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<p>It was just about a year ago that U.S. parishes began using the new translations of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal — an implementation process that seems to have gone far more smoothly than some anticipated. Wrinkles remain to be ironed out: there are precious few decent musical settings for the revised Ordinary of the Mass; the occasional celebrant (not infrequently with “S.J.” after his name) feels compelled to share his winsome personality with the congregation by free-lancing the priestly greetings and prayers of Mass. Some of the new texts themselves could have used another editorial rinsing, in my judgment. But in the main, the new translations are an immense improvement and seem to have been received as such.</p>
<p>Why that’s the case is explained with clarity and scholarly insight in a new book by Oratorian Father Uwe Michael Lang, “The Voice of the Church at Prayer: Reflections on Liturgy and Language” (Ignatius Press).</p>
<p>From the days of Christian antiquity, Father Lang explains, liturgical language — the language of the Church at its formal public prayer — has always been understood to be different: different from the language of the marketplace or public square; different from the language of the home. Liturgical language, at its best, is multivalent; it does many things at once.</p>
<p>It is a language of instruction, teaching Christians to grasp the truths embodied in their prayers.</p>
<p>It is a language of delight, attracting us to those truths through the beauty, even charm, of the prayed words and their arrangement.</p>
<p>It is a language of persuasion and encouragement, urging us to conform our lives to the truths we lift up in prayer and spurring us to greater efforts to imitate Christ and the saints.</p>
<p>It is not, to illustrate the point along the via negativa, the kind of language found in the old Collect for the 21st Sunday of the Year (“Father, help us to seek the values that will bring us lasting joy in this changing world…”) or in the old Post-Communion prayer for the 30th Sunday of the Year (“May our celebration have an effect in our lives.”).</p>
<p>The language of the liturgy is also a language meant to elevate us, to lift us out of the quotidian and the ordinary. We don’t “speak” at holy Mass the way we talk at the local mall, and for a good reason: the liturgy is our privileged participation in the liturgy of saints and angels around the Throne of Grace, and the way we address the Lord, and each other, in those circumstances ought to reflect the awesome character of our baptismal dignity. The Latin used in shaping the Canon, the Prefaces, and the Collects of the Roman Rite in the classic period of its formation was not, Father Lang writes, “the ordinary idiom of the people.” Rather, it was “a highly stylized language” consciously intended to give expression to a unique religious experience — an experience of the Wedding Feast of the Lamb.</p>
<p>In the post-Vatican II period, Polish translators followed the classic understanding of liturgical Latin and deliberately adopted a high, literary Polish for rendering the Missal of 1970 into their native language. English translators did exactly the opposite, stripping the Latin of its distinctive sacral vocabulary and images, and flattening out the rhythms of liturgical Latin. The results were not happy: Collects that informed God of what God presumably already knew (about God’s doings or our needs), and then made anodyne requisites of the Most High; eucharistic prayers that eliminated sacral words and biblical images; post-Communion prayers that, like the nonsense cited above, sounded like requests made to a therapist or dentist.</p>
<p>The Poles made the right choice, and whatever else can be said about post-conciliar Catholicism in Poland, it never slogged through the worst of the liturgical translation wars. The bad choices made by English translators decades ago, often for reasons of populist ideology and dumbed-down theology, have now been largely rectified by the new translations, which take seriously the modern scholarship about liturgy and rhetoric Father Lang so helpfully summarizes in his book.</p>
<p>George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C. and holds EPPC’s William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies.</p> | Sacred Language for Sacred Acts | false | https://eppc.org/publications/sacred-language-for-sacred-acts/ | 1 |
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<p>Kyle Chandler, left, and Casey Affleck in a scene from “Manchester By The Sea. ” (Courtesy Of Claire Folger/Roadside Attractions And Amazon Studios)</p>
<p>It’s centered on Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), whom we meet as a quiet custodian in Boston. He fixes clogged toilets and leaking showers for the tenants and shovels and salts the same walkway day after day with mechanical resolve. He is docile but stubborn and seems to have a deep disinterest in people. He is alone but not lonely, and at night, he drinks and drinks and drinks. There is rage festering under the surface, for reasons unclear. All we have are carefully chosen glimpses of the past, when Lee surrounded himself with family and had spirit and life, but we don’t know what happened to turn him into this shell.</p>
<p>Then his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) suddenly dies, and he must return to his hometown to take care of his teenage nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), a hotheaded but sensitive kid ill-equipped to deal with this tragedy.</p>
<p>Lee’s ghosts make the picturesque Manchester a cold and hellish landscape. Everything is a reminder of why he had to leave in the first place, and the nerve is still exposed. At least in Boston, he didn’t have to see people who knew. He just had to deal with himself.</p>
<p>There is no easy way to continue talking about the plot without mucking up the impact of the structure. Lonergan, who also wrote the script, allows the story to reveal itself to the audience, smartly weaving together past and present and building tension to a devastating crescendo midway through – enhanced by the gorgeous cinematography of Jody Lee Lipes and Lesley Barber’s sophisticated score.</p>
<p>Tissues are, unsurprisingly, recommended, but the film is packed with genuine wit and humor too, often when least expected. In this way, it feels like life, where fits of laughter sometimes are the only relief from shattering moments.</p>
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<p>The film offers rich performances, too. Hedges, who had a small role in “Moonrise Kingdom,” is beautifully affecting as a kid in flux – pushing the boundaries of the relationship with his reluctant guardian while trying to maintain a modicum of teenage normalcy. And, of course, there’s the scene that has everyone buzzing – a raw conversation between Lee and ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams) that will surely become a fixture in awards reels this season. And yet, it’s really the small moments and characters that add up to the whole – C.J. Wilson as a family friend, Tate Donovan as Patrick’s hockey coach, Josh Hamilton as Joe’s lawyer, to name a few.</p>
<p>But in the end, it is Affleck’s movie. In some other version of the universe, the role would have been played by Matt Damon, who is the executive producer. Meaning no disrespect to the fine acting of Mr. Damon, but what actually transpired was the outcome that was always meant to be. Affleck sinks into Lee’s deep sadness and anger with mastery – it is a career-defining performance and deserving of all the accolades.</p>
<p>I saw “Manchester by the Sea” at the Sundance Film Festival in January and again recently and was delighted to find that it not only held up, but is even more rewarding and affecting the second time around. It is a film to be watched, re-watched, studied and celebrated as a singular tale of tragedy, grief and aftermath. The scope might be small, but do not mistake its impact – “Manchester by the Sea” is an epic American tragedy of the highest caliber.</p>
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<p>RATED: R (for language throughout and some sexual content) WHEN: Opens today WHERE: Century 14 Downtown, Century 24 Rio, High Ridge, Regal Santa Fe Stadium 14 (Santa Fe)</p>
<p /> | ‘Manchester by the Sea’ is elegant masterwork | false | https://abqjournal.com/904450/elegant-masterwork.html | 2 |
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<p>The Full Story:</p>
<p>House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa’s claim that the White House was behind the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of tea party groups seeking tax-exempt status appears to have been contradicted Tuesday after the panel’s ranking Democratic member released the full transcript of testimony provided by a key witness in the investigation. The witness, a self-described conservative Republican who was the IRS manager who oversaw the screenings of tax-exempt status applications in the agency’s Cincinnati office, denied ever communicating with the White House or senior IRS officials on the matter. Rep. Elijah Cummings had pushed Issa to release the full transcript before he did it himself. Issa had previously released only excerpts. Cummings explained his decision, saying he felt the transcript “debunks conspiracy theories about how the IRS first started reviewing these cases.” ( <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/06/18/breaking-full-house-committee-transcripts-shed-new-light-on-genesis-of-irs-targeting/" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Toeing the Party Line: After refusing to rule out bringing an immigration reform bill that was mostly backed by Democrats to the floor, House Speaker John Boehner has now assured his party that there wasn’t “any way” that would have happened without GOP support. Boehner’s previous comments had sparked somewhat of an internal revolt, with at least one Republican congressman, Dana Rohrabacher of California, threatening that Boehner could be ousted from his speakership if he broke the “Hastert rule,” a general guideline set forth by former GOP Speaker Dennis Hastert that House leadership should not bring to the floor legislation that is not supported by a majority of members of the party in power. When asked during a news conference Tuesday whether Rohrabacher’s remark had any impact on his new attitude, Boehner quipped, “Maybe.” ( <a href="http://blogs.rollcall.com/goppers/boehner-doesnt-see-immigration-without-gop-majority/" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Bleak Future: What will happen if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid decides to eliminate the filibuster on President Obama’s nominations? Well, according to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republicans will end the 60-vote threshold for everything the next time they regain the majority. Reid has threatened to invoke the “nuclear option” on nominations because GOP senators have issues with at least half a dozen of President Obama’s pending judicial and Cabinet nominees. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that if the majority breaks the rules of the Senate to change the rules of the Senate with regard to nominations, the next majority will do it for everything,” McConnell said Tuesday. The minority leader then added what a GOP-controlled Senate—needing only 51 votes to pass legislation—would do. Priority No. 1, according to McConnell, would be to repeal Obamacare. He also said his party would repeal the estate tax, lift the ban on drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and approve the Keystone XL Pipeline project. ( <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/06/mcconnell-reid-nuclear-option-filibuster.php" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
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<p>Email Trail: In a letter to the Obama administration Monday, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., criticized officials for using “secret email accounts,” arguing that they undermine the public’s trust in government. Not mentioned in McCain’s letter: that he, like others serving in the House of Representatives and the Senate, has a secret email address. The Obama administration is also not the first one to use secret secondary email accounts; previous Republican administrations—including George W. Bush’s—have used them since the government began using email. According to Think Progress, the Environmental Protection Agency released to it “a list of E-mail addresses used by the four people who served as Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency during the Bush administration. Each had a public address (using the typical agency format of [email protected]) and a private one.” ( <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/06/17/2170311/mccain-secret-email-address/" type="external">Read more</a>)</p>
<p>Video of the Day: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has responded to Dick Cheney’s recent criticism of him. On “Fox News Sunday,” Cheney had said Paul’s position on NSA surveillance programs—which differ from the former vice president’s—was wrong. “What I would ask is who did they fire after 9/11? Not one person was fired,” he said on CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Tuesday. “Do you remember the ’20th hijacker’? [Zacarias] Moussaoui, captured a month in advance? The FBI agent wrote 70 letters asking, ‘let’s look at this guy’s computer.’ In the FBI, they turned him down.” Paul continued: “It wasn’t that they couldn’t get a warrant, nobody asked for a warrant. To me, that was really, really bad intelligence, really bad police work, and, really, someone should have been removed from office for that.”</p>
<p /> | IRS Conspiracy Theory Debunked, Rand Paul Answers Cheney Criticism, and More | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/irs-conspiracy-theory-debunked-rand-paul-answers-cheney-criticism-and-more/ | 2013-06-19 | 4 |
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<p>The Los Angeles Rams are looking to make a major statement to their new city’s fans with the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft on Thursday, and Tiki Barber, the former New York Giants star turned media personality and entrepreneur, thinks University of California quarterback Jared Goff is exactly what they have in mind.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Barely three months removed from the league’s formal approval of their relocation from St. Louis to Los Angeles, the Rams are in dire need of a franchise quarterback. General manager Les Snead traded five draft picks to acquire the first overall pick from the Tennessee Titans and the right to choose between Goff, the consensus top quarterback prospect, and Carson Wentz, an enigmatic talent from tiny North Dakota State University.</p>
<p>As the Rams prepare to play home games in the Los Angeles area for the first time since the mid-1990s, Barber says it’s crucial for the once-middling franchise to generate interest among local fans. With that in mind, Goff, a poised, accurate passer with excellent mechanics and a strong college football pedigree, is a natural choice to become the face of Los Angeles’ new pro football franchise. To make their relocation a financial success, the Rams need to re-energize their fan base before the doors open on their new multibillion-dollar stadium in 2019.</p>
<p>"We assume, but we don’t know if L.A. can sustain a football team. But if they’re going to, it’s going to be by season ticket holders, it’s going to be about the excitement surrounding football coming back to L.A.,” Barber told FOXBusiness.com. “What better way to do that – it’s all marketing and branding, no matter what you do, no matter what you’re selling – than getting a quarterback from Cal, a California kid who is a great prospect? That’s Jared Goff. We can expect that Jared Goff will go No. 1.”</p>
<p>The Rams are hardly the only NFL franchise aiming to land a new franchise quarterback on draft day. It’s widely assumed in pro football circles that the Philadelphia Eagles, who also traded a bundle of draft picks to land the No. 2 overall selection, are targeting Wentz. But misinformation always circulates in the hours before the draft, and other prospects, such as Ole Miss offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil and Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey, could also end up in Philadelphia.</p>
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<p>On Thursday night, it may come down to whether the Eagles think Wentz, a 6-foot-5, 240-pound player with surprising athleticism, can make the jump from a small college program to the NFL.</p>
<p>“Carson Wentz is that kid who nobody knew, who played in a small conference at a small school, but he looks the part,” Barber said. “We don’t know. But is it worth it for the Philadelphia Eagles, or are they just throwing smokescreens out there with the intent of drafting someone else, just to create a draft day advantage over some of their contemporaries? That’s what we debate in sports talk radio, that’s what we debate as fans around the NFL Draft.”</p>
<p>Separating the franchise quarterbacks from the first-round busts is a dicey proposition in today’s league, where the transition from college to the pros has never been more difficult. But Barber says the NFL’s rookie pay scale, which limits even the first overall selection to a four-year contract worth about $25 million, has made it much more palatable for teams to gamble on a prospect.</p>
<p>“If you can take a shot, take a chance on a quarterback, especially with the way the rookie scale is worked out, so you’re not paying him millions and millions of dollars without having to prove himself, it’s worth it,” Barber said.</p>
<p>But Barber, who rushed for more than 10,000 yards during a standout career with the Giants, says a running back may be the most polished prospect among this year’s crop of rookies.</p>
<p>Ezekiel Elliott, a 6-foot, 225-pound running back from Ohio State University, is considered by many draft experts to be one of the most complete players to come out of college at his position in years. The 20-year-old is projected to be a top-15 pick, but Barber says he doesn’t expect Elliott to stay on the board past the Baltimore Ravens at No. 6 overall.</p>
<p>“I would love for him to come to New York. I don’t think the Giants are going to take him, it’s not actually their area of need. But I love a guy who can do it all, who’s a complete back,” Barber said. “He may, arguably, be the most football-ready, NFL-ready top prospect in this draft. Because his impact, wherever he goes – and I don’t think he’s going to make it out of the top five or six – he’s going to be a player and a starter right away.”</p> | Fmr. NY Giant Tiki Barber: Los Angeles Rams Should Draft Jared Goff | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/04/28/fmr-ny-giant-tiki-barber-los-angeles-rams-should-draft-jared-goff.html | 2016-04-28 | 0 |
<p>British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery was the man who said the first three rules of warfare are “Do not invade Russia,” repeated three times. A footnote to that rule would be that while the disputed Georgian districts of South Ossetia and Abkhazia are not parts of Russia today, they were yesterday, and probably will again be tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow. Most of their present populations carry Russian passports, and there are Russian troops in both provinces.</p>
<p>The fourth rule of war might be, “Do not let anyone trick you into invading Russia.” Apologists for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili have claimed that the Russians prepared their riposte to the Georgian attack on South Ossetia before it happened last Friday, but misled Saakashvili into thinking an attempt to seize the disputed territory would go unopposed. However, The New York Times quotes “a senior American official” as saying, “It doesn’t look as if this was premeditated. Until the night before the fighting, Russia seemed to be playing a constructive role.”</p>
<p>The Russian version of the betrayal theme is that Saakashvili “was forced to start this war by Dick Cheney to support the campaign of John McCain. The only possibility for John McCain to win is to have some kind of war.”</p>
<p>That is the view of Sergei Markov, director of the Institute of Political Studies in Moscow, and undoubtedly it is an opinion widely held in Russia. It is at least logical. If true, it would mean that Cheney should be charged with malfeasance in public office. (But that has been proposed before.) The U.S. vice president’s actual statement after the Russian counterattack was perfectly presidential. He said the Russian attack “must not go unanswered,” and if continued would have serious consequences for Russian-American relations. This said everything and nothing at the same time.</p>
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<p>The fifth rule ought also to be precautionary: “Don’t let your friends in Washington democracy-promoting institutes or neoconservative think tanks, or who are important American newspaper columnists or television talking heads, convince you that if you attack Russia the United States and NATO will rescue you.”</p>
<p>Thus a sixth rule of conduct is one of political realism, and explains rule five. It was expressed by Henry Kissinger: “Great powers do not commit suicide for allies.” (Least of all small and unimportant allies.)</p>
<p>Nowhere in what I have read of the comment on this small but important war has it been explained why neither Georgia nor Ukraine should belong to NATO. They carry with them ready-made wars that NATO neither can nor should be expected to deal with. They are both ethnically and culturally divided nations whose histories are of struggle between or among their component parts.</p>
<p>In Georgia, it is between the linguistically distinct enclaves that in the past were Russian and wish again to be Russian, and the majority of Georgians, who want to be part of the West, but are also determined to dominate their rebellious territories. If they would peacefully renounce those territories, an ethnically and culturally united Georgia would have every right to demand NATO membership. But as things are now (or were, until the last few days), Mikheil Saakashvili wants his country inside NATO to protect him from the consequences of forcing those dissident territories to remain under Georgian domination. NATO has no business doing such a thing, and as Russia supports the rebel enclaves, NATO membership for Georgia has war with Russia built into it. As we have just seen.</p>
<p>In Ukraine, the problem is between a culturally and historically Orthodox and Russian-speaking Ukraine, and a Westernized and Uniate Catholic Ukraine, whose ties are to Poland and Lithuania. Westernized Ukraine is trying to use NATO to help it dominate Russian Ukraine. This again has war built into it, and NATO must stay away from a conflict that is an unresolved and possibly irresolvable internal Ukrainian problem. NATO is extremely lucky that Germany and France blocked it earlier this year from offering membership to Georgia. Had they not done so, NATO today would either have threatened Russia with war this week, or its Article Five guarantee to go to the military aid of any of its members under attack would have been discredited.</p>
<p>Thus the seventh rule, also one of political realism, is: “Don’t give guarantees or make threats you cannot carry out.” John McCain said, “Russia should immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgia territory.” That is ultimatum talk. But if McCain were president today, just what would he have done if Russia defied him?</p>
<p>Barack Obama said, “Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full-scale war.” This was called “weak” by the McCain camp, but it was presidential talk. It said what the two sides should do, without committing the United States to do anything, whatever happened. It maintained a free hand for the United States.</p>
<p>Visit William Pfaff’s Web site at www.williampfaff.com.</p>
<p>© 2008 Tribune Media Services, Inc.</p> | NATO, Georgia and the Ready-Made War | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/nato-georgia-and-the-ready-made-war/ | 2008-08-13 | 4 |
<p>Lego wants kids of the future to continue having fun with its toy building blocks, but not at the expense of the environment. To that end, the Denmark-based Lego Group has announced a plan to find "sustainable" materials to replace the plastic used in its bricks by 2030. The company says it will invest more than $150 million to establish a Lego Sustainable Materials Centre and staff it with more than 100 employees.</p>
<p>"Our mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. We believe that our main contribution to this is through the creative play experiences we provide to children," Lego Group owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen said in a <a href="http://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2015/june/sustainable-materials-centre" type="external">statement</a>. "The investment announced is a testament to our continued ambition to leave a positive impact on the planet, which future generations will inherit."</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Help Wanted: Work at Cambridge University, Play with LEGOs</a></p>
<p>Since 1963, Lego blocks have been made from a strong, resilient plastic known as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). Lego goes through more than 6,000 tons of plastic each year to manufacture all the sets they sell. The company indicated it will collaborate with outside companies and experts to find and implement new replacement materials, though it acknowledged there's no universally agreed-upon definition for what constitutes a "sustainable" material.</p>
<p /> | No More Plastic Legos? Company Searches for ‘Sustainable’ Material | false | http://nbcnews.com/science/environment/no-more-plastic-legos-company-searches-sustainable-material-n379976 | 2015-06-23 | 3 |
<p>Shares of some top credit card companies are mixed at 1 p.m.:</p>
<p>American Express Co. rose $.04 or percent, to $95.39.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Capital One Financial Corp. rose $.48 or .6 percent, to $83.50.</p>
<p>Discover Financial Services fell $.07 or .1 percent, to $62.82.</p>
<p>Mastercard rose $.57 or .8 percent, to $76.10.</p>
<p>Visa Inc. rose $.74 or .3 percent, to $214.99.</p> | Credit Card companies shares mixed at 1 p.m. | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/12/26/credit-card-companies-shares-mixed-at-1-pm.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>Insurers have no requirement to encrypt the data of its consumers as part of a federal law from the 1990s — which may mean the law could be in need of some updating for the Internet age after a recent massive data breach of Anthem, the second-largest U.S. health insurer.</p>
<p>Encryption protects data by scrambling it using mathematical formulas, so that anyone who does get their hands on it will not be able to figure out what it says. However, the data of 80 million people that was stolen from Anthem’s database was not encrypted, according to an <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/no-encryption-standard-raises-health-care-privacy-questions/2015/02/07/be0383c6-aea0-11e4-8876-460b1144cbc1_story.html" type="external">Associated Press report</a>.</p>
<p>The federal law in question is the well-known Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. While the law encourages encryption, it stops short of mandating it.</p>
<p>This latest data breach could cause the public to lose confidence in the ability of the government to protect data even as it increases the computerization of medical records and tries to increase electronic information sharing among hospitals.</p>
<p>David Kibbe, CEO of nonprofit advocacy group DirecTrust, was quoted in the report as saying that maybe it’s time to update HIPAA.</p>
<p>Kibbe argued that any data that identifies the patient should be encrypted, and that it should make no difference whether that information is transmitted over the Internet or is simply sitting in a company database — the latter being the case with Anthem.</p>
<p>The incident has gotten the attention of federal lawmakers, as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee will take a look at encryption requirements as part of a review of health information security.</p>
<p /> | Should HIPAA be overhauled? Anthem data breach raises alarm for privacy advocates | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/02/07/should-hipaa-be-overhauled-anthem-data-breach-raises-alarm-for-privacy-advocates/ | 2015-02-07 | 3 |
<p>Sept. 23 (UPI) — Two college students headed to Burbank airport in southern California survived when their small aircraft crash-landed on a city street late Friday.</p>
<p>The unidentified pilot and passenger <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-glendale-plane-crash-20170922-story.html" type="external">radioed in a distress call</a> shortly before the plane crashed in the lawn in front of an apartment building, across the street from a Smart &amp; Final grocery store in Glendale, Calif.</p>
<p>“He’s obviously shaken up from the incident,” Glendale Police Sgt. Scott Byrne told KTLA-TV, adding the pilot was cooperating with police at the scene. “The guy just survived the plane crash, so he seems to be OK.”</p>
<p>The passenger was briefly hospitalized for minor injuries. The pilot suffered a laceration and was treated at the scene. The men were returning from campus for the weekend.</p>
<p>One of the men told police he felt lucky to be alive after the ordeal, so much so he’d already purchased a lottery ticket from the grocery store near the scene.</p> | Pilot, passenger survive small plane crash near LA supermarket | false | https://newsline.com/pilot-passenger-survive-small-plane-crash-near-la-supermarket/ | 2017-09-23 | 1 |
<p>DETROIT (AP) _ These Michigan lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Poker Lotto</p>
<p>KH-8D-10D-3H-3S</p>
<p>(KH, 8D, 10D, 3H, 3S)</p>
<p>Midday Daily 3</p>
<p>3-7-4</p>
<p>(three, seven, four)</p>
<p>Midday Daily 4</p>
<p>7-8-3-5</p>
<p>(seven, eight, three, five)</p>
<p>Daily 3</p>
<p>5-0-5</p>
<p>(five, zero, five)</p>
<p>Daily 4</p>
<p>4-6-9-3</p>
<p>(four, six, nine, three)</p>
<p>Fantasy 5</p>
<p>03-19-20-23-32</p>
<p>(three, nineteen, twenty, twenty-three, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $115,000</p>
<p>Keno</p>
<p>04-07-12-20-24-31-33-40-47-49-52-53-54-56-57-59-64-67-68-69-72-77</p>
<p>(four, seven, twelve, twenty, twenty-four, thirty-one, thirty-three, forty, forty-seven, forty-nine, fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-nine, sixty-four, sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine, seventy-two, seventy-seven)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>10-12-20-38-41, Mega Ball: 25, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(ten, twelve, twenty, thirty-eight, forty-one; Mega Ball: twenty-five; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $277 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $337 million</p>
<p>DETROIT (AP) _ These Michigan lotteries were drawn Tuesday:</p>
<p>Poker Lotto</p>
<p>KH-8D-10D-3H-3S</p>
<p>(KH, 8D, 10D, 3H, 3S)</p>
<p>Midday Daily 3</p>
<p>3-7-4</p>
<p>(three, seven, four)</p>
<p>Midday Daily 4</p>
<p>7-8-3-5</p>
<p>(seven, eight, three, five)</p>
<p>Daily 3</p>
<p>5-0-5</p>
<p>(five, zero, five)</p>
<p>Daily 4</p>
<p>4-6-9-3</p>
<p>(four, six, nine, three)</p>
<p>Fantasy 5</p>
<p>03-19-20-23-32</p>
<p>(three, nineteen, twenty, twenty-three, thirty-two)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $115,000</p>
<p>Keno</p>
<p>04-07-12-20-24-31-33-40-47-49-52-53-54-56-57-59-64-67-68-69-72-77</p>
<p>(four, seven, twelve, twenty, twenty-four, thirty-one, thirty-three, forty, forty-seven, forty-nine, fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-nine, sixty-four, sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine, seventy-two, seventy-seven)</p>
<p>Mega Millions</p>
<p>10-12-20-38-41, Mega Ball: 25, Megaplier: 4</p>
<p>(ten, twelve, twenty, thirty-eight, forty-one; Mega Ball: twenty-five; Megaplier: four)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $277 million</p>
<p>Powerball</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $337 million</p> | MI Lottery | false | https://apnews.com/amp/2a7d7e4fbc6e4c93b920b923c172f844 | 2017-12-27 | 2 |
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<p />
<p>The 38-year-old walked down a beach in Dakar and into the Atlantic Ocean, launching a swim for 1,635 nautical miles, or nearly 2,000 land miles (3,200 kilometers), from Senegal to Brazil.</p>
<p>“This is for my daughter,” said Hooper, who filled a water bottle with sand to keep for the 8-year-old who he said inspired the swim. “It's been a long time coming.”</p>
<p>Flanked by two boats and a crew of less than a dozen, Hooper aims to be the first person to swim every mile of the Atlantic Ocean from continent to continent, stepping on land again in March.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He says he trained three years as he gathered a crew for the Big Blue, the main boat on which he will eat and sleep when he is not swimming for about eight hours each day through waters infested with sharks and jellyfish.</p>
<p>Water has loomed large in his life.</p>
<p>“I nearly drowned when I was 5 in a swimming pool in Belgium,” Hooper told The Associated Press. “Ever since … I've had this affinity with water. It was the calmest I've ever felt.”</p>
<p>Hooper said he had a bout of depression about 3 1/2 years ago and decided to turn his life around for his daughter. So he looked to water.</p>
<p>“Nobody had swum a full ocean. More people have landed on the moon than have tried this, so at that point I thought maybe this is my calling,” said Hooper. “If I can inspire myself, other people and raise money for charity, why not do it?”</p>
<p>Inspired by British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Hooper said he hopes to motivate others, especially children, to swim.</p>
<p>Funding for the expedition has taken time, and the launch was set back several times as various crew members dropped out and the boats faced mechanical issues.</p>
<p>“This will be a major achievement overall,” said Nigel Taylor-Schofield, the captain of Big Blue. “If anybody can accomplish this, it would be Ben. He is very determined.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The crew, including a paramedic, will track the miles, and Hooper has said if he gets to Brazil with the help of currents, he will swim until he fulfills the full Atlantic mileage.</p>
<p>The challenges, be it marine life, dehydration, and more, will be vast, but Hooper says his biggest fear is letting the team and his daughter down. He'll listen to a playlist on customized earphones that he said will include eurotrash music, Eminem and The Script's “Hall of Fame.” Hooper will also wear various gear that helps camouflage him from sharks, and a tracking device so supporters can follow his nearly five-month swim online.</p>
<p>Around 10:30 a.m. on the beach outside the Monaco Plage hotel in Dakar, Hooper and the crew were ready.</p>
<p>“See you in Brazil,” he said, before eventually swimming off into the sunlit waters toward his goal.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.swimthebigblue.com/" type="external">http://www.swimthebigblue.com/</a></p>
<p>—</p>
<p>Follow Carley Petesch on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/carleypetesch" type="external">www.twitter.com/carleypetesch</a></p>
<p><a href="#3ebe5ec8-cd39-4835-9f39-ef98f3769974" type="external">© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</a> Learn more about our <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/privacy" type="external">Privacy Policy</a> and <a href="http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/terms" type="external">Terms of Use</a>.</p> | British man aims to swim Atlantic: From Senegal to Brazil | false | https://abqjournal.com/888135/british-man-aims-to-swim-atlantic-from-senegal-to-brazil.html | 2016-11-13 | 2 |
<p>The Latest on winter weather (all times local):</p>
<p>8:20 a.m.</p>
<p>Authorities say a 64-year-old Ohio man whose body was found on the front porch of his home by a meal delivery driver froze to death.</p>
<p>The Akron Beacon Journal <a href="https://www.ohio.com/akron/news/akron-shut-in-found-frozen-to-death-on-his-front-porch-in-middlebury" type="external">reports</a> the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday confirmed that Darnell Wilson, of Akron, died of hypothermia.</p>
<p>His body was found Tuesday by a woman delivering food for the Mobile Meals program. The high temperature in Akron reached just 14 degrees that day.</p>
<p>It's unclear how long Wilson had been on the partially enclosed porch before his body was found.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6 a.m.</p>
<p>Bitter cold air sweeping across New Jersey is slowing the process of digging out from a major snowstorm that blanketed the state.</p>
<p>Snow has been cleared on the state's major highways, however motorists are advised to use caution because of icy spots. Speeds have been reduced on the Betsy Ross, Commodore Barry, Ben Franklin and Walt Whitman bridges.</p>
<p>Many schools are closed or have delayed openings Friday as road crews try to clear local streets.</p>
<p>Most of the snow from Thursday's storm fell in the southern part of the state, with Cape May Court House receiving 17 inches (43 centimeters). Colts Neck in saw 15 inches (38 centimeters).</p>
<p>A wind chill advisory is effect for the state until Saturday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>5:35 a.m.</p>
<p>A New York City children's hospital has made sure its patients don't miss out on winter fun by carting in buckets of snow for the kids to play with and enjoy.</p>
<p>St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children in Queens brought in plenty of snow for the children who are patients there to build snowmen or go sledding indoors during the Thursday snowstorm. Images posted to the hospital's Facebook page show one patient making a table-sized snowman - complete with a hat and scarf.</p>
<p>A hospital spokeswoman tells WNBC-TV that St. Mary's is one of only a few hospitals in the country that specializes in long-term care for children with special needs and life-limiting conditions.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:50 a.m.</p>
<p>Authorities say a girl struck by a pickup truck while sledding and a 75-year-old man hit by a snow plow while clearing business parking lots have died in Virginia in the aftermath of the East Coast snowstorm.</p>
<p>Police in Chesterfield County, a suburb of Richmond, Virginia, say the girl was sledding down a driveway when she slid into a road and was hit by the pickup truck Thursday. Police say in a statement that the driver immediately stopped and that the girl was taken to a hospital where she died of her injuries. The girl wasn't immediately identified.</p>
<p>In the greater Hampton area of southeast Virginia, authorities told The Virginia-Pilot that a 75-year-old private contractor, Barry Hale, was hit by the plow shortly after midday Thursday while clearing snow from parking lots in Buckroe. He died at a local hospital of his injuries. A police statement says the Virginia Department of Labor will conduct a follow-up investigation.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1 a.m.</p>
<p>East Coast residents are bracing for a deep freeze a day after a winter storm dumped as much as 18 inches of snow (46 centimeters) and unleashed bitter cold, hurricane-force winds and historic coastal flooding from the Carolinas to Maine.</p>
<p>Forecasters say Friday will bring a blast of record-breaking cold air and bitter winds that could make it feel as low as minus 15 degrees throughout much of the Northeast this weekend.</p>
<p>National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Hurley says mid-Atlantic states can expect temperatures in the teens while the Northeast's coastal areas will see temperatures in the single digits.</p>
<p>He says the South won't be spared the cold weather, either.</p>
<p>The frigid temperatures should persist through Sunday, when the Northeast residents will feel potentially record-breaking cold.</p>
<p>The Latest on winter weather (all times local):</p>
<p>8:20 a.m.</p>
<p>Authorities say a 64-year-old Ohio man whose body was found on the front porch of his home by a meal delivery driver froze to death.</p>
<p>The Akron Beacon Journal <a href="https://www.ohio.com/akron/news/akron-shut-in-found-frozen-to-death-on-his-front-porch-in-middlebury" type="external">reports</a> the Summit County Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday confirmed that Darnell Wilson, of Akron, died of hypothermia.</p>
<p>His body was found Tuesday by a woman delivering food for the Mobile Meals program. The high temperature in Akron reached just 14 degrees that day.</p>
<p>It's unclear how long Wilson had been on the partially enclosed porch before his body was found.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>6 a.m.</p>
<p>Bitter cold air sweeping across New Jersey is slowing the process of digging out from a major snowstorm that blanketed the state.</p>
<p>Snow has been cleared on the state's major highways, however motorists are advised to use caution because of icy spots. Speeds have been reduced on the Betsy Ross, Commodore Barry, Ben Franklin and Walt Whitman bridges.</p>
<p>Many schools are closed or have delayed openings Friday as road crews try to clear local streets.</p>
<p>Most of the snow from Thursday's storm fell in the southern part of the state, with Cape May Court House receiving 17 inches (43 centimeters). Colts Neck in saw 15 inches (38 centimeters).</p>
<p>A wind chill advisory is effect for the state until Saturday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>5:35 a.m.</p>
<p>A New York City children's hospital has made sure its patients don't miss out on winter fun by carting in buckets of snow for the kids to play with and enjoy.</p>
<p>St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children in Queens brought in plenty of snow for the children who are patients there to build snowmen or go sledding indoors during the Thursday snowstorm. Images posted to the hospital's Facebook page show one patient making a table-sized snowman - complete with a hat and scarf.</p>
<p>A hospital spokeswoman tells WNBC-TV that St. Mary's is one of only a few hospitals in the country that specializes in long-term care for children with special needs and life-limiting conditions.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>2:50 a.m.</p>
<p>Authorities say a girl struck by a pickup truck while sledding and a 75-year-old man hit by a snow plow while clearing business parking lots have died in Virginia in the aftermath of the East Coast snowstorm.</p>
<p>Police in Chesterfield County, a suburb of Richmond, Virginia, say the girl was sledding down a driveway when she slid into a road and was hit by the pickup truck Thursday. Police say in a statement that the driver immediately stopped and that the girl was taken to a hospital where she died of her injuries. The girl wasn't immediately identified.</p>
<p>In the greater Hampton area of southeast Virginia, authorities told The Virginia-Pilot that a 75-year-old private contractor, Barry Hale, was hit by the plow shortly after midday Thursday while clearing snow from parking lots in Buckroe. He died at a local hospital of his injuries. A police statement says the Virginia Department of Labor will conduct a follow-up investigation.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>1 a.m.</p>
<p>East Coast residents are bracing for a deep freeze a day after a winter storm dumped as much as 18 inches of snow (46 centimeters) and unleashed bitter cold, hurricane-force winds and historic coastal flooding from the Carolinas to Maine.</p>
<p>Forecasters say Friday will bring a blast of record-breaking cold air and bitter winds that could make it feel as low as minus 15 degrees throughout much of the Northeast this weekend.</p>
<p>National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Hurley says mid-Atlantic states can expect temperatures in the teens while the Northeast's coastal areas will see temperatures in the single digits.</p>
<p>He says the South won't be spared the cold weather, either.</p>
<p>The frigid temperatures should persist through Sunday, when the Northeast residents will feel potentially record-breaking cold.</p> | The Latest: Meal deliverer discovers man who froze to death | false | https://apnews.com/amp/7c6cc85eb99a4d8b9b0f70a14db65c05 | 2018-01-05 | 2 |
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<p>DENVER - Dozens of Colorado inmates serving life sentences for crimes they committed as teenagers will be considered for release under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.</p>
<p>The Denver Post reports ( <a href="http://dpo.st/1TkJRS8" type="external">http://dpo.st/1TkJRS8</a> ) that the high court's ruling announced Monday settles the debate over a 2012 ruling that found it unconstitutional to sentence juveniles convicted of murder to automatic life terms without the possibility of parole. Seven states, including Colorado, had refused to apply the ruling to those convicted before 2012.</p>
<p>But the U.S. Supreme Court's most recent decision paves the way for 48 inmates sentenced between 1991 and 2006 to have their sentences reviewed.</p>
<p>Across the U.S., more than 1,000 inmates will now be considered for parole or reduced prison time.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Denver Post, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com" type="external">http://www.denverpost.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 48 Colorado inmates serving life will get sentence reviews | false | https://abqjournal.com/712408/48-colorado-inmates-serving-life-will-get-sentence-reviews.html | 2 |
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<p>MOSCOW -- Five members of a banned militant group were arrested in southern Russia on Saturday and a homemade bomb packed with shrapnel was defused, in another security scare weeks before the Winter Olympics in Sochi.</p>
<p>Islamist militants have threatened to attack the games and suicide bombers killed at least 34 people last month in Volgograd, also in southern Russia.</p>
<p>President Vladimir Putin, who has staked his political and personal prestige on the success of the Olympics, has ordered safety measures beefed up nationwide after the attacks.</p>
<p>Russia's National Anti-terrorism Committee (NAC) said the latest arrests were in Nalchik, a town about 190 miles from Sochi in the Caucasus region, where insurgents want to carve out an Islamic state.</p>
<p>"Security forces have detained five members of a banned international terrorist organization," the NAC said in a statement received by Russian news agencies. An NAC spokesman confirmed the statement to Reuters.</p>
<p>"The anti-terrorism operation discovered and seized ammunition, grenades and a homemade explosive device packed with shrapnel ready for use," the statement said.</p>
<p>The weapons were discovered in the course of searching the addresses where the arrests took place, it added.</p>
<p>Nalchik is 100 km from the town of Beslan, the site of a 2004 guerrilla attack on a school which killed 331, half of them children.</p> | Russia Arrests Five Militants With Bomb Weeks Before Olympics | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/russia-terror/russia-arrests-five-militants-bomb-weeks-olympics-n7971 | 2014-01-17 | 3 |
<p>Stealing the infamous “Work Sets You Free” sign from Auschwitz has landed three men in the slammer. On Thursday, a Polish court in Krakow doled out relatively short prison sentences to the trio, who admitted to the crime and thus skipped a trial. Meanwhile, a stand-in sign has been erected at the Auschwitz gate while the original sign is under repair. –KA</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Two other Poles remain in custody over the theft of the 5m (16ft) wrought-iron sign, which was quickly recovered.</p>
<p>It had been half-unscrewed, half-torn from above the memorial site’s gate and cut into three pieces to ease the thieves’ getaway.</p>
<p />
<p>The three convicted on Thursday were named as Radoslaw M, Lukasz M and Pawel S.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8574343.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Three Jailed for Auschwitz Sign Heist | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/three-jailed-for-auschwitz-sign-heist/ | 2010-03-18 | 4 |
<p>Security cameras rolled as a pickup truck crashed into a Minnesota bar on Wednesday afternoon, pinning five patrons between its front bumper and the bar itself.</p>
<p>The 51-year-old driver apparently suffered a diabetic reaction when she lost control.</p>
<p>"I didn't know what was going on," bartender Pat Sazenski told the <a href="" type="external">Duluth News-Tribune</a>. "The wall exploded, the truck came in."</p>
<p>Amazingly, there were no fatalities at Gordie's Place in Little Canada, although two people are in hospital with serious injuries.</p>
<p>As security video begins, patrons are idly chatting; then, in an instant, they disappear behind the rubble.</p>
<p>One man is visible and remains unable to free himself.</p>
<p>"I couldn't believe there were still people between the truck and the bar, honestly," Jim Cossack, whose dad Tom owns the bar, told <a href="" type="external">MSNBC</a>.</p>
<p>He used a Bobcat to help free the truck and allow most of the patrons to escape.</p>
<p>The driver jumped the curb and knocked over a power pole before slamming into the bar about 1:30 p.m.</p>
<p>In all, five people were hurt.</p>
<p>"The vehicle was traveling eastbound on Little Canada Road when it crossed the westbound lanes, knocking over a power pole, crashing through the outside wall of the building, and coming to rest inside of the building," a police <a href="http://www.co.ramsey.mn.us/NR/rdonlyres/CCB669EF-783E-4817-983F-C62DDB123942/28670/05302012VehicleCrashesIntoBuildinginLittleCanada.pdf" type="external">news release</a>said.</p>
<p />
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="" type="external">Fireworks backfires, rips hole in Minnesota man's chest</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Truck crashes into Minnesota bar (VIDEO) | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-06-01/truck-crashes-minnesota-bar-video | 2012-06-01 | 3 |
<p>Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders (Socialist-Loonbaggia) completely embarrassed themselves on Sunday over the issue of abortion. Confronted for the first time in their adult lives by questions about the morality of their abortion perspectives, they froze like deer in the headlights. Chuck Todd from NBC <a href="http://louderwithcrowder.com/hillarys-extreme-pro-abortion-unborn-children-dont-have-rights/#.VwKCy0sycds" type="external">asked Clinton</a>, “When or if does an unborn child have constitutional rights?” Clinton answered, “The unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights.”</p>
<p>Well, that’s damned clear. The baby is an unborn human being; it doesn’t have rights because Hillary believes certain human beings do not deserve rights. This is the same perspective as that of slaveholders in the antebellum south: if the black person is on my plantation, he’s property. If you believe borders mark personhood – personal borders or state borders – you’re a monster.</p>
<p>But this is the Democratic Party official position. Unborn children have no rights. If you want to kill them, grab a scalpel, sister. No wonder Cecile Richards calls Hillary the "pinnacle of everything we've fought for."</p>
<p>And Sanders agrees. Asked the same question, Sanders said, “All I know is that I will fight as strong as I can to defend a woman’s right to choose. I believe that it is an outrage that Republicans who tell us how much they hate the government now want to tell every American – every American woman what she can and cannot do with her body. And I do agree with the Secretary. I don’t believe there’s any constitutional protection for the unborn.”</p>
<p>This, again, is evil. No restrictions on abortion means plunge a scissors into the base of the skull of a 9-month-old baby in the womb, and suck its brains into a sink before chopping it up for extraction.</p>
<p>Normally, all of this would be problematic for Democrats.</p>
<p>Thankfully for Democrats, they have Donald Trump.</p>
<p>Trump supposedly became pro-life just when he began considering whether to run for president of the United States. Until that time, he believed in partial birth abortion. He still backs Planned Parenthood. In the last four days, he’s held the following positions:</p>
<p>Wednesday: Women should be punished for abortion.</p>
<p>Wednesday: “[T]he issue is unclear…[it should be] left to the states.”</p>
<p>Thursday: “The woman is a victim in this case as is the life in her womb. My position has not changed – like Ronald Reagan, I am pro-life with exceptions.”</p>
<p>Friday: “I think it would’ve been better if it were up to the states. But right now, the laws are set….At this moment, the laws are set. And I think we have to leave it that way.”</p>
<p>Friday: “Mr. Trump gave an accurate account of the law as it is today and made clear it must stay that way now – until he is President. Then he will change the law through his judicial appointments and allow the states to protect the nborn. There is nothing new or different here.”</p>
<p>Saturday: “What I said was so good, it was so perfect, and then they look, they say, ‘Oh, maybe he should’ve added a word.’”</p>
<p>Sunday: Yeah, I won’t answer whether I’ve <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/03/opinion/sunday/trump-does-it-his-way.html" type="external">paid for an abortion or two</a>.</p>
<p>The pro-abortion position is morally reprehensible. But it cannot be fought by a man with more positions than the Kama Sutra. Trump’s moral incoherence disgraces the pro-life movement – and in the process, undercuts everything conservatives believe. He is the reverse King Midas of conservatism: every conservative position he supposedly holds, he turns to horse manure.</p> | Abortion Ghouls Clinton, Sanders Bailed Out By Moral Idiot Trump | true | https://dailywire.com/news/4634/abortion-ghouls-clinton-sanders-bailed-out-moral-ben-shapiro | 2016-04-04 | 0 |
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<p />
<p>Government, academic and other researchers made comprehensive check-ups on 29 dolphins in Barataria Bay in August 2011 as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment – a federal process to determine the extent of damage and how to repair it. Barataria Bay was one of the areas where pelicans struggled in heavy slicks and thick globs of oil washed onto marshy islands between April and July 2010.</p>
<p>Fourteen of the 29 dolphins examined in 2011 were in guarded, poor or grave condition. That compared to one out of 15 caught for comparison in Sarasota Bay, Fla., which was not involved in the spill, according to the study published Wednesday in the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science &amp; Technology.</p>
<p>National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist Lori Schwacke said she has made similar assessments in other groups of dolphins, sometimes in response to large numbers of deaths.</p>
<p>“There’s disease in any wild population. But I just haven’t seen animals in such bad shape as in Barataria Bay,” the wildlife epidemiologist for NOAA’s Hollings Research Laboratory in Charleston, S.C., said during a teleconference Wednesday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The study indicates a possible link to the oil spill but does not prove one, said Mobi Solangi, director of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Dolphins in oil spill area still in bad shape | false | https://abqjournal.com/323114/dolphins-in-oil-spill-area-still-in-bad-shape.html | 2 |
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />SANTA FE, N.M. - Albuquerque Journal readers in Santa Fe will find a copy of Now magazine in their newspaper today and every Thursday.</p>
<p>Chock full of information on the arts, music and cultural activities happening each weekend in Santa Fe, Now is published on Thursday to give people more time to make plans. It also is distributed free at various locations around the city.</p>
<p>"We are especially excited about our association with the Albuquerque Journal North because their readers in Santa Fe will have this valuable publication in their Thursday newspaper," said Now Publisher Bruce Adams.</p>
<p>Journal North Editor Mark Oswald said the magazine is a bonus to readers and complements the Journal's arts and entertainment coverage in Friday's North edition.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Now magazine debuts in Journal North | false | https://abqjournal.com/404225/now-magazine-debuts-in-journal.html | 2 |
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<p>Wednesday brought more heartbreak for the families of the four victims killed by reckless teenage drunk driver Ethan Couch as the Texas judge who bought into the controversial "affluenza defense" ruled Couch will not serve any additional jail time.</p>
<p>In December, District&#160;Judge Jean Boyd ordered Couch, 16, to 10-years probation, but during Wednesday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors asked for jail time, which Boyd denied, according to the <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/02/05/5544125/judge-declines-to-add-jail-time.html" type="external">Star-Telegram.</a></p>
<p>Judge Jean Boyd</p>
<p>Instead, Boyd ruled that Couch would enter a "lock down addiction treatment facility and [can] not drive or use alcohol or drugs for 10 years, according to a news release from the Tarrant County district attorney's office. She ordered his parents to pay for his treatment," <a href="" type="external">KDFW Fox 4 reported.</a></p>
<p>The rehab facility, according to reports, is not the expensive, private facility Couch's family wanted him to enter.</p>
<p>"Fourteen facilities were considered, and four declined to accept Couch because of the intense media scrutiny around the case," Eric Boyles, whose wife and daughter were killed by Couch, told the Telegram. "The facility chosen is somewhere in Texas. Its location was not disclosed," nor did the judge set a minimum time requirement Couch must stay in the rehab facility.</p>
<p>"After six, seven, nine months, who knows, he walks out and is able to move on with his life," Boyles said.</p>
<p>Couch admitted to recklessly driving drunk last summer when he lost control of his vehicle and killed four and severely injuring two others. An "expert" for his defense said Couch was a victim of "affluenza" - a condition of being brought up in a life of privilege and wealth where he was never disciplined or made to face consequences for his actions.</p>
<p>The victims' families were rightfully angry and upset.</p>
<p>According to Fox 4;</p>
<p>After the hearing, family members of the victims expressed anger that Couch didn't get any jail time, and said they believed Couch got off easily because his parents were rich.</p>
<p>"Had he not had money to have the defense there, to also have the experts testify and also offer to pay for the treatment, I think the results would have been different," Boyles said.</p>
<p>"No amount of money or prestige or status is ever gonna grant them immunity to what they all chose for their life that caused this to our lives," said Marla Mitchell, whose daughter Brianna was killed.</p>
<p>Sergio Molina was critically injured in the crash and suffered permanent brain damage.</p>
<p>His brother, Alexander Lemus, said rehab for Couch is not justice.</p>
<p>But Couch's attorneys were pleased: "[Boyd] knows more about juvenile law and how to appropriately handle these cases than just about anybody in the state of Texas," Couch's attorney Reagan Wynn told reporters, according to Fox 4. "She heard all the evidence and she made what she thought was the appropriate disposition."</p>
<p>"The juvenile justice system is not the adult justice system," Wynn said. "The juvenile justice system is about rehabilitation."</p>
<p>Prosecutor Richard Alpert, speaking to reporters after the hearing, was outraged.</p>
<p>"There are problems with the juvenile justice system," the Telegram reported Alpert said. "We've talked to the Legislature and we will get something done."</p>
<p>Related:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Outraged Americans petition Gov. Perry to remove judge in "affluenza" DUI case</a></p>
<p>Watch the report from <a href="http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/24646771/no-additional-jail-time-for-ethan-couch-will-be-sent-to-rehab#ixzz2sXtxXYPv" type="external">Fox 4</a> here: <a href="http://www.myfoxdfw.com" type="external">Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com</a></p> | Outrage: Judge gives no jail time to teen in 'affluenza' DUI case | true | http://bizpacreview.com/2014/02/06/outrage-judge-gives-no-jail-time-to-teen-in-affluenza-dui-case-99068 | 2014-02-06 | 0 |
<p>Elon Musk, head of Tesla, SpaceX and Boring Company, said Early Monday morning that countries competing for advances in artificial intelligence would “most likely” spark World War III.</p>
<p>China, Russia, soon all countries w strong computer science. Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3 imo.</p>
<p>— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/904638455761612800" type="external">September 4, 2017</a></p>
<p>His tweet came in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin saying that the nation that “becomes the leader” in the development of artificial intelligence “will become the ruler of the world,” according to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/4/16251226/russia-ai-putin-rule-the-world?utm_campaign=theverge&amp;utm_content=chorus&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter" type="external">The Verge.</a></p>
<p>Musk later replied to another Twitter user who speculated about an “automated” war.</p>
<p>May be initiated not by the country leaders, but one of the AI’s, if it decides that a prepemptive strike is most probable path to victory</p>
<p>— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/904639405440323585" type="external">September 4, 2017</a></p>
<p>Musk said last month that there is “vastly more risk” in “AI safety” than North Korea.</p>
<p>If you’re not concerned about AI safety, you should be. Vastly more risk than North Korea. <a href="https://t.co/2z0tiid0lc" type="external">pic.twitter.com/2z0tiid0lc</a></p>
<p>— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/896166762361704450" type="external">August 12, 2017</a></p>
<p>The Tesla chief, along with Alphabet leader Mustafa Suleyman and over 100 other founders of robotics and artificial intelligence companies, called on the UN to ban the use of autonomous weapons in a letter written last month, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/20/elon-musk-killer-robots-experts-outright-ban-lethal-autonomous-weapons-war" type="external">The Guardian&#160;reported.</a></p>
<p>“Once developed, lethal autonomous weapons will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend. These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways,” they wrote.</p>
<p>“We do not have long to act. Once this Pandora’s box is opened, it will be hard to close.”</p> | Elon Musk: National Competition for AI Could Cause WWIII | false | https://newsline.com/elon-musk-national-competition-for-ai-could-cause-wwiii/ | 2017-09-04 | 1 |
<p />
<p>With an unemployment rate still stuck above 8% and much talk about a mismatch between worker skills and the jobs available, many people are trying to scope out the fields that will have many job openings in the future. Many college graduates are struggling to find work and are saddled with student loan debt, prompting many colleges to shift resources to fields that are expected to be in high-demand in the future. Many who are currently unemployed or underemployed are seeking training in different fields where the jobs are considered “hot.”</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p><a href="http://www.247wallst.com/2012/08/28/the-best-job-opportunities-of-the-future/" type="external">This content was originally published on 24/7 Wall St.&#160; Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>To find the jobs that will be in highest demand, 24/7 Wall St. has compiled a list of the occupations that will have the most job openings in this decade. The professions on this list are very diverse, consisting of both white-collar and blue-collar jobs. They also require a wide range of educational achievement. For instance, a glazier needs just a high-school diploma to break into the field, but a statistician requires a postgraduate college education. Similarly, the pay spectrum for jobs on this list is quite wide. The median pay for a pest control worker was just $30,340 in 2010. Meanwhile, the median pay for a natural science manager was $116,020.</p>
<p>24/7 Wall St. was primarily interested in looking at openings for occupations where people usually work full-time and without frequent turnover. Therefore, we decided to exclude occupations where the median pay in 2010 was less than $30,000, thus discounting many occupations that will see many job openings. Without this salary floor, most of the occupations on this list would be low-skilled, low-wage jobs, such as home health aides, personal care aides and food concession workers. In fact, only two jobs on this current list would have made the list if we didn’t impose the $30,000 minimum pay.</p>
<p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/08/28/american-cities-losing-the-most-jobs/" type="external">Read: American Cities Losing the Most Jobs Opens a New Window.</a></p>
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<p>For some professions, considerable job growth between 2010 and 2020 is the main driver behind the job openings. While there were only 41,900 glaziers as of 2010, 17,700 positions will be added by 2020, accounting for more than half of the job openings during that time. In other professions, most of the job openings are simply the result of normal turnover cycle. While there will be 18,700 job openings for statisticians, only 3,500 jobs will be added to the 25,100 people already working in the profession, with the remaining openings meant to replace existing workers.</p>
<p>24/7 Wall St. looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on more than 1,000 different occupations. In addition to excluding jobs with median pay below $30,000, we also chose to exclude jobs employing fewer than 20,000 people as of 2010 in order to represent jobs that will clearly provide opportunity for many individuals in the future. From there, we ranked the professions based on the number of job openings projected between 2010 and 2020 as a percentage of the 2010 headcount in that specific field. We also calculated the number and percentage of those openings due to added positions as well as replacing current employees. Finally, we considered factors such as industry, median salary and credentials of these professionals to provide context on the types of jobs likely to see many openings.</p>
<p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/08/27/the-smallest-professions-in-america/" type="external">Read: The Smallest Professions in America Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>These are the 10 best job opportunities of the future.</p>
<p>10. Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 65.9% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 19,500 &gt; Median annual wage: $41,380</p>
<p>According to the BLS, environmental science and protection technicians “monitor the environment and investigate sources of pollution and contamination, including those affecting health.” Between 2010 and 2020, about 19,500 positions are projected to become available. The majority of these openings, roughly 12,500, are expected to address replacement needs as technicians retire or otherwise leave the profession. Other openings will be due to job growth, as the public becomes increasingly conscious of protecting the environment. Those looking for a job as a technician usually need an associate’s degree.</p>
<p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/08/23/american-cities-adding-the-most-jobs/" type="external">Read: American Cities Adding the Most Jobs Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>9. Insulation Workers &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 67.5% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 34,700 &gt; Median annual wage: $35,110</p>
<p>Insulation workers handle, install and dispose of fiberglass and foam insulation in buildings. Where asbestos is present, workers trained in removing hazardous material are used to remove the asbestos before insulators may install new insulation. Between 2010 to 2020, the BLS projects 34,700 more insulator jobs to become available. Of these projected openings, 20,300 are expected to address replacement needs as workers leave the profession due to the physical irritation caused by insulation as well as difficult working conditions. Demand for new positions is expected to come from increases in home-building as well as the need to make existing buildings more energy-efficient.</p>
<p>8. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 67.8% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 191,800 &gt; Median annual wage: $60,570</p>
<p>Market research analysts study market conditions, as well as sales and pricing trends of products and services. Between 2010 and 2020, a projected 191,800 analyst positions will have to be filled. Of these openings, 116,600 are expected come from job growth, as demand for market data and research increases.The remaining 75,200 of openings are expected to address job turnover and attrition. Most positions for market research analysts typically require at least a bachelor’s degree, though many analyst positions require a master’s degree.</p>
<p><a href="http://247wallst.com/2012/08/22/americas-most-and-least-generous-states/" type="external">Read: America’s Most (and Least) Generous States Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>7. Natural Science Managers &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 68% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 33,500 &gt; Median annual wage: $116,020</p>
<p>Natural science managers direct and supervise research projects for biologists, physicists and chemists. Most are former scientists who have taken on management roles, and many conduct their own research as well as supervise others. The BLS projects 33,500 openings for natural science managers will have to be filled by 2020. Just 3,800 of those are projected to come from the growth of new jobs, as research and development operations are outsourced to specialized firms. The remaining 29,700 are expected to address replacement needs. Finding replacements may be difficult, as the prerequisites include at least five years work experience and a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>6. Optometrists &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 68.4% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 23,400 &gt; Median annual wage: $94,990</p>
<p>The number of optometry jobs is expected to grow from the 34,200 jobs in 2010 to 45,500 jobs in 2020, an increase of 33.1%. The BLS projects 23,400 job openings will have to be filled, with 11,300, or just under half, to job growth. The other 12,100 openings, representing 35.4% of the current headcount, will arise due to replacement needs. But you better like school if you want one of these optometry jobs. In addition to holding a bachelor’s degree, optometrists must earn a doctorate in optometry, which takes an additional four years. The median pay of $94,990 is the 36th highest of all professions, but it is far smaller than the pay of physicians. The median pay for doctors in primary care was $202,392, while the pay for those in medical specialties was $356,885.</p>
<p>5. Interpreters and Translators &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 69% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 40,300 &gt; Median annual wage: $43,300</p>
<p>Becoming an interpreter or translator is not easy, usually requiring a bachelor’s degree, and above all else, fluency in English and at least one other language. Additionally, work experience is critical as many employers will only hire interpreters and translators with past work history. Some 40,300 openings for interpreters and translators are expected to become available between 2010 and 2020 as the U.S. population becomes increasingly diverse and international trade expands. Though roughly 24,600 of these openings will come from new growth, the remaining 15,700 positions, roughly equal to 27% of the 2010 workforce, will be needed to replace previous workers. Many established interpreters and translators also have the option of working for themselves, as 22.9% were self-employed in 2010.</p>
<p>4. Pest Control Workers &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 70.9% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 48,500 &gt; Median annual wage: $30,340</p>
<p>Pest control workers use traps, fumigants and various other methods to remove rats, roaches, bedbugs and other unwanted creatures from buildings. Between 2010 and 2020, the BLS estimates that the number of pest control workers will increase by 26.1%, as “population growth, particularly in the South, where pests are more common, should result in more buildings that will require additional pest management.” However, while there are projected to be 48,500 openings between 2010 and 2020, 30,600 of these will address replacements needs as workers leave the industry. Among possible reasons for such high turnover: work schedules that often include weekend and evening hours and an increased likelihood of injury and illness due to exposure to pest control chemicals.</p>
<p>3. Statisticians &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 74.5% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 18,700 &gt; Median annual wage: $72,830</p>
<p>Statisticians work in virtually every field that requires the collection, aggregation and analysis of large amounts of data. In 2010, there were roughly 25,100 statisticians employed in the U.S. By 2020, the number of statisticians is projected to increase by roughly 3,500, as statistical analysis becomes a more commonly used tool in decision-making. However, between 2010 and 2020, 15,200 positions will be filled just to meet replacement needs — a figure that is equal to roughly 75% of 2010 employment. The issue of high turnover is probably unrelated to salary, however, as the median annual wage for statisticians is $72,830.</p>
<p>2. Glaziers &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 79.7% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 33,400 &gt; Median annual wage: $36,640</p>
<p>Glaziers, the BLS explains, “install glass in windows, skylights, storefronts, and display cases to create distinctive designs or reduce the need for artificial lighting.” The number of job openings for glaziers between 2010 and 2020 is projected to reach 33,400, or 80% of the total number of glaziers employed in 2010. Of these openings, roughly 17,700 can be attributed to job growth as glass is increasingly used in construction and glass windows become more energy efficient. However, another 15,700 job openings will be needed simply to replace former glaziers, as the occupation remains exceptionally physically demanding and has a particularly high rate of injury due to cuts from glass and tools as well as from falls.</p>
<p>1. Actuaries &gt; Future job openings as a pct. of 2010 employment: 87.1% &gt; New openings, 2010 to 2020: 18,900 &gt; Median annual wage: $87,650</p>
<p>An actuary analyzes the financial costs of risk for individuals and organizations, using a combination of statistics and financial theory to make projections. While there were only 21,700 actuaries in the U.S. as of 2010, there will be 18,900 new job openings in this field by the end of the decade. However, only 5,800 of those new openings, or slightly less than 31%, will be derived from job growth. The other 13,100 actuary openings will be available to replace those leaving the field, meaning more than six of 10 actuaries won’t remain in the field during the decade. Once a person graduates from college and finishes actuarial exams, he or she can expect to make a decent income. The median annual pay of $87,650 is better than accountants and auditors, whose median income is $61,690, and budget analysts, whose median income is $68,200.</p> | The Best Job Opportunities of the Future | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2012/08/28/best-job-opportunities-future.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
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<p>If their plan is to construct a building for CNM’s use, then they might not be able to get funding through the higher education gross receipts tax because CNM is not a four-year college. CNM is already funded separately through a property tax mill levy. Should the building qualify, there will still be enough money in the fund even with the reduction.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that our only UNM West building is barely utilized as it is. In 2008, many of us voted for this gross receipts tax because UNM sold us the idea of our children attending kindergarten through bachelor degree, all while staying in Rio Rancho. In 2013, UNM now says maybe our grandchildren will have that ability.</p>
<p>Since no other colleges have requested it, and UNM West campus growth is slower than they originally promised our community, it makes sense to reduce the higher education GRT by half. This money could be used for any four-year college or campus-related infrastructure as approved by the governing body. This is a municipal tax that belongs to the city, not UNM. We will meet our contractual obligations to UNM, even if the tax is reduced.</p>
<p>Secondly, the accusation that this is somehow retribution for UNM’s refusal to buy the Santa Ana Star Center is ridiculous. Public record shows that within my first two weeks in office last year I explored many different avenues of saving money or re-allocating city funds. Two of these were the hospital mill levies and the higher education GRT fund. I openly asked questions related to these funds.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The idea to do a joint partnership with UNM on the Star Center came months later in an effort to create a positive win-win situation for both parties. What was a unique idea to help solve problems, they are now twisting into something ugly… .</p>
<p>The tax-and-spend council was voted out last year and the people expect the new council to find unique approaches. … The easy, short-sighted answer is always to just raise taxes. But we can do better for Rio Rancho.</p>
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<p /> | Easy answer not good enough for RR | false | https://abqjournal.com/226278/easy-answer-not-good-enough-for-rr.html | 2013-07-27 | 2 |
<p>SOCHI, Russia — The Winter Olympics about to start in this coastal resort city are unlike any in recent memory — promising the glow of international harmony and fierce competition but opening in the shadow of terrorism, politics and uncertainty.</p>
<p>Almost 3,000 athletes from a record 88 countries will be represented here, in a little-known, subtropical Black Sea resort that has been transformed — with an eye-popping $51 billion of Russian money — into a gleaming treasure chest of venues for the world's biggest sports stage.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;frm=1&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CCcQFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcolympics.com%2Fwjar%2Fnews%2Fnorway-shows-crazy-olympic-curling-pants-snowy-new-york&amp;ei=Dq_zUo2iLZCvsQS_64DIDg&amp;usg=AFQjCNENUMILhCz-Gx8ihVfbId3hio4RSQ&amp;sig2=MQhNw5tq4skov_hiOh19oA&amp;bvm=bv.60799247,d.cWc" type="external">Shani Davis</a>, streaking around the Adler speedskating oval, and Shaun White, twisting high above the halfpipe at Krasnaya Polyana, will try to become the first American men to win gold in the same event at three straight Winter Olympics.</p>
<p>At the Bolshoy Ice Dome, the U.S. men's hockey team will aim for its <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/today-show-usa-hockey-likes-their-chances" type="external">first gold since the 1980 Miracle on Ice</a>. To do it, the Americans will have to top Sidney Crosby, trying to lead Canada to a repeat gold, and Alex Ovechkin, who hopes for the first Russian title since the Soviet era.</p>
<p>The boundaries of human achievement will be pushed. Olympic feats will defy belief. Color will explode before viewers around the world. And that's just the <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;frm=1&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CCcQFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nbcolympics.com%2Fwjar%2Fnews%2Fnorway-shows-crazy-olympic-curling-pants-snowy-new-york&amp;ei=Dq_zUo2iLZCvsQS_64DIDg&amp;usg=AFQjCNENUMILhCz-Gx8ihVfbId3hio4RSQ&amp;sig2=MQhNw5tq4skov_hiOh19oA&amp;bvm=bv.60799247,d.cWc" type="external">Norwegian curling team's pants</a>.</p>
<p>Bode Miller, the American skier, will be at the Winter Olympics for the fifth time. The African nation of Zimbabwe will be here for the first, represented by a lone Alpine skier.</p>
<p>It will all take place under the inescapable specter of terrorism — on the minds of the athletes, their families, the organizers at the Russian government, especially since two bombs exploded in the city of Volgograd in December.</p>
<p>Nobody knows whether the militants of the Caucasus, the war zone next door, can or will make good on their repeated threats to stage a terrorist attack and humiliate President Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>Nobody knows how impenetrable the vaunted "ring of steel" security zone — 1,500 square miles in all, fortified by 40,000 Russian troops, built to ward off just such a threat — will prove to be.</p>
<p>It seems certain that attention will be drawn to what human rights groups say is Russia’s deplorable record on gay rights, but nobody knows how athletes and fans will voice their opposition, or what the punishment will be.</p>
<p>And, of course, nobody knows what Putin himself has up his sleeve. These are his Olympics as much as they are Russia’s, and the president has spent $50 billion to seize his moment on the world stage.</p>
<p>The sight of the president <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russian-president-arrives-in-winter-olympics-city/2014/02/04/d273ddfa-8d96-11e3-99e7-de22c4311986_story.html" type="external">lovingly stroking a snow leopard</a>perched on his lap, at an event three days before the opening ceremony to promote environmentalism, seemed only to underscore the Russian Olympics as a singular event.</p>
<p>Olympic organizers have found themselves spending more time reassuring the world about security than they have promoting the new events of slopestyle and team figure skating, or the mountain vistas of Rosa Khutor.</p>
<p>"I have been assured before coming here, and I am still assured being here," Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee, said this week.</p>
<p>Some of the athletes, including some of the 230 Americans competing in Sochi, have not been so sure. Several of them told their families not to come, and the U.S. ski and snowboard team <a href="" type="internal">hired private security</a>.</p>
<p>The U.S. Navy <a href="" type="internal">positioned two warships in the Black Sea</a> to help in the event Americans need to be evacuated, although military officials have stressed for weeks that Olympic security is the responsibility of the Russians.</p>
<p>Putin, in a visit to the Olympic village on Wednesday, tried to play up international cooperation on counterterrorism, though American officials have expressed frustration that the Russians aren’t sharing more information.</p>
<p>In an illustration of the international tension surrounding the games, Putin pointed out that terrorism visited the Boston Marathon in the United States last year, and London during a G-8 meeting eight years ago.</p>
<p>Security "always worries everybody," Putin said, "not only for major international events, but also for major political events."</p>
<p>Putin has staked the safety of the games on the same strategy the Soviet army used to defeat Hitler, a layered approach known as defense in depth: Accept some casualties on the outside and protect the vital core, in this case the Olympic zone.</p>
<p>Twin bombings in the city of Volgograd in December killed 34 people, and Russian security forces have waged a prolonged fight with militants in the Caucasus. But Russian officials have vowed that the "ring of steel" will be absolute.</p>
<p>"The American approach since 9/11 has focused much more on synthesizing, integrating, targeted information about networked threats," said Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, an NBC News analyst.</p>
<p>"The Russian approach is much more about a traditional show of force, flooding the zone with security personnel," he said.</p>
<p>Problems arrived in Sochi well ahead of the torch.</p>
<p>Reporters traveling from around the world to cover the Olympics found the accommodations less than inviting — cold water coming from the showerheads, brown water coming from the sinks, stray dogs meandering through hotel lobbies.</p>
<p>About those dogs: There was an international outcry after <a href="" type="internal">reports that they were being hunted down and killed</a>, perhaps by the thousand, after a local company won a contract to clear the streets of strays.</p>
<p>Olympic athletes had their own safety to worry about. In the mountains, officials scrambled to make changes to the course in the new event of slopestyle after a top Norwegian athlete broke his collarbone and dropped out of the games.</p>
<p>Shaun White, one of the American stars, jammed his wrist training on the same course, and announced that he would <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/shaun-white-pulls-out-snowboard-slopestyle-sochi-after-wrist-injury?ctx=team-usa" type="external">pull out of slopestyle</a>, focusing instead on winning his third straight gold medal in halfpipe.</p>
<p>And there is no shortage of other potentially happier stories on the ice and slopes. <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/meryl-davis-charlie-white-calm-under-pressure-olympic-favorites" type="external">Meryl Davis and Charlie White</a>will try to dance their way past Canadian rivals, and skier <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/athlete/mikaela-shiffrin" type="external">Mikaela Shiffrin</a>will hope to claim the mantle of Lindsey Vonn. Plus, the U.S. could have four medal winners on the Alpine slopes for the second games in a row.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/today-show-usa-hockey-likes-their-chances" type="external">Yuna Kim</a>, South Korea's mesmerizing queen of the ice, will try to repeat her figure-skating gold. And Nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick, 37 years old and the first six-time Winter Olympian from the United States, <a href="http://www.today.com/sochi/u-s-flag-bearer-being-chosen-so-many-emotions-2D12067587" type="external">will carry the American flag</a> into the opening ceremony on Friday night.</p>
<p>"I wouldn’t have gotten to this point of my career without the support of my family, friends, for sure teammates, and sponsors along the way,'' he told TODAY on Thursday. "Just tell them that I appreciate it, and I’m going to do my best while I’m here."</p>
<p>But the Sochi Olympics have been notable for the amount of attention they have drawn for issues outside the competition venues.</p>
<p>Gay rights organizations have planned <a href="" type="internal">protests around the world</a>and on social media during the Olympics to draw attention to Russia’s laws criminalizing homosexual "propaganda" and restricting gay adoption.</p>
<p>In a snub, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden both elected not to attend the opening ceremony, naming instead an official American delegation led by three openly gay Olympians (one of whom <a href="" type="internal">had to cancel on the festivities Wednesday</a>).</p>
<p>Putin made matters worse when he said before the games that gay fans, athletes and journalists would have nothing to worry about in Sochi — provided they leave the children in peace.</p>
<p>The International Olympic Committee has warned athletes not to use the medals podium to object to Russia’s anti-gay laws or express any other political opinion. The Olympic charter forbids it.</p>
<p>But athletes are free to speak their minds elsewhere, and some already have. Ashley Wagner, an American figure skater, joked to reporters on Wednesday that the multicolored Sochi 2014 designs reminded her of a rainbow flag.</p>
<p>"I just believe in equality for all," she said.</p>
<p>The IOC, for its part, has tried to keep attention off the controversies and on the competition. Mark Adams, an IOC spokesman, pointed out that more than 40 heads of state will visit the games, and he said that only a small number of hotel rooms have problems.</p>
<p>"It’s a bit premature to say it’s been a failure," he said. "Surely there have been some issues, but we are really doing our best."</p>
<p>Premature indeed. Barring a calamity, these Olympics will be remembered by the viewers and athletes for the medals and the miracles.</p>
<p>Even on Opening Day, there will be some action to be enthralled by. Like U.S. skiers Miller and Julia Mancuso — with nine Olympic appearances and eight career medals between them — going for a <a href="http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/what-watch-day-opening-ceremony" type="external">second round of downhill training starting</a> at about 1 a.m.</p>
<p>The opening ceremony is a chance for Russia to show itself off to the world. The events will take place inside recently completed Fisht Stadium. Organizers promised Friday that it would combine Russian history, art and music — and offer a twist on the traditional parade of nations.</p>
<p>The venue's name came from a nearby mountain, and its design is said to have been inspired by Russia's jewel-encrusted Faberge eggs. Like intricate artwork itself, the stadium has open sides, allowing people inside to take in the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea — a view as spectacular as the games themselves promise to be.</p>
<p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p> | Let the Games Begin! Sochi Sets Stage for Power and Glory | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/sochi-olympics/let-games-begin-sochi-sets-stage-power-glory-n22791 | 2014-02-07 | 3 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />MAY 10, 2011</p>
<p>By WAYNE LUSVARDI</p>
<p>Long gone are the hot wars of the 1920’s when Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s William Mulholland&#160;took over Mono County and&#160;Owens Lake&#160;with his own shotgun militia. And local farmers resisted the taking of their water rights and land by dynamiting the&#160;Los Angeles Aqueduct.</p>
<p>But&#160;California’s perpetual water cold wars continue in the state Legislature. The most recent battle is between a coalition of environmentalists wanting to rip off control of the <a href="" type="internal">proposed 2012 water bond</a> from urban water agencies and farmers by proposing an alternative statewide excise tax on all retail water usage.&#160;&#160;Another coalition of advocates for low-income communities is trying to exempt themselves from the collateral damage of the water war by being granted immunity from water rate hikes under the guise of a “Human Right to Water” package of bills in the legislature.</p>
<p>California is effectively in a budget default and maxed out on bonds, especially after having spent $14 billion on five water bonds since 2000 with next to nothing to show for them. Contrary to newspaper headlines, the last three major statewide opinion polls show <a href="" type="internal">voter resistance to any more taxe</a>s. So now a shark-like coalition of environmentalists is sensing “blood in the water,” in that the $11.1 billion water bond proposed for the 2012 ballot may already be in trouble.</p>
<p>In lieu of the proposed water bond, Delta environmental interests have formed a coalition to propose a “public goods charge” on retail water use in lieu of a water bond.&#160;&#160;While the water bond would be financed by benefitted water users and controlled locally, the proposed “public goods” water&#160;excise tax&#160;would usurp local control and funding by the creation of a new super-water authority that would&#160; <a href="" type="internal">radically change the form of democratic government in California</a>.</p>
<p>This new coalition proposes to shift the financing of water projects from bonds to a “pay-as-you-go” or all-cash system from statewide&#160;excise taxes&#160;on retail water use that has no guarantee of delivering any more than the prior bond water bonds. Half of the tax revenues collected would go toward the creation of a new State Water Commission and Delta Stewardship Council.</p>
<p>The proposal for a statewide “public goods” water excise tax would effectively grab dominant control of all new water projects statewide, and even land use in the&#160;Bay Area, by northern California environmental interests.&#160;&#160;Conversely, the proposed water bond would be a conventional political power sharing arrangement where local water agencies could control the selection and funding of their own projects, but would have to comply with the&#160;California Environmental Quality Act&#160;(CEQA).</p>
<p>The proposed water bond would be financed on the principle of “beneficiary pays”; while the estimated $3.4 billion “Public Goods” water&#160;excise tax&#160;would be financed on the principle of “everyone pays but an unelected state body decides who benefits.” &#160;And under a water excise tax, environmental goals would trump everything else, including the economy.</p>
<p>For Northern California environmental interests to form a possible winning coalition in the Legislature, they have apparently modeled part of their water excise tax on a redevelopment model to buy the votes of rural “red” county legislators.&#160;&#160;As this writer wrote&#160; <a href="" type="internal">previously</a>:</p>
<p>A Public Goods Water Charge would just shift about $3.4 billion from urban water ratepayers to “green redevelopment.” California urban tourism and retail mall development would be phased down or out, but rural tourism and water-related economic development would be phased in.</p>
<p>There is a possibility of this setting off a civil war between urban and rural redevelopment interests. It would be a reverse of the&#160;Owens Valley&#160;vs.&#160;Los Angeles&#160;“ <a href="http://www.laalmanac.com/history/hi06de.htm" type="external">Little Civil War” of 1927</a>, in which the&#160;Los Angeles Department of Water and Power&#160;grabbed&#160;water from Eastern California.</p>
<p>This time, wilderness and riparian areas would be grabbing money and water from big cities and farmers through a Public Goods Water Surcharge for “eco-tourism,” rustic recreation, the development of new water reservoirs and lakes and possibly fishing industry redevelopment.&#160;&#160;A Public Goods Water Surcharge is sure to be controversial, as water and money would flow away from farmers and urban water users to rural wilderness and riparian areas where water, not carbon, would be “sequestered.” &#160;California would be going backward to an economy of more than 150 years ago.</p>
<p>Whether legislators in highly gerrymandered districts would be able to get red counties to support a $3.4 billion “public goods” water excise tax remains to be seen, especially given that who benefits would not be within the control of local taxpayers in those state legislative districts. Who wants to pay a tax for no certain benefit?</p>
<p>Working class communities do not want to get caught in the collateral damage between two groups: the elite political interests in the state who want to fix the Delta no matter what the cost; and urban and farm interests that want more equitably to distribute&#160; <a href="" type="internal">the oversupply of rainfall that drops on California even in a dry year.</a></p>
<p>Thus, another coalition has formed in the Legislature under the umbrella of the “Human Right to Water Package” consisting of six bills that want clean water for working-class communities:&#160; <a href="http://yubanet.com/california/Clean-water-advocates-try-again-for-reform.php" type="external">AB 685 (Eng), AB 938 (V. Perez), AB 983 (Perea), AB 1187 (Fong), AB 1221 (Alejo) and SB 244 (Wolk).</a></p>
<p>What this package of bills apparently seeks is not necessarily clean water, but cheap water from local groundwater basins that are presently contaminated; the water would be in lieu of having to face the shock of water&#160;excise taxes.&#160;&#160;In typical California fashion, they want cheap, clean water but want someone else to pay for the cleanup bill.</p>
<p>Probably the most controversial bill is AB 685 which, <a href="http://yubanet.com/california/Clean-water-advocates-try-again-for-reform.php" type="external">in this summary</a>, would establish a state policy that guarantees every human a right to&#160;safe drinking water&#160;and requires the state to implement it — that is, pay for it.&#160;&#160;While seemingly only a symbolic bill at this time, once enacted this legislation may morph into lower income communities being exempt from water rate hikes to pay for pricey environmental water restoration projects such as the Delta Plan.</p>
<p>“Socialized water costs for thee, but socialized water benefits for me” seems to be what they want.&#160;&#160;This sounds a lot like the criticisms of federal banking policies during the meltdown of the national financial system in 2008: “socialized losses, but privatized profits.” &#160;A “Human Right to Water” would not be very just.</p>
<p>Ironically, the&#160;Environmental Justice Coalition&#160;supports the Human Right to Water Package, as do the Unitarian Universalists.</p>
<p>Strangely, the&#160; <a href="http://www.caleja.org/news.html" type="external">Environmental Justice Coalition for Water</a> lobbied against <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_23,_the_Suspension_of_AB_32_(2010)" type="external">Proposition 23</a> (which would have suspended AB 32, the Global Warming Act of 2006) in last November’s election on the grounds that it would be bad news for Latino families. Actually, it would raise their energy costs and kill jobs they hold. About 20 percent of the price of wholesale water is the electrical pumping and treatment costs, which will rise because of AB 32.</p>
<p>In other words, when the water war starts getting hot by imposing excise taxes on top of already increased water rates, working class communities don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes to fund the war, but want any water that might be realized as a result.</p>
<p>In 2009, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed <a href="ftp://leginfo.public.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_1201-1250/ab_1242_cfa_20090901_200659_sen_floor.html" type="external">AB 1242</a>, also called the Human Right to Water Bill. Reason: funding,&#160;not legal exemption from water rate hikes, would be preferable and more equitable. If such an exemption were granted, it would likely set a precedent for lower income communities to also opt out of the looming electricity rate hikes called for under AB 32. If low and moderate-income households were exempted from green water and power rate hikes, this would exempt about 14.5 million people, or about 40 percent of the state population, from water “rate shock.”</p>
<p>In such a scenario, the proposed water excise tax would almost double on the other 60 percent of the state’s households. By this writer’s estimate, that would reflect an added water rate hike of about $450 per year on middle-income households ($3.4 billion/[36,308,527 x 60 percent] X 2.91 persons per household).</p>
<p>The Human Right to Water may become like Obamacare, where many want to opt out of the system, thus indicating a flawed policy in the first place. Advocates for the Human Right to Water are hoping Gov. Jerry Brown will sign such a package of bills.&#160;&#160;However, how many middle class residents, especially retirees, this package of bills would spur to move out of the state is unknown.</p>
<p>Here’s something that apparently never occurred to the legislator-sponsors of the six “Human Right to Water” package of bills: If certain communities were able to opt out of any “public goods” water rate surcharges — water excise taxes — then wholesale water agencies would still have the discretion of eventually raising water rates on those communities if they wanted water during a drought. &#160;And it is highly likely that wholesale water agencies would charge those cities that did not pay any water excise taxes the highest tier of the water rates (say, $911 per acre foot of water at Municipal Water District of Southern California Tier 2 Full Service Treated Cost).</p>
<p>If legislators were successful in some way in immunizing working class communities from water excise taxes, then it follows that such communities would also have no entitlement to the&#160;added water resources&#160;developed from such taxes and would have to pay a premium. It is doubtful that even a court could mandate cheap water rates for those who chose to be “free riders.”&#160;&#160;Call it a zero sum game or water agency “social justice.”&#160;But politics is often a game of symbols not substance.</p>
<p>As 19th century&#160;Prussian military thinker von Clausewitz said, “War is a continuation of politics by other means.”&#160;&#160;And the winners of the war will write their version of California’s water cold war into legislation only to have the spoils of war all taken back by local water suppliers.</p> | California Water Cold War Heats Up | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2011/05/10/ca-water-cold-war-heats-up/ | 2018-05-20 | 3 |
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<p>VIRGINIA BEACH (VA)Richmond Times-DispatchA Virginia Beach Catholic priest, accused of sexual abuse of a minor, has been placed on administrative leave while the complaint is investigated. The complaint against the Rev. Dwight E. Shrader, pastor of St. John the Apostle Catholic Church since 1989, was made to the Diocese of Richmond on May 7. The Diocesan Sexual Abuse Review Board found the allegation credible and made initial recommendations on June 4. The next day, the Most Rev. Walter F. Sullivan, bishop of the Richmond diocese, placed Shrader on administrative leave.The priest will remain on leave while the allegation is investigated. A diocesan spokesman said the diocese hopes to deal with the case within about a month.Shrader is the sixth priest in the diocese since May 2002 to be accused of sexual misconduct with a child. In dealing with the five other accused priests, Sullivan barred three from conducting any priestly duties. One is still under investigation, and the fifth was returned to active ministry.</p> | Another Virginia Priest Accused of Abuse | false | https://poynter.org/news/another-virginia-priest-accused-abuse | 2003-06-17 | 2 |
<p>Being John Malkovich, written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze is a hilariously funny movie which also has some interesting things to say about art and artistry and love and sex and would probably even have interesting things to say about celebrity, too, if it were still possible to say anything interesting on the subject. As for art it seems to take literally the artist’s task of imagination, which is to convey to us the sense of “being inside someone else’s skin, feeling what they feel” as the puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) puts it. Schwartz himself does exactly this when he discovers a “portal” and secret passage leading off floor 7½ in the building where he works that ends, for no particular reason, somewhere inside the head of the actor, John Malkovich, who plays himself.</p>
<p>This conceit, of a kind of unexplained flaw in the space-time continuum which allows not just social but metaphysical boundaries to be crossed (or “transgressed” as the postmodernists say), is a bit like that of Groundhog Day and is similarly used for both comic and serious purposes. “Do you see what a metaphysical can of worms this is?” says a wondering Craig, alive to all sorts of possibilities. Unlike Groundhog Day, however, Being John Malkovich is something of an allegory. “Getting inside someone’s head” is a common expression among actors and writers and perhaps also puppeteers for the task of assuming alternative identities. And in a deeper, philosophical sense it could be argued that insofar as we know anything outside ourselves, we know it by getting inside other people’s heads. Reading a book or even listening to someone else talk requires us to slip the bonds of self in order to share in someone else’s experience.</p>
<p>By showing us people who suddenly discover that they can literally get inside someone else’s head, Kaufman and Jonze also cause us to ponder the question of what are legitimate and illegitimate uses of the imagination. For soon Craig and his workmate and accomplice, the beautiful but unobtainable Maxine (Catherine Keener), are selling tickets to mere voyeurs, people who want to experience life as a celebrity for fifteen minutes—before they are inexplicably expelled and deposited on the hard shoulder of the New Jersey Turnpike. John Malkovich himself, alerted to something strange going on, turns up and takes the ride inside his own head—with results that make perfect sense in terms of the crazy logic of this movie.</p>
<p>But the lives of Maxine and Craig and his wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), are transformed by the experience. Lotte decides she was meant to be a man and determines to ask her allergist (“I feel comfortable with him”) to perform “sexual reassignment surgery.” But Maxine, whom both she and Craig have fallen in love with, doesn’t want Lotte as a man. She loves her but, “Only as John,” with whom she makes love while Lotte is inside his head. Craig, though spurned by Maxine, now considers himself his wife’s rival in love, so he kidnaps her and locks her in a cage with her pet chimpanzee (she has lots of pets) while he takes her place in the weird threesome with Maxine and Malkovich. Soon he contrives a way (how is not spelled out) to avoid the drop onto the New Jersey Turnpike and to occupy Malkovich’s body permanently.</p>
<p>In this new identity he is able not only to marry Maxine but also to use Malkovich’s celebrity to enjoy the success as a puppeteer that has hitherto eluded him. The former Malkovich seems completely possessed by Craig and Craig’s desires, both artistic and sexual.Unknown to him, however, the mysterious Dr. Lester (Orson Bean) has long been planning a Malkovich takeover of his own. Lester, like Craig, is a user of other people but on a more long-term plan. Like a flea hopping from one dog to the next, he inhabits a new body in each generation as a way of cheating death. Yet he does not come off as an evil character, since he invites crowds of friends, including Lotte, to come with him into his new accommodation, so that the “real” Malkovich presumably becomes just one among the many people who inhabit his body.</p>
<p>In fact, one can imagine that an actor, someone who more than most of us is required to keep a certain number of spare personalities within easy reach, would find it very useful to have lots of different people inside himself. He might be all but indistinguishable from the actual Malkovich. But Craig’s attempt at total possession doesn’t work. “Craig’s dance of despair and disillusion,” which he developed to show off his string-pulling skills and which he somehow manages to perform from within John Malkovich (who reveals an impressively acrobatic side of himself) becomes his own final statement when Lester finds in his love for Maxine a way to turf him out of Malkovich’s body. There is an odd sense of the rightness of the conclusion. Impressive as Malkovich is as a puppeteer, we always knew that he was meant to be an actor.</p> | Being John Malkovich | false | https://eppc.org/publications/being-john-malkovich/ | 1 |
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<p>The Rio Grande Boulevard Preservation Coalition delivered its “alternative report” to city officials this week, including to the office of area representative City Councilor Debbie O’Malley, a main proponent of the project.</p>
<p>The multi-page report said the city’s plan to transform Rio Grande Boulevard into a shopping destination “is totally unrealistic” and ignores the area’s historic rural and semi-rural character.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The group contended that an analysis of a study done by the project consultants showed that most accidents at the intersection are caused by driver inattention.</p>
<p>It added that it’s unproven that the problem of inattentive drivers will be eliminated by a roundabout.</p>
<p>O’Malley, in an email response, disputed a coalition description of roundabouts as “fads,” saying that an analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Federal Highway Administration concluded that roundabouts are safer than signalized intersections.</p>
<p>The citizens group, in its report, presented five alternatives to the city’s plan: installing radar signs to record speeds and time of day, hiring off-duty police officers to monitor drivers “during periods of maximum speeding and careless driving,” installing rumble strips on Rio Grande to slow traffic, installing “no right turn on red signs” on Candelaria, and adding left-turn light signals to the intersection.</p>
<p>O’Malley in her response said the city did consider other alternatives, including the ones proposed by the coalition, but she added that they only provided “partial solutions.”</p>
<p>To the suggestion of using off-duty officers two hours a day to enforce speeding laws, the Albuquerque Police Department has said that to effectively enforce laws at the intersection, it would require “an almost continuous presence by two officers, which would be prohibitively expensive,” O’Malley said.</p>
<p>O’Malley also said she recognizes that not everyone supports the roundabout proposal, but added, “I continue to believe it is the best alternative for improving safety at that intersection and reducing speeding.”</p>
<p>Funding to design and build the $1.6 million roundabout has been made available through the state Department of Transportation using Federal Safety funds and matching money from the city.</p> | Roundabout Criticized as ‘Overreach’ | false | https://abqjournal.com/139965/roundabout-criticized-as-overreach.html | 2012-10-20 | 2 |
<p>The Supreme Court has issued an unsigned order blocking key provisions of sweeping new health care regulations from being enforced against Texas abortion providers.</p>
<p>Via <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/10/14/supreme-court-blocks-parts-texas-abortion-law/" type="external">Fox News:</a></p>
<p>In an unsigned order, the justices sided with abortion rights advocates and health care providers in suspending an Oct. 2 ruling by a panel of the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that Texas could immediately apply a rule making abortion clinics statewide spend millions of dollars on hospital-level upgrades.</p>
<p>The court also put on hold a separate provision of the law only as it applies to clinics in McAllen and El Paso that requires doctors at the facilities to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. The admitting privileges remains in effect elsewhere in Texas.</p>
<p>Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas said they would have ruled against the clinics in all respects.</p>
<p>This decision temporarily set aside provisions that require abortion clinics to follow the same health and safety standards as ambulatory surgical centers; this means thirteen abortion clinics that closed after the law took effect will be allowed to reopen. It also exempted practitioners operating clinics in El Paso and McAllen (larger cities in the Rio Grande Valley) from having to gain admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.</p>
<p>Pro-choice organizations are, of course, <a href="http://www.nationalpartnership.org/news-room/press-releases/victory-for-womens-health.html" type="external">gloating;</a> but keep in mind that this was an emergency ruling. Advocates for abortion providers asked for the Supreme Court’s ruling because the Fifth Circuit allowed <a href="" type="internal">the restrictive new laws to be enforced</a> during the appeals process.</p>
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<p>This isn’t the end of the world, but it is an unfortunate pause in Texas lawmakers’ efforts to preserve the sanctity of life.</p>
<p>The order <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/101414zr.pdf" type="external">in full:</a></p>
<p>The application to vacate stay of final judgment pending appeal presented to Justice Scalia and by him referred to the court is granted in part and denied in part. The Court of Appeals’ stay order with reference to the district court’s order enjoining the admitting-privileges requirement as applied to the McAllen and El Paso clinics is vacated. The Court of Appeals’ stay order with reference to the district court’s order enjoining the ambulatory surgical center requirement is vacated. The application is denied in all other respects.</p>
<p>Justice Scalia, Justice Thomas, and Justice Alito would deny the application in its entirety.</p> | SCOTUS Blocks Key Parts of Texas Abortion Law | true | http://legalinsurrection.com/2014/10/scotus-blocks-key-parts-of-texas-abortion-law/ | 2014-10-15 | 0 |
<p>Remember how the boobs in Congress who inflicted ObamaCare on us <a href="" type="internal">freaked out</a>when they finally realized how it would affect&#160;them,&#160;and began demanding the kind of exemptions that every private business in America would kill for? &#160;Something similar is happening to President Obama’s devoted supporters in Hollywood, as related by the&#160; <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/obamacare-hits-hollywood-studios-brace-574162" type="external">Hollywood Reporter</a>:</p>
<p>“It’s a morass of regulations and requirements, and everyone’s trying to figure out what their exposure is,” says&#160;Eric Belcher, president and CEO of Cast &amp; Crew Entertainment Services. Adds&#160;Mark Goldstein, CEO of Entertainment Partners, which has held 16 seminars to help studios understand ACA: “It’s going to be a very big deal.”</p>
<p>Determining the exact nature of the new laws has been difficult, given that many ACA terms have yet to be worked out. Hollywood productions, for instance, might find it irksome simply trying to categorize employees as full- or part-time, seasonal or variable, and it’s important that they get the classifications right lest they face hefty fines. “ACA is thousands of pages, and it wasn’t written with this industry in mind,” says Belcher.</p>
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<p>Oh, it wasn’t written with&#160;this&#160;industry in mind? &#160;But all the others are handling it just fine, are they?</p>
<p>Guess what Hollywood could end up doing to escape from these expensive mandates. &#160;I’ll give you a hint: it’s something Barack Obama and other liberals go nuts over, when any&#160;other&#160;industry does it.</p>
<p>One of the unintended consequences, say some industry insiders, is that it could lead to productions running to foreign countries, given that ACA doesn’t apply to U.S. citizens working abroad. Some also say the number of production days in the U.S. are likely to be cut due to ACA because there’s a 90-day waiting period before productions must either pay a penalty or offer health insurance to full-time workers. That rule provides big incentives for a production to wrap in less than three months. While big-budget movies and season-long TV shows might not have such a luxury, smaller films or TV pilots could easily rush their schedules to make sure they come in at under 90 days.</p>
<p>But like much about ACA, the 90-day rule is subject to interpretation, says&#160;Daniel Cox, controller of payroll-services company PES Payroll. “Historically, if an employer had a 90-day wait period,” says Cox, “the benefits would kick in on the first day of the fourth full month of employment. Thus, that 90-day wait period was, in reality, as long as 119 days. The ACA is unclear on this. Does 90 days mean 90 days? If so, it really means 60 days.”</p>
<p>Too bad Congress didn’t read ObamaCare before ramming it down our throats. &#160;They might have realized how much of it was “unclear.”</p>
<p>One reason Hollywood is choking on this legislation is that it doesn’t treat its nonunion employees very well. &#160;(Pretty much every business practice liberals scream about – from tax evasion, to rent-seeking, to corporate raiding, to shabby treatment of low-level workers – is commonplace in their second favorite Big Business. &#160;Come to think of it, you’ll find a lot of that stuff in their favorite Big Business, the abortion industry, as well.) &#160;But now ObamaCare would force them to stop offering superior benefits to higher-level employees, unless they do what many other industries are contemplating, and pay the trans-Constitutional tax/penalty to escape:</p>
<p>The mandate dictates that full-time employees be offered insurance that is “affordable,” defined as not more than 9.5 percent of an employee’s household income. The insurance must also be “adequate,” meaning it covers at least 60 percent of health care costs incurred. Also, Cox says, “no more discrimination among employee levels, no more negotiated benefits,” so if a production pays $1,000 a month to subsidize insurance for a top production worker, it must pay that much for its lowest employees as well. If a production deems it too costly to meet the guidelines, it can opt instead to pay a penalty tax of $166.67 per month for each full-time employee, with the exception of the first 30 of them. In some cases, “the penalty option may be the cheaper alternative,” says the Entertainment Partners report.</p>
<p>“Do I expect the cost of doing business to go up? Yes, I do,” says&#160;Mike Rose, CEO of Ease Entertainment Services.</p>
<p>Gosh, I can’t imagine why GDP is flat-lining and unemployment remains stuck at recessionary levels for year after year, what with everyone’s cost of business going up and all.</p>
<p>Speaking of unemployment, there’s something else a company can do to escape from ObamaCare, and the movie theater industry is already doing it: get rid of full-time employees. &#160;The&#160;Hollywood Reporter&#160;notes that film productions might have difficult following suit, because “productions on tight schedules and in need of highly-skilled workers and artists don’t usually have the luxury of micromanaging an employee’s hours.” &#160;But on the front end, at your local cineplex, the entertainment industry is joining the great ObamaCare-inspired workforce migration to Part-Time America, accurately predicted by every critic of this disastrous legislation since the moment of its inception.</p>
<p>Ironically, while all this is going on behind the scenes, the Administration is working hard to <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2013/jun/25/white-house-eyes-hollywood-promote-obamacare-repor/" type="external">recruit Hollywood stars</a> to push ObamaCare propaganda on a nation that has never stopped hating the law. &#160;So you’ll have the big millionaire marquee names telling you how great this train wreck is, while behind the scenes the little people who make .01 percent of their salary are getting crushed by reduced hours, higher premiums, and the dissolution of the insurance plans President Obama swore they would be able to keep. &#160;In other words, business as usual for Hollywood.</p>
<p /> | Suddenly Obama’s pals in Hollywood don’t like his health care scheme so much | true | http://humanevents.com/2013/06/28/suddenly-obamas-pals-in-hollywood-dont-like-his-health-care-scheme-so-much/ | 2013-06-28 | 0 |
<p>Jan. 24 (UPI) -- New Medicaid work requirement rules were challenged in federal court on Wednesday for the first time.</p>
<p>A class-action lawsuit was filed by three public-interest legal organizations on behalf of 15 Kentucky residents who are Medicaid beneficiaries. It accuses the Department of Health and Human Services of violating the purpose of the federal program by granting a request by the state of Kentucky to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients.</p>
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<p>It also charges that federal and state officials deliberately took actions to reduce access to the federal health plan for the poor.</p>
<p>Kentucky was <a href="" type="internal">the first state</a> approved to change its Medicaid policies in an effort to reduce costs.</p>
<p>Earlier this month the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would allow waivers to states demanding that some Medicaid recipients prove they are working, training for work or engaged in volunteer work as a condition of receiving coverage.</p>
<p>About 350,000 residents, of 1.3 million receiving Medicaid coverage in Kentucky, would be subject to the work requirement. Nine other states have requested similar waivers to allow changes to their Medicaid programs.</p>
<p>"If you read what the purpose of Medicaid is, it's to get people engaged and to create work opportunities," Gov. Matt Bevin, R-Ky., told <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-24/trump-administration-challenged-in-court-on-medicaid-overhaul" type="external">Bloomberg News</a> in a Jan. 16 interview. "When Medicaid was originally designed, it was designed to help assimilate disabled people back into society to the absolute extent possible, to create work opportunities. These are some of the underlying tenets of Medicaid for the traditional Medicaid population."</p>
<p>The outcome of the case will likely influence the approaches of the other states seeking waivers, the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-medicaid-lawsuit-20180124-story.html" type="external">Los Angeles Times</a> reported on Wednesday.</p>
<p>"The purpose of Medicaid is to provide medical insurance to people who cannot afford it, not to create barriers to coverage," said <a href="" type="internal">Anne Marie</a> Regan of the Kentucky Equal Justice Center, one of the organizations bring the suit in Washington, D.C., federal court. "Demonstration waivers are supposed to make access to healthcare easier. This approval does the opposite. It is not only in violation of Medicaid law but is immoral."</p> | Class-action suit challenges new Medicaid work requirement | false | https://upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/01/24/Class-action-suit-challenges-new-Medicaid-work-requirement/4901516820752/ | 2 |
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<p>ROME — Luciano Pavarotti's widow has told Donald Trump to stop playing the tenor's most famous aria at campaign events, saying the billionaire's values are "incompatible" with the world's most recognized opera singer.</p>
<p>It comes after a slew of other musicians and estates also complained about use of their music at Trump rallies or the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.</p>
<p>"We learned today that the aria 'Nessun dorma' performed by Luciano Pavarotti is being used [on] the Donald Trump campaign soundtrack," Nicoletta Mantovani wrote in a letter co-signed by three of the late superstar's daughters.</p>
<p>"We remind you that the values of brotherhood and solidarity that Luciano Pavarotti upheld throughout his artistic career are incompatible with the world vision of the candidate Donald Trump," it added.</p>
<p>"Nessun Dorma," from the final act of Puccini's opera Turandot, was the tenor's signature aria and his powerful performances of it cemented his global popularity. The piece ends with a repeat of the Italian word "Vincero" — "I will win."</p>
<p>Mantovani was married to the superstar tenor from 2003 until he died of pancreatic cancer in 2007 at age 71.</p>
<p>On Friday, the estate of the late George Harrison complained at the "offensive" use of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" at the convention.</p>
<p>The <a href="" type="internal">Rolling Stones</a>, Adele and R.E.M and other artists requested Trump to stop using their music, too.</p>
<p>Politicians don't have to get permission to use an artist's music if they buy "blanket licenses" from public-performance organizations ASCAP or BMI, which pay royalties to members, according to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/arts/music/romney-and-gingrich-pull-songs-after-complaints.html" type="external">The New York Times</a>. But artists under BMI who object to how their tracks are being used can have those songs pulled from that particular blanket license.</p>
<p>An artist or songwriter can also send a 'cease and desist' letter or even sue for false advertising if they believe their music appears to be supporting a particular candidate.</p> | Pavarotti Widow Tells Trump to Stop Using ‘Nessun Dorma’ in Campaign | false | http://nbcnews.com/news/world/pavarotti-widow-tells-trump-stop-using-nessun-dorma-campaign-n614721 | 2016-07-22 | 3 |
<p>All Things Considered coverage of the Annapolis meeting reinitiating Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks was a big disappointment. Ordinarily, such an event would prompt ATC to present a solid half hour of coverage, including providing listeners with the historical and factual background needed to understand and interpret the event.</p>
<p>We got the half hour. But in this case, little to no contextual information was provided. Instead ATC editors chose to give us a cute feature (apparently the parking situation today in Annapolis was essential news!) and a story about Syria’s attendance–a side aspect of the event that told us nothing new. Even the on-line “time-line” was disappointing. Not only does it commence abruptly in the year 2000, it also assumes “final status” would require “evacuation” of only “some Jewish settlements” located on Palestinian land. Nowhere is it stated that all West Bank Settlements are illegal.</p>
<p>What possible explanation is there for this uncharacteristic lapse in what is a hallmark of ATC’s reporting on world events?</p>
<p>Sad to say, the most likely explanation is fear–plain, simple fear.</p>
<p>If ATC had provided the appropriate factual background it would have become clear that the Palestinians have legal rights that are being denied in violation of international law; it would have become clear that Israel has already stolen most West Bank water; it would have become clear that Israel regularly imposes collective punishment on the Palestinian People. In short, it would have become clear that Israel has its boot on the neck of the Palestinians in repeated and longstanding violation of UN resolutions and that these peace negotiations are not taking place on a level playing field.</p>
<p>Had ATC done its usual world event report, Israel would have looked bad. Americans would have learned that Israel is not an embattled democracy fighting for survival but an aggressive colonial force intent on imposing its will on its neighbors. This in turn would have translated into a barrage of calls, letters and e-mails from the American Zionist Network berating ATC and NPR for “anti-Israel bias” and “anti-Semitism”. Some large donors might have threatened to pull bequests.</p>
<p>So, fear–translated into self-censorship – is the most logical explanation for today’s poor coverage.</p>
<p>To its credit, ATC did want to interview both Olmert and Abbas but neither Abbas, not his prime minister, would talk. So there was time to fill. That time could have been filled with an interview of Palestinian lawmaker and presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouti or with any of the seven leaders whose reactions were published by the BBC. Instead the editors chose to give us a story on parking in Annapolis. If appropriate background had been intended the lack of one interview would not have deterred presenting it.</p>
<p>There was likely an additional dilemma. Had ATC editors wanted a backgrounder they would have had to choose between Linda Gradstein–who reliably parrots the Israeli Government’s spin on events–and Eric Westerveld – one of the few NPR reporters brave enough to report accurately on Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Perhaps the editors thought it best to avoid that particular situation.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that the Zionist Network is a powerful force. Having been a recipient of a bit of that force I do not wish to see any journalist or news network become its target. But there is the problem of that middle word in the NPR name–the word PUBLIC. As the #1 PUBLIC radio network in the US, NPR has a duty to stand up to intimidation in order to inform the American People about issues critical to their interests and security. NPR has the mantle so it ought to accept the responsibility. ATC’s failure to stand up in the face of intimidation and what amounts to blackmail is a dark stain on its reputation and on American Journalism in general.</p>
<p>When will the good journalists at NPR say no to Zionist intimidation and the resulting self-censorship?</p>
<p>FELICE PACE lives in Klamath, California. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Did All Things Considered Self-Censor on Annapolis? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/11/29/did-all-things-considered-self-censor-on-annapolis/ | 2007-11-29 | 4 |
<p>The bad health habits of the Scots has provided fodder for articles for decades. They are portrayed as a nation that drinks too much, eats too much fried food and collectively smoke like chimneys.</p>
<p>It is, of course, not true. But those who grow up in deprived areas of Scotland do fit the stereotype. Their <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Health/TrendLifeExpectancy" type="external">life expectancy</a> is shockingly low for a western country: 57.5 years for men and 61.9 years for women.</p>
<p>One of the reasons is smoking. Scotland, as this <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-17484361" type="external">BBC article</a> points out, has one of the highest rates of lung cancer in the world. Fewer than 9 percent with the disease manage to live five years after the first diagnosis.</p>
<p>That makes the country the perfect place for a trial of a new early screening blood test that promises to detect the disease before tumors start to form.&#160; The test identifies antibodies that indicate proteins present in the blood that lead to tumors.</p>
<p>10,000 people who have smoked at least a pack a day for 20 years will be given the blood test, developed at Britain's Nottingham University by its subsidiary Oncimmune (scientific details <a href="http://www.earlycdt-lung.co.uk/physician/" type="external">here</a>).</p>
<p>The hope is that early cancer detection will be increased by 25 percent. First results are expected in 2014.</p> | Scotland: testing ground for new early cancer detection protocol | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-03-23/scotland-testing-ground-new-early-cancer-detection-protocol | 2012-03-23 | 3 |
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<p>The two-bill package – adopted just five days into a 60-day session – now heads to the Senate, which passed similar, but not identical, legislation a few days earlier on broad, bipartisan votes.</p>
<p>The House debate on Saturday fell largely along party lines, though a handful of Republicans joined Democrats in support of parts of the legislation.</p>
<p>Democrats urged quick action because the state treasurer could be charged with a felony, they said, if he’s put in the position of issuing checks he knows the state can’t cover.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s unbelievable that we’re in this predicament,” Rep. Antonio “Moe” Maestas, D-Albuquerque, said during a four-hour debate on the House floor.</p>
<p>Projections indicate the state’s $6 billion budget is on track for a $69 million deficit this year if no adjustments are made, and that doesn’t include millions of dollars more needed to cover the cost of the 60-day legislative session.</p>
<p>Republicans tried and failed to amend the solvency package.</p>
<p>Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, proposed that the House, Senate and governor forgo their capital outlay funding for a year, generating about $63 million in savings. Taking money from capital outlay – derisively described as “pork” for lawmakers’ districts – could ease the financial burden on schools, fire protection and other basic needs, he said.</p>
<p>“We’re in a fiscal crisis,” Harper said, and discretionary spending should be the first to be cut.</p>
<p>But Rep. Bill McCamley, D-Mesilla Park, said the state needs some money to address important capital projects, such as security upgrades at prisons and courthouses.</p>
<p>“I would not consider locks on prisons pork,” he said.</p>
<p>Saturday’s action, in any case, isn’t the last word on the potential budget fix. Approval by the Senate and Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican, is also necessary.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>And in order for the bills to take effect immediately – a key to curbing spending in time to address this year’s budget – they must pass both chambers by a two-thirds vote, meaning some bipartisan support will be necessary.</p>
<p>The two-bill package adopted Saturday passed on votes of 40-26 and 37-29. The bills take unspent money from fire protection, law enforcement, capital repair and various other accounts – and sweeps the cash into the general fund to pay for basic government operations through June 30, the end of the fiscal year.</p>
<p>It would generate at least $96 million in savings to address this year’s shortfall and provide a little cushion heading into next year.</p>
<p>The House of Representatives didn’t act Saturday on two other components of the solvency package – a $50 million proposal to force school districts to tap into some unspent balances and a $95 million bill that includes taking $11.6 million out of the state economic development “closing fund,” which is used to offset the costs of business expansion and relocation.</p>
<p>The need to shore up this year’s budget comes even after the Legislature met in special session last year and approved a series of spending cuts and other budget-balancing measures.</p>
<p />
<p /> | House passes NM solvency package amid partisan debate | false | https://abqjournal.com/932973/house-adopts-nm-solvency-bills-amid-partisan-debate.html | 2017-01-21 | 2 |
<p>This year, sit back with your favorite beverage or herb, prop up your feet and open your head to consider Independence Day in a whole new way.</p>
<p>A historically critical article about the American Revolution would typically discuss how the democratic promises of the Declaration were left hanging at war’s end, followed by a decidedly undemocratic constitution six years later.</p>
<p>Examples of that would include abandoning ideals stated in the Declaration like: “all men (sic) are created equal” and have unassailable rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”&#160; It could cite that:</p>
<p>* Slaves weren’t included in “We the People,” they were only the property of their owners. Because this human property, unlike a bale of cotton, could plan to run away, particular attention was paid to securing it. &#160;“A person (the indelicate word “slave” never appeared) held to service or labor in one state…escaping to another…shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due.” ( <a href="https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript" type="external">IV, sec. 2</a>)</p>
<p>* To appease Southerners interested in gaining the maximum number of seats in the new House of Representatives, the Fathers of Our Country declared, in writing, that these “other persons” would each count as three-fifths of a human. ( <a href="https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript" type="external">I, sec. 2</a>)</p>
<p>* Women did not have the right to vote, nor did Catholics and Jews in some states. White, Protestant, men had to own qualifying amounts of property.&#160; Thus, <a href="http://countrystudies.us/united-states/government-18.htm" type="external">only about 6%</a> of the new nation’s population was eligible to vote in the first presidential election and only <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/the-first-presidential-election-and-other-firsts/" type="external">3%, or 38,818</a> people actually did.</p>
<p>* Even those so privileged didn’t actually vote for a presidential candidate. They voted for “electors” pledged to vote for certain candidates and even then, four of the state <a href="http://www.aei.org/publication/the-first-presidential-election-and-other-firsts/" type="external">legislatures picked</a> those electors, not voting citizens.</p>
<p>* State legislatures, not citizens, chose U.S. Senators until the Constitution was <a href="https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm" type="external">amended in 1913</a>.</p>
<p>Clearly, there are reasons to ask what the Founders of Our Country were up to and what our fireworks every Fourth of July about.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>But this year, let’s investigate further: was war the only or even the best way to achieve what we now see was more limited than what we were taught?</p>
<p>Who better to proffer that question than the people’s historian, Howard Zinn?</p>
<p>In articles and speeches, including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrhSuEhJ4OY" type="external">this one</a> in Wellfleet, Massachusetts in September, 2009, Zinn provided his final, giant contribution just four months before he died, by examining what he called America’s “Three Holy Wars,” specifically the Revolution, the Civil War and World War Two, “Three wars in American history that are untouchable, uncriticizable…” as he characterized them.</p>
<p>If something’s unquestioned, it means we’re not thinking about it, Zinn said.&#160; But the historian was quick to add that his reason for doing so is not to learn what ‘really happened’ in the past.&#160; “The past is past,” he exclaimed.&#160; “The important thing is what does it tell us about today…and about what we might do in the world?&#160; There’s a present and a future reason for going into the past.”</p>
<p>He advised doing something never done in history textbooks: put each of these wars on its own balance sheet – costs on one side, benefits on the other – and then make a judgment.</p>
<p>Without that examination, he said, we and our grandchildren will be prone to accept wars as possibly good.&#160; “Because once you have a history of ‘good wars’ fought for good causes to point to, you have a model…it’s possible to have good wars.&#160; And maybe this is one of them”</p>
<p>Questioning the good wars undermines the possibility of having a good war.</p>
<p>The acknowledged “bad wars” like Vietnam and Iraq are justified by pointing to the “good war.”&#160; Words like “We mustn’t appease Saddam Hussein.&#160; Munich.&#160; Chamberlain.&#160; Ho Chi Minh is another Hitler,” are repeated each new generation, suggesting maybe we need another “good war.”</p>
<p>Typically we only look at one side of the balance sheet: what was gained – in this case independence from Britain – and ignore the cost.&#160; Rarely do we hear how many people were killed in the Revolution.&#160; “We won independence.&#160; It’s insignificant.”</p>
<p>So how many were killed?&#160; Perhaps 25,000 or even 50,000 according to Zinn.&#160; “You probably know by now that casualty figures in war are very crude. There’ll be disagreements up to a million.&#160; How many people died in Vietnam? I think two million.&#160; Or maybe three million.&#160; We’re not sure.”</p>
<p>25,000 is not many soldiers killed, he added.&#160; It’s less than half the number of U.S. troops killed in Viet Nam.&#160; But what would 25,000 mean relative to today’s population?&#160; “2,500,000 dead.”&#160; Today, would we think it’s worth sacrificing two and a half million people?&#160; “Might you not say, ‘Well, we want independence, but is there another way?’”</p>
<p>If we do that for each of these “good wars” at least then you have an honest balance sheet and you can make a decision.&#160; “Especially if none of those 2.5 million people are related to you,” Zinn said.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Beyond casualties, are there other factors that should go on the balance sheet? &#160;Like who gains from victory in war?</p>
<p>With a smile the historian said, “Governments would like us to believe we all gain from a war.&#160; That’s not necessarily true.&#160; Did black slaves gain from the Revolutionary War?&#160; Slavery before the war.&#160; Slavery after the war.&#160; You would think blacks would rush to the colors if they were fighting for their freedom, but Washington didn’t want blacks in the army.&#160; Washington, Madison, Jefferson, all slave owners, aren’t going to promise freedom.&#160; The British did.&#160; Only after the British began to enlist blacks did the Continental Army slowly enlist blacks.”</p>
<p>Indeed, some historians argue that slave-owning colonial leaders might well have seen the first spark of revolution in 1772 in England, when Lord Mansfield ruled in Somerset v Stewart that a slave, <a href="http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/rights/slave_free.htm" type="external">James Somerset</a>, who had escaped after being taken to England by his master, could not be forced back into slavery.</p>
<p>And then Zinn asked, “What about the people already here, the Indians?”&#160; With independence, the colonists won the ability to go westward, beyond the Appalachian line set by the British in the Proclamation of 1763.&#160; “Not because they were being nice, because they didn’t want trouble.”</p>
<p>So what do the Indians gain?&#160; “It’s worse than nothing.” &#160;After the Revolution that line was wiped out and we spent the next century taking over the rest of the continent, Zinn reminded his listeners.</p>
<p>Did working people and poor people benefited from the Revolution?&#160; Did they rush to Washington’s army?&#160; “No.&#160; Poor people had to be conscripted.&#160; They could avoid conscription by paying a fee, a practice begun with the Revolution that was carried over to the Civil War.&#160; Poor white people weren’t eager to join the army, but they were promised land if they won.&#160; And much like today, a young man from a tough background, not knowing what the future will bring, might join the army.&#160; You get a uniform, a gun, some status, maybe some medals, a little land.”</p>
<p>After they joined, many found they weren’t treated well.&#160; They found the officers got good clothes and shoes and food and paid a salary.&#160; Consequently, troops mutinied.&#160; “How many of you learned that in school?” Zinn asked, adding that all the way to a Ph.D., he didn’t.</p>
<p>“Thousands mutinied.&#160; Washington had to deal with it.&#160; He made concessions.&#160; But when smaller mutinies happened, he rounded up the leaders and had them shot by their fellow mutineers.”</p>
<p>All this is to say that the Revolutionary War, like all wars, was a class war.&#160; But we’re not supposed to bring that up.&#160; “We’re all one class, all one patriotic body.&#160; No.&#160; Wars affect us all differently,” Zinn observed.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>After the Revolution, the Western Massachusetts land given to former soldiers was taxed beyond their ability to pay.&#160; Land confiscations were followed by Shays Rebellion in 1786.&#160; Thousands rebelled and an army raised by the rich merchants of Boston put it down, Zinn revealed.&#160; “But it raised the question for whom was the war fought?&#160; Who was betrayed by it?”</p>
<p>The founding fathers were worried about Shay’s Rebellion and Massachusetts wasn’t the only place in revolt.&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Gen. Henry Knox wrote to warn Washington</a> that thousands were beginning to demand an equal share of the wealth gained by the Revolution.</p>
<p>In the shadow of Shay’s and in fear of future rebellions, the Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia in 1787.&#160; A strong central government was set up “not just because it’s nice to have a strong central government,” Zinn said, alluding to history text explanations, “but to be able to suppress rebellions” by workers and slaves, and to protect settlers moving into Indian territory.&#160; It should be noted that conventioneers met originally to amend our original constitution, the Articles of Confederation. Once together, however, they ditched the Articles with the more top-down, property-friendly constitution we know today.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Then Zinn asked a key question about our first “Holy War.” Could we have put something good on the positive side of the balance sheet without that human cost?&#160; Could we have won independence without a war?</p>
<p>“If something has happened a certain way in history, we assume that’s the only way it could have unfolded,” he said.&#160; But unless we use our imagination, “we’re going to be stuck doing the same thing over and over.”</p>
<p>In this particular case, we have more than just imagination to guide us.</p>
<p>The year before Lexington and Concord, farmers in 90% of Massachusetts, everywhere except Boston, had nonviolently driven out British officials. &#160;Zinn cites the work of historian Ray Raphael, author of “The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord,” describing how nonviolent action made that state ungovernable.&#160; “When a place becomes impossible to govern even imperial powers withdraw because they can’t control the situation,” Zinn explained.</p>
<p>To close this examination of Independence Day, it’s worth quoting Raphael at length, from the <a href="" type="internal">Journal of the American Revolution</a>.</p>
<p>On September 6, 1774, at dawn and through the morning, militia companies from 37 rural townships across Worcester County marched into the shiretown (county seat) of Worcester. By an actual headcount taken by Breck Parkman, one of the participants, there were 4,622 militiamen, about half the adult male population of the sprawling rural county. This was not some ill-defined mob but the military embodiment of the people, and they had a purpose: to close the courts, the outposts of British authority in this far reach of the Empire.</p>
<p>Lining both sides of Main Street for a quarter mile, the insurgents forced two dozen court officials to walk the gauntlet, hats in hand, reciting their recantations more than thirty times each so everyone could hear. The wording was strong: the officials would cede to the will of the people and promise never to execute “the unconstitutional act of the British parliament” (the Massachusetts Government Act) that would “reduce the inhabitants … to mere arbitrary power.” With this humiliating submission, all British authority vanished from Worcester County, never to return.</p>
<p>So too in every shiretown save Boston: some 1,500 patriots in Great Barrington, 3,000 in Springfield, and so on. In Plymouth, 4,000 militiamen were so pumped up after unseating British rule that they gathered around Plymouth Rock and tried to move it to the courthouse to display their power. The rock stood where it was, but British authority was gone from Plymouth and every other town. The disgruntled Southampton Tory Jonathan Judd, Jr., summed it all up: “Government has now devolved upon the people, and they seem to be for using it.”</p>
<p>Raphael’s comment following the letter from Knox describes in one sentence what groups like the <a href="http://www.poclad.org" type="external">Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy</a> and <a href="http://www.movetoamend.org" type="external">Move to Amend</a> have said for many years: it’s not enough to just react to one corporate harm after another; it’s not enough to singularly protest inadequate health care, education, jobs, weapons systems, invasions.&#160; We have to become self-governing.&#160; As Raphael put it: “They rose up as a body, not just to protest Crown and Parliament, but to displace their authority.”</p>
<p>Now cue the fireworks!</p>
<p>Mike Ferner was formerly a member of Toledo City Council and the national president of Veterans For Peace.&#160; He belongs to Move to Amend and the Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy.</p> | A Fourth of July Like You’ve Never Seen It Before | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/06/30/93804/ | 2017-06-30 | 4 |
<p>The European Central Bank (ECB) is run by people who are not very good at economics. They continue to adhere to a fundamentally wrongheaded view of the economy and the central bank’s role within it. Unfortunately there is no internal pressure for change because, like the Communist Party in the Soviet Union, acceptance of the ideology is the price for admission into the clique of economists who can influence the ECB.</p>
<p>The central tenet of ECB dogma is that the central bank should target a low inflation rate (2.0 percent) and pretty much ignore everything else in the economy. In the last decade this meant ignoring the massive housing bubbles that were driving the economies of Ireland and Spain. The bank was happy all through the period in which the bubbles were growing to ever more dangerous levels because it was hitting its inflation targets.</p>
<p>More recently, the ECB has been raising interest rates even as most of the eurozone economies remain mired with high unemployment. These interest rate hikes slow growth and job creation. Higher interest rates also exacerbate the fiscal problems facing heavily indebted countries, since they make it more expensive for them to service their debt.</p>
<p>In other lines of work, the disastrous consequences of the ECB’s recent and current policies would get people fired. However, no one is really in a position to fire the ECB bank president and top staff, so they could in principle continue their failed policy approach indefinitely.</p>
<p>But there is hope. Because the people running the ECB are not very good at economics, they keep running into difficulty with their plans to “rescue” Greece, Spain, and the other eurozone countries facing fiscal crises. As a result, they have to continually run back to these countries and work out new loan packages. Each package involves new and more onerous conditions for the debtor countries.</p>
<p>What the ECB has failed to recognize is that its own policies are making it more difficult for these countries to make their loan payments. This is due both to the fact that the policies are contractionary for the eurozone as a whole and also because the conditions imposed on debtor countries slow growth. With weaker growth, tax collections fall and more money is paid out in unemployment insurance and other transfers to the unemployed. The result is higher deficits.</p>
<p>This is where the popular movements like 15-M in Spain come in. While the governments may be willing to inflict whatever pain on their population the ECB requests, the popular movements are making this an increasingly difficult process. The governments of these countries are being forced to recognize that they must consider public opinion and not just accept the dictates of the ECB.</p>
<p>In fact, since the ECB would never want to see one of the eurozone countries default, the popular movements could find themselves in a situation where they are effectively negotiating with the ECB, since they can set bounds on the conditions that their governments can accept. This will allow them to teach the ECB crew some basic economics.</p>
<p>First on the list of lessons is to tell the ECB that the days of worshipping 2.0 percent inflation targets is over. That might have been cute policy before the downturn, but everyone now knows that it was boneheaded. Central banks have to take greater responsibility for maintaining stability and high levels of employment. Furthermore, a low rate of inflation like 2.0 percent provides insufficient room for the adjustments that must be made in the sort of crisis the world economy now faces. The popular movements can assign the ECB staff the excellent paper on this topic by Olivier Blanchard, the IMF’s chief economist.</p>
<p>The second item, which would be especially relevant to Spain, would be a requirement that governments take strong measures to get vacant homes back on the market. According to government data, Spain’s building boom left the country with more than 1 million vacant units. This is pure waste – what economists call “deadweight loss.”</p>
<p>The government can give the builders or banks that own these properties a strong incentive to sell or rent them by imposing a large tax (e.g. 5 percent of value) on units that are vacant for long periods of time. If the tax isn’t paid, then it could seize the property and then make it available directly. It could even use sound free market principles, for example allowing people to take possession of property and then become the owners if they live in and maintain it for a long enough period of time. This would follow the example of the Homestead Act in the United States.</p>
<p>Finally, governments can take the lead from the United States in another area and adopt bankruptcy laws that make it easier to shed debt. As it stands, many people who bought homes at bubble-inflated prices stand to spend the rest of their working life paying off their debt. In addition to being cruel to people who made a mistake, it also creates enormous disincentive to work or to work in the underground economy.</p>
<p>If a person has to commit 15 percent of their income to paying off debt, it has the same effect on incentives as a 15 percentage point increase in the income tax. Economists understand that taxes can have a disincentive effect. They should be able to understand that debt repayments can also have a large disincentive effect.</p>
<p>This would be the start of a good economics lesson for the ECB. It will mean better policy and maybe it can even help turn the people running the ECB into competent economists.</p>
<p>Dean Baker&#160;is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). He is the author of&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy&#160;</a>and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">False Profits: Recoverying From the Bubble Economy.</a></p>
<p>This column was originally published by&#160; <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/" type="external">Al Jazeera.</a></p> | The Failed Dogma of the ECB | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/08/10/the-failed-dogma-of-the-ecb/ | 2011-08-10 | 4 |
<p>It’s one of the oldest American success stories: An enterprising guy sees a gap, a divide, a need, a fear, and in the grand tradition of opportunistic greed, exploits it for all it’s worth.</p>
<p>Funny thing is, that’s never how the guy tells the story.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Still, that is how miracle cures, fad diets, male enhancement products, dietary supplements, homeopathic remedies, Ponzi schemes, manmade global warming, and of course, self-help books, came into being.</p>
<p>Just add another name to the list: Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Robert Atkins, Al Gore, and now, Mr. Me 2.0 himself, Dan Schwabel.</p>
<p>So why are we still talking about Gen Y? Because Schwabel’s company, <a href="http://millennialbranding.com/2013/09/gen-workplace-expectations-study/" type="external">Millennial Branding Opens a New Window.</a>, just released yet another survey telling us everything we never needed to know about the workplace habits of the millennial generation. And it’s all to promote his new book, appropriately titled, “Promote Yourself: The New Rules For Career Success.”</p>
<p>If I’m sounding a little jaded about this, it’s because I’m beginning to feel like I do whenever I set out to kill a nasty crop of poison oak. I spray it and get some of it. I spray it again and get most of it. The third time is usually the charm – until it comes back the following year. That’s how I feel about Gen Y in the workplace.</p>
<p>Not that I think any of this is funny, mind you. I actually think it’s a spectacularly insidious distraction for young up-and-comers and companies that seek to hire, motivate, and retain them.</p>
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<p>To be specific, business leaders shouldn’t be thinking about millennials and millennials shouldn’t be thinking about themselves. Allow me to explain, starting with the management side of the equation.</p>
<p>If you’re a manager at any level, you should run your organization as an organization. Manage your team as a team. Treat individuals as individuals. Focus on achieving your goals as effectively as possible. And none of that should include being distracted by the needs, wants, or deficiencies of a specific age group.</p>
<p>The truth, like it or not, is that coddling Gen Y at home is probably what got us here in the first place. Don’t make it worse by coddling them at work.</p>
<p>Besides, top performers – those with a chance of making it in this world – intuitively understand that work isn’t about them. And that includes all the up-and-coming Gen Yers I know. They’re the ones you want to hire, not those who whine about flexibility and getting more time to text and tweet.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong; I’m no workplace Nazi. I grew up in the high-tech industry. I’m a big fan of letting knowledge workers come and go as they please, dress however they like, and all that, as long as they get the job done. That’s how I was treated way back when I was a young engineer and that’s how I’ve always treated folks I managed.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think every new generation wants as much freedom as it can get. There are always individuals with new ideas who push the envelope and help change things for the better. That happens with every new generation. There’s really nothing unique about this one in particular. At least there shouldn’t be.</p>
<p>Here’s the bottom line. This is, without a doubt, the most brutally competitive global market in history. If I’m your CEO or on your board of directors, I want you to make great products, meet the needs of your customers, gain market share, grow the business, and deliver long-term shareholder value. That’s plenty to focus on.</p>
<p>Of course you have to attract, motivate, and retain talented employees to achieve those goals. But thinking you should handle a certain group of people differently is a spectacularly bad idea. If you can’t figure out why that is, then you have no business managing anyone or anything.</p>
<p>As for all the Gen Yers out there, here’s a little advice for you. If you ask some of the great entrepreneurs of your generation – guys like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg or <a href="" type="internal">WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg</a>, for example – what made them successful, I guarantee you won’t hear anything about personal branding and self-promotion.</p>
<p>What you will hear about is finding out what motivates you, doing what you love, gaining real-world experience, trusting your gut, working hard, making things happen, and getting things done. To my knowledge, and I’ve been at this a long time, nothing has changed. At least nothing that matters.</p> | Why Are We Still Talking About Gen Y? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/09/06/why-are-still-talking-about-gen-y.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
<p>Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) has just scored a significant endorsement in Iowa.</p>
<p>Bob Vander Plaats, president of the <a href="http://www.thefamilyleader.com/" type="external">Family Leader</a>, is a coveted Iowa endorsement, and has decided to endorse Cruz. He told <a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/12/10/why-bob-vander-plaats-chose-ted-cruz-over-donald-trump-marco-rubio-ben-carson/77087998/" type="external">The Des Moines Register,</a> "At the end of the day, we truly believe that Ted Cruz is the most consistent and principled conservative who has the ability to not only win Iowa but I believe to win the (Republican) nomination."</p>
<p>"I think what's appealing about Ted Cruz is he still gives that 'outside' appearance," Vander Plaats said. "He has not been embraced by the Washington establishment community, on either side of the aisle. So he's still viewed as that outside candidate who really knows how this thing works and what needs to be changed."</p>
<p>Vander Plaats explained he did not support real estate mogul Donald Trump because he did not attend the Family Leader's Presidential Family Forum. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) did not get Vander Plaats's support because "the one issue he decided he was going to lead in Washington, D.C., with (Democratic New York U.S. Sen. Chuck) Schumer and (Republican Arizona U.S. Sen.) John McCain and the 'gang of eight' gave and gives everybody a little bit of cause for pause. And with immigration being such a big issue today, I think that's going to be a hurdle that's going to be very steep for Marco Rubio to clear."</p>
<p>The Des Moines Register called Vander Plaats's endorsement of Cruz a "triumph" for the senator. Radio host Steve Deace, a key figure in Iowa politics who has also <a href="https://www.tedcruz.org/news/iowa-radio-host-steve-deace-endorses-cruz/" type="external">endorsed</a> Cruz, <a href="https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2015/11/what-about-bob-the-critical-iowa-endorsement" type="external">called</a> Vander Plaats "the most wanted endorsement of 2016" because in the last two Iowa caucuses, Vander Plaats's endorsed candidates, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008 and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) in 2012, won. The Des Moines Register said that Vander is "a master of capturing media attention."</p>
<p>"He has not been embraced by the Washington establishment community, on either side of the aisle. So he's still viewed as that outside candidate who really knows how this thing works and what needs to be changed."</p>
<p>Bob Vander Plaats on Ted Cruz</p>
<p>Cruz is currently second in the <a href="http://www.realclearpolitics.com/" type="external">RealClearPolitics polling averages</a> in Iowa and recently came first in a poll in Iowa. Vander Plaats's endorsement may just be what Cruz needs to secure a victory in Iowa.</p> | Cruz Wins Key Iowa Endorsement | true | https://dailywire.com/news/1759/cruz-wins-key-iowa-endorsement-aaron-bandler | 2015-12-10 | 0 |
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<p>Face to face with Lobo softball player Brandi Heimburg</p>
<p>First team All-Mountain West Conference last season. Started 45 games in right field. Had the team’s second-highest batting average at .388 and scored a team-leading 25 runs. Went to Yavapai Community College in Prescott, Ariz. for two years before transferring to UNM as a junior last season. Her minor is in communications and she is scheduled to graduate in December. Year: Senior Age: 21 Major: Psychology Hometown: Phoenix Favorites Food: Stuffed artichokes Actor: I love Leonardo DiCaprio. I have a big poster of him in my room. Not sure how my boyfriend feels about that. Movie: “Titanic” TV show: “Modern Family” Pizza toppings: Pepperoni and pineapple Dream car: A red Jeep Wrangler Feb. 6-8: Kajikawa Classic, Tempe, Ariz.</p>
<p>You have a number of players on the team from Arizona, right? I think there are six of us. It’s only a six-hour drive from Phoenix to Albuquerque, so our parents can always watch our games if they would like. I think Phoenix – except it’s blazing hot there – and Albuquerque are almost the same, looks-wise. The mountains are nicer here. Were you recruited much out of high school? I honestly didn’t know how to go about the recruiting process in high school. I had a few schools looking at me, but they were too far away. How was the change from junior college to here? I loved it. I was really awkward and uncomfortable in the beginning, but all the girls and all the coaches made me feel right at home. The first time I met (Lobo) Mariah (Rimmer), it was crazy. She was my host on my recruiting trip we went out to dinner. Literally, it looked like we were best friends for about 12 years. Is the level of play more difficult? Everyone will say there is a huge difference, but I didn’t see that much of one. The only thing is, we have restrictions here – like how long we can practice and how long we can do things. They take really good care of us here, whereas in junior college they could make you practice as long as they wanted. You could be there every day for seven days a week. Here they are really focused on your grades. School comes before everything. Last year was tough (16-36, 7-17 in MWC). What will it take to turn things around? I’m confident we will. We have a set plan for what we need to do. Everyone knows what our position is, and what our role is on the team, and how we can accomplish that. I think last year, we just sort of went for it without a plan. How hard was it last year? Tough. Everyone wants to win every single game. Losing is hard. But I think our team took it well. We weren’t getting blown out. We were fighting the whole time; we never gave up. What do you do in your free time? I like to draw. I’m not very good at it, but I like to doodle. Cartoons. Not caricatures or anything like that. – Mark Smith _capsule”/&gt;</p>
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<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Lobo interview | false | https://abqjournal.com/532178/lobo-interview.html | 2 |
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<p>The first words of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis read: “Everyone has heard people quarreling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merely unpleasant; but however, it sounds I believe we can learn something very important from listening to the kinds of things they say.”</p>
<p>I would only add that sometimes it sounds heartbreaking, and to be caught up quarreling of any kind is tiresome at best, and wounding at worst.</p>
<p>Edward Abbey once penned, “How could anything non-controversial be of intellectual interest to grown-ups?” It’s a great question. The problem comes when subjects of intellectual (and I would add spiritual) interest cannot be so much as mentioned without the quarreling among grown-ups that ensues. (Now by intellectual here I don’t mean elitist or even academic, but rather engaging the mind, and stimulating to the soul.)</p>
<p>Do we really want to live in a culture, or does anybody really want to attend a church for that matter, where substantive conversation and dialogue cannot be tolerated concerning the most pressing ethical issues of the day? I fear we would rather see cat memes and baby pictures, content to shout each other into silence whenever a complex subject is brought to the fore. This makes for a false unity that scratches only the surface of human relationships, of the beauty of diversity.</p>
<p>Orwell reminded us that “within any important issue, there are always aspects no one wishes to discuss.” This is profoundly true for a variety of subjects —&#160;from politics to relationships, from spirituality to science. Additionally, we sometimes forget that issues which are politicized by many for momentary gains in power or air time are not political issues to begin with, but rather spiritual and ethical. This is especially true for people of faith, and especially true in our hyper-politicized culture.</p>
<p>In his book Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, “The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists in listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is listening to them.” By this standard of love, Facebook is one of the most hate filled places I know —&#160;and all of our mean culture really. Don’t pretend you love people if you are not willing to listen, and listen deeply.</p>
<p>As an act of refusing to quarrel;</p>
<p>As an act of intellectual and spiritual integrity;</p>
<p>As an act of focusing on the spiritual/ethical side of issues and not the partisan-hijacked-version;</p>
<p>As an act of love for the sake of listening;</p>
<p>What if we refrained significantly from attempting any substantive conversations or dialogues on social media?</p>
<p>For all the time spent on bickering via social media or tamping down trolls on even the most (seemingly) non-controversial posts (and there are plenty of trolls to go around), is political conversation on Facebook even worth it?</p>
<p>In the last week, I have held back considerably on Facebook concerning a number of hot button political issues and I have had far less quarrelling in my life, and been able to listen to others more. This doesn’t mean there isn’t a time and place for political dialogue —&#160;far from it!</p>
<p>Since laying off political posts on Facebook, I have more time for meaningful personal conversations, for calling my representatives to express my concerns, and for engaging in the political process in other ways. When I politically post on Facebook, the time it takes me to manage all the replies and keep the conversation (among friends) civil, can be used for better things.</p>
<p>Moreover, when all my posts on social media are of a political nature, I’m increasingly convinced that the prophetic nature of the pulpit is diminished (at least in my church and I bet in yours).</p>
<p>“Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?” (James 4:1, NRSV)</p>
<p>What craving in you causes you to share that political post? To be right? To look smart? To jab the other side? To quarrel?</p>
<p>I’m done. Done feeding the cravings and temptations of Facebook. Done bickering with people in useless ways. Done with the stress of it all.</p>
<p>Thus, I find I’m free. Free to spend more time with family. Free to engage politically in ways that actually make a difference. Free, even, to listen.</p>
<p>In these days, don’t waste time on Facebook that can be devoted to living out the mandates of the Kingdom!</p> | Refusing to quarrel on Facebook, and what to do with new found free time | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/refusing-to-quarrel-on-facebook-and-what-to-do-with-new-found-free-time/ | 3 |
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<p>Spoon will make a stop in Albuquerque at the Sunshine Theater.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jim Eno likes to keep it fresh. That is the reason he and the band Spoon alter the set list each night.</p>
<p>“We switch things up quite a bit,” <a href="" type="internal">he says during a recent phone interview</a>. “It really helps us keep our sanity. If we did the same set night after night, I think we’d become bored with it all.”</p>
<p>Eno and Spoon are touring in support of the band’s latest album, “They Want My Soul.” The album is the band’s first in four years. I caught up with Eno while he was getting ready for the two-week trek across the country.</p>
<p>“It took us a while to get back on track,” he says. “When we did, we liked how it was all going and kept pushing ourselves with ideas.”</p>
<p>Spoon will perform at Sunshine Theater on Tuesday, Dec. 16.</p>
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<p>If you’re in the holiday spirit and want some Irish music, then Lunasa has a show for you. The Irish band will perform at the National Hispanic Cultural Center on Saturday, Dec. 13. The band is touring with Karan Casey and will put some holiday tunes into its set. <a href="" type="internal">Read more about this special concert</a>.</p>
<p>If it’s rock music you want, <a href="" type="internal">then Black Veil Brides is just for you</a>. The band is currently touring in support of its self-titled album.</p>
<p>Of course, as you turn the pages inside this week’s edition of Venue, you will find <a href="" type="internal">movie</a> and <a href="" type="internal">dining reviews</a>, as well as more music heading to the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area.</p>
<p /> | Keeping it fresh: Lots of bands, including Spoon, stop in NM this week | false | https://abqjournal.com/510326/this-week-adrian-gomez-72.html | 2 |
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<p>Taylor was 5 of 8 from the floor including a pair of 3-pointers for the Aggies (22-2, 8-0 WAC) whose 20th consecutive victory is the nation’s second-longest streak behind No. 1 Gonzaga’s 24 straight.</p>
<p>Braxton Huggins added 14 points and Ian Baker had 13. New Mexico State averaged 53 percent shooting from the floor and had a 46-28 rebounding edge over Chicago State.</p>
<p>The Aggies jumped to an 18-2 advantage early in the first half and led all the way, pushing it to 45-15 on a Taylor 3-pointer late. They led 49-23 at the break.</p>
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<p>Chicago State trailed by at least 20 points throughout the second half and Chancellor Ellis sealed the Aggies’ win with back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 2:30.</p>
<p>Clemmye Owens V led the Cougars (6-19, 1-7) with 23 points. Chicago State has lost four straight.</p>
<p><a href="https://d3el53au0d7w62.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/04/153203.pdf" type="external">Box score: NMSU 86, Chicago State 51</a></p> | Aggies rout Chicago State, win 20th straight | false | https://abqjournal.com/943081/aggies-rout-chicago-state-win-20th-straight.html | 2 |
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<p>CONCORD, N.H. — Low temperatures and high winds have put the Northeastern U.S. in a deep freeze.</p>
<p>Dangerous wind chills of 20 to 30 below in parts of the region made for some crippling conditions Friday.</p>
<p>“You are talking about 30 degrees below normal highs. That is pretty darn cold,” said National Weather Service meteorologist James Brown in Maine. “This is pretty much a piece of Arctic air that came off the North Pole and came into New England.”</p>
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<p>Forecasters said a storm will follow the frigid weather, bringing chances for snow, sleet and freezing rain across much of the country.</p>
<p>Some schools closed early Thursday and many others delayed opening Friday to avoid a bone-chilling wait at the bus stop.</p>
<p>“We’re not strangers to these sorts of bitter temperatures on Mount Washington’s summit,” senior weather observer Mike Carmon said in the weather observatory’s blog at the highest peak in the Northeast. “However, over the last few winters, it’s generally late January or February before we experience this sort of polar air outbreak.”</p>
<p>The wind chill was down to 85-below at the summit early Friday.</p>
<p>Utility workers were prepared for power outages due to fallen trees. David Flener, field safety manager at Eversource, New Hampshire’s largest utility, said workers are well-educated on how to stay warm in the coldest weather, starting before they even arrive on a job site. They are urged to make sure they carry an emergency kit with clothing and food in case they get stranded, and once they arrive, there is a discussion about on-the-job safety.</p>
<p>“We’re oftentimes up in buckets, so you’re sometimes above the trees and there’s a little more wind up there,” he said. “You’d be surprised how much heat you lose from the top of your head.”</p>
<p>Sara Sankowich, who oversees tree crews for Unitil, said workers are encouraged to watch out for one another to see if they show signs of hypothermia or frostbite. “We’ll take every step to make sure they are staying safe out there and that they’re not overexposing themselves to the elements,” she said.</p>
<p>In upstate New York, along the Lake Ontario shore, wind gusts approached 70 mph and the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning effective through early Friday morning. Lake-effect snow was accompanied by winds of up to 50 mph, causing whiteout conditions in some places.</p>
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<p>In suburban Syracuse, a woman’s body and vehicle were found in a creek, apparently after a crash during whiteout conditions from the lake-effect story.</p>
<p>Authorities say the body of 50-year-old Daphne Washburn, of Liverpool, was found under ice in 4 feet of water Onondaga Lake Park, along with her partially submerged SUV on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in New York, parts of the Adirondack Northway, north of Albany, were closed for more than four hours after a crash involving a tractor-trailer and a snowplow. No injuries were reported.</p>
<p>In western Pennsylvania, lake-effect snow bands were blamed for slick roads and poor visibility. Fifty-nine vehicles crashed in a snowy pileup and three people were hurt. The crash was one of three that shut down different stretches of Interstate 80.</p>
<p>Park officials in one Massachusetts town decided it was too cold to open an outdoor ice rink. The Worcester Common Oval was to open Friday night for public skating.</p>
<p>The Telegram &amp; Gazette reports Worcester city officials decided that with wind chills expected to be below zero, a decision was made to keep the rink closed for the health and safety of those who use it. The rink is expected to open Saturday.</p>
<p>Below-normal temperatures are expected this weekend and into Monday across the entire northern half of the country, from the Pacific Northwest to Maine and as far south as Oklahoma, Arkansas and Virginia, according to the Climate Prediction Center.</p>
<p>In Oklahoma, authorities said three people died in separate wrecks and more than 100 traffic crashes were reported after freezing drizzle slickened roads in the Oklahoma City area.</p>
<p>The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported the fatal crashes on three interstates in the metro area Thursday night. The Oklahoma City Fire Department says its crews responded to multiple wrecks, including an eight-vehicle pileup that shut down traffic.</p>
<p>Up to half a foot of snow could fall from the Upper Mississippi Valley to the Northeast on Friday and Saturday, and areas east of the Appalachian Mountains could see freezing rain and sleet on Saturday.</p>
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<p>This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Sara Sankowich, not Sankowicz.</p>
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<p>Associated Press writers Holly Ramer and Michael Casey in Concord, New Hampshire, and David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this story.</p> | Dangerous wind chills puts parts of US in the deep freeze | false | https://abqjournal.com/910275/dangerous-wind-chills-put-northeastern-us-in-deep-freeze.html | 2016-12-15 | 2 |
<p>SEATTLE (AP) — Dave Henderson, the former major league outfielder who hit one of the most famous home runs in postseason history, died Sunday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 57.</p>
<p>Henderson died early Sunday morning at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to a statement from the Mariners, one of five teams Henderson played for in his career. Henderson had a kidney transplant in late October.</p>
<p>Henderson was best known for his home run in the 1986 AL Championship Series for Boston. With the Red Sox one strike from elimination in Game 5, Henderson hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth against the California Angels to send the series back to Boston. The Red Sox won Games 6 and 7 to advance to the World Series.</p>
<p>"His home run in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS was a signature moment in Red Sox history, and we shared his unbridled joy when he hopped into the air as the ball cleared the fence in Anaheim," Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said in a statement. "Hendu played just two seasons in Boston, but we always regarded him as one of us, and are grateful for the time we were able to enjoy his talent and infectious personality."</p>
<p>But beyond his memorable playoff moment, Henderson was a reliable contributor to four teams that reached the World Series and played 14 seasons total in the majors. His greatest success came from 1988-91 with Oakland. During that four-year stretch, the A's went to the World Series three times.</p>
<p>Henderson played in 575 regular-season games during that span, hitting .275 with 84 homers, 123 doubles and 322 RBIs. Henderson was an All-Star in 1991.</p>
<p>"Henderson was an instrumental part of the A's 1989 World Series championship club and an even more impactful member of the A's family and community," the A's said in a statement. "Hendu and his smile will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his family."</p>
<p>Henderson began his career in Seattle as the first draft pick in the history of the Mariners franchise in 1977. He made his debut in 1981 and played parts of six seasons with the Mariners. Henderson was traded to Boston during the 1986 season and later played for San Francisco and Kansas City.</p>
<p>"He was a devoted father to his two sons and always willing to help someone in need," Mariners President Kevin Mather said in a statement. "Dave was one of the most popular Mariners in our history, but Dave was also one of the most popular players in Red Sox and A's history. He had a special ability to connect with people, both inside the game and in the communities in which he lived. I never saw him at the ballpark, or on the golf course, without a big smile on his face."</p>
<p>After his playing career ended, Henderson spent time as a broadcaster for the Mariners and ran fantasy camps for A's and Mariners fans. He also raised funds to support research of Angelman Syndrome, a genetic disorder that affected his son Chase.</p>
<p>Henderson was born July 21, 1958, in Merced, California. He is survived by sons Chase and Trent, wife Nancy and his first wife, Loni.</p>
<p>SEATTLE (AP) — Dave Henderson, the former major league outfielder who hit one of the most famous home runs in postseason history, died Sunday after suffering a massive heart attack. He was 57.</p>
<p>Henderson died early Sunday morning at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to a statement from the Mariners, one of five teams Henderson played for in his career. Henderson had a kidney transplant in late October.</p>
<p>Henderson was best known for his home run in the 1986 AL Championship Series for Boston. With the Red Sox one strike from elimination in Game 5, Henderson hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth against the California Angels to send the series back to Boston. The Red Sox won Games 6 and 7 to advance to the World Series.</p>
<p>"His home run in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS was a signature moment in Red Sox history, and we shared his unbridled joy when he hopped into the air as the ball cleared the fence in Anaheim," Red Sox President Sam Kennedy said in a statement. "Hendu played just two seasons in Boston, but we always regarded him as one of us, and are grateful for the time we were able to enjoy his talent and infectious personality."</p>
<p>But beyond his memorable playoff moment, Henderson was a reliable contributor to four teams that reached the World Series and played 14 seasons total in the majors. His greatest success came from 1988-91 with Oakland. During that four-year stretch, the A's went to the World Series three times.</p>
<p>Henderson played in 575 regular-season games during that span, hitting .275 with 84 homers, 123 doubles and 322 RBIs. Henderson was an All-Star in 1991.</p>
<p>"Henderson was an instrumental part of the A's 1989 World Series championship club and an even more impactful member of the A's family and community," the A's said in a statement. "Hendu and his smile will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with his family."</p>
<p>Henderson began his career in Seattle as the first draft pick in the history of the Mariners franchise in 1977. He made his debut in 1981 and played parts of six seasons with the Mariners. Henderson was traded to Boston during the 1986 season and later played for San Francisco and Kansas City.</p>
<p>"He was a devoted father to his two sons and always willing to help someone in need," Mariners President Kevin Mather said in a statement. "Dave was one of the most popular Mariners in our history, but Dave was also one of the most popular players in Red Sox and A's history. He had a special ability to connect with people, both inside the game and in the communities in which he lived. I never saw him at the ballpark, or on the golf course, without a big smile on his face."</p>
<p>After his playing career ended, Henderson spent time as a broadcaster for the Mariners and ran fantasy camps for A's and Mariners fans. He also raised funds to support research of Angelman Syndrome, a genetic disorder that affected his son Chase.</p>
<p>Henderson was born July 21, 1958, in Merced, California. He is survived by sons Chase and Trent, wife Nancy and his first wife, Loni.</p> | Former outfielder Dave Henderson dies of heart attack at 57 | false | https://apnews.com/amp/b39b9eca175f43d7ba29ce22dc448154 | 2015-12-28 | 2 |
<p>DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Texas woman has been imprisoned for causing a fatal crash in eastern Iowa.</p>
<p>Court records say 58-year-old Lauria Kelly was given a 10-year sentence at a hearing Wednesday in Davenport. Kelly had been found guilty of vehicular homicide-reckless driving. She lives in Alvarado, Texas.</p>
<p>Davenport police say Kelly was speeding on Jan. 30 last year and had run at least two stop lights when her pickup truck hit a car, killing 53-year-old Cynthia Jones, of Davenport.</p>
<p>DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A Texas woman has been imprisoned for causing a fatal crash in eastern Iowa.</p>
<p>Court records say 58-year-old Lauria Kelly was given a 10-year sentence at a hearing Wednesday in Davenport. Kelly had been found guilty of vehicular homicide-reckless driving. She lives in Alvarado, Texas.</p>
<p>Davenport police say Kelly was speeding on Jan. 30 last year and had run at least two stop lights when her pickup truck hit a car, killing 53-year-old Cynthia Jones, of Davenport.</p> | Texas woman gets 10-year term for fatal Iowa crash | false | https://apnews.com/amp/9cd22408f76b445b98e22dedf943a214 | 2018-01-25 | 2 |
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<p>The plans call for the conference to become an annual affair. Also in the works is an annual festival intended to celebrate contemporary arts and culture in Santa Fe along with themes from another city or cities featured at the conference.</p>
<p>“Many cities, large and small, have recognized that their creative economies are an important part of economic development,” said Clark Hulse, Creative Santa Fe’s executive director. “As a hub for cultural activity, Santa Fe can be a world model in shaping its own future. We hope that the Imagined Futures initiative can contribute to that effort.”</p>
<p>The Santa Fe Institute, the City Different’s famous think tank of scientists, writers and other experts who meet across disciplines and fields of study, will be a partner in the project.</p>
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<p>Events for Imagined Futures, or IF, being in May with the start of The Santa Fe Series.</p>
<p>Local, national and international experts will be invited to discuss urban growth and development, “focusing on how culture, creativity and innovation can influence the way cities evolve,” Creative Santa Fe said in a news release.</p>
<p>The IF website says the focus of series events “is the enrichment of our city, with a concentration on how culture – including science, art, architecture, food, design, music, film and more- shapes the ways cities evolve.</p>
<p>“Since cities are complex, rapidly changing social, cultural and physical systems, the scientific inquiry of the Santa Fe Institute will provide a launching point for our understanding of how cities grow and adapt.”</p>
<p>The Imagined Futures conference, scheduled for fall of 2013, will be designed to attract national and international attendees interested in the topic of cultural influence on worldwide urban economies, the organization said.</p>
<p>A festival of cultural events coinciding with the conference will showcase the food, architecture, “urban innovations,” music, art, and other aspects of Santa Fe and partner cities.</p>
<p>“We want to infuse a new energy of collaboration in our community such that we can serve as a model for a better quality of life across the board, socially, economically, artistically and beyond,” said Bill Miller, Creative Santa Fe’s board chairman.</p>
<p>Specific dates, times and titles for The Santa Fe Series will be announced soon.</p>
<p>Creative Santa Fe was founded in 2005, after an economic development plan commissioned by the city from Angelou Economics recommended a strong strategic focus on Santa Fe’s “creative industries.”</p>
<p>More information is available at <a href="http://www.creativesantafe.org" type="external">www.creativesantafe.org</a>.</p> | Nonprofit Plans New Workshops, Series of Events | false | https://abqjournal.com/95551/nonprofit-plans-new-workshops-series-of-events.html | 2012-03-22 | 2 |
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<p>Cooper and Kyser left the nightclub, where Kyser works as a bouncer, and went to a house party on the 4500 block of Palmyra NW on Aug. 1. Once there, Kyser was attacked at the party by an unknown male who left the scene.</p>
<p>Kyser later told police that he got into a car and followed a Nissan Xterra that left the party, which he thought had occupants who were involved in the fight, but lost sight of it because it was driving too fast. Cooper was also in the vehicle with Kyser.</p>
<p>Another man later told police that he arrived at the party, but saw the fight and got back into his vehicle with friends and left, according to court documents.</p>
<p>He said the vehicle they were in was followed by another car and they stopped at Loren NW. He said Kyser and Cooper got out of the car and Kyser walked up to his window and punched him in the jaw asking “Where is he?,” according to court documents.</p>
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<p>The man told police that Kyser and Cooper were “very angry,” slashed their vehicle’s tires and threw rocks at the vehicle. The man told Kyser that he was not involved and did not know who they were looking for.</p>
<p>Cooper then grabbed the man by his shirt and forced him into the car at knifepoint. The man told police that Cooper told him that he was going to take him to the mesa and “get rid of him,” according to court documents.</p>
<p>Kyser drove the car to the corner of the street and let the man out. The man began to walk away from the vehicle and Cooper struck him in the back, according to court documents.</p>
<p>The man said he felt a puncture wound to the lower side of his back and ran to a home on Loren NW. The man later identified Cooper and Kyser as his attackers in a photo array provided by police. Both were later arrested and booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center, where they both were being detained Monday, according to jail records.</p>
<p>Cooper and Kyser are charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence. Cooper also is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.</p> | Two Cousins Arrested after Allegedly Harming the Wrong Man | false | https://abqjournal.com/6221/two-cousins-arrested-after-allegedly-harming-the-wrong-man.html | 2 |
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<p>Brazil is an emerging economy whose stock market offers lots of potential for investors with long time horizons. Instead of investing through individual stocks, the iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF (NYSEMKT: EWZ) index fund can be a smart investment in the performance of the overall Brazilian economy, without too much exposure to any one stock.</p>
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<p>Like most other emerging markets, Brazil's stock market can be quite volatile. Take a look at the iShares MSCI Brazil Capped ETF's performance since its inception in 2000. During the mid-2000s, the fund increased tenfold, rapidly crashed during the Great Recession, and has fluctuated quite a bit since then.</p>
<p>My point is that Brazil's stock market is volatile and risky enough without adding the risk that comes with evaluating and selecting individual stocks. In addition, individual stocks in <a href="https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/what-is-an-emerging-market-fund.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c3ac7316-6585-11e7-bf4b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">emerging economies Opens a New Window.</a> can be quite difficult to evaluate. In other words, <a href="https://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/what-are-exchange-traded-funds.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c3ac7316-6585-11e7-bf4b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">an ETF Opens a New Window.</a> allows you to invest in Brazil without depending too much on any single company.</p>
<p>There are several ETFs that track Brazilian stocks, but the iShares MSCI Capped ETF, with about $6 billion in assets, is by far the largest.</p>
<p>The fund tracks the MSCI Brazil 25/50 index, which is named for the caps it puts on the exposure to the largest companies. Specifically, no single stock can make up more than 25% of the index's weight, and all of the companies that each make up more than 5% of the weighted index cannot combine to exceed 50% of the overall weight in the index.</p>
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<p>At the moment, these caps aren't an issue. The largest holding in the index, Itau Unibanco Holding, makes up 11.7% of the total, and only three stocks (Itau, Ambev, and Bank Bradesco SA) have weightings above 5% and combine for 28.4% of the index. However, this does provide ongoing protection from the fund and its investors becoming too dependent on any single company's performance.</p>
<p>Although this index is intended to track the overall performance of Brazil's market, it's important to note that the fund holds just 58 different stocks – a far cry from the 500 stocks that make up the S&amp;P 500 index that is generally considered a benchmark of U.S. performance.</p>
<p>About 36% of the fund's assets are invested in financial-sector companies, like the two big banks in the top three. This is by far the largest allocation to a sector, and other major sectors include consumer staples (15.6%), energy (11.6%), and materials (9.6%).</p>
<p>Finally, the gross expense ratio of the ETF is 0.63%, which means you'll pay $63 in management fees per year for every $10,000 you have invested. This is relatively high as far as index funds go, but is still below-average for mutual funds and ETFs as a whole, and in my opinion, it's worth the cost if you want broad exposure to this high-potential economy.</p>
<p>Emerging markets can be exciting and lucrative long-term investments, but individual stocks in these countries can be difficult to evaluate. Instead of investing in individual companies, an investment in Brazil's overall economic future can be the smartest way to get exposure in your portfolio.</p>
<p>The $16,122 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: One easy trick could pay you as much as $16,122 more...each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after.&#160; <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-social-security?aid=8727&amp;source=irreditxt0000002&amp;ftm_cam=ryr-ss-intro-report&amp;ftm_pit=3186&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c3ac7316-6585-11e7-bf4b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/KWMatt82/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c3ac7316-6585-11e7-bf4b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Matthew Frankel Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c3ac7316-6585-11e7-bf4b-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | This Brazil ETF Can Give You Exposure to an Exciting Stock Market | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/13/this-brazil-etf-can-give-exposure-to-exciting-stock-market.html | 2017-07-13 | 0 |
<p>July 27 (UPI) — Lockheed Martin has successfully launched the U.S. Navy’s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, or LRASM, from a newly designed topside canister.</p>
<p>The demonstration was conducted at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and showed the vertical-launched missile could also be fired from on-deck angled launchers.</p>
<p>During the test, the LRASM, its Mk-114 booster and booster adapter used the same launch control and launch sequencer software currently used by the Mk-41 Vertical Launch System.</p>
<p>“This successful flight test demonstrates Lockheed Martin’s readiness to answer the U.S. Navy’s call for lethal, longer range anti-surface warfare capabilities as part of the ‘Distributed Lethality’ concept,” Scott Callaway, Subsonic Cruise Missile director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, <a href="http://news.lockheedmartin.com/2017-07-27-Lockheed-Martin-Demonstrates-New-Anti-Ship-Missiles-Surface-Ship-Launch-Capability" type="external">said in a press release</a>. “This test also validates the flexibility and versatility of LRASM, as it proved it can be successfully fired from VLS and non-VLS surface platforms.”</p>
<p>Lockheed Martin said the surface-launched LRASM leverages the successful JASSM-ER air launched cruise missile heritage, providing an early operational capability for the Navy’s offensive anti-surface warfare Increment I requirement.</p>
<p>Lockheed Martin earlier this week won a U.S. Air Force contract for 23 air-launched variants of the LRASM.</p> | Lockheed demos deck-launched variant of LRASM | false | https://newsline.com/lockheed-demos-deck-launched-variant-of-lrasm/ | 2017-07-27 | 1 |
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<p>Image source: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc.</p>
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<p>What:Shares of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. were down 19% as of 3 p.m. Tuesday after the burger-centric restaurant chain announced mixed fiscal first-quarter 2016 results.</p>
<p>So what:For the quarter ended April 17, 2016, Red Robin's revenue climbed 1.8% year over year, to $402.1 million, as the contributions of new and acquired restaurants was partially offset by a 2.9% decline (2.6% at constant currencies) in comparable-restaurant revenue. Based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), that translated to net income of $14.2 million, or $1.03 per diluted share. On an adjusted (non-GAAP) basis, net income climbed 12.5% year over year, to $17.6 million, and 15.5% on a per-share basis, to $1.27.</p>
<p>Analysts, on average, were looking for lower adjusted earnings of $1.11 per share on higher revenue of $416.3 million.</p>
<p>Red Robin CEO Steve Carley stated the company was encouraged by sequential improvement in performance as compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. "Nevertheless," Carley added, "we were disappointed, particularly with our guest counts. We have a solid strategy for long-term success, including a number of operations and marketing initiatives."</p>
<p>Now what: For the full fiscal year 2016, Red Robin anticipates revenue will grow 8% year over year, driven by a combination of a higher number of operating weeks as well as new and acquired locations, and assuming flat to slightly negative comparable revenue growth.</p>
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<p>By contrast, in February, Red Robin issued guidance for fiscal 2016 revenue to increase between 8.5% and 9.5%, assuming comparable revenue growth in the low single digits.</p>
<p>In the end, Red Robin's operational and marketing initiatives could certainly get the company's guest counts back on track in the coming quarters. But given the relative weakness revealed by today's report, it's no surprise to see the market bidding down shares today.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/17/why-red-robin-gourmet-burgers-inc-stock-went-cold.aspx" type="external">Why Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. Stock Went Cold Today Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSymington/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Steve Symington Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. Stock Went Cold Today | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/17/why-red-robin-gourmet-burgers-inc-stock-went-cold-today.html | 2016-05-17 | 0 |
<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered Russian forces in Syria to start withdrawing and held surprise talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on a visit to Russia’s Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province, Russian news agencies reported.</p>
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<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Putin, on visit, orders Russian forces to start pulling out of Syria: agencies | false | https://newsline.com/putin-on-visit-orders-russian-forces-to-start-pulling-out-of-syria-agencies/ | 2017-12-11 | 1 |
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<p>The reported launch failure comes as the North angrily reacts to ongoing annual U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. Earlier this month, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles that landed in waters off Japan, triggering strong protests from Seoul and Tokyo.</p>
<p>The American military detected what it assessed as a failed North Korean missile launch on Wednesday morning, the U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement. It said the missile “appears to have exploded within seconds of launch.”</p>
<p>South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it also believes the launch from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan ended in failure. It said it was analyzing what type of missile was launched.</p>
<p>The failure might mean that the missile is a newly developed one the North has not deployed, according to South Korean media. Last year, the country suffered a series of embarrassing failed launches of its new medium-range Musudan missile before it successfully test-fired one.</p>
<p>Also Wednesday, a U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber and South Korean fighter jets conducted joint training exercises that displayed “strong deterrence against North Korean nuclear and missile threats,” South Korea’s Defense Ministry said. The U.S. military said the training was held after the bomber staged a similar exercise with Japanese fighter jets.</p>
<p>The United States often sends powerful warplanes in times of heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which remains in a technical state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are deployed in South Korea.</p>
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<p>North Korea is pushing hard to upgrade its weapons systems to cope with what it calls U.S. hostility. Many weapons experts say the North could have a functioning nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the continental U.S. within a few years. North Korea carried out two nuclear tests last year.</p>
<p>American defense officials had said Tuesday that the U.S. military was expecting another North Korean missile launch in the next several days. The officials said the U.S. had increased its surveillance over the North and had detected a North Korean missile launcher being moved, as well as the construction of VIP seating in Wonsan.</p>
<p>On Sunday, the North claimed a major breakthrough in its rocket development program, saying it had conducted a ground test of a new type of high-thrust rocket engine. Washington, Seoul and others view the North’s space program as a cover for its banned long-range missile development program.</p>
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<p>Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.</p> | US, South Korea say North Korea’s latest missile test fails | false | https://abqjournal.com/973782/us-south-korea-say-north-koreas-latest-missile-test-fails.html | 2017-03-22 | 2 |
<p>New Delhi</p>
<p>Israel’s ambassador in New Delhi, David Danieli, sees Hezbollah as something akin to a scorpion (Times of India, 28 July). His is not much of a new invention. Other Israelis in responsible positions have made similar statements before. A few days earlier, Dan Gillerman, Israeli representative at UN, regretted Kofi Annan’s failure to mention that the Hezbollah was a bunch of “ruthless, indiscriminate animals”. During its First Lebanon War in 1982 Israel’s chief of staff Rafael Eitan was gleeful that he had shoved the Palestinian ” drugged cockroaches” into a bottle. To Menahem Begin, chief author of the Deir Yassin massacre, who went on to become Israel’s prime minister and get a Nobel peace prize, the Palestinians were “two-legged beasts”. Immediately after the 1967 war Robin Maxwell-Hyslop, a British Conservative, recounted in the House of Commons a conversation he had with David Hacohen, one-time Israeli ambassador to Burma. As related by Maxwell-Hyslop, Hacohen “spoke with great intemperance and at great length about the Arabs. When he drew breath I was constrained to say: “Dr Hacohen, I am profoundly shocked that you should speak of other human beings in terms similar to those in which Julius Streicher [notorious Nazi propagandist] spoke of the Jews. Have you learned nothing?” I shall remember his reply to my dying day. He smote the table with both hands and said: “But they are not human beings, they are not people, they are Arabs”.” One of the many things Israeli spokesmen seem incapable of realizing is that abuse is no substitute for reason. Israel has amassed much military prowess but remains very poor in logic.</p>
<p>Facts cry out against Israel. The root cause of the present war in Lebanon is, according to the Israelis and Americans, in the capture of one Israeli soldier by Hamas and two by Hezbollah. Not true. It is in the original sin of the partition of Palestine by UN against all moral, historical, demographic, legal reasons. The General Assembly’s non-binding Resolution 181 envisaged an astonishingly intricate carving of Palestine into seven pieces to make 608,000 (half of them illegal immigrants) of a total population of 1,935,000 the majority in the biggest possible area. This was the warrant the Israelis needed to begin their relentless drive to restoration of their “historical frontiers” i.e., from the Mediterranean to the Jordan river through the instrumentality of calculated massacres and wars and incredible mendacity.</p>
<p>Had Israel stopped even at the pre-June 1967 lines there would have been no 1973 war, no Lebanon wars, no Hezbollah, no intifadas. Hezbollah was born of the need for an effective resistance to the Israeli juggernaut after the Arab armies had repeatedly failed. Hezbollah ran the Israelis off from Lebanon, excepting Shaaba Farms, a tiny patch Israel treats as a part of the Syrian Golan Heights it conquered and annexed. To the people in the Arab world Hezbollah is their David confronting the Israeli Goliath. Hezbollah’s standing firm and inflicting substantial losses on the world’s fourth mightiest force this time has heightened Arab expectations.</p>
<p>Mr Danieli’s many accusations against Hezbollah include “inventing” the Israeli enemy. The wrong end of the stick. Political invention is an Israeli art. Remember Golda Meir’s statement that there was no such thing as a Palestinian people ­ “they did not exist”? Hezbollah was reckoning with unceasing Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty Israel’s peace activists say they had watched with alarm the deliberateness behind the Israel’s latest war and soldiers admit they had rehearsed the offensives .</p>
<p>Mr Danieli stigmatizes Hezbollah as terrorists. How does he explain the proud confession of Yitzhak Shamir, one-time terrorist and twice prime minister of Israel: “Neither Jewish ethics nor Jewish tradition can disqualify terrorism as a means of combat”? Mr Danieli’s claim about his government’s “calculated restraint” sounds terribly ironic with the current proportion of eight Lebanese dying for each Israeli.</p>
<p>PUNYAPRIYA DASGUPTA is a journalist. Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Israel’s Foes as Beasts and Insects | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/07/29/israel-s-foes-as-beasts-and-insects/ | 2006-07-29 | 4 |
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<p>After a breakout rookie season, New York Yankees star Aaron Judge has signed an multiyear agreement to be the new face of Pepsi (NYSE:PEP), the beverage company said Monday.</p>
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<p>Judge will serve as a Pepsi spokesman and appear in marketing campaigns for the Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero Sugar brands. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.</p>
<p>"I am very excited to be working with Pepsi. Having grown up with Pepsi in my home, it makes this partnership even more special," Judge said in a statement. "Just like Pepsi, I always try to find ways to celebrate this great sport with our fans. They're now providing me another way to share my passion for the game.”</p>
<p>Judge, who stands at 6-foot-7, hit an MLB rookie record 52 home runs during the 2017 season and helped lead the Yankees to an American League Championship Series berth. The 25-year-old outfielder is considered the frontrunner to earn American League Rookie of the Year honors.</p>
<p>Aside from his on-field heroics, Judge led all MLB players in jersey sales this season. He has an endorsement deal with sports apparel brand Under Armour (NYSE:UA) and will appear on the cover of the “MLB The Show ‘18” video game.</p>
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<p>"We are thrilled to welcome Aaron to the Pepsi family," said&#160;Justin Toman, PepsiCo’s senior director of sports marketing. "He's one of the biggest rising stars in baseball and we're looking forward to working together to engage baseball enthusiasts in new and unique ways next season and beyond."</p>
<p>Pepsi also has an marketing deal with the Yankees, as well as 10 other MLB franchises.</p> | MLB's Aaron Judge, Pepsi ink sponsorship deal | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/13/mlbs-aaron-judge-pepsi-ink-sponsorship-deal.html | 2017-11-13 | 0 |
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<p>It all starts at Duel Brewing in Albuquerque, which will host the elimination round that will determine which IPAs stay and which go.</p>
<p>“It’s going to be huge this year,” said John Gozigian, executive director of the New Mexico Brewers Guild. “Last year, we had 28 or 29 breweries that submitted IPAs, and this year it’s up to 39. So we’re going to do what we did last year, which is have an elimination round. So for the first time, the elimination round is going to be at Duel Brewing’s taproom here in Albuquerque. … What we are going to do is have all 39 IPAs there and we will split it up into three flights and it’s 13 IPAs each. So each attendee that comes in will get one of those flights and they will get to taste those 13 beers. … You choose which one you like the best and vote for that, and then you get a pint full of it (in a commemorative glass).”</p>
<p>From those 39, the top 15 will move on to the next round, on July 19 at Picacho Peak Brewing Co. in Las Cruces. Attendees will get flights of the 15 beers, vote for their favorite and receive a pint of it. The next event will be on July 22 at Second Street Brewery’s new taproom on Rufina in Santa Fe. The format will be the same as at the Las Cruces event.</p>
<p>The final stop will be on July 29 at Steel Bender Brewyard in Los Ranchos, where eventgoers will get the same 15 beers, vote for their favorite and get a pint of it.</p>
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<p>“The cumulative total from all the rounds, except the elimination round, will determine who wins,” Gozigian said. “At the end of that one, we will announce the winner of the IPA Challenge.”</p>
<p>This year’s theme is “A Bitter Rivalry,” and the guild had some fun with the promotion at the playful expense of Bosque Brewing Co.’s co-owner and head of brewing operations, John Bullard, and Boxing Bear Brewing Co.’s co-owner and head brewer, Justin Hamilton.</p>
<p>“For three years in a row, John Bullard won first with Blue Corn (Brewery) and twice with Bosque,” Gozigian said. “But then last year, Justin Hamilton at Boxing Bear won, which lent itself to the poster. It’s a picture of Hamilton and Burr in the duel. So it’s this engraving of Hamilton-Burr, you know their famous duel where Burr shoots Hamilton. In this one where it says Burr, we just crossed that out and it says Bullard. And his hand’s behind his back and we put a beer in it. They’ve got a history, and they’re good friends. You know the title is, for this year’s IPA Challenge is ‘A Bitter Rivalry.’ But it is really not.”</p>
<p>2017 New Mexico Brewers Guild IPA Challenge WHEN AND WHERE: noon to 4 p.m. July 15 at Duel Brewing, 606 W. Central; 4 to 8 p.m. July 19 at Picacho Peak Brewing Co., 3900 W Picacho Ave., Las Cruces; noon to 4 p.m July 22 at Second Street Brewery, 2920 Rufina, Santa Fe; noon to 4 p.m. July 29 at Steel Bender Brewyard, 8305 Second NW, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque HOW MUCH: $20 per person, per event. Tickets and information, visit nmbeer.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the host breweries.</p>
<p /> | ‘A bitter rivalry’: IPA Challenge has more entries, bigger venues | false | https://abqjournal.com/1028541/a-bitter-rivalry.html | 2017-07-07 | 2 |
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<p>Pope Francis (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno; courtesy Wikimedia)</p>
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<p>The Vatican <a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-theres-a-global-war-against-marriage-nowadays" type="external">said</a> Francis told priests and seminarians at a church in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi that the “war” is not “being waged with weapons but with ideas.” He reiterated his opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples during a press conference with reporters as he flew back to Rome from Georgia and neighboring Azerbaijan.</p>
<p>“Marriage is the image of God, man and woman become one flesh,” said Francis, <a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/the-pope-speaks-to-journalists-on-his-return-fligh" type="external">according to the Vatican.</a> “If this is destroyed, the image of God is soiled or disfigured.”</p>
<p>Francis told the priests and seminarians with whom he met in Georgia that “gender theory” is the biggest threat to marriage.</p>
<p>The Vatican said Francis <a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/the-pope-speaks-to-journalists-on-his-return-fligh" type="external">reiterated to reporters</a> after he left the country that “gender theory . . . goes against nature.” He added he “accompanied people with homosexual tendencies or practices” when he was a priest and bishop in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.</p>
<p>“I have accompanied them and brought them closer to the Lord,” Francis told reporters, <a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/the-pope-speaks-to-journalists-on-his-return-fligh" type="external">according to the Vatican.</a> “Some cannot, but I have accompanied them and never abandoned anyone. This must be done.”</p>
<p>Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, a group of LGBT Catholics, criticized Francis.</p>
<p>“Pope Francis sets up a false dichotomy in pitting people’s basic human right to be who they are against marriage,” said Duddy-Burke on Monday in a statement.</p>
<p>“We know marriage to be a sacred and beautiful thing,” she added. “We believe marriage, and all of society, will be strengthened when people are no longer pressured to bring false selves into a marriage, and can make this profound commitment honestly. Too many lives have been ruined by gay people trying to live in heterosexual marriages, or by people being forced to live in a gender that is not authentic for them.”</p>
<p>Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based group that ministers to LGBT Catholics, said in a statement that Francis’ use of “gender theory” and other phrases in discussions around marriage deflects “from examining the deeper causes of marital strife and deterioration.” DeBernardo nevertheless applauded Francis for telling reporters after leaving Georgia and Azerbaijan that the church should use a pastoral approach towards LGBT Catholics.</p>
<p>“This model is one that should be adopted by bishops, priests, and pastoral ministers around the globe,” said DeBernardo.</p>
<p>DeBernardo and others have welcomed the Vatican’s more moderate tone on marriage rights for same-sex couples and other LGBT-specific issues since Francis became pope in 2013.</p>
<p>A transgender man from Spain who said his fellow parishioners rejected him after he underwent sex-reassignment surgery had a private audience with Francis in 2015. The Vatican announced in July that Francis accepted the resignation of Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez, an anti-LGBT cardinal in the Dominican Republic who has repeatedly used anti-gay slurs to describe the openly gay U.S. ambassador to the country.</p>
<p>Francis earlier this year said the church should “ask forgiveness” from gay people, but the Vatican’s position on marriage rights for same-sex couples and other LGBT-specific issues has not changed under his papacy.</p>
<p>Francis last month expressed his support for <a href="" type="internal">opponents of marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples in Mexico.</a> Francis told a group of Polish bishops in August that it is <a href="" type="internal">“terrible” for children to learn they can “choose their gender.”</a></p>
<p>“When Pope Francis made his now famous ‘who am I to judge’ remarks, LGBTQ people of faith were hopeful of real change in the Roman Catholic Church,” said Rev. Rodney McKenzie, Jr., of the National LGBTQ Task Force on Monday in a statement. “Now millions of people are deeply hurt by what Pope Francis has said about transgender and gender non-conforming people, which reveals a profound lack of knowledge and empathy.”</p>
<p>“We urge the pontiff to educate himself about the realities of transgender people’s lives and to welcome and affirm transgender and gender non-conforming people rather than reject and dehumanize them,” he added.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Azerbaijan</a> <a href="" type="internal">bisexual</a> <a href="" type="internal">DignityUSA</a> <a href="" type="internal">Francis DeBernardo</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Georgia</a> <a href="" type="internal">lesbian</a> <a href="" type="internal">Marianne Duddy-Burke</a> <a href="" type="internal">National LGBTQ Task Force</a> <a href="" type="internal">New Ways Ministry</a> <a href="" type="internal">Pope Francis</a> <a href="" type="internal">Rodney McKenzie</a> <a href="" type="internal">same-sex marriage</a> <a href="" type="internal">transgender</a></p> | Pope Francis: A ‘global war’ seeks to destroy marriage | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2016/10/03/pope-francis-global-war-seeks-destroy-marriage/ | 3 |
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<p>PHOENIX - Phoenix police say a woman has died after being shot by a police officer after the woman reportedly pointed a gun at police.</p>
<p>The incident occurred Sunday night at an apartment complex in west Phoenix.</p>
<p>According to police, officers responded to a 911 call about a woman shooting a gun along a canal near the apartment complex.</p>
<p>Police say officers contacted the woman but she ran into an apartment.</p>
<p>Sgt. Jonathan Howard says police tried to get her to drop the gun but she pointed it at police, prompting one officer to shoot her.</p>
<p>The woman's identity was not immediately released.</p>
<p>The complex is near North 23rd Avenue and West Indian School Road.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Police: Woman fatally shot after pointing gun at police | false | https://abqjournal.com/728019/police-woman-fatally-shot-after-pointing-gun-at-police.html | 2 |
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<p>Colson Baker — aka <a href="http://variety.com/t/machine-gun-kelly/" type="external">Machine Gun Kelly</a> — has joined the ensemble of the Netflix thriller “ <a href="http://variety.com/t/bird-box/" type="external">Bird Box</a>,” starring <a href="http://variety.com/t/sandra-bullock/" type="external">Sandra Bullock</a>.</p>
<p>“Patti Cake$” breakout Danielle Macdonald, Trevante Rhodes, Jacki Weaver, Sarah Paulson, “Alita: Battle Angel” star Rosa Salazar, and Lil Rel Howery are also on board.</p>
<p>Susanne Bier is directing “ <a href="http://variety.com/2017/film/news/bird-box-sandra-bullock-danielle-macdonald-trevante-rhodes-jackie-weaver-1202589620/" type="external">Bird Box</a>” from a script by “Arrival” writer Eric Heisserer.</p>
<p>The film follows a woman and a pair of children who are blindfolded then forced to walk through a post-apocalyptic setting along a river.&#160;Baker will play Felix in the pic.</p>
<p>Dylan Clark is producing “Bird Box” with Chris Morgan and Clayton Townsend. The movie was developed by Scott Stuber at Universal, before he moved to Netflix to head its feature film division.</p>
<p>Baker will appear opposite Vera Farmiga in Rupert Wyatt’s sci-fi film “Captive State.” His other acting credits include the independent features “Punks Dead,” “Nerve” starring Dave Franco and Emma Roberts, and “The Land” with Erykah Badu, in which he served as co-executive producer. He was also handpicked by Cameron Crowe for a regular role on the Showtime series “Roadies.”</p>
<p>Baker is represented by ICM Partners, EST 19XX, and Felker, Toczek and Levine.</p>
<p /> | Machine Gun Kelly Joins Sandra Bullock in Thriller ‘Bird Box’ | false | https://newsline.com/machine-gun-kelly-joins-sandra-bullock-in-thriller-bird-box/ | 2017-11-07 | 1 |
<p>“When I was a kid, I caught a fish THIS big.” — We’ve all heard the story where the guy caught a fish and the fish in the story every time it was told got bigger and bigger.</p>
<p>Well, this seems to be the case in Bill O’Reilly’s recollection of the Falklands War in 1982. First, he claims he was there with CBS News ( <a href="http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2015/02/22/i-didnt-see-anything-like-that-happen-says-cbs-correspondent-with-oreilly-during-the-falklands/" type="external">which has been refuted</a>&#160;by many), then he claimed not only was he there, but he even had an M16 pointed at his head and his life was in imminent danger.</p>
<p>Watch here for his telling of his ordeal back on “The Kalb Report” in 2008:</p>
<p>(Video via <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/02/22/rs-stelter-intv-bts-engberg-new-bill-oreilly-video.cnn/video/playlists/focus-on-the-media/" type="external">CNN</a>)</p>
<p>O’Reilly <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/02/22/rs-stelter-intv-bts-engberg-new-bill-oreilly-video.cnn/video/playlists/focus-on-the-media/" type="external">said</a>:</p>
<p>“I’m down there, I got my two crews… so I’m looking around, where are the other CBS correspondents? I don’t see anybody. Okay.. Maybe they’re busy. Maybe they’re on the other side of the Casa Rosada. I don’t know where they are. So anyway, all hell breaks loose, the people start to storm the Casa Rosada. The Argentine troops shoot the people down in the street. They shoot them down. It’s not like rubber bullets or gas, people are dying, right? So anyway… I get my crew and I grab my crew away, we’re down a side street. We’re shooting all this stuff. It’s unbelievable (literally).&#160;I mean people, falling, bing bing bing bing bing. Soldier runs down the street, I’m there, a photographer gets trampled. Alright, so he’s on the ground. I grab him and the camera and drag him into a doorway. The soldier comes up and he’s standing maybe ten feet away, he’s got the M16 pointed at my head. I thought it was over. And I said, ” periodista noticias pare.” Which means journalist, don’t shoot, por favor. Guy was about 18, 19 years old… He didn’t shoot me.”</p>
<p>When CNN asked ex-CBS staffer Eric Engberg, who was actually one of the only&#160;journalists to get into the Falklands, if he could corroborate O’Reilly’s story.&#160;Engberg <a href="http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2015/02/22/i-didnt-see-anything-like-that-happen-says-cbs-correspondent-with-oreilly-during-the-falklands/" type="external">said</a>:</p>
<p>“I did not see that happen, I didn’t see anything like that happen. I don’t know of any American foreign correspondent who had a weapon pointed at him, but the important thing is… I didn’t hear any gun fire. Not only did I not hear any gunfire, as I say, I didn’t hear any sirens.&#160; I would – I came to Argentina from years of experience in Washington covering anti-war demonstrations against Vietnam War in Washington.”</p>
<p>“What he just said was a fabrication, a lie.&#160; There were five CBS correspondents, including him, assigned to the bureau.&#160; They were under the direction of Larry Doyle, one of our very first field producers. You marines out there will understand what I was saying.&#160; He was a lurp in the marines in Vietnam before he went to CBS.&#160; He’s a very skilled operator in combat and dangerous situations. He sent all five of the correspondents and all 10 or 12 of the camera crew members out into the street.&#160; Nobody stayed in their hotel room because they were afraid.&#160; We were all working and we saw what looked – what was a moderate size riot. It was a couple thousand people attacking Casa Rosada, or the area around the Casa Rosada, by waving their arms, by clapping and chanting and singing songs.&#160; &#160;Nobody attacked the soldiers. Nobody attacked the police.&#160; There was nobody lying on the ground when it was over that I saw.”</p>
<p>So basically, O’Reilly didn’t even catch the fish to begin with. It would also seem that in his “killing” series of books, maybe he really thinks he has a first hand account of all those events. Maybe he was at the crucifixion of Jesus. Maybe he even stormed the beaches of Normandy. Maybe, just maybe… he was the first man to step on the moon. I mean, maybe.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Featured image via <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/02/22/rs-stelter-intv-bts-engberg-new-bill-oreilly-video.cnn/video/playlists/focus-on-the-media/" type="external">CNN</a></p> | Remember The Time Bill O’Reilly Said He Had An M16 Pointed At His Head In The Falklands? (VIDEO) | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2015/02/23/remember-the-time-bill-oreilly-said-he-had-an-m16-pointed-at-his-head-in-the-falklands-video/ | 2015-02-23 | 4 |
<p>As of Sunday, 98 advertisers have <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/media/2012/03/10/442048/breaking-98-major-advertisers-dump-rush-limbaugh/" type="external">dropped</a> Rush Limbaugh! This is despite Rush’s so called “ <a href="" type="internal">apology</a>” (or Rushology) to Sandra Fluke for his poor word choice. Perhaps not as many advertisers would have dropped Rush if there had been an ounce of sincerity in his apology. This video presents what the real Rush knows:&#160;&#160;He’s not really sorry, he just doesn’t want to lose advertising. &#160;He and the GOP hate women. And he’s the real “slut.”</p>
<p />
<p>Transcript after the jump. Oh and by the way, this is satire.</p>
<p>I want to explain why I apologized to Sandra Fluke in the statement that was released on Saturday. This program has always been about advertising. The apology was about millions of dollars of advertising a year. Millions, folks. &#160;Not about anything else. As you will hear, as I go on here, the apology to her over the weekend, it was not sincere. It’s simple really. Advertising’s a business decision. You, the audience, comes second or third. Because no successful program puts the audience first.</p>
<p>You know that I don’t really apologize to Ms. Fluke. We don’t do that. We never will. Never ever. Republicans hate women.&#160;&#160;We want them barefoot and pregnant. We&#160;don’t want to hear from women. They’re&#160;misogynist, sexist and they’re not really all that concerned about spending. It’s about being in charge of women. I don’t expect– and I know you don’t&#160;either–&#160;morality,&#160;intellectual&#160;honesty, &#160;integrity, independence&#160;on this program. I don’t know diddly squat. I am&#160;embarrassing&#160;and ludicrous. The glittering jewel of&#160;colossal&#160;ignorance, an arrogant snob. I try to&#160;suppress&#160;the speech, try to use extortion, pressure, threats to silence opposing voices.&#160;</p>
<p>I have demonstrated over and over a willingness to say or do anything, I am the prostitute. The slut, right?</p> | Leaked Limbaugh video: the shocking truth behind Rush’s apology to Sandra Fluke | true | http://feministing.com/2012/03/12/leaked-rush-limbaugh-video-the-shocking-truth-behind-rushs-apology-to-sandra-fluke/ | 4 |
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<p>Early this month the Southern Poverty Law Center sent out a celebratory press release after a federal court ordered that widower Paul Hard be cut a check for his share of the wrongful death suit filed on behalf of his late husband, who had been killed in a car accident shortly after their Massachusetts wedding. The settlement had been viciously fought by the Foundation For Moral Law on behalf of Hard’s former mother-in-law, Pat Fancher, who argued that since his marriage wasn’t recognized by Alabama at the time of the accident, she was entitled to all of the money.&#160; Well, the case isn’t over yet after all because yesterday Fancher <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://files.eqcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/98-NOA.pdf" type="external">appealed</a> the lower court’s ruling to the Eleventh Circuit Court.&#160; When I spoke to Paul (below right) earlier this month, I told him that I hoped to never have to write about him again. I spoke too soon.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> RELATED: The Foundation For Moral Law was headed by Roy Moore until he won reelection to the Alabama Supreme Court. The group is now headed by his wife, Kayla Moore. The Foundation For Moral Law openly advocates for replacing the government of the United States with a Christian theocracy ruled by “biblical law.”</p> | ALABAMA: Evil Former Mother-In-Law Appeals Wrongful Death Settlement Ruling To Eleventh Circuit Court | true | http://joemygod.com/2015/08/27/alabama-evil-former-mother-in-law-appeals-wrongful-death-settlement-ruling-to-eleventh-circuit-court/ | 2015-08-27 | 4 |
<p>ROME, Italy — Its hard to avoid Benito Mussolini in Italy these days.</p>
<p>Pull into a gas station in rural Umbria and the black-shirted dictator glares down from the labels of special-edition wine bottles; browse souvenir shops in Basilicata and there's a phalanx of fake-marble busts of the bald-headed Duce; hunt through Roman antique stores and its easy to uncover hoards of Mussolini memorabilia.</p>
<p>Adolf Hitler's Italian henchman is enjoying a revival, 68 years after he was shot by resistance fighters and strung up in a Milan piazza.</p>
<p>Mussolini has always had a loyal following among the far-right fringe in post-War War II Italy. But now, even many ordinary Italians are defending the father of Fascism as a good leader with sound social policies and a knack for making trains run on time. Later, they say, he was led astray by Hitler and pressured to imposing the anti-Jewish 1938 Laws for the Defense of the Race.</p>
<p>Italy's best-known politician of the current generation chose Holocaust Memorial day to echo such sentiments.</p>
<p>"The racial laws were the worst fault of Mussolini, who in so many other ways did well," former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said at service on Jan. 27 to remember the 7,500 Italian Jews killed in the Holocaust.</p>
<p>The remarks were met with outrage from Jewish leaders and opponents in the campaign for Italy's general election on Feb. 24-25. But they appear to have done Berlusconi no harm in the polls. An average of opinion surveys posted last week puts his right-wing coalition in second place in the election race with 29.4 percent, slightly higher than his Jan 25 score.</p>
<p>Historian Christopher Duggan says the rehabilitation of Mussolini began in the 1990s, when the fall of the Soviet Union undermined the Italian Communist Party as a major force in Italian politics.</p>
<p>"As the Communist Party collapsed, it allowed the center-right and in particular Berlusconi in the 90s to go on the attack, and to attack not just the former-Communists, but with them their ideology of anti-Fascism," said Duggan, a professor of Modern Italian History at England's University of Reading.</p>
<p>"Anti-Fascism, a founding pillar of the republic, was increasingly discredited by the center-right. This allowed for a reappraisal of the Resistance, the Second World War and more generally of Fascism," he added.</p>
<p>Italy did not undergo a systematic purge of Fascists similar to the de-Nazification campaign that the allies imposed on Germany after World War II.</p>
<p>Although laws were passed in the 1950s to outlaw open support for Fascism, a neo-Fascist party known as the Italian Social Movement, or MSI, was formed shortly after the war and rose to become the country's fourth largest party through the 1970s and 1980s.</p>
<p>Berlusconi's governments in the 1990s and 2000s included several ex-MSI members as ministers.</p>
<p>His former foreign minister, Gianfranco Fini, has since disavowed his 1994 declaration that "Mussolini was the greatest statesman of the century" and moved to the political center. His Future and Freedom party, however, includes among its election candidates Edda Negri Mussolini.</p>
<p>"I'm proud of my grandfather," she told the daily Corriere della Sera recently. He made "monstrous errors," she acknowledged, "but he did many good things."</p>
<p>Another of the dictator's granddaughters, former Playboy model Alessandra Mussolini, is running for re-election on the ticket of Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party. She stormed out of a TV debate last week calling journalist Andrea Scanzi a "dickhead" after he told her had no respect for Il Duce.</p>
<p>Italy's economic woes are adding to the nostalgia for the Fascist era. Growth has stagnated for a decade, and 2013 is set to be the second straight year of recession. Unemployment is now higher than 11 percent with more than one-third of Italians under 25 out of work. The crisis has fueled disaffection with mainstream politicians of all stripes.</p>
<p>Duggan says there's a degree of collective amnesia over the darker side of the Blackshirt era.</p>
<p>"People forget the bigger picture," he told GlobalPost. "Mussolini suppressed freedom, brutally suppressed opponents, clamped down on all rights and had racial laws which were quite central to the ideology of Fascism, not imposed from outside."</p>
<p>Berlusconi's praise for Mussolini was widely seen as an attempt to draw votes from a plethora of small parties on the more radical right.</p>
<p>Other election contenders have reached out to the neo-Fascists. Anti-establishment comedian Beppe Grillo, who is running for prime minister and scores about 15 percent in polls, recently told members of the Fascist-inspired CasaPound organization that some of their ideas could be shared and that they'd be welcome to join his movement.</p>
<p>Named after the American poet Erza Pound, who spent much of World War II making anti-semitic and anti-allied propaganda broadcasts for Mussolini's Radio Rome, CasaPound is one of several radical right-wing groups seeking to gain from the widespread dissatisfaction with established politics.</p>
<p>Divisions among the various far-right groups has weakened their influence. But some still see cause for concern, particularly if the economic situation deteriorates — a prospect many fear if the election results spook markets.</p>
<p>"What reassures me to a degree is that the various currents of the far right are fragmented,'' says Duggan, whose new history of Mussolini's Italy, entitled <a href="http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryWorld/?view=usa&amp;ci=9780199730780" type="external">Fascist Voices</a>, will publish this year.</p>
<p>"There is always the potential there," he added. "If things go badly wrong after the elections, if there is instability and a run on the markets. There's always the possibility that things might begin to coagulate."</p> | Fascism mounts a comeback in Italy | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-02-11/fascism-mounts-comeback-italy | 2013-02-11 | 3 |
<p>A New Jersey man was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for a brutal home invasion beating of a mother in front of her 3-year-old daughter while her 10-month-old son was asleep upstairs.</p>
<p>A jury found Shawn Custis, 45, of Newark, guilty on June 1st of second-degree aggravated assault for the June 21, 2013 attack, which was recorded on a home security nanny-cam.</p>
<p>The clip show's Custis barging into the victim's house as her young daughter calmly watches TV. The thug punches the mother in the face several times as she screams, kicks her, and throws her down a flight of stairs.</p>
<p>Police released the video and tips from more than 20 people helped catch the criminal in New York a week later.</p>
<p>Thankfully the mother survived the beating and testified against her attacker in court. She was reportedly weeping as she heard the jury foreman say that Custis was also guilty of endangering the welfare of a child, robbery, burglary, criminal restraint and theft. Her husband sat beside her.</p>
<p>Custis the coward tried to hide his face from cameras behind a folder during the verdict reading. He later waived his right to be at the sentencing and was not in court to hear it.</p>
<p />
<p>The judge told the court, "We in a civilized society take comfort in our own home. That's the one place that we should all feel safe. And Mr. Custis has taken that away." He added that, "The community, society, the public, must be protected from this vicious, depraved, and evil person."</p>
<p>Jury foreman, Jerome Branham, <a href="http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2016/06/nanny_cam_suspect_guilty_of_aggravated_asssault_cl.html" type="external">told reporters</a> outside the courthouse that the four women who identified Custis from the "nanny cam" video were vital. Branham said the case, "was sealed for me when the four women testified."</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/29/sentencing-day-for-man-convicted-in-nanny-cam-beating.html" type="external">FoxNews</a>, "Custis's attorney argued during the trial the police investigation was biased because a white officer responding to the crime scene was heard on the video camera using a racial slur."</p>
<p>Custis was ordered to serve 85% of his sentence, 63 years, before being eligible for parole.</p>
<p>News footage of the attack and the sentencing below:</p>
<p>For the full video of the attack click below: (warning: graphic)</p> | Man Sentenced To Life For Brutal Home Invasion Beating Caught On Nanny Cam | true | https://dailywire.com/news/7126/man-sentenced-life-brutal-home-invasion-beating-chase-stephens | 2016-07-01 | 0 |
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<p>Perhaps unwittingly, even Apple’s software boss Craig Federighi alluded to this potential problem while he was bragging about iOS 7 at the company’s unveiling of its new phones Tuesday. He predicted that anyone who elects to install the software will feel “like they’re getting an all-new device.”</p>
<p>I understood what Federighi meant once I was able to see the iOS 7’s improvements in action on Apple’s two new iPhones, the 5C and the 5S. Although Apple announced iOS 7 at a conference three months ago, Tuesday marked the first time the company allowed reporters to experience the software hands-on.</p>
<p>Although the iPhone 5C is less expensive than its predecessor, the iPhone 5, iOS 7 almost made it look fancier than previous generations. As an iPhone 5 owner, I was feeling a bit envious until I remembered that I’ll be able to spiff up my device, too, when the software is released on Sept. 18. The operating system will work on the iPhone 4 and later models, iPad 2s and subsequent versions, and the iPod Touch that came out late last year.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>iOS 7 looks much different than previous versions of the operating system because it no longer displays iPhone apps as three-dimensional, embossed objects meant to mirror their real-world counterparts. The icons instead are flatter and more colorful.</p>
<p>Any significant change in design typically upsets users familiar with the old way of doing things, but I suspect the complaints about iOS 7 will be muted unless there are some terrible bugs in the software that weren’t evident during the brief time that I was given to experiment.</p>
<p>I am fairly certain most people who download iOS 7 are going to be pleased. The software makes it easier to navigate around an iPhone and adds some compelling new features.</p>
<p>The additions include the ability to stream music through an advertising-supported service called iTunes Radio and five free apps that used to cost consumers anywhere from 99 cents to $4.99 apiece. The free apps are Apple’s photo-editing tool, iPhoto, and video-editing program, iMovie, as well as work-oriented apps called Pages, Numbers and Keynote.</p>
<p>Apple doesn’t appear to be removing any popular apps built into the operating system, as best as I could tell. The company did that last year when it replaced Google’s mapping app with its own navigation system only to be ridiculed for misguiding users with shoddy directions. Apple isn’t bringing back Google Maps with iOS 7, but it is promising that its alternative is getting better.</p>
<p>The software upgrade also will make it easier to take better pictures on the iPhone and automatically sort photos into different categories to denote particular events. I particularly liked a feature that lets you control how the camera operates by toggling between options at the bottom of the screen with the swipe of a finger. Once the camera is open in IOS 7, the choices include taking a square, panoramic or standard photo. The bottom-of-the screen controls also include an option to switch to video mode.</p>
<p>When taking a picture in iOS 7, photographers can also choose a filter to use as they snap the photo rather than waiting to touch up the shot later. When shooting video, shots can be zoomed in while recording. I can’t do any of that on my iPhone 5 because it is still powered by iOS 6.</p>
<p>The new system also empowers users to access other open apps more easily by clicking twice on the home button. When you do that, the apps are displayed as tiles that can be scrolled across horizontally so you can more easily see and choose several of them.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Apple is also making it easier to access frequently used controls such as and airplane mode by enabling users to pull up the panel from the bottom of the display screen instead of finding and pressing a settings option.</p>
<p>Other than the new software, the iPhone 5C isn’t anything special, as one might expect from a cheaper phone.</p>
<p>The only thing that really distinguishes the 5C from the iPhone 5 is that it’s housed in plastic instead of aluminum. Some consumers will no doubt like the plastic alternative because it comes in five colors: green, blue, yellow, pink and white. The price also may be more appealing, with the 5C starting at $99 with a two-year wireless contract, a $100 discount from iPhone models released in previous years.</p>
<p>A higher-end iPhone dubbed the 5S boasts several advantages that aren’t available on any other model. The coolest innovation allows you to use your fingerprint to unlock the iPhone 5S instead of relying on a four-digit code that has to be repeatedly typed in. The fingerprint reader can also be used to access Apple’s apps and iTunes store instead of a password.</p>
<p>Apple CEO Tim Cook thinks the fingerprint scanner will revolutionize technology security. “There is going to be a whole new generation of kids who grow up not knowing what a password is,” Cook predicted during a brief discussion with a small group of reporters after he left the room where Apple was demonstrating its new iPhones.</p>
<p>I found the fingerprint scanner, called “Touch ID,” simple to use during my brief test of the 5S. It just took less than a minute for the phone to record the fingerprint on my thumb, instructing me along the way. Once my prints were in the phone’s memory bank, all I had to do was lightly press on the home button when the 5S was locked in sleep mode and it quickly opened.</p>
<p>The 5S also contains a faster processor and technological wizardry designed to take sharper pictures and even record slow-motion video.</p>
<p>Best of all, though, the 5S comes with the iOS 7. I am already looking forward to downloading the software next week so I can simulate what it’s like to have a new iPhone for free.</p> | Review: Slick iOS 7 shines on Apple’s new iPhones | false | https://abqjournal.com/261080/review-slick-ios-7-shines-on-apples-new-iphones.html | 2013-09-11 | 2 |
<p>Jeep global auto sales set a record with 701,626 units in 2012, the best year for the Chrysler Group brand since 1999.</p>
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<p>Global sales increased 19% over the previous year, while U.S. sales were up 13%, with 474,131 units. According to the company, Jeep is the fastest-growing mainstream brand in China where sales were up 107% last year. Jeep also saw better sales in European and Latin American markets.</p>
<p>"The Jeep brand has achieved double-digit percentage sales increases in each of the past three years, both globally and in the U.S. market," Mike Manley, president and CEO of Chrysler Group's Jeep Brand, said in a statement. "In late 2009, we set out on a course to quickly renew our entire vehicle lineup, with a focus on legendary Jeep capability combined with improved on-road driving dynamics, fuel efficiency and world-class craftsmanship. Clearly customers have appreciated the unique combination of attributes that Jeep vehicles offer."</p>
<p>Jeep's Grand Cherokee was its top performer, with 223,196 units sold, followed by the Wrangler and Compass.</p>
<p>Manley added that the company expects continued sales momentum in 2013, as the company will introduce a new mid-size SUV and 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.</p>
<p /> | Jeep Sets Sales Record in 2012 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/01/09/jeep-sets-sales-record-in-2012.html | 2013-01-09 | 0 |
<p>Today, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden arrived in Asia for his first-ever official trip to China (along with forays to Mongolia and Japan). While tensions between Washington and Beijing have been strained lately by the U.S. government’s debt woes, Biden’s visit is likely to be a smashing success. Sure, Beijing officials— <a href="" type="internal">jittery</a> about their nation’s enormous investments in U.S. Treasury securities—will no doubt prod the Veep on economic issues. But the real purpose of the visit, as Beijing sees it, is to stage an elaborate welcome for Biden so that China’s own Vice President <a href="" type="internal">Xi Jinping</a> will receive a similarly warm reception this fall, when he visits the U.S.</p>
<p>Xi is little-known outside his home country, but he’s the man to watch in China right now. He’s slated to take over the top Communist Party post next year, and is expected to inherit the presidency from Hu Jintao in 2013. The son of a famous senior official who held much sway during China’s early days of quasi-capitalism reforms, Xi is a so-called “princeling” by dint of his high-profile communist father. But Xi also has gained a reputation as a “man of the people,” dating back to his teenage years when he went sent to a rural village in Shaanxi province to work as a manual laborer (a common practice for educated youth in that period). Up to this point, Xi has kept a relatively low profile, even at home: for many Chinese, his celebrity wife, folk singer <a href="" type="internal">Peng Liyuan</a>, is much more famous than Xi is.</p>
<p>For Chinese vice presidents, a picture-perfect official U.S. visit has become tantamount to an international “coming out” party—and Xi is no different. This will be a source of great leverage for Biden: Beijing officials are desperate to pull out all the stops—including treating visiting U.S. officials like ultra-VIPs—to ensure that Xi’s U.S. welcome will be as auspicious, auguring a successful future tenure in the nation’s top job. On Thursday, as Biden’s official host, Xi is slated to officiate over a welcoming ceremony for the vice president, and will accompany him to the southwestern city of Chengdu over the weekend, where Biden is set to deliver a speech at Sichuan University on Sino-U.S. relations.</p>
<p>Biden’s entourage is well aware of Beijing’s desires. “One of the primary purposes of [this] trip is to get to know China’s future leadership, to build a relationship with Vice President Xi, and to discuss with him and other Chinese leaders the full breadth of issues in the U.S.-China relationship,” said Biden’s national-security adviser, Tony Blinken, in a media conference call. He said Biden’s trip was a crucial part of “investing in the future of the U.S.-China relationship.”</p>
<p>One thing that’s bound to stand out during Biden’s visit—and during Xi’s visit this fall—is the fact that ties between America and China are more intertwined than ever. It’s arguably the most important bilateral relationship on the planet, and both sides seem keen to keep a cordial tone to talks over hot-button issues such as U.S. debt, Afghanistan, and North Korea. For China’s part, it worries that the recent U.S. debt-ceiling deal does not adequately address the need to trim the U.S. deficit. (China is Washington’s largest foreign creditor, holding more than $1 trillion in U.S. debt.) American authorities, meanwhile, hope that China will allow its currency, the yuan, to rise in value faster vis-à-vis the greenback. In theory, this will boost Chinese purchasing power and thus bilateral trade. The two countries are also keen to discuss security in China’s volatile backyard, from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the nuclear-armed Korean Peninsula.</p>
<p>While discussions about the health of the U.S. economy will no doubt take up much of Biden’s time—with the U.S. vice president prepared to reassure his hosts that America is serious about putting its house in order—Chinese officials will be quietly obsessing over the pomp, as well as the substance, of the visit.</p> | Joe Biden Receives Warm Welcome in First China Visit | true | https://thedailybeast.com/joe-biden-receives-warm-welcome-in-first-china-visit | 2018-10-06 | 4 |
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<p>Many investors don't fully appreciate just how powerful Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) share repurchase program is, or how tangible its benefits are. This is one of (if not the) most accretive capital return programs out there, simply by virtue of its size.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Most of the time, companies opt to merely offset the dilution associated with stock-based compensation to employees. But Apple buys back its stock hand over fist, and the result is a significant reduction in shares outstanding. Look no further than Apple's share count since its capital return program started back in late 2012.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/AAPL/shares_outstanding" type="external">AAPL Shares Outstanding</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>To date, Apple has now cumulatively repurchased an incredible $143.7 billion in less than five years. That's larger than the market caps of many mature megacap companies (those worth over $100 billion). As of right now, Apple's board has authorized $175 billion in share repurchases, and the company provides annual updates to its capital return program every April.</p>
<p>Data source: SEC filings. Chart by author. Calendar quarters shown.</p>
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<p>The company has tended to allocate more of its capital return program toward repurchases, confident that shares are undervalued. I'd expect the board to do likewise for 2017.</p>
<p>Image source: Apple.</p>
<p>Apple noted that it set several records last quarter, including revenue records for many of its most important businesses. Earnings per share also hit a new all-time quarterly record of $3.36, despite the fact that net income was down modestly in dollar terms at $17.9 billion.</p>
<p>Data source: SEC filings. Calendar quarters shown.</p>
<p>In no uncertain terms, the aggressive share repurchase activity led to a meaningful reduction in shares outstanding, which is what allowed Apple to post its highest quarterly EPS ever. That's what I call earnings accretion. For shareholders, a record bottom line is as tangible as it gets.</p>
<p>Ideally, Apple continues its capital return program with the same emphasis on share repurchases. But in order to continue at the same rate, Apple may need to repatriate some cash since it is now approaching $100 billion in total debt, including commercial paper and its recent $10 billion bond offering. Since the capital returns have largely been funded with debt, and there is a limit to how much debt Apple can take on, Apple's domestic cash could be the most significant limiting factor to continued repurchases.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than AppleWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
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<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | How Apple, Inc.'s Share Repurchases Are Driving Record Results | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/06/how-apple-inc-share-repurchases-are-driving-record-results.html | 2017-02-06 | 0 |
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<p>The state's high court on Thursday denied a petition by the network and other defendants to review the case and largely dismiss it. The court also lifted a stay issued in April that had prevented the lawsuit's discovery process, including depositions, to begin.</p>
<p>The court did not express an opinion as to the merits of the appeal.</p>
<p>Beef Products Inc. sued the television network in 2012 seeking $1.2 billion in damages for the coverage of the meat product called lean, finely textured beef, which critics dubbed "pink slime." Dakota Dunes-based BPI said ABC's coverage led to the closure of three plants and roughly 700 layoffs by misleading consumers into believing the product is unsafe.</p>
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<p>Attorneys for ABC in court have said the network in each of its broadcasts stated the U.S. Department of Agriculture deemed the product safe to eat. They said BPI might not like the phrase pink slime, but like all ground beef, it's pink and has a slimy texture.</p>
<p>The network didn't immediately respond to requests seeking comment Thursday.</p>
<p>BPI attorney Erik Connolly said the company is pleased with the ruling.</p>
<p>"We look forward to starting discovery," he said.</p>
<p>A South Dakota judge in March refused to throw out the lawsuit. Union County Judge Cheryle Gering dismissed some claims but allowed most to go forward. Gering ruled that ABC isn't protected against liability by saying in its news reports that the product is beef, is safe and is nutritious.</p>
<p>ABC filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking to have some of the claims that Gering allowed to move forward to be dismissed.</p>
<p>The product is made using a process in which butchered cow trimmings are heated, lean meat is separated from fat, and ammonia gas is applied to the meat to kill bacteria.</p>
<p>Beef Products' attorneys argued during a December hearing that ABC's statements about the USDA deeming the product safe to eat were coupled with negative context calling the product filler or "not meat" and implying that the USDA was not a credible source because the agency overruled scientists in approving the food product's use.</p>
<p>They said the network intended to damage Beef Products' reputation and destroy its relationship with its customers, as BPI was the only producer mentioned in ABC's series of news reports.</p>
<p>Lawyers for the network said it never quoted critics saying the product is unsafe. They said the term pink slime is not incorrect and the company doesn't get to choose ABC's words.</p>
<p>The product is bought and sold by the government for use in school lunches. But a furious online campaign to rid school cafeterias of the product in 2012 prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to offer schools choices in ground beef purchases.</p>
<p>In addition to ABC and Sawyer, the lawsuit names ABC correspondents Jim Avila and David Kerley; Gerald Zirnstein, the U.S. Department of Agriculture microbiologist who named the product pink slime; former federal food scientist Carl Custer; and Kit Foshee, a former BPI quality assurance manager who was interviewed by ABC.</p>
<p>Attorneys for Zirnstein, Custer and Foshee could not be reached Thursday night.</p> | State court allows 'pink slime' lawsuit to proceed | false | https://abqjournal.com/405146/state-court-allows-pink-slime-lawsuit-to-proceed.html | 2 |
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<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) – AT&amp;T Inc (NYSE:) and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:) said on Monday they have agreed to lease hundreds of new cell towers from owner and operator Tillman Infrastructure, a move they hope will give them more leverage in negotiations with major U.S. tower vendors.</p>
<p>The U.S. cell tower market is currently dominated by three companies: American Tower Corp (NYSE:), SBA Communications Corp (NASDAQ:), and Crown Castle International (NYSE:) Corp.</p>
<p>The agreement announced on Monday shows that Verizon and AT&amp;T, the No. 1 and No. 2 biggest U.S. wireless carriers, are willing to strike deals with other vendors to secure better prices for the towers they use to transmit wireless signals, analysts and company officials said.</p>
<p>Both carriers are seeking to add to their network capacity at a time when consumers are using increasing amounts of cellular data.</p>
<p>Carriers are “always looking for alternative partners to lessen their dependence on the big three guys,” said Jonathan Chaplin, analyst at New Street Research.</p>
<p>As part of the agreement, Tillman will construct the towers and AT&amp;T and Verizon will serve as anchor tenants. Construction will begin in the first quarter of 2018.</p>
<p>“This is Verizon and AT&amp;T working together with a new provider to put some competition into the mix,” said Susan Johnson, AT&amp;T’s senior vice president of supply chain, in an interview, adding, “we do really hope this will be a future model.”</p>
<p>Shares of American Tower were flat in afternoon trading, while shares of SBA Communications were down 1.9 percent and Crown Castle was down 0.3 percent.</p>
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<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | AT&T, Verizon strike tower agreement in effort to diversify vendors | false | https://newsline.com/atampt-verizon-strike-tower-agreement-in-effort-to-diversify-vendors/ | 2017-11-13 | 1 |
<p>By naming Paul Ryan as the Republican vice presidential nominee, Mitt Romney has endorsed what used to be known as “voodoo economics” — and restored that special brand of Republican superstition to the center of national debate.</p>
<p>To take Ryan seriously, as all too many pundits and politicians insist we must, requires everyone to behave as if the plans he produced as House Budget Committee chairman represent a meaningful effort to improve the nation’s fiscal future. Sooner or later, however, real analysts will scrutinize the Ryan budget using honest math instead of humbug and magic.</p>
<p>In fact, they already have done so — and that is where the myth of Ryan as a serious, scrupulous and bold reformer begins to disintegrate.</p>
<p>As close observers know, the Wisconsin congressman wants to cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans even more sharply than George W. Bush, whose tax policies caused the bulk of the deficits that provoke so much righteous anger among Republicans like Ryan today. In Ryan’s budget, his tax cuts leave an enormous revenue gap, even with the absurdly destructive spending cuts he also proposes.</p>
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<p>But according to Ryan, we need not worry that his plan will increase fiscal deficits as well as the deficits it will assuredly worsen in infrastructure, education, health care, environmental quality, consumer protection and scientific research. He says that his tax cuts, which naturally favor the wealthiest Americans, will pay for themselves by creating a huge, rapid spurt of economic growth — which will result in higher tax revenues to cover the deficit.</p>
<p>Where have we heard this before? There was the original Reagan version, and then later the Bush version, which relied on a gimmick called “dynamic scoring” to create the same fake equation. Ryan’s version is updated slightly, claiming that if Congress removes enough loopholes and tax expenditures, the resulting spurt of growth will reach 5 percent, 10 percent or even more.</p>
<p>Let us turn now to the respected professionals at the Congressional Budget Office and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, who are too polite to simply laugh at Ryan. They took him seriously enough to examine his assertions with care, only to find that the research he cites doesn’t support his assumptions — and that most economists still don’t buy his theories. They also noticed that Ryan never specifies which loopholes and expenditures he expects to end. That must be why Romney, who has offered similarly foggy plans for tax reform, feels Ryan is such a kindred spirit.</p>
<p>When voters hear that Ryan is a bold, responsible figure determined to reduce the fiscal overhang that threatens future generations, they should know that his budgets don’t balance — at least not any time before 2040. And that’s because he is pursuing the same agenda as George W. Bush did — which will produce still more ruinous exults if he succeeds.</p>
<p>No fear, however, because Ryan happily tells us that his tax cuts will stimulate so much economic growth so rapidly that fresh revenues will fill the gaps. Yes! Cutting taxes will actually increase tax revenues.</p>
<p>Everyone in Washington certainly knows where we heard that before. That argument first appeared when Ronald Reagan was president, then disappeared when he was forced to raise taxes in a vain attempt to cover the vast deficits his policies spawned. The same argument reappeared in the guise of “dynamic scoring” to justify the Bush tax cuts, with consequences that continue to cripple the nation.</p>
<p>Voodoo economics, as the senior (and smarter) Bush so memorably termed this belief system, does not work. But Ryan evidently believes in it, because his budget depends heavily on that old voodoo to achieve balance. He claims that closing loopholes and reducing tax expenditures will cover the revenue losses.</p>
<p>Joe Conason is the editor in chief of NationalMemo.com.</p>
<p>© 2012 CREATORS.COM</p> | Voodoo Economics Still Isn't a Plan | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/voodoo-economics-still-isnt-a-plan/ | 2012-08-17 | 4 |
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<p>Offensive execution on a football field apparently is as scarce in Las Vegas, Nev., as it is in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>The UNLV football team’s problems are similar to those of New Mexico, Rebels senior quarterback Omar Clayton says. UNLV (0-3, 0-1 Mountain West Conference) and its 118th ranked offense at 241.0 yards per game plays host to the Lobos (0-3, 0-1), who fashion the 114th-rated offense at 256.7 yards per outing.</p>
<p>“Guys are just struggling,” says Clayton, whose 44.3 percent completion rate this season (27-for-61 passing) betrays his 59.8-percent career average. “We need to apply what we’re doing on the practice field onto a game and be productive as an offense — and defense and special teams.”</p>
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<p>First-year coach Bobby Hauck retained much the spread attack former coach Mike Sanford installed at UNLV because eight starters returned on offense.</p>
<p>Which may be why he’s as stunned as anyone about UNLV’s play when it has possession of the football.</p>
<p>We haven’t done much, offensively,” he says. “That would be it in a nutshell.”</p>
<p>Clayton says the scheme does have some new wrinkles, but if ever a situation cried “Work in progress,” it’s the Rebels offense. Junior Mike Clausen won the starting quarterback job in fall camp and started the season opener against now 11th-ranked Wisconsin.</p>
<p>Clausen kept his job for 33 minutes of football, giving way to Clayton in the second half of that game.</p>
<p>Clausen asked to switch to defense before last week’s 30-7 loss to Idaho and could start at safety Saturday against the Lobos.</p>
<p>Clayton played all of UNLV’s 38-10 loss to Utah in week two, and three quarters last weekend. Redshirt freshman Caleb Herring played the entire fourth.</p>
<p>The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported this week that Clayton might get a quick hook to allow Herring another opportunity to show what he can do at quarterback.</p>
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<p>If Clayton is looking over his shoulder, he’s not acting like it.</p>
<p>“I feel confident and comfortable in what I’m doing,” Clayton says. “I know the offense, it helps me practice and play better. It helps the offense. As a team, we’ve got to be confident and comfortable, but we’ve also got to execute. We’ve just got to get all 11 guys on offense to do the same thing on the field, all 11 to execute. That’s how you make big plays.”</p>
<p>Clayton is a proven big-play instigator. In 2008, he threw 18 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. He has more than 700 career rushing yards, including a team-leading 77 yards this season.</p>
<p>UNM defensive coordinator Doug Mallory knows the Lobos have to keep Clayton contained Saturday.</p>
<p>“The thing that you notice,” Mallory says, “is when he’s dropping back to pass and the protection breaks down and they get a little bit of heat on him, he’s not a guy that’s just going to stand around and let you sack him.”</p>
<p>Spoken as an optimist or a man in denial, Clayton insists the Rebels offense is close to getting its act together.</p>
<p>All that may be required is an early spark Saturday.</p>
<p>“Honestly, that might be the case — especially in situations like this,” he says. “We all realize as an offense we haven’t been very fruitful. We have struggled at times moving the ball and we haven’t had a red-zone presence so far this season.</p>
<p>“Winning is about when things naturally start to click. You breed confidence, and you start focusing on the little things.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Rebels’ Cause | false | https://abqjournal.com/232746/rebels-cause.html | 2 |
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<p>The folks at ReasonTV came up with a remix of the old Dolly Parton song, “Nine to Five,” that humorously illustrates one of the problems with the Affordable Care Act — it’s effect on employment.</p>
<p>The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office recently reported that Obamacare will result in a loss of upwards of 2.5 million jobs, an estimate that Democrats are spinning as a good thing, giving Americans more leisure time.</p>
<p>That’s all fine and dandy — until the bills start coming in.</p>
<p>See what happens when “Nine to Five” turns into “One to Five,” then check out “ <a href="" type="internal">‘I Am A Ukrainian’ video goes viral; brave young woman pleads for help</a>.”</p>
<p /> | Funny remake of ‘Nine to Five’ song spurred by Obamacare | true | http://bizpacreview.com/2014/02/22/funny-remake-of-nine-to-five-song-spurred-by-obamacare-102359 | 2014-02-22 | 0 |
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<p>Narcotics valued at more than $3.3 million were intercepted by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection working at the ports of entry along the California border with Mexico over the weekend intercepted.</p>
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<p>The 1,500 pounds of narcotics were seized from Fri, Aug. 4, through Sun, Aug. 6, CBP officers intercepted more than 470 pounds of methamphetamine, 72 pounds of cocaine, over 1,000 pounds of marijuana and 11 pounds of heroin. The officers also managed to capture 17 fugitives.</p>
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<p>The CBP officers discovered that the narcotics were hidden inside vehicles in various places such as the vehicle's floor, fenders, doors, tires and quarter panels.</p>
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<p>In the same period, the 17 fugitives were arrested for various charges that included attempted murder, aggravated assault, larceny and parole violations.</p>
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<p>The San Ysidro has had a significant number of apprehensions that have been conducted in the port of entry PedWest facility.</p>
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<p>On the 4th of August, around 2:05 p.m., a 33-year-old male U.S. citizen later identified as Carlos Beltran was escorted on foot to the San Ysidro Port of Entry Pedestrian West Crossing by Mexican authorities.</p>
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<p>The officers took Beltran to custody and conducted a query to get biometric information via the "Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System" (IAFIS). They also confirmed that Beltran was wanted by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department for attempted murder, which carried a bail of $1 million. CBP officers turned Beltran over to U.S. Marshals.</p>
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<p>The CBP officers seized all vehicles and narcotics. The narcotic related subjects were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for further analysis and processing.</p>
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<p>Source: <a href="http://breaking911.com/border-officers-seize-3-3m-drugs-capture-17-fugitives/" type="external">breaking911.com/border-officers-seize-3-3m-drugs-capture-17-fugitives</a></p> | $3.3million in Drugs Seized by Border Officers: 17 Fugitives Captured | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/6320-3-3million-in-Drugs-Seized-by-Border-Officers-17-Fugitives-Captured | 2017-08-10 | 0 |
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<p>At least two Sandoval County firefighters have committed suicide in the past three and a half years, said the department’s senior chaplain, Kathy Thibodaux, and other statistics outline higher rates of divorce, suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder among them.</p>
<p>So Thibodaux and a coalition of volunteers this week filmed what will eventually be a 30-second commercial that will be shown to recruits and broadcast statewide on local cable channels. The public service announcement will feature a firefighter helping a child injured in a house fire and then heading home to cope with the trauma after seeing the child get swept away in an ambulance, Thibodaux said.</p>
<p>The commercial goes on to encourage firefighters to open up instead of burying their fears by reaching out to counselors or loved ones.</p>
<p>The internalizing of trauma is a common occurrence, Thibodaux said, and many firefighters don’t know who to talk to or where to turn. As a result, they don’t tell anybody. The fire department has an employee assistance program available to them, but she said the PSA will point to another avenue and address the stigma of confronting these issues.</p>
<p>“So many of them are hurting, and they’re hurting in silence, and no one knows about it until it’s too late,” Thibodaux said.</p>
<p>SCFD employs 34 paid firefighters and more than 260 volunteer firefighters. They responded to around 300 calls for service in February and many of those calls must have been hard to shake off, Thibodaux said.</p>
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<p>The commercial’s costs are minimal, she said, because of the number of volunteers and donations, including the use of a fire station in Rio Rancho, film students and equipment from the Central New Mexico Community College, and from actor Jeff Justus, a full-time firefighter who is making a trip on his own dime from Amarillo, Texas.</p>
<p>The public service announcement is just the first of what Thibodaux hopes will be a series of commercials that address the daily stresses of fighting fires and responding to emergencies.</p>
<p>In addition to suicide risks and post-traumatic stress, she said, other commercials could address anger management, marital problems and other issues they face. She hopes the commercials will eventually be used nationally, distributed through a network of department chaplains like herself.</p>
<p>“One suicide is one too many,” she said. “The devastation that it does to their family is horrible. It really hurts each of us, straight to our hearts, that we lost a brother or sister and we didn’t know that they were struggling.”</p>
<p /> | Commercial aims to help firefighters | false | https://abqjournal.com/555473/commercial-aims-to-help-firefighters.html | 2 |
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<p>ISTANBUL — A woman in the studio audience stands up and, with the spotlight highlighting her covered head, announces to the crowd that her husband abuses her but that she doesn't know how to react and still be a good Muslim.</p>
<p>The host of this popular Turkish TV show, “Islam in Our Life,” Professor Faruk Beser, is — from his trimmed mustache to his tailored suit — the image of a modern, successful Turkish man. But as he approaches the woman, his answer is far from progressive.</p>
<p>Looking her in the eye, Beser urges the woman to “carry this pain within you and keep living with your husband,” prescribing constant prayer over divorce, and reminding the woman of the rewards she will receive in heaven for her suffering.</p>
<p>What is shocking about this scene is not so much the reaction of the host, a man known for his conservative interpretation of Islam in a country that is 99 percent Muslim, but rather that the woman had the courage to speak up at all.</p>
<p>Four out of 10 women in Turkey are beaten by their husbands, according to the recent study entitled "Domestic Violence against Women in Turkey,” which has collected the first official statistics on this topic in Turkey. Even more disturbing, the study reveals that a significant number of abused women, almost 90 percent, do not seek help from any organization.</p>
<p>“This is such a silent problem that most people don’t believe you when you give them the numbers,” said Henriette Jansen, team leader of the study, which was conducted by the General Directorate of the Status of Women (KSGM). "It shows how much women suffer alone and the huge stigma attached to violence against women.”</p>
<p>In this, Turkey is by no means alone. Violence against women exists in every country in the world, often behind closed doors and more likely than not unreported. How to address the problem however, needs to be tailored to the underlying causes that foster the problem.</p>
<p>“In Turkey it’s the patriarchal power relationship. When there is an issue of power in a family or relationship, violence will be in the middle,” said Meltem Agduk, Gender Project Coordinator for UNFPA Turkey.</p>
<p>“If the gender stereotypes continue like this violence against women will always be with us.”</p>
<p>Compared to European counterparts, the Turkish government took its time before beginning to take seriously the struggle to combat violence against women. It was only in 1998 that the country's supreme court overturned a law that criminalized adultery, and just last year there was a major push in Parliament to revive the edict.</p>
<p>“Until the government says, ‘OK, I have zero tolerance towards violence against women,’ then its going to be very difficult to get women to speak out,” Agduk said.</p>
<p>Still, progress has been made. Passage of the Law for the Protection of the Family (1998) and changes to the Civil Law (2001) and Penal Code (2004) have all helped to combat both the violent action and the tacit social acceptance of violence against women.</p>
<p>In 2004, Turkey took its most publicized step of introducing mandatory life sentences for those who carry out honor killings, a long-awaited action thought to be an effort to combat a crime that had marred its quest to join the EU.</p>
<p>“The definition of honor, in the Turkish, more eastern, sense, is always defined within the sexuality of women,"&#160;Agduk said. "Men believe that when they marry a woman, they possess her. They see a woman just like a car.”</p>
<p>Such wide-ranging changes to the penal code have been helpful in curbing the practice of allowing murderers to plead family honor as an extenuating circumstance to justify killings, and there have been several successful prosecutions for the crime. Most recently, on January 13, 2009, a Turkish Court sentenced five members of the same Kurdish family to life imprisonment for the "honor killing" of Naile Erdas, 16, who got pregnant as a result of rape.</p>
<p>The legal realm is not the only area where progress has been made. A number of government and non-government programs have sprung up in recent years to address the topic.</p>
<p>An advocacy campaign, initiated by Ankara and supported by UNFPA, made great leaps in focusing public attention and shaping a national dialogue on violence against women. One of the most influential elements of the campaign was the involvement of the country’s major league soccer players who spread the message — "Stop violence against women" – during half-time shows and in film spots across the country; a bold move in a society known for its machismo.</p>
<p>The popular Turkish newspaper Hurriyet has also played a unique role in the fight, leveraging their opinion-making position as a newspaper to push the issue to the agenda through their Stop Violence Against Women Campaign, as well as establishing a hotline for women facing domestic violence with round-the-clock legal and psychological support.</p>
<p>Despite these efforts, experts agree that Turkey has a long way to go, starting at the highest levels of government.</p>
<p>Women MPs from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and the Democratic Left Party (DSP) have complained in parliament that there has been too little attention paid to the struggle against violence towards women.</p>
<p>“The positive intention is there but implementation is weak because of a lack of resources and capability,” said Temucin Tuzecan, Director of the Stop Violence Against Women Campaign.</p>
<p>“We cannot solve this problem in its totality. It’s a very big ocean and we try to care for women who are caught in our nets.” &#160;</p> | Turkey's shocking domestic violence statistics | false | https://pri.org/stories/2009-02-20/turkeys-shocking-domestic-violence-statistics | 2009-02-20 | 3 |
<p>We’ve seen a rise in hate crimes since Donald Trump won the presidency. Muslims are among the victims, with crimes ranging from cruel graffiti to physical attacks. But many Muslim Americans have been here before,&#160;in the days following the Sept.&#160;11&#160;terrorist attacks.</p>
<p>People like Rais Bhuiyan, from Bangladesh. He survived an attack by a Texas gunman bent on killing Muslims in the days after 9/11.</p>
<p>But his story does not&#160;go as expected.</p>
<p>After&#160;Mark Stroman, a white supremacist, left Bhuiyan partially blind — part of a violent&#160;spree targeting Muslims that left two other men&#160;dead —&#160;Stroman got the death penalty. But Bhuiyan campaigned to stop the execution. "In my faith, in Islam, it says that saving a life is like saving the entire mankind," he says.</p>
<p>Stroman was executed&#160;in 2011, a death that Bhuiyan fought until the end. Another killing won’t stop hate crimes, he says. Or stop Islamophobia. But, Bhuiyan says, fighting ignorance will.</p>
<p>Today, Bhuiyan works as an information technology consulant in Dallas, and also runs a non-profit, <a href="http://worldwithouthate.org/" type="external">World Without Hate</a>.</p>
<p>Bhuiyan's story came to PRI's The World in partnership with&#160;“The Secret Life of Muslims,"&#160;a digital series that presents stories that&#160;break hardened narratives about Muslim Americans. Filmmaker Joshua Seftel created the series, which also partnered with Vox.</p>
<p>Here is the short film of Bhuiyan's story. To see more stories from The Secret Life of Muslims head <a href="http://www.secretlifeofmuslims.com/" type="external">here</a> or check them out on&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SecretlifeofMuslims/" type="external">Facebook</a>.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Also:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">His brother was murdered for wearing a turban after 9/11. Here's why&#160;he spoke to the killer.</a></p> | Why a hate crime survivor tried to save the life of his would-be killer | false | https://pri.org/stories/2017-02-08/why-hate-crime-survivor-tried-save-life-his-would-be-killer | 2017-02-08 | 3 |
<p>In possibly the least surprising news of the year, President Donald Trump would like to cut taxes for the rich. The Administration has yet to unveil anything that could legitimately be called a “tax reform plan”; what we got instead was a one-pager filled with bullet points, to which one <a href="https://twitter.com/CharlesFinch/status/857389917823008769" type="external">Twitter wag</a> reacted with, “I’ve worked harder on e-vites than this.” That being said, the President’s tax cheat sheet, such as it is, does reveal the Administration’s innermost desires for tax reform.</p>
<p>Some have said that a measure that cuts taxes cannot truthfully be called reform. This is wrong, even if you don’t think taxes should go down. How much revenue to collect and how to collect it are separate questions. Let’s start with how to collect, then move on to how much.</p>
<p>To address the first question, we would do well to harken back to Senator John Edwards’ distinction between taxing wealth and taxing work. Taxing wealth means taxing capital, a goal shared by socialists and populists. Capital in this context means ownership rights to financial assets: stock and bonds and the like. Capital income takes the form of dividends, interest, rent, capital gains, royalties, inheritances, and (very large) gifts. Taxing work or labor means taxing wages, salaries, fringe benefits, as well as the income of the self-employed and lower-income proprietors. (When proprietors have high incomes, it’s because they have capital.)</p>
<p>Trump would limit the tax rate on “business” (actually, capital) to 15 percent. Meanwhile, the rates on individuals would be set at 15, 25, and 35 percent. As New York University tax law professor <a href="https://danshaviro.blogspot.com/2017/04/preliminary-thoughts-on-trump.html" type="external">Dan Shaviro</a> has pointed out, this amounts to a surtax on labor. Not very populist! Shocking, right?</p>
<p>It is true that many small fry proprietors and the self-employed could escape the surtax by incorporating, albeit at some cost. But broadly speaking the preferential 15 percent rate on “business” constitutes a huge bias against labor.</p>
<p>When you discriminate against a particular type of income—in this case, wages and salaries—you create an incentive for tax avoidance. &#160;The Trump Tax would make a Disneyland for tax avoidance. Those with means could pay lawyers and accountants to devise ways of running income through personal corporations. Owners of corporate stock would reduce their taxes because the firms in which they have an ownership interest could retain profits and let them grow tax-free inside the firm. If they paid them out as dividends, they would be taxed immediately at both the firm and individual level. Taxes would be more complicated, but complexity of this type is like the briar patch to Br’er Rabbit. (Google it, kids.)</p>
<p>No self-respecting populist would tax labor at a higher rate than capital, quite the contrary. Currently, different types of capital income enjoy a variety of preferential treatments in the tax code. Anyone honestly seeking to simplify taxes would sweep away these loopholes.</p>
<p>The corporate income tax has been under fire for a while now, including from the unpopulist Obama Administration. Contrary to uninformed commentary, the corporate rate of 35 percent is not “the highest in the world” when one compares actual taxes paid to corporate income (what’s called the “average effective rate”).</p>
<p>In popular discussions, attention tends to gloss over what is or isn’t in the tax base and focus on tax rates. Of course, if something isn’t in the tax base, the tax rate applying to it is zero. Naturally a populist would favor graduated marginal rates. Recent research by Thomas Piketty, Emanuel Saez, and Stefanie Stantcheva indicates that the top marginal rate on most income <a href="http://equitablegrowth.org/research-analysis/determining-optimal-u-s-tax-rate-higher-earners/" type="external">could be higher than 80 percent</a> without harming the economy. The current rate under the individual income tax is 39.6, more if one includes the Obamacare tax and the payroll tax. In the 1950s, the period of greatest economic growth in U.S. history, the top income tax rate was 91 percent.</p>
<p>A much higher rate on capital gains is more problematic. Capital gains depend largely on stock market transactions, which can be volatile and are sensitive to tax rates. Previous rates of tax on capital gains in the high 20s and low 30s did not appear to do any damage to the U.S. economy.</p>
<p>Since there is no good rationale for dynastic accumulation of wealth, a populist would also tax inheritances and gifts as income. This would moderate the ability of the rich to reward their feckless offspring for winning the genetic Olympics.</p>
<p>Finally, the enlightened populist would acknowledge the historic success and political strength of social insurance, especially Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment Insurance. To uphold the contributory feature at the root of their success, the payroll tax would be left untouched. It would still be possible to alleviate the payroll tax burden on low-wage workers through the <a href="http://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_eitc/" type="external">expansion of refundable credits in the individual income tax</a>.</p>
<p>The upshot is that a great deal of new revenue could be available to the government by relieving the rich of at least some of the extraordinary increases in their share of the national income.</p>
<p>According to the Republican story being told these days, tax simplification is achieved by the elimination of some deductions. In their benevolence, the R’s have zeroed in on deductions that tend to mostly benefit residents of blue states, namely states with income and property taxes. For these Democratic states, slightly simpler taxes will mean higher taxes. It’s hard to see how any Republican member of Congress from states with income and property taxes could survive after supporting such a change.</p>
<p>Although deductions tend to benefit those with higher incomes, the impact of a tax change on equality depends on how the whole package differs from the existing system. It’s always, “Compared to what?” There aren’t enough details on Trump’s cheat sheet to gauge the fairness of eliminating any particular deduction.</p>
<p>The Administration is promising to retain deductions for charity and mortgage interest. It should be noted that the elimination of some deductions, combined with a higher standard deduction, diminishes or destroys the value of all the others. For many, it will no longer pay to itemize deductions. However, this will not necessarily simplify taxes, since, in order to know whether it pays to itemize, the taxpayer has to keep the same records and do the same calculations. Charitable organizations and other non-profits that live on tax-deductible donations will have some cause for concern here as well, since fewer opportunities to itemize means donations will become more expensive for many donors.</p>
<p>To summarize, a populist tax program would seek to include all capital income in the tax base and tax it no less than labor, if not more. In that context, it would be worth considering how to scale back deductions.</p>
<p>And I haven’t covered everything. The options of a financial transactions tax and a carbon merit discussion too.</p>
<p>Now, to the question of how much. How much revenue should the government collect? Since populists want to maximize employment, <a href="http://jaredbernsteinblog.com/april-jobs-report-have-we-reached-full-employment/" type="external">they should want higher deficits at present</a>. A revenue cut is not the only or best way to generate a higher deficit. More spending will do that too. From a populist standpoint, more spending is also the most effective way to raise employment and wages, and to provide valuable public services in the process. Spending has a higher “multiplier effect” on total GDP, and improved public services and facilities are urgently needed. There is a dual benefit here. Needless to say, the Trump budget is moving in the opposite direction, to the extent what he’s presented <a href="http://thebaffler.com/latest/budget-trump-sawicky" type="external">could be called a budget</a>.</p>
<p>So how high should the rates be? Well, actually that’s the wrong question here. The right starting point is how high spending should be, and then, depending on the state of national employment, how much of that spending should be offset by tax revenue. Given those parameters, as discussed above, the base should be broad and the rates should be graduated (rising with income).</p>
<p>When the real tax debate gets going, an exaggerated focus on the deficit, irrespective of the state of the economy, is predictable. Democrats have been running on Republicans’ same notion of fiscal irresponsibility since the mid-80s, a losing idea. As noted above, there is still room for employment growth, so deficit reduction should not be seized upon as an economic priority, let alone a political one.</p>
<p>Trump’s advocates are denying the deficit impact of the Trump tax cut, on the grounds of <a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/20087/if-republicans-arent-stressing-about-deficit-spending-why-should-democrats" type="external">ye olde supply-side elixir</a>: The tax cut will “pay for itself.” Republican tax experts such as Greg Mankiw and Douglas Holtz-Eakin have already shot that down. Research showing that almost any tax cut would recoup more than, at the very most, a third of its revenue loss runs from scant to nonexistent. Most estimates are well south of a 33 percent revenue rebound.</p>
<p>Contrary to what some commentators have claimed, so-called “dynamic scoring”—factoring in the economic effects of a tax cut on revenue growth—is not going to save Trump’s tax cuts from criticism. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) are responsible for estimating the revenue impacts of tax changes. The CBO has not been very indulgent of Paul Ryan’s health-care legislation. It is not likely to roll over for tax cuts. They will do their own dynamic scoring voodoo, and it could end up making such a tax cut look worse, not better.</p>
<p>The other big laugh in this comes from Rep. Paul Ryan’s attempts to claim the Trump tax sheet has some relationship to Ryan’s so-called “border adjustment tax” that’s been flopping in the House of Representatives. There is zero overlap between those proposals.</p>
<p>Popular debates on taxes tend to focus on rates and related taxable income levels. Just as important, I’ve tried to show, is what goes into the tax base—how taxable income is defined. The malign trend in taxation is narrowing the tax base to wages, limiting tax breaks to those with relatively high salaries, and letting recipients of capital income escape tax. In other words, to paraphrase one of Trump’s colleagues in the New York real estate business from way back, the infamous Leona Helmsley, “Only the little people will pay taxes.” The newest iteration of the Trump Administration’s tax plan would make this statement truer than ever.</p> | How Would a Populist Tax? | true | http://democracyjournal.org/briefing-book/how-would-a-populist-tax/ | 2017-05-08 | 4 |
<p>STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Miles Reynolds scored 23 points, Roberto Gallinat added 21 and Pacific beat Loyola Marymount 88-82 in overtime to snap a five-game skid on Saturday night.</p>
<p>Pacific’s Namdi Okonkwo scored on the Tigers’ first three overtime possessions, twice with dunks, to make it 72-67 with 3:00 to go. The Tigers (6-9, 1-1 West Coast Conference) pushed the lead to 76-68 on Reynolds’ jumper with 1:21 left. The Lions (5-8, 0-2) scored on their next four possessions to rally within four but got no closer.</p>
<p>The Tigers made all 14 of their free throws in the overtime period.</p>
<p>Okonkwo finished with 12 points, and Jack Williams and Jahlil Tripp added 11 each for the Tigers.</p>
<p>James Batemon had 22 points, Steven Haney added 17, Eli Scott had 15 and Mattias Markusson 12 for the Lions.</p>
<p>Neither team led by more than three over the final 8:56 of regulation and both teams went scoreless over the final 1:35. Jeffery McClendon had a steal with 17 seconds left to give the Lions the final possession, but Batemon’s 3-point attempt missed off the back of the rim to send it to overtime.</p>
<p>STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — Miles Reynolds scored 23 points, Roberto Gallinat added 21 and Pacific beat Loyola Marymount 88-82 in overtime to snap a five-game skid on Saturday night.</p>
<p>Pacific’s Namdi Okonkwo scored on the Tigers’ first three overtime possessions, twice with dunks, to make it 72-67 with 3:00 to go. The Tigers (6-9, 1-1 West Coast Conference) pushed the lead to 76-68 on Reynolds’ jumper with 1:21 left. The Lions (5-8, 0-2) scored on their next four possessions to rally within four but got no closer.</p>
<p>The Tigers made all 14 of their free throws in the overtime period.</p>
<p>Okonkwo finished with 12 points, and Jack Williams and Jahlil Tripp added 11 each for the Tigers.</p>
<p>James Batemon had 22 points, Steven Haney added 17, Eli Scott had 15 and Mattias Markusson 12 for the Lions.</p>
<p>Neither team led by more than three over the final 8:56 of regulation and both teams went scoreless over the final 1:35. Jeffery McClendon had a steal with 17 seconds left to give the Lions the final possession, but Batemon’s 3-point attempt missed off the back of the rim to send it to overtime.</p> | Pacific ends 5-game skid, beats Loyola Marymount 88-82 in OT | false | https://apnews.com/baafd411604545668121ee1f53e458c8 | 2017-12-31 | 2 |
<p>Feminists are many things, but "self-aware" is not one of them.</p>
<p>Exhibit A: Feminists are now gushing over on-demand abortion with the imagery of “children laughing.” Yup, seriously.</p>
<p>Over the weekend, pro-abortion feminists gathered together at <a href="" type="internal">concerts across the country</a> to be useful pawns for the lucrative abortion industry: They sang, danced and bragged about killing their unborn babies in the womb in order to “destigmatize” the fatal act of abortion, in hope that more women can partake in the barbaric feminist ritual and Planned Parenthood et al. can continue to profit.</p>
<p>Unable to contain their excitement over their killer time (pun intended) at the concerts, feminists exploded about the “joy”-filled events all over their blogs on Monday morning. Most notably, one blog post called the Atlanta-based concert "uplifting" and even evoked the image of "children laughing" at the event.</p>
<p>"All Access: Atlanta was a night of fun, music, and dance in support of better access to abortion at the Eyedrum Art and Music Gallery," gushed one feminist, on left-wing blog <a href="http://feministing.com/2016/09/12/busting-abortion-stigma-with-music-and-fun/" type="external">Feministing</a>.</p>
<p>"Overall, the All Access concerts were centered around abortion access and joy, which in my opinion is a very radical way to normalize a common medical procedure and fight stigma," she continued. "Last night, I saw people having a great time while wearing 'This is What an Abortion Access Supporter Looks Like,' children laughing with their All Above All glow-in-the dark bracelets on, and people standing up for abortion access while getting glitter confetti sprayed at them. As an abortion access supporter, it was so uplifting and transforming to be in a radical space of celebrating abortion access."</p>
<p>"I saw people having a great time...children laughing with their All Above All glow-in-the dark bracelets on, and people standing up for abortion access while getting glitter confetti sprayed at them."</p>
<p>-Feministing.com</p>
<p>So, uh, does anyone want to explain to these harpies what abortion actually is? Hint: It's not "uplifting," nor does it result in “children laughing.”</p>
<p>How about we have a former abortionist do it: Dr. Anthony Levatino, who has performed over 1,200 abortions and is now pro-life, <a href="" type="internal">released a series of animated videos</a> in February detailing exactly what gruesome abortion procedures entail.</p>
<p>Here's the video of the common "D&amp;E" aboriton procedure:</p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.abortionprocedures.com/" type="external">AbortionProcedures.com</a> explains, as does the video above, after the amniotic fluid is removed from the patient, “the abortionist uses a sopher clamp—a grasping instrument with rows of sharp 'teeth'—to grasp and pull the baby’s arms and legs, tearing the limbs from the child’s body. The abortionist continues to grasp intestines, spine, heart, lungs, and any other limbs or body parts. The most difficult part of the procedure is usually finding, grasping and crushing the baby’s head. After removing pieces of the child’s skull, the abortionist uses a curette to scrape the uterus and remove the placenta and any remaining parts of the baby.”</p>
<p>Disturbingly, the abortionists then reassemble the baby limb by limb to make sure that “all the pieces” of the baby have been removed.</p>
<p>For some reason, "children laughing" seems highly disconnected from the reality of abortion.</p> | Feminists Celebrate 'Uplifting' On-Demand Abortion Concert: There Were 'Children Laughing'! | true | https://dailywire.com/news/9090/feminists-celebrate-demand-uplifting-abortion-amanda-prestigiacomo | 2016-09-13 | 0 |
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<p>“Ballet &amp; Blues,” a music and dance event to benefit the Festival Ballet Albuquerque and Figueroa Music and Arts Project production of “The Nutcracker,” will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. today. It will be at Milonga de las Puertas, 1512 First NW.</p>
<p>Entertainment will include Guillermo Figueroa and a string quartet, the Mystic Vic Blues Band and Festival Ballet Albuquerque presenting variations from “The Nutcracker in the Land of Enchantment.” Brent Stevens of KHFM Radio will emcee. There also will be a silent auction.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Tickets are $40. For information and reservations call 505-296-9465.</p>
<p>The Eastern New Mexico Children’s Choir will perform its Christmas concert at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4, in Buchanan Hall in the Music Building at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales.</p>
<p>Under the direction of Heather Vest, the concert is free and open to the public.</p>
<p>The choir will perform Christmas favorites, as well as original compositions that celebrate the holidays.</p>
<p>For more information, call Jason Vest at 575-562-2371.</p>
<p>The Symphony Orchestra of Albuquerque will be playing selections from Handel’s “Messiah” at three holiday concerts this month.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8 at Heights Presbyterian Church, 8600 Academy NE; at 2 p.m. Dec. 9 at Eastern Hills Baptist Church, 3100 Morris NE; and at 2 p.m. Dec. 16 at John XXIII Catholic Community Church, 4831 Tramway Ridge NE.</p>
<p>Also on the program are Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” suite and a suite of carols with an audience sing-along.</p>
<p>Conducting are Lionel Melendez and Joshua Rupley.</p>
<p>The concerts are free but donations are accepted.</p>
<p>Charles McDaniel founded the community orchestra in 1997.</p>
<p>It has been performing continuously since then under various conductors.</p> | Art News in Brief | false | https://abqjournal.com/150415/art-news-in-brief.html | 2012-12-02 | 2 |
<p>Left-wing CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Dallas Police Chief David Brown if it was necessary to kill Micah Xavier Johnson - the left-wing mass murderer who targeted police officers on Thursday night - during an interview that aired on Sunday's State of the Union.</p>
<p>Despite acknowledging that law enforcement had “every right and ability” to use lethal force to end a mass murder attack, Tapper still asked if Johnson’s life could have been saved.</p>
<p>“I want to just ask briefly about the decision to use this bomb robot which you said that you would make the same decision again. As you know, it’s prompted a lot of discussion among law enforcement officials about whether or not there should be some sort of discussion nationwide about the use of this type of robot. Just to ask a question about this - could something else have been used other than a bomb that would have killed the shooter? Obviously, in a situation like that, law enforcement has every right and ability to take out the shooter ay way he can, but could for instance, some sort of riot gas been used instead of something that killed the gunman?” asked Tapper.</p>
<p>Brown dismissed Tapper's relaying of alleged controversy over the decision to use lethal force to stop Johnson.</p>
<p>"I just don’t give much quarter to critics who ask these types of questions from the comfort and safety away from the incident. You have to be on the ground and try and determine... I’ve got former SWAT experience here in Dallas, and you have to trust your people to make the calls necessary to save their lives. It’s their lives that are at stake, not these critics’ lives who are in the comforts of their homes or offices. So, that’s not worth my time to debate at this point. We believe that we saved lives by making this decision," replied Brown.</p>
<p>Brown later elaborated on the heroism and bravery he witnessed from his fellow officers during the attack. Police officers placed themselves in peril to protect others.</p>
<p>“So I want to spend a lot of time talking about what I’ve learned about these officers. They’re brave. They’re courageous. They did things that are just hard to describe. We're learning that officers exposed themselves to draw fire so they could determine what floor this suspect was on. Expose themselves! And you saw of footage of officers running toward gunfire. Extraordinary acts of bravery, countless officers returning fire, knowing that they’re vulnerable, trying to get to wounded and injured citizens and officers to get them rushed to the hospitals, try to save their lives," said Brown.</p>
<p>Despite the awful events of Thursday night, all police officers showed up for work on Friday.</p>
<p>“The day after this incident occurred, I looked at the daily rolls to see who comes to work. Everyone came to work the next day. Who does that, Jake? In the face of their lives being at stake the previous day, you’d think you’d have some call in and say, “Maybe that’s not for me.’ Everyone came to work that next day, and I’m just proud to be associated with these people. I stay humble," said Brown.</p>
<p>In a later segment, Tapper asked New York City Police Chief Bill Bratton and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson - two left-wing Democrats - if a "national discussion" was necessary to set a standard for the use of lethal force to take out active mass murderers.</p>
<p>Watch the full interview below.</p>
<p>Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p> | Tapper To Police Chief: Did You HAVE To Kill Dallas Cop Killer? | true | https://dailywire.com/news/7334/tapper-police-chief-did-you-have-dallas-cop-killer-robert-kraychik | 2016-07-10 | 0 |
<p>Mikaela Shiffrin often finds herself fixating on two thoughts that are completely detached from reality.</p>
<p>“I feel every single day, first of all, like I’ve never won a World Cup in my life,” the Alpine ski racing star told The Associated Press. “And I feel like I’m never going to win again.”</p>
<p>Really? She is, don’t forget, an athlete who claimed <a href="" type="internal">the first five events she entered in 2018</a> , a record, before a third-place showing in a downhill Friday at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. She has won eight of her past 10 races. This 22-year-old American, still presumably far closer to the start of her career than the end of it, regularly worries about no longer finishing first?</p>
<p>Well, yes.</p>
<p>“Each one of these race results,” said Mike Day, her lead coach, “just gets stored away really quickly.”</p>
<p>That, Shiffrin explains, is why she puts in all of the time and effort to stay on top. The extra ski runs — double sessions lasting four to five hours on each of four consecutive days during a recent “off week” — and the video studying — 30 minutes to 1½ hours a day — and the fitness training and everything else.</p>
<p>“Her hard work is harder than anybody else out there,” Day said.</p>
<p>And that, in turn, is why Shiffrin has established herself as the best Alpine ski racer there is at the moment, someone who is expected to be one of the faces of the Pyeongchang Olympics, which open Feb. 9.</p>
<p>“That’s why <a href="https://twitter.com/MikaelaShiffrin/status/944220228258549761" type="external">my team</a> — my mom and my coaches and everyone around me — pushes me to train hard. They know that slacking off never got anybody to win anything. And if I stand still for a second, everybody else is moving forward, so they’re going to surpass me,” said Shiffrin, whose mother, Eileen, travels the circuit with her, serving as a coach and sounding board.</p>
<p>“I don’t even feel like I deserve to have moments of celebration after races. Because it’s immediately time to get back to work, when you think about the big picture. I don’t win a World Cup and say, ‘OK, I’m good. I can die now.’ There’s other things I want to accomplish with my skiing.”</p>
<p>She made that quite plain to the world at the Sochi Games four years ago.</p>
<p>The day after becoming, at 18, the youngest slalom champion in Olympic history, Shiffrin announced at a news conference: “Right now, I’m dreaming of the next Olympics (and) winning five gold medals, which sounds really crazy. I’m sorry I just admitted that to you all.”</p>
<p>How crazy? The record for most Alpine golds at a single Winter Games is three, accomplished three times previously (Toni Sailer of Austria in 1956, Jean-Claude Killy of France in 1968, and Janica Kostelic of Croatia in 2002).</p>
<p>But maybe this will be Shiffrin’s time.</p>
<p>Even the schedule in South Korea is, as her coach Day put it, “extremely favorable for us.”</p>
<p>In a change from 2014, the giant slalom and slalom — considered the more technical events, and her two best — open the women’s racing, with a three-day gap preceding the shift to the speed races, beginning with the super-G and, after another four-day hiatus, the downhill. Then comes the combined (one run each of slalom and downhill).</p>
<p>Shiffrin called entering all five “a very honest possibility.”</p>
<p>Simply considering that at this stage of her career is a testament to what a quick study she is. Nowadays, Alpine competitors typically tend to focus either on technical or speed events, not everything.</p>
<p>Little about Shiffrin is typical, though. It took her two World Cup starts to earn a top-three finish in a slalom, just three for her first podium showing in a downhill. She won the World Cup overall title last season and is currently on pace for a second. She already equaled a record by earning her 41st World Cup race win before turning 23; Lindsey Vonn, by comparison, had seven before that age.</p>
<p>“I mean, it’s fun to watch her, and for sure I want to beat her,” said Frida Hansdotter, who won silver or bronze for Sweden in the slalom at the past three world championships, behind champion Shiffrin each time, “but right now, she is in another league.”</p>
<p>And to think: Day insists that Shiffrin “will, for sure, get better than she is right now.”</p>
<p>That seems hard to fathom.</p>
<p>Until one considers just how seriously Shiffrin takes her craft. She is constantly watching video of her own races and those of others — including six-time men’s World Cup overall champion Marcel Hirscher, who says he studies her, too — to see where there might be a tiny detail that can shave off a bit of time here or there.</p>
<p>Part of that <a href="https://twitter.com/MikaelaShiffrin/status/926198132572147712" type="external">comes from within</a> , to be sure.</p>
<p>Part of it comes from the way her parents taught her about what it means to have fun.</p>
<p>“‘Fun’ for us is a matter of doing things in a manner that actually make it where you’re good enough at it that it’s enjoyable,” said Shiffrin’s father, Jeff. “You can’t go out and just ‘have fun.’ Fun is something that comes from a skill level, whether it’s music or language or piano or public speaking or being a professional, being a writer. If you’re terrible at it, it’s not fun.”</p>
<p>Shiffrin herself talks about wanting to be so ready to get in the starting hut that she can overcome something that isn’t exactly right on that given day.</p>
<p>On the day she won her gold medal in 2014, Shiffrin woke up with a cold. She was, not surprisingly, nervous. Midway through her second run, she briefly lost her balance and her left ski lifted off the snow.</p>
<p>But she recovered.</p>
<p>“When I talk about how important my preparation is, how important my training is for races,” Shiffrin said, “it’s about getting my baseline to a point that even if I’m nervous and my skiing falls off a little bit, I’m still able to do a really high level.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Sports Writers Andrew Dampf and Eric Willemsen contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Olympic coverage: <a href="https://wintergames.ap.org/" type="external" /> <a href="https://wintergames.ap.org/" type="external">https://wintergames.ap.org/</a></p>
<p>Mikaela Shiffrin often finds herself fixating on two thoughts that are completely detached from reality.</p>
<p>“I feel every single day, first of all, like I’ve never won a World Cup in my life,” the Alpine ski racing star told The Associated Press. “And I feel like I’m never going to win again.”</p>
<p>Really? She is, don’t forget, an athlete who claimed <a href="" type="internal">the first five events she entered in 2018</a> , a record, before a third-place showing in a downhill Friday at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. She has won eight of her past 10 races. This 22-year-old American, still presumably far closer to the start of her career than the end of it, regularly worries about no longer finishing first?</p>
<p>Well, yes.</p>
<p>“Each one of these race results,” said Mike Day, her lead coach, “just gets stored away really quickly.”</p>
<p>That, Shiffrin explains, is why she puts in all of the time and effort to stay on top. The extra ski runs — double sessions lasting four to five hours on each of four consecutive days during a recent “off week” — and the video studying — 30 minutes to 1½ hours a day — and the fitness training and everything else.</p>
<p>“Her hard work is harder than anybody else out there,” Day said.</p>
<p>And that, in turn, is why Shiffrin has established herself as the best Alpine ski racer there is at the moment, someone who is expected to be one of the faces of the Pyeongchang Olympics, which open Feb. 9.</p>
<p>“That’s why <a href="https://twitter.com/MikaelaShiffrin/status/944220228258549761" type="external">my team</a> — my mom and my coaches and everyone around me — pushes me to train hard. They know that slacking off never got anybody to win anything. And if I stand still for a second, everybody else is moving forward, so they’re going to surpass me,” said Shiffrin, whose mother, Eileen, travels the circuit with her, serving as a coach and sounding board.</p>
<p>“I don’t even feel like I deserve to have moments of celebration after races. Because it’s immediately time to get back to work, when you think about the big picture. I don’t win a World Cup and say, ‘OK, I’m good. I can die now.’ There’s other things I want to accomplish with my skiing.”</p>
<p>She made that quite plain to the world at the Sochi Games four years ago.</p>
<p>The day after becoming, at 18, the youngest slalom champion in Olympic history, Shiffrin announced at a news conference: “Right now, I’m dreaming of the next Olympics (and) winning five gold medals, which sounds really crazy. I’m sorry I just admitted that to you all.”</p>
<p>How crazy? The record for most Alpine golds at a single Winter Games is three, accomplished three times previously (Toni Sailer of Austria in 1956, Jean-Claude Killy of France in 1968, and Janica Kostelic of Croatia in 2002).</p>
<p>But maybe this will be Shiffrin’s time.</p>
<p>Even the schedule in South Korea is, as her coach Day put it, “extremely favorable for us.”</p>
<p>In a change from 2014, the giant slalom and slalom — considered the more technical events, and her two best — open the women’s racing, with a three-day gap preceding the shift to the speed races, beginning with the super-G and, after another four-day hiatus, the downhill. Then comes the combined (one run each of slalom and downhill).</p>
<p>Shiffrin called entering all five “a very honest possibility.”</p>
<p>Simply considering that at this stage of her career is a testament to what a quick study she is. Nowadays, Alpine competitors typically tend to focus either on technical or speed events, not everything.</p>
<p>Little about Shiffrin is typical, though. It took her two World Cup starts to earn a top-three finish in a slalom, just three for her first podium showing in a downhill. She won the World Cup overall title last season and is currently on pace for a second. She already equaled a record by earning her 41st World Cup race win before turning 23; Lindsey Vonn, by comparison, had seven before that age.</p>
<p>“I mean, it’s fun to watch her, and for sure I want to beat her,” said Frida Hansdotter, who won silver or bronze for Sweden in the slalom at the past three world championships, behind champion Shiffrin each time, “but right now, she is in another league.”</p>
<p>And to think: Day insists that Shiffrin “will, for sure, get better than she is right now.”</p>
<p>That seems hard to fathom.</p>
<p>Until one considers just how seriously Shiffrin takes her craft. She is constantly watching video of her own races and those of others — including six-time men’s World Cup overall champion Marcel Hirscher, who says he studies her, too — to see where there might be a tiny detail that can shave off a bit of time here or there.</p>
<p>Part of that <a href="https://twitter.com/MikaelaShiffrin/status/926198132572147712" type="external">comes from within</a> , to be sure.</p>
<p>Part of it comes from the way her parents taught her about what it means to have fun.</p>
<p>“‘Fun’ for us is a matter of doing things in a manner that actually make it where you’re good enough at it that it’s enjoyable,” said Shiffrin’s father, Jeff. “You can’t go out and just ‘have fun.’ Fun is something that comes from a skill level, whether it’s music or language or piano or public speaking or being a professional, being a writer. If you’re terrible at it, it’s not fun.”</p>
<p>Shiffrin herself talks about wanting to be so ready to get in the starting hut that she can overcome something that isn’t exactly right on that given day.</p>
<p>On the day she won her gold medal in 2014, Shiffrin woke up with a cold. She was, not surprisingly, nervous. Midway through her second run, she briefly lost her balance and her left ski lifted off the snow.</p>
<p>But she recovered.</p>
<p>“When I talk about how important my preparation is, how important my training is for races,” Shiffrin said, “it’s about getting my baseline to a point that even if I’m nervous and my skiing falls off a little bit, I’m still able to do a really high level.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP Sports Writers Andrew Dampf and Eric Willemsen contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP Olympic coverage: <a href="https://wintergames.ap.org/" type="external" /> <a href="https://wintergames.ap.org/" type="external">https://wintergames.ap.org/</a></p> | With Olympics coming, Shiffrin works because she worries | false | https://apnews.com/6381a6eb6f164457b66a8f0f6a1d65be | 2018-01-19 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Gov. Susana Martinez announced Tuesday that the state’s new $20 million “Catalyst Fund” is making its first three commitments to investment funds managed by New Mexico State University, and by the Albuquerque-based firms Cottonwood Technology and Tramway Venture Partners. Those organizations will, in turn, match state money dollar-for-dollar, doubling the amount of new cash to become available for local startups seeking seed and early-stage capital.</p>
<p>The Catalyst Fund launched last year with $10 million from the State Investment Council and $5 million each from the U.S. Treasury Department and private investors. It plans to invest in eight to 10 venture funds around the state over the next couple of years, generating a total of $40 million for startups after counting matching funds from Catalyst recipients.</p>
<p>That could provide critical, early-stage support for 50 to 60 companies, Martinez said in a statement.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“New Mexico has the potential to be the next tech-startup capital of the United States,” the governor said. “Through this fund, we’re going to help these companies get off the ground to become the next Apple or Microsoft. And by doing so, all of New Mexico will reap the benefits because we will diversify our economy and create more jobs.”</p>
<p>Sun Mountain Capital, which manages the Catalyst Fund, has been vetting potential fund recipients since last year. More venture firms will receive money in coming months.</p>
<p>The first three investments include $2.5 million for Cottonwood Technology, $1.35 million for Tramway Ventures, and $800,000 for NMSU’s Arrowhead Innovation Fund.</p>
<p>All three demonstrated the investment and management experience needed to effectively deploy capital in startups with compelling products and services, said Sun Mountain Managing Partner Brian Birk. And all three have raised significant private capital,&#160; independent of the Catalyst Fund.</p>
<p>That’s critical, not just to meet the dollar-match requirement, but because the Catalyst Fund can only provide up to 40 percent of the total amount raised by a venture fund.</p>
<p>“We’ll provide up to 40 percent of the value of a fund, up to a maximum of $2.8 million,” Birk said. “It’s incumbent on fund managers to raise the rest of their capital from private investors.”</p>
<p>Of the three recipients, Cottonwood is by far the most-established fund. It’s an early-stage investor with $40 million now under management, half of which has already gone to New Mexico companies in recent years. The Catalyst Fund will help boost money available for more startups, said Cottonwood Managing Director David Blivin.</p>
<p>Tramway is a new venture fund formed this year by serial entrepreneurs with extensive experience in New Mexico. To date, it’s raised $2.7 million of a planned $8 million fund that’s focused on life science companies with innovative technology for medical research, diagnostics and healthcare delivery, said Tramway Director Waneta Tuttle.</p>
<p>NMSU, meanwhile, has raised nearly $1.7 million for a new $2 million innovation fund, including $500,000 from the NMSU Foundation. It will invest $50,000 to $150,000 in companies through the Arrowhead Center, which manages all of the university’s technology transfer programs.</p>
<p>Fund managers said Catalyst support will help plug the state’s chronic shortage of seed and early-stage capital. That’s critical for new companies to transverse the “valley of death” — a financial ravine where startups need a small amount of capital to further develop and prove their technologies before larger, institutional investors are willing to step in.</p>
<p>“This can help fill that critical capital gap,” said Arrowhead Director Kathryn Hansen. “We need those early-stage investments to help companies mature and move forward on the path to market.”</p>
<p>Economic Development Secretary Matt Geisel said the Catalyst Fund offers another tool for building the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.</p>
<p>“This investment strengthens our commitment to the success of homegrown New Mexico companies and hardworking New Mexico entrepreneurs,” Geisel said.</p> | New state Catalyst Fund announces first awards | false | https://abqjournal.com/996969/new-state-catalyst-fund-announces-first-awards.html | 2 |
|
<p>UC Berkeley was the last place to find freedom of speech and tolerance on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>Anarchists and leftist agitators rioted across the campus to stop a speech by Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos.</p>
<p>Video shows a woman wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat being pepper sprayed by rioters while giving an interview to a local TV station.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Here’s another angle:</p>
<p>Trump supporter sprayed in the face during UC Berkeley riots! PLEASE RETWEET and if you know him contact <a href="https://twitter.com/UCPD_Cal" type="external">@UCPD_Cal</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MiloYiannopoulos?src=hash" type="external">#MiloYiannopoulos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Milo?src=hash" type="external">#Milo</a> <a href="https://t.co/uGkJ8oZExn" type="external">pic.twitter.com/uGkJ8oZExn</a></p>
<p>— Tennessee (@TEN_GOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/TEN_GOP/status/827074607534469120" type="external">February 2, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>Other video shows other Trump and Milo supporters being attacked in the crowd.</p>
<p>Here’s Milo supporters and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump?src=hash" type="external">#Trump</a> fans were brutally beaten by “Antifa” rioters at UC Berkeley… <a href="https://t.co/zUFkrPOok0" type="external">pic.twitter.com/zUFkrPOok0</a></p>
<p>— John Binder 👽 (@JxhnBinder) <a href="https://twitter.com/JxhnBinder/status/826995528865026050" type="external">February 2, 2017</a></p>
<p />
<p>Police were nowhere to be seen.</p>
<p>Cameras captured rioters tearing down a lamp post:</p>
<p />
<p>And shooting fireworks at the campus building where Milo was scheduled to speak.</p>
<p />
<p>A witness reports rioters chanted, “f*ck the police”, “kill white babies”, “no justice, no peace”, and “Milo, we coming for you.”</p>
<p />
<p>The event was canceled after agitators attacked the building.</p>
<p>Rioters attacked businesses, including a Bank of America ATM, a Starbucks and a Noah’s Bagels store and left this ominous threat against President Trump:</p>
<p />
<p>At the same time, the union- and George Soros-funded Occupy declared war on the United States.</p>
<p />
<p>“We won this night. We will control the streets. We will liberate the land. We will fight fascists. We will dismantle the state. This is war,” Occupy Oakland tweeted.</p> | VIDEO: Trump supporters attacked outside Berkeley Milo speech | true | http://theamericanmirror.com/video-trump-supporters-attacked-outside-berkeley-milo-speech/ | 2017-02-01 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Canada’s Lions Gate Films has announced it will distribute Michael Moore’s latest documentary, Fahrenheit 911, meaning we can all look forward to a bumper summer crop of indignant conservative punditry. But we needn’t wait for Moore’s latest to sample a little Hollywood-inspired political hyperbole. Indeed, the nation’s number two film of this Memorial Day weekend, The Day After Tomorrow, might be the most politically explosive major studio release in years.</p>
<p>Still, while it’s clear that the end of the world is turning out to be great news for the movie industry, what’s less certain is what the disaster flick will mean for those really concerned about global warming. Will the ‘Hollywoodization’ of climate change, so necessary to move along the movie’s special-effects heavy plot, promote the nation’s consciousness or just its confusion?</p>
<p>Like many other Beltway environmentalists, Al Gore and John McCain have praised the film. Like many left-leaning groups and green activists, the pair overlook the scientific shortcuts taken in the film because they recognize The Day After Tomorrow as <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/2004/May/05302004/arts/170871.asp" type="external">a uniquely powerful weapon</a> in their fight to make the nation pay attention to climate change. MoveOn.org organized volunteers to go to screenings nationwide and pass out fliers decrying President Bush, while Gore has vowed to conduct town-hall meetings to discuss global warming. <a href="http://www.nrdc.org/" type="external">The Natural Resources Defense Council</a> is even offering a free scoop of Ben &amp; Jerry’s ice cream for anyone sending an email on the subject to their congressman.</p>
<p>Of course, the target of all this green fire is obvioius. The Bush Administration signaled its attitude early on by rejecting the Kyoto Protocol, and <a href="http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5093152/site/newsweek/" type="external">it hasn’t shifted course since</a>. With that in mind, scientists and environmentalists concerned about global warming will undoubtedly be cheered by <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0422/lim2.php" type="external">the film’s not-so-subtle jabs at the administration’s attitude</a>. In the movie, the Vice President, an unmistakable Dick Cheney clone, is introduced mocking the Kyoto protocol at a U.N. conference. Meanwhile, the President is depicted as a tool of his advisors and aides, even deferring at one point to the antagonistic Vice President on the Kyoto question. Apparently, the parallels were too obvious for some in Washington. According to an April 25 New York Times article, the administration put a gag order on NASA scientists to keep them from being interviewed about the movie. The administration denied the report, but the article rang true to scores of scientists. It probably even rang true to the Pentagon planners who <a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1153513,00.htmltarget=%22new%22" type="external">‘fessed up to the severity of the global warming problem</a> last fall.</p>
<p>But will the film ring true? Sure, the movie’s plot is based in solid science. But the filmmakers have taken huge liberties in telling their story — wildly accelerating the pace of a global climate shift and throwing in all manner of disasters. As Anthony Lane <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/critics/cinema/?040607crci_cinema" type="external">writes in The New Yorker</a>, “Some filmmakers, anxious to claim the high ground, will maintain that any treatment, however degraded or superficial, of an acute political or medical matter is better than none.” That certainly seems to be <a href="http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/headline/entertainment/2597424Target=%22new%22" type="external">the opinion of director Roland Emmerich</a>, who says he hopes his film will at least provoke people to think: “It says to be a little more concerned about what we’re doing to our environment, to think about tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Still, some scientists worry that the exaggerated science in Emmerich’s movie will muddle the message. Richard Harris, a National Public Radio science reporter, comments that the main character in the movie, upon hearing about some of the drastic climate changes, responds “this is unbelievable.” Harris, maintains that this response is <a href="http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1915138" type="external">exactly the one viewers should have while watching the movie</a>: “those words from the beginning of the movie are apt again and again.” Harris debunks several of the scientific exaggerations of the movie, including the idea that massive cyclones may hit Canada, Siberia, and Scandanavia. Such weather is a fiction because those regions have no bodies of warm water, a necessity for a real hurricane. The movie also features global temperatures dropping by 10 degrees a second until they reach 130 degrees below zero. The rapidly dropping temperatures are explained as cold air coming from the troposphere. But Harris points out that air in the troposphere doesn’t get anywhere near that cold.</p>
<p>As Roy Spencer, a research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville tells the Salt Lake Tribune, the concern among climate scientists is that the average viewer <a href="http://www.sltrib.com/2004/May/05302004/arts/170871.asp" type="external">won’t understand</a> the difference between science and Hollywood: “The movie represents something that could conceivably happen, if not in a few days then in 10 or 20 years. The concern is you get a lot of people whipped up by mixing fact and fiction and passing it off as fact.”</p>
<p>As Bill McKibben, a Mother Jones contributor wrote in <a href="http://www.gristmagazine.com/grist/soapbox/mckibben050404.asp" type="external">Grist Magazine</a> last month:</p>
<p />
<p>There’s a chance … that the film’s depiction will set the bar too high. That is, if the reason we’re supposed to worry about global warming is that it will first send a tidal wave over the Statue of Liberty and then lock it forever in an ice cube, anything less will seem … not so bad.</p>
<p>Anthony Lane puts it in even grimmer terms:</p>
<p />
<p>The very silliness of “The Day After Tomorrow” means that global warming will become, in the minds of moviegoers, little more than another nonspecific fear about which they must uncomprehendingly fret. They will vaguely understand that the United States failed to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, but the reasoning behind this failure will be lost in a frosty mist. Indeed, were they to be taken aside as they emerged from the movie and asked the question ‘Kyoto: right or wrong?’ their answer would probably be ‘Whatever produces those cool typhoons.’</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>This is the awful truth: blockbusters are not made to raise awareness. They are made to raise (a) pulses and (b) cash.</p>
<p /> | The Hollywood Climate | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2004/06/hollywood-climate/ | 2004-06-02 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Popular online brokerage companies like Merrill Edge and Capital One allow investors to make trades in stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds without having millions of dollars just to buy a seat at an exchange. But while you don't need to be rich to make a trade, you will need to <a href="http://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/broker/index.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">open a brokerage account Opens a New Window.</a>. Below, we'll examine how Merrill Edge and Capital One contrast on the details that are important to individual investors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Discount brokers got their name for a reason -- they are much cheaper than full-service stockbrokers. Merrill Edge and Capital One both come in on the inexpensive side when it comes to making a trade, featuring standard trading prices that are exactly the same for popular investments.</p>
<p>Data sources: Company websites.</p>
<p>What you see above isn't necessarily what you'll pay. It's actually likely that you'll end up paying less. Merrill Edge rewards customers with free trades for meeting certain minimum account balance requirements.</p>
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<p>Capital One customers can score discounts on trades that aren't time-sensitive by using its Sharebuilder service, which allows for trading costs as low as $3.95 per trade. Its PortfolioBuilder option allows you to buy a whole portfolio of stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds and pay just $18.95 for the entire order.</p>
<p>But that's just the start. In this case, both brokers also offer a number of investments that you can trade for free in addition to <a href="http://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/broker/index.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">special offers Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Investors who like to use mutual funds and ETFs in their portfolio should take a glance at a broker's commission-free ETF and no-transaction-fee (NTF) mutual fund assortment. By definition, ETFs and mutual funds that are designated as commission-free or NTF can be bought and sold without paying the typical fee or commission.</p>
<p>Data sources: Company websites.</p>
<p>Depending on which funds you want to invest in, you could make the case that either brokerage gets the edge here, but it's pretty clear that Merrill Edge offers more choices.</p>
<p>If you can come up with a dollar, you can open a brokerage account. Both Capital One and Merrill Edge have no minimum initial deposit requirements, so you can open an account with whatever you'd like.</p>
<p>Practically speaking, it'd be a good idea to start with more than $1, so that you can afford to buy shares of a stock, ETF, or mutual fund and cover the commission. But as far as opening an account goes, you won't find deposit requirements to be a limitation.</p>
<p>To tell you the truth, The Motley Fool doesn't do much trading. As long-term buy-and-hold investors, we think we do better by buying companies we believe in and letting the power of compounding do the rest. For us, the trading platform is just a means to an end.</p>
<p>Realistically, Merrill Edge and Capital One both provide a trading platform that makes placing a simple trade just a matter of a few keystrokes and mouse clicks. The differences between their platforms may be more important to active traders, but we don't have much expertise here.</p>
<p>If you'd like to invest in foreign companies, you can buy <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/04/26/what-is-an-adr-you-need-to-know-before-buying-fore.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">American depositary receipts Opens a New Window.</a> (ADRs) on American markets as a customer of Capital One or Merrill Edge. Many household-name companies that trade on international stock exchanges have an ADR in the United States. That said, ADR availability can be spottier for smaller international companies. At the time of this writing, neither Capital One nor Merrill Edge provide for trading on international exchanges.</p>
<p>Though neither broker can send trades overseas, investors can get foreign stock exposure by purchasing ADRs. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>There's more to a brokerage than its minimum account sizes or fund selection. We tend to think that investors can benefit from access to investment research, too.</p>
<p>Merrill Edge clients are rewarded with third-party research from S&amp;P Capital IQ and Morningstar, in addition to proprietary research from analysts who work for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Capital One pulls data from Morningstar to power its research pages, which gives its clients the ability to compare companies on fundamental factors and learn more about funds and ETFs. Research services are numerous at virtually all online discount brokerages, and investors could find plenty to enjoy about Capital One or Merrill Edge.</p>
<p>If trading from a phone or tablet is important to you, you'll be pleased that both brokers offer this capability. Here's how each brokers' users and clients rated their iOS and Android apps (as of Dec. 12, 2016).</p>
<p>Data sources: Relevant app stores.</p>
<p>These brokers are in many ways so similar that it's a tough comparison. Both offer the same standard commission prices, access to free or reduced commissions, and the same level of access to international markets.</p>
<p>Where they differ is in the availability of funds, research, and mobile app ratings, all of which have varying importance depending on your personal investing style and preference. To be clear: The Motley Fool does not endorse any particular broker, but we are here to help. Take a peek at <a href="http://www.fool.com/how-to-invest/broker/index.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Fool.com's Broker Center Opens a New Window.</a> to see if you qualify for any special offers that may tip the balance in favor of one of the brokers discussed above. If an IRA is what you're looking for, this page on <a href="http://www.fool.com/retirement/ira/index.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">special offers for IRA accounts Opens a New Window.</a> could lead you to thousands of dollars in savings and bonuses.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Apple When investing geniuses David and TomGardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter theyhave run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000474&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a>to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*StockAdvisor returns as of December 12, 2016The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns and recommends shares of Apple.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFValueMagnet/info.aspx" type="external">Jordan Wathen Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Merrill Edge vs. Capital One: Finding the Best Online Brokerage | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/18/merrill-edge-vs-capital-one-finding-best-online-brokerage.html | 2016-12-18 | 0 |
<p>Wisconsin State Journal Only campus media were allowed to cover Sting's appearance in a University of Wisconsin-Madison classroom, but pro reporter Melanie Conklin did her best to get the scoop. She writes: "Reporters become beastly people when told they are forbidden from getting information from a public entity. So we do what any rational person would do: phone campus papers, harass current and former student interns, visit Sting chat rooms, call music junkies. All that gleans is an article saying he'll allegedly perform 'Don't Stand So Close to Me,' a rather creepy choice for a classroom visit." &gt; <a href="http://badgerherald.com/news/2005/04/18/sting_goes_back_to_s.php" type="external">This photo needed to be approved by Sting's reps (Badger Herald)</a></p> | Reporter forced to spend five hours "stalking" Sting for story | false | https://poynter.org/news/reporter-forced-spend-five-hours-stalking-sting-story | 2005-04-18 | 2 |
<p>HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii disaster response officials say they are trying to figure out which cellphones didn't receive an alert an employee mistakenly sent warning of a missile attack.</p>
<p>Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Operations Chief Victor Gustafson told state lawmakers on Wednesday the Federal Communications Commission doesn't allow tests of the Wireless Emergency Alert system.</p>
<p>Gustafson says his agency has talked to the FCC about how it could, without sending test alerts, find out why some cellphones didn't receive the mistaken alert on Jan. 13. He says it's a work in progress.</p>
<p>State Rep. Andria Tupola asked him whether the state could ask people directly. The Republican representing Nanakuli and Ko Olina says she'll ask on social media. She says it won't be a scientific poll but will be a start.</p>
<p>HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii disaster response officials say they are trying to figure out which cellphones didn't receive an alert an employee mistakenly sent warning of a missile attack.</p>
<p>Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Operations Chief Victor Gustafson told state lawmakers on Wednesday the Federal Communications Commission doesn't allow tests of the Wireless Emergency Alert system.</p>
<p>Gustafson says his agency has talked to the FCC about how it could, without sending test alerts, find out why some cellphones didn't receive the mistaken alert on Jan. 13. He says it's a work in progress.</p>
<p>State Rep. Andria Tupola asked him whether the state could ask people directly. The Republican representing Nanakuli and Ko Olina says she'll ask on social media. She says it won't be a scientific poll but will be a start.</p> | Hawaii wants to find out which phones didn't get false alarm | false | https://apnews.com/amp/6604c9a0b708439e95f18d2e24ac0b02 | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
<p>Help Truthdig win a 2009 Webby for politics and avoid a future life as a sea cucumber. We're almost certain this will work. And it's good for your posture. Hurry, voting closes soon.</p>
<p>Just visit <a href="http://pv.webbyawards.com" type="external">pv.webbyawards.com</a>, register and click Truthdig from the "select a nominee" menu at the top of the screen.</p>
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<p /> | Boost Your Karma With a Vote for Truthdig | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/boost-your-karma-with-a-vote-for-truthdig/ | 2009-04-28 | 4 |
<p>Friday marked the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution and once again anti-government protesters took to the streets.</p>
<p>Writer and activist Nahla Samaha was among them.</p>
<p>Samaha didn't march on Tahrir Square two years ago, she was giving birth at the time to her twin girls. She did, however, watch the revolution unfold from her hospital room in Cairo.</p>
<p>"I actually thought why were these people wasting their time demonstrating or protesting? It's not like it's going to get them anywhere."</p>
<p>She continued to watch the revolution unfold from her TV set until last December when she watched the clashes at the presidential palace.</p>
<p>"That's when I decided to take to the streets."</p>
<p>Today, Samaha feels split about her dual roles as activist and mother. She talks with anchor Marco Werman about that divide and whether she and her family will stay in this new Egypt or leave for a more stable life.</p> | Anti-Government Protesters March to Tahrir on Anniversary of Revolution | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-01-25/anti-government-protesters-march-tahrir-anniversary-revolution | 2013-01-25 | 3 |
<p><a href="http://thefederalist.com/2014/03/27/if-we-can-pick-our-gender-can-we-pick-our-age-our-race/" type="external">This editorial</a> asks an interesting question: If we can pick our gender, why can’t we pick our age and race?</p>
<p>The Left is obsessed with identity politics. Sex, orientation, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, age, economic status, whatever. This is what defines you as a human being. Your individual inclinations are minor details. You defy your assigned stereotype at your peril.</p>
<p>There’s lately been a big political push to encourage people to choose their gender. Never mind what you were born; be what you are in your heart. Anyone that fails to respect your choice is oppressing you, and may be held legally culpable for damages.</p>
<p>So…if I can choose my sex, why can’t I choose my race? If I can be counted as female because I identify as female, why can’t I be counted as black if I identify as black? For those circumstances under which I am asked to specify my race or age or ethnicity, why should I be compelled to give the answer that was forced upon me by biology? If I say I feel like a young black girl, why must you accept me as a girl but not young and black? This arbitrary selection makes no sense.</p>
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<p>And whatever happened to pro-choice!?!?</p>
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<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&lt;== This is protected</p>
<p>This is not ==&gt;&#160;&#160;</p>
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<p>NOT FAIR!!</p> | true | http://tammybruce.com/2014/03/if-we-can-pick-our-gender-why-cant-we-pick-our-age-and-race.html | 0 |
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<p>IDF spokesperson says IAF warplane shot down the object, probably a balloon, in south; official says it flew over the Dimona nuclear reactor, a no-fly zone. An Israel Air Force warplane on Thursday shot down an apparently unmanned balloon that flew over the Dimona nuclear reactor, a security official said. "It definitely flew over Dimona, although we are still trying to determine what that entailed and the military is now handling the matter," the official said. An IDF spokeswoman said an Israeli warplane "shot down a suspicious flying object, probably a balloon, in southern Israel". Israeli media reports said the balloon was unmanned but powered by an engine. Airspace over the reactor, where Israel is believed to have built more than 200 nuclear warheads, is a no-fly zone. Last October, IDF warplanes intercepted an Israeli ultralight aircraft that accidentally flew into the area and forced it to land at an airstrip in southern Israel." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source- Haaretz</a></p>
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<p>JERUSALEM - Israel's leader dismissed on Sunday a top ally's call to share the holy city of Jerusalem with the Palestinians, another reminder of the challenges the U.S. faces as it shifts gears on its troubled Mideast peacemaking strategy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reaffirmation of his intention to hold on to east Jerusalem was liable to escalate friction between the two sides and with the Americans. The White House Mideast envoy is scheduled to arrive this week in another attempt to push peace efforts forward. The conflicting claims to east Jerusalem lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The dispute over the area, home to sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites, has derailed past peace talks and spilled into violence. Since Netanyahu came to power nearly two years ago, Israelis and Palestinians have not gotten anywhere close to tackling the major obstacles to peace such as the status of Jerusalem, borders between Israel and a future Palestinian state, or the fate of millions of Palestinian refugees from the war surrounding Israel's 1948 creation. In her speech Friday, Clinton urged both sides to lay out their positions on these core issues "without delay and with real specificity." She pointedly called for compromise on the contested holy city, observing that "there will surely be no peace without an agreement" on Jerusalem -- "the most sensitive of all the issues."</p>
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<p>After initial recognition by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay follow suit, recognize "free and independent" Palestine with 1967 borders; Israel: recognition contradicts road map. Israel Monday night expressed "regret and disappointment" at South American countries' decision to recognize an independent Palestinian state. "Recognition of a Palestinian state is a violation of the interim agreement signed by Israel and the Palestinian Authority in 1995, which established that the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip will be discussed and solved through negotiations," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The statement said that recognition of a Palestinian state also contradicts the road map. "All attempts to bypass negotiations and to unilaterally determine issues in dispute will only harm the trust of the sides and their commitment to agreed upon frameworks for negotiations," the statement read. Following in Brazil's footsteps, Argentina and Uruguay said Monday they recognized a "free and independent" Palestinian state, to the criticism of Israeli, as well as American leaders. Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a letter that her country recognizes a Palestine defined by 1967 borders, Argentine officials said. "The Argentine government recognizes Palestine as a free and independent state within the borders defined in 1967," Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman said, reading from the letter. "Uruguay will surely follow the same path as Argentina in 2011," Uruguayan Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Conde told AFP. "We are working towards opening a diplomatic representation in Palestine, most likely in Ramallah," he said. <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - JPost</a></p>
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<p>Netanyahu warns public to keep clear of Carmel fire; 40 prison guards are killed after being trapped in bus; Haifa police chief critically injured; fire-fighting crews, planes attempt to control fire in North amidst heavy winds. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the fire that was spreading in the Carmel forest area, leaving 40 prison wardens dead and dozens injured on Thursdsay. "I will declare this a day of mourning, however at this time we do not have time to mourn and start investigating," he said. Netanyahu pleaded with the public to stay away from the area of the fire, which was spreading in the Carmel area and to listen for emergency instructions. As the fires raged, 40 prison wardens en route to the Damon Prison burned to death in a bus caught up in the blaze . The wardens were meant to assist in evacuating some 500 prisoners from the facility, situated near Kibbutz Beit Oren. Their vehicle was engulfed in fast moving flames which had spread to the narrow mountain road linking Atlit to Kibbutz Bet Oren. A firefighter spokesman said the blaze had traveled 1500 meters in less than three minutes, adding, "the bus had no chance. They tried to escape but were burned alive. It was a horrific scene." The spokesman added that the fire was very far from the road on which the bus was traveling when it first set off towards the prison, but had spread far faster than expected. The IDF Home Front Command established a command center near the scene of the blaze and was coordinating relief efforts together with the Northern District Police. Forces were assisting in evacuating neighborhoods in Tirat Hacarmel after the fire began to surround the eastern part of the city. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were also diverted to the scene of the fire to assist fire fighters in tracking its direction. <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - JPost</a> Accident or act of terror? The fire in the Carmel Mountains may turn out to be the worst terror act in Israel's history, but major news outlets appear resolute in their will to ignore this possibility and its implications. Israel's left-oriented major news media are on the whole defining the fire as a "disaster," spending most of their broadcast time discussing the insufficient preparation for a disaster of this magnitude and downplaying the fact that Arab arson is likely to be behind the blaze. MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) of the National Union was the first leader Thursday to publicly give voice the possibility that the fire was a terror attack - "an act of arson that turned into a massacre," in his words. Most of the large forest fires in Israel are set by hostile Arabs, Katz said. He noted that he had proposed a bill for minimum punishment of terror arsonists nine months ago, and blamed Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman for torpedoing it. Member of Knesset Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) called on Prime Minister Netanyahu Thursday evening to recruit "the entire Shin Bet" (Israel Security Agency) to investigate the Carmel Mountain fire and what he described as "the ongoing arson activity in the Galilee in general." MK Ben-Ari said, "Fires are not decrees from above and the people of Israel must receive an answer regarding what's behind this great tragedy." The fire spread from three locations simultaneously - making arson a likely possibility. <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - Arutz Sheva</a></p>
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<p>By a margin of one, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to pass his proposal for a 90-day settlement freeze when he brings the matter before the 15-member security cabinet. US President Barack Obama on Sunday said the proposed freeze was a "very constructive step" that he hoped would lead to serious peace negotiations soon. Obama dream of dismantling Israel to give to the Palestinians grows closer every day "I think it's a signal that he [Netanyahu] is serious," Obama said. But before those talks with the Palestinian Authority begin, Netanyahu must defeat stiff resistance by right-wing opponents who believe they can overcome his narrow margin in the security cabinet. According to a count done by The Jerusalem Post, right now, seven security cabinet members support the measures, and six oppose it. It would not apply to east Jerusalem." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - JPost</a></p>
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<p>BUCHAREST, Romania -- A Holocaust-era mass grave containing the bodies of an estimated 100 Jews killed by Romanian troops has been discovered in a forest, researchers said Friday, offering further evidence of the country's involvement in wartime crimes. The find in a forest near the town of Popricani, about 350 kilometers (220 kilometers) northeast of Bucharest, contains the bodies of men, women and children who were shot in 1941, the Elie Wiesel National Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania said in a statement. On Friday, riot police sealed off the area, not allowing anyone near the site, local reporters told The Associated Press. The find offers evidence of pogroms against Jews in the region, scholars say, campaigns that were long minimized in a country whose official history taught that Germans were the sole perpetrators of the Holocaust." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - Yahoo News</a></p>
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<p>JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel, despite perennial fears of war, has emerged as one of the hottest - and least likely - property markets in the world: Since real estate collapsed around the globe in 2008, at least one industry watchdog lists it as the fastest-rising property market on earth. But with global economic meltdown - and the subprime mortgage fiasco that precipitated it - still fresh in people's minds, officials are stepping up efforts to rein in its overheated property sector. The fear is that a property bubble could shake confidence in an economy that withstood the worst of the world's financial crisis. In the span of months, the central bank has raised interest rates several times and the government is rallying to build new units in this land-strapped country. "The housing market has set off enough crises, and we're not going to let that happen in Israel," Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said earlier this month in announcing his sixth rate hike in just over a year. According to Global Property Guide, a trade magazine that monitors the housing market, Israeli housing prices in the second quarter of 2010 rose sixth-fastest in a ranking of 36 countries. Four of the top five, including Singapore and Latvia, were rebounding from sharp price drops. So looking at the past two years ended in June - the last period for which there is data - Israeli real estate clocks in at No. 1." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - My Way</a></p>
<p>Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat addressed a crowd in Atlanta on Monday at the annual Jewish National Fund Conference. Barkat discussed the Palestinian Authority's demand that Israel hand over all parts of the city that were under Jordanian occupation between 1948 and 1967 to become the capital of a new Arab state. During this period, Jordan did not respect UN decisions that called for free access to religious sites in the city to all religions and did not allow Jews to visit the Western Wall, vandalized the Mount of Olives cemetery, and blew up the Hurvah synagogue. Barkat offered a straightforward solution: "We just have to say a simple 'No' about Jerusalem to the Palestinians and move on," he said. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas demands control over all formerly Jordanian parts of Israel's capital city, including the Old City and other historically Jewish areas. The city has been unified for decades, since it was annexed following the Six Day War of 1967. Jerusalem must remain "the united, undivided capital of Israel," Barkat told his audience." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - Arutz Sheva</a></p>
<p>A Cabinet-level committee Monday put teeth into last July's law requiring a plebiscite before any surrender of parts of Jerusalem or the Golan Heights. The bill is a victory for nationalists, who hope to expend the referendum provision for the approximately 300,000 Jews living in Judea and Samaria. Likud MK Ofir Akunis said he will submit a bill next week to require a plebiscite before Israel could give up parts of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinian Authority. Benjamin Netanyahu told the voters He would continue to build in Judea and Samaria. Monday's approval by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation of the Knesset involves procedural issues that allow implementation of the recently-passed law. A provision allows for circumventing a referendum in the event that 80 percent of the legislators agree, a virtually impossible circumstance given the nationalist stance of the Knesset. If Israel reaches any agreement with Syria for surrendering the Golan Heights or with the Palestinian Authority for giving up parts of Jerusalem, the public would vote on the question, "Are you in favor of or opposed to the agreement approved by the Knesset?" The only two ministers opposing the bill were Yitzchak Herzog of Labor and Dan Meridor of Likud and who is considered the head of the left-wing of his party. He previously has gone on record of favoring surrender of the Golan Heights in return for a peace pact with Syria." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - Arutz Sheva</a></p>
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<p>Turkey held military drill with China, after canceling with Israel; cooperation also reflected in weapons deals, with Iran buying from China mainly missile technology. Someone must be reading the 38th chapter of Ezekiel again... "The United States and Israel are watching with concern the growing military cooperation among Turkey, China and Iran, especially following a joint Turkish-Chinese air-force exercise last week. Until two years ago Israel was Turkey's main partner for air combat training. In 2001 the Turkish air force inaugurated a tactical air warfare center in Konya with Israel and the United States. Until 2008 the Israel Air Force was a frequent guest in Turkey's sky and a regular participant in the country's big annual exercise, Anatolian Eagle. In the wake of Operation Cast Lead and the subsequent deterioration of bilateral relations Turkey last year revoked Israel's participation in the maneuvers. The United States decided not to take part in the exercise this year because of that decision. A number of other NATO members followed suit. Turkey replaced the Israel Air Force with its Chinese counterpart. China sent Sukhoi SU-27 fighter aircraft and pilots to train with Turkey's F-16 fighters. In the past these exercises were held in relatively openness, but last week they were held covertly, with only a brief report appearing in the Turkish media after the exercise." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - Haaretz</a></p>
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<p>"So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">Esther 7:10</a> Deep inside the computer worm that some specialists suspect is aimed at slowing Iran's race for a nuclear weapon lies what could be a fleeting reference to the Book of Esther, the Old Testament tale in which the Jews pre-empt a Persian plot to destroy them. For such a time as this? Iran would do well to remember that Haman was hung on the very same gallows he had built for Mordeci That use of the word "Myrtus" - which can be read as an allusion to Esther - to name a file inside the code is one of several murky clues that have emerged as computer experts try to trace the origin and purpose of the rogue Stuxnet program, which seeks out a specific kind of command module for industrial equipment. Not surprisingly, the Israelis are not saying whether Stuxnet has any connection to the secretive cyberwar unit it has built inside Israel's intelligence service. Nor is the Obama administration, which while talking about cyberdefenses has also rapidly ramped up a broad covert program, inherited from the Bush administration, to undermine Iran's nuclear program. In interviews in several countries, experts in both cyberwar and nuclear enrichment technology say the Stuxnet mystery may never be solved. <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - NY Times</a> If any of the Iranian leaders would read the Bible, they would see that in the 38th chapter of Ezekiel, Russia and Iran lead a group of nations to attack Israel. Funny thing, though, Ezekiel says that when they fire their weapons (nukes), that Almighty God turns their own weapons back on them and blows them to bits. Ahhh, the misery that could be avoid if them would only read the prophetic Word of Scripture. So go on, Iran, keep building those nukes, but just remember Haman. <a href="pages/israel/world_war_3_ezekiel_38.htm" type="external">Click here</a> to read about the coming battle of Gog and Magog.</p>
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<p>Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is under no obligation to honor any of the commitments that former prime minister Ehud Olmert made to the Palestinians, Netanyahu's associates said on Saturday night, reiterating statements Netanyahu made throughout his campaign for the premiership a year and a half ago. Olmert wrote an opinion piece for Friday's Jerusalem Post in which he called on Netanyahu to offer the Palestinians what he did, which he first revealed to the public in a June 2009 interview with Newsweek's Kevin Peraino "There is no situation in which Netanyahu or any Likud leader could offer the Palestinians what Olmert offered, especially regarding Jerusalem," said Likud faction chairman Ze'ev Elkin, who is close to Netanyahu. "I don't think any Likud MK would vote for it, and the public would be overwhelmingly against it as well." Likud hawk MK Danny Danon said the problem was not with Netanyahu but with the president of the United States, Barack Obama. "I don't believe Netanyahu would have considered Olmert's conditions but there is no doubt that Obama sees them as obligatory," Danon said. "They don't understand that we had an election that changed the reality in Israel." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - JPost</a></p>
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<p>Israel should agree to an international trusteeship in Jerusalem's Holy Basin, should allow non-Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem to serve as the capital of a Palestinian state, and should offer to solve the Palestinian refugee problem within the framework of the Arab peace initiative, former prime minister Ehud Olmert urges in an op-ed article in today's Jerusalem Post. "If [Israel] takes a clear stance on these issues and presents them as its position for the negotiations," Olmert writes, it would "transform the atmosphere" surrounding the direct talks with the Palestinian Authority. The source confirmed that Olmert's reference to an international trusteeship in the Holy Basin, which "will not be a sovereign part of either the State of Israel or the state of Palestine," would involve Israel relinquishing sovereignty at the Western Wall and the Temple Mount. "There would be complete and unlimited access for all believers - of course, for Jews - to these sites. Basically," the source said, "this would represent a maintenance of the status quo, but under international trusteeship." <a href="javascript:;" type="external">source - JPost</a> So my first thought is - is he crazy?? Perhaps he has forgotton what happened to the last two leader of Israel who thought they should give up the Temple Mount. <a href="pages/israel/how-a-two-state-solution-fulfills-end-times-bible-prophecy.htm" type="external">Click here</a> to read what happened to them.</p>
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<p /> Bible Prophecy News Out Of Israel Now The End Begins Headline News Standing for America • Standing with Israel | Bible Prophecy News Out Of Israel | true | http://nowtheendbegins.com/israel-news-update.htm | 0 |
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<p>It seems fitting that the first reality show President would have a couple of TV sitcoms based on his new life as commander in chief.</p>
<p>A few merry editors have spliced together two intros to popular shows and they are quickly going viral.</p>
<p>First up, a hilarious tribute to the sitcom "Full House":</p>
<p>Thank goodness it's only make-believe and we don't actually have to see Hillary Clinton as a reoccurring character.</p>
<p>Next up, Trump playing the part of Michael Scott in NBC's "The Office":</p>
<p>TGIF just became TGITrump!</p> | LOL: Trump's 'Full White House' And 'The Office' Are Spot On | true | https://dailywire.com/news/12836/lol-trumps-full-white-house-and-office-are-spot-chase-stephens | 2017-01-26 | 0 |
<p>Photo: Wikimedia Commons</p>
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<p>The Secret Service is investigating a <a href="" type="internal">facebook</a> poll (since taken down) that <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iSHdC8oUo_rn0oPC-cZ9oVqaFIGgD9B0GIE81" type="external">asked if Obama should be assassinated</a>.</p>
<p>The answer choices: “Yes,” “No,” “Maybe,” and “Yes if he cuts my <a href="" type="internal">health care</a>.”</p>
<p>Pretty scary stuff. But what’s scarier is how unsurprising it is.</p>
<p>Really, what’s the difference between this and a gun-toting <a href="" type="internal">Obama-hater</a> holding a sign that says “ <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/08/11/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5235445.shtml" type="external">It’s Time to Water the Tree of Liberty</a>“—a nod to a Jefferson quote about neccessary bloodshed? (The health care angle is particularly predictable, considering the feverish odium it’s evoked).</p>
<p>But gimmicks like these tend to serve as an easy access point for greater social ills. And there’s something about a poll like this—its hatred so distilled and its medium so pedestrian—that forces you to confront the question: Just how bad have things become?</p>
<p /> | Facebook Poll Asks: Kill Obama? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/09/facebook-poll-asks-should-obama-be-assassinated/ | 2009-09-28 | 4 |
<p><a href="http://variety.com/exec/guillaume-de-posch/" type="external">Guillaume de Posch</a> is leaving his position as co-CEO of <a href="http://variety.com/t/rtl/" type="external">RTL</a>, with fellow co-CEO <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/global/bert-habets-european-media-giant-rtl-1202004382/" type="external">Bert Habets</a> taking sole control of the pan-European TV and media company at the end of the month. De Posch will become a non-executive director at the company.</p>
<p>“I had a fantastic time at the helm of <a href="http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/nbcu-rtl-tf1-greenlight-procedural-drama-gone-chris-noth-1201930118/" type="external">RTL</a> Group. Leading this pan-European pioneer – at which I started my career in the TV industry in 1993 – was a dream come true for me,” de Posch said Wednesday. “Now is the right time to hand over to <a href="http://variety.com/t/bert-habets/" type="external">Bert Habets</a>, who will drive the group to its next level.”</p>
<p>De Posch, who has been at the helm of RTL since 2012, thanked his colleagues, including Habets, executive committee member Elmar Heggen, former co-CEO Anke Schäferkordt, and Thomas Rabe, head of Bertelsmann, which owns RTL. Heggen will remain CFO and will also become deputy CEO of RTL Group.</p>
<p>De Posch was CEO of RTL’s chief rival in Germany, ProSiebenSat.1, between 2004 and 2008. ProSieben is itself currently&#160; <a href="http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/prosiebensat1-thomas-ebeling-step-down-1202619063/" type="external">scouting for a new boss</a> after Thomas Ebeling said he was stepping down.</p>
<p>Habets used to run RTL’s business in the Netherlands and stepped up to group co-CEO after Schäferkordt vacated that position earlier this year to oversee RTL Deutschland. From 2018, Habets will be the sole chief executive at RTL, which has free-TV networks across Europe, including M6 in France and RTL in Germany. It also owns production and distribution business FremantleMedia.</p>
<p>Rabe, who is also chairman of the RTL Group board of directors, said de Posch “has been key to transforming RTL Group into the most digital European broadcasting company, and to reinvigorating FremantleMedia’s creative drive. High-end drama productions such as ‘The Young Pope’ and ‘American Gods’ stand testimony to this achievement.</p>
<p>“I regret, but fully respect his decision, and I’m delighted he will continue to contribute his expertise across broadcast, content and digital as a non-executive director on our board.”</p>
<p>Habets originally joined RTL in 1999, stepping up to CEO of RTL Nederland in 2008 and remaining in that position until last April, when he took the group co-CEO role.</p>
<p>De Posch is one of the major names in European broadcasting and is a previous recipient of&#160;Variety‘s Achievement in International Television Award.</p> | Guillaume de Posch Stepping Down as RTL Co-CEO; Bert Habets to Lead European TV Giant | false | https://newsline.com/guillaume-de-posch-stepping-down-as-rtl-co-ceo-bert-habets-to-lead-european-tv-giant/ | 2017-12-13 | 1 |
<p>ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — Mike Schultz has attained quite a list of things he never expected to see or do in his life.</p>
<p>The most recent accomplishments include qualifying to compete in the 2018 Winter Paralympics and finding out that a photo of him would adorn boxes of Frosted Flakes.</p>
<p>Schultz is a 36-year-old Kimball Area High School graduate who lives in St. Cloud. He will begin being on cereal boxes for Kellogg's soon.</p>
<p>"You know you've made it to the big time when you're on a cereal box," Schultz said with a laugh.</p>
<p>But he is not laughing when he talks about what it will mean to represent Team USA for the Winter Paralympics, which will take place March 8-18 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.</p>
<p>"To be able to wear your country's colors and compete in the Paralympics for the snowboard team ... it's pretty powerful," Schultz said.</p>
<p>He was named the Team USA Male Athlete of the Month for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes for November, the <a href="http://www.sctimes.com/story/sports/2017/12/24/tragic-accident-international-medalist-snocross-boardercross-snowboard-paralympics-motocross/966372001/" type="external">St. Cloud Times reported</a> .</p>
<p>Schultz's story has plenty of triumph, but there have been some tough defeats and obstacles to overcome to get to where he is. He suffered a left leg injury in an International Series of Champions National Snocross snowmobiling race in 2008 that was so severe his leg had to be amputated above his knee to save his life.</p>
<p>Schultz's most recent obstacle came in 2015, when he suffered a heel injury in a World Para Snowboard event.</p>
<p>"I shattered the heel in my good leg, and it was an extremely bad injury," Schultz said. "I wasn't sure if I'd be able to snowboard again. But I slowly got back into competition the last couple years."</p>
<p>As painful and difficult to recover as the amputation was for Schultz, he said the heel injury was worse.</p>
<p>"That injury was harder than the amputation because it was so painful for so long," Schultz said. "I lost most of the mobility in my ankle, and trying to recover was so taxing on me mentally and physically.</p>
<p>"Last season, I wasn't performing very well in the first half. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to catch up. Halfway through last winter season, I decided that, yes, this is something that I want to focus on and 100 percent focus into it."</p>
<p>Finishing in the top three in events in New Zealand, the Netherlands and Finland helped him qualify for the Winter Paralympics, and he will receive his official invitation in February.</p>
<p>Since the amputation, Schultz returned to snocross and motocross racing. This season, because of the Paralympics, he has stayed away from snocross.</p>
<p>"I didn't want to complicate things or risk getting injured," he said. "Hopefully, I can bring back some hardware from the Paralympic Games."</p>
<p>Snocross racing is a passion for Schultz, who competed in his first X Games in 2002.</p>
<p>"I bought my first dirt bike when I was 12, and I started racing motocross when I was 15 and started getting pretty successful," he said. "Then I started racing snowmobiles at 17 and decided I wanted to focus on that and see if I can make a career at it."</p>
<p>He signed his first pro snocross contract in 2003.</p>
<p>"I was living my dream as a professional athlete," Schultz said. "My best years were from 2005-2008. I didn't get a win on the national tour, but I got a handful of seconds and thirds.</p>
<p>"I wasn't making a lot of money, but I was making enough to cover my expenses."</p>
<p>Then on Dec. 13, 2008, everything changed. In a competition at a snocross event in Ironwood, Michigan, he got thrown off his snowmobile and crashed to the ground.</p>
<p>"I got bucked off my snowmobile and landed and had a compound fracture to my leg and shattered my knee," Schultz said. "It was extremely bad. I severed a main artery and I was bleeding on the race track."</p>
<p>His wife, Sara, his high school sweetheart and a registered nurse, was at the event. When Mike did not make it to the finish line and the next race was delayed, she knew something was wrong.</p>
<p>"I found a track worker and I got on a snowmobile and went over to the hill where Mike was," she said. "All I could see was blood in the white snow. I knew it was really bad."</p>
<p>He was taken to a local emergency room.</p>
<p>"It was a hospital with a two-room ER, a doctor and a nurse," Sara said. "They weren't equipped to take care of Mike."</p>
<p>But he could not be taken via helicopter to a hospital with a trauma center because of a snowstorm. So he had to take a 2½-hour ambulance ride to get to St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth.</p>
<p>"I decided I was going to help take care of him and I was putting oxygen on him and helping with his clothing," she said. "It was very challenging being both his wife and his nurse in the same time.</p>
<p>"That's why I have an even harder time with some of it than Mike does because I witnessed it all."</p>
<p>Sara had experience helping deliver babies and helped Mike with breathing exercises all the way to the hospital.</p>
<p>"I was awake, but I wish I wasn't," Mike said. "It was extremely painful. I lost an enormous amount of blood, and it's amazing that I didn't pass out. Over the next three days, they did what they could to save my leg. But there were major complications with nerve damage and my kidneys started to shut down.</p>
<p>"At that point, they notified my family that they had to amputate my leg in order to save my life."</p>
<p>Sara said she had the support of all of Mike's family to OK the amputation. But she told the doctors Mike needed to revived and told before it was done because she had told him that they "were going to bolt him back together and he was going to be fine."</p>
<p>"They explained to me that it was my leg or my life, so it was kind of an easy choice," Mike said. "</p>
<p>He was in the hospital for nearly two weeks and got home on Dec. 24, 2008. When he got home, a variety of things hit him.</p>
<p>"It really, really sunk in that I was in for some really tough times," he said. "I got my walking leg 5½ weeks later."</p>
<p>Schultz then got busy finding a way to get back to competing in motor sports. Before turning pro as a racer, he grew up on a farm and had spent time working in metal fabrication and in a motor sports dealership.</p>
<p>His background helped him come up with an idea to get back to competing in motocross and snocross. He designed his own prosthetic.</p>
<p>"I had a conventional prosthetic, but that wouldn't work with motocross and snowmobiles," he said. "Me, being the person I am and being mechanical, I decided to build myself a new leg to do all this. With my past experience in mechanical engineering and with suspension for dirt bikes, I came up with one.</p>
<p>"There were two sides to working on it. One was trying to build something that would work. The other part was it was a really productive goal to work on during a really tough time and to get excited about what lies ahead. At the end of early April (2009), I had the first prototype."</p>
<p>It turned into a business for Schultz, who, along with Sara, run BioDapt, which produces performance prosthetics and adaptive equipment.</p>
<p>Seven months after he lost the lower part of his left leg, Schultz was back competing and won a silver medal in an adaptive supercross event in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>As word about his business continued to grow, Schultz was asked by potential clients to see if he could make a prosthetic that would help someone snowboard. In high school, Mike had worked as a lift operator and Sara as a ski instructor at Powder Ridge.</p>
<p>Mike has skied before, but had not been on a snowboard when he tried it for the first time in 2011.</p>
<p>"I had a couple customers who were veterans who wanted to get back into snowboarding," Mike said. "I had done zero snowboarding. I had wakeboarded a few times with some friends.</p>
<p>"But I started hanging out and working with the adaptive snowboard program to develop equipment and I got pretty good at riding. In 2012, I started racing. Two years after I started snowboarding, I was doing really well."</p>
<p>Some of the reasons why was because a lot of the skills he uses in snowmobile and motocross racing transfer.</p>
<p>"There's a lot of jumps and berms," he said. "The biggest difference is there's no handlebar or throttle or breaks in front of you.</p>
<p>"It was a steep learning curve."</p>
<p>He was doing some snowboarding in Colorado when he caught the eye of the Team USA adaptive snowboarding coach. After the 2014 Winter Paralympics, he accepted an invitation to compete in a World Para Snowboard event.</p>
<p>"I won a couple of World Cup races and thought, 'This is pretty cool,'" he said. "Being on the US Para Snowboard team and wearing your country's uniform is pretty powerful."</p>
<p>He decided that his next goal was to compete in the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.</p>
<p>But in 2015, he suffered another setback. Schultz wanted to be the first to compete in the X Games in both adaptive SnoCross and adaptive snowboarding events. Competing in the snowboarding, he crashed.</p>
<p>"I did not see it happen," Sara said. "I was there with (our daughter, Lauren) and she was a year old and I had her in a backpack on my shoulder.</p>
<p>"All I saw was his motoknee on the Jumbotron and that was, and is, hard. He had shattered his good heel into at least 12 pieces."</p>
<p>Surgeries and rehabilitation would follow, and the outlook for competition did not look good. There were some tough conversations between Mike and Sara.</p>
<p>"He was in a wheelchair with a 1-year-old daughter and we're wondering what are we going to do?" Sara said. "He ended up having to have more surgery a year later to clean up the ankle and he was having pain on a daily basis.</p>
<p>"Last winter, he was like, 'I'm done. I can't put you through it.' We'd been doing (racing) for 20 years and when do you make that choice to move on? Believe it or not, it was me who told him that he can do this.</p>
<p>"I told him, 'Mike, I know you can stand on top of the podium and have the national anthem played for our country. And he made the decision to go all in. When he focuses and is all in, he can do it."</p>
<p>Mike decided that this winter, he would not snowmobile race and would focus on training to qualify for the Paralympics.</p>
<p>He won a gold medal in the banked slalom at the World Para Snowboard World Cup event in Landgraaf, Netherlands.</p>
<p>"When he was in Europe and won the gold, I was jumping on my bed in the middle of the night," said Sara, who was following the event online. "No one knows about the daily struggles. They only see the end results. Those low moments make the highs that much better."</p>
<p>Sara plans to make the trip to South Korea to see Mike compete, though Lauren is going to have to stay home.</p>
<p>"I really wanted to take Lauren, but it's going to be a little too much to take her," Sara said. "It will be different because I won't be able to see him before the races and we kind of feed off each other ... But I can't imagine not being there to support him.</p>
<p>"Win or lose, this is a victory."</p>
<p>BioDapt has prosthetics that are being used by "more than 20" Paralympians, which is one more thing that Mike has pride in.</p>
<p>"One of my most rewarding things is providing equipment for my teammates and other athletes around the world to be more active and to participate in sports," he said. "Winning medals is big.</p>
<p>"But when I get all this positive feedback on how happy they are to be participating in sports again, that goes much deeper."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: St. Cloud Times, <a href="http://www.sctimes.com" type="external">http://www.sctimes.com</a></p>
<p>ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) — Mike Schultz has attained quite a list of things he never expected to see or do in his life.</p>
<p>The most recent accomplishments include qualifying to compete in the 2018 Winter Paralympics and finding out that a photo of him would adorn boxes of Frosted Flakes.</p>
<p>Schultz is a 36-year-old Kimball Area High School graduate who lives in St. Cloud. He will begin being on cereal boxes for Kellogg's soon.</p>
<p>"You know you've made it to the big time when you're on a cereal box," Schultz said with a laugh.</p>
<p>But he is not laughing when he talks about what it will mean to represent Team USA for the Winter Paralympics, which will take place March 8-18 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.</p>
<p>"To be able to wear your country's colors and compete in the Paralympics for the snowboard team ... it's pretty powerful," Schultz said.</p>
<p>He was named the Team USA Male Athlete of the Month for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes for November, the <a href="http://www.sctimes.com/story/sports/2017/12/24/tragic-accident-international-medalist-snocross-boardercross-snowboard-paralympics-motocross/966372001/" type="external">St. Cloud Times reported</a> .</p>
<p>Schultz's story has plenty of triumph, but there have been some tough defeats and obstacles to overcome to get to where he is. He suffered a left leg injury in an International Series of Champions National Snocross snowmobiling race in 2008 that was so severe his leg had to be amputated above his knee to save his life.</p>
<p>Schultz's most recent obstacle came in 2015, when he suffered a heel injury in a World Para Snowboard event.</p>
<p>"I shattered the heel in my good leg, and it was an extremely bad injury," Schultz said. "I wasn't sure if I'd be able to snowboard again. But I slowly got back into competition the last couple years."</p>
<p>As painful and difficult to recover as the amputation was for Schultz, he said the heel injury was worse.</p>
<p>"That injury was harder than the amputation because it was so painful for so long," Schultz said. "I lost most of the mobility in my ankle, and trying to recover was so taxing on me mentally and physically.</p>
<p>"Last season, I wasn't performing very well in the first half. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to catch up. Halfway through last winter season, I decided that, yes, this is something that I want to focus on and 100 percent focus into it."</p>
<p>Finishing in the top three in events in New Zealand, the Netherlands and Finland helped him qualify for the Winter Paralympics, and he will receive his official invitation in February.</p>
<p>Since the amputation, Schultz returned to snocross and motocross racing. This season, because of the Paralympics, he has stayed away from snocross.</p>
<p>"I didn't want to complicate things or risk getting injured," he said. "Hopefully, I can bring back some hardware from the Paralympic Games."</p>
<p>Snocross racing is a passion for Schultz, who competed in his first X Games in 2002.</p>
<p>"I bought my first dirt bike when I was 12, and I started racing motocross when I was 15 and started getting pretty successful," he said. "Then I started racing snowmobiles at 17 and decided I wanted to focus on that and see if I can make a career at it."</p>
<p>He signed his first pro snocross contract in 2003.</p>
<p>"I was living my dream as a professional athlete," Schultz said. "My best years were from 2005-2008. I didn't get a win on the national tour, but I got a handful of seconds and thirds.</p>
<p>"I wasn't making a lot of money, but I was making enough to cover my expenses."</p>
<p>Then on Dec. 13, 2008, everything changed. In a competition at a snocross event in Ironwood, Michigan, he got thrown off his snowmobile and crashed to the ground.</p>
<p>"I got bucked off my snowmobile and landed and had a compound fracture to my leg and shattered my knee," Schultz said. "It was extremely bad. I severed a main artery and I was bleeding on the race track."</p>
<p>His wife, Sara, his high school sweetheart and a registered nurse, was at the event. When Mike did not make it to the finish line and the next race was delayed, she knew something was wrong.</p>
<p>"I found a track worker and I got on a snowmobile and went over to the hill where Mike was," she said. "All I could see was blood in the white snow. I knew it was really bad."</p>
<p>He was taken to a local emergency room.</p>
<p>"It was a hospital with a two-room ER, a doctor and a nurse," Sara said. "They weren't equipped to take care of Mike."</p>
<p>But he could not be taken via helicopter to a hospital with a trauma center because of a snowstorm. So he had to take a 2½-hour ambulance ride to get to St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth.</p>
<p>"I decided I was going to help take care of him and I was putting oxygen on him and helping with his clothing," she said. "It was very challenging being both his wife and his nurse in the same time.</p>
<p>"That's why I have an even harder time with some of it than Mike does because I witnessed it all."</p>
<p>Sara had experience helping deliver babies and helped Mike with breathing exercises all the way to the hospital.</p>
<p>"I was awake, but I wish I wasn't," Mike said. "It was extremely painful. I lost an enormous amount of blood, and it's amazing that I didn't pass out. Over the next three days, they did what they could to save my leg. But there were major complications with nerve damage and my kidneys started to shut down.</p>
<p>"At that point, they notified my family that they had to amputate my leg in order to save my life."</p>
<p>Sara said she had the support of all of Mike's family to OK the amputation. But she told the doctors Mike needed to revived and told before it was done because she had told him that they "were going to bolt him back together and he was going to be fine."</p>
<p>"They explained to me that it was my leg or my life, so it was kind of an easy choice," Mike said. "</p>
<p>He was in the hospital for nearly two weeks and got home on Dec. 24, 2008. When he got home, a variety of things hit him.</p>
<p>"It really, really sunk in that I was in for some really tough times," he said. "I got my walking leg 5½ weeks later."</p>
<p>Schultz then got busy finding a way to get back to competing in motor sports. Before turning pro as a racer, he grew up on a farm and had spent time working in metal fabrication and in a motor sports dealership.</p>
<p>His background helped him come up with an idea to get back to competing in motocross and snocross. He designed his own prosthetic.</p>
<p>"I had a conventional prosthetic, but that wouldn't work with motocross and snowmobiles," he said. "Me, being the person I am and being mechanical, I decided to build myself a new leg to do all this. With my past experience in mechanical engineering and with suspension for dirt bikes, I came up with one.</p>
<p>"There were two sides to working on it. One was trying to build something that would work. The other part was it was a really productive goal to work on during a really tough time and to get excited about what lies ahead. At the end of early April (2009), I had the first prototype."</p>
<p>It turned into a business for Schultz, who, along with Sara, run BioDapt, which produces performance prosthetics and adaptive equipment.</p>
<p>Seven months after he lost the lower part of his left leg, Schultz was back competing and won a silver medal in an adaptive supercross event in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>As word about his business continued to grow, Schultz was asked by potential clients to see if he could make a prosthetic that would help someone snowboard. In high school, Mike had worked as a lift operator and Sara as a ski instructor at Powder Ridge.</p>
<p>Mike has skied before, but had not been on a snowboard when he tried it for the first time in 2011.</p>
<p>"I had a couple customers who were veterans who wanted to get back into snowboarding," Mike said. "I had done zero snowboarding. I had wakeboarded a few times with some friends.</p>
<p>"But I started hanging out and working with the adaptive snowboard program to develop equipment and I got pretty good at riding. In 2012, I started racing. Two years after I started snowboarding, I was doing really well."</p>
<p>Some of the reasons why was because a lot of the skills he uses in snowmobile and motocross racing transfer.</p>
<p>"There's a lot of jumps and berms," he said. "The biggest difference is there's no handlebar or throttle or breaks in front of you.</p>
<p>"It was a steep learning curve."</p>
<p>He was doing some snowboarding in Colorado when he caught the eye of the Team USA adaptive snowboarding coach. After the 2014 Winter Paralympics, he accepted an invitation to compete in a World Para Snowboard event.</p>
<p>"I won a couple of World Cup races and thought, 'This is pretty cool,'" he said. "Being on the US Para Snowboard team and wearing your country's uniform is pretty powerful."</p>
<p>He decided that his next goal was to compete in the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.</p>
<p>But in 2015, he suffered another setback. Schultz wanted to be the first to compete in the X Games in both adaptive SnoCross and adaptive snowboarding events. Competing in the snowboarding, he crashed.</p>
<p>"I did not see it happen," Sara said. "I was there with (our daughter, Lauren) and she was a year old and I had her in a backpack on my shoulder.</p>
<p>"All I saw was his motoknee on the Jumbotron and that was, and is, hard. He had shattered his good heel into at least 12 pieces."</p>
<p>Surgeries and rehabilitation would follow, and the outlook for competition did not look good. There were some tough conversations between Mike and Sara.</p>
<p>"He was in a wheelchair with a 1-year-old daughter and we're wondering what are we going to do?" Sara said. "He ended up having to have more surgery a year later to clean up the ankle and he was having pain on a daily basis.</p>
<p>"Last winter, he was like, 'I'm done. I can't put you through it.' We'd been doing (racing) for 20 years and when do you make that choice to move on? Believe it or not, it was me who told him that he can do this.</p>
<p>"I told him, 'Mike, I know you can stand on top of the podium and have the national anthem played for our country. And he made the decision to go all in. When he focuses and is all in, he can do it."</p>
<p>Mike decided that this winter, he would not snowmobile race and would focus on training to qualify for the Paralympics.</p>
<p>He won a gold medal in the banked slalom at the World Para Snowboard World Cup event in Landgraaf, Netherlands.</p>
<p>"When he was in Europe and won the gold, I was jumping on my bed in the middle of the night," said Sara, who was following the event online. "No one knows about the daily struggles. They only see the end results. Those low moments make the highs that much better."</p>
<p>Sara plans to make the trip to South Korea to see Mike compete, though Lauren is going to have to stay home.</p>
<p>"I really wanted to take Lauren, but it's going to be a little too much to take her," Sara said. "It will be different because I won't be able to see him before the races and we kind of feed off each other ... But I can't imagine not being there to support him.</p>
<p>"Win or lose, this is a victory."</p>
<p>BioDapt has prosthetics that are being used by "more than 20" Paralympians, which is one more thing that Mike has pride in.</p>
<p>"One of my most rewarding things is providing equipment for my teammates and other athletes around the world to be more active and to participate in sports," he said. "Winning medals is big.</p>
<p>"But when I get all this positive feedback on how happy they are to be participating in sports again, that goes much deeper."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: St. Cloud Times, <a href="http://www.sctimes.com" type="external">http://www.sctimes.com</a></p> | St. Cloud resident to compete in 2018 Winter Paralympics | false | https://apnews.com/amp/4312d195afee4484bdf5b271d390c457 | 2018-01-01 | 2 |
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<p>Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies are searching for a suspect who robbed the Cricket store at 1626 Rio Bravo. No one was injured during the robbery. Deputies have established a perimeter in the area but no major streets are closed, sheriff’s spokesman Aaron Williamson said, adding that updates will be reported as they become available.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Deputies looking for Robbery Suspect | false | https://abqjournal.com/282412/deputies-looking-for-robbery-suspect.html | 2013-10-15 | 2 |
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<p />
<p>The fundraising bike ride is the latest addition to an event in Corrales that spans back more than two decades. The festival this year takes place at various locations throughout the village on Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.</p>
<p>The Sandoval County Cycling Club is putting on the Saturday bike ride and participants can choose either a 7-, 14- or 21-mile ride through the village. The entry fee is $50 per family or $25 per individual. Registration will take place from 6:30 to 8 a.m. at Bob’s Sew and Vac, 3551 N.M. 528, next to Burlington Coat Factory. Riders can head out after 7:30 a.m.</p>
<p>Money raised from the tour will support the Safe Routes to School program in the village. The program encourages children to bike or walk to school and aims to provide safe ways for them to get there.</p>
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<p>One of the club members and ride organizer Elena Kayak said the program has been funded in the past by grant money. The group has been able to buy signs, pay for striping on the road to indicate children will be crossing and provide flashing signals on the side of the road so drivers know to look for bikers and walkers. She said money raised could help pay for a bicycling and walking club at school and other walking and biking events.</p>
<p>Autumn is the favorite time of year for many bikers because of the nice weather and beautiful scenery, she said, so it was a natural fit to hold the ride during the harvest festival.</p>
<p>“It (the bike tour) also gets children and their families outdoors,” she said. “I’m a true believer in children being connected with the outdoors and nature. When they are inside all the time, they develop an apathy to the natural world.”</p>
<p>Hay rides, pet mayor and more</p>
<p>Several festival traditions are making a return to this year’s event, as well, including hay rides, the Corrales Growers Market, the corn maze and the growing festival favorite: the Corrales Pet Mayor election.</p>
<p>Up for this year’s coveted crown are Cece the goat, Andy the Doberman, Loki the Samoyed, Don Julio the Jack Russell terrier, Elecktra the quarterhorse, Simba the terrier, Bleu the Grand Bleu de Gascogne.</p>
<p>Sadly, one of the candidates, Bubba the Airedale, passed away recently.</p>
<p>As is custom, the festivities kick-off Saturday morning with the pet parade. Registration and assembly for the parade starts at 8 a.m. in the Corrales Recreation Center. Judging will take place before the parade, which starts at 9:30 a.m. and heads north on Corrales Road.</p>
<p>There will also be food, music and for extra costs attendees can go to the Corrales Harvest Hootenanny Saturday night, participate in the Corrida de Corrales 5k and 10k run on Sunday morning, and a wine fair at local wineries in Corrales on both days. There will be free parking throughout the village in designated areas.</p>
<p>The festival costs $5 for adults and $2 for children ages 5 to 11. A combo ticket for the festival and the corn maze costs $10 for adults and $5 for children.</p>
<p>The event is being sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Corrales. The service organization will use the money raised at the event to award grants to local nonprofit organizations. Nutgraph goes here nutgraph goes here nutgraph goes here The Corrales Pet Mayor election is becoming a favorite of the Harvest Festival. Unfortunately, one of the candidates, Bubba the Airedale terrier, owned by Patricia Warwick and Gary Smith, died recently.</p>
<p>Candidate dies — This article appeared on page 1 of the West Side Journal</p> | Corrales Harvest Festival is Back | false | https://abqjournal.com/133645/corrales-harvest-festival-is-back.html | 2012-09-27 | 2 |
<p>NEW YORK—The Hilton Midtown, New York City’s largest hotel with nearly 2,000 rooms, has announced it is getting rid of room service in August.</p>
<p>Room service at the $300-plus-a-night hotel will be replaced by a new self-service cafeteria.</p>
<p>A spokesman for the hotel told the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/03/nyregion/room-service-is-vanishing-from-a-big-hotel.html?_r=0" type="external">New York Times</a> that demand for room service had declined.</p>
<p>Travel industry experts note, however, that room service is a losing proposition at most hotels, <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2013/jun/03/room-service-end-midtown-hilton/" type="external">WNYC News reported</a>, indicating that the move was likely a cost-cutting measure.</p>
<p>“Everybody’s doing what they can to engineer their properties to make more profit while still supplying the services their guests demand,” John Fox, a consultant for the hotel industry, told the New York Times.</p>
<p>The move will eliminate 55 jobs, including the kitchen workers who assemble the hotel’s $24.75 Cobb salads at midnight and the staff who wheel them to visitors’ rooms.</p>
<p>"It's sad," Jacob Tomsky, author of Heads in Beds, a memoir of the hotel industry, told WNYC News. "The first thing I think of is the employees who lost their jobs. But when I think of the business model, I find it hard to see it going any other way."</p>
<p>The Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue – now owned by Hilton Hotels &amp; Resorts – introduced room service to the hotel industry in the 1930s, WNYC reported.</p>
<p>A Hilton spokesman told the New York Times that the company didn’t plan to end room service at the Waldorf but is considering removing the amenity at its other hotels on a case-by-case basis.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/union-ends-10-year-strike-at-chicago-s-congress-plaza-hot#1" type="external">Union ends 10-year strike at Chicago’s Congress Plaza Hotel</a> &#160;</p> | New York City Hilton Midtown ends room service | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-06-04/new-york-city-hilton-midtown-ends-room-service | 2013-06-04 | 3 |
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