text
stringlengths 0
127k
| title
stringlengths 0
777
| hyperpartisan
bool 2
classes | url
stringlengths 26
278
| published_at
stringlengths 0
10
| bias
int64 0
4
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>SANTA FE – Police in New Mexico can obtain search warrants over the telephone from a judge, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.</p>
<p>Judges don’t have to see in writing the sworn statement from authorities that provides the probable cause for issuing a search warrant, the justices said in a unanimous decision.</p>
<p>The ruling came in a case involving Lester and Carol Boyse of Mesilla, who were sentenced in 2010 to five years’ probation after pleading no contest to more than 100 charges of animal cruelty.</p>
<p>Authorities searched the couple’s southern New Mexico property in 2008 and found about 100 cats inside their home, including four dead cats in a freezer.</p>
<p>The state District Court in Las Cruces rejected a request by the couple to exclude any evidence seized in the search. They contended the state constitution requires a “written showing” of probable cause to obtain a warrant.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Court of Appeals agreed with the couple, ruling in 2011 that telephonic search warrants aren’t permitted.</p>
<p>The Supreme Court reversed the decision, saying the law allows for the showing of probable cause for a search warrant when there is “a presentation or statement of facts that can be made through audible or other sensory means as well as through visual means.”</p>
<p>In the Boyse case, an officer of the Mesilla Marshal’s Department finished preparing a written affidavit for the search warrant application after a court was closed. But the sworn statement was read over the telephone to a magistrate judge, who then approved the warrant.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Court: OK to get search warrant by phone | false | https://abqjournal.com/209031/court-ok-to-get-search-warrant-by-phone.html | 2013-06-11 | 2 |
<p />
<p>After a brief pause yesterday, the stock market returned to its record ways on Tuesday. The Dow came within 100 points of the 20,000 mark, and new record highs for the S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq Composite helped further the spirit that the market has had ever since early November. Gains for the major market benchmarks were generally in the 0.5% to 1.25% range, but some stocks did much better. Among the best performers were Terex (NYSE: TEX), VeriFone Systems (NYSE: PAY), and Hertz Global Holdings (NYSE: HTZ). Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks and tell you why they did so well.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: Terex.</p>
<p>Terex rose 9% as it gave its investor day presentation to shareholders and analysts. The crane company set out its strategic plan through 2020, noting its intent to transform itself into a high-performance business with better operational activity and higher return of capital to shareholders. Terex has already made major divestitures in the past year, with overhead cost reductions that have helped enhance its bottom line. Despite challenging global markets, Terex expects to use its expertise in aerial work platforms, cranes, and materials processing to capture an expected global uptick in industrial activity. Terex's guidance for 2017 was mixed, with expected drops in sales in the aerial and crane segments, but investors seemed more favorably inclined toward its expectations for better operating profit growth. If the global economy does recover more strongly, then Terex is in a good position to benefit.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>VeriFone Systems gained 9% despite reporting a loss in its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results Monday afternoon. The payment and commerce solutions specialist suffered a 10% drop in revenue for the quarter, resulting in a net loss of $4.5 million. Yet CEO Paul Galant noted that the results were actually better than VeriFone had expected, and the company did a good job of competing against rivals in Latin America and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa segment. VeriFone also gave guidance for the fiscal first quarter, with expectations of further net losses on a GAAP basis. However, the company gave adjusted earnings guidance of $1.35 to $1.39 per share for the full 2017 fiscal year. That's below the consensus forecast among investors, but it nevertheless seemed to satisfy investors who wanted to see evidence that the company might finally have overcome the worst of a tough environment.</p>
<p>Finally, Hertz Global Holdings climbed 10%. The rental car company was the subject of a story in the Los Angeles Times that noted that Hertz has turned to a start-up company called Shift to help it sell off its used rental cars once they've been taken out of the rental cycle. Hertz hopes to get better results from selling its cars through Shift than it would get at used-car auctions. Yet even as the rental car giant faces pressure from ride-sharing services, rumors are swirling that Hertz might be the subject of a potential takeover from an investor group possibly led by Carl Icahn. Icahn already has a significant stake in Hertz, and so moving forward would be a natural fit if the activist investor sees potential there. Even with the gains, Hertz trades at just over half where it did as recently as September, which shows how much uncertainty there is among investors.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Terex When 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>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=65896e9f-2ea1-4777-bbdc-c1623181d392&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Terex wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=65896e9f-2ea1-4777-bbdc-c1623181d392&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>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Hertz Global Holdings. The Motley Fool recommends Terex. 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> | Why Terex, VeriFone Systems, and Hertz Global Holdings Jumped Today | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/13/why-terex-verifone-systems-and-hertz-global-holdings-jumped-today.html | 2016-12-13 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Police say a Connecticut woman became concerned when she heard someone calling “Daddy” repeatedly near a school. But when she began looking for a child, she instead found a large green parrot up in a tree.</p>
<p>Fairfield police Lt. James Perez says the fire department used a long pole to remove the bird from the tree at Holland Hill School on Thursday.</p>
<p>The parrot then flew onto a bamboo stand. Firefighters chased it out and an animal control officer caught it in a net and brought it to a shelter.</p>
<p>Perez says the bird was talking nonstop saying, “Daddy,” “hello,” “what!” and other words.</p>
<p>The bird was found about one mile from its home. It was later reunited with its owner, who had reported it missing.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Lost talking bird is rescued after parroting a lost child | false | https://abqjournal.com/415418/lost-talking-bird-is-rescued-after-parroting-a-lost-child.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Lawrence Capener, 26, who shocked the congregation of St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church in 2013 when he jumped over pews and stabbed the choir director and several parishioners during a service, entered an Alford plea Monday to four felonies including attempted murder.</p>
<p>He was immediately sentenced to five years in prison, as called for in the plea agreement, plus five years of supervised probation.</p>
<p>LAWRENCE CAPENER.</p>
<p>In an Alford plea, the defendant acknowledges that there is sufficient evidence to convict and the judge finds the person guilty.</p>
<p>Capener’s plea, besides attempted murder, was to three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, apparently corresponding to the individuals assaulted.</p>
<p>Besides the choir director, Capener attacked a fireman and a bail bondsman who played flute.</p>
<p>Capener said he believed the choir director was involved in a conspiracy of Masons and the devil was piping messages through the church’s audio system, according to previous police statements.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Capener’s lawyer with the mental health unit of the New Mexico Public Defender Office gave notice over a year ago of plans to use an insanity defense.</p>
<p>Capener pleaded not guilty and said his mental state at the time of the offense meant he could not have formed the specific intent to commit the crimes.</p>
<p>Before the Sunday church attacks, Capener had vandalized a Masonic lodge in Rio Rancho and still had paint on his hands when he was arrested.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 5-year sentence in ABQ church stabbing | false | https://abqjournal.com/471379/5year-sentence-in-church-stabbing.html | 2 |
|
<p>U.S. stocks are following European markets lower Thursday as a deadline approaches in Greece's debt talks. Greece remained stuck in talks with its creditors about releasing more emergency funds ahead of a debt payment due Friday.</p>
<p>KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average slid 24 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,061 as of 10 a.m. The Standard &amp; Poor's 500 index lost two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,112. The Nasdaq composite declined two points, a sliver of a percent, to 5,098.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>MERGER TALKS: A report that Dish Networks is talking to T-Mobile US about a possible merger sent both companies' stocks up in early trading. The Wall Street Journal said that the two sides have yet to nail down crucial details, including a purchase price. Dish's stock jumped $4.53, or 6 percent, to $75.34, while T-Mobile's leapt $2.07, or 5 percent, to $40.38.</p>
<p>JAMMED: Before the market opened, J.M. Smucker reported a loss in its latest quarter even though sales climbed. Smucker's stock fell $4.19, or 4 percent, to $114.05.</p>
<p>EUROPE: In Europe, Germany's DAX the CAC-40 in France each fell 0.2 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was 0.9 percent lower, while the Athens stock exchange was trading 1.3 percent lower.</p>
<p>GREECE AGAIN: Greece remains at an impasse with its creditors over key steps after a meeting between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the head of the European Union's executive arm failed to yield an agreement to release vital bailout loans. The two sides remain far apart on issues such as sales taxes and pensions.</p>
<p>ONE VIEW: "It looks like investors put a bit too much stock in the Tsipras/Juncker meeting last night," said Connor Campbell, a trader at Spreadex.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>ASIAN SCORECARD: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.1 percent, while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.5 percent. In China, the Shanghai index finished 0.8 percent higher, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.4 percent. Australia's S&amp;P/ASX 200 fell 1.4 percent.</p>
<p>CRUDE: Benchmark U.S. crude lost $1.25 to $58.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.33 to $62.47 a barrel in London.</p>
<p>BONDS: U.S. government bond prices rose, nudging yields down. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.32 percent from 2.36 percent late Wednesday.</p> | A weak start on Wall Street following losses in Europe as Greece debt deadline approaches | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/06/04/weak-start-on-wall-street-following-losses-in-europe-as-greece-debt-deadline.html | 2016-03-06 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS, N.M. - Regents for New Mexico Highlands University have voted for steep double-digit tuition hikes.</p>
<p>The Las Vegas Optic reports ( <a href="http://goo.gl/ZxT7VH)" type="external">http://goo.gl/ZxT7VH)</a> that regent voted last week to increase the annual cost of attending Highlands by between $582 and $976. Regents also signed off on a new $150 per year student fee to improve campus life for students.</p>
<p>The 12.5 percent increase means tuition and fees for a full-time undergraduate who is a New Mexico resident will range from $4,800 a year to $5,550.</p>
<p>Highlands President Sam Minner says the tuition increase was not an easy decision.</p>
<p>Minner says the new student fees will fund the launch of a new outdoor experience program.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Las Vegas Optic, <a href="http://www.lasvegasoptic.com" type="external">http://www.lasvegasoptic.com</a></p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | New Mexico Highlands University regents OK tuition hike | false | https://abqjournal.com/756948/new-mexico-highlands-university-regents-ok-tuition-hike.html | 2 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Don’t think too hard about the headline on this post. I was trying to be clever and it ended up being kind of weird. You probably get the reference. If you don’t, <a href="http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>This week, I’ve written two stories about the Public Education Department’s budget requests for the coming legislative session. <a href="" type="internal">One is an overview</a>of the request, and the other takes <a href="" type="internal">a more detailed look</a> at the PED’s plans for turning around schools that received “D” or “F” grades under the new school grading system.</p>
<p>A key part of that plan involves training principals and administrators through the University of Virginia’s education leadership program. I didn’t go into much depth in Tuesday’s story about what the University of Virginia program entails, but I did write about the program in depth back in October. So if you’re interested in what the PED plans to invest in, <a href="" type="internal">check it out</a>. I also <a href="" type="internal">blogged</a> about the story at the time.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Yes, U of Virginia, there is some past coverage | false | https://abqjournal.com/154473/yes-u-of-virginia-there-is-some-past-coverage.html | 2 |
|
<p>He promises socialist reforms vowing&#160;to take his party’s leadership further to the left than it’s been in decades. Huge crowds are turning out to hear his message.&#160;We’re not talking about Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders —&#160;this is Jeremy Corbyn, <a href="http://www.theweek.co.uk/labour-leader/62858/labour-leader-under-jeremy-corbyn-well-be-annihilated-says-blair" type="external">the&#160;man in line to become the next leader of Britain’s Labour Party</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>The 66-year-old has been a member of parliament since 1983, representing Islington North, a borough of London.&#160;</p>
<p>“The meetings that he’s more used to are things like church halls or community centers with 30, 40, or 50 people turning out. I went to one of his rallies last week, 1,500 peopled turned up,” says the BBC’s <a href="https://twitter.com/mobeen_azhar" type="external">Mobeen Azhar</a>, who has been tracking the Corbyn phenomenon. “It had the atmosphere of a concert or an album launch, more than a political rally. He really is a rock star at the moment.” &#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Corbyn has been advocating a shift away from austerity measures in Britain, away from the current focus on reducing the deficit and public spending. Corbyn proposes policies like quantitative easing, printing more money that can be pumped into the welfare state. Corbyn has also advocated for public ownership of large infrastructure such as Britain’s rail service.</p>
<p>“What he’s known for is being rebellious,” says&#160;Azhar. “He has voted and ignored the party whip over 500 times. He’s also known for doing things like speaking out against the war on terror.”</p>
<p>He also doesn’t own a car and holds the record for the lowest expense claimed in Parliament.</p>
<p>Former&#160;prime minister and head of the Labour Party,&#160;Tony Blair, is less-than-thrilled with Corbyn’s remarkable and unexpected ascent and his attempt to shift the party back to its socialist roots. &#160;Blair, who steered the party more toward the center,&#160;said the threat from Corbyn would make the party unelectable. He said that if people believe they’re voting with their heart, “ <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/11756232/Sketch-Get-a-transplant-The-day-Tony-Blair-attacked-Jeremy-Corbyn...-and-Mr-Corbyn-fought-back.html" type="external">get a transplant</a>.”</p>
<p>Other Labour leaders have&#160; <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33940435" type="external">told their supporters to back anybody other than Corbyn</a>.</p>
<p>They don’t seem to be listening. Recent polls suggest that if a vote were held today, Corbyn would become Labour’s new leader. The result of the contest will be announced on September 12th.</p>
<p>But could a victory carry him to the top spot in Britain, the prime minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street in London?</p>
<p>“That’s another question. It seems unlikely. But what you’ve got to remember is that even a few weeks ago, it seemed very unlikely that we would be talking about Jeremy Corbyn as the next Labour leader,” says Azhar. “Things are changing and they’re changing very fast.”&#160;</p> | The British version of Bernie Sanders is having his moment | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-08-14/britains-bernie-sanders-moment | 2015-08-14 | 3 |
<p>Former FEMA Director James Lee Witt on the rescue efforts after Hurricane Harvey and managing flood insurance claims.</p>
<p>Makers of RVs and motorhomes rallied on Monday, as investors anticipated higher demand in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s destruction.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Harvey has caused massive flooding and stranded thousands along the Texas Gulf Coast, including Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city. The Category 4 storm put homes and businesses under water, and officials continued to make water rescues on Monday.</p>
<p>Winnebago Industries (NYSE:WGO) surged 5.5% in recent trading. Thor Industries (NYSE:THO), whose brand portfolio includes Thor, Airstream and Jayco, rose 4.9%. Investors also bought up shares of LCI Industries (NYSE:LCII) and Patrick Industries (NYSE:PATK).</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">CoreLogic said about half of Houston properties facing severe flooding may not be insured Opens a New Window.</a>. The group estimated that 52% of flooded homes and businesses are outside of designated flood zones.</p> | Motorhome makers in focus amid Harvey destruction | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/28/motorhome-makers-in-focus-amid-harvey-destruction.html | 2017-08-28 | 0 |
<p>Your Majesty, my fellow Nobel Laureates, ladies and gentlemen:</p>
<p>Thank you for the honor you have bestowed on me this evening. I accept it in the name of all those brave people of Central America—indeed, in the name of all those throughout the world—who struggle nonviolently for peace, freedom, and justice. In honoring me, you honor them. In honoring them, you acknowledge the great truth, which they have learned: that peace is more than the absence of violent conflict. Peace is a matter of freedom and of institutions of freedom. Peace is a matter of democracy, self-determination, and the pursuit of justice through law and politics rather than through slaughter and oppression. That is the truth upon which we are trying to act in Central America today.</p>
<p>It is a truth that has been learned through pain and suffering. Many of the countries of Central America have not, until this past decade, begun to fulfill the promise of the revolutions by which they cast off the yoke of colonial power and assumed their station among the independent states of the world. That is the promise we now seek to keep.</p>
<p>We are not alone in this quest: throughout the world today, there is a great social ferment. It comes from the realization that men and women need not be serfs and slaves, need not live in conditions of gross deprivation, need not watch their children die in infancy or childhood from easily preventable diseases. Self-determination, a decent standard of living, and a life free from the threat of political terror are not unimaginable dreams; they are possible human achievements. But their accomplishment requires more than a great act of social will.</p>
<p>That is the lesson that many of us in Central America have learned from our great neighbor to the north, the United States of America, which is celebrating the bicentennial of its Constitution this year. Our relations with the United States have not, historically, been without their trials. But we now choose to look to the future. And from the United States we have learned that peace is built on a triad of institutions: a pluralistic culture, free for human creativity and expression; a liberal polity, in which all men and women share the benefits and responsibilities of citizenship under law; and an economy in which individuals may prosper according to their talents, initiative, and hard work.</p>
<p>We have learned that true liberty means shared responsibility for the common good. We have learned that the building blocks of peace and freedom are such institutions as a free press, an independent judiciary, corporations in which entrepreneurs can freely associate, trade unions in which workers join in solidarity for the protection of their rights, and religious bodies in which men and women may worship God according to the dictates of their consciences.</p>
<p>The plan for peace in Central America with which I have been associated is built on these understandings. Peace in Central America—that true peace which includes freedom, security, prosperity, and justice for all—is threatened on many fronts. It is threatened by apathy. It is threatened by narrow self-interest and greed. We in Central America must build a culture of freedom as well as institutions of freedom. We know that, and brave spirits among us are at work on that essential task of civic reconstruction. But I would be less than frank, ladies and gentlemen, if I did not acknowledge before you that peace with freedom and justice in Central America is also threatened by the present government of my neighbor, Nicaragua, and by those armed guerilla forces in the region which, like the Sandinista regime, carry a Marxist-Leninist ideology.</p>
<p>It is often said, in this latter part of the twentieth century, that communism is a spent force. And that is true in this sense: who, today, looks to Moscow or Havana or Hanoi or Addis Ababa for the model of a humane future? The romantic allure of communism, so attractive to Western and Third World intellectuals during the middle part of this century, has exhausted itself. One of the greatest tragedies of this tragic century is the fact that it has taken literally tens of millions of broken lives to prove that point. When one thinks of those victims who otherwise might have lived creative lives, one begins to comprehend the ugliness of the scars which will forever be borne by the phrase, the twentieth century.</p>
<p>But there is another sense in which Marxism-Leninism is not a spent force: and that is as an instrument for seizing and holding political power. That is what has happened in Nicaragua, where the people’s revolution of 1979 has been betrayed by the Leninist leadership of the Sandinista front. And that is what must change in Nicaragua, if there is to be peace with freedom, prosperity, and justice in Central America.</p>
<p>And thus I take the occasion of this Nobel awards ceremony to call on the people of Nicaragua, my neighbors, to stand up against their betrayal: to stand up and claim the rights that are theirs, and to which President Ortega pledged himself in August at the Guatemala summit of Central American presidents.</p>
<p>Let there be religious liberty, an uncensored press, free trade unions, legally sanctioned opposition political parties, and a truly open process of presidential and legislative elections in Nicaragua.</p>
<p>Let there be an end to political prisoners, revolutionary tribunals, block committees to enforce political conformity through control of food and medicine, and “divine mobs” to harass churchmen.</p>
<p>Nicaraguans, stand up and claim the rights that are yours by reason of your human dignity, rights that are enshrined in the U.N. Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights, rights to which your government has solemnly and publicly pledged itself.</p>
<p>I also call upon the free peoples of the world to stand beside their brothers and sisters in Nicaragua who wish to claim their basic human rights. The Sandinista regime is dependent on the support of forces located beyond our troubled region: it is dependent on the economic and military support of the Soviet bloc; but it is also dependent on the moral support and political power exercised by men and women in the free world who cannot seem to understand the nature of the Sandinista front, or who cannot comprehend the historic pathos of a Central American country in which East Germans design the internal security service and Bulgarians build the new airport runway. We in Central America have had enough of imperialism. But the imperialism by which we are now threatened is not located in Washington, but in Moscow and Havana.</p>
<p>Ladies and gentlemen, you honor me as a peacemaker. My task, and yours, is not done. There can be no peace without freedom in Central America. There can be no peace without democracy in Central America. Many Central Americans know that. But our future in this kind of a world rests in more hands than ours. We shall not be found wanting in meeting our responsibilities. But will you? If you will stand with us for peace and freedom, we may yet be able to set an example that is worthy of this prize with which tonight you honor all the world’s democrats.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>As imagined by George Weigel</p>
<p>Your Majesty, my fellow Nobel Laureates, ladies and gentlemen:</p>
<p>Thank you for the honor you have bestowed on me this evening. I accept it in the name of all those brave people of Central America—indeed, in the name of all those throughout the world—who struggle nonviolently for peace, freedom, and justice. In honoring me, you honor them. In honoring them, you acknowledge the great truth, which they have learned: that peace is more than the absence of violent conflict. Peace is a matter of freedom and of institutions of freedom. Peace is a matter of democracy, self-determination, and the pursuit of justice through law and politics rather than through slaughter and oppression. That is the truth upon which we are trying to act in Central America today.</p>
<p>It is a truth that has been learned through pain and suffering. Many of the countries of Central America have not, until this past decade, begun to fulfill the promise of the revolutions by which they cast off the yoke of colonial power and assumed their station among the independent states of the world. That is the promise we now seek to keep.</p>
<p>We are not alone in this quest: throughout the world today, there is a great social ferment. It comes from the realization that men and women need not be serfs and slaves, need not live in conditions of gross deprivation, need not watch their children die in infancy or childhood from easily preventable diseases. Self-determination, a decent standard of living, and a life free from the threat of political terror are not unimaginable dreams; they are possible human achievements. But their accomplishment requires more than a great act of social will.</p>
<p>That is the lesson that many of us in Central America have learned from our great neighbor to the north, the United States of America, which is celebrating the bicentennial of its Constitution this year. Our relations with the United States have not, historically, been without their trials. But we now choose to look to the future. And from the United States we have learned that peace is built on a triad of institutions: a pluralistic culture, free for human creativity and expression; a liberal polity, in which all men and women share the benefits and responsibilities of citizenship under law; and an economy in which individuals may prosper according to their talents, initiative, and hard work.</p>
<p>We have learned that true liberty means shared responsibility for the common good. We have learned that the building blocks of peace and freedom are such institutions as a free press, an independent judiciary, corporations in which entrepreneurs can freely associate, trade unions in which workers join in solidarity for the protection of their rights, and religious bodies in which men and women may worship God according to the dictates of their consciences.</p>
<p>The plan for peace in Central America with which I have been associated is built on these understandings. Peace in Central America—that true peace which includes freedom, security, prosperity, and justice for all—is threatened on many fronts. It is threatened by apathy. It is threatened by narrow self-interest and greed. We in Central America must build a culture of freedom as well as institutions of freedom. We know that, and brave spirits among us are at work on that essential task of civic reconstruction. But I would be less than frank, ladies and gentlemen, if I did not acknowledge before you that peace with freedom and justice in Central America is also threatened by the present government of my neighbor, Nicaragua, and by those armed guerilla forces in the region which, like the Sandinista regime, carry a Marxist-Leninist ideology.</p>
<p>It is often said, in this latter part of the twentieth century, that communism is a spent force. And that is true in this sense: who, today, looks to Moscow or Havana or Hanoi or Addis Ababa for the model of a humane future? The romantic allure of communism, so attractive to Western and Third World intellectuals during the middle part of this century, has exhausted itself. One of the greatest tragedies of this tragic century is the fact that it has taken literally tens of millions of broken lives to prove that point. When one thinks of those victims who otherwise might have lived creative lives, one begins to comprehend the ugliness of the scars which will forever be borne by the phrase, the twentieth century.</p>
<p>But there is another sense in which Marxism-Leninism is not a spent force: and that is as an instrument for seizing and holding political power. That is what has happened in Nicaragua, where the people’s revolution of 1979 has been betrayed by the Leninist leadership of the Sandinista front. And that is what must change in Nicaragua, if there is to be peace with freedom, prosperity, and justice in Central America.</p>
<p>And thus I take the occasion of this Nobel awards ceremony to call on the people of Nicaragua, my neighbors, to stand up against their betrayal: to stand up and claim the rights that are theirs, and to which President Ortega pledged himself in August at the Guatemala summit of Central American presidents.</p>
<p>Let there be religious liberty, an uncensored press, free trade unions, legally sanctioned opposition political parties, and a truly open process of presidential and legislative elections in Nicaragua.</p>
<p>Let there be an end to political prisoners, revolutionary tribunals, block committees to enforce political conformity through control of food and medicine, and “divine mobs” to harass churchmen.</p>
<p>Nicaraguans, stand up and claim the rights that are yours by reason of your human dignity, rights that are enshrined in the U.N. Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights, rights to which your government has solemnly and publicly pledged itself.</p>
<p>I also call upon the free peoples of the world to stand beside their brothers and sisters in Nicaragua who wish to claim their basic human rights. The Sandinista regime is dependent on the support of forces located beyond our troubled region: it is dependent on the economic and military support of the Soviet bloc; but it is also dependent on the moral support and political power exercised by men and women in the free world who cannot seem to understand the nature of the Sandinista front, or who cannot comprehend the historic pathos of a Central American country in which East Germans design the internal security service and Bulgarians build the new airport runway. We in Central America have had enough of imperialism. But the imperialism by which we are now threatened is not located in Washington, but in Moscow and Havana.</p>
<p>Ladies and gentlemen, you honor me as a peacemaker. My task, and yours, is not done. There can be no peace without freedom in Central America. There can be no peace without democracy in Central America. Many Central Americans know that. But our future in this kind of a world rests in more hands than ours. We shall not be found wanting in meeting our responsibilities. But will you? If you will stand with us for peace and freedom, we may yet be able to set an example that is worthy of this prize with which tonight you honor all the world’s democrats.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>As imagined by George Weigel</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> | Oscar Arias at the Nobel Awards Ceremony | false | https://eppc.org/publications/oscar-arias-at-the-nobel-awards-ceremony/ | 1 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HOUSTON — Hundreds of individuals, some armed, gathered at a Houston park Saturday to protest what they believe are efforts to remove a statue of Texas hero Sam Houston because he owned slaves.</p>
<p>There hasn’t been any organized effort to remove Houston’s statue, which has stood near a city park since 1925.</p>
<p>Protesters, some carrying Confederate flags, said they were concerned local activists have been calling for the statue’s removal. But it’s not clear any such removal efforts have been formally proposed in the wake of other cities around the country taking down Confederate monuments.</p>
<p>Houston was the Republic of Texas’ first president. While he did own slaves, he also refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Armed protesters fear removal of Texas hero’s statue | false | https://abqjournal.com/1016248/armed-protesters-fear-removal-of-texas-heros-statue.html | 2017-06-11 | 2 |
<p>Recently, 47 senators signed a letter warning Iranian leaders that any deal they struck with President Obama would last only as long as Congress allowed. But while it’d be nice to call such childish behavior by America’s leaders unprecedented, boy, does it have a precedent.</p>
<p>—Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Natasha Hakimi Zapata</a></p> | Jon Stewart: 'Republicans Aren't Warning Iran About Obama, They're Warning Iran About Themselves' | true | http://truthdig.com/avbooth/item/jon_stewart_republicans_arent_warning_iran_about_obama_20150311/ | 2015-03-11 | 4 |
<p><a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-5n8" type="external">21st Century Wire</a> says…</p>
<p />
<p>Episode #7&#160;of&#160;Sunday Wire Radio Show&#160;with host Patrick Henningsen resumes this&#160;Sunday Nov 10th, with a special 3 hour show…</p>
<p>EVERY SUNDAY – 5pm-8pm GMT | 12pm-3pm EST | 9am-12pm PST</p>
<p>This week’s theme:&#160;‘Dorner Revisited, Million Masked March in DC, JFK Murder Redux, and Twitter Gets the Gas Face’</p>
<p>This week THE SUNDAY WIRE will be hitting hard and heavy, as guest&#160;Robert Singer&#160;revisits LA’s Chris Dorner mystery with some new evidence, followed by&#160;‘ <a href="https://new.livestream.com/JamesFromTheInternet" type="external">James From The Internet</a>‘&#160;fresh off the Million Mask March in DC,&#160;and joined in the final hour to discuss&#160;Twitter’s recent censorship&#160;of 21WIRE, Co-Ed School Bathrooms in California, and the&#160;JFK Assassination&#160;– &#160;with our mosh pit of regular and expert pundits and professional trouble makers, including&#160;Basil Valentine&#160;–&#160;all guaranteed to stimulate the mind…</p>
<p />
<p>To see the full radio archive on the SUNDAY WIRE <a href="" type="internal">click here</a></p> | Episode #7 – SUNDAY WIRE: Dorner Revisited, Guy Fawkes in DC, JFK Redux and Twitter Censorship | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2013/11/10/sunday-wire-dorner-revisited-guy-fawkes-in-dc-and-twitter-gets-the-gas-face/ | 2013-11-10 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Boston is a unique market for JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU). In most of its U.S. focus cities, JetBlue is a relative upstart, providing much-needed competition against the market leaders. By contrast, in Boston, JetBlue is the market leader, due to severe flight cutbacks by a variety of legacy carriers over the past decade.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>JetBlue plans to solidify and exploit its market-leading position in Boston in the coming years by continuing to add service there. However, Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) has also been growing aggressively in Boston recently. Will Delta spoil JetBlue's plans in this important market?</p>
<p>In recent years, JetBlue has talked about growing its presence in Boston to at least 150 daily departures. Last month, it publicly revised that goal, announcing that it now plans to grow by more than 40% in Boston, to 200 peak day departures. (The company didn't specify a time frame for reaching that milestone.)</p>
<p>JetBlue plans to operate 200 peak day departures in Boston eventually. Image source: JetBlue Airways.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>For the past few years, JetBlue's expansion in Boston has focused primarily on <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/01/20/ge-moves-to-boston-time-for-jetblue-to-expand.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">small and midsize cities Opens a New Window.</a>, such as Savannah, Georgia; Cleveland, Ohio; and Nashville, Tennessee. It has also added more flights to leisure destinations in the Caribbean.</p>
<p>In 2016, JetBlue's focus started to turn toward larger cities. As a result, JetBlue is facing off against Delta in some of the latter's core markets.</p>
<p>Later this month, JetBlue will begin operating six daily round-trips between Boston and New York's LaGuardia Airport, competing with the lucrative Delta Shuttle (along with its rival, the American Airlines shuttle). In an even greater challenge to Delta, JetBlue will start flying five times a day from Boston to Atlanta -- Delta's largest hub -- beginning in late March.</p>
<p>While Boston certainly isn't a hub for Delta Air Lines, it is still an important city for the carrier. First, it's a major destination for business travelers. Second, the Boston regional economy has been performing well recently, boosting local travel demand. Third, no airline dominates Boston, so it's a sensible place to grow without triggering a vicious competitive response.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Delta announced a handful of new Boston flights, including daily service to Nashville, twice-daily flights to San Francisco, and weekly flights to several Caribbean destinations. All of these routes will compete with existing JetBlue service.</p>
<p>Delta is steadily adding new routes in Boston. Image source: The Motley Fool.</p>
<p>Just last week, Delta said it plans to launch seasonal service to Dublin next May. That would be its fourth nonstop route from Boston to Europe. In total, Delta will offer 22% more seat capacity in Boston by June 2017 relative to June 2014.</p>
<p>While Delta Air Lines clearly wants to grab a bigger chunk of the Boston market, it's <a href="http://crankyflier.com/2016/09/20/delta-wants-to-grow-in-boston-but-this-isnt-going-to-look-like-seattle/" type="external">unlikely to build a full-blown hub Opens a New Window.</a> there, as it has done recently in Seattle. Delta needed a hub in Seattle to become more competitive on routes to Asia. By contrast, it already has a large footprint in New York -- just 200 miles from Boston -- covering both domestic and international routes.</p>
<p>Delta is expanding in Boston primarily because it sees opportunities in underserved markets there. JetBlue's best response is to continue on its own growth trajectory in Boston. The more that JetBlue can satisfy demand on its own, the less reason Delta will have to expand.</p>
<p>Ultimately, international expansion could be the way for JetBlue to make its position in Boston unassailable. JetBlue is actively investigating ordering Airbus' A321LR long-range planes, which would allow it to <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/09/25/new-aircraft-technology-could-transform-these-2-ai.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">fly from Boston to much of Europe Opens a New Window.</a>. Delta would be unlikely to match a move like that, as it would cannibalize Delta's existing (and highly profitable) transatlantic service.</p>
<p>Flights to Europe would also allow JetBlue to provide better connecting opportunities in Boston than it can today. (Right now, JetBlue relies on a variety of codeshare and interline partners to bring customers to Europe.) This could enable a corresponding domestic expansion in Boston.</p>
<p>Boston is on its way to overtaking New York as JetBlue's most important market. Delta's growth there is inconvenient for JetBlue, but it won't stand in the way of JetBlue's long-term expansion plans.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000017&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable-d&amp;ftm_pit=2691&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGemHunter/info.aspx" type="external">Adam Levine-Weinberg Opens a New Window.</a>owns shares of JetBlue Airways and is long January 2017 $17 calls on JetBlue Airways, long January 2017 $30 calls on American Airlines Group, and long January 2017 $40 calls on Delta Air Lines. 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> | Should JetBlue Airways Fear Delta's Growth in Boston? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/04/should-jetblue-airways-fear-delta-growth-in-boston.html | 2016-10-04 | 0 |
<p>Most people take the standard deduction, largely because they don't have enough in itemized deductions in any given year to make it worth itemizing. But by doubling up on your deductions in a single tax year, you might be able to squeeze more in deductions than you otherwise would.</p>
<p>In this clip from <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Industry Focus: Financials Opens a New Window.</a>, Motley Fool analyst Gaby Lapera talks with Dan Caplinger, the Fool's director of investment planning, about how paying two years' worth of deductible expenses can let you itemize in one year while still taking the standard deduction in the other, leading to greater tax savings. By doing things like paying property tax bills early, giving two years of charitable gifts in a single year, or making large estimated tax payments for state income tax bills, you can effectively shift deductible expenses from one year to the next and save more in the long run.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early-in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000138&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable&amp;ftm_pit=6450&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>This podcast was recorded on Nov. 28, 2016.</p>
<p>Gaby Lapera: There are all sorts of other itemized deductions that you can double-up on -- so, you can pay two years' worth of the expenses at year-end to max out the deduction for this year. Do you have any comments on what sort of deductions those would be?</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Caplinger: One thing you can do is double up on your charitable deductions, since we were just talking about charitable deduction. If you have the cash to do it, and if you're in the habit of making a particularly sized gift every year, you can, instead of making one gift now and waiting until January, or even worse, this time next year to do it, if you go ahead and give your two years worth of gifts now, you can basically double up the deduction. Now, it's true that next year you won't get a deduction for that, because you double it up. But here's the thing: A lot of people are really close to that line between whether they should itemize their deductions or just go ahead and take the standard deduction. A lot of the time, doubling up can really make the difference between it being smart to do the itemized deductions, or to take the standard deductions. Over the course of time, some people find -- and check the math to see if it's right for your situation -- that if you double up on those deductions, it lets you get more in total deductions over the long run than you would get if you just said, "I have one year's worth of deductions, we'll just claim them year-in and year-out one by one."</p>
<p>Lapera: I have a question. If you double up on your charitable donations for 2016, does that mean you can't take the same deduction in 2017? Or does it just mean that you would have less, that potentially you would just be giving less in 2017?</p>
<p>Caplinger: It has to do with what you do with the money. Just to throw an example out there, say you give some organization $100 every year. You can keep doing that, and then you'll be able to deduct $100 every year. If you double up and say, "I'm going to give my $100 for 2016 and my $100 for 2017, I'm just going to go ahead and get that out of the way now, I'm going to write a check for $200," then you get to deduct the $200 this year, you don't get to deduct anything for next year because you don't pay it next year, you're paying it this year. If you go ahead and make another -- if you decide to be incredibly generous and say, "I know I said I already made my gift, but I'm going to go ahead and give another gift later in 2017," then that's fine, you've actually given more money, so you can take that deduction again. But there are a lot of situations where, you can think about it in terms of pre-paying what you wouldn't necessarily have to pay until later. Another example that comes in with a lot of people is property taxes. A lot of places will charge you half of your annual property tax every six months. You always have the option of paying it all upfront in the earlier year. If you do that, you get to deduct it all up in the earlier year. If you don't, then you just claim half this year and half next year. Again, depending on the situation you have with your standard deduction, with other types of itemized deductions, sometimes it makes more sense to do it one way, sometimes it makes more sense to do with the other way, and sometimes it doesn't make any difference. But it's something to think about, especially this year, because a lot of people are thinking in terms of, "I want to maximize deductions for 2016 in the hopes that a new administration might be bringing us lower tax rates next year, so those tax deductions might be worth more in 2016 than they will in 2017 and in the future."</p>
<p>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> | Doubling Up on Deductions for 2016 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/10/doubling-up-on-deductions-for-2016.html | 2016-12-10 | 0 |
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening's drawing of the Dist. of Columbia Lottery's "DC 5 Evening" game were:</p>
<p>2-1-9-8-8</p>
<p>(two, one, nine, eight, eight)</p>
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday evening's drawing of the Dist. of Columbia Lottery's "DC 5 Evening" game were:</p>
<p>2-1-9-8-8</p>
<p>(two, one, nine, eight, eight)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'DC 5 Evening' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/99bc6daf6de74d369722a31b23d414b1 | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p>Photo by Jens Schott Knudsen | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p>Donald Trump decided, despite promises made here and there, that he would renounce former President Barack Obama’s policy towards children who had come to the United States without papers. These children, now close to a million, had entered the country with their parents. Obama’s executive action, named Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), allowed these young people to apply for a work permit and claim some important benefits of United States residency. To take advantage of DACA, these young people had to come out of the shadows and register voluntarily with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. government, in other words, was able to get information on almost a million people who did not have papers. This act of good faith, to register with the government, will now make it easier for the government to find, arrest and deport them.</p>
<p>These young people, the Dreamers, will be arrested merely for having registered with the government and will be sent to countries where they have never lived and whose languages—in many cases—they do not speak. Since their parents did not register, and still mostly live in the shadows, these Dreamers will be separated from their families and sent off on their own. Little wonder then that there is widespread anger at this action by Trump, not least because he had promised often not to take this action.</p>
<p>Data on the Dreamers are quite astonishing. Over 90 per cent of them have jobs and pay taxes (almost $2 billion, according to one study earlier this year). The Dreamers that one encounters are often supremely grateful for Obama’s policy since it allowed them to take advantage of state-subsidised college tuition even though later in life they have not been afforded social protections (such as food stamps and government medical insurance schemes). These young people, then, pay into the U.S. exchequer without being able to take advantage of whatever social security net remains for the U.S. population.</p>
<p>Trump and his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, make the claim that DACA is illegal. It circumvents U.S. immigration law and gives immigrants without documentation the hope that they, too, can take advantage, at some later date, of such a scheme. To prevent producing an impression that the U.S. government encourages undocumented immigration, the Trump administration wishes to crack down on DACA. It will take at least six months for the government to unravel the DACA programme, but even then there are going to be important, and rarely discussed, practical problems before the administration. One study finds that it will take a minimum of $12,500 to arrest and deport each of the Dreamers.</p>
<p>Since there are effectively a million Dreamers, the total bill for the repeal of DACA will be $12.5 billion, more than twice the total annual budget of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. How Trump’s administration proposes to raise this kind of money to conduct these deportations has not been made clear. A conservative Cato Institute study found that the total cost to the U.S. economy for the DACA repeal would be $200 billion. It found that the average Dreamer is 22 years old, either employed or studying. Since leaving school might result in deportation, a very large number (17 per cent) of the Dreamers finish college and pursue advanced degrees. “It is important to note that these estimates are conservative,” wrote the authors of the report.</p>
<p>Negative impact</p>
<p>In fact, the negative impact on the U.S. economy might be much greater than the $200 billion that they estimate. California will be the hardest hit. The departure of the Dreamers will cause a loss of nearly $85 billion to the State.</p>
<p>Obama’s executive action was meant as a stop-gap measure. Obama had, at the time, asked the U.S. Congress to pass the DREAM Act, which was first introduced in Congress in 2001 and then each year afterwards. It proposes to deal with the significant problem of undocumented people who live in the U.S. The total number of undocumented or unauthorised immigrants in the country is just over 11 million. There has been a slow decline in the entry of undocumented migrants since the U.S. economy slowed down in the wake of the 2007-08 credit crisis.</p>
<p>Whereas previously the largest number of undocumented migrants came from Mexico, the numbers from Central America and Asia have now begun to outnumber them. A Pew Research Center study from 2016 found that Indians constitute the largest growing category of undocumented migrants to the U.S. at this time, though in numbers they are behind immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala). There are now half a million undocumented Indians in the U.S., an increase of 43 per cent since 2009.</p>
<p>Across the U.S., desperate protests are taking place against Trump’s actions. In New York City, hundreds of people gathered outside Trump Tower to make the case for the migrants, while small towns saw smaller vigils. The protesters are worried not only for the Dreamers but also for the future of their country. Bilingual signs, mostly in Spanish and English, proclaiming that the Dreamers must stay are raised as Dreamers bravely come to the microphones and tell their stories of desperate anxiety. Activist groups such as United We Dream and groups of lawyers and social workers have reached out to Dreamers, informing them of legal options and drawing up petitions to make sure the resistance against Trump’s repeal grows. The options are limited. Trump has the right to repeal DACA. Only popular pressure can stop him.</p>
<p>Despite the noises from the Democratic Party promising to resist Trump’s inhumane agenda, major Democratic legislative leaders cut a deal with him just a few days after he announced his DACA repeal. Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi met Trump and cut a deal on the legislative agenda. Trump, Schumer and Nancy Pelosi all made unclear noises about passage of the DREAM Act in the future. Kamal Essaheb (National Immigration Law Center), Greisa Martinez (United We Dream) and Angel Padilla (Indivisible Project) urged these Democrats not to tell the Dreamers to “wait”. Time is of the essence. Firm commitment to genuine immigration policy is imperative, they suggest.</p>
<p>Five former U.S. Secretaries of Education, those who ran the Department of Education in the administrations of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, wrote an open letter to Congress urging passage of a comprehensive immigration law that would provide shelter not only to the Dreamers but also to their parents and others who had no documentation.</p>
<p>Protests on the streets have not adopted a narrow perspective, to ask for an extension of DACA or for the protection only of the Dreamers. The slogans are a variant of “Protection for All”, which means that there is momentum from the streets for reforms in U.S. immigration law to protect everyone without documentation. The phrase for this is “comprehensive immigration reform”, a term that has come to be emptied of any meaning. Over the past 30 years, politicians have promised to crack down on immigration and to ensure that those who are within the U.S. as undocumented immigrants will get some kind of protection. The legislative leaders seem to have worked out some kind of deal with Trump to protect some undocumented immigrants if he gets some motion on his campaign promise for a strengthened border. This is all merely illusionary. The 11 million undocumented migrants will see no comfort in these deals.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the President’s former adviser, Steve Bannon, reflects the opinions of Trump’s base. “There’s no path to citizenship, no path to a green card, no amnesty. Amnesty is non-negotiable,” he told Charlie Rose. This is the firm attitude of Trump’s base. They want arrests and deportations, they want a wall, they want to see more and more punishments meted out to migrants. Their vehemence will drive Trump’s obstinacy. This is what makes the fate of the Dreamers so perilous.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="http://www.frontline.in/" type="external">Frontline</a> (India).</p> | Going After the Dreamers | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/10/02/going-after-the-dreamers/ | 2017-10-02 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Bernalillo County Treasurer Manny Ortiz (File)</p>
<p>Bernalillo County Treasurer Manny Ortiz faced blunt new questions late Tuesday about how he intends to free up enough cash to ensure the county can pay routine bills.</p>
<p>Ortiz, as he’s done before, told county commissioners that a flood of tax revenue will roll in by the end of the year and he will keep it available for daily operations. He said he is also watching the market and might sell bonds to free up more cash if conditions are right.</p>
<p>The County Commission didn’t seem to find his answers satisfying.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We’re almost living paycheck to paycheck,” Commissioner Wayne Johnson said. “We’re waiting for that money to arrive. … That’s a real problem.”</p>
<p>Ortiz didn’t take questions from reporters after the meeting. He rushed into his office across the hall and the door locked behind him.</p>
<p>But he assured commissioners during the meeting that money is on the way as residents pay their tax bills this month and next.</p>
<p>“We’re going to be able to meet our expenses handily, I believe,” Ortiz said.</p>
<p>The treasurer and commission have been at odds for months over the investment strategy employed by Ortiz and his part-time investment officer, Patrick Padilla, the former county treasurer.</p>
<p>Ortiz and Padilla say their investments are generating millions of dollars of income for the county, far more than other governments are making.</p>
<p>But the commission, its top finance executives and state officials have all raised questions about the investment portfolio. They say the value of the portfolio is at risk because of rising interest rates and that too much of the money is tied up in longterm bonds, rather than being easily accessible to pay bills.</p>
<p>Ortiz said his investment decisions comply with the county’s investment policy.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We followed all of the procedures that were set,” he said. “I have followed it to a ‘t.'”</p>
<p>Ortiz said he’s been speaking with investment brokers about where the market is headed and can respond accordingly.</p>
<p>The commission, however, wants Ortiz to take the advice of an independent financial adviser the county intends to hire.</p>
<p>“The brokers aren’t investment advisers,” Commissioner Debbie O’Malley said in an interview. “They’re selling a product.”</p>
<p>Ortiz said he would “be willing to entertain that adviser” if he has a role in selecting the person. He suggested the county wait, however, until a new investment policy is hammered out.</p>
<p>County Manager Tom Zdunek wants Ortiz to have expert advice if he’s reshaping the portfolio. The adviser “could be recommending timing on what should be sold when,” Zdunek said.</p>
<p>In other developments:</p>
<p>• Deputy County Manager Teresa Byrd said the county’s investment portfolio has lost at least $17 million in value since last summer, up from an earlier estimate of $16 million.</p>
<p>• The commission appointed Doug Brown, dean of the University of New Mexico’s business school, to a subcommittee crafting a new investment policy for the county.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Treasurer faces new cash flow questions | false | https://abqjournal.com/300102/treasurer-faces-new-cash-flow-questions.html | 2013-11-13 | 2 |
<p>Everyone in Boston of a certain age knows the story of Rosie Ruiz, the marathoner who crossed the Boston finish line in 1980 at 2:31.56, flabby thighs and all, having barely broken a sweat.&#160; Despite mounting skepticism, she basked in the glory of having run the third-fastest female marathon in history – for a few days, that is, until a couple of students remembered seeing her jump out of the crowd half a mile from the finish.</p>
<p>Something of the sort has been going on recently with the shade of Friedrich von Hayek.&#160; The Austrian economist, who died in 1992 just short of what would have been his ninety-third birthday, never made false claims for himself – far from it: he knew all too well the loneliness of the long distance runner. And scrupulous work by editor W.W. Bartley, interpreter Bruce Caldwell, and biographer Alan Ebenstein, have made it possible to see the man clear.</p>
<p>But the claims conservatives are making about the role he played as an economist are beginning to smack of Ruizismus.&#160; That is, they have jumped a caricature out of the bushes late in the day and claim that their guy ran a great race.</p>
<p>By now the story of the short-lived contest between Hayek and John Maynard Keynes in the early 1930s is fairly well known, thanks to highly readable books like <a href="" type="internal">Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius</a>, by Sylvia Nasar, and <a href="" type="internal">Keynes Hayek: The Clash that Defined Modern Economics</a>, by Nicholas Wapshott. There is always that <a href="" type="internal">very funny rap video</a>, too, if you prefer to watch.</p>
<p>It is certainly true that Lionel Robbins had invited Hayek to London in 1930, specifically to battle Keynes. As Nasar writes, British economics at the beginning of the ’30s was in the process of dividing into two broad camps.&#160; There was Cambridge University, the seat of high theory since Newton, home to Malthus and Darwin,&#160; citadel of English economics since Alfred Marshall arrived in 1885, and, withal, of decidedly interventionist temperament.&#160; The Cambridge camp was led by “the Prof” (there could be only one), Cecil Arthur Pigou, though he was about to be upstaged in unexpected ways by Keynes.</p>
<p>And there was the London School of Economics, where the 30-year-old Robbins had set out to assemble a cosmopolitan group of market-oriented liberals, which included John Hicks, from South Africa; Abba Lerner, from Bessarabia; and Hayek, from Austria. “Robbins’ ambition was to turn the LSE, founded and patronized by Fabian [socialists], into the liberal counterweight to Cambridge collectivism,” writes Nasar.</p>
<p>Hayek arrived in London in January 1931, just as the world slump was deepening. He gave four lectures, arguing, as he had before, that an increase in the money supply would further distort the structure of production and prolong the slump. He was hired by the LSE and got into a fierce exchange with Keynes.</p>
<p>Keynes’ Treatise on Money had just appeared – an attempt to get back to academic economics after a decade of speculation and influential journalism. Hayek panned the book for the “almost unbelievable” degree of obscurity of its equations.&#160; Keynes replied by calling Hayek’s 1927 tome, Prices and Production, “One of the most frightful muddles I have ever read.”&#160; Pigou attempted to referee:&#160; “Body-line bowling [cricket’s equivalent of baseball’s beanball]! The method of the duello! That kind of thing was surely a mistake.”</p>
<p>It turned out that Treatise on Money wasn’t a very important book after all. Keynes hurried on to his General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, with its bold claims that a collapse of effective demand had caused the Depression, that a program of government stimulus could end it. And when The General Theory appeared in 1936, Hayek didn’t review it. He may not have been asked.</p>
<p>Keynes’ book was anything but “collectivist” in, say, the manner of Pigou, who in The Economics of Welfare, had argued for extensive government planning. Instead, the new book argued only for governmental management of the business cycle, through the use of monetary and fiscal policy (macroeconomics, as it quickly became known); the conduct of microeconomics was left to the capitalists.</p>
<p>Thus, in the autumn of 1936, Hayek slowly began to switch to a new and much more philosophical project: an investigation of various spontaneous orders that arise without central direction, and the significance of knowledge in economics.</p>
<p>Thereafter he labored under five distinct handicaps.</p>
<p>The Pure Theory of Capital, his response to Keynes’ success, turned out to be an abject failure.&#160; Hayek had begun the book in 1934, hoping to expand decisively on the earlier arguments of Prices and Production.&#160; He didn’t finish it until 1940; and when it appeared, in 1941, it seemed completely beside the point – “a pebble thrown in the pool of economic science that&#160; seemingly left nary a ripple” was the way Paul Samuelson later described it.</p>
<p>The Road to Serfdom, which appeared in 1944, was an embarrassment. Instead of adopting anti-utopian fiction, as George Orwell did four years later, in Nineteen Eight-Four, Hayek actually argued in the middle of World War II that “it is Germany whose fate we are in some danger of repeating.”&#160; Lumping together the more ambitious vision of post-war Labor governments with altogether more modest efforts at reform that soon would be dubbed “the mixed economy,” Hayek wrote, “[D]emocratic socialism, the great utopia of the last few generations, is not only unachievable but to strive for it produces something so utterly different that few of those who now wish it would be prepared to accept the consequences.” Reader’s Digest excerpted it in the United States, and many of those who voted for Thomas Dewey in 1948 may have read it there.&#160; But it did Hayek’s reputation as a scholar a great deal of harm.</p>
<p>His divorce in 1950 from his wife of twenty years was a scandal; Robbins, godfather to his son, didn’t speak to Hayek for fifteen years. An early courtship had been jinxed by a year that Hayek spent in 1923-24 studying in New York. Through “some misunderstanding of intentions,” the object of his affections married someone else. He then he married, as he put it, “on the rebound.” Returning to Vienna in 1946, he discovered his earlier sweetheart was now free to marry, whereupon he left his wife (who, under English law, wouldn’t grant him a divorce), their seventeen-year-old daughter and twelve-year-old son, in especially churlish fashion. Wapshott tells the story:</p>
<p>Hayek celebrated Christmas Day with Hella and the children in their snug family home in Hampstead.&#160; Two days later he left them for good, travelling to New York to attend the American Economic Association convention.&#160; Hayek’s finances were more on his mind than economics. To avoid the expense of a contested divorce, he slipped a note under the hotel room door of Harold Dulan, chairman of the economics and business department of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, asking for a teaching post.&#160; Hayek’s plan was to establish residency in Arkansas, a state whose permissive marriage laws would allow him to wrest a cheap divorce from Hella. Dulan duly obliged, as did the chancery division of the Arkansas high court.&#160; Hayek’s divorce became absolute in July 1950. “Finally I enforced it,” Hayek recalled. “I’m sure that was wrong and yet I have done it,” he said.&#160; “It was just an inner need to do it.”</p>
<p>Hayek needed a way out of England, too. He had acquired an American backer, the libertarian Volcker Fund, of Kansas City, Mo., a foundation willing to pay him $10,000 a year, two or three times an ordinary academic salary. The Institute for Advanced Study wouldn’t hire him, but the University of Chicago, under president Robert Hutchins, would – just not in the economics department, where young professor Milton Friedman objected to Hayek’s economics. So Hutchins persuaded the university’s Committee on Social Thought to appoint him, a second-rate appointment, professionally speaking. Starting in 1950, this permitted Hayek mostly to write and travel; he didn’t participate in the workshop that was remaking monetary economics. These were “wilderness years,” as Wapshott describes them.&#160; In 1969 Hayek moved back to Austria for financial reasons, and began suffering from acute depression, probably arising from the first of two heart attacks whose scars were not detected until much later.</p>
<p>Even when he was awarded the Nobel Prize, in 1974, the occasion was bittersweet. He shared the award with another old rival, Swedish economist Gunnar Myrdal.&#160; Both men had been highly influential in the economics of the early ’30s (Myrdal, writing in Swedish and German, had pretty thoroughly anticipated Keynes); both had stopped working in the field after Keynes’ triumph in 1936.&#160; Myrdal had become a planner, writing two influential books:&#160; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_American_Dilemma" type="external">An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and American Democracy</a> and <a href="" type="internal">Asian Drama: The Pursuits of Modernization in India and Indonesia</a>.&#160; Hayek had written <a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/The_sensory_order.html?id=UFazm1Xy_j4C" type="external">The Sensory Order</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Constitution_of_Liberty" type="external">The Constitution of Liberty</a>, and&#160; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law,_Legislation_and_Liberty" type="external">Law, Legislation, and Liberty</a>. The two thoroughly disliked each other. And both were overshadowed by the presence at the ceremonies that year of Alexander Solzhenitsyn.&#160; The novelist, who had been awarded the prize for literature in 1970, had finally been expelled from the Soviet Union.</p>
<p>The great irony is that it was Milton Friedman, honored with a Nobel two years later, who had demonstrated the series of mistakes in monetary policy, tightening when they should have eased, by which the US Federal Reserve Board turned what likely would have been an ordinary recession into the Great Depression.&#160; Hayek had been clearly wrong, at least about the monetary policy that was appropriate at the time.&#160; (It was the policy that had been advocated by Friedman – supplying liquidity in a financial crisis –that in 2008 enabled the Fed to carry the day.) And as for the period-of-production arguments of Austrian capital theory, they remain unsupported by later empirical work.</p>
<p>The recognition of the Nobel added years to Hayek’s life, at least in the view of those who knew him. (He adamantly denied that the award had anything to do with his longevity.) But it was Margaret Thatcher who plucked him from scientific obscurity and put him at the head of her parade. She had read Road to SerfdomITAL while studying chemistry at Oxford, Wapshott says.&#160; He describes the scene when, soon after assuming leadership of the Conservative Party, in 1974, “meeting with the party’s left-leaning research department, she reached into her bag and slammed a copy of Hayek’s Constitution of Liberty on the table. ‘This is what we believe!’” Photo ops with with Ronald Reagan, and Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991.</p>
<p>Since then, there has been a modest flowering of academic interest in his work, particularly at George Mason University – and an explosion of political interest.&#160; “The core Hayekian belief that the size of government should be kept to a minimum manifested itself in the early ’90s in the ambitions of Newt Gingrich, a university professor turned Congressman from Georgia,” writes Wapshott. Flat income taxes, as opposed to progressive rates, a long-time Hayek favorite, have begun to appear on some political agendas. And The Road to Serfdom once again topped the best-seller lists for a time last year, when Glenn Beck touted it on his Fox news show.</p>
<p>But the fact remains that Hayek just didn’t contribute very much to the development of technical economics. With the publication of <a href="http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw1.html" type="external">“The Use of Knowledge in Society”</a> in the American Economic Review in 1945, he essentially won on the “calculation debate,” conducted with Ludwig von Mises and Oscar Lange, concerning the possibility of central planning. But it was Leo Hurwicz who carried the lessons to the next stage, where they began to have practical effect.</p>
<p>Paul Samuelson later said, “I can bear witness that, for twentieth century professional economists, Milton Friedman was infinitely more important for turning economists toward conservatism than was Hayek.”&#160;His implication was that the Swedes had made the right choices in the mid-1970s. On another occasion he slyly suggested that the award might have been better still if the prize-givers had cited Cambridge economist Joan Robinson, a partisan of Chinese and North Korean communism, as well.</p>
<p>That combination, Hayek, Myrdal and Robinson, might have cast the contributions of each into sharper relief:&#160; three pioneers who, after important early contributions, gave up economics for political activism.</p>
<p>Was Hayek more important for the lay public?&#160; Perhaps, in the few years after Thatcher rehabilitated him.&#160; Whether his thinking played much of a role in “the German miracle,”&#160; the restoration of Germany’s devastated economy after World War II, as Nasar implies in her chapter “The Road from Serfdom: Hayek and the German Miracle,” I have my doubts.&#160; Certainly the thinking that underlay the Marshall Plan had more to do with The Economic Consequences of the Peace, Keynes’ 1919 polemic against the reparations imposed on Germany after World War I, than with Hayek’s&#160; jeremiad of 1944. Both as a contributor to economic theory, and a designer of economic policy, Hayek seems to have more in common with Rosie Ruiz than with the vigorous figure depicted in George Mason economics professor <a href="" type="internal">George Mason Economics professor Russ Roberts and filmmaker John Papola’s&#160;</a>two widely-viewed videos, “ <a href="" type="internal">Fear the Boom and Bust</a>”&#160; and “ <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc" type="external">The Fight of the Century</a>” – or at least so it seems to me.</p>
<p>That said, Hayek himself may yet turn out to have been a great economist after all, far more significant than Myrdal or Robinson, when seen against the background of a broader canvas.&#160; The proposition that markets are fundamentally evolutionary mechanisms runs through Hayek’s work. Caldwell, of Duke University, notes that, starting with the Constitution of Liberty, “the twin ideas of evolution and spontaneous order” become prominent, especially the idea of cultural evolution, with its emphasis on rules, norms, and decentralization. These are today lively concepts in laboratories and universities around the world. Hayek may yet enter history as a prophet of evolutionary economics, a discipline dreamt of since the days of Thorstein Veblen and Alfred Marshall in the late nineteenth century but not yet forged, whose great days lie ahead.</p>
<p>DAVID WARSH covered economics for The Boston Globe for&#160; 22 years and, earlier, reported on business for The Wall Street Journal and Forbes. He publishes <a href="http://www.economicprincipals.com/" type="external">Economic Principals.com</a>, an&#160; independent weekly commentary on the production and distribution of economic ideas, where this article first appeared. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p> | Von Hayek Revisited – Warts and All | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/12/06/von-hayek-revisited-warts-and-all/ | 2011-12-06 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Retirees should generally buy solid, predictable dividend stocks that they won't lose much sleep over. Many stocks initially look like good retirement plays, but quickly fall apart upon closer inspection. Let's examine three such stocks retirees should avoid -- Barnes &amp; Noble (NYSE: BKS), Vector Group (NYSE: VGR), and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS).</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Barnes &amp; Noble might initially look like a solid pick for retirees. The bookseller survived the industry decline, which crushed its rival Borders, and pays a hefty forward dividend yield of 5.6%. It also streamlined its business over the past three years by shuttering stores and spinning off its weaker Nook andeducation units. To offset waning book sales, it diversified it business with toys, collectibles, gifts, andeven a concept restaurant store.</p>
<p>Yet Barnes &amp; Noble's revenue still declined annually for 10 straight quarters. In addition, the company posted net losses during the last two, and its earnings-based payout ratio stands at a whopping 300%. However, the company spent only 49% of its free cash flow on dividends over the past 12 months, indicating that it probably won't slash its payout any time soon.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Analysts expect the bookseller's revenue tofall 6% this year, but earnings are expected to improve 51% on better cost controls and aggressive buybacks. That bottom-line growth is encouraging, but it doesn't justify the stock's lofty trailing P/E of 62 -- which is much higher than industry average P/E of 44. With interest rates set to rise this year, income stocks like Barnes &amp; Noble -- which have high valuations and wobbly business models -- could be among the first to crumble.</p>
<p>Vector Group initially looks like an ideal retirement stock. The hybrid tobacco and real estate company pays a forward cash dividend of 7.1%, and has paid a 5% annual stock dividend (additional shares based on an investor's total position) since 1999.</p>
<p>But here's the catch -- Vector spent 263% of its earnings and 153% of its free cash flow on dividends over the past 12 months. Those ratios <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/17/can-vector-group-ltds-dividend-even-survive.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">look utterly unsustainable Opens a New Window.</a>, but Vector can keep paying those dividends because it partly funds its payments with debt. That strategy works in a low-interest-rate environment, but it won't work as well with higher interest rates. Furthermore, Vector's annual stock dividends have significantly increased the company's outstanding share count, diluting the value of existing shares.</p>
<p>Data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts</a>.</p>
<p>That's why Vector currently trades at 39 times earnings, which is much higher than the cigarette-industry average of 21. The single analyst who covers Vector expects itssales to rise 1% this year, and its earnings to rise 35% on higher demand for its Liggett cigarette brands and the strength of its real estate portfolio. That outlook sounds decent, but Vector's long-term plan for income generation looks unsustainable.</p>
<p>Retirees might like visiting Las Vegas Sands' casinos, but the company generates most of its revenue from Macau, the only city in China with legalized gambling. Sands enjoyed tremendous growth in Macau after the financial crisis, but the sluggish Chinese economy and a government crackdown on corrupt politicians and businessmen with lavish spending habits caused its revenue growth to slow to a trickle.</p>
<p>After eight straight quarters of year-over-year sales declines, Sands finally posted 3% top-line growth last quarter on improvements in Macau and the opening of its Parisian Macao casino. Analysts now expect Sands' revenue and earnings to rise 9% and13% respectively next year, compared with top- and bottom-line declines this year.</p>
<p>That outlook sounds decent, but Sands still trades at 27 times earnings, significantly higher than the industry average of 9 for resorts and casinos. Its forward dividend yield of 5.2% looks tempting, but that payout gobbled up 137% of its earnings and 126% of its free cash flow over the past 12 months -- indicating that a dividend cut could be in the cards. Furthermore, Sands sits in a volatile and cyclical sector that could be abruptly gutted by a recession or regulatory interference -- so it won't offer retirees much peace of mind.</p>
<p>Before buying a dividend stock, retirees should see if its valuations are too high, if its payout ratios are sustainable, and if the company's business model is wobbly. Barnes &amp; Noble, Vector Group, and Las Vegas Sands fail those tests, so retirees shouldn't be fooled by their tempting dividend yields.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Barnes and Noble When 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>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=23c252d7-206d-406e-b8be-f775cec53d15&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Barnes and Noble wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=23c252d7-206d-406e-b8be-f775cec53d15&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>*Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFSunLion/info.aspx" type="external">Leo Sun 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;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Terrible Dividend Stocks for Retirees | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/16/3-terrible-dividend-stocks-for-retirees.html | 2017-01-16 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Drug group AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) said on Thursday it plans to cut its sales and administrative headcount by 2,300 worldwide as part of a strategy to reduce costs and return to growth.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The London-based company believes its plan will result in cost benefits of about $800 million by 2016, with total job cuts of about 5,050.</p>
<p>U.S. share of AstraZeneca were up about 2% to $47.10 a share in early morning trading.</p>
<p>“In setting out our strategy today, we are making an unambiguous commitment to concentrate our efforts and resources on our priority growth platforms and our priority pipeline projects,” chief executive Pascal Soriot said in a statement. “As we focus, accelerate and transform our business we know that our success will ultimately be measured by the quality of execution.”</p>
<p>AstraZeneca said China presents the biggest single opportunity for emerging market growth, which is expected to reach an annual rate in the high single-digits.</p>
<p>The drug maker also projects it will significantly exceed current market consensus of $21.5 billion for 2018 revenues.</p>
<p>Restructuring costs are projected to check in at $2.3 billion.</p>
<p>AstraZeneca also announced that Marc Dunoyer, an executive at GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSX), will join the company to fill the newly created role of Executive Vice President, Global Portfolio &amp; Product Strategy.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | AstraZeneca to Cut 5,050 Jobs by 2016 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/03/21/astrazeneca-to-cut-5050-jobs-by-2016.html | 2016-01-29 | 0 |
<p>BERLIN (AP) - The recent influx of mostly young, male migrants into Germany has led to an increase in violent crime in the country, according to a government-funded study published Wednesday.</p>
<p>The study used figures from the northern state of Lower Saxony to examine the impact of refugee arrivals on crime in 2015 and 2016, a period when the number of violent crimes reported increased by 10.4 percent.</p>
<p>The authors concluded that 92 percent of the additional crimes recorded could be attributed to the increase in refugee numbers.</p>
<p>It noted that the demographic composition of the refugee population is a major factor. Young males - whether Germans or migrants - are generally more likely to commit crimes, but also more likely to become victims of violence.</p>
<p>The findings add to the ongoing debate in Germany about how to tackle migrant crime, which has been fanned by a number of <a href="" type="internal">high-profile incidents</a> . Parties on the right, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Union bloc, want a tough response and more deportations, while those on the left say more needs to be done to integrate refugees into German society.</p>
<p>"It is true that since 2015 there has been a rise in violent crime that the authors attribute to the arrival of refugees," said Verena Herb, a spokeswoman for the Families Ministry that commissioned the study. "But they also make very clear that refugees aren't generally more criminal than for example Germans."</p>
<p>Herb told reporters in Berlin that the biggest problems seemed to come from young men who see little hope for their futures. Afghans and Syrians were less likely to commit crimes than migrants from North Africa, who stand little chance of receiving permission to stay in Germany, the study found.</p>
<p>"In our view, this shows once more that those who come here mustn't be left to their own devices," she said. "Only that way can we ensure that boredom and frustration don't result in criminal behavior."</p>
<p>The study, led by prominent criminologist Christian Pfeiffer and published by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, says most of the refugees came to Germany from Muslim countries that are "characterized by male dominance" and an acceptance of a "macho culture" that can justify violence.</p>
<p>The lack of women among Germany's refugee population is also seen as an aggravating factor.</p>
<p>"This makes it more likely for groups of young men to emerge among the refugees and they can develop a violent dynamic of their own," the authors wrote, concluding that it makes sense to allow refugees to bring over their families.</p>
<p>The report also notes that people are twice as likely to report crimes if they are committed by people who are different from them, causing some distortion in the crime statistics.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Frank Jordans on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter</a></p>
<p>BERLIN (AP) - The recent influx of mostly young, male migrants into Germany has led to an increase in violent crime in the country, according to a government-funded study published Wednesday.</p>
<p>The study used figures from the northern state of Lower Saxony to examine the impact of refugee arrivals on crime in 2015 and 2016, a period when the number of violent crimes reported increased by 10.4 percent.</p>
<p>The authors concluded that 92 percent of the additional crimes recorded could be attributed to the increase in refugee numbers.</p>
<p>It noted that the demographic composition of the refugee population is a major factor. Young males - whether Germans or migrants - are generally more likely to commit crimes, but also more likely to become victims of violence.</p>
<p>The findings add to the ongoing debate in Germany about how to tackle migrant crime, which has been fanned by a number of <a href="" type="internal">high-profile incidents</a> . Parties on the right, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Union bloc, want a tough response and more deportations, while those on the left say more needs to be done to integrate refugees into German society.</p>
<p>"It is true that since 2015 there has been a rise in violent crime that the authors attribute to the arrival of refugees," said Verena Herb, a spokeswoman for the Families Ministry that commissioned the study. "But they also make very clear that refugees aren't generally more criminal than for example Germans."</p>
<p>Herb told reporters in Berlin that the biggest problems seemed to come from young men who see little hope for their futures. Afghans and Syrians were less likely to commit crimes than migrants from North Africa, who stand little chance of receiving permission to stay in Germany, the study found.</p>
<p>"In our view, this shows once more that those who come here mustn't be left to their own devices," she said. "Only that way can we ensure that boredom and frustration don't result in criminal behavior."</p>
<p>The study, led by prominent criminologist Christian Pfeiffer and published by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, says most of the refugees came to Germany from Muslim countries that are "characterized by male dominance" and an acceptance of a "macho culture" that can justify violence.</p>
<p>The lack of women among Germany's refugee population is also seen as an aggravating factor.</p>
<p>"This makes it more likely for groups of young men to emerge among the refugees and they can develop a violent dynamic of their own," the authors wrote, concluding that it makes sense to allow refugees to bring over their families.</p>
<p>The report also notes that people are twice as likely to report crimes if they are committed by people who are different from them, causing some distortion in the crime statistics.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Frank Jordans on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter</a></p> | Study: Young male migrants fuel rise in violence in Germany | false | https://apnews.com/b5f9a0c0848b430c9cf6493d1d310c7b | 2018-01-03 | 2 |
<p>Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has filed a lawsuit accusing Johnson &amp; Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) of strong-arming insurers into excluding its Remicade biosimilar, Inflectra, from their reimbursement lists. If drugmakers start to employ this strategy widely, it could have big implications on the peak market potential for biosimilars industrywide.</p>
<p>In this clip from the Motley Fool's <a href="https://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c902ef18-a534-11e7-a5bb-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Industry Focus: Healthcare Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;podcast, analyst Michael Douglass and contributor Todd Campbell offer some insights into Pfizer's dispute with Johnson &amp; Johnson, and discuss more broadly what the suit may mean to investors.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than&#160;Wal-MartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom&#160;Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they&#160;have run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom&#160;just revealed what they believe are the&#160; <a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c902ef18-a534-11e7-a5bb-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;for investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they&#160;think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.fool.com/mms/mark/e-sa-bbn-eg?aid=8867&amp;source=isaeditxt0000476&amp;ftm_cam=sa-bbn-evergreen&amp;ftm_pit=6627&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c902ef18-a534-11e7-a5bb-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a>&#160;to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>This video was recorded on Sept. 27, 2017.</p>
<p>Michael Douglass: But let's start with some background. Pfizer got into biologics, which are these complex medicines created in living organisms, they got into biosimilars specifically. That's this idea of getting something that's similar to the original biologic, but not precisely the same because these are living organisms -- they can't be precisely the same. They got into this in a really big way with the purchase of Hospira in 2015.</p>
<p>Todd Campbell: Yeah. I think, we have some definitions, we'll try to make sure that, if you're a new listener, we try to keep you up to speed on it. Michael already mentioned the fact that you've got biologics, they're complex medicines that are created in living organisms. They're not easily copied. They're also some of the most expensive, top-selling medicines in the world. Biotech companies invest a lot of money in developing biologics. One of the reasons was, because of their complexity, they couldn't be easily replicated. So, their thinking was, if they can't replicate it exactly, maybe I have more protection on my sales that stretches beyond the expiration of the patents. Well, maybe not. Once Obamacare passed, it included provisions that allowed for an FDA pathway to approval for biologics that were similar to but not exact replicas of these reference drugs -- so, essentially creating a marketplace for biosimilars, drugs that can produce the same outcomes with the same safety, but they're not exact replicas. Pfizer came to the forefront of the research into biosimilars with its $17 billion acquisition of Hospira back in 2015, once it knew it had that pathway available to it to be able to get biosimilars to the markets, compete against these biologics for all that money that was at stake.</p>
<p>Douglass: Right. And a little bit more background on biologics and biosimilars; as Todd mentioned, there really hasn't been a regulatory pathway for biosimilars until very recently in the United States. However, there has been one in Europe for longer. So, essentially what happens is, when small-molecule drugs, when non-biologic drugs go generic, usually generic drug companies will come in, they'll hack 80% to 90% off the price, and they will sell the generics. Then the main company will either have to figure out whether they're going to exit the market or try to compete based on branding or lower prices, all of that. With biologics and biosimilars, because it's so much more difficult to create a biosimilar for that reference drug that's similar, although not precisely the same, usually the markdown is something more like 10% to 30%, is what we've seen in Europe. So, the expectation is that comes to the United States.</p>
<p>Campbell: Let me jump in for a second and provide listeners with two quick numbers. I've read studies that say that to develop a typical, traditional, small-molecule generic drug, it may cost someone $10 million to do the research and get that to the market. On biosimilars, it could be $100 million to $200 million.</p>
<p>Douglass: Right. So, that's why that markdown is a lot less. Although, it's still a markdown. It's still savings for the health system.</p>
<p>Campbell: Absolutely. And the idea was, just like with traditional generics, if we can undercut on pricing, once those patents expire on the brand-name biologic, then free market takes over, and demand will flow to the provider of the good with the lowest price.</p>
<p>Douglass: Right, basic economics.</p>
<p>Campbell: However, maybe that's not happening.</p>
<p>Douglass: Yeah, and that's what's interesting, and that's what's at the core of Pfizer's lawsuit against Johnson &amp; Johnson, which they filed on Sept. 20, so a week before we filmed today. Essentially, there have been seven biosimilars approved in the United States. The second one approved was Pfizer's Inflectra, which is a biosimilar to J&amp;J's Remicade. Now, Remicade is an autoimmune disease drug: It's for rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, plaque psoriasis, a lot of those autoimmune diseases. In 2016, it had $4.8 billion in U.S. sales. That's a lot.</p>
<p>Campbell: Yeah. And it's not just a lot in absolute terms. It's a lot in terms of Johnson &amp; Johnson's total sales, too.</p>
<p>Douglass: Right, 19% of pharma revenue, 9% of revenue company-wide. So, it's a big drug for J&amp;J.</p>
<p>Campbell: Unquestionably, the stakes were high, right?</p>
<p>Douglass: Right. So, what's happened is, Inflectra launched last November after the patents expired, and J&amp;J's legal strategy to delay things ran out of options. Yet even though it's priced about 10% below Remicade, it hasn't made that much headway. It's only accounting for 4% of Remicade scripts.</p>
<p>Campbell: Yeah, and sales last quarter were only about $23 million in the United States. To put that into perspective, Remicade sales last quarter in the U.S. were over $1 billion.</p>
<p>Douglass: Right.</p>
<p>Campbell: So, is the free market at work? And if it isn't, why?</p>
<p>Douglass: Right. So, the interesting thing is, Pfizer is going after J&amp;J's biosimilar readiness plan strategy, which basically involves cutting deals with insurers and Remicade prescribers to exclude Inflectra and other Remicade biosimilars from their formularies and reimbursement.</p>
<p>Campbell: I tell you, Michael, on last week's show, Kristine and I talked about patents, and the way that drug makers can use patents to insulate themselves against the threat of generic upstarts. At the time, it didn't even dawn on me to think about the fact that these companies could do something ... nefarious? I don't know, but, redo their contracts in such a way that it would force an insurer's hands to say, "We're not going to even cover this drug because we don't want to jeopardize our relationship with J&amp;J."</p>
<p>Douglass: Right. So, what's interesting about J&amp;J's strategy is, what they basically said is, J&amp;J offers insurers rebates on Remicade. A lot of folks don't pay full retail price on drugs. And they've tied that to, "Only if you exclude Inflectra." Now, with most patients, about 70% of Remicade users being satisfied with the drug, doctors probably don't want to switch them off anyway unless the insurer forces them to. So what they've essentially done is say, "Yeah, sure, you can have Inflectra on your formulary, but if you do, Remicade is going to cost you, the insurer, a ton more money. It's going to more than balance off the cost savings of having Inflectra on your formulary, and doctors won't want to switch it anyway, so you're just going to tick everybody off and probably lose money in the process."</p>
<p>Campbell: And it's obviously been very successful. Over two-thirds of the covered lives that are covered by insurance plans, commercial insurance plans, so private citizens, have embraced these contracts with J&amp;J. And it wasn't even that they said, "We're going to tie the rebates only on Remicade to your excluding it." They tied it to other drugs in their pipeline, too. J&amp;J is a Goliath. You're talking about tens of billions of dollars in pharmaceutical sales over any given six-month period of time. And those rebates can total in the tens of millions of dollars to some of these insurers. So, you look at it and say, "Yeah, Inflectra is 10% cheaper. But how long would it take me to get to scale in the Inflectra patient population to offset this lost revenue from the rebates?"</p>
<p>Douglass: Right. It's interesting, because we're talking about the U.S. specifically. When you go abroad, Merck&#160;sells Remicade for J&amp;J. And Remicade sales are down 40% year over year because of the increase in all these biosimilars. So, this isn't an issue internationally, it's specifically in the United States where this pricing and exclusionary formulary tactic is being used, and to great effect for J&amp;J.</p>
<p>Campbell: What's interesting, too, about that -- you just made me think of something here. I think investors have to recognize that there are very, very different markets for biosimilars between the rest of the developed world and the United States. And I think one of the things that you have to recognize is that in other countries, biosimilars can be substituted much more easily for the brand-name drug than they can be in the United States. In the United States, because they consider the differences of biosimilars to be more significant than these other nations, the doctor has to specifically write the script for that. It's not like you're going to go to the pharmacy with a Lipitor script and they're going to automatically fill it with the cheap $4 generic. This is something that the doctors have to prescribe. And what makes it even more complex is, these drugs in the U.S. are infusion-based drugs, which means that they are dosed to patients in the provider's facility. That means the providers have to pre-buy these drugs, and then file a claim with the insurer afterwards for reimbursement. Now, I don't know about you, Michael, but if I'm running a company, and I have to put out a ton of money for these very expensive drugs, and I'm not sure I can get a reimbursement on Inflectra, but I absolutely know I can get reimbursed on Remicade, which drug am I going to stock in my facility?</p>
<p>Douglass: Particularly, if I also have patients who are generally saying that they're very pleased with the Remicade drug, and, frankly, there's a lot of confusion about biosimilars still. It's still a very new development here in the United States. It's pretty darn clear what you're going to do there.</p>
<p>Campbell: Pfizer went back to these insurers -- listeners, if you get a chance, go out and get a hand on the complaint so you can read it, and then go out and search for Johnson &amp; Johnson's response to it. Two very different stories being told there, I'll let you come to the conclusion on which one you believe to be correct.</p>
<p>Douglass: Even one better: Email us at [email protected], we'll send them to you. Again, that's [email protected]. We've got them, if you don't want to spend time Googling around, I get that. Just to drop us a note and we'll send them along.</p>
<p>Campbell: Awesome. They're extremely interesting reads. And this has major implications on biotech and healthcare spending overall, and on total drug spending, and the path and trajectory of prices over time. Because the other thing that Pfizer says in their complaint is that not only have they denied us access to compete fairly in the market through these tactics, but at the same time, they're raising their price on Remicade. So, the price of Remicade has climbed, despite a lower-cost provider entering the market.</p>
<p>Douglass: Right.</p>
<p>Campbell: So, there's definitely a lot at stake for biosimilars. I think investors shouldn't assume this tactic is going to successfully keep all biosimilars from gaining traction. I think, you go back and look at what happened with small-molecule generics, it took a while for them to reach the tipping point of widespread use. I think, about 10 or 12 years ago, they represented about 50% of prescription volume. Today, they represent closer to 90% of prescription volume. There's going to be some bumps along the way here as these market players figure out how to navigate the rules here in the United States. I still think this is a very big market opportunity. I think investors need to be paying particular attention to it, because there's a lot of money that can be made for investors by owning biosimilar companies like Pfizer. But you're going to want to watch this and see what happens with the court system -- if they weigh in, how they weigh in.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFEnterprise/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c902ef18-a534-11e7-a5bb-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Michael Douglass Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Johnson &amp; Johnson. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFEBCapital/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c902ef18-a534-11e7-a5bb-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Todd Campbell Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Pfizer. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Johnson &amp; Johnson. 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=c902ef18-a534-11e7-a5bb-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Is This How Drugmakers Will Kill Biosimilars? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/03/is-this-how-drugmakers-will-kill-biosimilars.html | 2017-10-03 | 0 |
<p>Kohl's Corp. said it had net income of $296 million, or $1.58 per share, for the the fourth quarter, down from $369 million, or $1.83 for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was $1.55. Revenue for the quarter totaled $6.4 billion, up from $6.3 billion in 2014, and meeting the FactSet consensus. Comparable-store sales were up 0.4%, also meeting the FactSet estimate. The company said in the Thursday release that it plans to open seven smaller format pilot stores across the country, as well as two added Off-Aisle pilot stores in Wisconsin. And the retailer is entering the outlet space with 12 Fila brand stores. The company will close 18 underperforming stores, representing less than 1% of total sales and incur between $150 million and $170 million in charges. Between $55 million and $65 million of that charge will be reported in the first quarter. Kohl's expects fiscal 2016 earnings between $4.05 and $4.25, above the $3.99 FactSet estimate. Comparable sales are expected to be flat to 1%. The company plans $600 million in share repurchases at an average price of $50 per share. Kohl's stock is inactive in premarket trading, but is down 35.9% for the past year. The S&amp;P 500 is down 8.7% for the past 12 months.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Kohl's Earnings Beat Expectations, Announces Share Buyback Program | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/02/25/kohl-earnings-beat-expectations-announces-share-buyback-program.html | 2016-02-25 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Pearce has said previously that the U.S. is headed toward “total economic collapse,” and he reiterated that theme with lawmakers, saying political leaders of both parties “are fiddling with people’s lives in a very dramatic fashion.”</p>
<p>Averting the fiscal cliff wasn’t a solution, because it didn’t deal with the deficit and the debt, Pearce told lawmakers.</p>
<p>Spending more than is brought in “does not work for your family, doesn’t work for the business that you’re in, and it is not working for the U.S. government.”</p>
<p>Worse yet, he said, “We are printing the money to make up the difference, which is far more catastrophic than to just borrow the money.”</p>
<p>Pearce voted against the year-end deal that averted the fiscal cliff.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>With a per capita income among the lowest in the nation, New Mexico is affected disproportionately by the nation’s fiscal policies, the congressman said.</p>
<p>“Much of what I’m doing in Washington is to say New Mexico is hurt worse than the other states by the policies that we’re implementing,” Pearce told House and Senate members in a joint session.</p>
<p>The congressman also complained about “the destruction of the value system in this country.” He cited a trucking company owner in southeastern New Mexico who told him he couldn’t get people to take high-paying driving jobs “because the people would rather stay on the government assistance.”</p>
<p>Pearce, who is among the most conservative members of the U.S. House, won election to a fifth term from southern New Mexico’s 2nd District in November. — This article appeared on page A6 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Pearce Rails Against Debt, Deficit | false | https://abqjournal.com/161327/pearce-rails-against-debt-deficit.html | 2013-01-18 | 2 |
<p>Top Sony executives have condemned the “vicious” cyber assault that forced the company to hastily postpone the Christmas day release of its satirical film The Interview.</p>
<p>During his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas today, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai publicly reprimanded the Guardians of Peace (GOP) hackers who repeatedly infiltrated the company’s digital network. Hirai also noted how proud he was of those who stood up against the flagrant “extortionist” attacks, adding he&#160;would&#160;be “remiss” if he did&#160;not mention the misfortune of the last several weeks.</p>
<p>“Both Sony, former employees and current employees were the victim of one of the most vicious and malicious cyber attacks in recent history,” Hirai noted in an unscripted moment prior to his press conference at the CES.</p>
<p>The Japanese based firm had their internal system repeatedly broken into by GOP, which stole gigantic amounts of sensitive material, including documents, email addresses, personal emails, health information, employee salaries and more. Entire films Sony had yet to release were digitally hijacked and uploaded online via various torrent sites. A large amount of additional material (some 100 terabytes were reportedly stolen) was dumped altogether, a lot of it exposed publicly. Conflicting reports seemed to point to North Korea at first, which was later confirmed to be the case by the FBI.</p>
<p>The result forced Sony to initially pull The Interview out of theaters on its planned Christmas day release, but after a throng of Internet support and protest, Sony decided to run the film on various platforms of exhibition. The film has so far grossed just under $5 million at the box-office, and an additional $15 million or so via digital download.</p>
<p>Just before he concluded his keynote speech in Las Vegas, Hirai went on to express how proud he is of all the employees and all the people behind the scenes that worked relentlessly to bring The Interview to the public.&#160; The Sony chief then stressed the paramount importance of freedom to the overall integrity of the Sony way.&#160; Free speech, free expression and free association, Hirai noted, are of the utmost importance to Sony and its entertainment business.</p>
<p>The Interview is currently playing in theaters around the country and can be downloaded on a number of digital outlets.</p>
<p /> | Sony brass denounces ‘vicious’ cyber attacks | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/01/06/sony-brass-denounces-vicious-cyber-attacks/ | 2015-01-06 | 3 |
<p />
<p>The Facebook Wall in its Sao Paulo office. Image source: Facebook.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>I'm young enough not to be able to remember much of the internet before Facebook (NASDAQ: FB). I simply remember my internet use consisting of a lot of AOL Instant Messenger, shady peer-to-peer file sharing software, and those sites teenage boys inevitably discover.</p>
<p>But Facebook has completely transformed the way we use the internet. In fact, some people in developing countries don't understand they're using the internet when they access Facebook on their phones.</p>
<p>Facebook has managed to grow well beyond anyone's expectations from a decade ago. It's grown beyond expectations from just four years ago, when the company's IPO was deemed a failure. It's now one of the biggest companies in the world.</p>
<p>Here, then, are 100 facts about Facebook investors should consider.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>1. Facebook has 1.71 billion monthly users.</p>
<p>2. There are about 3 billion internet users worldwide.</p>
<p>3. Facebook has penetrated so much of the existing market of internet users that it's trying to figure out how to make more internet users.</p>
<p>4. It's using things out of science fiction novels such as solar-powered drones, lasers, satellites, rockets, and AI-powered software developed through its Internet.org initiative to provide internet access to more people.</p>
<p>Facebook's Aquila drone in flight. Image source: Facebook.</p>
<p>5. The fastest-growing market for internet users is India.</p>
<p>6. India's government rejected Internet.org's Free Basics app, which offers free access to select internet services, on the grounds it violates net neutrality.</p>
<p>7. India's internet population grew about 40% last year, and it's accelerating.</p>
<p>8. Facebook has 142 million users in India.</p>
<p>9. It will soon surpass the U.S. as Facebook's largest market.</p>
<p>10. Facebook's average advertising revenue per user in the Asia-Pacific region, of which India is a part, was just $1.74 last quarter.</p>
<p>11. Facebook brought in $13.74 per user in the U.S. and Canada.</p>
<p>12. That $1.74 per user in Asia-Pacific is still more than Twitter's (NYSE: TWTR) global average ad revenue per user last quarter.</p>
<p>13. If the number of Facebook users in India grows another 40% this year, Facebook will add the equivalent of about one-fifth of Twitter's user base with about the same revenue potential.</p>
<p>13a. And that's just India.</p>
<p>Mark Zuckerberg with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi. Image source: Facebook.</p>
<p>14. Facebook is the second largest digital advertising company after Google, the Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) subsidiary.</p>
<p>15. Facebook grew its advertising revenue 57% last year.</p>
<p>16. Google grew ad revenue just 17%.</p>
<p>17. Everybody else grew ad revenue just 13%.</p>
<p>18. Facebook's revenue growth is accelerating this year.</p>
<p>19. Revenue grew 56% in the first half of 2016, versus 40% in the first half of 2015.</p>
<p>20. Facebook CFO Dave Wehner says the company has mostly maxed out the number of ads it can place in users' news feeds.</p>
<p>21. Ad revenue growth will have to come from user growth, improved engagement, and increased ad prices.</p>
<p>22. It's a good thing everyone is addicted to Facebook.</p>
<p>22a. That is, if you're a Facebook investor.</p>
<p>Image source: Facebook.</p>
<p>23. Zuckerberg says the average Facebook user spend 50 minutes per day between Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.</p>
<p>24. That's up 25% from two years ago.</p>
<p>25. Facebook is still <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/04/millennials-spend-way-more-time-on-facebook-than-a.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">extremely popular with millennials Opens a New Window.</a>. No matter what anyone tries to tell you.</p>
<p>25a. <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/01/has-facebook-become-too-popular.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">That includes former CFO David Ebersman Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>26. The average user between the ages of 18 and 34 spends more time on Facebook-owned social networks than the average time spent on Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Google+, and Vine combined.</p>
<p>27. Facebook users watched more than 8 billion videos on its platform per day during the third quarter last year.</p>
<p>28. Facebook wants users and brands to "go live" with their video this year.</p>
<p>29. That's because users spend three times as long watching live videos compared with pre-recorded videos.</p>
<p>30. Facebook is paying celebrities and publishers more than $50 million to "go live."</p>
<p>31. It's now testing mid-roll ads for live streams.</p>
<p>32. Zuckerberg and Co. still haven't really figured out how to monetize all those video views.</p>
<p>Image source: Facebook.</p>
<p>33. Facebook has 3 million active advertisers.</p>
<p>34. It added about 100,000 new advertisers per month from October through February.</p>
<p>35. Twitter has just over 100,000 advertisers total.</p>
<p>35a. 130,000, to be exact.</p>
<p>36. Facebook has 60 million active businesses with pages on its network.</p>
<p>37. Facebook has consistently kept that 5% penetration rate since hitting 1.5 million active advertisers more than two years ago.</p>
<p>38. Twitter has penetrated only about <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/10/does-this-number-represent-a-failure-or-opportunit.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">1.4% of businesses Opens a New Window.</a> on its platform.</p>
<p>39. There are an estimated 420 million to 510 million small and medium-sized businesses worldwide.</p>
<p>40. If Facebook could get about half of those businesses to create pages and maintain its penetration rate, it could quadruple its active advertisers.</p>
<p>41. With stable ad loads and relatively modest user growth, the demand for advertisements will cause <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/06/how-facebook-continues-to-increase-its-ad-prices.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Facebook's average ad prices to climb Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>42. Facebook's ad prices increased 9% last quarter thanks to "particularly strong" advertiser demand.</p>
<p>43. Many of Facebook's existing advertisers are spending more on average this year compared with last year.</p>
<p>44. Instagram ads were mostly cannibalistic last year, according to William Blair's Ralph Schackart.</p>
<p>Image source: Instagram.</p>
<p>45. It's expected to be more incremental this year, providing an additional avenue for growing spend from advertisers.</p>
<p>46. Instagram's average ad prices are three times higher than Facebook's on a cost-per-click basis.</p>
<p>47. Instagram just rolled out new business tools to make the platform more attractive to small and local businesses.</p>
<p>48. One of Facebook's biggest money makers are app install ads.</p>
<p>49. Citi estimates that 1.15 billion apps will be downloaded through marketing on Facebook properties this year.</p>
<p>50. That's up 33% from last year.</p>
<p>51. Facebook generates an estimated $3.40 per app install.</p>
<p>52. That means Facebook will generate nearly $4 billion from app installs this year.</p>
<p>Image source: Facebook.</p>
<p>53. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) generated <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/01/11/how-much-did-apple-make-selling-apps-in-2015.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">about $6 billion Opens a New Window.</a> from app installs in 2015.</p>
<p>54. Apple's App Store generated 75% more revenue than the Google Play Store last year, according to estimates.</p>
<p>55. Which means Facebook is on pace to generate more revenue from app installs this year than Google's Play Store did last year.</p>
<p>56. There are over 1 billion users on Messenger.</p>
<p>57. And 1 billion on WhatsApp, too.</p>
<p>58. There are 50 million business accounts on Messenger.</p>
<p>59. Those business accounts exchange more than 1 billion messages per month with users.</p>
<p>60. Tencent's WeChat has "just" 806 million users.</p>
<p>61. And "only" 10 million businesses.</p>
<p>62. LINE has 157 million users.</p>
<p>63. And 2 million official brand accounts.</p>
<p>64. Both generate more revenue than either Messenger or WhatsApp.</p>
<p>65. Which will bring in a combined $0 for Facebook this year.</p>
<p>66. WeChat generates more than $7 in revenue per user, according to estimates.</p>
<p>Image source: WeChat.</p>
<p>67. The vast majority of WeChat's users are in Asia, where Facebook generated $6.32 per user over the past 12 months across all of its platforms.</p>
<p>67a. Again, none of that came from its messaging apps.</p>
<p>68. LINE generated $1.2 billion in revenue last year from games, stickers, and advertisements.</p>
<p>69. LINE currently has a market cap of around $9.6 billion.</p>
<p>70. Facebook bought WhatsApp for $21.8 billion in cash and stock.</p>
<p>71. It also bought Oculus for $2 billion in cash and stock.</p>
<p>72. The Oculus Rift is seeing "increasing demand from retail as stores plan for the holidays."</p>
<p>73. Zuckerberg says, "Virtual reality has the potential to be the next computing platform that changes all our lives."</p>
<p>74. More than 1 million people already use Oculus on their phones through Samsung Gear VR.</p>
<p>Image source: Oculus.</p>
<p>75. Zuckerberg says <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/08/23/mark-zuckerberg-wants-to-avoid-big-crazy-things.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">he doesn't really want to make big acquisitions Opens a New Window.</a> as he did with Oculus and WhatsApp.</p>
<p>76. But Zuckerberg could soon have a lot of cash to spend if he wants.</p>
<p>77. Facebook's free cash flow over the past 12 months was $7.6 billion.</p>
<p>78. Its cash reserve reached $23.3 billion last quarter.</p>
<p>79. Analysts expect the company to produce $26 billion in free cash flow by 2020.</p>
<p>80. That's more than Microsoft currently generates ($25 billion TTM).</p>
<p>That's supposed to be Mark Zuckerberg diving into a pile of money. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>81. But analysts don't have a very good track record forecasting the long term for Facebook.</p>
<p>82. In 2013, the consensus estimate for Facebook's earnings in 2017 was just over $2 per share.</p>
<p>83. Facebook already generated $1.74 in non-GAAP EPS in the first half of 2016.</p>
<p>84. Now analysts are expecting earnings of $5.04 per share in 2017.</p>
<p>85. The average 2020 estimate (for those so bold) is $9.64 per share, adjusted for stock-based compensation.</p>
<p>85a. Set a reminder now to come back to this article in four years.</p>
<p>86. Facebook currently trades for about 25 times next year's earnings estimate.</p>
<p>87. Alphabet trades for about 19 times next year's earnings estimate.</p>
<p>88. Microsoft trades for about 18 times next year's earnings estimate.</p>
<p>89. Even if Facebook's earnings multiple falls to somewhere between Alphabet's and Microsoft's over the next three years, the stock would still be worth around $180.</p>
<p>89a. That's assuming the analysts have it right this time.</p>
<p>90. That's an annual return of about 11.7% from today's price.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>91. Zuckerberg's net worth is about $55.4 billion.</p>
<p>92. That makes him the the fifth wealthiest person in the world, behind Microsoft's Bill Gates, Zara's Amancio Ortega, Berkshire Hathaway'sWarren Buffett, and Amazon.com'sJeff Bezos.</p>
<p>93. Zuckerberg is just 32 years old.</p>
<p>94. The next youngest billionaire in the top five is Jeff Bezos (52).</p>
<p>95. If Zuckerberg can increase his wealth 11.7% per year, on average, he'll be a trillionaire before 60.</p>
<p>95a. To paraphrase Justin Timberlake's version of Sean Parker, "A billion dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool? A trillion dollars!"</p>
<p>95b. Also, the idea of a trillionaire is so ridiculous that Microsoft Word is telling me it's a spelling error.</p>
<p>96. Facebook stock has increased an average of 32% per year since its IPO at $38 per share.</p>
<p>96a. At that pace, Zuckerberg would be a trillionaire in 10 years.</p>
<p>97. Gates' net worth reached $100 billion in 1999, when he was 43.</p>
<p>98. He's now worth "just" $79.5 billion at 60 years old.</p>
<p>98a. So, projecting that far into the future is a bit dubious.</p>
<p>99. Both Zuckerberg and Gates have pledged to donate the vast majority of their wealth to charity.</p>
<p>100. Now that I'm finished writing this article, I'm looking up ways to qualify myself as a charitable organization.</p>
<p>Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/adamlevy/info.aspx" type="external">Adam Levy Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Amazon.com and Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon.com, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), Facebook, and Twitter. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft and has the following options: long January 2018 $90 calls on Apple and short January 2018 $95 calls on Apple. 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> | 100 Fascinating Facts About Facebook | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/24/100-fascinating-facts-about-facebook.html | 2016-09-24 | 0 |
<p>Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.Brian Cahn/ZUMA Press</p>
<p />
<p>During the Fox News debate in South Carolina Monday night, Newt Gingrich took on a familiar target: liberal elites who routinely thumb their noses at hard work. When asked by moderator Juan Williams about his (arguably <a href="http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/01/whats-the-matter-with-newt-and-the-naacp-anyway.php" type="external">racially charged</a>) statements on Barack Obama as the “ <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/newt-gingrich-labels-obama-food-stamp-president/2012/01/06/gIQAm8F0eP_video.html" type="external">food stamp president</a>,” former front-runner Gingrich quickly rejected the accusations of race-baiting and pivoted to explaining one of his alternatives to government benefits.</p>
<p>Gingrich repeated his call to <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2011/12/07/143258836/gingrichs-proposals-on-child-labor-stir-attacks-but-raise-real-issues" type="external">ease child labor laws</a> in order to allow poor kids to work as, for example, school janitors—an idea that has its roots in Gingrich’s <a href="" type="internal">controversy-laden Earning by Learning</a> program from the early ’90s. “Only elites despise earning money,”&#160;Gingrich said, as he accused the president of hating when poor but enterprising children tried to make their own money.</p>
<p>One thing Newt forgot to mention: President Obama’s American Jobs Act explicitly includes sections on summer, as well as year-round, jobs for kids in low-income families. The bill, which Gingrich derisively&#160; <a href="http://www.newt.org/news/gingrich-speaks-nh-town-hall-following-obama-speech" type="external">labeled</a> as the “American Government Rebuilding Act”—would allot a grand total of $1.5 billion for programs that provide employment opportunities for youths. (Specifics can be <a href="http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s1549/text" type="external">found here</a>.)</p>
<p>A billion and a half bucks is a funny way of showing how much you hate seeing schoolchildren earn their own lunch money.</p>
<p /> | Gingrich: Obama Hates It When Poor Kids Work | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/gingrich-obama-hates-it-when-poor-kids-work-fox-news-wsj-gop-debate/ | 2012-01-17 | 4 |
<p>SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame coach Mike Brey likes how his team has responded to injuries for Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell.</p>
<p>It’s easy to see why.</p>
<p>The Fighting Irish won 51-49 at Syracuse on Saturday to stay perfect in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They have won five in a row and six of seven heading into Wednesday night’s game against Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>“We had a lot of doubters and people were counting us out. But we have a bunch of talent here,” sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs said. “This team is great. I love these guys.”</p>
<p>The 6-foot-6 Colson, a preseason All-America selection, had surgery Thursday for a broken left foot. Farrell, a senior point guard who is averaging 15.9 points, sprained his left ankle during Wednesday night’s 88-58 victory against North Carolina State.</p>
<p>With Colson and Farrell out for Notre Dame (13-3, 3-0), Gibbs and Rex Pflueger have stepped up.</p>
<p>“Our two guards have been men running this thing,” Brey said.</p>
<p>The 6-foot-3 Gibbs had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the victory over the Wolfpack. He scored 18 points against the Orange, helping the Irish escape the Carrier Dome with the win despite shooting 30.4 percent (17 for 56) from the field.</p>
<p>He was named ACC player of the week Monday.</p>
<p>“I don’t think I deserve it so much as the guys who have stepped up next to me,” said Gibbs, a high school All-American at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, New Jersey. “It means a lot, but it means a lot to this whole team.”</p>
<p>Gibbs missed a potential winning layup in the final seconds against Syracuse, but Pflueger was there to put it in.</p>
<p>“I knew T.J. was going to try and avoid the block, so I got in the right position in order to get the rebound,” Pflueger said. “It comes down to hustling and looking for the ball.”</p>
<p>The 6-6 Pflueger finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.</p>
<p>“As soon as Rex got his hands on it, I said we’ve won,” Brey said.</p>
<p>Pflueger also had 16 points, four rebounds and four assists against North Carolina State, helping Brey become Notre Dame’s all-time leader in men’s basketball victories with 394.</p>
<p>“This is a great opportunity for all of our players to step up, so I’m not surprised,” Pflueger said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25</a>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and</p>
<p>SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame coach Mike Brey likes how his team has responded to injuries for Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell.</p>
<p>It’s easy to see why.</p>
<p>The Fighting Irish won 51-49 at Syracuse on Saturday to stay perfect in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They have won five in a row and six of seven heading into Wednesday night’s game against Georgia Tech.</p>
<p>“We had a lot of doubters and people were counting us out. But we have a bunch of talent here,” sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs said. “This team is great. I love these guys.”</p>
<p>The 6-foot-6 Colson, a preseason All-America selection, had surgery Thursday for a broken left foot. Farrell, a senior point guard who is averaging 15.9 points, sprained his left ankle during Wednesday night’s 88-58 victory against North Carolina State.</p>
<p>With Colson and Farrell out for Notre Dame (13-3, 3-0), Gibbs and Rex Pflueger have stepped up.</p>
<p>“Our two guards have been men running this thing,” Brey said.</p>
<p>The 6-foot-3 Gibbs had 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the victory over the Wolfpack. He scored 18 points against the Orange, helping the Irish escape the Carrier Dome with the win despite shooting 30.4 percent (17 for 56) from the field.</p>
<p>He was named ACC player of the week Monday.</p>
<p>“I don’t think I deserve it so much as the guys who have stepped up next to me,” said Gibbs, a high school All-American at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, New Jersey. “It means a lot, but it means a lot to this whole team.”</p>
<p>Gibbs missed a potential winning layup in the final seconds against Syracuse, but Pflueger was there to put it in.</p>
<p>“I knew T.J. was going to try and avoid the block, so I got in the right position in order to get the rebound,” Pflueger said. “It comes down to hustling and looking for the ball.”</p>
<p>The 6-6 Pflueger finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.</p>
<p>“As soon as Rex got his hands on it, I said we’ve won,” Brey said.</p>
<p>Pflueger also had 16 points, four rebounds and four assists against North Carolina State, helping Brey become Notre Dame’s all-time leader in men’s basketball victories with 394.</p>
<p>“This is a great opportunity for all of our players to step up, so I’m not surprised,” Pflueger said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external" /> <a href="http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25</a>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">http://collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and</p> | Brey pleased with Notre Dame’s response to injuries | false | https://apnews.com/e80dcc533b87482f88407b5785025fdc | 2018-01-09 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>CNM Executive Director of Agile Services Bill Halverson at CNM\’s data center in Albuquerque. Courtesy CNM</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Central New Mexico Community College is opening up its state-of-the-art data center to educational institutions around the state through a new joint venture with the Albuquerque company Harmonix Technologies Inc.</p>
<p>The nonprofit organization CNM Ingenuity, which manages commercial activities for the college, announced the new public-private partnership on Monday.&#160; The partners will offer comprehensive network management services to schools across New Mexico through CNM’s existing 3,000 square-foot data center on its main campus in Albuquerque. Services could include building and hosting cloud-based systems for schools, co-locating a school’s servers at CNM’s center if needed, and training opportunities for students and IT workers.</p>
<p>The new venture means grade schools and higher education institutions can immediately plug into existing, modern IT infrastructure without footing the capital costs for building new systems, said CNM Chief Information Officer Feng Hou.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s exciting, because we’re leveraging our technical capabilities to allow other schools to enjoy the same modern information technology that we have,” Hou said. “CNM’s data center is state of the art. It’s one of the best in New Mexico.”</p>
<p>CNM partnered with Harmonix because it is a successful, homegrown New Mexico company with a stellar reputation for quality IT services, said CNM Ingenuity Executive Director&#160; Kyle Lee. The company, which launched in 2005, has a significant track record of working with schools and other public institutions in New Mexico and elsewhere.</p>
<p>Its headquarters are in Albuquerque with a regional office in Dulce in northern New Mexico. It employs 30 people around the state, earning $6.5 million in revenue in 2016.</p>
<p>“Harmonix is a cutting-edge IT company that can help us create cost-effective opportunities for the educational community statewide,” Lee said. “As a private company, they can also help us keep up with the constant changes and evolution in the information technology market.”</p>
<p>The partnership can save money for New Mexico’s cash-strapped schools, said Harmonix CEO Jack Vigil.</p>
<p>“We’ll help them design network infrastructure without the huge capital expenditures normally required up front,” Vigil said. “We’ll work with manufacturers to incorporate best-of-breed products for virtual networks.”</p>
<p>Institutions that have their own data centers and networks could also co-locate some servers at CNM.</p>
<p>“We can provide rack space to maintain and support servers for any school that needs it,” Hou said.</p>
<p>The partners will also jointly design an IT workforce training curriculum, allowing public entities to contract with CNM and Harmonix to send their employees through training before returning to their own institutions. Credit and non-credit training will also be made available for the general public.</p> | CNM, private firm to market college’s data center | false | https://abqjournal.com/968148/cnm-private-firm-to-market-colleges-data-center.html | 2 |
|
<p>Shares of DryShips Inc. were the biggest decliners in premarket trade Tuesday, plummeting 39% toward a split-adjusted record low, after the ocean transportation company disclosed in a filing that it defaulted on three bank loans. The company said in the filing, released late Monday, that the lenders could require immediate repayment of the loans, which totaled $213.7 million. If its lenders demand repayment, DryShips said it doesn't expect cash on hand and cash generated from operations and asset sales to be sufficient to repay its loans. The stock has tumbled 46% year to date through Monday. The stock was changing hands recently at $1.43. The selloff comes after a 1-for-25 reverse stock split when into effect on March 11. The stock closed at a split-adjusted $2.73 the day before the stock split, meaning its pre-split price was about 11 cents.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2016 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | DryShips' Stock Tanks After Disclosure Of Loan Defaults | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/06/07/dryships-stock-tanks-after-disclosure-loan-defaults.html | 2016-06-07 | 0 |
<p>Each state shall sponsor at least one presidential debate for a total of 50 debates, each state determining the questions, format, and participants. Each state shall sponsor at least one cabinet-level debate among designated individuals, e.g. the Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Defense, etcetera. National debates shall be based on national polls that are open-ended with respect to who voters wish to see and hear participate in such debates. Candidates must participate in all debates to be eligible for free and equal access to public media.</p>
<p>– – – – – –</p>
<p>Apart from ballot access, ending gerrymandering, and ending campaign finance corruption, the single biggest determinant of whether the public can elect responsible capable and citizen-oriented representatives had to do with both their participation in debates, and their access to the public airwaves.</p>
<p>The two-party tyranny created the Presidential Debate Commission specifically to put the League of Women Voters out of business.&#160; The League had the temerity to want to include third, fourth, and fifth parties in the presidential debates, and to ask questions not provided to the candidates beforehand.&#160; It just makes me sick to my stomach to think that our public has gone along with this dishonesty for so long</p>
<p>Every certified national party — and such parties as might qualify for ballot access in any given year — must be included in all debates, and the public airwaves must be FREE with equal reasonable time for all qualified candidates.&#160; This alone will dramatically increase the range of choice and the breadth of public appreciation for Independent and now excluded third party candidates.</p>
<p><a href="http://bigbatusa.org" type="external">Learn More</a></p>
<p>Previous: <a href="" type="internal">Part 4: Voting for Issues</a></p>
<p>Next: <a href="" type="internal">Part 6: Cabinet</a></p>
<p>Full Series:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Introduction of a New Series</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Part 1: Process</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Part 2: Ballot Access</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Part 3: Voting for The People</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Part 4: Voting for Issues</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Part 5: Debates</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Part 6: Cabinet</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Part 7: Representation</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Part 8: Districts</a></p>
<p>Part 9: Funding (Coming Soon)</p>
<p>Part 10: Legislation (Coming Soon)</p>
<p>Part 11: Constitutional Amendment (Coming Soon)</p>
<p>Part 12: The Stakeholders (Coming Soon)</p>
<p>Part 13: Overview of The Ethics (Coming Soon)</p>
<p>Part 14: Overview of The Action Plan (Coming Soon)</p>
<p>Part 15: The Pledge (Coming Soon)</p>
<p>Part 16: The Statement of Demand (Coming Soon)</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Steele on Electoral Reform – Part 5: Debates | false | https://ivn.us/2012/03/16/steele-on-electoral-reform-part-5-debates/ | 2012-03-16 | 2 |
<p>BRIDGETON, N.J. (AP) — A video of police officers confronting and then fatally shooting a black man at a traffic stop has raised questions and stirred anger over another death at the hands of police.</p>
<p>On Thursday, the Rev. Al Sharpton's civil rights organization got involved. The National Action Network released a statement saying it was joining other groups calling for the state government to investigate.</p>
<p>The video of the Dec. 30 killing of Jerame Reid in Bridgeton, a struggling, mostly minority city of 25,000 people, was released this week.</p>
<p>The nearly two-minute deadly standoff came after the killings of black men in New York and Ferguson, Missouri, triggered months of turbulent protests, violence and calls for a re-examination of police use of force.</p>
<p>Attorney Conrad Benedetto said he has been hired by Reid's wife, Lawanda Reid, to investigate. He said in a statement the footage "raises serious questions as to the legality and/or reasonableness of the officers' actions that night" because Reid was shot as he raised his hands.</p>
<p>Police, with the dashboard camera in their cruiser rolling, pulled a Jaguar over for running a stop sign on a dark night. But things suddenly turned tense when one of the officers warned his partner he could see a gun in the glove compartment.</p>
<p>Screaming repeatedly "Don't you f---ing move!" and "Show me your hands!" at the man in the passenger seat, the officer reached into the car and appeared to remove a silver handgun.</p>
<p>Then, the passenger, despite being warned repeatedly not to move, stepped out of the Jaguar, his hands raised about shoulder level.</p>
<p>The officers opened fire, killing him.</p>
<p>Reid and the man driving the car were black. The Bridgeton officer who spotted the gun, Braheme Days, is black; his partner, Roger Worley, is white. Both officers have been placed on leave while prosecutors investigate.</p>
<p>Reid, 36, spent about 13 years in prison for shooting at three state troopers when he was a teenager. And Days knew who he was; Days was among the arresting officers last year when Reid was charged with several crimes, including drug possession and obstruction.</p>
<p>In Bridgeton, where two-thirds of the residents are black or Hispanic, the killing has stirred small protests over the past couple of weeks, including a demonstration on Wednesday, a day after the video was made public at the request of two newspapers under the state's open records law.</p>
<p>The Cumberland County prosecutor's office previously said a gun was seized during the stop but would not comment further on the investigation. Bridgeton police would not answer any questions about the video and said they opposed its release as neither compassionate nor professional.</p>
<p>County prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae has disqualified herself from the case because she knows Days. But Lawanda Reid's lawyer and activists are demanding the state attorney general's office take over the investigation, something it said it will not do.</p>
<p>Sharpton's group added to that call on Thursday.</p>
<p>"We maintain our position that local officials should not handle incidents such as this," the group said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.</p>
<p>BRIDGETON, N.J. (AP) — A video of police officers confronting and then fatally shooting a black man at a traffic stop has raised questions and stirred anger over another death at the hands of police.</p>
<p>On Thursday, the Rev. Al Sharpton's civil rights organization got involved. The National Action Network released a statement saying it was joining other groups calling for the state government to investigate.</p>
<p>The video of the Dec. 30 killing of Jerame Reid in Bridgeton, a struggling, mostly minority city of 25,000 people, was released this week.</p>
<p>The nearly two-minute deadly standoff came after the killings of black men in New York and Ferguson, Missouri, triggered months of turbulent protests, violence and calls for a re-examination of police use of force.</p>
<p>Attorney Conrad Benedetto said he has been hired by Reid's wife, Lawanda Reid, to investigate. He said in a statement the footage "raises serious questions as to the legality and/or reasonableness of the officers' actions that night" because Reid was shot as he raised his hands.</p>
<p>Police, with the dashboard camera in their cruiser rolling, pulled a Jaguar over for running a stop sign on a dark night. But things suddenly turned tense when one of the officers warned his partner he could see a gun in the glove compartment.</p>
<p>Screaming repeatedly "Don't you f---ing move!" and "Show me your hands!" at the man in the passenger seat, the officer reached into the car and appeared to remove a silver handgun.</p>
<p>Then, the passenger, despite being warned repeatedly not to move, stepped out of the Jaguar, his hands raised about shoulder level.</p>
<p>The officers opened fire, killing him.</p>
<p>Reid and the man driving the car were black. The Bridgeton officer who spotted the gun, Braheme Days, is black; his partner, Roger Worley, is white. Both officers have been placed on leave while prosecutors investigate.</p>
<p>Reid, 36, spent about 13 years in prison for shooting at three state troopers when he was a teenager. And Days knew who he was; Days was among the arresting officers last year when Reid was charged with several crimes, including drug possession and obstruction.</p>
<p>In Bridgeton, where two-thirds of the residents are black or Hispanic, the killing has stirred small protests over the past couple of weeks, including a demonstration on Wednesday, a day after the video was made public at the request of two newspapers under the state's open records law.</p>
<p>The Cumberland County prosecutor's office previously said a gun was seized during the stop but would not comment further on the investigation. Bridgeton police would not answer any questions about the video and said they opposed its release as neither compassionate nor professional.</p>
<p>County prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae has disqualified herself from the case because she knows Days. But Lawanda Reid's lawyer and activists are demanding the state attorney general's office take over the investigation, something it said it will not do.</p>
<p>Sharpton's group added to that call on Thursday.</p>
<p>"We maintain our position that local officials should not handle incidents such as this," the group said.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.</p> | Video of New Jersey man shot by police raises questions | false | https://apnews.com/amp/03495c7912a74103864afb4c52934fc3 | 2015-01-22 | 2 |
<p />
<p>This cartoon requires Macromedia’s Flash Player. If you don’t see the cartoon above, <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" type="external">download the player here</a>.</p>
<p>Mark Fiore is an editorial cartoonist and animator whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, and dozens of other publications. He is an active member of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists, and has a <a href="http://www.markfiore.com" type="external">web site</a> featuring his work.</p>
<p /> | Happy Holidays from Bushy Claus! | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2004/12/happy-holidays-bushy-claus/ | 2004-12-23 | 4 |
<p>Harvey Weinstein is leaving the board of the film company he started, more than a week after the firm fired him following allegations of sexual harassment and rape.</p>
<p>The Weinstein Co.'s board said in a statement Tuesday that Weinstein had resigned. Weinstein holds a roughly 20 percent stake in his company, according to a person close to Weinstein who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. The person declined to comment on the future of that holding.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>His departure from the company comes as it deals with turmoil in the aftermath of more than three dozen women publicly accusing Weinstein of abuse. Industry players have cut ties, or threatened to cut ties , with The Weinstein Co. The Producers Guild of America has started the process of expelling Weinstein, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group behind the Oscars, has revoked his membership.</p>
<p>Board member Tarak Ben Ammar said Monday that it was negotiating a potential sale of all or part of the company, which was founded in 2005 by Weinstein and his brother Bob Weinstein after they left Disney.</p>
<p>Bob Weinstein had maintained last week that business was continuing "as usual" for the company and that its board was not exploring a sale or shutdown.</p>
<p>Company representatives did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday.</p> | Harvey Weinstein leaves the board of his film company | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/17/harvey-weinstein-leaves-board-his-film-company.html | 2017-10-17 | 0 |
<p>An off-duty Wichita police officer is suspected of drinking and driving and sideswiping another car and then driving off despite shouts from the other driver to pull over, records say.</p>
<p>The department covered up the incident, a detective who worked in internal affairs at the time has said.</p>
<p>The department changed a police report to list the driver as unknown. That happened after the officer had already identified herself as the driver, police records show.</p>
<p>Now, the FBI is investigating the Police Department’s internal investigation of the officer – Tiffany Dahlquist – a private investigator said.</p>
<p>Her attorney, Jonathan McConnell, denied that she was involved in an accident or is the target of any criminal investigation.</p>
<p>“It appears that several individuals have a personal vendetta against the Wichita Police Department, and it appears that you have a lot of bad facts,” McConnell said.</p>
<p>“In my heart, do not believe that Tiffany was involved in an accident.”</p>
<p>The federal investigation resulted in subpoenas being delivered by FBI agents to Wichita police supervisors last month, said the private investigator, Colin Gallagher, based on information provided to him by law enforcement personnel.</p>
<p>It is not clear how the FBI investigation began.</p>
<p>Some concerns within the department are laid out in a deposition given in May by Detective Lance Oldridge in an unrelated lawsuit against the city over a police shooting.</p>
<p>Oldridge testified in the deposition that his supervisors covered up misconduct by an off-duty officer suspected of driving drunk in a hit-and-run accident.</p>
<p>The testimony didn’t identify Dahlquist by name, but the circumstances described by Oldridge match the Sept. 11, 2016, incident for which Dahlquist was investigated.</p>
<p>“I was assigned to an investigation … as an Internal Affairs investigative police officer, and I felt there was misconduct being covered up,” Oldridge said in the deposition.</p>
<p>Oldridge also testified that his supervisor was “repeatedly throwing up roadblocks to me accomplishing what I believe my job was to do.”</p>
<p>Oldridge would not comment when contacted by The Eagle. FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said she can’t confirm or deny an investigation.</p>
<p>Police Chief Gordon Ramsay said: “I can’t confirm the existence of an outside agency’s investigation.” He also said the city can’t comment on personnel matters.</p>
<p>“We are going to continue to work tirelessly to improve the trust of our community.”</p>
<p>The issues surrounding the police and federal investigations raise questions about whether the Police Department treats its officers differently than the public. It is a misdemeanor to leave the scene of an accident where there is property damage.</p>
<p>Wichita Municipal Court does not show any record of charges or tickets connected to the hit- and-run case.</p>
<p>Dahlquist was terminated on Feb. 13, 2017, and reinstated four days later, according to Officer Charley Davidson, the Police Department spokesman. She is still employed by the department and working out of Patrol North, he said.</p> | FBI Now Investigating Wichita Police Cover-Up of Drink Driving Hit and Run Accident | false | https://studionewsnetwork.com/news/fbi-now-investigating-wichita-police-cover-drink-driving-hit-run-accident/ | 2017-10-14 | 3 |
<p><a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Denver_Broncos/" type="external">Denver Broncos</a> defensive end <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Derek-Wolfe/" type="external">Derek Wolfe</a> was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury, the team announced on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Wolfe started all 11 games in which he played this season, finishing the season with 31 tackles (18 solo) and two sacks.</p>
<p>Wolfe was carted off the field during the Broncos’ Week 12 loss to the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Oakland-Raiders/" type="external">Oakland Raiders</a>, and he did not play in this past Sunday’s loss to Miami.</p>
<p>The neck injury caused some numbness in his right side. The Denver Post reported that Wolfe’s injury will not require surgery, and that he will need several months to recover.</p>
<p>The Post also reported that Wolfe told 9News in Denver that Los Angeles-based spinal surgeon Dr. <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Robert_Watkins/" type="external">Robert Watkins</a> informed him he had a type of spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal).</p>
<p>In six seasons with the Broncos, Wolfe has started all 80 regular-season games played and totaled 222 tackles, 24.5 sacks, eight passes defensed and one fumble recovery.</p>
<p>The Broncos also made a pair of changes to their practice squad, signing tackle Jeremiah Poutasi and waiving offensive lineman Gabe Ikard.</p> | Denver Broncos place DE Derek Wolfe on IR | false | https://newsline.com/denver-broncos-place-de-derek-wolfe-on-ir/ | 2017-12-05 | 1 |
<p>Jeb Bush plummeted to a remarkably low percentage of votes in the Iowa caucuses, garnering only 2.8% of the vote. Bush <a href="http://www.cnn.com/election/primaries/states/ia" type="external">received</a> 5,238 votes after <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jeb-bush-spent-2800-iowa_us_56b03adee4b0b8d7c2306ec2" type="external">spending</a> $14.1 million in ads blanketing the state. That works out to $2691.87 per vote.</p>
<p>The Bush campaign, appearing to be whistling in the dark, immediately attempted to <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/jeb-bush-iowa-caucuses-218594" type="external">turn the discussion</a> to the New Hampshire primary on February 9. The campaign sent a memo to advisers and supporters reading:</p>
<p>The real race for the nomination begins on February 9th in New Hampshire. It will set the race going forward and today, Jeb Bush is in a very strong position in the state. The Jeb 2016 campaign has never made Iowa a centerpiece to winning the nomination. We have long viewed Iowa as just one of 56 contests, electing 30 delegates out of 2,472 going to the Convention to select our nominee.</p>
<p>The Bush memo tried to reassure recipients that the reason Bush lost was the paucity of his time spent in Iowa, arguing that a “strategic decision” was made to “shift resources away from Iowa” in November, that Bush’s visits to Iowa were “significantly scaled back.” The memo points out that Bush rival Marco Rubio “invested far more significantly in” Iowa.</p>
<p>The memo boasts that the Bush campaign has 40 paid staff across five offices in New Hampshire, notes the polls showing Bush doing well there, and concludes, “we have the largest voter contact effort in the state … With a field unprecedented in its depth and size, we don’t expect Iowa to be a factor in winnowing the field. By contrast, New Hampshire has a much stronger record of indicating the eventual Republican nominee. The Republican Party’s previous two nominees lost Iowa and won New Hampshire.”</p>
<p>"We have long viewed Iowa as just one of 56 contests, electing 30 delegates out of 2,472 going to the Convention to select our nominee."</p>
<p>Jeb Bush campaign memo, trying to rationalize tremendous defeat</p>
<p>But the best summation of the state of the Bush campaign may have been demonstrated in this tweet:</p>
<p>Updated logo <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IowaCaucus?src=hash" type="external">#IowaCaucus</a> <a href="https://t.co/SSeFttOyFI" type="external">pic.twitter.com/SSeFttOyFI</a></p> | One Candidate Absolutely Collapsed in Iowa. Guess Who. | true | https://dailywire.com/news/3084/one-candidate-absolutely-collapsed-iowa-guess-who-hank-berrien | 2016-02-02 | 0 |
<p />
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Trade Commission, which investigates companies accused of being sloppy with consumer data, said it was "closely evaluating the serious issues" raised in Uber's handling of its hack last year, an FTC spokesman said on Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"We are aware of press reports describing a breach in late 2016 at Uber and Uber officials’ actions after that breach. We are closely evaluating the serious issues raised," the spokesman said.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Chris Reese)</p> | FTC says it is evaluating 'serious issues' raised in Uber's handling of a data breach | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/22/ftc-says-it-is-evaluating-serious-issues-raised-in-ubers-handling-data-breach.html | 2017-11-22 | 0 |
<p>A series of ceremonies is taking place in Tonga to mark the burial of the late King George Tupou V who died suddenly in Hong Kong last week.</p>
<p><a href="http://radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/201203/3464218.htm?desktop" type="external">Radio Australia reports</a> that the funeral procession began at midday on Tuesday, local time, with thousands of people wearing black arm bands and traditional mourning dress lining the streets to watch.</p>
<p>It says that the procession left the Royal Palace in the capital Nuku'alofa and was expected to take several hours to reach the Royal Tombs just over 980 feet away.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://globalpost.com/internal/gallery/5696625" type="external">King of Tonga's fashion sense remembered</a> <a href="http://globalpost.com/internal/gallery/5696625" type="external">(PHOTOS)</a></p>
<p>Throughout the Pacific Island nation, flags are being flown at half-mast and building and fences in the capital have been draped in purple and black.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jiMXrZEwIDppfJLHmsACvNkFXL4Q?docId=CNG.3e4c9598eb8547d5a3263fb76791da5d.441" type="external">An AFP correspondent describes</a> how the king's body spent Monday night in the throne room where locals observed an overnight vigil, and was this morning placed on a bier to be transported to the catacombs.</p>
<p>According to the official program, 1,000 pall bearers had been selected to carry the 63-year-old's casket to its final resting place.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/120318/king-tonga-dead-george-tupou-v-dies-hong-kong" type="external">King of Tonga dies in Hong Kong</a></p>
<p>At the funeral service there were hymns, prayers and sermons, as well as the Last Post and Tongan national anthem, <a href="http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/1000-pallbearers-for-tongas-late-king-20120327-1vvk4.html" type="external">Australian Associated Press reports</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/tonga-farewells-king-george-tupou-v-4799209" type="external">TVNZ says</a>that the official mourning period, which was expected to run for 90 days, has been cut back to five days at the request of the crown prince Tupouto'a Lavaka Ata.</p>
<p>The prince, who accompanied his brother's body on the flight from Hong Kong to Tonga, will be crowned the new king at a time of his choosing, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17513175" type="external">BBC explains</a>.</p> | Tonga hosts funeral to farewell King George Tupou V (PHOTOS) | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-03-27/tonga-hosts-funeral-farewell-king-george-tupou-v-photos | 2012-03-27 | 3 |
<p>HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday afternoon’s drawing of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s “Pick 2 Day” game were:</p>
<p>5-5, Wild: 3</p>
<p>(five, five; Wild: three)</p>
<p>HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday afternoon’s drawing of the Pennsylvania Lottery’s “Pick 2 Day” game were:</p>
<p>5-5, Wild: 3</p>
<p>(five, five; Wild: three)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Pick 2 Day’ game | false | https://apnews.com/1a218ad3f5a24f02afb9bcc579047da6 | 2018-01-15 | 2 |
<p>Many times during the Bush/Cheney co-presidency of illegalities, I would hear remarks from any number of friends. The comments were like these:</p>
<p>“Can you believe it? Definitely, this call for impeachment.”</p>
<p>“This is criminal, and it’ll bring them to their knees.”</p>
<p>Each new outrage was piled atop a heap of outrages until many of us simply had outrage fatigue and began counting down the days to reach the end of the worst administration–the most secretive, the most abusive, the most corrupt, the most duplicitous, hypocritical, treasonous, and destructive–in our history. Counting the days and counting on new leadership, the voters elected a Constitutional scholar, a man who pledged during his campaign to resurrect the rule of law. This required no political courage. It simply demanded that justice prevail.</p>
<p>Barack Obama entered DC, riding a hope train. Spirits soared all over the globe. Supporters were high with the drug of anticipation, an injection to heal a sick country. Almost immediately after taking the oath, Obama began to reject his promises.</p>
<p>Clearly, the Obama cure is just a placebo.</p>
<p>Investigating George Bush’s interrogation policy is a trip backwards for a president who wants to move forward. Continuing Bush’s warrantless surveillance is necessary. You know, national security. Resuming Guantanamo tribunals and holding some detainees indefinitely are, as well. Healthcare reform will amount to a little bit of nothing as the Insurance Lobby takes out a hit on Single Payer.</p>
<p>Some of us knew. We just knew. We knew because we’d arrived at the truth of politics in American–that anyone who really might deliver change would never receive the Democratic or Republican nomination. Because there is a rule, larger than the will of the people, mandating the survival of the status quo, U.S. corporatocracy and U.S. imperialism/Zionism. Some of us cast our vote for a Green or Independent, those who are considered “spoilers.” Our candidates lost and so did the world.</p>
<p>And, now, sitting on that heap of outrages that continues to mount is the man who misrepresented change, Barack Obama. Turns out he is a refined George Bush. Sure, there’s none of that struggle with grammar, tip-of-the-tongue syndrome, or nausea-inducing body language that defined the Decider from Texas. Obama is cool and smooth, the kind of egomaniac who would never embarrass us by attempting to give German Chancellor Angela Merkel a shoulder massage at the G8.</p>
<p>But he’s as aligned with Wall Street as George Bush is/was, and he’s just as deadly.</p>
<p>Our troops are being blown to bits and so are Iraqi, Afghan, and Pakistani civilians.</p>
<p>The wrong war has shifted slightly with a pullback from the urban areas of Iraq, but 130,000 troops and a 150,000-man mercenary army remain nearby, ready to aim and fire.</p>
<p>Obama’s escalation in Afghanistan is tragic in its inevitable outcome of more knocks on the door, followed by: “We regret to inform you.”</p>
<p>Drone attacks in Pakistan are inspiration for hatred of Americans as wedding parties and funeral processions explode.</p>
<p>And Obama’s “pressure” on Israel has AIPAC chuckling and winking.</p>
<p>This week, we learned of an alleged and not-very-shocking plot, considering its architect, Dick Cheney. A “secret” CIA Assassination Program. DickCo. capable of criminal maneuverings? My first thought was of Dr. Evil. Muhahahahahahaaa. Imagine the fun father/daughter bonding that Dick and Liz must have had, yukking it up over this one. Dennis Blair, Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, agreed that the program shouldn’t be operational, but said that it wasn’t important for the CIA to provide information to Congress. And Congress is angry. The question is: Are they angry about the crime or because they weren’t allowed to give it their blessing?</p>
<p>Thinking about the answer makes me want to yawn. Because it is, well, so Congress as usual. But you can’t yawn when the change you can believe in is called revolution.</p>
<p>Missy Beattie lives in New York City. She’s written for National Public Radio and Nashville Life Magazine. An outspoken critic of the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq, she’s a member of Gold Star Families for Peace. She completed a novel last year, but since the death of her nephew, Marine Lance Cpl. Chase J. Comley, in Iraq on August 6,’05, she has been writing political articles. She can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Placebo President | true | https://counterpunch.org/2009/07/17/the-placebo-president/ | 2009-07-17 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>DETROIT — Electric-car battery maker A123 Systems Inc. — which got $249 million from the Department of Energy to build U.S. factories — filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday and quickly sold its automotive assets.</p>
<p>The moves came one day after the company warned it likely would miss debt payments and could be headed for restructuring under Chapter 11. Auto-parts maker Johnson Controls Inc. will buy the company’s automotive business for $125 million.</p>
<p>A123 has struggled for several years as Americans have been slow to embrace electric cars. The company has yet to post a profit and lost $83 million in the second quarter. Just two months ago, A123 announced a $450 million lifeline from Chinese auto-parts maker Wanxiang Group Corp., but A123 said in a statement that the deal has been scrapped.</p>
<p>A123’s stock, which traded for more than $20 on the day of its initial public offering in 2009 closed Monday at 24 cents.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Using its federal stimulus grant, the company set up manufacturing operations in the Detroit suburbs of Livonia and Romulus, Mich. The company has contracts to make batteries for General Motors Co., BMW AG, Fisker Automotive and others.</p>
<p>Unlike a loan, the company’s $249 million government grant does not have to be repaid. A123 had to match the grant money as it was used. So far the company has drawn about $129 million of the grant, spokesman Dan Borgasano said Tuesday.</p>
<p>Johnson Controls will get A123’s automotive assets, including lithium-ion battery technology, products and customer contacts. It will also take over the factories in Michigan, cathode ray factories in China and an equity interest in a Chinese battery company.</p> | Electric-Car Battery Firm Bankrupt | false | https://abqjournal.com/139146/electriccar-battery-firm-bankrupt.html | 2 |
|
<p>Clint Eastwood is one of Hollywood’s top movie directors. He’s directed (and starred in) many movies; from the great, redefining-the-genre western&#160;The Outlaw Josey Wales, the Oscar-winning&#160;Unforgiven, the preposterous&#160;Million Dollar Baby&#160;and the brilliant&#160;Gran Torino&#160;to such underwhelming fare as&#160;Invictus, Space Cowboys&#160;and&#160;Hereafter.</p>
<p>He’s added to his oeuvre with&#160;J. Edgar, a biopic of the late FBI Director.&#160;J. Edgar&#160;is a complete mess. Instead of the usual guns-blazing-G-man-gets-his man tripe,&#160;J. Edgar&#160;is a weird, tepid love story. With only passing nods to the many significant events of the Director’s 48 years at the helm of the agency, the movie’s focus is on an anti-social, damaged man who lives with his&#160;&#160;controlling, passive/aggressive mother until she dies and who finds love of a sort with Clyde Tolson, a subordinate he promotes to his top aide and lifelong companion.</p>
<p>The story revolves around the Hoover/Tolson relationship. The many egregious assaults on civil liberties that Hoover conducted get&#160;slight attention&#160;– the deportation of Emma Goldman, the veiled threats towards the Kennedys, the outright blackmail efforts against Martin Luther King, the infiltration and misinformation campaigns against Labor, Black, and anti-war student activists, the secret blackmail files,…all are reduced to background noise to Hoover’s tortured personal life.</p>
<p>Even the fellows’ sex life is watered down to the point of ambiguity. While focusing on surreptitious hand-holding, a couple of kisses and “I love yous,” no mention is made of famed gangster Meyer Lansky’s claim to have comprising photos of Hoover and Tolson; or of the great FBI blackmailer’s being blackmailed over it himself by Lanksy, who notably&#160;&#160;remained free of jail until his death in 1983. Nor is there any mention of CIA Counter-Intelligence chief James Angleton’s showing around compromising photos to CIA pals. CIA expert Gordon Novel later claimed,&#160;“What I saw was a picture of him giving Clyde Tolson a blowjob. There was more than one shot, but the startling one was a close shot of Hoover’s head.&#160; He was totally recognizable”</p>
<p>There is some decent acting; I imagine Armie Hammer, Armand Hammer’s great-grandson, who plays Tolson will get, at minimum, an Oscar nomination; perhaps, Leonardo DiCaprio’s inanimate, near comatose Hoover – miles from the volcanic Hoover&#160;of legend – will also get some recognition. But, talk about missing the point! J. Edgar Hoover’s tortured, closeted personal life really is insignificant to the real history of this anti-democratic monster.</p>
<p>After 48 years of despotic, anti-American rule with dozens of interesting sub-plots – not the least of which is Hoover’s complicity in the rise of the American Police State –&#160;this movie could not be further off the mark, nor more frivolous in its efforts to humanize a tyrant who destroyed so many, innocent lives. Ultimately,&#160;J. Edgar&#160;is as absurd as, and comparable to, the Adolph/Eva love story featured in the Bollywood fiasco&#160;Dear Friend Hitler&#160;– a&#160;real-life&#160;Springtime for Hitler.</p>
<p>MICHAEL DONNELLY lives in Salem, OR. He can be contacted at:&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p> | Springtime for Hoover | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/11/14/springtime-for-hoover/ | 2011-11-14 | 4 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>Speaker of the House John Boehner just came out in favor of President Obama taking military action in Syria. He walked out of the White House to the media and said the following.</p>
<p>The use of these weapons has to be responded to, and only the United States has the capability and capacity to stop Assad and to warn others around the world that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated.</p>
<p>I appreciate the president reaching out to me and my colleagues in Congress over the last couple of weeks. I also appreciate the president asking the Congress to support him in this action.</p>
<p>This is something the United States as a country needs to do. I'm going to support the president's call for action. I believe my colleagues should support this call for action.</p>
<p>We have enemies around the world that need to understand that we are not going to tolerate this type of behavior. We also have allies around the world and allies in the region who also need to know that America will be there and stand up when it is necessary.</p>
<p>House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-OH) also <a href="http://majorityleader.gov/blog/2013/09/leader-cantor-statement-on-syria-and-regional-conflict.html" type="external">came out in support</a> of a resolution backing military action with a caveat. He said the authorization language will likely change but that America has a compelling national security interest to prevent and respond to to the use of weapons of mass destruction especially by a terrorist state like Syria. He claims the reason is to prevent further instability in the region.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/03/john-boehner-syria_n_3860505.html" type="external">Huffington Post</a>, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also came out in support of the President claiming that it was humanity who drew a red line decades ago and not the President. She reiterated that the President did not need congressional authorization for military action in Syria but that getting it was a good thing.</p>
<p>Yesterday the New York Times reported that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/world/middleeast/syria.html?_r=0" type="external">McCain was on board</a>stating,</p>
<p>The White House's aggressive push for Congressional approval of an attack on Syria appeared to have won the tentative support of one of President Obama's most hawkish critics, Senator John McCain, who said Monday that he would back a limited strike if the president did more to arm the Syrian rebels and the attack was punishing enough to weaken the Syrian military.</p>
<p />
<p>So the drumbeat to war continues. Republicans will support this Democratic President to wage war overseas. As long as money is being spent to bolster the military industrial complex's coffers, Republicans will offer bipartisan support. Waging war against domestic unemployment, domestic infrastructure decay, domestic healthcare access failure, and domestic education failure do not merit support or incremental funding.</p>
<p>It is rather sad that the reason for Boehner's support is more intellectually honest than many. Many who support an action speak about the human suffering that the use of these weapons caused as if murder by machete, napalm, shrapnel, and bombs are less painful or les outrageous. For Boehner it was about world order with the US being in control and demonstrating power to keep that order as the US sees fit. That lack to mention human suffering is probative as it is the same lack of humanity demonstrated domestically by both him and his party.</p>
<p>It is doubtful that most Americans want the cost of being the self-imposed police of the world. After-all, the state of the American working middle class is not aided by maintaining the current world order. They would much prefer that the President and Congress give Americans the wherewithal for them to rebuild their American dream.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> LIKE My <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/EgbertoWilliescom/181893712536" type="external">Facebook Page</a> - Visit My Blog: <a href="http://www.EgbertoWillies.com" type="external">EgbertoWillies.com</a></p> | Boehner Supports Obama's Military Action In Syria (VIDEO) | true | http://egbertowillies.com/2013/09/03/boehner-supports-obamas-military-action-syria-video/?fb_source%3Dpubv1 | 2013-09-03 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The president of Albuquerque's police union pleaded not guilty to felony child abuse and intimidation of a witness charges during her first court appearance on Saturday morning.</p>
<p>Stephanie Lopez, who has been released from jail after posting a $5,000 cash-only bond, entered the plea in an appearance in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. She was told not to possess firearms or have any contact with the alleged victim in the case.</p>
<p>She was arrested Thursday evening on two felony charges after she had allegedly struck her daughter multiple times in the face, pulled her hair and threw her to the ground during an argument earlier in the week, according to a criminal complaint.</p>
<p>Lopez and her attorney, Fred Mowrer, declined to comment after the hearing.</p>
<p>The state has 60 days to indict Lopez on the charges.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Lopez was placed on paid administrative leave from the police department on Friday. She is also on leave from her position as president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association.</a></p>
<p>She has been a police officer since 2000 and has been the union president since May 2013.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Police union president pleads not guilty in child abuse case | false | https://abqjournal.com/690355/police-union-president-pleads-not-guilty-in-child-abuse-case.html | 2015-12-12 | 2 |
<p>Watching any channel of Catalan Television from anywhere, anytime will be possible by December 15. Only a broadband Internet connection will be necessary to watch real-time TV programming on the Internet. Users also will have the possibility to watch any past program as well as to create their own programming selection. ( <a href="http://www.lavanguardia.es/web/20041203/51170880962.html" type="external">Here's the news</a> in Spanish.)</p> | Catalan TV Live on the Internet | false | https://poynter.org/news/catalan-tv-live-internet | 2004-12-06 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Mercedes-Benz is rolling out its latest concept car for the golfer who has everything, just in time for this weekend’s fourth and final men’s major golf tournament--the PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The tricked-out cart features a sleek, Mercedes-inspired look on a premium golf car. The design was the brainchild of Garia’s Co-Founder, Anders Lynge, who won a Mercedes-Benz contest to build the golf car of the future. It aims to draw fans of luxury automobiles as well as the game of golf.</p>
<p>In an exclusive interview for FOXBusiness.com, Michael Bock, the automaker’s global director of sports &amp; lifestyle marketing said, “Mercedes-Benz has served as a long-term partner of golf, and also serves as a bridge between car lovers and avid golfers. So, the golf car is a natural continuation of our position in both the automotive and golf industry.”</p>
<p>The vehicle was born out of a collaboration between Mercedes-Benz designers, parent company Daimler’s Think &amp; Act Tank Business Innovation, and Garia, which specializes in high-end golf cars.</p>
<p>The first renderings were released for this month’s British Open, with potential customers Stateside getting a chance to check out the prototype first-hand this week.</p>
<p>Bock says the company has gotten lots of positive feedback and interest in the vehicle, and potential buyers include golf courses, resorts, and private individuals.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>When asked how much the golf car might fetch, Bock would only say if it goes into series production that it will be a “premium purchase.” Some Garia-built, street-legal golf cars cost about as much as a 2016 Toyota Camry (NYSE:TM) (a perennial best-seller in the US).</p>
<p>And the Mercedes-Benz Style Edition Garia Golf Car will apparently come fully-loaded, though no doubt after-market detailing and accouterments will be possible for a few dollars more.</p>
<p>Fast Facts on the Golf Car</p>
<p>Those interested in pre-ordering the golf car or just wanting more information can check out the site at www. <a href="http://arealsportscar.com/" type="external">arealsportscar.com Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Bock says the vehicle is a high-profile manifestation of the automaker’s sports portfolio, which includes sponsorships at the PGA Championship as well as The Masters and British Open: “Golf has been our number one sport activity all over the world for some years (and) we believe golf is a great opportunity for us to engage with current and potential customers."</p>
<p>This comes out of a concerted effort by Mercedes-Benz to expand its offering to luxury goods beyond the traditional automobile for its well-heeled customers.</p>
<p>Bock says, “In 2010 Mercedes-Benz designers began to create designs for other high-end products under the label of Mercedes-Benz Style. This portfolio includes products from the areas of mobility, lifestyle, sport and interior design.”</p>
<p>These efforts also included the recently launched <a href="https://www.mercedes-benz.com/en/mercedes-benz/design/mercedes-benz-style/world-premiere-of-the-mercedes-benz-style-luxury-yacht/" type="external">Arrow460-Granturismo yacht Opens a New Window.</a>, the interior of a helicopter, premium business apartments, and a pendant lamp.</p>
<p>“We think that diversifying the Mercedes-Benz product is an opportunity to engage and excite our customers,” asserts Bock.</p> | Mercedes Pushes Uber Upscale Golf Car at PGA | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/07/27/mercedes-pushes-uber-upscale-golf-car-at-pga.html | 2016-08-01 | 0 |
<p>Editor &amp; PublisherWilliam O'Rourke was the token liberal on the Sun-Times Commentary page until fall. "I presume dumping me was a combination of money and ideology -- or change for the sake of change," he writes. "The question, 'Why are we paying him to attack the president each week?' might have entered the top editors heads with some force at last."</p> | Columnist thinks he knows why the Sun-Times dropped him | false | https://poynter.org/news/columnist-thinks-he-knows-why-sun-times-dropped-him | 2006-01-03 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Sam Bregman, an attorney representing one of the officers, said the motion amounts to a gag order, and the defense will oppose it.</p>
<p>“District Attorney (Kari) Brandenburg did a nationally televised press conference to announce these charges, now she wants to gag the defense. The word ‘hypocrisy’ screams out,” Bregman said. “They are the ones that made this into a public fiasco and now they are telling us that we are not allowed to respond.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Bregman and Albuquerque attorney Luis Robles are defending former Detective Keith Sandy and officer Dominique Perez, respectively. The officers are charged with an open count of murder for the death of James Boyd, a homeless man fatally shot in the Sandia foothills in March 2014.</p>
<p>They face a preliminary hearing in which a judge will decide what, if any, charges the men will face.</p>
<p>The prosecutor’s motion filed in state District Court on Tuesday cited an Albuquerque Journal article where the defense attorneys commented on a ballistics report that couldn’t say definitively who fired the bullet that killed Boyd.</p>
<p>Both officers fired their weapons, hitting Boyd after an hourslong standoff in the foothills, where Boyd was illegally camping and had threatened officers with two knives.</p>
<p>The DA’s motion said the recent comments “create a clear and present danger of prejudicing the proceeding in this case.”</p>
<p>Kayla Anderson, a spokeswoman for the district attorney, said the office had no additional comment on its motion.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Robles declined to comment.</p>
<p>The motion asks for the court to order the attorneys to “refrain from making extrajudicial comments to the media … except that they may quote from or refer without comment to public records of the court in the case.”</p>
<p>Bregman said his client wants a fair trial, and any comments defense attorneys in the case have made would not prejudice the jury.</p>
<p>The case began in January when Brandenburg’s office filed a criminal information against Perez and Sandy that charged them each with an open count of murder. If the judge at the preliminary hearing decides there is sufficient evidence to bind the men over for trial, the charges could range from first degree murder to manslaughter.</p>
<p>State District Judge Alisa Hadfield is considering a motion from the defense to disqualify Brandenburg’s office from the case.</p>
<p>The defense has said Brandenburg’s office has a conflict of interest in the case, in part because Brandenburg had been investigated by Albuquerque police for bribery and witness intimidation stemming from a police investigation in Brandenburg’s adult son, who was a burglary suspect.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Police sent the case against Brandenburg to the Attorney General’s Office, asking for an opinion on whether charges should be filed in the case. No announcement has been made.</p>
<p>Prosecutors have argued that Brandenburg’s office should try the case because she is the elected district attorney and that the office is prosecuting the case because of the evidence, which includes a video of the shooting taken from Perez’s on-body camera.</p>
<p>Perez and Sandy are the first officers that Brandenburg has charged with murder after reviewing more than 20 on-duty shootings and presenting dozens of other police shootings to grand juries. She has been the district attorney since 2001.</p>
<p />
<p /> | DA seeks to gag lawyers in Boyd case | false | https://abqjournal.com/566230/da-seeking-to-gag-lawyers-in-boyd-case.html | 2 |
|
<p />
<p>Image source: Disney-ABC Television Group via Flickr.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>This wildest presidential election possibly ever is now in the books. Donald Trump, a man who has never held political office and has no military background, stands ready to head to the Oval Office in roughly two months to become the 45th president of the United States.</p>
<p>But what's most notable about this election is that the Republican Party also held on to the majority of both houses of Congress. This essentially means that we have a government unified under a single party, which could allow for new laws to be passed with greater ease compared with the Washington gridlock we've witnessed for many years.</p>
<p>According to President-elect Trump, who released his 100-day plan once he's in office shortly after his victory, repealing and replacing Obamacare (officially known as the Affordable Care Act), the flagship healthcare law of Barack Obama's presidency, sits near the top of his list. With a Congressional majority that has also shared an unfavorable view of Obamacare behind him, a repeal and replace seems quite possible.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>What might "Trumpcare," as we'll affably call it, look like next to Obamacare? Let's take a closer look by examining Trump's seven-point plan.</p>
<p>The first point, which needs no comparison, involves repealing and replacing Obamacare in its entirety. Chances are that any sort of repeal and replace wouldn't involve a sudden loss of insurance for the millions of Americans currently insured through Obamacare. More than likely we'd see a one- or two-year transition away from Obamacare and toward Trumpcare.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Trumpcare: Under Trump's proposal, consumers would be allowed to shop for health insurance beyond just the boundaries of their state. The idea is that if more health insurers were competing for members, then premiums are less likely to head higher.</p>
<p>Obamacare: Under Obamacare, and the status quo that preceded the Affordable Care Act, insurers tailored their health insurance plans to each individual state (and sometimes even counties and towns). The reason health insurance is sold within a state's borders has to do with demographics and medical access for people within each state.</p>
<p>For example, people living in Wyoming, a state with a sparse population and relatively few specialized medical-care facilities, are expected to pay higher premiums than highly populous states, such as California, where there are more hospitals and plenty of specialized medical equipment. Insurers operating in Wyoming have to take into account the added costs of potentially getting people who live far away from hospitals and other specialized care facilities to the care they need.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Trumpcare: According to Trump's proposal, one of the primary incentives of purchasing health insurance would be the ability to write off the full amount of your premiums come tax time. Admittedly, this also means wealthier individuals who can afford costlier, but more encompassing, health coverage would get a bigger tax break than lower-income adults who could presumably only afford a lower-cost plan.</p>
<p>Obamacare: Under Obamacare, medical expenses have to exceed 10% of your adjusted gross income before you can claim them as a deduction. Taxpayers need to fill out a Schedule A should they claim this exemption.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Trumpcare: Another component of Trump's healthcare plan involves emphasizing the use of Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs. To be crystal clear, HSAs already exist, so what Trump is proposing is something most Americans already have access to. An HSA is a tax-deferred plan open to individuals and families enrolled in high-deductible health plans. The allure of these plans is that withdrawals can be made at any age for qualifying medical expenses on a tax-free, penalty-free basis.</p>
<p>Obamacare: HSAs are also available right now for Obamacare enrollees, so there's nothing essentially different from what Trump has proposed and what's currently available under Obamacare.</p>
<p>Trumpcare: Trump's proposal also vaguely calls for increased pricing transparency from health insurers so that consumers can make more educated purchasing decisions. No specific mention is made as to what aspects of the health insurance buying process would need to be more transparent.</p>
<p>Obamacare: Obamacare does the exact same thing through its online marketplace exchanges. In other words, Obamacare and Trumpcare are identical in calling for better price transparency. It should be noted, though, that having better transparency doesn't mean consumers are using the data afforded to them very well. Well over a million people automatically enrolled in Obamacare last year, possibly signifying that they didn't take the time to shop around for the best deal.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Trumpcare: One of Trump's unique healthcare proposals involves block-granting Medicaid to the states. Trump believes that state and local governments have a far better idea of what their needs are than the federal government, meaning block-granting federal money should result in less waste.</p>
<p>Obamacare: Under Obamacare, states have the right to decide whether they want to accept federal aid to expand their Medicaid programs -- 31 states have chosen to do so. This Medicaid expansion covers people earning less than 138% of the federal poverty level. By 2020, the federal government is expected to phase down its contribution to 90%, putting the onus of the remaining 10% of revenue generation on the participating states.</p>
<p>Trumpcare: Finally, Trump's healthcare plan involves breaking down the barriers to entry for overseas drugmakers. It's no secret that pharmaceutical companies rely on high branded-drug pricing in the U.S. to subsidize their ventures in less profitable countries. If Americans were able to look outside the U.S. to, say, Canada, for their pharmaceutical purchases, they may be able to save money.</p>
<p>Obamacare: Obamacare has no specific provision designed to reduce prescription-drug prices. However, its transparent marketplace platform, and the introduction of the risk corridor -- a type of risk-pooling fund that collected money from profitable insurers and redistributed it to money-losing insurers that priced their premiums too low -- were aimed at keeping premium inflation to a minimum.</p>
<p>Beyond Trump's seven-point healthcare plan, there are three other, potentially major, differences between Obamacare and Trumpcare.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>First, Obamacare's individual mandate, which is the actionable component of the health law of the land, requires consumers to purchase health insurance or face a penalty come tax time. This penalty, known as the Shared Responsibility Payment, works out to the greater of $695, or 2.5% of your modified adjusted gross income in 2016. If Obamacare is repealed, there would presumably no longer be a penalty imposed for not purchasing health insurance.</p>
<p>Secondly, Obamacare requires insurers to accept all applicants, even if they have pre-existing medical conditions. Repealing Obamacare would, in theory, mean that insurers would be allowed to once again pick and choose whom they insure. It's possible Trumpcare could add in a similar provision, but Trump hasn't suggested that one would be in his health plan.</p>
<p>Finally, Obamacare ensures that Americans earning less than 400% of the federal poverty level (about $47,500) have access to the Advanced Premium Tax Credit (APTC), and that those earning less than 250% of the federal poverty level receive cost-sharing reductions (CSR) if they purchase a silver level plan. The APTC is the subsidy that lowers what low- and middle-income individuals and families pay for their premium, while CSRs help cover the cost of receiving medical care (i.e., deductibles, copays, and coinsurance).</p>
<p>Trump has signaled via his Medicaid block grant proposal that lower-income folks would still be taken care of, but anyone earning between 138% and 400% of the federal poverty level could (note the emphasis) lose the financial assistance they've become accustomed to with Obamacare.</p>
<p>Again, it's important to point out that Trump's proposals could change between now and his first 100 days in office. Even members of Trump's own party in Congress have been critical of his healthcare plan, so some degree of compromise may be in order. But, it's pretty clear that Trumpcare is headed down a markedly different path from where President Obama took healthcare over the past few years.</p>
<p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;source=irbeditxt0000138&amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable&amp;ftm_pit=6450&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFUltraLong/info.aspx" type="external">Sean Williams Opens a New Window.</a>has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name <a href="http://caps.fool.com/player/tmfultralong.aspx" type="external">TMFUltraLong Opens a New Window.</a>, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/TMFUltraLong" type="external">@TMFUltraLong Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>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://wiki.fool.com/Motley" 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> | A Side-by-Side Comparison of Trumpcare and Obamacare | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/14/side-by-side-comparison-trumpcare-and-obamacare.html | 2016-11-14 | 0 |
<p>The Latest on OPEC's meeting about oil production (all times local):</p>
<p>7:10 p.m.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>OPEC oil ministers and their non-OPEC partners have agreed to extend crude output cuts until the end of next year in efforts to keep supplies tight and bolster prices.</p>
<p>The move reflects the success of their strategy of pumping less oil for more dollars.</p>
<p>Benchmark crude prices are now close to $60 a barrel, up almost 20 percent since a year ago, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their non-OPEC partners agreed to reduce supply by a daily 1.8 million barrels.</p>
<p>Announcing the decision after meetings Thursday, Saudi Arabian oil minister Khalid Al-Falih, OPEC's president, exclaimed, "it's been a great day."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>8:30 a.m.</p>
<p>OPEC and allied oil producing-nations are going into meetings amid apparent consensus on extending their output cuts.</p>
<p>Benchmark crude prices are now close to $60 a barrel, depending on the grades, up almost 20 percent since a year ago, and OPEC officials attribute the recovery to last November's decision to reduce market supply.</p>
<p>With prices at two year highs, signs point to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their non-OPEC partners agreeing Thursday to keep limiting the availability of crude by prolonging the daily 1.8 million barrel output reductions.</p>
<p>Comments by Iraqi oil minister Jabbar Ali Hussein Al-Luiebi have strengthened such expectations. Ahead of the meeting he said there was broad agreement among all OPEC ministers on "extending the oil production cut" until the end of next year.</p> | The Latest: OPEC, allies extend oil output cuts through 2018 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/30/latest-opec-allies-extend-oil-output-cuts-through-2018.html | 2017-11-30 | 0 |
<p />
<p>&#160;Photos By David Mattson&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Last Tuesday, in the shadow of Yellowstone’s Electric Peak, I watched National Park Service employees herd, prod, shock, immobilize, poke, and corral bison that had only shortly before spent their lives roaming wild. That day, 45 animals were shipped for slaughter and 62 “processed” in preparation for being sent to death next week. So far this winter, almost 1,000 out of a total of roughly 5,500 bison have been sentenced to death by government agents or dispatched by hunters.</p>
<p>The killing of Yellowstone’s buffalo is far from over. The carnage is escalating as winter drags on and buffalo, desperate for food, leave Yellowstone Park for lower elevation grasslands north in Montana’s Gardiner basin. Hundreds more buffalo could be sent to slaughter by the time spring green-up occurs, when buffalo return to graze in the protected core of the Park. A total of 1,400 or more Yellowstone bison could be killed, not including the animals (possibly hundreds) that otherwise do not survive harsh late-winter conditions.</p>
<p>It is important to note that these are not just any bison, but members of the largest free-ranging bison herd in the country, and the most genetically pure of any left in the world. In most other places buffalo have been interbred with domestic cattle. Perhaps most importantly, Yellowstone has the only herd left that still serves something akin to the ecological role that it played when Europeans first arrived and 30-88 million bison thundered across the plains of what is now the western United States.</p>
<p>How is it that this harassment and torture of bison is happening inside a national park, which is presumably all about preservation? The extent to which Park Service personnel work to keep their violence towards buffalo out of the public eye is perhaps emblematic of a conflicted conscience and cognizance that something is morally wrong. But a lawsuit brought last year by journalist Christopher Ketcham and Stephany Seay, Communications Director of the Buffalo Field Campaign, (BFC) requires the agency to now show the media what it is doing. I can say that witnessing the Park Service-administered treatment of buffalo is not for the faint of heart.</p>
<p>With the help of poles and electric cattle prods, bison after bison was forced from a small pen into a hydraulic squeeze chute, where it bucked and thrashed and bellowed, in a crazed panic. Each bison was squeezed so hard inside the metal cage that most finally stopped bucking, at which point a metal bar pinned its head up to the side of the chute. Through the slats in the chute, you could see their tongues hanging out, and their eyes bulging. Their hoarse breathing was audible, even from 20 yards away. Many had blood on their coats as a result of injuries from the horns of other distressed bison—a direct consequence of being stampeded, slammed up against each other, and pushed between pens along a maze of metal-reinforced alleys. Some of the younger bison literally tore their own horns off against the cages and bars. If there is a hell in the bison world, this must be it.</p>
<p>While pinned in the chute, Park technicians drew blood and checked teeth, weighed them, then released them into holding pens.</p>
<p>A few yearling calves escaped the ordeal because the chute was too big to effectively contain and immobilize them. These were waved through. Still, none of the bison we saw will likely escape slaughter.</p>
<p>The chute’s brand name, “The Silencer,” had been deliberately painted over with an inane reminder of the year, “2016-2017,” perhaps in case we journalists were to attempt substituting photos of atrocities perpetrated during previous years for the atrocities perpetrated while we were there.</p>
<p>From a catwalk above the pens, I could see a group of yearling calves, all with smears of blood on their bodies from rubbing up against one calf whose horn had been torn off. They looked up at me in terror and alarm. I was helpless to do anything except bear witness. I felt that these youngsters were owed a profound apology.</p>
<p>In a matter of days, these calves will be gutted, dressed and hung in White’s Meat Processing in Ronan, Montana. According to the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, the process entails literally sending animals to a gas chamber, after which they are “stunned, shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut.”</p>
<p />
<p>The meat will be distributed to Indian people, which is better than most alternatives, but hardly the point. These wild beings, the product of millions of years of evolution, uniquely adapted to the harsh conditions of Yellowstone, and members of a close-knit herd, will be killed for no reason except to placate tough-minded stockmen and their ideologue allies (read: Trump’s core supporters).</p>
<p>As in the case of grizzly bears and wolves, management of buffalo caters primarily to a minority of well-heeled and politically well-connected agriculture interests at the expense of the broader public, who flock to Yellowstone to see these rare and iconic animals in the flesh. More on this later.</p>
<p>There seems to be no regard for the fact that bison have been on this landscape since the Ice Age, or that they survived the worst that the forces of nature could throw at them – except Europeans and our guns. Their ancestors evolved with giant short-faced bears, sabre tooth cats, dire wolves, woolly mammoths and ice-age camels. All these animals are gone now, but a remnant of bison is still with us.</p>
<p>Yellowstone bison are descendants of just 23 animals that had survived the slaughters of the 1800s. All this begs the question: why are we persecuting these animals again? And why is the Park Service, which helped bring them back from the brink, so intimately involved in their deaths?</p>
<p>Atrocities in Yellowstone Park</p>
<p>It baffles me that the National Park Service is leading current efforts to capture and send to slaughter buffalo that are simply poised to roam north into the Gardiner Basin – as bighorn sheep, elk, deer, pronghorn, wolves and bears do. This behavior is natural. Even though buffalo are well-equipped with huge heads for shoveling deep snow to uncover grass, roaming downhill to more clement climes is the path of least resistance when snow is deep, or when thick ice prevents bison from reaching the grass below.</p>
<p>With the Park Service’s help, the state of Montana will probably reach its goal of killing 1,400 Yellowstone’s buffalo. Although the Park Service estimates that forage in Yellowstone could support 5,000-7,000 buffalo, an outdated bison management plan uses an antiquated target of 3,000 animals. Further, a 2000 court-mediated settlement agreement of a lawsuit filed by Montana’s Department of Livestock against the Park Service gives the state and its powerful livestock industry inordinate influence over bison management, even it appears, inside a national park.</p>
<p>It was noteworthy that no one from Montana’s livestock industry or State Department of Livestock participated in the tour I was on. Why bother, when Park Service employees seemed more than happy to do their dirty work and field the tough questions from reporters — despite the fact that this work is antithetical to the Park Service’s mission of protecting natural resources.</p>
<p>Having worked as a wildlife advocate for over 30 years in the political pressure cooker that is Greater Yellowstone, I can only imagine the conversations among Park officials. “Maybe our willingness to kill so many will buy good will from the state in the revision of the bison plan.” Or: “our hands are tied, especially under the new Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke,” a former Montana Congressman with strong ties to industry. Or: “if we kill 1,400 bison this year, we might buy a reprieve of several years before a similar out-migration of bison would necessitate significant killing again.”</p>
<p>All humans share the unique ability to rationalize activities that feel inherently wrong. I doubt that many of the Park employees engaged in this debacle had imagined that their job description could include sending to death wildlife that they had been entrusted to protect.</p>
<p>Last year, Yellowstone Park proposed shipping some animals that would have been otherwise killed to a quarantine facility on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northern Montana. There is presently only one such facility authorized to take Yellowstone bison, located 30 miles north of Yellowstone near the hamlet of Corwin Springs. There, USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) kills 50% or so of the captive buffalo that test positive for the disease brucellosis—which is the putative cause for the entire capture, containment, and slaughter program. (More on this later).</p>
<p>Over time, the caged sub-population is “cleansed” of the disease, but there is no chance of returning home. Nor will this — or any other method proposed so far — purge the entire population of the disease.</p>
<p>Needless-to-say, the Park’s proposal to send bison to Fort Peck’s facility is stridently opposed by livestock organizations, but supported by some conservationists and Tribes. Two weeks ago, Republican state legislators killed a bill that would have authorized the shipping of Yellowstone buffalo to Fort Peck. There is no doubt that regressives in the livestock industry have the upper hand, and will not make even modest concessions to those who have more altruistic and public-minded values.</p>
<p>Buffalo Management: The Ruse of Cleansing the Land of Disease</p>
<p>You commonly hear that the killing and expensive quarantine of buffalo is to protect cattle from the disease brucellosis, which is carried by buffalo. (Paradoxically, bison originally contracted the disease from European cows). But this rationale turns out to be bogus. Although buffalo do carry brucellosis and could theoretically transmit the disease to cattle, they have never been known to do so in the wild. In fact, there are only a handful of cattle near where the buffalo migrate in winter – and none of these cows are on public lands.</p>
<p>By contrast, elk, which are 25 times more numerous than buffalo and interact with cattle far more often, have transmitted brucellosis to cows on at least 6 documented occasions, most recently in November, 2015 ( <a href="" type="internal">link</a>). Yet nothing is being done about the elk “problem”, in part because elk are sportmens’ darlings and generate at least $11 million annually in state hunting revenues in Montana. Something deeper, even pathologic, lies beneath disparities between how bison and elk are treated.</p>
<p>If brucellosis were a real problem, the livestock industry would be advocating more consistent policies and taking the elk disease threat seriously. But such is not the case, which suggests that the hype about brucellosis in bison is really cover for something else.</p>
<p>In fact, what we have is a cabal of stockmen, state veterinarians, legislators, and employees of the Board of Livestock using paranoia over “disease ridden” buffalo to perpetuate political control and an archaic, regressive mindset obsessed with dominating the natural world. These bad actors aim at nothing less than keeping the West under their thumb, perpetuating a regime that was instituted under the banner of Manifest Destiny. This despite the fact that the region’s economic and cultural health depends increasingly upon amenities rooted in wildlife and public lands.</p>
<p>Mary Meagher, longtime bison biologist in Yellowstone Park, put it this way: ”Brucellosis is a smoke screen. The real issue is that ranchers do not want bison out on the land.”</p>
<p>In furtherance of their agenda, the livestock industry has adopted the bizarre and extreme position of tolerating “no risk” of brucellosis in the case of buffalo, no matter what the cost, which is borne mainly by taxpayers—a classic case of subsidies for a coddled special interest. Dare we call them welfare ranchers?</p>
<p>The Park Service’s Cowboy Culture?</p>
<p>In keeping with the narrative of bison as diseased livestock, it was interesting to see that most of the 12 involved Park Service employees (including only one woman) played the part of cowboy in this week’s bison “processing.” They could have passed as cowhands anywhere in the West, with their silk scarves and chaps. Four galloped their horses, all in a row, waving their right arms in unison as if on a movie set, to run bison from a larger holding area into smaller pens. It struck me they may have been watching too many Hollywood westerns.</p>
<p>But this is the National Park Service, not the Department of Livestock. Is it easier to distance yourself from the nasty business of sending wild buffalo to slaughter if done in the persona of a cowboy? Does the task somehow become more romantic, less brutal?</p>
<p>Only the head of the operation, Brian Helm, who bore the military-style title of “Incident Commander,” seemed to be truly enjoying himself. Of all the techs, Brian was most cowboy in his dress and demeanor. His chaps had fancy leather fringe. He stood on top of the catwalk above “the Silencer” and gestured dramatically with white-gloved hands, signaling to the other techs how much tighter the neck bar needed to be; whether it was time to draw blood, check teeth, or lift the animal to get a weight; what gender the animal was and in which pen they should be herded. He seemed the conductor of an orchestra that played a sort of buffalo requiem.</p>
<p />
<p>Brian Helm of NPS on the catwalk</p>
<p />
<p>Every operation has one who seems to relish the job of its commander, even if the work is brutal and cruel. In the course of human history, we have demonstrated time and again, how easy it is for humans to normalize the unthinkable—especially if you include a fancy-dress outfit.</p>
<p>The Killing Fields: No End In Sight</p>
<p>The current killing program is authorized by the 2000 Interagency Bison Management Plan. Although outdated, government agencies are far from revising the plan. Yellowstone Park’s bison biologist Rick Wallen reported that the agencies cannot agree on objectives, let alone a range of alternatives for analysis. A planning process started in 2015 appears, for now, dead in the water. Wallen thinks the plan might take 10 years or so to complete. This means that the Park Service would need to strive in the meantime to maintain the current population target of 3,000 bison and to continue the cycle of killing.</p>
<p>Of all the intractable wildlife debates in Yellowstone, including wolves and grizzlies, perhaps the most stuck and regressive surrounds buffalo. Yes, things may be incrementally improving, as we were told, since the days when bison numbers hovered near zero. But this is the 21st century, and Yellowstone’s buffalo deserve better.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there are a few examples of where buffalo are being better treated when they step outside the Park into Montana’s non-park lands. Progress at Horse Butte</p>
<p>As of last year, wild bison are being accommodated to the west of the Park on Horse Butte, a peninsula in Hebgen Lake. Bison can now roam on Horse Butte year round, and have their babies in peace.</p>
<p>Here a majority of landowners made it clear to Montana Governor Steve Bullock that they wanted wild bison to be able to roam on their private land. They expressly opposed armed Department of Livestock thugs on horseback trespassing and harassing animals on land they own. Moreover, there are no cows there after a grazing allotment had been retired.</p>
<p>This is a shining example of what can be done to co-exist with bison elsewhere in Greater Yellowstone. There are a number of residents of the Gardiner and the Taylor Fork area, who also embrace a kinder, gentler approach to managing bison, and would welcome them on their land.</p>
<p>The good folks at the Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) need to be credited with much of the hard work reaching out to and helping organize landowners on Horse Butte. Buffalo Field Campaign: Defending Buffalo 24-7</p>
<p><a href="http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/" type="external">My friends at BFC</a> have been on the ground fighting for buffalo and documenting the mistreatment of these animals since 1997. BFC Founder and film-maker extraordinaire, Mike Mease, has shot more footage of buffalo in all seasons and conditions, happy and tragic, than anyone alive. Co-founder Dan Brister has written a scholarly book on buffalo. Darrell Geist is a walking encyclopedia of bison management.</p>
<p>BFC’s strategies and tactics are extraordinary — certainly different than any other environmental organization in the region. First, they work closely with Native Americans who also see buffalo as sacred yet maligned creatures.</p>
<p>Second, they rely heavily on volunteers who are out on the ground every day observing buffalo and the activities of hunters and managers. Over 5,000 volunteers have cut their teeth in conservation working with BFC. Numerous of these campaigners have moved on to positions of leadership in other conservation groups.</p>
<p>Third, BFC is one of the few groups that signs on young people, who are critical to shaping the future of wildlife and wildlands conservation, which is rapidly greying. By contrast, most other organizations tend to rely almost exclusively on professional staff. These staff tend to cycle between groups, which perpetuates a kind of “groupthink.”</p>
<p>Few other groups share BFC’s commitment to documenting what is happening in the field. Over the years, I have seen a sad trend in conservation that increasingly emphasizes a kind of “professionalism” that prioritizes political cleverness and certain in-office technical skills over observation and deep immersion in the natural world.</p>
<p>I honestly cannot imagine how the hardy warriors who volunteer with BFC survive bearing witness to the atrocities perpetrated on buffalo, and counting the dead – over 8,000 since the group was founded. The BFC community lives communally and frugally in cabins near West Yellowstone and Gardiner, where they keep an eye on the buffalo every day, no matter how bitter the cold. Maybe they do so well because they are a bit like buffalo themselves: tough and stubborn.</p>
<p>On the day of the tour, Stephany Seay, a BFC stalwart, seemed to mirror the turmoil of the buffalo. ( <a href="http://www.grizzlytimes.org/the-grizzly-beat-podcast" type="external">Listen to a great interview on Grizzly Times with Stephany here</a>). Uncharacteristically quiet, her weathered face showed pain, grief, outrage. She had seen so many more buffalo dead, or dispatched to death, than I ever will – or hope to. Even as she snapped photos, part of her seemed to be dying with the buffalo.</p>
<p>Up on the catwalk, above the din of a buffalo heaving herself against the metallic cage, Brian Helm with white gloves flashing, stands as Stephany’s opposite. As Mike Wright wrote in the Bozeman Chronicle story on the tour, “it was just another day in the Park at the Stephens Creek Capture Facility,” ( <a href="" type="internal">link</a>) implying that the “processing” of the buffalo had become routine.</p>
<p>But routinizing brutal behavior desensitizes people to the import of their actions. Have those involved in processing bison for the Park Service become inured to the practice of killing? How can the broader public hope for kinder treatment of buffalo if agency personnel see killing as an acceptable solution to “the problem,” as defined by the livestock organizations that do not want “diseased” buffalo to leave the Park?</p> | The Last Stand for Yellowstone’s Bison | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/03/08/the-last-stand-for-yellowstones-bison/ | 2017-03-08 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>DENVER — Denver’s Catholic archdiocese is studying whether a former slave known for her service to her neighbors should be named as a saint.</p>
<p>A mass Sunday at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception will officially open the canonization process for Julia Greeley.</p>
<p>Greeley was born into slavery in Missouri in the mid-1800s and came to Colorado around 1880. She worked as the housekeeper for the first territorial governor of Colorado, William Gilpin, and later became known for her charity work.</p>
<p>Greeley is one of four people that U.S. bishops voted to allow to be investigated for possible sainthood at their fall meeting.</p>
<p>The first step in the process involves gathering testimony and documentation about her slife. A report will be sent to the Vatican, which will decide whether to proceed.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Former slave from Denver considered for sainthood | false | https://abqjournal.com/911387/former-slave-from-denver-considered-for-sainthood.html | 2 |
|
<p>In using the description ‘knuckle-dragging buffoon’ I am of course referring directly (but far from exclusively) to the loutish Lieutenant General James Mattis, a US Marine officer who has been grossly over-promoted from latrine orderly. Recently he disgraced his country, his uniform and the Profession of Arms by boasting that he is a brutal thug. To remind you, what he said concerning his personal military ethos was : “Actually, it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people, I’ll be right up front with you. I like brawling . . . You go into Afghanistan, you’ve got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway, so it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them.” These were his public words. They make me wonder what this man (I use the word loosely) might really think about in the depths of his diseased and malevolent mind.</p>
<p>Of course he has not suffered in the slightest for his glorification of killing. The official whitewash brush was wielded immediately after his announcement that he considers it a hell of a lot of fun to do the thing he thinks he is good at. Here is one example of how strongly the Bush administration feels about a general who is “right up front” about it being fun to kill people:</p>
<p>QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, do you think the commandant of the US Marine Corps Development Command should be saying publicly that it’s fun to shoot people?</p>
<p>RUMSFELD: I have not read his words. I don’t know what he said precisely or the context. And I understand that General Pace has, and he’s responded. When Rumsfeld is faced with a difficult question he either avoids it, tells a downright lie, or excuses himself from answering by claiming he has not read anything about it. In this instance he said he did not know what was said by a three star general who had just provoked derision and disgust throughout the world. Both should be sacked. But neither will go, because the Bush administration has lost touch with truth, decency and honor.</p>
<p>It was this same Mattis who dismissed photographic evidence of the slaughter of dozens of people by US forces at an Iraqi wedding party last year. (See Counterpunch, October 26, 2004.) The wedding took place in western Iraq, and Mattis denied there had been an atrocity. He said he could not understand how a wedding could take place in the desert, so he blitzed the gathering. He did not know that the desert is home to thousands of families, settled and nomadic, who have relatives and friends in villages, towns and cities, and that these people come to visit on occasions of celebration or grief. The man betrayed his appalling ignorance of the culture and customs of the country by exclaiming “Ten miles from the Syrian border and 80 miles from the nearest city and a wedding party? Don’t be naïve. Plus they had 30 males of military age with them. How many people go to the middle of the desert to have a wedding party?”.</p>
<p>Thousands of them throughout the year, you poor dumb cluck. And here, from a first-hand witness, recorded by reporter Rory McCarthy, is what Mattis achieved at that wedding party:</p>
<p>” ‘The bombing started at 3 a.m.,’ she said yesterday from her bed in the emergency ward at Ramadi general hospital, 60 miles west of Baghdad. ‘We went out of the house and the American soldiers started to shoot us. They were shooting low on the ground and targeting us one by one.’ She ran with her youngest child in her arms and her two young boys, Ali and Hamza, close behind. As she crossed the fields a shell exploded close to her, fracturing her legs and knocking her to the ground. She lay there and a second round hit her on the right arm. By then her two boys lay dead. ‘I left them because they were dead,’ she said. One, she saw, had been decapitated by a shell. ‘I fell into the mud and an American soldier came and kicked me. I pretended to be dead so he wouldn’t kill me. My youngest child was alive next to me’.” (According to the US military, all this is Zarqawi propaganda.)</p>
<p>McCarthy continued : “Among the dead were 27 members of the extended Rakat family, their wedding guests and even the band of musicians hired to play at the ceremony, among them Hussein al-Ali from Ramadi, one of the most popular singers in western Iraq. Dr Alusi said 11 of the dead were women and 14 were children. ‘I want to know why the Americans targeted this small village,’ he said by telephone. ‘These people are my patients. I know each one of them. What has caused this disaster?'”</p>
<p>It was General Mattis who caused the disaster, the slaughter, which he considered to be of no importance. But then we have to remember that he thinks that “It’s a helluva lot of fun to shoot” people.</p>
<p>One survivor said ‘I saw something that nobody ever saw in this world . . . There were children’s bodies cut into pieces, women cut into pieces, men cut into pieces.’ His daughter, aged 25, was killed, along with her two boys, Raad, four, and Raed, six. ‘I found Raad dead in her arms. The other boy was lying beside her . . .’ His sister and her two daughters were also killed . ‘The Americans call these people foreign fighters. It is a lie. I just want one piece of evidence of what they are saying.’</p>
<p>The civilized world would like to have evidence about the atrocity , but not, of course, the barbaric weirdoes who agree with Mattis that “It’s fun to shoot some people”. The sickening thing is that when he said this, during a presentation to the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, he “evoked laughter and applause” in the audience, so obviously there are many more demented buffoons out there.</p>
<p>Can you imagine it? — “It’s fun to shoot some people” giggles an American general, and there is “laughter and applause” from his audience. Are these real people? It is difficult in this supposedly civilized era to believe that two hundred citizens of an advanced western country would laugh and clap their hands when a general declares he thinks it fun to shoot people. It happened in Nazi Germany when fascist functionaries described what they had done or would do to Jews. Now it happens in America when a government functionary describes what he has done to Afghans. None of the audience spoke out later, apart from retired Vice Admiral Edward H Martin who said “I don’t think any of us who have ever fought in wars liked to kill anybody”. He appears to have been the only human being in the whole gathering. What on earth has America come to?</p>
<p>Mattis, unlike the honorable Admiral Martin, relishes killing people and is apparently well-known for his activities. No doubt this is why he has been promoted well beyond his ability. We had a saying in Vietnam – “Stuff up and Move up”. (This is a family journal, so I use the word ‘stuff’.) What it meant was this : the war in Vietnam was a disaster, but McNamara, and all ‘The Best and the Brightest’ in Washington could not afford to reveal themselves as the incompetent boobies they were. They lost touch with reality and rewarded with promotion those who went along with their dismal self-deception that Vietnam was a winnable war.</p>
<p>Senior officers who were hopelessly incompetent in Vietnam were not sacked. The administration could not possibly do that, because it would be an admission of failure – not of the officer concerned (although that might be considered a fairly important factor), but of those involved in the system as a whole. The pattern is being repeated.</p>
<p>The Los Angeles Times recorded that “On April 4 [2004], Maj. Gen. James N. Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Division, whose units would carry the battle [in Falluja], summoned his commanders to a final briefing. The general, known as ‘Mad Dog Mattis’ to his men, made it clear that the Marines were now in warrior mode. ‘You know my rules for a gunfight?’ he asked a reporter outside the meeting. ‘Bring a gun, bring two guns, bring all your friends with guns’.”</p>
<p>After a period of chaos, Mattis began to negotiate with some Iraqis in Falluja. According to the LA Times’ report (and other sources) “He struck a deal to allow them to raise a force of local men, the Falluja Brigade, to take control of the city.”</p>
<p>Alissa Rubin and Doyle McManus, who produced this detailed and well-researched piece, recounted that “The deal [by Mattis] took other US officials by surprise – Bremer and Sanchez in Baghdad, and Rumsfeld and Bush in Washington. A US official in Baghdad said Abizaid telephoned Bremer and asked, ‘What’s going on down there?’ ‘I have no idea,’ Bremer replied. ‘It was a complete surprise to us,’ the official said. ‘Both Bremer and Abizaid were shocked. Bremer was furious . . . Bremer learned about it from the press. The Marines sort of said, ‘Presto, here it is’.’ In Washington, once it was clear that a deal had been struck, Rumsfeld announced a fait accompli. ‘The Marines on the ground are the ones that are making those judgments’.” But then on September 24, 2004 Rumsfeld told reporters “The Fallujah brigade didn’t work; and they tried, and they’re sorry. And they’re not going to let it sit there, they’re going to do something else about it. And life will go on.” In other words, Major General Mattis stuffed up.</p>
<p>Then, naturally, he moved up. And he has stuffed up again.</p>
<p>But on February 7 Rumsfeld said that “the matter is closed” concerning his paranoic general. The Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Hagee, issued a statement saying “Lt. Gen. Mattis often speaks with a great deal of candor. I have counseled him concerning his remarks and he agrees he should have chosen his words more carefully.” More carefully? How can you be ‘more careful’ about saying you get a kick out of killing people? Maybe : “I like shooting people, but only gently”? Or how about : “It’s fun to kill people, providing they enjoy it”?</p>
<p>It is the attitude of Mattis and his breed – and there are lots like him, think of the deranged General Boykin, for example – that has drawn US forces into the disaster that Iraq has become. Their swaggering, triumphal, smack-’em-in-the-mouth approach has caused millions of Iraqis to hate American troops because from day one the Mattis-type people acted as if every Iraqi was an enemy. They weren’t then, but most of them are, now, thanks to those in the military who followed the example of the all-American Marine who just loves killing people. He is a knuckle dragging buffoon, but the dangerous thing for the world is that he is a hero to millions.</p>
<p>Brian Cloughley writes on military and political affairs. He can be reached through his website <a href="http://www.briancloughley.com/" type="external">www.briancloughley.com</a></p> | A General as Knuckle-Dragging Buffoon | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/02/08/a-general-as-knuckle-dragging-buffoon/ | 2005-02-08 | 4 |
<p><a href="http://www.fox25boston.com/news/only-on-boston-25-exclusive-photos-of-las-vegas-shooters-guns/618716556" type="external">A Fox affiliate in Boston, MA</a>, has obtained exclusive photos showing guns, ammunition, a bi-pod, and hammer, reportedly taken inside Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock's hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.</p>
<p>The photos show just two guns in Paddock's arsenal of 23 weapons, which included a handgun and rifles outfitted with scopes and stabilizers, and modified to shoot as automatic weapons. Police also found hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and a hammer, which Paddock used to break out two windows in his two adjoining hotel suites.</p>
<p>Boston25's Jacqui Heinrich, who says she obtained the photos from "sources in Las Vegas," posted the pictures to her Facebook page.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/us/las-vegas-shooting.html" type="external">An official told The New York Times</a> that the weapons pictured are "AR-15-style assault rifles," and at least one of the rifles has a "bi-pod," used to stabilize the gun while in use. An undisclosed number of weapons were modified with what is called a "bump-stock" that allows a shooter to fire the gun as if it were a fully automatic rifle.</p>
<p>Contrary to earlier reports, the gunman <a href="https://twitter.com/HashtagGriswold/status/915242609286803457" type="external">did not</a> use an "AK-47," and Paddock purchased the guns legally, passing <a href="" type="internal">several background checks at several different Vegas area gun retailers</a>.</p>
<p>An FBI search of Paddock's Mesquite, NV, home yielded 19 more guns, more ammunition, bomb-making materials, and several "electronic devices." Police and the FBI have yet to say what those electronic devices would be used for, and haven't revealed what they found during a search of Paddock's second Nevada home, hours north of Vegas, near Reno.</p>
<p>According to reports from the Las Vegas sheriff department, Paddock had cameras set up in the Mandalay Bay's 32nd floor hallway so that he could see when police arrived. Paddock shot through the door at the SWAT team sent to neutralize him (wounding one officer in the leg) but killed himself before the SWAT team fully breached his hotel door.</p> | ARSENAL: Photos Of Hotel Room Show Las Vegas Gunman's Weapons And Ammo | true | https://dailywire.com/news/21885/arsenal-photos-hotel-room-show-las-vegas-gunmans-emily-zanotti | 2017-10-03 | 0 |
<p>Barack Obama has done his best for nearly eight years to undermine the state of Israel. He’s signed a treaty that enshrines an Iranian path to a nuclear weapon while funding their global terrorist activities to the tune of tens of billions of dollars. He’s repeatedly undercut Israel’s image on the world stage, labeling Israel a mere outgrowth of the Holocaust and suggesting that Israeli intransigence stands as the chief obstacle to peace. He’s ushered Benjamin Netanyahu out the side door of the White House, attempted to undercut the prime minister’s speech before Congress, and then deployed an election team to Israel to try to defeat him in an election. Obama has tried to cut weapons shipments to Israel in the middle of a war against terrorists, forced Israel to apologize for stopping weapons shipments to Hamas terrorists, and funded the Palestinian terrorist unity government with American taxpayer dollars.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Israel has survived.</p>
<p>Actually, Israel has thrived.</p>
<p>It’s thrived, in part, because Obama’s absolute incompetence has created an alliance of convenience between Israel and its erstwhile enemies. Saudi Arabia is more fearful of a nuclear Iran than of Israel; Egypt worries more about the Muslim Brotherhood than about Israel; Jordan frets over the Palestinians more than it does over Israel. Even the Palestinian Authority is more concerned about Hamas and ISIS than about Israel.</p>
<p>That means that there’s been very little pressure on Israel to make concessions to Palestinian terrorists in recent years.</p>
<p>Until now.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443371/obama-anti-israel-jewish-jerusalem-judeo-christian-western-civilization" type="external">Read the rest here</a>.</p> | Shapiro at 'National Review': What Drives Obama's Hatred For Israel? | true | https://dailywire.com/news/11956/shapiro-national-review-what-drives-obamas-hatred-ben-shapiro | 2016-12-28 | 0 |
<p>Local police in the New Jersey borough of Collingswood responded to a call from William P. Tatem Elementary school following a “racist” comment about brownies from a third grader on June 16.</p>
<p>One of the students - a nine-year-old boy - made a comment about brownies being served to the class during an end-of-the-year class party. Another student decried the comment as “racist.”</p>
<p>The police officer who responded to the call spoke with the 9-year-old student, said Stacy dos Santos, the boy’s mother.</p>
<p>“He said they were talking about brownies… Who exactly did he offend?” asked dos Santos.</p>
<p>Dos Santos believes the school overreacted given that he son was commenting on snacks. Describing her son as “traumatized” after the incident, she hopes to transfer him to a different school in the fall.</p>
<p>"I'm not comfortable with the [school’s] administration. I don't trust them and neither does my child," said dos Santos. "He was intimidated, obviously. There was a police officer with a gun in the holster talking to my son, saying, 'Tell me what you said.' He didn't have anybody on his side."</p>
<p>Police said the incident had been referred to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency, and the 9-year-old student stayed home for his last day of third grade.</p>
<p>Sctoss Oswald, the local school board’s superintendent, estimated that officers may have been called to as many as five incidents per day in the district of 1,875 students over the past two months.</p>
<p>The volume of police incidents at public schools over trivialities has compelled parents of the 14,000-resident borough to phone local representatives, meet with their mayor, get active on social media message boards, and launch a petition to “stop mandated criminal investigation o elementary school students.”</p>
<p>School officials and police both say they instructed to report to law enforcement any incidents that could be considered criminal, including anything, “as minor as a simple name-calling incident that the school would typically handle internally” during a May 25 meeting between the parties. They were also advised to report “just about every incident” to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency.</p>
<p>Prior to the May 25 meeting, the school district only reported serious incidents, such as those involving weapons, drugs, or sexual misconduct.</p>
<p>"Some of it is just typical little-kid behavior," said Megan Irwin, a first grade teacher in nearby Pennsauken whose two daughters attended Collingswood public schools. "Never in my years of teaching have I ever felt uncomfortable handling a situation or felt like I didn't know how to handle a situation."</p>
<p>Most of all, parents said they were concerned that undue police involvement threatened their children's well-being.</p>
<p>"I don't want this to happen to another child," dos Santos said.</p>
<p>H/T Emma Platoff at <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20160629_Why_police_were_called_to_a_South_Jersey_third_grade_class_party.html" type="external">The Philadelphia Inquirer</a></p>
<p>Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k" type="external">Twitter</a>.</p> | New Jersey Police Investigate Third Grader For Racism. For Saying ‘Brownies.' | true | https://dailywire.com/news/7059/new-jersey-police-investigate-third-grader-racism-robert-kraychik | 2016-06-29 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>On paper, the game between Cibola and Atrisco Heritage Academy should have been the most competitive of the eight first-round games in the Albuquerque Metro Basketball Championships.</p>
<p>Instead, it was the least competitive.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>No. 9 seed Atrisco Heritage rode a big first half and blasted No. 8 Cibola 67-48 in the Cougars’ gym on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>The Jags (6-2) were brilliant in the first half, rolling to a 43-24 lead.</p>
<p>“That,” Atrisco coach Adrian Ortega said, “is probably the best half we’ve had this season.”</p>
<p>Senior guard Corbin Waquie had a game-high 20 points for Atrisco, which faces No. 1 seed Eldorado at 7:15 tonight at Cibola in the quarterfinals. Eldorado beat AHA 86-79 last month.</p>
<p>— James Yodice</p>
<p>No. 1 ELDORADO 73, No. 16 HIGHLAND 61: The Eagles (6-1) held off the gritty Hornets (0-9) at Cibola as Cullen Neal had a team-high 23 for Eldorado.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>No. 2 ABQ. HIGH 64, No. 15 DEL NORTE 54: At Volcano Vista, senior guard Mahlik Sims had 26 points in the win for the Bulldogs (8-1).</p>
<p>No. 3 LA CUEVA 71, No. 14 WEST MESA 55: At La Cueva, senior guard Bryce Alford had 40 points as the Bears advanced to face Rio Grande at La Cueva at 7:15 tonight in the quarters.</p>
<p>No. 4 VALLEY 62, No. 13 MANZANO 61: At Manzano, the Vikings overcame a 12-point deficit in the final three minutes. Adonis Saltes’ three-point play with 30 seconds left gave Valley (8-1) the lead for good.</p>
<p>No. 5 SANDIA 60, No. 12 CLEVELAND 49: The Matadors had a big second quarter as they get ready to face Valley at 7:15 tonight in the quarterfinals at Manzano. Tim Brennan had a team-best 23 to pace Sandia (7-2).</p>
<p>No. 11 RIO GRANDE 52, No. 6 RIO RANCHO 51: At La Cueva, Mike Torrez’s basket in the final minute capped a wild finish for the Ravens (3-6). Eli Trujillo added a huge 3-pointer for Rio Grande down the stretch.</p>
<p>No. 7 VOLCANO VISTA 80, No. 10 HOPE CHRISTIAN 72: The host Hawks face AHS at 7:15 p.m. today at full strength after a loss to the Bulldogs last month. Kendall Johnson had 34 for Volcano on Tuesday.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Girls</p>
<p>No. 1 ELDORADO 75, No. 16 ATRISCO HERITAGE 27: At AHA, Kerstin Strong paced the Eagles (7-0) with 18 points.</p>
<p>No. 2 HOPE CHRISTIAN 66, No. 15 HIGHLAND 40: At Highland, Marissa Perry poured in 21 for the Huskies (7-1).</p>
<p>No. 3 CIBOLA 56, No. 14 RIO GRANDE 18: At Del Norte, senior post Kassandra Harris led the way for the Cougars (7-2) with 14 points.</p>
<p>No. 4 VOLCANO VISTA 63, No. 13 WEST MESA 40: At Albuquerque High, the Hawks (6-1) had four players reach double figures, led by Bianca Perez’s 19.</p>
<p>No. 5 SANDIA 47, No. 12 AHS 40: At Bulldog City, Astrea Reed’s 16 points led the Matadors (7-1).</p>
<p>No. 7 CLEVELAND 58, No. 10 MANZANO 54 (OT): At Highland, Erin Carrica’s only two baskets of the game came in the OT, but they were the difference as the Storm rallied past the Hornets.</p>
<p>No. 9 RIO RANCHO 38, No. 8 VALLEY 30: At Atrisco Heritage, the Rams (5-6) wasted a 14-point lead but regrouped to advance behind Ally Salata’s 14 points and the defense of Santana Orozco. — This article appeared on page D5 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Jaguars Shred Cougars | false | https://abqjournal.com/238596/jaguars-shred-cougars.html | 2 |
|
<p />
<p>A disgusting corollary to the <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/12/6521_immigrations_di.html" type="external">anti-illegal immigration zeal</a> gripping our national debate (and the minds of many Republican voters) is increased discrimination and hate crimes against Hispanics, both legal and illegal.</p>
<p>From a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/12/AR2007121202272_pf.html" type="external">very good Washington Post op-ed</a> on “nativist ferocity”:</p>
<p>It’s a fair guess that this cruel campaign of immigrant-bashing will eventually turn toxic for the Republican Party itself, whose own strategists (Karl Rove, among others) have long grasped the growing electoral clout of Hispanics. Those Hispanic voters, native-born or not, are anxious and angry about the intensifying nativist zeal in political rhetoric, which many are rightly blaming on the Republicans. In a new survey by the Pew Hispanic Center, half of all Hispanics in America reported that the debate on immigration has had a specific negative impact on their lives; 41 percent said that they or someone close to them had suffered discrimination in the past five years — up from 31 percent in 2002.</p>
<p>The new data undercut the Republicans’ frequent protestations that their targets are not legal immigrants but illegal ones. The attacks have become so venomous, and the policy proposals so pernicious, that, predictably, they have caused collateral damage among Spanish-speaking and non-native-born people generally. The anti-illegal-immigrant crowd would have us believe it honors and admires legal immigrants; in fact, it is making America a less hospitable place for them.</p>
<p>Much more after the jump…</p>
<p>[snip]</p>
<p>Virtually all the presidential candidates now tip their hats to tougher enforcement of existing laws, with the Democrats generally differentiating themselves by saying or hinting that illegal immigrants might subsequently be offered a shot at legalization. But in Congress, some Democrats, mostly from red or purple states and wary of being attacked as insufficiently fierce on illegal immigration, are also going the enforcement-only route…</p>
<p>…the rhetorical excess that has accompanied the proposals, and the suggestions that millions of people might be expelled or hounded from the country, not only respond to popular disquiet; they also whip it up. According to the latest FBI statistics, from 2006, hate crimes against Hispanics had increased by more than a third since 2003.</p>
<p>The most fervent anti-illegal immigrant crusaders are often the ones who go to the greatest lengths to insist they are neither racist nor unhappy with legal immigrants. They often say that it precisely because legal immigrants traverse such a difficult path to this country that we should boot those who take short cuts. (There are exceptions—some <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/10/5847_john_derbyshire.html" type="external">just don’t want immigrants</a>, period.) But their rhetoric is making American hostile to people of a different color, regardless of technical distinctions. They are xenophobic and nativist in effect, if not in intent.</p>
<p /> | Political Focus on Immigration Raising Hate Crimes, Discrimination Against Hispanics | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/12/political-focus-immigration-raising-hate-crimes-discrimination-against-hispanics/ | 2007-12-13 | 4 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>RYE, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire state trooper reeled in a big fish – a massive 650-pound (295-kilogram) tuna.</p>
<p>Nick Cyr says he was reading a book on his boat with two lines out Tuesday in Rye when he got a bite. He tells WBZ-TV ( <a href="http://cbsloc.al/2gNhuRS" type="external">http://cbsloc.al/2gNhuRS</a> ) he could immediately tell it was a big fish, the biggest he's reeled in in a decade of tuna fishing.</p>
<p>Cyr says the fish spun the boat in circles and dragged it for about 2 miles. After a 90-minute tug-of-war, Cyr managed to reel in the 9-foot (2.7-meter) Atlantic bluefin tuna.</p>
<p>This type of tuna can weigh up to 1,499 pounds (680 kilograms), though that's rare.</p>
<p>He says the big check he received for the tuna will help finance what he calls his low-stress hobby of fishing.</p>
<p><a href="#4e43d7d5-60e7-41d1-8f1b-7e086bb32124" type="external">© 2017 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>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Trooper reels in massive 650-pound tuna during fishing trip | false | https://abqjournal.com/1035796/trooper-reels-in-massive-650-pound-tuna-during-fishing-trip-2.html | 2017-07-20 | 2 |
<p>International Paper Co. said Tuesday that it had agreed to combine its North America consumer-packaging business with Graphic Packaging Holding Co. in a transaction valued at $1.8 billion.</p>
<p>Under the deal, International Paper will receive a 20.5% stake, valued at $1.14 billion, in the resulting consumer-packing business and use $660 million in cash proceeds from a loan being assumed by Graphic Packaging to pay down existing debt.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of International Paper -- the Memphis, Tenn., paper company -- rose 1.1% to $58.90 in premarket trading, while shares of Graphic Packaging, an Atlanta producer of cartons and specialty packaging, climbed 4.1% to $14.85.</p>
<p>International Paper said the deal allows the company to benefit from Graphic Packaging's consumer-packing business, while helping IP to remain focused on its core businesses. The transaction is expected to close early next year.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, International Paper agreed to transfer $1.3 billion in pension liabilities to a unit of Prudential Financial Inc. in a maneuver used by companies with pension plans to limit their exposure to volatility in markets and interest rates. The move was expected to reduce International Paper's $14 billion in U.S. qualified pension plan liabilities by about 9%.</p>
<p>Write to Ezequiel Minaya at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>October 24, 2017 08:34 ET (12:34 GMT)</p> | International Paper, Graphic Packaging Combine Packaging Businesses | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/10/24/international-paper-graphic-packaging-combine-packaging-businesses.html | 2017-10-24 | 0 |
<p>This has been bothering me since well before September 11, but it’s been getting more acute since then, and even worse since the announcement of the arrest of Abdullah al Mujadir.</p>
<p>People in the US are carrying on about who has the right to trial by jury, and who has the right to an open civil trial rather than a closed and secret military tribunal. There’s an old saying that military justice is to justice as military music is to music, and it’s more than just a field-corporal’s gripe. But the thought behind it is lost lately, as something much more important is being lost, fogged over, drowned out. Apparently the public has forgotten — if it ever learned — why trial by jury and the presumption of innocence matter to our legal system.</p>
<p>There seems to be a ground-level perception that these two principles are somehow a privilege that we are heir to by our birth as US citizens, an hereditary perk like a samurai’s right to be fed by the peasants. Because it’s seen as a privilege — even though we call it a “right” — it’s also seen as revocable, as something we can lose access to if we somehow don’t deserve it. It’s also seen as somehow belonging exclusively to us, a mistake our own laws have come to foster. Someone accused of a particularly foul crime is seen as beyond the pale, and jury trials and presumption of innocence reside only well within that social — and geographic — boundary. In part, this is a normal enough reaction of anger at the crime itself and at the criminal, a way of separating ourselves utterly from anyone who would commit such a horror.</p>
<p>But the problem with this stance isn’t its lack of brotherly empathy. It’s not even its failure to put ourselves in the accused’s shoes for a theoretical moment. The problem is its lack of science.</p>
<p>I’m no legal scholar, but I do remember enough history to have noticed that the American Revolution, economic issues aside, was a child of the European Enlightenment. Along with its ancestry in English common law, our court system owes its beginning to the idea that truth is discoverable by human means, and that those means are accessible to any human who cares to work enough to learn them. The Enlightenment includes a cluster of big ideas — bigger, and in progress more democratic, than the men who most famously advanced them. Like English common law, they set precedents and spread basic assumptions that went beyond anything their original promulgators could have imagined. And, as the American revolution surprised and angered some elements of English society, the access to fact and process that science allows has moved way beyond the elite in whose hands it was supposed to rest — and there’s still backlash from people who presume themselves its rightful heirs.</p>
<p>The idea that no one is inherently more fit to discover truths than anyone else, and that what’s needed for the task is work, seems to be a hard one for humans to swallow. We treat physicians as priests, demanding the Truth from them right now and once and for all, and wonder why they get arrogant. We allow elected officials to tell us they know best without revealing just what they know and how they know it, and don’t notice until it steps on our own toes that we’ve subsidized tyranny. We forget, or ignore, the basis for our whole system of reasoning, which is not “Take my word for it” but “See for yourself.”</p>
<p>Open jury trials are as democratic — and as reason-based — as science is. As a scientist must openly display his or her experiments, described carefully enough that anyone can replicate them, to be taken seriously, so evidence for any crime and the reason for any punishment must be open to examination by anyone who is expected to concur with either. Justice isn’t just fair; it’s factual. It can’t be fair without being fact-based and reasonable.</p>
<p>The founders of the US endorsed the open jury trial not just because they saw it as cutting everybody an even break, but because like their European brethren they saw it as the best available method to find out what was true. We still haven’t found a better one.</p>
<p>Torture, for example, works no better now than it did for the Inquisition. Of course, the Inquisition grew out of a different concept of truth: less a matter of discovery than of agreement with one’s divinely ordained superiors. Agreement is easier to extract via torture than real information is. Assumptions about the likelihood of crime among entire groups of people — “profiling” — lead to the sort of blunders that we laugh at today, even as we commit more of them. Think of Lombroso and his “criminal profile” based on head shape, or Dr. Down and his equating of a certain suite of congenital disorders with the development of the “Mongoloid” “race.” Any of these can assume, have assumed the mantle of science without actually being quite scientific enough, because they proceed from assumptions they are then supposed to prove.</p>
<p>The presumption of innocence is a precise and basic counter to just such faulty procedure. It’s not a matter of washing away original sin, or inventing a purity of soul for people who seem to have none. It’s a matter of cleaning the tools, of making a good experiment, of clearing our own minds in order to get it right. We aren’t watching a mysterious rite here, something that an ordained Other can complete by going through a set of motions. It’s something We the People must do for ourselves. We can’t assign the work of justice to somebody else and look away, any more than we can delegate our own education. Law must have science as its goal — and its method. And nobody can do it but a vigilant, rational, and patient people.</p>
<p>Ron Sullivan is the Garden Editor for <a href="http://www.faultline.org/" type="external">Faultline</a>, California’s Environmental Magazine.</p>
<p>She can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Law and Orders | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/06/17/law-and-orders/ | 2002-06-17 | 4 |
<p />
<p />
<p>It’s hardly surprising that a tobacco company would donate more money to Republican politicians than to Democrats, who are generally more amenable than GOPers to taxes and regulation. North Carolina’s Lorillard Tobacco, for instance, gave nearly four times as much cash to Republican candidates during the 2014 congressional election cycle. But the company made a striking exception for one particular subset of Democrats: African Americans.</p>
<p>Our analysis of records from the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?cycle=2014&amp;id=D000019376" type="external">Center for Responsive Politics</a> revealed that half of all black members of Congress received financial support from Lorillard, as opposed to just one in 38 nonblack Democrats. To put it another way, black lawmakers—all but one of whom are Democrats—were 19 times as likely as nonblack Democrats to get a donation.</p>
<p>It’s not hard to see why Lorillard might employ this strategy. Federal officials are now considering whether to add menthol, the minty, throat-numbing additive—to the list of flavorings Congress banned from cigarettes in 2009 for public health reasons. Lorillard’s Newport is the nation’s top-selling menthol brand, accounting for billions in annual sales. And who most favors menthols? Black smokers, by a wide margin.</p>
<p>For decades, in fact, the tobacco industry has maintained what amounts to an informal mutual-aid pact with certain black organizations. Over the years, cigarette makers have donated generously to members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and to its affiliate, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation—not to mention the National Urban League, the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, and many smaller African American groups. In return, some of these groups have helped the industry fight anti-smoking measures. Others, public health advocates say, have turned a blind eye to the harms tobacco imposes on the black community.</p>
<p>Menthols account for about 30 percent of cigarette sales in the United States, but according to <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/256333391_Differential_trends_in_cigarette_smoking_in_the_USA_Is_menthol_slowing_progress" type="external">a study</a> cited by the federal <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/disparities/african-americans/index.htm#health-effects" type="external">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) based on data from 2008 through 2010, menthols were the choice of 88 percent of black smokers—and 57 percent of smokers under 18.</p>
<p>The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the landmark 2009 law that authorized the FDA to regulate tobacco products, included a ban on candy, fruit, and spice flavorings because of their appeal to young smokers. But during the political negotiations that preceded the deal, menthol was given a pass. In July 2013, after years of complaints from the public health community, the agency <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-07-24/pdf/2013-17805.pdf" type="external">put out a call for comments</a> on whether menthol should be added to the list.</p>
<p>Several other countries have banned menthol in recent years, or imposed deadlines for eliminating it, but not been a peep has been heard from the FDA since it asked the public to weigh in more than two years ago. This past June, in a display of confidence, Reynolds American Inc.—the conglomerate that owns RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co.—completed <a href="http://www.reynoldsamerican.com/wp-content/uploads/doc_news/PDF%20-%20Press%20release/2014/2014-13_RA_July-15-Second-one_v001_c751zn.pdf" type="external">a merger with Lorillard</a>, paying more than $27 billion for a company that depended on menthols for roughly 85 percent of sales.</p>
<p>The FDA’s menthol limbo is part of a pattern, public health advocates say: The agency has been all but paralyzed by caution and—when it has tried to act—by legal challenges from the industry. In January 2010, the FDA lost a lawsuit from manufacturers opposed to its plan to regulate e-cigarettes as drug-delivery devices, but it has yet to complete the rulemaking process that would extend its oversight of ordinary tobacco products to cigars and e-cigarettes, which are increasingly popular among teenagers. In November 2011, the industry again blocked the FDA in court after the agency tried to require <a href="" type="internal">graphic warning labels</a> on cigarette packs—similar to those used in at least 75 countries.</p>
<p>The menthol delay is “inexcusable,” says Joelle Lester, a staff attorney with the Public Health Law Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. “Prohibiting menthol in tobacco products should be a very high priority.” (Agency officials declined to be interviewed. A spokesman noted in an email that the FDA “is continuing to consider regulatory options related to menthol.”)</p>
<p>Getting rid of menthol would be politically difficult under any circumstances, but observers say it will be impossible without strong support from African American leaders. And despite support for a ban from some black public-health advocates, the community’s leadership organizations and politicians have been largely silent. Some of the smaller groups that have accepted <a href="http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/11/4/336.full.pdf+html" type="external">tobacco money</a> over the years—including the <a href="http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/TobaccoProductsScientificAdvisoryCommittee/UCM232842.pdf" type="external">National Black Chamber of Commerce</a>, the <a href="http://www.fairwarning.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/XXCORE.pdf" type="external">Congress of Racial Equality</a>, the <a href="http://www.fairwarning.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/XXNOBLEbeforeTPSAC.pdf" type="external">National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives</a> (NOBLE), and the <a href="http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/TobaccoProductsScientificAdvisoryCommittee/UCM262379.pdf" type="external">National Black Police Association</a> (NBPA)—are actively opposed to a ban, claiming that it would trigger an illicit trade in menthol cigarettes. This, they argue, would result in lost tax revenues, higher law enforcement costs, and widespread arrests in the black community.</p>
<p>The NBPA launched a write-in campaign that resulted in more than 36,000 comments opposing a ban, according to an FDA <a href="http://www.fairwarning.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Memorandum_from_FDA_Center_for_Tobacco_Products_to_the_Division_of_Dockets_Management_re_Summary_of_Write_In_Campaigns7.pdf" type="external">document</a> (PDF). And while that group did not respond to interview requests, John Dixon, a past president of NOBLE and the police chief in Petersburg, Virginia, told me he thought a menthol ban “would probably have an adverse effect on the minority community,” adding that “prohibitions cause a whole other host of problems,” including a “burden on law enforcement.” NOBLE <a href="http://www.noblenational.org/supporters.aspx" type="external">currently lists</a> RAI Services Co.—part of Reynolds American—as one of its financial backers. But this “would not have any influence, one way or another,” on the group’s positions, Dixon insists.</p>
<p>The relationship between Big Tobacco and black groups “is complicated,” notes Delmonte Jefferson, executive director of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, a CDC-funded nonprofit. In recent years, minority groups have attracted a wider range of corporate sponsors, making tobacco money less important. But “there was a long time that it was only the tobacco industry that would support” some of them, Jefferson said. “To do an abrupt turn against the same companies—that’s kind of hard for them to do.”</p>
<p>While smoking rates for black and white adults are comparable, blacks have disproportionately <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3606656/pdf/nihms416572.pdf" type="external">higher death rates</a> from tobacco-related ailments, including various cancers and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. About <a href="http://www.fairwarning.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/pathways.pdf" type="external">47,000</a> African Americans die annually from smoking-related illnesses, the CDC reports, making tobacco the black community’s greatest preventable cause of death.</p>
<p>Menthols do not appear to be any more toxic per se than regular cigarettes. “A menthol cigarette is just another cigarette and should be regulated no differently,” David Howard, a spokesman for Reynolds American, writes in an email. But health authorities view menthols as a starter product. saying that menthol’s anesthetizing effects help beginners tolerate the harshness of tobacco smoke, making them more likely to become addicted to nicotine.</p>
<p>“Menthol has no redeeming value other than to make the poison go down more easily,” notes <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3110223/" type="external">a report</a> in the American Journal of Public Health. Some <a href="http://www.fda.gov/downloads/UCM361598.pdf" type="external">research</a> also suggests that menthol smokers are more nicotine-dependent and have more trouble quitting. It is “likely that menthol cigarettes pose a public health risk above that seen with non-menthol cigarettes,” states <a href="http://www.fda.gov/downloads/UCM361598.pdf" type="external">a 2013 FDA report</a>. The industry disputes this. “The best available scientific evidence,” the Reynolds spokesman claims, “demonstrates that menthol cigarettes do not cause people to start smoking earlier, smoke more cigarettes…or make smokers more addicted than non-menthol cigarette smokers.”</p>
<p>In any case, Big Tobacco has worked hard to befriend the black community. Early on, cigarette makers touted menthols as good for smokers with a cough or cold, and “African Americans became attached to the notion” that menthols were safer, according to public health activist and researcher Phillip S. Gardiner. The companies reinforced the popularity of Kool and other brands by sponsoring cultural events and pouring marketing dollars into black media and neighborhoods—all part of what Gardiner calls “the <a href="http://www.fairwarning.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/AfricanAmericanizationGARDINER.pdf" type="external">African Americanization</a> of menthol cigarette use.”</p>
<p>The industry’s hiring practices were also quite progressive for their time. During the 1950s, the White Sentinel, a white supremacist publication, urged <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1988-05-22/news/mn-4888_1_tobacco-industry" type="external">a boycott</a>of Philip Morris for having “the worst race-mixing record of any large company in the nation.” Philip Morris “was first in the tobacco industry to hire Negroes instead of Whites for executive and sales positions,” the publication lamented, and “the first cigarette company to advertise in the Negro press.”</p>
<p>Indeed, Philip Morris—America’s top cigarette maker and part of Altria Group—led the way in making tobacco companies charitable pillars of black cultural, educational, and political organizations. In 1987, for instance, the company <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1988-05-22/news/mn-4888_1_tobacco-industry" type="external">donated $2.4 million</a> to more than 180 black, Latino, and women’s organizations and their local chapters.</p>
<p>That same year, the National Black Monitor, a now-defunct magazine, published an article <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1988-05-22/news/mn-4888_1_tobacco-industry" type="external">ghost-written by an official from RJ Reynolds</a>—a tobacco company that funded journalism scholarships for African American students and in 1985 was named advertiser of the year by a black newspaper publishers group. The article compared the treatment of tobacco companies to that of oppressed blacks. While racial minorities no longer face “the systematized injustice they once did,” the writer argued, “relentless discrimination still rages unabashedly on a cross-country scope against another group of targets—the tobacco industry and 50 million private citizens who smoke.”</p>
<p>At the NAACP’s annual convention in 2009, two delegates from the group’s Berkeley, California, branch tried to convince the organization to take a stand against Big Tobacco. The two, Valerie Yerger, then an assistant professor of health policy at UC-San Francisco, and Carol McGruder, co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, tried to introduce <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#search/carol+mcgruder/14f51ab491b34d9e?projector=1" type="external">a resolution</a> that called on NAACP leadership to make tobacco control “a national priority” and push for a menthol ban.</p>
<p>The measure hadn’t been vetted by the NAACP’s resolutions committee, as was customary, and the women’s request to introduce it on an emergency basis was not well received. The late Julian Bond, then the group’s chairman, “was not going to have any conversation with us about this,” Yerger recalls. “He was in our face yelling at us, okay? I was determined not to cry, but this was, like, a hero that I grew up with,” she adds. “As a young black kid, you grow up knowing who the hell Julian Bond is.” McGruder doesn’t recall Bond yelling, but “he wasn’t happy about it and he wasn’t going to entertain it,” she says.</p>
<p>The flow of tobacco money to minority groups seems to have ebbed in recent years. But the industry “still has a pretty heavy influence financially,” says Jefferson of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network. Last year, for instance, Altria <a href="http://nmaahc.si.edu/content/pdf/Newsroom/NMAAHC_Altria_donation_07302014.pdf" type="external">gave $1 million</a> to Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.</p>
<p>During the 2013-14 election cycle, tobacco companies donated $115,650 to black lawmakers and their affiliated PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Lorillard was the most generous, distributing $56,500 to 23 black members (there are 46 total) and their PACs. The Black Caucus chair, North Carolina Rep. GK Butterfield, got $5,000 from Lorillard. Rep. Sanford Bishop of Georgia got $10,000. South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn&#160;received only $2,000, but his BRIDGE PAC took in $5,000 from Lorillard and $10,000 from Altria.</p>
<p>Shuanise Washington is president and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which sponsors leadership training, awards scholarships, and hosts an <a href="http://www.cbcfinc.org/annual-legislative-conference/" type="external">annual legislative conference</a> attended by thousands. Washington, who declined to comment for this story, was also a past vice president for Altria, which gave the CBCF between $100,000 and $249,000 in both <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ShritaSterlinHernand/cbcf-annual-report-2013" type="external">2013</a>and <a href="http://www.cbcfinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/CBCFAnnualReport2014.pdf" type="external">2014</a>, according to the foundation’s website. In addition, Reynolds American is listed as having contributed between $5,000 and $15,000, and Altria was a corporate partner at the legislative conference in September. “How can you talk about health equity,” asks anti-tobacco activist Jefferson, “when you are sponsored by a killer of public health?” (An Altria spokesman said the company’s gifts to the foundation mainly support fellowship and internship programs, reflecting Altria’s “long history of focusing on diversity and inclusion.”)</p>
<p>Lorillard also gave a small donation to Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois, who heads a panel called the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust. At the caucus foundation’s legislative conference, the panel issued <a href="http://robinkelly.house.gov/sites/robinkelly.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015%20Kelly%20Report.pdf" type="external">a 144-page report</a> on the health problems afflicting minority citizens. It included entire sections on childhood obesity, nutrition, HIV/AIDs, lupus, sleep disorders, oral health, and gun violence. Tobacco was barely mentioned. &#160;</p>
<p>The 2009 legislation that gave the FDA power to regulate tobacco products grew out of a deal between anti-smoking groups, members of Congress, and Philip Morris. But the menthol exception did not sit well with some black public health advocates. “How do you justify removing all of the flavorings which were minuscule in use but leave the No. 1 flavor product? It makes no sense at all,” said William S. Robinson, the former head of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, which withdrew its support for the bill in protest.</p>
<p>Seven former secretaries of Health and Human Services weighed in with an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/business/05TobaccoLetter.html?ref=business" type="external">open letter</a> to Congress. “Menthol should be banned so that it no longer serves as a product the tobacco companies can use to lure African American children,” it read. “We do everything we can to protect our children in America, especially our white children. It’s time to do the same for all children.”</p>
<p>Lorillard, which <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lorillard-tobacco-company-donates-1-million-to-international-civil-rights-center-and-museum-65637017.html" type="external">donated</a> $1 million to the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in its Greensboro hometown soon after, fought back via advertisements in black newspapers: “Some self-appointed activists have proposed a legislative ban on menthol cigarettes in a misguided effort to force people to quit smoking by limiting their choices,” one ad warned. “The history of African Americans in this country has been one of fighting against paternalistic limitations and for freedoms.”</p>
<p>Ultimately, Congress kicked the menthol can down the road. An amendment to the Tobacco Control Act called for the formation of a scientific advisory panel to study and report back to the FDA on the <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-07-24/pdf/2013-17805.pdf" type="external">public health impact of menthol</a>, “including use among children, African Americans, Hispanics, and other racial/ethnic minorities.”</p>
<p>The panel issued its report in 2011, concluding that “removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States.” The FDA, however, waited two more years before requesting public comments. Then, in July 2014, it suffered <a href="http://www.fairwarning.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/RulinginConflictCase1.pdf" type="external">a legal setback</a>. A federal judge ruled that the agency could not base any decisions on the advisory panel’s findings. The ruling emerged from a lawsuit by Reynolds and Lorillard claiming that the FDA had violated ethics laws by appointing experts who had conflicts of interest due to their previous anti-tobacco stands. The decision is under appeal. The FDA could have acted anyway, however, because its own staff had prepared a <a href="http://www.fda.gov/downloads/UCM361598.pdf" type="external">separate report</a>that reached essentially the same conclusions as the panelists had. But for reasons agency officials won’t discuss, nothing has happened since.</p>
<p>Some activists have simply given up on the feds and moved on to local campaigns. In December 2013, for instance, the Chicago City Council <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-chicago-curb-menthol-smoking-among-african-american-youth/" type="external">passed an ordinance</a> barring the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, cigars, and e-cigarettes, within 500 feet of schools. In Berkeley, Calfornia, a <a href="http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_28823511/berkeley-council-votes-place-new-restrictions-sale-tobacco" type="external">ban on the sale</a> of menthol and other flavored tobacco products (including e-cigarettes) within 600 feet of schools will take effect in 2017. Similar legislation has been proposed in Baltimore. “I’m not expecting anything” from the FDA, says Carol McGruder, one of the anti-smoking activists rebuffed by the NAACP. “I don’t think that they have the guts.”</p>
<p>This story was reported by <a href="http://www.fairwarning.org" type="external">FairWarning.org</a>, a nonprofit investigative news organization focused on public health, safety, and environmental issues.</p>
<p /> | The Troubling History of Big Tobacco’s Cozy Ties With Black Leaders | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/11/tobacco-industry-lorillard-newport-menthol-black-smokers/ | 2015-11-17 | 4 |
<p>All hail John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, whose manueverings since the disastrous November elections have brought us to this key point: revealing to all of America that Democrats have their own insane, inflexible, and ideologically indefensible caucus.</p>
<p>That group, of course, is the "Don't Ever Touch Entitlements in Any Way" Caucus, chaired by the venerable Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. As <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2013/04/10/prominent-democrats-oppose-obama-budget-cuts-social-security-and-medicare/FaAc3Ap3y3WS3oS1YcrBQP/story.html" type="external">reported</a> by the Boston Globe:</p>
<p>“In short, ‘chained CPI’ is just a fancy way to say ‘cut benefits for seniors, the permanently disabled, and orphans,’” Warren fired off in an e-mail to supporters. She related the experience of her brother, David Herring, a military veteran and former small business owner who lives on monthly Social Security checks of $1,100. “Our Social Security system is critical to protecting middle-class families,’’ she wrote, “and we cannot allow it to be dismantled inch by inch.”</p>
<p>There's also the always reasonable labor leader Richard Trumka, who <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/us/politics/obama-budget-seeks-deal-in-mix-of-cuts-and-spending.html?_r=0" type="external">described</a> the proposed cuts as "wrong and indefensible." And don't forget the lovely Alan Grayson, who seems <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/10/chained-cpi-obama-democrats_n_3055343.html" type="external">more worried</a> about his political future than the merits of the proposal:</p>
<p>"It was pretty clear up to this point that the Republicans were the party in favor of cutting Social Security, cutting Medicare, cutting Medicaid, and the Democrats were the party against it," Grayson said during a conference call with reporters. "Now with the president's proposal, we face the threat we'll be stigmatized as the party that kinda is for it, kinda against it."</p>
<p>As the Huffington Post reports, 30 House Democrats have signed a letter vowing to: "vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits -- including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need." (Emphasis mine).</p>
<p>The narrative of Washington, D.C. since the rise of the Tea Party has been to portray Republicans as ideological madmen who won't ever agree to make a deal for America's best interest.</p>
<p>But let me be clear: Democrats have their own crazy caucus, and this motley crew is causing a massive headache for our reasonable, pragmatic President.</p>
<p>The President and a portion of his caucus have accurately assessed the big picture, which they seem to sum up as follows:</p>
<p>America is aging, and our economic growth is stagnant. To preserve discretionary spending priorities, we must prevent entitlement spending from crowding out all other budgetary options. The only way to do that is cut a deal on Medicare and Social Security.</p>
<p>That's not a terrible way of thinking about our next 20-30 years of budgetary concerns. This problem is what drives so much of the President's push for the fabled Grand Bargain to deliver entitlement reform and put our country on sound fiscal footing.</p>
<p>But a substantial portion of Democrats will never vote to cut entitlement spending. They are just as inflexible as the worst elements of the House GOP, and it's great they are finally forced to go on record for being the loons they really are.</p>
<p>Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast.</p>
<p>A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).</p>
<p>I've criticized Republicans for being unwilling to ever compromise on taxes. You can't negotiate with people who refuse to even accept the idea of a bargain, and such peopel shouldn't be running a country. I support efforts to drag the GOP to the center, and I don't see why we should be attempting to primary Republicans for the act of governance.</p>
<p>So to see Democrats saying similarly stupid things in public should be a wake-up call for American voters.</p>
<p>And this is only happening because GOP leadership forced the Senate and President Obama to put their names on a budget. McConnell and Boehner have managed to expose a huge intra-party war that Democrats have tamped down since the Clinton era, but the years of Democratic peace and tranquility are about to end.</p>
<p>If the GOP works with Obama to pass Chained CPI ( <a href="" type="internal">that means stop talking, Rep. Greg Walden</a>), you'll see Democrats being primaried in 2014 and the party's base taking a sharp turn to the left. You'll see Occupy Wall Street back with a vengeance. You'll see the looniest elements of the left wing on full display.</p>
<p>And if it requires a few minor tax increases to get some moderate entitlement reform and to help begin the splintering of Obama's grand electoral coalition, I'm all aboard.</p> | Why the Existence of this Obama Budget is a Victory for the Republicans | true | https://thedailybeast.com/why-the-existence-of-this-obama-budget-is-a-victory-for-the-republicans | 2018-10-02 | 4 |
<p>A new poll found that half of New Jersey residents oppose opening casinos outside Atlantic City.</p>
<p>The idea is being promoted by some lawmakers as a way to raise money that would go to Atlantic City, where casinos are struggling.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind poll released Monday found that 50 percent of New Jersey adults oppose the idea of opening gambling halls outside Atlantic City, while 42 percent favor the idea.</p>
<p>Residents were slightly more upbeat about putting gambling in the Meadowlands than at the Monmouth Park racetrack, if it were allowed outside Atlantic City. But neither site had broad support.</p>
<p>Monday, there emerged too very different takes on the poll: The public gets it, or it doesn't yet know enough about plans for casinos in northern New Jersey.</p>
<p>"Expanding gaming to north Jersey will hurt the whole state," said Assemblyman Christopher A. Brown, a Republican whose district includes Atlantic City. "Voters understand that. There's no reason to build a casino nobody wants."</p>
<p>State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a Democrat from Elizabeth, said he believes that many naysayers on casinos outside Atlantic City would change their minds if they learn of the number of jobs and amount of revenue they could bring — and that money from new casinos could be used to support Atlantic City's conversion to a less gambling-centric destination.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"We can't turn away from the fact that so much money is leaving New Jersey," he said, "and so much opportunity is going to be lost."</p>
<p>State Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat, has said he is open to letting New Jersey voters decide through a referendum next year whether to amend the state Constitution and permit casino gambling in locations other than Atlantic City.</p>
<p>Under proposals being considered, the operator of a casino at the Meadowlands race track or elsewhere in northern New Jersey would be taxed at a much higher rate than Atlantic City casinos and a certain as-yet unspecified percentage of that extra revenue would be returned to Atlantic City to help it deal with the in-state competition.</p>
<p>Sweeney said that whatever the percentage ultimately is, the money would be committed in the state constitution to help Atlantic City and could not be diverted to the state's general fund.</p>
<p>With the impending closings of the Showboat on Aug. 31 and Trump Plaza on Sept. 16, and the possible shutdown of Revel if a buyer isn't found at a bankruptcy court auction this week, as many as 8,000 Atlantic City casino workers could be without work by the end of the summer.</p>
<p>People who have visited casinos lately are more receptive to the idea of adding non-Atlantic City casinos, the poll found.</p>
<p>The telephone poll of 819 randomly selected adults was conducted from July 14-20. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.</p>
<p>____</p>
<p>Follow Mulvihill at http://www.twitter.com/geoffmulvihill.</p> | Poll finds half of New Jersey residents oppose opening casinos outside Atlantic City | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/08/04/poll-finds-half-new-jersey-residents-oppose-opening-casinos-outside-atlantic.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego's public health emergency for Hepatitis A has ended, officials declared Tuesday, after no new cases of the liver-damaging virus were reported in the past month and no deaths since October.</p>
<p>Officials vowed to continue efforts to keep the illness under control.</p>
<p>On Sept. 1, authorities declared the emergency to fight the worst epidemic of its kind in 20 years in the U.S. It killed 20 people and sickened 577 people between November 2016 and October 2017.</p>
<p>Officials vaccinated more than 100,000 people, installed scores of hand-washing stations and cleaned streets with a bleach solution to contain the virus that lives in feces.</p>
<p>"New outbreak activity has leveled off to near zero," said Wilma Wooten, San Diego County public health officer. "The sustained vaccination, sanitation and education efforts we undertook will continue and we will remain vigilant to make sure that the outbreak activity doesn't return."</p>
<p>Three giant tents opened to temporarily house hundreds of homeless people, the most affected population.</p>
<p>The outbreak spread to at least three other states.</p>
<p>While the Hepatitis A cases have eased, San Diego now is battling thousands of cases of flu. The county is among the hardest hit in California and in the nation this season.</p>
<p>A total of 142 flu deaths have been reported through Jan. 13, 2018, the highest ever since the county began tracking it about 20 years ago. The previous deadliest flu season was in 2014-15, when 97 deaths were reported.</p>
<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego's public health emergency for Hepatitis A has ended, officials declared Tuesday, after no new cases of the liver-damaging virus were reported in the past month and no deaths since October.</p>
<p>Officials vowed to continue efforts to keep the illness under control.</p>
<p>On Sept. 1, authorities declared the emergency to fight the worst epidemic of its kind in 20 years in the U.S. It killed 20 people and sickened 577 people between November 2016 and October 2017.</p>
<p>Officials vaccinated more than 100,000 people, installed scores of hand-washing stations and cleaned streets with a bleach solution to contain the virus that lives in feces.</p>
<p>"New outbreak activity has leveled off to near zero," said Wilma Wooten, San Diego County public health officer. "The sustained vaccination, sanitation and education efforts we undertook will continue and we will remain vigilant to make sure that the outbreak activity doesn't return."</p>
<p>Three giant tents opened to temporarily house hundreds of homeless people, the most affected population.</p>
<p>The outbreak spread to at least three other states.</p>
<p>While the Hepatitis A cases have eased, San Diego now is battling thousands of cases of flu. The county is among the hardest hit in California and in the nation this season.</p>
<p>A total of 142 flu deaths have been reported through Jan. 13, 2018, the highest ever since the county began tracking it about 20 years ago. The previous deadliest flu season was in 2014-15, when 97 deaths were reported.</p> | San Diego declares end to Hepatitis A emergency | false | https://apnews.com/amp/17f48a03be3d4ab3b7b1c995417c8ea3 | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p>FBN's Rich Edson breaks down the CBO's outlook for the economy and budget.</p>
<p>The fiscal 2013 U.S. budget deficit will dip to $845 billion after four straight years of $1 trillion-plus deficits, the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday, largely because of higher taxes now being paid by wealthy Americans.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The CBO analysis, which will feed into Congress' bitter debate over deficit-reduction plans, assumes that $85 billion in automatic spending cuts will launch as scheduled on March 1.</p>
<p>It said the fiscal tightening from higher taxes and this lower spending will slow economic growth to an anemic 1.4 percent by the end of 2013, causing the unemployment rate to edge back higher.</p>
<p>In the New Year's deal to avert the "fiscal cliff," tax rates on income above $450,000 for couples were allowed to return to their pre-2001 levels. But the automatic spending cuts were only delayed for two months until March 1.</p>
<p>The economy will start to rebound in 2014 and fill federal coffers at a faster pace, according to the non-partisan congressional budget referee.</p>
<p>Even if Congress takes no further actions to cut spending or raise tax revenue, deficits will continue to shrink, reaching $616 billion in fiscal 2014 and $430 billion in fiscal 2015. The 2015 gap would be equivalent to 2.4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product at that time, a level that many economists view as sustainable.</p>
<p>But deficits rise steadily from mid-decade, nearing $1 trilion again by 2023, according to the forecast. The 10-year cumulative deficit is forecast at $6.958 trillion.</p>
<p>"Deficits are projected to increase later in the coming decade, however, because of the pressures of an aging population, rising health care costs, an expansion of federal subsidies for health insurance, and growing interest payments on federal debt," the CBO said in the report.</p>
<p>CBO warned that U.S. debt held by the public also would continue to mount, reaching 77 percent of GDP by 2023 and rising further. This will limit lawmakers' flexibility in dealing with economic slowdowns and other challenges.</p>
<p>"Such a large debt would increase the risk of a financial crisis, during which investors would lose so much confidence in the government's ability to manage its budget that the government would be unable to borrow at affordable rates," the CBO said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | CBO Sees FY 2013 Budget Deficit at $845B, Smallest Since '08 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2013/02/05/cbo-sees-fy-2013-budget-deficit-at-845b-smallest-since-08.html | 2016-03-02 | 0 |
<p>China's slump is shaking the world economy, turning a country long seen as a growth engine into a possible threat.</p>
<p>The slowdown started as a side effect of the Communist Party's plan to steer the world's second-largest economy to a "new normal" of lower, steadier growth. It has turned into a nose dive the party is struggling to reverse.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The party's plans call for keeping economic growth close to 7 percent this year while China shifts from reliance on trade and investment to more self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption.</p>
<p>Exports were supposed to grow by 6 percent this year, but instead they are shrinking. Factories are shedding millions of jobs, threatening to inflame political tensions. New industries including e-commerce are growing but still are too small to offset job losses in traditional businesses.</p>
<p>"There are pockets of extreme weakness in China's economy but also areas of strength," said Mark Williams, chief Asia economist for Capital Economics in London. "The services sector seems to be doing well, but industry is really struggling."</p>
<p>THE NEW NORMAL: The Communist Party succeeded at cooling a debt-fueled construction and real estate boom. But creating a consumer economy is taking longer as households facing an uncertain job market tighten their belts. Steel, coal mining and heavy industry are cutting workforces while retail spending and new industries are growing but still are small. The government reported economic growth held steady at 7 percent in the latest quarter, though private sector analysts say the real figure might be 5 percent or lower. Whatever it is, growth is due to fall further. Communist leaders say they can tolerate lower headline growth so long as the economy generates enough jobs.</p>
<p>MANUFACTURING AND EXPORTS: Sales by China's powerhouse exporters, who employ tens of millions of people, shrank by an unexpectedly sharp 8.3 percent in July from a year earlier. It looks increasingly unlikely China can meet its 2015 growth target of 6 percent. The ruling party wants to avoid dumping laid-off factory workers into the job market. The number of factory jobs in the southern province of Guangdong, heartland of China's export industry, fell by nearly 5 million from a year earlier to 13.3 million in first quarter of 2015. The China Labor Bulletin, a research group in Hong Kong, says there have been 211 strikes this year in Guangdong, mostly over back wages owed to laid-off workers.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>CHINESE STIMULUS: The threat of job losses has forced Beijing to inject money into the economy through railway construction and other measures, setting back efforts to reduce reliance on investment. Beijing has cut interest rates five times since November. That reduces financing costs for state companies but does little for entrepreneurs who generate wealth and jobs but have little access to the state-owned banking industry. Private sector analysts say the quickest way to revive the state-dominated economy is to move faster on promised reforms to give entrepreneurs a bigger role. Beijing's surprise Aug. 11 devaluation of its yuan was criticized by some as an attempt to help struggling Chinese exporters, but economists said the 3 percent change was too small to make a difference due to weak global demand. Still, it prompted fears of a "currency war" if other governments responded by devaluing their own currencies to keep export prices low.</p>
<p>BANKS: China's state-owned banking industry is a powerful tool that allows Beijing to channel money to politically favored projects or to force cash into the economy to boost growth. Lending rose in July, but analysts say much of the increase went to other financial institutions. That included loans to a state-owned company that was charged with propping up the sinking stock market by purchasing shares. At the same time, lending to businesses weakened. Communist leaders say they want to make state-owned banks more market-oriented and competitive. But entrepreneurs still get few loans and borrow instead from an unregulated underground credit market at high interest. Defaults spiked as the economy weakened, making loans harder to get and inflicting losses on small investors who entrusted money to underground lenders. At the same time, regulators are tightening control over "shadow banking," or lending and the sale of financial products by state banks outside their normal operations. The lack of details released by banks has prompted concern they might be failing to disclose risks, but industry analysts say such uncertainty is decreasing.</p>
<p>CONSUMERS: Retail sales are a bright spot in China's economy. Growth edged down in July but to a still-healthy 10.4 percent, while online commerce is growing at twice that rate. Still, the industry is growing from a very low base. In the southern province of Guangdong, retailing employs 1.3 million people, barely one-tenth the number in manufacturing. And some industry segments have suffered setbacks. Auto sales fell 3.4 percent in June and that decline accelerated to 6.6 percent in July, startling forecasters who expected 7 to 8 percent growth this year. Some have slashed their growth outlook for the year to as low as 1.7 percent, a troubling development for Western automakers such as General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG that face little to no growth elsewhere and look to China, the biggest market by number of vehicles sold, to drive future revenue. Sales of home appliances and furniture also have weakened, possibly due to slower housing sales.</p>
<p>SWOONING STOCK MARKETS: The explosive rise and abrupt fall of Chinese stock prices has inflicted losses on small investors and threatens to set back economic reform plans. The rise started last year after state media said stocks were inexpensive and accelerated despite weakening manufacturing and trade. The collapse in prices from their June peak has wiped out this year's gains, souring small investors. The number of Chinese households that own shares stood at a relatively modest 8.8 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to a survey by Southwestern University of Finance, well below the one-third or more of households in the United States and other Western markets that invest in stocks. The market slump would set back the party's hopes of getting more ordinary Chinese to invest in the markets and of having state companies raise money through stock sales to reduce debt and modernize.</p> | Chinese leaders struggle to balance growth and reform plans as economy cools | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/08/25/chinese-leaders-struggle-to-balance-growth-and-reform-plans-as-economy-cools.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>Artists have installed a giant portrait of a young drone strike victim in the Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa region of Pakistan.</p>
<p>The project, <a href="http://notabugsplat.com/" type="external">“Not A Bug Splat,”</a> aims to put a face on drone strikes, which regularly occur in this region of Pakistan. The work was done by Inside Out, a group associated with JR, the artist popular for posting large black-and-white photographs in public places.</p>
<p />
<p>Drone operators often refer to strikes as “bug splats,” which helped inspire the name for the project. The artists created the image so that drone operators would see the image of the young girl, rather than see victims as tiny bugs, according to the <a href="http://notabugsplat.com/" type="external">project’s website</a>. The artists also designed the installation so that it would be captured by satellites and therefore appear on online maps.</p>
<p>The project did not identify the girl in the poster, but she lost both her parents and two siblings in a drone strike.</p>
<p>The artists traveled to Pakistan, where the locals helped them install the poster.</p>
<p />
<p>Images via <a href="http://notabugsplat.com/" type="external">NotABugSplat</a></p>
<p>h/t <a href="http://animalnewyork.com/2014/artists-put-giant-drone-victim-portrait-ground-pakistan/" type="external">Animal</a></p> | Artists Shame Drone Operators With Giant Image Of Girl Who Lost Her Family (PHOTO) | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/idealab/giant-image-drone-strike-victim-pakistan | 4 |
|
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>As the GOP convention approached, Day, who served as a delegate, became an outspoken member of the “Never Trump” movement, proposing to change party rules to prevent Trump from securing the nomination. When Trump did win, she continued to call the Republican nominee unfit for office in television and radio interviews.</p>
<p>With three weeks left until the election, Day’s dissent has become too much for her compatriots.</p>
<p>On Monday, the Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel ousted Day from her seat as grassroots vice chair, an elected post she has held since last year, saying her refusal to support Trump disqualified her from the position, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Upon seeking advice from our legal counsel, and recognizing that our Grassroots Vice Chair is unable to fulfill the duties of her office, I am declaring the position . . . vacant,” McDaniel wrote in an email to state committee members.</p>
<p>“This has been one of the more difficult decisions I have made as chair,” McDaniel said. “I want to thank Wendy for her service and leadership to our party and know that she will continue to be a strong leader in the Republican Party.”</p>
<p>The move is yet another symptom of the deep divisions that have emerged in the Republican Party since Trump has become its standard-bearer. Dozens of Republicans have refused to back the candidate or withdrawn endorsements, their numbers increasing dramatically in the days since The Washington Post revealed a 2005 video of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women.</p>
<p>Several local Republican leaders around the country have resigned from their posts because of things Trump said in the video and remarks he has made during the campaign. But Day’s apparent ouster on Monday may mark the first time Republicans have forced out one of their own over a refusal to support Trump.</p>
<p>Day told state GOP leadership in a letter Monday that she could not bring herself to vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8.</p>
<p>“This simply is a matter of conscience,” she said. “While some may say that I am not supporting the party, that is simply not true. In fact, in looking long term, I am doing my best to try to protect what the party has stood for.”</p>
<p>State committee member Matt Hall of Grand Rapids, Mich., told the Detroit News that the decision to push Day out was spurred by an interview she gave to a local TV station, during which she said her “conscience is not comfortable” with Trump or Clinton.</p>
<p>In an unprecedented move, GOP leaders used a power in the party bylaws to force Day out, a party spokeswoman Sarah Anderson told the Free Press.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Our bylaws dictate that if an elected officer of the party is not supporting our ticket, they be removed,” Anderson said. “If somebody was very opposed to french fries and hated french fries, they can’t take a job at McDonald’s and refuse to sell french fries.”</p>
<p>Before declaring Day’s seat vacant, McDaniel gave Day one last chance to join ranks with the party or resign, but Day responded that she didn’t intend to step down, the Free Press reported.</p>
<p>Day elaborated on her stance in an interview Monday with the conservative-leaning FTR Radio. The host asked if the party’s request was “a bridge too far” for her.</p>
<p>“I have always been principle first and party second – not to a fault where you just become obstinate, but definitely w ith mature consideration about what the options are and where to go,” Day said.</p>
<p>In the interview, she said Trump supporters “bullied” her to endorse the candidate, but she declined because of his positions clashed with what she said were the party’s values.</p>
<p>“It’s not because I’m trying to cause division or anything like that, but it’s because I do care about our party platform,” Day said. “Here we were in a situation where we were willing to roll over on all of our values because of this one candidate. What would be the lasting legacy of that? That was my big concern.”</p>
<p>Day’s ouster comes less than a week after Iowa Federation of Republican Women president Melissa Gesing resigned from her post because she couldn’t bring herself to vote for Trump.</p>
<p>“I cannot in good conscience lead this organization or look at myself in the mirror each morning if I do not take a stand against the racism, sexism, and hate that Donald J. Trump continues to promote,” Gesing said in a statement last week.</p>
<p>michigan-gop</p> | Michigan GOP removes grassroots leader who refused to back Trump | false | https://abqjournal.com/869599/michigan-gop-removes-grassroots-leader-who-refused-to-back-trump.html | 2 |
|
<p>Hey Ellen,"I am not making this up."&#160;Dave Barry has become famous for inserting that full disclosure in his humor columns&#160;because,&#160;of course, he usually does&#160;make things up. But, as he and fellow Miami Herald writer Carl Hiaasen tirelessly point out, real life (especially in Miami) is so bizarre, it's hard for a fiction writer to&#160;keep up these days. Lately, reality has trumped imagination.What writer, for example, could ever come up with a novel that has a plot&#160;as bizarre as the true story of Stephen Glass?&#160;Glass, a pathological liar,&#160;was the journalist who&#160;five years ago hoodwinked The New Republic&#160;into printing&#160;articles filled with a bunch of stuff he&#160;made up out of whole cloth,&#160;including the existence of&#160;The Church of George Herbert Walker Bush.&#160; Oh, wait a minute; someone&#160;did come up with&#160;that novel. The author changed the name of the national magazine to The Washington Weekly, but didn't bother to change the name of the prevaricator (Glass is, after all, wonderfully laden with the symbolism of fragility and transparency). The novel, just out from Simon &amp; Schuster,&#160;is&#160;called "The Fabulist" and it is written&#160;by ... the disgraced "New Republic" writer Stephen&#160;Glass himself. Glass has recently emerged from obscurity to promote the novel -- and to apologize for his former fabrications (but not, apparently, for his current one.)Glass's&#160;shamelessly self-serving book&#160;ironically comes on the heels of&#160;another spectacular revelation of fabulism at work in what we thought was serious journalism: Jayson Blair's serial whoppers&#160;that went undetected for months in the New York Times.&#160;Some&#160;have attempted to blame these latest&#160;flights of imagination on affirmative action (William Safire, in a&#160;supposed rebuttal to this attack by his fellow conservatives on diversity in the newsroom,&#160;just added fuel to the fire by opining that editors had a right to give blacks&#160;"a break," thereby perpetuating the notion that affirmative action is about hiring inferior journalists). But&#160;it is clear that making things up in journalism&#160;is a colorblind enterprise. Glass is as white as they come. And remember the very white Mike Barnicle, too.So what is&#160;the cause of these&#160;increasingly bold journalistic forays into fabulism? I think the publishing industry is at least partly responsible. For years now, I have been alarmed at the lack of a clear line between books that&#160;present a factual account and those that&#160;offer an imaginative story. Autobiographical novels now are labeled "Novels From Memory."&#160; Nonfiction authors are allowed unprecedented leeway to crawl into the heads of their subjects&#160;and to even, as in the case of Edmund Morris's&#160;biography of Ronald Reagan,&#160;make up a character to spice up the narrative.By allowing the blurring of fact and fiction, has the book world been sending a message&#160;to nonfiction writers&#160;that&#160;sticking to the facts is no longer required?&#160;Hi Margo,Well, it's a long reach from Jayson Blair to book publishing, but I'll give it a go.&#160;&#160;Searching for a connection, let's start with New Journalism and&#160;its flashy&#160;grasp of fictional techniques back in the '60s and '70s.&#160; But wait: To quote my worn&#160;paperback version of "Fame and Obscurity," by Gay Talese,&#160;this new journalism "though often reading like fiction, is not fiction.&#160; It is, or should be, as reliable as the most reliable reportage, although it seeks a larger truth than is possible through the mere compilation of verifiable facts, the use of direct quotations, and adherence to the rigid organizational style of older forms."&#160; No room for creative flights of fancy there.As for memoirs, the fact that&#160;respectable journalists like Rick Bragg and Jacki Lyden have written them ("All Over but the Shoutin',"&#160;"Daughter of the&#160;Queen of Sheba") makes the crossover theory tenable -- until, that is, you consider that&#160;these writers know the difference between telling their personal story and telling someone else's.&#160; In the former,&#160;Bragg and Lyden use&#160;direct quotes taken verbatim from childhood just as Mary Karr did in her&#160;bestselling memoir, "The Liars' Club"&#160;-- an obvious case of&#160;poetic license,&#160;and no&#160;editor is asking to see their notebooks.&#160;&#160;Emotional truth, not the factual kind, is what&#160;these books seek to find, and&#160;here it is the authors' lack of detachment&#160;that&#160;adds heft to&#160;their stories.&#160;&#160;Any&#160;journalist worth a byline&#160;should understand the difference between this kind of writing and&#160;accepted standards of reporting.&#160; If not, off with his or her head.&#160; No, the boom in memoirs is not a culprit in&#160;The Case of the Mr. Make-Believe Blair.&#160;If we're looking at cause-and-effect, I nominate the shift in the balance of power between journalists and fiction writers.&#160; For the past two decades, journalists have&#160;been&#160;flashing their writerly biceps by&#160;grabbing&#160;fiction's conventions&#160;to tell the "larger truths" that&#160;Talese describes.&#160; Meanwhile,&#160;the crafters of good fiction have&#160;narrowed&#160;their&#160;view.&#160;&#160;Deconstruction theory and&#160;the&#160;decline of the omniscient narrator&#160;demonstrate&#160;a newfound&#160;humility.&#160;&#160;The novelist recognizes&#160;that his or her pursuit of objectivity and the truth are desires rather than achievable goals.&#160;But is this a good thing?&#160; Do we need&#160;journalists with egos as wide as a house,&#160;while fiction writers grovel in their garrets?&#160;&#160;Doesn't all&#160;news, all the time&#160;promote&#160;the tendency to embroider information,&#160;while devaluing&#160;the gifts of the imagination?&#160;&#160;&#160;Hey Ellen,It's not such a long reach from&#160;New Journalism to publishing to Jayson Blair after all. I think you've&#160; got the connections -- you just aren't&#160;connecting the dots.&#160;New Journalism originally may have intended to be as reliable as the most reliable reportage, but&#160;it also placed&#160;a dangerous emphasis on individual viewpoints. Whatever the reporter heard and saw became of utmost importance -- the context be damned. Whether we are talking about fiction or non-fiction, American letters seems to be fixated on&#160;individual egos rather than the larger landscapes of society. Perhaps it is, as you say, the loss of belief in absolute truths, but I think it's just the age-old difference between the European engaged writer (who even when he's not engaged politically is, at least,&#160;spiritually; even when he doesn't have an absolute truth, he's still searching for one) versus the American narcissist.So we have Jonathan Safran Foer, a&#160;22-year-old writing about a 22-year-old named Jonathan&#160;Safran Foer in&#160;"Everything is Illuminated."&#160; Dave Eggers writing about Dave Eggers in "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: Based on a True Story.''&#160;And Stephen Glass writing about Stephen Glass in&#160; "The Fabulist." The&#160;Me Generation has never gone away.&#160;And it doesn't matter if the writer is trying to produce fiction or nonfiction:&#160;It was all about Stephen Glass when&#160;he was writing for&#160;The New Republic and it's still all about Stephen Glass when he writes a novel.&#160;"I loved the attention&#160;my articles gave me," he says as he urges people to pay attention to his new book.It's not that navel-gazing is always worthless. I found both the Eggers and the Safran Foer rather engaging. I'm not against&#160;praising those that play with the&#160;truth in fiction. I'm all for imagination.&#160;But I'm worried about the message that is sent when someone&#160;can disregard the accepted premise of&#160;nonfiction so blatantly and then&#160;be rewarded with a six-figure advance for turning that transgression into fiction.&#160;There's even going to be a movie about Stephen Glass's life of lies (it's called "Shattered Glass" with Tom Cruise as executive producer). A friend of mine suggested that we might need a Son of Sam law for those who commit drive-by journalism and then profit from it later. Maybe all we need, as you say, is to value fiction more:&#160;Then&#160;the Stephen Glasses and Jayson Blairs of the world will stay out of&#160;journalism and go directly to writing novels.</p> | The Nonfiction Fabulist | false | https://poynter.org/news/nonfiction-fabulist | 2003-05-11 | 2 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>In the end, the council voted 8-1 to support a resolution calling for the gym at the Wells Park Community Center to be named after Tapia, who died in May. He was a five-time world boxing champion.</p>
<p>As a youngster, Tapia played basketball and did some early training at the center. He was married there, too.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The council resolution, sponsored by Ken Sanchez, also calls for considering acceptance of a donated steel statue of the boxer, offered by Tom “Pops” Crego, who had originally hoped to give it as a gift to Tapia.</p>
<p>Johnny “loved Albuquerque,” his widow, Teresa Tapia, told councilors. “He used to say all the time, ‘It’s not how many times you fall down. It’s how many times you pick yourself up.’ Johnny survived and fought and brought inspiration to all.”</p>
<p>Trudy Jones was the lone “no” vote.</p>
<p>“I truly feel for his family and friends,” the councilor said during a break in the meeting. “But I think there are some who deserve high honors and there are others who we need to think carefully about … whether they deserve this type of honor.”</p>
<p>Tapia battled drug abuse, but that resilience outside the ring seemed to endear him to New Mexicans all the more.</p>
<p>Sanchez, choking up as he addressed the audience, said Tapia exemplifies the importance of never giving up.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“In so many cases, he would get knocked down with his illness, but he would never get knocked out,” Sanchez said.</p>
<p>Some of the 15 or so people who addressed the council were young boxers.</p>
<p>“There are a lot more great things to be said about him than negative things,” said boxer Josh “Pit Bull” Torres. “He was an even better person outside of boxing.”</p>
<p>Hector Muñoz, whose ring name is “El Huracan,” also spoke in favor of honoring Tapia.</p>
<p>“I’m not much of a talker. I’m a fighter, but I’m sure he’d want me to come up here and say something. He’s given a lot to this community.”</p>
<p>In other action, the City Council:</p>
<p>♦ Adopted a resolution setting a “mail-in” election for March 11 on a proposal to change the City Charter.</p>
<p>Union groups and others started an effort this fall to require runoff elections any time a candidate fails to get 50 percent in the first round of voting. The threshold is now 40 percent.</p>
<p>Supporters succeed in gathering enough petition signatures to trigger an election on the issue.</p>
<p>♦ Gave approvals needed to move forward with decommissioning the Fourth Street pedestrian mall and opening it to vehicle traffic. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Gym To Be Named After Tapia | false | https://abqjournal.com/158442/gym-to-be-named-after-tapia.html | 2013-01-08 | 2 |
<p>Nearby public schools would be required to provide a safe space for charter schools evacuating campus in an emergency situation under a proposal presented to the Nevada Assembly education committee.</p>
<p>Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod, D-Las Vegas, introduced the bill alongside Craig Stevens, the Clark County School District’s director of intergovernmental relations.</p>
<p>The bill was met with support from different education organizations, saying it seemed like a common-sense solution.</p>
<p>Charter schools and the nearby public schools would enter into a memorandum of understanding outlining the procedures.</p>
<p>Stevens said the size of the nearby schools would need to be taken into account, to ensure the nearby public schools could have a separate location to temporarily house the charter students in an emergency.</p>
<p>No action was taken on the bill Monday.</p>
<p>Contact Meghin Delaney at 702-383-0281 or <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a>. Follow <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MeghinDelaney" type="external">@MeghinDelaney</a> on Twitter.</p> | Bill would have public schools serve as evacuation site for charter schools in Nevada | false | https://reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/bill-would-have-public-schools-serve-as-evacuation-site-for-charter-schools-in-nevada/ | 2017-02-27 | 1 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Though both fighters say no contracts are finalized, each man has agreed to financial terms. Trout-Mundine is expected to take place May 9 in San Antonio, Texas.</p>
<p>The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds, with Mundine’s WBC Silver super welterweight (154-pound) title at stake. It is the semi-main event on a card to be televised that Saturday on CBS.</p>
<p>Mundine (47-6, 27 knockouts) and Trout (28-2, 15 KOs) almost came to blows in the ring 3½ years ago. Mundine then was the mandatory challenger for the New Mexican’s WBA 154-pound world title (which Trout lost to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in 2013). But, after some fairly nasty Twitter exchanges between the two, the fight broke down along financial lines.</p>
<p>It’s clear they still don’t like each other.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Albuquerque’s Southwest Fight News broke news of the May matchup on Monday, quoting Trout. Mundine responded in the Australian media that no contracts had been signed, accusing Trout of playing mind games.</p>
<p>“I agreed to terms but so far it’s just verbal,” Mundine told the West Australian. “… I’m going to make him pay for all he’s said for the last three or four years.”</p>
<p>In truth, Mundine has said far more about Trout than vice versa. But Trout told Southwest Fight News, “(Mundine) went around Australia lying, saying that I didn’t want (to fight) him. I’m sure half his country wants me to shut him up. I’ll go be an Aussie savior.”</p>
<p>Trout apologized on Twitter Tuesday morning for his premature comments on the match with Mundine, saying his longtime trainer, Louie Burke, “jumped the gun” in discussing the fight with Southwest Fight News’ Jorge Hernandez.</p>
<p>Once finalized, Trout-Mundine would become part of professional boxing’s return to network television.</p>
<p>Premier Boxing Champions is a company founded by Al Haymon, who – though he calls himself neither a promoter nor a manager – has contracts with dozens of top pro boxers. Trout is among his clients.</p>
<p>On March 7, Haymon and PBC put a boxing card on NBC. Shows on CBS (April 4), NBC (April 11) are scheduled, followed by the May 9 card on CBS.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>RETURN OF THE BIRD: Moriarty MMA fighter Tim “Dirty Bird” Means will return to the octagon April 18. Means (23-6-1) has accepted a fight against New Jersey’s George Sullivan (16-3) as a replacement for Kenny Robertson, who withdrew with an injury.</p>
<p>Means is riding a three-fight winning streak, his most recent victory a first-round TKO over Dhiego Lima that earned him a $50,000 performance bonus from the UFC. The FIT-NHB welterweight’s match with Sullivan will be available on Fight Pass, the UFC’s digital streaming entity.</p>
<p>Jackson-Wink featherweight Cub Swanson (21-6) is on the April 18 main card, facing Max Holloway (12-3). The Swanson-Holloway fight will be telecast on Fox.</p>
<p>GOLDEN GLOVES: The 2015 New Mexico Golden Gloves amateur boxing championships are scheduled for this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the McKernan Events Center, 933 Sunset SW.</p>
<p>New Mexico’s champions will face their Colorado counterparts in Denver April 18 in a box-off for berths to nationals, scheduled for May 11-16 in Las Vegas, Nev.</p>
<p>AND MORE: Assuming the Trout-Mundine fight goes off as planned, the weekend of May 8-9 will be a big one for New Mexico combat sports.</p>
<p>On May 8, Albuquerque MMA fighter Damacio Page (19-9) returns to the cage. He is scheduled to face Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja (15-2) on a joint card to be promoted by Legacy FC and RFA, both of which have staged cards in the Albuquerque area. No site for the May 8 show has been announced.</p>
<p>Both Page’s and Pantoja’s most recent fights, in fact, were in New Mexico. Pantoja defeated Matt Manzanares by unanimous decision on an RFA show at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Sept 12; Page knocked out Brian Hall on a Legacy Card at Route 66 Casino Hotel on Oct. 17.</p>
<p>On May 9, a professional boxing card is scheduled for Camel Rock Casino, just north of Santa Fe. One side of the card is scheduled to feature popular Española fighter Tony Valdez, Albuquerque prospect Angelo Leo, and all three of Albuquerque’s fighting Sanchez brothers: Alan, Jason and Jose Luis.</p>
<p>The Camel Rock card still needs approval by the New Mexico Athletic Commission, which has scheduled a special meeting on Thursday to consider the granting of an event permit.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Trout, Mundine appear set to renew rivalry | false | https://abqjournal.com/559664/report-troutmundine-to-air-on-cbs.html | 2 |
|
<p>MADRID (AP) — Riding a seven-game winning streak and with all of its stars in top form, Barcelona hosts struggling Atletico Madrid this weekend in a match that could help decide the Spanish league title.</p>
<p>Barcelona and Atletico have the same amount of points, with Barcelona ahead on goal difference and with a game in hand. The Catalan club can start pulling away with a win at the Camp Nou on Saturday, while Atletico has a chance to show it still has what it takes to keep pace despite disappointing results recently.</p>
<p>It will be the last league game between Barcelona and Atletico this season. Both teams will still have to play Real Madrid, which is four points behind in third.</p>
<p>Zinedine Zidane’s team, coming off a disappointing draw at struggling Real Betis, will play Espanyol on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where it has been dominant this season.</p>
<p>Fourth-place Villarreal, seven points off the lead and theoretically still in the hunt, hosts Granada on Saturday.</p>
<p>Here’s what to watch for in the Spanish league this weekend:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>THRIVING BARCA</p>
<p>Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid looking to win its eighth game in a row in all competitions.</p>
<p>Luis Enrique’s team hasn’t lost in 25 matches, dating back to a 2-1 setback against Sevilla in the Spanish league in October.</p>
<p>It is coming off a 3-1 come-from-behind win against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, a result that allowed it to advance to the tournament’s semifinals for the sixth straight year.</p>
<p>After dealing with injuries and suspensions the last few weeks, Barcelona on Saturday will be able to count on its top three players — Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. Neymar and Suarez scored a goal each in the victory over Athletic at the Camp Nou.</p>
<p>Barcelona had its match at Sporting Gijon postponed last year because it played at FIFA’s Club World Cup, a tournament it won. The game has been rescheduled for Feb. 17.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>REELING ATLETICO</p>
<p>Atletico Madrid will arrive at the decisive match against Barcelona looking to rebound from a home elimination to Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday.</p>
<p>After a scoreless first leg, it lost 3-2 at the Vicente Calderon Stadium in its first home defeat since Sept. 30. It was the first time the team conceded three goals all season.</p>
<p>Diego Simeone’s team hasn’t won in three matches.</p>
<p>“The best way to heal this wound is to win this Saturday,” Atletico Madrid captain Gabi Fernandez said. “We have to play a better match than today (Wednesday), that is a given, and just as everyone thought we were the favorites today at home, everyone will think FC Barcelona is the favorite. Maybe the same thing as today happens, but in our favor.”</p>
<p>Barcelona defeated Atletico 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon in the league’s third round.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>MADRID’S HOME EDGE</p>
<p>Real Madrid is gladly back home when it faces Espanyol on Sunday to try to stay close to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.</p>
<p>Madrid has scored 39 goals in its 11 home games in the league this season, an average of 3.5 goals per game. In its last four matches at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid outscored opponents 23-4.</p>
<p>It was at the Bernabeu that Madrid won its first two games under the command of former player Zinedine Zidane, crushing Deportivo La Coruna 5-0 and Sporting Gijon 5-1. It then was held by Real Betis to a 1-1 draw in Sevilla last weekend despite dominating from the start.</p>
<p>The team’s only loss at the Bernabeu was a demoralizing 4-0 defeat to Barcelona.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>JAMES’ RETURN</p>
<p>Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez is set to have another chance as a starter for Real Madrid against Espanyol.</p>
<p>Rodriguez had few opportunities with former coach Rafa Benitez but has been enjoying more playing time under Zinedine Zidane.</p>
<p>The playmaker was in the starting 11 in the 1-1 draw at Real Betis last Sunday, but it will be the first time he gets to play from the start at the Santiago Bernabeu since last year.</p>
<p>Zidane has confirmed that Rodriguez will be replacing Gareth Bale, who remains injured.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Tales Azzoni on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/tazzoni" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/tazzoni" type="external">http://twitter.com/tazzoni</a></p>
<p>MADRID (AP) — Riding a seven-game winning streak and with all of its stars in top form, Barcelona hosts struggling Atletico Madrid this weekend in a match that could help decide the Spanish league title.</p>
<p>Barcelona and Atletico have the same amount of points, with Barcelona ahead on goal difference and with a game in hand. The Catalan club can start pulling away with a win at the Camp Nou on Saturday, while Atletico has a chance to show it still has what it takes to keep pace despite disappointing results recently.</p>
<p>It will be the last league game between Barcelona and Atletico this season. Both teams will still have to play Real Madrid, which is four points behind in third.</p>
<p>Zinedine Zidane’s team, coming off a disappointing draw at struggling Real Betis, will play Espanyol on Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where it has been dominant this season.</p>
<p>Fourth-place Villarreal, seven points off the lead and theoretically still in the hunt, hosts Granada on Saturday.</p>
<p>Here’s what to watch for in the Spanish league this weekend:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>THRIVING BARCA</p>
<p>Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid looking to win its eighth game in a row in all competitions.</p>
<p>Luis Enrique’s team hasn’t lost in 25 matches, dating back to a 2-1 setback against Sevilla in the Spanish league in October.</p>
<p>It is coming off a 3-1 come-from-behind win against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, a result that allowed it to advance to the tournament’s semifinals for the sixth straight year.</p>
<p>After dealing with injuries and suspensions the last few weeks, Barcelona on Saturday will be able to count on its top three players — Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez. Neymar and Suarez scored a goal each in the victory over Athletic at the Camp Nou.</p>
<p>Barcelona had its match at Sporting Gijon postponed last year because it played at FIFA’s Club World Cup, a tournament it won. The game has been rescheduled for Feb. 17.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>REELING ATLETICO</p>
<p>Atletico Madrid will arrive at the decisive match against Barcelona looking to rebound from a home elimination to Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Wednesday.</p>
<p>After a scoreless first leg, it lost 3-2 at the Vicente Calderon Stadium in its first home defeat since Sept. 30. It was the first time the team conceded three goals all season.</p>
<p>Diego Simeone’s team hasn’t won in three matches.</p>
<p>“The best way to heal this wound is to win this Saturday,” Atletico Madrid captain Gabi Fernandez said. “We have to play a better match than today (Wednesday), that is a given, and just as everyone thought we were the favorites today at home, everyone will think FC Barcelona is the favorite. Maybe the same thing as today happens, but in our favor.”</p>
<p>Barcelona defeated Atletico 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon in the league’s third round.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>MADRID’S HOME EDGE</p>
<p>Real Madrid is gladly back home when it faces Espanyol on Sunday to try to stay close to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.</p>
<p>Madrid has scored 39 goals in its 11 home games in the league this season, an average of 3.5 goals per game. In its last four matches at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid outscored opponents 23-4.</p>
<p>It was at the Bernabeu that Madrid won its first two games under the command of former player Zinedine Zidane, crushing Deportivo La Coruna 5-0 and Sporting Gijon 5-1. It then was held by Real Betis to a 1-1 draw in Sevilla last weekend despite dominating from the start.</p>
<p>The team’s only loss at the Bernabeu was a demoralizing 4-0 defeat to Barcelona.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>JAMES’ RETURN</p>
<p>Colombia midfielder James Rodriguez is set to have another chance as a starter for Real Madrid against Espanyol.</p>
<p>Rodriguez had few opportunities with former coach Rafa Benitez but has been enjoying more playing time under Zinedine Zidane.</p>
<p>The playmaker was in the starting 11 in the 1-1 draw at Real Betis last Sunday, but it will be the first time he gets to play from the start at the Santiago Bernabeu since last year.</p>
<p>Zidane has confirmed that Rodriguez will be replacing Gareth Bale, who remains injured.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Tales Azzoni on Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/tazzoni" type="external" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/tazzoni" type="external">http://twitter.com/tazzoni</a></p> | Barcelona and Atletico duel for 1st place in Spanish league | false | https://apnews.com/5c810a5a8fd044778634cef7b7635fa9 | 2016-01-28 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Snapchat, in another step toward turning itself into a major media property, has hired Marcus Wiley -- previously co-head of comedy development at Fox Broadcasting -- to run original content development for the service's Snap Channel, Variety has confirmed.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for L.A.-based Snapchat confirmed that Wiley has joined the company but declined to provide additional details. "We don't have anything else to share at this time but we are thrilled to have him on the team," she said.</p>
<p>Snapchat is still, at its core, a messaging service, letting its estimated 100-plus million users send text and images to each other that vanish 10 seconds or less after recipients see them. In addition to that, Snapchat provides "Story" posts, which are available on the service for 24 hours.</p>
<p>At Fox, Wiley led development of half-hour comedies including as "New Girl," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "The Mindy Project" and "Bob's Burgers." He previously worked at WME and Regency Television.</p>
<p>Snapchat -- which has well over 100 million active users, according to industry estimates -- launched the Discover service in January with more than a dozen media partners including ESPN, CNN, Vice Media, Comedy Central, Food Network, Time Inc.'s People and Yahoo. Snapchat Discover is a separate menu on the app, which also includes a curated Snapchat channel.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Snapchat in late April hired CNN national political reporter Peter Hamby as head of news, in a yet-undefined role. Hamby had been the news cabler's lead correspondent for the 2016 election cycle.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In addition, Snapchat has been working with other media companies to bring video and other content to the platform, including Major League Baseball; Fusion (a joint venture of ABC News and Univision Communications), with a shortform docu-series about Sofia Vergara; and AT&amp;T for original scripted series "SnapperHero."</p>
<p>Snapchat's hiring of Wiley was first reported by Deadline.</p>
<p>By Todd Spangler</p> | Snapchat Hires Marcus Wiley, Former Fox Comedy SVP, to Lead Original Content | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2015/05/26/snapchat-hires-marcus-wiley-former-fox-comedy-svp-to-lead-original-content.html | 2016-03-04 | 0 |
<p>Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP</p>
<p />
<p>Rick Perry, the former Texas governor and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, does not want to talk about abortion. Specifically, he doesn’t want to discuss the <a href="" type="internal">draconian law</a> that he signed two years ago, which was <a href="" type="internal">upheld</a> by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals this week and now threatens to <a href="" type="internal">shut down two-thirds of the state’s remaining abortion clinics</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/shows/the-kelly-file.html" type="external">During an interview on Fox News Wednesday</a>, Perry pushed aside questions about the recent court decision. “I think the real issue for me is this has been settled in the state of Texas,” Perry told host Megyn Kelly before changing the subject to the economy, the border, and national security—”the big issues that I think the bulk of the American people really want to focus on.”</p>
<p>But the American people may not be able to avoid the issue of abortion as next November nears. This week’s ruling paves the way for the US Supreme Court to take up the most important abortion case in more than 20 years to determine how far states can go in cutting off access to abortion. If the high court takes the case, the justices’ decision could be announced right smack in the middle of the 2016 campaign, forcing candidates to discuss abortion whether they want to or not. And, as Perry seems to recognize, that could be bad news for Republicans.</p>
<p>The Texas case isn’t the only chance for the Supreme Court to reanimate the abortion debate, but it may be the best. A number of legal challenges to abortion restrictions passed in Republican-controlled states are slowly making their way through the courts. A few have already reached the Supreme Court and are waiting for the justices to decide whether to take them. There’s a <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/06/01/3663955/admitting-privileges-supreme-court/" type="external">Mississippi law</a> struck down by the 5th Circuit, which the Supreme Court is currently deciding whether to take, that could close down the <a href="/wakeupmississippi.org/" type="external">state’s only abortion clinic</a>. And a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/23/us/us-court-strikes-down-north-carolina-ultrasound-abortion-law.html" type="external">North Carolina law</a> that requires women to receive an ultrasound and listen to the doctor describe the fetus before getting an abortion was struck down in 2014 but has been appealed to the Supreme Court by the state.</p>
<p>But court watchers agree that the facts in the Texas case as well as an unresolved circuit court split make it the one most likely to be heard by the justices. “It only takes four justices” to take a case, says Caitlin Borgmann, a professor at the CUNY School of Law and a former state strategies coordinator at the Reproductive Freedom Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. “At least four of the justices expressed an interest in hearing a case of this kind,” she says.</p>
<p>Here’s how the case could take shape. Within the next 90 days, lawyers fighting the Texas law will officially ask the Supreme Court to take up, or <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/certiorari" type="external">grant cert</a> for, the case. Because the current Supreme Court term concludes at the end of this month, the justices&#160;would accept the case this fall. Depending on the speed at which the two parties file their motions, the court could schedule oral arguments for anywhere from late 2015 to the spring of 2016.</p>
<p>There’s a good chance the court would hear the case next spring when the primaries are in full swing. Its decision would be announced next June—just a month before the parties hold their conventions and kick off the general election season. If the case is delayed until the fall of 2016, it might have less of an impact because a decision would occur after the election. But an impending abortion decision in the fall of 2016 would still force candidates to take a stand.</p>
<p>Should the Supreme Court take the case, the question it will consider is whether or not the Texas law creates an “undue burden” on women’s right to an abortion. More practically, however, the case is about basic access to abortion services—whether states the can use clinic regulations to make abortion unavailable to millions of women. The Texas law’s requirements for abortion clinics and doctors performing abortions are so stringent that all but seven Texas clinics would be forced to shut down in less than three weeks.</p>
<p>The Texas case raises questions about basic access to abortions during the early stages of pregnancy, which polls show a majority of Americans support. Last month, Gallup reported an <a href="" type="internal">upswing in pro-choice sentiment</a> in the last year. On the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade in 2013, a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that a <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323301104578255831504582200" type="external">record 70 percent</a> of Americans believed that landmark ruling should stand.</p>
<p>“The more that social issues are front and center the worse things will be for Republicans,” especially if Roe v. Wade is being debated, says Geoff Garin, the Democratic pollster who worked on Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s 2013 race in which the abortion issue <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/how-women-won-the-virginia-race" type="external">figured prominently</a>.</p>
<p>And the timing of the Texas case could make the high court itself into an important campaign issue—and one that could work to a Democratic presidential candidate’s advantage, according to Garin: “I don’t think voters are going to want a president who is going to appoint more Scalias and Thomases to the court.”</p>
<p /> | The Supreme Court Could Make Abortion One of 2016’s Big Campaign Issues | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/06/supreme-court-abortion-texas-election/ | 2015-06-12 | 4 |
<p />
<p>If you have a Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) debit card, you might soon get an upgraded piece of plastic. While many Bank of America credit cards are already enabled with <a href="http://blog.credit.com/2014/01/could-your-credit-card-be-safer-74695/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_1&amp;utm_campaign=hidden_new_debit_card" type="external">chip-and-PIN Opens a New Window.</a> technology, the company announced Sept. 30 that all its new and reissued debit cards will contain integrated circuit cards also known as&#160;chips. Given the rate of <a href="http://blog.credit.com/2013/11/how-to-monitor-your-credit-after-a-data-breach/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_2&amp;utm_campaign=hidden_new_debit_card" type="external">data breaches Opens a New Window.</a>, you might get one of these new cards before your current one expires (not that you’d want that to happen, but it’s how things are going these days).</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A little bit about chip-and-PIN: To use a card with this technology, you dip the card into a payment terminal, which reads the chip and asks for your personal identification number (PIN) to validate the transaction. Global card issuers and merchants have widely adopted this technology, which has been hailed as a way to improve <a href="http://blog.credit.com/2014/09/why-companies-should-have-to-disclose-data-breaches-96173/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_3&amp;utm_campaign=hidden_new_debit_card" type="external">America’s data breach problem Opens a New Window.</a>, but there’s a big obstacle in the way of chip-and-PIN success: Many U.S. merchants aren’t equipped to read such cards.</p>
<p>Most cards with chip-and-PIN (also called EMV —&#160;Europay, MasterCard, Visa —&#160;which is the global standard for this technology) have the good old magnetic stripe on the back, so cardholders don’t have to worry about finding retailers capable of processing EMV transactions.</p>
<p>Bank of America is adding the chips to all consumer and small business debit cards starting this month. All new cards will contain the chips, and existing cardholders will receive the upgrade when their cards expire (or need to be replaced), according to a news release from the company. Bank of America has been adding EMV to consumer, commercial and corporate credit cards since 2012, and about 17 million to 20 million EMV cards were in U.S. consumers’ wallets at the end of 2013, according to the EMV Migration Forum. It’s expected that another 100 million cards will have been issued by the end of this year.</p>
<p>Requiring a PIN to complete a transaction has been found to significantly curb credit and debit card fraud, though there are some weaknesses in that security, like if a terminal’s chip reader has been disabled and the processing defaults to the magnetic stripe. Still, EMV cards are more expensive to produce, making them less appealing to people who buy stolen credit card data and manufacture fake cards.</p>
<p>There’s no question fraud-prevention technology needs to evolve in the U.S., but on the way to more secure payments systems, you have to be your own protector and&#160; <a href="http://www.credit.com/credit-monitoring/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_5&amp;utm_campaign=hidden_new_debit_card#how-monitoring-pays-off-down-the-road" type="external">monitor&#160;your accounts Opens a New Window.</a> for fraudulent activity. Checking bank accounts on a regular basis helps stop fraud, and regularly reviewing your credit scores (you can see two of <a href="https://www.credit.com/free-credit-score/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=IB_6&amp;utm_campaign=hidden_new_debit_card" type="external">your credit scores for free Opens a New Window.</a>on Credit.com every 30 days) could&#160;also alert you to suspicious activity on your accounts.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>More From Credit.com</p>
<p><a href="http://www.credit.com/credit-cards/content/how-do-credit-cards-work/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_1&amp;utm_campaign=hidden_new_debit_card" type="external">How Do Credit Cards Work?</a> <a href="http://www.credit.com/debt/how-to-pay-off-credit-card-debt/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_2&amp;utm_campaign=hidden_new_debit_card" type="external">How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt</a> <a href="http://www.credit.com/credit-cards/content/how-to-get-a-credit-card-with-bad-credit/?utm_source=Fox&amp;utm_medium=content&amp;utm_content=BO_3&amp;utm_campaign=hidden_new_debit_card" type="external">How to Get a Credit Card With Bad Credit Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Christine DiGangi covers personal finance for Credit.com. Previously, she managed communications for the Society of Professional Journalists, served as a copy editor of The New York Times News Service and worked as a reporter for the Oregonian and the News &amp; Record. <a href="http://blog.credit.com/author/christine-digangi/?utm_source=Fox" type="external">More by Christine DiGangi Opens a New Window.</a></p> | There Could Be Something Hidden Inside Your New Debit Card | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/10/02/there-could-be-something-hidden-inside-your-new-debit-card.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening’s drawing of the “Pick Four-Evening” game were:</p>
<p>5-3-6-8, Fireball: 9</p>
<p>(five, three, six, eight; Fireball: nine)</p>
<p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Friday evening’s drawing of the “Pick Four-Evening” game were:</p>
<p>5-3-6-8, Fireball: 9</p>
<p>(five, three, six, eight; Fireball: nine)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Pick Four-Evening’ game | false | https://apnews.com/c5f7715c23b44fdb8377f9ee67762b3b | 2018-01-13 | 2 |
<p>A majority of Americans believe Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and then campaign manager Paul Manafort should have refused to take the meeting with a Russian lawyer in 2016, according to a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/21/politics/poll-trump-kushner-russia-meeting/index.html" type="external">CNN poll released&#160;Friday.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2017/images/07/20/ssrs.cnn.poll.trump.jr..russia.pdf.pdf" type="external">The results</a>, according to the survey:</p>
<p>When asked whether Americans were concerned about reports that Trump campaign members had been in contact with Russian operatives during the presidential campaign.</p>
<p>Looking at the results by party affiliation, the most stark difference is between Republicans and Democrats about their concern level: 55 percent of Republicans said they were not at all concerned about the contact with Russians, while only 9 percent of Democrats said they were not concerned.</p>
<p>Concern over Russian contact has decreased since a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/21/politics/poll-trump-kushner-russia-meeting/index.html" type="external">CNN/ORC poll in early March,</a> according to CNN.&#160;</p>
<p>Overall, that number has declined 6 percentage points since March. Democrats and independent voters are 11 percent less concerned than in March, the CNN report said.</p>
<p>The poll was conducted from July 14 to July 18 in a random sampling of 1,019 adults, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 points.</p> | CNN Poll: Most Say Don Jr. Should Have Refused Russian Meeting | false | https://newsline.com/cnn-poll-most-say-don-jr-should-have-refused-russian-meeting/ | 2017-07-21 | 1 |
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21226178" type="external">Australia</a>, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/130125/flooding-mozambique-displaces-tens-thousands" type="external">Mozambique</a> and the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-23/an-philippines-continues-search-for-flood-missing/4480480" type="external">Philippines</a> — to name only a few countries — have over the last several weeks forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands as a result of extreme flooding.</p>
<p>Tropical cyclone Oswald struck southern Queensland, Australia, killing at least three. Helicopters evacuated citizens from areas where <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/28/australia-tropical-cyclone-oswald" type="external">conditions were so treacherous</a> that boat rescue was impossible. Winds and rain are now moving south, with <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2013/01/28/3677835.htm?site=sydney" type="external">Sydney expected to be hit</a> at some point on Monday.</p>
<p>In Mozambique, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/130125/flooding-mozambique-displaces-tens-thousands" type="external">35 people have died from flooding since the rainy season</a> started in October. Many more in the southern and central regions of the country have been left homeless by the flood damage.</p>
<p>Flooding has killed at least 12 people in South Africa and allowed 15,000 crocodiles to escape from the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/130124/thousands-crocodiles-escape-south-african-farm-after" type="external">Rakwena Crocodile Farm</a> in the Limpopo province.</p>
<p>Heavy rain in the Philippines has forced more than 150,000 people to find alternative shelter. <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-23/an-philippines-continues-search-for-flood-missing/4480480" type="external">Meteorologists have warned of more precipitation this week</a>, while some are still recovering from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/16/world/asia/philippines-typhoon/index.html" type="external">Typhoon Bopha</a> — which ravaged the area in December 2012.</p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/indonesia/130125/jakarta-teeters-tidal-flooding-disaster-thousand" type="external">Indonesia's capital Jakarta</a> is still recovering from rains that have put <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/photo-galleries/planet-pic/5735603/thousands-flee-jakarta-floodwater-rises-photos" type="external">some</a> <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/photo-galleries/planet-pic/5735603/thousands-flee-jakarta-floodwater-rises-photos" type="external">districts under up to 9 feet of water</a>.</p> | Underwater: Flooding plagues regions around the world | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-01-28/underwater-flooding-plagues-regions-around-world | 2013-01-28 | 3 |
<p>Federal regulators say that they are concerned that AT&amp;T's exempting its DirecTV unit from cellphone data caps could hurt competition.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T lets customers watch video on DirecTV apps on their AT&amp;T cellphones without eating into monthly data allotments. It's expected to do the same with an upcoming, $35-a-month TV streaming service called DirecTV Now.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Federal Communications Commission, in a letter to AT&amp;T, says that may disadvantage video providers that aren't owned by AT&amp;T, ultimately hurting consumers. The FCC says other companies could have to pay AT&amp;T a lot to get the same "zero rating" for their services.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T executive Bob Quinn says in a statement that letting people watch video without using their data benefits consumers.</p> | FCC concerned about AT&T exempting DirecTV from data caps | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/11/10/fcc-concerned-about-att-exempting-directv-from-data-caps.html | 2016-11-11 | 0 |
<p>From Snickers to candy corn, our Halloween expert Ryan Drane eats his way through the best and worst candy available to trick-or-treaters. But can he keep all that sugar from haunting his stomach?</p>
<p>After chowing down on all of that candy, you're going to want to eat something with a little nourishment. Luckily, we've come up with a variety of brand new sandwiches for you to try. Are you brave enough to eat the "Super Sam"?</p> | This Halloween taste test will determine the best candy for trick-or-treating | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/10/16/humor/this-halloween-taste-test-will-determine-the-best-candy-for-trick-or-treating | 2017-10-16 | 1 |
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - California's legal pot economy was supposed to operate under the umbrella of a vast computerized system to track marijuana from seed to storefronts, ensuring that plants are followed throughout the supply chain and don't drift into the black market.</p>
<p>But recreational cannabis sales began this week without the computer system in use for pot businesses. Instead, they are being asked to document sales and transfers of pot manually, using paper invoices or shipping manifests. That raises the potential that an unknown amount of weed will continue slipping into the illicit market, as it has for years.</p>
<p>For the moment, "you are looking at pieces of paper and self-reporting. A lot of these regulations are not being enforced right now," said Jerred Kiloh, a Los Angeles dispensary owner who heads the United Cannabis Business Association, an industry group.</p>
<p>The state Department of Food and Agriculture, which is overseeing the tracking system, said in a statement it was "implemented" Tuesday. However, it conceded that growers and sellers are not required to use it yet and training on how to input data will be necessary before it becomes mandatory, apparently later in the year.</p>
<p>Marijuana legalization arrived in California on Monday. (Jan. 1)</p>
<p>The slow rollout of the tracking system is just one sign of the daunting task facing the nation's most populous state as it attempts to transform its long-standing medicinal and illegal marijuana markets into a multibillion-dollar regulated system. Not since the end of Prohibition in 1933 has such an expansive illegal economy been reshaped into a legal one.</p>
<p>So far, it's been an unsteady start.</p>
<p>Business licenses issued to growers, distributors and sellers are temporary and will need to be redone or extended later this year. Much of the state is blacked out from recreational sales because of the scarcity of licenses and because some local governments banned commercial pot activity.</p>
<p>"There are a lot of things inside the law that are transitional. I don't think it's as rigid as people want it to sound," Kiloh said.</p>
<p>Another risk is that some consumers might stay in the black market to avoid sticker shock from hefty taxes. And there are concerns that a new distribution system will fail to get cannabis to shelves once current stockpiles run out, possibly in weeks.</p>
<p>Cathy Bliss at Mankind Cooperative in San Diego said the store did not have as much pot in stock as it would have liked.</p>
<p>Charles Boldwyn, chief compliance officer of ShowGrow in Santa Ana, which opened to customers Monday, said the relatively small number of licenses issued so far could create a bottleneck, cutting off pot from stores selling it.</p>
<p>"The biggest hurdle we see, right out of the gate, is that starting today our access to product is limited," Boldwyn said.</p>
<p>The tracking system is part of the state's maze of rules and regulations intended to govern the emerging $7 billion pot economy, the nation's largest. They range from where cannabis can be grown and smoked to environmental safeguards for streams near marijuana fields.</p>
<p>According to state law, the tracking system will provide "data points for the different stages of commercial activity, including, but not limited to, cultivation, harvest, processing, distribution, inventory and sale."</p>
<p>It's also intended to help the state keep track of taxes.</p>
<p>According to the state, businesses holding annual licenses will be required use the tracking system, but those issued so far to growers and retailers have been temporary and they "are not required" to use the system.</p>
<p>The expanded legal sales could offer a rich payoff for the state treasury. California expects to pull in $1 billion annually in taxes within several years.</p>
<p>The move into an era of legalization was marked across the state Monday with ceremonial ribbon cuttings and door prizes at dispensaries.</p>
<p>A customer buys marijuana at Oakland's Harborside dispensary. (AP Photo/Mathew Sumner)</p>
<p>The path to legalization began in 2016 when voters approved Proposition 64, which opened the way for legal pot sales to adults. Medical marijuana has been legal in California for about two decades.</p>
<p>With the 2016 vote, it became legal for adults 21 and older to grow, possess and use limited quantities of marijuana, but it was not legal to sell it for recreational purposes until Monday.</p>
<p>The state did not issue rules for the new marketplace until late last year, and cities and counties have struggled to fashion their own. Los Angeles and San Francisco are among those where recreational pot sales have been delayed.</p>
<p>California joined a growing list of states, and the nation's capital, where recreational marijuana is permitted, even though the federal government continues to classify pot as a controlled substance, like heroin and LSD.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Los Angeles officials said they would begin accepting applications Wednesday from medical marijuana shops to expand their sales to recreational pot. Temporary city licenses could go out as soon as Monday, which would then clear the way for the state to issue licenses for recreational sales.</p>
<p>Unlicensed medical marijuana shops in LA that continue to supply customers in the interim would technically be violating state law, but Los Angeles police won't crack down on those operating in good faith, Assistant Chief Michel Moore said. He said police would focus on pot operations run by felons or that attract gang activity or violence.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press Writer Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow AP's complete coverage of marijuana legalization in California here: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/CaliforniaMarijuana</a> .</p>
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - California's legal pot economy was supposed to operate under the umbrella of a vast computerized system to track marijuana from seed to storefronts, ensuring that plants are followed throughout the supply chain and don't drift into the black market.</p>
<p>But recreational cannabis sales began this week without the computer system in use for pot businesses. Instead, they are being asked to document sales and transfers of pot manually, using paper invoices or shipping manifests. That raises the potential that an unknown amount of weed will continue slipping into the illicit market, as it has for years.</p>
<p>For the moment, "you are looking at pieces of paper and self-reporting. A lot of these regulations are not being enforced right now," said Jerred Kiloh, a Los Angeles dispensary owner who heads the United Cannabis Business Association, an industry group.</p>
<p>The state Department of Food and Agriculture, which is overseeing the tracking system, said in a statement it was "implemented" Tuesday. However, it conceded that growers and sellers are not required to use it yet and training on how to input data will be necessary before it becomes mandatory, apparently later in the year.</p>
<p>Marijuana legalization arrived in California on Monday. (Jan. 1)</p>
<p>The slow rollout of the tracking system is just one sign of the daunting task facing the nation's most populous state as it attempts to transform its long-standing medicinal and illegal marijuana markets into a multibillion-dollar regulated system. Not since the end of Prohibition in 1933 has such an expansive illegal economy been reshaped into a legal one.</p>
<p>So far, it's been an unsteady start.</p>
<p>Business licenses issued to growers, distributors and sellers are temporary and will need to be redone or extended later this year. Much of the state is blacked out from recreational sales because of the scarcity of licenses and because some local governments banned commercial pot activity.</p>
<p>"There are a lot of things inside the law that are transitional. I don't think it's as rigid as people want it to sound," Kiloh said.</p>
<p>Another risk is that some consumers might stay in the black market to avoid sticker shock from hefty taxes. And there are concerns that a new distribution system will fail to get cannabis to shelves once current stockpiles run out, possibly in weeks.</p>
<p>Cathy Bliss at Mankind Cooperative in San Diego said the store did not have as much pot in stock as it would have liked.</p>
<p>Charles Boldwyn, chief compliance officer of ShowGrow in Santa Ana, which opened to customers Monday, said the relatively small number of licenses issued so far could create a bottleneck, cutting off pot from stores selling it.</p>
<p>"The biggest hurdle we see, right out of the gate, is that starting today our access to product is limited," Boldwyn said.</p>
<p>The tracking system is part of the state's maze of rules and regulations intended to govern the emerging $7 billion pot economy, the nation's largest. They range from where cannabis can be grown and smoked to environmental safeguards for streams near marijuana fields.</p>
<p>According to state law, the tracking system will provide "data points for the different stages of commercial activity, including, but not limited to, cultivation, harvest, processing, distribution, inventory and sale."</p>
<p>It's also intended to help the state keep track of taxes.</p>
<p>According to the state, businesses holding annual licenses will be required use the tracking system, but those issued so far to growers and retailers have been temporary and they "are not required" to use the system.</p>
<p>The expanded legal sales could offer a rich payoff for the state treasury. California expects to pull in $1 billion annually in taxes within several years.</p>
<p>The move into an era of legalization was marked across the state Monday with ceremonial ribbon cuttings and door prizes at dispensaries.</p>
<p>A customer buys marijuana at Oakland's Harborside dispensary. (AP Photo/Mathew Sumner)</p>
<p>The path to legalization began in 2016 when voters approved Proposition 64, which opened the way for legal pot sales to adults. Medical marijuana has been legal in California for about two decades.</p>
<p>With the 2016 vote, it became legal for adults 21 and older to grow, possess and use limited quantities of marijuana, but it was not legal to sell it for recreational purposes until Monday.</p>
<p>The state did not issue rules for the new marketplace until late last year, and cities and counties have struggled to fashion their own. Los Angeles and San Francisco are among those where recreational pot sales have been delayed.</p>
<p>California joined a growing list of states, and the nation's capital, where recreational marijuana is permitted, even though the federal government continues to classify pot as a controlled substance, like heroin and LSD.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Los Angeles officials said they would begin accepting applications Wednesday from medical marijuana shops to expand their sales to recreational pot. Temporary city licenses could go out as soon as Monday, which would then clear the way for the state to issue licenses for recreational sales.</p>
<p>Unlicensed medical marijuana shops in LA that continue to supply customers in the interim would technically be violating state law, but Los Angeles police won't crack down on those operating in good faith, Assistant Chief Michel Moore said. He said police would focus on pot operations run by felons or that attract gang activity or violence.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press Writer Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow AP's complete coverage of marijuana legalization in California here: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/CaliforniaMarijuana</a> .</p> | Get a pencil: California marijuana-tracking system not used | false | https://apnews.com/3275749deb4d4cff98bd348d1c3a8f22 | 2018-01-03 | 2 |
<p>MIAMI (AP) — A woman whose python posed with tourists strolling through Miami Beach is now fighting deportation after Florida wildlife authorities stopped her for illegal display and called immigration officials to check her status.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article194929429.html" type="external">The Miami Herald</a> reports that Maria Valdez Moreno received a warning from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers investigating the non-licensed display of exotic animals. The officers called U.S. Border Patrol when she wasn't able to show her legal status in the country.</p>
<p>Miami Beach code enforcement officers charged Moreno and a friend who was with her $250 each. The pair charged tourists $10 for posing with the 4-year-old ball python named Penelope.</p>
<p>The Colombian-born woman is now in a detention center on suspicion she overstayed her visa. Her snake was confiscated by FWC.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Miami Herald, <a href="http://www.herald.com" type="external">http://www.herald.com</a></p>
<p>MIAMI (AP) — A woman whose python posed with tourists strolling through Miami Beach is now fighting deportation after Florida wildlife authorities stopped her for illegal display and called immigration officials to check her status.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article194929429.html" type="external">The Miami Herald</a> reports that Maria Valdez Moreno received a warning from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers investigating the non-licensed display of exotic animals. The officers called U.S. Border Patrol when she wasn't able to show her legal status in the country.</p>
<p>Miami Beach code enforcement officers charged Moreno and a friend who was with her $250 each. The pair charged tourists $10 for posing with the 4-year-old ball python named Penelope.</p>
<p>The Colombian-born woman is now in a detention center on suspicion she overstayed her visa. Her snake was confiscated by FWC.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Miami Herald, <a href="http://www.herald.com" type="external">http://www.herald.com</a></p> | Stopped for Miami Beach python show, woman faces deportation | false | https://apnews.com/amp/2a65a364261a459986dce869ffd2ea24 | 2018-01-17 | 2 |
<p>The Treasury Department has announced new sanctions against Iran after the regime performed a ballistic missile test earlier this week. <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/treasury-department-announcing-sanctions-against-iran-friday-morning/index.html" type="external">From CNN</a>:</p>
<p>The Treasury Department said it was sanctioning individuals and companies connected to Iran’s ballistic missile program and those providing support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force.</p>
<p />
<p>—</p>
<p>The new sanctions are designed not to violate the Iran nuclear deal, which the US and five other world powers signed with Tehran during Obama’s tenure. That plan allowed for the lifting of major sanctions against Iran in exchange for a curtailment of its nuclear program.</p>
<p>But they do represent the first concrete step in what the Trump administration has vowed will be a more aggressive approach to Iran.</p>
<p>Here is the full list. It includes 13 individuals and 12 entities.</p>
<p />
<p>These people and <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/us-hits-13-people-dozen-companies-in-new-iran-sanctions.html" type="external">entities</a> “include various agents, companies and associates involved in procuring ballistic missile technology for Iran.” Sanctions mean that “Iranians, Lebanese, Chinese and Emirati individuals and companies also are now blacklisted from doing any business in the United States or with American citizens.”</p>
<p>John Smith, the department’s acting sanction’s chief, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/us-hits-13-people-dozen-companies-in-new-iran-sanctions.html" type="external">stated</a> that “Iran’s continued support for terrorism and development of its ballistic missile program poses a threat to the region, to our partners worldwide and to the United States.”</p>
<p>Earlier this morning, President Donald Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif argued <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/03/trump-iranian-official-spar-on-twitter-amid-sanctions-push.html" type="external">over Twitter</a>.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Earlier this week, Iran <a href="" type="internal">conducted</a> the ballistic missile test in defiance of UN resolution 2231, which the organization passed after nations and Iran agreed on a nuclear deal. The resolution states that Iran cannot perform these tests. Iran <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/30/iran-conducts-ballistic-missile-test-us-officials-say.html" type="external">insisted</a> no one broke the resolution since these missiles cannot “carry a nuclear warhead.”</p>
<p>On Wednesday, the administration officially put Iran “ <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/national-security-adviser-puts-iran-notice-190944150--politics.html" type="external">on notice</a>” and Trump decided to explore options to take against the regime. Iranian officials said any sanctions would violate the nuclear deal, but the Treasury Department <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-02-03/u-s-imposes-fresh-sanctions-on-iran-in-wake-of-missile-tests" type="external">took steps</a> to make sure that did not happen since the items “aren’t directed at Iran’s nuclear program.”</p>
<p>Iran laughed off the threats on <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iran-brushes-trump-s-empty-threats-over-missile-tests-n715746" type="external">Thursday</a>:</p>
<p>“This is not the first time that an inexperienced person has threatened Iran,” [President Adviser Ali Akbar] Velayati said. “Iran is the strongest power in the region and has a lot of political, economic and military power … America should be careful about making empty threats to Iran.”</p>
<p>He added: “Iran will continue to test its capabilities in ballistic missiles and Iran will not ask any country for permission in defending itself.”</p>
<p>A group of senators from both sides have encouraged Trump to take a strong stand <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/03/politics/treasury-department-announcing-sanctions-against-iran-friday-morning/index.html" type="external">against Iran</a>:</p>
<p>“Iranian leaders must feel sufficient pressure to cease deeply destabilizing activities, from sponsoring terrorist groups to continued testing of ballistic missiles,” the lawmakers wrote.</p>
<p>“Full enforcement of existing sanctions and the imposition of additional sanctions on Iran for its ballistic missile program are necessary,” the letter said.</p>
<p /> | Treasury Passes New Sanctions on Iran After Missile Test | true | http://legalinsurrection.com/2017/02/treasury-passes-new-sanctions-on-iran-after-missile-test/ | 2017-02-03 | 0 |
<p>It’s just minutes before the televised noon lottery drawing, and hurried, last-minute players are lining up inside 115th St. Food &amp; Liquor on Chicago’s South Side.</p>
<p>One of them is 60-year-old homemaker Minnie Vaughn.</p>
<p>“I have no strategy,” she said. “I play the same numbers every day, maybe $7 or $8 worth.”</p>
<p>John Brown started buying lottery tickets the day he turned 18, the legal age for playing the Illinois Lottery.</p>
<p>“On average, I’d say [I spend] about $25 a day,” said Brown, now 36, a laid-off laborer. “But I don’t mind because I know, sooner or later, I’m going to hit something.”</p>
<p>Predominantly African American or Latino, low-income Chicago communities have generated the highest lottery sales in the state, shows an analysis of Illinois Lottery records since 1997 by The Chicago Reporter. In addition, residents in these communities spent a higher portion of their incomes on the lottery than people in more affluent areas. And despite the state’s recent economic downturn, lottery spending has increased, the Reporter found.</p>
<p>In the South Side’s 60619 ZIP code area, lottery players spent more than $23 million on lottery tickets in fiscal year 2002, more than any other ZIP code in the state, according to lottery sales records. The 60619 area includes parts of the predominantly black neighborhoods of Chatham, Avalon Park, Burnside and Calumet Heights.</p>
<p>Brown was among those buying tickets in the 60628 ZIP code area, which lies directly south of 60619 and ranked second among all ZIP code areas with nearly $21 million in lottery ticket sales during the past fiscal year. It includes parts of the mostly-black Pullman, Riverdale, Roseland and West Pullman communities.</p>
<p>“Lotteries are, in essence, a form of regressive taxation that distributes wealth and resources away from those who can least afford to pay,” said Paul Street, vice-president for research and planning at the Chicago Urban League. He said he was not surprised by the Reporter’s findings. “[Lotteries] especially extract wealth from communities of color, and most particularly from African Americans.”</p>
<p>Dennis Culloton, spokesman for Gov. George H. Ryan, disagreed.</p>
<p>“The charge that the lottery exists to spare taxing people of means is a spurious charge,” he said, adding that the governor “has always been concerned about the poor.”</p>
<p>“Governor Ryan has always had concerns about the tensions between the state’s budget reliance on the lottery and legalized gambling,” Culloton added.</p>
<p>But that reliance continues.</p>
<p>This year, Illinois faced a budget crisis that forced Ryan to cut state services and agency funding. And without the lottery, things could have been worse, said Illinois Lottery Director Lori Montana.</p>
<p>“The state’s deficits approached or even surpassed $1 billion this past year,” she said. “Had the lottery not transferred $555 million to the state, the budget shortfall could have been significantly larger.”</p>
<p>The Reporter examined lottery sales for each fiscal year since 1997, and compared them with income and demographic data from the 2000 Census.</p>
<p>The 10 ZIP code areas with the highest lottery sales over the last six fiscal years were 60609, 60617, 60618, 60619, 60620, 60628, 60629, 60639, 60647 and 60651. They were all in Chicago and included areas across the city like South Deering, Washington Heights, Irving Park and Logan Square. Census figures showed that eight of those ZIP code areas had unemployment rates higher than the citywide average of 10 percent, and all 10 had average incomes of less than $20,000 a year, compared with a citywide average of $24,000. Census data also show that five were at least 70 percent African American and two were at least 60 percent Latino.</p>
<p>Lottery sales figures, per person, were 29 percent to 33 percent higher in Chicago’s predominantly black neighborhoods than they were in mostly-white or Latino areas.</p>
<p>In fiscal year 2002, lottery spending in ZIP code areas that were at least 70 percent black averaged $224 per person. Lottery spending averaged $169 per person in ZIP code areas with Latino populations of 60 percent or more. And in ZIPs that were at least 70 percent white, per-capita lottery spending was $173.</p>
<p>But the lottery’s public relations director, Anne Plohr Rayhill, said it is not the fault of the lottery that black and poor residents spend more.</p>
<p>“We try not to target anyone,” she said. “We’re visible to everybody. We don’t do the sort of thing where we put a lot of advertising in one area and not another.”</p>
<p>Numbers Runner</p>
<p>Number-based games of chance have a history in poor, black communities.</p>
<p>Alderman Freddrenna Lyle, whose 6th Ward includes part of the South Side neighborhood where she grew up, remembers the pre-lottery days well.</p>
<p>“As far back as I can remember, we had the –˜numbers runner,'” she said. “He came to the door, and he and my grandfather talked. My grandfather gave the man his numbers, and the numbers runner left.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know if anybody ever won,” Lyle added.</p>
<p>Illinois lawmakers first proposed a statewide “numbers” game in 1972 as a way to fund schools. In both 1972 and 1973, state Rep. E.J. “Zeke” Giorgi, a Rockford Democrat, sponsored bills to create the lottery. Giorgi’s bills provided that lottery revenues would be divided between operations expenses, prizes for players and public education, according to Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times reports at the time.</p>
<p>But even then, critics were skeptical.</p>
<p>“It was basically a way to get money for the state without taxing those who were better off,” said Marty Oberman, alderman of Chicago’s 43rd Ward on the near north lakefront from 1975 to 1987, and a longtime opponent of a state-run lottery. “Of course, the school funding thing was only a ruse.”</p>
<p>Initially, profits from the Illinois Lottery did not directly assist public schools.</p>
<p>When the Illinois House created the lottery in December 1973, the new law stated, “All income arising out of –¦ the State Lottery in the Department of Revenue shall –¦ be paid into the state treasury without delay,” and, “The State Treasurer shall make monthly transfers from the State Lottery Fund to the General Revenue Fund of the amount of net revenues derived from the sale of lottery tickets or shares. –¦”</p>
<p>While the lottery money that went to the General Revenue Fund was used to help support schools, it wasn’t until 1985 that Illinois lawmakers passed a law specifically requiring that lottery profits go directly into the Common School Fund.</p>
<p>Nearly 30 years after its inception, the lottery is big business for the state, bringing in nearly $1.6 billion in sales in fiscal year 2002.</p>
<p>The bulk of this cash–”55 percent–”went to winners as prizes, according to the Illinois Lottery. Another 6 percent went to lottery ticket retailers as commissions and bonuses. And 4 percent was used for the lottery’s operating expenses, including advertising, telecommunications and salaries for Illinois Lottery administrative and support staff. The rest, 35 percent, went to the Common School Fund.</p>
<p>Last Dollar</p>
<p>In 60619, the state’s top ZIP code in lottery sales in 2002, main thoroughfares like 79th and 87th streets are strewn with trash. Along 79th Street, insurance offices, fried fish and chicken restaurants, and beauty salons hold their own among vacant and boarded-up buildings. A small store, J&amp;S Food Mart, at 215 E. 79th St., sports a handwritten cardboard sign that says, “THREE (3) Students at a time please!” Inside, a few rows of low shelves offer convenience foods.</p>
<p>The students likely come from Ruggles Elementary School, across the street at 7831 S. Prairie Ave. The school sits in a block of single-family homes, two- and three-story flats and small apartment buildings.</p>
<p>The 2000 Census counted the area’s black population at 97 percent. It’s a mix of middle-class families who have lived in the neighborhood for two and three generations, and former residents of public housing developments. The unemployment rate is 14 percent, compared with 10 percent citywide. Still, the neighborhood’s adults each bought an average of $418 in lottery tickets last fiscal year.</p>
<p>“I understand that people are feeling like, –˜Well, I don’t have anything now. I might as well play,’ or, –˜Maybe this dollar is an investment in making me wealthy,'” said Lyle, sighing and shaking her head.</p>
<p>The alderman said she is “depressed but not surprised” by the level of lottery participation in her ward, which includes about half of 60619. She believes poverty, among other things, drives lottery sales.</p>
<p>Poor people “probably feel that the chances of them –¦ ever achieving anything are none,” she said. “And the only possibility being offered to them is the Lotto. [And they think], –˜The only way I can ever possibly get out of here is to make it rich, and maybe this last dollar will turn me around.'”</p>
<p>The state’s top selling Latino-majority ZIP code area is 60639, which includes most of the Northwest Side’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood and parts of nearby Hermosa and Austin. Census data show that the area is 66 percent Latino with an average income of $13,331. Adults there bought an average of $269 in lottery tickets in 2002, according to the Reporter’s analysis. Overall, the area ranked sixth in the state, with $16.8 million in lottery sales.</p>
<p>Northwest Chicago’s 60634 ZIP code contains parts of the Dunning, Montclare, Belmont Cragin and Portage Park neighborhoods. The area is 74 percent white, with an average yearly income of $23,087, according to the census. Adults there spent an average of $232 on lottery tickets in 2002. It was the top selling mostly-white area in the state, with more than $13.5 million, but ranked 12th overall.</p>
<p>When comparing the top-selling black, white and Latino areas, not only did residents in the minority areas spend more overall on the lottery, but a greater portion of their average incomes went to pay for lottery tickets.</p>
<p>In fiscal year 2002, residents of the mostly black 60619 area spent twice as much of their income on lottery tickets as did those in the mostly white 60634 ZIP code area–”$1.80 of every $100 earned, versus 89 cents of every $100–”according to the Reporter’s analysis of lottery sales figures and census data. In the mostly Latino 60639 ZIP code area, residents played the lottery with $1.36 of every $100 they earned, according to the Reporter’s analysis.</p>
<p>But there were slightly fewer lottery vendors found in mostly black ZIP codes in fiscal year 2002, about 59 per 100,000 residents, than in mostly white or Latino ZIP codes, about 73 per 100,000 residents.</p>
<p>“I have only won a couple of times, enough to make me play again,” said Maria Razo, 27, a mother of three from the Lower West Side, one of the state’s highest-selling Latino areas. “I hope [the money I spend] helps people.”</p>
<p>Better Spent</p>
<p>Street, of the Chicago Urban League, hopes that lottery players will see how much the games take away from people and their communities.</p>
<p>“For urban and black community residents especially, playing the Lotto is a self-defeating behavior–”a form of legalized gambling that worsens the often already difficult circumstances of their neighborhoods and the city,” he said.</p>
<p>“If the $23 million were handed to me, I, as the alderman, would build a community center that would provide youth programming, parenting classes and senior supportive services,” said Lyle, adding that the center would “provide holistic remedies to the problems that plague our community, i.e., dysfunctional families, youth violence, the drug culture [and] lack of mental health services.”</p>
<p>State Sen. Barack Obama, whose 13th District includes parts of 60619, agreed that the money could be put to better use.</p>
<p>“The money a family spends on the lottery could be spent on a computer for a child,” he said. “There is a need for computers in the schools, and job training and substance abuse programs.”</p>
<p>For now, though, the Illinois Lottery wants more money from players. It’s introducing new games to increase interest and participation, said Rayhill.</p>
<p>After reaching a five-year low in fiscal year 2001, the lottery saw a slight gain in fiscal year 2002.</p>
<p>“A couple of years ago, we started looking at a lot of our games, especially our instant games, to find ways to make them more appealing,” she said.</p>
<p>But even with its drive to increase sales, the lottery is not looking to target poor areas, even if they are the areas of greatest play, Rayhill said.</p>
<p>“I think there is a broad range of people playing,” she added. “We try to get the message out there that, if you have a discretionary dollar to spend, then play. But if you don’t have it, then don’t.”</p>
<p>But the Illinois Lottery has not directly advertised this message, Rayhill admitted. Instead, lottery advertising contains phrases like “play responsibly.”</p>
<p>“The message is not intended to encourage people to spend money that they should not spend,” said Montana. “Spokespeople make sure to mention that –˜the odds of winning are long’ and that –˜it only takes a dollar to play and win.'”</p>
<p>The state’s lottery law does not directly prohibit such targeting. But the law states that the five-member Lottery Control Board “shall establish advertising policy to ensure that advertising content and practices do not target with the intent to exploit specific groups or economic classes of people –¦”</p>
<p>But the governor-appointed board’s recommendations are not legally binding, said Rayhill. “The board is an advisory board. We work with them; we heed their advice; we listen to what they have to say.</p>
<p>“They might bring questions up about how we are doing something,” she said.</p>
<p>Yvonne Morris, 50, a graduate student and grandmother, said she has spent $15 a week on the lottery this year.</p>
<p>“The most I won was maybe $27 on a scratch-off,” she said. “I basically put gas in my car and bought me lunch [with the winnings]. But, if I hit it big, you’ll know about it.”</p>
<p>Contributing: Shawn Allee, Dominick Basta, Jocelyn Prince, Rupa Shenoy and Julia Steinberger.</p> | Illinois Lottery: The Poor Play More | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/illinois-lottery-poor-play-more/ | 2007-09-24 | 3 |
<p>Esperion Therapeutics Inc. shares surged 52.0% in morning trade Monday after the company said the Food and Drug Administration gave it positive feedback on a cholesterol-lowering drug, saying that the late-stage program is enough to support approval. The company plans to apply for approval by the first half of 2019, with results from the phase 3 trial expected by the second quarter of 2018. The drug is intended for patients with elevated low density lipoprotein cholesterol, specifically as a supplementary treatment to statin therapy in patients with high cardiovascular disease risk, according to Esperion's proposed product label. The area is one that drugmakers have been targeting lately, with disappointing results, as seen with the pricey PCSK9 inhibitors made by Amgen and Regeneron . Esperion's Monday statement about the FDA's feedback "surprised" RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee, who rates the company sector perform and raised its price target from $30 to $45 (shares were trading at $35 as of Monday morning). "Indeed, the caveat and risk is FDA can say anything but ultimately a decision is based on the totality of risk/benefit after all the Phase III data including safety is in hand and the regulatory environment at that time," he said. "Nonetheless, this is a fundamental big positive and a big de-risking event." Shares will likely continue to rise after Monday's announcement because it answers investors' biggest question and thus could attract a new pharmaceutical partner, since drugmakers "need billion-dollar potential drugs," Yee said. However, risks continue, he noted, including the possibility of the FDA changing its mind, the lack of outcomes data - which became a problem for PCSK9 inhibitors - and the possibility of the drug having safety risks. Plus, Yee noted, Esperion is a single-product company. Esperion shares have risen 160.4% over the last three months, compared with a 4.7% rise in the S&amp;P 500 .</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Esperion Therapeutics Stock Surges 52% After It Says The FDA Gave Its Drug Program Positive Feedback | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/20/esperion-therapeutics-stock-surges-52-after-it-says-fda-gave-its-drug-program.html | 2017-03-20 | 0 |
<p />
<p>Consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month to its lowest level since January, and the consumer expectations index was at its lowest level since November, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 62.0 from a downwardly revised 64.4 the month before. Economists had expected a reading of 63.5, according to a Reuters poll. May was originally reported as 64.9.</p>
<p>"The improvement in the Present Situation Index, coupled with a moderate softening in consumer expectations, suggests there will be little change in the pace of economic activity in the near-term," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.</p>
<p>The expectations index dropped five points, to 72.3 from 77.3, while the present situation index edged up slightly to 46.6 from 44.9 last month.</p>
<p>Consumers' labor market assessment was mixed, but income expectations fell, suggesting that the consumer spending that has kept the economy afloat may not last. The "jobs hard to get" category increased to 41.5 percent from 40.9 percent the month before, while "jobs plentiful" rose slightly to 7.8 percent from 7.5 percent.</p>
<p>Consumers also felt better about price increases with expectations for inflation in the coming 12 months down to 5.3 percent from 5.6 percent.</p> | Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Level Since January | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2012/06/26/consumer-confidence-declines-in-june.html | 2016-03-03 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>The initial goal is to stop Congress from repealing the law without simultaneously passing a replacement for some 20 million people covered through subsidized private health insurance and expanded Medicaid.</p>
<p>Called “Protect Our Care,” the group brings together organizations that helped pass the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.”</p>
<p>On the list are the NAACP, liberal advocacy groups like Families USA and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Service Employees International Union, which represents many health care workers, and the Center for American Progress, a think tank closely aligned with the Obama White House.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Coordinating the group’s activities will be Leslie Dach, a former Wal-Mart executive responsible for public policy and government affairs who also was a top adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell in the Obama administration.</p>
<p>“Repeal and Delay is no better than repeal. American families deserve to know what will happen to them before Congress acts,” the coalition said in a statement.</p>
<p>Republicans, who are considering first voting on repeal and then passing a replacement later, say their goal is a smooth transition to a system that will provide access for all Americans with fewer government requirements. The effective date of the repeal legislation would be delayed by months or years to give lawmakers time to figure out a replacement. But after six years trying to undo President Barack Obama’s signature law, Republicans have not reached consensus on what their replacement would look like.</p>
<p>“It is highly irresponsible to move forward with repeal alone,” said Ron Pollack, head of Families USA, and an organizer of the coalition.</p>
<p>A recent poll found that only about 1 in 4 people want President-elect Donald Trump to entirely repeal the health law. The post-election survey by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation underscored the nation’s deep political divisions over health care. Thirty percent want to expand what the law does, 26 percent want it completely repealed, 19 percent say it should be implemented as is, and 17 percent say it should be scaled back.</p>
<p>The poll found some skepticism about repealing the law first and replacing it later. Forty-two percent of those who want the law repealed said lawmakers should wait until they figure out the details of a replacement plan before doing so.</p>
<p>A study earlier this week estimated up to 30 million people would be at risk of losing coverage, because a repeal-only approach could destabilize the entire health insurance market for people who don’t have job-based coverage, not just those who buy their policies through HealthCare.gov.</p>
<p>Republicans say there’s no turning back for them.</p>
<p>“Obamacare isn’t fixable,” House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady of Texas said in a recent interview. But he added that Republicans want a replacement that provides affordable health care, and will allow an appropriate transition period.</p> | New coalition will push back on repeal of Obama health law | false | https://abqjournal.com/905676/new-coalition-will-push-back-on-repeal-of-obama-health-law.html | 2016-12-09 | 2 |
<p>SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah officials trying to persuade Amazon to build its new headquarters in the state decided the site of the aging prison in Draper would be the best spot to pitch for the project, according to public records from a city that participated in the process.</p>
<p>The state put the Draper area at the top of its list of potential locations for the headquarters following a Sept. 15 meeting of stakeholders, according to emails released by the city of West Jordan under a public records request.</p>
<p>It’s not clear if the 700-acre prison site ended up being the state’s final top choice Utah pitched to the tech giant. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development, which coordinated the state’s offer for Amazon’s $5 billion project, would not confirm or deny the Draper site was at the top of the list.</p>
<p>GOED refused a public records request for a copy of Utah’s bid for the project and other documents detailing the offer, citing a section of the state public records law that shields incentives offered to encourage businesses to expand to the state.</p>
<p>GOED executive director Val Hale said in a statement that the agency “takes a conservative approach to corporate recruitment, and we will never have the largest incentive offer. We are committed to negotiating the best deal for Utah taxpayers while providing high-paying jobs and improving quality of life.”</p>
<p>Hale said GOED honors the confidentiality of business negotiations but would release details about the incentive offered to Amazon if Utah is selected as a final location for the headquarters.</p>
<p>The secrecy is not unique to Utah — more than a dozen states and cities denied public records requests from The Associated Press seeking the offers they made to the Seattle-based company.</p>
<p>A number of Utah government officials involved did not return messages or declined to comment on the project, citing non-disclosure agreements that the state had participants sign.</p>
<p>The Draper prison site won’t be vacant until 2021, when roughly 4,000 inmates will be moved to a new facility being built west of Salt Lake City’s airport. The Draper land, sandwiched between Utah’s two largest counties and a raft of tech companies and startups, has been the focus of an ambitious redevelopment effort.</p>
<p>House Majority Leader Brad Wilson, a former chair of the Point of the Mountain Development Commission helping plan that redevelopment, said he had early discussions with GOED about the Amazon project but was not aware of the specifics of Utah’s proposal.</p>
<p>Wilson said he’s not surprised that the Draper site would be a front-runner because of its location and proximity to highways and other infrastructure.</p>
<p>“It’s a pretty logical place to see something like that go,” Wilson said.</p>
<p>GOED worked with the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, a private nonprofit that has a contract to assist GOED with recruiting companies. Together, they corralled interested cities for a carefully-coordinated state response, nicknaming it Project BOAT, (an acronym for “Biggest Of All Time.“)</p>
<p>Amazon’s request has unleashed an unprecedented race by governments around North America to see who can make the biggest promises and offer the largest economic incentives to draw a project that promises to create 50,000 new jobs.</p>
<p>In Utah, cities proposed potential sites and pitched their communities, and the state selected the top three that they would focus on in the proposal, according to redacted documents released by GOED showing the state’s plans for orchestrating the project.</p>
<p>David Oka, West Jordan’s now-retired economic development officer, described the Sept. 15 meeting he attended in emails to other city officials and later confirmed his account with The Associated Press.</p>
<p>As of Sept. 15, the Draper prison location was GOED’s top-ranked location, Oka said.</p>
<p>Midvale’s Jordan Bluffs, a 268-acre former Superfund Site on the city’s west side near Overstock.com’s new headquarters, was ranked second and an area near the Daybreak light rail station in South Jordan was ranked third, according to Oka.</p>
<p>Wilson said in his initial meeting with GOED before the Amazon pitch was underway, he left with the impression that it was “a pretty big mountain for us to climb for us to land that facility. It’s a possibility. It’s definitely not an inevitability.”</p>
<p>Wilson noted that some speculated Utah might be a front-runner but that Amazon was looking for a larger market or a location closer to the East Coast.</p>
<p>Amazon has not released specifics about when it will choose a location other than promising an announcement in 2018.</p>
<p>SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah officials trying to persuade Amazon to build its new headquarters in the state decided the site of the aging prison in Draper would be the best spot to pitch for the project, according to public records from a city that participated in the process.</p>
<p>The state put the Draper area at the top of its list of potential locations for the headquarters following a Sept. 15 meeting of stakeholders, according to emails released by the city of West Jordan under a public records request.</p>
<p>It’s not clear if the 700-acre prison site ended up being the state’s final top choice Utah pitched to the tech giant. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development, which coordinated the state’s offer for Amazon’s $5 billion project, would not confirm or deny the Draper site was at the top of the list.</p>
<p>GOED refused a public records request for a copy of Utah’s bid for the project and other documents detailing the offer, citing a section of the state public records law that shields incentives offered to encourage businesses to expand to the state.</p>
<p>GOED executive director Val Hale said in a statement that the agency “takes a conservative approach to corporate recruitment, and we will never have the largest incentive offer. We are committed to negotiating the best deal for Utah taxpayers while providing high-paying jobs and improving quality of life.”</p>
<p>Hale said GOED honors the confidentiality of business negotiations but would release details about the incentive offered to Amazon if Utah is selected as a final location for the headquarters.</p>
<p>The secrecy is not unique to Utah — more than a dozen states and cities denied public records requests from The Associated Press seeking the offers they made to the Seattle-based company.</p>
<p>A number of Utah government officials involved did not return messages or declined to comment on the project, citing non-disclosure agreements that the state had participants sign.</p>
<p>The Draper prison site won’t be vacant until 2021, when roughly 4,000 inmates will be moved to a new facility being built west of Salt Lake City’s airport. The Draper land, sandwiched between Utah’s two largest counties and a raft of tech companies and startups, has been the focus of an ambitious redevelopment effort.</p>
<p>House Majority Leader Brad Wilson, a former chair of the Point of the Mountain Development Commission helping plan that redevelopment, said he had early discussions with GOED about the Amazon project but was not aware of the specifics of Utah’s proposal.</p>
<p>Wilson said he’s not surprised that the Draper site would be a front-runner because of its location and proximity to highways and other infrastructure.</p>
<p>“It’s a pretty logical place to see something like that go,” Wilson said.</p>
<p>GOED worked with the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, a private nonprofit that has a contract to assist GOED with recruiting companies. Together, they corralled interested cities for a carefully-coordinated state response, nicknaming it Project BOAT, (an acronym for “Biggest Of All Time.“)</p>
<p>Amazon’s request has unleashed an unprecedented race by governments around North America to see who can make the biggest promises and offer the largest economic incentives to draw a project that promises to create 50,000 new jobs.</p>
<p>In Utah, cities proposed potential sites and pitched their communities, and the state selected the top three that they would focus on in the proposal, according to redacted documents released by GOED showing the state’s plans for orchestrating the project.</p>
<p>David Oka, West Jordan’s now-retired economic development officer, described the Sept. 15 meeting he attended in emails to other city officials and later confirmed his account with The Associated Press.</p>
<p>As of Sept. 15, the Draper prison location was GOED’s top-ranked location, Oka said.</p>
<p>Midvale’s Jordan Bluffs, a 268-acre former Superfund Site on the city’s west side near Overstock.com’s new headquarters, was ranked second and an area near the Daybreak light rail station in South Jordan was ranked third, according to Oka.</p>
<p>Wilson said in his initial meeting with GOED before the Amazon pitch was underway, he left with the impression that it was “a pretty big mountain for us to climb for us to land that facility. It’s a possibility. It’s definitely not an inevitability.”</p>
<p>Wilson noted that some speculated Utah might be a front-runner but that Amazon was looking for a larger market or a location closer to the East Coast.</p>
<p>Amazon has not released specifics about when it will choose a location other than promising an announcement in 2018.</p> | Emails: Utah focused on Draper prison land in Amazon pitch | false | https://apnews.com/99a47f44e2224c88a526993d82fa9e61 | 2018-01-11 | 2 |
<p>On Monday, speaking at an immigrant and workers rally outside of the White House, DNC Chariman Thomas Perez, whose lips are not unfamiliar with expletives and profanity, said he couldn’t even mention Donald Trump’s name.</p>
<p>Interspersing his harangue in Spanish with an English translation, Perez blustered:</p>
<p>We may not have the White House now. Our most important power is not the “Mr.” in the White House, I can’t even mention his name. Our most important power is the power of all of you, the power of organizing, the power of fighting together, the power of our labor unions who are here in solidarity. Thank you for building the middle class, and we stand here with you. We will win in New Jersey; we will win in Virginia; we will win elsewhere because we are fighting for your values, fighting for comprehensive immigration reform. We will continue to fight for middle-class values that pay middle-class wages for everyone.</p>
<p>Perez does not seem to have a problem using foul language; on March 31 at an event hosted by the New Jersey Working Families Alliance in Newark, he <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/04/01/watch-dnc-chair-tom-perez-becomes-unhinged-goes-on-profanity-laced-anti-trump-rant/" type="external">ranted</a>, “Republicans don’t give a sh*t about people.” In mid-April, he offered this:</p>
<p>In late April, with children on stage behind him, Perez <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/24/politics/tom-perez-swearing-trump/" type="external">told an audience in Las Vegas</a> that President Trump "doesn't give a shit about health care."</p>
<p>Democrats were using Donald Trump’s language against him in the election, remember?</p>
<p>Yet this shirt was recently sold on the DNC website:</p>
<p>Perez apparently feels that mentioning Trump’s name might sully his innocent lips.</p>
<p>That’s rich.</p> | WATCH: DNC Chairman On Trump: 'I Can't Even Mention His Name' | true | https://dailywire.com/news/15972/watch-dnc-chairman-trump-i-cant-even-mention-his-hank-berrien | 2017-05-02 | 0 |
<p>Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) is nearing a crossroads of sorts.&#160;In short, AbbVie's (NYSE: ABBV) eight-week pan-genotypic hepatitis C <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/22/better-buy-abbvie-inc-vs-johnson-johnson-2.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ec621536-7188-11e7-93ad-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">combo Opens a New Window.</a> of&#160;glecaprevir and pibrentasvir could emerge as a significant competitive threat to the biotech's struggling hep C franchise moving forward.</p>
<p>That's seriously bad news from a value-creation standpoint. Gilead's hep C sales, after all, are already on track to fall by more than <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/09/dont-panic-gilead-sciences-really-is-undervalued.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ec621536-7188-11e7-93ad-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">65% Opens a New Window.</a> over the next three years due to the dual headwinds of price erosion and lower demand.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Although the biotech's hep C woes have been weighing on its valuation for some time now, this latest competitive threat may finally force Gilead's hand on the business development front. All things considered, the biotech has three available choices:</p>
<p>In an odd twist, Gilead's best option -- and arguably least anticipated -- is to split the company into two. Here's why.</p>
<p>Standing pat and waiting for its clinical pipeline to mature seems to be management's preferred course of action. But it is clearly not the best option for shareholders. As proof, the market has been penalizing Gilead's stock due to management's inaction on the business development issue -- evinced by its rock-bottom forward price to earnings ratio of 9.78.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Even if the biotech can accelerate the development of its more attractive clinical assets such as its anti-inflammatory drug filgotinib, it simply won't be enough to head off the entry of AbbVie's latest hep C therapy -- or counteract the other negative headwinds that are literally crushing its hep C franchise right now.</p>
<p>Regarding a possible megadeal to bring in new sources of revenue, this idea seems dead on arrival for two reasons. First off,&#160;Gilead has largely <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/08/gilead-is-about-to-disappoint-investors-but-for-al.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ec621536-7188-11e7-93ad-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">shunned high-dollar business development Opens a New Window.</a> deals in the past -- that is, outside of its roughly $11 billion deal to acquire Pharmasset. Megadeals, in other words, are simply not in the biotech's DNA -- especially ones that would be large enough (&gt; $30 billion) to move the needle from a growth perspective at present.</p>
<p>Secondly, Gilead's hesitation to go the megadeal route is rooted in some solid reasoning. Point of fact: Massive mergers and acquisitions in the pharma space have historically produced extremely poor returns on capital.</p>
<p>Pfizer, for instance, has repeatedly spent large sums to augment its clinical pipeline and product portfolio with rather questionable results. The drugmaker's latest multibillion-dollar acquisition of Medivation for its advanced prostate cancer drug Xtandi is already proving to be a dubious move from a return on investment standpoint. And that's just one example of many where high-dollar acquisitions in pharma haven't gone nearly as smoothly as planned.</p>
<p>The idea of Gilead splitting into two business -- one growth-oriented HIV business and another built around the biotech's hep C franchise and other liver disease assets -- isn't exactly new. Management, in fact, addressed this possibility head on with analysts late last year.</p>
<p>While Gilead's brass previously eschewed a break up, a split is unquestionably the single best option the biotech has on the table at the moment. There's tremendous value trapped in Gilead's HIV franchise thanks to its association with the company's plummeting hep C segment, after all. As a stand-alone, the biotech's HIV business should easily produce high double-digit sales growth over the next five or so years and, hence, merit a much richer multiple than the company is currently being assigned by the market.</p>
<p>As an added bonus, Gilead could continue to pursue its small to mid-size acquisition strategy that's worked wonders so far by splitting the company into two. It would arguably only take a handful of medium-sized deals, after all, to shore up the biotech's hep C business as a stand-alone.</p>
<p>The key takeaway is that Gilead could kill two birds with one stone by separating its HIV and hep C segments. A break up would allow its strong HIV sales to shine through, and the biotech wouldn't have to grossly overpay for a large, revenue-generating peer in a deal that almost certainly wouldn't maximize shareholder value.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Gilead's management hasn't expressed much interest in either a megadeal or a split to address its faltering growth engine. So, while a split is one possible solution to unlock the biotech's trapped value and avoid a capital-intensive acquisition, investors can most likely expect more of the same out of the company moving forward.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Gilead SciencesWhen 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>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=ab6e2000-67ed-4288-b246-f839045fb929&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ec621536-7188-11e7-93ad-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now...and Gilead Sciences wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=ab6e2000-67ed-4288-b246-f839045fb929&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ec621536-7188-11e7-93ad-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of July 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/gbudwell/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=ec621536-7188-11e7-93ad-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">George Budwell Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Pfizer. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool has the following options: short August 2017 $75 calls on Gilead Sciences. 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=ec621536-7188-11e7-93ad-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Gilead Sciences Has 3 Available Options, but Only 1 Makes Sense | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/27/gilead-sciences-has-3-available-options-but-only-1-makes-sense.html | 2017-07-27 | 0 |
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Two Step" game were:</p>
<p>06-07-19-33, Bonus: 30</p>
<p>(six, seven, nineteen, thirty-three; Bonus: thirty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $550,000</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Two Step" game were:</p>
<p>06-07-19-33, Bonus: 30</p>
<p>(six, seven, nineteen, thirty-three; Bonus: thirty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $550,000</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'Two Step' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/c8b2b3c0637a4dec831ba73d320bfa3f | 2017-12-29 | 2 |
<p>After days of poor weather and increasingly cumbersome conditions, the Indonesian navy has salvaged the tail of the downed AirAsia Flight QZ8501 plane that crashed off the coast of Borneo two weeks ago. Divers were able to pull the tail, so far the largest found piece of the wreckage, by using an inflatable device.</p>
<p>The search continues to find the rest of the plane, including the “black box” flight recorders that may offer clues as to why the aircraft went down. As it stands, icy weather is thought to be the reason for the tragic crash, yet remains unconfirmed. It has been reported the pilot of the aircraft requested a flight path change prior to losing contact with air traffic control.</p>
<p>AirAsia Flight QZ8501 lost radar contact during bad weather on the night of Dec. 28. 162 people were on board the flight en route from Surabaya to Singapore. So far, 48 dead bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage. The remains of the majority of additional passengers are believed to be located in the fuselage of the aircraft, which has yet to be located.</p>
<p>On Friday (Jan. 9), search officials detected pings in the Java Sea not far from where the tail of the plane was found. Most officials believe the pings were signaled from the highly coveted black box flight recorders. Rescue teams will continue to work tirelessly to find the boxes, as most flight recorders run out of battery power after a 30 day period or so.</p>
<p>Spotted by an unmanned underwater vessel, the rear portion of the Airbus A320-200 was retrieved at a depth of roughly 100 feet (30 meters). According to officials, the tail was found upside down, partially buried some 20 miles from the last point of contact with the plane, not far off the coast of Borneo.</p>
<p>Despite the relatively shallow waters, the increasingly inclement weather has severely hindered the search and recovery efforts. Bodies and pieces of debris continue to be pulled from the wreckage, but high wind, waves and stormy weather continue to pound the area.</p>
<p>The data recording “black boxes” are usually harbored in the rear part of the aircraft, yet none have been located in the tail retrieval of Flight 8501. They operate via locator beacons that send out electronic signals, even while partially damaged or submerged in water, for up to at least 30 days. Finding them has been the number one priority for recovery teams, as it is the best way to deduce vital information regarding how and why the plane went down on 40 minutes into its flight on Dec. 28.</p>
<p>Of the 162 people on board, 155 were passengers, seven were crew members. There were 17 children on the manifest, including a lone infant. Nearly all the passengers and crew were of Indonesian descent. One of the pilots was from France, while one of the passengers was carrying a UK passport.</p>
<p>Some 40 or so bodies of the victims have been retrieved intact, which has led many experts to conclude that a midair explosion or breakup of the aircraft is the least likely scenario. The search for the rest of the aircraft and passenger remains continues.</p>
<p /> | Tail of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 plane crash recovered from Java Sea | false | http://natmonitor.com/2015/01/10/tail-of-airasia-flight-qz8501-plane-crash-recovered-from-java-sea/ | 2015-01-10 | 3 |
<p />
<p>Marines with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Battalion Landing Team, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, participate in a Combined Arms Live Fire Exercise during Exercise Ssang Yong 14 at Su Seung-ri Range, Pohang, Republic of Korea, April 4, 2014. SY 14 is conducted annually in the Republic of Korea to enhance interoperability between U.S. and ROK forces by performing a full spectrum of amphibious operations while showcasing sea-based power projection in the pacific. ( <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/marine_corps/13893978465/" type="external">U.S. Marine Corps photo</a> by Lance Cpl. Andrew Kuppers/Released)</p>
<p />
<p /> | We’re Still at War: Photo of the Day for April 22, 2014 | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/04/were-still-war-photo-day-april-22-2014/ | 2014-04-22 | 4 |
<p>Recently, someone who presents himself as “religiously unaffiliated” asked: “Aren’t you evangelicals really just the Republican Party at prayer?” We are good friends, so I responded: “Who’s ‘you evangelicals,’ you none?”</p>
<p>For those readers who don’t have cable TV or Internet, don’t read newspapers, or who live in West Texas, “none” is a sociological designation used by pollsters like Pew and Gallup, or by fretful pastors explaining the huge sucking sound from Sunday worship to Sunday soccer, delineating those Americans who consider themselves to have no involvement with organized religion. Right now “nones” top out at one in five Americans overall, and one in three millennials, ages 18 to 35. There are about as many U.S. “nones” (21 percent) as there are white evangelicals (23 percent).</p>
<p>But enough about the “nones.” What about “you evangelicals?” For myself, I’d testify to keeping my distance from the word in describing my own pilgrimage of faith. The reasons are perhaps more pragmatic than theological. From my earliest memories, the words Christian and Baptist have shaped my life considerably and are about as much of a gospel label as I can handle. Some days they are blessed sources of faith, hope and love — heartwarming encounters with grace. On other days, I run from those two words like the plague, fearing I’ll never live up to their prophetic challenges, or because they provoke a lover’s quarrel I can’t seem to reconcile. For better or worse, adding evangelical to my historical-theological-ecclesiological (and political!) identity would simply wear out my already weary soul. So, where the three terms — Christian, Baptist, Evangelical — are concerned, I’ve decided two out of three ain’t bad. Or at least that will have to do at this stage of my spiritual life.</p>
<p>This election year, the term evangelical has lots of evangelicals in a quandary. At times it seems more problematic than beneficial, if for no other reason because in the media and the culture the word evangelical seems less a theological conviction than a political brand. In much print, cable and social media, evangelical is closely associated with a religious subgroup in one particular political party, fueling my secular friend’s view that all evangelicals represent the “Republican Party at prayer.”</p>
<p>While that’s a gross generalization, truth is, some evangelicals have been going steady with the GOP for years, dating at least from the 1980s with certain “new religious political right” groups like Religious Roundtable and Moral Majority. Even then intra-evangelical debates regarding conviction and expediency arose over whether to support divorced actor Ronald Reagan or Sunday-school-teacher-incumbent-President Jimmy Carter. Those debates continued through the 2012 election when Franklin Graham removed Mormonism from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association list of “unchristian” communions, a sign of support for Mitt Romney.</p>
<p>This year the Trump candidacy has created a considerable tremor in the evangelical force, with Jerry Falwell Jr. endorsing and introducing Trump at the RNC, and Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore disgusted enough with such culture-compromise to advise eschewing the word evangelical altogether. A new CNN/ORC poll suggests 76 percent of “white evangelicals” have decided to vote for Trump.</p>
<p>So who is an evangelical? Historian David Bebbington proposes a widely recognized “quadrilateral” for understanding the movement, including: 1) Biblicism, devotion to the authority of Scripture; 2) Cruci-centrism, commitment to the centrality of Christ’s cross; 3) Activism, evangelization and response to human need; 4) Conversionism, calling for personal experience of God’s grace through Christ. Bebbington describes evangelicals in general but not in particular. His helpful traits are broad enough to drive a church bus through, so others are divvying up the differences.</p>
<p>Ethicist David Gushee adds specificity to Bebbington’s list with another quadrilateral, including: 1) Doctrinal, evangelicals stressing theological orthodoxy (Spokesman: Al Mohler); 2) Missionary, evangelicals promoting global evangelism (Billy Graham, et. al); 3) Lifestyle, evangelicals concerned for social engagement (Shane Claiborne’s urban ministry); 4) Political, evangelicals pressing their agendas in the public square (Operative: Ralph Reed).</p>
<p>Writing for CNN, Daniel Burke lists seven subgroups with diverse, even contradictory, evangelical visions: 1) Old Guard Evangelicals promoting America as a Christian nation; 2) Institutional Evangelicals connected to megachurches and conservative denominations; 3) Entrepreneurial Evangelicals with television ministries, many advocating a prosperity gospel; 4) Arm’s Length Evangelicals hesitant about direct political engagement; 5) Millennial Evangelicals offering new generational approaches to social/theological issues; 6) Liberal Evangelicals leaning left of center theologically and culturally; 7) Cultural Evangelicals reared in the tradition, but increasingly disengaged from it. Clearly evangelicals are no monolithic socio-political movement.</p>
<p>Perhaps the Trump candidacy creates a powerful if awkward moment for evangelicals to take stock of the relationship between their political affiliations and their theological non-negotiables. When I read that Falwell Jr. and Trump shared affinity for the music of Elton John, I knew that “conservative evangelicalism” had renegotiated itself considerably. At one time, just listening to Elton’s music would have gotten Junior “churched” (thrown out) by his father’s Bible Baptist Fellowship fundamentalist-evangelicalism, for succumbing to “hellywood” corruption.</p>
<p>Whatever else, conservative Christians who vote Republican, and other evangelicals who don’t, have their work cut out, if only because popular perception increasingly links their entire movement to a specific religio-political sphere. Recent Trumpian alignments seem to call the entire evangelical witness into question. Speaking only as a Christian and a Baptist, I think evangelical ideals are worthy of such a debate. And soon.</p> | Christian, Baptist, Evangelical — two out of three ain’t bad | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/christian-baptist-evangelical-two-out-of-three-aint-bad/ | 3 |
|
<p>Jan 23 (Reuters) - Victory Group Ltd:</p>
<p>* TRADING IN SHARES OF VICTORY GROUP WILL BE SUSPENDED AT 9:00 A.M. ON JAN 23 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Following are diplomatic measures announced against Russia by the United States, Canada, Australia, several EU countries and Ukraine in response to the poisoning of a former Russian double agent with military-grade nerve agent in the English town of Salisbury.</p>
<p>BRITAIN - Expelled 23 Russians alleged to have worked as spies under diplomatic cover. Promised to freeze any Russian state assets that “may be used to threaten the life or property of UK nationals or residents”.</p>
<p>UNITED STATES - Expelling 60 Russians, including 12 intelligence officers from Russia’s mission to U.N. headquarters in New York. Closing Russian consulate in Seattle.</p>
<p>CANADA - Expelling four Russians alleged to have worked as spies or interfered in Canadian affairs under diplomatic cover. Denying three applications for Russian diplomatic staff.</p>
<p>NATO - Expelling seven diplomats from Russia’s mission and blocking appointment of three others.</p>
<p>UKRAINE - Expelling 13 Russian diplomats</p>
<p>FRANCE - Expelling four diplomats</p>
<p>GERMANY - Expelling four diplomats</p>
<p>POLAND - Expelling four diplomats</p>
<p>LITHUANIA - Expelling three diplomats</p>
<p>CZECH REPUBLIC - Expelling three diplomats</p>
<p>ITALY - Expelling two diplomats</p>
<p>AUSTRALIA - Expelling two diplomats</p>
<p>NETHERLANDS - Expelling two diplomats</p>
<p>SPAIN - Expelling two diplomats</p>
<p>ALBANIA - Expelling two diplomats</p>
<p>DENMARK - Expelling two diplomats</p>
<p>HUNGARY - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>IRELAND - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>MACEDONIA - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>SWEDEN - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>NORWAY - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>LATVIA - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>ESTONIA - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>FINLAND - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>ROMANIA - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>CROATIA - Expelling one diplomat</p>
<p>MOLDOVA - Expelling three diplomats</p> RUSSIAN RESPONSE:
<p>BRITAIN - Russia has expelled 23 British diplomats and closed the British consulate in St Petersburg and the British Council cultural body.</p>
<p>OTHERS - Moscow will expel at least 60 staff from U.S. diplomatic missions in Russia, RIA news agency quoted Russian senator Vladimir Dzhabarov as saying.</p>
<p>RIA also quoted an unnamed Foreign Ministry source as saying: “The response will be symmetrical. We will work on it in the coming days and will respond to every country in turn.”</p>
<p>Compiled by Kevin Liffey</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland will expel one Russian diplomat in response to a nerve agent attack in England that the British government has blamed on Russia, a move that Moscow’s ambassador to Dublin said would not go unanswered.</p>
<p>Governments across Europe, the United States and elsewhere have announced plans to expel a total of more than 100 Russian diplomats in retaliation for the attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter on March 4. Moscow has denied being behind it.</p>
<p>Ireland cherishes its neutrality and is not part of the U.S.-led NATO alliance, but Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said it was not neutral when it came to such an attack and that it was important to show solidarity with its nearest neighbor.</p>
<p>“Ireland is a neutral country, we do not join military alliances. However when it comes to terrorism, assassinations, the use of chemical weapons and cyber terrorism, we are not neutral one bit,” Varadkar told parliament.</p>
<p>“We are joined of course in expelling diplomats with other countries that are neutral, including Finland and Sweden, who have taken the same course of action as us.”</p>
<p>Varadkar said the decision on whose diplomatic status was to be terminated was based on intelligence from police and defense forces. Ireland has expelled Russian diplomats before, most recently in 2011 in a row over the use of forged Irish passports.</p>
<p>Russia’s ambassador to Ireland, Yury Filatov, said its expelled diplomat had done nothing wrong or illegal and that the decision on appropriate, reciprocal action was now up to the Russian government.</p>
<p>“This kind of decision is unwarranted, uncalled for, senseless and regrettable. Clearly all responsibility for any effect of this move, on the otherwise positive state of Irish-Russian relations rests on the Irish government,” Filatov told a news conference at the Russian embassy in Dublin.</p>
<p>“You might safely assume that this kind of arbitrary decision and action will not go unanswered, that’s for certain.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Padraic Halpin and Graham Fahy; Editing by Gareth Jones</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken to hospital on Tuesday to undergo tests after suffering from a high fever and a cough, his spokesman said.</p> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coughs as he addresses a health conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
<p>Netanyahu’s personal physician believes the 68-year-old leader has not fully recovered from an illness two weeks ago and therefore decided he should undergo further tests in hospital, the spokesman said.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-israel-netanyahu-condition/netanyahus-release-from-hospital-imminent-israeli-pms-office-says-idUSKBN1H332R" type="external">Netanyahu's release from hospital imminent: Israeli PM's office says</a>
<p>Netanyahu fell ill in mid-March and cancelled his public schedule for five consecutive days.</p>
<p>“The prime minister did not complete the time required in order to recover from the illness he had two weeks ago and therefore the symptoms have gotten worse,” the spokesman said in a text message.</p>
<p>A security cabinet meeting scheduled for Wednesday will take place as planned, an Israeli official told Reuters. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman will fill in for Netanyahu if he is unable to attend.</p> FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, March 11, 2018. REUTERS/Oded Balilty/Pool/File Photo
<p>Netanyahu’s illness has come at a stressful time for the four-times right-wing prime minister, who is under police investigation for corruption in three different cases. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing.</p>
<p>On Monday Netanyahu, his wife and son were questioned by police as part of an investigation into one of the corruption cases in which the prime minister is a suspect.</p> Slideshow (2 Images)
<p>In the two other cases police have already recommended that Netanyahu be charged with bribery. The final decision about whether to prosecute rests with the Israeli attorney general. That decision could be months away.</p>
<p>So far, partners in Netanyahu’s governing coalition have stood by him, saying they are awaiting the attorney general’s next moves. Political analysts say such support may erode if the investigations against Netanyahu intensify.</p>
<p>Surveys have shown that about half of Israelis believe the police over Netanyahu and think he should step down, while a third think he should remain in office. Support for Netanyahu’s Likud party remains strong in opinion polls.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Eli Berlzon; writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Gareth Jones</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be released shortly from hospital after doctors found that he was suffering from a mild respiratory illness, his office said in a statement on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The 68-year-old leader was taken to a hospital in Jerusalem earlier in the day, suffering from a high fever and coughing.</p>
<p>“The prime minister has completed a series of tests and will be released home tonight,” the statement said. The tests showed a mild viral illness in the upper respiratory tract.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Jeffrey Heller</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | BRIEF-Victory Group Says Trading In Shares Suspended Diplomatic moves against Russia after nerve gas attack Ireland says to expel Russian diplomat, Moscow's envoy blasts move Israeli PM Netanyahu taken to hospital for tests: spokesman Netanyahu's release from hospital imminent: Israeli PM's office says | false | https://reuters.com/article/brief-victory-group-says-trading-in-shar/brief-victory-group-says-trading-in-shares-suspended-idUSFWN1PH16N | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Police say a mob in Spain has beaten a Muslim woman nearly to death as revenge for the Barcelona attacks. The crime appears to be purely racially motivated and the woman was wearing a hijab when she was set upon by the violent mob. Police in Spain have not released the woman's name but do say she is a 38-year-old Muslim woman. Doctors in Spain are reportedly keeping the woman in the hospital while she recovers from the beating.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Credit: Google Maps</p>
<p />
<p>Spanish authorities are treating the assault as a racist attack and the Diversity Management Unit of Madrid's city police is investigating the crime. The assault took place outside of a Usera metro station in the Spanish capital. In a statement, the Madrid police say that the victim did not get a good look at her attackers' faces. This will make identifying them difficult and they are urging anyone with information about the crime to report it to the Madrid police. The victim did nothing to provoke the attack and investigators are saying the attackers did not have any armbands or other clothing that would link them to an anti-Islamic group.</p>
<p />
<p>Local authorities have stepped up police patrols near mosques in the Spanish capitol. The assault on the Muslim woman comes just days after a massive terrorist plot unfolded in Barcelona that killed 13 people and injured dozens more. Spanish police believe that all of the perpetrators in the terror attack have been arrested or shot but there is still an ongoing investigation to identify any other persons involved.</p>
<p />
<p>Source: <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/muslim-woman-beaten-senseless-mob-11046988.amp" type="external">mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/muslim-woman-beaten-senseless-mob-11046988.amp</a></p>
<p />
<p>On Twitter:</p>
<p>@ErvinProduction</p>
<p>Tips? Info? Send me a message!</p> | Mob Nearly Beats Muslim Woman To Death In Response To Barcelona Terror Attack | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/7105-Mob-Nearly-Beats-Muslim-Woman-To-Death-In-Response-To-Barcelona-Terror-Attack | 2017-08-25 | 0 |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.