge. The letter was reputedly stolen between 1938 and 1945 by a “kleptomaniacal cataloguer” who worked at the archives, according to the court decision. Hamilton wrote the letter to the Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat who served as a general in the Continental Army. Dated July 21, 1780, the letter resulted in Massachusetts sending troops to Rhode Island “to bolster the embattled French forces,” the appeals court wrote. Galvin, whose office oversees the archives and the Commonwealth Museum, said he was pleased the court ruled “that this historical treasure belongs to the people.” The letter is expected to be put on display at the museum for special events, including the annual Independence Day celebration, Galvin said.\n\nMichigan\n\nCenter Line: An employee at a suburban Detroit nursing home filled out absentee ballot applications for two dozen residents without consulting them before the 2020 election, authorities said Monday. The case was one of three cases of alleged fraud announced by the state. “Our election system is secure, and today’s charges demonstrate that in the rare circumstances when fraud occurs, we catch it and hold the perpetrators accountable,” Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said. A woman who worked at the Father Murray home in Center Line was charged with election forgery and signature forgery. In another case, a Detroit woman was accused of signing her grandson’s name on an absentee ballot and returning it, even though he had decided to vote at a polling place. In a third investigation, a woman who served as a guardian was charged in several communities after authorities said she fraudulently submitted 26 absentee ballot applications and sought to have ballots mailed directly to her. Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel praised local election officials for noticing irregularities. “We will not hesitate to prosecute anyone who attempts to undermine our elections,” Nessel said.\n\nMinnesota\n\nBeaver Bay: A Lake Superior lighthouse plans to welcome visitors back for an annual memorial honoring the sailors who died when the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. Every Nov. 10, the day the ship sank in a gale in 1975, the Split Rock Lighthouse just south of Beaver Bay holds a beacon lighting. Lighthouse officials announce the names of all 29 sailors who died as a bell tolls, Minnesota Public Radio reports. The lighthouse didn’t allow visitors to attend last year’s ceremony because of COVID-19 concerns. People had to listen through an online livestream. Lighthouse officials say this year’s ceremony will be a hybrid, with the lighthouse grounds open to the public and a livestream on the Minnesota Historical Society’s Facebook and YouTube pages for those who can’t attend. The ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m. “There’s something about being here on site and hearing the bell ring and the names being read off and then seeing the beacon turned on right after that. There’s just something very special about that,” said Hayes Scriven, the lighthouse site manager. “It’s just a way to connect with the past and remember that Lake Superior is a fickle animal, and you’ve got to respect the power and not take it for granted.”\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: The Mississippi Book Festival is being shown online after the in-person event was canceled because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Organizers say videos of 31 panel discussions have been recorded in the past month. Those became available Tuesday on the festival’s website, msbookfestival.com. “We’ve got an amazing group of authors and moderators who have rallied to record more than 35 hours of great conversations about books and writing,” Executive Director Ellen Daniels said in a news release. “Honoring these writers and continuing to engage our loyal and growing community of book lovers is what the festival is all about.” Among the authors speaking are Curtis Wilkie, Kiese Laymon, Nic Stone, W. Ralph Eubanks, Jerry Mitchell, Catherine Pierce, Beth Ann Fennelly, Mitch Landrieu, William Ferris, Angie Thomas, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Robert Khayat and Kai Bird. The festival originally was scheduled for Aug. 21 at the Mississippi Capitol and nearby Galloway United Methodist Church in downtown Jackson. Organizers switched to the online format because the state was experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases at the time.\n\nMissouri\n\nKansas City: Data shows that most of the people who participated in the state’s COVID-19 vaccine lottery were already immunized before the program started. The incentive program was started in July as Missouri struggled to control a surge of coronavirus cases driven by the more transmissible delta variant in less-vaccinated communities. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services conducted the last of the drawings in the program Friday. Among the participants, 57,117 adults got the shot after the program was announced, while nearly 600,000 got the shot beforehand, The Kansas City Star reports. The program also had more than 39,000 entries from children 12 and up. In total, the state will pay out $9 million to 900 prizewinners, who will each receive $10,000 in either cash or, for the youth winners, scholarship accounts. Anyone who had gotten at least one dose of a vaccine was eligible to enter, but separate drawings were conducted for those who had already gotten a shot, making the odds of winning higher for the newly vaccinated. Just over 48% of Missouri’s total population is fully vaccinated now, up from about 40% when the incentive program was announced.\n\nMontana\n\nHelena: All local calls in the state must be dialed with the 406 area code to connect beginning Oct. 24 due to changing federal regulations. Montana’s 406 area code currently allows seven-digit dialing to complete local calls. That will change this month due to a Federal Communications Commission order designating 988 as the new nationwide number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Some seven-digit phone numbers in Montana’s 406 area code begin with 988. To prevent misdialing the 988 Lifeline, all local calls in Montana must be dialed with the area code. Calls that are currently considered local for billing purposes will continue to be billed as local calls. Existing seven-digit phone numbers will not change but will require the 406 area code to connect. Three-digit dialing services, such as the 911 emergency number, will continue to work as a three-digit number with no need to dial an area code. Along with manually dialed calls, all services that use automated dialing will need to be updated to include 10-digit phone numbers. The 988 number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline will be available beginning July 16, 2022.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: Police are investigating after downtown pedestrians were forced to dodge deck chairs, tables and bricks thrown from a rooftop. The Omaha World-Herald reports the incident happened Saturday night when items were thrown from the roof of the nine-story Old Market Lofts apartments. Omaha resident Lisa Brauer told the newspaper she was nearly struck by several objects. Brauer, who works for Park Omaha, was checking parking meters when she was nearly hit by a rock. That was followed by a metal table, a metal chair and a grill rack, all landing within inches of her. A police report said a pickup truck was hit by something and sustained $2,000 in damage. No arrests have been made.\n\nNevada\n\nReno: Two historic locomotives that were part of the pioneering shift from steam-powered to diesel-electric trains in the mid-1900s are coming back to their home in a northeast Nevada railyard. Built in 1951, Locomotive 201 is the last survivor among 38 experimental models manufactured by the American Locomotive Company. It is scheduled to be loaded onto a truck Nov. 2 at the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington, where it still sometimes pulls excursion trains on the museum’s Snoqualmie Valley Railroad. The truck hauling the 286,000-pound engine will take four or five days at a top speed of about 35 mph to make the 900-mile trip back to Ely at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum near the Nevada-Utah line, railway President Mark Bassett said. Details are still pending for the return from Delta, Utah, of the No. 401, the first special-duty model General Motors built in 1952 in its Electro-Motive Division. It was the only one painted in the “Desert War Bonnet” scheme, a cream, scarlet and black design that remains on it today. It became known as the “Last Empress of Ely.” “These both are one-of-a-kind locomotives,” Bassett said. “Both have a story to tell, and they are both tied into the early days of dieselization of the Nevada Northern Railway.” The museum plans to restore each and eventually return them to operation for tour rides.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nConcord: For the first time, New Hampshire’s only state-run psychiatric treatment facility has negotiated contracts with all major insurance carriers in the state. Carriers now under contract with New Hampshire Hospital include Aetna, Ambetter, Anthem, Cigna, Harvard Pilgrim and United Health Care, state officials said. “Over the past few years, we have made significant strides to rebuild New Hampshire’s mental health system, and those critical efforts will continue,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement. “Having insurer contracts in place is an important step and will help alleviate the financial uncertainty that has been a challenge for patients at New Hampshire Hospital for decades.” Previously, special case agreements were negotiated on a patient-by-patient basis. However, some care was uncompensated. The practice of New Hampshire Hospital is to accept all patients regardless of insurance coverage. New Hampshire Hospital is currently the only inpatient institute for adults with serious mental illnesses in the state.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nTrenton: No one understands the stress a nurse faces on the job better than another nurse. And nothing has caused more stress for nurses than the COVID pandemic, as front-line caregivers guard against exposure to the coronavirus, witness patient deaths, and worry about family members and friends becoming infected. A confidential mental health help line, staffed by current and retired nurses, was launched Monday for nurses and their family members in the state. The Nurse2Nurse help line – at 844-687-7301 – is based at Rutgers Behavioral Health Services and available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. “It’s in our hearts to help the healers,” said Barbara Brilliantine, one of the nurses staffing the help line. “We’ve walked in their shoes.” The counselors include active and retired nurses who receive training in reciprocal peer support and wellness principles and are mental health and peer support specialists. Services are also available through virtual support groups, wellness webinars and other resources at nurse2nursenj.com. Information provided on the calls is confidential, the sponsors say. The website says the project is not affiliated with any health care system or nursing organization, and no information from the calls will be shared with employers, co-workers or peers.\n\nNew Mexico\n\nSanta Fe: The final price tag for a settlement reached by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and a former campaign spokesman to settle accusations of harassment is now $150,000. The latest round of payments was disclosed in a mandatory campaign finance report that the Democrat’s campaign filed Monday. The twice-annual report on spending and contributions shows the incumbent has raised $2.5 million since April for her reelection bid as several Republicans are vying to take back the office. GOP state Rep. Rebecca Dow raised more than $440,500 since announcing her candidacy in early July. Her campaign said she has received contributions from more than 1,300 donors. In the settlement involving Lujan Grisham, former campaign staffer James Hallinan had accused Lujan Grisham of dropping water on his crotch and then grabbing his crotch in the midst of a campaign staff meeting prior to the election – accusations that the governor denies. Lujan Grisham said earlier this year that she decided to resolve the matter because she wanted to focus her attention on the pandemic. At the time, the governor said there hadn’t been any other financial settlements and nondisclosure agreements of a similar nature.\n\nNew York\n\nAlbany: Recreational marijuana legalization is moving into a new phase. After stifling staff delays brought on by political infighting, newly minted members of the state Cannabis Control Board are now interpreting and shaping the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, the cannabis law approved by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and lawmakers last spring. Much of what the redefined medical cannabis program and the implementation of the potentially lucrative legal market will look like in the Empire State is in the purview of the five-person panel, which had its first meeting last week. The board must do that work while putting particular emphasis on social equity and repairing the harms done during the substance’s prohibition. Already, language in the law has legalized possession of 3 ounces of cannabis for people 21 and over. However, some of the regulations for localities, as well as the licensing process and social equity provisions, have yet to materialize. Kristin Jordan of Park Jordan, a commercial real estate brokerage and cannabis industry advisory firm, said the cannabis regulators don’t have a model in other states in how to legalize while accentuating social equity. “So I think more than anything we’ve got a roadmap of what didn’t work,” said Jordan, the firm’s founder and CEO.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nRaleigh: Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is facing calls to resign from elected officials and LGBTQ advocacy groups over comments he made criticizing sexual education and likening gay and transgender people to “filth.” “There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth,” Robinson said at Asbury Baptist Church in Seagrove. The state’s highest Republican executive officeholder, already the focus of criticism for trying to influence how racism can be discussed in public schools, is getting more pushback since Right Wing Watch, a project of the progressive advocacy group People for the American Way, posted the video on social media last week. The Human Rights Campaign, Equality North Carolina, prominent Democratic lawmakers and the White House have condemned the remarks, with some demanding the lieutenant governor’s resignation. In a video posted on his Facebook page Saturday, Robinson narrated over images depicting gay sex that were taken from “Gender Queer,” an illustrated book he claimed “is currently in North Carolina schools,” though it wasn’t mentioned in the 831-page report he released in August highlighting cases of alleged “indoctrination.” In 2017, Robinson wrote: “You CAN NOT love God and support the homosexual agenda.”\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: State wildlife officials are urging people to keep an eye out for migrating whooping cranes. The North Dakota Fish and Game Department says a portion of a population of 500 cranes is crossing the state on a 2,500-mile migration from nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to wintering grounds in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. The agency says anyone who spots cranes should leave them alone but record the date, time and location along with the birds’ activities and report the sighting to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The reports help biologists locate crane habitat areas, monitor marked birds, and determine population numbers and migration routes.\n\nOhio\n\nNelsonville: Thanks to a long-forgotten state law from 1953 and a community dinner, the city has challenged the results of the 2020 U.S. census. The results of last year’s count had downgraded the Athens County community from a city to a village after counting 4,612 residents – a 780-person drop from the 2010 census. Under Ohio law, the 5,000-resident level demarcates the difference between a city and a village. “We knew it was wrong,” City Auditor Taylor Sappington said. On Tuesday morning, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose agreed, restoring Nelsonville’s city status. Sappington set out to prove the city’s case by collecting census information and signatures from the town’s 5,373 residents. After a preliminary federal census report demotes a city to a village, state law gives a city auditor the authority to conduct a re-enumeration if the municipality’s governing body passes a resolution directing the auditor to do so, according to a statute in the Ohio Revised Code. After the City Council took that action, Sappington appointed five enumerators, who canvassed each block of Nelsonville over 10 days. Last week, volunteers served ham, green beans, cheesy potatoes, salad and rolls donated by Texas Roadhouse at a free community dinner where residents could come down to the town square to be counted, Sappington told council members Monday night. “I’m so proud of this community,” he said.\n\nOklahoma\n\nTulsa: The city and Tulsa County have each announced they will officially recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. June 19 will be an additional paid holiday for city and county employees beginning in 2022. June 19, 1865, is the day Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas – some 21/ 2 years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had freed slaves in Southern states. “Juneteenth is an important day in our country’s history, and I’m glad we are able to celebrate freedom for all Americans in this way by joining Tulsa County in adding Juneteenth to our official holiday schedule,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said in a statement Monday announcing the holiday. A 1921 massacre in Tulsa left an estimated 300 Black people dead at the hands of white mobs. Then-President Donald Trump scheduled his first campaign rally amid the coronavirus pandemic for June 19, 2020, in Tulsa but later rescheduled the rally for the following day amid widespread criticism from Black leaders. In June, President Joe Biden signed legislation officially recognizing the day as a federal holiday.\n\nOregon\n\nSalem: Former Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno and three other Republicans have filed a lawsuit to challenge new congressional districts recently passed by state lawmakers. They say the new maps are partisan gerrymandering, unconstitutional and contrary to state law. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports the suit, filed Monday in Marion County Circuit Court, is the first such attempt to alter the six-district map that Democrats pushed through during a contentious special legislative session last month. That session nearly ended in a Republican walkout after House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, reneged on a deal to grant the GOP an equal say in new congressional and legislative maps. Instead, Republican lawmakers showed up on the last possible day and allowed Democrats to pass a map that could lead to Democratic control of five of the state’s now-six seats in Congress. Oregon picked up an additional U.S. House seat because of population gains recorded by the recent U.S. census. The suit notes that four of the state’s six new congressional districts include part of the Portland metro area, which the Republicans say is a sign Democrats improperly stocked the districts with left-leaning voters. They have asked the court to block the plan and draw its own.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: Total enrollment at Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities has declined to the lowest level in decades, according to data released Monday. The State System of Higher Education figures indicate loss of another 5,000-plus students this fall, dropping the universities’ total enrollment below 89,000 students – a level not seen in more than three decades, dating nearly to the system’s founding, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. PennLive.com reports the percentage drop in enrollment was the highest in well over two decades. System officials earlier warned state lawmakers and others that the 2021-22 year would be a “very challenging” one for enrollment, citing factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The system, founded in 1983, saw its enrollment peak at about 119,500 students in 2010 but saw the total drop to 94,000 last year. A review of system data indicates that the current total below 89,000 is lower than in any year since 1989, the Post-Gazette reports. Chancellor Dan Greenstein said the drop likely stems from the pandemic finally catching up with the system, which had avoided the declines other institutions saw last year. He said anecdotal accounts point to the pandemic’s impact on family incomes and students taking advantage of $15 and $20 per hour wages some firms are offering.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: Mayor Jorge Elorza wants to spend up to $1.6 million in federal coronavirus relief funding to establish nonviolence training and youth mentorship programs to address an increase in violence in the city. Providence recently opened requests for proposals for both initiatives, planning to allocate up to $500,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for training and up to $1.1 million for mentorship. Elorza said the idea began taking shape in May when nine people were injured in a shooting. “I reached out to some community leaders, sort of on the front line of things, and I asked them to put me in contact with families, mothers who had lost children, people who were either on parole or on probation, but were trying to turn their life around, and other folks who are on the front lines of living and working with these issues,” Elorza said. It became clear that the city was in need of more opportunities for youth, he said. There have been 20 homicides in the city this year. The five-year average for this point in the year is 11.\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: The South Carolina State Fair returns Wednesday after a hiatus brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Last year’s event was drive-thru only due to a high number of COVID-19 cases. On Tuesday, Department of Health and Environmental Control officials reported that such cases have dropped below 1,000 for the first time since July. More than 50% of South Carolinians are fully vaccinated against the disease caused by the virus. State fair officials have instituted new protocols to prevent the virus’s spread, including increased cleaning, hygiene signage, hand sanitizer stations and reminding guests that in Columbia they must wear a face covering, WIS-TV reports. Guests are also encouraged to socially distance, use card and touchless methods for payments, and not come to the fair if they aren’t feeling well. The event, which runs through Oct. 24, includes rides, food, agriculture and livestock shows, crafts, art and a cookie kitchen.\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls: Lawmakers redrawing the state’s political boundaries kicked off a three-day tour of public input meetings Monday amid intraparty Republican bickering and competing proposals for new legislative districts. The House and Senate committees, both dominated by Republicans, had previously sought accord in the once-in-a-decade process. But at a public input meeting in Box Elder, the schism between the House and Senate was on full display during the tour, dubbed “the redistricting roadshow” by lawmakers. The Legislature will convene Nov. 8 to consider new political boundaries, which must also be approved by Gov. Kristi Noem. If they can’t reach a consensus by Dec. 1, redistricting would be determined by the state Supreme Court. As Republicans accused each other of gerrymandering and “D.C. political tactics,” members of Native American communities used the meetings to press for greater representation in the Legislature. At the first meeting Monday, advocates pushed for compact political boundaries around northern Rapid City, which has a large number of Native Americans, that would allow the community to elect someone who represents its interests. The lawmakers are making seven stops this week, culminating with two meetings in Sioux Falls on Wednesday.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: A federal judge on Tuesday slightly tweaked his order requiring Knox County schools to implement a school mask mandate, saying officials would be allowed to approve exemptions on a case-by-case basis. In his 14-page ruling, however, U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer warned school officials – who had previously refused to adopt a mask mandate amid the COVID-19 outbreak – that the new mask exemption policy must not be abused. “The court reminds the Knox County Board of Education that its school system is no longer under a voluntary mask mandate; rather, it is under a court-ordered mask mandate,” Greer wrote. “The record evidence supports the need for – and the court ordered – a universal mask mandate, and the court fully expects its mask mandate to be exactly that: universal, to every possible extent, with ‘very few’ medical exemptions.” The Knox County Board of Education must file monthly status reports that identify not only the number of exemptions for students, employees and visitors but also the specific reasons for the exemptions. Greer said he would impose “considerable sanctions” if the education board did not comply with his latest order.\n\nTexas\n\nHouston: The state’s child welfare agency is being accused of removing a webpage that provided information about a suicide prevention hotline and other resources for young LGBTQ people, following criticism by one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s primary challengers. The Houston Chronicle reports Abbott challenger Don Huffines posted a video on Twitter in August accusing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services of “promoting transgender sexual policies to Texas youth.” Within hours of the video being posted, the webpage was removed. The page appeared in a section of the agency’s website called “Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation.” Also gone was the entire website for the Texas Youth Connection, a division of Family and Protective Services that steers young people in foster care to various resources, including education, housing and those on its LGBTQ page. “These are not Texas values, these are not Republican Party values, but these are obviously Greg Abbott’s values,” Huffines said in his video. Abbott, who appoints the department’s commissioner and nine-member council, didn’t respond to the newspaper’s request for comment. Agency communications obtained through a public records request show that employees discussed removing the page in response to Huffines’ tweet.\n\nUtah\n\nSalt Lake City: Lawyers for Gov. Spencer Cox’s former campaign manager, who resigned last week after an investigation substantiated claims of sexual misconduct made against him by a female campaign employee, are calling the accusations baseless. In a statement Friday, lawyers representing Austin Cox said the relationship in question was a long-term one between two young adults that he ended earlier this year, KUTV reports. “Our client unequivocally and emphatically denies any allegations to the contrary,” the statement said. The Republican governor said Thursday that an independent investigation found cause to terminate Austin Cox, his 2020 campaign manager, but he resigned before its completion. The investigation also revealed previously unreported “hostile conduct” toward other members of the team. Austin Cox’s attorneys on Friday additionally criticized a joint statement from the governor and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson on Thursday that condemned the former campaign manager’s behavior. KUTV requested to speak with Austin Cox on Friday, but his attorney declined their request for an interview. The governor and former campaign manager are not related.\n\nVermont\n\nBennington: An Abraham Lincoln statue at a museum was vandalized with the number “38,” which police say they believe is a reference to the execution of 38 Native Americans ordered by the former president in 1862. Police said an employee at the Bennington Museum arrived Sunday morning to find a large “LAND BACK” banner had been put up between two light poles at the entrance to the museum’s courtyard. The Lincoln statue in the courtyard had reddish spray paint on its face and hands, along with the number “38” painted on its chest, police said. Officials said it is expected to cost several thousand dollars to repair the statue and remove the paint. Police said they believe the vandalism is a reference to the Dakota 38, who were executed after the 1862 Dakota War, also known as the Sioux Uprising of 1862. A military commission sentenced 303 Sioux fighters to be executed. Lincoln reviewed the cases and decided there was evidence that 39 Sioux were guilty of murder or rape during the uprising and ordered their execution. The remaining 264 sentences were commuted. One of those sentenced to be executed received a reprieve. The Bennington Museum describes itself as a museum of art, history and innovation.\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: Former President Barack Obama will campaign with fellow Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the final stretch of the gubernatorial race. “The stakes could not be greater,” McAuliffe said as he announced the news Tuesday morning on MSNBC. McAuliffe’s race against the GOP nominee, first-time political candidate Glenn Youngkin, is tightening, according to the latest polls. His effort to win a second, nonconsecutive term in office is one of only two regularly scheduled governor’s races in the country this year and is being closely watched for indications of voter sentiment ahead of next year’s midterms. McAuliffe’s campaign announced that Obama will join him in Richmond on Oct. 23 to mobilize Virginians during early voting, which began weeks ago and runs in person through Oct. 30. Obama rallied Democrats in Virginia’s capital city in 2017 before Ralph Northam beat Republican gubernatorial nominee Ed Gillespie by nearly 9 percentage points. He’ll follow other high-profile Democrats visiting the commonwealth to support McAuliffe. First lady Jill Biden is set to visit on Friday. Stacey Abrams, the voting rights activist, grassroots organizer and former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, will campaign with McAuliffe in Norfolk and northern Virginia on Sunday.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: Rewards totaling $2.5 million are now being offered for information that helps solve the killing of federal prosecutor Thomas C. Wales in Seattle 20 years ago. Nicholas Brown, newly sworn in as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, announced Monday at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Wales’ death that the Justice Department had doubled its reward to $2 million, in addition to about $500,000 being offered by the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys. Brown also said his office – long recused from the case – is taking on leadership of the investigation, as there are few remaining assistant U.S. attorneys in Seattle who worked with Wales. The investigation had been overseen by a special prosecutor in New York, Steve Clymer; transferring the oversight to Seattle will allow for fresh eyes and additional resources, Brown said. “Twenty years is far too long for this crime – this attack on the American justice system – to go unresolved,” Brown said. Wales was an 18-year veteran of the U.S. attorney’s office who focused on white-collar crime and also served as president of a gun-control group called Washington CeaseFire. A gunman shot him through a basement window of his home Oct. 11, 2001.\n\nWest Virginia\n\nCharleston: Lawmakers endorsed proposed maps of congressional and state legislative districts during a special session on redistricting Monday, setting up a potential fight between two of the state’s current members of Congress. West Virginia lost one of its three U.S. House seats after the 2020 census, and lawmakers are trying to redraw the state into two congressional districts. In the proposed map, Rep. David McKinley and Rep. Alex Mooney would be in the same district. All three current U.S. House members from West Virginia are Republicans. The state Senate redistricting committee forwarded its versions of congressional and state Senate maps Monday. Earlier in the day, a map that reconfigures all 100 House of Delegates seats into separate, single-member districts was endorsed by a House committee. The maps now go before the committees’ respective full chambers. The congressional redistricting map endorsed by the House committee would split the state roughly into north and south sections. The 1st District would include both panhandles and much of the northern part of the state along with Wood County on the western edge. The 2nd District would include the southern coalfields and the Greenbrier Valley, extending north into Ritchie County.\n\nWisconsin\n\nMadison: The state’s Democratic attorney general, who represents the state elections commission, on Monday called for a Republican-ordered investigation into the 2020 presidential election to be shut down, saying it is a partisan political effort that lacks credibility, wastes taxpayer money and is not serious. “This investigation suffers from glaring flaws that destroy any credibility its results could have had,” Attorney General Josh Kaul said at a news conference. “Shut this fake investigation down.” Kaul’s comments came after the Republican leader of the Assembly election committee said she’s been kept out of the loop and doesn’t agree with moves being made by the leader of the probe. The latest twists comes after Michael Gableman, the retired Wisconsin Supreme Court justice leading the investigation, issued a video over the weekend taking aim at Gov. Tony Evers. The Democratic governor told local election officials they should be “lawyered up” and called the taxpayer-funded investigation a “$700,000 boondoggle.” Gableman called that “an incomplete and misguided view” of the probe. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos ordered the investigation under pressure from Donald Trump, who has falsely claimed he won Wisconsin last year.\n\nWyoming\n\nCody: Rapper, music producer and clothing entrepreneur Kanye West has put his ranch and business properties in northwestern Wyoming up for sale. The West Ranch, formerly known as Monster Lake Ranch, went on the market Monday for $11 million. The property sprawls across 6 square miles of open land and tree-studded hills and outcrops about 6 miles south of Cody. The property features lakes, a lodge, a commercial kitchen, equipment sheds, a horse facility, corrals and a go-kart track, according to the DBW Realty listing. The listing came days after West listed his seven commercial properties in Cody for more than $3.2 million, the Cody Enterprise reports. The ranch, which leases additional land owned by the U.S. government, was listed for $13.3 million before West bought it in 2019, though it’s unknown how much he paid for the property. Wyoming law does not provide for public disclosure of real estate sale amounts. West moved from California to Wyoming in 2019 and set about basing at least some of his clothing business in Cody, a city of about 10,000 on the eastern approach to Yellowstone National Park. It wasn’t clear if the property sales mean West is leaving Wyoming or just reorganizing his business there.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/10/13"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/50-states/2021/09/01/lifeguard-death-traffic-ticket-scam-amherst-pushback-news-around-states/118519764/", "title": "Lifeguard death, traffic ticket scam: News from around our 50 states", "text": "From USA TODAY Network and wire reports\n\nAlabama\n\nMontgomery: Rural school districts are leading the state in reported COVID-19 case rates. When the Alabama Department of Public Health updated its COVID-19 school dashboard for the first time this school year Friday, three districts stood out with the highest percentage of confirmed cases: Covington, Greene and Marion county schools. All three are rural districts, and about 5% of students in each district have tested positive for the coronavirus. These schools were among only 52 of Alabama’s 137 school districts with available data on the state dashboard. In Marion, most of the 160 reported cases were concentrated in three schools, resulting in temporary closures, said Marion County Superintendent Ann West. “We’re just trying to operate with what’s best for each school,” West said. “I don’t like to send children home because for some of our students, what they get to eat is at school.” Masks are not required in Marion County Schools, but West said the district strongly encourages them. “Certainly, if I were not vaccinated, I would be wearing a mask,” she said. Meanwhile, masks are required in Greene County Schools, which reported 47 COVID-19 cases Friday. Covington County Schools reported 140 cases. According to district protocols, masks are “recommended for all individuals while indoors” and required on school buses.\n\nAlaska\n\nSitka: The Sitka Assembly has authorized a 20-year lease of land to an Alaska Native corporation for development for cruise ship passengers. The Assembly, voting 5-2, approved leasing 17 acres to Shee Atika Inc., which plans to work with another company, Adventure Sitka, to develop the land with attractions such as zip lines, a salmon bake and a canoe launch, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reports. The land is between the ferry terminal and Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal. Chris McGraw, who owns the terminal and manages Adventure Sitka, said development of the property will be an important part of handling an expected large number of tourists. “The key to over-tourism is good distribution of guests,” McGraw said at an Assembly meeting. Karl Potts, CEO of Shee Atika Inc., said the lease would generate $300,000 to $400,000 a year for the city. Assembly member Kevin Knox raised questions about staffing at the site, citing difficulties businesses are having this year with hiring staff. But he said he would vote “yes” because of an expected influx of passengers next year. “We don’t have a lot of options here,” he said.\n\nArizona\n\nPhoenix: The FBI’s Public Corruption unit is investigating efforts by Gov. Doug Ducey’s past and current staffers – including one who is now a federal judge – to push for a closed-door deal to issue tax refunds worth as much as $100million to aid one of Ducey’s campaign supporters. Grant Nulle, former deputy director at the Department of Revenue, said an FBI agent contacted him in mid-July, shortly after an Arizona Republic investigation uncovered how the Ducey administration had pushed the department to agree to refund sales taxes on fuel for mining companies, even though that tax had been in place for decades. The companies that stood to benefit were represented by Texas tax firm Ryan LLC, founded by Ducey supporter G. Brint Ryan. The top three deputies in Ducey’s administration left their government jobs and went to work for Ryan to push for the tax refund. The men and others working for Ducey met with Revenue officials at least 16 times to insist that the department – which was under their oversight in the governor’s office – agree to stop opposing Ryan and issue a tax refund to one fuel company. That, officials said, would have triggered refunds in all other similar cases, costing the state’s general fund more than $100 million.\n\nArkansas\n\nLittle Rock: The number of COVID-19 patients on a ventilator climbed to a new high Monday as the state reported 33 new coronavirus deaths amid the summer surge driven by the highly contagious delta variant. The Department of Health reported the state’s COVID-19 patients on ventilators rose by 17 to 361, surpassing the high the state had set last week. The state’s virus hospitalizations remained unchanged from a day earlier at 1,257. There are 533 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units around the state. The department reported there are 21 available ICU beds in Arkansas, though it’s not clear how many of those are equipped for COVID-19 patients. Last week the state ran out of ICU beds for virus patients, though availability has slightly eased since then. The state’s COVID-19 death toll rose Monday to 6,912 since the pandemic began. It also added 882 new virus cases. Arkansas ranks fifth in the country for new cases per capita, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University researchers. The Department of Health reported that the number of active cases among students and staff in the state’s public schools has grown to 3,684. Cabot, Fort Smith, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville schools each reported more than 100 active cases.\n\nCalifornia\n\nSacramento: The Legislature on Monday voted to guarantee people can call out their bosses publicly in most harassment and discrimination cases. When companies settle complaints filed by their employees, the agreements often include a provision barring the employee from disparaging the company or talking publicly about what happened. These agreements came under fire during the #MeToo movement, criticized as shielding public figures and companies from responsibility in sexual harassment cases. California passed a law in 2018 that bans these nondisclosure agreements in cases involving sexual harassment, discrimination or assault. The Democratic-dominated Legislature voted Monday to expand that law to include other types of harassment and discrimination, including claims based on race, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation. The bill now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who must decide whether to sign it into law. “No worker should ever be silenced from speaking out about their own experience of harassment or discrimination in the workplace,” said Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, author of the bill. “For far too long, these secret settlements and agreements have reinforced a culture of secrecy that prevents accountability, respect and justice.”\n\nColorado\n\nLoveland: A former police officer involved in the rough arrest of an elderly woman with dementia should stand trial for assault, a judge ruled Monday. District Judge Michelle Brinegar said there is probable cause for the charge against former Loveland police Officer Austin Hopp, who will be arraigned in late September, the Loveland Reporter-Herald reports. Hopp arrested Karen Garner in June 2020 after she left a store without paying for about $14 worth of items. His body camera footage shows him catching up to the woman as she walks through a field along a road. Gardner, now 74, shrugs and turns away from him, and he quickly grabs her arm and pushes her 80-pound body to the ground. A federal lawsuit filed on Garner’s behalf, which included images from the body camera footage, claims that Hopp dislocated her shoulder by shoving her handcuffed left arm forward onto the hood of his patrol car and that she was denied medical treatment for about six hours. Former Loveland police Officer Daria Jalali is facing several charges stemming from the arrest, including failing to intervene in the use of excessive force.\n\nConnecticut\n\nHartford: More than 1,500 long-term unemployed residents who recently found jobs are being awarded $1,000 bonuses under the first round of the Back to Work CT program, an initiative funded with federal COVID-19 relief funds. Approximately $10 million has been allocated for the program, which will provide bonus payments for up to 10,000 eligible applicants through Dec. 31. “Many workers who were displaced during the early months in the pandemic and faced long-term unemployment are now transitioning back into the workforce and starting to rebuild,” Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday in a statement. “This one-time bonus payment will help some of those workers pay for the critical things they need to get back to work, including childcare.” To be eligible for the program, applicants must obtain and maintain a full-time job for eight consecutive weeks between May 30 and Dec. 31. Applicants must complete and submit an application electronically to the Department of Revenue Services.\n\nDelaware\n\nWilmington: A state trooper who received several traffic commendations has been indicted for a fraudulent traffic warning scheme in which at least two of his victims were fellow law enforcement officers, the Delaware Department of Justice announced Tuesday. Cpl. Edwin Ramirez, who was stationed at Troop 9, was charged with misdemeanor and felony tampering with public records; issuing a false certificate, a felony; and official misconduct, a misdemeanor. If convicted, he faces up to nine years in prison. Delaware State Police contacted prosecutors in May, according to the justice department, after an internal review found “a serious pattern of fraudulent E-Warnings” by Ramirez. The review began April 30 after one of his supervisors found discrepancies in an accident report, prosecutors said. Ramirez was immediately suspended. According to the indictment, after finding the discrepancy, the supervisor began looking at Ramirez’s activity and compared instances in which E-Warnings and E-Tickets were issued to dashcam footage to determine whether the stop had occurred and if so, what had been issued. In April alone, Ramirez issued more than 30 fraudulent warnings, according to the justice department. In some cases, motorists were not informed of the warnings. In other instances, a traffic stop never happened.\n\nDistrict of Columbia\n\nWashington: Landon Collins, safety for the Washington Football Team, took some time away from the field Monday to bring joy to young football players, WUSA-TV reports. Collins surprised players at the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation’s Woodbridge Warriors Youth Football Team at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Northeast D.C. Each member of the team got a $150 Dick’s Sporting Goods gift card to use however they wanted. Collins served as their personal shopping consultant. The kids, surprised and excited to spend time with the star player, grabbed new shoes and other football gear. “It just feels great for him to come down here and spend his time with us, just so we can have a surprise and get us ready,” one player said Collins said the opportunity to spend time with the kids was a blessing. “Being around these kids to give them a smile on their face and to put something on their shoulders that they can use on and off the football field is amazing,” Collins said.\n\nFlorida\n\nTallahassee: State education officials on Monday began to make good on threats to withhold funding from school districts that defied Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ban on mask mandates, despite a circuit judge last week ruling the ban unconstitutional. Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran announced that the Florida Department of Education has withheld an amount equal to monthly school board member salaries in Alachua and Broward counties, as directed by the State Board of Education. Funds will continue to be withheld until the districts comply, Corcoran said. Broward County Interim Superintendent Vickie Cartwright said in a statement that Broward County School Board believes it is in compliance with the law. “The health and safety of our students, teachers and staff continue to be our main priorities,” Cartwright said. “As such, BCPS (Broward County Public Schools) will continue to mandate masks, knowing the data shows they help minimize the spread of COVID-19 in our schools.” DeSantis, a Republican who is eyeing a possible presidential run in 2024, had been threatening to impose financial penalties on school boards for weeks. Democratic President Joe Biden has said if that happened, federal money would be used to cover any costs.\n\nGeorgia\n\nAtlanta: State lawmakers will use the same guidelines as in 2010 to redraw congressional, legislative and other electoral districts, meaning lawmakers are not required to give members of the public an advance look at the plans, nor consider whether districts give candidates from different political parties a meaningful chance to win. Identical guidelines were presented to both House and Senate redistricting committees Monday. The House voted to adopt the guidelines, while senators gave preliminary agreement, with a final vote likely on the first day of a special session expected in October or November. Asked about whether maps would be released in advance, Senate Majority Leader John Kennedy emphasized the shortened time period because of delays in U.S. census data stemming from COVID-19. In 2010, state legislative maps were unveiled the Friday before the redistricting special session began. “We’re obviously operating under a very short period of time compared to what they had to this previously,” said Kennedy, R-Macon. Advance notice of maps is one of the key objectives for which outside groups have been lobbying. “Georgians need to have access to the maps and know how and when the maps will be presented,” said Jerry Gonzalez, CEO of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.\n\nHawaii\n\nHonolulu: Health care officials are concerned about a shortage of oxygen as the state’s coronavirus surge continues to grow. Hospital officials are canceling nonemergency procedures that require oxygen in an attempt to conserve supplies, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. There is a global shortage of oxygen containers that are needed for transport to the islands, said Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, a trade group for the state’s hospitals and nursing homes. “The combined demand has increased to the point where we are concerned about whether we can generate enough oxygen in Hawaii to meet all the needs of our health care facilities,” Raethel said. Hawaii’s two oxygen plants have switched to producing medical gas only. Raethel said mainland tank orders are backlogged for months. Hawaii Pacific Health, which oversees several hospitals in the state, directed staff to cancel elective procedures where oxygen is needed. “We do not plan to defer any emergency surgery, and we will need to have careful consideration of cases that are urgent but not emergent,” Hawaii Pacific Health President and CEO Ray Vara said in a staff memo. “Any cases that can be deferred safely should be deferred until the oxygen supply solutions are clearer.”\n\nIdaho\n\nBoise: An environmental group that wants to end public-land grazing has outbid a rancher for a grazing lease on state land that includes habitat for bull trout and steelhead. Western Watersheds Project’s bid of $8,200 won the 20-year grazing lease on 620 acres in central Idaho’s Sawtooth Valley in Custer County. The group and the Idaho Cattle Association say it’s possible other state grazing leases could be sought by other environmental groups. Western Watersheds will also have to pay an annual $800 fee based on the number of sheep or cattle authorized for the allotment. “That’s still a screaming deal,” said Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project, noting that private-land grazing fees are about three times that much. “Certainly, at those prices, the parcel is a lot more valuable for conservation than it is for grazing livestock.” Molvar said the group will not graze livestock but instead convert the grazing lease into a conservation lease and allow the area to be used by wildlife, notably a herd of 50 pronghorn that frequent the area. Elk and bighorn sheep are also in the region. He also said sections of two streams running through the parcel, Fourth of July Creek and Champion Creek, will be protected. The new lease takes effect Jan. 1.\n\nIllinois\n\nChicago: A white police officer has been placed on administrative duty as the city’s police oversight agency investigates his struggle with a Black woman who was walking her dog in a lakefront park. Police Superintendent David Brown on Monday directed that the officer be placed on paid desk duty while what happened over the weekend is investigated, the department said. Attorneys for the woman allege the encounter became violent and was an “obvious case of racial profiling.” The Civilian Office of Police Accountability said Monday that it reviewed the officer’s body camera video and recommended he either be placed on administrative duty or be relieved of his police power while it investigates. “If violations did occur, COPA will hold the officer accountable,” interim chief Andrea Kersten said. A law office representing Nikkita Brown said she was near the lakefront with her dog about 12:10 a.m. Saturday when a police officer approached her for being in the area after the park was closed. In a video recorded by a bystander, the woman and her dog appear to be walking away from the officer as he follows closely, and at one point she turns around with her phone in her hand and stops. Moments later, the officer appears to reach for her phone and then grabs Brown.\n\nIndiana\n\nIndianapolis: The state’s health commissioner defended herself Monday against criticism arising from a photograph circulating on social media showing her not wearing a face mask during a wedding reception. Dr. Kristina Box said in a statement that she “made an informed decision” to take off her mask while dancing or talking at a recent family wedding with guests fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Box said all but five people at the wedding were fully vaccinated. Several social media comments called Box’s actions hypocritical, as she said Friday that Indiana had reached “the darkest time in the pandemic” amid a surge in infections and hospitalizations and urged more people to get COVID-19 shots and wear masks. The photo shows Box standing amid several people, none of whom are wearing masks. Box said in her statement that federal guidelines call for people to wear masks at indoor public places when in areas of “high or sustained transmission.” “I continue to wear my mask in these settings and encourage Hoosiers to do the same,” Box said. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb apologized in May 2020 after posing for a photo with two people in which none of the three wore masks inside a Brown County restaurant, a day after recommending mask-wearing.\n\nIowa\n\nIowa City: A man was sentenced to life in prison without parole Monday in the abduction and killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, three years after she disappeared while out for an evening run. Judge Joel Yates’ sentence for Cristhian Bahena Rivera was mandatory for a first-degree murder conviction in Iowa, which does not have the death penalty. The 27-year-old former farmhand, who testified that he came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico as a teenager, has been jailed since his arrest in August 2018. Yates pointedly rejected defense claims that others were responsible for the crime. “Mr. Bahena Rivera, you and you alone forever changed the lives of those who loved Mollie Tibbetts,” he said. The sentence caps a case that inflamed anger over illegal immigration, fueled fears about violence against solo female runners, and took several noteworthy twists during and after Bahena Rivera’s trial in May. Tibbetts’ mother, Laura Calderwood, addressed Bahena Rivera in a victim impact statement read to the court. “Mollie was a young woman who simply wanted to go for a quiet run on the evening of July 18 and you chose to violently and sadistically end that life,” she wrote.\n\nKansas\n\nMission: Former Gov. Jeff Colyer announced Monday that he is dropping out of the 2022 race for governor after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. “While I have always focused on helping others, for the next few weeks I am going to focus on my health,” said Colyer, a physician who served as governor for a little less than a year in 2018. In his announcement, Colyer said he was endorsing Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the governor’s race. Colyer had been Schmidt’s main rival for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s reelection. Schmidt wished Colyer “all the best in overcoming his current health challenges” in a statement and said that “now is the time to come together to elect a Republican governor for Kansas next year.” In a tweet, Kelly wished Colyer “a quick recovery.” “Colyer and I may have our disagreements. But one thing we can all agree on: the need to defeat cancer,” she wrote on Twitter. Colyer was elevated from lieutenant governor in January 2018, when GOP Gov. Sam Brownback resigned to become U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom. Colyer narrowly lost the 2018 Republican primary to polarizing conservative Kris Kobach, who alienated moderate GOP and independent voters and lost to Kelly that November.\n\nKentucky\n\nFrankfort: The governor signaled Monday that he wants to convene a special legislative session to deal with COVID-19 issues once a “general consensus” is reached on what can be achieved. Gov. Andy Beshear said the special session needs to happen soon in part to maintain the state of emergency he declared at the outset of the pandemic in Kentucky. And there are pressing coronavirus-related issues stemming from school closures due to surging outbreaks, he said. The governor has the authority to call lawmakers into special session and to set the agenda. Beshear, a Democrat, has had discussions with leaders of the Republican-led Legislature over what actions could be taken if lawmakers are brought back to the statehouse. Those negotiations come as Kentucky suffers its worst surge of virus cases and hospitalizations since the pandemic began. Various emergency measures previously issued by Beshear are set to expire as a result of a recent landmark court decision. It’s up to lawmakers to decide whether to keep them in place. Kentucky had more new cases of COVID-19 last week than any other week in the pandemi, and on Monday reported another record number of hospitalized coronavirus patients. The highly contagious delta variant is spreading fastest among school-age Kentuckians, the governor said.\n\nLouisiana\n\nNew Orleans: A storied jazz site where a young Louis Armstrong once worked toppled when Ida blew through the state as one of the most powerful hurricanes ever to hit the U.S. The Karnofsky Tailor Shop, where a Jewish family employed Armstrong, collapsed Sunday during the storm. Armstrong would play a small tin horn as he worked on the coal and junk wagons, according to the National Park Service. The business opened downtown in 1913 and had a residence above it where the late jazz legend would often eat meals. The family, who provided Armstrong a “second home,” lent him money to buy his first cornet. “Louis said it was the Karnofskys that instilled the love of singing in his heart,” jazz historian and retired photojournalist John McCusker said, according to WWL-TV. Morris Karnofsky, the family’s son and Armstrong’s childhood friend, opened the city’s first jazz record shop on that same street, according to the park service. Armstrong would visit Morris Music when he returned to New Orleans after moving away. When daylight came Monday morning, all that was left was a pile of bricks and other remnants of the historic site.\n\nMaine\n\nPortland: The lobster fishing industry will face a host of new harvesting restrictions amid a new push from the federal government to try to save a vanishing species of whale. The new rules, which have loomed over the profitable lobster industry for years and were announced Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are designed to protect the North Atlantic right whale. The whales number only about 360 and are vulnerable to lethal entanglement in fishing gear. NOAA said it expects the new rules will result in a nearly 70% reduction of the risk of death and serious injuries the whales can suffer from entanglement. The rules had long been expected to focus on reducing the number of vertical ropes in the water, and they will. The rules reduce the number of rope lines that link buoys to lobster and crab traps, NOAA said. The rules will also require the use of weaker ropes so whales can more easily break free if they do become entangled, the agency said. NOAA said the rules also expand the areas of ocean where fishing with trap rope is prohibited or limited. Members of the lobster fishing industry have said strict new rules could make it difficult to get lobsters to consumers.\n\nMaryland\n\nSalisbury: Organizers of the 80th National Folk Festival say they’re adding a fourth stage at this year’s festival, the Maryland Traditions Family Folklife Stage. The festival is slated to return to downtown Salisbury on Sept. 10-12 for the third year of its residency in the Eastern Shore city. Supported by Maryland Traditions, the traditional arts program of the Maryland State Arts Council, the Maryland Traditions Family Folklife Area & Stage at the 80th National Folk Festival celebrates and showcases the rich, living traditions of Maryland. The area shines a spotlight on the distinctive music, rituals, crafts, occupations, foodways and other traditions at the heart of Maryland heritage, expressing both the state’s deep history and its evolving character. Performances, demonstrations, displays, exhibits, and narrative presentations by Maryland master artisans and performers explore a wide range of cultural traditions, including those of its First Peoples, the cultural legacies of European settlers, and the expressions of the newest Maryland residents whose cultural roots come from around the globe.\n\nMassachusetts\n\nBoston: Hundreds of students at Amherst College are pushing back against what they call the school’s overly restrictive coronavirus protocols that include double-masking indoors, restrictions on off-campus activities, and no in-person campus dining. In a letter sent to President Carolyn “Biddy” Martin a week ago, the students said that “the guidelines are not based on any given data, have been developed without student input, are significantly stricter than our peer institutions, and are in conflict with (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines.” The restrictions originally announced Aug. 24 and designed in response to the spread of the delta variant apply to the first two weeks of the fall semester, which began Monday. The prestigious private liberal arts college celebrating its 200th anniversary this year had already mandated COVID-19 vaccinations. In response to the pushback, Martin wrote another campuswide email Aug. 27. “We are in the midst of a surge, and you are arriving on campus from all over the country and the world, including from delta hotspots,” she said, adding later: “Now is not yet the time to relax key restrictions.” She did, however, amend a near-universal outdoor mask mandate, calling it “unworkable.”\n\nMichigan\n\nRoyal Oak: Some animals are rolling up their fur for COVID-19 shots at the Detroit Zoo. The zoo in suburban Detroit said its gorillas, chimpanzees, tigers and lions are getting a vaccine developed by Zoetis, a veterinary drug company, and authorized by the U.S. Agriculture Department. Other animals will follow. “We’re both thankful and relieved a special vaccine is now available to protect against COVID-19,” said Scott Carter, the zoo’s chief life sciences officer. “The animals routinely get other vaccinations.” The zoo said no COVID-19 infections have been found in its animals. Anti-vaccine advocates have aggressively criticized other zoos nationwide that have administered the shots to their animals. But the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has said it supports the animal vaccines, which “have been clinically tested and administered to animals only after deep consideration by veterinary professionals.”\n\nMinnesota\n\nMinneapolis: The state has reached 300 traffic accident deaths before Labor Day for the first time in more than a decade, prompting state public safety officials on Monday to issue a plea for people to slow down. The state reported its 300th fatality Saturday – the earliest the state has eclipsed that threshold since 2007, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety. There were 240 traffic deaths in the state at this time last year, and the state did not reach 300 until October. Officials attributed 103 of the deaths, or about 40%, to speeding, compared to 78 at this time last year. “This many preventable deaths on Minnesota roads before Labor Day is completely unacceptable,” said Office of Traffic Safety Director Mike Hanson. “It’s not a homework assignment; you don’t get a do-over. We all need to drive smart to keep our family, friends and neighbors alive.” Nearly three-fourths of all victims were male, with the majority between 21 and 30 years old. Alcohol-related deaths stand at 74, which is down from 88 at this time last year and 136 in 2011. Drunken driving-related deaths comprised 20% of all traffic fatalities in 2020 compared to more than half in the 1960s. State officials say the lower numbers are due in large part to extra impaired driving enforcement.\n\nMississippi\n\nJackson: Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker said Tuesday that he is feeling well, less than two weeks after being diagnosed with COVID-19. “To everyone who has asked, I have recovered fully from my bout with COVID-19, and I have a clean bill of health,” Wicker posted on Twitter. “I am looking forward to resuming my travel in the state this week.” Wicker, 70, is one of three senators who announced Aug. 19 that they had tested positive for the coronavirus. Wicker, independent Sen. Angus King, 77, of Maine, and Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper, 69, of Colorado, had all been fully vaccinated. All three have recommended that people get their shots. Wicker wrote Tuesday: “Being fully vaccinated greatly reduced my risk of developing severe complications from the virus. Getting the shot is safe, easy, and free, and it could save your life.”\n\nMissouri\n\nJefferson City: A judge on Tuesday refused to reinstate federal unemployment benefits that were cut in June when Gov. Mike Parson pulled out of several programs, saying the court “would not substitute its judgment” for that of the governor. The ruling by Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem came a day after lawyers representing Missouri residents who lost the jobless benefits asked for reinstatement with back pay that, for some people, could have amounted to $1,500. The enhanced benefits from several federal programs added money to the unemployment checks for out-of-work Americans to help ease the crunch caused by shutdowns for the COVID-19 pandemic. But some Republican governors, including Parson, ended the benefits, saying they wanted to prod people to rejoin the workforce. In his four-page ruling denying a preliminary injunction, Beteem wrote that “the balancing of harms and the public interest strongly favor the Governor’s decision to promote economic recovery and encourage workers’ re-entry into Missouri’s critically understaffed labor force.” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said in a statement that the ruling “affirmed the legality of Governor Parson’s decision to terminate these temporary benefits and will hopefully lead to the hiring of workers for businesses that desperately need the help.”\n\nMontana\n\nHelena: Gov. Greg Gianforte has announced a rule encouraging schools to give parents final say on whether children should wear masks in schools, after several large school districts implemented mask requirements for all students. Gianforte, a Republican, made the announcement Tuesday after the U.S. Department of Education on Monday opened civil rights investigations into five Republican-led states that have banned or limited mask requirements in schools, saying the policies could amount to discrimination against students with disabilities or health conditions. Gianforte said in a statement that masking in schools, which is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, is “based on inconclusive research.” He also said masking could have adverse impacts on children’s “health, wellbeing and development.” The CDC issued its guidance in light of the rapid spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. The rule says schools should consider “parental concerns” when adopting mask mandates and provide parents the ability to opt out of health-related mandates for a wide array of reasons including physical and mental health, developmental needs, religious beliefs and moral convictions.\n\nNebraska\n\nOmaha: The number of COVID-19 cases in the state has increased in each of the past ten weeks, and the total nearly doubled over the past two weeks as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread. Nebraska reported 5,006 new cases for the week ending Friday, according to an Omaha World-Herald analysis of data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 3,755 the previous week and nearly double the 2,668 cases recorded the week before. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska has also risen over the past two weeks from 190 new cases per day Aug. 15 to 715.14 new cases per day Sunday. “Those numbers speak for themselves,” said Dr. James Lawler, a co-executive director of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Global Center for Health Security. “We’re going up, and we’re following in the footsteps of the Southern states that saw increasing cases before us. And we’ll continue that way unless something dramatic happens.” The state said 323 people were hospitalized with the virus in the state as of Thursday. Last week, Gov. Pete Ricketts ordered all the state’s hospitals to delay elective surgeries, if possible, to help free up capacity, but he resisted taking other measures to slow the spread of the virus.\n\nNevada\n\nLas Vegas: City officials say they’ll use a $50,000 grant from the National Park Service to fund research about five decades of segregation, civil rights activism and advocacy in the historic West Las Vegas neighborhood. An announcement Monday said the project aims to focus on the years 1930 through 1979 in what amounted to the city’s segregated Black community. The goal is to determine what buildings and properties could be included on the National Register of Historic Places and listed on the city’s Historic Property Register. The funds to Las Vegas are part of nearly $750,000 nationwide allocated under the park service’s Underrepresented Community Grant Program, the city statement said. The city Historic Preservation Office submitted the grant request, and the city will issue a request for proposals for contracts with experienced cultural resources consultants to prepare the survey and inventory.\n\nNew Hampshire\n\nPortsmouth: A milestone anniversary for the New Hampshire Film Festival is again being pushed back a year due to COVID-19. Announced Monday, the 20th annual NHFF will have to wait another year because of the pandemic. The celebration was originally scheduled for October 2020, then delayed to October 2021. Now it’s planned for 2022. An autumn tradition in Portsmouth, which has hosted the festival since 2004 after its debut in Derry three years before, the festival said it would be unable to keep up with new health and safety protocols seen in art venues and community events across the country “due to the scale and scope” of an event spread across several days and multiple venues. “We are upset to find ourselves in this extremely difficult position, but our deeper concern lies with the filmmakers, attendees, supporters, partners and sponsors who continue to struggle with the ongoing pandemic,” NHFF executive director Nicole Gregg said in a statement. Celebrating newer filmmakers and directors, as well as more experienced screenwriters and actors, the NHFF is a four-day fall event that typically draws crowds for film showings, question-and-answer sessions with film producers and actors, and receptions and parties at downtown restaurants.\n\nNew Jersey\n\nBerkeley Township: A young lifeguard was killed, and seven other people, including three other lifeguards, were injured when lightning struck a Jersey Shore beach Monday afternoon, authorities said. It marked the second death of a young lifeguard at the Jersey Shore in a little over a week. Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy said the others were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. “Our hearts are with the family and friends of the young lifeguard killed by today’s horrific lightning strike on the beach in Berkeley Township, and we pray for a full recovery for those injured,” Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter. “I’ve spoken to Mayor Carmen Amato and offered the full support and assistance of our administration during this difficult time.” Amato said his township’s beaches will be closed Tuesday through Thursday as crisis counselors are made available to beach staff and lifeguards. Four of those struck were lifeguards, and four others were beachgoers. “This is a tragic and heartbreaking day for our town and the entire Jersey Shore,” Amato said in a statement. “This young person was out there every day protecting the lives of others. Our lifeguard teams, like so many along the shore, develop special connections with our community throughout the summer, which makes this loss even greater.”\n\nNew Mexico\n\nAlbuquerque: The state’s largest electric provider wants to transfer its share of a coal-fired power plant to an energy company backed by the Navajo Nation, but environmentalists argue that approving the deal would prolong the life of the plant and run counter to New Mexico’s renewable energy goals. The state Public Regulation Commission will determine whether Public Service Co. of New Mexico’s plan for Four Corners Power Plant is in the public interest during a two-week hearing that began Tuesday. It heard from the public Monday. Some of those who spoke at the virtual meeting Monday choked back tears when talking about pollution emitted by the plant over the decades, while others spoke about how their jobs at the power plant and coal mine helped to put their children through college. Some tribal members told regulators that all levels of Navajo leadership are behind the proposal. They said allowing the Navajo Transitional Energy Co. to take over the utility’s stake in Four Corners would provide more time for the tribe to find ways to deal with significant economic consequences that will come when the plant closes in 2031. If regulators don’t approve PNM’s plan, the Navajo Nation could lose up to $60 million annually, said LoRenzo Bates, former speaker of the Navajo Nation Council.\n\nNew York\n\nAlbany: Resigning from office probably didn’t end former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s legal problems, and no matter what happens next, taxpayers are likely to wind up with a hefty bill. The state has already agreed to pay up to $9.5 million to lawyers representing and investigating Cuomo and his administration over sexual harassment allegations and other matters, according to a review of available contracts. That figure represents the maximum amount that could be spent, not actual bills submitted so far. It doesn’t include the legal fees of Cuomo’s private attorney, whose bills are being paid by his campaign committee. His successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, can decide whether the state will continue to pay lawyers to defend Cuomo and his administration going forward. Cuomo and the administration face the possibility of civil lawsuits from women who have accused the Democrat of sexual harassment. The state attorney general is looking into Cuomo’s use of state employees to help with a book he wrote. Federal prosecutors are investigating his administration’s handling of nursing home death data. He’s also facing a state ethics commission inquiry.\n\nNorth Carolina\n\nRaleigh: Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill Monday that would do away with the permit someone must obtain from a county sheriff before buying a pistol, turning back a key agenda item of conservative gun rights supporters. Cooper’s veto was expected, and an override will be difficult for Republicans who control the General Assembly, since they lack veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate. Only two Democrats – both in the House – voted for doing away with the pistol purchase permitting system, which goes back more than 100 years. Cooper supports more gun-sale restrictions, not less, and his office expressed his opposition to the bill the day after the final legislative vote this month. “Gun permit laws reduce gun homicides and suicides and reduce the availability of guns for criminal activity,” Cooper said in a news release Monday. “At a time of rising gun violence, we cannot afford to repeal a system that works to save lives. The legislature should focus on combating gun violence instead of making it easier for guns to end up in the wrong hands.” Bill supporters said the current process has become duplicative with the comprehensive national checks that licensed gun dealers must conduct. The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association backed the repeal this year after opposing it previously.\n\nNorth Dakota\n\nBismarck: A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit by the state of Missouri seeking to stop a project that would supply Missouri River water to central North Dakota. The Bismarck Tribune reports the ruling will enable the federal Bureau of Reclamation to move ahead with a water service contract for the Central North Dakota Water Supply Project. The project will receive water from the McClusky Canal for systems in Burleigh, Sheridan, Wells, Foster, Kidder, McLean and Stutsman counties. The Missouri suit alleged violations of federal policy, including failure by project developers to properly study the project’s environmental impacts and its alternatives. U.S. District Judge Nanette Laughrey ruled against Missouri on all counts. The state of Missouri “doesn’t like any depletion from the Missouri River,” said Merri Mooridian, deputy manager of the Red River Valley Water Supply Program, which will move Missouri River water by underground pipeline from Washburn east to supply systems in the east and central parts of the state. The Central North Dakota Water Supply Project will use the same pipeline, taking nearly 13 million gallons a day. “The state of North Dakota has the right to flows of the Missouri River in the state of North Dakota,” Mooridian said.\n\nOhio\n\nCincinnati: A Common Pleas judge has rescinded his order that a man sentenced for a felony drug charge get vaccinated against COVID-19 within two months as a condition of his probation. Speaking at a hearing Tuesday, Judge Christopher Wagner told Brandon Rutherford that it’s not a judge’s role to make decisions for him or “teach you to be a better person.” The reversal came nearly a month after Wagner had sentenced Rutherford. At the time, Wagner told Rutherford he presumed he hadn’t been vaccinated because he was wearing a mask in court, which Rutherford confirmed, telling the judge he wasn’t worried about the vaccine. Neither Rutherford nor his attorney, Carl Lewis, objected to the vaccination order during the sentencing, but soon afterward Rutherford expressed concerns about the directive. Lewis said Tuesday that his 21-year-old client has concerns about the vaccine and will not get it within two months. Lewis had argued that a judge doesn’t have the power or authority to order someone to be inoculated.\n\nOklahoma\n\nOklahoma City: A bill approved by the Republican-led Legislature this year that seeks to crack down on protesters is unconstitutional and would chill the ability of groups to mobilize people to advocate for racial justice, a civil rights group argues in a federal lawsuit filed Monday. The Oklahoma chapter of the NAACP filed the lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma City, along with the national NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center. The lawsuit argues the law, which takes effect Nov. 1, was written to discourage peaceful demonstrations and violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantee the right of the public to peacefully assemble and give citizens equal protection under the law. The new law increases the penalties for blocking roadways, grants motorists civil and criminal immunity if they kill or injure someone while fleeing from a riot, and authorizes hefty fines for national organizations that coordinate with those found guilty of committing crimes under the state’s rioting statutes.\n\nOregon\n\nPortland: City employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 – or obtain a medical or religious exemption – by the middle of October, or they will be fired. “With COVID-19 filling hospitals and claiming lives, we must do everything within our power to end this pandemic and restore our community’s health,” Mayor Ted Wheeler and all four City Commissioners wrote Monday in a letter to municipal workers. The city will require its approximately 6,800 employees to submit proof of vaccination, show they are in the process of being vaccinated, or apply for an exemption by Sept. 10 and be fully vaccinated or granted an exemption by Oct. 18. Those who fail to meet the deadline “will be put on a list for separation from employment,” according to the letter. The city plans to provide a comprehensive outline of the new policy later this week and to answer whatever questions municipal workers might have. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that earlier this month, Multnomah County imposed a vaccine mandate on its employees, and Gov. Kate Brown has announced similar requirements for all teachers, health care workers and state employees across Oregon.\n\nPennsylvania\n\nHarrisburg: Masks will be required in all public and private schools, as well as child care facilities, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday, reversing course amid a statewide COVID-19 resurgence that is filling hospital beds just as students return to class. The Department of Health order will take effect Tuesday, Sept. 7 – a week or more after the start of school in many districts – and will require students, teachers and staff to wear masks when inside, regardless of vaccination status, the Wolf administration said. The order will not apply to student-athletes while they’re playing, nor to outdoor activities. “Wearing a mask in school is necessary to keep our children in the classroom and to keep COVID out of that classroom,” Wolf said at a news conference Tuesday. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association said the decision on masking should have been left to local school officials, but it would nevertheless remind school districts “of their legal obligation related to the directive.” Less than a month ago, Wolf had ruled out a statewide mask mandate for schools after requiring them last year. But the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus has changed the administration’s calculus about what is needed to keep students in class.\n\nRhode Island\n\nProvidence: The union that represents nurses at the state’s only Level 1 trauma hospital is calling on its parent company to increase the pay of nurses who have been on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. The United Nurses and Allied Professionals union on Tuesday delivered a petition with more than 2,000 signatures to Lifespan Corp., which operates Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. Lifespan, the state’s largest health care organization, has already increased compensation for nurses at some of its other hospitals. “We provide a critical component of patient care in Rhode Island, yet during this unprecedented health crisis, Lifespan seems to have forgotten about us,” Frank Sims, a Rhode Island Hospital nurse and union president, said in a statement. “While the nurses at Miriam Hospital and Newport Hospital are being recognized for their front line service with appropriate compensation increases during this crisis, Lifespan has refused to do the same for Rhode Island Hospital nurses.” A Lifespan spokesperson said the system provides nurses with “highly competitive wage and benefits packages.”\n\nSouth Carolina\n\nColumbia: A private college is allowing men to live on campus for the first time since it was founded 167 years ago. About 45 men moved into a dorm set aside for them at Columbia College this month, media outlets report. College officials said last year that they decided to bring men to what had been an all-women college because enrollment had fallen 25% in the past decade. “Most women now are looking for a co-educational experience. Also, we really believe the opportunity that we provide and the environment we have is a good one for men to grow. And so it’s expanding our outreach to men of course but also to a broader group of women,” said Columbia College President Tom Bogart, who took over as leader of the school in October. Jordan Wright was one of the first men to move into the Columbia College dorms. “I feel like it’s a good experience,” Wright said. “It’s a new beginning and new blessings. I know it’s a little different now, but I feel like everything is still going to go good with the boys and girls, even though it’s a new thing.”\n\nSouth Dakota\n\nSioux Falls: Gov. Kristi Noem said Tuesday that she has activated nine soldiers from the state National Guard to help with coronavirus testing in the western part of the state amid a surge of infections. “This past week, I had conversations with all three South Dakota hospital systems and asked them what they needed as cases start to rise again,” she said in a statement. “Monument asked for the National Guard to assist them in their testing efforts, and we are happy to help.” Over the past two weeks, the average number of infections has tripled statewide. The western part of the state has been the hardest-hit, with Meade County, which hosted the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally earlier this month, leading the state in new cases per capita. The Department of Health reported last week that it had traced 63 cases among rallygoers. Meanwhile, COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide reached 216 – the largest number since January. Two deaths were also reported Tuesday, bringing the total death toll of people with COVID-19 in the state to 2,069. The health department said Pennington County had more than twice as many new COVID-19 cases in the prior day than any other county in the state. Noem activated the National Guard last year to prepare field hospitals for a surge in patients, but the hospitals were not utilized.\n\nTennessee\n\nNashville: The snail darter, a tiny fish that notoriously blocked a federal dam project in the state decades ago, should no longer be on the endangered species list, federal officials announced Tuesday. Arguing that the fish is no longer in danger of extinction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has begun the process to delist the species, a move backed by the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that has favored lifting protections for the fish since 2019. “Thanks to the persistence of many people, the extinction of the snail darter was ultimately avoided, and today we can celebrate its recovery,” said Zygmunt Plater, the attorney who wrote the citizens’ petition to save the snail darter in 1975. Snail darters, a member of the perch family, grow up to 3.5 inches long and mostly eat freshwater snails. Shortly after the passage of the landmark 1973 Endangered Species Act, construction of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Tellico Dam in eastern Tennessee threatened the habitat of the newly discovered fish, located just above the site of the project. The case eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, marking the first time the nation’s highest court took up an ESA case. In 1978, the court ruled in favor of protections for the fish and halted work on the nearly completed dam. Congress later exempted the dam from the law to allow the project to be completed. But the TVA worked to transplant the snail darter to other rivers and streams.\n\nTexas\n\nAustin: The GOP-controlled Legislature passed a broad overhaul of the state’s election laws Tuesday, tightening already strict voting rules and dealing a bruising defeat to Democrats who waged a months­long fight over what they argued was a brazen attempt to disenfranchise minorities and other Democratic-leaning voters. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he will sign the bill, the latest in a national GOP campaign to add new hurdles to voting in the name of security, spurred in part by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. Texas Democrats fought the legislation for months, arguing the bill was tailored to make it harder for young people, racial and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities – all Democratic-leaning voters – to cast ballots, just as they see the demographics shifting to favor their party. The bill specifically targets Democratic strongholds, including Houston’s Harris County, further tightening rules in a state already considered among the hardest places to cast a ballot. The legislation set off a heated summer in Texas of walkouts by Democrats, Republicans threatening them with arrest, Abbott vetoing the paychecks of thousands of rank-and-file staffers when the bill failed to reach him sooner, and accusations of racism and voter suppression. Even the final vote did not escape a parting round of confrontation after Senate Republicans, at the last minute, scuttled one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement: efforts to shield voters with felony convictions from prosecution if they did not realize they were ineligible to cast a ballot. It had been included following backlash over the arrests of two Texas voters, both of whom are Black.\n\nUtah\n\nSalt Lake City: Gov. Spencer Cox cast doubt on the efficacy of mask-wearing Tuesday as health leaders made some of their most impassioned pleas yet for Utahns to mask up and get vaccinated. Cox, a Republican, said his administration is encouraging people to wear masks but said it is unclear whether they are effective against the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. “Masks are not as effective as most of the pro-mask crowd are arguing,” Cox told reporters at a news conference. “We know that they’re just not.” Cox offered no specific evidence to support his assertion, and his comments contradicted public health experts, as well as statements Utah’s state epidemiologist Dr. Michelle Hofmann made a few minutes earlier at the same news conference. State hospital leaders made emotional pleas for vaccinations and universal masking to prevent the state’s ongoing COVID-19 surge. “There will be enduring harm to our children and generations to come if we do not stop the divisiveness around the things we know work like masks and vaccines,” Hofmann said. “We know the path to healing is the end of this pandemic, and it hasn’t ended yet even if we want to pretend it has.”\n\nVermont\n\nBurlington: Nearly all arriving students at the University of Vermont have been vaccinated against COVID-19. UVM spokesman Enrique Corredera said officials are still working with fewer than 100 students to bring them into compliance with the school’s inoculation requirement. Earlier this month UVM reinstituted an indoor mask mandate for all faculty, staff, students and visitors on the Burlington campus. The exact size of this year’s school enrollment won’t be known for several weeks, but it’s expected to be more than 13,000. The incoming freshman class is expected to have about 3,000 students. “In wonderful news for the years ahead, an extraordinary new class of Catamounts have joined us this fall – with more than 25,000 applications for admission, the incoming class is on track to being the best academically prepared and the largest we’ve ever welcomed!” President Suresh Garimella said in a message to the student body. Students at colleges and universities across Vermont are returning for the fall semester amid the latest surge in COVID-19 cases, this time driven by the more transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus.\n\nVirginia\n\nRichmond: Gov. Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons Tuesday to seven Black men who were executed in 1951 for the rape of a white woman, in a case that attracted pleas for mercy from around the world and in recent years has been denounced as an example of racial disparity in the use of the death penalty. Northam announced the pardons after meeting with about a dozen descendants of the men and their advocates. Cries and sobs could be heard from some of the descendants after Northam’s announcement. The “Martinsville Seven,” as the men became known, were all convicted of raping 32-year-old Ruby Stroud Floyd, a white woman who had gone to a predominantly black neighborhood in Martinsville, Virginia, on Jan. 8, 1949, to collect money for clothes she had sold. Four of the men were executed in Virginia’s electric chair Feb. 2, 1951. Three days later, the remaining three were also electrocuted. All of them were tried by all-white juries. It was the largest group of people executed for a single-victim crime in Virginia’s history. At the time, rape was a capital offense. But Northam said Tuesday that the death penalty for rape was applied almost exclusively to Black people. Northam said the pardons are an acknowledgement that the men did not receive due process and faced racial bias.\n\nWashington\n\nSeattle: The coronavirus pandemic is filling hospitals at an “alarming” rate and continuing to strain health care workers, state health officials said Monday. And for the first time during the pandemic, hospitals are also seeing large numbers of sick pregnant patients, said Dr. Tanya Sorensen, the executive medical director of women’s health at Swedish Health Services. She noted pregnant patients are generally less likely to be inoculated against COVID-19. “We’re seeing ICU admissions, maternal deaths, babies born prematurely either to help the mother breathe or rescue the baby,” she said. “It’s really heartbreaking. … Pregnant women need to be vaccinated.” As of Monday morning, the state’s hospitals and health care centers were treating 1,570 COVID-19 patients, Washington State Hospital Association CEO Cassie Sauer said. Of those, 188 were on ventilators. Eleven days ago, the hospital association had counted 1,240 patients with 152 on ventilators. “It’s an enormous stress on a health care system to have this many patients with a single diagnosis,” she said. “This doesn’t happen. … It’s very, very alarming.”\n\nWest Virginia\n\nWheeling: A historic suspension bridge will be undergoing major repairs, but it’s not clear whether the span will reopen to traffic. The West Virginia Division of Highways and Gov. Jim Justice announced Monday that a $17.9 million contract had been awarded to repair and rehabilitate the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register reports. The project will make repairs on the span’s superstructure and substructure as well as clean, paint, replace damaged suspension cables and renovate lighting, officials said. “It is absolutely fantastic news for the city of Wheeling to know that its most iconic structure, the suspension bridge, is going to be fully repaired and rehabilitated,” Mayor Glenn Elliott said Monday. The future of the historic 1849 bridge was in question after officials closed the span to vehicle traffic in 2019 since motorists repeatedly ignored Division of Highways weight restrictions and warnings on the structure. Multiple overweight vehicles tried to cross it, leading to damage, and it’s unclear whether the repairs will allow the bridge to reopen to traffic. After the contractor begins work on the bridge, crews will determine the extent of the damage, and officials will then determine how the bridge will be used going forward.\n\nWisconsin\n\nWaukesha: A school district has reversed a decision to leave a federal free meals program following widespread criticism and loud protests from parents and others. Waukesha school board members said they received threats in the wake of national attention after voting to opt out of the program that was providing free breakfast and lunch to all students in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The board voted 5-4 on Monday to reverse course, with parents and others packing the meeting room and two overflow rooms. Board member Karin Rajnicek said after the board’s previous vote to end the free program that it made it easy for families to “become spoiled.” Darren Clark, assistant superintendent for business services, said he feared there would be a “slow addiction” to the service. Even without the program, Waukesha students from low-income families still would have been able to apply for free or reduced-price meals under the traditional National School Lunch Program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to extend the Seamless Summer Option during the pandemic to offer free meals year-round has allowed for more coronavirus-safe practices by eliminating the need to collect payments and allowing meals to be served more easily in classrooms or outside.\n\nWyoming\n\nCasper: More staff than inmates at the state’s men’s prisons have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past month, the Department of Corrections said late last week. Since July 23, the state has reported 43 cases of COVID-19 among staff at the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins and the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington. A total of 20 inmates in those two facilities tested positive for the virus over the same period of time. “Historically, we’ve had far more positives in our inmate population, as a percentage of the population, than we’ve had for staff,” Wyoming Department of Corrections spokesperson Paul Martin said Wednesday. “I think that trend is changing now.” About 35% of prison employees report being fully vaccinated, compared to 64% of inmates, the agency said. Vaccinations are not required for anyone, Martin told the Casper Star-Tribune, but are offered to employees and inmates. Inmates are still wearing face coverings and social distancing, Martin said. The only facility that did not experience an outbreak during the peak of the pandemic was the Wyoming Women’s Center in Lusk. This month, the women’s prison has reported five cases among staff and 11 among inmates.\n\nFrom USA TODAY Network and wire reports", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/09/01"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_19", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/kings/2023/03/29/sacramento-kings-end-longest-playoff-drought-nba-history/11558656002/", "title": "Sacramento Kings end longest playoff drought in NBA history", "text": "The Sacramento Kings have officially ended the longest playoff drought in NBA history.\n\nSacramento punched its postseason ticket Wednesday night with a 120-80 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers to secure its place in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2006, snapping the longest active playoff drought across North America's \"Big 4\" sports (the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL).\n\n“We want to do bigger things, but 16 years – that’s a long time,” Kings star De’Aaron Fox said. “So that feels great just being able to get that off us.”\n\nFor Kings fans, it's a moment to celebrate (Light the Beam!). For the rest of us, it's a good time to reflect on just how much has changed during the 16 seasons the Kings spent in the wilderness:\n\nWho was on the 2005-06 Kings?\n\nThere was little evidence the Kings were about to embark on a 16-year odyssey of missing the playoffs in 2006. Though the early years of the team's time in Sacramento were brutal, the Kings were making their eighth straight playoff appearance in 2006 under Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nSome mainstays of their best teams during that era were gone by 2005-06 (most notably Chris Webber, Vlade Divac and Doug Christie) but the Kings were still a good team, putting together a 44-38 record while having an impressive seven double-digit scorers.\n\nMike Bibby led the way with 21.1 points per game, and he was joined in double figures by Metta Sandiford-Artest (then Ron Artest), Peja Stojakovic (who was traded that season for Artest), Brad Miller, Bonzi Wells, Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Kevin Martin.\n\nWho won the 2006 NBA Finals?\n\nThe Kings went out in the first round that year in six games to a 63-win San Antonio Spurs team led by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.\n\nThe title was captured by the Miami Heat, who won their first championship by defeating Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Dwyane Wade, who was just 24 years old and in his third NBA season at the time, was named Finals MVP. The championship marked the fourth and final title for Shaquille O'Neal.\n\nWhere does Kings' playoff drought rank in NBA history?\n\nIt's the longest there's ever been. The drought started with the decision not to bring Adelman back in the summer of 2006. Eleven men have manned the Kings bench, including interim coaches, between Adelman's departure and the hiring of Mike Brown last summer. The Kings did not post a single winning record between 2006 and this season. In fact, Brown and Adelman are the only coaches the Kings have had that have produced winning records since the team moved to Sacramento in 1985.\n\nThe Kings' 16-year playoff drought is one season longer than the previous NBA record, held by the Clippers franchise, which missed the playoffs between 1977-1991. In third is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who ended a 13-year playoff drought in 2018.\n\nKings rookie Keegan Murray, the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, was 5 years old when the team last played a postseason game.\n\nWhat is now the longest active playoff drought in NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL?\n\nThe crown for longest playoff drought among North America's \"Big 4\" sports passes to the New York Jets, who last played in a postseason game following the 2010 NFL season (they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC title game on Jan. 23, 2011).\n\nThe Buffalo Sabres' NHL playoff hopes are currently hanging by a thread. Should they miss the postseason – and it appears they're going to – they'll extend their own NHL record by joining the Jets with 12 straight postseason misses. They last played a playoff game on April 26, 2011, when they fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 7 in the first round.\n\nThe longest current MLB postseason droughts belong to the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels, with both making their last playoff appearances following the 2014 season. That's right, we have not seen Mike Trout in a playoff game in eight years – and Shohei Ohtani has never appeared in one.\n\nWith the Kings finally making it to the NBA postseason, the new active leader for regular season futility is the Charlotte Hornets. Their streak is relatively modest, though; they haven't made the playoffs since 2016.\n\nWhat's next for these Kings?\n\n\"When you have a fanbase that's as intelligent, rabid, passionate about not only their team, but their city too – you can feel it, it's a prideful thing – you want the world for them,\" Brown said after the playoff-clinching victory. \"You're exited about (making the playoffs), we want (the fans) to celebrate but we also know that they expect more from us and we expect to hopefully give them more.\"\n\nNow that a playoff berth has been secured, attention turns to seeding and the postseason itself.\n\nSacramento appears to be locked in to the No. 3 seed. The Kings (46-30) are two games back of the Grizzlies with six games left to pay for both teams but they're five games ahead of the fourth-seeded Suns. Who the Kings will play in their likely 3-6 matchup remains a mystery. As of Wednesday night it would be the defending champion Warriors, but the 4-10 seeds are all within 3.5 games of each other.\n\nA number of different droughts could be ended if the Kings go on a run. They have not won a playoff series since 2004, and they've never reached the NBA Finals since they moved to Sacramento (the 2002 team lost in the Western Conference finals in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers – not that Kings fans needed reminding). In fact, the franchise has not played for the NBA championship since 1951, when the Rochester Royals (as they were then known) won the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.\n\nContributing: Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/football/nfl/2015/12/21/missing-playoffs-bills-fans-youre-not-alone/76526304/", "title": "The longest playoff droughts in sports", "text": "Mark Dwyer, and Ryan C Miller\n\nDemocrat and Chronicle\n\nDrought: A prolonged or chronic shortage or lack of something expected or desired.\n\nExpected? Oh no, not anymore.\n\nDesired? With the intensity of 1,000 suns, yes.\n\nWhen the Toronto Blue Jays reached the postseason this fall, they unwittingly gave the Buffalo Bills an unwanted gift: the longest active playoff drought in sports. Toronto snapped its streak at 21. The Bills are now officially sitting at 16 seasons and counting, having not sniffed the playoffs this century.\n\nIn an attempt to diffuse the pain, we're introducing you to the other fan bases that know a thing or two about playoff allergies. But first, western New York's pride and joy, the Bills, whose seasons are always regular:\n\nBuffalo Bills\n\nDrought: 16 seasons.\n\nLast playoff appearance: Jan. 8, 2000. How could we forget? Frank Wycheck's torso-twisting heave across ... you know what? We're just not going to get into it.\n\nRemember that guy? Jonathan Linton; The Bills running back only had a three-year career, but his best one came in 1999 when he led the team in rushing with 695 yards and 5 TDs. He was, however, part of the blown coverage team for the \"Music City Miracle.\" He barely touched the ball in the NFL again and later scored a job in the State Department.\n\nThe year they almost made it: 2004. A win at home in the season finale against Tommy Maddox's Steelers could've sealed it for Buffalo. Instead, the Bills (9-7) got first dibs on January tee times once again.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: 2001. In Gregg Williams' first year at the helm, the Bills went 3-13 behind the dynamic duo of Alex Van Pelt and Rob Johnson. Joe Montana and Steve Young, they were not.\n\nBack then, you were probably: Watching Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and feeling super smart, putting up with America's Boy Band epidemic (1995-2002) and/or freaking out over that crazy Sixth Sense ending. Spoiler Alert: That kid is 27 now.\n\nThe last time the Bills made the playoffs …\n\n... Karlos Williams was 6.\n\n... Taping your favorite show with a videocassette recorder was perfectly acceptable.\n\n... You were eagerly awaiting the next issue of Maxim. That issue that featured Sabrina the Teenage Witch on the cover made you subscribe.\n\nTimeline: The Bills' 16-year playoff drought, year by year\n\n**********************\n\nSeattle Mariners\n\nDrought: 14 seasons.\n\nLast playoff appearance: Oct. 22, 2001, ALCS. The Mariners were the best team ever! Until they didn't win the World Series. They didn't even reach it. The Mariners' three biggest superstars — Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez — were gone but Seattle responded by winning 116 games in the regular season, tying the 1906 Cubs for the Major League record. Seattle fell to New York 4-1 in the ALCS. Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez homered as the Yankees won Game 5, 12-3.\n\nRemember that guy? Ichiro Suzuki. He won the AL MVP, Rookie of the Year and a Gold Glove Award, becoming the first player since 1975 to win all three in the same season.\n\nThe year they almost made it: 2014, 87-75. The Mariners were a pleasant surprise and nearly forced a Game 163 tiebreaker on the final day of the season. A bunch of experts got carried away and picked Seattle to reach or win the World Series in 2015. Instead, they had trouble outscoring the Seattle Sounders on most nights and went 76-86.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: 2008, 61-101. Seattle was the first team eliminated from playoff contention and became the first club to spend $100 million in payroll and lose 100 games.\n\nBack then, you were probably: Singing \"H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A\" but had no idea what it meant, giggling in Spencer's Gifts, skeptical Beyoncé could make it solo after Destiny's Child split.\n\nThe last time the Mariners made the playoffs …\n\n... Your encyclopedia was a CD called Encarta and you were wondering who added all this information to this Wikipedia site.\n\n... Same-sex marriage became legal in the first country, the Netherlands ... That would never happen in the U.S.\n\n... The XFL seemed like a good idea.\n\n**********************\n\nCleveland Browns\n\nDrought: 13 seasons\n\nLast playoff appearance: Jan 5. 2003. The Browns blew a 17-point lead and lost 36-33 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC wild-card round. Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala's TD run with 29 seconds left doomed the Browns. Cleveland's Kelly Holcomb threw for 429 yards and three TDs. (The same Kelly Holcomb that replaced a benched J.P. Losman for the Bills in 2005 (Wow, the Bills have had some mediocre quarterbacks.)\n\nRemember those guys? Holcomb, Tim Couch, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, Bruce Gradkowski, Colt McCoy, Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace, Brandon Weeden, Thad Lewis, Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, Connor Shaw, Johnny Manziel, Josh McCown, Austin Davis. Ohio State's three quarterbacks (Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett, Braxton Miller) are better than Cleveland's. And one of them is a wide receiver.\n\nThe year they almost made it: 2007, 10-6. Cleveland’s only winning season since 2002. They were the season's only 9-plus win team to not make the playoffs. But, hey, at least they drafted Brady Quinn in the first round that year.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: 2015. The NFL season isn't even done yet, but it's been long over for the Browns. The offensive coordinator left; the quarterbacks coach was fired; their best player (Josh Gordon), general manager and offensive line coach were suspended; possible savior Johnny Manziel entered rehab. All before Week 1. This year's Browns logos feature a slightly brighter hue of orange, about the only thing looking bright for this franchise. Baby steps.\n\nBack then, you were probably: Popping your collar, ashamed you downloaded Nickelback's \"How You Remind Me\" on LimeWire and Kazaa, trying to rent Old School from Blockbuster but it was always out of stock.\n\nThe last time the Browns made the playoffs …\n\n... Steve Bartman could safely walk the streets of Chicago.\n\n... Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard were the final two on American Idol.\n\n... Ellen DeGeneres was Dory in Finding Nemo but didn't have her own show.\n\n**********************\n\nOakland Raiders\n\nDrought: 13 seasons.\n\nLast playoff appearance: Jan. 26, 2003. The Raiders, who were actually favored to win, got manhandled by Jon Gruden's Bucs in Super Bowl XXXVII, 48-21. Raiders QB Rich Gannon was intercepted a Super Bowl record five times — three of them were returned for touchdowns.\n\nRemember that guy? Jerry Rice, who wasn't bad at football. Sometimes it's easy to forget, though, that the 49er legend spent FOUR seasons across the bay in Oakland. Could have sworn it was one or two. The 2002 season was arguably his best with 92 catches for 1,211 yards and 7 TDs. In the Super Bowl, he caught five balls for a team-leading 77 yards and a TD.\n\nThe year they almost made it: 2011. The Raiders finished in a three-way tie atop the AFC West at 8-8, but it was the Broncos that prevailed via a tiebreaker. Oakland was sitting pretty around Thanksgiving, but lost four of its final five games.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: 2006. Art Shell's Raiders finished 2-14 and scored a paltry 10.5 points per game. When Ronald Curry scored in the fourth quarter of Week 14, that was the last Raiders touchdown of the season. Yikes.\n\nBack then, you were probably: BLASTING 50 Cent in your car (even though it was probably Missy Elliot ... we won't tell); obsessed with The West Wing; or getting dragged to the theater to see The Hours, Chicago or The Pianist with your wife, instead of Gangs of New York, which got your vote. You lost, 1-1.\n\nThe last time the Raiders made the playoffs …\n\n... Serena Williams was Serena Slamming the rest of tennis (this is still happening).\n\n... A CNN headline said gas prices \"skyrocket around United States\" ... to $1.60 per gallon.\n\n... You had no Chappelle's Show one-liners for your arsenal of one-liners.\n\n**********************\n\nMiami Marlins\n\nDrought: 12 seasons.\n\nLast playoff appearance: Oct. 25, 2003. The Marlins — then the \"Florida Marlins\" — defeated the New York Yankees in six games in the 2003 World Series. Oddly, it was the franchise's second championship in their second postseason appearance and they haven't been back since. I guess they feel as though if they don't have the talent to win the whole thing, why bother going?\n\nRemember that guy? Carl Pavano. To Yankee fans, Carl is a four-letter word. But for the Marlins back in 2003 and 2004, he was a helluva pitcher. He had one terrific start in the 2003 World Series, and then had a stellar 2004 season, which led to his 4-year, $40 million free agent deal with the Yanks. Wearing pinstripes, Pavano immediately got to work on his eventual nickname, \"American Idle.\" He started only 26 games in four seasons and sat out almost the entire 2006 and 2007 seasons due to a rash of injuries and Tommy John surgery.\n\nThe year they almost made it: 2009. The Marlins finished 87-75, but were five games back of the Colorado Rockies for the NL wild card spot.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: 2013. A tidy 62-100 record was quite putrid, although young stars Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton started flexing their considerable talent.\n\nBack then, you were probably: Listening to your Outkast CDs (round, shiny discs that played music), watching Monk on Friday nights or really, really into the Lord of the Rings.\n\nThe last time the Marlins made the playoffs …\n\n… Lionel Messi had zero career goals for Barcelona.\n\n… Britney Spears, 21, had another No. 1 album, a new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and could do no wrong.\n\n… First-time major winner Andy Roddick (U.S. Open) was probably looking ahead to a long, intense rivalry with first-time major winner Roger Federer (Wimbledon).\n\n***********************\n\nMinnesota Timberwolves\n\nDrought: 11 seasons.\n\nLast playoff appearance: May 31, 2004. After missing the playoffs in their first seven seasons and then losing in the first round the next seven, Minnesota won its first two playoff series in franchise history to reach the Western Conference finals. The problem: The T'Wolves had one future Hall of Famer in Kevin Garnett; L.A. had four (Shaq, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton, Karl Malone). Garnett was the regular season MVP, averaging 24.2 points, a league-high 13.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.2 blocks.\n\nRemember that guy? Garnett. KG was a 15-time All-Star, won an NBA title with the Boston Celtics in 2008 and retired as the all-time... He's still playing?! For the Timberwolves?!\n\nThe year they almost made it: 2004-05, 44-38. Minnesota finished ninth in the Western Conference. Latrell Sprewell turned down a 3-year, $21 million contact extension, saying it wasn't enough to feed his family.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: Any year David Kahn ran the franchise. Kahn selected three point guards in the first round of the 2009 Draft, but passed on Stephen Curry. The same man signed Darko Milicic to a $20 million contract and called him \"manna from heaven.\"\n\nBack then, you were probably: wearing a trucker hat, jealous that your friend had a Motorola Razr, either thinking Napoleon Dynamite was one of the best or one of the stupidest movies you've ever seen.\n\nThe last time the T-Wolves made the playoffs …\n\n...The most offensive thing Donald Trump said back then was \"You're fired,\" as new host of The Apprentice.\n\n... Mark Zuckerberg launched The Facebook but you didn't need to sign up because MySpace was way cooler.\n\n... Tom Brokaw left NBC Nightly News and Brian Williams took over. (We're telling the truth, it was that long ago.)\n\n**********************\n\nSt. Louis Rams\n\nDrought: 11 seasons.\n\nLast playoff appearance: Jan. 15, 2005. The Rams weren't even above average the last time they made the playoffs. St. Louis became the first NFL team to win a playoff game after going 8-8 but then got demolished 47-17 by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2004 NFC divisional round. Michael Vick (before he was inmate No. 33765-183) set an NFL postseason record for a quarterback with 119 rushing yards. Football Outsiders calculates that the 2004 Rams were, play-for-play, the worst team to make the playoffs in the site's rating history.\n\nRemember that guy? Anthony Hargrove. The Rams’ third-round pick in 2004 had a roller-coaster career. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for a fight with police outside a Rochester nightclub during Buffalo Bills training camp at St. John Fisher in 2007. Hargrove battled drug addiction, substance-abuse, suspensions, and returned from a treatment center to win a Super Bowl with New Orleans and was implicated in the Saints’ bounty scandal.\n\nThe year they almost made it: 2006. New coach Scott Linehan took over and the team made a splash in the offseason by signing ... Gus Frerotte? The Rams started the season 4-1 before losing seven of their next eight games. Stephen Jackson led the NFL with 2,334 total yards from scrimmage.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: 2009, 1-15. Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk were long gone and so was the \"Greatest Show on Turf.\" The Patriots scored 183 points after five games in 2015. The 2009 Rams scored 175 points, the sixth-fewest in NFL history for a 16-game season.\n\nBack then, you were probably: getting home from work or school and putting up an away message on AOL Instant Messenger, wearing a stack of Live Strong bracelets, burning a CD mix for your best friend for every mood.\n\nThe last time the Rams made the playoffs …\n\n... It was totally normal to print MapQuest directions and bring them with you.\n\n... YouTube was a month from being launched, so you had to download a RealPlayer plugin to watch the \"Numa Numa\" kid or any other Internet video.\n\n... Most girls walked around the mall in monochromatic velour sweatsuits with silkscreened words on the butt.\n\n**********************\n\nSacramento Kings\n\nDrought: 9 seasons.\n\nLast playoff appearance: May 5, 2006. The Kings were the No. 8 seed in the West and lost 4-2 to San Antonio. The Kings traded Peja Stojakovic for Ron Artest. Artest guaranteed the team would make the playoffs and Sacramento went 20-9 after the All-Star break. It was the eighth straight season the Kings made the postseason.\n\nRemember that guy? Jason Hart. The former Syracuse University star played in 66 games for Sacramento. Only 12 players in NBA history have played for more franchises than Hart, who played for nine.\n\nThe year they almost made it: Never. Shaquille O’Neal famously called the Kings “Queens” but that seems like a compliment nowadays. At least queens are royalty; the Kings have become peasants. The last time the organization won a championship was in 1951 as the Rochester Royals, when they were crowned champions at Edgerton Sports Park Arena.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: 2011-12. The Kings drafted Jimmer Fredette; their mayor, Kevin Johnson, could've cracked the starting five; and they came closer to relocating to Seattle than making the playoffs.\n\nBack then, you were probably: Having a sore arm from playing too much tennis on your new Nintendo Wii, wondering why you wasted an hour of your time watching that episode of \"Flavor of Love,\" convinced the Zune would make the iPod obsolete.\n\nThe last time the Kings made the playoffs...\n\n... A selfie meant having to wait until everyone left a public bathroom so you could use the mirror.\n\n... A wholesome, Disney-approved Miley Cyrus premiered on Hannah Montana.\n\n... Kobe Bryant was being celebrated for scoring 81 points instead of being celebrated for a farewell tour.\n\n**********************\n\nSan Diego Padres\n\nDrought: 9 seasons.\n\nLast playoff appearance: Oct. 8, 2006; The Padres struggled offensively in their 3-1 NLDS loss to the Cardinals, scoring six runs in four games and going 2-for-32 with runners in scoring position. Chris Carpenter (2-0) was stellar in Games 1 and 4. A rookie named Adam Wainwright closed out the decisive game.\n\nRemember that guy? Mike Piazza. The Dodgers/Mets/Pert Plus legend played his last (close to) full season with the Pads. He hit .283 and smacked 22 long balls. After a stint with the A's the following year, he walked into the sunset.\n\nThe year they almost made it: 2010. San Diego won 90 games, but that was two less than the Giants, who won the West, and one less than the Braves, who claimed the Wild Card.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: 2008. Falling one loss shy of 100, this team was gross.\n\nBack then, you were probably: Having Monday morning work conversations that were basically one big Ari Gold quote, having weird Pan's Labyrinth dreams/nightmares, and realizing that Shakira's hips were being truthful.\n\nThe last time the Padres made the playoffs …\n\n... iPhones weren't even around yet. Remember the world without iPhones? We don't, either.\n\n... Jack Nicklaus' record was basically toast after Tiger Woods picked up another major win at Medinah.\n\n... Liz Lemon didn't even exist.\n\n**********************\n\nEdmonton Oilers\n\nDrought: 9 seasons.\n\nLast playoff appearance: June 19, 2006. The Oilers came back to push the Stanley Cup finals to Game 7, but fell 3-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Oilers arrived in the finals as the Western Conference's No. 8 seed, having upset top-seeded Detroit, No. 5 San Jose and No. 6 Anaheim along the way.\n\nRemember that guy? Marty Reasoner. Yes, the Honeoye Falls native and McQuaid product was on the roster in 2005-06, but he was traded to the Bruins in March. He returned to the Oilers the following year, then finished out his career with the Thrashers, Predators and Islanders before hanging up the skates in 2013. He currently works on the Islanders' player development staff.\n\nThe year they almost made it: 2008. After a horrendous start, the Oilers put together a strong second half to earn 88 points, but finished three points shy of a playoff berth.\n\nThe year they didn't even come close: Three times, Edmonton finished with a lowly 62 points: 2010, 2011 and 2015. It was 2010, though, when the team blew everyone away, at losing. The league's second-worst team, the Maple Leafs, were 12 points better than them.\n\nBack then, you were probably: Trying to figure out if you could bring Sexyback (you couldn't); saying to yourself, \"this Roger Goodell fella is just what the NFL needs\"; wondering why Jim and Pam weren't a thing yet on The Office.\n\nThe last time the Oilers made the playoffs …\n\n... Barry Bonds was still crushing dingers and making baseball somewhat uncomfortable.\n\n... Jack Bauer had just saved the world for the (record) fifth time. You were starting to think, \"Maybe this is getting a little too far-fetched.\"\n\n... The world had yet to meet Borat. And you had yet to meet someone doing an awful Borat impression.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/12/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2019/03/23/lakers-loss-nets-eliminated-playoff-contention/3253978002/", "title": "Lakers eliminated from playoff contention with loss to Nets", "text": "Associated Press\n\nLOS ANGELES (AP) — D’Angelo Russell took no public pleasure in playing a pretty big role in officially eliminating the Los Angeles Lakers from playoff contention for yet another season.\n\nRussell is much more excited about the increasing likelihood that he’s about to make his postseason debut with the Brooklyn Nets.\n\nJoe Harris hit six 3-pointers while scoring 26 points, and Russell added 21 points and 13 assists against his former team in the Nets’ 111-106 win over the Lakers on Friday night.\n\nRussell had seven points and three assists in the fourth quarter while Brooklyn held on to beat the Lakers, who drafted Russell in 2015 and traded him in 2017. He hit two big 3-pointers down the stretch, and he raised his finger to his lips to shush his former fans in the Staples Center crowd.\n\nBut Russell said it was nothing personal, and he didn’t think much about putting the final nail in the Lakers’ playoff hopes.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\n\"Sounds good on paper, but at the end of the day, we’re not playing them,\" Russell said. \"We’re not competing against them for seeding, so the win is good enough.\"\n\nLos Angeles (31-41) will miss the playoffs for a franchise-record sixth straight season even with LeBron James, who fell just short of his 81st career triple-double with 25 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds.\n\n\"It’s been a tough season for all of us,\" James said. \"It’s not what we signed up for. Throughout the year, things happen. Suspensions, injuries, and us just not being able to play sustainable basketball for 48 minutes. You don’t even try to wrap your head around it. You just keep playing and try to get better and go from there.\"\n\nThe Nets needed another big game from Russell, who scored 27 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter of a thrilling win over the Kings three nights earlier. That stunning effort in Sacramento was the latest highlight of a breakout season for LA’s former No. 2 overall pick.\n\nGET MORE NBA:Exclusive content with our Click & Roll newsletter\n\nSTRETCH RUN:Keep your eye on NBA version of March Madness\n\nPROSPECT WATCH:Top college players to watch not named Zion\n\nRussell was well-liked by Lakers fans — but not by Magic Johnson, who dumped Russell in a trade to get rid of Timofey Mozgov’s onerous contract just a few months after the Hall of Famer took over the Lakers’ basketball operations.\n\n\"This is definitely where I started,\" said Russell, who has previously acknowledged being irked by Magic’s parting comments about his leadership. \"It’s definitely a place that gave me an opportunity. Not many guys started somewhere and then that was forgotten throughout their career. You know, Chauncey Billups, the (Steve) Nashes of that group, so I’m trying to consider myself one of those guys.\"\n\nRussell has grown into an All-Star in Brooklyn, while the Lakers have stayed in largely the same place in the standings despite adding James last summer.\n\nJaVale McGee had career highs of 33 points and 20 rebounds along with six blocked shots for the Lakers, who have lost five straight and 10 of 11.\n\nAfter 23 lead changes, the Lakers got within three points in the final minute, but James committed a turnover and missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.\n\nTIP-INS: Nets — Allen Crabbe missed his fourth straight game with a sore right knee.\n\nLakers — Tyson Chandler got his first game action since March 2. … Kuzma hit a 3-pointer from half-court to beat the shot clock in the first quarter.\n\nNETS RISING: Spencer Dinwiddie added 19 points in his hometown as the Nets (38-36) bolstered their playoff chances with their second straight win after an 0-3 start to this seven-game road trip. Brooklyn is seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, a half-game behind sixth-place Detroit and 2 ½ games ahead of ninth-place Orlando.\n\nSTAYING HOME: The Lakers will miss for the sixth consecutive season, easily the longest streak in the 16-time NBA champion franchise’s history. The Lakers had only missed the playoffs five times in their first 55 seasons of existence before this current drought.\n\nWith 10 games left in the season, the Lakers already know they’re staying home again for the playoffs, even after adding James to the roster last July. James has played in the last eight consecutive NBA Finals, but he will miss the postseason for the first time since 2005, his second pro season with the Cleveland Cavaliers.\n\nJAVALE’S BEST: McGee, the veteran big man with two championship rings from Golden State, had the biggest offensive game of his 11-year NBA career. He went 15-of-20 from the field, repeatedly converting in the paint on 10 assists from James.\n\nUP NEXT: Nets at Trail Blazers on Monday night. Lakers host Kings on Sunday night.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/03/23"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2019/05/31/toronto-raptors-nba-finals-rochester-royals-golden-state-warriors-nba-history-les-harrison/1274937001/", "title": "NBA Finals: Toronto Raptors not first Lake Ontario team to seek title", "text": "When the Toronto Raptors hosted the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA finals on Thursday night, a title banner 2,500 miles away in Sacramento, California might just have started to flutter in a show of support.\n\nThat banner belongs to the 1951 Rochester Royals, the last team on the shores of Lake Ontario to play in an NBA Final, and where the Sacramento Kings franchise has its roots.\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/05/31"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2017/06/22/suns-nab-forward-josh-jackson-with-4th-overall-pick/103123378/", "title": "Suns nab forward Josh Jackson with 4th overall pick", "text": "Associated Press\n\nPHOENIX (AP) — Josh Jackson believes the Phoenix Suns got the best player in the draft: Josh Jackson.\n\nThe Suns agree.\n\n\"People say he was the best two-way player,\" general manager Ryan McDonough said. \"The last I checked the game is played two ways.\"\n\nThe small forward from Kansas who is known for his defense and plays the game with an \"edge\" was the Suns' choice with the fourth overall pick Thursday night.\n\n\"I don't think the other guys in this draft really care as much as I do,\" Jackson said. \"I don't think they play as hard as I do, period. I think that's what really makes me special. I refuse to fail, period.\"\n\nFollow every game: Latest NBA Scores and Schedules\n\nJackson joins a Suns team already loaded with youthful talent as the franchise continues the long climb back toward relevance.\n\nThe 6-foot-8, 207-pound forward averaged 16.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in his lone season with the Jayhawks. The 20-year-old Jackson was the Big 12 freshman of the year and an all-Big 12 first-team selection.\n\nHe fills a Phoenix need with his defense.\n\nMcDonough said the only real weakness in Jackson's game is his spot-up shooting.\n\n\"If he can shoot the ball at an above-average level,\" McDonough said, \"he can be a star.\"\n\nJackson was available to the Suns because the Boston Celtics, picking third, chose another small forward, Jayson Tatum of Duke.\n\nJackson plays with an attitude to his game, something Phoenix coach Earl Watson loves in his players. Devin Booker does, too, so things could get interesting out on the wing for Phoenix.\n\n\"We love his fire, his competitive spirit,\" McDonough said. \"Frankly, I thought we needed some more of that.\"\n\nMcDonough called Jackson a perfect fit for the Suns, joining Booker and T.J. Warren as versatile wing players.\n\n\"In our opinion, elite two-way wings are the hardest players in the NBA to find,\" McDonough said. \"I won't say Golden State started the trend although they may have mastered it in terms of getting a bunch of guys like that at a high level. We're trying to see if we can do something similar.\"\n\nJackson joins an already-young team that came away with two lottery picks last year, thanks to a draft-night trade with Sacramento. The Suns chose then-18-year-old forward Dragan Bender with their pick last year, third overall, then acquired Sacramento's eighth selection from the Kings and chose 19-year-old forward Marquese Chriss.\n\nJackson said he looked forward to learning together with his young teammates and developing chemistry.\n\n\"It's going to make us a really special team down the road,\" Jackson said. \"You think back to the Warriors when they all came together — Draymond (Green), Stephen (Curry), Klay (Thompson) — they practically grew up together in this league and look at them now.\"\n\nMcDonough said the Suns extensively investigated an off-court incident that Jackson was a part of last December. He was arrested after kicking in the tail light and denting the driver's door of a Kansas women's basketball player's car while she was in it.\n\nHe agreed to a diversion program that requires him to go to anger management class among other things in order to have the misdemeanor offense dismissed.\n\nAsked about the incident, Jackson said, \"I don't think it really represents who I am.\"\n\n\"You know, I made a mistake that day. I did,\" he said. \"I admitted to it from day one. I think the whole situation was blown out of proportion, just because I am who I am.\"\n\nJackson said the incident \"wasn't as bad as everybody made it out to be. But I have owned up to it and I accept responsibility for it from day one.\"\n\nWith their two second-round picks, Phoenix chose a pair of seniors, 6-5 shooting guard Davon Reed of Miami at No. 32 and 6-9 power forward Alec Peters of Valparaiso at No. 54.\n\nReed, who averaged 14.9 points per game as a senior, worked out twice for the Suns, who like his defense and shooting ability.\n\nPeters, the Horizon League player of the year, averaged a conference-leading 23 points per game. McDonough called him one of the best shooters in the draft.\n\nPeters did not work out for teams because of a foot injury and will skip the Las Vegas Summer League, but the Suns believe he will be ready by training camp.\n\nThe Suns are enduring the longest playoff drought in the franchise's history. Phoenix hasn't made it to the postseason the last seven seasons.\n\n___\n\nMore AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2017/06/22"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_20", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/05/17/hispanic-group-says-florida-unsafe-due-to-desantis-illegal-immigration-law/70226868007/", "title": "Largest Hispanic group calls Florida 'dangerous,' issues travel warning", "text": "TALLAHASSEE — The League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation's largest and oldest Hispanic organization, has issued a Florida travel advisory and is threatening litigation against the state.\n\n\"We believe that Florida has committed several very cruel, immoral and unjust uses of immigrants as political piñatas for the purposes of basically just getting votes,” said Domingo Garcia, LULAC's national president, at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. “Florida is a dangerous, hostile environment for law-abiding Americans and immigrants.”\n\nAt issue is Senate Bill 1718, a sweeping, strict anti-illegal immigration measure Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last week.\n\nGarcia says LULAC plans to file a lawsuit in federal court when the law takes effect in July. He also says the organization will launch a campaign and hire organizers to \"punish those politicians who engage in this racism and this xenophobia.\"\n\nThe bill:DeSantis signs illegal immigration crackdown and rails against Biden\n\nLatin American truck drivers' threats:'My truck won't move.' Are truckers boycotting Florida over DeSantis' new immigration law?\n\nOther groups' travel warnings:LGBTQ, immigrant advocacy groups issue Florida travel advisory over DeSantis policies\n\nJeremy Redfern, DeSantis' press secretary, dismissed LULAC's announcement.\n\n\"We aren’t going to waste time on political stunts but will continue doing what is right for Floridians,\" he said in a Wednesday email.\n\nRedfern also referred the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida's to comments the governor made at a Monday press conference: “You can't build a strong economy based on illegality,\" DeSantis said.\n\nThe law strengthens employment requirements and allows state law enforcement officials to conduct random audits of businesses suspected of hiring undocumented workers.\n\nIt devotes an additional $12 million for DeSantis' migrant relocation program, which is now run by the Division of Emergency Management and is similar to the one used by the governor last year to lure nearly 50 mostly Venezuelan asylum-seekers from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.\n\nIt also increases criminal penalties for human smuggling, with third-degree felony charges imposed on anyone caught “knowingly” and “willingly” transporting anyone illegally in the country across state lines into Florida. Transporting a minor or more than five undocumented people into the state carries a second-degree felony penalty.\n\n\"We need to make sure that everybody understands that you can be arrested for literally taking somebody to the hospital, for literally taking somebody to Disney World,\" Garcia said.\n\nIllegal migrants also could face felony charges for displaying a false ID to obtain employment. In addition, businesses with 25 or more employees would be required to use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of new workers.\n\nThis all coincides with the end of Title 42, an emergency immigration restriction that allowed easier expulsion of migrants at the southern border. Its expiration created concerns of a surge of asylum-seekers entering the country. (Though, the surge and chaos, so far, hasn't materialized as expected.)\n\n“We’re bracing for some turbulent times ahead,” said DeSantis, who is expected to soon announce a presidential campaign. “And I think when you have a president who has turned a blind eye to what’s gone on at the border... you’re likely to see it get a lot worse. We’re protecting Floridians, to the full extent of our ability.”\n\nLULAC, though, doesn't see it the same way.\n\n\"It's not presidential to use immigrants as scapegoats and to use fearmongering, Gov. DeSantis,\" Garcia said. \"It's little and small.\"\n\nLydia Guzman, the LULAC Immigration Committee chair, warned there would be economic consequences, too, as immigrants, here legally and illegally, make up a large chunk of the Florida workforce. And she said the law would lead to discrimination of legal residents.\n\n\"People that look like me will be harassed,\" Guzman said. \"We will have to prove that, because of the color of our skin, that we belong in this country.\"\n\nGuzman said she also worried that migrants will forgo going to the hospital, potentially leading to their deaths, due to a provision of the law that requires Medicaid-accepting hospitals to ask patients if they are U.S. citizens and if they are here legally, and report that data — without personally identifying information — to the governor.\n\nIn its 94-year-long history, the organization has only issued one other travel advisory: over a 2010 Arizona immigration law.\n\nThe Florida Immigrant Coalition, in anticipation of DeSantis' law, issued a state travel advisory last month. The LGBTQ civil rights group Equality Florida also warned people to stay away from Florida over DeSantis' policies.\n\nAnd, currently, Latin American truck drivers are threatening to stop delivering to and in Florida because of the law.\n\nUSA Today Network-Florida government accountability reporter Douglas Soule is based in Tallahassee, Fla. He can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com. Twitter: @DouglasSoule. Contributed: USA Today and the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau's John Kennedy.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/05/17"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/destinations/2015/12/03/amazingly-affordable-destinations-winter-2015-2016/76675782/", "title": "Amazingly affordable destinations for winter 2015/16", "text": "Ashley Rossi\n\nSmarterTravel.com\n\nSmarterTravel.com scoured destinations and deals for weeks to come up with bargains and overlooked off-peak destinations that are still great in winter. So, whether you're looking for a bucket-list beach destination or just wanting to hit the slopes, we've found some awesome deals both near and far.\n\nDeals mentioned are not guaranteed and all prices are based on research done at the time of publication and are subject to change.\n\nNew York City\n\nWhy It's a Steal: There's nothing quite like Christmas in the Big Apple. While hotel rates drop significantly after New Year's, you should still be able to find slashed rates compared to summer during the holidays and just before. Looking for even better prices? Average nightly hotel rates from January through March hover around $235 a night—22 percent lower than the rest of the year. If you're going, check out the Unlock NYC campaign \"Find a Winter Less Ordinary,\" which features tips for discovering unexpected icons and landmarks.\n\nDeals to Watch For: We found a hotel deal with Kimpton Hotels with prices at $170 a night from January through March 21, 2016. If you're too late on that deal, check out Hotel Week New York City from January 3 to 15, during which rooms are significantly discounted. Be sure to check out NYC Restaurant Week (January 18 through February 5), which offers three-course lunches for $25 and dinners for $38. Other deals include two-for-one theater tickets on select shows during NYC Broadway Week (January 19 through February 5) and NYC Off-Broadway Week (February 1 through 14).\n\nSydney, Australia\n\nWhy It's a Steal: Although in its peak season, flights to Australia are some of the cheapest we've seen. A strong American dollar also makes your stay there more affordable, so if Oz is on your bucket list, this is the time to do it right. Flights are inexpensive in part because American Airlines launches daily service from LA to Sydney on December 17, and San Francisco via Qantas on December 20. These are the lowest fares we've seen in a while, according to SmarterTravel Deals Editor Patricia Magaña.\n\nThis is also Sydney's summer, when amazing weather (little humidity, lots of sunshine) makes it a great escape from the traditional holiday chill with the extra treat of beautiful New Year's fireworks. Domestic travel within Australia is inexpensive with Jetstar making a multi-destination vacation affordable. Don't miss Australia Day at the end of January and Mardi Gras in February.\n\nDeals to Watch For: Round trip flights with flexible dates from Qantas between LAX and Sydney can be found for under $1,300 in December, February, and March. Hotels average around $200 or $300 per night, and Qantas offers point deals when you book through the airline. Adina Apartments are abundant in the city, with affordable rates and special offers for winter travel. Check out the 4-Day Sydney Discovery deal with Qantas for a harbor-view vacation by boat.\n\nTulum, Mexico\n\nWhy It's a Steal: December is a semi-popular time to visit before the busy spring season, but hotel deals and flights can still be found through February and early March, making the warm temperatures and attractive price a great winter escape. Most beaches have free access and hotel deals can be found through promotions either just before or just after the holidays. The closest major airport to Tulum is Cancun (about a two-hour drive), so you're likely to find a cheap flight to the major airport, but also a secluded beach vacation.\n\nDeals to Watch For: Frontier, Spirit, and United all are offering cheap round-trip tickets from major U.S. cities. For hotels, we found lots of pre- and post-holiday promotions. Check out Diamante K and Posada Yum Kin's ongoing discounted hotel rates.\n\nSouthern California\n\nWhy It's a Steal: Both San Diego and Los Angeles are in their quieter tourism seasons, so you'll find slashed hotel prices but you'll still be able to enjoy the warm weather. It's also whale-watching season in San Diego with lots of discounts to spot them. Hit both for a mini-road trip vacation (driving, you can get between the two cities in about two hours if you time it right). It's also a quick and inexpensive flight.\n\nDeals to Watch For: We found inexpensive flights to both L.A. and San Diego outside of holiday travel days December through February from the East Coast for under $500 round-trip. Check out JetBlue's deals from Boston to Los Angeles for extra savings. Save 15 percent for fall and winter stays through 2015 with Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Other major hotel chains are also offering deals for both San Diego and Los Angeles through winter.\n\nBarbados\n\nWhy It's a Steal: If you're craving an island getaway, Barbados is popular but never over-crowded compared to more visited Caribbean destinations. It's also a great bargain this winter as it is usually one of the pricier islands to get to. A new direct route from Boston on JetBlue, which started November 7, has contributed to decreased flight prices to the island, making it more attainable than ever.\n\nDeals to Watch For: Last minute holiday? There are dozens of pre-Christmas savings on hotels, and even some winter deals, like resort credits at Bouganvillea Beach Resort. Flights are under $200 one-way pre- and post-holidays from the East Coast as well, making Barbados a true go-to beach escape.\n\nAustin, Texas\n\nWhy It's a Steal: Peak season doesn't start until March (when a handful of music festivals kicks off before the heat gets unbearable), so package deals can be found during the winter months, when temperatures remain in the 60s and 70s. Barton Spring Pool stays a solid 68 degrees year-round and the city's surrounding golf courses are considerably less crowded. So if you're looking for an urban escape or some time outdoors, Austin makes for a perfect destination.\n\nDeals to Watch For: Hotels are less expensive and encourage travel during the holidays. Flight searches for December, January, and February from most major U.S. cities averaged under $200 round-trip.\n\nSpain\n\nWhy It's a Steal: Barcelona, Seville, Costa del Sol, Benidorm and the Canary Islands (where you can still go to the beach), all make great off-season Spanish destinations since the weather is warmer than most of Europe, staying between the 50s and the 70s depending on where you go. Favorable exchange rates and the launch of budget trans-Atlantic routes have made Europe overall more affordable this winter.\n\nDeals to Watch For: WOW Air offers unbelievably inexpensive flights from the U.S. East Coast to London, and from there, Spain is a short and cheap flight. Holiday package deals by low-cost carriers like EasyJet from the UK for Benidorm, Barcelona, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote add to the savings. Non-budget airlines and hotels will also have significantly lower rates in winter. We found flights from the U.S. Midwest and East Coast round-trip to Barcelona under the $700 mark.\n\nVancouver, Canada\n\nWhy It's a Steal: Celebrate winter in full swing in British Colombia's Vancouver. City hotel rates are low for non-skiers looking to enjoy an urban winter, and with extremely favorable exchange rates, Canada is more affordable than ever. Less than an hour and a half away, you'll find Whistler Mountain with hotels offering tons of package deals perfect for family getaways and a West Coast ski vacation. Don't miss Dine Out Vancouver between January 15 and 31 for a culinary showcase of the city.\n\nDeals to Watch For: Flights from West Coast are extremely cheap (under $200 round-trip) on Air Canada throughout winter, and can be found for under $500 from the Midwest and East Coast in January and February. The Four Seasons is offering a 20 percent off deal.\n\nCartagena, Colombia\n\nWhy It's a Steal: Colombia in general is a great budget destination and in particular during the winter months, when the weather is warm and mood is festive. High season ends in mid-January, so hotel rates then (which are already affordable) will be even less expensive.\n\nDeals to Watch For: Flights searched in January and February showed round-trip airfares under $500 departing from most major U.S. cities with connections in Bogota or direct from Miami. Hotel rates in high season average under $200 for a very comfortable hotel, with deals often around $100 per night or less after January. Check out some hotel deals HERE.\n\nVenice, Italy\n\nWhy It's a Steal: While temperatures are cold in Venice, most tourists stay away, which means you won't need to fight the crowds. Flights and hotel rates are ultra-low, and many locals will tell you Venice is even prettier with the occasional Dolomite snow. Be sure to check out Carnevale di Venezia (January 23 through February 9), which draws crowds during the weekends — the final weekend of the festival is the busiest and most exciting. If you're looking for something fun to do, check it out, as the celebration is one of Europe's most famous carnivals. But if you want to avoid the crowds altogether, go mid-week during this period or simply go before or after the festivities.\n\nDeals to Watch For: It's worth looking at taking a WOW Air flight from the East Coast to London then using an inexpensive carrier to get you to Italy, as you'll need to make a stop anyway. We found flights between London and Venice for under $50 round-trip with Ryanair throughout winter. Searches for non-budget carriers from the East Coast to Venice yielded results under $700 round-trip for the winter months, which is significantly cheaper than during high season, when flights average over $1,000 round trip. Hotel prices for winter for a comfortable hotel average between $100 and $200. Check out some of the city's hotel deals HERE.\n\nREAD THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE:Outrageously Affordable Destinations for Winter 2015/2016", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/12/03"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/25/russia-ukraine-kyiv-invasion-latest/6934351001/", "title": "Ukraine: Russian forces close in on heart of Kyiv - recap", "text": "Editor's note: This page recaps the news of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Friday, Feb. 25. Follow here for the latest updates on the attack in Kyiv on Saturday, Feb. 26.\n\n***\n\nRussian forces closed in on Kyiv in the early hours of Saturday, but dawn brought limited clarity about how far the invading troops had penetrated into the Ukrainian capital, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had vowed defiance through the night.\n\n\"We must survive this night,” Zelenskyy – who told Ukrainians earlier that Russia has marked him as “target No. 1” – said in a video message before morning arrived in Kyiv.\n\nAs Saturday began, Zelenskyy tweeted that he had started “a new day on the diplomatic frontline” with a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, with “weapons and equipment from our partners” on the way.\n\nBut the danger remained far from over to the former Soviet republic. Photos from Ukraine detailed destruction by Russian troops and bombs, with Ukrainian citizens huddled in underground bomb shelters or trying to flee their country to safety, carrying family members and what possessions they could. Authorities in Kyiv described fighting in the streets and urged residents to seek shelter.\n\nU.S. President Joe Biden was slated to meet with his national security team on Saturday morning; the U.S. and other nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and on its president, Vladimir Putin, in the hopes that the economic price will force Russia from its current path.\n\nZelenskyy government:What happens if Kyiv falls? What would a government in exile look like?\n\nDawn breaks in Kyiv\n\nAs dawn broke in Kyiv, it was not immediately clear how far the soldiers had advanced. Skirmishes reported on the edge of the city suggested that small Russian units were probing Ukrainian defenses to clear a path for the main forces.\n\nBut the swift movement of the troops after less than three days of fighting further imperiled a country clinging to independence in the face of a broad Russian assault, which threatened to topple the democratic government and scramble the post-Cold War world order.\n\nThe street clashes followed fighting that pummeled bridges, schools and apartment buildings, and resulted in hundreds of casualties.\n\n-- The Associated Press\n\nDelta ends Russian partnership\n\nDelta has withdrawn its codeshare services operated in conjunction with Russian national airline, Aeroflot, effective immediately. Codeshare allows one airline to sell seats on flights operated by other airlines\n\n\"We have removed our code from Aeroflot-operated services beyond Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and removed Aeroflot’s code from Delta-operated services from Los Angeles and New York-JFK,\" Delta said in a statement.\n\nDelta does not operate services to Ukraine or Russia.\n\n-- Craig Harris\n\nUS Dept of State warns Americans in Russia to stay away from protests\n\nThe U.S. Department of State early on Saturday warned Americans in Russia to “avoid demonstrations and any demonstration-related activities” because of the possibility of widespread arrests.\n\n“According to social media sources, there have been calls for demonstrations throughout Russia, including in major cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, in opposition to the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces against Ukraine,” the State Department noted in an online alert.\n\n“The U.S. Embassy reminds U.S. citizens that the Department of State’s Travel Advisory level for Russia is at “Level 4: Do Not Travel” for reasons including harassment against U.S. citizens, harassment by Russian government security officials, and the arbitrary enforcement of local law,” the statement added.\n\n-- Luciana Lopez\n\nZelenskyy and Macron speak\n\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted early Saturday morning that he and French President Emmanuel Macron had spoken by phone.\n\n\"A new day on the diplomatic frontline began with a conversation with @EmmanuelMacron. Weapons and equipment from our partners are on the way to Ukraine. The anti-war coalition is working!\" Zelenskyy tweeted.\n\n-- Luciana Lopez\n\nBlinken, South Korea foreign minister speak\n\nSouth Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday to discuss the two allies’ cooperation over the Russia-Ukraine crisis, including Seoul’s participation in a U.S.-led economic pressure campaign against Moscow.\n\nSeoul’s Foreign Ministry said Chung and Blinken reaffirmed the allies’ “strong condemnation” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and they urged Russia to immediately cease its takeover attempt.\n\nBlinken thanked South Korea for its support of Ukraine and its willingness to participate in international sanctions against Russia, the ministry said.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nBetter trained, better equipped:What you should know about Russia and Ukraine's militaries\n\n'I need ammunition, not a ride'\n\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was asked to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer.\n\nZelenskyy said in response: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation, who described Zelenskyy as upbeat.\n\nInvading Russian forces closed in on Ukraine’s capital on Saturday, in an apparent encircling movement after a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nMore:Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's actor president, prepares for his greatest role yet\n\nSecond Russian transport plane shot down\n\nA second Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport plane was shot down near Bila Tserkva, 50 miles (85 kilometers) south of Kyiv, according to two American officials with direct knowledge of conditions on the ground in Ukraine.\n\nOn Friday, Ukraine’s military said it had shot down a Russian military transport plane with paratroopers on board.\n\nAccording to a statement from the military’s General Staff, the first Il-76 heavy transport plane was shot down near Vasylkiv, a city 25 miles south of Kyiv. The Russian military has not commented on either incident so far, and the reports could not be immediately verified.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nFighting in the streets of Kyiv\n\nKyiv officials are warning residents that street fighting is underway against Russian forces, and they are urging people to seek shelter.\n\nThe warning issued Saturday advised residents to remain in shelters, to avoid going near windows or on balconies, and to take precautions against being hit by debris or bullets.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nPresident refuses to flee, urges Ukraine to 'stand firm'\n\nRussian troops stormed toward Ukraine’s capital early Saturday as explosions reverberated through the city and the president urged the country to “stand firm” against the siege that could determine its future. He refused American help to evacuate, saying: “The fight is here.”\n\nHundreds of casualties were reported in the fighting, which included shelling that sliced through a Kyiv apartment building and pummeled bridges and schools. There also were growing signs that Russia may be seeking to overthrow Ukraine’s government, which U.S. officials have described as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ultimate objective.\n\nThe assault represented Putin's boldest effort yet to redraw the world map and revive Moscow’s Cold War-era influence. It triggered new international efforts to end the invasion, including direct sanctions on Putin.\n\nAs his country confronted explosions and gunfire, and as the fate of Kyiv hung in the balance, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed for a cease-fire and warned in a bleak statement that multiple cities were under attack.\n\n“This night we have to stand firm,” he said. \"The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now.”\n\n'Hands off Ukraine!' Russian protesters, celebrities risk arrest to denounce Putin's war\n\nZelenskyy was urged to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer, according to a senior American intelligence official with direct knowledge of the conversation. The official quoted the president as saying that “the fight is here\" and that he needed anti-tank ammunition but “not a ride.”\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nBattle for Ukrainian capital reportedly intensifying, with explosions seen and heard in Kyiv\n\nRussian forces have reportedly moved in closer to Kyiv early Saturday morning, and explosions were seen and heard in parts of the capital suggesting an escalation of fighting with Ukrainian defenders, according to CNN.\n\nThe cable network reported that operations by Ukrainian forces to repel the Russian advance were intensifying in the early morning hours of Saturday, Kyiv time, not long after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy warned that the battle could be over by morning.\n\n\"This night will be very difficult, and the enemy will use all available forces to break the resistance of Ukrainians,\" Zelenskyy said in a late-night video message Friday that was widely circulated on Twitter.\n\n\"This night we have to stand ground,” Zelenskyy said, surrounded by members of his national security team. “The fate of Ukraine is being decided right now.\"\n\nCNN teams in the capital reported hearing loud explosions to the west and south of the city. And Ukraine's State Service of Special Communications said clashes were underway in an eastern suburb as Russian forces appeared to be closing in on Kyiv from at least three sides.\n\nEarlier Saturday morning, the State Service of Special Communications reported: “Explosions in Kyiv. What is known? The enemy is trying to attack CHP-6 near Troieschyna. The Armed Forces give battle. Resistance continues in Vasylkiv, where enemy troops are trying to land.”\n\n-- Josh Meyer\n\n'It is at its worst tonight'\n\nKonstantin Novikov is a yoga teacher living outside of Kyiv who is one of several residents who shared what life has been like the past few days. shared his Friday.\n\n\"They just started shooting. It's scary, you don't know where it's going to go.\n\n10 min ago there was a lot (of shooting); many rockets . It's silent now, and we are waiting. We will go down with a neighbor to the entrance to the first floor and we will sit there. It seems safer.\"\n\n...\n\n\"I have my car downstairs full of gas. I put my documents, money and some stuff in a little bag. In any moment i can take my bags, my cats, and run away if it is too scary to stay. ... Maybe I will go to the center of Ukraine. Somewhere where it is more safe. Mostly people are going to western Ukraine like Lviv. But right now I can only go through Kyiv because it is blocked any other way. Either by Russian troops on one side, or (on another road) the bridge was blown up to keep Russian troops from going over the road to Kyiv. So, I have only one way out from my city.\"\n\nUnclear if Japan to join in Russia sanctions\n\nJapanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says he spoke with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on the phone Saturday and agreed they must respond to Russian invasion of Ukraine properly to prevent it from becoming “a wrong lesson” because of its potential influence in Asia and the Indo-Pacific region.\n\nHayashi declined to comment if Japan plans to join the United States, Britain and the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He said Japan will closely stay in touch with other Group of Seven members and the international society while watching the development.\n\nUkrainian soldier on Snake Island tells Russian officer 'go (expletive) yourself' before being killed\n\nHayashi told reporters that he and Blinken reassured their commitment to work closely with the rest of the international society. They agreed that it is necessary to respond to Russia properly and to absolutely reject the unilateral act to change the status quo and not leave “a wrong lesson.”\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nRussian troops march on\n\nThe Russian military said Friday it had encircled the cities of Sumy and Konotop in northeastern Ukraine, but was “taking steps to ensure civilians’ safety.”\n\nDefense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Russian forces have so far knocked out 211 Ukrainian military installations, including 17 command centers, 19 air defense missile systems, 39 radar units, 67 tanks and six warplanes. The Russian military also said it seized a strategic airport outside Kyiv, allowing it to quickly build up forces to take the capital.\n\nLate Friday, the Russian military said it has taken over Melitopol, a city near the Azov Sea. The claim could not immediately be independently verified.\n\nMeanwhile, a senior U.S. defense official said it’s estimated that Russia has now launched more than 200 missiles into Ukraine and some have hit residential areas, although it was unclear if they were deliberately targeted.\n\nBut U.S. defense officials believe the Russian offensive has encountered considerable resistance and is proceeding slower than Moscow had envisioned.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nMapping and tracking Russia's invasion of Ukraine\n\nUkraine’s military reported shooting down an II-76 Russian transport plane carrying paratroopers near Vasylkiv, a city 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Kyiv, an account confirmed by a senior American intelligence official. It was unclear how many were on board. Transport planes can carry up to 125 paratroopers.\n\n\"We must survive this night”\n\nThe U.S. and its European allies moved to sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday as Russia's military pushed further into Ukraine in an invasion that threatened to topple its democratic government.\n\nThe White House announced the new sanctions after President Joe Biden met with fellow NATO heads of state to discuss the mounting crisis.\n\nUkrainian officials reported at least 137 deaths on their side and claimed hundreds on the Russian one. Russian authorities released no casualty figures. Bridges and schools have been damaged in the shelling, which also sliced through a Kyiv apartment building.\n\nAs Russian troops neared the capital, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to stay and fight - and beckoned his fellow countrymen to do the same.\n\n“You can not give up the capital,\" he said in a video message. \"We must survive this night.”\n\nThe crisis has roiled the globe since Putin, in the pre-dawn hours of Moscow on Thursday, announced in a televised address that he was launching a military operation against Ukraine.\n\nInternational backlash followed swiftly, with sanctions by the United States and a host of other countries. Biden said the new economic measures would \"limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen to be part of the global economy.\"\n\nBut, so far, those sanctions appear to have had little effect on Russia's attempt to take over the one-time Soviet Republic that has expressed a desire to someday join NATO.\n\n• MOUNTING DEATH TOLL: Zelenskyy announced that 137 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been killed with hundreds more wounded.\n\n• WHERE IS THE FIGHTING? Explosions sounded before dawn in Kyiv and gunfire was reported in several areas, as Western leaders scheduled an emergency meeting and Ukraine's president pleaded for international help to fend off the attack.\n\n• WHERE ARE UKRAINIANS GOING? Poland’s Border Guard says that some 29,000 people were cleared to enter through the country’s land border with neighboring Ukraine on Thursday, the day Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.\n\nWHY IS INVASION HAPPENING?:Why is Russia invading Ukraine? Could it be the start of WWIII? Here's what we know\n\nA NEW COLD WAR?: How historians view Russia's invasion of Ukraine\n\nRussia vetoes UN Security Council resolution that it stop attacking Ukraine; China abstains\n\nAs expected, Russia vetoed a UN resolution on Friday evening demanding that Moscow stop its attack on Ukraine immediately and withdraw all troops. U.S. officials said they knew Moscow would oppose the measure but that they wanted to highlight Russia’s isolation within the international community.\n\nThe vote was 11 in favor, with Russia voting no. China, along with India and the United Arab Emirates, abstained.\n\nThe vote was delayed for two hours as the United States and Albania, co-sponsor of the resolution, worked behind the scenes to shore up support for the resolution among wavering nations, including Brazil.\n\n“A line has been crossed, and this council cannot remain silent,” said Brazil’s Ambassador Ronaldo Costa Filho. He said his government was “gravely concerned” about Russia’s military action.\n\nChina’s decision to abstain was seen as a diplomatic victory for pro-Ukrainian forces, given its history of using its veto power alongside ally Russia.\n\n-- Josh Meyer and Associated Press\n\nRussia-Ukraine explained:Inside the crisis as US calls Russian movements an invasion\n\nUkrainian President vows to stay and fight advancing Russian troops in Kyiv\n\nAs Russian troops advanced on Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv Friday evening, President Volodomyr Zelenskyy appealed for a cease-fire and warned in a video statement that multiple cities were under attack and intent on seizing the capitol.\n\n”The night will be harder than the day,” Zelenskyy said on the video, which was widely circulated on Twitter.\n\n“At night they will storm,” he said in the message to Ukrainians. “You can not give up the capital. We must survive this night.”\n\nBiden administration spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed Friday afternoon that U.S. officials believe Putin intends to try to take the capital and oust the government.\n\nThe explosions and gunfire in Kyiv fueled further fears of wider war in Europe and triggered new international efforts — including direct sanctions on President Vladimir Putin by the U.S., UK, European Union and Canada — to make Moscow stop.\n\n-- Josh Meyer\n\nU.S. to sanction Putin, other Russian officials\n\nThe United States is slapping sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and some of his deputies in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.\n\nWhite House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday the new sanctions will target Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and members of Russia’s national security team.\n\nThe announcement follows a decision by the European Union earlier Friday to freeze the assets of Putin and Lavrov, along with other sanctions.\n\nThe United States already has hit Russia with sanctions that will impact multiple sectors of the Russia economy. But Ukraine has argued that a tougher economic response is needed and has asked for additional defense assistance.\n\n--Michael Collins and Joey Garrison\n\nThe enigma of Vladimir Putin:What do we really know about Russia's leader?\n\nUkraine's ambassador to US: Very concerned about Chernobyl\n\nOksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., voiced concern Friday that Russia took control of the Chernobyl power plant – site of the worst nuclear disaster in history – and took 92 staff members as hostages.\n\n“We are very concerned that the Chernobyl shelter is under threat of any type of random attack by the Russian federation,” Markarova told reporters in Washington.\n\nMore broadly, she said Ukraine armed forces destroyed 80 Russian tanks, 10 planes, seven helicopters and 516 armored vehicles. She blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for casualties.\n\n“As a result of Mr. Putin’s decision to send Russians to kill Ukrainians, 2,800 of Russian soldiers will not be going back to Russia,” she said.\n\nMarkarova said she wasn’t able to say what it would take for Putin to abandon the attack, but that Ukraine sought territorial integrity not just of its eastern provinces, but also Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.\n\n“We are ready for peace talks, but we are not ready for capitulation or surrender,” Markarova said.\n\n--Bart Jansen\n\nWarner warns tech companies about Russian disinformation efforts\n\nSen. Mark Warner is urging U.S. tech companies on Friday not to let their platforms be misused by Russian influence operations in the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.\n\nThe Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, sent letters Friday to Alphabet, Meta – formerly known as Google and Facebook – as well as Reddit, Telegram, TikTok, and Twitter alerting them to malicious “information warfare” activities by Russia and Russia-linked entities.\n\n“As this conflict continues, we can expect to see an escalation in Russia’s use of both overt and covert means to sow confusion about the conflict and promote disinformation narratives that weaken the global response to these illegal acts,” Warner wrote.\n\nIn his letter to YouTube parent company Alphabet, Warner said his staff observed YouTube ads on Thursday monetizing content regarding the conflict in Ukraine from RT, Sputnik and TASS, which he described as malign actors affiliated with the Russian government.\n\n“Unfortunately, your platforms continue to be key vectors for malign actors – including, notably, those affiliated with the Russian government – to not only spread disinformation, but to profit from it,” Warner said.\n\n- Josh Meyer\n\nHundreds of casualties reported amid bombing damage, destruction\n\nAs the fighting intensified in Ukraine Friday, government officials offered competing assessments of the death toll.\n\nUkrainian officials reported at least 137 deaths on their side and claimed hundreds on the Russian one. Russian authorities released no casualty figures.\n\nU.N. officials reported 25 civilian deaths, mostly from shelling and airstrikes, and said that 100,000 people were believed to have left their homes, estimating up to 4 million could flee if the fighting escalates.\n\nBridges and schools have been damaged in the shelling, which also sliced through a Kyiv apartment building. After 8 p.m. in Ukraine, a large boom was heard near Maidan Nezalezhnosti, the square in central Kyiv that was the heart of the protests which led to the 2014 ouster of a Kremlin-friendly president. The cause was not immediately known and smaller repeated blasts could be heard in the distance.\n\n–Associated Press\n\nTrevor Reed's parents fear Russian attack on Ukraine will thwart son's release from Moscow prison\n\nThe parents of a former Marine imprisoned in Moscow worry the global outrage over Russia’s attack on Ukraine could hurt their chances of getting their son released at a moment when he is suffering from serious health problems.\n\nTrevor Reed’s parents, Joey and Paula Reed, told the Dallas Morning News their son called his Moscow lawyers to tell them he was running a fever. He had prolonged exposure in December to another prisoner with tuberculosis and was coughing up blood, according to U.S. embassy spokesman Jason Rebholz. Trevor Reed had been diagnosed with COVID-19 last May.\n\nAs a Marine, Reed served as a presidential guard and provided security at Camp David during the Obama administration.\n\nBut Reed was arrested in Moscow in August 2019 after allegedly being involved in a drunken fight at a party. He’s serving a nine-year sentence on charges the U.S. ambassador called “absurd.” U.S. officials have said Reed and another former Marine, Paul Whelan, were imprisoned potentially to be used as bargaining chips for the release of Russian spies.\n\nPresident Joe Biden said Thursday diplomatic talks with Russia have been ruptured by Moscow's massive military attack on Ukraine.\n\nPaula Reed told the Dallas Morning News the remarks were “like the exclamation point” to know “it’s going to be that much more difficult to get Trevor home.”\n\n-Bart Jansen\n\nUkrainian minister offers pay hike for soldiers\n\nUkraine Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced Friday that the country’s armed forces would receive a 30% salary increase, along with monthly bonuses, while Ukraine is battling a Russian invasion that threatens its survival as a free democracy.\n\n“Together with the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance and the relevant parliamentary committee, we managed to find the expected financial resources and raise the salaries of Ukrainian defenders to the national average,” Reznikov said in a statement. “This is only the first step. We continue to work. Glory to Ukraine and its defenders!”\n\nThe pay hike will go into effect March 1.\n\n--Bart Jansen\n\nZelenskyy says he and Biden discussed tougher sanctions\n\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with President Joe Biden on Friday about strengthening sanctions against Russia and other steps to retaliate for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.\n\n“Strengthening sanctions, concrete defense assistance and an anti-war coalition have just been discussed with @POTUS,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter, thanking the U.S. for its strong support” of Ukraine.\n\nThe White House confirmed that Biden spoke with Zelenskky for 40 minutes but provided no other details.\n\nThe United States and Europe have already hit Russia with sanctions that will impact multiple sectors of the Russia economy. Ukraine has argued that a tougher economic response is needed and has asked for additional defense assistance.\n\nIn response, the European Union agreed Friday to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov along with other sanctions.\n\n–Michael Collins\n\nZelenskyy posts video pledging continued defense\n\nUkraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a short video just after midnight local time with other leaders of his country proclaiming their continued defense against the Russian invasion.\n\nHis defiance came as Russian troops pushed toward the capital Kyiv, and as questions swirled on social media about whether leaders had begun fleeing.\n\n“We are all here,” said Zelenskyy, who was surrounded by a handful of leaders. “Our military is here, citizens are here. We are all here defending our independence, our state and it will be so further. Glory to our defenders, glory to Ukraine!\"\n\nHe was joined by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and adviser Mykhailo Podoliak among other officials.\n\n\"Glory to heroes!\" the men said as the video ended.\n\n– Bart Jansen and Karina Zaiets\n\n'We are all here' Ukrainian President Zelenskyy shares message from Kyiv\n\nEU to freeze assets on Vladimir Putin, Sergey Lavrov - Latvian official\n\nThe European Union agreed to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov along with other sanctions, according to Latvia's foreign minister.\n\nThe move is intended to ratchet up financial pressure on Putin to back off Ukraine and would add to other sanctions levied against Moscow from governments including the United States.\n\nLatvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said in a tweet on Friday that the EU's foreign ministers “adopted the 2nd sanctions package” and added that “the asset freeze includes President of Russia and its Foreign Minister.”\n\nHe said the EU plans to prepare another package of sanctions.\n\n– Bart Jansen\n\nUS official: Russian forces advance but not as quickly as anticipated\n\nRussian forces continue to invade Ukraine along three routes, including from the north toward Kyiv, although a senior U.S. Defense Department official said Russian momentum toward Kyiv has slowed in the last 24 hours.\n\nThe U.S. official declined to say how many Russian troops were on the ground in Ukraine now, but estimated it was about one third of the combat force that Russia had massed before the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin had deployed more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s border prior to the invasion.\n\nThe official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence findings, told reporters Friday the U.S. had information suggesting that Moscow had expected a faster advance on Ukraine's capital. The official declined to say how the Pentagon had made that assessment, but Russia has not yet captured any major population centers.\n\nRussia has failed to dominate Ukrainian air space, the official said. Ukraine continues to fly warplanes that are attacking Russian forces. Ukraine also retains missiles for air defense.\n\nIn southern Ukraine, the Russians have made an amphibious attack, landing thousands of troops, the official said.\n\nElsewhere in the south, a battle is being fought for the Kakhovka hyrdo-electric plant that provides energy to Crimea and southern Ukraine. Russia has launched cyberattacks there, the official said.\n\n-Tom Vanden Brook\n\nUkraine pressures Europe to ban Russia from SWIFT\n\nUkraine’s foreign minister ramped up the pressure on European leaders on Friday to kick Russia out of the SWIFT financial system in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.\n\nThe United States and Europe already have hit Russia with sanctions that will impact multiple sectors of the Russia economy. But some European leaders have been reluctant to boot Russia from SWIFT, a global messaging system connecting thousands of financial institutions around the world.\n\nUkraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba took to Twitter to urge those holdouts to reconsider, citing their past statements that a conflict like World War II should never be allowed to happen again.\n\n“To some European leaders who are still hesitant: each year at commemorative events you say ‘Never again,’” he wrote. “The time to prove it is now. Russia is waging a horrific war of aggression in Europe. Here is your ‘never again’ test: BAN RUSSIA FROM SWIFT and kick it out of everywhere.”\n\nKuleba said he spoke Friday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the need for the U.S. to use its influence to persuade hesitant European leaders to ban Russia from SWIFT.\n\n-Michael Collins\n\nZelenskyy says Ukraine is fighting Russia ‘alone’\n\nUkraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday Ukraine is fighting Russia “alone,” in an apparent criticism of the U.S. and other western allies, as he pushes for a stronger international response to Russia's invasion of his country.\n\n“This morning, we are defending our state alone, as we did yesterday,” he said in an address to Ukrainians. “The world’s most powerful forces are watching from afar. Did yesterday’s sanctions convince Russia?”\n\nBiden has vowed that he won’t send U.S. troops to Ukraine to fight Russia, though he has sent American forces to shore up NATO's eastern flank.\n\nBiden announced a second round of U.S. sanctions announced Thursday, but it did not include the harsh step of cutting Russia from the SWIFT financial system, which connects banks worldwide.\n\n--Joey Garrison\n\nKremlin open to talks if Ukraine stops fighting\n\nThe Kremlin said Friday it is ready to hold talks with Ukrainian officials, but only after Ukrainian forces stand down. The conditional offer came as Russian forces bore down on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.\n\nKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Belarus to meet with Ukrainian officials. This came after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is willing to discuss a non-aligned status for the country, which would essentially mean dropping the country's bid to join NATO.\n\nHowever, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraine must put down its arms before any talks happen, according to Russia's state controlled TASS News Agency.\n\nCharting Russia's invasion in maps\n\nRussian military forces invaded Ukraine at roughly 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday (4:30 a.m. on Thursday in Ukraine), using missiles, troops, tanks and aircraft.\n\nThe invasion has targeted major cities and military sites, with the attacks coming from all different directions, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Russia has fired more than 100 missiles.\n\nSee where Russia's forces are moving\n\nEmergency spending for Ukraine likely to reach billions, US senator says\n\nCongress may need to approve at least $10 billion in emergency spending to support Ukraine and for other needs, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said Friday.\n\nCoons, a close ally of President Joe Biden who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters his estimate may be on the low side because it doesn’t include what may be a “robust” request from the Pentagon.\n\n“There is strong enthusiasm to provide ongoing resupply and training and whatever other covert and overt support is necessary and appropriate for the Ukrainian resistance,” he said.\n\nCoons, who also heads a subcommittee in charge of humanitarian aid, said he’s confident billions of dollars will be needed to support the likely millions of refugees expected to flee Ukraine for nearby countries.\n\n“It would be a wild guess on my part,” he said, “but I would be supportive of an emergency supplemental of at least $10 billion, perhaps more, to meet these vital national security and humanitarian needs.”\n\n--Maureen Groppe\n\nUkrainian official: Kyiv residents should make Molotov cocktails\n\nUkraine's Defense Ministry urged Kyiv's residents Friday to stay inside and prepare Molotov cocktails to defend their capital as Russian troops and tanks were on the verge of entering the central part of the city for the first since President Vladimir Putin launched his assault on Ukraine.\n\n\"Neutralize the enemy,\" Ukraine's Defense Ministry tweeted as Kyiv continued to be hit by apparent Russian airstrikes that have damaged apartment buildings and forced thousands into bomb shelters. Air raid sirens rang out through the night and into the early morning.\n\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is continuing to plead with western leaders to unveil harsher sanctions on the Kremlin, saying “If you don’t help us now, if you fail to offer a powerful assistance to Ukraine, tomorrow the war will knock on your door.”\n\nUkraine claims that more than 1,000 Russian troops have already been killed, though British officials have put the Russian death toll at half that.\n\n-Kim Hjelmgaard\n\nWhat is SWIFT? How could banning Russia from it impact the country?\n\nPresident Biden on Thursday announced a raft of new sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.\n\nBut one move the president didn’t announce: kicking Russia out of the SWIFT financial system.\n\nBiden said removing Russia from the international SWIFT financial system is still on the table but that European allies had resisted that step. The SWIFT system shifts money between banks around the world. Removing Russia would block Moscow from most international financial transactions, including profits from oil and gas production that are the lifeblood of Russia’s economy.\n\nMore:What is SWIFT? How could banning Russia from the banking system impact the country?\n\nRussia bans British flights from airspace\n\nRussia’s civil aviation authority has banned U.K. flights to and over Russia in retaliation against the British government’s ban on Aeroflot flights.\n\nRosaviatsiya said that all flights by the U.K. carriers to Russia as well as transit flights are banned starting Friday.\n\nIt said the measure was taken in response to the “unfriendly decisions” by the British authorities who banned flights to the U.K. by the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot as part of sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.\n\n- Associated Press\n\nPope Francis makes unprecedented visit to Russian embassy\n\nPope Francis went to the Russian embassy in Rome on Friday to personally express his concern about the war in Ukraine, in an extraordinary papal gesture that has no recent precedent.\n\nPopes usually receive ambassadors and heads of state in the Vatican. For Francis to travel a short distance to the Russian embassy outside the Vatican walls was a sign of his strength of concern about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.\n\nVatican officials said they knew of no such previous papal initiative.\n\nVatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed the pontiff wanted “clearly to express his concern about the war.” Pope Francis was there for just over a half-hour, Bruni said.\n\nFrancis has called for dialogue to end the conflict and has urged the faithful to set next Wednesday as a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Ukraine.\n\nBut he has refrained from publicly calling out Russia, presumably for fear of antagonizing the Russian Orthodox Church, with which he is trying to build stronger ties.\n\nRockets strike Kyiv in `horrific’ attack\n\nRussia has launched a “horrific” rocket strike on Kyiv, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, tweeted Friday.\n\nThe capital hasn’t experienced an attack like that since 1941, when Nazi Germany invaded, he said.\n\n“Ukraine defeated that evil and will defeat this one,” Kuleba tweeted. “Stop Putin. Isolate Russia. Severe all ties. Kick Russia out\" of everywhere.\n\n-- Maureen Groppe\n\nRussian invasion advances on Kyiv; civilians spent night in bomb shelters\n\nRussian troops appeared to be advancing on Kyiv at the start of the second day of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.\n\nAmid a fast-moving and difficult-to-verify situation, Ukraine's Defense Ministry tweeted early Friday that some Russian troops had broken through to several northern districts on the outskirts of the capital. However, Ukraine's military also said it was resisting the advance on multiple fronts.\n\nThe apparent development comes as thousands of civilians spent the night in bomb shelters, typically underground subway stations, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his citizens to do all they can to resist Russia's assault. Zelenskyy has vowed to remain in Kyiv with his family and he appealed to Russia for a ceasefire.\n\nSome 137 Ukrainians, a mixture of soldiers and civilians, died in the fighting on Thursday, Zelenskyy said. Britain's Defense Secretary told his country's media Friday that Russia has lost about 450 military personnel.\n\nThe U.S., Europe and Japan have all unveiled sanctions on key Russian banks, airlines and associates of President Vladimir Putin. Later Friday, NATO leaders will convene an emergency meeting by video link to discuss the deteriorating security situation.\n\n- Kim Hjelmgaard\n\nEU plans more sanctions with 'massive consequences'\n\nBRUSSELS — A senior European Union official says the 27-nation bloc intends to slap further sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.\n\nEU Council president Charles Michel tweeted Friday: “Second wave of sanctions with massive and severe consequences politically agreed last night. Further package under urgent preparation.”\n\nMichel announced the move after a call with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.\n\nMichel said Kyiv “is under continued attack by Russian forces” and called on Russia to immediately stop the violence.\n\nRussia stripped of Champions League final as UEFA shifts match to Paris\n\nLONDON - Russia was stripped of hosting the Champions League final by UEFA on Friday with St. Petersburg replaced by Paris after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.\n\nThe men's final will still be held on May 28 but now at the 80,000-seat Stade de France after the decision by UEFA's executive committee.\n\n\"UEFA wishes to express its thanks and appreciation to French Republic President Emmanuel Macron for his personal support and commitment to have European club football’s most prestigious game moved to France at a time of unparalleled crisis,” European football's governing body said in a statement. \"Together with the French government, UEFA will fully support multi-stakeholder efforts to ensure the provision of rescue for football players and their families in Ukraine who face dire human suffering, destruction and displacement.\"\n\nUkraine president: Russia has marked him ‘target No. 1’\n\nZelenskyy said Thursday he remains in the Ukraine capital of Kyiv, and intends to stay there, even as Russia has made him its top quarry.\n\n“The enemy has marked me as target No. 1, my family as target No. 2,” Zelenskyy said in an address to Ukrainians. “They want to destroy Ukraine politically by destroying the head of state.”\n\nAsked about Zelenskyy’s safety, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. is in touch with him and are working to provide him support.\n\n- Joey Garrison\n\nContributing: Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/02/25"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/11/21/wisconsin-dairy-farms-rely-immigrant-workers-undocumented-laborers/4248901002/", "title": "Wisconsin dairy farms rely on immigrant workers, undocumented ...", "text": "ASTACINGA, VERACRUZ, Mexico – The last time Roberto Tecpile left his home in the mountains of central Veracruz, his daughter Megan was just a few weeks old.\n\nHe hugged his wife, his parents and his children, then began the journey north to the USA, crossing through Laredo, Texas. It was the third time since Tecpile's marriage to Veronica Montalvo that he left his country to work on a Wisconsin dairy farm.\n\nThe trip, more than 2,000 miles, is not uncommon among the families in and around Astacinga. The area has almost 7,000 people. Unemployment is in the double digits and virtually everyone – 96% – lives below the poverty level. Money sent from those working in the USA is one of the only ways to build solid new homes made of concrete.\n\nTecpile left five years ago and remains in Wisconsin. He works six days a week, about 10 hours a day at Rosenholm Dairy in Buffalo County. After work, he prepares dinner, takes a shower and, most evenings, calls home. Every two weeks, he heads to a grocery store in Arcadia and sends $300 to $500 to his family back in Mexico.\n\nTecpile and Montalvo want to finish a home they are building in Astacinga – get the bathroom and kitchen done, install a tile floor, paint the walls. They hope to start their own business someday.\n\nThat means for now, Megan will know her father only through the nightly calls and by browsing photos on her mother's cellphone.\n\n“There’s no other option,” Tecpile says.\n\nReliable numbers on immigrants working in the dairy industry are hard to come by. A national survey taken five years ago for the National Milk Producers Federation estimated the immigrant workforce at 51% of the total.\n\nWorkers in Wisconsin express little doubt immigrants account for a larger portion of the dairy industry workforce today. They don't work on just the biggest farms but also on operations that grew their herd beyond what a family can handle.\n\nWhile unemployment is low, many farmers fill openings by passing word to Mexican laborers on-site, then accept the new workers who show up without asking too many questions.\n\nSome farmers say they haven’t encountered a U.S.-born applicant in years.\n\nEntry-level jobs may pay $11 to $13 an hour and can include free – albeit modest – housing. The immigrants may have to work nights, milk hundreds of cows every shift, toil in the wind and snow. The job can be dangerous; not everyone makes it back to their family.\n\nImmigrants say the jobs are a ladder to a better life; farmers say the immigrants are the only means of affordable labor. So despite the rancor that surrounds national immigration policy, the workers keep coming and the farms keep hiring.\n\nIn dairy barns across Wisconsin, farmers and workers said there is a simple truth: Without the work of Latino immigrants – many, if not most, of them undocumented – the signature industry in America’s Dairyland would collapse.\n\nDairyland in Distress:Americans love soda, fancy water and fake milk. Can the dairy industry keep up?\n\nNew rivals:Wisconsin farmers helped hook world on dairy, but those customers are now competitors\n\nBeyond the USA:How Wisconsin trading partners Canada and Mexico survive\n\nFew Americans willing to do the work\n\nHiring immigrants caught on among Wisconsin dairy farms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to University of Wisconsin research.\n\nBeginning in 2004, the state increased its annual milk production every year, and beginning in 2009, it annually set records – streaks that continue to this day. In 2012, then-Gov. Scott Walker initiated an incentive program urging farmers to produce even more, in the belief that foreign markets could absorb the increase. This fall, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue essentially told family dairy farmers in Wisconsin: Get big or get out.\n\nAll of that increased production required new workers.\n\nJohn Rosenow says half of his Buffalo County farm’s 18 employees – including Tecpile – are from Mexico. He started hiring them in 1998 when he was having trouble finding local workers.\n\nHe recalls hiring a retired state trooper. Within days, the trooper walked up his driveway and said he was leaving because he couldn’t keep pace with the milking operation. The dairy farmer kept him on but moved him to a new job.\n\nRosenow made his first immigrant hire after seeing an ad from a Dallas recruiting company. It sent him a worker named Manuel, who knocked out 10 hours a day for 54 days straight. When Manuel left, Rosenow hired two more Mexican workers. Over time, other farmers asked him for help hiring immigrants.\n\nIn the past 10 to 15 years, he has probably had about 150 job candidates. Only two were American-born, and neither was willing to do what was necessary, he says. One didn’t want to work on Fridays or weekends.\n\nOmar Guerrero says his experiences are similar. During his time at Elkhart Lake’s Drake Dairy, the farm has received two job applications from American-born candidates. One lasted through an hour of training. The other didn’t really want the job; he just needed to claim he was searching for work to avoid losing food stamps.\n\nWhen Guerrero arrived in Wisconsin 22 years ago, he didn’t have any difficulties finding a dairy farm job. There were barely any Latinos then. Farmers would even pay bonuses – say, $500 – to workers who could recruit newcomers.\n\nGuerrero, now a citizen and settled with his family in the USA, started out as an undocumented immigrant, working as a milker, one of the toughest jobs on a dairy farm. At Drake Dairy, he learned more about the operation, took on new responsibilities and moved into management. Now he has a stake in the farm.\n\nHe is proud to have helped push the farm from 400 cows to 2,500. He says many of the workers are undocumented and only the ones who work outside with tractors are American-born. Across Wisconsin, he guesses, more than 90% of the immigrants in the dairy industry are undocumented.\n\nL.A. Auto Show:Land Rover Defender's return thrills off-road enthusiasts\n\nBlack Friday:How scammers use gift cards, hot toy deals to trick you\n\nPay an issue in attracting workers\n\nGuerrero says he does not have difficulty finding workers; he’s built up a network of connections.\n\nSome farms struggle to fill holes. They could compete for workers better if they raised wages, and some have gone to $14 and $15 an hour, Guerrero says. But for farms barely breaking even or losing money, increasing the payroll is prohibitive.\n\nHans Breitenmoser started to hire immigrant workers at his Merrill dairy farm 15 to 20 years ago. The farm had expanded beyond the point where his family could do the work by itself and the homegrown labor pool wasn’t there. The farm has 450 cows. Nine of the 12 hired workers are Latinos.\n\nBreitenmoser says most dairy farmers are used to the idea of workers not being born in the USA. His parents, after all, came from Switzerland.\n\nStarting pay on his farm is $12 and $13 an hour – a higher rate, he says, than what his farm really can afford. He acknowledges there's little vetting; hiring the first person through the door is better than being selective and ending up with no person at all.\n\n“I’ll hire them, and I’ll cross my fingers that they turn out to be a good employee,” he says.\n\nThe dairy farm that hired Blanca Hernández and her sister Guadalupe in 2006 had never hired anyone, much less Mexican workers. Hernández was told the owners didn’t trust foreigners, but they were unable to keep doing all the work by themselves. A nearby farmer vouched for immigrant workers. Hernández and her sister became the first employees.\n\nBy the time she took the job, Hernández had earned a law degree in Mexico and had worked once before in the USA. The law degree didn't lead to a job, and the work – low-wage jobs for a cleaning company, airplane parts factory and car wash in North Carolina – didn't allow her to save.\n\nShe left her hometown of Texhuacán and headed back across because her sister Guadalupe was going with her 4-year-old daughter. Crossing the border with a child is particularly dangerous; Hernández wanted to help. Once across, they made their way to Wisconsin, where Guadalupe's partner worked.\n\nHernández says the Durand farm owners who gave them jobs were surprised to see the sisters writing down the correct number of hours for their pay – at the time, $6.25 per hour.\n\nDuring their first days at the farm, the sisters cleaned the parlor in addition to milking 320 cows. The milk quality went up because the sisters were vigilant about cleanliness and sanitation.\n\n“If I’m going to be a street sweeper, I’m going to be a good street sweeper,\" Hernández says. \"If I’m going to be a teacher, I’m going to be a good teacher.”\n\nWhen the farm grew to 500 cows or more, Hernández said, she was working 14 hours a day with no days off.\n\nThe sisters told the farm owner they were returning to Texhuacán. By then, the owners had undergone a change of heart.\n\n“After four years, the boss wept,” Hernández says.\n\nImmigrants take on risky, difficult jobs\n\nDairy jobs are inherently risky.\n\nAt 6.1 injuries per 100 full-time employees in 2018, dairy workers at farms with more than 10 employees suffered higher odds of getting injured than workers in sawmills, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationwide, that meant 6,500 injuries on those larger farms.\n\nFrom 2012 through 2017, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration increased inspections of dairy farms with more than 10 employees or a temporary labor camp. At least 51 Wisconsin dairy farms were found in violation of some safety regulations during this period, according to the OSHA data.\n\nMexican immigrants often work the most wearing jobs. A University of Wisconsin study in 2009 found that immigrants tended to be relegated to routine, lower-paid tasks such as milkers or pushers, who clean manure in the barns and bring the cows to the milking parlors. When the study was done, 62% of the immigrants in the dairy workforce held one of those two jobs; 16% of the American-born workers held them.\n\nDairy workers averaged 57 hours of work a week and fewer than five days off each month.\n\nIn New York state, according to a survey in 2014-15 of 88 immigrant dairy farmworkers – the majority working on farms with more than 500 cows – about half of the workers said they felt rushed on the job, and breaks could be as short as five minutes in a 12-hour workday.\n\nThe survey, conducted by the Workers’ Center of Central New York and the Worker Justice Center of New York, found that more than one-fourth of the workers had suffered wage theft and two-thirds had experienced one or more injuries on the job, most of those disclosing they suffered an injury so severe it required medical attention.\n\nJohn Peck, executive director of the Madison-based advocacy group Family Farm Defenders, says he would like Wisconsin to be a leader in socially responsible milk production, which would take into account paying workers better wages and paying farmers better prices, instead of measuring only the quality of the product.\n\n“Farmers are always struggling to find workers, especially if they are not paying people well,” he says. “But at the same time, there are farmers going bankrupt. So how can they afford to pay workers, if they are losing their farms?”\n\nPeck says consumers may fail to connect inexpensive milk at the store with inadequate pay for farmers, and with low-wage immigrant labor.\n\n“If you want a cheap food policy, that means that you’ll be exploiting workers,” he says. “And the workers that are going to be exploited are going to probably be undocumented immigrants.”\n\nLong, grueling hours\n\nSalvador Salas worked on several farms in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He has good memories of one owner who made breakfast for workers and a farm that offered $12 an hour and paid overtime, as required in Minnesota.\n\nThere also was a Wisconsin farm where he worked 11- and 12-hour split workdays without a single day off, even for Thanksgiving or Christmas, for four years. He says the farm owner rarely paid him for more than 10 hours a day, no matter how long he worked cleaning barns, herding cows, feeding calves, pushing feed, milking. He started at $7.25 an hour plus free housing. His wages topped out at $11 an hour.\n\n“When one needs to work, there’s no (such thing as) hard work,” says Salas, who was undocumented his entire time here.\n\nThe toughest times for Salas were the winters when it was freezing outside and he had to move tires off tarps covering mounds of feed.\n\n“That’s when it feels uglier,” he says. “When the wind is blowing and you are on top.”\n\nHe hurt his back working on the farm, he says, and told his boss about the accident – but never asked to see a doctor. He feared the farmer might think he was lying and wouldn't help him.\n\nSalas returned to Mexico early this year after more than six years on U.S. dairy farms. He was worn out and wanted to see his family.\n\nHe lives in Astacinga in a home he built by adding on to his father's home, using savings from the dairy work. A chiropractor helped alleviate his back pain.\n\nCouple's plans cut short\n\nAntonia Rodríguez worked in dairy longer than Salas. Her partner, Gerardo Nájera, says she used to take on 12-hour shifts before he was deported in 2012, and she had to cut back to care for their two U.S.-born children.\n\nHer sister, Consuelo, says she would tell Antonia that working at a dairy farm was too hard, a man’s job. But her sister had never been scared of work. At 53, undocumented and living with her two younger children in a trailer that needed repairs, Antonia kept working at Clarks Mills Dairy Farm in Reedsville.\n\n“As a mother, one has to work in whatever you can,” Consuelo says.\n\nThe last time the sisters talked on the phone, Antonia sounded weary. It was \"one of those times when one becomes sad – you miss your family, your parents, your siblings,” Consuelo says.\n\nNájera says the plan was for their younger kids to finish school in the USA and for Rodríguez to return one day to Ciudad Juárez. He was building their home, and she was sending money to finish it. She would tell him that she wanted to go back so they could be together.\n\nOne afternoon last March, the cows were not lined up properly at the milking parlor. Rodríguez walked up from the pit where workers attach milking machines to udders and onto a concrete pad where the cows lingered. She didn’t have a stick or any physical barrier between her and the cows.\n\nAs she tried to move them, a cow knocked her against a half wall. Other employees heard her scream, came to her aid and moved the animal away. Rodríguez was unconscious, and as the ambulance arrived at the hospital, her heart stopped and she died.\n\nThe autopsy found rib fractures and lacerations in her heart and left lung.\n\nOSHA fined the 800-cow farm, saying it didn’t ensure employees working with cows were protected from being struck and it didn't train workers to improve safety.\n\nFor that, and another unrelated violation, the farm was fined $15,155.\n\nRobert Goehring, co-owner of the farm, says Rodríguez had worked there since 2014, and he had personally trained her on how to move the animals. The OSHA representative said Goehring needed to train employees on animal behavior, which he says he hadn’t heard about.\n\nConsuelo Rodríguez is taking care of her sister's younger kids, 10 and 16, so they can finish high school in the USA. She set up a small altar at home for her sister, displaying her glasses, earrings and photos. She took it down because her nephew said it made him sad.\n\nThe children speak with their father regularly.\n\n“They say they are fine,” he says. “But one knows they aren’t.”\n\nLatino influence grows\n\nThe Rev. Matthew Sauer, pastor at the Manitowoc Cooperative Ministry, says that when he arrived in 2005, there were some Latino workers, but they weren’t very visible in the community. The Manitowoc School District had a 5% Hispanic enrollment.\n\nSauer noticed the immigrant population rising in 2010-11.\n\nIn the most recent school year, the school district had 14% Latino enrollment. In the city of Manitowoc, there are at least five Mexican restaurants, two with small attached grocery stores. In spring, a bull-riding rodeo attracted hundreds of Latinos, many of them from nearby dairy farms.\n\nManitowoc is among the 30 counties in the USA with the most dairy operations, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture 2017 census.\n\nSauer says U.S.-born residents in the area have become more comfortable with the changing demographics. “Younger people are growing up with them, in their classes, which means that parents are meeting these cultures,” he says.\n\nThe story is similar in other rural Wisconsin communities. Though many Latino immigrants keep to themselves, their influence is unmistakable. Although many return to their hometowns, some settle in Wisconsin and start a family.\n\nIn Clark County, which ranks second in the USDA 2017 census, this month's historical society newsletter noted a recent quinceañera celebration. In Marathon County, which ranks fourth in the census, the Hispanic Soccer League, founded in 2002, changed its name to the Central Wisconsin Adult Soccer League to be more inclusive, and U.S.-born players have joined immigrants on the pitch.\n\nTrump election sparked worries\n\nWhen Donald Trump won the presidential election after campaigning to crack down on illegal immigration, many Wisconsin dairy workers were nervous. Some left their jobs; some left the state or the country. Most kept working, and the threats never materialized.\n\nApolonio Sánchez says he planned to leave for Canada if Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials started to launch raids close by. His boss on a 120-cow farm in the Alma area told him not to worry, that wouldn’t happen. He stayed.\n\nSánchez says there are still undocumented immigrants arriving to work on the farms. There have been ICE arrests, but nothing approaching a massive crackdown.\n\nPablo Cruz works on a farm with more than 1,500 cows in Kewaunee County. He says most of the workers are undocumented – not only from Mexico but more recently from Honduras and El Salvador.\n\nBreitenmoser, the farmer from Merrill, says the rhetoric against immigrants hasn’t been good for a dairy industry that relies on workers not born in the USA.\n\nIf all undocumented immigrants were to be deported, he says, “we would have dead cows piled up in our farms.”\n\nHe favors a process that would provide a path for undocumented immigrants to acquire legal status. “It’s disgusting that people are treating them like criminals for working their butts off,” he says.\n\nRosenow, the Buffalo County farmer, says everyone should understand the necessity of immigrants, but “I don’t see the solution happening very soon.”\n\nA push for path to residency\n\nThe American Dairy Coalition and the National Milk Producers Federation have pushed to get dairy farms access to foreign agricultural guest workers through a visa program that is limited to seasonal work, such as crop harvesting. Dairy farms can’t hire these guest workers for year-round work.\n\nThe American Dairy Coalition has supported replacing the guest worker program with one that would eliminate some worker protections, such as the requirement to pay a prevailing wage.\n\nWorkers advocate groups pushed for a path to permanent residency and citizenship, which the National Milk Producers Federation supported. The worker advocate groups resisted efforts to expand the guest worker program, saying it leaves workers in a position to be exploited. Under the program, if a worker doesn't do what an employer asks without complaint, the employer can fire the worker, which in general means the end of his or her visa.\n\nIn Wisconsin, Peck, with Family Farm Defenders, says undocumented immigrants are essential to the dairy economy and part of Wisconsin’s rural communities. “If they are so integral to our economy, why can’t they become citizens?” he asked.\n\nIn November, after months of negotiations that included agribusiness representatives and workers groups, 49 U.S. House members co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that would provide undocumented farmworkers and family members with a path to citizenship. It would allow dairy farms access to thousands of agricultural guest workers for year-round jobs and would dedicate an additional 40,000 green cards per year for agricultural workers.\n\nAgricultural employers could sponsor workers' getting green cards, and some seasonal guest workers could apply directly. The bill would create a pilot program with visas allowing workers to move freely among agricultural employers.\n\nThe bill would require agricultural employees to use the E-verify program to check whether immigrants are authorized to work. The bill has been referred to four House committees. If passed, it could face an uphill battle in the Senate.\n\nNo Wisconsin representative has co-sponsored the bill.\n\nBorder crossings more difficult\n\nTecpile says he would love to travel home, but there's no guarantee he could get back. Crossing the border on the way north is riskier and more expensive, he says. The smugglers, called coyotes, who guide and transport immigrants illegally ask for $8,000 or more.\n\nWhen Trump was elected, Tecpile says, he never thought of leaving. He knew American farmers need workers too much.\n\n“I didn’t pay attention,\" he says. \"I had to work.”\n\nIn Mexico, Montalvo, his wife, says it’s hard to be separated this long.\n\nMegan has never had a birthday party when she could hug her father. She wants him to take her to school. She wants him home.\n\n“Sometimes my daughter needs her dad, but he isn’t here,” Montalvo says. “She knows he is working.”\n\nTheir son Kevin, 16, says holidays and other special occasions are tough.\n\n“When all the family gathers, he isn’t here,” he says.\n\nMany of Kevin's friends, he says, also have parents working in the USA who stay away for five or six years at a time. He says he should go to Wisconsin, work on a dairy farm, be with his father and build \"a good future.\"\n\nHe isn’t afraid of trying to cross the border, an attempt that has left many migrants dead. His mother doesn’t want him to go yet. He is too young.\n\nMaybe, she says, he could try crossing after he turns 18.\n\nContributing: Andrew Mollica\n\nFor this story, reporter Maria Perez of the Journal Sentinel staff interviewed immigrants in Spanish, translated their words into English, then checked back with them to make sure the phrasing was correct.\n\nEmail her at maria.perez@jrn.com; follow her on Twitter: @mariajpsl.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/11/21"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_21", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/960229/serial-dutch-sperm-donor-sued-over-increasing-incest-risk", "title": "Serial sperm donor sued over incest fears | The Week UK", "text": "A Dutch man is being sued for allegedly increasing the risk of incest through his countless donations to sperm banks.\n\nJonathan Jacob Meijer, who lives in Kenya, is accused of misleading hundreds of women all over the world and may have fathered more than 550 children, according to the DonorKind foundation, which has brought the court case.\n\nThe charity is representing 25 families who are suing the 41-year-old musician. A woman named only as Eva, who had a child by Meijer in 2018, said in a statement: “If I had known he had already fathered more than 100 children I would never have chosen him.”\n\nIn 2017, Meijer was blacklisted after the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology first raised the alarm about the number of donations. However, he continued to offer his services in Denmark, Ukraine and on various websites, said Dutch News.\n\nDutch sperm clinic guidelines say donors should not father more than 25 children or be used by more than 12 women – to “prevent inbreeding, incest or psychological problems for donor children”, according to The Daily Telegraph.\n\nThe families and DonorKind are hoping for an injunction to stop Meijer donating sperm and to find out exactly where he has previously donated. They also want all his sperm still in storage to be destroyed, unless it has been reserved for a woman who already has one of his children.\n\n“He has a global reach via the internet and he does business with large, international sperm banks,” DonorKind chairman Ties van der Meer, told the Telegraph. “We are taking action against this man because the government is doing nothing.”\n\n“Going to court is the only option,” said Eva in the Daily Mirror. “Many mothers have told him he needs to stop but nothing helps,” she said.\n\n“I like to see that there are children of mine all over the world,” Meijer said in 2019, reported The Times, after his case was first reported on.", "authors": ["Ellie Pink"], "publish_date": "2023/03/28"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_22", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/05/uk/queen-elizabeth-ii-appearance-jubilee-day-four-intl-gbr/index.html", "title": "Queen Elizabeth II makes surprise appearance on palace balcony to ...", "text": "London CNN —\n\nBritain’s Queen Elizabeth II made a surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Sunday, as part of the final day of celebrations to mark her historic 70-year reign.\n\nThe Queen had skipped events on Friday and Saturday – a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral and an afternoon at Epsom racecourse – after experiencing “discomfort” during the opening day parade on Thursday.\n\nThe Queen was flanked by three generations of her family – Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, and their three children – to the delight of thousands who had gathered along the Mall for the once-in-a-lifetime jubilee event.\n\nThe crowd roared as the 96-year-old monarch – dressed in a vibrant green and clutching her cane – emerged with a broad smile and surveyed the patriotic sea of Union Jack flag-waving well-wishers before her.\n\nCorgis, cannons and Paddington Bear: See how the UK celebrated the Queen's Jubilee 03:02 - Source: CNN\n\nIn a message released by Buckingham Palace on Saturday evening, the Queen said she had been “humbled and deeply touched” by all the people who had come together both at events in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom to mark her milestone.\n\n“When it comes to how to mark seventy years as your Queen, there is no guidebook to follow. It really is a first. But I have been humbled and deeply touched that so many people have taken to the streets to celebrate my Platinum Jubilee,” the message began.\n\n“While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all; and I remain committed to serving you to the best of my ability, supported by my family,” she continued.\n\nThe monarch said she had been “inspired by the kindness, joy and kinship” seen during the jubilee weekend and hoped “this renewed sense of togetherness will be felt for many years to come.”\n\nShe concluded her message, saying: “I thank you most sincerely for your good wishes and for the part you have all played in these happy celebrations.”\n\nBritain's Queen Elizabeth II watches from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade in London on Thursday, June 2. Jonathan Brady/Pool/AP The Queen is joined by members of the royal family during her balcony appearance on Sunday. With her, from left, are Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Prince Charles; Prince William; Prince George; Princess Charlotte; Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge; and Prince Louis. Bernadette Tuazon/CNN Soldiers parade during the People's Pageant in London on Sunday. Frank Augstein/Pool/AFP/Getty Images Crowds watch the Queen's appearance in London on Sunday. Dominic Lipinski/PA/AP Ed Sheeran performs before the Queen's appearance. Leon Neal/WPA Pool/Getty Images Archive video of the Queen plays inside a Gold State Coach during the parade on Sunday. Toby Hancock/CNN Cakes celebrating the jubilee are displayed at a street party in Aylesford, England, on Sunday. Gareth Fuller/PA Images/Getty Images Sunday's parade had performers, military personnel and key workers walking down The Mall to bring to life many iconic moments from the Queen's reign. Dominic Lipinski/PA/AP Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, attend a Big Jubilee Lunch event Sunday in London. There were similar lunchtime events taking place in other communities across the country. Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images Revelers pose for pictures as they attend a party in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, England, on Sunday. Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images People gather outside Windsor Castle for the Big Jubilee Lunch there on Sunday. Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images Children chalk a flag on the road during a street party in York, England, in Sunday. Ian Forsyth/Getty Images Queen's Brian May delights concertgoers as the band — joined by Adam Lambert — opens a special show outside of Buckingham Palace on Saturday night. The two-and-a-half hour concert boasted an impressive lineup of stars. Alberto Pezzali/AP Members of the royal family attend Saturday night's concert. In the center row, from left, are Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Charlotte; Prince George; and Prince William. Chris Jackson/Pool/Getty Images Rod Stewart performs on stage during Saturday night's concert, where he performed Neil Diamond's \"Sweet Caroline,\" a British karaoke classic. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Drones make a shape of a corgi dog — a Queen favorite — above the palace on Saturday night. Kirsty O'Connor/PA Images/Getty Images Prince Charles, accompanied by his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, delivers a speech at Saturday night's concert. \"You pledged to serve your whole life,\" he said of his mother, the Queen. \"You continue to deliver. That is why we are here. That is what we celebrate tonight.\" Jonathan Buckmaster/AFP/Getty Images People cheer as they gather at The Mall for the concert outside Buckingham Palace. Hollie Adams/Getty Images Diana Ross appears on stage during the concert. The legendary singer closed the show with \"Ain't No Mountain High Enough.\" Alastair Grant/AP People gather along The Mall for Saturday night's concert. Hollie Adams/Getty Images Prince George and Princess Charlotte also joined their parents at a walkabout in Cardiff, Wales, on Saturday. Their visit was part of the royal family's tour of all four regions of the United Kingdom. Ashley Crowden/AFP/Getty Images Princess Anne, the Queen's only daughter, stands on the balcony of the royal box while attending the Epsom Derby horse race on Saturday. She was filling in for her mother, who has been a regular spectator at the event in past years. Megan Ridgwell/The Jockey Club/PA Wire/Reuters Boys ride a bus in Epsom alongside cardboard cutouts of the Queen. Leon Neal/Getty Images Princess Charlotte conducts a band next to her brother Prince George as they visited Cardiff Castle in Wales. Ashley Crowden/AFP/Getty Images People dance during jubilee celebrations in London on Saturday. Dylan Martinez/Reuters People gather for a street party in Hayfield, England, on Saturday. Anthony Devlin/Getty Images Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, depart St Paul's Cathedral in London after attending a service honoring the Queen on Friday. Harry and Meghan, who flew from the United States for the jubilee celebrations, were warmly welcomed by a crowd outside the service. Ahead of the event, there was much speculation in the British press over how the couple would be received following their decision to step back from the royal family and move to California two years ago. Alberto Pezzali/AP Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, smiles as she arrives at St Paul's Cathedral on Friday. Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images More than 400 people were invited to Friday's event recognizing the Queen's lifetime of service. The congregation included key workers, teachers and public servants as well as representatives from the Armed Forces, charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups, according to Buckingham Palace. London Mayor Sadiq Khan was among those in the audience. Dan Kitwood/AP Prince Charles arrives for Friday's service. Another one of the Queen's sons, Prince Andrew, was notably absent after testing positive for Covid-19. Henry Nicholls/AP The theme of Friday's event was public service. It included Bible readings, prayers and congregational hymns to honor the Queen's 70 years on the British throne. Aaron Chown/AP/Pool British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pauses while inside St Paul's Cathedral on Friday. Johnson was cheered and booed by the crowd when he arrived for the service. Victoria Jones/AP A member of the military stumbles Friday while on duty ahead of the service. Daniel Leal/AP A woman holds a cutout picture of the Queen while waiting outside St Paul's Cathedral on Friday. Alberto Pezzali/AP People gather outside St Paul's Cathedral to watch the arrivals. Alberto Pezzali/AP The Queen prepares to touch the Commonwealth of Nations Globe to start the lighting of the Principal Beacon outside Buckingham Palace on Thursday. Steve Parsons/Getty Images A Platinum Jubilee beacon is lit by Lord Provost Robert Aldridge and Commander of Edinburgh Garrison Lt. Col. Lorne Campbell at Scotland's Edinburgh Castle on Thursday. More than 1,500 towns, villages and cities throughout the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories would come together to light a beacon to mark the jubilee. Jane Barlow/AP People pack The Mall in London for Thursday's Trooping the Colour parade. Aaron Chown/AP The Queen walks out onto the Buckingham Palace balcony during the Trooping the Colour parade. Bernadette Tuazon/CNN Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, waves during a carriage procession on Thursday. Joining her on the carriage were her three children — Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte — as well as Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. Toby Hancock/CNN Planes spell out the number 70 as they fly over Buckingham Palace on Thursday. Toby Hancock/CNN The Queen's great-grandson Prince Louis holds his hands over his ears during the six-minute flypast staged by the Royal Air Force. From left are Prince Charles; the Queen; Prince Louis; Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge; and Princess Charlotte. Hannah McKay/Reuters A 124-gun salute is fired at the Tower of London as part of the Trooping the Colour parade. Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images The Trooping the Colour event involved 1,500 soldiers and officers, 400 musicians, 250 horses and 70 aircraft, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images Three of the Queen's great-grandchildren— from left, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte — ride in the carriage procession on Thursday. Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images Prince William, left, rides on horseback next to his father, Prince Charles, during the Trooping the Colour parade. Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images The Queen's Guard marches during the Trooping the Colour parade Thursday. Matt Dunham/AP The Queen is joined by members of the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony on Thursday. Aaron Chown/AP Thousands of people flocked to central London for the celebrations Thursday. Abbie Trayler-Smith for CNN A military band performs on Thursday. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Four of the Queen's great-grandchildren watch the parade from a window of Buckinghamp Palace on Thursday. From left are Prince George, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Mia Tindall. Matt Dunham/Pool/AFP/Getty Images A member of the Coldstream Guards holds souvenir programs ahead of the start of Thursday's parade. Toby Melville/AFP/Getty Images Prince Edward, right, rides in a carriage along with his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, and their children, James and Louise. Bernadette Tuazon/CNN The Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry takes part in the parade Thursday. Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images A man wears a Union Jack suit as people gather on The Mall for jubilee celebrations on Thursday. Henry Nicholls/Reuters Police officers line up on The Mall ahead of the Trooping the Colour parade on Thursday. Dominic Lipinski/PA Images/Getty Images A member of the Buckingham Palace staff cleans the balcony ahead of the Trooping the Colour parade on Thursday. Chris Jackson/WPA Pool/Getty Images Crowds gather in London for the parade. Toby Hancock/CNN Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lights the Commonwealth Beacon for a jubilee celebration in Canberra, Australia, on Thursday. Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images Some royal fans had Union flags applied to their faces as they gathered along The Mall in London on Thursday. David Cliff/AP People wear masks of the Queen and one of her dogs as they attend jubilee celebrations on The Mall on Thursday. Peter Nicholls/Reuters Anita Atkinson, who has collected more than 12,000 items of royal memorabilia, makes her way to a tea party in Durham on Thursday. Owen Humphreys/PA Images/Getty Images People sing the national anthem as they gather along The Mall on Thursday. David Cliff/AP A boy poses with a Union flag on The Mall on Wednesday. Leon Neal/Getty Images In pictures: Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Prev Next\n\nIt was the third balcony appearance for the monarch during the jubilee weekend. She previously watched a flypast with her family and took a salute from soldiers as they returned from the Trooping the Colour military parade on Thursday. She also took part in the beacon lighting ceremony that evening from Windsor Castle.\n\nDuring the brief, three-minute appearance, the Queen looked on stoically as her family joined the public in a rendition of the National Anthem, performed by the Band of the Royal Marines.\n\nAs red, white and blue flares were fired into the air, the family waved one last time and walked back into the residence as the West End cast of “Mamma Mia!” began singing “Dancing Queen.”\n\nMoments before, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran took center stage in front of the palace gates, where he sang his hit song “Perfect.” Archival footage of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh played on the nearby big screens.\n\nPrince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex – who have kept a low profile during their return to the UK for the festivities – were not present at celebrations on Sunday. The Queen’s disgraced son, Prince Andrew, was also absent after recently testing positive for coronavirus.\n\nSoldiers parade during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant outside Buckingham Palace in London on Sunday. Frank Augstein/AP\n\nThe balcony appearance capped a spectacular jubilee grand finale on Sunday. Earlier, a cast of 6,000 people took to the streets of central London for The People’s Pageant in her honor.\n\nFollowing a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) route, military personnel, performers, key workers and volunteers from across the UK and Commonwealth marched, echoing the Queen’s own coronation 70 years ago. The carnival procession paraded through the streets of Westminster, along the Mall and towards Buckingham Palace.\n\nCrowds hoping to see the Queen were given a clue the monarch had decided to make a surprise appearance as the Royal Standard flag was raised over the palace towards the end of the parade.", "authors": ["Max Foster Lauren Said-Moorhouse", "Max Foster", "Lauren Said-Moorhouse"], "publish_date": "2022/06/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/17/uk/king-charles-william-queen-condolences-saturday-gbr-intl/index.html", "title": "Queen Elizabeth: Prince William and Prince Harry hold vigil beside ...", "text": "London CNN —\n\nPrince William, Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth II’s other grandchildren held a vigil at her lying in state on Saturday, as the royal family prepares to bid farewell to the late monarch at her state funeral.\n\nThe brothers stood watch for 15 minutes over the Queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall, where it has been displayed to the public since Wednesday.\n\nThey were joined by Princess Anne’s children Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, Prince Andrew’s daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Lady Louise and Viscount Severn, who are the children of Prince Edward. The Earl and Countess of Wessex were present to support their children as Louise and James are comparatively younger than their cousins, a royal source told CNN.\n\nHarry wore military uniform during the appearance at the request of King Charles III, a royal source previously told CNN. As a non-working member of the royal family, he has appeared at other events in a morning suit.\n\nThe grandchildrens’ vigil followed a similar appearance by Charles and his siblings on Friday. It comes two days before the Queen’s state funeral on Monday. The monarch died on September 8 after a 70-year-reign, prompting a lengthy period of mourning and a number of commemorations around the country.\n\nPrince William and the Queen's other grandchildren arrive to mount a vigil on Saturday. Ian Vogler/Pool/AFP/Getty Images\n\nQueen Elizabeth II's grandchildren hold a vigil beside the coffin of their grandmother as it lies in state in Westminster Hall on Saturday. Aaron Chown/Pool/Reuters\n\nWilliam and Harry have set aside long-running tensions to make joint appearances at some events. A walkabout by the brothers and their wives Catherine, Princess of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in Windsor last weekend came as a surprise and was not announced in advance. William invited the Sussexes to see memorials left for the Queen and greet well-wishers, a source told CNN.\n\nPrincess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie issued a joint statement Saturday thanking their “dear Grannie” and “beloved Queen” and expressing their sorrow at her passing.\n\n“We, like many, thought you’d be here forever. And we all miss you terribly,” the daughters of Prince Andrew said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.\n\n“You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand on our backs leading us through this world. You taught us so much and we will cherish those lessons and memories forever. For now dear Grannie, all we want to say is thank you,” Eugenie and Beatrice said. “The world mourns you and the tributes would really make you smile. They are all too true of the remarkable leader you are,” the sisters added.\n\n“We’re so happy you’re back with Grandpa. Goodbye dear Grannie, it has been the honour of our lives to have been your granddaughters and we’re so very proud of you,” the statement said.\n\nThe vigil in Westminster Hall lasted 15 minutes. Aaron Chown/Pool/Reuters\n\nCharles and William greet mourners\n\nEarlier on Saturday, King Charles and Prince William, the Prince of Wales, greeted members of the public queuing to see the Queen’s lying in state on Saturday on a surprise walkabout in London.\n\nThe royals were spotted shaking hands with well-wishers near Lambeth Bridge. Prince William appeared to be in high spirits as he talked to the crowd and asked several people how long they had been waiting.\n\nWatch King Charles and Prince William surprise people in line to see Queen 01:41 - Source: CNN\n\nSome mourners shouted “hip hip hooray” and “God save the King” as Charles passed.\n\nOne woman held up a Paddington Bear toy to Charles; the fictional bear has become associated with the Queen since she appeared in a sketch alongside the character during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.\n\nPeople have been queuing for hours to view the Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin since she began lying-in-state at Westminster Hall on Wednesday.\n\nThe line was nearing total capacity on Saturday, the government said. At lunchtime on Saturday, the government’s queue tracker said the current wait time was 14 hours.\n\nCharles III also visited Metropolitan Police headquarters in the Lambeth borough of London to thank police and emergency services officials involved in the planning and implementation of events since the death of the late Queen.\n\nMonday’s funeral for the Queen will be the “largest single policing event” that London’s Metropolitan Police force has ever undertaken, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said during a media briefing on Friday.\n\nOn Sunday, King Charles will host a reception at Buckingham Palace for “Heads of State and official overseas guests” ahead of the state funeral for the late Queen.\n\nThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, received an invitation to that reception by mistake, a source with knowledge of what happened told CNN.\n\nAs an official state occasion, the Palace said the King would be accompanied by working members of the royal family only. The source told CNN that they “imagined” that an administration error had occurred. The couple was not “disinvited” from the reception, as some media outlets have reported.\n\nA spokesperson for the Sussexes did not comment.\n\nTo get updates on the British Royal Family sent to your inbox, sign up for CNN’s Royal News newsletter.", "authors": ["Rob Picheta Max Foster Lauren Kent Anna Little", "Rob Picheta", "Max Foster", "Lauren Kent", "Anna Little"], "publish_date": "2022/09/17"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/law/960231/prince-harrys-privacy-case-against-associated-newspapers", "title": "Prince Harry's privacy case against Associated Newspapers | The ...", "text": "Prince Harry made a surprise appearance at London’s High Court for the second day of his privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.\n\nHe is one of a group of high-profile celebrities who are suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful information gathering, including commissioning the “breaking and entry into private property”, phone-tapping and the unlawful obtaining of medical records.\n\nWhat is he alleging?\n\nIt was announced in October 2022 that the Duke of Sussex would be taking joint legal action against ANL but “so far, legal restrictions requested by the newspaper group mean that specific details of their allegations have not been made public”, said Cosmopolitan.\n\nAccording to David Sherborne, barrister for the group of claimants, they all claim to be victims of “numerous unlawful acts” carried out by ANL or by those acting on the instructions of its newspapers, the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday. Dating back to 1993 and continuing until 2018, these included “illegally intercepting voicemail messages, listening into live landline calls, obtaining private information, such as itemised phone bills or medical records, by deception or ‘blagging’, using private investigators to commit these unlawful information gathering acts on their behalf and even commissioning the breaking and entering into private property”.\n\nSky News’s royal correspondent Laura Bundock said Prince Harry’s “unexpected arrival at London’s High Court guaranteed all lenses were on him.\n\n“For once, he wants to be the centre of the media attention. By coming to court, Harry is positioning himself as the poster boy of privacy cases,” she said.\n\nHe is already involved in a separate libel case against the Mail on Sunday over an article published in February 2022 about his security arrangements in the UK. In 2021 Prince Harry accepted an apology and damages from the paper over its claims that he had “turned his back” on the Royal Marines, while his wife, Meghan Markle, won a privacy case against the publisher in the same year for printing a letter she had written to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.\n\nWhat is Associated Newspapers’ defence?\n\nANL said it “vigorously denies” all the claims in the current case, said the i news site. The publisher is arguing that Prince Harry knew extensively about allegations surrounding unlawful information gathering “long before October 2016” and that any claim he has is outside the statute of limitations and should be dismissed.", "authors": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2023/03/28"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/04/05/prince-harry-scheduled-testify-london-phone-hacking-case/11607496002/", "title": "Prince Harry scheduled to testify in London in phone hacking case", "text": "Brian Melley\n\nAssociated Press\n\nPrince Harry is expected to testify in a London courtroom in June in one of his phone hacking lawsuits against British tabloids, lawyers said Wednesday.\n\nA trial in a case involving the Duke of Sussex and three others against the publisher of The Mirror is due to start May 9 in the High Court and last six to seven weeks.\n\nWhile the trial begins three days after the coronation of his father, King Charles III, Harry is is not expected to take the witness stand until early or mid-June, according to a preliminary schedule of witnesses. It’s not clear if Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will attend the coronation.\n\nHarry’s testimony will be the second time he’s been in the High Court in three months after his surprise appearance last week in a similar case.\n\nTabloid privacy suit:Prince Harry blames royal family for delay\n\nStory on police security protection:Prince Harry sues tabloid for defamation\n\nHarry sat through parts of three days of hearings to see if the phone hacking suit he brought with Elton John, actresses Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, and others survives a legal challenge by the publisher of The Daily Mail.\n\nHis presence in court for the dense legal arguments indicated the importance of the case to Harry in his broader battle against the British press. He has several lawsuits against the news media and has said he wants to reform the tabloid press as part of his life’s work.\n\nBritish tabloid publishers have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to settle claims dating back well over a decade that journalists and private investigators hired by them hacked the voicemails of celebrities, politicians and others in the public eye.\n\nThe case against Mirror Group Newspapers alleges that Harry’s voicemail messages were intercepted.\n\nThe Mirror publisher is contesting the claims and argues they were brought too late.\n\nThe May trial is a test case by four claimants against the Mirror out of a larger group of well-known people who sued the publisher.\n\nOther claimants are Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson, comedian Paul Whitehouse’s ex-wife, Fiona Wightman, and actor Michael Turner.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/04/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2019/03/06/prince-harry-meghan-surprise-crowd-we-day-speech/3077900002/", "title": "Prince Harry and Meghan surprise crowd when she turns up at WE ...", "text": "Prince Harry brought Duchess Meghan on stage for a surprise appearance at WE Day in London Wednesday.\n\nToward the end of his speech at the event, Harry pulled Meghan on stage to join him.\n\n\"I am now going to try to drag my wife on stage,\" he said to a roaring crowd before walking to the side of the stage where she was sitting.\n\nThe duchess, who wore black pants, a black top that showed off her baby bump and a blue blazer, followed Harry on stage hand-in-hand.\n\n\"I am with you, and we are with you!\" he concluded.\n\nBefore the surprise finale, the Duke of Sussex took to the stage solo to address the crowd on a range of topics from mental health to climate change to making your voice heard. WE Day is a global campaign to encourage young people to take part in positive social change, according to Kensington Palace.\n\n\"As my wife often reminds me with one of her favorite quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. – 'Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,' \" he said.\n\nHe continued, \"You know that if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything. So let that be your true north, let that be your call to action – to inspire those who stand for nothing, to stand for something – and to stand WITH you.\"\n\nPhotos:Duchess Meghan: Style Diary\n\nMore:Will & Kate, Harry & Meghan come together to celebrate Prince of Wales at palace party", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2019/03/06"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/01/20/prince-harry-makes-surprise-royal-appearance-uk-africa-summit/4522506002/", "title": "Prince Harry makes surprise royal appearance at U.K.-Africa summit", "text": "A day after speaking out about his decision to step back from royal duties, Prince Harry made a surprise appearance at an official royal event.\n\nIn a news release sent to media outlets after the fact, Buckingham Palace shared Prince Harry's involvement with the U.K.-Africa Investment Summit, an event hosted by the U.K. government to bring together world leaders to \"demonstrate the strength of the relationship between the U.K. and Africa\" and highlight economic opportunities in Africa.\n\nThe Duke of Sussex sat down with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as Prime Minister of Morocco Saadeddine Othmani, President of Malawi Arthur Peter Mutharika and President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi.\n\nPrince William separately met with other African leaders, receiving Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo and Rwanda President Paul Kagame at Buckingham Palace.\n\nLater Monday evening, Prince William and Duchess Kate, along with Princess Anne, Prince Edward and his wife, Countess Sophie, welcomed guests to a reception at Buckingham Palace for summit attendees. Kate wore a red sequined Needle & Thread gown with matching pointed red pumps.\n\nHarry, 35, was not expected to attend, nor was Duchess Meghan, 38, who is in Canada with baby Archie.\n\nThough Harry's Monday appearance was a surprise, his involvement with Africa is not: The prince has been a steadfast supporter. He, Meghan and Archie visited several African nations in October for the trio's first royal visit as a family. Addressing those who welcomed them at the conclusion of their visit, Prince Harry called Africa his \"second home\" and explained that part of his love for the continent stemmed from the welcome he received on his first trip in 1997 after the death of his mother, Princess Diana.\n\n\"Despite extreme hardship and ongoing challenges on so many levels, people are generous, they are strong, humble and incredibly optimistic,\" he said. \"I have seen strength, resilience, a sense of hope and empathy that I can only aspire to replicate. Ever since I came to this continent as a young boy, trying to cope with something I can never possibly describe, Africa has held me in an embrace that I will never forget, and I feel incredibly fortunate for that.\"\n\nThe duke also made headlines Sunday over his first speech since he and the duchess made their bombshell announcement.\n\nSpeaking at a charity event for Sentebale, the charity he co-founded in 2006 to honor Princess Diana's support for orphans in Lesotho, southern Africa, affected by HIV and AIDS, Harry expressed \"great sadness\" over their step back but stressed his commitment to helping others.\n\nHe and Meghan wanted to continue serving \"the queen, the commonwealth and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn't possible.\"\n\n\"The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,\" Harry said. \"It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven't always gone at it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. What I want to make clear is we're not walking away. And we certainly aren't walking away from you.\"\n\nQueen Elizabeth, 93, released a statement Saturday night expressing pride and thanks to Harry and Meghan for their work while announcing terms the royal family had agreed upon for their exit.\n\nThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex will stop using their HRH titles (His Royal Highness, Her Royal Highness) as they are \"no longer working members of the Royal Family,\" Buckingham Palace announced. They will be known as Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Harry will remain a prince and sixth in line to the British throne.\n\nThe couple also will repay the Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will continue to be their family home in the U.K. The home was renovated with 2.4 million pounds ($3.06 million) of taxpayers’ money, royal accounts revealed last year.\n\nContributing: Morgan Hines", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2020/01/20"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/14/uk/royal-news-newsletter-09-14-22-scli-gbr-cmd-intl/index.html", "title": "Analysis: William and Harry's show of unity for the Queen | CNN", "text": "A version of this story appeared in a special September 14 edition of CNN’s Royal News, a weekly dispatch bringing you the inside track on Britain’s royal family. Sign up here.\n\nLondon CNN —\n\nTwo brothers reunited in grief. Royal-watchers have been relieved to see the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex standing side-by-side once more as they mourn the death of their beloved grandmother.\n\nIt’s been a turbulent two years since Harry and Meghan stepped back as working members of the royal family, with the rift in the clan heavily speculated upon by the public and media alike.\n\nOn Wednesday, we will see the pair – along with other members of the family – on foot behind the Queen’s coffin as it makes its way through the streets of central London to Westminster Hall, in a procession like no other.\n\nIt will be a somber moment when the city falls silent, the only sounds the tolling of Big Ben and minute guns firing in Hyde Park.\n\nA source exclusively told us yesterday that the brothers were expected to have dinner with other members of the royal family at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday after the Queen’s coffin arrived from Scotland. The plane carrying her coffin was the most-tracked flight ever, according to aviation website Flightradar24.\n\nThe hearse carrying the Queen's coffin arrives at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening. Andrew Boyers/Reuters\n\nWednesday won’t be the first time we’ve seen William and Harry together since the death of the Queen last week. The pair were joined by their wives, Catherine and Meghan, on Saturday when they all went to see the floral tributes left at the gates of Windsor Castle.\n\nScreams erupted from royal fans as the four emerged, with many hoping the Queen’s death would pave the way for a reconciliation between the brothers.\n\nThe joint appearance of William, Harry, Kate and Meghan came as a surprise and was not announced in advance. It was the first time they had been seen together since the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.\n\nWhile the tension between the brothers is well known, and we don’t know how much of that has been resolved, clearly it has been mended to a certain extent that they are able to appear together in public once more.\n\nWe understand that the Prince of Wales extended an olive branch to the Sussexes, inviting them to join him and his wife an hour before the walkabout took place. A royal source told us William thought it was an important show of unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family.\n\nAs the “Fab Four” – as Britain’s press previously dubbed the quartet – greeted crowds, Harry told members of the public that “no matter what room of the castle you are in” the Queen’s presence could still be felt. “She was a great granny,” he added.\n\nOn Tuesday, as the sun set in Edinburgh, Britain’s longest reigning monarch departed Scotland for the last time. It’s a country she deeply adored and a place where she was often able to figuratively put the crown aside for a short while and simply be the family matriarch, away from public scrutiny.\n\nKing Charles III makes a speech after receiving a message of condolence at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Tuesday. NIALL CARSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images\n\nEarlier Tuesday, King Charles III visited Northern Ireland, continuing his tour of the nations as the new monarch. The visit saw him travel to Hillsborough Castle, where he met with political leaders and spoke of his mother’s contribution to the peace process. He called her a “shining example” and vowed to continue “to seek the welfare of all the inhabitants of Northern Ireland.”\n\nJoin us as we continue our coverage of the Queen’s final journey here.\n\nTHE QUEEN OF TRAVEL\n\nJourneys of a lifetime.\n\nDuring the Queen’s reign, she visited more than 120 countries and witnessed first-hand the revolutions in global travel that shrank the world as her own influence over it diminished.\n\nElizabeth II lived through the advent of the Jet Age, flew supersonic on the Concorde, saw regimes change, countries form and dissolve, the end of the British Empire and the rise of globalization.\n\nHere, CNN takes a look back at some of the most memorable travel moments from her 70 years as monarch.\n\nDID YOU KNOW?\n\nPrince William inherits the private Duchy of Cornwall estate. Ian Forsyth/Getty Images\n\nPrince William just inherited a 685-year-old estate worth $1 billion.\n\nRoyal wills are never made public. That means what happens to much of the Queen’s personal wealth following her death will remain a family secret.\n\nForbes estimated last year that the late monarch’s personal fortune was worth $500 million, made up of her jewels, art collection, investments and two residences, Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham House in Norfolk. The Queen inherited both properties from her father, King George VI.\n\nBut the vast bulk of the royal family’s wealth — totaling at least £18 billion ($21 billion) in land, property and investments — now passes along a well-trodden, centuries-old path to the new monarch, King Charles, and his heir.\n\nThe line of succession makes Prince William, now the first in line to the throne, a much wealthier man. The future king inherits the private Duchy of Cornwall estate from his father. The duchy owns a sprawling portfolio of land and property covering almost 140,000 acres, most of it in southwest England. Read the full story from CNN Business here.\n\nWATCH\n\nHow Anne learned to be a royal from her mother.\n\nQueen Elizabeth II’s only daughter, Princess Anne, is being praised on social media for the way she remained by her mother’s side every step of the way from Balmoral back to London. Many have been admiring Anne for her devotion as the family mourns, but the Princess Royal has always had a notable role in the monarchy. CNN’s Isa Soares reports more on one of the hardest-working royals.\n\nRoyal historian: King Charles III should have Princess Anne in the monarchy going forward 02:30 - Source: CNN\n\n“I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life. It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys.” Anne, Princess Royal\n\nRead her full statement here.", "authors": ["Max Foster Lauren Said-Moorhouse", "Max Foster", "Lauren Said-Moorhouse"], "publish_date": "2022/09/14"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2023/05/10/prince-harry-trial-tabloid-admits-to-unlawful-information-gathering/70203465007/", "title": "Prince Harry trial: Tabloid admits to unlawful information gathering", "text": "Brian Melley\n\nAssociated Press\n\nLONDON — The publisher of British tabloid the Daily Mirror has acknowledged and apologized for unlawfully gathering information about Prince Harry in its reporting, and said it warrants compensation, at the outset of the prince's first phone hacking trial Wednesday.\n\nThe admission was made in court filings outlining Mirror Group Newspapers' defense.\n\nThe group continued to deny that it hacked phones to intercept voicemail messages, and said that Harry and three less-well-known celebrities brought their claims beyond a time limit.\n\nBut it acknowledged there was \"some evidence of the instruction of third parties to engage in other types of UIG (unlawful information gathering) in respect of each of the claimants,\" which includes the Duke of Sussex. It said this \"warrants compensation\" but didn't spell out what form that might take.\n\n\"MGN unreservedly apologizes for all such instances of UIG, and assures the claimants that such conduct will never be repeated,\" the court papers said.\n\nThe publisher said its apology was not a tactical move to reduce damages but was done \"because such conduct should never have occurred.\"\n\nPrince Harry lawsuit:Royal sues owners of The Sun, The Daily Mirror over alleged phone hacking\n\nThe trial is Harry's opening salvo in his legal battle against the British press. Harry and the other celebrities are suing the former publisher of the Daily Mirror for alleged invasion of privacy.\n\nThe case is the first of the duke's three phone hacking lawsuits and threatens to do something he said his family long feared: put a royal on the witness stand to discuss embarrassing revelations.\n\nThe activities in question stretch back more than two decades, when journalists and private eyes intercepted voicemails to snoop on members of the royal family, politicians, athletes, celebrities and even crime victims. A scandal erupted when the hacking was revealed.\n\nHarry is expected to testify in person in June, his lawyer has said. It won't be his first time in the High Court, following his surprise appearance last month to observe most of a four-day hearing in one of his other lawsuits.\n\nHe did not show up for opening statements in the trial. Harry breezed through London for Saturday's coronation of his father, King Charles III, before leaving immediately after the ceremony to fly back to California to be with his family for his son's birthday.\n\nKing Charles' coronation:Prince Harry attends without Meghan, misses palace balcony moment\n\nHarry has also sued the publishers of the Daily Mail and The Sun over the phone hacking scandal that metastasized after a year-long inquiry into press ethics in 2011 revealed that employees of the now-defunct News of the World tabloid eavesdropped on mobile phone voicemails.\n\nHarry has outlined his grievances against the media in court papers, saying the press hounded him since his earliest days and created a narrative that portrayed him as \"the 'thicko,' the 'cheat,' the 'underage drinker.'\" His relationships with girlfriends were wrecked by \"the entire tabloid press as a third party.\"\n\n\"Looking back on it now, such behavior on their part is utterly vile,\" he said in a witness statement in a similar case.\n\nHis lawsuits could further roil family relations that have been strained since Harry and his wife, Meghan, left royal life in 2020 and moved to the United States after complaining about racist attitudes from the British press.\n\nMirror Group Newspapers and other publishers have primarily defended themselves by asserting that Harry failed to bring his cases within a six-year year time limit. The duke's lawyer has argued that an exception should be applied because publishers actively concealed the skullduggery.\n\nIn a stunning revelation last month that dredged up an embarrassing chapter in his father's life, Harry blamed his delay in bringing suit, in part, on his family.\n\nThe prince has waged a war of words against British newspapers in legal claims and in his best-selling memoir \"Spare,\" vowing to make his life's mission reforming the media that he blames for the death of his mother, Princess Diana. She died in a car wreck in Paris in 1997 while trying to evade paparazzi.\n\nPrince Harry's 'Spare':Physical attacks, drug use, Diana's death and more bombshells from his book\n\nHe asserted he was barred from bringing a case against The Sun and other newspapers owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch because of a \"secret agreement\" — allegedly approved of by Queen Elizabeth II — that called for reaching a private settlement and getting an apology.\n\n\"The reason for this was to avoid the situation where a member of the royal family would have to sit in the witness box and recount the specific details of the private and highly sensitive voicemails that had been intercepted,\" Harry said in a witness statement against News Group Newspapers.\n\n\"The institution was incredibly nervous about this and wanted to avoid at all costs the sort of reputational damage that it had suffered in 1993,\" he said, alluding to a transcript of a leaked recording — published in the Sunday Mirror — of an intimate conversation his father, then Prince of Wales, had with his paramour, now Queen Camilla, in which he compared himself to a tampon.\n\nHarry said his brother, Prince William, had quietly settled his own hacking claims with News Group for \"huge sum of money\" in 2020. He also claimed his father had directed palace staff to order him to drop his litigation because it was bad for the family.\n\nMore:Prince William received 'large sum' settlement in 2020 phone hacking lawsuit\n\nMurdoch's company denied there was a \"secret agreement\" and wouldn't comment on the alleged settlement. The palace hasn't responded to requests for comment.\n\nHarry has alleged that reporters at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People used illegal methods to gather material from his family and friends for nearly 150 articles. The newspaper has said he is wrong about how its reporters got information, saying they used legal methods for many articles.\n\nIn 2015, publishers of The Mirror printed a front-page apology for phone hacking and tripled its fund to 12 million pounds ($15 million) to compensate victims.\n\nMirror Group said more than 600 of some 830 claims had been settled. Of the remaining 104 cases, 86 were brought too late to be litigated, it said in court papers.\n\n\"Where historical wrongdoing has taken place, we have made admissions, take full responsibility and apologize unreservedly,\" a spokesperson for Mirror Group Newspapers said in advance of the trial. \"But we will vigorously defend against allegations of wrongdoing where our journalists acted lawfully.\"\n\nThe lawsuits were combined as a test case that could determine the outcome of hacking claims also made against Mirror Group by former Girls Aloud member Cheryl, the estate of the late singer George Michael, and former soccer player Ian Wright.\n\nRead all our King Charles coronation coverage:", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/05/10"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/uk-news/952679/prince-william-celebrates-birthday-public-appearance-queen", "title": "Prince William: a life in pictures | The Week UK", "text": "Today is the 39th birthday of Prince William, the father-of-three who is second in line to the throne.\n\nIt has been a difficult year for the Duke of Cambridge, who not only lost his grandfather, Prince Philip, but has also had to navigate his brother’s move to Los Angeles and high-profile falling out with the Royal Family.\n\nBack in March, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed to Oprah Winfrey that an unnamed member of what they dubbed “the firm” had discussed how dark their baby would be.\n\nMeghan also told the TV host that a 2018 rumour that she had made Kate Middleton cry ahead of Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress fitting was untrue - and in fact the Duchess of Cambridge had been the one to leave the former Suits star in tears.\n\nKate will “be aware that this year has been tough for William and will want both his birthday and Father's Day to be special for him”, royal expert Katie Nicholl told OK! Magazine. Nicholl predicted that William would spend the day at Kensington Palace with his wife and children, George (seven), Charlotte (six) and Louis (three).\n\nOn Father’s Day, the day before William’s birthday, the Duke of Cambridge and his two eldest children thrilled participants of an inaugural race around the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk by making a surprise appearance.\n\n“William, George and Charlotte arrived just before the half marathon got underway,” reports the Eastern Daily Press. “They walked to the stage holding hands, before sending runners on their way.”\n\nWilliam’s birthday had initially fallen on “freedom day” - the day the UK’s remaining lockdown restrictions had been set to ease and normality to resume.\n\nBut the rapid spread of the Delta variant and the UK’s increasing coronavirus infection rate has led the big day to be pushed to July 19 - meaning that the Duke of Cambridge will have to wait another four weeks before throwing any major birthday celebrations.", "authors": ["Kate Samuelson"], "publish_date": "2021/04/29"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2022/06/05/queen-elizabeth-enjoys-tea-paddington-bear-platinum-jubilee/7521696001/", "title": "Queen Elizabeth surprises fans, waves from balcony at Platinum ...", "text": "Danica Kirka and Sylvia Hui\n\nLONDON – In a crowning moment for her Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II appeared at the balcony of Buckingham Palace, delighting fans who had hoped to catch a glimpse of her during the final day of festivities marking the queen's 70 years on the throne.\n\nThe 96-year-old monarch has curtailed her schedule in recent months because of her mobility problems. Prior to Sunday, the queen had only appeared in public twice – both on Thursday – during the four-day holiday weekend celebrations. Officials said she experienced “discomfort” during those events.\n\nThe queen, dressed in bright green, waved and smiled after the crowds belted out “God Save the Queen.” Her appearance, which only lasted a few minutes, was followed by a crowd-pleasing performance of ABBA's “Dancing Queen.”\n\nIt was an uplifting finale to a massive street pageant celebrating the queen's life and highlighting Britain's diversity.\n\nThousands of people who massed outside the palace for the climax of a boisterous, colorful pageant cheered as the monarch appeared on the balcony with her son and heir, Prince Charles, his wife Camilla, and her eldest grandson Prince William and his family.\n\nAfterward, the monarch issued a statement thanking all those who celebrated her Platinum Jubilee.\n\n“When it comes to how to mark seventy years as your queen, there is no guidebook to follow. It really is a first,” she said. “But I have been humbled and deeply touched that so many people have taken to the streets to celebrate my Platinum Jubilee.\n\n“While I may not have attended every event in person, my heart has been with you all; and I remain committed to serving you to the best of my ability, supported by my family.\"\n\nSunday's pageant began with a spectacular military parade featuring 200 horses marching down The Mall to Buckingham Palace. They flanked the gold state coach, a gilded carriage that transported the queen to her coronation 69 years ago. A virtual version of her, drawn from archival video from her 1953 coronation, was shown at the coach’s windows.\n\nAfter the pomp and pageantry came a melange of acts ranging from hip-hop and Bollywood dancers to drag queens and Mardi Gras-style floats. Some 6,000 performers paraded a route lined with a sea of Union flags, telling the story of the queen's life with dance, vintage cars, vibrant costumes, carnival music and giant puppets. Celebrities such as Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss were seen riding floats.\n\nThe pageant was watched by an estimated 1 billion people around the world, organizers say.\n\nThe keenest royal fans braved the wet, chilly weather and camped out on The Mall overnight to secure the best view of the pageant. Some came to see the celebrities who performed – like Ed Sheeran, who sang his song “Perfect” while a huge video screen showed pictures of the queen and her family – while others just wanted to be part of a historical moment.\n\n“It’s part of history, it’s never going to happen again. It’s something special, so if you are going to do it you’ve got to go big or go home,\" said Shaun Wallen, 50.\n\nThe queen did not join her family in the royal box watching the pageant. Nor did Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, who made their first family trip to the U.K. since they stepped away from royal duties and moved to the U.S. in 2020. The couple has largely stayed out of the limelight during the Platinum Jubilee events.\n\nThousands of people ran out into The Mall after the parade ended in a bid to see the queen, filling the enormous expanse within minutes.\n\nOn Sunday, Charles and Camilla mingled with crowds at The Oval cricket ground in London for a Big Jubilee Lunch.\n\nMillions of people across the country likewise set out long tables, balloons and picnic fare for similar patriotic street parties, gatherings welcomed after the long pandemic lockdowns of the past two years.\n\nQueen Elizabeth adorably has tea with Paddington Bear at Buckingham Palace\n\nNow we know what is in Queen Elizabeth II's handbag.\n\nThe long-time mystery was solved Saturday when the British monarch made the second star turn of her career, appearing in a mini-movie to kick off a concert celebrating her 70 years on the throne. The sketch featured the queen having a cream tea with British national treasure Paddington Bear at Buckingham Palace.\n\nAfter drinking all the tea and destroying the cakes, the duffle coat-wearing bear told Elizabeth how he always had a reserve supply of marmalade sandwiches with him, lifting up his red hat to reveal his favorite treat.\n\n“So do I,” the queen responded before opening her bag and declaring: “I keep mine in here.”\n\nPlatinum Jubilee begins:Queen Elizabeth II kicks off celebrations of 70-year monarchy with parade\n\nThe scene recalled the moment Elizabeth appeared as a Bond girl in a short film for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.\n\n“Her majesty is well known for her sense of humor, so it should be no surprise that she decided to take part in tonight’s sketch,” the palace said. “There was an interest in the filming and animation process and the opportunity to invite a famous bear to tea was just too much fun to miss.”\n\nThe queen’s performance with an animated bear drew laughter and loud applause from the overflow crowd at the concert outside Buckingham Palace that was the highlight of the third of four days of festivities celebrating her Platinum Jubilee. The 96-year-old monarch did not attend the concert in person due to what the palace describes as “episodic mobility issues.”\n\nPlatinum Jubilee concert:Adam Lambert, Queen and Paddington Bear perform for Queen Elizabeth\n\nDespite the queen’s absence, spirits were high during an event that culminated with appearances by the monarch’s son and grandson. Prince Charles and his son Prince William paid tribute to the queen in separate speeches that honored the past and looked to the future.\n\nAnne Middleton, 61, who traveled from Cardiff in Wales for the jubilee celebrations, said she loved the Paddington sketch and the queen’s decision to skip the event didn’t dim the festivities.\n\n“Not for me,” she said, decked out from head to toe in the flags of the U.K. and Wales. “She turned up on the first day, and we know she would have been there if she could have been.”\n\nQueen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee:Who performed at the Platinum Party? More questions answered\n\nCharles opened his short speech by addressing the queen as “Your Majesty, Mummy,” then paid tribute to her “lifetime of selfless service.”\n\nThe queen’s eldest son and heir recalled the ever-growing list of world leaders Elizabeth has met and the endless stacks of state papers she has reviewed during a reign that has now stretched from the early days of the Cold War to the information age. But he also highlighted his mother’s role as a symbol of stability, unifying the U.K. and the Commonwealth as they negotiated this rapidly changing world.\n\n“You have met us and talked with us. You laugh and cry with us and, most importantly, you have been there for us, for these 70 years,” Charles said as scenes from the queen’s life were projected on the palace walls. “You pledged to serve your whole life – you continue to deliver. That is why we are here. That is what we celebrate tonight.”\n\nWilliam preceded his father with remarks that underscored the queen’s long-time commitment to the environment as he highlighted the need to combat climate change. The presentation began with a clip of the queen’s 1989 Christmas message, in which she called on all nations to work together to protect the earth for “our children and our children’s children.”\n\nThat message is still relevant today, William said.\n\nMore:Queen Elizabeth II poses for Platinum Jubilee picture to mark start of celebration\n\n“It’s my firm hope that my grandmother’s words are as true in 70 years’ time as they are tonight, that as nations we come together in common cause, because then there is always room for hope.”\n\nThe queen has not attended any of the jubilee festivities since Thursday, when she waved to supporters from the balcony on Buckingham Palace.\n\nThe monarch also decided not to go to the Epsom Derby earlier Saturday, and was represented at the prestigious annual horse race by her daughter, Princess Anne.\n\nThe queen, known as a horse lover, has only missed the Epsom Derby a handful of times. On Saturday, five of her former racehorses were paraded, and 40 jockeys who have ridden for the queen formed a guard of honor before the national anthem was played.\n\n“She’s been breeding horses for over 60 years,” Frankie Dettori, one of the jockeys, told the BBC. “She knows all the blood lines and she’s won lots of races and she’s very knowledgeable.”\n\n“I’m sure today she’ll find a TV and she’s going to watch it live, because she loves the Derby so much,” he added.\n\nStonehenge honors Queen Elizabeth II:Monarch's portraits projected onto Stonehenge ahead of Platinum Jubilee\n\nIt was the second time in as many days that the queen’s mobility issues have robbed crowds of a chance to see her.\n\nOn Friday, the queen skipped a special service of Thanksgiving in her honor at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Palace officials said she had experienced “some discomfort” at events the day before, which included waving to huge crowds from Buckingham Palace.\n\nPrince Harry and his wife, Meghan, were among nearly 50 members of the royal family who gathered Friday at St. Paul’s Cathedral to honor the absent head of state. It was the couple’s first public appearance in the U.K. since they stepped back from royal duties and moved to California two years ago.\n\nApart from attending Friday’s service, the couple has so far stayed out of the limelight. Their two children, Archie and Lilibet, who turned 1 on Saturday, haven’t yet made an appearance during this trip. A spokesperson for the couple said they were spending the day “privately” and were not joining some 30 other royals at Saturday’s concert.\n\nOpinion:Why are Americans so into Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee? This doesn't feel right.\n\nMeanwhile, members of the royal family traveled to Wales and Northern Ireland as part of celebrations across the U.K.\n\nWilliam and his wife Kate brought two of their three children – 8-year-old Prince George and 7-year-old Princess Charlotte – to Cardiff Castle in Wales before a separate concert in the castle grounds in honor of the queen.\n\nThe queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, visited a 1950s-themed seaside funfair in Belfast. Edward tried his hand at pulling a pint of Guinness at a diner, while Sophie took in a ’50s and ’60s dance demonstration.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/06/05"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_23", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/06/health/permanent-daylight-savings-health-harms-wellness/index.html", "title": "Permanent Daylight Saving Time will hurt our health, experts say ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Sleep, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has helpful hints to achieve better sleep.\n\nCNN —\n\nThe end of Daylight Saving Time is upon us again, an autumn tradition when the United States, Europe, most of Canada and a number of other countries move their clocks backwards an hour in a sort of Groundhog Day trust fall. We’ll move them forward (again) next spring when governments put daylight saving back in place.\n\nBut are we putting our trust in an unhealthy, outdated idea?\n\nNot according to the United States Senate, which in March passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 – if it becomes law, Daylight Saving Time will be permanent.\n\n“The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation,” said Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), who first introduced the bill in the US Senate, in a statement. Florida’s legislature voted to make Daylight Saving Time permanent in Florida in 2018, but it can’t go into effect until it is federal law as well.\n\nThe bill still has to make its way through the US House of Representatives and be signed into law by the President. If or when that is the case, we’ll move our clocks forward and leave them that way, permanently living one hour ahead of the sun.\n\nHowever, a growing number of sleep experts say the act of moving our clocks forward in the spring is ruining our health. Studies over the last 25 years have shown the one-hour change disrupts body rhythms tuned to Earth’s rotation, adding fuel to the debate over whether having Daylight Saving Time in any form is a good idea.\n\n“I’m one of the many sleep experts that knows it’s a bad idea,” said Dr. Elizabeth Klerman, a professor of neurology in the division of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School.\n\n“Your body clock stays with (natural) light not with the clock on your wall,” Klerman said. “And there’s no evidence that your body fully shifts to the new time.”\n\nDr. Phyllis Zee, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Evanston, Illinois, also opposes Daylight Saving Time.\n\n“Between March and November your body gets less morning light and more evening light, which can throw off your circadian rhythm,” she said.\n\nStandard time, which we enter when we move our clocks back in the fall, is much closer to the sun’s day and night cycle, Zee said. This cycle has set our circadian rhythm, or body clock, for centuries.\n\nThat internal timer controls not just when you sleep, but also when you want to eat, exercise or work, as well as “your blood pressure, your heart rate and your cortisol rhythm,” Zee added.\n\nOur bodies need the early morning light to set our internal body clock, experts say. Marilyn Nieves/E+/Getty Images\n\nA call to ban Daylight Saving Time for good has come from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine: “Current evidence best supports the adoption of year-round standard time, which aligns best with human circadian biology and provides distinct benefits for public health and safety.”\n\nThe proposal has been endorsed by more than 20 medical, scientific, and civic organizations, including the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the National Parent Teacher Association, the National Safety Council, the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms and the World Sleep Society.\n\nWhat’s the harm?\n\nWhen our internal clocks are offset from the solar day-night cycle by even one hour we develop what sleep experts call “social jet lag.” Studies have shown social jet lag increases the risk of metabolic disorders such as diabetes, raises the risk of heart disease and stroke, worsens mood disorders such as depression, affects the digestive and endocrine systems and shortens our sleep duration. It can even reduce life expectancy,\n\nA 2003 study found getting one hour less sleep for two weeks had the same effect on thinking and motor skills as going without sleep for two full nights. Reducing sleep by 90 minutes from the recommended 7 to 8 hours for adults altered the DNA of immune cells and boosted inflammation, a key cause of chronic disease, according to another study.\n\nMaking the time change permanent would make the chronic effects of any sleep loss more severe, not only “because we have to go to work an hour earlier for an additional 5 months every year but also because body clocks are usually later in winter than in summer with reference to the sun clock,” according to a statement from the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms.\n\n“The combination of DST and winter would therefore make the differences between body clocks and the social clock even worse and would negatively affect our health even more,” the authors concluded.\n\nWhy did the Senate pass the bill?\n\nThere are reasons the US Senate unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act. Proponents say that extra daylight in the evening cuts down on car accidents and crime, and increases opportunities for commerce and recreation, as people prefer to shop and exercise during daylight hours.\n\nHowever, research has shown both heart attacks and fatal car accidents increase after the clock falls forward in the spring. Children also end up going to school in the morning while it is still dark – with disastrous consequences.\n\nWhen President Richard Nixon signed a permanent Daylight Saving Time into law in January 1974, it was a popular move. But by the end of the month Florida’s governor had called for the law’s repeal after eight schoolchildren were hit by cars in the dark. Schools across the country delayed start times until the sun came up.\n\nBy summer, public approval had plummeted, and in early October Congress voted to switch back to standard time.\n\nA similar backlash occurred when the US first implemented Daylight Saving Time in 1918, as a way to to reduce demand for electricity usage by adding sunlight to the end of the day in response to World War I. (Studies since have found little to no cost savings from the practice.) The time switch was so unpopular that the law was repealed the following year.\n\n“The United States has tried permanent daylight saving time twice before and ended it early. The UK tried once before and ended it early. Russia tried it once, so did India and ended it early,” Klerman said. “I think we should learn from history.”", "authors": ["Sandee Lamotte"], "publish_date": "2022/11/06"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/05/health/daylight-saving-time-explainer-wellness/index.html", "title": "Daylight Saving Time: What is it, and why do we have it? | CNN", "text": "Sign up for CNN’s Sleep, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has helpful hints to achieve better sleep.\n\nCNN —\n\nIt’s almost time for clocks to “spring forward” one hour.\n\nOn the second Sunday of March, at 2 a.m., clocks in most of the United States and many other countries move forward one hour and stay there for nearly eight months in what is called Daylight Saving Time. On the first Sunday of November, at 2 a.m., clocks fall back an hour to standard time.\n\nThe current March to November system that the US follows began in 2007, but the concept of “saving daylight” is much older. Daylight Saving Time has its roots in train schedules, but it was put into practice in Europe and the United States to save fuel and power during World War I, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.\n\nPro tip: It’s Daylight Saving Time, with singular use of “saving,” not “savings.”\n\nReasons for Daylight Saving Time\n\nDon't forget to reset your alarm clock. Jasmin Merdan/Moment RF/Getty Images\n\nThe US kept Daylight Saving Time permanent during most of World War II. The idea was put in place to conserve fuel and keep things standard. As the war came to a close in 1945, Gallup asked respondents how we should tell time. Only 17% wanted to keep what was then called “war time” all year.\n\nDuring the energy crisis of the 1970s, we tried permanent Daylight Saving Time again in the winter of 1973-1974. The idea again was to conserve fuel. It was a popular move at the time when President Richard Nixon signed the law in January 1974. But by the end of the month, Florida’s governor had called for the law’s repeal after eight schoolchildren were hit by cars in the dark. Schools across the country delayed start times until the sun came up.\n\nDaylight savings time ends: 2 men, 2,000 clocks and 48 hours to change them all 03:36 - Source: CNN\n\nBy summer, public approval had plummeted, and in early October Congress voted to switch back to standard time.\n\nIn the US, states are not required by law to “fall back” or “spring forward.” Hawaii, most of Arizona and some territories in the Pacific and Caribbean do not observe Daylight Saving Time. The twice-yearly switcheroo is irritating enough to lawmakers of all political stripes that the US Senate passed legislation in March 2022 to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. The bill passed by unanimous consent. It would need to pass the House of Representatives and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.\n\nHouse lawmakers failed to vote on the bill in 2022. However, on March 2, a dozen senators forming a bipartisan group reintroduced the legislation that would end clock switching in favor of permanent Daylight Saving Time. Companion legislation to the Sunshine Protection Act was introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Republican from Florida, in the House.\n\nWhy do we need Daylight Saving Time\n\nStudies over the last 25 years have shown the one-hour change disrupts body rhythms tuned to Earth’s rotation, adding fuel to the debate over whether having Daylight Saving Time in any form is a good idea.\n\nThe issue is that for every argument there is a counterargument. There are studies, for example, that show we have more car accidents when people lose an extra hour of sleep. There are also studies that show robberies decline when there is an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day. We also know that people suffer more heart attacks at the start of Daylight Saving Time. But what about our mental health? People seem to be happier when there is an extra hour of daylight.\n\nOf course, there’s the economy, which pays for all that outdoor fun in the sun. Although saving energy was often put out as a reason to have Daylight Saving Time, the energy saved isn’t much — if anything at all.\n\nInstead, the lobbying effort for Daylight Saving Time came mostly from different sectors of the economy. In the mid-20th century, lobby groups for the recreational sports industry (think driving ranges) wanted more customers to come out after a day at the office. It’s easier to do so when there is more light at the end of the day.\n\nBut the movie industry didn’t like Daylight Saving Time. You’re less likely to go to a movie when it’s bright outside. Despite the myth, farmers didn’t like it either because it made it difficult to get their food to the market in the morning.\n\nThe bottom line: It’s not clear whether having that extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day versus the beginning is helpful. It just depends on who you are and what you want. And it doesn’t look like Daylight Saving Time in the US is going away anytime soon.", "authors": ["Katia Hetter Stephen Mays", "Katia Hetter", "Stephen Mays"], "publish_date": "2022/11/05"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/04/politics/congress-daylight-saving-time-permanent/index.html", "title": "Analysis: Why won't Congress make Daylight Saving Time ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nOn Sunday morning, we all will begrudgingly turn our clocks back an hour – and in doing so, relegate ourselves to a winter of darkness.\n\nIt doesn’t have to be this way!\n\nBack in March, the Senate passed a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, meaning that there would be no reverting back to “standard time” from early November through mid-March.\n\n“You’ll see it’s an eclectic collection of members of the United States Senate in favor of what we’ve just done here in the Senate, and that’s to pass a bill to make Daylight Savings Time permanent,” Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said at the time. “Just this past weekend, we all went through that biannual ritual of changing the clock back and forth and the disruption that comes with it. And one has to ask themselves after a while why do we keep doing it?”\n\nAnd yet, all these months later – and with the clocks set to be turned back – the Democratic-led House has not picked up the measure. And it seems unlikely to do so in the lame-duck session that will follow the next week’s midterm elections.\n\n“I can’t say it’s a priority,” Rep. Frank Pallone, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told The Hill newspaper in July.\n\nHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she personally favors making Daylight Saving Time permanent, but said in March that “it’s not going to be much of an issue” for her caucus.\n\nWhich is odd. Because making Daylight Saving Time permanent is broadly popular. A Monmouth University poll conducted in March showed that 61% of Americans would favor getting rid of our twice-annual clock changes. The survey also found that 44% of Americans prefer making Daylight Saving Time permanent, while 13% (who are these people!) want to operate on standard time all year.\n\nThe debate of Daylight Saving Time has been going on for a very long time. And the misunderstanding about why we do it goes back at least as long. It is not, as is commonly assumed, because we wanted to give farmers more time to work in the fields in the spring and summer. Instead, it’s aimed at reducing our electricity consumption by making it light later in the day.\n\nIn fact, our current practices on Daylight Saving Time are fewer than two decades old. Prior to 2007, DST began in April and ended in October. But in 2005, President George W. Bush – in hopes of addressing the country’s long-term energy issues – made Daylight Saving Time start three weeks earlier and end a week later.\n\nThe Department of Energy found in 2008 that the four-week extension of Daylight Saving Time saved roughly .5% of electricity use every day. So there’s that.\n\n(Sidebar: The US is not alone in observing Daylight Saving Time. Seventy other countries around the world do too. But in Britain, France and Germany, the change is on a different schedule: clocks spring forward on the last Sunday in March, and fall back on the last Sunday in October.)\n\nThe origins of the idea are up for debate. But in a 1784 letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris, Benjamin Franklin suggested that Parisians could save money by getting up earlier during the summer because they would then have to light fewer candles in the evening.", "authors": ["Chris Cillizza"], "publish_date": "2022/11/04"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/arizona/2023/02/15/daylight-saving-time-2023-arizona-clock-change/69868470007/", "title": "Daylight saving time 2023: Here's when you'll lose an hour in March", "text": "Leer en español\n\nAs every other U.S. state springs forward with the start of daylight saving time in March 2023, Hawaii and most of Arizona will remain havens where residents don't have to change the clocks on every appliance, vehicle and electronic device they own.\n\nEven more good news: Arizonans won't have to navigate a one-hour time difference with our West Coast neighbors anymore when daylight saving time begins — until it returns in the fall, anyway.\n\nArizona — with the exception of the Navajo Nation, which spans Arizona, Utah and New Mexico — has not observed DST for the last 50 years, after decades of going on and off daylight-saving measures implemented during wars. According to the Pima County Public Library, \"Arizona ... went on Daylight Saving Time on April 30, 1967, for the first time since World War II. Daylight Saving Time was rejected by the Arizona legislature in 1968.\"\n\nHere's what you need to know about daylight saving time in 2023, including what it does — and doesn't — mean for Arizonans and the chances of eliminating it in the U.S.\n\nLearn more: Best travel insurance\n\nMore DST facts:How daylight saving time affects Arizonans\n\nWhen does daylight saving time 2023 start?\n\nAt 2 a.m. Sunday, March 12, 2023, most of the U.S. will move forward one hour to 3 a.m. Most of Arizona, as well as Hawaii, will remain as they were.\n\nWhen does daylight saving time 2023 end?\n\nDaylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November each year. Clocks will fall back one hour to 1 a.m.\n\nIn 2023, that is Sunday, Nov. 5.\n\nMore:Best drought-tolerant plants for your Arizona landscape\n\nWhy does Arizona not observe daylight saving time?\n\nThe Uniform Time Act of 1966 — which allows states to choose whether to remain on standard time or change their clocks twice a year — has been in effect in the U.S. since 1967. Arizona tried going back to daylight saving time that year, but state legislators soon decided to opt out, and the state reverted to standard time beginning in 1968.\n\nFor one thing, Arizonans just don't need an extra hour of daylight during our summer months.\n\n\"Arizona participated in daylight saving time in 1967, but energy consumption soared,\" Arizona State University history professor Calvin Schermerhorn told ASU News in 2018. \"In most of the country, an extra hour of daylight supposedly saved fuel used to heat and light buildings. But in most of the state, the scheme worked in reverse: air conditioners had to run longer.\n\nThe Navajo Nation has opted to continue observing DST, which ensures that everyone on the reservation that spans three states is in the same time zone.\n\nMore:Should you trim your trees for the monsoon? Here’s what an arborist wants you to know\n\nWhat happened to making daylight saving time permanent?\n\nThere have been several attempts at making daylight saving time permanent at the federal level in recent years.\n\nThe most recent effort, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023, was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Marco Rubio on March 1. If it passes the Senate and the House, the bill would be sent to President Joe Biden's desk for approval.\n\nPreviously, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 — which aimed to make \"daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time, effective November 5, 2023\" — stalled in Congress after the U.S. Senate passed it in a unanimous vote in March 2022. The bill died when the legislative session ended in January.\n\nReach the reporter at kimi.robinson@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin and Instagram @ReporterKiMi.\n\nSupport local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2021/03/10/why-arizona-doesnt-observe-daylight-saving-time/6935981002/", "title": "Why Arizona doesn't observe daylight saving time", "text": "Scott Craven and Weldon B. Johnson\n\nazcentral.com\n\nDaylight saving time 2021 starts at 2 a.m. Sunday.\n\nMost everyone else in the United States lost an hour when they moved their clocks ahead. In Arizona, we don't engage in such silliness because we don't participate in daylight saving time.\n\nIt’s one of the few times we get to feel smug about how reasonable and rational we are compared to most of the country.\n\nFeeling superior to most of the country is pretty much our favorite pastime from November through March because of the weather, but this daylight saving thing is something we can actually take credit for not having to deal with.\n\nFor Arizona, it started in 1967, shortly after the U.S. adopted the Uniform Time Act, which set the guidelines for daylight saving time. Some wise Arizonans figured out there was no good reason to adjust our clocks to make sunset occur an hour later during the hottest months of the year.\n\nWe don't want any more daylight, thanks\n\nWhen you live in the desert, daylight is way overrated. In summer, anyway. Summer brings the kind of daylight surplus that results in plummeting demand. So no, we don't want to save it. If we could, we'd ship it to the Southern Hemisphere. We'd trade it straight up for one 70-degree day in August. Just one.\n\nIf we moved to DST, summer sunsets would occur an hour later, prolonging our heat-based agony. If only someone would introduce the Daylight Spending Act, allowing us to move the clocks back an hour in May.\n\n(Admittedly the earlier sunsets would also mean earlier sunrises, but the psychological effect could not be discounted.)\n\nA part of Arizona does go with the time flow. The Navajo Nation makes the changes each year, ensuring that residents of the reservation (which spans three states) stay on the same schedule.\n\nHow daylight saving time affects Arizona\n\n• Arizona will be three hours behind New York, two hours behind Chicago, one hour behind Denver and even with Los Angeles.\n\n• Sporting events outside Arizona will start an hour earlier. That means you'll be popping a beer at 10 a.m. when the next NFL game starts.\n\n• Shows will start earlier on some cable TV networks. That's assuming you still watch at the scheduled time rather than via DVR or streaming.\n\nDaylight saving facts\n\n• Daylight saving time was ostensibly started to save energy, but it turned out people enjoyed having an extra hour of daylight after work. Except in Arizona.\n\n• The Navajo Reservation observes daylight saving time; the Hopi Reservation does not. The Navajo Reservation surrounds the Hopi Reservation, so if you drive from Flagstaff to Gallup through Tuba City and Ganado, you'll change time on four occasions.\n\n• Western Indiana used to be even more confusing as some counties and cities observed daylight saving while others did not. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 put an end to that foolishness.\n\n• Be happy that in 1905, the British roundly ignored builder William Willett's proposal to push clocks ahead 20 minutes each Sunday in April and roll them back in similar increments in September.\n\n• The first use of daylight saving dates to July 1908 in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay), Canada. Despite the commercial possibilities, the city holds no daylight saving parades nor sells \"Birthplace of DST\" shot glasses.\n\n• The U.S. first adopted daylight saving time, called \"Fast Time,\" in 1918 in support of the war effort. It was repealed seven months later.\n\n• On Feb. 9, 1942, Americans set their clocks an hour ahead and kept them there until Sept. 30, 1945. It was officially War Time, with zones reflecting the change (Arizona, for example, was on Mountain War Time).\n\n• China may or may not manipulate its currency, but it does mess with the clock. Though spread over five time zones, China recognizes only one, Beijing time. It is supposed to promote unity, but tell that to those who live in the far west when the summer sunsets as late as midnight.\n\n• If the U.S. observed the one-time-zone policy (Washington, D.C., time, of course), the summer sun in Arizona would set as late as 10:42 p.m. and weather-related crankiness would hit an all-time high.\n\n• In 1991 and again in 2014, a few lawmakers floated the idea of having Arizona join the daylight saving parade. Republicans and Democrats were united in their rejection of such a proposal, offering brief and shining moments of true bipartisanship.\n\n•The banning of the time switch even has its own (albeit small) movement. Hoping to unite people behind #LocktheClock, the site dedicated to freezing time (sort of) tracks state legislation aimed at ending the spring-ahead, fall-back madness.\n\n• Daylight saving time could be harmful to your health. A 2014 study led by the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center found the number of heart attacks goes up 24% on the Monday following the spring forward. One theory is that the increased risk may be linked to that lost hour of sleep.\n\n• More than 70 countries observe daylight saving time. No one is sure just how much daylight is saved, globally, each year, though physics indicates none.\n\n• It is daylight saving time, not daylight savings time. So it is decreed by those who spend inordinate amounts of time policing words. (Update: It used to be daylight-saving time until earlier this year when Associated Press style wizards largely banned the hyphen.)", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2021/03/10"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/12/health/daylight-saving-time-2022-wellness/index.html", "title": "The Daylight Saving Time debate: What you need to know | CNN", "text": "Editor’s Note: Sign up for the Sleep, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide has helpful hints to achieve better sleep.\n\nCNN —\n\nMy least favorite weekend of the year is upon us. It’s the weekend in which I feel the effects of losing an hour of sleep because of the switch to Daylight Saving Time (notice the singular) from standard time. For others, this weekend is a happier time because we just gained an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day.\n\nSome might say the best way to reconcile these two beliefs is to have a full year of Daylight Saving Time. That is, always have the sun late and never have that feeling of a lost hour of sleep.\n\nI like that idea, but it turns out we can’t end the discussion so easily. American opinions on how we should tell time and history indicate it can be quite the divisive argument. I should know because I did a podcast about this very topic last year.\n\nI found that there were groups lobbying at each other’s throats for different solutions.\n\nBeyond that feud, here are five key facts that I learned and that you should know about how we tell time.\n\nAmericans don’t want to change the clocks but can’t agree on a solution\n\nThere were three high-quality polls taken in 2021 – The Associated Press, Langer Research Associates and CBS News – on the topic of whether we should continue to have Daylight Saving Time from roughly the beginning of March to the beginning of November and standard time from November through the beginning of March.\n\nThe polls found Americans split right down the middle. While just 31% of Americans wanted to keep switching the clocks back and forth every year, the other roughly two-thirds of Americans were divided on what to do, according to an average of the three polls.\n\nThere were 36% who wanted Daylight Saving Time all year around, the average of the polls found. Close by was the 30% who wanted standard time all year around. The results were so close that standard time all year around actually led Daylight Saving Time all year around in two of the three polls.\n\nTo be clear, neither standard time nor Daylight Saving Time add an extra amount of sunlight to the day. It all comes down to whether you want your sun to rise an hour earlier or set an hour later.\n\nThe fact that all three choices are so close to each other helps to explain why the status quo has reigned in this country my entire life.\n\nYes, there are states where the clocks never change\n\nIf you’re sick of changing the clocks, might I suggest two states to move to: most of Arizona or all of Hawaii. They never change the clocks. Every year when the rest of us spring ahead one hour, Hawaii and most of Arizona stay put in standard time. And when the rest of us fall back, Hawaii and most of Arizona greet us in the time they hold all year around.\n\nArizona doesn’t change time reportedly for a simple reason: It’s really hot in the summer. If you want to have fun outside when you get off work, you actually want the sun to set earlier.\n\nHawaii doesn’t change the clocks because there’s really no reason to do so. Being much nearer to the equator, the amount of sunlight you get in the heart of either winter or summer differs little. Why mess with the clocks?\n\nYou can be on standard time all year, but not Daylight Saving Time\n\nArizona and Hawaii might make you wonder whether states can willy-nilly decide they’re going to stop the clock jumping. (A number of states have actually tried!)\n\nStates can opt out of changing the clocks, but they can only do it in one direction. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 only allows for states to observe standard time all year around.\n\nThat’s why there has been a movement led by US Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to allow states to opt into having Daylight Saving Time all year around. Rubio noted that he does not aim to force states to have Daylight Saving Time.\n\nIn theory, such a move could lead to a patchwork of states following different time rules. It’s easy to imagine that leading to confusion, but maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing when many of us know the time because of what our phones say (something I argued for in my podcast with “Pod Save America’s” Jon Lovett.)\n\nThat’s how it used to be all over the United States. In 1940, 31 states and Washington, DC, observed Daylight Saving Time, while at least parts of 17 states did not. The inability to have consistency (in an era when we had to adjust the clocks ourselves) is one of the reasons for the Uniform Time Act of 1966.\n\nWe’ve tried full-year Daylight Saving Time before (it failed)\n\nMost people in my circle of friends tell me they welcome the extra hour of sun all year around. What they should know is that we’ve gone to full Daylight Saving Time multiple times in the last 80 years, and it never stuck.\n\nWe kept Daylight Saving Time permanent during most of World War II. The idea was put in place to conserve fuel and keep things standard. As the war came to a close in 1945, Gallup asked respondents how we should tell time. Only 17% wanted to keep what was then called “war time” all year.\n\nDuring the energy crisis of the 1970s, we tried permanent Daylight Saving Time again in the winter of 1973-1974. The idea again was to conserve fuel.\n\nThere was just one problem: Imagine living on the western end of a time zone in the middle of winter – Indiana and especially Michigan. The sun didn’t come up until after 9 a.m. This led to, among other things, complaints from parents about their kids having to wait for the bus in the dark.\n\nThe experiment ended after one year. In an Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted right around the time we stopped having Daylight Saving Time all year around, 53% opposed keeping it – 42% strongly.\n\nThe health and economic effects are unclear\n\nThe debate over what we should do with our clocks would be easier to solve if there was either a health or financial incentive to go one way or the other.\n\nThe issue is that for every argument there is a counterargument. There are studies, for example, that show we have more car accidents when people lose an extra hour of sleep. There are also studies that show robberies decline when there is an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day. We also know that people suffer more heart attacks at the start of Daylight Saving Time. But what about our mental health? People seem to be happier when there is an extra hour of daylight.\n\nOf course, there’s the economy, which pays for all of that outdoor fun in the sun. Although saving energy was often put out as a reason to have Daylight Saving Time, the energy saved isn’t much – if anything at all.\n\nInstead, the lobbying effort for Daylight Saving Time came mostly from different sectors of the economy. In the mid-20th century, lobby groups for the recreational sports industry (think driving ranges) wanted more customers to come out after a day at the office. It’s easier to do so when there is more light at the end of the day.\n\nBut the movie industry didn’t like Daylight Saving Time. You’re less likely to go to a movie when it’s bright outside. Despite the myth, farmers didn’t like it either because it made it difficult to get their food to the market in the morning.\n\nThe bottom line: It’s not clear whether having that extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day versus the beginning is helpful. It just depends on who you are and what you want. You can make an argument either way. As for me, I prefer that extra hour of sleep. That puts me in the minority among my friends. Oh well.", "authors": ["Harry Enten"], "publish_date": "2022/03/12"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/us/daylight-saving-time-history-trnd/index.html", "title": "Daylight Saving Time history: Why and when the US started ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nIt’s that time of the year again. You wake up and see your kitchen clock reading 7 a.m., even though you swear it’s 8 a.m.\n\nBut wait, whew.\n\nYou’re not confused. It’s Daylight Saving Time.\n\nTwice a year, clocks around the world move forward or backward by an hour.\n\nBut what’s the point?\n\nThere’s an age-old myth that Daylight Saving was a practice adopted to give farmers extra time in the sun to work out in the field. But, that’s not really why dozens of countries follow it.\n\nDaylight Saving Time (DST) is a system to reduce electricity usage by extending daylight hours. For eight months out of the year, the US and dozens of other countries follow DST, and for the remaining four months, revert back to standard time in order to take full advantage of the sunlight.\n\nOn the second Sunday of March at 2 a.m., clocks move forward one hour. Then, on the first Sunday of November at 2 a.m., the clocks turn back an hour. A good way to remember it? The time shifts match the seasons: Clocks “spring” forward an hour in March and “fall” back in November.\n\nIn the summer months, the sun is out for longer periods of time, so you can rely on daylight to avoid switching lights on. The clocks revert back to standard time for the winter months so the sun can rise earlier and the world starts the day off with sunlight – otherwise some places wouldn’t see the sun come up until almost 8:30 a.m.\n\nWhen did it start?\n\nThe current March-November system the US follows began in 2007, but the concept of “saving daylight” is much older. It’s debated who originally came up with the idea, but Benjamin Franklin appeared to have first mentioned it in 1784, when he wrote a letter to the editor of the Journal of Paris.\n\nDST wasn’t widely used until more than a century later, though. Several countries, including Britain and Germany, implemented DST during World War I. The practice aimed to cut artificial lighting use so troops could conserve fuel for the war. But the US didn’t standardize the system until 1966, when it passed the Uniform Time Act.\n\nFor years, the US observed DST from the first Sunday of April to the last Sunday of October. In 2005, President George W. Bush extended DST an extra four weeks, officially taking effect in 2007.\n\nBut not everyone has opted to follow DST. Only 70 countries around the world “save daylight” every year. In the US, states are not required by law to follow DST – Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe it. Other states – like Florida and California – are working to observe DST year-round (rather than just between March and November).\n\nThere’s a move in Congress to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. The Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate on March 15, 2022, by unanimous consent. The bill would still need to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law. If approved, the change won’t take effect until November 2023.\n\nSupporters of the measure say it would put an end to disruption caused by time changes.\n\nDoes DST actually work?\n\nWell … It’s debated.\n\nWhile the practice can help reduce some energy consumption, critics have raised concerns of whether the amount of energy saved is worth the hassle of implementing the system around the world.\n\nIn 2008, the US Department of Energy found that the four-week extension of DST from April-October to March-November saved about 0.5 percent in total electricity every day. While that seems like almost nothing, it totals 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours and the DOE says that adds up to “the amount of electricity used by more than 100,000 households for an entire year.”\n\nBut a study that same year by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that DST increases the demand for electricity – even though lighting usage reduced, demand for heating and cooling increased, so electricity consumption was about the same.\n\nOther studies have found that benefits of DST may be location-specific. One found electricity reductions in Norway and Sweden, while another saw increased electricity demand in Indiana.\n\nWhether or not “saving daylight” is the most energy efficient method for electricity conservation is still up for debate. But for now, if you live in any of the countries that follow DST, remember to switch your clocks back before you go to sleep Sunday night. Otherwise you’ll wake up thinking you’re late to work.", "authors": ["Saffeya Ahmed"], "publish_date": "2022/03/15"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/09/21/daylight-saving-time-2022-florida-when-fall-back-sunshine-protection-act/8076065001/", "title": "Daylight saving time 2022: U.S. Senate OK'd Sunshine Protection ...", "text": "Love it or hate it, it's time to talk about daylight saving time.\n\nThis time, get ready to \"fall back.\" At 2 a.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 6, Florida residents will have to set their clocks back by one hour.\n\nDaylight saving time 2023:Like \"fall back,\" Florida will still \"spring forward,\" for now\n\nThe U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill called the \"Sunshine Protection Act\", which was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida. The bill would permanently extend daylight saving time from eight months of the year to the full 12 months. But the measure has not yet been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, nor has it been signed into law by President Biden.\n\nSo this happened:Senate passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent\n\nUmmm, didn't Florida agree to do away with the whole clock-changing thing?\n\nFlorida's Panhandle, which is in the Central Standard Time zone, is also affected by daylight saving time.\n\nHere are some things to know about daylight saving time, fall back and spring forward.\n\nWhat is daylight saving time?\n\nAccording to timeanddate.com, \"daylight saving time is the practice of setting the clocks one hour ahead of standard time to make use of more sunlight in the spring, summer, and fall evenings. Daylight Saving Time (DST) is used to save energy and make better use of daylight. It was first used in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada.\"\n\nDaylight saving time became a national standard in 1966 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act, which was established as a way to continue to conserve energy. The thinking was, if it's light out longer, that's less time you'll need to use lights in your home.\n\nIs it daylight savings time, daylight saving's time or daylight saving time?\n\nIt's daylight saving time. No hyphen, no apostrophe and no extra S in the phrase. Also, no capitalization. However, for people searching the term online, these results come up: \"Daylight Saving Time,\" \"daylight savings\" and \"daylight savings time.\"\n\nThe Twitterverse is SO not quiet about daylight saving time\n\nDaylight saving time:7 facts to know about the time change\n\nWho's in charge of daylight saving time?\n\nThe U.S. Department of Transportation oversees the nation's time zones and the uniform observance of daylight saving time, according to transportation.gov. The oversight of time zones was assigned to the DOT to help keep track of transportation.\n\nWhen is daylight saving time 2022?\n\nDaylight saving time is at 2 a.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 6. Florida residents will need to \"fall back\" or set their clock back one hour.\n\nWhen is daylight saving time 2023?\n\nDaylight saving time for 2023 will be at 2 a.m. EST Sunday, March 12, for \"spring forward\" and 2 a.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 5, for \"fall back.\"\n\nWhat is the Sunshine Protection Act?\n\nThe Sunshine Protection Act would permanently extend daylight saving time from eight months of the year to the full 12 months. The bill was first introduced in January 2021 and reintroduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and seven other bipartisan members of Congress in March 2022. The bill would make daylight saving time permanent across the U.S.\n\nClick here to read the Sunshine Protection Act bill from congress.gov.\n\nWhat is the Standard Time Act?\n\nThe Standard Time Act of 1918 was the first federal law that implemented standard time and daylight saving time.\n\nThe U.S. Department of Transportation states, \"federal oversight of time zones began in 1918 with the enactment of the Standard Time Act, which vested the Interstate Commerce Commission with the responsibility for establishing boundaries between the standard time zones in the U.S. This responsibility was transferred from the Interstate Commerce Commission to DOT when Congress created DOT in 1966.\"\n\nWhat is the Uniform Time Act?\n\nIn 1966 when the U.S. Department of Transportation was created, the Uniform Time Act established a system of uniform daylight saving time across the U.S. It simplified when and where daylight saving time would take effect.\n\nWhich states don't observe daylight saving time?\n\nArizona and Hawaii do not recognize DST. There's also no no need to change the clocks in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.\n\nWhich states don't want to observe daylight saving time?\n\nMore than 30 states are considering legislation related to the practice of changing clocks twice a year, and seven states — Alabama, Arkansas, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and Florida — have already approved the legislation. However, these states still need the OK from Congress to enact the change.\n\nWhich countries observe daylight saving time?\n\nDaylight saving time is used in more than 70 countries worldwide and affects more than a billion people each year. The beginning and end dates vary from one country to another.\n\nWhat are the pros of daylight saving time?\n\nIf permanent daylight saving time takes effect, the biggest pro by far would be no sleep disruption. No need to change your clock twice a year before, at or after 2 a.m. on a Sunday in the fall and spring.\n\nOther perks would be more time during the day to be out and about, and experts say it's better for your health — no sleep disruption. No preparing-for-bed or waking-up habits to change.\n\nContributing: Mike Snider, USA TODAY; Ginny Beagan, USA TODAY Network-Florida", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/09/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/03/27/lebanon-time-change-dispute/11549090002/", "title": "Lebanon time zone confusion emerges after daylight saving time ...", "text": "Abby Sewell\n\nAssociated Press\n\nBEIRUT – The Lebanese government's last-minute decision to delay the start of daylight saving time until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan resulted in mass confusion Sunday.\n\nWith some institutions implementing the change while others refused, many Lebanese have found themselves in the position of juggling work and school schedules in different time zones — in a country that is just 88 kilometers (55 miles) at its widest point.\n\nIn some cases, the debate took on a sectarian nature, with many Christian politicians and institutions, including the small nation's largest church, the Maronite Church, rejecting the move.\n\nThe small Mediterranean country normally sets its clocks forward an hour on the last Sunday in March, which aligns with most European countries.\n\nHowever, on Thursday, the government announced a decision by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to push the start of daylight saving to April 21.\n\nNo reason was given for the decision, but a video of a meeting between Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri leaked to local media showed Berri asking Mikati to postpone the implementation of daylight saving time to allow Muslims to break their Ramadan fast an hour earlier.\n\nTime changes:When is daylight saving time 2023? Here's what to know about the time change in March.\n\nDaylight saving time: Daylight saving time is here. But why does it exist in the first place?\n\nMikati responds that he had made a similar proposal but goes on to say that implementing the change would be difficult as it would cause problems in airline flight schedules, to which Berri interjects, \"What flights?\"\n\nAfter the postponement of daylight saving was announced, Lebanon's state airline, Middle East Airlines, said the departure times of all flights scheduled to leave from the Beirut airport between Sunday and April 21 would be advanced by an hour.\n\nThe country's two cellular telephone networks messaged people asking them to change the settings of their clocks to manual instead of automatic so the time would not change at midnight, although in many cases the time advanced anyway.\n\nWhile public institutions, in theory, are bound by the government's decision, many private institutions, including TV stations, schools and businesses, announced that they would ignore the decision and move to daylight saving on Sunday as previously scheduled.\n\nEven some public agencies refused to comply. Education Minister Abbas Halabi said in a statement Sunday evening that the decision was not legally valid because it had not been taken in a meeting of the Cabinet. If the government meets and approves the decision, he wrote, \"we will be the first to implement it\" but until then, \"daylight saving time remains approved and applied in the educational sector.\"\n\nSoha Yazbek, a professor at the American University of Beirut, is among many parents who have found themselves and their children now bound to different schedules.\n\n\"So now I drop my kids to school at 8 am but arrive to my work 42 km away at 7:30 am and then I leave work at 5 pm but I arrive home an hour later at 7 pm!!\" Yazbek wrote on Twitter, adding for the benefit of her non-Lebanese friends, \"I have not gone mad, I just live in Wonderland.\"\n\nHaruka Naito, a Japanese non-governmental organization worker living in Beirut, discovered she has to be in two places at the same time on Monday morning.\n\n\"I had an 8 a.m. appointment and a 9 a.m. class, which will now happen at the same time,\" she said. The 8 a.m. appointment for her residency paperwork is with a government agency following the official time, while her 9 a.m. Arabic class is with an institute that is expected to make the switch to daylight saving.\n\nThe schism has led to jokes about \"Muslim time\" and \"Christian time,\" while different internet search engines came up with different results early Sunday morning when queried about the current time in Lebanon.\n\nWhile in many cases, the schism broke down along sectarian lines, some Muslims also objected to the change and pointed out that fasting is supposed to begin at dawn and end at sunset regardless of time zone.\n\nMany saw the issue as a distraction from the country's larger economic and political problems.\n\nLebanon is in the midst of the worst financial crisis in its modern history. Three quarters of the population lives in poverty and IMF officials recently warned the country could be headed for hyperinflation if no action is taken. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of President Michel Aoun ended in late October as the parliament has failed to elect a replacement since.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/02/11/daylight-saving-time-sunday-march-12/11230886002/", "title": "Daylight saving time 2023: When does time change? Do we lose an ...", "text": "Only two states don't observe daylight saving time – Hawaii and Arizona.\n\nThe U.S. Department of Transportation says that daylight saving time conserves energy.\n\nDaylight saving time now accounts for about 65% of the year.\n\nLike it or not, the annual ritual of changing our clocks to daylight saving time is coming at 2 a.m., Sunday, March 12.\n\nSince most of our computers, smartphones and DVRs automatically change the time for us, it's not as much of a chore as it used to be. But unless you have smart appliances, microwaves and ovens are among the household items that will need a manual adjustment.\n\nWho's in charge of DST? When did it start? Why does the United States and more than 70 other countries observe it? Here are the answers to those questions, and more:\n\nDo we gain or lose an hour?\n\nWe all lose an hour of sleep when going to DST, as the day is only 23 hours long.\n\nWhen clocks go forward, that one hour of daylight is basically shifted from morning to evening as daylight saving time begins. We won't go back to standard time until Sunday, Nov. 5.\n\nWho's in charge of time?\n\nSurprisingly, the U.S. Department of Transportation is in charge of daylight saving time and all time zones in the U.S.\n\n\"The oversight of time zones was assigned to DOT because time standards are important for many modes of transportation,\" according to the department's website.\n\nWhat is the future of daylight saving time?:Year-round change depends on federal vote.\n\nWhen did the U.S. officially enact daylight saving time?\n\nDST became a national standard in the U.S. in 1966 with the passage of the Uniform Time Act. States either have to change the clocks at a specified time or stick with standard time throughout the year.\n\nIn 2007, the federal government expanded daylight saving time in order to reduce energy consumption. The law now specifies that daylight time applies from 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March until 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November\n\nDaylight saving time now accounts for about 65% of the year.\n\nFederal law does allow states to remain in standard time all year, but states must first get approval from Congress before making daylight saving time permanent.\n\nDid Benjamin Franklin invent the time change?\n\nWhile not necessarily advocating changing time, Benjamin Franklin urged his fellow countrymen to work during daylight and sleep after dark, thus saving money on candles. (It was likely a tongue-in-cheek comment.)\n\n'Zombie ant fungus' in humans?:Climate change sparks fungi fears — Some serious and some silly.\n\nHow many countries observe DST?\n\nMore than 70. It's known as summer time in some countries, including the United Kingdom and in Europe. No one is sure just how much daylight is saved, globally, each year, though physics indicates none.\n\nWhy was daylight saving time created?\n\nThe DOT says daylight saving time conserves energy. When the sun sets later, it's presumed that people will stay out longer and spend more time outside. Theoretically, that leads to less electricity for lights and appliances.\n\nThe debate over daylight saving time, which was first enacted by the federal government during World War I as a way to conserve coal, has picked up momentum in recent years.\n\nWhat are the downsides to DST?\n\nNot everyone agrees it offers energy-saving benefits. Some studies report the time switch saves energy on lighting, but is surpassed by increases in heating and air conditioning. It can also mess with our sleep patterns, at least temporarily.\n\nOther health impacts consequences, according to various studies and research, include increased headaches, heart attacks and depression.\n\nWhat states do not do daylight saving time?\n\nOnly two states don't observe it – Hawaii and Arizona. Other non-observers include American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.\n\nDo some states want year-round DST?\n\nYes. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in the past five years, 19 states have \"enacted legislation or passed resolutions to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation. Because federal law does not currently allow full-time DST, Congress would have to act before states could adopt changes.\"\n\nGrammar check: It's actually saving –not savings time\n\nThe correct term is daylight \"saving\" (not savings) time. However, the incorrect term “daylight savings time” is commonly used, especially in Australia, Canada and the United States. It's also supposed to be lowercase, not uppercase, according to the Associated Press stylebook.\n\nDig Deeper", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/02/11"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_24", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:47", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/959780/humza-yousaf-new-frontrunner-in-race-to-become-first-minister", "title": "Humza Yousaf: the 'Irn-Bru-swigging' new SNP leader | 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": ["Jamie Timson"], "publish_date": "2023/02/21"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/960228/humza-yousaf-can-new-snp-leader-keep-starmer-out-in-scotland", "title": "Humza Yousaf: can new SNP leader keep Starmer out in Scotland ...", "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": "2023/03/28"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/960436/a-crisis-week-for-the-scottish-national-party", "title": "The SNP in crisis | 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": "2023/04/13"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/959741/next-snp-leader-the-race-to-replace-nicola-sturgeon", "title": "Next SNP leader odds and polls: the race to replace Nicola ...", "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": ["Asya Likhtman"], "publish_date": "2023/02/20"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/uk-news/960360/peter-murrell-who-is-nicola-sturgeons-husband-and-former-snp-boss", "title": "Peter Murrell: former SNP boss at centre of police funding probe ...", "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": ["Richard Windsor"], "publish_date": "2023/04/05"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/05/06/independent-scottish-national-party-influence/70880294/", "title": "Scottish minister boasts 'huge influence' in hung UK parliament", "text": "Jon Stone\n\nThe Independent\n\nThe Scottish National Party would have a \"huge amount of influence\" over governments formed after a hung parliament, one of the party's ministers has said.\n\nHumza Yousaf, the Scottish Government's minister for External Affairs, told BBC News that \"every poll\" showed the SNP is set to have influence over \"every single piece of legislation.\"\n\n\"You have a hell of a lot of influence issue by issue, day by day on every single piece of legislation that has to be passed in the house,\" he said.\n\n\"And every poll indicates that, of course, we know neither Labor nor the Conservatives are going to have a majority.\n\n\"If we have a bloc of SNP MPs and we are the third largest party, then actually we would have a huge amount of influence.\"\n\nDavid Cameron has accused Labor leader Ed Miliband of a \"con trick\" over the SNP's role in a future government, claiming the opposition leader is deliberately misleading voters on the issue.\n\n\"Basically what he's doing is a con trick. You can see what he's doing: 'Look at this strong language about no deals and no pacts, and ignore the fact that I can only become prime minister off the back of SNP votes,' \" Cameron told the Press Association.\n\nMiliband has ruled out doing any \"deals\" with the SNP in the event of a hung parliament.\n\nA minority Labor government would, however, have to rely on support from the nationalists if polls showing them taking all of Scotland's seats came to fruition.\n\nPolls suggest the SNP is on course to take practically every seat in Scotland on Thursday.\n\nThis is an edited version of a story that originally appeared in The Independent. The content was created separately from USA TODAY.\n\nMORE FROM THE INDEPENDENT'S U.K. ELECTION COVERAGE:", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2015/05/06"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/952842/nicola-sturgeon-slams-dangerous-home-office-glasgow-deportation-stand-off", "title": "Nicola Sturgeon slams 'dangerous' Home Office after deportation ...", "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": "2021/05/14"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_25", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:48", "search_result": []}
{"question_id": "20230331_26", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:48", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/europe/ukraine-russian-referendums-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "Putin speech: Russia announces immediate 'partial mobilization' of ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nRussian President Vladimir Putin announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens on Wednesday, a move that threatens to escalate his faltering invasion of Ukraine following a string of defeats that caused recriminations in Moscow.\n\nPutin said in a speech that he would use “all the means at our disposal,” and even raised the specter of nuclear weapons, if he deemed the “territorial integrity” of Russia to be jeopardized.\n\nThe mobilization means citizens who are in the reserve could be called up, and those with military experience would be subject to conscription, Putin said, adding that the necessary decree had already been signed and took effect on Wednesday.\n\nDefense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Russian television Wednesday morning that the country will call up 300,000 reservists. “These are not some people who have never heard of the army,” Shoigu said. “These are those who have served, have a military registration specialty, have had military experience.”\n\nIt comes after a sudden and successful Ukrainian offensive through most of occupied Kharkiv swung momentum in the conflict back towards Kyiv this month. The counter-attacks galvanized Ukraine’s Western backers and caused anger in Russia, which has time and again been stymied in its full-scale assault of its neighboring state that it launched seven months ago.\n\nRussian police officers detain a person during an unsanctioned rally, after opposition activists called for street protests against the mobilisation of reservists ordered by President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, Russia September 21, 2022. Reuters\n\n“Our country also has various means of destruction and in some components more modern than those of the NATO countries, and if the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people,” Putin said in his speech Wednesday indicating a possible new chapter in the months-long conflict.\n\nAddressing the potential for escalation and use of nuclear weapons, Putin said: “Those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the prevailing winds can turn in their direction.”\n\nThe announcement comes as Russia is believed to face shortages of manpower and follows amendments to Russia’s law on military service made Tuesday, which raise the penalties for resistance related to military service or coercion to violate an official military order during a period of mobilization or martial law.\n\nPutin framed the ongoing fighting as part of a larger struggle for Russian survival against a West whose goal is it is to “weaken, divide and ultimately destroy our country.” Several Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine announced that they will hold referendums on formally joining Russia this week, votes that have widely been dismissed as shams intended to boost Putin’s justifications for further attacks on Ukrainian territory.\n\n“They are already saying directly that they were able to split the Soviet Union in 1991 and now the time has come for Russia to break up into a multitude of regions and areas which are fatally hostile to each other,” Putin said.\n\nBut NATO leaders dismissed the announcement as a sign of panic in the Kremlin, and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine’s military.\n\nPolice officers detain a person in Moscow on September 21, 2022, following calls to protest against partial mobilisation announced by President Vladimir Putin. - President Vladimir Putin called up Russian military reservists on September 21, saying his promise to use all military means in Ukraine was \"no bluff,\" and hinting that Moscow was prepared to use nuclear weapons. His mobilisation call comes as Moscow-held regions of Ukraine prepare to hold annexation referendums this week, dramatically upping the stakes in the seven-month conflict by allowing Moscow to accuse Ukraine of attacking Russian territory. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images\n\nUS President Joe Biden condemned the mobilization and the Kremlin’s planned votes, during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.\n\n“Just today, President Putin has made overt nuclear threats towards Europe … now Russia is calling up more soldiers to join the fight, and the Kremlin is organizing sham referenda to try to annex parts of Ukraine,” Biden said. “The world should see these outrageous acts for what they are.\n\n“Putin claims he had to act because Russia was threatened, but no one threatened Russia – and no one other than Russia sought conflict,” Biden added.\n\nGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz meanwhile called the mobilization an “act of despair.”\n\n“Russia cannot win this war. But this is a kind of panic reaction,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte added Wednesday.\n\nA destroyed Russian tank in Izium, a town recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces. Gleb Garanich/Reuters\n\nReferendums announced\n\nThe referendums, which Putin backed during his speech Wednesday, could pave the way for Russian annexation of the areas, allowing Moscow to frame the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive there as an attack on Russia itself, thereby providing Moscow with a pretext to escalate its military response.\n\nIn what appeared to be a coordinated announcement, Russian-appointed leaders in the occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and the self-declared Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic all said they planned to hold “votes” beginning on September 23.\n\nTogether the four regions that have announced their referendum plans make up around 18% of Ukraine’s territory. Russia does not control any of the four in their entirety.\n\nThe expected referendums, which run counter to international law upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty, have been announced as world leaders have descended on New York for a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, where the war and it impacts were already poised to loom large.\n\nUkraine has dismissed the announcement of referendums in the occupied regions as a “sham” stemming from the “fear of defeat,” while the the country’s Western supporters signaled they would not alter their support for Ukraine.\n\nUS Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink wrote on Twitter Wednesday that “sham referenda and mobilization are signs of weakness, of Russian failure. The United States will never recognize Russia’s claim to purportedly annexed Ukrainian territory, and we will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”\n\nPutin on Wednesday said Russia has been asked for support from the two “people’s republics” and the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia for the referendums and had pledged to do “everything to ensure the safe conditions for people to express their will.”\n\nPotential for escalation\n\nThe announcements had already received swift support from Russian politicians. Former Russian President and vice-chairman of Russia’s National Security Council Dmitry Medvedev has publicly endorsed referendums in the self-declared Donbas republics, saying this would have “huge significance” for “systemic protection” of the residents.\n\n“Encroachment on Russian territory is a crime which allows you to use all the forces of self-defense,” Medvedev said on his Telegram channel, in an apparent allusion to the potential for the military escalation.\n\nBut social media video geolocated by CNN showed protests in several Russian cities on Wednesday, each involving what appear to have been a few dozen people. The independent monitoring group OVD-Info said that more than 100 people had been detained at anti-mobilization demonstrations in total.\n\nIt’s unclear what form an escalation could take, but concerns have been raised throughout the conflict over whether Russia would resort to using its nuclear stockpile in the Ukraine.\n\nA billboard promoting contract army service, with the slogan \"Serving Russia is a real job,\" in St. Petersburg. Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images\n\nUS President Joe Biden addressed these concerns in a 60 Minutes interview earlier this week, when a reporter asked what he would say to the Russian leader regarding the use of chemical or tactical nuclear weapons.\n\n“Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. You will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II,” Biden said, adding that the US response to such actions would be “consequential.”\n\nPutin endorsed a new “deterrent” strategy in June 2020 that allowed for the use of nuclear weapons in response to a non-nuclear attack on Russia that threatened its existence.\n\nOn Tuesday, Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, amended the law on military service, toughening the punishment for violation of military service duties – such as desertion and evasion from service – according to state news agency TASS.\n\nThe bill sets a jail term of up to 15 years for resistance related to military service or coercion to violate an official military order, involving violence or the threat of its use, during the period of mobilization or martial law.", "authors": ["Simone Mccarthy Rob Picheta", "Simone Mccarthy", "Rob Picheta"], "publish_date": "2022/09/21"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2023/03/26/ukraine-russia-war-live-updates/11545849002/", "title": "Ukraine updates: US says Russia hasn't moved nukes to Belarus", "text": "The U.S. has detected no movement of Russian nuclear weapons toward Belarus despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's pledge to place them in neighboring Belarus by July 1, a top U.S. security official said Sunday.\n\nPutin's controversial nuclear pledge comes as his military struggles to gain ground in Ukraine and his defense ministry cranks up its effort to lure Russians into joining the fight.\n\nNational Security Council spokesman John Kirby rejected Putin's justification for moving the nukes – Britain providing Ukraine with rounds containing depleted uranium – saying the armor piercing ammunition is not a nuclear threat, is common on the battlefield and that Russia also uses it.\n\n\"If that is in fact the justification, it's a steak through a straw,\" Kirby said on \"Face the Nation.\" \"There is no radioactivity concern with that.\"\n\nEuropean Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell tweeted that Putin's decision was an \"irresponsible escalation & threat to European security. Belarus can still stop it, it is their choice. The EU stands ready to respond with further sanctions.\" NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu called Russia’s nuclear rhetoric “dangerous and irresponsible.”\n\nOleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, tweeted Sunday that Putin's announcement was “a step toward internal destabilization” and that Putin “took Belarus as a nuclear hostage.”\n\nBut Putin said it was making the move in response to the West's increasing military support for Ukraine, that he was doing in Belarus what the U.S. has done for decades in Europe. And he pressed his recurring theme that the West was responsible for Russia's audacious invasion of its neighbor.\n\n\"They pretend they had nothing to do with it. They are the initiators of this conflict,\" he said. \"And today they are handing over millions more munitions, hardware and so on.\"\n\nRUSSING LOSING GROUND?:Ukraine set to 'take advantage' of Russia's flagging momentum in Bakhmut: Updates\n\nDevelopments:\n\n►Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told graduates of the Institute of the Navy their nation needs \"a victory over the enemy at sea as well as on land and in the sky.\"\n\n►Hungary supports a cease-fire in Ukraine but does not expect Russia to keep the territories it occupies, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said: \"Stopping the war and sitting around the table does not mean that you accept the status quo.”\n\nActor Orlando Bloom visits kids in Kyiv\n\nActor Orlando Bloom paid a weekend visit to Kyiv, stopping at one of almost 200 UNICEF-supported children's centers in the country. The \"Spilno\" center is underground in the metro to ensure safety from missile strikes, and for a few hours every day parents can drop off their young children to \"give them a sense of normalcy, to play games and just be kids,\" Bloom said in an Instagram post. Spilno means \"together\" in Ukrainian.\n\nUkraine's Prosecutor General's Office reported that since Russia invaded 13 months ago at least 465 children have been killed and 942 wounded. Thousands more children from Russia-occupied areas in Ukraine are believed to have been forcibly deported to Russia, the office says.\n\nBloom's film credits include recurring roles in \"The Lord of the Rings,\" \"The Hobbit\" and \"Pirates of the Caribbean\" movie series.\n\nRussian advertising campaign seeks military volunteers\n\nThe Kremlin is intensifying effort to seek volunteers to replenish its troops by advertising cash bonuses and other benefits. Recruiters are making cold calls to eligible men. Enlistment offices are working with universities and social service agencies to lure students and the unemployed.\n\nBoth sides anticipate counteroffensives that could mean heavy losses. A mobilization in September of 300,000 reservists sent men scrambling to the borders because most men under 65 are formally part of the reserve. The Kremlin hopes it can “avoid declaring a formal second mobilization wave” after the first one proved so unpopular, according to a recent report by the U.S.-based think tank Institute of the Study of War.\n\nContributing: The Associated Press", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/26"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/27/europe/ukraine-russia-referendum-explainer-intl/index.html", "title": "Russian forces have staged illegal 'referendums' in Ukraine. What ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nPro-Russian authorities have held so-called referendums in four regions of Ukraine over recent days and, while the votes are illegal and have been universally dismissed as “a sham” by Ukraine and Western nations, there are fears that they could create a pretext for a new, dangerous stage in the war.\n\nThey come with the seven-month conflict at a tipping point. Rapid counterrattacks by Ukraine have dramatically swung momentum on the battlefield away from Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who is expected to escalate his country’s invasion in response.\n\nThat means the “votes” – and the bogus results that Russia and its local allies have claimed – are an important step in Russia’s faltering effort to seize control in Ukraine.\n\nHere’s what you need to know about the referendums, and what comes next.\n\nWhat’s happening in parts of occupied Ukraine?\n\nFour Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine staged votes on joining Russia, according to their separatist leaders from Friday to Tuesday. The polls, which are contrary to international law, could pave the way for Russian annexation of the areas.\n\nOn Wednesday, with all “votes” counted, authorities in those regions predictably claimed that residents had overwhelmingly agreed to become part of Russia.\n\nThe figures touted supposedly from 99.23% approval in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) to 87.05% in Russian-controlled Kherson. Officials in the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) and Russian-held Zaporizhzhia also claimed nearly a universal verdict.\n\nBut those numbers bear little resemblance to reality. An exclusive CNN poll of Ukrainians conducted in February, just before Russia’s invasion, found that no region of the country had more than one in five people backing Ukrainian unification with Russia.\n\nAnd even in the east – the most pro-Russian area of Ukraine – less than a quarter of Ukrainians said regions that felt more Russian should be allowed to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia.\n\nThe poll found 18% of Ukrainians in the east – including the Luhansk and Donetsk regions – agreed with the proposition “Russia and Ukraine should be one country,” while 16% of Ukrainians in the south, which included the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, supported it.\n\nThe “result” of the votes was probably decided long before any ballots were cast. “Russia’s referenda are a sham – a false pretext to try to annex parts of Ukraine by force in flagrant violation of international law, including the United Nations Charter,” US President Joe Biden said last week.\n\nQuestions on the ballot varied slightly in each of the four regions holding votes. Together, the four regions make up around 18% of Ukraine’s territory.\n\nResidents of the four regions who had moved to Russia were also eligible to vote.\n\nThe moves follow a similar playbook to Russia’s takeover of Crimea in 2014. A referendum organized there, which officially saw 97% of voters back annexation, was ratified by Russian lawmakers within a week.\n\nThis time around, some regions plan to announce their results sooner than others. Voting was scheduled to end on Tuesday. Authorities in Luhansk said they would announce results the day after voting finishes, whereas in Kherson, authorities will wait for five days after polls close.\n\nThat means the claimed outcomes will have been announced by the beginning of next week. They could come sooner, however. The UK Ministry of Defense has said that “there is a realistic possibility” that Putin will use his address to Russia’s parliament on Friday to “formally announce the accession of the occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”\n\nWhat do we know about the ‘voting’?\n\nReports from the places affected suggest that voting is being done essentially – and in some cases, literally – at gunpoint.\n\nSerhii Hayday, the Ukrainian head of the Luhansk region military administration, said that authorities were going door to door, trailed by armed guards, to collect votes.\n\n“If someone checked ‘against’ joining Russia, the data is recorded in some notebooks,” Hayday said on Telegram. “Rumors are being spread that people who vote against are being taken away somewhere. This is deliberately done to intimidate the local population.”\n\nA service member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic walks past a banner on the doors of a polling station. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters\n\nRussian-backed authorities claimed a massive turnout in the elections, reporting numbers that Kyiv and Western observers have scoffed at.\n\nMeanwhile, for Ukrainians in occupied territories where voting took place, the means of escape are perilous. The occupied area of Kherson has been “completely closed for entry and exit” following its “vote,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Tuesday.\n\nTravel in and out of the occupied portion of the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region is also very difficult for civilians and near-impossible for men aged 18 to 35, Ukraine’s National Resistance Center – a unit of the defense ministry – claimed.\n\nWhat does Russia want from these so-called referendums?\n\nIn terms of international law, the referendums will achieve nothing because the global community is steadfastly refusing to accept them.\n\nBut back home, Putin will be able to claim that the will of occupied Ukrainians is to belong to Russia – thereby giving some false pretext to his efforts to claim that territory as Moscow’s.\n\nBritish Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in recent days that Russia has already decided in advance what will happen after these referendums are finished, stating that by “the end of the month, Russia’s intention will be to formalize the annexation of the four regions into the Russian Federation.”\n\nThat has raised concerns that Putin will seek to escalate the war once the “results” are announced. A successful counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces has pushed Russia back significantly in northeast Ukraine. Western officials have suggested that Putin will likely seek to reframe that counteroffensive and any others as an attack on Russia sovereignty.\n\nForeign Minister Sergey Lavrov has already nodded to that stance in recent days, saying over the weekend that Moscow reserves the right to “fully protect” areas that have formally become its territory.\n\nWhen he announced a partial mobilization of Russian citizens in an address last week, Putin even raised the specter of nuclear weapons, saying he would use “all the means at our disposal” if he deemed the “territorial integrity” of Russia to be jeopardized.\n\nBut the context of the war is crucial to understanding why these hastily arranged votes are going ahead, and the threats from the Kremlin that surround them.\n\nUkrainian forces have completely flipped the momentum in the conflict in recent weeks, staging rapid counterattacks that have pushed Russia onto the back foot militarily. It’s an embarrassing situation for Putin to find himself in, seven months after launching an invasion that many thought would be completed within days. And it has seemingly raised concern among some of Russia’s international allies, such as China.\n\nMeanwhile, back home, Putin’s “partial mobilization” of citizens has prompted chaos, with protests, apparent drafting mistakes and an exodus of citizens fleeing Russia.\n\nPutin’s situation is looking increasingly desperate, as he reaches for a shift in the balance that will allow Russian forces to regain the front foot. The staging of sham referendums appears to be a key piece in his effort to force a change.\n\nPolice officers detain a man in Moscow amid protests against Putin's mobilization of citizens. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images\n\nWhat comes next for these regions?\n\nThe Kremlin will likely immediately treat the territories as though they are parts of Russia now that vote tallies have been claimed. “The entire state territory of Russia that has already been or can additionally be formalized in the constitution of our country will certainly benefit from full protection,” Lavrov said at a New York press conference on Saturday. “How can it be otherwise? All the laws, doctrines, concepts, and strategies of the Russian Federation are applicable throughout its territory.”\n\nThere are concerns that Ukrainians in parts of the country controlled by Russia will be conscripted by their occupiers.\n\nUkrainian officials say Russia is using the votes as a pretext to draft Ukrainians into the Russian military. “The main purpose of the fake referendum is to mobilize our residents and use them as cannon fodder,” Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian mayor-in-exile of Russian-occupied Melitopol, said on Telegram.\n\nUkraine’s National Resistance Center said last week in a statement: “It is clear that after the referendum the enemy will announce mobilization on the occupied lands as well because it needs human resources.”\n\nThe Ukrainian government says the Russian occupying administrations, together with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), are drawing up lists of thousands of people to be mobilized in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.\n\nIn Luhansk region, which is almost entirely occupied by Russia and Russian-backed forces, Ukrainian officials say the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic is already implementing widespread conscription.\n\nHow is the international community responding?\n\nThe West and NATO immediately dismissed the votes as a stunt, and made clear there will be no change in their support for Ukraine.\n\n“NATO’s answer is to step up support,” the alliance’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said in an interview with CNN’s Julia Chatterley on Friday. “The best way to end this war is to strengthen Ukrainians on the battlefield further, so they can at some stage sit down and reach a solution which is acceptable for Ukraine and preserves Ukraine as a sovereign independent nation in Europe.”\n\nUS officials anticipate Russia could move quickly to annex the four areas, potentially within days of voting concluding.\n\nIf and when they do, it would prompt a swift response from the United States, which has pledged not to recognize the results, one official said.\n\nIn the near term, another round of sanctions on Russia looks likely once the results of the votes are declared. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told ABC in a television interview Sunday that the G7 nations “reiterated that there would be consequences and specified that that would include additional enhanced sanctions, including sanctions on entities and companies outside of Russia that are supporting the Russian war machine or supporting these fake referenda or Russia’s efforts.\n\n“So, you will see that in the days ahead the United States will have further announcements in coming days if Russia follows through on this,” Sullivan said.\n\nBut it is clear that the prospects of an escalation in the war have heightened concerns about what comes next – particularly with regard to nuclear weapons. “Russia understands very well what the US would do in response to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine because we have spelled it out for them,” Sullivan said, as officials find themselves working to reassure their populations and global allies.\n\nWhile officials have not seen indications that Russia is planning to use nuclear weapons in the near term, they are more concerned about the possibility now than they were six or seven months ago, one official confirmed to CNN, though they still maintain that the likelihood of Russia doing so is low.", "authors": ["Rob Picheta"], "publish_date": "2022/09/27"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/30/politics/putin-annexation-dangerous-for-the-world-analysis/index.html", "title": "Putin's new land grab is dangerous for Ukraine -- and the world ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nRussia’s new land grab in Ukraine is an act of geopolitical piracy that will make the war more dangerous, add new risk to the West’s strategic calculations and deal a long-term challenge to the international rule of law.\n\nPresident Vladimir Putin presided over a Kremlin ceremony Friday to formalize an annexation process of four occupied regions that will slice away thousands of miles of Ukraine’s heavy industrial and agricultural wealth.\n\nIn effect, the move amounts to stealing territory from a sovereign power and declaring it part of Russia after an unprovoked invasion – a clear violation of international law and one reason why much of the world will not accept it.\n\nThe Russian leader made the announcement with a new rhetorical blast against the United States and its allies, underscoring how he sees the war in Ukraine as part of a wider project to reverse what he sees as the humiliations caused by the fall of the Soviet Union.\n\n“The West has been looking for and continues to look for a new chance to weaken and destroy Russia, which they have always dreamed of splitting our state, pitting peoples against each other,” Putin said.\n\n“They are simply haunted by the fact that there is such a great country as Russia.”\n\nThe absorption of the Ukrainian regions, which recalls the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, will not change the reality of a war that has backfired on Putin, inflicted a bloody toll on his forces and is stoking unusual dissent inside Russia.\n\nBut it is a ruse – produced through what the West says are sham referendums – that creates an alternative reality about the conflict that will have several important consequences for Americans, future US global power and the cause of democracy, even if the war, seven months on, may feel to many Americans like a faraway dispute brewed from ancient enmities on the edge of Europe.\n\nFirst, in the political fantasy world concocted by Putin, the annexations turn the war from an offensive operation into one of self-defense. That’s because Moscow will now define these new possessions as part of larger Russian territory, which has raised fears of an escalation of the war because Putin has warned he could use all weapons systems (code for nuclear arms) to defend the Russian state.\n\nThis new dimension to the conflict may mean that the West’s staunch support for Ukraine, which has made major advances in the east and the south in recent weeks, comes with a higher risk premium given that there’s no sign Kyiv’s forces will stop fighting to restore control over the annexed districts using billions of dollars in US weaponry and materiel.\n\nIn the longer term, the annexations will crystalize the reason why the United States and its allies have been so adamant about helping Ukraine’s war effort. The war threatens to enshrine a precedent of a bigger, powerful nation simply marching into a smaller one and seizing its territory on a spurious rationale. That scenario is not just a threat at the fringes of Europe; it is one that could arise around the world and be replicated by other autocratic regimes. It represents a fundamental challenge to the international rule of law if allowed to stand. And it tests the principle of the Western-led post-World War II world that free peoples have the right to choose their own national and political destinies.\n\nPresident Joe Biden made exactly this point during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly this month when he argued that nations should not be allowed to pursue imperial ambitions without consequence.\n\n“This war is about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state, plain and simple, and Ukraine’s right to exist as a people,” Biden said. “Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever you believe, that should not – that should make your blood run cold.”\n\nPutin’s plan\n\nThe annexations cover four regions – Donetsk and Luhansk, which are self-styled breakaway republics, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which have been controlled by Russian troops since soon after the invasion in late February.\n\nThe Ukrainian government, the United States and its European allies have all rejected the notion that this land will henceforth be part of Russia.\n\n“The United States will never, never, never recognize Russia’s claims on Ukraine sovereign territory,” Biden warned at a Pacific Islands summit in Washington on Thursday. “This so-called referenda was a sham – an absolute sham – and the results were manufactured in Moscow,” the President said, promising a new range of swift and severe punishments for Russia.\n\nSecretary of State Antony Blinken has already made clear the US will establish no limits on where Ukraine’s forces can use US-made weapons, effectively calling Moscow’s bluff about the implications of attacking what they now consider to be part of wider Russia.\n\n“Ukraine has the absolute right to defend itself throughout its territory, including to take back the territory that has been illegally seized in one way or another by Russia,” Blinken said at a news conference on Tuesday.\n\n“Because there is no change at all in the territory that is being annexed by the Russians as a matter for us or for the Ukrainians, the Ukrainians will continue to do what they need to do to get back the land that has been taken from them. We will continue to support them in that effort,” Blinken said.\n\nPutin warned when he announced a partial mobilization last week, which caused thousands of would-be conscripts to flee the country, that every means at his disposal would be used to defend the territorial integrity of the homeland. That was widely seen as a threat to use tactical nuclear weapons if newly annexed regions come under attack. Such a scenario could test Putin’s newly established red line. But the threat of losing any newly annexed areas could also increase his own embarrassment over a war he needs to win in order to continue his strongman rule.\n\nThe United States says that it has so far not detected any movements of Russian nuclear weapons. This includes tactical battlefield devices that could have a smaller footprint than higher-yield long-range strategic warheads that make up the nuclear deterrents of the United States, Russia and other declared nuclear powers. Still, US intelligence officials have told CNN that while Russia’s potential use of nuclear weapons is still seen as unlikely it cannot be definitively ruled out.\n\n‘Hurricane Putin’\n\nFrom overseas, the hastily organized referendums in occupied areas of Ukraine look laughably amateurish and hurried. In a sense, they are an example of Putin trolling the West in yet another show of contempt for international law and the idea of democracy. Putin left no doubt on Thursday that he considers the war in Ukraine part of a wider effort to check Western power and influence, telling intelligence chiefs from former Soviet republics that “we are witnessing a difficult process of forming a more just world order,” and bemoaning the fall of the former Soviet Union.\n\nBut the obviously illegitimate nature of the referendums also point to their true purpose – creating an impression of progress to Russians back home and also a justification for the mobilization of thousands of reservists who can now be told they are being sent to Ukraine to fight to defend Russian territory.\n\nIn other circumstances, Putin’s annexations may have been seen as a potential face-saving way out of the conflict and a way for him to declare a measure of victory. But Ukraine has said such moves mean that there are no grounds for negotiation with Moscow. And recent battlefield success and the flow of Western weapons – the US announced another $1 billion package on Wednesday – mean that there is no strategic reason to stop fighting now.\n\nThe new Russian land grabs will also likely firm up support for Ukraine in the US Congress at a time when there are some indications that a potential Republican majority in the House after this fall’s midterm elections may be less keen on sending billions of dollars in aid to Kyiv – a factor that may influence Putin’s long-term strategy.\n\nRepublican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Thursday unveiled a draft resolution that would require Biden to immediately cut off economic and military aid to any nation that recognized Russian annexations.\n\nGraham noted that the annexations were occurring while much of the United States is fixated on the devastation in Florida in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Congress will likely be called upon to fund a massive clean-up and rebuilding effort in the days to come. But Graham, while pointing out that the storm was now bearing down on his state, warned that lawmakers needed to “do two things at once.”\n\n“We have to help our friends and neighbors here at home but we also have to stand up for what’s right abroad. So we are dealing with Hurricane Putin, for the lack of a better word,” Graham said.\n\n“He’s trying to rewrite the map of Europe, he’s trying to do by force of arms what he can’t do to the political process.”", "authors": ["Stephen Collinson"], "publish_date": "2022/09/30"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/defence/960189/why-is-putin-moving-nuclear-weapons-to-belarus", "title": "Why is Putin moving nuclear weapons to Belarus? | The Week UK", "text": "Nato has condemned the announcement by Vladimir Putin that Russia is to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus as “dangerous and irresponsible” rhetoric.\n\nAl Jazeera reported that Putin had struck a deal with his long-standing ally to complete construction of a storage facility to hold tactical nuclear weapons by 1 July this year, and has already stationed ten aircraft in Belarus capable of carrying such weapons.\n\nThe Russian president insisted this would not violate nuclear non-proliferation agreements, instead comparing it to the US stationing its weapons in Europe as part of nuclear-sharing arrangements with five of its allies: Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Turkey.\n\n“The move, while not unexpected, is one of Russia’s most pronounced nuclear signals yet and a warning to Nato over its military support for Ukraine,” said Reuters. The news site added that the development is “significant since it [Russia] had been proud, until now, of not having deployed nuclear weapons outside its borders, unlike the United States. This may be the first time since the mid-1990s that it plans to do so.”\n\nWhat did the papers say?\n\n“When the Russian president uses the word ‘nuclear’ the world pays attention and that appears to be a major reason why he said it,” reported CNN, but “as usual with Putin, the world should read the fine print and check the context”.\n\nFacing stalemate on the battlefield, growing unrest at home and an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, “his suggestion that Russia would start storing its bombs in Belarus may add up to less than it appears”, agreed The Guardian’s world affairs editor, Julian Borger.\n\nHe said nuclear experts are “sceptical” of the ambitious timeline set out by Putin, pointing out that Russia “has been working on a nuclear weapon storage facility in Kaliningrad for at least seven years and it is still not clear whether the bombs have actually arrived there. So far, no satellite imagery has surfaced that might suggest something similar is being built in Belarus,” said Borger.\n\nAlso calling it a “bluff”, the Independent said that while “obviously more substantive than past vague threats about the use of weapons of mass destruction, there is not necessarily any reason to believe that this prospective deployment carries any more danger than existed before.", "authors": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/23/europe/occupied-ukraine-referendum-russia-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "Occupied parts of Ukraine vote on joining Russia in 'sham ...", "text": "CNN —\n\nFour Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine began voting in referendums on joining Russia, according to their separatist leaders, in a move that raises the stakes of Moscow’s invasion seven months after fighting began.\n\nThe referendums, which are illegal under international law and dismissed as “a sham” by Western governments and Kyiv, could pave the way for Russian annexation of the areas, allowing Moscow to frame the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive as an attack on Russia itself.\n\nSuch a move could provide Moscow with a pretext to escalate its faltering war, which has seen Kyiv regain thousands of square miles of territory this month.\n\nIn an address Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the specter of nuclear weapons in his address, saying he would use “all the means at our disposal,” if he deemed the “territorial integrity” of Russia to be jeopardized.\n\nThe votes, which are expected to take place over five days, were called by pro-Russian officials in the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, and in Russian-held parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south, with questions on the ballot varying slightly depending on the region. Together the four regions make up around 18% of Ukraine’s territory.\n\nThe plans, which are being held under military occupation and effectively carried out at gunpoint, have been strongly condemned by both the government of Ukraine and its allies in the West. The European Union has said it won’t recognize the results and has indicated it is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia.\n\nThe outcome of “sham” secession referendums is “almost certainly already decided,” the UK ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, said on Twitter Friday. “There will be results publicised of something that didn’t happen. I wonder whether anyone will even be called to vote,” she wrote.\n\nPutin backed the referendums in an address to the nation on Wednesday. “The parliaments of the people’s republics of Donbas and the civil-military administration of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions decided to hold a referendum on the future of these territories. They have asked Russia to support this step, and we stressed that we will do everything to ensure the safe conditions for people to express their will,” he said.\n\nThe separatist leaders in the four occupied regions said the referendums were underway on Friday as Ukrainian officials from occupied areas of the country accused pro-Russian forces of using coercive tactics.\n\n“The long-awaited referendum has started, which is designed to restore the fair course of things in our land, to return peace to our homes, to consolidate the status of Donbas as part of our historical Motherland – Russia,” Vladimir Bidyovka, head of the People’s Council of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic said in a propaganda statement published on Telegram.\n\nA service member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic passes a banner at a polling station ahead of the planned referendum on September 22. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters\n\n‘Pseudo-referendum’\n\nUkrainian officials from the occupied areas on Friday accused pro-Russian forces of subverting what should be a democratic process in the referendums on secession.\n\nIn both the Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, local authorities have urged people to vote from home, saying that ballot boxes can be brought to them.\n\nThe Luhansk region is almost entirely controlled by Russian and pro-Russian forces. But it remains contested – Ukrainian forces liberated the village of Bilohorivka earlier this week.\n\nThe Ukrainian governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region on Friday said “Russians will calculate and draw any result that is favorable to them” in what he described as a “pseudo-referendum.”\n\n“The opinion of the population has no importance,” Serhii Hayday said on Telegram, adding that an “armed man is involved in each polling station, the appearance of which should force people to meekly cast their vote.”\n\nIn Mariupol, which is in the Donetsk region, “the main means of coercion for voting is door-to-door canvassing,” said Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol’s Ukrainian mayor, on Telegram.\n\n“The commission consists of two people with a ballot box and ballots, and two armed men,” he said. “They knock on the doors of apartments/houses, force neighbors to make people come to the commission. Coercion, coercion and more coercion. In fact, they offer to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ directly into the barrel of a gun.”\n\nAndriushchenko is not in the city, but has been a reliable conduit for information from Mariupol. CNN is not able to independently verify his and other characterizations.\n\nA woman casts her ballot in Sevastopol, Crimea, on September 23, 2022. Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters\n\n“Polling stations are located in shops and cafes,” Andriushchenko said. “However, they are empty. There are no usual amenities such as polling booths there. The mark is made under the close supervision of armed people. This is what Russian democracy looks like.”\n\nYurii Sobolevskyi, deputy head of the Kherson Regional Council, told CNN that the effort being carried out in his region has shown very little turnout.\n\n“Most people are determined not to go,” he said. “That’s why this door-to-door idea came about, because when armed people come to your house, it will be difficult and dangerous even to refuse to vote.”\n\nHe said that the United Russia political party – the ruling party in Russia – has been campaigning for secession while also handing out food packages to residents.\n\nThe Ukrainian mayor-in-exile of Melitopol – which is in Zaporizhzhia region, and occupied by Russia – also urged residents to boycott the vote.\n\nA ‘historical crime’\n\nObservers say it seems unlikely that such a rushed process, in areas where many voters live close to the front lines of the conflict, can be successful or fair. Additionally, because of widespread internal displacement since the beginning of the conflict, voting databases are likely out of date. In Kherson for example, Ukrainian officials have said that about half the pre-war population have left.\n\nThe Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitors elections, condemned what it said were “illegal referenda.”\n\nA referendum organized in Crimea in 2014, which officially saw 97% of voters back annexation, was ratified by Russian lawmakers within a week.\n\nThis time around, some regions plan to announce the results sooner than others. Authorities in Luhansk said they would announce results the day after voting finishes, whereas in Kherson, authorities will wait for five days after polls close.\n\nA man from Luhansk region, who lives in Russia, votes at temporary accommodation facility in Volgograd, Russia on Friday. HP 68/AP\n\nKremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated on Friday that if the regions announce majorities in favor of joining Russia the ratification process would be a fast one, saying that they can become part of the Russian Federation “quite soon.”\n\nWhen asked if that would mean any attempt of Ukraine to regain the territories would be regarded as an attack on Russian territory, Peskov said: “Of course.”\n\nJailed Kremlin critic and Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny called the referendums and Putin’s “partial mobilization” of citizens for his war in Ukraine a “historical crime” in a court speech on Friday.\n\nNavalny has filed an administrative lawsuit against the administration of penal colony number 6 in the Vladimir Region.\n\n“This is involving hundreds of thousands of people in the crimes that Putin commits,” the opposition leader said.\n\n“He’s like the mafia, you know? It is binding by blood hundreds of thousands of people with this mobilization and these fake referendums,” Navalny added.", "authors": ["Tim Lister Julia Kesaieva Olga Voitovych Simone Mccarthy Mick Krever", "Tim Lister", "Julia Kesaieva", "Olga Voitovych", "Simone Mccarthy", "Mick Krever"], "publish_date": "2022/09/23"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/07/asia/north-korea-missile-testing-frequency-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "Why is North Korea firing so many missiles -- and should the West ...", "text": "Seoul, South Korea CNN —\n\nTensions are running high in the Korean Peninsula, as the United States and its allies respond to North Korea’s flurry of recent missile tests – including one that flew over neighboring Japan without warning.\n\nNorth Korea has tested ballistic missiles seven times since September 25 – a prolific number, even in a year that has seen the highest number of launches since leader Kim Jong Un took power in 2011.\n\nThe aggressive acceleration in weapons testing has sparked alarm in the region, with the US, South Korea and Japan responding with missile launches and joint military exercises this week. The US has also redeployed an aircraft carrier into waters near the peninsula, a move South Korean authorities called “very unusual.”\n\nA US aircraft carrier and submarine, and South Korean and Japan warships, seen during a joint exercise on September 30. Handout/Getty Images\n\nInternational leaders are now watching for signs of a further escalation such as a potential nuclear test, which would be the hermit nation’s first in nearly five years – a move that would present US President Joe Biden with a new potential foreign policy crisis.\n\nHere’s what you need to know about North Korea’s rush toward nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles, why they’re ramping up now – and what, if anything, the US can do to counter Kim Jong Un.\n\nFirst, some context\n\nThe testing itself isn’t new – North Korea’s weapons development program has been ongoing for years.\n\nTensions reached near-crisis levels in 2017 when North Korea launched 23 missiles throughout the year, including two over Japan, as well as conducting a nuclear test. The tests showcased weapons with enough power to put most of the world in range, including the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).\n\nRelations thawed in 2018, when then-US President Donald Trump held a landmark summit with Kim. The two leaders “fell in love,” Trump said; in return, Kim praised their “special” relationship. North Korea pledged to freeze missile launches and appeared to destroy several facilities at the nuclear test site, while the US suspended large-scale military exercises with South Korea and other regional allies.\n\nBut the talks ultimately fell apart, and hopes for a deal that would see the North curtail its nuclear ambitions dwindled by the end of Trump’s term.\n\nThen the Covid-19 pandemic hit, pushing North Korea further into isolation. The already-impoverished country sealed its borders entirely, with foreign diplomats and aid workers fleeing en masse. During this time, the number of missile launches also remained low – just four in 2020 and eight in 2021.\n\nHow should the Biden administration handle the rising tensions with North Korea? 04:33 - Source: CNN\n\nSo why are they ramping up now?\n\nExperts say there are a few reasons North Korea is accelerating its testing so rapidly now.\n\nFirst, it could simply be the right time after the events of the last few years, with Kim declaring victory against Covid in August, and a new US administration in place that has focused on shows of unity with South Korea.\n\n“They’ve been unable to test for quite a few years due to political considerations, so I’d expect North Korean engineers and generals to be very eager to make sure their toys are going to work well,” said Andrei Lankov, a professor at South Korea’s Kookmin University.\n\nJeffrey Lewis, a weapons expert and professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said it’s also normal for North Korea to pause testing during the stormy summer and resume once weather improved in the fall.\n\nA television screen at Seoul Station in South Korea shows news of North Korea firing ballistic missiles on October 6. Kyodo News/Sipa USA\n\nBut, several experts said, Kim could also be sending a message by deliberately showcasing North Korea’s arsenal during a period of heightened global conflict.\n\n“They want to remind the world that they should not be ignored, that they exist and their engineers are working around the clock to develop both nuclear weapons and delivery systems,” said Lankov.\n\nCarl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center in Hawaii, echoed this sentiment. Kim “launches missiles to generate attention towards himself, but also to create pressure for Japan and the United States to engage him,” he said.\n\nHe added that North Korea might also feel emboldened to act now while the West is distracted with the war in Ukraine.\n\nA worker observes the launch of an F/A-18E Super Hornet aboard a US aircraft carrier in the Sea of Japan on October 5. Communication Specialist Seaman Natasha Chevalier Losada/US Navy\n\n“(The missile tests) started in January, which is about the time we were beginning to report on what Russian President Vladimir Putin was doing opposite Ukraine,” said Schuster. “Kim Jong Un is doing what he thinks he can get away with – he’s not expecting any kind of strong US reaction.”\n\nLankov said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have also boosted Kim’s confidence because “it demonstrated that if you have nuclear weapons, you can have almost impunity. And if you don’t have nuclear weapons, you’re in trouble.”\n\nWhat can the US and its allies do to stop North Korea?\n\nDespite the US and its allies’ quick military response this past week, experts say there’s little they can do to stop or prepare for North Korea’s weapons tests.\n\n“The Americans sent the Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier. South Koreans are launching these missiles, which are not necessarily working well,” said Lankov, referring to a South Korean missile on Wednesday that crashed right after launch. “What is the impact of all these American aircraft carriers cruising around Korea? Pretty much nothing.”\n\nSouth Korean and US fighter jets fly over the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea's missile launch on October 4 at an undisclosed location. , 2022 at an undisclosed location. South Korean Defense Ministry/Getty Images\n\nThough these shows of force might serve to deter North Korea from “starting a war” – which likely isn’t Kim’s plan, anyway – it does little to prevent further weapons development or missile testing,” he said.\n\n“It’ll probably make some people in the US and (South Korea) a bit happier, but it’ll have zero impact on North Korea’s behavior and decision making.”\n\nA lack of hard intelligence also means the US is largely left in the dark when it comes to Kim’s plans.\n\nThe North lacks the widespread use of technology that not only facilitates economic and societal advances, but also provides critical windows and opportunities to glean information for the intelligence services of the US and its allies.\n\n“Since so much of what North Korea does is driven by the leader himself, you really have to get inside his head, and that’s a hard intelligence problem,” said Chris Johnstone, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.\n\nAnd on the international stage, the US’ efforts to punish North Korea have faltered due to pushback from Moscow and Beijing.\n\nIn May, Russia and China vetoed a US-drafted UN resolution to strengthen sanctions on North Korea for its weapons testing – the first time either country had blocked a sanction vote against the North since 2006.\n\nWhat is North Korea trying to achieve?\n\nKim has spearheaded an aggressive weapons development program that far outstripped efforts by his father and grandfather, both former North Korean leaders – and experts say the country’s nuclear program is at the heart of Kim’s ambitions.\n\nIn September, North Korea passed a law declaring itself a nuclear weapons state, with Kim vowing to “never give up” nuclear weapons.\n\nThe law also demonstrated North Korea’s hopes of strengthening its ties with China and Russia, said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.\n\nAn Army Tactical Missile System is fired during a joint training session between the United States and South Korea, on October 5 at an undisclosed location. South Korean Defense Ministry/Getty Images\n\nAfter China and Russia’s open opposition to new sanctions against North Korea, Kim “knows he has their backing,” said Schuster.\n\nHe added that Kim’s weapons testing serves a dual purpose: apart from making a statement to the international community, it also boosts his own image domestically and cements the regime’s power.\n\n“It’s a very paranoid regime – (Kim) is as worried about the people under him as he is worried about regime change from the outside,” said Schuster. With the tests, Kim, is telling his own senior people, “We can deal with whatever the threat the West, the US and South Korea can come up with,” he said.\n\nHowever, in terms of wider public perception, KCNA, North Korea’s state-run media, has made no mention of missile launches for months – since its last report of a launch in March.\n\nLewis, the expert at the Middlebury Institute, added that North Korea will likely continue developing weapons such as ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missile until “they get to a point where they’re satisfied with that – then I think they’ll probably express an interest in talking again.”\n\nIs a nuclear test coming?\n\nThe concern in the short-term is whether North Korea will launch a nuclear test, which Lewis said could come “anytime.”\n\nHowever, Schuster and Lankov both said that given the friendly relationship between North Korea and China, Kim might wait until after China holds its high-profile Communist Party Congress later this month – if it happens at all.\n\nThe meeting of the party elite is the most significant event on the Chinese political calendar – especially so this year, with Chinese leader Xi Jinping expected to be appointed to a third term in power, further cementing his status as the most powerful Chinese leader in decades.\n\nKim “depends too much on Chinese aid to keep his country afloat,” meaning he can’t afford to “do anything to detract from the Party Congress,” said Schuster. “So although China can’t dictate to him what he must do … he will not cause them problems.”\n\nAfter October, however, the runway is clear for any more significant weapons tests, said Lankov.\n\nSouth Korean and US officials have been warning since May that North Korea may be preparing for a nuclear test, with satellite imagery showing activity at its underground nuclear test site.\n\nThis story has been updated to accurately reflect the number of missile launches since September 25.", "authors": ["Jessie Yeung Paula Hancocks Yoonjung Seo", "Jessie Yeung", "Paula Hancocks", "Yoonjung Seo"], "publish_date": "2022/10/07"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/27/ukraine-russia-invasion-live-updates/6960680001/", "title": "Ukraine agrees to meet with Russia; ruble plunges: recaps", "text": "Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Sunday, Feb. 27. Click here to follow the latest updates and news from Monday, Feb. 28, as Russia's invasion continues.\n\n***\n\nWhile Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country’s nuclear weapons on high alert, more support poured in for Ukraine in its ongoing effort to fend off Russian forces, which on Sunday reached the second-largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.\n\nThe European Union announced unprecedented new actions against Russia, outlining plans to close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund a weapons purchase to assist Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets, while the Associated Press reported the United States approved the delivery of anti-aircraft Stinger missiles to Ukraine.\n\nWestern powers in support of Ukraine could soon be joined by Switzerland, an oftentimes neutral country that on Monday is set to review potential sanctions and asset freezes against Russia, said President Ignazio Cassis via Reuters. Cassis said it was “very probable” the country would follow suit, the outlet reported.\n\nThe office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday said a delegation would meet with Russian officials for talks near the Belarus border. The discussion was expected to happen Monday morning local time, according to Ukraine’s Deputy Interior Minister Evgeny Yenin via CNN.\n\nAlso Monday, both the 193-member U.N. General Assembly and the smaller, 15-member Security Council plan to hold emergency meetings on Russia’s invasion.\n\nMeanwhile, Putin’s order to make his nuclear weapons more ready for launch – made Sunday in response to “aggressive statements” by leading NATO powers and economic sanctions by the West – represents an unnecessary and dangerous move, according to the Pentagon.\n\nA senior Defense Department official said Russia is under no threat from the United States and its NATO allies. The Pentagon is confident it can protect the U.S. and its allies, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.\n\nRussia’s invasion of Ukraine is heading towards a fifth day of fighting. According to the Associated Press, Russian troops entered Kharkiv on Sunday, where videos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed Russian vehicles moving across the city and a vehicle burning on the street. Residents were urged to stay inside.\n\nThe troops in Kharkiv arrived after Russia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine, targeting airfields and fuel facilities. Two large explosions rocked an area south of the capital just before 1 a.m. local time. Zelenskyy’s office said one of the blasts was near the Zhuliany airport and the other blast hit an oil depot about 25 miles south of the capital, according to the mayor of Vasylkiv via the AP. Russian forces also blew up a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, according to the Ukrainian president's office.\n\nUkrainian officials said Sunday the civilian death toll has reached 352.\n\nA few things to catch you up on:\n\nTHE NEWS COMES TO YOU: Get the latest updates on the situation in Ukraine. Sign up here.\n\nWHY IS RUSSIA INVADING UKRAINE? Could this be the start of WWIII? We explain.\n\nBACK IN THE STATES: What is the draft? And can it ever be reinstated here?\n\nBANNED FROM SWIFT?: How banning Russia from the world banking system could impact the country\n\nRussian Central Bank tries to stop ruble's free fall\n\nRussia’s Central Bank has sharply raised its key rate from 9.5% to 20% in a desperate attempt to shore up the plummeting ruble and prevent the run of banks amid crippling Western sanctions over the Russian war in Ukraine.\n\nThe bank’s action follows the Western decision Sunday to freeze its hard currency reserves in an unprecedented move that could have devastating consequences for the country’s financial stability. It was unclear exactly what share of Russia’s estimated $640 billion hard currency coffers will be paralyzed by the move, but European officials said that at least half of it will be affected.\n\nThe move will dramatically raise pressure on the ruble by undermining the financial authorities’ ability to conduct hard currency interventions to prevent the ruble from sinking further and triggering high inflation. The ruble has sharply dived in early Monday trading.\n\nThe Central Bank also ordered a slew of measures to help the banks cope with the crisis by infusing more cash into the system and easing restrictions for banking operations. At the same time, it temporarily barred non-residents from selling the government obligations to help ease the pressure on ruble from panicky foreign investors eager to cash out.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nMore:The enigma of Vladimir Putin: What do we really know about Russia's leader?\n\nDalai Lama pleas for peace in Ukraine\n\nThe Dalai Lama on Monday pleaded for peace and \"mutual understanding,\" and said he was \"deeply saddened\" by the war in Ukraine.\n\n\"War is outdated – non-violence is the only way. We need to develop a sense of the oneness of humanity by considering other human beings as brothers and sisters,\" the spiritual leader said on his website. \"This is how we will build a more peaceful world.\"\n\nThe Nobel peace prize winner also said any problems and disagreements are best resolved through dialogue. \"Genuine peace comes about through mutual understanding and respect for each other's well-being,\" he said.\n\nHe also said he hopes peace is swiftly restored.\n\n\"We must not lose hope,\" he said. \"The 20th century was a century of war and bloodshed. The 21st century must be a century of dialogue.\"\n\n-- Terry Collins\n\nTwo United Nations sessions scheduled for Monday\n\nThe U.N.’s two major bodies -- the 193-nation General Assembly and the more powerful 15-member Security Council -- will hold separate meetings Monday on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a reflection of widespread international demands for an immediate cease-fire and escalating concern for the plight of millions of Ukrainians caught up in the war.\n\nThe Security Council gave a green light Sunday for the first emergency session of the General Assembly in decades. It will give all U.N. members an opportunity to speak about the war Monday and vote on a resolution later in the week that U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said would “hold Russia to account for its indefensible actions and for its violations of the U.N. Charter.”\n\nFrench Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere announced that the Security Council will hold a meeting Monday afternoon on the humanitarian impact of Russia’s invasion, a session sought by French President Emmanuel Macron to ensure the delivery of aid to growing numbers of those in need in Ukraine.\n\nBoth meetings follow Russia’s veto Friday of a Security Council resolution demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops. The vote was 11-1, with China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining.\n\n– Associated Press\n\nMore:Ukraine athletes defend country, demand sanctions for Russia\n\nU.S. Embassy in Ukraine: departing the country may take up to 30 hours\n\nThe U.S. Embassy in Ukraine is now urging U.S citizens in Ukraine to try leaving using private transportation options as leaving could in some cases take more than 30 hours.\n\nThe embassy said Sunday “conditions may deteriorate” in various parts of the country without any warning due to the escalating Russian invasion.\n\n“Careful consideration should be made to routes and the risks of travel because Ukraine’s roads are in many cases crowded, exposed to combat operations, and infrastructure such as bridges in some locations have been destroyed. Sheltering in place may remain the best option for some,” the embassy said on its website.\n\nFurthermore, embassy officials say that border crossings into neighboring Poland and all main crossing points into Moldova are overwhelmed.\n\n“Some are experiencing extremely long wait times (well over 30 hours in some cases),” the embassy said. “We recommend that, if possible, U.S. citizens consider redirecting to border crossings with Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, which are currently experiencing lower wait times to cross.”\n\nEmbassy officials also offered a series of tips including bringing enough food, water and warm clothing. They also urge citizens to carry hard copies of important documents as the U.S. government will not be able to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine.\n\n– Terry Collins\n\nMore:Satellite images show damaged airport in Hostomel following strikes\n\nRussian ruble sinks in early trading\n\nThe ruble sank nearly 26% against the U.S. dollar early Monday after Western nations moved to block Russian banks from the SWIFT global payment system.\n\nThe ruble was trading at a record low 105.27 per dollar, down from about 84 per dollar late Friday.\n\nOver the weekend, Japan joined the moves by the U.S. and other western nations to impose more sanctions against Russia.\n\nRestrictions on the Russian central bank target its access to more than $600 billion in reserves the Kremlin has at its disposal. They hinder Russia’s ability to support the ruble as it plunges in value.\n\nSanctions announced earlier had taken the Russian currency to its lowest level against the dollar in history.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nMore:What sanctions does Russia face? Here's a list by country\n\nUS official: Belarus may join Ukraine invasion\n\nA senior U.S. intelligence official says Belarus is expected to send troops into Ukraine as soon as Monday to fight alongside Russian forces that invaded Ukraine last week.\n\nBelarus has been providing support for Russia’s war effort but so far has not taken a direct part in the conflict.\n\nThe American official has direct knowledge of current U.S. intelligence assessments and says the decision by Belarus’ leader on whether to bring Belarus further into the war depends on talks between Russia and Ukraine happening in the coming days. The official spoke anonymously to discuss the sensitive information.\n\nRussian forces have encountered strong resistance from Ukraine defenders, and U.S. officials say they believe the invasion has been more difficult, and slower, than the Kremlin envisioned, though that could change as Moscow adapts.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nMore:There may be risk, but the U.S. will likely keep arming Ukraine even if Russia takes Kyiv\n\nRussia rendering Facebook unusable in some places\n\nRussia has apparently rendered Facebook largely unusable across leading Russian telecommunications providers amid rising friction between Moscow and the social media platform.\n\nThe London-based internet monitor NetBlocks reports that Facebook’s network of content-distribution servers in Russia was so badly restricted Sunday that “content no longer loads, or loads extremely slowly making the platforms unusable.”\n\nRussian telecoms regulator Roskomnadzor on Friday announced plans to “partially restrict” access to Facebook. That same day, Facebook’s head of security policy had said the company was barring Russian state media from running ads or otherwise profiting on its platform anywhere in the world.\n\nFacebook says it has also refused a request by the Kremlin not to run fact checks related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the platform for users inside Russia.\n\nNetBlocks reported earlier that access to Twitter was similarly restricted Saturday. That was a day after Twitter said it was temporarily halting ads in both Ukraine and Russia.\n\nThe Twitter and Facebook restrictions can be circumvented inside Russia using VPN software, just as users do in mainland China.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nCanada will investigate Russian flight violating airspace ban\n\nCanada said it will launch an investigation into a Russian-based Aeroflot flight that entered Canadian airspace on Sunday and violated a ban on all Russian flights due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.\n\n\"We are aware that Aeroflot flight 111 violated the prohibition put in place earlier today on Russian flights using Canadian airspace,\" Transport Canada said in a series of tweets. \"We are launching a review of the conduct of Aeroflot and the independent air navigation service provider, NAVCAN, leading up to this violation.\n\n\"We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action and other measures to prevent future violations,\" the agency added.\n\nEarlier Sunday, Omar Alghabra, Canada's transport minister, that the country's airspace was closed to all Russian aircraft operators.\n\n\"We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks against Ukraine,” Alghabra tweeted.\n\n– Terry Collins\n\nBiden to hold a call with U.S. allies to discuss Ukraine, Russia\n\nPresident Joe Biden is scheduled to hold a call with U.S. allies on Monday morning to discuss the latest situation in Ukraine and their coordinated response, the White House said late Sunday.\n\nThe call is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. ET. The call comes after Biden ordered the U.S. State Department to release up to an additional $350 million worth of weapons from its stockpile to Ukraine on Friday.\n\nSecretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Saturday that this third authorization for weapons shipments to Ukraine in less than a year was \"unprecedented.\"\n\n– Terry Collins\n\nUkraine radioactive site in Kyiv struck by missiles, UN nuclear watchdog\n\nThe United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says missiles have struck a radioactive waste disposal site in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. So far there are no reports of damage to the buildings or indications of a release of radioactive material.\n\nIn a statement late Sunday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said Ukrainian authorities informed his office about the overnight strike. Grossi said his agency expects to get the results of on-site radioactive monitoring soon.\n\nThe report comes a day after an electrical transformer at a similar disposal facility in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was damaged.\n\nSuch facilities typically hold low-level radioactive materials such as waste from hospitals and industry, but Grossi says the two incidents highlight a “very real risk.” Grossi said if the sites are damaged there could be “potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment.”\n\n– Associated Press\n\nJapanese billionaire to donate over $8 million to Ukraine\n\nJapanese billionaire Hiroshi “Mickey” Mikitani said he will donate over $8 million to the government of Ukraine, calling Russia’s invasion “a challenge to democracy.”\n\nMikitani, founder of e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc., said Sunday in a letter to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the donation of ¥1 billion (roughly $8.7 million) will go toward “humanitarian activities to help people in Ukraine who are victims of the violence,” the Japan Times reported.\n\nMikitani said he met with Zelenskyy during a visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in 2019.\n\n“My thoughts are with you and Ukraine people,” Mikitani wrote in his letter. “I believe that the trampling of a peaceful and democratic Ukraine by unjustified force is a challenge to democracy.\n\n“I sincerely hope that Russia and Ukraine can resolve this issue peacefully and that Ukraine people can have peace again as soon as possible,” Mikitani added.\n\n– Terry Collins\n\nRussia-Ukraine talks set for Monday\n\nThe office of Ukraine’s president confirmed that a delegation is set to meet with Russian officials as Moscow’s troops continue to target Kyiv.\n\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said on the Telegram messaging app that the two sides would meet at an unspecified location on the Belarusian border.\n\nABC and CNN, each citing Ukrainian officials, reported the talks would take place Monday, which matches a report from Russian state-owned news agency TASS that said the discussions would take place in the morning.\n\nThe announcement on Sunday came hours after Russia announced that its delegation had flown to Belarus to await talks. Ukrainian officials initially rejected the move, saying any talks should take place elsewhere than Belarus, where Russia has placed a large contingent of troops.\n\nLinda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, expressed hope for prospective peace talks.\n\n\"We'll look forward to what comes out of those discussions,\" Thomas-Greenfield said Sunday on CNN's \"State of the Union.\"\n\n– Associated Press, Jay Cannon and David Jackson\n\nBorrell: EU countries will soon send fighter jets to Ukraine\n\nEuropean Union countries will soon send fighter jets to Ukraine at the Kyiv government’s request to help it counter the Russian air and land assault, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday, according to the AFP news service.\n\n\"We're going to provide even fighting jets. We're not talking about just ammunition. We are providing more important arms to go to a war,\" Borrell said at a news conference.\n\nThe military transfer appeared imminent, according to Alexandre Krauss, a senior advisor to the EU Parliament.\n\n“Flying in #Ukraine skies within the hour,” Krauss tweeted at 3:38 p.m. ET, citing Borrell’s announcement.\n\nAccording to Borrell, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had asked the EU for the planes.\n\nCiting a person familiar with the talks, the Wall Street Journal reported that “discussions are still ongoing” and that any planes would be supplied directly by EU member states and not funded through an arrangement announced earlier for the EU to finance weapons deliveries to Ukraine.\n\nUrsula von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, announced earlier in the day, that EU members were “stepping up our support for Ukraine. For the first time, the EU will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and equipment to a country under attack. We are also strengthening our sanctions against the Kremlin.”\n\nThe announcement came as satellite imagery showed a massive convoy of Russian military vehicles – with some estimates of 3.25 miles long – moving toward Kyiv and about 40 miles away.\n\n– Josh Meyer\n\nUS Embassy in Kyiv: $54 million in humanitarian assistance on the way\n\nThe U.S. is giving nearly $54 million in humanitarian assistance for those affected by the Russian invasion, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv announced Sunday.\n\nThe funding, which comes as thousands of Ukrainians flee Russian invaders, was announced with \"the welfare of ordinary Ukrainians in mind,\" the embassy said in a statement. It includes nearly $26 million from the Department of State and $28 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development.\n\nMore than 200,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries and U.N. officials believe up to 4 million people could leave if fighting continues.\n\n– Jay Cannon\n\nUS to send anti-aircraft Stinger missiles to Ukraine, AP reports\n\nThe U.S. for the first time has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday, the Associated Press reported.\n\nThe exact timing of delivery is not known, but officials say the U.S. is currently working on the logistics of the shipment. The officials agreed to discuss the development only if not quoted by name.\n\nFOR SUBSCRIBERS:There may be risk, but the US will likely keep arming Ukraine even if Russia takes Kyiv\n\nThe decision comes on the heels of Germany’s announcement that it will send 500 Stinger missiles and other weapons and supplies to Ukraine.\n\nThe high-speed Stingers are very accurate and are used to shoot down helicopters and other aircraft. Ukrainian officials have been asking for more of the powerful weapons.\n\nEstonia has also been providing Ukraine with Stingers since January, and had to get U.S. permission in order to do that.\n\n– Associated Press\n\nNeutral Switzerland 'probable' to hit Russia with financial sanctions, president says\n\nAfter days of fence-sitting, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said on Sunday it was \"very probable\" that neutral Switzerland would follow the European Union’s lead and sanction Russia and freeze Russian assets in the country.\n\nReuters reported that Cassis, who was interviewed on French-language Swiss public television, said the nation's seven-member Federal Council would meet Monday and review recommendations by finance and economy officials.\n\n\"It is very probable that the government will decide to do so tomorrow, but I cannot anticipate decisions not yet taken,\" Cassis said, via Reuters.\n\nSwitzerland, a global financial hub and commodities trading center – has so far resisted calls for it to levy sanctions and possibly freeze Russian assets, especially after the EU and U.S. announced sanctions.\n\n“The civilized, democratic world has to stand up to the biggest threat to European security and stability since the Second World War,” Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for EU external affairs, said on Friday. “It affects not only Ukraine. It affects Europe. Switzerland is part of Europe. So we expect our partner, our neighbor, our ally to follow suit in standing up for defending the principles on which our communities and countries are based.”\n\nThe oft-neutral country's potential move comes as a surprise to some.\n\n\"Switzerland to sanction Russia! Holy crap. A country that was neutral against the literal Nazis. Neutral no more!\" tweeted Paul Massaro, a counter-corruption advisor to the U.S. Congress.\n\nIt was not known immediately how many wealthy Russian elites, especially oligarchs close to Putin, have stashed money in Swiss banks, known for their strong privacy firewalls. But various leaks of banking documents over the years suggest they have a sizable amount invested in Switzerland.\n\nIn 2018, Swiss banks reportedly frozen $1 billion in the accounts of one oligarch alone – Russian metals tycoon Viktor Vekselberg – over fears that they could be fined for doing business with him after Washington levied sanctions against the businessman, the Moscow Times reported at the time.\n\n– Josh Meyer\n\nUS Embassy urges Americans in Russia to consider leaving 'immediately'\n\nThe U.S. Embassy in Moscow said Sunday that American citizens “should consider departing Russia immediately” because of the dramatic drop-off in airline service in and out of the country.\n\n“An increasing number of airlines are cancelling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines,” a security alert posted to the embassy’s website states. “U.S. citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available.”\n\nThe guidance comes after the EU's move to close its airspace to Russian airlines. Russian airline Aeroflot says it cancelled all flights to Europe.\n\nThe State Department had already advised Americans not to travel to Russia because of its aggression against Ukraine, as well as the potential harassment of U.S. citizens in the country and the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\n– Deirdre Shesgreen\n\nUN emergency session scheduled for Monday\n\nThe U.N. Security Council has voted for the 193-member General Assembly to hold an emergency session on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday.\n\nThe vote on Sunday to authorize an emergency meeting was 11 in favor, Russia opposed, and China, India and the United Arab Emirates abstaining. That was the exact same vote on a resolution Friday demanding that Moscow immediately stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw all troops. But in that case, Russia used its veto and the resolution was defeated.\n\nUkrainian U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya asked for the General Assembly meeting to be held under the so-called “Uniting for Peace” resolution, initiated by the U.S. and adopted in November 1950 to circumvent vetoes by the Soviet Union during the Korean War.\n\nThat resolution gives the General Assembly the power to call emergency meetings when the Security Council is unable to act because of the lack of unanimity among its five veto-wielding permanent members – the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France.\n\n– Associated Press\n\nUkraine civilian death toll hits 352, officials say\n\nThe civilian death toll from Russia's invasion of Ukraine has risen to 352, including 14 children, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal affairs said Sunday. The ministry said 1,684 people had been injured.\n\nThe United Nations had announced the civilian death toll had reached 240 by Saturday, but stressed that the actual figure was potentially \"considerably higher.”\n\n– Jay Cannon\n\nUS urges Americans in Ukraine to find best exit routes\n\nOfficials with the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine issued a new advisory Sunday, telling Americans to choose departure routes very carefully if they are trying to flee.\n\n“Ukraine’s roads are in many cases crowded, exposed to combat operations, and infrastructure such as bridges in some locations has been destroyed,” the embassy said in a notice. “Sheltering in place may remain the best option for some.”\n\nMost border crossings into Poland and all main crossing points into Moldova “are severely backed up,” with extremely long wait times – in some cases, more than 30 hours, the embassy said.\n\n“We recommend that, if possible, U.S. citizens consider redirecting to border crossings with Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, which are currently experiencing lower wait times to cross,” the note says. “Note that conditions at each border can change very quickly and wait times can increase at any time without warning.”\n\n– Deirdre Shesgreen\n\nUPS, FedEx halt services in Russia\n\nShipping giants FedEx and UPS have suspended services to Russia amid the country’s military assault on Ukraine.\n\nUPS said it had halted all international shipments to addresses in Russia as of Feb. 25. FedEx said it was “closely monitoring the situation” and had suspended inbound service to Russia “until further notice.”\n\nBoth companies had already stopped service to Ukraine, after Russian troops invaded the neighboring country. Russian troops have now advanced well into Ukrainian territory, reaching its second largest city and encircling the capital, Kyiv.\n\n– Deirdre Shesgreen\n\nMcMaster: Putin got ‘more than he bargained for’\n\nFormer national security adviser H.R. McMaster said Sunday that Ukrainians are doing a “tremendous job” defending the country against Russian military attacks.\n\n“I think Putin got a lot more than he bargained for. He's in a very difficult position. And I think anything we can do, obviously, financially, going after his international criminal enterprise with sanctions and so forth is important. But the support for Ukraine's ability to defend themselves is also important,” McMaster told Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”\n\nThe retired lieutenant general also said the seizure of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv is “not in the cards for the immediate future,” but acknowledged the next 72 hours are going to be “really critical.”\n\n– Chelsey Cox\n\nKyiv mayor: 'We are encircled'\n\nKYIV, Ukraine – As Russian troops draw closer to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv's mayor is both filled with pride over his citizens' spirit and anxious about how long they can hold out.\n\nIn an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, after a grueling night of Russian attacks on the outskirts of the city, Mayor Vitali Klitschko was silent for several seconds when asked if there were plans to evacuate civilians if Russian troops managed to take Kyiv.\n\n“We can't do that, because all ways are blocked,” he finally said. “Right now we are encircled.\"\n\nWhen Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Thursday, the city of 2.8 million people initially reacted with concern but also a measure of self-possession. However, nerves started fraying when grocery stores began closing and the city's famously deep subway system turned its stations into bomb shelters.\n\nThe mayor confirmed to the AP that nine civilians in Kyiv had been killed so far, including one child.\n\nA Klitschko-ordered curfew began about sundown on Saturday and is to extend until at least 8 a.m. Monday. His order pointedly stated that any unauthorized person outside could be considered a saboteur.\n\n“We are hunting these people, and it will be much easier if nobody is on the street,\" Klitschko explained, saying that six Russian “saboteurs” were killed Saturday night.\n\nIn the last few days, long queues of people — both men and women — were spotted waiting to pick up weapons throughout the capital, after authorities decided to distribute weapons freely to anybody ready to defend the city. There are concerns, however, about arming nervous civilians with little military experience amid warnings of Russian saboteurs disguised as Ukrainian police or journalists.\n\n“To be honest, we don't have 100% control,” said Klitschko. “We built this territorial defense in a short amount of time — but these are patriotic people.\"\n\n“Right now, the most important question is to defend our country,” he added.\n\n– Associated Press\n\nEU closing airspace to Russia\n\nThe top official in the European Union said the bloc will take unprecedented new steps after Russian President Vladimir Putin raised tensions with talk of nuclear weapons.\n\nThe EU will close its airspace to Russian airlines, including \"the private jets of oligarchs,\" said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.\n\n“We are proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU,” she said.\n\n\"For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack,” she added.\n\nThe EU will also ban pro-Kremlin media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik, she said.\n\nThe European Commission's plans followed the announcement earlier in the day that Germany was committing 100 billion euros ($113 billion) to a special armed forces fund and would keep its defense spending above 2% of GDP from now on. The shift underscored how Russia’s war on Ukraine was rewriting Europe’s post-World War II security and defense policy in ways that were unthinkable only a few weeks ago.\n\nThe EU’s plan to fund weapons purchases was unprecedented and would use millions of euros to help buy air defense systems, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and other military equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces. It would also supply things like fuel, protective gear, helmets and first aid kits.\n\n– Katie Wadington and AP\n\nOn nuclear deterrence:What is DEFCON? What's nuclear deterrence? What to know amid Putin's warning\n\nBP pulls out of Russian oil company\n\nOil giant BP will walk away from its nearly 20% stake in Russian oil company Rosneft, according to media reports.\n\nBP Chairman Helge Lund issued a statement announcing the exit, as well as the resignation of BP CEO Bernard Looney from the board of the Russian oil firm.\n\nBP has been a shareholder in Rosneft since 2013, according to the BBC.\n\nSen. Mark Warner: Putin’s invasion a major ‘miscalculation'\n\nSen. Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Putin “totally underestimated” the resolve of the Ukrainians and the support building worldwide for the Ukrainian people, describing the Russian invasion so far as a major “miscalculation.”\n\n“Remarkably what he's also been able to do his unify the vast majority of us in the Senate, Democrats, Republicans alike,” Warner said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And he’s going to pay a high price.”\n\nWarner said Putin over the past few years became “more and more isolated.”\n\n“When you are an authoritarian leader, and you’re only hearing from people that want to say to the boss, hey, you're right. I think that leads to miscalculation. I think that is what has happened in the case of this invasion in Ukraine.”\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nUS ambassador: No US 'boots on the ground' in Ukraine\n\nAs she made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows, United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield made clear that the U.S. response to the invasion of Ukraine will not include American troops or air personnel.\n\n\"The president has made clear that we're not going to put boots on the ground,\" Thomas-Greenfield said on CNN's \"State of the Union.\"\n\nThomas-Greenfield said that mandate includes no patrols of any \"no-fly zone\" in the region.\n\nThe U.S. will provide whatever assistance it can to Ukraine, working with NATO partners, she said, but: \"We're not going to put American troops in danger. So that means we're not going to put American troops in the air as well. But we will work with the Ukrainians to give them the ability to defend themselves.”\n\n– David Jackson\n\nRussian troops stalled outside Kyiv\n\nThe main force of Russian assault aimed at Kyiv remained stalled Sunday about 18 miles from the city’s center, hindered by stiff Ukrainian resistance and Russia’s own problems providing fuel and supplies for its troops, according to a senior Defense Department official.\n\nThere are indications of some fighting inside Kyiv and that Russian troops in Ukrainian military uniforms have appeared there, said the official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.\n\nThe officials described Ukrainian resistance as stiff and creative around Kyiv and Kharkiv. Meantime, fuel shortages and logistics problems for Russian troops are most acute near Kharkiv.\n\nThe war is a major operation for Russia’s military, a complex mission that it does not have recent experience mounting, the official said. It’s unclear if the shortages in materials represent a failure in planning or execution. However, the official said Russian officers are expected to learn and adapt to its logistical problems.\n\nElsewhere in Ukraine, there are troubling indications that Russia is encircling the city of Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, and could be planning to besiege it, the official said. There are increasing rocket attacks there, imprecise weapons that can kill civilians and damage infrastructure.\n\nOverall, Russian President Vladimir Putin has committed two-thirds of the combat forces he deployed against Ukraine is now inside the country, the official said.\n\nRussia has launched more 320 ballistic missiles into Ukraine during the four-day war. There are some indications that several ballistic missiles have failed to launch.\n\n– Tom Vanden Brook\n\nU.S.: Putin ‘can be assured’ of tougher sanctions\n\nLinda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Sunday the U.S. will continue to apply stiffer economic sanctions against Russia as Putin escalates fighting in Ukraine.\n\n\"We are continuing to assess what we can do moving forward,\" Thomas-Greenfield said on NBC’s \"Meet the Press.\" \"And the Russians can be assured that we will continue to put more and more sanctions as they continue to press more on the Ukrainian government.”\n\nU.S. and Western allies have cut some Russian banks out of the SWIFT financial system but stopped short of a complete removal.\n\n“They will feel the pain,” she said, adding there are also actions the U.N. can take.\n\n“We can isolate them. We can isolate them in the United Nations. We can isolate them in U.N. specialized agencies. They are feeling that isolation.”\n\n– Joey Garrison\n\nNATO leader: Russia must make 'serious compromises' in peace talks\n\nNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said if peace talks are to succeed, Russia must be willing to make \"serious compromises\" and \"respect the sovereignty of Ukraine.\"\n\nStoltenberg told CNN's \"State of the Union\" that Putin's decision to put his nuclear forces on high alert is not a good sign.\n\nIt \"just adds to the very aggressive rhetoric\" of Russia, the NATO leader said.\n\n– David Jackson\n\nUkraine ambassador: Russia committing ‘war crimes’\n\nUkraine’s ambassador to the United States accused Russia of committing war crimes in its attack on her country.\n\nAmbassador Oksana Markarova said Sunday that Russian troops are using heavy missiles and heavy artillery to attack Ukraine’s infrastructure, as well as hospitals and kindergartens. Many children have been killed, and one entire family was shot in their car, she said.\n\n“Nothing is off limits to them,” Markarova said on ABC’s \"This Week.\" “What we see is a full-fledged war, with war crimes on the ground.”’\n\nAsked whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is safe, Markarova offered no information on his whereabouts but added, “He is as safe as our country.”\n\nShe spoke shortly after Zelenskyy’s office confirmed that a delegation will meet with Russian officials. Marakova said Ukraine is ready “for any peace talks that would stop the war and get them out from our country.” But the Ukrainians will not surrender, she said.\n\n– Michael Collins\n\nCotton: West must stop ‘pussyfooting around’ on sanctions\n\nSen. Tom Cotton on Sunday called on the Biden administration and American businesses to provide “no support whatsoever” to Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.\n\n“We can do more than prayers and hashtags and lining up building storage,” he said on ABC’s \"This Week.\" “It's time for the president and some of our European partners to quit pussyfooting around.”\n\nCotton appealed to the Biden administration to increase its sanctions on Russian banks, arguing that while the administration says it has sanctioned 80% of Russian banks, Russian President Vladimir Putin “controls 100% of banks.”\n\nThe Arkansas Republican also blamed Western nations for underestimating Putin’s ambition.\n\nDespite a strong condemnation of Putin, Cotton stopped short of condemning former President Donald Trump, who has called Putin “smart” and his plan both “savvy” and “genius.” Cotton repeatedly said he does not speak for other politicians.\n\n– Ella Lee\n\n‘This is a different Putin’: Rice says Putin ‘erratic’\n\nFormer Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Russian President Vladimir Putin recent behavior is a departure from her past encounters with the “cold and calculating” leader.\n\n“This is a different Putin,” Rice, who served under former President George W. Bush, said on \"Fox News Sunday.\" “He seems erratic… He has descended into something I have not seen before.”\n\nWhile Rice said the prospect of peace talks was promising, she urged Ukraine to follow the advice of former President Ronald Reagan.\n\n“Trust but verify,” she said. “It’s always a good thing if there is a chance (at peace),” she said.\n\n– Kevin Johnson\n\nMore:A song of defiance: Ukraine's national anthem being heard all over the world\n\nPsaki: Putin 'manufacturing threats' to justify attack on Ukraine\n\nRussian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to put nuclear deterrent forces on high alert is another example of the Russian leader “manufacturing threats” to justify aggression against Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday.\n\n“We’ve seen him do this time and time again,” Psaki said on ABC’s \"This Week.\" “At no time has Russia been under threat from NATO.”\n\n“This is all a pattern from President Putin,” Psaki said, “and we’re all going to stand up” to him.\n\n– Michael Collins\n\nCondoleeza Rice: Putin faces unexpected reality in Ukraine\n\nFormer Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said Russian President Vladimir Putin may have “bitten off more than he can chew” perhaps forcing early peace talks.\n\nRice, speaking on \"Fox News Sunday,\" said Putin likely believed that he could \"waltz\" into Ukraine.\n\n“But the reality has been quite different.”\n\n– Kevin Johnson\n\nRomney casts the war as a battle of 'good and evil'\n\nSen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, cast Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion as a battle of \"good and evil,\" and called for more sanctions on the \"evil regime\" of Vladimir Putin.\n\nSpeaking on CNN's \"State of the Union,\" Romney also said he hopes Putin will use potential peace talks with Ukraine as an opportunity to back off.\n\n\"He made a huge error,\" Romney said of Putin. \"This is not going well for him.\"\n\n– David Jackson\n\nMore:Mapping and tracking Russia's invasion of Ukraine\n\n‘A thug and despot’: Putin to feel pain of new financial sanctions\n\nRemoving Russia from a global banking network as part of a new round of sanctions “will make a big difference” in isolating the Kremlin, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.\n\nThe U.S. and its allies Saturday cut Russia from the key financial messaging network known as SWIFT, in an escalation of its sanctioning campaign.\n\nKlobuchar called Putin “a thug and a despot,” who misjudged the world’s reaction to Russia aggression.\n\n– Kevin Johnson\n\n'Unacceptable': Thomas-Greenfield says Putin escalating conflict in Ukraine\n\nU.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Sunday that Vladimir Putin’s decision to put nuclear deterrent forces on high alert indicates the Russian president is “continuing to escalate” the war in Ukraine in a way that is “unacceptable.”\n\nSpeaking on CBS’ \"Face the Nation,\" Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. is using “every possible lever” to stop Russia’s invasion of its neighbor and that the U.N. Security Council will meet later Sunday.\n\n“I’m not surprised at this information because Putin has tried every means possible to actually put fear in the world in terms of his actions. It just means that we need to ramp up up our actions at the U.N.”\n\nWhen asked whether there’s a threat of chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, Thomas-Greenfield responded: “Certainly nothing is off the table with this guy.”\n\n– Sean Rossman\n\nPutin orders nuclear deterrent forces on high alert\n\nRussia President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces Sunday to be on high alert, a dramatic escalation of tensions with the West that brought immediate condemnation from the U.S. as Russia continues its full-scale assault on Ukraine.\n\nPutin, announcing the move on Russian state television, called it a response to “aggressive statements” and tough financial sections from NATO countries. The extraordinary step raises the threat of nuclear warfare entering the conflict in Ukraine, a scenario the White House has previously said it has not assessed.\n\nLinda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, condemned the action as “unacceptable\" in an appearance on CBS' \"Face the Nation.\"\n\nPutin directed the Russian defense minister and the chief of the military’s General Staff to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a “special regime of combat duty” during a meeting with top officials.\n\n“Western countries aren’t only taking unfriendly actions against our country in the economic sphere, but top officials from leading NATO members made aggressive statements regarding our country,” Putin said in televised comments.\n\nAt the onset of the conflict with Ukraine, Putin warned that any nation that would “hinder us” will face\" such consequences that you have never encountered in your history,” although he did not elaborate what he meant.\n\nThe White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.\n\n-- Joey Garrison, Associated Press\n\nKyiv eerily quiet after explosions\n\nThe capital, Kyiv, was eerily quiet after huge explosions lit up the morning sky and authorities reported blasts at one of the airports. Only an occasional car appeared on a deserted main boulevard as a strict 39-hour curfew kept people off the streets. Terrified residents instead hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale Russian assault.\n\n“The past night was tough – more shelling, more bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “There is not a single facility in the country that the occupiers wouldn’t consider as admissible targets.”\n\nVideos posted on Ukrainian media and social networks showed Russian vehicles moving across Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. The images showed Russian troops roaming the city in small groups. In one image, Ukrainian troops were seen firing at the Russians and damaged Russian light utility vehicles abandoned nearby.\n\nThe images underscored the determined resistance Russian troops face while attempting to enter Ukraine’s bigger cities. Ukrainians have volunteered en masse to help defend the capital, Kyiv, and other cities, taking guns distributed by authorities and preparing firebombs to fight Russian forces.\n\n– Associated Press\n\nZelenskyy asks UN top court to halt Russian invasion, says Moscow 'manipulating the notion of genocide'\n\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of manipulating the notion of genocide to justify invading its neighbor and urged the International Court of Justice to hold trials.\n\nLocated in The Hague, the Netherlands, the ICJ is the main judicial arm of the United Nations.\n\n\"Russia must be held accountable for manipulating the notion of genocide to justify aggression. We request an urgent decision ordering Russia to cease military activity now and expect trials to start next week,\" Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.\n\nThe ICJ rules on disputes between states, including responsibility for breaches of international law. It is not linked to the International Criminal Court, also based in The Hague, which holds individuals accountable for atrocities.\n\n– Caren Bohan and Associated Press\n\nZelenskyy is a lion of a leader | Opinion\n\n“I need ammunition, not a ride.” Those are the words proclaimed by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the midst of terrible death and destruction and the most egregious threat to Europe since World War II, Ukrainians are teaching the rest of the world a lesson about freedom, resolve and love of country.\n\nWhen offered an escape from Kyiv, allegedly by the United States, the 44-year-old Ukrainian president immediately rejected the notion and demonstrated selfless leadership and a portrait of courage generally reserved for Hollywood.\n\nMany leaders would have abandoned ship, putting their own personal safety above that of their countrymen. Zelenskyy, on the other hand, is taking a stand for freedom, boldly demonstrating that freedom is worth fighting for; that a government of, by and for the people is worth defending.\n\n– August Pfluger (Read more of August Pfluger's column.)\n\nNHL star Alex Ovechkin called over over stance on war\n\nHockey Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek has called for the NHL to \"immediately suspend contracts for all Russian players\" amidst Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine.\n\nThe 57-year-old Czech also had some choice words for Washington Capitals' Russian-born star Alex Ovechkin, a supporter of President Vladimir Putin.\n\nHasek, who played in the NHL for 16-seasons and is widely considered one of the best goaltenders of all time, called Ovechkin an \"alibist,\" a \"liar\" and a \"chicken (expletive)\" after Ovechkin failed to publicly denounce Putin and his country's aggression.\n\n– Cydney Henderson\n\nUkraine rejects location for talks with Russia\n\nUkraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country is ready for peace talks with Russia but not in Belarus.\n\nSpeaking in a video message Sunday, Zelenskyy suggested meeting in Warsaw, Poland; Bratislava, Slovakia; Istanbul; Budapest, Hungary; or Baku, Azerbaijan. He said other locations are also possible but made clear that Ukraine doesn’t accept Russia’s selection of Belarus, which Russia has used as a staging ground for its invasion.\n\nThe Kremlin said Sunday a Russian delegation had arrived in Homel, Belarus, for talks with Ukrainian officials. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the delegation includes military officials and diplomats.\n\n– Associated Press\n\nRussia's cutting off port access\n\nRussia was working Sunday to limit strategic strategic ports along the Ukraine’s coastline stretching from the border with Romania in the west to the border with Russia in the east. A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said Russian forces had blocked the cities of Kherson on the Black Sea and the port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea.\n\nRussia’s military also put increasing pressure on strategic ports in the south of Ukraine, blocking the cities of Kherson on the Black Sea and the port of Berdyansk on the Azov Sea.\n\nCutting Ukraine’s access to its sea ports would deal a major blow to the country’s economy.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nRussia targets Ukraine airfields in next phase\n\nRussia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine targeting airfields and fuel facilities in what appeared to be the next phase of an invasion that has been slowed by fierce resistance. The U.S. and EU responded with weapons and ammunition for the outnumbered Ukrainians and powerful sanctions intended to further isolate Moscow.\n\nHuge explosions lit up the sky early Sunday south of the capital, Kyiv, where people hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale assault by Russian forces.\n\n-- Associated Press\n\nWhere are Russian military forces? Tracking the Ukraine invasion\n\n'You cannot defeat a whole nation'\n\nOn Sunday morning, Ukranian writer Illarion Pavliuk plans to set out on a dangerous journey to help his countrymen as explosions rock Kyiv, and outgunned Ukrainian forces continue to maintain control of their capital.\n\nPavliuk is not a solider, but he does have a military background. In 2015, he was an intelligence volunteer in the war in Eastern Ukraine. And yet, this is what Ukraine has become – a country where internationally acclaimed artists are forced to kiss their children goodnight before they go off to defend their homeland from the occupying force. \"We will never give up and we are going to win this war. You cannot defeat the whole nation. And Ukrainians are absolutely united as a nation now.\"\n\nHis words are haunting and powerful, with his children in the background.\n\n\"What can I tell you about this war? It is difficult to say a couple of words,\" he says. \"I would never ever imagine my four children dropping their toys and running to sit in the thickest doorway in the house because of cruise missiles above our city; ballistic missiles.\n\n\"And I would never imagine this and I will never forgive Russia.\"\n\n– Carli Pierson, USA TODAY", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/02/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2023/03/27/belarus-russia-ukraine-mississippi-tornado-pennsylvania-joker-israel-netanyahu-caitlin-clark-ncaa/11548403002/", "title": "Mississippi tornadoes, Pennsylvania explosion, Belarus, Russia ...", "text": "Search and recovery efforts resumed Sunday after a tornado displaced hundreds of people in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Also in the news: Officials are investing the cause of a deadly explosion at an eastern Pennsylvania chocolate factory. The U.S. has not detected movement of nuclear weapons to Belarus despite Russia's promise to move arms to the country.\n\n🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Trying to keep up your 2023 reading goals? Try these audiobooks this month.\n\nNow, here we go with Monday's news.\n\nA trail of destruction in Mississippi\n\nRolling Fork Mayor Eldridge Walker has been able to offer comfort to the people of his Mississippi city, the hardest hit of the towns from Friday's deadly tornado that claimed at least 25 lives across the state.\n\nThe violent storm swept northeastward Friday night across much of Mississippi and Alabama. Storm reports and radar data show the tornado was on the ground for more than an hour, something experts say is extremely rare.\n\nResidents say the skyline they grew up seeing in Rolling Fork is unrecognizable after buildings were completely flattened.\n\nthey grew up seeing in Rolling Fork is unrecognizable after buildings were completely flattened. ''Rolling Fork will come back bigger and better'': The mayor, who is also the town's funeral director, is leading residents toward recovery amid the devastation.\n\nThe mayor, who is also the town's funeral director, is leading residents toward recovery amid the devastation. Survival story: As tornadoes descended, owners and employees at a Rolling Fork diner survived severe winds by sheltering together in the restaurant's walk-in refrigerator. The rest of the restaurant was completely destroyed, photos show.\n\nCause of explosion at Pennsylvania chocolate factory unknown\n\nThe death toll rose to seven after more bodies were found Sunday after authorities searched the site of a massive explosion in a small town at an eastern Pennsylvania chocolate factory. West Reading Borough Chief of Police Wayne Holben said the explosion took place just before 5 p.m. Friday at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in West Reading. Officials are investigating what caused the explosion at the plant about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Here's what else we know.\n\nMore news to know now\n\nWhat's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.\n\nIsrael's Netanyahu fires minister opposed to controversial reforms\n\nIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday fired his defense minister after the high-ranking official called for a pause on a controversial judicial reform proposal that has fueled months of intense protests in the country and abroad. In response, floods of protesters took to the streets, starting bonfires on a Tel Aviv highway and knocking down a police barricade outside Netanyahu's home. Demonstrations have swept across Israel for months over an effort by Netanyahu's right-wing government to overhaul the country’s judicial system. But Netanyahu's sudden ousting of the high-level minister who opposed the changes prompted the Biden administration to issue an unusual statement of concern. Read more\n\nWhite House response: A call for compromise amid protests.\n\nPutin says Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus\n\nThe U.S. has detected no movement of Russian nuclear weapons toward Belarus despite Russian President Vladimir Putin's pledge to place them in the country by July 1, a top U.S. security official said Sunday. Putin announced plans on Saturday to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, a warning to the West as it steps up military support for Ukraine. Putin said he was responding to Britain’s decision this past week to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. Russia falsely claimed these rounds have nuclear components. Belarus shares borders with three NATO members: Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Read more\n\nUS officials pledged to hold Russia accountable for war crimes in Ukraine. Congress wants receipts.\n\nJust for subscribers:\n\nThese articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here.\n\nCaitlin Clark is perfect player at perfect time for women's basketball\n\nTo get an idea of just how intoxicating Caitlin Clark’s game is, all you had to do Sunday — if you weren’t near a TV to watch her pile up 41 points, hand out 12 assists and grab 10 rebounds — was scroll Twitter. In sum: she’s the superstar women’s basketball needs, right when the game needs it. Women’s basketball is exploding in popularity across the country, as parity rises across college hoops and the WNBA forms super teams through free agency. And people are paying attention. Read more\n\nMen's NCAA Tournament Elite 8 recap: Miami joins San Diego State as teams earning first trip to Final Four.\n\nOne more thing\n\nPhoto of the day: 'The Joker' filming in NYC\n\nLady Gaga was spotted while filming for the \"Joker\" sequel in New York City Sunday in which she will star alongside Joaquin Phoenix's Joker. Photos show the actress and singer surrounded by a squadron of police officers and protesters who held signs reading \"Free Joker.\" Crews for the “The Joker” sequel have been facing the possibility that filming in New York could be disrupted as prosecutors consider a real-life indictment against former President Donald Trump, who has invited followers to rally on his behalf. The Trump protests have not materialized so far. Read more\n\nNicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2023/03/27"}, {"url": "https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/10/06/ukraine-russia-war-live-updates/8194683001/", "title": "Ukraine live updates: Presidnet Biden warns of nuclear 'Armageddon'", "text": "The risk of nuclear \"Armageddon\" is at the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, President Joe Biden said during a fundraiser Thursday amid the threat Russian President Vladimir Putin will deploy nuclear weapons to ward off Ukraine’s attempt to reclaim control of Moscow-occupied areas.\n\nBiden's warning follows talks among Russian officials about the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering massive setbacks in the eight-month invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also repeatedly alluded to using his country's vast nuclear arsenal.\n\n\"We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,\" Biden said at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, suggesting Putin's threat is real \"because his military is — you might say — significantly underperforming.\"\n\nFor months, U.S. officials have warned of the possibility of Russia using weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine. But officials said this week that they have seen no change to Russia's nuclear forces that would require a change in the alert posture of U.S. nuclear forces.\n\nThe U.S. has been \"clear\" to Russia about what the \"consequences\" of using a nuclear weapon in Ukraine would be, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.\n\nTURNING POINT IN THE WAR? As Russia admits defeat in Kharkiv, Ukraine regains land, confidence\n\nOther developments:\n\n►The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, met Thursday in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and praised not only Ukraine's success on the battlefield but the country's \"ongoing efforts to strengthen its democracy and its economy.” She said the U.S. would provide an additional $55 million to repair heating pipes and other equipment.\n\n►Sweden’s domestic security agency said its preliminary investigation of leaks from two Russian gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea confirmed they were caused by \"detonations,'' and that the findings have \"strengthened the suspicions of serious sabotage.”\n\n►Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a prominent Kremlin critic who was jailed for allegedly spreading “false information” about the war in Ukraine, has been charged with treason by Russian authorities.\n\n►The European Union on Thursday froze the assets of an additional 37 people and entities tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine, including officials involved in the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces.\n\n►Polish officials said they are distributing potassium iodide tablets to regional firefighter stations in case Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is damaged.\n\nPUTIN SEIZES EUROPE'S LARGEST POWER PLANT:Putin also signs laws annexing Ukraine land; OPEC cuts oil production, helps Russia\n\nUkraine regains 150 square miles of land in expanding counteroffensive\n\nAs Ukraine consolidates the territory it has recaptured in the northeastern Kharkiv province, it continues to make gains in the east and south of the country.\n\nSince the start of October, Kyiv's forces have taken back more than 150 square miles of land in the southern Kherson province that had fallen to the Russians early in the war, Ukraine’s southern military command said Thursday. Spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk added the situation along the southern front remains fluid.\n\nAt the same time, the Ukrainian counteroffensive that drove Russian troops out of Kharkiv and across the border has extended to the neighboring provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, which make up the industrial Donbas region that Russia covets. Among the prize gains was the strategically important city of Lyman.\n\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his officials announced Wednesday the retaking of villages in those provinces. Zelenskyy proclaimed, “The return of the Ukrainian flag means that a peaceful and socially secure life is once again possible for Donbas.”\n\nWith the attempted Russian annexation of four provinces as a backdrop, further Ukrainian progress in parts of Luhansk appears probable because of favorable terrain and lack of Russian reinforcements, according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.\n\n\"Ukraine’s ongoing northern and southern counteroffensives are likely forcing the Kremlin to prioritize the defense of one area of operations at the expense of another, potentially increasing the likelihood of Ukrainian success in both,\" the institute said.\n\n'PEOPLE WILL BE STARVING':Nuclear war between US, Russia would leave 5 billion dead from hunger, study says\n\n2 Russians escaping draft seek US asylum after landing in Alaska\n\nTwo Russians who said they're escaping President Vladimir Putin's military conscription are requesting U.S. asylum after landing on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, the office of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said.\n\nMurkowski and fellow Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, said the Russians arrived at a beach near Gambell, an isolated community of about 600 people on St. Lawrence Island. Gambell is about 36 miles from the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia's region of Siberia.\n\nThe Department of Homeland Security said in a statement the Russians arrived on a small boat Tuesday and were taken to Anchorage for screening and processing. The statement did not provide information on their asylum request.\n\nA statement from Sullivan urged federal authorities to come up with a plan in case “more Russians flee to Bering Strait communities in Alaska.”\n\nKremlin accuses NATO of 'pumping up' nuclear talk\n\nA Kremlin spokeswoman on Thursday appeared to tamp down controversy over any nuclear option in Ukraine and blamed NATO for an escalation in nuclear rhetoric.\n\n\"The Russian Federation is fully committed to the principle of the inadmissibility of nuclear war,\" Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.\n\nZakharova said she won't \"participate in pumping up the degree of nuclear rhetoric,\" saying it served the interests of NATO countries.\n\nRussian President Vladimir Putin, in announcing a partial military mobilization for his country last month, vowed to use “all available means” to deter attacks against Russia, an allusion to Russia’s tactical nuclear arsenal. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg then warned of “severe consequences for Russia” if Putin were to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The U.S. issued a similar warning.\n\nMissile attacks draw close to Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia\n\nRussia launched two missile attacks Thursday that hit more than 40 apartment buildings in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, close to Europe's largest nuclear power plant, authorities said. At least seven people were killed and five were missing, regional Gov. Oleksandr Starukha said.\n\nThe strikes came hours after Ukraine announced that Russian occupation forces had been driven out of three more villages in regions illegally annexed by Moscow.\n\nEach side has blamed the other for rocket attacks roaring harrowingly close to the Zaporizhzhia plant. Putin on Wednesday declared the plant Russian property, a decree quickly rejected by Ukraine.\n\nContributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; The Associated Press\n\nMONTHS OF WAR:The entire world is losing. A look at where we go from here.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/10/06"}]}
{"question_id": "20230331_27", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:48", "search_result": []}
{"question_id": "20230331_28", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:48", "search_result": []}
{"question_id": "20230331_29", "search_time": "2023/05/25/17:48", "search_result": [{"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/environment/960259/uks-green-day-is-net-zero-achievable", "title": "UK's 'green day': is net zero achievable? | The Week UK", "text": "The government has unveiled its “Powering up Britain” plan to increase the country’s energy security and deliver net zero by 2050.\n\nThe revised strategy, dubbed a “green industrial revolution” by ministers, includes dozens of measures, from increasing UK wind, solar and nuclear energy to investing in carbon capture and storage. Energy Secretary Grant Shapps also plans to extend the scheme to offer households £5,000 towards the cost of a new heat pump, insulate 300,000 of the poorest-performing homes and stand by the proposed 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.\n\nBut critics say the announcements are made up of rehashed policies and lack new funding.\n\nWhat did the papers say?\n\nToday’s plans “quickly drew criticism from Labour”, said the Independent. What was billed as the government’s “green day” turned out “to be a weak and feeble groundhog day of re-announcements, reheated policy and no new investment”, said shadow climate secretary Ed Miliband.\n\nOther “campaigners and critics suggested ministers had missed the chance to pursue a more radical green industrial strategy”, added the paper.\n\nUnder Theresa May, Britain became the first major economy to enshrine a net zero target in law, promising that by 2050 the amount of emissions produced by the country would be the same or less than the emissions removed.\n\nBut net zero “finds itself taking a back seat to Rishi Sunak’s tougher-sounding promise of ‘energy security’ for the nation”, said Politico. Sources say his newly created Department for Energy Security and Net Zero seems keen to emphasise the first half of its brief and “reluctant to trumpet the second, fearing a Tory backlash”, the news site said. “Former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, a perennial thorn in the Tory party’s side, is also campaigning against net zero.”\n\nAnd the reality is that today’s announcements were “forced, in part, by the government’s previous failure to hand in its homework”, said Politico. They were published in response to a High Court ruling last July that found the government’s original flagship climate plan was not detailed enough to show how net zero would be achieved.\n\nThe Climate Action Tracker, last updated in October, found that the UK would “remain off-track to meet its climate targets” unless it addressed key “policy gaps” such as improving energy efficiency in homes, reducing demand for the most polluting goods, increasing uptake of heat pumps and ending the development of new oil and gas reserves.\n\nWhat next?\n\nFriends of the Earth, which brought the legal challenge against the government in the High Court last summer, is “poring over” the new strategy “to see if it still fails to meet legal obligations to cut carbon emissions”, said Sky News. Katie de Kauwe, a lawyer with the environmental group, told the broadcaster that sufficient plans and policies to reach net zero were a legal obligation, not “some sort of wishy-washy requirement”.\n\nThe new plan comes in the wake of the European Commission’s Green Deal Industrial Plan and Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a $370bn green investment package that vows to subsidise domestic companies investing in net zero. As these two industrial giants engage in a “transatlantic arm-wrestle over the technology, investment and skills needed for net zero, the UK has effectively said it cannot compete”, said Sky’s business correspondent Paul Kelso.\n\nWriting in The Times today, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt acknowledged that the UK’s approach would be “different”, saying: “We are not going toe-to-toe with our friends and allies in some distortive global subsidy race.”\n\nBut his fellow Tory MP and former Cop26 president Alok Sharma told The Guardian that “what we still need to see is that big bazooka moment, commensurate with the scale of the challenge”.", "authors": ["Hollie Clemence"], "publish_date": "2023/03/30"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/07/europe/uk-coal-mine-cumbria-energy-climate-intl-gbr/index.html", "title": "UK government greenlights first new coal mine in three decades | CNN", "text": "CNN —\n\nScientists, environmentalists and even the UK government’s own climate advisers have strongly criticized its decision to approve a plan to open the country’s first new coal mine in three decades, a little more than a year after the nation tried to convince the world to ditch the filthy fossil fuel at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow.\n\nMichael Gove, the UK housing and communities secretary, on Wednesday approved the plan to open the Whitehaven coal mine in Cumbria, a county in northwestern England that is home to the World Heritage-listed Lake District.\n\nThe controversial mine is expected to create more than 500 jobs. But the environmental trade-off is steep: The UK Climate Change Committee (CCC), an independent group that advises the government, has estimated the mine and the coal it will produce will emit around 9 million tons of planet-warming emissions every year.\n\nSupporters of the mine argue the project will create jobs and secure the fossil fuel for British steelmaking; however, 85% of the coal mined is due to be exported.\n\nDemonstrators outside the proposed Woodhouse Colliery on September 7, 2021. Owen Humphreys/PA Images/Getty Images\n\nThe CCC has criticized the decision. Committee chairman Lord Deben said in a statement: “Phasing out coal use is the clearest requirement of the global effort towards Net Zero. We condemn, therefore, the Secretary of State’s decision to consent to a new deep coal mine in Cumbria, contrary to our previous advice. This decision grows global emissions and undermines UK efforts to achieve Net Zero.”\n\nThe mine’s approval was also met with fierce criticism from scientists and environmentalists.\n\n“A new coal mine in Cumbria makes no sense environmentally or economically,” said Paul Ekins, Professor of Resources and Environmental Policy at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources, in a statement. “It will add to global CO2 emissions, as the new supply will not replace other coal but divert it elsewhere, and it will become stranded in the 2030s as the steel industry globally moves away from coal.”\n\nEkins also said that the mine’s approval “trashes the UK’s reputation as a global leader on climate action and opens it up to well justified charges of hypocrisy – telling other countries to ditch coal while not doing so itself.”\n\nThe government initially approved the project, but then put it on hold after a wave of protests, including a 10-day hunger strike by two teenage activists.\n\nIt came under intense pressure to reject the plan in 2021, the year it hosted the COP26 talks in Glasgow.\n\nAlok Sharma, the COP26 President and a lawmaker for the governing Conservative Party, campaigned against the mine.\n\n“Opening a new coal mine will not only be a backward step for UK climate action but also damage the UK’s hard-won international reputation, through our COP26 Presidency, as a leader in the global fight against climate change,” he said ahead of the announcement on Wednesday.\n\nThe decision comes a little more than a year after the conference, and after lengthy discussions between the UK government, local authorities and the public.\n\nThe Cumbria County Council had also approved the plan three times, but it backtracked its decision last February and called for a planning inquiry, effectively shifting the decision to the national government.\n\nThe Whitehaven mine, also known as the Woodhouse Colliery, is scheduled to operate until 2049, which is just a year before the UK’s self-imposed deadline to slash greenhouse gas emissions to net zero (emitting as little greenhouse gas as possible, and offsetting any emissions that cannot be avoided).\n\nAccording to the International Energy Agency, investment into new fossil fuels infrastructure must stop immediately if the world wants any chance of achieving net zero by 2050. The latest climate science shows that achieving net zero by mid-century is necessary to keep temperatures from rising well above 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared with pre-industrial times. Beyond that threshold, the world will face climate crisis impacts that could take millennia to correct, or could be irreversible altogether.\n\nClimate activists have protested against the project, while West Cumbria Mining, which is developing the mine, said the project would bring hundreds of new jobs into a struggling region. Its opponents argue these jobs may not be secure, given the huge momentum in Europe to phase out coal.\n\n“Opening a coal mine in Cumbria is investing in 1850s technology and does not look forward to the 2030s low carbon local energy future,” Stuart Haszeldine, a professor at the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh, said in a statement.", "authors": ["Ivana Kottasová"], "publish_date": "2022/12/07"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/957353/where-the-tory-leadership-candidates-stand-on-net-zero", "title": "Where the Tory leadership candidates stand on net zero | The Week ...", "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": "2022/07/14"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/22/australia/australia-election-results-new-government-explainer-five-things-intl-hnk/index.html", "title": "Anthony Albanese and Australia's new left-leaning government ...", "text": "Brisbane, Australia CNN —\n\nAfter almost a decade of conservative leadership, Australian voters turned their back on the ruling coalition, instead backing those who campaigned for more action on climate change, greater gender equality and political integrity.\n\nNew Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was sworn in on Monday before his departure to Japan for his first meeting with allies including US President Joe Biden.\n\nFor much of its history, Australian politics has been dominated by the two major parties: the Liberals on the center-right and Labor on the center-left. But this election threw all the balls up in the air, tossing more than a few to minor parties and Independents who were fed-up with the two-party system.\n\nHere’s what we learned.\n\nAustralia’s coming in from the climate cold\n\nElection results showed a strong swing towards Independents who campaigned on issues relating to the climate.\n\nThe candidates – many first-time entrants to politics – were seeking cuts to emissions of up to 60% – more than twice as much as promised by the ruling conservative coalition (26-28%) and also more than Labor (43%). Known as teal candidates, they targeted traditionally blue Liberal seats with more green-leaning policies.\n\n“Millions of Australians have put climate first. Now, it’s time for a radical reset on how this great nation of ours acts upon the climate challenge,” said Amanda McKenzie, CEO of the research group the Climate Council, on Saturday’s election result.\n\nAustralia has long been known as the “lucky country,” partly due to its wealth of coal and gas, as well as minerals like iron ore, which have driven generations of economic growth.\n\nBut it’s now sitting on the frontier of a climate crisis, and the fires, floods and droughts that have already scarred the country are only expected to become more extreme as the Earth warms.\n\nThe ruling conservative government had been called a climate “holdout” by the United Nations Secretary-General after outlining a plan to get to net zero by 2050 by creating massive new gas projects. Incumbent Scott Morrison had said he would back a transition from coal to renewable energy, but had no plans to stop new coal projects.\n\nLabor Party leader Anthony Albanese promised to end the “climate wars,” a reference to the infighting that has frustrated any efforts to push for stronger action on climate over the past decade and even cost some prime ministers their jobs.\n\nLabor has pledged to reach emission net zero by 2050, partly by strengthening the mechanism used to pressure companies to make cuts.\n\nBut research institute Climate Analytics says Labor’s plans aren’t ambitious enough to keep the global temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.\n\nLabor’s policies are more consistent with a rise of 2 degrees Celsius, the institute said, marginally better than the coalition’s plan.\n\nTo speed up the transition to renewable energy, Labor plans to modernize Australia’s energy grid and roll out solar banks and community batteries. But despite its net zero commitment, Labor says it’ll approve new coal projects if they’re environmentally and economically viable.\n\nWomen are being seen and heard\n\nMorrison’s popularity with women plummeted after several scandals involving his ministers.\n\nMorrison himself was accused of lacking empathy when he responded to an allegation of a sexual assault in Parliament House by suggesting his wife, Jenny Morrison, had made him realize the gravity of the accusation.\n\n“She said to me ‘You have to think about this as a father first. What would you want to happen if it were our girls?’ Jenny has a way of clarifying things. Always has,” he said.\n\nThousands of women later marched around the country calling for stronger measures to ensure women’s safety – which snowballed into demands for greater gender equality.\n\nThe teal Independents were mostly older women who under other circumstances may have joined the Liberal Party.\n\nAlbanese read the room and promised to improve gender equality. He was even endorsed by his former boss, Australia’s first and only woman Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who famously ripped into her Liberal rival with the words: “I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man.” Gillard fronted the media the day before the vote to say she was “very confident” an Albanese government will be a “government for women.”\n\nIndigenous voices will be amplified\n\nAmong the first words Albanese uttered when he walked onto the stage to claim victory Saturday was the promise to enshrine the voice of Indigenous people in Parliament.\n\n“I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet. I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. And on behalf of the Australian Labor Party, I commit to the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full,” he said.\n\nIndigenous groups across Australia are calling for the constitution to be changed so they’re formally consulted on legislation and policies affecting their communities. That would require a national referendum, which needs political support before a yes-no question is put to the Australian people.\n\nAlbanese’s Labor government is giving that support. The last time Australians voted in a referendum on Aboriginal rights was in 1967, when 90% of the country supported a move to include Indigenous people in the Census.\n\nAlbanese said during his acceptance speech: “All of us ought to be proud that amongst our great multicultural society we count the oldest living continuous culture in the world.”\n\nAustralia is prioritizing Asia and the US\n\nOne of the first tasks for Albanese will be to head to Tokyo to meet his counterparts from the United States, Japan and India at the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) summit.\n\nBeside him will be Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, a seasoned Labor politician of Asian descent who has long been a respected voice in the Senate.\n\nThe new Labor government promises to create stronger ties with Asia. Albanese said one of his first ports of call after Japan will be Indonesia, which he said will “grow to be an economy that’s substantial in the world.”\n\n“We live in a region whereby in the future we will have China, India and Indonesia as giants. We need to strengthen that economic partnership and one way that we can do that is by strengthening people-to-people relations as well,” Albanese said.\n\n“Indonesia is an important nation, for our economy, for those social relationships as well…We need to really strengthen the relationship with Indonesia and that’s why it would be an absolute priority for me.”\n\nAnalysts say Australia’s new Prime Minister faces a tough challenge when it comes to China – especially after a bitter election campaign that has put Chinese President Xi Jinping and his intentions front and center.\n\nAustralia’s relations with China have deteriorated under the coalition’s stint in government – which started at the same time as Xi’s rule. Relations soured further in 2020 when the Australian government – then led by Morrison – called for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19. China responded with sanctions against Australian exports, including beef, barley, wine, and rock lobster.\n\nChina’s reaction hardened public attitudes in Australia and pushed Canberra to lead the charge against China’s coercive actions.\n\nThe coalition has suggested Labor will be soft on China, but on paper, Labor’s position on China seems little different from that of the conservatives. Labor says it’s committed to the AUKUS security pact, the deal Morrison struck with the United States and United Kingdom, to the detriment of Australia’s relations with France. It has also voiced strong support for the Quad.\n\nMoney can’t buy votes\n\nOne of the big losers in this election was Clive Palmer, the mining magnate who reportedly spent close to $100 million on advertising for his United Australia Party for next to no influence.\n\nThe man Palmer had touted as “the next Prime Minister,” Craig Kelly, a renegade from the Liberal Party who was reprimanded for spreading Covid-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories, lost his seat after securing just 8% of the primary vote.\n\nPalmer, who has been dubbed “Australia’s Trump,” campaigned on the issue of freedom and opposing Covid-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns.\n\nThis is not the first time Palmer has tried to win elections with big money. In 2019, he spent millions campaigning during the federal election, but failed to land a single seat.", "authors": ["Hilary Whiteman"], "publish_date": "2022/05/22"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/uk-news/954504/all-the-governments-green-strategies-in-a-nutshell", "title": "The government's green strategies in a nutshell | The Week UK", "text": "Boris Johnson’s claim that “it is easy to be green” will be put to the test this week as the government publishes its plans for the UK’s transition to becoming more environmentally friendly.\n\nAhead of Cop26, No. 10 is setting out its strategy for the UK to reach net zero by 2050. Its neighbours at the Treasury are also sharing the calculated costs, and how they will be distributed, in an accompanying review.\n\nThe overarching Net Zero Strategy was expected to be given the green light on Friday during a cabinet “away day”, but the release was delayed following the murder of Conservative MP David Amess.\n\nZero emissions\n\nThe government has a legal duty to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and it’s “taking a high-stakes gamble” by focusing its plans to do so on the publication of its Net Zero Strategy this close to the Cop26 summit, said Westminster’s independent advisory body on climate earlier this year.\n\n“The challenges involved are monumental,” said The Guardian, but one solution is likely to be the UK’s “slow-moving and long-awaited nuclear power programme”, predicted the Financial Times. The strategy will “put nuclear power at the heart” of the government’s plan to reach net zero, with a “regulated asset base” funding model “key to delivering a future fleet of large atomic power stations”, said the newspaper.\n\nIndeed, the strategy, published this afternoon, vowed to invest £120m in the development of nuclear projects, which it claimed could support the path to decarbonising the UK’s electricity system as early as 2035.\n\nThe plans also include investing in electric vehicles and green tech, kick-starting the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel, and accelerating industrial carbon capture and hydrogen. The government has promised to unlock up to £90bn of private investment by 2030, and support 440,000 well-paid jobs in green industries in 2030.\n\nHeating homes\n\nAnother “piece in the Boris Johnson climate-calming jigsaw” is the Heat and Buildings Strategy, said the BBC’s environment analyst Roger Harrabin. This encompasses decarbonisation plans for homeowners, the public sector and social housing at a total cost of £3.9bn to the Treasury over the next three years.", "authors": ["Julia O"], "publish_date": "2021/10/19"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/07/energy/uk-power-cuts-oil-gas/index.html", "title": "UK blackouts: Facing risk of power cuts this winter Britain is drilling ...", "text": "London CNN Business —\n\nThe UK government could award oil and gas companies more than 100 new licenses to drill in the North Sea, as it looks for ways to bolster energy security amid a global supply crunch.\n\nLaunched Friday, the licensing round won’t lead to new UK production for several years. And when drilling does begin, Britain will still be dependent on energy imports, according to the government, leaving it vulnerable to soaring prices and supply disruptions of the kind that threaten blackouts this winter.\n\nUK utilities company National Grid (NGG) warned Thursday that households and businesses could be left without power for up to three hours at a time in a worst-case scenario of very cold weather, low levels of wind, gas shortages and an inability to import electricity from Europe. It said it would take steps to mitigate the risk, including bringing old coal-fired power stations back online if necessary.\n\nStarting November 1, National Grid will also offer financial incentives to customers to reduce power consumption at peak times.\n\nKathryn Porter, an energy consultant at Watt-Logic, told CNN Business that National Grid was still underestimating the risks to supply, but that blackouts for households were unlikely because it could disconnect large energy users at peak times if necessary.\n\nClimate concerns\n\nThe latest licensing round won’t improve the immediate supply picture and could face a legal challenge from environmental activists. Greenpeace said that new oil and gas licenses were “potentially unlawful” and that it would be looking for ways to act.\n\n“New oil and gas licenses won’t lower energy bills for struggling families this winter or any winter soon nor provide energy security in the medium term,” Philip Evans, energy transition campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said in a statement.\n\n“New licenses — and more importantly more fossil fuels — solve neither of those problems but will make the climate crisis even worse,” he added.\n\nAnalysis by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), the regulator that grants licenses, shows the average time between discovery of oil and gas deposits and first production is close to five years, though that lag is “falling.”\n\nIn a statement on Friday, the NSTA said it will prioritize areas in the southern North Sea that can be developed quickly and where gas has already been discovered. Companies have until January 12 to apply for licenses, with permits expected to be issued as soon as the second quarter of 2023.\n\nThe NSTA said the licensing round has been subject to a “climate compatibility check” to ensure it aligns with the UK government’s commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. It added that producing gas domestically has a much lower carbon footprint than importing it from abroad.\n\nThe International Energy Agency said last year that investment in new fossil fuel supply projects, including drilling for oil and gas, must stop immediately if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.\n\nThe UK government set out plans earlier this year to generate 95% of Britain’s electricity from low carbon sources by 2030. The plan, which allows drilling for oil and gas, will also ramp up nuclear power and wind energy.", "authors": ["Hanna Ziady"], "publish_date": "2022/10/07"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/environment/954671/explained-uk-first-net-zero-aligned-financial-centre", "title": "Explained: UK's aim to be first 'net zero-aligned financial centre ...", "text": "It’s finance day today at the Cop26 climate summit and Rishi Sunak has outlined the government’s plan for the UK to become the world’s first “net zero-aligned financial centre”.\n\nThe chancellor arrived in Glasgow carrying a green version of the traditional red budget briefcase and addressed an audience of finance ministers, central bank governors and senior industry leaders.\n\nSunak told delegates it was “easy to feel daunted by the scale of the challenge we face” but is optimistic that Cop26 will bring together leaders to “direct the world’s wealth to preserve our planet”, Yahoo Finance! reported.\n\nNet zero finance centre: how would it work?\n\nSunak said the UK will “go further” in the climate fight by becoming the first net zero-aligned financial centre. “This means we are going to move towards making it mandatory for firms to publish a clear, deliverable plan setting out how they will decarbonise and transition to net zero with an independent task force,” he said.\n\nMost big UK firms and financial institutions will be forced to show how they intend to hit climate change targets, under proposed Treasury rules, the BBC reported. By 2023 they will have to set out “detailed public plans for how they will move to a low-carbon future” and an expert panel will “set the standards the plans need to meet to ensure they are not just spin”.\n\nIn a statement The Treasury explained that next year the UK will publish a “transition pathway” for the financial sector to achieve the 2050 net zero goal. The “comprehensive plan” will give the sector the “information they need to take climate into account in every financial decision”.\n\n‘Greenwashing’ the financial sector?\n\nSunak hopes to “rewire the entire financial system” to help protect the climate. However, any commitments will not be mandatory and green groups have said this is not enough, the BBC reported.\n\nThe Guardian’s environment correspondent Fiona Harvey said there’s “widespread concern” that Sunak has “missed the opportunity to make a real change” to the way businesses and financial institutions operate when it comes to the climate and net zero.\n\nJennifer Larbie, Christian Aid’s UK advocacy and policy lead, welcomed that the chancellor recognises London’s financial sector as “critical to any meaningful progress” towards a global net zero. But the announcement “does little to shift the dial now on the trillions still flowing into fossil fuel projects every day”. She added: “The UK government must mandate the financial sector to act with urgency to end fossil fuel investments.”\n\nCampaigners have also warned that the chancellor’s plan falls short of what is needed to halt the climate crisis and risks amounting to no more than “greenwash” for a sector which has profited massively from decades of pollution, The Independent reported.\n\nGreenpeace UK accused Sunak of going to Cop26 with “a marketing slogan” instead of taking transformative action. Rebecca Newsom, Greenpeace UK’s head of politics, said the new rules seem to allow “plenty of wriggle room for financial institutions to continue with business as usual, rather than ‘rewiring’ the system as the chancellor claims”. She added: “The chancellor is once again falling short of what the climate emergency requires.”", "authors": ["The Week Staff"], "publish_date": "2021/11/03"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/11/business/gulf-energy-transition-mime-intl/index.html", "title": "Gulf Arab states can't give up oil. But they can slash their emissions ...", "text": "Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here.\n\nAbu Dhabi CNN —\n\nAs Western states try to wean themselves off their addiction to hydrocarbons, Gulf oil nations have been pushing back hard, warning that a hasty transition away from fossil fuels will be counterproductive.\n\nBut as they tell the world that it cannot live without the natural resource that has brought them enormous wealth, the Gulf states are embarking on their own ambitious clean energy projects.\n\nSome of the world’s largest hydrocarbon producers and exporters, Gulf countries are also among the globe’s biggest polluters. Gas-rich Qatar and oil-wealthy Saudi Arabia have some of the heaviest carbon footprints on the planet. According to the World Bank, Qatar had the highest carbon emissions per capita as of 2019, followed by Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.\n\nThe Gulf monarchies are trying to change that, investing billions in the renewable energy sector, a plan that allows them to save more of their hydrocarbons for export to an energy-hungry world.\n\nAnalysts say the move is more than a publicity stunt in a world where hydrocarbons are increasingly stigmatized. It is pragmatic, they say.\n\n“The Gulf states are making net zero domestic targets in some ways to increase their hydrocarbon assets for export, to take advantage of a window of opportunity of those products as demand is expected to gradually decline,” said Karen Young, senior research scholar at Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy.\n\nTheir push for going green at home also helps them battle their longstanding image of being heavy polluters, said Rafiq Latta, senior correspondent at Energy Intelligence, an energy information company.\n\n“The last thing the Gulf states want is to appear dirty,” Latta told CNN, “So they are investing heavily in green energy,” which also opens avenues for business as the green energy industry gains global traction.\n\nSo, investment in clean energy projects and renewables “makes very good business sense and PR sense for the Gulf,” he said.\n\nGulf petro-states are warning against a quick transition away from hydrocarbons, with the UAE calling for a “mixed energy” approach that minimizes emissions without cutting hydrocarbons.\n\nThe UAE is one of the biggest oil exporters, but has made renewable and green energy a priority, arguing that clean and dirty energy are complementary, not competing.\n\nThat view of the symbiotic relationship between the two types of energies that the UAE believes in is perhaps best demonstrated by Sultan Al Jaber, the CEO of the nation’s main oil company ADNOC, who also happens to be the government’s climate envoy. He has argued that by 2050, the world will need to produce 30% more energy than today.\n\n“The world needs all the solutions it can get,” he said at an energy summit in Abu Dhabi last month. “It is not oil or gas or solar or wind or nuclear or hydrogen. It is oil and gas and solar and wind … It is all of the above.”\n\nThe UAE was the first Middle Eastern state to add nuclear power to its energy mix 14 years ago and the first to set a net-zero emissions goal, by 2050. The Gulf state is home to the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and is due to host next year’s COP28 climate summit.\n\nSaudi Arabia, which has its own climate program, followed by announcing a net zero carbon emissions target of 2060. On Monday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that his $620 billion wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, will also target net zero emissions by 2050, adding that the kingdom will contribute $2.5 billion to the Middle East Green Initiative, which aims to reduce carbon emissions from regional hydrocarbon production by more than 60%.\n\nThis month, the United States and the UAE signed a memorandum that aims to mobilize $100 billion on clean energy projects that would “accelerate toward a goal of deploying 100 gigawatts of clean energy by 2035.” One gigawatt can power about 300,000 homes.\n\n“The world will still have demand for oil and the Gulf approach, at least in Saudi and UAE, is to produce a cleaner oil product that emits less carbon from flaring and that is more efficient in extraction methods,” said Young, “And they are doing that.”\n\nThe flaring of natural gas is a by-product of oil production, and the waste contributes to severe air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.\n\nSpeaking to CNN’s Becky Anderson on Tuesday during the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, the UAE’s minister of climate change and environment Mariam Almheiri said that the Gulf state has been working toward “a just energy transition.”.\n\n“We are ramping up our renewables and at the same time decarbonizing our oil and gas sector,” Almheiri told CNN, adding that the UAE now offers some of the lowest carbon footprint oil barrels in the world.\n\nMuch of the hydrocarbons exported by Gulf states go to some of the world’s biggest consumers and polluters, including China and India.\n\nGulf states are however not directly responsible for the carbon footprints left by their consumers, and analysts say it’s unrealistic to advocate for a cut in oil and gas extraction and export, as it would be detrimental to GCC economies.\n\n“They’ve got their own self-interest to look after, and clearly it would be economic suicide to advocate for a radical shift away from oil and gas,” said Latta.\n\n“The turkey is not going to vote for Christmas, and the lamb is not going to vote for Eid, so I don’t see the Gulf en masse moving or accelerating away from hydrocarbons any time soon,” said Latta.\n\nThe UAE’s mantra of “maximum energy, minimum emissions” calls for a combined energy supply in a slow and gradual energy transition to avoid a shock to the global economy.\n\nWhile it is in their self-interest, “GCC states have first a responsibility to their citizens, and that means they must generate revenue,” said Young. “Right now, the easiest and most efficient way to generate state revenue is to sell oil and gas. So that’s what they will keep doing.”\n\nIran protests\n\nAt least 18 people, including two children, were killed in last Friday’s protests in the city of Khash, in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province, said Amnesty International on Thursday.\n\n“This latest deadly incident in Sistan and Baluchistan province reveals that protesters from the oppressed Baluchi minority have borne the brunt of the security forces’ particularly vicious crackdown on demonstrations,” the human rights organization added.\n\nLast week, protests turned violent in several cities in the province in southeast Iran, state media and activists said. Sistan and Baluchistan, which neighbors Pakistan and Afghanistan, is home to the long-oppressed Baluch ethnic minority and has a history of unrest with armed groups carrying out attacks against Iranian security personnel.\n\nThe deadly protests are part of a wider nationwide movement gripping Iran in recent weeks.\n\nHere is the latest:\n\nIran’s foreign minister on Thursday criticized his German counterpart after she tweeted a message of support for anti-government demonstrators on Wednesday.\n\nLeading Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti posted a picture of herself on Instagram without the mandatory hijab to show support for the protests.\n\nThe Iranian government labeled London-based news channel Iran International as a “terrorist organization,” the state-aligned news agency ISNA reported Tuesday, citing the country’s information ministry.\n\nIranian forces then arrested a journalist from Iran International, ISNA reported Thursday. ISNA, referring to journalist Elham Afkari as an “agent,” reported that she was arrested Thursday by the Ministry of Intelligence while trying to “flee the country.” Iranian officials have identified Afkari as the sister of famous Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari, who was executed two years ago, according to the state news agency IRNA.\n\nThe digest\n\nFIFA announces shared flights for Israeli and Palestinian football fans for 2022 World Cup\n\nFIFA, football’s world governing body, announced on Thursday that shared flights have been organized to permit Israeli and Palestinian fans into Qatar to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup.\n\nBackground: In FIFA’s press release, the organization’s president Gianni Infantino said, “We are delighted that an agreement has been reached for Israeli and Palestinian fans to visit Qatar and attend matches during the FIFA World Cup. With this deal, Israelis and Palestinians will be able to fly together and enjoy football together.” Qatar does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, but a temporary consular services office will be set up during the tournament to handle Israeli visitors. More than the 8,000 Palestinians and 3,800 Israelis have bought tickets for the tournament, a source briefed on the matter, but not authorized to speak publicly, told CNN.\n\nWhy it matters: The temporary charter flights between Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, represent the only official direct flights between the two nations. Two Gulf Arab states neighboring Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain, signed historic normalization agreements with Israel in 2020, but despite direct flights for the World Cup, a Qatari official told CNN that the country’s stance on normalization “has not changed.”\n\nLawyer of British-Egyptian hunger striker refused prison entry, authorities say he is in “good health”\n\nKhaled Ali, a lawyer representing jailed British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, tweeted Thursday that despite a permit, he was denied entry to Wadi Al Natroun prison to visit his client amid mounting concerns over Abd El-Fattah’s deteriorating health. On the same day, Egypt’s Public Prosecution said in a statement that a medical report shows jailed British-Egyptian writer and activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah is in “good health.”\n\nBackground: The Public Prosecution said it has ordered the formation of a medical committee to look into Abd El-Fattah’s health condition following a request by his attorney earlier this month to move him to a medical center. The Public Prosecution said in the statement that the medical report “concluded that Abd El Fattah is in good health and doesn’t require moving to a medical center and recommended regular follow up.” Abd El-Fattah, a leading activist in the country’s 2011 uprising who has been imprisoned several times over nine years, escalated a more than 200-day hunger strike on Sunday as he stopped drinking water.\n\nWhy it matters: The family of Abd El-Fattah said Thursday that Egyptian authorities had intervened medically after the activist stopped drinking water, and urged British authorities to get information about his health status.\n\nIt’ll be Bibi: Israel’s president to invite Netanyahu to form next government\n\nIsrael’s President Isaac Herzog announced Friday he will invite Benjamin Netanyahu to form the country’s next government.\n\nBackground: Herzog will officially issue the mandate to Netanyahu on Sunday, he said. Herzog made the announcement after meeting with all the Knesset’s factions to ask who they would back for prime minister. In a statement released by his office, he said: “At the end of the round of consultations, 64 members of the Knesset recommended to the president the chairman of the Likud faction, MK Benjamin Netanyahu.” He added that 28 Knesset members recommended outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid. The same number chose not to recommend anyone. Under Israeli law, Netanyahu will then have 28 days to form a new government, with the possibility of a 14-day extension if required.\n\nWhy it matters: The invitation paves the way for Netanyahu to take Israel’s top job for a record sixth time and his extend his record as the country’s longest-serving leader. Netanyahu’s ruling coalition is likely to be the most far-right government Israel has ever seen, which risks creating further tensions with Palestinians.\n\nAround the region\n\nKathleen Martinez, an archaeologist at the University of Santo Domingo, has been searching for the lost tomb of Cleopatra for nearly 20 years. Now she believes she’s made a pivotal breakthrough.\n\nMartinez and her team uncovered a 1,305-meter (4,281-foot) tunnel, located 13 meters (43 feet) underground, the Egyptian Ministry for Tourism and Antiquities recently announced – an architectural design experts called an “engineering miracle.”\n\n“The excavation revealed a huge religious center with three sanctuaries, a sacred lake, more than 1,500 objects, busts, statues, golden pieces, a huge collection of coins portraying Alexander the Great, Queen Cleopatra and the Ptolemies,” Martinez told CNN.\n\n“The most interesting discovery is the complex of tunnels leading to the Mediterranean Sea and sunken structures,” she added. Exploring these underwater structures will be the next stage of her search for the Egyptian queen’s lost tomb – a journey that began in 2005.\n\nA series of clues led Martinez to believe Cleopatra’s tomb might be located in the Temple of Osiris in the ruined city of Taposiris Magna, on Egypt’s northern coast, where the Nile River meets the Mediterranean.\n\nChief among them was the name itself. According to Martinez, Cleopatra was considered in her time to be “the human incarnation of the goddess Isis,” as Antony was considered to be that of the god Orisis, Isis’ husband.\n\nMartinez believes Cleopatra may have chosen to bury her husband in the temple to reflect this myth. Of all the 20 temples around Alexandria she has studied, Martinez said, “no other place, structure or temple combines so many conditions as the temple of Taposiris Magna.”\n\nAnd after years of searching, Martinez feels she is getting close.\n\nThe excavations so far have revealed that “the temple was dedicated to Isis” – which Martinez believes is another sign that the lost tomb lies nearby – as well as the tunnels below the sea.\n\nNow, Martinez said, she is at “the beginning of a new journey” – underwater excavations.\n\nThis is where Martinez and her team are looking next. Although it is “too early to know where these tunnels lead,” she is hopeful.\n\nIf the tunnels lead to Cleopatra, “it will be the most important discovery of the century,” she said.\n\nBy Christian Edwards\n\nPhoto of the day", "authors": ["Nadeen Ebrahim"], "publish_date": "2022/11/11"}, {"url": "https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/politics/955657/how-electric-cars-will-shake-up-road-tax", "title": "How electric cars will leave road tax 'black hole' | The Week UK", "text": "A group of MPs has said the UK needs to introduce new motoring taxes for electric cars to avoid slipping towards “zero revenue” by 2040.\n\nThe sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be banned in the UK in eight years’ time, in a move designed to boost the electric vehicle market. But the transport select committee warned today that “policies to deliver net zero emissions by 2050 are likely to result in zero revenue for the government from motoring taxation by 2040”.\n\nElectric cars are exempt from road tax and their drivers do not have to pay fuel duty either. Combined, those two levies “raise around £35bn a year”, said the BBC.\n\nUnless the government acts to “reform motoring taxation” and plug the gap, the UK “faces an under-resourced and congested future”, the MPs said.\n\nWith vehicle excise duty currently bankrolling road repair, the report recommended an approach of “road pricing”, which would charge drivers per trip, based on the distance travelled, duration of the journey and vehicle type, said the Daily Mail.\n\nLast week, The Guardian said road pricing could offer “a fairer, sustainable way to make polluting drivers pay, ease congestion and fund better transport” but “few politicians in power have ever wanted to take the flak that would come with introducing it”.\n\nSingapore has had a road-pricing scheme for more than 20 years, in which motorists are billed automatically for journeys measured when they pass a series of gantries.\n\nPast proposals to introduce such a scheme in the UK have tended to meet with public disapproval. MPs have now suggested that the Treasury and the Department for Transport need to embark on an “honest conversation” about how to maintain investment in roads and public services as the UK moves towards vehicles that do not pay towards these two motoring levies, said The Independent.\n\nThe impact of the lost revenue could spread beyond roads. Huw Merriman, the Conservative chair of the transport select committee, said the expected £35bn black hole in finances is “4% of the entire tax take” and as only £7bn of this goes back to the roads. As a result “schools and hospitals could be impacted”.\n\nSteve Gooding from the RAC Foundation agreed that the rise of electric cars sets up a major dilemma for public finances, saying that the “silver-lining of zero-carbon motoring comes wrapped in a cloud of trouble for the chancellor”.\n\nAs a way to dispel that cloud, MPs have urged ministers to set up an arm’s-length body to recommend a new regime by the end of 2022.\n\nWith data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showing that plug-in vehicles accounted for more than one in six new cars registered in the UK last year, the MPs said “the situation is urgent” and “work must begin without delay”.\n\nA government spokesman said ministers were committed to keeping the transition to electric cars “affordable for consumers”.", "authors": [], "publish_date": "2022/02/04"}, {"url": "https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/11/business/nuclear-power-france/index.html", "title": "France announces plans to build up to 14 nuclear reactors | CNN ...", "text": "Paris CNN Business —\n\nFrance has announced plans to build up to 14 new nuclear reactors in a move that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a buffer against volatile energy prices.\n\nPresident Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France would construct six nuclear reactors, and study the possibility of commissioning a further eight.\n\n“Given the electricity needs, the need to also anticipate the transition and the end of the existing fleet, which cannot be extended indefinitely, we are going to launch today a program of new nuclear reactors,” Macron said.\n\nConstruction will commence in 2028, and the first new reactor could be commissioned by 2035.\n\nThe push deeper into nuclear marks a policy reversal for Macron, who promised four years ago to close 12 nuclear reactors as part of a move away from the power source. France was forced to turn to coal power this winter to meet its energy needs after more than a fifth of the country’s nuclear reactors went offline.\n\nFrance wasn’t the only country in Europe to struggle this winter as wholesale gas prices spiked to record levels, pushing up heating bills for households across the continent. Struggling consumers in France received payments and grants from the government to help defray costs.\n\nBarbara Pompili, France’s minister for energy transition, said the nuclear policy shift was needed due to an “acceleration” of the “unprecedented” energy situation.\n\n“To have more electricity, we need to produce more,” Pompili told CNN affiliate BFMTV.\n\n“Even if we develop a lot our renewable energies, we have a nuclear sector that constitutes 70% of our electricity supply, we have to use this sector as much as possible,” Pompili added.\n\nFrench President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the GE Steam Power System main production site for its nuclear turbine systems on February 10, 2022. JEAN-FRANCOIS BADIAS/AFP/POOL/AFP/Getty Images\n\nClimate concerns\n\nNuclear power is a low-carbon source of energy. But nuclear plants are notoriously expensive to build, and construction tends to run over budget and time. How to safely store the radioactive waste it produces is another headache.\n\nDespite those limitations, some analysts argue the technology has a big role to play in addressing climate change.\n\nThe International Energy Agency says that nuclear power generation should more than double between 2020 and 2050 in the pursuit of net zero. Its share in the electricity mix will drop, but that’s because demand for power will soar as the world electrifies as many machines as possible, including cars and other vehicles.\n\nThe European Commission was criticized earlier this month when it unveiled a proposal to designate natural gas and nuclear power “sustainable” sources of energy.\n\nIncluding the energy sources on the EU green list could unlock a wave of private investment into new nuclear and gas projects. But the plans have angered climate activists and could still be blocked by European lawmakers, who are also deeply divided over the issue along national and political lines.\n\nThe European Union is aiming to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 55% from 1990 levels by 2030 and become a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050. Net zero is where emissions are dramatically reduced, and any that remain are offset, whether using natural methods like tree planting or technology to “capture” emissions.\n\n— Julia Horowitz, Ivana Kottasová and Angela Dewan contributed reporting.", "authors": ["Joseph Ataman"], "publish_date": "2022/02/11"}]}