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<p>MARLA BROSE/JOURNALJennifer Perez, a graduate student at the University of New Mexico, performs an art song for Deanna Amend’s concert choir class at La Cueva High on March 10 in Albuquerque. Perez sang two art songs, accompanied by Martha Dalager, to promote the Vocal Artistry Art Song Festival April 24-26 in Albuquerque. An art song is poetry and music in a classical setting, explained Jacqueline Zander-Wall, founder and coordinator of the festival. An art song tells a story like an opera, but it’s only about two minutes, Dalager explained.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Vocal Artistry Art Song Festival, now in its sixth year, will be April 24-26 in the music building at Albuquerque Academy, 6400 Wyoming Blvd NE.</p>
<p>The program – sponsored through the Music Teachers National Association and the Albuquerque Music Teachers Association – encourages the study of Art Song for students of singing.</p>
<p>An art song is a vocal composition generally written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical tradition.</p>
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<p>More than 100 singers are expected for the weekend event. There are more than $7,000 in scholarships and other prizes given from musicians, mentors and patrons of the arts.</p>
<p>The application deadline for singers to perform in the festival is April 1.</p>
<p>With the help of a federal grant, organizers bring in faculty from all over the world to deliver performances and</p>
<p>Students from Deanna Amend’s concert choir class at La Cueva High, including Julia King, sitting front left, applaud Jennifer Perez, a graduate student at the University of New Mexico, and pianist Martha Dalager, after they performed art songs March 10.</p>
<p>teach special master classes to students.</p>
<p>The faculty this year includes: Amy Jarman from the Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University; Allison Voth from Boston University, School for the Arts; and Jason Vest from Northern Kentucky University.</p>
<p>Metropolitan Soprano Ellen Shade and Roger Melone, conductor of the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus will be judging the Music Education, Choral Division.</p>
<p>The Albuquerque Boy Choir will be entertaining during lunchtime on April 25. The Albuquerque Youth Symphony Chorus will be singing during the Final Awards Concert on April 26 at 2 p.m.</p>
<p>For more information including program details visit <a href="http://www.vocalartistryartsong.com" type="external">www.vocalartistryartsong.com</a> or <a href="http://www.zander-wall.com" type="external">www.zander-wall.com</a>.</p>
<p /> | Art through melody | false | https://abqjournal.com/559191/art-through-melody.html | 2 |
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<p>Shares of&#160;CarMax (NYSE: KMX)&#160;jumped nearly 13% last month, according to data provided by&#160; <a href="http://marketintelligence.spglobal.com/" type="external">S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence Opens a New Window.</a>, following the used-car retailer's strong <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/22/carmax-posts-strong-q2-results-as-used-car-sales-r.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=d6c8d1be-af0f-11e7-a632-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">second-quarter results Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>CarMax's revenue rose 9.7% year over year to $4.39 billion. Net income leapt 11.7% to $181.4 million. And earnings per share, boosted by stock buybacks, jumped 16.7% to $0.98.&#160; Those figures came in well above Wall Street's expectations of $4.27 billion in revenue and $0.95&#160;in EPS.</p>
<p>CarMax sold 5.3% more cars on a comparable-store basis and 11.1% more on an overall basis. Used-vehicle gross profit per unit increased to $2,178, compared to $2,160 in the year-ago quarter.&#160;More cars sold and higher profit per vehicle -- that's a powerful combination that's helping to fuel CarMax's results.</p>
<p>CarMax has a unique value proposition in the used-car industry. The company takes something that's dreaded by many car shoppers -- the intense negotiating that's often required as part of the typical used-car buying experience -- and eliminates it. The "no-haggle" price for a CarMax vehicle is the same online as it is on the lot. All of its cars are quality certified and come with a five-day money-back guarantee.&#160;Together, these features make shopping at a CarMax a much less stressful, and even enjoyable, experience for many used car buyers.</p>
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<p>In turn, CarMax should continue to take share in the used-car industry. The company plans to open 15 new stores over the next 12 months.&#160;The company's <a href="https://www.carmax.com/car-buying-process/why-carmax" type="external">national expansion strategy Opens a New Window.</a>, combined with growing comp sales at its existing 180-strong store base,&#160;should drive steady increases in revenue and earnings for many years to come.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than CarMaxWhen 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=76ce2dc3-52d7-4f0c-9a5a-ffdaa3e8aa58&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=d6c8d1be-af0f-11e7-a632-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and CarMax 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=76ce2dc3-52d7-4f0c-9a5a-ffdaa3e8aa58&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=d6c8d1be-af0f-11e7-a632-0050569d4be0&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 October 9, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGuardian/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=d6c8d1be-af0f-11e7-a632-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Joe Tenebruso Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends CarMax. 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=d6c8d1be-af0f-11e7-a632-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why CarMax Inc. Jumped 12.9% in September | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/12/why-carmax-inc-jumped-12-9-in-september.html | 2017-10-12 | 0 |
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<p>If the thousands of fans who gathered at the Pit on Sunday afternoon were disappointed by University of New Mexico’s No. 3 seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, they didn’t show it.</p>
<p>When the selection flashed on two giant screens, the rowdy crowd of about 5,000 red faithful leapt to its feet in wild applause, following the lead of the players seated on the floor.</p>
<p>The Lobos will meet No. 14 Harvard in Salt Lake City on Thursday in what is now classified as the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. Should the Lobos prevail as expected, they will play there again on Saturday against the Arizona-Belmont winner.</p>
<p>Read the rest of the story <a href="" type="internal">here</a></p>
<p>Read More:</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Lobos pride; Next stop Salt Lake City | false | https://abqjournal.com/179697/lobos-pride.html | 2013-03-18 | 2 |
<p>On Wednesday, President-Elect Donald Trump chose former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue as his agriculture secretary. Perdue served two terms after becoming Georgia’s first Republican governor in well over a century, slashing the state’s budget and pursuing trade on behalf of the state. So, how did The Washington Post headline the appointment? “ <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/821937191819493376" type="external">Trump picks former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue, who once led a prayer for rain, for agriculture secretary</a>.”</p>
<p>Yes, that was their actual headline.</p>
<p>What prompted that headline? Well, <a href="http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2017/01/10/that-time-sonny-perdue-prayed-for-rain/" type="external">back in 2007</a>, while Georgia was in the midst of a drought, Perdue led a prayer session with a few hundred citizens for rain. “We’ve come together here simply for one reason and one reason only,” Perdue said. “To very reverently and respectfully pray up a storm.” The vigil lasted for an hour, but the press went insane. They ripped into Perdue’s attempts to convince citizens to take shorter showers and stop watering lawns (note the California press’ celebration of Governor Jerry Brown for attempting the exact same policies). They ignored the fact that he wasn’t the first Georgia governor to publicly pray for rain.</p>
<p>It took another two weeks for it to rain, and the drought continued. Perdue stated, “God can make it rain tomorrow, he can make it rain next week or next month.”</p>
<p>The Washington Post and left-wing press simply can’t understand that perspective. They think that religious Americans believe God is a gumball machine: that if we insert our prayers, out comes the gumball of the correct color and size. Americans who pray don’t believe that prayer means God always says yes. Sometimes God says no. Prayer is a way of expressing our gratitude to our Creator, as well as acknowledging His mastery over the universe; it’s also our way of demonstrating our faith in His will, even when we don’t understand it. It’s a profound display of earthly humility, not an attempt to force God into doing our will.</p>
<p>But all that is mockable, according to the left.</p>
<p>Of course, every major religion has prayers for rain. Judaism switches a phrase in our thrice-daily prayer during the rainy season to praise “the One who makes the wind blow and the rain fall.” We also do a prayer for rain at the tail end of Sukkot, invoking the names of the Jewish forefathers:</p>
<p>Our God and God of our ancestors:</p>
<p>Remember Abraham who flowed to You like water.</p>
<p>You blessed him like a tree planted by streams of water.</p>
<p>You rescued him from fire and water.</p>
<p>He passed Your test by planting good deeds by every source of water.</p>
<p>For Abraham’s sake, do not keep back water.</p>
<p>Presumably, this also makes us barbarians.</p>
<p>If the press wonders why Donald Trump won, at last one major reason is the obvious scorn in which the press holds Americans who pray. They’re not alone – Barack Obama once labeled religious people those who “cling to guns or religion” because they’re too stupid and poor to understand globalism; Hillary Clinton said that religious people have to shift their views on social issues in order to make a better world.</p>
<p>Religious people have far less problem with Sonny Perdue praying for rain than our media mocking him for doing so.</p> | How Much Do The Editors At The Washington Post Hate Religion? A Lot, And This Headline Proves It. | true | https://dailywire.com/news/12570/how-much-do-editors-washington-post-hate-religion-ben-shapiro | 2017-01-19 | 0 |
<p>Tamika Catchings, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi are in line to try for a fourth straight Olympic gold medal.</p>
<p>The trio headlined the 25 finalists for the U.S. women’s basketball Olympic team that were announced Monday.</p>
<p>They have helped the Americans win gold at the past three Olympics and hope to be on the team in Rio this summer. The U.S. has won an unprecedented five straight gold medals in the Olympics.</p>
<p>Other former Olympians among the finalists include Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Candace Parker, Tina Charles, Angel McCoughtry, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen.</p>
<p>“I think the committee has a tough decision ahead of it,” U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said. “When I look at this list of athletes, we could split them down the middle and have two very competitive teams.</p>
<p>“We have a great mix of gold medalists and players who are hungry to play in their first Olympics. There is versatility at all positions. Our posts are the strongest we’ve seen in years, we have guys who can shoot, guys who can defend, and I’m just happy I don’t have to make the decision as to who will be playing in Rio.”</p>
<p>The U.S. will conduct a training camp from Feb. 21-23 at UConn, which will serve as a final opportunity for the players to impress the selection committee before the team is expected to be announced this spring.</p>
<p>“Naming the Olympic Team finalists is another step in our selection process,” USA Basketball national team director Carol Callan said.</p>
<p>“Because of the quality and talent in the USA National Team pool, every time we pare the list it is a difficult task.</p>
<p>“Yet, we eventually have to get down to a 12-member team, so we conscientiously look at the present goal of winning a gold medal at the Rio Olympic Games with an eye to sustaining our success in the future. This list of finalists is a mix of veterans, youth, international savvy and USA Basketball experience.”</p>
<p>Other WNBA stars among the finalists include league MVP Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins. UConn senior Breanna Stewart is also one of the 25 players.</p>
<p>Jewell Loyd, the league’s rookie of the year last season, was added to the national team pool and is one of the final 25.</p>
<p>“I think her addition is because of some of the success she had during the summer playing in Seattle,” said Auriemma on Loyd’s selection to the USA National Team pool and list of U.S. Olympic Team finalists.</p>
<p>“There is a concerted effort to get as many guards into this training camp as possible because we can’t just think about now, we also have to think about the future. She is one of the best young players in the league and deserves to be there.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Doug on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg</a></p>
<p>Tamika Catchings, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi are in line to try for a fourth straight Olympic gold medal.</p>
<p>The trio headlined the 25 finalists for the U.S. women’s basketball Olympic team that were announced Monday.</p>
<p>They have helped the Americans win gold at the past three Olympics and hope to be on the team in Rio this summer. The U.S. has won an unprecedented five straight gold medals in the Olympics.</p>
<p>Other former Olympians among the finalists include Seimone Augustus, Sylvia Fowles, Candace Parker, Tina Charles, Angel McCoughtry, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen.</p>
<p>“I think the committee has a tough decision ahead of it,” U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said. “When I look at this list of athletes, we could split them down the middle and have two very competitive teams.</p>
<p>“We have a great mix of gold medalists and players who are hungry to play in their first Olympics. There is versatility at all positions. Our posts are the strongest we’ve seen in years, we have guys who can shoot, guys who can defend, and I’m just happy I don’t have to make the decision as to who will be playing in Rio.”</p>
<p>The U.S. will conduct a training camp from Feb. 21-23 at UConn, which will serve as a final opportunity for the players to impress the selection committee before the team is expected to be announced this spring.</p>
<p>“Naming the Olympic Team finalists is another step in our selection process,” USA Basketball national team director Carol Callan said.</p>
<p>“Because of the quality and talent in the USA National Team pool, every time we pare the list it is a difficult task.</p>
<p>“Yet, we eventually have to get down to a 12-member team, so we conscientiously look at the present goal of winning a gold medal at the Rio Olympic Games with an eye to sustaining our success in the future. This list of finalists is a mix of veterans, youth, international savvy and USA Basketball experience.”</p>
<p>Other WNBA stars among the finalists include league MVP Elena Delle Donne, Brittney Griner and Skylar Diggins. UConn senior Breanna Stewart is also one of the 25 players.</p>
<p>Jewell Loyd, the league’s rookie of the year last season, was added to the national team pool and is one of the final 25.</p>
<p>“I think her addition is because of some of the success she had during the summer playing in Seattle,” said Auriemma on Loyd’s selection to the USA National Team pool and list of U.S. Olympic Team finalists.</p>
<p>“There is a concerted effort to get as many guards into this training camp as possible because we can’t just think about now, we also have to think about the future. She is one of the best young players in the league and deserves to be there.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Doug on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg</a></p> | Catchings, Bird, Taurasi headline finalists for US team | false | https://apnews.com/8ee90c2925514cffb8b0f14cd4e2021e | 2016-01-25 | 2 |
<p>“Where are all the black cartoons?”</p>
<p>When Pamela Thomas saw the personal collection of animation artwork belonging to her friend Loreen Williamson, the color of the characters stood out. Having grown up watching cartoons like “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” “The Jackson 5ive” and “Josie and the Pussycats” on Saturday mornings, Thomas was curious.</p>
<p>“Can you get this type of artwork for them?”</p>
<p>The women, founders and curators of the online <a href="http://museumofuncutfunk.com/" type="external">Museum of UnCut Funk</a>, soon began researching and collecting positive black cartoon characters — and an art exhibit was born.</p>
<p>“It’s one of the few untold stories in the civil rights movement,” Thomas said. “Images of black characters affected and changed the lives of the viewers.”</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://www.dusablemuseum.org/exhibits/details/funky-turns-40-black-character-revolution-animation-art-form-classic-cartoo" type="external">Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution</a>,” a traveling exhibit currently on display at the DuSable Museum of African American History from June 27 to Oct. 20, commemorates the fourth decade of positive black cartoon characters appearing on television.</p>
<p>The exhibit features original animation artwork, as well as colorful life-size cutouts of characters from shows like “The Jackson 5ive,” which chronicled the adventures of the entertainment family, and Valerie Brown from “Josie and the Pussycats,” which was about an all-girl pop music band.</p>
<p>“When I was a kid, I just thought they were great cartoons,” Williamson said. “You kind of got your bowl of cereal, watched these cartoons and then would go out and play. It wasn’t until I got older and started collecting animation — that’s when I realized these are a lot more than cool cartoons. They represent a significant change in history.”</p>
<p>Before then, black cartoon characters were often portrayed as barbaric and animalistic, according to Thomas. It wasn’t until the late 1960s and the 1970s that black characters started to look more realistic and didn’t speak in broken dialect.</p>
<p>In addition, many of the cartoons were created by African Americans. For example, comedian Bill Cosby created “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” a show about the adventures of urban African-American kids. Cosby also voiced the character of Fat Albert.</p>
<p>“It was one of the first cartoons where African-American kids could see characters they could relate to, that looked like them and got in the same situations as them, and the cartoons had a moral message,” said Charles Bethea, COO and curator of the DuSable Museum.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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<p>Bethea, who grew up watching these cartoons, believes the exhibit will allow people to view animation as art.</p>
<p>“I did, when the opportunity arose, sit and watch these cartoons endlessly,” Bethea said. “They influenced me. I am an artist and an illustrator, and I got an understanding of how a lot of these were produced. It was one more level of art I was exposed to.”</p>
<p>Some cartoons featured in the exhibit contained social and political messages. For example, in the movie “Our Friend Martin” the characters travel through time and learn how Martin Luther King Jr. fought segregation and inequality during the civil rights movement.</p>
<p>Many cartoons showed characters of different races interacting and working together, and some taught lessons about issues such as gang violence, bullying and substance abuse.</p>
<p>The change in how black characters were portrayed on TV had a major effect on Thomas.</p>
<p>“We were experiencing and witnessing tragedies (of discrimination), and no one was explaining it to me,” Thomas said. “I had self-esteem issues. Why were black people portrayed this way? Even as a child, I knew black people played specific roles. Once the cartoons changed, these images were reflections of you that look more like you, and you felt better about yourself.”</p>
<p>And because there were only three networks, viewers of other races were exposed to the same positive images.</p>
<p>“Everyone could talk about them, to white friends, to black friends. It helped us come to terms with identity and building relationships,” Thomas said.</p>
<p>While the exhibit was on display at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City, Thomas saw that it sparked children’s interest in becoming animators.</p>
<p>“One of the things we didn’t realize was we were able to get children to be looking at being an animator as a career,” Thomas said. “Children were amazed with how this art was drawn and what it was drawn on.”</p>
<p>According to Thomas and Williamson, a diverse and multigenerational audience of about 73,000 people visited the exhibit in New York.</p>
<p>Thomas hopes the exhibit in Chicago will prompt the baby boomer generation to share childhood stories and memories about these cartoons.</p>
<p>“I hope that people enjoy it,” Thomas said. “Sometimes museums tell the same stories over and over again. I am very happy these museums are thinking about this, and it’s geared towards children of a specific decade. It had an impact on my life.”</p>
<p>Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution Chicago connections</p>
<p>— Source: Museum of UnCut Funk</p> | On display: A funky, fun side of the Civil Rights Movement | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/display-funky-fun-side-civil-rights-movement/ | 2014-07-09 | 3 |
<p>More than 1,000 feet underground in Poland, seemingly impossible things are happening. Hot-air balloons have been launched. A bungee jumper has taken the plunge. A windsurfer has been propelled across still saltwater. A brass band has bellowed on its instruments.</p>
<p>Stretching nine levels beneath the earth, Poland's <a href="http://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/" type="external">Wieliczka Salt Mine</a> is roomy enough to fit the Eiffel Tower and then some. For centuries, miners have been carving out spectacular chapels and sculptures of the country's most beloved figures underground, not far from the medieval city of Krakow. And in the past half century, as salt mining slowed and then halted, and tourists began arriving, the cavernous chambers have been transformed into an incredible underground amusement park of grand halls, health spas, museum-worthy art, and <a href="http://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/about-the-mine/the-mine-of-culture/occasional-events" type="external">record-setting spectacles</a>.</p>
<p>The descent into the chilly salt mine caves is 800 steps down the shafts. But the winding venture is worth the trek. Hundreds of years of excavation has left seven gorgeous chambers carved into the salt rock throughout the floors. Today they host hundreds of guests at weddings, business meetings, concerts, fashion shows, and galas.</p>
<p>The uniqueness of the underground space attracts a variety of thrill seekers. In the largest room accessible to visitors, with a soaring, 100-foot ceiling, the first ever underground balloon flight took place. The mine's large underground lake once was an unlikely playground for an adventurous windsurfer, who glided along the water propelled by a giant fan. Even the chandeliers casting a golden glow on many of the rooms are made from rock salt.</p>
<p>Wieliczka is one of the world's oldest salt mines still in operation, though it stopped producing table salt in 2007. Records of extraction of the element reach back to the 12th century. Just over 100 years later, documents show miners building salt snowmen in the mine. (The practice was barred in 1876.) Today, statues carved by generations of self-taught sculptors are scattered throughout the cavernous rooms. The largest of those statutes is carved out of the weight equivalent of three elephants worth of salt.</p>
<p>Devout miners working in dangerous conditions dedicated themselves to building four chapels in the mine. The oldest is nearly 400 years old. Miners started carving out the most spectacular, the Chapel of Saint Kinga, in 1896. Over the next 70 years, they created the largest of the mine's churches. Its walls are filled with religious bas-reliefs, including a replica of Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" carved into the rock salt. Life-size sculptures of Poland's most important figures are carved in detail, and a statue of the country's holiest son, Pope John Paul II, hovers over the room on a pedestal, draped in papal robes. Even the altar is an intricately carved block of salt. But the salt-rock statues are not all religious depictions: one whimsical cave depicts Snow White's seven dwarves, carved entirely from salt, hauling salt from the site.</p>
<p>The mine even boasts its own brass band. With 183 years of history, the Wieliczka Salt Mine Representative Brass Band claims to be Europe's oldest and plays at all the religious holidays in the underground chapel, as well as at funerals of miners.</p>
<p>For visitors exhausted by those first 800 steps underground, a health resort capitalizes on the allure of allergen- and pollution-free air available hundreds of feet underground. It has even pioneered a treatment called "subterranotherapy," which offers rehabilitation programs for people suffering from respiratory problems. Those truly enamored with cave life can stay overnight as part of a group, though they need to bring their own sleeping bag. Tours for school groups offer activities such as tennis, a reading room, and dancing at a disco.</p>
<p>There's underground partying to be had for adults, as well. On December 31 this year, an "80s-themed party will ring in 2014 with live music, a DJ, and the promise of many shoulder-padded costumes. Who needs sunlight when the underworld is this enticing"</p> | Wieliczka Salt Mine Is an Incredible Polish Underground Amusement Park | true | https://thedailybeast.com/wieliczka-salt-mine-is-an-incredible-polish-underground-amusement-park | 2018-10-04 | 4 |
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<p>It's official: I'm now in my 40s, having joined this illustrious club late in 2016. I'm now middle-aged -- over the hill and getting ready to deal with my impending existential crisis by running out and buying some sort of convertible. Isn't that what we 40-somethings are supposed to do?</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A better idea? Reminding myself -- and my fellow 40-somethings who may be seriously thinking about buying that convertible -- that in many ways, life's just getting revved up. Not only do we still have half (actually more than half) of our lives ahead of us, but we are also entering our prime earning years, and should be in better financial shape to enjoy it. Furthermore, for those of us who aren't in as good a financial shape as we should be or expected to be in by now, there are still decades to save, invest, and make sure that when we reallyareold (40 is the new 20, right?), we will be on solid financial footing.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Investing in stocks -- particularly great companies you can buy today and hold for many years -- is one of the best ways to grow your wealth. And three companies that stand out to me as having fantastic potential for growth in the decades ahead areUnder Armour Inc.(NYSE: UA)(NYSE: UAA),American Express Company(NYSE: AXP), andStarbucks Corporation(NASDAQ: SBUX).</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>For those of us who live in North America or Europe, it can seem like these companies can't have much room to grow. After all, it's a daily experience to see someone dressed in their Under Armour tights and running shoes pay for a venti skinny latte with their American Express.</p>
<p>And while that cliche of a Western consumer masks the very real growth potential all three of these companies have in developed markets, the biggest long-term opportunity for growth is encapsulated in a single statistic.Specifically, this one number: 2 billion.</p>
<p>The growth of Asia's middle class has been driving Starbucks' growth for years. Image source: Starbucks.</p>
<p>That's approximately how many more people will be in the global middle class between now and 2030. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the global middle class will swell to nearly 5 billion. That's a huge number of upwardly mobile new consumers, representing a significant opportunity for steady growth around the world for these three companies, but particularly in Asia, where the bulk of expected middle-class expansion is likely to take place.</p>
<p>The Asian middle class -- especially China's -- is expected to be the biggest source of upward mobility. According to OECD research, Asia's share of global middle-class consumption is expected to be nearly 60% in 2030, compared to only 23% in 2009. The effects of this in China are already prevalent, with the country having seen the number of low-wage manufacturing jobs decline over the past decade due to wage pressures, as more people find better-paying jobs in the service sector, supporting China's burgeoning middle-class consumers.</p>
<p>Starbucks has dedicated significant resources to growing its presence in this area. The company is on track to double its store count in China from 2,500 stores at present to more than 5,000 by 2021 and triple the operating income generated by this market. Furthermore, management expects the Chinese market to eventually eclipse North America as the company's largest.</p>
<p>China is one of Under Armour's fastest-growing markets. Image source: Under Armour.</p>
<p>Under Armour is also experiencing strong international growth. Through the first nine months of 2016, the company grew its international revenues 67%. China has turned into one of the company's fastest-growing markets, with third-quarter sales in the country equal to its total sales in the first half of the year, and the company is on track to double total sales there in 2016. Much like for Starbucks, the growth of China's middle class, which is expected to expand from 300 million in 2015 to over 600 million in five years, is creating a huge potential market for Under Armour's products.</p>
<p>Of course, consumers have to pay for those goods, and that's where American Express is set to thrive. As much as electronic payments are ubiquitous in North America and Europe, they make up a very small portion of global transactions. But the expansion of the global middle class, which will be a driving force behind the growth in consumption that Starbucks and Under Armour are set to benefit from, will lead to a massive amount of new credit and charge account users. American Express is already seeing growth overseas, too. The company reported 27% growth in billed business in China last quarter.</p>
<p>The key thing investors must keep in mind about the prospects for these three companies is that it's based on steady economic growth. And considering that there is some sort of economic downturn on average every decade or so, the growth isn't necessarily going to be smooth or steady.</p>
<p>But the bottom line is this: The world's middle class is going to get much, much bigger over the next 20 years, and the majority of that expansion will be outside of developed nations. If you want to benefit from the opportunity that presents, Under Armour, Starbucks, and American Express are three of the best companies you can invest in today and own for years to come.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than American Express 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>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of January 4, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/elihpaudio/info.aspx" type="external">Jason Hall Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of American Express, Starbucks, Under Armour (A Shares), and Under Armour (C Shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Starbucks, Under Armour (A Shares), and Under Armour (C Shares). The Motley Fool recommends American Express. 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> | If You're in Your 40s, Consider Buying These 3 Stocks | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/09/27/if-youre-in-your-40s-consider-buying-these-3-stocks.html | 2017-01-21 | 0 |
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<p>The U.S. Capitol has re-opened and members and staff have resumed their normal operations. A U.S. Capitol police officer <a href="" type="external">was injured</a>in the incident.</p>
<p>Udall told me in a telephone interview that he was headed to a Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing he was supposed to chair on nominees for ambassadorships in Latin America when he heard the gunshots outside his office at the Hart Senate Building.</p>
<p>“We were headed over to” the hearing in the adjacent Dirksen Office Building, Udall said. “We exited the front entrance and you walk out toward Constitution Avenue toward the guard station and you head through a narrow corridor to Dirksen. We were probably four feet from the guard station and then you could hear this (noise) and it was gunshots. The guards got really alerted. There were about eight of us around there, and they said, ‘Get in your offices! Get in your offices.’</p>
<p>“We went back into our office and locked the office and waited for instructions from security people,” Udall continued. “But (before returning to the office) I heard those sounds and looked out into the street and there was what looked like a Capitol police car with its sirens on in some kind of a chase right in front of our building.”</p>
<p>“I had walked that same route 20 minutes earlier,” Udall added. “I had left the Capitol to come back and pick up my materials and prepare for the hearing, and I came right in that entrance right about 2 o’clock.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., was in her office with staff at the time of the incident, as was Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M. A staffer for Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., tells me Luján was in the U.S. Capitol at the time of the shooting.</p>
<p>Sen. Martin Heinric was in his office at the time of the incident. His office issued the following statement:</p>
<p>“Senator Heinrich was in his office in the Hart Senate Building when the gunshots were reported. &#160;The Senator and the few staffers who are working&#160;today&#160;quickly followed procedure, locking the doors and gathering in designated secure place in the office, while the police worked quickly to secure the area. Unaccounted for staff were contacted and told to stay away from the building.&#160;Everyone is safe and accounted for.</p>
<p>Here’s a quote from Heinrich himself:</p>
<p>“On behalf of everyone in my office, I want to thank the Capitol Police and our first responders for the risks that they take everyday to keep us safe. My thoughts and prayers are with the injured officer and his family.”</p> | Journal D.C. correspondent: NM delegation safe after Capitol shooting | false | https://abqjournal.com/274572/n-m-delegation-safe-after-capitol-area-gunshots-udall-outside-and-heard-the-gunfire.html | 2013-10-03 | 2 |
<p>By Robert Parry / <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2017/07/28/the-dawn-of-an-orwellian-future/" type="external">Consortiumnews</a></p>
<p>It seems that The New York Times can’t let a good lie lie. Even after being pushed into running <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2017/06/29/nyt-finally-retracts-russia-gate-canard/" type="external">an embarrassing correction</a> retracting its false claim that there was a consensus of all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia hacked Democratic emails and made them public to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, the Times is back suggesting exactly that.</p>
<p>The Times’ current ploy is to say the Russian hacking claims are the “consensus” judgment of the U.S. intelligence community without citing a specific number of agencies. For instance, on Friday, the Times published <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/us/politics/senate-russia-sanctions-trump.html?mtrref=consortiumnews.com&amp;gwh=3205D2919B9B3D064E8301686D511283&amp;gwt=pay" type="external">an article</a> by Matt Flegenheimer about the U.S. Senate vote to prevent President Trump from lifting sanctions on Russia and deployed the misleading phrasing:</p>
<p>“The Trump administration has opposed the sanctions against Russia, arguing that it needs flexibility to pursue a more collaborative diplomacy with a country that, by American intelligence consensus, interfered in last year’s presidential election.”</p>
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<p>So, instead of explaining the truth – that the Jan. 6 “Intelligence Community Assessment” was the work of a small group of “hand-picked” analysts from three of the agencies under the watchful eye of then-CIA Director John Brennan and beneath the oversight of then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper – the Times opts to give its readers the misleading impression that there was a “consensus” within the U.S. intelligence community.</p>
<p>In other words, unless a Times reader knows the truth by <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2017/05/23/new-cracks-in-russia-gate-assessment/" type="external">having read it</a> at a non-mainstream media outlet such as Consortiumnews.com, that reader would continue to believe that all 17 intelligence agencies were in agreement on this foundational point in the Russiagate affair.</p>
<p>Marginalizing Dissent</p>
<p>And the continuation of this willful deception comes as the Times and other mainstream media outlets make progress in their plans to deploy Internet algorithms to hunt down and marginalize what they deem “fake news,” including articles that challenge the mainstream media’s power to control the dominant news narrative.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/07/27/goog-j27.html" type="external">report by the World Socialist Web Site</a> found that “in the three months since Internet monopoly Google announced plans to keep users from accessing ‘fake news,’ the global traffic rankings of a broad range of left-wing, progressive, anti-war and democratic rights organizations have fallen significantly.”</p>
<p>Google’s strategy is to downgrade search results for targeted Web sites based on a supposed desire to limit reader access to “low-quality” information, but the targets reportedly include some of the highest-quality alternative news sites on the Internet, such as – according to the report – Consortiumnews.com.</p>
<p>Google sponsors the First Draft Coalition, which was created to counter alleged “fake news” and consists of mainstream news outlets, including the Times and The Washington Post, as well as establishment-approved Web sites, such as Bellingcat, which has a close association with the anti-Russia and pro-NATO Atlantic Council.</p>
<p>This creation of a modern-day Ministry of Truth occurred under the cover of a mainstream-driven hysteria about “fake news” and “Russian propaganda” in the wake of Donald Trump’s election.</p>
<p>Last Thanksgiving Day, the Post <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2016/11/27/washington-posts-fake-news-guilt/" type="external">ran a front-page article</a> citing accusations from an anonymous Web site, PropOrNot, that identified 200 Web sites — including such Internet stalwarts as Truthdig, Counterpunch and Consortiumnews — as purveyors of “Russian propaganda.”</p>
<p>Apparently, PropOrNot’s standard was to smear any news outlet that questioned the State Department’s Official Narrative on the Ukraine crisis or some other global hot spot, but the Post didn’t offer any actual specifics of what these Web sites had done to earn their place on a McCarthyistic blacklist.</p>
<p>An Orwellian Future</p>
<p>In early May 2017, the Times <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2017/05/02/nyt-cheers-the-rise-of-censorship-algorithms/" type="external">chimed in with a laudatory article</a> about how sophisticated algorithms could purge the Internet of alleged “fake news” or what the mainstream media deems to be “misinformation.”</p>
<p>As I wrote at the time, “you don’t need a huge amount of imagination to see how this combination of mainstream groupthink and artificial intelligence could create an Orwellian future in which only one side of a story gets told and the other side simply disappears from view.”</p>
<p>After my article appeared, I received a call from an NPR reporter who was planning a segment on this new technology and argued with me about my concerns. However, after I offered a detailed explanation about how I saw this as a classic case of the cure being far worse than the disease, I was not invited onto the NPR program.</p>
<p>Also, as for the relatively small number of willfully produced “fake news” stories, none appear to have traced back to Russia despite extensive efforts by the mainstream U.S. media to make the connection. When the U.S. mainstream media has tracked down a source of “fake news,” it has turned out to be some young entrepreneur trying to make some money by getting lots of clicks.</p>
<p>For instance, on Nov. 26, 2016, as the anti-Russia hysteria was heating up in the weeks following Trump’s election, the Times ran <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/world/europe/fake-news-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-georgia.html?_r=0&amp;mtrref=undefined&amp;gwh=5360932074E254BE233072DCFA166E63&amp;gwt=pay" type="external">a relatively responsible article</a> revealing how a leading “fake news” Web site was not connected to Russia at all but rather was a profit-making effort by an unemployed Georgian student who was using a Web site in Tbilisi to make money by promoting pro-Trump stories.</p>
<p>The owner of the Web site, 22-year-old Beqa Latsabidse, said he had initially tried to push stories favorable to Hillary Clinton but that proved unprofitable so he switched to publishing anti-Clinton and pro-Trump articles whether true or not.</p>
<p>While creators of intentionally “fake news” and baseless “conspiracy theories” deserve wholehearted condemnation, the idea of giving the Times and a collection of Google-approved news outlets the power to prevent public access to information that challenges equally mindless groupthinks is a chilling and dangerous prospect.</p>
<p>Russiagate Doubts</p>
<p>Even if the Russian government did hack the Democratic emails and slip them to WikiLeaks – a charge that both the Kremlin and WikiLeaks deny – there is no claim that those emails were fake. Indeed, all evidence is that they were actual emails and newsworthy to boot.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, U.S. government accusations against the Russian network, RT, have related more to it covering topics that may make the Establishment look bad – such as the Occupy Wall Street protests, fracking for natural gas, and the opinions of third-party presidential candidates – than publishing false stories.</p>
<p>In some cases, State Department officials have even <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2014/05/01/whos-the-propagandist-us-or-rt/" type="external">made their own false allegations</a> in attacking RT.</p>
<p>The current Russiagate frenzy is a particularly scary example of how dubious government conclusions and mainstream media falsehoods can propel the world toward nuclear destruction. The mainstream media’s certainty about Russia’s guilt in the disclosure of Democratic emails is a case in point even when many well-informed experts have expressed serious doubts — though almost always at alternative media sites.</p>
<p>See, for instance, former WMD inspector Scott Ritter’s <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2017/07/16/russia-gate-report-ignored-iraq-wmd-lessons/" type="external">warning about lessons unlearned</a> from the Iraq debacle or the opinions of U.S. intelligence veterans who have <a href="https://consortiumnews.com/2017/07/24/intel-vets-challenge-russia-hack-evidence/" type="external">questioned the accuracy of the Jan. 6 report</a> on Russian hacking.</p>
<p>Perhaps these concerns are misplaced and the Jan. 6 report is correct, but the pursuit of truth should not simply be a case of grabbing onto the opinions of some “hand-picked” analysts working for political appointees, such as Brennan and Clapper. Truth should be subjected to rigorous testing against alternative viewpoints and contradictory arguments.</p>
<p>That has been a core principle since the days of the Enlightenment, that truth best emerges from withstanding challenges in the marketplace of ideas. Overturning that age-old truth – by today unleashing algorithms to enforce the Official Narrative – is a much greater threat to an informed electorate and to the health of democracy than the relatively few times when some kid makes up a bogus story to increase his Web traffic.</p>
<p>And, if this new process of marginalizing dissenting views is successful, who will hold The New York Times accountable when it intentionally misleads its readers with deceptive language about the U.S. intelligence community’s “consensus” regarding Russia and the Democratic emails?</p>
<p>Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, “America’s Stolen Narrative,” either <a href="https://org.salsalabs.com/o/1868/t/12126/shop/shop.jsp?storefront_KEY=1037" type="external">in print here</a> or as an e-book (from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Stolen-Narrative-Washington-ebook/dp/B009RXXOIG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1350755575&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=americas+stolen+narrative" type="external">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/americas-stolen-narrative-robert-parry/1113515681?ean=2940015517552" type="external">barnesandnoble.com</a>).</p> | Mainstream Groupthink and Artificial Intelligence Could Stifle Dissent in an Orwellian Future | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/mainstream-groupthink-and-artificial-intelligence-could-stifle-dissent-in-an-orwellian-future/ | 2017-07-31 | 4 |
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<p>Authorities said about half the town’s 800 residents had heeded requests that they leave during the cleanup that started Saturday, but some appeared to be returning to their homes. Some displaced residents were exasperated by the sheer volume of explosive material, which is more than authorities initially estimated. Adding to the uncertainty was a forecast of thunderstorms today that could slow efforts to move the propellant used in artillery shells to safer storage sites.</p>
<p>“We got outside the evacuation area when they said there was a million pounds. Now it’s six million,” said Frank Peetz, 71, who was staying with his wife in a camper at a nearby state park. “Maybe we ought to be up in Arkansas somewhere.”</p>
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<p>State police say some of the propellant was found spilling out of boxes crammed into buildings, and they have opened a criminal investigation into why the materials were not stored in bunkers at the state-owned site, leased by Explo Systems.</p>
<p>Weather could complicate the transfer of the roughly 6 million pounds of propellant. If lightning is spotted within five miles of the site, authorities will suspend efforts to move it, state police spokeswoman Lt. Julie Lewis said. No lightning was expected Monday, but the National Weather Service said there’s a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms today.</p>
<p>Lewis said that as of late Monday, crews had segregated or safely stored 1.2 million pounds of the propellant since the cleanup started. The work has slowed because they are indoors moving the material, sometimes through narrow hallways.</p>
<p>State police said the material is stable and would need an ignition source to explode. Lewis said it would take something significant such as lightning or a brush fire — and not static electricity — to ignite it.</p>
<p>Col. Mike Edmonson, commander of the Louisiana State Police, said police weren’t sure how much damage an explosion of the material could cause, even after consulting with Department of Defense officials.</p>
<p>“Nobody can tell you what 6 million pounds of explosives would do if it went up,” Edmonson said in a telephone interview. “And I don’t want to find out.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Police have checkpoints on roads leading into Doyline, though residents are allowed to come and go. The evacuation was voluntary, and some residents elected not to leave their homes in the town that has been used to film some scenes for the HBO vampire series “True Blood.” The evacuation will remain in place at least until today.</p>
<p>Edmonson said that Explo Systems leases and controls about 400 acres of the 15,000-acre Camp Minden, a former ammunition plant that now is a state-owned industrial site and home to a National Guard training facility. He estimated that the M6 propellant was stored in an area of less than 10 acres.</p>
<p>It was discovered there, stored indoors and outdoors, sometimes in containers that had spilled open, by a trooper following up on an October explosion at the facility.</p>
<p>“It was stuffed in corners. It was stacked all over,” Edmonson said.</p>
<p>Just outside the evacuation area, Doyline High School teacher Linda Watson stopped Monday to buy chicken strips at D&amp;H Hardware, which has a small kitchen serving fare that also includes burgers.</p>
<p>Watson said she has not evacuated and has no plans to. Like some others around here, she’s accustomed to living near an ammunition plant.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I’ve been there the whole time,” she said.</p>
<p>Her main concern is the school having to tack on days to the end of the year to make up for classes being out during the evacuation. The school was to remain closed today.</p>
<p>John Finklea, who was working the register at the store his family owns, said business is down because of the evacuation. He said there’s too much being made of the situation.</p>
<p>“I understand people get scared,” he said, adding that he considered leaving but ultimately chose not to.</p>
<p>Explo has not publicly commented on the investigation. Neither a company executive nor an attorney who represents the company returned calls Monday. Its website says the company has been in existence for seven years and that its management has been “demilitarizing” and recovering explosives and propellant for 15 years.</p>
<p>Authorities had initially estimated the total of M6 stored at the site at 1 million pounds after the first investigator saw cardboard boxes on long rows of pallets behind a building. Police found more stacked in sheds and warehouses when crews returned Saturday to begin moving the boxes into bunkers about two miles away on the former munitions site.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Lewis said the cause of the Oct. 15 explosion remained under investigation.</p>
<p>The company isn’t currently allowed to manufacture any explosives, but can sell what it has. Authorities are hoping such sales could reduce the amount of the material in the area.</p>
<p>Webster Parish Sheriff Gary Sexton said authorities have still not been in touch with the company’s owners, though police officials previously said a company manager was working with them. He didn’t know how many people were still displaced but said the majority of people in shelters had left them.</p>
<p>Sexton said explosions weren’t uncommon in the years that the munitions plant has operated, but he lamented the danger posed by the improper storage of the propellant.</p>
<p>“They not only put their people in jeopardy, they put our people and the people around here in jeopardy,” he said.</p>
<p>Evacuees were allowed to stay for free at Lake Bistineau State Park, but ranger Marc Massom said only a few had shown up by midday. Masson, a Doyline resident who lives outside the evacuation zone, said some stayed at their houses because of fears about looting.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Lewis, of the state police, said that security was tight throughout the town with help from neighboring agencies, and that crime hadn’t been a problem.</p>
<p>Peetz, the retiree staying in the camper with his wife, said there should have been more oversight of the munitions storage.</p>
<p>“I’d like to see more state and federal checks on who is there and what the hell they’re making,” Peetz said.</p>
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<p>McGill reported from New Orleans.</p> | Tons of Explosives Rattle Louisiana Town | false | https://abqjournal.com/150920/tons-of-explosives-rattle-louisiana-town.html | 2 |
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<p>The organization that automakers in the United States created to cope with cyber security threats said on Wednesday it has hired a former Boeing Co executive as its leader.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Faye Francy, who most recently was head of the aviation industry's cyber security clearinghouse, known as the Aviation-ISAC, will take over the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or Auto-ISAC.</p>
<p>Automakers use the Auto-ISAC to share certain information about cyber security threats and countermeasures without compromising competitive information.</p>
<p>Francy joins the auto industry group at a time when federal regulators and lawmakers are increasingly concerned that hackers could exploit vehicles through their internet connections and meddle with computers that control braking, steering and eventually autonomous driving.</p>
<p>As the auto industry expands its use of automated systems to pilot vehicles, it is encountering many of the same technical and security concerns aircraft makers face to secure automated flight systems. Francy joined Boeing in 2001 and led a group that focused on cyber security for Boeing commercial aircraft.</p>
<p>Francy will replace the Auto-ISAC's acting executive director, Jonathan Allen, a principal at the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.</p>
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<p>(Reporting by Joseph White; Editing by Will Dunham)</p> | Auto industry cyber security group hires Boeing veteran | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2016/10/26/auto-industry-cyber-security-group-hires-boeing-veteran.html | 2016-10-26 | 0 |
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<p>Image source: AcadiaPharmaceuticals.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>What:It's been a wild year for shareholders of Acadia Pharmaceuticals , a commercial-stage biopharma focused on diseases of the central nervous system. Shares plunged more than 50% from Jan. 1 through the middle of March, but they've come roaring back to life in recent months, and were even up more than 15% at the high point. They are currently down 15% since the start of the year.</p>
<p><a href="http://ycharts.com/companies/ACAD" type="external">ACAD</a> data by <a href="http://ycharts.com" type="external">YCharts Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>So what:What caused the plunge and the follow-on recovery? Here's a review of the key developments that have taken place this year:</p>
<p>Now what:AstraZeneca is facing some big revenue challenges over the next few years (which is a big reason it has become one of the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/21/7-pharmaceutical-stocks-with-dividends-yielding-mo.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">highest-yielding big pharma stocks Opens a New Window.</a> out there), so it's not out of the question that a bid may ultimately surface for Acadia. After all, AstraZeneca does have a recent history of buying small biopharma companies, especially those close to launching interesting new drugs. Last year, the company spent $2.7 billion to buy out ZS Pharma to get its hands on the company's treatment for hyperkalemia. However, that move isn't looking so great in <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/27/shares-of-relypsa-inc-are-surging-yet-again-heres.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">hindsight Opens a New Window.</a>, so it's possible the management team is feeling a bit gun-shy now.</p>
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<p>Even if a buyout offer doesn't surface, there are plenty of reasons to be bullish on Acadia's stock right now. TheNational Parkinson Foundation estimates that 1 million people inthe U.S. alone suffer from Parkinson's disease, and roughly 40% of them develop psychosis. Because there are no other approved treatment options on the market, Acadia should have this indication all to itself, which is why some analysts believe peak sales of Nuplazid could eclipse $4 billion in time.</p>
<p>If Acadia can execute on that huge market opportunity -- which is a big "if" -- then today's market capitalization of roughly $3.5 billion might seem like a great entry point in retrospect.Investors with an above-average tolerance for risk might want to give this company's stock a closer look.</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/06/28/acadia-pharmaceuticals-incs-shareholders-are-havin.aspx" type="external">ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Shareholders Are Having a Crazy Year. Here's Why Opens a New Window.</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFTypeoh/info.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">Brian Feroldi Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned.Like this article? Follow him onTwitter where he goes by the handle <a href="https://twitter.com/LongTermMindset" type="external">@Longtermmindset Opens a New Window.</a>or connect with him on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-feroldi-mba-46370a5" type="external">LinkedIn Opens a New Window.</a> to see more articles like this.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Shareholders Are Having a Crazy Year. Here's Why | true | http://foxbusiness.com/investing/2016/06/28/acadia-pharmaceuticals-inc-shareholders-are-having-crazy-year-here-why.html | 2016-06-28 | 0 |
<p>President Obama urged Americans to hold on to the ideals of democracy in his farewell address.</p>
<p>President Obama urged Americans in his farewell address Tuesday night to uphold the principles of democracy, saying the country must hold on its ideals despite the temptation to ignore them.</p>
<p>Addressing supporters in his hometown of Chicago in the final public appearance of his presidency, Obama called for “forging a new social compact” for the American community going forward.</p>
<p>“We’re going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need, to give workers the power to unionize for better wages, to update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now and make more reform to the tax codes so that corporations and individuals who reap the most from this new economy don’t avoid their obligations to the country that’s made their very success possible,” Obama said.</p>
<p>Much of the farewell address seemed to strike a contrast with President-elect Donald Trump, who has taken a hard line on immigration and has been accused of authoritarian leanings.</p>
<p>“For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation,” Obama said. “It’s what led patriots to choose Republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom, it’s what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande.”</p>
<p>Alluding&#160;to his second inaugural speech, Obama invoked the Stonewall riots, saying the call to citizenship is “why GIs gave their lives on Omaha beach and Iwo Jima, Iraq and Afghanistan, and why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well.”</p>
<p>When Obama said in 10 days the United States “will witness of hallmark of democracy” on Inauguration Day, the crowd initially jeered at the thought of Trump taking office. Quieting the boos with “no, no, no, no,” Obama said the change is “the peaceful transfer of power from one freely elected president to the next.”</p>
<p>At four separate moments in his speech, Obama made LGBT references — the first was to the Stonewall riots, the second was marriage equality to remind his audience about progress made over eights years, and the second two were to urge keeping the fight going forward.</p>
<p>Obama identified the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality as one of the litany of accomplishments achieved during his administration.</p>
<p>“If I had told you that we would win marriage equality and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens, if I told you all that, you would have said our sights were set a little too high, but that’s what we did,” Obama said. “That’s what you did. You were the change.”</p>
<p>The outgoing president also referenced transgender people when he urged minority groups to keep in mind as they pursue civil rights the perspective of others.</p>
<p>“For blacks and other minority groups, that means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenge that a lot of people in this country face — not only the refugees, or immigrants, or rural poor or transgender Americans, but also the middle-aged white guy who from the outside may seem like he has advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic and cultural and technological change,” Obama said.</p>
<p>Finally, looking to the future, Obama urged the nation not to shy&#160;away from fighting discrimination against LGBT people as well as other groups, including Muslim Americans, whom he said are “just as patriotic as we are.”</p>
<p>“That’s why we cannot withdraw from big, global fights to expand democracy and human rights and women’s rights and LGBT rights,” Obama said. “No matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that’s part of defending America.”</p>
<p>Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a statement Obama’s farewell address confirms he “understands that transgender people are a part of the American community.”</p>
<p>“As the president said, nobody should have to feel unwelcome in the United States just because of who they are,” Keisling said. “We are so thankful to President Obama and his administration, and we will go forward working for progress and fighting against any attempts to undo the progress that has been over the last eight years and against any attack on any group of people in this country.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Barack Obama</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mara Keisling</a> <a href="" type="internal">National Center for Transgender Equality</a></p> | Obama urges America to uphold ideals in farewell speech | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/01/10/obama-urges-america-to-uphold-ideals-in-farewell-speech/ | 3 |
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<p>There is a new economists’ sign-on letter being circulated that warns bad things will happen if there are big cuts to the public investment portion of the federal budget, as Republicans in Congress are now advocating. The argument in the letter is correct, but it is nonetheless painful to see this sort of thing being circulated right now.</p>
<p>The politicians in Washington may have missed it, but we are still in the middle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The unemployment rate is still 9.0 percent and virtually no forecaster, including those in the administration, expects it to return to normal levels any time soon. In addition to the unemployed we have more than 8 million people under-employed and millions more who have given up looking for work altogether.</p>
<p>In such times we might expect that there would be discussion of a big new stimulus program. After all, we do know how to generate growth and create jobs. As a large and growing body of research shows, we just have to spend money. This means that tens of millions of people are suffering as a result of unemployment or under-employment simply as a result of bad economic policy.</p>
<p>The politicians who could in principle push through more stimulus have been intimidated into silence by the business lobbies and the media who have decided to make concerns about the deficit the top and only economic priority. In this context, it would have been reasonable to expect that a letter drafted by prominent liberal economists (the lead signers include Alan Blinder and Laura Tyson, two of the top economists from the Clinton Administration) would center on the need to boost demand to create jobs. Economists who don’t have to run for office can say such things even when politicians can’t.</p>
<p>But there is no mention of stimulus, just a plea not to cut public investment. This plea could even be taken as an implicit endorsement of cuts to other areas of spending such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.</p>
<p>In fairness to the authors of the letter, the state of politics in Washington is quite bleak right now from a progressive standpoint. The Republicans won a huge victory last fall with the conservative wing of the party on the ascendancy. They seem virtually certain to retake the Senate in 2012. Arguably the best that can be hoped for is to shelter a few selected areas from spending cuts.</p>
<p>While that may be true at the moment, it is hard to see this path as anything other than a slower road to disaster. After all, no one believes that the economy is going to turn around based on the sort of budget that is likely to come from a compromise with the Republicans. And President Obama is virtually certain to be held accountable for the state of the economy in 2012. Furthermore, even if he does manage to get re-elected, he will still be dealing with the same sort of congressional opposition he faces today. And of course, no one in their right mind can think that the current economic situation is acceptable.</p>
<p>At some point, we have to talk about changing the terms of the debate. This is where our two honcho Democratic economists need to be taken to the woodshed. They could be trying to argue the case that the economy needs additional stimulus to get back to normal rates of unemployment. The Republicans may block this path, but at least then the public might understand that people are unemployed or underemployed because of a political decision, not an act of God.</p>
<p>If they think increased stimulus is an impossible lift at this point, why not argue the case for work sharing? We can encourage employers to shorten hours instead of laying people off. If we can reduce the rate of layoffs by just 10 percent, this would translate into almost 2.5 million additional jobs over the course of a year.</p>
<p>In principle, this work sharing doesn’t even have to cost any money. It’s just substituting payments for short-time work for unemployment benefits. Work sharing is the reason that Germany’s unemployment rate has fallen in this downturn, even though it has seen less GDP growth than the United States.</p>
<p>Pushing for either more stimulus or work sharing would at least set out a positive agenda, as opposed to splitting the difference on a real bad path. Of course, if our leading Democratic economists had been a little more far-sighted we never would have been in this mess in the first place.</p>
<p>They would have been talking about the housing bubble back in 2002-2004 when it could have been reined in without wrecking the economy. Better yet, they could have been talking about the stock bubble back in the Clinton years before it set the U.S. economy on a path of bubble-driven growth.</p>
<p>It would be good if Republican plans to shut down the government and/or gut large areas of public investment can be thwarted. But serious progressives have to move beyond a situation where we are choosing between bad and worse choices. The folks setting the economic policy agenda for the Democrats are not going to get us there.</p>
<p>DEAN BAKER is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). He is the author of <a href="" type="internal">Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy</a>and <a href="" type="internal">False Profits: Recoverying From the Bubble Economy.</a></p>
<p>This column was originally published by <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/" type="external">The Guardian.</a></p>
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<p /> | The Battle Over Budget Cuts | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/03/01/the-battle-over-budget-cuts/ | 2011-03-01 | 4 |
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<p>The Labor Department announced the economy added 195,000 jobs in June. The pace appears to be picking up but it is still not the 360,000 jobs needed each month to bring unemployment down to 6% over the next three years.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The jobless rate came in at 7.6% as the percentage of adults looking for work increased.&#160;That further indicates labor market tightness is easing.</p>
<p>Adding in discouraged adults and part-timers who want full-time jobs, the unemployment rate becomes 14.3%. And, for many years, inflation-adjusted wages have been falling and income inequality rising—this remains a buyers market.</p>
<p>Sluggish growth is the culprit—the Bush expansion delivered only 2.1% annual GDP growth—that’s about the same for the Obama recovery after 45 months.</p>
<p>Now, defense cutbacks negotiated with Congress during President Obama’s first term have subtracted some $62 billion from federal spending since last fall. An additional $42 billion in sequestration cuts and $200 billion in higher taxes are further reducing consumer outlays and government spending in the second and third quarters.</p>
<p>Last week’s news that imports from China are soaring again, while exports decline is causing economists, even at the ever optimistic Wall Street banks, to downgrade estimates for second quarter growth to well less than 2%, and dampening prospects for a more robust recovery in the second half.</p>
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<p>Unless President Obama acts more aggressively to resolve trade issues with China, quits undermining Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, and sends markets a clear signal his choice for the next Fed chief will be focused on a moderate well-trained steward and not an ideological operative, the prospects for 2014 will be equally dim.</p>
<p>Stronger growth is possible. Forty-five months into the Reagan recovery, after a deeper recession than Obama inherited, GDP was advancing at a 5% annual pace, and jobs creation was quite robust—nowadays, that pace would bring unemployment down to 5% pretty quickly.</p>
<p>More rapid growth requires importing less and exporting more—dealing with the $500 billion trade deficit on oil by drilling more offshore and in Alaska, and with China by addressing its undervalued currency and protectionism.</p>
<p>It also requires sound stewardship at the Fed—not a leader bent on inflating the country out of its problems, which is a fool’s journey anyway, or with a record of support for hard left causes aligned with those hostile to economic growth and entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>Overall the president must cultivate a climate more receptive to the genuine concerns of businesses, instead of treating its leaders as likely recidivists to a white collar prison for those guilty of environmental crimes against the people.</p>
<p>Absolutely essential is right sizing business regulations to make investing in new jobs less expensive and time consuming. Regulatory enforcement is needed to protect the environment, consumers and financial stability but those must be delivered cost effectively and quickly to add genuine value.</p>
<p>Overall, more jobs require trimming back on tax increases and spending cuts, and more pro-growth trade, energy and regulatory policies.</p>
<p>Peter Morici is an economist and professor at the Smith School of Business,, University of Maryland, and widely published columnist.</p> | Job Growth Picks Up, But Policy Reforms Needed to Do Better | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2013/07/05/job-growth-picks-up-but-policy-reforms-needed-to-do-better.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>One of last week's biggest winners makes house calls. Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC) soared 24.1% last week, making it the second best performer on the New York Stock Exchange. Teladoc moved higher after hosting its inaugural investor and analyst day.</p>
<p>Monday's presentation allowed Teladoc to sell the market on the merits of telemedicine and its role as the top dog in telehealth, providing cheaper and more convenient solutions than traditional in-office offerings for many services. The stock moved higher on all four days of the abridged trading week.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Teladoc is a fast-growing provider of telemedicine, arming a growing number of health-plan providers and their customers with cost-effective consultations with doctors and mental-health professionals. Members book their video call visits online, with the average wait for a virtual physician or health specialist clocking in at about 10 minutes.</p>
<p>There are now 22.6 million paid members -- up 33% over the past year -- through its <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/21/how-teladoc-hopes-to-tackle-a-29-billion-prize.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=128e5b20-d241-11e7-9325-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">roughly 7,500 clients Opens a New Window.</a>.&#160;These members aren't leaning hard on Teladoc. The platform is expecting to complete just over 1.4 million visits this year, so most of its members are still opting for conventional in-office consultations. However, Teladoc's reach is growing. The number of visits rose 51% in its latest quarter, once again outpacing membership growth.</p>
<p>It's easy to see why Teladoc's clients are satisfied, even if they're paying for members who rarely take advantage of the video-based visits. A third-party study by Veracity Analytics last year showed that Teladoc clients saved roughly $472 per member visit, in addition to $46 in average employee productivity. Teladoc is doing its part to encourage engagement in its telehealth offering. One of the presentations during Monday's investor and analyst day detailed how it's being more proactive, like reaching out to working mothers during the back-to-school season with trending childhood maladies. Teladoc has also put out videos showing how easy it is to receive medical and mental health attention through its leading-edge platform.</p>
<p>Analysts walked away impressed. Mohan Naidu at Oppenheimer bumped his price target from $40 to $45 following the presentation, encouraged by Teladoc's reasserting its dominant position in the growing telehealth industry. Richard Close at Canaccord also came out of the investor and analyst day feeling bullish. He sees Teladoc coming through with 25% to 30% growth for several years, a rare sight of heady growth among healthcare service providers, but to be fair, this more a <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/10/this-company-is-disrupting-doctors-offices.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=128e5b20-d241-11e7-9325-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disruptive technology company Opens a New Window.</a> than it is a stodgy purveyor of health services.</p>
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<p>Teladoc has been one of this year's biggest winners, and last week's move finds the stock once again more than doubling in 2017. The market's more excited about its growth and upside potential than worried about its mounting losses, explaining why last week's chance to broadcast its side of the story helped lift the hot stock higher.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than TeladocWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
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<p><a href="http://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=80d5259f-ac12-483d-b86d-e26f6f372253&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=128e5b20-d241-11e7-9325-0050569d32b9&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 November 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFBreakerRick/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=128e5b20-d241-11e7-9325-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Rick Munarriz Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Teladoc. 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;referring_guid=128e5b20-d241-11e7-9325-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Can Teladoc Stock Keep Going After Last Week's 24% Pop? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/26/can-teladoc-stock-keep-going-after-last-weeks-24-pop.html | 2017-11-26 | 0 |
<p>Happy birthday, income tax. One hundred years ago, on Oct. 3, President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the federal income tax that Congress had passed with bipartisan support. Our Congress is celebrating the anniversary with a purely partisan government shutdown to block implementation of a health care law because it slightly increases taxes on rich people.</p>
<p>There is one good thing about the shutdown: it is a reminder of why we needed progressive taxation in the first place.</p>
<p>The original purpose of a progressive tax was to prevent a small minority of super-rich people from holding democratically elected governments hostage to their whims. The first American to argue for progressive taxation, Thomas Paine–yes, that Thomas Paine–thought that democracy could not survive without it. Paine recognized that a king was nothing more than a rich man who inherited enough land and money to buy a whole government. He thought that was reason enough to support a progressive tax on inherited wealth. The Declaration of Independence was a good start, but it was not enough just to declare your independence from the king once. You also had to keep the next would-be king from getting that much richer than everyone else. Otherwise, you would find yourself under the thumb of a new despot.</p>
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<p>The argument was purely theoretical–until economic inequality grew so extreme at the beginning of the twentieth century that some Americans thought a new monarchy was actually coming into view. Rich people in some parts of the country were more or less openly using their money to buy favorable legislation. They used that influence to ensure that the tax burden continued to fall most heavily on the poor.</p>
<p>It took an extraordinary coalition of grassroots social movements to get us a progressive federal tax. Today’s tea party Republicans sometimes style themselves as makers and progressives as takers, but the people who gave us the income tax were the real makers, and the real heirs of Tom Paine. They were farmers, who paid more than their share of property taxes, and demanded a federal income tax so that rich city folk would finally pay some taxes, too. They were the industrial workers who literally built the country’s businesses, who saw a federal income tax as a way to relieve the regressive and confusing system of consumption taxes. They were women suffragists who saw “no taxation without representation” as a pro-tax slogan–because once you pay taxes, no one can say you are not entitled to vote. Progressive movements led by farmers, industrial workers, and women put the issue of income taxation on the national agenda, and pushed into office a wave of progressive candidates who ultimately made the income tax into law.</p>
<p>Then the tea party counterrevolution started. In public, rich businessmen decried the progressive social movements as special interest groups, but in private, they hired some of the best organizers from those interest groups to work for their side. In the 1920s, former populists helped to organize a grassroots movement of “tax clubs” that called for abolishing the federal estate tax. In the 1940s, some millionaires hired former progressives to run the grassroots campaign for a constitutional limit on the top income tax rate. In 1950s, a handful of former woman suffrage activists started a national drive to repeal the federal income tax altogether. In 1970s, activists from many of these campaigns came together to lobby for a constitutional amendment limiting the power of Congress to vote on taxes. Activists in several of these movements called their protests tea parties or T parties.</p>
<p>Thanks to the legacy of those campaigns, this time is different. Today’s tea party is far better funded than any of its predecessors–partly because those predecessors won partial victories that rolled back top tax rates, so that today’s radical rich people have more money than ever to spend on politics. Today’s tea party also inherits a toolkit of tactics and policy proposals from its predecessors. Tea party Republicans in this Congress dusted off and re-introduced all of the radical policies proposed by twentieth-century rich people’s movements–from eliminating the estate tax, to abolishing the income tax, to amending the Constitution to limit the taxation of rich people. If the shutdown is successful, it will embolden them to introduce those proposals again.</p>
<p>This history should remind us that the shutdown is not just about passing this year’s budget and it is not just about Obamacare. The most stubborn members of the Tea Party caucus see this battle as part of a long war against all federal taxation of income and wealth. They say that they are fighting for liberty. But the liberty they have in mind is best described by the title of a protest song that activists sang at “T Party” rallies 50 years ago: “Liberty for Me.”</p>
<p>So let the shutdown be a reminder that the best argument for taxing the rich was always the defense of democracy. And raise a glass to the federal income tax. It protects liberty for the rest of us.</p>
<p>Isaac William Martin is a professor of sociology at the University of California – San Diego, and is the author of Rich People’s Movements: Grassroots Campaigns to Untax the One Percent (Oxford University Press, 2013).</p> | Today’s Tea Party Reminds Us Why We Passed An Income Tax In The First Place | true | http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/today-s-tea-party-reminds-us-why-we-passed-an-income-tax-in-the-first-place | 4 |
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<p>Hillary Clinton is leading her nearest Democratic competitor by a whopping 60 points, and she holds the early general-election advantage against the top Republican White House contenders, according to a new <a href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/A_Politics/6_22_PollPDF.pdf" type="external">NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.</a></p>
<p>Seventy-five percent of national Democratic primary voters favor Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination – compared with 15 percent who pick Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., four percent who choose former Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., and two percent who select former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.</p>
<p>See Full Poll Results <a href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Sections/A_Politics/6_22_PollPDF.pdf" type="external">Here</a></p>
<p>What’s more, 92 percent of Democratic voters say they could see themselves supporting Clinton for the Democratic nomination, which is up six points since March.</p>
<p>Just eight percent can’t see themselves backing her in the current poll, which was conducted right after Clinton formally kicked off her presidential campaign with a rally in New York City. (By contrast, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s <a href="" type="internal">score among Republicans</a> is 75-22 percent and Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., is 74-15 percent.)</p>
<p>“Hillary Clinton continues to lap the field on the Democratic side,” says Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted this survey with GOP pollster Bill McInturff.</p>
<p>McInturff adds that Clinton is in the “strongest and most advantageous” position for a non-incumbent running for his or her party’s presidential nomination in his lifetime working in politics.</p>
<p>Looking ahead to the general election, Clinton also leads Bush by eight points (48 percent to 40 percent), Rubio by 10 points (50 percent to 40 percent) and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker by 14 (51 percent to 37 percent).</p>
<p>But the NBC/WSJ poll offers two cautionary notes about Clinton’s leads. One, 62 percent of Democratic primary voters want her to have a challenging primary to test her for the general election, signaling they don’t want a coronation to the nomination.</p>
<p>And two, the poll shows a generic Democrat defeating a generic Republican in the 2016 presidential race by just three points, 39 percent to 36 percent, suggesting that the general election will be competitive.</p>
<p>“Like the [Max] Scherzer <a href="http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13124994/max-scherzer-washington-nationals-says-no-hitter-dad-father-day-gift" type="external">no-hitter</a> or <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2015/06/21/jordan-spieth-dustin-johnson-louis-oosthuizen-us-open/29086163/" type="external">the U.S. Open</a>, the outcome won’t be known until the final pitch or the final putt,” Hart says.</p>
<p>Obama’s job-approval rating: 48 percent.</p>
<p>Also in the poll, President Obama’s job-approval rating stands at 48 percent among all adults, which is unchanged from April.</p>
<p>But that comes amid renewed pessimism about the state of the U.S. economy. Just 37 percent of Americans say they’re satisfied with the economy – down eight points since January.</p>
<p>Forty-six percent say they’re more optimistic about the economy – down two points from March.</p>
<p>In addition, the poll finds 45 percent of American adults believing that the economy has improved and giving Obama some credit for it; another 17 percent agreeing that the economy has improved but not giving the president much credit; and 37 percent saying the economy really hasn’t improved.</p>
<p>Measuring how to combat ISIS: With U.S. troops or without.</p>
<p>And turning to foreign affairs, the poll shows 28 percent of Americans favor sending U.S. troops into Iraq “for as long as it takes” to combat ISIS.</p>
<p>Thirty-two percent support sending U.S. troops for only a short period of time to allow the Iraqi army to take over. And 38 percent don’t want to send any U.S. troops into Iraq.</p>
<p>The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted June 14-18 of 1,000 adults (including nearly 400 by cell phone), and it has an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.</p>
<p>The margin for error of the 830 registered voters is plus-minus 3.4 percentage points, and the margin for error of the 247 Democratic primary voters is plus-minus 6.2 percentage points.</p> | Hillary Clinton Dominates 2016 Democratic Field, Leads GOP Rivals | false | http://nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/hillary-clinton-dominates-2016-democratic-field-leads-gop-rivals-n379836 | 2015-06-22 | 3 |
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<p>Isleta is not ready to hang up the Halloween fun and instead is holding a “Freaky Fright Night” from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Saturday.</p>
<p>The Halloween-themed dance and costume contest will feature live music by Already Gone and BJ the DJ. Enter the Halloween costume contest for your chance to win a share of more than $2,000 from 9-11 p.m.</p>
<p>Leave the kiddos at home. This is an age 21 and older event. Also, remember to keep masks and face paint inside the party area because it won’t be allowed on the casino floor or in the hotel lobby.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Get your tickets in advance at holdmyticket.com for $5, plus a small venue fee.</p>
<p>All that fun might have you a little drained at the end of the night. Good thing Isleta Resort &amp; Casino offers a variety of accommodations including deluxe rooms, balcony rooms, king rooms, junior suites and a governor’s suite.</p>
<p>Isleta also offers some sweet getaway packages, including the Treat Yourself package that offers a $75 shopping credit in Enchantment Gifts or The Vault Gift Shop and a $40 dining credit for any of Isleta’s food venues. The package starts at $249 plus tax on weekends.</p>
<p>They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so how about giving the Breakfast for Two package a spin? Enjoy a relaxing night and wake up to a delicious breakfast the following morning in the Tiwa Cafe. Included with your room is a $20 dining credit for two that is good in any of Isleta’s restaurants.</p>
<p>The package is $169 on weekends.</p>
<p>For a more romantic stay, try the Romance the Night Away package that includes a night’s stay in the upgraded deluxe accommodations, a bottle of champagne, chocolate-dipped strawberries and a $40 credit good at any of Isleta’s restaurants. The package is $219 on weekends.</p>
<p>If you’re more a fan of golf than champagne, try the Fore &amp; Fare package that offers a one-night stay for two, a couple rounds of golf at the Isleta Eagle Golf Course and a $50 food and beverage credit at any of Isleta’s restaurants. Call to reserve your tee time and for price quotes.</p>
<p>For reservations call 877-475-3827 or visit isleta-casino.com.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>THE DOWNS RACETRACK &amp; CASINO: Craving fresh seafood from the Florida shores? Then head no farther than Central and Louisiana NE because The Downs is flying in fresh stone crab daily to The Crown Room.</p>
<p>The stone crab is flown within 24 hours of being caught by Triar Seafood Company in Florida. The yummy crab will then be prepared by The Downs executive chef Cordell Bomar.</p>
<p>The Florida stone crab is found in the oyster reefs and rocky areas of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. The stone crab is unique because fishermen only remove one of the crab’s claws for fishing purposes and return the crab to the ocean where it regenerates a new claw, according to The Downs news release.</p>
<p>Stone crab season began in mid-October and runs through mid-April.</p>
<p>The Downs director of food and beverage, Abel Avila, said in a news release that it is The Downs’ goal to provide guests with the “ultimate dining experience.”</p>
<p>The Crown Room guarantees “Shore to Store in Twenty-Four” hours on all its seafood menu items, including lobster, scallops, shrimp, sea bass and more, according to the news release.</p>
<p>•&#160;Got a tip on your favorite casino? Contact Rozanna M. Martinez at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/RozannaABQ" type="external">@RozannaABQ</a>.</p> | Monster bash: Don’t put away the Halloween costume just yet — there’s a party | false | https://abqjournal.com/292052/all-in-rozanna-m-martinez-12.html | 2013-11-01 | 2 |
<p>By Ian Graham</p>
<p>BELFAST (Reuters) – A leader of a British far right group whose anti-Islamic social media posts were retweeted by U.S. President Donald Trump was ordered on Thursday not to appear within 500 meters of any rally until a criminal case in Northern Ireland is finished.</p>
<p>Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the fringe anti-immigrant Britain First group, appeared at a court in Belfast to face charges of using threatening, abusive or insulting words in a speech at a rally in the city in August.</p>
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<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Britain First leader whom Trump re-tweeted ordered to avoid rallies | false | https://newsline.com/britain-first-leader-whom-trump-re-tweeted-ordered-to-avoid-rallies/ | 2017-12-14 | 1 |
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<p>He enjoys telling stories and wants to give back.</p>
<p>That’s why Jett is screening his film “Fallen Stars” in Albuquerque on Jan. 11.</p>
<p>“We’re doing theatrical screenings across the country,” he says. “But we’re also teaming up with local animal groups. A portion of the proceeds will go to them.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Fallen Stars” is a drama that chronicles the unexpected friendship that develops between a melancholy bartender, Cooper, who at 36 still isn’t sure what he wants to do with his life; and a socially awkward overachiever, Daisy, in her early 20s.</p>
<p>The movie was filmed in Los Angeles, and it’s Jett’s second time at writing and directing a production.</p>
<p>His first film, “Let Go,” was released in 2011 and had Ed Asner, David Denman, Gillian Jacobs and Kevin Hart as its co-stars.</p>
<p>“This was my first time doing a production of my own,” he says. “There was a learning curve. It set forth the path to more movies that I’ve written.”</p>
<p>He says it took about a year to raise the financing for “Fallen Stars.”</p>
<p>And then the film has been through the film festival circuit, where it was received well.</p>
<p>“With indie film work, you are doing everything yourself,” he says. “It’s a labor of love. You don’t learn anything about distribution or the business side in film school.”</p>
<p>After working a couple years on “Fallen Stars,” Jett is ready to start a new cycle for his next film.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I’m hoping to film the next one in New Mexico,” he says. “Everything is in the beginning stages right now.”</p>
<p>Jett was born in the Duke City, where his parents were raised and graduated from the University of New Mexico.</p>
<p>When he was a child, his father’s job as a state ambassador took him to Washington, D.C., where he grew up mostly.</p>
<p>“The majority of my relatives all live in New Mexico,” he says. “I came very close to going to UNM. I get back to New Mexico twice a year, and it’s a great place to be.”</p>
<p>For the Albuquerque screening, Jett has teamed up with Babes &amp; Bullies.</p>
<p>The organization advocates for and promotes awareness regarding the humane animal treatment of pit bulls and bully breeds through outreach, education, community relationships, rescue, and rehabilitation.</p>
<p>Contributions are used to publish educational information on the breeds, pay for veterinary needs of rescued bullies, and assist local no-kill rescue groups in their care of bullies prior to placement. One hundred percent of the organization’s net proceeds are dedicated to helping bully breeds.</p>
<p>“This is my way of giving back and spreading awareness,” he says. “The screenings in other cities have been very successful.”</p>
<p>Jett will also conduct a Q&amp;A session after the screening.</p>
<p>SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a>. Follow me on Twitter @agomezART.</p>
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<p /> | ABQ native screens latest film as part of Duke City benefit for animals | false | https://abqjournal.com/917124/giving-back-2.html | 2 |
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<p>Sept. 24 (UPI) — The National Hurricane Center cautioned swells generated by Hurricane Maria are increasing along portions of the southeastern United States and Bermuda.</p>
<p>The center said <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT5+shtml/240856.shtml" type="external">in its 5 a.m. Sunday advisory</a> that the storm appeared to have slightly weakened, but it retained maximum sustained winds near 110 mph with higher gusts.</p>
<p>“Swells generated by Maria are increasing along portions of the southeastern United States coast and Bermuda and will be increasing along the Mid-Atlantic coast later today,” the hurricane center said.</p>
<p>The center said swells were also continuing in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the northern coast of Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas. The swells were described as likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.</p>
<p>The eye of the hurricane was located Sunday morning near latitude 27.9 north, longitude 72.7 west and the storm was morning north at a speed of about 9 mph.</p>
<p>There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect Sunday morning, but the hurricane center warned residents of the Carolina and Mid-Atlantic coasts to continue to monitor Maria as hurricane or tropical storm watches were possible later in the day.</p> | Carolina, Mid-Atlantic coasts warned to monitor Hurricane Maria | false | https://newsline.com/carolina-mid-atlantic-coasts-warned-to-monitor-hurricane-maria/ | 2017-09-24 | 1 |
<p>The National Rifle Association implies Iowa Rep. Bruce Braley lied&#160;when he said he “never met Michael Bloomberg,” but there’s no evidence of that. The NRA ad puts two separate photos of the men side-by-side and says they were at the “same event.” It was a day-long event, and they spoke hours apart.</p>
<p>The NRA Political Victory Fund ad says Braley, a Democrat running for the state’s open Senate seat, is “so slick, he can’t stick to the truth,” as an image of an oily substance slides down the screen. But the ad shows it’s the NRA that’s slippery when it comes to the facts.</p>
<p>&lt;iframe class="VideoEmbedFrame" width="100%" height="100%" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" src="https://video.factcheck.org/play/268232d8946"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</p>
<p>The ad says Braley “votes for Michael Bloomberg’s extreme anti-gun agenda” in Washington but tries to be “slick” and “hide his connections to Bloomberg” in Iowa. It shows a clip of Braley at an <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?321899-1/iowa-senate-debate" type="external">Oct. 11 debate</a> saying, “I’ve never met Michael Bloomberg.”</p>
<p>The narrator continues, “But look at this: Braley and Bloomberg both at the same event,” as an image is shown of the two men, Bloomberg sitting on the left and Braley standing at a podium on the right. “Braley’s staff even said so,” the narrator continues, as an image of a <a href="http://braley.house.gov/press-release/rep-braley-speaks-no-labels-launch-event" type="external">Dec. 13, 2010, press release</a> on the event appears on screen.</p>
<p>Case closed? Not at all.</p>
<p>The press release says that Braley spoke at a launch event that day for a group called No Labels at Columbia University in New York. <a href="http://www.nolabels.org/" type="external">No Labels</a> aims to bring people together, regardless of political affiliation, and, in its words, “call[s] on our leaders to put the labels aside and focus on fixing America’s most pressing problems.” Its tagline: “Not left. Not right. Forward.” Its founders include former Democratic National Committee Finance Chair <a href="http://www.nolabels.org/nancy-jacobson" type="external">Nancy Jacobson</a> and Republican strategist <a href="http://www.mediaguymedia.com/" type="external">Mark McKinnon</a>, a former adviser to President George W. Bush.</p>
<p>The Braley press release — which has <a href="http://twitchy.com/2014/10/11/bruce-braleys-debate-claim-that-ive-never-met-michael-bloomberg-fact-checked/" type="external">made the rounds on Twitter</a> as something of a smoking gun — says the congressman was “[j]oined by a bipartisan group of current and former elected officials, including Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), among others.”</p>
<p>But those officials didn’t appear on a panel with Braley, who addressed the audience on his own for about five minutes during a nearly three-hour morning session (see the <a href="http://www.livestream.com/nolabelsorg/video?clipId=pla_de2e6c2c-e236-4ccb-9647-344ada247bca&amp;utm_source=lslibrary&amp;utm_medium=ui-thumb" type="external">52:35 mark</a>). Braley spoke about growing up in a “no labels community” and “no labels household,” in which his father was a Republican and his mother was a Democrat. He talked about bipartisanship, using two pieces of bipartisan legislation that he authored as examples of bringing people together.</p>
<p>There was&#160;a break for lunch, according to one of the final morning session speakers, followed by afternoon breakout sessions (see the 58:58 mark of <a href="http://www.livestream.com/nolabelsorg/video?clipId=pla_5906b4e5-cc9f-42b6-b258-a89af8299702&amp;utm_source=lslibrary&amp;utm_medium=ui-thumb" type="external">part 2 of the morning video</a>). Bloomberg, <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/103874-bloomberg-headlines-launch-no-labels-group-independents/" type="external">who was headlining the event</a>, appeared on a panel on <a href="http://www.livestream.com/nolabelsorg/video?clipId=pla_00cbf9c6-c232-45eb-96c7-8cc31ef2e3c4&amp;utm_source=lslibrary&amp;utm_medium=ui-thumb" type="external">“Electoral Reform in America” during the afternoon</a>. Bloomberg’s <a href="http://www.c-span.org/video/?297056-5/electoral-reform" type="external">fellow panelists</a> were then-Rep. Michael Castle of Delaware, then-Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, then-Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado of California&#160;and Ellen Freidin of FairDistrictsFlorida.org.</p>
<p>It was a large event, with the feel of a mini-political convention. In the introduction for the <a href="http://www.livestream.com/nolabelsorg/video?clipId=pla_de2e6c2c-e236-4ccb-9647-344ada247bca&amp;utm_source=lslibrary&amp;utm_medium=ui-thumb" type="external">video stream</a> of the day, TV journalist <a href="http://www.bobfranken.tv/" type="external">Bob Franken</a> said there were more than 1,000 people in attendance in Columbia’s <a href="http://lernerhall.columbia.edu/reservable-space" type="external">Lerner Hall</a> auditorium. And the day was filled with big names and politicians, in addition to those mentioned in Braley’s press release, including New York Times columnist <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/davidbrooks/index.html" type="external">David Brooks</a>, West Virginia <a href="http://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/" type="external">Sen. Joe Manchin</a>, then-Indiana Sen. <a href="http://www.mcguirewoods.com/People/B/Evan-Bayh.aspx" type="external">Evan Bayh</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe" type="external">MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough</a>.</p>
<p>It would be quite possible for two of the day’s speakers to never cross paths, given the number of attendees and speakers, and length of the event.</p>
<p>The Braley campaign told FactCheck.org that Braley and Bloomberg “did not meet at the event that day. It was an all day event, and Bruce was not there the entire time.” Sarah Benzing, Braley’s campaign manager and former chief of staff, <a href="https://twitter.com/sbenzing/status/521100670816886784" type="external">tweeted on Oct. 11</a> that they did not see Bloomberg at the event: “I happened to staff Bruce at the no-labels event that day. No sign of Bloomberg.” And Matt Canter, who was on Gillibrand’s staff that day, <a href="https://twitter.com/mattcanter/status/521100180591226880" type="external">also tweeted</a>: “I was at that w Sen. Gillibrand &amp; met Bruce that day. Didn’t see Bloomberg there while we were all there. All day event.”</p>
<p>No Labels confirmed to FactCheck.org that the two men attended the event, but didn’t know whether they talked or not.</p>
<p>We can’t say for sure whether Braley and Bloomberg met at the event or not. But neither can the NRA, which confirmed to us, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2014/10/21/in-n-r-a-ad-guilt-by-non-association/" type="external">and the New York Times</a>, that the image of Braley and Bloomberg is actually two separate photos. Viewers with an inclination toward detective work could pick up on that, particularly if they pause the ad. But viewers may also think they’re looking at the same image, torn in half, as the graphics make it appear, and as the narrator implies.</p>
<p>The narrator’s words may lead viewers to believe that the NRA has photographic proof that the two men met, when he says, “But look at this: Braley and Bloomberg both at the same event.”</p>
<p>Braley <a href="https://www.nrapvf.org/campaigns/2014/defeat-braley/" type="external">has an “F” rating from the NRA</a>, which takes issue with Braley’s pro-gun-control stances. Among his “votes” for Bloomberg’s “anti-gun agenda,” according to the NRA: a <a href="http://www.opencongress.org/vote/2011/h/852" type="external">vote against the&#160;National&#160;Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011</a>, which would have allowed residents of states that permit the carrying of concealed weapons to do so in other states.</p>
<p>In late 2012, in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting, Braley <a href="http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/12/19/u-s-rep-bruce-braley-newtown-shooting-a-call-to-action-on-gun-violence/article" type="external">said</a> he would sign on as a co-sponsor to legislation to ban high-capacity ammunition clips. He <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/bruce-braley-gun-legislation_n_3480071.html" type="external">told</a> the Huffington Post last year that he probably wouldn’t have supported the failed Senate legislation to expand background checks, because it didn’t go far enough. Braley objected to immunizing gun manufacturers from lawsuits for negligence. The Senate bill would have expanded background checks to private sales at gun shows, and also expanded lawsuit immunity to such sellers that completed checks.</p>
<p>So, Braley’s positions on guns are&#160;clearly at odds with the NRA, but the group goes too far in suggesting he lied when he said he never met Bloomberg.</p>
<p>— Lori Robertson, with Carolyn Fante</p> | NRA’s ‘Slick’ Ad Links Braley to Bloomberg | false | https://factcheck.org/2014/10/nras-slick-ad-links-braley-to-bloomberg/ | 2014-10-24 | 2 |
<p>Since its reopening on Saturday, French citizens and tourists, disgusted and angry, have started a "hate memorial" at the site where radical Islamic terrorist Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel was gunned down by police after killing 87 people with his truck.</p>
<p>As people walk by the place on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, where the terrorist's life finally came to an end, they throw rocks, trash, cigarette butts and many just spit on the pile with rage.</p>
<p>In the video (above), the "hate memorial" is in stark contrast to the flowers and candle vigil tribute set up nearby in remembrance of the more than 200 injured victims of the attack. On the ground one person even painted the word "Assassin" on the ground.</p>
<p>Bouhlel's premeditated slaughter occurred last Thursday night on a crowded pedestrian-filled beach-front road in Nice where families were walking home from the Bastille Day celebrations.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/nice-terror-attack-hate-memorial-8442703" type="external">The Daily Mirror</a>:</p>
<p>The country is in a third day of national mourning following the atrocity, while the scene of the attack remains strewn with flowers.</p>
<p>He drove the 19-tonne lorry through crowds for more than a mile, while taking potshots at people from the window of his cab.</p>
<p>Boulhel then emerged shooting from the vehicle, before being gunned down by police.</p>
<p>Neighbours have described the killer as a 'bud Muslim' who "drank alcohol, ate pork and took drugs" in the wake of the attacks.</p>
<p>Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy said on television, "Democracy must not be weak, nor simply commemorate."</p>
<p>"Democracy must say 'We will win the war'," Sarkozy added. He also said the French government didn't do enough to provide security.</p>
<p>The Nice rampage is the third major radical Islamic attack in France in the last 18 months.</p>
<p>A moment of silence for the victims of the terrorist attack, video below:</p>
<p>Footage of Bouhlel's attack below:</p> | Video: Furious French Spit And Throw Trash On The Spot Of Bastille Day Terrorist's Death | true | https://dailywire.com/news/7608/video-furious-french-spit-and-throw-trash-spot-chase-stephens | 2016-07-19 | 0 |
<p>The five men arrested for holding a modern day slave labor camp are still being questioned bye British police. After a raid on a site north west of London, British police rescued 24 men living in terrible conditions. Police were alerted to the situation after receiving several tips, reports <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/09/12/britain-slave-labour-arrests.html" type="external">CBC</a>.</p>
<p>The raid, which was carried out on Sunday, involved more than 200 police officers, and representatives from various agencies, after an extensive investigation, reports the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-14878181" type="external">BBC</a>.</p>
<p>There was no running water or electricity. The men hadn't had hair cuts and were wearing dirty clothes. Many were close to starvation. Police said that all were "believed to be victims of slavery" and may have been there for over 15 years, reports CBC. According to the BBC, the men were found in sheds and horse boxes. Weapons and drugs were also found at the site. The 24 men were taken to a medical center to be examined.</p>
<p>Nine of the men rescued in the raid have chosen not to support the police investigation, reports CBC.</p>
<p>Four of the five people in custody, are still being questioned, and are scheduled for a court hearing Tuesday morning. Three of them are brothers, and the fifth is a woman, who has been released on bail as she is pregnant. She will be questioned after the birth of her child, according to a statement by the police. Two additional suspects are still at large, reports the BBC.</p>
<p>If found guilty, they will be charged under a new British anti-slavery law which states that anyone holding someone in servitude will serve up to 14 years in prison.</p>
<p>"Those people who we continue to help are appreciative of the support that is on offer, but it will take some time to work through with them what has happened," Detective Chief Inspector Sean O'Neil said in a statement. 28 people had been making claims about the site since 2008, the BBC reports.</p>
<p>According to the BBC, the men, some of whom had problems such as alcoholism, were recruited from places like soup kitchens. They were lured to a trailer park, promised food, shelter, and pay. However, when they got to the park, the men were forced into hard labor, and threatened with violence.</p>
<p>They "were made to perform labor, rather than being given proper food and proper wages for their labors," O Neill said to the CBC.</p>
<p>There have been nearly 1,500 cases of slavery and human trafficking reported in the past two years, according the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 5 arrested in modern day slave camp in England | false | https://pri.org/stories/2011-09-12/5-arrested-modern-day-slave-camp-england | 2011-09-12 | 3 |
<p>Photo Credit: http://houselive.gov/</p>
<p>Moments before the House’s vote to destroy Obamacare and its protections affecting all private health insurance policies Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi warned Republicans that voting for the draconian bill would imperil their careers.</p>
<p>“You have walked the plank from moderate to radical,” she said. “And you’re walking the plank for what—a bill that will not be accepted by the United States Senate? Why are you doing this? … You have every provision of this bill tattooed on your forehead. You will glow in the dark on this one.”</p>
<p>Twenty Republicans sided with every Democrat and voted no— <a href="//www.rollcall.com/news/meet-the-republicans-who-voted-no-on-the-health-care-bill/?utm_source=just-in&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=newsletters" type="external">nine</a> were from districts where Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump. They seem to know how a yes vote would be received. The rest, 217 of them, voted yes. But with the November 2018 elections 18 months away, how much will the House vote help Democrats retake 24 additional seats for a majority?</p>
<p>“The&#160; <a href="//cookpolitical.com/story/10342" type="external">Cook political report</a>&#160;is moving 20 races toward Democrats,” <a href="//www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/5/5/1659232/-Cook-Political-Report-Moves-20-Races-After-Vote" type="external">wrote</a> the Daily Kos’ pollwatcher. “It doesn’t mean they are in the Democratic column, they just are a little closer now. This is a great opportunity for us if we can keep the enthusiasm up and spread that enthusiasm to the 37% of people who thought voting doesn’t matter.”</p>
<p>Kos is in the cheerleading business. Its conclusion, “this is how a wave starts,” is unsurprising. It copied Cook’s list and ended, “If we can keep up the enthusiasm, work hard, and stay focused on where the real threat is coming from, we might just survive this fascist attack on our democracy and end up changing the world.”</p>
<p>The author of the Cook Report’s new <a href="//cookpolitical.com/story/10342" type="external">assessment</a>, David Wasserman, has a more precise idea of the uphill climb Democrats face to retake the House. He’s one of the few analysts who understand how the GOP’s extreme partisan redistricting after 2010 resulted in states that might be evenly split when it comes to voting for president, but end up sending twice as many Republicans to the House. That’s because they drew political boundaries that effectively segregated voters.</p>
<p>Wasserman’s analysis post-Thursday’s vote said three Republicans face likely defeat in 2018. They are, as summarized in his report:</p>
<p>1. CA-25: Rep. Steve Knight (R),&#160;Northern LA County: Santa Clarita, PalmdaleToss-Up. Knight prevailed with 53 percent in 2016 while Trump lost this rapidly suburbanizing seat 50 percent to 43 percent.</p>
<p>2. CO-06: Rep. Mike Coffman (R),&#160;Denver southeast suburbs: Aurora, LittletonToss-Up. Coffman ended up voting against the AHCA, but his hesitation to announce his position likely won't assuage voters who want to send a message to President Trump next year.</p>
<p>3. MN-02: Rep. Jason Lewis (R),&#160;Twin Cities south suburbs: Eagan, BurnsvilleToss-Up. Lewis prevailed by one of the slimmest margins of any GOP freshman in 2016, 47 percent to 45 percent—and followed it up by casting a vote for Republicans' AHCA bill.</p>
<p>That's only three seats, not the 24 needed. He moved three Republican incumbents from “lean Republican” to “toss-ups.” He also moved 11 incumbents from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.” And he moved six from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican.”</p>
<p>“In light of the vote, we are shifting our ratings in 20 districts, all reflecting enhanced opportunities for Democrats,” Wasserman said. “The major caveat is that 18 months is an eternity in politics and that as always, we will continue to adjust our outlook as events unfold and the landscape develops.”</p>
<p>Kos and Wasserman are both correct in their tentative characterizations. What the House GOP did Thursday could be the start of a blue wave. But it would have to be a very big wave, as Wasserman notes, because the most vulnerable GOP incumbents still are on semi-solid red ground. Of the three new toss-up races, Colorado’s Coffman—elected as a Tea Partier—voted no on Obamacare repeal. He may have delayed his decision, as Wasserman noted, but he voted no. You can be sure he’ll tout that.</p>
<p>Where are the other 17 races with potentially vulnerable Republicans? Of the 11 “lean Republican” seats, three are in California, two in Texas and the rest are single seats in Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and New Jersey. Of the six Wasserman moved to “likely Republican,” two are in Illinois, and the rest are single seats in Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio.</p>
<p>Statistical handicapper Nate Silver, at fivethirtyeight.com, also sounded an upbeat but cautionary note. He <a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/860215679420702721/photo/1" type="external">wrote</a>, “27 Republicans voted for AHCA [the House bill] and won their races by &lt;15 points last time around. They're in the danger zone.”</p>
<p>On closer inspection of his data, one <a href="https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/860215679420702721/photo/1" type="external">sees</a>&#160;it does not quickly add up to 24 seats needed to retake the House. Only four GOP incumbents who voted for the ACHA won their 2016 races by less than a 4 percent margin of victory. Most of the 27 Silver cited were won by Republicans with at least 10 percent margins of victory.</p>
<p>Could the House’s Obamacare repeal be the start of a blue wave taking the House in 2018? Yes, but it’s going to have to be a very big wave where dozens of Republicans are defeated by double-digit margins. That’s no ordinary landslide.</p>
<p>Steven Rosenfeld covers national political issues for AlterNet. He is the author of several books on elections, most recently&#160; <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/democracy-betrayed-steven-rosenfeld/1127810302;jsessionid=AC5E9DD4655097E5A38BC19EF350CCC2.prodny_store01-atgap04?ean=9781510729452#/" type="external">Democracy Betrayed: How Superdelegates, Redistricting, Party Insiders, and the Electoral College Rigged the 2016 Election</a>&#160;(March 2018, Hot Books).</p> | Why the GOP's Vote to Repeal Obamacare Could Send a Democratic Majority to Washington in 2018 | true | http://alternet.org/activism/dreadful-house-obamacare-repeal-vote-raises-democratic-hopes-big-blue-wave-retake-chamber | 2017-05-05 | 4 |
<p>On CNN, Anchor Brooke Baldwin ran a panel today&#160;with Charles Kaiser, a contributor for CNN, and Paris Denard, an African-American Trump surrogate.</p>
<p>In the panel, Donald Trump, the alt-right and Stephen Bannon were discussed, and Kaiser made accusations that Trump’s campaign was energizing a movement that was racist and anti-semitic. To support this argument, Kaiser&#160;said that Trump, in a rally, had asked his supporters to give him the Nazi arm salute to show they supported him. Brooke was confused and asked when exactly Trump asked for that to be done, and Kaiser commented that&#160;“In March, he asked his supporters to raise [their hands] and pledge their support to his candidacy and promise to vote for him.”</p>
<p>Raising a hand and giving a Nazi salute are, to my knowledge, two completely different things.</p>
<p>Then, the shocking moment of the panel came when&#160;Kaiser commented on Bannon being appointed Trump’s chief strategist and said that his advice for Trump was that if Trump didn’t want to be associated with racist groups, then “don’t choose as a White House counselor a man who uses the word n—er.”</p>
<p>Paris &#160;and Brooke were shocked&#160;as Kaiser finished his argument, and Brooke then reprimanded Kaiser and said “please don’t use the n-word on my show.”</p>
<p>Paris then defended Bannon and gave an anecdote about Bannon having seen him&#160;on tv and praising him&#160;for the work he was doing.</p> | Trump Critic Drops N-Bomb on CNN | true | http://shark-tank.com/2016/11/22/trump-critic-drops-n-bomb-cnn/ | 0 |
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<p>WASHINGTON — Bring on the turkey — but maybe hold the politics.</p>
<p>Thanksgiving is Glenn Rogers’ favorite holiday, when people gather around the table and talk about things to celebrate from the past year. But Donald Trump’s presidency isn’t something everyone in the Rogers family is toasting.</p>
<p>“For the most part, we get to the point where we know that we’re not going to agree with each other and it gets dropped,” says the 67-year-old manufacturing consultant, who says he voted less for Trump than against Democrat Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>With a cascade of sexual misconduct scandals now echoing similar allegations against Trump during the campaign, tempers on the subject of Trump may not have cooled, says Rogers. “When you start talking about it now, there’s still some, I think, real animosity when you start talking about character.”</p>
<p>Rogers is among more than a third of Americans who say they dread the prospect of politics coming up over Thanksgiving, compared with just 2 in 10 who say they’re eager to talk politics, according to a new poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Four in 10 don’t feel strongly either way.</p>
<p>Democrats are slightly more likely than Republicans to say they’re uneasy about political discussions at the table, 39 percent to 33 percent. And women are more likely than men to say they dread the thought of talking politics, 41 percent to 31 percent.</p>
<p>Those who do think there’s at least some possibility of politics coming up are somewhat more likely to feel optimistic about it than Americans as a whole. Among this group, 30 percent say they’d be eager to talk politics and 34 percent would dread it.</p>
<p>The debate over whether to talk politics at Thanksgiving — or not — is about as American as the traditional feast itself. By Christmas 2016, 39 percent of U.S. adults said their families avoided conversations about politics, according to the Pew Research Center.</p>
<p>But Americans are still trying to figure out how to talk about the subject in the age of Trump, and amid the sexual misconduct allegations that have ignited a new debate over standards for conduct between men and women. The conversation, some analysts and respondents say, touches on identity among people who group themselves by other factors, such as family, friendship or geography.</p>
<p>Ten months into Trump’s difficult presidency, he remains a historically unpopular president and a deeply polarizing force in the United States. His drives to crack down on immigration in the name of national security and the economy cut right to the question of who is an American. And his defense on Tuesday of Republican <a href="" type="internal">U.S. Senate candidate Roy</a> <a href="" type="internal">Moore</a>, the former Alabama judge accused by six women of pursuing romantic relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s, comes amid a wider deluge of sexual misconduct scandals. Those engulfed include an array of politicians and policymakers — past, present, aspiring and presidential — of all partisan stripes.</p>
<p>For any mention of Moore, who denies the accusations against him, there’s Democratic <a href="" type="internal">Sen. Al Franken of</a> <a href="" type="internal">Minnesota</a>, who has apologized for the accusations against him. For every mention of the “Access Hollywood” tape in which Trump could be heard bragging about touching women without their consent, there are allegations that Democratic President Bill Clinton assaulted women. Both men deny the accusations.</p>
<p>Trump won the 2016 election, even though more than a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct, and roughly half of all voters said they were bothered by his treatment of women, according to exit polls. Trump called the allegations false and said he would sue the women, but that hasn’t happened.</p>
<p>Then there’s the broader national conversation about what to do with the art, public policy work and legacies of public figures accused of sexual harassment or assault.</p>
<p>In the past, the Emily Post Institute Inc. received Thanksgiving etiquette questions that were typically about how to handle difficult relatives, says author Daniel Post Senning.</p>
<p>“Now, I am hearing questions like, ‘I don’t want to go,’ or ‘I can’t imagine sitting at a table with someone who has this perspective and staying through the meal,’” he says. “My impression is that it’s still out there. … The shock of that election is a little further in the rearview mirror, but I think people still have strong feelings about it.”</p>
<p>Fort Worth, Texas, resident Greg McCulley saw that firsthand last year. He recalls that of a dozen adults gathered around the Thanksgiving table, all but one was celebrating Trump’s election. That was his sister-in-law, who fumed about Trump and the “Access Hollywood” tape. Tension seethed.</p>
<p>“It was like, you say Donald Trump was bad, then someone says Bill Clinton was bad, so that extended to Hillary Clinton,” says McCulley, 43, an Air Force retiree who voted for Trump but doesn’t dispute that Trump’s recorded remarks were troubling. He does expect politics to come up this year, probably about sexual assault.</p>
<p>“The conservatives have more of a bigger bone. They’ll say look at Al Franken,” says McCully, who nonetheless looks forward to the conversation. “But it may be that my sister-in-law keeps her mouth zipped and says, ‘I don’t want to wade into those waters again like last year.’”</p>
<p>The AP-NORC poll of 1,070 adults was conducted Nov. 15-19 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.</p>
<p>Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods and later interviewed online or by phone.</p> | Poll shows 1 of 3 don’t want to mix politics, Thanksgiving | false | https://reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/poll-shows-1-of-3-dont-want-to-mix-politics-thanksgiving/ | 2017-11-22 | 1 |
<p>The full House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday is&#160; <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=403051" type="external">marking up</a>&#160; <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hr_3990.pdf" type="external">a bill</a> that would limit the president’s authority to protect historic places and landscapes.</p>
<p>H.R. 3990, introduced by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), who chairs the committee, would radically re-imagine the Antiquities Act – the law allowing presidents to create national monuments — by imposing acreage caps, narrowing the definition of what deserves protection, and prohibiting national monuments that protect oceans, among other restrictions.</p>
<p>Though <a href="https://naturalresources.house.gov/newsroom/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=403085" type="external">Bishop</a> posits that the bill is aimed at restoring what was “originally intended” by the Antiquities Act, many of its provisions would have prevented the protection many of the original national monuments.</p>
<p />
<p>A&#160; <a href="https://medium.com/westwise/anti-park-congressman-introduces-no-new-parks-bill-7e23987186e4" type="external">new study</a> by the Center for Western Priorities finds that more than 180 parks and monuments would have been impossible or extremely unlikely to protect had Rep. Bishop’s bill been law at the time. Notably, the very first national monument designated by Teddy Roosevelt, Devil’s Tower, would not have been legal.&#160; Other iconic national parks that were originally monuments, like the Grand Canyon and Acadia, would have been deemed outside the scope of the Act under Bishop’s new definition.&#160;</p>
<p>Nearly half of all national parks in the United States today were initially protected through the Antiquities Act.</p>
<p>“If the rules proposed in this bill would have been in place in the original Antiquities Act, Americans would not be lucky enough to have Arches, Zion, Bryce Canyon or Capitol Reef National Parks today—all of which were first protected as national monuments,” said Jen Ujifusa, legislative director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “This is another extreme attack against our public lands from the very congressional delegation that should instead be taking pride in protecting them.”</p>
<p>The committee will also address another bill, a <a href="https://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/media/press-releases/ranking-member-grijalva-and-25-house-democrats-demand-details-on-secretary-zinkes-monument-review-process" type="external">resolution of inquiry</a> filed by Rep. Grijalva (D-AZ) and 25 other House Democrats, aimed at getting the administration to provide Congress with more information about Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke’s national monument review and report. Zinke has come <a href="" type="internal">under fire</a> recently for the secret nature of his report which would significantly reduce at least four national monuments.</p>
<p>Next legal skirmish will likely challenge Trump's authority to shrink national monuments.</p>
<p />
<p>“The Trump administration wants to wipe out our national monuments without an explanation or plan,” Grijalva, the ranking member of the committee, said in a <a href="https://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/media/press-releases/ranking-member-grijalva-and-25-house-democrats-demand-details-on-secretary-zinkes-monument-review-process" type="external">statement.</a> “The truth is that Secretary Zinke is choosing to appease his special interest friends instead of listening to the American people, and the [resolution] will prove just that.”</p>
<p>Ironically, Bishop’s bill undercuts many of the recommendations made in the leaked version of Zinke’s report as well as the Trump Administration’s overall agenda on national monuments.</p>
<p>The bill includes language that gives the president the ability to shrink national monuments designated by previous presidents. The inclusion appears to implicitly admit that the president does not currently have that authority. It is an interesting choice for Bishop, who has <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/02/05/513492389/utah-representative-wants-bears-ears-gone-and-he-wants-trump-to-do-it" type="external">repeatedly asked</a> the administration to reduce the size many national monuments.</p>
<p>“The only thing worth applauding with this bill is that Chairman Bishop has finally joined the overwhelming majority of legal experts in recognizing the President lacks the authority to reduce protections for existing national monuments, like Bears Ears,” Dan Hartinger, deputy director of parks and public lands defense at The Wilderness Society, said in <a href="http://wilderness.org/press-release/assaulting-public-lands-rep-bishop-bill-declares-%E2%80%9Cno-new-parks%E2%80%9D" type="external">a statement</a>. “The introduction of this bill and the misguided provision to authorize boundary reductions via Executive Order makes it clear that even the Chairman recognizes that attempts to rollback national monument boundaries would be illegal under the current law.”</p>
<p>Both bills will receive a vote during the meeting, scheduled for Wednesday at 4 p.m.</p>
<p>Update:&#160;Bishop’s Antiquities Act bill passed committee&#160;on a partisan vote of 23-17. Grijalva’s resolution failed along the same lines.</p> | House considers bill to prohibit national monuments that protect oceans | true | https://thinkprogress.org/house-bill-limit-presidential-authority-monuments-b44751cedee4/ | 2017-10-11 | 4 |
<p>Clark County commissioners on Tuesday will consider suing pharmaceutical companies to recover money spent fighting opioid addiction and paying for its consequences.</p>
<p>If commissioners authorize the district attorney’s office to pursue litigation, Clark County would join states, cities and counties across the U.S. suing manufacturers and distributors of painkillers.</p>
<p>Addiction and overdoses linked to opioids — which run the gamut from prescription pills to heroin — have become an epidemic nationwide and close to home.</p>
<p>“Since 2008 more people have died in Clark County from an opioid overdose than motor vehicle accidents or firearms,” said Kathryn Barker, an epidemiologist with the Southern Nevada Health District. “In Clark County about 85 percent of the fatal overdoses are from prescription painkillers.”</p>
<p>&lt;img src="http://res.cloudinary.com/stephens-media/image/upload/v1512166151/RJ/Opioid_Related_Deaths.jpg" alt="Clark County's opioid toll" width="100%" height="auto /"&gt;</p>
<p />
<p>Nationally, 91 people die a day from an opioid overdose, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>
<p>From 2000 through 2015, more than 4,000 people died in Clark County from opioid overdoses, according to the health district. And major hospitals in Clark County have charged patients close to $110 million for treatment related to opioid abuse.</p>
<p>“The overprescribing (of opioids) … impacts our homeless population. They impact our jail. They impact our court system. They impact our social services,” Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said. “Those are all costs linked to addiction.”</p>
<p>President Donald Trump declared opioid addiction a public health emergency in October. Gov. Last year Brian Sandoval hosted a State Summit on Prescription Drug Abuse, a group that has since evolved into the Opioid State Action Accountability Taskforce.</p>
<p>In Southern Nevada, the epidemic’s costs have fallen heavily on the county, which funds the Metropolitan Police Department and University Medical Center of Southern Nevada and provides social services in a region that’s home to more than 2 million Nevadans.</p>
<p>Giunchigliani and Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak, both seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, requested the discussion about a potential lawsuit.</p>
<p>“The citizens of Clark County have suffered greatly as a result of this opioid epidemic, and I think we need to hold these drug manufacturers accountable,” Sisolak said. “I think they have misled not only the doctors and pharmacists but also the patients in terms of the addictive nature of these narcotics, and we’ve got a lifetime of suffering as a result of that.”</p>
<p>AG’s office uncertain</p>
<p>Clark County is not the first jurisdiction in Nevada to consider suing the drug makers.</p>
<p>Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve this year announced she wants to sue opioid manufacturers and distributors. State Attorney General Adam Laxalt has urged the city not to do so, arguing that such a lawsuit could undermine an ongoing multi-state investigation into how those companies contributed to the opioid epidemic. Nevada and the other participating states hope to reach a financial settlement with drug manufacturers.</p>
<p>A document prepared for the Clark County Commission meeting on Tuesday says the county’s “prospective lawsuit will not conflict with or interfere with any efforts of the attorney general.”</p>
<p>Still, AG spokeswoman Monica Moazez said in a statement Thursday that her office believes “Nevada is best positioned in the bipartisan multi-state effort of 40 attorneys general.”</p>
<p>“We hope that any lawsuits by local jurisdictions do not unintentionally undermine our ongoing bipartisan investigation,” Moazez wrote.</p>
<p>At least one manufacturer may be pursuing a settlement with the attorneys general. Bloomberg reported Thursday that Purdue Pharma LP, the maker of OxyContin, announced this week that it is in “negotiations” with the states.</p>
<p>Moazez said the attorney general’s office could not discuss any settlement negotiations.</p>
<p>County staff declined an interview about their potential lawsuit, but the meeting document states that the district attorney’s office has requested the commission’s permission to file a lawsuit with the help of Las Vegas personal injury law firm Eglet Prince.</p>
<p>The firm last month filed a class-action lawsuit in Clark County District Court against a manufacturer of bump stocks — a device that speeds the rate of fire of semi-automatic weapons — following the Route 91 Harvest festival mass shooting.</p>
<p>Eglet Prince has agreed to represent the county at no upfront cost, county spokesman Erik Pappa said. The firm is requesting up to 25 percent of any damages won. Eglet Prince did not respond to a request for an interview.</p>
<p>Contact Michael Scott Davidson at <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a> or 702-477-3861. Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/@davidsonlvrj" type="external">@davidsonlvrj</a> on Twitter.</p> | Clark County may sue to recover opioid epidemic expenses | false | https://reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/clark-county/clark-county-may-sue-to-recover-opioid-epidemic-expenses/ | 2017-12-01 | 1 |
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<p /> JARED BALL, PRODUCER, TRNN: What's up world, and welcome back to the Real News Network. I'm Jared Ball here in Baltimore.
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<p />The industrial revolution may have been initiated more than 250 years ago, but more than 50 percent of all industrial carbon emissions have been released into the atmosphere just since 1988. And according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, for nearly three decades many of the world's largest fossil fuel companies have knowingly worked to deceive the public about the realities and risks of climate change.
<p />
<p />So what exactly did fossil fuel companies know and when did they know it? Here to discuss the report, the Climate Deception Dossiers, based on the internal fossil fuel industry memos and how they revealed decades of corporate disinformation, is Nancy Cole. Cole is the campaign director for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. She is one of the authors of the Climate Deception Dossiers and is a corporate campaigning veteran.
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<p />Nancy Cole, welcome to the Real News Network.
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<p />NANCY COLE, CAMPAIGN DIR. CLIMATE AND ENERGY PROGRAM, UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS: Thanks a lot.
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<p />BALL: So as I know, your work is in, largely in response to those who are denying climate change. What is it, as you've said in this report, the real climate hoax?
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<p />COLE: Well, the real climate hoax is actually the lies and deceptions that the fossil fuel industry has been playing on the American public and our policymakers.
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<p />And what I mean by that is that the big oil and gas companies, all household names that you would know, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, ConocoPhillips, and then a lot of the big coal companies in this country including Peabody Energy, have for decades in a sort of concentrated campaign, worked to sow doubt. And what I mean by that is to convince the public and policymakers that climate science is uncertain, or it's not real and that we shouldn't take steps to reduce our carbon emissions, which is the primary heat trapping gas, in order to slow down climate change. So we have been hoodwinked.
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<p />BALL: And what are some of the ways that you detail in your report that this has been carried out? I know you talked a little bit about scientists literally being paid off. And perhaps there's I believe also a great impact on the way legislation in this country is developed. Could you tell us a little bit about how this deception is carried out?
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<p />COLE: Absolutely. Now, the fossil fuel industry really just took their lead from the tobacco industry and used many of the same techniques or strategies that were successful for tobacco. So one thing they did is they basically identified so-called independent scientists who could carry their message. I mean, who would listen to a fossil fuel company scientist that they said climate change wasn't real, or CO2 wasn't harmful. But they would listen to more independent science voices.
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<p />So one of the Dossier's documents, payments to a scientist at the Harvard Smithsonian Institute, has been paid by ExxonMobil and other fossil fuel interests for many years.
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<p />BALL: At $1.2 million, right?
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<p />COLE: Yes. A lot of--in fact, all his research has been funded by fossil fuel interests for the past several years.
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<p />So you know, it carries a lot of weight when a scientists from the Harvard Smithsonian Institute says that really the reason the globe is heating up is because of the sun, not because of the emissions from cars and power plants. So that's one of their tactics.
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<p />Another one of their very common tactics is to fund lobbying or front groups in order to do their dirty work. So for example there's, one of the Dossiers is a memo from the American Petroleum Institute, which is a trade association that all the big oil and gas companies are part of. That basically lays out this whole plan about how they are going to help slow down any progress on climate and energy policy by sowing doubt about climate science. And that memo is dated 1988.
<p />
<p />Another tactic more recently, today, the Western States Fuel Association, also an industry association of the oil and gas companies, basically funds a lot of front groups so that it looks like there's grassroots opposition to California's really trendsetting efforts to reduce carbon emissions. And there's a bill in front of the California Senate right now that seeks to cut California's use of oil by about 50 percent. And sure enough, right on cue, this petroleum association, this trade association started tweeting out a bunch of absolutely false infographics all around California suggesting that if this bill passed gas would be rationed in the state, and that is just a lie.
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<p />BALL: Yeah, unfortunately we've seen a lot of this in a lot of different areas. The astroturfing of grassroots campaigns.
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<p />You also talk a little bit about an internal Exxon memo that you all discovered. Could you tell us briefly what you discovered in that, maybe as a teaser for those who haven't read your full report yet.
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<p />COLE: Absolutely. This was interesting. One of our researchers kind of stumbled upon an email that was sent from a former ExxonMobil scientist, basically saying, basically acknowledging that ExxonMobil knew about the dangers of CO2, carbon dioxide, and was making business decisions based on that information as far back as 1981.
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<p />So that means that for over three decades, for 34 years, we know for sure that Exxon has known about the dangers of CO2, knew that their products were dangerous and harmful, and were making business decisions based on that information. And yet what they did publicly, outwardly, to people like us and to policymakers was basically deny, deny the truth about climate change and keep producing a product that they knew was harmful.
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<p />BALL: Nancy Cole, thank you very much for joining us here at the Real News Network to talk about your report, the Climate Deception Dossiers. We really appreciate you taking the time.
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<p />COLE: Thanks. I mean, if people want to see more about the report they should check out our website at UCSUSA.org.
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<p />BALL: And thank you for joining us here at the Real News Network. And for all involved, I'm Jared Ball. And as Fred Hampton used to say, to you we say peace if you're willing to fight for it. Peace, everybody. Catch you in the whirlwind.
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<p />End
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<p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy. | The "Real" Climate Hoax Is Not the One Claimed by Big Business | true | http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D14258 | 2015-07-16 | 4 |
<p>Donald Trump recently returned from meeting with the other powerful countries of the G20 group — one of his first big performances on the world stage. So how did it go?</p>
<p>Not swell, according to <a href="" type="internal">a no-holds-barred account</a> delivered by Chris Uhlmann, an Australian journalist. Uhlmann made four main points about how the rest of the world sees the U.S. president.</p>
<p>First, Uhlmann charged, Trump has “no desire or capacity to lead the world.” He called him “a man who barks out bile in 140 characters” and “wastes his precious days as president at war with the west’s institutions, like the judiciary, independent government agencies, and the free press.”</p>
<p>It’s hard to refute that latter point. How much time has Trump wasted watching cable news, or insisting that he got more votes or had bigger crowds at his inauguration than he really did?</p>
<p>How much time has our entire country wasted focusing on nasty tweets, such as the recent one claiming that TV personality Mika Brzezinski has a low IQ?</p>
<p>Second, Uhlmann concluded, Trump “craves power because it burnishes his celebrity. To be constantly talking and talked about is all that matters.” Worse still, he said, “There’s no value placed on the meaning of words. What’s said one day can be discarded the next.”</p>
<p>That’s a reasonable conclusion about an administration whose lies are flimsy and easily debunked, but delivered forcefully all the same. Moreover, Trump himself has shown little shame in making hateful remarks that would embarrass any other leader, from making fun of a disabled journalist to bragging about sexually assaulting women.</p>
<p>Third, Uhlmann warned, one must not “confuse the speeches written for Trump with the thoughts of the man himself,” because ” it’s the unscripted Trump that’s real.”</p>
<p>Again, he isn’t wrong. This can be said to some degree of all presidents. The words of a speechwriter or the tactics of a clever political strategist may be executed at the White House, but they don’t necessarily represent the thoughts or feelings of the president.</p>
<p>This is less of a problem when written speeches and unscripted remarks are similar. But Trump often reads a well-scripted speech and then turns around right afterward to make entirely contradictory off the cuff remarks.</p>
<p>And last, Uhlmann assessed, as a result of all this, “the G20 became the G19” and “the U.S. was left isolated and friendless.”</p>
<p>You may disagree with parts of this assessment. Perhaps you like Trump. Maybe you think his policy proposals are good ones.</p>
<p>But it’s impossible to refute this last point — that under Trump, the U.S. has forfeited its position of leadership in the world.&#160;Note that the other 19 countries had&#160;to issue <a href="" type="internal">their own statement</a>&#160;about addressing climate change, now that Trump has&#160;pulled the U.S. out of those discussions.</p>
<p>Leadership can only occur when others recognize the authority of and follow the leader. I could declare myself leader of the free world right now, but nobody would buy into such a claim.</p>
<p>Therefore, whether Americans agree with other nations or not — on trade, on climate change, on anything — Americans have no choice but to earn their respect and cooperation if we wish to be a world leader.</p>
<p>At present, under Trump, our country is not doing that.</p>
<p>You can call German Angela Merkel or Chinese Premier Xi Jinping any names you want. But until our country elects someone who can work constructively with them, our global influence is going to suffer.</p>
<p>And, correspondingly, our ability to achieve any goal that requires international cooperation will suffer as well.</p>
<p>Distributed by OtherWords.</p> | Is This How the World Sees Us Now? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/07/14/is-this-how-the-world-sees-us-now/ | 2017-07-14 | 4 |
<p>It goes without saying that the The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/us/politics/donald-trump-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn.html" type="external">report</a> on former FBI Director James Comey's memorandum indicating that President Trump <a href="" type="internal">asked</a> him to go easy on Mike Flynn created an earthquake in the media. The mainstream media went berserk, throwing out accusations of obstruction of justice while alt-media talked about intelligence community conspiracies to punish Trump for firing Comey. As Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro wrote last night, both narratives <a href="" type="internal">could be true, false, or a mix of either or.</a></p>
<p>However, Sara Fischer of Axios wrote a story claiming that Fox News completely ignored the Comey memo.</p>
<p>Here is Fischer's evidence that Fox News did not cover the Comey memo:</p>
<p>In the 8 p.m. hour: Fox host Tucker Carlson discussed the Clinton Foundation, a tax provision in NY targeting Trump and a show cancellation, while Chris Hayes on MSNBC and Anderson Cooper on CNN focused almost exclusively on the Comey memo. At one point, NYC Councilman Corey Johnson told Tucker Carlson on his Trump NYC tax bill segment: "I'm just a lowly city council member. There's bigger news today than this."</p>
<p>In the 9 p.m. hour: Fox's Jesse Waters on "The Five" called the Comey revelations a "fake scandal," and Fox's Kim Guilfoyle suggested Comey may have made up the memo, while Rachel Maddow focused almost exclusively on the Comey scandal and CNN aired its exclusive with Sally Yates and focused on the Comey memo.</p>
<p>In the 10 p.m. hour: Sean Hannity opened with a graphic reading "Washington Post WRONG AGAIN," and called a CNN coverage of the Washington Post Russia report "fake news." MSNBC continued to nearly exclusively cover the Comey scandal while CNN featured a town hall with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. John Kasich where the Comey memo was discussed.</p>
<p>However, Fischer's article solely relies on three hours of coverage since The New York Times broke the story, purposefully ignoring other times. Low and behold, it does not take much research to discover that Fischer's article was incorrect. Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes summarizes it perfectly:</p>
<p>Here is Bret Baier's hour-long Special Report at 6 PM discussing the Comey memo:</p>
<p />
<p>Here is Baier reporting on the Comey memo at 11 PM last night:</p>
<p />
<p>Follow Elliott on <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliottRHams" type="external">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ElliottRHams/" type="external">Facebook</a></p> | Axios Reporter Sara Fischer Claims Fox News Ignored Comey Memo. That's Not True. | true | https://dailywire.com/news/16579/moron-alert-axios-reporter-sara-fischer-claims-fox-elliott-hamilton | 2017-05-17 | 0 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Couch, 19, has been in custody since last year as a condition of his probation for killing four people in a drunken driving crash in 2013.</p>
<p>Last month, Couch’s attorneys Reagan Wynn and Scott Brown filed a petition for a writ of mandamus, arguing that state District Judge Wayne Salvant did not have the authority last April to send Couch to the Tarrant County Jail for 720 days.</p>
<p>The petition said that Couch’s case should not have been transferred to Salvant’s Criminal District Court No. 2 because it should be treated as a civil matter.</p>
<p>The attorneys have also argued that Salvant has a financial interest in Couch’s case because Couch could sue the judge for wrongful incarceration.</p>
<p>Wynn and Brown have been fighting Salvant’s ruling for almost a year. Their motion to remove Salvant from the case was denied by administrative judge in September. The 2nd Court of Appeals denied the appeal in February.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Couch first drew attention in June 2013, when he crashed his Ford F-150 pickup into several good Samaritans helping the driver of a disabled vehicle, killing four people in southern Tarrant County.</p>
<p>At his trial, a psychologist testified that Couch had not learned right from wrong because of his parents and his wealthy upbringing, a condition the psychologist called “affluenza.”</p>
<p>In December 2015, Couch skipped a probation appointment and fled to Mexico with his mother, Tonya Couch, after a video surfaced that appeared to show him partying, a violation of his probation. The Couches were captured in Puerto Vallarta several weeks later.</p>
<p>Tonya Couch was later indicted on charges of money laundering and hindering the apprehension of a fugitive. She is awaiting trial.</p> | Texas Supreme Court denies ‘affluenza’ teen’s appeal for new judge | false | https://abqjournal.com/988131/texas-supreme-court-denies-affluenza-teens-appeal-for-new-judge.html | 2 |
|
<p>State agencies across the country are reporting a rise in child abuse and neglect as the economy deteriorates. Also, law enforcement officials, looking at past recessions, are predicting an increase in abuse. As parents with dwindling resources fall prey to their demons, state safety nets simply can't stand up to the increased strain.</p>
<p>Reuters:</p>
<p>Similar stories have surfaced in other regions, according to anecdotal and official reports. The Illinois department of child and family services, for example, reported a 5.8 percent rise in child abuse cases in the state in 2008. In the Chicago area, child abuse cases rose more than 9 percent last year.</p>
<p>Child abuse cases in Ohio, a state hit hard by the recession, topped 100,000 for the first time in 2007 and have continued to rise, according to the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, a nonprofit association of agencies charged with child protection.</p>
<p />
<p>"Many of our county agency directors tell us their child abuse reports have risen," said the group's director, Crystal Ward Allen, whose agency relies heavily on local revenue drawn from property taxes, which have collapsed in the recession.</p>
<p>"Our basic safety net is really faltering," she said.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE53F00Y20090416" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Economy Hits Parents, Parents Hit Kids | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/economy-hits-parents-parents-hit-kids/ | 2009-04-16 | 4 |
<p>Financial columnist Paul Krugman, trying to make sense of the Lehman Brothers debacle, warns that “the defenses set up to prevent a return of those bank runs, mainly deposit insurance and access to credit lines with the Federal Reserve, only protect the guys in the marble buildings, who aren’t at the heart of the current crisis. That creates the real possibility that 2008 could be 1931 revisited.”</p>
<p>Paul Krugman in the New York Times:</p>
<p>And here’s the thing: The defenses set up to prevent a return of those bank runs, mainly deposit insurance and access to credit lines with the Federal Reserve, only protect the guys in the marble buildings, who aren’t at the heart of the current crisis. That creates the real possibility that 2008 could be 1931 revisited.</p>
<p>Now, policy makers are aware of the risks — before he was given responsibility for saving the world, Ben Bernanke was one of our leading experts on the economics of the Great Depression. So over the past year the Fed and the Treasury have orchestrated a series of ad hoc rescue plans. Special credit lines with unpronounceable acronyms were made available to nondepository institutions. The Fed and the Treasury brokered a deal that protected Bear’s counterparties — those on the other side of its deals — though not its stockholders. And just last week the Treasury seized control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant government-sponsored mortgage lenders.</p>
<p />
<p>But the consequences of those rescues are making officials nervous. For one thing, they’re taking big risks with taxpayer money. For example, today much of the Fed’s portfolio is tied up in loans backed by dubious collateral. Also, officials are worried that their rescue efforts will encourage even more risky behavior in the future. After all, it’s starting to look as if the rule is heads you win, tails the taxpayers lose.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/opinion/15krugman.html?_r=1&amp;ref=opinion&amp;oref=slogin" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Krugman on Bank Collapse and '1931 Revisited' | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/krugman-on-bank-collapse-and-1931-revisited/ | 2008-09-16 | 4 |
<p />
<p>Want to save some cash while holiday shopping? The best tool can be a smartphone packed with the right apps.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Some apps give you coupons you can hand to the cashier to scan, while others let you flip through advertising deals and promotions. Others let you scan barcodes at the store and check if there are cheaper options online.</p>
<p>I found four apps to recommend after testing more than a dozen over the past month. All four are easy to use and nicely designed.</p>
<p>Before you hit the mall, though, you might want to turn off notifications for these apps. Some of them will send you an alert every time a deal pops up, which can get annoying.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>— Retale (available for Apple and Android devices)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Promotional circulars found in newspapers can now be delivered to your phone or tablet. Open the Retale app to get fliers for stores near you. I found circulars for Macy's, Target, Toys R Us, Best Buy and other national retailers.</p>
<p>If a circular has coupons, Retale slaps a small green icon with scissors on it. This way, you don't have to sift through each page to find them. When you open a circular with coupons, you simply tap it once to "clip" all the coupons. That places them into a separate folder to use when you get to the store. At Macy's, I used a 20 percent discount coupon that was scanned from the app at the register. You can also print out coupons if you prefer.</p>
<p>I tried four different apps that digitize circulars, but Retale was the easiest to use and had the best design.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>— RetailMeNot (available for Apple and Android devices)</p>
<p>I tested several coupon apps, but I end up coming back to RetailMeNot. It's easy to use, and its map function can find deals at stores near you.</p>
<p>Tap the heart icon to select your favorite shops. You'll be able to see deals at those stores quickly when you open the app. I used a 20 percent off coupon at Best Buy, saving me about $10 off a $50 Magic Bullet blender set.</p>
<p>You get both in-store coupons and codes for stores' websites. While I was at Gap and Steve Madden, for instance, there wasn't a coupon available for in-store use. But I saw a 30 percent coupon for Gap.com and a 20 percent coupon for SteveMadden.com, so I left and bought the items online.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>— Amazon and RedLaser (available for Apple, Android and Windows devices)</p>
<p>Price matching is spreading to more stores, and you'll need these two apps to do it. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the latest company to promise to match cheaper prices you find online. Other retailers, including Best Buy Co. Inc., Target Inc. and Toys R Us Inc., have been price matching for a few years.</p>
<p>Use the Amazon App to scan barcodes of items in the retail store and see how much the online retailer charges. If you find a better price, show the app to a cashier. To find prices elsewhere, use RedLaser. The app, which is owned by eBay Inc., shows prices for other online stores when you scan a barcode.</p>
<p>Policies vary, and retailers typically accept matches only from specific rivals. For example, all of them exclude third-party merchants that use Amazon. The item shown on the Amazon App must be sold and shipped by Amazon.com Inc. I was rejected at Best Buy for one item sold by a third party. With RedLaser, the store will honor only some prices found. Target, for instance, accepts online matches from its own website, Amazon, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Toys R Us. So if you find a lower price at Sears or Kmart, you still have to pay the regular price.</p>
<p>Even with those restrictions, I have still gotten cashiers at Best Buy and Target to knock as much as $15 off an item.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Joseph Pisani on Twitter at https://twitter.com/josephpisani</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>Amazon: http://amzn.to/11Q7Fp7</p>
<p>RedLaser: http://redlaser.com</p>
<p>Retale: http://www.retale.com</p>
<p>RetailMeNot: http://www.retailmenot.com/mobile</p> | Review: 4 Shopping Apps That Will Save You Money | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/11/26/review-heading-to-mall-take-these-4-shopping-apps-with-to-save.html | 2016-03-05 | 0 |
<p>CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's president has finally announced he will run for a second, four-year term in elections in March, expertly choosing to break the news and do some not-too-subtle vote-canvassing on live television before an adoring audience of government members, hardcore supporters and powerful media figures.</p>
<p>A general-turned-president with authoritarian practices, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's announcement confirmed what was long expected and paved the way for his virtually certain triumph in the March 26-28 vote.</p>
<p>The closing session of a three-day conference called to assess his performance in office offered el-Sissi a perfectly-timed opportunity to list what's been touted as his achievements. He used the platform to reach out to voters with a mixture of affected humility and fear-mongering appeals to national interests.</p>
<p>His announcement came hours before another graduate of Egypt's powerful military institution, former chief of staff Sami Annan, said he too would run, and immediately sniped at the incumbent.</p>
<p>"I call on the state's civilian and military institutions to be neutral and not unconstitutionally biased in favor of a president who may leave his post within months," he said in a video statement posted on his Facebook account.</p>
<p>A comfortable win for el-Sissi is all but certain given that no serious threat to his re-election is likely to come from any of the presidential hopefuls announced so far, Annan included. Moreover, el-Sissi has the vast resources of the state, including its media, at his disposal to promote himself and speak directly to voters. His rivals have had virtually no access to the media and are ruthlessly vilified or mocked by el-Sissi loyalists who dominate TV talk shows and newspapers.</p>
<p>"I find myself standing once again before my national conscience ... asking you to accept my candidacy for the position of president of the republic so I can win your trust for a second presidential term," el-Sissi said late Friday to a standing ovation, cheers, women's ululations and "long live Egypt!" — the president's favorite chant.</p>
<p>"Don't give your vote except to someone you trust to take care of your affairs," he said, "You must choose very carefully because you will hand over to him (the winner) your future and the future of your children and grandchildren."</p>
<p>He added that he would never allow anyone "corrupt" to take his place.</p>
<p>"Can I be aware that someone is a thief and silently allow him to sit on this chair?" a charged el-Sissi put to the crowd, "God will hold me accountable and ask me why I remained silent. Egypt is bigger, dearer, more honorable and dignified than to be ruled by bad people."</p>
<p>His comment drew criticism by prominent rights lawyer Nasser Amin who warned in a Facebook post that it broke the law and breached the constitution. "The implications of this comment are dangerous and worrying and means that the election will be run according to the views of one candidate," he wrote.</p>
<p>El-Sissi has often said he wants to establish a modern civil state in Egypt, but his policies have raised questions over whether he actually believes in universal democratic principles and freedoms. His public discourse has almost exclusively been focused on his efforts to revive an ailing economy and the infrastructure "mega projects" he has overseen.</p>
<p>As defense minister, el-Sissi led the military's 2013 ouster of Egypt's first freely elected leader, the Islamist Mohammed Morsi, whose one-year rule proved divisive. He has since overseen a harsh crackdown on the opposition, jailing thousands of Islamists along with hundreds of secular activists, including prominent figures from the 2011 uprising that toppled the regime of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.</p>
<p>Street protests have been effectively banned, human rights groups have been placed under severe restrictions and many critics in the media have been silenced, measures el-Sissi describes as necessary to restore stability, rebuild the economy after years of unrest and fight an Islamic State-led insurgency.</p>
<p>Fielding questions submitted online at the invitation of his office, el-Sissi on Friday night dodged one on human rights, and another on the exclusion of political parties, but instead repeated his signature argument that his view of human rights prioritizes the right to jobs, decent housing and reliable education and health services.</p>
<p>"There are many other rights whose violation is crueler than violating political rights," he said.</p>
<p>But the president appeared more accommodating when he spoke of rights for women, whose support has been crucial for el-Sissi.</p>
<p>On Friday, he strongly admonished men who harass women, a widespread practice in Egypt that affects both homemakers and working women. He scolded harassers: "Shame on you!" He also praised women's role in families and, as he has frequently done before, spoke compassionately about his late mother, boasting that he helped her with house chores while growing up in Cairo's medieval quarter of al-Hussein.</p>
<p>"When we had people over for a meal, I prepared the table with her," he said to a round of applause.</p>
<p>"Manliness is something totally different from what people know here in Egypt," he said, alluding to the chauvinistic nature of Egyptian society and the common reluctance by men to help out at home.</p>
<p>El-Sissi appointed two more women to the Cabinet earlier this month, raising to an all-time high of six the number of women in his government.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Menna Zaki contributed to this report.</p>
<p>CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's president has finally announced he will run for a second, four-year term in elections in March, expertly choosing to break the news and do some not-too-subtle vote-canvassing on live television before an adoring audience of government members, hardcore supporters and powerful media figures.</p>
<p>A general-turned-president with authoritarian practices, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's announcement confirmed what was long expected and paved the way for his virtually certain triumph in the March 26-28 vote.</p>
<p>The closing session of a three-day conference called to assess his performance in office offered el-Sissi a perfectly-timed opportunity to list what's been touted as his achievements. He used the platform to reach out to voters with a mixture of affected humility and fear-mongering appeals to national interests.</p>
<p>His announcement came hours before another graduate of Egypt's powerful military institution, former chief of staff Sami Annan, said he too would run, and immediately sniped at the incumbent.</p>
<p>"I call on the state's civilian and military institutions to be neutral and not unconstitutionally biased in favor of a president who may leave his post within months," he said in a video statement posted on his Facebook account.</p>
<p>A comfortable win for el-Sissi is all but certain given that no serious threat to his re-election is likely to come from any of the presidential hopefuls announced so far, Annan included. Moreover, el-Sissi has the vast resources of the state, including its media, at his disposal to promote himself and speak directly to voters. His rivals have had virtually no access to the media and are ruthlessly vilified or mocked by el-Sissi loyalists who dominate TV talk shows and newspapers.</p>
<p>"I find myself standing once again before my national conscience ... asking you to accept my candidacy for the position of president of the republic so I can win your trust for a second presidential term," el-Sissi said late Friday to a standing ovation, cheers, women's ululations and "long live Egypt!" — the president's favorite chant.</p>
<p>"Don't give your vote except to someone you trust to take care of your affairs," he said, "You must choose very carefully because you will hand over to him (the winner) your future and the future of your children and grandchildren."</p>
<p>He added that he would never allow anyone "corrupt" to take his place.</p>
<p>"Can I be aware that someone is a thief and silently allow him to sit on this chair?" a charged el-Sissi put to the crowd, "God will hold me accountable and ask me why I remained silent. Egypt is bigger, dearer, more honorable and dignified than to be ruled by bad people."</p>
<p>His comment drew criticism by prominent rights lawyer Nasser Amin who warned in a Facebook post that it broke the law and breached the constitution. "The implications of this comment are dangerous and worrying and means that the election will be run according to the views of one candidate," he wrote.</p>
<p>El-Sissi has often said he wants to establish a modern civil state in Egypt, but his policies have raised questions over whether he actually believes in universal democratic principles and freedoms. His public discourse has almost exclusively been focused on his efforts to revive an ailing economy and the infrastructure "mega projects" he has overseen.</p>
<p>As defense minister, el-Sissi led the military's 2013 ouster of Egypt's first freely elected leader, the Islamist Mohammed Morsi, whose one-year rule proved divisive. He has since overseen a harsh crackdown on the opposition, jailing thousands of Islamists along with hundreds of secular activists, including prominent figures from the 2011 uprising that toppled the regime of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.</p>
<p>Street protests have been effectively banned, human rights groups have been placed under severe restrictions and many critics in the media have been silenced, measures el-Sissi describes as necessary to restore stability, rebuild the economy after years of unrest and fight an Islamic State-led insurgency.</p>
<p>Fielding questions submitted online at the invitation of his office, el-Sissi on Friday night dodged one on human rights, and another on the exclusion of political parties, but instead repeated his signature argument that his view of human rights prioritizes the right to jobs, decent housing and reliable education and health services.</p>
<p>"There are many other rights whose violation is crueler than violating political rights," he said.</p>
<p>But the president appeared more accommodating when he spoke of rights for women, whose support has been crucial for el-Sissi.</p>
<p>On Friday, he strongly admonished men who harass women, a widespread practice in Egypt that affects both homemakers and working women. He scolded harassers: "Shame on you!" He also praised women's role in families and, as he has frequently done before, spoke compassionately about his late mother, boasting that he helped her with house chores while growing up in Cairo's medieval quarter of al-Hussein.</p>
<p>"When we had people over for a meal, I prepared the table with her," he said to a round of applause.</p>
<p>"Manliness is something totally different from what people know here in Egypt," he said, alluding to the chauvinistic nature of Egyptian society and the common reluctance by men to help out at home.</p>
<p>El-Sissi appointed two more women to the Cabinet earlier this month, raising to an all-time high of six the number of women in his government.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Menna Zaki contributed to this report.</p> | Sure to win, Egypt's president seeks re-election | false | https://apnews.com/amp/9ea53b24cdab4cf6a5eae5c2e6bf625b | 2018-01-20 | 2 |
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday evening’s drawing of the “Powerball” game were:</p>
<p>03-09-16-56-60, Powerball: 3, Power Play: 3</p>
<p>(three, nine, sixteen, fifty-six, sixty; Powerball: three; Power Play: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $337 million</p>
<p>¶ ___ ¶ Online: ¶ Multi-State Lottery Association: <a href="http://www.powerball.com/" type="external">http://www.powerball.com/</a></p>
<p>ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday evening’s drawing of the “Powerball” game were:</p>
<p>03-09-16-56-60, Powerball: 3, Power Play: 3</p>
<p>(three, nine, sixteen, fifty-six, sixty; Powerball: three; Power Play: three)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $337 million</p>
<p>¶ ___ ¶ Online: ¶ Multi-State Lottery Association: <a href="http://www.powerball.com/" type="external">http://www.powerball.com/</a></p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Powerball’ game | false | https://apnews.com/be030a49570d4ddc885830d0f45ec161 | 2017-12-28 | 2 |
<p>FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (AP) — Sleepy Hollow has the legend of the Headless Horseman. Does a community 150 miles farther up the Hudson River have a Headless Ranger buried in an unmarked cemetery from the 18th century?</p>
<p>In the middle of the Hudson sits Rogers Island, site of a 34-acre parcel considered the birthplace of today's U.S. Army Rangers. The town and village of Fort Edward had long sought purchase of the land and with its completion also gained control of an unmarked Colonial-era cemetery that could hold the remains of hundreds of people, including some of the famous frontier fighters known as Rogers' Rangers.</p>
<p>In 2006, a local couple who served as caretakers for the then-privately owned property uncovered seven human skeletons buried at the site, including one that was missing its skull. State archaeologist later determined the burials were likely part of cemetery dating back to the French and Indian War (1754-63), when Fort Edward was Britain's largest fortification in North America. The skeletons were reburied where they were found, and no excavations have been conducted at the site since.</p>
<p>But six weeks after closing on the decade-long effort to purchase the island property, local officials are starting to think about what's needed to turn the overgrown, undeveloped parcel into a public park that will draw tourists to this economically struggling riverside community 45 miles north of Albany.</p>
<p>The immediate plans will include trails and signage detailing Fort Edward's key role in the war that set the stage for the American Revolution. So far there have been no discussions on whether to leave the burial site alone or allow archaeologists to return and search for more graves.</p>
<p>"There's not going to be any digging right now," said Neal Orsini, a restaurant owner who serves on the town board. "I'm sure down the road there will be discussions about that. We just want to get a basic road map of how to move forward."</p>
<p>More than 250 years ago, Rogers Island was part of a sprawling British fortification that was home to more than 16,000 British and Colonial American soldiers and civilians, making it the third-largest city in the 13 colonies, behind only Philadelphia and Boston. The island, named for Maj. Robert Rogers of New Hampshire, was the base of operations for the frontiersmen he led on scouting and raiding missions in the northern forest.</p>
<p>In 1757, after a string of British military disasters, Rogers wrote his "Rules of Ranging," 28 guidelines for waging guerrilla warfare in the North American wilderness. They've since been revised and shortened to 19 by the Army Rangers, who still use them to train Ranger candidates at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Rangers consider Fort Edward, especially Rogers Island, to be hallowed ground.</p>
<p>State archaeologist Christina Rieth led the team that examined the skeletons after they were found eight years ago. She said all seven were intact, except one that was missing its skull. It couldn't be determined if that body was originally buried without its head, Rieth said.</p>
<p>None of the skeletons have been identified. If they are from the French and Indian War, it's likely they were either Colonial militiamen or British regulars, or possibly some of the hundreds of Rangers encamped at Fort Edward during the war, said David Starbuck, who has led archaeological digs here since the early 1990s but never found the cemetery.</p>
<p>"Very few French and Indian War cemeteries have been located," Starbuck said. "After years of archaeology on that island, we always wondered where the dead soldiers might be."</p>
<p>FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (AP) — Sleepy Hollow has the legend of the Headless Horseman. Does a community 150 miles farther up the Hudson River have a Headless Ranger buried in an unmarked cemetery from the 18th century?</p>
<p>In the middle of the Hudson sits Rogers Island, site of a 34-acre parcel considered the birthplace of today's U.S. Army Rangers. The town and village of Fort Edward had long sought purchase of the land and with its completion also gained control of an unmarked Colonial-era cemetery that could hold the remains of hundreds of people, including some of the famous frontier fighters known as Rogers' Rangers.</p>
<p>In 2006, a local couple who served as caretakers for the then-privately owned property uncovered seven human skeletons buried at the site, including one that was missing its skull. State archaeologist later determined the burials were likely part of cemetery dating back to the French and Indian War (1754-63), when Fort Edward was Britain's largest fortification in North America. The skeletons were reburied where they were found, and no excavations have been conducted at the site since.</p>
<p>But six weeks after closing on the decade-long effort to purchase the island property, local officials are starting to think about what's needed to turn the overgrown, undeveloped parcel into a public park that will draw tourists to this economically struggling riverside community 45 miles north of Albany.</p>
<p>The immediate plans will include trails and signage detailing Fort Edward's key role in the war that set the stage for the American Revolution. So far there have been no discussions on whether to leave the burial site alone or allow archaeologists to return and search for more graves.</p>
<p>"There's not going to be any digging right now," said Neal Orsini, a restaurant owner who serves on the town board. "I'm sure down the road there will be discussions about that. We just want to get a basic road map of how to move forward."</p>
<p>More than 250 years ago, Rogers Island was part of a sprawling British fortification that was home to more than 16,000 British and Colonial American soldiers and civilians, making it the third-largest city in the 13 colonies, behind only Philadelphia and Boston. The island, named for Maj. Robert Rogers of New Hampshire, was the base of operations for the frontiersmen he led on scouting and raiding missions in the northern forest.</p>
<p>In 1757, after a string of British military disasters, Rogers wrote his "Rules of Ranging," 28 guidelines for waging guerrilla warfare in the North American wilderness. They've since been revised and shortened to 19 by the Army Rangers, who still use them to train Ranger candidates at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Rangers consider Fort Edward, especially Rogers Island, to be hallowed ground.</p>
<p>State archaeologist Christina Rieth led the team that examined the skeletons after they were found eight years ago. She said all seven were intact, except one that was missing its skull. It couldn't be determined if that body was originally buried without its head, Rieth said.</p>
<p>None of the skeletons have been identified. If they are from the French and Indian War, it's likely they were either Colonial militiamen or British regulars, or possibly some of the hundreds of Rangers encamped at Fort Edward during the war, said David Starbuck, who has led archaeological digs here since the early 1990s but never found the cemetery.</p>
<p>"Very few French and Indian War cemeteries have been located," Starbuck said. "After years of archaeology on that island, we always wondered where the dead soldiers might be."</p> | A Headless Ranger? Mystery at Colonial burial site | false | https://apnews.com/amp/5ca2fa6ac84440f1ab6a692d32304e0e | 2014-10-30 | 2 |
<p>Target recently came out with a new commercial that puts down homemade costumes in favor of store-bought ones. This makes sense, since the company sells costumes and we’re in a recession where a $19.99, 100% polyester <a href="http://www.target.com/Toddler-Iron-Man-Muscle-Costume/dp/B003EM4GDS/ref=br_1_14?ie=UTF8&amp;id=Toddler%20Iron%20Man%20Muscle%20Costume&amp;node=2404187011&amp;searchSize=30&amp;searchView=list&amp;searchPage=1&amp;sr=1-14&amp;qid=1287686269&amp;rh=&amp;searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cprice%2Ctarget_com_primary_color-bin%2Ctarget_com_size-bin%2Ctarget_com_brand-bin&amp;searchRank=salesrank&amp;frombrowse=1" type="external">Iron Man toddler costume</a> may seem like a luxury. The commercial made me think of my own childhood Halloween costumes, which were all hand-made by my mother. Not only were they higher quality than the store-bought kind, they’ve lasted for generations. A Snow White costume she made for me (from real cotton and satin) lasted for more than 20 years and was handed around from family to family. In 1995, she made a matching baby-and-mama set of elephant costumes (see baby below) that still exist. I can only imagine that making a product that lasts for 20-some years, and is reused, may not be better for the environment as a whole, but may be better for landfills. I’m not sure what the carbon or water footprints of a homemade costume is versus the kind you’d buy at the store. I started looking into the carbon emissions for 3 yards of cotton versus 2 yards of polyester, but there are so many variables (shipping, manufacturing, etc) that I don’t think it’s really confirmable which is greener.</p>
<p>Of course, not every child has a parent who can, or has time to, cut a pattern, buy fabric, cut fabric, fit, and sew a costume. I definitely understand the appeal of just being able to buy one at Target and being done. Stores also have trend-based costumes, like Iron Man or Legally Blonde. I have to take issue with Target that homemade costumes are necessarily poor quality: mine won ‘best costume’ several years running. Thanks Mom!</p>
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<p /> | Target Boos Homemade Costumes | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/10/target-boos-homemade-costumes/ | 2010-10-21 | 4 |
<p>PLAINS, Ga. (RNS) — With its aging storefronts and small train depot, its graceful pecan trees and clipped fields of peanuts, cottons and hay, peace still seems possible in this tiny town.</p>
<p>And nowhere is that peace protected more fiercely than at Maranatha Baptist Church, where former President Jimmy Carter teaches adult Sunday school class two or three Sundays of every month.</p>
<p>Jan Williams, who taught Amy Carter when she was in fourth grade, is the head peacekeeper at the simple country church set in a grove of pecan trees. At 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning, Williams — known universally as ”Miss Jan” — steps out the church’s front doors and encounters a line of visitors already forming.</p>
<p />
<p>“Are you a member of the Secret Service?” a woman in the line asked, noting the men wearing earpieces who stepped out behind her.</p>
<p>“No, I’m Jan Williams. I’m in charge,” Williams said. “They say I’m too dangerous to carry a loaded gun.”</p>
<p>Even though Carter left office 30 years ago, security remains tight at the church, which is open to anyone who wants to come to Sunday school. But first they have to get past Miss Jan and the Secret Service.</p>
<p>A civilian Marine and a bomb-sniffing dog check each vehicle. Secret Service agents comb the church, sometimes checking each hymnal in the pews. Everyone who comes in, including regular members and Williams herself, is stopped as their pockets and purses are checked with a metal-detecting wand.</p>
<p>Williams was one of the Maranatha members to realize early on that if they were going to continue to enjoy Carter’s Bible-based teaching, and also keep their church open to visitors, there would have to have some rules.</p>
<p>“It was a circus,” Williams said. “People were standing up to take pictures. They were talking. It was not worship; it was entertainment. We had members going home because there was not room to sit.”</p>
<p>That’s when Williams took charge.</p>
<p>“My church maybe will have the one-time witness to someone who has never had the opportunity to hear the gospel,” Williams said. “For many, it is the first time they have ever been to church or to a Christian service.”</p>
<p>The line moves inside, guided by other members, including Williams’ husband, George, who hands out bulletins. Six visitors are seated on each row in the center section of pews; portions of the side pews are reserved for members.</p>
<p>Williams walks the conglomeration of visitors from around the world through the steps. She practices how Carter would ask where they were from and orchestrates as each section called out: China, Korea, Denmark, Brazil, and every state, it seemed, from Alabama to Wyoming.</p>
<p>Williams shows off the mahogany offering plates, and the new wooden cross hanging behind the choir loft, both of which Carter turned in his own shop. She walks through the process of staying after church if you want a picture with the Carters.</p>
<p>“Whatever you do, do not attempt to shake his hand unless he extends his first,” Williams said. “People, he’s 85 years old. How do you think germs are passed?”</p>
<p>Williams pauses in her list, lowering her gaze.</p>
<p>“Do not think that you can leave this church after Sunday school, go on down to Mom’s Kitchen to eat and then attempt to jump back into my picture line after church.”</p>
<p>Also on Miss Jan’s list of rules: “Whatever you do, do not applaud when he walks in or after the lesson,” Williams says. “He hates that. The kind of applause President Carter wants from you is that when you leave here, you will go out and live the Christian life.”</p>
<p>And that, in many ways, is what animates this small rural church. Founded in the 1970s with 29 members who split from Plains Baptist Church, Maranatha never expected to be huge; membership is now at about 130, with about 40 members coming each week.</p>
<p>But as long as Carter’s here — and hopefully, they say, even after that — the church’s outreach will arrive, quite literally, at Maranatha’s front door.</p>
<p>“This is one church that does missions without having to go anywhere,” says pastor Jeffery Summers, 36, who’s led the congregations for five years.</p>
<p>Williams closes her briefing with prayer for the guests, those in the military, and thanks God “for the man who comes to give a lesson to us today.”</p>
<p>Carter, who entered quietly during her prayer, is suddenly standing by the podium at one side, checking his microphone. On cue, he asks, already knowing the answer, “Do we have any visitors?”</p>
<p>Carter braces as cameras are raised in what Miss Jan had said would be the only photo opportunity in the church. Violators would have their cameras confiscated and turned over to the Secret Service.</p>
<p>As the cameras are put away and the Sunday school quarterlies opened, Carter becomes much more comfortable. And he should be: he’s been teaching regularly since he was 18. The text was from the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus calls Matthew, a despised publican, as his disciple.</p>
<p>“Jesus taught that what is most important is the love — of whom? Of people who are not lovely. Of people who didn’t love him back, necessarily,” Carter says.</p>
<p>“Jesus picked out the scum of the earth as an example of a person who had the proper relationship with God. He came to show that all people are equal in the eyes of God.”</p>
<p>Carter pauses and looks at the crowd.</p>
<p>“I think that’s a very disturbing lesson. If you’re a Republican, it’s hard to believe that a Democrat is equal,” he says in the only political references he made. “And I know from experience that if you’re a Democrat….”</p>
<p>The chuckles from the congregation complete his sentence.</p>
<p>Carter teaches for about 50 minutes before the organist begins a prelude of lively hymns. “You will sit down and be quiet,” Miss Jan warns, and then moves to the piano for the opening hymns. Carter takes a seat in a side pew with Rosalynn, who is on the list to provide flowers for the sanctuary May 30. A Secret Service agent stands quietly at the end of their pew.</p>
<p>Miss Jan and other members know their church functions as merely a tourist attraction for some guests, but also as a pilgrimage site of sorts for others. Why people come isn’t their problem, she said. Their mission is to do what they can to serve them once the Secret Service lets them in the door.</p>
<p>“People sometimes come looking for one thing — to see a former president and first lady in person — but when they leave, they leave with so much more,” Williams said after the service. “It is just such a blessing to provide this service to people.”</p>
<p>Kay Campbell writes for The Huntsville Times in Huntsville, Ala.</p> | At Carter’s church, former president still a draw | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/atcarterschurchformerpresidentstilladraw/ | 3 |
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<p>NYT: WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 - The investigation of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a surprising new turn on Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush.</p>
<p>The prosecutor, Noel L. Hillman, is chief of the department's public integrity division, and the move ends his involvement in an inquiry that has reached into the administration as well as the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill. | <a href="http://nytimes.com/2006/01/27/politics/27judge.html?ei=5094&amp;en=a8f7398cf9d5f0de&amp;hp=&amp;ex=1138424400&amp;partner=homepage&amp;pagewanted=print" type="external">story</a></p> | Did Bush Kick the Abramoff Prosecutor Upstairs? | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/did-bush-kick-the-abramoff-prosecutor-upstairs/ | 2006-01-28 | 4 |
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<p>FILE – In this Dec. 13, 2009 file photo, an Iraqi worker operates valves at the Rumaila oil refinery near the city of Basra, 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq. The turmoil in Iraq has thrown the OPEC member’s ambitious plans to boost oil production into doubt, threatening to crimp its most vital economic lifeline. Northern oil fields imperiled by the militants’ advance have been shut down, and companies have begun evacuating workers elsewhere in the country. Iraq’s Kurdish minority has moved to solidify control over the northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk and other disputed areas, weakening Baghdad’s claims to the energy riches buried beneath while bolstering the Kurds’ aspirations of greater autonomy. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani, File)</p>
<p>BRUSSELS — The head of OPEC, the group of major oil exporters, says recent crude price increases are to blame on market fears caused by the crisis in Iraq but not on a drop in output.</p>
<p>OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badry said Tuesday that Iraq is “still producing as normal,” with 95 percent of its capacity in the country’s south being unaffected by the violence.</p>
<p>The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the key international benchmark, has risen from a stable level of $110 held over the past four years to about $115 following the takeover of some parts of Iraq by Sunni insurgents.</p>
<p>Al-Badry says prices are not rising because of supply shortages but because the market is “nervous” and investors are speculating.</p>
<p>He adds OPEC still has spare capacity.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | OPEC: Iraq violence not causing oil output drop | false | https://abqjournal.com/420100/opec-iraq-violence-not-causing-oil-output-drop.html | 2 |
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<p>When the Federal Reserve raises U.S. interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade, it should weigh the effects on global economies and can expect some bouts of financial market volatility, a top Fed official said on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>"In the normalizing of its policy, just as when loosening policy, the Federal Reserve will take account of how its actions affect the global economy," U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said in Israel. "The actual raising of policy rates could trigger further bouts of volatility, but my best estimate is that the normalization of our policy should prove manageable for the emerging market economies."</p>
<p>Fed Chair Janet Yellen last week signaled the U.S. central bank is on track to raise rates this year, despite a weak first quarter that some analysts believe could force the Fed to wait longer before starting its first tightening cycle since 2004-2006.</p>
<p>Fischer gave no time frame for raising rates in the text of his remarks, but made it clear that higher rates are coming.</p>
<p>"Markets should not be greatly surprised by either the timing or the pace of normalization," he said, reiterating that the Fed will not raise rates until the labor market has improved further and policymakers are confident inflation is headed back to the Fed's 2 percent goal.</p>
<p>Still, he said, communications can be a "tricky business," and when the Fed does tighten, policymakers are bracing for spillovers to financial markets both at home and abroad.</p>
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<p>Some of the world's more vulnerable economies "may find the road to normalization somewhat bumpier," said Fischer, a former Bank of Israel chief who prefaced his speech with remarks in Hebrew.</p>
<p>To smooth the way, he said, the Fed will communicate its view of the economy and its policy intentions "as clearly as possible."</p>
<p>If foreign economic growth is slower than anticipated, the Fed could raise rates more slowly than otherwise, he said.</p>
<p>"We are working to ensure that our financial institutions and other market participants are prepared for the normalization of monetary policy and the return to a world of higher interest rates," Fischer said. "It is equally important that individuals, businesses, and institutions around the world do the same."</p>
<p>(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Writing by Ann Saphir; Editing by W Simon and Meredith Mazzilli)</p> | Fischer: Fed Rate Hikes May Trigger Global Volatility | true | http://foxbusiness.com/politics/2015/05/26/fischer-fed-rate-hikes-may-trigger-global-volatility.html | 2016-03-10 | 0 |
<p>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday afternoon's drawing of the Missouri Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:</p>
<p>5-3-3-6</p>
<p>(five, three, three, six)</p>
<p>JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday afternoon's drawing of the Missouri Lottery's "Pick 4 Midday" game were:</p>
<p>5-3-3-6</p>
<p>(five, three, three, six)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'Pick 4 Midday' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/eaaf44f8a0224dd0bf367a32c82bb1f1 | 2017-12-27 | 2 |
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<p>ATLANTA — Cities across the U.S. are trying to encourage the homeless to find beds of their own, not just a cot for the night. In theory, no one should stay in a shelter very long.</p>
<p>Atlanta is putting this idea to a hard, real-world test by closing its last shelter of last resort.</p>
<p>For decades, as many as 1,000 people with nowhere else to turn could come off the street at Peachtree and Pine, no questions asked. But years of litigation wore down the shelter’s operators. After epic battles against the city, tuberculosis, bed bugs and other hazards, the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless settled out of court and sold its enormous industrial building to Central Atlanta Progress, a downtown business group.</p>
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<p>Relocating the people inside will be done in a “humane manner,” Central Atlanta Progress promised ahead of this month’s slow-motion shutdown. Starting Monday, the shelter will turn away newcomers, and current residents will be gradually moved out.</p>
<p>“We’ll take it one step at a time,” said Jack Hardin, co-chairman of the Regional Commission on the Homeless, which is helping to manage the transition.</p>
<p>But no one can say where those steps will lead.</p>
<p>“It’s hard not knowing where we’re going to live,” said Laura Wheaton, 34, who has been staying at the shelter with her four children for more than a month.</p>
<p>Other Atlanta shelters are so full “that all the rest of the people are going to be left for the streets,” she said.</p>
<p>Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced a $50 million plan to place 500 chronically homeless individuals and 300 homeless families in permanent housing. But the city hasn’t acquired this housing yet, nor chosen property owners willing to operate units they develop or renovate, city spokeswoman Jenna Garland said.</p>
<p>Some might be offered one of 75 to 100 beds in a west-side building near the Fulton County Jail, more than an hour’s walk away.</p>
<p>“It’s a very big facility so we wouldn’t be using the whole facility initially,” Hardin said. “We would prefer not to open up large shelters.”</p>
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<p>Nationwide, cities that once herded the homeless into large downtown shelters are trying to quickly move them into long-term housing tailored to their needs. Some advocates say that with enough support, even people with serious mental health problems, addictions, chronic illnesses and a deep distrust of authority can sleep in their own beds.</p>
<p>This model has found success in places such as Houston and the state of Connecticut, said Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.</p>
<p>“As soon as we figure out how they get in, we need to figure out how they get out. It has to go together,” Roman said. “Otherwise, you get people living in the shelter system. It’s like if you had a hotel and no one ever left it, you have to keep building more and more hotels.”</p>
<p>Atlanta, however, is closing Peachtree-Pine without having first developed the capacity to replace it, said Anita Beaty, who retired six months ago as executive director of the task force.</p>
<p>“It’s a terrible mistake,” Beaty said. “The forces in Atlanta who don’t want homeless people visible — and certainly not on Peachtree Street — are extremely powerful.”</p>
<p>The shelter occupies some the most valuable real estate in the South, a few blocks from the 55-story Bank of America Plaza, the city’s tallest skyscraper. Its occupants mingle with business executives and theater patrons on a stretch of Peachtree that includes the iconic Fox Theatre and the Georgian Terrace Hotel, where Clark Gable and other Hollywood stars stayed for the Atlanta premiere of “Gone With The Wind.”</p>
<p>“All they want to do is build high-price housing that most people are not going to be able to afford, and that’s not just down here — that’s everywhere in the country,” said Anthony Murphy, 68, who has lived at Peachtree-Pine since 2011.</p>
<p>In 2003, shortly after it was formed, the regional commission released a 119-page “Blueprint to End Homelessness in Atlanta in Ten Years.”</p>
<p>The goal now is to make homelessness “rare, brief and non-recurring,” Reed’s office said.</p>
<p>The latest counts found 3,572 homeless people in Atlanta, including 1,567 in emergency shelters, 1,324 in transitional housing and 681 without any shelter. Ten percent — roughly 350 — are chronically homeless, the mayor’s office said.</p>
<p>Hardin said a new team of caseworkers is getting to know the Peachtree-Pine population, “so we can begin to form conclusions about what’s the best solution for those people.”</p>
<p>Nationally, homelessness declined to about 550,000 people during a nationwide count in 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said. Atlanta’s chronically homeless population declined 61 percent since 2013, the mayor’s office said.</p>
<p>“We’ve done a good job of reducing the total count,” Hardin said. “We won’t need all the shelter beds that we’ve had in the past.”</p>
<p>Others doubt that.</p>
<p>Having “low-barrier” shelter beds available to people who have been told they can’t stay elsewhere is a matter of life and death, said Carl Hartrampf, who has run the task force since Beaty left. “I believe they’re going to find out they need more than they think.”</p> | Homeless wary as Atlanta closes its last-resort shelter | false | https://abqjournal.com/1053388/atlanta-homeless-wary-as-city-closes-its-last-resort-shelter.html | 2017-08-25 | 2 |
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<p>In fact, DNA testing on hundreds of bottles of store-brand herbal supplements sold as treatments for everything from memory loss to prostate trouble found that four out of five contained none of the herbs on the label. Instead, they were packed with cheap fillers such as wheat, rice, beans or houseplants.</p>
<p>Based on the testing commissioned by his office, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Tuesday he has sent letters to the four major store chains involved — GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens — demanding that they immediately stop selling adulterated or mislabeled dietary supplements.</p>
<p>Schneiderman said the supplements pose serious risks. People who have allergies or are taking certain medications can suffer dangerous reactions from herbal concoctions that contain substances not listed on the label, he said.</p>
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<p>“This investigation makes one thing abundantly clear: The old adage ‘buyer beware’ may be especially true for consumers of herbal supplements,” the attorney general said.</p>
<p>The herbal supplement industry criticized the method used to analyze the samples and raised questions about the reliability of the findings.</p>
<p>Walmart’s vice president of Health &amp; Wellness, Carmen Bauza, said testing by Walmart suppliers hasn’t revealed any issues with the relevant products, but the company will comply with the attorney general’s request to stop selling them in New York.</p>
<p>“We take this matter very seriously and will be conducting side-by-side analysis because we are 100 percent committed to providing our customers safe products,” Bauza said.</p>
<p>Walgreen pledged to cooperate with the attorney general, who asked the store chains for detailed information on production and quality control.</p>
<p>“We take these issues very seriously and as a precautionary measure, we are in the process of removing these products from our shelves as we review this matter further,” Walgreen spokesman James Graham said.</p>
<p>GNC said it, too, will cooperate, but spokeswoman Laura Brophy said: “We stand by the quality, purity and potency of all ingredients listed on the labels of our private-label products.”</p>
<p>Target said it can’t comment without reviewing the full report.</p>
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<p>Nutritionist David Schardt of the Center for Science in the Public Interest said the tests show that the supplement industry is in urgent need of reform, and until that happens, consumers should stop wasting their money.</p>
<p>A 2013 Canadian government study estimated there are 65,000 dietary supplements on the market, consumed by more than 150 million Americans. The nonprofit American Botanical Council estimated 2013 sales of herbal supplements in the U.S. at $6 billion.</p>
<p>The Food and Drug Administration requires companies to verify their products are safe and properly labeled. But supplements are exempt from the FDA’s strict approval process for prescription drugs.</p>
<p>Schneiderman said tests found no echinacea or any other plant material in bottles of Walmart’s Spring Valley Echinacea. He said no ginseng was found in 20 tests of GNC’s Herbal Plus Ginseng, which is taken to boost energy.</p>
<p>Other supplements tested included garlic, which is said to boost immunity and prevent heart disease; ginkgo biloba, often touted as a memory-booster; and saw palmetto, promoted as a prostate treatment.</p>
<p>DNA tests found such substances as rice, beans, pine, citrus, asparagus, primrose, wheat, houseplant, wild carrot and unidentified non-plant material — none of which were mentioned on the label.</p>
<p>The store chain with the poorest showing was Walmart, where only 4 percent of the products tested showed DNA from the plants listed on the labels.</p>
<p>The investigation looked at six herbal supplements sold at stores across the state. Testing was performed by an expert in DNA technology, James Schulte II of Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York.</p>
<p>The DNA tests were done on three to four samples of each supplement purchased. Each sample was tested five times. Overall, 390 tests involving 78 samples were conducted.</p>
<p>Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a dietary supplement trade group, criticized the testing procedure and accused Schneiderman of engaging in a “self-serving publicity stunt under the guise of protecting public health.”</p>
<p>“Processing during manufacturing of botanical supplements can remove or damage DNA,” Mister said. As a result, he said, DNA analysis “may be the wrong test for these kinds of products.”</p>
<p>Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, said identification of an herb through DNA testing must be confirmed through other means, such as chromatography or microscopy.</p>
<p>But Arthur Grollman, a physician and pharmacology professor at Stony Brook University, called the study “a well-controlled, scientifically based documentation of the outrageous degree of adulteration in the herbal supplement industry.”</p> | Study: Many herbal supplements aren’t what the label says | false | https://abqjournal.com/535734/ny-attorney-general-targets-popular-herbal-supplements.html | 2 |
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<p>Investing.com – Gold prices eased in Asia on Wednesday as investors geared for Fed meetings later in the day for more insight on the rate path in 2018.</p>
<p>for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 0.14% to 1,279.89 a troy ounce.</p>
<p>With Fed minutes from the November meeting due, analysts do not expect anything in the comments to dissuade market participants from assigning a high likelihood of a December rate hike.</p>
<p>“In turn, we would not be surprised to see officials beginning to discuss potentially major changes to elements of its operating framework that could include the inflation target or other related strategies such as price level targeting,” according to an analyst note.</p>
<p>Former Fed chair Bernanke has also recently weighed in on this topic, arguing in favor of temporary price level targeting if the fed funds rate hits the effective lower bound in the future.</p>
<p>Overnight, gold prices rose on Tuesday after the dollar fell amid weakness in long-term yields ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s October meeting meetings slated for Wednesday.</p>
<p>Long-term treasury yields remained under pressure, weighing on the dollar, while boosting demand for gold as traders awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve October meeting for clues on future monetary policy action.</p>
<p>The prospect of a December rate hike appears to be fully priced in, according to investing.com’s fed rate monitor tool.</p>
<p>Gold is sensitive to moves lower in the U.S. dollar – A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of foreign currency, which increases demand for the precious metal.</p>
<p>Also adding to positive sentiment on the precious metal was the return of safe haven demand amid renewed U.S-North Korea tensions after President Donald Trump placed North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday.</p>
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<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | Gold Prices Dip In Asia As Market Awaits Fed Minutes For Insights | false | https://newsline.com/gold-prices-dip-in-asia-as-market-awaits-fed-minutes-for-insights/ | 2017-11-21 | 1 |
<p>Hans von Spakovsky appears before the Senate in 2007 after being nominated to the Federal Election Commission.CQ Roll Call/AP</p>
<p>Months before the Trump administration announced the creation of a controversial commission to examine the country’s voting systems, one future commissioner sent an email that was forwarded to Attorney General Jeff Sessions recommending that the commission exclude Democrats and “mainstream Republican officials and/or academics.”</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/sites/default/files/03.%20%20Final%20Response%20%288.22.17%29.pdf" type="external">email</a>&#160;was sent on February 22 by&#160;Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation, a former Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration known for his efforts to impose new restrictions on voting. In it, von Spakovsky warned that Democrats would get in the way of efforts to crack down on voter fraud—an issue that <a href="" type="internal">commissioners have sought to portray as a major threat</a>, but which in reality is exceedingly rare.</p>
<p>Von Spakovsky ridiculed the idea of forming a bipartisan commission, as the administration ultimately did, although most of the commissioners are conservatives fixated on fraud. “There isn’t a single Democratic official that will do anything other than obstruct any investigation of voter fraud and issue constant public announcements criticizing the commission and what it is doing, making claims that it is engaged in voter suppression,” he wrote. “That decision alone shows how little WHouse understands about the issue.”</p>
<p>Von Spakovsky added, “If they are picking mainstream Republican officials and/or academics to man this commission it will be an abject failure because there aren’t any that know anything about this or who have paid any attention to this issue over the years.”&#160;</p>
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<p>Von Spakovsky worried that the commission’s eventual vice chair, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, was considered “too ‘controversial’” by some people to be on the commission. “We are concerned that this commission is being organized in a way that will guarantee its failure,” he wrote, lamenting that he and others on the “conservative side of this issue” were not consulted.&#160;The names of those conservatives were redacted by the Justice Department, which released the email following a Freedom of Information Act request by the Campaign Legal Center.</p>
<p>Jessica Huseman of ProPublica asked&#160;von Spakovsky after the commission’s&#160; <a href="" type="internal">second meeting</a>, on Tuesday in New Hampshire, whether he’d written the email, and he denied having done so.&#160;But the Heritage Foundation <a href="https://twitter.com/dellcam/status/907722857203077121" type="external">confirmed on Tuesday evening&#160;that&#160;von Spakovsky was the author</a>, telling Dell Cameron of Gizmodo, “The views expressed in the email are his own.” On Wednesday, von Spakovsky clarified that he had sent the email to “private individuals” but not to Sessions, as he thought Huseman had implied. The email was eventually forwarded to Sessions.</p>
<p>Though a few Democrats were named to the commission, it was <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/trumps-commission-on-election-integrity-will-lead-to-massive-voter-suppression/" type="external">stacked with conservative Republicans</a> like Kobach, von Spakovsky, former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, and former Justice Department attorney J. Christian Adams, who have a long history of <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/29/the-voter-fraud-myth" type="external">exaggerating the threat of voter fraud</a> and recommending policies that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/magazine/the-man-behind-trumps-voter-fraud-obsession.html?_r=1" type="external">restrict access to the ballot</a>. The commission was formed after Trump, with no evidence, said that 3 to 5 million people voted illegally in the 2016 election. Trump called von Spakovsky “a real expert” when the commission met for the first time in July.</p>
<p>The commission has been steeped in controversy since its inception for <a href="" type="internal">spreading falsehoods</a> about the prevalence of voter fraud, requesting the <a href="" type="internal">voter data</a> of every American, and allegedly violating <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/legal-actions-taken-against-trump%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Cfraud%E2%80%9D-commission" type="external">numerous federal laws</a>.</p>
<p>Following the release of the email,&#160;civil rights leaders called on von Spakovsky to resign from the commission and for the commission itself to be disbanded. Vanita Gupta, who headed the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under President Barack Obama, tweeted:</p>
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<p>Democratic&#160;members of Congress echoed that call. Here’s Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer:</p>
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<p>And Rep. Gerry Connelly of Virginia:</p>
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<p>Von Spakovsky has a long record of pushing to <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/meet-members#Spakovsky" type="external">restrict voting rights</a>. For two decades, he’s been the driving force behind suppressive policies like strict voter ID laws. When he was counsel to the head of the Civil Rights Division in the Bush Justice Department, six former lawyers in the Department’s Voting Section <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article24465157.html" type="external">called von Spakovsky</a> the “point person for undermining the Civil Rights Division’s mandate to protect voting rights.”</p>
<p>Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) once said of von Spakovsky, “It’s like he goes to bed dreaming about this, and gets up in the morning wondering, ‘What can I do today to make it&#160;more&#160;difficult for people to vote?’”</p>
<p>He also has a well-documented pattern of <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/in-emails-neil-gorsuch-praised-a-leading-republican-activist-behind-voter-suppression-efforts/" type="external">unethical behavior</a>. In 2005, as the department was considering whether to approve Georgia’s strict voter ID law under the Voting Rights Act, von Spakovsky published a law article praising voter ID laws under the pseudonym “ <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/article24463966.html" type="external">Publius</a>.” The article, in the&#160;Texas Review of Law &amp; Politics, a conservative legal journal, was titled “Securing the Integrity of American Elections: The Need for Change,” and its author was identified as “an attorney who specializes in election issues.” Publius wrote, “It is unfortunately true that in the great democracy in which we live, voter fraud has had a long and studied role in our elections,” adding that “putting security measures in place—such as requiring identification when voting—does not disenfranchise voters and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.”</p>
<p>Justice Department ethics guidelines clearly stated that von Spakovsky should have recused himself from consideration of Georgia’s law, given his long-standing advocacy for voter ID laws and the strong viewpoints in his then-anonymous article. Instead, he played a key role in approving the law, among the first of its kind, even though several lawyers on the review team <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/16/AR2005111602504.html" type="external">recommended that it be blocked</a> for discriminating against African American voters.</p>
<p>At the commission’s first meeting, Vice President Mike Pence said it would have “ <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/07/19/pence-tries-his-best-to-keep-unsaid-what-trump-then-says-about-election-integrity/" type="external">no preconceived notions</a> or preordained results.” But judging from von Spakovsky’s email and the subsequent work of the commission, its agenda is more than clear.</p>
<p>This story has been updated to reflect von Spakovsky’s Wednesday statement about the email.</p> | Trump Election Commissioner Sought to Exclude Democrats and “Mainstream Republicans” | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/09/trump-election-commissioner-sought-to-exclude-democrats-and-mainstream-republicans/ | 2017-09-13 | 4 |
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<p>The county, in turn, says it’s evaluating whether to ship some inmates to other jails in New Mexico to free up space.</p>
<p>The order by Senior U.S. District Judge James A. Parker is the latest twist in a long-running civil rights lawsuit over conditions inside the Bernalillo County jail system, first filed in 1995.</p>
<p>Zachary Ives, an attorney for the inmates, said the hearing will focus on “the dangers that the county creates by placing women who are incompatible in the same segregation housing unit.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The area holds women in jail for minor offenses, women with a history of violence, women who aren’t yet classified, women in protective custody, women vulnerable as they withdraw from drugs and women in other categories, too, he said.</p>
<p>“The women who are detoxing and, at times, the unclassified women do not even have cells,” he said. “They sleep on plastic portable bunks on the floor in the day room.”</p>
<p>County Attorney Randy Autio said he couldn’t speak in detail about the case because of the pending court hearing.</p>
<p>“We maintain that it’s safe,” he said of the jail. “… The chief and folks would tell you they’d be much happier if they had more room, but we work with what we have the best we can.”</p>
<p>Parker has ordered the county and other defendants in the lawsuit to appear in court March 28. The hearing centers on whether female inmates with different risk or treatment classifications should be housed together.</p>
<p>“You will be afforded an opportunity to present evidence in support of your reasons, if any, why you should not be required to stop housing female residents, without classifications or with different classifications, in the same Segregation housing unit,” Parker said in the order.</p>
<p>Deputy County Manager Tom Swisstack said overcrowding is a factor. The county is looking at a variety of ways to reduce the jail population, including the transfer of some inmates to other institutions, probably elsewhere in the state, he said.</p>
<p>That could start around April 1, Swisstack said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>It’s not clear how many inmates would go or how much it would cost, he said.</p>
<p>As for the “classification” of inmates, Swisstack said there’s “probably some mixture” of female inmates with different classifications in the unit mentioned by the judge.</p>
<p>“But it doesn’t mean they can’t get along in that unit,” he said.</p>
<p>Women are kept entirely separate from male inmates.</p>
<p>The area in question has a “design capacity” of 64 inmates, but it can hold up to 120, with cots on the floor and other changes, jail spokeswoman Nataura Powdrell said. There are 63 female inmates in that pod now, she said.</p>
<p>Autio said overcrowding is the root cause of conditions inside the jail. Safety – both for the public and the inmates – remains a priority, he said.</p>
<p>The Metropolitan Detention Center is one of the nation’s largest jails. It was designed for 2,236 inmates, but has sometimes held 2,800. — This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal</p> | Jail conditions questioned | false | https://abqjournal.com/176523/jail-conditions-questioned.html | 2013-03-09 | 2 |
<p>&lt;a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/photo/dangerous-water-bottle-10760758?st=8070dd2"&gt;wwing&lt;/a&gt;/iStock</p>
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<p>Exposure to two chemicals widely considered safe—and used in <a href="http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/chemicals.php?id=24" type="external">hundreds of consumer products</a>including plastics, cosmetics, and soap—has been linked to increased blood pressure, insulin resistance, and other dangerous health problems in children, according to a new <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/safer-replacements-for-harmful-chemical-in-plastics-may-be-as-risky-to-human-health-studies-suggest-300110621.html" type="external">study</a>.</p>
<p>The chemicals, di-isononyl (DINP) and di-isodecyl (DIDP), were long seen as safer alternatives to their precursor, a phthalate called DEHP, which was associated with hypertension. Even though their use has been on the rise over the past decade, they were never fully tested—until now.</p>
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<p>In one study, researchers from the NYU Langone Medical Center analyzed urine samples of over 1,300 adolescents between the ages of 8 and 19 and found that the levels of DINP and DIDP corresponded to levels in blood pressure. In a separate study, the same team studied 356 teens and found a similar correlation between the chemical levels and insulin resistance—a condition that can lead to diabetes.</p>
<p>The researchers recommend limiting exposure to these compounds by avoiding plastics marked with 3, 6, and 7, opting for fresh food over packaged, and making sure never to put plastic containers in the microwave or dishwasher, where they are more apt to leech chemicals.</p>
<p>This isn’t the first time plasticizing chemicals marketed as safe alternatives have proven otherwise. In last year’s <a href="" type="internal">Mother Jones investigation</a> into the dangers of BPA-free plastics, Mariah Blake uncovered the plastic industry’s “Big-Tobacco” style campaign to bury research that showed how their products were connected to a litany of health problems—and the US government’s failure to step in:</p>
<p>US regulators also have continued to ignore the mounting evidence linking BPA and similar chemicals to human disease, even as bans have cropped up around the world. Although more than 90 studies examining people with various levels of exposure suggest BPA affects humans much as it does animals, the FDA recently announced that its research “ <a href="http://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm360147.htm" type="external">supports the safety of BPA</a>” in food containers and packaging. And the EPA program that was supposed to screen some 80,000 chemicals for endocrine disruption hasn’t fully vetted a single substance. In 2010, the agency sought White House approval to add some endocrine-disrupting chemicals that are commonly found in plastic—among them BPA, phthalates, and a class of compounds known as PBDEs—to its “chemicals of concern” list because it found they “may present an unreasonable risk to human health.” This would have required chemical makers to share safety-testing data with federal regulators. The proposal languished until last September, <a href="http://www.plasticsnews.com/article/20130920/NEWS/130929993/epa-withdraws-draft-rules-on-bpa-pbdes" type="external">when the EPA quietly withdrew it</a>, along with a proposed rule requiring manufacturers to disclose safety data on chemicals in their products.</p>
<p /> | “Safe” Plastic Alternatives Linked to Scary Health Problems | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/plastics-phthalates-safe-alternatives/ | 2015-07-10 | 4 |
<p>Extended Stay America, Inc. (STAY) will report its next earnings on Nov 07 BMO. The company reported the earnings of $0.35/Share in the last quarter where the estimated EPS by analysts was $0.37/share. The difference between the expected and actual EPS was $-0.02/share, which represents an Earnings surprise of -5.4%.</p>
<p>Many analysts are providing their Estimated Earnings analysis for Extended Stay America, Inc. and for the current quarter 12 analysts have projected that the stock could give an Average Earnings estimate of $0.16/share. These analysts have also projected a Low Estimate of $0.13/share and a High Estimate of $0.17/share.</p>
<p>In case of Revenue Estimates, 11 analysts have provided their consensus Average Revenue Estimates for Extended Stay America, Inc. as 295.76 Million. According to these analysts, the Low Revenue Estimate for Extended Stay America, Inc. is 291 Million and the High Revenue Estimate is 298 Million. The company had Year Ago Sales of 295.73 Million.</p>
<p>These analysts also forecasted Growth Estimates for the Current Quarter for STAY to be -20%. They are projecting Next Quarter growth of -6.7%. For the next 5 years, Extended Stay America, Inc. is expecting Growth of 1.58% per annum, whereas in the past 5 years the growth was 21.8% per annum.</p>
<p>Some buy side analysts are also providing their Analysis on Extended Stay America, Inc., where 1 analysts have rated the stock as Strong buy, 0 analysts have given a Buy signal, 0 said it’s a HOLD, and 0 analysts rated the stock as Sell. (These Recommendations are for the Current Month Only reported by Yahoo Finance.)</p>
<p>When it comes to the Analysis of a Stock, Price Target plays a vital role. Analysts reported that the Price Target for Extended Stay America, Inc. might touch $23 high while the Average Price Target and Low price Target is $19.9 and $17.5 respectively.</p>
<p>The Relative Volume of the company is 1.09 and Average Volume (3 months) is 2.23 million. The company’s P/E (price to earnings) ratio is 44.56 and Forward P/E ratio of 16.91.</p>
<p>The company shows its Return on Assets (ROA) value of 1.8%. The Return on Equity (ROE) value stands at 9.1%. While it’s Return on Investment (ROI) value is 8.8%.</p>
<p>While looking at the Stock’s Performance, Extended Stay America, Inc. currently shows a Weekly Performance of -0.86%, where Monthly Performance is 2.32%, Quarterly performance is -14.85%, 6 Months performance is -9.04% and yearly performance percentage is 2.26%. Year to Date performance value (YTD perf) value is 6.5%. The Stock currently has a Weekly Volatility of 1.76% and Monthly Volatility of 2.12%.</p> | What Do Analysts Say About Extended Stay America, Inc. (STAY) | false | https://newsline.com/what-do-analysts-say-about-extended-stay-america-inc-stay/ | 2017-12-13 | 1 |
<p>Photo: AP/Wide World Photos</p>
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<p>When John Andrew got laid off this summer he could take solace in having plenty of company: Since George W. Bush took office, nearly 3 million Americans have lost their jobs.</p>
<p>But the same day that this client-services director for a Minnesota software firm got his pink slip, he also heard that the president’s economic team was coming to the Midwest on a “Jobs and Growth” tour — a three-day, six-city publicity blitz to talk up the benefits of the Bush tax cuts.</p>
<p>“It pissed me off,” says Andrew, who felt the administration had no business crowing about an economy that was shedding one job every 15 seconds. “I’m 41 years old; I got two kids,” he says, “and I decided this would be a good time for dad to stand up and protest.”</p>
<p>So Andrew decked out the family’s blue Honda Odyssey with protest placards and hit the highway on his own “Economic Reality” tour. He shadowed the bus carrying cabinet secretaries John Snow, Donald Evans, and Elaine Chao, to give his fellow Americans “the real facts — that this economy stinks, and Bush’s tax cuts are making it worse.”</p>
<p>It wasn’t long before the dueling economic worldviews collided — outside a Culvers fast food joint (home of the ButterBurger) in Wausau , Wisconsin. While the secretaries boasted of collecting, “real-time economic information from real American people,” they apparently didn’t want to hear from Andrew, who was turned away at the door by security.</p>
<p>Undeterred, Andrew drove his minivan repeatedly into the window-lined drive thru, hoping to catch their attention. “I probably went through 20 times,” says, whose van quickly filled to overflowing with the Diet Cokes he kept buying.</p>
<p>On his final pass, Andrew caught a glimpse of secretary Snow walking outside the restaurant. “I rolled down my window and yelled: ‘Hey John!’,” Andrew recalls, “which was probably kind of impertinent considering he’s the Secretary of the Treasury.”</p>
<p>Flanked by a secret service detail, Snow came up to the passenger-side window. Andrew explained to the secretary that he’d just been laid off. “I told him that I strongly disagreed with the economic policies that this administration was pursuing, and that I felt that it was ineffective, wrong headed, and doing nothing to help the majority of American workers.”</p>
<p>Snow, in turn, encouraged patience, reasoning that the first tax cut (now nearly two years old) hadn’t had time to take effect, and that the benefits of the second tax cut were following close behind. He then offered two parting words of advice: “Just wait.”</p>
<p>“I was stunned by the response,” says Andrew. “I’d like to see those words on a PR banner behind Snow at the podium: ‘Jobs and Growth: Just Wait.’ Maybe I should call Citibank, which holds my mortgage, and tell them ‘Just Wait — I can’t pay you this month.'”</p>
<p>Andrew posted an account of this encounter on his website, jobforjohn.com, where he also created a map tracking the average number of jobs lost between each stop on the “Jobs and Growth” tour: Green Bay to Wausau — 710 lost jobs; Wausau to Rochester, Minnesota — 1510 lost jobs. Andrew quickly became a poster-boy for the economically discontent.</p>
<p>“I really admire John for taking his message right to the source,” says Andrew Stettner, a policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project in New York City. “It’s tough being unemployed. People take a lot of pride in their jobs. You’re suddenly laid off it can feel like a scarlet letter — you don’t want to show it off. It takes a lot of guts to get out there and say, ‘Look, this happened to me. It could happen to you. Why isn’t the government doing something about it?'”</p>
<p>After three days of living out of his car and dodging secret service agents, a hoarse Andrew wound his way home to Northfield, Minnesota to begin the real work of looking for a new job. Though this particular swing of his Economic Reality tour is over, Andrew insists his work as an economic activist isn’t done. “There’s gas in the van,” he says, “If they hit the road again, I’ll be after them.”</p>
<p /> | Truth on Tour | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2003/09/truth-tour/ | 2003-09-22 | 4 |
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<p>Can the mainstream media still be trusted by the American public to give them accurate and credible news, information that matters especially those the powers-that-be want hidden, and critical and insightful analyses on the implications of burning current events to the country?</p>
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<p>Last month, just as most Americans were caught up with the preparations and festivities of the holidays, President Obama silently but perhaps cunningly signed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act</p>
<p>(NDAA) into law, which effectively gives $611billion in military spending for this year. Now, what is wrong with that when passage of the NDAA is an annual event, and a matter of formalities and regular procedures? Something is wrong because just like in the past, Obama managed to insert a controversial and dangerous provision in the NDAA.</p>
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<p>The most insidious provision the outgoing administration deceitfully included in the 2017 NDAA is called the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act of 2016 which if one critically analyses it is essentially tantamount to a U.S. Ministry of Truth. The corporate mainstream media predictably, though disappointingly again, only gave token attention to the NDAA in their reports, and deplorably failed to dig deep into the grave implications of the wily provision. Such major failure on the part of the mainstream media to report on the complete and big picture on the NDAA has left the American public in the dark about the Information War being practically waged on them by the government no less- or this Obama administration in particular.</p>
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<p>Introduced by Congressman Adam Kinzinger and Ted Lieu, H.R. 5181 officially claims it seeks a "whole-government approach without the bureaucratic restrictions" to counter " foreign disinformation" and manipulation which they believe threaten the world's "security and stability". H.R. 5181 would effectively task the Secretary of State with coordinating the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to "establish a Center for Information Analysis and Response" which will pinpoint sources of disinformation, analyze data and "develop and disseminate fact-based narratives to counter effrontery propaganda."</p>
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<p>What is the provision's fundamental implication? As reported by the alternative and far more critical Zero Hedge the legislation represents practically a dramatic return to Cold War era government propaganda battle. The Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act of 2016 would pave the way for further curtailment of press freedom and will provide another means to stifle an avenue of accurate information.</p>
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<p>These days, it has been mainstream media's tactic and devious ploy to label any news or opinion that goes against their conventional views and stand as " fake news" or " Russian propaganda" to conveniently protect their vested interest of maintaining their informational control and regaining their positions as informational gatekeepers- something which the rise and dominance of social media has destroyed. But before the mainstream media were exposed for their deviousness and were massively discredited as a result, the U.S. government was already strategizing a legally underpinned crackdown on any news that deviates from the official government line -often propagated by discredited mainstream media and government mouthpieces like the CNN and Washington Post- and dismiss the sources of such dissenting news as " fake news".This is the government's way of controlling information, and the way the public think, leaving the government the only arbiter of truth backed by the force of law- truly, extremely dangerous and practically a throwback to the dark ages of tyranny.</p>
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<p>So if the public can not trust the mainstream media to fulfill their supposed duty and mandate, what could they do? Maintain the status quo, remain silent and just learn to grin and bear it? Or just like in the presidential election, the American public can create a movement and fight back? Ben Watching in a Twitter post is calling for just that- for the public to fight back because in solidarity the real power emanates from the people and this ' fight back' the public can achieve, says Ben Watching, by boycotting mainstream media and doing away with all the crap they're churning out once and for all. Ben Watching calls it Virtual March Chanting with the hashtag #NotMyPress.</p>
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<p>It's time to put mainstream media in their place, as their power only comes from the people, if the public effectively boycotts them, they'll be reduced to insignificance.</p> | The American Public Is Called To Boycott Mainstream Media For Being Deceitful and Unreliable | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/971-The-American-Public-Is-Called-To-Boycott-Mainstream-Media-For-Being-Deceitful-and-Unreliable | 2017-01-07 | 0 |
<p>One of our favorite Convergence listening posts is National Public Radio's <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/onthemedia/index.html" type="external">On the Media</a>.&#160;And even though many members of the Chaser Collective live in a state where NO station broadcasts this fine show, we wanted to alert faithful Chaser readers to this weekend's show.&#160;To quote from&#160;the show's e-mail&#160;newsletter:</p>
<p>Regulator IrregularityIndustry observers have been anticipating a relaxation of media ownership rules by the Feds. But a recent surprise vote by the newest commissioner on an unrelated issue has many wondering which way that commissioner will swing when it comes to media deregulation. Cable World's senior editor Alicia Mundy fills Bob Garfield in on the latest intrigues in the FCC.</p>
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<p /> | Chaser Listening Alert | false | https://poynter.org/news/chaser-listening-alert | 2003-03-07 | 2 |
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<p>Del Norte’s Jenna Thurman and Atrisco Heritage Academy’s Nate Goode are state champions, and now they share another title.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Knights’ stellar distance runner and the Jaguars’ quarterback/wrestler were honored Thursday night as the Albuquerque Public Schools female and male athlete of the year for 2012-13.</p>
<p>Thurman is a multiple state champion in both cross-country and track and field, and also was a standout on the Knights’ soccer team.</p>
<p>“I’m just so happy,” said the soft-spoken Thurman, a senior and arguably New Mexico’s top female runner. “I was surprised.”</p>
<p>Goode quarterbacked Atrisco into the state playoffs, and also captured the 182-pound division in February at the state wrestling tournament.</p>
<p>“When I heard my name I was shocked,” said Goode, a four-year letterman. “Winning state was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’d rank this as the same, because this was just a shock to me.”</p>
<p>While APS’ name is attached to the award, it was not the central athletic office that spearheaded this year’s awards.</p>
<p>Eldorado football coach Charlie Dotson led the charge to restore the award, with the backing of his athletic director, Mike Huston, and also approval from the district.</p>
<p>“We just wanted to do it for the coaches and the kids,” Dotson said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Eldorado hosted the banquet Thursday.</p>
<p>Thurman and Goode each received $300 scholarship awards at the banquet. The money came through the APS Foundation, with private donors ponying up the funds.</p>
<p>Sandia football coach Kevin Barker was named male sport coach of the year and Eldorado swimming coach Quint Seckler was the female sport coach of the year.</p>
<p>“I think it’s real special, especially with all the great coaches you have in different sports throughout APS,” said Barker, 48, who led the Matadors to December’s Class 5A championship game. “It means quite a bit to me.”</p>
<p>Barker just completed his 20th season as a head coach, the last 13 at Sandia. He also coached Manzano for seven years, and once led the Monarchs to the state finals.</p>
<p>Seckler led the Eldorado girls (and the boys) to state titles in the pool in February.</p>
<p>“It was an honor just to be nominated, let alone win the award,” said Seckler, 47. “There’s so many coaches out there that do just what I do.”</p>
<p>Seckler, like Barker, has two decades in APS.</p>
<p>He led La Cueva to a combined seven state swimming championships in 17 years. Including the two this season, he has coached Eldorado to three overall titles in his four seasons with the burnt orange.</p>
<p>Each of APS’ 13 high schools had a male and female athlete recognized at Thursday night’s banquet:</p>
<p>Albuquerque High — D’Yon Santiago (wrestling/track); Natalia Rivera (volleyball/track).</p>
<p>Atrisco Heritage Academy — Goode; Ashley Smith (volleyball, basketball).</p>
<p>Cibola — Zach Atkerson (soccer/tennis); Hannah Waufle (soccer/basketball/track).</p>
<p>Del Norte — Dylan Chavez (swimming/baseball); Thurman.</p>
<p>Eldorado — Cullen Neal (basketball); Jessica Nelson (cross country/tennis/golf).</p>
<p>Highland — Mustafa Mudada (football/track); Sydney Graham (basketball).</p>
<p>La Cueva — Clinton Silver (football/wrestling/track); Hattie Schunk (soccer/swimming/track).</p>
<p>Manzano — Chris Martinez (wrestling/baseball); Katie Roach (volleyball/basketball/softball).</p>
<p>Rio Grande — Dustin Lamar (football/swimming/track); Darlene Lujan (volleyball/basketball/softball).</p>
<p>Sandia — Craig Coffman (football/baseball); Bobbi Pierson (basketball/golf).</p>
<p>Valley — Esteban Loera (football/wrestling); Eden Santistevan (volleyball/track).</p>
<p>Volcano Vista — Joe Searcy-Ortega (football/track); Tricia Grajeda (cross country/swimming/track).</p>
<p>West Mesa — Scott Wesselink (cross country/swimming/track); Jayln Espinoza (soccer/basketball/track).</p> | Thurman and Goode add to their prep accolades | false | https://abqjournal.com/239553/thurman-and-goode-add-to-their-prep-accolades.html | 2 |
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<p>The authorities in Nigeria have imposed a 24-hour curfew on the north-eastern city of Damaturu after clashes between Islamist militants and the army intensified overnight.</p>
<p>"In view of the prevailing security situation in the State Capital, Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has approved the immediate imposition of a 24-hour curfew within Damaturu metropolis," a government statement issued on Tuesday read, <a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/06/19/uk-nigeria-violence-idUKBRE85I0NE20120619" type="external">according to Reuters</a>.</p>
<p>"Residents are hereby directed to remain in their homes while officers and men of the Joint Task force and other security agencies continue with their effort to ensure peace and security and the protection of life and property."</p>
<p>An official at Damaturu hospital <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jE_lb8SX_sfsvAwtCE-YeptU_Jaw?docId=CNG.e19b1369e9e845a65f74d0e5f47dfbad.521" type="external">told the Agence France Presse</a> that while gunfire which broke out Monday and continued into Tuesday had left a number of people dead, the ongoing violence meant it was too dangerous for rescue workers to attempt to reach them:</p>
<p>"We have been holed up in the hospital since yesterday. We can't leave because it is not safe to go out. The morgue is empty now although there are dead bodies on the street. Fighting is still going on in some parts of the city and the streets are totally deserted," he told the news agency.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120618/nigeria-church-bombings-christians-kaduna" type="external">Curfew declared in Kaduna after church bombings, reprisal attacks</a></p>
<p>The imposition of a curfew in Damaturu comes a day after similar measures were adopted in the northern state of Kaduna, following a series of multiple suicide attacks on churches on Sunday which killed 16 and subsequent reprisal attacks against Muslims which left dozens dead, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120618/nigeria-church-bombings-christians-kaduna" type="external">GlobalPost reported</a>.</p>
<p>The radical Islamist sect Boko Haram - which seeks the imposition of Sharia across Nigeria and has instigated a wave of attacks across the country - claimed responsibility for the church bombings, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18508092" type="external">according to the BBC</a>.</p>
<p>In late December clashes between Nigerian troops and Boko Haram militants in Damaturu <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/111224/nigeria-terrorism-attacks-islamist-militants-boko-haram-clashes-damaturu" type="external">killed at least 50 people</a>.</p> | Nigeria imposes 24-hr curfew on Damaturu over Islamist clashes | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-06-19/nigeria-imposes-24-hr-curfew-damaturu-over-islamist-clashes | 2012-06-19 | 3 |
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<p>A: Not having heard this one, I did a little Internet research, and what I found was fascinating, and I also think instructive for where we are in today’s political environment, as well as in our chances for meaningful reform of our tax system.</p>
<p>Based on the (surprisingly angry) articles I found on the Internet, I suspect that my response may leave some readers miffed, as it will not fit their world view. But it is that anger that makes one pessimistic about achieving any tax-system reform.</p>
<p>In my doctoral studies I was taught that policy researchers do not advocate for a particular policy, as that is the job of policy makers, but instead lay out options and explain what the consequences of adopting various policies would be.</p>
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<p>For example, a policy analyst could use research results to explain the economic effects of a cut in the capital-gains tax rate, or of adoption of a particular targeted tax credit. Policy makers would then need to decide whether the capital-gains tax cut or the credit should be adopted.</p>
<p>In 1984 President Ronald Reagan asked the Treasury Department to study alternative tax-reform structures. The result included analysis of reducing charitable contribution deductions, eliminating many tax deductions, and lowering tax rates.</p>
<p>Last November, CBO published an analysis of how the tax laws impact the decision to buy or rent a house, and included the possibility of taxing the rental value of an owner-occupied home, which has always been included as part of the economic definition of income.</p>
<p>Policy researchers are not lawmakers; they provided facts as to what might be done, and the politicians overlay their value system and political instincts. No policy maker suggests taxing the rental value of a home.</p>
<p>This is how the process should work. Policy makers need the expert input of policy researchers and analysts, but the decisions are made by the elected representatives of the people.</p>
<p>People who participated in the Reagan 1986 tax reform bemoan the lack of independent policy analysis today. Politicians seem to want staff members to give them information that supports the idea they have already adopted. Truly independent policy researchers and analysts are unwanted.</p>
<p>In October 2008 the stock market was falling and workers’ 401(k) assets were worth less than before. Congress had a hearing to explore alternatives to retirement savings for workers.</p>
<p>Teresa Ghilarducci of the New School testified about some policy work that she was doing. She was not the only witness. She has an idea called a “Guaranteed Retirement Account” (GRA), which would require a contribution from workers and employers, with a tax-credit offset available for low-income workers.</p>
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<p>Accounts will grow at a federally guaranteed 3 percent return. Her suggestion is an alternative to 401(k) plans, which most economic researchers agree have not worked well as part of a three-leg retirement plan.</p>
<p>The Ghilarducci plan would allow workers to continue their current retirement plan if it offers benefits similar to the GRA, and perhaps also allow the worker to trade the 401(k) for a GRA.</p>
<p>The Ghilarducci plan, in the 4 1/2 years since her testimony, has never been part of any actual legislative proposal. The stock market is significantly higher than in October 2008, leaving less interest in even considering a government alternative to 401(k) plans.</p>
<p>It is not only important but essential that tax and retirement policy proposals be supported by independent research and analysis. That independent work is simply input to legislators and their staff. It can be rejected or accepted. It is good to listen to ideas, even if you choose not to implement the idea.</p>
<p>No legislative plan exists to steal 401(k) assets — that isn’t even the Ghilarducci proposal. I was disheartened to see the magnitude of uninformed Internet articles, expressing views that may lead our representatives to avoid exposure to any ideas, for fear of being linked to every proposal they just listen to.</p>
<p>James R. Hamill is the director of Tax Practice at Reynolds, Hix &amp; Co. in Albuquerque. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p> | Good policy relies on independent analysis | false | https://abqjournal.com/181896/good-policy-relies-on-independent-analysis.html | 2013-03-25 | 2 |
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<p>And on his sophomore album, “Tide Break,” the Albuquerque resident put together a collection of melodic songs influenced by Sublime, Slightly Stoopid and Ben Harper.</p>
<p>“The album was a long time in the works,” he says in a recent phone interview from San Diego. “It was about two years in the making. The entire idea started with my producer, John Wall. He helped me develop the concept.”</p>
<p>Markland has lived for 13 years in Albuquerque, where he works as a firefighter.</p>
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<p>Over the years, he’s become a master at balancing his schedule. He works for 48 hours and then travels San Diego, where his wife lives, to spend a few days. In between, he performs.</p>
<p>“We’re on a staycation/honeymoon,” he says from San Diego. “We recently got married, and we had time to spend together before we get back to work.”</p>
<p>Markland’s touring schedule also has to be lined up according to his work schedule.</p>
<p>He performed four nights in San Diego to celebrate the album release. He will perform at Marble Brewery, 9904 Montgomery NE, on Aug. 11 to celebrate the album in Albuquerque.</p>
<p>Markland says his wife is a major inspiration for his songs.</p>
<p>During the album process, he was writing in a journal about what he was going through.</p>
<p>“When the process started, I had been divorced a couple years before that,” he says. “All of the love songs on the album are inspired by my (new) wife.”</p>
<p>Markland’s writing typically starts with him and a guitar.</p>
<p>“I strum along and feel an emotion,” he says. “Then I usually start humming behind the strum. It’s like a chorus hook, and something catchy comes from that. Some songs take me 15 minutes; others take me years to complete. I can never tell what it’s going to be.”</p>
<p>On “Tide Break,” Markland also has some songs that are introspective.</p>
<p>He says “The Lion and the Lamb” is personal to him.</p>
<p>“I was wrestling with my faith, and I was pretty depressed,” he says. “I struggled with suicidal thoughts. Writing was a way for me to deal with my feelings.”</p>
<p /> | Master of Balance: Aaron Markland juggles firefighting job, touring | false | https://abqjournal.com/1032203/master-of-balance.html | 2 |
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<p>How much firepower does the gun lobby have? Consider this: since the mid-90s, the NRA has “all but choked off” money for research on gun violence, according to a story today in the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/us/26guns.html?ref=us&amp;pagewanted=all" type="external">New York Times</a>. “We’ve been stopped from answering the basic questions,” said Mark Rosenberg, the former director of the National Center for Injury Control and Prevention, part of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which used to be the leading source of financing for firearms research. Thanks to the gun lobby’s obstruction, questions like whether more guns actually make communities safer, whether the ready availability of high-capacity magazines increases the number of gun-related deaths, or whether more rigorous background checks of gun buyers make a difference, remain maddeningly unanswered.</p>
<p>From the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/us/26guns.html?ref=us&amp;pagewanted=all" type="external">Times</a>:</p>
<p>The dearth of money can be traced in large measure to a clash between public health scientists and the N.R.A. in the mid-1990s. At the time, Dr. Rosenberg and others at the C.D.C. were becoming increasingly assertive about the importance of studying gun-related injuries and deaths as a public health phenomenon, financing studies that found, for example, having a gun in the house, rather than conferring protection, significantly increased the risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance.</p>
<p>Alarmed, the N.R.A. and its allies on Capitol Hill fought back. The injury center was guilty of “putting out papers that were really political opinion masquerading as medical science,” said [Chief NRA lobbyist Chris] Cox, who also worked on this issue for the N.R.A. more than a decade ago.</p>
<p>Pro-gun lawmakers failed to shutter the injury center in 1996, but did manage to prevent the CDC from using its injury prevention funds to push for gun control measures. As a result: the CDC has tiptoed around gun safety issues in the years since, keeping meaningful data on gun violence out of the hands of lawmakers who could use it to help pass sensible reform legislation. Until then, the NRA can rest easy and ask: where’s your proof?</p>
<p /> | How the NRA Blocks Gun Research | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/nra-asks-wheres-evidence/ | 2011-01-27 | 4 |
<p>The dangerous thing about using credit cards is that if you don't use them carefully, you can wind up neck-deep in debt -- and getting out of that debt will cost you dearly. If you're paying off a $10,000 balance over two years, and your APR is 18%, then youcan expect to pay about $2,000 in interest.</p>
<p>However,a <a href="https://www.fool.com/credit-cards/best-balance-transfer-credit-cards/?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">0% introductory APR balance-transfer credit card Opens a New Window.</a> can grant you a reprieve from interest lasting anywhere from 12 to 21 months. During that period, all your payments will go straight to the principal amount owed, allowing you to pay off that debt a lot faster.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>But there are instances when applying for a balance-transfer credit card might not make sense. In the following video segment, Motley Fool analysts Michael Douglass and Nathan Hamilton discuss when other debt-paying strategies may be better options.</p>
<p>5 Simple Tips to Skyrocket Your Credit Score Over 800!Increasing your credit score above 800 will put you in rare company. So rare that only 1 in 9 Americans can claim they're members of this elite club. But contrary to popular belief, racking up a high credit score is a lot easier than you may have imagined following 5 simple, disciplined strategies. You'll find a full rundown of each inside our <a href="http://www.fool.com/ecap/the_motley_fool/mortgage-creditscore/?ftm_cam=the-motley-fool&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;source=ic3editxt0000001&amp;aid=8985&amp;ftm_pit=6983&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">FREE credit score guide Opens a New Window.</a>. It's time to put your financial future first and secure a lifetime of savings by increasing your credit score. Simply <a href="http://www.fool.com/ecap/the_motley_fool/mortgage-creditscore/?ftm_cam=the-motley-fool&amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;source=ic3editxt0000001&amp;aid=8985&amp;ftm_pit=6983&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">click here Opens a New Window.</a>to claim a copy 5 Simple Tips to Skyrocket Your Credit Score over 800.</p>
<p>Michael Douglass: OK, so here at The Motley Fool, we're excited about debt reduction, and we believe very strongly in finding ways to cut down your debt, so you can use more money for investing, for vacations, for, well, whatever.</p>
<p>Nathan Hamilton: Your financial independence.</p>
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<p>Douglass: Absolutely. And because of that, we're big fans of balance transfer credit cards, because they enable you to basically take this balance that you're paying interest on, every month, and transfer it to something, to this new credit card where for a time period, whether it's 12 months, or 21 months, or some other number, you aren't, and you're able to really pay down that debt. However, there are some circumstances in which a balance-transfer credit card doesn't make the most sense. Let's talk about those.</p>
<p>Hamilton: Yeah, it primarily comes down to when you're applying for a sign-up bonus and you're also bad at budgeting. To put this in context, why those two combined are a recipe for not reaching your financial goals is, a balance transfer-credit card is really meant to more than dip your toes in, essentially, disrupt your finances and start paying off your debt faster. Spending money to earn a sign-up bonus to earn rewards, it flies in the face of paying down, of doing what you can to pay down your debt faster.</p>
<p>There are the potential risks of, "OK, I'm spending money on the credit card, but also paying it down faster. Maybe I'm not budgeting as well as I can." The overall net effect is you're still incurring or maintaining a balance. So, caveats to this. If you are good at budgeting and meeting your credit card goals, sure, signing up for a sign up bonus and taking that money and funneling it toward paying down debt and earning rewards to pay down debt faster. Yeah, it has that snowballing interest effect to it, so it does make sense in those scenarios, but if that doesn't sound like you, if you've had trouble with credit card debt before, if your budget isn't maintained as well as you'd like it, OK, maybe think twice about it.</p>
<p>Douglass: Sure, absolutely. And we've got a lot more information about balance-transfer cards, credit card bonuses, and actually, in fact, our picks for the best balance-transfer cards at <a href="https://www.fool.com/credit-cards/?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">fool.com/credit-cards Opens a New Window.</a>. So check us out there, and we've got a lot more information to help you.</p>
<p>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> | 1 Time When Balance-Transfer Credit Cards Don't Make Sense | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/27/1-time-when-balance-transfer-credit-cards-dont-make-sense.html | 2017-03-31 | 0 |
<p>Photo: Danfung Dennis</p>
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<p>IF YOU CAN’T IMAGINE how President Obama intends to win the war in Afghanistan, you’re not alone. The challenge is daunting: Along with a handful of war-plagued African states—Somalia, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo—Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries. It’s been racked by 30 years of war. Millions have fled into Pakistan and Iran; tens of thousands more have been killed since the US-backed jihad in the 1980s. “The reason we don’t have moderate leaders in Afghanistan today is because we let the nuts kill them all,” Cheryl Benard, Rand Corporation specialist and wife of former US Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, told me in 2004, during an interview for a book on political Islam. Obama’s advisers say that their plan is to <a href="" type="internal">surge</a>, then negotiate—that is, beef up the US presence, stabilize the war, and then seek a deal backed by regional diplomacy. But that raises a host of questions, starting with: If negotiations are the answer, who’s at the table?</p>
<p>President <a href="" type="internal">Hamid Karzai</a>: His government is, well, mostly nonexistent. “Forty percent of the country is either partly or entirely off-limits to the government and to international aid groups,” says Mark Schneider of the <a href="http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?" type="external">International Crisis Group</a>. Karzai has been derided as merely the “mayor of Kabul,” but it’s worse than that: “He doesn’t have much influence with parliament, so you can’t even say that he controls the capital,” says Marvin Weinbaum, a former State Department intelligence official who advised Obama’s campaign. Terrorists strike fortified targets in Kabul, from the Indian Embassy to the Ministry of Justice, with impunity.</p>
<p>Karzai is struggling to regain control. By skillfully appointing governors and mayors, he’s built a cadre of officials loyal to the regime. Still, in the provinces, the government’s writ is weak. Law enforcement and the courts are virtually absent, leaving the field to criminals and <a href="" type="internal">drug traffickers</a>. Corruption poisons everything: Afghanistan is ranked 176 out of 180 countries surveyed by the corruption watchdog group Transparency International; it produces more than nine-tenths of the world’s illicit opium; and criminal gangs reach from the most remote districts into Karzai’s own family—one of his brothers has been accused of involvement in the <a href="" type="internal">heroin trade</a>.</p>
<p>The security forces: The pre-surge force of 13,100 US and 56,420 NATO troops (including 24,900 Americans) has been unable to secure Kabul and its environs, not to mention huge swaths of the south. Some NATO forces do little fighting, and some, like Canada’s, are leaving. Afghan public opinion is turning against the coalition, partly because of rising civilian casualties caused by air strikes. Meanwhile the 80,000-strong Afghan National Army can’t operate on its own, while the Afghan National Police, also numbering around 80,000, are dysfunctional, corrupt, and infiltrated by <a href="" type="internal">Taliban</a> fighters; many are merely militiamen for local warlords.</p>
<p>The Taliban: In the 1990s, they rode to power by mobilizing armies of orphans and refugees brainwashed in Pakistani madrassas; toppled in 2001, they’ve come roaring back in rural areas where Karzai’s feckless governors and crooked cops are viewed with disdain. They use threats, blandishments, and their cultlike ideology to expand their power base, village by village and clan by clan. Yet their hold is not as firm as it might seem. Polls indicate that 9 out of 10 Afghans disapprove of the Taliban. And, notes Seth Jones, an Afghanistan expert at Rand, “Most of the tribal, subtribe, and clan leaders don’t particularly care for the central government, and they don’t particularly care for the Taliban. They are willing to switch sides.” The hardcore Taliban, he estimates, may be as small as just 2,000 to 3,000 fighters. They do, however, have allies—other militant factions, criminal gangs, and, of course, their own brethren beyond Afghanistan’s borders. In Pakistan, the Taliban shura (council) is run by Mullah Mohammad Omar, the one-eyed true believer who headed Afghanistan until 2001. Farther north, Mullah Omar’s allies include the Haqqanis, heirs to one of the more violent jihadist factions from the US-sponsored war in the 1980s, and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, perhaps that war’s most bloodthirsty combatant, both of whom regularly dispatch fighters into contested areas surrounding Kabul. (See <a href="/politics/2009/05/your-tax-dollars-war" type="external">Your Tax Dollars at War</a>.)</p>
<p>The US government has spent more than $6.2 billion building the Afghan National Police and, by September 2009, will have paid DynCorp International more than $1.2 billion to train them. Afghan officials say the force is near its manpower goal of 82,000. But last time Pentagon officials checked, they couldn’t tell whether 38 percent of the cops on the payroll were active and eligible, and only 10,000 of the force’s roughly 50,000 donated AK-47s were battle ready. Weekly progress reports from DynCorp have documented officials taking bribes, street cops collecting unauthorized highway “tolls,” police funneling weapons to the Taliban (or joining them outright), suicide attacks targeted at officers, and cops going for months without pay.</p>
<p>The new players: With US advice and funding, Karzai is trying to counter the Taliban through a pair of new initiatives. The Afghan Social Outreach Program is quietly building anti-Taliban local councils. A parallel program, the Afghan Public Protection Force, has a pilot project under way in Wardak province to build quasi-official militias not unlike the US-sponsored Sunni Awakening that mobilized Iraqi tribes against Al Qaeda. J Alexander Thier of the <a href="http://www.usip.org/" type="external">US Institute of Peace</a>is hopeful. But, he says, “It scares the bejesus out of people because this would result in the arming of Pashtun militias. It’s extremely risky.”</p>
<p>Which gets us back to the question: What’s the endgame of the surge-and-negotiate strategy? Already there is plenty of negotiating behind the scenes. Karzai has an ongoing dialogue with the Taliban, with former Taliban allies in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan mediating, and there are reports of talks involving Hekmatyar, too. But Obama’s advisers are split on whether those top-down negotiations will work: Some suspect that there can be no deal as long as the Taliban think they’re winning.</p>
<p>An alternative approach gaining favor inside the beltway is bottom-up negotiations to mirror the Taliban’s village-by-village strategy. “This is a country that historically has had very little central government,” General David McKiernan, the US commander, said last November. “But it’s a government with a history of local autonomy and local tribal authority systems.” Jones, of Rand, says the key is winning the loyalty of rural Afghans. If it’s done right—if America maintains a light footprint, if tribal leaders see improvements in security (as well as cold, hard cash), and if Afghanistan’s meddling neighbors can be persuaded to help stabilize the country—then the loyalties of the Pashtun tribes may turn. If that happens, Jones says hopefully, “They can tip pretty quickly.” Of course, if the surge causes more civilian deaths and further inflames anger at the United States, they could just as easily tip the other way. Therein lies the great risk of Obama’s gamble.</p>
<p>Robert Dreyfuss has written for The Nation, Washington Monthly, and Rolling Stone, and is the author of Devil’s Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam.</p>
<p /> | Obama’s Great Afghanistan Gamble | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/05/obamas-great-afghanistan-gamble/ | 2018-05-01 | 4 |
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global business travel is expected to thrive in 2018, according to a report by a travel management group, as an improving world economy buoys confidence in the private sector and investment community.</p> Travelers enter the airport hotel at Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, U.S. November 3, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
<p>American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) is forecasting growth across the travel sector, including air and ground transportation and hotel stays, with higher fares and increased bookings supporting the industry’s growth.</p>
<p>“The travel outlook looks bright as economic conditions continue to strengthen and growing business and consumer confidence translates into increased demand for travel,” GBT said in its report.</p>
<p>The travel company projected Asia will experience the most robust growth largely on the strength of economic progress in China and India.</p>
<p>Despite the generally optimistic outlook, increasingly protectionist policies across the globe and looming geopolitical instability continue to drag on the industry and stir uncertainty among stakeholders, according to the report.</p>
<p>GBT cited U.S. foreign policy and trade deal renegotiations as a potential hindrance for international travel, in addition to some route overcapacity and rapid expansion by low-cost carriers into the market.</p>
<p>The U.S. industry, however, has been preparing for a business travel boom in the wake of a U.S. tax overhaul that sharply reduced corporate income taxes.</p>
<p>Other policies supported by the Trump administration, including a pledge to reduce U.S. trade deficits and support initiatives that will put American corporations ahead of foreign competitors, have heartened businesses and investors and raised expectations for the near-term future of business travel.</p>
<p>Reporting by Alana Wise; Editing by Paul Simao</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - To Wall Street money managers who make bets for a living, U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive stance against China on trade looks like a high-stakes poker hand - but they believe they can play it for all it’s worth.</p> FILE PHOTO: A labourer works on coils of steel wire at a steel wholesale market in Beijing, China, January 17, 2012. REUTERS/Soo Hoo Zheyang/File Photo
<p>Fears that Trump could set off a trade conflict have roiled Wall Street since March 1, when the president announced plans to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, risking retaliation from major trade partners like China, Europe and neighboring Canada.</p>
<p>It’s been a roller coaster ride, with markets slumping after Trump last Friday moved to impose up to $60 billion in tariffs on some Chinese imports and China declared plans to retaliate with duties of up to $3 billion of U.S. imports even as it urged the United States to “pull back from the brink.”</p>
<p>China’s willingness to negotiate spurred a rebound on Monday, though jitters in the tech sector drove markets back down on Tuesday.</p> FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
<p>Investors remain concerned about a trade war between the world’s two largest economies, but some big players are sanguine about their prospects to make money even as they try and dissect Trump’s strategy on trade.</p>
<p>The former celebrity businessman on March 2 tweeted, “trade wars are good, and easy to win,” shocking economists who cite evidence that trade wars in the past have been destructive to economies involved.</p>
<p>“Other administrations have gone to trading partners like China and asked for a fairer deal, only to get a cigar put out on their forehead,” said Steve Chiavarone, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors. “I suspect Trump’s bucking of norms is absolutely part of his negotiating tactics.”</p>
<p>Chiavarone and others said they remain confident the S&amp;P 500 will rise significantly this year.</p>
<p>“So far you are talking about small amounts of tariffs in niche sectors,” said Phil Blancato, head of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York. “For anyone who is looking for an opportunity to enter the market here at better valuations, this is it.”</p> FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump, surrounded by business leaders and administration officials, prepares to sign a memorandum on intellectual property tariffs on high-tech goods from China, at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst THE ART OF THE DEAL
<p>“He has shown himself to act aggressively, quickly and unilaterally, and that’s brought China to the negotiating table,” said Ben Phillips, chief investment officer of EventShares exchange traded funds. “I truly think they are worried about him taking unilateral action and harming China’s economy.”</p>
<p>Fears of a trade war, which could hurt U.S. multinationals and dull the benefits of deep corporate tax cuts enacted this year, have helped push the S&amp;P 500 down nearly 4 percent since the end of February.</p>
<p>The Trump administration has demanded that China immediately cut its $375 billion trade surplus with the United States by $100 billion, a position seen by some as an opening tactic in a long negotiation.</p>
<p>China could respond to U.S. measures with a range of tariffs aimed at U.S. multinationals, or even farmers in rural regions who helped Trump win the 2016 presidential election.</p>
<p>Trump’s bellicose stance with U.S. trade partners reflects a negotiating style outlined in his 1987 book, “Trump: The Art of the Deal,” said Oliver Pursche, chief market strategist at Bruderman Asset Management in New York.</p>
<p>“You propose something horrific, and then when you pull back what you want is not as painful as feared,” Pursche said. “The problem is the other side isn’t dumb. Eventually, they’re going to figure that out.”</p>
<p>Reporting by Noel Randewich, additional reporting by April Joyner and Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Alden Bentley</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tesla Inc shares fell sharply again on Wednesday, reeling from a credit downgrade of the electric car maker by Moody’s Investors Service, federal probes of a fatal crash and concerns about Model 3 production.</p>
<p>Shares tumbled 9 percent before ending down 7.7 percent at $257.78. On Tuesday, Tesla tumbled 8.2 percent to its lowest close in almost a year after the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened a field investigation into a fatal crash and vehicle fire in California on March 23.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, a second federal regulator, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), said it was sending a team to California to investigate the crash.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-tesla-stock-options/extreme-bearish-options-on-tesla-making-money-as-stock-dives-idUSKBN1H434B" type="external">Extreme bearish options on Tesla making money as stock dives</a>
<a href="/article/us-tesla-crash/u-s-auto-safety-agency-to-probe-fatal-tesla-california-crash-idUSKBN1H42X1" type="external">U.S. auto safety agency to probe fatal Tesla California crash</a>
<p>Late on Tuesday, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Tesla’s credit rating to B3 from B2, citing “the significant shortfall in the production rate of the company’s Model 3 electric vehicle.” It also noted “liquidity pressures due to its large negative free cash flow and the pending maturities of convertible bonds.”</p>
<p>Tesla has $230 million in convertible bonds maturing in November 2018 and $920 million in March 2019.</p>
<p>Moody’s said its negative outlook “reflects the likelihood that Tesla will have to undertake a large, near-term capital raise in order to refund maturing obligations and avoid a liquidity shortfall.”</p>
<p>It said Tesla’s weekly production target is now 2,500 Model 3 vehicles by the end of March, down sharply from its year-earlier target of 5,000 per week by the end of 2017. Tesla’s weekly target for the end of June is 5,000.</p>
<p>Tesla declined to comment on the downgrade. The company plans to provide an update on Model 3 production next week.</p>
<p>Tesla shares have experienced big swings in the past, as worries about losses have vied with enthusiasm for Chief Executive Elon Musk’s ambitious plans.</p>
<p>The sell-off has left Tesla’s stock market value at $44 billion, below General Motors Co’s $49 billion. Palo Alto, California-based Tesla has at times had a larger market value than GM, the largest U.S. automaker by vehicle sales.</p> A Tesla dealership is seen in West Drayton, just outside London, Britain, February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
<p>Since the end of February, the median analyst price target for Tesla has dipped by $10 to $356, about 37 percent higher than Wednesday’s price, according to Thomson Reuters data. Nomura Securities analyst Romit Shah has the highest Tesla price target, $500, or nearly double the current price. All the targets were set before the March 23 crash.</p>
<p>In last week’s accident in which the Tesla struck a highway median, it was unclear if the vehicle’s automated control system called Autopilot was driving, the NTSB and police said.</p>
<p>The 38-year-old driver of the Tesla died at a nearby hospital shortly after the crash.</p>
<p>Late Tuesday, Tesla said in a blog post it does “not yet know what happened in the moments leading up to the crash,” but added that data shows Tesla owners have driven the same stretch of highway with Autopilot engaged “roughly 85,000 times ... and there has never been an accident that we know of.” The statement did not say if the crashed vehicle was in Autopilot mode.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Alexandria Sage and Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Dan Grebler and David Gregorio</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Volkswagen has taken parking lots to a whole new level in the United States - and will not be emptying them soon.</p>
<p>Volkswagen AG ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=VOWG_p.DE" type="external">VOWG_p.DE</a>) has paid more than $7.4 billion to buy back about 350,000 U.S. diesel vehicles through mid-February, a recent court filing shows. The German automaker has been storing hundreds of thousands of vehicles around the United States for months.</p>
<p>Volkswagen has 37 secure storage facilities around the United States housing nearly 300,000 vehicles, the filing from the program’s independent administrator said. The lots include a shuttered suburban Detroit football stadium, a former Minnesota paper mill and a sun-bleached desert graveyard near Victorville, California.</p>
<p>VW spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said in a statement on Wednesday that the storage facility in Victorville, California, is one of many “to ensure the responsible storage of vehicles that are bought back under the terms of the Volkswagen” diesel settlements.</p>
<p>“These vehicles are being stored on an interim basis and routinely maintained in a manner to ensure their long-term operability and quality, so that they may be returned to commerce or exported once U.S. regulators approve appropriate emissions modifications,” she said.</p>
<p>In total, VW has agreed to spend more than $25 billion in the United States for claims from owners, environmental regulators, states and dealers and offered to buy back about 500,000 polluting U.S. vehicles. The buy backs will continue through the end of 2019.</p>
<p>The court fling said through Dec. 31 Volkswagen had reacquired 335,000 diesel vehicles, resold 13,000 and destroyed about 28,000 vehicles. As of the end of last year, VW was storing 294,000 vehicles around the country.</p> Slideshow (9 Images)
<p>VW must buy back or fix 85 percent of the vehicles involved by June 2019 or face higher payments for emissions.</p>
<p>The company said in February it has repaired or fixed nearly 83 percent of covered vehicles and expects to soon hit the requirement.</p>
<p>Through mid-February VW has issued 437,273 letters offering nearly $8 billion in compensation and buybacks.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=VOWG_p.DE" type="external">Volkswagen AG</a> 161.14 VOWG_p.DE Xetra +6.14 (+3.96%) VOWG_p.DE
<p>In April 2017 Volkswagen was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to three felony counts and paid $4.3 billion in federal penalties. The automaker in September 2015 admitted to circumventing the emissions control system in U.S. diesel vehicles for vehicles sold since 2009, prompting the resignation of the company’s chief executive.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Shepardson in New York; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O" type="external">AMZN.O</a>) shares fell almost 5 percent on Wednesday, wiping more than $30 billion off its market value, after news website Axios reported that U.S. President Donald Trump is obsessed with the world’s largest online retailer and wants to rein in its growing power.</p> The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics center in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
<p>Trump has talked about using antitrust law to “go after” the company because he is worried about mom-and-pop retailers being put out of business by Amazon, Axios reported, citing five sources it said had discussed the issue with him.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-amazon-com-trump/no-u-s-policy-changes-on-amazon-at-the-moment-white-house-official-idUSKBN1H42IY" type="external">No U.S. policy changes on Amazon at the moment: White House official</a>
<p>Trump also wants to change Amazon’s tax treatment, the Axios report said, an issue the president raised publicly last year when he called for an internet tax for online retailers, even though Amazon already collects sales tax on items it sells direct to customers.</p>
<p>“The president has said many times before he’s always looking to create a level playing field for all businesses and this is no different,” said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, when asked about the Axios report. “He’s always going to look at different ways, but there aren’t any specific policies on the table at this time.”</p>
<p>Trump has been complaining about Amazon in private, believing the company has become too powerful, another administration official confirmed to Reuters.</p>
<p>The official said Trump links this to Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos’ private ownership of the Washington Post, which he has called “fake news” for its critical coverage of his administration. Trump regards the newspaper as a mouthpiece for Bezos’ business interests, calling it #AmazonWashingtonPost on Twitter.</p> The logo of the web service Amazon is pictured in this June 8, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/Illustration
<p>Amazon did not reply to a request for comment on the Axios report.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O" type="external">Amazon.com Inc</a> 1431.42 AMZN.O Nasdaq +0.00 (+0.00%) AMZN.O FB.O FAVORITE TARGET
<p>Trump has criticized Amazon over taxes and jobs in the past, without offering evidence. The president urging the use of antitrust law to selectively thwart a company would be unprecedented, according to Jeffrey Jacobovitz of the law firm Arnall Golden Gregory LLP.</p>
<p>Amazon’s stock, which fell as low as $1,386.17 on Wednesday, was last down 4.6 percent at $1,427.83. The shares have nearly quadrupled over the last three years.</p>
<p>Tech stocks have been under pressure after Facebook Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=FB.O" type="external">FB.O</a>) acknowledged this month that user data had been improperly harvested by a consultancy.</p>
<p>“With Facebook and regulatory worries, the last thing nervous tech investors wanted to see was news that Trump is targeting Bezos and Amazon over the coming months as this remains a lingering cloud over the stock and heightens the risk profile in the eyes of the Street,” GBH Insights analyst Daniel Ives said.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; Diane Bartz and Amanda Becker in Washington; Sinead Carew in New York; writing by Chris Sanders; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and James Dalgleish</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Global business travel expected to grow in 2018: report On China trade clash, Wall Street embraces Trump's poker face Tesla shares dive again, stung by fatal crash, credit downgrade VW storing around 300,000 diesels at 37 facilities around U.S. Amazon shares fall after report Trump wants to curb its power | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-travel-outlook/global-business-travel-expected-to-grow-in-2018-report-idUSKBN1FB2TL | 2018-01-22 | 2 |
<p><a href="" type="external">Small protests broke out around Iran on June 12, the anniversary of the 2009 presidential election</a>, which protesters say was stolen by the country’s clerical Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on behalf of his favored candidate, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.</p>
<p>The <a href="" type="external">Associated Press has video</a>:</p>
<p>What was the Green Movement? <a href="" type="external">A debate rages among Iran-watchers</a>. Partisans see it as a sign that Iran is on the verge of a massive democratization. Critics see it as an exaggerated hiccup, barely more important than the student protests of the late 1990s, which amounted to nothing. Which interpretation is right has implications for US foreign policy. If the regime is tottering, the Obama administration can afford to batter it with sanctions and ignore it, hoping to help it fall. If it is strong and enduring, then it will have to be dealt with and probably direct negotiations are called for.</p>
<p>The reality lies in the middle. Named in honor of the color associated with the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, among whom presidential candidate Mir Hosain Mousavi is counted, the Green Movement is a social movement that protested what its followers saw as the stealing of the June 12, 2009, election by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his patron, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.</p>
<p>It is certainly the largest social movement in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It is frankly ridiculous to class it with the earlier small student demonstrations.</p>
<p>Sociologist <a href="http://professor-murmann.info/tilly/2006_History_Matters.pdf" type="external">Charles Tilly defined a social movement as a cluster of groups that challenge the state in a sustained way</a>, engaging in an attempt to effect some change in the status quo. A movement is not an organization and so lacks the institutionalization and reporting lines of a political party’s electoral campaign. If that distinction is kept in mind, we can call a social movement a sort of campaign for some goal.</p>
<p>The civil rights movement of Dr. Martin Luther King and his associates is probably the best example of a successful social movement recognizable to most Americans.</p>
<p>The social movement attempts to demonstrate that it has large numbers of committed members, that it is united, and that it should be taken seriously.</p>
<p>To this end, the social movement engages in public political action, including demonstrations, processions, rallies, making statements, and sometimes violence and contention. But it also appeals to cultural symbols as part of these contentious gatherings.</p>
<p>The Green Movement failed in its initial goals, which were to force an aboveboard investigation of fraud in the June 12 election results, and possibly the holding of a new election. It is now sometimes forgotten that the movement did not seek the overthrow of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was about who should be president, and about insisting that the electoral institutions of that republic– the presidency and the parliament– be chosen through popular sovereignty without intervention from the appointive institutions (the supreme clerical Leader, the judiciary, the security forces).</p>
<p>The Greens probably did, however, succeed in weakening the legitimacy of the regime. Whereas before June, 2009, few Iranians would have been willing to say that supreme clerical leader Khamenei is a crook, a significant number now doubt his probity. That number is not a majority, but it is a vocal minority. In that sense, the debacle of the 2009 election saps Khamenei’s authority just as the priest pedophile controversy has much weakened Pope Benedict among Catholics. Those analysts who discount cultural movements and the whole idea of legitimacy as underpinning authority will be unpersuaded that this change is important. But I believe it is, in the medium to long term though not in the short term.</p>
<p>The movement failed to attain its short term primary goal for two major internal reasons:</p>
<p>The downside for the regime is that it must now depend more on power (i.e. imposition of rule by force) and less on authority (the likelihood that a command will be obeyed voluntarily). Regimes based on brute power are less often long-lasting than those based on authority.</p>
<p>I argued <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175259/tomgram%3A_juan_cole%2C_israel%27s_gift_to_iran%27s_hardliners/" type="external">at Tomdispatch that US and Israeli hypocrisy also helped</a> the hardliners internationally.</p>
<p>The Greens could not split the generals and they could not withstand the onslaught of the dedicated security forces. They could have nevertheless won, perhaps, if a majority of parliamentarians and major clerics on the Guardianship Council were to swing behind their demand for new elections. No such swing occurred. The speaker of parliament was willing to criticize Ahmadinejad, but not to try to unseat him. The Guardianship Council in the end stood with Khamenei.</p>
<p>One final possibility would have been for the movement to become so popular that it was able to put large numbers of people in the street sufficiently often, and to mount strikes and other crippling forms of contentious action with sufficient regularity, to make the ordinary functioning of the government impossible and so to force a compromise. But they were unable to maintain the momentum of the second half of 2009 in the new year, and could not be so disruptive throughout the country as to force the regime to the negotiating table.</p>
<p>Unlike the US civil rights movement, which had as its major goal the repeal of Jim Crow laws, the Green Movement has no single, simple, legislative object that could easily be implemented by parliament and the supreme leader. It has not been able to force Ahmadinejad to resign or to force new elections.</p>
<p>This failure to achieve a practical political change at the top in the course of a year does not indicate that the Green Movement is unimportant or dead. It can survive and be influential if it finds new tactics or repertoires of sustainable collective action that cannot so easily be forestalled by the security forces, and if it identifies some simple, practical change it wants legislated other than the holding of new elections. It should be remembered that the Civil Rights movement in the US took about a decade to succeed legislatively, and much longer to effect real social and cultural change.</p>
<p>If it is a movement for free speech and political transparency, then it should put forward a program for legislation that would implement these ideals, and keep the pressure on the regime to enact it.</p>
<p>In the meantime, the Obama administration must face certain realities:</p> | The Greens in Iran are a Movement, not a Coup | true | http://juancole.com/2010/06/the-greens-are-a-movement-not-a-coup.html | 2010-06-13 | 4 |
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<p>Make no mistake; the Senate immigration bill was already a difficult and pragmatic move to the center for both sides. Yet Pearce’s limited “guest worker” plan represents an immoral proposal to instate a permanent caste system, keep 11 million immigrants as second-class, and never grant those families the chance at dignity or the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship.</p>
<p>Pearce’s proposal does nothing to honor the chance to pursue the American Dream for immigrants desperate to earn a life outside of the shadows in our country. Those hard-working immigrant families are our neighbors, classmates, fellow churchgoers, taxpayers and owners of thriving local businesses.</p>
<p>Yet the Southern Poverty Law Center itself recently characterized proposed guest worker programs as “close to slavery.” We don’t have to look farther than the dark history of the “bracero” program and its devastation to so many Latino families to understand why such a limited proposal is offensive to many.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Confining so many to a status tantamount to indentured servitude is not a New Mexican value. Unlike the sharp anti-immigrant measures taken by our neighboring states like Arizona, we’re proud in New Mexico of having taken a much more integrative approach. New Mexico was one of the pioneering states enabling immigrants to apply for drivers’ licenses. Our state Constitution includes a provision for bilingual government.</p>
<p>A recent poll conducted by Latino Decisions revealed that 60 percent of New Mexican Latinos have an undocumented family member, friend or co-worker. A guest-worker program alone would treat these individuals as disposable workers and confine them to systematic exploitation, uncertain futures and low wages.</p>
<p>They’d be inhibited from changing jobs because of poor conditions and bound to the employers who “imported” them. According to a 2013 poll conducted by Third Eye Strategies of 400 active voters in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional district, only 10 percent of voters in Pearce’s congressional district preferred a guest worker program with no possibility of citizenship to giving immigrants some light at the end of the tunnel.</p>
<p>Immigrants are a vital part of our economy, and permanent legal status would create an estimated 11,000 jobs in Pearce’s district alone, according to the American Action Network. Their prosperity and contributions as taxpayers make our communities stronger. That’s why his dehumanization of so many of our immigrant neighbors strikes a chord in our communities.</p>
<p>Latinos across the country are paying close attention to this topic (immigration policy is important to the votes of 79 percent of Latinos according to a recent Latino Decisions poll). For many of us, the question is a moral one.</p>
<p>Pearce has good reason to be concerned about the impending clash between the ideology behind that approach and the core values of the most Latino congressional district represented by a Republican in the country.</p>
<p>Still, Pearce’s gamble with resisting any path to citizenship for immigrants stands to help pile on the diminishing relationship between the Republican Party and Latinos.</p>
<p>We take pride in a New Mexican belief that it’s not where you were born that makes you an American; it’s how you contribute to the strengthening of our country that counts. Withholding the American dream from honest hard-working immigrant families indefinitely and confining them to a living second class not only offends so many of our core values; it also risks continuing the tailspin of the GOP brand amongst Latinos.</p>
<p>That, for the nation’s most Hispanic congressional district represented by a Republican, should not be credited as offering a “middle ground to fix immigration.”</p>
<p /> | Pearce’s proposal not middle ground | false | https://abqjournal.com/279311/pearces-proposal-not-middle-ground.html | 2 |
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<p>Why? Has there been any demonstration of reciprocity? Have the <a href="" type="internal">Christians</a> in Muslim lands been given a reprieve from creed apartheid, persecution, oppression, subjugation and slaughter? Are there not enough mosques?</p>
<p>It’s madness. It’s suicide. It’s the Church of England. This continues a god-awful pattern of dhimmitude and subjugation by the CoE. A senior Church of England bishop said that Prince Charles’s coronation service should be opened with a reading from the Qur’an. They also <a href="http://www.jihadwatch.org/2008/05/church-of-england-uk-will-be-islamic-nation-in-2038" type="external">predicted</a> that the UK would be an Islamic nation by 2038. The way they are going, I predict it far sooner.</p>
<p>Their flock are being slaughtered for their faith. A <a href="" type="internal">Christian genocide</a> of unimaginable proportions is unfolding in the Middle East and Africa by Muslim armies. Churches are being systematically destroyed. And this is how the Church of England responds.</p>
<p>“Controversy erupts over CoE reverend’s decision to invite Muslim group to pray in church,” <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/controversy-erupts-over-coe-reverends-decision-to-invite-muslim-group-to-pray-in-church-10106265.html" type="external">The Independent</a>, March 13, 2105</p>
<p />
<p>Service was attended by both Islamic and Christian believers</p>
<p>Controversy has erupted over a Church of England vicar’s decision to open his church to a Muslim group for prayer.</p>
<p>The Reverend Canon Giles Goddard invited Muslims from the Inclusive Mosque organisation – a liberal group that promotes both genders praying together – to worship in St John’s Waterloo on Friday.</p>
<p>The service, attended by roughly 50 members of the group, was led by campaigner Amina Wadud and commemorated the 10 anniversary of Ms Wadud’s decision to speak out against the segregation of worshippers on ground of gender.</p>
<p>Inclusive Mosque spokesperson Farouk A. Peru told The Independent the mood was “like Eid,” adding it was a “joyous occasion.”</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/pamelageller.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Screen-Shot-2015-03-13-at-1.47.52-PM.png" type="external" /></p>
<p>A still from the video capturing the prayers and sermon</p>
<p>But Reverend Stephen Kuhrt, Vicar of Christ Church, New Malden in south-west London, condemned the decision to open the church.</p>
<p>Labelling the service “absolutely illegal,” Rev Kuhrt said the gathering was “disrespectful” to both Islam and Christianity and “part of a liberal agenda”.</p>
<p>“We cannot blend them [Christianity and Islam] together and pretend they are part of all one thing,” he told The Independent. “What happens when this blurring occurs is neither respectful to Christianity or Islam.”</p>
<p>Rev Kuhrt, who has been Christ Church’s vicar since 2007, said that Canon Goddard had broken the “strict” regulations surrounding the use of church buildings, but expressed scepticism that the liberal Canon would face disciplinary action.</p>
<p>In footage capturing the event, the group are seen coming together to pray and listen to a sermon celebrating inclusivity by Ms Wadud.</p>
<p>Afterwards, Canon Goddard reads to the congregation from Psalms 139. Finishing the reading he says: “Allah, God, is always with us and always around us, and is within us.”</p>
<p>Rev Kuhrt called Canon Goddard’s decision to refer to God as Allah as “confusing”, claiming that his decision would only “stoke up” anti-Islamic sentiment.</p>
<p>But he made clear he did not want to be disrespectful towards Islam, adding he had no wish to “whip up” Islamophobia.</p>
<p>He continued: “I think the real problem is that there is a very liberal agenda and I think is trying to water down the distinctness of Christianity.</p>
<p>“It is making it toothless, which means it hasn’t got a message to say and leaves us in the situation where no one should challenge anyone on anything,” he added.</p>
<p>The latest upset comes amid growing anger against a perceived liberal take-over in the Church of England Diocese of Southwark. Around 60 clerics have signed a declaration of concern to the Bishop of Southwark over the shift in attitudes towards issues such as sexuality.</p>
<p>St John’s has been singled out for criticism previously after it emerged that the church holds “thanksgiving” services for same-sex civil partnerships and marriages, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/11468013/Muslim-prayers-in-Church-of-England-parish.html" type="external">the Daily Telegraph reported</a>.</p>
<p>St John’s Waterloo and Southwark’s Church of England spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p />
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://pamelageller.com/2015/03/watch-video-full-muslim-prayers-in-church-of-england.html/" type="external">Pamela Geller</a>.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Watch VIDEO: FULL Muslim prayers in Church of England | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2015/03/14/watch-video-full-muslim-prayers-in-church-of-england/ | 0 |
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<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Lawmakers are rushing to draft New York’s first regulations for a type of heavy-duty rooftop air conditioning equipment amid suspicions that bacteria-laden mist from these units could be the cause of the deadliest known outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the city’s history.</p>
<p>Seven people have died and at least 86 have fallen ill in the South Bronx since July 10. People can get exposed to Legionella bacteria from a variety of sources, but cooling towers have been implicated in past outbreaks. Testing found five contaminated units in the part of the city where people are getting sick.</p>
<p>Five things to know about the outbreak:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>HOW COMMON IS LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE?</p>
<p>Between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized in the U.S. each year with Legionnaires’ disease, which is a type of pneumonia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of cases reported to the CDC each year has been rising, roughly doubling between 2000 and 2009.</p>
<p>A study in New York City found 1,449 cases and 185 deaths between 2002 and 2011. That’s an average of around 19 deaths per year.</p>
<p>“Let’s be clear that Legionnaires’ disease has been a persistent health problem for years. A problem all over the country. A problem that has been slowing and steadily growing all over the country,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHERE IT LURKS</p>
<p>The bacteria can thrive in warm water and become especially dangerous when the water is turned into a mist that can be inhaled.</p>
<p>Medical investigators have linked past outbreaks to public fountains, air conditioning systems, spas, showers and even the misters than keep fruit moist in supermarkets. In the case of New York City’s outbreak, the infected people might have simply been walking by on the street when they inhaled the mist.</p>
<p>Investigators are still trying to determine which, if any, of the five cooling towers are directly linked to the illnesses. The presence of the bacteria doesn’t necessarily mean the equipment infected anyone.</p>
<p>The disease is not transmitted person to person, nor can it be transmitted through drinking water.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHAT IS BEING DONE?</p>
<p>The five cooling towers have all been decontaminated, and lawmakers are hurriedly crafting legislation they say could help prevent another such outbreak.</p>
<p>Building owners would be required to register the location of cooling towers with the city. There will also be a schedule of mandatory inspections, plus rules mandating a prompt disinfection if bacteria are found.</p>
<p>This type of regulation is rare in the U.S. but has existed for years in some other countries. Quebec, Canada, instituted similar rules after a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Quebec City in 2012.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>HOW BAD IS THIS OUTBREAK?</p>
<p>City officials suspect the outbreak is starting to ease. They believe it peaked on July 30, and they have seen a decline in new cases since then. The first contaminated cooling tower was discovered and cleaned on July 29.</p>
<p>Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett called it “the largest outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease that we are aware of in New York City.”</p>
<p>It hasn’t been nearly as bad as the episode that gave the illness its name — the 1976 outbreak that killed 34 people who had attended an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>Legionnaires’ disease is treatable with standard antibiotics and has a fatality rate of between 5 and 10 percent.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHO IS AT RISK?</p>
<p>Researchers say one reason for the increase in reported cases is that there are more elderly and chronically ill people than in decades past. Those people are more susceptible to the illness.</p>
<p>City health officials said the victims of this outbreak all had other serious health problems.</p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Lawmakers are rushing to draft New York’s first regulations for a type of heavy-duty rooftop air conditioning equipment amid suspicions that bacteria-laden mist from these units could be the cause of the deadliest known outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in the city’s history.</p>
<p>Seven people have died and at least 86 have fallen ill in the South Bronx since July 10. People can get exposed to Legionella bacteria from a variety of sources, but cooling towers have been implicated in past outbreaks. Testing found five contaminated units in the part of the city where people are getting sick.</p>
<p>Five things to know about the outbreak:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>HOW COMMON IS LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE?</p>
<p>Between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized in the U.S. each year with Legionnaires’ disease, which is a type of pneumonia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of cases reported to the CDC each year has been rising, roughly doubling between 2000 and 2009.</p>
<p>A study in New York City found 1,449 cases and 185 deaths between 2002 and 2011. That’s an average of around 19 deaths per year.</p>
<p>“Let’s be clear that Legionnaires’ disease has been a persistent health problem for years. A problem all over the country. A problem that has been slowing and steadily growing all over the country,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHERE IT LURKS</p>
<p>The bacteria can thrive in warm water and become especially dangerous when the water is turned into a mist that can be inhaled.</p>
<p>Medical investigators have linked past outbreaks to public fountains, air conditioning systems, spas, showers and even the misters than keep fruit moist in supermarkets. In the case of New York City’s outbreak, the infected people might have simply been walking by on the street when they inhaled the mist.</p>
<p>Investigators are still trying to determine which, if any, of the five cooling towers are directly linked to the illnesses. The presence of the bacteria doesn’t necessarily mean the equipment infected anyone.</p>
<p>The disease is not transmitted person to person, nor can it be transmitted through drinking water.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHAT IS BEING DONE?</p>
<p>The five cooling towers have all been decontaminated, and lawmakers are hurriedly crafting legislation they say could help prevent another such outbreak.</p>
<p>Building owners would be required to register the location of cooling towers with the city. There will also be a schedule of mandatory inspections, plus rules mandating a prompt disinfection if bacteria are found.</p>
<p>This type of regulation is rare in the U.S. but has existed for years in some other countries. Quebec, Canada, instituted similar rules after a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Quebec City in 2012.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>HOW BAD IS THIS OUTBREAK?</p>
<p>City officials suspect the outbreak is starting to ease. They believe it peaked on July 30, and they have seen a decline in new cases since then. The first contaminated cooling tower was discovered and cleaned on July 29.</p>
<p>Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett called it “the largest outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease that we are aware of in New York City.”</p>
<p>It hasn’t been nearly as bad as the episode that gave the illness its name — the 1976 outbreak that killed 34 people who had attended an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>Legionnaires’ disease is treatable with standard antibiotics and has a fatality rate of between 5 and 10 percent.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>WHO IS AT RISK?</p>
<p>Researchers say one reason for the increase in reported cases is that there are more elderly and chronically ill people than in decades past. Those people are more susceptible to the illness.</p>
<p>City health officials said the victims of this outbreak all had other serious health problems.</p> | NYC targets cooling systems linked to Legionnaires’ outbreak | false | https://apnews.com/3ff013e4efce43f499de1890d3dde2b1 | 2015-08-04 | 2 |
<p />
<p>Visa (NYSE: V) reported fiscal second-quarter results on April 20. The payment-processing titan delivered strong increases in revenue and profits, aided by its acquisition of Visa Europe and major new business wins here in the U.S.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Data source: Visa Q2 2017 earnings <a href="http://investor.visa.com/news/news-details/2017/Visa-Inc-Reports-Strong-Fiscal-Second-Quarter-2017-Results-and-Announces-New-50-Billion-Share-Repurchase-Program/default.aspx" type="external">press release Opens a New Window.</a>. EPS = earnings per share.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
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<p>Net operating revenue jumped 23% year over year to $4.5 billion, as Visa successfully furthered its <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/11/smooth-integration-with-visa-europe-powers-a-stron.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">integration of Visa Europe Opens a New Window.</a> and expanded its business across all of its primary operating segments.</p>
<p>Service revenue, which is recognized based on payment volume in the prior quarter, increased 17% to $2 billion, as payments volume leapt 39% on a constant dollar basis to $1.8 trillion. That strong growth continued during the first three months of 2017, with payments volume rising 37%, to $1.7 trillion, during that time.</p>
<p>Helping to drive those results, international payments volume soared 68% in constant dollars. "Robust payment volume growth continued across the globe," CFO Vasant Prabhu said during a conference call with analysts. U.S. payments volume was also strong at 12%, boosted by a 21% rise in credit growth, which was driven in part by Visa's <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/23/costcos-big-credit-card-bet-has-paid-off.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">recent wins Opens a New Window.</a> of large credit card portfolios from Costco and USAA.</p>
<p>Data-processing revenue rose 25% to $1.8 billion, with the number of transactions processed on Visa's network surging 42% to 26.3 billion. Total processed transactions -- adjusted to include Visa Europe in prior-year results -- increased 12% year over year.</p>
<p>International transaction revenue grew 41% to $1.5 billion, as constant currency cross-border volume soared 132% (11% when normalizing for Visa Europe).</p>
<p>Client incentives, which are a contra revenue item, were $1 billion. That represented 18.7% of gross revenues, compared to 18.9% in the prior-year period.</p>
<p>Adjusted operating expenses increased 24% to $1.5 billion, due primarily to costs associated with the acquisition of Visa Europe.</p>
<p>All told, net income -- adjusted to exclude nonrecurring items related to the reorganization of Visa Europe and the creation of the Visa Foundation -- rose 27% to $2.1 billion, or $0.86 per share.</p>
<p>These strong results prompted Visa to update its financial outlook for fiscal 2017. The company now expects full-year net revenue growth to come in at the high end of its previously communicated range of 16% to 18%. Moreover, Visa said it now anticipates that its fiscal 2017 adjusted earnings-per-share growth will also be at the top end of its prior "mid-teens" forecast. And, as an additional sign of management's optimism, Visa announced a new $5 billion share-repurchase program.</p>
<p>"In the face of geo-political uncertainty, Visa continues to execute well against our operating plan and strategic priorities, delivering sustained growth across nearly every part of our business," said CEO Alfred Kelly in a press release. "Looking ahead, we are continuing our efforts across the globe to electronify commerce and digitize economies to the benefit of consumers and societies alike."</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than VisaWhen 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-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=d055130b-1237-4d2f-a00f-c7b4703737aa&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 Visa 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-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=d055130b-1237-4d2f-a00f-c7b4703737aa&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 April 3, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGuardian/info.aspx" type="external">Joe Tenebruso Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Costco Wholesale and Visa. 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> | International Expansion Fuels Visa Inc. Earnings | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/04/25/international-expansion-fuels-visa-inc-earnings.html | 2017-04-25 | 0 |
<p>On Wednesday the NFL <a href="http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/dallas-cowboys/cowboys/2016/08/10/nfl-allow-dallas-cowboys-wear-arm-arm-decal-helmets-games" type="external">refused to permit</a> the Dallas Cowboys to honor the Dallas police officers slain in July by a domestic terrorist by wearing a decal reading “Arm in Arm” on their helmets for the 2016 season.</p>
<p>The team had walked on their practice field on the opening day of training camp accompanied by the Dallas police chief, the city's mayor, and family members of the slain police officers with their arms intertwined as they introduced the decal in a formal ceremony.</p>
<p>Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones, who acknowledged that the NFL would permit the team to wear the decal during training camp practices, responded to the league’s decision by meekly submitting, "Everyone has to be uniform with the league and the other 31 teams. We respect their decision. There are so many wonderful, wonderful causes, the league has to be careful. If you allow one, then what do you do about every team that has a great reason to have something on their helmets?"</p>
<p>Before the league’s decision, Jones had eased the way for the league, saying, "There are so many wonderful, wonderful causes, the league has to be careful. If you allow one, then what do you do about every team that has a great reason to have something on their helmets? There are tons of things out there that need to be recognized. Once you open that Pandora's box, how do you ever stop?"</p>
<p>On Thursday afternoon, the Dallas Police Department went along with the decision, stating, "We appreciate the support of the Cowboys organization and its players. Their concern for the families of our fallen officers, the Dallas Police Department, and the City of Dallas is what matters most, and we know that support will continue for the immediate and long term future."</p>
<p>But the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation had a quite different reaction; <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2016/08/11/dallas-police-org-rejected-decals/" type="external">asserting</a>, "We are extremely upset by their decision.” Sergeant Demetrick Pennie, president of the foundation, told TMZ: "The NFL had an opportunity to be leaders and advocates for change in law enforcement. These teams and players have a spotlight on them and could have helped bring awareness. If a uniform policy is keeping them from this, then why don’t they have every team wear the decals?”</p>
<p>"These are our friends and our loved ones ... it hurts to not have the NFL fully support us."</p>
<p>Sergeant Demetrick Pennie, president of the Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation</p>
<p>​Pennie added that the group was grateful to the Cowboys for trying, saying, "they understand the sacrifices these officers made and we're happy they wanted to honor these heroes.” Then he said bitterly, "These are our friends and our loved ones ... it hurts to not have the NFL fully support us."</p>
<p>Last year Pittsburgh Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams asked the league if he could wear pink gear for the season to memorialize his mother, who died from breast cancer. The NFL fined Williams for inking "Find the cure” in eye black during a game.</p> | NFL Rejects Dallas Cowboys Honoring Slain Police Officers | true | https://dailywire.com/news/8332/nfl-rejects-dallas-cowboys-honoring-slain-police-hank-berrien | 2016-08-12 | 0 |
<p />
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>That’s according to a&#160; <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/23/texas-abortion-rate-drops_n_5613293.html?1406131239" type="external">new study</a>&#160;on the impact of the <a href="" type="internal">anti-choice restrictions</a> that have now forced&#160;46 percent of Texas’ legal abortion providers to close.</p>
<p>As we already know, the omnibus law passed last year–which also&#160;placed stricter restrictions on medication abortions and banned the procedure after 20 weeks–has dealt a <a href="" type="internal">disastrous blow to abortion access</a>. The number of Texans living more than <a href="" type="internal">200 miles from a provider</a> has increased nearly 30-fold over the past year–from 10,000 to 290,000.&#160;And the new study shows it’s had an effect on the abortion rate as well. In the 6 months after the law went into effect, there was a 13 percent decrease in the legal abortion rate in the state compared to the year before. Medication abortions decreased by 70 percent.&#160;Meanwhile, there was a “small but significant” increase in the number of abortions conducted after 12 weeks, suggesting all the restrictions are forcing folks to wait longer to get the procedure done.&#160;</p>
<p>According to the researchers, it’s actually amazing that the abortion rate hasn’t dropped more. “Given the number of closures, and the size of the population left without a nearby provider, it is surprising that the overall decline in the abortion rate was not greater than the 13% change we observed,” <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/texas-legal-abortion-rate-declines" type="external">they write</a>. Then again, we know that people who want to end their pregnancies have&#160;always been willing to go to any extremes necessary to do so. And, as the researchers note, thankfully activists in Texans have stepped up to help many–but not all–of them overcome the hurdles. However, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/23/texas-abortion-rate-drops_n_5613293.html?1406131239" type="external">the researchers predict</a> that some women are also traveling out of state or turning to <a href="" type="internal">potentially risky self-induced abortions</a>&#160;to get the care that Texas is denying them.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/mayadusenbery" type="external">Maya Dusenbery</a> is an Executive Director of Feministing.</p> | Legal abortion rate in Texas dropped 13 percent after new anti-choice restrictions | true | http://feministing.com/2014/07/23/texass-legal-abortion-rate-dropped-13-percent-after-new-anti-choice-restrictions/ | 4 |
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<p>NEW YORK (AP) — Chobani says it’s recalling some of its Greek yogurt cups that were affected by mold, a move prompted by reports of illnesses by some customers.</p>
<p>The recall comes about a week after the company first started asking retailers to pull the products from shelves, saying some cups were “swelling and bloating.” Chobani had previously said it wasn’t issuing a formal recall.</p>
<p>But the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that it was in talks with the company about the matter.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Chobani said that most of the affected products have already been pulled from shelves. The company, based in New Berlin, N.Y., said the affected products came from its Idaho facility and represents less than 5 percent of its total production.</p>
<p>The containers are marked with the code 16-012 and expiration dates Sept. 11 to Oct. 7.</p>
<p>In an interview, Chobani CEO Hamid Ulukaya said it was the company’s decision to move to a recall, not the FDA’s. He said the problem was caused by a type of mold that is commonly found in dairy environments. The issue has been “totally fixed,” he said, noting that the mold became a problem because Chobani doesn’t use preservatives in its products.</p>
<p>Ulukaya did not say exactly how many reports of illnesses the company received, but said it was not in the hundreds or thousands.</p>
<p>“Everybody in the company took this hard,” Ulukaya said. “It shook us up.”</p>
<p>This week, the company was responding online to customers who were complaining about their yogurt. One person said her yogurt was “unnervingly fizzy” and another said it tasted like “wine.”</p>
<p>The affected products include a number of different size containers:</p>
<p>— Chobani 6 ounce cups</p>
<p>— Chobani 16 ounce tubs</p>
<p>— Chobani 32 ounce tubs</p>
<p>— Chobani 3.5 ounce cups</p>
<p>— Chobani Bite 3.5 ounce cups</p>
<p>— Chobani Flip 5.3 ounce containers</p> | Chobani recalls some Greek yogurt cups | false | https://abqjournal.com/258166/chobani-recalls-some-greek-yogurt-cups.html | 2013-09-05 | 2 |
<p>The Las Vegas Monorail Co. will seek Clark County commissioners’ permission this week to extend the monorail’s route from the MGM Grand to Mandalay Bay.</p>
<p>The 1-mile-long extension was a project marked for advancement in a traffic assessment report commissioned by the Nevada Department of Transportation board and released earlier this month. Along with the extension, a pedestrian bridge is proposed that would link the new monorail station to a proposed site on Russell Road for a new $1.9 billion stadium.</p>
<p>The monorail company, a privately held nonprofit, is asking the county for a maximum of two years to acquire funding and start construction on the extension of the elevated, 3.9-mile-long monorail, which has operated east of the Strip since 2004.</p>
<p>Construction on the monorail extension could start as soon as the second quarter of 2017, according to backup documents provided to the County Commission. At this time, no public money is being sought for the project.</p>
<p>The fashion trade show Men’s Apparel Guild in California, or MAGIC, held twice annually in Las Vegas, has propelled talks on the monorail extension, but the proposal hasn’t gotten to the point of possible advancement until now.</p>
<p>The convention is split between the Mandalay Bay and Las Vegas convention centers, and transportation between the two venues has proved pricey, time-consuming and cumbersome for the group that puts on the show.</p>
<p>CONNECTIVITY THE GOAL</p>
<p>Connectivity along the Strip, particularly between the multiple large-scale convention centers, became a big issue at the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee meetings, said County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak, who served on that committee. The panel recommended the stadium, which supporters hope will be the new home of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders.</p>
<p>During those meetings, the industry leaders on the committee brought to the forefront the lack of connectivity from the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Sands Expo and Convention Center and the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Sisolak said.</p>
<p>With traffic, shuttling conventioneers between venues sometimes can take an hour and a half, Sisolak said.</p>
<p>Extending the monorail also could serve as another way to transport people to the proposed stadium, Sisolak said.</p>
<p>At their Wednesday zoning meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. in the commission chambers, commissioners will discuss whether to allow the expansion. The county Planning Commission approved a use permit for the project earlier this month.</p>
<p>Sisolak is hopeful that the measure will pass this week.</p>
<p>“I think it makes an awful lot of sense,” Sisolak said. “Something needs to be done with transportation on the Strip corridor and with the convention centers. There needs to be a better way to move some of these people.”</p>
<p>RIDERS WOULD PAY FOR BONDS</p>
<p>While previous estimates put the cost of the extension at $100 million, monorail spokeswoman Ingrid Reisman said last week that “we are not to the level of design at where we know the exact cost.”</p>
<p>Funding for the project is expected to come from bonds that would be paid back with revenue from paying riders, Reisman said. A single-ride ticket on the monorail costs $5, and an unlimited 24-hour pass is $12.</p>
<p>The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada previously considered using its credit rating to secure low-interest bonds for the expansion project. Those talks were suspended in August because of restrictions in the transportation commission’s governing statutes, an agency spokeswoman said.</p>
<p>The monorail company now is using about $1.9 million of investment earnings from a $6 million doomsday account to pay for expansion-related expenses. The fund has been in place since 2000, when the County Commission required the monorail company to set aside money to dismantle the monorail should it ever fail.</p>
<p>The monorail company has to pay back money borrowed from the doomsday account at a 4 percent interest rate.</p>
<p>It’s not yet clear how the bonds would be paid if ridership revenue is insufficient.</p>
<p>The monorail already runs from SLS Las Vegas to the MGM Grand and has seven stations, including stops at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Westgate, Bally’s/Paris Las Vegas, Flamingo/Caesars Palace and Harrah’s/the LINQ.</p>
<p>Stretching it farther would increase ridership and decrease traffic on the Strip, supporters said. Connecting to Mandalay Bay would give guests at 9,000 additional hotel rooms access to the monorail.</p>
<p>RIDERSHIP CHALLENGE</p>
<p>Ridership and revenue have been problems for the monorail, especially during and since the Great Recession.</p>
<p>The monorail company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2010 after it failed to pay off $650 million in construction and startup costs. The company exited bankruptcy proceedings in 2012, leaving it with a 98 percent reduction of debt to $13 million and maintaining its nonprofit status.</p>
<p>From January through September of this year, monorail ridership averaged about 13,300 people a day. While ridership in 2015 was at 5.1 million, well higher than the 4.55 million in 2014, it’s still nowhere near the more than 7.9 million riders in 2007.</p>
<p>Monorail revenue through the third quarter of this year is estimated at $15.8 million, about $300,000 less than at the same time last year.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, the Legislature approved plans to build a 65,000-seat domed stadium in the county. A 62-acre site west of Mandalay Bay on Russell Road across Interstate 15 has been favored as the stadium’s future site.</p>
<p>Extending the monorail to Mandalay Bay could help drive foot traffic to the stadium if a proposed pedestrian bridge linking the two sites is built.</p>
<p>NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said a study comparing Las Vegas with Oakland is the next step in the process of relocating the team.</p>
<p>Eventually, 24 of the NFL’s 32 team owners will need to vote to approve the team’s move for it to happen.</p>
<p>The stadium’s financing plan calls for $750 million in hotel room tax money, $500 million from the Raiders and $650 million from Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.</p>
<p>The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.</p>
<p>Review-Journal writer Jamie Munks contributed to this report. Contact Michael Scott Davidson at [email protected] or 702-477-3861. Follow <a href="http://www.twitter.com/davidsonlvrj" type="external">@davidsonlvrj</a> on Twitter.</p>
<p>&lt;img src="https://www.reviewjournal.com/sites/default/files/MONORAIL-EXTENSION-OCT31-16.jpg" style="margin: 1em 0; width:100%; max-width: 640px" alt="Proposed monorail extension, Las Vegas, Nevada (Gabriel Utasi/Las Vegas Review-Journal)" /&gt;</p> | Las Vegas stadium gives energy to monorail extension proposal | false | https://reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/las-vegas-stadium-gives-energy-to-monorail-extension-proposal/ | 2016-10-30 | 1 |
<p>ATLANTA (AP) — Some of the nation's largest recording studios have joined forces in an effort to stop a music streaming service aimed at fitness enthusiasts from using songs by Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Green Day and other stars.</p>
<p>In a federal lawsuit filed in Atlanta, Sony Music Entertainment and more than a dozen other record companies say Fit Radio illegally infringes on their copyrighted recordings "on a massive scale."</p>
<p>The Atlanta-based streaming business is hurting artists who rely on music royalties, the music companies states in the suit filed recently in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. The lawsuit mentioned several major artists, including Beyonce, Jason Derulo, Green Day and others.</p>
<p>"Rampant copyright infringement of sound recordings over the internet and through mobile applications, including the infringement engaged in and enabled by entities such as Fit Radio, has resulted in significant harm to the music industry, including to artists who rely on royalties from recorded music for their livelihood," the complaint states.</p>
<p>A representative of the Atlanta firm said in a statement Tuesday that it looks forward to "being vindicated by the court system."</p>
<p>"We will continue providing exceptional services to our customers," it said.</p>
<p>Fit Radio is available through its website, fitradio.com, and through an application or app on mobile devices such as cellphones. Fit Radio recruits disc jockeys who copy and upload popular songs to attract users, the lawsuit says.</p>
<p>The streaming service entices the DJs to upload recordings to Fit Radio as a way for the DJs to "promote your personal brand," the lawsuit states. The company also supports the DJs with marketing efforts through Facebook and email campaigns, according to the lawsuit.</p>
<p>The recording companies say their music is legally streamed via services such as Apple Music and Spotify through business agreements with them. But Fit Radio is different because it has no such agreements to stream the copyrighted music, they say.</p>
<p>ATLANTA (AP) — Some of the nation's largest recording studios have joined forces in an effort to stop a music streaming service aimed at fitness enthusiasts from using songs by Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Green Day and other stars.</p>
<p>In a federal lawsuit filed in Atlanta, Sony Music Entertainment and more than a dozen other record companies say Fit Radio illegally infringes on their copyrighted recordings "on a massive scale."</p>
<p>The Atlanta-based streaming business is hurting artists who rely on music royalties, the music companies states in the suit filed recently in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. The lawsuit mentioned several major artists, including Beyonce, Jason Derulo, Green Day and others.</p>
<p>"Rampant copyright infringement of sound recordings over the internet and through mobile applications, including the infringement engaged in and enabled by entities such as Fit Radio, has resulted in significant harm to the music industry, including to artists who rely on royalties from recorded music for their livelihood," the complaint states.</p>
<p>A representative of the Atlanta firm said in a statement Tuesday that it looks forward to "being vindicated by the court system."</p>
<p>"We will continue providing exceptional services to our customers," it said.</p>
<p>Fit Radio is available through its website, fitradio.com, and through an application or app on mobile devices such as cellphones. Fit Radio recruits disc jockeys who copy and upload popular songs to attract users, the lawsuit says.</p>
<p>The streaming service entices the DJs to upload recordings to Fit Radio as a way for the DJs to "promote your personal brand," the lawsuit states. The company also supports the DJs with marketing efforts through Facebook and email campaigns, according to the lawsuit.</p>
<p>The recording companies say their music is legally streamed via services such as Apple Music and Spotify through business agreements with them. But Fit Radio is different because it has no such agreements to stream the copyrighted music, they say.</p> | Music firms sue to keep hit songs off fitness streaming app | false | https://apnews.com/amp/a19394961ad14dd5a67741a387ec1d94 | 2018-01-24 | 2 |
<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A desperate decision to truck California's native baby salmon toward the Pacific Ocean during the state's drought may have resulted in generations of lost young salmon now hard-pressed to find their way back to their reproductive grounds.</p>
<p>With fewer native fall-run Chinook salmon able to make their way back home to the leading salmon hatchery in the state, that hatchery could have only about half as many young salmon as usual to release next spring, the Sacramento Bee <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article191351274.html" type="external">reported</a> Tuesday.</p>
<p>For those involved in safeguarding California's struggling native salmon, it had always been understood that resorting to tanker trucks to carry tiny salmon to the ocean during the drought was a trade-off, John McManus, executive director of the fishing industry's Golden State Salmon Association, told the Bee. Getting a lift on their migration saved countless salmon, but disoriented them.</p>
<p>"Everybody kind of acknowledged and understood at the time the consequences," McManus said.</p>
<p>Native salmon historically anchored food chains and habitats on both land and in the water in California. Salmon still boost the state's economy by $1.4 billion annually, the salmon industry says.</p>
<p>Dams that cut native salmon off from their former upstream spawning grounds, and general human demands on water, have helped cut salmon numbers drastically in the state, making state and federal hatcheries crucial for the fish.</p>
<p>California's drought, declared over just last spring, included some of the driest spells ever recorded in the state. In 2014 and 2015, hatchery managers resorted to sucking baby salmon into tanker trucks for their 280-mile migration toward the ocean, biologists say. Chinook salmon spend two or three years in the ocean before heading back upstream to reproduce.</p>
<p>Since the 2014 class of salmon didn't learn the route by swimming it on their own power, many have gone astray as they head back upstream now.</p>
<p>Biologists say only a small fraction of those made it back to what would be their usual point of return, at the Coleman hatchery. Salmon managers are tracking now how many of the strayed salmon wound up in other watersheds</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Sacramento Bee, <a href="http://www.sacbee.com" type="external">http://www.sacbee.com</a></p>
<p>SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A desperate decision to truck California's native baby salmon toward the Pacific Ocean during the state's drought may have resulted in generations of lost young salmon now hard-pressed to find their way back to their reproductive grounds.</p>
<p>With fewer native fall-run Chinook salmon able to make their way back home to the leading salmon hatchery in the state, that hatchery could have only about half as many young salmon as usual to release next spring, the Sacramento Bee <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article191351274.html" type="external">reported</a> Tuesday.</p>
<p>For those involved in safeguarding California's struggling native salmon, it had always been understood that resorting to tanker trucks to carry tiny salmon to the ocean during the drought was a trade-off, John McManus, executive director of the fishing industry's Golden State Salmon Association, told the Bee. Getting a lift on their migration saved countless salmon, but disoriented them.</p>
<p>"Everybody kind of acknowledged and understood at the time the consequences," McManus said.</p>
<p>Native salmon historically anchored food chains and habitats on both land and in the water in California. Salmon still boost the state's economy by $1.4 billion annually, the salmon industry says.</p>
<p>Dams that cut native salmon off from their former upstream spawning grounds, and general human demands on water, have helped cut salmon numbers drastically in the state, making state and federal hatcheries crucial for the fish.</p>
<p>California's drought, declared over just last spring, included some of the driest spells ever recorded in the state. In 2014 and 2015, hatchery managers resorted to sucking baby salmon into tanker trucks for their 280-mile migration toward the ocean, biologists say. Chinook salmon spend two or three years in the ocean before heading back upstream to reproduce.</p>
<p>Since the 2014 class of salmon didn't learn the route by swimming it on their own power, many have gone astray as they head back upstream now.</p>
<p>Biologists say only a small fraction of those made it back to what would be their usual point of return, at the Coleman hatchery. Salmon managers are tracking now how many of the strayed salmon wound up in other watersheds</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: The Sacramento Bee, <a href="http://www.sacbee.com" type="external">http://www.sacbee.com</a></p> | California salmon lose way after ride downstream in drought | false | https://apnews.com/amp/8eeab1a094f34ebc9cc967d8905fa6fe | 2017-12-26 | 2 |
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<p>The treaty, which concerns the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, is both deeply symbolic and makes explicit that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine.</p>
<p>The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state and had referred to the Palestine state since. But the treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state, giving the Vatican's former signs of recognition an unambiguous confirmation in a formal, bilateral treaty.</p>
<p>"Yes, it's a recognition that the state exists," said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi.</p>
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<p>The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was "disappointed."</p>
<p>"This move does not promote the peace process and distances the Palestinian leadership from returning to direct and bilateral negotiations," the ministry said in a text message.</p>
<p>The United States and Israel oppose recognition, arguing that it undermines U.S.-led efforts to negotiate an Israeli-Palestinian deal on the terms of Palestinian statehood. Most countries in Western Europe have held off on recognition, but some have hinted that their position could change if peace efforts remain deadlocked.</p>
<p>The treaty was finalized days before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visits Pope Francis at the Vatican. Abbas is heading to Rome to attend Francis' canonization Sunday of two new saints from the Holy Land.</p>
<p>"This is a very important recognition as the Vatican has a very important political status that stems from its spiritual status," said Abbas' senior aide, Nabil Shaath. "We expect more EU countries to follow."</p>
<p>The Vatican has been referring unofficially to the state of Palestine since 2012.</p>
<p>During Pope Francis? 2014 visit to the Holy Land, the Vatican's official program referred to Abbas as the president of the "state of Palestine."</p>
<p>The Vatican's foreign minister, Monsignor Antoine Camilleri, acknowledged the change in status, but said the shift was simply in line with the Holy See's position.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Holy See clearly tried to underplay the development, suggesting that its 2012 press statement welcoming the U.N. vote constituted its first official recognition. Nowhere in that statement does the Vatican say it recognizes the state of Palestine, and the Holy See couldn't vote for the U.N. resolution because it doesn't have voting rights at the General Assembly.</p>
<p>The Vatican's efforts to downplay the move seemed justified given the swift condemnation of the development by Israeli groups: The American Jewish Committee said it was "counterproductive to all who seek true peace between Israel and the Palestinians." The Anti-Defamation League said it was "premature."</p>
<p>"We appreciate that the Vatican's basic intention is to promote Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, but believe that this diplomatic recognition will be unhelpful to that end," the ADL's Abraham Foxman said.</p>
<p>The 2012 U.N. vote recognized Palestine as a non-member observer state, made up of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.</p>
<p>The Palestinians celebrated the vote as a milestone in their quest for international recognition. Most countries in Africa, Asia and South America have individually recognized Palestine. In Western Europe, Sweden took the step last year, while several parliaments have approved non-binding motions urging recognition.</p>
<p>This isn't the first time that the Vatican under Francis has taken diplomatic moves knowing that it would please some quarters and ruffle feathers elsewhere: Just last month, he referred to the slaughter of Armenians by Turkish Ottomans a century ago as a "genocide," prompting Turkey to recall its ambassador.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>AP writers Ian Deitch in Jerusalem and Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank contributed.</p> | Vatican recognizes state of Palestine in new treaty | false | https://abqjournal.com/583971/vatican-recognizes-state-of-palestine-in-new-treaty.html | 2 |
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<p>Instead of gobbling down the vitamins without query as they did last winter, my boys fired questions my way as to why they had to take them. I guess this is what teenagers do: They question their parents about everything, even the things they have taken for granted for more than a decade.</p>
<p>I’m okay with their questions. I certainly don’t want them blindly taking vitamins or pills under any other circumstances, even if prescribed by a doctor. Asking questions is good. Demanding explanations is good. Understanding dosages is good.</p>
<p>So, boys, here are the reasons I want you to take vitamin D in the winter, even though we should get all of our other nutrients from whole foods.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Our bodies naturally derive vitamin D from two main sources: sunlight and food. In the winter, there is no way you boys get enough sunlight on your bare skin. The sun is low, the days are short, long sleeves and gloves prevail, and you guys, like almost everyone else in the winter, spend a majority of your day inside. Also, like most kids your age (and most adults for that matter), you do not eat enough of the foods that are naturally high in vitamin D: fatty fish such as mackerel, herring and salmon, and cod liver oil. Although many brands of milk and orange juice are fortified with vitamin D, it is still almost impossible to derive enough of it solely from food.</p>
<p>Why is vitamin D important?</p>
<p>Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin but rather a group of hormones. You may be surprised that I am suggesting we bring extra hormones into our house, but like all hormones, these have some pretty important jobs. They help the body absorb nutrients such as calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc. This is why vitamin D is added to calcium-rich milk. Studies show that only 10 to 15 percent of calcium in food is absorbed without vitamin D.</p>
<p>If you boys want to fight off colds this winter so you don’t miss any sports games or weekend fun, vitamin D can help boost your immune system. If you would like strong, healthy bones, vitamin D is king. If you don’t want your heart to putter out at an early age or your mind to deteriorate, look to vitamin D. It is also shown to prevent cancer by regulating cellular growth.</p>
<p>The current recommended daily allowance for individuals ages 1 to 70 is 600 IU, or international units, but more recent research at the Boston University School of Medicine recommends up to 2,000 IU. Other studies recommend even higher levels for optimal health. The confusion around the ideal daily allowance prompted a 2010 large-scale study at a Boston affiliate of Harvard University to investigate whether vitamin D can help prevent cancer, heart disease, stroke and other chronic conditions in more than 25,000 American men and women. Stay tuned – the study is expected to wrap up later this year.</p>
<p>Because one glass of milk provides just 100 IU of vitamin D, a piece of salmon offers 360 IU and an egg yolk under 50 IU, even the lowest recommendation of 600 IU a day is hard for most children to attain without regular sun exposure. No wonder so many studies show a vast number of kids in the United States, especially adolescents and those living in northern states, are deficient. So until the spring comes, the sun shines steadily, and you guys get off the indoor basketball court and onto the outdoor baseball field, a vitamin D supplement will join us for breakfast each morning.</p>
<p>– – –</p>
<p>Consult your doctor as to whether a supplement is right for your child. Individual needs differ based on how much time people spend outside, where they live, their skin color, the foods they eat and their use of sunscreen.</p>
<p>– – –</p>
<p>Seidenberg is co-founder of Nourish Schools, a Washington, D.C.-based nutrition education company, and co-author of “Super Food Cards,” a collection of healthful recipes and advice.</p> | Why shorter days call for a dose of Vitamin D | false | https://abqjournal.com/929598/why-shorter-days-call-for-a-dose-of-vitamin-d.html | 2 |
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<p>What to watch in the leading soccer leagues in Europe this weekend:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">SPAIN</a></p>
<p>After embarrassing elimination by Leganes in the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid returns to the league to face a side it has struggled against in recent years.</p>
<p>Madrid hasn't won at Valencia since 2013, losing twice in that period. The European champions were held to a 2-2 home draw by Valencia this season.</p>
<p>Fourth in the standings, Madrid trails Valencia by five points with a game in hand. Barcelona, which hosts relegation-threatened Alaves on Sunday, is 19 points ahead of Madrid and 11 in front of second-place Atletico Madrid.</p>
<p>Atletico, winless in three games and coming off elimination to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, hosts next-to-last Las Palmas on Sunday.</p>
<p>— By Tales Azzoni in Madrid</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">ENGLAND</a></p>
<p>Chelsea is looking to avoid a second cup loss in four days.</p>
<p>After being knocked out of the League Cup by Arsenal in Wednesday's semifinals, Chelsea hosts Newcastle in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday with manager Antonio Conte again complaining about the lack of depth in his squad.</p>
<p>Liverpool is also in an all-Premier League match, against West Bromwich Albion, while Watford visits Southampton.</p>
<p>Manchester United is set to give Alexis Sanchez his debut on Friday against fourth-tier club Yeovil — the lowest-ranked team in the competition. Tottenham travels to Newport, which is also in the fourth tier, on Saturday.</p>
<p>Manchester City visits second-tier club Cardiff on Sunday as the Premier League leaders continue their bid for an unlikely quadruple.</p>
<p>City has reached the League Cup final and is also through to the last 16 of the Champions League.</p>
<p>— By Steve Douglas in Manchester</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">GERMANY</a></p>
<p>The competition is fierce behind first-place Bayern Munich with four points separating second-place Bayer Leverkusen and Hannover in 10th.</p>
<p>The 20th round of games starts with Eintracht Frankfurt hosting Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday, with the winner rising to second. Even a draw would be enough for 'Gladbach to overtake Leverkusen.</p>
<p>Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could return for Borussia Dortmund at home against Freiburg on Saturday. The troubled forward was left out of the squad for the last two games amid reports of a move to Arsenal.</p>
<p>Bernd Hollerbach will make his debut as Hamburger SV coach at Leipzig on Saturday. Hamburg is in danger of relegation after six games without a win.</p>
<p>Bayern, which leads by 16 points, welcomes a Hoffenheim side on Saturday that has never won in Munich.</p>
<p>— By Ciaran Fahey in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">ITALY</a></p>
<p>It looks like being a fight between Juventus and Napoli for the title.</p>
<p>Napoli, holding a one-point lead, hosts Bologna on Sunday while Juventus travels to Chievo Verona on Saturday.</p>
<p>Third-place Lazio is eight points off the lead ahead of its match at AC Milan, held three days before the teams meet in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals.</p>
<p>Inter Milan heads to relegation-threatened Spal seeking a first win in the league since beating Chievo 5-0 on Dec. 3. Inter has slipped to fourth, 11 points behind Napoli.</p>
<p>— By Daniella Matar in Milan</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">FRANCE</a></p>
<p>With Paris Saint-Germain eight points clear, the fight for second place is turning into a three-way contest between Lyon, Marseille and Monaco.</p>
<p>Lyon is second, one point ahead of Marseille and two in front of Monaco, but there could be a shake-up this weekend.</p>
<p>In Sunday's big game, Marseille's well-organized defense will be put to the test by visiting Monaco. Marseille has kept a clean sheet in five straight games and in 10 of the past 13.</p>
<p>Although Monaco is leaking goals, it is at least potent in attack, scoring 20 in the past eight matches.</p>
<p>Lyon travels to Bordeaux on Sunday with confidence high following Sunday's home win against PSG and victory at Monaco in the French Cup on Wednesday.</p>
<p>PSG hosts Montpellier on Saturday. While Montpellier has the best defense in the league with 15 goals conceded in 22 games, PSG has scored a division-high 68.</p>
<p>— By Jerome Pugmire in Paris</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP soccer coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/tag/apf-Soccer</a></p>
<p>What to watch in the leading soccer leagues in Europe this weekend:</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">SPAIN</a></p>
<p>After embarrassing elimination by Leganes in the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid returns to the league to face a side it has struggled against in recent years.</p>
<p>Madrid hasn't won at Valencia since 2013, losing twice in that period. The European champions were held to a 2-2 home draw by Valencia this season.</p>
<p>Fourth in the standings, Madrid trails Valencia by five points with a game in hand. Barcelona, which hosts relegation-threatened Alaves on Sunday, is 19 points ahead of Madrid and 11 in front of second-place Atletico Madrid.</p>
<p>Atletico, winless in three games and coming off elimination to Sevilla in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, hosts next-to-last Las Palmas on Sunday.</p>
<p>— By Tales Azzoni in Madrid</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">ENGLAND</a></p>
<p>Chelsea is looking to avoid a second cup loss in four days.</p>
<p>After being knocked out of the League Cup by Arsenal in Wednesday's semifinals, Chelsea hosts Newcastle in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday with manager Antonio Conte again complaining about the lack of depth in his squad.</p>
<p>Liverpool is also in an all-Premier League match, against West Bromwich Albion, while Watford visits Southampton.</p>
<p>Manchester United is set to give Alexis Sanchez his debut on Friday against fourth-tier club Yeovil — the lowest-ranked team in the competition. Tottenham travels to Newport, which is also in the fourth tier, on Saturday.</p>
<p>Manchester City visits second-tier club Cardiff on Sunday as the Premier League leaders continue their bid for an unlikely quadruple.</p>
<p>City has reached the League Cup final and is also through to the last 16 of the Champions League.</p>
<p>— By Steve Douglas in Manchester</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">GERMANY</a></p>
<p>The competition is fierce behind first-place Bayern Munich with four points separating second-place Bayer Leverkusen and Hannover in 10th.</p>
<p>The 20th round of games starts with Eintracht Frankfurt hosting Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday, with the winner rising to second. Even a draw would be enough for 'Gladbach to overtake Leverkusen.</p>
<p>Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could return for Borussia Dortmund at home against Freiburg on Saturday. The troubled forward was left out of the squad for the last two games amid reports of a move to Arsenal.</p>
<p>Bernd Hollerbach will make his debut as Hamburger SV coach at Leipzig on Saturday. Hamburg is in danger of relegation after six games without a win.</p>
<p>Bayern, which leads by 16 points, welcomes a Hoffenheim side on Saturday that has never won in Munich.</p>
<p>— By Ciaran Fahey in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">ITALY</a></p>
<p>It looks like being a fight between Juventus and Napoli for the title.</p>
<p>Napoli, holding a one-point lead, hosts Bologna on Sunday while Juventus travels to Chievo Verona on Saturday.</p>
<p>Third-place Lazio is eight points off the lead ahead of its match at AC Milan, held three days before the teams meet in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals.</p>
<p>Inter Milan heads to relegation-threatened Spal seeking a first win in the league since beating Chievo 5-0 on Dec. 3. Inter has slipped to fourth, 11 points behind Napoli.</p>
<p>— By Daniella Matar in Milan</p>
<p>___</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">FRANCE</a></p>
<p>With Paris Saint-Germain eight points clear, the fight for second place is turning into a three-way contest between Lyon, Marseille and Monaco.</p>
<p>Lyon is second, one point ahead of Marseille and two in front of Monaco, but there could be a shake-up this weekend.</p>
<p>In Sunday's big game, Marseille's well-organized defense will be put to the test by visiting Monaco. Marseille has kept a clean sheet in five straight games and in 10 of the past 13.</p>
<p>Although Monaco is leaking goals, it is at least potent in attack, scoring 20 in the past eight matches.</p>
<p>Lyon travels to Bordeaux on Sunday with confidence high following Sunday's home win against PSG and victory at Monaco in the French Cup on Wednesday.</p>
<p>PSG hosts Montpellier on Saturday. While Montpellier has the best defense in the league with 15 goals conceded in 22 games, PSG has scored a division-high 68.</p>
<p>— By Jerome Pugmire in Paris</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP soccer coverage: <a href="" type="internal">https://www.apnews.com/tag/apf-Soccer</a></p> | European soccer weekend: What to watch in the main leagues | false | https://apnews.com/amp/a7c46b05788b430fa47bd98aab9cd624 | 2018-01-25 | 2 |
<p>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Republican lawmaker tasked with addressing workplace culture in the Iowa Senate following sexual misconduct allegations in the chamber has formally submitted recommendations for improvements.</p>
<p>Mary Kramer tells The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday she submitted a draft with recommendations to Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix and Senate President Jack Whitver. Kramer says the top Republicans in the chamber received the document in early January.</p>
<p>Kramer says she's waiting to meet with Dix and Whitver before making the recommendations public. She says she hasn't spoken with Senate Minority Leader Janet Petersen, the top Democrat in the chamber. Petersen highlighted workplace harassment in a speech Monday. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds referenced the topic Tuesday in her Condition of the State address.</p>
<p>A recent internal report on the Senate GOP revealed office staff fear retaliation if they report harassment. The issue is tied to a discrimination lawsuit by an ex-Senate GOP staffer.</p>
<p>DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Republican lawmaker tasked with addressing workplace culture in the Iowa Senate following sexual misconduct allegations in the chamber has formally submitted recommendations for improvements.</p>
<p>Mary Kramer tells The Associated Press in a phone interview Tuesday she submitted a draft with recommendations to Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix and Senate President Jack Whitver. Kramer says the top Republicans in the chamber received the document in early January.</p>
<p>Kramer says she's waiting to meet with Dix and Whitver before making the recommendations public. She says she hasn't spoken with Senate Minority Leader Janet Petersen, the top Democrat in the chamber. Petersen highlighted workplace harassment in a speech Monday. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds referenced the topic Tuesday in her Condition of the State address.</p>
<p>A recent internal report on the Senate GOP revealed office staff fear retaliation if they report harassment. The issue is tied to a discrimination lawsuit by an ex-Senate GOP staffer.</p> | Ex-lawmaker submits suggestions on Iowa Capitol misconduct | false | https://apnews.com/amp/d0d2cc6bc5fc40548c19ef3e142a829d | 2018-01-09 | 2 |
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<p>The 5.26 trillion yen ($48 billion) request for the fiscal year beginning next April is a 2.5 percent increase from the current year. A big chunk of the request announced Thursday will cover purchases of upgraded missile interceptors with expanded range, altitude and accuracy.</p>
<p>They include the ship-to-air SM-3 Block IIA jointly developed by the U.S. and Japan and the surface-to-air PAC-3 MSE.</p>
<p>The request comes amid growing fear about North Korea’s missile threat and rising tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. On Tuesday, Pyongyang fired a missile that flew over Japan and landed in the northern Pacific Ocean. It flight-tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and has threatened to send missiles near the U.S. territory of Guam, where the U.S. has military bases.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called Tuesday’s missile firing an “unprecedented, grave and serious threat.” On Wednesday, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, an advocate of bolstering Japan’s missile and strike-back capability, said Tokyo must quickly upgrade its missile arsenal.</p>
<p>China, which is seen by Tokyo as another security concern, questioned Japan’s intentions.</p>
<p>“We think Japan is obliged to explain its real intention to the international community,” Hua Chunying, China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, told a regular news conference.</p>
<p>Japan has criticized Beijing over its military spending and assertive maritime activity in regional waters.</p>
<p>Experts say North Korea’s ICBM tests demonstrate its ability to strike at the U.S. mainland, but it doesn’t mean Japan is off the hook.</p>
<p>“North Korea has demonstrated its capability to hit targets anywhere in Japan including Tokyo and Okinawa,” says Narushige Michishita, a national security expert at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies.</p>
<p>Japan currently has a two-step missile defense system — interceptors on destroyers in the Sea of Japan, and if they fail, surface-to-air PAC-3s. Technically, the current setup can deal with falling debris or missiles fired at Japan, experts say, but it’s not good enough for high-attitude missiles or multiple attacks.</p>
<p>The requested SM-3 Block IIA has double the range of its earlier model used on Japanese destroyers. The budget request related to missile defense comes to about 180 billion yen ($1.6 billion).</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>To diversify and multiply its missile interceptors, the ministry is also seeking to add the land-based fixed Aegis Ashore missile-defense system, while considering an option of the mobile and more costly Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD. Ministry officials said they will decide later this year.</p>
<p>Experts say a pair of Aegis Ashore could cover Japan at 80 billion yen ($730 million) each but the cost could be driven up by the price of land, construction, installation and security.</p>
<p>Shooting down a high-altitude ICBM while it flies over Japan is impossible technically and difficult legally for now due to Japan’s self-defense-only principle under its war-renouncing constitution.</p>
<p>Elsewhere in the budget, the ministry will keep the costly U.S.-made unmanned reconnaissance aircraft Global Hawk and is asking for 14.4 billion yen ($130 million) in assembly cost. A steep 23 percent price increase prompted some officials to suggest scrapping the Global Hawk, but the ministry settled on continuing with the plan with careful price control.</p>
<p>The budget request also includes 96 billion yen ($870 million) for two compact destroyers as part of Japan’s ongoing plan to increase its fleet size to 54 from 48; 70 billion yen ($640 million) for a new lithium battery-powered submarine that can operate longer with upgraded detection capability; and 88 billion yen ($800 million) for six F-35 stealth fighters, to be deployed at Misawa in northern Japan.</p>
<p>The Defense Ministry’s budget request will now go to the Finance Ministry for further scrutiny before it’s submitted to Parliament for approval.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi</p>
<p>Her work can be found in APNews at https://www.apnews.com/search/mari%20yamaguchi</p> | Japan Defense Ministry seeks missile interceptors in budget | false | https://abqjournal.com/1056286/japan-defense-ministry-seeks-missile-interceptors-in-budget.html | 2017-08-31 | 2 |
<p>The UCLA and USC football teams battle for Los Angeles bragging rights in their annual rivalry game. ( <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCLA%E2%80%93USC_rivalry#/media/File:2008-1206-USC-UCLA-007-RB-redblue1.JPG" type="external">Bobak Ha’Eri / CC BY-SA 3.0</a>)</p>
<p>The question of whether or not college athletes should be paid isn’t going to go away, and for two simple reasons: College athletes continue to produce a huge amount of revenue, and they continue to do it even though they don’t get paid.</p>
<p>The latest crack at dealing with this issue comes from researcher Ryan McCready, who has a degree in economics and international business from the University of Arkansas. His paper on the subject—and it makes for interesting reading for anyone concerned with the issue—is called “ <a href="https://venngage.com/blog/paying-college-athletes/" type="external">Can Schools Actually Support Paying College Athletes? It’s Complicated</a>.”</p>
<p>Can we pay student athletes? “In a lot of programs,” McCready writes, “like my alma mater, the University of Arkansas, and the other Power Five schools like it, that might be possible.” (The Power Five are the schools in the Southeastern Conference, Big 12, Big Ten, Pacific 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference.)</p>
<p />
<p>For those 60 or so schools, life is good for their athletic department. They see college football and sports in general as a great way to not only increase their visibility to the country but also make some serious cash. In fact, almost half a BILLION for the 12 SEC teams in 2015 and over $250 million for the 4 other Power Conferences.</p>
<p>But what about the other half of the college football landscape that isn’t rolling in the dough? This includes the other 60-ish teams who do not have the luxury of lucrative TV deals, billionaire donors or top recruits. These teams are known as the Group of Five conferences [the American Athletic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference and Sun Belt Conference] and are like little brothers to the Power Five teams. They line up every Saturday in the fall and often go to battle against teams that have 10 times their budget. And they are the ones who would struggle to pay their players, as we will quickly see.</p>
<p>Oh, and that is only for the 125 or so Division I schools. We don’t even get into the other levels mostly because I don’t think it would be possible for a majority of those to even think about paying players. … If you think college sports is a cash cow for all schools, you’re in for a rude awakening.</p>
<p>I urge everyone to read McCready’s entire essay. Using data from a <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/recruiting/2015/02/03/college-football-recruiting-signing-day-sec-power-conferences/22813887/" type="external">USA Today report</a> that ranked 231 athletic departments by their profits, revenues and expenses over a 10-year period, he selected 100 public universities and “then compared that to their football performance. For each year, going back to 2005, we looked at the winning percentage, bowl outcome, coach and other pertinent data.”</p>
<p>To save you the time, I’ll go ahead and tell you that McCready crunched the numbers, and Alabama’s Nick Saban is the coach with the most profitable athletic department. No surprise there, as Alabama has won four national championships since he signed with the Crimson Tide in 2007.</p>
<p>I don’t want to be a spoiler, and I assume that all readers will follow my recommendation and read McCready’s entire well-researched essay, but in the interest of moving on I’ll go to his conclusions: “Sorry to spoil the suspense, but it is not feasible to <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/09/04/news/companies/extra-cash-college-athletes/" type="external">pay every college athlete</a>, whether it be football, basketball, or even tennis. The profit margins for every team would have to be much bigger for that to be possible at this time. What I do think is very possible is an increase in the scholarships that all athletes receive. Which some schools are already doing.”</p>
<p>I respect McCready’s research and his concern for fairness to the schools and their athletes, but I disagree, entirely, with his conclusions. First off, I disagree with his premise—which others who have looked into this topic, including Sports Illustrated a couple of years ago, share—that every college athlete should be paid. I don’t think tennis players, golfers, track and field athletes, or even hockey or baseball players (though I haven’t researched this carefully) need to be paid.</p>
<p>To put it another way, I don’t see why athletes who play sports that don’t pull in substantial revenues should expect a paycheck. I think the discussion should be confined to the big-revenue-producing sports: football and basketball. In fact, I think it should be the way I always heard from college administrators that it should be: The revenue from football and basketball should pay for the other sports.</p>
<p>But no matter how much revenue football and basketball produce, there will never be enough to pay the players, at least if the issue is left up to athletic departments. In the 1960s, when teams were allowed one televised home game a year and one road game appearance on TV, there wasn’t enough money to pay the players. Now, with huge cash flows coming from massive TV contracts and live streaming games on the internet, plus a huge increase in merchandising revenue, they still don’t have enough money to play the players.</p>
<p>Where does the money go? Well, I’m sure a substantial amount is kicked in for new libraries and science labs, but, essentially, the increased income has gone to bigger coaching staffs and state-of-the-art training facilities. And if new revenue streams are found, you can bet that’s where the dollars will continue to go.</p>
<p>It may be true—and I believe it is true—that most football programs lose money. Murray Sperber, a pioneer in the study of college sports, told me 20 years ago that he believed 80 percent to 85 percent of college programs were in the red. So then, if most programs lose money on football, how can they afford to pay football players?</p>
<p>That seems like a sensible question until you remember that most colleges lose money on football but still have their football programs. If you can afford to pay a head coach more money than the college president (which is the case with most big schools) and afford 12-to-15-person coaching staffs and afford to maintain training facilities and a stadium, why can’t you afford to pay for the people whose sweat and blood make these things possible in the first place?</p>
<p>“If I was a coach,” says McCready, “I would gladly take a pay cut to help my players. Especially with so many news stories of players stealing to get by or taking money from less than reputable people.” And “if the individual schools cannot afford to increase the scholarships of its athletes, the NCAA could step in. I mean, they did make almost a billion dollars in 2015 with almost $100 million in profits.”</p>
<p>I don’t think so. No coach is going to gladly take a pay cut. As to the NCAA stepping in to help with scholarships, that’s not going to happen either. The NCAA didn’t “make” almost a billion dollars last year. It took that revenue from its member colleges, and the colleges got it from the efforts of the student-athletes who played football and basketball essentially for free.</p>
<p>What I don’t think McCready or most members of the sports media really understand is that the NCAA exists for one reason only: to control the earning power of college athletes. This is why they can’t sign autographs for money, sell memorabilia or even take outside jobs without NCAA approval. Because of the NCAA, college athletes don’t even have the same rights under the law as other college students.</p>
<p>Of course, colleges can afford to pay their athletes, or at least their football and basketball players. If they couldn’t, there wouldn’t be college football or basketball at all.</p>
<p>The only way this ridiculous inequity will be redressed is when college athletes are organized enough to demand their rights. When they do, we’ll find out exactly how much the universities can afford to pay them.</p>
<p>The coaches and staffs of the athletic departments can be paid with the money that’s left over.</p> | Not All College Athletes Are Created (Economically) Equal—So They Shouldn’t All Be Paid | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/not-all-college-athletes-are-created-economically-equal-so-they-shouldnt-all-be-paid/ | 2016-10-07 | 4 |
<p>Q: Is the fairness doctrine coming back, and would it shut down conservative talk radio?</p>
<p>A: Obama has made it clear he opposes it. If it were revived, it probably would reduce the overall number of radio hours devoted to conservative talk shows.</p>
<p>FULL&#160;QUESTION</p>
<p>I hear Rush [Limbaugh] and others talk about the Fairness Doctrine. Is what they are saying just scare tactics or does their argument have legs? Basically they are saying that the Fairness Doctrine will require equal time for both right and left points of view and will possibly shut down conservative talk radio.</p>
<p>FULL&#160;ANSWER</p>
<p>For all the heated discussion of the fairness doctrine, it’s worth noting that there was never an official document laying it out. Its general principles developed beginning in the 1930s and 1940s; it was more or less described by the Federal Communications Commission <a href="http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Databases/documents_collection/490608.pdf" type="external">in 1949</a>, and it continued evolving through FCC actions and court decisions. In essence, the fairness doctrine required radio and television broadcast licensees to cover important and controversial issues of interest in the community, and to provide opportunity for all sides to be heard.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/421365" type="external">1985 report</a>, however, the FCC, led by President Reagan appointee Mark Fowler, concluded that the fairness doctrine was doing more harm than good: It caused stations to be unwilling to air reports that included controversial viewpoints; it put the government in the dubious position of evaluating content; and it was no longer needed since the number of broadcast outlets had grown considerably, the report said. The FCC also expressed concern about the doctrine’s constitutional soundness. Many were convinced that the First Amendment rights of broadcasters were being hindered. Two years later, the FCC finally rejected the doctrine in a decision involving pro-nuclear power ads that ran on a Syracuse TV station. The agency’s action was <a href="http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/421365" type="external">upheld</a> by a federal appellate court.</p>
<p>Periodic attempts to bring back the fairness doctrine have been unsuccessful. Recently, several prominent Democrats have expressed interest in bringing it back, including <a href="http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-preps-for-talk-radio-confrontation-2007-06-27.html" type="external">Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin</a> of Illinois, <a href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27185" type="external">House Speaker Nancy Pelosi</a> and former President Bill <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/174123-Bill_Clinton_Talks_of_Re_Imposing_Fairness_Doctrine_or_At_Least_More_Balance_in_Media.php" type="external">Clinton, who said on a radio show</a> last month that either the fairness doctrine should be reimposed or "you ought to have more balance on the other side."</p>
<p>Also last month, Michigan Democratic <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0209/Sen_Stabenow_wants_hearings_on_radio_accountability_talks_fairness_doctrine.html" type="external">Sen. Debbie Stabenow told liberal talk show host Bill Press</a> that something like the fairness doctrine should be put on the agenda in Washington:</p>
<p>Stabenow: I think it’s absolutely time to pass a standard. Now, whether it’s called the Fairness Standard, whether it’s called something else — I absolutely think it’s time to be bringing accountability to the airwaves.</p>
<p>Stabenow (who is <a href="http://stabenow.senate.gov/biography.htm" type="external">married to Tom Athans</a>, a liberal talk show executive) said at the time that she was thinking of having hearings on the issue, but has since said that she has no plans to do so.</p>
<p>President Barack Obama, however, isn’t lining up with Durbin, Pelosi, et al on this matter. Last June, the press secretary for his Senate office <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/114322-Obama_Does_Not_Support_Return_of_Fairness_Doctrine.php" type="external">told a reporter</a> for Broadcasting &amp; Cable in an e-mail that Obama "does not support reimposing the Fairness Doctrine on broadcasters." The aide, Michael Ortiz, also wrote:</p>
<p>Ortiz: [Obama] considers this debate to be a distraction from the conversation we should be having about opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible. That is why Sen. Obama supports media-ownership caps, network neutrality, public broadcasting, as well as increasing minority ownership of broadcasting and print outlets.</p>
<p>All of the other issues mentioned by Ortiz are controversial in their own right, but none of them are functional equivalents of the fairness doctrine from days of yore.</p>
<p />
<p>Out of an abundance of caution, perhaps, the Senate on Feb. 26 <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:SP00573:" type="external">approved a Republican amendment</a> to the D.C. voting rights bill that would prevent the FCC from reinstating the fairness doctrine; the vote was 83-11. A second, <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:SP00591:" type="external">Democratic-sponsored amendment, which passed 57-41</a>, requires the FCC to promote diversity in media ownership and to ensure that broadcasters operate "in the public interest," though it’s unclear what that means. However, neither amendment is attached to the House version of the voting rights bill, and it remains to be seen if either of them will emerge from House-Senate negotiations over the measure’s final language.</p>
<p>As for whether the revival of the fairness doctrine would put the brakes on conservative talk radio: It well could reduce the airtime of such shows. Stations probably would have to balance their conservative shows with ones that were more liberal-leaning. By and large, liberal talk radio has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/business/media/18air.html" type="external">not been commercially successful</a>. Any unwillingness by advertisers to buy slots during liberal programming would cut into stations’ earnings and might prompt them to skin back their conservative shows so they wouldn’t have to air the low-revenue liberal counterparts.</p>
<p>But given Obama’s position and the margin by which the Republican amendment cleared the Senate Feb. 26, we have strong doubts this will come to pass in the near future.</p>
<p>Update, March 16: Our story originally stated flatly that liberal talk radio hadn’t been commercially successful. But reader Donna L. Halper, a media historian who teaches at Lesley University and has written a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Icons-Talk-Changed-America-Greenwood/dp/0313343810/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1237221558&amp;sr=1-1" type="external">book on talk radio</a>, wrote us to say that at least two shows, those of Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz, were in fact profitable. We weren’t able to document that, but we have changed the story’s wording to reflect the fact that we were speaking generally; Miller’s, Schultz’s and other individual shows may indeed be financial successes.&#160;</p>
<p>– Viveca Novak</p>
<p>Federal Communications Commission, <a href="http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Databases/documents_collection/490608.pdf" type="external">Report of the Commission in the Matter of Editorializing by Licensees</a>, Docket No. 8516, 1949.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.altlaw.org/v1/cases/421365" type="external">Syracuse Peace Council v. FCC</a>, 867 F.2d 654 (D.C. Cir. 1989).</p>
<p>Bolton, Alexander. " <a href="http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-preps-for-talk-radio-confrontation-2007-06-27.html" type="external">GOP Preps for Talk Radio Confrontation</a>."</p>
<p>Gizzi, John. " <a href="http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=27185" type="external">Pelosi Supports Fairness Doctrine</a>," HumanEvents.com, 25 June 2008.</p>
<p>Eggerton, John. " <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/174123-Bill_Clinton_Talks_of_Re_Imposing_Fairness_Doctrine_or_At_Least_More_Balance_in_Media.php" type="external">Bill Clinton Talks of Re-Imposing Fairness Doctrine or At Least ‘More Balance’ in Media</a>," Broadcasting &amp; Cable, 13 Feb. 2009.</p>
<p>Eggerton, John. " <a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/114322-Obama_Does_Not_Support_Return_of_Fairness_Doctrine.php" type="external">Obama Does Not Support Return of Fairness Doctrine</a>." Broadcasting &amp; Cable, 25 June 2008.</p>
<p>Jensen, Elizabeth and Lia Miller. " <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/business/media/18air.html" type="external">After Bankruptcy Filing, Recriminations Fly at Air America</a>," The New York Times, 18 Dec. 2006.</p> | The Fairness Doctrine | false | https://factcheck.org/2009/03/the-fairness-doctrine/ | 2009-03-06 | 2 |
<p>Ben Jacobs, writing for the New Republic on the Iowa Senate race, <a href="http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112380/steve-king-senate-unless-karl-rove-stops-him" type="external">describes</a> what happens when local activists and politicians think they're being treated shoddily:</p>
<p>Prominent Republican activist Craig Robinson was less guarded in his assessment, saying "the last thing you want to do in politics is tell someone that they can't do something." "Conservative activists are rallying around King," he says, "not because he's the best guy," but out of resentment that Karl Rove would launch a preemptive strike against a fellow Republican. He went on to grouse that Rove "buried more Republican candidates than any other consultant."</p>
<p>King, while remaining noncommittal about a Senate run, is already capitalizing on the resentment, sending out a fundraising appeal claiming "Karl Rove and his army have launched a crusade against me." Latham, for his part, has kept quiet, though has changed the name of his fundraising committee from Latham For Congress to Iowans For Latham. As one Democratic strategist pointed out, Latham's political operations have always been "deliberate and professionally managed" and he's unlikely to be reprinting all his campaign stationery for kicks. However, former Republican state party chair and 2002 gubernatorial nominee Doug Gross still places the odds of Latham running at "50/50."</p> | The Karl Rove Backlash | true | https://thedailybeast.com/the-karl-rove-backlash | 2018-10-07 | 4 |
<p>Danica Roem told the Washington Blade on Oct. 13, 2017, during a sit-down interview in Haymarket, Va., that she is confident going into the final stretch of her campaign against state Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William County) (Photo courtesy of Danica Roem)</p>
<p>HAYMARKET, Va. — There were fewer than a dozen people eating lunch at Giuseppe’s Ristorante Italiano in downtown Haymarket on Oct. 13 when Danica Roem arrived shortly before 1:30 p.m.</p>
<p>Roem, who was a reporter for the Gainesville Times from 2006-2015, told the Washington Blade as she ate her lunch that she used to interview local officials at the restaurant. A framed copy of a profile that Roem wrote about Giuseppe’s hangs near the restaurant’s entrance.</p>
<p>“I can be a really good advocate for our localities at the state level,” Roem told the Blade, noting she covered local government for more than a decade. “I feel like my skill set is really geared toward serving extremely well as a state legislator.”</p>
<p>Roem is running against state Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William County), who has represented the 13th District of the Virginia House of Delegates since 1992. Roem, who would be the first openly transgender person seated in any state legislature if she were to defeat the Prince William County Republican, sat down with the Blade less than a month before Election Day on Nov. 7.</p>
<p>Roem, 33, lives in the Manassas section of Prince William County. She has also worked for the Prince William Times, the National Journal and the Montgomery County Sentinel in Maryland.</p>
<p>Roem has made transportation, infrastructure, economic development and education the cornerstones of her campaign.</p>
<p>Marshall, who is one of the most vocal opponents of LGBT rights in the General Assembly, in 2011 sponsored a bill that sought to ban gays and lesbians from the Virginia National Guard. Roem told the Blade the measure “set the template for Donald Trump attempting to ban transgender people from not just serving in the military, but blocking health care coverage for their health care needs — not wants, but needs.”</p>
<p>“He did that to capable, ready, able members of the military who are actively contributing to the leadership and readiness of our military, including in Prince William County, at Quantico, at the Marine Corps base,” said Roem, referring to Trump.</p>
<p>Marshall has also repeatedly attacked Roem and her gender identity during the campaign.</p>
<p>Voters in the 13th District earlier this month <a href="" type="internal">received anti-trans robocalls</a> from the American Principles Project, an organization that says it supports “public policy solutions that respect and affirm: Human life from conception to natural death; the union of one man and one woman as the definition of marriage; the freedom to practice and proclaim religion; authentic economic progress for working Americans; education in service of the comprehensive development of the person; and the legacy of immigrants in contributing to the American story.”</p>
<p>Marshall last week in an email he sent to his supporters included a link of a 2015 interview with American Principles Project Chair Sean Fieler in which he said society is “wrestling with the idea of whether or not we want to accept that people exist independently of their bodies as really the transgender community is claiming as we should.” Fieler, who lives in New Jersey, donated $20,000 to Marshall’s campaign on Sept. 11.</p>
<p>Roem pointed out to the Blade that Marshall last month <a href="http://www.fauquier.com/prince_william_times/news/conservative-stalwart-bob-marshall-won-t-debate-his-transgender-challenger/article_e0af2790-99b2-11e7-9610-7bcee4af5d7c.html" type="external">asked a Prince William Times reporter</a> why she uses female pronouns to refer to her and if “Danica’s DNA” changed. Roem said her response to Marshall’s comments was to release a YouTube ad that shows her taking hormones and putting make up on.</p>
<p>The ad also features a trans high school student from Manassas.</p>
<p>“My response was to take the high road,” Roem told the Blade, while acknowledging some trans activists criticized the ad. “I’m communicating to an audience who by and large is extremely unfamiliar with the day-to-day life of a trans person.”</p>
<p>A second ad that highlight’s Roem’s experience as a reporter began airing on television earlier this month.</p>
<p>Roem raised $349,446.62 between July 1-Sept. 30, compared to $121,580.74 that Marshall raised during the same period. Roem has also received the backing of the Democratic establishment and LGBT advocacy groups in Virginia and around the country.</p>
<p>Former Vice President Joe Biden <a href="" type="internal">endorsed Roem</a> last week.</p>
<p>Roem on Monday <a href="" type="internal">spoke at an event at Freddie’s Beach Bar</a> in Crystal City that featured Lieutenant Gov. Ralph Northam — who is running against former Republican National Committee Chair Ed Gillespie to succeed Gov. Terry McAuliffe — and other Democratic elected officials who included state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette.</p>
<p>Equality Virginia’s Political Action Committee, the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the Trans United Fund, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence have backed Roem. LPAC on Wednesday announced it has also endorsed Roem.</p>
<p>Roem told the Blade she expects the Victory Fund, the Trans United Fund and other LGBT groups to once again help her with voter outreach efforts before Election Day. She also acknowledged that students and other LGBT people who live in the 13th District may see her as an inspiration.</p>
<p>“They’ve never seen someone like me in their home community who is talking about fix Route 28 and bringing high-paying jobs to Innovation Park and extending VRE out to Gainesville in a cost-effective way and all the other really important public policy issues — not to mention water infrastructure — that we deal with here who’s also like them,” said Roem. “They’ve never had that and I know that because when I was growing up here and I realized I was trans and I realized that I was different from my classmates, I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it and I didn’t have any elected officials to emulate or to look up to in Prince William County.”</p>
<p>Marshall did not return the Blade’s request for comment for this story.</p>
<p>As for Roem, she said she is confident that she will defeat Marshall.</p>
<p>“Yes, I’m a 33-year-old stepmom, I’m a life-long Manassas resident, I’m a journalist, I’m a transgender woman,” Roem told the Blade. “I’ve got a lot of inherent identifiers and I’m well qualified for office.”</p>
<p>“Robocalls like that that attack transgender children and Del. Marshall’s legislative record of leaving 3,700 of his constituents uninsured when he’s supposed to be the family values candidate and he’s leaving families in danger of dying, that just strengthens my resolve to soundly defeat him on Nov. 7,” she added.</p>
<p>Danica Roem canvasses in the Sudley area of Manassas in Prince William County, Va., on June 20, 2017. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bob Marshall</a> <a href="" type="internal">Danica Roem</a> <a href="" type="internal">transgender</a> <a href="" type="internal">Virginia</a></p> | Roem confident going into campaign’s final stretch | false | http://washingtonblade.com/2017/10/25/roem-confident-going-campaigns-final-stretch/ | 3 |
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<p>Seeking a great California comeback of his own, Sen. Bernie Sanders attended the dramatic finish of the NBA Western Conference Finals Monday night.</p>
<p>The Democratic presidential hopeful took in the game - which saw the Golden State Warriors complete a stunning turnaround to advance to the NBA Finals - with campaign supporter and actor Danny Glover.</p>
<p>A campaign spokesman playfully likened the Warriors improbable win against the Oklahoma City Thunder to Sanders' own uphill campaign battle against front-runner Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>"You know the Golden State Warriors were down three games to one in what many experts said was a [longshot] for them to win. Now they're on the verge of a major comeback in California," the spokesman said.</p>
<p>Sanders has been campaigning hard across California ahead of the state's June 7 primary, in the hopes that a strong finish could upend the Democratic presidential race or give him leverage at the party's convention in Philadelphia this summer.</p>
<p>He saw a bit of excitement ahead of the basketball game: Animal-rights protesters jumped the barricades and rushed the podium at his campaign event earlier in the day.</p>
<p>The Secret Service jumped into action and at least one protester was carried out.</p>
<p>"We don't get intimidated easily," Sanders told the crowd after the incident unfolded.</p>
<p /> | Bernie Sanders Takes in Warriors Game in Search of California Comeback | false | http://nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/bernie-sanders-takes-warriors-game-search-california-comeback-n582876 | 2016-05-31 | 3 |
<p>ROME–When Pope Francis stepped out onto the central loggia of St. Peter’s on the night of March 13, I thought of the man I had met in his Buenos Aires office ten months before: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., who was looking forward to laying down the burden of leadership and devoting himself to prayer, reflection and study.</p>
<p>Now, because Benedict XVI decided to renounce the Chair of Peter and do what Cardinal Bergoglio wanted to do, the old-school Argentine Jesuit is now Benedict’s successor. His acceptance of the cross that is the papacy was an act of humble obedience by a man who had bent his will to the divine will for over a half-century.</p>
<p>What kind of man is he? Some impressions from an hour’s conversation last May:</p>
<p>A man of God.The new pope struck me then as someone who lived from the inside out: a man whose rich interior life was the basis of his public life; a leader whose decisions grew from prayer and discernment, not calculation.</p>
<p>A man of profound humility. I had long been interested in getting to know then-Cardinal Bergoglio, but I had the hardest time getting him to talk about his own life and experiences. I didn’t detect shyness in this, or false modesty, but a true evangelical humility. Pope Francis will not have the effervescence of a John Paul II; but like the Polish pope who created him cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio has spent his life saying, not “Look at me,” but rather, “Look to Jesus Christ.”</p>
<p>A man of keen and realistic intelligence. Pope Francis is not the university professor that John Paul II and Benedict XVI had been in their pre-papal lives. And while that model of preparing for the papacy served the Church well for thirty-five years, it’s not the only possible model. Now, rather than a professor who learned how to be a pastor, the Church has been given a pastor who has long experience of being a pastor.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, I was struck last May by Bergoglio’s sharp mind, his familiarity with issues throughout the world Church, and his prudence in judging people and situations. He was, for example, completely realistic and lucid about the Church’s situation in Latin America. Rather than complaining about Evangelical Protestant “sheep-rustling,” as more than a few Latin American churchmen do, the archbishop spoke with insight and conviction about the imperative of Catholicism rediscovering the power of the gospel through personal conversion to Jesus Christ.</p>
<p>A man of the New Evangelization. The new pope played a significant role in shaping the Latin American bishops’ 2007 “ <a href="http://old.usccb.org/latinamerica/english/aparecida_Ingles.pdf" type="external">Aparecida Document</a>,” which embraced the New Evangelization and put it at the center of the Church’s life. In our conversation, the man who would become pope made clear his understanding that a kept Church — “kept” in the sense of legal establishment, cultural habit, or both — had no future in the twenty-first-century West, given the acids of secularism. Pope Francis is a man, I conclude, who intends to go on evangelical offense: It will be all gospel, all proposal, all evangelism, all the time.</p>
<p>A man of reform. We spoke of the Latin American edition of my book&#160;The Courage To Be Catholic, for which he thanked me. And in discussing Vatican affairs, then-Cardinal Bergoglio displayed a shrewd, but not cynical, grasp of just what was wrong with the Church’s central bureaucratic machinery, and why. Thus I think we can expect the new pope to lead the Church in a purification and renewal of the episcopate, the priesthood, the religious life, and the Curia, because he understands that scandal, corruption, and incompetence are impediments to the gospel-centered mission I describe in&#160; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Evangelical-Catholicism-Reform-21st-Century-Church/dp/0465027687?tag=firstthings-20-20" type="external">Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st Century Church</a>.</p>
<p>A man of freedom rightly understood. In addition to Pope Francis’ lifetime commitment to the poor I’d also note his commitment to human rights and democracy, both of which are under severe pressure in Argentina. The new pope knows the fragility of democratic self-governance, and will work to shore up democracy’s eroding moral-cultural foundations throughout the West.</p>
<p>Habemus papam. Thanks be to God.</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> | Meeting Pope Francis | false | https://eppc.org/publications/meeting-pope-francis/ | 1 |
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<p>BOSTON — Organizers of the Boston Marathon are stripping Kenyan runner Rita Jeptoo of her 2014 victory as part of the athlete’s newly extended doping ban.</p>
<p>The Boston Athletic Association announced Wednesday that it will seek to reclaim the 35-year-old Jeptoo’s winnings and is starting the process to adjust race results.</p>
<p>The group is taking action after the international Court of Arbitration for Sports disqualified all of Jeptoo’s race results since April 2014, including her Boston Marathon victory. The court also extended a two-year doping ban imposed by Kenyan officials to four years.</p>
<p>Jeptoo tested positive for a banned hormone in 2014. Her ban now extends to October 2018.</p>
<p>The Boston Athletic Association said it supports the court’s decision.</p>
<p>Ethiopian runner Buzunesh Deba (BOO-zoo-nesh DEE-bah) placed second in the 2014 Boston Marathon.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Kenya’s Jeptoo to be stripped of 2014 Boston Marathon win | false | https://abqjournal.com/875608/kenyas-jeptoo-to-be-stripped-of-2014-boston-marathon-win.html | 2 |
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<p>On December 28, 2005, an anonymous gunman with an AK-56 fired at random on scientists leaving the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bangalore, killing a highly regarded retired mathematics professor from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, M. C. Puri, and wounding three other people, including Vijay Chandru, founder of the Indian-developed palm-computer, the Simputer. (1)</p>
<p>Number one on the list of theories about the crime is Islamic terrorism.</p>
<p>Here’s one scenario.</p>
<p>B. Raman, a terrorism expert, points out that the attack coincides with the shifting of Abu Salem, a member of a mafia group headed by Dawood Ibrahim, to Bangalore for forensic testing arising out of his alleged complicity in the Mumbai blasts in 1993, which killed 250 civilians.(2)</p>
<p>Ibrahim is known to have been trained and armed by Pakistan’s notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). While Raman admits that so far no evidence has connected the blasts to Salem, he goes on to list a number of pro-Al Qaeda terrorist groups operating in the south. The most active are the Lashkar e Tayiba (LeT) and the Harkut ul Jihadi al Islami, whose efforts in South India are controlled from Saudi Arabia &amp; Dubai and Bangladesh respectively.</p>
<p>These groups, under Bin Laden’s umbrella, regard Muslims in Jammu and Kashmir, in Hyderabad (Andhra), and in Junagadh (Gujarat) as in need of liberation from India and incorporation into the so-called Islamic Caliphate advocated by bin Laden.</p>
<p>Why Bangalore?</p>
<p>Raman believes that General Musharraf who took power in Pakistan in 1999 wants to diversify its economy by developing Pakistan’s Information Tech (IT) capacity and attracting foreign software and outsourcing companies to Pakistan. He notes that Delhi police have been warning against terrorist attacks on IT companies in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. That would fit well into the post-9/11 pattern of economic terrorism that characterized the strikes in Bali, Mombasa, and elsewhere. A successful strike in South India could affect foreign exchange earnings and frighten the IT outsourcing business from India, thus driving down the stock market and foreign investment.</p>
<p>Ramans’ theory is persuasive at several levels. Many will embrace it as eagerly as investors salivating over the prospective opening of the lucrative Indian market.</p>
<p>But it’s a cardinal error, as Sherlock Holmes said, to theorize without sufficient data.</p>
<p>Eschewing theory, then, here is an interesting assortment of facts that the Raman theory does not address:</p>
<p>(1) LeT has so far not taken responsibility for the attack and no evidence exists for connecting the shifting of Abu Salem to the attack. Evidence may surface, but it doesn’t exist so far. The same group has previously not been shy about taking responsibility for terror attacks.</p>
<p>(2) Exactly the same claim about LeT was made about the December 2001 attack on the Indian parliament building. No concrete evidence for that claim was made public either, although reportedly given to the US, but it did bolster the swift passage of the Prevention of Terrorism Act – India’s version of the Patriot Act – which gave extra-constitutional powers to the authorities.</p>
<p>(3)The attack was initially ascribed to the firing of an AK-47 rifle. This was later corrected to the AK-56, the weapon used in previous LeT attacks and the one also reportedly used in the Parliament attack. A mistake? Probably, but it warrants thought.</p>
<p>There are still other dots that dance around in search of a connection:</p>
<p>Bangalore is India’s Silicon Valley, home to some 1,500 tech companies and 200,000 of their employees and accounting for 40% of India’s IT revenues. The city also houses a number of leading research organizations, including the Indian Space Research Organization, the Indian Institute of Science, the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the National Center for Biological Science, and the National Aerospace Laboratories. It is a center of R&amp;D for the Indian air-force as well as a major manufacturing base for the public sector and the private.</p>
<p>A hit at the IISc campus would be seen as a bullet in the brain of the Indian economic resurgence. The threat of terrorism would likely make the influential professional and business classes in the south fall solidly behind an escalation of security in the region.</p>
<p>Bangalore is a center of outsourcing for American multinationals like Microsoft, Intel, GE, GM, Motorola, Cisco, and Google – not only for grunt work, but also increasingly for R&amp;D for these companies as well as for Indian companies in the important pharmaceutical sector. Several American companies have started research programs at Bangalore, including General Motors (with IISc), and the biotech giant, Monsanto, which has become a lightning-rod for the anti-Genetic Modification (GM) movement.</p>
<p>So many big western players means that a hit at Bangalore is guaranteed to attract world attention and place a lot of pressure on the government to tighten security measures. It’s also sure to attract attention to any alleged terrorists.</p>
<p>Biotechnology is one of India’s fastest-growing industries and India’s share of the global biotech market could mushroom from 1 to 10 percent, say analysts. Bangalore is a leading center with 97 of the 240 or so BT companies in India. But the city also houses one of the most successful and vocal anti-GM movements.</p>
<p>A tightening of security would make protests by anti-GM, anti-WTO, and environmental groups as well as farmers and rural workers harder to organize and much more likely to be infiltrated by opposing groups . That’s what’s happened here in the US to environmental groups. Their protests have increasingly been labeled “eco-terrorism” and smeared by violence committed by agents provocateurs from corporations who pose as activists.(3)</p>
<p>So, it’s not enough to ask who killed M. C. Puri but what his killing could end up meaning. Whether it was the LeT or one of the many other jihadist groups around or some other secessionist group who did it, this will be a crime that poses an opportunity for some.</p>
<p>The War on Terra (Mater):</p>
<p>But as the Indian public digests this homegrown episode in the cosmic rerun of the Cold War that is the Global War on Terror, few notice that a major battle in the equally deadly Globalist War on Terra (Mater) just ended by signing a death warrant for tens of thousands of people, not just one.</p>
<p>The Hong Kong ministerial of the World Trade Organization talks held between December 13th and 18th dealt a severe blow to small farmers and retailers, landless laborers and marginal workers in poorer countries, squandering the gains made at Cancun in 2003 for lip-service unmatched by actions, and ensuring environmental and social chaos for years to come. And it was not lack of leadership but the co-option of the so-called leaders of the developing countries – Brazil and India – that caused this.</p>
<p>Strike one: the US and the EU side-stepped setting a firm date for a genuine end to farm subsidies but simultaneously battered down the door to third-world markets for agricultural and manufacturing products. Western governments, which wrung their hands about the nebulous threat of avian flu and stockpiled Tamiflu to the high heavens to the delight of bloated pharmaceutical companies, condemned millions to destitution coldly and deliberately. But they made sure to hide their venality in the deceptive language of a “free-trade” that is neither free nor trade but the imposed will of ruthless merchant-adventurers.</p>
<p>In Western Kenya, a quarter of a million families earn their living from sugar-cane farming and six million depend on it for their livelihoods. Cheap imports are likely to destroy the Kenyan sugar industry and leave many of these families destitute and starving.</p>
<p>In India, thousands if not millions of lives will likely be affected and India’s self-sufficiency in food destroyed, all for a few more H1B visas and some outsourcing businesses. And the sordid distinction of entry into the Big Boys Club of the WTO mafia.</p>
<p>Strike Two: Tariffs on industry were reduced and the coveted services sector was opened up like a brothel in Kanthipura. Public health, education, telecom, banks, water, all pimped by the state. And by failing to bring up TRIPS (The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) for review and amendment, India – junior Big Boy – ensured that prices of patented drugs will continue to soar, affecting the common people in poor countries. The length of patents, the patenting of life forms, health and food security – all this might have been reviewed with ease. Not one was.</p>
<p>Strike Three: On the other side, the senior Big Boys got away with unctuous promises to ease out export subsidies by 2013 knowing full well that export subsidies are only a drop (2%) in the total subsidies to agriculture. Even the vaunted “Aid for Trade” is smothered in conditional loans contingent on further breaking open the markets of poorer countries. And what gains were made in market access in the developed world went largely to agri-exporters like Argentina and Brazil, not to poor countries.</p>
<p>And not to the lost leader of the third world.</p>
<p>None of this need have been. India might have stood with the Caribbean, South American, and African countries and galvanized the G 110. Cuba and Venezuela clearly drew the line on service liberalization and India might have joined them. But the current Congress administration, which took the place of the BJP with a mandate to resolve India’s growing agrarian crisis, has proved itself if anything less concerned with the country’s welfare. One could well ask if a nationalist BJP government would have had the ideological stomach to betray the heartland of India.</p>
<p>The Indian government’s cowardice at Hong Kong matches it’s cowardice over the Iraq war, which it could have opposed more vocally, and the vote against Iran, which it need not have joined. But the Cambridge-educated economist Manmohan Singh seems to have decided to put opportunism before principle. For our elites, perhaps it’ OK just so long long as it’s Cambridge-bred, not Varanasi-bred. (4)</p>
<p>The betrayal of Hong Kong is the background against which events in Bangalore must be viewed. Having reneged on its public duties, the government of India is bound to release a flood of propaganda intended as a smoke-screen and a distraction from its own craven performance.</p>
<p>It’s also likely to tighten its grip in the face of mass protests or resistance as the implications of Hong Kong become more and more widely known.</p>
<p>At Hong Kong itself, union leaders, farmers, and workers protesting peacefully were attacked with water-cannons, pepper-spray, and tear-gas. 900 were arrested and 70 were hospitalized.(5)</p>
<p>Want to know what to expect in the coming year? Here’s the graffiti already on the wall in Indonesia, which currently occupies the presidency of the Human Rights Commission (though it has yet to ratify key international human rights treaties) and in November, 2005 became a full-fledged compadre of the US in the War on Terra.</p>
<p>On September 18, 2005, in Tanah Awuk village in central Lombok, around a thousand peasants gathered peacefully to protest development policies denying local people the ability to feed themselves, on which they blamed a severe problem of child malnutrition. Indonesia has abundant fertile land and all available land is cultivated for agriculture. The real problem is that policies favor elite profits over the hunger of peasants.</p>
<p>At about 9 in the morning, Indonesian police forces attacked the crowd with plastic and rubber (as well as some metal) bullets, tear gas, and truncheons. 33 were injured, 27 from gunshots, and the rest from assault. At least one child and two women were shot. National TV footage showed unarmed women being dragged violently across rough terrain and police roughing up a man bleeding copiously from the head.(5)</p>
<p>That’s how you play the game when you join the US Terror team. Salaam, Bangalore.</p>
<p>LILA RAJIVA is a free-lance journalist and author of “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1583671196/counterpunchmaga" type="external">The Language of Empire: Abu Ghraib and the American media</a>,” (Monthly Review Press). She can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>(1) “Professor Dies in Indian Gun Raid,” BBC, December 29, 2005.</p>
<p>(2) “Why terrorists struck Bangalore,” B. Raman, Rediff.com, December 28, 2005. See also, International Terrorism Monitor: Paper No. 8 – Terrorist Strike in Bangalore, B. Raman, South Asia Analysis Group, December 29, 2005.</p>
<p>(3) See “Eco-Terrorism: Cui Bono?” Michael Donnelly, Counterpunch, December 20, 2005 and “ <a href="http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/7748" type="external">Environmentalists = Terrorists: The New Math</a>,” Karen Charman, Tom Paine, May 8 2003. See also Pacific Lumber interoffice memo, April 18 1990 cited in David Helvarg, The War Against the Greens, Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1994, page 4.</p>
<p>(4) “WTO Meeting in Hong Kong, 2005,” Anup Shah, globalissues.org, December 26, 2005. See also “Deciphering the Language of Globalization,” Laura Carlsen, Counterpunch, December 17, 2005. Thanks also to Akash Agarwal for his input opn this subject.</p>
<p>(5) “900 Arrested at WTO Meeting in Hong Kong,” Democracy Now, December 19, 2005.</p>
<p>(6) “Police Open Fire on Peasants in Lombok, Indonesia,” Land Action Network, Znet, September 21, 2005.</p>
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<p>&#160;</p> | Terror Hits Bangalore | true | https://counterpunch.org/2006/01/04/terror-hits-bangalore/ | 2006-01-04 | 4 |
<p>Former Political Prisoner Arrested for “Hate Crime” Against Fascist</p>
<p>On December 12, headlines in Spain trumpeted the death of a 55 year-old man, murdered simply for wearing suspenders with the Spanish flag on them. The culprit was identified as Rodrigo Lanza, a participant in “anti-system” movements who had already served time in prison for leaving a cop paralyzed during a 2006 scuffle. Again and again, the media—from right to left—presented the same allegations, often without even the most basic fidelity to notions of sourcing, balance, presumption of innocence, or the protection of privacy. Throughout the affair, they have demonstrated affinity and complicity with fascists, and a burning desire to cover up police violence and corruption.</p>
<p>The Story</p>
<p>Through bold statements in headlines and affirmations that were only occasionally modified with an “allegedly” or “according to police,” the Spanish media have constructed the following story: an old man in a bar was wearing suspenders with the Spanish flag on them. Rodrigo and his friends didn’t like that. An argument started. The man left to avoid a conflict. As he walked away, Rodrigo hit him in the back of the head with an iron bar, and then kicked him in the face as he lay on the ground.</p>
<p>It’s a horrendous story, but there’s a problem. None of these allegations have been independently verified, and the media and the police have already demonstrated a marked bias against the accused, and in favor of the deceased.</p>
<p>Contrary to common practice, the media have identified the accused and family members of his who have spoken up in his defense. Rodrigo’s mother and friends have already received multiple death threats from Spanish fascists, thanks to their doxing by the media. When speaking about Rodrigo, the media have been sure to mention several points: he is Chilean; he was convicted for severely injuring a cop in 2006; and he is a member of “anti-system” movements. Each of these factoids is problematic.</p>
<p>1) His nationality is irrelevant. Spanish media never mention when killers, child molesters, or drug traffickers are whites or Christians. They mention the nationality of accused criminals from the Global South to encourage racism among their public, either intentionally or because they’ve never taken the time to understand how they have been socialized to see people of color as responsible for antisocial activities. <a href="https://fair.org/article/racism-and-mainstream-media/" type="external">Mainstream media coverage of crime has long been a major institutional cause of racism.</a></p>
<p>2) Rodrigo Lanza could not have been responsible for the attack he went to prison for in 2006. There is incontrovertible evidence, discussed below, showing judicial bias and suggesting a police frame-up. Because police blame him for injuring one of theirs, it is highly dubious that they could be trusted to impartially gather evidence in the present case, but rather than pointing this out, the media are using a partial version of his criminal record to portray Rodrigo as a criminal, which in their moral framework means he is guilty of whatever the police and the press accuse him.</p>
<p>3) “Anti-system” movements do not exist. They are a police fabrication intended to delegitimize, criminalize, and lump together all those social movements that police select for targeted destruction. These include anarchists and other anti-capitalists, radical feminists and trans activists, squatters, and national independence activists. Rather than doing any research to confirm whether they are talking in sensible terms or reporting on chimeras and bugaboos, mainstream journalists have preferred to act as the propaganda wing for the police department. They consistently report on a movement that doesn’t exist. Rodrigo is someone who has dedicated a large part of his life to movements for social change. Reporting that fact accurately, however, is not compatible with lynching him, so the media aid the police in portraying him as an antisocial extremist, whereas they portray fascists in sympathetic, human terms.</p>
<p>Víctor Laínez Was an Active Fascist</p>
<p>The supposed victim of the December 8 brawl was Víctor Laínez, an active member of the Falange, a fascist organization intimately connected to the Franco dictatorship and responsible for thousands of murders, dozens of them during democracy. They are not any minor league skinhead hooligan club, which is already dangerous enough. They are the equivalent of the Nazi stormtroopers, except that they still exist.&#160; Rather than being disbanded after having engaged in mass murder, they have been tolerated under democracy, and when they have run-ins with leftists, their members are given the benefit of the doubt. Though the figure is rarely mentioned, there have been 88 murders classified as hate crimes in Spain since 1990, nearly all of them carried out by the extreme Right. And that’s only counting murders for which there was undeniable evidence regarding the motive. Who knows how many immigrants or homeless people police have found dead and not bothered to investigate thoroughly. What’s certain is that extreme Right groups like the Falange encourage and carry out such killings.</p>
<p>Media portrayals of Laínez as an innocent “motorcycle enthusiast”, their omission or toning down of his membership in a murderous, paramilitary organization, are part of a shameless attempt to convict Rodrigo in public opinion and create political support for the repression of antifascists. If they were honest about who he was, the police story would no longer sound so credible.</p>
<p>Víctor Laínez is suspected of having participated in earlier fascist attacks, and according to witnesses—who are not quoted in most of the mainstream media coverage, or at best referenced only after relating the police version which is portrayed as definitive—he began the conflict at the bar by launching racial slurs at Rodrigo, and then outside the bar attempted to attack Rodrigo with a knife. His comrades in the Falange make it clear that they do not consider him a victim, but a hero, comparing him with another comrade of theirs, the neo-Nazi who stabbed to death young Carlos Palomino in the Madrid metro.</p>
<p>Police claim not to have found any knife on the scene, though no one else is better positioned to make evidence disappear, and they have a stated vendetta against Rodrigo Lanza. When they arrested him and framed him in 2006, they also removed evidence from the scene before it could be properly documented. And when a neo-Nazi stabbed to death a young squatter in Barcelona in 2004, police “lost” the murder weapon. When it, or possibly another knife smaller than the one actually used in the stabbing, finally showed up months later, it had no finger prints on it. Subsequently, the accomplice to the murder was acquitted, since there was no physical evidence connecting him to the weapon and the eyewitnesses didn’t have the right political views to be trusted by the courts, those same courts that originally let the stabber go with a mere “injuries” charge, and finally convicted him for “manslaughter” rather than “murder”, and with a reduced sentence at that.</p>
<p>It’s possible that all these police failings are innocent. Maybe they’re just not good at finding anything. Though the sensationalist yarn spun by the media has Rodrigo hitting Laínez in the back of the head with an iron bar, police have found no such weapon. However, if the cops are so incompetent, why do they receive a privileged status as impartial witnesses and media liaisons?</p>
<p>Gasoline for Spanish Nationalism</p>
<p>The most sensationalist meme to come out of this is the idea that poor Laínez was killed simply for wearing a Spanish flag. Witnesses contradict this hyperbole, pointing out that Laínez himself started the argument by using racial epithets against Rodrigo, and that he was wearing a closed jacket so no one at the time could even see whether or not he was wearing Spanish-flag suspenders. Regardless, as a member of a murderous, racist, fascist paramilitary organization, he was not, by any stretch of the imagination, attacked just for wearing a Spanish flag. Every day of the week, antifascists cross paths with people wearing Spanish flag regalia, especially in a city like Zaragoza, and most of these encounters don’t even lead to the trading of insults.</p>
<p>The importance of the Spanish flag meme lies in its usefulness to a major media campaign, which has been in overdrive all year, to fuel Spanish nationalism. In response to the Catalan independence movement, the mainstream media—especially Right and Center but also center-Left—have been encouraging catalanophobia and making passionate pleas on behalf of Spanish unity, which in practice means the suppression of the aspirations to self-determination of other peoples living under Spanish sovereignty. <a href="" type="internal">This wave of nationalism has already resulted in multiple xenophobic attacks and assaults</a> on Catalan supporters of independence. The extreme Right has played a central role in these patriotic mobilizations, which received impetus and positive coverage from the main media.</p>
<p>It’s a tragedy, because the extreme Right had largely collapsed in Spain, despite the continuing economic crisis. Their recent surge has largely been a result of how the media have covered the independence movement. They have used alarmism, cries for law and order, and the demonization of those seeking independence, while covering up the corruption of the Spanish state or minimizing the violence used to suppress the independence referendum. The media successfully cast the struggle against Catalan self-determination as a struggle for self-defense against an irrational, authoritarian, criminal enemy.</p>
<p>Like most oppressors, Spanish nationalists find itself useful to portray themselves as victims. Spain maintains its control over Catalunya and the Basque country with recourse to state violence, but when these peoples talk about independence, Spanish nationalists accuse them of nationalism and start acting like they’re an endangered species. Those who have followed the rise of Trump will notice a pattern.</p>
<p>The line about an old man being attacked simply for wearing the Spanish flag is calculated to mobilize more Spanish patriots to attack their perceived enemies. Chileans, other immigrants, and Leftists who are attacked as a direct result of this will not receive comparable coverage in the media. The Spanish press has already spilled more ink over this one dead fascist than they have on any of the hate crime victims of the past years.</p>
<p>To add insult to injury, the police and the media have successfully used this tear-jerker about an old man and his flag to charge Rodrigo with a hate crime. In another terrifyingly inane example of democratic pluralism, fascists become the victims of hatred. (In the US, with the repercussions of Ferguson and the Black Lives Matter movement still shaking the country, the Right has proposed and sometimes passed dozens of “Blue Lives Matter” bills that classify attacks on the police as hate crimes).</p>
<p>The 4F Case Reopened</p>
<p>The media did not waste a second in utilizing the accusations against Rodrigo to discredit all the very real criticisms against the police—and the media themselves—for their handling of the 4F case, the 2006 frame-up that resulted in Rodrigo doing seven years in prison.</p>
<p>In summary, <a href="https://roarmag.org/essays/torturing-squatters-barcelona-4f/" type="external">the 4F case stemmed from a riot on February 4, 2006</a>.&#160; The police were looking to start a provocation at a squat where a huge party was underway. It was a squat where drugs were sold, where suspected police informants lived, and which cops themselves had been protecting from eviction. When a group of South Americans with a squatter aesthetic passed by outside, the cops shouted racial slurs and attacked them. They got more than they bargained for, though, as bystanders joined in the fray. One person inside the squat dropped a flower pot that hit one of the racist, rioting cops on the head, ultimately leaving him tetraplegic. Riot police came in, arresting anyone with a squatter aesthetic, and beating and torturing the principal defendants. The scene was cleaned up before forensics could arrive, and after about a day cops and city authorities changed their story, erasing mention of the flower pot and claiming Rodrigo, one of the squatters whom police had attacked down in the street, had thrown a rock at the cop. Expert medical witnesses testified that the police version was physically impossible, that the cop had been injured not by a rock thrown from street level but by a heavy weight falling from above; nonetheless, all the accused were convicted, and one person eventually committed suicide as a result of her imprisonment.</p>
<p>The case showed how easily police, prosecutors, media, and judges can conspire to fabricate cases. The police had total control over what evidence was gathered and what evidence disappeared, and their narrative was presented by the press, as usual, as the only version of events. Prosecutors decided to use the severest charges against the accused, to turn bystanders into accomplices, and to ignore police crimes. And the judge prevented the defense from corroborating their version of events by declaring any non-police witnesses who came forward would be arrested as accomplices.</p>
<p>In the end, the only evidence in favor of the fable cooked up by the prosecutors were the police themselves. It’s hard to say that their bumbling, contradictory testimony actually helped the government’s case; nonetheless, they were cast as impartial witnesses even though cops are professional liars. Their job is to help prosecutors make convictions, and their preparation of testimony in political cases tends to be apparent.</p>
<p>When <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zObJ77Y6VZQ" type="external">Ciutat Morta</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zObJ77Y6VZQ" type="external">, a documentary about the 4F case</a>, was released and viewed by huge audiences, the lies, cover-ups, and brutality of the cops, the judges, the prosecutors, the politicians, and the media were on display for everyone to see. It was a huge embarrassment. Rodrigo and his mother both gave key testimony for the documentary. Evidently, powerholders never forgave those who brought their lies to light.</p>
<p>As soon as Rodrigo Lanza was identified as the suspect in the death of Laínez, all the guilty parties in the 4F cover-up began smearing the documentary’s credibility. In an article dripping with sympathy for the fascists and the cops, <a href="" type="internal">Luis Benvenuty and Toni Muñoz</a> ironically refer to Rodrigo as a “victim executioner,” writing in La Vanguardia, Barcelona’s major newspaper and a key player in the 4F cover-up. Their paper has not labelled as “executioners” all the many cops who have murdered with impunity; on the contrary, they generally publish flimsy police alibis as objective fact, just as they did in 2006 when police arrested nine people, torturing some of them, for a crime they did not commit.</p>
<p>The old guard of Barcelona’s political elite have called for the prizes awarded to Ciutat Morta to be withdrawn, and they have lambasted Ada Colau, Barcelona’s progressive mayor, for giving support to the documentary.</p>
<p>In their shameless crusade, the media and the politicians have demonstrated their absolute hypocrisy and disregard for the very principles of rationality and due process that they champion. The mere accusation that Rodrigo has committed a crime does not mean he did it—the investigation hasn’t even concluded and no trial has been held—but beyond that, whether or not he killed a violent, xenophobic fascist has no bearing whatsoever on whether he told the truth in a documentary made years before.</p>
<p>The cops, again with media support, have tried to go even further. Victor Bayona and Bakari Samyang, two of the cops responsible for the 4F frame-up, eventually got caught when the immigrant they were torturing one particular day happened to be a diplomat’s son. They received a scanty, one year prison sentence. In an astounding leap, police have asserted that Rodrigo’s recent arrest means that the two cops were innocent of an entirely unrelated act of torture. On December 18, La Vanguardia gave the two cops a platform to claim the existence of <a href="" type="internal">a far-reaching squatter conspiracy</a> to fabricate a case of torture and get them locked up as vengeance for the brave testimony against the 4F defendants, and with typical journalistic scruples, the newspaper presented all their claims as objective facts.</p>
<p>Media Support for Fascists and Police</p>
<p>The media frenzy around Rodrigo’s arrest not only shows crass opportunism, but also a cozy relationship with police and fascists that directly endangers immigrants, working class people, trans and queer people, and participants in social movements.</p>
<p>Together with the courts, the media systematically uphold the dubitable portrayal of the police as a neutral institution that can be trusted to gather evidence and enforce laws without taking sides in social conflicts. In Spain as elsewhere, police overwhelmingly sympathize with and participate in the extreme Right, and use their power to attack the Left. In the US, Trump’s <a href="" type="internal">most unshakeable base have been the border guards and cops</a>, who have shown direct complicity with white supremacists <a href="" type="internal">in Charlottesville</a> and <a href="" type="internal">at other mobilizations of the extreme Right</a>; in Greece, startling percentages of cops were supporters or <a href="" type="internal">members of the fascist party Golden Dawn</a>, which they also helped to arm in order to carry out attacks on immigrants, anarchists, and members of the far Left; and in Germany, as neo-Nazi attacks skyrocket, <a href="" type="internal">the police have been carrying out one repressive operation after another</a> against the very people who mobilize to defend themselves against the Right.</p>
<p>An unending slew of racist killings and beatings, as well as increasingly visible signs of police complicity with white supremacists and fascists, have shaken public confidence in police neutrality. But the media have large preserved their aura of neutrality and legitimacy, especially in the US where they have been critical of Trump’s penchant for misinformation and offensive statements. Their role in reproducing oppressive structures, however, is crucial.</p>
<p>In Greece, after the 2008 insurrection, <a href="" type="internal">corporate media immediately began to give the fascist party Golden Dawn a major public platform</a>, completely incommensurate with their support. It was the media that made outright xenophobic and racist ideas mainstream. In Germany, the media did little to explain the economic justifications for Merkel’s decision to take in Syrian refugees: that the country lacked skilled workers and appropriating Syria’s middle class—willing to work for low wages after being humiliated by a long and perilous crossing—while leaving the Syrian poor to rot in refugee camps, was <a href="" type="internal">actually quite good for German businesses</a>. In the US, the major media, while fact-checking Trump on most of his other claims, didn’t find it convenient to popularize the widely accepted figure that <a href="" type="internal">85% of lost manufacturing jobs have been stolen not by foreigners but by robots</a>, which is to say, by the profit-focused decisions of corporate managers. (To be precise, this fact was reported primarily in media read by a more educated audience, rarely covered on TV news, not given the prime time or front page coverage that the xenophobic rhetoric of politicians received, and as far as I have seen was never phrased in a way that places the blame for job loss on corporations, the way immigrants or foreigners are clearly blamed for the job loss caused by more international trade.)</p>
<p>And in Spain, the media have long turned a blind eye to fascist violence—directed against human beings—while whipping up public condemnation of anarchist or leftist violence, which is directed against the property of the super-wealthy and against ruling institutions. The recent slandering of Rodrigo is just the latest example of how the media are willing to side with fascists and police, despite their proven record of murder, torture, and manipulation, in order to portray those who struggle against the status quo as dangerous criminals.</p>
<p>The need to reveal the mass media’s complicity with racism and police violence is more urgent than ever. Without their mantle of neutrality and legitimacy, they cannot carry out the campaigns that make state repression, white supremacist ideology, and xenophobic movements possible. However, the effective fascist utilization of decentralized media like Facebook and Twitter reveal the dangers of simply bashing big media with populist invective. To solve this dilemma, we need our own forms of communication to reveal the lies that protect powerful institutions, and undermine the manipulations that give us scapegoats instead of solidarity.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Spanish Media Side With Fascist | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/12/26/spanish-media-side-with-fascist/ | 2017-12-26 | 4 |
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<p>The same, however, couldn’t be said for roughly half of the residents of Las Vegas, N.M. – the half who bleed Cardinal red and black.</p>
<p>“We did have a brutal start. Even the people who support us were questioning why I put together such a tough schedule,” Gonzalez said.</p>
<p>Robertson High’s quarterback Nathan Lesperance signals to a teammate during practice Wednesday in Las Vegas, N.M. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>But then it all began to make sense.</p>
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<p>Robertson would win six of its next seven games, earn the No. 6 seed in the state playoffs – where it advanced all the way to the quarterfinals – to finish the season with a respectable 7-4 record.</p>
<p>Gonzalez perhaps would have liked to tell his detractors he told them so, but the third-year Robertson coach admitted he didn’t know himself, considering he was fielding a squad with just three seniors and a host of first-year varsity players.</p>
<p>“I was definitely surprised because of how young we were,” he said. “We came back and won our first game against Portales in overtime … so they showed me that we could be good. But then the next game, we showed our youth – same with the next game against Santa Rosa and same with St. Mike’s.</p>
<p>“But then, after getting some games under our belts, things started to click and we started playing football.”</p>
<p>Robertson football coach Leroy Gonzalez talks to his players during practice Wednesday in Las Vegas, N.M. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Now a year older, a year wiser and – as Gonzalez was careful to point out – a year stronger, Robertson’s aspirations for this season extend beyond defending its district title for a fourth straight year.</p>
<p>But Gonzalez did have one caveat: “I would put my team up against anyone, but it all depends on injuries,” he said. “The reality is, I get one guy hurt and we’re in a world of trouble. And if it’s a good kid, that could mean we need to fill six positions, including special teams. That just kills you.”</p>
<p>And the injury bug has already struck the Cardinals.</p>
<p>Robertson will have to start the season without its top playmaker, Dominic Lucero. Lucero, who broke his collarbone during training camp last season, is expected to miss the first few games of the season with the same injury – the fracture was also in the same location.</p>
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<p>“He’s the most talented of all our guys, and until he gets back, it’ll hurt,” Gonzalez said.</p>
<p>The run-first offensive attack of Robertson will, however, be bolstered by the return of Marcello Cedillo, who opted to not play football the past couple seasons. Cedillo is also slated to start at linebacker.</p>
<p>“He’s a solid kid,” Gonzalez said. “He’ll help us with power running and power blocking. He’ll be a nice compliment for James (Gonzales), (Dominic Lucero) and Nathan Archuleta, who ran the ball a lot last year. So we got about four guys we’ll be rotating in and out of that position.”</p>
<p>More important than who’s running ball, Gonzalez said the key to the team’s offense will be the performance of those playing in front of his ball carriers.</p>
<p>“Last year, we were too naive, too young, and too weak to move anyone around – the yards we got on the ground was because of our running backs,” said Gonzalez of his offensive line. “This year, we’re going to help those running backs out. We’re going to get those third downs and keep those other teams off the field.”</p>
<p>Gonzales was the team’s leading rusher last season with 748 yards on 111 carries, followed by Lucero with 704 yards on 75 carries.</p>
<p>As for Gonzalez’s thoughts about his district competition and beyond?</p>
<p>“Taos has like 12 or 13 seniors – they’re tough, and (West Las Vegas) is coming up too – it’ll be a dog fight,” he said. “And when you look at the rest of 3A, I don’t think anybody is a clear leader. This year, it’s wide open.”</p>
<p />
<p /> | Robertson expecting strong 2013 season | false | https://abqjournal.com/249327/robertson-expecting-strong-2013-season.html | 2013-08-18 | 2 |
<p>SEOUL (Reuters) - The head coach of the South Korean women’s ice hockey team says her squad was put in a difficult situation having to incorporate North Korean players just weeks before the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.</p> South Korean women's ice hockey player Marissa Brandt (bottom, 2nd from R) skates with her teammates after a game at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, U.S., December 28, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
<p>Sarah Murray, speaking at the Jincheon National Training Center on Monday, said that while she had been given no choice about coaching a joint Korean team there had been no pressure on her to play the North Koreans in actual games.</p>
<p>The two Koreas agreed last week to field a combined women’s ice hockey team and march together under one flag at next month’s Winter Olympics after a new round of talks amid a thaw in cross-border relations.</p>
<p>The International Olympic Committee said on Saturday that 12 North Korea players would join the South’s 23-player squad. The game day roster will continue to be 22 and Murray has to include at least three North Koreans.</p>
<p>The North will also send athletes to take part in figure skating, short track speed skating, cross-country and Alpine skiing at the Feb. 9-25 Games.</p>
<p>“It is a tough situation to have our team be used for political reasons, but its kind of something that’s bigger than ourselves right now,” Murray told a news conference.</p>
<p>“We didn’t really have a lot of say in it. We’re just happy that we don’t have to play six (North Korean) players and this was the best case scenario for the options that were given to us.”</p>
<p>The talks between North and South Korea on the Olympics have brought some respite from the standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.</p>
<p>It will mark the first time the two Koreas will compete as a unified team at the Olympics but the decision has been met with anger from some South Korean athletes, while an online petition against the move has garnered tens of thousands of signatories.</p>
<p>Murray said the only criteria she has to decide who plays is what is best for the team.</p>
<p>“I’ve been assured that I have ultimate control,” she said with a laugh. “They keep saying it’s my choice about the lineup, it’s my choice who plays. So as far as I know I have complete control and I’m going to play the players I want.</p>
<p>“So we’re not just going to make a line just to make a line of North Korean players just so they can get ice time.</p>
<p>“We’re going to put in players that are going to be successful and we’re going to play to win with the roster we have.”</p>
<p>North and South Korea are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.</p>
<p>Editing by Ed Osmond</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>CARSON, Calif. (Reuters) - Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s debut with LA Galaxy on Saturday will add extra spice to their highly-anticipated first meeting with crosstown rivals Los Angeles FC, players and coaches said on Friday.</p>
<p>News that the 36-year-old Swedish striker would leave Manchester United for the Galaxy sent shockwaves through LA last week and throngs of the Major League Soccer side’s fans showed up to greet him at the airport late on Thursday.</p>
<p>Saturday’s sold-out fixture pits the Galaxy, one of the league’s original 10 teams, against expansion club LAFC, whose ownership group includes sports figures and celebrities such as Will Ferrell and Magic Johnson.</p>
<p>“It’s a big start to something here,” Galaxy defender Daniel Steres said on Friday after Ibrahimovic’s first practice with the team at the StubHub Center.</p>
<p>“It’s going to be a huge crowd, very energetic. It’s going to be loud and it’s going to be exciting.</p>
<p>“(Ibrahimovic) adds a little extra bonus into it but I think even before, everyone in Los Angeles was pretty excited for this one. They’ve been looking forward to it all year.”</p>
<p>Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid said Ibrahimovic, who is still working his way back from a knee injury, was available for the game but did not say whether he would play.</p>
<p>Schmid added that it was difficult to gauge the intensity of the rivalry between the sides at this stage, although if vandals defacing murals of each other’s teams in LA is any indication it is already smoldering.</p>
<p>“It means a lot to our fans and our fans are very important to us, so we want to put forth our best effort for them,” he said.</p>
<p>Galaxy defender Ashley Cole, who played in several derbies with Arsenal and Chelsea in the English Premier League, said it would take time for the rivalry to build up between the LA teams.</p> FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Manchester United Training - Aon Training Complex, Manchester, Britain - February 20, 2018 Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic during training Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff/File Photo
<p>“We have not yet played against them yet. I think it will take a few games to get into the spirit of it,” he said.</p>
<p>“But having a new team in LA is good for the city, good for the MLS and I’m looking forward to it.”</p>
<p>Editing by Peter Rutherford</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LeBron James broke the NBA record for consecutive games scoring at least 10 points and added 17 more as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 107-102, on Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.</p>
<p>It was the 867th consecutive regular-season game in which James has scored at least 10 points, breaking a tie with Michael Jordan for the longest such streak in NBA history. The streak began Jan. 5, 2007. The record will stand for at least several years because the next closest active streak belongs to Houston’s James Harden (258 after Friday’s game against Phoenix ).</p>
<p>Jordan Clarkson added 23 points and Rodney Hood scored 16 for the Cavaliers, who maintained their hold on third place in the Eastern Conference. They stayed a half-game ahead of Philadelphia, which beat Atlanta, 101-91, and moved a game in front of idle Indiana.</p>
<p>Jrue Holiday led New Orleans with 25 points, Nikola Mirotic added 20, Anthony Davis scored 16 and Darius Miller had 11.</p>
<p>The Pelicans, who lost their third straight game, slipped into a tie with Utah for the seventh spot in the Western Conference after the Jazz beat the Grizzlies on Friday night. New Orleans sits one game back of idle San Antonio and a half-game behind Minnesota, who hung on against Dallas, and Oklahoma City, who lost in overtime to Denver. The Pelicans are two games ahead of the Nuggets and Clippers, who both sit outside the playoff picture.</p>
<p>The Cavaliers cut the Pelicans’ 10-point halftime lead to five during the first two minutes of the third quarter, but Mirotic answered with back-to-back 3-pointers.</p>
<p>The lead reached 13 before Clarkson made two 3-pointers and Jeff Green added a three-point play during a 20-6 run that gave Cleveland a 78-77 lead.</p>
<p>Ian Clark made a jumper for New Orleans , but Green answered with a jumper that gave the Cavaliers an 80-79 lead after three quarters.</p>
<p>Mirotic and Miller each made a 3-pointer to give the Pelicans an 85-82 lead before Cleveland made another run.</p>
<p>J.R. Smith, Clarkson and Jose Calderon each made a 3-pointer and Cleveland built a 95-88 lead midway through the quarter.</p>
<p>Holiday scored six straight New Orleans points, but James countered with eight straight for the Cavaliers to give them a 105-98 lead with 1:59 remaining.</p>
<p>Baskets by Solomon Hill and Holiday got the Pelicans within three and they had a chance to tie, but Holiday’s 3-pointer missed with 18 seconds left.</p>
<p>Smith made a free throw and Holiday missed another shot before Clarkson made a free throw for a five-point lead with eight seconds left.</p>
<p>—Field Level Media</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>PARIS (Reuters) - The cost of hosting the 2024 Olympics in Paris is at risk of running half a billion euros over budget and some sites may not be ready in time if plans are not revised, a French government report warned on Friday.</p> FILE PHOTO: Olympic rings to celebrate the IOC official announcement that Paris won the 2024 Olympic bid are seen in front of the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero square in Paris, France, September 16, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
<p>The report by finance, sports and infrastructure inspectors called for Olympic village plans to be revised to take account of remnants of archaeological value at the site, a residency for migrants and a high school.</p>
<p>It said plans for a media village should be scaled down and it warned that the swimming center and surrounding developments were at risk of running as much as 170 million euros ($210 million) over budget.</p>
<p>“At this point the total potential risks identified by the cases under consideration stand at 500 million euros,” the report said, adding the figure could be kept to 200 million if its recommendations were followed.</p>
<p>“Nonetheless, the main risk is that indispensable structures are not delivered in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” it said.</p>
<p>The overall budget for hosting the games was initially set at 6.8 billion euros, with an investment of public money of 1.5 billion euros.</p>
<p>Separate reports from the Senate and the public audit office have already warned that a massive expansion of the Paris metro network may run billions over budget and not be ready in time for the Olympics.</p>
<p>($1 = 0.8114 euros)</p>
<p>Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Geert De Clercq and Richard Balmforth</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - A total 254 international players from a record 21 countries appeared on Major League Baseball’s Opening Day rosters including the first from South Africa and Lithuania, MLB said on Friday.</p> Mar 29, 2018; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks players line the field prior to the game against the Colorado Rockies during Opening Day at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Slideshow (5 Images)
<p>The 254 players born outside the U.S. represent 29.0 percent of a record-high pool of 877 as of March 29.</p>
<p>The Dominican Republic leads the Major Leagues with 84 players while Venezuela ranks second with 74, Puerto Rico is third with 19 followed by Cuba with 17.</p>
<p>Toronto Blue Jays Gift Ngoepe, a native of Pietersburg, South Africa, is the first South African-born player, as well as the first born in the continent of Africa, to make an Opening Day roster while Pittsburgh’s Dovydas Neverauskas is the first Lithuanian-born player to appear on an Opening Day.</p>
<p>For the second consecutive season, the Texas Rangers have the most foreign players with 14 on a roster that spans five different countries and territories outside the U.S.</p>
<p>Texas is followed by the Chicago White Sox (13), Miami Marlins (12), Minnesota Twins (11), Philadelphia Phillies (11) and Toronto Blue Jays (11).</p>
<p>Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, Editing by Ed Osmond</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Olympics: South Korea ice hockey put in tough situation, says coach Soccer: Zlatan adds spice to first meeting of LA teams Cavs survive Pelicans as LeBron breaks Jordan's record Government report sees Paris Olympics 500 million euros over budget Baseball: Players from record 21 countries on Opening Day rosters | false | https://reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2018-northkorea-icehockey/olympics-south-korea-ice-hockey-put-in-tough-situation-says-coach-idUSKBN1FB1GY | 2018-01-22 | 2 |
<p />
<p>The Laird Norton Company, one of the oldest family businesses in the country, was founded by two brothers and a cousin. This team approach also informs the Laird Norton Family Foundation, now involving the fifth- and sixth-generation family members to follow the original 1855 business partners.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Your family can also use philanthropy as a way to strengthen your connections, find shared activities, and engage younger generations. Perhaps you have a sibling or a cousin who shares a concern with you. Maybe there's an illness that affects family members, or maybe you have affection for a particular conservation area near a family summer home. Separately, you may both be doing the work of finding high-performing nonprofits that address the issue, volunteering, and making individual donations to them. Imagine how much easier and more fun it would be if you joined together in that endeavor. And consider the greater difference you could make with larger combined donations and volunteer hours.</p>
<p>Source: Flickr user <a href="https://www.ncfp.org/blog/2007/sep-laird-norton-family.html" type="external">sagriffin305.</a></p>
<p>As the Laird Norton family does, you might also engage older and younger generations to join you. This could be parents, aunts and uncles, children, and nieces and nephews -- people of all ages. This approach not only maximizes your charitable giving potential, but it also ties the family together. For instance, as part of their process, the Laird Nortons gathered family history stories and put them into a play, a video, and even a coloring book.</p>
<p>The Laird Norton family has considerable wealth and a large group of members, so it's appropriate that there are regular family meetings, a clear understanding of how decisions are made (known in this context as family governance), and ways to empower young people as they reach adulthood. Regardless of the size of your family, or the size of your financial portfolio, you, too, can still engage in some family philanthropy at your own scale.</p>
<p>Start with a simple conversation at your next family gathering -- ask people what social or environmental challenges they care about. Be open and willing to ask questions about the topics, even if they're different from your areas of concern. Once you have your interests out in the open, you can ask if they're volunteering or making donations in those areas. This process is the start of finding common causes, or at least ways to give together. Besides, as Bruce DeBoskey, the philanthropy strategist, says, charitable giving is a "safe zone" for the discussion of money and values, which is sometimes a significant communication challenge in families.</p>
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<p>Once you have a sense of the momentum in the family for this kind of activity, you can work with a <a href="http://generositypath.com/philanthropic-coaching/" type="external">philanthropy advisor</a> to help your family create plans, a structure, and ways to share donations. Your plans might include something as modest as a shared bank account, or something more ambitious like a donor advised fund or a family foundation. Depending on the scale of your strategies, you may also want to talk to an accountant or lawyer about setting up a fund or foundation. Before you do that, do some exploring with your family and find some common purposes.</p>
<p>If you want your family to grow and be connected five or six generations from now, like the Laird Nortons, family philanthropy might just be the glue that holds it together.</p>
<p>(Thanks to The Laird Norton Family for <a href="https://www.ncfp.org/blog/2007/sep-laird-norton-family.html" type="external">sharing its story</a> on the National Center for Family Philanthropy website.)</p>
<p>The article <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/05/07/charitable-giving-as-a-family-project.aspx" type="external">Charitable Giving As a Family Project</a> originally appeared on Fool.com.</p>
<p>As a Motley Fool reader, you're interested in learning and being smart about your investing. <a href="http://generositypath.com/about/" type="external">Mark Ewert</a> helps people to be as skilled at charitable giving as you are at investing, so contact him if you are looking for support. You can purchase his new book, <a href="http://generositypath.com/the-book/" type="external">The Generosity Path: Finding the Richness in Giving</a>, through his website or at your local bookstore.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">free for 30 days</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://wiki.fool.com/Motley?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?source=eptfxblnk0000004" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p>
<p>Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/help/index.htm?display=about02" type="external">disclosure policy</a>.</p> | Charitable Giving As a Family Project | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/05/07/charitable-giving-as-family-project.html | 2016-05-07 | 0 |
<p>In today’s roundup, “Game of Thrones” alum Hannah Waddingham has been cast in a recurring role in Syfy’s “Krypton” and “Empire” releases a first look trailer ahead of its return to Fox. &#160; DATES “Empire“and “Star” return to Fox with new episodes on March 28. Watch a first look trailer of “Empire” below. The Lifetime […]</p> | TV News Roundup: ‘Empire,’ ‘Star’ Set Midseason Return Dates on Fox | false | https://newsline.com/tv-news-roundup-empire-star-set-midseason-return-dates-on-fox/ | 2018-01-25 | 1 |
<p>Medtronic Plc. said Tuesday it had net income of $1.016 billion, or 74 cents a share, in its fiscal first quarter to July 28, up from $929 million, or 66 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.12, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.08. The Dublin-based medical equipment maker said sales rose to $7.39 billion from $7.17 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $7.45 billion. Chief Executive Omar Ishrak said revenue was hurt by a global IT disruption in June and temporary Diabetes sensor supply constraints. "While these temporary issues had affected first quarter revenue growth, we continued to drive operating margin expansion," Ishrak said in a statement. Shares were indicating higher in premarket trade, but have gained 17% in 2017, while the S&amp;P 500 has gained 8.5%.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Medtronic Tops Profit Estimate, But Sales Fall Short | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/22/medtronic-tops-profit-estimate-but-sales-fall-short.html | 2017-08-22 | 0 |
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rose more than 1 percent on Tuesday, with benchmark Brent crude hitting $70 a barrel for the first time in a week, boosted by healthy world economic growth prospects and expectations for continued production curbs by OPEC, Russia and their allies.</p> FILE PHOTO: The Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery owned by The Carlyle Group is seen at sunset in front of the Philadelphia skyline March 24, 2014. Picture taken March 24, 2014. REUTERS/David M. Parrott/File Photo
<p>U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 closed up 90 cents to $64.47 a barrel, for a gain of 1.4 percent. WTI reached its highest since December 2014 on Jan. 16 at $64.89.</p>
<p>Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled up 93 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $69.96, not far off the three-year high of $70.37 reached on Jan. 15.</p>
<p>Futures pared some gains in post-settlement trading after weekly inventory figures from industry group the American Petroleum Institute showed a surprise 4.8 million-barrel increase in crude oil stocks for last week. [API/S]</p>
<p>If the U.S. Energy Department data on Wednesday also shows an increase in inventories, it would break a nine-week streak of drawdowns that has helped U.S. crude supply decline to its lowest since Feb. 2015. Analysts forecast a 1.6 million-barrel draw in Reuters poll.[EIA/S]</p>
<p>Still, U.S. crude futures were up 82 cents to $64.39 a barrel, not far from the day’s settlement, as crude had rallied on thin volumes headed into the release.</p>
<p>“I really think U.S. crude inventories are about to even out and probably show some modest builds over the next few weeks which would be seasonal as we head into turnarounds,” said Andrew Lebow, senior partner at CRG Associates. “Perhaps this will blunt the rally and let some of the excess length out of the market.”</p>
<p>The International Monetary Fund on Monday revised upward its forecast for world economic growth, which could help demand for petroleum products. It comes as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers continue their supply-cut agreement which began in January 2017 and is due to run until the end of 2018.</p>
<p>OPEC’s main objective for the cuts is to eliminate a global surplus in oil stocks and rebalance the market. There is some expectation that OPEC will let the agreement expire at the end of 2018, but major producers have not yet suggested that this is in the offing.</p>
<p>The sharp plunge in Venezuelan production is offsetting increases from the United States, which is on the cusp of breaking its all-time production record of 10.04 million barrels per day.</p>
<p>Venezuela’s output fell to a meager 2 million bpd in 2017, far short of expectations for 2.5 million bpd, and the International Energy Agency said it could keep declining in 2018.</p>
<p>“Six months ago there was a lot of consternation about how fast (U.S.) production might grow but that’s been offset by Venezuelan volatility,” said Tony Scott, managing director of analytics at BTU Analytics in Denver.</p>
<p>He added that with Saudi and Iranian production likely to remain steady throughout the year, it was hard to see an increase in supply that would undermine the rally.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Edmund Blair</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - There is no truth to a report of merger talks between retailers Target Corp ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TGT.N" type="external">TGT.N</a>) and Kroger Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=KR.N" type="external">KR.N</a>), a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.</p> FILE PHOTO: Shopping carts are seen at a Target store in Azusa, California U.S. November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
<p>Earlier on Friday, tech focused magazine Fast Company reported that the companies are in possible merger talks, sending the shares of both companies higher.</p>
<p>“There is no truth to this rumor,” the source said.</p> FILE PHOTO: A logo of Kroger is displayed on a monitor above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
<p>Kroger spokeswoman Kristal Howard said: “We generally don’t comment on rumors or speculation.”</p>
<p>Kroger has a market cap of $20.62 billion and Target $37.12 billion.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TGT.N" type="external">Target Corp</a> 68.82 TGT.N New York Stock Exchange -0.07 (-0.10%) TGT.N KR.N
<p>Korger shares that were up 13 percent before the bell pared their gains to trade up 2.5 percent at $24. Shares of Target are up 1.5 percent at $70.</p>
<p>Reporting by Nandita Bose in New York and Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department squared off on Thursday with AT&amp;T Inc in a long anticipated trial, as the two sides disputed whether AT&amp;T’s $85 billion purchase of Time Warner Inc would be good for consumers or an expensive drag on innovation.</p>
<p>During opening statements, Justice Department lawyer Craig Conrath asked for the deal to be blocked, saying it would hike prices for consumers by more than $400 million annually, or an average of $0.45 a month for pay TV subscribers, by making rival pay TV companies pay more for Time Warner content.</p>
<p>“Time Warner would be a weapon for AT&amp;T because AT&amp;T’s competitors need Time Warner,” Conrath told U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who will decide the case after a trial expected to last six to eight weeks.</p>
<p>Conrath also said AT&amp;T would be able to use content from movie and TV show maker Time Warner, including its Turner unit, to slow innovation in online video.</p>
<p>In opening remarks, Daniel Petrocelli, speaking for AT&amp;T and Time Warner, ridiculed the Justice Department’s case and suggested the government was “fundamentally stuck in the past” with arguments that were “divorced from reality.”</p>
<p>Petrocelli said the deal would actually lead to a 50-cent decrease in prices for pay TV subscribers, citing what he said were errors in a government expert’s model of how the transaction would impact future prices.</p>
<p>The Justice Department, Petrocelli said, “cannot meet their burden of proof. They cannot prove that this would lessen competition.”</p>
<p>The merger is about the companies trying to better compete with technology businesses like Alphabet Inc and Amazon.com Inc, Petrocelli said.</p>
<p>The internet companies, including Netflix Inc, pose two challenges to pay TV. They either compete with cable and satellite television for ad dollars or provide cheaper online video that has hurt pricey pay-TV. Some do both.</p>
<p>Petrocelli added that the combined company would be better at using customer data to target advertising. Companies like General Motors Co and Mastercard In will pay more for higher quality advertising and consumers will pay less, he said.</p>
<p>The Justice Department filed suit in November to stop AT&amp;T, which has some 25 million pay-TV subscribers, from closing the deal. AT&amp;T says a merger would benefit consumers by creating efficiencies. AT&amp;T is the biggest pay-TV provider via subsidiary DirecTV.</p> Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes arrives ahead of arguments in the trial to determine if AT&amp;T's merger with Time Warner is legal under antitrust law at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., March 22, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
<p>Conrath suggested that AT&amp;T would be able to hike fees that Turner charges for its content by about 10 percent if the merger were approved and that the company could withhold content from rival distributors. He referenced an internal email from Turner executives that Dish Network Corp’s Sling service would be “crap” without Turner content, as he paraphrased the stronger language in the email.</p>
<p>President Donald Trump publicly criticized the deal as a candidate and as president, and the Republican president often has excoriated Time Warner’s CNN news network.</p>
<p>For its first witness, the Justice Department called Cox Communications content buyer Suzanne Fenwick, who described Time Warner’s movies, television shows and sports programming as “must-have content” for the cable TV provider.</p>
<p>If the merger went through, she said, she feared the next negotiation. “We’re very concerned that we’re going to be presented with a horribly ugly deal,” she said.</p> Slideshow (4 Images)
<p>Petrocelli, in response, pressed her in vain to show any analytics to prove that Cox needed Time Warner to prevent customers from moving to DirecTV. “You’ve never done a single bit of quantitative analysis,” he concluded.</p> GOVERNMENT LOSS MEANS MORE DEALS
<p>If the government loses, that could open up the field for more tie-ups between distributors and content providers. But a win could strengthen the hand of antitrust regulators looking at other, similarly structured mergers.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T and Time Warner are not direct competitors, making the deal a so-called vertical merger between companies on the same supply chain. The vast majority of challenged mergers involve one rival buying another.</p>
<p>The merger would hand AT&amp;T, if it becomes the new owner of Time Warner, the motive and opportunity to refuse to license March Madness NCAA basketball tournament games, along with premium cable channel HBO and other content, to pay-TV rivals and online distributors, the Justice Department has said.</p>
<p>Petrocelli had asked for access to communications between the White House and Justice Department about the deal, but the judge denied the request. Trump’s opposition to the merger did not come up during opening statements.</p>
<p>If the government loses, Verizon Communications Inc and Charter Communications Inc could strike deals to buy movie or television makers and squeeze smaller pay-TV providers.</p>
<p>AT&amp;T has said the merger would result in more than $2.5 billion in annual cost savings by 2020.</p>
<p>Reporting by Diane Bartz and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham and Cynthia Osterman</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GSK.L" type="external">GSK.L</a>) has quit the race to buy Pfizer’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=PFE.N" type="external">PFE.N</a>) consumer healthcare business, endangering an auction the U.S. drugmaker hoped would bring in as much as $20 billion.</p> FILE PHOTO: The Pfizer logo is seen at their world headquarters in New York, U.S., April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
<p>It was not immediately clear whether there were other offers for the business, which includes Advil painkillers and Centrum vitamins, following this week’s deadline for binding bids.</p>
<p>GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which announced its withdrawal on Friday, was seen as the frontrunner to buy the assets after Reckitt Benckiser ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=RB.L" type="external">RB.L</a>) left the race late on Wednesday. Johnson &amp; Johnson ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=JNJ.N" type="external">JNJ.N</a>) stepped away from the auction in January.</p>
<p>A source familiar with the matter said GSK declined to make a final bid for the assets in the end.</p>
<p>“While we will continue to review opportunities that may accelerate our strategy, they must meet our criteria for returns and not compromise our priorities for capital allocation,” GSK Chief Executive Emma Walmsley said in a statement.</p>
<p>GSK shares rose nearly 4 percent, as investors’ concerns about a potential dividend cut eased.</p>
<p>Pfizer said on Friday it continued to evaluate potential alternatives for the business, which include a spin-off, sale or other transaction, as well as retaining it.</p>
<p>“We have not yet made a decision, but continue to expect to make one in 2018,” a spokesman said.</p>
<p>Sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday it was possible there were other bids. On Friday, a source said that if not, Pfizer could try to tap private equity funds.</p>
<p>Pfizer is the world’s fifth-largest player in consumer health with 2.5 percent of a market bolstered by aging populations and growing interest in health and wellness.</p>
<p>The business, which also includes Chapstick lip balm and Caltrate supplements, is seen as attractive but has come to market at a bad time. GSK and Reckitt are under shareholder pressure to exercise financial discipline, while other potential suitors, such as Bayer ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BAYGn.DE" type="external">BAYGn.DE</a>) and Sanofi ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SASY.PA" type="external">SASY.PA</a>) are busy with other projects.</p>
<p>What is more, the global consumer health market has slowed, from 4-6 percent like-for-like sales growth to 0-3 percent growth, Morgan Stanley analysts said in December. Major players in the over-the-counter market have been grappling with pricing pressure stoked by online players such as Amazon ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AMZN.O" type="external">AMZN.O</a>) and private label competitors.</p>
<p>Pfizer’s hope of fetching around $20 billion translated to a multiple of about 20 times the unit’s core earnings, according to Bernstein analysts, in line with past deals in the sector during faster growing times.</p>
<p>Differences in price expectations also hobbled German drugmaker Merck KGaA’s ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MRCG.DE" type="external">MRCG.DE</a>) attempts to sell its consumer products unit, where a price tag of up to 4 billion euros ($5 billion) deterred initial suitors such as Nestle ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=NESN.S" type="external">NESN.S</a>), Perrigo ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=PRGO.N" type="external">PRGO.N</a>) and a private-equity consortium.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GSK.L" type="external">GlaxoSmithKline PLC</a> 1322.8 GSK.L London Stock Exchange +49.00 (+3.85%) GSK.L PFE.N RB.L JNJ.N BAYGn.DE
<p>Reckitt’s early interest in the Merck assets also waned as the Pfizer auction gained momentum.</p> SPLIT OPINION
<p>Buying the Pfizer business would have been the boldest move to date for Walmsley, who took over at GSK last April. But the wisdom of a deal split opinion among investors, with some worried about the risk to the company’s dividend.</p>
<p>Acquiring additional consumer health assets at a reasonable price could have been a fairly safe way to boost earnings, since scale is key in over-the-counter remedies, but it could have distracted from fixing GSK’s core pharma division.</p>
<p>That is a particular headache for Walmsley - a consumer products veteran who worked for 17 years at L’Oreal ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=OREP.PA" type="external">OREP.PA</a>) - since she has her work cut out to persuade the market she is the right person to lead Britain’s top pharmaceuticals company.</p>
<p>Last month, in a bid to reassure investors, she spelt out that her first priority was improving performance in prescription drugs, followed by dividend payments and only after that acquisitions.</p>
<p>The overhaul of the drugs business, which has produced fewer blockbuster medicines than rivals in recent years, is underway in both the commercial and research fields.</p>
<p>GSK runs its consumer healthcare business via a joint venture with Novartis ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=NOVN.S" type="external">NOVN.S</a>), which complicates any acquisitions. Novartis has the right to sell down its 36.5 percent stake, valued at around $10 billion, from this month, although it has previously indicated it is in no rush to do so.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Paul Sandle and Ben Hirschler; Editing by David Goodman and Mark Potter</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Steve Wynn, the former chief executive of Wynn Resorts Ltd, has disposed his entire 11.8 percent stake in the firm for $2.1 billion in a dramatic exit of the casino and hotel enterprise he founded over 16 years ago.</p> Steve Wynn, Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake
<p>In an unexpected separate move, Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment said it has agreed to buy 5.3 million primary shares of Wynn Resorts at $175 per share, giving them around a 5 percent stake in the operator which has resorts in Las Vegas and Macau.</p>
<p>Galaxy is one of six licensed operators in the world’s largest gambling hub of Macau and competes with Wynn along with Sands China, MGM China and Melco Resorts.</p>
<p>The casino mogul’s share sale comes a week after Wynn Resorts said Steve and Elaine Wynn, who has a 9.26 percent stake, had scrapped a shareholder agreement that prevented them from selling their stakes.</p>
<p>Steve Wynn resigned as CEO of the Las Vegas-based company last month, following claims he subjected women who worked for him to unwanted advances. He has denied the accusations.</p>
<p>In a joint statement by Galaxy and Wynn on Wednesday, Galaxy Vice Chairman Francis Lui said it was a unique opportunity to “acquire an investment in a globally recognised entertainment corporation with exceptionally high quality assets and a significant development pipeline.”</p>
<p>A Galaxy spokeswoman could not comment further on whether Galaxy would look to increase its holding in the future.</p>
<p>Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox said Galaxy shared many of the same core “operating philosophies and values.”</p>
<p>The announcement also follows the settlement two weeks ago of long standing litigation between Wynn Resorts and Universal Entertainment Corporation.</p>
<p>Wynn said two long-term institutional investors, currently holding stakes in Wynn Resorts, have agreed to purchase the remaining eight million shares held by Steve Wynn also at $175 a share.</p>
<p>A Thursday filing showed the embattled founder sold 4.1 million shares of Wynn Resorts at $180 per share - effectively exiting his entire 12.1 million shares, or 11.8 percent stake in the firm, for a total of $2.14 billion.</p> An exterior view Wynn hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Steve Marcus WYNN IMPACT
<p>Wynn, who started in Las Vegas casinos in the 1960s, created some of Las Vegas’ most iconic landmarks – the Mirage, Bellagio and Treasure Island.</p>
<p>He was forced to sell his multi-billion dollar operation Mirage Resorts to tycoon Kirk Kerkorian in a hostile takeover in 2000. Kerkorian then created MGM Mirage and Wynn went on to create Wynn Resorts with his ex-wife in 2002.</p>
<p>The 76 year old businessman, whose signature denotes the company’s logo, had built two lavish resorts in the former Portuguese colony of Macau where only six firms have licenses to operate casinos.</p>
<p>Vitaly Umansky, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong, said the implications of the Galaxy’s investment goes beyond what looks like a passive move at this stage.</p>
<p>“Wynn and Galaxy may be looking at collaborating on future development opportunities in Asia, with Japan being the critical development initiative.”</p>
<p>Galaxy’s octogenarian founder Lui Che Woo, one of Asia’s wealthiest billionaires, has a net wealth of $22 billion according to Forbes. Lui who started his career in construction has grown his casino company into one of Macau’s biggest operators over the past decade.</p>
<p>“There are other large gaming companies who do not have a presence in Macau, but who desperately want to be in Macau, and we would not be surprised to see them angling for a seat at the acquisition table too,” said Grant Govertsen, analyst at Union Gaming in Macau.</p>
<p>While Galaxy has been primarily focused on Macau with its three casinos, it this week received a license to operate a roughly $500 million resort in Boracay, the Philippines most famous holiday island.</p>
<p>Wynn, which operates a resort on Cotai and Macau’s main peninsula, focuses on premium and VIP customers, while Galaxy targets both the high end segment and the broader mass. Both companies have reported strong earnings growth in the fourth quarter with Galaxy posting a 67 percent surge in 2017 profit.</p>
<p>Shares in Wynn Macau and Galaxy dropped 3.9 percent and 2.9 percent respectively on Friday against the benchmark Hang Seng Index which was down 3.1 percent.</p>
<p>Reporting by Farah Master in Hong Kong and Philip George in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Oil jumps as Brent tops $70, with inventory data on tap 'No truth' in report of possible Target-Kroger merger: source U.S. Justice Department urges judge to block AT&T-Time Warner merger GSK pulls out of $20 billion race for Pfizer consumer assets Steve Wynn sells stake in company he founded, Macau casino Galaxy buys in | false | https://reuters.com/article/global-oil/update-8-oil-jumps-as-brent-tops-70-with-inventory-data-on-tap-idUSL4N1PI1Z5 | 2018-01-23 | 2 |
<p>The Democratic Party held its final primaries Tuesday, but Barack Obama wasn’t leaving anything to chance. Before the polls even closed, his campaign lined up a steady stream of superdelegate endorsements that, according to the Associated Press and others, put Obama over the top.</p>
<p>Read Obama’s victory speech <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/03/obamas-nomination-victory_n_105028.html" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>AP via Google:</p>
<p>Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, becoming the first black candidate to lead a major party into a campaign for the White House. Vanquished rival Hillary Rodham Clinton swiftly signaled an interest in joining the ticket as running mate.</p>
<p />
<p>Obama arranged a victory celebration at the site of this summer’s Republican National Convention — an in-your-face gesture to Sen. John McCain, who will be his opponent in the race to become the nation’s 44th president.</p>
<p>The 46-year-old Obama outlasted Clinton in a historic campaign that sparked record turnouts in primary after primary, yet exposed deep racial and gender divisions within the party.</p>
<p><a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i23h4XqvR0Ph96aWYyZ4PgI54YCwD912QFV80" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Obama Seals the Deal | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/obama-seals-the-deal/ | 2008-06-04 | 4 |
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<p />
<p>Now, House Republicans are considering whether the work requirement should be strengthened as they seek cuts to the $80 billion-a-year program, which has doubled in cost over the last five years.</p>
<p>A small group of GOP lawmakers met Wednesday to discuss trimming the program, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. One approach discussed in the meeting was a proposal by Rep. Steve Southerland, R-Fla., that would allow – but not require – individual states to test work requirements.</p>
<p>The push to pass a food stamp bill came after House GOP leaders stripped the feeding programs from a farm bill that passed the chamber earlier this month following the defeat of a combined food-farm bill. Conservatives had demanded greater cuts in the food stamp program, and GOP leaders said they would take up the issue separately. But it’s unclear if they will be able to find enough consensus within their caucus to move on the issue quickly – or at all.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>After the meeting, House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., indicated that there is a good chance the food stamp debate will be pushed to the fall as Republicans try and decide their course.</p>
<p>During the debate over the combined farm bill that was eventually defeated, the House approved the Southerland amendment. But a more far-reaching amendment that would have cut $3 billion a year from the program and required most able-bodied adults to work to receive benefits was rejected. Many moderate Republicans opposed that amendment, proposed by Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.</p>
<p>Before the meeting Wednesday, Southerland says his work requirement proposal makes sense because it is optional for states and doesn’t cut dollars for the program.</p>
<p>“I think you have to have moral reformation before you have fiscal reformation,” he said.</p>
<p>The concept of requiring food stamp recipients is not new. The 1996 welfare law laid out work requirements for some able-bodied adults who don’t have dependents. However, the 2009 stimulus law and waivers allowed by the Obama administration have suspended those requirements in most states.</p>
<p>Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday that in looking at deeper work requirements, Republicans are ignoring who actually gets food stamps.</p>
<p>He said 92 percent of recipients are children, the elderly, disabled or people who are already working.</p>
<p>Vilsack called the Southerland amendment “arbitrary” and said it would make more sense to improve state employment and training programs that help food stamp recipients find and keep jobs.</p>
<p>Another proposal favored by some Republicans, including House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, is to turn all of the federal SNAP money over to the states and cap it. Ryan’s budget also proposed a cut of around $13 billion a year to food stamps. But those so-called “block grants” to states may cut too much for more moderate caucus members.</p>
<p />
<p /> | House GOP considers food stamp work requirements | false | https://abqjournal.com/225345/house-gop-considers-food-stamp-work-requirements.html | 2013-07-25 | 2 |
<p>MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A group of sanitation workers whose strike 50 years ago brought civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis, Tennessee, is being honored.</p>
<p>The NAACP and the National Civil Rights Museum say the surviving sanitation workers are recipients of this year’s NAACP Vanguard Award. A group of workers attended a news conference where they were honored at the museum Tuesday.</p>
<p>Some workers are scheduled to attend the NAACP Image Awards on Monday, the holiday that marks King’s birthday.</p>
<p>King came to Memphis to support the workers, who were pushing for better working conditions and higher pay.</p>
<p>On April 3, 1968, King delivered his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.”</p>
<p>The next day he was assassinated on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum.</p>
<p>MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A group of sanitation workers whose strike 50 years ago brought civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis, Tennessee, is being honored.</p>
<p>The NAACP and the National Civil Rights Museum say the surviving sanitation workers are recipients of this year’s NAACP Vanguard Award. A group of workers attended a news conference where they were honored at the museum Tuesday.</p>
<p>Some workers are scheduled to attend the NAACP Image Awards on Monday, the holiday that marks King’s birthday.</p>
<p>King came to Memphis to support the workers, who were pushing for better working conditions and higher pay.</p>
<p>On April 3, 1968, King delivered his final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.”</p>
<p>The next day he was assassinated on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel, now the National Civil Rights Museum.</p> | Memphis sanitation workers from 1968 to be honored by NAACP | false | https://apnews.com/126bb1571c124181b2a2dd0fbecf7c19 | 2018-01-11 | 2 |
<p>BERLIN (Reuters) – Carmaker BMW (DE:) plans to build its new 8 series model at its plant in the southern German town of Dingolfing from 2018, strengthening the site’s role in the production of premium models in addition to electric vehicle components.</p>
<p>The plant currently makes BMW’s 3 to 7 series models and expects to beat its record annual output of 369,000 vehicles this year, BMW said in a statement on Saturday.</p>
<p>It reiterated that its new electric, autonomous iNEXT model was to be built at Dingolfing from 2021, and that the plant will be involved in the supply of electric motor, components and a battery for the electric MINI to be built in Oxford.</p>
<p>“And that is certainly not the end of it,” Andreas Wendt, head of the plant, said in a statement.</p>
<p />
<p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p> | BMW to build new 8 series at German Dingolfing plant from 2018 | false | https://newsline.com/bmw-to-build-new-8-series-at-german-dingolfing-plant-from-2018/ | 2017-09-22 | 1 |
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